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PREFACE. 
 
 Act iii. j 8j Act iv., "Romeo and Juliet;" Notes 75, 83, Act iv., "Antony and Cleo- 
 patra ;" and Notes 61, Act ii. ; 102, Act iii., " King Lear.") 
 
 In the above-made references to Notes on special topics, treated of la our present 
 edition, we have supplied the clue to a few. of each out of the very many Notes which 
 discuss these subjects. 
 
 Remembering our own childhood delight in a picture-book and story-book in one, 
 we can sympathise with the joy that young readers of the present edition must feel in 
 finding a picture at every other page, illustrating the current scene and situation : while our 
 staider likings can anticipate the satisfaction with which maturer judges will contemplate the 
 admirable illustrations which the accomplished artist, Mr. H. C. Selous, has supplied in 
 such profusion. 
 
 Few stronger evidences could be advanced in testimony of Shakespeare's ever-fresh 
 power to move and delight, than the fact that veteran students like ourselves, who have 
 each devoted life-long examination and loving labour to his works, should be no less 
 excited by affectionate admiration and new enjoyment now when we read him, than when 
 first, as young people, we read him. So vital, so vigorous, so genuine, so intensely true and 
 good is his writing that, on going through his tragedies during this our latest study of 
 them, we have found our eyes fill and our hearts swell in the storm with Lear, or in the 
 mental tempest of Othello, with all the old force of impression ; and our lungs have crowed 
 as cheerily at FalstafF's sallies, while reading them togetlier for our present purpose, as ever 
 they did in the spring-time of green perusal. 
 
 In consigning our present edition of Shakespeare's plays to the perusal of its readers, 
 young and old, we hope it will be enjoyed by them with a no less sympathetic zest than 
 our own ; and we cordially wish that their happy hearths may be made the brighter and the 
 happier by welcoming Shakespeare's book to their home circle ; at the same time trusting 
 that, while honouring and revering him, they will accord one kindly thought to his 
 and their 
 
 Faithful Friends and Servants, 
 CHARLES AND MARY COWDEN CLARKE. 
 
 Villa Novello, Genoa. 
 
9 
 
THE PLAYS OF SHAKESPEARE. 
 

 
 CASSELL'S 
 
 
 
 ILLUSTRATED SHAKESPEARE. 
 
 
 
 o 2. .2^. 7 
 
 PLAYS OF SHAKESPEARE. 
 
 / 
 
 
 EDITED AND ANNOTATED BY 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 AUTHORS OF "SHAKESPEARE-CHARACTERS;" "COMPLETE CONCORDANCE TO SHAKESPEARE;" 
 "GIRLHOOD OF SHAKESPEARE'S HEROINES," &c. 
 
 
 
 " He only in a general honest thought. 
 And common good to all, made one of them : 
 His life was gentle ; and the elements 
 So mixed in him, that Nature might stand up. 
 And say to all the world, 'This was a man !"' 
 
 "Forewarn him that he use no scurrilous words in his tunes." 
 
 Shakespeake. 
 
 
 
 Vol. III.— Tragedies. 
 
 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY H. C. SELOUS. 
 
 
 
 kONDON: 
 
 CASSELL, FETTER, AND GALPIN, 
 
 LUDGATE HILL, E.G. 
 
 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA i 
 
 CORIOLANUS 65 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET 141 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS 205 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR 261 
 
 MACBETH 317 
 
 HAMLET, PRINCE OF DENMARK 373 
 
 KING LEAR 457 
 
 OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE 533 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA ' ; 601 
 
 CYMBELINE 673 
 
 PERICLES 749 
 
 V, 3 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 " Measure for Measure." — Note 22, Act ii., for ' respectable,' read " suspected." 
 " As You Like It."— Page 458, for Scene II., substitute Scene V. 
 
 "All's Well that Ends Well."— Page 555, first column, line 10, omit full stop after "read it in." 
 " Winter's Tale." — Note 59, Act iv., omit " nation's " 
 
 ."King John." — Note 73, Act ii., for ' velocassimus,' read " velocassinus." 
 
 " First Part Henry IV."— Note 83, Act iii., add, " See Note 741, Act v., ' Love's Labour's Lost.' " 
 
 " Second Part Henry IV." — Note 14, Act iv., line 18, for ' sometimes adjectives,' read " sometimes uses adjectives." 
 
 " Second Part Henry IV." — Note 62, Act iv., line 11, for 'alien,' read " akin." 
 
 " Second Part Henry IV."— Page 221, first column, line 25, for ' the friends," read " thy friends." 
 
 " First Part Henry VI " — Page 310, first column, line 23, after " wars," a full stop, not a comma. 
 
 " Second Part Henry VI."— Heading to Note 38, Act iii , omitted in " liege." 
 
 " Richard III."— Note 27, Act i., line s, for ' thine,' read " by thee." 
 
 " Henry VIII." — Note 55, Act iii., line 14, for ' 87,' read " 8g," in reference. 
 
 " Coriolanus."— Note 85, Act iii., for ' Note 11, Act v., " King John," ' read " Note 60, Act ii., ' Henry V.' " 
 " Romeo and Juliet." — Note 45, Act ii., line 16, for ' tries,' read " trifles." 
 "Julius Cajsar." — Note 41, Act i., line 7, for ' walks,' read " walls." 
 
 "King Lear." — Note 68, Act ii., line 19, substitute " who" for ' she,' before "will find an opportunity." 
 " Antony and Cleopatra." — Page 608, second column, line 18, for ' ye,' read " we." 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Well and truly has it been said of Shakespeare that " his works are ranked not among the 
 luxuries, but among the necessaries of hfe." No household that aims at home culture can 
 now be without a copy of Shakespeare ; no domestic circle, that justly looks upon social 
 reading aloud as a means of true happiness and improvement, can think itself duly provided 
 without this among its books, however few the number may be to which due economy 
 limits its cherished store. The mother, who wishes that her boys should have interesting 
 yet vigorous matter of perusal ever at hand, to keep the younger ones out of mischief, 
 and to induce a taste for home and home-pleasures among the elder ones ; the father, who 
 desires to see his girls acquire a love of the beautiful, and cultivate that polish and grace 
 which the study of poetical themes and ennobling subjects inevitably produces ; the parents 
 eager to introduce their children to higher tlioughts and aspirations amid the needful duties 
 and pursuits of every-day life, will certainly make a point of having this noblest of poetic 
 books as their homestead friend and favourite. 
 
 It was this hope of having our present edition in the hands of young readers, and 
 readers in family circles, which induced us to yield to our publishers' desire that it might 
 exclude phrases not thought objectionable at the time when Shakespeare wrote, but coarse 
 and unfit for modern utterance. So unwilling were we that any marring should occur in 
 the pleasure of an assembled home met together to enjoy the Dramatist's pages — the 
 father, perhaps, reading to the rest while they pursued their several occupations; the 
 mother and girls at their sewing; the boys with their slate or their sketching — that we 
 made the omission of expressions that might have checked the reader aloud; just such 
 expressions as Shakespeare's own Perdita forbids when she utters the words which we 
 have adopted for our second title to this edition of his dramas : — " Forewarn him that he 
 use no scurrilous words in his tunes." We have also omitted "Titus Andronicus," a play 
 commonly attributed to Shakespeare; and we have done this, not only on account of its 
 grossness, but because of our strong conviction that it is not his writing. An explanation of 
 our motives for this omission is contained in the " Announcement" which we placed in this 
 
 ix 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 edition between the plays of "Coriolanus" and "Romeo and Juliet;" and it gives us 
 pleasure to reflect that this, our " People's Edition," should be free from that specimen 
 of squalid horror and atrocity, the " Titus Andronicus." The pervading spirit of the 
 composition, when not hideous, is contemptible ; and if less disgusting, it would be 
 laughable. Take, for an example of the diction, one of the lines : 
 
 " In peace and honour live lord Titus long ! " 
 
 which is scarcely exceeded in caricature effect by the famous line in " The Rejected 
 Addresses :" 
 
 " Long may Long Tylney Wellesley Long Pole live !" 
 
 Entertaining the pleasant hope of counting among the perusers and possessors of 
 our present edition younger and more unaccustomed students of Shakespeare than had 
 heretofore been his readers, we have pursued a system of annotation which we think 
 surpasses in scope of elucidation that which has hitherto been adopted. In undertaking 
 this particular edition (which differs from those we previously superintended by having 
 foot-notes to each page, while our former editions comprised the subject-matter of Notes 
 in a Verbal and Sentential Glossary) we gave our ntmost thought to the entire system 
 on which we should work; and thus we have pursued an original plan, varying in some 
 things from that found in usual annotated editions, while we adhered to their form where 
 we thought it judicious. 
 
 First, we so systematised our arrangement as to make it include, in condensed form, 
 all that usually figures diffusedly in editions of Shakespeare. For example, the introductory 
 matter, which generally occupies from two to three spread-out pages before each play in 
 other editions, in ours is compressed into the first note appended to the title of each play; 
 and the supplementary Critical Remarks, which in other editions follow each play, in our 
 edition form part of the current comment introduced into the notes. Thus, matter which 
 generally remains unread, from its bulk and prolixity, is in our present edition put into 
 such concise shape and apposite place as to render it more immediately interesting. 
 
 Secondly, a great object has been with us to make Shakespeare himself, as nuich as 
 possible, his own illustrator and interpreter, by, in every case where a word or a passage 
 is discussed, referring to a similar instance occurring elsewhere in his works. This, 
 although considerably increasing our own labour, has the advantage of enabling the peruser 
 of the passage, at little cost of trouble, to compare and judge for himself, and thus, in fact, 
 to become his own editor. So carefully made and diligently multiplied are our references, 
 that they form a chain of consecutive illustrative indication, showing how the author thinks, 
 how he writes, and what forms the veritable essence of his style. Each note on a particular 
 word is made to furnish a clue to another parallel instance, where the same word is similarly 
 used. For example, on turning to our Note 5, Act iv., " King Lear," it will be seen that 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 there is reference made to other passages where the word "secure" is peculiarly and 
 Shakespearianly used ■ witness, also, our Notes on the word " cause," to which a connecting 
 link of guidance is stipplied from Note lo. Act v., " Macbetli," back through Note 85, 
 Act iii., " Coriolanus ;" Note 60, Act ii., " Henry -V. ;" Note 11, Act v., "King John j" 
 to 62, Act iii., "King John," where our view of Shakespeare's special use of this word is 
 first discussed by us ; likewise such Notes as Note 18, Act iii., " Coriolanus 5" Note 73, 
 Act ii., "Julius Caesar;"' and Note 44, Act ii., "Othello," where we give collected 
 references to other Notes on the subject discussed; and as Note 13, Act lii., " Troilus 
 and Cressida," where we observe upon a systematic principle pursued by him. 
 
 Impressed ourselves by the extreme condensation that marks Shakespeare's style, 
 notwithstanding the abundant imagery and overflew of thought that distinguish it, we have 
 taken care to point out the evidences of his singularly inclusive diction, of the combined 
 senses which his words bear, and of the elliptical phraseology, which all three contribute to 
 constitute this extreme condensation. In manifestation of his inclusive diction, we would 
 refer to our Note 49, Act iv., "Troilus and Cressida;" Note 39, Act iii., "Julius Caesar;" 
 Note 37, Act iv., "King Lear;" and Note 121, Act i., "Othello ;" of his using words in 
 combined senses, to our Note 23, Act ii., "Tempest;" Note 21, Act iii., " Henry "VIII. ;" 
 Note II, Act iii., " Coriolanus ;" Note 8, Act i., "'Macbeth;" and Note 34, Act v., 
 "Cymbeline;" and of his elliptical phraseology, to our Note 33, Act i., "Henry "V. ;" 
 Note 75, Act i., " Coriolanus ;" Notes 5 and 1 1, Act v., " Henry VIII. ;" Notes 26, Act ii., 
 and I, Act iv., " Romeo and Juliet;" Note 75, Act iv., " Othello ;" and Note 27, Act i., 
 " Cymbeline." As a token of the frequent employment made by Shakespeare of ellipses 
 in construction, we mention that our Notes on his elliptical words and phrases alone 
 amount to several hundred ; and investigation of this particular characteristic of the great 
 Poet's diction will render our Notes on the subject valuable to the philological student, 
 as well as to the mere beginner in appreciation of literary style and composition. 
 Shakespeare's mastery in language, his power of brevity and succinctness, no less than his 
 amplitude and copiousness, his knowledge of the exact shades of meaning in words, and 
 his capacity for blending and concentrating, no less than his faculty of largely and 
 figuratively applying them, with nicest aptitude in each of these particulars, render him 
 as great a magician in verbal sway as in every other operation of his "so potent art." 
 
 Another original feature of our Annotated Edition, we trust, will be found in the 
 space we have devoted to the discussion of Shakespeare's system of Dramatic Art. We 
 have pointed out his peculiar felicities in narration ; his expedients for drawing his 
 audience's or reader's attention to points demanding their special notice (see Notes 10 and 
 61, Act i., "Cymbeline"); his expressive and characteristic mode of writing soliloquy 
 (see Note 1 1, Act iv., "Measure for Measure; " Note 34, Act iv., "Henry V. ;" Note 3, 
 Act ii., "Julius Caesar;" Note 22, Act iv., " Romeo and Juliet;" and Note 68, Act ii., 
 " King Lear") ; his mode of denoting place and scene (see Note 52, Act iii., " Midsummer 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Night's Dream ■" Note ^6, Act v., " Merchant of Venice 5" and Note 19, Act ii., " Romeo 
 and JaUet"); his skill in the introduction of brief explanatory or commentatory scenes 
 (see Note 23, Act iii., " Timon of Athens/' and Note 144, Act iv., "King Lear"), his 
 judgment in producing harmonious contrast by short, grotesque scenes immediately pre- 
 ceding those of grave import and interest, or even of tragic terror and solemnity (see 
 Note 43, Act iv., "Romeo and Juliet;" Note 27, Act ii., " Macbeth ;' Note 27, Act v., 
 "Hamlet;" Note 56, Act v., "Antony and Cleopatra"); and, above all, that perfectly 
 new particular, never before adverted to in any edition of Shakespeare, his very peculiar 
 system of Dramatic Time ; a system invented and employed solely by himself, a system 
 which permits long and short time to co-exist and co-operate simultaneously in the progress 
 of his plays. (See Notes i and 35, Act iv., " Measure for Measure ;" Notes 96, Act ii., and 
 7, Act iii., " Merchant of Venice;" Note 49, Act iii., "Henry V.;" Note 18, Act iv., 
 " Romeo and Juliet ;" Note 38, Act ii., "Julius Caesar ;" Notes 36, Act ii., and 22, Act v., 
 "Macbeth;" Notes 21 and 62, Act iii., "Hamlet;" and Notes 58 and 96, Act iii., 
 " Othello.") 
 
 In many of our Notes Shakespeare's text is viewed from a more poetic point than is the 
 case in most editions. Remarks upon his beauties of characterisation (see Note 5, Act iv., 
 "Much Ado about Nothing;" Notes 56, Act i. ; 2, Act iii.; 20, Act v., "First Part 
 Henry IV.;" Notes 8, Act iv.; 2 and 30, Act v., "Romeo and Juliet;" Notes 53, Act ii.; 
 84, Act iii., "Othello"); his melodies of versification (see Notes 38 and 74, Act iii. ; 22, 
 Act iv., " Midsummer Night's Dream;" Note 80, Act iv., " Winter s Tale ;" Note 40, 
 Act iv., " Henry V ;' Note 25, Act iii., " Pericles ") ; his might of passion (see Notes 98 
 and 120, Act ii. ; 140, Act iv., " King Lear ;" Notes 39, Act Iii.) 31, Act iv.; " Othello ;" 
 Notes 47, Act iii. ; 31, Act v., " Pericles "), hitherto made the subject of supplementary 
 essays, have been by us condensed into some of our Notes. "We have thought that many a 
 young reader coming freshly to Shakespeare, having heard infinite praise awarded to him, 
 will be glad to have the passages pointed out, in course of procedure, which specially mark 
 the excellences of this author who is not to be understood or appreciated at first perusal ; 
 and that the comments upon such passages will be received by the tyro readers of our 
 dramatist as pleasant indices supplied by his experienced admirers, the Editors. 
 
 To those who may feel that some few of our Notes are superfluously explanatory, we 
 would quote the opening of the chorus to Act v. of " Henry V. : " — 
 
 " Vouclisafe to those that have not read the story, 
 That ' we ' may prompt them : and of such as have, 
 ' We ' humbly pray them to admit the excuse." 
 
 Therefore we have not omitted to explain particulars that to maturer readers might seem 
 too obvious to need a Note; as, for instance, certain mythological allusions (see Notes 16 
 and 28, Act iii., "Merchant of Venice ;" Note 42, Act ii., "Macbeth;" and Note 72, 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Act iii., "Pericles"), well understood by classical scholars, but new to beginners in 
 literature. Yet, even to the most proficient, a casual explanation can scarcely come amiss ; 
 such readers are ever the most forbearing, and are willing to tolerate an observation 
 needless to themselves, for the sake of possible benefit to others to whom it may be needful. 
 From Shakespeare's universality of mind and genius, his writings include a vast field of 
 allusion ; vaster than that spanned by any other writer : therefore, it follows that expla- 
 nation of these myriad allusions must involve details introducing unpractised students to 
 subjects which, of themselves, form a whole world of valuable knowledge. 
 
 Several of our Notes will be found to discuss a point never hitherto canvassed — ■ 
 namely, the subtle truth with which Shakespeare has suggested concomitant physical 
 indications m those he represents under mental suffering (see Note loi. Act iv., "King 
 Lear;" Notes 62 and 63, Act iv., "Othello;" Note 31, Act v., "Tempest;" Note 50, 
 Act v., " Pericles") ; also, another particular not heretofore observed upon — one almost 
 paradoxical in its statement — his curious power of writing silence (see Notes 21, Act ii. ; 
 20, Act iv. ; and 50, Act v., " Coriolanus ;" Note 59, Act v., " Winter's Tale j" Note 85, 
 Act iv., "Macbeth' ), and his singular faculty of producing perfed impression through 
 imperfect expression (see Note 85, Act 11., " Coriolanus ;" Notes 5 and 31, Act iv., 
 " Othello j" Notes 76, Act iv. ; 88, Act v., " Cymbeline;" Note 61, Act v,, " Pericles"). 
 
 Instances of Shakespeare's noble faith and morality have beeii earnestly dwelt upon in 
 such Notes as 10, Act iii., "Winter's Tale;" Note 22, Act v., "Timon of Athens;" 
 Notes 77, Act iv., and 53, Act v., " Cymbeline;" Notes 29, Act iii. ; 50 and 55, Act v., 
 "King Lear;" Note 88, Act iii., "Romeo and Juliet;" Note 42, Act iii.; 2, Act v., 
 "Othello ;" Note 34, Act v., " Macbeth;" Notes 67 and 79, Act v., " Cymbeline;" while 
 his appreciation of the sacredness of friendship is shown in such Notes as 26, Act iv., 
 "Merchant of Venice;" Note 98, Act iii., "Twelfth Night;" Note 72, Act iii,, " Julius 
 Caesar ;" Notes 53, Act iii., and 67, Act iv., " Hamlet." 
 
 We have taken occasion to point out intrinsic evidences of Shakespeare's style at 
 various epochs of his career — a question not hitherto made the subject of annotation — in 
 several Notes, like 17, Act i., "As You Like It;" Notes i and 9, Act iv., "Romeo and 
 Juliet;" Notes 29, Act i. ; 22, Act v., " Henry "VIII. ;" Note 68, Act i., " Troilus and 
 Cressida;" Note 71, Act ii., " Coriolanus." 
 
 Many passages merely pronounced difficult and left unexplained by some editors, while 
 suffered to pass entirely unnoticed by others, we have frankly dealt with; facing the 
 difficulty, sedulously endeavouring to solve it, and discover the meaning originally intended 
 by the author. (See Note 18, Act iii., "All's Well that Ends Well;" Note 80, Act i., 
 "Coriolanus;" Notes 37, Act iv., and 53, Act v., "King Lear;" Note 27, Act ii., 
 " Pericles.") 
 
 A few among several of our own conjectural readings may be found on reference to 
 Note 87, Act ii., "Coriolanus;" Note 80, Act iv., "Henry V.;" Note 28, Act iv., 
 
 xili 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 " Othello Note 82, Act i., " Cyrabeline Notes 61, Act i., and 40, Act v., " Pericles ;" 
 but our chief care has been devoted to discover if the original word or phrase printed in the 
 first Folio or Quarto editions may not by possibility be right, though at first view seeming 
 erroneous. It behoves an editor, not so much to exercise ingenuity in finding a suitable 
 word or sentence, as to judge whether the word in the old copies bears a signification 
 consonant with Shakespeare's mode of thought generally ; and to search elsewhere for 
 some other word or sentence used by him which shall serve to exemplify the passage in 
 question. 
 
 One thing assuredly will not be found in our edition : to wit, that dogmatic and 
 dictatorial tone, or, worse still, that unworthy spirit of sneer and squabble towards other 
 editors, which has too often disgraced the field of Shakespearian controversy. Where we 
 have had occasion to bring forward an opinion of our own, we have proffered it with all 
 modesty of statement ; having, in the course of our many years' self-dedication to Shake- 
 spearian study and labour, learned at least one of the lessons he taught : — "I will chide no 
 breather in the world but myself, against whom I know most faults." The difficulty of 
 making up one's mind on disputed passages — retaining what one has before rejected, or 
 rejecting what one has before retained — ought surely to teach editors diffidence in 
 supporting their own decisions, and temperance in censuring those of others. For token of 
 this difficulty, see such of our Notes as 42, Act v., " Othello 5" Notes 23, Act i. ; 2, Act ii., 
 " Antony and Cleopatra j" Notes 48, Act ii. ; 27 and 53, Act iv., " Cymbeline," where we 
 candidly confess to certain hesitatingly-adopted readings. 
 
 For one who is so universal-minded as Shakespeare, we think it will be conceded that 
 there may be peculiar advantage in having a man and woman as his joint editors. "While 
 the man-editor uses his masculine judgment as to what expressions are fittest to be expunged 
 from a chastened edition of Shakespeare, the woman-editor is not without her use in bringing 
 feminine discernment as an aid and exponent to some of his passages. It is, perhaps, good 
 and befitting that Shakespeare, who is not so much a man as human — containing in himself 
 the best parts of woman's as well as man's nature — should have a woman to assist in editing 
 and analysing him. A woman's tact in sentiment and perception of nice shades in feeling 
 can possibly best discern and appreciate those delicate and subtle touches of both which 
 abound in Shakespeare above all poets (see Notes 24, 36, 121, Act i.; 158, Act ii. ; 73, 
 Act iv., "All's Well that Ends Well;" Notes 17, 21, Act ii., "Romeo and Juliet;" 
 Note 12, Act i., "Midsummer Night's Dream ;" Note i, Induction; 20, Act i. ; 5, Act iii. ; 
 33' 3^> 59> ^°^> ^ct iv. ; 31, 40, Act v., "Taming of the Shrew;" Note 56, Act v., 
 " Henry V.") ; while a woman's intimate acquaintance with the consciousnesses, sensitive- 
 nesses, and emotions that stir the inner heart of her own sisterhood, may very likely best 
 estimate his almost miraculous knowledge of womanhood. (See Notes 39, Act iii., " All's 
 Well that Ends Well;" Note i. Act iv., "Love's Labour's Lost;" Note 54, Act iv., 
 "As You Like It;" Notes 95, Act i. ; 19, Act iii.; 65, Act iv., "Othello;" Notes 76, 
 
THE STORY 
 
 OF 
 
 SHAKESPEARE'S LIFE. 
 
 One of England's proudest national boasts is, that her sons may raise themselves from the 
 lowest social position to the highest, by their own exertions j and perhaps no brighter 
 example exists of the truth of this boast than the career of William Shakespeare. A 
 middle-class boy, born in an obscure country village, he came to be the acknowledged first 
 intellect of the land. From a lowly station he rose to occupy the throne of hterature, 
 acknowledged Prince of Poets throughout the world. 
 
 To some among those who now purchase his noble writings at the cost of a hardly- 
 spared penny a week, the contemplation of this fact may well inspire emulative energy and 
 stimulative hope ; and not only as a subject for admiration, but as an object of illustrious 
 example, may Shakespeare be viewed by them. 
 
 For the following is the " Story of his Life," as summed from the few reliable facts 
 gleaned respecting him, among the numerous and careful researches that have been made. 
 
 In the sweet Warwickshire village of Stratford-upon-Avon, there lived one John 
 Shakespeare, a glover by trade. He seems to have been a thriving man, for on the and of 
 October, 1556, he bought the copyhold of the house and garden where he lived in Henley 
 Street, as also that of a house and garden in Greenhill Street 3 and to have been a man 
 capable of defending his rights and dues, for on the 19th of November, 1556, he impleaded 
 a neighbour for unjustly detaining eighteen quarters of barley. There is evidence that he 
 was a man respected and held "good and true" by his fellow -townsmen, since his name 
 stands on a list of jurymen of a court-leet in April, 15565 and in 1557 he was a burgess and 
 member of the corporation. It was about this period that he married 5 obtaining as his 
 wife, Mary, the youngest daughter and one of the co-heiresses of Robert Arden, of 
 Wilmecote, in the parish of Aston Cantlowe. As her dowry, she brought her husband a 
 handsome sum of money, a small landed estate called Asbyes, and a share in some house 
 property at Snitterfield. In September, 1558, their first child was born 3 a daughter, 
 
 xvii 
 
 VOL. III. 
 
 267 
 
THE STORY OF SHAKESPEARE'S LIFE. 
 
 baptised by the name of Joan on the 1 5th of that month and year : and in December, 
 1562, a second daughter was born, called Miirgaretj or Margareta, as the name is given 
 in the baptismal register. 
 
 Both these girl-children died in infancy ; but, to console the bereft parents, in the year 
 1564, a SON was born to them: a son destined to become one of the most renowned and 
 illustrious of Englishmen. The exact day of William Shakespeare's birth is not precisely 
 known ; but inasmuch as it was then the custom to christen children as early as possible, 
 and the register of his baptism is dated the 26th of April, 1564, while the inscription on 
 his monument rans thus — 
 
 ■ " Obiit Anno Domini 1616. 
 ^tatis 53, die 23 Aprilis:" 
 
 it has always been assumed that he was born on the 23rd of April, 1J64. 
 
 The place where he first saw the light is universally understood to have beea a small 
 room on the first floor of the modest house in Henley Street, which belonged to his father ; 
 a room that has been a shrine of honouring pilgrimage to thousands of admirers, among 
 whom are names renowned for many a varied cause, and coming from many a different 
 clime and country. These names at first were scribbled in pencil upon every possible nook 
 and corner of the white-washed, low-roofed room by the owners, anxious to commemorate 
 their visit j but now visitors' names are inscribed in a goodly book kept there for the 
 purpose. 
 
 William Shakespeare was scarcely two months old when the plague broke out in 
 Stratford-on-Avon, carrying off more than a seventh part of the population of the town, 
 which counted about fourteen hundred inhabitants. His parents' trembling dread lest their 
 then only child should be snatched from them, would have been sympathetically shared by 
 all England, nay, by the whole civilised world, could the future effulgence of that babe's 
 intellect have been foreseen ; as it was, the angel of death spared the infant head, and God 
 preserved it to a blessed and illustrious future. The little fellow had reached the age of two 
 years when he had a brother born, Gilbert, baptised 13th of October, 15665 and by the 
 time William was five years old, he had a sister born, Joan, baptised 15th of April, 1569. 
 To this sister was given the same name as her parent's eldest-born ; a fact that may have 
 arisen from the circumstance of there being an Aunt Joan in the family, who probably 
 stood godmother to both the children called after her ; Aunt Joan having been sister to the 
 mother, Mary (Arden) Shakespeare, and having married a certain Edward Lambert. 
 
 In 157 1 there was a second little sister born, Anne, baptised on the 28th of September 
 of that year J and by this time the children had a pleasant and spacious play-ground, wherein 
 to gather "daisies pied and violets blue 5" for in the previous year, 1570, their father, John 
 Shakespeare, was in possession of a field called " Ingon meadow," holding its tenancy 
 under William Clopton, and paying for it an annual rent of eight pounds. But even ere 
 this, httle WiUiam Shakespeare may have imbibed his taste for theatrical entertainments ; 
 for in 1569, "The Queen's Players" came to Stratford-upon-Avon, giving performances 
 there 3 and who knows but the boy was taken as a treat to " the Play" by father or mother, 
 or "Aunt Joan," or in company with all three? — thus early blending his love of stage 
 
 xviii * 
 
THE STORY OF SHAKESPEARE'S LIFE. 
 
 representation and his love of out-door Nature ; now going with a family party to the 
 tlieatrej now racing about the green fields with his brother and sister — a "boy pursuing 
 summer butterflies." 
 
 That the father^ John Shakespeare^ had been meanwhile gradually rising in pecuniary 
 circumstances and in the estimation of his. neighbours during these last few years, is 
 evidenced by his name being found, in 1564, among those who contributed various sums 
 " towards the releefFe of the poore," and also by his having been selected as actuary for 
 the corporation. In 1565 he was elected one of the fourteen aldermen of Stratford; in 
 1568 he was promoted to the office of borough or high baihff; and in 157 1 he attained 
 the highest civic dignity which it was in the power of his fellow-townsmen to bestow, by 
 being chosen chief alderman and bailiff, consequently, ex officio, a magistrate, and thence- 
 forth entitled to write himself Magister or Mr., which respectful prefix to his name 
 afterwards appears in the parish registers wherever it figures among their entries. 
 
 There was a Free Grammar-school in Stratford-upon-Avon ; and to this, probably, 
 went daily the seven-year-old Master William Shakespeare in 1571, "with his satchel and 
 shining morning face;" but we may be very sure, not "creeping like snail unwillingly to 
 school;" for, with him, the desire for learning was insatiable: perchance, though, already 
 taking note of this snail-paced unwillingness in others ; very possibly, too, observing with 
 boyish acuteness of eye the various peculiarities of Walter Roche, Thomas Hunt, and 
 Thomas Jenkins, who were successively masters of the Grammar-school about that period ; 
 and who, in all likelihood, furnished him with indices for his future life-like portraitures of 
 Sir Hugh Evans and Holofernes. We never read the pleasant opening scene of the fourth 
 act in "The Merry Wives of Windsor," without picturing to ourselves the original Master 
 "William" being led to school by his mother's hand through Stratford-upon-Avon streets, 
 as his little namesake, William Page, is led through Windsor streets; and we in fancy behold 
 the loving-proud look of Mary (Arden) Shakespeare cast downwards on the bright head of 
 her boy, as he trots beside her, now and then eagerly looking up in her face with his 
 sparkling intelligent glance, asking a multitude of brisk questions ; and, like all mothers, 
 seeing some faint pre-visionary reflex of future hoped-for glory beaming round his brow ; 
 but never, by possibility, foreseeing the full radiance of that immortal halo destined hereafter 
 to crown him evermore. 
 
 When William was nine years old, another brother was born, Richard ; who was 
 baptised on the nth of March, 1573 ; and there is record that in this year "the Earl of 
 Leicester's Players" were performing in the town, receiving the sum of six shillings and 
 eightpence from the Chamberlain of Stratford ; while in the following year " my lord of 
 Warwick's Players" are paid seventeen shillings, and " the Earl of Worcester's Players" five 
 shillings and sevenpence by the same official. 
 
 And still, with his increasing family, increase the fortunes of Mr. John Shakespeare; 
 for in 1574 he paid to Edmund and Emma Hall the sum of gS^o (equal to ^200 of our 
 present money) for the purchase of two freehold houses, with gardens and orchards, in 
 Henley Street. An event of great local public importance occurred soon after ; no other 
 than Queen Elizabeth's visit to Kenil worth Castle in 1575, there to be entertained by its 
 lordly owner, tlie Earl of Leicester, with revels, masques, and pageants of the most mag- 
 
 xix 
 
THE STORY OF SHAKESPEARE'S LIFE. 
 
 nificent kind ; and it is most likely that the boy of eleven years old, his vivid imagination 
 fired by accounts of what was going forward at a distance of barely fourteen miles from 
 where he lived, contrived to be present at this scene of gorgeous shows and "princely 
 pleasures." It may have been at this very festival of a Queen, welcomed by one of her 
 favourite nobles, that the young lad Shakespeare first imbibed his knowledge of how royalty 
 deports itself, how nobility looks and behaves, how admiring subjects gaze, how an adored 
 sovereign dispenses gracious words of acceptance, and how she receives homage and 
 applause. Here may he have gained incipient insight into the hearts of monarchs, into the 
 thoughts of courtiers, which he afterwards turned to account with such marvellous felicity 
 in his delineation of the emotions, the demeanour, the mode of speech of kings and dukes, 
 belted earls and tartaned thanes, coronetted peeresses and jewelled ladies, the world of 
 regalities and titled splendours, so high above the range of ordinary country youths' 
 experience. 
 
 From this period there are tokens that John Shakespeare's worldly prosperity declined 
 year by year; until, in 1578 — when at a borough hall meeting on the 29th of January, it 
 was decreed that every alderman in Stratford should pay six shillings and eightpence, and 
 every burgess three shillings and fourpence towards " the furniture of three pikemen, two 
 billmen, and one archer" — his share of the levied contribution was permitted to be but 
 three shillings and fourpence; although he was not only an alderman, but head alderman. 
 In November of the same year, also, when every alderman was required to " pay weekly to 
 the relief of the poor fourpence," John Shakespeare and Robert Bratt were exempted from 
 this tax. In the following March, too, when a demand was made upon the town for the 
 purpose of purchasing corsets, calivers, &c., John Shakespeare's name was among those of 
 certain persons whose "sums were unpaid and unaccounted for;" and there is farther 
 evidence that John Shakespeare was at this time short of money in the fact that he 
 owed a baker of the name of Roger Sadler five pounds, for which sum Edmund Lambert, 
 and another person named Cornishe, became security; since Sadler's will, dated 14th of 
 November, 1^78, contained the following sentence: — "Item of Edmund Lambert and 
 Cornishe, for the debt of Mr. John Shacksper, ^5." 
 
 But the most presumptive testimony that at this time John Shakespeare's pecuniary 
 affairs were in a depressed state, is afforded by the circumstance that in 1578 he and his 
 wife mortgaged their "land in Wilmecote, called Asbies;" and that in 1579 they parted 
 with their interests in the tenements at Snitterfield to Robert Webbe, for the moderate 
 sum of four pounds. That same year of 1 579 brought sadder distress than the one arising 
 out of straitened circumstances to the family, for John Shakespeare's daughter Anne was 
 buried on the 4th of July, 1579; and the stripling Shakespeare learned what was the pang 
 of seeing his little sister snatched away by death. His youth was sufficiently chequered 
 with prosperity and its reverse, with living companionship and companionship interrupted 
 by a summons to the grave, for one so sensitive and imaginative as he was, to be able early 
 and keenly to appreciate " the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to." Griefs 
 succeeded by budding hopes, bitterness by sweet reviving gladness, were known to him 
 intimately and soon; for the death of his young sister Anne in the summer of 1579 was 
 followed by the birth of a baby brother, Edmund, who was baptised on the 3rd of May, 
 
THE STORY OF SHAKESPEARE'S LIFE. 
 
 1580: and while the above-stated fluctuations of fortune visited his father, there were not 
 wanting gaieties that pecuharly appealed to the son's innate taste and genius; for, in 1579, 
 the players of Lord Strange, and those of the Countess of Essex, gave dramatic entertain- 
 ments in Stratford, in the hall of the Guild, under the patronage of the bailiff, while in 
 1580 the players of the Earl of Derby also visited that town, and gave a series of performances. 
 
 In all probability the young lad found means to attend all these theatrical representa- 
 tions in his native place; for though money does not appear to have been rife in the 
 Shakespeare family at this period, yet what with his own engaging manners and intelligent 
 appreciation of their art, and what with the fact that several of the actors in the above- 
 named dramatic companies were born in the same town or county with himself, it is more 
 than likely that Will Shakespeare had free admission to the playhouse in Stratford-upon- 
 Avon whenever he chose — which was pretty sure to have been always. Burbage, Hem- 
 minge, Slye, Greene, Tooley, were the names of actors ascertained to have been natives of 
 Warwickshire, and to have been known to Shakespeare during the course of his career; 
 while there is every reason to suppose that his acquaintance with them may have com- 
 menced during the period of his boyhood, when the several troops of players to which they 
 belonged visited Stratford as here recorded. 
 
 After leaving school, which we imagine to have been somewhere about the age of 
 fourteen, we have always cherished the idea that Shakespeare may possibly have had the 
 advantage of about three years' college education. It is true that his father's income 
 appears to have been particularly restricted at this time; but if, according to our theory, 
 William was a scholar upon the foundation at either one of the universities, and studied 
 there as a sizer or servitor, his coUegiateship would have been without cost. If Shake- 
 speare, when a youth of fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen, passed these three years of his life 
 as a collegian, it would go far to account for the classical knowledge and tastes, the mytho- 
 logical colouring and allusions, which particularly mark his earlier written plays (for 
 instance, the "Two Gentlemen of Verona," the "Comedy of Errors," and the "Love's 
 Labour's Lost"), and which appear therein with precisely that tincture of scholarly man- 
 nerism and stiffness that would characterise the productions of a young man fresh from the 
 learned haunts where he had " walked gowned." The fondness for, and familiar acquaint- 
 ance with college terms, phrases, and usages, traceable in his works too, make for our 
 supposition that he may have enjoyed the privileges of a university education; and though 
 there exists at neither Oxford nor Cambridge any record that they ever numbered him as 
 one of their body (which, as being only a foundation scholar there scarcely would have 
 been), yet future research may hereafter establish the point we conjecture. 
 
 Perhaps it was on some occasion of college vacation, or perhaps merely on some usual 
 summer holiday, that he first met her, when strolling through the pleasant lanes of Shot- 
 tery; but certain it is, that at the age of eighteen he fell in love with blooming Anne 
 Hathaway, and secured her love in return. She to him doubtless appeared a living im- 
 personation of all that his ardent imagination and young poet-heart preconceived possible in 
 his future Imogen, Helena, Viola, or Rosalind ; what he to her must have appeared, with 
 his eloquence, his fervour, his irresistible vivacity, impetuosity, and intensity, we can all 
 picture to ourselves. Anne Hathaway was then five-and-twenty ; in her full beauty of 
 
THE STORY OF SHAKESPEARE'S LIFE. 
 
 womanhood; just the captivator to enslave the eyes of a lover of eighteen. Youthful 
 manhood takes delight in a charmer of superior age : while the man of thirty is won by the 
 girl of sweet sixteen, the boyish admirer thinks her insipid, immature, trifling, timid, and 
 beholds his womanly ideal fulfilled in richly-gifted, all-accomplished five-and-twenty. In 
 femininely ripened five-and-twenty he finds an object to worship, to idolise, to inspire him 
 with highest endeavour and noblest hopes; and it is with him an ambition, no less than a 
 desire, to make her his own. William Shakespeare, even at eighteen, was not the man to 
 woo in vain; and by the time spring appeared in 1583 he was a husband and a father. On 
 the 26th of May in that year, his first child, Susanna, was baptised ; and it now behoved 
 him to think of some effectual means of supporting his wife and child, by earning a 
 sufficient income from his own chosen profession and personal exertions. 
 
 There is a tradition (stated by Aubrey, in his MSS. in the Ashmolean Museum) that 
 "in his younger years Shakespeare had been a schoolmaster in the country;" and it is not 
 unprobable that he obtained employment as assistant-teacher, or usher, in the grammar- 
 school where he himself had received his first scholastic education. There have also been 
 conjectures (founded on a sneer by Thomas Nashe, apparently levelled at Shakespeare, in 
 "An Epistle" prefixed to Robert Greene's " Menaphon," 1589; and also on the marked 
 prevalence of the dramatist's correct use of legal terms) that he was at one time occupied 
 in an attorney's office, and earned money as a lawyer's clerk. But we think that the fact 
 of there havmg been a Thomas Greene in Stratford-upon-Avon, who acted as clerk of the 
 corporation there, who was son of an attorney practising there, and who once wrote (in a 
 letter still extant) of the poet as "my cosen Shakespeare," amply suffices to account for 
 our author's familiar acquaintance with law terms and legal particulars, and even for his 
 remarkably accurate and frequent employment of them. Besides the above-named claim 
 of cousinship on the part of Thomas Greene the younger with William Shakespeare, the 
 burial of Thomas Greene the elder stands thus recorded in the parish register : — " Thomas 
 Greene, alias Shakespeake, March 6, 1590 ;" which combined points serve to show that 
 there must have existed some very strong bond of connection between the two families. In 
 all probabihty, as it appears to us, such an adopted relationship, as it was formerly often the 
 fashion to establish between persons who felt warm esteem and affection for each other 
 (see Note 90, Act ii., "Troilus and Cressida"), may have mutually existed between the 
 Greenes and the Shakespeares ; and if this were the case, many an hour would naturally 
 have been spent by William Shakespeare in Thomas Greene's office, where so observant and 
 retentive a mind as the one under consideration would be sure to pick up waifs and strays of 
 professional knowledge, and even to acquire intimate and correct acquaintance with them, 
 while but seeming to pass away the time in leisure and social converse. But whether or 
 not Shakespeare actually did receive emolument from teaching in a school, or from working 
 in a lawyer's office, it is pleasant to fancy him employed in either or both honourable 
 avocations, that he might earn bread for those who were dependent on him for support. 
 Nevertheless it became evident that his then resources for obtaining a livelihood — whatever 
 they may have been — were inadequate for the maintenance of his increasing family j when, 
 in 1585, he had two more children born to him, a twin boy and girl, baptised on the 2ntl 
 of February in tlaat year, by the names of Hamnet and Judith. 
 
THE STORY OF SHAKESPEARE'S LIFE. 
 
 In addition to this more immediately pressing cause for seeking a means of gaining a 
 larger income than he had yet been able to earn, his father, John Shakespeare, ceased to be 
 an alderman of Stratford-upon-Avon in the autumn of 1586 ; all tending to show that 
 another field than that afforded by his native town would be the one better chosen wherein 
 to exert his energies with prospect of advantage. His own decided bent of taste and talent, 
 his connection with men of the theatrical profession, their probable representations of the 
 revenue that might be derived from the stage were he to adopt it as his means of livelihood, 
 naturally turned his thoughts in that direction, and he resolved to go up to London, as the 
 grand centre of dramatic career. There has been a legend that it was the rancour of Sir 
 Thomas Lucy's prosecution against William Shakespeare for joining in some deer-stealing 
 transgressions committed in the knight's park of Charlcote, which formed the immediate 
 cause of the young man's withdrawal from his country home 5 but there is far more like- 
 lihood that Shakespeare's removal to the metropolis originated in a deliberate resolution of 
 his own mind to seek there congenial occupation and profitable source of livelihood. A man 
 with active brains, fine intelligence, high principle, pure purpose, is necessarily provident : 
 Shakespeare possessed them all, and there are many existent proofs that he was essentially 
 provident. It would be a part of his character that he should determine to provide 
 competently for the support of his family, and part of his exalted and innate genius that 
 he should propose to himself the mastering of some means whereby he might raise its 
 position in the world j while the inward conviction that he had the power of ultimately 
 succeeding in his views cannot have been wanting. He accordingly took the decisive and 
 initiative step by going to London. 
 
 From 1586 to 1589, no record exists of his proceedings j but as, in the latter year, his 
 name appears as sharer in the Blackfriars Theatre (being twelfth on the list of sixteen 
 shareholders), we may infer that he spent the intervening period in qualifying himself for 
 his chosen profession of actor, in altering and adapting such dramas by others as were to be 
 brought out at the playhouse of which he became part proprietor, and in preparing for 
 production on its stage certain of his own plays already written. "We have always 
 cherished a belief that when Shakespeare arrived in town, he had with him the manuscripts 
 of his poem "Venus and Adonis" (which is distinctly stated by himself, in its dedication, to 
 have been " the first heir of my invention"), and of a few of his plays — those which bear 
 intrinsic evidence of having been early compositions — together with numerous sketches and 
 plans of other dramas hereafter to be written. We can picture to ourselves the buoyant 
 hope with which the young poet set forth upon his nobly ambitious venture ; the conscious 
 intellectual power, combined with the sedately industrious prudence; which, working 
 steadily and quietly together, allowed little outward manifestation to appear of what he 
 passed those three first years in domg, although the result was betokened with sufficient 
 clearness. For after that date of 1589 commenced his ever-increasing popularity and 
 prosperity, culminating in an immortality of glory never equalled by that of any other man's 
 own achievement. As early as 1591, Spenser, in his "Tears of the Muses," alluded with 
 affectionate commendation to Shakespeare's merits as a dramatist ; speaking of him as " the 
 man whom Nature's self had made to mock herself, and Truth to imitate;" and the fact 
 that he had already attained a high position in public favour is evidenced not only by the 
 
 xxiv 
 
THE STORY OF SHAKESPEARE'S LIFE. 
 
 eulogium of friends, but by the aspersions of those whom envy had made his foes. A herd 
 of inferior dramatists betrayed hatred, while they affected scorn towards him; and in 159a 
 a plainly-meant yet covertly-worded attack upon him appeared, written by Robert Greene, 
 and posthumously produced by Henry Chettle, although it was subsequently apologised for 
 by the latter in his " Kind Heart's Dream." In 1593, Shaitespeare for the first time 
 appeared in print. He himself brought out the poem of " Venus and Adonis," avowedly 
 his earliest written work, and one bearing internal marks of youthful composition. It was 
 published by one Richard Field, a printer, and a native of Stratford-upon-Avon; and this 
 point — confirmed by the fact that many of his own townspeople's names appear in his 
 dramatic productions — tends to show the strong leaning towards the place where he was 
 born, and where he passed his boyhood, which Shakespeare felt while pursuing his career in 
 the metropolis. This is part of a great and large-hearted nature like his — the affectionate 
 power of attachment, and tender refinements of sympathy, coexistent with strength and 
 vigour of intellect. We find such names in his works as Fluellen, Bardolph, and Audrey ; 
 found also in the annals of that same Warwickshire village; while "Sweet Anne Page," 
 the Windsor yeoman's pretty daughter, is a namesake of one of the author's sisters as well 
 as of his chosen wife. The next year witnessed his next publication, the " Lucrece," which 
 also issued from the press of Richard Field ; and both of these poems were dedicated to 
 Shakespeare's noble friend and patron, Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton. Spenser's 
 second tribute to Shakespeare, in the poem of " Colin Clout's come home again," appeared 
 at this period; and it is in this same year of 1594 that it has been said Shakespeare 
 received the munificent gift of a thousand pounds from Lord Southampton. 
 
 The opening of the Globe Theatre on the Bankside took place about this time; its 
 building having been commenced in 1593 by Richard Burbage, the leader of the company 
 of actors wherein William Shakespeare was part proprietor. In 1595 the new theatre 
 began to give performances ; the usual hour for commencing which was three o'clock in 
 the afternoon. It was a circular wooden edifice, open to the air, and roofless ; therefore it 
 was suited to summer representations only. Consequently, the player-sharers presented a 
 petition (Shakespeare's name being fifth on the list), praying for leave to repair and enlarge 
 their Blackfriars Theatre for winter performances. Ere the year of 1596 was much more 
 than half elapsed Shakespeare was permanently, prosperously, and honourably established in 
 his London professional position ; but in the August of that year domestic affliction befel 
 him in his Stratford home, his son Hamnet's burial being registered on the iith of that 
 month. His parents, too, were in reduced circumstances; and their poet-son strove to 
 assuage his own trouble in seeking to alleviate theirs. He helped to redeem his mother's 
 paternally-inherited estate of Asbyes from mortgage ; he applied for a grant of arms to his 
 father; and he purchased a dwelling-house and garden at Stratford, called "New Place" 
 (also, " The Great House"), to which he brought home his parents, establishing them there 
 under his own countiy-roof. Proofs exist that he had a residence in London, situated in 
 Southwark, where he dwelt during his stay in the metropolis ; but with his true spirit of 
 faithful feeling, he chose to have the house of his own purchase and possession in his 
 native place. 
 
 While promoting his own success as a dramatist, he did not omit to give a helping 
 
 XXV 
 
 VOL. III. 
 
 268 
 
THE STORY OF SHAKESPEARE'S LIFE. 
 
 hand to the eftbrts of others ; for it is said that Ben Jonson's comedy of " Every Man in 
 his Humour," which was first acted in the year 1598, owed its appearance on the stage to 
 Shaiiespeare's good offices, and he was known to have himself acted one of the parts in this 
 play— that of old Knowell. 
 
 Substantial evidence exists that on the 25th of October, 1598, a letter was addressed to 
 Shakespeare by Richard Quiney, a fellow-townsman, requesting the loan of ^30; a sum 
 sufficiently large to show that the dramatist was by this time in affluent circumstances, 
 while the wording of the letter amply testifies, not only the conviction of the writer 
 that the man he applies to is able, but will also be disposed, to accord that which is 
 asked of him. The original of this very interesting letter — the only one known to be 
 extant, addressed to Shakespeare — is preserved in the Shakespeare Museum at Stratford- 
 upon-Avon. 
 
 The number of Shakespeare's plays known to have appeared before the year 1601 
 significantly manifest his prohfic capacity and his indefatigable industry, since they amount 
 to no fewer than twenty. They are: — "The Two Gentlemen of Verona;" "Love's 
 Labour's Lost 5" "The Taming of the Shrew j" "Part L," "Part IL," and " Part IIL 
 of Henry VL "A Midsummer Night's Dream/' " Hamlet j" "Richard II. j" 
 "Richard III. 5" "Part I." and "Part II. of Henry IV. j" "Romeo and Juliet;" 
 "King John;" " Henry V. ;" "As You Like It;" "The Merchant of Venice ;" "All's 
 Well that Ends Well;" "Much Ado about Nothing;" and "The Merry Wives of 
 Windsor." Ten of these had found their way into print, having been produced in 
 separate quarto form; and the ten were: — "Love's Labour's Lost;" "Richard II.;" 
 "Richard III.;" "Romeo and Juliet;" "Part I." and "Part II. of Henry IV.;" 
 "Henry V.;" "Much Ado about Nothing;" "Midsummer Night's Dream;" and 
 "The Merchant of Venice." 
 
 We omit from the above enumeration one drama which usually figures among those 
 stated to have been written by Shakespeare before this period. We allude to the repulsive 
 balderdash entitled "Titus Andronicus;" referring the reader to pages ix. and x. of our 
 " Preface," where a clue to our reasons for omitting it will be found. 
 
 As a counterbalance to the public triumphs which Shakespeare was achieving in town, 
 private sorrow assailed him in his country home; for his father, John Shakespeare, died in 
 1601, and the burial is recorded as having taken place on the 8th of September in that 
 year. At the same period occurred another death which indirectly relates to Shakespeare's 
 course through life. It is that of Thomas Whitiington, an old shepherd (whom we fancy 
 may have been the prototype of Corin "the natural philosopher"), who had long been in 
 tiie employ of Richard Hathaway, Shakespeare's father-in-law. This Thomas Whittington 
 left in his will a bequest of forty shillings to the poor of Stratford ; placing the sum so 
 bequeathed in the hands of his old master's daughter, Anne Shakespeare. That this money 
 should have been thus confided to tine care of the poet's wife, affords a welcome evidence of 
 her character being one to inspire trust and kindly feeling in those around her ; and it is 
 pleasant to possess this piece of mute testimony to the moral excellence of Shakespeare's 
 Anne. His own boyish choice of her bears witness that she possessed personal charms ; and 
 his own sense of moral beauty renders it probable that she was gifted with a character and 
 
THE STORY OF SHAKESPEARE'S LIFE. 
 
 qualities worthy of a good man's esteem and attachment : a probability which this little 
 circumstance of the old shepherd's bequest serves to confirm. 
 
 In the spring of 1602 Shakespeare made purchase of one hundred and seven acres of 
 land from William and John Combe; paying the sum of ^320 for the ground, which was 
 adjoining his own dwelling at Stratford-upon-Avon; and in the autumn of that same year 
 he became proprietor of a copyhold tenement, also in his native town. Again, in the 
 November of the following year, he made the acquisition of a messuage, barn, granary, 
 garden, and orchard in the neighbourhood ; for which property he gave Hercules Underbill 
 the price of £60. Thus we see how judicious he was in the investment of his well-earned 
 gain, how careful he was to become possessed of value in land, and how faithful to his 
 affectionate preference for having it in his own birth-place. It clearly indicates that, all 
 through his London achievements of art-ambition and wealth-earning, he fondly cherished 
 the intention of finally returning to his village nest, and forming his true home there. 
 
 0« the 17th of May, 1603, a patent was granted by James I. to Shakespeare and the 
 company of players to which he belonged, granting them permission to perform at the 
 Globe Theatre and elsewhere ; Shakespeare s name being second on this list of the dramatic 
 company. By this it will be seen how steady had been the rise which Shakespeare had 
 made in his chosen profession; since in 1589 his name occurs Iwelfth on a list of the 
 company of sixteen members, in 1596 it appears fifth on a list of a company of eight 
 members, and in 1603 it stands second on a list of a company consisting of nine members. 
 
 But now arrived a period when Shakespeare, with that wisdom and unerring judgment 
 which seem to have guided him in his own affairs as well as in his literary productions, 
 decided that he would retire from the stage as an actor. He had earned the right to enjoy 
 comparative leisure and withdrawal from the bustle and glare of active public life; a leisure 
 and withdrawal that most men of ardent natures and imaginative temperaments crave for as 
 they reach maturity. The excitement and dazzle of metropolitan life, the personal exertion 
 and incessant stimulus of a player's life [a life for which we have his own words that he felt 
 a distaste; when he speaks in his iioth Sonnet of having "made myself a motley to the 
 view"], the desire to dedicate himself in repose and with more exclusive thought to 
 dramatic writing, doubtless conduced to make him resolve upon ceasing to be an actor; and 
 1604 has generally been considered the date when he did so. 
 
 Not for this, however, did he cease from active occupation of various other kinds ; for 
 we find him engaged at one time in investing ^44-0 in the purchase of tithes in Stratford 
 (in the indenture of which transaction, dated 24th of July, 1605, he figures as William 
 Shakespeare, of Stratford-upon-Avon, gentleman) ; at another time receiving a fellow-actor's 
 (Augustine Philips) bequest of a gold piece worth thirty shillings; occasionally super- 
 intending the first performances of newly produced and newly written plays brought out 
 since the commencement of the century (before 1606 "Troilus and Cressida," "Othello," 
 "Twelfth Night," " Henry VIII.," " Measure for Measure," " Comedy of Errors," "Lear," 
 and "Macbeth" had appeared); on the 5th of June, 1607, giving his daughter Susanna 
 in marriage to Dr. John Hall ; on quite another occasion paying the last sad duties to 
 his youngest brother, Edmund, who was buried on the 31st of December of the same 
 year at St. Saviour's, Southwark ; on another, being made a grandfather, by the birth of 
 
THE STORY OF SHAKESPEARE'S LIFE. 
 
 Susanna's child, Elizabeth, baptised 21st of February, 1608; later on in that year piously 
 receiving his mother's latest breath, and seeing her remains consigned to the grave, 9th 
 of September; at another time, performing the part of good friend and neighbour, by 
 standing god-fatlier to a boy named William Walker, on the r6th of October, in his native 
 town ; at another, being the object of a letter from Lord Southampton, wherein the noble- 
 man styles Shakespeare "my especiall friende;" and still again, at another time, planting a 
 mulberry-tree in his Warwickshire home garden, while his Sonnets were being first printed 
 in London, on the 20th of May, 1609. 
 
 That these Sonnets were collected and published without the author's sanction we 
 think is most evident. While his two poems, " Venus and Adonis," and " Lucrece," were 
 ushered into the world with each a special dedication, written by Shakespeare himself, 
 the Sonnets were brought out with a fantastical and enigmatical dedication by the 
 publisher, Thomas Thorpe; who had most likely procured them surreptitiously, and 
 printed them without permission (probably without knowledge) of their writer. Francis 
 Mere's mention of them as Shakespeare's " sugared sonnets among his priuale friends" to 
 our mind, strengthens the likelihood that they were never intended by Shakespeare for 
 publication. The majority of them appear to us to be so thoroughly the outpouring of his 
 inner heart, so completely meant for only the one to whorti they are addressed, and as a 
 relief to his own teeming thought, so veiledly expressed — so purposedly veiled in expression 
 — that they never could have been meant for the public eye. It is quite consistent with the 
 delicacy and fervour of his ideas in friendship [See passages referred to in Note 26, Act iv.. 
 Merchant of Venice;" Note 98, Act iii., "Twelfth Night;" Note 72, Act iii., "Julius 
 Caesar;" Notes 53, Act iii., and 67, Act iv., "Hamlet"] to pour out thus veiledly yet 
 warmly his passionate feelings of devoted attachment; and quite consistent with his 
 prodigality of genius and slender care to secure fame that he should never intend these 
 poems for the world's eye. That they became known in manuscript "among his private 
 friends," that they crept gradually into more extended notice, may have originated in the 
 less delicacy and greater pride of the person to whom they were addressed. It is quite 
 conceivable that this person's consciousness of their grace, and his pride in their strong 
 expressions of devotion, may have caused them to become circulated among certain 
 "private friends" known to both writer and subject of the Sonnets. How they came to be 
 put into print is an unsolved question ; how or why or to whom they were written is a 
 profound mystery; and we think will continue to be so, notwithstan.ling all the extremely 
 ingenious and loving pains that have been taken to fathom it; because we believe that that 
 which Shakespeare meant to be concealed will remain concealed. Whatever he did he 
 effected thoroughly; and if, as we imagine, he wrote these Sonnets for his own and one 
 other person's sole comprehension, that he surely achieved. That he intended the name of 
 this person to be untold, that he intended his own identity to be unproclaimed, that he 
 desired solely to exalt the person addressed and to register the devoted attachment of the 
 addresser, as unnamed object and writer, we think is evident in very many of these intensely 
 ardent effusions ; and if any one will carefully read over these, especially the 76th Sonnet, 
 we think our view of them as above stated will be verified. 
 To return to the " Story of Shakespeare's Life." 
 
 xxviii 
 
THE STORY OF SHAKESPEARE'S LIFE. 
 
 MONUMENT TO SHAKESPEARE IN HOLY TRINITY CHURCH, STRATFORD-ON-AVON. 
 
THE STORY OF SHAKESPEARE'S LIFE. 
 
 In the month of March, 1610, he instituted a legal process against John Adden brook, 
 for the recovery of a small debt ; when, the debtor decamping, a writ was issued by the 
 borough court against Thomas Horsley, who had become bail ; which proceedings serve to 
 show that the poet was a man who did not choose to be imposed upon. In 161 1 a fine 
 was levied on the hundred and seven acres of arable land purchased by WilUam Shake- 
 speare in i6o2; and his name stands on a list of donations (dated iith of September, 
 161 1), contributed by the townspeople of Stratford, for defraying the charge of prosecuting 
 a bill in parliament "for the better repair of highways," &c., which shows him to have 
 been ready to bear his share in acts of municipal duty and outlay. The year 161 2 has 
 generally been considered as the one wherein he quitted London entirely, for the purpose i f 
 taking up his permanent residence in his native town ; thus fully carrying out his design of 
 retiring from a life of metropolitan excitement. 
 
 But neither inertly nor unusefully did he pass his country existence j for we find him 
 to have been one of the plaintiffs in a Chancery suit concerning the lease of tithes bought in 
 1605, and we learn that he was active in endeavouring to prevent the enclosure of common 
 land at Stratford-upon-Avcn. On the loth of March, 161 3, he purchased a house in 
 Blackfriars for ^14.0; possibly as a good investment of money, and probably with some 
 view to the convenience of his friends and former fellow-actors. We even have traces of 
 him as having been once again in London j for Thomas Greene, clerk of the Corporation, 
 sent up to town on business concerning the enclosure of common land, made a note, dated 
 17th of November, 1614, wherein lie mentions going to see Shakespeare on his arriving 
 also in the metropolis. This same year of 1613 was marked by other events nearly 
 affecting Shakespeare 5 for on the 4th of February his brother Richard was buried; and on 
 the 29th of June the Globe Theatre was burned down. In the following year, 1614, on 
 the 9th of July a calamity of similar nature occurred — a fire — at Stratford-upon-Avon; 
 which consumed no fewer than fifty-four dwelling-houses, although that of William 
 Shakespeare escaped uninjured. 
 
 There is no special record relating to the dramatist in 1615 ; but during the past nine 
 years had been brought out "Antony and Cleopatra," "Pericles," "Winter's Tale," 
 "Tempest," " Coriolanus," " Tim on of Athens," " Julius Caesar,"' and " Cymbeline." 
 
 At the very commencement of the year 16 16, Shakespeare seems to have felt some 
 premonitory symptoms of approaching close to his existence, for on the 25th of January 
 he prepared his will. With his innate good sense and propriety he did not leave unfulfilled 
 so important a duty ; even in this particular putting in practice his own wise words 
 respecting the need to be ever prepared for quitting life : — " the readiness is all." On the 
 loth of February he gave his daughter Judith in marriage to Thomas Quiney, and on the 
 25th of March he executed his will: a copy of which will be found subjoined in this 
 edition. There is one clause in Shakespeare's will which has been variously discussed, and 
 has been sometimes the subject of cavil. It is the one where he bequeathed to his wife the 
 " second best bed with the furniture." To our minds this apparently insignificant bequest 
 affords proof of the attachment that subsisted between Shakespeare and the woman who 
 was the bride of his youth, and the wife to whom he constantly returned amid the excite- 
 ment of his metropolitan life. The sacredness of the sentiment that united them is, we 
 
 XXX 
 
THE STQRY OF SHAKESPEARE'S LIFE. 
 
 think, mutely but eloquently expressed in that simple legacy. Things that seem all but 
 meaningless to the eyes of lookers-on are full of dearest intention to married lovers. As 
 his widow, Shakespeare's wife was legally entitled to her due share of his property ; there 
 was, therefore, no need for him formally to bequeath it to her : but as his chosen and 
 beloved wife, a special though apparently trifling gift was a token of mutual and endeared 
 understanding between them. 
 
 The immediate cause of Shakespeare's death is not known j although there is a 
 tradition that it originated in a too convivial reception which he gave to Ben Jonson and 
 Drayton when they paid him a visit at his Stratford home. Tnat he should warmly and 
 hospitably receive his friends and brother poets is in accordance with his cordial bounteous 
 nature;, and it is not unlikely that the good cheer of the occasion, together with possibly 
 some cold or fever taken at a time when he was not in perfect health, may have tended 
 to hasten that event which he had latterly foreseen as advancing upon him. Certain it is, 
 that he expired on the 23rd of April, 1616, the fifty-second anniversary of his birth, leaving 
 an immortal and cherished memory to all reading and thinking mankind. 
 
 Moreover, he has left by the story of his own career, an enduring and encouraging 
 example to all humanity of the power to rise from obscurity to transcendant glory. Let no 
 lad, however humble his origin, despair of attaining eminence, when he thinks of William 
 Shakespeare. Let no lad, when feeling within himself power to become great — but 
 cramped by position and shackled by want of means — forget that Shakespeare, by force of 
 genius, by energetic perseverance, and by untiring industry, soared to the highest region of 
 intellectual supremacy. 
 
 The circumstance of his being born in that lovely English village, of being surrounded 
 fromTiis childhood to manhood by rural impressions and influences, and then becoming a 
 sojourner amid the refining atmosphere of urban amenities and activities at a period of life 
 when best fitted to profit by their polishing effect, tended propitiously to form the poet 
 created by nature into the poet perfected by art. 
 
 That he was characterised by prudence, foresight, and a thrifty disposition, is testified 
 by his care to earn money, and by his judgment in its advantageous investment; while 
 his affectionate attachment for his native place is proved by these investments having been 
 made chiefly in Stratford-upon-Avon. 
 
 His filial and fraternal relations, his home interests, retained their pristine warmth, even 
 at the time when his merits were gaining him public favour, securing him the love of 
 brother-poets and fellow-actors, winning for him the admiring esteem and friendship of 
 such distinguished noblemen as the Earl of Southampton, the Earl of Pembroke, and the 
 Earl of Montgomery, and obtaining for him the graciously expressed approval of the two 
 sovereigns who reigned during his life-time — Elizabeth and James I. In so high vene- 
 ration was he held by his native townsmen, that they laid his honoured bones close to the 
 very communion rails of their church, and erected his monumental effigy within the 
 walls of their chancel; as if they delighted to show that they loved him as a friend and a 
 genial companion when alive, and revered him as an ornament to their community after 
 his death. 
 
 There is every reason to believe that tliis monumental effigy gives us the best repre- 
 
 xxxi 
 
THE STORY OF SHAKESPEARE'S LIFE. 
 
 sentatiou of his appearance during the last years of his life, when in ease and retirement; as 
 the portrait by Martin Droeshout, prefixed to the first collected edition of his plays (the 
 1623 folio), most probably atfords the truest presentment of his appearance while in active 
 public metropolitan life. The blandness and fulness of repose traceable in the monumental 
 face and figure, and the compact, energetic, purposeful look visible in the Droeshout 
 portrait, have each something that seems severally and reliably characteristic of the man at 
 these different periods of his life. That Droeshout's portrait was a faithful resemblance, we 
 have Ben Jonson's word, in the ten lines which he wrote on the subject, and which 
 Hemminge and Condell (the editors of the 1623 folio) appended to the likeness. 
 
 Not only have we to thank Ben Jonson for penning this testimony to the fidelity of 
 the personal portrait of William Shakespeare, but we owe him a far greater debt of 
 gratitude for his having borne witness to the native integrity, the fertility of idea, and ease 
 of utterance possessed by Shakespeare, in those cordial words [which cause us to invoke a 
 blessing on burly Ben's head, whenever we recur to them] : " I loved the man, and do 
 honour his memory (on this side idolatry) as much as any. He was indeed honest, and of 
 an open and free nature ; had an excellent fancy, brave notions, and gentle expressions, 
 wherein he flowed with that facility, that sometimes it was necessary he should be 
 stopped." Fuller records the " wit-combats" between the writer and the subject of the 
 just-quoted sentence, thus : — " Which two I behold like a Spanish great galleon, and an 
 English man-of-war : Master Jonson, like the former, was built far higher in learning ; 
 solid, but slow in his performances : Shakespeare, with the English man-of-war, lesser in 
 bulk, but lighter in sailing, could turn with all tides, tack about, and take advantage of all 
 winds by the quickness of his wit and invention." And from Beaumont's lines, descriptive 
 of the meetings at the Mermaid Tavern, we may conjecture how Shakespeare, who was one 
 of the. members and chief ornaments of the society there, contributed his share to the famed 
 brilliancy of conversation of those assembled wits : — 
 
 " What things have we seen 
 Done at the Mermaid ! heard words that have been 
 So nimble, and so full of subtle flame. 
 As if that every one from whom they came 
 Had meant to put his whole wit in a jest." 
 
 With regard to the degree of merit that distinguished Shakespeare as an actor, we 
 have the evidence of Chettle, a contemporary, who mentions that he was " excellent in the 
 quality he professes;" and the dramatist's own advice to the players ("Hamlet," Act iii., 
 sc. 2) denotes thorough knowledge and judgment with practical discrimination. The 
 capacity to perceive and instruct which the passage indicates, implies power to fulfil. It is 
 recorded that he used to play the part of the Ghost, in his own tragedy above alluded to; 
 and we have always received this fact as proof positive that he must have possessed superior 
 powers of impersonation ; since it is not credible that the author of that dread and stately 
 shade, " the majesty of buried Denmark," would have entrusted its presentment to any one 
 who was not qualified to enact it competently and impressively. That he should have 
 chosen to play so comparatively insignificant a part as that of the faithful old serving-man 
 in " As You Like It," is but another token that he chose to have a beautiful though 
 
THE STORY OF SHAKESPEARE'S LIFE. 
 
 subordinate character well performed, knowing that he himself could do soj and we 
 heartily subscribe to Coleridge's earnest assertion : — " I am certain that Shakespeare was 
 greater as Adam in 'As You Like It/ than Burbage as ' Hamlet' or ' Richard III.' " 
 
 We entertain a very strong conviction as to Shakespeare's mode of composition. It 
 seems to us that he conceived and constructed many of his greatest things at times when he 
 was not seated formally at his writing-table, with pen, ink, and paper before him; but 
 abroad in the open air, face to face with nature, either walking in the fields or the crowded 
 streets, or pacing along on horseback, travelling easily to and fro during his journeys 
 between London and Stratford, when he was alone with his own thoughts, or when he was 
 thronged with ideas in the midst of company. To his observant eye, every phase of society 
 presented fresh opportunity for studious contemplation of humanity; to his richly capacious 
 mind, all seasons and all places afforded store of collective information; with his fertile 
 imagination, ever-flowing fancy, and power of transmuting into dramatic form whatsoever 
 came beneath his notice, he must have been constantly shaping those grand images which 
 took immortal embodiment when he came to pen them down. That which his teeming 
 thought framed as he talked, strolled, or rode, he put into black and white with mere 
 mechanical facility of hand when he sat down to write. Evidence of this exists in these 
 words which occur in the Address prefixed to the 1623 Folio by his first, editors, men who 
 had been his friends and fellow-actors, John Hemminge and Henry Condell : — " His mind 
 and hand went together ; and what he thought he uttered with that easiness, that we have 
 scarce received from him a blot in his papers." 
 
 Incalculably great as is the debt we owe to these two friends and fellow-actors, who 
 gave the first printed collection of Shakespeare's plays to the world (and, be it remem- 
 bered, that had it not been for Hemminge and Condell's Folio edition, we should never 
 have had copies preserved in print of the " Tempest," " The Two Gentlemen of Verona," 
 " Measure for Measure," " As You Like It," " Taming of the Shrew," " All's Well that 
 Ends Well," " Twelfth Night," " Winter's Tale," " King John," " Parts I., II., and III. 
 of Henry VI," "Henry VIII.," " Coriolanus," " Timon of Athens," "Julius Caesar," 
 " Macbeth," " Antony and Cleopatra," and " Cymbeline ;" since, of not one of these 
 nineteen productions does there exist a single known Quarto copy), yet it must be confessed 
 that they were remarkably unfitted to be editors ; seeing that they could never liave revised 
 (perhaps not even looked at) the proof-sheets while going through the press, that they 
 suffered innumerable glaring errors of typography, punctuation, apd misplaced prefixes to 
 pass into print uncorrected ; and that they inserted one play [" Titus Andronicus"] in their 
 collected volume which there is strong reason to believe is not Shakespeare's, while they 
 omitted one play (" Pericles") which there is as strong reason to believe was written by 
 him. The regrettable thing is, that Shakespeare himself did not bring forth a collected 
 edition of his works, under his own immediate sanction, superintendence, and careful 
 revision ; but the reason why he did not do so is probably traceable to tlie consideration 
 that he might thus have injured the interests of the acting company to which he belonged ; 
 since managers of theatres were formerly of opinion that to disseminate in printed form the 
 dramas they performed, was conducive to the diminution of their audiences, who would 
 less readily and numerously come to see acted that which they could obtain to read. 
 
 rsxiii 
 
 VOL. III. 
 
 269 
 
THE STORY OF SHAKESPEARE'S LIFE. 
 
 Thomas Heywood, in his preface to " The English Traveller/' thus explains why his plays 
 have not been collectively printed : — " One reason is, that many of them, by shifting and 
 changing of companies, have been negligently lost. Others of them are still retained in the 
 hands of some actors, who think it against their peculiar profit to have them come in print ; 
 and a third, that it never was any great ambition in me to be in this kind voluminously 
 read." Shakespeare may even have contemplated arranging and publishing a complete 
 edition of his works during his period of retired leisure, in the latter years of his life, had 
 they been protracted to a longer span than was decreed ; since, in their Preface to the first 
 Folio, Hemminge and Condell themselves say : — " It had been a thing, we confess, worthy 
 to be wished, that the author himself had lived to have set forth and overseen his own 
 writings. But, since it hath been ordained otherwise, and he by death departed from that 
 right, we pray you do not envy his friends the office of tlieir care and pain to have collected 
 and published them." 
 
 Let us be thankful that we have thus much of his productions — in even the 
 imperfectly-printed 1623 Folio, and tlie unsanctionedly-printed Quartos — whereby we may 
 judge of the genius of that man who, as it were, bequeathed to each of us his immortal 
 creations in that line from his 74th Sonnet : — 
 
 " My spirit is thine, the better part of mc." 
 
 It is now, we presume, universally acknowledged that our Shakespeare was the 
 greatest poet that the world has yet seen ; what the world may yet see, or may not see of 
 intellectual production in the revolution of other three hundred years, the man would 
 be presumptuous who should venture to foretell : the possibility however — perhaps the 
 probability — is, that the great cycle is complete. In the eternal kaleidoscope of nature, 
 that one noble division of imaginative writing — dramatic poetry — in his mind displayed its 
 lustrous perfection ; and ever since it has been declining and shifting into other combi- 
 nations of intellectual beauty. Like the vegetable growth (so exquisitely described by 
 Milton) has been the progress of dramatic poetry — its flowery climax ending in the 
 productions of Shakespeare. 
 
 " So from the root 
 Springs lighter the green stalk ; from thence the leaves 
 More ae;-y ; last, the bright consummate flower 
 Spirits odorous breathes." 
 
 Dramatic poetry, then, has fulfilled its glorious mission : the essence of it remains with 
 us ; but its seeds are scattered in the intellectual soil of human nature, whence will spring 
 other varieties, and gorgeous combinations ; for poetry, in the abstract, will no more be 
 extinguished upon earth — will no more become a dead language, than will Love, and 
 Goodness, and Beauty, and Truth. It may have, and it now has its sterile seasons — its 
 years of fallow — other brain-growths occupy the ground j but it will come forth again in 
 fresh colours, and young strength, and " renew its beauty as the eagles." Poetry is eternal 
 — it must be of heaven, as it came from heaven 5 it is the echo of holy thoughts, good 
 aspirations, and good deeds, and all emotions of love and loving-kindness. It is the per- 
 ception of, and intimate union with omni-benevolence. No great poet can be a bad man — 
 
THE STORY OF SHAKESPEARE'S LIFE. 
 
 the idea is a paradox — the coalition an incongruity. Men of brilliant talents and oblique 
 morals have written rare metrical language; but not great thoughts— not the compre- 
 hensive reflections of omniscience and omni-benevolence : " An evil tree bringeth not forth 
 good fruit neither can men hope to " gather figs from thistles." The word " great," as 
 referable to genius, has been strangely perverted. Clever, and sharp, and worldly-minded 
 compositions are frequently styled "great/' whereas they should have no other designation 
 than that of " sharp," " clever," and " worldly-minded :" but no intellectual work is truly 
 great — magnanimous — whose aim and fulfilment are not comprised in elevating human 
 nature; in hallowing and fostering the same beneficence that pervades all creation; in 
 short, 'making mankind happier in themselves, happier with their species, and happy in the 
 reflection of having helped them on in the great aspiration towards human perfectibility — 
 and happiness is goodness : this it is to write " greatly ;" and this the divine heart of 
 Shakespeare apprehended, and this his even diviner head accomplished. No one who ever 
 reads his pages in the true spirit of appreciation (not with the perverted vision of dogmatical 
 obliquity — not in the uncharitable and swart spirit of bigotry), ever arose from them a 
 sadder, and not in all essential points, a better man : a wiser man he will surely be. Of all 
 the intellectual beings that have been known to the world, he is the one who has possessed 
 the finest and the largest amount of qualities requisite to complete a " great" poet. He 
 was imbued with an amount of imagination with judgment — and his judgment really seems 
 to have been commensurate with his imagination — which most astonishes those who study 
 him the most deeply, and who are the best qualified to appreciate that gift. With other 
 imaginative writers we come to the confines of their powers — we can almost venture to 
 measure faculties with them — they are " one of us :" with him, take him up when we 
 may, for the purpose of secluded study, for the purpose of conversation, or even for the 
 purpose of illustrating a thought — a mere quotation — we always find fresh cause for 
 astonishment at the fertility of his mind : as has been over and over said, we are almost 
 sure to discover some new, some hitherto unrecognised feature in his imagery ; some new 
 turn in the feature of thought ; even some felicitous word employed, which imparts the 
 essential force and beauty to that thought. 
 
 His fancy, too, kept equal pace with his imagination. The range of this quality is 
 displayed in the language of the Witches ; in the spiritual conformation of Caliban, and in 
 that extreme contrast with the nature of the " poor monster ;" the quintessentialised 
 immateriality of the nimble-winged Ariel; in the tricksy waywardness, and child-like 
 gambols of those elemental people, the Fairies. 
 
 From these creations, beyond the confines of humanity, when we approach his know- 
 ledge of his own species, the powers of his mind seem even to dilate ; for all the springs 
 and actions of the human heart lay as open to his view, and were as known to him, as 
 though he had himself been the great machinist and instigator. Who has equalled — who 
 has approached him in pathos ? There we have the true spirit of Tragedy ; not the 
 surface-painting, not the formal description of distressed heroes and heroines ; but the 
 internal manifestation of sorrow. His characters bleed tears ; the pulses of their hearts are 
 sobs of grief. 
 
 One of his commentators is of opinion that his comic exceeded his tragic powers. 
 
 XXXV 
 
THE STORY OF SHAKESPEARE'S LIFE. 
 
 This is saying much when we remember his " Lear," " Othello," " Macbeth," " Romeo 
 and Juliet/' "Imogen," and " Desdemona creations that, singly, would have immortalised 
 any poet ; nevertheless, his sense of, and his conception of Wit and Humour, singly and in 
 combination, have never been surpassed j in some instances, perhaps, equalled, but never 
 surpassed. Who will point to the rivals of Sir Toby, Malvolio, the Clown, and Ague- 
 cheek ? — all in one play ! What a world of wit and humour, both, are comprised in the 
 single creation of Falstaff ! Shakespeare's comic powers are equal to his tragic, but it can 
 barely be said that they surpass them. Thus much, in brief, for the powers of his mind — 
 his invention. 
 
 The literary education of that mind appears to have been equal to that of most youths 
 at a well-endowed grammar-school. There seems no indication of his having been a 
 classical scholar in the extended sense of the term ; Ben Jonson was a doctor of languages 
 compared with him : but to assert that he was a man of " low" education, an unlearned 
 man, betrays a want of perception^ if not a positive ignorance of his writings. And Ben 
 Jonson says of him, "he had little Latin, and less Greek j" Now, a "little Latin," in 
 Ben Jonson's judgment, would be much Latin in the judgment of a man of respectable 
 education. Moreover, we find that he did know something of Greek, which was much in 
 any period of English history. Half the well-educated men of our own day have not a 
 classical equipment beyond " a little Latin and less Greek. 
 
 Not only is Shakespeare's language purely classical in construction ; and not only does 
 he employ words and terms, adopted from Roman literature, in the strict sense of the 
 original idiom, wherein a parrot — a mere babbler of Latin, would be sure to display his 
 ignorance, by misapplication; but it will be found, upon carefully studying his language, 
 that he has imported and naturalised as many exotic words as even Dr. Johnson, that 
 famous coiner of Anglo-latinisms. Moreover, it will be found, that not only are they 
 perfectly apt to their purpose, and comprehensive in their application, but that they impart 
 an indescribable charm to his idiom, and a rich variety to his diction. All this no 
 unclassical man — certainly, no ignorant man, no man of "low education" — could have 
 achieved, A considerable list of terms might be enumerated from his pages that are not to 
 be traced to any anterior writer. Then, his own style is so classically correct in its struc- 
 ture; condensed, without being crabbed and obscure; and copious, without running into 
 verbiage, that for purity and ease it was not surpassed by that of the best-bred university 
 men of his day. 
 
 Thus was Shakespeare intellectually endowed beyond any other poet. As the poet of 
 human nature — the poet per se, he possessed a power of mental vision that was all but 
 miraculous. In his several classes of characters, accurately as they are portrayed, nothing is 
 more extraordinary than their distinctiveness and individuality. Not one of liis fools is 
 like another fool ; not one of his villains is like another villain ; not even one of his 
 simpletons is like another simpleton : each and aU — though of a class — have a personal and 
 mental identity, apt for their required end by the master. 
 
 With individuality and distinctiveness, he joined equal method in design, and judgment 
 in order and adaptation to the end he had in view. So complete were these qualities in his 
 mental copformation, that it is no uncommon event to discover, at the very close of a 
 
THE STORY OF SHAKESPEARE'S LIFE. 
 
 character's career, some casual or shght personal circumstance indicated, which, upon re- 
 flection, will be found to have reference to a local peculiarity in that character at an early 
 stage of the play. Not, indeed, a point in the conduct of the character, which is brought 
 to bear upon, and influence the course of the plot 5 even a commonplace dramatist would 
 not fail to avail himself of such an advantage ; but, as an example of the instinct-like 
 harmony with which his mind was imbued, take so slight a circumstance as the following : — 
 In the play of " Cymbeline," we all remember, in the second scene of the second Act, the 
 allusion to the mole, " cinque-spotted," Upon Imogen's neck : at the conclusion of the play, 
 when Guiderius and Arviragus are discovered to be her brothers, we find that Gaiderius 
 may be identified as a son of Cymbeline, by having " upon his neck a mole, a sanguine 
 star." This touch of a personal triviality being brought to indicate a relationship in tlie 
 parties may, at first sight, appear insignificant to mention, but it proves the watchfulness, 
 and, as has been said, the prevailing sense of " harmony" in the poet's miad. 
 
 What few records we have of him as a brother man, and what are the constantly 
 revealed tendencies in his writings, all confirm that which has been already said of the 
 " great poet :" — He was a good man. He never avoids an opportunity of evincing his 
 cheerful reliance upon that beneficent Principle, without whose Will " not a sparrow falls to 
 the ground ;" and he best verified that reliance, and faith in goodness, by an unbounded 
 sympathy with all animated Nature. He was tolerant of the failings of his brethren; 
 because HE, whom he believed to be an emanation from the fountain of all goodness, was 
 so too. Our gentle poet, also, would have said to the delinquent, " Neither do I condemn 
 thee j go, and sin no more." In confirmation of this opinion, accept the sentence passed 
 by Posthumus upon the convicted author of all his sufferings — the treacherous lachimo : — 
 
 " The power that I have on you, is to spare you ; 
 The malice towards you, to forgive you : live, 
 And deal with others better." 
 
 Moreover, to show the uniform integrity of his judgment, with stability of principle, 
 he promulgates the same Divine doctrine of forgiveness in probably his earliest, as in this, 
 his all but latest, composition of " Cymbeline." Valentine, in " The Two Gentlemen of 
 Verona," receives the "hearty sorrow" of his early friend, Proteus, "as a ransom for his 
 offence," adding — 
 
 " Who by repentance is not satisfied. 
 Is nor of heaven or earth ; for these are pleas'd." 
 
 We have the testimony of men in the poet's own profession to the truth and loveliness 
 
 of his moral nature; while that holy-minded man. Dr. Donne, the Dean of St. Paul's a 
 
 man who, for wit, literary science, pulpit eloquence, and pious enthusiasm, is cited as one of 
 the shining lights in the Protestant Hierarchy — in answer to an application that had been 
 made to him for an epitaph upon our poet, who had just died, replied, with a modesty due 
 to the magnitude of the subject, and an admiration worthy of the genius requiring the 
 tribute: "If you had commanded me to have waited on his body to Scotland, and 
 preached there, I would have embraced your obligation with much alacrity; but I thank 
 
THE STORY OF SHAKESPEARE'S LIFE. 
 
 you that you would command me that which I was loather to do; for even that hath 
 given a tincture of merit to the obedience of your poor friend and servant." 
 
 The Epitaph is peculiar, and, like all the compositions of Dr. Donne, sufficiently 
 quaint, and tinctured with the conceit-style of the period ; and yet, through all its home- 
 liness and unclassicality of manner there is something inexpressibly delightful and 
 welcome in this contemporary homage to departed greatness. Shakespeare is one of the 
 few imaginative geniuses who, with an enviable felicity, seem to have anticipated during 
 life, and to have secured after death, the tribute of an applauding world. This is Donne's 
 testimony to the " Universal Mind :" — 
 
 " Renowned Chaucer, lie a thought more nigh 
 To rare Beaumond ; and learned Beaumond lie 
 A little nearer Spenser, to make room 
 For Shakespeare in your threefold, fourfold tomb. 
 To lie all four in one bed make a shift ; 
 For, until Doomsday, hardly will a fift 
 Betwixt this day and that be slain. 
 For whom your curtains need be drawn again. 
 But if precedency of death doth bar 
 A fourth in your sacred sepulchre ; 
 Under this curled marble of thine own, 
 Sleep, rare trajedian Shakespeare— sleep alone ; 
 That unto us and others, it may be 
 Honor, hereafter, to be laid by thee. " 
 
 And again, in a kindred spirit of homage, but with more Delphic note, the immortal 
 Milton, in his well-known epitaph, hymns his praise : — 
 
 " Dear son of memory, great heir of fame, 
 
 What need'st thou such weak witness of thy name? 
 Thou, in our wonder and astonishment. 
 Hast built thyself a livelong monument. 
 
 ****** 
 And so sepulchred, in such pomp dost lie. 
 That kings for such a tomb would wish to die." 
 
 And, lastly, the eminently-learned and truly reverend Dr. Adam Clarke proclaimed, 
 with almost a relish of humour in the announcement: "The man who has not read 
 Shakespeare should have public prayers put up for him." In all that pertains to William 
 Shakespeare we have matter of interest and value. In his writings he has bestowed upon 
 the world "riches fineless;" in the " Story of his Life" he has held forth a shining example 
 to the whole human brotherhood. 
 
SHAKESPEARE'S WILL. 
 
 IN THE PREROGATIVE OFFICE, LONDON* 
 
 ViCESiMO quinto die [Januarii] Mar tit, anno regni domini nostri Jacobi. nunc regis Anglic, &c. 
 decimo quarto, et Scotiae xlixo, annoque Domini 1616. 
 
 T. Wmi Shackspeare. 
 
 In the name of God, Amen ! I William Shackspeare, of Stratford upon Avon in the countie 
 of Warr., gent., in perfect health and memorie, God be praysed, doe make and ordayne this my last 
 will and testament in manner and forme foUovveing, that ys to saye, ffirst, I comend my soule into 
 the handes of God my Creator, hoping and assuredlie beleeving, through thonelie merites of Jesus 
 Christe my Saviour, to be made partaker of lyfe everlastinge, and my bodye to the earth whereof yt 
 ys made. Item, I gyve and bequeath unto my [sonne and] daughter Judyth one hundred and fyftie 
 poundes of lawfull English money, to be paied unto her in manner and forme folou eing, that ys to 
 i^aye, one hundred poundes in discharge of her marriage porcion within one yeare after my deceas, 
 with consideracion after the rate of twoe shillinges in the pound for soe long tyme as the same shalbe 
 unpaied unto her after my deceas, and the fyftie poundes residewe thereof upon her surrendring of, or 
 gyving of such sufficient securitie as the overseers of this my will shall like of, to surrender or 
 graunte all her estate and right that shall discend or come unto her after my deceas, or that sijee 
 nowe hath, of, in, or to, one copiehold tenemente, with thappurtenaunces, iyeing and being in 
 Stratford upon Avon aforesaied in the saied countye of Warr., being parcell or hold;n of the 
 mannour of Rowington, unto my daughter Susanna Hall and her heires for ever. Item, I gyve 
 and bequeath unto my saied daughter Judith one hundred and f)ftie poundes more, if shee or anie 
 issue of her bodie be lyvinge att thend of three yeares next ensueing the dale of the date of this my 
 will, during which tyme my executours are to paie her consideracion from my deceas according to 
 the rate aforesaied ; and if she dye within the saied tearme without issue of her bodye, then my will 
 ys, and I doe gyve and bequeath one hundred poundes thereof to my neece Elizabeth Hall, and the 
 fiftie poundes to be sett fourth by my executours during the lief of my sister Johane Harte, and the 
 use and proffitt thereof cominge shalbe payed to my saied sister Jone, and after her deceas the 
 saied 1.'' shall remaine amongst the children of my saied sister, equallie to be devided amongst them ; 
 butif my saied daughter Judith be lyving att thend of the saied three yeares, or anie yssue of her 
 bodye, then my will ys and soe I devise and bequeath the saied hundred and fyftie poundes to be sett 
 out by my executours and overseers for the best benefitt of her and her issue, and the stock not to he 
 paied unto her soe long as she shalbe marryed and covert baron [by my executours and overseers]; 
 but my will ys, that she shall have the consideracion yearelie paied unto her during her lief, and, 
 after her deceas, the saied stocke and consideracion to bee paied to her children, if she have anie, and 
 if not, to her executours or assignes, she lyving the saied terme after my deceas, Provided that yf 
 suche husbond as she shall att thend of the saied three yeares be marryed unto, or att anie after (f/V), 
 doe sufficientlie assure unto her and thissuc of her bodie landes aw nsvvereable to the porcion by this 
 my will gyven unto her, and to be adjudged soe by my executours and overseers, then my will ys, 
 that the said cl.'«- shalbe paied to such husbond as shall make such assurance, to his owne use. 
 Item, I gyve and bequeath unto my saied sister Jone xx."- and all my wearing apparrell, to be paied 
 and delivered within one yeare after my deceas ; and I doe will and devise unto her the house with 
 thappurtenaunces in Stratford, wherein she dwelleth, for her naturall lief, under the yearlie rent 
 of Item, I gyve and bequeath unto her three sonnes, William Harte, - - - Hart, and 
 
 Michaell Harte, fyve pounds a peece, to be paied within one yeare after my deceas [to be sett out 
 for her within one yeare after my deceas by my executours, with thadvise and direccions of my 
 
 * The words wh'.ch have been erased are put between brackets ; those which have been interlined are printed in italics. 
 
 xxxix 
 
SHAKESPEARE'5 WILL. 
 
 overseers, for her best profitt, untill her mariage, and then the same with the increase thereof to be 
 paied unto her]. Item, I gyve and bequeath unto [her] the saied Elizabeth Hall, all my plate, 
 except my brocl silver and gilt bole, that I now have att the date of this my will. Item, I gyve and 
 bequeath unto the poore of Stratford aforesaied tenn poundes ; to Mr. Thomas Combe my sword ; 
 to Thomas Russell esquier fyve poundes ; and to Frauncis Collins, of the borough of Warr. in the 
 countie of Warr. gentleman, thirteene poundes, sixc shillinges, and eight pence, to be paied within 
 one yeare after my deceas. Item, I gyve and bequeath to [Mr. Richard Tyler thelder] Hamlett 
 Sadler xxvj.»- viij.<i- to buy him a ringe ; to JVilliam Raynoldes, gent., xxvjJ- viijfi- to buy him a 
 ringe ; to my godson William Walker xx,» in gold ; to Anthonye Nashe gent. xxvj.«- viij.d ; and to 
 Mr. John Nashe xxvj.s- viijA- [in gold] ; and to myfelloujes John Hemynges, Richard Burbage, and 
 Henry Cundell, xxvj.^- n.-iijA- a peece to buy them ringes. Item, I gyve, will, bequeath, and devise, 
 unto my daughter Susanna Hall,/or better enabling of her to performe this my 'will, and tonvards the 
 performans thereof, all that capital! messuage or tenemente with thappurtenaunces, in Stratford 
 aforesaid, called the New Place, wherein I nowe dwell, and two messuages or tenementes with 
 thappurtenaunces, scituat, lyeing, and being in Henley streete, within the borough of Stratford 
 aforesaied ; and all my barnes, stables, orchardes, gardens, landes, tenementes, and hereditamentes 
 whatsoever, scituat, lyeing, and being, or to be had, receyved, perceyved, or taken, within the townes, 
 hamletes, villages, fieldes, and groundes, of Stratford upon Avon, Oldstratford, Bushopton, and 
 Welcombe, or in anie of them in the said countie of Warr. And alsoe all that messuage or 
 tenemente with thappurtenaunces, wherein one John Robinson dwelleth, scituat, lyeing, and being, 
 in the Blackfriers in London, nere the Wardrobe ; and all other my landes, tenementes, ar.d 
 hereditamentes whatsoever. To have and to hold all and singuler the saied premisses, with theire 
 appurtenaunces, unto the saied Susanna Hall, for and during the terme of her naturall lief, and after 
 her deceas, to the first sonne of her bodie lawfullie yssueing, and to the heires males of the bodie of 
 the saied first sonne lawfullie yssueinge ; and for defalt of such issue, to the second sonne of her bodie 
 lawfullie issiieinge, and to the heires males of the bodie of the saied second sonne lawfullie yssueinge ; 
 and for defalt of such heires, to the third sonne of the bodie of the saied Susanna lawfullie yssueing, 
 and of the heires males of the bodie of the saied third sonne lawfullie yssueing ; and for defalt of 
 such issue, the same soe to be and remaine to the (Fourth [sonne], ffyfth, sixte, and seaventh sonnes 
 of her bodie lawfullie issueing, one after another, and to the heires males of the bodies of the saied 
 fourth, fifth, sixte, and seaventh sonnes lawfullie yssueing, in such manner as yt ys before lymitted 
 to be and remaine to the first, second, and third sonns of her bodie, and to theire heires males ; and 
 for defalt of such issue, the saied premisses to be and remaine to my sayed neece Hall, and the heires 
 males of her bodie lawfullie yssueing; and for defalt of such issue, to my daughter Judith, and the 
 heires males of her bodie lawfullie i:;sueinge ; and for defalt of such issue, to the right heires of me 
 the saied William Shackspeare for ever. Item,* I gyve unto my nx>ief my second best bed 'with the 
 furniture. Item, I gyve and bequeath to my saied daughter Judith my broad silver gilt bole. All 
 the rest of my goodes, chattel, leases, plate, jewels, and household stufFe whatsoever, after my dettes 
 and legasies paieil, and my funerall expences dischardged, I give, devise, and bequeath to my sonne 
 in lawe, John Hall gent., and my daughter Susanna, his wief, whom I ordaine and make executours 
 of this my last will and testament. And I doe intreat and appoint the saied Thomass Russell 
 esquier and Frauncis Collins gent, to be overseers hereof, and doe revoke all former wills, and 
 publishe this to be my last will and testament. In witness whereof I have hereunto put my [scale] 
 hand, the daie and yeare first abovewritten. 
 
 By me Wjlliam Shakspeare. 
 
 Witnes to the publyshing hereof, 
 Fra: Collyns, 
 
 JULYUS ShAWE, 
 
 John Robinsox, 
 Hamnet Sadler, 
 Robert Whattcott. 
 
 Probatum coram magistro Willielmo Byrde, legum doctore comiss. &c. xxij'*''- die mensis Junii, 
 anno Domini 1616, juramento Johannis Hall, unius executorum, &c. cui &c. de bene &c. jurat, 
 reservat. potestate &c. Susannse Hall, alteri executorum &c. cum venerit petitur. &c. (Inv. ex.) 
 
 * With regard to this gift, which is an interlineated clause in the original Manuscript Will, see our remarks in " The S'ory 
 of Shakespeare's Life," at page xxx. 
 
DRAMATIS PERSONiE. 
 
 Priam, King of Troy. 
 Hector, \ 
 Troilus, I 
 Paris, > his Sons. 
 
 Deiphobus, \ 
 Helenus, / 
 
 Margarelon, a Bastard Son of Priam. 
 
 -ffiNEAS, ) Trojan Commanders. 
 Antenor, ) 
 
 Calchas, a Trojan Priest, taking part with the Greeks. 
 Pandarus, Uncle to Cressida. 
 Agamemnon, the Grecian General. 
 Menelaus, his Brother. 
 Achilles, 
 
 AjAX, 
 
 Ulysses, 
 Nestor, 
 Diomedes, \ 
 Patroclus, j 
 
 Thersites, a deformed and scurrilous Grecian. 
 Alexander, Servant to Cressida. 
 Servant to Troilus. 
 Servant to Paris. 
 Servant to Diomedes. 
 
 Helen, Wife to Menelaus. 
 Andromache, Wife to Hector. 
 Cassandra, Daughter to Priam ; a Prophetess. 
 Cressida, Daughter to Calchas. 
 
 Trojan and Greek Soldiers, and Attendants. 
 
 Scene — Troy, and the Grecian Camp before it. 
 
 Grecian Commanders. 
 
TROILUS AND CRESSIDA/ 
 
 PROLOGUE. 
 
 In Troy, there lies the scene. From isles of Greece 
 The princes orgulous,^ their high blood chaf'd, 
 Have to the port of Athens sent their ships, 
 Fraught with the ministers and instruments 
 Of cruel war ; sixty and nine, that wore 
 Their crownets regal, from the Athenian bay 
 Put forth toward Phrygia : and their vow is made 
 To ransack Troy ; within whose strong immures 
 The ravish'd Helen, Menelaus' queen, 
 With wanton Paris sleeps ; and that's the quarrel. 
 
 I. In the year 1609 there were two Quarto copies printed of 
 Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida : the first bearing on 
 its title-page, " The Famous Historic of Troylus and Cresseid. 
 Excellently expressing the beginning of their loves, with the 
 conceited wooing of Pandarus Prince of Licia. Written by 
 William Shakespeare. London : Imprinted by G. Eld for R. 
 Bonian and H. Walley, and are to be sold at the Spred Eagle 
 in Paules Church-yeard, over against the great North Doore. 
 1609:" the second with a title-page running thus :—" The 
 Historic of Troylus and Cressida. As it was acted by the 
 Kings Maicsties servants at the Globe. Written by William 
 Shakespeare. London," &c. The words on the second title- 
 page {"as it was acted by," &c. ) give evidence that between 
 the publication of the earlier issued Quarto copy and the latter, 
 the play had been acted for the first time : since, in the earlier 
 copy there was given a prefatory " Address " which proclaimed 
 it to be "a new play, ne7'er staled with the stage, never 
 clapper-clawed with the palms of the vulgar." It is probable, 
 therefore, that Shakespeare wrote this piece some short time 
 previously to the above-mentioned date, as the style of the 
 main portion shows it to have been one of his maturer works. 
 Towards the close there are passages unlike his manner ; so 
 much so as to have led to the belief that they were the compo- 
 sition of another hand, and merely allowed by him to remain 
 unaltered from the original drama whence he may have partly 
 derived his subject. The chief sources, however, upon which 
 he founded the story of his play are evidently Chaucer's beautiful 
 poem of "Troilus and Creseide," Chapman's vigorous translation 
 of Homer (then a recent book), Lydgate's "Troy Book," and 
 Caxton's " History of the Destruction of Troy." It is interesting 
 to trace the marked difference with which the two great poets, 
 Chaucer and Shakespeare, have drawn the character of the 
 heroine of this story, Cressida. The narrative poet has depicted 
 her with a feeling for her beauty and gentleness that makes him 
 
 To Tenedos they come ; 
 
 And the deep-drawing barques do there disgorge 
 Their warlike fraughtage : now on Dardan plains 
 The fresh and yet unbruisM Greeks do pitch 
 Their brave pavilions : Priam's six-gated city, 
 Dardan, and Tymbria, Hias, Chetas, Trojan, 
 And Antenorides,3 with massy staples. 
 And corresponsi\ e and fulfilling* bolts, 
 Sperr* up the sons of Troy. 
 Now expectation, tickling skittish spirits, 
 
 tender to her faults, and avowedly shrink from dwelling upon 
 her falsity ; while the dramatic poet has painted her character 
 with a pitiless truth of limning, — its innate lightness and 
 coquetry from the very first, its feeble yielding to complaint 
 and querulousness in adversity, its facile power of revival into 
 fresh spirits and gaiety with change of scene and persons, its 
 want of faith amid trial, its utter incapacity for any firm or lasting 
 attachment, — that makes herself harmonise with her acts. 
 Shallow, inconsequent, unearnest, Shakespeare's Cressida is 
 inconstant from sheer triviality ; she is thoroughly thoughtless 
 and heartless, because so vacant-minded : not untrue to Troilus 
 so much from vicious tendency, as from essential levity and 
 instability. Such a dramatist-teacher as Shakespeare could not 
 fail to delineate her with the consistency and accuracy that 
 might l-est make her example a moral monition ; he has used no 
 coarse colouring, no glaring materials ; but he has made her 
 flimsy nature thoroughly repulsive, without any revolting 
 adjuncts. The Creseide of Chaucer makes us wonder how one 
 so modest, gentle, and womanly as she is described, could 
 ultimately prove 30 fickle and so worthless ; the Cressida of 
 Shakespeare is so drawn throughout that her conduct at last is 
 but that which might from the first have been expected. 
 
 2. Orgulous. 'Proud,' 'haughty,' 'disdainful;' French, 
 orgitielleux . In Lord Bemers' translation of Froissart's 
 chronicles we find : — " Oi the orgulous words that the romayns 
 sayd at the electyon of the newe pope agayne ; and howe the 
 warre renewed," &c. 
 
 3. Antenorides. The Folio prints 'Antenonidus' for " Anteno- 
 rides ;" and has other slighter variations in the names of the six 
 gates of Troy as here given. 
 
 4. Fulfilling. Formerly sometimes used, as here, for ' filling 
 full' or ' entirely filling.' 
 
 5. Sperr. The Folio prints this word ' stirre ' tiere, which 
 cannot be right; whereas " sperr," 'sparr,'or 'spar,' is a verb 
 
 3 
 
Act I.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 On one and other side, Trojan and Greek, 
 Sets all on hazard : — and hither am I come 
 A prologue arm'd,^ — but not in confidence 
 Of author's pen or actor's voice ; but suited 
 In like conditions as our argument, — 
 To tell you, fair beholders, that our play 
 
 Leaps o'er the vaunt' and firstlings of those 
 broils, 
 
 Beginning in the middle ; starting thence away 
 To what may be digested in a play. 
 Like, or find fault ; do as your pleasures are ; 
 Now good or bad, 'tis but the chance of war. 
 
 ACT I. 
 
 SCENE I.— Troy. Before Priam's Palace. 
 
 Enter Troilus armed, and Pandarus. 
 
 Tro. Call here my varlet I'll unarm again : 
 Why should I war without the walls of Troy, 
 That find such cruel battle here within ? 
 Each Trojan that is master of his heart, 
 Let him to field ; Troilus, alas ! hath none. 
 Pan. Will this gear ne'er be mended 
 77 0. The Greeks are strong, and skilful to their 
 strength, 3 
 
 Fierce to their skill, and to their fierceness valiant ; 
 But I am weaker than a woman's tear, 
 Tamer than sleep, fonder* than ignorance, 
 Less valiant than the virgin in the night, 
 And skilless as unpractis'd infancy. 
 
 Pan. Well, I have told you enough of this: for 
 my part, I'll not meddle nor make no farther. He 
 that will have a cake out of the wheat must tarry 
 the grinding. 
 
 Tro. Have I not tarried ? 
 
 Pan. Ay, the grinding ; but you must tarry the 
 bolting. 
 
 frequently used by old writers, signifying 'fasten,' 'close,' 
 'shut,' or * bar,' from the Saxon, sparran. Chaucer uses the 
 word, and in his "Troilus and Creseide:" — 
 
 " For when he saw her doris sperrid all, 
 Well nigh for sorrow adown he gan to fall." 
 
 Spenser also thus employs the word : and in "AC. mery Talys," 
 1567, we find that a servant, seeing a man appear at the gate in 
 disguise, was sodenly abashyd and sparryd the dore agayn." 
 Theobald made the correction. 
 
 6. A prologue arm'd. Showing that the person appointed to 
 speak this prologue was clad in armour, consistently with the 
 "argument" of the play; whereas the usual dress for the 
 speaker of a prologue was a suit of black. 
 
 7. The vaunt. A form nf ' the van,' or ' the avant ; ' r" "inirg 
 that which went before, the previous portion. It ha:: been 
 conjectured that this prologue was not written by Shakespeare : 
 but we think that if examined carefully it will be found to bear 
 strong marks of being his composition. In the first place, the 
 two peculiar words in this very line, " vaunt " and " firstlings," 
 are used by him elsewhere ; then the recurrence of the two 
 sentences, "now on Dardan plains," and " no^v expectation." 
 are quite in the style of the choruses to " Henry V ," where 
 sentences beginning with the word " now " are markedly preva- 
 lent, and where even the precisely similar expression, " No:v 
 sits Expectation, " &c., occurs. The construction, too — making 
 
 Tro. Have I not tarried ? 
 
 Pan, Ay, the bolting ; but you must tarry the 
 leavening. 
 
 Tro. Still have I tarried. 
 
 Pan. Ay, to the leavening; but here's yet in 
 the word " hereafter," the kneading, the making of 
 the cake, the heating of the oven, and the baking ; 
 nay, you must stay the cooling too, or you may 
 chance to burn your lips. 
 
 75-0. Patience herself, what goddess e'er she be. 
 Doth lesser blench at* sufferance than I do. 
 At Priam's royal table do I sit ; 
 And when fair Cressid comes into my thoughts,— 
 So, traitor !— when she comes !— When is she 
 thence r" 
 
 Pan. Well, she looked yesternight fairer than 
 ever I saw her look, or any woman else. 
 
 Tro. I was about to tell thee, — when my heart, 
 As wedged with a sigh, would rive in twain ; 
 Lest Hector or my father should perceive me, 
 I have (as when the sun doth light a storm) 
 Buried this sigh in wrinkle of a smile : 
 But sorrow, that is couch'd in seeming gladness, 
 
 " six-gated city " govern the verb in the third person plura!, 
 " sperr," as if it were ' the six gates of the city,' by enumerating 
 their names interveningly — is consistent with Shakespeare's 
 occasional usage in this particular. See Note 115, Act iii., 
 " Henry V." 
 
 1. Varlet. The term used for an attendant upon a knight. 
 See Note 46, Act iv., " Henry V." It is observable that a tone 
 of chivalrous colouring prevails throughout this play, in addition 
 to its classical structure ; and this is to be accounted for by the 
 Gothic and Romantic versions of the story in Lydgate and 
 Caxton, wherefrom Shakespeare drew the groundwork for his 
 play, as well as from the more primitive and purely simple 
 sources of Homer and Chaucer. 
 
 2. Will this gear ne'er be mended? This was a kind of 
 idiomatic phrase formerly in use, signifying ' Is there no remedy 
 for this matter?' See Note 19, Act iii,, "Second Part 
 Henry VI." 
 
 3. And skilful to t/ieir strength. "To" is here elliptically 
 used for ' in addition to.' See Note 18, Act i., " King John." 
 
 4. Fonder. ' More foolish,' ' more imbecile.' See Note 73, 
 Act i., " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 5. Blench at. Shrink from,' ' start from.' See Note 88, 
 Acti, "Winter's Tale." 
 
 6. Wlien she comes I—When is she thence ? The Folio mis- 
 prints ' then she comes, when .she is thence.' Rowe's correction. 
 
Act L] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Is like that mirth fate turns to sudden sadness. 
 
 Pan. An her hair were not somewhat darker 
 than Helen's (well, go to), there were no more 
 comparison between the women, — but, for my part, 
 she is my kinswoman ; I would not, as they term 
 it, praise her, — but I would somebody had heard 
 her talk yesterday, as I did. I will not dispraise 
 your sister Cassandra's wit ; but — 
 
 Tro. O Pandarus ! I tell thee, Pandarus, — 
 When I do tell thee, there my hopes lie drown'd. 
 
 7. 0!t, tlutt her hand. ' Oh, that hand of hers ' Shakespeare 
 sometimes has these phrases of transposition, and generally for 
 some purpose of characteristic effect. Here, for instance, the 
 transposed construction of this exclamation, and the current of 
 unsequent diction throughout the speech, serve to characterise 
 the speaker's restless state of mind and the tumultuous thoughts 
 which agitate him. 
 
 8. T 0 whose soft seizure. Here " to " has the elliptical force 
 of ' in comparison to,' or ' compared with ' (see Note roo. Act 
 iii., "First Part Henry IV."!; and 'whose soft seizure,'— 
 according to the mode in which Shakespeare sometimes uses a 
 
 Reply not in how many fathoms deep 
 They He indrench'd. I tell thee, I am mad 
 In Cressid's love : thou answer'st, she is fair ; 
 Pour'st in the open ulcer of my heart 
 Her eyes, her hair, her cheek, her gait, her voice ■, 
 Handiest in thy discourse, oh, that her hand, 7 
 In whose comparison all whites are ink. 
 Writing their own reproach; to whose soft seizure'' 
 The cygnet's down is harsh, and spirit of sense' 
 Hard as the palm of ploughman ! — this thou tell'st 
 me. 
 
 possessive pronoun, — means ' the seizure of wliich soft hand.' 
 See Note 78, Act iii., " Henry VIII." 
 
 9. Spirit of sense. Here means ' the organ of touch ; ' as 
 farther on in this play (see Note 42, Act iii.) the phrase is used 
 to express ' the organ of sight.' Shakespeare has himself told 
 us elsewhere, in a most felicitous simile (see Note 112, Act iv., 
 " Love's Labour's Lost"), his idea of thesoftness and sensitiveness 
 of the organ of touch, or " Love's feeling ;" and here he makes 
 a lover assert that his mistress's hand surpasses that "spirit of 
 sense " in exquisite delicacy. 
 
Act l.J 
 
 As true thou tell'st me, when I say I love her ; 
 But, saying thus, instead of oil and balm, 
 Thou lay'st in every gash that love hath given me 
 The knife that made it. 
 
 Pan, I speak no more than truth. 
 
 Tro. Thou dost not speak so much. 
 
 Pan. Faith, I'll not meddle in 't. Let her be 
 as she is : if she be fair, 'tis the better for her ; 
 an she be not, she has the mends in her own 
 hands. 10 
 
 Tro. Good Pandarus, — how now, Pandarus ! 
 
 Pan. I have had my labour for my travail ; ill- 
 thought on of her, and ill-thought on of you:*' 
 gone between and between, but small thanks for 
 my labour. 
 
 Tro. What! art thou angry, Pandarus? what! 
 with me ? 
 
 Pan. Because she's kin to me, therefore she's 
 not so fair as Helen : an she were not kin to me, 
 she would be as fair on Friday as Helen is on 
 Sunday. 12 But what care I ? I care not an she 
 were a black-a-moor ; 'tis all one to me. 
 
 Tro. Say I she is not fair ? 
 
 Pan. I do not care whether you do or no. 
 She's a fool to stay behind her father let her to 
 the Greeks; and so I'll tell her the next time I see 
 her : for my part, I'll meddle nor make no more i' 
 the matter. 
 
 Tro. Pandarus, — 
 
 Pan. Not I. 
 
 Tro. Sweet Pandarus, — 
 
 Pan. Pray you, speak no more to me : I will 
 leave all as I found it, and there an end. 
 
 \_Exit Pandarus. An Alarum. 
 Tro. Peace, you ungracious clamours! peace, 
 rude sounds ! 
 
 10. She has the mends in her own hands. ' She must find 
 the remedy in her own patience,' 'she must bear it as well as 
 she can.' The expression in the text was in familiar use : for 
 Burton, in his "Anatomy of Melancholy," says, " If men will 
 be jealous in such cases, the mends is in their own hands, they 
 must thank themselves ; " and, in " Woman's a Weathercock," 
 1612, we find, " I shall stay here and have my head broke, 
 and then / have ilie mends in my own hands." 
 
 11. Ill-thought on 0/ her, and ill-thought on of you. Here 
 " on" is used for 'of,' and "of" for 'by.' See Note 92, Act i., 
 "All's Well," and Note 6, Act iii., "Winter's Tale." 
 
 12. She would be as fair on Friday as Helen is on Sunday. 
 Besides meaning something equivalent to the modern common 
 expression, ' She would be as fair as Helen any day in tlie 
 week,' this sentence has reference to Friday being a day among 
 Catholics for abstinence, and Sunday for festivity ; therefore 
 implying, ' She would be as fair in a plain garment as Helen in 
 
 13. To stay behind lier father. Calchas, a soothsayer, is men- 
 tioned in Caxton's "Destruction of Troy " as " a great learned 
 bishop of Troy," who was sent by Priam to consult the oracle 
 of Delphi concerning the event of the war which was threatened 
 by Agamemnon. Apollo's answer foretold the Greeks' victory 
 over the Trojans in conformity with the will of the gods, and 
 bade Calchas leave Troy to abide with their appointed victors : 
 which bidding Calchas obeyed. Chaucer records it thus :— 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Fools on both sides! Helen must needs be fair. 
 When with your blood you daily paint her thus. 
 I cannot fight upon this argument ; 
 It i? "-oo starv'd a subject for my sword. 
 But Pandarus, — Oh, gods, how do you plague 
 me ! 
 
 I cannot come to Cressid but by Pandar ; 
 And he's as tetchy to be woo'd to woo, 
 As she is stubborn-chaste against all suit. 
 Tell me, Apollo, for thy Daphne's love, 
 What Cressid is, what Pandar, and what we ? 
 Her bed is India; there she lies, a pearl : 
 Between our Ilium i"" and where she resides, 
 Let it be call'd the wild and wandering flood ; 
 Ourself the merchant ; and this sailing Pandar, 
 Our doubtful hope, our convoy, and our barque. 
 
 Alarum. Enter ^neas. 
 .^ne. How now, Prince Troilus ! wherefore 
 not afield ? 
 
 Tro. Because not there : this woman's answer 
 sorts,'* 
 
 For womanish it is to be from thence. 
 What news, .i^lneas, from the field to-day ? 
 
 Mne. That Paris is returned home, and hurt. 
 
 Tro. By whom, j^^neas ? 
 
 JEne Troilus, by Menelaus. 
 
 Tro. Let Paris bleed : 'tis but a scar to scorn ; 
 Paris is gor'd with Menelaus' horn. \_Alarum. 
 
 Mne. Hark, what good sport is out of town to- 
 day ! 
 
 Tro. Better at home, if " would I might" were 
 " may." — 
 
 But to the sport abroad ; — are you bound thither ? 
 ALne. In all swift haste. 
 
 Tro. Come, go we, then, together. \Exeunt . 
 
 " Now fell it so that in the towne There was 
 Dwelling a lord of gret authoritie, 
 A gret divine, that clepid was Calcas, 
 That in that science so' expertfe was that he 
 Knew wel that Troife should destroyed be 
 By answere of his god, that hight was thus 
 Dan Phoebus, or Apollo Delphicus. 
 
 " So whan this Calcas knew by calculing, 
 And eke by th' answere of this god Apollo, 
 That Grekes shouldin suche a peple bring 
 Thorow the whiche that Troy must be fordo, 
 He caste anone out of the toune to go. 
 For wel he wist by sorte that Troie sholde 
 Distroyid be, ye, would who so or n' oldc ; 
 
 " Wherefore for to departin softily 
 Toke purpose ful this night, for knov/ing, wiee. 
 And to the Grekis host ful privily 
 He stale anone." 
 
 14. Our Ilium. " Ilium" is properly the name of the city, as 
 Troy is that of the country ; but here " Ilium " is used for the 
 royal palace, in accordance with a passage in Caxton's " Destruc- 
 tion of Troy," which says, " In the most open place of the 
 cittie, upon a rocke, the King Priamus did build his rich pallace, 
 which was named Ilion." 
 
 15. Soi is ' Suits ; ' ' is befitting, is appropriate.' 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 SCENE II.— Troy. A Street. 
 Enter Cressida and Alexander. 
 
 Cres. Who were those went by P 
 
 Alex. Queen Hecuba and Helen. 
 
 Cres. And whither go they ? 
 
 Alex. Up to the eastern tower, 
 
 Whose height commands as subject all the vale, 
 To see the battle. Hector, whose patience 
 Is, as a virtue, fix'd, to-day was mov'd : 
 He chid Andromache, and struck his armourer; 
 And, like as there were husbandry in war, 
 Before the sun rose, he was harness'd light,'? 
 And to the field goes he ; where every flower 
 Did, as a prophet, weep what it foresaw 
 In Hector's wrath. 
 
 Cres. What was his cause of anger ? 
 
 Alex. The noise goes, this: there is among the 
 Greeks 
 
 A lord of Trojan blood, nephew to Hector; 
 They call him Ajax. 
 
 Cres. Good ; and what of hini ? 
 
 Alex. 1 hey say he is a very man per se,^'^ 
 And stands alone. 
 
 Cres. So do all men, — unless they are drunk, 
 sick, or have no legs. 
 
 Alex. This man, lady, hath robbed many 
 beasts of their particular additions;*" he is as 
 valiant as the lion, churlish as the bear, slow as the 
 elephant : a man into whom nature hath so crowded 
 humours, that his valour is crushed into folly, his 
 folly sauced with discretion : there is no man hath 
 a virtue that he hath not a glimpse of ; nor any 
 man an attaint, but he carries some stain of it: he 
 is melancholy without cause, and merry against the 
 hair : 2' he hath the joints of everything ; but every- 
 thing so out of joint, that he is a gouty Briareus,** 
 many hands and no use ; or purblind Argus,'' all 
 eyes and no sight. 
 
 Cres. But how should this man, that makes me 
 smile, make Hector angry ? 
 
 Alex. They say he yesterday coped Hector in 
 the battle, and struck him down ; the disdain and 
 shame whereof hath ever since kept Hector fasting 
 and waking. 
 
 Cres. Who comes here P 
 
 Alex. Madam, your uncle Pandarus. 
 
 16. Husbandry. ' Good economy,' ' prudence,' ' thrifty 
 management,' 'productive industry.' See Note 9, Act iv., 
 " Kenry V." 
 
 17. He was harness'd light. Here "light" is used for 
 ' lightly ; ' but the commentators are at issue as to whether we 
 are to take " harness'd light " in the sense of lightly armed,' 
 ' clad in light armour,' or ' nimbly armed,' ' promptly armed,' in 
 reference to Hector's early rising. We think it probable that 
 the expression may be meant to include somewhat of both 
 meanings, as giving the effect of eager promptitude and hastily 
 assumed arms. 
 
 18. Every Jlower did, as a prophet, weep, A poetical 
 
 Enter Pandarus. 
 
 Cres, Hector's a gallant man. 
 
 Alex. As may be in the world, lady. 
 
 Pan. What's that ? what's that ? 
 
 Cres. Good morrow, uncle Pandarus. 
 
 Pan. Good morrow, cousin Cressid : what do 
 you talk of?— Good morrow, Alexander. — How do 
 you, cousin ? When were you at Ilium ? 
 
 Cres. This morning, uncle. 
 
 Pan. What were you talking of when I came ? 
 Was Hector armed and gone, ere ye came to IliUm ? 
 Helen was not up, was she ? 
 
 Cres. Hector was gone ; but Helen was not up. 
 
 Pan. E'en so : Hector was stirring early. 
 
 Cres. That were we talking of, and of his anger. 
 
 Pan. Was he angry ? 
 
 Cres. So he says here. 
 
 Pan. True, he was so ; I know the cause too ; 
 he'll lay about him to-day, I can tell them that : and 
 there's Troilus will not come far behind him ; let 
 them take heed of Troilus, I can tell them that too. 
 
 Cres, What ! is he angry too ? 
 
 Pan. Who, Troilus ? Troilus is the better man 
 of the two. 
 
 Cres. O Jupiter! there's no comparison. 
 
 Pan. What! not between Troilus and Hector ? 
 Do you know a man if you see him ? 
 
 Cres. Ay, if I ever saw him before, and knew him. 
 
 Pari. Well, I say Troilus is Troilus. 
 
 Cres. Then you say as I say ; for, I am sure, he 
 is not Hector. 
 
 Pan. No, nor Hector is not Troilus in some 
 degrees. 
 
 Cres. 'Tis just to each of them ; he is himself. 
 Pan. Himself! Alas ! poor Troilus ! I would 
 he were, — 
 
 Cres. So he is. 
 
 Pan. Condition, I had gone barefoot to India. 
 Cres. He is not Hector. 
 
 Pan. Himself! no, he's not himself, — would 'a 
 were himself! Well, the gods are above; time 
 must friend or end : well, Troilus, well, — I would 
 my heart were in her body ! — No, Hector is not a 
 better man than Troilus. 
 
 Cres. Excuse me. 
 
 Pan. He is elder. 
 
 Cres. Pardon me, pardon me. 
 
 mode of indicating the early hour of dawn, when the dew rests 
 upon vegetation. 
 
 19. Perse. Latin; 'by himself.' ' A ' was an expres- 
 sion in familiar English use formerly to signify a matchless 
 person. 
 
 20. Adtiitions. ' Qualities,' ' characteristics,' ' peculiar 
 points of denomination,' ' titles to distinction.' 
 
 21. Against the hair. 'In a spirit of contrariety,' 'against 
 the grain.' See Note 59, Act ii-, " Merry Wives." 
 
 22. Briareus. A giant, son of Coelus and Terra, who had a 
 hundred hands and fifty heals. 
 
 23. Argus. See Note 41 Act v., " Merchant of Venice." 
 
 7 
 
Act I.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene U. 
 
 Pan. Th' other's not come to 't ; you shall tell 
 ine another tale, when th' other's come to' t. Hector 
 shall not have his wit this year,*'* — 
 
 Cres. He shall not need it, if he have his own. 
 
 Pan. Nor his qualities, — 
 
 Cres. No matter. 
 
 Pan. Nor his beauty. 
 
 Cres. 'T would not become him, — his own's 
 better. 
 
 Pan. You have no judgment, niece: Helen 
 herself swore th' other day, that Troilus, for a 
 brown favour (for so 'tis, I must co.^fess), — not 
 brown neither, — 
 
 Cres. No, but brown. 
 
 Pan. Faith, to say truth, brown and not brown. 
 Cres. To say the truth, true and not true. 
 Pan. She praised his complexion above Paris.*!" 
 Cres. Why, Paris hath colour enough. 
 Pan. So he has. 
 
 Cres. Then Troilus should have too much : if 
 she praised him above, his complexion is higher 
 than his ; he having colour enough, and the oth.er 
 higher, is too flaming a praise for a good com- 
 plexion. I had as lief Helen's golden tongue had 
 commended Troilus for a copper nose. 
 
 Pan. I swear to you, I think Helen loves him 
 better than Paris. 
 
 Cres. Then she's a merry Greek** indeed. 
 
 Pan. Nay, I am sure she does. She came to 
 him th' other day into the compassed window,*' — 
 and, you know, he has not past three or four hairs 
 on his chin, — 
 
 Cres. Indeed, a tapster's arithmetic may soon 
 bring his particulars therein to a total. 
 
 Pan. Why, he is very young : and yet will he, 
 within three pound, lift as much as his brother 
 Hector. 
 
 Cres. Is he so young a man, and so old a lifter ?*' 
 Pan. Bat, to prove to you that Helen loves 
 
 him, — she came, and puts me her white hand *' to 
 
 his cloven chin,— 
 
 The 
 
 and 
 
 24. Shall 7tot have his ivit this 
 Quartos print ' will ' instead of " wit " 
 
 25. She praised his complexion above Paris. * That 
 elliptically understood before " Paris." For an 
 similar construction, see Note 25, Act ii., " Winter's Tale." 
 
 26. A merry Greek. That "Greek" was used as a term for 
 one who played gamesome tricks, or indulged in frolicsome jokes, 
 we have before explained in Note 4, Act iv., "Twelfth Night." 
 
 27. Comjtassed ivinduiv. This means a circular, bay, or bow 
 window. See Note 81, Act iv., "Taming of the Shrew." 
 
 28. Lifter. This was an old cant term for a thief, and it still 
 exists in the form of ' shop-lifter.' 
 
 29. She came, and puis me her white hand. This sentence 
 affords an instance of Shakespeare's mode of occasionally fol- 
 lowing a verb in the past tense by one in the present tense, 
 when the spe.-iker is narrating an incident (see Note 88, Act v., 
 " Henry VIII.") ; and also of his using "me" in the idiomatic 
 manner pointed out in Note 88, Act iv., " Henry V." 
 
 30. He smiles valiantly. It has been conjectured that 
 "valiantly" here should be 'daintily ; ' but were we to change 
 
 Cres. Juno have mercy ! how came it cloven ? 
 
 Pan. Why, you know, 'tis dimpled : I think 
 his smiling becomes him better than any man in 
 all Phrygia. 
 
 Cres. Oh, he smiles valiantly .3" 
 
 Pan. Does he not ? 
 
 Cres. Oh, yes, an 'twere a cloud in autumn. 
 
 Pan. Why, go to, then ; — but to j)rove to you 
 that Helen loves Troilus, — 
 
 Cres. Troilus will stand to the proof, if jou'll 
 prove it so. 
 
 Pan. Troilus ! why, he esteems her no more 
 than I esteem an adcile egg. 
 
 Cres. If you love an addle egg as well as ) ou 
 love an idle head, you would eat chickens i" the shell. 
 
 Pan. I cannot choose but laugh, to think how 
 she tickled his chin ;— indeed, she has a marvellous 
 white hand, I must needs confess, — 
 
 Cres. Without the rack. 
 
 Pan. And she takes upon her to spy a white 
 hair on his chin. 
 
 Cres. Alas ! poor chin ! many a wart is richer. 
 
 Pan. But there was such laughing ! — Queen 
 Hecuba laughed, that her eyes ran o'er, — 
 
 Cres. With mill-stones.^' 
 
 Pan. And Cassandra laughed, — 
 
 Cres. But there was more temperate fire under 
 the pot of her eyes : — did her eyes run o'er too ? 
 
 Pan. And Hector laughed. 
 
 Cres. At what was all this laughing ? 
 
 Pan. Marry, at the white hair that Helen spied 
 on Troilus' chin. 
 
 Cres. An 't had been a green hair, I should have 
 laughed too. 
 
 Pan. They laughed not so much at the hair as 
 at his pretty answer. 
 
 Cres. What was his answer? 
 
 Pan. Quoth she, " Here's but one and fifty 
 hairs ^'^ on your chin, and one of them is white." 
 
 Cres. This is her question. 
 
 Pan. That's true ; make no question of that. 
 
 Shakespeare's word, we should lose the ingenious play upon it 
 that appears to us to be intended. Cressida uses the expression 
 " he smiles valiantly," wishing her uncle to take it in the sense 
 hen Pandarus 
 
 of ' he smiles bravely, finely, beautifully 
 does so, turns upon him with a retort that 
 
 she 1 
 
 ng bad 
 
 imply ' he smiles menacingly, frowningly,' as 
 weather or ill humour. 
 
 31. With mill-stones. See Note 85, Act i., " Richard III." 
 
 32. Ojie atid fifty Stairs. The old copies print here, and in 
 Pandarus's next speech, ' two and fifty hairs,' instead of " one 
 and fifty hairs : " but inasmuch as he quotes Paris's answer, 
 which says, " That white hair is my father, and all the rest are 
 his sons," and as the number of Priam's sons, according to 
 accepted tradition , amounted to fifty, we have adopted Theo- 
 bald's correction, " one and fifty hairs," in the belief that it was 
 likely to be what Shakespeare wrote. If it were not for those 
 words, **all the rest," we might have supposed that "two and 
 fifty" had been here used, as in the following passages, to ex- 
 press an indefinite number:— "As many diseases as two and 
 fifty horsss," " Taming of the Shrew," Act i. , sc. 2 ; " If there 
 
Act I.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 " One and fifty hairs," quoth he, "and one white : 
 that white hair is my father, and all the rest are his 
 sons." "Jupiter!" quoth she, "which of these 
 hairs is Paris my husband ? " " The forked one," 
 quoth he ; " pluck 't out, and give it him." But 
 there was such laughing! and Helen so blushed, 
 and Paris so chafed, and all the rest so laughed, 
 that it passed.'^ 
 
 Cres. So let it now ; for it has been a great 
 while going by. 
 
 Pan. Well, cousin, I told you a thing yesterday ; 
 think on 't. 
 
 Cres. So I do. 
 
 Pan. I'll be sworn 'tis true ; he will weep you,^^ 
 an 'twere a man born in April. 
 
 Cres. And I'll spring up in his tears, an 'twere 
 a nettle against May. \_A retreat sounded. 
 
 Pan. Hark! they are coming from the field : shall 
 we stand up here, and see them as they pass toward 
 Ilium .P good niece, do; sweet niece Cressida. 
 
 Cres. A t your pleasure. 
 
 Pan. Here, here, here's an excellent place ; 
 here we may see most bravely: I'll tell you them 
 all by their names as they pass by ; but mark 
 Troilus above the rest. 
 
 Cres. Speak not so loud. 
 
 .(^Ineas passes. 
 Pan. That's v^ineas : is not that a br^ve man ? 
 he's one of the flowers of Troy, I can tell you : but 
 mark Troilus ; you shall see anon. 
 
 Antenor passes. 
 Cres. Who's that ? 
 
 Pan. That's Antenor: he has a shrewd wit, I 
 can tell you ; and he's a man good enough : he's 
 one o' the soundest judgments in Troy, whoso- 
 ever, and a proper man of person. — When comes 
 Troilus? — I'll show you Troilus anon: if he see 
 me, you shall see him nod at me, 
 
 Cres. Will he give you the nod ? 37 
 
 Pan. You shall see. 
 
 Cres. If he do, the rich shall have more. 
 
 Hector passes. 
 Pan. That's Hector, that, that, look you, that ; 
 there's a fellow !— Go thy way, Hector ! — There's 
 
 were not two or three ami fifty upon poor old Jack," " First Part 
 Henry IV.," Act ii , sc. 4 : and "The Turk, that two and fifty 
 kingdoms hath," "First Part Henry VI.," Act iv., sc. 7; but, con- 
 sidering the gist of the dialogue in the present passage, we think 
 " one and fifty " to be more probably the right reading. 
 
 33. The forked o)Le. See Note 60, Act i. , "Winter's Tale." 
 
 34. That it passed. This is here said in its sense of ' that it 
 e.'cceeded belief (see Note 33, Act i., "Merry Wives") ; but 
 replied to in its sense of ' that it went by,' ' that it passed off.' 
 
 35. He -.uill weep you. An idiomatic phrase, equivalent to 
 * you might see him weep.' See Note 47, Act iii., "Second 
 Part Henry IV." 
 
 36. He^s one o" tlie soitndjst judgrui-nts in Tyoy, whosoever. 
 
 a brave man, niece.— Oh, brave Hector!— Look 
 how he looks! there's a countenance! is 't not a 
 brave man ? 
 
 Cres. Oh, a brave man ! 
 
 Pan. Is 'a not ? it does a man's heart good : — 
 look you what hacks are on his helmet ! look you 
 yonder, do you see ? look you there : there's no 
 jesting; there 's laying on, take't off who will, as 
 they say : there be hacks i 
 
 Cres. Be those with swords ? 
 
 Pan. Swords! anything, he cares not; an the 
 devil come to him, it's all one : 'slid, it does one's 
 heart good. — Yonder comes Paris, yonder comes 
 Paris: look ye yonder, niece; is 't not a gallant 
 man too, is 't not ? — 
 
 Paris passes. 
 Why, this is brave now. — Who said he came hurt 
 home to-day ? he's not hurt : why, this will do 
 Helen's heart good now, ha! — Would [ could see 
 Troilus now ! — you shall see Troilus anon, 
 
 Helenus passes. 
 Cres. Who's that ? 
 
 Pan. That's Helenus: — I marvel where Troilus 
 is: — that's Helenus: — I think he went not forth 
 to-day : — that's Helenus. 
 
 Cres. Can Helenus fight, uncle ? 
 
 Pan. Helenus ? no ; — yes, he'll fight indifferent 
 well. — I marvel where Troilus is. — Hark I do you 
 not hear the people cry " Troilus?" — Helenus is 
 a priest. 
 
 Cres. What sneaking fellow comes yonder? 
 
 Troilus passes. 
 
 Pan. Where? yonder? that's Deiphobus : — 'tis 
 Troilus! there's a man, niece! — Hem! — Brave 
 Troilus ! the prince of chivalry ! 
 
 Cres. Peace, for shame, peace ! 
 
 Pan. Mark him; note him: — Oh, brave Troilus! 
 — look well upon him, niece ; look you how his 
 sword is bloodied, and his helm more hacked than 
 Hector's; and how he looks, and how he goes! — 
 Oh, admirable youth ! he ne'er saw three-and- 
 twenty. — Go thy way, Troilus, go thy way!— 
 Had I a sister were a grace, or a daughter a god- 
 , dess, he should take his choice. Oh, adinirable 
 
 'Whosoever' is here used elliptically for 'whosoever the other 
 man of good judgment may be.' The word is seldom employed 
 by Shakespeare at all, as he, in common with many of his con- 
 temporaries, occasionally used ' who ' for ' whosoever.' See Note 
 32, Act iii., and Note 77, Act iv., " Second Part Henry VI." 
 
 37. Will he give you tlie 7iod? To "give the nod" was a 
 term used in a game of cards called ' Noddy ;' which name sig- 
 nifies a simpleton. The usual joking link between nodding to a 
 person and calling him by inference a noddy, is seen in the 
 p.issage referred to in Note 10, Act i., "Two Gentlemen of 
 Verona ; " and that giving a nod was also reckoned .synonymous 
 with non-payment or giving nothing, is deducible from both that 
 passage and the present. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 man! Paris ?— Paris is dirt to him; and, I war- 
 rant, Helen, to change, would give an eye to boot.-'' 
 Cres, Here come more. 
 
 Forces pass. 
 
 Pan. Asses, fools, dolts ! chaff and bran, chaff 
 and bran ! porridge after meat !— I could live and 
 die i' the eyes of Troilus. — Ne'er look, ne'er look ; 
 the eagles are gone: crows and daws, crows and 
 daws ! — I had rather be such a man as Troilus than 
 Agamemnon and all Greece. 
 
 Cres. There is among the Greeks Achilles, — a 
 better man than Troilus. 
 
 Pan. Achilles ! a drayman, a porter, a very 
 camel. 
 
 Cres. Well, well. 
 
 Pan. Well, well ! — Why, have you any dis- 
 cretion ? have you any eyes ? do you know what a 
 man is ? Is not birth, beauty, good shape, dis- 
 course, manhood, learning, gentleness, virtue, 
 youth, liberality, and such like, the spice and salt 
 that season a man ? 
 
 Cres. Ay, a minced man : and then to be baked 
 with no date in the pie,^' — for then the man's date 's 
 out. 
 
 Pan. You are such a woman ! one knows not 
 at what ward you lie.'"' 
 
 Cres. Upon my wit, to defend my wiles; upon 
 my secrecy, to defend mine honesty; my mask, to 
 defend my beauty; and you, to defend all these: 
 and at all these wards I lie, at a thousand watches. 
 
 Pan. Say one of your watches. 
 
 Cres. Nay, I'll watch you for that ; and that's 
 one of the chiefest of them too. 
 
 Pan. You are such another ! 
 
 Enter Troilus' Boy. 
 Boy. Sir, my lord would instantly speak with you. 
 Pan. Where ? 
 
 Boy. At your own house ; there he unarms him. 
 Pan. Good boy, tell him I come. \_Exit Boy.] 
 1 doubt he be hurt. — Fare ye well, good niece. 
 Cres. Adieu, uncle. 
 Pan. I'll be with you, niece, by-and-by. 
 Cres. To bring, uncle.''i 
 
 38. To boot. An idiomatic expression, equivalent to ' into the 
 bargain.' See Notes 48, Act iv., and 44, Act v., " Ricliard III." 
 
 39. No date in the pie. It was formerly customary to put 
 dates into many kinds of pastry. 
 
 40. At what ward you lie. 'What position of defence you 
 will take.' See Note 93, Act ii., " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 41. To bring, mtcle. "I'll be with you to bring" was an 
 idiomatic expression in use formerly, of which there are several 
 examples to be found in old dramatic writers, and which seems 
 to have been equivalent to the more modern phrases, ' I'll bring 
 as good as I get,' ' I'll be even with you.' 
 
 42. That she. Here used for 'that special woman.' See 
 Note 32, Act ii., "Henry V." 
 
 43. Achievement is command; ungain'd, beseech. This line 
 has been altered to ' Achiev'd men us command,' and to ' Achiev'd 
 men still command ; ' but we think that the line as it stands, though 
 
 Pan. Ay, a token from I'roilus. \_Exit. 
 
 Cres. Words, vows, gifts, tears, and love's full 
 sacrifice. 
 He offers in another's enterprise : 
 But more in Troilus thousand fold I see 
 Than in the glass of Pandar's praise may be ; 
 Yet hold I off. Women are angels, wooing : 
 Things won are done ; joy's soul lies in the doing: 
 That she^2 belov'd knows naught that knows not 
 this,— 
 
 Men prize the thing ungain'd more than It is : 
 That she was never yet, that ever knew 
 Love got so sweet as when desire did sue: 
 Therefore this maxim out of love I teach, — 
 Achievement is command ; ungain'd, beseech :'" 
 Then though my heart's content firm love doth bear, 
 Nothing of that shall from mine eyes appear. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE lU. — The Grecian Camp. Before 
 Agamemnon's Tent. 
 
 Sennet. Enter Agamemnon, Nestor, Ulysses, 
 Menelaus, and others. 
 
 Agam. Princes, 
 What grief hath set the jaundice on your cheeks ? 
 The ample proposition that hope makes 
 In all designs begun on earth below 
 Fails in the promis'd largeness: checks and disasters 
 Grow in the veins of actions highest rear'd ; 
 As knots, by the conflux of meeting sap. 
 Infect the sound pine, and divert his grain 
 Tortive" and errant from his course of growth. 
 Nor, princes, is it matter new to us, 
 That we come short of our suppose ""^ so far. 
 That, after seven years' siege, yet Troy walls stand ; 
 Sith every action that hath gone before. 
 Whereof we have record, trial did draw 
 Bias and thwart, not answering the aim. 
 And that unbodied figure of the thought 
 That gave 't surmised shape. Why, then, you 
 princes. 
 
 Do you with cheeks abash'd behold our works 
 
 peculiar in construction, may be interpreted to mean, ' Our 
 hearts once gained, arc commanded : ungained, are besought.' 
 
 44. Tortive. Twisted ; Latin, tortus. We have a form of 
 the word, now used, in 'tortuous.' 
 
 45. Suppose. Here used for ' that which we supposed possible,' 
 ' that which we imagined we might effect.' See Note 8, Act v., 
 " Taming of the Shrew." 
 
 46. With cheeks abash' d behold our works. " Works " here 
 has been suspected of error, and has been changed to ' wrecks ' 
 and 'mocks.' But Shakespeare elsewhere uses "works" for 
 'acts,' 'deeds,' 'proceedings,' 'doings;' and here "works" is 
 intended to express ' what we have done,' while the preceding 
 argument gives to be inferred ' the inadequate amount of what 
 we have done,' ' the insufficiency and unsuccessfulness of what 
 we have done,' which need not cause shame, being but a trial of 
 our constancy sent by Jove. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 fSCENE III. 
 
 And call them shames, which are, indeed, naught 
 else 
 
 But the protractive trials of great Jove 
 To find persistive constancy in men ? 
 The fineness of which metal is not found 
 ]n fortune's lov e ; for then the bold and coward, 
 The wise and fool, the artist and unread, 
 The hard and soft, seem all nffin'd*^ and kin : 
 But, in the wind and tempest of her frown. 
 Distinction witli a broad and powerful fan, 
 Puffing at all, winnows the light away ; 
 And what hath mass or matter, by itself 
 Lies rich in virtue and unmingled. 
 
 Nest. With due observance of thy godlike feat, 
 Great Agamemnon, Nestor shall apply ''^ 
 Thy latest words. In the reproof of chance 
 Lies the true proof of men : the sea being smooth, 
 How many shallow bauble boats dare sail 
 Upon her patient breast, making their way 
 With those of nobler bulk ! 
 But let the ruffian Boreas once enrage 
 The gentle Thetis,'*' and, anon, behold 
 The strong-ribb'd barque through liquid mountains 
 cut, 
 
 Bounding between the two moist elements, 
 Like Perseus' horse -.^^ where's then the saucy boat, 
 Whose weak untimber'd sides but even now 
 Co-rivall'd greatness ? either to harbour fled, 
 Or made a toast for Neptune. Even so 
 Doth valour's show and valour's worth divide 
 In storms of fortune : for in her ray and brightness 
 The herd hath more annoyance by the brize'*' 
 Than by the tiger; but when the splitting wind 
 Makes flexible the knees of knotted oaks, 
 And flies fled under shade,'^ why, then the thing 
 of courage,^* 
 
 47 Affin'd. 'United by affinity.' 
 
 48. Apply. Here used for 'apply to additional instances,' 
 ' demonstrate by farther illustration.' 
 
 49. The niffian Boreas once enrage the gentle Thetis. 
 "Boreas" is the name of the north wind, as blowing from the 
 Hyperborean mountains ; and "Thetis," who was one of the sea- 
 goddesses, is here poetically named as an impersonation of the sea. 
 
 50. Like Perseus^ horse. See Note iir. Act iii., "Henry V." 
 
 51. The brize. The gad-fly. 
 
 52 And flies fled under shade. "Fled" is here nsed by a 
 grammatical licence of ellipticil expression for ' have fled.' See 
 Note 4, Act v., "Second Part Henry VI." 
 
 53. The thing of courage. The tiger ; which is said to rage 
 and roar violently in windy and stormy weather. 
 
 5t. Returns to chiding fortune. The Folio prints ' retyres,' 
 and the Quartos print 'retires,' here, instead of "returns;" 
 which is Pope's correction. Various other substitutions have 
 
 ' re-chides,' of which we prefer the last ; but we adopt Pope's 
 word, because it consists with the one used by Shakespeare in a 
 passage of marked similarity — 
 
 " He'll call you to so hot an answer of it, 
 That caves and womby vaultages of France 
 Shall chide your trespass, and return your mock 
 In second accent of his ordnance." 
 
 55. Hatck'd in silver. This is a figu 
 
 As rous'd with rage, with rage doth synijiatliibe, 
 And with an accent tun'd in selfsame key. 
 Returns to chiding fortune. 5"' 
 
 Ulyis. Agamemnon, — 
 
 Thou great commander, nerve and bone of Greece, 
 Heart of our numbers, soul and only spirit, 
 In whom the tempers and the minds of all 
 Should be shut up, — hear what Ulysses speaks. 
 Resides the applause and approbation 
 The which,— ['To Agam.] most mighty for thy 
 
 place and sway, — • 
 [To Nest.] And thou most i-everend for thy 
 
 stretch'd-out life, — 
 I give to both your speeches, — which were such 
 As Agamemnon and the hand of Greece 
 Should hold Up high in brass; and such again 
 As venerable Nestor, hatch'd in silver,*^ 
 Should with a bond of air (strong as the axletree 
 On which heaven rides) knit all the Greekish ears 
 To his experienc'd tongue, — yet let it please both, — 
 Thou great, — and wise, — to hear'Ulysses speak. 
 Agam. Speak, Prince of Ithaca; and be 't of less 
 expect*^ 
 
 That matter needless, of importless burden, 
 Divide thy lips, than we are confident. 
 When rank Thersites opes his mastiff jaws,*^ 
 We shall hear music, wit, and oracle. 
 
 Ulyss. Troy, yet upon his basis, had been down, 
 And the great Hector's sword had lack'd a master 
 But for these instances. 
 The specialty of rule hath been neglected : 
 [ And, look, how many Grecian tents do stand 
 
 Hollow upon this plain, so many hollow factions, 
 j When that the general is not like the hive. 
 
 To whom the foragers shall all repair, 
 j What honey is exjiected ? Degree being vizarded, 
 
 ! Nestor ' silver-hair'd ;' for ''to hatch in silver" was the technical 
 term for inlaying the fine silver lines which formed an orna- 
 mental design upon the hilts of swords, handles of daggers, and 
 stocks of pistols ; and the lines of the graver upon a plate of 
 metal are still called 'hatchings.' French, hache, engraved. 
 In " Love in a Maze," 1632, is found the same figurative ex- 
 pression, similarly applied : — " Thy hair is fine as gold, thy 
 chin is hatch'd ivith silver." 
 
 56. Expect. Here " expect " is used for expectation, as else- 
 where in Shakespeare we find "suspect" for 'suspicion,' 
 "affects" for 'affections,' &c. ; and the whole speech, though 
 peculiar in construction, bears the meaning — 'Speak, Prince of 
 Ithaca, and the rather that there is less expectation of hearing 
 needless and purposeless matter from you than confidence of hear- 
 ing Thersites speak sweetly, wittily, or wisely.' This appears to 
 us to be one of those sentences where Shakespeare gives the 
 effect of antithesis, instead of an actual antithesis (see Note 187, 
 Act iv., "Winter's Tale"): and this effect serves elegantly to 
 veil the compliment paid to the person addressed. The antici- 
 pation of hearing eloquence from Thersites is small indeed, but 
 the expectation of hearing futility from Ulysses Is still smaller. 
 
 57. Mastiff jaws. The Folio prints this ' mastlcke iawes.' 
 Rowe made the correction, which we adopt, believing 'mas- 
 tlcke' to have been a misprint for "mastiff ;" unless, indeed, 
 ' mastlcke ' be by possibility a word coined by Shakespeare from 
 the Italian inasticare, to chew, as an epithet for Thersites' jaws 
 
 ; manner of calling that should Involve the sense of ' biting.' 
 
Act I.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 ASneas. 
 Aga 
 
 Is this great Agamemnon s tent, I pray you 
 Even this. " Act I. 
 
 The unworthiest shows as fairly in the mask. 
 The heavens themselves, the planets, and this 
 centre," 
 
 Observe degree, priority, and place, 
 Insisture,^^ course, proportion, season, form. 
 Office, and custom, in all line of order : 
 And therefore is the glorious planet, Sol, 
 In noble eminence enthron'd and spher'd 
 Amidst the other J*"" whose med'cinable eje 
 Corrects the ill aspects of planets evil, 
 
 58. This centre. Here used for the earth, the terrestrial 
 globe (see Note 17, Act ii., "Winter's Tale"). According to 
 the system of Ptolemy, our earth is the centre round which the 
 planets move. 
 
 59. Insisture. Fi.xed position, appointed situation, steadfast 
 place. See Note 31, Act iv., "Measure for Measure." 
 
 60. Amidst the other. Here "other" is used for 'others' 
 or 'other planets.' See Notegr, Act ii., "First Part Henry IV." 
 
 61. Sans. 'Without.' A French word in frequent English 
 use when Shakespeare wrote. See Note 49, Act v., "King 
 John." 
 
 And posts, like the commandment of a king, 
 Sans^' check, to good and bad ; but when 
 planet.s. 
 
 In evil mixture, to disorder wander, ''^ 
 What plagues and what portents! what mutii 
 What raging of the sea! shaking of earth ! 
 Commotion in the winds! frights, changes, hoi 
 Divert and crack, rend and deracinated^ 
 The unity and married calm of states 
 Quite from their fixure ! Oh, when degree is sh 
 
 62. Tlie planets^ in evil vt 'xticre., to disorder wander. 
 mixture" refers to the astrological belief in certain a( 
 conjunctions of the planets (see Note 38, Act iii., " 1 
 VIII.'*), which were supposed to have inauspicious infl 
 upon mankind, and to foretell impending disasters 
 were believed not to be confined to orbits of their 
 thought to " wander" about erratically, as their r 
 being derived from the Greek word, plarie, error, erring 
 wandering. 
 
 63. Deracinate. 'Root out,' 'wrench apart.' See Not 
 Act v., "Henry V." 
 
 y ; 
 
 rors. 
 
 The pla 
 
 indi( 
 
Act I.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Which is the ladder to all high designs, 
 
 The enterprise is sick How could communities, 
 
 Degrees in schools, and brotherhoods''" in cities. 
 
 Peaceful commerce from dividable^^ shores, 
 
 The primogenitive^? and due of birth, 
 
 Prerogative of age, crowns, sceptres, laurels, 
 
 But by degree, stand in authentic place ? 
 
 Take but degree away, untune that string. 
 
 And, hark, what discord follows ! each thing meets 
 
 In mere oppugnancy -.^^ the bounded waters 
 
 Should lift their bosoms higher than the shores. 
 
 And make a sop of all this solid globe : 
 
 Strength should be lord of imbecility. 
 
 And the rude son should strike his father dead : 
 
 Force should be right ; or rather, right and wrong 
 
 (Between whose endless jar justice resides) 
 
 Should lose their names, and so should justice too. 
 
 Then everything includes itself in power. 
 
 Power into will, will into appetite; 
 
 And appetite, a universal wolf, 
 
 So doubly seconded with will and power. 
 
 Must make perforce a universal prey. 
 
 And last eat up himself. Great Agamemnon, 
 
 This chaos, when degree is suffocate. 
 
 Follows the choking. 
 
 And this neglection''^ of degree it is, 
 
 That by a pace goes backward, with a purpose 
 
 It hath to climb. The general's disdain'd 
 
 By him one step below : he, by the next : 
 
 That next, by him beneath : so every step, 
 
 Exainpled by the first pace that is sick 
 
 Of his superior, grows to an envious fever 
 
 Of pale and bloodless emulation : 
 
 64. OA, ■wlieii degree . ... the enterprise is sick. Hanmer 
 proposed to change "the" to 'then,' here; but the previous 
 ' when " renders ' then' needless, and "the " is used to desig- 
 nate ' enterprise " generally. 
 
 65. Brotherhoods. ' Confraternites, ' ' corporations,' ' com- 
 panies.' 
 
 66. Dividable. Here used for ' divided,' ' separated by dis- 
 tance.' Shakespeare sometimes thus uses words ending in 
 " ble ; " the active and passive form of adjectives, the one for 
 the other. See Note 50, Act iv., "Twelfth Night." 
 
 67. PriDtogenitive. Several editors have changed this to 
 'primogeniture,' and the Quarto prints * primogenitie ; ' 
 but we think it probable that " primogenitive " was Shake- 
 speare's word, derived from the two Latin words prima, first, 
 and genitiv7ts, that which is born with us, to signify the claims 
 or right of the first-born. He sometimes thus coins classically- 
 derived words to suit his special purpose (see Note 45, Act v.. 
 *' Twelfth Night "} ; and, thus considered, a word made up from 
 primo and genitivus would perhaps more fully express his mean- 
 ing than one from prima, first, ^ud genitus, born. 
 
 68. Afere oppugnancy. " Mere " is used in its sense of 'abso- 
 lute,' 'thorough' (.see Note 48, Act iii., " Merchant of Venice") . 
 and ''oppugnancy" is a word framed by Shakespeare directly 
 from the Latin oppitgnans, resisting, assaulting, or fighting 
 against, to express 'warring opposition.' It is worthy of ob- 
 servation how frequently Shakespeare uses his own specially 
 coined words here ; not only in this speech, but throughout 
 this play. It is as if he were in a peculiarly minting vein at 
 this period ; which tends to support a theory we have, that cer- 
 tain prevalences of expression running through certain of his 
 plays indicate particular phases of mental process, and, as it 
 
 And 'tis this fever that keeps Troy on foot. 
 Not her own sinews. To end a tale of length, 
 Troy in aur weakness stands, not in her strength. 
 
 Nest. Most wisely hath Ulysses here discover'd 
 The fever whereof all our power is sick. 
 
 Agam. The nature of the sickness found, 
 Ulysses, 
 What is the remedy ? 
 
 Ulyss. The great Achilles, — whom opinion 
 crowns 
 
 The sinew and the forehand of our host, — 
 
 Having his ear full of his airy fame. 
 
 Grows dainty of his worth, and in Iiis tent 
 
 Lies mocking our designs: with him, Patroclus, 
 
 Upon a lazy bed, the livelong day 
 
 Breaks scurril jests ; 
 
 And with ridicul'ous and awkward action 
 (Which, slanderer, he imitation calls) 
 He pageants us. Sometime, great Agamemnon, 
 Thy topless deputation''" he puts on ; 
 And, like a strutting player,— whose conceit 
 Lies in his hamstring, and doth think it rich 
 To hear the wooden dialogue'* and sound 
 'Twixthis stretch'd fooling and the scafFoldage,^^ — 
 Such to-be-pitied and o'er-wrested''^ seeming 
 He acts thy greatness in : and when he speaks, 
 'Tis like a chime a-mending ; with terms unsquar'd, 
 Which, from the tongue of roaring Typhon'''* 
 dropp'd. 
 
 Would seem hyperboles. At this fusty stuff. 
 The large Achilles, on his press'd bed lolling. 
 From his deep chest laughs out a loud applause ; 
 Cries, " Excellent ! 'tis Agamemnon just. 
 
 were, fashions of composition. See Note 14, Act i., "Winter's 
 Tale." 
 
 6g. Negleciion. A form of 'neglect,' or 'negligence,' rarely 
 used ; but occurring three times m Shakespeare's plays ; here, 
 in "First Part Henry 'VI.," Act iv., sc. 3, and in "Pericles," 
 Act iii., sc. 3. The mode of expression is very condensed here : 
 and the employment of "it" in reference to " neglection of 
 degree," rather than mentioning those who neglect degree, tends 
 to obscure the meaning, which may be thus interpreted : — " By 
 neglecting to observe due degree of priority, men lose ground 
 while striving to advance ;" since each person who pushes on 
 regardless of his superiors, will be pushed back in turn by them. 
 
 70. Topless deputation. Highest dignity as deputed by the 
 otherGrecian leaders, who constituted Agamemnon commander- 
 in-chief of their united army. "Topless" is used by other 
 writers, as well as Shakespeare, to express that which is with- 
 out anything to ' top' or surpass it ; ' supreme,' ' pre-eminent.' 
 
 71. The wooden dialogue. The epithet "wooden" here has 
 admirable significance ; not only conveying to the ear the 
 resounding tread of the " strutting player" on the boards, but 
 bringing to our eye his puppet hardness and stiffness as well as 
 the awkward stupidity of his look and action. See Note 23, 
 Act v., " First Part Henry 'VI." 
 
 72. The scaff'oldage. The floor of the stage ; the word ' scaf- 
 fold ' was sometimes used by old writers for a theatrical stage. 
 
 73. O^er^rested. ' Over-strained,' wrested beyond truth 
 and nature ; as strings of an instrument are overstrained, when 
 drawn up too tightly in tuning, by means of a ' wrest,' or tuning- 
 key. The Folio misspells the word ' ore-rested.' 
 
 74. Typhon. A giant who, warring against heaven, uttered 
 such discordant yells as to terrify the gods themselves. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Now play me Nestor ; hem, and stroke thy beard, 
 As he, being 'drest to some oration." 
 That's done ; — as near as the extremest ends 
 Of parallels ; as like as Vulcan and his wife ; 
 Yet god Achilles still cries,^* « Excellent ! 
 'Tis Nestor right. Now play him me, Patroclus, 
 Arming to answer in a night alarm." 
 And then, forsooth, the fiint defects of age 
 Must be the scene of mirth ; to cough and spit. 
 And, with a palsy-fumbling on his gorget. 
 Shake in and out the rivet and at this sport 
 Sir Valour dies ; cries, " Oh, enough, Patroclus ; 
 Or give me ribs of steel ! I shall split all 
 In pleasure of my spleen."?^ And in this fashion. 
 All our abilities, gifts, natures, shapes, 
 Severals and generals of grace exact,?' 
 Achievenients, plots, orders, preventions, 
 Excitements to the field, or speech for truce, 
 Success 01 loss, what is or is not, serves 
 As stuff for these two to make paradoxes. 
 
 Nesl. And in the imitation of these twain 
 (Whom, as Ulysses says, opinion crowns 
 With an imperial voice,J many are infect. 
 Ajax is grown self-will'd ; and bears his head 
 In such a rein, in full as proud a place'''* 
 As broad Achilles ; keeps his tent like him 
 Makes factious feasts ; rails on our state of war. 
 Bold as an orafle ; and sets Thersites 
 (A slave whose gall coins slanders like a mint) 
 To match us in comparisons with dirt, 
 To weaken and discredit our exposure. 
 How rank soever rounded in with danger. 8" 
 
 Ulyss. They tax our policy, and call it cowardice; 
 Count wisdom as no member of the war; 
 Forestall prescience, and esteem no act 
 But that of hand : the still and mental parts, — 
 That do contrive how many hands shall strike. 
 When fitness calls them on ; and know, by measure 
 Of their observant toil, the enemies' weight, — 
 Why, this hath not a finger's dignity : 
 
 75- Vet god Achilles still cries. Here the first Folio and 
 Quartos have the word 'god;' and yet the misprint of the 
 second, third, and fourth Folios, 'good,' has been adopted by the 
 Variorum editors and others. In " god Achilles " we have one of 
 those nouns used adjectively which Shakespeare occasionally 
 gives as a vigorous and expressive epithet ; and here it imparts 
 an effect of sneering disdain in its irony of exaggerated adula- 
 tion, which forms an excellent reprisal for the insolence that has 
 taken delight in the mimicry of the speaker and his associates. 
 To banish " god Achilles " here and substitute ' good Achilles,' 
 appears to us to be wilful effacement of the fine, bold, strong 
 dash of a poet;;al pencil, to make way for a tame and compara- ' 
 tively inapt and ineffective commonplace. j 
 
 76. Spleen. Here used for fit of laughter. See Note 40, 
 4ct iii., "Twelfth Night." 
 
 77. Severals and generals of grace exact. This has been 
 variously altered ; but we think the line, as it stands, may be 
 taken to mean, ' Our qualifications, severally and generally, dis- 
 tinguished by the grace of exactness : ' for Ulysses is asserting 
 his own and his colleagues' excellences of ability and methodical 
 propriety as depreciated and travestied by Achilles and Patro- 
 
 They call this bed-work, mappery, closet-war ; 
 So that the ram that batters down the wall, 
 For the great swing and rudeness of his poise. 
 They place before his hand that made the engine, 
 Or those that with the fineness of their souls 
 By reason guide his execution. 
 
 Nest. Let this be granted, and Achilles' horse 
 Makes many Thetis' sons. si Tucket. 
 
 Agam. What trumpet ? look, Menelaus. 
 
 Men. From Troy. 
 
 Enter yENEAS. 
 Agam. What would you 'fore our tent ? 
 JEne. Is this great Agamemnon's tent, I pray 
 
 you ? 
 Agam. Even this. 
 
 jEne. May one, that is a herald and a prince, 
 Do a fair mes.sage to his kingly ears ? 
 
 Agam. With surety stronger than Achilles' arm 
 Fore all the Greekish heads, which with one voice 
 Call Agamemnon head and general. 
 
 yErie. Fair leave and large security. How may 
 A stranger to those most imperial looks 
 Know them from eyes of other mortaU ? 
 
 Agam. H ow ? 
 
 .^t'.e. Ay ; 
 I ask, that I might waken reverence, 
 And bid the cheek be ready with a blush 
 Modest as morning when she coldly eyes 
 The youthful Phoebus : 
 Which is that god in office, guiding men ? 
 Which is the high and mighty Agamemnon ? 
 
 Agam. This Trojan scorns us ; or the men of 
 Troy 
 
 Are ceremonious courtiers. 
 
 A^ne. Courtiers as free, as debonair, unarm' d. 
 As bending angels; that's their fame in peace : 
 But when they would seem soldiers, they have galls. 
 Good arms, strong joints, true swords; and, Jove's 
 accord, 
 
 clus. "Severals" may here elliptically imply '.several pecuTiari- 
 ties* (see Note ig, Act v., "Henry V."); and "generals," 
 'general characteristics.' 
 
 78. /,v as protid a place. Pope and others substitute 
 'pace ' for " place " here ; but though the word' pace ' might be 
 supposed to consist better with " rein," yet ' to bear his head in 
 a proud pace ' would be a forced expression. " Bears his head 
 in such a rein" presents the same idea of a loftily-held head, 
 with a proud motion of the neck, as is presented by the phrase, 
 • How^she bridles! ' said of a girl who gives herself haughty airs, 
 or as when we see a caparisoned horse toss its head and shake 
 its trappings. 
 
 79. Keeps his tent like him. See Note 13, Act v., "Richard 
 III." 
 
 80. How ranic soez'er rounded inwith danger. ' In howsoever 
 high a degree encompassed by danger.' One of the meanings of 
 "rank" is 'high-grown' or 'rampant.' 
 
 81. jLet this he granted^ and Achillea horse vzahes many 
 Thetis' sons. ' If this be granted, then is the horse of Achilles 
 equal in value to many men like its master.' Achilles was the 
 son of the sea-nymph Thetis. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Nothing so full of heart.s^ But peace, ^neas, 
 Peace, Trojan ; lay thy finger on thy lips! 
 The worthiness of praise distains his worth, 
 If that the prais'd himself bring the praise forth : 
 But what the repining enemy commends, 
 T. hat breath fame blows ; that praise, sole pure, 
 transcends.^^ 
 Again. Sir, you of Troy, call )ou yourself 
 ^neas ? 
 
 Aine. Ay, Greek, that is my name. 
 Agam. W hat's your affair, 1 pray ) ou ? 
 ^Ene. Sir, pardon ; 'tis for Agamem.,on's ears. 
 Agam. He hears naught privately that comes 
 from Troy. 
 
 ^ie. Nor I from Troy come not to whisper him : 
 I bring a trumpet to awake his ear ; 
 To het his sense on the attentive bent, 
 And then to speak. 
 
 Agam. Speak frankly as the wind ; 
 
 It is not Agamemnon's sleeping hour : 
 1 hat thou shalt know, Trojan, he is awake. 
 He tells thee so himself. 
 
 A£ne. Trumpet, blow loud, 
 
 Send thy brass voice through all these lazy tents ; 
 And every Greek of mettle, let him know, 
 What Troy means fairly shall be spoke aloud. 
 
 [Trumpet sounds. 
 We have, great Agamemnon, here in Troy 
 A prince call'd Hector, — Priam is his father, — 
 Who in this dull and long-continu'd truce^* 
 Is rusty grown : he bade me take a trumpet, 
 And to this purpose speak. Kings, princes, lords! 
 If there be one among the fair'st of Greece, 
 That holds his honour higher than his ease ; 
 That seeks his praise more than he fears his peril ; 
 That knows his valour, and knows not his fear ; 
 That loves his mistress more than in confession's 
 With truant vows to her own lips he loves, 
 And dare avow her beauty and her worth 
 111 other arms than hers, — to him this challenge. 
 
 82. And, Jove's accord, notking so full of heart. This has 
 been variously altered ; but we take it to be elliptically expressed, 
 meaning, ' And, tlirough Jove's granting, there's nothing so full 
 of courage as they are.' 
 
 83. That praise, sole j>ure, tramcends. Different substitu- 
 tions have been made here ; but, taking " sole " to mean 'solely, 
 the sentence precisely expresses Shakespeare's tenet that ' that 
 praise' (the reluctant praise from foes, in contradistinction to 
 s^lf-praise), 'the only pure praise, transcends all other praise.' 
 See Note 73, Act iii., " Merchant of Venice." 
 
 84. This dull and long-continu'd truce. The mention of this 
 truce is taken from "The Destruction of Troy." 
 
 85. Tkat loves his mistress more, The meaning of these 
 two lines appears to us to be obscured by retaining the paren- 
 thesis which the Folio puts to the second of them ; as is its 
 frequent practice where no parenthesis should be placed. The 
 sentence means, ' that loves his mistress more than he tells her 
 he does amid vows and kisses.' There is, of course, a play upon 
 the word "arms" immediately afterwards. 
 
 86 Com/iass. Here used for ' embrace ' or ' clasp round ; ' as 
 in the passage explained in Note 12, Act iv., '• Comedy of Errors." 
 
 Plector, in view of Trojans and of Greeks, 
 
 Shall make it good, — ^or do his best to do it, — 
 
 He hath a lady, wiser, fairer, truer, 
 
 Than ever Greek did compass in his arms ; 
 
 And will to-morrow with his trumpet call, 
 
 Midway between your tents and walls of Troy, 
 
 To rouse a Grecian that is true in love : 
 
 If any come. Hector shall honour him ; 
 
 If none, he'll say in Troy when he retires. 
 
 The Grecian dames are sunburn'd,''^ and not worth 
 
 The splinter of a lance.^^ Even so much. 
 
 Agam. This shall be told our lovers, Lord v^neas; 
 If none of them have soul in such a kind. 
 We left them all at home : but we are soldiers ; 
 And may that soldier a mere recreant prove. 
 That means not, hath not, or is not in love 1^" 
 If then one is, or hath, or means to be, 
 That one meets Hector ; if none else, I am he. 
 
 Nest. Tell him of Nestor, one that was a man 
 When Hector's grandsire suck'd ; he is old now ; 
 But if there be not in our Grecian host 
 One noble man that hath one spark of fire. 
 To answer for his love, tell him from me, — 
 I'll hide my silver beard in a gold beaver, 
 And in my vantbrace put this wither'd brawn 
 And, meeting him, will tell him that my lady 
 Was fairer than his grandame, and as chaste 
 As may be in the world : his youth in flood," 
 I'll prove this truth with my three drops of blood. 
 
 Aine. Now heavens forbid such scarcity of youth ! 
 
 Ulyss. Amen. 
 
 Agam. Fair Lordv^lneas, let me touch your hand ; 
 To our pavilion shall I lead you, sir. 
 Achilles shall have word of this intent ; 
 So shall each lord of Greece, from tent to tent : 
 Yourself shall feast with us before you go. 
 And find the welcome of a noble foe. 
 
 \_Exeunt all except Ulysses and Nestor. 
 
 Ulyss. Nestor, — 
 
 Nest. What says Ulysses ? 
 
 87. Sunburn'd. Here used to express 'not fair,' 'unlovely.' 
 See Note 45, Act ii., "Much Ado." 
 
 88. The splinter of a lance. The wording of this challenge 
 is in the true chivalric tone ; and it affords one of the in- 
 stances of the skill with which the dramatist has blended the 
 rich hues of the romance -writers with the Doric simplicity of 
 outline in the classic poets. See Note i. Act i. of the present 
 play. 
 
 89. That means not, hath not, or is not in love ! This 
 passage is constructed in the same style of ellipsis as the one 
 commented upon in Note 55, Act iii., "Henry VIII. ;" and 
 each of these two passages serves as an illustration of the other, 
 showing how largely elliptical our poet occasionally makes his 
 diction. Here ' to be ' is understood after the first " not " in the 
 sentence, and 'been' after the second "not." 'Been 'is also 
 again understood, in the next line, after " hath." 
 
 90. In my vantbrace put this wither'd brawn. " Vant- 
 brace" is an armour for the arm (French, avant bras); and 
 " brawn" is here used to express ' muscular arm.' 
 
 91. His youth in food. Elliptically expressed ; signifying, 
 ' though his youthful blood be iu full flow.' 
 
Act I.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA, 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Ulyss. I have a young conception in my brain ; 
 Be you my time to bring it to some shape. 
 
 Nest. What is 't ? 
 
 Ulyss. This 'tis:— 
 Blunt w edges rive harci knots : the seeded pride 
 That hath to this maturity blown up 
 In rank Achilles must or now be cropp'd, 
 Or, shedding, breed a nursery of like evil, 
 To o\ crbulk us all. 
 
 Nest. Well, and how 'i 
 
 Ulyss. This challenge that the gallant Hector 
 tends, 
 
 Howe\'er it is sj)read in general name, 
 Relates in purpose only to Achilles. 
 
 Nest. The purpose is perspicuous even as 
 substance, 
 
 Wl;ose grossness little characters sum up 
 And, in the publication, make no strain, 
 But that Achilles,''^ were his brain as barren 
 As banks of Libya," — though, Apollo knows, 
 'Tis dry enougli, — will, with great speed of judg- 
 ment. 
 
 Ay, with celerity, find Hector's purpose 
 Pointing on him. 
 
 Ulyss. And wake him to the answer, tliink you ? 
 
 Nest. Yes, 'tis most meet : whom may you else 
 opi'.ose, 
 
 That can from Hector bring those honours off, 
 
 If not Achilles? Though 't he a sportful combat. 
 
 Yet in the triaj much opinion dwells; 
 
 For here the Trojans taste our dear'st repute 
 
 With their fin'st palate: and trust to me, Ulysses, 
 
 Our imputtaion shall be oddly pois'd '-"^ 
 
 In this wild action ; for the success, 
 
 Although particular, shall give a scantling'"' 
 
 Of good or bad unto the general ; 
 
 And in such indexes, although small pricks 
 
 92. T/ie /iin-pnse is /'Cispkuotis even as substance, iv/iose 
 f;-ivssiics5 little charnctcrs sum ufi. ' The person ultimately 
 purposed in tliis challenge is as obvious as material substance 
 itself ; the bulk of which is formed by small amoimts, which 
 may be calculated by small marks of the pen, and which may 
 be estimated by persons of small intelligence." Shakespeare's 
 use of the word " characters" in this sentence, allows all these 
 various senses to be included in the meaning of this sentence, and 
 they serve to give punningly sarcastic point to Nestor's figurative 
 allusion to Achilles. See Note 2:, Act iii., " Henry VIII." 
 
 93. 1)1 the publication, make no strain bnt titat, &^c. 'When 
 the challenge comes to be made publicly known, entertain not 
 the least doubt but that," &c. "Strain" is here .and elsewhere 
 used by Shakespeare for ' demur,' or ' difficulty of doubt.' 
 
 94. Libya. The classical name for Africa. 
 
 95. Our im/iulatiou shall be odiily pois'd. 'Our imputed 
 excellence shall bo unequally weighed.' " Imputation" is here 
 and elsewhere used by Shakespeare for that which is attributed 
 as a merit, that which is adjudged to be excellent ; and " oddly 
 pois'd" has here the force of 'unfairly matched ' and 'awkwardly 
 risked,' as well as ' unequally weighed.' 
 
 96. A scantling-. A small portion, a slight sample ; as the 
 French use their word, echantillon, and the Italians their -word, 
 ciantoiino, which latter Florio interprets into English by "a 
 little scantling." 
 
 To their subsequent volumes,''' there is seen 
 The baby figure of the giant mass 
 Of things to come at large. It is suppos'd. 
 He that meets Hector issues from our choice : 
 And choice, being mutual act of all our souls, 
 Makes merit her election •, and doth boil. 
 As 'twere from forth us all, a man distill'd 
 Out of our virtues ; who miscarrying. 
 What heart receives from hence the conquering 
 part,93 
 
 I To steel a strong opinion to themselves ? 
 
 j Which entertain'd, limbs are his instruincnts,'' 
 
 In no less working than are swords and bows 
 
 Directive by the limbs. 
 
 Ulyss. Give pardon to my speech ; — 
 
 Therefore 'tis meet Achilles meet not Hector. 
 
 Let us, like merchants, show our foulest wares. 
 
 And think, perchance, they'll sell ; if not. 
 
 The lustre of the better shall exceed, 
 j By showing the worse first. Do not consent 
 I That ever Hector and Achilles meet ; 
 j For both our honour and our shaine in this 
 
 Are dogg'd with two strange followers. 
 
 Nest. I see them not with my old eyes : what 
 are they ? 
 
 Ulyss. What glory our Achilles shares from 
 Hector, 
 
 Were he not proud, we all should share with him : 
 j But he already is too insolent; 
 
 And we were better parch in Afric sun 
 j Than in the pride and salt scorn of his eyes, 
 I Should he 'scape Hector fair; if he were foil'd, 
 I Why, then we did our main opinion'"" crush 
 I In taint of our best man. No, make a lottery ; 
 
 And, by device, let blockish"" Ajax draw 
 i The sort'"- to fight with Hector: among ourselves 
 
 Give him allowance for the better man ; 
 
 97. In such indexes, although small pricks to their subscijucnt 
 volumes. ' In such indexes, although small points compared 
 with their subsequent volumes.' Inde.\es were often in Shake- 
 speare's time placed at the commencement of a book. 
 
 98. Who miscarrying, ivluit heart 7-ecei:<es from hence, ^y'c. 
 In this p.assage we have an instance of the form of question that, 
 strictly constructed, requires the word * not ; ' but, Shake- 
 spereanly constructed, allows 'not' to be understood. See 
 Note 22, Act v., " Henry VIII." The menning of the sentence 
 is, ,' If this sele(fted champion should fail, what spirit would 
 not hence be received by the conquering side, to give fresh edge 
 to a high opinion of themselves ? ' Shakespeare elsewhere uses 
 the verb "to steel" for 'to put fresh puint or edge to; to 
 strengthen, to give added force to.' £ee passage adverted to 
 in Note 54, Act i., " Richard II." 
 
 gg. Which entertaiiCd, limbs are his instruments. 'Which 
 opinion entertained, limbs are its Instruments.' 
 
 loo. Opinion. Here, a.s in the passage commented upon in 
 our last note but one, used for ' reputation,' ' estim.atlon ; ' " our 
 main opinion" means ' the high opinion held of us.* Farther on 
 in this speech " our opinion " is again used for the ' reputation 
 we enjoy." 
 
 xoi. Blockish. 'Obtuse,' 'impenetrably stupid;' 'bloclc- 
 he.aded ' or ' blockheadedly.' 
 102. The sort. 'The lot.' 
 
 VOL. III. 
 
 169 
 
Acr II.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 For that will physic the great Myrmidon'"'' 
 Who broils in loud applause, '"^ and make him 
 fall 
 
 His crest that prouder than blue Iris bends. 
 If the dull brainless Ajax come safe off, 
 We'll dress him up in voices : if he fail, 
 Yet go we under our opinion still 
 That we have better men. But, hit or miss, 
 
 Our project's life this shape of sense assumes, — 
 Ajax employ'd plucks down Achilles' plumes. 
 
 Nest, Now, Ulysses, I begin to relish thy advice ; 
 And I will give a taste of it forthwith 
 To Agamemnon : go we to him straight. 
 Two curs shall tame each other : pride alone 
 Must tarre ^"^ the mastiffs on, as 'twere their bone. 
 
 \_Exeunt. 
 
 AC1 
 
 SCENE \.— Another part of the Grecian Camp. 
 
 Enter Ajax and Thersites. 
 Ajax. Thersites,— 
 
 Ther. Agamemnon, — how if he had boils,— full, 
 aJl over, generally f — 
 Ajax. Thersite;, — 
 
 Ther. And those boils did run ?_Say so,— did 
 not the general run then ? 
 Ajax. Dog, — 
 
 Ther . Then would come some matter from him ; 
 I see none nou-. 
 
 Ajax. Thou wolf's son, canst thou not hear ? 
 I' ccl, then. {Strikes him. 
 
 Ther. The plague of Greece' upon thee, thou 
 mongrel beef-witted lord ! 2 
 
 Ajax. Speak, then, thou vinewedst leaven,^ 
 speak : I will beat thee into handsomeness. 
 
 Ther. I shall sooner rail thee into wit and holi- 
 ness : but, I think, thy horse will sooner con* an 
 oration than thou learn a prayer without a book. 
 Thou canst strike, canst thou ? a red murrain* o' 
 thy jade's tricks ! 
 
 Ajax. Toadstool, learn me the proclamation. 
 
 103. T/ie great Ji/yt-inicioii. Ulysses calls Achilles thus, as 
 chieftain of the Myrmidons, a people of Thcssaly, who 
 accompanied liin>5 lo tlie Trojan war. 
 
 104. IVho broth in. loud apjilmtse. 'Who is heated with 
 noisy laudation;' the word "broils" admirably serves to 
 suggest the image of a man who swells and sweats in the fire of 
 applause, as broiling meat sweUs, spits, and exudes, above the 
 red coals; while the expression also includes the sense of 'is 
 quarrelsome,' ' is resentful,' ' is hostilely arrogant.' 
 
 los. Fall. 'Lower,' 'stoop;' used actively. See Note 57, 
 Act iii., " Richard II." 
 
 106. Tarre. 'Urge,' 'incite.' See Note 14, Act iv., "King 
 John." 
 
 1. The plague 0/ Greece. In alhi^on to the plague sent by 
 Apollo on the Grecian army; described in the commencement 
 of Homer"s Iliads. 
 
 2, Thou tnougrel ber/-Mfte,l lord. The epithet " mongrer" 
 IS g.ven in reference to Ajax teing tJij son of a Grecian father 
 and a Trojan mother: and " beef-wittecil'' is an epithet testifying 
 that opmion as to eating beef having ati injurious effect upon 
 
 II. 
 
 Ther. Dost thou think I have no sense, thou 
 strikest me thus ? 
 
 Ajax. The proclamation,— 
 
 Ther. Thou art proclaimed a fool, I think. 
 
 Ajax Do not, porcupine, do not ; my fingers 
 itch. 
 
 Ther. I would thou didst it( h from head to foot, 
 and I had the scratching of thse ; I would make 
 thee the loathsomest scab in Greece. When thou 
 art forth in the incursions, thou strikest as slow as 
 another. 
 
 Ajax. 1 say, the proclamation, — 
 
 Ther. Thou grumblest and railest every hour 
 on Achilles ; and thou art as full of envy at his 
 greatness as Cerberus^ is at Proserpina's beauty, 
 ay, that thou barkest at him.^ 
 
 Ajax. Mistress Thersites ' 
 
 Ther. Thou shouldst strike him. 
 
 Ajax. Cobloafis 
 
 Ther. He would pun' thee into shivers with his 
 fist, as a sailor breaks a biscuit. 
 Ajax. You cur ! [Beating him. 
 
 Ther. Do, do. 
 
 Ajax. Thou stool for a witch ! 
 
 the intellect which we discussed in Note 38, Act i., "Twelfth 
 Night," 
 
 3. Thau vlnewedsl leitveil. The Folio prints ' whinid'sl ; ' 
 being probably a corruption of " vinewcd'st," which means 
 'most mouldy.' "Vinewed" is an old word for 'mouldy,' 
 ' musty,' ' decayed ; ' aiid it is said to e.^ist still in provincial 
 use, in the form of "vinny." The Quarto gives the word 
 ' unsalted ' here instead of " vinewedst." 
 
 4. Con. ' Commit to memory,' ' study so as to learn by rote,' 
 See Note 93, Act i., " Twelfth Night." 
 
 5. A red tnurrain. See Note 56, Act i., " Tempest." 
 
 6. Cei-bcrus. The three-headed dog stationed at the gateS 
 of the infernal regions. See passage referred to in Note 135, 
 Act v., "Love's Labour's Lost." 
 
 7. Ay, iliat thoularkest at kiiti. "That" is here elliptically 
 used for 'so that.' See Note 13, Act i., "Henry VIII." 
 
 8. Coblonf. A round-headed loaf, a lumpy-shaped loaf 
 (possibly a corruption of ' cop-loaf ; ' from the Saxon eo/, head] ; 
 applied as a term of reproach to the big-headed misshapen 
 Thersites. 
 
 9. Puu. A provincial form of ' pound ;' Saxon, /««/(!«. 
 
Act II.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Ther. Ay, do, do ; thou sodden-witted lord ! 
 thou hast no more brain than I have in mine 
 ell)0\vs ; an assinico'" may tutor thee : thou scurvy 
 valiant ass ! thou art here but to thrash Trojans ; i 
 and thou art bought and sold'' among those of 
 any wit, like a Barbarian slave. If thou use to | 
 beat me, I will begin at thy heel, and tell what 
 thou art by inches, thou thing of no bowels, thou .' 
 
 Ajax. You dog ! 
 
 Ther. You scurvy lord ! 
 
 Ajax. You cur ! [Bea/ing him. 
 
 Ther. Mars his idiot ! ''^ do, rudeness; do, camel; 
 do, do. 
 
 Enter Achilles and Patroclus. 
 Achil. Why, how now, Ajax ! wherefore do you 
 thus ? — How now, Thersites ! what's the matter, 
 man ? 
 
 Ther. You see him there, do you ? 
 
 Achi/. Ay; what's the matter ? 
 
 Ther. Nay, look upon him. 
 
 Achil. So I do : what's the matter? 
 
 Ther. Nay, but regard him well. 
 
 Achil. Well ! why, I do so. 
 
 Ther. But yet you look not well upon him ; 
 for, whosoever you take him to be, he is Ajax. 
 
 jichil. I know that, fool. 
 
 Ther. Ay, but that fool knows not himself. 
 
 Ajax. Therefore I beat thee. 
 
 Tlier. Lo, lo, lo, lo, what modicums of wit he 
 utters! his evasions have ears thus long. I have 
 bobbed'* his brain more than he has beat my 
 bones: I will buy nine sparrows for a penny, and 
 his pia mater is not worth the nintli part of a 
 sparrow. This lord, Achilles, Ajax,— who wears 
 his wit in his paunch, and his paunch in his head, — 
 I'll tell you what I say of him. 
 
 Achil. What ? 
 
 Ther. I say, this Ajax, — 
 
 [Ajax offers to strike him, AcHiLLES interposes. 
 
 Achil. Nay, good Ajax. 
 
 10. Assitiico. A term borrowed from the Spanish word 
 asjiico, a Httle ass. The word as used by some of our elder 
 dramatists is sometimes spelt ' assiiiego ' or ' asinego.' 
 
 11. Bought and sold. Here used for 'befooled,' 'made a 
 fool of,' 'treated as a fool.' See Note 45, Act v., "Richard III." 
 
 12. Mars his idiot. A form of ' Mars's idiot.' See Note 22, 
 Act i., " First Part Henry VI." 
 
 13. Modicums. 'Scraps,' 'morsels:' adopted into English 
 use from the Latin modicniit, a small portion, a little piece. 
 
 14. Bobbed,. 'Flouted,' 'scoffed at,' 'jeered at. See Note 
 69, Act ii., "As You Like It." 
 
 15. Pia mater. The covering of the brain. See Note 83, 
 Act i., "Twelfth Night." 
 
 i5. / serve here voluntary. In the present passage Shake- 
 speare uses the word "voluntary" substantively, adjectively, 
 and adverbially. In "I serve here voluntary," either ' as a ' 
 is elliptically understood before "voluntary," or the latter word 
 is used for 'voluntarily;' then comes "voluntary" in "not 
 voluntary " as an adjective, then in " beaten voluntary " as an 
 adverb, and lastly in " the voluntary " as a substantive. 
 
 Ther. Has not so much wit,— 
 Achil. Nay, I must hold you. 
 Ther. As will stop the eye of Helen's needle, 
 tor whom he comes to fight. 
 Achil. Peace, fool ! 
 
 Ther. I would have peace and quietness, but 
 the fool will not : he there ; that he ; look you there. 
 Ajax. Oh, thou curst cur ! I shall, — 
 Achil. Will you set your wit to a fool's ? 
 Ther. No, I warrant you; for a fool's will 
 shame it. 
 
 Patr. Good words, Thersites. 
 Achil. What's the quarrel ? 
 Ajxx. I bade the vile owl go learn me the tenor 
 of the proclamation, and he rails upon me. 
 Ther. I serve thee not. 
 Ajax. Well, go to, go to. 
 Ther. I serve here voluntary.'" 
 Achil. Your last service was sufferance, 'twas not 
 voluntary, — no man is beaten voluntary: Ajax was 
 here the voluntary, and you as under an impress.'? 
 
 Ther. E'en so ; a great deal of your wit, too, 
 lies in your sinews, or else there be liars. Hector 
 shall have a great catch, if he knock out either of 
 your brains: '8 'a were as good crack a fusty nut 
 with no kernel, 
 i Achil. What ! with me too, Thersites ? 
 
 Ther. There's Ulysses and old Nestoi-, — whose 
 wit was mouldy ere your grandsires'^ had nails on 
 \ their toes, — yoke you jike draught oxen, and make 
 I you plough up the war. 
 i Achil. What, what ? 
 
 I Ther. Yes, good sooth :'to, Achilles! to, Ajax ! 
 
 j to 120 
 
 ! Ajax. I shall cut out your tongue. 
 
 Ther. 'Tis no matter; I shall speak as much 
 ! as thou afterwards. 
 
 j Patr. No more words, Thersites ; peace ! 
 ! Ther. I will hold my peace when Achilles' 
 j braeh^' bids me, shall I ? 
 
 Achil, There's for you, Patroclus. 
 
 17. And you as under an impress. Here the "was" just 
 before gives 'were' to be understood between " you" and "as." 
 
 18. If he /tnoc/i out either 0/ your brains. ' If he knock out 
 the brains of either of you.' A licence of construction still in 
 common use. 
 
 19. F.re your grandsires. The old copies print ' their ' for 
 " your" here. 
 
 20. To Achilles I to, Aja.x ! to ! " To ! to ! " was an e.\pres- 
 sion of urging used by plouijhmen to their " draught oxen." 
 
 21. Achilles' brach. The old copies give ' brooch ' here instead 
 of " brach," for which it was probably a misprint. Rowe made 
 the correction. Shakespeare almost uniformly uses ' brooch ' 
 to express something choice or costly (see Note 59, Act v., 
 " Rich.ard II. ") ; and .as Thersites here calls Patroclus by some 
 abusive epithet, it is not probable that ' brooch ' should be the 
 word. " Brach," on the contrary', was a term for a hound (see 
 Note 13, Induction to "Taming of the Shrew"), and most fre- 
 quently used to express a bitch-hound ; therefore it is likely that 
 it should be flung at the effeminate and parasitical Patroclus as 
 an insult by the coarse jester. 
 
Act II.l 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 u iiersires. \ou see mm mere, uo you: 
 Achilles. Ay; what's the matter? 
 
 Act II. Scene I. 
 
 Ther. I will see you hanged, like clotpolls, ere 
 I come any more to your tents : 1 will keep where 
 there is wit stirring, and leave the faction of fools. 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 Patr. A good riddance. 
 
 AchlL Marry, this, sir, is proclaim'd through 
 all our host : — 
 That Hector, by the fifth hour of the sun. 
 Will, with a trumpet, 'twixt our tents and Troy, 
 To-morrow morning call some knight to arms,^^ 
 That hath a stomach ; and such a one, that dare 
 Maintain, — I know not what ; 'tis trash. Farewell. 
 
 Ajax. Farewell. Who shall answer him ? 
 
 Achil. I know not, — 'tis put to lottery; otherwise. 
 He knew his man. 
 
 Ajax. Oh, meaning you. — I will go learn more 
 of it. \Exeunt. 
 
 22. Cnh some knight to arms. Here is used the direct style 
 and title of chivalry. See Note 88, Act i. 
 
 SCENE II.— Troy.— ^ Roo>nin Priam's Palace. 
 Enter Priam, Hector, Troilus, Paris, and 
 Helenus. 
 
 Pr'i. After so many hours, lives, speeches spent, 
 Thus once again says Nestor from the Greeks : — 
 " Deliver Helen, and all damage else, — 
 As honour, loss of time, travail, expense, 
 Wounds, friends, and what else dear that is con- 
 sum'd 
 
 In hot digestion of this cormorant war, — 
 Shall be struck off:" — Hector, what say you to 't ? 
 Hect. Though no man lesser fears the Greeks 
 than I, 
 
 As far as toucheth my particular, 
 Yet, dread Priam, 
 
 There is no lady of m.ore softer bowels. 
 
 More spongy to suck in the sense of fear. 
 
 More ready to cry out, " Who knows what follows ?" 
 
 Than Hector is : the wound of peace is surety. 
 
Cassandra. Cry, Trojans, cry ! lend me ten thousand eyes, 
 And I will fill them with prophetic tears. 
 
 Act II. Scene II. 
 
Act II.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Surety secure but modest doubt is call'd 
 The lieacon of the wise, the tent^^ that searches 
 To the bottom of the worst. Let Helen go : 
 Since the first sword was drawn about this question, 
 Every tithe soul, 'mongst many thousana dismes,-' 
 Hath been as dear as Helen, — I mean, of ours : 
 If we have lost so many tenths of ours. 
 To guard a thing not ours, nor worth to us, 
 Had it our name, the value of one ten, — 
 What merit's in that reason which denies 
 The yielding of her up ? 
 
 Tro. Fie, fie, my brother ! 
 
 Weigh you the worth and honour of a king, 
 So great as our dread father, in a scale 
 Of common ounces ? will you with counters sum 
 The past-proportion of his infinite p^s 
 And buckle in a waist most fathomless 
 With spans and inches so diminutive 
 As fears and reasons ? fie, for godly shame ! 
 
 Hel. No marvel, though you bite so sharp £^t 
 reasons, 2? 
 
 You are so empty of them. Should not our father 
 Bear the great sway of his affairs with reasons, 
 Because your speech hath none that tells him so P 
 Tro. You are for dreams and slumbers, brother 
 priest ; 
 
 You fur your gloves with reason. Here are your 
 reasons: 
 
 You know an enemy intends you harm ; 
 
 You know a sword employ'd is perilous. 
 
 And reason flies the object of all harm : 
 
 Who marvels, then, when Helenus beholds 
 
 A Grecian and his sword, if he do set 
 
 The very wings of reason to his heels, 
 
 And fly like chidden Mercury from Jove, 
 
 Or like a star disorb'd ? Nay, if we talk of reason. 
 
 Let's shut our gates, and sleep : manhood and honour 
 
 23. Surety secure. ' Rash confidence,' ' over-trustful reliance.' 
 See Note 31, Act v., " Richard II." 
 
 24. Tent. A small roll of lint used in exaaiiuing and cleansing 
 a wound ; and to ' tent a wound' is the surgical expression for 
 searching a wound in order to prove its e.\tent and condition. 
 
 25. Distnes. Tenths. 
 
 26. The pnst-proportioti ofhisinfiiiUe. ' His infinite amount 
 of greatness which is beyond measure,' ' his infinite worth which 
 surpasses usual proportion.' 
 
 27. No i}iarv-:;l, though you bite so sJuirp at reasofis. 
 "Though" is here used, in Shakespeare's peculiar mode of 
 employing this word, for 'that,' or 'if See Note 90, Act i., 
 "Richard III." "Sharp" is used adverbially for 'sharply;' 
 and " reasons" has a play upon the word, from ' raisins' having 
 been formerly corruptedly pronounced like it. See Note 34, 
 Act v., "Much Ado." 
 
 28. Respect. Here used for ' regard to consequences,' ' cir- 
 cumspection.' 
 
 29. Make liters pale. See Note ai. Act iii., "Merchant of 
 
 30. Jt holds his estimate. "His " used for ' its.' 
 
 31. As in the prizer. Elllptically expressed : meaning ' as it 
 is in the estimation of the prizer,' or ' as it is in the prizer's esti- 
 mation.' 
 
 32. That is attributive to, (s'c. ' That attributes excellence 
 to what it fanatically admires, \vithout there being some actual 
 
 Should have hare hearts, would they but fat their 
 thoughts 
 
 With this cramm d reason : reason and respect-^ 
 Make livers pale,^' and lustihood deject. 
 
 Hect. Brother, she is not worth what she doth cost 
 The holding. 
 
 Tro. What is aught, but as 'tis valu'd P 
 
 Hecf. But value dwells not in particular will •, 
 It holds his estimate^ and dignity 
 As well wherein 'tis precious of itself 
 As in the prizer 'tis mad idolatry 
 To make the service greater than the god ; 
 And the will dotes, that is attributive 
 To what infectiously itself afl^ects,^^ 
 Without some image of the afl^ected merit. 
 
 Tro. I take to-day a wife, and my election 
 Is led on in the conduct of my will 
 My will enkindled by mine eyes and ears, 
 Two traded 2* pilots 'twixt the dangerous shores 
 Of will and judgment: how may I avoid, 
 Although my will distaste what it elected. 
 The wife I chose P there can be no evasion 
 To blenches from this, and to stand firm by 
 honour : 
 
 We turn not back the silks upon the merchant. 
 When we have soil'd them ; nor the remainder 
 viands 
 
 We do not throw in unrespective sieveiii^ 
 Because we now are full. It was thought meet 
 Paris should do some vengeance on the Greeks : 
 Your breath of full consent bellied his sails ; 
 The seas and winds (old wranglers) took a truce. 
 And did him service : he touch'd the ports desir'd ; 
 And, for an old aunt,^? whom the Greeks held 
 captive. 
 
 He brought a Grecian queen, whose youth and 
 freshness 
 
 portion of the merit admired ; ' ' that ascribes merit, and admires 
 merit, though there exist no traces of the merit so ascribed and 
 admired,' 
 
 33. /k the conduct of my -will. ' By the guidance of my will.' 
 
 34. Traded. ' Practised,' ' accustomed.' See the use of this 
 word in the passage referred to in Note 63, Act iv., " King John." 
 
 35. To blench. ' To shrink," to draw back." See Note 5, Act i. 
 
 36. Unrespective sieve. "Unrespective" is here used for 
 ' disregardful,' 'made for containing disregarded scraps.' 
 " Sieve " is spelt in the Quarto ' siue,' and is misprinted in the 
 first Folio ' same,' while the second Folio changes it into ' place.' 
 " Sieve" was a term for a large basket, generally used for fruit, 
 as we find by a passage from Davenant's play of "The Wits" — 
 " Apple-wives that wrangle for a sieve ;" and in Covent Garden 
 Market fruit and vegetable baskets, holding a certain measure, 
 and called sieve and half-sieves, are still used. Baskets lined with 
 tin, and called voiders, were employed for carrying broken meat 
 from table ; and Dr. Farmer asserts that in some counties the 
 baskets used for conveying away dirt are called sieves. It is pro- 
 bable therefore that "sieve" is the word here meant and written 
 by Shakespeare, to express a receptacle for orts and refuse. 
 
 yj. An old aunt. Hesione, sister to Priam. Hercules, when 
 he rescued her (see Note 16, Act iii., "Merchant of Venice"), 
 being refused his promised reward for so doing, carried her away 
 from Troy to Greece, and gave her in marriage to his friend 
 Telamon, by whom she became mother to Aja.x. 
 
Act II.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Wrinkles Apollo's, and makes stale the morning. 
 Why keep we her ? the Grecians keep our aunt : 
 Is she worth keeping ? why, she is a pearl, 
 AVhose price hath launch'd above a thousand ships. 
 And lurn'd crown'd kings to merchants. 
 If you'll avouch 'twas wisdom Paris went 
 (As you must needs, for you all cried, " Go, go"), 
 If you'll confess he brought home noble prize 
 (As you must needs, for you all clapp'd your hands, 
 And cried, " Inestimable !"), — why do you now^^ 
 The issue of your proper wisdoms rate, 
 And do a deed that fortune never did, 
 Beggar the estimation whicli you priz'd 
 Richer than sea and land ? Oh, theft most base, 
 That we have stol'n what we do fear to keep ! 
 But, thieves, unworthy of a thing so stol'n. 
 That in their country did them that disgrace, 
 We fear to warrant in our native place ! 
 
 Cas. [IVithin.] Cry, Trojans, cry ! 
 
 Pri. What noise ? what shriek is this ? 
 
 Tro. 'Tis our mad sister, I do know her voice. 
 
 Cas. [IFithin.] Cry, Trojans ! 
 
 Hecf. It is Cassandra. 
 
 Eiirer Cassandra, racing. 
 
 Cas. Cry, Trojans, cry ! lend me ten thousand 
 eyes, 
 
 And I will fill them with prophetic tears. 
 Heel. Peace, sister, peace ! 
 Cas. Virgins and boys, mid-age and wrinkled 
 eld,3» 
 
 Soft infancy, that nothing canst but cry, 
 
 Add to my clamours ! let us pay betimes 
 
 A moiety of that mass of moan to come. 
 
 Cry, Trojans, cry ! practise your eyes with teai-s ! 
 
 Troy must not be, nor goodly Ilion stand ; 
 
 38. l-F/i_y do yoH no-M, &rc. 'Why do you nosv impugn your 
 own wisdom, and do tliat whicli capricious Fortune herself is \ 
 guiltless of doing — depreciate the value of something which you 
 prized as richer than sea and land ? 'Tis a most base theft, to | 
 steal that which we fear to keep '. but we, thieves unworthy of ! 
 a thing so stolen, having done the owners the injury to steal it 
 from them in their country, fear to abide by the theft in our j 
 
 39. Eld. The Quarto prints ' elders ; ' the Folio, ' old ' here. 1 
 Ritson suggested the correction, on the supposition that the 
 Folio word wr.5 a misprint for this word, which we find else- 
 where used by Shakespeare. See Note 23, Act iv., "Merry 
 Wives," and Note 10, Act iii. , " Measure for Measure." 
 
 40. A moiety. 'A portion.' See Note 16, Act iii., "First ' 
 Part Henry IV." | 
 
 41. Otir firebrand Iroiher, Paris. Hecub.a, previous to the 
 birth of her son Paris, dreamed that she brought into the world 
 a firebrand which consumed Troy. See Note 40, Act ii., 
 "Second Part Hen-/ IV." 
 
 42. Discourse of reason. Here, and elsewhere, used by 
 Shakespeare for ratiocination, the power to argue rationally, the 
 faculty of reasoning. 
 
 43. Distaste. ' Render distasteful ; ' ' deteriorate,' ' damage,' 
 ' impair.' 
 
 44. To make it gracious. To make it wear a favourable 
 aspect ; to make it acceptable or palatable. The expression is 
 
 Our firebrand brother, Paris,'" burns us all. 
 Cry, Trojans, cry ! a Helen and a woe : 
 Cry, cry ! Troy burns, or else let Helen go. 
 
 Heel. Now, youthful Troilus, do not these 
 high strains 
 Of divination in our sister work 
 Some touches of remorse ? or is your blood 
 So madly hot, that no discourse of reason,'*"^ 
 Nor fear of bad success in a bad cause. 
 Can qualify the same ? 
 
 Tro. Why,. brother Hector, 
 
 We may not think the justness of each act 
 Such and no other than event doth form it ; 
 Nor once deject the courage of our mimis, 
 Because Cassandra's mad: her brain-sick raptures 
 Cannot distaste'''' the goodness of a quarrel 
 Which hath our several honours all engag'd 
 To make it gracious. ""^ For my private part, 
 I am no more touch'd than all Priam's sons. 
 And Jove forbid there should be done amongst us 
 Such things as might offend the weakest spleen 
 To fight for and maintain ! 
 
 Par. Else might the world convince" of levity 
 As well iny undertakings as your counsels: 
 But I attest the gods, your full consent 
 Gave wings to my propension,'"' and cut off 
 All fears attending on so dire a project. 
 For what, alas ! can these my single arms ? 
 What propugnation''? is in one man's valour. 
 To stand the push and enmity of those 
 This quarrel would excite ? Yet, I protest, 
 M^'ere I alone to pass the difficulties,^^ 
 And had as ample power as I have will, 
 Paris should ne'er retract what he hath done, 
 Nor faint in the pursuit. 
 
 used in the same manner .is here in a passage in " Two Gentle- 
 men of Verona," Act iii., sc. i, where Launce .says, "Why, 
 that word makes the faults gracious." The sense of ' palatable ' 
 included in this expression accords with the word " distaste " 
 used just before. 
 
 45. Convince. Here used for ' convict ; ' a sense in which the 
 word was sometimes formerly employed. 
 
 46. Propensiou. A form of 'propensity ; ' 'inclination.' 
 
 47. Propugnation. ' Power of defence ; ' Latin, fropugnatio, 
 defence. 
 
 48. Were I alone to pass the dlJjficHltiis. Here the word 
 "p.-iss" has been suspected of error, and ' poise' proposed as its 
 substitute ; but it seems to us that "p.iss" is here used ellipii- 
 cally for ' pass through,' meaning to experience or encounter 
 the difficulties. The whole sentence is expressed ki Sh.ikc- 
 speare's condensed style, and with his occasional licence as 
 regards the tenses of verbs ; for we believe it to bear this 
 interpretation: — ' Were it I alone that had to pass through the 
 difficulties, and had I as ample power as I have will to pa ^; 
 through them, Paris should,' &c. It appears to us that "and 
 had" before "as ample power" gives ' h.ad ' to be understoo.l 
 in the previous line. There is still another interpretation of this 
 sentence, supposing that the word "pass" may be here used in 
 the sense of 'pass in review,' 'regard' (see Note 40, Act iv., 
 " Second Part Henry VI.") ; but considering the gist of the enlu e 
 passage, we believe that our first interpretation is the right one. 
 
Act II.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene II]. 
 
 Pri. Paris, you speak 
 
 Like one besotted on your sweet delights : 
 You have the honey still, but these the gall ; 
 So to be valiant is no praise at all. 
 
 Par. Sir, I propose not merely to myself 
 The pleasures such a beauty brings with it ; 
 But I would have the soil of her fair rape 
 Wip'd off, in honourable keeping her. 
 What treason were it to the ransack'd queen, 
 Disgrace to your great worths, and shame to me. 
 Now to deliver her possession up 
 On terms of base compulsion ! Can it be 
 That so degenerate a strain as this 
 Should once set footing in your generous bosoms ? 
 There's not the meanest spirit on our party. 
 Without a heart to dare, or sword to draw. 
 When Helen is defended ; nor none so noble, 
 Whose life were ill bestow'd, or death unfain'd. 
 Where Helen is the subject; tlien, I say, 
 Well may we fight for her, whom, we know well. 
 The world's large spaces cannot parallel. 
 
 Ilect. Paris and Troilus, you have both said well ; 
 And on the cause and questioii now in hand 
 Have gloz'd,'''-' — but superficially ; not much 
 Unlike young men, whom Aristotle*" thought 
 Unfit to hear moral philosophy ; 
 The reasons you allege do more conduce 
 To the hot passion of distempered blood 
 Than to make up a free determination 
 'Twixt right and wrong; for pleasure and revenge 
 Have ears more deaf than adders to the voice 
 Of any true decision. Nature craves 
 All dues be render'd to their owners: now. 
 What nearer debt in all humanity 
 Than wife is to the husband ? If this law 
 Of nature be corrupted through affection ; 
 And that great minds, of partial indulgence*! 
 To their benumbed wills,*^ resist the same ; 
 There is a law in each well-order'd nation, 
 To curb those raging appetites that are 
 Most disobedient and refractory. 
 If Helen, then, be wife to Sparta's king, — 
 As it is known she is, — these moral laws 
 Of nature and of nations speak aloud 
 To have her back return'd : thus to persist 
 In doing wrong extenuates not wrong, 
 
 49- G/oz'J. 'Talked speciously,' 'argued plausibly.' See 
 Note 24, Act i., " Henry V." 
 
 50. Aristotle. Hector's citing Aristotle's opinion is in accord- 
 ancc with various anachronisms to be found in the classical and 
 romantic books which were among those that Shakespeare 
 evidently read ; and indeed, so that a circumstance suited the 
 matter in hand, it was introduced with less regard to correctness 
 of period than to more general appropriateness. 
 
 51. That great minds, of Partial imiulgence to, &'c. " Of" 
 is here used for 'from ' or ' through.' 
 
 52. Bemimbid mills. ' Insensible wills,' ' insensate vills.' 
 
 S^. Propend. 'Incline.' See Nate 46 of this Act. Hector 
 says his opinion is what he has delivered, as regards the true 
 right and justice of the question : yet, nevertheless, viewed with 
 
 But makes it much more heavy. Hector's opinion 
 
 Is this, in way of truth: yet, ne'ertheless. 
 
 My spritely brethren, I'propend^^ to you 
 
 In resolution to keep Helen still ; 
 
 For 'tis a cause that hath no mean dependance 
 
 Upon our joint and several dignities. 
 
 Tro. Why, there you touch'd the life of our 
 design : 
 
 Were it not glory that we more affected 
 
 Than the performance of our heaving spleens,*'* 
 
 I would not wish a drop of Trojan blood 
 
 Spent more in her defence. But, worthy Hector, 
 
 She is a theme of honour and renown ; 
 
 A spur to valiant and magnanimous deeds ; 
 
 Whose present courage may beat down our foes, 
 
 And f.xmc in time to come canonise** us : 
 
 For, I presume, brave Hector would not lose 
 
 So rich advantage of a promis'd glory, 
 
 As smiles upon the forehead of this action, 
 
 For the wide world's revenue. 
 
 Ilect. I am )-ours. 
 
 You valiant offspring of great Priainus. — 
 I have a roisting challenge sent amongst 
 The dull and factious nobles of the Greeks 
 Will strike amazement to their drowsy spirits : 
 I was advertis'd their great general slept. 
 Whilst emulation*"' in the army crept : 
 This, I presume, will wake him. \_Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE m. — The Grecian Camp. Before 
 Achilles' Tent. 
 Enter Thersites. 
 Ther. How now, Thersites! what! lost in the 
 labyrinth of thy fury! Shall the elephant Ajax 
 carry it thus ? he beats me, and I rail at him : oli, 
 worth) satisfaction ! would it were otherwise ; that 
 I could beat him, whilst he railed at me : 'sfoot, 
 I'll learn to conjure and raise devils, but I'll see 
 some issue of my spiteful execrations. Then 
 there's Achilles, — a rare engineer. If Troy be 
 not taken until these two undermine it, the walls 
 will stand till they fall of themselves. Oli, thou 
 great thunder-darter of Olympus, forget that thou 
 
 regard to martial honour and dignity, he agrees with his spirited 
 brothers in their resolution still to keep Helen. 
 
 S pleats. Here used for ' ill-humours,' ' splenetic feeling,' 
 
 55. Canonise. Here used to express being enrolled among the 
 heroes and demigods; as the old translators used to render the 
 Latin phrase, ascribi niiminilns (literally, written or registered 
 among the deities), by ' to be canonised, or m.-de a saint.' 
 
 56. Emulation. This word, which is now distinctively used 
 to express generous rivalry or desire for superiority, was origin- 
 ally used to express rivalry, whether good or bad ; and Sh.ike- 
 speare uses it in both senses. Here it means ' envious rivalry,' 
 ' factious contention ;' that which has been previously described 
 by Ulysses (Act i., sc. 3) as the "envious fever of pale and 
 bloodless emulation that keeps Troy on foot." 
 
Act 1 1. J 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene ni. 
 
 Act II, Scene III. 
 
 art Jove, the king of gods ; and, Mercury, lose all 
 the serpentine craft of thy caduceus;*^ if ye take 
 not that little little less-than-little wit from them 
 that they have ! which short-armed^^ ignorance 
 itself knows is so abundant scarce, it will not in 
 circumvention deliver a fly from a spider, without 
 drawing their massy irons^' and cutting the web. 
 After this, the vengeance on the whole camp! 
 I have said my prayers ; and devil envy, say 
 Amen. — What, ho! my Lord Achilles! 
 
 Enter Patroclus. 
 Patr. Who's there? Thersites! Good Thersites, 
 cnme in and rail. 
 
 57. Caduceus. The wand of Mercury, which was entwined 
 with serpents. 
 
 58. Short-armed. This has been changed to ' short-aim'd ; ' but 
 the original word expresses ' incapable of reaching far,' ' capable of 
 achieving little ; ' while the word which is proposed as its substi- 
 tution conveys but a superfluously-given meaning, since "igno- 
 rance" is, 0/ course, ' sliort-aim'd,' or comes short of its aim. 
 
 Ther, If I could have remembered a gilt coun- 
 terfeit, thou wouldst not have slipped out of my 
 contemplation : but it is no matter; thyself upon 
 thyself! The cominon curse of mankind, folly 
 and ignorance, be thine in great revenue ! Heaven 
 bless thee from a tutor, and discipline come not near 
 thee! Let thy blood^' be thy direction till tliy 
 death ! then if she that lays thee out says thou art 
 a fair corse, I'll be sworn and sworn upon 't she 
 never shrouded any but lazars. Amen. — Where's 
 Achilles ? 
 
 Patr. What! art thou devout? wast thou in 
 prayer ? 
 
 Ther. Ay; the heavens hear me I 
 
 59. Irons. Here, and elsewhere, used as a contemptuous 
 epithet for ' swords.* See Note 7, Act ii., " Henry V." Ther- 
 sites sneers at the two hulking fellows being able to use no other 
 means than brute force. 
 
 60. Slipped. Thersites punningly uses this word, because 
 ' slip ' was a common term for false or counterfeit coin. 
 
 Ci. Blood. Here used for ' passions,' ' ungoverned impulses.' 
 
 VOL. III. 
 
 170 
 
Act II.] TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. [Scene III, 
 
 Enter Achilles. 
 Achil. Wlio's there ? 
 Pair. Thersites, my lord. 
 
 Achil. Wiiere, where — Art thou come ? why, 
 my cheese, my digestion, why hast thou not served 
 thyself in to my table so many meals ? Come, — 
 what's Agamemnon ? 
 
 Ther. Thy commander, Achilles: — then tell 
 me, Patroclus, what's Achilles ? 
 
 Pair. Thy lord, Thersites: then tell me, I pray 
 thee, what's thyself? 
 
 Ther. Thy knower, Patroclus : then tell me, 
 Patroclus, what art thou ? 
 
 Pair. Thou mayst tell that knowcst. 
 
 JchU. Oh, tell, tell. 
 
 Ther. I'll decline the whole question. Aga- 
 memnon commands Achilles; Achilles is my lord ; 
 I am Patro:Ius' knower; and Patroclus is a fool. 
 
 Pair. You rascal ! 
 
 Ther. Peace, fool ! I have not done. 
 
 Achil. He is a privileged man. — Proceed, 
 Thersites. 
 
 Thfr. Agamemnon is a fool ; Achilles is a 
 fool ; Thersites is a fool ; and, as aforesaid, Patro- 
 clus is a fool. 
 
 Achil. Derive this; come. 
 
 Ther. Agamemnon is a fool to offer to com- 
 mand Achilles; Achilles is a fool to be commanded 
 of Agamemnon ; Thersites is a fool to serve such 
 a fool ; and Patroclus is a fool positive.^^ 
 
 Pair. "Why am I a fool ? 
 
 Ther. Make that demand of the proven It 
 suffices me thou art. — Look you, who comes here ? 
 
 Achil. Patroclus, I'll speak with nobody. — 
 Come in with me, Thersites. \_Exit. 
 
 Ther. Here is such patchery,^* such juggling, 
 and such knavery ! all the argument is a gull and 
 a wanton ; a good quarrel to draw emulous fac- 
 tions and bleed to death upon. Now, the dry 
 serpigo subject! and war and luxury 
 
 Enter Agamemnon, Ulysses, Nestor, Diomedes, 
 and AjAX. 
 
 Agam. Where is Achilles ? 
 
 Pair. Within his tent ; but ill-dispos'd, my 
 lord. 
 
 Agam. Let it be known to him that we are here. 
 He shent^s our messengers; and we lay by 
 Our appertainments, visiting of him : 
 Let him be told so; lest perchance he think 
 We dare not move the question of our place. 
 Or know not what we are. 
 
 Pair. I shall say so to him. {Exit. 
 
 Ulyss. We saw him at the opening of his tent : 
 He is not sick. 
 
 Ajax. Yes, lion-sick, sick of proud heart : you 
 may call it melancholy, if you will favour the man ; 
 but, by my head, 'tis pride : but why, why ? let 
 him show us a cause. — A word, my lord. 
 
 [Takes Agamemnon aside. 
 
 Nest. What moves Ajax thus to bay at him ? 
 
 Ulyss. Achilles hath inveigled his fool from him. 
 
 Nest. Who, Thersites ? 
 
 Ulyss. He. 
 
 Nest. Then will Ajax lack matter, if he have 
 lost his argument. 
 
 Ulyss. No, you see, he is his argument that has 
 his argument, — Achilles. 
 
 Nest. All the better; their fraction is more our 
 wish than their faction : but it was a strong com- 
 posure a fool could disunite. 
 
 Ulyss. The amity that wisdom knits not, folly 
 may easily untie. — Here comes Patroclus. 
 
 Nest. No Achilles with him. 
 
 Ulyss. The elephant hath joints, but none for 
 courtesy : his legs are legs for necessity, not for 
 flexure.6? 
 
 Re-enter Patroclus. 
 
 Patr. Achilles bids me say, he is much sorry, 
 If anything more than your sport and pleasure 
 Did move your greatness and this noble state 
 To call upon him ; he hopes it is no other 
 But for your health and your digestion sake,— 
 An after-dinner's breath. 
 
 Agam. Hear you, Patroclus : — 
 We are too well acquainted with these answers : 
 But his evasion, wing'd thus swift with scorn. 
 Cannot outfly our apprehensions. 
 Much attribute he hath ; and much the reason 
 Why we ascribe it to him : yet all his virtues, — 
 Not virtuously on his own part beheld, — 
 Do in our eyes begin to lose their gloss ; 
 Yea, like fair fruit in an unwholesome dish. 
 
 62. ril decline the luhole question. The word " decline " is 
 here used in its grammatical sense ; to state the question in all 
 its forms, as a noun is stated in all its cases and numbers. See 
 Note 51, Act iv., " Richard III." 
 
 63. A fool positive. The reference to grammar terms is 
 sustained by the punning introduction of the word " positive," 
 which is used for an adjective in the first degree of comparison. 
 
 64. Patchery. Used by Shakespeare and other writers of 
 his time for 'villainy,' 'roguery,' 'cozenage;' 'contrivance of 
 fraud and deception,' ' making up tricks that will delude.' 
 
 65. Serpigo. A disorder that brings tetters upon the skin ; a 
 species of leprosy. See Note g, Act iii., " Measure for Measure." 
 
 66. Shent. ' Rated,' ' scolded,' ' abused.' See Note 37, 
 Act iv., "Twelfth Night," The Folio prints 'sent,' the Quarto 
 'sate' here ; Theobald made the correction. 
 
 67. Legs for necessity, not for flexure. It was an old belief 
 that the elephant could not bend its knees ; a belief shown to 
 be false by Sir Thomas Brown in his " Vulgar Errors." 
 
 63. Breath. Here used for 'breathing;' in the sense of 
 'e.\ercise,' 'relaxation.' See Note 49, Act i., "As You Like 
 It," and Note 44, Act i., " All's Well." 
 
 69. Attrihcte. This word here implies merit attributed, as 
 d^es the word " attributive," explained in Note 32 of the present 
 Act. 
 
Act II.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Are like to rot untasted. Go and tell him, 
 We come to speak with him ; and you shall not sin, 
 If you do say we think him over-proud 
 And under-honest ; in self-assumption greater 
 Than in the note of judgment; and worthier than 
 himself 
 
 Here tend the savage strangeness'" he puts on, 
 Disguise the holy strength of their command, 
 And underwrite in an observing kind^i 
 His humorous predominance j'^ yea, watch 
 His pettish limes, his ebbs, his flows, as if 
 The passage and whole carriage of this action 
 Rode on his tide. Go tell him this ; and add. 
 That if he overbold his price so much, 
 We'll none of him ; but let him, like an engine 
 Not portable, lie under this report, — 
 Bring action hither, this cannot go to war : 
 A stirring dwarf we do allowance'''' give 
 Before a sleeping giant:— tell him so. 
 Patr. I shall ; and bring his answer presenlly. 
 
 lExit. 
 
 Agam. In second voice we'll not be satisfied ; 
 We come to speak with him. — Ulysses, enter you. 
 
 ]^Exit Ulysses. 
 
 Ajax. What is he more than another ? 
 
 Agam. No more than what he thinks he is. 
 
 Ajax. Is he so much ? Do you not think he 
 thinks himself a better man than I am ? 
 
 Agam. No question. 
 
 Ajax. Will you subscribe his thought, and say 
 he is ? 
 
 Agam. No, noble Ajax ; you are as strong, ns 
 valiant, as wise, no less noble, much more gentle, 
 and altogether more tractable. 
 
 Ajax. Why should a man be proud ? How 
 doth pride grow ? I know not what pride is. 
 
 Agam. Your mind is the clearer, Ajax, and 
 your virtues the fairer. He that is proud eats uj) 
 himself: pride is his own glass, his own trumpet, 
 his own chronicle; and whatever praises itself but 
 in the deed, devours the deed in the praise. 
 
 Ajax. I do hate a proud man, as I hate the 
 engeniiering of toads. 
 
 70. Tend the savage strangeness. Here "tend" combines the 
 senses of ' attend to,' and ' attend upon ; ' while " savage strange- 
 ness" is used to express 'rude distance of manner ' or 'lofty airs.' 
 
 71. Underwrite in an observing kind. " Underwrite" is 
 here used so as to include the double meaning of ' take note of 
 and ' subscribe to ;' the latter bearing the sense of ' submit to.' 
 'defer to.' See Note 38, Act v., "All's Well." "Observing" 
 likewise is so employed as to convey the combined meaning of 
 'remarking,' and of 'paying observance to.' 
 
 72 His humorous predominance. ' His wayward domineer- 
 ing,' 'his petulant arrogance.' See Note 73, Act iv., "Second 
 Part Henry IV." 
 
 73. Lunes. 'Lunatic vagaries.' See Note 31, Act ii., 
 "Winter's Tale." The Folio misprints 'lines' for "lunes" 
 here. Hanmer's correction. 
 
 74. Allowance. 'Favourable acceptance,' 'approval.' See 
 Note 51, Act ii., " Merry Wives." 
 
 75. The death tokens. In allusion to the ominous spots that 
 
 Nest. [Aside.'] Yet he loves himself : is 't not 
 strange ? 
 
 Re-enter Ulysses. 
 
 Ulyss. Achilles will not to the field to-morrow. 
 
 Agam. What's his excuse ? 
 
 Ulyss. He doth rely on none ; 
 
 But carries on the stream of his dispose, 
 Without observance or respect of any, 
 In will peculiar and in self-admission. 
 
 Agam. Why will he not, upon our fair request, 
 Untent his person, and share the air with us? 
 
 Ulyss. Things small as nothing, for request's 
 sake only. 
 
 He makes important : possess'd he is with great- 
 ness ; 
 
 And speaks not to himself, but with a pride 
 That quarrels at self-breath : imagin'd worth 
 Holds in his blood such swoln and hot discourse. 
 That 'twixt his mental and his active parts 
 Kingdom'd Achilles in commotion i-ages. 
 And batters down himself : what should I say ? 
 He is so plaguy proud, that the death tokens" of it 
 Ciy " No recovery." 
 
 Agam. Let Ajax go to him. — 
 
 Dear lord, go you and greet him in his tent : 
 'Tis said he holds you well ; and will be led, 
 At your request, a little from himself. 
 
 Ulyss. O Agamemnon, let it not be so ! 
 We'll consecrate the steps that Ajax makes 
 I When they go from Achilles: shall the proud lord, 
 I That bastes his arrogance with his own seam,^"* 
 And never sufl^ers matter of the world 
 Enter his thoughts, — save such as do revolve 
 And ruminate himself,^? — shall he be worshipp'd 
 Of that we hold an idol more than he ? 
 No, this thrice-worthy and right-valiant lord 
 Must not so stale his palm, nobly acquir'd ; 
 Nor, by my will, assubjiigate his merit, 
 As amply titled as Achilles is, 
 By going to Achilles : 
 That were to enlard his fat-already pride. 
 And add more coals to Cancer'' when he burns 
 
 make their appearance on those who are attacked by the plague. 
 Dr. Hodges, in his "Treatise on the Plague," mentions "spots 
 of a dark complexion, usually called tokens, and looked on as 
 the pledges or forewarnings of death." 
 
 76. Seam. The grease or fat of an animal. Ritson says that 
 swine-seam ' is used in the North of England for ' hogs' lard.' * 
 
 77. Never sujfers matter 0/ the world enter his thoughts,— 
 save such as do revolve, Here the Folio prints "doe," 
 and the Quarto doth.' But we retain the Folio word in this 
 sentence, under the belief that Shakespeare, according to his 
 occasional mode of construction (see Note 115, Art iii.", " Henry 
 V.''), treats " matter " as a noun of multitude governing "do," 
 especially as the word "thoughts" intervenes, which gives a 
 plural effect to the antecedent. 
 
 78. Assubjugate. A peculiar form of 'subjugate,' used by 
 Shakespeare for the sake of metre ; French, assujettir. 
 
 79. Cancer. The crab : that sign of the zodiac into which 
 the sun enters on the 21st June. 
 
Act II.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 With entertaining great Hyperion.**" 
 This lord go to him ! Jupiter forbid ; 
 And say in thunder, " Achilles go to him." 
 
 Nest. [Aside.'] Oh, this is well ; he rubs the \ ein 
 of him. 
 
 D':o. [Asit/e.] And how his silence drinks up 
 this applause ! 
 
 AJax. If I go to him, with my armed fist 
 I'll pash^i him o'er the face. 
 
 Agam. Oh, no, you shall not go. 
 
 Ajax. An 'a be proud with me, I'll pheesc 
 his pride ; 
 Let me go to him. 
 
 Ulyss. Not for the worth that hangs upon our 
 quarrel. 8^ 
 
 Ajax. A paltry, insolent fellow ! 
 
 Nest. [Aside.] How he describes himself! 
 
 Ajax. Can he not be sociable ? 
 
 Ulyss. [Aside.] The raven chides blackness. 
 
 Ajax. I 11 let his humours blood. 
 
 A^am. [Aside.] He will be the physician that 
 should be the patient. 
 
 Ajax. An all men were o' my mind,— 
 
 Ulyss. [Aside.] Wit would be out of fashion. 
 
 Ajax. 'A should not bear it so, 'a should eat 
 swords first: shall pride carry it P 
 
 Nest. [Aside.] An 'twould, you'd carry half. 
 
 Ulyss. [Aside.] 'A would have ten shares. 
 
 Ajax. I will knead him, I'll make him supple. 
 
 Nest. [Aside.] He's not yet through warm: '5'* 
 force^^ him with praises: pour in, pour in; his 
 ambition is dry. 
 
 Ulyss. [To Agam.] My lord, you feed too much 
 on this dislike. 
 
 Nest. Our noble general, do not do so. 
 
 80. Hyperion. A poetical name for the sun. 
 
 81. Pash. An old expressive word for 'strike crushingly,' 
 'knock smashingly,' 'hit bruisingly.' 
 
 82. Plieese. 'Tease,' 'torment/ 'worry.* See Note 2, In- 
 duction, "Taming of the Shrew." 
 
 83. The ■worth that hangs nfio/i our quarrel. ' The amount 
 of value staked in this our war.' 
 
 84. He's not yet through warm. The Folio makes these the 
 concluding words of Ajax's preceding speech. Capell altered 
 "through" to 'thorough;' but not only was the one word 
 frequently used for the other formerly (see Note 16, Act ii,, 
 "Winter's Tale"), but 'warm tlirough' is still an expression 
 
 85. Force. 'Stuff,' 'cram:' we have still the expression 
 * force-meat ' for * stuffing.' French, y^zmV, to stuff. See Note 
 33, Act iv., " Henry V." 
 
 86. Emulous. ' Enviously desirous of distinction,' ' factiously 
 eager to surpass others,' ' full of arrogant rivalry.' See Note 56 
 of this Act. 
 
 87. Strange. 'Haughtily distant,' 'holding himself aloof.' 
 See Note 70 of this Act. 
 
 88. Composure. 'Composition,' 'compounded qualities.' 
 
 89. Bull-bearing Milo his addition yield. Milo was a cele- 
 brated athlete of Crotona, in Italy ; whose epithet here alludes 
 to his having been said to carry on his shoulders a bull of four 
 years old for more than forty yards, to have then killed it with 
 a single blow of his fist, and finally to have eaten it in one day. 
 Shakespeare is accused by Malone of " here, as usual, paying no 
 
 Dio. You must prepare to fight without Achilles. 
 Ulyss. Why, 'tis this naming of him does him 
 harm. 
 
 Here is a man — but 'tis before his face ; 
 I will be silent. 
 
 Nest Wherefore should you so ? 
 
 He is not emulous, as Achilles is. 
 
 Ulyss. Know the whole world, he is as valiant. 
 
 Ajax. A dog, that shall palter thus with us ! 
 Would he were a Trojan ! 
 
 Nest. What a vice were it in Ajax now, — 
 
 Ulyss. If he were proud, — 
 
 Dio. Or covetous of praise, — 
 
 Ulyss. Ay, or surly borne, — 
 
 Dio. Or strange/' or self-afFected ! 
 
 Ulyss. Thank the heavens, lord, thou art of 
 sweet composure ; 8' 
 Praise him that got thee, her that gave thee suck : 
 Fam'd be thy tutor, and thy parts of nature 
 Thri-e-fain'd, beyond all erudition : 
 But he that disciplin'd thy arms to fight, 
 Let Mars divide eternity in twain. 
 And give him half: and, for thy vigour, 
 [JuU-bearing Milo his addition yield ^9 
 To sinewy Ajax. 1 will not praise thy wisdom, 
 Which, like a bourn, a pale, a shore, confines 
 Thy spacious and dilated parts : here's Nestor, — 
 Instructed by the antiquary times, 
 He must, he is, he cannot but be wise ; — 
 But pardon, father Nestor, were your days 
 As green as Ajax', and your brain so temper'd, 
 You should not have the eminence of him. 
 But be as Ajax. 
 
 Ajax. Shall I call you father r^" 
 
 Ulyss. Ay, my good son.'' 
 
 regard to chronology," because Milo lived long after the era of 
 tlie Trojan war; but we have frequently shown how the poet 
 used incidents for the sake of their value in apt illustration, 
 rather than with strict regard to their relative date. See Note 
 50 of the present Act. "Addition" is here used for 'title,' 
 'reputation for a certain quality.' See Note 20, Act i. 
 
 90. Shall I call you father ? In Shakespeare's time adoptive 
 titles of relationship from predilection or sympathetic pursuit 
 were not uncommon. Ben Jonson had many admirers v."ho 
 styled themselves his sons; Cotton dedicated his book on 
 angling to his father Walton ; and Ashmole, in his Diary, 
 records thus : — "April 3, Mr. William Backhouse, of Swallow- 
 field, Berks, caused me to call him father thenceforward." 
 Shakespeare alludes to the custom of an interchange of name 
 and adopted kinship between girlish schoolfellows in " Measure 
 for Measure," Act i., sc. 5 ; and it is not improbable that some 
 such kind of affectionate compact subsisted between himself 
 and the members of a certain family named Greene, who 
 resided near him in Stratford-upon-Avon, particulars of which 
 "adoptions" cousinship the space of the present note will not 
 allow, but which will be found in our life of the Poet. 
 
 gt. Ay, jny good son. The Quarto and some modern editors 
 assign this speech to Nestor ; but we follow the Folio in giving 
 it to Ulysses, whereby Ajax's proposal, " Shall I call you 
 father ?" and Diomedes' words, " Be rul'd by him.," are made to 
 apply to the astute Ithacan, who has won Ajax by his flattery, 
 and has counselled him throughout the scene, while Nestor has 
 said comparatively nothing. 
 
Pandarus. Fair be to you, my lord, and to all this fair company ! 
 
 Act 111. Scene I. 
 
Act III.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Dio. Be rul'd by him, Lord Ajax. 
 
 U/yss. There is no tarrying here ; the hart 
 Achilles 
 
 Keeps thicket. Please it our great general 
 To call together all his state of war; 
 Fresh kings are come to 'I'roy : to-morrow 
 
 We must with all our main of power stand fast : 
 And here's a lord, — come knights from east to west. 
 And cull their flower, Ajax shall cope the best. 
 
 Agam. Go we to council. Let Achilles sleep : 
 Light boats sail swift, though greater hulks draw 
 deep. \_Exeunt. 
 
 ACT III.- 
 
 SCENE L— Troy. A Room in Priam's Palace. 
 Enter a Servant and Pandarus. 
 
 Pan. Friend, you, — pray you, a word : do nol 
 you follow the young Lord Paris ? 
 
 Serv. Ay, sir, when he goes before me. 
 
 Pan. You depend upon him, I mean ? 
 
 Serv. Sir, I do depend upon the lord. 
 
 Pan. You depend upon a noble gentleman ; I 
 must needs praise him. 
 
 Serv. The lord be praised ! 
 
 Pan. You know me, do you not ? 
 
 Serv. Faith, sir, superficially. 
 
 Pail. Friend, know me better ; I am the Lord 
 Pandarus. 
 
 Ser'u. I hope I shall know your honour better.^ 
 
 Pan. I do desire it. 
 
 Sernj. You are in the state of grace. 
 
 Pan. Grace! not so, friend; honour and lord- 
 ship are my iit\ts.'^—\_Music iviihin.] What music 
 is this ? 
 
 Serv. I do but partly know, sir : it is music in 
 parts. 
 
 Pan. K now you the musicians f 
 
 Serv. Wholly, sir. 
 
 Pan. Who play they to ? 
 
 Serv. To the hearers, sir. 
 
 Pan. At whose pleasure, friend ? 
 
 Serv. At mine, sir, and theirs that love music. 
 
 1. Know your honour better. Said with a play upon the 
 expression, as if replying in the sense of 'know your honour 
 more fully,' but meaning 'know your honour a better man 
 than you are now.' Pandarus takes the servant's words in 
 the former sense, rejoining, "I do desire it;" and then the 
 servant, choosing to understand him as saying he desires to 
 become a better man, answers that in that case he is " in the 
 state of grace." 
 
 2. Grace', not so, friend; honour, (sr'c. Pandarus, mystified 
 by the servant's banter, exclaims at the word "grace," suppos- 
 ing it is used mistakenly, and given to him as the proper form 
 of address to a duke ; whereas, he tells him, " honour and lord- 
 ship" are his due "titles." See Note 30, Act ii., "Measure 
 for Measure." 
 
 3. Love's invisible soul. Hanmer changed "invisible" to 
 ' visible ' here ; but the original phrase means ' love's celestial 
 essence as made manifest in her,' ' the ethereal spirit of love as 
 impersonated in her.' Just one of those hyperbolical terms 
 (similar to the previous fantastic expression, " the heart-blood of 
 beauty ") which are playfully satirised in the passages referred 
 
 Pan. Command, I mean, friend. 
 
 Sew. Who shall I command, sir ? 
 
 Pan. Friend, we understand not one another : 
 I am too courtly, and thou art too cunning. At 
 whose request do these men play ? 
 
 Serv. That's to 't, mdeed, sir : marry, sir, at 
 the request of Paris my lord, who's there in person ; 
 with him, the mortal Venus, the heart-blood of 
 beauty, love's invisible soul,^ — 
 
 Pan, Who, my cousin Cressida ? 
 
 Sew. No, sir, Helen: could you not find out 
 that by her attributes ? 
 
 Pan. It should seem, fellow, that thou hast not 
 seen the Lady Cressida. I come to speak with Paris 
 from the Prince Troilus : I will make a compli- 
 mental assault upon him, for my business seethes.* 
 
 Scrv. Sodden business ! there's a stewed phrase 
 indeed ! 
 
 Enter Paris and Helen, attended. 
 
 Pan. Fair be to you, my lord, and to all this 
 fair company ! fair desire.s, in all fair measure, 
 fairly guide them ! — especially to you, fair queen! 
 fair thoughts be your fair pillow ! 
 
 Helen. Dear lord, you are full of fair words. 
 
 Pan. You speak your fair pleasure, sweet 
 queen. — Fair prince, here is good broken music. ^ 
 
 Par. You haveiroke it, cousin :^ and, by my 
 life, you shall make it whole again ; you shall piece 
 
 to in Note 100, Act v., " Love's Labour's Lost,'' and Note 25, 
 Act i., " All's Well." 
 
 4. My business seethes. ' My business is in boiling-hot haste,' 
 'The business I come upon is bubbling and galloping with 
 eagerness to be done.' The waggish servant, whose freedom is 
 warranted by Pandarus's gossiping familiarity with him, sneers 
 at the flabby insipidity of the "phrase" by the epithets 
 "sodden" and "stewed." 
 
 5. Broken music. An old technical term for music played 
 upon stringed instruments ; for an explanation of which, see 
 Note 41, Act i., " As You Like It." 
 
 6. Yori have broke it, cousin. It has been previously ex- 
 plained, in several of our notes upon this subject, that " cousin " 
 was a term used with much latitude, to express various degrees 
 of relationship (as in this very scene Pandarus speaks of his 
 niece as " my cousin Cressida"), and that it was even used by 
 persons between whom there existed merely adopted kinship; 
 here, therefore, " cousin," as applied by Paris to Pandarus, may 
 signify either of these modes of address. There was a Pandarus, 
 son to Lycaon, who was a son of Priam by his former wife 
 
Act III.J 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene 1. 
 
 it out with a piece of your perfonnance. — Nell, he 
 is full of harmony. 
 
 Pan. Truly, lady, no. 
 
 Helen. Oh, sir, — 
 
 Pan. Rude, in sooth ; in good sooth, very rude. 
 Par. Well said, my lord ! well, you say so in 
 fits. 7 
 
 Pan. I have business to my lord, dear queen. — 
 My lord, will you vouchsafe me a word ? 
 
 Helen. Nay, this shall not hedge us out : we'll 
 hear you sing, certainly. 
 
 Pan. Well, sweet queen, you are pleasant with 
 me. — But, marry, thus, my loid, — My dear lord, 
 and most esteemed friend, your brother Troilus, — 
 
 Helen. My Lord Pandarus ; honey-sweet lord, — 
 
 Pan. Go to, sweet queen, go to : — commends 
 himself most affectionately to you,— 
 
 Helen. You shall not bob us out of our melody : 
 if you do, our melancholy upon your head ! 
 
 Pan. Sweet queen, sweet queen ; that's a sweet 
 queen, i' faith. 
 
 Helen. And to make a sweet lady sad is a 
 sour offence. 
 
 Pan. Nay, that shall not serve your turn ; that 
 shall it not, in truth, la. Nay, I care not for such 
 words; no, no.^ — And, my lord, he desires voii, 
 that if the king call for him at supper, you will 
 make his excuse. 
 
 Helen. My Lord Pandarus,— 
 
 Pan. What says my sweet queen, — my very 
 very sweet queen ? 
 
 Par. What exploit's in hand ? where sups he 
 to-night? 
 
 Helen. Nay, but, my lord, — 
 
 Pan. What says my sweet queen ? My cousin 
 will fall out with you. You must not know where 
 he sups. 9 
 
 Par. I'll lay my life, with my disposer Cressida. 
 Pan. No, no, no such matter ; you are wide : 
 come, your disposer is sick. 
 Par. Well, I'll make excuse. 
 
 Laothoe ; and it is possible that Shakespeare may have blended 
 the identity of this Pandarus with that of the Pandarus who 
 figures in Chaucer as Troilus's devoted friend ; or, it may be 
 that Paris uses the term "cousin^' as a token of the easy 
 familiarity which subsisted between himself and his brother's 
 associate. Pandarus is made by the dramatist to pop in aiid 
 out of his friend's home, loiter about chatting with servants 
 trifle away quarters of hours with the ladies of the house, carry 
 messages to and fro, tattle the news, potter, play the busy-body, 
 meddle and make in every one's affairs, in the true style of 
 hanger-on to the family,— one who is allied to it by " cousin- ' 
 ship," signifying kindred connection or intimate acquaintance. [ 
 
 7. You say so in Jits. A "fit" was the term for a part or 
 division of a song or tune, and was used for a strain of music. | 
 Paris employs the expression "in fits" with a play upon the ' 
 word, in reference to the sense here explained, and in the sense I 
 of ' by fits and starts,' ' capriciously.' 
 
 8. Nay, I care not for such words ; no, no. Rowe made the 
 first portion of this speech part of Helen's preceding one ; but 
 inasmuch as Pandarus is evidently trying to escape from Helen's 
 
 Pan. Ay, good my lord. Why should you say 
 Cressida ? no, your poor disposer's sick. 
 Par. I spy. 
 
 Pan. You spy! what do you spy ?— Come, 
 give me an instrument. — Now, sweet queen. 
 
 Helen. Why, this is kindly done. 
 
 Pan. My niece is horribly in love with a thing 
 you have, sweet queen. 
 
 Helen. She shall have it, my lord, if it be not 
 my lord Paris. 
 
 Pan. He ! no, she'll none of him ; they two are 
 tuain. — Come, come, I'll hear no more of this; I'll 
 sing you a song now. 
 
 Helen. Ay, ay, pr'ythee now. By iny troth, 
 sweet lord, thou hast a fine forehead. 
 
 Pan. Ay, you may, you may." 
 
 Helen. Let thy song be love : this love will 
 undo us all. O Cupid, Cupid, Cupid ! 
 
 Pan. Love ! ay, that it shall, i' faith. 
 
 Par. Ay, good now, love, love, nothing but love. 
 
 Pan. In good troth, it begins so. \Sings. 
 
 Love, love, nothing but love, still more ! 
 
 For, oh, love's bow 
 
 Shoots buck and doe : 
 
 The shaft confounds. 
 
 Not that it wounds. 
 But tickles still the sore. 
 These lovers cry — Oh ! oh .' they die ! 
 
 Yet that which seems the wound to kill. 
 Doth turn oh ! oh ! to ha ! ha ! he ! 
 
 So dying love lives still : 
 Oh ! oh ! a while, but ha ! ha ! ha ! 
 Oh ! oh ! groans out for ha ! ha ! ha ! 
 
 Heigh-ho ! 
 
 Helen. In love, i' faith, to the very tip of the nose. 
 
 Par. He eats nothing but doves, love ; and that 
 breeds hot blood, and hot blood begets hot thoughts, 
 and hot thoughts beget hot deeds, and hot deeds is 
 love. 
 
 Pan. Is this the generation of love? hot blood, 
 hot thoughts, and hot deeds ? Why, they are 
 \ipers: is love a generation of vipers ?— Sweet 
 lord, who's a-field to-day ? 
 
 playful persecution, they may be rightly assigned in the old 
 text, which we here follow. 
 
 g. Yoii must not know wJiere he sups. The old copies assign 
 these words to Helen ; whereas they obviously belong to Pan- 
 darus. Hanmer made the correction. 
 
 10. BIy disposer. ' My disposer to mirth,' ' my incliner to 
 merry talk,' ' my inciter to gaiety.' See Note 26, Act ii., 
 "Love's Labour's Lost," and Note 42, Act ii., "Twelfth Night." 
 It appears to us that this epithet, put by the dramatist into 
 Paris's mouth as applied to Cressida, serves to aid in depicting 
 her with the consistency of frivolous character by which he has 
 marked her. Our here being let to perceive by a single signifi- 
 cant word that she has been a light talker with Paris, a gay 
 flutterer and chatterer with him who caused Helen's abduction, 
 is perfectly in accordance with her manner throughout the play, 
 and especially at the time of her introduction to the assembled 
 generals of the Grecian camp, in Act iv., sc. 5. 
 
 11. Ay, you may, you may. An idiomatic expression formerly 
 in common use, signifying ' Ay, you may go on,' ' you are 
 privileged to say what you please.' 
 
Act III.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Par. Hector, Deiphobus, Helenas, Antenor, 
 and all the gallantry oF Troy : I would fain have 
 armed to-day, but my Nell would not have it so. 
 How chance my brother Troilus went not ? 
 
 Helen. He hangs the lip at something : — you 
 know all. Lord Pandarus. 
 
 Pan. Not I, honey-sweetqueen. — I long to hear 
 how they sped to-Jdy. — You'll remember your 
 brother's excuse ? 
 
 Par. To a hair. 
 
 Pan. Farewell, sweet queen. 
 
 Helen. Commend me to your niece. 
 
 PlIH. I will, sweet queen. \^Exit. 
 
 [A retreat sounded. 
 
 Par. They're come from field : let us to 
 Priam's hall, 
 
 To greet the warriors. Sweet Helen, I must woo you 
 To help unarm our Hector: his stubborn buckles, 
 With these your white enchanting fingers touch'd, 
 Shall more obey than to the edge of steel 
 Or force of Greekish sinews; you shall do more 
 Than all the island kings, — disarm great Hector. 
 Helen. ' Tuill make us proud to be his servant, 
 Paris ; 
 
 Yea, what he shall receive of us in duty 
 Gives us more palm in beauty than we have, 
 Yea, overshines ourself. 
 Par. Sweet, above thought 1 love thee. 
 
 \^Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE II.— Teoy. Pandarus' Orchard. 
 Enter Pandarus and Troilus' Boy, meeting. 
 Pan. How now! where's thy master? at my 
 cousin Cressida's ? 
 
 Boy. No, sir; he stays for you to conduct him 
 thither. 
 
 Pan. Oh, here he comes. 
 
 Enter Troilus. 
 How now, how now ! 
 
 Tro. Sirrah, walk off. \_Exit Boy. 
 
 Pan. Have you seen my cousin ? 
 
 12. The Stygian banks. The banks of Styx, a river of the 
 Shades below, across which "Charon" (see Note 88, Act i., 
 " Richard III.") ferried the souls of the dead to torment, or to 
 the Elysian " fields," according to the several destinies of the 
 condemned or " the deserver." 
 
 13. Thrice-repurSd. The Folio and some of the Quarto 
 copies print ' reputed ' for " repured " here. " Thrice-repured," 
 as an epithet expressive of ' quintessentially pure,' ' niost 
 refined,' is far more likely to be Shakespeare's word here than 
 the comparatively feeble one of thrice reputed ; ' which latter 
 gives merely the idea of largely renowned, instead of represent- 
 ing the principle constantly maintained by our grand poet, that 
 love is the purest of essences as well as the most purifying and 
 ennobling. Indeed, it is noteworthy, both as serving to illustrate 
 this principle of his, and as aiding to determine the reading in 
 the present passage, how very frequently in his works we find 
 the word " pure " and the word " love " in combination. 
 
 Iro. No, Pandarus : I stalk about her door, 
 Like a strange soul upon the Stygian banks''^ 
 Staying for waftage. Oh, be thou my Charon, 
 And give me swift transportance to those fields 
 Where I may wallow in the lily-beds 
 Propos'd for the deserver! Oh, gentle Pandarus, 
 From Cupid's shoulder pluck his painted wings, 
 And fly with me to Cressid ! 
 
 Pan. Walk here 1' the orchard, I'll bring her 
 straiglit. lExii. 
 
 Tro. I am giddy; expectation whirls me round. 
 The imaginary relish is so sweet 
 That it enchants my sense : what will it be. 
 When that the watery palate tastes indeed 
 Love's thrice-repured'^ nectar ? death, I fear me ; 
 Swooning destruction ; or some joy too fine, 
 Too subtle-potent, turn'd too sharp in sweetness. 
 For the capacity of my ruder powers : 
 I fear it much ; and 1 do fear besides, 
 1'hat I shall lose distinction in my joys ; 
 As doth a battle, when they charge on heaps 
 The enemy flying.'* 
 
 Re-enter Pandarus. 
 Pan. She's making her ready, she'll coire 
 straight: you must be witty'" now. Shd does so 
 blush, and fetches her wind so short, as if she were 
 frayed with a sprite : I'll fetch iier. It is the 
 prettiest villain : she fetches her breath as short as 
 a new-ta'en sparrow. \^F.x'it. 
 Tro. Even such a passion doth embrace my 
 bosom : 
 
 My heart beats thicker'^ than a fev'rous pulse ; 
 And all my powers do their bestowing" lose. 
 Like vassalage at unawares encountering 
 The eye of majesty. 
 
 Re-enter Pandarus 'vjith Cressida. 
 Pan. Come, come, what need you blush ? 
 shame's a baby. — Here she is now : swear the 
 oaths now to her that you have sworn to me. — 
 What, are you gone again ? you must be watched'^ 
 ere you be made tame, must you ? Come your 
 ways, come your ways ; an you draw backward, we'll 
 
 14. As dotk a battle, when they charge on heaps the enemy 
 flyinz- " Battle" is used as a noun of multitude, for a collec- 
 tion of armed men, and is here followed by the pronoim 
 "they." See Note 2, Act iv., "Henry V." " On heaps " is 
 an idiom elsewhere used by Shakespeare. See Note 28, Act v., 
 " Henry V." 
 
 :S. Yott must be witty. Here employed to express what is 
 now meant by ' you must have your wits about yon,' Shake- 
 speare uses the words " wit " and " witty " with varied significa- 
 tion. See Note 16, Act iv , " Richard III." 
 
 16. Thicker. ' Faster,' ' more quickly,' ' more rapidly.' See 
 Note 52, Act ii., " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 17. Bestowing. Here used for 'governance,' ' due conduct,' 
 ' proper management,' ' fit control.' See Note 47, Act ii.. 
 "Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 18. Watched. A term used in falconry for taming a hawk by 
 keeping it from sleeping See Note 19, Act v., " Merry Wives." 
 
 32 
 
Act III.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene 11. 
 
 put )'ou i' the fills."— Why do you not speak to 
 her P — Come, draw this curtain, and let's see your 
 picture. 2° Alas! the day, how loth you are to 
 offend daylight! an 'twere dark, you'd close sooner. 
 So, so ; rub on, and kiss the mistress.^' How now ! 
 a kiss in fee-farm I'^ build there, carpenter; the 
 air is sweet. Nay, you shall fight your hearts out 
 eie I part you. The falcon as the tercel, for all 
 the ducks i' the river : go to, go to. 
 
 Tro. You have bereft me of all words, lady. 
 
 Pan. Words pay no debts, give her deeds : but 
 she'll bereave you o' the deeds too, if she call your 
 activity in question. What ! billing again ? Here's 
 — "In witness whereof the parties interchangeably 
 — Come in, come in : I'll go get a fire. \Exit. 
 
 Cres. Will you walk in, my lord ? 
 
 Tro. O Cressida,how often have I wished me thus! 
 
 Cres. Wished, my lord!— The gods grant, — 
 01), my lord ! 
 
 Tro. What should they grant ? what makes this 
 pretty abruption ? What too curious dreg espies 
 my sweet lady in the fountain of our love ? 
 
 Cres. More dregs than water, if my fears have 
 eyes. 
 
 Tro. Fears make devils of cherubins ; they 
 never see truly. 
 
 Cres. Blind fear, that seeing reason leads, finds 
 safer footing than blind reason stumbling without 
 fear: to fear the worst oft cures the worse. 
 
 Tro. Oh, let my lady apprehend no fear:^-! in all 
 Cupid's pageant there is presented no mons.ter. 
 
 Cres. Nor nothing monstrous neither ? 
 
 Tro. Nothing, but our undertakings ; when we 
 vow to weep seas, live in fire, eat rocks, tame 
 tigers ; thinking it harder for our mistress to 
 devise imposition enough than for us to undergo 
 any difficulty imposed. This is the monstrosity 
 in love, lady, — that the will is infinite, and the 
 execution confined; that the desire is boundless, 
 and the act a slave to limit. 
 
 Cres. They say, all lovers swear more per- 
 formance than they are able, and yet reserve an 
 ability that tliey never perform ; vowing more than 
 the perfection of ten, and discharging less than the 
 tenth part of one. They that have the voice of 
 lions and the act of hares, are they not monsters ? 
 
 19. The Jills. The shafts. See Note 29, Act ii., " Merchant 
 of Venice." 
 
 20. Come, d!-aiu this curtain, and let's see your picture. 
 Almost the same words are used by Sh.ikespeare elsewhere to 
 signify withdrawing a veil from before a lady's face. See the 
 speech referred to in Note 105, Act i.. " Twelfth Night." 
 
 21. Ruli on, a7id kiss the mistress. Terms u-ed in the game of 
 bowls; "the mistress" or "the jack" is ihe name of the 
 sm.alle- bowl, used as a mark for the other bowls ; and when 
 any of them kiss it, an advantage is gained. 
 
 22. In fee-farm. A law technicality, to express ' in perpetuity,' 
 'for ever.' See Note ig, Act iv., " IVIerry Wives." 
 
 23. The falcon as the tercel. An elliptical idiom, "as" im- 
 plying ' is as good as." " The falcon " is the female hawk, " the 
 
 Tro. Are there such "i such are not we : praise 
 us as we are tasted, allow us as we prove ; our head 
 shall go bare till merit crown it: no perfection in 
 reversion shall have a praise in present : we will 
 not name desert before his birth ; and, being born, 
 his addition's shall be humble. Few words to fair 
 faith : Troilus shall be such to Cressid, as wliat 
 envy can say worst, shall be a mock for his truth ;"'' 
 and what truth can speak truest, not truer than 
 Troilus. 
 
 Cres. Will you walk in, my lord ? 
 
 Re-enter Pandarus. 
 
 Pan. What ! blushing still ? have you not done 
 talking yet ? 
 
 Cres. Well, uncle, what felly I commit, I 
 dedicate to you. 
 
 Pan. I thank you for that. Be true to my 
 lord : if he flinch, chide me for it. 
 
 Tro. You know now your hostages; youruncle's 
 word and my firm faith. 
 
 Pan. Nay, I'll give my word for her too: our 
 kindred, though they be long ere they are wooed, 
 they are constant being won : they are burs, I can 
 tell you ; they'll stick where they are thrown. 
 
 Cres. Boldness comes to me now, and brings 
 me heart : — 
 Prince Troilus, I have lov'd you night and day 
 For many weary months. 
 
 Tro. Why was my Cressid, then, so hard to win ? 
 
 Cres. Hard to seem won : but I was won, my lord. 
 With the first glance that ever — -pardon me, — 
 If I confess much, you will play the tyrant. 
 I love you now; but not, till now, so much 
 But I might master it: — in faith, I lie ; 
 My thoughts were like unbridled children, grown 
 Too headstrong for their mother : — see, we fools ! 
 Why h ive I blabb'd ? who shall be true to us, 
 When we are so unsecret to ourselves ? — 
 But, though I lov'd you well, I woo'd you not ; 
 And yet, good faith, I wish'd myself a man. 
 Or that we women had men's privilege 
 Of speaking first. Sweet, bid me hold my tongue ; 
 For, in this rapture, I shall surely speak 
 The thing I shall repent. See, see, your silence. 
 Cunning in dumbness,^'" from my weakness draws 
 
 tercel " is the male hawk ; therefore the speaker means that he 
 will match his niece against her lover as equal in excellence. 
 
 24. Apprehend no fear. In allusion to the impersonation of 
 Fear in the old pageants and moralities. The previous words, 
 "fears make devils of cherubins," serve to confirm this point, 
 as illustrated by a somewhat similar passage in " Antony and 
 Cleopatra," Act ii., sc. 3—" Near him thy angel becomes a 
 Fear." 
 
 2$. Addition. 'Title.' See Note 89, Act ii. 
 
 26. What envy can say worst, shall be a mock for his truth. 
 ' That which malice may say against him, shall be made an 
 irony his true fidelity.' 
 
 27. Your silence, cunning in djimhness. The Folio prints 
 ' comming ' for " cunning." Pope's correction. 
 
Act III.] 
 
 TRoiLus an: 
 
 D CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene 111. 
 
 My very soul of counsel !— stop my mouth. 
 
 Tro. And shall, albeit sweet music issues thence. 
 Pan. Pretty, i' faith. 
 
 Cres. My lord, I do beseech you, pardon me ; 
 'Twas not my purpose, thus to beg a kiss : 
 I am asham'd ; — Oh, heavens ! what have I done 'i 
 For this time will I take my leave, my lord. 
 
 Tro. Your leave, sweet Cressid 
 
 Pan. Leave ! an you take leave till to-morrow 
 morning, — 
 
 Cres. Pray you, content you. 
 
 Tro. What offends you, lad\ ? 
 
 Cres. Sir, mine own company. 
 
 Tro. You cannot shun 
 
 Yourself. 
 
 Cres. Let me go and try : 
 1 have a kind of self resides with you ; 
 But an unkind self, that itself will leave, . 
 To be another's fool. I would be gone : — • 
 Where is my wit ? I know not what I speak. 
 
 Tro. Well know they what they speak that 
 speak so wisely. 
 
 Cres. Perchance, my lord, I show more craft 
 than love ; 
 
 And fell so roundly to a large confession, 
 To angle for your thoughts: but you are wise; 
 Or else you love not ; for to be wise and love 
 Exceeds man's might; that dwells with godsabove. 
 
 Tro. Oh, that 1 thought it could be in a woman, 
 (As, if it can, I will presume in you,) 
 To feed for aye her lamp and flames of love ; 
 To keep her constancy in plight and youth. 
 Outliving beauty's outward, with a mind 
 That doth renew swifter than blood decays ! 
 Or, that persuasion could but thus convince me, — 
 That my integrity and truth to you 
 Might be affionted'^^ with the match and weight 
 Of such a winnow'd purity in love; 
 How were I then uplifted ! but, alas ! 
 I am as true as truth's simplicity. 
 And simpler than the infancy of truth. 
 
 Cres. In that I'll war with you. 
 
 Tro. Oh, virtuous fight, 
 
 When right with right wars who shall be most right! 
 True swains in love shall, in the world to coine. 
 Approve theirtruths by Troilus: when their rhymes. 
 
 28. Affronted. 'Confronted,' 'met,' 'matched.' See Note 
 7, Act v., "Winter's Tale." 
 
 29. As ptantage to the moon. " Plantage " is here used to 
 express whatever is planted, ' vegetation ; ' which was formerly 
 supposed to be influenced in its growth by the moon. An illus- 
 tration of this belief is afforded by a passage from Reginald 
 Scott's "Biscoverie of Witchcraft The poore husbandman 
 perceiveth that the increase of the mooKe maketh //ants fruteful : 
 so as in the/jttt moone they are in the best strength ; decaieing 
 in the wane; and in the conjunction doutterlie wither and vade." 
 
 30. Pard. An abbreviated form of ' leopard.' See Note 31, 
 Act iv., "Tempest." 
 
 31. Let all constant men be Troiluses. Hanmer changed 
 
 Full of protest, of oath, and big compare. 
 
 Want similes, truth tir'd with iteration, — 
 
 As true as steel, as plantage to the moon,^^ 
 
 As sun to day, as turtle to her mate. 
 
 As iron to adamant, as earth to the centre, — 
 
 Yet, after all comparisons of truth. 
 
 As truth's authentic author to be cited. 
 
 As true as Troilus shall crown up the verse. 
 
 And sanctify the numbers. 
 
 Cres. Prophet may you be ! 
 
 If I be false, or swerve a hair from truth, 
 When time is old and hath forgot itself. 
 When waterdrops have worn the stones of Troy, 
 And blind oblivion swallow'd cities up. 
 And mighty states characterless are grated 
 To dusty nothing ; yet let memory. 
 From false to false, among false maids in love. 
 Upbraid my falsehood! when they've said — as false 
 As air, as water, wind, or sandy earth. 
 As fox to lamb, as wolf to heifer's calf, 
 Pard 3" to the hind, or stepdame to her son ; 
 Yea, let them say, to stick the heart of falsehood, 
 As false as Cressid. 
 
 Pan. Go to, a bargain made : seal it, seal it ; 
 ril be the witness. Here I hold your hand ; here 
 luy cousin's. If ever you prove false one to 
 another, since I have taken such pains to bring 
 you together, let all pitiful goers-between be called 
 to the world's end after my name, call them all — 
 Pandars; let all constant men be Troiluses,^' all 
 false women Cressids, and all brokers-between 
 Pandars ! say. Amen. 
 
 Tro. Amen. 
 
 Cres. Amen. 
 
 Pan. Amen. \_Ex6unt. 
 
 SCENE m.—The Grecian Camp. 
 Enter Agamemnon, Ulysses, Diomedes, Nestor, 
 AjAX, Menelaus, and Calchas. 
 Cal. Now, princes, for the service I have done you. 
 The advantage of the time prompts me aloud 
 To call for recompense. Appear it to your mind-''- 
 That, through the sight I bear in things, to Jove 
 I have abandon'd Troy,^^ left my possession, 
 
 " constant " to ' inconstant ' here ; but Shakespeare is not only 
 making the epithet accord with his own and his audience's 
 knowledge of subsequent event, but he is also making it accord 
 with Troilus's just-made professions of truth and constancy; 
 therefore Pandarus may well say, in case of a breach of mutual 
 faith, " Let all constant men be Troiluses," as the severest sneer 
 of posthumous reproach he could invoke. 
 
 32. Appear it to your mitid. ' Let it appear to your mind.' 
 See Note 95, Act v., " Henry VIIL" 
 
 33. Through the sight I bear in thijigs, to Jove I have 
 abandon'd Troy. The Folio prints the ninth word in this 
 sentence so as to leave it a matter of doubt whether it be in- 
 tended for 'loue' (love), or " loue " (Jove); and the doubt has 
 
Act III.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Incurr'd a traitor's name; expoj'd m)belf, 
 
 From certain and possess'd conveniences, 
 
 To doubtful fortunes ; sequestering from me all 
 
 That time, acquaintance, custom, and condition, 
 
 IVIade tame and most familiar to my nature; 
 
 And here, to do you service, am become 
 
 As new into the world, strange, unacquainted : 
 
 I do beseech you, as in way of taste, 
 
 To give me now a little benefit. 
 
 Out of those many register'd in promise, 
 
 Which, ) 0u say, live to come in my behalf. 
 
 Agam. What wouldst thou of us, Trojan? 
 make demand. 
 
 Cal. You have a Trojan prisoner, call'd Antenor, 
 Yesterday took : Troy holds him very dear. 
 Oft have you (often have you thanks therefore) 
 Desir'd my Cressid in right great exchange, 
 Whom Troy hath still denied : but this Antenor, 
 I know, is such a wrest^^ in their affairs, 
 That their negotiations all must slack. 
 Wanting his manage ; and they will almost 
 Give us a prince of blood, a son of Priam, 
 In change of him : let him be sent, great princes. 
 And he shall buy my daughter; and her presence 
 Shall quite strike off all service I have done, j 
 In most accepted pain. 3* j 
 
 Agam. l et Diomedes bear him, ! 
 
 And bring us Cressid hither: Calchas shall have | 
 What he requests of us.— Good Diomed, 1 
 Furnish you fairly for this interchange : 
 Withal, bring word if Hector will to-morrow 
 Be answer'd in his challenge : Ajax is ready. 
 
 Dio. This shall I undertake; and 'tis a burden 
 Which I am proud to bear. 
 
 {Exeunt Diomedes and Calchas. 
 
 Enter AcHiLLES and Patroclus, before their Tent. 
 Ulyss. Achilles stands i' the entrance of his 
 tent : — 
 
 Please it our general to pass strangely by him. 
 As if he were forgot; and, princes all, 
 Lay negligent and loose regard upon him : 
 I will come last. 'Tis like he'll question me 
 Why such unplausive eyes are bent, why turn'd on 
 him :36 
 
 If so, I have derision med'cinable, 
 
 occasioned much diversity of opinion, much proposal of altera- 
 tion, and much variety of interpretation among the commen- 
 tators. The reading and punctuation that we adopt is that of 
 Johnson, understanding the passage to mean, 'Through the 
 sight I have into matters, I have left Troy to Jove's care;' and 
 we think that this Interpretation consists with the description of 
 Calchas by Chaucer, as quoted in Note 13, Act 1. Although it 
 has been objected that inasmuch as Jove favoured Troy, 
 Calchas would hardly tell the Greeks that he had committed 
 it to Jove's protection, yet it is natural language from a sooth- 
 sayer ; and it could hardly be more objectionable to the Greeks 
 than his proposal that Antenor, whom he describes as so invalu- 
 able to the Trojans, should be given back to them. 
 
 To use between your strangeness and his pride. 
 Which his Ovvn will shall have desire to drink : 
 It may be good : pride hath no other glass 
 To show itself but pride ; for supple knees 
 1' eed arrogance, and are the proud man's fees. 
 
 Agam. We'll execute your purpose, and put on 
 A form of strangeness as we pass along; — 
 So do each lord ; and either greet him not, 
 Or else disdainfully, which shall shake him more 
 1 han if" not look'd on. I will lead the way. 
 
 Achil. What! comes the general to speak with 
 me ? 
 
 You know my mind, I'll fight no more 'gainst Troy. 
 Agam. [To Nestor.] What says Achilles? 
 
 would he aught with us ? 
 Nest. Would you, my lord, aught with the 
 
 general ? 
 Achil. No. 
 
 Nest. Nothing, my lord. 
 
 Agam. The better. [Exeunt Agamemnon 
 and Nestor. 
 
 Achil, Good day, good day. 
 
 Men. How do you ? how do you ? [Exit. 
 
 Achil. What! does the wittol scorn me? 
 
 Ajax. How now, Patroclus ! 
 
 Achil. Good morrow, Ajax. 
 
 Ajax. Ha ? 
 
 Achil. Good morrow. 
 
 Ajax. Ay, and good next day too. [Exit. 
 Achil. What mean these fellows ? Know they 
 
 not Achilles ? 
 Patr. They pass by strangely : they were us'd 
 
 to bend, 
 
 To send their smiles before them to Achilles ; 
 To come as humbly as they us'd to creep 
 To holy altars. 
 
 Achil. What ! am I poor of late ? 
 
 'Tis certain, greatness, once fall'n out with fortune, 
 Must fall out with men too : what the declin'd is. 
 He shall as soon read in the eyes of others 
 As feel in his own fall : for men, like butterflies, 
 Show not their mealy wings but to the summer ; 
 And not a man, for being simply man. 
 Hath any honour ; but honour for those honours 
 That are without him, as place, riches, and favoui", 
 Prizes of accident as oft as merit : 
 
 34. A ivresi. Literally, a ' tuning key ' (see Note 73, Act i.) ; 
 figuratively, that upon which the harmonious ordering of their 
 affairs depends. 
 
 35. In most nccejiied pain. Hanmer changed "pain" to 
 'pay' here: but "in most accepted pain" appears to us to 
 signify 'as trouble that I have undergone most willingly;' much 
 in the same way that Diomedes soon afterwards says, " 'Tis a 
 burden which I am proud to bear " 
 
 36. IV hy such unplausive eyes are bent, why tnrtt'd on him. 
 Steevens objects to what he calls "the redundancy and tau- 
 tology of this line ; " but Shakespeare uses " bent " (in reference 
 to eyes) to e.xpress a frown, a stern look, an angry glance. See 
 Note 24, Act v., " Henry V." 
 
Act III.] TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. [Scene III. 
 
 Achilles. Here is Ulysses : 
 
 I'll interrupt his reading. — 
 
 How now, Ulysses! Act III. Sceiie III. 
 
 Which when they fall, as being slippery standers, 
 The love that lean'd on them as slippery too, 
 Do one pluck down another, and together 
 Die in the fall. But 'tis not so with me : 
 Fortune and I are friends : I do enjoy 
 At ample point all that I did possess, 
 Save these men's looks; who do, methinks, find 
 out 
 
 Something not worth in me such rich beholding 
 As they have often given. Here is Ulysses : 
 I'll interrupt his reading. — 
 How now, Ulysses ! 
 
 Ulyss. Now, great Thetis' son ! 
 
 37. Do one pluck down another. The old copies give ' doth ' 
 for " do " here. Hanmer's correction. 
 
 38. Writes me. " Me " is here idiomatically used, in the 
 mode we have so frequently pointed out. See, among many 
 others, Note 50, Act iii., " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 Achil. What are you reading ? 
 
 Ulyss. A strange fellow here 
 
 Writes me,'^ That man, — how dearly ever parted,^' 
 How much in having,'*" or without or in, — 
 Cannot make boast to have that which he hath, 
 Nor feels not what he owes,^i but by reflection ; 
 As when his virtues shining upon others 
 Heat them, and they retort that heat again 
 To the first giver. 
 
 Achil. This is not strange, Ulysses. 
 
 The beauty that is borne here in the face 
 The bearer knows not, but commends itself 
 To others' eyes: nor doth the eye itself 
 
 39. How dearly ever parted. ' How favourably soever 
 endowed,* 'however propitiously gifted,' * however possessed of 
 valuable qualities or parts.' 
 
 40. Having. 'Possession.' 
 
 41. Owes. 'Owns.' 
 
Act III.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [SCENE III. 
 
 (That most pure spirit of sense) ^2 beliold itself, 
 
 Not going from itself ; but eye to eye oppos'd 
 
 Salutes each other with each other's form : 
 
 For speculation ■'3 turns not to itself, 
 
 Till it hath travell'd, and is mirror'd^* there 
 
 Where it may see itself. This is not strange at all. 
 
 Ulyss. I do not strain''* at the position, — 
 It is familiar, — but at the author's drift; 
 Who, in his circumstance,''^ expressly proves 
 That no man is the lord of anything 
 ( Though in and of him there be much consisting) 
 Till he communicate his parts to others ; 
 Nor doth he of himself know them for aught 
 Till he behold them form'd in the applause 
 Where they're extended; which, like an arch, 
 
 reverberates 
 The voice again ;'•' or, like a gate of steel 
 Fronting the sun, receives and renders back 
 His figure and his heat. I was much rapt in this ; 
 And apprehended here immediately 
 The unknown Ajax.^'* 
 
 Heavens, what a man is there ! a very horse ;•" 
 That has he knows not what. Nature, what 
 
 things there are. 
 Most abject in regard, and dear in use ! 
 What things, again, most dear in the esteem. 
 And poor in worth ! Now shall we see to-morrow 
 An act that very chance doth throw upon him, 
 Ajax renown'd. Oh, heavens, what some men do. 
 While some men leave to do ! 
 How some men creep in skittish Fortune's hall. 
 While others play the idiots in her eyes! 
 How one man eats into another's pride. 
 While pride is fasting in his wantonness ! 
 To see these Grecian lords ! — why, even already 
 They clap the lubber Ajax on the shoulder, 
 As if his foot were on brave Hector's breast, 
 And great Troy shrieking. 
 
 Achil. I do believe it ; for they pass'd by me 
 As misers do by beggars, — neither gave to me 
 Good word nor look: what! are my deeds forgot ? 
 
 42. Spirit of sense. Here used in reference to the organ of 
 sight, as, in a previous passage, it is used in reference to the 
 organ of touch. See Note 9, Act i. This, and the preceding 
 line, are both omitted in the Folio ; affording another example 
 of the immense value of the Quartos' existence. 
 
 43. Speculation. Here used for ' sight,' or ' power of sight.' 
 
 44. Mirror' d. The old copies give * married * instead of 
 "mirror'd;" which, we think, the whole context shows to be 
 the right word. The emendation was made by both Mr. 
 Collier's and Mr. Singer's MS. corrector. 
 
 45. Strain. Here used in the sense of ' demur.' See Note 
 93, Act i. 
 
 46. Circimstance. ' Circumstantial argument,' ' detailed 
 discussion.' 
 
 47. Which, like an arch, reverberates the voice again. The 
 Quarto and first Folio here print 'who' for "which,", and 
 ' reuerb'rate ' for "reverberates." Rowe made the former 
 correction ; the editor of the second Folio the latter. Although 
 we might suppose that here 'who' was used for "which" (as 
 was the frequent practice in Shakespeare's time— see Note 33, 
 
 Ulyss. Time hath, my lord, a'wallet at his back, 
 Wherein he puts alms for oblivion, 
 A great-siz'd monster of ingratitu(^es : 
 Those scraps are good deeds past ; which are 
 devour'd 
 
 As fast as they are made, forgot as soon 
 As done : preseverance, dear my lord, 
 Keeps honour bright : to have done, is to hang 
 Quite out of fashion, like a rusty mail 
 In monumental mockery. Take the instant way ; 
 For honour travels in a strait so narrow. 
 Where one but goes abreast: keep, then, the path; 
 For emulation hath a thousand sons. 
 That one by one pursue : if you give way, 
 Or hedge aside from the direct forth-right,^'' 
 Like to an enter'd tide, they all rush by. 
 And leave you hindmost; 
 Or, like a gallant horse falTn in first rank, 
 Lie there for pavement to the abject rear,*! 
 O'er-run and trampled on : then what they do in 
 present, 
 
 Though less than yours in past, must o'ertop yours; 
 For time is like a fashionable host. 
 That slightly shakes his parting guest by the hand; 
 And with his arms outstretch'd, as he would fly, 
 Grasps-in the comer : welcome ever smiles. 
 And farewell goes out sighing. Oh, let not virtue 
 seek 
 
 Remuneration for the thing it was; 
 For beauty, wit. 
 
 High birth, vigour of bone, desert in service, 
 
 Love, friendship, charity, are subjects all 
 
 To envious and calumniating time. 
 
 One touch of nature makes the whole world kin, — 
 
 That all, with one consent, praise new-born gawds, 
 
 Though they are made and moulded of things past; 
 
 And give to dust, that is a little gilt. 
 
 More laud than gilt o'er-dusted.*^ 
 
 The present eye praises the present object: 
 
 Then marvel not, thoi; great and complete man. 
 
 That all the Greeks begin to worship Ajax ; 
 
 Act v., " Second Part Henry IV."), yet as Shakespeare h.-is 
 just previously in this speech used "who" in reference to 
 "author," we think it more probable that here he wrote 
 "which ;" and that owing to the abbreviated form of the word 
 in the original manuscript, it was mistaken by the pi inters for 
 'who.' . 
 
 48. The unknown Ajax. ' The Ajax so little known to him- 
 self,' ' the Ajax so wanting in true self-knowledge.' 
 
 49. A veiy horse. 'A mere horse.' See Note 3, Act 1., 
 "Henry V." 
 
 50. Forth-right. 'Straight path forwards.' See Note 17, 
 Act iii., " Tempest." 
 
 51. Lie there for jpfivement to the abject rear. "You," in 
 the last line but one, is elliptically understood as repeated before 
 " lie " here. The Folio gives ' abiect, neere ' instead of " abject 
 rear." Hanmer's correction. 
 
 52. More laud than gilt o^er-dusted. Shakespeare here, as 
 elsewhere, uses " gilt " for ' gold,' for a special object. See 
 Note 2, Actii., "Henry V." In the present passage he uses 
 the word " gilt " for the sake of antithetical repetition. 
 
Act 11 I.J 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Since things in motion sooner catch the eye 
 Than what not stirs. The cry went once on thee, 
 And still it might ; and yet it may again, 
 If thou wouldst not entomb thyself alive, 
 And ease thy reputation in thy tent ; 
 Whose glorious deeds, but in these fields of late. 
 Made emulous missions*^ 'mongst the gods them- 
 selves, 
 
 And drave great Mars to faction. 
 
 - Achil: Of this my privacy 
 
 I have strong reasons. 
 
 Ulyss. But 'gainst your privacy 
 
 The reasons are more potent and heroical : 
 'Tis known, Achilles, that you are in love 
 With one of Priam's daughters. 5+ 
 
 Achil, Ha ! known ! 
 
 Ulyss. Is that a wonder ? 
 The providence that's in a watchful state 
 Knows almost every grain of Plutus' gold 
 Finds bottom in th' uncomprehensive deeps ; 
 Keeps place with thought,*^ and almost, like the 
 gods, 
 
 Does thoughts unveil in their dumb cradles. -'7 
 There is a mystery (with whom relation 
 Durst never meddle) in the soul of state ; 
 Which hath an operation more divine 
 Than" breath or pen can give expressure to : 
 All the commerce that you have had with Troy, 
 As perfectly is ours, as yours, my lord ; 
 And better would it fit Achilles much 
 To throw down Hector than Polyxena : 
 But it must griev« young Pyrrhus^' now at home, 
 When fame shall in our islands sound her trumji ; 
 And all the Greekish girls shall tripping sing, 
 "Great Hector's sister did Achilles win ; 
 
 53. Emulous iitissions. 'Descents made in envious rivalry,' 
 * expeditions made from envy of mortal distinction.' In Homer's 
 " Iliad '' there are descriptions of the gods and goddesses coming 
 down in person to take part in the Troy battle ; and of Mars 
 himself having an encounter with Diomed, by whom he is 
 wounded. Ulysies here adroitly turns this into a direct com- 
 pliment to Achilles' renown, as stirring envy in the gods 
 themselves. 
 
 54. One 0/ Priam's danshi:rs. Polyxena. 
 
 55. Plutus gold. The Folio misprints ' Plutoes' lor 
 "Plutus';" a correction first suggested by Steevens, and 
 adopted by Malone. 
 
 56. Keeps place with thought. Here " place " has been 
 altered to ' pace ' by Hanmer : but Shakespeare not only usts 
 the expression "keep place" in another passage (see Note 7, 
 Act ii., *' Merry Wives ■') where 'keep pace' might be substi- 
 tuted, he also employs the word " place " where ' pace ' could 
 be supposed to accord better with a portion of the context. See 
 Note 78, Act i. of the present play. Hera, though 'keeps 
 pace' would accord with the ,™;7V««i of thought, yet " keeps 
 place" consists more fully with the general scope of the 
 passage, which treats of the universal diving of provident 
 vigilance into the penetralia and innermost places where 
 thinking conception originates and dwells. 
 
 57. Dumb cradles. These words have been variously 
 altered, so as to make up for the alleged deficiency in the line, 
 and to afford a sense that is believed to be clearer. But inas- 
 
 But our great Ajax bravely beat down him." 
 
 P" are well, my lord : I as your lover speak 
 
 The fool slides o'er the ice that you should break. 
 
 \_Exit. 
 
 Pair. To this effect, Achille.s, have I mov'd 
 you : 
 
 A woman impudent and mannish grown 
 
 Is not more loath'd than an effeminate man 
 
 In lime of action. I stand condemn'd for this ; 
 
 They think, my little stomach to the war, 
 
 And your great love to me, restrains you thus : 
 
 Sweet, rouse yourself; and the weak wanton Cupid 
 
 Shall from your neck unloose his amorous fold. 
 
 And, like a dew-drop from the lion's mane, 
 
 Be shook to air. 
 
 Achil. Shall Ajax fight with Hector? 
 
 Pair. Ay, and perhaps receive much honour 
 by him. 
 
 Achil. I see my reputation is at stake; 
 My fame is shrewdly gor'd.*' 
 
 Pair. Oh, then, beware ; 
 
 Those wounds heal ill that men do give tl^em- 
 selves : 
 
 Omission to do what is necessary 
 Seals a commission to a blank of danger ; 
 And danger, like an ague, subtly taints 
 Even then when we sit idly in the sun. 
 
 Achil. Go call Thersites hither, sweet Patroclus : 
 I'll send the fool to Ajax, and desire him 
 To invite the Trojan lords, after the combat 
 To see us hereunarm'd : I have a woman's longing, 
 An appetite that I am sick withal, 
 To see great Hector in his weeds of peace ; 
 To talk with him, and to behold his visage, 
 Even to my full of view. — A labour sav'd ! 
 
 much as Shakespeare frequently has lines where there are either 
 more or fewer than ten feet, and inasniuch as the words " dumb 
 cradles" here seem to us figuratively to express the place 
 j wherein newly-born thoughts lie quiescent and unuttered, we 
 not only can see no necessity for change, but v,-e extremely 
 admire the original expression. Shakespeare elsewhere has, 
 "And fancy dies in the cradle where it lies ;" in which passage 
 "fancy" means 'enamoured thought,' and "cradle" means 
 the lover's eye, as the place where love-thoughts are born, lie 
 happily, and die full-fed ; while in the present passage " cradles' 
 mean the brains where thoughts, just brought forth, lie awaiting 
 growth, maturity, and development, with shaping into words. 
 
 53. There is a tuysteiy {viith -whom relation durst never 
 meddle) in the soul of state. ' In state dominion there is a 
 mysterious power of acquiring knowledge with which descrip- 
 tion cannot venture to deal.' "Whom" is here used for 
 ' which." 
 
 59. Pyrrhus. Son of Achilles and Deidamia. 
 
 60. / as your lover speak. The word " lover" was often 
 used in Shakespeare's time to express warmth of admiration or 
 fervour of friendship between men. See Note 71, Act iii., 
 "Merchant of Venice." 
 
 61. GoT^d. This expressive word is figuratively used 'by 
 Shakespeare more than once in reference to good name and 
 
 ! reputation. It combines the meaning of bloodily torn and 
 ' wounded as by the horn of an animal, and smirclied, polluted, 
 I as derived from the Saxon word gor, dirt, mud, filth. 
 39 
 
Act IV.J 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Enter Thersites. 
 
 Ther. A wonder ! 
 Achil. What ? 
 
 Ther. Ajax goes up and down the field, asking 
 for himself. 
 
 Achil. How so ? 
 
 Ther. He must fight singly to-morrow witli 
 Hector; and is so prophetically proud of a 
 heroical cudgelling, that he raves in saying nothing. 
 
 Achil. Ho IV can that be ? 
 
 Ther. Why, he stalks up and down like a 
 peacock, — a stride and a stand : ruminates like a 
 hostess that hath no arithmetic but her brain to set 
 down her reckoning: bites his lip with a politic 
 regard, ^2 ^s who should say. There were wit in 
 this head, an 'twould out ; and so there is ; but it 
 lies as coldly in him as fire in a flint, which will 
 not show without knocking. The man's undone 
 forever; for if Hector break not his neck i' the 
 combat, he'll break 't himself in vain-glory. He 
 knows not me: I said, "Good morrow, Ajax;" 
 and he replies, " Thanks, Agamemnon." What 
 think you of this man, that takes me for the 
 general ? He's grown a very land-fish, langunge- 
 less, a monster. A plague of opinion ! a man may 
 wear it on both sides, like a leather jerkin. 
 
 Achil. Thou must be my ambassador to him, 
 Thersites. 
 
 Ther. Who, I ? why, he'll answer nobod)' ; he 
 professes not answering : speaking is for beggars ; 
 lie wears his tongue in his arms. I will put on his 
 presence: let Patroclus make demands to me, you 
 sliall see the pageant of Ajax. 
 
 Achil. To him, Patroclus: tell him, — I humbly 
 desire the valiant Ajax to invite the most valorous 
 Hector to come unarmed to my tent ;• and to pro- 
 cure safe conduct for his person of the magnani- 
 mous and most illustrious six-or-seven-times- 
 
 honoured captain-general of the Grecian army, 
 Agamemnon, &c.*^ Do this. 
 
 Patr. Jove bless great Ajax! 
 
 Ther. H'm! 
 
 Patr. I come from the worthy Achilles, — 
 Ther. Ha! 
 
 Patr. Who most humbly desires you to invite 
 Hector to his tent, — 
 H'm! 
 
 And to procure safe conduct from Aga- 
 
 Ther. 
 Patr. 
 memnon 
 Ther. 
 Pair. 
 Ther. 
 Patr. 
 
 Agamemnon ! 
 Av, my lord. 
 Ha! 
 
 What say you to 't ? 
 Ther. God b' wi' you, with all my heart. 
 Patr. Your answer, sir. 
 
 Ther. If to-morrow be a fair day, by eleven 
 o'clock it will go one way or other : howsoever, he 
 shall pay for me ere he has me. 
 
 Patr. Your answer, sir. 
 
 Ther. Fare you well, with all my heart. 
 
 Achil. Why, but he is not in this tune, is he ? 
 
 Ther. No, but he's out o' tune thus. What 
 music will be in him when Hector has knocke 1 
 out his brains, I know not ; but, I am sure, none, — 
 unless the fiddler Apollo get his sinevvs to make 
 catlings^* on. 
 
 Achil. Come, thou shalt bear a letter to him 
 straight. 
 
 Ther. Let me bear another to his horse ; for 
 that's the more capable*' creature. 
 
 Achil. My mind is troubled, like a fountain stirr'd ; 
 And I* myself see not the bottom of it. 
 
 [^Exeunt Achilles izwi/ Patroclus. 
 
 Ther. Would the fountain of your mind were 
 clear again, that I might water an ass at it ! I had 
 rather be a tick in a sheep than such a valiant 
 ignorance. \_Exit. 
 
 ACT 
 
 SCENE I.— Troy. A Street. 
 Enter, from one side, ^^Ineas, and Servant Dcith a 
 torch; from the other, Paris, Deiphobus, An- 
 tenor, Diomedes, and others, nvith torches. 
 Par. See, ho ! who is that there P 
 
 62. A politic regard. 'A look of political wisdom,' 'a look 
 of deep policy." 
 
 63. Agamemnon, &^c. Tlie Folio gives this "Sec." and 
 although we at one time followed the Quarto in omitting it, we 
 have since perceived it to have been intended as a following up 
 of Achilles' flourishing style in designating Agamemnon, whose 
 
 IV. 
 
 Dei. It is the Lord .(Eneas. 
 
 ^ne. Is the prince there in person? — 
 Had I so good occasion to lie long 
 As you. Prince Paris, nothing but heavenly 
 business 
 
 "topless deputation" he envies and loves to see mimicked. 
 See Note 70, Act i. 
 
 64. Catlings. Violin and lute strings made of catgut. "On" 
 is here used for ' of.' 
 
 65. Capable. Here employed in the sense of ' intelligent,' ' ca- 
 pable of comprehending.' See Note 21, Act iii., "Richard III." 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Should rob my bed-mate of my company. 
 
 Dio. That's my mind too. — Good morrow, 
 Lord ^neas. 
 
 Par. A valiant Greek, ^neas, —take hishand, — 
 Witness the process of your speech, wherein 
 You told how Diomed, a whole week by days. 
 Did haunt you in the field. 
 
 ySne. Health to you, valiant sir, 
 
 During all question of the gentle truce ;^ 
 But when I meet you arm'd, as black defiance 
 As heart can think or courage execute. 
 
 Dio. The one and other Diomed embraces. 
 Our bloods are now in calm ; and, so long, health ; 
 But when contention and occasion meet. 
 By Jove, I'll play the hunter for thy life 
 With all my force,^ pursuit, and policy. 
 
 ySne. And thou shalt hunt a lion, that will fly 
 With his face backward.— In humane gentleness. 
 Welcome to Troy ! now, by Anchises' life,^ 
 Welcome, indeed! By Venus'' hand I swear. 
 No man alive can love, in such a sort. 
 The thing he means to kill, more excellently. 
 
 Dio. We sympathise : — Jove, let ^neas live. 
 If to my sword his fate be not the glory, 
 A thousand complete courses of the sun ! 
 But, in mine emulous honour, let him die. 
 With every joint a wound, and that to-morrow ! 
 
 ^ne. We know each other well. 
 
 Dio. We do ; and long to know each other worse. 
 
 Par. This is the most despiteful gentle greeting, 
 The noblest hateful love, that e'er I heard of. — 
 What business, lord, so early ? 
 
 ALne. I was sent for to the king ; but why, I 
 know not. 
 
 Par. His purpose meets you: 'twas to bring 
 this Greek 
 
 To Calchas' house ; and there to render him. 
 For the enfreed Antenor, the fair Cressid : 
 Let's have your company ; or, if you please. 
 Haste there before us : I constantly do think 
 (Or, rather, call my thought a certain knowledge) 
 My brother Troilus lodges there to-night ; 
 Rouse him, and give him note of our approach, 
 
 1. During all question of the gentle truce, 'During all 
 intercourse permitted by the truce.' "Question" is often used 
 by Sliakespeare for 'discourse,' 'conversation.' See Note 51, 
 Act v., "As You Like It." 
 
 2. Force. Power, energetic strength, vigorous might See 
 Note 136, Act iv , " Winter's Tale." 
 
 3. By Anchises' life. Anchises was the father of ^neas ; and 
 so dear was his life to his son, that when Troy was burning and 
 Anchises was too infirm to fly, jEneas bore the old man upon his 
 shoulders and carried him safely away. 
 
 4. By Venus' hand. This adjuration is in allusion to the 
 wound which the goddess-mother of .ilSneas received on the 
 back of her hand from Diomed when she took part in one of the 
 encounters during the Trojan war . an incident which is related in 
 the fifth book of Homer's "Iliad." Shakespeare well introduces 
 this allusion, as aiding to show the temporary courtesy with 
 enduring animosity which co-exist and co-express themselves in 
 the speech of iEneas. 
 
 With the whole quality wherefore : I fear 
 We shall be much unwelcome. 
 
 ^ne. I'hat I assure you : 
 
 Troilus had rather Troy were borne to Greece 
 Than Cre=sid borne from Troy. 
 
 Par. 1 here is no help ; 
 
 The bitter disposition of the tane 
 Will have it so. On, lord ; we'll follow you. 
 
 Aine. Good morrow, all. \_Exit nvith Servant. 
 
 Par. And tell me, noble Diomed,— faith, tell 
 me true. 
 
 Even in the soul of sound good-fellowship, — 
 Who, in your thoughts, merits fair Helen best, 
 Myself or Menelaus ? 
 
 Dio. Both alike : 
 
 He merits well to have her, that doth seek her 
 (Not making any scruple of her soilure) 
 With such a hell of pain and world of charge ; 
 And you as well to keep her, that defend her 
 (Not palating the taste of her dishonour) 
 With such a costly loss of wealth and friends : 
 Both merits pois'd, each weighs nor less nor more. 
 
 Par. You are too bitter to your countrywoman. 
 
 Dio. She's bitter to her country : hear me, 
 Paris :— 
 
 For every false drop in her guilty veins 
 
 A Grecian's life hath sunk ; for every scruple 
 
 Of her contaminated .'arrion weight, 
 
 A Trojan hath been slain : since she could speak, 
 
 She hath not given so many good words breath 
 
 As for her Greeks and Trojans suffer'd death. ^ 
 
 Par. Fair Diomed, you do as chapmen do. 
 Dispraise the thing that you desire to buy: 
 But we in silence hold this virtue well, — 
 We'll not commend what we intend to sell." 
 Here lies our way. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE II.— Troy. Court of Pandarus' House. 
 Enter Troilus and Cressida. 
 Tro. Dear, trouble not yourself : the morn is cold. 
 Cres. Then, sweet my lord, I'll call mine uncle 
 down ; 
 
 5. Greeks mid Trojans suffer d death. Here the construction 
 is elliptical; "hath," in the previous line, giving 'have 'to be 
 imderstood between "Trujans" and " suffer'd." 
 
 6. We'll not comntend luliat ive intend to sell. This line has 
 been variously altered ; Zachary Jackson proposing to change 
 " not " to ' but,' and Warburton suggesting that " to " should be 
 ' not.' The latter alteration is preferable to the former, in- 
 asmuch as 'but commend' would contradict the previous " ?'« 
 silence;" nevertheless, we think the passage, as it stands, will 
 bear Johnson's interpretation; — 'Though you practise the 
 buyer's art, we will not practise the seller's. We intend to sell 
 Helen dear, yet will not commend her.' The previous mention 
 of the vast cost at which Helen is bid for by those who would 
 purchase her back, and the equally cruel cost at which she is 
 retained by those who will not part with her without loss of life, 
 seems to us to fully wai rant the assumption that here " sell " 
 has the force of ' sell dearly "that is, make you pay dearly for, 
 even supposing you obtain her at all. 
 
ACT IV.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIUA. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 He shall unbolt the gates. 
 
 Tro. Trouble him not ; 
 
 To bed, to bed : sleep kill those pretty eyes, 
 And give as soft attachment to thy senses' 
 As infants' empty of all thought ! 
 
 Cres. Good morrow, then. 
 
 Tro. I pr'ythee now, to bevi. 
 
 Cres. Are you a-weary of me ? 
 
 Tio. O Cressida! but that the busy day, 
 Wak'd by the lark, hath rous'd the ribald crows, 
 And dreaming night will hide our joys no longer, 
 I would not from thee. 
 
 Cres. Night hath been too brief 
 
 Tro. Beshrew the witch ! with venomous 
 wights 8 she stays 
 As tediously as hell ; but flies the grasps of love, 
 With wings more momentary-swift than thought, i 
 You will catch cold, and curse me. 
 
 Cres. Pr'ythee, tarry ; — 
 
 You men will never tarry.— 
 Oh, foolish Cressid ! — I might have still held off, 
 And then you would have tanied.— Hark ! there's 
 one up. 
 
 Pan. [IVithin.'] What ! are all the doors open 
 
 here ? 
 Tro. It is your uncle. 
 
 Cres. A pestilence on him ! now will he be 
 mocking : 
 I shall have such a life ! 
 
 Enter Pandarus. 
 Pan. How now, how now! — Here, you maid! 
 where's my cousin Cressid ? 
 
 Cres. Come, come, beshrew your heart ! you'll 
 ne'er be good. 
 Nor suffer others. 
 Pan. Ha, ha! Alas! poor wretch ! ah! poor 
 capocchia !' 
 
 Cres. Did not I tell you ? — would he were 
 knock'd i' the head !— [Knocking. 
 Who's that at door ? good uncle, go and see. — 
 My lord, come you again into my chamber. — 
 
 [Knocking. 
 
 How earnestly they knock ! — Pray you, come in : 
 
 7. Sleep kill those pretty eyes, and give as soft attachiuejit 
 to, Here "kill" has been variously altered to 'seal,' 
 'steal,', 'lull,' &c., the original word having been pronounced by 
 one critic to be "nonsense." We thii.k it is exactly one of 
 those fond exaggerations that lovers permit themselves to use : 
 Troilus here uses "kill" for 'enshroud light, beauty, and 
 animation,' as he uses " attachment" (which, legally employed, 
 means arrest of person and seizure of goods) for ' holding in 
 repose ;' while he illustrates their gentleness of meaning beneath 
 strength of expression \>y the epithets "pretty" and "soft," 
 together with the simile of infants' senses void of care. The 
 construction here, as in many of Shakespeare's similes (see 
 Note 121, Act iv., " Henry V."), is peculiar; 'to those of being 
 elliptically understood between "as" and "infants'," and 
 'which are' between "infants" and "empty." 
 
 8. Venovious wights. Those who practised nocturnal magic ; 
 venejici. Baret has : " Veneficus-ca. He or she that poysoneth, 
 or renimeth ; one that useth sorcery." 
 
 I would not for half Troy have you seen here. 
 
 [Exeunt Troilus and Cressida. 
 Pan. [Going to the door.'] Who's there ? what's 
 the matter ? will ) ou beat down the door ? How 
 now! what's the matter ? 
 
 Enter .(^Ineas. 
 .^ne. Good morrow, lord, good morrow. 
 Pan. Who's there? my Lord ^neas! By my 
 troth, 
 
 I knew you not : what news with you so early? 
 Aine. Is not Prince Troilus here ? 
 Pan. Here ! what should he do here ? 
 Mne. Come, he is here, my lord; do notdenyhim: 
 It doth import him much to speak with me. 
 
 Pan. Is he here, say you? 'tis more than I 
 know, I'll be sworn : — for my own part, I came in 
 ! late. What should he do here ? 
 
 jEne. Who! — nay, then: — come, come, you'll 
 do him wrong ere you're 'ware : you'll be so true 
 to him, to be false to him : do not you know of him, 
 but yet go fetch him hither ; go. 
 As Pandarus is going out, re-enter Troilus. 
 Tro. How now ! what's the matter ? 
 jEne. My lord, I scarce have leisure to salute you. 
 My matter is so rash there is at hand 
 Paris your brother, and Deiphobus, 
 The Grecian Diomed, and our Antenor 
 Deliver'd to us; and for him forthwith, 
 Ere the first sacrifice, within this hour. 
 We must give up to Diomedes' hand 
 The Lady Cressida. 
 
 Tro. Is it so concluded ? 
 
 jEne. By Priam, and the general state of Troy : 
 They are at hand, and ready to effect it. 
 
 Tro. How my achievements mock me ! 
 I will go ineet them and, my Lord ^neas. 
 We met by chance; you did not find me here. 
 .^ne. Good, good, my lord ; the secrets of 
 nature" 
 
 Have not more gift in taciturnity. 
 
 [Exeunt Troilus and ^nea5. 
 Pan. Is 't possible ? no sooner got but lost ? 
 - The devil take Antenor! the young prince' will go 
 
 9. Capocchia. A fabricated feminine form of the Italian word 
 capocchio ; which means a dolt, a simpleton, a fool. 
 
 10. Rash. ' Hasty,' ' hurried,' ' speedy.' See Note 82, Act i., 
 "Winter's Tale." 
 
 11. / will go meet them. The way in which " them " is used 
 here— referring to "Deiphobus," "Diomed," and "Antenor," 
 mentioned before by ^neas, and not to "achievements" in the 
 previous line— is in accordance with Shakespeare's occasional 
 mode of employing a pronoun in reference to a not immediately 
 preceding antecedent. 
 
 12. We met by chance ; you did not find me here. Troilus 
 says this by way of prompting iEneas with what he would have 
 him say, should he be questioned as to where he encountered 
 the speaker. See Note 64, Act i., " Henry V." 
 
 13. The secrets of nature. " Secrets " here has been variously 
 altered to 'secretest,' 'secrecies,' &c., but the dramatists of 
 Shakespeare's time frequently used the word "secret" as a tri- 
 syllable, and therefore " secrets" is probably so employed here. 
 
Act I V.J 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scenes III., IV. 
 
 mad : a plague upon Antenor! I would they had 
 broke 's neck ! 
 
 Re-enter Cressida. 
 Cres. How now! what's the matter? who was 
 here ? 
 
 Pan. Ah, ah ! 
 
 Cres. Why sigh you so profoundly ? where's 
 my lord ? gone ! Tell me, sweet un.cle, what's 
 the matter ? 
 
 Pan. Would I were as deep under the earth as 
 J am above ! 
 
 •Cres. Oh, the gods 1— what's the matter ? 
 
 Pan. Pr'ythee, get thee in: would thou hadst ne'er 
 been born ! I knew thou wouldst be his death : — 
 Oh, poor gentleman ! — a plague upon Antenor! 
 
 Cres. Good uncle, I beseech you, on my knees 
 
 I beseech you, what's the matter ? 
 
 Pan. Thou must be gone, wench, thou must 
 be gone ; thou art changed for Antenor : thou must 
 to thy father, and be gone from Troilus : 'twill be 
 .his death ; 'twill be his bane ; he cannot bear it. 
 
 Cres. 'Oh, you immortal gods! — I will not go. 
 
 iPan. Thou must. 
 
 'Cres, % will not, uncle : I have forgot my father ; 
 
 II know no touch of consanguinity ; 
 
 Ho kin, no love, no blood, no soul so near me 
 As the sweet Troilus. — Oh, you gods divine ! 
 Make Cressid's name the very crown of falsehood. 
 If ever she leave Troilus ! Time, force, and death, 
 Do- to this body what extremes you can ; 
 But the strong base and building of my love 
 Is as the very centre of the earth, 
 Drawing all things to it. — I'll go in and weep, — 
 Pan. Do, do. 
 
 Cres. Tear my bright hair, and scratch my 
 praised cheeks ; 
 Crack my clear voice with sobs, and break my heart 
 With sounding Troilus. I will not go from Troy. 
 
 \_Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE II I.— Troy. Street before Pandarus' 
 House. 
 
 Enter Paris, Troilus, ^neas, Deiphobus, 
 Antenor, and Diomedes. 
 
 Par. It is great morning;!^ and the hour prefix'd 
 Of her delivery to this valiant Greek 
 Comes fast upon — good my brother Troilus, 
 Tell you the lady what she is to do, 
 
 14. It is great morning. An idiom similar to the French 
 ' il est grand jour,' or to our more modern ' it is broad day.' 
 
 15. The hour . . . comes fast 7iJ>on. "Upon" is here used 
 elliptically for ' upon us,' or as we now use ' on ' in combination 
 with "come" to express 'advance,' 'approach.' 
 
 16. Violentetk. A verb used by writers of Shakespeare's 
 time. This is the Quarto reading; the Folio prints 'no lesse' 
 instead of " violenteth." 
 
 17. No more my grief, in s?ich a precious loss. ' No more 
 does my grief, in the loss of that which is so precious." 
 
 And haste her to the purpose. 
 
 Tro. Walk into her house ; 
 
 I'll bring her to the Grecian presently : 
 And to his hand when I deliver her, 
 1'hink it an altar; and thy brother Troilus 
 A priest, there offering to it his own heart. {Exit. 
 
 Par. I know what 'tis to love ; 
 And would, as I shall pity, I could help ! — 
 Please you walk in, my lords. \Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE IV.— ^ Room in Pandarus' House. 
 Enter Pandarus and Cressida. 
 
 Pan. Be moderate, be moderate. 
 
 Cres. Why tell you me of moderation ? 
 The grief is fine, full, perfect, that I taste, 
 And violenteth^s in a sense as strong 
 As that which causeth it : how can I moderate it ? 
 If I could temporise with my affection, 
 Or brew it to a weak and colder palate. 
 The like allayment could I give my grief: 
 My love admits no qualifying dross ; 
 No more my grief, in such a precious loss.'' 
 
 Pan. Here, here, here he comes. 
 
 Enter Troilus. 
 Ah ! sweet ducks ! 
 
 Cres. {Embracing himl\ O Troilus I Troilus ! 
 
 Pan. What a pair of spectacles is here ! Let me 
 embrace too. " Oh, heart," as the goodly saying is,— 
 
 " Oh, heart, heavy heart, 
 Why sigh'st thou without breaking ?" 
 
 where he answers again, 
 
 " Because thou canst not ease thy smart 
 By friendship nor by speaking. "^^ 
 
 There was never a truer rhyme. Let us cast away 
 nothing, for we may live to have need of such a 
 verse: we see it, we see it. — How now, lambs! 
 
 Tro. Cressid, I love thee in so strain'd a purity, 
 That the bless'd gods, — as angry with my fancy, 
 More bright in zeal than the devotion which 
 Cold lips blow to their deities, — take thee from me. 
 
 Cres. Have the gods envy ? 
 
 Pan. Ay, ay, ay, ay ; 'tis too plain a case. 
 
 Cres. And is it true that I must go fi-om Troy ? 
 
 Tro. A hateful truth. 
 
 Cres. What ! and from Troilus too ? 
 
 Tro. From Troy and Troilus. 
 Cres. Is it possible ? 
 
 Tro. And suddenly ; where itijury of chance 2" 
 
 18. By friendship nor by speaking. The word " friendship " 
 has been supposed to be erroneous here, and ' silence ' was pro- 
 posed as its substitution ; but "friendship" probably here means 
 ' the aids of friendship,' or ' the consolations of friendship,' and 
 in Pandarus's mouth is sufficiently apt. 
 
 19. Fancy. Here used for 'love,' ' affection.' 
 
 20. And suddenly; lohere injury of chance, &^c. In this 
 passage "where" is used in a manner to illustrate its employ- 
 ment in the pasage e.Nplained in Note 46, Act v., " Merchant of 
 Venice." 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSI.DA. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Troibis. Welcome, Sir Dioined ! here is the lady 
 Which for Anterior we deliver you. Act IV. Scene IV. 
 
 Puts back leave-taking, justles roughly by 
 
 All time of pause, rudely beguiles our lips 
 
 Of all rejoindure, forcibly prevents 
 
 Our lock'd embrasures,^' strangles our dear vows 
 
 Even in the birth of our own labouring breath : 
 
 We two, that with so many thousand sighs 
 
 Did buy each other, must poorly sell ourselves 
 
 With the rude brevity and discharge of one. 
 
 Injurious time now, with a robber's haste. 
 
 Crams his rich thievery up, he knows not how : 
 
 As many farewells as be stars in heaven, 
 
 With distinct breath and consign'd22 kisses to them, 
 
 He fumbles up into a loose adieu ; 
 
 And scants us with a single famish'd kiss, 
 
 Distasted with the salt of broken tears. 
 
 JEne. \Withinr\ My lord, is the lady ready ? 
 
 21. Kjnbrasicres. Here used for 'embrace*;/ or 'embracements.' 
 
 22. Consigned. 'Sealed.' See Note 33, Act iv., "Second 
 Part Henry IV." 
 
 23. The merry Greeks. See Note 26, Act i. of this play. 
 
 24 When shall we see again ? An elliptical form of ex- 
 
 Tro. Hark ! you are call'd : some say the 
 Genius so 
 
 Cries, " Come ! " to him that instantly must die. — 
 Bid them have patience; she shall come anon. 
 
 Pan. Where are my tears ? rain, to lay this wind, 
 or my heart will be blown up by the root. {Exit. 
 
 Cres. I must, then, to the Grecians ? 
 
 Tro. No remedy. 
 
 Cres. A woeful Cressid 'mongst the merry 
 Greeks! 23 
 When shall we see again F^'' 
 
 Tro. Hear me, my love : be thou but true of 
 heart, — 
 
 Cres. I true ! how now ! what wicked deem^^ 
 is this ? 
 
 Tro. Nay, we must use expostulation kindly. 
 
 pression -, ' each other ' being understood between " see " and 
 See Note 2, Act i., "Henry VIII." In the Folio 
 sly assigned to Troilus. 
 
 25. Deem. ' Supposit 
 has grown into disuse ; 1 
 
 nise.' This v 
 ) be regretted. 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene IV 
 
 For it is parting from us : 
 I speak not " be thou true," as fearing thee-, 
 For I will throw my glove to Death himself,"' 
 That there's no maculation in thy heart : 
 But, "be thou true," say 1, to fashion in 
 My sequent protestation ; be thou true. 
 And I will see thee. 
 Cres. Oh, you shall be expoo'd, my lord, 
 
 to dangers 
 As infinite as imminent! but I'll be true. 
 
 Tro. And I'll grow friend with danger. Wear 
 
 this sleeve. 
 
 Cres. And you this glove. When shall I see you P 
 
 Tro. I will corrupt the Grecian sentinels, 
 To give thee nightly visitation. 
 But yet, be true. 
 
 Cres. Oh, heavens ! — be true, again I 
 
 Tro. Hear why I speak it, love: 
 The Grecian youths are full of quality ; 
 They're loving, well compos'd, with gifts of nature 
 flowing. 
 
 And swelling o'er with arts and exercise: 
 How novelty may move, and parts with person, 
 Alas! a kind of godly jealousy 
 (Which, I beseech you, call a virtuous sin) 
 Makes me afeard. 
 
 Cres. Oh, heavens! you love me not. 
 
 Tro. Die I a villain, then ! 
 In this I do not call your faith in question, 
 So mainly as my merit : I cannot sing, 
 Nor heel the high lavolt,^? nor sweeten talk, 
 Nor play at subtle games ; fair virtues all. 
 To which the Grecians are most prompt an 1 
 pregnant : 
 
 But I can tell, that in each grace of these 
 There lurks a still and dumb-discoursive devil 
 That tempts most cunningly : but be not tempted 
 
 Cres. Do you think I will ? 
 
 Tro. No. 
 
 But something may be done that we will not : 
 And sometimes we are devils to ourselves. 
 When we will tempt the frailty of our powers. 
 Presuming on their changeful potency. 
 
 JEne. [JVithin.'] Nay, good ray lord, — 
 
 Tro. • Come, kiss ; and let us part. 
 
 Par. [Within.'] Brother Troilus ! 
 
 Tro. Good brother, come you hither ; 
 
 And bring ^neas and the Grecian with you. 
 
 Cres. My lord, will you be true ? 
 
 25. / will throw my glove, &'c. 'I will challenge Death 
 himself in proof of my belief that there is no blot in thy love- 
 faith.' 
 
 27. The high lavolt. An animated dance ; more particularly 
 described in Note 77, Act iii., " Henry V." 
 
 28. Presuming on their ckange/nl potency. "Changeful" 
 here has been altered to ' unchangeful ' and to 'chainful;' but 
 it appears to us that the expression is precisely in Shakespeare's 
 manner, 'presuming too far on the strength of that which is 
 variable, unstable, and fallible.' 
 
 Tro. Who, I ? alas ! it is my vice, my fault : 
 While others fish with craft for great opinion, 
 I with great truth catch mere simplicity ; 
 Whilst some with cunning gild their copper crowns. 
 With truth and plainness I do wear mine bare. 
 Fear not my truth : the moral of my wit 
 Is— plain and true ; there's all the reach of it. 
 
 Enter ^neas, Paris, Antenor, Deiphobus, and 
 
 DiOMEDES. 
 
 Welcome, Sir Diomed ! here is the lady 
 Which for Antenor we deliver you : 
 At the port, 29 lord, I'll give her to thy hand ; 
 And by the way possess^" thee what she is. 
 Entreat her fair and, by my soul, fair Greek, 
 If e'er thou stand at mercy of my sword, 
 Name Cressid, and thy life shall be as safe 
 As Priam is in Ilion. 
 
 Dio. Fair Lady Cressid, 
 
 So please you, save the thanks this prince expects : 
 The lustre in your eye, heaven in your cheek. 
 Pleads your fair usage ; and to Diomed 
 You shall be mistress, and command him wholly. 
 I Tro. Grecian, thou dost not use me courteously. 
 To shame the zeal of my petition ^2 to thee 
 In praising her: I tell thee, lord of Greece, 
 I She is as far high-soaring o'er thy praises 
 As thou unworthy to be call'd her servant. 
 I charge thee use her well, even for my charge ; 
 For, by the dreadful Pluto, if thou dost not. 
 Though the great bulk Achilles be thy guard, 
 I'll cut thy throat. 
 
 Dio. Oh, be not mov'd. Prince Troilus ; 
 
 Let me be privileg'd by my place and message, 
 To be a speaker free ; when I am hence, 
 I'll answer to my will : and know you, lord, 
 I'll nothing do on charge : to her own worth 
 She shall be priz'd ; but that you say. Be 't so, 
 I'll speak it in my spirit and honour. No. 
 
 Tro. Come, to the port.— I'll tell thee, Diomed, 
 This brave shall oft make thee to hide thy head. — 
 Lady, give me your hand ; and, as we walk, 
 To our own selves bend we our needful talk. 
 
 [Exeunt Troilus, Cressida, and Diomedes. 
 
 [Trumpet 'within. 
 
 Par. Hark I Hector's trumpet. 
 
 jEne. How have we spent this morning ! 
 
 The prince must think me tardy and remiss. 
 That swore to ride before him to the field. 
 
 29. The port. 'The gate.' See Note 37, Act iii.," All's Well." 
 %a. Possess. ' Inform,' ' tell' See Note 54, Act ii., " Twelfth- 
 Night." 
 
 y.. Entreat her fair. 'Treat her courteously.' "Entreat" 
 was sometimes formerly used for 'treat.' See Note 55, Act ii., 
 " Second Part Henry VI." 
 
 32. The zeal of my petition. The old copies print 'seale' 
 instead of "zeal" here. Warburton's suggestion, adopted by 
 Theobald. We think that the sense of the passage shows 
 "zeal" to be the right word. 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 Par. 'Tis Trollus' fault : come, come, to field j 
 with him. j 
 Dei. Let us make ready straight. i 
 ALne. Yea, with a bridegroom's fresh alacrity, j 
 Let us address to tend on Hector's heels 
 The glory of our Troy doth this day lie 
 On his fair worth and single chivalry. \Exemit. 
 
 SCENE V. — The Grecian Camp. Lists set out. 
 Enter AjAX, armed; Agamemnon, Achilles, 
 
 Patroclus, Menelaus, Ulysses, Nestor, 
 
 and others. 
 
 Agam. Here art thou in appointment^^ fresh 
 and fair, 
 
 Anticipating time with starting courage. 
 Give with thy trumpet a loud note to Troy, 
 Thou dreadful Ajax ; that the appalled air 
 May pierce the head of the great combatant, 
 And hale him hither. 
 
 Ajax. Thou, trumpet, there's my purse. 
 
 Now crack thy lungs, and split thy brazen pipe : 
 Blow, villain, till thy sphered bias cheek 3^ 
 Outswell the colic of pufFd Aquilon 
 Come, stretch thy chest, and let thy eyesspout blood ; 
 Thou blow'st for Hector. [Trumpet sounds. 
 
 Ulyss. No trumpet answers. 
 
 Achil. 'Tis but early days. 
 
 Agam. Is not yond' Diomed, with Calchas' 
 daughter ? 
 
 Ulyss. 'Tis he, I ken^s the manner of his gait ; 
 He rises on the toe : that spirit of his 
 In aspiration lifts him from the earth. 
 
 Enter Diomedes, 'Vjith Cressida. 
 Agam. Is this the Lady Cressid ? 
 D'o. Even she. 
 
 Agam. Most dearly welcome to the Greeks, 
 sweet lady. 
 
 Nest. Our general doth salute you with a kiss. 
 
 Ulyss. Yet is the kindness but particular ; 
 'Twere better she were kiss'd in general. 
 
 Nest. And very courtly counsel : I'll begin.— 
 So much for Nestor. 
 
 33. Lei lis address to tend, &>c. ' Let us prepare to tend on,' 
 &c. ' Ourselves ' is ellipticaliy understood after " address." 
 
 34. Appoi7itmeiit. Preparation. Here expressing accoutre- 
 ment, needful equipment for contest. See Note 13, Act !ii,, 
 " Measure for Measure " 
 
 35. Anticipatine iime ■with starting courage. Give ivitk thy 
 trumpet, &'c. The Folio places the fiill stop after " time" in- 
 stead of after ' ' courage. " Theobald made the correction ; which 
 we think the two "withs" in this passage suffice to prove right. 
 
 36. Thy sphered bias clieek " Bias " is one of those expres- 
 sive adjectives made from nouns that Shakespeare's poetic taste 
 took delight in using. It represents the curve of the cheek that i 
 swells roundly out like the bias of a bowl. See Note 82, Act ii., ' 
 "King John." I 
 
 37. Agjcilon. One of the classical names of the north wind. I 
 The winds were represented with protuberantly pufifed out I 
 cheeks in ancient prints, maps, and sculptures. I 
 
 Achil. I'll take that winter from yourlips, fair lady: 
 Achilles bids you welcome. 
 
 Men. I had good argument for kissing once. 
 
 Patr. But that's no argument for kissing now ; 
 For thus popp'd Paris in his hardiment, 
 And parted- thus )ou and your argument. 
 
 Ulyss. Oh, deadly gall, and themeof all our scorns! 
 
 Patr. The first was Menelaus' kiss ; — this, mine ; 
 Patroclus kisses you. 
 
 Men. Oh, this is trim ! 
 
 Patr. Paris and I kiss evermore for him. 
 
 Men. I'll have my kiss, sir Lady, by your leave. 
 
 Cres. In kissing, do you render or receive ? 
 
 Patr. Both take and give. 
 
 Cres. I'll make my match to live. 
 
 The kiss you take is better than you give ; 
 Therefore no kiss. 
 
 Men. I'll give you boot,^^ I'll give you three 
 for one. 
 
 Cres. You're an odd man ; give even, or give none. 
 Men. An odd man, lady ! every man is odd. 
 Cres. No, Paris is not ; for, you know, 'tis true. 
 That you are odd, and he is even with you. 
 Men. You fillip me o' the head. 
 Cres. No, I'll be sworn. 
 
 Ulyss. It were no match, your nail against his 
 horn. — 
 
 May I, sweet lady, beg a kiss of you ? 
 
 Cres. You may. 
 
 Ulyss. I do desire it. 
 
 Cres. Why, beg, then. 
 
 Ulyss. Why, then, for Venus' sake, give me a kiss. 
 When Helen is a maid again, and his. 
 
 Cres. I am your debtor, claim it when 'tis due. 
 
 Ulyss. Never's my day, and then a kiss of you. 
 
 Dio. tady, a word: — I'll bring you to your 
 father. [Exit nuith Cressida. 
 
 Nest. A woman of quick sense. 
 
 Ulyss. Fie, fie upon her ! 
 
 There's language in her eye, her cheek, her lip. 
 Nay, her foot speaks ; her wanton spirits look out, 
 At every joint and motive''" of her body. 
 Oh, these encounterers, so glib of tongue, 
 That give a coasting welcome ere it comes.^i 
 
 38. Ken. ' Know,' ' recognise.' Doubly characteristic is this 
 little speech; characterising, as it does, both the observant 
 faculty of the speaker, and the self-asserting carriage of the 
 man mentioned. 
 
 39. / 'II give you boot. See Note 38, Act i. 
 
 40. Motive. Here used to express that which causes motion ; 
 ' motive organ,' 'portion in.strumental in producing motion.' 
 
 41. That give a coasting welcome ere it comes. " A coast- 
 ing" has been variously changed by various emendators ; but 
 we think " a coasting welcome" means 'a sidling welcome,' 'a 
 conciliatory and alluring welcome,' 'a welcome full of insidious 
 blandishment and enticement.' See Note 37, Act iii., " Henry 
 VIII." The "it" in this line, which seems to have no ante- 
 cedent, is probably used as Shakespeare sometimes employs 
 this word in reference to an implied particular ; the implied 
 particular being ' encounter,' or ' amorous advance,' involved 
 in the previous expression, "encounterers." For instances of 
 
Act IV. 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 And wide unclasp the tables of their thoughts 
 
 To every ticklish reader ! set them down 
 
 For sluttish spoils of opportunity, 
 
 And daughters of the game. [Trumpet uoithin. 
 
 All. The Trojans' trumpet. 
 
 Agam. Yonder comes the troop. 
 
 Enter Hector, armed; ^neas, Troilus, and 
 other Trojans, luiih Attendants, 
 
 ^7'.e. Hail, all you state of Greece ! what shall 
 be done 
 
 To him that victory commands ? or do you pur- 
 pose 
 
 A victor shall be known ? will you, the knights 
 Shall to the edge of all extremity 
 Pursue each other ; or shall be divided 
 By any voice or order of the field ? 
 Hector bade ask. 
 
 Agam. Which way would Hector have it ? 
 
 ^ne. He cares not; he'll obey conditions. 
 
 Achil. 'Tis done like Hector jjyt securel} 
 done, 
 
 A little proudly, and great deal misprising 
 The knight oppos'd. 
 
 ^ne. If not Achilles, sir. 
 
 What is your name f 
 
 Achil. If not Achilles, nothing. 
 
 ^ne. Therefore Achilles: but, whate'er,*** know 
 this 
 
 la the extremity of great and little. 
 
 Valour and pride excel themselves in Hector; 
 
 The one almost as infinite as all, 
 
 The other blank as nothing. Weigh him well, 
 
 And that which looks like pride is courtesy. 
 
 the way in which " it" is used in relation to an implied par- 
 ticular, see Notes 65, Act i., "All's Well;" 26, Act i., "King 
 John ; " 26, Act iv., " Second Part Henry IV. ; " and 53, Act ii., 
 " Henr>' V. ;" and as many examples might be cited to evince 
 that Shakespeare uses the word ' encounter ' in the sense we 
 have here ascribed to it as involved in the term " encounterers." 
 
 42. 'Tis done like Hector. This speech is assigned, in the 
 old copies, to Agamemnon. Pope made the correction. 
 
 43. Securely. Over-confidently ; making secure of being the 
 victor. 
 
 44. Whate'er. Here used elliptically for 'whate'er it may be." 
 
 45. Half mn.de of Hectors blood. Ajax was son to Telamon 
 and Hesione, the sister to King Priam, who was Hector's father. 
 See Note 37, Act ii. This is the parentage as given by some 
 accounts, and accepted by Shakespeare, which warrants the 
 relationship alluded to in the present play ; but other authorities 
 represent Ajax as being the son of Telamon by Peribtea or 
 Eribcea, daughter of King Alcathous. 
 
 46. Half Trojan and half Greek. See Note 2, Act ii. 
 
 47. Breath. 'Breathing ;' in the sense of 'exercise,' 'relax- 
 ation,' 'recreation.' See Note 63, Act ii. Here it means a 
 mere passage of arms, in contradistinction to a deadly contest. 
 
 48. Speaking in deeds, and deedless in his tongue. Just one 
 of Shakespeare's expressive lines, describing one who proves his 
 words by his acts, and .says no word of his acts. 
 
 49 An impair iliought. The Folio prints "impaire" here, 
 the Quarto impare.' Johnson proposed to change the word to 
 " impure." It has been objected that there has been no instance 
 yet found of the word " impair" used as an adjective ; but we 
 
 I'his Ajax is half made of Hector's blood 
 In love whereof, half Hector stays at home ; 
 Half heart, half hand, half Hector comes to seek 
 This blended knight, half Trojan and half Greek.^* 
 Achil. A maiden battle, then ?— Oh, I perceive 
 you. 
 
 Re-enter Diomedes. 
 Agam. Here is Sir Diomed. — Go, gentle 
 knight. 
 
 Stand by our Ajax : as you and Lord ^neas 
 
 Consent upon the order of their fight, 
 
 So be it ; either to the uttermost. 
 
 Or else a breath the combatants being kin 
 
 Half stints their strife before their strokes begin. 
 
 [Ajax and Hector enter the lists. 
 Ulyss. They are oppos'd already. 
 Agam. What Trojan is that same that looks so 
 heavy ? 
 
 Ulyss. The youngest son of Priam, a true 
 knight ; 
 
 Not yet mature, yet matchless : firm of word ; 
 Speaking in deeds, and deedless in his tongue ;''=' 
 Not soon provok'd, nor, being provok'd, soon 
 calm'd : 
 
 His heart and hand both open, and both free; 
 For what he has he gives, what thinks he shows ; 
 Yet gives he not till judgment guide his bount) , 
 Nor dignifies an impair thought^^ with breath : 
 Manly as Hector, but more dangerous ; 
 For Hector, in his blaze of wrath, subscribes 
 To tender objects; but he, in heat of action, 
 Is more vindicative than jealous love : 
 They call him Troilus ; and on hyn erect 
 A second hope, as fairly built as Hector.^' 
 
 have shown that Shakespeare often used nouns adjectively, and 
 the substantive " impair" was in frequent use with his contem- 
 porary writers. Tliere are three senses in which he may have 
 used "impair" adjectively here, each and all of them consisting 
 well with the drift of the present passage : " impair" signifying 
 unequal, unsuitable, unbefitting, unworthy, as derived from the 
 Latin inipar; "impair" signifying unprepared, unready, or 
 perplexed, entangled, as derived from the Latin imparatus; 
 and " impair" signifying injurious, impairing, deteriorating, 
 ' detractive.' It is in this latter sense that the word " impair," 
 as a noun, is used by Ben Jonson, by Chapman, and by Brown. 
 Inasmuch as Shakespeare had a peculiar and potential manner 
 of employmg and even of creating most expressive and com- 
 prehensive epithets, it is at the risk of banishing such epithets 
 from our language that any one of his words are changed ; and 
 to adopt such a suggested word as ' impure ' here, which affords 
 but a single meaning,— and that meaning less well consisting 
 with the gist of the passage than the original word (for the 
 question here is not of Troilus's purity, but of his firmness, 
 fortitude, equanimity, generosity, candour, and judgment), — 
 while rejecting such a word as " impair," which comprises 
 several included meanings, merely because it is original and 
 unprecedented, appears to us to be most unwise, and even 
 reprehensible. 
 
 50. Subscribes. Yields, gives way, defers. See Note 71, 
 Act ii. 
 
 51. On him erect a second hope, as fairly built as Hector. 
 Elliptically expressed ; ' is their first on ' being understood 
 between " as" and " Hector." See Note 7 of the present Act. 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 Thus says ^neas ; one that knows the youth 
 Even to^his inches, and, with private soul, 
 Did in great Ilion thus translate him to me.^- 
 
 [Jlaium. Hector and Ajax Jighi. 
 
 Agam. They are in action. 
 
 Nest. Now, Ajax, hold thine own ! 
 
 Tro. Hector, thou sleep'st ; 
 
 Awake thee ! 
 
 Agam. His blows are well dispos'd : — there, 
 Ajax ! 
 
 Dio. You must no more. [Trumpets cease. 
 
 Mne. Princes, enough, so please you. 
 
 Ajax. I am not warm yet ; let us fight again. 
 D'lo. As Hector pleases. 
 
 Hect. Why, then will I no more : — 
 
 Thou art, great lord, my father's sister's son, 
 A cousin-german to great Priam's seed ; 
 The obligation of our blood forbids 
 A gory emulation 'twixt us twain : 
 Were thy commixtion Greek and Trojan so, 
 That thou couldst say, " This hand is Grecian all, 
 And this is Trojan ; the sinews of this leg 
 All Greek, and this all Troy ; my mother's blood 
 Runs on the dexter cheek, and this sinister 
 Bounds in my father's ;" by Jove multipotent. 
 Thou shouldst not bear from me a Greekish 
 member 
 
 Wherein my sword had not impressure made 
 Of our rank feud : but the just gods gainsay 
 That any drop thou borrow'dst from thy mother, 
 My sacred aunt, should by my mortal sword 
 Be drain'd ! Let me embrace thee, Ajax : 
 By him that thunders, thou hast lusty arms ; 
 Hector would have them fall upon him thus : 
 Cousin, all honour to thee ! 
 
 Ajax. I thank thee, Hector: 
 
 Thou art too gentle and too free a man : 
 I came to kill thee, cousin, and bear hence 
 A great addition'^ earned in thy death. 
 
 Uect. Not Neoptolemus^^ so mirable*' 
 (On whose bright crest Fame with her loud'st 
 0-yes56 
 
 Cries, " This is he !") could promise to himself 
 A thought of added honour torn from Hector. 
 JEne. There is expectance here from both the 
 sides, 
 
 What farther you will do. 
 
 52. With private sou! did .... thus translate him to 711c. 
 ' Did confidentially thus reveal his character to me,' ' thus 
 clearly describe or explain his true nature to me.' 
 
 53. Addition. Honourable title, added distinction, reputa- 
 tion. See Note 89, Act ii. 
 
 54. Neoptolemus. A sir-name given to Pyrrhus, the son of 
 Achilles ; and here seemingly applied to Achilles himself, as if 
 it were a name belonging to both father and son. Probably 
 Sh.ikespeare, in this, followed some book of his time ; for that 
 he did not apply it to Pyrrhus, knowing him as yet "young" 
 and no warrior, is evidenced by the passage referred to in 
 Note 59, Act iii. 
 
 55. Mirable. Latin, mirabilis, wonderful : that which is to 
 
 Hect. We'll answer it ; 
 
 The issue is embraceinent :— Ajax, farewell. 
 
 Ajax. If I might in entreaties find success 
 (As seld57 I have the chance), I would desire 
 My famous cousin to our Grecian tents. 
 
 Dio. 'Tis Agamemnon's wish ; and great 
 Achilles 
 
 Doth long to see unarm'd the valiant Hector. 
 
 Hect. Mnt^s, call my brother Troilus to me ; 
 And signify this loving interview 
 To the expecters of our Trojan part ; 
 Desire them home. — Give me thy hand, my cousin ; 
 I will go eat with thee, and see your knights. 
 
 Ajax. Great Agamemnon comes to meet us here. 
 
 Hect. The worthiest of them tell me name by 
 name ; 
 
 But for Achilles, mine own searching eyes 
 Shall find him by his large and poi-tly size. 
 
 Agam. Worthy of arms ! as welcome as to one 
 That would be rid of such an enemy ; 
 But that's no welcome; understand more clear. 
 What's past and what's to come is strew'd with 
 husks 
 
 And formless ruin of oblivion ; 
 But in this extant moment, faith and troth, 
 Strain'd purely froin all hollow bias-drawing, 
 Bids thee, with most divine integrity, 
 From heart of very heart, great Hector, welcome. 
 Hect. I thank thee, most imperious^* Agamem- 
 non. 
 
 Agam. [To Troilus.] My well fam'd lord of 
 
 Troy, no less to you. 
 Men. Let me confirm my princely brother's 
 
 greeting -,33— 
 You brace o^warlike brothers, welcome hither. 
 Hect. Whom must we answer ? 
 JEne. The noble Menelaus. 
 
 Hect. Oh, you, my lord ? by Mars his gauntlet,*^" 
 
 thanks I 
 
 Mock not, that I affect the untraded" oath ; 
 Your quondam^^ wife swears still by Venus' glove : 
 She's well, but bade me not commend her to you. 
 Men. Name her not now, sir ; she's a deadly 
 theme. 
 
 Hect. Oh, pardon; I offend. 
 Nest. I have, thou gallant Trojan^ seen thee 
 oft, 
 
 be admired at, or marvelled at. One of Shakespeare's classically 
 coined words. 
 
 56. 0-yes. See Note 11, Act v., " Merry Wives." 
 
 57. Seld. A form of seldom ;' abbreviated for the metre's sake. 
 
 58. Imperious. Here, as elsewhere, used in the sense of 
 ■imperial;' the two words, in their respective signification, 
 having been often formerly used, the one for the other. 
 
 59. My princely brothers greeting. Menelaus was the 
 brother of Agamemnon. 
 
 60. By Mars his gauntlet. See Note 12, Act ii. 
 
 61. Untraded. ' Uncommon,' ' unusual,' ' unhackneyed.' 
 See Note 42, Act iii., " Richard II." 
 
 5-'. Q?ainda>n. 'Former.' See Note 31, Act ii., " Henry V." 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene V, 
 
 Labouring for destiny/^ make cruel way 
 Through ranks of Greekish youth ; and I have 
 seen thee, 
 
 As hot as Perseus, spur thy Phrygian steed, 
 
 Despising many forfeits and subduements, 
 
 When thou hast hung thy advancfeJ sword i' the 
 
 Not letting it decline on the declin'djS'* 
 That I have said to some iny standers-by, 
 " Lo, Jupiter is yonder, dealing life !" 
 And I have seen thee pause, and take thy breath. 
 When that a ring of Greeks have hemm'd thee in, 
 Like an Olympian wrestling: this have I seen ; 
 But this thy countenance, still locked in steel, 
 I never saw till now. I knew thy grandsire,^^ 
 And once fought with him : he wa= a soldier good; 
 But, by great Mars, the captain of us all. 
 Never like thee. Let an old man embrace thee ; 
 And, worthy warrior, welcome to our tents. 
 /Ene. ' Lis the old Nestor. 
 
 Hect. Let me embrace thee, good old chronicle, 
 That hast so long walk'd hand in hand with 
 time : — 
 
 Most reverend Nestor, I am glad to clasp thee. 
 
 Nest. I would my arms could match thee in 
 contention. 
 As they contend with thee in courtesy. 
 
 Hect. J would they could. 
 
 Nest. Ha! 
 
 By this white beard, I'd fight with thee to-mor- 
 row : — 
 
 Well, welcome, welcome ! — I have seen the time — 
 
 Ulyss. I wonder now how yonder city stands. 
 When we have here her base and pillar by us. 
 
 Hect. I know your favour, Lord Ulysses, well. 
 Ah ! sir, there's many a Greek and Trojan dead, 
 Since first I saw yourself and Diomed 
 In I lion, on your Greekish embassy. 
 
 Ulyss. Sir, I foretold you then what would ensue : 
 My prophecy is but half his journey yet ; 
 For yonder walls, that pertly front your town, 
 Yond' towers, whose wanton tops do buss the 
 
 clouds. 
 Must kiss their own feet. 
 
 Hect. I must not believe you: 
 
 There they stand yet ; and modestly I think, . 
 
 63. Labouring /or destiny. ' Acting in the person of destiny,' 
 ■performing the part of fate," 'working instead of fate.'. 
 
 64. Not letting it decline on the declin'd. ' Not letting it fall 
 on those already fallen," ' not letting it strike those who are down. 
 
 65- Thy grandsire. Laomedon, father of Priam. 
 
 66. Favour. ' Aspect,' ' countenance,' ' personal appearance.' 
 See Note 20, Act iv., " Richard II " 
 
 bl. Will one day end it. So to hitn we leave it. " It," here, 
 according to Shakespeare's mode of using this word in reference 
 to an implied p.irticular, relates to that which is now uncertain, 
 the subsequent issue of the war, as implied in what the speakers 
 have just said. 
 
 68. / shall forcslall thee. Lord Ulysses, thou ! " Thou," in 
 this sentence, has been variously altered to 'though,' 'then,' 
 
 The fall of every Phrygian stone will cost 
 A drop of Grecian blood : the end crowns all ; 
 And that old common arbitrator, time, 
 Will one day end it. 
 
 Ulyss. So to him we leave it.^? 
 
 Most gentle and rnost valiant Hector, welcome : 
 After the general, I beseech you next 
 To feast with me, and see me at my tent. 
 
 Achil. I shall forestall thee, Lord Ulysses, 
 thou!6s_ 
 
 Now, Hector, I have fed mine eyes on thee ; 
 I have with exact view perus'd thee,'Hector, 
 And quoted ^8 joint by joint. 
 
 Hect. Is this Achilles ? 
 
 Achil. I am Achilles. 
 
 Hect. Stand fair, I pray thee : let me look on 
 thee. 
 
 AchU. Behold thy fill. 
 
 Hect. Nay, I have done already. 
 
 Achil. Thou art too brief : I will the second time, 
 As I would buy thee, view thee limb by limb. 
 Hect. Oh, like a book of sport thou'lt read me 
 o'er : 
 
 But there's more in me than thou understand'st. 
 Why dost thou so oppress me with thine eye ? 
 Achil. Tell me, you heavens, in which part of 
 his body 
 
 Shall I destroy him ? whether there, or there, or 
 there 
 
 That I may give the local wound a name, 
 And make distinct the very breach whereout 
 Hector's great spirit flew : answer me, heavens ! 
 Hect. It would discredit the ble.ss'd gods, proud 
 man. 
 
 To answer such a question : stand again : 
 Thinkst thou to catch my life so pleasantly. 
 As to prenominate in nice conjecture 
 Where thou wilt hit me dead ? 
 
 Achil. I tell thee, yea. 
 
 Hect. Wert thou an oracle to tell me so, 
 I'd not believe thee. Henceforth guard thee well ; 
 For I'll not kill thee there, nor there, nor there ; 
 But, by the forge that stithied'" Mars his helm, 
 I'll kill thee everywhere, yea, o'er and o'er. — 
 You wisest Grecians, pardon me this brag. 
 His insolence draws folly from my lips j 
 
 'there,' and 'now;' but the repetition of a pronoun thus in a 
 sentence, for the sake of either emphatic, playful, or scornful 
 effect, was usual. See Notes 148, Act ii., "All's Well," and 81, 
 Act ii., " Second Part Henry IV. ;" also " Merrj- Wives," Act ii., 
 sc. 2, where Falstaff scoffingly says to Pistol, "You will not do 
 it, you ! " It appears to us that the phrase in Achilles' mouth has 
 characteristic effect ; it includes a dash of insolence, a dash of 
 off-hand freedom, and d daih of half compliment, as though he 
 had said, ' I shall forestall thee, Lord Ulysses, even thou !' 
 
 69. Quoted. ' Noted,' ' observed.' See Note 41, Act iv. , 
 "King John." 
 
 70. Stithied. 'Forged.' A 'stith' is an old and stil! pro- 
 vincial) name for an anvil ; and ' stithy' for a blacksmiths forge 
 or workshop. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 But I'll endeavour deeds to match these words, 
 Or may i never, — 
 
 Ajax. Do not chafe thee, cousin : — 
 
 And you, Achilles, let these threats alone, 
 Till accident or purpose bring you to 't : 
 You may have every day enpugh of Hector, 
 If you have stomach the general state, I fear. 
 Can scarce entreat you to be odd with him."- 
 
 Hect. I pray you, let us see you in the field : 
 We have had pelting''^ wars, since you refus'd 
 The Grecians" cause. 
 
 Achil. Dost thou entreat me. Hector ? 
 
 To-morrow do I meet thee, felF'' as death ; 
 To-night all friends. 
 
 Kect. Thy hand upon that match. 
 
 Agam. First, all you peers of Greece, go to my 
 tent ; 
 
 There in the full convive''* we : afterwards, 
 As Hector's leisure and your bounties shall 
 Concur together, severally entreat him. — • 
 Beat loud the tabourines,'^ let the trumpets blow. 
 That this great soldier may his welcome know. 
 
 [_Extunt all except Troilus and ULYssts. i 
 
 Tro. My Lord Ulysses, tell me, I beseech you, 
 In what place of the field doth Calchas keep 
 
 Ulyss. At Menelaus' tent, most princely 
 Troilus : 
 
 There Diomed doth feast with him to-night; 
 Who neither looks upon the heaven nor earth, 
 But gives all gaze and bent of amorous view 
 On the fair Cressid. 
 
 Tro. Shall I, sweet lord, be bound to you so 
 much, 
 
 After we part from Agamemnon's tent. 
 To bring me thither ? 
 
 Ulyss. You shall command me, sir. 
 
 As gentle tell me, of what honour was 
 This Cressida in Troy ? Had she no lover 
 there 
 
 That wails her absence ? 
 
 Tro. Oh, sir, to such as boasting show their 
 scars, 
 
 A mock is due. Will you walk on, my lord ? 
 She was belov'd, she lov'd ; she is, and doth 
 But, still, sweet love is food for fortune's tooth. 
 
 \_Exeun:. 
 
 ACT V. 
 
 SCENE l.—The Grecian Camp. Before 
 Achilles' Tent. 
 
 Enter Achilles and Patroclus. 
 
 Acbil. I'll heat his blood with Greekish wine' 
 to-night. 
 
 Which with my scimitar I'll cool to-morrow. — 
 Patroclus, let us feast him to the height. 
 Patr. Here comes Thersites. 
 
 Enter Thersites. 
 
 Achil. How now, thou core of envy I 
 
 Thou crusty batch^ of nature, what's the news? 
 Ther. Whv, thou picture of what thou seemest. 
 
 71. Stomach. Here used for * appetite,' ' inclination.* 
 
 72. .'Scarce entreat you to he odd with him. ' Hardly per- 
 suade you to be at odds with him/ or * contend with him.' 
 Ajax, in the flush of having just been chosen champion of the 
 Greeks, twits Achilles with holding aloof from taking part in 
 the late engagements. 
 
 73. Petting. 'Paltry,' 'petty,' 'inconsiderable.' See Note 
 10, Act ii., "Richard II." 
 
 74. Fell. Furious, fierce, cruel. See Note 66, Act iii., "King 
 John." 
 
 75. Convive. ' Feast be convivial. 
 
 76. Tabonyines. Small drums 
 
 nT. Keep. ' Remain,' ' dwell,' ' reside.' See Note 13, Act iv., 
 " Love's Labour's Lost." 
 
 78. Site was belov'd. she lov'd: she is, and doth. One of 
 Shakespeare's elliptically condensed lines ; meaning, ' She was 
 
 and idol of idiot-worshippers, here's a letter for 
 thee. 
 
 Achil. From whence, fragment ? 
 Ther. Why, thou full dish of fool, from Troy. 
 Patr. Who keeps the te.nt now 
 Ther. The surgeon's box, or the patient's 
 wound. 
 
 Patr. Well said, Adversity I'' and what need 
 these tricks ? 
 
 Ther. Pr'y thee, be silent, boy ; I profit not by thy 
 talk : thou art thought to be Achilles' male varlet. 
 
 Patr. Male varlet, you rogue ! 
 
 Ther. Now, the rotten diseases of the south 
 take and take again such preposterous discoveries ! 
 
 beloved, she loved ; she is beloved, and doth love.' See 
 Note 89, Act i. 
 
 1. Greekish wine. Famed for its strength and excellence. It 
 was Greek wine that served Ulysses in such good stead in his 
 adventure with the giant Cyclop, Polyphemus, as told in the 
 ninth book of Homer's " Odyssey." 
 
 2. Batch. All that is baked at one heating of an oven. 
 
 3. Who lieeps the tent now? Asked in the sense of 'Who 
 remains in his tent now?' (see Note 79, Act i.) ; and answered 
 punningly, in the sense of ' Who (or what) holds the roll of lint 
 now?' See Note 24, Act ii. 
 
 4. Adversity. Used as a title, combining the senses of con- 
 trarious and unfortunate from nature : in allusion to Thersites' 
 reply being adverse to the spirit of Patroclus' question, and to 
 his having been born so unfortunately deformed and spiteful. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Thersites. Why, thou pictii 
 
 Patr. Why, thou box of eavy, thou, what 
 meanest thou to curse thus ? 
 Ther. Do I curse tliee ? 
 
 Patr. Why, no, you ruinous butt; you indis- 
 tinguishable cur, no. 
 
 Ther. No ! why art thou, then, exasperate, thou 
 idle immaterial skein of sleave-silk,* thou green sar- 
 cenet flap for a sore eye, thou tassel of a prodigal's 
 purse, thou? Ah ! how the poor world is pestered 
 with such waterfiies, — diminutives of nature ! 
 
 Patr. Out, gall ! 
 
 Ther. Finch-egg ! 
 
 Ach'il. My sweet Patroclus, I am thwarted quite 
 From my great purpose in to-morrow's battle. 
 Here is a letter from Queen Hecuba ; 
 A token from her daughter, my fair love ; 
 
 5. Sleave-silk. ' Raw silk,' ' unwrought silk.' 
 
 6. One that loves qnaih. "Quails" was a cant name for 
 common women : and it has been supposed that in the present 
 passage the word is used in this sense. We think, however, 
 that the sentence may bear reference to the antique custom of 
 
 IJoth taxing me and 'g.Tgin;i me to keep 
 An oath that I have sworn. I will not break 
 it : 
 
 Fall Greeks; fail fame ; honour or go or stay ; 
 My major vow lies here, this I'll obey.— 
 Come, come, Thersites, help to trim my tent ; 
 This night in banqueting must all be spent. — 
 Away, Patroclus! 
 
 \_Exciint Kcmi.i.'ii and Patroclus. 
 Ther. With too much blood and too little 
 brain, these two may run mad ; but, if with too 
 much brain and too little blood they do, I'll be a 
 curer of madmen. Here's Agamemnon,— an 
 honest fellow enough, and one that loves quails ;'' 
 but he has not so much brain as ear-wax: and the 
 goodly transformation of Jupiler there, his brother, 
 
 matching quails against one another, as cocks are more modernly 
 matched. Shakespeare elsewhere has alluded to this ancient 
 practice !in ".Antony and Cleopatra," Act ii., sc 3), and we 
 think it probable that here " loves quails" may be equivalent to 
 ' is fond of quail-fighting,' 'is fond of gambling with quails.' 
 
Act v.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 the bull, — the primitive statue, and oblique memo- 
 rial of wittols ; a thrifty shoeing-horn in a chain, 
 hanging at his brother's leg, — to what form, but 
 that he is, should wit larded with malice, and 
 malice forced 7 with wit, turn him to ? '1 o an ass, 
 were nothing ; he is both ass and ox : to an ox, 
 were nothing ; he is both ox and ass. To be a 
 dog, a mule, a cat, a fitchew,^ a toad, a lizard, 
 an owl, a puttock,' or a herring without a roe, I 
 would not care; but to be Menelaus, — I would 
 conspire against destiny. Ask me not what I 
 would be, if I were not Thersites ; for I care not, 
 so I were not Menelaus. — Hey-day ! spirits and 
 fires ! '0 
 
 Enter Hector, Troilus, Ajax, Agamemnon, 
 Ulysses, Nestor, Menelaus, and Diomedes, 
 ■■with lights. 
 Agam. We go wrong, we go wrong. 
 Ajax. No, yonder 'tis ; 
 
 There, where we see the lights. 
 
 Hect. I trouble you. 
 
 Ajax. No, not a whit. 
 
 IJlyss. Here comes himself to guide you. 
 
 Re-enter Achilles. 
 Achil. Welcome, brave Hector ; welcome, 
 princes all. 
 
 Agam. So now, fair Prince of Troy, I bid good 
 night. 
 
 Ajax commands the guard to tend on you. 
 
 Hcct. Thanks and good night to the Greeks' 
 general. 
 
 Men. Good night, my lord. 
 Hect. Good night, sweet Lord Menelaus. 
 
 Ther. Sweet draught sweet, quoth 'a! sweet 
 sink, sweet sewer. 
 
 Achil. Good night and welcome, both at once, 
 to those 
 That go or tarry. 
 Agam. Good night. 
 
 {^Exeunt Agamemnon and Menelaus. 
 Achil. Old Nestor tarries; and you too, Diomed, 
 Keep Hector company an hour or two. 
 
 Dio. I cannot, lord ; I have important business, 
 The tide whereof is now. — Good night, great 
 Hector. 
 Hect. Give me your hand. 
 
 7. Forced. ' Stuffed.' See Note 85, Act ii. 
 
 8. A fitchew. A polecat. 
 
 g. Apuitock. A kite; an inferior kind of hawk. See Note 82, 
 Act iii., " Second Part Henry VI." 
 
 10. Hey-day ! spirits and fires. Tliersites' exclamation on 
 seeing the lights approach. 
 
 11. Draught. An old word for a receptacle for filth; the 
 place of deposit for excrements. 
 
 12. Brabbler. A hound that gives tongue, when not upon 
 the scent of the game, is called by sportsmen a babbler or 
 brabbler. 
 
 Ulyss. \_Aside to Troilus.] Follow his torch ; 
 he goes to Calchas' tent : 
 I'll keep you company. 
 Tro. Sweet sir, you honour me. 
 
 Hect. And so, good night. 
 
 \_Exit Diomedes; Ulysses and Troilus, 
 follouoivg. 
 
 Achil. Come, come, enter my tent. 
 
 [Exeunt Achilles, Hector, Ajax, 
 and Nestor. 
 
 "ther. That same Diomed's a false-hearted 
 rogue, a most unjust knave ; I will no more trust 
 him when he leers, than I will a serpent when he 
 hisses : he will spend his mouth, and promise, like 
 Brabbler'2 the hound; but when he performs, 
 astronomers foretell it; it is prodigious, there will 
 come some change ; the sun borrows of the moon, 
 when Diomed keeps his word. I will rather leave 
 to see Hector,''' than not to dog him : I'll after. 
 
 \_Exit. 
 
 SCENE \\.—The Grecian Camp. Before Cal- 
 chas' Tent. 
 Enter Diomedes. 
 Dio. What ! are you up here ? ho ! speak. 
 Cal. [JVitbin.-] Who calls ? 
 Dio. Diomed. — Calchas, I think. Where's 
 
 your daughter ? 
 Cal. [ITithin.] She comes to you. 
 
 Enter Troilus and Ulysses, at a distance; after 
 them, Thersites, nuho remains apart. 
 
 Ulyss. Stand where the torch may not discover us. 
 Enter Cressida. 
 
 Tro. Cressid comes forth to him ! 
 
 Dio. How now, my charge ! 
 
 Cres. Now, my sweet guardian ! — Hark, a word 
 with you. [IVhispers. 
 
 Tro. Yea, so familiar ! 
 
 Ulyss. She will sing any man at first sight. 
 
 Tro. And any man may sing her, if he can 
 take her cliff; '» she's noted. 
 
 Dio. Will you remember ? 
 
 Cres. Remember ! yes. 
 
 Dio. Nay, but do, then ; 
 
 And let your mind be coupled with your words. 
 
 13. Prodigious. Here used for auguring some prodigy, 
 presaging some portent ; 'portentous,* ominous.' 
 
 14. / luill rather leave, &'c. I will rather give up seeing 
 Hector, than not follow Diomed. 
 
 15. Cliff. A mark employed in musical notation, indicating 
 the particular portion of the gamut for which the stave upon 
 which it is placed is intended, and also denoting what kind of 
 voice 18 to sing this stave, — whether bass, tenor, alto, or treble. 
 The word "cliff"' being derived from the French, clef, key, 
 permits an included sense in this sentence, expressing, ^if he 
 knew what voice to use and what key to take her in.' 
 
 54 
 
Act v.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSlDA. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Tro. What sliould she remember f 
 Ulyss. List. 
 
 Crcs. Sweet honey Greek, tempt me no more 
 to folly. 
 
 Tber. Rogiiery! 
 
 Dio. Nay, then, — 
 
 Cres. I'll tell you what,— 
 
 Dio. Pho, pho ! come, tell a pin : you are for- 
 sworn, 
 
 Cres. In faith, I cannot: what would you have 
 me do ? 
 
 Ther. A juggling trick, — to be secretly open. 
 Dio. What did ) ou swear you would bestow on 
 me ? 
 
 Cres. I pr'ythee, do not hold me to .mine oath ; 
 Bid me do anything but that, sweet Greek. 
 Dio. Good night. 
 Tro. Hold, patience ! 
 
 Ulyss. How now, Trojan ! 
 
 Cres. Diomed, — 
 
 Dio. No, no, good night: I'll be your fool no 
 more. 
 
 Tro. T hy better must. 
 
 Cres. Hark ! one word in your ear. 
 
 Tro. Oh, plague and madness ! 
 Ulyss. You are mov'd, prince ; let us depart, I 
 pray you. 
 
 Lest your displeasure should enlarge itself 
 To wrathful terms : this place is dangerous j 
 The time right deadly ; I beseech you, go. 
 Tro. Behold, I pi-ay you ! 
 
 Ulyss. Na)-, good my lord, go off : 
 
 You flow to great distraction ; come, my lord. 
 Tro. I pray thee, stay. 
 
 Ulyss. You have not patience ; come. 
 
 Tro. I pray you, stay ; I will not speak a word. 
 
 D':o. And so, good night. 
 
 C' es. Nay, but you part in anger. 
 
 Tro. Doth that grieve thee ? 
 
 Oh, wither'd truth ! 
 
 Ulyss. Why, how now, lord ! 
 
 Tro. By Jove, 
 
 will be patient. 
 - Cres. Guardian .'—why, Greek! 
 
 Dio. Pho, pho ! adieu ; you palter. 
 
 Cres. In faith, I do not : come hither once again. 
 \ Ulyss. You shake, my lord, at something : will 
 
 you go P 
 \ow. will break out. 
 
 Tro. She strokes his cheek ! 
 
 Ulyss. Come, come. 
 
 Tro. Nay, stay ; by Jove, I will not speak a 
 word : 
 
 There is between my will and all offences 
 
 16. Palter. ' Shuffle,' ' equivocate.' 
 
 17. Nay, tie not snatch it from me 
 neously assign these words to Diomed. 
 
 A guard of patience :— stay a little while. 
 
 Ther. How the devil, luxury, tickles these 
 together I 
 
 Dio. But will you, then ? 
 
 Cres. In faith, I will, la; never tru^t me else. 
 
 Dio. Give me some token for the surety of it. 
 
 Crcs. I'll fetch you one. {^Exit. 
 
 Ulyss. You have sworn patience. 
 
 Tro. Fear me not, sweet lord ; 
 
 I will not be myself, nor have cognition 
 Of what I feel : I am all patience. 
 
 Re-enter Cressida. 
 
 Ther. Now the pledge ; now, now, now ! 
 Cres. Here, Diomed, keep this sleeve. 
 Tro. Oh, beauty ! where is thy faith ? 
 Ulyss. My lord,— 
 
 Tro. I will be patient; outwardly I will. 
 Cres. You look upon that sleeve ; behold 
 well.— 
 
 He lov'd me— Oh, false wench ; — Give't me again. 
 Dio. Whose was 't ': 
 
 Cres. It is no matter, now I have't again. 
 I will not meet with you to-morrow night : 
 I pr'ythee, Diomed, visit me no more. 
 
 Ther. Now she sharpens : — weW said, whetstone ! 
 
 Dio. I shall have it. 
 
 Cres. ■ What! this? 
 
 Dio. Ay, that. 
 
 Crts. Oh, all you gods!— Oh, pretty, pretty 
 pledge! 
 
 Thy master now lies thinking in his bed 
 
 Of thee and me ; and sighs, and takes my glove, 
 
 And gives memorial dainty kisses to it. 
 
 As 1 kiss thee.— Nay, do not snatch it from me ;''' 
 
 He that takes that doth take my heart withal. 
 
 Dio. I had your heart before, this follows it. 
 
 Tro. I did swear patience. 
 
 Cies. You shall not have it, Diomed ; faith, 
 
 you shall not ; 
 I'll give you something else. 
 
 Dio. I will have this : whose wan it ? 
 
 Cres. 'Tis no matter. 
 
 Dio. Come, tell me whose it was. 
 
 Cres. 'Twas one's that lov'd me better than you 
 
 will. 
 
 But, now you have it, take it. 
 
 Dio. Whose was it P 
 
 Cres. By all Diana's waiting-women's yond'. 
 And by herself, I will not tell you whose. 
 
 Dio. To-morrow will I wear it on my helm ; 
 And grieve his spirit that dares not challenge it. 
 
 Tro. Wert thou the devil, and wor'st it on thy 
 horn. 
 
 It should be challenjr'd. 
 
 The o!d copies erro- 
 
 18. Diana's ivaiting-ivomen. 
 attendants upon th 
 
 A poetical name for the stars, 
 
Act v.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene II, 
 
 Cres. Well, well, 'tis done, 'tis past ; — and yet 
 it is not ; 
 I will not keep my word. 
 
 Dio. Why, then, farewell ; 
 
 Thou never shalt mock Diomed again. 
 Cres. You shall not go : — one cannot speak a 
 word, 
 
 But it straight starts you. 
 
 Dio. I do not like this fooling. 
 
 Ther. Nor I, by Pluto : but that that likes not 
 you,'' pleases me best. 
 
 Dio. What ! shall I come ? the hour ? 
 
 Cres. Ay, come ; — O Jove! — do come: — I shall 
 be plagu'd. 
 
 Dio. Farewell till then. 
 
 Cres. Good night: I pr'ythee, come. 
 
 [Exit DiOMEDES 
 
 Troilus, farewell ! one eye yet looks on thee; 
 But with my heart the other eye doth see. 
 Ah ! poor our sex I^" this fault in us I find. 
 The error of our eye directs our mind : 
 What error leads must err ; oh, then conclude 
 Minds sway'd by eyes are full of turpitude. [Exi/. 
 
 Ulyss. All's done, my lord. 
 
 Tro. It is. 
 
 Ulyss. Wh}- stay we, then ? 
 
 Tro. To make a recordation to my soul 
 Of every syllable that here was spoke. 
 But if I tell how these two did co-act. 
 Shall I not lie in publishing a truth ? 
 Sith^' yet there is a credence in my heart. 
 An esperance-2 so obstinately strong, 
 That doth invert the attest ^3 of eyes and ears; 
 As if those organs had deceptious functions, 
 Created only to calumniate. 
 Was Cressid here ? 
 
 Ulyss. I cannot conjure, Trojan. 
 
 Tro. She was not, sure. 
 
 ig. Thai that likes not you. ' That which you do not like.' 
 See Note 8, Act iii., " Henry V." 
 
 20. Alt .' poor our sex! An exclamation of transposed con- 
 struction somewhat similar to the one pointed out in Note 7, 
 Act i. of this play. See also Note 3, Act i., "As You 
 Like It." 
 
 21. Sith. Sithence ; since. See Note 54, Act i., "Taming 
 of the Shrew." 
 
 22. Esperaiice. The French word for ' hope ; ' it was 
 adopted into English, and occasionally used by other writers 
 beside Shakespeare. See Note 51, Act ii., " First Part 
 Henry IV." 
 
 23. Tlie attest. The reading of the Quarto : while the Folio 
 misprints it 'that test.' "Attest" is an abbreviated form of 
 ' attestation.' 
 
 24. Critics. Sometimes used by writers of Shakespeare's 
 time in the sense of 'cynics,' See Note 89, Act iv., "Love's 
 Labour's Lost." 
 
 25. 1/ there be rule in uiii'y. ' If there be truth in identity ;' 
 that one person cannot be more or other than one. 
 
 26. Discourse. Here used for ' ratiocination.' See Note 42, 
 Act ii. 
 
 27. Conduce. This word was changed by Rowe to * com- 
 mence:' but "conduce" is here used in its classical sense of 
 
 Ulyss. Most sure she was. 
 
 Tro. Why, my negation hath no taste of mad- 
 ness. 
 
 Ulyss. Nor mine, my lord : Cressid was here 
 but now. 
 
 Tro. Let it not be believ'd for womanhood ! 
 Think, we had mothers ; do not give advantage 
 'I"o stubborn critics,"'' — apt, without a theme, 
 For depravation, — to square the general sex 
 By Cressid's rule : rather think this not Cressid. 
 
 Ulyss. What hath she done, prince, that can 
 soil our mothers ? 
 
 Tro. Nothing at all, unless that this were she. 
 
 Ther. Will he swagger himself out on 's own 
 eyes ?. 
 
 Tro. This she ? no, this is Diomed's Cressida : 
 If beauty have a soul, this is not she ; 
 If souls guide vows, if vows be sanctimonies, 
 If sanctimony be the gods' delight. 
 If there be rule in unity 2* itself. 
 This is not she. Oh, madness of discourse, 
 That cause sets up with and against itself! 
 Bi-fold authority ! where reason can revolt 
 Without perdition, and loss assume all reason 
 Without revolt ; this is, and is not, Cressid ! 
 Within my soul there doth conduce^' a fight 
 Of this strange nature, that a thing inseparale"* 
 Divides more wider than the sky and earth ; 
 And yet the spacious breadth of this division 
 Admits no orifice for a point, as subtle 
 As Arachne's broken woof,^' to enter. 
 Instance, oh, instance! strong as Pluto's gates: 
 Cressid is mine, tied with the bonds of heaven; 
 Instance, oh, instance ! strong as heaven itself; 
 The bonds of heaven are slijip'd, dissolv'd, an 1 
 loos'd ; 
 
 And with another knot, five-finger-tied, 
 The fractions of her faith, orts of her love, 
 
 'lead together,' 'assemble;' and a "fight" represents the 
 elements of a fight, the contending forces, the tumultuous feel- 
 ings, the battling emotions that surge and meet tumultuouslv 
 within the speaker's soul, brought together by the strength of 
 passion. 
 
 28. A thing inseparate, &--c. 'A thing so inseparable as 
 personal individuality, — Cressida's identity with herself, — be- 
 comes in my mind more widely divided than are the sky and 
 the earth.' This has been strangely interpreted by Malonc ; 
 but we think that the consecution of the thought in the speaker's 
 mind, although most characteristically expressed in agitated 
 sentences, is visible throughout, and clearly shows that "a 
 thing inseparate" refers to personal identity. Troilus is trying 
 to persuade himself that the false woman he has just seen is not 
 his Cressida, and yet he is conscious that she is no other than 
 her own heartless self 
 
 29. Arachne's broken woof. The name is spelt ' Ariachnes' 
 in the Folio, probably for the sake of the metre. Arachne was 
 a skilful needlewoman who dared to vie with Minerva her.self ; 
 whereat the goddess was so incensed, that she transformed her 
 human rival into a spider. " Woof" here, therefore, poetically 
 implies a cobweb. 
 
 30. Another knot, five finger-tied. ' Another bond, formed 
 by a clasp of her hand." 
 
ACT v.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene 11. 
 
 The fragments, scraps, the bits, and greasy relics i 
 Of her o'er-eaten faith, are bound to Diomed. 
 
 Ulyss. May worthy Troilus be half attach'd , I 
 With that which here his passion doth express P^i 
 
 Tro. Ay, Greek; and that shall be divulged well 
 In characters as red as Mars his heart 
 Inflam'd with Venus : never did young man fancy 
 With so eternal and so fix'd a soul. 
 Hark, Greek : — as much as I do Cressid love. 
 So much by weight hate I her Diomed : 
 That sleeve is mine that he'll bear on his helm ; 
 Were it a casque compos'd by Vulcan's skill, 
 My sword should bite it : not the dreadful spout. 
 Which shipmen do the hurricano call, 
 Constring'd in mass by the almighty sun, 
 
 31. May worthy Troilus be half attach' d with that which 
 here, ir'c. 'Can Troilus really be even half as much over- 
 powered by the ennotions he so passionately expresses as he 
 seems to be?' Shakespeare elsewhere uses "attached with" 
 in the sense of seized by, laid hold of, possessed by, over- 
 
 Shall dizzy with more clamour Neptune's ear 
 In his descent, 33 than shall my prompted swo^d 
 Falling on Diomed. 
 Ther. He'll tickle it. 
 
 Tro. O Cressid ! oh, false Cressid ! false, false> 
 false ! 
 
 Let all untruths stand by thy stained name, 
 And they'll seem glorious. 
 
 Ulyss. Oh, contain yourself; 
 
 Your passion draws ears hither. 
 
 Enter ^neas. 
 Mne. I have been seeking you this hour, my lord : 
 Hector, by this, is arming him in Troy ; 
 Ajax, your guard, stays to conduct you home. 
 
 come or overpowered by. See Note 28, Act ii., " Second Part 
 Henry IV." 
 
 32. Fancy. ' Love.' 
 
 33. In his descent. " His " used for ' its,' in reference to the 
 waterspout 
 
 VOL III. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Tro. Have with ) ou, prince.— My courteous 
 lord, adieu. — 
 Farewell, revolted fair!— and, Diomed, 
 Stand fast, and wear a castle on thy head 
 
 Ulyss. I'll bring-''^ you to the gates. 
 
 Tro. Accept distracted thanks. 
 
 Exeunt Troilus, ^neas, and Ulisses. 
 
 Ther. \_Ad'vancing.'\ Would I could meet that 
 rogue Diomed ! I would croak like a raven ; 1 would 
 bode, I would bode. [Exit. 
 
 SCENE III.— Troy. Before ¥riam's Palace . 
 
 Enter Hector and Andromache. 
 Jnd. When was my lord so much ungently 
 temper'd. 
 
 To stop his ears against admonishment? 
 Un-arm, unarm, and do not fight to-day. 
 
 Ilecl. You train me to offend you; get you in : 
 By all the everlasting gods, I'll go! 
 
 And. My dreams will, sure, prove ominous to 
 the day. 
 
 Hect. No more, I say. 
 
 Enter Cassandra. 
 
 Cas. Where is my brother Hector? 
 
 And. Here, sister ; arm'd, and bloody in intent. 
 Consort with me in loud and dear petition. 
 Pursue we him on knees; for I have dream'd 
 Of bloody turbulence, and this whole night 
 Hath nothing been but shapesandformsof slaughter. 
 
 Cas. Oh, 'tis true. 
 
 Hect. Ho ! bid my trumpet sound ! 
 
 Cas. No notes of sally, for the heavens, sweet 
 brother. 
 
 Hect. Be gone, I say : the gods have heard me 
 swear. 
 
 Cas. The gods aredeaf to hot and peevish vows: 
 They are polluted offerings, more abhorr'd 
 Than spotted livers in the sacrifice. 
 
 And. Oh, be persuaded ! do not count it holy 
 To hurt by being just : it is as lawful. 
 For we would give much, to use violent thefts,^^ 
 And rob in the behalf of charity. 
 
 34. linear a castle o?i thy head. A particular kind of close 
 helmet was called a "castle ; " and Troilus moreover means to 
 imply that Diomed must needs wear the utmost possible means 
 of defence to withstand the blows he means to deal him. 
 
 35. Bring. Here used for ' accompany,' ' escort' See Note 7;, 
 Act ii., " Henry V." 
 
 36. Peevish. ' Headstrong,' ' wayward.' 
 
 37. For we would give much, to use violent thefts. The 
 Folio prints this line thus : — ' For we would count giue much 
 to as violent thefts ' It has been variously altered ; and we 
 adopt Tyrrwhitt's emendation, in the belief that 'count' crept 
 into the present line owing to the printer's eye having caught 
 it from the penultimate line above, that*' for" is employed in 
 the sense of 'because,' and that ' as ' is a misprint for "use." 
 Shakespeare often employs the word "use" in the sense of 
 'practise ;' a sense which it bears here. 
 
 3 J. Keeps the weather of. A nautical phrase, meaning *has 
 
 Cas. It is the purpose that makes strong the vow; 
 But vows to every purpose must not hold : 
 Unarm, sweet Hector. 
 
 Hect. Hold you still, I say; 
 
 Mine honour keeps the weather of^* my fate : 
 Life every man holds dear ; but the dear man-'" 
 Holds honour far more precious-dear than lite. — 
 
 Enter Troilus. 
 How now, young man ! mean'st thou tofight to-day ? 
 And. Cassandra, call my father to persuade. 
 
 \Exh Cassandra. 
 Hect. No, faith, young Troilus: doff thy har- 
 ness, youth ; 
 I am to-day i' the vein of chivalry : 
 Let grow thy sinews till their knots be strong, 
 And tempt not yet the brushes^" of the war. 
 Unarm thee, go; and doubt thou not, brave boy, 
 I'll stand to-day for thee, and me, and Troy. 
 
 Tro. Brother, you have a vice of mercy in you. 
 Which better fits a lion than a man.**' 
 
 Hect. What vice is that, good Troilus ? chide 
 me for it. 
 
 Tro. When many times the captive Grecians fall,^^ 
 Even in the fan and wind of your fair sword, 
 You bid them rise, and live. 
 
 Hect. Oh, 'tis fair play. 
 
 Tro. Fool's play, by Heaven, Hector. 
 
 Hect. How now ! how now ! 
 
 Tro. For the love of all the gods, 
 
 Let's leave the hermit pity with our mothers ; 
 And when we have our armours buckled on. 
 The venom'd vengeance ride upon our swords ; 
 Spur them to ruthful work,''^ rein them from ruth. 
 
 Hect. Fie, savage, fie ! 
 
 Tro. Hector, then 'tis wars. 
 
 Hect. Troilus, I would not have you fight to- 
 day. 
 
 Tro. Who should withhold me ? 
 Not fate, obedience, nor the hand of Mars 
 Beckoning with fiery truncheon my retire ; 
 Not Priamus and Hecuba on knees, 
 Their eyes o'ergalled with recourse^* of tears ; 
 Nor you, my brother, with your true sword drawn, 
 
 the advantage of the wind,' 'keeps to windward;' and figura- 
 tively used for ' maintains superiority over.' 
 
 39. The dear tnan. Here used for ' the man intense of pur- 
 pose,' ' the earnest man.' See Note loi, Act i., " Richard III." 
 
 40. Brushes. ' Rough encounters,' ' perilous rubs.' See Note 
 29, Act v:, "Second Part Henry VI." 
 
 41. Better fits a lion than a man. In reference to the many 
 traditions of the lion's generosity and magnanimous forbearance. 
 
 42. The captive Grecians fall. The Folio prints ' the captiue 
 Grecian fals.' Rowe's correction, which we adopt on the sup- 
 position that the printer misplaced the letter s. 
 
 43. Ruthful -work. ' Deeds that in their result produce pity ; ' 
 rueful,' ' woful.' 
 
 44. Recourse. Repeated flowing ; recurrence, recoursing. 
 The word has double force of meaning here ; as used in the 
 above sense, and as involving the usual sense of 'access,' 
 'repair thither,' 'frequent resort.' 
 
Act v.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Oppos'd to hinder me, should stop my way, 
 But by my ruin. 
 
 Re-enter Cassandra, njoitb Priam. 
 Cas. Lay hold upon him, Priam, hold him fast : 
 He is thy crutch ; now if thou lose thy stay, 
 Thou on him leaning, and all Troy on thee. 
 Fall all together. 
 
 Pri. Come, Hector, come, go back: 
 
 Thy wife hath dream'd ; thy mother hath had 
 visions ; 
 
 Cassandra doth foresee ; and I myself 
 Am like a prophet suddenly enrapt. 
 To tell thee that this day is ominous : 
 Therefore, come back. 
 
 Uect. ^neas is a-field ; 
 
 And I do stand engag'd to many Greeks, 
 Even in the faith of valour, to appear 
 This morning to them. 
 
 Pri. Ay, but thou shalt not go. 
 
 Meet. I must not break my faith. 
 You know me dutiful ; therefore, dear sir. 
 Let me not shame respect ; but give me leave 
 To take that course by your consent and voice. 
 Which you do here forbid me, royal Priam. 
 
 Cas. O Priam, yield not to him ! 
 
 And. Do not, dear father. 
 
 Hect. Andromache, I am offended with you: 
 Upon the love you bear me, get you in. 
 
 {^Exit Andromache. 
 
 Tro. This foolish, dreaming, superstitious girl 
 Makes all these bodements. 
 
 Cas. Oh, farewell, dear Hector ! 
 
 Look, how thou diest ! look, how thy eye turns 
 pale ! 
 
 Look, how thy wounds do bleed at many vents ! 
 Hark, how Troy roars ! how Hecuba cries out ! 
 How poor Andromache shrills her dolours forth l'"' 
 Behold, distraction, frenzy, and amazement, 
 Like witless antics,-*^ one another meet, 
 And all cry. Hector ! Hector's dead ! O Hector ! 
 Tro. Away ! away ! 
 
 Cas. Farewell: — )et, soft! — Hector, 1 take 
 my leave : 
 
 Thou dost thyself and all our Troy deceive. [Exit. 
 Hect. You are amaz'd, my liege, at her ex- 
 claim :''7 
 
 Go in, and cheer the town: we'll forth, and fight ; 
 Do deeds worth praise, and tell you them at night. 
 
 45. Shrills her dolours forth. To shrill'' was a verb in use 
 when Shakespeare wrote. 
 
 46. Antics. Puppets. See Note 27, Act iii , " Henry V.*' 
 
 47. Exclaim. ' Exclamation. ' See Note 54, Act iv. , 
 "Richard III." 
 
 48. Cursed. * Under a curse ; * * under the influence of a 
 malediction.' 
 
 49. You7ig knave's sleeiie of Troy there. Instance of trans- 
 posed construction: * young knave of Troy's sleeve' being 
 meant. "There" is employed here as an expletive : and with 
 
 Pri. Farewell : the gods with safety stand about 
 thee ! 
 
 \_Exeunt severally Priam and Hector. 
 
 Alaruins. 
 
 Tro. They are at it, hark!— Proud Diomed, 
 believe, 
 
 I come to lose my arm, or win my sleeve. 
 
 As Troilus is going out, enter from the other side 
 Pandarus. 
 
 Pan. Do you hear, my lord "i do you hear ? 
 Tro. What now ? 
 
 Pan. Here's a letter come from yond' poor girl. 
 Tro. Let me read. 
 
 Pan. A ptisick, a rascally ptisick so troubles 
 me, and the foolish fortune of this girl ; and what 
 one thing, what another, that I shall leave you one 
 o' these days : and I have a rheum in mine eyes 
 too ; and such an ache in my bones, that, unless a 
 man were cursed,'*^ I cannot tell wliat to think 
 on 't. — What says she there ? 
 
 Tro. Words, words, mere words, no matter 
 from the heart ; 
 The effect doth operate another way. — 
 
 [Tearing the letter. 
 Go, wind, to wind, there turn and change together. — 
 My love with words and errors still she feeds ; 
 But edifies another with her deeds. 
 
 [Exeunt server ally 
 
 SCENE \N.— Plains befvceen Tkoy and the 
 Grecian Camp. 
 Alarums: Excursions. Enter Thersites. 
 
 Ther. Now they are clapper-clawing one 
 another; I'll go look on. That dissembling 
 abominable varlet, Diomed, has got that same 
 scurvy doting foolish young knave's sleeve of Troy 
 there''^ in liis helm : I would fain see them meet; 
 that that same young Trojan ass might send that 
 Greekish villain, with the sleeve, back to the dis- 
 sembling luxurious drab, of a sleeveless errand. 
 O' the other side, the policy of those crafty swear- 
 ing rascals,^'' — that stale old mouse-eaten dry 
 cheese, Nestor, and that same dog-fox,^! Ulysses, — 
 is not proved worth a blackberry: — they set me 
 up, in policy, that mongrel cur, Ajax, against that 
 dog of as bad a kind, Achilles: and now is the cur 
 Ajax prouder than the cur Achilles, and will not 
 
 the same included sense that it bears in the passage referred to 
 in Note 14, Act i., " Richard III." 
 
 50. Tlwse crafty swearing rascals. " Swearing" here has 
 been objected to as an inappiopriate and uncharacteristic 
 epithet, applied to Nestor and Ulysses ; but it seems to us 
 probable that "crafty swearing" means ' craftily swearing' (an 
 adjective used adverbially), and that the sentence implies this — 
 ' Rascals that will pledge themselves to anything for their own 
 crafty purposes,' ' rascals that will avouch anything for the sake 
 of promoting their own wily view.?.' 
 
 51. Dogfox. 'Malefox.' See Note 51, Act ii., "As You Like It." 
 
Act v.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 arm to-day ; whereupon the Grecians begin to 
 proclaim barbarism,"^ and policy grows into an ill 
 opinion. — Soft! here comes sleeve, and t'other. 
 
 Enter Diomedes, TKOiLvs/oiloiving. 
 Tro. Fly not ; lor shouldst thou take the river 
 Styx," 
 I would swim after. 
 
 Dio. Thou dost miscall retire ; 
 
 I do not fly ; but advantageous care 
 Withdrew me from the odds of znultitude : 
 Have at thee! 
 
 Tber. Hold, Grecian I — now, Trojan ! — now 
 the sleeve, now the sleeve ! 
 
 [Exeuni Troilus and 'Ciou^Dzs, fight i?ig. 
 
 Enter Hector. 
 
 llect. What art thou, Greek art thou for 
 Hector's match ? 
 Art thou of blood and honour ? 
 
 Ther. No, no, — I am a rascal ; a scurvy railing 
 knave; a very filthy rogue. 
 
 Hect. I do believe thee; — live. [Exit. 
 
 Ther. God-a-mercy, that thou wilt believe me ; 
 but a plague break thy neck for frighting me ! — 
 What's become of the wenching rogues ? I think 
 they have swallowed one another : I would laugh 
 at that miracle. I'll seek them. [Exit. 
 
 SCENE v.— Another pa, t of the Plains. 
 Enter Diomedes and a Servant. 
 Dio. Go, go, my servant, take thou Troilus' horse; 
 Present the fair steed to my lady Cressid : 
 Fellow, commend my service to her beauty ; 
 Tell her I have chastis'd the amorous Trojan, 
 And am her knight by proof. 
 
 Sernj. I go, my lord. [Exit. 
 
 52. Begin to procLiim barbarism. The old copies misprint 
 ' began' for " begin." Rowe's correction. *' Proclaim" is here 
 used for * advocate;* and ''barbarism" for 'ignorance,' in 
 contradistinction to " policy" as cleverness. 
 
 53. The river Styx. See Note 12, Act iii. 
 
 54. MargareloH. An illegitimate son of Priam, mentioned 
 in both Lydgate's " Troy Book" and Ca.xton's "History of tlie 
 Destruction," &c. 
 
 55. His beam. ' His lance ;' strictly, the staff of the lance, 
 which was liliened by Spenser to the bigness of a "beam." 
 Goliath's spear is also said to be ' like a weaver's beam." 
 
 56. Pasiied. Struck crushingly, beaten bruisedly. See Note 
 81, Act ii. 
 
 57. The dreadful Sagittary. A passage from Caxton's " His- 
 tory of the Destruction of Troy" illustrates this :— " Beyonde 
 the royalme of Amasonne came an anncyent kynge, wyse and 
 dyscreete, named Epystrophus, and brought a M. knyghtes, 
 and a mervayllouse beste that was called Sagittavre, that - 
 behynde the myddes was a horse, and to fore, a man ; this | 
 beste was heery like a horse, and had his eyen red as a cole, j 
 
 Enter Agamemnon. 
 Agam. Renew, renew! The fierce Polydamas 
 Hath beat down Menon : bastard Margarelon^' 
 Hath Doreus prisoner. 
 
 And stands colossus-wise, waving his beam,^' 
 Upon the pashed^^ corses of the kings 
 Epistrophus and Cedius : Polixenes is slain ; 
 Amphimachus and Thoas deadly hurt ; 
 Patroclus ta'en or slain ; and Palamedes 
 Sore hurt and bruis'd : the dreadful Sagittary*'' 
 Appals our numbers : — haste we, Diomed, 
 To reinforcement, or we perish all. 
 
 Enter Nestor. 
 
 Nest. Go, bear Patroclus' body to Achilles ; 
 And bid the snail-pac'd Ajax arm for sHame. — 
 There is a thousand Hectors in the field : 
 Now here he fights on Galathe his horse,^* 
 And there lacks work ; anon he's there afoot, 
 And there they fly or die,^^ like scaled sculls"" 
 Before the belching whale ; then is he yonder, 
 And there the strawy Greeks, ripe for his edge, 
 Fall down before him, like the mower's swath: 5' 
 Here, there, and everywhere, he leaves and takes 
 Dexterity so obeying appetite, 
 That what he will, he does ;"3 jj^^ ^^^^ much 
 That proof is call'd impossibility. 
 
 Enter Ulysses. 
 
 Ulyss. Oh, courage, courage, princes ! great 
 Achilles 
 
 Is arming, weeping, cursing, vowing vengeance : 
 Patroclus' wounds have rous'd his drowsy blood. 
 Together with his mangled Myrmidons,''-' 
 That noseless, handless, hack'd and chipp'd, come 
 to liim. 
 
 Crying on Hector "5 ^j^^^ hath lost a friend. 
 And foams at mouth, and he isarm'd, and at it. 
 
 and shotte well with a bowe : this beste made the Grekes sore 
 aferde, and slewe many of them with his bowe." 
 
 58. Fights on Galathe his horse. This point is taken from 
 Ca.iton's "History," &c., as is also the previous incident of 
 Diomed winning Troilus's steed in fight, and sending it to 
 Cressida as a token of knightly love-service. These are among 
 
 the chivalrous colourings given to the play, and taken from the 
 old romances adverted to in Notes i and 88 of Act i. 
 
 59. There they Jly or die. " They " in this sentence is used 
 in accordance with Shakespeare's occasional manner of employ- 
 ing a pronoun in re.'erence to an implied antecedent ; that is, to 
 the implied objects of Hector's assault, and not to the apparent 
 antecedent, " a thousand Hectors." 
 
 60. ScaRd sciclls. " Scaled" is here used in a sense that it 
 formerly bore of 'dispersed,' 'scattered,' while allowing the 
 ordinary sense of ' covered with scales ' to be included in 
 effect. "Sculls" is an old form of 'shoals;' and was some- 
 times anciently spelt 'scoule,' as nearer to the Saxon original 
 ' scole,' whence it was derived. 
 
 6r. Li&e tlie mowers swath. See Note 58, Act ii., "Twelfth 
 Night." 
 
 62. He leaves and takes. Here " leaves " is used for ' leaves 
 them dead;' and "takes," for 'strikes lifeless,' 'paralyses.' 
 See Note 22, Act iv., " Merry Wives." It has been suggested 
 that "leaves" should be 'cleaves ' but it is precisely the word 
 "leaves" which serves to continue the figure of the "strawy 
 Greeks" and " mower's swath." 
 
 63. That what he will, he does. The word " does," in this 
 line, gives ' do ' to be elliptlcally understood after " will." 
 
 64. Myrmidons. See Note 103, Act i. 
 
 63. Crying on Hector. ' E.\claiming against Hector.' Sea 
 Note ro, Act i., "Henry VHI." 
 
Achilles. Com^, tie his body to my horse's tail ; 
 
 Along the field I will the Trojan trail. , rr c 
 
 ^ Act V. Scene IX. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA, 
 
 [Scenes VI., VII. 
 
 Roaring for Troilus ; who hath done to-day 
 Mad and tantastic execution ; 
 Engaging and redeeming of himself, 
 With such a careless force and forceless care, 
 As if that luck, in very spite of cunning. 
 Bade him win all. 
 
 Enter AjAX. 
 Ajax. Troilus ! thou coward Troilus ! {Exit. 
 Dio. Ay, there, there. 
 
 Neit. So, so, we draw together.'^ 
 
 Enter ACHILLES. 
 Achil. Where is this Hector?— 
 
 Come, come, thou boy-queller,^7 show thy face ; 
 Know what it is to meet Achilles angry : — 
 Hector ! where's Hector ? l\\ ill none but Hector. 
 
 Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE Vl.— Another part of the Plains. 
 Enter AjAX. 
 Ajax. Troilus, thou coward Troilus, show thy 
 head! 
 
 Enter Diomedes. 
 Dio. Troilus, 1 say! where's Troilus? 
 Ajax. What wouldst thou ? 
 
 Dio. I would correct him. 
 
 Aja.x. Were I the general, thou shouldst have 
 my office 
 
 Ere that correction. — Troilus, I say I what, 
 Troilus ! 
 
 Enter Troilus. 
 Tro. Oh, traitor Diomed !— turn thy false face, 
 thou traitor, 
 And pay thy life thou ovv'st me for my horse! 
 Dio. Ha, art thou there ? 
 
 Ajax. I'll fight with iiim alone : stand, Diomed. 
 D,o. He is my prize ; 1 will not look upon."* 
 Tro. Come, both you cogging Greeks ; have 
 at you both ! {Exeunt, fighting. 
 
 66. So, so, we draw togetlier. Nestor says this in consequence 
 of Achilles and Ajax re-appearing in the field after having each 
 held aloof ; now roused by " Patroclus' wounds " and the loss oi 
 " a friend." 
 
 6j. Boy-giieller. 'Boy-killer.' " Quell" was used formerly, 
 as a noun, for 'murder,' and as a verb, for 'kill,' 'destroy.' 
 Patroclus is young; Thersites calls him "boy "in sc. i of this Act. 
 
 68. / will not look upon. ' I will not be a looker-on,' ' I will 
 not stand by and merely look on." See Notes 57, Act v., 
 "Winter's Tale," and 48, Act ii., "Third Part Henry VI." 
 
 69. ' Cogging Greeks. " Cogging" is 'deceitful,' 'treacherous' 
 (see Note 7, Act iii., " Merry Wives") ; and not only had the 
 Greeks a general name for deceit and cheating, but Troilus has 
 special cause to resent Diomed's defrauding him of Cressida. 
 besides thinking Ajax unfair in fight for setting upon him with 
 the other,— two against one. 
 
 70. He shall not carry him. 'He shall not conquer him," 
 'he shall not prevail against him.' 
 
 71. / like thy armour well. This incident is taken from 
 Lydgate's work. 
 
 72. Frush. 'Break,' ^ bruise,"dash to pieces." Y-!mc\froisser. 
 The word is found thus used in "The Destruction of Troy." 
 
 73. Come here about me you my Myrmidotis. In Caxton's 
 
 Enter Hector. 
 tied. Yea, Troilus? Oh, well fought, my 
 ) oungest brother ! 
 
 Enter Achilles. 
 Achil. Now do 1 see thee, ha ! — have at thee. 
 
 Hector ! 
 tiect. Pause, if thou wilt. 
 
 Achil. I do disdain thy courtesy, proud Trojan : 
 Be happy that my arms are out of use : 
 My rest and negligence befriend thee now, 
 But thou anon shalt hear of me again ; 
 Till when, go seek thy fortune. {Exit. 
 
 Hect. Fare thee well : — • 
 
 I would have been much more a fresher man. 
 Had I expected thee. — How now, my brother! 
 
 Re-enter Troilus. 
 Tro. Ajax. hath ta'en vEneas : shall it be ? 
 No, by the flame of yonder glorious heaven. 
 He shall not carry him;^'' I'll be taken too, 
 Or bring him off :— fate, hear me what I say ! 
 I reck not though 1 end my life to-day. {Exit. 
 
 Enter one in sumptuous Armour, 
 llect. Stand, stand, thou Greek ; thou art a 
 goodly mark :— 
 No ? wilt thou not P — I like thy armour well 
 I'll frush ^2 it^ and unlock the rivets all. 
 But I'll be master of it:— wilt thou not, beast, 
 abide? 
 
 Why, then fly on, I'll hunt thee for thy hide. 
 
 {Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE Wn.— Another part of the Plains. 
 Enter Achilles, "UJi/A Myrmidons. 
 Achil. Come here about me, you my Myr- 
 midons 
 
 " History," &c., this act of Achilles is recorded ; but it is there 
 Troilus and not Hector whom he surrounds by numbers and 
 Kills. Heywood, however, in his " Rape of Lucrece," 1638, 
 represents Achilles as slaying Hector in the manner here 
 represented. The un-Shakespearian style, which we mentioned 
 in our opening Note as being visible towards the close of this 
 play, is markedly to be seen in the present speech. Its every 
 line is touched with the stilted stiffness and flatness that dis- 
 figure the diction of the " First Part Henry VI." (see Notes 19, 
 27, and 68, Act i. of that play) ; the phrase, "Empale him with 
 your weapons round adoitt" recalls to mind the passages re- 
 ferred to in Notes 20, Act i., and 8, Act ii. of that same play ; 
 the awkward expression, "Execute your aims," has similarity 
 of construction with "rive their dangerous artillery" (see 
 Note 16, Act iv. of that play) ; and the two concluding vapidly 
 pompous lines, " Follow me, sirs," &c., are not only in startling 
 contrast with the preceding manner of writing in the present 
 play, but bear so striking a resemblance to passages in the other, 
 that we almost feel inclined to believe them the production of 
 the same hand. It is as if Shakespeare had derived this incident 
 of the mode in which Achilles compasses Hector's death from 
 some hitherto untraced source, and had left the two biief scenes 
 describing it just as he found them originally written. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRIISSIDA. 
 
 [Scenes VIII.— XI. 
 
 Mark what I sa)'. Attend ine where I wheel : 
 
 Strike not a stroke, but keep yourselves in breath : 
 
 And when I have the bloody Hector found, 
 
 Empale him with your weapons round about ; 
 
 in fellest manner execute your aims.''' 
 
 Follow me, sirs, and my proceedings eye : — 
 
 It is decreed Hector the great must die. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE VllL— The Same. 
 Enter Menelaus <3«d' '? fighting : then 
 
 1 HERSITES. 
 
 Toer. The gull and the gull-maker are at it. 
 — Now, bull! nou-, dog! 'Loo, Paris, 'loo! now 
 my double-henned sparrow ! 'loo, Paris, 'loo — The 
 bull has the game :— ware horns, ho ! 
 
 [Exeunt Paris and Menelaus. 
 
 Enter Margarelon. 
 
 Mar. Turn, slave, and fight. 
 
 Ther. What art thou ? 
 
 Mar. A bastard son of Priam's. 
 
 Ther. I am a bastard, too; I love bastards: I am 
 a bastard begot, bastard instructed, bastard in mind, 
 bastard in valour, in everything illegitimate. One 
 bear will not bite another, and wherefore should 
 one bastard ? Take heed, the quarrel's most 
 ominous to us : farewell, bastard. [Exit. 
 
 Mar. The devil take thee, coward I [Exit. 
 
 SCENE IX.— Another part of the Plains. 
 Enter Hector. 
 IJect. Most putrefied core, so fair without. 
 Thy goodly armour thus hath cost thy life."' 
 Now is my day's work done ; I'll take good breath : 
 Rest, sword ; thou hast thy fill of blood and death. 
 
 [Puts off his helmet and hangs his shield 
 behind him. 
 Enter AcHiLLES and Myrmidons. 
 Achil. Look, H ector, how the sun begins to set ; 
 How ugly night comes breathing at his heels : 
 Even with the vaiF^ and darkmg of the sun. 
 To close the day up. Hector's life is done. 
 Hect. I am unarm'd ; forego this vantage, Greek. 
 
 74. Execute your aims. The Quarto prints 'armes,' the 
 Folio 'arme' here for "aims." Capell's correction. 
 
 75- Tliy goodly armour thus hath cost thy life. This links 
 on the present speech and scene with the speecli at the close 
 o'' scene 6 of this Act. It is noteworthy that that short speech, 
 commencing " Stand, stand, thou Greek," in its peculiar style 
 of questioning, bears singular resemblance to that which we 
 pointed out as markedly un-Shakespearian in Notes 6 and 24 of 
 Act i., " First Part Henry VI. ; " and in the present speech we 
 have " Now is my day's work done," which is most suspiciously 
 like some of the platitudes we meet with in that same sapless 
 play, such as, "Now no more ado, brave Burgundy, but gather 
 we our forces out of hand, and set upon," &c., " First Part 
 Henry 'VI.," Act iii., sc. 2. 
 
 Achil. Strike, fellows, strike ; this is the man I 
 seek. [HECTOR/a//j. 
 So, Ilion, fall thou next ! now, Troy, sink down ! 
 Here lies thy heart, thy sinews, and thy bone. — 
 On, Myrmidons ; and cry you all amain, 
 " Achilles hath the mighty Hector slain." — 
 
 [A Retreat sounded. 
 Hark ! a retire upon our Grecian part. 
 
 Myr. The Trojan trumpets sound the like, my 
 lord. 
 
 Achil. The dragon wing of night o'erspreads 
 the earth. 
 
 And, stickler-like,"' the armies separates. 
 
 My half-supp'd sword, that frankly would have fed, 
 
 Pleas'd with this dainty bit, thus goes to bed."' 
 
 [Sheathes his sit. ord. 
 Come, tie his body to my horse's tail ; 
 Along the field I will the Trojan trail. [Extunt. 
 
 SCENE X.— Another part of the Plains. 
 Enter Agamemnon, Ajax, Menelaus, Nestor, 
 DiOMEDES, and others, marching. Shouts 
 uoithin. 
 
 Agam. Hark ! hark ! what shout is that ? 
 Nest. Peace, drums ! 
 
 [IVtthin.'] Achilles! Achilles ! Hector's slain ! 
 Achilles! 
 
 Dio. The bruit is. Hector's slain, and by 
 Achilles. 
 
 Ajax. If it be so, yet bragless let it be ; 
 Great Hector was a man as good as he. 
 
 Agam. March patiently along : — let one be sent 
 To pray Achilles see us at our tent. — 
 If in his death the gods have us befriended, 
 Great Troy is ours, and our sharp wars are ended. 
 
 [Exeunt, marching. 
 
 SCENE XL— Another part of the Plains. 
 Enter ^neas and Trojans. 
 Ajlne. Stand, ho ! yet are we masters of the field : 
 Never go home ; here starve we out the night. 
 
 Enter Troilus. 
 Tro. Hector is slain. 
 
 76. The vail. 'The sinking,' 'the lowering,' ' the setting.' 
 See Note 10, Act v., " First Part Henry 'VI." 
 
 77. Stickler-like. A " stickler " was the name given to the 
 person appointed as umpire in combats or trials of skill, and to 
 decide when the contest should cease ; which he signified by 
 interposing the stick, staflF, or wand that he bore for the pur- 
 pose. 
 
 78. Pleas'd with this dainty bit, thus goes to bed. The Folio 
 prints ' bed, the Quarto ' 'oait,' for " bit " here ; which was the 
 correction of the latter Folios, and probably the word intended, 
 as opposed to "frankly [largely or liberally] would have fed." 
 The flabby bombast of this couplet has horrible similitude with 
 some of the trash to be found in " First Part Henry 'VI." See 
 Note 43, Act v. of that play. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. 
 
 [Scene XI. 
 
 Jll. Hector ! — the gods forbid ! 
 
 Tro. He's dead ; and at the murderer's horse's 
 tail, 
 
 III beastly sort, dragg'd through the shameful 
 field.— 
 
 Frown on, you heavens, effect your rage with speed ! 
 Sit, gods, upon your thrones, and smile at Troy 
 I say, at once let your brief plagues be mercy, 
 And linger not our sure destructions on ! 
 
 jEne. My lord, you do discomfort all the host. 
 
 Tro. You understand me not that tell me so : 
 1 do not speak of flight, of fear, of death ; 
 But dare all imminence that gods and men 
 Address their dangers in. Hector is gone : 
 Who shall tell Priam so, or Hecuba ? 
 Let him that will a screech-owl aye be call'd. 
 Go in to Troy, and say there. Hector's dead : 
 There is a word will Priam turn to stone; 
 Make wells and Niobes of the maids and wives. 
 Cold statues of the youth ; and, in a word. 
 Scare Troy out of itself. But, march away : 
 Hector is dead ; there is no more to say. 
 Stay yet. — You vile abominable tents. 
 Thus proudly pight^" upon our Phrygian plains. 
 Let Titan rise as early as he dare, 
 
 79. And smile at Troy. Hanmer changed "smile" to 
 'smite;' but it is probable that here "smile" is intended to 
 bear the sense of * smile derisively,' ' smile in derision.' 
 
 80. Pight. An old form of ' pitched ; ' ' fixed.' 
 
 81. Thoit great-si^d coTvard. This is said as an apostrophe 
 to the absent Achilles. 
 
 82. HejiCf^., broker lackey I Here "broker/' as a term of 
 opprobrium (see Note 84, Act ii., "King John"), is used ad- 
 jectively. 
 
 83. Igiiomy. An abbreviated form of 'ignominy.' See 
 Note 48, Act v., "First Part Henry IV." In the Folio this 
 couplet occurs verbatim at the conclusion of sc. 3 of the 
 present Act, and is repeated here ; a circumstance which 
 confirms our belief that the closing scenes and existing end are 
 not Shakespeare's own. It may be that he concluded the play 
 there. It is possible that the final arrangement which he made 
 may not have been considered to form an effective stage 
 catastrophe, and he may have permitted the brief scenes 
 descriptive of the various engagements on the battle-field to be 
 subjoined from some earlier drama, or they may have been 
 added by some other hand at the instigation of the players, or 
 even may have been introduced by the actors themselves 
 That this was by no means an unusual practice— especially in 
 comic scenes, and where the fool-jesters had to speak — we have 
 evidence in Shakespeare's own words, " Hamlet," Act iii., sc. 2, 
 when the prince, in his address to the players, says, "And let 
 those that play your clowns speak no more than is set down for 
 them." There is to our minds strong evidence of there having 
 been what, in theatrical parlance, is called "gag" introduced 
 
 I'll through and through you! — and, thou great- 
 
 siz'd CO ward, 8' 
 No space of earth shall sunder our two hates : 
 I'll haunt thee like a wicked conscience still. 
 That mouldeth goblins swift as frenzy's thoughts. — 
 Strike a free march to Troy ! — with comfort go : 
 Hope of revenge shall hide our inward woe. 
 
 {^Exeunt M^^k^ and Trojans. 
 
 As Troiltis is going out, enter, from the other side, 
 Pandarus. 
 Pan. But hear you, hear you ! 
 Tro. Hence, broker lackey ignomy*^ and 
 shame 
 
 Pursue thy life, and live aye with thy name ! {Exit. 
 
 Pan. A goodly medicine for my aching bones! — 
 Oh, world I world ! world ! thus is the poor agent 
 despised ! Why should our endeavour be so loved, 
 and the performance so loathed ? what verse for it ? 
 what instance for it ?— Let me see : — 
 
 Full merrily the humble-bee doth sing. 
 Till he hath lost his honey and his sting ; 
 And being once subdu'd in armed tail. 
 Sweet honey and sweet notes together fail. 
 
 {Exit. 
 
 into the close of this play ; and probably both those who pro- 
 duced the surreptitiously-procured Quarto copies and the player- 
 editors of the Folio copy judged it well to preserve in print that 
 which they thought humorous, and that which had brought 
 popular plaudits when uttered on the stage. Farther testimony 
 of the truth of this idea we think is contained in a few coarse 
 and ribald lines which complete Pandarus's last speech in the 
 Folio (called in theatrical jargon "a tag" to the play); and 
 which, consistently with the system of our present edition, and 
 with our belief that they are not Shakespeare's, but the 
 comedian's who enacted the part of Pandarus, are here omitted. 
 In closing our annotations upon this fine play, however, we 
 cannot take leave of it without stating that we have been the 
 rather free in expressing our dislike of its final scenes and our 
 conviction that they are not Shakespeare's, because we think 
 they are unworthy to come after that which has so magnificently 
 preceded them, as the eloquent wisdom of Ulysses, the 
 classical and romantic colouring of the whole dramatic picture, 
 and the admirable moral characterisation depicted with subtlest 
 touches. Those who most gratefully recognise Shakespeare's 
 power of delineating the glories, beauties, and delicacies of 
 woman's character, will the most readily avow the mastery with 
 which he has depicted its foibles, meannesses, and crassitudes 
 in the wretched Cressida. As Shakespeare's Imogen, Portia, 
 Rosalind, Miranda, and their sisterhood are triumphant types 
 of woman's excellence, charm, and innocence, commanding all 
 women's gratitude and emulation, so does Shakespeare's Cressida 
 form a type of woman's weakness, despicableness, and degra- 
 dation, affording all women an afTecting and salutary monition. 
 
DRAMATIS PERSONS. 
 
 Caius Marcius CoRiOLANUS, a Noble Roman. 
 Titus Lartius, ) q^^^^i, ^g^j^.^ the Volscians. 
 
 COMINIUS, > 
 
 Menenius Agrippa, Friend to Coriolanus. 
 
 ^'^■'^'"^^^^"^"n Tribunes of the People. 
 Junius Brutus, ) 
 
 Young Marcius, Son to Coriolanus. 
 
 A Roman Herald. 
 
 TuLLUS AuFiDius, General of the Volscians. 
 Lieuten-int to Aufidius. 
 Conspirators with Aufidius. 
 A Citizen of Antium. 
 Two Volscian Guards. 
 
 VoLUMNiA, Mother to Coriolanus. 
 Virgilia, Wife to Coriolanus. 
 Valeria, Friend to Virgilia. 
 Gentlewoman attending on Virgilia. 
 
 Roman and Volscian Senators, Patricians, i^;diles, Lictors, 
 Soldiers, Citizens, Mesengers, Servants to Aufidius, and 
 other Attendants. 
 
 ECENE — Partly In Rome, and partly in the territories of the 
 Volscians and Antiates. 
 
CO RIO LAN us/ 
 
 ACT 
 
 SCENE I.— Rome. street. 
 
 Enter a compan)) of mutinous Citizens, ivith 
 starves, clubs, and other uoeapons. 
 
 First Cit. Before ue proceed any farther, hear 
 me speak. 
 
 Citizens. Speak, speak. 
 
 First Cit. You are all resolv'd rather to die 
 than to famish ? 
 
 Citizens. Resolved, resolved. 
 
 First Cit. First, you kr.ow Caius Marcius is 
 chief enemy to the people. 
 
 Citizens. We know 't, we know 't. 
 
 First Cit. Let us kill him, and we'll have corn 
 at our own price. Is 't a verdict ? 
 
 Citizens. No more talking on't ; let it be done: 
 away, away ! 
 
 Sec. Cit. One word, good citizens. 
 
 I. The first known printed copy of "The Tragedy of Corio- 
 lanus " is the one in the 1623 Folio ; and on the 8th of November 
 in that year it was entered on the Registers of the Stationers' 
 Company by Edward Blount and Isaac Jaggard, the publishers 
 of the Folio, as one of the copies *'not formerly entered to other 
 men." There is no existing evidence to denote the period of its 
 composition or of its first production on the stage ; but indica- 
 tions derivable from its style show it to have been among the 
 later-written plays of Shakespeare. There are certain elisional 
 contractions used by him especially at one epoch of his writing, 
 that appear in this play, and bear similitude to those appearing 
 in "The Winter's Tale" and "Henry VIII.;" there is also 
 much of the same strikingly condensed constructional form and 
 elliptical diction to be traced ; while the mature tone of thought 
 is entirely that of his latter works. A verbal resemblance 
 between his mode of relating the fable-story told by Menenius 
 in the first scene of the play, and Camden's mode of giving the 
 same story in his " Remains," published in 1605, makes it pro- 
 bable that tlie dramatist had seen Camden's version ; although 
 this fable-story is likewise recounted in North's " Plutarch's 
 Lives," whence Shakespeare derived the main groundwork for 
 the structure of the present drama. The peculiar skill with 
 which he adopted passages from the historian's pages (to which 
 we adverted in our opening Note of " Richard II."), transferring 
 
 I. 
 
 First Cit. We are accounted poor citizens ; the 
 patricians, good.* What authority surfeits on would 
 relieve us : if they would yield us but the superfluity, 
 while it were wholesome, we inight guess they 
 relieved us humanely ; but they think we are tco 
 dear:3 the leanness that afflicts us, the object of 
 our misery, < is an inventory to particularise their 
 abundance ; our sufferance is a gain to them.— Let 
 us revenge this with our pikes, ere we become 
 rakes:' for the gods know I speak this in hunger 
 for bread, not in thirst for revenge. 
 
 Sec. Cit. Would you proceed especially against 
 Caius Marcius P 
 
 First Cit. Against him first :' he's a very dog 
 to the commonalty. 
 
 Sec. Cit. Consider )ou what services he has 
 done for his countiy ? 
 
 First Cit. Very well ; and could be content to 
 
 them with almost literal exactness, yet at the same time invest- 
 ing them with all the dignity and beauty of versification, is 
 magnificently visible here. He takes the already noble prose of 
 Sir Thomas North (translated from Amyot, Bishop of Auxerre's 
 French rendering of Choeronean Plutarch, and exalts it into the 
 very sublime of poetic history. The two grand speeches, for in- 
 stance, of Coriolanus to Tul!us Aufidius in Act iv., commencing, 
 " My name is Caius Marcius," and of Volumnia to her son in 
 Act v., beginning, " Should we be sil^t and not speak," are 
 given almost word for word as recorded in North's " Plutarch ; ' 
 yet so superbly are they set to the music of harmonious numbers 
 that they read with all the freedom of primal invention. 
 
 2. The patricians, good. "Good" is here used in the sense 
 which it bears as a commercial term, signifying ' of good credit,' 
 'of substantial possession.' See Note 56, Act i., "Merchant of 
 Venice." 
 
 3. Too dear. ' Too costly to maintain.' 
 
 4. The object of oiir misery. ' The spectacle of our misery : ' 
 "object" is here used to express that which is beheld, the object 
 of sight. 
 
 5. Ere lue become rakes. ' As lean as a rake ' is an old 
 proverbial simile ; and is used by both Chaucer and Spenser. 
 
 6. Against him first. This speech has the prefix of ^All 
 in the Folio. Malone suggested the correction. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 give him good report for 't, but that he pays him- 
 self with being proud. 
 
 Sec. Cit. Nay, but speak not maliciously J 
 
 First Cit. I say unto you, what he hath done 
 famously, he did it to that end : though soft- 
 conscienced men can be content to say it was for 
 his country, he did it to please his mother, and 
 to be partly proud f which he is, even to the alti- 
 tude of his virtue. 
 
 Sec. Cit. What he cannot help in his nature, 
 you account a vice in him. You must in no way 
 say he is covetous. 
 
 First Cit. If I must not, I need not be barren 
 of accusation ; he hath faults, with surplus, to tire 
 in repetition. [Shouts •within.'] What shouts are 
 these P The other side o' the city is risen : why 
 stay we prating here ? to the Capitol I 
 
 Citizens. Come, come. 
 
 First Cit. Soft ! wlio comes here ? 
 
 Sec. Cit. Worthy Menenius Agrippa; one that 
 hath always loved the people. 
 
 First Cit. He's one honest enough : would all 
 the rest were so ! 
 
 Enter Menenius Agrippa. 
 
 Men. What work's, my countrymen, in hand? 
 where go you 
 With bats and clubs P the matter P speak, I pray 
 you. 
 
 First Cit. Our business is not unknown to the 
 senate they have had inkling,!" (-j^ij fortnight, 
 what we intend to do, which now we'll show 'em 
 in deeds. They say poor suitors have strong 
 breaths : they shall know we have strong arms 
 too. 
 
 Men. Why, masters, my good friends, mine 
 honest neighbours, 
 Will you undo yourselves? 
 
 First Cit. We cannot, sir, we are undone already. 
 
 Men. I tell you, friends, most charitable care 
 Have the patricians of you. For your wants, 
 Your suffering in this dearth, you may as well 
 Strike at the heaven with your staves as lift them 
 
 7. Nay, but speak not maliciously. This speech, in the Folio, 
 has likewise the prefix 'All;' but it evidently belongs to the 
 Second Citizen, who throughout this scene speaks in a temperate 
 tone, and with leniency towards Coriolanus. Malone made the 
 correction. It is observable that in several scenes where many 
 speakers are engaged, as citizens, servants, &c;., the Folio pre- 
 fixes are frequently inaccurate in their individual assignment. 
 
 8. And to be partly proud. It has been proposed to change 
 the word "partly" here to 'portly' or 'pertly;' but we think 
 the sentence is one of those clumsily-expressed sentences which 
 Shakespeare purposely and characteristically places in the 
 mouths of his common speakers ; the phrase here meaning, 
 ' he did it chiefly to p'.ease his mother, and partly for his own 
 pride's sake.' The man has just before said of Coriolanus, 
 "he pays himself with being proud." 
 
 g. Our business is not, Sr'c. This speech and those which 
 follow m this dialogue with Menenius are ascribed in the Folio 
 
 Against the Roman state ; whose course will on 
 The way it takes, cracking ten thousand curbs 
 Of more strong link asunder than can ever 
 Appear in your impediment: for the dearth, 
 The gods, not the patricians, make it ; and 
 Your knees to them, not arms, must help. Alack, 
 You are transported by calamity 
 Thither where more attends you ; and you slander 
 The helms o' the state, who care for you like 
 fathers, 
 
 When you curse them as enemies. 
 
 First Cit. Care for us ! True, indeed ! They 
 ne'er cared for us yet:— sufier us to famish, and 
 their store-houses crammed with grain ; make 
 edicts for usury, to support usurers ; repeal daily 
 any wholesome act established against the rich ; 
 and provide more piercing statutes daily, to chain 
 up and restrain the poor. If the wars eat us 
 not up, they will ; and there's all the love they 
 bear us. 
 
 Men. Either you must 
 Confess yourselves wondrous malicious, 
 Or be accus'd of folly. I shall tell you 
 A pretty tale : it may be you have heard it ; 
 But, since it serves my purpose, I will venture 
 To stale 't a little more.^^ 
 
 First Cit. Well, I'll hear it, sir : yet you must not 
 think to fob off our disgrace with a tale : but, an't 
 please you, deliver. 
 
 Men. There was a time when all the body's 
 members 
 
 Rebell'd against the belly; thus accus'd it: — 
 
 That only like a gulf it did remain 
 
 r the midst o' the body, idle and unactive. 
 
 Still cupboarding the viand, never bearing 
 
 Like labour with the rest ; where'* the other 
 
 instruments 
 Did see and hear, devise, instruct, walk, feel. 
 And, mutually participate," did minister 
 Unto the appetite and affection common 
 Of the whole body. The belly answer'd, — 
 
 First Cit. Well, sir, what answer made the 
 belly ? 
 
 to the Second Citizen : but we think that the fact of the First 
 Citizen having been hitherto the leader of the malcontents 
 shows that he is intended to be their spokesman on the present 
 occasion, and the one whom Menenius finally calls "the great 
 toe of this assembly." Capell made the correction. 
 
 10. TAey have had inkling. See Note 15, Act ii., " Henry 
 VIII." 
 
 11. To stale' t a little more. The Folio prints ' scale 't' instead 
 of "stale 't." Theobald's correction. Shakespeare elsewhere 
 uses " stale " as a verb for to ' make stale,' ' to make fiat, 
 insipid, poor, or too common,' ' to deteriorate by repetition :' 
 and it appears to us evident that he here uses this word and in 
 this sense. 
 
 12. Disgrace. Here used in the sense borne by the Italian 
 word disgrazia, ' misfortune,' ' nnhappiness.' 
 
 13. Where. Occasionally, as here, used for ' whereas.' 
 
 14. Participate. Here used for ' participant,' or 'participating.' 
 
Act I.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 First Citizen. We have ever your good word. 
 
 Cnius Marciiis. He that wUl give good words to ihee, 
 Beneath abhorring. 
 
 Act I. Scene I. 
 
 Men. Sir, I shall tell you. — With a kind of 
 smile, 
 
 Which ne'er came from the lungs, but even thus 
 
 (For, look you, I may make the belly smile 
 
 As well as speak,) it tauntingly replied 
 
 To the discontented members, the mutinous parts. 
 
 That envied his receipt even so most fitly 
 
 As you malign our senators for that 
 
 They are not such as you. 
 
 First Cit. Your belly's answer ? What ! 
 
 The kingly-crownfed head, the vigilant eye. 
 The counsellor heart, the arm our soldier. 
 Our steed the leg, the tongue our trumpeter. 
 With other muniments'' and petty helps 
 
 15. Envied his receipt. " His " used for ' its.' 
 
 16. Fitty. Spoken ironically. 
 
 17. Muniments. 'Defences.' From the Latin, 
 fortification, a defence. 
 
 In this our fabric, if that they, — 
 
 Men. What then ?— 
 
 'Fore me,'* this fellow speaks ! — what then ? what 
 then ? 
 
 First C'lt. Should by the cormorant belly be 
 restrain'd. 
 Who is the sink o' the body, — 
 
 Men. Well, what then ? 
 
 Urst C'lt. The former agents, if they did 
 complain, 
 What could the belly answer ? 
 
 Men. I will tell you ; 
 
 If you'll bestow a small" (of what you have little) 
 Patience awhile, you'll hear the belly's answer. 
 
 First Cit. You're long about it. 
 
 18. 'Fore me. See Note 46, Act iv., " Winter's Tale." 
 ig. A small. Here elliptically used for 'a small portion, 
 quantity, or amount,' as we sometimes use ' a little.' 
 
Act 1.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene 1. 
 
 Me>t. Note me this, good friemi ; 
 
 Your most grave belly was deliberate, 
 Not rash like his accusers, and thus aiiswer'd : — 
 " True is it, my incorporate friends," quoth lie, 
 " That I receive the general food at first, 
 Which you do live upon ; and fit it is, 
 Because I am the store-house and the shop 
 Of the whole body : but, if you do remember, 
 I send it through the rivers of > our blood, 
 Even to the court, the heart, — to the seat o' tlie 
 brain 
 
 And, through the cranks'' and offices of man. 
 The strongest nerves and small inferior veins 
 From me receive that natural competency 
 Whereby they live : and though that all at once. 
 You, my good friends," — this says the belly, mark 
 me, — 
 
 First Cit. Ay, sir ; well, w ell. 
 Mf«. " Though all at once cannot 
 
 See what I do deliver out to each, 
 Yet I can make my audit up, that all 
 From me do back receive the flour of all, 
 'And leave me but the bran." — What say you 
 to't? 
 
 First Cit. It was an answer: how apply you 
 this? 
 
 Men. T he senators of Rome are this good belly, 
 And you the mutinous members ; for examine 
 Their counsels and their cares ; digest things 
 rightly 
 
 Touching the weal o' the coir.mon ; you shall 
 find 
 
 No public benefit which you receive 
 But it proceeds or comes from them to you, 
 And no way from yourselves. — What do you 
 think,— 
 
 You, the great toe of this assembly ? 
 
 First Cit. 1 the great toe ! why the great toe ? 
 Men. For that, being one o' the lowest, basest, 
 poorest. 
 
 Of this most wise rebellion, thou go'st foremost: 
 Thou rascal, that art worst in blood to run,2^ 
 Lead'st first, to win some vantage. — 
 
 2o T/ie heart,— to the seat o' the hrain. The heart was 
 anciently believed to be the depository of the brain and seat of 
 the understanding. A little before it is called " the counsellor 
 heart." In this point, Shakespeare seems to have followed 
 Camden ; who, in his ** Remains," relating this fable of the 
 mutinous members, says, " They all with one accord desired 
 the advice of the heart. There Reason layd open before them," 
 &c. See opening note of the present play. 
 
 21. Cranks. ' Wmdings ' (see Note 17, Act ill., " First Part 
 Henry IV.") ; here meaning the ducts that take their winding 
 course through the human body. 
 
 22. Thou rascal, that art worst in blood to rnn. The ex- 
 pressions in this line are terms of the chase, used figuratively : 
 a " rascal " signifying ' a lean deer,' ' a deer out of condition ; ' 
 and " in blood" being applied to a deer that is ' in full vigour,' 
 ' in good condition.' See Notes tg and 20, Act iv., " First Part 
 Henry VI." Menenius taunts the starving citizen with being 
 
 But make you ready your stiff bats and clubs : 
 Rome and her rats are at the point of battle ; 
 The one side must have bale.-^ 
 
 Enter Caius Marcius. 
 
 Hail, noble Marcius ! 
 Mar. Thanks.— What's the matter, you dissen- 
 tious rogues, 
 That, rubbing the poor itch of ) our opinion, 
 Make yourselves scabs? 
 
 First Cit. We have ever your good w ord. 
 
 Mar. He that will give good words to tliee,-' 
 will flatter 
 
 Beneath abhorring. — What would )ou have, )ou 
 curs. 
 
 That like nor peace nor war ? the one affrights ) ou, 
 The other makes you proud. \\^ that trusts to 
 you. 
 
 Where he should find you lions, finds you hares ; 
 Where foxes, geese : you are no surer, no, 
 Than is the coal of fire upon the ice. 
 Or hailstone in the sun. Your virtue is 
 To make him worthy whose offence subdues him,-' 
 And curse that justice did it. Who deserves 
 greatness 
 
 Deserves your hate ; and ) our affections are 
 A sick man's appetite, who desires most that 
 Which would increase his evil. He that depends 
 Upon your favours swims with fins of lead. 
 And hews down oaks with rushes. Hang ye ! 
 Trust ye ? 
 
 With every minute you do change a mind ; 
 And call him r.oble that «-as now )0ur hate, 
 Him vile that was your garland. W hat's the 
 matter. 
 
 That in these several places of the city 
 You cry against the noble senate, who, 
 Under the gods, keep you in awe, which else 
 Would feed on one another ? — What's tl.eir 
 seeking ? 
 
 Men. For corn at their own rates ; whereof, 
 they say. 
 The city is well stor'd. 
 
 lean and out of condition to run fast, yet hurrying among the 
 foremost in endeavour to gain some advantage for himself. 
 
 23. Bale. ' Harm,' ' evil,' ' mischief.' See Note 47, Act v., 
 "First Part Henry VI." 
 
 24. Give good words to thee. It has been proposed to change 
 "thee" to 'ye' here; but Coriolanus, emphasising his scornful 
 '* thee," first replies in particular to the demagogue leader who 
 is daring enough to tell him the bold, reproachful truth, and then 
 gives a general retort to the assembled mob. 
 
 25. Nor peace Jior war ? the one affrights you, the other, 6t'c. 
 '* The one " here refers to " war," and " the other " to " peace." 
 Shakespeare occasionally has these inccnsecutive references; 
 where the antecedents are alluded to inversely — the last-named 
 first, the first-named last. 
 
 26. Vour virtue is, to make, &^c. ' Your virtue consists in 
 making him out to be worthy whose oflience subjects him to 
 penalty, and then to curse that justice which legally inflicts it.' 
 
Act I.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene I, 
 
 Mar. Hang 'em! They say ! 
 
 They'll sit by the fire, and presume to know 
 What's done i' the Capitol ; who's like to rise, 
 Who thrives, and who declines ; side factions, and 
 give out 
 
 Conjectural marriages ; making parties strong. 
 And feebling such as stand not in their liking 
 Below their cobbled shoes. They say there's grain 
 enough ! 
 
 Would the nobility lay aside their ruth,^' 
 And let me use my sword, I'd make a quarry"^' 
 With thousands of these quarter'd slaves, as high 
 As I could pick my lance. 
 Men. Nay, these are almost thoroughly per- 
 suaded ; 
 
 ¥oT though abundantly they lack discretion. 
 Yet are they passing cowardly. But, I beseech 
 you, 
 
 What says the other troop ? 
 
 Mar. They are dissolv'd : hang 'em ! 
 
 They said they were a-hungry : sigh'd forth pro- 
 verbs, — 
 
 That hunger broke stone walls, that dogs must 
 eat, 
 
 That meat was made for mouths, that the gods 
 sent not 
 
 Corn for the rich men only : — with these shreds 
 They vented their complainings : which being 
 answer'd. 
 
 And a petition granted them, a strange one 
 (To break the heart of generosity, 
 And make bold power look pale), they threw then- 
 caps 
 
 As they would hang them on the horns o' the 
 moon. 
 
 Shouting their emulation." 
 
 Men. What is granted them ? 
 
 Mar. Five tribunes to defend their vulgar wis- 
 doms, 
 
 Of their own choice : one's Junius Brutus, 
 Sicinius Velutus, and I know not — 'Sdeath I^- 
 The rabble should have first unroof'd the city, 
 
 27. J?!tt/t. ' Compunction,' 'compassion,' 'pity.' 
 
 28. A quarry. This was a forester's term for a heap of 
 slaughtered game; the word being derived from the square 
 space called a querre, which was enclosed for the purpose of 
 royal chasing, and in which the dead g.-ime was deposited. The 
 word was also used in a sense which gives still farther point to 
 Corioknus's employment of the epithet here ; for Bullokar, in 
 his "English Expositor," 1616, says that "a quarry among 
 hunters signifieth the reward given to hounds after they have 
 hunted, or the venison which is taken by hunting." 
 
 29. As high as I could pick my lance. " Pick " is here used 
 in the sense of 'pitch,' 'cast,' 'throw,' 'hurl.' See Note 82, 
 Act v., " Henry VIII." 
 
 30. Generosity. Here used, in its classically-derived sense, to 
 express ' nobility,' ' tho.^e of high birth.' See Note 73, Act iv., 
 "Measure for Measure." 
 
 31. Shouting their emulation. The Folio misprints ' shoot- 
 ing ' for "shouting" here. Pope's correction. The whole 
 phrase bears the double sense of ' shouting in emvilation of each 
 
 Ere so prevail'd with me: it will in time 
 Win upon power, and throw forth greater themes 
 For insurrection's arguing. 
 
 Men, This is strange. 
 
 Mar. Go, get you home, you fragments 1 
 
 Enter a Messenger, hastily. 
 Mess. Where's Caius Marcius ? 
 Mar. Here : what's the matter ? 
 
 Mess. The news is, sir, the Volsces are in 
 
 arms. 
 
 Mar. 1 am glad on 't: then we shall have means 
 to vent 
 
 Our musty superfluity. — See, our best elders. 
 
 Enter Cominius, Titus Lartius, and other Sena- 
 tors; Junius liRurusi^wrf Sicinius Velutus. 
 First Sen. Marcius, 'tis true that you have 
 lately told us,^'' — 
 
 The Volsces are in arms. 
 
 Mar. They have a leader, 
 
 Tullus Aufidius, that will put you to 't. 
 
 1 sin in envying his nobility ; 
 
 And were I anything but what I am, 
 
 I would wish me only he. 
 Com. You have fought together. 
 
 Mar. Were half to half the world by the ears, 
 and he 
 
 Upon my party, I'd revolt, to make 
 Only my wars witii him : he is a lion 
 That I am proud to huntV 
 
 First Sen. Then, worthy M.ircius, 
 
 Attend upon Comini'as to these wars. 
 
 Com. It is your former promise. 
 
 Mar. it is ; 
 
 And I am constant. — Titus Lartius, thou 
 Shalt see me once more strike at Tullus' face. 
 What, art thou stiff? stanj'st out ? 
 
 Jit. No, Caius Marcius ; 
 
 I'll lean upon one crutch, and fight with t'other, 
 Ere stay behind this business. 
 
 Men. Oh, true-bred I 
 
 other who should bawl loudest,' and ' shouting in triumph at 
 this success of their factious contention.' See Note 56, Act ii., 
 " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 32. One's yunius Brutus, Sicinius Velutus, and I know 
 
 not ." The omitted word 'another,' which is elliptically 
 
 understood before " Sicinius Velutus," and the abruptly broken- 
 off sentence, admirably aid to express the speaker's haughty 
 petulance. 
 
 33. It will in time win. la'c. " It " here, instead of refer- 
 ring to the ostensible antecedent, " the rabble," really relates 
 to the implied particular of the concession made to the people 
 by giving them tribunes ; which particular is implied in the 
 preceding words, "What is gr.inied them? Five tribunes to 
 
 34. ' Tis true that you have lately told us. " Told " here has 
 the force of ' foretold,' ' told would be the case,' or 'said would 
 happen;' for Coriolanus has himself but just heard from the 
 messenger that the Volsces are actually in arms. 
 
 35. / am constant ' I am firm in adhering to my purpose.' 
 
Act ].] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 First Sen. Your company to the Capitol ; where, 
 I know, 
 Our greatest friends attend us. 
 
 T/t. Lead you on : — 
 
 Fo'low, Comiiiius; we must follow you ; 
 Right worthy you priority.^"^ 
 Com. Noble Marcius] 37 
 
 First Sen. [To the Citizens.^ Hence to your 
 
 homes ; be gone ! 
 Mar. Nay, let them fallow : 
 
 The Volsces have much corn ; take these rats 
 thither 
 
 To gnaw their garners. — Worshipful mutineers. 
 Your valour puts well forth -.^^ pray, follow. 
 
 \_Exeunt Senators, Cominius, Marciusj 
 Titus, a^f^ Menenius. Citizens steal 
 aijuay. 
 
 Sic. Was ever man so proud as is tins Marcius? 
 Bru. He has no equal. 
 
 Sic. When we were chosen tribunes for the 
 
 people, — 
 Bru. Mark'd you his lip and eyes ? 
 Sic. Nay, but his taunts. 
 
 Bru. Being mov'd, he will not spare to gird^^ 
 
 the gods. 
 Sic. Bemock the modest moon. 
 Bru. The present wars devour him : he is 
 
 grown 
 
 Too proud to be so valiant. 
 
 Sic. Such a nature, 
 
 Tickled with good success, disdains the shadow 
 Which he treads on at noon : but I do wonder 
 His insolence can brook to be commanded 
 Under Cominius. 
 
 36. Right worthy you priority. ' Right worthy are you of 
 priority.' Elliptically ex-pressed. It appears to us that, in this 
 speech, Tilus Lartius addresses the words "lead you on" to 
 the senators; then bids Cominius follow them; adding "we"' 
 (that is, Coriolanus and himself) " must follow you ; " conclud- 
 ing with, for you are right worthy of that precedence which 
 your appointment as commander-general gives you. 
 
 37. Noble Marcius t Rowe altered "Marcius" here to 
 ' Lartius ; ' but we think it is Cominius's sentence of courtesy 
 to Coriolanus (intended probably to be accompanied by an in- 
 clination of the head', in passing to go before him, according to 
 the appointed "priority." It, us it were, acknowledges the 
 speaker's sense of Cori olanus's right of precedence, even while 
 he takes it himself in deference to the senate's decree. See, for 
 a similar form of address. Note 49, Act ii., " Henry VIII." 
 
 33. Your valour puts well forth. ' Your valour exhibits itself 
 promisingly.' This is said tauntingly ; as an ironical sneer at 
 the citizens for stealing away instead of following to go to the 
 
 39 GirJ. 'Gibe,' 'jeer.' See Note 27, Act i., "Second 
 Part Henry IV." 
 
 40. 7'he present wars devour him: he is grown, (s^e. This 
 is elliptically expressed ; but we think the sense is obviously— 
 ' The wars absorb l;im wholly : he is grown too proud of being 
 so valiar.t' In the speech of Gower, as Chorus, in " Pericles,^' 
 Act iv., sc. 4, we find, "And Pericles, in sorrowall devoured;" 
 and to be ' devoured by grief.' or ' eaten up by pride,' are idioms 
 still in ur.e. We think, therefore, that the idea of 'pride in his 
 own valour, strengthened by the occasion for its display afforded 
 
 Bru. Fame, at the which he aims,— 
 
 In whom already he's well grac'd, — can not 
 Better be held, nor more attain'd, than by 
 A place below the first : for what miscarries 
 Shall be the general's fault, though he perform 
 To the utmost of a rnan ; and giddy censure 
 Will then cry out of Marcius, " Oh, if he 
 Had borne the business !"• 
 
 Sic. Besides, if things go well, 
 
 Opinion, that so sticks on Marcius, shall 
 Of his demerits'" rob Cominius. 
 
 Bru. Come: 
 Half all Cominius' honours are to Marcius. ''^ 
 Though Marcius earn'd them not ; and all his 
 faults 
 
 To Marcius shall be honours, though, indeed, 
 In aught he merit not. 
 
 Sic. Let's hence, and hear 
 
 How the dispatch is made ; and in what fashion, 
 More than his singularity,'*'' he goes 
 Upon this present action. 
 
 Biu. Let's along. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE ir.— CoRIOLi. The Senate-house. 
 Enter Tullus Aufidius and certain Senators. 
 First Sen. So, your opinion is, Aufidius, 
 That they of Rome are enter'd in our counsels,-** 
 And know how we proceed. 
 
 Auf. Is it not yours ? 
 
 What ever have been thought on in this state," 
 That could be brought to bodily act ere Rome 
 
 by the 
 
 devours him entirely' is presented by this sen- 
 
 41. Demerits. This word was sometimes formerly used in the 
 same sense as ' merits ; ' the \j3.'Lm demereo having even a stronger 
 meaning of desert than merco. In Cavendish's " Life of Wol- 
 sey," the cardinal says to his servants—" I have not promoted 
 and preferred you to condign preferments according to your 
 demerits." 
 
 42. Half all Cominius' honours are to Marcius. ".Are to" 
 here is used to express 'will be assi.gned to,' 'will be awarded 
 to.' It is employed not only elliptically, but with that licence 
 of expression with regard to an indefinite future or past time 
 which Shakespeare occasionally introduces with so natural an 
 effect. 
 
 43. His singularity. Besides meaning 'his individual ca- 
 pacity,' and 'his special appointment,' the phrase means 'his 
 peculiarity,' 'his own particular pride of disposition.' It com- 
 prises the senses of his single self and the exact commission he 
 is to bear, as well as including a fleer at the characteristic that 
 distinguishes him. 
 
 44. Are enter'd in our counsels. 'Are in the secret of our 
 proposed proceedings," ' are aware of our purposes.' 
 
 45. What ever have been tliought on. In the second Folio 
 "have" is changed to 'hath;' but the word "counsels" 
 occurring in the previous speech, is understood as repeated 
 after "what," or rather as included in the word "what'' 
 here. " Counsel " was sometimes formerly used in the sense of 
 ' design ; ' and here " counsels" mean ' the proceedings proposed 
 in c.-)uncil,' 'the proposals devised and debated.' 
 
Act I.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Had circumvention ? 'Tis not four days gone 
 Since I heard thence ; these are the words : I think 
 1 have the letter here ; yes, here it is : [Reads. 
 " They have press'd ^ a power, but it is not known 
 Whether for east or west : the dearth is great ; 
 The people mutinous : and it is rumour'd, 
 Cominius, Marcius your old enemy 
 (Who is of Rome worse hated than of you). 
 And Titus Lartius, a most valiant Roman, 
 These three lead on this preparation 
 Whither 'tis bent : most likely 'tis for you : 
 Consider of it." 
 
 First Sen. Our army's in the field : 
 We never yet made doubt but Rome was ready 
 To answer us. 
 
 Juf. Nor did you think it folly 
 
 To keep your great pretences veil'd till when 
 They needs must show themselves; which in the 
 hatching, 
 
 It seem'd, appear'd to Rome. By the discovery. 
 We shall be shorten'd in our aim ; which was, 
 To take in many towns,^'' ere, almost, Rome 
 Should know we were afoot. 
 
 Sec. Sen. Noble Aufidius, 
 
 Take your commission ; hie you to your bands : 
 Let us alone to guard Corioli : 
 If they set down before us, for the remove 
 Bring up your army ; but, I think, you'll find 
 They've not prepar'd for us. 
 
 ^uf. Oh, doubt not that ; 
 
 1 sj>eak from certainties. Nay, more, 
 Some parcels of their power are forth already, 
 And only hitherward. I leave your honours. 
 If we and Caius Marcius chance to meet, 
 'Tis sworn between us, we shall ever strike*^ 
 Till one can do no more, 
 
 ^//. The gods assist you 
 
 Juf. And keep your honours safe ! 
 
 first Sen. Farewell. 
 
 Sec. Sen. Farewell. 
 
 A/l. Farewell. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE III.— Rome. J Room in Makcivs' 
 House. 
 
 Enter Volumnia and Virgilia : they ' sit doivn on 
 tivo loiu stools, and se^. 
 Vol. I ] pray you, daughter, sing; or express 
 yourself in a more comfortable sort : if my son 
 
 46. Press'd. Here used as we now use ' impress'd ; ' for 
 'forced into military service,' 'levied forcibly.' In North's 
 "Pluterch " the word is used in this sense. 
 
 47. To take in majiy imviis. ' To conquer m.iny towns.' 
 See Note 167, Act iv., " Winter's Tale." 
 
 48. For the remove. ' For the removal of them.' It has been 
 proposed to change " the " to ' their ; ' but we have other in- 
 stances of this kind of ellipsis in Sh.ikespeare. 
 
 were my husband, I should freelier rejoice in that 
 absence wherein he won honour than in the em- 
 bracements where he would show most love. When 
 yet he was but tender-bodied, and the only son 
 of my womb ; when youth with comeliness plucked 
 all gaze his way ; when, for a day of kings' en- 
 treaties, a mother should not sell him an hour from 
 her beholding; I, — considering how honour would 
 become such a person ; that it was no better than 
 picturelike to hang by the wall, if renown made 
 it not stir, — was pleased to let him seek danger 
 where he was like to find fame. To a cruel war 
 I sent him ; from whence he returned, his brows 
 bound with oak.^" I tell thee, daughter, — I sprang 
 not more in joy at first hearing he was a man- 
 child, than now in first seeing he had proved him- 
 self a man. 
 
 Fir. But had he died in the business, madam, — 
 how then ? 
 
 Fol, Then his good report should have been my 
 son ; I therein would have found issue. Hear me 
 profess sincerely, — had I a dozen sons, each in my 
 love alike, and none less dear than thine and my 
 good Marcius, — I had rather had eleven die nobly 
 for their country than one voluptuously surfeit out 
 of action. 
 
 Enter a Gentlewoman. 
 Geit. Madam, the Lady Valeria is come to 
 visit you. 
 
 Fir. 'Beseech you, give me leave to retire 
 myself. 
 
 Fol. Indeed, you shall not. 
 Methinks I hear hither your husband's drum ; 
 See him pluck Aufidius down by the hair; 
 As children from a bear, the Volsces shunning 
 him : 
 
 Methinks I see him stamp thus, and call thus, — 
 " Come on, you cowards ! you were got in fear, 
 Though you were born in Rome :" his bloody 
 brow 
 
 With his mail'd hand then wiping, forth he 
 
 goes; 
 
 Like to a harvest-man, that's task'd to mow 
 Or all, or lose his hire. 
 
 Fir. His bloody brow ! O Jupiter, no blood ! 
 
 Fol. Away, you fool! it more becomes a 
 man 
 
 Than gilt" his trophy : the breasts of Hecuba, 
 When she did suckle Hector, look'd not lovelier 
 Than Hector's forehead when it spit forth blood 
 
 49. IVe shall ever strike. ' We shall keep on striking.' 
 
 50. //is brows bound luith oak. A crown of oak-leaves was 
 the honour with which the Romans rewarded anyone who saved 
 the life of a citizen : and^CorioIanus had performed this deed on 
 the occasion referred to. 
 
 51. Gilt. Formerly used for 'gilding,' or an inlaying of 
 gold. 
 
 7-1 
 
Act Io 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 At Grecian swords' contending. — -j-gll Valeria, 
 We are fit to bid her welcome. [Exit Gent. 
 
 rir. Heavens bless my lord from fell Aufidius ! 
 
 Ao/. He'll beat Aufidius' head below his knee, 
 And tread upon his neck. 
 
 Re-enter Gentlewoman, 'with Valeria and her 
 Usher. 
 
 Fal. My ladies both, good day to you. 
 
 Fol. Sweet madam. 
 
 Fir. I am glad to see your ladyship. 
 
 Fal. How do you both ? you are manifest house- 
 keepers. What are you sewing here ? A fine spot," 
 in good faith. — How does your little son ? 
 
 Fir. I thank your ladyship; well, good madam. 
 
 Fol. He had rather see the swords, and hear a 
 drum, than look upon his schoolmaster. 
 
 Fal. O' my word, the father's son : I'll swear, 
 'tis a very pretty boy. O' my troth, I looked upon 
 him o' Wednesday half an hour together : he has 
 such a confirmed countenance. I saw him run 
 after a gilded butterfly ; and when he caught it, he 
 let it go again ; and after it again ; and over and 
 over he comes, and up again ; catched it again : or 
 whether his fall enraged him, or how 'twas, he did 
 so set his teeth, and tear it. Oh, I warrant, how he 
 mammocked it 
 
 Fol. One of his father's moods. 
 
 Fal. Indeed, la, 'tis a noble child. =5 
 
 Fir. A crack, madam.^^ 
 
 Fal. Come, lay aside your stitchery ; I must 
 have you play the idle huswife with me this after- 
 noon. 
 
 Fir. No, good madam ; I will not out of doors. 
 Fal. Not out of doors ! 
 Fol. She shall, she shall. 
 
 Fir. Indeed, no, by your patience; I'll not 
 over the threshold till my lord return from the 
 wars. 
 
 Fal. Fie, you confine yourself most unreason- 
 
 52. At Grecian swords' contending. — Tell Valeria. In the 
 Folio this is printed — ' At Grecian sword. Contenning, Tell 
 Valeria;' where the word 'Contenning' being printed with a 
 capital initial letter, in italics, and with a comma after it, leads to 
 the supposition that it may have been a misprint for some name 
 addressed to the waiting-gentlewoman. Various alterations of 
 the line have been made ; the one we adopt being that of Capell. 
 
 53. A fi.ne spot, in good faith. " Spot " probably refers to 
 the design of the embroidery upon which Virgilia is engaged. 
 Desdemona's handkerchief {" Othello," Act iii., sc. 3) is "spotted 
 with strawberries." 
 
 54. Mammocked. ' Tore in pieces,' ' pulled to bits.' 
 
 55. Indeed, la, 'tis a noble child. " La " is here an expletive, 
 giving additional force to the word "indeed;" as the French 
 occasionally use their word ' lH,' and we sometimes use our 
 word ' there,' to give an emphatic and final eftect to such a sen- 
 tence as this—' I won't do it, and so I tell you ; there ! ' In the 
 mouths of school-boys and school-girls this is a frequent form of 
 expression; and "la" is thus used by Shakespeare elsewhere. 
 See, for instance, " Merry Wives," Act i., sc. i. Master Sen- 
 der's flabbily emphatic protest that he will not take precedence 
 of Mistress Anne Page— "Truly, I will not go first; truly, la; 
 
 ably : come, you must go visit the good lady that 
 lies in. 
 
 Fir. I will wish her speedy strength, and visit 
 her with my prayers ; but I cannot go thither. 
 Fol. Why, 1 pray you ? 
 
 Fir. 'Tis not to save labour, nor that I want 
 love. 
 
 Fal. You would be another Penelope yet, 
 they say, all the yarn she spun in Ulysses' absence 
 did but fill Ithaca full of moths. Come ; I would 
 your cambric were sensible*^ as your finger, that 
 you might leave pricking it for pity. Come, you 
 shall go with us. 
 
 Fir. No, good madam, pardon me; indeed, I 
 will not forth. 
 
 Fal. In truth, la, go with me ; and I'll tell you 
 excellent news of your husband. 
 
 Fir. Oh, good madam, there can be none yet. 
 
 Fal. Verily, I do not jest with you ; there came 
 news from him last night. 
 
 Fir. Indeed, madam ? 
 
 Fal. In earnest, it's true; I heard a senator speak 
 it. Thus it is : — The Volsces have an army forth ; 
 against whom Cominius the general is gone, with 
 one part of our Roman power: your lord and 
 Titus Lartius are set down before their city Corioli ; 
 they nothing doubt prevailing, and to make it brief 
 wars. This is true, on mine honour; and so, I 
 pray, go with us. 
 
 Fir. Give me excuse, good madam ; I will obey 
 you in everything hereafter. 
 
 Fol. Let her alone, lady : as she is now. she will 
 but disease our better mirth. 
 
 Fal. In troth, I think she would. — Fare you 
 well, then. — Come, good sweet lady. — Pr'ythee, 
 Virgilia, turn thy solemness out o' door, and go 
 along with us. 
 
 Fir. No, at a word, madam ; indeed, I must not. 
 I wish you much mirth. 
 
 y^l. Well, then, farewell. [Exeunt. 
 
 I will not do you that wrong." And again — " You do yourself 
 wrong, indeed, la." It is a different sense in which the word is 
 used, where Maria, "Twelfth Night," Act iii., sc. 4, says — 
 " La you ! an you speak ill," &c. ; and where it is a form of 
 the exclamation ' lo ! ' that was anciently in familiar use, being 
 the original Sa.xon word of interjection, la. 
 
 56. A crack. * A lively boy.' See Note 25, Act i.i., " Second 
 Part Henry IV." 
 
 57. Penelope. Wife to Ulysses, King of Ithaca ; who, during 
 his absence at and after the Trojan war, was besieged by suitors 
 who endeavoured to persuade her that Ulysses was dead, and 
 who besought her to choose from among them a second husband. 
 To rid herself of their importunities, she engaged to make her 
 selection when the piece of work upon which she was employed 
 should be finished ; and in order to prevent its ever being com- 
 pleted, she unravelled at night what she had worked in the day. 
 There is a play upon the word " moths " in the text ; as meaning 
 the destructive insects so called, and the swarm of persecuting 
 idlers attracted round the light of Penelope's beauty. 
 
 58. Sensible. Here used with the meaning of 'sensitive,' 
 'capable of feeling.' See Note 21, Act iii., "Love's Labour's 
 Lct.t." 
 
Act I.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 SCENE IV.— fi^/or^- CoRion. 
 Enter, luiih drum and colours, Marcius, Titus 
 Lartius, Officers and Soldiers. 
 Mar. Yonder comes news : — a wager they have 
 met. 
 
 Lart. My horse to yours, no. 
 
 Mar. 'Tis done. 
 
 Lart. Agreed. 
 
 Enter a Messenger. 
 Mar. Say, has our general met the enemy ? 
 Mess. They lie in view ; but have not spoke as 
 yet. 
 
 Lart. So, the good horse is mine. 
 Mar. I'll buy him of you. 
 
 Lart. No, I'll nor sell nor give him : lend you 
 him I will 
 
 For half a hundred years. — Summon the town. 
 Mar. How fiir off lie these armies ? 
 Mas. Within this mile and half.^' 
 
 Mar. Then shall we hear their 'larum, and they 
 ours. — 
 
 Now, Mars, I pr'ythee, make us quick in work, 
 That we with smoking swords may march from 
 hence, 
 
 To help our fielded friends!^" — Come, blow thy 
 blast. 
 
 T'hey sound a parley. Enter, on the 'walls, tzuo 
 
 Senators and others. 
 Tullus Aufidius, is he within your walls ? 
 
 First Sen. No, nor a man that fears you less 
 than he. 
 
 That's lesser than a little.^' [Drums afar off.'] 
 
 Hark, our drums 
 Are bringing forth our youth ! we'll break our 
 
 walls, 
 
 Rather than they shall pound us up : our gates, 
 Which yet seem shut, we have but pinn'd with 
 rushes ; 
 
 They'll open of themselves. \_Alarum afar off.] 
 
 Hark you, far off! 
 There is Aufidius ; list, what work he makes 
 Amongst your cloven army 
 
 Sg. IVitkin this mile and half. Steevens says, "The two 
 last words, which disturb the measure, should be omitted;" as 
 we are told in sc. 6, that "'tis not a mile." But Shakespeare 
 frequently has lines of more or fewer than ten feet, and he often 
 purposely gives these kind of variations in reports on a battle- 
 field, as being peculiarly natural to the scene. See Note lo, 
 Act v., " Richard III." 
 
 60. Our nelded friends. ' Our friends in the field of battle.' 
 
 61. No, nor a man thai fears you less than he, that's 
 l-sser than a little. This has been suspected of error, and 
 has been variously altered ; while Malone says, " The te.xt, I 
 am confident, is right, our author almost always entangling 
 himself when he uses 'less' and 'more.'" That Shakespeare 
 uses 'less' peculiarly is true (see Note 15, Act iii., "Winter's 
 Tale"): but this, far from inferring that his sentences are 
 wrongly printed or " entangledly " written, shows that we must 
 
 Mar. Oh, they are at it ! 
 
 Lart. Their noise be our instruction. — Ladders, 
 ho! 
 
 The Volsces enter and pass o<ver. 
 Mar. They fear us not, but issue forth their city. 
 Now put your shields before your hearts, and fight 
 With hearts more proof than shields. — Advance, 
 
 brave Titus : 
 They do disdain us much beyond our thoughts, 
 Which makes me sweat with wrath.— Come on, 
 
 my fellows : 
 He that retires, I'll take him for a Volsce, 
 And he shall feel mine edge. 
 
 {Alarum ; and exeunt Romans and Volsces, 
 fighting. The Romans are beaten back 
 to their trenches. 
 
 Re-enter Marcius. 
 Mar. All the contagion of the south light on you, 
 You shames of Rome ! you herd of — Boils and 
 plagues ^'^ 
 
 Plaster you o'er; that you may be abhorr'd 
 Farther than seen, and one infect another 
 Against the wind a mile ! You souls of geese, 
 That bear the shapes of men, how have you run 
 From slaves that apes would beat ! Pluto and hell ! 
 All hurt behind ; backs red, and faces pale 
 With flight and agu'd fear! Mend, and charge 
 home. 
 
 Or, by the fires of heaven, I'll leave the foe. 
 And make my wars on you: look to 't : come on ; 
 If you'll stand fast, we'll beat them to their wives. 
 As they us to our trenches followed. 
 
 Another alarum. The Volsces and Romans re- 
 enter, and the fight is renexued. The Volsces 
 retire into Coriolo, and Marcius folloujs them 
 to the gates. 
 
 So, now the gates are ope : — ^now prove good 
 seco.Tds : 
 
 'Tis for the followers fortune widens them, 
 Not for the fliers ; mark me, and do the like. 
 
 [Marcius enters the gates. 
 First Sol. Fool-hardiness; not I. 
 
 give them full consideration, while bearing in mind his peculiar 
 style of employing words. The sentence, we thmk, means : 
 —'No, he is not within the walls, nnr is there there a man 
 that fears you less than he, who fears you less than next to 
 nothing.' No man can fear less than one who fears less th.in 
 a little ; and this is one of those simple verities which Shake- 
 speare often gives under the form of an apparent antithesis. 
 See the passage referred to in Note 56, Act i. , " Trollus and 
 Cressida," where the word " less " also occurs with rather 
 peculiar effect. 
 
 62. Vou lierd of— Boils and plagues, ^'c. The Folio prints 
 ' you Heard of Byles and Plagues ; ' whereby the sentence is 
 male meaningless, and the characteristically impetuous break 
 in Marcius's speech is lost. Johnson's correction. 
 
 63. Followed. The first Folio prints ' foUowes ' here. Cor- 
 rected in the second Folio. 
 
Act I.] CORIOLANUS. [Scene IV. 
 
 Marcius. Mark me, and do the like. 
 
 First Soldier. Fool-hardiness; not 1. 
 
 Second Soldier. Nor I. Act I . Scene IV. 
 
 Sec. Sol. Nor I. j 
 
 [Marcius is shut in. 
 First Sol. See, they have shut him in. 
 ^■itt. To the pot/^ I warrant him 
 
 [J la rum continues. 
 
 Re-enter Titus Lartius. 
 Lart. What is become of Marcius ? 
 ■^11. Slain, sir, doubtless. 
 
 first Sol. Following the fliers at the very heels, 
 
 64. To the pot. 'To go to pot,' or 'to go to the pot,' have 
 long been idiomatic phrases in common use, signifying ' to go 
 to perdition.' | 
 
 65. Who, sensible, outdares his senseless sword, and, when 
 it baius, stands up! The Folio prints 'sensibly' for " sensible," 1 
 and ' stand'st' for "stands" here. Johnson's correction, partly 
 suggested by Thirlby. "Sensible," in the present passage, is 
 used with the same meaning as in the passage referred to in 
 Note 58 of this Act. ] 
 
 66. A soldier even to Catds wish. The Folio prints ' Calues' 
 
 With them he enters ; who, upon the sudden, 
 Clapp'd-to their gates : he is himself alone, 
 To answer all the city. 
 
 Lart. Oh, noble fellow ! 
 
 Who, sensible, outdares his senseless sword, 
 And, when it bows, stands up!** Thou art left. 
 Marcius : 
 
 A carbuncle entire, as big as thou art, 
 
 Were not so rich a jewel. Thou wast a soldier 
 
 Even to Cato's wish,"* not fierce and terrible 
 
 for "Cato's" here; which a passage in North's "Plutarch" 
 shows to be the word intended : — " He [Coriolanus] was even 
 such another as Cato would have a souldier and captaine to 
 be." This form of praise, taken from the historian's page and 
 placed by the dramatist in the mouth of one of Coriolanus's 
 brother-warriors, becomes subject to the reprobation of one 
 of the commentators as "a great chronological impropriety;" 
 but we have many times shown the principle on which Shake- 
 speare committed these wilful anachronisms, making them 
 dramatic fitnesses. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scenes V., VI. 
 
 Only in strokes ; but, with thy grim looks and 
 The thunder-like percussion of thy sounds, 
 Thou mad'st thine enemies shake, as if the world 
 Were feverous and did tremble. 
 
 Re-enter Marcius, bleeding, assaulted by the 
 enemy. 
 
 First Sol. Look, sir. 
 
 Lart. Oh, 'tis Marcius ! 
 
 Let's fetch him off, or make remain alike.''? 
 
 [They fight, and all enter the City. 
 
 SCENE v.— ^/A/k CoRioLi. A Street. 
 
 Enter certain Romans, 'with spoils. 
 
 First Rom. This will I carry to Rome. 
 Sec. Rom. And I this. 
 
 Third Rom. A murrain on 't ! I took this for 
 silver. [Alarum continues still afar off. 
 
 Enter Marcius and Titus Lartius nuith a 
 trumpet.'''^ 
 
 Mar. See here these movers, that do prize their 
 hours 63 
 
 At a crack'd drachm I'" Cushions, leaden spoons. 
 Irons of a doit,''i doublets that hangmen would 
 Bury with those that wore them, these base slaves. 
 Ere yet the fight be done, pack up : — down wLh 
 them ! — 
 
 And hark, what noise the general makes !— To 
 him ! 
 
 There is the man of my soul's hate, Aufidius, 
 Piercing our Romans : then, valiant Titus, take 
 Convenient numbers to make good the city ; 
 Whilst I, with those that have the spirit, will haste 
 To help Cominius. 
 
 Lart. Worthy sir, thou bleed'st; 
 
 Thy exercise hath been too violent 
 For a second course of fight. 
 
 Mar. Sir, praise me not ; 
 
 My work hath yet not warm'd me : fare you well : 
 The blood I drop is rather physical 
 Than dangerous to me : to Aufidius thus 
 I will appear, and fight. 
 
 67. Or make remain alike. ' Or remain there like him.' 
 " Make remain" was an old idiomatic form of ' remain.' 
 
 68. A trttmpet. Sometimes, as here, used for ' a trumpeter.' 
 6g. Their Jwurs. Here Rowe changed " hours" to 'honours ;' 
 
 but Coriolanus was not the man to speak of ' honours ' to the 
 men whom he treats as " the shames of Rome." He bids them 
 not lose their time while there is still work to be done ; he twits 
 them with throwing away the precious moments in running after 
 booty *' ere yet the fight be done" 
 
 70. Drachm. A contracted form of ' drachma,' which was 
 perhaps what the poet wrote here ; for in the Folio copy of 
 " Julius Csesar" the word " drachmaes" occurs twice. Adrachma 
 was an old Grecian coin, used also in Rome. There were silver 
 
 Lart. Now the fair goddess. Fortune, 
 
 Fall deep in love with thee ; and her great charms 
 Misguide thy opposers' swords! Bold gentleman, 
 Prosperity be thy page ! 
 
 Mar. Thy friend no less 
 
 Than those she placeth highest!?^ So, farewell. 
 
 Lart. Thou worthiest Marcius ! — 
 
 [Exit Marcius. 
 Go, sound thy trumpet in the market-place ; 
 Call thither all the officers of the town. 
 Where they shall know our mind : away ! [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE Vl.~Near the Camp 0/ Cominius. 
 Enter Cominius and forces, retreating. 
 
 Com. Breathe you, my friends: well fought; 
 
 we are come off 
 Like Romans, neither foolish in our stands, 
 Nor cowardly in retire ; believe me, sirs, 
 We shall be charg'd again. Whiles we have 
 
 struck. 
 
 By interims and conveying gusts we have heard 
 The charges of our friends. — Ye Roman gods,''' 
 Lead their successes as we wish our own, 
 That both our powers, with smiling fronts en- 
 countering. 
 May give you thankful sacrifice ! 
 
 Enter a Messenger. 
 
 Thy news ? 
 
 Mess. The citizens of Corioli have issu'd. 
 And given to Lartius and to Marcius battle : 
 I saw our party to their trenches driven, 
 And then I came away. 
 
 Com. Though thou speak'st truth, 
 
 Methinks thou speak'st not well. How long is 't 
 since ? 
 
 Mess. Above an hour, my lord. 
 Com. 'Tis not a mile; briefly we heard their 
 drums: 
 
 How couldst thou in a mile confound an hour,"* 
 And bring thy news so late 
 
 Mess. Spies of the Volsces 
 
 Held me in chase, that I was forc'd to wheel 
 
 drachmas and brass drachmas; probably one of the latter is 
 here intended. 
 
 71. A doit. A small coin. See Note 37, Act ii., " Tempest." 
 Here "of a doit" is an elliptical idiom for 'of a doit's value,' 
 ' of a doit in value.' 
 
 72. Thy friend no less than those she placetli higliest. Ellip- 
 tically expressed : ' May Prosperity be no less thy friend than 
 it is the friend of those whom Fortune raises highest ! ' 
 
 73. Ye Roman gods. The Folio prints 'The' for "Ye" 
 here ; which the words "give you thankful sacrifice" show to 
 be correct. Hanmer's emendation. 
 
 74. Confound an hour. 'Spend an hour,' 'lose an hour.' 
 See Note 70, Act i., " First Part Henry IV." 
 
Act I.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene VI. 
 
 Three or four miles about ; else had I, sir, 
 Half an hour since brought my report. 
 
 Com. Who's yonder, 
 
 That does appear as he were flay'd ? O gods ! 
 He has the stamp of Marcius ; and I have 
 Before-time seen him thus. 
 
 Mar. [W'ithin.'] Come I too late ? 
 
 Com. The shepherd knows not thunder from a 
 tabor, 
 
 More than I know the sound of Marcius' tongue 
 From every meaner man.'^ 
 
 Enter Marcius. 
 
 Mar. Come I too late ? 
 
 Com. Ay, if you come not in the blood of others, 
 But mantled in your own. 
 
 Mar. Oh, let me clip you 
 
 In arms as sound as when I woo'd ; in heart 
 As merry as when our nuptial day was done, 
 And tapers burn'd to bedward ! 
 
 Com. Flower of warriors, 
 
 How is 't with Titus Lartius ? 
 
 Mar. As with a man busied about decrees : 
 Condemning soine to death, and some to exile ; 
 Ransoming him or pitying, threatening the other. 
 Holding Corioli in the name of Rome, 
 Even like a fawning greyhound in the leash, 
 To let him slip at will. 
 
 Com. Where is that slave 
 
 Which told me they had beat you to ) Our trenches? 
 Where is he ? call him hither. 
 
 Mar. Let him alone; 
 
 He did inform the truth : but for our gentlemen, 
 The common file (a plague! — tribunes for them !), 
 The mouse ne'er shunn'd the cat as they did budget's 
 From rascals worse than they. 
 
 Com. But how prevail'd you ? 
 
 Mar. Will the time serve to tell ? I do not 
 think. 
 
 Where is the enemy ? are you lords o' the field ? 
 If not, why cease vou till you are so ? 
 
 Com. Marcius, 
 We have at disadvantage fought, and did 
 Retire, to win our purpose. 
 
 75. From every mca7ier tnnn. ' From that of every meaner 
 man's.' A similar form of ellipsis occurs in the passages referred 
 to in Note 2, Act iii., "All's Well," and Note 27, Act i., 
 '■ Richard III." 
 
 76. Budge. ' Move retreatingly,' ' draw back ;' 'flinch.' See 
 Note 44, Act i., " Third Part Henry VI." 
 
 77. The vaioarii. The vanguard : the front rank. .See Note 
 78, Act iv., " Henry V." 
 
 78. The Antintes. The Folio pri.its 'Antients' for "Antiates:" 
 which is here used as a trisyllable, as if spelt ' Antiats ; ' the 
 Folio spelling the word thus in the next .speech. 
 
 7Q. If any fear lesser his fierson than, Sfic. In the Folio 
 *' lesser" is misprinted * lessen ;* an error corrected in the third 
 Folio. The sentence is elliptical : meaning, 'if any one fear 
 less for his person than he fears an ill report.' 
 
 80. Oh, me alone ! jiiake yon a siuord of me ! Marcius 
 
 Mar. How lies their battle ? know you on 
 which side 
 They have plac'd their men of trust P 
 
 Com. As I guess, Marcius, 
 
 Their bands i' the vaward^^ are the Antiates,?** 
 Of their best trust ; o'er them Aufidius, 
 Their very heart of hope. 
 
 Mar. I do beseech you. 
 
 By all the battles wherein we have fought, 
 By the blood we have shed together, by the vows 
 We have made to endure friends, that you directly 
 Set me against Aufidius and his Antiates ; 
 And that you not delay the present, but. 
 Filling the air with swords advanc'd and darts, 
 We prove this very hour. 
 
 Com. Though I could wish 
 
 You were conducted to a gentle bath, 
 And balms applied to you, yet dare I never 
 Deny your asking ; take your choice of those 
 That best can aid your action. 
 
 Mar. Those are they 
 
 That most are willing. — If any such be here 
 (As it were sin to doubt) that love this painting 
 Wherein you see me smear'd ; if any fear 
 Lesser his person than an ill report;'^ 
 If any think brave death outweighs bad life, 
 And that his country's dearer than himself ; 
 Let him alone, or so many so minded. 
 Wave thus, to express his disposition, 
 And follow Marcius. 
 
 [They all shout, and nvave their sivords ; 
 take him up in their arms, and cast up 
 their caps. 
 Oh, me alone ! make you a sword of me 
 If these shows be not outward, which of you 
 But is four Volsces? none of you but is 
 Able to bear against the great Aufidius 
 A shield as hard as his. A certain number, 
 Though thanks to all, must I select from all : the 
 rest 
 
 Shall bear the business in some other fight, 
 As cause will be obey'd. Please you to march ; 
 And four shall quickly draw out my command, 
 Which men are best inclin'd. 
 
 has said, " Let him alone, or so many so minded, wave 
 thus ; " and, seeing them all wave their swords in reply and 
 then take himself up in their arms, which leaves him solely 
 waving his sword, he riipturously exclaims: — 'Oh, take me 
 alone for weapon among you all ! make yourselves a sword 
 
 81. Please you io march ; atid four shall quickly, &~c. These 
 latter words of the speech are addressed to Cominius ; and 
 mean : — ' Be pleased to give the order for marching ; and four 
 of our subaltern officers shall quickly Select for the party that 
 I am to command in this special expedition against Aufidius 
 those men who are best inclined.' "Four" is here used to 
 e.vpress ' four appointed persons :' a few lines back, " four" is 
 employed as it sometimes was to express an indefinite number, 
 in the same way that " forty" was occasionally thus used. See 
 Note 60, Act iii., " Henry VIII." 
 
 79 
 
Act I.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scenes VII.— IX. 
 
 Com. March on, my fellows : 
 
 Make good this ostentation, and you shall 
 Divide in al'l with us. \_Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE VW.—The Gates o/Corioli. 
 
 Titus Lartius, halving set a guard upon Corioli 
 going ivith drum and trumpet toujard CoMI- 
 Nius and Caius Marcius, enters 'with a 
 Lieutenant, a party of Soldiers, and a Scout. 
 
 Lart. So, let the ports be guarded ; keep your 
 duties, 
 
 As I have set them down. If I do send, des,)atch 
 Those centuries to our aid the rest will serve 
 For a short holding ; if we lose the field. 
 We cannot keep the town. 
 
 Lieu. Fear not our care,^^ sir. 
 
 Lart. Hence, and shut your gates upon us. — 
 Our guider, come ; to the Roman camp conduct us. 
 
 \Exeunt. 
 
 Alone I fought in your Corioli walls. 
 And made what work I pleas'd : 'tis not my blood 
 Wherein thou seest me mask'd ; for thy revenge 
 Wrench up thy power to the highest. 
 
 Auf. Wert thou the Hector 
 
 That was the whip of your bragg'd progeny,**^ 
 Thou shouldst not scape me here. 
 
 \They fight, and certain Volsces come to the 
 aid of AuFiDius. 
 Officious, and not valiant, — you have sham'd me 
 In your condemned seconds.^' 
 
 [^Exeunt fighting, driven in by Marcius. 
 
 SCENE VIII.— ^ Fiell of Battle befuieen the 
 Roman and the Volscian Camps. 
 
 Alarum. Enter, from opposite sides, Marcius and 
 
 AUFIDIUS. 
 
 Mar. I'll fight with none but thee; for I do 
 hate thee 
 Worse than a promise-breaker. 
 
 Auf. We hate alike : 
 
 Not Afric owns a serpent I abhor 
 More than thy fame and envy.^* Fix thy foot. 
 
 Mar. Let the first budger^s die the other's slave, 
 A nd the gods doom him after! 
 
 Auf. If I fly, Marcius, 
 
 Halloo me like a hare. 
 
 Mar. Within these three hours, Tullus, 
 
 82. Despatck those ceiititries to our aid. "Centuries" is 
 here used to express companies consisting each of a hundred 
 men. Latin, ce7itiiria. 
 
 83. Fear not our care. ' Fear not our want of care,' or ' fear 
 not but that we will have care.' For examples of somewhat 
 similar idioms, see Note 33, Act i., " Henry V.," and Note 48, 
 Act iv. " Second Part Henry VI." 
 
 84. Not Afric owns a serpent I abhor more than thy fame 
 and envy. Here "and "has been changed to 'I' by some 
 editors ; while others, who retain the original word, explain the 
 construction of the sentence to be : — ' Not Africa owns a serpent 
 I more abhor and hate than thy fame.' But it appears to us that 
 the sentence means :— ' Not Africa owns a serpent I abhor more 
 tlun thy fame and hatred of me,' — that hatred which Marcius 
 has just professed. " Envy" was formerly used in the sense of 
 ■hatred,' 
 
 Biid.^er. 
 
 Retrea 
 
 flincher. 
 
 See Note 76 of this 
 
 86. The Hector that was th^ whip of your bragg'd progeny. 
 The Romans boasted that they were descended from the Tro- 
 jans ; and here "progeny" bears the sense of 'progenitors,' 
 
 SCENE IX.— T7jf Roman Camp. 
 
 Alarum. A retreat is sounded. Flourish. Enter, 
 from one side, Cominiu.s and Romans ; Jrom 
 the other side, Marcius, ijuith his arm in a 
 scarf, and other Romans. 
 
 Com. If I should tell thee o'er this thy day's 
 work, 
 
 Thou'lt not believe tliy deeds but I'll report it. 
 Where senators shall mingle tears with smiles; 
 Where great patricians shall attend, and shrug, 
 r the end admire; where ladies shall be frighted. 
 And, gladly quak'd;^' hear more; where the dull 
 tribunes. 
 
 That, with the fusty plebeians, hate thine honours, 
 Shall say, against their hearts, " We thank the gods 
 Our Rome hath such a soldier!" 
 Yet cam'st thou to a morsel of this feast. 
 Having fully din'd before. 
 
 Enter TiTUs Lartius, ivith his power, from the 
 pursuit. 
 
 Lart. Oh, general, 
 
 Here is the steed, we the caparison : 
 Hadst thou beheld,— 
 
 while " the whip of your bragg'd progeny " means ' the scourge 
 of which your boasted progenitors were possessed,' or ' the 
 scourge possessed by your boasted progenitors.' For similar 
 instances of peculiar construction where the possessive case is 
 used, see Note 8, and Note 99, Act i., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 87. You /lave shamed me in your condemned seconds. ' You 
 Iiave shamed me by seconding me with numbers, whose aid 
 I resent.' 
 
 88. If I should tell thee .... thou'lt not. Ss^c. Here occurs 
 one ol those variations in tenses which Shaliespe.are occasiona'Iy 
 introduces in his sentences; and, as we think, with natural 
 effect. A person speaking staidly and considerately would 
 say: — 'If I should tell thee .... thou would'st not,' &c, ; 
 but, speaking in the heat of martial admiration, would very 
 probably speak as Cominius here does. 
 
 89. Quak'd. 'Made to quake,' 'caused to tremble.' A 
 peculiarly formed participle; the verb 'to quake' being some- 
 times, though rarely, used actively in Shake.speare's time. 
 
 90. Here is the steed, we tlie caparison. ' Here is the man 
 who has worked like a horse ; we are the comparatively useless 
 trappings.' 
 
Act L] 
 
 CORIOLA.NUS. 
 
 [Scene IX. 
 
 Mar. Pray now, no more : my mother, 
 
 Who has a charter to extol her blood, 
 When she does praise me grie\es me. 1 have 
 done 
 
 As you have done, — that's what 1 can ; induc'd - 
 As you have been, — that's for my country : 
 He that has but effected his good will 
 Hath overta'ea mine act. 
 
 Com. You shall not be 
 
 The grave of your deserving ; Rome must know 
 The value of her own : 'twere a concealment 
 Worse than a theft, no less than a traducemcnt, 
 To hide your doings; and to silence that. 
 Which, to the spire and top of praises vouch'd, 
 Would seem but modest : therefore, I beseech 
 you, 
 
 (In sign of what you are, not to reward 
 What you have done,) before our army hear me. 
 Mar. I have some wounds upon me, and they 
 smart 
 
 To hear themselves remember'd. 
 
 Com. Should they not,'i 
 
 Well might they fester 'gainst ingratitude. 
 And tent themselves with death. Of all the horses 
 (Whereof we have ta'en good, and good store), 
 of all 
 
 The treasure in this field achiev'd and city,'^ 
 We render you the tenth ; to be ta'en forth, 
 Before the common distribution. 
 At your only choice. 
 
 Mar. I thank you, general ; 
 
 But cannot make my heart consent to take 
 A bribe to pay my sword : I do refuse it ; 
 And stand upon my common part with those 
 That have beheld the doing. 
 
 [A long flourish. They all cry, " Marcius ! 
 Marcius ! " cast up iheir caps and lances: 
 CoMiNius and Lartius stand bare. \ 
 Mar. May these same instruments, which you 
 profane,^* i 
 Never sound more, when drums and trumpets , 
 shall 
 
 91. Should they not. ' Should they not be remembered.' 
 
 92. 0/ all the treasure in this field achiev'd and city. ' Of 
 all the treasure achieved in this field and city.' Instance 
 of rhe transposed construction that Shakespeare occasionally 
 uses;. 
 
 9.', May these same instrttmenis, luiiich you, {s'c. This 
 pasiige has been variously punctuated and e.\plained by various 
 editors ; while others have proposed to alter different words 
 therein. We give it as worded in the Folio, excepting that we 
 substitute " them" for ' him' in the last line, on the supposition 
 that the original ' him' is a misprint for " 'em ; " and our inter- 
 pretation of the whole passage is this ; — ' May these same 
 instruments, which you profane (by this flourish in my honour) 
 never sound more, when thus drums and trumpets in the field 
 prove flatterers ! Let courts and cities be made all of false-faced 
 adulation, when thus martial steel grows soft as the parasite's 
 silken attire ! Let them [referring to " these instruments"] be 
 made an overture [or used as a prelude] for the wars.' It 
 appears to us that "when" here has the force of 'when thus;' 
 
 r the field prove flatterers ! Let courts and cities be 
 
 Made all of false-fac'd soothing, 
 
 When steel grows soft as the parasite's silk ! 
 
 Let them be made an overture for the wars ! 
 
 No more, I say ! For that I have not wash'd 
 
 My nose that bled,^* or foil'd some debile wretch, — 
 
 Which, without note, here's many else have done, — 
 
 You shout me forth'= 
 
 In acclamations hyperbolical; 
 
 As if I lov'd my little should be dieted 
 
 In praises sauc'd with lies. 
 
 Com. Too modest are you ; 
 
 More cruel to your good report than grateful 
 To us that give you truly : by your patience. 
 If 'gainst yourself you be incens'd, we'll put you 
 (Like one that means his proper harm)'^ in 
 manacles, 
 
 Then reason safely with you. — Therefore, be it 
 known. 
 
 As to us, to all the world, that Caius Marcius 
 Wears this war's garland : in token of the which. 
 My noble steed, known to the camp, I give him. 
 With all his trim belonging; and from this time. 
 For what he did before Corioli, call him, 
 With all the applause and clamour of the host, 
 Caius Marcius Coriolanus. — 
 Bear the addition nobly ever! 
 
 [Flourish. Trumpets sound, and drums. 
 
 All. Caius Marcius Coriolanus ! 
 
 Cor. I will go « ash ; 
 And when my face is fair, } ou shall perceive 
 Whether I blush, or no : howbeit, I thank you : — 
 I mean to stride your steed ; and at all times, 
 To undercrest your good addition 
 To the fairness of my power."? 
 
 Com. So, to our tent; 
 
 Where, ere we do repose us, we will write 
 To Rome of our success. — You, Titus Lartius, 
 Must to Corioli back : send us to Rome 
 The best, with whom we may articulate,'* 
 For their own good and ours. 
 
 Lart. I shall, my lord. 
 
 and that it is used in this passage as we sometimes use the word 
 'since.' 
 
 94. For i/iat I itave 7wt, S^c. "For that" is here used as 
 'because;' and 'because I have* is elliptically understood 
 between " or" and " foil'd." 
 
 95. You sliout me forth. The Folio misprints 'shoot' for 
 " shout." Corrected in the fourth Folio. A similar error 
 occurred in the original printing of the passage adverted to in 
 Note 31 of this Act. 
 
 96. His proper harm. ' His own harm,' ' harm to himself.' 
 
 97. To undercrest your good addition to the fairness of my 
 power. ' To wear as a crest this honourable title which you 
 confer upon me with as fair desert as my best efforts will enable 
 me to do.' "Addition" is here used in the sense it bears as ex- 
 plained in Note 89, Act ii., " Troilus and Cressida ; " and refers 
 to the surname, " Coriolanus," just bestowed upon him. 
 
 98. The best, with whom we jnay articulate. ' The chief 
 men of Corioli, with whom we may enter into articles.' See 
 Note 8, Act v., " First Part Hem-y IV." 
 
Acr l.J 
 
 Cor. The gods begin to mock me. I, that 
 now 
 
 Retus'd most princely gifts, am bound to beg 
 Of my lord general. 
 
 Com. Take 't ; 'tis yours. What is 't ? 
 
 Cor. I sometime lay here in Corioli 
 At a poor man's house ; he us'd me kindly : 
 He cried to me ; I saw him prisoner ; 
 But then Aufidius was within my view, 
 And wrath o'erwhelm'd my pity : I request you 
 To give my poor host freedom. 
 
 Com. Oh, well begg'd ! 
 
 Were he the butcher of my son, he should 
 Be free as is the wind. — Deliver him, Titus. 
 
 Lart, Marcius, his name ? 
 
 Cor. By Jupiter, forgot : — 
 
 I am weary, yea, my memory is tir'd. — 
 Have we no wine here ? 
 
 Com. Go we to our tent : 
 
 The blood upon your visage dries ; 'tis time 
 It should be look'd to: come. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE X.—The Camp of the Volsces. 
 
 A flourish. Cornets. Enter Tullus Aufidius, 
 bloody, nu'ith tivo or three Soldiers. 
 
 Auf. The town is ta'en ! 
 
 First Sol. 'Twill be deliver'd back on good 
 condition. 
 
 Auf. Condition! — 
 I would I were a Roman ; for I cannot, 
 Being a Volsce, be that I am. — Condition ! 
 What good condition can a treaty find 
 
 99. What good condition can a treaty Jind /* tlie part that is 
 at mercy ? The construction here is peculiar and involved ; the 
 meaning of the sentence being, 'What good condition can the 
 side that is at the mercy of the other find in a treaty?' or, 
 ' What good condition can be found in a treaty by the defeated 
 party ? ' or perhaps, ' What good condition can a treaty find for 
 the part that lies at mercy?' 
 
 100. Where. Here used for ' whereas.' 
 
 lor. /'// potch at him some way. Here, "I'll" is used for 
 ' I'd ; ' or ' I would now.' " Potch " was an old verb for ' roughly 
 poke,' or ' violently push ; ' and " some way" means ' some way 
 or other,' ' any way.' 
 
 102. Or wrath or cra/t may get him. 'By which either wrathor 
 craft may get at him.' Instance of the double " or" in a .sentence. 
 
 [Scene X. 
 
 r the part that is at mercy f 5' — Five times, Marcms, 
 I have fought with thee ; so often hast thou beat 
 me ; 
 
 And wouldst do so, I think, should we encounter 
 As often as we eat, — By the elements. 
 If e'er again I meet him beard to beard, 
 He's mine, or I am his: mine emulation 
 Hath not that honour in 't it had ; for where'"" 
 I thought to crush him in an equal force 
 (True sword to sword), I'll potch at him some 
 way,!"! 
 
 Or wrath or craft may get him."'^ 
 
 First Sol. ' He's the devil. 
 
 Auf. Bolder, though not so subtle. My valour's 
 poison'd 
 
 With only suffering stain by him ; for hiin 
 Shall fly out of itself nor sleep nor sanctuary, 
 Being naked, sick; nor fane nor Capitol, 
 The prayers of priests nor times of sacrifice, 
 Embarquements'"* all of fury, shall lift up 
 Their rotten privilege and custom 'gainst 
 My hate to Marcius: where I find him,'*" were it 
 At home, upon my brother's guard,'"* even there,' 
 Against the hospitable canon, would I 
 Wash my fierce hand in 's heart. Go you to the 
 city ; 
 
 Learn how 'tis held ; and what they are that must 
 Be hostages for Rome. 
 
 First Sol. Will not you go ? 
 
 Auf. I am attended '"7 at the cypress grove: I 
 pray you 
 
 ('Tis south the city mills), bring me word thither 
 How the world goes, that to the pace of it 
 I may spur on my journey. 
 First Sol. I shall, sir. [Exeunt. 
 
 103. For him sliall Jly out of itself. Here ' it ' is understood 
 between "him" and "shall ;" and we take the meaning of the 
 passage to be, ' My valour is poisoned with the mere stain of 
 my malice towards him ; for the chance of vanquishing him it 
 [my valourj shall forsake its own nature and become a mean 
 unscrupulous revenge.' 
 
 104. Embarqriements. A form of ' imbarquements,' or 'em- 
 bargoes ;' ' impediments,' ' restraints.' 
 
 105. Where I find him. " Where " is here used for 
 ' where'er,' or 'wherever.' 
 
 106. At home, uJ>on my brother^ s guard. ' In my own house, 
 under my brother's protection.' 
 
 107. Attended. 'Waited for,' 'expected ;' as the French use 
 their word attendu. 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
Act IJ.J CORIOLANUS. [Scene I. 
 
 ACT II. 
 
 SCENE I.— Rome. A Public Place. 
 
 Enter Menenius, Sicinius, and Brutus. 
 
 Men. The augurer tells me we shall have news 
 to-night. 
 Bru. Good or bad ? 
 
 Men. Not according to the prayer of the people, 
 for they love not Marcius. 
 
 Sic. Nature teaches beasts to know their friends. 
 Men. Pray you, who does the wolf love 
 Sic. The lamb. 
 
 Men. Ay, to devour him; as the hungry ple- 
 beians would the noble Marcius. 
 
 Bru. He's a lamb indeed, that baes like a bear. 
 
 Men. He's a bear indeed, that lives like a lamb. 
 You two are old men : tell me one thing that I 
 shall ask you. 
 
 Both Trib. Well, sir. 
 
 Men. In what enormity is Marcius poor in,^ 
 that you two have not in abundance ? 
 
 Bru. He's poor in no one fault, but stored with all. 
 
 Sic. Especially in pride. 
 
 Bru. And topping all others in boasting. 
 
 Men. This is strange now : do you two know 
 how you are censured here in the city, I mean of 
 us o' the right-hand file ? do you ? 
 
 Both Trib. Why, how are we censured ? 
 
 Men. Because you talk of pride now, — will you 
 not be angry P 
 
 Both Trib. Well, well, sir, well. 
 
 Men. Why, 'tis no great matter; for a very 
 little thief of occasion will rob you of a great deal 
 of patience: give your dispositions the reins, and 
 be angry at your pleasures; at the least, if you 
 
 1. Who does tJie wolf love 1 "Who" was sometimes, by a 
 grammatical licence, used for ' whom.' Menenius sneers at the 
 people as a pack of wolves, that have love for no one. 
 
 2. In what eriorinity is Marcius pooy in ? A pleonastic form 
 of repetition which we find elsewhere used by Shakespeare. 
 See Note 83, Act ii., "As You Like It." 
 
 3. Oh, that yoji could turn your eyes toward tlie na^es of 
 your flecks t In allusion to the fable which says that every man 
 has a bag hanging before him, in which he puts his neighbours' 
 faults, and another behind him, in which he stows his own. 
 
 4. The first complaint. This expression has been found a 
 stumbling-block by the commentators : some proposing to alter 
 the words under the supposition that they are a misprint ; while 
 others who retain them are at a loss to give their meaning. 
 They appear to us clearly to refer to the first clause of Menenius 's 
 speech; his being "a humorous patrician," which is the first 
 complaint made against him, while his being " one that loves 
 a cup of hot wine," &c., is the second complaint made against 
 him. He goes on to explain what is " the first complaint," by 
 adding " hasty and tinder-like upon too trivial motion ; " which 
 exactly interprets the word "humorous" as used by Shakespeare 
 in one of the senses that it bore in his time. See Note 73, 
 
 take it as a pleasure fo you in being so. You 
 blame Marcius for being proud ? 
 
 Bru. We do it not alone, sir. 
 
 Men. I know you can do very little alone; for 
 your helps are many, or else your actions would 
 grow wondrous single ; your abilities are too 
 infant-like for doing much alone. You talk of 
 pride : oh, that you could turn your eyes toward 
 the napes of your necks,^ and make but an interior 
 survey of your good selves ! oh, that you could ! 
 
 Bru. What then, sir? 
 
 Men. Why, then you should discover a brace of 
 unmeriting, proud, violent, testy magistrates (alias 
 fools), as any in Rome. 
 
 Sic. Menenius, you are known well enough too. 
 
 Men. I am known to be a humorous patrician, 
 and one that loves a cup of hot wine with not a 
 drop of allaying Tiber in 't; said to be something 
 imperfect in favouring the first complaint,^ — hasty 
 and tinder-like upon too trivial motion ; one that 
 converses more^ with the buttock of the night, than 
 with the forehead of the morning: what I think I 
 utter, and spend my malice in my breath. Meet- 
 ing two such wealsmen as you are (I cannot call 
 you Lycurguses),^ if the drink you give me touch 
 my palate adversely, I make a crooked face at it. 
 I cannot say your worships have delivered the 
 matter well, when I find the ass in compound 
 with the major part of your syllables : and though 
 I must be content to bear with those that say you 
 are reverend grave men, yet they lie deadly that 
 tell you have good faces. If you see this in the 
 map of my microcosm,' follows it that I am known 
 well enough too ? what harm can your bisson 
 
 Act iv., " Second Part Henry IV." It may be proper here to 
 mention that we gave this interpretation in the Glossary to the 
 Edition of Shakespeare's Works which we prepared in the years 
 1857-8-9 for publication in New York in j86o. 
 
 5. One thai converses more, Sy^c. ' One that is more in the 
 habit of sitting up late to enjoy sociality, than of rising early." 
 
 6. / cannot call you Lycurguscs. This fleer of the old 
 patrician has doubly humorous force of allusion ; since it not 
 only refers to the renowned Spartan lawgiver, Lycurgus, who 
 was a man that banished luxury and possessed large wisdom 
 with utmost austerity of morals, but it also includes reference 
 to a King of Thrace, named Lycurgus, who abolished the 
 worship of Bacchus from his dominions, and ordered all the 
 vines therein to be cut down, in order to preserve himself and 
 subjects from the temptations and consequences of a too free 
 use of wine. 
 
 7. Microcosm. A word derived from the Greek, signifying 
 ' a little world ; ' and applied to man, as containing within him- 
 self a miniature resemblance of the varied components that 
 combine to form the jnacrocosm, or vast world. In " King 
 Lear," Act iii., sc. i, Shakespeare uses the expression "strives 
 in his little werld of man to," &c. 
 
Act II.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene 1. 
 
 conspectuities^ glean out of this character, if I be 
 known well enough too? 
 
 Bru, Come, sir, come, we know you well enough. 
 
 Men. You know neither ire, yourselves, nor 
 anything. You are ambitious for poor knaves' 
 caps and legs : * you wear out a good wholesome 
 forenoon in hearing a cause between an orange- 
 wife and a fosset-seller ; and then rejourn the 
 controversy of three-pence to a second day of 
 audience. When you are hearing a matter 
 between party and party, if you chance to be 
 pinched with the colic, you make faces like mum- 
 mers ; set up the bloody flag against all patience;" 
 and dismiss the controversy bleeding, the more 
 entangled by your hearing : all the peace you 
 make in their cause is, calling both the parties 
 knaves. You are a pair of strange ones. 
 
 Bru. Come, come, you are well understood to 
 be a perfecter giber for the table than a necessary 
 bencher in the Capitol. 
 
 Men. Our very priests must become mockers, 
 if they shall encounter such ridiculous subjects as 
 you are. When you speak best unto the purpose, 
 it is not worth the wagging of your beards; and 
 your beards deserve not so honourable a grave as 
 to stuff a botcher's cushion, or to be entombed in 
 an ass's pack-saddle. Yet you must be saying, 
 Marcius is proud; who, in a cheap estimation, is 
 worth all your predecessors since Deucalion ;'2 
 though peradventure some of the best of 'em were 
 hereditary hangmen. Good den to your worships : 
 more of your conversation would infect my brain, 
 being the herdsmen of the beastly plebeians : I 
 will be bold to take my leave of you.- 
 
 [Brutus and Sicinius retire. 
 
 Enter Volumnia, Virgilia, and Valeria, &c. 
 How now, my as fair as noble ladies,— and the 
 moon, were she earthly, no nobler, — whither do 
 you follow your eyes so fast f 
 
 8. Bisson conspecttiities. 'Blind perceptions.' "Bisson" is 
 an old English word for 'blind,' spelt varioiisly 'beasom,' 
 'beesome,' 'bysome,' 'bizend,' 'besen,' and 'bisson.' The 
 Folio prints it in the present passage 'beesome;' but in 
 "Hamlet," Act ii., sc. 2, where the word again occurs, 
 "bisson." " Conspectuities " is derived from the Latin ««- 
 spectits, 'sight,' 'view.' 
 
 9. You are atitbitious for poor knaves' caps and legs. ' You 
 are desirous of ha\ing poor fellows take off their caps and bow 
 to you.' See Note 125, Act ii., " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 10. Fosset-seller. " Fosset " (or more properly, ' faucet,' 
 from the Latin fauces, the gorge, or gullet) is the pipe or 
 tubular portion of the tap put into barrels to allow of the liquor 
 being drawn off ; while the spigot is the peg inserted into the 
 faucet, to prevent the liquor from flowing forth excepting at 
 will. " Fosset " is here used for the tap which composes both 
 spigot and faucet 
 
 11. Set up the bloody flag against all patience. 'Declare 
 war against patience.' 
 
 12. Deucalion. Here again used to indicate remote and 
 general ancestorship. See Note 141, Act iv., " Winter's Tale." 
 
 13. Galen. The commentators observe that this is "an 
 
 Vol. Honourable Menenius, my boy Marcius 
 approaches ; for the love of Juno, let's go. 
 
 Men. Ha ! Marcius coming home ! 
 
 Vol. Ay, worthy Menenius; and with most 
 prosperous approbation. 
 
 Men. Take my cap, Jupiter, and I thank thee. 
 — Hoo ! Marcius coming home ! 
 
 Vol. V'lr. Nay, 'tis true. 
 
 Vol. Look, here's a letter from him : the state 
 hath another, his wife another; and, I think, there's 
 one at home for you. 
 
 Men, I will make my very house reel to-night: 
 — a letter for me ! 
 
 Vir. Yes, certain, there's a letter for you ; I 
 saw it. 
 
 Men. A letter for me ! it gives me an estate of 
 seven years' health ; in which time I will make a 
 lip at the physician : the most sovereign prescrip- 
 tion in Galen 13 is but empiricutic,''' and, to this 
 preservative,'^ of no better report than a horse- 
 drench.— Is he not wounded? he was wont to 
 come home wounded. 
 
 Vir. Oh, no, no, no. 
 
 Vol. Oh, he is wounded, — I thank the gods 
 for 't. 
 
 Men. So do I too, if it be not too much : — 
 brings 'a victory in his pocket ? — the wounds 
 become him. 
 
 Vol. On 's brows Menenius, he comes the 
 third time home with the oaken garland. 
 
 Men. Has he disciplined Aufidius soundly ? 
 
 Vol. Titus Lartius writes, — they fought to- 
 gether, but Aufidius got off. 
 
 Men, And 'twas time for him too, I'll warrant 
 him that; an he had stayed by him, I would not 
 have been so fidiused'^ for all the chests in Corioli, 
 and the gold that's in them. Is the senate pos- 
 sessed of this ? 
 
 Vol. Good ladies, let's go. — Yes, yes, yes; the 
 senate has letters from the general, wherein he 
 
 anachronism of nearly 650 years," and bring forward the 
 relative dates at which Menenius and Galen lived. But that 
 Galen was known to his audiences as one of the most celebrated 
 medical authorities of antique times, was quite sufficient for 
 Shakespeare's purpose ; and he accordingly puts the name into 
 Menenius's month with appropriate effect, if not with chrono- 
 logical propriety. 
 
 14. Empiricutic. This word is spelt in the Folio ' Emperick- 
 qutique ; ' and is a humorous form of ' empirical,' ' quackish.' 
 
 15. Atid, to this preservative. " To" has the force of ' com- 
 pared with ' in this sentence ; an ellipsis of comparison frequently 
 to be met with in Shakespeare. See Note 97, Act i., " Troilus 
 and Cressida." 
 
 16. On 's broT.vs. This is in answer to " brings 'a victory in 
 his pocket?" and affords another instance of the crossing 
 speeches or sentences which Shakespeare gives in animated 
 dialogue with such excellent effect. See Note 90, Act ii., 
 " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 17. Fidiused. A word playfully fa.shioned from Aufidius's 
 name by old Menenius ; who, in the glee of his heart, coins 
 whimsical terms. 
 
 18. Possessed. Fully informed. 
 
Act II.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene 1. 
 
 gives my son the whole name of the war: he 
 hath in this action outdone his former deeds 
 doubly. 
 
 Fal. In troth, there's wondrous things spoke 
 of him. 
 
 Men. Wondrous! ay, I warrant you, and not 
 without his true purchasing. 
 
 Fir, The gods grant them true ! 
 Vol. True! pow, wow. 
 
 Men. True ! I'll be sworn they are true. — 
 Where is he wounded ? — [To the Tribunes, ivho 
 come fornjuard.'] God save your good worships ! 
 Marcius is coming home: he has more cause to 
 be proud. — [To Vol.] Where is he wounded ? 
 
 Vol. V the shoulder and i' the left arm : there 
 will be large cicatrices to show the people, when 
 he shall stand for his place. He received in the 
 repulse of Tarquin seven hurts i' the body. 
 
 Men. One i' the neck, and two i' the thigh, — 
 there's nine that I know.i^ 
 
 Vol. He had, before this last expedition, twenty- 
 five wounds upon him. 
 
 Men. Now it's twenty-seven : every gash was 
 an enemy's grave. [A shout and flourish.'] Hark! 
 the trumpets. 
 
 Vol. These are the ushers of Marcius: before 
 him he carries noise, and behind him he leaves 
 tears : 
 
 Death, that dark spirit, in 's nervy arm doth lie ; 
 Which, being advanc'd, declines,^** and then men 
 die. 
 
 A sennet. Trumpets sound. Enter Cominius and 
 Titus Lartius ; betuueen them, Coriolanus, 
 cro'wned ivith an oaken garland ; luith Cap- 
 tains, Soldiers, and a Herald. 
 
 Her. Know, Rome, that all alone Marcius did 
 
 . ^^^^ . 
 
 Within Corioli gates : where he hath won. 
 With fame, a name to Caius Marcius ; these 
 
 19. There's i\ne '/uit I know. Warburton would alter this 
 passage, saying, '' Surely, we may safely assist Menenius in 
 his arithmetic, '' his is a stupid blunder." But Menenius is 
 challenging Volumnia's account of "seven hurts," and begins 
 counting them up, interrupting himself with " there's nine that 
 I know," or ' I know oi nine.' 
 
 20. Declines. Used for ' falls ' in the same way that the word 
 "decline" is used in the passage referred to in Note 64, Act iv., 
 "Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 21. JSfy ff7-acio7is silt nee. This name for his wife, who, while 
 the others are rece'.ing him with loud rejoicings, meets and 
 welcomes him with speechless happiness looking out from her 
 swimming eyes, is conceived in the very fulness of poetical 
 and Shakespearian perfection. It comprises the gracefulness of 
 beauty which distinguishes her, and the gracious effect which 
 her muteness of love-joy has upon him who shrinks from noisy 
 applause and even from merely expressed approbation ; and it 
 wonderfully concentrates into one felicitous word the silent 
 softness that characterises Virgilia throughout. She is precisely 
 the woman— formed by nature gentle in manner, and rendered 
 by circumstances sparing in speech — to inspire the fondest 
 
 In honour follows Coriolanus : — 
 Welcome to Rome, renowned Coriolanus ! 
 
 \_Flourtsh. 
 
 All. Welcome to Rome, renownfed Coriolanus ! 
 
 Cor. No more of this, it does offend my heart ; 
 Pray now, no more. 
 
 Com. Look, sir, your mother ! 
 
 Cor. Oh, 
 You have, I know, petition'd all the gods 
 For my prosperity I [Kneels. 
 
 Vol. Nay, my good soldier, up ; 
 
 My gentle Marcius, worthy Caius, and 
 By deed-achieving honour, newly nam'd, — 
 What is it ? — Coriolanus must I call thee ?— 
 But, oh, thy wife ! 
 
 Cor. My gracious silence,^' hail ! 
 
 Wouldst thou have laugh'd had I come coffin'd 
 home, 
 
 That weep'st to see me triumph ? Ah, my dear, 
 Such eyes the widows in Corioli wear. 
 And mothers that lack sons. 
 
 Men. Now, the gods crown thee ! 
 
 Cor. And live you yet?22_[-7J, Valeria.] Oh, 
 
 my sweet lady, pardon. 
 Vol. I know not where to turn : — oh, welcome 
 home ; — 
 
 And welcome, general ; — and you are welcome all. 
 Men. A hundred thousand welcomes : — I could 
 weep. 
 
 And I could laugh ; I am light and heavy : — 
 
 welcome : 
 A curse begin at very root on 's heart, 
 That is not glad to see thee ! — You are three 
 That Rome should dote on : yet, by the faith of 
 
 men. 
 
 We have some old crab-trees here at home that 
 will not 
 
 Be grafted to your relish. Yet welcome, warriors : 
 We call a nettle but a nettle, and 
 The faults of fools but folly. 
 
 affection in such a man as Coriolanus ; and we accordingly find 
 him a passionately attached husband. The few words he 
 addresses to her in the course of the play are among the most 
 intense utterances of spousal enamouredness that even Shake- 
 speare has written. The dramatic portrait of Virgilia we have 
 always considered to be one of the very finest of the poet's 
 sketch-productions. It is put in with the most masterly touches : 
 it paints her by very few strokes, very few colours ; but they 
 are so true, so exquisitely artistic, that they present her to the 
 life. She is supremely gentle, and, like most women whose 
 gentleness is their chief characteristic, singularly immovable, 
 not to say obstinate, when once resolved ; she is habitually 
 silent, as the wife of such a man as Coriolanus, and the daughter- 
 in-law of such a woman as Volumnia would assuredly become, 
 being naturally of a gentle disposition: and this combination of 
 gentleness and silence is wonderfully drawn by Shakespeare 
 throughout the character-portrait, and as wonderfully condensed 
 here into one expressive name. 
 
 22. And live you yet ? This speech, which in the Folio has 
 the prefix ' Com.,' by mistake for " Cor.," evidently belongs to 
 Coriolanus. 
 
Act 11.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene 1. 
 
 Com. . Ever right. 
 
 Cor. Menenius, ever, ever. ^3 
 
 Her. Give way there, and go on ! 
 
 Cor. [To his Wife and Mother.] Your hand, 
 and yours : 
 Ere in our own house I do shade my head, 
 The good patricians must be visited ; 
 From whom I have receiv'd not only greetings. 
 But with them change of honours.^* 
 
 Fol. 1 have liv'd 
 
 To see inherited my very wishes, 
 And the buildings of my fancy : 
 Only there's one thing wanting, which I doubt not 
 but 
 
 Our Rome will cast upon thee.^* 
 
 Cor. Know, good mother, 
 
 I had rather be their servant in my way, 
 Than sway with them in theirs. 
 Com. On, to the Capitol . 
 
 [Flourish. Cornets. Exeunt in state, as 
 before. The Tribunes remain. 
 Bru. All tongues speak of him, and the bleared 
 sights 
 
 Are spectacled to see him : your prattling nurse 26 
 Into a rapture lets her baby cry 27 
 While she chats him;^^ the kitchen malkin^f 
 pins 
 
 Her richest lockram^" 'bout her reechy^i neck, 
 
 23. Menenius, ever, ever. Cominius, assenting to their old 
 friend's cheerfully philosophic way of taking the "old crab- 
 trees' " sourness, exclaims " Ever right ; " and Coriolanus 
 seconds his general's assent by adding " Menenius, ever, 
 ever;" meaning, 'Our old friend always takes the right view 
 of these fellows' crabbedness.' We explain this, because the 
 passage has been altered as if it were incorrect. 
 
 24. Change of honours. " Change " was altered by Theobald 
 to 'charge;' but "change of honours" we think here means 
 ' exchange of titles,' in reference to his new surname of Corio- 
 lanus, by which he is to be henceforth known and addressed, in 
 lieu of th-. former one, Caius Marcius. " The good Patricians " 
 have confirmed the title which Cominius bestov/ed upon him on 
 the battle-field, and he must now "visit them" to acknowledge 
 their favour. His mother has just said, 'By deed-achieving 
 honour neiuly-nained, — What is it ? — Coriolanus must I call 
 thee?" Shakespeare occasionally uses "change" for 'ex- 
 change;' while Coriolanus — esteeming his own family name 
 an honourable title, one of honourable distinction — might very 
 naturally and characteristically speak of adopting this new 
 surname as a " change of honours." 
 
 25. OurRomewill cast .... I /tad rai^^ ie their servant. 
 Here " Rome" is used to express collectively 'our rulers 
 
 in Rome;' and is referred to by the pronouns "their" and 
 " theirs." See Note 25, Act ii., " Henry VIII." 
 
 26. Your prattling nurse. "Your" is here used, idio- 
 matically, to instance a generality. See Note 48, Act i., " Second 
 Part Henry IV." 
 
 27. A rapture. A fit, an ecstacy ; as we still use the expres- 
 sion an ' ecstacy of grief.' Torriano interprets the Italian word 
 Ratio, a ' rapture or trance of the mind, or a distraction of the 
 spirits ; ' and Steevens quotes a passage in illustration from "The 
 Hospital for London Follies," 1602: — "Your darUng will weep 
 itself into a rapture, if you do not take heed." 
 
 28. While she cJiats him. The word " chats" has been sus- 
 pected of error here ; but it seems to us thoroughly characteristic 
 in expressing ' gos^ix-js of,' 'talks about;' and 'of or 'about* 
 
 Clamb'ring the walls to eye him ; stalls, bulks, 
 windows. 
 
 Are smother'd up, leads fill'd, and ridges hors'd 
 With variable complexions all agreeing 
 In earnestness to see him : seld-shown flamens^^ 
 Do press among the popular throngs, and puff 
 To win a vulgar station : our veil'd dames 
 Commit the war of white and damask,^* in 
 Their nicely -gawded cheeks, to the wanton spoil 
 Of Phoebus' burning kisses : such a pother, 
 As if that whatsoever god who leads him^* 
 Were slily crept into his human powers, 
 And gave him graceful posture. 
 
 Sic. On the sudden, 
 
 I warrant him consul. 
 
 Bru. Then our office may, 
 
 During his power, go sleep. 
 
 Sic. He cannot temperately transport his 
 honours 
 
 From where he should begin, and end;36 but 
 will 
 
 Lose those he hath won. 
 
 Bru. In that there's comfort. 
 
 Sic. Doubt not 
 
 The commoners, for whom we stand, but they. 
 Upon their ancient malice, will forget. 
 With the least cause, these his new honours ; 
 which 
 
 being elliptically understood after "chats" gives a touch of 
 familiar flippancy and slipshod effect to the sentence which we 
 think appropriate. The phrase almost anticipates the more 
 modern commonism, or nursemaid idiom, ' while she chats 
 him over.' 
 
 29. Malkin. Wench. " Malkin " was the name of a kind of 
 mop made of clouts for sweeping out an oven ; it was also the 
 name given to a figure formed of clouts set up in gardens to 
 frighten away birds, a scarecrow; moreover "malkin" was a 
 diminutive of Mall or Moll ; so that the word came to be applied 
 to a dirty slovenly girl, a slatternly wench. 
 
 30. Lockram. A common coarse linen. 
 
 31. Reecliy. Blackened by smoke ; grimy. See Note 46, 
 Act iii., " Much Ado." 
 
 32. Ridges hors'd with, variable complexions. 'Ridges of 
 house-roofs on which men of all sorts of aspects sit astride.' 
 Here "variable complexions," used for 'men of various com- 
 plexions,' is one of the poet's bold impersonations of things. 
 See Note 36, Act iii., "Winter's Tale," and Note 79, Act ii., 
 "Richard II." 
 
 33. Seld-shown Jiamens. ' Flamens seldom showing them- 
 selves in public' See Note 57, Act iv., "Troilus and Cressida." 
 The "flamens" were priests of special sanctity in ancient Rome. 
 
 34. The war of white and damask. A poetical expression 
 for the varying rose tints, from palest hue to richest crimson, 
 visible in a female countenance. See Note 124, Act iii., "As 
 You Like It." 
 
 35. As if that whatsoever god who, &-'c. ' As if that god, 
 whatsoever god he may be, who,' &c. The sentence is ellipti- 
 cally and transposedly constructed. 
 
 36. He cannot temperately transport his honours from 
 wJiere lie should begin, and end. This is elliptically con- 
 structed : meaning, ' He cannot carry his honours temperately 
 from where he should begin to where he should end.' A sen- 
 tence in "Cymbeline," Act iii., sc. z, where " from " is u.sed 
 with "and" in the same peculiar manner, warrants the above 
 
Act II.J CORIOLANUS. [Scene I. 
 
 Sictmits. I wish no better 
 
 Than have him hold that purpose, and to put it 
 In execution. 
 
 Bnitus. 'Tis most Hke he will. Act II. Scene I. 
 
 That he will give them make I as little question 
 As he is proud to do 't.^' 
 
 Bru, I heard him swear. 
 
 Were he to stand for consul, never would he 
 Appear i' the market-place, nor on him put 
 The napless vesture of humility 
 Nor, showing (as the manner is) his wounds 
 To the people, beg their stinking breaths. 
 
 Sic. 'Tis right. 
 
 37. Which that lie luill give them make I as little question 
 as he is prmcd to do't. 'Which ["cause"] that he will give 
 them I as little question, as that he is proud enough to do 
 it, and proud of doing it.' This sentence affords an instance 
 of .Shakespeare's using a pronoun in reference to a not-last- 
 named antecedent, and of his elliptical mode of making a com- 
 parison. 
 
 38. The napless vesture 0/ humility. "Napless" (printed 
 'Naples' in the Folio, and corrected by Rowe) is used to 
 express 'shabby,' 'worn threadbare.' The p^issagr in Plutarch, 
 
 Bru. It was his word : oh, he would miss it, 
 rather 
 
 Than carry it but by the suit o' the gentry to 
 him, 
 
 And the desire of the nobles. 
 
 Sic. I wish no better 
 
 Than have him hold that purpose, and to put it 
 In execution. 
 
 Bru. 'Tis most like he will. 
 
 whence this is derived, runs thus: — "The custom of Rome was 
 at that time, that such as did sue for any office should for 
 certaine dayes before be in the market-place, onely with a poore 
 gowne on their backes, and without any coate vnderneath, to 
 pray the citizens to remember them at the day of election : 
 which was thus deuised, either to moue the more, by requesting 
 them in such meane apparell, or else because they might shew 
 them their wounds they had gotten in the warres in the seruice 
 of the commonwealth, as manifest markes and testimonies of 
 
First Officer. No more of him ; he's a worthy man : make way, 
 ley are coming. 
 
 Art II. Scene 11. 
 
Act II.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Sic. It sliall be to him, then, as our good 
 
 Wills,39 
 
 A sure destruction. 
 
 Bru. So it must fall out 
 
 To him, or our authorities. For an end,"*" 
 We must suggest ^1 the people in what hatred 
 He still hath held them ; that to's power he 
 would 
 
 Have made them mules, silenc'd their pleaders, 
 and 
 
 Dispropertied their freedoms : holding them, 
 In human action and capacity, 
 Of no more soul nor fitness for the world 
 Than camels in their war who have their 
 provand''3 
 
 Only for bearing burdens, and sore blows 
 For sinking under them. 
 
 Sic. This, as you say, suggested 
 
 At some time when his soaring insolence 
 Shall touch the people^^ (which time shall not 
 \\ ant, 
 
 If he be put upon 't; and that's as easy 
 As to set dogs on sheep), will be his fire 
 To kindle their dry stubble ; and their blaze 
 Shall darken him for ever. 
 
 Enter a Messenger. 
 Bru. What's the matter ? 
 
 Mess. You are sent for to the Capitol. 'Tis 
 thought 
 That Marcius shall be consul : 
 I have seen the dumb men throng to see him, and 
 The blind to hear him speak : matrons flung 
 gloves. 
 
 Ladies and maids their scarfs and handkerchiefs, 
 Upon him as he pass'd the nobles bended. 
 As to Jove's statue; and the commons made 
 A shower and thunder with their caps and shouts: 
 I never saw the like. 
 
 39. As our good mills. ' As our advantage would have it be.' 
 "Good" is here used in the sense of 'interest,' 'profit,' 'ad- 
 vantage,' 'benefit;' and "wills" is used as a verb, to express 
 ' is willing,' ' wishes.' 
 
 40. For an end. This is used idiomatically, in the same 
 sense that ' to this end ' is employed ; to express ' to bring 
 about this issue,' ' for this purpose.' 
 
 41. Siiggcst. Here used for 'remind insidiously,' 'prompt 
 incitingly.' See Note 38, Act i., " Henry VHI." 
 
 42. TJian camels in their war. "Their" has been changed 
 by Hanmer and others to ' the ; ' but the sentence probably 
 means ' than camels would have in the Roman people's war.' 
 
 43. Provand. An old form of ' provender.' 
 
 44. Shall touch the ficople. The Folio prints ' teach ' for 
 " touch." Hanmer's correction. 
 
 45. Matntis /lung glomes, ladies and maids their scarfs and 
 handkerchiefs, upon liim as he pass'd. Because it was not a 
 custom among the Rom.ins, and b-ecause it was a custom in the 
 age of Elizabeth, for successful tllter.s at tournaments to have 
 these marks of fcm.ale favour thrown upon them as they j 
 rod J round or from the lists, the commentators complain of 
 Shakespeare's here committing an anachronism, and attributing 
 some of the customs of his own time to people who were wholly ' 
 
 Bru. Let's to the Capitol ; 
 
 And carry with us ears and eyes for the time. 
 But hearts for the event. 
 
 Sic. Have with you. \^Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE II. — Rome. The Capitol. 
 Enter tivo Officers, to lay cushions. 
 
 First Off. Come, come, they are almost here. 
 How many stand for consulships ? 
 
 Sec. Off. Three, they say : but 'tis thought of 
 every one Coriolanus will carry it. 
 
 First Off. That's a brave fellow ; but he's 
 vengeance proud, and loves not the common 
 people. 
 
 Sec. Off. Faith, there have been many great 
 men that have flattered the people, who ne'er 
 loved them ; and there be many that they have 
 loved, they know not wherefore : so that, if they 
 love they know not why, they hate upon no better 
 a ground : therefore, for Coriolanus neither to care 
 whether they love or hate him manifests the true 
 knowledge he has in their disposition ; and, out 
 of his noble carelessness, lets them plainly see 't. 
 
 First Off. If he did not care whether he had 
 their love or no, he waved indifferently 'twixt 
 doing them neither good nor harm but he seeks 
 their hate with greater devotion than they can 
 render it him ; and leaves nothing undone that 
 may fully discover him their opposite. Now, to 
 seem to affect the malice and displeasure of the 
 people is as bad as that which he dislikes, — to 
 flatter them for their love. 
 
 Sec. Off. He hath deserved worthily of his 
 country : and his ascent is not by such easy 
 degrees as those who, having been supple and 
 courteous to the people, bonneted, ''^ without any 
 
 unacquainted with them. But it was precisely on account of 
 the second reason above stated, that the dramatist did intro- 
 duce this custom in the present passage ; he knew that the form 
 of approbation showered upon Coriolanus as a victorious warrior 
 would be thoroughly understood by the audiences for whom the 
 play was written. See Note 13 of the present Act. 
 
 46. If he did not care . ... he waved indifferently, &r'c. 
 Here 'had' or 'would have' is elliptically understood before 
 "waved." An instance of similar construction in indefinitely 
 specified conditional time occurs in the passage referred to in 
 Note 91, Act iii., "Richard III." 
 
 47. Bonneted. It has been surmised by some editors that 
 here "bonneted" means 'put on the cap of office, or badge of 
 consular dignity ; ' while others take "bonneted" here to mean 
 ' pulled off the cap,' from the French verb bonneter. Inas- 
 much as Shakespeare never uses " bonnet " to express an 
 official cap, whereas he has in " Richard II.," Act i., sc. 4, " Off 
 goes his bonnet to an oyster-wench;" in "Hamlet," Act v.,- 
 sc. 2, "Your bonnet to his right use ;" and in this very play, 
 Act iii., sc. 2, " Go to them, with this bonnet in thy hanil ; " in 
 all of which passages salutation with the bonnet is indicated,— 
 we beheve that here "bonneted " means 'saluted with the cap,' 
 ' made a gesture of salutation with the cap.' 
 
Act II.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene 11. 
 
 farther deed to have them at all into their estima- 
 tion^* and report: but he hath so planted his 
 honours in their eyes, and his actions in their 
 hearts, that for their tongues to be silent, and 
 not confess so much, were a kind of ungrateful 
 injury ; to report otherwise, were a malice, that, 
 giving itself the lie, would pluck reproof and 
 rebuke from every ear that heard it. 
 
 First Off. No more of him ; he's a worthy 
 man : make way, they are coming. 
 
 A Sennet. Enter, njuith Lictors before them, 
 CoMiNius, Menenius, C0K.10LANUS, Senators, 
 SiciNius and Brutus. The Senators take 
 their places; the Tribunes take theirs also 
 by themselves. 
 Men. Having determin'd of the Volsces,^' and 
 
 To send for Titus Lartius, it remains. 
 
 As the main point of this our after-meeting, 
 
 To gratify 5" his noble service that 
 
 Hath thus stood for his country : therefore, please 
 you. 
 
 Most reverend and grave elders, to desire 
 
 The present consul, and last general 
 
 In our well-found successes, to report 
 
 A little of that worthy work perform' d 
 
 By Caius Marcius Coriolanus; whom 
 
 We meet here,^' both to thank, and to remember 
 
 With honours like himself. 
 
 First Sen. Speak, good Cominius : 
 
 Leave nothing out for length, and make us think 
 Rather our state's defective for requital 
 Than we to stretch it out. — Masters o' the people. 
 We do request your kindest ears ; and, after. 
 Your loving motion toward the common body, 
 To yield what passes here. 
 
 Sic. We are con vented ^- 
 
 Upon a pleasing treaty; and have hearts 
 Inclinable to honour and advance 
 The theme of our assembly. 
 
 Bru. Which the rather 
 
 We shall be bless'd to do,^^ if he remember 
 A kinder value of the people than 
 He hath hereto priz'd them at. 
 
 48. To have them at all into their estimation. "Have" 
 has been changed by Pope and others to ' heave ; ' but " have " 
 seems to us here to be used idiomatically, as we use it in such 
 familiar phrases as, ' I II have them into the basket in no t!me,' 
 ' Ple'll have them into the post before five ; ' where '* have " has 
 the force of ' get,' ' put,' or ' place.' It has the effect of a rapid 
 action ; which is precisely the effect here required. 
 
 49. Having determin'd of the Vohces. Here "of" is used 
 for ' in regard of,' or ' respecting.' 
 
 50. To gratify. ' To reward,' ' to recompense.' See Note 
 39, Act iv., " Merchant of Venice." 
 
 51. IVho/n we meet here. The Folio has ' met' for "meet." 
 Hanmer's correction. 
 
 52. Convented. ' Convened,' ' summoned.' See Note 12, 
 Act v., "Henry VIII." 
 
 53. IVhich the rather we shall be bless'd to do. Here 
 
 Men. That's off, that's off ; ^5 
 
 I would you rather had been silent. Please you 
 To hear Cominius speak ? 
 
 Bru. Most willingly : 
 
 But yet my caution was more pertinent 
 Than the rebuke you give it. 
 
 Men. He loves your people ; 
 
 But tie him not to be their bedfellow.'^ — 
 Worthy Cominius, speak. — [Coriol.\nus ri^es, 
 and offers to go aujay.'Y Nay, keep your 
 place. 
 
 First Sen. Sit, Coriolanus ; never shame to hear 
 What you have nobly done. 
 
 Cor. Your honours' pardon : 
 
 I had rather have my wounds to heal again 
 Than hear say how I got them. 
 
 Bru. Sir, I hope 
 
 My words disbench'd you not. 
 
 Cor. No, sir : yet oft. 
 
 When blows have made me stay, I fled from 
 words. 
 
 You sooth'd not, therefore hurt not:^? but your 
 
 people, 
 I love them as they weigh. 
 
 Men. Pray now, sit down. 
 
 Cor. I had rather have one scratch my head i' 
 the sun, 
 
 When the alarum were struck, than idly sit 
 
 To hear my nothings monster'd. [Exit. 
 
 Men. Masters of the people, 
 
 Your multiplying spawn how can he flatter 
 (That's thousand to one good one), when you now 
 see 
 
 He had rather venture all his limbs for honour. 
 Than one on's ears to hear it ? — Proceeii, Cominius. 
 
 Com. I shall lack voice: the deeds of Coriolanus 
 Should not be utter'd feebly. — It is held. 
 That valour is the chiefest virtue, and 
 Most dignifies the haver : if it be, 
 The man I speak of cannot in the world 
 Be singly counterpois'd. At sixteen years. 
 When Tarquin made a head^* for Rome, he fought 
 Beyond the mark of others: our then dictator. 
 Whom with all praise I point at, saw him fight. 
 
 " bless'd " has been variously altered by various emendators ; 
 but "bless'd to do" is an idiom here and elsewhere used by 
 Shakespeare to express 'happy to do,' 'glad to do.' 
 
 54. Hereto. Used for ' hitherto.' 
 
 55. That's off, that's off. 'That's irrelevant,' 'that's in- 
 apposite;' 'that's not to the purpose.' Dogberry ("Much 
 Ado," Act iii., sc. 5) says, " Goodman Verges, sir, speaks a 
 little o^the matter." 
 
 56. Bedfellow. Used to express 'close intimacy,' 'affec- 
 tionate companionship.' See Note 41, Act ii., "Henry V." 
 
 57. Voit sooth'd not, thenfore hurt not. ' You did not 
 flatter, therefore did not annoy me.' See Note 3, Act iv., 
 " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 58. A head. 'A levied force,' 'a hostile force.' See Note 92, 
 Acti , " First Part Henry IV." Tarquin, who had been e.xpelled, 
 raised a power to recover Rome. 
 
 91 
 
Act II.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 When with his Amazonian chin*' he drove 
 The bristled lips before him: he bestrid 
 An o'er-press'd Roman, and i' the consul's view 
 Slew three opposers : Tarquin's self he met, 
 And struck him on his knee:^" in that day's 
 feats, 
 
 When he might act the woman ^' in the scene. 
 He prov'd best man i' the field, and for his meed 
 Was brow-bound with the oak. His pupil age 
 Man-enter'd thus, he waxed like a sea; 
 And, in the brunt of seventeen battles since, 
 He lurch'd all swords of the garland. Pqj- this 
 last, 
 
 Before and in Corioli, let me say, 
 I cannot speak him home:^^ j^g stopp'd the fliers ; 
 And by his rare example made the coward 
 Turn terror into sport : as weeds before 
 A vessel under sail,^'' so men obey'd. 
 And fell below his stem:^* his sword (death's 
 stamp) 
 
 Where it did mark, it took from face to foot 
 He was a thing of blood, whose every motion 
 Was tim'd with dying cries alone he enter'd 
 The mortal gate^^ Qf )-)^g (.jj-y, which he painted 
 With shunless destiny; aidless came off, 
 And with a sudden re-enforcement struck 
 Corioli like a planet; now all's his; 
 When, by-and-by, the din of war 'gan pierce 
 His ready sense ; then straight his doubled spirit 
 Re-quicken'd what in flesh was fatigate,^' 
 And to the battle came he ; where he did 
 Run reeking o'er the lives of men, as if 
 
 59. His Amazonian chin. ' His unbearded chin.' The Foho 
 misprints ' shinne' for "chin." 
 
 60. Struck hitn cm his knee. ' To ' is elliptically understood 
 after " on" here ; the phrase meaning, not that he gave him a 
 blow on his knee, but that he gave him a blow which made him 
 fall on his knee. 
 
 61. When Jte 7night act the woman. ' When he might have 
 acted the woman.' Another instance of indefinitely expressed 
 conditional time. See Note 46 of this Act. Messrs. Steevens 
 and Malone have a note apiece on this passage to illustrate it 
 by the information that the parts of women were, in Shake- 
 speare's time, enacted by young men, and then accuse him of 
 committing herein "a great anachronism," as " there were no 
 theatres at Rome for the exhibition of plays for above two 
 hundred and fifty years after the death of Coriolanus ; " not 
 seeming to perceive that here the poet uses an expression 
 implying ' when his youth might have warranted his behaving 
 with no more martial prowess than a woman,' 
 
 62. He lurched all swords of tlie garland. * To lurch' is to 
 win an easy victory ; and the sentence in the text means, ' He 
 with ease gained from all his brother swordsmen the right to the 
 victor's garland.' 
 
 63. I cannot speak him home. 'I cannot sufficiently express 
 his merit ; ' ' I cannot duly and thoroughly proclaim his excel- 
 lence.' 
 
 64. As lueeds before a vessel under sail. The editor of the 
 second Folio changed " weeds" to ' waves' here ; but we think 
 that the original word gives the effect of contemptible impedi- 
 ments overcome, better than the substituted word, which presents 
 the idea not of opposers or opposition, but of due medium, — 
 waves being the natural upbearers of a ship, and forming its path 
 or course. 
 
 'Twere a perpetual spoil: and till we call'd 
 Both field and city ours, he never stood 
 To ease his breast with panting. 
 
 Men. Worthy man ! 
 
 First Sen. He cannot but with measure fit the 
 honours 
 Which we devise him. 
 
 Com. Our spoils he kick'd at ; 
 
 And look'd upon things precious, as they were 
 The common muck of the world : he covets less 
 Than misery '■0 itself would give ; rewards 
 His deeds with doing them ; and is content 
 To spend the time to end it.'> 
 
 Men. He's right noble : 
 
 Let him be call'd for. 
 
 First Sen. Call Coriolanus. 
 
 Off. He doth appear. 
 
 Re-enter Coriolanus. 
 
 Men. The senate, Coriolanus, are well pleas'd 
 To make thee consul. 
 
 Cor. I do owe them still 
 
 My life and services. 
 
 Men. It then remains 
 
 That you do speak to the people. 
 
 Cor. I do beseech you. 
 
 Let me o'erleap that custom ; for I cannot 
 Put on the gown, stand naked, and entreat them,"^ 
 For my wounds' sake, to give their suffrage : please 
 you 
 
 That I may pass this doing. 
 
 Sic. Sir, the people 
 
 65. Stem. " Stem" means the prow or forepart of a vessel, 
 as used in the expression * from stem to stern ; ' and it also means 
 'stemming,' 'breasting,' or 'cutting' through. So that, in this 
 passage, figuratively, it bears the former meaning as applied to 
 the vessel ; and, literally, it bears the latter meaning as applied 
 to the warrior cutting his way through a torrent of foemen. 
 
 66. It took. 'It blasted,' 'it struck annihilatingly.' See 
 Note 22, Act iv., " Merry Wives." 
 
 67. Whose every motion was tzm'd with dying cries. The 
 image is fiercely grand ; of one whose every motion is kept time 
 to by the dying cries of those he slays, as the movements of a 
 performer in one of the ancient Pyrrhic war dances was timed 
 by the measure of the martial music. 
 
 68. TJte mortal gate. ' The deadly gate,' ' the gate made 
 into a scene of death.' 
 
 69. Fatigate. An old form of 'fatigued;* 'wearied,' 'worn 
 
 70. Misery. Here used for ' miserliness.' 
 
 71. /j content to spend the time to end it. 'Is content to 
 spend his time as the end to which he devotes it ; ' that is, he is 
 contented to pass his time in fighting, as being the sole object to 
 which he dedicates his time. We may here observe upon the 
 peculiar and elliptical mode in which Shakespeare uses the word 
 ' ' end " throughout this play (see Notes 36 and 40 of the present 
 Act) ; and it is remarkable that this kind of peculiar use of one 
 particular word, or frequent employment of one special word or 
 phrase during a single play, is to be traced in our poet's pro- 
 ductions. See Note 68, Act i., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 72. Put on t/te goivn, stand nailed, and entreat them. See 
 the passage from Plutarch, quoted in Note 38 of the present 
 Act ; wherein occur the words, " a poore gowne on their backes, 
 and without a7iy coate vnderneath.^^ 
 
 9'- 
 
Act II.] CORIOLANUS. [Scene II. 
 
 Menenitts. You have stood j 
 Endue you with the people's vc 
 
 Must have their voices ; neither will they bate 
 One jot of ceremony. 
 
 Men. Put them not to 't :— 
 
 Pray you, go fit you to the custom ; and 
 Take to you, as your predecessors have, 
 Your honour with your form.'^ 
 
 Cor. It is a part 
 
 That I shall blush in acting, and might well ' 
 Be taken from the people. 
 
 Eru. \_Aside to Sic] Mark you that ? 
 
 Cor. To brag unto them, — thus I did, and thus ; — 
 Show them the unaching scars which I should hide. 
 As if I had receiv'd them for the hire 
 Of their breath only ! — 
 
 73. Your honour with your/orm. ' The honour proposed for 
 you, together with the customary form which its attainment 
 involves for you.' 
 
 74. We recomtnetid to you, trihtnes of the people, our pur- 
 pose to them. ' We recommend through your representation, 
 
 ur limitation; and the tribunes 
 
 :e. Act ir. Scene III. 
 
 Men. Do not stand upon 't. — 
 
 We recommend to you, tribunes of the people. 
 Our purpose to them : 7* — and to our noble consul 
 Wish we all joy and honour 
 
 Senators. To Coriolanus come all joy and 
 honour ! \_Flourish. Exeunt all except 
 
 SiciNius and Brutus. 
 
 Bru. You see how he intends to use the people. 
 
 Sic. May they perceive his intent! He will 
 require them, 
 As if he did contemn what he requested 
 Should be in them to give. 
 
 Bru. Come, we'll inform them 
 
 Of our proceedings here; on the market-place, 
 I know, they do attend us. [Exeunt. 
 
 tribunes of the people, our purpose of conferring the consulship 
 upon Coriolanus to their favourable consideration and seconding.' 
 We think it not improbable that the first " to" in this sentence 
 was a misprint for ' through' or thro'.' 
 
Act II.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 SCENE III.— Rome. The Forum. 
 Enter senjeral Citizens. 
 
 First Cit. Once, 75 if he do require our voices, 
 we ought not to deny him. 
 
 Sec. Cit. We may, sir, if we will. 
 
 Third Cit. We have power in ourselves to do 
 it, but it is a power that we have no power to do : 
 for if he show us his wounds, and tell us his deeds, 
 we are to put our tongues into those wounds, and 
 speak for them; so, if he tell us his noble deeds, 
 we must also tell him our noble acceptance of 
 them. Ingratitude is monstrous: and for the 
 multitude to be ingrateful, were to make a monster 
 of the multitude ; of the which, we, being members, 
 should bring ourselves to be monstrous members. 
 
 First Cit. And to make us no better thought 
 of, a little help will serve ; for once?^ we stood up 
 about the corn, he himself stuck not to call us the 
 many-headed multitude. 
 
 Third Cit. We have been called so of many ; 
 not that our heads are some brown, some black, 
 some auburn,^^ some bald, but that our wits are so 
 diversely coloured : and truly, I think, if all our 
 wits were to issue out of one skull, they would fly 
 east, west, north, south ; and their consent of one 
 direct way should be at once to all the points o' 
 the compass. 
 
 Sec. Cit. Think you so ? Which way do you 
 judge my wit would fly ? 
 
 Third Cit. Nay, your wit will not so soon out 
 as another man's will, — 'tis strongly wedged up in 
 a block head; but if it were at liberty, 'twould, 
 sure, southward. 
 
 Sec. Cit. Why that way ? 
 
 Third Cit. To lose itself in a fog; where being 
 three parts melted away with rotten dews, the 
 fourth would return for conscience sake, to help to 
 get thee a wife. 
 
 Sec. Cit. You are never without your tricks : — 
 you may, you may.7» 
 
 Third Cit. Are you all resolved to give your 
 
 75. Once. Here used in the sense of 'once for all,' or 'it's 
 just this.' See Note 48, Act i., " Much Ado." 
 
 76. IVe have power in ourselves to do it, but it is a power 
 that we have no power to do. ' We have the right to deny 
 him, but 'tis a right that we feel ourselves unable to exercise.' 
 The citizen is characteristically and humorously made to ex- 
 press this in a whimsical manner. Shakespeare is fond of 
 introducing these paradoxically expressed speeches where they 
 give characteristic effect. See Note 8, Act iii., " Richard III." 
 
 JT. Once. Here used for ' once when.' 
 
 78. Auburn. The first Folio misprints this word ' Abram' 
 here ; as, a little farther on, it gives ' Coulord' for " coloured." 
 The correction was made in the fourth Folio. 
 
 79. You- may, you may. A familiar expression formerly in 
 common use, signifying ' you may go on,' ' you may say what 
 you please.' See Note 11, Act iii., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 80. T/ie greater part carries it. 'The majority prevails,' 
 'the larger number carries the day.' See Note 29, Act iii., 
 " Love's Labour's Lost." 
 
 voices ? But that's no matter, the greater part 
 carries it.^" I say, if he would incline to the people, 
 there was never a worthier man. — Here he conies, 
 and in the gown of humility : mark his behaviour. 
 We are not to stay all together, but to come by him 
 where he stands, by ones, by twos, and by threes. 
 He's to make his requests by particulars; wherein 
 every one of us has a single honour, in giving him 
 our own voices with our own tongues : therefore 
 follow me, and I'll direct you how you shall go 
 by him. 
 
 All. Content, content. {^Exeunt. 
 
 Enter Coriolanus and Menenius. 
 Men. Oh, sir, you are not right: have you not 
 known 
 
 The worthiest men have done 't? 
 
 Cor. What must I say ? — 
 
 " I pray, sir," — Plague upon 'tl I cannot bring 
 My tongue to such a pace: — "Look, sir; — my 
 
 wounds ; — 
 I got them in my country's service, when 
 Some certain of your brethren roar'd, and ran 
 From the noise of our own drums." 
 
 Men. Oh, me, the gods! 
 
 You must not speak of that : you must desire them 
 To think upon you. 
 
 Cor. Think upon me ! hang 'em ! 
 
 I would they would forget me, like the virtues 
 Which our divines lose by them.**' 
 
 Men. You'll mar all : 
 
 I'll leave you; pray you, speak to them, I pray you, 
 In wholesome manner.^" 
 
 Cor. Bid them wash their faces. 
 
 And keep their teeth clean. {^Exit Menenius.] — 
 So, here comes a brace. 
 
 Re-enter i=vjo Citizens, 
 You know the cause, sir, of my standing here. 
 
 First Cit. We do, sir; tell us what hath brought 
 you to 't. 
 
 Cor. Mine own desert. 
 
 81. Like the virtues which our divines lose by them. 'As 
 they forget the virtues which our divines vainly endeavour to 
 implant in them.' The term " divines " here has been found 
 fault with as "another amusing instance of anachronism" in 
 Shakespeare, because it happens to have been applied to 
 ministers of the Gospel in Christian times; but it is surely a 
 word of sufficiently wide signification to admit of being aptly 
 used in expressing interpreters of Divine Nature and Divine 
 Wisdom, in whatever creed or age of the world recognised. 
 
 82. Speak to them, I pray you, in wholesome tnanner. 
 Here "wholesome" is used to express 'propitiatory,' 'gracious,' 
 ' conciliatory.' See the passage referred to in Note 43, Act iii., 
 "Henry VIH. ;" where "wholesome" means 'propitious,' 
 'favourable,' 'beneficial' In "Hamlet," Act iii., sc. 2, Giiil- 
 denstern says, " If it shall please you to make me a whole- 
 some answer," meaning 'a gracious and sedate answer.' Guil- 
 denstern uses the word in this sense : though Hamlet, in his 
 reply, uses "wholesome" in the sense of 'rational,' 'sane,' 
 'healthy.' 
 
Act II.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene III, 
 
 Sec. Cit. Your own desert ! 
 
 Cor. Ay, not mine own desire. 
 
 First Cit. How L not your own desire ! 
 
 Cor. No, sir, 'twas never my desire yet to 
 trouble the poor with begging. 
 
 First Cit. You must think, if we give you any- 
 thing, we hope to gain by you. 
 
 Cor. Well then, I pray, your price o' the 
 consulship ? 
 
 First Cit. The price is, to ask it kindly. 
 
 Cor. Kindly ! Sir, 1 pray, let me ha 't : I have 
 wounds to show you, which shall be yours in 
 private. — Your good voice, sir; what say you? 
 
 Sec. Cit. You shall have it, worthy sir. 
 
 Cor. A match, sir.^^ — There is in all two worthy 
 voices begged. — I have your alms: adieu. 
 
 First Cit. But this is something odd. 
 
 Sec. Cit. An 'twere to give again, — but 'tis no 
 matter.85 [Exeunt the tnvo Citizens. 
 
 Re-enter two other Citizens. 
 
 Cor. Pray you now, if it may stand with tlic 
 tune of your voices that I may be consul, 1 have 
 here the customary gown. 
 
 Third Cit. You have deserved nobly of your 
 country, and you have not deserved nobly. 
 
 Cor. Your enigma ? 
 
 Third Cit. You ha\ e been a scourge to her 
 enemies, you have been a rod to her friends ; \ ou 
 have not, indeed, loved the common people. 
 
 83. Aji, not mif.e own desire. Here the Folio gives ' but' for 
 "not;" affording another instance of this not infrequent mis- 
 pnnt. See Note 41, Act iv., "First Part Henry IV." The 
 first citizen's reply, echoing Coriolanus's words, prove "not" 
 to be the right word. 
 
 84. A match, sir. Coriolanus, in his loftily contemptuous 
 way, says, " A match, sir;" which was an idiom for 'agreed,' 
 or, as we now say, ' done ! ' when a wager is proposed : and he 
 also says it in the sense of 'a pair,' in reference to the second 
 citizen's vote, which, being obtained, forms a ' pair ' or " match " 
 v.-ith the first citizen's vote already gained; adding in disdainful 
 comment, " There is in all t'Jvo worthy voices begged." 
 
 85. An 'twere to give again,— but 'tis 7io matter. The 
 naturalness of the writing here,— with this break in the speech, 
 and with the half-expressed but most expressive sentences of 
 puzzled annoyance and grudged consent, is inimitable. There 
 is no one like Shakespeare for conveying perfect /;;;pression 
 through imperfect ^^pression. 
 
 86. And be off to them most counterfeitiy. 'And take off 
 my "hat" to them in the finest false style.' 
 
 87. / will not seal your knowledge, &'c. Shakespeare often 
 uses "seal" for 'confirm,' 'ratify,' 'give solemn assurance to ;' 
 a seal being used as a ratification to a bond or legal paper. 
 
 88. Woolvish toge. 'I'his has been variously altered ; the 
 first Folio printing ' wooluish tongue.' That tongue is a mis- 
 print for " toge" (a monosyllabic form of ' toga,' which was the 
 garment worn by the Romans), is evidenced by a somewhat 
 similar misprint in "Othello," Act i., sc. i, where the Folio 
 gives the ' tongued consuls' for "the toged consuls;" and, 
 that " wooluish " is also a misprint for some other word, we 
 thinlc is nearly as manifest. But inasmuch as wc feci none of 
 the proposed substitutions (Capell's 'woolfish,' Mason's ' woollen ' 
 or 'foolish,' Beckett's 'woolish,' Collier's IVIS. corrector's 'wool- 
 less') to be the probable emendation, we allow "woolvish" to 
 
 Cor. You should account me the more virtuous, 
 that I have not been common in my love. I will, 
 sir, flatter my sworn brother, the people, to earn a 
 dearer estimation of them ; 'tis a condition they 
 account gentle: and since the wisdom of their 
 choice is rather to have my hat than my heart, I 
 will practise the insinuating nod, and be off to them 
 most counterfeitly that is, sir, I will counterfeit 
 the bewitchment of some popular man, and give 
 it bountifully to the desirers. Therefore, beseech 
 you, I may be consul. 
 
 Fourth Cit. We hope to find you our friend ; 
 and therefore give you our voices heartily. 
 
 Third Cit. You have received many wounds for 
 your country. 
 
 Cor. I will not seal your knowledge with 
 showing them.^7 I will make much of your voices, 
 and so trouble you no farther. 
 
 Both Cit. The gods give you joy, sir, heartily ! 
 
 \Excunt. 
 
 Cor. Most sweet voices !— 
 Better it is to die, better to starve, 
 Than crave the hire which first we do deserve. 
 Why in this woolvish toge*^ should I stand here. 
 To beg of Hob and Dick, that do appear. 
 Their needless vouches Custom calls mc 
 to't:— - 
 
 What custom wills, in all things should we do 't, 
 The dust on antique time would lie unswept. 
 And mountainous error be too highly heap'd 
 
 remain in the text. It is from this anxiety to leave the original 
 unaltered if possible, that we refrain from inserting the word 
 here which wc have long believed to be the one originally 
 written by Shakespeare, — 'slavish.' Not only does 'slavish' 
 contain nearly all the same letters which form " woolvish ; " not 
 only does 'slavish' consist completely with either the Folio 
 word 'tongue' or the accepted word of later editions, "toge ;" 
 not only does ' slavish' exactly suit the context of this speech ; 
 but 'slavish' perfectly accords with the epithets used both by 
 Plutarch and by Shakespeare when mentioning the garment 
 that Coriolanus wears on the present occasion Plutarch speaks 
 of it as " a />oore^o\vnQ," a " simple gowne," " meane apparell : " 
 while Shakespeare, elsewhere in the play, adverts to it as " the 
 napless vesture of hutniliiy," "the gown of humility," "the 
 humble weed." In " Timon of Athens," Act iv., sc. 3, we find 
 the expression, "This slave-like hs,h\t;" which testifies Shake- 
 speare's employment of a similar expression with regard to 
 coarse and common raiment. While suffering "woolvish" to 
 occupy its place in the text, we must explain that it is usually 
 supposed to mean * wolf-like : ' but, judging from another pas- 
 sage in the present play (see Note 47, Act iii.), we should rather 
 take it to mean 'woollenish,' ' wooU'nish,' or ' wool'nish ; ' which 
 last elisionally abbreviated form of the word brings us almost 
 precisely to the Folio spelling and printing. 
 
 89. To beg 0/ Bob and Dick, that do appear, their needless 
 vouches. ' To beg of Hob and Dick, one after the other as they 
 may choose to make their appearance, their needless vote.s. ' 
 ' Hob and Dick," as well as 'Jack and Tom,' were familiarly 
 employed in Shakespeare's time to express the ordinary run of 
 men ; and, because it was a familiar expression, he introduces it 
 here. This however draws upon him the reprehension of Malone, 
 who says, " By strange inattention our poet has here given the 
 names (as in many other places he has attributed the customs) 
 of England to ancient Rome." See Note 45 of the present Act. 
 
Act II.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 For truth to o'er-peer. Rather than fool it so, 
 Let the high office and the honour go 
 To one that would do thus. — I am half through ; 
 The one part sufFer'd, the other will I do. — 
 Here come more voices. 
 
 Re-enter three other Citizens. 
 Your voices : for your voices I have fought ; 
 Watch'd for your voices; for your voices bear 
 Of wounds two dozen odd ; battles thrice six 
 I have seen, and heard of;''" for your voices have 
 Done many things, some less, some more : your 
 
 voices : 
 Indeed, I would be consul. 
 
 Fifth Cit. He has done nobly, and cannot go 
 without any honest man's voice. 
 
 Sixth Cit. Therefore let him be consul: the 
 gods give him joy, and make him good friend to 
 the people ! 
 
 All three Citizens. Amen, amen.— God save 
 thee, noble consul ! \_Exeunt. 
 Cor. Wortliy voices ! 
 
 Re-enter Menenius, luith Brutus and Sicinius. 
 Men. You have stood your limitation ; and the 
 tribunes 
 
 Emlue you with the people's voice ; remains 
 That," in th' official marks invested, you 
 Anon do meet the senate. 
 
 Cor. Is this done ? 
 
 Sic. The custom of request you have dis- 
 charg'd : 
 
 The people do admit you; and are summon'd 
 To meet anon, upon your approbation. 
 
 Cor. Where ? at the senate-house ? 
 
 Sic. There, Coriolanus. 
 
 Cor. May I change these garments? 
 
 Sic. You may, sir. 
 
 Cor. That I'll straight do ; and, knowing my- 
 self again. 
 Repair to the senate-house. 
 
 Men. I'll keep yon company.— Will you along ? 
 
 Bru. We stay here for the people. 
 
 Sic. Fare you well. 
 
 [Exeunt Coriolanus and Menenius. 
 He has it now; and, by his looks, methinks 
 'Tis warm at his hesrt. 
 
 go. Battles thrice six I have seen, and lieard of. This 
 has been variously interpreted ; but, taking into considera- 
 tion Coriolanus's scoffing manner of speaking here, we think 
 it means, ' eighteen battles I have seen something of and 
 heard something of He has just before sneeringly said he 
 should remind the voters of a time " when some certain of your 
 brethren roar'd, and rati from the noise of our own drums ■ " 
 and he may well here have in his mind the sounis as well as 
 the sights of a battle-field. If the expression, "I have seen 
 and heard of" include— as we think it does— the elliptically 
 conveyed effect of ' I have seen and tnade heard of or ' caused 
 to be heard of,' it is thorouglily in Shakespeare's comprehen- 
 sive style. 
 
 Bru. With a proud heart he wore his humble 
 weeds. — 
 Will you dismiss the people ? 
 
 Re-enter Citizens. 
 Sic. How now, my masters! have you chose 
 
 this man ? 
 First Cit. He has our voices, sir. 
 Bru. We pray the gods he may deserve your 
 
 loves. 
 
 Sec. Cit. Amen, sir:— to my poor unworthy 
 notice. 
 
 He mock'd us when he begg'd our voices. 
 
 Third Cit. Certainly 
 He flouted us downright. 
 First Cit. No, 'tis his kind of speech,— he did 
 
 not mock us. 
 Sec. Cit. Not one amongst u-^, save \ourself, 
 but says 
 
 He us'd us scornfully : he should have show'd us 
 His marks of merit, wounds receiv'd for's country. 
 
 Sic. Why, so he did, I am sure. 
 
 Citizens. No, no ; no man saw 'em. 
 
 Third Cit. He said he had wounds, which he 
 could show in private ; 
 And with his hat, thus waving it in scorn, 
 " I would be consul," says he : " aged custom. 
 But by your voices, will not so i)ermit me; 
 Your voices therefore : " when we granted that. 
 Here was,'- " I thank you for your voices, — thank 
 you, — 
 
 Your most sweet voices: — now you have left your 
 voices, 
 
 I have no farther with you:"'^ — ^y^^ ^ot this 
 mockery ? 
 
 Sic. Why, either were you ignorant to see 't 
 Or, seeing it, of sucli childish friendliness 
 To yield your voices? 
 
 Bru. Could you not have told him, 
 
 As you were lesson'd, — when he had no power, 
 But was a petty servant to the state. 
 He was your enemy ; ever spake ag-ainst 
 Your liberties, and the charters that you bear 
 I' the body of the weal : and now, arriving 
 A place of potency,'^ and sway o' the state. 
 If he should still malignantly remain 
 Fast foe to the plebeii,'" your voices might 
 
 91 Remains that. ' There ' or 'it ' is elliptically understood 
 before " remains." 
 
 92. Here was. A somewhat similar idiom to the one pointed 
 out in Note 65, Act i., " Winter's Tale." 
 
 93. / /uive na farllier with you. An elliptical expression ; 
 signifying 'I have no farther want with you,' ' I have no farther 
 need of you,' ' I have nolliing farther to wish for from you.' 
 
 94. Were you ignorant to see't? 'Were you wanting in 
 capacity to see it ? ' 
 
 95. Arriving a place of potency. "Arriving" is here used 
 . ctively. See Note 17, Act v., " Third Part Henry VI." 
 
 96. Plebeii. The Latin form of ' plebeians ; ' the people, the 
 commonalty. 
 
Act II.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 //. Scene III. 
 
 Be curses to yourselves? You should have saiii, 
 That as his worthy deeds did claim no less 
 Than what he stood for, so his gracious nature 
 Would think upon you for your voices, and 
 Translate his malice towards you into love, 
 Standing your friendly lord. 
 
 Sic. Thus to have said, 
 
 As you were fore-advis*d, had touch'd his spirit 
 And tried his inclination; from him pkick'd 
 Either his gracious promise, which you might, 
 As cause had call'd you up, have held him to; 
 Or else it would have gall'd his surly nature. 
 Which easily endures not article 
 Tying him to aught; so, putting him to rage. 
 You should have ta'en th' advantage of his chole 
 And pass'd him unelected. 
 
 97. Free. Here used for ' open,' ' unreserved. 
 
 98. Of him that did not ask, but mock, testow,.&'c. " 01 
 
 Bi u. Did you perceive 
 
 He did solicit you in free'' contempt, 
 When he did need your loves; and do you think 
 That his contempt shall not be bruising to you. 
 When he hath power to crush? Why, had your 
 bodies 
 
 No heart among you ? or had you tongues to cry 
 Against the rectorship of judgment? 
 
 Sic. Have you, 
 
 lire now, denied the asker? and now again. 
 Of him that did not ask, hut mock, bestow 
 Your su'd-for tongues f 
 
 Third Cit. He's not confirm'd ; we may deny 
 him yet. 
 
 Sec. Cit. And will deny him: 
 I'll have five hundred voices of that sound. 
 
 is here used for 
 before " bestow." 
 
 nd 'do you' is ■elliptically understood 
 
 VOL. in. 
 
 179 
 
Act II.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 First Cit. Ay, twice five hundred, and their 
 
 friends to piece 'em. 
 Bru. Get you hence instantly; and tell those 
 
 friends, 
 
 They have chose a consul that will from them 
 take 
 
 Their liberties ; make them of no more voice 
 Than dogs, that are as often beat for barking, 
 As therefore kept to do so. 
 
 Sic. Let them assemble ; 
 
 And, on a safer judgment, all revoke 
 Your ignorant election : enforce his pride, 
 And his old hate unto you : besides, forget not 
 With what contempt he wore the humble weed ; 
 How in his suit he scorn'd you : but your loves. 
 Thinking upon his services, took from you 
 The apprehension of his present portance,!"" 
 Which most gibingly, ungravely, he did fashion 
 After the inveterate hate he bears you. 
 
 Bru. Lay 
 A fault on us, your tribunes; that we labour'd 
 (No impediment between) but that you must 
 Cast your election on him. 
 
 >S'/ir. Say, you chose him 
 
 More after our commandment than as guided 
 By your own true affections ; and that, your 
 minds, 
 
 Pre-occupied with what you rather must do 
 Than what you should, made you against the 
 grain 
 
 To voice him consul : lay the fault on us. 
 
 Bru. Ay, spare us not. Say we read lectures 
 to you, 
 
 How youngly he began to serve his country. 
 
 99. Enforce. ' Urge,' ' forcibly instance.' 
 
 100. TAe appreJiensio?i of his present poriance, Apprehen- 
 sion "is here used in the sense of 'perception,' 'appreciation;' 
 and " portance " means ' carriage,' ' bearing.' 
 
 101. And Censormus, darling of tJie people. Pope inserted 
 this line to supply one which the context shows was omitted in 
 the Folio ; and Plutarch commences his life of Coriolanus with 
 a passage that evidently formed the groundwork of the present 
 one ; " The house of the Martians at Rome was of the number 
 of the Patricians, out of the which have sprong many noble 
 personages, whereof Ancus Martins was one. King Numaes 
 daughters Sonne, who was King of Rome after TuUus Hostilius. 
 Of the same house were Publius and Quintus, who brought 
 to Rome their best water they had by conduits. Censorinus 
 also came of that family, that was so surnamed, because the 
 people had chosen him censor twise." Our unwillingness to 
 
 How long continu'd: and what stock he springs 
 of,— 
 
 The noble house o' the Marcians; from whence 
 came 
 
 That Ancus Marcius, Numa's daughter's son. 
 Who, after great Hostilius, here was king; 
 Of the same house Publius and Quintus were. 
 That our best water brought by conduits hither; 
 And Censorinus, darling of the people,'" 
 And nobly nam'd so, twice being censor, 
 Was his great ancestor.'"^ 
 
 Sic. One thus descended, 
 
 That hath beside well in his person wrought 
 To be set high in place, we did commend 
 To your remembrances : but you have found, 
 Scaling'"^ his present bearing with his past, 
 That he's your fixed enemy, and revoke 
 Your sudden approbation. 
 
 Bru. Say, you ne'er had done 't 
 
 (Harp on that still) but by onr putting on i'"^ 
 And presently, when you have drawn your number, 
 Repair to the Capitol. 
 
 Citizens. We will so : almost all 
 
 Repent in their election. \_Exeunt. 
 
 Bru. ' Let them go on ; 
 
 This mutiny were better put in hazard, 
 Than stay, past doubt, for greater : 
 If, as his nature is, he fall in rage 
 With their refusal, both observe and answer 
 The vantage of his anger. 
 
 Sic. To the Capitol ; 
 
 Come, we'll be there before the stream o' the people ; 
 And this shall seem, as partly 'tis, their own. 
 Which we have goaded onward. [Exeunt. 
 
 disturb a generally received reading makes us adopt Pope's 
 line as it is : else, we should have preferred to give the line 
 thus — "The darling of the people, Censorinus," as then not 
 only the rhythm would be better, but the surname would be 
 brought more immediately in consecution with the words, "and 
 
 102. Nis great ancestor. Censorinus Publius, and Quintus, 
 were in fact descendants, not ancestors, of Coriolanus ; but the 
 words of Plutarch, in the passage above quoted, " of the same 
 house " and " also came of that family," were of sufficient latitude 
 in expression to warrant the poet in supposing them to be 
 predecessors, or in thus introducing them into his drama. 
 
 103. Scaling. ' Weighing,' ' balancing.' See Note 39, Act iii., 
 "Measure for Measure." 
 
 104. Putting on. 'Instigation,' 'incitement.' See Note 24, 
 Act ii., "Winter's Tale." 
 
 98 
 
Act III.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 ACT III. 
 
 SCENE I.— Rome. A Street. 
 
 Cornets. Enter Coriolanus, Menenius, Cominius, 
 Titus Lartius, Senators, and Patricians. 
 
 Cor. TuUus Aufidius, then, had made new head? 
 Lart. He had, my lord ; and that it was which 
 caus'd 
 
 Our swifter composition. 
 
 Cor. So, then, the Volsces stand but as at first; 
 Ready, when time shall prompt them, to make road 
 Upon us again. 
 
 Com. They are worn, lord consul, ^ so. 
 
 That we shall hardly in our ages see 
 Their banners wave again. 
 
 Cor. Saw you Aufidius ? 
 
 Lart. On safe-guard he came to me; and did 
 curse 
 
 Against the Volsces, for they had so vilely 
 Yielded the town :^ he is retir'd to Antium. 
 
 Cor. Spoke he of me ? 
 
 Lart. He did, my lord. 
 
 Cor. How ? what? 
 
 Lart. How often he had met you, sword to 
 sword ; 
 
 That of all things upon the earth he hated 
 Your person most ; that he would pawn his fortunes 
 To hopeless restitution, so he might 
 Be call'd your vanquisher. 
 
 Cor. At Antium lives he ? 
 
 Lart. At Antium. 
 
 Cor. I wish I had a cause to seek him there. 
 To oppose his hatred fully. — [To Lartius.] Wel- 
 come home. 
 
 Enter SiciNius and Brutus. 
 
 Behold, these are the tribunes of the people, 
 The tongues o' the common mouth : I do despise 
 them ; 
 
 For they do prank them* in authority. 
 Against all noble sufferance. 
 
 1. Lord consitl, Malone remarks upon this — ** Shakespeare 
 has here, as in other places, attributed the usage of England to 
 Rome. In his time the title of lord was given to many officers 
 of state who were not peers : thus, lords of the council, lord 
 embassador, lord general," &c. Precisely so ; the dramatist 
 employed an expression which he knew would be instantly com- 
 prehended by the public for whom he wrote, and he wished to 
 give the immediate impression of Coriolanus's having attained 
 his new dignity ; that dignity striven for in the last Act, assumed 
 and recognised at the commencement of the present Act, and 
 forfeited before the conclusion of its first scene. This is just 
 one of the poet's touches of dramatic art ; with apparent care- 
 lessness, but really nicest forethought, marking a point which, 
 as the action progresses, is essential to be well borne in mind. 
 
 2. On sa/e-gtiard. ' With a guard to protect him.' 
 
 Sic. Pass no farther. 
 
 Cor. Ha ! what is that ? 
 
 Bru. It will be dangerous to go on : no farther. 
 Cor. What makes this change ? 
 Men. The matter ? 
 
 Com. Hath he not pass'd the nobles and the 
 
 commons 
 Bru. Cominius, no. 
 
 Cor. Have I had children's voices? 
 
 First Sen. Tribunes, give way ; he shall to the 
 market-place. 
 
 Bru. The people are incens'd against him. 
 
 Sic. Stop, 
 Or all will fall in broil. 
 
 Cor. Are these your herd ? — 
 
 Must these have voices, that can yield them now. 
 And straight disclaim their tongues? — What are 
 your offices ? 
 
 You being their mouths, why rule you not their 
 
 teeth ? 
 
 Have you not set them on ? 
 
 Mm. Be calm, be calm. 
 
 Cor. It is a purpos'd thing, and grows by plot, 
 To curb the will of the nobility: 
 Suffer 't, and live with such as cannot rule. 
 Nor ever will be rul'd. 
 
 Bru. Call't not a plot: 
 
 The people cry you mock'd them ; and of late, 
 When corn was given them gratis, you repin'd ; 
 Scandal'd the suppliants for the people, — call'd them 
 Time-pleaser.s, flatterers, foes to nobleness. 
 
 Cor. Why, this was known before. 
 Bru. Not to them all. 
 
 Cor. Have you inform'd them sithence 
 Bru. How! I inform them! 
 
 Cor. You are like to do' such business. 
 Bru. Not unlike. 
 
 Each way, to better yours.^ 
 Cor. Why, then, should I be consul ? By 
 yond' clouds, 
 
 3. Against the Volsces, /or they had, 6r'c. "For "used as 
 ■ because.' 
 
 4. Prank them. ' Deck themselves,' ' dress themselves up.' 
 See Note 78, Act ii., " Twelfth Night." 
 
 5. The nobles and the commons. The Folio prints ' noble ' 
 and 'common ' here : but as it gives ** nobles" and *' commons " 
 in other passages of the present play, where the words are used 
 with similar sense, we adopt Rowe's correction as being right. 
 
 6. Sithence. Old form of ' since.' 
 
 T. You are like to do. " Like " used for ' likely.' The Folio 
 ascribes this speech to Cominius. Theobald's correction. 
 
 8. Not niilike, each way, to better yours. ' Not unlikely, in 
 all respects, to improve upon your method of informing the 
 people, which it vould be your business to do were you to 
 become consul.' 
 
Act III.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Let me deserve so ill as you, and make me 
 Your fellow tribune. 
 
 Sic. You show too much of that 
 
 For which the people stir: if you will pass 
 To where you are bound, you must inquire your 
 way, 
 
 Which you are out of, with a gentler spirit ; 
 Or never be so noble as a consul. 
 Nor yoke with him for tribune. 
 
 Men. Let's be calm. 
 
 Com. The' people are abus'd ; set on. This 
 paltering 
 
 Becomes not Rome; nor has Coriolanus 
 Deserv'd this so dishonour'd rub, laid falsely 
 r the plain way of his merit.^ 
 
 Cor. Tell me of corn ! 
 
 This was my speech ; and I will speak 't again, — 
 
 Men. Not now, not now. 
 
 first Sr^!. Not in this heat, sir, now. 
 
 Cor. Now, as I live, I will. — My nobler friends, 
 I crave their pardons : — 
 
 For the mutable, rank-scented many, let them 
 Regard me as I do not flatter, and 
 Therein behold themselves: I say again. 
 In soothing them, we nourish 'gainst our .senate 
 The cockle^" of rebellion, insolence, sedition. 
 Which we ourselves have plough'd for, sow'd, and 
 scatter'd, 
 
 By mingling them with us, the honour'd number ; 
 Who lack not virtue, no, nor power, but that 
 Which they have given to beggars. 
 
 Men. Well, no more. 
 
 First Sen. No more words, we beseech you. 
 
 9. T/tzs so' dishonoured ntb^ laid falsely ^ &r>c. "Rub" is a 
 term used in the game of bowls (see Note 21, Act iii., " Troilus 
 and Cressida") ; and " falsely" is here used for * treacherously.' 
 
 10. Cockle. A weed among corn, that impedes its growth. 
 
 11. Meazels. ' Meazel' is an old term for a leper, from the 
 French word, meselle; and Coriolanus uses "meazels" to 
 signify 'lepers,* as personifying the men he is abusing, while he 
 employs it to signify ' leprosies ' or diseases, as governing the 
 words " to catch them." This use of an epithet in a double 
 sense is consistent with Shakespeare's expressive and largely 
 inclusive style ; especially where he indicates hurried speaking. 
 
 12. Triton 0/ the iiiinnoius. A "Triton" is a sea-god, 
 represented as blowing a shell, and leading processions of sea- 
 deities. "Minnows" are the smallest offish. See Note 36, 
 Act i., " Love's Labour's Lost." 
 
 13. ^Tivas from the canon. Here, taking "from" to be 
 used in its sense of 'apart from,' 'away from* {see Note 97, 
 Act i., "Twelfth Night*'), Johnson e.\plains this speech to 
 mean, ' was contrary to the established rule ; it was a form of 
 speech to which he has no right.' But Malone interprets it to 
 mean, ' 'What Sicinius has said is according to rule ; ' and pro- 
 ceeds to point out that " it alludss to the absolute -veto of the 
 tribunes, the power of putting a stop to every proceeding ; 
 and accordingly, Coriolanus, instead of disputing this power of 
 the tribunes, proceeds to argue against the power itself, and to 
 inveigh against the patricians for having granted it." We hold 
 with the latter explanation, because it consists with Sicinius's 
 speech at the commencement of the last scene of this Act— 
 " When they hear me say, ' It shall be so, i' the right and 
 strength 0' the Commons' .... insisting on the old pre- 
 rogative and power" &c. ; but the present passage affords a 
 
 Cor. How ! no more ! 
 
 As for my country I have shed my blood, 
 Not fearing outward force, so shall my lungs 
 Coin words till their decay against those meazels," 
 Which we disdain should tetter us, yet sought 
 The very way to catch them. 
 
 Bru. You speak o' the people, 
 
 As if you were a god to punish, not 
 A man of their infirmity. 
 
 Sic. 'Twere weil 
 
 We let the people know 't. 
 
 Men. What, what? his choler? 
 
 Cor. Choler! 
 Were I as patient as the midnight sleep, 
 By Jove, 'twould be my mind ! 
 
 Sic. It is a mind 
 
 That shall remain a poison where it is, 
 Not poison any farther. 
 
 Cor. Shall remain ! 
 
 Hear you this Triton of the minnows ?''^ mark you 
 His absolute " shall " ? 
 
 Com. 'Twas from the canon." 
 
 Cor. "Shall"! 
 Oh, good, but most unwise patricians!^'' why, 
 You grave, but reckless senators, have you thus 
 Given Hydra here to choose an officer,'^ 
 That with his peremptory " shall," being but 
 The horn and noise o' the monster,'^ wants not 
 spirit 
 
 To say he'll turn your current in a ditch, 
 And make your channel his ? If he have power, 
 Then vail your ignorance;'? if none, awake 
 Your dangerous lenity. If you are learn'd, 
 
 remarkable instance of the directly opposite sense which the 
 word "from" may give to a sentence, according to the sense in 
 ■which the word is used and taken. 
 
 14. Oh, good, but most unwise patricians ! The Folio mis- 
 prints * God ' for " good " here. Theobald's correction, 
 
 15. Thus given Hydra here to choose an officer. In this 
 passage, "here "has been altered to 'leave' and to 'heart;' 
 but "here" is used in the present instance as it is in those 
 pointed out in Notes 33, Act iii., " First Part Henry IV.," and 
 54, Act ii,, " Second Part Henry "V'l." " Given " is here used 
 cIKptically, to express ' given permission to,' ' permitted,' 
 'allowed,' 'granted;' as it is in "Hamlet," Act i., sc. 3, 
 where Polonius says to Ophelia, " With a larger tether may 
 he walk, than may be gizten you." 
 
 16. The horn and noise o' t!ie vionsier. The Folio gives 
 'monsters' for "monster" here. Capell's correction. For a 
 description of Hydra see Note 46, Act iv., " Second Part 
 Henry IV." "Horn" is used in continuation of the figure 
 Coriolanus has used in calling Sicinius "this Triton." Words- 
 worth, in one of his most poetical sonnets, " The World is Too 
 Much with Us," speaks of hearing " old Triton blow his 
 wreathfed Iiorn. " 
 
 17. Tlien vail your ignorance. ' In that case, let your 
 admitted ignorance take a lower tone and defer to their 
 admitted superiority.' ''Vail "is used in its sense of 'lower,' 
 ' stoop.' See Note 34, Act v., " Taming of the Shrew," 
 
 18. Awalte yoitr dangerous lenity. ' Arouse your perilous 
 forbearance, and convert it into more judicious severity,' For 
 instances of a similar idiomatic and elliptical expression used by 
 Shakespeare, see Notes 18, Act v,, "Much Ado," and 85, 
 Act iii., "Richard III." 
 
Act III.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Be not as common fools ; if you are not, 
 Let them have cushions by you. You are plebeians, 
 If they be senators : and they are no less, 
 When, both your voices blended,'* the great'st 
 taste 
 
 Most palates theirs. They choose their magis- 
 trate ; 
 
 And such a one as he, who puts his " shall," 
 His popular " shall," against a graver bench 
 Than ever frown'd in Greece. By Jove himself, 
 It makes the consuls base ! and my soul aches 
 To know, when two authorities are up. 
 Neither supreme, how soon confusion 
 May enter 'twixt the gap of both, and take 
 The one by the other.20 
 
 Com. Well, — on to the market-place. 
 
 Cor. Whoever gave that counsel, to give forth 
 The corn o' the storehouse gratis, as 'twas us'd 
 Sometime in Greece, — 
 
 Men. Well, well, no more of that. 
 
 Cor. Though there the people had more absolute 
 power, — 
 
 I say, they nourish'd disobedience, fed 
 The ruin of the state. 
 
 Bru. Why, shall the people give 
 
 One that speaks thus their voice P 
 
 Cor. I'll give my reasons. 
 
 More worthier than their voices. They know the 
 corn 
 
 Was not our recompense,^! resting well assur'd 
 They ne'er did service for 't : being press'd to the 
 war. 
 
 Even when the navel of the state was touch'd, 
 They would not thread the gates,^^ — this kind of 
 service 
 
 19. They are no less, when, both your voices, ' They 
 are no less than senators, when, both your and their voices 
 being blended together, the predominant taste of the mixture 
 has most the flavour of theirs.' "Palates" is here used as 
 Shakespeare uses "smacks" (see Note 85, Act iv. , "Winter's 
 Tale,"), to signify ' tastes of," ' relishes of,' ' has a flavour of ; ' 
 and in "Antony and Cleopatra," Act v., sc. 2, he again uses 
 the verb " palates" to express ' tastes.' 
 
 20. And take the one by the other. ' And mutually destroy 
 each other's power.' Here "take" seems to be used in the 
 sense of ' destroy,' ' blast,' ' annihilate.' See Note 66, Act ii. 
 of this play. 
 
 21. IVasnotour recompense. *Was not our recompense to 
 them,' 'was not given by us as a recompense.' See Note 100, 
 Act i. , "Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 22. Thread tlie gates ' Pass the gates,' as a thread passes 
 through the needle's eye. The verb is still in common use, thus 
 figuratively employed; as, 'to thread the windings of away,' 
 'to thread the mazes of a wood,' 'to thread a crowd.' See 
 Note 34, Act v., "King John." 
 
 23. The native 0/ our so frank donation. It has been pro- 
 posed to change "native" to 'motive ' here ; but "native" is 
 used to express 'origin,' 'source,' 'cause of birth,' 'natural 
 engenderer;' and agrees with the previous word "unborn." 
 
 24. This bosom multiplied. Mr. Collier's MS. corrector 
 substitutes ' bisson multitude' for "bosom multiplied," here; 
 and several of the best modern editors have adopted the alter- 
 ation. From the mode in which Shakespeare elsewhere uses 
 
 Did not deserve corn gratis : being i' the war. 
 Their mutinies and revolts, wherein they show'd 
 Most valour, spoke not for them : the accusation 
 Which they have often made against the senate, 
 All cause unborn, could never be the native 
 Of our so frank donation.^s Well, what then ? 
 How shall this bosom multiplied^* digest 
 The senate's courtesy ? Let deeds express 
 What's like to be their words:— "We did re- 
 quest it ; 
 
 We are the greater poll, and in true fear 
 They gave us our demands : " — thus we debase 
 The nature of our seats, and make the rabble 
 Call our cares fears ; which will in time 
 Break ope the locks o' the senate, and bring in 
 The crows to peck the eagles. 
 
 Men. Come, enough, 
 
 Bru. Enough, with over-measure. 
 
 Cor. No, take more : 
 
 What may be sworn by, both divine and human, 
 Seal what I end withal !^'— This double worship, — 
 Where one part does disdain with cause, the other 
 Insult without all reason ; where gentry, title, 
 wisdom, 
 
 Cannot conclude but by the yea and no 
 Of general ignorance, — it must omit 
 Real necessities, and give way the while 
 To unstable slightness: purpose so barr'd, it follows, 
 Nothing is done to purpose. Therefore, beseech 
 you, — 
 
 You that will be less fearful than discreet ; 
 That love the fundamental part of state 
 More than you doubt^s the change on 't; that 
 prefer 
 
 A noble life before a long, and wish 
 
 the word "bosom" for ' stomach,' and from the context of the 
 word " digest" in the present passage, — also from the mode in 
 which he uses "multiplying" for 'multifarious' ("Macbeth," 
 Act i., sc. 2), — we believe that here "bosom multiplied" is 
 meant to express 'general stomach.' See the speech referred to 
 in Note 74, Act i., "Second Part Henry IV.," where the use 
 of the words "sick," "over-greedy," "surfeited," "beastly 
 feeder," "full," "cast him up," "disgorge," "glutton bosom," 
 &c., together with the application of the strong metaphor 
 throughout to the popular appetite or inclination of the general 
 people, gives large support to our belief that here " bosom 
 multiplied" is used for 'general stomach.' Also, the term 
 "common bosom" occurs in Lear," Act v., sc. 3; where it 
 means the 'common people's inclination.' 
 
 25. IVhat 7nay be sworn by, both divine and hujnan, seal 
 what I end withal ! ' Let whatever of divine or human that 
 can give solemnity to an oath confirm the words with which I 
 conclude ! ' This sentence affords an example of the extremely 
 appropriate forms of adjuration which Shakespeare uses. See 
 Note II, Act i., "Merchant of Venice : " for Heath mentions 
 that " the Romans swore by what was human as well as divine ; 
 by their head, by their eyes, by the dead bones and ashes of 
 their parents, &c. See Erisson de forvnclis, p. 808—817." 
 
 26. Doubt. Here used in its sense of ' dread,' ' fear ; ' the 
 sense of the passage being, ' Therefore I beseech you, you .who 
 will be less fearful of using violent measures than prudent in 
 using them promptly ; you who value the preservation of our 
 state constitution more than you dread its overthrow.' 
 
Act III.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 To jump a body with a dangerous physic^? 
 That's sure of death without it, -at once pluck out 
 The multitudinous tongue ; let them not lick 
 The sweet which is their poison : your dishonour 
 Mangles true judgment, and bereaves the state 
 Of that integrity which should become it ; 
 Not having the power to do the good it would, 
 For th' ill which doth control it. 
 
 gru. He has said enough. 
 
 Sic. He has spoken like a traitor, and shall 
 answer 
 As traitors do. 
 
 Cor. Thou wretch! despite o'erwhelm thee ! — 
 What should the people do with these bald tribunes? 
 On whom depending, their obedience fails 
 To the greater bench : in a rebellion, 
 When what's not meet, but what must be, was law, 
 Then were they chosen : in a better hour. 
 Let what is meet be said it must be meet, 
 And throw their power i' the dust. 
 
 Bru. Manifest treason ! 
 
 Sic. This a consul ? no. 
 
 Biu. The ^diles, ho! — Let him be appre- 
 hended. 
 
 Sic. Go, call the people \exit Brutus] ;— in 
 whose name myself 
 Attach thee as a traitorous innovator, 
 A foe to the public weal : obey, I charge thee. 
 And follow to thine answer. 
 
 Cor. Hence, old goat ! 
 
 Sen. and Pat. We'll surety him. 
 
 Com. Aged sir, hands off. 
 
 Cor. Hence, rotten thing! or I shall shake thy 
 bones 
 Out of thv garments. 
 
 Sic. Help, ye citizens ! 
 
 Re-enter Brutus, the ^diles, and a rabble of 
 Citizens. 
 
 Men. On both sides more respect. 
 
 Sic. Here's he that would take from you all 
 
 your power. 
 Bru. Seize him, .(^^diles ! 
 
 27. To jump a boeiy ivith a dangerous physic. The word 
 "jump" in this sentence has been suspected of error, and 
 various substitutions have been proposed, such as ' vamp,' 
 'imp,' and 'purge.' But each of these substitutions have the 
 defect of exactly changing the sense which the context requires. 
 The original word "jump" is used elsewhere by Shakespeare to 
 express the precise meaning demanded here, — ' risk,' ' hazard,' 
 'jeopardise.' In " Macbeth," Act i., sc. 7, it is used in this 
 sense and as a verb — "We'd jump the life to come;" in 
 " Cymbeline," Act v., sc. 4, it is used in this sense and as a 
 verb — " Or jump the after-inquiry on your own peril ; " and 
 in "Antony and Cleopatra," Act iii., sc. 8, it is used as a 
 noun — "Our fortune lies upon this to signify 'this 
 
 chance,' 'this venture.' In Holland's translation of Pliny's 
 " Natural History," we find—" It [ellebore] putteth the patient 
 to a jiimpe, or great hazard ; " and Richardson explains the 
 word thus — "To come or go at a jump: that is, suddenly, 
 hastily, without seeing the ground to alight upon, at a risk or 
 
 Citizens. Down with him! down with him! 
 Sec. Sen. Weapons, weapons, weapons! — 
 
 SJThey all bustle about Coriolanus. 
 Tribunes, patricians, citizens! — what, ho! — 
 Sicinius, Brutus, Coriolanus, citizens ! 
 
 Citizens. Peace, peace, peace; stay, hold, peace. 
 Men. What is about to be ? — I am out uf 
 breath ; 
 
 Confusion's near; I cannot speak. — You, tribunes 
 To the people, — Coriolanus, patience: — 
 Speak, good Sicinius. 
 
 Sic. Hear me, people ; peace! 
 
 Citizens. Let's hear our tribune : peace ! — 
 Speak, speak, speak. 
 
 Sic. You are at point to lose your liberties : 
 Marcius would have all from you; Marcius, 
 Whom late you have nam'd for consul. 
 
 Men. Fie, fie, fie ! 
 
 This is the way to kindle, not to quench. 
 
 First Sen. To unbuild the city, and to lay all 
 flat. 
 
 Sic. What is the city but the people ? 
 
 Citizens. True, 
 The people are the city. 
 
 Bru. By the consent of all, we were establish'd 
 The people's magistrates. 
 
 Citizens. You so remain. 
 
 Men. And so are like to do. 
 
 Com. That is the way to lay the city fiat ; 29 
 To bring the roof to the foundation. 
 And bury all, which yet distinctly ranges. 
 In heaps and piles of ruin. 
 
 Sic. This deserves death. 
 
 Bru. Or let us stand to our authority. 
 Or let us lose it. — We do here pronounce. 
 Upon the part o' the people, in whose power 
 We were elected theirs, Marcius is worthy 
 Of present death. 
 
 Sic. Therefore lay hold of him ; 
 
 Bear him to the rock Tarpeian, and from thence 
 Into destruction cast him. 
 
 Bru. ^diles, --eize him ! 
 
 Citizens. Yield, Marcius, yield ! 
 
 venture." The argument throughout the passage, as well as 
 the sentence in immediate juxtaposition, requires that the 
 original word signifying 'risk' should be retained, and not 
 altered to one that means 'patch up by attempted cure.' 
 
 28. Become. Here used for ' becomingly adorn," ' befittingly 
 invest.' See Note 50, Act iii., " As You Like It." 
 
 29. That is the way to lay tite city flat. Pope and others 
 assign this speech to Coriolanus ; which is a plausible alteration, 
 on account of Sicinius's reply, " This deserves death." But 
 inasmuch as the present speech agrees with Cominius's former 
 one in this scene, beginning, " The people are a'oused ; set 
 on. This paltering," &c., in its objections against the tribunes, 
 and as it may naturally come as an echo and support of the 
 first senator's words, " To unbuild the city, and to lay all flat," 
 wc think it probably belongs (as ascribed by the Folio) to 
 Cominius ; in which case, Sicinius's words, " This deserves 
 death," are a following up of what he has just been urging 
 against Coriolanus—" Marcius would have all from you,' &c. 
 
Act III.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Men. Hear me one word ; 
 
 Beseech you, tribunes, hear me but a word. 
 y£d. Peace, peace ! 
 
 Men. Be that you seem, truly your country's 
 friends,*' 
 
 And temperately proceed to what you would 
 Thus violently redress. 
 
 Bru. Sir, those cold ways, 
 
 That seem like prudent helps, are very poisonous 
 Where the disease is violent. — Lay hands upon him, 
 And bear him to the rock. 
 
 Cor. \_Drauoing his S'word.'] No, I'll die here. 
 There's some among you have beheld m« fighting : 
 Come, try upon yourselves what you have seen me. 
 
 Men. Down with that sword ! — Tribunes, with- 
 draw awhile. 
 
 Bru. Lay hands upon him. 
 
 Men. Help Marcius, help, 
 
 You that be noble ; help him, young and old ! 
 
 Cilizens. Down with him, down with him ! 
 [/« this mutiny, /A^" Tribunes, the JS,i\i\s% 
 and the People, are beaten in. 
 
 Men. Go, get you to your house be gone, 
 away ! 
 All will be naught else. 
 
 Sec. Sen. Get you gone. 
 
 Cor. ' Stand fast -,32 
 
 We have as many friends as enemies. 
 
 Men. Shall it be put to that ? 
 
 First Sen. The gods forbid ! — 
 
 I pr'ythee, noble friend, home to thy house; 
 Leave us to cure this cause. 
 
 Men. For 'tis a sore upon us, 
 
 You cannot tent yourself : be gone, beseech you. 
 
 Com. Come, sir, along with us.^^ 
 
 Cor. I would they were barbarians'^ (as they are. 
 Though in Rome litter'd), not Romans (as they 
 are not, 
 
 Though calv'd i' the porch o' the Capitol), — 
 Men. Be gone ; 
 
 Put not your worthy rage into your tongue ; 
 
 One time will owe another.^" 
 
 Cor. On fair ground 
 
 1 could beat forty of them. 
 Men. I could myself 
 
 Take up a brace o' the best of them ; yea, the two 
 tribunes. 
 
 30. Vour country's friends. The Folio prints ' friend ' here 
 for "friends." Rowe's correction; which is evidenced to be 
 right by the present speech being the appeal which Menenius 
 has asked to make, in the previous words, " Beseech you, 
 iribimes, hear me but a word." 
 
 31. Get you to your house. The Folio misprints 'our' for 
 "your" here. Rowe's correction. 
 
 32. Stand fast. The prefix in the Folio is ' Com' instead of 
 " Cor" here. Warburton's correction. 
 
 33. Come, sir, alon^ luitk us. The Folio assigns this speech 
 to Coriolanus ; to whom it obviously cannot belong. Corrected 
 in the second Folio. 
 
 34. / mould ikey were barbarians. This speech and the 
 
 Com. But now 'tis odds beyond arithmetic ; 
 And manhood is call'd foolery, when it stands 
 Against a falling fabric. — ^Will you hence. 
 Before the tag'^ return ? whose rage doth rend 
 Like interrupted waters, and o'erbear 
 What they are us'd to bear. 
 
 Men. Pray you, be gone: 
 
 I'll try whether my old wit be in request 
 With those that have but little: this must be 
 
 patch'd 
 With cloth of any colour. 
 
 Com. ■ Nay, come away. 
 
 {Exeunt Coriolanus, Cominius, and others. 
 First Pat. This man has marr'd his fortune. 
 Men. His nature is too noble for the world : 
 j He would not flatter Neptune for his trident. 
 Or Jove for 's power to thunder. His heart's his 
 mouth : 
 
 What his breast forges, that. his tongue must vent; 
 .And, being angry, does forget that ever 
 He heard the name of death. — {J noise luithin. 
 Here's goodly work ! 
 
 Sec. Pat. I would they were a-bed ! 
 
 Men. I would they were in Tiber ! What, the 
 vengeance. 
 Could he not speak 'em fair ? 
 
 Re-enter Brutus and Sicinius, 'with the rabble. 
 Sic. Where is this viper, 
 
 That would depopulate the city, and 
 Be every man himself? 
 
 Men. You worthy tribunes, — 
 
 Sic. He shall be thrown down the Tarpeiaii 
 rock 
 
 With rigorous hands : he hath resisted law, 
 And therefore law shall scorn him farther trial 
 Than the severity of the public power. 
 Which he so sets at naught. 
 
 First Cit. He shall well know 
 
 The noble tribunes are the people's mouths. 
 And we their hands. 
 
 Citizens. He shall, sure on 't. 
 
 Men. Sir, sir, — 
 
 Sic. Peace ! 
 
 Men. Do not cry havock,'^ where you should 
 but hunt 
 With modest warrant. 
 
 next are by the Folio run into one, and ascribed to Menenius. 
 Tyrvvhitt proposed the arrangement of the dialogue here 
 adopted. 
 
 35. One tijue will owe another. * .Some other time will give 
 you the opportunity which the present time denies you ' 
 
 36. Forty. Here used as an indefinite number. See Note 60, 
 Act iii., " Henry VI 11." 
 
 37. Tag. An abbreviated form of 'tag-rag;' which is used 
 by Shakespeare in " Julius Caesar," Act i., sc. 2, where we 
 find, " If the tag-rag people did not," &c. 
 
 38. Do not cry havock. ' Do not give the signal for general 
 destruction.' See Note 50, Act ii., "King John," where the 
 word " havock" is more particularly explained. 
 
Act III.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Sic. Sir, how comes 't that you 
 
 Have holp to make this rescue ? 
 
 Men. Hear me speak : — 
 
 As I do know the consul's worthiness, 
 So can I name his faults, — 
 
 Sic. Consul ! — what consul ? 
 
 Men. The consul Coriolanus. 
 
 £ru. He consul ! 
 
 Citizens. No, no, no, no, no. 
 
 Men. ]f, by the tribunes' leave, and yours, good 
 people, 
 
 I may be heard, I would crave a word or two ; 
 The which shall turn you to no farther harm^^ 
 Than so much loss of time. 
 
 Sic. Speak briefly, then ; 
 
 For we are peremptory to dispatch 
 This viperous traitor: to eject him hence 
 Were but one danger;''" and to keep him here 
 Our certain death : therefore it is decreed 
 He dies to-night. 
 
 Men. Now the good gods forbid 
 
 That our renowned Rome, whose gratitude 
 Towards her deserved children is enroll'd 
 In Jove's own book, like an unnatural dam 
 Should now eat up her own ! 
 
 ^/<r. He's a disease that must be cut away. 
 
 Men, Oh, he's a limb that has but a disease ; 
 Mortal, to cut it off ; to cure it, easy. 
 What has he done to Rome that's worthy death ? 
 Killing our enemies P The blood he hath lost 
 (Which, I dare vouch, is more than that he hath. 
 By many an ounce), he dropp'd it for his country. 
 And what is left, to lose it by his country. 
 Were to us all, that do 't and suffer it, 
 A brand to th' end o' the world. 
 
 Sic. This is clean kam.*' 
 
 £ru. Merely awry : when he did love his 
 country. 
 It honour'd him. 
 
 Men. The service of the foot 
 
 Being once gangren'd,^^ is not then respected 
 For what before it was ? 
 
 39. Tur/i you to no fartlier liarin. See Note 23, Act v., 
 "Third Part Henry VI." 
 
 40. W ere hict oiie danger. Theobald changed * ' one " here 
 to ' our ; ' and the Cambridge Editors conjecture ' moe ' to be 
 the word intended. But it appears to us that the sentence 
 means, * To banish him from hence were but to encounter 
 one danger ; and to allow him to remain in Rome would be to 
 encounter another, — the certain destruction of our offices as 
 tribunes.' We think the word ' another ' is elliptically under- 
 stood after ' ' here ; " as thus : ' To eject him hence were but one 
 danger ; and to keep him here, another, — our certain death.' 
 
 41. TJiis is clean kam. 'This is quite beside the purpose,' 
 ' quite irrelevant.' See Note 55, Act ii. Shakespeare, in 
 " Julius Caesar," Act i., sc. 3, has "clean from the purpose;" 
 and in " Othello," Act i., sc. 3, he has " clean out of the way." 
 "Kam" is an old word (Erse and Welsh) for 'crooked;' and 
 ' kim, kam' (a corruption of "clean kam") was an idiom in 
 familiar use, to express ' quite contrary,' ' completely at cross 
 purposes.* 
 
 Bru. We'll hear no more. — 
 
 Pursue him to his house, and pluck him thence ; 
 Lest his infection, being of catching nature. 
 Spread farther. 
 
 Men. One word more, one word. 
 
 This tiger-footed rage, when it shall find 
 The harm of unscann'd swiftness, will, too late. 
 Tie leaden pounds to 's heels. Proceed by pro- 
 cess; 
 
 Lest parties (as he is belov'd) break out, 
 And sack great Rome with Romans. 
 
 Bru. \i it were so, — 
 
 Sic. What do ye talk? 
 Have we not had a taste of his obedience ? 
 Our .(?;diles smote ? ourselves resisted ? — come, — 
 
 Men. Consider this: — he has been bred i' the 
 wars 
 
 Since he could draw a sword, and is ill school'd 
 In bolted language; meal and bran together 
 He throws without distinction. Give me leave, 
 I'll go to him, and undertake to bring him*^ 
 Where he shall answer, by a lawful form, 
 (In peace) to his utmost peril. 
 
 First Sen. Noble tribunes, 
 
 It is the humane way : the other course 
 Will prove too bloody; and the end of it 
 Unknown to the beginning. 
 
 Sic. Noble Menenius, 
 
 Be you, then, as the people's officer. — 
 Masters, lay down your weapons. 
 
 Bru. Go not home. 
 
 Sic. Meet on the market-place. — We'll attend 
 you there : 
 
 Where, if you bring not Marcius, we'll pro- 
 ceed 
 In our first way. 
 
 Men. I'll bring him to you. — 
 
 [To the Senators.] Let me desire your company : 
 
 he must, come, 
 Or what is worst will follow. 
 
 First Sen. Pray you, let's to him. 
 
 \_Exeunt. 
 
 42. Merely. Here used for ' absolutely,' ' entirely,' ' utterly. 
 
 43. The service of Hie foot, la'c. Warburton assigned this 
 speech to Sicinius, alleging that it " could never be said by 
 Coriolanus's apologist ; " but it is a following up of Menenius's 
 previous speech and argument By adopting Steevens's interro- 
 gation point placed at its conclusion (the FoUo ends it with a 
 full stop), the consecution is not only rendered obvious, but the 
 same interrogatory form is kept up as in the line, " What has he 
 done to Rome that's worthy death ?" The point of interro- 
 gation after "enemies" in the previous speech was inserted 
 by Hanmer, and we believe it to have been intended by the 
 author ; for the Folio frequently prints commas and colons 
 where interrogation points are needed, one kind of stop ' 
 another, and various other mispunctuations. 
 
 44. To bring him. In the Folio "him "is followed by 
 peace ; ' which words, as they are repeated in the next line bu^ 
 one, and are injurious to the metre. Pope omitted. On the 
 supposition that they were mistakenly inserted by an error of 
 the printer, we adopt Papa's correction. 
 
Acr lU.j 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 SCENE ll.-'A Room in Coriolanus's House. 
 
 Enter Coriolanus Patricians. 
 Cor. Let them pull all about mine ears ; present 
 me 
 
 Death on the wheel, or at wild horses' heels 
 Or pile ten hills on the Tarpeian rock, 
 That the precipitation might down stretch 
 Below the beam of sight ; yet will I still 
 Be thus to them. 
 
 First Pat. You do the nobler. 
 
 Cor. I muse my mother 
 Does not approve me farther, who was wont 
 To call them woollen vassals,''^ things created 
 To buy and sell with groats ; to show bare heads 
 In congregations, to yawn, be still, and wonder. 
 When one but of my ordinance stood up 
 To speak of peace or war.""^ — 
 
 Enter Volumnia. 
 
 I talk of you : 
 Why did you wish me milder? would you have 
 me 
 
 False to my nature ? Rather say, I play 
 The man I am."" 
 
 Vol. Oh, sir, sir, sir, 
 
 ] would have had you put your power well on. 
 Before you had worn it out. 
 
 Cor. Let go.'" 
 
 45. Dea-ih on the wheel, or ai wild horsed heels. The com- 
 mentators, in reference to this passage, observe : " Breal<ing a 
 criminal on the wheel was a punishment unknown to the 
 Romans ; and except in the single instance of Metius Suffetius, 
 according to Livy, dismemberment by being torn to death by 
 wild horses never took place in Rome. Shakespeare attributes 
 to them the cruel punishments of a later age." With almost as 
 much justice might it be gravely objected that to "pile ten hills 
 on the Tarpeian rock " was never known to be done in Rome as 
 a means of punishing by death. For poetic and dramatic 
 purpose, Shakespeare's putting these words into Coriolanus's 
 mouth has a truth of appropriateness far beyond that demanded 
 by the accuracies of chronological fact. See Note i of this Act. 
 
 46. Muse. ' Wonder.' 
 
 47. To call litem woollen vassals. The way in which 
 "them" is used here, alluding to the common people, alfords a 
 fine instance of Shakespeare's dramatic way of abruptly com- 
 mencing a scene, as well as of his using a pronoun in reference 
 to an unnamed but thoroughly understood antecedent. See 
 Note 3, Act ii., " Winter's Tale." The term " woollen vassals" 
 here shows Shakespeare's intention to convey the circumstance 
 that the garment worn by the plebeians was of wool ; and this 
 lends support to our interpretation of the word " woolvish," as 
 given in Note 88, Act ii. At the same time, the epithet 
 "vassals" affords confirmation to our surmise that 'slavish' 
 may have been the word for which the Folio printers mistakenly 
 substituted 'wooluish.' 
 
 48. IFhen one but of my ordinance stood up to speak, b'c. 
 ' When one of my rank did but stand up to speak," &c. As we 
 interpret this sentence, the construction is transposed here ; but 
 the line so runs that it will admit of three different interpreta- 
 tl )ns : first, the one we have given ; seoond, ' when but a single 
 man of my rank stands up,' &c. ; third, ' when a man of but 
 my rank in the state stands up,' &c. "Ordinance" is here 
 used in the sense of ' order,' ' rank,' ' degree,' ' grade.' 
 
 49. / play ilte man I am. ' I act in accordance with my own 
 
 fol. You might have been enough the man 
 you are, 
 
 With striving less to be so : lesser had been 
 The thwartings*' of your dispositions, if 
 You had not show'd them how you were tlispos'd"^ 
 Ere they lack'd power to cross you. 
 
 Cor. Let ther.i hang. 
 
 Fol, Ay, and burn too. 
 
 Enter Menenius and Senator.=. 
 
 Men. Come, come, you have been tco rough, 
 something too rough ; 
 You must return and mend it. 
 
 First Sen, There's no remedy : 
 
 Unless, by not so doing, our good city 
 Cleave in the midst, and perish. 
 
 Fol. Pray, be counsell'd : 
 
 I have a heart as little apt as yours, 
 But yet a brain that leads my use of anger 
 To better vantage. 
 
 Men. Well said, noble woman : 
 
 Before he should thus stoop to the herd,^* but that 
 The violent fit o' the time craves it as physic 
 For the whole state, I would put mine armour on, 
 Which I can scarcely bear. 
 
 Cor. What must I do ? 
 
 Men. Return to the tribunes. 
 Cor. Well, what then ? what then ? 
 
 Men. Repent what you have spoke. 
 
 character.' Hanmer proposed to insert ' truly' before " I play," 
 in order to supply the so-called defective measure ; but 
 Shakespeare here and elsewhere has short lines, which give 
 excellent effect of brevity where the speakers are expressing 
 themselves curtly and tartly. 
 
 50. Let go. Here again various alterations have been pro- 
 posed, in order to supply the two additional feet in the line, 
 which metre-mongers suppose it to require, but which we think 
 Shakespeare's poetic taste and dramatic judgment caused him 
 occasionally and purposely to omit. " Let go" is an idiomatic 
 use of the words (as the French employ their phrase, ' laissez 
 done'), to express dissent from a last-spoken opinion, and to 
 signify prohibition of farther discussion. 
 
 51. Thwartings. The Folio prints ' things' here for " thwart- 
 ings." Theobald's correction. 
 
 52. Had not show'd them hozv, 6^c. The introduction of 
 "them" here, which in .strict grammatical construction refers 
 to "thwartings," but which really and in Shakespearian con- 
 struction refers to the plebeians, admirably serves to maintain the 
 characteristic effect of the dialogue ; both mother and son 
 alluding to the unmentioned but perfectly comprehended theme 
 of their wrathful antipathy by the same pronoun. See Note 47 
 of this Act. 
 
 53. I have a heart as little apt as yours. This passage has 
 been suspected of corruption, and has been variously altered ; 
 but we believe that here "apt" is used to express 'pliant,' 
 ' inclinable,' ' accommodating,' ' conformable,' all of which 
 senses are comprised in the Latin word aptus, whence our word 
 " apt" is derived. 
 
 54. Be/ore he should thus stoop to the herd. The Folio 
 prints 'heart' for "herd" here. Theobald's correction. In 
 both previous passages of this play, where " herd" is appli A to 
 the common people (sae Note 62, Act i., and the question to- 
 wards the commencement of Act iii. — " Are these your herd ?"), 
 the Folio spells the word ' heard ;' which easily accoimts for ths 
 misprint of 'heart' in the present passage. 
 
 ^7 
 
Act III.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Cor. For them ? — I cannot do it to the gods ; 
 Must I, then, do 't to them ? 
 
 Fol. You are too absolute ; 
 
 Though therein you can never be too noble, 
 But when extremities speak. I have heard you 
 say, 
 
 Hoaour and policy, like unsever'd friends, 
 r the war do grow together: grant that, and tell 
 me. 
 
 In peace what each of them by the other lose,^' 
 That they combine not there. 
 
 Cor. Tush, tush ! 
 
 Men. A good demand. 
 
 l^ol. If it be honour in your wars to seem 
 The same you are not (which, for your best ends, 
 You adopt your policy), how is it less or worse, 
 That it shall hold companionship in peace 
 With honour, as in war ; since that to both 
 It stands in like request ? 
 
 Cor. Why force you this 
 
 Vol. Because that now it lies you on to speak" 
 To the people ; not by your own instruction. 
 Nor by the matter which your heart prompts you,*^ 
 But with such words that are but roted in 
 Your tongue,*^ though but bastards, and syllables 
 Of no allowance, to your bosom's truth. 
 Now, this no more dishonours you at all. 
 Than to take in a town^' with gentle words. 
 Which else would put you to your fortune, and 
 
 55. IVhat each of thetn by ilie other lose. A false grammati- 
 cal concord, allowable in Shakespeare's time, of which we have 
 pointed out several instances. See Note 26, Act v., " Henry V." 
 
 56. IVhjy force you ihis? 'Why do you urge this?' See 
 Note 99, Act ii. 
 
 57. Now it lies you on to speak. A similar form of phrase- 
 ology to the one pointed out in Note 83, Act ii., " Richard II." 
 
 58. Nor by the matter which your heart prompts you. ' To ' 
 is elliptically understood after *' you "here; other examples 
 having been pointed out where Shakespeare thus gives a final 
 word to be implied. See Notes 149, Act iv., "Winter's Tale," 
 and 80, Act i., " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 39. With such words that are but roted in your tongue. The 
 Folio spells " roted " here * roated ; * and out of the four passages 
 where "rote" occurs in Shakespeare's plays, the Folio twice 
 spells it ' roate.' We are thus particular in stating this latter 
 point, because Johnson and others change " roted " to ' rooted ' 
 here. "Such words that are but roted in your tongue" appears 
 to us to mean, ' Such words as are but retained by rote in 
 your tongue,' * Such words as are but kept by a routine process 
 of memory in your tongue ready for use ; ' mere words acquired 
 by rote and held ready for conventional utterance. Shakespeare 
 uses the expression " by rote "to convey the idea of ' without 
 real meaning,' ' in a merely superficial and artificial manner,' as 
 well as ' by a routine process of memory,' in the passage, " Oh, 
 she knows well, thy love did read by rote, and could not spell," 
 " Romeo and Juliet," Act ii., sc. 3 ; and Bacon (in the Essay on 
 Atheism) employs it in this comprehensive sense, when observ- 
 ing, " He rather saith it by rote to himself, as that he would 
 have, than that he can throughly believe it, or be persuaded of 
 it." We think that to throw out a word like " roted," merely 
 because there has been no instance of its use prior to Shake- 
 speare's, is to reject the advantage afforded by having such 
 a genius to create expressive words for the language. 
 
 Go. Though but bastards, and syllables of no allowance, to 
 your bosom' s truth. "Allowance" is here used in the sense of 
 
 The hazard of much blood. 
 I would dissemble with my nature, where 
 My fortunes and my friends at stake requir'd 
 I should do so in honour : I am, in this,^^ 
 Your wife, your son, these senators, the nobles ; 
 And you will rather show^* our general louts*'* 
 How you can frown, than spend a fawn upon them, 
 For the inheritance of their loves, and safeguard 
 Of what that want*^ might ruin. 
 
 Men. Noble lady !— 
 
 Come, go with us ; speak fair : you may salve so 
 Not what is dangerous present, but the loss 
 Of what is past.«6 
 
 Vol. I pr'ythee now, my son, 
 
 Go to them, with this bonnet*' in thy hand ; 
 And thus far having stretch'd it"^ (here be with 
 them),*!* 
 
 Thy knee bussing the stones (for in such business 
 Action is eloquence, and the eyes of the ignorant 
 More learnfed than the ears), waving thy head. 
 Which often,''" thus, correcting thy stout heart, 
 Now humble^' as the ripest mulberry 
 That will not hold the handling : or say to them, 
 Thou art their soldier, and, being bred in broils. 
 Hast not the soft way, which, thou dost confess. 
 Were fit for thee to use, as they to claim, 
 In asking their good loves; but thou wilt frame 
 Thyself, forsooth, hereafter theirs, so far 
 As thou hast power and person. 
 
 'favourable acceptance,' 'approbation' (see Note 74, Act ii., 
 " Troilus and Cressida ") ; and " to " has the force of ' compared 
 to,' or ' in comparison with.' For other instances of this peculiar 
 ellipsis, see Note 15, Act ii. The whole sentence means, 
 ' Though they be but bastards, and syllables of no recognised 
 worth, compared with the legitimate offspring of your bosom's 
 truth, your own frank and honest speech.' 
 
 61. To take in a town. 'To capture a town,' ' to conquer a 
 town.' See Note 47, Act i. 
 
 62. I am, in this. ' I represent, in this appeal.' 
 
 63. And you will ratlier show. 'Yet ' is elliptically under- 
 stood before " you" here. 
 
 6^. Louts. ' Clowns,' ' boors.' 
 
 65. T/iat want. ' The want of that love.' 
 
 66. Not what is dangerous present, but the loss, ' Only' 
 is elliptically understood between " not " and " what " here. 
 
 67. This bonnet. Volumnia alludes (possibly by a sign) to 
 the bonnet which Coriolanus wears or holds at the moment she 
 is speaking. 
 
 68. And thus far having stretch'd it which 
 
 often, thus, correcting, Is'c. The word "thus," here twice 
 used, shows that Volumnia employs action throughout this 
 speech, as an exponent of what she wishes to convey to her son 
 and prompt him to do in imitation. See Note 26, Act ii,, 
 " Winter's Tale." 
 
 69. (Here be with them.) A phrase indicative of an accom- 
 panying gesture used in illustration of the speaker's meaning. 
 See Note 92, Act ii. 
 
 70. Which often. This has been suspected of error, and has 
 been variously altered ; but we think it to be one of Shakespeare's 
 condensedly elliptical phrases, signifying ' which [waving of thy 
 head] let it be often,' 'let it be often done or repeated.' We 
 have instanced many examples of this kind of construction. See 
 Note 22, Act ii., " Richard II." 
 
 71. Now humble. An ellipsis for ' now being humble,' ' nov/ 
 made humble,' or ' now rendered humble.' 
 
Act III.] 
 
 Men. This but done, 
 
 Even as she speaks, why, their hearts were yours ; 
 For they have pardons, being ask'd, as free 
 As words to little purpose. 
 
 Vol. Pr'ythee now, 
 
 Go, and be rul'd: although I know thou hadst 
 rather 
 
 Follow thine enemy in a fiery gulf 
 
 Than flatter him in a bower. — Here is Cominius. 
 
 Enter Cominius. 
 Com. I have been i' the market-place ; and, sir, 
 'tis fit 
 
 You make strong party, or defend yourself 
 By calmness or by absence : all's in anger. 
 Men. Only fair speech. 
 
 Com. I think 'twill serve, if he 
 
 Can thereto frame nis spirit. 
 
 Vol. He must and will. — 
 
 Pr'ythee now, say you will, and go about it. 
 
 Cor. Must I go show them my unbarb'd 
 sconce ? '2 must I, 
 With my base tongue, give to my noble heart 
 A lie, that it must bear ? Well, I will do 't : 
 Yet, were there but this single plot"^ to lose. 
 This mould of Marcius, they to dust should grind 
 it, 
 
 And throw 't against the wind. — To the market- 
 place : — 
 
 You have put me now to such a part, which never 
 I shall discharge to the life. 
 
 Coin, Come, come, we'll prompt you. 
 
 Vol. I pr'ythee now, sweet son, — as thou hast 
 said 
 
 My praises made thee first a soldier, so. 
 To have my praise for this, perform a part 
 Thou hast not done before. 
 
 Cor. Well, I must do 't : 
 
 Away, my disposition, and possess me 
 Some harlot's spirit ! my throat of war be turn'd, 
 Which quired 7'* with my drum, into a pipe 
 Small as a woman's, or the virgin voice 
 That babies lulls asleep ! the smiles of knaves 
 Tent 7^ in my cheeks: and schoolboys' tears take up 
 The glasses of my sight ! a beggar's tongue 
 
 72. My nnlarVd sconce. As Shakespeare elsewhere uses 
 "barbed" to express 'caparisoned for war' (see Note 6, Act i., 
 "Richard III."), as Chaucer uses 'barbe' in the sense of a 
 covering for the head ; and as Cotgrave says that ' barbute ' 
 signifies a riding-hood and also the beaver of a helmet, it is 
 probable that Coriolanus is here meant to say my 'unarmed,' 
 ' unhelmeted,' or * uncovered head.' 
 
 73. Plot. Literally, a piece of ground ; figuratively applied to 
 the human body, as earth or "mould." 
 
 74. Quired. Here used for ' chimed,' ' sang in unison,' 
 ' sounded in the same loud strain.' 
 
 75. Tent. Here used for 'encamp,' 'form themselves a 
 resting-place.' 
 
 76. My arm'd knees, who bow'd, 6^c, Instance of "who" 
 used for ' which.' 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Make motion through my lips; and my arm'd 
 knees. 
 
 Who bow'd but in my stirrup,?^ bend like his 
 That hath receiv'd an alms! — I will not do 't ; 
 Lest I surcease?? to honour mine own truth. 
 And, by my body's action, teach my mind 
 A most inherent baseness. 
 
 Vol. At thy choice, then : 
 
 To beg of thee, it is my more dishonour 
 Than thou of them.?^ Come all to ruin : let 
 Thy mother rather feel thy pride than fear 
 Thy dangerous stoutness;?' for I mock at death 
 With as big heart as thou. Do as thou list. 
 Thy valiantness was mine, thou suck'dst it from 
 me ; 
 
 But owe 81 thy pride thyself. 
 
 Cor. Pray, be content : 
 
 Mother, I am going to the market-place ; 
 Chide me no more. I'll mountebank their loves, 
 Cog82 their hearts from them, and come heme 
 belov'd 
 
 Of all the trades in Rome. Look, I am going : 
 Commend me to my wife. I'll return consul ; 
 Or never trust to what my tongue can do 
 r the way of flattery farther. 
 
 Vol. Do your will. [^Exit. 
 
 Com. Away! the tribunes do attend you: arm 
 yourself 
 
 To answer mildly ; for they are prepar'd 
 With accusations, as I hear, more strong 
 Than are upon you yet. 
 
 Cor. The word is, mildly : — pray you, let us go : 
 Let them accuse me by invention, I 
 Will answer in mine honour. 
 
 Men. Ay, but mildly. 
 
 Cor. Well, mildly be it, then ; mildly. 
 
 l^Exei/nr. 
 
 SCENE III.— Rome. The Forum. 
 Enter SiciNius and Brutus. 
 Brit. In this point charge him home, — that he 
 afl^ccts 
 
 Tyrannical power : if he evades us there, 
 
 77. Surcease. An old form of ' cease.' 
 
 78. To beg of thee, it is my more dishonour than thou 0/ 
 them. Elliptically expressed : ' It is more dishonour for me to 
 beg of thee than it is dishonour for thee to beg of them.' 
 
 79. Let thy mother rather feel, &^c. Johnson says, " This is 
 obscure;" but Volumnia, who has just spoken of the "dis- 
 honour " to which her son's refusal to grant her request subjects 
 her, says, ' Nay, then, let me feel the effects of thy pride in 
 this thy refusal and in the harm it may bring upon us, rather 
 than fear thy dangerous inflexibility.' 
 
 80. ]Vith as big heart. "Big" is here used for 'haughty,' 
 ' unbending,' ' unflinching,' * unsubmissive.* See Note 33, Act 
 v., "Taming of the Shrew." 
 
 81. Owe. ' Own ; ' ' possess as derived from thine own nature. 
 
 82. Cog 'Cheat,' 'cajole.' 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 109 
 
Act nr.] 
 
 Enforce him with his envy to the people j^* 
 And that the spoil got on the Antiates 
 Was ne'er distributed. 
 
 Enter an M<M\e. 
 What, will he come ? 
 
 jEd. He's coming. 
 
 Bru. How accompanied ? 
 
 jEd. With old Menenius, and those senators 
 That always favour'd him. 
 
 Sic. Have you a catalogue 
 
 Of all the voices that we have procur'd, 
 Set down by the poll ? 
 
 ^d. I have ; 'tis ready. 
 
 Sic. Have you collected them by tribes fS'' 
 
 ^d. I have. 
 
 Sic. Assemble presently the people hither : 
 And when they hear me say, " It shall be so 
 r the right and strength o' the commons," be it 
 either 
 
 For death, for fine, or banishment, then let them. 
 If I say fine, cry " Fine," — if death, cry " Death ;" 
 Insisting on the old prerogative 
 And power i' the truth o' the cause.^' 
 
 jEd. I shall inform them. 
 
 Bru. And when such time they have begun to cry, 
 Let them not cease, but with a din confus'd 
 Enforce the present execution 
 Of what we chance to sentence. 
 
 jEd. Very well. 
 
 Sic. Make them be strong, and ready for this 
 hint, 
 
 When we shall hap to give 't them. 
 
 Bru. Go about it.— [£'a:;/ ^dile. 
 
 Put him to choler straight : he hath been us'd 
 Ever to conquer, and to have his worth 
 Of contradiction being once chaf d, he cannot 
 Be rein'd again to temperance ; then he speaks 
 What's in his heart; and that is there which looks 
 With us to break his neck.**^ 
 
 Sic. Well, here he comes. 
 
 83. Enforce him with his envy to the people. ' Urge against 
 him his hatred of the people.' " Enforce" is again used for ' urge,' 
 a Httle farther on in the present scene. See Note 56 of this Act. 
 
 84. By tribes. This is explained by a passage in North's 
 Plutarch : " The tribunes would in any case (whatsoeuer became 
 of it) that the people should proceed to giue their voyces by 
 tribes, and not by hundreds ; for by this meanes the multitude of 
 the poore needie people (and all such rabble as had nothing to 
 lose, and had lesse regard of honesty before their eyes) came to 
 be of greater force (because their voyces were numbred by the 
 polle) than the noble honest citizens." 
 
 85. Tlie old prerogative and power the truth 0' the cause. 
 Johnson remarks, "This is not very easily understood," and 
 proposes to read ' o'er the truth o' the cause ; ' but we think that 
 the original reading, " i' the truth o' the cause," bears the inter- 
 pretation, ' in the justice of the procedure.' We have before 
 pointed out instances where Shakespeare uses the word " cause " 
 in the sense of ' course of action,' or ' procedure.' See Note 11, 
 Act v., " King John." 
 
 86. His worth 0/ contradiftion. "Worth" is here used as 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Enter Coriolanus, Menenius, Cominius, 
 Senators, and Patricians. 
 Men. Calmly, I do beseech you. 
 Cor. Ay, as an ostler, that for the poorest piece 
 Will bear the knave by the volume.*^— The 
 
 honour' d gods 
 Keep Rome in safety, and the chairs of justice 
 Supplied with worthy men ! plant love among us ! 
 Throng 89 our large temples with the shows of 
 peace. 
 
 And not our streets with war ! 
 First Sen. Amen, Amen. 
 
 Men. A noble wish. 
 
 Re-enter MAile, Txiith Citizens. 
 Sic. Draw near, ye people. 
 jEd. List to your tribunes; audience: peace, 1 
 say ! 
 
 Cor. First, hear me speak. 
 
 Both Tri. Well, say.— Peace, ho ! 
 
 Cor. Shall I be charg'd no farther than this 
 present ? 
 Must all determine 80 here ? 
 
 Sic. I do demand. 
 
 If you submit you to the people's voices, 
 Allow their officers, and are content 
 To suffer lawful censure for such faults 
 As shall be prov'd upon you ? 
 
 Cor. I am content. 
 
 Men. Lo, citizens, he says he is content : 
 The warlike service he has done, consider; think 
 Upon the wounds his body bears, which show 
 Like graves i' the holy churchyard. 
 
 Cor. Scratches with briers, 
 
 Scars to move laughter only. 
 
 Men. Consider farther. 
 
 That when he speaks not like a citizen, 
 You find him like a soldier : do not take 
 His rougher accents for malicious sounds, 
 But, as I say, such as become a soldier. 
 Rather than envy you.'^ 
 
 an abbreviated form of ' pennyworth ; ' which latter word is 
 frequently used by Shakespeare idiomatically, in the sense of ' a 
 full quantity,' ' a lumping amount' (see the passage referred to 
 in Note 55, Act ii., " Much Ado") ; and in the present sentence 
 ' his worth ' has a similar meaning with the modern familiar 
 expressions, * his fill,* ' his full swing.' 
 
 87. And that is there ivhich looks with us to breaJc his jieck. 
 ' And in his heart is that wrathful spirit which tends con- 
 currently with our wish to bring about his destruction.' 
 
 88. For tlie poorest piece will bear tJte knave by tJte volume. 
 ' For the smallest coin will bear being called knave as often as 
 would fill a volume.' 
 
 89. Throng. The Folio prints ' through ' for " throng" here. 
 Theobald's correction ; suggested by Warburton. 
 
 Determine. Here used for ' terminate,' ' conclude.' See 
 Note 94, Act iv., "Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 91. Accents. The Folio gives ' actions' instead of " accents" 
 here. Theobald's correction. 
 
 92. Rather than envy you. ' Rather than such as imply 
 hatred to you,' ' rather than such as show ill-will towards you.' 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 no 
 
Act III.] 
 
 Com. Well, well, no more. 
 
 Cor. What is the matter, 
 That being pass'd for consul with full voice, 
 I am so dishonour'd, that the very hour 
 You take it off again ? 
 
 Sic. Answer to us. 
 
 Cor. Say, then : 'tis true, I ought so. 
 
 Sic. We charge you, that you have contriv'd to 
 take 
 
 From Rome all season'd office, ^nd to wind 
 Yourself into a power tyrannical ; 
 For which you are a traitor to the people. 
 Cor. How ! traitor ! 
 
 Men. Nay, temperately ; your promise. 
 
 Cor. The fires i' the lowest hell fold in the 
 people ! 
 
 Call me their traitor ! — Thou injurious tribune ! 
 Within thine eyes sat twenty thousand deaths,'^ 
 In thy hands clutch'd as many millions, in 
 Thy lying tongue both numbers, I would say, 
 Thou liest, unto thee, with a voice as free 
 As I do pray the gods. 
 
 Sic. Mark you this, people ? 
 
 Citizens. To the rock, to the rock with him ! 
 
 Sic. Peace ! 
 
 We need not put new matter to his charge : 
 What you have seen him do, and heard him 
 speak. 
 
 Beating your officers, cursing yourselves. 
 Opposing laws with strokes, and here defying 
 Those whose great power must try him ; even 
 this. 
 
 So criminal, and in such capital kind, 
 Deserves th' extremest death. 
 
 Bru. But since he hath 
 
 Serv'd well for Rome, — 
 
 Cor. What do you prate of service ? 
 
 Bru. I talk of that, that know it. 
 
 Cor. You ? 
 
 Men. Is this the promise that you made your 
 mother ? 
 
 Com. Know, I pray you, — 
 
 Cor. I'll know no farther : 
 
 Let them pronounce the steep Tarpeian death, 
 Vagabond exile, flaying, pent to linger 
 But with a grain a day,— I would not buy 
 
 93. Season'd office. ' Long-established office,' ' time-matured 
 office.' 
 
 94. Within thine eyes sat, is^c. ' If is elliptically under- 
 stood before "within." 
 
 95. JVor check my courage for what they, &'c. "Courage" 
 is here used for ' spirit,' ' hardihood.' See Note 29, Act ii 
 "Third Part Henry VI." 
 
 96. For tfiat he lias. ' Because he has,' ' for the reason that 
 he has.' 
 
 g-j. Envied. 'Shown hatred,' 'shown ill-will,' 'shown a 
 grudging spirit.' See Note 92 of this Act. 
 
 98. As now at last. 'He has' is elliptically understood 
 between "as" and "now" here ; the construction of the sen- 
 
 [SCENE 111. 
 
 Their mercy at the price of one fair word ; 
 Nor check my courage for w'^at they can give,'^ 
 To have 't with saying. Good morrow. 
 
 Sic. For that he has ^6 
 
 (As much as in him lies) from time to time 
 Envied'? against the people, seeking means 
 To pluck away their power; as now at last's 
 Given hostile strokes, and that not in the presence 
 Of dreaded justice, but on the ministers 
 That do distribute it;'' — in the name o' the 
 people, 
 
 And in the power of us the tribunes, we. 
 Even from this instant, banish him our city ; 
 In peril of precipitation 
 From off the rock Tarpeian, never more 
 To enter our Rome gates: i' the people's name, 
 I say it shall be so. 
 Citizens. It shall be so, it shall be so; let him 
 away : 
 
 He's banished, and it shall be so. 
 Com. Hear me, my masters, and my common 
 friends, — 
 
 Sic, He's sentenc'd ; no more hearing. 
 
 Com. Let me speak : 
 
 I have been consul, and can show for Rome 
 Her enemies' marks upon me. I do love 
 My country's good with a respect more tender, 
 More holy, and profound, than mine own life. 
 My dear wife's estimate, her womb's increase. 
 And treasure of my loins; then if I would 
 Speak that, — 
 
 Sic. We know your drift : — speak what ? 
 
 Bru. There's no more to be said, but he is 
 banish'd. 
 
 As enemy to the people and his country : 
 It shall be so. 
 
 Citizens. It shall be so, it shall be so. 
 
 Cor. You common cry of curs whose breath 
 I hate 
 
 As reeki"2 o' the rotten fens, whose loves 1 
 prize 
 
 As the dead carcasses of unburied men 
 That do corrupt my air, — I banish you ; 
 And here remain with your uncertainty ! 
 Let every feeble rumour shake your hearts ! 
 Your enemies, with nodding of their plumes. 
 
 tence allowing the words to be thus implied, since it runs 
 thus: — " For that he has .... envied against the people . . . . 
 as [he has] now at last given," &c. 
 
 99. Not in the presence 0/ dreaded Jitsiice, but on tJie 
 ministers, &=c. Here 'only' is elliptically understood after 
 "not" in this sentence. See Note 66 of the present Act. 
 " Not," when followed thus by " but," was formerly sometimes 
 used for ' not only.' 
 
 100. Can shoivfor Rome. The Folio prints ' from ' instead 
 of "for" here. Theobald's correction. 
 
 Toi. You common cry of curs ! " Cry " is here used in the sense 
 of ' pack ; ' as it is later on in this play. See Note 79, Act iv. 
 I02. Reek. ' Fume,' ' vapour,' 'exhalation.' 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
Act III.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 yEdile. The people's enemy is gone, is gone ! 
 
 Citizens. Our enemy is banlsh'd ! he is gone ! Hoo ! hoo ! 
 
 Act III. Seme III. 
 
 Fan you into despair ! Have the power still 
 To banish your defenders ; till at length 
 Your ignorance (which finds not till it feels), 
 Making but reservation of yourselves 
 (Still your own foes), deliver you, as most 
 Abated captives, to some nation 
 That won you without blows ! Despising, 
 For you, the city,'<'^ thus I turn my back : 
 There is a world elsewhere. 
 
 [Exeunt CoRiOLANUs, Cominius, Menenius, 
 Senators, and Patricians. 
 Md. The people's enemy is gone, is gone ! 
 
 103. Making but reservation of yourselves. Capell changed 
 "but" to 'not' here; and many editors since his time have 
 adopted his alteration. But it appears to us to destroy the 
 intended meaning of the passage, which is—' Have the power 
 still to banish your defenders ; till at length your ignorance 
 (which cannot discern till it is made to feel), reserving none but 
 yourselves unbanished (still your own foes), deliver you, as most 
 subdued captives, to some nation that shall have won you with- 
 out striking a blow.' By thus telling them that in banishing 
 
 Citizens. Our enemy is banlsh'd ! he is gone ! 
 
 Hoo ! hoo ! 
 
 [Shouting, and throwing up their caps. 
 Sic. Go, see him out at gates, '"^ and follow 
 
 him. 
 
 As he hath followed you, with all despite ; 
 Give him deserv'd vexation. Let a guard 
 Attend us through the city. 
 
 Citizens. Come, come, let's see him out at 
 gates ; come : — 
 The gods preserve our noble tribunes ! — come. 
 
 [Exeunt, 
 
 their defenders and keeping only themselves unbanished they 
 do but the more securely provide for their own ultimate 
 departure from Rome as miserable captives, we think that 
 Coriolanus's sneer at their "ignorance" is made extra pointed. 
 
 104. Despising, for you, the city. "For you" is here used to 
 express ' for your sakes,' ' on account of you.' See Note 9, 
 Act iv., "Richard III." 
 
 105. Out at gates. A colloquial form of ' out at the gates,' or 
 ' out of the gates.' See Note 33, Act v., " Henry VIII." 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene 1. 
 
 ACT 
 
 SCENE I.— Rome. Before a Gate of the City. 
 
 Enter Coriolanus, Volumnia, Virgilia, Me- 
 NENIUS, CoMINIUS, and several young Patri- 
 cians. 
 
 Cor. Come, leave your tears ; a brief farewell : — 
 the beast 
 
 With many heads butts me away. — Nay, mother. 
 Where is your ancient courage ? you were us'd 
 To say extremity ' was the trier of spirits ; 
 That common chances common men could bear ; 
 That, when the sea was calm, all boats alike 
 Show'd mastership in floating ; fortune's blows, 
 When most struck home, being gentle wounded, 
 craves 
 
 A noble cunning -.'^ you were us'd to load me 
 With precepts that would make invincible 
 The heart that conn'd' them. 
 
 Vir. Oh, heavens! oh, heavens !^ 
 
 Cor. Nay, I pr'ythee, woman, — 
 
 Vol. Now the red pestilence ^ strike all trades in 
 Rome, 
 And occupations perish ! 
 
 Cor. What, what, what ! 
 
 I shall be lov'd when T am lack'd. Nay, inother. 
 Resume that spirit, when you were wont to say. 
 If you had been the wife of Hercules, 
 Six of his labours you'ti have done, and sav'd 
 Your husband so much sweat. — Cominius, 
 Droop not; adieu. — Farewell, my wife, — my 
 mother: 
 
 1. Extre7nity. The first Folio prints ' extremities.' Corrected 
 in the second Folio. 
 
 2. Fortune's blows, luheit most struck home, being gentle 
 wounded, craves a noble cunning. The construction here is 
 very peculiar ; and various attempts have been made to alter 
 the passage, under the idea that it is misprinted. As it stands, 
 the sentence may be interpreted to mean, * When Fortune's 
 blows are most struck home, to be gentle, although wounded, 
 demands a noble philosophy.' " Cunning" is not unfrequently 
 used by Shakespeare in the sense of 'wisdom,' 'skill,' 'pro- 
 ficiency.' See Note 26, Induction, "Taming of the Shrew." 
 
 3. Conn'd. ' Studied,' ' committed to memory,' ' learned 
 thoroughly.' See Note 55, Act iii., "As You Like It." 
 
 4. O/i, heavens ! oh, heavens ! Be it observed that after this 
 one irrepressible burst of anguish, when her husband has bidden 
 her to check it, Virgilia utters no farther syllable during this 
 parting scene. See Note 21, Act ii. 
 
 5. The red pestilence. This imprecation, slightly varied in 
 form, occurs again elsewhere. See Notes 56, Act i., " Tempest," 
 and 5, Act ii., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 6. Fo?id. 'Weak,' 'foolish.' 
 
 7. IVot. 'Know.' 
 
 8. Like to a lonely dragon, that his fen makes fear'd, <V<r. 
 Here the construction allows of two meanings in jhe sentence— 
 ' Like a lonely dragon, that his pestilential fen makes feared and 
 talked of more than seen,' and ' like a lonely dragon that makes 
 
 IV. 
 
 I'll do well yet. — Thou old and true Menenius, 
 Thy tears are Salter than a younger man's. 
 And venomous to thine eyes.— My sometime 
 general, 
 
 I have seen thee stern, and thou hast oft beheld 
 Heart-hardening spectacles ; tell these sad women, 
 'Tis fond* to wail inevitable strokes. 
 As 'tis to laugh at them.— My mother, you wot^ 
 well 
 
 My hazards still have been your solace : and 
 
 Believe 't not lightly (though I go alone, 
 
 Like to a lonely dragon, that his fen 
 
 Makes fear'd and talk'd of more than seen),* your son 
 
 Will or exceed the common, or be caught 
 
 With cauteloiis baits and practice.' 
 
 Vol. My first son,"> 
 
 Whither wilt thou go? Take good Cominius 
 With thee awhile: determine on some course. 
 More than a wild exposure^' to each chance 
 That starts i' the way before thee. 
 
 Cor. Oh, the gods! 
 
 Com. I'll follow tliee a month, devise with thee 
 Where thou shalt rest, that thou mayst hear of us. 
 And we of thee : so, if the time thrust forth 
 A cause for thy repeal, we shall not send 
 O'er the vast world to seek a single man ; 
 And lose advantage, which doth ever cool 
 r the absence of the needer.'- 
 
 Cor. Fare ye well : 
 
 Thou hast years upon thee ; and thou art too full 
 Of the wars' surfeits, to go rove with one 
 
 his fenny retreat fear'd and talk'd of more than seen.' This 
 duplicate meaning applies well to Coriolanus, whose withdrawal 
 to some unknown place causes him to be dreaded and talked of 
 during absence, and whose known fierce nature causes this 
 intended place of retreat to become a subject of fear and wonder- 
 ing conjecture. 
 
 9. Cautelous baits and practice. " Cautelous " is ' insidious,' 
 'wily,' 'artful,' 'deceitful;' and "practice" is 'treachery,' 
 'treacherous plotting,' 'machination.' See Note 47, Act i., 
 " Henry VIII." 
 
 10. My first son. " First " is here used in the sense of 
 ' most admirable,' 'supremely noble : ' and aftords an instance of 
 one of Shakespeare's superlatives 0/ emi-nence. See Note 14, 
 Act iv, "Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 ■IX. A wild exposure. The Folio gives the word in the form 
 of 'exposture ; ' which is probably a misprint, as in the two other 
 instances where Shakespeare has used it (" Troilus and Cressida," 
 Act i., sc. 3, and " Macbeth," Act ii., sc. 3) it is given in the 
 usual form of " exposure." 
 
 12. Lose adjianiage, which doth ever cool V the absence 0/ the 
 needer. The employment of the word " needer " in this passage 
 affords an example of Shakespeare's inclusive style; for "needer" 
 as here employed gives the effect of the man needing the advan- 
 tage of which there is a prospect, and of the man needed home by 
 his friends who want him to profit by it. Moreover, what golden 
 wisdom and practical truth are comprised in a line or two ! 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 That's yet unbruis'd : bring me but out at gate.'' — 
 Come, my sweet wife, my dearest mother, and 
 My friends of noble touch when I am forth. 
 Bid me farewell, and smile. I pray you, come. 
 While I remain above the ground, you shall 
 Hear from me still ; and never of me aught 
 But what is like me formerly. 
 
 Men. That's worthily 
 
 As any ear can hear. — Come, let's not weep. — 
 If I could shake off but one seven years 
 From these old arms and legs, by the good gods, 
 I'd with thee every foot. 
 
 Cor. Give me thy hand : — 
 
 Come. ^Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE II.— Rome. J Street near the Gate. 
 
 Enter SiCiNius, Brutus, and an ^dile. 
 Stc. Bid them all home; he's gone, and we'll no 
 farther. — 
 
 The nobility are vex'd, who, we see, have sided 
 In his behalf. 
 
 Bru. Now we have shown our power. 
 
 Let us seem humbler after it is done 
 Than when it was a-doing.'* 
 
 Stc. Bid them home : 
 
 Say their great enemy is gone, and they 
 Stand in their ancient strength. 
 
 Bru. Dismiss them home. \_Exit ^dile. 
 
 Here comes his mother. 
 
 Sic. Let's not meet her. 
 
 Bru. Why ? 
 
 Sic. They say she's mad. 
 
 Bru. They have ta'en note of us: keep on your 
 way. 
 
 Enter Volumnia, Virgilia, and Menenius. 
 Fol. Oh, ye're well met : the hoarded plague o' 
 the gods 
 Requite your love ! 
 Men. Peace, peace ; be not so loud. 
 
 13. Bring me but out at gate. 'Accompany me no farther 
 than out of the gate.' See Notes 35, Act v., " Troilus and 
 Cressida," and 105, Act iii. of the present play. 
 
 14. My friends 0/ noble touch. 'My nobly tested friends,' 
 my well-proved friends. See Note 12, Act iv., " Richard III." 
 
 15. Humbler after it is done t/uin wlien 't mas a-doing. 
 " It" here refers to the deed of Coriolanus's banishment, implied 
 in the previous words, " he's gone ; " affording an instance of the 
 mode in which Shakespeare uses the word " it " in reference to 
 an implied particular. 
 
 16. iVill you be gone ? This form of question, now generally 
 used to express desire to have a person gone, here signifies a 
 desire to hinder his going : not meaning ' Will you go when I 
 bid you ? ' but ' Are you going, when I say you shall hear me ? ' 
 This is explained, because if not understood as here intended, it 
 seems to be contradicted by the words that follow—" You shall 
 stay too;" whereas they continue the sense of Volumnia's 
 address to the tribunes, who are trying to pass on. 
 
 jj. Are you vianliind^ The word "mankind" is asked 
 tauntingly, in the sense of 'manlike,' 'mannish,' 'masculine' 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Vol. If that I could for weeping, you should 
 hear, — 
 
 Nay, and you shall hear some.— [To Brutus.] Will 
 
 you be gone 
 
 Vir. [To SiciNius.] You shall stay too : I would 
 I had the power 
 To say so to my husband. 
 Sic. Are you mankind 
 
 Fol. Ay, fool ; is that a shame ? — Note but this 
 fool.— 
 
 Was not a man my father? Hadst thou foxship 
 To banish him that struck more blows for Rome 
 Than thou hast spoken words ? — 
 
 Sic. Oh, blessed heavens! 
 
 Fol. More noble blows than ever thou wise words; 
 And for Rome's good.— I'll tell thee what;— yet 
 go :— 
 
 Nay, but thou shalt stay too : — I would my son 
 Were in Arabia, and thy tribe before him, 
 His good sword in his hand. 
 
 Sic. What then ? 
 
 Fir. What then ! 
 
 He'd make an end of thy posterity. 
 
 Fol. Bastards and all. — 
 Good man, the wounds that he does bear for Rome! 
 
 Men. Come, come, peace. 
 
 Sic. I would he had continu'd to his country 
 As he began, and not unknit himself 
 The noble knot he made. 
 
 Bru. I would he had. 
 
 Fol. I would he had ! 'Twas you incens'd the 
 rabble ;— 
 
 Cats,i8 that can judge as fitly of his worth. 
 As I can of those mysteries which heaven 
 Will not have earth to know. 
 
 Bru. Pray, let us go. 
 
 Fol. Now, pray, sir, get you gone : 
 You have done a brave deed. Ere you go, hear 
 this :— 
 
 As far as doth the Capitol exceed 
 
 The meanest house in Rome, so far my son 
 
 (see Note 41, Act ii., " Winter's Tale") ; and replied to in the 
 sense of 'human,' of ' human-kind.' 
 
 18. Cats. This has been suspected of error ; and it has been 
 proposed to change the word to ' curs ' or ' bats.' But we think 
 that " cats " is probably here used m reference to the well-known 
 saying, ' A cat may look at a king,' Volumnia inferring that these 
 tribunes are creatures who gaze upon her king-like son, as little 
 capable of appreciating his nature as the animal in the adage 
 is capable of comprehending royalty, and " can judge as fitly 
 of his worth," &c. A passage in " Romeo and Juliet," Act iii., 
 sc. 3 ("Every cat and dog, and little mouse, every unworthy 
 thing .... may &<7/; on her "), contains apparent allusion 
 to the same proverb ; and Shakespeare makes mention several 
 times of a "cat" as a repulsive animal, as well as a mean and 
 insignificant one. There is also a passage that, although it 
 seems to be merely a whimsical non-simile (" No more eyes to 
 see withal than a cat"— see Note 80, Act i., "Taming of the 
 Shrew"), may indirectly tend to illustrate the want of percep- 
 tion here implied in the term " cats," as flung by Volumnia at 
 the tribunes. 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [SCENF, 1 I 1 
 
 Tkird Servant. What fe 
 First Servant. A strangf 
 
 the house. 
 Act li/- Scene V. 
 
 (This lady's husband here, this, do you see), 
 Whom you have banish'd, does exceed you all. 
 
 Bru. Well, well, we'll leave you. 
 
 Sic. Why stay we to be baited 
 
 With one that wants her vvits ? 
 
 Vol. Take my prayers with you. — 
 
 [Exeunt Tribunes. 
 I would the gods had nothing else to do 
 But to confirm my curses! Could I meet them 
 But once a-day, it would unclog my heart 
 Of what lies heavy to 't. 
 
 Men. You have told them home ; 
 
 And, by my troth, you have cause. You'll sup 
 with me ? 
 
 79. /t would unclog 7ny /fart of what lies Iieavy to ^t. The 
 word "unclos" here give.s " heavy to 't " the elliptical effect of 
 ' heavily attached to it ; ' while at the same time " to " is used, as 
 elsewhere, for ' on ' or ' upon.' See the sentence following the one 
 
 Vol. Anger's my meat ; I sup upon myself. 
 And so shall starve with feeding. — Come, lei's go 
 Leave this faint pulingj^" and lament as I do. 
 In anger, Juno-like. Come, come, come. 
 
 Men. Fie, fie, fie! [Exeunt 
 
 SCENE III.— ^ High-way hefuieen Rome and 
 Antium. 
 
 Enter a Roman and a Volsce, meeting. 
 Rom. I know you well, sir, and you know me: 
 your name, I think, is Adrian. 
 
 Vols. It is so, sir: truly, I have forgot you. 
 
 thou heard him at any time speak aught?" where the more usual 
 phraseology would be, ' On this point hast thou heard him,' &c. 
 
 20. This faint finling. By this slight touch, and by the 
 epithet " faint," how well is indicated the silent agony of weep- 
 
 Note 68, Act i., "Henry VIII."— "To this point hast ' ing in which Virgilia is lost. See Note 4 of this Act. 
 116 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Rom. I am a Roman ; and my services aie, as ] 
 you are, against them : know you me yet ? 
 Voh. Nicanor ? no. 
 Rom. The same, sir. 
 
 Vols. You had more beard when I last saw 
 you; but your favour is well appeared^' by your 
 tongue. What's the news in Rome? I have a 
 note from the Volscian state, to find you out there : 
 you have well saved me a day's journey. 
 
 Rom. There hath been in Rome strange insur- 
 rection the people against the senators, patri- 
 cians, and nobles. 
 
 Vols. Hath been ! is it ended, then ? Our state 
 thinks not so : they are in a most warlike prepara- 
 tion, and hope to come upon them in the heat of 
 their division. 
 
 Rom. The main blaze of it is^ast, but a small 
 thing would make it flame again : for the nobles 
 receive so to heart the banishment of that worthy 
 Coriolanus, that they are in a ripe aptness to take 
 all power from the people, and to pluck from them 
 their tribunes for ever. This lies glowing, I can 
 tell you, and is almost mature for the violent 
 breaking out. 
 
 Vols. Coriolanus banished ! 
 
 Rom. Banished, sir. 
 
 Vols. You will be welcome with this intelli- 
 gence, Nicanor. ' 
 
 Rom. The day serves well for them now. I have i 
 heard it said, the fittest time to corrupt a man's i 
 wife is when she's fallen out with her husband, j 
 Your noble Tullus Aufidius will appear well in \ 
 these wars, his great opposer, Coriolanus, being ; 
 now in no request of his country. 
 
 Vols. He cannot choose. 1 am most fortunate, | 
 thus accidentally to encounter you : you have 
 ended my business, and 1 will merrily accompany j 
 you home. 
 
 Rom. I shall, between this and supper, tell you ^ 
 most strange things from Rome ; all tending to j 
 the good of their adversaries. Have you an army I 
 ready, say you ? ' 
 
 21. Appeared. This word has been variously altered ; but we 
 think it is here used to express ' made to appear,' ' manifested,' 
 * shown :* just as "appears" is used for 'shows,' ' makes mani- 
 fest,' in " Cymbeline," Act iv., sc. 2, where Belarius says, "This 
 youth, howe'er distressed, appears he hath had good ancestors." 
 
 22. Insurreciion. The Kolio prints 'insurrections.' Steevens's 
 
 23. Already in the enlertaininent. A military expression, 
 equivalent to 'already in pay.' By the mode in which the word 
 "already" is used in this clause of the sentence, it gives 
 'ready' to be elliptlcally understood in the ne.xt clause, "and 
 [ready] to be on foot at an hours warning." The word itself, 
 " ready," also, in the previous inquiry, allows it to be understood 
 here in the reply ; and we point this out, as affording a clue to 
 Shakespeare's condensed style of writing, in a very obvious 
 instance, because it may serve for a guide in passages of less 
 obvious construction. 
 
 24 Wives. Here used for 'women,' See Note 2, Act v., 
 "Henry V." 
 
 Vols. A most royal one ; the centurions and their 
 charges, distinctly billeted, already in the enter- 
 tainment,"^' and to be on foot at an hour's warning. 
 
 Rom. I am joyful to hear of their readiness, and 
 am the man, I think, that shall set them in present 
 action. So, sir, heartily well met, and most glad 
 of your company. 
 
 Vols. You take my part from me, sir ; I have 
 the most cause to be glad of ) ours. 
 
 Rom. Well, let us go together. \Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE IV.— Antium. Before Aufidius's 
 House. 
 
 Enter Coriolanus in mean apparel, dhguised 
 
 and muffled. 
 Cor. A goodly city is this Antium, — City, 
 'Tis I that made thy widows : many an heir 
 Of these fair edifices 'fore my wars 
 Have I heard groan and drop : then know me not ; 
 Lest that thy wives-^ with spits, and boys with 
 
 stones. 
 In puny battle slay me. — ■ 
 
 Enter a Citizen. 
 Save you, sir. 
 
 Cit. And you. 
 
 Cor. Direct me, if it be your will. 
 
 Where great Aufidius lies : is he in Antium ? 
 
 Cit. He is, and feasts the nobles of the state 
 At his house this night. 
 
 Cor. Which is his house, beseech you ? 
 
 Cit. This, here, before you. 
 
 Cor. Thank you, sir : farewell. 
 
 \_Exit Citizen. 
 
 Oh, world, thy slippery turns! Friends now fast 
 sworn. 
 
 Whose double bosoms seem to wear one heart. 
 Whose hours,-* whose bed,^* whose meal, and 
 exercise, 
 
 25. JVhose hours. " Hours'* has been changed to ' house ;' 
 but we think that were there no other ground for retaining the 
 Folio word than the one afforded by the passage describing 
 mutual friendship in "Two Gentlemen of Verona," Act ii., 
 sc. 4 — " From our infancy we have conversed and spent our 
 hours together," it would suffice to indicate that " hours" was 
 the word here intended by the author. That "hour" occurs 
 again in the next line but one, far from offering an objection to 
 the retention of " hours" previously, lends support to our belief 
 that the Folio word is the author's word ; because it is in 
 accordance with Shakespeare's style thus to repeat a word, 
 where it lends force and point to his meaning. His meaning is, 
 ' Strange that friends whose hours have been spent perpetually 
 together, should within a single hour break out to bitterest 
 
 26. Whose bed. That it was the custom of very dear and 
 intimate friends, in Shakespeare's time, to share one bed 
 together, h.as been observed upon before. See Note 41, Act ii., 
 "Henry V." 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 Are still together, who twin, as 'twere, in love 
 Unseparable, shall within this hour, 
 On a dissension of a doit,^' break, out 
 To bitterest enmity : so, fellest foes, 
 Whose passions and whose plots have broke their 
 sleep 
 
 To take the one the other,'^ by some chance. 
 Some trick not worth an egg.-^ shall grow dear 
 friends. 
 
 And interjoin their issues. So with me : 
 
 My birth-place hate I,^" and my love's upon 
 
 This enemy to.vn. — I'll enter : if he slay me, 
 
 He does fair justice if he give me way, 
 
 I'll do his country service. [Exit. 
 
 SCENE v.— Antium. A Hall in Aufidius's 
 House. 
 
 Music 'within. Enter a Servant. 
 First Serv. Wine, wine, wine!— What service 
 is here ! I think our fellows are asleep. \_Exit. 
 
 Enter a second Servant. 
 Sec. Serv. Where's Cotus? my master calls for 
 him.— Cotus! \_Exit. 
 Enter Coriolanus. 
 Cor. A goodly house : the feast smells well ; 
 but I 
 
 Appear not like a guest. 
 
 Rf -enter the first Servant. 
 First Serv. What would you have, friend? 
 whence are you ? Here's no place for you: pray, 
 go to the door. 
 
 Cor. [Aside.'] I have deserv'd no better enter- 
 tainment. 
 In being Coriolanus. •''^ 
 
 Re-enter second Servant. 
 
 Sec, Serv. Whence are you, sir ? Has the porter 
 his eyes in his head, that he gives entrance to such 
 companions Pray, get you out. 
 
 Cor. Away! 
 
 Sec. Serv. Away ! get you away. 
 Cor. Now thou'rt troublesome. 
 Sec. Serv. Are you so brave ? I'll have you 
 talked with anon. 
 
 27. A doit. Used to express the smallest coin. See Note 37, 
 Act ii., " Tempest." 
 
 28. To take the one tJie other. ' To destroy each other. ' For 
 a similar phrase, see Note 20, Act iii. 
 
 29. An egg. Used as a symbol of insignificance. See Note 59, 
 Act iv., " All's Well." 
 
 30. My birth-place hate I. The Folio misprints 'haue'for 
 "hate" here. Capell's correction. 
 
 31. If lie slay vie, he, &^c. This use of the pronoun *'he," 
 in reference to the unnamed object of the soliloquist's musing, 
 
 Enter a third Servant. The first meets hirti. 
 
 Thiid Serv. What fellow's this ? 
 
 First Serv. A strange one as ever I looked on : 
 I cannot get him out o' the house : pr'ythee call 
 my master to him. 
 
 Third Serv. What have you to do here, fellow ? 
 Pray you, avoid the house. 
 
 Cor. Let me but stand ; I will not hurt your 
 hearth. 
 
 Third Serv. What are you ? 
 
 Cor. A gentleman. 
 
 Third Serv. A marvellous poor one. 
 I Cor. True, so I am. 
 
 Third Serv. Pray you, poor gentleman, take up 
 some other station ; here's no place for you : pray 
 you, avoid : come. 
 
 Cor. Follow your function, go, 
 And batten-** on cold bits. [Pushes him auoay. 
 
 Third Serv. What! you will not ?— Pr'ythee, 
 tell my master what a strange guest he has 
 here. 
 
 Sec. Serv. And I shall. [Exit. 
 
 Third Serv. Where dwellest thou? 
 
 Cor. Under the canopy. 
 
 Third Serv. Under the canopy ! 
 
 Cor. Ay. 
 
 Third Serv. Where's that ? 
 
 Cor. V the city of kites and crows. 
 
 Third Serv. V the city of kites and crows ! 
 — What an ass it is! — Then thou dwellest with 
 daws too ? 
 
 Cor. No, I serve not thy master. 
 
 Third Serv. How, sir! do you meddle with my 
 master ? 
 
 Cor. Ay ; 'tis an honester service than to meddle 
 with thy mistress. 
 
 Thou prat'st, and prat'st; serve with thy trencher, 
 hence ! [Beats him in. 
 
 Enter Aufidius and the second Servant. 
 Auf. Where is this fellow ? 
 Sec. Serv. Here, sir: I'd have beaten him like 
 a dog, but for disturbing the lords within. 
 
 Auf. Whence com'st thou ? what wouldst thou ? 
 thy name ? 
 
 Why'speak'st not ? speak, man : what's thy name ? 
 
 Cor. [Unmuffling.-] If, Tullus, 
 
 Not yet thou know'st me, and, seeing me, dost not 
 
 is quite in our great dramatist's effective manner. The audience 
 are perfectly aware of whom the speaker is thinking ; so that this 
 " he" is not only thoroughly natural, but thoroughly artistic and 
 sufficingly explicit, when thus used in allusion to Tullus Aufidius. 
 
 32. In being Coriolanus. ' In having obtained that name by 
 the capture of Corioli.' 
 
 33. Companions. Here used as we now use the word ' fellows,' 
 in a disparaging sense. See Note 82. Act ii., " Second Part 
 Henry IV." 
 
 34. Batten. ' Feed.' 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 Think ine for the man I ain,^'^ necessity 
 Commands me name myself. 
 
 Auf. What is thy name ? 
 
 [Servants retire. 
 
 Cor, A name unmusical to the Volscians' ears, 
 And harsh in sound to thine. 
 
 Auf. Say, what's thy name ? 
 Thou hast a grim appearance, and thy face 
 Bears a command in 't; though thy tackle's torn, 
 Thou show'st a noble vessel : what's thy name ? 
 
 Cor. Prepare thy brow to frown :— know'st thou 
 me yet ? 
 
 Auf. I know thee not : —thy name ? 
 Cor. My name is Caius Marcius, who hath 
 done 
 
 To thee particularly, and to all the Volsces, 
 Great hurt and mischief ; thereto witness may 
 My surname, Coriolanus: the painful service. 
 The extreme dangers, and the drops of blood 
 Shed for my thankless country, are requited 
 But with that surname; a good memory 
 And witness of the malice and displeasure 
 Which thou shouldst bear me : only that name 
 remains ; 
 
 The cruelty and envy of the people, 
 Permitted by our dastard nobles, who 
 Have all forsook me, hath devour'd the rest ; 
 And suffer'd me by the voice of slaves to be 
 Whoop'd out of Rome. Now, this extremity 
 Hath brought me to thy hearth : not but of hope, 
 Mistake me not, to save my life ; for if 
 I had fear'd death, of all the men i' the world 
 I would have 'voided thee ; but in mere spite. 
 To be full quit of those my banishers,^? 
 Stand I before thee here. Then if thou hast 
 A heart of wreak'" in thee, that will revenge^* 
 
 35. Dost not think me for the man I am'. This passage has 
 been variously altered ; Pope reading * take me for the man I am,' 
 and Capell reading ' take me to be the man I am,' while a more 
 modern 'Critic than either pronounces the expression " think for" 
 to be not English. But we believe that the present passage affords 
 one of those instances which we have pointed out (see Note 67, 
 Act ii , "Twelfth Night " ) where Shakespeare employs a usually 
 known form of expression while introducing his own special word 
 into it ; thus giving the effect of the usually known expression 
 together with the effect and the additional meaning of his own 
 introduced word : so that here, "think me for the man T am," 
 while giving the impression of ' take me for the man I am,' 
 conveys also the impression of ' recognise me in thy thought for 
 the man I am.' It is this skilful method of employing conven- 
 tional and well-known phrases in an unconventional and original 
 manner which forms one of the merits of Shakespeare's peculiar 
 and masterly style. See Note 26, Act v. of the present play. 
 
 36. Memory. Here used for ' memorial.' See Note 22, Act 
 ii., "As You Like It." 
 
 37. To be full quit of those my hanishers. ' To be quit of is 
 an idiom now used in the sense of ' to be rid of ; ' but it was 
 formerly sometimes used, as here, in the sense of ' to be even 
 with,' or ' to be quits with.' 
 
 38. ;F reak. An old synonyme for ' revenge,' or ' vengeance.' 
 In Chapman's Homer it is often thus used. 
 
 39. That will revenge. The Folio has ' wilt' for "will" here. 
 
 Thine own particular wrongs, and stop tho.se maims 
 Of shame''" seen through thy country, speed thee 
 straight. 
 
 And make my misery serve thy turn : so use it, 
 That my revengeful services may prove 
 As benefits to thee ; for I will fight 
 Against my canker'd country with the spleen 
 Of all the under fiends.'" But if so be 
 Thou dar'st not this, and that to prove more 
 fortunes 
 
 Thou'rt tir'd, then, in a word, I also am 
 
 Longer to live most weary, and present 
 I My throat to thee and to thy ancient malice; 
 
 Which not to cut would show thee but a fool, 
 ' Since I have ever foUow'd thee with hate 
 j Drawn tuns of blood out of thy country's breast, 
 I And cannot live but to thy shame, unless 
 
 It be to do thee service. 
 I Auf. O Marcius, Marcius ! 
 
 1 Each word thou hast spoke hath weeded from my 
 heart 
 
 A root of ancient envy.''^ If Jupiter 
 Should from yond' cloud speak divine things. 
 And say, '"Tis true," I'd not believe them more 
 Than thee, all noble Marcius. — Let me twine 
 Mine arms about that body, where againsf** 
 My grained ash'** a hundred times hatii broke, 
 And scar'd the moon with splinters: here I clip"* 
 The anvil of my sword ; and do contest 
 As hotly and as nobly with thy love 
 .As ever in ambitious strength I did 
 Contend against thy valour. Know thou first,''^ 
 I lov'd the maid I marrieti ; never man 
 Sigh'd truer breath ; but that I see thee here. 
 Thou noble thing ! more dances my rapt heart 
 Than when I first my wedded mistress saw 
 
 40. Those maivts of shame. ' Those ignominious deprivations 
 
 41. All the lender fends. It has been suggested that here 
 Shakespeare means the lower order of fiends, the subordinate 
 fiends ; ]^ut we think that the expression in the text is equivalent 
 to the phrase, 'all the fiends below.' 
 
 42. Eiizy. Here used for 'hatred,* ' ill-will.' 
 
 43. Where against. Pope hyphened this, as if it were one 
 word ; and as here used it has the effect of a compound form like 
 ' wherefrom,' ' wherein,' ' whereto,' &c. 
 
 44 My grained ash. Meaning ' the staff of my lance : ' the 
 staves of lances having been made of ash wood. 
 
 45. Clip. ' Embrace." The word is thus used in the present 
 play, Act i., sc. 6, where Marcius exclaims, " Oh, let me cli/> 
 you in arms as sound," &c. Here Aufidius calls Coriolanus 
 " the anvil of my sword," meaning that he had heretofore laid 
 as heavy and as many blows upon him as a smith lays upon an 
 anvil. 
 
 46. Kno7v thou first. It has been conjectured that here 
 "thou first" means ' thou first of men,' 'thou noblest of men :* 
 but the sentence appears to us to mean ' know thou firstly,' or 
 'know thou in the first place;' because Aufidius first affirms 
 that he loved the woman he married, that never was there a truer 
 lover than himself, and then he affirms that the sight of his 
 former enemy thus unexpectedly in his own house makes his 
 heart dance even more than when he first beheld his wedded wife 
 enter his house. 
 
 19 
 
Act IV. 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 Bestiide my threshold. 4? Why, thou Mars! I tell 
 thee, 
 
 We have a power on foot ; and I had purpose 
 Once more to hew thy target from thy brawn,'*' 
 Or lose mine arm for 't : thou hast beat me out 
 Twelve several times, and I have nightly since 
 Dreamt of encounters 'twixt thyself and me ; 
 We have been down together in my sleep, 
 Unbuckling helms, fisting each other's throat, 
 And wak'd half dead with nothing. Worthy 
 Marcius, 
 
 Had we no quarrel else to Rome, 5" but that 
 1'hou art thejice banish'd, we would muster all 
 From twelve to seventy; and. pouring war 
 Into the bowels of ungrateful Rome, 
 Like a bold flood o'er-bear.*' Oh, come, go in. 
 And take our friendly senators by the hands; 
 Who now are here, taking their leaves of me. 
 Who am prepar'd against your territories. 
 Though not for Rome itself. 
 
 Cor. You bless me, gods ! 
 
 Juf. Therefore, most absolute sir, if thou wilt 
 have 
 
 The leading of thine own revenges, take 
 The one half of my commission ; and set down, — 
 As best thou art experienc'd, since thou know'st 
 Thy country's strength and weakness, — thine own 
 ways ; 
 
 Whether to knock against the gates of Rome, 
 Or rudely visit them in parts remote, 
 To fright them, ere destroy. But come in : 
 Let me commend thee first to those that shall 
 Say "yea" to thy desires. A thousand welcomes! 
 And more a friend than e'er an enemy ; 
 Yet, Marcius, that was much. Your hand : most 
 welcome ! 
 
 [Exeunt CORIOLANUS AuFIDIUS. 
 
 47. ly/teji- I Jirst my luedded tnistyess saw bestride my 
 threshold. Steevens observes upon this passage, " Shakespeare 
 was unaware that a Roman bride, on her entry into her husband's 
 house, was prohibited from bestriding his threshold ; and that, 
 lest she should even touch it, .she was always lif:ed over it." So 
 far from proving that Shakespeare was *' unaware " of the custom 
 in question, we think that the present passage shows he knew 
 the classical ceremonial of receiving a bride at the entrance of 
 the bridegroom's house, of her being borne across the threshold, 
 and of its having been thus specially marked as the barrier which 
 separated her from her girlhood condition, and which introduced 
 her to the new sphere of a wedded home and wedded duties. 
 We think that Shakespeare's making Aufidius advert thus par- 
 ticularly to the point when fir.st he beheld his wedded mistress 
 cross his threshold, betokens the poet's perfect consciousness 
 that there was an ancient solemn rite connected with the 
 circumstance ; and that the word " bestride " is not to be taken 
 literally for ' step across,' but is to be taken as meaning ' pass 
 
 48. Thy brawn. 'Thy arm.' See Note 90, Act i., " Troilus 
 and Cressida." 
 
 49. Beat me out twelve several times. "Out" is here used 
 in the sense of ' completely,' 'fully,' 'thoroughly; ' ^vhat school- 
 boys call 'out and out.' See Note 73, Act ii., "Henry VIII." 
 
 50. Had we no quarrel else to Rome. The first Folio has 
 ' other' before " quarrel." Omitted in the third Folio. 
 
 First Serv. [Advancing.] Here's a strange 
 alteration ! 
 
 Sec. Serv. By my hand, I had thouglit to 
 have strucken him with a cudgel ; and yet my 
 mind gave me, his clothes made a false report 
 of him. 
 
 First Serv. What an arm he has! he turned 
 me about with his ringer and his thumb, as one 
 would set up a top. 
 
 Sec. Serv. Nay, I knew by his face that there 
 was something in him : he had, sir, a kind of face, 
 methought, — 1 cannot tell how to term it. 
 
 First Serv. He had so; looking as it were, — 
 Would I were hanged, but I thought there «as 
 more in him than I could think. =^ 
 
 Sec. Seiv. So did I, I'll be sworn : he is simply 
 the rarest man i' the world. 
 
 First Serv. I think he is: but a greater soldier 
 than he, you wot one. 
 
 Sec. Serv. Who, my master? 
 
 First Serv. Nay, it's no matter for that. 
 
 Sec. Serv. Worth six on hiin. 
 
 First Serv. Nay, not so neither: but I take 
 him to be the greater soldier. 
 
 Sec. Serv. 'Faith, look yon, one cannot tell 
 how to say that: for the defence of a town, our 
 general is excellent. 
 
 First Serv. Ay, and for an assault too. 
 
 Re-enter third Servant. 
 
 T'ijird Serv. Oh, slaves, I can tell you news, — 
 news, you rascals ! 
 
 First and Sec. Srrv. What, what, what? let's 
 partake. 
 
 Third Serv. I would not be a Roman, of all 
 nations; I had as lief be a condemned man. 
 First and Sec. Serv. Wherefore ? wherefore ? 
 
 51. O'erbear. The first Folio prints ' o're-beate.' Rowe's 
 correction ; which seems to us to be obviously right, not only 
 from the sense required here, but from the evidence afforded by 
 another passage of similar meaning in the present play, where 
 Shakespeare has used " o'er-bear'' and not ' o'er-baat : ' — 
 
 "Whose rage doth rend 
 Like interrupted waters, and o'erbear 
 What they are us'd to bear." 
 See context to the word commented upon in Note 37, Act iii. 
 In " Pericles," Act v., sc. 1, we find— 
 
 " Lest this gre.it sea of joys rushing upon me, 
 O'erbear the shores of my mortality ; " 
 and in "Othello," Act i., sc. 3 — 
 
 " My particular grief 
 Is of so flood-gate and o'erbearing nature." 
 It has been proposed to add ' 't' or 'her' after "o'erbear'' in 
 the present passage ; but it may either be that the construction 
 is elliptical, and ' 't ' is understood in this sentence as in those 
 instanced in Note s. Act i., "All's Well," or that "o'er-bear" is 
 here treated as a neuter verb, of which treatment (an active 
 verb as a neuter verb) we have other instances in Shakespeare. 
 See Note 29, Actii., " Richard III." 
 
 52. / thought there was more in him tlinn I could think. 
 One of Shakespeare's humorously paradoxical speeches. See 
 Note 76, Act ii. 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene VI. 
 
 Third Sew. Why, here's he that was wont to 
 thwack our general, — Caius Marcius. 
 
 First Sera). Why do you say, thwack our 
 general ? 
 
 Third Ser'V. 1 do not say, thwack our general ; 
 but he was always good enough for him. 
 
 Sec. Serv. Come, we are fellows and friends : 
 he was ever too hard for him ; I have heard him 
 say so himself. 
 
 First Ser-v. He was too hard for him directly, 
 to say the truth on 't : before Corioli he scotched 
 him and notched him like a carbonado.*^ 
 
 Sec. Seri/. An he had been cannibally gi\en, 
 he might have broiled and eaten him too. 
 
 First Ser'V. But, more of thy news. 
 
 Triird Serv. Why, he is so made on^^ j^gj-g 
 within, as if he were son and heir to Mars; set at 
 upper end o' the table; no question asked him by 
 any of the senators, but they stand bald before him : 
 our general himself makes a mistress of him ; 
 sanctifies himself with 's hand,'* and turns up the 
 white o' the eye to his discourse. But the bottom 
 of the news is, our general is cut i' the middle, and 
 but one half of what he was yesterday ; for the 
 other has half, by the entreaty and grant of the 
 whole table. He'll go, he says, and sowle*^ the 
 porter of Rome gates by the ears : he will mow 
 down all before him, and leave his passage polled.*' 
 
 Sec. Ser'V. And he's as like to do 't as any man 
 I can imagine. 
 
 Third Ser'V. Do 't ! he will do 't ; for, look you, 
 sir, he has as many friends as enemies ; which 
 friends, sir, as it were, durst not, look you, sir, 
 show themselves, as we term it, his friends whilst 
 he's in directitude.*' 
 
 First Ser'V. Directitude ! what's that ? 
 
 Third Ser'V. But when they shall see, sir, liis 
 
 53. A carbonado. See Note 94, Act iv., " All's Well." 
 
 54. Broiled. The Folio misprints ' boyld ' here. Pope's 
 correction. 
 
 55. He is so vtade on. 'He is made so much of?' "On" 
 used for ' of.' 
 
 56. Sanctifies himself with 's hand. Beatifies himself with 
 a touch of his hand, as though he were a saint, or as a lover 
 makes himself blessed by clasping his mistress's hand. 
 
 57. Sowle. An old English word, of uncertain derivation, 
 signifying ' lug,' ' drag,' 'pull.' 
 
 58. Polled. 'Bared,' 'cleared;' as a head is left bare by 
 close shaving. 
 
 ,59. Directitude, The third servant, wishing to use a fine long 
 word and intending to coin some such term as ' discreditude ' 
 from 'discredit,' or ' dejectitude ' from ' dejectcdness ' (Shake- 
 speare using the words "discredit," "deject," and "dejected" 
 in such a way as to countenance either of these suggestions), 
 blunders out his grandiloquent "directitude." The author's 
 relish of the joke is pleasantly indicated by his making the first 
 servant repeat the word amazedly, as if not knowing what to 
 make of it, .-ind ask its meaning ; and then making the third 
 servant avoid the inconvenient inquiry by not noticing it, but 
 running on with his own harangue. 
 
 60. In Mood. 'In good condition.' See Notes 27, Act iv., 
 " Love's Labour's Lost," and 22, Act i. of this play. 
 
 61. Presently. 'Immediately;' ' at the present time*' 
 
 crest up again, and the man in blood,'"'' they uill 
 out of their burrows, like conies after rain, and 
 revel all with him. 
 
 First Ser'V. But when goes this forward ? 
 
 Third Serv. To-morrow; to-day; presently;''' 
 you shall have the drum struck up this afternoon : 
 'tis, as it were, a parcel of their feast, and to be 
 executed ere they wipe their lips. 
 
 Sec. Ser'V. Why, then we shall have a stirring 
 world again. This peace is nothingj^^ but to rust 
 iron, increase tailors, and breed ballad-makers. 
 
 First Ser'V. Let me have war, say I ; it exceeds 
 peace as far as day does night; it's spritely, 
 waking,^^ audible, and full of vent.'*'' Peace is a 
 very apoplexy, lethargy ; mulled,^* deaf, sleepy , 
 insensible. 
 
 Sec. Ser-v. 'Tis so. 
 
 First Serv. Ay, and it makes men hate one 
 another. 
 
 Third Ser'V. Reason ; because they then less 
 need one another. The wars for my money. [ 
 hope to see Romans as cheap as Volscians. — They 
 are rising, they are rising. 
 
 All. In, in, in, in! \_Excunt. 
 
 SCENE VI.— Rome. A Public Place. 
 
 Enter SiciNlus and Brutus. 
 
 Sic. We hear not of him, neither need we fear 
 him ; 
 
 His remedies are tame i' the present peace 
 And quietness of the people.s'' which before 
 Were in wild hurry. Here do we make his friends 
 Blush that the world goes well; who rather had. 
 Though they themselves did suffer by 't, behold 
 Dissentious numbers pestering streets,*^ than see 
 
 62. This peace is nothing, but to. &^c. ElHptically e-vpressed : 
 'fit for' or 'good for' being understood between "is" and 
 " nothing. " 
 
 63. leaking. The Folio prints 'walking' instead of "waking " 
 here. Pope's correction. 
 
 64. Vetit. 'Impulse;' 'unrestrained speech and action.' 
 The word is used as a verb in Act iii., sc. i of the present play, 
 with a meaning that aids to illustrate its u.se as a noun here 
 
 " What his breast forges, that his tongue must vent." 
 
 65. Mulled. An expressive epithet ; suggesting the idea of 
 softness and drowsy quality, as that of wine warmed, .spiced, and 
 sweetened. 
 
 66. His remedies are tatne z' the present peace, Gi^c. The 
 Folio prints a comma after "tame" and omits 'i',' which was 
 supplied by Theobald: and the whole passage, as it stands, bears 
 this sense—' His chances of remedying his downfall are reduce J 
 to naught in the present state of popular tranquillity ; ' meaning 
 that had the people been still turbulent and discontented, he 
 might have hoped, by means of his friends, to rouse them into 
 factious disturbance, but that now they are peaceful he cannot 
 expect to find this remedy for his disgrace. 
 
 67. Who rather had, .... beliold.&'c. Pope changed 
 "behold" to 'beheld' here; but we think that the present 
 passage is one of those where Shakespeare uses a peculiar con- 
 struction in indefinitely expressed conditional time. See Note 
 46, Act ii. of the present play. 
 
 vol.. III. 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 Our Iraciesmen singing in their shops, and going 
 About their functions friendly. 
 Bru. We stood to 't in good time. — Is this 
 iVlenenius? 
 
 Sic. 'Tis he, 'tis he : Oh, he is grown most kind 
 Of late.— 
 
 Enter Menenius. 
 
 Hail, sir ! 
 Men. Hail to you both ! 
 
 Sic. Your Coriolanus is not much miss'd, 
 But with his friends : the commonwealth doth 
 
 stand ; 
 
 And so would do, were he more angry at it. 
 Men. All's well ; and might have been much 
 better, if 
 He could have temporis'd. 
 
 Sic. Where is he, hear you ? 
 
 Men. Nay, I liear nothing ; his mother and his 
 wife 
 
 Hear nothing from him. 
 
 Enter three or four Citizens. 
 Citizens. The gods preserve )'ou both ! 
 Sic. Good-den, our neighbours. 
 
 Bru. Good-den to you all, good-den to \ ou 
 all. 
 
 First Cit. Ourselves, our wives, and children, 
 on our knees. 
 Are bound to pray for you both. 
 
 Sic. Li\ e, and thrive ! 
 
 Bru. Is-ireweli, kind neighbours: we wish'd 
 Coriolanus 
 Had lov'd you as we diti. 
 
 Citizens. Now the gods keep )'ou ! 
 
 Both Tri. Farewell, farewell. 
 
 [Exeunt Citizens. 
 
 Sic. This is a happier and more comely time 
 Than when these fellows ran about the streets, 
 Crying confusion. 
 
 Bru. Caius Marcius w.as 
 
 A worthy officer i' the war; but insolent, 
 O'ercome with pride, ambitious past all thinking. 
 Self-loving, — 
 
 Sic. And affecting one sole throne. 
 
 Without assistance. 
 
 Men. I think not so. 
 
 Sic. We should by this, to all our lamenta- 
 tion. 
 
 If he had gone forth consul, found it so.^^ 
 Bru. The gods have well prevented it, and 
 Rome 
 
 Sits safe and still without him. 
 
 63. We should ly this .... found ii so. Here 'have' 
 is elliptically understood before " found ; " affording another 
 example of licence of construction in vaguely-stated conditional 
 time. See the last Note. 
 
 6g. RensoH. ' Talk,' ' parley.' See Note 97, Act i., 
 " Richard III." 
 
 [Scene VI. 
 
 Enter an ^Edile. 
 Md. Worthy tribunes, 
 
 There is a slave, whom we have put in prison. 
 Reports, — the Volsces with two several powers 
 Are enter'd in the Roman territories; 
 And with the deepest malice of the war 
 Destroy what lies before them. 
 
 Men. 'Tis Aufidius, 
 
 Who, hearing of our Marcius' banishment. 
 Thrusts forth his horns again into the world ; 
 Which were inshell'd when Marcius stood for 
 Rome, 
 
 And durst not once peep out. 
 
 Sic. Come, what talk you 
 
 Of Marcius ? 
 
 Bru. ' Go see this rumourer whipp'd. — It can- 
 not be 
 
 The Volsces dare break with us. 
 
 Men. Cannot be ! 
 
 We have record that very well it can ; 
 And three examples of the like have been 
 Within my age. But reason with tiie fellow, 
 Before you punish him, where he heard this; 
 Lest you shall chance to whip your information, 
 And beat the messenger who bids beware 
 Of what is to be dreaded. 
 
 Sic. Tell not me : 
 
 I know this cannot be. 
 
 Bru. Mot possible. 
 
 Enter a Messenger. 
 
 Mess. The nobles in great earnestness are going 
 All to the senate-house : some news is come^" 
 That turns their countenances. 
 
 Sic. 'Tis this slave ; — 
 
 Go whip him 'fore the people's eyes : — his raising ; 
 Nothing but his report. 
 
 Mess. Yes, worthy sir. 
 
 The slave's report is seconded ; and more, 
 More fearful, is deliver'd. 
 
 Sic. What more fearful ? 
 
 Mess. It is spoke freely out of inany mouths 
 (How probable I do not know), that Marcius, 
 Join'd with Aufidius, leads a power 'gainst Rome, 
 And vows revenge as spacious as between 
 The young'st and oldest thing. 
 
 Sic. This is most likely ! 
 
 Bru. Rais'd only, that the weaker sort may wish 
 God Marcius home again. ^' 
 
 Sic. The very trick on 't. 
 
 Men. This is unlikely : 
 
 70. Some ne^vs is come. The Folio prints ' comming ' for 
 " come " here. Rowe's correction. 
 
 71. May ivish god Marcius home again. The Folio prints 
 *good' here for "god ;" but we think that the passage referred 
 to in Note 75, Act i., " Troilus and Cressida," lends testimony 
 that "god" is likely to be the scofifingly applied epithet here. 
 Mr. Collier's MS. corrector made the emendation. 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene VI. 
 
 He and Aufidius can no more atone'- 
 Than violentest contrariety. 
 
 Enter a second Messenger. 
 Sec. Mess. You are sent for to the senate: . 
 A fearful army, led by Caius Marcius 
 Associated with Aufidius, rages 
 Upon our territories; and have already 
 O'erborne their way, consum'd with fire, and took 
 What lay before them. 
 
 Enter CoMiNius. 
 Com. Oh, you have made good work ! 
 Men. What news ? what news ? 
 
 Com. You have holp'-' to outrage your own 
 daughters, and 
 To melt the city leails upon your pates ; 
 To see your wives dishonour'd to Noiir noses, — 
 Men. What's the news? whafs the news ? 
 Com. Your temples burned in their cement; 
 and 
 
 Your franchises, whereon you stood, confin'd 
 Into an auger's bore. 
 
 Men. Pray now, your news ? — 
 
 You have made fair work, I fear me. — Pray, ) our 
 news ?— 
 
 If Marcius should be join'd with Volscians, — 
 
 Com. If! 
 He is their god : he leads them like a thing 
 Made by some other deity than nature. 
 That shapes man better; and they follow him, 
 Against us brats, with no less confidence 
 Than boys pursuing summer butterflies, 
 Or butchers killing flies. 
 
 Men. You have made good \\'ork. 
 
 You and your apron-men ; you that stood so much 
 Upon the voice of occupation'* and 
 The breath of garlic-eaters ! 
 
 Com. He will shake 
 
 Your Rome about your ears. 
 
 Men. As Hercules 
 
 Did shake down mellow fruit. — You have made 
 fair work ! 
 
 Bru. But is this true, sir ? 
 
 Cow. Ay; and you'll look pale 
 
 Before you find it other. All the regions 
 
 72. Atotie. Here used in the sense of 'be of one mind," 
 'accord.' 'agree.' See Note 42, Act v., " As You Like It." 
 
 73. Nolp. Old form of ' helped.' 
 
 74 Occupation. Here used to express 'men occupied in 
 mechanical employment,' 'mechanics,' 'operatives,' 'artisans.' 
 
 75. All tJie regions do smilingly revolt. "Regions" and 
 "smilingly " have been variously changed here as erroneous : 
 but " regions " is probably u.sed in reference to the districts of 
 the Roman " territories" mentioned in the announcement made 
 by the second messenger on his entrance ; while " smilingly" is 
 used in the same sense that "smile" is used, as explained in 
 Note 79, Act v., "Troilus and Cressida," 'derisively,' 'con- 
 temptuously.* 
 
 76. They cha.rg'J him .... and tJierein slio-u'd, &-c. 
 
 Do smilingly revolt;''' and who resist 
 Are mock'd for valiant ignorance. 
 And perish constant fools. Who is 't can blame 
 him? 
 
 Your enemies and his find something in him. 
 
 Men. We are all undone, unless 
 The noble man have mercy. 
 
 Com. Who shall ask it ? 
 
 The tribunes cannot do 't for shame ; the people 
 Deserve such pity of him as the wolf 
 Does of the shepherds : for his best friends, if 
 they 
 
 Should say, " Be good to Rome," they cliarg'd 
 him even 
 
 As tho<:e should do that had deserv'd his hate. 
 And therein show'd like enemies."'' 
 
 Men. Tis true ; 
 
 If he were putting to my house the brand 
 That should consume it, I have not the face 
 To say, " Beseech you, cease." — You have made 
 fair hands. 
 
 You and your crafts 1'^ you have crafted fair! 
 
 Com. You have brought 
 
 A trembling'*^ upon Rome, such as was never 
 So incapable of help. 
 
 Both Tri. Say not, we brought it. 
 
 Men. How! Was it we? we lov'd him; but, 
 like be.nsts 
 
 Anil cowardly nobles, gave way unto your clusters, 
 Who did hoot him out o' the city. 
 
 Com. But I fear 
 
 They'll roar him in again. Tullus Aufidius, 
 The second name of men, obeys his points 
 As if he were his officer: — desperation 
 Is all the policy, strength, and defence, 
 That Rome can make against them. 
 
 Enter a troop of Citizens. 
 Men. Here come the clusters. — 
 
 And is Aufidius with him ?— You are they 
 That maile the air unwholesome, when you cast 
 Your stinking greasy caps in hooting at 
 Coriolanus' exile. Now he's coming; 
 And not a hair upon a soldier's head 
 Which will not prove a whip : as many cox- 
 combs 
 
 "Charg'd" and "show'd" are here used for ' would charge,' 
 and ' would show ; ' giving another instance of Shakespeare's 
 occasional mode of constructing a sentence where conditional 
 time is indicated. See Notes 67 and 68 of this Act. In the 
 next speech there is a similar kind of construction ; " I have not 
 the face " being employed to express ' I should not have the face.' 
 
 77. Crafts. Here used for ' craftsmen ; ' and, moreover, 
 affording a punning fleer at the tribunes' former crafty machi- 
 nations against Coriolanus. Menenius, in this line, is made to 
 keep up his characteristic mode of fabricating words for his own 
 use ; " crafted," fashioned from " crafts." See Note 17, Act ii. 
 
 78. A iremhling. Here used for 'that which may well cause 
 trembling,' 'a calamity to tremble at.' See, Note 64. Act i., 
 
 VII 
 
Act IV.] COKIOLANUS. [Scene VI 
 
 Brutus. But IS this true, sir? 
 Cominius. Ay ; and you'll look pale 
 
 Before you find it other. Act IV, Scene VI. 
 
 As you threw caps up will he tumble down, 
 And pay you for your voices. ' lis no matter; 
 If he could burn us all into one coal. 
 We have deserv'd it. 
 
 Citizens. 'l''aith, we hear fearful news. 
 
 Fiist Cit. For mine own part, 
 
 When I said, banish him, I said, 'twas pity. 
 
 Src. Cit. And so did I. 
 
 Third Cit. And so did I ; and, to say the truth, 
 so did very many of us: that we did, we did for the 
 best; and though we willingly consented to his 
 banishment, yet it was against our will. 
 
 Co//!. You're goodly things, you voices! 
 
 Me/i. You have made 
 
 Good uork, you and your cry 1'^ — Shall 's to the 
 Caj.itol ? 
 
 79. Cry. 'Pack.' See Note loi, Act iii. 
 
 Co/n. Oh, ay, what else ? 
 
 [Exeunt Cominius and Menenius, 
 Sic. Go, masters, get you home ; be not dis- 
 may'd : 
 
 Tliese are a side that would be glad to have 
 This true which they so seem to fear. Go home, 
 And show no .sign of fear. 
 
 Fit St Cit, The gods be good to us! — Come, 
 masters, let's home. I ever said we were i' the 
 wrong when we banished him. 
 
 Sec. Cit, So did we all. But, come, let's home. 
 
 \_Exeunt Citizens. 
 
 Bru. I do not like this news. 
 Sic. Nor I. 
 
 Bru. Let's to the Capitol : — would half my 
 wealth 
 Would buy this fbr a lie ! 
 
 Sic. Pray, let us go. [Exeunt. 
 
Act I V.J 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [SC^NE VII, 
 
 SCENE VII. 
 
 -A '^amp, at a small distal 
 Rome. 
 
 Enter AUFIDIUS and his Lieutenant. 
 Juf. Do they still fly to the Roman ? 
 Lieu. I do not know what witchcraft's in him, 
 but 
 
 Your soldiers use him as the grace 'fore meat, 
 Their talk at table, and their thanks at end ; 
 And you are darken'd in this action, sir, 
 Even by your own.'" 
 
 Auf. I cannot help it now, 
 
 Unless, by using means, I lame the foot 
 Of our design. He bears himself more proudlier,^' 
 Even to my person, than I thought he would 
 When first I did embrace him : yet his nature 
 In that's no changeling; and I must excuse 
 What cannot be amended. 
 
 Lieu. Yet I wish, sir 
 
 (I mean for your particular), you had not 
 Join'.d in commission with him; but either 
 Had borne the action of yourself, or else 
 To him had left it solely. 
 
 A:jf. I understand thee well ; and be thou 
 sure, 
 
 When he shall come to his account, he knows 
 not 
 
 What 1 can urge against him. Although it 
 seems. 
 
 And so he thinks, and is no less apparent 
 To the vulgar eye, that he bears all things 
 fairly, 
 
 And shows good husbandry for the Volscian state, 
 
 So Even by your mvn. Here the word "action," in the pre- 
 ceding line, is eUiptically understood as repeated after " own ; " 
 or rather, it gives ' act ' to be understood after "own." 
 
 81. Bears hiinself more proudlier. Instance of the double 
 comparative formerly used. 
 
 82. Had borne the action 0/ yourself. The Folio prints 
 * haue ' for "had" here IVIalone's correction. "Of" is here 
 used for ' by.' See Note u, Act i., " Troilus and Cressida.'' 
 
 83. Ere he sits down. 'Before them ' is elliptically under- 
 stood after " sits down : " to ' sit down before a place ' being a 
 military term for ' prepare to capture it,' ' commence besieging it.' 
 
 84. Tlie osprey. One of the sea-eagles ; called also the bald 
 buzzard, and the fishing-hawk. This bird was formerly sup- 
 posed to have the power of fascinating its prey ; and that the 
 fish yielded themselves its helpless victims. 
 
 83. A noble sema/it to tlicm. Here "them" refers to the 
 Romans, as implied in the previous word " Rome." See Note 
 25, Act ii. 
 
 86. Even. This word is here an ac 
 in the sense of 'equably.' 
 
 87. Or whether nature, not to lie, dfc. ' Or whether his 
 nature, not to be inconsistent with itself, could not exchange the 
 rigid authority of the military man for the easy dignity of the 
 st.-ite official, but commanding in peace even with the same 
 
 83. But Jte lias a merit, to choke it in tfte utterance. This 
 p)rtion of the speech is so condensedly expressed that it has 
 been suspected of error, and even of omission in the Folio print- 
 ing. We think the obscure eff'ect is partly attributable to the 
 repeated use of the word " but" in the speech ; and partly to 
 
 used adverbially ; 
 
 Fights dragon-like, and does achieve as soon 
 As draw his sword ; yet he hath left undone 
 That which shall break his neck or hazard mine, 
 Whene'er we come to our account. 
 
 Lieu. Sir, I beseech you, think you he'll carry 
 Rome ? 
 
 Auf. All places yield to him ere he sits 
 down ;83 
 
 And the nobility of Rome are his : 
 The senators and patricians love him too : 
 The tribunes are no soldiers ; and their people 
 Will be as rash in the repeal, as hasty 
 To expel him thence. I think he'll be to Rome 
 As is the o.spreyS-* to the fish, who takes it 
 By sov'reignty of nature. First he was 
 A noble servant to them ;^3 but he could not 
 Carry his honours even whether 'twas priiie. 
 Which out of daily fortune ever taints 
 The happy man ; whether defect of judgment, 
 To fail in the disposing of those chances 
 Which he was lord of; or whether nature. 
 Not to be other than one thing, not moving 
 From the casque to the cushion, but commanding 
 peace 
 
 Even with the same austerity and garb 
 As he controll'd the war ; but one of these 
 (As he hath spices of them all, not all. 
 For I dare so far free him,) made him fear'd. 
 So hated, and so banish'd : but lie has a merit, 
 To choke it in the utterance.**" So our virtues*' 
 Lie in the interpretation of the time : 
 And power, unto itself most commendable. 
 Hath not a tomb so eviilent as a chair 
 
 the mode in which " it " occurs in this clause of the sentence. 
 In the clauses "but he could not," "but commanding peace, ' 
 and " but one of these," the word " but " is used as a particle 
 of objection ; whereas in this last clause, " but he has a merit,", 
 "but "seems to us to be used in the sense of 'however' or 
 'nevertheless.' After having enumerated the faults of character 
 in Coriolanus, Aufidius ends his sentence by the admission. 
 " Nevertheless, he has a merit," &c. It is this last clause of 
 admission which presents the chief difficulty : and we have to 
 bear well in mind Shakespeare's peculiarities of style, when 
 trying to discover its precise meaning. Remembering these 
 peculiarities,— his very condensed expression and elliptical con- 
 struction, together with his mode of using "it" either in 
 reference to a just-named antecedent, or to an implied par- 
 ticular,— this clause may bear three different interpretations :— 
 1st : ' However, he has one merit, — that of checking^panegyric 
 on it' [his own merit]. 2nd: 'Nevertheless, he has merit 
 sufficient to stifle the decree of his banishment ' [implied in the 
 previous words "so banish'd" and "rash in the repeal;" 
 " utterance," in this case, being taken to mean ' carrying out to 
 the uttermost']. 3rd : ' Nevertheless, he has a merit that goes 
 far to quench wh.at I have been uttering as to his faults' [im- 
 plied in " one of these (as he hath spices of them all, not all, 
 for I dare so far free him) made," &c.]. There is still a fourth 
 interpretation that the clause will bear ; which, considering the 
 drift of the argument, as carried out to the end of the speech, 
 .seems to be probably meant : ' However, he has a merit, a merit 
 which destroys its own power by striving to assert that power.' 
 
 89. Virtites. Printed ' vertue ' in the first Folio. Corrected 
 in the second Folio. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 To extol what it hath done.'" 
 One fire drives out one fire ; one nail, one nail ; 
 Rights by rights fouler, strengths by strengths do 
 fail." 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Come, let's away. When, Caius, Rome is 
 thine, 
 
 Thou art poor'st of all ; then shortly art thou 
 mine. [^Exeunt. 
 
 CORTOLANUS. 
 
 ACT 
 
 SCENE I.— Rome. A Public Place. 
 
 Enter Menenius, Cominius, Sicinius, Brutus, 
 and others. 
 
 Men. No, I'll not go: you hear what he hath 
 said 
 
 Which was sometime his general ; who lov'd him 
 In a most dear particular.' He call'd me father :- 
 But what o' that ? Go, you that banish'd him ; 
 A mile before his tent fall down, and knee 
 The way into his mercy -.^ nay, if he coy'd* 
 To hear Cominius speak, I'll keep at home. 
 
 Com. He would not seem to know me. 
 
 Men. Do you hear ? 
 
 Com. Yet one time he did call me by my name : 
 I urg'd our old acquaintance, and the drops 
 That we have bled together. Coriolanus 
 He would not answer to : forbad all names ; 
 He was a kind of nothing, titleless, 
 Till he had forg'd himself a name i' the fire 
 Of burning Rome. 
 
 90. Hatk not a toiiih so evident as a chair i? extol, &^c. This 
 has been variously altered ; but we think that the passage, as it 
 stands, means, ' Our virtues lie at the mercy of popular inter- 
 pretation in our own day ; and power, ever anxious to exact 
 commendation, has no tomb so sure as the pulpit of eulogium 
 which extols its deeds.' It must be borne in mind that here 
 ** chair " is used for the public rostrum, cathedra, or pulpit, 
 whence orations, laudatory or otherwise, were delivered to the 
 Roman people : and of which pulpit there is more particular 
 mention made by Shakespeare in his play of " Julius Cassar." 
 
 91. Rights by rights /outer, strengths by strengths do fail. 
 Here "fouler" has been changed to 'founder,' 'fouled are,' 
 ' foil'd are,' ' falter,' &c., under the idea that a vdrb is required 
 in this place ; but it appears to us that Shakespeare, in this line 
 as elsewhere, makes one verb do double duty in a sentence ; and 
 that here the meaning is, ' Rights by rights fouler do fail, 
 strengths by strengths do fail.' See, among numerous other 
 instances. Note 87, Act i., " Henry VIII.," and Note 5, Act iv., 
 " Troilus and Cressida." See also a very similar passage in 
 "Timon of Athens," Act iv., sc. 3—" Thus much of this will 
 make black, white ; foul, fair ; wrong, right ; base, noble ; 
 old, young; coward, valiant;" where the verb " make " before 
 "black" gives 'make' to be understood as repeated before 
 "foul," "wrong," "base," "old," and "coward," thus doing 
 multiplied duty in the sentence. In "Julius Csesar," Act iii., 
 sc. I, likewise, we find — "As fire drives out fire, so pity pity ;" 
 where "drives out" is understood as repeated between "pity" 
 and "pity." In the present passage, the word " fouler" bears 
 the sense of less fair ' or ' more unfair; ' as Shakespeare more 
 than once uses the common expression " foul play " for ' unfair 
 practice,' and uses the word "foully" for 'unfairly' in "All's 
 
 V. 
 
 Men. Why, so, — you have made good work 
 A pair of tribunes that have rack'd for Rome, 
 To make coals cheap, ^ — a noble memory I 
 
 Com. I minded him how royal 'twas to pardon 
 When it was less expected :^ he replied, 
 It was a bare petition of a stated 
 To one whom they had punish'd. 
 
 Men. Very well : 
 
 Could he say less ? 
 
 Com. I ofter'd to awaken his regard 
 For his private friends : his answer to me was, 
 He could not stay to pick them in a pile 
 Of noisome musty chaff: he said 'twas foUv, 
 For one poor grain or two, to leave unburnt, 
 And still to nose the offence. 
 
 Men. For one poor grain or two ! 
 
 I am one of those ; his mother, wife, his child, 
 And this brave fellow too, we are the grains : 
 You are the musty chaff ; and you are smelt 
 Above the moon : we must be burnt for you. 
 
 Sic. Nay, pray, be patient : if you refuse your aid 
 
 Well," Act v., sc. 2 — " I am afeard the life of Helen, lady, was 
 foully snatch'd." 
 
 t. What Jie hath said which was soinetinte his general ; ivho 
 lov'd him, b^c. This passage affords an instance of " which " 
 used for ' who,' and " who " (referring to the same antecedent) 
 in the same sentence. 
 
 2. He caird me father. ' He used to call me father.' For a 
 discussion on the custom of adopting titles of relationship, see 
 Note go, Act ii., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 3. And knee the ivay into his mercy. *And crawl the whole 
 way on your knees to beg his mercy.' " Knee," here, is one of 
 Shakespeare's expressive verbs coined from a noun. See Note 
 49, Act iii., "Taming of the Shrew." 
 
 4. Coy'd. ' Demurr'd,' ' hesitated coyly.' 
 
 5. Rack'd for Rome, to make, &=c. This has been variously 
 altered and variously explained. Shakespeare elsewhere uses 
 "racked" to express ' strained,' ' stretched" (see Note 35, Act i., 
 "Merchant of Venice") ; and "rack," with something of the same 
 signification, in the passage commented upon in Note 14, Act iv., 
 " Measure for Measure." It is probable, therefore, that here he 
 uses "racked" to convey the idea of 'strained every nerve,' 
 ' stretched your authority to the utmost.' The sneer involved in 
 the words " to make coals cheap " refers to " the fire of burning 
 Rome ; " which is to bring hot coals of vengeance on them all. 
 
 6. To pardon when it ifas less exf>ected. Instance of the 
 comparative used in a sentence where the superlative is generally 
 used; "less" instead of 'least.' See Note 24, Act iv., " Henry V.'' 
 
 7. It was a 'jare petition of a state. " Bare " has been 
 changed to ' base' and to ' rare ; ' but " bare" is probably here 
 used to express ' bare-faced,' ' unblushing ; ' ■* of sheer effrontery.' 
 
 :2& 
 
Act v.] 
 
 In tliis so never-needed help,^ yet do not 
 Upbraid 's with our distress. But, sure, if you 
 Would be your country's pleader, your good 
 tongue. 
 
 More than the instant^ army we can make, 
 Might stop our countryman. 
 
 Men. No, I'll not meddle. 
 
 Sic. Pray you, go to him. 
 
 Men. What should I do ? 
 
 Bru. Only make trial what your love can do 
 For Rome, touards Marcius.'" 
 
 Men. Well, and say that Marcius 
 
 Return me, as Cominius is return'd, 
 Unheard ; what then ? 
 But as a discontented friend," grief-shot 
 With his unkindness ? say 't be so ? 
 
 Sic. Yet your good will 
 
 Must have that thanks from Rome, after the 
 
 measure 
 As you intended well. 12 
 
 Men. I'll undertake it : 
 
 1 think he'll hear me. Yet, to bite his lip 
 And hum at good Cominius, much unhearts me. 
 He was not taken well ; lie had not din'd : 
 The veins unfiU'd, our blood is cold, and then 
 We pout upon the moini.ig, are unapt 
 To give or to forgive ; but when we have stufF'd 
 These pipes and the.^e conveyances of our blooil 
 With wine and feeding, we have suppler souls 
 Than in our priest-like fasts : therefore I'll watch 
 him 
 
 Till he be dieted to my request, 
 And then I'll set upon him. 
 
 Bru. You know the very roa.l into his kindness. 
 And cannot lose your way. 
 
 Men. Good faith, I'll prove him, 
 
 Speed how it will. I shall ere long have know- 
 ledge 
 
 Of my success. '3 \_F.xit. 
 
 8. This so never-needed hel/>. EUlptically and transposedly 
 constructed ; meaning * this never so niucli needed help.* 
 
 9. lustuiit. Here used for ' suddenly r,iised.' ' immediately 
 summoned/ 'instantly levied;' as it is used for 'instantly 
 entered upon,' 'immediately engaged in,' in the passage referred 
 to in Note 66, Act i., " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 10. What your love can do for Rome, towards Marcius. The 
 construction here gives a double effect to the sentence : the effect 
 of'svhat your love towards Marcius can do for Rome,' and the 
 effect of ' what your love can do for Rome, in your advances 
 made to Marcius.' 
 
 11. But as a discontented Jrieud. Here " return me" in the 
 last line but one gives ' return me,' or ' if I return ' to be under- 
 stood before " but ; " svhich is used in the sense of 'only' or 
 * merely.' 
 
 12. After the measure as you intended well. 'According to 
 the amount of your good intentions,' ' in proportion with yom 
 good intentions.' 
 
 13. Success. Here used for that which succeeds, follows, or 
 happens,— whether good or bad. See Note 122, Act i., " All's 
 Well." 
 
 14. He does sit in gold. The passage in North's " Plutarch " 
 describes Coriolanus thus—" Ho was set in his chaire of stale, with 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Com. He'll never hear him. 
 
 Sic. Not ? 
 
 Com. I tell you, he does sit in gold,i* his eye 
 Red as 'twould burn Rome ; and his injury 
 The gaoler to his pity. I kneel' d before him ; 
 'Twas very faintly he said " Rise ;" dismiss'd me 
 Thus, with his sj)eechless hand : what he would 
 do. 
 
 He sent in writing after me ; what he would not. 
 
 Bound with an oath to yield to his conditions 
 
 So that all hope is vain, 
 
 Unless his noble mother,"' and his wife ; 
 
 Who, as I hear, mean to solicit him 
 
 For mercy to his country. Therefore, let's hence, 
 
 And with our fair entreaties haste them on. 
 
 \Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE W.—An advanced post of the VoU,cian 
 Camp bejore RoME. The Guard at their 
 stations. 
 
 Enter to them, Menenius. 
 
 First G. Stay: wlience are you? 
 Sec. G, Stand, and go back. 
 
 Men. You guard like men ; 'tis well : but, by 
 your leave, 
 I am an officer of state, and come 
 To speak with Coriolanus. 
 
 First G. I'"rom whence ? 
 
 Men. From Rome. 
 
 First G. You may not pass, you must return : 
 our general 
 Will no more hear from thence. 
 
 Sec. G. You'll see your Rome embrac'd with 
 fire, before 
 • You'll speak with Coriolanus. 
 
 Men. Good my friends, 
 
 If you have heard your general talk of Rome, 
 
 ' a marvellous and an unspeakable maiesty ; " while Shakespeare, 
 in " Antony and Cleopatra," Act iii., sc. 6, has — " Cleopatra and 
 ' himself in chairs of gold were publicly enthron'd." 
 r 15 Bound vjitli an oath to yield to his conditions. This 
 1 passage has been variously altered in some of its words, and has 
 been also suspected of having a line or more omitted. We think 
 : that it condensedly expresses the stipulations made by Coriolanus 
 t and the proposals made hy the Romans, as stated more fully in 
 : North's "Plutarch ;" and that here "what he would do" refers to 
 i what Coriolanus would grant as expressed in the articles " sent 
 in writing after" Cominius ; while "what he would not" refers 
 ; to the proposals made by the Romans, which Coriolanus would 
 not grant unless under certain conditions that he bound himself 
 r by oath to make them yield to. In the text, the concise phrase- 
 ology scarcely makes evident that there are two sets of articles, 
 ) one drawn up by Coriolanus and sent in writing, the other 
 I submitted by the Romans to him, which he vows to grant only 
 upon his own conditions ; but that so it is clearly intended we 
 r think is shown by the account of the incident in " Plutarch," as 
 s well as by the expression " it was a bare petition of a state^^ in 
 
 the present scene, indicating a propos.al made on their part. 
 ' 16. Unless his noble mother. Here 'in' is elliptically under- 
 1 stood between " unless " and " his." 
 127 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
Coriolanus. Away! 
 Menenius. How ! away 
 
 Act V. Scene II. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 And of his friends there, it is lots to blanks,'' | 
 iMy name hath touch'd your ears : it is Menenius. 
 
 First G. Be it so ; go back : the virtue of your 
 name 
 Is not here passable. 
 
 Mi/n. I tell thee, fellow, 
 
 Thy general is my lover : I have been 
 The book of his good acts, whence men have read 
 Hisi'ame unparallel'd, haply, amplified ; 
 For I have ever verified" my friends 
 (Of whom he's chief) with all the size that verity 
 Woidd without lapsing suffer: nay, sometimes, 
 I. ike to a bowl upon a subtle^" ground, 
 I have tumbled past the throw; and in his praise 
 Have almost stamp'd the leasing:-' therefore, 
 
 fellow, 
 I must have leave to pass. 
 
 Firsl G. Faith, sir, if you had told as many lies 
 in his behalf as you have uttered words in your 
 own, you should not pass here : no, though it were 
 as virtuous to lie as to live chastely. Therefore, go 
 back. 
 
 Mtn. Pr'ythee, fellow, remember my name is 
 Mene.nius, always factionary-- on the party of your 
 general. 
 
 Sec. G. Howsoever you have been his liar (as 
 you siy you liave), I am one that, telling true 
 under him, must say, ) ou cannot pass. Therefore, 
 go back. 
 
 Men. Has he dined, canst thou tell ? for 1 
 would not speak with him till after dinner. 
 
 First G. You are a Roman, are you ? 
 
 Men. I am as thy general is. 
 
 First G. Then you should hate Rome, as he 
 does. Can you, when you have pushed out your 
 gates-^ the very defender of them, and, in a violent 
 popular ignorance, given your enemy your shield, 
 think to front his revenges with the easy^-* groans 
 of old women, the virginal palms of your daughters, 
 or with the palsied intercession of such a decayed 
 dotant as you seem to be ? Can you think to blow 
 out the intended fire your city is ready to flame in, 
 
 17. It is lots to blanks. " Lots," in a lottery, are thechsn 
 forprizes, and here used in the sense of prizes; so that the phr 
 is a mode of saying, ' 'Tis all to nothing," or ' I would wager j 
 anything.' See Note 43, Act I., "Richard III." 
 
 18. Thy gene>-al is my lover. Instance of " lover " used as a ; 
 title between men-friends. Sec Note 71, Act ill., "Merchant of 
 
 ig. Verified. Here used for ' affirmed the excellence of,' 
 * asserted the merit of,' ' borne witness to the worth of.' " Veri- 
 fied " has been supposed to be wrong, and h.-is been altered, 
 because of the word "verity" in the same sentence, but even 
 supposing " verihcd" to bear the .sense of ' spoken the truth of,' 
 it is perfectly in Shakespeare's style to imply ' I have always 
 spoken the truth of my friends as largely as truth would allow 
 without ceasing to b" truth.' 
 
 20. Subtle. Here used for ' smooth,' 
 
 21. Almost stam/d the l:nnu-;. 'Almost set the stamp of 
 truth upon falsehood.' " Leasing" is an old word for ' lying.' 
 See Note 81, Act i., "Twelfth Night." 
 
 with such weak breath as this ? No, you are 
 deceived ; therefore, back to Rome, and prepare 
 for your execution : you are condemned, our 
 general has sworn you out of reprieve and pardon. 
 
 Men. Sirrah, if thy captain knew I were here, 
 he would use me with estimation. 
 
 Sec. G. Come, my captain knows you not. 
 
 Men. I mean, thy general. 
 
 F'rst G. My general cares not for you. Back, 
 I say, go ; lest 1 let forth your half-pint of blood ; 
 — back, — that's the utmost of your iiaving : — back. 
 
 Men. Nay, but, fellow, fellow, — 
 
 Enter CoRiOL.wus and .AuFiDius. 
 Cor. What's the matter I-' 
 
 Men. Now, \ou companion,'* I'll say an errand 
 foryou: you shall know nowthat I am in estimation; 
 you shall perceive that a Jack guarlant '^ cannot 
 office me from my son Coriolanus ;'-'' guess, but by 
 my entertainment-** with him, if thou .stand'st not 
 i' the state of hanging, or of some death more long 
 in spectatorship, and crueller in suffering; behold 
 now presently, and swoon for what's to come upon 
 thee. — The glorious gods sit in hourly synod about 
 thy particular prosperity, and love thee no worse 
 than thy old father Menenius does! Oh, my son, 
 my son I thou art preparing fire for us; look thee, 
 here's water to quench it. 1 was hardly moved to 
 come to thee ; but being assured none but myself 
 could move thee, I have been blown out of your 
 gates with sighs; and conjure thee to pardo:^ 
 Rome, and thy petitionary countrymen. The 
 good gods assuage thy wrath, and turn the dregs 
 of it upon this varlet here,— this, who, like a block, 
 hath denied my access to thee. 
 
 Cor. Away! 
 
 Men. How ! away ! 
 
 Cor. Wife, mother, child, I know not. My 
 affairs 
 
 Are servanted to others : though I owe 
 
 My revenge properly,^' my remission lies 
 
 In Volscian breasts. That we have been familiar, 
 
 22. Factionary. 'Acting as a partisan,' 'attached to a 
 faction.' Menenius means to .say that he is always an active 
 and attached partisan of Coriolanus, on whatever side he may be. 
 
 23. IVhen you have pushed OHt your gates. 'Of is elliptically 
 understood between "out" and "your" here. 
 
 24. Easy. Here used for ' imimportant,' ' inconsiderable,' 
 'insignificant,' ' of small consequence.' See Note 20, Act v., 
 " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 25. Companion. See Note 33, Act iv. 
 
 26. A Jacic guardaut. ' A Jack sentinel ; ' the familiar term 
 ' a Jack in office ' is suggested by the introduction of the word 
 " office " immediately after. 
 
 27. My soil Coriolanus. See Note 2 of this Act. 
 
 28. Guess, but by my entertainme/tt. " By," omitted in the 
 Folio, was first inserted by Malone. 
 
 ^g. Properly. ' Personally,' ' as belonging to myself,' the 
 sentence meaning, 'Though my revenge is peculiarly mine 
 own, my power to forgive lies in the Volscians' ultimate 
 decision.' 
 
 I2g 
 
 VOL. III. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Ingrate forgettulness shall poison, rather 
 Than pity note how much. Therefore, be gone. 
 Mine ears against your suits are stronger than 
 Your gates against my force. Yet, for I lov'd 
 thee.sc 
 
 Take this along ; I writ it for thy sake, 
 
 [Gi'ues a letter. 
 
 A nd would ha\ e sent it. Another word, Menenius, 
 I will not hear thee speak. — This man, Aufidius, 
 Was my belov'd in Rome : yet thou behold'st ! 
 
 Auf. You keep a constant temper. 
 
 [Exeunt CoRioLANUS and Aufidius. 
 
 Fnst G. Now, sir, is your name Menenius? 
 
 Sec. G. 'Tis a spell, you see, of much power: 
 you know the way home again. 
 
 First G. Do you hear how we are shent^' for 
 keeping your greatness back ? 
 
 Sec. G. What cause, do you think, I have to 
 s« oon f 
 
 Men. I neither care for the world nor ) our 
 general : for such things as you, I can scarce think 
 there's any, you are so slight. He that hath a will 
 to die by himself^' fears it not from another : let 
 your general do his worst. For you, be that you 
 are, long ; and your misery increase with your age ! 
 I say to you, as I \va.s said to. Away ! [Exit. 
 
 First G. A noble fellow, I warrant him. 
 
 Sec. G. The worthy fellow is our general : he's 
 the rock, the oaic not to be wind-shaken. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE in.— The Tent of Coriolanus. 
 
 Enter CoRIOLANUj, AuFlDlUS, and others. 
 Cor. We will before the walls of Rome to- 
 morrow 
 
 Set down our host. — My partner in this action, 
 You must report to the Volscian lords, how plainly 
 I have borne this business. 
 
 Juf. Only their ends 
 
 You have respected ; stopi)'d your ears against 
 The general suit of Rome ; never admitted 
 A private whisper, no, not with such friends 
 That thought them sure of you. 
 
 Cor. This last old man. 
 
 Whom with a crack'd heart I have sent to Rome, 
 Lov'd me above the measure of a father ; 
 Nay, godded me, indeed. Their latest refuge 
 Was to send him ; for whose old love I have 
 (Though I show'd sourly to him) once more ofFer'd 
 
 30. For I loi'd thee. ' Because I loved thee.' 
 
 2^.. Shfut. 'Rebuked,* 'scolded,' 'rated.' See Note 66, 
 Act ii , " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 33. To die by himself. ' To die by his o'.vn hands.' 
 
 33. /'// nei'er he suck a gosling to obey instinct. 'As' is 
 elliptically understood between " gosling" and " to." See Note 
 27, Act ii., "Henry VIII." 
 
 The first conditions, which they did refuse, 
 And cannot now accept ; to grace him only 
 That thought he could do more, a very little 
 I have yielded to : fresh embassies and suits, 
 Nor from the state nor private friends, hereafter 
 Will I lend ear \Q.— [Shout iiuithin.] Ha ! what 
 
 shout is this ? 
 Shall I be tempted to infringe my vow 
 In the same time 'tis made? I will not. 
 
 Enter, in mourning habits, Virgilia, Volumnia, 
 leading young Marcius, Valeria, and At- 
 tendants. 
 
 My wife comes foremost ; then the honour'd mould 
 Wherein this trunk was fram'd, and in her hand 
 The grandchild to her blood. But, out, affection ! 
 All bond and privilege of nature, break ! 
 Let it be virtuous to be obstinate.— 
 What is that court'sy worth ? or those dove.s' eyes, 
 Which can make gods forsworn ? — I melt, and am 
 not 
 
 Of stronger earth than others. — My mother feows ; 
 
 As if 01ymj)us to a molehill should 
 
 In supplication nod : and my young boy 
 
 Hath an aspe:t of intercession, which 
 
 Great nature cries, "Deny not." — Let the Volsces 
 
 Plough Rome, and harrow Italy: I'll never 
 
 Be such a gosling to obey instinct but stand. 
 
 As if a man were author of himself, 
 
 And knew no other kin. 
 
 Fir. My lord and husband ! 
 
 Cor. These eyes are not the same I wore in 
 Rome. 
 
 Fir. The sorrow that delivers us thus chang'd 
 Makes you think so. 
 
 Cor. Like a dull actor now, 
 
 I have forgot my part, and I am out. 
 Even to a full disgrace. — Best of my fle.sh, 
 Forgive my tyranny ; but do not say, 
 F"or that, " Forgive our Romans." Oh, a kiss 
 Long as my exile, sweet as my revenge ! 
 Now, by the jealous queen of heaven,'* that kiss 
 I carried from thee, dear ; and my true lip 
 Hath virgin'd it e'er since. — You gods! I prate,^* 
 And the most noble mother of the world 
 Leave unsaluted : sink, my knee, i' the earth ; 
 
 [Kneels. 
 
 Of thy deep duty more impression show 
 Than that of common sons.^s 
 
 Vol. Oh, stand up bless'd ! 
 
 Whiiit, with no softer cushion than the flint. 
 
 34. The jealous giteen of heaven. Juno ; who presided over 
 marriage, and punished conjugal infidelity. 
 
 35. Prate. The Folio misprints 'pray.' The.^bald's cor- 
 rection. 
 
 36. Tlian thai of common sons. Here 'of is elliptically 
 understood between "than" and "that." See Note 75, Act i. of 
 this play. 
 
 130 
 
Act v.] CORIOLANUS. [Scene III. 
 
 I kneel before thee ; and unproperly 
 Show duty, as mistaken all this while 
 Between the child and parent. [Kneels, 
 
 Cor. What is this ? 
 
 Your knees to me ? to your corrected son ? 
 Then let the pebbles on the hungry beach 
 Fillip the stars; then let the mutinous winds 
 Strike the proud cedars 'gainst the fiery sun ; 
 Murd'ring impossibility, to make 
 What cannot be, slight work. 
 
 Fol. Thou art my warrior; 
 
 I holp^' to frame thee. — Do you know this lady ? 
 
 Cor. The noble sister of Publicola, 
 The moon of Rome ; chaste as the icicle, 
 That's curded by the frost from purest snow. 
 And hangs on Dian's temple :— dear Valeria ! 
 
 Fol. This is a poor epitome of yours, 
 Which by the interpretation of full time 
 May show like all )Ourself. 
 
 Cor. The god of soldiers. 
 
 With the consent of supreme Jove, inform 
 Thy thoughts with nobleness; that thou mayst 
 prove 
 
 To shame unvulnerable, and stick i' the wars 
 Like a great sea-mark, standing every flaw,^' 
 And saving those that eye thee ! 
 
 Fo/. Your knee, sirrah. 
 
 Cor. That's my brave boy ! 
 Fol. Even he, your wife, this lady, and myself. 
 Are suitors to you. 
 Cor. I beseech you, peace : 
 
 Or, if you'd ask, remember this before,— 
 The things'"" I have forsworn to grant may never 
 Be held by you denials. Do not bid me 
 Dismiss my soldiers, or capitulate 
 Again with Rome's mechanics: — tell me not 
 Wherein I seem unnatural : desire not 
 To allay my rages and revenges with 
 Your colder reasons. 
 
 Fo/. Oh, no more, no more ! 
 
 You have said you will not grant us anything ; 
 For we have nothing else to ask, but that 
 Which you deny already : yet we will ask ; 
 That, if you fail in our request,'" the blame 
 
 37. The hungry beach. The epithet " hungry " has been ex- 
 plained to mean 'sterile,' ' unprolific,' as when ' a hungry soil ' is 
 spoken of; and it has been suggested to mean 'eager for ship- 
 wrecks,' like the classical phrcise, littus avariim. In "Twelfth 
 Night," Act ii., sc. 4, we find the expression, " h.% humry a.^ 
 the sea;" and in "Romeo and Juliet," Act v , sc. 3, "Strew 
 this hungry churchyard." 
 
 38. Holp. An old form of ' helped,' used several times in this 
 play. See Note 73, Act iv. Here the Folio misprints ' hope.' 
 Pope's correction. 
 
 39. A/rtty. 'Tempestuous gust,' 'stormy wind.' See Note 74, 
 Act iv., " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 40. Tilings. The Folio prints 'thing' here for "things." 
 Capell's correction. 
 
 4'- V you /ail in our request. Rowe altered " you " to ' we ' 
 here ; but the sentence means ' if you fail to grant our request.' 
 " Fail in" is an ellipsis for ' fail in granting,' or ' fail us in.' 
 
 May hang upon your hardness : therefore hear us. 
 
 Cor. Aufidius, and you Volsces, mark ; for we'll 
 Hear naught from Rome in private. — Your re- 
 quest ? 
 
 Fol. Should we be silent and not speak, our 
 raiment 
 
 And state of bodies would bewray what life 
 We have led since thy exile. Think witii thyself 
 How more unfortunate than all living women 
 Are we come hither : since that thy sight, which 
 should 
 
 Make our eyes flow with joy, hearts dance with 
 comforts. 
 
 Constrains them weep, and shake*^ with fear and 
 sorrow ; 
 
 Making the mother, wife, and child, to see 
 The son, the husband, and the father, tearing 
 His country's bowels out. And to poor we 
 Thine enmity's most capital thou barr'st us 
 Our prayers to the gods, which is a comfort 
 That all but we enjoy ; for how can we, 
 Alas! how can we for our country pray. 
 Whereto we are bound, — together with thy victory, 
 Whereto we are bound ? Alack, or we must lose 
 The country, our dear nurse ; or else thy persoa, 
 Our comfort in the country. We must find 
 An evidenf** calamity, though we had 
 Our wish, which side should win ; for either thou 
 Must, as a foreign recreant, be led 
 With manacles through our streets, or else 
 Triumphantly tread on thy country's ruin. 
 And bear the palm for having bravely shed 
 Thy wife and children's blood. For myself, son, 
 I purpose not to wait on fortune till 
 These wars determine if I cannot persuade thee 
 Rather to show a noble grace to both parts 
 Than seek the end of one, thou shalt no tooner 
 March to assault thy country than to tread 
 (Trust to 't, thou shalt not,) on thy mother's womb, 
 That brought thee to this world. 
 
 Fir. Ay, and mine. 
 
 That brought you forth this boy, to keep your 
 
 name 
 Living to time. 
 
 42. Constrains them weep, and sliake. Elliptically ex- 
 pressed :— ' Constrains our eyes to weep, and our hearts to 
 shake.' 
 
 43. To poor we thine enmity's most capital. " We " is here 
 used instead of ' us,' by a grammatical licence permitted in 
 Shakespeare's time. See Note 27, .\ct i., "As You Like It." 
 "Capital," which is now-a-days generally used in familiar 
 speecn to express ' super-excellent,' formerly, as here, was occa- 
 sionally used in its sense of ' chiefly affecting life,* 'mainly 
 injurious.' We have still the word in this sense in the phrase 
 ' capital punishment.' 
 
 44. Evident. Here used to express 'sure,' 'certain,' 'In- 
 evitable ; ' as it is in the passage discussed in Note 90, Act iv. 
 
 45. Determine. Here used, with Shakespeare's skill in em- 
 ploying a word that includes large meaning, in its sense of 
 'end,' 'conclude,' 'terminate,' and in its sense of 'decide,' 
 ' resolve the point at issue.' 
 
I, a Mv lord and husband! 
 
 lanui These eyes are not the same I wore m Rome. 
 
 Act V. Scene III. 
 
[Scene Hi. 
 
 Memnius. Hark, how they joy ! Act V. Scene IV. 
 
 Boy. He shall not tread on me ; 
 
 I'll run away (ill I am bigger, but then I'll fight. ■'^ 
 
 Cor. Not of a woman's tenderness to he, 
 Requires nor child nor woman's face to see. 
 I have sat too long. [Rising. 
 
 Vol. Nay, go not from us thus. 
 
 If it were so that our request did tend 
 To save the Romans, thereby to destroy 
 The Volsces whom you serve, you might condemn 
 
 As poisonous of your honour : no ; our suit 
 Is, that you reconcile them : while the Volsces 
 May say, "This mercy we have show'd; " the 
 Romans, 
 
 46. Theti I'll fight. The spice of proud resistance, with 
 consciousness of present inability and resolution for future self- 
 defence, finely condensed into this characteristic speech, are 
 m:)st natural in the son of Coriolanus, and most calculated to 
 precisely touch the father's heart. 
 
 47. Whose chronicle thus writ. Here the " will be" in the 
 
 " This we receiv'd ; " and each in either side 
 Give the all-hail to thee, and cry, " Be blesb'd 
 For making up this peace 1 " Thou know'st, 
 great son. 
 
 The end of war's uncertam ; but this certain, 
 That, it thou conquer Rome, the benefit 
 Which thou shalt thereby reap is such a name. 
 Whose repetition will be dogg'd with curses; 
 Whosechronicle thus writ,''"—" The man was noble, 
 But with his last attempt he wip'd it out ; 
 Destroy'd his country ; and his name remains 
 To the ensuing age abhorr'd." Speak to me, son ; 
 Thou hast affected the fine strains of honour,'"* 
 To imitate the graces of the gods ; 
 To tear with thunder the wide cheeks o' the air, 
 
 previous line is elliptically understood as repeated between 
 "chronicle" and "thus." 
 
 48. The fine strains of honour. Here the Folio misprints 
 * fine ' for "fine;" and "strains" is used in the sense of 
 ' aspirations,' ' high reachings,' 'lofty attempts. ' 
 
Act v.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 And yet to charge thy sulphur'*'-' with a bolt 
 That should but rive an oak. Why dost not speak ? 
 Tl.ink'st thou it honourable for a noble man 
 Still to remember wrongs ? — Daughter, speak you : 
 He cares not for your weeping. 5" — Speak thou, boy: 
 Perhaps thy childishness will move him more 
 Than can our reasons. — There's no man in the 
 world 
 
 More hound to 's mother; yet here he lets me prate 
 Like one i' the stocks.— Thou hast never in thy life 
 Show'd thy dear mother any courtesy ; 
 When she (poor lien), fond of no second brood, 
 Has cluck'd thee to the wars, and safely home, 
 Loaden with honour. Say my request's unjust, 
 And spurn me back : but if it be not so. 
 Thou art not honest ; and the gods will plague thee, 
 That thou restrain'st from me the duty which 
 To a mother's part belongs. — He turns away : 
 Down, ladies; let us shame him with our knees. 
 To his surname Coriolanus 'longs more pride 
 Than pity to our prayers. Dosvn : an end ; 
 This is the last : — so we will home to Rome, 
 And die among our neighbours. — Nay, behold us : 
 This boy, that cannot tell what he would have, 
 But kneels and holds up hands for fellowship, 
 Does reason our petition with more strengtli 
 Than thou hast to deny 't. — Come, let us go : 
 This fellow had a Volscian to his mother ; 
 His wife is in Corioli, and his child 
 Like him by chance. — Yet give us our despatch ; 
 I am hush'd until our city be a-fire. 
 And then I'll speak a little. 
 
 Cor. [After holding VoLUMNIA by the hand in 
 silence.'] Oh, mother, mother! 
 What have you done ? Behold, the heavens do ope. 
 The gods look dou ii, and this unnatural scene 
 They laugh at. Oh, my mother, mother! Oh! 
 You have won a happy victory to Rome ; 
 But, for your son, — believe it, oh, believe it, — 
 Most dangerously you have with him prevail'd. 
 If not most mortal to him. But, let it come.—*' 
 Aufidius, though I cannot make true wars, 
 I'll frame convenient peace. Now, good Aufidius, 
 
 49- To charge thy sulplinr. The Folio prints ' cli.mge ' for 
 "charge" here. Warburton's correction. 
 
 50. Daughter, speak yojc : he cares not for your lueepitig 
 With what exquisitely artistic touches .Shakespeare finishes his 
 character-portraits ! Here, in two half lines, he paints Virgilia's 
 habitual silence, and Voliiinnia's as habitual torrent of words. 
 She bids her daughter-in-law plead, yet waits not for her to 
 speak. See Note 20, Act iv. And then how consistently has 
 he depicted Volumnia's mode of appeal to her son throughout, 
 in Act iii., sc. 2, and here ; beginning with remonstrance, and 
 ending with reproach : her fiery nature so like his own, and so 
 thoroughly accounting for liis inherited disposition. 
 
 51. If not most 7iwrtal to him. But, let zt come. "Mortal" 
 here bears the sense of ' deadly,' and is used as an adverb, con- 
 sistently with the previous word "dangerously." "It" refers 
 to ' death,' as implied in " mortal." 
 
 52. A former fortune. It has been proposed to alter 
 "former" to 'firmer' here; but Aufidius alludes to the time 
 
 Were you in my stead, would you have heard 
 A mother less ? or granted less, Aufidius ? 
 iuf. I was mov'd withal. 
 
 Car. I dare be sworn you were : 
 
 And, sir, it is no little thing to make 
 Mine eyes to sweat compassion. But, good sir. 
 What peace ) ou'll make, advise me : for my part, 
 I'll not to Rome, PU back with you ; and pray ) ou, 
 Stand to me in this cause. — Oh, mother! wife! 
 Anf. [Aside.] I am glad thou hast set thy 
 mercy and thy honour 
 At difference in thee : out of that I'll work 
 Myself a former fortune.*- 
 
 [The Ladies make signs to Coriolanus. 
 Cor. [To VoLUMNiA, ViRGiLiA, &c.] Ay, by- 
 and-by ; 
 
 But we will drink together ; and you shall bear 
 
 A better witness back*^ than words, which we. 
 
 On like conditions, will have countcr-seal'tl. 
 
 Come, enter with us. Ladies, you deserve 
 
 To have a temple built )ou all the swords 
 
 In Italy, and her confederate arms, 
 
 Could not have made this peace. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE IV.-RoME. A Public Place. 
 Enter Menenius and SiciNius. 
 Men. See you ) ond' coign o' the Capitol, — yond' 
 corner-stone ? 
 
 Sic. Why, what of that P 
 
 Men. If it be possible for you to displace it with 
 your little finger, there is some hope the ladies of 
 Rome, especially his mother, may prevail with 
 him. But I say there is no hope in 't : our throats 
 are sentenced, and stay upon** execution. 
 
 Sic. Is 't possible that so short a time can alter 
 the condition of a man ? 
 
 Men. There is difl^erency between a grub and a 
 butterfly ; yet your butterfly*'' was a grub. This 
 Marcius is grown from man to dragon : he has 
 wings; he's more than a creeping thing. 
 
 when he was sole in command, having since shared it with 
 Coriolanus and given him "half" his " commission." 
 
 53. IVe luill drink together ; and you shall bear a better nvif- 
 ness back. Farmer opmed that ^v■e should read ' think' here m- 
 stead of " drink ; " but the following passage from " Second Part 
 Henry IV.," Act iv., sc. 2, shows that "drink" here is right : — 
 
 " Here, between the armies, 
 Let's drink together friendly and embrace. 
 That all their eyes may bear those tokens home 
 Of our restored love and amity." 
 
 54. Ladies, you deserve to hai'e a temple built you. Plu- 
 tarch records that a Temple of Fortune was built by order 
 of the senate, to do honour to the Roman ladies upon this 
 occasion. 
 
 55. Stay npon. An idiom, signifying ' wait but for.' 
 
 56. Vet your butterfly. "Your" is here used as in the 
 passage explained in Note 26, Act ii. 
 
 134 
 
Act v.] 
 
 Sii:. He loved his mother dearly. 
 
 Men. So did he me : and he no more remembers 
 his mother now, than an eight year old horse.'? 
 The tartness of his face sours ripe grapes: when 
 he walks, he moves like an engine, and the ground 
 shrinks before his treading: he is able to pierce a 
 corslet with his eye ; talks like a knell, and his 
 hum is a battery. He sits in his state, as a thing 
 made for Alexander. ''^ What he bids be done, is 
 finished with his bidding. He wants nothing of a 
 god but eternity, and a heaven to throne in. 
 
 Sic. Yes, mercy, if you report him truly. 
 
 Men. I paint him in the character.''" Mark 
 what mercy his mother shall bring from him: there 
 is no more mercy in him than there is milk in a 
 male tiger; that shall our poor city find: and all 
 this is 'long of you. 
 
 Sic. The gods be good unto us ! 
 
 Men. No, in such a case the gods will not be 
 good unto us. When we banished him, we re- 
 spected not them ; and, lie returning to break our 
 necks, they respect not us. 
 
 Enter a Messenger. 
 Mess. Sir, if you'd save your life, fly to }'our 
 house : 
 
 The plebeians have got your fellow-tribune, 
 And hale him up and down ; all swearing, if 
 The Roman ladies bring not comfort home. 
 They'll give him death by inches. 
 
 Enter a second Messenger. 
 Sic. What's the news ? 
 
 Sec. Mess. Good news, good news;— tlie ladies 
 have prevail'd, 
 The Volscians are dislodg'd, and Marcius gone : 
 A merrier day did never yet greet Rome, 
 No, not the expulsion of the Tarquins.^' 
 
 Sic. ■ Friend, 
 
 Art thou certain this is true P is it most certain 
 
 Sec. Mess. As certain as I know the sun is fire : 
 Where have you lurk'd, that you make doubt of it ? 
 Ne'er through an arch so hurried the blown tide. 
 As the recomforted through the gates. Why, hark 
 you ! 
 
 [Trumpets and hautboys sounded, and drums 
 ^ beaten, all together. Shouting also 
 
 ivithin. 
 
 57. He no more remembers his mother now, than an eight 
 year old horse. ' Remembers its mare mother ' is understood 
 after "horse." We have frequently had occasion to point out 
 the very elliptical construction used by Shakespeare in phrases 
 of comparison. See Note 37, Act ii. 
 
 58. He sits in his state, as a thing made for Alexander. 
 ' He sits in his chair of state, as if he were an image made to 
 resemble Alexander.' 
 
 59^ Eternity. Here used for ' immortality.' See Note 40, 
 Act v., "Winter's Tale." 
 
 60. / paint him in the character. According to modern 
 phraseology "the" is here used redimdantly ; the sentence 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 The trumpets, sackbuts, psalteries, and fifes, 
 Tal)ors, and cymbals, and the shouting Romans, 
 Make the sun dance. \_Shouting again.] Hark 
 you ! 
 
 Men. This is good news : 
 
 I will go meet the ladies. This Volumnia 
 Is worth of consuls, senators, patricians, 
 A city full; of tribunes, such as you, 
 A sea and land full. You have jiray'd well to- 
 day ; 
 
 This morning for ten thousand of your throats 
 
 I d not have given a doit [Shouting and music] 
 
 Hark, how they joy ! 
 Sic. First, the gods bless you for your tidings ; 
 next. 
 
 Accept my thankfulness. 
 
 Sec. Mess. Sir, we have all 
 
 Great cause to give great thanks. 
 
 Sic. They are near the city 
 
 Sec. Mess. Almost at point to enter. 
 
 Sic. We will meet them. 
 
 And help the joy. [Going. 
 
 Enter the Ladies, accompanied by Senators, Patri- 
 cians, and People. They pass. 
 
 First Sen. Behold our patroness, the life of 
 Rome ! 
 
 Call all }'our tribes together, praise the gods, 
 And make triumphant fires; strew flowers before 
 them : 
 
 Unshout the noise that banish'd Marcius, 
 Repeal him with the welcome of his mother; 
 Cry, " Welcome, ladies, welcome!" 
 
 All. Welcome, ladies. 
 
 Welcome ! 
 
 [4 flourish tcith drums and trumpets. Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE v.— Antium " a Public Place. 
 
 Enter Ttrixus Aufidius, -with Attendants. 
 
 Auf. Go tell the lords of the city I am here: 
 Deliver them this paper: having read it. 
 Bid them repair to the market-place ; where I, 
 Even in theirs and in the commons' ears. 
 Will vouch the truth of it. Him I accuse 
 
 meaning, ' I paint him as his character is,' ' I paint him to the 
 life.' 
 
 61. No, no! the expulsion, &'c. 'The day of ' is elliptically 
 understood after "not." 
 
 62. Blown. Here used in the sense of 'swoln ;' and probably 
 including that of 'driven violently by wind.' See Note 43, Act 
 iv., " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 63. Antimn. In the Folio there is no place marked for this 
 scene. Rowe laid it in Antinm ; and he was followed by all 
 subsequent editors, until Mr. Singer changed Antium to Corioli, 
 on account of what Aufidius says, "Dost thou think I'll grace 
 thee with that robbery, thy stolen name Coriolanus in Corioli ? " 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
.Act v.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 The city ports'"^ by this hath enter'd, and 
 Intends to appear before the people, hoping 
 To purge himself with words : despatch. 
 
 [Exeunt Attendanti. 
 
 Enter three or jour Conspirators of Aufidius' 
 faction. 
 
 Most welcome ! 
 
 first Con. How is it with our general P 
 
 Auf. Even so 
 
 As with a man by his own alms empoison'd, 
 And with his charity slain. 
 
 Sec. Con. Most noble sir, 
 
 If you do hold the same intent wherein 
 You wish'd us parties, we'll deliver you 
 Of your great danger.' 
 
 Auf. Sir, I cannot tell : 
 
 We must proceed as we do find the people. 
 
 Third Con. The people will remain uncertain 
 whilst 
 
 'Twixt you there's difference; but the fall of either 
 Makes the survivor heir of all. 
 
 Auf. I know it ; 
 
 And my pretext to strike at him admits 
 A good construction. I rais'd him, and I pawn'd 
 Mine honour for his truth : who being so 
 heighten' d, 
 
 He water'd his new plants with dews of flattery, 
 Seducing so my friends; and, to this end. 
 He bow'd his nature, never known before 
 But to be rough, unswayable, and free. 
 
 Third Con. Sir, his stoutness 
 When he did stand for consul, which he lost 
 By lack of stooping, — 
 
 Auf 'I hat I would have spoke of: 
 
 Being banish'd for 't, he came unto my hearth ; 
 Presented to my knife his throat: I took him ; 
 Made him joint-servant with me ; gave him v\ ay 
 In all his own desires ; nay, let him choose 
 Out of my files, his projects to accomplish, 
 My best and freshest men; serv'd his designments 
 In mine own person ; holp to reap the fame 
 
 But we believe,— judging from other points in the scene, — that 
 these words do not mean ' Dos* thou think I'll grace thee in 
 Corioli with that robbery, thy stolen name of Coriolanus ? ' we 
 believe that they mean " Dust thou think /'U grace thee with 
 that robbery, thy name of Coriolanus stolen in Corioli ?" If the 
 emphasis be thrown on /, we think the author's intention in 
 the sentence will be clear. The points in the scene which make 
 us believe that Shakespeare intended it to be laid in Antium are 
 these:— In the first place, Antium was the capital of the Volscian 
 territory, Corioli only one of the towns on its borders ; there- 
 fore it was likely that the capital was the place to which Corio- 
 lanus and Aufidius would return to render an account of their 
 expedition to Rome ; and, accordingly, the latter begins by 
 sending to " tell the lords of the city," &c. When they enter 
 they bid him "welcome home and we know that Aufidius's 
 residence was at Antium. The first conspirator says, " Yoitr 
 native town you enter'd like a post, and had no welcomes 
 home." Coriolanus tells the lords of the city, "We haA'e made 
 peace, with no less honour to the Aniiates than shame to the 
 
 Which he did end all his :''5 and took some pride 
 To do myself this wrong : till, at the last, 
 I seem'd his follower, not partner; and 
 He waged me with his countenance,^^ as if 
 I had been mercenary. 
 
 First Con. So he did, my lord, — 
 
 The army marvell'd at it; and, in the last. 
 When he had carried Rome, and that we look'd 
 For no less spoil than glory, — 
 
 Auf. 1 here was it ; — 
 
 For which my sinews shall be stretch'd upon him. 
 At a few drops of women's rheum, which are 
 As cheap as lies, he sold the blood and labour 
 Of our great action : therefore shall he die. 
 And I'll renew me in his fall. — But, hark ! 
 
 {Drums and trumpets sound, ivith great 
 shouts of the People. 
 
 First Con. Your native town you enter'd like a 
 post. 
 
 And had no welcomes home ; but he returns. 
 Splitting the air with noise. 
 
 Sec. Con. And patient fools. 
 
 Whose children he hath slain, their base throats 
 tear 
 
 With giving him glory. 
 
 Third Con. Therefore, at your vantage, 
 
 Ere he express himself, or move the people 
 With what he would say, let him feel your sword, 
 Which we will second. When he lies along, 
 After your way his tale pronounc'd shall bury 
 His reasons with his body. 
 
 Auf. Say no more : 
 
 Here come the lords. 
 
 Enter the Lords of the City. 
 
 Lords. You are most welcome home. 
 
 Auf. I have not deserv'd it. 
 
 But, worthy lords, have you with heed perus'd 
 What I have written to you ? 
 
 Lords. We have. 
 
 First Lord. And grieve to hear it. 
 
 What faults he made before the last, I think 
 
 Romans ; " and these very lords of the city are also here styled 
 " heads of the state," which shows that they were chief rulers, 
 rulers of the Volsces generally, and not merely city authorities 
 belonging to any one of the Volscian towns. Finally, — and 
 which we think conclusive, because North's " Plutarch " was the 
 authority that Shakespeare evidently followed throughout most 
 closely,— Plutarch distinctly states that Marcius and Aufidius 
 returned to Antiuh when they came back from Rome. 
 
 64. Ports. ' Gates.' 
 
 65. Which he did end all his The word "end" has been 
 variously altered ; but we take the sentence to be an elliptical 
 form of a usual idiom, ' which he did end by making all his,' 
 signifying ' which he, in the end, did make all his.' 
 
 66. He ivnged 7iie with his connienajice. To "wage "was a 
 verb formerly in use to express 'to give wages ;' and "coun- 
 tenance " is here used partly in its sense of ' entertainment ' (see 
 Note 19, Act iv., "Taming of the Shrew "), partly in that of 
 'approving looks,' 'patronising aspect,' 'sanction,' 'encourage- 
 ment.' The effect given is of magnificent condescension. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 Might have found easy fines but there to end 
 Where he was to begin, and give away 
 The benefit of our levies, answering us 
 With our own charge,^^ making a treaty where 
 There was a yielding, — this admits no excuse. 
 Auf. He approaches : you shall hear him. 
 
 Enter CoRlOLANUS, ^ith drums and colours ; 
 croTJod of Citizens 'with him. 
 Cor. Hail, lords ! I am return'd your soldier ; 
 No more infected with my country's love 
 Than when I parted hence, but still subsisting 
 Under your great command. You are to know, 
 That prosperously I have attempted, and. 
 
 67. Easy fines. ' Easily paid fines ; ' ' slight ' or ' inconside 
 able fines.' See Note 24 of the present Act. 
 
 68. Aiiszv^ring us with 07ir own charge. 'Repaying o 
 outlay with our own gain,' ' letting the booty gained in war p: 
 the cost of the war.' 
 
 With bloody passage, led your wars even to 
 The gates of Rome. Our spoils we have brought 
 home 
 
 Do more than counterpoise, a full third part. 
 The charges of the action,''' We have made 
 peace. 
 
 With no less honour to the Antiates 
 
 Than shame to the Romans : and we here deliver, 
 
 Subscrib'd by the consuls and patricians, 
 
 Together with the seal o' the senate, what 
 
 We have compounded on. 
 
 Auf. Read it not, noble lords ; 
 
 But tell the traitor, in the highest degree 
 He hath abus'd your p'owers. 
 
 Cor. Traitor!— how now! 
 
 Auf. Ay, traitor, Marcius ! 
 
 69. Do 11 
 0/ the act, 
 third part.' 
 
 ? than counterpoise, a full third part, the charges 
 'By' is elliptically understood before "a full 
 
 VOL m. 
 
 184 
 
Act V.J 
 
 CORIOLANUS. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 Cor. Marcius ! 
 
 Juf. Ay, Marcius, Caius Marcius : dost thou 
 think 
 
 I'll grace thee with that robbery, thy stol'n name 
 Coriolanus in Corioli ? — 
 You lords and heads of the state, perfidiously 
 He has betray'd your business, and given up, 
 I'^or certain drops of salt, your city Rome 
 (1 say, your city) to his uife and mother; 
 Breaking his oath and resolution, like 
 A twist of rotten silk ; never admitting 
 Counsel o' the war ; but at his nurse's tears 
 He whiu'd and roar'd away your victory ; 
 That pages blush'd at him, and men of heart 
 Look'd wondering each at other. 
 
 Cor. Hear'st thou. Mars ? 
 
 ^uf. Name not the god, thou boy of tears! 
 Cor. Ha! 
 
 j^uf. No more."" 
 
 Cor. Measureless liar, thou hast made my heart 
 
 Too great for what contains it. Boy ! oh, slave ! — 
 Pardon me, lords, 'tis the first time that ever 
 I was forc'd to scold. Your judgments, my grave 
 lords. 
 
 Must give this cur the lie : and his own notion 
 (Who wears my stripes impress'd upon him ; that 
 Must bear my beating to his grave) shall join 
 To thrust the lie unto him. 
 
 First Lord. Peace, both, and hear me speak. 
 
 Cor. Cut me to pieces, Volsces ; men and lads. 
 Stain all your edges on me. — Boy ! false hound ! 
 If you have writ your annals true, 'tis there. 
 That, like an eagle in a dove-cote, I 
 I''lutter'd'' your Volscians in Corioli : 
 Alone I did it— Boy ! 
 
 Auf. Why, noble lords. 
 
 Will you be put in mind of his blind fortune. 
 Which was your shame, by this unholy braggart, 
 ' Fore your own eyes and ears ? 
 
 Conspiralors. Let him die for 't. 
 
 Citizens. [^Speaking promiscuously.'] Tear him 
 to pieces, do it presently : — he killed my son ; — my 
 daughter ; — he killed my cousin Marcus ; — he killed 
 my father, — 
 
 Sec. Lord. Peace, ho! — no outrage : — peace! 
 
 70. N'o jnore. It has been suggested th<it these words signify 
 ' say no more,' and should be assigned to the first lord, as 
 desiring to stop the altercation : other authorities interpret them 
 to mean ' no more than a hoy of tears ; ' while perhaps they are 
 intended to express 'name the god Mars no more.' But we 
 believe the second interpretation to be the right one. 
 
 71. Fhctter'd. The first Folio misprints this ' flattcr'd.' 
 Corrected in the third Folio. 
 
 72. Shall have judicious luaring. " Judicious '' here includes 
 the sense of 'judicial ;' these two words having been formerly 
 sometimes used the one for the other. 
 
 'I'he man is noble, and his fame folds in 
 'I'his orb o' the earth. His last offences to us 
 Shall have judicious hearing. ''^ — Stand, Aufidius, 
 And trouble not the peace. 
 
 Cor. Oh, that I had him, 
 
 Wiih six Aufidiuses, or more, his tribe, 
 To use my lawful sword !''^ 
 
 Auf. Insolent villain ! 
 
 Conspirators. Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill him ! 
 
 [Aufidius and the Conspirators liraw, and 
 kill Coriolanus, 'who falls: Aufidius 
 stands on him. 
 Lords. Hold, hold, hold, hold ! 
 
 Auf. My noble masters, hear me speak. 
 First Lord. O Tullus,— 
 
 Sec. Lord. Thou hast done a deed whereat 
 
 valour will weep. 
 Third Lord. Tread not upon him. — Masters 
 all, be quiet ; 
 Put up your swords. 
 Auf. My lonls, when you shall know (as in 
 this rage, 
 
 Provok'd by hiin, you cannot,) the great danger 
 Which this man's life did owe you, you'll rejoice 
 That he is thus cut off. Please it your honours 
 To call me to your senate, I'll deliver 
 Myself your loyal servant, or endure 
 Your heaviest censure. 
 
 First Lord. Bear from hence his body, — 
 
 And mourn you for him : — let him be regarded 
 As the most noble corse that ever herald 
 Did follow to his urn.'^ 
 
 Sec. Lord. His own impatience 
 
 Takes from Aufiilius a great part of blame. 
 Let's make the best of it. 
 
 Auf. My rage is gone ; 
 
 And I am struck with sorrow. — Take him up: — 
 Help, three o' the chiefest soldiers ; I'll be one. — 
 Beat thou the drum, that it speak mournfully : 
 Trail your steel pikes. — Though in this city he 
 Hath widow'd and unchilded many a one, 
 Which to this hour bewail the injury, 
 Yet he shall have a noble memory.''' — 
 Assist. [Exeunt, bearing the body of Coriolanus. 
 
 A dead march sounded. 
 
 73. To nse my laiv/nl sieord. ' On ' is here elliptically under- 
 stood after "sword." For instances of similar construction, see 
 Note 8, Acti., "Richard II." 
 
 74. That ever herald did folloiu to his urn. It was the 
 custom at public funerals of English princes to have a herald 
 following in the train, who, after the burial was performed, pro- 
 claimed the style and honours of the decea.sed. The passage 
 alludes to this custom, as one well known to the author's 
 audience, though perhaps unpractised among the ancients. 
 
 ■jc,. Memory. Here, as elsewhere, used for ' memorial.' See 
 Note 36, Act iv. 
 
ANNOUNCEMENT 
 
 RELATIVE TO 
 
 "TITUS ANDRONICUS; 
 
 On coming to the conclusion of the magnificent play of "Coriolanus" we may 
 here take occasion to state that it is followed in the Folio by one which bears 
 for title, "The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus ;" and which, because 
 it thus appears in the first printed collection of Shakespeare's dramatic works, 
 has always been accepted as one of his productions. 
 
 Another point that led to this acceptance is, that Francis Meres, in his 
 "Palladis Tamia," 1598, alluding to Shakespeare's excellence in tragedy, in- 
 cludes " Titus Andronicus " among six tragedies which he cites in proof thereof. 
 That Meres should have mentioned this play as an evidence of merit in tragic 
 composition, goes far to shake his credit as a critic ; while the internal testi- 
 mony afforded by the work itself goes still farther to evince that he wholly 
 erred in ascribing it to Shakespeare. This was probably not a wilful error ; that 
 it passed for Shakespeare's is countenanced by the fact (a fact altogether strange 
 and unaccountable) that Heming and Condell, his friends and fellow-actors, gave 
 it a place among his collected dramas. 
 
 Nevertheless, in the two Quarto copies that were published during Shake- 
 speare's lifetime, there is no author's name on the title ; and this is a particular 
 of some significance, because his name as a popular author would have been 
 willingly appended by a publisher as a means of selling the production. More- 
 over, in an entry made at Stationers' Hall by John Danter of "A Booke entitled 
 A Noble Roman Historic of Titus Andronicus," and supposed to be the same 
 play as the one here discussed, there is likewise no name mentioned. In Ravens- 
 croft's preface to an alteration of this play, published in 1687, he says, " I have 
 been told, by some anciently conversant with the stage, that it was not originally 
 his [Shakespeare's], but brought by a private author to be acted, and he only 
 gave some master touches to one or two of the principal parts." But to our mind, 
 in vain will these said "master touches" be sought. Not even a single touch of 
 
 139 
 
ANNOUNCEMENT. 
 
 the master hand can we discover; not one of those indicative beauties which, in 
 even his earliest productions, suggest the master mind that, when mature, pro- 
 duced "Othello," "Lear," "Macbeth," "Hamlet," &c. The diction is not his, 
 the character-drawing is not his, the action is not his, the sequence of incident 
 is not his, the development of plot is not his, and certainly the revolting subject 
 is not his. A sickening story, disgusting details, repulsive persons, nauseous 
 and bloated dialogue; none of these are his. 
 
 Years ago, when Mons. Guizot published his admirable " Shakespeare and 
 his Times," we cordially subscribed to his words : "If it be true that genius, even 
 in its lowest abasement, gives forth some luminous rays to betray its presence; if 
 Shakespeare, in particular, bore that distinctive mark which, in one of his sonnets, 
 makes him say, in reference to his writings, 'That every word doth almost tell 
 my name,' assuredly he had not to reproach himself with the production of that 
 execrable accumulation of horrors which, under the name of ' Titus Andronicus,' 
 has been foisted upon the English people as a dramatic work, and in which. 
 Heaven be thanked ! there is not a single spark of truth, or scintillation of 
 genius, which can give evidence against him." 
 
 No less cordially now (1867) do we echo what Mr. Gerald Massey says in 
 his lately published book (a book written in the noblest spirit, entitled, 
 "Shakespeare's Sonnets and his Private Friends") on this subject: — "It is 
 impossible to find any proof of Shakespeare's presence from beginning to end of 
 
 the ' Titus Andronicus.' This play is a perfect slaughter-house, 
 
 and the blood makes appeal to all the senses. The murder is committed in the 
 very gateways of the sense. It reeks blood, it smells of blood, we almost feel 
 that we have handled blood, it is so gross. The mental stain is not whitened 
 by Shakespeare's sweet springs of pity; the horror is not hallowed by that 
 appalling sublimity with which he invested his chosen ministers of death. . . . 
 As for Meres, it is far easier to believe that he made one mistake in his list of 
 an unpublished literature than it is to accept 'Titus Andronicus' as Shakespeare's 
 work in any sense." 
 
 With this conviction — that in no sense can it be accepted as Shakespeare's 
 composition — we have no hesitation in omitting it from the present edition of 
 his plays ; we even gladly do so, as we think that by so doing we not only 
 preserve these pages from being sullied by the presence of a loathsome blemish, 
 but we also leave our poet's productions undisgraced by consociation with one 
 unworthy to take its place beside them, and one that we have fullest faith in his 
 having never written. 
 
 J40 
 
DRAMATIS PERSONiE. 
 
 EscALUS, Prince of Verona. 
 
 Paris, a young Nobleman, Kinsman to the Prince. 
 
 Montague.) tt j r, tt . • ■ , ■ . 
 
 >■ Heads of two Houses at variance with each other, 
 Capulet, ) 
 
 An Old Man, Kinsman to Capulet. 
 Romeo, Son to Montague. 
 
 Mercutio, Kinsman to the Prince, and Friend to Romeo. 
 
 Benvolio, Nephew to Montague, and Friend to Romeo. 
 
 Tybalt, Nephew to Lady Capulet. 
 
 Friar Lawrence, a Franciscan. 
 
 Friar John, of the sarne order. 
 
 Balthasar, Servant to Romeo. 
 
 Sampson, > „ , ^ ^ 
 
 > Servants to Capulet. 
 Gregory,) 
 
 Peter, another Servant to Capulet. 
 Abraham, Servant to Montague. 
 An Apothecary. 
 Three Musicians. 
 
 Page to Paris ; Page to Mercutio ; an Officer. 
 
 Lady Montague, Wife to Montague. 
 Lady Capulet, Wife to Capulet. 
 Juliet, Daughter to Capulet. 
 Nurse to Juliet. 
 
 Citizens of Verona; Male and Female Relations to both Houses; 
 Maskers, Guards, Watchmen, and Attendants. 
 
 Scene — During /he greater pan of the Play, in Verona : once 
 {in the Fifth Act) at Mantua. 
 
ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 PROLOGUE, 
 
 Two households, both alike in dignity, 
 In fair Verona,* where w e lay our scene, 
 
 T. Tn the year 1597 a Quarto copy of this play was published, 
 bearing for its title, "An excellent conceited Trajcdie of Romeo 
 and Juliet. As it hath been ofteu (with great applause) plaid 
 piibliquely, by the Right Honourable the Lord of Hunsdon 
 his servants." A second Quarto copy appeared in 1599, with 
 the title, "The most excellent and lamentable Trajedio of 
 Romeo and Juliet. Newly corrected, augmented, and amended. 
 As it hath been sundry times publiquely acted, by the Right 
 Honourable the Lord Chamberlaine his servants." Of Quarto 
 copies there followed two others previously to the version given 
 in the Folio 1623. The 1597 Qnario copy is supposed by some 
 authorities to have been printed from an early manuscript of the 
 author ; by others, to have been made up froin a version ob- 
 tained by surreptitious means, either through separate scraps of 
 playhouse written parts, or through notes taken down during 
 representation, or, perhaps, through a mixture of both these 
 methods. The chief value of the 1597 Quarto lies in its enabling 
 editors, by collation, to correct some typigraphical errors that 
 have crept into the later edition;. The Quarto of 1599, havmg 
 in all probability been "corrected, augmented, and amended" 
 by the author himself, is entitled to the highest consider.ation ; 
 and having, moreover, evidently been the version upon which 
 that in the first Folio is foimded. From internal evidences of 
 style, we believe this play to have been originally written at an 
 early period of Shakespeare's career ; at the period when he 
 composed the " INIidsummer Night's Dream" (see our opening 
 Note to that drama), and was in the first glow of poetical 
 dramatic composition. The selection of the story as well as the 
 peculiarities of diction make for the probability of this con- 
 jecture. The story was of world-wide celebrity and popularity ; 
 it was well known in England through translated Italian novels, 
 and through Arthur Brooke's poem on this subject, published in 
 1562 ; and was precisely the one to fascinate the attention, 
 excite tile imagination, and inspire the pen, of a yoimg dramatist 
 commencing his career. From a line in the Nurse's speech in 
 Act i., sc. 3, "'Tis since the earthquake now eleven years," 
 it has been surmised that .Shakespeare there alludes to the 
 memorable earthqu.ake that took place in England in the year 
 1580 ; and that the date of the play's composition is thus to be 
 traced to 1591. This may possibly be a well-founded theory ; 
 but we should be inclined to assign an even still prior year as 
 the one wherein Shakespeare originally conceived and wrote 
 this play. Youth thrills in its every utterance ; the impetuosity 
 of youth, the faith of youth, the warmth and passionate impulse 
 of youth, vibrate through its every scene and speech. Even the 
 old personages in the play express themselves with a vigour and 
 animation, and conduct themselves with a vivacity and pre- 
 cipitancy, that are more those of youth than of age. Old 
 Capulet indulges in yonng-man reminiscences with a zest, and 
 acts with a headlong vehemency, that savour more of early life 
 than middle age ; old Montague cherishes family animosities 
 and factious rancours with a heat that partakes more of juvenile 
 rashness than senile staidness ; while even the good and grave 
 Friar Lawrence enters warmly into the lovers' plans, and forms 
 
 From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, 
 Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. 
 
 rapidly his own scheme for reconciling the two rival hou es 
 through the union of their children. All breathes the vo'.uptuous 
 intensity and childlike innocence of the spring of existence ; the 
 lovers themselves are embodiments of youthftd ardour and of 
 youthful purity. No writer ever so beautifully vindicated and 
 so truthfully demonstrated Nature's divine blending of the spirit 
 of chastity with the essence of passion in young love as our 
 Shakespeare. Let any one read Juliet's words from first to last, 
 and compare them with those uttered by others of his women, 
 characters more formed, more thoughtful, more educated than 
 she is, and see how wonderfully he has preserved the girZ-uiomnti 
 throughout. Not a phrase does she utter that is not perfectly 
 consistent with the girl of fourteen, — with the Italian girl of 
 fourteen ; brought up in social retirement, seeing even her own 
 parents but at stated intervals and set times, chiefly a.ssociating 
 with her old nurse, and having intercourse with none out of the 
 family and the house save with her father-confessor. Not a 
 sentence does she speak containing an idea beyond those natural 
 to her years and position, not a thought does she express too 
 mature or too experienced for her girl-character. When we 
 think of all the wisdom in embryo, the knowledge in germ, 
 which even at that early period lay within the young poet's 
 brain and heart, ready for blossoming forth in his written pro- 
 ductions, we cannot but wonder at his marvellous judgment in 
 refraining from putting any bud of them into the mouth of his 
 young-girl heroine, and at his perfect tact in permitting her to 
 speak out of the simple fulness of her and his own youthfulness 
 only. It is the same with Romeo ; he is completely the very 
 yotmg — even boy — man. His stripling fancy for Rosaline ; 
 his sudden passion for Juliet ; his rapturous joy in its blissful 
 mutuality; his impromptu marriage ; his short-lived self-restraint 
 in the contention with Tybalt, and his as eager flinging himself 
 
 springing-up of revived hope at the Friar's proposed plan ; his 
 defiance of death even in his bride's arms if she will have him 
 stay with her; his cheery trust in " time to come" at the very 
 instant of tearing himself away ; his happy dreams when absent 
 from her ; his anguished resolve to destroy himself when he 
 hears of her death ; " his betossed soid" as he rides back to die 
 beside her ; and his imagination sufiering itself to revel in 
 picturings of her beauty as she lies stretched on her death-bier 
 before him in the moment he is about to rejoin her for ever, — ■ 
 are all most true to youthful nature. The author's own young 
 spirit imbues the play ; it is the delight of all young readers ; 
 and it makes those who are old feel young again as they 
 re-peruse it. 
 
 2. Prologue. Strange to say, this Prologue is omitted in the 
 first Folio. It appears in all the Quarto copies ; but with con- 
 siderable variations in that of 1597. 
 
 3. Chorus. This word is placed after the word " Prologue" 
 in the 1599 Quarto ; probably indicating that it was to be spoken 
 by the same person as the one entrusted to speak the Chorus at 
 the end of Act i. 
 
 4. Verona. The Veronese claim for their city the interest ct 
 
Act I.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Froiu forth ihe fatal loins of these two foes 
 A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life ; 
 
 Whose iTiisadventur' d piteous overthrows 
 
 Do with their death Iniry their parents' strife. 
 
 The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love, 
 A. 1,1 the continuance of their parents' rage. 
 
 Which, but their cliildren's end,^ naught could 
 remove, 
 
 Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage ; 
 The which if you with patient ears attend, 
 What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to 
 mend. 
 
 ACT I. 
 
 SCENE \.—J Public Place. 
 Enter Sampson ami Gregory, aimed ivith 
 
 sixords and bucklers. 
 Sam. Gregor)-, o' my word, we'll not carr\ 
 coals.i 
 
 Gie. No, for then we should be colliers. 
 
 Sam. I mean, an we be in choler, we'll draw. 
 
 Gre. Ay, while you live, draw your neck out 
 o' the collar. 
 
 Sam. I strike quickly, being moved. 
 
 Gre. But thou art not quickly moved to strike. 
 
 Sam. A dog of the house of Montague moves me. 
 
 Gre. To move is to stir ; and to be valiant is to 
 stand : therefore, if thou art moved, thou runn'st 
 away. 
 
 Sam. A dog of that house shall move me to 
 stand : I will take the wall of any man or mai 1 of 
 Montague's. 
 
 Gre. That shows thee a weak slave ; for the 
 weakest goes to the wall. 
 
 Sam. True ; and therefore women, being the 
 weaker vessels, are ever thrust to the wall. 
 
 Gre. The quarrel is between our masters, and 
 us their men. 
 
 Sa!n. 'Tis all one, I will show myself a tyrant : 
 and 'tis known I am a pretty piece of Hesh. 
 
 having been the locality where the world-famed love-story of 
 Romeo and Juliet actually occurred, They show the traditional 
 ton>b of Juliet ; and give the date 1303 as that wherein tlie 
 event occurred. 
 
 5. Biii their children's eucf. "But" used in the sense of 
 ' except.' ^ 
 
 1. IVe'll >if>t carry coals. 'We'll not submit to indigniti-s.' 
 Equivalent to the modern elegant phr.ase, 'We'll stand no non- 
 sense." See Note 32, Act iii., " Henry V." 
 
 2. Poor-John. Hake, salted and dried. See Note 36, Act ii., 
 " Tempest." 
 
 3. Here comes two of the house of the Montagues. The false 
 concord in this sentence is characteristic of the common 
 speaker ; while the sentence itself serves to show that Shake- 
 speare was acquainted with, and made dramatic use of, the 
 circumstance that the partisans of the Montague faction wore a 
 token in their hats which distinguished them from their rivals, 
 the Capulets ; for, throughout the play, they are recognised at 
 
 Gre. 'Tis well thou art not fish ; if thou hadst, 
 thou hadst been poor-John." Draw thy too! ; here 
 comes two of the house of the Moiitagiies.^ 
 
 Sam. My naked weapon is out : quarrel, I will 
 back thee. 
 
 Gre. How ! turn thy back and run ? 
 
 Sam. l''ear me not.'' 
 
 Gre. No, marr)- ; I fear thee ! 
 
 Sam. Let us take the law of our sides ; let them 
 legin. 
 
 Gre. I will frown as I pass by ; and let them 
 take it as they list. 
 
 Sam. Nay, as they dare. I will bite my thumb 
 at them f which is a disgrace to them, if they 
 bear it. 
 
 Enter Abraham and Halthasar. 
 
 Ahr. Do you bite your thumb at us, sir ? 
 
 Sam. I do bite my thumb, sir. 
 
 Abr. Do you bite your thumb at us, sir ? 
 
 Sam. [dside to Gre.] Is the law of our side, 
 if 1 say ay ? 
 
 Gre. [Aside to Sam.] No. 
 
 Sam. No, sir, I do not bite my thumb at you, 
 sir ; but I bite my thumb, sir. 
 
 Gre. Do you quarrel, sir ? 
 
 Abr. Quarrel, sir ! no, sir. 
 
 a distance. A passage from Gascoigne's "Masque," written 
 for Viscount Montacute in 1575, records this circumstance : — 
 
 " And for a further proofe, he showed in hys hat 
 Thys token, wh. the Montacutes did beare always, for that 
 They covet to be knowne from Capcls, where they pass." 
 
 i,. Fear, ue not. ' Fearnot but that I will stand fast.' A simi- 
 lar idiom is pointed out in Note 83, Act i., " Coriolanus." Sam- 
 son says " Fear me not" in this sense ; but the waggish Gregory 
 chooses to take it in the sense of ' do not be afraid of me.' 
 
 5. / will bite my thumb at them. A contemptuous gesture, 
 made by way of insult, and as a mode of beginning a quarrel. 
 Cotgrave describes the mode in which this scoffing action w.as 
 performed :— "To threaten or defie, by putting the thumbe naile 
 into the mouth, and with a jerke (from the upper teeih) make it 
 10 knacke." Decker, in his " Dead Term," 1638, speakingof the 
 various groups that daily frequented St. Paul's Church, says, 
 " What swearing is there, what shouldering, what justling, v/hat 
 jeering, what byting of thumbs to beget quarrels !" 
 
Act I.] 
 
 Sam. If you do, sir, I am for you: I serve as 
 good a man as you. 
 Abr. No better. 
 Sam. Well, sir. 
 
 Gre. [Aside to Sam.] Say— better: here comes 
 one of my master's kinsmen.^ 
 Sam. Yes, better, sir. 
 Abr. You lie. 
 
 Sam. Draw, if you be men.— Gregory, remem- 
 ber thy swashing blow.? [Theyjight. 
 
 Enter Benvolio. 
 Ben. Part, fools ! 
 Put up your swords ; you know not what you do. 
 
 [Beats do'vjn their siuords. 
 
 Enter Tybalt. 
 lyb. What ! art thou drawn among these heart- 
 less hinds P 
 Turn thee, Benvolio, look upon thy death. 
 
 Ben. I do but keep the peace : put up thy sword, 
 Or manage it to part these men with me. 
 
 Tyb. What ! drawn, and talk of peace ! I hate 
 the word. 
 
 As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee : 
 
 Have at thee, coward ! [They fight. 
 
 Enter se^veral of both Houses, luho join the fray ; 
 then enter Citizens, 'with clubs and partisans. 
 Citizens. Clubs, bills, and partisans strike! 
 beat them down ! 
 Down with the Capulets! down with the Mon- 
 tagues ! 
 
 Enter Capulet in his gowun, and Lady Capulet. 
 Cap. What noise is this ? — Give me my long 
 sword,* ho ! 
 
 La. Cap. A crutch, a crutch ! — why call you 
 
 for a sword ? 
 Cap. My sword, I say I — Old Montague is come. 
 And flourishes his blade in spite of me. 
 
 Enter Montague and Lady Montague. 
 Mon. Thou villain Capulet,— Hold me not, let 
 me go. 
 
 6. /fere comes of iity master's kinsmen. We must sup- 
 pose Gregory to be looking towards the quarter whence Tybalt 
 approaches. 
 
 7. Thy swashing blo-.u. " Swashing" here means ' dashing,' 
 'smashing.' See Note 72, Act i., "As You Like It." 
 
 8. Cl7ibs, bills, and partisans ! This speech, in the Folio, 
 has the prefix 'Offi.,' although no entrance of officer or officers 
 is indicated. In most modern editions the prefix is given 
 ' I at. ; ' but one speaker would not wish ioth houses to be put 
 down. It appears to us to be one of those speeches intended to 
 be divided among many speakers, according to a mode not un- 
 frequently used by Shakespeare. See, for instance, the last 
 scene in " Coriolanus ; " where we find — "Citizens, [or, in the 
 Vo\\'^, ' All People.'^ Tear him to pieces ; do it presently ; he 
 killed," &c. Here, the citizens of Verona are made to use the 
 well-known rallying .cry of the London citizens. See Note 72, 
 
 [Scene L 
 
 La. Mon. Thou shalt not stir one foot to seek a 
 foe. 
 
 Enter Prince, nuith Attendants. 
 Prin. Rebellious subjects, enemies to peace, 
 Profaners of this neighbour-stained steel, — 
 Will they not hear?— what, ho! you men, you 
 beasts. 
 
 That quench the fire of your pernicious rage 
 With purple fountains issuing from your veins,— 
 On pain of torture, from those bloody hands 
 Throw your mistemper'd^" weapons to the ground, 
 And hear the sentence of your moved prince. — 
 Three civil brawls, bred of an airy word, 
 By thee, old Capulet, and Montague, 
 Have thrice disturb'd the quiet of our streets ; 
 And made Verona's ancient Citizens 
 Cast by their grave beseeming ornaments. 
 To wield old partisans, in hands as old, 
 Canker'd with peace, to part your canker'd hate : 
 If ever you disturb our streets again, 
 Your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace. 
 For this time, all the rest depart away : — 
 You, Capulet, shall go along with me ; — 
 And, Montague, come you this afternoon. 
 To know our farther pleasure in this case. 
 To old Free-town," our common judgment- 
 place. — 
 
 Once more, on pain of death, all men depart. 
 
 [Exeunt Prince Attendants; Capulet, 
 Lady Capulet, Tybalt, Citizens, 
 and Servants. 
 Mon. Who set this ancient quarrel new 
 abroach ? — 
 Speak, nephew, were you by when it began ? 
 
 Ben. Here were the servants of your adversary. 
 And yours, close fighting ere I did approach : 
 I drew to part them : in the instant came 
 The fiery Tybalt, with his sword prepar'd ; 
 Which, as he breath'd defiance to my ears. 
 He swung about his head, and cut the winds. 
 Who, nothing hurt withal, hiss'd him in scorn : 
 While we were interchanging thrusts and blows. 
 Came more and more, and fought on part and 
 part, * 
 
 Act v., " Henry VIll." " Partisans" were pikes or halberds ; 
 old French, pertiiisans. 
 j 9. My long sword. Capulet calls for his "long sword," as 
 I being the weapon used in warfare, and as contrary to the small 
 sword or dress sword worn on peaceful occasions. See Note 23, 
 Act ii., " Merry Wives," and Note 9, Act ii., "All's Well." 
 
 10. Mistemper'd. Here used for ' ill tempered ; ' in the sense 
 of 'steel tempered, but to be used in a bad cause,' and in the 
 sense of irate,' 'wrathful.' Shakespeare employs the word in 
 "King John," Act v., sc. i, to express both 'ill-compounded' 
 and ' ill-disposed' or ' angry :'— 
 
 "This inundation of mis/emper'd humoui 
 Rests by you only to be qualified." 
 
 11. Free-io7vn. In Brooke's poem, alluded to in the opening 
 I Note of this play, " Free-town " is given as the name of a castle 
 
 belonging to the Capulets. 
 t46 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Till the prince came, who parted either part. 
 La. Mon. Oh, where is Romeo ? — saw you him 
 to day ?'— 
 Right glad I am he was not at this fray. 
 Ben. Madam, an hour before the worshipp'd 
 sun 
 
 Peer'd forth the golden window of the east, 
 
 A troubled mind drave'^ me to walk abroad ; 
 
 Where,— underneath the grove of sycamore, 
 
 That westward rooteth from the city's side, — 
 
 So early walking did I see your son : 
 
 Towards him I made ; but he was 'ware of me. 
 
 And stole into the covert of the wood ; 
 
 I, measuring his affections by my own, — 
 
 That most are busied when they're most alone,''' — 
 
 Pursu'd my humour, not pursuing his, 
 
 And gladly shunn'd who gladly fled from me. 
 
 Mon. Many a morning hath he there been seen. 
 With tears augmenting the fresh morning's dew. 
 Adding to clouds more clouds with his deep sighs : 
 But all so soon as the all-cheering sun 
 Should in the farthest east begin to draw 
 The shady curtains from Aurora's bed, 
 Away from light steals home my heavy son. 
 And private in his chamber pens himself; 
 Shuts up his windows, locks fair daylight out. 
 And makes himself an artificial night : 
 Black and portentous must this humour prove, 
 Unless good counsel may the cause remove. 
 
 Ben. My noble uncle, do you know the cause ? 
 
 Mon. I neither know it nor can learn of him. 
 
 Ben. Have you impdrtun'd him by any means ? 
 
 Mon. Both by myself and many other friends : 
 But he, his own affections' counsellor. 
 Is to himself, — 1 will not say how true, — 
 But to himself so secret and so close. 
 So far from sounding and discovery. 
 As is the bud bit with an envious worm. 
 Ere he can spread his sweet leaves to the air, 
 
 12. Drave. An old form of ' drove ; ' used four several times 
 by Shakespeare. 
 
 13. That i7wst are busied when they're jHose alone. This is 
 the 1597 Quarto reading, while all the other Quartos and the 
 Folio substitute for this one line the following two lines : — 
 
 " Which then most sought where most might not be found, 
 Being one too many by my weary self." 
 
 The reading we have adopted appears to us to be the truer to 
 Shakespearian style in its condensed expression, and its omission 
 of the uncharacteristic phrase, "my weary self," as coming from 
 Benvolio. 
 
 14. To the sun. The old copies all print ' same' instead of 
 ' sun " here. Theobald's correction. 
 
 15. So hapPy by thy stay, to hear true shrift. "To" is 
 here, as often elsewhere by Shakespeare, used for 'as to.' 
 " Shrift" signifies ' confession." See Note 44, Act iv., "Measure 
 for Measure." 
 
 16. In his view. ' In appearance. ' 
 
 17. See pathways to his will ! This sentence has been pro- 
 nounced to be obscure. We think it comprises double meaning ; 
 and signifies not only ' Alas ! that the blind god should be able to 
 shoot so surely ! ' but also, ' Alas ! that love, notwithstanding its 
 
 Or dedicate his beauty to the sun.'* 
 Could we but learn from whence his sorrows 
 grow, 
 
 We would as willingly give cure as know. 
 Ben. See, where he comes : so please you, step 
 aside ; 
 
 I'll know his grievance, or be much denied. 
 
 Mon. I would thou wert so happy by thy stay, 
 To hear true shrift. '* — Come, madam, let's away. 
 
 [^Exeunt Montague and Lady. 
 
 Enter RoMEO. 
 Ben. Good morrow, cousin. 
 Ro!n. Is the day so young ? 
 
 Ben. But new struck nine. 
 Rom. Ah me ! sad hours seem long. 
 
 Was that my father that went hence so fast ? 
 Ben. It was. — What sadness lengthens Romeo's 
 hours ? 
 
 Rom. Not having that, which, having, makes 
 
 them short. 
 Ben. In love ? 
 Rom. Out— 
 Ben. Of love? 
 
 Rom. Out of her favour, where I am in love. 
 Ben. Alas! that love, so gentle in his view,"* 
 Should be so tyrannous and rough in proof! 
 
 Rom. Alas! that love, whose view is muffled 
 still. 
 
 Should, without eyes, see pathways to his will! '7 — 
 Where shall we dine? — Oh, me!— What fray was 
 here ? 
 
 ,Yet tell me not, for I have heard it all. 
 Here's much to do with hate, but more with 
 love : '3— 
 
 Why, then, oh, brawling love! oh, loving hate ! '^ 
 Oh, anything, of nothing first create! 
 Oh, heavy lightness ! serious vanity ! 
 Mis-shapen chaos of well-seeming forms ! 
 
 muffled sight, should be able blindfold to f.nd its way to its 
 object !' Romeo deplores his being able to see clearly that he 
 loves Rosaline, while seeing equally clearly that he cannot 
 
 18. Here's much to do with hate, but more with love. Romeo 
 is speaking in the riddling mood now upon him. He means that 
 the fray has much to do with the hate between the rival houses, 
 yet affects him more, inasmuch as his Rosaline is a member of 
 the Capulet family (see Note 39 of this Act) ; that what has just 
 passed has had reference to the animosity which divides the two 
 factions, and has also shown him the anxious affection felt on 
 his account by his father and the friend now speaking to him, 
 Benvolio. To the latter he refers, in the speech a little farther on, 
 where he says, " This love, that thou hast shown, doth add," &c. 
 
 19. Oh, brawling love ! oh, loving hate I Romeo is indulging 
 in some of the fantastic love-flights and antithetical rhapsodies 
 that have been affected by young gentlemen from time im- 
 memorial when fancying themselves enamoured. See Note 3, 
 Act iii., "Troilus and Cressida." This is one of the subtle 
 indications given by Shakespeare that Romeo is not really in 
 love with RosaHne ; contrasting his fanciful diction while he 
 believes himself attached to her, with his earnest diction when 
 truly attached to Juliet. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health! 
 Still-waking sleep, that is not what it is ! — 
 This love feel I, that feel no love in this. 
 Dost thou not laugh ? 
 
 Ben. No, coz, I rather weep. 
 
 Rom. Good heart, at what ? 
 
 Ben. At thy good heart's oppression. 
 
 Rom. Why, such is love's transgression. — 
 Griefs of mine own lie heavy in my breast ; 
 Which thou wilt propagate, to have it press'd 
 With more of thine : this love, that thou hast 
 shown, 
 
 Doth add more grief to too much of mine own. 
 Love is a smoke rais'd with the fume of sighs ; 
 Being purg'd, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes ; 
 Being vex'd,^'' a sea nourish'd with lovers' tears : 
 What is it else f a madness most discreet, 
 A choking gall, and a preserving sweet. — 
 Farewell, my coz. [Going. 
 
 Ben. Soft ! I will go along : 
 
 An if you leave me so, you do me wrong. 
 
 Rom. Tut, I have lost myself ; I am not here ; 
 This is not Romeo, he's some other where. 
 
 Ben. Tell me in sadness, who is that you love.^' 
 
 Rom. What ! shall I groan, and tell thee P 
 
 Ben. Groan ! why, no ; 
 
 But sadly 22 tell me who. 
 
 Rom. Bid a sick man in sadness make his will, — 
 Ah ! word ill urg'd to one that is so ill ! — 
 In sadness, cousin, I do love a woman. 
 
 Ben. I aim'd so near, when I suppos'd you 
 lov'd. 
 
 Rom. A right good mark-man !— And she's 
 fair I love. 
 
 Ben. A right fair mark, fair coz, is soonest hit. 
 Rom. Well, in that hit you miss : she'll not be 
 hit 
 
 With Cupid's arrow, — she hath Dian's wit ; 
 And, in strong proof of chastity well arm'd, 
 From love's weak childish bow she lives unharm'd. 
 She will not stay the siege of loving terms, 
 Nor bide the encounter of assailing eyes. 
 Nor ope her lap to saint-seducing gold : 
 Oh, she is rich in beauty ; only poor, 
 That, when she dies, with beauty dies her store.23 
 Ben. Then she hath sworn that she will still 
 live chaste ? 
 
 20. Being piirg' d . . . . beuigvex'd. " Purg'd" is here used 
 for 'made clear,' 'made bright;' and "vex'd" is used for 
 ■ troubled,' ' made turbid.' 
 
 21. Wluj is thaty<ni love. ' It,' or ' 't,' is elliptically under- 
 stood after " is " here. See Note 51, Act iv., " Coriolanus." 
 
 22. Sadiy. 'Seriously,' 'sedately.' See Note 70, Act ii., 
 " Much Ado." 
 
 23. IVii/i beauty dies }ur store. This has been changed by 
 Theobald to 'with her dies beauty's store," but the passage 
 means 'with her individual beauty dies so large a store of 
 beauty.' 
 
 24 To call hers, exquisite, in question mere. .. ' To make her 
 
 Rom. She hath, and in that sparing makes huge 
 waste ; 
 
 For beauty, starv'd with her severity. 
 Cuts beauty off from all posterity. 
 She is too fair, too wise ; wisely too fair. 
 To merit bliss by making me despair : 
 She hath forsworn to love ; and in that vow 
 Do I live dead, that live to tell it now. 
 
 Ben. Be rul'd by me, forget to think of her. 
 
 Rom. Oh, teach me how I should forget to 
 think. 
 
 Ben. By giving liberty unto thine eyes ; 
 Examine other beauties. 
 
 Rom. 'Tis the way 
 
 To call hers, exquisite, in question more :2-' 
 These happy masks 2^ that kiss fair ladies' brows, 
 Being black, put us in mind they hide the 
 fair ; 
 
 He that is strucken blind cannot forget 
 The precious treasure of his eyesight lost : 
 Show me a mistress that is passing26 fair. 
 What doth her beauty serve,27 but as a note 
 Where I may read who pass'd that passing fair ? 
 Farewell ; thou canst not teach me to forget. 
 Ben. I'll pay that doctrine, or else die in debt. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE U.— A Street. 
 Enter Capulet, Paris, and Servant. 
 
 Cap. But Montague is bound as well as I, 
 In penalty alike; and 'tis not hard, I think. 
 For men so old as we to keep the peace. 
 
 Par. Of honourable reckoning are you both ; 
 And pity 'tis you liv'd at odds so long. 
 But now, my lord, what say you to my suit ? 
 
 Cap, But saying o'er what I have said before : 
 My child is yet a stranger in the world, 
 She hath not seen the change of fourteen years ; 
 Let two more summers wither in their pride, 
 Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride. 
 
 Par. Younger than she are happy mothers 
 made. 
 
 Cap. And too soon marr'd are those so early 
 made. 
 
 Earth hath swallow'd all my hopes but she,28 
 
 beauty, which is so exquisite, the more a subject of admiration 
 to me.' 
 
 25. T/iese happy masks. The masks usually worn ; and 
 happy in being privileged to touch the sweet countenances 
 beneath. "These" is here used to instance a general observa- 
 tion. See Note 69, Act ii., " Measure for Measure." 
 
 26. Passing. ' Surpassingly,' ' supremely.' 
 
 27. What doth her beauty serve. ' for' is elliptically under- 
 stood after " serve." 
 
 28. £arth hath swallovdd all my hopes but she. This line 
 conveys the idea that Capulet had other children who died 
 early, 
 
 48 
 
Act I.] ROMEO AND JULIET. [Scene II. 
 
 Romeo. A fair assembly : whither should they come ? Act I. Scene II, 
 
 She is the hopeful lady of my earth 
 
 But woo her, gentle Paris, get her heart, 
 
 My will to her consent is but a part ; 
 
 An she agree, within her scope of choice 
 
 Lies my consent and fair according voice. 
 
 This night I hold an old accustom'd feast, 
 
 Whereto I have invited many a guest. 
 
 Such as I love ; and you, among the store. 
 
 One more, most welcome, makes my number more. 
 
 29. She is ike hopeful lady of my earth. Inasmuch as Fille 
 de terre is an old French term for an heiress, and as Shake- 
 speare occasionally uses "earth" for 'land' or 'landed posses- 
 sions,' he probably uses the expression in the text to signify 'she 
 is the hopeful inheritrix of my landed estates ;' but inasmuch as 
 he employs the word " earth" in this very play (see Note i. 
 Act ii) to express corporeal part, material part, the earthly por- 
 tion of man, it is most likely that Capulet is intended to include 
 the sense of ' she is my sole surviving offspring, in whom I have 
 centred all my hopes.' 
 
 30. Earth-treading stars that make dark heaven light. One 
 of the commentators pronounces this to be "nonsense," while 
 another observes that he will " not say it is absolute nonsense," 
 
 At my poor house look to behold this night 
 Earth-treading stars that make dark heaven light:'" 
 Such comfort as do lusty young men feel 
 When well-apparell'd April on the heel 
 Of limping winter treads, even such delight 
 Among fresh female buds shall you this night 
 Inherit'^ at my house ; hear all, all see. 
 And like her most whose merit most shall be : 
 Such, amongst view of many, mine being one,^" 
 
 but thinks it "very absurd." As a poetical hyperbole may it 
 not bear the excellent sense of ' mortal ladies, brilliant as stars, 
 that make night as bright as day ?' 
 
 31. Inherit. Here used in the sense of 'possess,' 'have.' 
 See Note i8. Act iv., " Tempest." 
 
 32. Such, amongst view of many, mine, &'c. This is the 
 reading of the 1597 Quarto ; which we have adopted as being 
 less obscure than that of the Folio and the other Quartos. Our 
 interpretation of the passage is— 'My daughter being one 
 among many such [" earth-treading stars" and "fresh female 
 buds," as 1 have described, and whom you will see there], she 
 may stand in the number of them, though she may not be 
 counted by you as " her whose merit most shall be." ' 
 
Act I.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 May stand in number, though in reckoning none, 
 Come, go with me. — Go, sirrah, trudge about 
 Through fair Verona ; find those persons out 
 Whose names are written there [gmes a paper], 
 
 and to them say, 
 My house and welcome on their pleasure stay. 
 
 [Exeunt Capulet and Paris. I 
 Seroj. Find out whose names are written here ! 
 It is written, that the shoemaker should meddle 
 with his yard, and the tailor with his last,^^ the fisher 
 with his pencil, and the painter with his nets ; but 
 I am sent to find those persons whose names are 
 here writ, and can never find what names the 
 writing person hath here writ. I must to the 
 learned : — in good time.^* 
 
 Ben. 
 
 Enter Benvolio and Romeo. 
 Tut, man, one fire burns out another's 
 
 burning, 
 
 One pain is lessen'd by another's anguish ; 
 Turn giddy, and be holp by backward turning ; 
 
 One desperate grief cures with another's languish : 
 Take thou some new infection to thy eye, 
 And the rank poison of the old will die. 
 
 Rom. Your plantain leaf^^ is excellent for that. 
 
 Ben. For what, I pray thee ? 
 
 Rom. For your broken shin.^' 
 
 Ben. Why, Romeo, art thou mad ? 
 
 Rom. Not mad, but bound more than a mad- 
 man is 
 
 Shut up in prison, kept without my food, 
 Whipp'd and tormented, and — Good-den, good 
 fellow. 
 
 Ser'v. God gi' good-den. I pray, sir, can you 
 read? 
 
 Rom. Ay, mine own fortune in my misery. 
 Serv. Perhaps you have learned it without 
 book : but, I pray, can you read anything you see ? 
 
 33. T/!e shoemaker should meddle with his yard, and the 
 tailor with his last. "Yard" means 'yard-wand,' 'yard- 
 measure.' See Note 104, Act ii., " First Part Henry IV." The 
 present passage affords a specimen of that kind of blundering 
 joke which Shakespeare amuses himself with putting into the 
 mouths of his clown-characters. See Note 36, Act iv., "Mid- 
 summer Night's Dream." The servant of the present scene is 
 styled ' the clown' in the old copies. 
 
 34. Ill good time. 'Opportunely,' 'appositely.' See Note 
 31, Act i., "Two Gentlemen of Verona." 
 
 35. Your plantain leaf, An example of the irrelevant 
 jesting which was a favourite kind of fun with Shakespeare. 
 See Note 30, Act i., " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 36. For your broken shin. See Note 16, Act iii., "Love's 
 Labour's Lost." 
 
 37. Bound more than a madman is. See Note 64, Act iii., 
 " Twelfth Night." 
 
 38. Mercuiio aiid his brother Valentine. It is noteworthy 
 that Mercutio here figures among the invited guests in Capulet's 
 list for his feast, although we find him always associating with 
 the young men of the Montague family. He is the prince's 
 "kinsman ;" and in this capacity it may be supposed that he is 
 on terms of acquaintance with both the rival houses, although 
 evidently having greater intimacy with and more liking for the 
 
 Rom. Ay, if I know the letters and the language. 
 Sew. Ye say honestly : rest you merry ! 
 
 [Going. 
 
 Rom. Stay, fellow ; I can read. [Reads. 
 
 Signior Martino and his wife and daughters ; County Anselme 
 and his beauteous sisters ; the lady widow of Vitruvio ; Signior 
 Placentio and his lovely nieces ; Mercutio and his brother Valen- 
 tine mine uncle Capulet, his wife, and daughters; my fair 
 niece Rosaline Livia ; Signior Valentio and his cousin Tybalt ; 
 Lucio and the lively Helena. [Gives back the paper. 
 
 A fair assembly : whither should they come ? 
 Ser'v. Up. 
 Ro7n. Whither ? 
 
 Ser'v. To supper;'"' to our house. 
 Rom. Whose house ? 
 Ser'v. My master's. 
 
 Rom. Indeed, I should have ask'd you that 
 before. 
 
 Ser'v. Now I'll tell you without asking : my 
 master is the great rich Capulet ; and if you be not 
 of the house of Montagues, I pray, come and crush 
 a cup of wine.'" Rest you merry ! [Exit. 
 
 Ben. At this same ancient feast of Capulet's 
 Sups the fair Rosaline whom thou so lov'st ; 
 With all the admired beauties of Verona : 
 Go thither ; and, with unattainted eye, 
 Compare her face with some that I shall show. 
 And I will make thee think thy swan a crow. 
 Rom. When the devout religion of mine eye 
 
 Maintains such falsehood, then turn tears to fires; 
 And these, — who, often drown'd,^^ could never 
 die, — 
 
 Transparent heretics, be burnt for liars ! 
 One fairer than my love ! the all-seeing sun 
 Ne'er saw her match since first the world begun. 
 
 Ben. Tut, you saw her fair, none else being by, 
 Herself pois'd with herself in either eye : 
 But in that crystal scales^^ let there be weigh'd 
 Your lady's love^^ against some other maid 
 
 Montagues than the Capulets. See, in Note 63 of this Act, the 
 quotation from Painter's " Palace of Pleasure ; " where Mer- 
 cutio is described as " wel beloved of al men and in al companies 
 wel intertained." 
 
 39. My fair niece Rosaline. This is the point in the play 
 wiiich testifies that Romeo's first fancy, Rosaline, is a member 
 of the Capulet family. 
 
 40. To supper. These words, in the old copies, are made to 
 form part of the previous speech ; but they seem to belong to the 
 servant rather than to Romeo. Theobald made the correction. 
 
 41. Crush a cup of ivine. A convivial phrase in familiar use 
 formerly, equivalent to the modern one of ' crack a bottle.' 
 
 42. A-nd these, — who, often drown' d. " Who," is here used 
 for ' which,' in reference to ' eyes' as implied in " eye." 
 
 43. That crystal scales. Here "scales" is used as a noun 
 singular ; as if it were 'a pair of scales' or a 'balance.' 
 
 44. Your lady's love. It has been plausibly suggested that 
 fhis is a misprint for 'your lady-love;' but it is possible that 
 " your lady's love " may mean ' the small amount of love borne 
 you by your lady.' Romeo has before told Benvolio that " she 
 hath forsworn to love ; " and it may be that, in Shakespeare's 
 elliptical style, the passage means ' let there be weighed the 
 little love your lady bears you against the charms of some other 
 maid,' &c. 
 
 ISO 
 
Act I.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 That I will show you shining at this feast, 
 
 And she shall scant show well that now shows best. 
 
 Rom. I'll go along, no such sight to be shown, 
 But to rejoice in splendour of mine own. 
 
 [^Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE III.— ^ Room in Capulet's House. 
 
 Enter Lady Capulet and Nurse. 
 La. Cap. Nurse, Where's my daughter ? call her 
 forth to me. 
 
 Nurse. Now, by my maidenhood, — at twelve 
 year old, — 
 
 I bade her come. — What, lamb ! what, lady-bird ! — 
 Heaven forbid ! — where's this girl ? — What, Juliet ! 
 
 Enter Juliet. 
 Jul. How now ! who calls ? 
 Nurse. Your mother. 
 
 Jul. Madam, I am here. 
 What is your will ? 
 
 La. Cap. This is the matter, — Nurse, give 
 leave awhile, 
 
 We must talk in secret : — nurse, come back again ; 
 I have remember'd me,^^ thou shalt hear our 
 counsel. 
 
 Thou know'st my daughter's of a pretty age. 
 
 Nurse. Faith, I can tell her age unto an hour. 
 
 La. Cap. She's not fourteen. 
 
 Nurse. I'll lay fourteen of my teeth,— 
 
 And yet, to my teen be it spoken,'"' I have but 
 four, — 
 
 She is not fourteen. How long is it now 
 To Lammas-tide 
 
 45. / /mve remember'd me. An idiomatic form of 'now I 
 think of it,' 'upon second thoughts.' See Note 34, Act ii., 
 "Richard III." 
 
 46. To my tcett be it spoken. "Teen" is 'sorrow,* 'grief,' 
 ' trouble.' See Note 19, Act i., "Tempest." The word is here 
 used to afford the verbal play upon "four" and "teen," and 
 upon " fourteen. " 
 
 47. Lammas-tide. Lammas-day is the 1st of August. 
 
 48. ' Tis since t/ie eartkgtcake now eleven years. This is the 
 line which suggested to Tyrrwhitt his surmise respecting the 
 date when Shakespeare's " Romeo and Juliet" was written ; a 
 surmise that we mentioned in our opening Note of the present 
 play. That our author alluded to an event so noted in popular 
 remembrance as the earthquake of 1580 we think most probable ; 
 but that the allusion contains precise particularisation of period 
 when the event occurred in connection with the writing of the 
 play, we doubt. A dramatist so skilled as Shakespeare would 
 not, we think, thus register a particular so subject to fluctu,ation 
 as a date ; for what would be an eleven years' interval when he 
 wrote might become a twelve years' interval when the play was 
 put upon the stage, and would certainly become an altogether 
 iiiaccurate interval by the time the play had been performed 
 during many seasons. Thus, what was intended as a telling 
 point would in the course of a few months lose all meaning. It 
 appears to us that the " eleven years" in this line is simply a 
 step by which the old nurse helps herself to retrace the age of 
 her foster-child ; she recalls the date of its birth, by recalling 
 
 La. Cap. A fortnight and odd days. 
 
 Nurse. Even or odd, of all days in the year. 
 Come Lammas-eve at night shall she be fourteen. 
 Susan and she, — God rest all Christian souls ! — 
 Were of an age : well, Susan is with God ; 
 She was too good for me : — but, as I said, 
 On Lammas-eve at night shall she be fourteen ; 
 That shall she, marry ; I remember it well. 
 'Tis since the earthquake now eleven years 
 And she was wean'd,— I never shall forget it, — 
 Of all the days of the year, upon that day : 
 For I had then laid wormwood to my dug, 
 Sitting in the sun under the dove-house wall ; 
 My lord and you were then at Mantua :— 
 Nay, I do bear a brain ■.^'^ — but, as I said, 
 When it did taste the wormwood on the nipple 
 Of my dug, and felt it bitter, pretty fool,'" 
 To see it tetchy, and fall out with the dug ! 
 Shake, quoth the dove-house : 'twas no need, I 
 
 trow. 
 To bid me trudge. 
 
 And since that time it is eleven years ; 
 For then she could stand alone ; nay, by the rood,*' 
 She could have run and waddled all about ; 
 For even the day before, she broke her brow : 
 And then my husband, — God be with his soul I 
 'A was a merry man, — took up the child : 
 " Yea," quoth he, " dost thou fall upon thy face ? 
 Thou wilt fall backward when thou hast more wit ; 
 Wilt thou not, Jule ? " and, by my holy-dame, 
 The pretty wretch left crying, and said "Ay:" 
 To see, now, how a jest shall come about 1 
 I warrant, an I should live a thousand years, 
 I never should forget it: "Wilt thou not, Jule?" 
 quoth he ; 
 
 And, pretty fool, it stinted, *3 and s.aid " Ay," 
 
 that of its weaning ; and it must be remembered,— as a proof of 
 Shakespeare's fidelity to truth even in such nursery matters as 
 these, — that weaning among Italians takes place at a much later 
 epoch in a child's life than it does among English children. It 
 is no uncommon thing in Italy, e\\en at the present day, to see a 
 child of two or three years old running after its mother and 
 tugging at her skirts to claim its wonted refection. It suited 
 Shakespeare, in the string of characteristic pottering garrulity 
 which he has put into the nurse's mouth here, that the nursling 
 should be able to " stand alone" and toddle about ; and there- 
 fore he availed himself of the Italian custom to give a more 
 vividly local colouring, as well as to depict the mode in which 
 such minds as the nurse's usually contrive to record facts and 
 epochs. 
 
 49. / do bear a brain. An idiomatic phrase formerly in use, 
 equivalent to ' I have my wits about me," ' I have a memory.' 
 
 50. Pretty fool. Example of the word " fool " used as an ex- 
 pression of fondling and tenderness. See Note 63, Act v., 
 " Twelfth Night." 
 
 51. By the rood. See Note 16, Act iii., "Second Part 
 Henry IV." 
 
 52. IV retch. Sometimes, as here, used as a term of affection. 
 See Note 8, Act iii., " Third Part Henry VI." 
 
 53. Stinted. ' Stopped,' ' desisted.' Chaucer uses the word 
 in one of his loveliest passages, dejcribing the nightingale " that 
 stititeth first, when she beginneth sing," if she hear any noise 
 near. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 La. Cap. Enough of this ; I pray thee, hold thy 
 peace. 
 
 Nurse. Peace, I have done. God mark thee to 
 his grace ! 
 
 Thou wast the prettiest babe that e'er I nurs'd : 
 An I might live to see thee married once, 
 I have my wish. 
 
 La. Cap. Marry, that marry is the very theme 
 I came to talk of :— tell me, daughter Juliet, 
 How stands your disposition to be married ? 
 
 Jul. It is an honour that I dream not of. 
 
 Nurse. An honour! were not I thine only nurse, 
 I would say thou hadstsuck'd wisdom from thy teat. 
 
 La. Cap. Well, think of marriage now ; younger 
 than you. 
 Here in Verona, ladies of esteem,** 
 Are made already mothers : by my count, 
 I was your mother much upon these years 
 That you are now a maid. Thus, then, in brief ; — 
 The valiant Paris seeks you for his love. 
 
 Nurse. A man, young lady ! lady, such a man 
 As all the world ^* — why, he's a man of wax.'^ 
 
 La. Cap. Verona's summer hath not such a flower. 
 
 Nurse. Nay, he's a flower; in faith, a very flower. 
 
 La. Cap. What say you ? can you love the 
 gentleman ? 
 This night you shall behold him at our feast ; 
 Read o'er the volume of young Paris' face, 
 And find delight writ there with beauty's pen ; 
 Examine every married lineament. 
 And see how one another lends content ; 
 And what obscur'd in this fair volume lies 
 Find written in the margin*? of his eyes. 
 
 54. Yowigcr than you, here in Verona, &^c. This is again 
 a touch of truth to national habits. In Italy it is no very 
 uncommon event for girls of fourteen and fifteen to become 
 matrons. 
 
 55. Such a man as all tJie world. Example of the inconsecu- 
 tive construction by which Shakespeare sometimes gives charac- 
 teristic effect to his speeches. See Note 81, Act ii,, " Henry V." 
 
 56. A vian of max. ' A man as shapely and well-made as if 
 he had been modelled in wax.' It has been pointed out that 
 Shakespeare had classical warrant for this expression ; inasmuch 
 as Horace uses the term, " Cerea brachia," waxen arms, to 
 denote well-moulded or well-shaped arms. 
 
 57. Find ivrUten in the margin. Comments, and abstract 
 explanations of the arguments in the text, were printed in the 
 margin of ancient books. 
 
 58. This nnbonnd lover. The epithet "unbound" affords a 
 play on the book without a binding and the young man without 
 a marriage tie. 
 
 5g, A cover. In double reference to the cover of a book and 
 to the technical legal term ' coverture,' which .signifies marriage 
 subsistent. The term is legally applied to a woman's martiage ; 
 from the old French law term, fcmme coJiverte, meaning a 
 woman sheltered by marriage under her husband. 
 
 60. The fish lives in the sea. The speaker means to say, 
 the fish is not yet caught which is to supply this " cover " or 
 'coverture.' Formerly fish-skin was occasionally used for bind- 
 ings to books ; and the bride who is to be bound in marriage 
 with Paris has not yet been won. Lady Capulet proceeds to 
 urge that it would be a pride for some fair girl to form the orna- 
 ment of so fair a youth ; since many a book richly ornamented 
 
 This precious book of love, this unbound lover,*^ 
 
 To beautify him, only lacks a cover 
 
 The fish lives in the sea;"" and 'tis much pride 
 
 For fair without the fair within to hide : 
 
 That book in many's eyes doth share the glory, 
 
 That in gold clasps locks in the golden story ; 
 
 So shall you share all that he doth possess, 
 
 By having him, making yourself no less. 
 
 Speak briefly, can you like of Paris' love 
 
 JuL I'll look to like, if looking liking move : 
 But no more deep will I endart mine eye 
 Than your consent gives strength to make it fly. 
 
 Enter a Servant. 
 Serv. IVIadam, the guests are come, supper 
 served up, you called, my young lady asked for, 
 the nurse cursed in the pantry, and everything in 
 extremity. I must hence to wait ; I beseech you, 
 follow straight. 
 
 La. Cap. We follow thee. \^Exit Servant.] — 
 
 Juliet, the county stays. ""^ 
 Nurse. Go, girl, seek happy nights to happy 
 days. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE IW.— A Street. 
 Enter Romeo, Mercutio,«' Benvolio, nu'ith five 
 or six Maskers, Torch-bearers, and others. 
 Rom, What! shall this speech be spcke for our 
 excuse ? 
 
 Or shall we on without apology P 
 Ben. The date is out of such prolixity 
 
 obtains double admiration, for the sake of its golden clasps as 
 well as for the golden beauties of its contents. We give this 
 interpretation as it strikes us, because the passage has been 
 otherwise explained by other editors. 
 
 61. Can you like of Paris' love ? ' Can you approve of Paris's 
 love?' 'Can you take pleasure in Paris's love?' See Note 70, 
 Act iv., " Richard III." 
 
 62. The county stays. " County " is an old form of ' count. ' 
 See Note 115, Act i_., "Twelfth Night." 
 
 63. Mercutio. In the version of ,the story of Romeo and 
 Juliet contained in Painter's " Palace of Pleasure," 1567, there 
 is mention made of "another gentleman, called Mercutio, which 
 was a courtlike gentleman, very wel beloved of all men, and 
 by reason of his pleasant and curteous behavior was in al com- 
 panies wel intertained." From this slender indication, what an 
 admirable completion of character has Shakespeare formed ! 
 
 64. The date is out of such prolixity. It was the custom 
 formerly for those who came to an entertainment masked, either 
 for the purpose of preserving their incognito or for the sake 
 of temporarily puzzling their entertainers as to their identity, 
 to precede their entrance by an address spoken to propitiate the 
 host or hostess, in which lavish praise of the entertainers 'and 
 elaborate compliment to the beauty of the lady-guests formed a 
 large part. Shakespeare has shown this custom elsewhere, by 
 making the king, in " Henry VIII.," Act i., sc. 4, come masked 
 and preceded by an announcer; while in "Timon of Athens," 
 Act i., sc. 2, a troop of ladies, wearing visors, are marshalled in 
 by Cupid as their herald. Also, in "Love's Labour's Lost," 
 Act v., sc. 2, where the King of Navarre and his masked com- 
 panions are ushered in by Moth and his attempted oration. 
 
 32 
 
Act I.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 We'll have no Cupid hoodwink'd with a scarf, 
 Bearing a Tartar's painted bow of lath/" 
 Scaring the ladies like a crow-keeper 
 Nor no without-book prologue, faintly sjioke 
 After the prompter, for our entrance : 
 But, let them measure us by what they will, 
 We'll measure them a measure, ""^ and be gone. 
 Rom. Give me a torch, •'S — I am not for this 
 ambling ; 
 
 Being but heavy, I will bear the light. 
 
 Mer. Nay, gentle Romeo, we must have you 
 dance. 
 
 Rom. Not I, believe me : you have dancing shoes 
 With nimble soles : I have a soul of lead, 
 So stakes me to the ground, I cannot move. 
 
 Mer. You are a lover ; borrow Cupid's wings. 
 And soar with them above a common bound. 
 
 Rom. I am too sore enpierced with his shaft. 
 To soar with his light feathers ; and so bound, 
 I cannot bound a pitch above dull woe: 
 Under love's heavy burden do I sink. 
 
 Mer. And, to sink in it, should you burden love; 
 Too gi-eat oppression for a tender thing. 
 
 Rom. Is love a tender thing ? it is too rough. 
 Too rude, too boisterous; and it pricks like thorn. 
 
 Mer. If love be rough with you, be rough with 
 lo^•e ; 
 
 Prick love for pricking, and you beat love down. — 
 Give me a case to put my visage in : 
 
 [Putting on a mask. 
 A visor for a visor !— what care I 
 What curious eye doth quote '^^ deformities ? 
 Here are the beetle-brows shall blush for me. 
 
 Ben. Come, knock and enter ; and no sooner in, 
 But every man betake him to his legs. 
 
 65. A Tartar^ s fainted bmu of lath. The bows used by the 
 Tartars, like most of those used by Asiatic nations, resemble in 
 their form the antique Romxn or Cupid's bow, such as we see on 
 medals and bas-reliefs. Shakespeare employs the epithet to 
 distinguish it from the English bow, the shape of which is the 
 segment of a circle. 
 
 66. A crow-keeper. The name given to a farmer's boy set to 
 keep crows from the grain ; also, subsequently, to the stuffed 
 figure put up in fields of corn for the same purpose, and now 
 called 'a scare-crow.' 
 
 67. A measure. 'A dance.' See Note 74, Act v., "Love's 
 Labour's Lost." 
 
 68. Give me a torch. A torch-bearer was a usual appendage 
 to a company of maskers ; and the office was held as a distinc- 
 tion rather than as a degradation. See Note 61, Act ii., " Mer- 
 chant of Venice." 
 
 69. Quote. 'Observe,' 'note,' 'marTc.' See Note 22, Act ii., 
 " Two Gentlemen of Verona." 
 
 70. The seuseless rushes. An allusion to the nishes which 
 were strewn on the floors of rooms before carpets came into use. 
 See Note 38, Act iii., "First Part Henry IV." 
 
 7T. A candle-hoMer. To ' hold the candle ' was a phrase in 
 familiar use for a looker-on. Romeo seems to allude to two old 
 proverbial sayings; one of which is, 'A good candle-holder 
 proves a good gamester ; ' and the other, ' 'Tis best to give over 
 when the game is at the fairest.' 
 
 72. Dun s the mouse, tlie constable's own word. "Dun's the 
 mouse " is a proverbial saying, occurring in old plays, but where 
 
 Rom. A torch for me: let wantons, light of 
 heart. 
 
 Tickle the senseless rushes''" with their heels ; 
 For I am proverb'd with a grandsire phrase, — 
 I'll be a candle holder,"' and look on, — 
 The game was ne'er so fair, and I am done. 
 Mer. Tut, dun's the mouse, the constable's own 
 I word 
 
 I If thou art dun, we'll draw thee from the mire"' 
 ] Of this (save reverence) love,'''* wherein thou stick'st 
 Up to the ears. — Come, we burn daylight,''" ho. 
 Rotn. Nay, that's not so. 
 
 Mer. I mean, sir, in delay 
 
 We waste our lights in vain, like lamps by day. 
 Take our good meaning, for our judgment sits 
 I Five times in that, ere once in our five wits.'^ 
 
 Rom. And we mean well, in going to this mask; 
 But 'tis no wit to go. 
 
 Mer. Why, may one ask ? 
 
 Rom. I dreamt a dream to-night. 
 
 Mer. And so did I. 
 
 Rom. Well, what was yours ? 
 
 Mer. That dreamers often lie. 
 
 Rom. In bed asleep, while they do dream things 
 true. 
 
 Mer. Oh, then, I see Queen Mab hath been 
 with you. 
 
 She is the fairies' midwife ;"'' and she comes 
 
 In shape no bigger than an agate-stone 
 
 On the fore-finger of an alderman. 
 
 Drawn with a team of little atomies 
 
 Athwart men's noses as they lie asleep : 
 
 Her waggon-spokes made of long spinners' legs ; 
 
 The cover, of the wings of grasshoppers ; 
 
 The traces, of the smallest spider's web ; 
 
 the context aftords no glimpse of its meaning. " Dun," as 
 applied to colour, means 'dark;' and perhaps "dun's the 
 mouse," when it is " t'ne constable's own word," and used as a 
 cant expression, may include reference to the object of his pur- 
 suit keeping in the dark or in hiding. 
 
 73. 1/ thou art dun, me II draw thee from the mire. Iliis 
 has reference to a rural game called "Dun is in the mire:'' 
 where "Dun " is the name for a cart-horse— represented some- 
 times by a man, sometimes by a log of wood — and hauled at by 
 the players to extricate him from his supposed sticking in tlie 
 mire. The expression occurs at the commencement of Chaucer's 
 " Manciple's Prologue," where it is said by the host who wishes 
 to have the cook wakened up from a morass of sleep into which 
 he has sunk ; and we think that probably Mercutio means to 
 say, ' If thou art gloomy, we'll draw thee from the despondent 
 slough of this love wherein thou'rt pluii^ed ear-de.ep.' 
 
 74. Of this (saz'e reverence) love. See Note 29, Act iii., 
 "Comedy of Errors." The Folio prints, 'or save your rever- 
 ence-love.' Malone's correction. 
 
 75. We burn daylight. A familiar expression, signifying ' we 
 lose time,' ' we are wasting opportunity.' See Note 5, Act ii., 
 " Merry Wives." 
 
 76. Our five luits. The old copies misprint ' fine ' for " five," 
 Malone's correction. 
 
 77. The fairies' midwife. Mercutio calls Queen Mab thus, 
 because .she ushers into existence " the children of an idle 
 brain," as he afterwards calls the dreams born of sleep and 
 fantasy. 
 
Act I.J 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 The collars, of the moonshine's watery beams ; 
 Her whip, of cricket's bone ; the lash, of film ; 
 Her wagoner, a small grey-coated gnat. 
 Not half so big as a round little worm 
 Prick'd from the lazy finger of a maid : 
 Her chariot is an empty hazel-nut, 
 Made by the joiner squirrel or old grub, 
 Time out of mind the fairies' coachmakers. ' 
 And in this state she gallops night by night 
 Through lovers' brains, and then they dream of 
 love ; 
 
 O'er courtiers' knees, that dream on court' sies"^ 
 straight ; 
 
 O'er lawyers' fingers, who straight dream on fees ; 
 O'er ladies' lips, who straight on kisses dream, — 
 Which oft the angry Mab with blii>ters plagues. 
 Because their breaths with sweetmeats tainted 
 are 
 
 Sometimes she gallops o'er a courtier's nose, ■ 
 And then dreams he of smelling out a suit -j^" 
 And sometime comes she with a tithe-pig's tail 
 Tickling a parson's nose as 'a lies asleep. 
 Then dreams he of another benefice : 
 Sometime she driveth o'er a soldier's neck, 
 And then dreams he of cutting foreign throats, 
 Of breaches, ambuscadoes, Spanish blades,*' 
 Of healths five-fathom deep ; and then anon 
 Drums in his ear, at which he starts, and wakes ; 
 And, being thus frighteii, swears a prayer or two, 
 And sleeps again. This is that very Mab 
 That plats the manes of horses in the night ; 
 And bakes the elf-locks*^ in foul sluttish hairs, 
 Which once untangled, much misfortune bodes -.^^ 
 This is the hag — 
 
 Rom. Peace, peace, Mercutio, peace I 
 
 Thou talk'st of nothing. 
 
 Mer. True, I talk of dreams ; 
 
 Which are the children of an idle brain. 
 Begot of nothing but vain fantasy ; 
 Which is as thin of substance as the air ; 
 And more inconstant than the wind, who wooes 
 Even now the frozen bosom of the north. 
 And, being anger'd, pufFs away from thence, 
 Turning his face to the dew-dropping south. 
 
 78. Court'sies. A salutation formerly in use among men as 
 well as wo Tien. See Note 95, Act ii., "Twelfth Night." 
 
 79. Their breaths with s'lVeetineats tainted are. One of 
 Shakespeare's touches of wise knowledge and practical teaching. 
 Not only does the immoderate use of sweetmeats injure the 
 stomach, and therefore render less pure the breath, but it was a 
 fashion in his time to take perfumed sugar plums by way of 
 sweetening the breath, which he well knew was a way ultimately 
 to " taint " it. 
 
 80. A suit. A solicitation to obtain court promotion. 
 
 81. Spanish blades. Sword-blades made in Spain, especially 
 in Toledo and Bilboa, were highly esteemed ; so much so that 
 these names were often given in England to swords themselves. 
 See Note 22, Act i., " Merry Wives." 
 
 82. Elf-locks. The matted portions of hair ill-kept and clirty 
 were supposed to be the work of malicious elves, and conse- 
 quently had this name given to them. 
 
 Ben. This wind, you talk of, blows us from 
 ourselves ; 
 
 Supper is done, and we shall come too late. 
 
 Rom. I fear, too early : for my mind misgives 
 Some consequence, yet hanging in the stars. 
 Shall bitterly begin his fearful date 
 With this night's revels ; and expire the term^-* 
 Of a despised life, clos'd in my breast. 
 By some vile forfeit of untimely death : 
 But He, that hath the steerage of my course, 
 Direct my sail !— On, lusty gentlemen. 
 
 Beti. Strike, drum. {Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE v.— A Hall in Capulet's House. 
 Musicians ■waiting. Enter Servants. 
 First Serv. Where's Potpan, that he helps not 
 to take away ? he shift a trencher ! he scrape a 
 trencher ! 
 
 Sec. Serv. When good manners shall lie all in 
 one or two men's hands, and they unwashed too, 
 'tis a foul thing. 
 
 First Serv. Away with the joint-stools, remove 
 the court-cupboard,**' look to the plate : — good 
 thou, save me a piece of marchpane and, as 
 thou lovest me, let the porter let in Susan Gr.nd- 
 stone and Nell.— Antony, and Potpan! 
 
 Enter Third and Fourth Servant. 
 
 Third and Fourth Ser--v. Ay, boy, ready. 
 
 First Serv. You are looked for and called for, 
 asked for and sought for, in the great chamber. 
 
 Third and Fourth Serv. We cannot be here and 
 there too. 
 
 Sec. Serv. Cheerly, boys; be brisk awhile, and 
 the longer liver take all. [They retire behind. 
 
 Enter Capulei', &c., ivith the Guests and the 
 Maskers. 
 
 Cap. Welcome, gentlemen! ladies that have 
 their toes 
 
 Unplagu'd with corns will have a bout with you: — 
 Ah ha, my mistresses ! which of you all 
 
 83. Which once untangled, much misfortune bodes. The con- 
 struction here is in Shakespeare's peculiar style. "Which," as 
 referring to " elf-locks," would govern " bodes" by a grammati- 
 cal licence ; but " which once untangled " makes the implied 
 particular of ' disentanglement' govern " bodes." 
 
 84. Expire the term. The present passage affords an instance 
 of "expire" used as a verb active. 
 
 85. The court-cupboard. A kind of sideboard, made with 
 stages or shelves gradually receding, like stairs, to the top, 
 whereon the plate was displayed on occasions of festive 
 banquets. 
 
 S'i. Marchpane. A confection much in favour among our 
 ancestors. It was made with filberts, almonds, pistachio nuts, 
 pine-kernels, sugar of roses, and a small proportion of flour. 
 
 87. Ay, boy, ready. There is a slight variation in the mode 
 of arranging the prefixes of these servants' speeches and their 
 entrances here, from that observed in the old copies. 
 
 133 
 
Act I.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 Will now deny to dance ? she that makes dainty, 
 She, I'll swear, hath corns; am I come near ye 
 now ?— 
 
 Welcome, gentlemen ! I have seen the day 
 That I have worn a visor; jind could tell 
 A whispering tale in a fair lady's ear, 
 Such as would please; — 'tis gone, 'tis gone, 'tis gone: 
 You are welcome, gentlemen !— Come, musicians, 
 play.— 
 
 A hall, a hall l^s give room ! and foot it, girls. — 
 
 [Music plays, and they dance. 
 More light, you knaves ; and turn the tables up,**' 
 And quench the fire, the room is grown too hot. — 
 Ah ! sirrah, 90 this unlook.'d-for sport comes well. 
 Nay, sit, nay, sit, good cousin Capulet;^' 
 For you and I are past our dancing days : 
 How long is 't now since last yourself and I 
 Were in a mask ? 
 
 Sec. Cap. By'r lady, thirty years. 
 
 Cap. What! man, 'tis not so much, 'tis not so 
 much : 
 
 'Tis since the nuptial of Lucentio, 
 Come Pentecost as quickly as it will. 
 Some five and twenty years; and then we mask'd. 
 Sec. Cap. 'Tis more, 'tis more : his son is elder, 
 sir ; 
 
 His son is thirty. 
 
 Cap. Will you tell me that ? 
 
 His son was but a ward two years ago. 
 
 Ront. What lady is that, which doth enrich the 
 hand 
 Of )onder knight? 
 
 Serf. I know not, sir. 
 
 Rom. Oh, she doth teach the torches to burn 
 bright ! 
 
 It seems she hangs upon the cheek of nights- 
 Like a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear; 
 Beauty too i-ich for use, for earth too dear ! 
 So shows a snowy dove trooping with crov\s. 
 As yonder lady o'er her fellows shows. 
 The measure done,'^ j'H \vatch her place of stand. 
 And, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand. 
 
 83. A kail, a kali! An exclamation in use formerly when it 
 was needful to clear a space in a crowded assembly. 
 
 Sg. Turn ike tables up. Ancient tables were composed of flat 
 leaves or boards joined by hinges ; so that, when they were 
 removed, they had to be 'turned up.' 
 
 go. Sirrah. Here used as a term of familiarity. See Note 
 55, Act iv., "As You Like It." 
 
 91. Good consiti Capulrt. We have had frequent occasion to 
 point out that " cousin" was used for ' kinsman.' See Note 6, 
 Act iii., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 92. // seems ske hangs upon ike ckeek of night, For 
 " it seems she " the editor of the second Folio substituted ' her 
 beauty a substitution which has since been adopted by many 
 editors. Inasmuch as there is no authority for its having been 
 Shakespeare's writing, and inasmuch as the expression of the 
 authentic copies not only presents an intelligible meaning, but is 
 one that Shakespeare has used elsewhere, we feel bound to 
 retam it in the te.vt. In other passages of description by him we 
 find " it seems" and " it seem d" thus used, as, for instance : — 
 
 Did my heart love till now ? forswear it, sight ! 
 For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night. 
 
 Tyb. This, by his voice, should be a Montague :— 
 Fetch me my rapier, boy : — what ! dares the slave 
 Come hither, cover'd with an antic face, 
 To fleer and scorn at our solemnity ? 
 Now, by the stock and honour of my kin. 
 To strike him dead I hold it not a sin. 
 
 Cap. Why, how now, kinsman ! wherefore 
 storm you so P 
 
 Tyb. Uncle, this is a Montague, our foe ; 
 A villain, that is hither come in spite, 
 To scorn at our solemnity this night. 
 
 Cap. Young Romeo is it ? 
 
 Tyb. 'Tis he, that villain Romeo. 
 
 Cap. Content thee, gentle coz, let him alone ; 
 He bears him like a portly 9* gentleman ; 
 And, to say truth, Verona brags of him 
 To be a virtuous and well-govern'd youth : 
 I would not for the wealth of all this town. 
 Here in my house, do him di.sparagement : 
 Therefore be patient, take no note of him,— 
 It is my will ; the which if thou respect. 
 Show a fair presence, and put off these frowns, 
 An ill-beseeming semblance for a feast. 
 
 Tyb. It fits, when such a villain is a guest : 
 I'll not endure him. 
 
 Cap. He shall be endur'd : 
 
 What ! goodman boy ; — I say, he shall ; — go to ; 
 Am I the master here, or you ? go to. 
 You'll not endure him ! — Heaven mend my soul. 
 You'll make a mutiny among my guests ! 
 You will set cock-a-hoop ! you'll be the man ! 
 
 Tyb. Why, uncle, 'tis a shame. 
 
 Cap. Go to, go to ; 
 
 Yoii are a saucy boy : — is 't so, indeed ? — 
 This trick may chance to scathe you, — I know 
 what : 
 
 You must contrary me ! marry, 'tis time. — 
 Well said,^? my hearts ! — You are a princox ; s" go : 
 Be quiet, or— More light, more light ! — For shame ! 
 I'll make you quiet. — What, cheerly, my hearts ! 
 
 "The sky, it seems, would pour down," &c., "Tempest," 
 Act i., sc. 2; "It seem'd she was a queen over her passion," 
 &c., "King Lear,", Act iv., sc. 3; and "It seem'd sorrow 
 wept to take leave of them," &c., "Winter's Tale," Act v., 
 
 93. Tke measure done. ' The dance being concluded.' See 
 Note 67 of the present Act. 
 
 gi. Partly. ' Of good carriage,' ' of noble demeanour.' The 
 word "portly," in our day, in addition to the sense of ' dignity,' 
 comprises somewhat of large and cumbrous ; which formerly it 
 did not necessarily include. 
 
 95. Yon will set cock-a-koop '. ' "Vou will play the blusterer,' 
 ' you will be self-important.' The origin of this common expres- 
 sion has not been satisfactorily ascertained. 
 
 96. Scaflie. 'Injure,' 'damage.' See Note 82, Act i, 
 "Richard III." 
 
 97. Well said. Here used for 'well done.' See Note 61, 
 Act ii., "As You Like It." 
 
 98. A princox. A forward boy, a pert lad ; a coxcomb. 
 
 56 
 
Act I.] 
 
 Tyb. Patience perforce with wilful choler meeting 
 Makes my flesh tremble in their different greeting. 
 1 will withdraw : but this intrusion shall, 
 Now seeming sweet, convert to bitter gall. \_Exjt. 
 Rom. \To Juliet.] If I profane with my un- 
 worthiest hand 
 This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this,^'— 
 My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand 
 To smooth that rough touch with a tender 
 kiss. 
 
 Jul. Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too 
 much. 
 
 Which mannerly devotion shows in this ; 
 For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands 
 do touch. 
 
 And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss. 
 Rom. Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too ? 
 Jul. Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in 
 prayer. 
 
 Rom. Oh, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands 
 do; 
 
 They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to 
 despair. 
 
 Jul. Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' 
 sake. 
 
 Rom. Then move not, while my prayer's effect I 
 take. 
 
 Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is 
 purg'd. [Kissing her.^"" \ 
 
 Jul. Then have my lips the sin that they have 
 took. 
 
 Rom. Sin from my lips ? Oh, trespass sweetly 
 urg'd I 
 Give me my sin again. 
 Jul. You kiss by the book."' 
 
 Nurse. Madam, your mother craves a word with 
 you. 
 
 Rom. What is her mother ? 
 
 Nurse. Marry, bachelor, 
 
 Her mother is the lady of the house. 
 And a good lady, and a wise and virtuous : 
 ] nurs'd her daughter, that you talk'd withal ; 
 I tell you, — he that can lay hold of her 
 Shall have the chinks. 
 
 gg. The gentle fine is this. The old copies misprint *sin* 
 and ' sinne' for " fine" here. Theobald's correction, suggested 
 by Warburton. 
 
 100. Kissing her. The customary privilege of kissing a lady 
 chosen as partner in a dance, made a kiss given in a ball-room 
 appear no strange freedom or unusual salutation. See the 
 passages referred to in Notes 95 and 103, Act i., " Henry VIII." 
 
 101. You kiss by the book. 'You kiss according to rule.' 
 .See Note 37, Act v., " As You Like It." 
 
 102. My life is my foe's debt. ' My life lies at the mercy of 
 my enemy.' As his life depends upon his obtaining the daughter 
 of Capulet, it lies in the povv-er of this member of the rival house 
 to grant or withhold existence from him. 
 
 103. Away, be gone ; the sport is at Ihe b:si. See Note 71 of 
 this Act. The phrase includes the meaning of ' all that comes 
 after will be less good ; ' to which Romeo's reply comes aptly. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 Rom. Is she a Capulet 
 
 Oh, dear account! my life is my foe's debt.i''^ 
 
 lien. Away, be gone ; the sport is at the bcst."'^ 
 
 Rom. Ay, so I fear: the more is my unrest. 
 
 Cap. Nay, gentlemen, prepare not to be gone : 
 V/e have a trifling foolish banquet towards.'"^— 
 Is it e'ea so ? why, then, I thank you all ; 
 I thank you, honest gentlemen ; good night.— 
 More torches here 1— Come on, then, let's to 
 bed. 
 
 [To Sec. Cap.] Ah! sirrah, by my fay, it waxes 
 
 late : '"^ 
 I'll to my rest. 
 
 {Exeunt all except Juliet and Nurse. 
 Jul. Come hither, nurse. What is yond' gen- 
 tleman ? 
 
 Nurse. The son and heir of old Tiberio. 
 Jul. What's he that now is going out of door ? 
 Nurse. Marry, tliat, I think, be young Petruchio. 
 Jul. What's he that follows there, that wouKl 
 
 not dance ? 
 Nurse. I know not. 
 
 Jul. Go, ask his name : — if he be married. 
 My grave is like to be my wedding bed. 
 
 Nurse. His name is Romeo, and a Montague ; 
 The only son of your great enemy. 
 
 Jul. My only love sprung from my only hate ! 
 Too early seen unknown, and known too late ! 
 Prodigious birth of love it is to me. 
 That I must love a loathed enemy. 
 
 Nurse. What's this ? what's this ? 
 
 Jul. A rhyme I learn'd even now 
 
 Of one I danc'd withal. 
 
 \_One calls ucithin, "Juliet." 
 
 Nurse. Anon, anon ! — 
 
 Come, let's away ; the strangers all are gone. 
 
 \_Exeunt. 
 
 Enter Chorus. 
 
 Chor. Now old desire doth in his death-bed lie. 
 
 And young affection gapes to be his heir; 
 That fair, for which love groan'd for,'°^ and would 
 die. 
 
 With tender Juliet match'd, is now not fair. 
 
 104. A trifling foolish banqitet towards. The commence- 
 ment of this scene shows that supper is over ; tlierefore the 
 "banquet" here named is what was called a ' rere-supper' or 
 'after-supper.' See Note 65, Act ii , "Second Part Henry 
 IV." "Towards" or 'toward' was sometimes idiomatically 
 used to express ' going on,' ' going forward ; ' ' prepared,' 
 ' ready,' 'at hand.' See Note 9, Act iii., " Midsummer Night's 
 Dream " 
 
 105. By jny fay, it waxes late. " By my fay" is a corruption 
 of 'by my faith' (see Note 51, Induction to "Taming of the 
 Shrew ") ; and " waxes" means ' grows.' 
 
 106. That fair, for vjhich love groaned for. "Fair" is here 
 used substantively for ' beauty.' See Note 13, Act ii., "Comedy 
 of Errors." The double " for," in this line, is an instance of a 
 pleonasm that sometimes occurs in Shakespeare. See Note 2, 
 Act ii., " Coriolanus." 
 
 57 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
Act II.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scenes I., II. 
 
 Now Romeo is belov'd, and loves again, 
 Alike bewitched by the charm of looks ; 
 
 But to his foe suppos'd he must complain, 
 And she steal love's sweet bait from fearful hooks; 
 
 Being held a foe, he may not have access 
 
 To breathe such vows as lovers use to swear; 
 
 And she as much in love, her means much less 
 
 To meet her new-beloved anywhere : 
 But passion lends them power, time means, to 
 meet.io? 
 
 Tempering '"8 extremities with extreme sweet. 
 
 ACT 
 
 SCENE I.— An open place adjoining Capulet's 
 Garden. 
 
 Enter Romeo. 
 
 Rom. Can I go forward when my heart is here ? 
 Turn back, dull earth,' and find thy centre out. 
 \^He climbs the ivall, and leaps do-Mn uuithin it. 
 
 Enter Benvolio and Mercutio. 
 Ben. Romeo! my cousin Romeo! 
 Mer. He is wise ; 
 
 And, on my life, hath stol'n him home to bed. 
 Ben. He ran this way, and leap'd this orchard^ 
 wall : 
 
 Call, good Mercutio. 
 
 Mer. Nay, I'll conjure too. — 
 
 Romeo! humours madman! passion! lo\er! 
 Appear thou in the likeness of a sigh : 
 Speak but one rhyme, and I am satisfied ; 
 Cry but. Ah me ! pronounce but— love and dove ; 
 Speak to my gossip Venus one fair word. 
 One nick-name for her purblind son and heir. 
 Young Adam Cupid,'' he that shot so trim. 
 When King Cophetua* lov'd the beggar-maid!— 
 He heareth not, he stirreth not, he moveth not ; 
 The ape^ is dead, and I must conjure him. — 
 I conjure thee by Rosaline's bright eyes, 
 
 107. Passion lends them potver^ time means, to meet. Here 
 the verb " to meet " does double duty in the sentence, according 
 to Shaltespeare's occasional practice in this particular. See 
 Note 91, Act iv. , " Coriolanus." 
 
 loS. Tempering. Here used to ex-press ' mingling so" as to 
 modify ; ' as wine is tempered, by having water mingled with it 
 to modify its strength. 
 
 1. Dull earth. Romeo's epithet for his small world of man, 
 the earthlier portion of himself ; the corporeal or material part 
 of his identity, in contradistinction to his "heart," spirit, or 
 spiritual essence. 
 
 2. Orchard. An old name for a 'garden.' See Note 53, 
 Act ii , "Much Ado." 
 
 3. Humours. Here used in the sense of ' amorous fancies,' 
 'enamoured whimsicalities;' and is impersonated as a fitting 
 title for Romeo, whom his friend believes to be an embodiment 
 of them. See Note 33, Act iii., " Love's Labour's Lost." 
 
 4 Young Adam Cupid. All the old copies give ' Abraham ' 
 here for " Adam." Steevens's correction. It is probably right ; 
 because " Adam," being a proverbial name for a good marksman 
 
 II. 
 
 By her high forehead, and her scarlet lip. 
 
 By her fine foot, straight leg, and quivering thigh — 
 
 That in thy likeness thou appear to us ! 
 
 Ben. An if he hear thee, thou wilt anger him. 
 
 Mer. This cannot anger him : my invocation 
 Is fair and honest, and, in his mistress' name, 
 I conjure only but to raise up him. 
 
 Ben. Come, he hath hid himself among these trees, 
 To be consorted with the humorous^ night : 
 Blind is his love, and best befits the dark. 
 
 Mer. If love be blind, love cannot hit the mark. 
 Now will he sit under a medlar-tree. 
 And wish his mistress were that kind of fruit 
 As maids call medlars, when they laugh alone. — 
 Romeo, good night ; — I'll to my truckle-bed ; 
 This field-bed is too cold for me to sleep 
 Come, shall we go ? 
 
 Ben. Go, then ; for 'tis in vain 
 
 To seek him here that means not to be found. 
 
 {Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE II.— Capulet's Garden. 
 Enter Romeo. 
 Rom. He jests at scars that never felt a wound.' — 
 [Juliet appears aboue at a luindonxi. 
 
 (see Note 39, Act i., " Much Ado "}, would be very likely given 
 on this occasion as a " nick-name" for the archer boy, " Cupid," 
 who " shot so trim." 
 
 5. King Cophetua. See Note 57, Act v., "Second Part 
 Henry IV." 
 
 6. Ape. Sometimes, as here, used as a term of affectionate 
 familiarity. Lady Percy, " First Part Henry IV.," Act ii., sc. 3, 
 playfully says to her husband, " Out, you mad-headed ape ! '' 
 and Doll Tearsheet fondly calls Falstaff " Poor ape ! " " Second 
 Part Henry IV.," Act ii,, sc. 4. 
 
 7. Humorous. Here used for 'humid;' teeming with damp 
 vapours ; including a pun in reference to its sense of ' full of 
 strange humours,' 'full of whimsical fancies.' 
 
 8. My truckle-bed; this field-bed is, b'c. " My truckle-bed" 
 is here used to express 'my simple bed;' 'my snug, though 
 humble bed : ' but the particular kind of bed bearing this name 
 is described in Note 32, Act iv., " Merry Wives." A "field- 
 bed" was one that could be readily put up when soldiers were in 
 the field ; and was similar to what is now called a ' camp-bed.' 
 Of course it here includes a pun on sleeping in the open field. 
 
 9. He jests at scars t/tat never felt a wound. In allusion to 
 
Act II.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene 11. 
 
 But, soft! what light through yonder window 
 breaks ? 
 
 It is the east, and Juliet is the sun ! — 
 Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, 
 Who is already sick and pale with grief. 
 That thou her maid art far more fair than she : 
 Be not her maid,!" since she is envious ; 
 Her vestal livery is but sick and green, 
 And none but fools do wear it ; cast it off. — 
 It is my lady ; oh, it is my love ! 
 Oh, that she knew she were ! — 
 She speaks, yet she says nothing : what of that ? 
 Her eye discourses, I will answer it. — 
 1 am too bold, 'tis not to me she speaks : 
 Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven, 
 Having some business, do entreat her eyes 
 To twinkle in their spheres till they return. 
 What if her eyes were there, they in her head ? 
 The brightness of her cheek would shame those 
 stars, 
 
 As daylight doth a lamp ; her eyes in heaven 
 Would through the airy region stream so bright, 
 That birds would sing, and think it were not 
 night.- 
 
 See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand ! 
 Oh, that I were a glove upon that hand, 
 That I might touch that cheek! 
 
 Jul. Ah me! 
 
 Rom. She speaks: — 
 
 Oh, speak again, bright angel ! for thou art 
 As glorious to this night, being o'er my head. 
 As is a wingfed messenger of heaven 
 Unto the white-upturned wondering eyes 
 Of mortals, that fall back to gaze on him. 
 When he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds. 
 And sails upon the bosom of the air. 
 
 Jul. O Romeo, Roineo! wherefore art thou 
 Romeo ? 
 
 Deny thy father, and refuse thy name ; 
 Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, 
 And I'll no longer be a Capulet. 
 
 Rom. [Jsie/e.] Shall I hear more, or shall I 
 speak at this ? 
 
 Jul. 'Tis but thy name that is my eneiny ; — 
 Thou art thyself though, not a Montague. 
 What's Montague ? it is nor hand, nor foot. 
 Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part 
 Belonging to a man. Oh, be some other name ! 
 What's in a name ? that which we call a rose, 
 
 Mercutio's jesting at love which he never experienced. This is 
 one of the dramatist's expedients : showing that Romeo over- 
 hears his friends calling to him, but that he does not choose to 
 
 10. Be not Iier maid. ' Be not her votaress ; ' the moon being 
 Luna or Diana. 
 
 11. Owes. ' Owns,' ' possesses.' 
 
 12. Counsel. Here used for ' self-communing,' 'confidential 
 musing,' 'secret reflection.' See Note 59, Act iii., "Midsummer 
 Night's Dream." 
 
 By any other name would smell as sweet ; 
 So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd. 
 Retain that dear perfection which he owes," 
 Without that title : —Romeo, doff thy name ; 
 And for that name, which is no part of thee, 
 Take all myself. 
 
 Rom. I take thee at thy word : 
 
 Call me but love, and I'll be new baptis'd ; 
 Henceforth I never will be Romeo. 
 
 Jul. What man art thou, that, thus bescreen'd 
 in night, 
 So stumblest on my counsel r'- 
 
 Rom. By a name 
 
 I know not how to tell thee who I am : 
 My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself, 
 Because it is an enemy to thee ; 
 Had I it written, I would tear the word. 
 
 Jul. My ears have not yet drunk a hundred words 
 Of that tongue's utterance, yet I know the sound : 
 Art thou not Romeo, and a Montague ? 
 
 Rom. Neither, fair saint, if either thee dislike.'^ 
 
 Jul. How cam'st thou hither, tell me, an 1 
 wherefore ? 
 
 The orchard walls are high and hard to climb ; 
 And the place death, considering who thou art. 
 If any of my kinsmen find thee here. 
 
 Rom. With love's light wings did I o'erperch 
 these walls ; 
 For stony limits cannot hold love out : 
 And what love can do, that dares love attempt ; 
 Therefore thy kinsmen are no let to me.'^ 
 
 Jul. If they do see thee, they will murder thee. 
 
 Rom. Alack, there lies more peril in thine eye 
 Than twenty of their swords : look thou but sweet, 
 And I am proof against their enmity. 
 
 Jul. I would not for the world they saw thee here. 
 
 Rojn. I have night's cloak to hide ine from 
 their sight; 
 
 And but thou love me,'* let them find me here : 
 My life were better ended by their hate. 
 Than death prorogued, wanting of thy love. 
 Jul. By whose direction found'st thou out this 
 place ? 
 
 Rom. By Love, wlio first did prompt me to 
 enquire ; 
 
 He lent me counsel, and I lent him e) es. 
 
 I am no pilot ; yet, wert thou as far 
 
 As that vast shore wash'd with the farthest sea, 
 
 I would adventure for such merchandise. 
 
 13. !/ either tliee dislike. ' If either displease thee." "Dis- 
 like " was sometimes used for ' displease,' as " like" was used for 
 ' please.' See Note 16, Act iv. , " Two Gentlemen of Verona." 
 
 14. Are no lei to in'. 'Are no hindrance to me,' 'arc no 
 obstacle to me.' See Note 39, Act v., " Henry V." 
 
 15. And hut thou love me. " But " is here used for ' unless,' 
 
 16. Prorogued. ' De^'erred,' ' postponed,' ' delayed." Shake- 
 spe.ire uses " prorogue " farther on in this play, and twice else- 
 
 59 
 
Act II.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Romeo. But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? 
 It is the east, and Juhet is the sun ! Act II. Scene II. 
 
 Jul. Tliou knovv'st the mask of night is on my 
 face, 
 
 Else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheek 
 For that which thou hast heard me speak to- 
 night. 
 
 Fain would I dwell on form, fain, fain deny 
 What I have spoke: but farewell compliment 
 Dost thou love me ? I know thou wilt say, — Ay ; 
 And I will take thy word : yet, if thou swear'st. 
 Thou mayst prove false ; at lovers' perjuries, 
 They siy, Jove laughs. Oh, gentle Romeo, 
 If thou dost love, pronounce it faithfully : 
 Or if thou think'st I am too quickly won, 
 
 17. Farewell compliment ! ' Away with forms of coyness and 
 affected hesitation ! ' Another of Shakespeare's girl-heroine? has 
 expressed herself in the same spirit of beautiful and simple can- 
 dour. Miranda says, " Hence bashful cunning ! and prompt 
 me, plain and holy innocence !" It is interesting to note how 
 the glorious poet of womanhood had the same freshness of per- 
 
 ril frown, and be perver e, and say thee nay, 
 So thou wilt woo ; but else, not for the world. 
 In truth, fair Montague, I am too fond ; 
 And therefore tliou mayst think my'haviour light: 
 But trust ine, gentleman, I'll prove more true 
 Than those that have more cunning to be strange. i** 
 I should have been more strange, I must confess. 
 But that thou overheard'st, ere I was 'ware. 
 My true love's passion : therefore pardon me ; 
 And not impute this yielding to light love. 
 Which the dark night hath so discovere 1. 
 
 Rom. Lady, by yonder blessed moon I swear. 
 That tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops,i' — 
 
 ception with regard to virginal purity in love-feeling, when he 
 wrote at the age of about five or six-and-twenty, and when he 
 wrote at about seven or eight-and-forty. 
 
 i8. Stran^-e. ' Reserved,' ' distant in behaviour.' See Note 
 87, Act ii., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 13. That tips with silver all these fniit-tree tops. How in 
 
 7 Co 
 
Act II.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Jul. Oh, swear not by the moon, the inconstant 
 moon, 
 
 That monthly changes in her circled orb, 
 Lest that thy love prove likewise variable. 
 
 Rom. What shall I swear by ? 
 
 Jul. Do not swear at all ; 
 
 Or, if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self. 
 Which is the god of my idolatry. 
 And I'll believe thee. 
 
 Rom. If my heart's dear love, — 
 
 Jul. Well, do not swear : although I joy in 
 thee, 
 
 I have no joy of this contract to-night : 
 It is too rash, too unadvis'd, too sudden ; 
 Too like the lightning, which doth cease to be 
 Ere one can say, It lightens. Sweet, good night ! 
 This bud of love, by summer's ripening breath. 
 May prove a beauteous flower when next we 
 meet. 
 
 Good night, good night ! as sweet repose and 
 rest 
 
 Come to thy heart as that within my breast ! 
 Rom. Oh, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied ? 
 Jul. What satisfaction canst thou have to- 
 night ? 
 
 Rom. The exchange of thy love's faithful vow 
 for mine. 
 
 Jul. I gave thee mine before thou didst re<juest 
 it: 
 
 And yet I would it were to give again. 
 
 Rom. Wouldst thou withdraw it ? for what 
 purpose, love ? 
 
 Jul. But to be frank, and give it thee again. 
 And yet I wish but for the thing I have : 
 My bounty is as boundless as the sea. 
 My love as deep; the more I give to thee, 
 The more I have, for both are infinite. 
 
 \_Nurse calls ivithin. 
 I hear some noise within ; dear love, adieu !— 
 Anon, good nurse! — Sweet Montague, be true. 
 Stay but a little, I will come again. [Exit abo--ve. 
 
 Rom. Oh, blessfed,.blessfed night ! I am afeard. 
 Being in night, all this is but a dream, 
 Too flattering-sweet to be substantial. 
 
 a single line the dramatist contrives to set a picture before 
 the imagination, and to give it truth of local colouring ! An 
 Italian garden always has " fruit-trees" in abundance among 
 its flowers ; and the effect of Italian moonlight upon tree-tops is 
 
 20. Stilt. The Folio and the early Quartos print ' strife ' here 
 for " suit ; " which is the reading of the undated Quarto. 
 
 21. Atid leave me to my grief; to-morrow will I send. 
 Exquisitely has Shakespeare made Juliet pause not a moment 
 on the impossible alternative that Romeo " means " otherwise 
 than "well;" she scarcely finishes her phrase presenting the 
 alternative, but goes on immediately to say — as though he had 
 confirmed his desire of marriage by a thousand needless protes- 
 tations— " To-morrow will I send." The breathless hurry with 
 breathing earnestness in all that Juliet utters during this scene 
 is marvellously true to the pulsing rapture of a young girl's 
 heart on first learning that she loves and is beloved. 
 
 Re-enter Juliet above. 
 Jul. Three words, dear Romeo, and good night 
 indeed. 
 
 If that thy bent of love be honourable, 
 Thy purpose marriage, send me word to-morrow, 
 By one that I'll procure to come to thee, 
 Where and what time thou wilt perform the rite ; 
 I And all my fortunes at thy foot I'll lay. 
 And follow thee my lord throughout the world. 
 Nurse. [Within.] Madam ! 
 
 Jul. I come, anon ; — But if thou mean'st not 
 well, 
 
 I do beseech thee,— 
 
 Nurse. [Within.] Madam! 
 
 Jul. By-and-by, I come: — 
 
 To cease thy suit.^o and leave me to my gritf 
 To-morrow will I send. 2' 
 
 Rom. So thrive my soul, — 
 
 Jul. A thousand times good night ! 
 
 [Exit above. 
 
 Rom. A thousand times the worse, to want thy 
 light.— 
 
 Love goes toward love, as schoolboys from their 
 books ; 
 
 But love from love, toward school with heavy looks. 
 
 [Retiring. 
 
 Re-enter Juliet above. 
 Jul. Hist! Romeo, hist! — Oh, for a falconer's 
 voice, 
 
 To lure this tassel-gentle back again ! 
 Bondage is hoarse, and may not speak aloud ; 
 Else would I tear the cave where Echo lies. 
 And make her airy tongue more hoarse than mine, 
 With repetition of my Romeo's name. 
 
 Rom. It is my soul that caHs upon my name : 
 How silver-sweet sound lovers' tongues by night. 
 Like softest music to attending ears ! 
 
 Jul. Romeo ! 
 
 Rom. My dear P"^ 
 
 Jul. At what o'clock to-morrnw 
 
 Shall I send to thee ? 
 
 Rom. At the hour of nine. 
 
 22. Tassel-gentle. A corruption of ' tiercel-gentle,' or ' tercel- 
 gentle.' See Note 23, Act iii., " Troilus and Cressida." The 
 "tiercel" is the male of the goshawk: and so called because 
 it is a 'tierce' or 'third' less than the female. Tardif, in his 
 Book of Falconry, says that the "tiercel" has its name from 
 being one of three birds usually found in the aery of a falcon — 
 two of which are females, and the ' third* a male ; hence called 
 'tiercelet,' or the 'third.' The epithet "gentle" was appended 
 to the name of this species of hawk, both because it was easily 
 tamed and attached to man, and because it was a favourite with 
 persons of gentle birth. In some of the old books on hawking, 
 th^ ' falcon gentle ' and the " tercel gentle " are said to be "for 
 
 23. My dear. The Folio misprints 'my neece' for "my 
 dear : " which is the reading (printed ' my deere,' serving to 
 show how the Folio misprint probably arose) of the undated 
 Quarto. 
 
 VOL. III. 
 
 187 
 
Act II.] 
 
 Jul. I will not fail : 'tis twenty years till then. 
 I liave forgot why I did call thee back. 
 Rom. Let me stand here till thou remember it. 
 Jul. I shall forget, to have thee still stand 
 there, 
 
 Remembering how I love thy company. 
 
 Rom. And I'll still stay, to have thee still forget, 
 Forgetting any other home but this. 
 
 Jul. 'Tis almost morning; I would have thee 
 gone : 
 
 And yet no farther than a wanton's bird ; 
 Who lets it hop a little from her hand, 
 Like a poor prisoner in his twisted gyves. 
 And with a silk thread plucks it back again, 
 So loving-jealous of his liberty. 
 
 Rom. I would I were thy bird. 
 
 Jul. Sweet, so would I ; 
 
 Yet I should kill thee with much cherishing. 
 Good night, good night ! parting is such sweet 
 sorrow, 
 
 That I shall say good night till it be morrow. 
 
 \_Exit above. 
 
 Rom. Sleep dwell upon thine eyes, peace in thy 
 breast ! — 
 
 Would I were sleep and peace, so sweet to rest ! 
 
 Hence will I to my ghostly father's cell. 
 
 His help to crave, and my dear hap to tell. \_Exit. 
 
 SCENE III Friar Laurence's Cell. 
 
 Enter Friar Laurence, luith a basket. 
 
 Fri. L. The grey-ey'd morn smiles on the 
 frowning night, 
 Checkering the eastern clouds with streaks of light, 
 And flecked^-i darkness like a drunkard reels 
 From forth day's path and Titan's fiery wheels : 
 Now, ere the sun advance his burning eye. 
 The day to cheer, and night's dank dew to dry, 
 I must up-fill this osier cage of ours 
 With baleful weeds and precious-juiced flowers. 
 The earth, that's nature's mother, is her tomb ; 
 What is her burying grave, that is her womb : 
 And from her womb children of divers kind 
 We sucking on her natural bosom find ; 
 Many for many virtues excellent. 
 None but for some, and yet all different. 
 
 24. Fleckid. ' Dappled,' ' mottled ; ' marked with spots or 
 dashes. 
 
 2^. Mickle. 'Much,' 'great.' See Note 4, Act iii., " Comedy 
 of Errors. " 
 
 26. StmindfromiJmt fair use. A notable instance of Shake- 
 speare's elliptical style : 'which is natural to it' being understood 
 after "use." 
 
 27. That part. It has been disputed whether here " that 
 part" means the part that smells, the organ of smelling, the 
 olfactory nerves ; or whether " that part" means that part of 
 the flower which gives scent, 'the odour,' 'the perfume.' We 
 
 [Scene IIL 
 
 Oh, mickle^s is the powerful grace that lies 
 In herbs, plants, stones, and their true qualities : 
 For naught so vile that on the earth doth live. 
 But to the earth some special good doth give ; 
 Nor aught so good, but, strain'd from that fair 
 use,2^ 
 
 Revolts from true birth, stumbling on abuse : 
 Virtue itself turns vice, being misapplied ; 
 And vice sometime's by action dignified. 
 Within the infant rind of this small flower 
 Poison hath residence, and medicine power : 
 For this, being smelt, with that part^? cheers each 
 part ; 
 
 Being tasted, slays all senses with the heart. 
 Two such opposed kings encamp them still 
 In man as well as herbs, — grace and rude will ; 
 And where the worser is predominant, 
 Full soon the canker death eats up that plant. 
 
 Enter Romeo. 
 
 Rom. Good morrow, father. 
 
 Fri. L. Benedicite!^^ 
 What early tongue so sweet saluteth me ? — 
 Young son, it argues a distemper'd head 
 So soon to bid good morrow to thy bed : 
 Care keeps his watch in every old man's eye, 
 And where care lodges, sleep will never lie ; 
 But where unbruised youth with unstuff'd brain 
 Doth couch his limbs, there golden sleep doth 
 reign : 
 
 Therefore thy earliness doth me assure 
 Thou art up-rous'd by some distemperature ; 
 Or if not so, then here I hit it right, — 
 Our Romeo hath not been in bed to-night. 
 
 Rom. That last is true ; the sweeter rest was 
 mine. 
 
 Fri. L. God pardon sin ! wast thou with 
 Rosaline ? 
 
 Rom. With Rosaline, my ghostly father ? no ; 
 I have forgot that name, and that name's woe. 
 
 Fri. L. That's my good son : but where hast 
 thou been, then ? 
 
 Rom. I'll tell thee, ere thou ask it me again. 
 I have been feasting with mine enemy ; 
 Where, on a sudden, one hath wounded me. 
 That's by me wounded : both our remedies 
 Within thy help and holy physic lies:'^' 
 I bear no hatred, blessed man ; for, lo. 
 My intercession likewise steads my foe. 
 
 mcline to think, from the general construction of the sentence, 
 and the use of " with " in the two clauses, " with that part," and 
 "with the heart," that the former interpretation is the right one. 
 
 28. Benedicite ! This expression of combined blessing and 
 s.alutation is characteristically put by Shakespeare into the 
 benevolent Friar Laurence's mouth, as well as into that of t\i 
 benignant friar-duke. See Note 55, Act ii., "Measure for 
 Measure." 
 
 29. Our remedies within thy help .... lies. A false 
 grammatical concord which was permitted in Shakespeare's 
 time. See Note 55, Act iii., " Coriolanus." 
 
 62 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
Act II.l 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Fri. L. Be plain, good son, and homely in thy 
 drift ; 
 
 Riddling confession finds but riddling shrift. 
 
 Rom. Then plainly know fny heart's dear love 
 is set 
 
 On the fair daughter of rich Capulet : 
 
 As mine on hers, so hers is set on mine; 
 
 And all combin'dj^" save what thou must combine 
 
 By holy marriage : when, and where, and how, 
 
 We met, we woo'd, and made exchange of vow, 
 
 I'll tell thee as we pass ; but this I pray, 
 
 That thou consent to marry us to-day. 
 
 Fri. L. Holy Saint Francis, what a change is 
 here ! 
 
 Is Rosaline, whom thou didst love so dear. 
 So soon forsaken ? young men's love, then, lies 
 Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes. 
 Jesu Mai ia,^^ what a deal of brine 
 Hath wash'd thy sallow cheeks for Rosaline ! 
 How much salt water thrown away in waste. 
 To season love, that of it doth not taste ! 
 The sun not yet thy sighs from heaven clears, 
 Thy old groans ring yet in my ancient ears ; 
 Lo, here upon thy cheek the stain doth sit 
 Of an old tear that is not wash'd off yet: 
 If e'er thou wast thyself, and these woes thine. 
 Thou and these woes were all for Rosaline : 
 And art thou chang'd ? pronounce this sentence, 
 then,— 
 
 Women may fall, when there's no strength in men. 
 
 Rom. Thou chidd'st me oft for loving Rosaline. 
 
 Fri. L. For doting, not for loving, pupil mine. 
 
 Rom. And bad'st me bury love. 
 
 Fri. L. Not in a grave, 
 
 To lay one in, another out to have. 
 
 Rom. I pray thee, chide not ; she whom I love 
 now 
 
 30. A nd all combined. Here " is " in the previous line is cllip- 
 tic.-illy understood as' repeated between " all " and " combin'd." 
 
 31. yesu RIaria. With marked ^propriety has Shakespeare 
 placed this exclamation in the mouth of an Italian friar. 1 1 is 
 an exclamation exclusively belonging to Catholic coimtries ; 
 and is a contracted form of Jesn Mnrice, ' Jesus of Mary,' or 
 ' Jesus the son of Mary.' 
 
 32. Sy rote. This, besides meaning 'by memory,' 'without 
 book,' includes the sense of ' superficially,' ' unreally ; ' what 
 we understand by the modern expression ' parrotedly ; ' meaning 
 ' like a parrot,' as a parrot repeats words, from mere chance hear- 
 ing and conventional habit. See Note 59, Act iii., " Coriolanus." 
 
 33. / stand on sudden haste. ' It behoves me to use des- 
 patch : ' ' it is important to me to make haste.' See Note 19, 
 Act iv., " Richard III." 
 
 34. T/tat same pale Itard-hearted ivench, tJiat Rosaline. 
 The epithet " pale " here, and still more, a little farther on, the 
 
 ■ expression " a white wench's black eye," strike us as peculiar 
 and significant in connection with the name of " Rosaline." It 
 seems to us that in depicting both the characters to whom he 
 has given this name, Shakespeare had some special living 
 woman before his mind's eye who was their prototype. See 
 Notes 42, Act iii., and 104, Act iv., "Love's Labour's Lost." 
 The few vivid lines with which he has touched in the sketch of 
 Romeo's Rosaline, unseen as she is in the play, accord perfectly 
 with the recurrent delineations and more elaborated portrait of 
 
 Doth grace for grace and love for love allow ; 
 The other did not so. 
 
 Fri. L. Oh, she knew well 
 
 Thy love did read by rote,^- and could not spell. 
 But come, young waverer, come, go with me. 
 In one respect I'll thy assistant be ; 
 For this alliance may so happy prove. 
 To turn your households' rancour to pure love. 
 
 Rom. Oh, letushence; I stand on sudden haste. 
 
 Fri. L. Wisely, and slow ; they stumble that 
 run fast. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE IV— A Street. 
 Enter Benvolio and Mercutio. 
 
 Mer. Where the devil should this Romeo be ? — 
 Came he not home to-night ? 
 
 Ben. Not to his father's ; I spoke with his man. 
 
 Mer. Ah! that same pale hard-hearted wench, 
 that Rosaline, 34 
 Torments him so, that he will sure run mad. 
 
 Ben. Tybalt, the kinsman of old Capulet, 
 Hath sent a letter to his father's house. 
 
 Mer. A challenge, on my life. 
 
 Ben. Romeo will answer it. 
 
 Mer. Any man that can write may answer a letter. 
 
 Ben. Nay, he will answer the letter's master, 
 how he dares, being dared. 
 
 Mer. Alas! poor Romeo, he is already dead! 
 stabbed with a white wench's black eye ; shot 
 through the ear with a love-song ; the very pin of 
 his heart*' cleft with the blind bow-boy's butt- 
 shaft -.'^^ and is he a man to encounter Tybalt ? 
 
 Ben. Why, what is Tybalt ? 
 
 Mer. More than prince of cats,'^ I can tell you. 
 
 Biron's Rosaline in " Love's Labour's Lost." It is a subject of 
 extremely interesting investigation ; for, so little is to be 
 gathered of a personal nature from Shakespeare's dramatic 
 writings, — ^he, like a perfect dramatist, merging self entirely in 
 the characters he draws, — that every indication, however slight, 
 by which we may obtain a ghmpse of himself or those he knew, 
 is most valuable. We have before referred to his having used a 
 particular name for two different characters alike in certain 
 points (see Note 98, Act iii., "Twelfth Night"), and we here 
 observe upon a similar use of a particular name. Viewed by the 
 light afforded from Mr. Gerald Massey's " Shakespeare's Sonnjts 
 and his Private Friends," the woman who was the original for 
 the portrait in "Love's Labour's Lost" and the sketch here 
 (both marked "Rosaline" in the Shakespeare picture-catalogue) 
 should be no other than Lady Rich : but however the truth may 
 be with regard to her individual identity, we have a firm belief 
 that she was an actual woman known to Shakespeare in the life. 
 
 35. T/ie very pin of his heart. "The pin" was a term, in 
 archery, for the black nail in the centre of the " clout " or white 
 mark at which archers took aim. To cleave this central point 
 was of course the great ambition of all marksmen. See Note 21, 
 Act iv., " Love's Labour's Lost." 
 
 36. Butt-shaft. See Note 59, Act i., " Love's Labour's Lost." 
 
 37. More than prince of cats. " Tybalt" or ' Tybert ' is the 
 name given to the cat in the old story-book of "Reynard 
 the Fox." In Decker's " Satiromastix," 1602, there is the ex- 
 
Act II.] ROMEO AND JULIET. [Scene IV. 
 
 Friar Laurence. Now, ere the sun advance his burning eye, 
 The day to cheer, and night's dank dew to dry, 
 I must up-fiU this osier cage of ours 
 
 With baleful weeds and precious-juiced flowers. Act II. Scene III. 
 
 Oh, he is the courageous captain of compliments.^^ 
 He fights as you sing prick-song,^' keeps time, 
 distance, and proportion ; rests me his minim rest,''* 
 one, two, and the third in your bosom ; the very 
 
 pression, *'Tho' you 
 
 Tyhert, the long-tail'd fr 
 
 cats;" and in Nash's "Have with You to Saffron Walden," 
 1596, "Not Tibalt, prince of cats." Tybalt, Tibalt, Tybert, 
 and Tibert are all variations of the ancient name Thibault ; but 
 why or when first given to a cat has not yet been discovered. 
 
 38. Captain of compliments. ' Master of ceremonious laws 
 and punctilios,' 'proficient in all etiquettes and due observances.' 
 See Note 20, Act i., " Love's Labour's Lost." 
 
 39. Prick-song. The technical term for written descant, be- 
 cause the harmony was written or pricked down ; in contra- 
 distinction to "plain-song," which was merely the simple 
 theme, chant, or melody, and which left the harmonies and 
 descant to be added according to the pleasure of the performer. 
 See Note 18, Act iii., " Midsummer Night's Dream." 
 
 40. Rests me his minim rest. "Me" is used here in the 
 same idiomatic manner that we have pointed out so frequently. 
 
 butcher of a silk button,''! a duellist, a duellist ; a 
 gentleman of the very first house,— of the first and 
 second cause ah! the immortal passado ! the 
 punto reverso ! the hay — 
 
 ' Mini. 
 
 , notation mark in music, indicating a portion of a 
 
 bar equal to two crotchets or four quavers. 
 
 41. The very bittcker of a sit/e button. A mode of praise for 
 giving accurate hits ; thus, in "The Return from Parnassus" — 
 " Strikes his poinado at a b^ittotCs breadth." 
 
 42. A gentleman of tlie very first house, — of the first and 
 second cause. ' A gentleman of the very highest order among 
 fencers, — one who is master of all the degrees in the art of 
 quarrelling.' Touchstone, "As You Like It," Act v., sc. 4, 
 speaks of himself and his adversary having " met, and found 
 the quarrel was upon the seventh cause." 
 
 43. Passado ! the punto reverso ! tlie fmy ! Terms of the 
 Italian fencing-school. See Note 56, Act ii., " Merry Wives." 
 " Hay" was derived from the Italian word hai, ' thou hast it ;' 
 and was used when a thrust told upon an opponent, as in modem 
 fencing phraseology ' ha ! ' is employed. 
 
 164 
 
Act II.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Ben. The what ? 
 
 Mer. The plague of such antic, lisping, affecting 
 fantasticoes ; these new tuners of accents!— "A 
 very good blade ! — a very tall man ! " — Why, is 
 not this a lamentable thing, grandsire,'*^ that we 
 should be thus afflicted with these strange flies, 
 these fashion-mongers, these pardonnez-tnois,*^ who 
 stand so much on the new form, that they cannot 
 sit at ease on the old bench ? Oh, their bans, 
 their bans ! 
 
 Ben. Here comes Romeo, here comes Romeo. 
 
 Mer. Without his roe, like a dried herring 
 Oh, flesh, flesh, how art thou fishified ! — Now is he 
 for the numbers that Petrarch flowed in : Laura, to 
 his lady, was but a kitchen-wench, — marry, she had 
 a better Jove to be-rhyme her ; Dido, a dowdy ; 
 Cleopatra, a gipsy Helen and Hero, hildings 
 and harlots; Thisbe, a grey eye''^ or so, but not 
 to the purpose, — ■ 
 
 Enter Romeo. 
 Signior Romeo, bon jour! there's a French salu- 
 tation to your French slop.'''' You gave us the 
 counterfeit fairly last night. 
 
 Rom. Good morrow to you both. What coun- 
 terfeit did I give you ? 
 
 Mer. The slip, sir, the slip ;5o can you not con- 
 ceive ? 
 
 Rom. Pardon, good Mercutio, my business was 
 great; and in such a case as mine a man may 
 strain courtesy. 
 
 Mer. That's as much as to say, Such a case as 
 yours constrains a man to bow in the hams. 
 
 44. Graudsire. This appears to us to be said by Mercutio 
 to Benvolio, partly in raillery of his staid demeanour, partly by 
 way of impersonating him as a departed progenitor who would 
 be disgusted could he witness the affectations that have sprung 
 up since his time. 
 
 43. Pardoiinez-mois. This is printed ' pardon-mee's ' in the 
 Folio : but that it is meant for a French form (as well as 
 a little farther on, which is spelt ' bones ' in the Folio) is evident 
 from what Mercutio says on Romeo's entrance — " There's a 
 French salutation," &c. Shakespeare is here ridiculing the 
 passion for aping French modes and interlarding their own 
 language with French phrases which prevailed in his time 
 .among Englishmen (see Note 53, Act i., "Richard III."); a 
 passion not yet extinct. " Pardonnez-moi " was a favourite 
 phrase among the young swordsmen whom Mercutio has been 
 satirising ; as it was a delicate mode of differing in opinion with 
 an antagonist when a point for discussion arose, and when more 
 flat contradiction would not have been brooked. See Note 39, 
 Act v., "Richard II." "Their bo7is, their bans!" is a scoff 
 at the absurd practice of flying into ecstasies at the merest 
 tries ; such as, "A very good blade ! ' &c., uttered upon every 
 occasion. 
 
 46. Without his roe, like a dried herring. This comprises a 
 double jest at the lover's wasted appearance, which Mercutio 
 chooses to ascribe to his friend. It includes a joke at his being 
 little more than half himself, the Ro taken from Romeo, — and 
 his looking as lean and lank as an out-of-season fish dried. See 
 Note 87, Act ii., " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 47. A gipsy. ' A dark-complexioned Egyptian.* See Note 4, 
 Act v., "Midsummer Night's Dream." 
 
 Ro>n. Meaning, to court'sy. 
 
 Mer. Thou hast most kindly hit it. 
 
 Rom. A most courteous exposition. 
 
 Mer. Nay, 1 am the very pink of courtesy. 
 
 Ro>n. Pink for flower. 
 
 Mer. Right. 
 
 Rom. Why, then is my pump well flowered. ^2 
 
 Mer. Well said : follow me this jest now, till 
 thou hast worn out thy pump ; that, when the 
 single sole of it is worn, the jest may remain, after 
 the wearing, solely singular. 
 
 Rom. Oh, single-soled jest,^^ solely singular for 
 the singleness ! 
 
 Mer. Come between us, good Benvolio ; my 
 wits fail. 
 
 Rem. Switch and spurs, switch and spurs ; or 
 I'll cry a match. 
 
 Mer. Nay, if thy wits run the wild-goose chase, 
 I have done ; for thou hast more of the wild- 
 goose in one of thy wits than, I am sure, I have in 
 my whole five : was I with you there for the 
 goose ? 
 
 Rom. Thou wast never with me for anything 
 when thou wast not there for the goose. 
 
 Mer. I will bite thee by the ear for that jest. 
 
 Rom. Nay, good goose, bite not.*^ 
 
 Mer. Thy wit is a very bitter sweeting ;5^ it is 
 a most sharp sauce. 
 
 Rom. And is it not well served in to a sweet 
 goose ? 
 
 Mer. Oh, here's a wit of cheveril,W that 
 stretches from an inch narrow to an ell broad ! 
 B.om. I stretch it out for that word, broad ; 
 
 48. A grey eye. See Note 36, Act iv., "Two Gentle 
 
 1 of 
 
 Verona." 
 
 49. Yoitr French slop. Slops were large loose trousers. See 
 Note 25, Act iii., " Much Ado." 
 
 50. The slip, sir, the slip. " Slip " was a name in common 
 use for a " counterfeit " or false piece of money. See Note 60, 
 Act ii , "Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 51. Kindly. Here used to signify both 'amiably' and 
 'aptly.' See Note 16, Act iii., " First Part Henry VI." 
 
 52. lify pump well flowered. The allusion is to shoes that 
 are ornamented as described in Note 25, Act iv., "Taming of 
 the Shrew ; " and having ribbons formed into the shape of roses 
 or other flowers. In "The Masque of Gray's Inn," 1614, there 
 is this illustrative passage : — " Every masker's puynp was fastened 
 with a flower suitable to his cap." In modern times, these 
 latter ornaments are still used for women's shoes, under the 
 name of ' rosettes.' 
 
 53. Single-soled jest. ' Silly jest,' ' feeble jest.' " Single " 
 and " single-souled," used in this sense, are explained in Note 
 54, Act i., " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 54. The wild-goose chase. A name for a particular kind of 
 horse-race, which was supposed to resemble the flight of wild 
 geese. Two horses were started together ; and whichever 
 rider could get the lead, the other was obliged to follow him 
 over whatever ground he chose to take. 
 
 55. Good goose, bite 7tot. An old proverbial saying. 
 
 56. Sweeting. A name for a sweet sort of apple ; and apple 
 sauce is very usually eaten with roast goose. 
 
 57. A mit of cheveril. Another allusion to the pliable 
 quality of kid-skin. See Note 39, Act ii., " Henry VIII." 
 
Act I I.J 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 which added to the goose, proves thee far and wide 
 a broad goose. 
 
 Mer. Why, is not this better now than groan- 
 ing for love ? now art thou sociable, now art thou 
 Romeo ; now art thou what thou art, by art as 
 well as by nature : for this drivelling love is like a 
 great natural, that runs lolling up and down. 
 
 Ben. Stop there, stop there. 
 
 Mer. Thou desirest me to stop in my tale 
 against the hair.*^ 
 
 Ben. Thou wouldst else have made thy tale 
 large. 
 
 Mer. Oh, thou art deceived ; I would have 
 ma<ie it short : for I was come to the whole depth 
 of my tale ; and meant, indeed, to occupy the 
 argument no longer. 
 
 Rom. Here's goodly gear ! 
 
 Enter Nurse and Peter. 
 Mer. A sail, a sail, a sail I 
 Ben. Two, two. 
 Nurse. Peter ! 
 Peter. Anon ? 
 Nurse. My fan, Peter.™ 
 
 Mer. Good Peter, to hide her face ; for her 
 fan's the fairer face. 
 
 Nurse. Good morrow, gentlemen. 
 Mer. Good den, fair gentlewoman. 
 Nurse. Is it good den P"' 
 
 Mer. 'Tis no less, I tell you ; for the hand of 
 the dial is now upon noon. 
 
 Nurse. Out upon you ! what a man are you ! 
 
 Rom. One, gentlewoman, that Heaven hath 
 made, for himself to mar. 
 
 Nurse. By my troth, it is well said ; — for him- 
 
 58. A broad goose. "Broad" is here punningly used in its 
 similitude to ' brode,' which \vas an old form of ' brood.' In the 
 " Turnament of Tottenham" there is this passage 
 
 " Forther would not Tyb then, 
 Tyl scho had hur brode-hen 
 Set in hur lap." 
 
 59. Against the hair. 'Against the grain,' 'against my will.' 
 See Note 21, Act i., " Troilus and Cressida. " 
 
 60. My fan, Peter. The old gentlewoman,— for a nurse in 
 the Capulet family may rank as such, — being attended by a 
 man-servant to carry her fan, is in accordance with a custom of 
 Shakespeare's time. In an old pamphlet called " The Serving- 
 man's Comfort," 1568, occurs this passage: — "The mistress 
 must h,ve one to carry her cloake and hood, another her 
 fanne ;" and Shakespeare himself, in " Love's Labour's Lost," 
 has a line that shows it was an office thought worthy of an 
 accomplished gentleman " To see him walk before a lady, 
 and to bear her fan ! " 
 
 61. Is it goo.i den? The expression "good den," though 
 sometimes subsequently used for ' good day,' originally meant 
 "good evening ;" and is, in fact, a corruption of 'good even," 
 or 'good e'en." See Note 29, Act iii,, " Much Ado." 
 
 62. She luitl indite him to : jme supper. Benvolio uses 
 "indite" for 'invite' in ridiciu; of the nurse's blunder of 
 "confidence" for 'conference.' Hostess Quickly, "Second 
 Part Henry IV.," Act ii., sc. i, says, "He is indited to 
 
 self to mar, quoth 'a ? — Gentlemen, can any of you 
 tell me where I may find the young Romeo ? 
 
 Rom. I can tell you ; but young Romeo will be 
 older when you have found him than he was when 
 you sought him : I am the youngest of that name, 
 for fault of a worse. 
 
 Nurse. You say well. 
 
 Mer. Yea, is the worst well? very well took, 
 i' faith ; wisely, wisely. 
 
 Nurse. If you be he, sir, I desire some con- 
 fidence with you. 
 
 Ben. She will indite him to some supper.*^ 
 
 Mer. So ho 1^^ 
 
 Rom. What hast thou found ? 
 
 Mer. No hare, sir; unless a hare, sir, in a 
 lenten pie, that is something stale and hoar ere it 
 be spent. Romeo, will you come to your father's ? 
 we'll to dinner thither. 
 
 Rom. I will follow you. 
 
 Mer. Farewell, ancient lady; farewell, — 
 [singing] Lady, lady, lady.^s 
 
 [Exeunt Mercutio Benvolio. 
 Nurse. Marry, farewell I — I pray you, sir, what 
 saucy merchant^^ w.as this, that was so full of his 
 ropery r^' 
 
 Rom. A gentleman, nurse, that loves to hear 
 himself talk; and will speak more in a minute 
 than he will stand to in a month. 
 
 Nurse. An 'a speak anything against me, I'll 
 take him down, an 'a were lustier than he is, and 
 twenty such Jacks ;^' and if I cannot, I'll find 
 those that shall. Scurvy knave! lam none of his 
 flirt-gills;''' I am none of his skains-mates.^" — And 
 thou must stand by too, and suffer every knave to 
 use me at his pleasure ? 
 
 63. So ho ! The sportsman's cry when the hare is found and 
 started from her form. 
 
 64. ^e'tt to dinner ihitJier. This, among many other 
 passages in Shakespeare, shows that twelve o'clock, or a little 
 after, was the usual hour for dinner in his time. 
 
 65. Lady, lady, lady. The burden of an old ballad. See 
 Note 41, Act ii., " Twelfth Night." 
 
 66. merchant. This term, sometimes formerly used as a 
 contemptuous title (see Note 21, Act ii., " First Part Henry VI.";, 
 is characteristically put into the mouth of a retainer in an 
 ancient aristocratic household. 
 
 67. Ropery. ' Roguery,' ' ribaldry,' ' impudent banter,' ' abu- 
 sive joking.' See Note 78, Act i., " Taming of the Shrew." 
 
 68. Jacks. Used in the sense of 'jackanapes,' 'saucy 
 fellows.' See Note 14, Act v., " Much Ado." 
 
 69. Flirt-gills. ' Romps,' ' hoydens.' 
 
 70. Skains-inates. Inasmuch as " skain," skean,' or 'skayne ' 
 w<as a name for an old weapon called also an Irish dagger, it 
 has been supposed that here the nurse means she is none of 
 those skirmishing associates who frequent the fencing-school 
 with Mercutio ; but Mr. Staunton, in a note on this passage, 
 says, "The word skain, I am told by a Kentish man, was 
 formerly a familiar term in parts of Kent to express what we 
 now call a scapegrace or ne'er-do-well ; just the sort of person 
 the worthy old nurse would entertain a horror of being con- 
 sidered a companion to. Even at this day, my informant says, 
 skain is often heard in the Isle of Thanet, and about the ad- 
 jacent coast, in the sense of a reckless, dare-devil sort of fellow." 
 
Act II.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Peter. I saw no man use you at his pleasure ; if 
 I had, my weapon should quickly have been out, I 
 warrant you : I dare draw as soon as another man, 
 if I see occasion in a good quarrel, and the law on 
 my side. 
 
 Nurse. Now, afore Heaven, I am so vexed, that 
 every part about me quivers. Scurvy knave ! — 
 Pray you, sir, a word : and as I told you, my 
 young lady bade me enquire you out ; what she 
 bade me say, I will keep to myself: but first let me 
 tell ye, if ye should lead her into a fool's paradise, 
 as they say, it were a very gross kind of behaviour, 
 as they say : for the gentlewoman is young ; and, 
 therefore, if you should deal double with her, truly 
 it were an ill thing to be offered to any gentle- 
 woman, and very weak dealing."' 
 
 Rom. Nurse, commend me to thy lady and 
 mistress. I protest unto thee, — 
 
 Nurse. Good heart, and, i' faith, I will tell her 
 as much : lord, lord, she will be a joyful woman. 
 
 Rom. What wilt thou tell her, nurse ? thou 
 dost not mark me. 
 
 Nurse. I will tell her, sir, — that you do protest ; 
 which, as I take it, is a gentlemanlike offer. 
 
 Rom. Bid her devise some means to come to shrift 
 This afternoon ; 
 
 And there she shall at Friar Laurence' celUa 
 Be shriv'd and married. Here is for thy pains. 
 
 Nurse. No, truly, sir; not a penny. 
 
 Rom. Go to ; I say you shall. 
 
 Nurse. This afternoon, sir ? well, she shall be 
 there. 
 
 Rom. And stay, good nurse, behind the abbey- 
 wall : 
 
 71. Very weak dealing. It has been proposed that * wicked ' 
 should be substituted for "weak" here; but that would be to 
 destroy the point of the passage, which is, that the nurse 
 intends to use a most forcible expression, and blunders upon a 
 most feeble one. 
 
 72. This after7ioon ; aJid there she shall, &^c. " There " is 
 used in the present passage just as "where" is used in those 
 pointed out in Note 46, Act v., "Merchant of Venice," and 
 Note 40, Act v., "Twelfth Night." 
 
 73. Like a tackled stair. ' Like stairs of rope in the tackle 
 of a ship.' " A stair," for a flight of stairs, was formerly in 
 common use. 
 
 74. Quit. ' Requite,' ' reward.' 
 
 75. / anger her sometimes. By this expression, Shakespeare 
 gives the effect of long time here. But a few hours have in 
 fact elapsed since last night's interview between the lovers, 
 when Juliet said, " To-morrow I will send," until now, when her 
 messenger is speaking ; ypt the dramatic effect of a longer 
 period is thus given to the interval, by the introduction of the 
 single word "sometimes." 
 
 76. R is for the dog. No; I know, The old copies 
 print this — 'j'?. is for the no, I know,' &c. We adopt 
 Tyrrwhitt's insertion of the word " dog," and follow his 
 punctuation. That R was known as ' the dog's letter," or, 
 according to the 'nurse, " the dog's name," is a point proved 
 by many quotations from other writers. For instance, Ben 
 Jonson, in his English Grammar, says, "i? is the dog's letter, 
 and hirreth in the sound ; " Nashe, in " Summer's Last Will 
 and Testament," speaking of dogs, says, "They arre and 
 
 Within this hour my man shall be with thee. 
 And bring thee cords made like a tackled stair 
 Which to the high top-gallant of my joy 
 Must be my convoy in the secret night. 
 Farewell ; be trusty, and I'll quit''' thy pains: 
 Farewell ; commend me to thy mistress. 
 
 Nurse. Now Heaven bless thee !— Hark you, sir. 
 
 Rom. What say'st thou, my dear nurse ? 
 
 Nurse. Is your man secret ? Did you ne'er 
 hear say, 
 
 Two may keep counsel, putting one away ? 
 
 Rom. I warrant thee, my man's as true as steel. 
 
 Nurse. Well, sir ; my mistress is the sweetest 
 lady — lord, lord ! when 'twas a little prating thing, 
 — Oh, there is a nobleman in town, one Paris, that 
 would fain lay knife aboard ; but she, good soul, 
 had as lief see a toad, a very toad, as see him. I 
 anger her sometimes,'' and tell her that Paris is the 
 properer man ; but, I'll warrant you, when I say 
 so, she looks as pale as any clout in the varsal 
 world. Doth not rosemary and Romeo begin 
 both with a letter ? 
 
 Rom. Ay, nurse ; what of that? both with an R. 
 
 Nurse. Ah, mocker ! that's the dog's name ; R 
 is for the dog. No ; I know it'" begins with some 
 other letter: — and she hath the prettiest senten- 
 tious of it, of you and rosemary,''' that it would do 
 you good to hear it. 
 
 Rom. Commend me to thy lady. 
 
 Nurse. Ay, a thousand times. \_Exit Romeo.] 
 —Peter! 
 
 Peter. Anon ? 
 
 Nurse. Peter, take my fan, and go before. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 barke at night against the moone;" Barclay, in his "Ship of 
 Fooles," says, 
 
 " This man malicious which troubled is with wrath. 
 
 Naught else soundeth but the hoorse letter Ji, 
 Though all be well, yet he none answere hath. 
 
 Save t/ie dogges letter glowming with njtr, nar ; " 
 and Florio, in the Preface to his " Second Frutes," speaking of 
 critics, says, "Demonstrative rhetoric is their studie, and the 
 doggs letter they can snarle alreadie." We think that the 
 nurse is made to say "the dog's name" in.stead of 'the dog's 
 letter,' partly because Shakespeare has a mode of using a 
 popularly known phrase and giving it a touch of his own 
 peculiar fashion (see Note 3S," Act iv., " Coriolanus"), partly 
 because it gives an eftect of blunder and confusion to the old 
 woman's diction here, and partly because the word "name" 
 thus introduced forms the antecedent to " it" in the next clause 
 of the sentence ; " I know it begins with some other letter," 
 meaning 'the name I am thinking of,— Romeo.' We have been 
 thus particular in stating our views of this passage, because its 
 meaning has been differently interpreted in an allusion made to 
 it by Mr. Gerald Massey; who at the same time gives a most 
 pleasant guess at the enigma involved in the clause, " it begins 
 with some other letter," believing the solution to have been an 
 allusion to " IVriothesley," the Earl of Southampton's family- 
 name, which is sounded as though it began with an R. 
 
 77. The prettiest sententious of it, of you and rosemary. 
 " Sententious" is the nurse's blunder for ' sentences,' 'sentential 
 fancies.' " Rosemary" is aptly and significantly brought in here, 
 as being a type of fond remembrance and a herb used at weddings. 
 68 
 
Act IL] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scenes V., VI. 
 
 SCENE v.— Capulet's Garden. 
 Enter Juliet. 
 juL The clock struck nine when I did send the 
 nurse ; 
 
 In half an hour she promis'd to return. 
 Perchance she cannot meet him: — that's not so. — 
 Oh, she is lame ! love's heralds should be thoughts, 
 Which ten times faster glide than the sun's beams, 
 Driving back shadows over lowering hills : 
 Therefore do nimble-pinion'd doves draw love. 
 And therefore hath the wind-swift Cupid wings. 
 Now is the sun upon the highmost hill 
 Of this day's journey ; and from nine till twelve 
 Is three long hours, — yet she is not come. 
 Had she affections and warm youthful blood, 
 She would be as swift in motion as a ball ; 
 My words would bandy her to my sweet love. 
 And his to me : 
 
 But old folks, maoy feign as they were dead ; 
 Unwieldy, slow, heavy and pale as lead. — 
 O Heaven, she comes ! 
 
 Enter Nurse and Peter. 
 
 Oh, honey nurse, what news 
 Hast thou met with him 'i Send thy man away. 
 Nurse. Peter, btay at the gate. \_Exit Peter. 
 Jul. Now, good sweet nurse, — O Lord, why 
 look' St thou sad 
 Though news be sad, yet tell them merrily ; 
 If good, thou sham'st the music of sweet news 
 By playing it to me with so sour a face. 
 
 Nurse. I am a-weary, give me leave awhile :— 
 Fie, how my bones ache! what a jaunt have I had 
 Jul. I would thou hadst my bones, and I thy 
 news : 
 
 Nay, come, I pray thee, speak ; — good, good nurse, 
 speak. 
 
 Nurse. What haste can you not stay awhile r 
 Do you not see that I am out of breath 'i 
 
 Jul. How art thou out of breath, when thou 
 hast breath 
 To say to me that thou art out of breath 'i 
 The excuse that thou dost make in this delay 
 Is longer than the tale thou dost excuse. 
 Is thy news good, or bad ? answer to that ; 
 Say either, and I'll stay the circumstance: 
 Let me be satisfied, is 't good or bad ? 
 
 Nurse. Well, you have made a simple choice ; 
 you know not how to choose a man : Romeo ! no, 
 not he ; though his face be better than any man's, 
 yet his leg excels all men's ; and for a hand, and a 
 
 78. IV/tat^ a Jaunt have I had I 'What a fatiguing expe- 
 ditiju have I liad ! ' See Note 67, Act v., "Richard II.," for 
 the origin of the words "jaunt" and 'jaunting.' 
 
 79. / would thou hadst juy bones, and I thy news. Oh, true 
 prodigality and eagerness of youth ! And oh, truest true 
 Shakespeare I 
 
 foot, and a body, — though they be not to be talked 
 on, yet they are past compare : he is not the flower 
 of courtesy, but, I'll warrant him, as gentle as a 
 lamb. — Go thy ways, wench ; serve God. — What ! 
 have you dined at home f 
 
 Jul. No, no : but all this did I know before. 
 What says he of our marriage ? what of that 'i 
 
 Nurse. Lord, how my head aches ! what a head 
 have I ! 
 
 It beats as it would fall in twenty pieces. 
 My back! o' t'other side: — Oh, my back, my 
 back ! — 
 
 Beshvew your heart for sending me about, 
 
 To catch my death with jaunting up and down 1 
 
 Jul. V faith, I am sorry that thou art not well. 
 Su'eet, sweet, sweet nurse, tell me, what says my 
 love? 
 
 Nurse. Your love says, like an honest gentleman. 
 And a courteous, and a kind, and a handsome. 
 And, I warrant, a virtuous, — Where is your 
 mother ? 
 
 Jul. Where is my mother ! — why, she is within ; 
 Where should she be ? How oddly thou repliest ! 
 " Your love says, like an honest gentleman, — 
 Where is your mother 
 
 Nurse. O Heaven's lady dear ! 
 
 Are you so hot ? marry, come up, I trow ; 
 Is this the poultice for my aching bones '1 
 Henceforward do your messages yourself. 
 
 Jul. Here's such a coil!^' — come, what says 
 Romeo ? 
 
 Nurse. Have you got leave to go to shrift to-dav ? 
 Jul. I have. 
 
 Nurse, Then hie you hence to Friar Laurence' 
 cell; 
 
 'I'liere stays a husband to make you a wife : 
 Now comes the wanton blood up in your cheeks, 
 They'll be in scarlet straight at any news. 
 Hie you to church ; I must another way, 
 To fetch a ladder, by which your love 
 Must climb a bird's nest soon when it is dark : 
 I am the drudge, and toil in your delight ; ^ 
 Go ; I'll to dinner; hie you to the cell. 
 
 Jul. Hie to high fortune ! — honest nurse, fare- 
 well. [^Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE VI.— Friar Laurence's Cell. 
 Enter Friar Laurence and Romeo. 
 Fri. L. So smile the heavens upon this holy act, 
 That after-hours with sorrow chide us not ! 
 
 80. What', have you dined at home'! An idiomatic way of say- 
 f ing ' Have you all at home already dined ?' ' Is dinner over?" 
 
 81. Here's such a coil! "Coil" really meant 'noise,' 
 : ' turmoil ; ' but Shakespeare sometimes uses it to express what 
 ; is signified in modern common parlance by ' fuos,' ' to-do.' See 
 
 Note 23, Act i., "Two Gentlemen of Verona." 
 170 
 
Act III.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 Rom. Amen ! Amen ! but come what sorrou' can, 
 It cannot countervail the exchange of joy 
 That one short minute gives me in her sight : 
 Do thou but close our hands with holy words, 
 Then love-devouring death do what he dare, — 
 It is enough I may but call her mine. 
 
 Fri. L. These violent delights have violent ends, 
 And in their triumph die ; like fire and powder, 
 Which, as they kiss, consume : the sweetest honey 
 Is loathsome in his own deliciousness. 
 And in the taste confounds the appetite : 
 Therefore, love moderately; long love doth so; 
 Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow.'"— 
 Hei-e comes the lady : — Oh, so light a foot 
 Will ne'er wear out the everlasting flint : 
 A lover may bestride the gossamer 
 That idles in the wanton summer air, 
 And yet not fall ; so light is vanity.'^ 
 
 Enier Juliet. 
 Jul. Good even to my ghostly confessor. 
 
 Fri. L. Romeo shall thank thee, daughter, for 
 us both. 
 
 Jul. As much to him, else are his thanks too 
 much."'* 
 
 Rom. Ah 1 Juliet, if the measure of thy joy 
 Be he.ap'd like mine., and that thy skill be 
 
 more 
 
 To blazon it, then sweeten with thy breath 
 This neighbour air, and let rich music's tongue 
 Unfold the imagin'd happiness that both 
 Receive in either by this de.ar encounter. 
 Jul. Conceit,'''' more rich in matter than in 
 words. 
 
 Brags of his substance, not of ornament: 
 They are but beggars that can count their worth ; 
 But my true love has grown to such excess, 
 I cannot sum up half my sum of wealth.^^ 
 Fr'i. L. Come, come with me, and we will make 
 short work ; 
 For, by your leaves, you shall not stay alone 
 Till holy church incorporate two in one. [Exeunt. 
 
 ACT 
 
 SCENE X.—A Public Place. 
 Enter Mehcutio, Benvolio, Page, u^rf Servants. 
 
 Ben. I pray thee, good Mercutio, let's retire; 
 The day is hot, the Capulets abroad, 
 And, if we meet, we shall not scape a brawl ; 
 For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring.' 
 
 Mer. Thou art like one of those fellows that, 
 when he enters the confines of a tavern, claps me 
 his sword upon the table and says, " Heaven send 
 me no need of thee !" and, by the operation of the 
 second cup, draws it on the drawer, when, indeed, 
 there is no need. 
 
 S2. Ton swift arrives ns tardy ns tm> shw. A Shakespearian 
 version of the old proverb, ' Mo^t haste, least speed.' 
 
 83. Vmiity. Here nsed for 'trivial pursuit,' 'vain delight.' 
 The word was much employed in this sense by divines in 
 Shakespeare's time ; and with much propriety is so put into the 
 good old .friar's mouth. 
 
 84. Ehe are his ihaiihs too mudi. The Folio prints 'in,' 
 and the earlier Quartos ' is,' for " are " here ; which is the 
 reading of the 1637 Quarto, and which we adopt, being un- 
 willing to spoil the line by adherence to an antique form that 
 may very probably have been a misprint in this instance ; for 
 though " thanks " was sometimes treated as a noun singular, 
 we do not believe that Shakespeare's ear would have allowed 
 him to write ' As much to him, else is /lis ttianks too much.' 
 
 85. Conceit. ' Imagination,' ' mental conception.* See Note 
 53, Act ii., "Richard II." 
 
 86. / cayinot sinit tip hat/ niysnm of wealth. The Folio prints 
 this line thus—' I cannot sum up some of halfc my wealth ; ' and 
 
 III. 
 
 Ben. Am I like such a fellow r- 
 
 M'er. Come, come, thou art as hot a Jack in thy 
 mood as any in Italy ; and as soon moved to be 
 moody, and as soon moody to be moved. 
 
 Ben. And what to?* 
 
 Mer. Nay, an there were two such, we should 
 have none shortly, for one would kill the other. 
 Thou ! why, thou wilt quarrel with a man that 
 hath a hair more, or a hair less, in his beard, than 
 thou hast : thou wilt quarrel with a man for crack- 
 ing nuts, having no other reason but because thou 
 hast hazel eyes ; — what eye, but such an eye, would 
 
 the Quartos give it nearly in the same form. We adopt Capell's 
 con-ection. 
 
 1. For }io:v, these hoi days, is the mad hlood stirring. Sir 
 Thomas Smith, in his " Commonwealth of England," 1583, s.ays, 
 " And commonly every yeere or each second yeere in the 
 beginning of sommer or afterwards [for in the warme time the 
 people for the most part he more unruly) even in the calm time 
 of peace, the prince with his counsell chooseth out," &c. 
 
 2. .A tn I like such a fello7v? The quietness of this retort, 
 with the slight but significant emphasis which we imagine 
 thrown upon the "/" in the sentence, admirably gives point to 
 the humorous effect of Mercutio's lecturing Benvolio,— the 
 sedate and peace-making Benvolio, and lectured by Mercutio of 
 all people ! — for the sin of quarrelsomeness, 
 
 2. Andwlutt to? The old copies read 'and what too?' Those 
 who retain this reading explain it to mean 'and what else?' or 
 'what more?' We think it more likely to be a misprint for "and 
 what to?" (Pope's correction) meaning 'and moved to what?' 
 
y 
 
 Act III.] ROMEO AND JULIET. [Scene I. 
 
 yuliei. But my true love has grown to such excess, 
 I cannot sum up half my sum of wealth. Act II. Scene VI. 
 
 spy out such a quarrel ? thy head is as full of 
 quarrels as an egg is full of meat; and yet thy 
 head hath been beaten as addle as an egg, for 
 quarrelling ; thou hast quarrelled with a man for 
 coughing in the street, because he hath wakened 
 thy dog that hath lain asleep in the sun : didst 
 thou not fall out with a tailor for wearing his 
 new (ioublet before Easter? with another, for tying 
 his new shoes with old riband ? and yet thou wilt 
 tutor me from quarrelling ! 
 
 Ben. An 1 were so apt to quarrel as thou art, 
 any man should buy the fee-simple* of my life for 
 an hour and a quarter. 
 
 Mer. The fee-simple ! oh, simple ! 
 
 4. The fiT-siin/tle. A legal term used to express ' possession 
 for ever.' See Note 67, Act iv., " All's Well." 
 
 5. Mcrcutio, than consarfst mith Romeo. This demonstrates 
 that Mercutio, who was an invited guest at Capulet's feast (see 
 
 Ben. By my head, here come the Capulets. 
 Mer. By my heel, I care not. 
 
 Enter Tybalt and others. 
 Tyb. Follow me close, for I will speak to 
 them. — 
 
 Gentlemen, good den : a word with one of you, 
 
 Mer. And but one word with one of us ? couple 
 it with something; make it a word and a blow. 
 
 Tyb. You shall find me apt enough to that, sir, 
 an you will give me occasion. 
 
 Mer. Could you not take some occasion with- 
 out giving ? 
 
 Tyb. Mercutio, thou consort'st with Romeo,'— 
 
 Note 38, Act i.), is so much an intimate of that family that one 
 of its members thinks he has a right to call him to account for 
 his constant association with Romeo, son to the head of the 
 rival house of Montague. 
 
Act III.l 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET, 
 
 [Scene L 
 
 Mer. Consort ! what, dost thou make us 
 minstrels an thou make minstrels of us, look 
 to hear nothing but discords: here's my fiddle- 
 stick ; here's that shall make you dance. Zounds, 
 consort ! 
 
 Ben. We talk here in the public haunt of men : 
 Either withdraw unto some private place. 
 And reason coldly of your grievances,'' 
 Or else depart; here all eyes gaze on us. 
 
 Mer. Men's eyes were made to look, and let 
 them gaze ; 
 I will not budge for no man's pleasure, I.^ 
 
 Tyb. Well, peace be with you, sir : — here 
 comes my man. 
 
 Enter Romeo. 
 Mer. But I'll be hang'd, sir, if he wear your 
 livery : 
 
 Marry, go before to field, he'll be your follower; 
 Your worship in that sense may call him man. 
 
 Tyb. Romeo, the hate I bear thee can afford 
 No better term than this, — thou art a villain. 
 
 Rom. Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee 
 Doth much excuse the appertaining rage 
 To such a greeting : — villain am I none ; 
 Therefore farewell ; I see thou know'st me not. 
 
 Ty'b. Boy, this shall not excuse the injuries 
 That thou hast done me ; therefore turn, and 
 draw. 
 
 Rom. I do protest, I never injur'd thee ; 
 But love thee better than thou canst devise, 
 Till thou shalt know the re.ason of my love : 
 And so, good Capulet, — which name I tender 
 As dearly as my own, — be satisfied. 
 
 Mer. Oh, calm, dishonourable, vile submission ! 
 A la stoccata^ carries it away. — [D/awj. 
 Tybalt, you rat-catcher, will you walk ? 
 
 Tyb. What wouldst thou have with me ? 
 
 Mer. Good king of cats,!" nothing but one of 
 
 6. Consort i what, dost thou make ns minstrels V "Con- 
 sort" is here used punningly. See Note 32, Act iii., "Two 
 Gentlemen of Verona," and Note 19, Act i., "Comedy of 
 Errors." 
 
 7. Ajid reason coldly, ific. Here the old copies read 'or' 
 instead of "and;" which is Capeil's correction, and which we 
 adopt because we think "or" was probably repeated by the 
 printer erroneously, his eye having caught that word from the 
 next line ; inasmuch as it is more lilcely that Benvolio should 
 recommend his friends to retire and talk over their grievances 
 coolly, than that he should offer them the three alternatives of 
 either withdrawing to some private place to fight it out, talk 
 coolly, «r else depart. "Reason" is here used in the sense it 
 formerly sometimes bore of ' talk,' ' discourse,' ' parley.' See 
 Note 97, Act i., " Richard III." 
 
 8. / zuill not budge for no man's pleasure, I. Instance of 
 Shakespeare's use of a double negative, and of the emphatic 
 repetition of " I " in a sentence. See Note 46, Act ii., " Henry 
 VIII.," and Note 148, Act ii., "All's Well." 
 
 9. A la stoccata. A term of the Italian fencing-school (see 
 Note 23, Act ii., "Merry Wives," and Note 84, Act iii., 
 "Twelfth Night"), meaning a thrust or stab with a rapier. 
 Mercutio jocosely gives this term as a title for Tybalt. 
 
 your nine lives; that I mean to make bold withal, 
 and, as you shall use me hereafter, dry-beat the 
 rest of the eight.ii Will you pluck your sword 
 out of his pilcher'^ by the ears? make haste, lest 
 mine be about your ears ere it be out. 
 
 Tyb. I am for you. [DraTving. 
 
 Rom. Gentle Mercutio, put thy rapier up. 
 
 Mer. Come, sir, your passado.'^ [They fight. 
 
 Rom. Draw, Benvolio; beat down their wea- 
 pons. — 
 
 Gentlemen, for shame, forbear this outrage ! 
 Tybalt, — Mercutio, — the prince expressly hath 
 Forbidden bandying in Verona streets : — 
 Hold, Tybalt !— good Mercutio, — 
 
 [Exeunt Tybalt and his Partisans. 
 
 Mrr. I am hurt ;— 
 
 A plague o' both the houses I — I am sped : — 
 Is he gone, and hath nothing ? 
 
 Ben. What! art thou hurt? 
 
 Mer. Ay, ay, a scratch, a scratch ; marr}-, 'tis 
 enough. — 
 
 Where is my page ? — go, villain, fetch a surgeon. 
 
 [E.vit Page. 
 
 Rom. Courage, man ; the hurt cannot be much. 
 
 Mer. No, 'tis not so deep as a well, nor so wiile 
 as a church-door; but 'tis enough, 'twill serve : ask 
 for me to-morrow, and you shall find me a grave 
 man.''* I am peppered, I warrant, for this world :— a 
 plague o' both your houses ! — Zounds, a dog, a rat, 
 a mouse, a cat, to scratch a man to death ! a brag- 
 gart, a rogue, a villain, that fights by the book of 
 arithmetic I'''— Why, the devil, came you between 
 us ? I was hurt under your arm. 
 
 Rom. I thought all for the best. 
 
 Mer. Help me into some house, Benvolio, 
 Or I shall faint. — A plague o' both your houses ! 
 They have made worms' meat of me : 
 I have it, and soundly too : — your houses ! 
 
 [Exeunt Mercutio and Benvolio. 
 
 10. Tybalt, you rat-catclier. .... G iod king 0/ cats. See 
 Note 37, Act ii. 
 
 11. Dry-beat the rest of the eight. For a particular explana- 
 tion of the expression, "dry-beat," see Note 79, Act v., " Love's 
 Labour's Lost." 
 
 12. Pilclier. Nash, in his " Pierce Pennyless," 1592, speaks 
 of "a carreman in a lether pilche;" and Sh.ake.speare here 
 uses "pilcher" to express a leather case or cover ; a facetious 
 term for a sheath or scabbard. 
 
 13. Your pnssado. See Note 43, Act ii. 
 
 14. Ask for ine tO'morroiv, and you shall find me a gra7ie 
 man. In England formerly, and in Italy still, burial follows 
 within so few hours of death, as to render the word " to- 
 morrow" here accurate in time. The play upon the word 
 " grave " is appropriately put by Shakespeare into the mouth of 
 the buoyant-spirited Mercutio ; but it was a jest used by other 
 writers besides our dramatist. 
 
 15. That fights by the book of arithmetic. A witty fieer at 
 Tybalt's fencing-style of "one, two, and the third in your 
 bosom ; " his "first and second cause ; " and the rest of his rule 
 and regulation skill, culled from treatises upon the art of defence. 
 See Notes 40, 41, 42, and 43 of Act ii. 
 
 16. And soundly too :— your houses \ The Folio misprints 
 
Act III.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 R^om. This gentleman, the prince's near ally, 
 Mv very friend,i^ hath got his mortal hurt 
 In mv behalf; my reputation stain'd 
 With T) bait's slander,— Tybalt, that an hour 
 Hath been my kinsman :— Oh, sweet Juliet, 
 Thy beauty hath made me effeminate. 
 And in my temper soften'd valours steel : 
 
 Re-efifer Bexvot.io. 
 Ben. O Romen, Romeo, brave Mercutio's dead ! 
 That gallant spirit hath aspir"d the clouds,''' 
 Which too untimely here did scorn the earth. 
 Rnm. This day's black fate on more days doth 
 depend 
 
 This but begins the wne, others must end. 
 
 Beir. Here comes the furious Tybalt hack again. 
 
 Rom. Alive, in triumph '. and Mercutio slain : 
 Away to heaven, respective-" lenity, 
 And fire-e\ 'd fury be my conduct-' now 1 
 
 Re-enter Tydalt. 
 Now, Tybalt, take the villain back again, 
 That late thou gav'st me ; for Mercutio's soul 
 Is but a little way above our heads, 
 Staying for thine to keep him company : . 
 Either thou, or I, or both, must go with him. ! 
 Tyb. Thou, m-etched boy, that didst consort 
 him here, 
 Shalt with him hence. 
 
 p..0!,i. This shall determine that. j 
 
 \They fight: Tybalt /«///. 
 Ben. Romeo, away, be gone : 
 The citizens are up, and Tyb.Tlt slain : — 
 Stand not amaz'd the prince will doom thee ! 
 
 death, I 
 If thou art taken : — hence, be gone, away '. 
 Rom. Oh, I am fortune's fool :^ 
 Ben. Why dost thou stay 
 
 [Exit Romeo. 
 
 Enter Citizens, &c. 
 First Cit. Which way ran he that kill'd Mer- | 
 cutio ? 
 
 this ' and soundly to your houses ; ' affording one of the many 
 inst.ances where 'to' is misprinted for "too," and 'too' for 
 " to." See Note 3 of the present Act. The second Folio gave 
 the word correctly here ; which restores meaning to the passage, 
 and renders visible one of Shakespeare's masterly modes of 
 producing perfect impression through imperfect expression. 
 The feeble half-utterance, the ineffectual attempt to repeat his 
 former sentence, "A plague o' both your houses : "—the 
 shadowy fragment of the one phrase, " your houses \ " being 
 but an in=ub=tant;al representation of the other,— seri-e ex- 
 quisitely to indicate the faint speech of the dying man, and 
 poetically to image his failing powers. 
 
 17. J/j' rery frietid. See Note 27, Act iii., " Two Gentle- 
 men of Verona." 
 
 18. Thai gallant spirit lialh aspir d tJie clouds. " Aspir'd " 
 Is here used as a ver'o active ; a use not confined to Shakespeare, 
 for other writers of his time also employ it thus. 
 
 Tg. This day's Hack fate on mart days doiJi depend, is'c. 
 ' The gloom of this day's dark event impends over and will 
 
 Tybalt, that murderer, which way ran he ? 
 
 Ben. There lies that Tybalt. 
 
 First Cit. Up, sir, go with me ; 
 
 I charge thee in the prince's name, obey. 
 
 Enter Prince, attended; Montague, Capulet, 
 their Wives, and others. 
 Prin. Where are the vile beginners of this 
 fray r 
 
 Ben. Oh, noble prince, I can discover all 
 The unlucky manage of this fatal brawl : 
 There lies the man, slain by young Romeo, 
 That slew thy kinsman, brave IVIercutio. 
 
 La. Cap. Tybalt, my cousin ! Oh, my brother's 
 child;—' 
 
 Oh, prince !— Oh, husband !— Oh, the blood is 
 spiird 
 
 Of my dear kinsman I— Prince, as thou .art true, 
 For blood of ours, shed blood of Montague. — 
 Oh, cousin, cousin '. 
 
 Prin. Benvolio, who began this bloody fray F 
 R/'n. Tybalt, here slain, whom Romeo's liand 
 did slay ; 
 
 Romeo that spoke him fair, bade him bethink 
 How nice the quarrel was,^'' and urg'd withal 
 Your high displeasure :— all this, — uttered 
 With gentle breath, calm look, knees humbly 
 bow'd, — 
 
 Could not take truce with '-5 the unruly spleen 
 
 Of Tybalt, deaf to peace, but that he tilts 
 
 With piercing steel ,at bold Mercutio's breast ; 
 
 Who, all as hot, turns deadly point to point, 
 
 .'\nd, with a martial scorn, with one hand beats 
 
 Cold de.ath aside, and with the other sends 
 
 It back to Tybalt, whose dexterity 
 
 Retorts it : Romeo he cries aloud, 
 
 " Hold, friends : friends, part!" and, swifter than 
 
 his tongue, 
 His agile arm beats down their fatal points. 
 And 'twixt them rushes; underne.ath whose arm 
 An envious thrust from Tybalt hit the life 
 Of stout Mercutio, and then Tybalt fled : 
 
 darken many future days ; to-day hut begins the train of woes 
 which other days will complete.' 
 
 ■■20. Respective. 'Regardful,' 'considerate:' 'heedful of 
 due respects.' See Note 26, Act i., " King John." 
 
 21. Cotiduci. Here, as elsewhere, used for ' conductor," ' guide.* 
 
 22. Stand not ninaz'd. ' Stand not thus overwhelmed «ith 
 confusion,' ' do not stand thus bewildered,' or confounded. See 
 Note 67, Act iv., " King John." 
 
 23. / am fortune's fool ! ' I am the sport of fortune,' ' I am the 
 subject of fortune's mockerj-.' The expression " fool," thus used, 
 is to be found many times in Shakespeare ; and it has reference 
 to the " fool " in the old mysteries, moralities, or dramatic shov,-s, 
 who is represented as the perpetual object of pursuit, mocker^', 
 and disaster. See Note 2, Act iii., "Measure for Measure." 
 
 24. //fft!' nice tlie quarrel was. " Nice " is here used in the 
 sense of 'trivial,' 'slight,' 'insignificant,' ' unimport.ant.' See 
 Note 98, Act iii., "Richard III." 
 
 23. CohM nnt fake truce with. ' Could not pacify,' ' could 
 not reduce to order.' See Note 4, Act iii., " King John." 
 
Act III.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 But by-and-by comes back, to Romeo, 
 Who had but newly entertain'd revenge, 
 And to 't they go like lightning ; for, ere I 
 Could draw to part them, was stout Tybalt slain ; 
 And, as he fell, did Romeo turn and fly : — 
 This is the truth, or let Benvolio die. 
 
 La. Cap. He is a kinsman to the Montague, 
 Affection makes him false, he speaks not true : 
 Some twenty of them fought in this black strife, 
 And all those twenty could but kill one life. 
 I beg for justice, which thou, prince, must give ; 
 Romeo slew Tybalt, Romeo must not live. 
 
 Prin. Romeo slew him, he slew Mercutio ; 
 Who now the price of his dear blood doth owe ': 
 
 Mon. Not Romeo, prince, he was Mercutio': 
 friend ; 
 
 His fault concludes but what the law should end, 
 The life of Tybalt. 
 
 Prin. And for that offence 
 
 Immediately we do exile him hence : 
 I have an interest in your hate's proceeding. 
 My blood for your rude brawls doth lie a-bleeding 
 But ril amerce you with so strong a fine, 
 That \ ou shall all repent the loss of mine -. -^ 
 I will be deaf to pleading and excuses ; 
 Nor tears nor prayers shall purchase out abuses, — 
 Therefore use none : let Romeo hence in haste. 
 Else, when he's found, that hour is his last. 
 Bear hence this body, and attend our will : 
 Merc^ but murders, pardoning those that kill. 
 
 SCENE IL— C.\PULET s Gtfrr/f//. 
 
 Enter Juliet. 
 
 Jul. Gallop apace, you fiery-footed steeds, 
 Towards Phoebus' mansion : such a wagoner 
 ,\s Phaeton would whip } ou to the west. 
 And bring in cloudy night immediately. — 
 Spread thy close curtain, love-performing night, 
 That runaways' eyes may wink,-' and Romeo 
 Leap to these arms, untalk'd of and unseen. — 
 
 26. T/ie loss 0/ mine. " Mine " is here used in the sense 
 pointed out in Note 124, Act i., '-All's Well; " 'my kindred," 
 ' those belonging to me.' 
 
 27. T/iai ruuaiuays^ eyes nuty wiiLk. The word "run- 
 aways'" (printed 'run-awayes' in the Folio and two of the 
 Quartos, ' runnawayes ' in two other early Quarto copies) has 
 been variously interpreted and variously altered. We lea\-e 
 •■runaways'" in the te.xt because Shakespeare has used " run- 
 away "and ''runaways" elsewhere to express those who speed 
 or fly av.ay, and because it may be used here in reference to 
 the horses of the sun (the "fiery-footed steeds"), as a poetical 
 embodiment of Day. He has employed it thus figuratively in 
 "Merchant of Venice," Act ii., sc. 6:— "The close night doth 
 play the runaway." We at one time believed that 'runawayes ' 
 might be a misprint for ' sunny day's ; ' but we now incline to 
 think that the originally written word may have been 'curious' 
 01 ' euvious : ' more probably the latter, as being in Shake- 
 
 Lovers can see to do their amorous rites 
 By their own beauties; or, if love be blind. 
 It best agrees with night. — Come, civil night. 
 Thou sober-suited matron, all in black, 
 And learn me how to lose-' a winning match, 
 Piay'd for a pair of stainless maidenhoods : 
 Hood my unmann'd blood, bating in my chee'Ks,"' 
 With thy black mantle; till strange love, grown 
 bold,3" 
 
 Think true love acted simple modesty. 
 Come, night; — come, Romeo, — come, thou day 
 in night ; 
 
 For thou wilt lie upon the wings of night 
 Whiter than snow upon a raven's back. — 
 Come, gentle night, — come, loving, black-brow'd 
 night, 
 
 Give me my Romeo ; and, when he shall die, 
 Take him and cut him out in little stars. 
 And he will make the face of heaven so fine, 
 That all the world will be in love with night. 
 And pay no worship to the garish sun. — 
 Oh, I have bought the mansion of a love, 
 But not possess'd it; and, though I am sold, 
 Not yet enjoy'd : so tedious is this day, 
 As is the night before some festival 
 To an impatient child that hath new robes 
 
 ! And may not wear them. — Oh. here comes m>.' 
 
 j nurse. 
 And she brings ne«'s ; and every tongue that 
 speaks 
 
 j But Romeo's name speaks heavenly eloquence. 
 Enter Nurse, -Mith cords. 
 Now, nurse, what news r What hast thou there : 
 
 the cords 
 That Romeo hade thee fetch r 
 
 Nurse. Ay, a_\, the curds. 
 
 \Thro-Lus them cloix'n. 
 Jul. Ah me : what news ;- why dost thou 
 
 wring thy hands 'r 
 Nurse. Ah, '.\-ell-a-da) he's dead, he's deaii, 
 he's dead : 
 We are undone, lady, we arc undone I— 
 Alack the day I — he's gone, he's kill'd, he's dead I 
 
 speare's style of using a word with a double meaning ; including 
 the sense of envying her joys, and inimical, hostile, hating, 
 malevolent. 
 
 28. Learn me /wiu to lose. "Learn" is here, as elseuhere, 
 used for ' teach.' See Note 57, Act i., "Tempest." 
 
 29. Hood my jtnntann'd blood, bating in my clieeks. These 
 are expressions borrowed from falconry. A hawk had its head 
 covered with a " hood " until the moment when it was sent 
 forth to fly at its quarry ; an " unmanned" hawk is one that is 
 untamed, one unfamiliar with its tranier ; and "bating" is 
 beating with the wings, fluttering violently in attempts tj 
 escape. See Note 39, Act iv., "Taming of the Shrew;" and 
 Note 24, Act iv., " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 30. Till strange love, grow 11. bold. "Strange" is here used 
 in the sense of 'reserved,' 'retiring.' See Note 18, Act ii. 
 The old copies give ' grow ' for " grown," Rowi 
 
 31. Garish. Glaring, gaudy, showy. 
 
Act III.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Jul. Can Heaven be so envious ? 
 
 Nuise. Romeo can, 
 
 Though Heaven cannot: — O Romeo, Romeo! — 
 Who ever would have thought it? — Romeo ! 
 
 Jul. What devil art thou, that dost torment me 
 thus ? 
 
 This torture should be roar'd in dismal hell. 
 
 Hath Romeo slain himself? say thou but I,'*- 
 
 And that bare vowel I shall poison more 
 
 Than the death-darting eye of cockatrice -J^ 
 
 I am not I, if there be such an I ; 
 
 Or those eyes shut,^"' that make thee answer I. 
 
 If he be slain, say I ; or if not, no : 
 
 Brief sounds determine of my weal or woe. 
 
 Nurse. I saw the wound, I saw it with mine 
 eyes,— 
 
 Heaven save the mark l^'— here on his manly 
 breast : 
 
 A piteous corse, a bloody piteous corse ; 
 Pale, pale as ashes, all bedaub'd in blood. 
 All in gore blood; — I swoonded at the sight. 
 
 Jul. Oh, break, my heart! — poor bankrupt, 
 break at once ! 
 To prison, eyes, ne'er look on liberty ! 
 Vile earth, 2^ to earth resign ; end motion here ; 
 And thou and Romeo press one heavy bier ! 
 
 Nurse. O Tybalt, Tybalt, the best friend 1 
 had ! 
 
 Oh, courteous Tybalt! honest gentleman ! 
 That ever I should live to see thee dead ! 
 
 Jul. What storm is this that blows so contrary ? 
 Is Romeo slaughter'd, and is Tybalt dead ? 
 My dear-lov'd cousin, and my dearer lord ? — 
 Then, dreadful trumpet, sound the general doom! 
 For who is living, if those two are gone ? 
 
 Nurse. Tybalt is gone, and Romeo banished ; 
 Romeo that kill'd him, he is banished. 
 
 Jul. O God ! — did Romeo's hand shed Tybalt's 
 blood ? 
 
 Nurse. It did, it did ; alas ! the day, it did ! 
 Jul. Oh, serpent heart, hid with a flowering 
 face 137 
 
 Did ever dragon keep so fair a cave ? 
 
 32-. Stty tho2t but I. For the due comprehension of the play 
 on words here, it is requisite to bear in mind that ' ay ' was 
 formerly often spelt " I." See Note lo, Act i., " Two Gentle- 
 men of Verona." 
 
 33. The death-darting eye of cockatrice. See Note 70, Act 
 iii., "Twelfth Night." 
 
 34. Or those eyes shut. The old copies print 'shot' for 
 " shut." Capell's correction. 
 
 35. Heaven save the mark! An adjuration used in a 
 deprecatory sense ; like * Heaven shield us ! ' or * Heaven 
 df'fend us ! ' ' Heaven save us from such a thing ! ' ' Heaven 
 preserve us from,' &c. See Note 64, Act i., " First Part 
 Henry IV." 
 
 36. I ' He earth. Juliet here employs the same expression to 
 signify her body, the earthly portion of herself, as Romeo 
 previously uses. See Note i. Act ii. 
 
 37. Oh, serpent heart, hid luith a flowering face ! In this 
 speech we have a string of those antithetical terms which were 
 
 Beautiful tyrant ! fiend angelical ! 
 Dove-feather'd raven ! wolvish-ravening lamb ! 
 Despised substance of divinest show 
 Just opposite to what thou justly seem'st, 
 A damned saint, an honourable villain ! — 
 Oh, nature, what hadst thou to do in hell, 
 When thou didst bower the spirit of a fiend 
 In mortal paradise of such sweet flesh ? — 
 Was ever book containing such vile matter 
 So fliirly bound ? Oh, that deceit should dwell 
 In such a gorgeous palace ! 
 
 Nurse. There's no trust, 
 
 No faith, no honesty in men ; all perjur'd. 
 All forsworn, all naught, all dissemblers. — 
 Ah ! where's my man ? give me some aqua 
 
 v/tie : 3^ — / 
 These griefs, these woes, these sorrows make me 
 
 old. 
 
 Shame come to Romeo ! 
 
 Jul. Blister'd be thy tongue 
 
 For such a wish ! he was not born to shame : 
 Upon his brow shame is asham'd to sit ; 
 For 'tis a throne where honour may be crown'd 
 Sole monarch of the universal earth. 
 Oh, what a beast-" was I to chide at him ! 
 
 Nurse. Will you .speak well of him that kill'd 
 your cousin ? 
 
 Jul. Shall I speak ill of him that is my 
 husband P 
 
 Ah ! poor my lord,'*" what tongue shall smooth thy 
 name, 
 
 When I, thy three-hours wife, have mangled it ?^ 
 But, wherefore, villain, didst thou kill my cousin ? 
 That villain cousin would have kill'd my husbaiwi : 
 Back, foolish tears, back to your native spring ; 
 Your tributary drops belong to woe. 
 Which you, mistaking, offer up to joy. 
 My husband lives, that Tybalt would have slain ; 
 And Tybalt's dead, that would have slain my 
 husband : 
 
 All this is comfort; wherefore weep I, then ? 
 Some word there was, worser than Tybalt's death, 
 That murder'd me: I would forget it fain ; 
 
 a fashion of the time. Sydney's "Arcadia" abounds with 
 them : and Shakespeare's page affords several examples. See 
 Note 35, Act iii., " Love's Labour's Lost;" and Note ig, Act i. 
 of the present play. We here take occasion to observe upon 
 the many vestiges of coincident thought and style that are to be 
 traced between "Romeo and Juliet" and "Love's Labour's 
 Lost," tending strongly to support our belief that the two 
 dramas were written by their author at periods of his life not 
 far removed from each other. See Note 34, Act ii, 
 
 38. Agna vitie ' Water of life.' A name generally used in 
 old time for spirituous liquors, or strong waters ; probably here 
 meaning brandy. See Note 54, Act ii., " Merry Wives." 
 
 39. Beast. Here used to express a creature void of natural 
 feeling, a monster, an unnatural woman. See Note 25, Act iii., 
 "IMeasure for Measure." 
 
 40. Ah I poor my lord. Shakespeare more than once has 
 this transposed construction in phrases where the word "poor" 
 
 I occurs. See Note 20, Act v., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 17O 
 
Act III.j ROMEO AND JULIET. [Scene II. 
 
 Roitieo. Father, what news 1 what is the prince's doom " 
 
 Act IJI. Scene III. 
 
 But, oh, it presses to my memory, 
 Like damned guilty deeds to sinners' minds : 
 " Tybalt is dead, and Romeo — banisli^d ;" 
 That " banished," that one word " banished, 
 Hath slain ten thousand Tybalts.-*' Tybalt's death 
 Was woe enough, if it had ended there : 
 Or, — if sour woe delights in fellowship. 
 And needly will be''^ rank'd with other griefs, — 
 Why foUow'd not, when she said — Tybalt's dead, 
 Thy father, or thy mother, nay, or both, 
 Which modern lamentation might have mov'd 
 I But with a rear-ward following Tybalt's death, 
 
 41. Hath slain ten thousand Tybalts. ' Hath afflicted me 
 more than the death of ten thousand Tybalts." 
 
 42. And needly ruill be. A form of our modern idiom, ' and 
 needs must be.' Shakespeare has here coined an excellent word, 
 *' needly," which is not given among dictionary words, but which 
 it would be well to adopt into our language as good English. 
 
 43. Which modern lajnentation might have mov'd. ' Which 
 
 "Romeo is banished," — to speak that word, 
 Is father, mother, Tybalt, Romeo, Juliet, 
 All slain, all dead : — " Romeo is banished," — 
 There is no end, no limit, measure, bound. 
 In that word's death ; no words can that woe 
 sound. — 
 
 Where is my father, and my mother, nurse ? 
 
 Nurse. Weeping and wailing over Tybalt's 
 corse : 
 
 Will you go to them ? I will bring you thither.'''' 
 Jul. Wash they his wounds with tears mine 
 shall be spent, 
 
 might have brought forth ordinary lamentation." See Note 67, 
 Act iii., *' King John." 
 
 44. IV ill you go to rhein ? I will bring you thither. " Bring " 
 is here used for 'accompany,* 'conduct,* 'escort;' and "thither'* 
 is employed in the same way as " there '* in the passage pointed 
 out in Note 72, Act ii. 
 
 45. Wash they his wounds with tears. ' Let them wash his 
 
 177 
 
Act III.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 When theirs are dry, for Romeo's banishment. 
 Take up those cords: — poor ^^(jpes, you are be- 
 guil'd, 
 
 Both you and I ; for Romeo is exil'd : 
 He made you for a highway to my bed ; 
 But I, a maid, die maiden-widowed. 
 
 Nurse. Hie to your chamber: I'll find Romeo 
 To comfort you: — I wot well where he is. 
 Hark ye, your Romeo will be here at night : 
 I'll to him; he is hid at Laurence' cell. 
 
 Oh, find him! give this ring to my true 
 knight, 
 
 And bid him come to take his last fiirewell. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE III.— Friar Laurence's Ce//. 
 
 Enter Friar Laurence. 
 
 Fri. L. Romeo, come forth ; come forth, thou 
 fearful man : 
 Affliction is enamour'd of thy parts, 
 And thou art wedded to calamity. 
 
 Enter Romeo. 
 Rom. Father, what news ? what is the prince's 
 doom ? 
 
 What sorrow craves acquaintance at my hand. 
 That I yet know not ? 
 
 Fri. L. Too familiar 
 
 Is my dear son with such sour company : 
 I bring thee tidings of the prince's doom. 
 
 Rom. What less than dooms-day is the prince's 
 doom ? 
 
 Fri. L. A gentler judgment vanish'd from his 
 lips, — 
 
 Not body's death, but body's banishment. 
 
 Rom. Ha ! banishment ? be merciful, say — 
 death ; 
 
 For exile hath more terror in his look, 
 
 Much more than death : do not say— banishment. 
 
 Fri. L. Hence from Verona art thou banished : 
 Be patient, for the world is broad and wide. 
 
 Rom. There is no world without Verona walls, 
 But purgatory, torture, hell itself. 
 Hence banished is banish'd from the world. 
 And world's exile is death : — then banished. 
 Is death mis-term'd : calling death— banishment, 
 Thou cutt'st my head off with a golden axe, 
 And smil'st upon the stroke that murders me. 
 
 Fri. L. Oh, deadly sin ! oh, rude unthankful- 
 ness ! 
 
 Thy fault our law calls death ; but the kind 
 prince. 
 
 Taking thy part, hath rush'd''^ aside the law, 
 And turn'd that black word death to banishment : 
 This is dear mercy, and thou seest it not. 
 ' Rom. 'Tis torture, and not mercy: heaven is 
 here, 
 
 Where Juliet lives; and every cat, and dog, 
 And little mouse, every unworthy thing. 
 Live here in heaven, and may look on her ; 
 But Romeo may not: — more validity, 
 More honourable state, more courtship lives 
 In carrion flies than Romeo: they may seize 
 On the white wonder of dear Juliet's hand, 
 And steal immortal blessing from her lips ; 
 Who, even in pure and vestal modesty. 
 Still blush, as thinking their own kisses sin ; 
 This may flies do, when I from this must fly : — 
 But Romeo may not, — he is banished : 
 And say'st thou yet,^'' that exile is not death ? 
 Hadst thou no poison mix'd, no sharp-ground 
 knife. 
 
 No sudden mean of death, though ne'er so mean. 
 
 But — "banished" — to kill me, — "banishfed" ? 
 
 Oh, friar, the doomed use that word in hell 
 
 Howlings attend it: how hast thou the heart, 
 
 Being a divine, a ghostly confessor, 
 
 A sin-absolver, and my friend profess'd, 
 
 To mangle me with that word " banislie i " ? 
 
 Fri. L. Thou fond mad man, hear me but speak 
 a word. 
 
 Rom. Oh, thou wilt speak again of banish- 
 ment. 
 
 Fri. L. I'll give thee armour to keep off that 
 word ; 
 
 Adversity's sweet milk, philosophy. 
 
 To comfort thee, though thou art banished. 
 
 Rom. Yet "banishfed"? — Hang up philosophy! 
 Unless philosophy can make a Juliet, 
 Displant a town, reverse a prince's doom. 
 It helps not, it prevails not : talk no more. 
 
 Fri. L. Oh, then I see that madmen have no 
 ears. 
 
 Rom. How should they, when that wise men 
 
 have no eyes ? 
 Fri. L. Let me dispute with, thee of thy estate.*' 
 Rom. Thou canst not speak of that thou dost 
 
 not feel : 
 
 wounds with tears.' This form of the imperative mood is to 48. No sudden mean 0/ death. Shakespeare occasionally uses 
 
 be found elsewhere in Shakespeare. See Note 22, Act il., " mean " where now ' means ' would be employed (see Note 62, 
 
 "Richard 11." Act i., "Richard III."); and in the present instance, by so 
 
 46. R nsh'd. Here used for ' forcibly pushed,' ' violently doing, he affords opportunity for a play upon the word, 
 
 put,' or ' thrust.' 49. Dispuie with thee of thy estatj. " Dispute " is here used 
 
 4y. But Jioiiiec .... And say'st thou yet. These two for ' reason,' ' argue,' ' debate ' (see Note 46, Act iv., " Twelfth 
 
 lines are transposedly printed in the Folio ; and there are slight Night ") ; and " estate " for ' condition,' ' state of affairs.' See 
 
 variations of the passage in the Quarto copies. Note 59, Act iii., Merchant of Venice." 
 
Act III.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Wert thou as young as I, Juliet thy love, 
 An hour but married, Tybalt murdered. 
 Doting like me, and like me banished. 
 Then mightst thou speak, then mightst thou tear 
 thy hair. 
 
 And fall upon the ground, as I do now. 
 Taking the measure of an unmade grave. 
 
 [Knocking nvithin. 
 Fri. L. Arise; one knocks; good Romeo, hide 
 thyself. 
 
 Rom. Not I; unless the breath of heart-sick 
 groans, 
 
 Mist-like, infold me from the search of eyes. 
 
 [Knocking. 
 
 Fi i. L. Hark, how they knock ! — Who's there ? 
 — Romeo, arise ; 
 Thou wilt be taken. — Stay awhile ! — Stand up ; 
 
 [Knocking. 
 
 Run to my study. — By-and-by ! — God's will. 
 What wilfulness is this I come, I come! 
 
 [Knocking. 
 
 Who knocks so hard ? whence coine you ? what 's 
 your will ? 
 
 Nurse. [Within.'] Let me come in, and you shall 
 know my errand ; 
 I come from Lady Juliet. 
 
 Fri. L. Welcome, then. 
 
 Erier Nurse. 
 Nurse. Oh, holy friar, oh, tell me, holy friar. 
 Where is my lady's lord, wiiere's Romeo ? 
 
 Fri. L. There on the ground, with his own 
 
 tears made drunk. 
 Nurse. Oh, he is even in my mistress' case. 
 Just in her case \ 
 
 Fri. L. Oh, woful sympathy! 
 
 Piteous predicament !=" 
 
 Nurse. Even so lies she. 
 
 Blubbering and weeping, weeping and blubber- 
 ing.— 
 
 Stand up, stand up ; stand, an you be a man : 
 
 For Juliet's sake, for her sake, rise and stand ; j 
 
 Why should you fall into so deep an O r^' | 
 
 Rom. Nurse ! ; 
 
 Nurse. Ah ! sir, ah ! sir, — Well, death's the end | 
 of all. 
 
 Rom. Spak'st thou of Juliet ? how is it with j 
 her? 
 
 •-p. Oh, luoful sy7npathy '. Piteous predicament ! In the old 
 copies these words form part of the nurse's speech. Farmer 
 first pointed out that their language and manner show them to 
 belong to the friar. 
 
 51. SodeefianO. This letter is sometimes used by Shake- 
 speare to express 'outcry,' 'lamentation,' 'comolaint.' See 
 Note lo^, Act ii., "Twelfth Night." 
 
 SJ. My conceal' d lady. " Conceal'd " is one of Shakespeare's 
 eJliptically used epithets ; the phrase implying, ' My lady, 
 whose being so, together with our marriage which made her so, 
 is concealed from the world.' 
 
 Doth she not think me an old murderer. 
 Now I have stain'd the childhood of our joy 
 With blood remoV'd but little from her own ? 
 Where is she ? and how doth she ? and what 
 says 
 
 My conceal'd lady*^ to our cancell'd love ? 
 
 Nurse. Oh, she says nothing, sir, but weeps and 
 weeps ; 
 
 And now falls on her bed ; and then starts up, 
 And Tybalt calls; and then on Romeo cries. 
 And then down falls again. 
 
 Rom. As if that name. 
 
 Shot from the deadly level of a gun. 
 Did murder her; as that name's cursed hand 
 Murder'd her kinsman. — Oh, tell me, friar, tell 
 me. 
 
 In what vile part of this anatomy 
 
 Doth my name lodge ? tell me, that I may sack 
 
 The hateful mansion. [Draining his sixiord. 
 
 Ffi. L. Hold thy desperate hand : 
 
 Art thou a man ? thy form cries out thou art : 
 Thy tears are womanish ; thy \vild acts denote 
 The unreasonable fury of a beast : 
 Unseemly woman in a seeming man ! 
 Or ill-beseeming beast in seeming both 
 Thou hast amaz'd me : by my holy order, 
 I thought thy disposition better temper'd. 
 Hast thou slain Tybalt? wilt thou slay thyself? 
 And slay thy lady too that lives in thee, 
 By doing cursed hate upon thyself ? 
 Why rail'st thou on thy birth, the heaven, and 
 earth ? 
 
 Since birth, and heaven, and earth, all three do 
 meet 
 
 In thee at once ; which thou at once wouldst 
 lose. 
 
 Fie, fie, thou sham'st thy shape, thy love, thy 
 wit ; 
 
 Which, like a usurer, abound'st in all, 
 And usest none in that true use indeed 
 Which should bedeck thy shape, thy love, thy 
 wit : 
 
 Thy noble shape is but a forin of wax, 
 Digressing''* from the valour of a man ; 
 Thy dear love, sworn, but hollow perjury. 
 Killing that love which thou hast vow'd to cherish ; 
 Thy wit, that ornament to shape and love, 
 Mis-shapen in the conduct of them both. 
 
 53. Anatomy. Here used for the body, the corporeal frame. 
 
 54. A seeming man ! Or ill-beseevting beast, &-'c. One of 
 the numerous instances where Shakespeare uses " beast" as the 
 antithesis to "man." In "As You Like It," Act iv., sc. 3, 
 Rosalind, disguised as Ganymede and reading Phoebe's letter, 
 where occur the words, "Whiles the eye of >na)i did woo me, 
 that could do no vengeance to me," adds, "Meaning me a 
 beast ; " as though that were the necessary sequence in oppo- 
 sition to "man." 
 
 55. Digressing. ' Deviating,' ' swerving.' See Note 33. 
 Act v., " Richard II." 
 
 ■79 
 
Act 1 1 I.J ROMEO AND JULIET. [Scene IV. 
 
 Like powder in a skilleis soldier's Hask,*^ 
 Is set a-fire by thine own ignorance, 
 And thou dismember'd with thine own defence. 
 What! rouse thee, man ! thy Juliet is alive. 
 For whose dear sake thou wast but lately dead ; 
 I here art thou happy : Tybalt would kill thee. 
 But thou slew' St Tybalt; there art thou happy 
 too : 
 
 The law, that threaten'd death, becomes thy 
 friend, 
 
 And turns it to exile ; there art thou happy : 
 A pack of blessings lights upon thy back ; 
 Happiness courts thee in her best array ; 
 But, like a misbehav'd and sullen wench. 
 Thou pout'st upon thy fortune^^ and thy love: — 
 Take heed, take heed, for such die miserable. 
 Go, get thee to thy love, as was decreed. 
 Ascend her chamber, hence and comfort her : 
 But look thou stay not till the watch be set, 
 For then thou canst not pass to Mantua ; 
 Where thou shall live, till we can find a time 
 To blaze your marriage, reconcile your friends, 
 Beg pardon of the prinfi;e, and call thee back 
 With twenty hundred thousand times more joy 
 Than thou went'st forth in lamentation. — 
 Go before, nurse : commend me to thy lady 
 And bid her hasten all the house to bed, 
 Which heavy sorrow makes them apt unto: 
 Romeo is coming. 
 Nurse. O Lord, I could have stay'd here all 
 the night 
 
 To hear goo;1 counsel : oh, what learning is ! — 
 Mv lord, I'll tell my lady )0u will come. 
 
 Rom. Do so, and bid my sweet prepare to 
 chide. 
 
 Nurse. Here, sir, a ring she bid me give you, 
 
 Hie ) ou, make haste, for it grows very late. \^Exit. 
 Rom. How well my comfort is reviv'd by 
 this ! 
 
 Fri. L. Go hence ; good night; and here stands 
 all your state :*' — 
 Either be gone before the watch be set. 
 Or by the break of day disguis'd from hence : 
 Sojourn in Mantua; I'll find out your man. 
 And he shall signify from time to time 
 Every good hap to you, that chances here : 
 Give me thy hand ; 'tis late : farewell ; good 
 , night. 
 
 56. Like powder in a skilhss soldier's JJask. The ancient 
 English soldieri, using match-locks, instead of locks as at 
 present constructed, were obliged to carry a lighted vtatcJi 
 hanging at their belts, very near to the wooden "flask" in 
 which they kept their powder. 
 
 57. Thy Juliet IS alive .... there art thou, ^'c. " There " 
 in the present passage is three times used according to the 
 manner pointed out in Note 72, Act ii. 
 
 58. Thmt pout'st upon thy fortune. The Folio gives ' pattest 
 vp ' instead of "pout'st upon," the reading of the 1637 Quarto. 
 
 Rom. But that a joy past joy calls out on me, 
 1 1 were a grief, so brief to part with thee : 
 Farewell. \Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE IV.— i Room in Capulet's Eouse. 
 Enter Capulet, Lady Capulet, and Paris. 
 
 Cap. Things have fall'n out, sir, so unluckily, 
 That we have had no time to move our daughter : 
 Look you, she lov'd her kinsman Tybalt dearly. 
 And so did I ; — well, we were born to die. — 
 'Tis very late, she'll not come down to-night : 
 I promise you, but for your company, 
 I would have been a-bed an hour ago. 
 
 Par. These times of woe afFjrd no time to woo. — 
 Madam, good night; commend me to your daughter. 
 
 L. Cap. I will, and know her mind early to- 
 morrow ; 
 
 To-night she is mew'd up to her heavines.-.^" 
 C.7/). Sir Paris, I will make a desperate tender 
 
 Of my child's love :^i I think slie wid be rul'd 
 
 In all respects by me ; nay, more, I doubt it not. — 
 
 Wife, go you to her ere you go to bed ; 
 
 Acquaint her here of my son Paris' love ; 
 
 And bid her, mark you me, on Wednesday next-- 
 
 But, soft! what day is this ? 
 Par. Monday, my lord. 
 
 Cap. Monday! ha, ha! Well, Wednesday is 
 too soon, 
 
 O' Thursday let it be: o' Thursday, tell her, 
 She shall be married to this noble earl. — 
 Will you be ready ? do you like this haste ? 
 We'll keep no great ado, — a friend or two , 
 For, hark you, Tybalt being slain so late. 
 It may be thought we held him carelessly, 
 Being our kinsman, if we revel much : 
 Therefore we'll have some half a dozen friends. 
 And there an end. But what say you to Thursday ? 
 Par. My lord, I would that TiiursJay were to- 
 morrow. 
 
 Cap. Well, get you gone : — o' Thursday be it, 
 then.— 
 
 Go you to Juliet ere you go to bed. 
 
 Prepare her, wife, against this wedding-day. — 
 
 Farewell, my lord. — Light to my chamber, ho '— 
 
 Afore me,*- it is so very late, that we 
 
 May call it early by-and-by : — Good night. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 59. Here stands all your state. ' Upon this depends all 
 yoar welfare.' 
 
 60. She is view'd uj> to h -r heaviness. ' She is keeping her- 
 self confined to her own room, brooding over her grief.' See 
 Note 10, Act i., " Midsummer Night's Dream." 
 
 61. / will make a desperate tender of, ' I will make a 
 bold proffer of,' &c. ; ' I will make a confident promise of,' &c. 
 
 62. Afore vie. A form of adjuration elsewhere used by 
 Shikespeare See Note 46, Act iv., " Winter's Tale," and 
 N >te ij, Act i., " Coriolanus." 
 
 180 
 
Act III.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 SCENE v.— JvLiET's Cham6er.<^3 
 Enter Romeo and Juliet. 
 
 Jul. Wilt thou be gone ? it is not yet near day : 
 It was the nightingale, and not the lark, 
 That pierc'd the fearful hollow of thine ear ; 
 Nightly she sings on yon pomegranate-tree 
 Believe me, love, it was the nightingale. 
 
 Rom. It was the lark, the herald of the morn, 
 No nightingale: look, Jove, what envious streaks 
 Do lace the severing clouds in yonder east : 
 Night's candles are burnt out,^» and jocund day 
 Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops. 
 I must be gone and live, or stay and die. 
 
 Jul. Yon light is not day-light, I know it, I 
 It is some meteor that the sun exhales. 
 To be to thee this night a torch-bearer. 
 And light thee on thy way to Mantua : 
 Therefore stay yet, — thou need'st not to be gone. 
 
 Rom. Let me be ta'en, let me be put to death ; 
 I am content, so thou wilt have it so. 
 I'll say yon grey is not the morning's eye, 
 'Tis but the pale reflex of Cynthia's brow -.^^ 
 Nor that is not the lark, whose notes do beat 
 The vaulty heaven so high above our heads : 
 I have more care to stay than will to go : — 
 Come, death, and welcome! Juliet wills it so. — ■ 
 How is 't, my soul ? let 's talk, — it is not day. 
 
 Jul. It is, it is, — hie hence, be gone, away ! 
 Is is the lark that sings so out of tune. 
 Straining harsh discords and unpleasing sharps. 
 Some say the lark makes sweet division 
 This doth not so, for she divideth us : 
 
 63. Juliet's chamber. The stage direction here in the Folio 
 is, " Enter Romeo and Juliet aloft; " and, in tlie first Quarto, 
 ''^ Enter Romeo and Juliet at a window." They were in- 
 tended to appear on the platform or balcony which was at the 
 back of the stage in old English theatrical times. See Note 34, 
 Act v., " Henry VIII." 
 
 64. Nightly she sings on yon pomegranate-tree. It is the 
 nightingale's habit to sit and sing upon the same tree for 
 several weeks together ; and it has been observed that, in the 
 South, the pomegranate is a favourite with the bird for this 
 purpose. Into a single line a poet thus condenses a picturesque 
 truth, and gives local colouring to his scene. 
 
 65. Night's candles are burnt out. See Note 39, Act v., 
 " Merchant of Venice." 
 
 66. / know ity I. See Note 8 of the present Act. 
 
 67. The pale reflex of Cynthia's brow. It has been proposed 
 to change "brow" to 'bow' here; whereby a lovely poetical 
 image would be lost. " Cynthia" is one of the names of Diana 
 (from mount Cynthus, where she was bornl, and she is classi- 
 cally represented with a crescent moon upon her forehead ; it is 
 the pale re.lection of this ornament of Luna's, or Cynthia's 
 brow, therefore, that is here beautifully alluded to. 
 
 6S. Division. Here used to express the florid ornamentation 
 superadded by vocalists upon a simple melody, and those 
 brilliant runs or sequences of notes with trills and turns that a 
 bird sings (see Note 37, Act iii., "First Part Henry IV.") ; 
 \\'hile the word is also played upon in its sense of ' separation,' 
 These tricks of the imagination, allowing the tongue to quibb'e 
 and pun while the heart is sorely tried, are frequently introduced 
 by the Poet of Nature. See Note 23, Act iii., " Henry VIU." 
 
 Some say the lark and loathed toad change eyes;"" 
 Oh, now I would they had chang'd voices too! 
 Since arm from arm that voice doth us affray, 
 Hunting thee hence with hunts-up'" to the day. 
 Oh, now be gone ; more light and light it groivs. 
 Rom. More light and light,— more dark and 
 dark our woes ! 
 
 Enter Nurse, 
 Nurse. Madam ! 
 Jul. Nurse? 
 
 Nurse. Your lady mother is coming to your 
 chamber : 
 
 The day is broke; be wary, look about. {Exit. 
 Jul. Then, window, let day in, and let life 
 out. 
 
 Rom. Farewell, farewell ! one kiss, and I'll 
 descend. {Descends. 
 
 Jul. Art thou gone so ? my lord, my love, my 
 friend!?! 
 
 I must hear from thee every day in the hour. 
 For in a minute there are many days : 
 Oh, by this count I shall be much in years, 
 Ere I again behold my Romeo ! 
 
 Rom. Farewell ! 
 I will omit no opportunity 
 That may convey my greetings, love, to thee. 
 
 Jul. Oh, think'st thou we shall ever meet 
 again ? 
 
 Rom. I doubt it not; and all these woes shall 
 serve 
 
 For sweet discourses in our time to come. 
 
 Jul. O God, I have an ill-divining soul ! 
 Methinks I see thee, now thou art below, 
 
 6g. TJte lark and loathed toad cJiange eyes. It was an old 
 belief, — arising from the toad's having beautiful eyes with an 
 ugly body, and the lark's being said to have ugly eyes with a 
 beautiful song, — that the toad and lark had exchanged eyes, or 
 had had given to each of them the eyes that would more appro- 
 priately have belonged to the other; and Juliet wishes that 
 they had also exchanged voices, as then the sound now heard 
 by her lover and herself would have been the toad's croak, 
 which does not presage the approach of day, as the lark's song 
 is known to do. 
 
 70. Hunts-up. The name given to a tune played to wake 
 sportsmen and call them together ; and ' the hunt's up,' or ' the 
 hunt is up,' was a common burden to ballads of the chase. 
 Cotgrave mentions that the Reveille, or morning song, to a 
 newly-married woman, was called * the hunt's up.' Drayton, in 
 his " Polyolbion," has— 
 
 " But hunfs up to the morn, the feather'd sylvans sing ; 
 and in his third Eclogue — ■ 
 
 " Time plays the hunt's up to thy sleepy head. 
 
 71. Art thou gone so^ my lord, my love, my friend! This 
 is the reading of the earliest Quarto ; the others and the Folio 
 read, ' Art thou gone so : Lone, Lord, ay Husband, Friend.' 
 Far from the word "friend" here coming as an anti-climax, it 
 has supreme force; for in Shakespeare's time "friend" was 
 used synonymously with ' lover,' and moreover it here expresses 
 all that the newly-wedded Juliet feels of marital comfort, sup- 
 port, and protection given to her but to be torn from her in the 
 m nnent of its first blissful sense of possession. 
 
Act III.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 As one dead in the bottom of a tomb : 
 Either my eyesight fails, or thou look'st pale. 
 
 Rom. And trust me, love, in my eye so do you : 
 Dry sorrow drmks our blood. ''^ Adieu, adieu ! 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 Jul. Oh, fortune, fortune ! all men call thee 
 fickle: 
 
 If thou art fickle, what dost thou with him 
 That is renown'd for faith ? Be fickle, fortune ; 
 For then, I hope, thou wilt not keep him long. 
 But send him back. 
 
 La. Cap. [IViihin.'] Ho, daughter! are you up ? 
 
 Jul. Who is 't that calls ? is it my lady mother ? 
 Is she not down so late, or up so early 
 What unaccustomed cause procures her hither ? 
 
 Enter Lady Capulet. 
 La. Cap. Why, how now, Juliet ! 
 Jul. Madam, I am not well. 
 
 La. Cap. Evermore weeping for your cousin's 
 death 'i 
 
 What ! wilt thou wash him from his grave with 
 tears ? 
 
 An if thou couldst, thou couldst not make him 
 live ; 
 
 Therefore, have done : some grief shows much of 
 love ; 
 
 But much of grief shows still some want of wit. 
 
 Jul. Yet let me weep for such a feeling loss. 
 
 La. Cap. So shall you feel the loss, but not the 
 friend 
 Which you weep for. 
 
 Jul. Feeling so the loss, 
 
 I cannot choose but ever weep the friend. 
 
 72. Dry sorrow drinks our blood. The belief that grieving 
 exhausts the blood, takes colour from the cheek, and impairs 
 the health, is more than once alluded to by Shakespeare. See 
 Note 42, Act iii., " Midsummer Night's Dream." 
 
 73. Is she not down so late^ or np so early ^ This probably 
 means, ' Is she not lying down in her bed at so late an hour 
 as this, or rather is she risen from her bed at so early an hour 
 as this?' If the word " down" be taken in the sense of ' lying 
 down' or 'lain down,' the above i^ the interpretation of the 
 passage; but if the word "down" be taken in the sense of 
 * down-stairs ' (and it is so used in the previous scene, where 
 Capulet says, "She'll not come down to-night"), the sentence 
 may be interpreted, 'Is she not still down-stairs at a very late 
 hour, or has she not arisen at a very early one ?' 
 
 74. Procures. * Brings ; ' * procures her presence.' 
 
 75. No man like lie dot/i grieve my heart. Here "he "is 
 used for ' him ' by a grammatical licence permitted when 
 Shakespeare wrote. See Note 22, Act i., "As You Like It." 
 
 76. Ay, madam , from the reach of these my hands. Johnson 
 remarks upon this passage, "Juliet's equivocations are rather 
 too artful for a mind disturbed by the loss of a new lover." But 
 it appears to us that, on the contrary, the evasions of speech 
 here used by the young girl-wife are precisely those that a mind 
 suddenly and sharply awakened from previous inactivity, by 
 desperate love and grief, into self-conscious strength, would in- 
 stinctively use ; especially are they exactly the sort of shifts and 
 quibbles that a nature rendered timid by stinted intercourse 
 with her kind, and by comiT-.union limited to the innocent con- 
 fidences madc by one of her age in the confessional, is prone to 
 
 La. Cap. Well, girl, thou weep'st not so much 
 for his death, 
 As that the villain lives which slaughter'd him. 
 
 Jul. What villain, madam ? 
 
 La. Cap. That same villain, Romeo. 
 
 Jul. Villain and he be many miles asunder. 
 God pardon him ! I do, with all my heart ; 
 And yet no man like he doth grieve my heart."' 
 
 La. Cap. That is, because the traitor murderer 
 lives. 
 
 Jul. Ay, madam, from the reach of these my 
 hands — 
 
 Would none but I might venge my cousin's 
 death ! 
 
 La. Cap. We will have vengeance for it, fear 
 thou not : 
 
 Then weep no more. I'll send to one in Mantua, — 
 Where that same banish'd runagate doth live, — 
 Shall give him such an unaccustom'd''^ (iiain. 
 That he shall soon keep Tybalt company : 
 And then, I hope, thou wilt be satisfied. 
 
 Jul. Indeed, I never shall be satisfied 
 With Romeo, till I behold him — dead — 
 Is my poor heart so for a kinsman vex'd : 
 Madam, if you could find out but a man 
 To bear a poison, I would temper'^ it ; 
 That Romeo should, upon receipt thereof. 
 Soon sleep in quiet. Oh, how my heart abhors 
 To hear him nam'd, — and cannot come to him, 
 To wreak the love I bore my cousin Tybalt 
 Upon his body that hath slaughter'd him ! 
 
 La. Cap. Find thou the means, and I'll find 
 such a man. 
 But now I'll tell thee joyful tidings, girl. 
 
 resort to, when first left to itself in difficulties of sit lation and 
 abrupt encounter with life's perplexities. The Italian-born- 
 and-bred Juliet is made by our author to speak and act with 
 wonderful truth to her southern self The miracle is how he, 
 who could draw the courageous and direct-hearted Helena, the 
 noble-minded Portia, the transparent-souled Imogen, could so 
 thoroughly divine and so naturally depict the manner in which 
 the two Italian girl-wives, Juliet and D;sdemona, speak and 
 act in accordance with their southern birth and breeding. He 
 has drawn them exquisitely gentle, charming, winning ; but he 
 has given tiiem the gentleness that blights into timidity, instead 
 of the gentleness that blossoms mto moral courage, and has 
 shown how it brings fatal results. The wonder beyond this is, 
 how, with all his faithful denotement of the underlying defect 
 in their characters, he has yet contrived to make the more 
 beautiful portions of their characters so ineffably lovely, so 
 prevailingly and saliently attractive. 
 
 77. Unaccnstom'd. ' Unusual,' ' extraordinary,' ' strange. 
 See Note 12, Act iii., " First Part Henry VI." 
 
 78. Temper. Here ostensibly used in the sense of 'mix,' 
 * prepare,' and really used in the sense of ' mingle,* * allay,' 
 ' weaken by introduction of innocuous matter.' 
 
 79. To -wreak the lotie I bore my coiisin Tybalt. To " wreak " 
 is to 'revenge 'and also to 'fulfil vehemently;' therefore "to 
 wreak the love I bore," &c., is said with a double sense,— 
 ostensibly, ' to revenge the loss I suffer in the love I bore,' &c. ; 
 and really, ' to bestow entirely the love I bore,' &c. The word 
 "Tybalt," at the conclusion of this line, which is omitted in the 
 early copies, was supplied by the editor of the second Folio. 
 
Act III.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 Jul. And joy comes well in such a needy time : 
 What are they, I beseech your ladyship ? 
 
 La. Cap. Well, well, thou hast a careful father, 
 child ; 
 
 One who, to put thee from thy heaviness, 
 
 Hath sorted out a sudden day of joy, 
 
 That thou expect'st not, nor I look'd not for. 
 
 Jul. Madam, in happy time.so what day is that ? 
 
 La. Cap. Marry, my child, early next Thursday 
 morn, 
 
 The gallant, young, and noble gentleman. 
 The County Paris,8' at Saint Peter's Church, 
 Shall happily make thee there a joyful bride. 
 
 Jul. Now, by Saint Peter's Church, and Peter 
 too. 
 
 He shall not make me there a joyful bride. 
 I wonder at this haste ; that I must wed 
 Ere he, that should be husband, comes to woo. 
 I pray you, tell my lord and father, madam, 
 I will not marry yet ; and, when I do, I swear, 
 It shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate. 
 Rather than Paris : — these are news indeed ! 
 
 La. Cap. Here comes your father ; tell him so 
 yourself, 
 
 .And see how he will take it at your hands. 
 
 Enter CAPtrr.ET and Nurse. 
 Cap. When the sun sets, the air doth drizzle 
 dew 
 
 But for the sunset of my brother's son^s 
 It rains downright. — 
 
 How now ! a conduit, girl ? what ! still in tears ? 
 Evermore showering ? In one little body 
 Thou counterfeit'st a barque, a sea, a wind : 
 For still thy eyes, which I may call the sea, 
 Do ebb and flow with tears ; the barque thy body is, 
 
 80. In happy time. 'Opportunely,' 'aptly,' ' appositeiy. 
 See Note 43, Act iii., "Richard III.," and Note 34, Act i. of 
 the present play. The phra-se was sometimes used with a touch 
 of petulance or imphed sarcasm ; as in Bishop Lowth's Letter to 
 Warburton: — "And may I not hope then for the honour of 
 your lordship's animadversions? In good time: when the 
 candid examiner understands Latin a Httle better ; and when 
 your lordship has a competent knowledge of Hebrew." 
 
 81. Tlie Con7ity Paris. See Note 62, Act i. 
 
 82. The air doth drizzle dew. This is the reading of the 
 undated Quarto and the 1637 Quarto ; while the Folio and the 
 other Quartos give 'earth' in.stead of "air." Passages have 
 been cited from Shakespeare to prove that he may have in- 
 tended 'earth' here; as, for instance, in "Richard IIL," Act 
 v., sc. 3 — " I would these dewy tears were from the ground;'''' 
 in "Lucrece," stanza 162— 
 
 " As the dank earth weeps at thy langulshment ; " 
 and again in stanza 176 — • 
 
 " But as the earth doth weep, the sun being set." 
 
 Nevertheless, it must be borne in mind that, in each of these 
 passages, the earth is poetically represented as being met with 
 dew, rather than shedding dew ; whereas the expression 
 "drizzle," in the te.-ct, denotes the dropping of dew, in the 
 same way that Shakespeare indicates it where he says (" King 
 John," Act ii., sc. i.)— "Before the <&z£/ of evening /a//." 
 
 Sailing in this salt flood ; the winds, thy sighs ; 
 Who, — raging with thy tears, and they with 
 them, — 
 
 Without a sudden calm, will overset 
 Thy tempest-tossed body. — How now, wife! 
 Have you delivered to her our decree ? 
 La. Cap. Ay, sir ; but she will none, she gives 
 you thanks. 
 I would the fool were married to her grave ! 
 Cap. Soft ! take me with -jow^^ take me r. ith 
 you, wife. 
 
 How ! will she none P doth she not give us thanks ? 
 Is she not proud F doth she not count her bless'd, 
 Unworthy as she is, that we have wrought 
 So worthy a gentleman to be her bridegroom ? 
 
 Jul. Not proud, you have ; but thankful, that 
 you have : 
 Proud can I never be of what I hate ; 
 But thankful even for hate, that is meant love. 
 
 Cap. Hovv now, how now, chop-logic 1^* What 
 is this ? 
 
 Proud, — and, I thank you, — and, I thank you 
 not ; — 
 
 And yet not proud : — mistress minion, you, 
 Thank me no thankings, nor proud me no prouds, 
 But fettle^s your fine joints 'gainst Thursday next. 
 To go with Paris to Saint Peter's Church, 
 Or I will drag thee on a hurdle thither. 
 Out, you green-sickness carrion! out, you bag- 
 gage ! 
 You tallow-face I^' 
 
 La. Cap. Fie, fie ! what ! are you mad ? 
 
 Jul. Good father, I beseech you on my knees. 
 Hear me with patience but to speak a word. 
 
 Cap. Hang thee,^^ young baggage ! disobedient 
 wretch ! 
 
 83. My brother's son. It is probable that here " brother's " 
 is used for 'brother-in-law's' (see Note 5, Act i., "Third Part 
 Henry VI.," and Note 4, Act iv., "Richard IIL"), as Lady 
 Capulet says in the first scene of the present Act, "Tybalt, 
 ray cousin ! Oh, juy brother's child ! " 
 
 84. Taie me with you An idiomatic phrase, signifying ' let 
 me understand you,' ' let me follow your meaning.' See Note 
 136, Act ii., " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 85. Chop-logic. That this was used as a nick-name is shown 
 by a passage from "The XXIIII. Orders of Knaves:" — • 
 " Choplogyk is he that whan his mayster rebuketh his servaunt 
 for his defawtes, he will gyve hym xx. words for one." 
 
 86. Fettle. An old word, and still in provincial use, signify- 
 ing 'prepare,' 'make ready,' 'adjust,' 'put in order.' 
 
 87. tallow-face ! Even in these coarsely abusive terms 
 with which the irate old man loads his daughter, how well the 
 dramatist contrives to paint and set before our imagination the 
 pale face of Juliet : white with suppressed feeling, and almost 
 livid under the momentary impulse to throw herself at her 
 father's feet and confess all. 
 
 88. Hear me with patience .... Hang thee, &'c. Vfe 
 here see the root of Juliet's prevarication : irrational violence if 
 she attempt to offer remonstrance instead of blind obedience, or 
 if .she think for a moment of honest avowal. This is the way to 
 convert original candour of disposition info timid misprision of 
 truth, and artlessness into artfulness. 'Wise, and good, and 
 moral Shakespeare ! 
 
VOL m 
 
Act III.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 I tell thee what,— get thee to church o' Thursday, 
 Or never after look me in the face : 
 Speak not, reply not, do not answer me ; 
 My fingers itch.— Wife, we scarce thought us 
 bless'd 
 
 That God had lent us but this only child 
 But now I see this one is one too much. 
 And that we have a curse in having her ; 
 Out on her, hildingis" 
 
 Nurse. God in heaven bless her ! — 
 
 You are to blame, my lord, to rate her so. 
 
 Cap. And why, my lady wisdom? hold your 
 tongue, 
 
 Good prudence; smatter with your gossips, go. 
 
 Nurse. I .speak no treason. 
 
 Cap. Oh, give ye good-den. 
 
 Nurse. May not one speak ? 
 
 Cap. Peace, you mumbling fool 
 
 Utter your gravity o'er a gossip's bowl ; 
 For here we need it not. 
 
 La. Cap. You are too hot. 
 
 Cap. God's bread l^^ it makes me mad : 
 Day, night, hour, tide, time, work, play, 
 Alone, in company, still my care hath been 
 To have her match'd : and having now provided 
 A gentleman of noble parentage. 
 Of fair demesnes, youthful, and nobly train'd, 
 Stuft'd (as they say) with honourable parts, 
 Proportion'd as one's thought would wish a man, — 
 And then to have a wretched puling fool, 
 A whining mammet,'^ in her fortune's tender,'* 
 To answer—" I'll not wed," — " I cannot love," — 
 " I am too young," — " I pray you, pardon me ;" — 
 But, an you will not wed, I'll pardon you : 
 Graze where you will, you shall not house with me. 
 Look to 't, think on 't, I do not use to jest. 
 Thursday is near ; lay hand on heart, advise 
 
 8g. Had lent 7is but this only child. The first Quarto gives 
 ' sent ' for " lent," which is the word given in the Folio and all 
 the other Quartos. We think it possible that 'left' may have 
 been originally written by the author here : because, in a 
 previous scene, Capulet speaks as if he had had other children 
 born to him, who died young. See Note 28, Act i. 
 
 90. Hilding. ' Degenerate creature,' ' base and despicable 
 girl.' See Note 4, Act ii., " Taming of the Shrew." 
 
 91. God's bread 1 We have had more than one occasion to 
 observe upon Shakespeare's accurately appropriate exclamations, 
 imprecations, and adjurations. See Note 11, Act i., "ISIerchant 
 of Venice," and Note 31, Act ii. of the present play. Here, 
 the solemn expression, God's bread!" put into the mouth of 
 the furious Capulet, Is in strict accordance with what we still 
 hear in Italy from the mouths of angry qnarrellers ; who often 
 use its equivalent in the words, ^ Per VOstial I'll make you rue 
 it ! ' or, ' Per I'Ostia ! you shall pay for this ! 
 
 92. Mammet. 'Puppet,' 'doll.' See Note 57, Act il., 
 " First Part Henry IV." In Archbishop Trench's admirable 
 book "On the Study of Words," he traces the origin of this 
 word to ' Mahomet ; ' because the religion of the Arabian 
 prophet was synonymous in the minds of English Christians 
 with idolatry, it being forgotten that the most characteristic 
 feature and chief glory of Mahometanism is its protest against 
 all idol-worship whatsoever. From this original error and in- 
 justice arose the habit of applying the word "mammet" (a 
 
 An you be mine, I'll give you to my friend ; 
 An you be not, hang, beg, starve, die i' the streets, 
 For, by my soul, I'll ne'er acknowledge thee, 
 Nor what is mine shall never do thee good : 
 Trust to 't, bethink you ; I'll not be forsworn. 
 
 \ExU. 
 
 Jul. Is there no pity sitting in the clouds. 
 That sees into the bottom of my grief? — 
 Oh, s\veet my mother, cast me not away ! 
 Delay this marriage for a month, a week ; 
 Or, if you do not, make the bridal bed. 
 In that dim monument where Tybalt lies. 
 
 La. Cap. Talk not to me, for I'll not speak a 
 word : 
 
 Do as thou wilt, for I have done with thee. \_Exii. 
 Jul. O God ' — Oh, nurse, how shall this be pre- 
 vented ? 
 
 My husband is on earth, my faith in heaven ; 
 How shall that faith return again to earth, 
 Unless that husband send it me from heaven 
 By leaving earth ?— comfort me, counsel me. — 
 Alack, alack, that heaven should practise stratagems 
 Upon so soft a subject as myself ! — 
 What say'st thou ? hast thou not a word of joy ? 
 Some comfort, nurse. 
 
 Nurse. Faith, here it is. 
 
 Romeo is banish'd ; and all the world to nothing,^' 
 That he dares ne'er come back to challenge you j'^ 
 Or, if he do, it needs must be by stealth. 
 Then, since the case so stands as now it doth, 
 I think it best you married with the county. 
 Oh, he's a lovely gentleman ! 
 Romeo's a dishclout to him : an eagle, madam. 
 Hath not so green, so quick, so fair an eye'7 
 As Paris hath. Beshrew my very heart, 
 I think you are happy in this second match. 
 For it excels your first or if it did not, 
 
 corruption of 'Mahomet') not only to idols or religious images, 
 but to dolls and puppets. 
 
 93. In her forttme' s tender. ' In the moment when 'good 
 fort'une presents itself to her.' 
 
 94. Advise. ' Reflect,' ' consider.' 
 
 95. All the world to nothing. An elliptical and idiomatic 
 phrase, signifying, ' 'TIs all the world to nothing,' or ' I'd 
 stake all the world against nothing.' See Note 43, Act i., 
 " Richard III." 
 
 96. To challenge yon. 'To claim you,' 'to declare you his ;' 
 and ' to call you to answer for what you do,' ' to accuse you.' 
 The word was used in both these senses by writers of Shake- 
 speare's time, and it was his mode to include several meanings 
 in one comprehensive word. 
 
 97. So green, so quick, so fair an eye. The brilliant touch of 
 green visible in very light hazel eyes, and which gives wonderful 
 clearness and animation to their look, has been admiringly 
 denoted by various poets from time immemorial ; while Lord 
 Bacon observes, " Eyes, somewhat large, and the circles of 
 them Inclined \.o greenness, are signs of long life." 
 
 98. This second match, for it excels your fist : or if it did 
 not .... as good he iuei-e . ... no use of him. This sentence 
 presents a point of study in Shakespeare's method of using 
 relative words in a sentence : "it" refers to "second match ;" 
 then "first" relates to "match;" then "he" and "him" 
 relate to " first." 
 
Act IV.] ROMEO AND JULIET. [Scene I. 
 
 Your first is dead ; or 'twere as good he were, 
 As living here'^ and you no use of him. 
 
 Jul. Speakest thou from thy heart ? 
 
 Nurse. And from my soul too ; 
 Or else beshrew them both. 
 
 Jul. Amen ! 
 
 riursc. W flat i 
 
 Jul. Well, thou hast comforted me marvellous 
 much. 
 
 Go in ; and tell my lady I am gone, 
 
 Having displeas'd my father, to Laurence' cell, 
 
 To make confession and to be absolv'd. 
 
 Nurse. Marry, I will ; and this is wisely done. 
 
 {Exit. 
 
 Jul. Ancient perdition ! Oh, most wicked fiend ! 
 Is it more sin to wish me thus forsworn, 
 Or to dispraise my lord with that same tongue 
 W^hich she hath prais'd him with above compare 
 So many thousand times ? — Go, counsellor; 
 Thou and my bosom henceforth shall be twain. — 
 I'll to the friar, to know his remedy : 
 If all else fail, myself have power to die. [Exit. 
 
 ACT 
 
 SCENE I.— Friar Laurence's Cell. 
 
 Enter Friar Laurence and Paris. 
 
 Fri. L. On Thursday, sir ? the time is very 
 short. 
 
 Par. My father Capulet will have it so ; 
 And I am nothing slow, to slack his haste. ^ 
 Fri. L. You say you do not know the lady's 
 mind : 
 
 Uneven is the course, I like it not. 
 
 Par. Immoderately she weeps for Tybalt's death, 
 And therefore have I little talk'd of love ; 
 For Venus smiles not in a house of tears. 
 Now, sir, her father counts it dangerous 
 That she doth give her sorrow so much sway ; 
 And, in his wisdom, hastes our marriage, 
 To stop the inundation of her tears ; 
 Which, too much minded by herself alone, 
 May be put from her by society : 
 Now do you know the reason of this haste. 
 
 Fri. L. [Aside.] I would I knew not why it 
 should be slow'd.^ 
 Look, sir, here comes the lady towards my cell. 
 
 Enter Juliet. 
 Par. Happily met, my lady and my wife ! 
 Jul. That may be, sir, when I may be a wife. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Par, That may be must be, love, on Thursday 
 next. 
 
 Jul. What must be, shall be. 
 Fri. L. That's a certain text. 
 Par. Come you to make confession to this 
 father ? 
 
 Jul. To answer that, I should confess to you. 
 Par. Do not deny to him that you love me. 
 Jul. I will confess to you that I love him. 
 Par. So will you, I am sure, that you love me. 
 Jul. If I do so, it will be of more price, 
 Being spoke behind your back, than to your face. 
 Par. Poor soul, thy face is much abus'd with 
 tears. 
 
 Jul. The tears have got small victory by that ; 
 For it was bad enough before their spite. 
 
 Par. Thou wrong'st it, more than tears, with 
 that report. 
 
 Jul. That is no slander, sir, which is a truth ; 
 And what I spake, I spake it to my face. 
 
 Par. Thy face is mine, and thou hast slander'd it. 
 
 Jul. It may be so, for it is not mine own. — ■ 
 Are you at leisure, holy father, now ; 
 Or shall I come to you at evening mass ?^ 
 
 Fri. L. My leisure serves me, pensive daughter, 
 now. — 
 
 My lord, we must entreat the time alone. 
 
 99. As living here. ' As living in this world.' 
 
 1. / mil nothing slow, to slack his haste. This sentence 
 offers a notable instance of Shakespeare's elliptical style ; which 
 IS sometimes, as here, so condensed as to give, superficially 
 viewed, the contrary effect to the one intended. Besides his 
 condensation, it must also be borne in mind that he frequently 
 u.ses the word "to" with great latitude of significance ; and 
 therf we shall see that Paris is meant to say, ' I am not slow 
 in my own desire to have the wedding speedily, a slowness 
 which would tend to slacken his haste.' We here take occasion 
 to point out the remarkably few instances of elliptical diction in 
 the present play. It was a form that he used but sparingly in 
 
 his earlier dramas ; whereas, in his latter ones, it occurs per- 
 petually. As his habit of writing and facility of expression 
 increased, so his power of condensed and inclusive phraseology 
 strengthened ; while his own taste and judgment made him 
 ever more and more exercise it as a skill in itself and as pro- 
 
 2. Slow'd. To ' slow' was a verb used in Shakespeare's time. 
 
 3. Evening mass. Meaning 'vespers.' "Mass" is always 
 performed during the morning. The word "mass" is here 
 employed in the general sense of 'service,' 'office,' 'prayer;' 
 while, on the contrary, the Italians usually apply their word 
 ftinzione to 'high mass' only, though in strictness it means 
 
 ' divine service' generally. 
 
 37 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Par. God shield I should disturb devotion ! — 
 Juliet, on Thursday early will I rouse ye : 
 Till then, adieu ; and keep this holy kiss. [^Ex'tt. 
 
 Jul. Oh, shut t-he door ! and when thou hast 
 done so, 
 
 Come weep with me ; past hope, past cure, past 
 help! 
 
 Fri. L. Ah ! Juliet, I already know thy grief ; 
 It strains me past the compass of my wits : 
 I hear thou must, and nothing may prorogue'' it, 
 On Thursday next be married to this county. 
 
 Jul. Tell me not, friar, that thou hear'st of this 
 Unless thou tell me how I may prevent it : 
 If, in thy wisdom, thou canst give no help, 
 Do thou but call ray resolution wise. 
 And with this knife I'll help it presently. 
 God join'd my heart and Romeo's, thou our hands; 
 And ere this hand, by thee to Romeo seal'd, 
 Shall be the label to another deed,^ 
 Or my true heart with treacherous revolt 
 Turn to another, this shall slay them both : 
 Therefore, out of thy long-experienc'd time. 
 Give me some present counsel ; or, behold, 
 'Twixt my extremes and me this bloody knife ^ 
 Shall play the umpire j arbitrating that 
 Which the commission^ of thy years and art 
 Could to no issue of true honour bring. 
 Be not so long to speak;' I long to die. 
 If what thou speak'st speak not of remedy. 
 
 Fri. L. Hold, daughter : I do spy a kind of hope, 
 Which craves as desperate an execution 
 As that is desperate which we would prevent.' 
 If, rather than to marry County Paris, 
 Thou hast the strength of will to slay thyself. 
 Then is it likely thou wilt undertake 
 A thing like death to chide away this shame. 
 That cop'st with death himself to scape from it; 
 
 4. Prorogue. See Note i6, Act ii. 
 
 5. The label to another deed. Instead of being placed on the 
 deeds themselves, seals of attestation were placed upon labels 
 on slips of parchment, which were appended to the deeds. See 
 Note 20, Act v., "Richard II." 
 
 6. ' T'Mixt 7ity extremes and me, ' This dagger shall 
 decide the struggle between me and my distresses.' 
 
 7. Commission. Here used for ' authority.' See Note 47, 
 Acti., "Winter's Tale." 
 
 8. Be not so long to speak. Admirably ha^ Shakespeare 
 maintained the native warmth and eagerness with youthful 
 impatience that characterise Juliet throughout. Compare her 
 breathless flutter, her rapid utterance, her quick and almost 
 anticipative course of thought, making her several times break 
 in upon her lover's speech and interrupt him ere he can finish 
 what he is about to say, during the dialogue in the garden scene 
 {see Note 21, Act ii.) : compare all this with her conduct and 
 diction in the present scene, and observe how wonderfully 
 the character is preserved from first to last. The constraint 
 with sparing speech, too, visible in Juliet when with her parents, 
 as contrasted with her free outpouring flow of words when she 
 is with her lover, her father-confessor, or her nurse— when, in 
 short, she is her natural self and at perfect ease — is equally true 
 to characteristic delineation. The young girl, the very young 
 girl, the girl brought up as Juliet has been reared, the youthful 
 
 And, if thou dar'st, I'll give thee remedy. 
 
 Jul. Oh, bid me leap, rather than marry Pari-, 
 From off the battlements of yonder tower ; 
 Or walk in thievish ways ; or bid me lurk 
 Where serpents are ; chain me with roaring bears , 
 Or shut me nightly in a charnel-house, 
 O'er-cover'd quite with dead men's rattling bone?, 
 With reeky shanks, and yellow chapless skulls ; 
 Or bid me go into a new-made grave, 
 And hide me with a dead man in his shroud ;!" 
 Things that, to hear them told, have made me 
 tremble ; 
 
 And I will do it without fear or doubt. 
 To live an unstain'd wife to my sweet love. 
 
 Fri. L. Hold, then ; go home, be merry, gii e 
 consent 
 
 To marry Paris : Wednesday is to-morrow ; 
 To-morrow night look that thou lie alone. 
 Let not thy nurse lie with thee in thy chamber : 
 Take thou this vial, being then in bed, 
 And this distilled liquor drink thou off : 
 When, presently, through all thy veins shall run 
 A cold and drowsy humour; for no pulse 
 Shall keep his native progress, but surcease 
 No warmth, no breath, shall testify thoii liv'st ; 
 The roses in thy lips and cheeks shall fade 
 To paly ashes ; thy eyes' windows fall, 
 Like death, when he shuts up the day of life ; 
 Each part, depriv'd of supple government. 
 Shall, stiff and stark and cold, appear like death : 
 And in this borrow'd likeness of shrunk death 
 Thou shalt continue two and forty hours. 
 And then awake as from a pleasant sleep. - 
 Now, when the bridegroom in the morning comes 
 To rouse thee from thy bed, there art thou dead : 
 Then (as the manner of our country is) 
 In thy best robes, uncover'd, on the bier,'- 
 
 southern maiden lives and breathes in every line by which 
 Shakespeare has set her before us. 
 
 9 Which craves as desperate an exectition as thai is 
 desperate which we would prevent. It is interesting to observe 
 how different is the style here, in one of Shakespeare's earlier 
 written plays, from the style in his later ones. The repetition 
 of the word " desperate," the precision of statement in this 
 comparison, is utterly contrary to the conciseness, the elliptical 
 condensedness which \\'e find in the comparisons from Shake- 
 speare's hand at a later date. See, for instance. Note 51, Act 
 iv., "Troilus and Cressida ; " Note 37, Act ii., "Coriolanus;" 
 and Not2 14s, Act iv., "Winter's Tale," among a multitude of 
 other.s. 
 
 10. With a dead man in his shroud. "Shroud" is the word 
 given in this line by the undated Quarto. The other Quartos 
 omit it altogether; while the Folio, by an error,' repeats "grave" 
 from the previous line in substitution for " shroud " here. 
 
 11. Surcease. An ancient form of ' cease,' 'stop.' See Note 
 77, Act iii., "Coriolanus." 
 
 12. In thy best robes, U7icove7'd, 071 the bier. The ancient 
 ItaHan custom, here recorded, of bearing a dead body to the 
 grave richly attired, and with the face " uncovered," still 
 prevails in many parts of Italy. It is mentioned in Arthur 
 Brooke's poem on the subject of " Romeo and Juliet," and also 
 in Coryat's " Crudities." 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 Thou shalt be*borne to that same ancient vault 
 Where all the kindred of the Capulets lie. 
 In the meantime, against thou shalt awake, 
 Shall Romeo by my letters know our drift ; 
 And hither shall he come : and he and I 
 Will watch thy waking, and that very night 
 Shall Romeo bear thee hence to Mantua. 
 And this shall free thee from this present shame ; 
 It'no inconstant toy,'* nor womanish fear. 
 Abate thy valour in the acting it. 
 Jul. Give me, give me ! Oh, tell not me of 
 fear ! 
 
 Fri. L. Hold ; get you gone, be strong and 
 prosperous 
 
 In this resolve : I'll send a friar with speed 
 To Mantua, with my letters to thy lord. 
 
 Jul. Love give me strength ! and strength shall 
 help afford. 
 
 Farewell, dear father! {Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE W.— Hall in Capulet's Houie. 
 
 Enter Capulet, Lady Capulet, Nurse, and 
 Servant. 
 
 Cap. So many guests invite as here are writ. — 
 \_Exit First Servant. 
 Sirrah, go hire me twenty cunning cooks.''' 
 
 Sec. Sernj. You shall have none ill, sir ; for I'll 
 try if they can lick their fingers. 
 
 Cap. How canst thou try them so ? 
 
 Sec. Ser'v. Marry, sir, 'tis an ill cook that 
 cannot lick his own fingers therefore he that 
 cannot lick his fingers goes not with me. 
 
 Cap. Go, be gone. — [Exit Sec. Servant. 
 
 We shall be much unfurnish'd for this time.— 
 What ! is my daughter gone to Friar Laurence ? 
 
 13. Tay. 'Freak,' 'whim,' 'triviality.' 
 
 14. Tiuenty cunning cooks. The elaborate cookery which 
 was a part of feasting formerly required a staff of culinary 
 .irtlsts that appear impossibly enormous now-a-days. Moreover, 
 Capulet's previous declaration in Act iii., sc. 4, " We'll keep no 
 great ado, — a friend or two," must be taken as said in the same 
 spirit of affected unostentation as his words, "We have a 
 trifling foolish banquet towards" (see Note 104, Act i.) ; while 
 his anxious desire here to have all things done in a spirit 
 of lavish profusion is in accordance with his fussy hospitality 
 when he holds his "old accustomed feast," and gives his ball- 
 supper in the early part of the play. 
 
 15. Cannot lick his own Jingers. Puttenham, in his "Arte 
 of English Poesie," 1589, gives the proverbial saying here 
 alluded to : — 
 
 " As the olde cocke crowes, so doeth the chicke : 
 A bad cooke that cannot his owne fingers licke." 
 
 16. He may diance to do some good on her. A similar form 
 of idiomatic expression is used by Glendower, where he says 
 of his daughter, Lady Mortimer, " One that no persuasion 
 can do good upon." And he calls her by the same rough name, 
 "a peevish self-will'd harlotry," as Capulet here applies to his 
 daughter Juliet. See Note 34, Act iii., " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 Nurse. Ay, forsooth. 
 
 Cap. Well, he may chance to do some good on 
 her:'« 
 
 A peevish self-wlU'd harlotry it is. 
 
 Nurse. See where she comes from shrift with 
 merry look. 
 
 Enter Juliet. 
 
 Cap. How now, my headstrong ! where have 
 
 you bean gadding ? 
 Jul. Where I have learn'd me to repent the 
 
 sin 
 
 Of disobedient oppo.sition 
 
 To you and your behests ; and am enjoin'd 
 
 By holy Laurence to fall prostrate here. 
 
 And beg your pardon : — pardon, I beseech you ! 
 
 Henceforward I am ever rul'd by you. 
 
 Cap. Send for the county ; go tell him of this : 
 I'll have this knot knit up to-morrow morning. 
 
 Jul. I met the youthful lord at Laurence' cell ; 
 And gave him what become!'' love I might. 
 Not stepping o'er the bounds of modesty. 
 
 Cap. Why, I am glad on 't ; this is well, — stand 
 up,— 
 
 This is as 't should be.— Let me see the county ; 
 Ay, marry, go, I say, and fetch him hither. — 
 Now, afore Heaven, this reverend holy friar, 
 All our whole city is much bound to him. 
 
 Jul. Nurse, will you go with me into my closet. 
 To help me sort such needful ornaments 
 As you think fit to furnish me to-morrow ? 
 
 La. Cap. No, not till Thursday; there is time 
 enough. 
 
 Cap. Go, nurse, go with her : — we'll to church 
 to-morrow. [Exeunt Juliet and Nurse. 
 La. Cap. We shall be short in our provision : 
 'Tis now near night. '^ 
 
 Cap. Tush, I will stir about. 
 
 17. Becomid. Here used for 'becoming;' the passive form 
 of participle and the active form of participle were sometimes 
 used the one for the other. See Note 56, Act iii., " King John." 
 
 18. 'Tis now near night. On this passage Malone has a 
 note, ending with the observation, "This is one out of the 
 many instances of our author's inaccuracy in the computation of 
 time.'' That which appeared to Mr. Malone and other con- 
 temporary critics to be " inaccuracy," and subject for sneering 
 censure (see Note 96, Act ii., "Merchant of Venice"), has since 
 been discovered to result from accurate system, and to deserve 
 the highest admiration. See Notes i and 35, Act iv., "Measure 
 for Measure;" Notes 7, 10, 54, and 55, Act iii., "Merchant 
 of Venice;" Note 78, Act iii., "First Part Henry IV.;" and 
 Note 75, Act ii. of thjs play. If the indications of time be care- 
 fully examined throughout the present play, we shall see how 
 assiduously and ingeniously the dramatist has taken pains to trace 
 it all along. In the first scene, the prince desires Capulet to go 
 with him at once, and Montague to come to him "this after- 
 noon," to know his pleasure in the affair of the street-brawl 
 between their rival houses ; in the second scene, Capulet speaks 
 of Montague being " bound," as well as himself, which in- 
 dicates that the prince's charge has just been given to both of 
 them, and shortly after speaks of the festival which is to take 
 place at his house " this night." On the night of the festival 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 And all things shall be well, I warrant thee, wife : 
 
 Go thou to Juliet, help to deck up her ; 
 
 I'll not to bed to-night ; — let me alone ; 
 
 I'll play the housewife for this once. — What, ho ! — 
 
 They are all forth : well, I will walk myself 
 
 To County Paris, to prepare him up 
 
 Against to-morrow : my heart is wondrous light, 
 
 Since this same wayward girl is so reclaim'd. 
 
 [^Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE III.-JULiET's Chamber. 
 
 Enter Juliet and Nurse. 
 
 Jul. Ay, those attires are best:— but, gentle 
 nurse, 
 
 I pray thee, leave me to myself to-night 
 
 For I have need of many orisons 
 
 To move the heavens to smile upon my state, 
 
 Which, well thou know'st, is cross and full of sin. 
 
 Enter Lady Capulet. 
 La. Cap. What! are you busy, ho? need you 
 my help ? 
 
 Jul. No, madam ; we have cuU'd such neces- 
 saries 
 
 As are behoveful for our state to-morrow : 
 So please you, let me now be left alone, 
 And let the nurse this night sit up with you ; 
 For, I am sure, you have your hands full all. 
 In this so sudden business. 
 
 La. Cap. Good night : 
 
 Get thee to bed, and rest ; for thou hast need. 
 
 \_Exeunt Lady Cafulet and Nurse. 
 
 Jul. Farewell ! — God knows when we shall 
 meet again. 
 
 Romeo sees Juliet in the garden, when she speaks of sending to 
 him '.' to-morrow ; " and on that ' morrow ' the lovers are 
 united by Friar Laurence. The third Act opens with the scene 
 where Tybalt kills Mercutio, and during which scene Romeo's 
 words, Tybalt, that aii hour hath bien my kinsman," show 
 that the then time is the afternoon of the same dayj the friar, 
 at the close of sc. iii. of that Act, bids Romeo " good-night ; " 
 and in the ne.xt scene, Paris, in reply to Capulet's inquiry, 
 '•What day is this?" replies "Monday, my lord." This, by 
 the way, denotes that the "old accustomed feast" of the 
 Capulet family, according to a usual practice in Catholic 
 countries, was celebrated on a Sunday evening. In sc. 5 of 
 Act iii. comes the parting of the lovers at dawn of Tuesday 
 morning, when Lady Capulet comes to her daughter's room, 
 and when, at the close of the scene, Juliet says she shall 
 repair to Friar Laurence's cell. Act iv. commences with her 
 appearance there, thus carrying on the action during the same 
 day. Tuesd.iy. But the effect of long time is introduced by 
 the mention of evenhig mass," and by the friar's detailed 
 directions and reference to " to-morrow night ; " so that when 
 the mind h.is been prepared by the change of scene, by 
 Capulet's an.xious superv ision of his household preparations for 
 the wedding, and by Juliet's return to filial submission, there 
 seems no violence done to the imagination by Lady Capulet's 
 remarking, " 'Tis now near night." Nay, it is one of Shake- 
 speare's expedients in dramatic time for bringing on the period 
 
 I have a faint cold fear thrills through my veins, 
 
 That almost freezes up the heat of life : 
 
 I'll call them back again to comfort me ; — 
 
 Nurse ! — What should she do here ? 
 
 My dismal scene I needs must act alone. — 
 
 Come, vial. — 
 
 What if this mixture do not work at all ? 
 
 Shall I be married, then, to-morrow morning ? — 
 
 No, no ; — this shall forbid it : — lie thou there. — 
 
 \Laying doivn her dagger.^^ 
 What if it be a poison, which the friar 
 Subtly hath minister'd to have me dead. 
 Lest in this marriage he should be dishonour'd, 
 Because he married me before to Romeo ? 
 I fear it is : and yet, methinks, it should not, 
 For he hath still been tried a holy man : 
 I will not entertain so bad a thought.'" — 
 How if, when I am laid into the tomb, 
 I wake before the time that Romeo 
 Come to redeem me ? there's a fearful point! 
 Shall I not, then, be stifled in the vault. 
 To whose foul mouth no healthsome air breathes 
 in, 
 
 And there die strangled ere my Romeo comes 'i 
 
 Or, if [ live, is it not very like, 
 
 The horrible conceit of death and night. 
 
 Together with the terror of the place, — 
 
 As in a vault, an ancient receptacle. 
 
 Where, for these many hundred years, the bones 
 
 Of all my buried ancestors are pack'd ; 
 
 Where bloody Tybalt, yet but green in earth. 
 
 Lies festering in his shroud ; where, as they say. 
 
 At some hours in the night spirits resort ; — 
 
 Alack, alack, is it not like that I, 
 
 So early waking, — what with loathsome smells. 
 
 And shrieks like mandrakes' torn out of the earth, 
 
 That living mortals, hearing them, run mad ; — 
 
 of the catastrophe ; for Juliet retires to her own room with 
 the stated intention of selecting wedding attire ready for the 
 next morning, which her father has said shall be that of the 
 marriage, anticipating it by a whole day — Wednesday instead of 
 Thursday — thus naturally preparing for the immediate sequence 
 of the incidents which occupy the remainder of the fourth 
 Act. 
 
 19. Laying down her dagger. The stage direction here was 
 first supplied by Rowe ; warranted by the reading of the 1597 
 Quarto, which gives the line thus:— 'This shall forbid it. 
 K7ti/e, lye thou there.' A dagger, or, as it was commonly 
 called, a knife, was often worn by women formerly ; and Juliet 
 refers to hers in the previous scene with the friar, where she 
 says, "With this knife I'll help it presently." 
 
 20. I iviil not entertai7i so tad a thought. This line, found 
 only in the first Quarto, seems to us to be so characteristic of 
 Juliet, in its sweet girlish simplicity and trustfulness, that we 
 believe it to have been what the author wrote, and intended to 
 retain, and that it was omitted by mistake in the Folio and 
 other old copies. 
 
 21. Shrieks tike mandrake^. The fatal effects attributed to 
 the sound supposed to be uttered by the mandrake when rent 
 from the ground are described in Note 95, Act iii., " Second 
 Part Henry VI. ; " and in Webster's " Duchess of Maify," 1623, 
 there is an illustrative passage : — " I have this night digg'd up 
 a mandrake, and am grown 7nad widi it." 
 
ACT IV.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scenes IV., V. 
 
 Oh, if I wake,22 shall I not be distraught,^^ 
 Environed with all these hideous fears? 
 And madly play with my forefathers' joints ? 
 And pluck the mangled Tybalt from his shroud ? 
 And, in this rage, with some great kinsman's bone, 
 As with a club, dash out my desperate brains ?— 
 Oh, look ! methinks I see my cousin's ghost 
 Seeking out Romeo, that did spit his body 
 Upon a rapier's point .-—stay, Tybalt, stay !— 
 Romeo, I come ! this do I drink to thee.^-* 
 
 {Tbrouos herself on the bed. 
 
 SCENE IV.— Hall in Capulet's House. 
 Enter Lady Capulet and Nurse. 
 
 La Cap. Hold, take these keys, and fetch more 
 
 spices, nurse. 
 Nurse. They call for dates"** and quinces in the 
 
 pastry.20 
 
 Enter Capulet. 
 Cap. Come, stir, stir, stir ! the second cock 
 hath crov.''d. 
 
 The curfew bell hath rung, 'tis three o'clock — 
 Look to the bak'd meats, good Angelica: 
 Spare not for cost. 
 
 Nurse. Go, you cot-quean,^'' go, 
 
 Get you to bed ; faith, you'll be sick to-morrow 
 For this night's watching.'-' 
 
 Cap. No, not a whit : what ! I have watch'd ere 
 now 
 
 All night for lesser cause, and ne'er been sick. 
 La. Cap. Ay, you have been a mouse-hunt^" in 
 your time ; 
 
 But I will watch you from such watching now. 
 
 [Exeunt Lady Capulet and Nurse. 
 
 22. O/t, if J wake. The word " wake" here is the reading of 
 the undated Quarto, and of the 1637 Quarto ; while the Folio 
 and the other Quartos print 'walke.' It is worth while to 
 notice the inconsecutive construction in the course of the 
 present soliloquy ; so Shakespearianly indicative of agitation in 
 the speaker. The present sentence, for instance, beginning, 
 "Alack, alack, is it not like that I, so early waking,— what 
 with," &c. ; then breaking off unfinishedly, and proceeding dis- 
 jointedly with "Oh, if I wake, shall I not," &c. See Notes 56 
 and 92, Act i., " Richard III." 
 
 23. Distraught. An old form of ' distracted.' 
 
 24. Rotneo, I coiucl this do I drink to thee. This line, the 
 reading of the 1597 Qu.-irto, is given in the Folio thus : — 
 'Romeo, Romeo, Romeo, here's drinke : I drinke to thee.' 
 
 25. Dates. See Note 39, Act i., " Trollus and Cressida." 
 
 26. The pastry. The room where paste or pastry was made : 
 as ' pantry ' was the name given to the room where bread (Latin, 
 patiis) in former times was exxlusively kept ; and ' laundry' to 
 the one where washing (old French, lavanderie] was done. 
 
 27. The curfew bell hath rung, 'tis three o'clock. "The 
 curfew bell " originally sigaified the bell rung at even-tide (sec 
 Note 25, Act iv., " Measure for Measure") : but inasmuch as the 
 same bell was used for ringing the last thing at night and the 
 first thing in the morning, it is probable that the same term 
 
 Cap. A jealous-hood, a jealous-hood! — Now 
 fellow, 
 
 Enter Servants, w//^ spits, logs, and baskets. 
 What's there ? 
 
 First Ser'v. Things for the cook, sir ; but I 
 
 know not what. 
 Cap. Make haste, make haste. — \_Exit First 
 j'fra.]— Sirrah, fetch drier logs : 
 Call Peter, he will show thee where they are. 
 Sec. Ser-v. I have a head, sir, that will find out 
 logs. 
 
 And never trouble Peter for the matter. [Exit. 
 Cap. Mass, and well said ; a merry villain, 
 ha! 
 
 Thou shalt be logger-head. — Good faith, 'tis day : 
 The county will be here with music straight, 
 
 [Musu m.'ithin. 
 For so he said he would : — I hear him near. — • 
 Nurse!— wife! — what, ho! — what, nurse, I say! 
 
 Re-enter Nurse. 
 Go waken Juliet, go and trim her up ; 
 I'll go and chat with Paris: — hie, make haste, 
 Make haste ; the bridegroom he is come already : 
 Make haste, I say. [Exeunt, 
 
 SCENE Y.—]v!um:'s Chamber t Juliet o.-j 
 the bed. 
 Enter Nurse. 
 
 Nurse. Mistress !— what, mistress! — Juliet! — 
 
 fast, I warrant her, she : — 
 Why, lamb !— why, lady !— fie, you slug-a-bed ! — 
 Why, love, I sny ! — madam! sweet-heart! — why, 
 
 bride ! — 
 
 came to be applied to the ringing at both periods : so that 
 what is here familiarly called " the curfew bell" means, more 
 strictly speaking, " the matin bell." 
 
 28. Cot-quean. An old name for a man who meddled and 
 pottered in domestic affairs that more properly belong to female 
 superintendence ; what, in modern phraseology, is called a 
 ' molly-coddle.' The term survived to a much later period in 
 provincial use; for in No. 482 of "The Spectator" mention is 
 made of a country gentleman, .skilled in preserving apricots, 
 making jellies, seasoning venison, and making pastry — "a 
 character who, in several places of England, goes by the name 
 of a cot-quean." 
 
 29. Sick to-morrow for this night s watching. " For" is 
 here used in the sense of ' on account of.' See Note 9, Act iv., 
 "Richard III." 
 
 30. Mcnise-iitirit. An old name for a stoat, marten, or weasel ; 
 accustomed to hunt for its prey in the night-time. "Mouse" 
 was formerly a term of familiar endearment for a woman (see 
 Note 75, Act i., "Twelfth Night"); which explains Lady 
 Capulet's sportive application of the word "mouse-hunt" to her 
 husband, as a hint that he had formerly been a perilous young 
 gallant. He himself boasts in the ball-scene of the day when 
 he wore a visor, and " could tell a whispering tale in a fair 
 lady's ear, such as would please." 
 
Act iV.j ROMEO AND JULIET. [^^'^eni: V. 
 
 yicliet. What if it be a poison, which the friar 
 Subtly hath ininister'd to have me dead. Act IV. Scate III 
 
 What! not a word ?— you take your pennyworths 
 now. 
 
 Marry, and Amen, how sound is she asleep ! 
 1 must needs wake her. — Madam, madam, 
 madam ! 
 
 What, dress'd ! and in your clothes! and down 
 again ! 
 
 I must needs wake you : — Lady ! lady ! lady ! — 
 Alas, alas! — Help, help ! my lady's dead ! — 
 Oh, well-a-day, that ever I was born ! — 
 Some aqua-njiite, ho 1^' — My lord ! my lady ! 
 
 Enter Lady Capulet. 
 La. Cap. What noise is here? 
 Nurse. Oh, lamentable day ! 
 
 La. Cap. What is the matter ? 
 Nurse. Look, look ! oh, heavy day ! 
 
 3J. Some aqua-vitce, ho! See Note 38, Act iii. This is a 
 
 La. Cap. Oh, me ! oh, mc !— My child, my only 
 life. 
 
 Revive, look up, or I will die with thee! — 
 Help, help ! — call help. 
 
 Enter Capulet. 
 
 Cap. For shame, bring Juliet forth ; her lord is 
 come. 
 
 Nurse. She's dead, deceas'd, she's dead ; alack 
 the day ! 
 
 La. Cap. Alack the day, she's dead, she's dead, 
 she's dead ! 
 
 Cap. Ha ! let me see her :— out, alas ! she's 
 cold; 
 
 Her blood is settled, and her joints are stiff; 
 Life and these lips have long been separated: 
 
 favourite remedy with Mistress Nurse ; and she has 
 it upon all occasions trying to her feelings. 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 Death lies on her like an untimely frost 
 Upon the sweetest flower of all the field. 
 Nurse. Oh, lamentable day ! 
 La. Cap. Oh, woeful time I 
 
 Cap. Death, that hath ta'en her hence to make 
 me wail. 
 
 Ties up my tongue, and will not let me speak. 
 
 Enter Friar Laurence and Paris, lu'tth 
 Musicians. 
 
 Fr'i. L. Come, is the bride ready to go to 
 church ? 
 
 Cap. Ready to go, but never to return : — 
 Oh, son, the night before thy wedding-day 
 Hath death lain with thy wife there she lies. 
 Flower as she was, deflowered by him. 
 Death is my son-in-law, death is m.y heir; 
 My daughter he hath wedded ; I will die. 
 And leave him all ; life, living, all is death's.^^ 
 
 Par. Have I thought long to seq this morning's 
 face, 
 
 And doth it give me such a sight as this ? 
 La. Cap. Accurs'dj unhappy, wretched, hateful 
 
 day ! 
 
 Most miserable hour that e'er time saw 
 In lasting labour of his pilgrimage ! 
 But one, poor one. one poor and loving child,^^ 
 But one thing to rejoice and solace in,^^ 
 And cruel death hath catch'd it from my sight! 
 Nurse. Oh, woe ! oh, woeful, woeful, woeful 
 day! 
 
 Most lamentable day, most woeful day, 
 That ever, ever, I did yet behold ! 
 Oh, day ! oh, day ! oh, day ! oh, hateful day ! 
 Never was seen so black a day as this : 
 Oh, woeful day ! oh, woefpl day ! 
 
 Par. Beguil'd, divorced, wronged, spited, slain ! 
 Most detestable death, by thee beguil'd. 
 By cruel cruel thee quite overthrown !— 
 Oh, love I oh, life! — not life, but love in death ! 
 
 Cap. Despis'd, distressed, hated, martyr'd, 
 kill'd !— 
 
 Uncomfortable time, why cam'stthou novy 
 
 To murder, murder our solemnity ? — 
 
 Oh, child ! oh, child ! — my soul, and not my child ! 
 
 Dead art thou! — alack, my child is dead ; 
 
 And with my child my joys are buried ! 
 
 32. Life, living-, all is death's. " Living" is here used ii> 
 the sense of 'possessions,' 'wealth.' See Note 47, Act v., 
 ■' Merchant of Venice." 
 
 33. But one, poor one, one poor and loving child. See Note 
 89, Act iii. 
 
 34. To rejoice and solace in. " Solace," bearing the sense of 
 ' take comfort," ' take delight,' is here used as a neuter verb. 
 
 35. Confusions cure li'jes not in these cou/iisions. The old 
 copies print ' care' for " cure." Theobald's correction., 
 
 36. Heaven keeps his part . ... as high as heaven itself. 
 Example of Shakespeare's using " his" and " itself" in relation 
 to the same subject in the same sentence. See Note 52, Act v., 
 " Henry V." 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 ¥ri. L. Peace, ho, for shame I confusion's cure 
 lives not 
 
 In these confusions.^* Heaven and yourself 
 Had part in this fair maid ; now Heaven hath all, 
 And all the better is it for the maid : 
 Your part in her you could not keep from death ; 
 But Heaven keeps his part in eternal life. 
 The most you sought was her promotion : 
 For 'twas your heaven she should be advanc'd : 
 And weep ye now, seeing she is advanc'd 
 Above the clouds, as high as heaven itself P^^ 
 Oh, in this love, you love your child so ill, 
 That you run mad, seeing that she is well 
 She's not well married that lives married long ; 
 But she's best married that dies married young. 
 Dry up your tears, and stick your rosemary*' 
 On this fair corse ; and, as the custom is. 
 In all her best array bear her to church -.^^ 
 For though fond nature*" bids us all lament, 
 Yet nature's tears are reason's merriment. 
 
 Cap. All things that we ordained festival, 
 Turn from their ofiice to black funeral : 
 Our instruments, to melancholy bells; 
 Our wedding cheer, to a sad burial feast ; 
 Our solemn hymns to sullen dirges change 
 Our bridal floiyers serve for a buried corse, 
 And all things change them to the contrary. 
 
 Fr'i. L. Sir, go you in,— and, madam, go with 
 him ; — 
 
 And go. Sir Paris ;— every one prepare 
 To follow this fair corse unto her grave t 
 The heavens do lower upon you for some ill ; 
 Move them no more by crossing their high will, 
 
 {^Exeunt Capulet, Lady Capulet, Paris, 
 and Friar. 
 
 First Mus. Faith, we may put up our pipes, and 
 be gone. 
 
 Nurse. Honest good fellows, ah ! put up, put 
 up; 
 
 For, well you know, this is a pitiful case. [^Ex'tt. 
 First Mus. Ay, by my troth, the case may be 
 aipended. 
 
 Enter Peter.'*! 
 Pet. Musicians, oh, musicians, " Heart's ease. 
 Heart's ease : " oh, an you will have me live, play 
 " Heart's ^ase." 
 
 37. Seeing tJiai she is mefl. Ope of several allusions in 
 Shakespeare to the conventional njode of saying of the dead 
 that ^Ijey are " well." See Note 2, Act v., " Winter's Tale." 
 
 38. Rosemary. This herb, being supposed to strengthen 
 n;iemory, and therefore made to typify remembrance, was used 
 
 " at funerals as well as at marriages. See Note 77, Act ii. 
 
 39. In all her best array hear her to church. See Note 12 
 of this Act. 
 
 4Q. Though fond nature. The gld copies print 'some' 
 instead of "fond," which was" the correction by the editor of 
 the second Folio. ' 
 
 41. Enter Peter. This is the stage direction given in the 
 I Folio and the latter Quartos. In the 1399 Quarto it is given 
 194 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
Act IV. 
 
 Fint Mus. Why " Heart's ease " ? 
 
 Pet. Oh, musicians, because my heart itself 
 plays " My heart is full of woe : " ■'^ oh, play me 
 some merry dump,''^ to comfort me. 
 
 First Mus. Not a dump we ; 'tis no time to play 
 
 Pet. You will not, then ? 
 First Mus. No. 
 
 Pet. I will, then, give it you soundly. 
 
 First Mus. What will you give us ? 
 
 Pet. No money, on my faith ; but the gleek,^'' 
 — I v\ill give you the minstrel. 
 
 First Mus. Then will I give you the serving- 
 creature. 
 
 Pet. Then will I lay the serving-creature's dag- 
 ger'*' on your pate. I will carry no crotchets — 
 I'll re you, I'll fa you ; do you note me 
 
 First Mus. An you re us and fa us, you note 
 us. 
 
 thus—' Enter Will Kemp,' and in the 1609 Quarto thus—' Enter 
 Will Kempe ; ' showing that William Kemp or Kempe origi- 
 nally played the part of Peter. We meet with the name of this 
 actor again in the first Folio ; where it appears among the pre- 
 fixes in "Much Ado," Act iv., sc. 2, as the name of the 
 performer who played the part of Dogberry. It is pleasant to 
 have these vestiges of men who played in Shakespeare's com- 
 pany ; in company with him, and in the company of which he 
 was a member. We can fancy him givmg them occasional hints 
 of how he would have certain characters played, and furnishing 
 them with many a touch of the playful or pathetic, humorous or 
 tragic in impersonation, as the case might be. See Note i. 
 Act iii., "Third Part Henry VI." 
 
 42. "Heart's ease." . . . "My heart is full 0/ unoe." 
 The names of two popular ballads in Shakespeare's time. 
 
 43. Some merry diimp, A "dump" was a doleful or 
 plaintive air (see Note 33, Act iii., "Two Gentlemen of 
 Verona"); and Peter facetiously adds the epithet "merry" 
 with intentional discrepancy. The introduction of this grinning 
 scene at a juncture of such seriousness in the tragedy has been 
 objected to as ill-judged on the part of the dramatist ; and even 
 Coleridge observes, " It is difficult to understand what effect, 
 whether that of pity or of laughter, Shakespeare intended 
 to produce;" but to our minds the intention was to show how 
 grief and gaiety, pathos and absurdity, sorrow and jesting, 
 elbow each other in life's crowd ; how the calamities of existence 
 fall heavily upon the souls of some, while others, standing close 
 beside the grievers, feel no jot of suffering or sympathy. Far 
 from the want of harmony that has been found here, we feel it 
 to be one of those passing discords that produce richest and 
 fullest effect of harmonious contrivance. The nurse's heart- 
 lessness in bidding Juliet renounce Romeo for Pans, from her 
 selfish desire to secure her snug place, with its comforts of good 
 feeding, store of aqua-vitiE, a footboy to wait upon her nurse- 
 ship, &c. &c., is in strict keeping with the footboy's callous 
 eagerness to have his "merry dump" played to him while 
 the musicians are conveniently in the house, though in the very 
 hour of his young lady's sudden death ; and the musicians' 
 loitering to bandy jokes with the footboy, secure their pay, and 
 get a good dinner ere they go, all combine to form the most 
 perfect harmony in dramatic composition. 
 
 44. Tlie gleek, — I will give yoit tlie minstrel. "Gleek" is 
 here used punningly, in reference to its sense of 'joke,' 'jeer' 
 (see Note 19, Act iii., "Midsummer Night's Dream"), and to 
 its sense as forming a portion of the word ' gleekman, " glig- 
 man,' or ' glee-man, which was an old term for a minstrel. 
 The girl-minstrel, in Walter Scott's " Fair Maid of Perth," is 
 called the "glee-maiden." 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 Sec. Mus. Pray you, put up your dagger, and 
 put out your wit. 
 
 Pet. Then have at you with my wit!'*^ I will 
 dry-beaf*" you with an iron wit, and put up my 
 iron dagger. — -Answer me like men : 
 
 When griping grief the heart doth wound,^** 
 And doleful dumps the mind oppress. 
 Then music with her silver sound — 
 
 why "silver sound" ? why "music with her silver 
 sound " ? — What say you, Simon Catling 
 
 First Mus. Marry, sir, because silver hath a 
 sweet sound. 
 
 Pet. Pretty !— What say you, Hugh Rebeck 
 
 Sec. Mus. I say, " silver sound," because musi- 
 cians sound for silver. 
 
 Pet. Pretty too !— what say you, James Sound- 
 post P 
 
 Third Mus. Faith, I know not what to say. 
 Pet. Oh, I cry you mercy ; you are the singer : 
 
 45. The serving-creatitre's dagger. Even in so slight a 
 touch as this, Shakespeare gives token of his sleepless attention 
 to consistency and the production of dramatic verity in effect. 
 Peter is thus shown to wear a knife or dagger about him, which 
 he draws upon the slightest occasion of threat, whether made 
 in joke or in earnest ; and this serves to make more natural the 
 point of Juliet's wearing a dagger. See Note ig of the present 
 Act. So habitual is the v/earing of this kind of weapon among 
 Italians, so constant and instinctive is their recourse to it on any 
 sudden emergency of menace given by themselves or received 
 from others, even at the present period, that not only is the knife 
 drawn on ordinary occasions, but in battle, in the struggle now 
 [July, 1866] going on against Austria, the meridional soldiers 
 are frequently known to throw away their muskets after the first 
 fire and betake themselves to their knives in preference to their 
 bayonets when they close, man to man, with their enemies. 
 
 46. / will carry no crotchets. An instance of Shakespeare's 
 using a familiarly known phrase, and varying it with one of his 
 own introduced words. See Note 76, Act ii. The effect is 
 given of the then well-known phrase, ' I'll not carry coals,' 
 meaning, 'I'll not put up with insults' (see Note i, Act i.) ; 
 while by introducing the word " crotchets " the joke is made 
 doubly applicable to the rallying musician, in the sense of those 
 musical symbols of notes denominated " crotchets," and those 
 whimsies of banter sometimes jocosely so called. 
 
 47. /'// re yoUy I'll fa you; do you note mel "Re" and 
 "fa" are terms of the gamut (see Note 53, Act iv., "Love's 
 Labour's Lost ") ; while " note " is asked in the sense of ' mark,' 
 ' observe,' and replied to in the sense the word bears for 
 musical notation. 
 
 4S. Then have at you with my wit! These words, in the 
 Folio and earlier Quartos, are made to form part of the second 
 musician's previous speech ; but, in the undated Quarto and 
 1637 Quarto, they are rightly assigned to Peter. 
 
 49. Dry-beat. See Note 11, Act iii. 
 
 50. Wlien griping grief, &^<r. This is the commencement of 
 a song, " In Commendation of Musick," by Richard Edwards, 
 printed in "The Paradise of Dayntle Devises," 1576, and in 
 Percy's " Rellques of Ancient English Poetry." The epithet 
 " griping " thus used was not deemed burlesque formerly. 
 Lord Surrey, in his translation of the Second Book of Virgil's 
 "j*;neid," makes the hero say— 
 
 " New gripes of dred then pearse our trembling brestes." 
 
 51. Catling. See Note 64, Act iii., "Troilus and Cresslda " 
 
 52. Rebeck. An instrument somewhat resembling the modem 
 fiddle, having three strings ; hence given as an appropriate 
 name to the fidUlir here. 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 I will say for you. It is " music with her silver 
 sound," because musicians have seldom gold for 
 sounding — 
 
 Then music with her silver sound 
 With speedy help doth lend redress. \^Exit. 
 
 First Mus. What a pestilent knave is this 
 same ! 
 
 Sec. Mus. Hang him, Jack — Come, we'll in 
 here ; tarry for the mourners, and stay dinner. 
 
 [^Exeunt. 
 
 ACT V. 
 
 SCENE I.— Mantua. A Street. 
 
 Ent:;- RoMEO. 
 
 Rom. If I may trust the flattering truth of 
 sleep,* 
 
 My dreams presage some joyful news at hand 
 My bosom's lord sits lightly in his throne;^ 
 And all this day an unaccustom'd spirit 
 Lifts me above the ground with cheerful thoughts. 
 1 dreamt my lady came and found me dead 
 (Strange dream, that gives a dead man leave to 
 think !), 
 
 And breath'd such life with kisses in my lips, 
 That I reviv'd, and was an emperor. 
 
 53. Seldom gold for sounding. " Seldom " is the word in the 
 first Quarto ; while the other Quartos and the Folio give ' no • 
 instead of " seldom." 
 
 54. Jack. Used as a term of dispuragement. See Note 54, 
 Act i. , " Richard III." 
 
 1. The flattering tmth 0/ sleep. The first Quarto reads 
 ' eye ' here instead of " truth ;" which is the word in the Folio 
 and all the other Quartos. Many editors adopt the word ' eye,' 
 pronouncing it to be the more intelligible word in this passage. 
 We greatly prefer the expression ** truth of sleep ; " poetically 
 conveying, as it does, to our imagination the verisimilitude of 
 visions presented during sleep. "Flattering" is here used in 
 the sense of ' illusive ; ' as in the previous passage, Act ii., 
 sc. 2 :— 
 
 " I am afeard. 
 Being in night, all this is but a dream. 
 Too flatlering-sv/ee\. to be substantial." 
 
 2. My dreams presage, &'c. Shakespeare has drawn Romeo 
 of peculiarly impressionable temperament. Very consistent 
 with his fancied passion for Rosaline and his sudden love for 
 Juliet is the susceptible imagination which causes him to say 
 (Act i., sc. 4), " I dreamt a dream to night," following it up soon 
 afterwards by that speech of vague dread — 
 
 " My mind misgives. 
 Some consequence, yet hanging in the stars. 
 Shall bitterly begin his fearful date 
 With this night's reveis : " 
 And again, in the garden scene — 
 
 " Oh, blessed, blessed night ! I am afeard, 
 Being in night, all this is but a dream, 
 Too flattering-sweet to be substantial." 
 Again, when he hears Mercutio is dead— 
 
 Ah me ! how sweet is love itself possess'd. 
 When but love's shadows are so rich in joy ! 
 
 Enter Balthasar. 
 News from Verona : — How now, Balthasar! 
 Dost thou not bring me letters from, the triar? 
 How doth my lady ? Is my father well ? 
 How fares my Juliet ? that I ask again ; 
 For nothing can be ill, if she be well. 
 Bal. Then she is well,^ and nothing can be 
 ill: 
 
 Her body sleeps in Capels' monument,' 
 And her immortal part with angels lives. 
 I saw her laid low in her kindred's vault. 
 
 "This day's black fate on more days doth depend ; 
 This but begins the woe, others must end." 
 While, on the contrary, equally sanguine and facile to anticipate 
 future good, when good presents itself to his imagination, are his 
 words of revived encouragement when the friar consoles him — 
 " How well my comfort is revived by this ! 
 
 But that a joy past joy, &c." 
 And also, in the same spirit, are his cheering words to his 
 Juliet, in the hour of their parting, when she exclaims— 
 
 " Oh, think'st thou we shall ever meet again ? " 
 He replies— 
 
 " I doubt it not ; and all these woes shall serve 
 For sweet discourses in our time to come." 
 Thoroughly young are his excitable fancy and his vivid im- 
 pressions ! at one moment full of dark misgivings ; at another 
 filled with rapturous hope and trust ! 
 
 3. My bosom's lord, dr'c. This exhilaration of spirits pre- 
 viously to the approach of misfortune is in accordance with a 
 popular superstition to which Shakespeare has more than once 
 alluded See Note 49, Act iv., " Second Part Henry IV. ; " also 
 the passage referred to in Note 30 of this Act. 
 
 4. T/ien she is ■well. See Note 17, Act v., "Second Part 
 Henry IV.," and Note 37, Act iv. of this play. 
 
 5. Ca/els* monument. The abbreviation of Capeis'" for 
 ' Capulets' ' is found in the poem by Arthur Brooke on the 
 subject of Romeo and Juliet, which probably partly furnished 
 Shakespeare with the groundwork for this play ; but he himself 
 has frequently these contracted forms of proper names, as 
 "Prosper" for ' Prospero,' " Helen " for * Helena,' &c., where 
 the metre is accommodated by the contraction, or where an 
 indication of affectionate familiarity is intended as in the present 
 play, Act i., sc. 3, " Jule" for 'Juliet' 
 
Act v.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Apothecary. Who calls so loud? 
 
 Romeo. Come hither, man. 
 
 Act V. Sce,ie I. 
 
 And presently took post to tell it you : 
 Oh, pardon me for bringing these ill nert's, 
 Since you did leave it for my office, sir. 
 
 Rom. Is it even so ? then I defy you, stars !^ — 
 Thou know'st my lodging : get me ink and 
 paper, 
 
 And hire post-horses ; I will hence to-night. 
 
 Bal. I do beseech you, sir, have patience : 
 Your looks are pale and wild, and do import 
 Some misadventure. 
 
 Rom. Tush, thou art deceiv'd : 
 
 Leave me, and do the thing I bid thee do. 
 Hast thou no letters to me from the friar ? 
 
 6. Then I defy you, stars 1 The Folio and all the Quartos 
 but one give 'denie' here instead of "defy;" which is the 
 word (printed "defie") in the first Quarto. There is a terribly 
 quiet depth of concentrated anguish and will in this brief 
 despairing ejaculation of Romeo's, that is more expressive than 
 a hundred raving lines of lament would be. It is noteworthy, 
 
 Bal. No, my good lord. 
 
 Rom. No matter: get thee gone, 
 
 And hire those horses; I'll be with thee straight. 
 
 {Exit Balthasar. 
 Well, Juliet, I will lie with thee to-night. 
 Let's see for means : — Oh, mischief, thou art swift 
 To enter in the thoughts of desperate men ! 
 I do remember an apothecary, — 
 And hereabouts he dwells, — which late I noted 
 In tatter'd weeds,^ with overwhelming brows. 
 Culling of simples meagre were his looks. 
 Sharp misery had worn him to the bones : 
 And in his needy shop a tortoise hung, 
 
 too, how the few pertinent words which follow are just to the 
 point for dramatic purpose, and nothing more ; while the 
 servant's observation, "Your looks are pale and wild," furnish 
 significant comment. 
 
 7. Weeds. ' Garments.' 
 
 8. Simples. ' Medicinal herbs.' 
 
 197 
 
Acr V.J 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene Ii. 
 
 An alligator stuft'd,' and other skins 
 
 Ot" ill-shap'd fishes; and about his shelves 
 
 A beggarly account of empty boxes, 
 
 Green earthen pots, bladders, and musty seeds, 
 
 Remnants of packthread, and old cakes of roses. 
 
 Were thinly scatter'd, to make up a show. 
 
 Noting this penui-y, to myself I said, 
 
 An if a man did need a poison now, 
 
 Whose sale is present death in Mantua, 
 
 Here lives a caitiff'" wretch would sell it him. 
 
 Oh, this same thought did but forerun my need ; 
 
 And this same needy man must sell it me. 
 
 As I remember, this should be the house : 
 
 Being holiday, the beggar's shop is shut. — 
 
 What, ho ! apothecary ! 
 
 Enter Apothecary. 
 Ap. Who calls so loud ? 
 
 Rom. Come hither, man. — J see that thou art 
 poor ; 
 
 Hold, there is forty ducats: let me have 
 A dram of poison ; such soon-speeding gear'i 
 As will disperse itself through all the veins, 
 That the life-weary taker may fall dead ; 
 And that the trunk may be discharg'd of breath 
 As violently as hasty powder fir'd 
 Doth hurry from the fatal cannon's womb. 
 Ap. Such mortal drugs I have ; but Mantua's 
 I.iw 
 
 Is death to any he that utters" them. 
 
 Rom. Art thou so bare and full of wretched- 
 ness. 
 
 And fear'st to die ? famine is in thy cheeks. 
 Need and oppression starveth in thine eyes, 
 Contempt and beggary hang upon thy back,'* 
 The world is not thy friend, nor the world's 
 law : 
 
 The world affords no law to make thee rich ; 
 Then be not poor, but break it, and take this. 
 
 c). An alligator stujf'd. That this formed a customary part 
 of the appointments in an apothecary's shop in Shakespeare's 
 time is testified by a passage from Nashe's ** Have with You 
 at Saffron Walden," 1596 :— " He made an anatomie of a rat, 
 and after hanged her over his head, instead of an apoi/iecary^s 
 crocodile, or dried alligator^* And that the fashion of thus 
 suspending it continued to a much later date, is shown by its 
 appearance among the accessories in Hogarth's third picture of 
 his series of " Marriage a la Mode." 
 
 10. Caitiff. 'Miserable,' 'spare,' 'meagre,' 'squalid.' French, 
 chHif. See Note 24, Act ii., " Measure for Measure." 
 
 11. Gear. Here used in the general sense of 'stuff,* 
 'matter.' 
 
 12. Utters. ' Sells,' ' vends.' See Note 87, Act V. ," Love's 
 Labour's Lost." 
 
 13. Need and oppression starveth in thine eyes, contempt 
 and beggary hang upon thy back. The first Quarto gives, 
 instead of these two lines, the following— 
 
 " Vpon thy backe hangs ragged Miserie, 
 And starued Famine dwelleth in thy cheekes ;" 
 
 which show " starveth " to be the right word in the two lines as 
 given by the Folio, and the rest of the Quartos. Yet it has 
 
 Ap. My poverty, but not my will, consents. 
 
 Rom. I pay thy poverty," and not thy will. 
 
 Ap. Put this in any liquid thing you will, 
 And drink it off; and, if you had the strength 
 Of twenty men, it would dispatch you straight. 
 
 Rom. There is thy gold ; worse poison to men's 
 souls, 
 
 Doing more murders in this loathsome world, 
 Than these poor compounds that thou mayst not 
 sell: 
 
 I sell thee poison, thou hast sold me none. 
 Farewell : buy food, and get thyself in flesh,— 
 Come, cordial, and not poison, go with me 
 To Juliet's grave; for there must I use thee. 
 
 {^Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE II.— Friar Laurence's Cell. 
 Enter Friar John. 
 Fr 'i. J. Holy Franciscan friar I brother, ho ! 
 
 Enter Friar Laurence. 
 Fr'i. L. This same should be the voice of Friar 
 John. 
 
 Welcome from Mantua : what says Romeo ? 
 Or, if his mind be writ, give me his letter. 
 
 Fri. y. Going to find a bare-foot brother out, 
 One of our order, to associate me,'* 
 Here in this city visiting the sick,'^ 
 And finding him, the .searchers of the town, 
 Suspecting that we both were in a house 
 Where the infectious pestilence did reign, 
 Seal'd up the doors, and would not let us forth ; 
 So that my speed to Mantua there was stay'd. 
 
 Fri. L. Who bare'^ my letter, then, to Romeo? 
 
 Fri. y. I could not send it, — here it is again, — 
 Nor get a messenger to bring it thee, 
 
 been altered by Rowe and others to 'stareth;' Ritson observ- 
 ing that "need and oppression cannot, properly, be said to 
 starrfe in his eyes." As well might it be objected that contempt 
 and beggary cannot, strictly, b'e said to hang upon his back. 
 These are among the bold licences of expression that poets 
 take, and which are full of poetic significance to poetic minds, 
 while affording trouble and perplexity to literal scanners. The 
 false concord between the two nouns and the verb in the 
 singular Was an infringement of grammatical rule permitted m 
 Shakespeare's time. 
 
 14. / pay thy poverty. The Folio and two of the Quartos 
 give ' pray ' instead of " pay ; " which is the word in the 1597, 
 1637, and undated Quartos. 
 
 15. To associate me. 'To bear me company,' ' to associate 
 with me.' It was the custom for each friar, desiring leave of ab- 
 sence, to have one of the brothers of his order appointed by the 
 superior as his companion. 
 
 16. Here in this city visiting the sick. These words apply 
 to the " bare-footed brother ; " the construction of the sen- 
 tence being somewhat involved. If the phrase "to associate 
 me " be read parenthetically, the intended consecution will bo 
 obvious. 
 
 17. Bare. An old form of ' bore.' 
 
 98 
 
ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 So fearful were they of infection. ^8 
 
 Fr'i. L. Unhappy fortune ! by my brotherhood, 
 The letter was not nice," but full of charge 
 Of dear import ; and the neglecting it 
 May do much danger. Friar John, go hence; 
 Get me an iron crow, and bring it straight 
 Unto my cell. 
 
 Fri. y. Brother, I'll go and bring it thee. 
 
 Fri. L. Now must I to the monument alone ; 
 Within these three hours^" will fair Juliet wake: 
 She will beshrew me much that Romeo"' 
 Hath had no notice of these accidents; 
 But I will write again to Mantua, 
 And keep her at my cell till Romeo come ; — 
 Poor living corse, clos'd in a dead man's tomb ! 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 SCENE \\\.— A Churchyard: in it a Monument 
 belonging to the Capul^TS. 
 Enter Paris, and his Page bearing flouuers and 
 a torch. 
 
 Par. Give me thy torch, boy : hence, and stand 
 aloof ; — 
 
 Yet put it out, for I would not be seen. 
 Under yond yew-trees lay thee all along. 
 Holding thine ear close to the hollow ground ; 
 So shall no foot upon the churchyard tread 
 (Being loose, unfirm, with digging up of graves). 
 But thou shalt hear it ; whistle then to me, 
 As signal that thou hear'st something approach. 
 Give me those flowers. Do as I bid thee, go. 
 
 Page. [Aside.] I am almost afraid to stand alone 
 Here in the churchyard ; yet I will adventure. 
 
 [Retires, 
 
 Par. Sweet flower, with flowers thy bridal bed 
 I strew, — 
 
 (Oh, woe, thy canopy is dust and stones !) 
 Which with sweet water nightly I will dew ; 
 
 Or, wanting that, with tears distill'd by moans : 
 The obsequies that I for thee will keep. 
 Nightly shall be, to strew thy grave and weep. 
 
 [_The Page 'whistles. 
 
 18. So fearful were ihey of infection. The manner in 
 which " they " is used in this sentence affords an example of 
 Shakespeare's employing a relatively used pronoun in refer- 
 ence to an implied particular; "a messenger" allowing to 
 be implied, in the word "they," those who would not under- 
 take to bear a message for fear of infection. 
 
 19. Nice. Here used in the sense of ' trivial,' 'insignificant,' 
 'of little consequence.* 
 
 20. Within this three hours. "This" is here idiomatically 
 used before a plural, the phrase being an ellipsis for ' this three 
 hours' time.' See Note 77, Act iii., " Henry VIII." 
 
 21. S/m will beshrew me much thai, &'c. ' She will invoke 
 mischief upon me in that,' &c. ; ' She will wish me ill because,' 
 &c. See Note 66, Act ii., " Midsummer Night's Dream." 
 
 22. Vonri yew-trees. The Folio gives ' yond young trees ; ' 
 which is shown to be a misprint by the reading of the first 
 Quarto, 'this ew-tree.' 
 
 The boy gives warning something doth approach. 
 What cursed foot wanders this way to-night. 
 To cross my obsequies and true love's rite ? 
 What! with a torch ! — muffle me, night, awhile. 
 
 [Retires. 
 
 Enter Ro.MEO and Balthas.ar, nvith a torch, 
 mattock, (Sc. 
 
 Rom. Give me that mattock and the wrenching 
 iron. 
 
 Hold, take this letter; early in the morning 
 
 See thou deliver it to my lord and father. 
 
 Give me the light : upon thy life, I charge thee, 
 
 Whate'er thou hear'st or seest, stand all aloof, 
 
 And do not interrupt me in my course. 
 
 Why I descend into this bed of death, 
 
 Is partly to behold my lady's face ; 
 
 But chiefly to take thence from her dead finger 
 
 A precious ring, — a ring that I must use 
 
 In dear employment i^s therefore hence, be gone :-— 
 
 But if thou, jealous,^*' dost return to pry 
 
 In what I farther shall intend to do. 
 
 By heaven, I will tear thee joint by joint. 
 
 And strew this hungry churchyard with thy limbs; 
 
 The time and my intents are savage-wild ; 
 
 More fierce and more inexorable far 
 
 Than empty tigers or the roaring sea. 
 
 Bla. I will be gone, sir, and not trouble you. 
 
 Rom. "So shalt thou show me friendship. — Take 
 thou that : 
 
 Live, and be prosperous : and farewell, good fellow. 
 Bal. [Aside.] For all this same, I'll hide me 
 hereabout : 
 His looks I fear, and his intents I doubt. 
 
 [Retires. 
 
 Rom. Thou d^testable^s mavv, thou womb of 
 death, 
 
 Gorg'd with the dearest morsel of the earth. 
 Thus I enforce thy rotten jaws to open, 
 
 [Breaking open the door of the monument. 
 And, in despite, I'll cram thee with more food ! 
 
 Par. This is that banish'd haughty Montague, 
 That murder'd my love's cousin, — with which 
 grief, 
 
 23. In dear employment Gems were supposed to possess 
 valuable properties and peculiar virtues (see Notes 9, Act iii., 
 "Merchant of Venice," and 13, Act iv., "Twelfth Night") ; 
 and it may be that Romeo gives his man to understand that he 
 wishes to obtain the ring for some purpose wherein it may prove 
 efficacious ; or it may be that he allows him to believe that he 
 desires to secure it for his own wearing, as a memorial of his 
 lost mistress ; since the expression " in dear employment" is of 
 sufficiently wide signification to admit of Balthasar's under- 
 standing it in either sense. The word " dear, '' applied accord- 
 ing to the former interpretation, would be used in the sense of 
 'important ;' according to the latter, ' cherished.' 
 
 24. Jealous. Here used in the sense of 'suspicious.' 
 
 25. Detestable. The word was almost always thus accented, 
 on the first syllable, in Shakespeare's time : as he has also 
 accented the word "receptacle" in Juliet's soliloquy. Act iv., 
 sc. 3. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 It is supposed, the fair creature died, — 
 
 And here is come to do some villanous shame 
 
 To the dead bodies : I will apprehend him. — 
 
 [Aduances. 
 Stop thy unhallovv'd toil, vile Montague ! 
 Can vengeance be pursu'd farther than death ? 
 Condemned villain, I do apprehend thee : 
 Obey, and go with me; for thou must die. 
 
 Rom. I must indeed ; and therefore came I 
 hither. — 
 
 Good gentle youth, tempt not a desperate man ; 
 Fly hence, and leave me: — think upon these 
 gone; 
 
 Let them affright thee. — I beseech thee, youth. 
 
 Put not another sin upon my head. 
 
 By urging me to fury: — Oh, be gone! 
 
 By Heaven, I love thee better than myself; 
 
 For I come hither arm'd against myself: 
 
 Stay not, be gone ; — live, and hereafter say, 
 
 A madman's mercy bade thee run away. 
 
 Par. I do defy thy conjurations,^^ 
 And apprehend thee for a felon here. 
 
 Rom. Wilt thou provoke me ? then have at thee, 
 boy ! [Theji fight. 
 
 Page. O Lord, they fight! I will go call the 
 watch. [Exit. — Paris falls. 
 
 Par. Oh, I am slain ! — If thou be merciful. 
 Open the tomb, lay me with Juliet. [Dies. 
 
 Rom. In faith, I will. — Let me peruse this 
 face : — 
 
 Mercutio's kinsman, noble County Paris! — 
 What said my man, when my betossed soul 
 Did not attend him as we rode ? I think 
 He told me Paris should have married Juliet : 
 
 26. T/ty co7ij2trations. Here used in the sense of * thy 
 words conjuring me.' Milton has the term ' conjurements,' to 
 express the same meaning. "Conjurations" is the word in the 
 first Quarto ; while that of the Foho is ' commisseration.' 
 
 27. A lanter7i. One of those spacious round or octagonal 
 turrets full of windows, by means of which cathedrals and 
 sometimes halls are illuminated, and styled in ancient records 
 a ' lanternium.' There is a beautiful specimen at Ely Minster. 
 
 28. Presence. This was an abbreviation of ' presence-cham- 
 ber ;' a room dedicated to royal receptions, or to the most 
 solemn festal occasions. See Note 85, Act i., " Richard II." 
 
 29. By a. dead man iiiterr'd. This fine licence of poetic 
 anticipation, by which Romeo, resolved to die, speaks already 
 of himself as " a dead man," is stigmatised by Steevens as one of 
 " those miserable conceits with which our author too frequently 
 counteracts his own pathos." (!) That the genuine poet, John 
 Keats, thought very differently of this striking idea is testified 
 by his having introduced its twin thought into his poem of 
 "Isabella," where stanza xxvii. begins — 
 
 " So the two brothers and their murder'd man 
 Rode past fair Florence," &c. 
 
 30. A lightning before death. Frequent allusion is made in 
 the old dramas to the belief that men previously to coming 
 misfortune or death are .in unusually high spirits ; and Sir 
 Walter Scott, who delights in recording popular superstitions, 
 has reference to this one in chap. ix. of his " Guy Mannering," 
 where we find— " ' I think,' said the old gardener to one of 
 the maids, ' the ganger's Jie;^ by which word the common people 
 
 Said he not so ? or did I dream it so ? 
 Or am I mad, hearing him talk of Juliet, 
 To think it was so f— Oh, give me thy hand. 
 One writ with me in sour misfortune's book ! 
 I'll bury thee in a triumphant grave ; — 
 A grave ? oh, no, a lantern, slaughter'd youth, 
 For here lies Juliet, and her beauty makes 
 This vault a feasting presence's full of light. 
 Death, lie thou there, by a dead man interr'd.'^ 
 
 [Laying Paris in the monument. 
 How oft when men are at the point of death 
 Have they been merry ! which their keepers call 
 A lightning before death :30 oh, how may I 
 Call this a lightning? — Oh, my love, my wife ! 
 Death, that hath suck'd the honey of thy breath, ' 
 Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty : 
 Thou art not conquer'd ; beauty's ensign yet 
 Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks. 
 And death's pale flag is not advanced there. — 
 Tybalt, liest thou there in thy bloody sheet 
 Oh, what more favour can I do to thee. 
 Than with that hand that cut thy youth in 
 twain 
 
 To sunder his that was thine enemy ? 
 Forgive me, cousin !•" — Ah ! dear Juliet, 
 Why art thou yet so fair ? shall I believe 
 That unsubstantial death is amorous ; 
 And that the lean abhorred monster keeps 
 Thee here in dark to be his paramour ? 
 For fear of that, I still will stay with thee ; 
 And never from this palace of dim night^^ 
 Depart again : here, here will I remain 
 With worms that are thy chamber-maids ; oh, 
 here 
 
 express those violent spirits which they think a presage of 
 death." Romeo comments upon the exultant tone of his address 
 to the "slaughter'd youth," Paris, and upon the waywardness of 
 his own imagination, which can toy with flights of anticipative 
 fancy, and allow itself to luxuriate in thoughts of his dead wife's 
 loveliness with a grim sem'olance of levity that overlies deepest 
 grief. The mingling here of words and images full of light and 
 colour with the murky grey of the sepulchral vault and the 
 darkness of the midnight churchyard, the blending of these 
 images of beauty and tenderness with the deep gloom of the 
 speaker's mmost heart, form a poetical and metaphysical picture 
 unequalled in its kind. 
 
 31. Forgive 7ne, cousiul Inexpressibly beautiful and moving 
 is this gentleness of Romeo's in his death hour. His yearning 
 to be at peace with his foe ; his beseeching pardon of him and 
 calling him kinsman in token of final atonement ; his forbear- 
 ance and even magnanimity towards Paris ; his words of closing 
 consideration and kindly farewell to his faithful Balthasar, all 
 combine to crown Romeo as the prince of youthful gentlemen 
 and lovers. Worthy is he of being the hero of the youth.'ul 
 Shakespeare's pen ! 
 
 32. This palace of dim night. By these few words, — a 
 concentrated amalgamation of richest splendours with dunnest 
 obscurity, — the poet brings his grandly-blended imagery in this 
 speech to a fitting climax. 
 
 33. Here, Iiere will I remain .... Oh, here will /, 
 The effect of intensity given to this passionate passage by the 
 reiteration of the little word "here," affords a study in ex- 
 pressive composition. See Note 42, Act iv., " Henry V." 
 
Act v.] ROMEO AND JULIET. [Scene III. 
 
 Juliet. This is thy sheath; there rest, and let me die. Act V. Scene III. 
 
 Will I set up my everlasting rest 
 And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars 
 From this world-wearied flesh. — Eyes, look your 
 last! 
 
 Arms, take your last embrace ! and lips, oh, 
 
 you 
 
 The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss 
 A dateless bargain to engrossing death ! — 
 Come, bitter conduct,^* come, unsavoury guide ! 
 Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on 
 The dashing rocks thy sea-sick weary barque ! 
 Here's to my love! \DrinksP^ — Oh, true apothe- 
 cary ! 
 
 Thy drugs are quick.— Thus with a kiss I die. 
 
 \_Dies. 
 
 34 Her-e -will I set up my everlasting rest. An idiomatic 
 expression, the origin of which is explained in Note 30, Act iv., 
 •' Comedy of Errors." It is here used in a double sense : 
 meaning ' to finally resolve upon, or make up my mind for, 
 death ; ' and ' remain for ever at peace.' 
 
 1 Enter, at the other end of the churchyard. Friar 
 Laurence, nulth a lantern, croTv, and spade. 
 
 Fri. L. Saint Francis be my speed ! how oft 
 to-night 
 
 Have my old feet stumbled at graves! — Who's 
 there? 
 
 Bal. [Advancing.] Here's one, a friend, and one 
 
 that knows you well. 
 Fri, L. Bliss be upon you ! Tell me, good my 
 
 friend. 
 
 What torch is yond', that vainly lends his light 
 To grubs and eyeless skulls ? as I discern. 
 It burneth in the Capels' monument. 
 
 Bal. It doth so, holy sir: and there's my master, 
 One that you love. 
 
 35. Conduct. 'Conductor.' See Note 21, Act iii. of the 
 present play. 
 
 36. My old feet stumbled. Reckoned an ominous occurrence. 
 See Note 53, Act iii., " Richard III." 
 
 VOL. Ill 
 
Act v.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Fri. L. Who is it ? 
 
 Bal. Romeo. 
 
 Fri. L. Hou' long hath he been there? 
 
 Bal. Full half an hour. 
 
 Fri. L. Go with me to the vault. 
 
 Bal. I dare not, sir, 
 
 My master knows not but I am gone hence ; 
 And fearfully did menace me with death. 
 If I did stay to look on his intents. 
 
 Fri. L. Stay, then ; I'll go alone: — fear comes 
 upon me ; 
 
 Oh, much I fear some ill unlucky thing. 
 
 Bal. As I did sleep under this yew-tree'^ here, 
 I dreamt my master and another fought. 
 And that my master slew him. 
 
 Fri. L. [Approaching the monument.'] Romeo! — 
 Alack, alack, what blood is this, which stains 
 The stony entrance of this sepulchre ? — 
 What mean these masterless and gory swords 
 To lie discolour'd by this place of peace ? 
 
 [Enters the monument. 
 Romeo ! oh, pale ! — Who else ? what ! Paris too ? 
 And steep'd in blood ? — Ah ! what an unkind 
 hour 
 
 Is guilty of this lamentable chance ! — 
 
 The lady stirs. [Juliet loakes. 
 
 Jul. Oh, comfortable friar ! where is my lord ? — 
 I do remember well where I should be. 
 And there I am : — where is my Romeo ? 
 
 [Noise ivithin. 
 
 Fri. L. I hear some noise.— Lady, come from 
 that nest 
 
 Of death, contagion, and unnatural sleep: 
 A greater power than we can contradict 
 Hath thwarted our intents : — come, come away: 
 Thy husband in thy bosom there lies dead ; 
 And Paris too : — come, I'll dispose of thee 
 Among a sisterhood of holy nuns: 
 Stay not to question, for the watch is coming ; 
 Come, go, good Juliet [noise again], — I dare no 
 longer stay. 
 
 Jul. Go, get thee hence, for I will not away. — 
 [Exit Fri. L. 
 
 What's here ? a cup, clos'd in my true love's 
 hand ? 
 
 Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end : — 
 Oh, churl ! drink all, and leave no friendly drop 
 
 37. This yew-tree. The old copies have ' yong ' and ' young ' 
 here again instead of " yew ; " which is Pope's correction, 
 warranted by the first Quarto's reading in the previous passage 
 See Note 22 of this Act. 
 
 38. Timeless. 'Untimely.' See Note 3, Act iv., "Richard 
 II." 
 
 39. T/iere rest, and let me die. The Folio and all the Quartos 
 excepting the first give 'rust' for "rest." But the reading of 
 the earliest Quarto, 1597, is this— 
 
 " Oh, happy dagger, thou shalt end my feare, 
 Rest in my bosome, thus I come to thee ; " 
 which appears to render it probable that ' rust," in the other old 
 
 To help me after ? — I will kiss thy lips ; 
 
 Haply some poison yet doth hang on them. 
 
 To make me die with a restorative. [Kisses him. 
 
 Thy lips are warm! 
 
 First Watch. [Within.] Lead, boy :— which way ? 
 
 Jul. Yea, noise?— then I'll be brief. — Oh, 
 happy dagger ! 
 
 [Snatching Romeo's dagger. 
 This is thy sheath [stabs herself] ; there rest, and 
 let me die.^o 
 
 [Falls on Romeo's body, and dies. 
 
 Enter Watch, ivith the Page of Paris. 
 Page. This is the place ; there, where the torch 
 doth burn. 
 
 First Watch. The ground is bloody; search 
 about the churchyard : 
 Go, some of you, whoe'er you find, attach. 
 
 [Exeunt some of the Watch. 
 Pitiful sight ! here lies the county slain ; — 
 And Juliet bleeding; warm, and newly dead, 
 Who here hath lain these two days buried.'"' — 
 Go, tell the prince, — run to the Capulets, — 
 Raise up the Montagues, — some others search : — 
 [Exeunt others of the Watch. 
 We see the ground whereon these woes do lie ; 
 But the true ground of*alI these piteous woes 
 We cannot without circumstance descry. 
 
 Re-enter some of the Watch, ivith Balthasar. 
 Sec. Watch. Here's Romeo's man; we found 
 
 him in the churchyard. 
 First Watch. Hold him in safety, till the prince 
 
 come hither. 
 
 Re-enter others of the Watch, with Friar 
 Laurence. 
 
 Third Watch. Here is a friar, that trembles, 
 sighs, and weeps : 
 We took this mattock and this spade from him. 
 As he was coming from this churchyard side. 
 First Watch. A great suspicion : stay the friar 
 too. 
 
 Enter the Prince and Attendants. 
 Prince. What misadventure is so early up, 
 That calls our person from our morning's rest ? 
 
 copies was a misprint for " rest." The expression, " Oh, Aa//y 
 dagger," though meaning, ' Oh, happily-found dagger !' ' oppor- 
 tune dagger ! ' yet conveys an included sense that is in keeping 
 with the word "rest," which also affords antithetical effect with 
 "let me die." Poetically calling her bosom the "sheath" to 
 Romeo's dagger, "rest" seems more in harmony than 'rust' 
 with the image presented. 
 
 40. Lain these tzuo days buried. The time is here made to 
 tally with the period mentioned by the friar in Act iv., sc. i, as 
 the one during which the sleeping-potion will ta1;e effect— 
 " And in this borrow'd likeness of shrunk death 
 Thou shalt continue tivo and forty hours." 
 
TIMON OF ATHENS.^ 
 
 ACT I. 
 
 SCENE I.— Athens. A Hall in Timon's House. 
 
 Enter Poet, Painter, Jeweller, Merchant, and 
 others, at se'veral doors. 
 
 Poet. Good day, sir. 
 
 Pain. I am glad you're well. 
 
 Poet, I have not seen you long ; how goes the 
 world ? 
 
 i. In the 1623 Folio this play appears under the title of 
 " The Life of Tymon of Athens ; " and it is probable that this 
 is the first printed copy, since in the same year the play was 
 entered at the Stationers' Company by Blount and Jaggard 
 (the printers of the 1623 Folio) as one of the plays "not for- 
 merly entered to other men." The subject was popularly 
 known, inasmuch as there are allusions to Timon's cynicism in 
 writings of Shakespeare's time ; and he himself, in one of his 
 early plays, has a line referring to it. See Note 89, Act iv., 
 " Love's Labour's Lost." The sources whence he in ail proba- 
 bility most directly derived the groundwork of hi;, i^lay of 
 "Timon of Athens" are, one of the novels in Paynter's "Palace 
 of Pleasure" on this subject, and a passage in Sir Thomas 
 North's "Plutarch," occurring in the "Life of Antony," which 
 describes Timon the man-hater, his manner of life, his dsath, 
 and his epitaph. Malone ascribes the period at which " Timon of 
 Athens" was probably written to the year 1610 ; and there is no 
 external evidence to disprove this point, while we think that the 
 internal evidence offers several particulars that seem to confirm 
 it as true. There is the elliptical condensation of style that 
 marks Shakespeare's productions about the period indicated, 
 such as we find signally visible in "Henry VIIL," "Winter's 
 Tale," and " Coriolanus," for instance; there is the same con- 
 traction of ' has ' for ' he has ; ' while the choice of the subject, 
 the withering power of scorn and invective, the bitter reflection 
 upon the follies and vices of mankind, the mournful resignation 
 to the fact of their e-xistence, are all belonging to a mature and 
 experienced mind in one of its peculiar moods. It gives us the 
 effect of having been a composition thrown off in one of Shake- 
 speare's moments of depression : when he had occasion to be 
 less pleased with life and its mysteries, mankind and its per- 
 plexities. There is magnificent power, but there is little polish ; 
 there is prodigious strength, but there is a want of finish and 
 final care in the drama as a whole, which makes it look to us 
 like one of his writings that he struck off at a heat, and cared 
 not ever to look at again to re-consider, revise, and re-touch. 
 
 Pain. It wears, sir, as it grows. 
 
 Poet. Ay, that 's well known : 
 
 But what particular rarity ? what strange, 
 Which manifold record not matches ? See, 
 Magic of bounty all these spirits thy power 
 Hath conjur'd to attend. I know the merchant. 
 
 Pain, I know them both; th' other's a jeweller. 
 
 Mer, Oh, 'tis a worthy lord. 
 
 There is a want of any of those redeeming traits of beauty or 
 goodness with which he so profusely irradiates his darkest 
 tragedies ; there are none of those softening strokes of gentle- 
 ness or repose that smooth the roughest and stormiest incidents 
 of his finest and most serious works. In "Timon of Athens" 
 there are no lovable characters ; no women, — save those who 
 are hardly to be called women ; and only one man, — the faith- 
 ful Steward Flavius, — who possesses a single claim upon our 
 liking. Moreover, there is an abruptness, a want of cohesion 
 and congruity, in certain portions of the dramatic structure, 
 which give it the appearance to our minds of an imperfectly 
 thought-out play of Shakespeare's. As an example of what we 
 mean, see with what apparent irrelevance the Fool is brought 
 in, in Act ii., sc. 2, together with the Page ; both belonging to 
 of whom we know nothing more than that she is 
 This vagueness in the introduction of these . 
 personages, and the indefiniteness of their errand, we should 
 take to be possibly one of Shakespeare's purposed devices of 
 dramatic art, and believe that he contents himself with it as 
 a fleeting phantasmagorical intimation of Athenian vice and 
 luxury, a shadowy vestige of the profligacy and prodigality 
 that made " Corinthian" manners a by-word, but that we find 
 a similarly unprepared and unexplained introduction of an un- 
 named personage in Act iii., sc. 5: where Alcibiades pleads 
 vehemently for some unspecified "friend" who has incurred 
 legal condemnation, and strives to rescue him from execution. 
 It is not in accordance with Shakespeare's method to work thus 
 disjointedly ; and it therefore leads us to believe that " Timon 
 of Athens," with all its potential grandeur in certain main pas- 
 sages, was written rapidly in a fervour of somewhat temporary 
 feeling and inspiration, and never received its author's revision 
 or re-consideration. We can fancy Shakespeare, who never 
 edited his own works, giving way to a passing impulse in writ- 
 ing this misanthropical play, and never caring to re-scan or even 
 re-read it with a view to its perfectioning. 
 2. Not matcfus? see, magic, &'c. In. the midst of inquiring 
 
Act I.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Je'w. Nay, that's most fix'd. 
 
 Mer. A most incomparable man ; breath' d,^ as 
 it were, 
 
 To an untirable and continuate^ goodness: 
 
 He passes. 5 
 Jeuu. I have a jewel here — 
 
 Mer. Oh, pray, let 's see 't : for the Lord Timon, 
 sir? 
 
 Je^. If he will touch the estimate but, for 
 that— 
 
 Poet. [Rfciiing to himself.] 
 
 When we for recompense have prais'd the vile, 
 It stains the glory in that happy verse 
 Which aptly sings the good. 
 
 Mer. [Looking at the je-voel.'\ 'Tis a good 
 form. 
 
 Jen}. And rich : here is a water, look ye. 
 
 Pain. You are rapt, sir, in some work, some 
 dedication 
 To the great lord. 
 
 Poet. A thing slipp'd idly from me. 
 
 Our poesy is as a gum, which oozes? 
 From whence 'tis n'oiirish'd : the fire i' the flint 
 Shows not till it be struck ; our gentle flame 
 Provokes itself, and, like the current, flies 
 Each bound it chafes.^ — What have you there ? 
 
 Pain. A picture, sir. — When comes your book 
 forth ? 
 
 whether any particular and unusual event has lately happensd, 
 the Poet interrupts himself to remark upon the concourse of 
 people assembled to await the appearance of bounteous Lord 
 Timon. 
 
 3. Breaih'd. ' Exercised ; ' ' inured by practice ' See Note 
 49, Act i., "As You Like It;" also the speech delivered by 
 Armado when he represents Hector, in " Love's Labour's Lost," 
 Act v., sc. 2—" The heir of Ilion : a man so breatlid, he would 
 fight ye from morn till night" 
 
 4. Coiiiinuate. ' Continuous,' ' continual,' ' continued.' 
 
 5 He f asses. ' He surpasses,' ' he e.xcels ; ' 'he exceeds the 
 ordinary race of men.' See Note 13, Act iv., " Merry Wives." 
 
 6. Touch the estimate. ' Pay the price at which it is esti- 
 mated,' 'come up to the sum demanded.' 
 
 7. A gum, which oozes. The Folio prints ' a gowne, which 
 vses.' Pope made the correction of 'gowne' to "gum;" and 
 Johnson that of ' uses' to " oozes." 
 
 8. Each bound it chafes. The Folio spells "chafes" with a 
 letter that looks like a long s, but which may be an f ; and cer- 
 tainly we think that "chafe's" is the word the author wrote. 
 " Provokes" is here used for ' evokes,' ' calls forth' (see Note 5, 
 Act iii., " Measure for Measure") ; and the sense of the entire 
 passage appears to us to be, ' Our gentle flame elicits itself, 
 and, like the current, flows rapidly on at each bound that it 
 chafingly makes.' Johnson pronounces "the images in the 
 comparison" to be "ill-sorted, and the effect obscurely ex- 
 pressed : " but we think that it is one of those passages where 
 an exuberance of idea and a multiplicity of images convene and 
 are expressed in Shakespeare's condensed style. For instance, 
 the one word "chafes" expresses what in general parlance 
 would be expressed by the phrase ' makes chafingly,' or ' takes 
 with much chafing.' 
 
 9. Upon the heels 0/ my presentment. ' As soon as I have 
 presented my book to Lord Timon.' 
 
 10. This comes off veil and excellent. "This comes off 
 w»ll " is an idiomatic phrase, signifying 'this is admirably done,' 
 'this is capitally e.xecuted' (see Note 11, Act ii., "Measure for 
 
 Poet. Upon the heels of my presentment,' 
 sir. — 
 Let's see your piece. 
 
 Pain. 'Tis a good piece. 
 
 Poet. So 'tis: this comes off well and excellent.''^ 
 
 Pain. Indifferent. 
 
 Poet. Admirable : how this grace 
 
 Speaks his own standing!" what a mental power 
 This eye shoots forth ! how big imagination 
 Moves in this lip I to the dumbness of the gesture 
 One might interpret.'^ 
 
 Pain. It is a pretty mocking of the life. 
 Here is a touch ; is 't good ? 
 
 Poet. I'll say of it, 
 
 It tutors Nature : artificial strife 
 Lives in these touches, livelier than life. 
 
 Enter certain Senators, and pass over. 
 Pain. How this lord is follow'd ! 
 Poet. The senators of Athens: — happy men 
 Pain. Look, more ! 
 
 Poet. You see this confluence, this great floo.l 
 of vi.sitors. 
 
 I have, in this rough work, shap'd out a man, 
 Whom this beneath world doth embrace and hug 
 With amplest entertainment: my free drift 
 Halts not particularly," but moves itself 
 In a wide sea of wax -.'^^ no levell'd malice" 
 
 Measure ") ; and, also, in the present instance, includes the 
 effect of a technicality in art, meaning ' this is well brought 
 into relief,' ' this stands forth boldly and distinctly.' See Note 
 59, Act ii., " Henry V." "Excellent " is here used adverbially 
 for ' excellently.' 
 
 11. How this grace speaks his own standing .' ' How true to 
 the life of the original is this graceful attitude ! ' 'how like the 
 easy and dignified carriage of his usual position is the grace of 
 this figure ! ' We imagine the picture to be a representation of 
 Timon surrounded by his admirers ; wherein he stands as the 
 central and principal figure. Timon afterwards, when receiving* 
 the painter's "piece," speaks of "these pencill'd figures;" 
 which we think shows the picture to be not a portrait of Timon 
 singly (as has been supposed), but a picture showing him amid 
 the baskers in his bounty. 
 
 12. To the dumbness of the gesture one might interpret. 
 ' The gesture is so eloquent in its forcible depicting, that one 
 might easily imagine the words which are supposed to be spoker 
 as its accompaniment.' 
 
 13. Strife. This word here includes the sense of contention 
 of Art with Nature to outdo her, the sense of contrast in colours 
 and forms, and the sense of ' striving,' ' endeavour to excel ; ' 
 and affords a marked example of Shakespeare's employing 
 largely comprehensive terms and widely inclusive words. See 
 Note 96, Act ill., " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 14. Happy men! Theobald altered " men " to ' man ' here, — 
 a plausible alteration ; but inasmuch as the intention may be to 
 indicate that the senators are happy in enjoying the friendship 
 and hospitality of so bounteous a lord as Timon, we leave the 
 old text unchanged. 
 
 15. Halts not particularly. ' Is not confined to any par- 
 ticular instance. ' 
 
 16. A wide sea of wax. This phrase includes allusion to an 
 ancient practice of writing with a style on tablets covered with 
 wax, and also uses " wax" as a type of the flexibility pertaining 
 to the poet's matter, which can be moulded to what shape he 
 
DRAMATIS PERSONS. 
 
 TiMON, a noble Athenian. 
 Lucius, ^ 
 
 LucuLLUs, S Lords, and Flatterers of Timon, 
 Sempronius, ; 
 
 Ventidius, one of Timon's false Friends. 
 
 Alcibiades, an Athenian General. 
 
 Apemantus, a churlish Philosopher. 
 
 Flavius, Steward to Timon. 
 
 Poet, Painter, Jeweller, and Merchant. 
 
 An old Athenian. 
 
 Flaminius, \ 
 
 LuciLius, i Servants to Timon. 
 Servilius, ) 
 Caphis, > 
 Philotus, / 
 
 Titus l Servants to Timon's Creditors. 
 
 Hortensius, j 
 
 Servants of Ventidius, and a/Varro and Isidore, 
 
 tixjo »/ Timon's Creditors. 
 A Page. A Fool. Three Strangers. 
 
 Phrynia, ) 
 
 Timandra \ Mistresses to Alcibiades, 
 
 Cupid and Amazons in the Mask. 
 Lords, Senators, Officers, Soldiers, Thieves, aod Attendants. 
 Scene— Athens, and the Woods adjoining. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 LbCENE III. 
 
 Enter Capulet, Lady Capulet, and others. 
 Cap. What should it be, that they so shriek 
 abroad ? 
 
 La. Cap. The people in the street cry Romeo, 
 Some Juliet, and some Paris ; and all run, 
 With open outcry, toward our monument. 
 
 Prince. What fear is this which startles in our 
 ears ?"! 
 
 First Watch. Sovereign, here lies the County 
 Paris slain ; 
 And Romeo dead ; and Juliet, dead before, 
 Warm and new kill'd. 
 Prince. Search, seek, and know how this foul 
 
 murder comes. 
 First Watch. Here is a friar, and slaughter'd 
 Romeo's man ; 
 With instruments upon them, fit to open 
 These dead men's tombs. 
 Cap. Oh, heaven !— Oh, wife, look how our 
 daughter bleeds ! 
 This dagger hath mista'en,— for, lo, his house 
 Is empty on the back of Montague,"*^— 
 And is mis-sheathed in my daughter's bosom! 
 La. Cap. Oh, me ! this sight of death is as a 
 bell. 
 
 That warns my old age to a sepulchre. 
 
 Enter Montague and others. 
 Prince. Come, Montague ; for thou art early 
 up. 
 
 To see thy son and heir more early down. 
 
 Man. Alas ! my liege, my wife is dead to-night ; 
 Grief of my son's exile hath stopp'd her breath : 
 What farther woe conspires against my age ? 
 
 Prince. Look, and thou shalt see. 
 
 Man. Oh, thou untaught ! what manners is in 
 this. 
 
 To press before thy father to a grave ? 
 Prince. Seal up the mouth of outrage^' for a 
 while. 
 
 Till we can clear these ambiguities. 
 And know their spring, their head, their true 
 descent ; 
 
 And then will I be general of your woes. 
 And lead you even to death : meantime forbear, 
 And let mischance be slave to patience. — - 
 Bring forth the parties of suspicion. 
 
 Fri. L. I am the greatest, able to do least, 
 Yet most suspected, as the time and place 
 Doth make against me, of this direful murder; 
 
 41. /« our ears. The old copies print 'your' for "our." 
 Johnson's correction. 
 
 42. His house is empty on the back of Montague. "His" 
 is here used for ' its.' The dagger was formerly sometimes 
 worn behind the back, as appears from several passages quoted 
 from old writers. 
 
 43. Outrage. Here used to express 'raging out,' 'storming 
 aloud ' uproar,' ' clamour,' ' outcry.' It was sometimes used 
 
 And here I stand, both to impeach and purge 
 Myself condemned and myself excus'd. 
 
 Prince. Then say at once what thou dost know 
 in this. 
 
 Fri. L. I will be brief, for my short date of 
 breath 
 
 Is not so long as is a tedious tale. 
 Romeo, there dead, was husband to that Juliet ; 
 And she, there dead, that Romeo's faithful wife: 
 I married them ; and their stol'n marriage-day 
 Was Tybalt's dooms-day, whose untimely death 
 Banish'd the new-made bridegroom from this city; 
 For whom, and not for Tybalt, Juliet pin'd. 
 You, to remove that siege of grief from her, 
 Betroth'd, and would have married her perforce. 
 To County Paris : — then comes she to me ; 
 And, with wild looks, bid me devise some means 
 To rid her from this second marriage. 
 Or in my cell there would she kill herself. 
 Then gave I her, so tutor'd by my art, 
 A sleeping potion ; which so took effect 
 As I intended, for it wrought on her 
 The form of death : meantime I writ to Romeo, 
 That he should hither come as this dire night, 
 To help to take her from her borrow'd grave, 
 Being the time the potion's force should cease. 
 But he which bore my letter, friar John, 
 Was stay'd by ajccident ; and yesternight 
 Return'd my letter back. Then all alone 
 At the prefixed hour of her waking, 
 Came I to take her from her kindred's vault 
 Meaning to keep her closely*** at my cell. 
 Till I conveniently could send to Romeo : 
 But when I came (some minute" ere the time 
 Of her awakening), here untimely lay 
 The noble Paris and true Romeo dead. 
 She wakes ; and I entreated her come forth. 
 And bear this work of heaven with patience : 
 But then a noise did scare me from the tomb ; 
 And she, too desperate, would not go with me, 
 But (as it seems) did violence on herself. 
 All this I know ; and to the marriage 
 Her nurse is privy : and, if aught in this 
 Miscarried by my fault, let my old life 
 Be sacrific'd, some hour before his time,*^ 
 Unto the rigour of severest law. 
 Prince. We still have known thee for a holy 
 man. — 
 
 Where's Romeo's man ? what can he say in this? 
 Bal. I brought my master news of Juliet's 
 death ; 
 
 in the sense of ' commotion,' ' tumult,' without including the 
 meaning of injury or offence, by writers formerly. 
 
 44. Closely. 'Secretly,' ' privately,' ' hiddenly,' ' in conceal- 
 ment.' See Note 17, Act iv., " King John." 
 
 45. Some minute. Hanmer changed this to ' some minutes ;' 
 but "some minute" is used as an equivalent for ' but a 1 
 ' scarce an instant,' ' about a minute.' 
 
 ■ 46. His time. ' Its time.' 
 
Act v.] 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 And then in post he came from Mantua 
 To this same place, to this same monument. 
 This letter he early bid me give his father ; 
 And threaten'd me with death, going in the vault. 
 If I departed not, and left him there. 
 Prince. Give me the letter,— I will look on 
 it,— 
 
 Where is the county's page, that rais'd the watch ? — 
 Sirrah, what made your master in this place 
 
 Page. He came with flowers to strew his lady's 
 grave ; 
 
 And bid me stand aloof, and so I did : 
 Anon comes one with light to ope the tomb ; 
 And by-and-by my master drew on him ; 
 And then I ran away to call the watch. 
 Prince. This letter doth make good the friar's 
 words, 
 
 Their course of love, the tidings of her death : 
 
 And here he writes that he did buy a poison 
 
 Of a poor 'pothecary, and therewithal 
 
 Came to this vault to die, and lie with Juliet. — 
 
 Where be these enemies? — Capulet,— Montague, — 
 
 47. IVhai made your master in this place'? * What did your 
 master do in this place?' 'What made your master come to 
 this place?' 'What brought your master to this place?' See 
 Note 26, Act ii., " Merry Wives." 
 
 48. A brace 0/ kinsmen. Mercutio and Paris : the formir of 
 whom is spoken of by Benvolio, addressing the prince in Act iii., 
 sc. I, as " thy kinsmaji^ brave Mercutio ; " and the latter of 
 whom is indirectly shown to be related to the prince by Romeo's 
 words in the present scon:;, where he says, " Let me peruse 
 this face : — Mercutio's kinsman, noble County Paris." 
 
 49. A glooming peace. To 'gloom' is an ancient verb used by 
 
 See, what a scourge is laid upon your hate, 
 That Heaven finds means to kill your joys with 
 love ! 
 
 And I, for winking at your discords too. 
 
 Have lost a brace of kinsmen — all are punish'd. 
 
 Cap. Oh, brother Montague, give me thy hand : 
 This is my daughter's jointure, for no more 
 Can I demand. 
 
 Mon. But I can give thee more : 
 
 For 1 will raise her statue in pure gold ; 
 That while Verona by that name is known. 
 There shall no figure at such rate be set 
 As that of true and faithful Juliet. 
 
 Cap. As rich shall Romeo by his lady lie ; 
 Poor sacrifices of our enmity ! 
 
 Prince. A glooming peace^' this morning with 
 it brings ; 
 
 The sun, for sorrow, will not show his head : 
 Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things ; 
 
 Some shall be pardon'd, and some punished : 
 For never was a story of more woe 
 Than this of Juliet and her Romeo. [Exeunt. 
 
 Spenser and other old writers. "Glooming" has expressive 
 effect as an epithet here. It is the word given in the Folio and 
 all the Quarto copies, with the exception of the earliest Quarto, 
 which prints 'gloomie.' 
 
 50. And some punished. This line has reference to the dis- 
 tribution of pardon and punishment as detailed in the poem 
 whence Shakespeare took the groundwork of this play : for 
 there the nurse is banished for having concealed the marriage ; 
 Romeo's servant is acquitted, because he acted in obedience to 
 his master's orders ; the apothecary is hanged ; and the friar is 
 dismissed to end his days in a hermitage 
 
 204 
 
Act I.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Infects one comma in the course I hold ; 
 But flies an eagle flight,!* bold, and forth on. 
 Leaving no tract behind. 
 
 Pain. How shall I understand you ? 
 
 Poet. I will unbolt" to you. 
 
 You see how all conditions, how all minds 
 (As well of glib and slippery creatures as 
 Of grave and austere quality) tender down 
 Their services to Lord Timon : his large fortune, 
 Upon his good and gracious nature hanging, 
 Subdues and properties 2" to his love and tendance 
 All sorts of hearts ; yea, from the glass-fac'd 
 flatterer 
 
 To Apemantus,^' that few things loves better 
 Than to abhor himself : even he drops down 
 The knee before him, and returns in peace 
 Most rich in Timon's nod. 
 
 Pain. I saw them speak together. 
 
 Poet. Sir, I have upon a high and pleasant 
 hill 
 
 Feign'd Fortune to be thron'd : the base o' the 
 mount 
 
 Is rank'd with all deserts,^^ all kind of natures, 
 That labour on the bosom of this sphere 
 To propagate their states amongst them 
 Whose eyes are on this sovereign lady fix'd, 
 One do I personate of Lord Timon's frame. 
 Whom Fortune with her ivory hand wafts to 
 her; 
 
 Whose present grace to present slaves^^ and ser- 
 vants 
 
 Translates his rivals. 
 
 17. Comjna. Being the smallest mark in punctuation, "comma'* 
 is here used for 'jot,' ' iota,' to express the smallest imaginable 
 point. That the phraseology in this speech is purposely tinctured 
 with affectation and peculiarity of expression is made evident 
 by the Painter's rejoinder, " How shall I understand you?" 
 
 18. But Jlies an eagle flight. Here ' it ' is elliptically under- 
 stood between ** but" and *' flies," in reference to " course." 
 
 19. Unbolt. 'Unfold,' ' open my meaning,' ' explain.' 
 
 20. F7-operties. 'Makes his property,' 'appropriates.* See 
 Note 20, Act v., " King John." 
 
 21. Apematitus, The speaker assumes that Apemantus pays 
 court to Timon because he sees him often at his house ; and 
 his frequent repair thither is an indirect adulation, although 
 his actual words and behaviour are uncourteous. 
 
 22. /r rank'd 'Mtth all deserts. ' Is occupied by ranks of 
 men of various degrees in merit.' 
 
 23. To propagate their states. ' To promote the advantage 
 of their several conditions in life.' Shakespeare uses the 
 word "propagate" and "propagation" (see Note 2S, Act i., 
 " Measure for Measure ") with this sense of ' promoting.' 
 
 24. II^Aose present grace to present slaves. The second 
 " present " in this line has been objected to by a modern critic, 
 who proposes ' peasant ' as its substitution. But the emphatic 
 repetition of the word "present" here is just one of Shake- 
 speare's expedients for drawing particular attention to a point 
 he wishes to enforce; and it is Timon's "present" prosperity 
 which makes "present" slaves and servants of those aroimd 
 him, as his 'future' downfall will make 'future' ingrates of 
 those who now worship him. A word thus emphatically re- 
 peated, in close and pointed ju.'itaposition, is one of the peculi- 
 arities of Shakespeare's style which we have frequently pointed 
 out. See, among many others, Note 25, Act iv., " Coriolanus." 
 
 21 
 
 Pain. 'Tis conceiv'd to scope. ''^ 
 
 This throne, this Fortune, and this hill, mcthinks. 
 With one man beckon'd from the rest below. 
 Bowing his head against the steepy mount 
 To climb his happiness, would be well express'd 
 In our condition.2^ 
 
 Poet. Nay, sir, but hear me on. 
 
 All those which were his fellows but of late 
 (Some better than his value), on the moment 
 Follow his strides, his lobbies fill with tendance, 
 Rain sacrificial whisperings 2'' in his ear, 
 Make sacred even his stirrup,^^ and through him 
 Drink the free air.^s 
 Pain. Ay, marry, what of these ? 
 
 Poet. When Fortune, in her shift and change 
 of mood. 
 
 Spurns down her late belov'd, all his dependants, 
 Which labour'd after him to the mountain's top, 
 Even on their knees and hands, let him slip down,'" 
 Not one accompanying his declining foot. 
 
 Pain. 'Tis common : 
 A thousand moral paintings I can show. 
 That shall demonstrate these quick blows of 
 Fortune's^* 
 
 More pregnantly than words. Yet you do well 
 To show Lord Timon that mean eyes^^ j^ave 
 seen 
 
 The foot above the head. 
 
 Trumpets sound. Enter Timon, attended ; the 
 
 Servant 0/ Ventidius talking 'with him. 
 Tim. Imprison'd is he, say you ? 
 
 25. 'Tis conceiv'd to scope. This includes the duplicate 
 meaning of ' it is conceived with large scope or compass of 
 imagination,' and ' it is conceived with apt fulfilment of its 
 purposed scope or drift ; ' for Shakespeare elsewhere uses 
 "scope " in both these senses, 
 
 26. I?i our condition. ' In our art of painting,' ' in our 
 pictorial faculty.' "Condition" was sometimes used for 'pro- 
 fession,' 'calling, 'official capacity,' as well as for 'rank' 
 or 'station in life.' See Note 61, Act iv., "Second Part 
 Henry IV." 
 
 27. Rain sacrificial whisperings. ' Pour forth worshipping 
 protestations in awe-stricken whispers, as though oflTering 
 incense to a god. ' 
 
 28. Ma/ee sacred even his stirrup. To hold the stirrup for 
 a personage of superior rank as a mark of respect is alluded to 
 in the passage commented on in Notes 11 and 12, Act iv., 
 " Second Part Henry 'VI." 
 
 29. Through him drink the fi-ee air. ' Breathe as though 
 they drew breath merely by his permission.' 
 
 30. Let him slip down. The FoHo gives 'sit' for "slip." 
 Rowe's correction. 
 
 31. These quick blows of Fortune's. The first Folio prints 
 'Fortunes' for "Fortune's" here; while the second Folio 
 altered the word to ' Fortune.' In the same way the first Folio 
 
 I prints 'Timons' for "Timon's" (see Note 48, Act v.), as it 
 often does when the apostrophe is needed for a sign of the 
 possessive case. This makes us think that here "Fortune's" 
 was intended by the author ; because this pleonastic form of 
 the possessive case is by no means unfrequently used, not only 
 by Shakespeare, but by many English -writers and speakers. 
 
 32. Mean eyes. ' Lowly eyes,' ' the eyes of those in a humble 
 position.' 
 
Act I.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 Fen. Stfr-v. Ay, my good lord : five talents is 
 his debt;33 
 
 His means most short, his creditors most strait • 
 Your honourable letter he desires 
 To those have shut him up ; which, failing,^^ 
 Periods his comfort.^ 
 
 Tim. Noble Ventidius! Well; 
 
 I am not of that feather to shake off 
 My friend when he must need me.3« I do know him 
 A gentleman that well deserves a help, — 
 Which he shall have : I'll pay the debt, and free 
 him. 
 
 Fen. Ser'v. Your lordship ever binds him. 
 Tim. Commend me to him : I will send his 
 ransom ; 
 
 And, being enfranchis'd, bid him come to me ; — 
 'Tis not enough to help the feeble up, 
 But to support him after.^'' — Fare you well. 
 Fen, Sew. All happiness to your honour ! 
 
 \_Exit. 
 
 Enter an old Athenian. 
 Old Alb. Lord Timon, hear me speak. 
 Tim. Freely, good father.^ 
 
 Old Ath. Thou hast a servant nam'd Lucilius. 
 Tim. I have so : what of him ? 
 Old Ath. Most noble Timon, call the man 
 
 before thee. 
 Tim. Attends he here, or no ? — Lucilius ! 
 
 Lucilius comes fornjoard from among the 
 Attendants. 
 
 Luc. Here, at your lordship's service. 
 
 Old Ath. This fellow here. Lord Timon, this 
 thy creature. 
 By night frequents my house. I am a man 
 That from my first have been inclin'd to thrift ; 
 And my estate deserves an heir more rais'd 
 Than one which holds a trencher. 
 
 33. Five talents is his debt. A "talent" was a term origi- 
 nally applied to a large weight of gold or silver, then to a large 
 sum in gold or silver coin ; and subsequently was sometimes 
 used to express a thing of indefinite but great value. The 
 "talent" meant throughout this play is the Attic talent; which 
 has been calculated to amount in worth to rather more than 
 56 lbs. of silver, or to be equivalent to about £2^3 i$s. of 
 modern English money. 
 
 34. Which, failing. The editor of the second Folio added 
 the words 'to him' after "failing;" but the phraseology 
 appears to us to be elliptical ; the sentence meaning ' which 
 letter, he failing to have.' 
 
 35. Periods his comfort. ' Terminates or brings to a period 
 his comfort.* To ' period ' was a verb used by writers of 
 Shaliespeare's time. 
 
 56. When he must need me. The third Folio changes " must 
 need " to ' most needs ; ' and some modern editors adopt the 
 change. Bvit it seems to us that the phrase " when he must 
 need me " is a mode of saying ' when he has urgent need of my 
 aid,' 'when he is forced by circumstances to have recourse to' 
 me for assistance,' ' when he is obliged in spite of himself to 
 need me.' It is almost as if the word 'needs' were implied, 
 and as if the sentence gave the effect of 'when he must needs 
 
 Tim. Well ; what farther ? 
 
 Old Ath. One only daughter have 1, no kin 
 else. 
 
 On whom I may confer what I have got : 
 The maid is fair, o' the youngest for a bride. 
 And I have bred her at my deareit cost 
 In qualities of the best. This man of thine 
 Attempts her love : I pr'ythee, noble lord, 
 Join with me to forbid him her resort; 
 Myself have spoke in vain. 
 
 Tim. The man is honest. 
 
 Old Ath. Therefore he will be, Timon 
 His honesty rewards him in itself ; 
 It must not bear my daughter.'"' 
 
 Tim. Does she love him ? 
 
 Old Ath. She is young and apt: 
 Our own precedent passions do instruct us 
 What levity's in youth. 
 
 Tim. [To Lucilius.] Love you the maid ? 
 
 Luc. Ay, my good lord ; and she accepts of it.'" 
 
 Old Ath. If in her marriage my consent be 
 missing, 
 
 I call the gods to witness, I will choose 
 
 Mine heir from forth the beggars of the world. 
 
 And dispossess her all. 
 
 Tim. How shall she be endow'd, 
 
 If she be mated with an equal husband ? 
 
 Old Ath. Three talents on the present ; in 
 future, all. 
 
 Tim. This gentleman of mine hath serv'd me 
 long: 
 
 To build his fortune I will strain a little. 
 For 'tis a bond in men. Give him thy daughter : 
 What you bestow, in him I'll counterpoise. 
 And make him weigh with her. 
 
 Old Ath. Most noble lord. 
 
 Pawn me to this your honour, she is his. 
 
 Tim. My hand to thee ; mine honour on my 
 promise. 
 
 need me.' In accordance with the delicacy of a bounteous 
 generosity is the inference that the friend would not apply for 
 
 37. Bnt to support him after. Here ' it is requisite ' is 
 elliptically understood between " but " and " to." 
 
 38. Freely, good fatlier. The title of "father" was (and 
 still is) sometimes given to old men in reverence for their age, 
 as well as to priests in reverence for their calling. See Note 
 43, Act iii., " Measure for Measure." 
 
 39. Therefore he ivill be, Timon. It has been conjectured 
 that something has been omitted here by the Folio printer. 
 As the passage stands, it will bear the interpretation, ' Tliere- 
 fore he will still be honest, Timon ; ' meaning he will be honest 
 enough to withdraw his suit, if you Join with me to forbid him 
 from resorting to my daughter. 
 
 40. It must not bear my daicghter. The word "bear" is 
 here used by Shakespeare in the same way that he sometimes 
 uses the word "carry," to e.x-press 'prevail,' 'win,' 'achieve,' 
 ' obtain ; ' as we now sometimes use the idiom, ' bear off,' or 
 'carry off.' See Note 80, Act ii., " Coriolanus." 
 
 41. And she accepts of it. The word " love," in the previous 
 question, allows "it" here to imply ' my love.' See Note 51. 
 Act v., " Coriolanus." 
 
Act I.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Luc. Humbly 1 thank your lordship : never 
 may 
 
 That state or fortune fall into my keeping, 
 Which is not ow'd to you 
 
 \Exeunt Lucinus and Old Athenian. 
 Poet. Vouchsafe my labour,'*'' and long live your 
 lordship ! 
 
 Tim. I thank you ; you shall hear from me 
 anon : 
 
 Go not away : — What have you there, my friend ? 
 
 Pain. A piece of painting, which I do beseech 
 Your lordship to accept. 
 
 Tim. Painting is welcome. 
 
 The painting is almost the natural man ; 
 For since dishonour traffics with man's nature, 
 He is but outside : these pencill'd figures are 
 Even such as they give out.^'* I like your work ; 
 Aod you shall find I like it : wait attendance 
 Till you hear farther from me. 
 
 Pain. The gods preserve you ! 
 
 Tim. Well fare you, gentleman : give me your 
 hand ; 
 
 We must needs dine together. — Sir, your jewel 
 Hath suffer'd under praise. 
 
 Jeuj. What, my lord ! dispraise ? 
 
 Tim. A mere satiety of commendations. 
 If I should pay you for 't as 'tis extoH'd, 
 It would uncle w me quite. 
 
 Jeiu. My lord, 'tis rated 
 
 As those which sell would give : but you well 
 know. 
 
 Things of like value, differing in the owners, 
 Are prized by their masters believe 't, dear 
 lord, 
 
 You mend the jewel by the wearing it, 
 Tim. Well mock'd. 
 
 Mer. No, my good lord ; he speaks the common 
 tongue, 
 
 Which all men speak with him. 
 
 Tim. Look, who comes here : will you be chid ? 
 
 Enter Apemantus.^? 
 yenx}. We'll bear, with your lordship. 
 Mer. He'll spare none. 
 
 Tim. Good morrow to thee, gentle Apemantus! 
 Apem. Till I be gentle, stay thou for thy good 
 morrow ; 
 
 42. Which is not ou'd to you. ' Which is not deemed by me 
 as owing to you, or due to you ; ' and therefore to be held as 
 yours and at your disposal. 
 
 43. Voiictisaje my labour. 'Vouchsafe to approve and ac- 
 cept my labour.' See Note 37, Act iii., " King John." Shake- 
 speare often uses " vouchsafe " e.\actly as the French use their 
 word agre_-z, ' condescend to accept,' * receive favourably.' 
 
 44. liven such as they give out. ' Precisely what they pro- 
 fess to be : ' true to themselves .ind to the life. 
 
 45. It -would unclew me quite. ' It would leave me quite 
 undone ; ' stripped of fortune, as a ball of thread is unclewed or 
 unwound. 
 
 When thou art Timon's dog, and these knaves 
 honest. 
 
 Tim. Why dost thou call them knaves? thou 
 
 knows't them not. 
 Apem. Are they not Athenians ? 
 Tim. Yes, 
 
 Apem. Then I repent not. 
 Jeiu. You know me, Apemantus ? 
 Apem. Thou know'st I do; I call'd thee by thy 
 name. 
 
 Tim. Thou art proud, Apemantus. 
 
 Apem. Of nothing so much as that I am not 
 
 like Timon. 
 Tim. Whither art going ? 
 
 Apem. To knock out an honest Athenian's 
 brains. 
 
 Tim. That's a deed thou 'It die for. 
 Ape>n. Right, if doing nothing be death by the 
 law. 
 
 Tim. How likest thou this picture, Apemantus ? 
 Apem. The best, for the innocence, 
 Tim. Wrought he not well that painted it ? 
 Apem. He wrought better that made the painter ; 
 and yet he's but a filthy piece of work. 
 Pain. You're a dog. 
 
 Apem. Thy mother's of my generation : what's 
 she, if I be a dog ? 
 
 Tim. Wilt dine with me, Apemantus ? 
 
 Apem, No ; I eat not lords. 
 
 Tim. An thou shouldst, thou'dst anger ladies. 
 How dost thou like this jewel, Apemantus? 
 
 Apem. Not so well as plain-dealing,''* which 
 will not cost a man a doit. 
 
 Tim. 
 
 What dost thou think 'tis worth ? 
 
 Apem. 
 
 Not worth my thinking. — How now, 
 
 poet ! 
 
 Poet. 
 
 How now, philosopher ! 
 
 Apem. 
 
 Thou liest. 
 
 Poet. 
 
 Art not one ? 
 
 Apem. 
 
 Yes. 
 
 Poet. 
 
 Then I lie not. 
 
 Apem. 
 
 Art not a poet ? 
 
 Po;t. 
 
 Yes. 
 
 Apem. 
 
 Then thou liest : look in thy last work. 
 
 where thou hast feigned him a worthy fellow. 
 
 Poet. That's not feigned, — he is so. 
 
 Apem. Yes, he is worthy of thee, and to pay 
 thee for thy labour : he that loves to be flattered is 
 
 46. A re prized by their masters. ' Are rated according to 
 the esteem in which their possessor is held.' 
 
 47. Afemantus. The name and character of this personage 
 were probably adopted by Shakespeare from the novel in 
 Paynter's " Palace of Pleasure ; " while he may have taken 
 some additional points in its delineation from the " Sale of 
 Philosophers," in Lucian's Dialogues. This book was trans- 
 lated by Jasper Mayne in 1638, and published in 1664. 
 
 48. Not so well as plain-dealing. In allusion to the pro- 
 verb, " Plain-dealing is a jewel ; but they who use it die 
 beggars." 
 
Act I.] 
 
 TiMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [SCENC 1. 
 
 Timon. Look, who comes here : will you be chid ' 
 Jeweller. We'll bear, with your lordship. 
 
 worthy o' the flatterer. Heaven?, that I were a 
 lord ! 
 
 Tim. What wouldst do then, Apemantus? 
 Apem. Even as Apemantus does now, — hate a 
 lord with my heart. 
 
 Tim. What! thyself? 
 
 Apem. Ay. 
 
 Ttm. Wherefore? 
 
 Apem. That I had no angry wit to be a lord.''' 
 — Art not thou a merchant ? 
 Mer. Ay, Apemantus. 
 
 Apem. Traffic confound thee, if the gods will not! 
 
 49. That I luid no angry ivit to be a lord. This 
 has been suspected of error, and has been variously altered. 
 As it stands, it appears to us to bear the interpretation, ' That 
 being a lord, I should haife no angry wit ; ' no faculty for acri- 
 monious satire, — such as Apemantus prides himself upon pos- 
 sessing. The sentence also includes the eftect of ' that I 
 had given up (Apemantus's) angry wit in order to be a lord.' 
 
 Mer. If traffic do it, the gods do it. 
 Apem. Traffic's thy god ; and thy god con- 
 found thee ! 
 
 Trumpet sounds. Enter a Servant. 
 Tim. What trumpet's that ? 
 Serv. 'Tis Alcibiades, and some twenty horse,'" 
 All of companionship. 
 
 Tim. Pray entertain them ; give them guide to 
 us. — [Exeunt some Attendants. 
 
 You must needs dine with me : — go not you hence 
 
 It must be borne in mind that Shakespeare sometimes uses the 
 form "to be" very peculiarly ; for instance, in this very play, 
 we find, " Never mind was to be so unwise, to be so kind;" 
 where the construction is not in accordance with common 
 phraseology. See Note 14, Act ii. 
 
 50. Some twenty horse. " Horse " is here used for ' horse- 
 men.' See Note 43, Act iii., "Taming of the Shrew;" and 
 Note 32, Act iv., " First Pa^t Henry 'VI." 
 
Act I.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene 11. 
 
 Till I have thank'd ) ou : — when dinner's done, 
 Show me this piece. — I am joyful of your sights. 
 
 Enter Alcibiades, uuith his Company. 
 Most welcome, sir ! [T/."^ salute. 
 
 A pent. So, so, there ! — 
 
 Aches*' contract and starve ^2 your supple joints! — 
 That there should be small love 'mongst these 
 
 sweet knaves, 
 And all this courtesy ! The strain of man's bred 
 
 out" 
 
 Into baboon and monkey. 
 Alcib. Sir, you have sav'd my longing, and I 
 feed 
 
 Most hungerly on your sight. 
 
 Tim. Right welcome, sir ! 
 
 Ere we depart, we'll share a bounteous tiir.e 
 In different pleasures. Pray you, let us in. 
 
 {Exeunt all except Apemantus. 
 
 Enter tuco Lords. 
 First Lord. Wliat time o' day is't, Apemantus.' 
 Apem. Time to be honest. 
 First L'jrd. That time serves still. 
 Apem. The most accursed thou," that still 
 omitt'st it. 
 
 Sec. Lord. Thou art going to Lord Timon's 
 feast ? 
 
 Apem. Ay, to see meat fill knaves, and wine 
 heat fools. 
 
 Sec. Lord. Fare thee well, fare thee well. 
 Apem. Thou art a fool to bid me farewell twice. 
 Sec. Lord. Why, Apemantus? 
 Apem. Shouldst have kept'^ one to thyself, for 
 I mean to give thee none. 
 First Lord. Hang thyself! 
 
 Apem. No, I will do nothing at thy bidding : 
 make thy requests to thy friend. 
 
 Sec. Lord. Away, unpeaceable dog, or I'll 
 spurn thee hence ! 
 
 Apem. I will fly, like a dog, the heels o' the 
 ass. [Exit. 
 
 First Lord. He's opposite to humanity. — Come, 
 shall we in. 
 
 And taste Lord Timon's bounty p he outgoes 
 The very heart of kindness. 
 
 51. Aches. Here, and elsewhere, sounded as a dissyllable. 
 See Note sg, Act i., "Tempest." 
 
 52. Stanie. Here used for ' destroy,' ' perish.' 
 
 53. The strain of tiian's bred out. ' The race of man is 
 degenerated.' See Note 48, Act ii., " Much Ado." 
 
 54. Defart. Sometimes, as here, used for 'part,' 'separate.' 
 See Note 78, Act ii., " King John." 
 
 55. The most accursed thou. Ritson proposed to change 
 "most" here to 'more;' a proposal followed by Hanmer and 
 others. But it may be that here the superlative is used where 
 ordinarily the comparative is employed, as in other passages 
 the comparative is used where the superlative is ordinarily 
 employed (see Note 6, Act v., " Co|(olanus") ; and also it may 
 be that the present sentence is an instance of one of those 
 
 Sec. Lord. He pours it out ; Pliitus, the god of 
 gold. 
 
 Is but his steward : no meed,*" but he repays 
 Sevenfold above itself ; no gift to him, 
 But breeds the giver a return exceeding 
 All use of quittance.*^ — 
 
 First Lord. The noblest mind he carries 
 
 That ever govern'd man. 
 
 Sec. Lord. Long may he live in fortunes I — Shall 
 we in P 
 
 First Lord. I'll keep you company.^' [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE II. — Athens. A Room of State in 
 Timon's Rouse. 
 
 Hautboys playing loud music. A great banquet 
 sernjed in ; Flavius and others attending ; 
 then enter Timon, Alcibiades, Lords, Sena- 
 tors, and Ventidius. Then comes, dropping 
 after all, Apemantus, discontentedly. 
 
 Fen. Most honour'd Timon, 
 It hath pleas'd the gods to remember my father's 
 age, 
 
 And call him to long peace. 
 
 He is gone happy, and has left me rich ; 
 
 Then, as in grateful virtue I am bound 
 
 To your free heart, 1 do return those talents. 
 
 Doubled with thanks and service, from whose 
 
 help 
 I deriv'd libert)'. 
 
 Tim. ^ Oh, by no means. 
 Honest Ventidius ; you mistake my love : 
 I gave it freely ever; and there's none 
 Can truly say he gives, if he receives : 
 If our betters play at that game, we must not 
 dare 
 
 To imitate them ; faults that are rich are fair. 
 Fen. A noble spirit ! 
 
 [They all stand ceremoniously looking 
 on Timon. 
 
 Tim. Nay, my lords, ceremony was but devis'd 
 at first 
 
 To set a gloss on faint deeds, hollow welcomes, 
 
 phrases we have pointed out, in which Shakespeare uses a well- 
 known form of expression, while varying it by the introduction 
 of a word of his own. See Note 46, Act iv., "Romeo and 
 Juliet." Apemantus may be intended to use the common form 
 of ' the more accursed thou,' and to give it intensified virulence 
 by substituting " most" for ' more.' 
 
 56. Shouldst have kept, l^c. Here 'thou' is elliptically under- 
 stood before "shouldst." See Note 7, Act v., " Henry VIII." 
 
 57. Meed. Here used for ' merit,' ' desert.' See Note 10, 
 Act ii., " Third Part Henry VI." 
 
 58. All use of guiiiatice. 'All usual requital.' 
 
 59. I'll keep yoit company. The prefix of " First Lord" is 
 omitted in the Folio ; and these words are made a portion of the 
 preceding speech. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Recanting goodness, sorry ere 'tis shown ; 
 But where there is true friendship, there needs 
 none. 
 
 Pray, sit ; more welcome are ye to my fortunes 
 Than my fortunes to me. [They sit. 
 
 First Lord. My lord, we always have confess'd 
 it. 
 
 Jpem. Ho, ho, confess'd it ! hang'd it, have 
 younot?«" 
 
 Tim. Oh, Apemantus, — you are welcome. 
 
 Jpem. No ; 
 
 You shall not make me welcome : 
 I come to have thee thrust me out of doors. 
 
 Tim. Fie, thou'rt a churl ; you've got a humour 
 there 
 
 Does not become a man ; 'tis much to blame. — 
 
 They say, my lords, Ira furor brevis est 
 
 But yond man is ever angry. 
 
 Go, let him have a table by himself ; 
 
 For he does neither affect company, 
 
 Nor is he fit for 't, indeed. 
 
 Apem. Let me stay at thine apperil,^^ Timon : 
 1 come to observe ; I give thee warning on 't. 
 
 Tim. I take no heed of thee ; thou'rt an 
 Athenian, therefore welcome : I myself would 
 have no power; pr'ythee, let my meat make thee 
 silent. 
 
 Apem. I scorn thy meat ; 'twould choke me, 
 for I should ne'er flatter thee.** — Oh, you gods, 
 what a number of men eat Timon, and he sees 
 them not ! It grieves me to see 
 So many dip their meat in one man's blood ; 
 And all the madness is, he cheers them up too. 
 I wonder men dare trust themselves with men : 
 Methinks they should invite them without knives j''^ 
 Good for their meat, and safer for their lives. 
 Tliere's much example for 't ; the fellow that sits 
 next him now, parts bread with him, and pledges'''' 
 the breath of him in a divided draught, is the 
 readiest man to kill him: it has been proved. If 
 I were a huge man, I should fear to drink at 
 meals ; 
 
 60. Confessed it ! hang'd it, have you not ? In allusion to 
 the old proverbial saying, " Confess and be hanged." 
 
 61. Ira furor bre-vis est. Latin; ' Anger is a brief madness.' 
 
 62. But yond man is ever angry. The Folio prints 'verie' 
 for "ever." Rowe's correction. 
 
 63. Apperil. A form of ' peril ; ' frequently used by Ben 
 Jonson in his plays. 
 
 64. 'Twould choke ■ine,for I should ne'er flatter thee. "For" 
 is here used in the sense of ' because.' 
 
 65. They should invite them tvithovt knives. Formerly it 
 was the custom for each guest to bring his own knife for use at 
 table. 
 
 66. Parts bread with hint, and pledges, is'c. The Folio 
 omits " and " here. Inserted by Pope. 
 
 67. My windpipe's dangerous notes. 'The dangerous noti- 
 fication of where my windpipe precisely lies.' In former times 
 men's dress left the throat uncovered. There is probably a 
 play on the words " v/'md-pipes " and "notes." 
 
 Lest they should spy my windpipe's dangerous 
 notes : ^7 
 
 Great men should drink with harnesses on their 
 throats. 
 
 Tim. My lord, in heart;*' and let the health 
 go round. 
 
 Sec. Lord. Let it flow this way, my good lord. 
 
 Apem. Flow this way ! A brave fellow ! he 
 keeps his tides well. — Those healths will make 
 thee and thy state look ill, Timon. — 
 Here's that which is too weak to be a sinner. 
 Honest water, which ne'er left man 1' the mire : 
 This and my food are equals ; there's no odds : 
 Feasts are too proud to give thanks to the gods. 
 
 Apemantus's grace. 
 
 Immortal gods, I crave no pelf;™ 
 I pray for no man but myself : 
 Grant I may never prove so fond," 
 To trust man on his oath or bond ; 
 Or a wanton, for her weeping ; 
 Or a dog, that seems a-sleeping ; 
 Or a keeper with my freedom ; 
 Or my friends, if I should need 'em. 
 Amen. So fall to 't : 
 Rich men sin, and I eat root.'^ 
 
 [Eats and drinks. 
 
 Much good dich ''^ thy good heart, Apemantus ! 
 
 Tim. Captain Alcibiades, your heart's in the 
 field now. 
 
 Alcib. My heart is ever at your service, my lord. 
 
 Tim. You had rather be at a breakfast of ene- 
 mies than a dinner of friends. 
 
 Alcib. So they were bleeding-new, my lord, 
 there's no meat like 'em : I could wish my best 
 friend at such a feast. 
 
 Apem. 'Would all those flatterers were thine 
 enemies, then, that then thou mightst kill 'em, 
 and bid me to 'em ! 
 
 First Lord. Might we but have that happiness, 
 my lord, that you would once use our hearts, 
 whereby we might express some part of our zeals, 
 we should think ourselves for ever perfect. 7* 
 
 Tim. Oh, no doubt, my good friends ; but the 
 
 68. Harness. ' Armour.' See Note 68, Act iii., " First Part 
 Henry IV." 
 
 69. fn heart. 'In heartiness;' 'in truth,' 'in sincerity.' 
 Timon is pledging one of the lords, his friends ; and means, 
 ' My lord, I drink to you in all heartiness.' 
 
 70. Pelf. A scornful term for 'riches,' 'money,' 'goods.' 
 Low Latin, pelfra. 
 
 71. Fond. ' Weak,' ' foolish.' 
 
 72. Rich men sin, and I eat root. It has been proposed to 
 change " sin " to ' sing' or 'dine'here; but we think the word 
 "sin " is used antithetically to "eat root," in the sense of ' eat 
 sinfully,' 'gorge,' or 'gormandise,' with allusion to gluttony 
 being one of the -seven deadly sins. 
 
 73. Dich. This appears to be a peculiar form of ' do 't,' ' do 
 it,' or 'may it do ; ' but no other instance of the word " dich" 
 thus used has hitherto been found. 
 
 74. Perfect. Here used for 'perfect in content,' or 'perfectly 
 contented.' 
 
Act I.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 gods themselves have provided that I shall have 
 much help from you: how had you been my 
 friends else ? why have you that charitable'^ title 
 from thousands, did not you chiefly belong to my 
 heart ? I have told more of you to myself than you 
 can with modesty speak in your own behalf ; and 
 thus far I confirm you. Oh, you gods, think I, 
 what need we have any friends, if we should ne'er 
 have need of them ? they were the most needless 
 creatures living, should we ne'er have use for them; 
 and would most resemble sweet instruments hung 
 up in cases, that keep their sounds to themselves. 
 
 I VVhy, I have often wished myself poorer, that I 
 might come nearer to you. We are born to do 
 
 I benefits: and what better or properer can we call 
 our own than the riches of our friends ? Oh, what 
 
 ■ p. precious comfort 'tis, to have so many, like 
 brothers, commanding one another's fortunes ! Oh, 
 
 1 joy, e'en made away ere 't can be born!'^ Mine 
 
 j eyes cannot hold out water, methinks : to forget 
 
 j their faults, I drink to you. 
 
 1 Apem. Thou weepest to make them drink, 
 I Timon. 
 
 Sec. Lord. Joy had the like conception in our 
 ' es, 
 
 And, at that instant, like a babe sprung up. 
 Apem. Ho, ho ! I laugh to think that babe a 
 bastard. 
 
 Third Lord. I promise you, my lord, you mov'd 
 me much. 
 
 Apem. Much!?'' [Tucket sounded. 
 
 Tim. What means that trump ? 
 
 Enter a Servant. 
 
 How now ! 
 
 Ser'v. Please you, my lord, there are certain 
 ladies most desirous of admittance. 
 
 Tim. Ladies ! what are their wills ? 
 
 Serf. There comes with them a forerunner, 
 my lord, which bears that office, to signify their 
 pleasures. 
 
 Tim. I pray, let them be admitted. 
 
 Enter Cupid. 
 Cup. Hail to thee, worthy Timon ; — and to all 
 
 75. Charitable. Here used by Timon in its primitive sense of 
 ' loving,' as referring to the affection subsisting between himself 
 and his friends ; and in its more usual sense of ' kindly,' ' benevo- 
 lent,' as referring to their professions of willingness to assist him. 
 
 76. Oh, joy, e'en made away ereH can be born! ' Oh, joy, 
 that is drowned in tears ere it can express itself ! ' The Folio 
 misprints 'ioyes' for "joy," Rowe's correction. 
 
 77. Much! Apemantus sneeringly echoes the Third Lord's 
 word, converting it into the significant exclamation colloquially 
 used in Shakespeare's time. See Note 87, Act ii., "Second 
 Part Henry IV." 
 
 78. The ear, taste, touch, smell, pleased, la'c. The Folio 
 prints, ' There last, touch all, pleas'd, &c.' Warhurton made 
 the correction ; which enables the passage to show that four 
 senses have been gratified at Timon's table, while the fifth, 
 sight, is to be delighted by the approaching mask. 
 
 79. They dance', they are mad women. The Puritanical 
 
 That of his bounties taste ! — The five best senses 
 Acknowledge thee their patron ; and come freely 
 To gratulate thy plenteous bosom : the ear, 
 Taste, touch, smell, pleas'd from thy table rise 
 They only now come but to feast thine eyes. 
 
 Tim. They're welcome all; let them have kind 
 admittance :— ■ 
 Music, make their welcome ! {Exit Cupid. 
 
 First Lord, You see, my lord, how ample you're 
 belov'd. 
 
 Music. Re-enter Cupid, -with a mask of Ladies 
 as Amazons, nvith lutes in their hands, 
 dancing and playing. 
 Apem. Hey day ! what a sweep of vanity comes 
 this way ! 
 
 They dance ! they are mad women.?^ 
 
 Like madness is the glory of this life. 
 
 As this pomp shows to a little oil and root. 8" 
 
 We make ourselves fools, to disport ourselves ; 
 
 And spend our flatteries, to drink those men, 
 
 Upon whose age we void it up again, 
 
 With poisonous spite and envy. 
 
 Who lives, that 's not depraved or depraves ? 
 
 Who dies, that bears not one spurn to their graves 
 
 Of their friends' gift? 
 
 1 siioukl fear, those that dance before me now 
 Would one day stamp upon me : 't has been done ; 
 Men shut their doors against a setting sun. 
 
 The Lords rise ftom table, ivith muco adoring of 
 Timon ; and to show their lomes, each singles 
 out an Amazon, and all dance, mett 'Vjith 
 'women, a lofty strain or Itjoo to the hautboys, 
 and cease. 
 
 Tim. You have done our pleasures much grace, 
 fair ladies. 
 Set a fair fashion on our entertainment. 
 Which was not half so beautiful and kind ; 
 You have added worth unto 't and lustre. 
 And entertain'd me with mine own device ; 
 I am to thank you for it. 
 First Lady. My lord, you take us even at the 
 best.si 
 
 writers of Shakespeare's time denounced dancing as madness 
 and sin. Stubbes, in his "Anatomic of Abuses," 1583. speaks 
 of " danncers thought to be madmen." "And as in all feasts 
 and pastimes dauncing is the last, so it is the extream of all 
 other vice." 
 
 80. Like 7nadness is the glory 0/ this life, as this pomp shows 
 to, &^c. ' Just such madness is the glory of this life, as the 
 pomp of this feast appears when compared with the philo- 
 sopher's frugal repast of a little oil and a few roots.' We have 
 before remarked upon the peculiar construction visible in many 
 of Shakespeare's passages of comparison. See, among several 
 , others. Note 37, Act ii., " Coriolanus." 
 
 I 81. Vou take us even at the best. ' You make the best of our 
 attempts.' The Folio gives the prefix to this speech, * i Lord' 
 instead of " First Lady," to whom it obviously belongs, as a 
 reply to Timon's compliment to herself and her companions. 
 Steevens made the correction. 
 
 16 
 
Act I.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Apem. 'Faith, for the worst is filthy ; and would 
 not hold taking, I doubt me. 
 
 Tim. Ladies, there is an idle banquet atteniis 
 you : 
 
 Please you to dispose yourselves. 
 All Lad. Most thankfully, my lord. 
 
 lExeunt Cupid and Ladies. 
 
 Tim. Flavius, — 
 Flav. My lord ? 
 
 Tim. The little casket bring me hither. 
 
 flav. Yes, my lord.— [,fjir/^.] More jewels 
 yet! 
 
 There is no crossing him in his humour ^ 
 Else I should tell him well.s^ i' faith, I should : 
 When all's spent, he'd be cross'd then,^^ an he 
 could. 
 
 'Tis pity bounty had not eyes behind, 
 That man might ne'er be wretched for his mind.s5 
 \_Exil , and returns nuith the casket. 
 
 First Lord. Where be our men ? 
 
 Ser'v. Here, my lord, in readiness. 
 
 Sec. Lord. Our horses ! 
 
 Tim. Oh, my friends, 
 
 I have one word to say to you:— look you, my 
 
 good lord, 
 I must entreat you, honour me so much 
 As to advance this jewel j^o accept it and wear 
 
 Kind my lord. 
 First Lord. I am so far already in your gifts, — 
 All. So are we all. 
 
 Enter a Servant. 
 
 Scrn}. My lord, there are certain nobles of the 
 senate 
 
 Newly alighted, and come to visit you. 
 
 Tim. They are fairly welcome. 
 
 Flav. I beseech your honour. 
 
 Vouchsafe me a word ; it does concerii you near. 
 
 Tim. Near ! why, then, another time I'll hear 
 thee : 
 
 I pr'ythee, let's be provided to show them enter- 
 tainment. 
 Flav. [Aside.'] I scarce know how. 
 
 82. Else I should tell him well. We here give the punctua- 
 tion of the Folio ; while most modern editors adopt Rowe's, 
 which places a dash between "him" and "well," making 
 "well, i'faith, I should," a parenthetical phrase, and "when 
 all's spent," &c., what Flavius would tell Timon, instead of its 
 being Flavius's present reflection upon his master's ej;trava- 
 gnnce. We agree with Mr. Staunton in believing that "tell 
 him well" bears the sense of ' rate him,' or 'call him to account ' 
 it appears to us to be equivalent to the modern vulgarism, * tell 
 him his own,' or 'tell him a piece of my mind.' 'Tell him 
 plainly,' and ' tell him flatly,' too, often used by Shakespeare, 
 are phrases of the same kind. 
 
 S3. He'd be cross'd then. "Cross'd" is here used with a 
 play on the word, in its sen.se of ' thwarted,' as referring to the 
 previous expression, "crossing him in his humour," and in its 
 sense of having the hand crossed with money. There is a 
 
 Enter a second Servant. 
 
 Sec. Ser'v. May it please your honour. Lord 
 Lucius, 
 
 Out of his free love, hath presented to you 
 Four milk-uhite horses, trapp'd in silver. 
 
 Ti>n. I shall accept them fairly: let the presents 
 Be worthily entertain' d. 
 
 Enter a third Servant. 
 
 How now ! what news ^ 
 
 Third Serv. Please you, my lord, that honour- 
 able gentleman. Lord Lucullus, entreats your com- 
 pany to-morrow to hunt with him ; and has sent 
 your honour two brace of greyhounds. 
 
 Tim. I'll hunt with hiin ; and let them be re- 
 ceiv'd. 
 Not without fair reward. 
 
 Flau. [Aside.] What will this come to ? 
 
 He commands us to provide, and give great gifts, 
 And all out of an empty coffer: 
 Nor will he know his purse ; or yield me this, 
 To show him what a beggar his heart is, 
 Being of no power to make his wishes good : 
 His promises fly so beyond his state. 
 That what he speaks is all in debt, he owes 
 For every word : he is so kind, that he now 
 Pays interest for 't ; his land's put to their books. 
 Well, would I were gently put out of office, 
 Before I were forc'd out ! 
 Happier is he that has no friend to feed 
 Than such that do e'en enemies exceed. 
 I bleed inwardly for my lord. [Exit. 
 
 Tim. You do yourselves 
 
 Much wrong, you bate too much of }our o>vn 
 
 merits : — 
 Here, my lord, a trifle of our love. 
 
 Sec. Lord. With more than common thanks I 
 will receive it. 
 
 Third Lord. Oh, he's the very soul of bounty ! 
 
 Tim. And now I remember, my lord, you 
 gave 
 
 Good words the other day of a bay courser 
 I rode on ; it is yours, because you lik'd it. 
 
 somewhat similar quibbling allusion pointed out in Note 38, 
 Act ii., "As Yon Like It." The present passage includes a 
 kind of pun on the word " tell," in its connection with 
 "cross'd;" inasmuch as "tell" is sometimes used to express 
 reckon or count money. 
 
 84. 'Tis pity bounty had not eyes behind. In order that it 
 might perceive the consequences which follow in its train, when 
 
 ; lavishly exercised. 
 
 I 85. TImt man might ne'er be wretched for his mind. 'That 
 I man might never come to misery through his generosity of dis- 
 position.* "For" is here used in the sense of 'through,' 'on 
 account of (see Note 29. Act iv. , " Romeo and Juliet") ; and 
 " mind " in the sense of ' high-mindedness,' ' liberality of spirit.' 
 
 85. Advance this jeiuel. 'Give it dignity by acceptance,' 
 'honour It by wearing it;* as, a short time before, the Jeweller 
 tells Timon he would " mend the jewel by the wearing it." 
 
Act II.] 
 
 TI.MON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Sec. Lord. Oh, I beseech )ou, parJoii me, iny 
 lord, in that. 
 
 Tim. You may take my word, my lord ; I 
 know, no man 
 Can justly praise, but what he does affect : 
 I weigh my friend's affection 'with mine ou'n ; 
 I'll tell you true.87 I'll call to you.ss 
 
 jlll Lords. Oh, none so welcome. 
 
 Tim. I take all and your several visitations 
 So kind to heart, 'tis not enough to give ; 
 Methinks, I could deal kingdoms to my friends. 
 And ne'er be weary. — Alcibiades, 
 Thou art a soldier, therefore seldom rich 
 It comes in charity to thee: for all thy living 
 Is 'mongst the dead;^^ and all the lands thou 
 hast 
 
 Lie in a pitch'd field. 
 J/cib. Ay, defil'd land, my lord. 
 
 First Lord. We are io virtuously bound, — 
 Tim. And so 
 
 Am I to you. 
 
 Sec. Lord. So infinitely endear'd, — 
 Tim. All to you.so— Lights, more lights ! 
 First Lord. The best of happiness. 
 
 Honour, and fortunes, keep with you, Lord Timon! 
 
 Tim, Ready for his friends. 
 
 [Exeunt Alcibiades, Lords, csfc. 
 Apem. What a coil's here !'■" 
 
 Serving of becks, and juttings out behind ! 
 I doubt wlietlier their logs^^ worth tlie sums 
 That are given for 'em. Friendship's full of 
 dregs 
 
 Methinks, false hearts should never have sound 
 legs. 
 
 Thus honest fools lay out their wealth on court'sies. 
 
 Tim. Now, Apemantus, if thou wert not sullen, 
 I would be good to thee. 
 
 Apem. No, I'll nothing : for if I should be 
 bribed too, there would be none left to rail upon 
 thee ; and then thou wouldst sin the faster. Thou 
 giv'st so long, Timon, I fear me thou wilt give 
 away thyself in paper'* shortly : what need these 
 feasts, pomps, and vain-glories ? 
 
 Tim. Nay, an you begin to rail on society 
 once, I am sworn not to give regard to you. 
 Farewell ; and come with better music. [Exit. 
 
 Apem. So ;— thou wilt not hear me now, — thou 
 shalt not then, I'll lock thy heaven from thee. 
 Oh, that men's ears should be 
 
 To counsel deaf, but not to flattery. [Exit. 
 
 ACT 
 
 SCENE I.— Athens. A Room in a Senator's 
 House. 
 
 Enter a Senator, tw/z/j papers in his iiand. 
 
 Sen. And late, five thousand ;— to Varro and 
 to Isidore 
 
 He owes nine thousand ; — besides my former 
 sum. 
 
 Which makes it five and twenty. — Still in motion 
 
 87. /'// tell you true. Johnson proposed to change " I'll'' 
 here to 'I;' but Shakespeare frequently uses "I'll tell you," 
 or " I'll tell thee," where the usual form is ' I tell you,' or ' I tell 
 thee," in other passages besides the two pointed out in Note 26, 
 Act iv., " As You Like It." 
 
 88. /'// call to you. Equivalent to the modern idiom, * I'll 
 call upon you ,' ' I'll call at or come to your house.' 
 
 89. Ail thy living- is 'mongst tlie dead. "Living" is here 
 punningly used: in its sense of ' e.visting,' and in its sense of 
 'possessions.' See Note 47, Act v., " Merchant of Venice." 
 
 90. All to you. ' All good wishes to you,' 'all happiness be 
 granted to you.' 
 
 91. What a coil's licre! '-What a fuss is here !' See Note 
 81, Act ii., " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 92. Becks. An old word for 'bows,' 'bendings of the 
 head.' 
 
 93. Legs. Here used punningly ; in its sense of ' limbs,' and 
 
 II. 
 
 Of raging waste ? It cannot hold ; it will not. 
 It I want gold, steal but a beggar's dog, 
 And give it Timon, why, the dog coins gold : 
 If I would sell my horse, and buy twenty more 
 Better than he, why, give my horse to 1 imon, 
 Ask nothing, give it him, it foals me, straiglit, 
 And able horses no porter at his gate ; 
 But rather one that smiles, and still invites- 
 All that pass by, It cannot hold ; no reason 
 
 in its sense of 'salutations,' 'acts of obeisance.' See Note 125, 
 Act ii., •' First Part Henry IV." 
 
 94. In paper. In securities,' ' in bonds.' 
 
 95. Thy /leaven. Apemantus means good advice, the only 
 thing which coiud save Timon. The word " comisel," in the 
 next line but one, shows this 10 he the right interpretation. 
 
 1. It foals me, straight, and able horses. ' It straightway 
 produces me several full-grown hor-ses.' " Me" is here used in 
 the idiomatic manner so frequently pointed out. See Note 88, 
 Act iv., "Henry V." 
 
 2. A'o porter at his gate : lint rather one, &^c. Porters were 
 usually stern, surly, and forbidding of .-ispect, as is testified by 
 many passages from ancient writers ; so that the mere term 
 "porter" here infers a grim official whose office it is to keep 
 people out, while the word "one," in the next line, does not refer 
 to "porter," but means 'a person,' 'some one that smiles,' Sic. 
 
 -.9 
 
Act II.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Can found his state in safety .'—Caphis, ho ! 
 Caphis, I say ! 
 
 Enter Caphis. 
 Caph. Here, sir ; what is your pleasure ? 
 Sen. Get on your cloak, and haste you to Lord 
 Timon ; 
 
 Importune him for my moneys ; be not ceas'd 
 With slight denial ;* nor then silenc'd, when — 
 " Commend me to your master" — and the cap 
 Plays in the right hand, thus -j^— but tell him. 
 My uses cry to me, I must serve my turn 
 Out of mine own ; his days and times are past, 
 And my reliances on his fracted dates^ 
 Have smit my credit: I love and honour him ; 
 But must not break my back to heal his finger : 
 Immediate are my needs ; and my relief 
 Must not be toss'd and turn'd to me in words. 
 But find supply immediate.^ Get you gone 
 Put on a most importunate aspect, 
 A visage of demand ; for, I do fear. 
 When every feather sticks in his own wing,^ 
 Lord Timon will be left a naked gull,* 
 Which flashes now a phoenix.'" Get you gone. 
 Caph. I go, sir. 
 
 3. Can found his state in safety. The Folio prints 'sound' 
 (with a long s) for "found" here. Hanmer's correction. We 
 cannot think the p.issage will bear either of the senses given to 
 it by those who retain the originally printed word 'sound:' 
 some of whom interpret 'sound' here to mean 'fathom,' 
 others interpreting it to mean 'proclaim.' We think that the 
 phrase " can found his state in safety " signifies * can consider 
 his state to be founded in safety,' ' can judge his condition to 
 have any safe or solid foundation.' We are confirmed in our 
 belief of the misprint here, because in the next scene of this 
 same play there occurs a similar typographical error committed 
 by the Folio printer of ' sound ' (also printed with a long s) for 
 " found." See Note 31 of the present Act. 
 
 4. Be not ceas'd with slight denial. Here " ceas'd " is used 
 actively. See Note 21, Act v., " Second Part Henry VI." 
 
 5. The cap plays in the right hand, thus. The present 
 pissage appears to us to support our interpretation of the word 
 " bonneted" in Note 47, Act ii., " Coriolanus." 
 
 6. Fracted dates. ' Broken dates.' See Note 37, Act ii., 
 " Henry V." The expression signifies appointed dates on which 
 promises of payment have been broken. 
 
 7. But Jind supply immediate. " Must not," in the previous 
 line, gives 'must' to be elliptically understood between "but" 
 and " find " here. 
 
 8. When every featlter sticks in his own wing. " His " here 
 used for ' its.' 
 
 9. Gull. Here used in a double sense, that of ' dupe,' and 
 that of 'callow or unfledged bird.' See Note 6, Act v., " First 
 Part Henry IV." The word "naked" renders doubly obvious 
 the allusion to being without feathers : and indeed the term 
 "a naked gull" was a technicality, as well as "a gull," for a 
 nestling bird. The fact that callow birds are of a yellowish 
 cast makes it probable that "gull," as thus applied, is derived 
 from the Saxon geole, or Gothic gul, yellow. 
 
 10. Which flaslies now a phoenix. The present passage 
 affords another instance of the former use of " which ".for ' who,' 
 and "who" for 'which,' giving the means of imparting increased 
 effect to figurative writing (see Note 18, Act v., " Richard II.) ; 
 since here "which" applies to "Lord Timon" in his own 
 person, and to " a naked gull " as figuratively personifying him. 
 
 Sen. Take the bo.nds along with you," 
 
 And have the dates in compt.'^ 
 Caph. I will, sir, 
 
 Sen. Go. {Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE II.— Athens. A Hall in Timon's 
 House. 
 
 Enter Fl.wius, ixiith many bills in his hand. 
 Flau. No care, no stop ! so senseless of expense, 
 That he will neither know how to maintain it. 
 Nor cease his flow of riot : takes no account 
 How things go from him ; nor resumes no care'* 
 Of what is to continue : never mind 
 Was to be so unwise, to be so kind.'-* 
 What shall be done ? he will not hear, till feel 
 I must be round with him,'^ now he comes from 
 
 hunting. 
 Fie, fie, fie, fie ! 
 
 Enter Caphis, and the Servants of Isidore and 
 Varro. 
 
 Caph. Good even, Varro what ! 
 
 You come for money ? 
 
 11. Take the bonds, {d'c. These words, in the Folio, are 
 preceded by a repetition of "I go, sir;" which may possibly 
 have been meant for ' Ay, go, sir,' to mark the senator's im- 
 patient repetition of the man's words, bidding him be gone at 
 once; but it seems more probable that the phrase was repeated 
 by a mistake of the printer or transcriber. 
 
 12. Atii have tli£ dates in compi. 'And take account of the 
 dates.' The Folio prints this line, 'And haue the dates in. 
 Come.' Theobald's correction. 
 
 13. Nor resumes no care of what, (p'c. The Folio gives 
 'resume' instead of "resumes." Rowe's correction. The 
 double negative is not unusual with Shakespeare ; yet even 
 allowing this, if " resumes " be taken in its usual sense of 
 ' re-takes ' or ' assumes again,' the passage seems still doubtful, 
 because Timon never having taken care of his possessions can- 
 not be expected to re-take care of them. We think, therefore, 
 that it is possible that " resumes no care " is here used to ex- 
 press something like ' takes no recapitulatory care,' ' takes no 
 summing-up care;' as the French use their word 'resume' for 
 ' recapitulation,' ' summary,' or ' summing-up.' 
 
 14. Never mind was to be so unwise, to be so kind. ' There 
 never was a mind being so unwise, yet at the same time so kind ;' 
 or,'There never was a mind created at once so unwise and so 
 kind ;' or, again, ' Never was there a mind made to be so unwise 
 and to be so kind.' We have before now remarked upon Shake- 
 speare's peculiar employment of ' to be.' See Note 49, Act i. 
 of the present play. Also, Note 28, Act v., " Henry VIII." 
 
 15. He will not hear, till feel. " He " is elliptically under- 
 stood as repeated between " till " and '■ feel." 
 
 16. / must be round with him. "Round " is here used in 
 the sense of ' plain,' ' frank," ' blunt," ' out-spoken," or ' free- 
 spoken." See Note 46, Act ii., " Twelfth Night." 
 
 17. Good even, Varro. 'Good den,' 'good even," or 'good 
 evening," was always used in salutation directly after twelve 
 o'clock in the day had passed. " Varro " is here addressed to 
 Varro's servant ; men often being called by their masters' 
 names or titles. So, in the more modern farce of " High Life 
 Below Stairs,'" written by Garrick in 1759, the duke's servant is 
 addressed as "my lord duke," "your grace," &c., and Sir 
 Harry's servant as " Sir Harry," " baronet,'" &c. 
 
Act II.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS, 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Far. Seru. Is 't not your business too ? 
 
 Caph. It is: — and yours too, Isidore ? 
 
 Isid. Serv. It is so. 
 
 Caph. Would we were all discharg'd 
 
 Far. Serv. I fear it." 
 
 Caph. Here comes the lord. 
 
 Enter TiMON, Alcibiades, and Lords, &c. 
 Tim. So soon as dinner's done, we'll forth 
 again.^o 
 
 My Alcibiades. — With me ? What is your will ? 
 Caph. My lord, here is a note of certain dues. 
 
 18. Would we were nil discharg'd! ' Would that al! the debts 
 owing to us were discharged!' In the "Comedy of Errors," 
 Act iv., sc. I, we find the same idiom, where Angelo says, 
 " See him presently discharged ;" meaning, ' See that my debt 
 to him be immediately discharged.' 
 
 19. I fear it. ' I fear that we shall not be discharged,' or 
 'paid.' See Note 4, Act i., " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 Tim. Dues ! Whence are you ? 
 
 Caph. Of Athens here, my lord. 
 
 Tim. Go to my steward. 
 
 Caph. Please it your lordship, he jhath put me 
 off 
 
 To the succession of new days this month : 
 My master is awak'd by great occasion 
 To call upon his own ; and humbly prays you, 
 That with your other noble parts you'll suit, 
 In giving him his right. 
 
 Tim. Mine honest friend, 
 
 I p'rythee, but repair to me next morning. 
 
 20. So soon as dinner's done, we'll forth again. Timon 
 means that he and his guests will go out again a-hunting, from 
 which diversion Flavius's speech shows they had just returned. 
 In Shakespeare's time it was the custom to hunt in the latter 
 part of the day as well as early. From Laneham's "Account 
 of the Entertainment at Kenilworth Castle" we find that Queen 
 Elizabeth, while there, hunted both in the afternoon and evening. 
 
 221 
 
Act II.] 
 
 Cafib. Nay, good my lord, — 
 Tim. Contain thyself, good friend. 
 
 Far. Serv. One Varro's servant, my good 
 lord,— 
 
 Jsid. Ser'v. From Isidore ; 
 
 He liumbly prays your speedy payment, — 
 Cajih. If you did know, my lord, my master's 
 wants,— 
 
 F^ar. Serv. 'Twas due on forfeiture, my lord, 
 six weeks 
 And past, — 
 
 IsiU Serv. Your steward puts me off, my lord ; 
 And I am sent expressly to your lordship. 
 
 Tim. Give me breath. — 
 I do beseech you, good my lords, keep on ; 
 I'll wait upon you instantly. 
 
 \_Exeunt Alcibiades and Lords, 
 [ro Fl.wius.] Come hither: pray you, 
 
 How goes the world, that I am thus encounter'd 
 With clamorous demands of date-broke bonds,-' 
 And the detention of long-since-due debts. 
 Against my honour ? 
 
 Flav. Please you, gentlemen, 
 
 The time is unagreeable to this business 
 Your importunacy cease till after dinner; 
 That I may make his lordship understand 
 Wherefore you are not paid. 
 
 Tim, Do so, my friends. — 
 
 See them well entertain'd. [Exit. 
 
 Flav. Pray, draw near. [Exit. 
 
 Enter Apemantus and Fool. 
 Capb. Stay, stay, here comes the fool with 
 Apemantus : let's ha' some sport with 'em. 
 Far. Serv. Hang him, he '11 abuse us. 
 hid. Ser'U. A plague upon him, dog! 
 Var. Serv. How dost, fool ? 
 Jpem. Dost dialogue with thy shadow ? 
 Far. Serv. I speak not to thee. 
 Jpem. No, 'tis to thyself.— [To the Fool.] Come 
 away. 
 
 Isid. Serv. [To Var. Serv.] There's the fool 
 hangs on your back already. 
 
 Apem. No, thou stand'st single, thou'rt not on 
 
 him yet. 
 Caph. Where's the fool now ? 
 
 21. Demands of date-broke bonds. The Folio gives 'de- 
 mands of debt, broken bonds ; ' but the ensuing line, where 
 "debts" are mentioned, makes it improbable that the Folio 
 reading in the present line is correct, while the expression 
 
 fracted dates," in the previous scene, renders it likely that 
 Steevens's emendation of "date-broke," which we adopt, is 
 right. 
 
 22. Gramercies. ' Great thanks.' The more usual form was 
 "gramercy;" which is used a little farther on. See Note 14, 
 Act i., "Taming of the Shrew." 
 
 23. To scald suck chickens as you are. It was usual to 
 scald poultry before plucking, to make the feathers come off 
 easily. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Apem. He last asked the question. — Poor rogues, 
 and usurers' men ! brokers between gold and want! 
 All Serv. What are we, Apemantus ? 
 Apem. Asses. 
 All Serv. Why ? 
 
 Apem. That you ask me what you are, and do 
 not know yourselves. — Speak to 'em, fool. 
 
 Fool. How do you, gentlemen ? 
 
 All Serv. Gramercies,^^ good fool : how does 
 your mistress ? 
 
 Fool. She's e'en setting on water to scald such 
 eliickens as ) ou are.-^ Would we could see you 
 at Corinth l--* 
 
 Apem. Good ! gramercy. 
 
 Fool. Look you, here comes my mistress' 
 page. =5 
 
 Enter Page. 
 
 Page. [To the Fool.] Why, how now, captain ! 
 what do you in this wise company r — How dost 
 thou, Apemantus ? 
 
 Apem. Would I had a rod in my mouth, that I 
 might answer thee profitably. 
 
 Page. Pr'ythee, Apemantus, read me the super- 
 scription of these letters : I know not which is 
 which, 
 
 Apem. Canst not read ? 
 
 Page. No. 
 
 Apem. There will little learning die, then, that 
 day thou art hanged. This is to Lord Timon ; 
 this to Alcibiades. Go ; thou wast born a bastard, 
 and thou'lt die a broker. 
 
 Page. Thou wast whelped a dog, and thou 
 shalt famish, — a dog's death. Answer not, I am 
 gone. 
 
 Apem. Even so thou outrunnest grace. [E.xfi 
 Page.] Fool, I will go with you to Lord Timon's.^" 
 
 Fool. Will you leave me there ? 
 
 Apem. If Timon stay at home. — You three 
 serve three usurers ? 
 
 All Serv. Ay ; would they served us ! 
 
 Apem. So would I,— as good a trick as ever 
 hangman served thief. 
 
 Fool. Are you three usurers' men p 
 
 All Serv. Ay, fool. 
 
 Fool. I think no usurer but has a fool to his 
 
 24. Would we could see you at Corinth t " Corinth " is here 
 used by the Fool to indicate his mistress's residence ; because it 
 was a cant name given to dissolute haunts, originating in the 
 celebration of the ancient worship of Venus at Corinth, and in 
 the profligate manners of the Corinthians. See Note 64, Act ii., 
 " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 25. My mistress' page. The Folio prints 'my masters page ;' 
 the mistake having probably arisen from the word in the original 
 manuscript having been written merely with an initial M. 
 
 26. / ivill go vjith you to Lo7-d Timon s. This probably 
 refers not to Lord Timon's house, inasmuch as they are there 
 already, but to Lord Timon's banqueting-room or Lord l'!mon's 
 presence-chamber. 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
Act II.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene Jl. 
 
 servant : my mistress is one, and I am her fool. 
 When men come to borrow of your masters, they 
 approach sadly, and go away merry ; but they 
 enter my mistress' house merrily, and go away 
 sadly : the reason of this ? 
 
 Far. Serv. I could render one. 
 
 Apem. Do it, then, that we may account thee a 
 proriigate and a knave; which, notwithstanding, 
 thou shalt he no less esteemed. 
 
 Far. Ser'v. What is a profligate, fool ? 
 
 Fool. A fool in good clothes, and something 
 likethee. 'Tis a spirit: sometime 't appears like 
 a lord ; sometime like a lawyer ; sometime like a 
 philosopher : he is very often like a knight ; and, 
 generally, in all shapes that man goes up and down 
 in from fourscore to thirteen, this spirit walks 
 in. 
 
 Far. Serv. Thou art not altogether a fool. 
 
 Fool. Nor thou altogether a wise man : as 
 much foolery as I have, so much wit thou lackest. 
 
 Apem. That answer might have become Ape- 
 mantus. 
 
 All Serv. Aside, aside ; here comes Lord 
 Timon. 
 
 Re-enter TiMON and Flavius. 
 
 Apem. Come with me, fool, come. 
 Fool. I do not always follow lover, elder brother, 
 and woman ; sometime the philosopher. 
 
 \_Exeunt Apemantus and Fool. 
 Flav. Pray you, walk near : I'll speak with you 
 anon. \_Exeunt Servants. 
 
 Tim. You make me marvel : wherefore, ere ! 
 this time. 
 
 Had you not fully laid my state before me ; 
 That I might so have rated my expense, 
 As I had leave of means ? 
 
 Fla-v. You would not hear me. 
 
 At many leisures I propos'd.^s 
 
 Tun. Go to : 
 
 Perchance some single vantages you took. 
 
 27. My mistress' house. Here again the Folio prints 
 ' masters' instead of " mistress." 
 
 28. At many leisures I propos'd. The first Folio prints 'pro- 
 pose ' for " propos'd ;" corrected in the second Folio. The 
 sentence is elliptical ; meaning, ' At many leisure moments, 
 when I proposed to lay your state before you.* 
 
 29. Some single vaittages yo7t took .... and that U7iaptitess 
 madey &^c. Here the " you " before " took " gives * you ' to be 
 elliptically understood as repeated before "made;" according 
 to a mode of construction not unfrequently used by Shakespeare. 
 See, among many other examples. Note 98, Act iii , " Corio- 
 lanus," and Note 15 of the present Act 
 
 30. At many times I brought in my accoHnts, laid them 
 before you. Here ' when' is elliptically understood before " I," 
 and ' and ' before " laid." 
 
 31. Vou found tlicm in mine honesty. The Folio prints 
 ' sound ' for " found " here. 
 
 32. So much. This e.\-prcssion is used by Shakespeare to imply 
 an indefinite sum, such and such an amount ; although here it 
 may include the sense of so great a sum, or so large an amount. 
 
 When my indisposition put you back ; 
 And that unaptness made your minister,'-^ 
 Thus to excuse yourself. 
 
 Flav. Oh, my good lord, 
 
 At many times I brought in my accounts. 
 Laid them before you;^" you would throw them 
 off. 
 
 And say, you found them in mine honesty. 
 When, for some trifling present, you have bid 
 me 
 
 Return so much,^- I have shook my head and 
 wept ; 
 
 Yea, 'gainst the authority of manners, pra)"d you 
 To hold your hand more close : I did endure 
 Not seldom, nor no slight checks, when I have 
 Prompted you, m the ebb of your estate, 
 And your great flow of debts. My dear-lov'd 
 lord,33 
 
 Though you hear now (too late !), yet now's a 
 time, 
 
 The greatest of your having lacks a half 3* 
 To pay your present debts. 
 
 Tim. Let all my land be sold. 
 
 Flanj. 'Tis all engaged, some forfeited and 
 gone ; 
 
 And what remains will hardly stop the mouth 
 Of present dues : the future comes apace : 
 What shall defend the interim ? and at length 
 How goes our reckoning ? 
 
 Tim. To Lacedsemon did my land extend. 
 Flau. Oh, my good lord, the world is but a 
 word : 
 
 ! Were it all yours to give it in a breath, 
 How quickly were it gone ! 
 
 Tim. You tell me true. 
 
 Fla'v. If you suspect my husbandry or false- 
 hood,35' 
 
 Call me before the exactest auditors. 
 And set me on the proof. So the gods bless 
 me, 
 
 When all our offices'" have been oppressed 
 
 33. My dear-lor'd lord. The first Folio omits " dear ;" in- 
 serted by the editor of the second Folio. 
 
 34. Vet no-MS a time, the greatest of your having lacks, Ss'c. 
 ' Yet now is a time when the utmost of your wealth amount.s not 
 to half what is need ul to pay your present debts.' " Having" 
 is here and elsewhere used to e.xpress ' possessions.' See Note 
 94, Act iii., "Twelfth Night." We take occasion to point out 
 the frequency with which the word 'when' is elliptically under- 
 stood in the construction just hereabouts in the present play. 
 See Notes 28 and 30. 
 
 35. If you suspect my husbandry or falsehood. ' If you 
 suspect my want of good economy, or my fraudulent practice.' 
 " Husbandry" is here used for 'good management,' 'economy,' 
 'thrift,' 'prudence' (see Note 16, Act i., " Trcilus and 
 Cressida") : and the sentence is constructed, like several others 
 by Shakespeare, so as to give ' want of to be elliptically under- 
 stood thereirL See Note 26, Act v., " Richard III." 
 
 36. OJJicss. The places, m a large mansion, where refresh- 
 ments we e prepared, and whence they were served out ; as 
 the cellar, the buttery, the larder, the pantry, &c. &c. 
 
Act II.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 With riotous feeders ; wlien our vaults have wept 
 With drunken spilth of wine ; when every room 
 Hath blaz'd with lights, and bray'd with min- 
 strelsy, 
 
 I have retir'd me to a wasteful cock, 
 And set mine eyes at flow.^? 
 
 T'im. Pr'ylhee, no more. 
 
 Fla'v. Heavens, have I said, the bounty of tliis 
 lord ! 
 
 How many prodigal bits have slaves and peasants 
 This night englutted ! Who is not Timon's ? 
 What heart, head, sword, force, means, but is Lord 
 Timon's ? 
 
 Great Timon, noble, worthy, royal Timon ! 
 Ah ! when the means are gone that buy this 
 praise. 
 
 The breath is gone whereof this praise is made : 
 Feast-won, fast-lost ; one cloud of winter showers. 
 These flies are couch'd. 
 
 Tim. Come, sermon me no farther : 
 
 No villanous bounty yet hath pass'd my heart ; 
 Unwisely, not ignobly, have I given. 
 Why dost thou weep ? Canst thou the conscience 
 lack, 
 
 To think I shall lack friends? Secure^^ thy 
 heart ; 
 
 If I would broach the vessels of my love. 
 And try the argument of hearts^* by borrow- 
 ing, 
 
 Men and men's fortunes could I frankly use . 
 As I can bid thee speak. 
 
 Fla'v Assurance bless your thoughts ! 
 
 Tim. And, in some sort, these wants of mine 
 are crown'd. 
 That I account them blessings ; for by these 
 Shall I try friends : you shall perceive how you 
 Mistake my fortunes ; I am wealthy in my 
 
 friends. — 
 Within there! Flaminius! Servilius 
 
 Enter Flaminius, Servilius, anJ other 
 Servants. 
 Ser'vattts. My lord ? my lord ? — 
 Tim. I will dispatch you severally : — you, to 
 Lord Lucius; — to Lord Lucullus you; I hunted 
 with his honour to-day ; — you, to Sempronius : 
 
 37. / /lave retird me to a 'wasteful cock, and set mine eyes 
 at flow. The expression " a wasteful cock" was explained by 
 Hanmer to mean 'a cock-loft or garret lying in waste, neglected, 
 put to no use ;' while Johnson says it is 'a pipe with a turning 
 stopple running to waste.' We think that the latter interpre- 
 tation is evidently the right one ; and that Flavins is referring 
 to one of those taps of the wine-casks in the " vaults " he has 
 mentioned, which, wastefuUy flowing with liquor, he has mourn- 
 fully stood beside and let his tears flow in emulation. We think 
 that the word 'Svept" and '*set mine eyes at flow" serve to 
 show the consecutive connection here intended througfiout this 
 figurative sentence. 
 
 38. Secure. Here used for 're-assure,' 'restore confidence 
 to.' 
 
 commend me to their loves ; and, 1 am proud, say, 
 that my occasions have found time to use them 
 toward a supply of money : let the request be fifty 
 talents. 
 
 Flam. As you have said, my lord. 
 Flanj. [Aside.'] Lord Lucius and Lord Lucul- 
 lus ? h'm! 
 
 Tim. [To another Serv.] Go you, sir, to the 
 senators 
 
 (Of whom, even to the state's best health, 1 
 have 
 
 Deserv'd this hearing); bid them send o' the in- 
 stant 
 
 A thousand talents to me. 
 
 Fla'v. I have been bold 
 
 (For that I knew it the most genera! way) 
 To them to use your signet and your name ; 
 But they do shake their heads, and I am here 
 No richer in return. 
 
 Tim. Is 't true ? can 't be ? 
 
 Flam. They answer, in a jcint and corporate 
 voice. 
 
 That now they are at fall,''^ want treasure, can- 
 not 
 
 Do what they would ; are sorry — you are honour- 
 able,— 
 
 But yet they could have wish'd — they know 
 not — 
 
 Something hath been amiss — a noble nature 
 May catch a wrench— would all were well — 'tii 
 pity ;— 
 
 And so, intending^3 other serious matters, 
 After distasteful looks, and these hard fractions,''-' 
 With certain half-caps''^ and cold-moving nods 
 They froze me into silence. 
 
 Tim. You gods, reward them ! — 
 
 Pr'ythee, man, look cheerly. These old fellows 
 Have their ingratitude in them hereditary : 
 Their blood is cak'd, 'tis cold, it seldom flows ; 
 'Tis lack of kindly warmth they arc not kind ; 
 And nature, as it grows again toward earth. 
 Is fashion'd for the journey, dull and heavy. — 
 [To a Servant.] Go to Ventidius :— [To Flav.] 
 
 Pr'ythee, be not sad. 
 Thou art true and honest; ingeniously^' I 
 
 speak. 
 
 39. Try the argument of hearts. " Argument" being used 
 to express the theme or subject-matter of that which is contained 
 in a book, the word is here applied to the contents of men's 
 hearts, or the stuff of which they are composed. 
 
 40. Flaminius ! Serviliiis .' The Folio here misprints 
 ' Flauius ' for " Flaminius." 
 
 41. General. Here used to express 'collectively effectual,' 
 ' generally comprehensive.' 
 
 42. At fall. 'At a low ebb.' 
 
 43. Intending. Here used for ' pretending.' See Note 56, 
 Act iii., " Richard III." 
 
 44. Fractions. ' Broken sentences,' 'fragmentary phrases. 
 
 45. Half-caps. ' Caps half taken off ;' ' slight salutations.' 
 
 46. Ingeniously. 'Sincerely;' " ingeniou.sly," used where 
 
Act III.] 
 
 TIM.ON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 No blame belongs to thee : — [To Serv.] Ventidius 
 lately 
 
 Buried his father ; by whose death he's stepp'd 
 Into a great estate : when he was poor, 
 Imprison'd, and in scarcity of friends, 
 I clear'd ^him with five talents : greet him from 
 me ; 
 
 Bid him suppose some good necessity *^ 
 
 Touches his friend, which craves to be remember'd 
 
 With those five talents:— [To Flav.] That had, 
 
 give it these fellows 
 To whom 'tis instant' due. Ne'er speak, or 
 
 think. 
 
 That Timon's fortunes 'mong his friends can 
 sink. 
 
 Flavi I would I could not think it : that 
 thought is bounty's foe ; 
 Being free« itself, it thinks all others so. [Exeunt. 
 
 ACT III. 
 
 SCENE I. — Athens. A Room in Lucullus' 
 House. 
 
 Flaminius 'Waiting. Enter a Servant to him. 
 
 Serv. I have told my lord of you ; he is coming 
 down to you.\ 
 Flam. I thank you, sir. 
 
 Enter Lucullus. 
 Serv. Here's my lord. 
 
 Lucul. [Aside.'] One of Lord Timon's men ? a 
 gift, I warrant. Why, this hits right ; I dreamt of 
 a silver basin and ewer to-night. — Flaminius, honest 
 Flaminius; you are very respectively' welcome, 
 sir.— Fill me some wine. [Exit Servant] — And 
 how does that honourable, complete, freehearted 
 
 'ingenuously' would be the more strictly proper word, was not 
 unusual among even the best writers formerly. See Note 2, 
 Act i., "Taming of the Shrew." The character of Timon is 
 nobly delineated in this scene, and demonstrates that his misan- 
 thropy is not the result of a disposition naturally harsh, but that 
 it is the growth of stung feeling and outraged confidence. We 
 are here shown that it is not a "villanous bounty," a self- 
 glorifying and ostentatious bounty, that he has hitherto in- 
 dulged in ; he has not given " unwisely " or " ignobly ; " he has 
 had no unworthy motives in his munificent course of action ; he 
 has been so patriotic a maintainer of " the state's health " in his 
 transactions with the senators as to " have deserv'd this hear- 
 ing;" he is tolerant of even "these old fellows" in their "in- 
 gratitude," and makes the best excuses he can for their cold and 
 hard conduct ; he has full faith in his friends and their willing- 
 ness to make good their professions of attachment and proffers 
 of service in return for his lavish gifts to them ; and, finally, he 
 has steady belief in his worthy steward's having been perfectly 
 " true and honest" to him, while acquitting him of all " blame." 
 Timon is of a thoroughly generous nature ; generous in use of 
 his wealth ; generous in its bestowal ; generously benevolent, 
 and equally ready to aid an imprisoned friend or give a wedding- 
 portion to a retainer really in love with a girl superior in fortune, 
 as he is ready to bestow jewels and rich presents to the com- 
 panions of his festive hours ; a generous patron of Art and 
 Literature ; in short, a man of generous propensities and 
 generous emotions. It is exactly in proportion to his own 
 native generosity, that he is so indignant at the want of com- 
 
 gentleman of Athens, thy very bountiful good lord 
 and master ? 
 
 Flam. His health is well, sir. 
 
 Lucul. I am right glad that his health is well, 
 sir : and what hast thou there under thy cloak, 
 pretty Flaminius ? 
 
 Flam. Faith, nothing but an empty box, sir ; 
 which, in my lord's behalf, I come to entreat your 
 honour to supply ; who, having great and instant 
 occasion to use fifty talents, hath sent to your lord- 
 ship to furnish him, nothing doubting your present 
 assistance therein. 
 
 Lucul. La, la, la, la, — nothing doubting, says 
 he ? Alas ! good lord ; a noble gentleman 'tis, if 
 he would not keep so good a house. Many a time 
 and often I have dined with him, and told him 
 
 monest generosity which he suddenly finds in his fellow-men. 
 His liberal confidence and benevolence are met with base 
 treachery and niggardly meanness ; his warmth of heart is met 
 by coldest cruelty ; his gifts have been proved wholly mis- 
 bestowed ; his faith and trust as entirely misplaced ; and all 
 this discovered by him with the most painful abruptness. His 
 change is as abrupt, he becomes chilled and turned to stone by 
 the conviction of man's vileness ; his generosity is transformed 
 to relentless hatred ; his kindness to bitterness, his faith Xo 
 sternest disbelief It is this warmth and worth of his original 
 nature which makes his misanthropy so profoundly melancholy ; 
 were he innately austere he would be, like Apemantus, malicious 
 and jeering in his cynicism ; but he inwardly grieves while he 
 resents, he ranklingly mourns while he denounces ; and he 
 actually dies from the depth of his sorrow as well as indignation 
 at his brother man's unworthiness. 
 
 47. Some good necessity. "Good" here has been said to 
 bear the meaning of contrary to bad, inasmuch as it affords 
 Ventidius an opportunity of relieving his friend in return for 
 former kindness ; or 'honest,' in opposition to an unworthy need 
 for the money. But we incline to think that here "good" 
 bears the sense of ' valid,' ' substantial,* ' real,' ' unfeigned.' 
 See Note 56, Act i., " Merchant of Venice." 
 
 48. Free. ' Liberal.' 
 
 1. Respectively. 'With much regard,' 'with much con- 
 sideration.' See Note 33, Act v., "Merchant of Venice," and 
 Note 26, Act i., " Kmg John." 
 
 TOU III. 
 
Act III.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 on 't ; and come again to supper ^ to him, of pur- 
 pose to have him spend less ; and yet he would 
 embrace no counsel, take no warning by my 
 coming. Every man has his fault, and honesty 
 is his: 3 I have told him on 't, but I could ne'er 
 get him from it. 
 
 Re-enter Servant, ivith nvine. 
 
 Serv. Please your lordship, here is the wine. 
 
 Lucul. Flaminius, I have noted thee always 
 wise. Here's to thee. 
 
 Flam. Your lordship speaks your pleasure. 
 
 Lucul. I have observed thee always for a to- 
 wardly* prompt spirit, — give thee thy due, — and one 
 that knows what belongs to reason ; and canst use 
 the time well, if the time use thee well : good parts 
 in thee.— [To the Servant.] Get you gone, sirrah. — 
 \^Exit Servant.] Draw nearer, honest Flaminius. 
 Thy lord's a bountiful gentleman : but thou art 
 wise ; and thou knowest well enough, although thou 
 comest to me, that this is no time to lend money; 
 especially upon bare friendship, without security. 
 Here's three solidares* for thee : good boy, wink 
 at me, and say thou sawest me not. Fare thee 
 well. 
 
 Flam. Is 't possible the world should so much 
 differ. 
 
 And we alive that liv'd ?^ Fly, cursed base- 
 ness. 
 
 To him that worships thee ! 
 
 [Throixiing the money back. 
 Lucul. Ha ! now I see thou art a fool, and fit 
 for thy master. [Exit. 
 Flam. May these add to the number that may 
 scald thee ! 
 Let molten coin be thy perdition, 
 Thou disease of a friend, and not himself! 
 Has friendship such a faint and milky heart. 
 It turns in less than two nights ? Oh, you 
 gods. 
 
 ' 2. / have dined mith him .... and come again to supper. 
 Here **have" before "dined" gives * have ' to be elliptically 
 understood as repeated before "come." See Note 29, Act ii. 
 of the present play. ! 
 
 3. Every man has his fault, and honesly is his. Shake- 
 speare seems to have enjoyed this joke ; for he has a similar 
 one in the speech referred to in Notes 57 and 58, Act i., j 
 "Merry Wives." In the present passage "honesty" is used 
 for ' liberality.' 
 
 4. Towardly. 'Tractably,' 'docilely,' 'aptly.' See Note 
 30, Act ii., " Third Part Henry VI." | 
 
 5. Solidares. A name for a coin ; originally derived from 
 the Latin, solidatus, a soldier in pay. The word in Low Latin ; 
 for the daily pay of a common soldier is solidaia; and Florio 
 has — Soldo, a coine called a shilling, the pay due to soldiers 
 and men of warre." It has not been ascertained whether there 
 were actual coins called " solidares but it is evident that 
 here Shakespeare uses the term to express such pieces of money 
 as LucuUus may be supposed to give to Flaminius by way of a 
 bribing gratuity. 
 
 6. And ive alive that livdr 'And we still alive who hved 
 
 I feel my inaster's passion this slave 
 Unto his honour^ has my lord's meat in him : 
 Why should it thrive, and turn to nutriment, 
 When he is turn'd to poison ? 
 Oh, may diseases only work upon 't ! 
 And, when he's sick to death, let not that part of 
 nature 
 
 Which my lord paid for, be of any power 
 
 To expel sickness, but prolong his hour!^ [Exit. 
 
 SCENE II.— Athens. A Public Place. 
 Enter Lucius, luith three Strangers. 
 
 Luc. Who, the Lord Timon ? he is my very 
 good friend, and arr honourable gentleman. 
 
 First Stran. We know him for no less, though 
 we are but strangers to him. But I can tell you 
 one thing, my lord, and which I hear from com- 
 mon rumours, — now Lord Timon's happy hours 
 are done and past, and his estate shrinks from 
 him. 
 
 Luc. Fie, no, do not believe it; he cannot want 
 for money. 
 
 Sec. Stran. But believe you this, my lord, that, 
 not long ago, one of his men was with the Lord 
 Lucullus to borrow so many'" talents; nay, urged 
 extrem8ly for 't, and showed what necessity be- 
 longed to't, and yet was denied. 
 
 Luc. How! 
 
 Sec. Stran. I tell you, denied, iny lord. 
 
 Luc. What a strange case was that ! now, 
 before the gods, I am ashamed on 't. Denied that 
 honourable man ! there was very little honour 
 showed in't. For my own part, I must needs 
 confess, I have received some small kindnesses 
 from him, as money, jdate, jewels, and such like 
 trifles, nothing comparing to his ; yet, had he mis- 
 
 then?' meanmg, 'in so short an interval, that we have drawn 
 breath but a few hours since the time when these worldlings 
 profes.sed entire devotion to Timon.' 
 
 7. / feel my master's passion ! ' I feel what my master's 
 emotion will be!' The word "passion" was sometimes used 
 for 'emotion,' 'agitation,' 'hurt feeling,' 'sorrowful indignation,' 
 'grief.' See Note 38, Act v., "Midsummer Night's Dream," 
 and Note 77, Act ii., "King John." 
 
 8. This slave unto his honour. Various alterations have 
 been made in this expression by those who take it literally. We 
 believe it to be spoken ironically by Flaminius, in bitterness at 
 Lord Lucullus's pretension to be considered a man of honour. 
 That he sets up these pretensions may be gathered from what 
 Lucius says, in the next scene, of Lucullus's refusal— "There 
 was very little Iwnour show'd in 't." See also Notes 16 and 30 
 of the present Act. 
 
 9. Prolong his /lour! 'Of sickness,' 'of illness,' or 'of 
 suffering,' is understood elliptically after "hour." 
 
 10. So many. This is an idiom (like "so much;" see Note 
 32, Act ii.) used to express an indefinite amount, an unspecified 
 number, such and such a sum. 
 
Act III.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 took him, and sent to me," I should ne'er have 
 denied his occasion so many talents. 
 
 Enter Servilius. 
 
 Ser. See, by good hap, yonder's my lord ; I 
 have s\vet'2 to see his honour.— [To Lucius.] My 
 honoured lord, — 
 
 Luc. Servilius ! you are kindly met, sir. Fare 
 thee well : commend me to thy honourable, 
 virtuous lord, my very exquisite friend. 
 
 Ser. May it please your honour, my lord hath 
 sent — 
 
 Luc. Ha ! what has he sent ? I am so much 
 endeared to that lord ; he 's ever sending : how 
 shall I thank him, thinkest thou ? And what has 
 he sent now ? 
 
 Ser. He has only sent his present occasion now, 
 my lord; requesting your lordship to supply his 
 instant use with so many talents.'* 
 
 Luc. I know his lordship is but merry with me ; 
 He cannot want fifty-five hundred talents.'* 
 
 Ser. But in the meantime he wants less, my 
 lord. 
 
 If his occasion were not virtuous,'' 
 I should not urge it half so faithfully. 
 
 Luc. Dost thou speak seriously, Servilius ? 
 
 Ser. Upon my soul, 'tis true, sir. 
 
 XI. Had he mistook him, and sent to me. * Had he mis- 
 taken the relative amount of gifts conferred upon Lucullus and 
 myself, and, instead of giving priority of application to him, had 
 sent to me first.' 
 
 12. Swet. An old form of 'sweated.' See Note 3, Act ii., 
 "Henry VIII." 
 
 13. With so many talents. Here again " so many" is used 
 idiomatically, to signify an unspecified number ; but in this case 
 it means ' as many talents as will supply his present occasion.' 
 We have learned from a passage in Act ii., sc. 2, the amount 
 for which application is made to both Lucius and Lucullus, 
 because Timon there says, "Let the request be fifty talents." 
 
 14. He cannot -want fifty-five hundred talents. Here 
 "want" is said in the sense of ' be without,' ' be unpossessed 
 of;' while Servilius answers with the word "wants," in the 
 sense of ' needs,' ' requires.' Shakespeare, and writers of his 
 time, frequently used the word "want" to express simply not 
 having, being without, not possessing, without including the 
 sense of needing or requiring. See Note 27, Act ii., "Mid- 
 summer Night's Dream." In the "Tempest," Act iii., sc. 3, 
 we find — " Although they ivant the use of tongue and in 
 "Richard III.," Act ii., sc. 2— "Why wither not the leaves 
 that mani their sap 1 " We still have the idiom ' are wanting 
 in,' to express 'are without," 'have not,' or ' possess not.' 
 
 15. Virtitoiis. If this word be taken in its usual sense of 
 ' righteous ' or ' morally good ' (and the context of " faithfully " 
 makes it probable that such is the sense here intended), it seems 
 to give sui ;ort to Malone's second interpretation of the word 
 "good" ('1. i.iest'), as discussed in Note 47, Act ii. But 
 "virtuous" may here be used in the sense of 'powerful,' 
 ' strong,* ' forcible,' ' strenuous,' * pressing,' ' urgent,' as derived 
 from the Latin word virtus, which has the sense of 'force,' 
 'strength,' 'power,' 'efficacy,' as well as 'virtue' or 'good- 
 ness ;' and " faithfully" may here bear the sense of ' earnestly,' 
 'fervently,' rather than that of 'with fidelity.' Also, it must be 
 observed that the expression " some good necessity " occurred 
 in Timon's charge to the servant who is to request the loan 
 from Ventidius ; while the present phrase, "if his occasion were 
 
 Luc. What a wicked, beast was I to disfurnish 
 myself against such a good time, when I might 
 have shown myself honourable ! '* how unluckily 
 it happened, that I should purchase the day before 
 for a little part, and undo'' a great deal of honour! 
 — Servilius, now, before the gods, I am not able to 
 do,'3 — the more beast, I say: — I was sending to use 
 Lord Timon myself, these gentlemen can wit- 
 ness ;'' but I would not, for the wealth of Athens, 
 I had done it now. Commend me bountifully to 
 his good lordship ; and I hope his honour will con- 
 ceive the fairest of me, because I have no power to 
 be kind : — and tell him this from me, I count it 
 one of my greatest afflictions, say, that I cannot 
 pleasure such an honourable gentleman. Good 
 Servilius, will you befriend me so far, as to use 
 mine own words to him P 
 
 Ser. Yes, sir, I shall. 
 
 Luc. I'll look you out a good turn, Servilius. 
 
 [Exit Servilius. 
 True, as you said, Timon is shrunk indeed ; 
 And he that's once denied will hardly speed. 
 
 \Exit. 
 
 First Stran. Do you observe this, Hostilius ? 
 Sec. Stran. Ay, too well. 
 
 First Stran. Why, this is the world's soul ; and 
 just of the same piece 
 
 not virtuous," is used by Servilius, the man who applies for a 
 loan from Lucius : so that there may be no connection between 
 the words "good" and "virtuous" as employed in these two 
 passages. 
 
 16. SItown myself honourable . . . . a great deal of honour. 
 Lucius is here making so ostentatious a parade of his desire for 
 honour, that the ironical expression discussed in Note 8 of the 
 present Act, "this slave unto his honour," might very well have 
 applied to him instead of to Lucullus. But it seems to us that 
 Shakespeare meant to show how all these professing gentlemen 
 of the world affect to be bound by honour, devoted to honour, 
 ambitious of honour, while trampling honour beneath their feet 
 and acting with the most dishonourable heartlessness. 
 
 17. Tliat I sliould purchase the day before for a little part, 
 and undo, i^c. " Part " has been suspected to be a misprint 
 here ; and has been variously altered to ' park,' ' port,' ' dirt,' 
 ' profit,' &c. We think it possible that the expression in the 
 text may mean, 'That I should buy some showy acquisition 
 bringing me in but little honour, and forego,' &c. ; ' That I 
 should invest my money in some costly trifle that will bring me 
 hut a small portion of honour, and thus lose the opportunity of 
 acquiring much honour by obliging my friend.' 
 
 18. T am not able to do. Capell altered " do" to ' do 't ;' but 
 it seems to us that Lucullus is speaking disjointedly, pouring 
 forth his hollow pretences and sham excuses with half-expressed 
 sentences in which he gets entangled. Here "to do" is a 
 feeble half-utterance of ' to do what I could have wished,' ' to 
 do as my friendship would prompt me ;' just as " for a little 
 part," immediately before, drops from his lips in imperfect sig- 
 nification of ' some expensive bauble bringing me little honour.* 
 
 ig. These gentlemen can witness. Unless Lucius can be 
 supposed to have mentioned his intention of sending to borrow 
 money of Timon to the three strangers, during the early part 
 of the already-commenced conversation with which this scene 
 begins, he is here guilty of a glaring falsehood and a shameless 
 appeal to them to confirm it as a truth. Verily, these Athenian 
 lords in their unblushing selfishness are depicted with the 
 strongest colouring. 
 21 
 
Act III.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene II, 
 
 Servant. Please your lordship, here is the mne. 
 
 Lnaillus. Flaminius, I have noted thee always wise. Here's to thee. 
 Flnminiiis. Vour lordship speaks your pleasure. Act III. Scene I. 
 
 Is every flatterer's spirit.^o Who can call him 
 His friend that dips in the same dish ? for, in 
 My knowing, Timon has been this lord's father,^' 
 And kept his credit with his purse ; 
 Supported his estate; nay, Timon's money 
 Has paid his men their wages : he ne'er drinks, 
 But Timon's silver treads upon his lip ; 
 And yet (oh, see the monstrousness of man 
 When he looks out in an ungrateful shape !) 
 He does deny him, in respect of his,-- 
 
 20. Every flatterer's sfirit The Folio gives 'sport' for 
 "spirit." Theobald's correction: which we think is shown to 
 be right by the analogy between " soul " and " spirit ;" whereas 
 ' sport' aftbrds no sense in this passage. 
 
 f 21. Timon has been this lord's father. We have still a 
 similar idiomatic expression, ' he has been a father to him,' to 
 express paternal kindness shown by one man to another ; and 
 the adoptive title of "father'' was by no means unusual in 
 
 What charitable men afford to beggars. 
 
 Third Stran. Religion groans at it. 
 
 First Stran. For mine own part, 
 
 I never tasted Timon in my life, 
 Nor came any of his bounties over me, 
 To mark me for his friend ; yet, I protest, 
 For his right noble mind, illustrious virtue. 
 And honourable carriage. 
 Had his necessity made use of me, 
 I would have put my wealth into donation,-^ 
 
 Shakespeare's time. See Note 90, Act ii., "Troilus and 
 Cressida." 
 
 22. In respect 0/ his. 'As respects his own fortune," 'in 
 proportion to what he himself possesses the entire passage 
 signifying, 'Yet refuses to give Timon that which, in com- 
 parison with his own means, is but the usual alms afforded by 
 charitable men to beggars.' 
 
 23. / 'Mould have put my wealth into donation, and the best. 
 
Act III.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 And the best half should have return'd to him, 
 So much I love his heart : but, I perceive. 
 Men must learn now with pity to dispense ; 
 For policy sits above conscience. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE III.— Athens. A Room in Sempronius' 
 House. 
 
 Enter Sempronius, and a Servant o/'Timon's. 
 Sem. Must he needs trouble me in't, — h'm! — 
 'bove all others ? 
 He might have tried Lord Lucius or LucuUus ; 
 And now Ventidius is wealthy too, 
 Whom he redeem'd from prison : all these 
 Owe their estates unto him. 
 
 Serv. My lord. 
 
 They have all been touch'd, and found base 
 
 metal for 
 They have all denied him. 
 
 Sem. How ! have they denied him ? 
 
 Has Ventidius and Lucullus denied him ? 
 And does he send to me ? Three ? h'm !— 
 It shows but little love or judgment in him : 
 Must I be his last refuge ? His friends, like 
 physicians, 
 
 Thrice give him over i'-' must I take the cure 
 upon me ? 
 
 He has much disgrac'd me in 't ; I'm angry at 
 him, 
 
 ' I would have treated my wealth as if it had been 
 Timon's gift, and would have sent him back the larger half ' 
 The introduction of these three strangers, with their comments 
 upon Timon's condition, is precisely in Shakespeare's mode of 
 using this expedient in dramatic art to indicate popular opinion 
 upon passing events. See Note 4, Act ii., "Henry VIII." 
 He employs it as the Greeks employed the chorus in their 
 tragedies ; but Shakespeare's system is the less artificial of the 
 two. Most naturally do these strangers converse upon the 
 incident that comes beneath their observation ; most naturally 
 is their discourse made a means of confirming to us the fact of 
 Timon's benevolence and generosity of disposition ; and very 
 naturally, alas ! is it made the means'^of showing the superficial 
 compassion excited in casual witnesses of social injustices. 
 These men behold the callous ingratitude with which Timon is 
 treated, they pity his condition, they profess themselves willing 
 to relieve his distress, — /md they been applied to ; but not 
 having been applied to, they consider it no business of theirs, 
 make no pause to inquire into the truth of his need, but go on 
 their way with a shrug of the shoulders and a common-place 
 axiom upon the prudence of dispensing with pity and sup- 
 pressing conscience. 
 
 24. T/tey /laz'e ait been toucl^dy and founds &^c. In allusion 
 to testing metals by the touchstone. See Note 12, Act iv., 
 "Richard III." 
 
 25. Thrice give him over. The Folio prints 'Thriue, giue 
 him ouer.' Johnson made the emendation, which we adopt, 
 because the previous exclamation, "Three? h'm!" seems to 
 evidence its correctness. 
 
 26. And 'mongst lords I be thought a fool. The first Folio 
 omits " I" here. Added in the second Folio. Mr. Staunton's 
 suggestion that " it " in the previous line may be a misprint for 
 
 That might have known my place : I see no sense 
 for 't, 
 
 But his occasions might have woo'd me first ; 
 For, in my conscience, I was the first man 
 That e'er receiv'd gift from him : 
 And does he think so backwardly of me now, 
 That I'll requite it last ? No : 
 So it may prove an argument of laughter 
 To the rest, and 'mongst lords I be thought a 
 fool.2« 
 
 I'd rather than the worth of thrice the sum. 
 He had sent to me first, but for my mind's 
 sake 
 
 I 'd such a courage to do him good.^s But now 
 return. 
 
 And with their faint reply this answer join ; 
 Who bates mine honour shall not know my coin.^o 
 
 \_Exit. 
 
 Serv. Excellent! Your lordship's a goodly vil- 
 lain. The devil knew not what he did when he 
 made man politic,— he crossed himself by 't : and I 
 cannot think but, in the end, the villanies of man 
 will set him clear.^' How fairly this lord strives to 
 appear foul ! takes virtuous copies to be ivicked ; 
 like those that, under hot ardent zeal,^- would set 
 whole realms on fire : 
 Of such a nature is his politic love. 
 This was my lord's best hope ; now all are fled. 
 Save the gods only now his friends are dead, 
 Doors, that were ne'er acquainted with their wards 
 Many a bounteous year, must be employ'd 
 Now to guard sure their master.^'' 
 
 ' I,' thus leaving no necessity for inserting " I " in the present 
 line, we think excellent ; so much so, that we were much tempted 
 to adopt his suggested correction, only that we preferred abiding 
 by the one that was earliest made and has be..n most generally 
 
 27. But for my mind's sake. ' If only for the sake of my 
 understanding's reputation.' He has before said that to be 
 applied to last, and then to comply, would risk his being 
 " thought a fool." 
 
 28. /'d such a courage to do him good. Here " courage " is 
 used in the sense of 'will,' 'strength of desire,' 'ardour,' 
 ' spirit.' See Note 29, Act ii., " Third Part Henry VI." 
 
 29. With their faint reply. Here "faint" is used in the 
 sense of 'feeble,' 'weak,' 'spiritless,' 'faint-hearted,' antitheti- 
 cally with " courage " in the previous line. 
 
 30. Who bates mine honoiir shall Jtot^ &^c. Here is another 
 "slave unto his honour!" See Notes 8 and 16 of the present 
 Act. 
 
 31. The villanies of man will set him clear. ' The trickeries 
 of man will free him from -his arch-enemy's toils.' That 
 " villanies " is here used in the sense of ' trickeries,' ' rogueries," 
 ' cunning shifts,' ' artful devices,' is manifest from the epithet 
 " goodly villain" just before applied to Lord Sempronius, who 
 has been pouring forth a volley of such sophistical " villanies." 
 
 32. Under hot ardent zeal. Here "under" is used ellipti- 
 cally for ' under the plea of,' ' under the pretence of 
 
 33. Save ilie gods only. The Folio prints ' Saue only the 
 gods.' Pope made the transposition. 
 
 34. Now his friends .... employ'd ?iozu to guard sure their 
 master. This superfluous repetition of the word "now" was a 
 pleonastic form not unusual with Shakespeare. See Note 106., 
 Act i., " Romeo and Juliet," 
 
Act III.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 And this is all a liberal course allows ; 
 Who cannot keep his wealth must keep his house. 3' 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 SCENE IV.— Athens. A Hall in Timon's 
 House. 
 
 Enter tnuo Servants of Varro, and the Servant of 
 Lucius, meeting Titus, Hortensius, and 
 other Servants of Timon's Creditors, nuaiting 
 his coming out. 
 
 First Far. Serv. Well met; good morrow, 
 Titus and Hortensius. 
 
 77/. The like to you, kind Varro. 
 
 Hor. Lucius ! 
 
 What ! do we meet together ? 
 
 Luc. Serv. Ay, and I think 
 
 One business does command us all ; for mine 
 Js money. 
 
 Tit. So is theirs and ours. 
 
 Enter Philotus. 
 
 Luc. Ser'v. And Sir Philotus too ! 
 
 Phi. Good day at once. 
 
 Luc. Ser'v. Welcome, good brother. 
 
 What do you think the hour ? 
 
 Phi. Labouring for nine. 
 
 Luc. Serv. So much ? 
 
 Phi. Is not my lord seen yet P^" 
 
 Luc. Serv. Not yet. 
 
 Phi. I wonder on't; he was wont to shine at 
 seven.^^ 
 
 Luc. Serv. Ay, but the days are wax'd shorter 
 vi^ith him : 
 
 You must consider that a prodigal course 
 Is like the sun's ; but not, like his, recoverable. 
 I fear 'tis deepest winter in Lord Timon's purse ; 
 That is, one may reach deep enough, and yet 
 Find little. 
 
 Phi. I am of your fear for that. 
 
 Tit. I'll show you how to observe a strange 
 event. 
 
 Your lord sends now for money. 
 Hor. Most true, he does. 
 
 35. Musi keep his house. ' Must keep in doors,' for fear of 
 duns. 'Keep the house' is used as a jocose term for 'stay in 
 prison,' 'stay at home,' or 'keep in doors,' in " Measure for 
 Measure," Act iii., sc. 2. See passage referred to in Note 48, 
 Act iii. of that play. 
 
 36. Ts not my lord seen yet? An idiom ; signifying, ' Is not 
 my lord visible yet ?' ' Is not my lord to be seen yet ? ' 
 
 37. He uns mont to shine at seven. By the use of the verb 
 "shine" here, how well the image of Timon's being like the 
 sun is suggested and introduced ! See Note 26, Act iii., "All's 
 Well." 
 
 38. Yes, mine's three thousand crowns. The hasty " yes " 
 in assent to Hortensius's speech of concern for Timon, and the 
 
 Tit. And he wears jewels now of Timon's 
 gift, 
 
 For which I wait for money. 
 Hor. It is against my heart. 
 Luc. Serv. Mark, how strange 
 
 it shows, 
 
 Tiinon in this should pay more than he owes : 
 And e'en as if your lord should wear rich jewels, 
 And send for money for 'em. 
 Hor. I'm weary of this charge, the gods can 
 witness : 
 
 I know my lord hath spent of Timon's wealth. 
 And now ingratitude makes it worse than stealth. 
 First Far. Serv. Yes, mine's three thousand 
 
 crowns -.^^ what's yours ? 
 Luc. Serv. Five thousand mine. 
 First Far. Serv. 'Tis much deep : and it should 
 seem by the sum,^' 
 Your master's confidence was above mine ; 
 Else, surely, his had equall'd. 
 
 Enter Flaminius. 
 
 Tit. One of Lord Timon's men. 
 
 Luc. Serv. Flaminius ! Sir, a word : pray, is 
 my lord ready to come forth ? 
 
 Flam. No, indeed, he is not. 
 
 Tit. We attend his lordship ; pray, signify so 
 much. 
 
 Flam. I need not tell him that ; he knows you 
 are too diligent. [Exit. 
 
 Enter Flavius in a cloak, muffled. 
 Luc. Serv. Ha! is not that his steward muffled 
 so? 
 
 He goes away in a cloud : call him, call him. 
 
 Tit. Do you hear, sir ? 
 
 Sec. Far. Serv. By your leave, sir, — 
 
 Flav. What do you ask of me, my friend ? 
 
 Tit. We wait for certain money here, sir. 
 
 Flav. Ay, 
 If money were as certain as your waiting, 
 'Twere sure enough. 
 
 Why then preferr'd you not your sums and 
 bills. 
 
 When your false masters eat of my lord's meat ? 
 Then they could smile, and fawn upon his debts. 
 
 immediately hurrying on to speak with business precision and 
 eagerness of the sum due to the speaker's master, is finely con- 
 centrated satire upon the indifference ordinarily felt upon such 
 occasions. The way in which the word " mine" is used here 
 and in the next speech, meaning ' my demand,' or ' the sum 
 owing to my master,' is an instance of Shakespeare's elliptical 
 construction, and the natural effect it has in familiar dialogue. 
 
 39. It should seem, &'c. This speech has produced lengthy 
 discussion and strangely varied interpretation from the commen- 
 tators. It is elliptically constructed ; and means, ' It should 
 seem by the sum you name as lent to Timon, that your master's 
 confidence in him surpassed my master's confidence in him ; else, 
 surely, my master's loan would have equalled your master's loan." 
 
Act III.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 And take down the interest into their gluttonous 
 maws. 
 
 You do yourselves but wrong to stir me up ; 
 Let me pass quietly : 
 
 Believe 't, my lord and I have made an end ; 
 I have no more to reckon, he to spend. 
 
 Luc. Sew. Ay, but this answer will not serve. 
 
 Flwv. If 'twill not serve, 'tis not so base as 
 you ; 
 
 For you serve knaves. [^Ex'it. 
 
 First Far. Sernj. How ! what does his cashiered 
 worship mutter ? 
 
 Sec. Far. Serni. No matter what ; he's poor, 
 and that's revenge enough. Who can speak 
 broader than he that has no house to put his head 
 in ? such may rail against great buildings. 
 
 Enter Servilius, 
 
 Tit. Oh, here's Servilius ; now we shall know 
 some answer. 
 
 Ser'vil. If I might beseech you, gentlemen, to 
 repair some other hour,''" I should derive much 
 from 't ; for, take 't of my soul, my lord leans 
 wondrously to discontent : his comfortable temper 
 has forsook him ; he's much out of health, and 
 keeps his chamber. 
 
 Luc. Seru. Many do keep their chambers are 
 not sick : 
 
 And, if it be so far beyond his health, 
 Methinks he should the sooner pay his debts, 
 And make a clear way to the gods. 
 
 ServiL Good gods ! 
 
 Tit. We cannot take this for answer, sir. 
 
 Flam. [IFithin.] Servilius, help ! — My lord ! my 
 lord ! 
 
 Enter TiMON, in a rage; Flaminius follovjing. 
 
 Tim. What! are my doors oppos'd against my 
 jjassage ? 
 
 Have I been ever free, and must my house 
 Be my retentive enemy, my gaol ? 
 The place which I have feasted, does it now, 
 Like all mankind, show me an iron heart ? 
 
 Luc. Serv. Put in now, Titus. 
 
 Tit. My lord, here is my bill. 
 
 Luc. Serv. Here's mine. 
 
 Hor. And mine, my lord. 
 
 40. To refair seme other hour. ' Hither ' is elliptically 
 understood after " repair." 
 
 41. Knock me down -with V;«. The men pressing upon him 
 with their written demands, Timon grimly plays upon the word 
 " bills " in its sense of weapons such as are alluded to in Note 
 22, Act iii., " Richard H. ;" and affords another instance of 
 men indulging in bitter jests in moments of anguish. See Note 
 68, Act iii., "Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 42. Lucius, Lucullus, and Semprotiiiis; all. The first Folio 
 prints the word '*Vllor,\'a" after Sempronius ; while the second 
 Folio omits the word as inexplicable and as injurious to the 
 metre of the line. We at one time thought it possible that 
 
 Both Far. Seru. And ours, my lord. 
 Phi. All our bills. 
 
 Tim. Knock me down with 'em:'" cleave me 
 
 to the girdle. 
 Luc. Sern). Alas ! my lord, — 
 Tim. Cut my heart in sums. 
 Tit. Mine, fifty talents. 
 Tim. Tell out my blood. 
 Luc. Seru. Five thousand crowns, my lord. 
 Tim. Five thousand drops pays that. — What 
 
 yours P — and yours ? 
 First Far. Seru. My lord, — 
 Sec. Far. Serv. My lord, — 
 Tim. Tear me, take me, and the gods fall upon 
 you ! {^Exit. 
 Hor. Faith, I perceive our masters may throw 
 their caps at their money : these debts may well 
 be called desperate ones, for a madman owes 'em. 
 
 lExeunt. 
 
 Re-enter Timon and Flavius. 
 
 Tim. They have e'en put my breath from me, 
 the slaves. Creditors ?— devils ! 
 Flau. My dear lord, — 
 Tim. What if it should be so ? 
 Flau. My lord, — 
 Tim. I'll have it so. — My steward ! 
 Flau. Here, my lord. 
 
 Tim. So fitly ? Go, bid all my friends again, 
 Lucius, LucuUus, and Sempronius ; all i*^ 
 I '11 once more feast the rascals. 
 
 Flau. Oh, my lord. 
 
 You only speak from your distracted soul ; 
 There is not so much left, to furnish out 
 A moderate table. 
 
 Tim. Be 't not in thy care ; go, 
 
 I charge thee, invite them all : let in the tide 
 Of knaves once more ; my cook and I'll provide. 
 
 \_Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE v.— Athens. The Senate-House. 
 
 The Senate sitting. 
 First Sen. My lord, you have my voice to it ; 
 the fault 's 
 
 "Vllorxa" might have been a misprint for ' Ventidius,' because 
 the first Folio gives the word in italics and with a capital letter ; 
 and also because in lines where proper names occur, regard 
 is frequently not had to strict metre (see Note 46, Act ii., 
 " Richard II.") : but we content ourselves with mentioning this 
 possibility, preferring to adopt the omission of the second Folio, 
 on the theory that the word was probably inserted by an error 
 of the original printer. In fairness we mention that the surmise 
 respecting " Vllorxa " being a possible misprint for 'Ventidius' 
 occurred also to Mr. Grant White ; but when it suggested itself to 
 ■ our minds, we had not seen as we now do from "The Cambridge 
 
 Edition") that that gentleman had made the same conjecture. 
 .31 
 
T'lmon. Tear me, take me, and the gods fall upon you ! 
 
 Act 111. Scene If. 
 
Act III.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 Bloody ; 'tis necessary he should die : 
 Nothing emboldens sin so much as mercy. 
 
 Sec. Sen. Most true ; the law shall bruise 
 him. 
 
 Enter Alcibiades, attended. 
 
 Alcib. Honour, health, and compassion to the 
 senate ! 
 
 First Sen. Now, captain ? 
 
 Aicib. I am a humble suitor to your virtues ; 
 For pity is the virtue of the law, 
 And none but tyrants use it cruelly. 
 It pleases time and fortune to lie heavy 
 Upon a friend of mine, who, in hot blood, 
 Hath stepp'd into the law, which is past depth 
 To those that, without heed, do plunge into't. 
 He is a man, setting his fate aside,''-'' 
 Of comely virtues : 
 
 Nor did he soil the facf** with cowardice 
 (An honour in him which buys out his fault) ; 
 But with a noble fury and fair spirit. 
 Seeing his reputatioa touch'd to death, 
 He did oppose his foe : . 
 And with such sober and unnoted^* passion 
 He did behave his anger,^^ ere 'twas spent. 
 As if he had but prov'd an argument. 
 First Sen. You undergo too strict a para- 
 dox,^? 
 
 Striving to make an ugly deed look fair : 
 Your words have took such pains, as if they 
 labour'd 
 
 To bring manslaughter into form, and set quar- 
 relling I 
 Upon the head of valour; which, indeed. 
 Is valour misbegot, and came into the world 
 When sects and factions were newly born ; 
 He's truly valiant that can wisely suffer 
 The worst that man can breathe ; and make his 
 wrongs 
 
 43. Setting his fate asule. " Fate" here has been altered to 
 'fact' and to 'fault;' but the word "fate" may here allude to 
 the hard destiny of the friend in having " time and fortune to 
 lie heavy" upon him, and which, seeming deserved, renders 
 him liable to imputation as an evil-doer. This would give the | 
 meaning of the passage to be — * He is a man — viewed apart 
 from this misfortune fated to fall upon him and make him I 
 appear criminal — of comely virtues.' It is also possible that 
 
 " fate" here may refer to " hot blood ;" and so mean ' the fiery 
 temper decreed him by fate,' ' the rash disposition that destiny 
 has made his.' 
 
 44. Fact. Here, and elsewhere, used for ' deed. See Note 
 37, Act iv., " Measure for Measure." 
 
 45. Unnoted. 'Undemonstrative;' unnoting itself by out- 
 ward display. 
 
 46. He did behave his anger. The Folio prints 'behooue' 
 here for "behave;" which is Rowe's correction. We adopt 
 this, because Spenser uses the word "behave" in the sense 
 of 'govern,' 'control,' 'discipline,' 'subdue;' a sense which 
 precisely suits the present passage, and makes it probable that 
 " beh.-ive " may have been the word originally intended here. 
 Nevertheless, knowing as we do Shakespeare's absolute mode 
 
 His outsides, — to wear them like his raiment, 
 
 carelessly ; 
 And ne'er prefer his injuries to his heart. 
 To bring it into danger. 
 If wrongs be evils, and enforce us kill. 
 What folly 'tis to hazard life for ill ! 
 Alcib. My lord, — 
 
 First Sen. You cannot make gross sias 
 
 look clear : 
 To revenge is no valour, but to bear. 
 
 Alcib. My lords, then, under favour, pardon 
 me. 
 
 If I speak like a captain : — 
 Why do fond''^ men expose themselves to battle 
 And not endure all threats ? sleep upon 't. 
 And let the foes quietly cut their throats. 
 Without repugnancy ? If there be 
 Such valour in the bearing, what make we 
 Abroad why then, women are more valiant 
 That stay at home, if bearing carry it ; 
 And the ass more captain than the lion ; the 
 felon »o 
 
 Loaden with irons wiser than the judge, 
 
 If wisdom be in suffering. Oh, my lords. 
 
 As you are great, be pitifully good : 
 
 Who cannot condemn rashness in cold blood ? 
 
 To kill, I grant, is sin's. extremest gust 
 
 But, in defence, by mercy,^* 'tis most just. 
 
 To be in anger Is impiety ; 
 
 But who is man that is not angry ? 
 
 Weigh but the crime with this. 
 
 Sec. Sen. You breathe in vain. 
 
 Alcib. In vain ! his service done 
 
 At Laoedaemon and Byzantium 
 Were a sufficient briber for his life. 
 
 First Sen. What's that ? 
 
 Alcib. Why, I say, my lords, h' 'as done fair 
 service. 
 
 And slain in fight many of your enemies : 
 
 of dealing with verbs (an absolutism that was his by right of 
 imperial genius), and making them comprise large meaning in 
 a single word, we think it just possible that he may have 
 written "did behoove his anger" to express 'did make his 
 anger do that which was behoveful or becoming,' ' did sway his 
 anger to do that which behoved it. 
 
 47. Vou undergo too strict a paradox. ' You undertake to 
 support too strained a paradox.' Shakespeare elsewhere uses 
 " undergo " for ' undertake.' 
 
 48. Fond. 'Foolish.* 
 
 49. iVhai 7)iake me abroad ? ' What do we do out fighting ? ' 
 ' What makes us go forth into the field ? 
 
 50. The felon. The Folio here prints ' fellow ' for " felon." 
 Johnson's correction. 
 
 51. Gust. It is a moot point whether this word, as here used, 
 signifies figuratively a violent burst of passion, a storm of wrath, 
 a whirlwind of rage ; or whether it means ' appetite,' ' zest,' 
 'relish.' The passage referred to in Note 29, Act i., "Twelfth 
 Night," inclines us to believe that the latter signification is the 
 more likely. 
 
 52. By mercy. This is a passing adjuration ; ' I swear by 
 mercy,' ' I call mercy to witness.' 
 
 VOL III 
 
 196 
 
ACT III.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene VI. 
 
 How full of valour did he bear himself 
 In the last conflict, and made plenteous wounds ! 
 Sec. Sen. He has made too much plenty with 
 them, 
 
 He's a sworn rioter : he has a sin that often 
 Drowns him, and takes his valour prisoner : 
 If there were no foes, that were enough 
 To overcome him : in that beastly fury 
 He has been known to commit Outrages, 
 And clierish factions ; 'tis infen-'d to us, 
 His days are foul, and his drink dangerous. 
 First Sen. He dies. 
 
 Alcib. Hard fate ! he might have died in war. 
 My lords, if not for any parts in him 
 (Though his right arm might purchase his own 
 time, 
 
 And be in debt to none), yet, more to move you. 
 Take my deserts to his, and join them both : 
 And, for I know your reverend ages love 
 Security,53 j '\\ pawn my victories, all 
 My honour to you, upon his good returns. 
 If by this crime he owes the law his life. 
 Why, let the war receive 't in valiant gore ; 
 For law is strict, and war is nothing more. 
 
 First Sen. We are for law, — he dies! urge it no 
 more. 
 
 On height of our displeasure friend or brother, 
 He forfeits his own blood that spills another.*'' 
 Alcib. Must it be so ? it must not be. My 
 lords, 
 
 I do beseech you, know me. 
 Sec. Sen. How ! 
 
 Alcib. Call me to your remembrances. 
 Third Sen. What! 
 Alcib. I cannot think but your age has forgot 
 me ; 
 
 It could not else be, I should prove so base,^^ 
 To sue, and be denied such common grace : 
 My wounds ache at you. 
 
 First Sen. Do you dare our anger ? 
 
 53. / know your reverend ages love security. One among 
 the many allusions in this play to the usurious propensities of 
 the senators. 
 
 54. On height of our displeasure. 'Peril of incurring the' 
 is elliptically understood between " on " and " height." 
 
 55. He forfeits his o-cvn blood thai spills another. 'He 
 forfeits his own blood that spills another's.' Here we ha\'e the 
 same kind of ellipsis as those referred to in Note 75, Act i., 
 " Coriolanus." 
 
 56. Base. Here used for ' abased/ ' degraded.* 
 
 57. Attend. Here used in the sense of 'expect.' French, 
 tittendre. 
 
 58. A^ot to swell our spirit. ' In order that our resentment 
 may not be increased or augmented ;' ' In order that our soirit 
 of wrath may not be exacerbated or aggravated.' 
 
 59. That you may live only in bone, tJiat none may look on 
 you I This has been suspected of error; but we take it to 
 mean, ' That you may live to be mere skeletons, and scare 
 men from looking at you ! ' In her abuse of the lean and 
 withered beadle, Doll calls him "Goodman Death ! goodman 
 bones V See context of passage referi^ed to in Note 71, Act v.. 
 
 'Tis in few words, but spacious in effect ; 
 We banish thee for ever. 
 
 Alcib. Banish me ! " 
 
 Banish your dotage ; banish usury, 
 That makes the senate ugly. 
 
 First Sen. If, after two days' shine, Athens con- 
 tain thee. 
 
 Attend 5' our weightier judgment. • And, not to 
 
 swell our spirit,*^ 
 He shall be executed presently. an/ Senators. 
 
 Alcib. Now the gods keep you old enough ; 
 
 that you may live 
 Only in bone, that none may look on you I^^ 
 I'm worse than mad : I have kept back their 
 
 foes, 
 
 While they have told their money, and let out 
 Their coin upon large interest ; I myself 
 Rich only in large hurts ; — all those for this ? 
 Is this the balsam that the usuring senate 
 Pours into captains' wounds ? Banishment ! 
 It comes not ill ; I hate not to be banish'd ; 
 It is a cause, worthy my spleen and fury, 
 That I may strike at Athens. I'll cheer up 
 My discontented troops, and lay for hearts. 
 'Tis honour with most lands to be at odds 
 Soldiers should brook as little wrongs as gods. 
 
 . .■ - [Exit. 
 
 SCENE VI.— Athens. A Banquet-hall in 
 Timon's House. 
 
 Music. Tables set out : Servants attending. Enter 
 di'vers Lords at several doors. 
 
 First : Lord. The good time of day to you, 
 sir. 
 
 Sec. Lord. I also wish it to you. I think this 
 honourable lord did but try us this other day. 
 
 First Lord. Upon that were my thoughts tiring,*^ 
 
 " Second Part Henry IV." It must be remembered that 
 Alcibiades is here using exaggerated language, and owns that 
 he is " worse than mad." 
 
 60. Lay for hearts. ' Endeavour to win popular affection,' 
 'strive to gain men's favour.' " Lay for " was formerly used as 
 the more modern phrase, ' lay oneself out for ' is used, to ex- 
 press 'try to gain or engage.' Baret has — "To laie for a 
 thing before it come; prcetendoi' and Ben Jonson, in "The 
 Devil is an Ass," has — " Lay for some pretty principality." 
 
 61. 'Tis honour with most lands to be at odds. A military 
 sentiment appropriately put into the mouth of Captain Alci- 
 biades : although many of the commentators object to it as 
 inapt, and therefore pronounce it to be probably wrong. That 
 Alexander the Great, and conquerors of his stamp, should con- 
 sider the more war the more glory, or the more hostility the 
 more honour, appears to us to be perfectly characteristic, and 
 therefore Shakespearian. 
 
 62. Tiring. Besides its usual sense of ' wearj'ing,' 'fatiguing 
 themselves," this word includes allusion to 'tearing with the 
 beak,' 'pecking rest!:.;sly.' See Note 25, Act i., "Third Part 
 Henry VI." 
 
 234 
 
Act hi.] TIMON OF ATHENS. [Scene VI. 
 
 when we encountered : [ hope it is not so low with 
 him as he made it seem in the trial of his several 
 friends. 
 
 Sec. Lord. It should not be, by the persuasion 
 of his new feasting. 
 
 First Lord. I should think so: he hath sent me 
 an earnest inviting, which many my near occasions 
 did urge me to put off; but he hath conjured me 
 beyond them, and I must needs appear. 
 
 Sec. Lord. In like manner was I in debt to my 
 importunate business, but he would not hear my 
 excuse. I am sorry, when he sent to borrow of 
 me, that my provision was out. 
 
 First Lord. I am sick of that grief too, as I 
 understand how all things -go. 
 
 Sec. Lord. Every man here's so. What would 
 he have borrowed of you ? 
 
 First Lord. A thousand pieces. 
 
 Sec. Lord. A thousand pieces ! 
 
 First Lord. What of you? 
 
 Sec. Lord. He sent to me, sir, — Here he 
 comes. 
 
 Enter Timon and Attendants. 
 
 Tim. With all my heart, gentlemen both : — and 
 how fare you ? 
 
 First Lord. Ever at the best, hearing well of 
 ) our lordship. 
 
 Sec. Lord. The swallow follows not summer 
 more willing than we your lordship. 
 
 Tim. [Jside.] Nor more willingly leaves 
 winter ; such summer-birds are men. — [Jloud.l 
 Gentlemen, our dinner will not recompense this 
 long stay : feast your ears with the music awhile, if 
 they will fare so harshly o' the trumpet's sound ; 
 we shall to 't presently. 
 
 First Lord. I hope it remains not unkindly 
 with your lordship, that I returned you an empty 
 messenger. 
 
 Tim. Oh, sir, let it not trouble you. 
 
 Sec. Lord. My noble lord, — 
 
 Tim. Ah ! my good friend, — what cheer ? 
 
 Sec. Lord. My most honourable lord, I am 
 e'en sick of shame, that, when your lordship this 
 other day sent to me, I was so unfortunate a 
 beggar. 
 
 Tun. Think not on 't, sir. 
 
 Sec. Lord. If you had sent but two hours 
 before, — 
 
 Tim. Let it not cumber your better remem- 
 brance.''^ — Come, bring in all together. 
 
 \The banquet brought in. 
 
 Sec. Lord. All covered dishes !«* 
 
 First Lord. Royal cheer, I warrant you. 
 
 Third Lord. Doubt not that, if money and the 
 season can yield it. 
 
 First Lord. How do you ? What's the news ? 
 
 Third Lord. Alcibiades is banished hear you 
 of it? 
 
 First and Sec. Lord. Alcibiades banished ! 
 
 Third Lord. 'Tis so, be sure of it. 
 
 First Lord. How! how! 
 
 Sec. Lord. I pray you, upon what ? 
 
 Tim. My worthy friends, will you draw near ? 
 
 Third Lord. I'll tell you more anon. Here's a 
 noble feast toward.'''' 
 
 Sec. Lord. This is the old man still. 
 
 Third Lord. Will 't hold ? will 't hold ? 
 
 Sec. Lord. It does: but time will — and so*^ — 
 
 Third Lord. I do conceive. 
 
 Tim. Each man to his stool, with that spur as 
 he would to the lip of his mistress : your diet shall 
 be in all places alike. Make not a city feast of 
 it, to let the meat cool ere we can agree upon 
 the first place : sit, sit. The gods require our 
 thanks. — 
 
 You great benefactors, sprinkle our society with 
 thankfulness. For your own gifts, make yourselves 
 praised : but reserve still to give, lest your deities 
 be despised. Lend to each man enough, that one 
 
 63. Let it not ntmber your better remembrance. This has 
 been explained, ' Let it not cumber your good memory ;' and it 
 is true that Shakespeare sometimes uses the comparative where 
 the positive or superlative are ordinarily employed. See Note 
 6, Act v., " Coriolanus." But we think it extremely probable 
 that the present expression means, ' Let it not burden your 
 remembrance of better things than such a trifle ; ' Let it not 
 weigh upon your thoughts occupied with things better worth 
 remembering.' That the passage may be thus interpreted was 
 suggested to us by a young friend whose Shakespearian dis- 
 crimination equals his Shakespearian enthusiasm. 
 
 64. All covered dishes! Here is one of Shakespeare's ex- 
 pedients in dramatic art, slight but significant. By these words 
 he draws attention to the point of the guests' anticipation of 
 extra choice fare, and at the same time naturally and easily 
 accounts for the circumstance of their not seeing its real nature 
 until the very moment when the striking effect of its discovery 
 is to be made. 
 
 65. M'hat's the news? Alcibiades is banislied. This passage 
 and the introduction of Alcibiades and his company at Timon's 
 feast in the first Act of the play serve to unite the otherwise 
 
 almost episodical events of Alcibiades' career with tho.se of 
 Timon's, and to blend the secondary incidents with the main 
 plot and story. 
 
 66. Here's a 7ioble feast toivard. "Toward " here means 'pre- 
 pared,' 'ready.' See Note 104, Act i., " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 67. It does: but iijjte luill — and so — . An emphasis on the 
 word " does " will mark the meaning to be, ' it does at present,' 
 ' it does now.' This little speech affords an instance of Shake- 
 speare's power of givin.g by a few monosyllables, by muttered 
 and disjointed phra.'KS, the efl^ect of significant inuendo ; and also 
 of what M'e call his skill in giving perfect impression through 
 imperfect expression. See Note 85, Act ii., "Coriolanus;" and 
 Note 16, Act iii., " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 68. Your diet shall be in all places alike. In former times, 
 when men of various ranks sat down to table together in large 
 companies, it was usual to signify the respective grades by 
 distinction of seats and meats. See Note 24, Act iii., "Two 
 Gentlemen of Verona ;" and Note 70, Act i., " Winter's Tale." 
 
 69. Malie not a city feast of it, to let, &'c. A quiet satire 
 upon civic anxiety for precedence, and generally vulgar sensi- 
 tiveness on the subject of priority in position. 
 
Act 1 1 I.J 
 
 need not lend to another ; for, were your godheads 
 to borrow of men,' men would forsake the gods. 
 Make the meat be beloved more than the man that 
 gives it. Let no assembly of twenty be without a 
 score of villains : if there sit twelve women at the 
 table, let a dozen of them be — as they are. The 
 rest of your fees,^* oh, gods, — the senators of 
 Athens, together with the common lag of people,^! 
 — what is amiss in them, you gods, make suitable 
 for destruction. For these my present friends,— as 
 they are to me nothing, so in nothing bless them, 
 and to nothing are they welcome. — 
 Uncover, dogs, and lap. 
 
 [The dishes luhen uncovered are seen to be 
 full of uoarm luater. 
 
 Some speak. What does his lordship mean ? 
 
 Some other. I knovv not. 
 
 Tim. May you a better feast never behold. 
 You knot of mouth-friends! smoke and luke-warm 
 water 
 
 Is your perfection.'^ Xhis is Timon's last ; 
 Who, stuck and spangled with your flatteries, 
 Washes it off, and sprinkles in your faces 
 
 [Throiving the 'water in their faces. 
 Your reeking villany. Live loath'd, and long, 
 Most smiling, smooth, detested parasites, 
 Courteous destroyers, affable wolves, meek bears, 
 You fools of fortune, trencher-friends, time's 
 flies,?* 
 
 70. Fees. Changed by Hanmer (at Warburton's suggestion) 
 to 'foes ;' but Capell explains "you"" fees" to mean 'forfeits due 
 to your vengeance.' We think it probable that "fees" is here 
 used in its legal and feudal sense, which Cowel, the great law 
 authority, explains. He says the word "fee" is applied to "all 
 tenements that are held by any acknowledgment of superiority to 
 a higher lord ;" and hence Shakespeare may have used " fees," 
 applied to the senators and commoners of Athens, to express 
 their being creatures who hold their existence by sufferance of 
 the gods, creatures who are but the serfs of heaven, drawing 
 breath and keeping goods at its supreme will and pleasure. 
 
 71. The common lag 0/ people. The Folio prints 'legge' 
 for '* lag." Rowe's correction. 
 
 72. Is your perfection. ' Is your perfect image,' ' resembles 
 you perfectly ;' * perfectly represents your qualities.' 
 
 73. Stack and spangled with your flatteries, washes it off, 
 a7id sprinkles, &^c. The Folio prints 'you with' for "with 
 your." Hanmer's correction, suggested by Warburton. That 
 "it" should here be used in reference to "flatteries" is consis- 
 tent with Shakespeare's occasional mode of allowing a singular 
 pronoun to refer to a plural noun See Note 2, Act iii., 
 "Tempest;" and Note 30, Act i., " Richard II." 
 
 [Scene VL 
 
 Cap and knee slaves, vapours, and minute-jacks ! 
 Of man and beast the infinite malady 
 Crust you quite o'er ! — What ! dost thou go ? 
 Soft! take thy physic first, — thou too, — and thou : — 
 [Throuos the dishes at them, and drives 
 them out. 
 
 Stay, I will lend thee money, borrow none. — 
 What ! all in motion ? Henceforth be no feast 
 Whereat a villain's not a welcome guest. 
 Burn, house! sink, Athens! henceforth hated be 
 Of Timon man and all humanity ! \_Exit. 
 
 Re-enter the Lords. 
 
 First Lord. How now, my lords ! 
 
 Sec. Lord. Know you the quality of Lord 
 Timon's fury p 
 
 Third Lord. Push !?^ did you see my cap P 
 
 Fourth Lord. I have lost my gown. 
 
 First Lord. He's but a mad lord, and naught 
 but humour?? sways him. He gave me a jewel 
 the other day, and now he has beat it out of my 
 hat :— did you see my jewel P 
 
 Third Lord. Did you see my cap ? 
 
 Sec. Lord. Here 'tis. 
 
 Fourth Lord. Here lies my gown. 
 
 First Lord. Let's make no stay. 
 
 Sec. Lord. Lord Timon's mad. 
 
 Third Lord, I feel 't upon my bones. 
 
 Fourth Lord. One day he gives us diamonds, 
 next day stones.'^ [Exeunt. 
 
 74. Time's flies. ' Flies of a season ;' creatures of a bright 
 period only. 
 
 75. Minute-jacks. The allusion is to figures called 'jacks 
 o' the clock' (see Note 25, Act iv., "Richard III.") ; and the 
 term is here used for ' time-servers,' fellows who track the 
 moments of revelry, and keep pace with idle hours. 
 
 76. Push I. An old form of 'pish!' Sec Note 8, Act v., 
 "Much Ado." 
 
 77. Humour. Here used for ' caprice,' ' waywardness.' 
 See Note 41, Act iii., " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 78. Next day stones. In an old play on the subject of 
 Timon, the hero is made to throw stones painted to look like 
 artichokes at his traitorly guests ; and it has been suggested 
 that the present passage may contain reference to the incident 
 there introduced, although, from making the feast consist of 
 merely warm water in dishes, the reference is inappropriate. 
 But we incline to think that Shakespeare here employed the 
 word " stones " because it afforded a concluding rhyme, 
 because it formed the antithesis to "diamonds," and because 
 it conveys the effect of ' missiles,' things {the dishes) hurled at 
 the departing cur-tribe, to pelt them out with. 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 »37 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scenes I., II. 
 
 ACT 
 
 SCENE l.—IV/thoui theivalls 0/ Athens. 
 
 Enter Tim on. 
 
 Tim. Let me look back upon thee. Oh, thou 
 wall, 
 
 That girdlest in those wolves, dive in the earth. 
 And fence not Athens! Matrons, turn incon- 
 tinent ! 
 
 Obedience fail in children ! slaves and fools, 
 Pluck the grave wrinkled senate from the bench, 
 And minister in their steads ! bankrupts, hold 
 fast ; 
 
 Rather than render back, out with your knives. 
 And cut your trusters' throats ! bound servants, 
 steal ! 
 
 Large-handed robbei's your grave masters are. 
 And pill by law : son of sixteen, ' 
 Pluck the lin'd crutch from thy old limping 
 ire, 
 
 With it beat out his brains ! piety, and fear. 
 Religion to the gods, peace, justice, truth, 
 Domestic awe, night-rest, and neighbourhood. 
 Instruction, manners, mysteries, and trades, 
 Degrees, observances, customs, and laws. 
 Decline to your confounding^ contraries. 
 And let confusion live!^ — Plagues, incident to 
 men. 
 
 Your potent and infectious fevers heap 
 On Athens, ripe for stroke ! thou cold sciatica. 
 Cripple our senators, that their limbs may halt 
 As lamely as their manners ! lust and liberty 
 Creep in the minds and marrows of our youth. 
 That 'gainst the stream of virtue they may 
 strive. 
 
 And drown themselves in riot ! itches, blains. 
 Sow all the Athenian bosoms ; and their crop 
 
 1. Son of sixteen. The first Folio prints 'some' for "sen." 
 Corrected in the second Folio. 
 
 2. Confounding. Here used for 'destructive.' Cee Note 12, 
 Act iii., " Henry V." 
 
 3. And let confusion live'. The Folio gives 'yet' for 
 "let." Hanmers correction. 
 
 4. Thou detestable town! See Note 25, Act v., "Romeo 
 and Juliet." 
 
 5. Multiplying batis. 'Manifold curses,' ' ,-iccumulated 
 maledictions.' "Multiplying" is here used for 'multiplied;' 
 the active participle with a passive signification. 
 
 6. Not one friend to take his fortune by the arm. This 
 is one of the bold licences in figurative expres.sion that 
 Shakespeare, like all true poets, delights in. See Note 32, 
 Act ii., " Coriolanus ;" and Note 13, Act v., "Romeo and 
 Jiiliet." Moreover, it is one of those familiar— almost homely — 
 ima.ges, that would very naturally present itself to a serving 
 m.TP's mind, and is, therefore, so peculiarly characteristic. 
 Observe, too, how finely the great adept in knowledge of 
 
 IV. 
 
 Be general leprosy ! breath infect breath; 
 That their society, as their friendship, may 
 Be merely poison ! Nothing I'll bear from thee, 
 But nakedness, thou detestable town !* 
 Take thou that too, with multiplying bans 
 Timon will to the woods; where he shall find 
 The unkindest beast more kinder than man- 
 kind. 
 
 The gods confound (hear me, you good gods 
 all) 
 
 The Athenians both within and out that wall I 
 And grant, as Timon grows, his hate may 
 grow 
 
 To the whole race of mankind, high an<J low ! 
 Amen. {^Ex'it. 
 
 SCENE II.— Athens. A Room in Timon s 
 House. 
 
 Enter FlaVIUS, luith tiuo or three Servants. 
 
 First Serv. Hear you, master steward, — where's 
 
 our master ? 
 Are we undone ? cast off? nothing remaining ? 
 Fla^v. Alack, my fellows, what should 1 say to 
 
 you ? 
 
 Let me be recorded by the righteous gods, 
 I am as poor as you. 
 
 First Sernj. Such a house broke ! 
 So noble a master fall'n ! All gone ! and not 
 One friend to take his fortune by the arm,^ 
 And go along with him! 
 
 Stc. Serv. As we do turn our backs 
 
 From our companion thrown into his grave. 
 So his familiars to his buried fortunes ^ 
 
 human nature makes this poor fellow begin in a momentary 
 impulse of self-interest, by the inquiry, "Are we undone? 
 cast off? nothing remainin.g?" but, on recollection of their 
 master's nobleness, merge all regret into concern for his fate. 
 
 7. From 07ir cojnpajiion . ... so his familiars to Iiis 
 buried fortunes. Hanmeir altered "to" into 'from' here; 
 while Mason transposed "from" and "to" in this sentence. 
 We give the reading of the Folio, which we think is com- 
 pletely in Shakespeare's style ; understanding the passage thus : 
 'As we turn our backs from our companion thrown into his 
 grave, so his familiars to his (now buried) fortunes slink all 
 away from him.' This mode of allowing a word to be ellipti- 
 cally understood at the close of a sentence is frequently found 
 in our authors writings. See Note 149, Act iv., " Winter's 
 Tale ;" and in the present instance the freedom of construc- 
 tion is characteristic of the .speaker. The servant means to say, 
 'As we turn away from our companion when he is buried, so 
 those who were familiar with Timon's fortunes turn from him 
 now they are buried.' 
 
 38 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Slink all away ; leave their false vows with him, 
 Like empty purses pick'd ; and his poor self, 
 A dedicated beggar to the air, 
 With his disease of all-shunn'd poverty. 
 Walks, like contempt, alone. — More of our 
 fellows. 
 
 Enter other Servants. 
 
 Flav. All broken implements of a ruin'd 
 house. 
 
 Third Sew. Yet do our hearts wear Timon's 
 livery, — 
 
 That see I by our faces ; we are fellows still. 
 Serving alike in sorrow : leak'd is our barque ; 
 And we, poor mates, stand on the dying deck,^ 
 Hearing the surges threat : we must all part 
 Into this sea of air. 
 
 Flav. Good fellows all. 
 
 The latest of my wealth' I'll share amongst 
 you. 
 
 Wherever we shnll meet, for Timon's sake. 
 Let's yet be fellows ; let's shake our heads, and 
 say. 
 
 As 'twere a knell unto our master's fortunes, 
 
 " We have seen better days." Let each take some ; 
 
 {^Offering them money. 
 Nay, put out all your hands.'" Not one word 
 more : 
 
 Thus part we rich in sorrow, parting poor. 
 
 [Servants embrace, and part senjeral -ivays. 
 Oh, the fierce wretchedness that glory brings 
 us ! 
 
 Who would not wish to be from wealth 
 exempt, 
 
 Since riches point to misery and contempt ? 
 Who would be so mock'd with glory ? or to 
 live 
 
 But in a dream of friendship ? 
 
 8. r/ie dyins deck. Ji: 
 
 of those expressions that 
 
 enrapture a poetic mind, and disturb a prosaic one. 
 
 g. The latest of my -wealth. Here "latest" is used where, 
 ordinarily, * last' is used. 
 
 ID. '^Nay, put out all your hands. * Nay, put out, all of 
 you, your hands a similar form of expression to the one 
 pointed out in Note 33, Act iv., "Third Part Henry VI." This 
 brief sentence, indicating the hesitation with which the faithful 
 serving men take the offered gift of the worthy steward, and the 
 reluctance they feel in sharing the last sad remnant of all their 
 lord's fortune, is exactly one of Shakespeare's beautiful touches 
 in feeling and character. It serves to show the sentiment of 
 honest sympathy felt by a class generally supposed to be merely 
 selfish and mercenary, and to show the influence which a good 
 master has upon well-disposed servants. Had Timon not been 
 of a really generous nature, he would not have thus genuinely 
 attached his servants. The whole scene, though brief, contains 
 a volume of condensed teaching upon the relations between 
 servant and master : and while the diction in which it is 
 couched is so poetically beautiful as to be among the loveliest 
 in the play, the impression that affectionate fidelity still exists 
 in the heart of grateful dependents affords the one point of 
 relief in its melancholy story. 
 
 II. Or to live but in a dream of friendship? to have kls 
 
 To have his pomp,'' and all what state com- 
 pounds,'^ 
 
 But only painted, like his varnish'd friends ? 
 Poor honest lord, brought low by his own heart, 
 Undone by goodness! Strange, unusual blood, '^ 
 When man's worst sin is, he does too much 
 good ! 
 
 Who, then, dares to be half so kind again ? 
 I'^or bounty, that makes gods, does still mar 
 men. 
 
 My dearest lord, — bless'd, to be most accurs'd. 
 Rich, only to be wretched, — thy great fortunes 
 .Are made thy chief afflictions. Alas ! kind 
 lord! 
 
 He's flung in rage from this ingrateful seat 
 Of monstrous friends ; nor has he with him to 
 Supply his life,''' or that which can command it. 
 I'll follow, and enquire him out : 
 I'll ever serve his mind with my best will ; 
 Whilst I have gold, I'll be his steward still. 
 
 lExit. 
 
 Before Timon's 
 
 SCENE \\\.—rhe Woods. 
 
 Ca've. 
 
 Enter Timon. 
 
 Tim. Oh, blessed breeding sun, draw from the 
 earth 
 
 Rotten humidity; below thy sister's orb'^ 
 Infect the air! Twinn'd brothers of one womb, — 
 Whose procreation, residence, and biith, 
 Scarce is dividant,— touch them with several for- 
 tunes ; 
 
 The greater scorns the lesser : not nature. 
 
 To whom all sores lay siege,'^ can bear great for- 
 
 poinp, &^c. The fir 
 
 ! this sentence has been changed I 
 
 'ro' by a few modern editors, while others have altered "or" 
 to ' as,' omitting the point of interrogation after "glory.'' We 
 think that if the first "to" he banished from the sentence, the 
 link is lost for the second " to ;" and it seems to us that "to" 
 in both instances is here ujed consistently with a practice 
 Shakespeare has of occasionally using "to" elliptically, as a 
 repetition of the previous form in the sentence. Thus, here, 
 we think that Flavius is meant to say, *'Who would be so 
 mocked with glory? or [who would] live merely in a dream of 
 friendship ? [Who would] have his pomp,' &c. 
 
 12. And all what state compounds. 'All that goes to 
 compound or compose state.' Here "what" is used for 'that 
 which ;' a not in frequent licence still used in common speaking. 
 
 13. Blood. Here used for 'disposition,' 'propensity,' 'in- 
 clination,' See Note 75, Act iv., " Second Part Henry Vi ." 
 
 14. Nor has he with him to supply his life. ' Wherewith ' or 
 ' wherewithal ' is here elliptically understood between "him" 
 and " to " 
 
 15. Tkv sister's orb. ' The moon.' In the mythology, Phosbus 
 and Luna, the twin children of Latona, are brother, and sister. 
 
 16. Not naitire, to whom, &^c. ' Human nature, liable to 
 the assaults of every misfortune, can never bear the advent of 
 great fortune without showing contempt for its fellow-( 
 
Rotten humidity. 
 
 draw from the earth 
 
 Act IV. Scene HI. 
 
 But by contempt of nature. 
 
 Raise me this beggar, and deny 't that lord 
 
 7 he senator shall bear contempt hereditary, 
 
 The beggar native honour. 
 
 It is the pasture lards the rt)ther's sides, 
 
 17. Raise nte this beggar, and deny V that lord. " Me " 
 is here used idiomatically. See Note i, Act ii. "Deny't" 
 has been variously changed to * denude,* ' degrade,' * deprive,' 
 ' devest,' ' dechute,' ' decline,' ' demit,' ' deject,' and ' de- 
 knight ;' but we believe that the original expression affords 
 an instance of Shakespeare's making ' 't ' or ' it ' refer to an im- 
 plied particular in a sentence, and that the whole line presents 
 an example of his peculiarly condensed and elliptical style. 
 "Fortunes" and "great fortune" have been previously men- 
 tioned, and " every grise of fortune " subsequently occurs in 
 this portion of the speech : therefore fortune is the prevail- 
 ing idea here. Consequently we believe that the present line 
 means, ' Raise me to fortune this beggar, and deny fortune 
 to that lord.' 
 
 t8. It is tlie pasture lards the rother's sides, i!ie want thai 
 .malces him lean. The Folio prints this sentence thus : — It is 
 
 The want that makes him lean.'^ Who dares, who 
 dares, 
 
 In purity of manhood stand upright. 
 
 And say, " This man's a flatterer" ? if one be, 
 
 So are they all ; for every grise of fortune 
 
 the Pastour Lards, the Brothers sides, the want that makes 
 him leaue.' Rowe corrected the word "pasture," and the 
 second Folio the word " lean." Mr. Singer, in 1842, sug- 
 gested the word " rother," and it has since been generally 
 adopted as the right word. A "rother" is a horned beast; 
 oxen and cows are " rothers." In the statute-book, and in 
 Gelding's "Ovid," this expression is used : — " Herds o{ rot/ter 
 beasts." In Huloet's "Dictionary" we find — "Rother beast, 
 yuvencus;'" and in Holloway's "General Provincial Dictionary'' 
 it is stated that there is a market in Stratford-upon-Avon, called 
 the " rotlier market." This latter point brings the word home 
 to Shakespeare's own knowledge and familiar use, as it subsisted 
 in his native town ; and gives every probability to it being the 
 one he here employed. 
 
 ig. Grise. ' Step,' ' degree.' See Note 22, Act iii., "Twelfth 
 Night." 
 
 40 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Is smooth'd-" by that below : the Icarne-l pate 
 Ducks to the golden fool : all is oblique ; 
 There's nothing level in our curseJ natures, 
 But direct viliany. Therefore, be abhorr'd 
 All feasts, societies, and throngs of men ! 
 His semblable, yea, himself, Timon disdains ; 
 Destruction fang mankind! — Earth, yield mc 
 
 roots ! [Digging. 
 Who seeks for better of thee, sauce his palate 
 With thy most operant poison !— What is here ? 
 Gold ? yellow, glittering, precious gold ? No, 
 
 gods, 
 
 I am no idle votarist;^! roots, you clear heavens 
 Thus much of this will make black, white; foul, 
 fair; 23 
 
 Wrong, right ; base, noble ; old, young ; cowarti, 
 valiant. 
 
 Ha, you gods ! why this ? what this, you gods ? 
 Why, this 
 
 Will lug your priests and servants from your 
 sides ; 
 
 Pluck stout men's pillows from below their 
 
 heads 
 This ) ellow slave 
 
 Will knit and break religions; bless the accurs'd ; 
 Make the hoar leprosy ador'd ; place thieves. 
 And give them title, knee, and approbation. 
 With senators on the bench : this is it 
 That makes the wapi>en'd widow wed again ;-' 
 She, whom the spital-house and ulcerous sores 
 Would cast the gorge at, this embalms and 
 S})ices 
 
 To the April day again. ^6 Come, cursed earth. 
 Thou common slave of mankind, that putt'st odds 
 Among the rout of nations, I will make thee 
 Do thy right nature. ^i' — \_March afar off.'] Ha ! a 
 drum ? — Thou'rt quick,^^ 
 
 20. SmootKd. 'Flattered.' See Note 39, Act i., "Richard 
 III." 
 
 21. 7 am no idle volarist. " Idle " is here used for 
 'meaningless,' 'inconsiderate,' 'insensate.' See Note 153, 
 Act ii., "All's Well." Timon has just besought Earth to yield 
 him roots ; and now that it yields him gold, he means to say he 
 is not one to adjure Earth in an idle, inconsiderate spirit, to send 
 him simplest food, and then to be gratified by finding wealth. 
 
 22. Voii clear heavens: "Clear" is here used for 'pure,' 
 'immaculate,' 'sinless.' See Note 26, Act iii., "Tempest." 
 
 23. IVill make black, white; foul, fair. Here is an instance 
 of Shakespeare's cau.sing a verb to do multiplied service in a 
 sentence ; " make" before " black " giving ' make ' to be ellipti- 
 cally understood as repeated in succession before "foul," 
 "wrong," "base," "old," and "coward." See Note gi, 
 Act iv., "Coriolanus." 
 
 24. Pluck stout men's filloivs from. Sfic. Hanmer altered 
 "stout " to ' sick,' because it was the practice to draw the pillow 
 from beneath the head of dying persons, under the idea of 
 making their end more easy. But by the word "stout" we 
 think that the poet intends to indicate patients who have 
 strength sufficient to rally through their illness, yet who are 
 treated by mercenary attendants as though they were in their 
 last agonies, and are thus hurried into death, from which they 
 might otherwise escape. 
 
 But yet I'll bury thee : thou'lt go, strong thief. 
 When gouty keepers of thee cannot stand : — 
 Nay, stay thou out for earnest. 
 
 [_Re serving some gold. 
 
 Enter Alcibiades, nuitn drum and fife, in 'warlike 
 manner; ^HKXni.Kand Timandra. 
 Alcib. What art thou there ? speak. 
 
 Tim. A beast, as thou art. The canker gnaw 
 thy heart, 
 
 For showing me again the eyes of man ! 
 Alcib. What is thy name ? Is man so hateful to 
 thee. 
 
 That art thyself a man ? 
 
 Tim. I am misanthropo^, and hate mankind, 
 h'or thy part, I do wisli thou wert a dog. 
 That I might love thee something.-' 
 
 Alcih. I know thee well ; 
 
 But in thy fortunes am unlearn'd and strange. 
 
 Tim. I know tliee too ; and more, than that I 
 know thee, 
 I not desire to know. Follow thy drum ; 
 With man's blood paint the groimd, gules, 
 gules: St) 
 
 Religious canons, civd laws are cruel ; 
 Then what should war be ? This fell wencli of 
 thine 
 
 Hath in her more destruction than thy sword. 
 For all her chcrubin look. 
 
 Phry. Thy lips rot off! 
 
 Tim. I will not kiss thee ; then the rot re- 
 turns si 
 To thine own lips again. 
 Alcib. How came the noble Timon to this 
 change ? 
 
 Tim. As the moon does, by wanting light to 
 give : 
 
 23. That makes ilie ivappcn'd widoin med a^ain. "Wap- 
 pen'd '' means ' worn out,' ' stale ;' and " wed " is here Tised for 
 'wedded,' as it is In the "Taming of the Shrew," Act i., sc. 2, 
 where we find, " Until the elder sister first be lued." 
 
 26. Tills embalms and spices to the April day a(^ain. 'This 
 restores to the freshness and fragrance of youth,' the sprinj 
 time of life. 
 
 27. / ivill make thee do thv right nature. Johnson ex- 
 plains this to mean ' lie in the earth where nature laid thco 
 but we think it means ' I will mate thee fulfil thy natural 
 course,' by lying in the earth till I bring thee forth to sow 
 dissension among the rabble of nations. That it includes this 
 latter meaning we think is evident by the concluding words, 
 " Nay, stay thou out for earnest ;" that is, ' for a pledge of my 
 
 28. Quick. Here used with reference to its sense of ' .alive,' . 
 to express 'current,' 'able to pass from hand to hand,' 'power 
 of circulation.' 
 
 29. SontetJiin^. Occasionally, as here, used for ' somewhat.* . 
 
 30. Gules. The term in heraldic nomenclature for ' red.' 
 
 31. / ivill not kiss thee ; then, &^c. It has been proposed to* 
 change " not " to 'but 'hero. We think, however, that Timon 
 is meant to say he will not kies her, because then the " rot," 
 wished in foul breath by her lips, recoils upon themselves, 
 uncommunicated. 
 
 VOL. III. 
 
 197 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 But then renew I could not, like the moon ; 
 There were no suns to borrow of. 
 
 Alcib. Noble Timon, 
 
 What friendship may I do thee P 
 
 Tim. None, but to 
 
 Maintain my opinion. 
 
 Alcib. What is it, Timon ? 
 
 Tim. Promise me friendship, but perform none : 
 if thou wilt not promise, the gods plague thee, for 
 thou art a man! if thou dost perform, confound 
 thee, for thou art a man '. 
 
 Alcib. I have heard in some sort of thy 
 miseries. 
 
 Ti?n. Thou saw'st them, when I had pros- 
 perity. 
 
 Alcib. I see them now ; then was a blessed 
 time. 
 
 Tim. As thine is now, held with a brace of 
 wantons. 
 
 Timan. Is this the Athenian minion, whom 
 the world 
 Voic'd so regardful ly ? 
 
 Tim. Art thou Timandra ? 
 
 Timan. Yes. 
 
 Tijn. Be thyself still : they love thee not that 
 
 use thee. 
 Timan. Hang thee, monster ! 
 Alcib. Pardon him, sweet Timandra ; for his 
 
 wits 
 
 Are drown'd and lost in his calamities. — 
 I have but little gold of late, brave Timon, 
 The want whereof doth daily make revolt 
 In my penurious band : I have heard, and 
 griev'd, 
 
 How cursed Athens, mindless^s of thy worth. 
 Forgetting thy great deeds, when neighbour 
 states. 
 
 But for thy sword and fortune, trod upon them, — 
 Tim. I pr'ythee, beat thy drum, and get thee 
 gone. 
 
 Alcib. I am thy friend, and pity thee, dear 
 Timon. 
 
 Tim. How dost thou pity him whom thou dost 
 trouble ? 
 I had rather be alone. 
 
 Alcib. Why, fare thee well : 
 
 Here is some gold for thee. 
 
 32. I\Iindless. Here used for ' unmindful.' 
 
 33. On a heap. Idiomatically u'ied, like "on heaps," where 
 the more ordinary usage is to say ' in a heap,' and ' in heaps.' 
 See Note 14, Act iii., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 34. Ay, Timon, and have cause. Here ' I ' is elliptically 
 understood before " have." 
 
 33. The 'Mindow-hars. The Folio prints this ' the window 
 barne ;' ' n,' ' ne,' or ' en,' being an old form of plural derived 
 from the Saxon language. " The window-bars " here alludes to 
 the cross-bar lacing of women's boddices, which formed a kind of 
 lattice-work. This, in more modern peasant costume, as we see 
 it on the stage, and as it exists in Swiss dresses, has a stomacher 
 
 Tim. Keep it, I cannot eat it. 
 
 Alcib. When I have laid proud Athens on a 
 heap,33 — 
 
 Tim. Warr'st thou 'gainst Athens ? 
 Alcib. Ay, Timon, and have cause. 
 
 Tim. The gods confound them all in thy con- 
 quest ; 
 
 And thee after, when thou hast conquer'd ! 
 Alcib. Why me, Timon ? 
 
 Tim. That, by killing of villains, 
 
 Thou wast born to conquer my country. 
 Put up thy gold : go on, — here's gold, — go on 
 Be as a planetary plague, when Jove 
 Will o'er some high-vic'd city hang his poison 
 In the sick air : let not thy sword skip one : 
 Pity not honour'd age for his white beard, — 
 He is a usurer : strike me the counteifeit 
 
 matron, — 
 It is her habit only that is honest, 
 Herself is naught : let not the virgin's cheek 
 Make soft thy trenchant sword; for those miik- 
 
 paps, 
 
 That through the window-bars^* bore at men's 
 eyes, 
 
 Are not within the leaf of pity writ. 
 But set them down horrible traitors : spare not the 
 babe. 
 
 Whose dimpled smiles from fools exhaust then- 
 mercy j"*^ 
 
 Think it a bastard, whom the oracle 
 Hath doubtfully pronounc'd thy throat shall 
 cut. 
 
 And mince it sans^'' remorse: swear against 
 objects ; 38 
 
 Put armour on thine ears and on thine eyes ; 
 Whose proof, nor yells of mothers, maids, nor 
 babes, 
 
 Nor sight of priests in holy vestments bleeding. 
 Shall pierce a jot. There's gold to pay thy 
 soldiers : 
 
 Make large confusion ; and, thy fury spent. 
 Confounded be thyself! Speak not, be gone. 
 Alcib. Hast thou gold yet ? I'll take the gold 
 thou giv'st me. 
 Not all thy counsel. 
 
 Tim. Dost thou, or dost thou not, heaven's 
 curse upon thee ! 
 
 of silk, satin, mu.slin, or other material beneath : but in Shake- 
 speare's time this lacing— not inaptly likened to " window-bars " 
 — was sometimes worn over the bosom itself, merely serving to 
 fasten the two sides of the boddice together. 
 
 36. From fools exhaust their mercy. Hanmer changed 
 " exhaust " to ' e.xtort ;' but here Shakespeare uses " exhaust " 
 in the sense it bears, as classically derived—' draw forth.' 
 
 37. Sans. 'Without.' 
 
 38. Swear against objects. ' Take an oath against being 
 moved by objects likely to inspire relenting.' " Objects" is here 
 used to express what is intended by "tender objects" in the 
 passage referred to in Note 50, Act iv., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 rSCENE III. 
 
 Phr. and Timan. Give us some gold, good 
 
 Tiinon : hast thou more ? 
 Tim. Enough to make you both. Hold up, 
 
 you sluts, 
 
 Your aprons mountant : you are not oathable,— 
 Although, I knoiv, you'll swear, terribly swear, 
 Into strong shudders and to heavenly agues, 
 The immortal gods that hear you,— spare your 
 oaths, 
 
 I'll trust to your conditions : be queans still. 
 
 Phr. and Timan. Well, more gold :— what 
 then ?— 
 
 Believe 't, that we'll do anything for gold. 
 
 Tim. Consumptions sow 
 In hollow bones of man ; strike their sharp 
 shins. 
 
 And mar men's spurring. Crack the lawyer's 
 voice, 
 
 That he may never more false title plead, 
 Nor sound his quillets 3' shrilly : hoar the flamen,'"' 
 That scolds against the quality of flesh, 
 And not believes himself : plague all ; plague 
 all. 
 
 There's more gold : — 
 
 Do you doom others, and let this doom you, 
 And ditches grave you all ! 
 Phr. and Timan. More counsel with more 
 
 money, bounteous Timon. 
 Tim. More ill, more mischief first ; I have given 
 you earnest. 
 
 Akib. Strike up the drum towards Athens 1 — 
 Farewell, Timon : 
 If I thrive well, I'll visit thee again. 
 
 Tim. If I hope well, I'll never see thee more. 
 
 Alcib. I never did thee harm. 
 
 Tim. Yes, thou spok'st well of me. 
 
 Alcib. Call'st thou that harm ? 
 
 Tim. Men diily find it. Get the^ away, and take 
 Thy beagles with thee. 
 
 39. Quillets. ' Legal quibbles,' 'frivolous distinctions,' 'subtle- 
 ties of sophistry." See Note 105, Act iv., '• Love's Labour's 
 Lost." 
 
 40. Hoar the flamen. Upton suggested changing the word 
 "hoar" to 'hoarse' here, which latter word, taken in the sense 
 of ' render hoarse,' certainly accords well with the context. 
 Nevertheless it is probable that here "hoar" is used to express 
 'give the hoar leprosy,' 'afflict with the hoar "leprosy;' because 
 there is mention of that disease in the early part of this same 
 scene, where Timon says, " Make the hoar leprosy ador'd." 
 The epithet " hoar" is poetically apphed to " leprosy," because 
 it covers the skin with a shiny white scale on the part affected. 
 " Flamen" is a 'priest.' See Note 33, Act ii., " Coriolanus." 
 
 41. Eyeless veiiom'd worm. A poetical term for the small 
 snake called the 'blind-worm,* which was formerly supposed to 
 be venomous. See Note 59, Act ii., "Midsummer Night's 
 
 42. Crisp lieaven. In the two other passages where Shake- 
 speare has used the word "crisp," he has used it in the sense of 
 ' curled' (see Note 73, Act i., " First Part Henry IV.") ;- and hi 
 the " Tempest," Act i., sc. 2, Ariel says, " to ride on the curl'd 
 clouds." These points lend probability to the supposition that 
 here "crisp heaven" is used to express a sky covered with 
 
 Jllclb. We but offend him. — Strike ! 
 
 [_Dium beats. £av««/ Alcibiades, Phrynia, 
 
 and TiMANDRA. 
 
 Tim. That nature, being sick of man's uiikiiid- 
 ness, 
 
 Should yet be hungry !— Common mother, thou, 
 
 [Digging. 
 
 Whose womb unmeasurable, and infinite breast, 
 Teems, and feeds all ; whose self-same mettle. 
 Whereof thy proud child, arrogant man, is 
 puff'd. 
 
 Engenders the black toad and adder blue. 
 The gilded newt and e) eless venom'd worm,''^ 
 With all the abhorred births below crisp heaven ''^ 
 Whereon Hyperion's^* quickening fire doth shine ; 
 Yield him, who all thy human sons doth hate,^'' 
 From forth thy plenteou; bosom, one poor root ! 
 Ensear thy fertile and conceptions womb. 
 Let it no more bring oat ingrateful man ! 
 Go great with tigers, dragons, wolves, and bears ; 
 Teem with new monsters, whom thy Ujuvard 
 face 
 
 Hath to the marbled mansion all above 
 Never presented 1 — Oli, a root, — dear thanks !— 
 Dry up thy marrows, vines, and plough-torn 
 leas 
 
 Whereof ingrateful man, with liquorish draughts 
 And morsels unctuous, greases his pure mind. 
 That from it all consideration slij)S I — 
 
 Enter Apemantus. 
 More man ? plague, plague ! 
 
 A pern. I was directed hither: men report 
 Thou dost art'ect my manners, and dost use 
 them. 
 
 Tim. 'Tis, then, because thou dost not keep a 
 dog, 
 
 Whom I would imitate: consumption catch thee ! 
 I Apem. This is in thee a nature but infected 
 
 i dappled, wavy, curl-like clouds ; but we have an idea that per- 
 ' haps the poet here used the epithet " crisp" to denote ' shining,' 
 
 * glistening,' * brilliant,' from the circumstance that one meaning 
 1 of the Latin verb crispare is ' to cause to shine.' 
 j 43. Hyperion. One of the names given by ancient poets to 
 ! the sun. See Note 80, Act ii., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 ' 44. Who all thy human sons doth hate. I'he Folio prints, 
 i 'Who all the humane sonnes do hate.' The present passage 
 I affords a similar case of misprint occasioning utterly reversed 
 
 sense from the one intended, to that pointed out in Note 73, 
 
 Act iii. 
 
 45. Dry ?tp thy marrows^ viues^ ami plough-torn leas. This 
 line has been suspected of error ; and ' marrowy ' has been pro- 
 posed as a substitution for "marrows." But it seems to us that 
 the line may give the sense, by an ellipsis, of ' Dry up the 
 I marrows of thy vines and plough-torn leas ;' because wine may 
 be poetically said to be the marrow of vines, furnishing "liquor- 
 ish draughts ;" as grain, fruits, and beasts of pasture may be 
 poetically called the marrow of leas, supplying man with 
 
 46. A nature but infected. Rowe changed "infected'' to 
 'affected ;' bat here " infected " is used in the sense.of ' diseased,' 
 ' morbid,' 'poisoned' by reverse and disappoi.itment. 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 A poor unmanly melancholy spi ung 
 From change ot-' fortune.''^ Wliy ihis spade? this 
 . place? 
 
 This slave-like habit ? and these looks of care ? 
 Thy flatterers yet wear silk, drink wine, lie 
 soft ; 
 
 Hug their diseas'd perfumes, and have forgot 
 That ever Tinion was. Shame not these woods, 
 By putting on the cunning of a carper. 
 Be thou a tlatterer now, and seek to thrive 
 By that which has undone thee : hinge thy 
 knee, 
 
 And let his very lircath, whom thou'lt ob- 
 serve," 
 
 Blow off thy cap ; praise his most vicious strain, 
 And call it excellent: thou wast toUl thus ; 
 Thou gav'st thine ears like tapsters that bid wel- 
 come 
 
 To knaves and all approachers 'tis most just 
 Tliat thou turn rascal; hadst thou wealth again. 
 Rascals should have 't. Do not assume iny like- 
 ness. 
 
 Tim. Were I like tl.ee, I'd throw away my- 
 self. 
 
 Apem. Thou hast cast away thyself, being like 
 thyself; 
 
 A madman so long, now a fool. What ! think'st 
 That the bleak air, thy boisterous chamberlain. 
 Will put thy shirt on warm ? will these moss'd 
 tiees,*' 
 
 47. Change o f fortune. The Folio misprints ' future ' for 
 " fortune." Rowe's correction. 
 
 48. Tlie cunning of a catfer. ' TKe affected superiority in 
 judgment of a systematic fault-finder.' The term "carper" 
 was often applied in Shakespeare s time to a ' critic/ because 
 ' critic ' was, and is still, almost used synonymously with ' fault- 
 finder ' See Note 89, Act iv., " Love's Labour's Lost." It is 
 worthy of remark with what fine and subtle satire Shakespeare 
 has here made the professedly cynical Apemantus, the mere 
 philosophy-monger, the dealer in misanthropical bitternesses, 
 rate the genuine sufferer from man's injuries. He grudges that 
 Timon should trench upon his ground, and surpass him in railing, 
 which he assumes to be his own special province. He does not 
 see that Timon's is a true indignation, while his own is but a 
 spurious imitation and affectation ; or rather, he instinctively 
 feels this to be the case, and resents it heartily while treating it 
 as something that Timon is to be scolded out of. 
 
 49. Observe. Here used for ' pay observance to,' * treat with 
 deference.' See Note 72, Act iv., " Second Part Henry IV," 
 
 50. Like tapsters that hid welcome to^ &^c. The first Folio 
 gives 'bad' for "bid." Corrected in the second Folio. We 
 cannot help thinking that to retain the first Folio word ' bad,' 
 and take it to mean ' bad people,' is not only a forced interpre- 
 tation, but an alteration of the sense of the passage ; because 
 tapsters bid welcome to "«// approachers," not merely to ' bad' 
 ones or " knaves." In the first Folio the words are printed 
 thus : ' (Like tapsters, that bad welcom)' ; and we have before 
 pointed out that Shakespeare sometimes uses parenthetical sen- 
 tences in such a manner as 10 make the matter within the 
 parenthesis for-n part of the main sentence. See Note 75, Act i., 
 " Winter's Tale." Therefore we believe that, according to this 
 particular mode of construction, "gav'st thine ears" and "bid 
 welcome" are both to be taken in connection with " to knaves," &c. 
 
 S'i. These moss'd trees. The Folio prints 'moyst' for 
 
 That liave outliv't) the eagle, page thy heels, 
 And skip when thou point' st out will the cold 
 brook. 
 
 Candied with ice, caudle thy morning taste. 
 To cure thy o'er-night's suifeit ? Call tiiC crea- 
 tures,— 
 
 Whose naked natures live in all the spi'e 
 
 OF wreakful heaven ; whose bare unhoused trunks. 
 
 To the conHictmg elements expos'd, 
 
 Answer mere nature, — bid theiii flatter thee; 
 
 Oh, thou shalt find — 
 
 Ttm. A fool of thee : depart. 
 
 Apem. 1 love thee better now tlum e'er I 
 did. 
 
 Tim. I hate thee worse. 
 Apem. Why? 
 Tim. Thou flatter' st misery. 
 
 Apem. I flatter not; but say thou ait a caitiff.*' 
 Tin. Why dost thou seek me out i 
 Apem. To vex thee. 
 
 Tim. Always a villain's office, or a fool'^. 
 Dost please tnyself in 't ? 
 Apem. Ay. 
 Tim. What ! a knave too 
 
 Apem. If thou didst put this sour-cold habit 
 on 
 
 To castigate thy pride, 'twere well : but thou 
 Dost It enforcedly ; thou'dst courtier be again, 
 Wert thou not beggar. Willing misery 
 Outlives incertain pomp, is crown'd before:*^ 
 
 "moss'd." Hanmer's correction. The misprint of the Folio 
 probably arose from the word having been written in the original 
 MS. 'mosst,' with the first j a long one. That " moss'd" was 
 intended by the author seems to be certified by the passage in 
 " As You Like It,'' Act iv., sc. 3 : "An old oak, whose boughs 
 were moss' J with age." 
 
 52. And skip when thou point st out ? It has been suggested 
 that " when" should be ' where' in this passage ; but inasmuch 
 as "where" is used in passages that seem to require 'when' 
 (see Note 14, Act ii., " Henry VIII."), so here it may be that 
 ' when ' is used in a passage that might ordinarily have ' where ' 
 
 53. A fool of thee. Here "of" is used where 'in' is 
 generally employed. The context of the passage referred to in 
 Note 22, Act v., " All's Well," affords a similar instance : " We 
 lost a jewel of her." 
 
 54. A caitiff. ' A wretch,' ' a miserable creature.' See 
 Note 24, Act ii., " Measure for Measure." 
 
 55. Wluitl a knave tool Timon has already called Ape- 
 mantus "a fool," and now exclaims, ' What ! a knave as well as 
 a fool ? ' He means that if he came merely to vex him from an 
 idle habit of purposeless scoffing, it was the act of a fool ; but 
 since he comes to vex him for the pleasure he takes in teasing, 
 he proves himself to be spiteful as well as foolish. 
 
 56. Is crown'd before. ' Has its desire sooner fulfilled.' 
 " Before " is here used in the sense of ' sooner, ' earlier.' The 
 whole of this portion of the speech is most condensedly and 
 elliptically constructed : and may be thus paraphrased : ' Willing 
 misery outlives uncertain grandeur, its desires are sooner and 
 more surely fulfilled : the one is ever craving, never satisfied ; 
 the other is always at the height of its wishes : the best of 
 states, without content, has a distracted and most wretched 
 existence, worse than the very worst of states, with content. 
 Thou shouldst desire to die, being unwillingly miserable.' 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 The one is filling still, never complete ; 
 The other, at high wish : best state, content- 
 lebS, 
 
 Hath a distracted and most wretched being, 
 
 Worse than the worst, content. 
 
 Tliou shouldst desire to die, being miserable. 
 
 Tim. Not by his breath^'' that is more miser- 
 able. 
 
 Thou art a slave, whom Fortune's tender arm 
 With favour never clasp'd ; but bred a dog. 
 Hadst thou, like us from our first swath,^" pro- 
 ceeded 
 
 The sweet degrees that this brief world affords 
 To such as m.ay the passive drugs*^ of it 
 Freely command, thou wouldst have plung'd thy- 
 self 
 
 I n general riot ; melted down thy youth 
 In different beds of lust ; and never learn'd 
 The icy precepts of respect,^" but follow'd 
 The sugar'd game before thee. But myself, 
 Who had the world as my confectionary ; 
 The mouths, tlie tongues,''' the eyes, and hearts of 
 men 
 
 At duty, more than I could frame employ- 
 ment ; 
 
 That nuinberless upon me stuck,^' as leaves 
 Do on the oak, have with one winter's brush 
 Fell''= from their bouglis, and left me open, 
 bare 
 
 For every storm that blows ; — I, to bear this, 
 That never knew but better, is some burden : 
 Thy nature did commence in sufferance, time 
 Hath made thee hard in't. Why shouldst thou 
 hate men ? 
 
 They never tiatter'd thee : what hast thou given. 
 Poor rogue hereditary ? Hence, be gone ! — 
 If thou hadst not been born the worst of men. 
 Thou hadst been a knave and fiatterer.^^ 
 
 57. Breath. Here used for ' bidding ' Shakespeare uses 
 " breath " in a general sjnse, for that \\ hich is uttered ; as in 
 " Coriolanus" he repeatedly uses it for ' suffrage,' 'vote,' ' popular 
 testimony.' See the passage refeired to in Note 74, Act iv., 
 " Coriolanus." 
 
 58. From our first swath. Here used to express ' from our 
 infancy,' from the period when a new-born babe is first swathed. 
 
 59. Drugs. An old form of 'drudges ;' and here used because 
 a monosyllable suits the metre. 
 
 60. The icy precepts of respect. ' The cold dictates of a 
 regard to prudence.' Shakespeare elsewhere uses "respect'* 
 in this sense. See Note 28, Act ii., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 61. The mouilis, the tongues. "Who had," before "the 
 world " in the previous line, gives ' who had ' to be elliptically 
 understood as repeated before " the mouths." 
 
 62. More than I cou'.d frame employment. 'For' is here 
 elliptically understood after " employment." See Note 7 of the 
 present .'\ct. 
 
 63. That nuinberless upon me stuck. One of the com- 
 mentators complains that the "grammar of this passage is in 
 a hopeless state ;" the construction, neverthele-.s, is in accord- 
 ance with that Inconsecutiveness of diction which Shakespeare 
 introduces into some of his speeches, in order to mark the 
 tumultuous feeling of the utterer. See Note 56, Act i.. 
 
 Apem. Art thou proud yet ? 
 
 Tim. Ay, that I am not thee. 
 
 Apem. I, that 1 was 
 
 No prodigal. 
 
 Tim. I, that I am one now : 
 
 Were all the wealth I have shut up in thee, 
 I'd give thee leave to hang it. Get thee 
 gone. — 
 
 That the whole life of Athens were in this I^? 
 Thus would I eat it. [Eating a root. 
 
 Apem. Here ; I will mend thy feast. 
 
 {Offering him something. 
 Tim. I'irst mend my company,''^ take away 
 thyself 
 
 Apem. So I shall mend mine own, by the lack 
 of thuie. 
 
 Ti?n. 'lis not well mended so, it is but 
 botch'd ; 
 If not, I would it were. 
 Aptm. What wouldst thou have to Athens ? 
 Tim. T hee thither m a whirlwind. If thou 
 wilt. 
 
 Tell them there I have gold ; look, so 1 have. 
 
 Apem. Here is no use for gold. 
 Tim. The best and truest ; - 
 
 For here it sleeps, and does no hired harm. 
 Apem. Where ly'st o' nights, Timon ? 
 Tim. Under that's above me. 
 
 Where feed'st thoao' days, Apemantus ? 
 
 Apem. Where my stomach finds meat ; or, 
 ratlier, where I eat it. 
 
 Tim. Would poison were obedient, and knew 
 my mind ! 
 
 Apem. Where wouldst thou send it ? 
 
 Tim. To sauce thy dishes. 
 
 Apem. The middle of humanity thou never 
 knewest, but the extremity of both ends : when 
 thou wast in thy gilt and thy perfume, the)- mocked 
 
 "Richard III." Timon, moved by passionate indignation 
 against his conventionally cynical tormentor, and the remem- 
 brance of his faithless friends, pours oat his invective sentences 
 as they surge up in his mind, a torrent of disconnected wrath- 
 billows — one stream, but broken into innumerable roughnesses. 
 
 64. BrJtsh. Here, as elsewhere, used with more than ordi- 
 nary force of meaning, to express 'stormy sweep,' 'roughest 
 violence.' See Note 29, Act v., " Second Part Henry VI." 
 
 65. Felt. Used, by a grammatical licence, for ' fallen,* on 
 account of the metre, which here requires a monosyllable 
 
 66. If thou h.ulst 3Lot been born the worst of jnen, thou 
 hadst been a knave and fiatterer. One of Shakespeare's 
 sentences containing an apparent paradox and antithesis, but in 
 fact containing a profound truth. At the first glance it should 
 seem that being born the vilest of wretches would qualify a 
 man for being a knave and flatterer ; but the poet put into the 
 mouth of Timon the pungent verity that while one born a 
 gentleman might take to fawning, one so utterly vile takes to 
 railing, not to servility. 
 
 67. That the whole life of A tkens were in this ! ' Would ' is 
 elliptically understood before " that." See Note 56, Act i., 
 " Second Part Henry VI." 
 
 68. First mend my coinpany. The Folio prints 'thy' for 
 **my." ■ Rowe's correction. 
 
Act IV.] TIMON ■QF ATHENS. [Scene III. 
 
 thee for too much curiosity;*' in thy rags thou 
 knowest none, but art despised for the contrary. 
 There's a medlar for thee, eat it. 
 
 Tim. On what I hate I feed not. 
 
 Apem. Dost hate a medlar? 
 
 Tim. Ay, though it look like thee.'" 
 
 Apem. An thou hadst hated meddlers sooner, 
 thou shouldst have loved thyself better now. What 
 man didst thou ever knowunthrift that was beloved 
 after his means? 
 
 Tim. Who, without those means thou talkest 
 of, didst thou ever know beloved ? 
 
 Apetn. Myself. 
 
 Tim. I understand thee ; thou hadst some 
 means to keep a dog. 
 
 Apem. What things in the world canst thou 
 nearest compare to thy flatterers P 
 
 Tim. Women nearest ; but men, men are the 
 things themselves. What wouldst thou do with 
 the world, Apemantus, if it lay in thy power ? 
 
 Apem. Give it the beasts, to be rui of the 
 men. 
 
 Tim. Wouldst thou have thyself fall in the 
 confusion of men, and remain a beast with the 
 beasts ? 
 
 Apem. Ay, Timon. 
 
 Tim. A beastly ambition, which the gods grant 
 thee to attain to! If thou wert the lion, the fox 
 would beguile thee : if thou wert the lamb, the fox 
 would eat thee ; if thou wert the fox, the lion 
 would suspect thee, when, peradventure, thou wert 
 
 69. Too much curiosity. * Over-careful regard to luxurious 
 appointments,' ' fastidious refinement,' ' over-niceness,' ' squea- 
 mishness.' See Note 58, Act ii., "Third Part Henry VI." 
 
 70. Ay, though it look like thee. Another instance of the 
 peculiar mode in which Shakespeare uses the word "though." 
 Here it bears the sense of ' since,' ' if,' ' being that," ' inasmuch 
 as.' See Note 104, Act ii., "Twelfth Night ;" and Note 27, 
 Act ii., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 71. Wert thou tlie unicorn, pride, &'c. In allusion to the 
 account given of the unicorn, that in its furious pursuit of 
 its enemy, it strikes its horn into a tree ; and thereby itself 
 becomes an easy victim to its opponent. 
 
 72. German to- the lion. ' Akin to the lion.' See Note 206, 
 Act iv., "Winter's Tale." 
 
 73. The spots 0/ thy kindred ivcre jurors on thy life. 
 ' The spots which testify thy royal relationship would be the 
 means of condemning thee to lose thy life.' The lion being 
 named ' king of beasts,' is here supposed to be jealous of a 
 beast claiming to be of his race ; and, moreover, in heraldry, 
 the terms, ' lions leoparded,' ' and leopards maned,' show the sort 
 of kinship here inclusively referred to. They figure in old 
 arniorial bearings ; and, in the Royal shield of England, the 
 three lions were by some ancient heralds denominated three 
 leopards. 
 
 74. Remotion. . ' Removing to a distance,' ' removing far 
 away.' Shakespeare uses the wojxi again in "Lear," Act ii., 
 sc. 4 ; but there with a somewhat modified meaning. 
 
 75. Yonder comes a poet and a painter. Several of the 
 commentators, treating this as an announcement on the part 
 of Apemantus that he sees the poet and the painter approaching, 
 find fault with Shakespeare's dramatic arrangement in pre- 
 ceding their advent by that of the thieves and the steward. 
 Reed thinks it may arise " from the negligence of Shakespeare ;" 
 
 accused by the ass : if thou wert the ass, thy dulness 
 would torment thee ; and still thou livedst but as a 
 breakfast to the wolf : if thou wert the wolf, thy 
 greediness would afflict thee, and oft thou shouldst 
 hazard thy life for thy dinner: wert thou the uni- 
 corn, pride and wrath would confound thee,"' and 
 make thine own self the conquest of thy fury : wert 
 thou a bear, thou wouldst be killed by the horse : 
 wert thou a horse, thou wouldst be seized by the 
 leopard : wert thou a leopard, thou wert german to 
 the lion,'2 and the spots of thy kindred were jurors 
 on thy life -.''^ all thy safety were remotion,^* and 
 thy defence absence. What beast couldst thou be, 
 that were not subject to a beast? and what a beast 
 art thou already, that seest not thy loss in trans- 
 formation ! 
 
 Apem. If thou couldst please me with speaking 
 to me, thou mightst have hit upon it here: the 
 commonwealth of Athens is become a forest of 
 beasts. 
 
 Tim. How lias the ass broke the wall, that thou 
 art out of the city ? 
 
 Apem. Yonder comes a poet and a painter:'* 
 the plague of company light upon thee ! I will 
 fear to catch it, and give way : when I know not 
 what else to do, I'll see thee again. 
 
 Tim. When there is nothing living but thee, 
 thou shalt be welcome. I had rather be a beggar's 
 dog than Apemantus. 
 
 Apem. Thou art the cap"* of all the fools 
 alive. 
 
 while Malone accounts for it by saying that " Shakespeare was 
 not very attentive to these minute particulars." We think, how- 
 ever, that a much more likely solution of the difficulty than 
 imagining the most finished dramatist ever seen by the world to 
 be guilty of oversight lies in the probability that here "yonder" 
 is used for ' over there,' ' that place.' Apemantus has just been 
 speaking of "Athens," and Timon of the "city;" therefore 
 " yonder," probably, refers to Athens, and not to any spot 
 within view. Shakespeare very frequently uses the word 
 " yonder" in passages where the object spoken of is not seen by 
 ■ the speaker. For instance, in "Merry Wives," Act iv., sc. 2, 
 "He so takes on yonder with my husband;'' in the .same 
 play, Act v., sc. 5, " I came yonder at Eton ;" in " All's Well," 
 Act iv., sc. s, "Vender's my lord your son with a patch 
 of velvet 9n 's face ;" where, in each passage, the word yonder 
 : refers to a place not within sight. This makes us believe that in 
 : the present passage "yonder" refers to Athens, and is to 
 L be taken in the sense of ' yonder city.' It is not impossible 
 that, in Shakespeare's elliptical mode of using words, he may 
 ; allow 'from' to be understood here ; so that Apemantus may be 
 I meant to imply ' frnin yonder place are coming a poet and 
 I a painter.' He evidently knows their intention of coming, and 
 : here predicts it ; were he expecting it instantly, he would with- 
 draw at once, because he says he will " give way ;" but he 
 lingers, thereby showing that he means they are coming at some 
 , unspecified time. There is nothing in the word "comes" thi.t 
 makes against our idea of the meaning of this passage ; because 
 : "comes" is often used to express 'there comes,' or 'there is 
 t. coming.' "Comes" here also affords an instance of Shakc- 
 , speare's using the grammatical licence of a verb in the siiig\ilar 
 with a plural nominative. See Note i, Act v. of the present 
 
 • play- 
 
 76. Cap. Here used for ' chief.' 
 247 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Timon. Rascal thieves, 
 
 Here's gold. Act JV ^ceiielll. 
 
 Tim. Would thou wert clean enough to spit i 
 upon ! 
 
 Al>em. A plague on thee, thou art too bad to 
 
 curse ! 
 
 Thyt. All villains that do stand by thee are 
 pure. 
 
 Apem. There is no le))rosy but what Ihou 
 
 Fpeak'st. 
 Tim. If I name thee.— 
 I'll heat thee,?'" but I should infect my hands. 
 Ahem. I would my tongue could rot them 
 
 off! 
 
 Tim. Away, thou issue of a mangy dog ! 
 Choler does kill ine that thou art alive ; 
 1 swoon to see thee. 
 
 Af:rm. Would thou wouldst burst ! 
 
 Tnn. Away, 
 Thou tedious rogue ! I am sorry I shall lose 
 A stone by thee. [Tbroius a stone at him. 
 
 Al>em. Beast ! 
 
 Tim. Slave ! 
 
 Apem. Toad ! 
 
 Tim. Rogue, rogue, rogue ! 
 
 [Apemantus retreats backxvarcJ, as going. 
 I am sick of this false world ; and will love 
 naught 
 
 But even the mere necessities upon 't. 
 Then, Timon, presently prepare thy grave ; 
 Lie wl-.ere the light foam of the sea may beat 
 Thy grave-stone daily : make thine epitajih, 
 
 77. rU heat thee. " I'll " was. formerly sometimes used where See also the line referred to in Note 32, Act i. , "Midsummer 
 'I'd' is now employed. Sec Note 101, ko. i., "Coriolanu=. " Night's Dream.'' 
 
 248 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 That death in me at others' lives may laugh.^^ 
 [Looking on the gold.] Oh, thou sweet king- 
 killer, and dear divorce 
 'Twixt natural son and sire thou bright defiler 
 Of Hymen's purest bed ! thou valiant Mars ! 
 Thou ever young, fresh, lov'd, and delicate wooer, 
 Whose blush doth thaw the consecrated snow 
 That lies on Dian's lap ! thou visible god, 
 That solder'st close impossibilities,^'' 
 And mak'st them kiss ! that speak'st with every 
 tongue, 
 
 To every purpose ! Oh, thou touch of hearts ! 
 Think, thy slave man rebels ; and by thy virtue 
 Set them into confounding odds,*^ that beasts 
 May have the world in empire! 
 
 A pern. Would 'twere so ! — 
 
 But not till I am dead. — I'll say thou'st gold : 
 Thou wilt be throng'd to shortly. 
 
 Tim. Throng'd to ! 
 
 Apem. Ay. 
 
 T.-m. Thy back, I pr'ythee. 
 
 Apem. Live, and love thy misery ! 
 
 Tim. Long live so, and so die! \_Exit Ape- 
 MANTUS.] I am quit.— 
 More tilings like men ? — Eat, Timon, and abhor 
 them. 83 [Goes tonuards his Cave. 
 
 Enter Thiei-es. 
 First Thief. Where should he have this gold ? 
 It is some poor fragment, some slender ort of 
 his remainder: the mere want of gold, and the 
 falling-from of his friends, drove him into this 
 melancholy. 
 
 Sec. Thief. It is noised he hath a mass of 
 treasure. 
 
 78. Prepare thy grave . ... thy grave-stone .... thine 
 epitaph, that death in me at, This abrupt change of pro- 
 noun in ihe course of the same speech, and refen-ing to the same 
 person, is one of Shakespeare's peculiarities in style, for producing 
 effective impression. See Note 32, Act iii., "Richard II." In 
 the present passage, how finely it sei-ves to mark the deep 
 melancholy with which Tinion begins by apostrophising himself, 
 using " thy" and " thine," and then the sharp stab with which 
 he drives home to his own bosom the thought of death, actual 
 death, from sickness of the false world, by suddenly changing to 
 the more personal " me." A monosyllable of but two letters, 
 in the hands of a poet, becomes an instrument of might. 
 
 79. Son and sire. In the Folio ' sunne and fire.' Rowe's 
 
 80. Close impossibilities. One of Shakespeare's elliptical ex- 
 pressions, meaning ' those things that seem impossible to be 
 brought close together.' See Note 52, Act iii., " Romeo and 
 Juliet." 
 
 Zi. Touch. 'Touchstone,' ' test.' See Note 24, Act iii. 
 
 82. Thy slave man rebels ; and by thy virtue set them into, 
 it'c. Here "man" is treated as a noun of number, referred to 
 by the pronoun " them ;" and the passage affords another among 
 the numerous instances of Shakespeare's antithesising "man," 
 or " men," and " beasts." See Note 54, Act iii., " Romeo and 
 Juliet." 
 
 83. More things like men ?—Eat, Timon, and abhor them. 
 In the Folio these words are assigned to Apcmantus. Hanmer's 
 correction. 
 
 Third Thief. Let us make the assay upon him : 
 if he care not for 't, he will supply us easily ; if he 
 covetously reserve it, how shall 's get it ? 
 
 Sec. Thief. True ; for he bears it not about 
 him, 'tis hid. 
 
 First Thief. Is not this he ? 
 
 Thieves, Where ? 
 
 Sec. Thief 'Tis his description. 
 
 Third Thief. He ; I know him. 
 
 Thieves. Save thee, Timon. 
 
 Tim. [Advancing.] Now, thieves ? 
 
 Thieves. Soldiers, not thieves. 
 
 Tim. Both too ; and women's sons. 
 
 Thieves. We are not thieves, but men that 
 much do want. 
 
 Tim. Your greatest want is, you want much of 
 meat.'*'' 
 
 Why should you want ? Behold, the earth hath 
 roots ; 
 
 Within this mile break forth a hundred springs ; 
 The oaks bear mast, the briers scarlet hips; 
 The bounteous housewife, Nature, on each bush 
 Lays her full mess before you. Want ! why 
 want ? 
 
 First Thief, We cannot live on grass, on berries, 
 water. 
 
 As beasts and birds and fishes. 
 
 Tim. Nor on the beasts themselves, the birds, 
 and fishes ; 
 
 You must eat men.'' Yet thanks I must you 
 con,*7 
 
 That you are thieves profess'd ; that you work 
 not 
 
 In holier shapes: for there is boundless theft 
 In limited professions. Rascal thieves, 
 
 84. You want much of meat. The word "meat" in this 
 passage has been variously altered by various editors ; but it is 
 here used in its general sense of 'food,' and seems to us to 
 accord perfectly with the gist of Timon's discourse. 
 
 85. As beasts and birds and Jishes. ' As on beasts,' &c. ; ' as 
 we can live on beasts,' &c. ; or ' as we could live on beasts,' S:c. 
 Shakespeare often uses "as" with much force of ellipsis. See 
 Notts 50 and 53, Act v., " Winter's Tale." 
 
 86. V01C must eat men. 'You must needs eat men,' 'you 
 think it needful to eat men.' Shakespeare sometimes (see Note 
 36, Act i.) uses " must" in this way, and not with the ordinary 
 meaning of 'should' or 'ought to;' and also sometimes with 
 less of its usual sense of included necessity. For instance, when 
 Portia, in " Merchant of 'Venice," Act iv., sc. i, says, "Then 
 must the Jew be merciful," she uses the word " must" with less 
 meaning of enforcement than Shylock puts into it, when he 
 replies, " On what compulsion must I '?" She rather means, 
 ' Then it behoves the Jew to be merciful ;' while he sneeringly 
 asks, "What is there that should compel me to he so?" So 
 again, in " Coriolanus," in the sentence referred to in Note go. 
 Act iii. of that play, "Must all determine here?" the question 
 does not mean, ' Is it imperative that all must terminate here?' 
 It means, 'Shall all terminate here?' 'Is it agreed that all 
 shall conclude here ?* 
 
 87. Vet thanks I must you con. ' Yet I must render you 
 thanks,' 'Yet I acknowledge that my thanks are due to you.' 
 See Note 43, Act iv., "All's Well." 
 
 88. Limited professions. "Limited" is here and elsewhere 
 
 \C,l.. HI. 
 
 9'= 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 TIIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Here's gold. Go, suck the subtle blooii o' the 
 grape, 
 
 Till the high fever seethe your blood to froth, 
 And so scape bringing : trust not the physicim ; 
 His anti Jotes arc poison, and he slays 
 More than you rob : take uealth and lives to- 
 gether ; 
 
 Do viilajiy, do,*''' since ) ou )irotest to do 't, 
 Like u-orkmcn. I'll example ) ou with tliievcry ; 
 The sun's a thief, and with his great attraction 
 Robs the vast sea : the moon's an arrant thief, 
 And her pale fire she snatches from the sun : 
 The sea's a thief, whose liquid surge resolves 
 The moon into salt tears the earth's a thief, 
 That feeds and breeii-S by a composture stol'n 
 From general ex;reinent : c.ich thing's a thief : 
 The laws, }our curb and whip, in their rough 
 pou-er 
 
 Have uncheck'd theft. Love not yourselves ; 
 away ! 
 
 Rob one another; — there's more gold; — cut 
 throats ; 
 
 All that \ ou meet are thieves: to Athens go, 
 Break open shops ; nothing can you steal, 
 But thieves do lose it : steal not less" for this 
 I give you ; and gold confound you howsoe'er! 
 Amen ! [TiMON retires to his Cave. 
 
 Third Thief. He has almost charmed me from 
 my profession, by persuading me to it. 
 
 First Thief. 'Tis in the malice of mankind that 
 he thus advises us ; not to have us thrive in our 
 mystery 
 
 Sec. Thief. I'll believe him as an enemy, and 
 give over my trade. 
 
 First Thief. Let us first see peace in Athens : 
 there is no time so miserable but a man may be 
 true. '3 [Exeunt Thieves. 
 
 Enter Flavius. 
 
 Fla-v. Oh, you gods ! 
 Is yond' despis'd and ruinous man my lord ? 
 
 used by Shakespeare for ' appointed,' ' stated,' ' set.' See Note 12, 
 Act v., "Richard III." In the present passage, "limited pro- 
 fessions" is used in opposed connection with " thieves profess'd,' 
 and means the socially-appointed avocations of doctor, lawyer, 
 soldier, &c., in contradistinction to the wild calling adopted by 
 the thieves whom he is addressing. The immediately subse- 
 quent mention of " the physician," we think, shows tliis. 
 
 89. Do villany, do. The Fo'.ia prints ' Do villaine do. 
 
 90. Whose liquid surge resolves^ ^c. A poetical fancy that 
 the moon, in its influence upon the sea, is caused to shed tears 
 lli.-\t swell the main of waters. 
 
 91. Steal not less. The Folio omits " not " here. Inserted 
 by Rou e. 
 
 r,2. lilysteiy. 'Trade.' Sec Note i3, Act iv ," Measure for 
 Measure." 
 
 93. 'J'/icre is i:,t iiin,: so iiiiseyable hut n 7it:i!i may lie true. 
 One of Shai;cipcnre 3 cryst.a'li.^ei pie:.-^ <,f u A, spar'.clinj with 
 many-s;d=d m.-ii)inji It cin b; i.i'k-.-;i in the seii^e in wlii.h 
 wj thinkth.it this sturdy thief s.iys i' : ' The;-? is m i.mt sj 
 
 Full of decay and failing 'i Oh, monument 
 And wonder of good deeds evilly bestow'd ! 
 What an alteration of honour 
 Has desperate want made ! 
 What viler thing upon the earth than friends 
 Wiio can bring noblest minds to basest ends ! 
 How rarely''" does it meet with this tiine's guise, 
 When man was uish'd'-** to love his enemies! 
 Grant I may ever love, and rather woo 
 Those that would mischief me than those that 
 do!»6— 
 
 He hai caught me in his eye : I will present 
 My honest grief unto hiin ; and, as my lord. 
 Still serve him with my life. — My dearest master! 
 
 TIMO^^l comes Jrom his Cave. 
 Tim. Away ! what art thou ? 
 Flav. Have you forgot me, sir ? 
 
 Tim. Why dost ask that? I have forgot all 
 men ; 
 
 Then, if thou grant'st'' Ihou'rt a man, I have for- 
 got thee. 
 
 Flav. An honest poor servant of yours. 
 
 Tim. Then I know thee not. 
 I never had honest man about me, I ;'8 all 
 I kept were knaves, to serve in meat to villains. 
 
 Flav. The gods are witness. 
 Ne'er did poor steward wear a truer grief 
 For his undone lord than mine eyes for you. 
 
 Tim. What! dost thou weep? — come nearer; — 
 then I love thee, 
 Because thou art a woman, and disclaim'st 
 Flinty mankind ; whose eyes do never gi\ e 
 But thorough lust and laughter. Pity's sleeping : 
 Strange times, that weep with laughing, not with 
 weeping ! 
 
 Flav. I beg of you to know me, good my 
 lord, 
 
 To accept my grief, and, whilst this poor wealth 
 lasts, 
 
 To entertain ine as your steward still. 
 
 miserable but a man may be true to his adopted profession :' it 
 can be taken in the sense of ' there is no time so miserably late 
 but a man may turn honest' (the word " true " was often used in 
 the sense of ' honest :' see Note 40, Act iii., "Much Ado "j; or 
 it can be taken in the sense of ' there is no time so miserable 
 but a man may find consolation in being true to himself and to 
 
 94. Rarely. Here used for 'admirably,' 'choicely,' 'excel- 
 lently.' 
 
 95. Wish'd. 'Desired,' 'recommended,' 'enjoined.' See 
 Note 5, Act iii,, " Much Ado." 
 
 96. Rather woo those that would mischief me than those that 
 do. ' Rather woo those who own they would harm me if they 
 could than those who do injure me while professing friendship.' 
 Very elliptically expressed ; but the tenor of the whole speech 
 gives the sense to bo inferred in this condensed )ine. 
 
 97. Grant' St. Printed * grunt'st ' in the Folio. 
 
 9X / neiK'r h.iJ Itoiicsi lu in aliont tne, [. Example of the 
 re?:ate 1 " I" in a sentence, fjr e.Tiphatic effect. See Note 66, 
 I Ae;i:i., '^Rome^and Juliet." 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Tim. Had I a steuarJ 
 So true, so just, and now so comfortable ? 
 It almost turns my dangerous nature mild." 
 Let me behold thy face. Surely, this man 
 Was born of woman. — • 
 
 Forgive my general and exceptless rashness, 
 You perpetual-sober gods ! I do proclaim 
 One honest man, — mistake me not, — but one ; 
 No more, I pray, — and he's a steward. — 
 How fain would I have hated all mankind ! 
 And thou redeem'st thyself : but all, save thee, 
 I fell with curses. 
 
 Methinks thou art more honest now than wise ; 
 For, by oppressing and betraying me, 
 Thou mightst have sooner got another service : 
 For many so arrive at second masters. 
 Upon their first lord's neck. But tell me true 
 (For I must ever doubt, though ne'er so sure), 
 Is not thy kindness subtle, covetous, 
 if not a usuring kindness, and, as rich men deal 
 gifts, 
 
 Expecting in return twenty for one ? 
 Flav. No, my most worthy master; in whose 
 breast 
 
 Doubt and suspect, alas ! are plac'd too late : 
 You should have fear'd false times when you did 
 feast ; 
 
 Suspect still comes*"'' where an estate is least."'' 
 That which I show, Heaven knows, is merely''^'' 
 love. 
 
 99. // nlmost tiinis my dangeyous tiature inilii. The Folio 
 prints 'wilde' for "mild." Hanmer's correction, which we think 
 is proved to be right, not only by the immediate context and 
 purport of this whole speech, but by the preceding words, 
 "What ! dost thou weep?— come nearer ; — then I love thee," &c-, 
 all of which shovv's that Timon is softened and ndlder than he 
 was, not that he is wilder or more infuriated by the discovery 
 that Flaviui is true to him. He is touched by the honest 
 fellow's tears ; he feels that they arc genuine ; he acknowledges 
 his veritable worth ; he asks forgiveness of the gods for his own 
 "exceptless rashness," and utters the first gentle words that 
 have passed his lips since rushing from Athens. He feels that 
 he is giving way — that he is beconiing " almost " inild ; and, 
 accordingly, after the momentary yielding to better feelings, he 
 resumes his harshness, and bids the one " singly honest man" 
 
 Duty and zeal to your unmatched mind, 
 Care of your food and living ; and, believe it. 
 My most honour'd lord. 
 For any benefit that points to me, 
 'Either in hope or present, I'd exchange 
 For this one wish, — that you had power and 
 wealth 
 
 To requite me, by making rich yourself. 
 
 Tim. Look thee, 'tis so ! — Thou singly honest 
 man. 
 
 Here, take : — the gods, out of my misery, 
 Have sent thee treasure. Go, live rich and 
 happy; 
 
 But thus condition'd : — thou shalt build from 
 men ;'"' 
 
 Hate all, curse all ; show charity to none ; 
 But let the famish'd flesh slide from the bone, 
 Ere thou relieve the beggar : give to dogs 
 What thou deny'st to men ; let prisons swallow 
 'ein, 
 
 Debts wither 'em to notliing : be men like blasted 
 woods, 
 
 And may diseases lick up their false bloods! 
 And so, farewell, and thrive. 
 
 Flan). Oh, let me stay, 
 
 And comfort you, my master. 
 
 Tim. If thou hat'st curses. 
 
 Stay not; fly, whilst thou'rt bless'd and free: 
 Ne'er see thou man, and let me ne'er see thee. 
 
 [Exit Flavius. TiMON retires to his Ca^ve. 
 
 begone from his side : though, be it observed, with wishes for 
 his living " rich and happy," and desiring that he may " thrive" 
 —a kindliness which, if e.\-ceptional, is still a touch of mildness 
 and not additional wildness. 
 
 100. Doubi and susfect .... suspect still comes. "Sus- 
 pect" is here used for 'suspicion.' See Note 59, Act iii., 
 "Richard in." 
 
 iGi. Suspect still comes ivhere an estate is least. Hanmer 
 altered " where " to 'when' here; but see the remarks upon 
 these words in Note 52 of the present Act. 
 
 102. Merely. Here used for ' exclusively,' ' absolutely,' 
 ' genviinely.' See Note 27, Act iv., " .All's Well." 
 
 103. Thou shall build from men. Here "from" is used in 
 its sense of ' away ftom,' ' far from,' ' at a distance from.' Sec 
 Note 66, Act iv., " Richard III." 
 
Flavius. Oh, you gods ! 
 Is yond' despis'd and ruinous man my lord ? 
 Full of decay and failing? Act IF. Scene III. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene L 
 
 ACT V. 
 
 SCENE \.— The IVoods. Before Timon's Ca've. 
 
 Enter Poet and Painter; TiMON ^•a/ching them 
 from his Ca've. 
 
 Pain. As I took note of the place, it cannot 
 be far wliere he abides. 
 
 Poet. What's to be thought of him? does the 
 rumour hold for true, that he's so full of gold ? 
 
 Pain. Certain : Alcibiades reports it ; Phrynia 
 and Timandra had gold of him : he likewise en- 
 riched poor straggling soldiers* with great quantity ; 
 'tis said he gave unto his steward a mighty sum. 
 
 Poet. Then this breaking of his has been but a 
 try for his friends. 
 
 Pain. Nothing else: you shall see him, a palm 
 in Athens again, and flourish with, the highest. 
 Therefore 'tis not amiss we tender our loves to 
 him, in this supposed distress of his : it will show 
 honestly in us ; and is very likely to load our 
 purposes with what they travail for, if it be a 
 just and true report that goes of his having.'^ 
 
 Poet. What have you now to present unto 
 him ? 
 
 Pain. Nothing at this time but my visitation : 
 only I will promise him an excellent piece. 
 
 Poet. I must serve him so too, — tell him of an 
 intent that's coming toward him. 
 
 Pain. Good as the best. Promising is the very 
 air o' the time : it opens the eyes of expectation : 
 performance is ever the duller for his act ; and, but 
 in the plainer and simpler kind of people, the deed 
 of saying^ is quite out of use. To promise is most 
 courtly and fashionable : performance is a kind of 
 will or testament which argues a great sickness in 
 his judgment that makes it. 
 
 I. Poor sti-agiling soldiers. This refers to the thieves, 
 who, in their interview with Timon, repudiated this opprobrious 
 title, and styled themselves "soldiers." The present speech, 
 we think, affords support to our view of the phrase, "Yonder 
 conies a poet and a painter," as explained in Note 75 of the 
 preceding Act, because here seems to be implied that the poet 
 and the painter had first heard Alcibiades* report of Timon's 
 possessing gold, with his having given some to Phrynia and 
 Timandra, and subsequently that he had given more to the 
 thieves, and a large sum to his steward. The former intelligence 
 they probably heard as a current rumour in Athens, which 
 occasioned their intention (referred to by Apemantus) of coming 
 to seek Timon ; while the latter piece of information, relative to 
 the thieves and Flavius, they apparently have learned on their 
 way to the woods, thus confirming their original intention. This 
 interpretation makes the division of the Acts here, and the 
 concomitant entrance of the poet and painter occur naturally ; 
 whereas, by following the commentators in believing Ape- 
 mantus' words, "Yonder comes," &c., to be indicative that the 
 poet and painter are at that time within view, the confusion is 
 created here which the commentators find in the present arrange- 
 ment of the successive interviews and commencemp"' of Act. 
 
 Tim. [Apart.] Excellent workman ! thou canst 
 not paint a man so bad as is thyself. 
 
 Poet. I am thinking what I shall say I have 
 provided for him : it must be a personating of him- 
 self; a satire against the softness of prosperity, 
 with a discovery of the infinite flatteries that follow 
 youth and opulency. 
 
 Tim. [Apart.] Must thou needs stand for a vil- 
 lain in thine own work ? wilt thou whip thine own 
 faults in other men ? Do so, I have gold for thee. 
 
 Poet. Nay, let's seek him : 
 Then do we sin against our own estate. 
 When we may profit meet, and come too late. 
 
 Pain. True ; 
 When the day serves, before black-corner'd night,'' 
 Find what thou want'st by free and ofl^er'd light. 
 Come. 
 
 Tim. [Apart.] Fll meet you at the turn.— What 
 a god's gold. 
 That he is worshipp'd in a baser temple 
 Than where swine feed ! 
 
 'Tis thou that rigg'st the barque, and plough'st the 
 foam ; 
 
 Settlest admired reverence in a slave ; 
 
 To thee be worship ! and thy saints for aye 
 
 Be crown'd with plagues, tiiat thee alone obey ! — 
 
 Fit I meet them. [Coming from his Cave. 
 
 Poet. Hail, worthy Timon ! 
 
 Pain. Our late noble master ! 
 
 Tim. Have I once liv'd to see two honest men ? 
 
 Poet. Sir, 
 Having often of your open bounty tasted, 
 Hearing you were retir'd, your friends fall'n off, 
 Whose tliankless natures — oh, abhorred spirits ! — 
 Not all the whips of heaven are large enougli 
 
 2. Having. ' Possession,' ' store of wealth.' See Note 34, 
 Act ii. of the present play. 
 
 3. The deed of saying. ' The act of doing that which has 
 been said will be done ;' ' the fulfilment of protestation.' 
 
 4. Black-cor7u;r'd night. The epithet "black-corner'd" has 
 been variously altered to ' black-coned,' ' black-crowned,' ' black 
 cover'd,' &c. ; but, remembering that Shakespe.are uses " corners " 
 peculiarly and poetically, to express 'remote places,' 'distant 
 quarters,' in such passages as "all corners else o' the earth," &c. 
 ("Tempest," Act i., sc. 2); "from the four rora^ri of the earth," 
 &c. (" Merchant of Venice," Act ii., sc. 7); "come the three 
 corners of -the world in arms" ("King John," Act v., sc. 7): 
 "winds of all the corners kiss'd your sails" (" Cymbeline," 
 Act ii., sc. 4),— so, in the present passage, we think it probable 
 that " black-corner'd night" is employed to convey the idea of 
 ' night, whose vast spaces are all dark ;' ' night, dark to its 
 remotest distances ;' ' night, dark In all its farthest quarters.' 
 
 5. Whose thankless natures .... not all the whips 
 of heaven, &'c. 'For' is understood before "whose," A 
 similar instance of ellipsis Is pointed out in Note 23, Act i,, 
 "Tempest;" and "for" Is also elllptically understood in the 
 passage remarked upon in Note 62, Act iv. of the present play. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 What ! to you, 
 
 Whose star-like nobleness gave life and influence 
 To their whole being! I am rapt, and cannot 
 cover 
 
 The monstrous bulk of this ingratitude 
 With any size of words. 
 
 Tim. Let it go naked, men may see 't the better : 
 Yon that are honest, by being what you are. 
 Make them best seen and known. 
 
 Pain. He and myself 
 
 Have travail'd in the great shower of your gifts. 
 And sweetly felt it. 
 
 Tim. Ay, you are honest men. 
 
 Pain. We are hither come to offer you our 
 service. 
 
 Tim. Most honest men ! Why, how shall I 
 requite you ? 
 Can you eat roots, and drink cold water ? no. 
 Both. What we can do, we'll do, to do you 
 service. 
 
 Tim. Ye're honest men : ye've heard that I 
 have gold ; 
 
 I am sure you have ; speak truth ; ye're honest 
 men. 
 
 Pain. So it is said, my noble lord : but therefore 
 Came not my friend nor I. 
 
 Tim. Good honest meu ! — Thou draw'st a 
 counterfeit* 
 Best in all Athens : thou'rt, indeed, the best ; 
 Tliou couiiteifeit'st most lively. 
 
 Pain. So, so, my lord. 
 
 Tim. E'en so, sir, as I say. — And, for thy 
 fiction. 
 
 Why, thy verse swells with stuff so fine and smooth,? 
 That thou art even natural in thine art.s— 
 But, for all this, my honest-natur'd friends, 
 I must needs say you have a little fault: 
 Marry, lis not monstrous in you ; neither wish I 
 
 You take much pains to mend. 
 
 Boih. Beseech your honour 
 
 To make it known to us. 
 
 Tim. You'll take it ill. 
 
 Boih. Most thankfully, my lord. 
 Tim. Will you, indeed ? 
 
 Both. Doubt it not, worthy lord. 
 Tim. There's never a one of you but trusts a 
 
 knave. 
 
 That mightily deceives you. 
 
 6 A counterfeit. The word is here plaj'ed on in the sense it 
 bo.e as a term for a portrait. See Note 31, Act iii., " Merchant 
 of Venice." 
 
 7. Fitte and smooth. Here ostensibly used in the sense 
 of • admirable and delicate";' but really usecj in the sense of 
 'cunning and flattering.' See Note 64, Act v., "All's Well," 
 and Note 20, Act iv. of the present play. 
 
 8. Thou art even natural in thine art. Superficially con- 
 veying the sense of ' thou art admirably natural in thine artistic 
 productions,' but subtly implying 'thou putt'st thine own false 
 flattering nature even into thine art.' 
 
 Both. Do we, my lord P 
 
 Tim. Ay, and you hear him cog, see him 
 dissemble. 
 
 Know his gross patchery,' love him, feed him. 
 Keep in your bosom : yet remain assur'd 
 That he's a made-up'" villain. 
 
 Pain. I know none such, my lord. 
 
 Poet. Nor I. 
 
 Tim. Look you, I love you well ; I'll give you 
 gold, 
 
 Rid me these \illains from your companies : 
 Hang them or stab them, drown them in a 
 draught," 
 
 Confound them l)y some course, and come to me, 
 I'll give you gold enough. 
 Both. Name them, my lord, let's know them. 
 Tim. You that way, and you this, — but two in 
 company : ''^ 
 Each man apart, all single and alone. 
 Yet an arch-villain keeps him company. 
 \To the Painter. ^ If, where thou art, two villains 
 shall not be. 
 
 Come not near him.— [To the Poet.] If thou 
 
 wouldst not reside 
 But where one villain is, then him abandon. — 
 Hence, pack ! there's gold, — ye caine for gold, ye 
 
 slaves : 
 
 [To the Painter.] You have done work for me,*' 
 
 there's payment : hence ! — 
 [To the Poet.] You are an alchemist, make gold of 
 
 that : — 
 Out, rascal dogs ! 
 
 [Beats them out, and then retires to his Cwve, 
 
 SCENE l\.—The Satne. 
 Enter Flavius and fwo Senators. 
 FlaTJ. It is in vain that you would speak with 
 Timon ; 
 For he is set so only to himself. 
 That nothing but himself, which looks like man, 
 Is friendly with him. 
 
 First Sen. Bring us to his cave : 
 
 It is our part, and promise to the Athenians, 
 To speak with Timon. 
 
 9. Patchery. 'Roguery,' ' vilLiny,' 'cozenage,' See Note 
 64, Act ii., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 10. ISIade up. ' Complete,' ' accomplished,' ' finished.' 
 
 w. A draught. A receptacle for ordure. See Note 11, 
 Act v., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 12. But tn.10 in company. Timon means that each man takes 
 with him his villain self, and thus becomes " two." 
 
 13. You have done loorli for me. The Folio prints ' You haue 
 worke for me.' Malone inserted " done," which we think is likely 
 toTjc right, because the painter has said, "He and myself havs 
 travail'd in the great shower of your gifts," and because the 
 metre of the line is improved by the added.monosyllable. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Sec. St-rt. At all times alike 
 
 Men are not still the same : 'twas time and griefs 
 That fram'd him thus : time, with his fairer hand, 
 Offering the fortunes of his former days, 
 The former man may make him. Bring us to 
 him. 
 
 And chance it as it may. 
 
 flanj. Here is his cave. — 
 
 Peace and content be here ! Lord Timon ! 
 Timon ! 
 
 Look out, and speak to friends ; the Athenians, 
 By two of their most reverend senate, greet thee : 
 Speak to them, noble Timon ! 
 
 Timon comes from his Cai/c. 
 Tim. Thou sun, that comfort'st, burn I— Speak, 
 and be hang'd : 
 For each true word, a blister! and each false 
 Be as a caut'rising" to the root o' the tongue. 
 Consuming it with speaking ! 
 
 First Sen. Worthy Timon, — 
 
 Tim. Of none but such as you, and you of 
 Timon. 
 
 Sec, Sen. The senators of Athens greet thee, 
 Timon. 
 
 Tim. I thank them ; and would send them back 
 the plague. 
 Could I but catch it for them. 
 
 First Sen. Oh, forget 
 
 What we are sorry for ourselves in thee. 
 The senators with one consent of love 
 Entreat thee back to Athens; who have thought 
 On sj)ecial dignities, which vacant lie 
 For thy best use and wearing. 
 
 Sec. Sen. They confess, 
 
 Toward thee, forgetfulness too general, gross: 
 Which now the public bo ly.^'' — which doth seldom 
 P^ay the recanter, — feeling in itself 
 A lack of Timon's aid, hath sense withal 
 Of its own fall,'' restraining aid to Timon ; 
 And send forth us, to make their sorrow'd render,'^ 
 Together with a recompense more fruitful 
 Than their offence can weigh dDwn by the dram ; 
 Ay, even such heaps and sums of love and wealth, 
 
 14. Cauf rising. The Folio prints this 'cantherizing.' Rowe's 
 correction. 
 
 15. lyinch now the public body. "Which" was changed 
 by Hanmer to 'and ' here, and by Capell to ' but.' We think, 
 however, that this passage may be one of those constructed 
 by Sliakespeare, wherein "which" is introduced inconse- 
 quently (see Note 27, Act ii., "Winter's Tale"), to serve the 
 purpose of marking perplexity in the speaker. Here the 
 senator is embarrassed, and trying to make a plausible excuse ; 
 while, in the parallel case of confused construction above pointed 
 out, Leontes is greatly agitated. In both instances the word 
 " which" imperfectly joins on with what follows. 
 
 16. Hath sense ivithal of its own, &=c. The Folio prints 
 'since' for"sensc" (Rowe's correction'); and 'it' for "its," 
 in accordance with the theu sometimes given form of that word. 
 See Note 57, Act ii , " Wmler's Tale." 
 
 As shall to thee blot out what wrongs were theirs. 
 And write in thee the figures of their love, 
 Ever to read them thine. 
 
 Tim. You witch me in it ; 
 
 Surprise me to the very brink of tears : 
 Lend me a fool's heart and a wom.an's eyes, 
 And I'll beweep these comforts, worthy senators. 
 
 First Sen. Therefore, so please thee to return 
 with us. 
 
 And of our Athens (thine and ours) to take 
 The captainsliip, thou shalt be met with thanks, 
 AUow'd'^ with absolute power, and thy good name 
 Live with autliority : so soon we shall drive back 
 Of Alcibiades the approaches wild ; 
 Who, like a boar too savage, doth root up 
 His country's peace. 
 
 Sec. Sen. And shakes his threat'ning sword 
 Against the walls of Athens. 
 
 First Sen. Therefore, Timon, — 
 
 Tim. Well, sir, I will ; therefore, I will, sir ; 
 thus : — 
 
 If Alcibiades kill my countrymen. 
 Let Alcibiades know this of Tiinon, 
 That Timon cares not. But if he sack fair 
 Athens, 
 
 And take our goodly ag5d men by the beards, 
 Giving our holy virgins to the stain 
 Of contumelious, beastly, mad-bi aiii'd wai ; 
 Then let him know, — and tell iiim Tiinon speaks 
 it, 
 
 In pity of our aged and our youth, , 
 I cannot choose but tell him, that I care not, 
 And let him take 't at worst ; for their knives care 
 not, 
 
 While you have throats to answ er : for myself, 
 
 There's not a whittle^" in th' unruly camp, 
 
 But I do prize it at my love,-' before 
 
 The reverend'st throat in Athens. So I leave you 
 
 To the protection of the prosperous gods. 
 
 As thieves to keepers. 
 
 Flat'. Sta)' not, all's in vain. 
 
 Tim. Why, I was writing of my epitaph ; 
 It will be seen to-morrow : my long sickness 
 Of health and living now begins to mend. 
 
 17. Fall. Changed by Hanmer to 'fault,' and by Capell to 
 'fail;' but it appears to ns that the original word gives here 
 the same sense, ' downfall,' which it bears twice afterwards in 
 
 I this piay. See Notes 32 and 37 of the present Act. The 
 meaning of the sentence appears to us to be, ' Feeling in itself 
 a need of Timon's assistance, hath perception of its own down- 
 fall in withholding assistance from him. 
 
 18. Tkeir sorrowed render. 'Their sorrowful acknowledg- 
 ment.' "Render" is sometimes used for 'avowal,' 'confes- 
 sion.' See Note 49, Act iv., "As You Like It." 
 
 ig. Allow d. Here used for 'privileged,' 'licensed.' Sec 
 Note 80, Act i., " Twelfth Night." 
 
 20. A whittle. 'A clasp-knife' 
 
 21. / do prize it at my love. " .4t" is here used idiomati- 
 cally, as in the passage pointed out in Note, 109, Act i., 
 " Henry V." 
 
 355 
 
Act v.] TIMON of ATHENS. [Scene II. 
 
 Tiiiion. You are an alchemist, make gold of that : — 
 Out, rascal dogs ! Act V. Scene I. 
 
 And nothing brings me all things. -2 Go, live still ; 
 Be Alcibiades your plague, you his, 
 And last so long enough ! 
 
 First Sen. We speak in vain. 
 
 Tim. But yet I love my country ; and am not 
 One that rejoices in the common wreck, 
 As common bruit^* doth put it. 
 
 First Sen. That's well spoke. 
 
 Tim. Commend me to my loving country- 
 men, — 
 
 First Sen. These words become your lips as 
 they pass through them. 
 
 22. J/y long sickness of health a7id living now begins to 
 mend, and nothing brings me all things. One of Shakespeare's 
 nobly-condensed declarations of faith. Timon, heart-sick at the 
 plethora of friendly professions in prosperity, and starvation of 
 friendship in adversity, feels his soul revive at the prospect of 
 death, which will bring him solution of life's mysteries, with 
 peace from its sufferings ; and which, in seeming to give him a 
 
 Sec. Sen. And enter in our ears like great 
 triiimphers 
 In their applauding gates. 
 
 Tim. Commend mc to theni ; 
 
 And tell them that, to ease them of their griefs. 
 Their fears of hostile strokes, their aches, losses. 
 Their pangs of love, with other incident throes 
 That nature's fragile vessel doth sustain 
 In life's uncertain voyage, I will some kindness do 
 them,— 
 
 I'll teach them to prevent wild Alcibiades' wrath. 
 
 blank, gives him infinite and immortal joys. This is expressed 
 with a concentration, yet comprehensiveness, that is the very 
 sublime of human writing ; for in those few words, "And nothing 
 brings me all things," are not only simimed up firmest and purest 
 trust, but in them are comprised, characteristically, epigrammatic 
 antithesis and witty succinctness. 
 
 Brnit. 'Report.' French ;' noise.' See Note ii, Act i., 
 " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
Act v.] 
 
 Solilier, Doad, sure; and this his grav«. Act /', Scene //-, 
 
 First Sen. I like this well ; he will return again. 
 I'im. I have a tree, which grows here in my 
 close, 
 
 That mine own use invites me to cut down. 
 And shortly must I fell it : tell my friends, 
 Tell Athens, in the sequence of degree. 
 From high to low throughout, that whoso please 
 To stop affliction, let him take his haste,^^ 
 
 24 Let him take his haste. The word *' haste" here has 
 been variously altered by various emeudators : but the parallel 
 passage in North's "Plutarch," whence Shakespeare evidently 
 took the ground-work for this play, will show the original word 
 to be the right one. It runs thus " I thought good to let you 
 all understand it, that before the figgc tree be cut downe, if any 
 of you be desperate, you may there in time go hang yourselves." 
 The expressions in Shakespeare's text, " and shortly must I 
 fell it," and "ere my tree hath felt the axe," show that he is 
 urging them to be speedy. To " take his haste," meaning to 
 ' make haste,' is an idiom of which we still use the parallel in a 
 reversed sense— to 'take his time,' meaning 'to use his leisure.' 
 Moreover, Shakespeare himself uses the idiomatic expression 
 
 Come hither, ere my tree hath felt tlie axe. 
 And hang himself : — I pray you, do my greeting. 
 Flcrv. Trouble him no farther; thus you still 
 
 shall find him. 
 Tim. Come not to me again : but say to Athens 
 Timon hath made his everlasting mansion 
 Upon the beached verge of the salt flood ; 
 Which once a day^s with his embossed"^ froth 
 
 "take his gait," in the last scene of "Midsummer Night's 
 Dream," to express ' immejiately take his way,' 'at once be 
 
 25. Which once a day. The fir>t Folio prints ' who ' for 
 "which" (corrected in the second Folio ; and inasmuch as 
 'who' was often used for "which," it might consistently have 
 been retained here. But, on the theory of typographical error, 
 stated in Note 47, Act iii., " Troilus and Cressida," we venture 
 to give "which" in the present passage, as we did in the one 
 there discussed. 
 
 26. Embossed. Here used for 'foaming,' 'bubbling.' A 
 'boss' was sometimes employed for a 'bubble' formerly. Seq 
 Note 12, Induction, " Taming of the Shrew." 
 
 257 
 
 vo;,. HI. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scenes III., IV. 
 
 The turbulent surge shall cover: thither come, 
 And let my grave-stone be your oracle. — ■ 
 Lips, let sour words go by, and language end : 
 What is amiss, plague and infection mend ! 
 Graves only be men's works, and death their gain! 
 Sun, hide thy beams ! Timon hath done his reign. 
 
 [Re/ires to his Cave, 
 
 First Sen. His discontents are unremovably 
 Coupled to nature. 
 
 Sec. Sen. Our hope in him is dead : let us return. 
 And strain what other means is left"'' unto us 
 In our dear peril. 
 
 First Sen. It requires swift foot. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE III. — The Walls of Athens. 
 
 Enter t%uo Senators and a Messenger. 
 
 First Sen. Thou hast painfully discover'd : are 
 his files 
 As full as thy report ? 
 
 Mess. I have spoke the least : 
 
 Besides, his expedition promises 
 Present approach. 
 
 Sec. Sen. We stand much hazard, if they bring 
 not Timon. 
 
 Mess. I met a courier, one mine ancient friend ; 2* 
 Whom, though in general part we w ere oppos'd 
 Yet our old love made a particular force, 
 
 sed 
 
 No 
 
 change 
 
 27. Strain what other jneaus is left. " Means " i: 
 as a noun singular. See Note 62, Act i., " Richard I 
 
 28. In our dear peril. " Dear" is used for ' 
 ^urgent,' 'threatened,' 'extreme,' 'intense.' See 
 Act i., "Richard III." 
 
 29. 0}ie mine ancient friend. Upton proposed 
 "one" to 'once;' but the phrase in the text is equivalent to 
 ' one of my ancient friends,' or ' an old friend of mine.' The 
 Italians have a precisely similar form of expression : ' un mio 
 antico amico.' 
 
 30. Whom, though in general part, Hanmer altered 
 "whom" to 'and,' while Singer substituted 'when.' It is 
 probable, however, that "whom" is here used not only in 
 reference to the " courier," but also to the " I " of the preceding 
 line — not only to the "friend," but to the speaker ; so that thus 
 "whom "would stand elliptically for ' between whom and my- 
 self.' It should be remembered that Shakespeare uses relative 
 pronouns very peculiarly, with great force of ellipsis, and often 
 in reference to an implied particular. 
 
 31. Our old love viade a particular force, and made us, &=c. 
 Here Hanmer and others change the first "made" into 'had ;' 
 but it appears to us that the repeated word is precisely in 
 Shakespeare's style. We take occasion to point out the present 
 passage as affording one of many wherein he opposes the two 
 expressions, "general" and " particular" (see, among several 
 others that may be cited, the passage referred to in Note 18, 
 Act iv., "Secnnd Part Henry IV.") ; and yet Mr. Singer altered 
 the words " in general," in the preceding line, to ' on several.' j 
 
 And made us^' speak like friends: — this man uas 
 riding 
 
 From Alcibiades to Timon's cave. 
 With letters of entreaty, which imported 
 His fellowship i' the cause against your city. 
 In part for his sake mov'd. 
 First Sen. Here come our brothers. 
 
 Enter Senators from Timon. 
 
 Jhird Sen. No talk of Timon, nothing of him 
 expect.— 
 
 The enemies' drum is heard, and fearful scouring 
 Doth choke the air with dust : in, and prepare : 
 Ours is the fall,''^ I fear; our foes the snare. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE IV.-The JVoods. TmoT^'s Can.- e, and 
 a tombstone seen. 
 
 Enter a Soldier, seeking TiMON. 
 
 Sold. By all description this should be the place. 
 Who's here? speak, ho! — No answer?— What is 
 this? 
 
 [Reads an inscription near the grair.^^ 
 
 Timon is dead. Who hath outstretch'd his span,^* — 
 Some beast, — read this ; '5 there does not live a man. 
 
 Dead, sure; and this his grave, 
 tomb 
 
 What's on this 
 
 32. Ours IS the fall. " Fall " her 
 and we think coincides with our vie 
 discus.-,ed in Note 17 of this Act. 
 
 33. Reads an inscription near t 
 direction here in the Folio. Mr. Sta 
 
 — " \_Reads\" which we adopted in our editions published in i860 
 and 1864, amplified as above. We thoroughly agree with that 
 gentleman in believing that the two lines of rhyming couplet 
 which follow were intended by the author as an inscription to be 
 read by the soldier, and not as formin.g a portion of his speech. 
 The two lines are in Timon's own style of bitter misanthropy ; 
 they announce his death, they bid his survivors read the epitaph, 
 they declare these survivors to be beasts only— a declaration 
 which tallies with his previous words in Act iv., sc. 3, " that 
 beasts may have the world in empire ! " The soldier is able to 
 read this inscription near the grave, because it is written in the 
 language of the country ; but he is unable to read what is on 
 the tomb, because it is insculptured in another (and to him un- 
 known) character. That this is intended, we think is indicated 
 by the words, "our captain hath in every figure skill," which 
 seem purposely put to draw attention to the point; for were 
 that which is on the tomb to be merely written in the ordinary 
 vernacular, it would hardly have been needful to lay so much 
 stress upon Alcibiades being " an ag'd ijiterpreter, though young 
 in days." That there should be two distinct inscriptions in two 
 distinct characters, is in strict accordance with an ancient ob- 
 servance in sepulchral inscriptions ; and this observance is twice 
 referred to in Miss Martineau's " Eastern Life, Present and 
 Past" (1850), at pages 107 and 252. 
 
 34. Timon is dead. Who hath outstretch' d his span. ' ' Who " 
 is here used in the sense of ' whoever,' or ' whosoever.' See 
 Note 77, Act. iv., " Second Part Henry VI." Those who accept 
 these two lines as part of the soldier's speech take "who" to refer 
 to Timon, and "outstretch'd" to mean 'passed beyond;' but 
 we think that " outstretch'd " here means ' outlived,' ' exceeded 
 I in length' — a less forced interpretation, as it appears to us. 
 There is no stage j 35. Some beast, — read this. Warburton, not being able to 
 ntroduced it thus make out the meaning of these words, as spoken by the soldier 
 =58 
 
 means ' downfall,' ' defeat,' 
 ' of the word in the passage 
 
Act v.] 
 
 I cannot read the character I'll take with wax : 
 Our captain hath in every figure skill, 
 An ag'd interpreter, though young in days: 
 Before proud Athens he's set down by this. 
 Whose fall the mark of his ambition is. 3? [Exit. 
 
 SCENE v.— Before the IFalls of Athens. 
 
 Trumpets sound. Enter Alcibiades and Forces. 
 
 Alc'ib. Sound to this coward and lascivious 
 town 
 
 Our terrible approach. \_A parley sounded. 
 
 Enter Senators on the Walls. 
 Till now you have gone on, and fiU'd the time 
 With all licentious measure, making your wills 
 The scope of justice ; till now, myself, and such 
 As slept within the shadow of your power, 
 Have wander'd with our Iravers'd arms,^^ and 
 breath'd 
 
 Our sufferance vainly : now the time is flush. 
 When crouching marrow, in the bearer strong. 
 Cries, of itself, " No more:" now breathless wrong 
 Shall sit and pant in your great chairs of ease ; 
 And pursy insolence shall break his wind 
 With fear and horrid flight. 
 
 First Sen. Noble and young, 
 
 When thy first griefs were but a mere conceit, 
 Ere thou hadst power, or we had cause of fear. 
 We sent to thee ; to give thy rages balm. 
 To wipe out our ingratitude with loves 
 Above their quantity. 
 
 Sec. Sen. So did we woo 
 
 Transformed Timon to our city's love 
 By humble message and by promis'd means : 
 We were not all unkind, nor all deserve 
 The common stroke of war. 
 
 — and certainly they afford no sense as part of his speech — says 
 in a note on this passage, " Some beast rwrf what ?" and then 
 alters "read" to *rear'd.' 
 
 36. IV/int^s on this iojnb I cannot read. The soldier here 
 shows that he has before been able to read what he beheld, but 
 that he is now unable to decipher something that there was 
 a bidding to read. 
 
 37. Whose fall the mark of his ambition is. "Fall" is 
 here again used in the sense of ' downfall,' ' ruin,' 'destruction.' 
 See Note 32 of this Act. 
 
 38. Travers'd arms. ' Arms crossed,' ' arms folded athwart 
 the chest in token of dejection ;' what Ariel poetically calls, 
 "in this sad knot." See Note 40, Act i., "Tempest. 
 
 39. By their hands. ' By the hands of those.' Elliptically 
 expressed ; and the " them," at the close of this speech, refers to 
 the persons thus elliptically implied. 
 
 40. From -whom you have rcceiv'd your griefs. The Folio 
 prints 'greefe' for "griefs" here. Theobald's correction; 
 shown to be right by the previous speech : " Noble and young, 
 when thy first ^rzV/y were," &c. 
 
 41. Nor are they living who, ir'c. One of Shakespeare's 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 First Sen. These walls of ours 
 
 Were not erected by their hands 3' from whom 
 You have receiv'd your griefs nor are they siicii, 
 That these great towers, trophies, and schools 
 
 should fall 
 For private faults in them. 
 
 Sec. Sen. Nor are they living 
 
 Who were the motives that you first went out 
 Shame, that they wanted cunning,^^ in excess. 
 Hath broke their hearts. March, noble lord, 
 Into our city with thy banners spread : 
 By decimation, and a tithed death 
 (If thy revenges hunger for that food, 
 Which nature loathes), take thou the destin'd 
 tenth ; 
 
 And by the hazard of the spotted die 
 Let die the spotted. 
 
 First Sen. All have not offended ; 
 
 For those that were, it is not square''-' to take. 
 On those that are, revenges :''^ crimes, like land>. 
 Are not inherited.''^ Then, dear countryman. 
 Bring in thy ranks, but leave without thy rage : 
 Spare thy Athenian cradle, and those kin 
 Which, in the bluster of thy wrath, must fall 
 With those that have offended : like a shepherd, 
 Approach the fold, and cull the infected forth, 
 But kill not all together. 
 
 Sec. Sen. What thou wilt, 
 
 Thou rather shalt enforce it with thy smile 
 Than hew to 't with thy sword. 
 
 First Sen. Set but thy foot 
 
 Against our rampir'd gates, and they shall ope; 
 So thou wilt send thy gentle heart before. 
 To say thou'lt enter friendly. 
 
 Sec. Sen. Throw thy glove, 
 
 Or any token of thine honour else, 
 That thou wilt use the wars as thy redress. 
 And not as our confusion, all thy powers 
 Shall make their harbour in our town, till we 
 Have seal'd thy full desire. 
 
 devices for producing the effect of dramatic long time. See 
 Note 18, Act iv. , " Romeo and Juliet." In the present instance, 
 by the introduction of this mention that those who refused 
 Alcibiades his demand in Act iii., sc. 5, are now dead, the 
 effect is produced of a sufficiently long period having elapsed to 
 allow of the incidents taking place concerning Timon's sojourn 
 in the woods, his life of gnawing wrath and fever of indignation, 
 his decay, and death. 
 
 42. Cnnning. Here used for 'wisdom,' 'judgment.' See 
 Note 2, Act iv., " Coriolanus." 
 
 43. Square. Here employed for ' according to due rule ;' 
 'just,' 'equitable.' 
 
 44. Revenges. The Folio prints ' revenge ;' but the metre 
 of the present line, as well as the word " revenges " in the pre- 
 vious speech, show that Steevens's correction is right here. 
 
 45. Crimes, like lands, are not inherited. Instance of trans- 
 posed construction, where the transposition almost gives the 
 effect of a contrary sense to the one intended. This sentence, 
 superficially viewed, gives the effect of 'crimes, in the same way 
 as lands, are not inherited ;' whereas, rightly viewed, it means 
 ' crimes are not inherited, as lands are.' 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 TIMON OF ATHENS. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 Alcib. Then there's my glove; 
 
 Descend/^ and open your uncharged''? ports : 
 Those enemies of Timon's/^ and mine own, 
 Whom you yourselves shall set out for reproof, 
 I'"al], and no more : and, — to atone'"* your fears 
 With my more noble meaning, — not a man 
 Shall pass his quarter, or offend the stream 
 Of regular justice in your city's bounds, 
 But shall be render'd''' to your public laws 
 At heaviest answer." 
 
 Both. 'Tis most nobly spoken. 
 
 Alcib. Descend, and keep your words. 
 
 [The Senators descend, and open the gates. 
 
 Enter a Soldier. 
 Sold. My noble general, Timon is dead ; 
 Entomb'd upon the very hem o' the sea ; 
 And on his grave-stone this insculpture, which 
 With wax I brought away, whose soft impression 
 Interprets for my poor ignorance.. 
 
 45. Descend. The first Folio prints ' defend ' for " descend ;" 
 corrected In the second Folio. 
 
 47. Uncharged. ' Unattacked,' ' left without being ch.irged 
 by my troops.' 
 
 48, Those enemies of Timoii's. Here ' let ' is cUiptically 
 iniderstood before " those enemies." For a similar form of con- 
 strnction see Note 25, 'Act ill., " Coriolanus." See also Note 31, 
 .'\ct i. of the present play. 
 
 4;. Atone. Here, and elsewhere, used in the sense of 
 ' reconcile.' See Note 33, Act i., " Richard II." 
 
 55. Render d. The Folio prints 'remedied' for " render'd " 
 here. This correction has been ascribed to Mason ; but the 
 Cambridge Editors point out that it was originally suggested by 
 Lord Chedworth. 
 
 51. At heaviest answer. A somewhat similar form of 
 phr.ise is. pointed out in Note 74, Act ii., " Henry V." 
 
 52. Here lies a wretched, Sp'c. That which here forms one 
 epitaph is a combination of two distinct epitaphs, cited in 
 North's "Plutarch" as being the first couplet composed by 
 Timon himself, the second by the poet Callimachus. This 
 •iccounts for the discrepancy between ".seek not my name" in 
 the first couplet, and " here lie I, Timon," in the second. It 
 i;.as if Shakespeare had jotted down both the epitaphs from 
 North's "Plutarch" in his own original MS. of this play, 
 intending to mould a third upon these two. A small point seems 
 10 corroborate the idea of our author's having transcribed the 
 brace of couplets with a view to altering them ; and this is, that 
 t'.is word " caitiffs," as occurring in Shakespeare's play, is 
 
 Alcib. \Reads.'\ 
 
 Here lies a wretched corse, of wretched soul bereft ; ^2 
 
 Seek not my name : a plague consume you wicked caitiffs left ! 
 
 Here lie I, Timon ; who, alive, all living men did hate ; 
 
 Pass by, and curse thy fill ; but pass, and stay not here thy gait. 
 
 These well express in thee thy latter spirits : 
 Though thou abhorr'dst in us our human griefs, 
 Scorn'dst our brain's flow, and those our droplets 
 which 
 
 From niggard nature fall, yet rich conceit 
 Taught thee to make vast Neptune weep for 
 aye 
 
 On thy low grave, on faults forgiven. Dead 
 Is noble Timon : of whose memory 
 Hereafter more. — Bring me into your city, 
 And I will use the olive with my sword : 
 Make war breed peace ; make peace stint^^ ; 
 make each 
 
 Prescribe to other, as each other's leech. — - 
 
 Let our drums strike. \Exeunt . 
 
 'wretches' in the parallel passage of North's "Plutarch." 
 Moreover,' this word " caitiffs ".seems to have been suggested 
 by the version of the epitaph, as given in Painter's " Palace 
 of Pleasure," thus : — 
 
 "My wretched catife dayes expired now and past, 
 
 My carren corps intered here is fast in grounde. 
 In waltering waves of swelling sea by surges cast : 
 
 My name if thou desire, the gods thee doe confounde." 
 We are confirmed in our idea that Shakespeare meant to write 
 an almost wholly different epitaph from the one that here 
 appears to be a hasty sketch framed upon those already written, 
 by Timon's closing words to the senators : " Thither come, and 
 let my grave-stone be your oracle." We imagine that the 
 author intended to have composed an epitaph for Timon that 
 should have been oracular in its moral monition, in its sen- 
 tentious Warning ; whereas the four disjointed lines here in- 
 serted contain nothing of the kind. All this adds probability to 
 the conjecture we stated in our opening Note— that Shake- 
 speare's "Timon of Athens" was one of his productions that 
 he wrote in a fit of temporary depression, and never cared 
 to re-read or to polish. There is a possibility that he never saw 
 it put upon the stage, and that it was never acted during 
 his lifetime ; for there is no record of its performance anterior to 
 its publication in the 1623 Folio. 
 
 53. Stint. 'Stop,' 'put a period to.' See Note 53, Act i., 
 " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 54. Leech. An old term for a 'physician.' 
 
 2bo 
 
DRAMATIS PERSONS. 
 
 Triumvirs after the Death of Julius Caesar, 
 
 Conspirators against Julius Caesar. 
 
 Julius C^sar. 
 octavius c^sar, 
 Marcus Antonius, 
 M. ^MiL. Lepidus, 
 Cicero, 
 
 PUBLIUS, 
 
 PopiLius Lena, 
 Marcus Brutus, 
 Cassius, 
 Casca, 
 Trebonius, 
 
 LiGARlUS, 
 
 Decius Brutus, 
 Metellus Cimber, 
 
 CiNNA, 
 
 Flavius and Marullus, Tribunes. 
 Artemidorus, a Sophist of Cnidos. 
 A Soothsayer. 
 
 Cinna, a Poet. Another Poet. 
 LuciLius, ( 
 Titinius, j 
 Messala, 
 Young Cato, 
 volumnius, 
 Varro, - 
 Clitus, 
 Claudius, 
 Stra to, 
 Lucius, 
 Dardanius, 
 PiNDARus, Servant to Cassius, 
 
 Calphurnia, Wife to Caesar, 
 Portia, Wife to Brutus. 
 
 Senators, Citizens, Guards, Attendants, &c, 
 
 ScRm— During a great part of the Play, at Rome ; afternuards 
 at Sardis, and near Philippi. 
 
 ds to Brutus and Cassius. 
 
 Servants to Brutus. 
 
JULIUS C^SAR/ 
 
 ACT I 
 
 SCENE I.— Rome. A Street. 
 
 Enter Flavius, Marullus,'- and a throng of 
 Citizens. 
 
 Flanj. Hence ! home, you idle creatures, get 
 you hoiiie : 
 Is this a holiday ? what ! know you not, 
 Being mechanical, you ought not walk * 
 Upon a labouring day without the sign 
 Of your profession ? — Speak, what trade art thou ? 
 
 I. The first known printed copy of Julius C^sar is the 
 one in the 1623 Folio ; where it is given with perhaps fewer 
 typographical errors than any of the plays in that volume. 
 From this it should appear that the manuscript whence it was 
 taken was written with great clearness and legibility. ,The 
 date of its composition has not been ascertained : Malone at- 
 tempted to trace this to 1607 ; but Mr. Collier, by a series of 
 quotations from a certain pas.sage in Drayton's " Barons' Wars," 
 bearing marked resemblance to one in Shakespeare's " Julius 
 Cajsar," has almost established the circumstance that the latter 
 was probably written before 1C03. The demonstration of the 
 argument consists in showing that Drayton's " Barons' Wars " 
 first appeared in 1596, quarto, under the title of " Morti- 
 meriados," and without the passage in question ; that when 
 Drayton afterwards changed the title of his historical poem 
 from " Mortimeriados" to "The Barons' Wars," re-modelling 
 the work, and publishing an octavo edition in 1603, the passage 
 containing similarity to the one in "Julius Caesar" first ap- 
 peared (as if he had heard or seen Shakespeare's tragedy on 
 that subject before that date); that in the printed copies of 
 Drayton's " Barons' Wars," which followed successively in 
 1605, i6o3, i6to, and 1613, the passage remained unaltered 
 from the version of 1603 ; but that in 1619, after Shakespeare's 
 death, and before his "Julius Caesar" was printed, Drayton 
 re-published the "Barons' Wars," containing the passage in 
 question, with a still closer resemblance to the one in the 
 dramatist's production. This leads to the conclusion that 
 Drayton borrowed the expressions in his introduced passage 
 from that by Shakespeare and also goes far to establish the 
 likelihood that the latter wrote his "Julius Caesar" before the 
 year 1GQ3. We subjoin the passages above referred to, that 
 our readers may perceive their points of similarity. In " Julius 
 Caesar," Act v. sc. 5 : — 
 
 First Cit. Why, sir, a carpenter. 
 Mar. Where is thy leather apron and thy 
 rule ? 
 
 What dost thou with thy best apparel on ? — ■ 
 You, sir, what trade are you ? 
 
 Sec. Cit. Truly, sir, in respect of a fine w orkman, 
 I am but, as you would say, a cobbler. 
 
 Mar. But what trade art thou f answer me 
 directly. 
 
 Sec. Cit. A trade, sir, that, I hope, I may use 
 
 " His life was gentle ; and t/it' elements 
 So mix'd in him, that Nature might sta 
 And say to all the world, ' This was a >i 
 
 In Drayton's " Barons' Wars," 1603 
 
 "Such one he was, of him we boldly say, 
 In whose rich soul all sovereign power 
 In whom in peace the elements all lay 
 
 So mix^d, as none could sovereignty ii 
 As all did govern, yet all did obey : 
 His lively temper was so absolute 
 That 't seem'd when Heaven his model first began 
 In him it show'd perfection i)i a vian/' 
 Barons' Wars," 1C19 
 a man, then boldly dare to say, 
 
 lid suit. 
 
 In Dr 
 
 vhos 
 
 the 1 
 
 I did '. 
 
 In whom so : 
 
 That none 
 As all did govern, 
 
 He of a temper 
 
 r'rf the elements did lay, 
 one could sovereignty impute ; 
 n, so did all obey : 
 absolute, 
 
 As th'at it seem'd, when Nature him began, 
 She meant to show all that might be in man" 
 Shakespeare has evidently derived the main materials for his 
 "Julius Caesar" from Sir Thomas North's "Plutarch;" as 
 the incidents there related are followed with accuracy, yet 
 dramatised with that ability and grandeur which mark all 
 Shakespeare's adoptions from history. 
 
 2. Marullus. The Folio gives this name ' Marellus ;' but 
 Theobald, in accordance with Plutarch, first gave it properly, 
 " Marullus." 
 
 3. You ought not walk. 'To' is elliptically understood 
 between "not" and " walk." 
 
Act 1.] 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 with a safe conscience ; which is, indeed, sir, a 
 mender of bad soles. 
 
 Mar. What trade, thou knave ?■* thou naughty 
 knave, what trade ? 
 
 Sec. Cit. Nay, I beseech you, sir, be not out 
 with me : yet, if you be out, sir,^ I can mend 
 you. 
 
 Mar. What meanest thou by that? mend me, 
 thou saucy fellow I 
 
 Sec. Cit. Why, sir, cobble you. 
 
 Flav. Thou art a cobbler, art thou ? 
 
 Sec. Cit. Truly, sir, all that 1 live by is with the 
 awl : I meddle with no tradesman's matters, nor 
 women's matters, but with awl. I am, indeed, sir, 
 a surgeon to old shoes ; when they are in great 
 danger, I i-e-cover them. As proper^ men as 
 ever trod upon neat's-leather have gone upon my 
 handiwork. 
 
 Flav. But wherefore art not in thy shop to- 
 day ? 
 
 Why dost thou lead these men about the 
 streets ? 
 
 Sec. Cit. Truly, sir, to wear out their shoes, to 
 get myself into more work. But, indeed, sir, we 
 make holiday, to see Cssar, and to rejoice in his 
 triumph.^ 
 
 Ma;-. Wherefore rejoice ? What conquest brings 
 
 he home ? 
 What tributaries follow him to Rome, 
 To grace in captive bonds his chariot-wheels ? 
 You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless 
 
 things ! 
 
 Oh, you hard hearts, you cruel men of Rome, 
 Knew you not Pompey ? Many a time and 
 oV t 8 
 
 Have you climb'd up to walls and battlements. 
 To towers and windows, yea, to chimney-tops, 
 Your infants in your arms, and there have sat 
 The live-long day, with patient expectation. 
 
 4. }F/ia( trade, tlwii knave ? This speech has the prefix 
 ' Fla.' in the FoHo ; but we think that it is evidently MaruUus 
 who speaks here, who is replied to by the cobbler, and who then 
 retorts, " Mend me, thou saucy fellow ! " Capell's correction. 
 
 5. Be not out ivith jue : yet, if you be out, sir. " Out " is 
 here elliptically and facetiously used : to express, first, ' out of 
 temper;' secondly, ' out at toes.' 
 
 6. Proper. ' Comely,' ' good-looking,' ' handsome.' See 
 Note I, Act iv., "Two Gentlemen of Verona." 
 
 7. Rejoice in his triitmph. This was in celebration of his 
 having defeated the sons of Pompey at the battle of Munda, in 
 Spain ; and of his having been appointed Consul 'for the ne.\t 
 ten years, and Dictator for life. 
 
 8. Many a time and o/t. One of those pleonastic phrases 
 in current use, like ' many and many,' 'often and often,' 'again 
 and .again,' 'for ever and ever,' 'how or which way.' See 
 Note 66, Act ii., "Richard II." With slight variations, the 
 present phrase is found in other plays of Shakespeare, and 
 precisely as here in "Merchant of Venice," Act i., sc. 3. 
 
 9. Pass. Here elliptically used for 'pass along,' or 'pass 
 through.' 
 
 10. Tiber trembled nnderneath her banks. Rivers are 
 generally typified by masculine personification, though some- 
 
 To see great Pompey pass' the streets of 
 Rome ; 
 
 And when you saw his chariot but appear, 
 
 Have you not made a universal shout. 
 
 That Tiber trembled underneath her banks,'" 
 
 To hear the replication of your sounds 
 
 Made in her concave shores ? 
 
 And do you now put on your best attire ? 
 
 And do you now cull out a holiday P 
 
 And do you now strew flowers in his way. 
 
 That comes in triumph over Pompey's blood 
 
 Be gone ! 
 
 Run to your houses, fill upon your knees. 
 Pray to the gods to intermit the plague 
 That needs must light on this ingratitude. 
 
 Flav. Go, go, good countrymen, and, for this 
 fi^ult, 
 
 Assemble all the poor men of your sort; 
 Draw thein to Til)er banks, and weep your 
 tears 
 
 Into the channel, till the lowest stream 
 Do kiss the most exalted sliores of all. 
 
 [Exeunt Citizens. 
 See, whe'r their basest inetal be not mov'd ; 
 They vanish tongue-tied in their guiltiness. 
 Go you down that way towards the Capitol ; 
 This way will I : disrobe the images. 
 If you do find them deck'd with ceremonies.'- 
 
 Mar. May we do so ? 
 You know it is the feast of Lupercal.'' 
 
 Fla'v. It is no matter ; let no linages _ 
 Be hung with Cassar's trophies.'* I'll about, 
 And drive away the vulg.ar from the streets : 
 So do you too, where you perceive them thick. 
 These growing feathers pluck'd from Csesar's 
 wing, 
 
 Will make him fly an ordinary pitch ; 
 
 Who else would soar above the view of men, 
 
 And keep us all in servile fearfulness. [Exeunt. 
 
 times, as here, by female personification. In the present 
 passage Shakespeare probably chose to use "her" in refer- 
 ence to "Tiber," on account of "his" having been so recently 
 used in reference to " Pompey." 
 
 ir. Pompey's blood. 'Pompey's sons;' the elder of whom. 
 Cnicus Pompey, was beheaded after the battle of Munda. 
 
 12. Ceremonies. ' Ceremonial adornments ;' which we find, 
 by a passage in the ne.\t scene, to have consisted of "scarfs," 
 or coloured draperies. 
 
 13. The feast 0/ Lnpercal. The " Lupercal" was an en- 
 closure on the Palatine hill, dedicated to the celebration of a 
 festival in honour of the god Pan, which was held each 
 February. This festival was called Lupercalia ; and its priests, 
 Luperci. The origin of the name has been traced to ' Lj'caeus,' 
 one of the titles given to Pan, from the Greek term for ' wolf 
 as he was the patron god of shepherds, and protected the flocks 
 from wolves. 
 
 14. It is no matter ; let no images, &^c. This reply show^ 
 that Marullus's scruple, as to whether they might "disrobe the 
 images" adorned in celebration of a religious festival, is met by 
 Flavius's hint that the ostensibly sacred ornaments are really 
 made the means of celebrating Caesar's triumph ; and as such, 
 they had better be plucked aw.ay. 
 
Act I.} 
 
 SCENE II.-RoME. A Public Place. 
 
 Enter, in procession, iviih music, C^sar ; Ati- 
 TOyiY, for the course;^' C ALPHURNIA,^^ PoRTIA, 
 
 Decius,'? Cicero, Brutus, Cassius, and 
 Casca ; a great croivd folloioirtg, among 
 ihetn a Soothsaver. 
 
 Cas. Calphuniin,- 
 Casca, 
 
 Peace, ho ! 
 
 Csesar speaks. 
 [Ml/sic ceases. 
 
 15. Au/oiiy, for the course. Marc Antony \vi^ chief of tlie 
 Julian Luperci ; a company of flamens who were on this occa- 
 sion raised to equal dignity with the other priests of Pan, whose 
 duty it was at the feast of Lupercalia to run up and down the 
 streets, wearing nothing but a narrow girdle around them, and 
 waving a thong of goat's hide. He is therefore here repre- 
 sented as prepared for running this sacerdotal course. 
 
 16. Catphurnia. This name is spelt thus in pages 654 and 718 
 of our copy of Sir Thomas North's " Plutarch" 1 edition, 161-2/ ; 
 and spelt " Calpurnia" in pages 739 and 740 of the same 
 volume. We state this because there has been some difference 
 
 Cces. Calphurnia, — 
 
 Cat. Here, iny lord. 
 
 Cas. Stand you directly in .\ntonius' way, 
 When he doth run his course. — Antonius. 
 
 Ant. Cssar, my lord ? 
 
 Cces. Forget not, in your speed, Antonius, 
 To touch Calphurnia ; for our elders say, 
 The barren, touched in this holy chase. 
 Shake off their sterile curse.'* 
 
 Ant. I shall remember ; 
 
 of opinion as to the correct orthography of the name. In the 
 Folio it is given " Calphurnia ;" therefore it is probable that 
 Shakespeare chose that form. 
 
 17. Decius. In North's " Plutarch" this name is thus given ; 
 but it was, in reality, 'Decimus.' Decimus Brutus was the 
 man who possessed that share of Csesar's friendship which is 
 in this play supposed to subsist between the dictator and Marcus 
 Brutus. Decimus accepted favours and honours from his patron, 
 Julius Caesar, which the more disinterested spirit of Marcus 
 would have made him shrink from receiving. 
 
 18. Tlie barj-en, touched in this holy chase, shake off their 
 
 VOL. III. 
 
 300 
 
Act I.] 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR. 
 
 [Scene II., 
 
 When Caesar says, "Do this/' it is perform'd. 
 Cees. Set on ; and leave no ceremony out. 
 
 [Music. 
 
 Sooth. Cassar ! 
 
 Cas. Ha ! who calls ? 
 
 Casca. Bid every noise be still : — peace yet 
 again ! . \_Music ceases. 
 
 Cas. Who is it in the press that calls on me ? 
 I hear a tongue, shriller than all the music. 
 Cry, "Caesar." Speak! Ca3sar is turn'd to hear. 
 Sooth. Beware the ides of March. 
 des. What man is that ? 
 
 Bru. A soothsayer bids you beware the ides oF 
 March. 
 
 Cces. Set him before me ; let me see his face. 
 Cas. Fellow, come from the throng ; look upon 
 CsBsar. 
 
 Caes. What say'si thou to me now ? speak once 
 again. 
 
 Sooth. Beware the ides of March. 
 
 Cces. He is a dreamer ; let us leave him : — pass. 
 
 \Sennet. Exeunt all except Brutus 
 and Cassius. 
 Cas. Will you go see the order of the course 
 Bru. Not J. 
 Cas. I pray you, do, 
 
 Bru. I am not gamesome : I do lack some 
 part 
 
 Of that quick spirit that is in Antony. 
 Let me not hinder, Cassias, your desires ; 
 I'll leave you. 
 
 Cas. Brutus, I do observe you now of late : 
 I have not from your eyes that gentleness 
 And show of love as I was wont to have : 
 You bear too stubborn and too strange a hand 
 Over your friend that loves you. 
 
 Bru. Cassius, 
 Be not deceiv'd : if I have veil'd my look, 
 I turn the trouble of my countenance 
 Merely upon myself Vexed I am. 
 Of late, with passions of some difference. 
 Conceptions only proper to myself. 
 Which give some soil, perhaps, to my behaviours; 21 
 
 sterile curse. The point of heathen belief here recorded is 
 derived from North's " Plutarch." 
 
 19. Beware the ides of March. The Ides (Idus) of the 
 Roman Kalendar fell on the isth of March, May, July, and 
 October; and on the 13th of the other eight months. The 
 feast of Luperc.il was celebrated on the 13th (or Ides) of 
 February ; and on the present occasion in the year E.G. 44. 
 
 20. Strange. ' Unfamiliar,' ' alien ; ' more like the manner 
 of a stranger than of a friend. 
 
 21. Mj beliaviours. One of many words that were in 
 Shakespeare's time used in the plural, which are now used in 
 the singular. See Note 2, Act iv., " Richard III." 
 
 22. Passion. The word "passion" here, as "passions" in the 
 previous speech, is used for 'emotion,' 'feeling.' See Note 7, 
 Act iii., "Timon of Athens.' 'Passions of some difference" 
 mean ' conflictinr; emotions,' 'feeUngs somewhat at variance 
 with each other.' 
 
 23. But liy ri-Jiection, by some other things. Pope changed 
 
 But let not therefore my good friends be griev'd 
 (Among which number, Cassius, be you one). 
 Nor construe any farther my neglect, 
 Than that poor Brutus, with himself at war, 
 Forgets the shows of love to other men. 
 
 Cas. Then, Brutus, I have much mistook your 
 passion ;-- 
 
 By means whereof this breast of mine hath buried 
 Thoughts of great value, worthy cogitations. 
 Tell me, good Brutus, can you see your face ? 
 
 Bru. No, Cassius ; for the eye sees not itselt^ 
 But by reflection, by some other thing.s.-^ 
 
 Crtf. 'Tisjust: 
 And it is very much lamented, Brutus, 
 That you have no such mirrors as will turn 
 Your hidden worthiness into your eye, 
 That you might see your shadow. I have heard. 
 Where many of the best respect in Rome 
 (Except immortal Cassar), speaking of Brutus, 
 And groanmg underneath this age's yoke, 
 Have wish'd that noble Brutus had his eye.-i. 
 
 Bru. Into what dangers would you lead me, 
 Cassius, 
 
 That you would have me seek into myself 
 For that which is not in me ? 
 
 Cas. Therefore, good Brutus, be prepar'd to 
 hear : 
 
 And, since you know you cannot see yourself 
 So well as by reflection, I, your glass, 
 Will modestly discover to yoiu-self 
 That of yourself which you yet know not of 
 And be not jealous on me,--* gentle Brutus: 
 Were I a common laugher,^^ or did use 
 To stale with ordinary oaths my love^^ 
 To every new protester ; if you know 
 That I do fawn on men, and hug them hard. 
 And after scandal them ; or if you know 
 That I profess myself, in banqueting, 
 To all the rout, then hold me dangerous. 
 
 {Flourish and shout. 
 Bru. What means this shouting ? I do fear, the- 
 people 
 
 Choose Cssar for their king. 
 
 the second " by " 
 
 this 
 
 ' from : ' but we take the 
 
 meaning to be : 'The eye sees not itself but by reflection, by 
 means of some other things than itself.' 
 
 24. Be not jealous on me. Shakespeare not unfrequently 
 uses "on" where 'of is ordinai-ily used. See Note 11, Act i., 
 "Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 25. A common laugher. The Folio here prints 'laughter' 
 instead of "laugher." Rowe's correction; which seems pro- 
 bably right, since Shakespeare uses "laugh," "laughed," and 
 " laughing" in such a manner as to give ground to believe that 
 he here employs "a common laugher" to express one who 
 laughs lightly and idly with any one he meets. 
 
 26. Or did use to stale luith ordinary oaths, tSrV. ' Or were 
 in the habit of debasing my attachment to friends by making 
 hollow professions of it to every fresh protester of preference for 
 me.' Shakespeare uses " to stale " in the sense of ' to degrade,' 
 ' to debase,' ' to render poor and common,' in other passages. 
 Sec Note 11, Act i., " Coriolanus." 
 
Act I.] 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Cas. Ay, do you fear it ? 
 
 Then must I think you would not have it so. 
 Bru. I would not, Cassius ; yet I love him 
 well.— 
 
 But wherefore do you hold me here so long.^ 
 What is it that you would impart to me ? 
 If it be aught toward the general good, 
 Set honour in one eye, and death i' the other. 
 And I will look on both indifferently ;-'' 
 For, let the gods so speed me, as I love 
 The name of honour more than I fear death. 
 
 Cas. 1 know that virtue to be in you, Brutus, 
 As well as I do know your outward favour.-^ 
 Well, honour is the subject of my story.— 
 I cannot tell what you and other men 
 Think of this life ; but, for my single self, 
 I had as lief not be, as live to be 
 In awe of such a thing as I myself. 
 I was born free as Csesar ; so were you : 
 We both have fed as well and we can botii 
 Endure the winter's cold as well as he : 
 For once, upon a raw and gusty day. 
 The troubled Tiber chafing with her shores,-*" 
 Csesar said to me, " Dar'st thou, Cassius, now 
 Leap in with me into this angry flood,-*' 
 And swim to yonder point ?" Upon the word, 
 Accoutred as I was, I plunged in. 
 And bade him follow : so, indeed, he did. 
 The torrent roar'd ; and we did buffet it 
 With lusty sinews, throwing it aside. 
 And stemming it with hearts of controversy : 
 But ere we could arrive the point propos'd,^'^ 
 Csesar cried, " Help me, Cassiuf, or I sink !" 
 I, as .^Eneas, our great ancestor,^^ 
 Did from the flames of Troy upon his shoulder 
 The old Anchises bear, so from the waves cf 
 Tiber 
 
 Did I the tired Cxsar -. and this man 
 Is now become a god ; and Cassius is 
 A wretched creature, and must bend his body, 
 
 27. / wiM look on loth indifferently. 'I will regard both 
 with equal firmness.' Brutus means that he would face death 
 for the sake of preserving lionour. 
 
 28. Your outward favour. ' Your external appearance,' 
 ' your aspect.' See Note 66, Act iv., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 25. ll^e botli have fed as well. ' We have both been as well 
 nurtured ;' ** well fed " bearing the signification of ' well brought 
 up,' or 'well trained.' See Notes 58 and 137, Act ii., "All's 
 Well." 
 
 30. Tiier chafing with her shores. See Note 10 of the 
 present Act. 
 
 31. Leap in with me, S^e. This challenge of Csesar's to 
 Cassius may have been suggested by the incident which 
 Suetonius relates of Caesar's leaping into the sea from a boat 
 tliat was in danger through being overladen, and swimming to 
 the next ship, holding his " Commentaries" in his left hand. 
 
 32. £ re we could arrive the /loint propos'd. Here " arrive " 
 i-. used actively, without the ' at ' or ' in ' which usually accom- 
 panies the word. See Note 17, Act v., "Third Part Henry VI." 
 
 33. yEncas, our great ancestor. The Romans traced their 
 origin from the settlement of the Trojan Prince, ^neas, in Italy. 
 
 34. His coward l,fs did from their colour fiy. This bold 
 
 If Caisar carelessly but nod on him. 
 He had a fever when he was in Spain, 
 And, when the fit was on him, I did mark 
 How he did shake : 'tis true, this god did shake : 
 His coward lips did from their colour fly 
 And that same eye, whose bend^^ doth awe the 
 world, 
 
 Did lose his lustre I did hear him groan : 
 Ay, and that tongue of his, that bade the 
 Romans 
 
 Mark him, and write his speeches in their books, 
 
 Alas! it cried, "Give me some drink, Titinius,"^' 
 
 As a sick girl. Ye gods, it doth amaze me, 
 
 A man of such a feeble temper^* should 
 
 So get the start of the maje.stic world. 
 
 And bear the palm alone. [Flourish and shout. 
 
 Bru. Another general shout! 
 I do believe that these applauses are 
 I'or some new honours that are heap'd on Cassar. 
 
 Cas. Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow 
 world 
 
 Like a Colossus and we petty men 
 Walk under his huge legs, and peep about 
 To find ourselves dishonourable graves. 
 Men at some time are masters of their fates : 
 Tlie fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars. 
 But in ourselves, that we are underlings. 
 Brutus, and Caesar; what should be in that 
 Cxsar ? 
 
 Why should that name be sounded more than 
 yours P 
 
 Write them together, yours is as fair a name ; 
 Sound them, it doth become the mouth as well ; 
 Weigh them, it is as heavy; conjure with them, 
 Brutus will start a spirit as soon as Csesar. 
 Now, in the names of all the gods at once, 
 Upon what meat doth this our Cassar feed, 
 That he is grown so great ? Age, thou art 
 sham'd ! 
 
 Rome, thou hast lost the breed of noble bloods ! 
 
 image, making the lips fly from their colour, instead of the 
 colour from them, and thus suggestiag the idea of soldiers 
 deserting their colours, is completely in Shakespeare's spirited 
 style. Warburton calls this line " a false expression," and " a 
 poor quibble ;" but, to our thinking, it is one of those sentences 
 that poets make, that critics carp at, and that good readers 
 relish. 
 
 35. Bend. Here used (as " bent " is used in the passage 
 referred to in Note 24, Act v., " Henry V.") to express a stern 
 look, a frowning glance turned upon the object of wrath. 
 
 36. Did lose his lustre. Instance of "his" for 'its.' See 
 Note 8, Act ii., " Timon of Athens." 
 
 37. Titinius. Cassius's faithful adherent, who appears in 
 Act v., sc. 3 of the present pl.iy. 
 
 38. Temper. Here used for ' temperament,' ' constituticmai 
 
 30. Like a Colossus. In allusion to the colossal brass statue 
 at Rhodes, which formed the entrance to the harbour, bestriding 
 it from side to side. So vast was the figure's size, that ships in 
 full sail could pass between the outstretched legs, and its height 
 was 70 cubits, or 105 feet. It was esteemed one of the seven 
 wonders of the world. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 When went there by an age, since the great 
 flood« 
 
 (3ut it was fam'd with more than with one man P 
 When could they say, till now, that talk'd of 
 Rome, 
 
 That her wide walls encompass'd-" but one 
 man ? 
 
 Now is it Rome indeed, and room enough, ^- 
 When there is in it but one only man. 
 Oh, you and I have heard our fathers say, 
 There was a Brutus once,''' that would have 
 brook' d 
 
 The eternal devil to keep his state in Roir.e 
 As easily as a king. 
 Bru. That you do love me, I am nothing 
 jealous ; 
 
 What you would work me to, I have .-ome 
 aim : 
 
 How I have thought ot" thi>, and ot" these time>, 
 I shall recount hereafter; for this present, 
 I would not, so with love I might entreat you, 
 Be any fiirther mov"d. What you have said, 
 I will consider ; what you have to say, 
 I will with patience hear; and find a time 
 Both meet to hear and answer such high things. 
 Till then, my noble friend, chew** upon this; 
 Brutus had rather be a villager 
 Than to repute himself ■'^ a son of Rome 
 Under these hard conditions as this time 
 Is like to lay upon us."''^ 
 
 Cas. I am glad that my weak words 
 Have struck but thus jnuch show of fire from 
 Brutus. 
 
 Bru. The games are done, and Caesar is re- 
 turning. 
 
 Cas. As they pass by, pluck Casca by the 
 sleeve ; 
 
 40. Since the great flood In reference to the Deluge sent 
 by Jupiter when Deucalion reigned in Thessaly. 
 
 41. Thai her -.vide walls encompass' d. The Folio prints 
 * walkes ' for '"walls'* here. Rowe's correction, which seems 
 shown to be right, by the word " encompass'd." The pro- 
 bability that the printer's eye was misled by the word "talk'd" 
 in the previous line, and the improbability that Shakespeare's 
 ear would have allowed him to use 'walks' so near to "talk'd,'' 
 farther support the belief that " walls " was the word originally 
 written in this passage. 
 
 42. Kotu is it Rojne indeed, and room enough. Here 
 Shakespeare gives the pronunciation to " Rome " which affords 
 a play upon the word in connection with "room." See Note 
 27, Act iii., "King John:" and Note 6, Act iii., "First Part 
 Henry VI." 
 
 43. There was a Brutus once. Alluding to Lucius Junius 
 Brutus, who caused the Tarquins to be driven from Rome, and 
 kingly authority to be exchanged for consular authority. As 
 consul himself, he condemned his own sons to death for joinin.g 
 in a conspiracy to restore royalty; therefore Cassius reminds the 
 Brutus he is addressing, and who was lineally descended from 
 the earlier Brutus, that his predecessor would as soon have had 
 a demon reign for ever in Rome as have endured a human king. 
 
 44. Aim. Here used for 'guess.' 'surmise,' 'conjecture.' 
 See Note 2, Act iii,, " Two Gentlemen of 'Verona." 
 
 And he will, after his sour fashion, tell you 
 What hath proceeded worthy note to-day. 
 
 Re-enter C^SAR and his Train. 
 
 I Bru. I will do so : — but, look you, Cassius, 
 The angry spot doth glow on Caesar's brou-, 
 
 ' And all the rest look like a chidden train : 
 Calphurnia's cheek is pale ; and Cicero 
 Looks with such ferref^ and such fiery eyes 
 
 ' As we have seen him in the Capitol, 
 
 I Being cross'd in conference by some senators. 
 
 I Cas. Casca will tell us what the matter is. 
 
 j Ctes. An ton ins, — 
 .■int. Caesar ? 
 
 C16-J. Let mc have men about me that arc 
 ! fat;« 
 Sleek-headed men, and such as sleep o' nights ; 
 Yond' Cassius has a lean and hungry look ; 
 He thinks too much : such men are dangerous. 
 
 Jnt. Fear him not, Cresar ; he's not dangerous ; 
 He is a noble Roman, and well given. 
 
 CuS. Would he were fatter 1 — but I fear him 
 not : 
 
 Yet if my name were liable to fear, 
 
 I do not know the man I should avoid 
 
 So soon as that spare Cassius. He reads much ; 
 
 He is a great observer, and he looks 
 
 Quite through the deeds of men : he loves no plays, 
 
 As thou dost, Antony ; he hears no music 
 
 Seldom he smiles ; and smiles in such a sort 
 
 As if he mock'd himself,'' and scorn'd his spirit 
 
 That could be mov'd to smile at anything. 
 
 Such men as he be never at heart's ease 
 
 Whiles they behold a greater than themselves ; 
 
 And therefore are they very dangerous. 
 
 I rather tell thee what is to be fear'd 
 
 Than what I fear, — for always I am Cjesar. 
 
 45. Chew. 'Ruminate,' 'deliberately consider.' 
 
 46. To repute himself. ' To give himself the reputation of 
 being,' ' to bonst himself,' ' to set himself forth as.' See Note 
 12, Act iii., " Second Part Henry VI." 
 
 47. Lender these hard cojiditions as this time, cr^c. "As" 
 in this sentence is used peculiarly ; giving to be understood 
 the more ordinary construction of ' under such hard conditions 
 as this time,' &c., or 'under those hard conditions that this 
 
 48. Ferret. Here used adjectively, to express 'like those of 
 a ferret ; ' a ferret ha\'ing red eyes. 
 
 49. Let in: hiive men about me tliat are fat. The points 
 in this speech are directly taken from Sir Thomas North's 
 " Plutarch." 
 
 50. He loves no plays . .... he hears no music. It is 
 pleasant to have the player and play-writer, Shakespeare, ad- 
 vocating by this slight indirect touch the wholesome effect of 
 dramatic recre.ition upon the spirit of man ; and adverting to 
 the morally salutary influence of music, with moral indication 
 in love of music ; w-hich he has elsewhere still more strongly 
 insisted upon. See the passage referred to in Note 19, Act v., 
 " jMerchant of Venice." 
 
 51. Seldom lie smiles: and smiles in such a sort as if, &'c. 
 Here again Shakespeare is true to his own sweet and cheerful 
 philosophy. See Note 62, Act iv., " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 !63 
 
Act 1.] 
 
 JULIUS C/ESAR. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Come OH my right hand, for this ear is deaf, 
 And tell me truly what thou think'st of him. 
 
 \_Exeunt C^SAR. and his Train. 
 Casca stays behi?ul. 
 Casca. You pull'd me by the cloak; would you 
 
 speak with me ? 
 Bni. Ay, Casca; tell us what hath chanc'd 
 to-day, 
 That Cassar looks so sad. 
 
 Casca. Why, you were with Iuhi, were \ou 
 not? 
 
 Bru. I should not, then, ask Casca what had 
 chanc'd. 
 
 Casca. Why, there was a crown offered him : 
 and being offered him, he put it by with the back 
 of his hand, thus ; and then the people fell a- 
 shouting. 
 
 Bru. What was the second noise for P 
 Casca. Why, for that too. 
 
 Cas. They shouted thrice : what was the last 
 cry for ? 
 
 Casca. Why, for that too. 
 
 Bru. Was the crown offered him thrice ? 
 
 Casca. Ay, marry, was 't, and he put it by thrice, 
 every time gentler than other ; and at every putting 
 by mine honest neighbours shouted. 
 
 Cas. Who offered him the crown ? 
 
 Casca. Why, Antony. 
 
 Bru. Tell us the manner of it, gentle Casca. 
 
 Casca. I can as well be hanged as tell the 
 manner of it : it was mere foolery ; I did not mark 
 it. I saw Mark Antony offer him a crown ; — 
 yet 'twas not a crown neither, 'twas one of these 
 coronets ; — and, as I told you, he put it by once : 
 but, for all that, to my thinking, he would fain 
 have had it. Then he offered it to him again ; 
 then he put it by again : but, to my thinking, he 
 was very loth to lay his fingers off it. And then 
 he offered it the third time ; he put it the third 
 time by; and still as he refused it, the rabblement 
 hooted, and clapped their chopped hands, and 
 threw up their sweaty night-caps, and uttered such 
 a deal of stinking breath because Cassar refused 
 the crown, that it had almost choked Csesar ; for 
 he swooned, and fell down at it : and for mine 
 own part, I durst not laugh, for fear of opening 
 my lips, and receiving the bad air. 
 
 52. Tliere was a crotvii offered him. This incident is derived 
 from Sir Thomas North's " Plutarch." 
 
 53. The rabblement hooted. Hanmer and others change 
 "hooted" here to 'shouted;' alleging that the people ap- 
 plauded when Cxsar refused the crown, and only expressed 
 disapprobation when they thought he was atout to accept it. 
 But, firstly, the Folio spells the word here ' howted,' and a little 
 farther on in this play (see Note 69 of the present Actl it spells 
 the word used in that passage 'howting ;' secondly, in " Love's 
 Labour's Lost," Act iv., sc. 2, we find, "The people fall a-hoot- 
 ing;"'and in " Coriolanus," Act iv., sc. 6, "When you cast 
 your greasy caps, in hooting at Coriolanus' exile ;" H-here, in 
 
 Cas. But, soft, I pray you: what! did Csesar 
 swoon P 
 
 Casca. He fell down in the market-place, and 
 foamed at mouth, and was speechless. 
 
 Bru. 'Tis very like, — he hath the falling-sick- 
 ness.=< 
 
 Cas. No, Caesar hath it not'; but ) ou, and I, 
 And honest Casca, we have the falling-sickness. 
 
 Casca. I know not what you mean by that ; 
 but, I am sure, Ca;sar fell down. If the tag-rag 
 people did not clap him and hiss him, according as 
 he pleased and displeased them, as they use to do 
 the ])layers in the theatre, I am no true man. 
 
 Bru. What said he when he came unto him- 
 self? 
 
 Casca. Marry, before he fell down, when he 
 perceived, the common herd was glad he refused 
 the crown, he plucked me ope his doublet, and 
 offered them his throat to cut : — an I had been a 
 man of any occupation,55 if J would not have taken 
 him at a word, I would I might go to hell among 
 the rogues : — and so he fell. When he came to 
 himself again, he said. If he had done or said any- 
 thing amiss, he desired their worships to think it 
 was his infirmity. Three or four wenches, where 
 I stood, cried, "Alas! good soul!" and forgave 
 him with all their hearts : but there's no heed to be 
 taken of them ; if Csesar had stabbed their mothers, 
 they would have done no less. 
 
 Bru. And after that, he came, thus sad, away ? 
 
 Casca. Ay. 
 
 Cas. Did Cicero say anything ? 
 Casca. Ay, he spoke Greek. 
 Cas. To what effect ? 
 
 Casca. Nay, an I tell you that, I'll ne'er look 
 you i' the face again : but those that understood 
 him smiled at one another, and shook their heads ; 
 but, for mine own part, it was Greek to me. I 
 could tell you more news too : MaruUus and 
 Flavius, for pulling scarfs off Cssar's images, are 
 put to silence. Fare you well. There was more 
 foolery yet, if I could remember it. 
 
 Cas. Will you sup with me to-night, Casca ? 
 
 Casca. No, I am promised forth. 
 
 Cas. Will you dine with me to-morrow ? 
 
 Casca. Ay, if I be alive, and your mind hold, 
 and your dinner worth the eating. 
 
 both instances, the word is used as a contemptuous term for 
 vulg.ar acclamation, not disapprobation ; and, thirdly, we think 
 it probable that here Casca uses "hooted" as a scoffing epithet 
 for hurrahed, or howled approval. 
 
 54. He hath the faUiiig-sickuess. Plutarch and Suetonius 
 both record that Caesar was subject to the falling-sickness, or 
 epilepsy. 
 
 55. A t:ian of any occupation. 'A man occupied in any 
 mechanical employment,' 'a man like any of those mechanics 
 whom he addressed.' See Note 74, Act iv., " Coriolanus." 
 
 56. / am promised forth. ' I am under a promise to go out 
 ■ I am eng.iged elsewhere.' 
 
Act I.] 
 
 JULIUS CyESAR. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Cas. Good ; I will expect you. 
 
 Casca. Do so : farewell, both. \_Exit. 
 
 Bru. What a blunt fellow is this grown to he ! 
 He was quick mettle when he went to school. 
 
 Cas. So is he now, in execution 
 Of any bold or noble enterprise, 
 However he puts on this tardy form. 
 This rudeness is a sauce to his good wit. 
 Which gives men stomach to digest his words 
 With better appetite. 
 
 Btu. And so it is. For this time I will leave 
 you : 
 
 To-morrow, if you please to speak with me, 
 1 will come home to you; or, if you will, 
 Come home to me, and I will wait for you. 
 
 Cas. I will do so :— till then, think of the world. 
 
 [^Ex'it Brutus. 
 Well, Brutus, thou art noble ; yet, I see, 
 Thy honourable metal may be wrought 
 From that it is dispos'd therefore 'tis meet 
 That noble minds keep ever with their likes ; 
 For who so firm that cannot be seduc'd 
 Cassar doth bear me hard but he loves Brutus : 
 If I were Brutus now, and he were Cassius, 
 He should not humour me.^^ I will this night, 
 In several hands,''*' in at his windows throw, 
 As if they came from several citizens, 
 Writings, all tending to the great opinion 
 That Rome holds of his name ; wherein obscurely 
 Caesar's ambition shall be glanced at : 
 And, after this, let Cassar seat him sure ; 
 For we will shake him, or worse da)'s endure. 
 
 \_Exit. 
 
 57. Front that it is dispos'd. Elliptically ex-pressed ; mean- 
 ing, 'from that to which it is disposed.' 
 
 58. Becir jne hard. This is an idiom which occurs thrice in 
 the present play, and which is nowhere else used by Shake- 
 speare. It signifies 'bear a hard opinion of me;' 'bear me 
 ill-will,' ' bear me a grudge.' See Note 45, Act ii., and Note 30, 
 Act iii. 
 
 59. 1/ I were Brutus uoru, and he mere Cassius, he should 
 not hnnionr me. ' Now, if I were Brutus' (beloved by Caesar), 
 ' and Brutus were Cassius' (dislisked by Ca:sarl, ' Brutus should 
 not influence my disposition as I do his.' To "humour," 
 employed to express 'influence disposition,' or 'sway inclina- 
 tion,' occurs in a passage in " Much Ado," Act ii,, sc. i ; where 
 Don Pedro says, " I will teach you how to hn?nour your cousin, 
 th.-it she shall fall in love with Benedick." 
 
 60. several hands. ' In different hand-writings,' * in 
 various characters of hand-writing.' 
 
 61. Brought you Cresar home ? 'Did you accompany Ctesar 
 himeV See Note 79, Act ii., " Henry V." 
 
 62. The STvay of earth. "Sway" is here used to express 
 the ponderous swing of the terrestrial globe in its appointed 
 orbit. See Note 5, Act iv., " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 63. To be exalted with the threatening clouds. Here "with" 
 is elliptically used to express ' on a level with," or ' to the same 
 height with.' 
 
 64. Saw you any thijig 7nore wonderful'' ' Did you see any- 
 thing more that was wonderful?' ' Did you see anything else 
 of this wonderful kind?* " More" is here used in the sense of 
 'else,' 'besides,' 'additionally.' 
 
 65. A common slave (you knoiv him well by sight) held, i^c. 
 
 SCENE III.— Rome. A Street. 
 
 Tnunder and lightning. Enter, from opposite sides, 
 Casca, ujith his svjord draivn, and Cicero. 
 
 Cic. Good even, Casca : brought you Caesar 
 home 
 
 Why are you breathless ? and why stare you so ? 
 Casca. Are not you mov'd, when all the sway 
 of earth «2 
 
 Shakes like a thing unfirm ? O Cicero, 
 I have seen tempests, when the scolding winds 
 Have riv'd the knotty oaks ; and I have seen 
 The ambitious ocean swell, and rage, and foam, 
 To be exalted with the threatening clouds 
 1 But never till to-night, never till now, 
 j Did I go through a tempest dropping fire. 
 
 Either there is a civil strife in heaven ; 
 I Or else the world, too saucy with the gods, 
 I Incenses them to send destruction. 
 
 Cic. Why, saw you anything more wonderftil f 
 Casca. A common slave (you know him well 
 by sight) 
 
 Held up his left hand," which did flame and 
 burn*" 
 
 Like twenty torches join'd ; and yet his hand, 
 Not sensible of fire, remain'd unscorch'd. 
 Besides (I have not since put up my sword). 
 Against the Capitol I met a lion, 
 Who glar'd^^ upon me, and went surly by, 
 Without annoying me : and there were drawn 
 Upon a heap"^ a hundred ghastly women. 
 Transformed with their fear ; who swore they saw 
 Men, all in fire, walk up and down the streets. 
 
 It has been plausibly suggested that for " you know" here we 
 should read ' you'd know,' or ' you knew,' as pointing out more 
 obviously that Casca means to say any one would have known 
 him at once to be a common slave, and nob a preternatural 
 .appearance ; but we think that the phrase, as it stands, gives 
 this to be understood. " You " is often used impersonally in 
 familiar parlance for ' persons,' ' people,' ' men,' ' one and 
 "you know him well by sight," according to a licence of con- 
 struction, probably means ' he may be known at first sight for 
 such,' or ' one might see at a glance that he was a common 
 .slave.' 
 
 P 66, Hand, which did Jlame and burn, (p^c. To enable the 
 reader to judge how accurately Shakespeare adopts historical 
 record, while enriching it with his own magnificent imagery and 
 poetic diction, we give the extract from North's " Plutarch," 
 which forms the groundwork of this and the preceding speech 
 by Casca: — "Touching the fires in the element, and spirits 
 running vp and downe in the night, and also the solitary birds 
 to be seene at noon dales sitting in the great market-place, are 
 not all these signcs perhaps worth the noting, in such a won- 
 derful chance as h.appened ? But Strabo, the philosopher, 
 writeth, that diners were seene going vp and down in fire ; and 
 furthermore, that there was a slaue of the souldiers, that did 
 cast a maruellons burning flame out of his hand, insomuch as 
 they that saw it thought he had bene burnt ; but when the fire 
 was out, it was found he had no hurt." 
 
 67. Glar'd. The Folio prints 'glaz'd' for "glar'd." Rowe's 
 correction. 
 
 68, Uj>oK a Jieap. An idiomatic form used by Shakespeare. 
 See Note 33, Act iv,, " Timon of Athens." 
 
 71 
 
Act I.] 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 And yesterday the bird of night did sit, 
 
 Even at noon-day, upon the market-place, 
 
 Hooting and shrieking.^' When these prodigies 
 
 Do so conjointly meet, let not men say, 
 
 " These are their reasons,^ — they are natural ;" 
 
 For, I believe, they are portentous things 
 
 Unto the climate^" that they point upon. 
 
 Cic. Indeed, it is a strange-disposed time : 
 But men may construe things after their fashion, 
 Clean from the purpose^' ot the things them- 
 selves. 
 
 Ccjmes C;csar to the Capitol to-morrow ? 
 
 Casta. He doth ; for he did bid Antonius 
 Send word to you he would be there to-morrow. 
 
 C/V. Good night, then, Ca=;ca : this disturlied 
 sky 
 
 1> not to walk in. 
 Casca. Farewell, Cicero. [Exit Cicero. 
 
 E/iur Cassius. 
 Cas. Who's there ? 
 Casca. \ Roman. 
 
 Cas. Casca, by your voice. 
 
 Casca. Your ear is good. Cassius, what night 
 is this :'- 
 
 Cas. A very pleasing night to honest men. 
 Casca. Who ever knew the heavens menace 
 so? 
 
 Cas. Those that have known the earth so full 
 of faults. 
 
 69 Hooting and shrieking. The folio here prints 'howling' 
 for '* hooting ; " which Litter word is evidently meant, as the owl 
 is intended by the e.^pression, " the bird of night." 
 
 70. The clitnate. 'The region.* The word "climate" was 
 son:etimes used formerly in reference merely to a certain por- 1 
 tion of the earth, without including allusion to temperature. 
 In "Richard 11.," Act iv., sc. i, we find, '^Oh, forfend it. 
 Heaven ! that in a Christian climate souls refin'd should show," 
 &c. See also Note 48, Act il., "King John," for yet another | 
 employment of the word " climate." 
 
 71. CleaK fiom tlie f>nyJ>ose. "Clean" i.s here used in its 
 sense of ' quite,' 'completely' (see Notes 2, Act iii., " Richard 
 II.," and 41, Act iii., " Coriolanus") ; and "from" in its sense 
 of 'away from,' ' apart from.' See Note 103, Act iv., " Timon 
 of Athens." 
 
 72. What night is this ! A similar form of construction in 
 e.>Lclamation to the one pointed out in Note 18, Act i., " Two 
 Gentlemen of Verona." In usual phraseology, 'a' would pre- 
 cede "night" in the present passage, and "fool" in the other 
 passage to which we refer. 
 
 73. The thunder-stone. Imagined by the ancients to be the 
 produce of the thunder, to be a species of gem discharged in the 
 form of a meteoric stone, and, falling with the lightning, to cause 
 the mischief. The name thunder-stones, or thunder-bolts, was 
 given to certain extinct fossil shells, called belemnite.s, or finger- 
 stones. 
 
 74. Cast yourself in wonder. It has been doubted whether 
 this phr.ise means 'conjecture within yourself wonderingly' (in 
 which case, ''cast" would be used according to the sen.se it 
 bears in such sentences as ' cast about in yourself,' ' cast in your 
 mind ') : or whether it means ' cast yourself into a state of 
 wonder' (in which case "in" would be used for 'into,' as it 
 often is by Shakespeare). Also, it has been conjectured that 
 pjsslbly "cast" may be a misprint for ' case ;' which is plausible, 
 Lecau^e elsewhere we find, "I am so attir'd in uwider" 
 
 For my part, I have walk'd about the streets, 
 Submitting me unto the perilous night ; 
 And, thus unbraced, Casca, as you see. 
 Have bar'd my bosom to the thunder-stone 
 .And when the cross blue lightning seem'd to 
 open 
 
 The breast of heaven, I did present myself 
 Even in the aim and very flash of it. 
 
 Casca. But wherefore did you so much tempt 
 the heavens ? 
 '\ It is the part of men to fear and tremble. 
 
 When the most mighty gods, by tokens, send 
 I Such dreadful heralds to astonish us. 
 
 Cas. You are dull, Casca ; and those sparks of 
 I life 
 
 I That should be in a Roman you do want, 
 ' Or else you use not. You look pale, and gaze, 
 1 And put on fear, and cast yourself in wonder,'* 
 j To see the strange impatience of the heavens : 
 
 But if you would consider the true cause 
 j Why all these fires, why all these gliding ghosts, 
 Why birds and beasts, from quality and kind 
 Why old men, fools, and children calculate;'* 
 Why all these things change, from their ordinance, 
 Their natures, and preformed faculties, 
 To monstrous quality ; — why, you shall find 
 That Heaven hath infus"d them with these spirits, 
 To make them instruments of fear and warning 
 Unto some monstrous state. 
 Now could I, Casca, name to thee a man 
 
 ("Much Ado," Act iv., sc. i . and "Though 'tis ivonder that 
 emvraps me thus" ^" Twelfth Night," Act iv., sc. 3I ; and 
 moreover because ' case ' agrees, in the present passage, with 
 the e.xpression "put on" in the same line. Nevertheless, so 
 I averse are we from altering the text, that we retain the original 
 word " cast," believing that the phrase means ' cast yourself into 
 a state of wonder,' and observing that Shakespeare has t%so 
 instances of "cast in" for 'cast into :' one of which is, "Whom 
 I indeed have cast in darkness" (" Richard III.," Act i., sc. 3' : 
 the other, "Though forfeiters you cfli/ in prison" Cymbeline," 
 Act iii., sc. 2). 
 
 75. Why bitds and beasts, from qicality and kind. 'Why 
 birds and beasts deviate from their condition and nature ;' in 
 allusion to the owl appearing at noon-day, and the lion refraining 
 from attack. 
 
 76. Why old men, fools, and children calculate. This is the 
 stopping of the "Folio, and we think it gives the sense of the 
 passage ; though some editors, altering the punctuation, give 
 obscurity and obstructed meaning to the sentence. They take 
 "old men" to signify 'wise men,' in opposition to "fools;" 
 whereas, it appears to us that "old men" here signify ' dotards ;' 
 as, in every instance where Shakespeare uses the expression 
 " old men," he implies that signification. Witness, among 
 many others — "Old men, and beldams, in the streets," &c. 
 (" King John," Act iv., sc. 21 : '■ Old men forget: yet all," &c. 
 (" Henry V.," .\ct iv., sc. 3! ; " Old men have greybeards," &c. 
 ("Hamlet," Act ii., sc. 2). Therefore we take it that he here 
 classes "old men" with "fools'* and "children," as persons 
 naturally incapable of calculating upon portents, and predicting 
 what these portents indicate, although Heaven occasionally 
 endows them with exceptional power to do so. 
 
 77. To monstrous quality some monstrous state. 
 
 Here "monstrous," in both instances, signifies 'unnatural,' 
 'unwonted,' 'exceptional ;' and "state" it used elliptically for 
 
 I 'state of things,' 'state of affairs,' 'state of events.' 
 
Act I.J 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Most like this dreadful night, 
 
 That thunders, lightens, opens graves, and roars. 
 
 As doth the lion, in the Capitol,^8_ 
 
 A man no mightier than thyself or me 
 
 In personal action ; yet prodigious'' grown, 
 
 And fearful, as these strange eruptions are. 
 
 Casca. 'Tis Csesar that you mean; is it not, 
 Cassius ? 
 
 Cas. Let it be who it is : for Romans now 
 Have thewes**" and limbs like to their ancestors ; 
 But, woe the while!*' our fathers' minds are 
 dead, 
 
 And we are govern'd with our mothers' spirits ; 
 Our yoke and sufferance show us womanish. 
 
 Casca. Indeed, they say the senators to-morrow 
 Mean to establish Cssar as a king ; 
 And he shall wear his crown by sea and land, 
 In every place, save here in Italy. 
 
 Cas. I know where I will wear this dagger, 
 then; 
 
 Cassius from bondage will deliver Cassius : 
 
 Therein, ye gods, you make the weak most strong ; 
 
 Therein, ye gods, you tyrants do defeat: 
 
 Nor stony tower, nor walls of beaten brass. 
 
 Nor airless dungeon, nor strong links of iron. 
 
 Can be retentive to the strength of spirit ; 
 
 But life, being weary of these worldly bars. 
 
 Never lacks power to dismiss itself 
 
 If I know this, know all the world besides. 
 
 That part of tyranny, that I do bear, 
 
 I can shake off at pleasure. [Thunder still. 
 
 Casca. So can I : 
 
 So every bondman in his own hand bears 
 The power to cancel his captivity. 
 
 Cas. And why should Cssar be a tyrant, then ? 
 Poor man ! I know he would not be a wolf, 
 But that he sees the Romans are but sheep : 
 He were no lion, were not Romans hinds. 
 Those that with haste will make a mighty fire, 
 Begin it with weak straws : what trash is Rome, 
 What rubbish, and what offal, when it serves 
 For the base matter to illuminate 
 So vile a thing as Csesar! But, oh, grief, 
 
 78. And roars, as doth the lion, i/i the Capitol. Instance of 
 transposed construction ; the sentence meaning, ' And roars in 
 the Capitol, as the lion roars.' 
 
 79. Prodigious. Here used to express ' indicating some 
 prodigy;' 'portentous,' •ominous.' .See Xote 13. Act \-., 
 "Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 80. Thezves. 'Physical strength,' ' muscular power;' 'sinews.' 
 This is the sense in which Shakespeare uses the word ; though pre- 
 viously to his time it was generally applied by writers to mental or 
 moral qualities. See Note 43, Act iii., " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 81. IVoe the ivhik '. ' Alas for the present age ! ' 'Alas for 
 this woful time: ' See Note 30, Act iii., " Winter's Tale.'' 
 
 82. Then I kuoiu my answer must be made. A mode of 
 saying, ' In that case I must answer for what I have said.' 
 
 83. Hold, my hand. An ellipsis.for 'Hold, there's my hand,' 
 or ' Hold, take my hand.' 
 
 84. Be /actions for redress. ' Here "factious" is used for 
 'active,' 'energetic,' 'up and doing,' while at the same time 
 
 Where hast thou led me I perhaps speak this 
 Before a willing bondman ; then I know 
 My answer must be made but I am arm'd, 
 And dangers are to me indifferent. 
 
 Casca. You speak to Casca ; and to such a 
 man 
 
 That is no fleering tell-tale. Hold, my hand : 
 Be factious for redre.ss^* of all these griefs ; 
 And I will set this foot of mine as far 
 i As who goes farthest. 
 
 Cas. There's a bargain made. 
 
 ^ Now know you, Casca, I have mov'd already 
 ■ Some certain of the noblest-minded Romans 
 ' To undergo'*^ with me an enterprise 
 j Of honourable-dangerous cons»quence ; 
 j And I do ktvow, by this, they stay for me 
 
 In Pompey's porch: for now, this fearful night, 
 , There is no stir or walking in the streets ; 
 
 And the complexion of the element 
 I In favour's like'*" the work we have in hand, 
 Most bloody, fiery, and most terrible. 
 
 Casca. Stand clo.se awhile, for here comes one 
 in haste. 
 
 Cas. 'Tis Cinna, — I do know him by his gait ; 
 He is a friend. 
 
 I Enter Cinna. 
 
 I Cinna, where haste vou so ? 
 
 I Cin. To find out you. Who's that ? Metellus 
 ! Cimber ? 
 
 j Cas. No, it is Casca ; one incorporate 
 I To our attempts. Am I not stay'd for, Cinna ? 
 I Cin. I am glad on 't.*"'" What a fearful night 
 I is this ! 
 
 I There's two or three of us have seen strange 
 I sights. 
 
 I Cas. Am I not stay'd for.- tell me. 
 j Cin. Yes, you are. 
 
 ; O Cassius, if you could 
 But win the noble Brutus to our party — 
 Cas. Be you content: good Cinna, take tlii-i 
 paper, 
 
 .'\nd look you lay it in the prastor's chair, 
 
 including its meaning of ' forming s 
 party;' without, however, including 
 which i.= ■ ■ 
 
 nfav 
 
 organising 
 irable .sen 
 Casca us 
 
 implying something 
 See Note 47, 
 
 ivolved in the latter 
 "factious" in the same way that Men( 
 see Note 22, Act v., " Coriolanus " , 
 creditable in activity for a cause. 
 
 85. Undergo. Here used for ' un.lertakt 
 -Act iii., "Timon of Athens." 
 
 86. In favours li/ce. The Folio misprints this ' i.- fauor: 
 like." Johnson made the correction; '■favour" here meanin 
 ■ aspect,' 'appearance.' See Xote 28 of the present Act. 
 
 87. I am glad on 7. Here " on" is used for 'of :see Not 
 24 of this Act) ; and the sentence, spoken in reply to Cassius 
 assurance that Casca is one who has become a member of thei 
 party and has joined in their enterprise, affords an instance c 
 our dramatist's characteristic mode of introducing crossin 
 speeches into agitated or hurried dialogue. See Note 16, Actii, 
 " Coriolanus." 
 
 VOL. Ill, 
 
 201 
 
Act 11.] 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR, 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Where Brutus may but find it;^^ and throw this 
 In at his window ; set this up with wax 
 Upon old Brutus' statue all this done, 
 Repair to Pompey's porch, where you shall find 
 us. 
 
 Is Decius Brutus and Trebonius there ? 
 
 Cm. All but Metellus Cimber ; and he's gone 
 To seek you at your house. Well, I will hie, 
 And so bestow^" these papers as you bade me. 
 
 Cas. That done, repair to Pompey's theatre. 
 
 [^Exit CiNNA. 
 Come, Casca, you and 1 will yet, ere day, 
 
 See Brutus at his house : three parts of him 
 Is ours already ; and the man entire. 
 Upon the next encounter, yields him ours. 
 
 Casca. Oh, he sits high in all the people's hearts : 
 And that which Vvould appear offence in us. 
 His countenauce, like richest alchemy. 
 Will change to virtue and to worthiness. 
 
 Cas. Him, and his worth, and our great need 
 of him. 
 
 You have right well conceited.^' Let us go. 
 
 For it is after midnight ; and, ere day. 
 
 We will awake him, and be sure of him. \_Exeunl. 
 
 ACT II. 
 
 SCENE I.— Rome. Brutus's Orchard.^ 
 
 Enter Brutus. 
 
 Bru. What, Lucius, ho !— 
 I cannot, by the progress of the stars. 
 Give guess how near to jay. — Lucius, I say ! — 
 I would it were my fault to sleep so soundly. — 
 When, Lucius, when ?- awake, I say ! what, 
 Lucius ! 
 
 Enter Lucius. 
 
 Luc. Call'd you, my lord ? 
 
 Bru. Get me a taper in my study, Lucius : 
 When it is lighted, come and call me here. 
 
 Luc. I will, my lord. \_Exit. 
 
 Bru. It must be by his death : ^ and, for my part, 
 I know no personal cause to spurn at him. 
 But for the general.* He would be crown'd : — 
 How that might change his nature, there's the 
 question : 
 
 88. Where Brutus may but find it. ' Where none but 
 Brutus may find it,' 'Where Brutus only may find it.' The 
 
 'praetors were the chief magistrates of Rome ; and Brutus filled 
 this office at the then time. See Note 48, Act ii. 
 
 89. O/ct Brutus' statue. The statue of Lucius Junius Brutus. 
 See Note 43 of this Act. 
 
 90. Bestow. Often, as here, used by Shakespeare in the 
 sense of ' place,' ' put,' without including its signification of 
 'confer.' See Note 23, Act i., "Comedy of Errors." In 
 "Merry Wives," Act iv., sc. 2, Mistress Ford, asking where 
 she should hide FalstafF, says, " How should I besimv him?" 
 and in "Henry V.," Act iv., sc. 3, Salisbury says to the king, 
 " My sovereign lord, bestow yourself with speed." 
 
 91. Conceited. ' Conceived,' ' estimated.' See Note 8, Act v., 
 " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 ^.Orchard. Probably here meaning 'garden.' See Note 2, 
 Act ii., " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 2. IVken, Lucius, when ? An old form of impatient ex- 
 clamation. See Note 25, Act i., " Richard II." 
 
 It is the bright day that brings forth the adder; 
 And that craves wary walking. Crown him ?— 
 that ;— 
 
 And then, I grant, we put a sting in him. 
 That at his will he may do danger with. 
 The abuse of greatness is, when it disjoins 
 Remorse^ from power: and, to .speak truth of 
 Caesar, 
 
 I have not known when his affections sway'd 
 More than his reason. But 'tis a common proof,^ 
 That lowliness is young ambition's ladder. 
 Whereto the climber-upward turns his face ; 
 But when he once attains the upmost round. 
 He then unto the ladder turns his back. 
 Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees? 
 By which he did ascend: so Cssar may ; 
 Then, lest he may, prevent. And, since the 
 quarrel 
 
 Will bear no colour for the thing he is. 
 Fashion it thus ; that what he is, augmented. 
 
 3. // must be by his death. The manner in which " it" and 
 "his" are here used affords an example of Shakespeare's 
 peculiar construction in employing pronouns with reference to 
 an implied particular, and of his dramatic art in commencing 
 a scene or a soliloquy with abrupt allusions to a pre-supposed 
 thought. See Notes 76, Act iii., "All's Well," and 35, Act ii., 
 "Winter's Tale." In the present passage "it" refers to the 
 prevention of Cffisar's becoming king ; the means of which 
 prevention Brutus has been revolving. 
 
 4. But for the general. ' But for the sake of the general 
 community.' " The general," used as a term for * the people,* 
 ' the multitude,' occurs elsewhere in Shakespeare (see Note 65, 
 Act ii., " Measure for Measure") ; and he also more than once 
 uses " general " in antithetical opposition to " particular " or 
 "personal." See Note 31, Act v., "Timon of Athens." 
 
 5. Remorse. Here used for ' mercy,' ' clemency,' ' leniency,' 
 'pity.' 
 
 6. 'Tis a common proof. 'It is a thing proved by common 
 experience.' 
 
 7. Base degrees. ' Low steps ; ' French, bas degres. 
 
 74 
 
Act II.] 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Would run to these and these extremities : 
 And therefore think him as a serpent's egg, 
 Which, hatch'd, would, as his kind,8 gj-pw mis- 
 chievous ; 
 And kill him in the shell. 
 
 Re-enter Lucius. 
 Luc. The taper burneth in your closet, sir. 
 Searching the window for a flint, I found 
 
 [Gi'ving him a letter. 
 This paper, thus seal'd up ; and, I am sure, 
 It did not lie there when I went to bed. 
 
 Bru. Get you to bed again ; it is not day. 
 Is not to-morrow, boy, the ides of March 
 Luc. I know not, sir. 
 
 Bru. Look in the calendar, and bring me 
 word. 
 
 Luc. I will, sir. [Exit. 
 Bru. The exhalations, whizzing in the air. 
 Give so much light, that I may read by them. 
 
 [Opens the letter and reads. 
 
 Brutus, thou sleep'st : awake, and see thyself. 
 Shall Rome, &c. Speak, strike, redress ! 
 
 " Brutus, thou sleep'st : awake !"'" — 
 Such instigations have been often dropp'd 
 Where I have took them up. 
 " Shall Rome, &c." Thus must I piece it out ; 
 Shall Rome stand under one man's awe ? What, 
 Rome? 
 
 My ancestors did from the streets of Rome 
 The Tarquin drive, when he was call'd a king. 
 " Speak, strike, redress ! " — Am I entreated 
 To speak and strike? O Rome, I make thee 
 
 promise," 
 If the redress will follow, thou receiv'st 
 Thy full petition at the hand of Brutus ! 
 
 8. As his kind. ' Like his species,' ' like those of his nature.' 
 
 9. T/ie ides of March. The Folio prints ' first ' here for 
 " ides." Theobald's correction. 
 
 10. " Bnitus, thou sleep'st: awake]" This repetition of the 
 words is probably intended to be Brutus's re-reading them and 
 revolving them ; as he afterwards re-reads and revolves the 
 other clauses from the paper. 
 
 11. / make thee promise. 'I make promise to thee,' 'I 
 promise thee.' 
 
 12. IVasied fourteen days. The Folio gives 'fifteen' for 
 " fourteen " here. Theobald's correction. 
 
 13. Motion. Here used for 'impulse,' 'intention,' 'inward 
 suggestion towards.' 
 
 14. The Genius and the mo>-tal instruments are, &^c. It 
 has been debated whether "genius " here means the presiding 
 spirit supposed to be attendant upon each human being and 
 influencing his actions, while "mortal instruments" mean his 
 natural passions; or whether "genius" is to be considered as 
 the immortal soul of man, while " mortal instruments " are to be 
 understood as the bodily powers, the operating organs. In 
 support of the former interpretation has been quoted the 
 passage from " Comedy of Errors," Act v., sc. i :— " One of 
 these men is Genius to the other .... Which is i/ie natural 
 man, and which the spirit 1" In support of the latter has 
 been cited the passage from " Othello," Act i., sc. 3, where 
 the Moor speaks of his eyes and hands as " my speculative and 
 
 Re-enter Lucius. 
 Luc. Sir, March is wasted fourteen days.'^ 
 
 {Knocking ixsithin, 
 Bru. 'Tis good. Go to the gate ; somebody 
 knocks. {Exit Lucius. 
 
 Since Cassius first did whet me 'against Csesar, 
 I have not slept. 
 
 Between the acting of a dreadful thing 
 And the first motion, all the interim is 
 Like a phantasma, or a hideous dream : 
 The Genius and the mortal instruments 
 Are then in council and the state of man,'* 
 Like to a little kingdom, suffers then 
 The nature of an insurrection. 
 
 Re-enter Lucius. 
 Luc. Sir, 'tis your brother Cassius'^ at the 
 door. 
 
 Who doth desire to see you. 
 Bru. Is he alone? 
 
 Luc. No, sir, there are more with hijTi. 
 Bru. Do you know them ? 
 
 Luc. No, sir ; their hats are pluck'd about their 
 ears, 
 
 And half their faces buried in their cloaks. 
 That by no means I may discover them 
 By any mark of favour. 
 Bru. Let them enter. 
 
 {Exit Lucius. 
 They are the faction. Oh, conspiracy, 
 Sham'st thou to show thy dangerous brow by 
 night, 
 
 When evils are most free ? Oh, then, by day 
 Where wilt thou find a cavern dark enough 
 To mask thy monstrous visage ? Seek none, con- 
 spiracy ; 
 
 offic'd instruments ;" and also the passagt from " Troilus and 
 Cressida," Act ii., sc. 3— "'Twixt his mental and his active 
 parts kingdom'd Achilles in commotion rages, and batters down 
 himself" It is evident to us that in the present case Shake- 
 speare refers to the conflict that takes place within the mind, 
 when debating a deadly project, between the spiritual and 
 higher nature and the more animal and lower nature, the 
 immortal with the mortal portion of man ; so that the word 
 "genius" here, according to our poet's grandly inclusive style, 
 may well signify both the Christianly -understood "soul" and 
 the paganly-understood attendant 'spirit,' while "mortal in- 
 struments" may no less comprise both 'natural passions' and 
 'bodily powers.' 
 
 13. The state of man. The first Folio here erroneously 
 inserts 'a' between "of" and "man." The second Folio 
 made the correction, which, we think, is proved to be right, 
 not only by the metre of the line, but by the similar exf 
 in " Macbeth," Act i., sc. 3 :— 
 
 " My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, 
 
 Shakes so my single state of man, that function 
 
 Is smother'< 
 
 16. Your brother Cassius. Cassius had married Junia, the 
 ister of Brutus ; therefore here, as elsewhere by Shakespeare, 
 ' brother" is used for ' brother-in-law.' 
 
 17. Favour. 'Countenance,' 'aspect,' 'look.* 
 
Acr II.] JULIUS CESAR. [Scene I. 
 
 Brutus. The exhalations, whizzin? in the air 
 Give so much hght, that I may read by them. Act II- Scene I. 
 
 Hide it in smiles aivd affability : 
 F'or if thou path, thy native semblance on," 
 Not Erebus'^ itself were dim enough 
 To hide thee from prevention. 
 
 Enter Cassius, Casca, Decius, Cinna, Metellus 
 CiMBER, and Trebonius. 
 Cas. I think we are too bold upon your rest : 
 Good morrow, Brutus; do we trouble you r 
 
 Bru. I have been up this hour ; awake all 
 night. 
 
 Know I these men that come along with you ? 
 Cas. Yes, every man of them; and no man 
 here 
 
 i8. For if thou path, thy native semblance on. ' For if thou 
 walk forth, wearing thy natural appearance.' " Path" has been 
 suspected of being a misprint here ; but Drayton uses the word 
 as a verb, although in conjunction with "way" and "ways." 
 For instance, in h.s "Barons' Wars," is found-" Path out ' 
 
 But honours you; and every one doth wish 
 You had but that opinion of yourself 
 Which £very noble Roman bears of you. 
 This is Trebonius. 
 
 Bru. He is welcome hither. 
 
 Cas. This, Decius Brutus. 
 
 Bru. He is welcome too. 
 
 Cas. This, Casca; this, Cinna; and this, Me- 
 tellus Cimber. 
 
 Bru. They are all welcome.— 
 What watchful cares do interpose themselves 
 Betwixt your eyes and night ? 
 
 Cas. Shall I entreat a word ? [Brutus and 
 Cassius 'whisper. 
 
 another milky way;" in his " Heroical Epistles— " Pathing 
 young Henry's unadvised ways." 
 j 19. Erebus. A deity of the infernal regions ; but often used 
 
 by the poets for the region itself. 
 76 
 
Act II.] 
 
 JULIUS 
 
 C^SAR. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Dec. Here lies the east:-" doth not the day 
 
 break here ? 
 Casca. No. 
 
 Cin. Oh, pardoii, sir, it doth ; and yon grey 
 lines 
 
 That fret the clouds are messengers ot day. 
 Casca. You shall confess that )ou are both 
 deceiv'd. 
 
 Here, as I point my sword, the sun arises; 
 Which is a great way growing on the south,-' 
 Weighing the youthful season of the year. 
 Some two months hence, up higher toward the 
 north 
 
 He first presents his fire ; and the high east 
 Stands, as the Capitol, directly here. 
 
 Bru. Give me your hands all over,^- one by 
 one. 
 
 Cas. And let us swear our resolution. 
 Bru. No, not an oath : if not the face of 
 men,-^ 
 
 The sufferance of our gouls, the time's abuse.- ^ 
 If these be motives weak, break off betimes. 
 And every man hence to his idle bed 
 So let high-sighted tyranny range on, 
 Till each man drop by lottery. ^5 But if these, 
 As I am sure they do, bear fire enough 
 To kindle cowards, and to steel with valour 
 The melting spirits of women ; then, countrymen. 
 What need we any spur, but our own cause, 
 To prick us to redress ? what other bond 
 1 han secret Romans,-" that have spoke the word. 
 And will not palter ? and what other oath 
 I'han honesty to honesty engag'd, 
 That this shall be, or we will fall for it 
 
 20. Hers lids the east. The conversation introduced here, 
 
 while Brutus 
 
 and Cassius talk apart, is most a 
 
 rtistically con- 
 
 reived ; it is 
 
 beautifully poetic, as affording c 
 
 ntrast by the 
 
 image of the 
 
 approaching daylight splendours 
 
 brought thus 
 
 ■ igainst the glc 
 
 oin of night and darlcness of contc 
 
 mplated deed. 
 
 .-ind it is admii 
 
 ably dramatic, as drawing attention 
 
 
 morning of th. 
 
 t d.ay which, in the opinion of the 
 
 speakers, is to 
 
 
 ity of freedom to their native Rom 
 
 
 2 it ll^/uck 
 
 is a great 'way g-roiving, Sr^c. 
 
 'Which [the 
 
 ijuarter o( the 
 
 sky where the sun then rises] is 
 
 a considerable 
 
 distance more towards the south of the east, if we take into 
 account the early period of the year.' 
 
 22. Give me your hands all over. ' Give me your hands, all 
 of you ;' ' Give me your hands, all throughout your assembled 
 party.' For a somewhat similar form of phrase, see Note 10, 
 Activ., "Timon of Athens." 
 
 23. 1/ not the face of men. This sentence has been suspected 
 of error, and various alterations have been made ; but we take 
 the original reading, 'the face of men,' to mean 'the aspect of 
 men,' ' the looks of men,' implying ' the louring aspect of 
 men,' 'the discontented looks of men.' The construction of the 
 phraseology is inconsecutive here, according to a characteristic 
 mode Shakespeare has of making it so, in order to mark 
 agitation or eagerness in the speaker. See Note 96, Act iii., 
 " Twelfth Night." Here the effect is implied of ' If the dis- 
 content visible in the faces of men, the misery of our souls, the 
 abuses now prevailing, be not sufficient to hold us to our 
 purpose, — if these be weak motives,' &c. 
 
 24. Idle bed. ' Bed where he may lie idle.' An instance of I 
 
 Swear priests, and cowards, and men cautelous,-? 
 
 Old feeble carrions, and such suffering souls 
 
 That welcome wrongs ; unto bad causes swear 
 
 Such creatures as men doubt : but do not stain 
 
 The even-s virtue of our enterprise. 
 
 Nor th' insuppressive^^ mettle of our spirits, 
 
 To think that or our cause or our performance^*^ 
 
 Did need an oath ; when every drop of blood 
 
 That every Roman bears, and nobly bears, 
 
 Is guilty of a several bastardy, 
 
 If he do break the smal/est particle 
 
 Of any promise that liath pass'd from him. 
 
 Cas. But what of Cicero ? shall we sound 
 him ? 
 
 I think he will stand very strong with us. 
 
 Casca. Let us not leave him out. 
 
 Chi. No, by no means. 
 
 Met. Oh, let us have him ; for his silver hairs 
 Will purchase us a good opinion. 
 And buy men's voices to commend our deeds ; 
 It shall be said, his judgment rul'd our hands ; 
 Our youths and wildnets shall no whit appear, 
 But all be buried in his gravity. 
 
 Bru. Oh, name him not; let us not break with 
 him ;3i 
 
 For he will never foUosv .anything 
 That other men begin. 
 
 Cas. Then leave him out. 
 
 Casca. Indeed he is not fit. 
 
 Dec. Shall no _man else be touch'd but only 
 Cassar ? 
 
 Cas. Decius, well urg'd : — I think it is not 
 meet, 
 
 Mark Antony, so well belov'd of Caesar, 
 
 Shakespeare's elliptically used epithets. See Note 52, Act ili., 
 " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 25. By lottery. ' By chance," ' by a capricious hazard 
 without any deterjninate cause why he should, fall. 
 
 26. Secret Ramans. ' Romans secretly united in a mutual 
 cause.' Another of Shakespeare's expressive and elliptical 
 epithets. 
 
 27. Cauteloits. Here used for 'wary,' 'wily,' ' timidly and 
 artfully cautious.' See Note 9, Act iv., " Coriolanus." 
 
 28. Even. Shakespeare uses this word with such various 
 signification, that it is not easy to define the precise one which 
 it bears here. It may mean ' firm,' steady,' or ' straight- 
 forward,' ' honest,' ' direct,' ' impartial,' or ' just,' ' equitable,' 
 'well-balanced,' or, as we incline to think in the present 
 passage, ' serene,' ' equable.' Examples might be cited of the 
 poet's employing "even " in each of the above senses. 
 
 29. Insiippressive. ' Insuppressible,' 'not to be suppressed.' 
 See Note 10, Act iii,, "As You Like It." 
 
 30. Bitt do not stain . ... to think that, &'c. The con- 
 struction is here in accordance with Shakespeare's elliptical 
 style, giving 'so' to be understood before "stain," and 'as* 
 before "to," or allowing us to accept "to think" for 'by 
 thinking.* 
 
 31. Let us not break with him. ' Let us not break the 
 matter to him.' Shakespeare generally uses the idiom " break 
 with " in this sense ; but he once uses it in the more usual sense 
 of ' quarrel with,' ' <-.ome to a rupture with,' where the tribune, 
 in " Coriolanus," Act iv., sc. 6, say.s, " It cannot be the Volscri 
 dare break with ns." 
 
Act II.] 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Should outlive Csesar : we shall find of him 
 A shrewd contriver and, you know, his means. 
 If he improve them, may well stretch so far 
 As to annoy us all : which to prevent, 
 Let Antony and Caesar fall together. 
 Bru. Our course will seem too bloody, Caius 
 Cassius, 
 
 To cut the head off, and then hack the limbs, — 
 
 Like wrath in death, and envy'' afterwards; 
 
 For Antony is but a limb of Cssar : 
 
 Let's be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius. 
 
 We all stand up against the spirit of Cssar; 
 
 And in the spirit of men there is no blood : 
 
 Oh, that we, then, could come by Caesar's spirit, 
 
 And not dismember Csesar ! But, alas ! 
 
 Ca:sar must bleed for it! And, gentle friends. 
 
 Let's kill him boldly, but not wrathfully ; 
 
 Let's carve him as a dish fit for the gods, 
 
 Not hew him as a carcass fit for hounds : 
 
 And let our hearts, as subtle masters do, 
 
 Stir up their servants to an act of rage. 
 
 And after seem to chide them. This shall make 
 
 Our purpose necessary,'* and not envious : 
 
 3s. A shrewd contriver. "Shrewd" here comprises the 
 sense of ' mischievous ' as well as that of ' slily clever,' ' artfully- 
 knowing,' 'astute,' 'cunning.' See Note 91, Act iv., "All's 
 Well." 
 
 Envy. ' Malice,' ' hatred.' 
 
 34. This shall 7iiake our purfose necessary. Here "make" 
 has been supposed to be a misprint for ' mark ;' but we think 
 the phrase, as it stands, gives to be understood 'this shall 
 make our purpose seem necessary,' or ' this shall make our 
 purpose appear necessary.' The words "seem," used previously 
 in the same line, and "appearing" in the following line, lend 
 support to our interpretation, because Shakespeare often allows 
 a word that has just before been used, or a word that is just 
 afterwards used, to lend its effect of elliptical inclusion to an 
 immediately near sentence. See, among other instances, Note 
 33, Act v., " Richard III.," and Note 80, Act iv., " Coriolanus." 
 
 35. And that were innch lie siwuld, 'And that would be 
 much for him to do' — meaning to "take thought." Formerly 
 to "take thought" meant to 'give way to grief or anxiety,' to 
 ' trouble oneself.' 
 
 * 36. There is no fear in him. ' There is nothing for us to fear 
 in him.' Many phrases in Shakespeare, where the word "fear" 
 occurs, are thus elliptically constructed (see Note 19, Act ii., 
 " Timon of Athens "), and it is in accordance with a common 
 English idiom, that " fear " is used for ' cause of fear.' Witness 
 the story told in one of the elder Mathews's Entertainments, 
 where the old lady, in a vessel with the sea running high, 
 says, "There's no fear, is there, captain?" and the reply is, 
 " Oh, dear, yes, ma'am ! plenty of fear, but no danger." 
 
 37. Corint the clock. It has been pointed out that Shake- 
 speare has here committed an anachronism, as clocks and 
 watches were unknown to the Romans. They measured their 
 time by sun-dials and clepsydrae ; but a sun-dial would not have 
 served the poet's purpose in this night-scene, and a clepsydra 
 (which measured time by the flowing of water, somewhat on 
 the principle of sand in the hour-glass) would have been an 
 unknown instrument to the dramatist's audience. From the 
 free allusion to "clock" which we find in many of his plays — 
 even such plays as " Winter's Tale," " Comedy of Errors," and 
 "Cymbeline," where the supposed period of the action renders 
 the allusion in strictness an anachronism— we think Shakespeare 
 merely uses the word as an acknowledged and readily unde»- 
 stood time-measurer, which was what his object required. 
 
 Which so appearing to the common eyes, 
 We shall be call'd purgers, not murderers. 
 And for Mark Antony, think not of him ; 
 For he can do no more than Casar's arm 
 When Caesar's head is off. 
 
 Cas. Yet I fear him ; 
 
 For in the ingrafted love he bears to Cffisar, — 
 
 Bru. Alas ! good Cassius, do not think of 
 him : 
 
 If he love Cssar, all that he can do 
 Is to himself, — take thought, and die for C^sar : 
 And that were much he should for he is given 
 To sports, to wildness, and much company. 
 
 Treb. There is no fear in him;'^ let him not 
 die ; 
 
 For he will live, and laugh at this hereafter. 
 
 \Clock strikes. 
 
 Bru. Peace ! count the clock.''' 
 
 Cas. The clock hath stricken three. 
 
 Treb. 'Tis time to part. 
 
 Cas. But it is doubtful yet, 
 
 Whether Caesar will come forth to-day, or no ;'* 
 For he is superstitious grown of late ; 
 
 38. Wliettier Ctesar will come forth to-day, or no. The 
 word "to-day" in this sentence shows that the period of the 
 action is now brought to the dawn of the day which is to 
 witness the deed that the conspirators have resolved to perform, 
 and it is interesting to trace the subtle dramatic art with which 
 Shakespeare, by his system of blended long time and short 
 time, has conducted the progress of days and hours from the 
 commencement of the play up to the present point. In the first 
 and second scene, the then actual time was the ides [or 13th) of 
 February. In the third scene, it was the night of that same 
 day, the commencement of the scene giving the effect of early 
 in the night, by the words, "Brought you Cassar home?" and 
 the close of the scene bringing the time to "after midnight." 
 In this same scene is artfully prepared the advance of time by 
 the casual introduction of the words, " Comes Csesar to the 
 Capitol to-morrow ?" and, later on, by the sentence, ^^Ere day 
 we will awake him" [Brutus]. At the beginning of Act ii. we 
 find Brutus saying, " I cannot, by the progress of the stars, 
 give guess hovj near to day," which serves to link on the first 
 scene of this Act with the last scene of the previous Act, and 
 show that it is still the same night or earliest morning as then ; 
 while, at the same time, a little farther on, the advance of days 
 is emphatically marked by the inquiry as to the date of the 
 month, and the order to " look in the calendar." Then comes 
 the reading of the paper found in the window, the same 
 alluded to by Cassius, when he says in Act i., sc. 2, " I will 
 this ni,^ht .... in at his windows throw .... writings," and 
 the mention of those which Brutus says " have been often 
 dropped where " he has taken them up, and which are others 
 of the same kind with the one which Cassius, in'Act i., sc. 3, 
 tids Cinna " lay in the prastor's chair," &c. By the little word 
 '"■often" see how Shakespeare conveys the impression of' long 
 time, and how, as ingeniously, he produces that of short time, 
 when he now makes Trebonius observe, "'Tis time to part," 
 and immediately afterwards introduces the doubt as to "whether 
 Caisar will come forth to-day,^' which brings the dramatic time 
 to the very morning of the day for his death, — the ides (or 15th) 
 of March. How skilfully, how almost imperceptibly is the 
 month's interval contrived ! How wholly are we prevented from 
 feeling the improbability or difficulty of this lapse of time ! 
 How smoothly and how naturally is it made to glide by, owing 
 to this skilfully invented system of time which Shakespeare 
 created. See Note 7, Act iii., "Merchant of Venice." 
 
Act II.] 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Quite from the main opinion he held once^' 
 Of fantasy,*" of dreams, and ceremonies ; 
 It may be, these apparent prodigies, 
 The unaccustom'd terror''^ of this night, 
 And the persuasion of his augurers. 
 May hold him from the Capitol to-day. 
 
 Dec. Never fear that : if he be so resolv'd, 
 I can o'ersway him ; for he loves to hear 
 That unicorns may be betray'd with trees, 
 And bears with glasses,*"* elephants with holes, 
 Lions with toils, and men with flatterers : 
 But when I tell him he hates flatterers. 
 He says he does, — being then most flattered. 
 Let me work ; 
 
 For I can give his humour the true bent, 
 And I will bring him to the Capitol. 
 
 Cas. Nay, we will all of us be there to fetch him. 
 
 Bru. By the eighth hour : is that the utter- 
 most ? 
 
 Cin. Be that the uttermost, and fail not then. 
 
 Met. Caius Ligarius doth bear Caesar hard,** 
 Who rated him for speaking well of Pompey : 
 I wonder none of you have thought of him. 
 
 Bru. Now, good Metellus, go along by him : ** 
 He loves me well, and I have given him reasons 
 Send him but hither,*^ and I'll fashion him. 
 
 Cas. The morning comes upon us : we'll leave 
 you, Brutus : — 
 And, friends, disperse yourselves: but all remember 
 What you have said, and show yourselves true 
 Romans. 
 
 Bru. Good gentlemen, look fresh and merrily ; 
 
 Let not our looks put on our purposes 
 But bear it**" as our Roman actors do. 
 With untir'd spirits and formal constancy 
 And so, good morrow to you every one. 
 
 \_Exeunt all except Brutus, 
 Boy ! Lucius ! — Fast asleep ? It is no matter ; 
 Enjoy the heavy honey-dew of slumber : 
 Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies,'* 
 Which busy care draws in the brains of men j 
 Therefore thou sleep'st so sound. 
 
 Enter Portia. 
 Por. Brutus, my lord ! 
 
 Bru. Portia, what mean you? wherefore rise 
 you now ? 
 
 It is not for your health thus to commit 
 Your weak condition to the raw cold morning. 
 Por. Nor for yours neither. You've ungently, 
 Brutus, 
 
 Stole from my bed : and yesternight, at supper, 
 You suddenly arose, and walk'd about. 
 Musing and sighing, with your arms across ; 
 And when I ask'd you what the matter was. 
 You star'd upon me with ungentle looks : 
 
 j I urg'd you farther ; then you scratch'd your head, 
 
 , And too impatiently stamp'd with your foot: 
 
 \ Yet I insisted, yet you answer'd not ; 
 
 [ But, with an angry wafture of your hand. 
 Gave sign for me to leave you : so I did ; 
 Fearing to strengthen that impatience 
 Which seem'd too much enkindled; and withal 
 Hoping it was but an effect of humour,^* 
 
 39. Quite from the main opinion Iw held once. Here 
 "from" is used in the sense of 'away from,' 'contrary to' 
 see Note 73, Act i.) ; and "main" in the sense of 'strong,' 
 'forcible,' 'predominant.' 
 
 40. Fantasy. Here used for ' tricks of imagination,' ' fanciful 
 impressions.' 
 
 41. Ceremonies. Omens or signs deduced from sacrifices or 
 other ceremonial rites. 
 
 42. Apparent. ' Evident,' ' manifest.' See Note 26, Act iv., 
 " King John." 
 
 43. Terror. Here used, as " fear " is in the passage referred 
 to in Note 36 of this Act, for that which causes terror. 
 
 44. 7'hat unicorns maybe betrayed with trees, and bears, G^c. 
 The idea that the unicorn might be overcome by means of its 
 striking its horn into a tree, is referred to in the passage dis- 
 cussed in Note 71, Act iv., "Timon of Athens." Bears were 
 supposed to be captured by showing them a mirror, into which 
 they gazed, thus affording their hunters an opportunity of taking 
 the surer aim : and elephants were beguiled into pitfalls, by 
 placing food on hurdles lightly disposed over these cavities. 
 
 45. Dot/i hear Ccesar hard. ' Doth owe Caesar a grudge,' 
 ' doth bear Caesar ill-will.' See Note 58, Act i. 
 
 46. Go alonr by him. ' Go by the way of his house,' ' go 
 round by his house.' 
 
 47. Ne loves ine -well, and I have given hint reasons. Here 
 'to love me' is elliptically understood after " reasons." 
 
 48. Send him but hither. ' Do but send him hither,' ' only 
 send him hither.' Tlie "but" in the present sentence is used 
 tran.sposedly, as in the sentence explained in Note 88, Act i. 
 We point this out because the word "but" in the previous 
 passage has been by some suspected of error, with the proposal 
 of changing it for ' best.' 
 
 49. Let not our looks put on our purposes. ' Let not our 
 looks wear our purposes written in them,' ' Let not our looks 
 
 50. Bear it. An idiomatic expression, signifying * conduct 
 yourselves,' ' demean yourselves ;' we have a similar idiom in 
 ' carry it through.' 
 
 51. Our Roma)t actors. This reference to excellence in his- 
 trionic deportment will be recognised as the more appropriate, 
 when we remember that Roscius was then upon the stage ; 
 Roscius, the admired and eulogised friend of Cicero, and arch- 
 exemplar of merit in acting. 
 
 52. Formal constancy. ' The constancy of exterior form and 
 aspect;' but the word "formal" here likewise includes the 
 sense of ' discreet,' ' well-regulated,' 'judicious.' See Note 102, 
 Actii., "Twelfth Night;" and also the manner in which the 
 word is used in that passage in "Second Part Henry IV.," 
 Act v., sc. 2 — "And flow henceforth in formal majesty." 
 
 53. The heavy honey-dew. The Folio prints this with' these 
 errors of transposition and mishyphening : ' the honey-heauy- 
 dew.* " Honey-dew " is a sweet substance found upon the 
 leaves of plants, and would be familiarly known to the country- 
 born lad in his strolls through his native Warwickshire lanes, 
 while his poet-truth would naturally avail itself of this know- 
 ledge, and would never have allowed him to form such an 
 epithet as * honey-heavy.' 
 
 54. No figures nor no fantasies. ' No visionary images or 
 impressions of the fancy.' See Note 40 of the present Act. 
 
 53. Hoping it -was but . ... it will not let you .... and, 
 could it luork so much upon your shape, as it hath, &*c. Here 
 *' it " — in Shakespeare's mode of using this word with reference to 
 an implied particular— refers to that which ailed Brutus, implied 
 in Portia's words, "when I ask'd you what the matter was." 
 
Act II.] 
 
 JULIUS 
 
 C^SAR. 
 
 [Scene 1. 
 
 Which sometime hath his hour with every man. 
 It will not let you eat, nor talk, nor sleep ; 
 And, could it work so much upon your shape. 
 As it hath much prevail'd on your condition, 
 I should not know you, Brutus. Dear my lord. 
 Make me acquainted with your cause of grief. 
 
 Bru. I am not well in health, and that is all. 
 
 For. Brutus is wise, and, were he not in 
 health. 
 
 He would embrace the means to come by it. 
 Bru. Why, so I do: — good Portia, go to 
 bed. 
 
 For. Is Brutus sick, — and is it physical 
 To walk unbraced, and suck up the humours 
 Of the dank morning ? What ! is Brutus sick, — 
 And will he steal out of his wholesome bed, 
 To dare the vile contagion of the night. 
 And tempt the rheumy*^ and unpurged air 
 To add unto his sickness ? No, my Brutus ; 
 You have some sick offence*^ within your mind. 
 Which, by the right and virtue of my place, 
 I ought to know of: and, upon my knees, 
 I charm you,™ by my once commended beauty, 
 By all your vows of love, and that great vow 
 Which did incorporate and make us one. 
 That you unfold to me, yourself, your half, 
 Why you are heavy; and what men to-night 
 Have had resort to you, — for here have been 
 Some six or seven, who did hide their faces 
 Even from darkness. 
 
 Bru. Kneel not, gentle Portia. 
 
 For. I should not need, if you were gentle 
 Brutus. 
 
 Within the bond of marriage, tell me, Brutus, 
 Is it excepted I should know no secrets 
 That appertain to you ? Am I yourself 
 But, as it were, in sort or limitation,^' — 
 To keep with you at meals, comfort your bed, 
 And talk to you sometimes? Dwell I but in the 
 suburbs 
 
 56. Condition. Here used for ' state of mind,' ' temper,' 
 
 57. Physical. ' Medicinal,' ' wholesome,' ' salutary.' Shake- 
 speare employs it in the same sense in the only other passage 
 where he uses this word. In "Coriolanus," Act i. , sc. 5, Marcius 
 says, " The blood I drop is rather physical than dangerous 
 to me." 
 
 58. Rheumy. 'Moist.' 
 
 59. Sick offence. 'Offensive thought causing mental sick- 
 ness,' ' offending matter of consideration that occasions mental 
 illness.' " Sick" is here one of Shakespeare's elliptically used 
 epithets. 
 
 60. / charm you. ' I conjure you,' ' I adjure you ; ' with the 
 effect of invocation. Shakespeare uses the verb " charm " 
 elsewhere to express control or influence, as by a spell (see 
 Notes 53, Act i., and 47, Act iv., "Taming of the Shrew"); 
 and though it is generally, as in those two instances, with a 
 view to impose silence, yet here it is for the purpose of evoking 
 speech. 
 
 61. /« sort or limitation. 'In a restricted sense or limited 
 degree.' We still say ' in a sort,' and ' in some sort.' 
 
 62. TJie ruddy drops that visit my sad lieart. It has been 
 
 Of your good pleasure ? If it be no more, 
 Portia is Brutus' harlot, not his wife. 
 
 Bru. You are my true and honourable wife; 
 As dear to me as are the ruddy drops 
 That visit my sad heart.^^ 
 
 For. If this were true, then should I know thii 
 secret. 
 
 I grant I am a woman ; but withal 
 
 A woman that Lord Brutus took to wife : 
 
 I grant I am a woman ; but withal 
 
 A woman well reputed, — Cato's daughter. 
 
 Think you I am no stronger than my sex. 
 
 Being so father'd and so husbanded .'"^ 
 
 Tell me your counsels, I will not disclose them : 
 
 I have made strong proof of my constancy. 
 
 Giving myself a voluntary wound 
 
 Here, in the thigh : can I bear that with patience, 
 
 And not my husband's secrets ? 
 
 Bru. Oh, ye gods. 
 
 Render me worthy of this noble wife ! 
 
 {Knocking 'within. 
 Hark, hark ! one knocks : Portia, go in awhile ; 
 And by-and-by thy bosom shall partake 
 The secrets of my heart : 
 All my engagements I will construe to thee, 
 A.11 the charactery of my sad brows — 
 Leave me with haste. \_Exit Portia.] — Lucius, 
 who's that knocks ? 
 
 Re-enter LuGius njuith LiGARius. 
 
 Luc. Here is a sick man that would speak with 
 you. 
 
 Bru. \_Aside.'] Cuius Ligarius, that Metellus 
 spake of.— 
 
 Boy, .stand aside. \_Exit Lucius.] — Cains Liga- 
 rius, — how ! 
 
 L'g. Vouchsafe*'^ good morrow from a feeble 
 tongue. 
 
 Bru. Ohj what a time have you chose our, 
 brave Caius, 
 
 said that in these glowing words Shakespeare has anticipated 
 Harvey's discovery of the circulation of the blood, which was 
 made in 1628. The poet's intuition taught him many secrets of 
 Nature as yet unpromulgated by science to the world, as well as 
 many of those known only to adepts in their several particular 
 branches of science (see Note 109, Act iv., " Love's Labour's 
 Lost") : and that he had intuitive perception on the subject of 
 the blood's course through the body, witness not only the present 
 passage, but also that gloriously expressive one in " Measure 
 for Measure," Act ii., sc. 4, where Angelo exclaims, "Oh, 
 heavens ! why does my blood thus muster to my heart ? " &c. 
 
 63. So fatJiCT^d a?id so husbanded. Another instance of 
 Shakespeare's potential mode of forming an effective participle 
 from a noun. See Note 34, Act ii., " Henry VIII." 
 
 64. Givtr^ myself a voluntary wound. This incident is 
 recorded in North's " Plutarch." 
 
 65. X/te charactery of niy sad brows. ' That which is written 
 in visible chai-acters upon my saddened countenance.' See 
 Note 16, Act v., " Merry Wives." 
 
 66. VoucJisafe. Here, as frequently by Shakespeare, used 
 elliptically, to express ' vouchsafe to accept,' or ' vouchsafe to 
 receive.' See Note 43, Act i., " Timon of Athens." 
 
Act II.] JULIUS C^SAR. [Scene II. 
 
 To wear a kerchief 1^ Would you were not sick ! 
 
 Lig. I am not sick, if Brutus have in hand 
 Any exploit worthy the name of honour. 
 
 Bru. Such an exploit have 1 in hand, Ligarius, 
 Had you a healthful ear to hear of it. 
 
 Lig. By all the gods that Romans bow before, 
 I here discard my sickness! Soul of Rome ! 
 Brave son, deriv'd from honourable loms ! 
 Thou, like an exorcist, hast conjur'd up^^ 
 My mortified spirit. Now bid me run. 
 And I will strive with things impossible ; 
 Yea, get the better of them. What's to do ? 
 
 Bru. A piece of work that will make sick men 
 whole. 
 
 Lig. But are not some whole that we must 
 make sick ? 
 
 Bru. That must be also. Whatit is, my Caius, 
 I shall unfold to thee, as we are going 
 To whom it must be done.''^ 
 
 Lig. Set on your foot ; 
 
 And, with a heart new fir'd, I follow you, 
 To do I know not what : but it sufficeth 
 That Brutus leads me on. 
 
 Bru, Follow me, then. [^Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE II.— Rome. A Hall in C x.'ikvCs 
 Palace. 
 
 Thunder and Lightning. Enter C^SAR, in his 
 
 night-gouun. 
 Cas. Nor heaven nor earth have been at peace 
 to-night : 
 
 67. To -wear a kerchief. " Kerchief" is a corruption of 
 * cover-chief;' chief," from the French chef, meaning head. 
 In the three instances where Shakespeare uses " kerchief" he 
 employs it as a covering for the head ; although the word sub- 
 sequently became applied to a piece of covering for other 
 portions of the person. As evidence that in Shakespeare's time 
 it was the custom for sick persons to keep their heads covered, 
 see passage adverted to in Note i6. Act i., "Second Part 
 Henry IV.," and also a sentence from Fuller's "Worthies of 
 Cheshire"—" If any there be sick, they make him a posset and 
 tye a kerchief on his head ; and if that will not mend him, then 
 God be merciful to him." 
 
 68. Like an exorcist, hnsi conjur'd up, &'c. Here again 
 Shakespeare uses "exorcist" to signify one who raises spirits, 
 not one who lays them. See Note 66, Act v., " All's Well." 
 
 . 69. As ive are going to whom it must be done. Elliptically 
 constructed ; ' to those ' or ' to him ' being understood between 
 "going" and "to whom." The sentence is similarly formed 
 with the one pointed out in Note 57, Act i. 
 
 70. Success. Here used for ' what will follow,' ' what will 
 happen," 'what will be the issue.' See Note 47, Act iv., 
 " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 71. The things that threaten' d vie, &'c. ' Whatever things 
 have menaced me have never ventured to come otherwise than 
 skulkingly behind me ; but when once they come face to face 
 with me, they will vanish into nothing.' No commentator has 
 hitherto remarked upon this passage ; but it appears to us to be 
 very peculi.arly expressed, and to bear very distinctive marks of 
 Shakespeare's style. For instance, obierve how perfectly in 
 
 Thrice hath Calphurnia in her sleep cried out, 
 
 " Help, ho ! they murder Cassar !" — Who's within ? 
 
 Enter a Servant, 
 Ser'v. My lord ? 
 
 des. Go bid the priests do present sacrifice. 
 And bring me their opinions of success.'" 
 Seru. I will, my lord. 
 
 Enter Calphurnia. 
 Cal. What mean you, Csesar? think you to 
 walk forth ? 
 You shall not stir out of your house to-day. 
 
 Ciss. Cassar shall forth: the things that thieaten'd 
 me 71 
 
 Ne'er look'd but on my back ; when they shall 
 see 
 
 The face of Csesar, they are vanished. 
 
 Cal. Cassar, I never stood on ceremonies,"^ 
 Yet now they fright me. There is one within. 
 Besides the things that we have heard and seen, 
 Recounts most horrid sights seen by the watch. 
 A lioness hath whelpfed in the streets ; 
 And graves have yawn'd, and yielded up their 
 dead ; 
 
 Fierce fiery w.irriors fight upon the clouds. 
 In ranks and squadrons and right form of war, 
 Which drizzled blood upon the Capitol 
 The noise of battle hurtled in the air, 
 Horses did neigh, and dying men did groan 
 And ghosts did shriek and squeal about the 
 streets. 
 
 O Cassar, these things are beyond all use,^^ 
 And I do fear them ! 
 
 his manner is the peculiar introduction of the words "shall" 
 and "are" in the last clause of the sentence; the "shall" 
 gives the effect of a supposed future confronting, while the 
 "are" gives the effect of an actual and effected annihilation. 
 For similar peculiarities of construction, see Note 61, Act ii., 
 " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 72. / never stood on ceremonies. ' I nevar attached much 
 importance to ominous signs expounded through ceremonial 
 divinations and auguries." See Note 41 of the present Act 
 
 73. Warriors fight icjton the clouds .... mhich drizzled 
 blood. Here "fight" has been objected to as inconsistent, 
 and has been changed to 'fought,' as according better with 
 "drizzled;" but we have shown numerous instances of, Shake- 
 speare's thus suddenly deviating into present tense while nar- 
 rating an event that has taken place. See, among many others. 
 Note 38, Act i., "Tempest;" Note 37, Act v., "Winter's Tale;" 
 Note 91, Act ii., "First Part Henry IV.;" Note 104, Act iv., 
 " Henry V. ;" and Note 29, Act i., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 74. Hiirtled. From the old French verb, heurteler ; modern 
 French, heurter, ' to violently dash or knock against." Shake- 
 speare uses "hurtling" in "As You Like It'" (see Note 51, 
 Act iv. of that play); and here he employs "hurtled" to 
 express ' clashed," ' sounded like combatants in violent struggle 
 or encounter." 
 
 75. Horses did neigh, and dyitig men did groan. The first 
 "did"' in this line is misprinted 'do' in the first Folio; cor- 
 rected in the second. 
 
 76. Use. Here employed in the sense of ' usual event,' 
 * customary occurrence." 
 
Act II.] 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Cces. What can be avoided 
 
 Whose end is purpos'd by the mighty gods ? 
 Yet Csesar shall go forth ; for these predic- 
 tions 
 
 Are to the world in general as to Cssar. 
 Cat. When beggars die, there are no comets 
 seen ; 
 
 Tlie heavens themselves blaze forth the death of 
 princes.'^ 
 
 Cces. Cowards die many times before their 
 deaths ! 
 
 The valiant never taste of death but once. 
 Of all the wonders that I yet have heard, 
 It seems to me most strange that men should 
 fear; 
 
 Seeing that death, a necessary end, 
 Will come when it will come. 
 
 Re-enter Servant. 
 
 What say the augurers P^^ 
 Serv. 'I'hey would not have you to stir forth 
 to-day. 
 
 Plucking the entrails of an offering forth. 
 They could not find a heart within the beast.?' 
 
 Cces. The gods do this in shame of cowardice ; 
 C -Esar should be a "beast without a heart, 
 If he should stay at home to-day for fear. 
 No, Csesar shall not : danger knows full well 
 That Cassar is more dangerous than he : 
 We are two lions^" litter'd in one day, 
 And I the elder and more terrible -.^^ — 
 And Caesar shall go forth. 
 
 Cal. Alas ! my lord, 
 
 Your wisdom is consum'd in confidence. 
 Do not go forth to-day : call it my fear 
 That keeps you in the house, and not your 
 own. 
 
 We'll send Mark Antony to the senate-house ; 
 And he shall say you are not well to-day : 
 Let me, upon my knee, prevail in this. 
 
 77. Tlie death of princes. It was an old superstition that the 
 appearance of comets foretold the death of monarchs and the 
 overthrow of dynasties, 
 
 78. Augurers. This is the form of the word used by Shake- 
 speare twice in the present play, although its more strictly 
 correct form is ' augurs,' when indicating the Roman sacerdotal 
 foretellers of events. He uses " augurer" (misprinted 'agurer' 
 in thq Folio) in the same .sense, at the commencement of Act ii., 
 " Coriolanus ; " but he has "augurer" in its more legitimate 
 sense of one who augurs, any person who predicts a circum- 
 stance, in " Antony and Cleopatra," Act v. , sc. 2. He employs 
 the word "augurs" (spelt 'augures' in the Folio) in " Mac- 
 
 i., sc. 4; but there it is probably used to express 
 
 beth,' 
 
 '.auguries.' Finally, we find "augurers" (given by the Folio 
 printer 'auguries' ) in "Antony and Cleopatra," Act iv., sc. 10 ; 
 meaning, as in the present play, the official personages called 
 augurs. 
 
 79. rkey could not find a heart within ike /vast. This 
 incident is recorded by Plutarch in the same passage as the one 
 that relates the ominous circurnstanoes preceding the death 
 of Caesar, quoted in Not^ 66, A,c\ \. ; ^nd the manner in which 
 
 Cces. Mark Antony shall say I am not well ; 
 And, for thy humour, I will stay at home. 
 
 Enter Decius. 
 
 Here's Decius Brutus, he shall tell them so. 
 
 Dec. Caesar, all hail ! good morrow, worthy 
 Csesar : 
 
 I come to fetch you to the senate-house. 
 
 Cts. And you are come in very happy time. 
 To bear my greeting to the senators. 
 And tell them that I will not come to-day : 
 Cannot, is false ; and that I dare not, falser : 
 I will not come to-day, — tell them so, Decius. 
 
 Cal. Say he is sick. 
 
 Cces. Shall Cssar send a lie ? 
 
 Have I in conquest stretch'd mine arm so tar. 
 To be afeard to tell greybeards the truth ? 
 Decius, go tell them Caesar will not come. 
 
 Dec. Most mighty Caesar, let me know some 
 cause. 
 
 Lest I be laugh'd at when I tell them so. 
 Cass. The cause is in my will,— I will not 
 come ; 
 
 That is enough to satisfy the senate. 
 But, for your private satisfaction. 
 Because I love you, I will let you know, — 
 Calphurnia here, my wife, stays me at home : 
 She dreamt to-night she saw my statua,**^ 
 Which, like a fountain with a hundred spouts, 
 Did run pure blood ; and many lusty Romans 
 Came smiling, and did bathe their hands in it : 
 And these do3S she apply for warnings, and por- 
 tents, 
 
 And evils imminent; and on her knee 
 Hath begg'd that I will stay at home to-day. 
 
 Dec. This dream is all amiss interpreted ; 
 It was a vision fair and fortunate : 
 Your statue spouting blood in many pipes. 
 In which so many smiling Romans bath'd. 
 Signifies that from you great Rome shall suck 
 
 the historian's narration is dividedly adopted, introducing cer- 
 tain points in an early scene, and another point in a later scene, 
 affords a specimen of the skill with which Shakespeare selected 
 and used historic material for dramatic purpose. See Note i. 
 Act i., "Coriolanus." 
 
 80. IVe are two lions. The Folio misprints 'heare' for 
 "are." Upton's correction. 
 
 81. Litter'd in one day, and I the elder, ir'c. Shakespeare 
 uses the word "elder" peculiarly, including in it the effect of 
 priority in rank, and even superiority generally, as well as its 
 strict sense of ' older.' See, for instance, the passage referred 
 to in Note 22, Act iv., "Merchant of Venice," where "more 
 elder," besides meaning more advanced in years or in age, 
 includes the eflfoct of ' n(ore sage,' ' mor-e experienced.' In the 
 present passage ^' the elder," intended to convey the impression 
 qf * the n>ore potent," ' the n^ore n\ighty,' as well as ' the first 
 horn," helps to soften the apparent paradox of both being born 
 at tho same period, yet one being older than the other. See 
 Note 65, Act iv., "Timon of Athens." 
 
 82. Statua. Spelt 'statue' in the Folio., See Note 76, Act 
 iii., " Richard III." 
 
Calphurnia. O Cssar, these things are beyond all use, 
 And 1 do fear them i 
 
 Caesar. What can be avoided 
 
 Whose end is purpos'd by the mighty gods? 
 
 ^ Act U. Scene 11. 
 
Act IL] JULIUS C^SAR. [Scene II. 
 
 Reviving blood and that great men shall press 
 For tinctures, stains, relics, and cognizance. 
 This by Calphurnia's dream is signified. 
 
 Ca-s. And this way have you well expounded it. 
 
 Dec. I have, when you have heard what I can 
 say : 
 
 And know it now, — the senate have concluded 
 To give, this day, a crown to mighty Csesar. 
 If you shall send them word you will not come, 
 
 Z% From you great Rome shall suck reviving blood. Here 
 Dccins is carrying into effect the promise he made the con- 
 spirators in his speech referred to in Note 44 of the present 
 Act He is showing that he "can o'ersway him," that he 
 can insidiously flatter him, and that he " can give his humour 
 the true bent." He here figuratively infers that from Cajsar's 
 rule Rome would derive new vigour and power as from a 
 vital fluid, and that the leading men of Rome would eagerly 
 seek to invest themselves with this power flowing from him, 
 as devotees embrue cloths and handkerchiefs in the blood of 
 martyrs for memorials of them. Decius artfully metaphorises 
 
 Their minds may change. Besides, it were a 
 mock 
 
 Apt to be render'd, for some one to say, 
 " Break up the senate till another time. 
 When Caesar's <vife shall meet with belter 
 dreams." 
 
 If Caesar hide himself, shall they not whisper, 
 
 " Lo, Cresar is afraid ?" 
 
 Paidon me, Cssar ; for my dear, dear love 
 
 throughout the present passage, presenting to Csesar's mind 
 the prevailing idea of his greatness and influence, and turning 
 even apparently menacing images into significations of devo- 
 tion and homage. Mr. Craik, in his admirable philological 
 commentary upon Julius Caes.ir, entitled, "The English of 
 Shakespeare," has some excellent remarks upon the passage 
 in question, but we think he scarcely enough perceives that 
 Decius speaks metaphorically ; and, far from suggesting literally 
 "blood," "tinctures," "stains," and "relics," as the conse- 
 quence of Caesar's death, he uses them as presages of augmented 
 grandeur in life. 
 
Act II.] 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR. 
 
 [Scenes III., IV. 
 
 To your proceeding bids me tell you this ; 
 And reason to my love is liable. 
 Cas. How foolish do your fears seem now, 
 Calphurnia ! 
 J am ashamed I did yield to them. — 
 Give me my robe, for I will go : — 
 
 Enter Pubhus, Brutus, Ligarius, Metellus, 
 Casca, Trebonius, and Cinna. 
 And look where Publius is come to fetch me. 
 
 Pub. Good morrow, Csesar. 
 
 Ccs!. Welcome, Publius. — 
 
 What ! Brutus, are you stirr'd so early too r — 
 Good morrow, Casca. — Caius Ligarius, 
 Ca;sar was ne'er so much your enemy 
 As that same ague which hath made you lean. — 
 What is 't o'clock? 
 
 Bru. Cassar, 'tis strucken eight. 
 
 Cas. I thank you for your pains and courtesy. 
 
 Enter Antony. 
 See ! Antony, that revels long o' nights. 
 Is notwithstanding up. — Good morrow, Antony. 
 
 Ant. So to most noble Caesar. 
 
 Cces. Bid them prepare within : — . 
 
 I am to blame to be thus waited for. — 
 Now, Cinna : — now, Metellus; — what, Trebonius ! 
 I have an hour's talk in store for you ; 
 Remember that you call on me to-rlay : 
 Be near me, that I may remember you. 
 
 Treb. Cassar, I will : — [Aside.] And so near will 
 I be. 
 
 That your best friends shall wish I liad been farther. 
 Cas. Good friends, go in, and taste some wine 
 with me ; 
 
 And we, like friends, will straightway go together. 
 Bru. [Aside.] That every like is not the same,^^ 
 O Cassar, 
 
 The heart of Brutus yearns^^ to think upon ! 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE III.— Rome. A Street near the Capita/. 
 Enter Artemidorus, reading a paper. 
 
 Art. Caesar, beware of Brutus : take heed of Cassius ; come 
 not near Casca ; have an eye to Cinna ; trust not Trebonius : 
 
 84. Reason to my love is liable. ' My discretion is sub- 
 ordinate to my attachment' 
 
 85. Every like is not the same. A proverbial expression, 
 signifying, ' Everything that seems like anotlier is not always 
 the same as that other.' Brutus says this in allusion to Caesar's 
 having said, "We, like frieiids, will," &c. 
 
 86. Yearns. 'Grieves,' 'mourns.' See Note 65, Act iv., 
 " Henry V." 
 
 87. Security gives way to conspiracy. ' Feeling too secure 
 opens the way to conspiracy,' ' over-confidence affords scope for 
 conspiracy.' 
 
 S3. T/iy l07'er. 'Thy well-wisher,' 'thy admirer,' 'thy 
 friend,' equivalent to ' one who loves thee.' In Shakespeare's 
 
 mark well Metellus Cimber ; Decius Brutus loves thee not ; 
 thou hast wronged Caius Ligarius. There is but one mind in 
 all these men, and it is bent against Caesar. If thou beest not 
 immortal, look about you : security gives way to conspiracy.^? 
 The mighty gods defend thee ! Thy lover,*^ 
 
 ARTEMIDORUS. 
 Here will I stand till Cassar pass along, 
 And as a suitor will I give him this. 
 My heart laments that virtue cannot live 
 Out of the teeth of emulation.89 
 If thou read this, O Caesar, thou mayst live ; 
 If not, the Fates with traitors do contrive.'" 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 SCENE IV.— Rome. Another part of the same 
 Street, before the house of Brutus. 
 
 Enter PoRTi.\ and Lucius. 
 
 Por. I pr'ythee, boy, run to the senate- 
 house ; 
 
 Stay not to answer me, but get thee gone : 
 Why dost thou stay ? 
 
 Luc. To know my errand, madam. 
 
 Por. I would have had thee there, and here 
 again. 
 
 Ere I can tell thee what thou shouldst do 
 there. — 
 
 Oh, constancy,'' be strong upon my side. 
 Set a huge mountain 'tween my heart and 
 tongue ! 
 
 I have a man's mind, but a woinan's might. 
 How hard it is for women to keep counsel ! — 
 Art thou here yet ? 
 
 Luc. Madam, what should I do ? 
 
 Run to the Capitol, and nothing else P 
 And so return to you, and nothing else ? 
 
 Por. Yes, bring me word, boy, if thy lord look 
 well. 
 
 For he went sickly forth : and take good note 
 What Cassar doth, what suitors press to him. 
 Hark, boy ! what noise is that ? 
 Luc. I hear none, madam. 
 
 Por. Pr'ythee, listen well : 
 
 I heard a bustling rumour,'^ like a fray. 
 And the wind brings it from the Capitol. 
 
 Luc. Sooth, madam, I hear nothing. 
 
 time the term was used by men to each other as well as 
 between men and women. See Note 60, Act iii., "Troilus and 
 Cressida." 
 
 89. Out 0/ the teeth of emulation. ' Free from the attacks 
 of envious opposition.' See Note 56, Act ii., "Troilus and 
 
 go Contrive. ' Plot,' ' conspire.' See Note 29, Act iv., 
 "All's Well" 
 
 91. Constancy. Here used in the sense of 'firmness,' 'stead- 
 fastness.' 
 
 92. Rumour. In the present instance used by Shakespeare, 
 as the Italians u^e their word roinore, for 'noise,' 'uproar,' 
 ' tumultuous .sound,' 
 
Act 11 I.J 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Enier Artemidorus.'^ 
 Por. Come hither, fellow : 
 
 Which way hast thou been ? 
 
 Art. At mine own house, good lady. 
 
 Por. What is 't o'clock ? 
 
 Art. About the ninth hour, lady. 
 
 Por. Is Csesar yet gone to the Capitol ? 
 Art. Madam, not yet : I go to take my stand. 
 To see him pass on to the Capitol. 
 
 Por, Thou hast some suit to Cassar, hast tiiou 
 not ? 
 
 Art. That I have, lady : if it will please 
 Csesar 
 
 To be so good to Caesar as to hear me, 
 I shall beseech him to befriend himself. 
 
 Por. Why, know'st thou any harm's intended 
 towards him ? 
 
 Art. None that I know will be, much that I 
 fear may chance. 
 Good morrow to you. Here the street is narrow : 
 The throng that follows Ccesar at the heels, 
 Of senators, of prajtors, common suitors. 
 Will crowd a feeble man almost to death : 
 I'll get me to a place more void, and there 
 Speak to great Cffisar as he comes along. [Exit. 
 
 Por. I must go in. — Ah! me, how weak a 
 thing 
 
 The heart of woman is ! O Brutus, 
 The heavens speed thee in thine enterprise ! — 
 Sure, the boy heard me : — Brutus hath a suit 
 That Cspsar will not grant. ''^ — Oh, I grow faint- 
 Run, Lucius, and commend me to my lord ; 
 Say I am merry come to me again, 
 And bring me word what he doth say to thee. 
 
 [Exeunt severally. 
 
 ACT 
 
 SCENE I. — Rome. The Cap'tol; the Senate 
 sitting. 
 
 A croivd of People in the Street leading to the 
 Capitol; among them Artemidorus and the 
 Soothsayer. Flourish. Enter C^sar, Brutus, 
 Cassius, Casca, Decius, Metellus, Tre- 
 BONius, CiNNA, Antony, Lepidus, Popilius, 
 PuBLius, and others. 
 
 Cas. The ides of March are come.* 
 
 93. Enter Artemidorus. In the Folio this stage-direction 
 is given thus : — ' Enter the Soothsayer ;' but we agree with 
 Rowe and Tyrrwhitt in thinking that it is more Hkely Arte- 
 midorus should here be meant. Portia's words, " Thou hast 
 some S7tit to Csesar, hast thou not?" seem to refer to the paper 
 which Artemidorus has just been reading over in the previous 
 scene, and is probably still holding in his hand. His saying, 
 ** I go to take my stand, to see him pass," &c., " Here the street 
 is narrow," and " I'll get me to a place more void," tally with 
 his having before said, "Here will I stand till Cassar pass 
 along," and yet immediately leaving the spot, as if he resolved 
 upon changing it for one better adapted to his purpose. A 
 passage in North's " Plutarch" explains the knowledge of the 
 enmity to Caesar manifested in the paper which Shakespeare 
 has made Artemidorus read over :— " And one Artemidorus also 
 borne in the isle of Gnidos, a doctor of Rhetorick in the Greeke 
 tongue, who by means of his profession was very familiar with 
 certaine of Brutus' confederates, and therefore kyieixi the most 
 part of all their practices against Co'sar, came and brought 
 him a little bill written with his owne hand of all that he meant 
 to tell him." But another passage, a little farther on, in North's 
 " Plutarch," serves to account for th^ uncertainty whether Arte- 
 midorus, or the soothsayer, or still another person, was intended 
 in the present scene by the dramati.st : — " Howbeit other are of 
 opinion, that it w.-is soine man else that gave him that memorial, 
 and not Artemiilorus;" and in a passage, occurring just pre- 
 
 III. 
 
 Sooth. Ay, Csesar; but not gone. 
 Art. Hail, Caesar! read this schedule. 
 Dec. Trebonius doth desire you to o'er-read, 
 At your best leisure, this hiv humble suit. 
 Art. O Caesar, read mine first ; for mine's a 
 suit 
 
 That touches Csesar nearer: read it, great Cassar. 
 Cas. What touches us ourself shall be last 
 serv'd.2 
 
 Art. Delay not, Caesar; read it instantly. 
 
 viously in North's "Plutarch," there is mention made of "i?. 
 bondman, a stranger, who did what he could to speake with 
 him" (Caesar). Therefore it is possible that here this third 
 individual was meant by Shakespeare to make his appeararicc, 
 so as to give the effect of the numerous and various warnings 
 that Cassar received : although theatrical necessity may have 
 required that t'ne p?.rts of the soothsayer and the personage 
 who appears in the present scene were (in stage technical 
 phrase) *' doubled," or performed by the same actor; and thus 
 have led to the Folio printer's giving " Enter the Soothsayer." 
 
 94. Brjitns hath a suit that Ccesar ivill not grant. Portia 
 says this to Lucius by way of explaining her evident anxiety and 
 agitation, and of giving a colour to her aspiration that the 
 heavens would favour her husband in his "enterprise;" which 
 aspiration she fears the boy may have overheard 
 
 95. Say I am merry. Here, as elsewhere, Shakespeare uses 
 the word " merry" to signify 'cheerful.' So, in " Romeo and 
 Juliet," Act iv., sc. 2 — " See, where she comes from shrift with 
 jnerry look." 
 
 1. The ides of March are come. In allusion to the sooth- 
 sayer's words referred to in Note 19, Act i. Both the previous 
 warning and the allusion to it on the present occasion are 
 recorded by Plutarch. 
 
 2. What touches us ourself shall be last scrv'd. Mr. Collier's 
 MS. corrector alters this to— ' That touches us? Ourself shall 
 
Act 1 1 I.J 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 CVj. What ! is the fellow mad ? 
 Pub. Sirrah, give place. 
 
 Cas. What! urge you your petuions in the 
 street ? 
 Come to the Capitol. ^ 
 
 C^SAR enters the Capitol, the rest follo-u^ing.* 
 All the Senators rise. 
 
 Pop. I wish your enterprise to-day may thrive. 
 
 Cas. What enterprise, Popilius ? 
 
 Pop. Fare you well. 
 
 \_Ad'vances to C^SAR. 
 Bru. What said Popilius Lena ? 
 Cas. He wish'd to-day our enterprise might 
 thrive. 
 
 I fear our purpose is discovered. 
 Bru. Look, how he makes to Csesar: maik 
 him. 
 
 Cas. Casca, be sudden, for we fear pre- 
 vention. — 
 
 Brutus, what shall be done ? If this be known. 
 
 be last serv'd;' an alteration which is adopted by Mr. Craik, 
 who remarks, " To serve, or attend to, a person is a familiar 
 form of expression ; to speak of a thing as served, in the sense 
 of attended to, would, it is apprehended, be unexampled." Yet, 
 in "As You Like It," Act ii., sc. 7, Orlando says, " Nor shall 
 not, till necessity be serv'd; " where " serv'd," though meaning 
 ' ministered to,' ' serv'd with food,' also includes the meaning of 
 'attended to.' We think that the sentence in question bears the 
 meaning, 'That which concerns our own person shall be last 
 attended to;' "what" being used either for 'that which' (see 
 Note 12, Act iv., "Timon of Athens"), or for ' whatever' (see 
 Note 25, Act iii., " Coriolanus "). 
 
 3. Come to tite Capitol. Shakespeare not only in the present 
 play makes the Capitol the scene of Csesar's assassination, but 
 also in two passages in other plays alluding to the event. It is 
 probable, therefore, that there was some popular belief as to 
 this being the spot where Julius was killed ; although, in fact, 
 it was the curia, or council-house, built by Pompey and given 
 by him, together with his famous theatre which adjoined the 
 edifice, to the people of Rome. In this ciiria, where the senate 
 then assembled, stood the statue of Pompey ; to which Shake- 
 speare makes allusion in the present and the next scene (see 
 Notes 23 and 74 of this Act). He has also a reference to 
 " Pompey's Theatre" and " Pompey's Porch" — which latter 
 was a portico that surrounded it — towards the close of the first 
 Act ; therefore it seems as if the dramatist were perfectly awa e 
 of these particulars, although he chose to lay the scene of the 
 catastrophe in the Capitol, as the generally received and under- 
 stood place where it occurred. 
 
 4. Ccesar enters the Capitol, the rest, {d'c. There is no stage 
 direction here in the Folio. It is demanded by the exigencies 
 of the scene ; which require that the outside and inside of the 
 Capitol should here be supposed to be both visible to the 
 audience during the progress of the representation. The words 
 "All the Senators rise" are in accordance with a sentence to 
 that effect in North's " Plutarch." 
 
 5. Casslus or Ccesar never shall turn back. Malone proposed 
 to change " or " here to ' on ; ' and his change has been adopted 
 by two of the carefullest modern commentators — Mr. Craik 
 and Mr. Hunter- on the assumption that "turn back" cannot 
 be taken in the sense of ' return home,' ' return alive,' or ' return' 
 in any way. But see how Shakespeare uses the expression 
 " turn back" in the following instances : — " Gentle my lord, turn 
 back," " Measure for Measure," Act ii., sc. 2 ; "Turn thee back, 
 and tell thy king," &c., "Henry V.," Act iii., sc. 6; "We 
 turn not back the silks," &c., " Troilus and Cressida," Act ii., 
 
 Cassius or Cassar never shall turn back,* 
 For I will slay myself. 
 
 Bru. Cassius, be constant 
 
 Popilius Lena speaks not of our purposes ; 
 For, look, he smiles, and Caesar doth not change. 
 
 Cas, Trebonius knows his time ; for, look you, 
 Brutus, 
 
 He draws Mark Antony out of the way. 
 
 [Exeunt Antony and Trebonius. C^sar 
 and the Senators take their seats. 
 Dec. Where is Metellus Cimber? Let him go. 
 And presently prefer his suit to Csesar. 
 Bru. He is address'd:' press near and second 
 him. 
 
 Cln. Casca, you are the first that rears your 
 
 hand.8 
 Casca. Are we all ready 
 Cas. What is now amiss 
 
 That Czesar and his senate must redress ? 
 
 Met. Most high, most mighty, and most 
 
 puissant Caesar, 
 
 sc. 2; "Turn back, dull earth, and find," &c., "Romeo and 
 Juliet," Act ii., sc. i. Moreover, we think that the passage in 
 Plutarch's " Life of Marcus Brutus" — describing the incident of 
 Popilius Lena's passing hint to the conspirators respecting their 
 projected "enterprise," his proceeding to address Caesar, and 
 their dread that this portended a discovery of their purpose — 
 concludes with words that favour the retention of the Folio word 
 " or," and go far to show that " turn back " here means ' return. ' 
 In North's translation the words run thus: — "They [the con- 
 spirators] were affraid euerie man of them ; and one looking in 
 another's face, it was easie to see that they were all of a minde, 
 that it was no tarrying for them till they were apprehended, but 
 rather that they should kil themselves with their own hands. 
 And when Cassius and cert.aine other clapped their hands on 
 their swords under their gownes to draw them, Brutus, marking 
 the countenance and gesture of Lcena, and considering," &c. 
 We think that the expression "no tarrying," here, was more 
 likely to suggest to Shakespeare the intention of giving the 
 effect of ' return ' or ' get away,' conveyed by the expression 
 " turn back," than that he should have meant to make Cassius 
 say he would never turn his back on Caesar. With this con- 
 viction, we interpret the sentence in question to signify, ' Either 
 I or Caesar shall never return from hence;' ' Either I or he shall 
 never quit this place alive.' 
 
 6. Be constant. * Be firm,* *be selt-possessed.* Shakespeare 
 sometimes, as here and in the passage discussed in Note 52, 
 Actii., uses "constant" and "constancy" in this sense. The 
 French use their word aplomb to express * firmness,' ' steadi- 
 ness,' ' self-possession ; ' in the same way that Shakespeare 
 occasionally uses " constancy." 
 
 7. Address'd. 'Prepared,' 'ready.' See Note 70, Act iv., 
 " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 8. You are the first that rears your hand. Here "rears" 
 is used instead of ' are to rear.' The sentence would be more 
 consistent with usual construction were it written ' You are the 
 first that rear your hand,' or ' You are the first that rears his 
 hand ; ' but, as it stands, it is in accordance with an occasional 
 mode of construction used by Shakespeare. See Note 38, Act ii. , 
 "Winter's Talc." 
 
 9. A re we all ready ? The Folio prints these words as 
 forming the commencement of Caesar's next speech. Ritson 
 suggested that they seeined rather to belong to Cinna than 
 to C^sar ; and Mr. Collier's MS. corrector assigned them to 
 Casca. We adopt this arrangement, because they seem to 
 come with propriety from him in reply to Cinna's saying, 
 " Casca, you are the first," &c. 
 
Act III.] 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Act III. Scene I. 
 
 Metellus Cimber throws before thy seat 
 
 A humble heart. — {Kneeling, 
 
 Cics. I must prevent thee, Cimber. 
 
 These couchings'" anci these lo-.vly courtesies 
 Might fire the blood of ordinary men, 
 And turn pre-ordinance and first decree 
 Into the law of children." Be not fond. 
 To think that Cassar bears such rebel blood 
 That will be thaw'd from the true quality 
 
 10. Cotichings. Altered by Hanmer and others to ' crouch- 
 ings ;' but the original word is here used in accordance with the 
 sense which it bore in Shakespeare's time. He himself has— 
 "Henry V.," Act iv., sc. 2—" England shall couch down in 
 fear ;" Chapman, in his translation of Homer's " Iliad," Book 13, 
 speaking of draught oxen, says, " All heads couch' d so close to 
 earth they plow the fallow with their horns :" and Huloet explains 
 the word thus—" Cowche, like a dogge : Procumbo, Prostirno." 
 
 11. Tlie Itiw 0/ children. The Folio prints 'lane' instead 
 of "law." Johnson made the correction, justly observing that 
 " lane and lawem some manuscripts are not easily distinguished." 
 
 With that which melteth fools ; I mean, sweet 
 words, 
 
 Low-crooked court'sies,'''* and base spaniel fawn- 
 ing. 
 
 Thy brother by decree is banished : 
 
 If thou dost bend, and pray, and fawn for him, 
 
 I spurn thee like a cur out of my way. 
 
 Know, Csesar doth not wrong ; nor without cause 
 
 Will he be satisfied.i* 
 
 The sentence means, ' And cause that which is pre-ordained 
 and decreed to be of no more stability and consequence than if 
 it were a regulation appointed by children.' 
 
 12. Be not fond, to think, i^c. ' Be not so weak as to think, 
 &c.' For instance of similar construction, see Note 30, Act ii. 
 
 13. Low-crookhd courfsies. * Low-bent court'sies,' * low-bent 
 salutations with the knee.' Shakespeare uses " crook " for 
 ' bend ' in a passage which illustrates the present expression : 
 " Let the candied tongue lick absurd pomp ; and crook the 
 pr»gnaHt hinges of the knee, &c.," " Hamlet." Act iii., sc. 2. 
 
 14. Ccesar doth Jiot wroiig; Jtor iuitho7tt cause will he be 
 
 VOL. III. 
 
 203 
 
Act III.] 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Met. Is there no voice more worthy than my 
 own, 
 
 To sound more sweetly in great Caesar's ear 
 For the repealing of my banish'd brother? 
 Bru. I kiss thy hand, but not in flattery, 
 Csesar ; 
 
 Desiring thee that Publius Cimber may 
 Have an immediate freedom of repeal. 
 Cas. What, Brutus! 
 
 Cas. Pardon, Cffisar; Csesar, pardon : 
 
 As low as to thy foot doth Cassius fall. 
 To beg enfranchisement for Publius Cimber. 
 
 Cas. I could be well mov'd, if I were as 
 you ; 
 
 If I could pray to move, prayers would move 
 
 But I ain constant as the northern star. 
 Of whose true-fix'd and resting quality 
 There is no fellow in the firmament. 
 The skies are painted with unnumber'd sparks, 
 They are all fire, and every one doth shine ; 
 But there's but one in all doth hold his place : 
 So in the world, — -'tis furnish'd well with men. 
 And men are flesh and blood, and apprehen- 
 sive ; 16 
 
 Yet in the number I do know but one 
 That unassailable holds on his rank, 
 Unshak'd of motion : and that I am he, 
 Let me a little show it, even in this, — 
 That I was constant Cimber should be banish'ii, 
 And constant do remain to keep him so. 
 Cin. O Cassar,— 
 
 CiRS. Hence ! wilt thou lift up Olympus ? 
 
 Dec. Great Cssar, — 
 
 Cas. Doth not Brutus bootless kneel ? 
 
 satisfied. ' Csesar doth not commit injustice, nor witlioiit just 
 cause will he be satisfied.' We think that 'injustice' and 
 'justice' both being elliptically conveyed in the present sen- 
 tence, probably caused Ben Jonson to mis-quote it as he twice 
 did ; once in his " Discoveries," where, speaking of Shakespeare, 
 he says, " Many times he fell into those things that could not 
 escape laughter," as when he said in the person of Caesar, one 
 speaking to him, ' Caesar, thou dost me wrong,' he replied, 
 ' Caesar did never wrong but with just cause ;' and once in the 
 induction to " The Staple of News," where he makes Prologue 
 say, "Cry you mercy; you never did wrong but with just 
 cause." It is evident to our mind that Jonson quoted from 
 memory, having heard the play on th^ stage, and having 
 thought the phrase ran in the particular form which he gives 
 to it in both instances. It was most natur.al that to Jonson's 
 thinking the passage should statedly include the word "just;" 
 had he himself written it, not only would he never have 
 suffered "just" to be elliptically understood, but he would 
 never have penned anything so concise and inclusive. Jon- 
 son's style, in its formal prolixity and elaboration, is the very 
 opposite to Shakespeare's terse, succln<?t, pointed, yet largely 
 comprehensive style. We think it is much more likely that 
 Jonson quoted inaccurately, biased by his own particular taste 
 and judgment in literary composition, and even by his own 
 particular conceit of superiority, which allowed him at the very 
 moment of professing hearty afi"ection for Shakespeare, to say 
 such a ludicrously patronising and blindly judging thing of him 
 as, " His wit was in his ONvn power; would the rule of it had 
 
 Casca. Speak, hands, for me .' 
 
 [Casca stabs CjEsar in the neck. C^sar 
 catches hold oj his arm. He is then 
 stabbed by several other Conspirators, 
 and last by Marcus Brutus. 
 Cij). Et tu. Brute ?^'— Then fall, Cssar! 
 
 [Dies. The Senators and People retire 
 in conjusion. 
 
 Cin. Liberty! Freedom! Tyranny is dead ! — 
 Run hence, proclaim, cry it about the streets. 
 Cas. Some to the common pulpits, and cry 
 out, 
 
 " Liberty, freedom, and enfranchisement!" 
 
 Bru. People, and senators, be not afl^righted ; 
 Fly not ; stand still : — ambition's debt is paid. 
 
 Casca. Go to the pulpit, Brutus. 
 
 Dec. And Cassius too. 
 
 Bru. Where's Publius? 
 
 Cin. Here, quite confounded with this mutiny. 
 Met. Stand fast together, lest some friend of 
 
 Cjesar's 
 Should chance — 
 Bru. Talk not of standing. — Publius, good 
 
 cheer ; 
 
 riiere is no harm intended to your person, 
 Nor to no Roman else:^^ so tell them, Publius. 
 Cas. And leave us^ Publius ; lest that the 
 people 
 
 Rushing on us, should do your age some mischief. 
 
 Bru. Do so : — and let no man abide this deed,'* 
 But we the doers. 
 
 Re-enter Trebonius. 
 
 Cas. Where's Antony ? 
 
 Tre. Flpd to his house amaz'd i^"* 
 
 been so too ! " than that Shakespeare, aa by some critics has 
 been supposed, altered the present phrase from its original 
 diction, in consequence of Jonson's having denounced it as it 
 then stood. 
 
 15. If I could jiray io move, prayers would move me. ' If I 
 could bring myself to supplicate for yielding in my favour, I 
 might be brought to yield to supplication.' 
 
 16. Apprehensiz'e. 'Capable of comprehending,' 'possessed 
 of intelligence.' See Note §5, Act iv., "Second Part Henry 
 IV." 
 
 ij. Ei tu, Bruie ? Latin : ' And thou also, Brutus ? ' There 
 seems to have been a popular tradition that these words were 
 uttered by Caesar when he saw his friend Brutus among his 
 assailants ; but it is believed that the only classical authority 
 for them is in Suetonius, who, in describing the scene, mentions 
 a Greek exclamation, equivalent to 'And thou, my son?' as 
 the one that burst from Csesar on this occasion. 
 
 18. N'or to no Roman else. Instance of double negative. 
 See Note 46, Act ii., "Henry VIII." 
 
 ig. Let no man ahid'i tkis deed. Here " abide " signifies 
 ' endure the consequence of,' ' incur the penalty of The word 
 is akin to "aby"(see Note 51, Act ili., " Midsummer Night's 
 Dream") ; but "abide," instead of meaning to ' pay dearly for,' 
 ' to compensate for,' or ' purchase by suffering for,' means ' to 
 stay for the result and suffer the consequences,' ' to stand by the 
 deed and endure its consequences.' 
 
 20. Amaz'd. 'Bewildered,' 'confounded.' See Note 67, 
 Act iv., " King John." 
 
Act III.] 
 
 JULIbS CtESAR. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Men, wives, and children stare, cry out, and 
 run, 
 
 As it were doomsday. 
 
 Bru. Fates, we will know your pleasures : — 
 That we shall die, we know ; 'tis but the time, 
 And drawing days out, that men stand upon.^' 
 
 Casca. Why, he that cuts off twenty years of 
 ]ife22 
 
 Cuts off so many years of fearing death. 
 
 Bru. Grant that, and then is death a benefit: 
 So are, we Caesar's friends, that have ahridg'd 
 His time of fearing death. — Stoop, Romans, 
 stoop, 
 
 And let us bathe our hands in Cssar's blood 
 Up to the elbows, and besmear our swords : 
 Then walk we forth, even to the market-place, 
 And, waving our red weapons o'er our heads. 
 Let's all cry, " Peace, freedom, and liberty ! " 
 Cas. Stoop, then, and wash. — How many ages 
 hence 
 
 Shall this our lofty scene be acted over \ 
 In states unborn and accents yet unknown ! 
 Bru. How many times shall Caesar bleed in 
 sport. 
 
 That now on Pompey's basis lies along^s 
 No worthier than the dust! 
 
 Cas. So oft as that shall be. 
 
 So often shall the knot of us be call'd 
 The men that gave their country liberty. 
 
 Dec. What ! shall we forth ? 
 
 Cas. Ay, every man away : 
 
 Brutus shall lead ; and we will grace his heels 
 With the most boldest and best hearts^* of 
 Rome. 
 
 Bru. Soft! who comes here ? 
 
 Enter a Servant. 
 
 A friend of Antony's. 
 Serv. Thus, Brutus, did my master bid me 
 kneel ; 
 
 Thus did Mark Antony bid me fill down ; 
 And, being prostrate, thus he bade me say : — 
 
 21. stand upon. An idiomatic expression, signifying 'are 
 anxious for,' ' attach importance to.' See Note 72, Act ii. of 
 this play. 
 
 22. Why, he thai cuts off twenty years of life, &'c. Pope, 
 and several other editors since his time, have exchanged the 
 Folio prefix which gives this speech to Casca for one that 
 assigns it to Cassius ; but the sentiment and blunt diction here 
 precisely accord with Casca's words m Acti., sc. 3: — "Every 
 bondman in his own hand bears the power to cancel his cap- 
 tivity." 
 
 23. Mow on Pompey's basis lies along: The Folio here mis- 
 prints ' lye ' for " lies ; " a;; in the last line but one, ' state ' for 
 " states." " On Pompey's basis " means ' at the base of Pompey's 
 
 24. The viost boldest and best hearts. Instance of double 
 superlative. See Note 4, Act iii., " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 25. Be resolv'd. ' Be assured,' ' be relieved from perplexity,' 
 'have his uncertainty settled.' See Note 14, Act iii., "Third 
 Part Henry VI." 
 
 Brutus is noble, wise, valiant, and honest ; 
 Csesar was mighty, bold, royal, and loving ; 
 Say I love Brutus, and I honour him; 
 Say I fear'd Csesar, honour'd him, and lov'd 
 him. 
 
 If Brutus will vouchsafe that Antony 
 May safely come to him, and be resolv'd 
 How Cassar hath deserv'd to lie in death, 
 Mark Antony shall not love Csesar dead 
 So well as Brutus living ; but will follow 
 The fortunes and affairs of noble Brutus 
 Thorough the hazards of this untrod staters 
 With all true faith. So says my master Antony. 
 
 Bru. Thy master is a wise and valiant Roman ; 
 I never thought him worse. 
 Tell him, so please him come unto this place, 
 He shall be satisfied ; and, by my honour. 
 Depart untouch'd. 
 
 Serof. I'll fetch him presently. [Exit. 
 
 J}yu. \ know that we shall ha\e him well to 
 friend. 27 
 
 Cas. I wish we may : but yet have I a mind 
 That fears him much ; and my misgiving still 
 Falls shrewdly to the purpose.^^ 
 
 Bru, But here comes Antony. 
 
 Re-enter Antony. 
 
 Welcome, Mark Antony. 
 Ant. Oh. mighty Cassar ! dost thou lie so 
 low ? 
 
 Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils. 
 Shrunk to this little measure ? — Fare thee well. — 
 I know not, gentlemen, what you intend. 
 Who else must be let blood, who else is rank -.^^ 
 If I myself, there is no hour so fit 
 As Cssar's death's hour ; nor no instrument 
 Of half that worth as those your swords, made 
 rich 
 
 With the most noble blood of all this world. 
 I do beseech ye, if you bear me hard,3o 
 Now, whilst your purpled hands do reek and 
 smoke. 
 
 26. This untrod state. ' This new and untried state of 
 things.' See Note 77, Act i, 
 
 27. To friend. An idiomatic phrase, signifying ' to be our 
 friend,' ' for friend.' 
 
 28. My tnisgiving still falls shrewdly to the purpose. ' My 
 misgiving always proves astutely apt in its drift.' We use the 
 idiom, " to the purpose" — in such a sentence as 'his speech was 
 very much to the purpose ' — in the same sense that the French 
 use their idiomatic expression, a propos. 
 
 ■2^. Rank. 'Aspiring.' Note 15, Act i., " As You Like It," 
 and Note 80, Act i., " Troilus and Cressida," show how Shake- 
 speare uses"rank" and "rankness" to express 'rampant growth,' 
 and ' high-reaching insolence,' or ' arrogance.' A passage in 
 "Troilus and Cressida," Act i., sc. 3, demonstrates these linked 
 significations of the word blended by Shakespeare in the single 
 epithet, as there employed by him — "The seeded pride, that 
 hath to this maturity blown up in rank Achilles, must," &c. 
 
 30. If you bear nte hard. * If you bear me ill-will,' ' if you 
 hold me in enmity.' See Note 45, -Act ii. ♦ 
 
 291 
 
Act III.] 
 
 JULIUS 
 
 C^SAR. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Fulfil your pleasure. Live a thousand years,-*' 
 I shall not find myself so apt^^ to die : 
 No place will please me so, no mean of death,^^ 
 As here by Csesar, and by you cut off,^^ 
 The choice and master spirits of this age. 
 
 Bru. O Antony, beg not your death of us. 
 Though now we must appear bloody and cruel, 
 As, by our hands and this our present act. 
 You see we do ; yet see you but our hands. 
 And this the bleeding business they have done: 
 Oiir hearts you see not, — they are pitiful ; 
 And pity to the general wrong of Ro:ne 
 (As fire drives out fire, so pity pity) 
 Hath done this deed on Caesar. For your part. 
 To you our swords have leaden points, Mark 
 Antony ; 
 
 Our arms no strength of malice;^' and our hearts, 
 Of brothers' temper, do receive you in 
 With all kind love, good thoughts, and reverence. 
 Cas. Your voice shall be as strong as any 
 man's 
 
 In the disposing of new dignities. 
 
 Bru. Only be patient till we iiave appeas'd 
 The multitude, beside themselves with fear,^^ 
 And then we will deliver you the cause. 
 Why I, that did love Cassar when I struck him, 
 Have thus proceeded. 
 
 A'lt. I doubt not of your wisdom. 
 
 Let each man render me his bloody hand : 
 l''irst, Marcus Brutus, will I shake with you ; — 
 Next, Caius Cassius, do I take your hand ; — 
 Now, Decius Brutus, yours; — now yours, Me- 
 tellus ;— 
 
 ■^1. Live a thousaiui years. ' If I live a thousand years.' A 
 similar form of ellipsis to the one pointed out in Note 12, Act iii., 
 ' ' Merchant of Venice. " 
 
 32. Apt. Here used for 'ready,' 'thoroughly disposed,' 
 'willing;' as it is in the passage where Viola says ("Twelfth 
 IJight," Act v., sc. i):— 
 
 "And I, most jocund, aji(, and willingly, 
 To do you rest, a thousand deaths would die." 
 
 33. No mean of death. See Note 6e, Act i., " Richard III." 
 
 34. Here by Ceesar^ and by yore cut off. Not only is the use 
 of the same word in a different sense in one sentence — " by," in 
 the sense of ' by the side of,' and " by " in the sense of ' through' 
 —now thought inadmissible, but the introduction of this kind of 
 play upon a word in a serious passage would at present be 
 deemed misplaced. But when Shakespeare wrote, the one was 
 held to be perfectly legitimate, and the other was in accordance 
 •with a system of his explained in Note 6g, Act i., "Richard III." 
 
 35. Our arms no strength 0/ malice. The Folio misprints 
 * in' for "no" here. Capell's correction. 
 
 36. The multitude^ beside themselves tuith fear. " Beside 
 themselves" is a figurative idiom, like 'out of their wits,' 
 'bereft of their senses.' We still have the phrase 'not him- 
 self,' to express a person who is disordered in his intellects. 
 The Italians use fuor di se to express 'out of one's mind : ' 
 and Florio, in his Dictionary, explains fuor di sc by the 
 words, " Out of his wits, besides himself." 
 
 37. Conceit me. ' Conceive of me.' See Note gi. Act i. 
 
 ■fi. Dearer. ' More intensely,' ' more deeply.' See Note 61, 
 Act i., "As You Like It." 
 
 Yours, Cinna ; — and, my valiant Casca, yours ; — 
 Though last, not least in love, yours, good Tre- 
 bonius. 
 
 Gentlemen all, — alas ! what shall I say ? 
 My credit now stands on such slippery ground. 
 That one of two bad ways you must conceit 
 me,37 
 
 Either a coward or a flatterer. — 
 That I did love thee, Cassar, oh, 'tis true : 
 If, then, thy spirit look upon us now. 
 Shall it not grieve thee dearer^ than thy death. 
 To see thy Antony making his peace. 
 Shaking the bloody fingers of thy foes. 
 Most noble ! in the presence of thy corse ? 
 Had I as many eyes as thou hast wounds. 
 Weeping as fast as they stream forth thy blood. 
 It would become me better than to close 
 In terms of friendship with thine enemies. 
 Pardon me, Julius !^Here wast thou bay'd, brave 
 hart ; 
 
 Here didst thou fall ; and here thy hunters 
 stand, 
 
 Sign'd in thy spoil, and crimson'd in thy lethe.^' — 
 Oh, world, thou wast the forest to this hart ; 
 And this, indeed, oh, world, the heart of thee. — 
 How like a deer, stricken by many princes, 
 Dost thou here lie ! 
 
 Cas. Mark Antony, — 
 
 Ant. Pardon me, Caius Cassius : 
 
 The enemies of Caesar shall say this 
 Then, in a friend, it is cold modesty. ■'i 
 
 Cas. I blame you not for praising Caesar so ; 
 But what compact mean you to have with us ? 
 
 39. Lethe. From the Latin, lethum, death. Nares affirms 
 that when the word is used in this sense, as thus derived, it is 
 pronounced as a monosyllable ; but when it is used for the 
 waters of oblivion (see Note 12, Act iv., "Twelfth Night"), 
 it is pronounced as a dissyllable. Capell says that it is a term 
 used by hunters to signify the blood shed by a deer at its fall, 
 with which it is the custom to mark those who come in at the 
 death ; and the allusion in the present passage has evident 
 reference to that custom. See Note 44, Act ii., " King John." 
 " Life" has been employed by writers of Shakespeare's time to 
 signify ' life-blood :' and therefore here " lethe," a classical term 
 for * death,' is probably employed to signify * death-blood ; ' and, 
 inasmuch as it may be taken to indirectly involve the idea of 
 the river of oblivion, it also expresses ' death-stream,' or 'death- 
 flood.' Shakespeare, in his largely inclusive style and abundant 
 luxuriance of imagery, not unfrequently allows him.self thus to 
 blend varied allusion in one comprehensive word, to an extent 
 that puzzles those who have not sufficiently penetrated the prin- 
 ciple of this his peculiarity. For instance. Pope, not enough 
 taking into consideration this practice of Shakespeare's, altered 
 "lethe" here for 'death;' which loses the included effect of 
 'stream,' 'flood,' or 'blood,' so needful to the sense and poetry 
 of the passage, and which the original word, to our thinking, so 
 admirably comprises. See Note 2, Act iv., "Henry V.," anJ 
 Note 13, Act i., " Timon of Athens." 
 
 40. Th£ enemies of Ccesar shall say this. "This" is here 
 used elliptically for ' as much as this,' or ' this much.' 
 
 41. Modesty. Here, as elsewhere, used in the sfnse of 
 ' moderation,' ' reticence,' ' forbearance.' See Note 47, Act v., 
 " Henry Vin." 
 
 292 
 
Antony. Oh, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, 
 That I am meek and gentle with these butchers! 
 
 Act III. Scene I. 
 
Act III.] 
 
 Will you be prick'ii in number''^ of our friends; 
 Or shall we on, and not depend on you P 
 Ant. Therefore I took your hands ; but was, 
 indeed, 
 
 S'vay'd from Ihe point, by looking down on 
 Cssar. 
 
 Friends am I with you all,''' and love you all ; 
 Upon this hope, that you shall give me reasons 
 Why and wherein Caesar was dangerous. 
 
 Bru. Or else were this a savage spectacle : 
 Our reasons are so full of good regard, 
 That were you, Antony, the son of Cwsar, 
 You should be satisfied. 
 
 Ant. That's all I seek : 
 
 And am moreover suitor that I may 
 Produce his body to the market-place ;■*» 
 And in the pulpit, as becomes a friend. 
 Speak in the order of his funeral,''^ 
 
 Bru, You shall, Mark Antony. 
 
 Cas. Brutus, a word with you. — 
 
 \_Aside to Bru.] You know not what you do : do 
 
 not consent 
 That Antony speak in his funeral : 
 Know you how much the people may be mov'd 
 By that which he will utter ? 
 
 Bru. [Aside to Cas.] By your pardon ;— 
 I will myself into the pulpit first, 
 And show the reason of our Cfesar's (leat)\ : 
 What Antony shall speak, I will protest 
 He speaks by leave and by permission ; 
 And that we are contented Ctesar shall 
 Have all true rites ''^ and lawful ceremonies. 
 It shall advantage more than do us wrong. 
 
 Cas. \_Aside to Bru.] I know not what may 
 fall;*!' 1 like it not. 
 
 Bru. Mark Antony, here, take you Ca:sar"s 
 body. 
 
 42. Prick'ii in nniiiber. ' JIarked down among the number.' 
 See Note 33, Act iii., " Second Part Henrj- IV." 
 
 43. Friends am I 'with yon all. '* Friends," thus used in the 
 plural, is an idiomatic form still in use : were the word changed 
 to ' friend,' that it might grammatically accord with " I," the 
 phrase would lose the effect it conveys of ' we are friends,' 
 
 * ycm and I will be friends.' 
 
 44. Frodnce his body to ihe 7narkei-j'lace. "To " was some- 
 times used for ' in' by Shakespeare (see Note 6, Act iii., " First 
 Part Henry IV.") ; and in the present passage, by using the 
 word " to," the effect is given of * produce his body to the 
 pipuLice in the market-place;' because "to produce to" is 
 generally used with regard to persons, not things or places. 
 
 45. SJieali in ihe order of his fnneral. 'Speak in the ap- 
 pointed course of his funeral.' "Order" is here used for 
 
 * pre-arranged ceremonial,* or ' appointed course.' 
 
 46. Tme rites. Pope changed " true " to ' due ' here ; but, 
 in this pnssage, "true" is used to express 'rightful,' 'just.' 
 
 47. Fall. Here used for ' be.''all ; ' 'fall out,' in the sense of 
 
 * happen.* 
 
 48. The tide of times. ' The flow of time ;' ' the course of ages.' 
 
 49. A curse s/iall li.^ht nfon the limbs of men. The word 
 "limbs'* in the present line has been suspected of error; and 
 various substitutions have been proposed. The original word, 
 however, far from giving an unusual form of anathema, rather 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 You shall not in your funeral speech blame us, 
 But speak all good you can devise of Caesar; 
 And say you do 't by our permission ; 
 Else shall you not have any hand at all 
 .^bout his funeral : a;nd you shall speak 
 In the same pulpit whereto I am going, 
 After my speech is ended. 
 
 Ant. Be it so ; 
 
 I do desire no more. 
 
 Bru. Prepare the body, then, and follow us. 
 
 {Exeunt all except Antony. 
 
 Ant. Oh, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of 
 earth. 
 
 That I am meek and gentle with these butchers ! 
 
 Thou art the ruins of the noblest )nan 
 
 That ever lived in the tide of limes.''^ 
 
 Woe to the hand that shed this costly blood ! 
 
 Over thy wounds now do I prophesy, — 
 
 Which, like dumb mouths, do ope their ruby lips, 
 
 To beg the voice and utterance of my tongue, — 
 
 A curse shall light upon the limbs of men ;''^ 
 
 Domestic fury and fierce civil strife 
 
 Shall cumber all the parts of Italy ; 
 
 Blood and destruction shall be so in use, 
 
 And dreadful objects so familiar, 
 
 That mothers shall but smile when they behold 
 
 Their infants quarter'd with the hands of war ; 
 
 All pity chok'd with custom of fell deeds: 
 
 And Cesar's spirit, ranging for revenge, 
 
 With Ate^o by his side, come hot from hell, 
 
 Shall in these confines, with a monarch's voice, 
 
 Cry " Havoc," and let slip the dogs of war;^- 
 
 That this foul deed shall smell above the earth 
 
 With carrion men, groaning for burial. 
 
 Enter a Servant. 
 You serve Octavius Cssar, do you not ? 
 
 corresponds with a very common one ; ' my eyes and limbs ! ' 
 being a sailor's ordinary oath or e.xclamation. There is a 
 marked link of consistency between " the limbs of men" and 
 " woe to the hajid (or * hands,' as some have plausibly supposed 
 it may be) that shed this costly blood ; ** while there is also 
 analogy between "limbs" and "their infants quarter'd with 
 luinds of war." It appears to us that the "curse" being 
 invoked upon the "limbs of men," shows that the ancient 
 sacrificial offerings offered up to the manes of a murdered person 
 are here referred to ; and that the spirit of Czesar is to be 
 appeased by the heap of " carrion men" which will result from 
 the civil wars consequent upon the recent deed. 
 
 50. Ate. The goddess of strife and discord. See Note to. 
 Act ii., " King John.** 
 
 51. "Havoc." See Note 38, Act iii.," Coriolanus.* 
 
 52. Let slip tlie dogs of mar. ' To " let slip " a dog,' was a 
 hunting technicality, signifying to free it from the straps of 
 leather (called "slips;" see Note 17, Act iii., "Henry Y.") 
 which held it till the moment for pursuit. By "the dogs of 
 war," in the present passage, Shakespeare most probably makes 
 figurative allusion to the same image that he has in the chorus 
 to "Henry V.," Act i. :— 
 
 "... At his heels, 
 Leash'd-in like hounds, should famine, sword, and fire. 
 Crouch for employment." 
 
 JULIUS CJESAR. 
 
 234 
 
Act III.] 
 
 JULIUS CAESAR. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Serv. I do, Mark Antony. 
 Ant. Caesar did write for him to come to 
 Rome.*^ 
 
 Sera/. He did receive his letters, and is coming ; 
 And bid me say to you by word of mouth, — 
 
 [^Seeing the body. 
 
 O Caesar !— 
 
 Ant. Thy heart is t)ig, get thee apart and weep. 
 Passion, I see, is catching; for mine eyes,^'* 
 Seeing those beads of sorrow stand in thine, 
 Began to water. Is thy master coming ? 
 
 Ser'v. He lies to-night within seven leagues of 
 Rome. 
 
 Ant. Post back with speed, and tell him what 
 
 hath chanc'd : 
 Here is a mourning Rome, a dangerous Rome, 
 No Rome of safety for Octavius yet ; 
 Hie hence, and tell him so. Yet, stay awhile ; 
 Thou shall not back till I have borne this 
 
 corse 
 
 Into the market-place: there shall I try. 
 In my oration, how the people take 
 The cruel issue of these bloody men 
 According to the which,*' thou shalt discourse 
 To young Octavius of the state of things. 
 Lend me your hand. 
 
 [Exeunt 'with Caesar's bodf. 
 
 SCENE II.— Rome. ■ Tbe Fomm. 
 
 Enter Brutus ami Cassius, and a throng of 
 Citizens. 
 
 Citizens. We will be satisfied ; let us be 
 satisfied. 
 
 Eru. Then follow me, and give me audience, 
 friends. — • 
 Cassius, go you into the other street, 
 And part the numbers. — 
 
 Those that will hear me speak, let them stay 
 here ; 
 
 '53. To come to Rome. Octavius was the son of Atia, Julius 
 Csesar's niece ; and was adopted by the dictator. At the period 
 here denoted, Octavius was about nineteen years of age, and 
 was pursuing his studies at ApoUonia, in Illyricum. 
 
 54. Is catching; for mine eyes. The first Folio prints ' is 
 catching from mine eyes.' Corrected in the second Folio. 
 
 55. No Rome of safety. There is here the same pronunciation 
 and play upon the word pointed out in Note 42, Act i. of the 
 present play. 
 
 56. The cruel issue of these bloody men. " Issae" is here 
 used for 'procedure,' ' act : ' that which emanates from. Shake- 
 speare again uses the word in this sense, " Cymbeline," Act ii., 
 sc. I : — " Your issues, being foolish, do not derogate." 
 
 57. According to t!ie which. In the present passage " which" 
 refers to " how the people take," not to " issue." For an instance 
 of similar construction, see Note 17, Act i., " Henry V." 
 
 58. Censure me. 'Judge me,' 'form your own opinion of 
 me.' See Note 15, Act i., " Two Gentlemen of Verona." 
 
 59. Net that I loved Ciesar less, hut that I laved Rome 
 
 Those that will follow Cassius, go with him ; 
 And public reasons shall be rendered 
 Of Cssar's death. 
 
 First Cit. I will hear Brutus speak. 
 
 Sec. Cit, I will hear Cassius ; and compare 
 their reasons. 
 When severally we hear them rendered. 
 
 [Exit Cassius, 'with some of the Citizens. 
 
 Brutus ^Oi'.f imo the rostrum. 
 
 Third Cit. The noble Brutus is ascended : 
 silence ! 
 
 Bru. Be patient till the last. 
 Romans, countrymen, and lovers ! hear me for my 
 cause ; and be silent, that you may hear : believe 
 me for mine honour ; and havf respect to 
 mine honour, that you may believe ; censure 
 me*^ in your wisdom; and awake your senses 
 that you may the better judge. If there be any in 
 this assembly, any dear friend of Caesar's, to him I 
 say, that Brutus' love to Csesar was no less than 
 his. If, then, that friend demand why Brutus 
 rose against Csesar, this is my answer, — Not that 
 I loved Cassar less, but that I loved Rome more.^' 
 Had you rather Cassar were living, and die all 
 slaves ; than that Csesar were dead, to live all free 
 men ? As Csesar loved me, I weep for him ; as 
 he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was valiant, 
 I honour him: but, as he was ambitious, I sle\»» 
 him: there is tears*" for his love; joy for hio 
 fortune; honour for his valour ; and death for his 
 ambition. Who is here so base that would be 
 a bondman? If any, speak; for him have I 
 offended. Who is here so rude that would not 
 be a Roman? If any, speak; for him have I 
 ofl^ended. Who is here so vile that will not love 
 his country ? If any, speak ; for him have I 
 offended. I pause for a reply. 
 
 Citizens. None, Brutus, none. 
 
 Brit. Then none have I offended. I have done 
 no more to Caesar than you shall do to Brutus. 5' 
 The question** of his death is enrolled in the 
 Capitol; his glory not extenuated, wherein he was 
 
 more. ' Not because I loved Caesar the less, although I 
 killed him ; but because I loved Rome even more than I loved 
 
 60. There is tears. Here "tears" is used as a co'lective 
 noui ; because by putting " is" instead of ' are ' before " tears," 
 the verb is made to do multiplied duty in the sentence, giving 
 to be understood ' there is tears for his love ; ' there is joy for 
 his fortune ; there is honour for his valour; and there is death 
 for his ambition.' This construction is in accordance with a 
 practice of Shakespeare's (see Note 23, Act iv., " Timon of 
 Athens"); and thus " tears," "joy," "honour," and "death," 
 are each individualised, and not, we ihink (as Mr. Craik affirms), 
 regarded as making one thing. 
 
 61. / Suive done no more to Ccesar than you shall do to 
 Brutus. That is, dealt with him as the welfare of his country 
 required. 
 
 62. Question. Here used for ' statement of the reasons,' 
 'debated argument;' what in familiar and idiomatic parlance 
 would be expressed by ' the why and wherefore.' 
 
Act III.] 
 
 JULIUS CtESAR. 
 
 [Scene II, 
 
 worthy; nor his offences enforced," for which he 
 suffered death. Here comes his body, mourned by 
 
 \_Eiiter Antony and others, luith CjESAR's body.'] 
 
 Mark Antony : who, though he had no hand in 
 his death, shall receive the benefit of his dying, a 
 place in the commonwealth ; as which of you shall 
 not? With this I cfepart, — that, as I* slew my 
 best lover"'* for the good of Rome, I have tlie same 
 dagger for myself, when it shall please my country 
 to need my death. 
 
 Citizens. Live, Brutus! live! live 
 
 First Cit. Bring him with triumph home unto 
 his house. 
 
 Sec. Cit. Give him a statue with his ancestors. 
 Third Cit. Let him be Caesar. 
 Fourth Cit. Cssar's better parts 
 
 Shall be crown'd in Brutus. 
 
 First Cit. We'll bring him to his house with 
 
 shouts and clamours. 
 Bru. My countrymen, — 
 
 Sec. Cit. Peace, silence ! Brutus speaks. 
 
 First Cit. Peace, ho ! 
 
 Bru. Good countrymen, let me depart alone. 
 And, for my sake, stay here with Antony : 
 Do grace to Caesar's corse, and grace his speech 
 Tending to Cassar's glories; which Mark Antony, 
 Dy our permission, is allow'd to make. 
 I do entreat you, not a man depart, 
 Save I alone, till Antony have spoke. [Exit. 
 
 First Cit. Stay, ho! and let us hear Mark 
 Antony. 
 
 Third Cit. Let him go up into the public 
 chair ; 
 
 We'll hear him. — Noble Antony, go up. 
 Jnt. For Brutus" sake, I am beholden to you. 
 
 [Goes up. 
 
 Fourth Cit. What does he say of Brutus ? 
 
 Third Cit. He says, for Brutus' sake, 
 
 He finds himself beholden to us all. 
 
 Fourth Cit. 'Twere best he speak no harm of 
 Brutus here. 
 
 First Cit. This Caspar was a tyrant. 
 
 Third Cit. Nay, that's certain : 
 
 We are bless'd that Rome is rid of him. 
 
 63. Enforced. Here used for ' exaggeratedly urged,' ' un- 
 fairly dwelt upon.' See Note 83, Act iii., '* Coriolanus." 
 
 64. Lover. 'Friend.' See Note 88, Act ii. 
 
 63. To need my death. In these two speeches of address to 
 his countrymen from Brutus, Shakespeare has pursued the 
 characteristic hint respecting Brutus's style, which is found in 
 North's " Plutarch :"— "They do note in some of his Epistles, 
 that he counterfeited that brief compendious manner of speech 
 of the Lacedzemonians. As when the war was begun, he wrote 
 vnto the Pergamenians in this sort : — ' I vnderstand you haue 
 giuen Dolabella money ; if you haue done it willingly, you 
 confesse you haue offended me ; if against your wils, shew it 
 then by gluing me willingly.' Another time againe vnto the 
 Samians : ' Your councels be long, your doings be slow, consider 
 the end.' And in another Epistle he wrote vnto the Patareians : 
 
 Sec. Cit. Peace ! let us hear what Antony can 
 say. 
 
 Ant. You gentle Romans, — 
 
 Citizens. Peace, ho ! let us hear him. 
 
 Ant. Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me 
 your ears ; 
 I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. 
 The evil that men do lives after them ; 
 The good is oft interred with their bones; 
 So let it be with Cassar. The noble Brutus 
 Hath told you Csesar was ambitious : 
 If it were so, it was a grievous fault ; 
 And grievously hath Caesar answer'd it. 
 Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest 
 (For Brutus is an honourable man ; 
 So are they all, all honourable men), 
 Come I to speak in Ca;sar's funeral. 
 He was my friend, faithful and just to me: 
 But Brutus says he was ambitious ; 
 And Brutus is an honourable man. 
 He hath brought many captives home to Rome, 
 Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill : 
 Did this in Csesar seem ambitious ? 
 When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath 
 wept : 
 
 Ambition should be made of sterner stuff': 
 Yet Brutus says he was ambitious ; 
 And Brutus is an honourable man. 
 You all did see that on the Lupercal 
 I thrice presented him a kingly crown, 
 Which he did thrice refuse : was this ambition ? 
 Yet Brutus says he was ambitious ; 
 And, sure, he is an honourable man. 
 I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke. 
 But here I am to speak what I do know. 
 You all did love him once, — not without cause : 
 What cause withholds you, then, to mourn for 
 him ? 
 
 Oh, judgment, thou art f^ed to brutish beasts. 
 And men have lost their reason!— Bear with 
 me ; 
 
 My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, 
 And I must pause till it come back to me. 
 First Cit. Methinks there is much reason in his 
 sayings. 
 
 ' The Xanthians despising my g( 
 a graue of despaire, and the Pa 
 my protection, haue lost no iol 
 whitest you haue liberty, eitl 
 
 od-.vill, haue made their countrey 
 areians that put themselues into 
 of their liberty : and therefore 
 er chuse the iudgment of the 
 
 Patareians, or the fortune of the Xanthians. These were 
 Brutus maner of letters, which were honored for their brief- 
 nesse." The dramatist's purpose was also well served by here 
 giving to Brutus his peculiarly laconic diction, as it comes in 
 strikingly effective contrast with that of Mark Antony ; which 
 is polished, insinuative, florid, and ample. 
 
 65. S/iall be crown'd in Brutus. The defective foot in this 
 half line, as the dialogue is in verse here, has been variously 
 filled up by the insertion of a monosyllable between "shall" and 
 " be ;" Pope giving 'now,' and Mr. Staunton proposing either 
 'air or ' well.' 
 
Citizens. The will ! the testament ! 
 
 Second Citizen. They were villains, murderers : the will ! read the 
 
 Act III. Scene II. 
 
Act III.] 
 
 JULIUS 
 
 C^SAR. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Sec. Cit. If thou consider rightly of the matter, 
 Csesar has had great wrong. 
 
 Th'ird Cit. Has he, masters 
 
 1 fear there will a worse come in liis place. 
 Fourth Cit. Mark'd ye his words ? He would 
 not take the crown ; 
 Therefore 'tis certain he was not ambitious. 
 First Cit. If it be found so, some will dear 
 abide it.^^ 
 
 Sec. Cit. Poor soul ! his eyes are red as fire with 
 weeping. 
 
 Third Cit. There's not a nobler man in Rome 
 
 than Antony. 
 Fourth Cit. Now mark him, he begins again to 
 
 speak. 
 
 Ant. But yesterday the word of Ca;sar might 
 Have stood against the world ; now lies he 
 there, 
 
 And none so poor to do him reverence. 
 Oh, masters, if I were dispos'd to stir 
 Your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage, 
 I should do Bi utus wrong, and Cassius wrong, 
 Who, you all know, are honourable men : 
 I will not do them wrong ; I rather choose 
 To wrong the dead, to wrong myself, and you. 
 Than I will wrong such honourable men. 
 But here's a parchment with the seal of Cassr.r, — 
 I found it in his closet, — 'tis his will : 
 Let hut the commons hear this testament 
 (Which, pardon me, I do not mean to read), 
 And they would go and kiss dead Cssar's wounds, 
 And dip their napkins in his sacred blood 
 Yea, beg a hair of him for. memory, 
 And, dying, mention it within their wills, 
 Bequeathing it, as a rich legacy, 
 Unto tlieir issue. 
 Fourth Cit. We'll hear the will: read it, Mark 
 Antony. 
 
 Citizens. The will, the will ! we « ill hear 
 
 Ca;sars will. 
 Ant. Have patience, gentle friends, 1 must net 
 
 read it ; 
 
 It is not meet you know how Cxsar lov'd you. 
 You are not wood, )ou are not stones, but 
 men ; 
 
 And, being men, hearing the will of Caesar, 
 It will inflame you, it will make you mad : 
 
 67. Has he, masters ? Here tiso the defect in the metre 
 has been supplied; Capell introducing 'my' before "masters," 
 and IVIr. Craik placing ' not' after ' he.' 
 
 68. Some mill dear abide it. See Note 19 of the present Act. 
 
 69. Dip iheir napkins in his sacred blood. "Napkins" is 
 here used for 'handkerchiefs.' See Note 46, Act iv., "As You 
 Like It." For a similar allusion with the one contained in the 
 present passage, see Note 83 of Act ii. in this play. 
 
 70. / have d ershot vtyself. * I have gone beyond the mark 
 in what I have said,' ' I have said more than I intended.' 
 
 71. The Nerziii. A number of small tribes around the river 
 .Scheldt ; whose territory afterwards became known as Belgium 
 The defeat to which Antony alludes formed one of Caisar's 
 
 'Tis good you know not that you are his heirs ; 
 For, if you should, oh, what would come ot it ! 
 Fourth Cit. Read the will ; we'll hear it, 
 Antony ; 
 
 You shall read us the will, — Cassar's will. 
 Ant. Will you be patient? will )ou stay 
 awhile ? 
 
 I have o'ershot myself to tell you of it : 
 I fear I wrong the honourable men 
 Whose daggers have stabb'd Caesar ; I do fear it. 
 Fourth Cit. They were traitors : honourable 
 men ! 
 
 Citizens. The will ! the testament ! 
 
 S(c. Cit. They were villains, murderers: the 
 
 will ! read the will. 
 Ant. You will compel me, then, to read the 
 
 will ? 
 
 Then make a ring about the corpse of Csesar, 
 And let me show you him that made the vi ill. 
 Shall I descen.d ? and will you give me leave ?^ 
 Citizens. Come down. 
 
 Sec. Cit. Descend. [Antony fowfj ^/oTt«. 
 Third Git. You shall have leave. 
 Fourth Cit. A ring; stand round. 
 First Cit. Stand from the hearse, stand from 
 tlie body. 
 
 Sec. Cit. Room for Antony, most noble 
 Antony. 
 
 Ant, Nay, press not so upon me; stand far 
 off. 
 
 Citizens. Stand back ; room ; bear back. 
 Ant. If you have tears, prepare to shed them 
 now. 
 
 You all do know this mantle : I remember 
 The first time ever Csesar put it on ; 
 'Twas on a summe:'? evening, in his tent. 
 That day he overcame the Nervii :'' — 
 Look, in this place ran Cassius' dagger through : 
 See what a rent the envious Casca made : 
 I'hrough this the well-beloved Brutus stabb'd ; 
 And, as he pluck'd his cursed steel away, 
 Mark how the blood of Cassar follow'd it, 
 As rushing out of doors, to be resolv'd 
 If Brutus so unkindly knock'd or no ; 
 For Brutus, as you know, was Czesar's angel 
 Judge, oh, you gods, how dearly Cassar lov'd 
 him ! 
 
 famous victories, and a.s such was peculiarly calculated to excite 
 the speaker's heai-ers into enthusiasm. 
 
 72. C(esar's angel. It has been supposed that this expression 
 lias allusion to a guardian spirit or angel ; but it appears to us 
 to mean a man venerated ^nd beloved by Ca;sar as if he hjid 
 been an angel. At the period when Shakespeare wrote, the 
 terms of afiectionate friend.-^hip between men were passionately 
 tender and exalted ; and that to a degree only used by men to 
 women in more modern times. See Note 71, Act iii., " Mer- 
 chant of Venice," and Note 98, Act iii., "Twelfth Night;" and 
 also the passage in " Coriolanus," Act v., sc. 3, where IMenenius 
 is spoken of by Coriolanus as one who " loved me above the 
 measure of a father , nay, godded me, indeed." 
 
Act III.] 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 This was the most unkindest cut-'^ of all ; 
 For when the noble Csesar saw him stab, 
 Ingratitude, more strong than traitors' arms. 
 Quite vanquish'd him : then burst his mighty 
 heart ; 
 
 And, in his mantle muffling up his face, 
 Even at the base of Pompey's statua/-* 
 Which all the while ran blood, great Csesar 
 fell. 
 
 Oh, what a fall was there, my countrymen ! 
 Then I, and you, and all of us fell down, 
 Whilst bloody treason flourish'd'''' over us. 
 Oh., now you weep ; and, I perceive, you feel 
 The dint^' of pity : these are gracious drops. 
 Kind souls, what! weep you when you but behold 
 Our Cassar's vesture wounded ? Look you here. 
 Here is himself, marr'd, as you see, with traitors. 
 
 First Cit. Oh, piteous spectacle ! 
 
 Sec. Cit. Oh, noble Cssar ! 
 
 Third Cit. Oh, woful day ! 
 
 Fourth Cit. Oh, traitors, villains ! 
 
 First Cit. Oh, most bloody sight ! 
 
 Sec. Cit. We will be revenged : revenge, — 
 about,- seek, — burn, — fire,— kill, — slay, — let not a 
 traitor live ! 
 
 Ant. Stay, countrymen. 
 
 First Cit. Peace there ; hear the noble Antony. 
 Sec. Cit. We'll hear him, we'll follow him, we'll 
 die with him. 
 
 Ant. Good friends, sweet friends, let me not 
 stir you up 
 To such a sudden flood of mutiny. 
 They that have done this deed are honour- 
 able ;— 
 
 What private griefs-'s they ha\e, alas! I know 
 not. 
 
 That made them do it; — they are wise and 
 
 honourable, 
 And will, no doubt, with reasons answer you. 
 I come not, friends, to steal away your hearts : 
 I am no orator, as Brutus is ; 
 But, as you know me all, a plain blunt man, 
 That love my friend ; and that they know full 
 ' well 
 
 That gave me public leave to speak of him : 
 For I have neither wit,?^ nor words, nor worth, 
 Action, nor utterance, nor the power of speech, 
 
 73. The most unkindest cut. Double superlative. See 
 Note 24 of this Act. 
 
 74. At the base of Potnpey's statua. Here "statua" is 
 spelt by the FoHo printer 'statue.' See Note 82, Act ii. of 
 this play. 
 
 75. Which all ike 'Mhile ran blood. ' Which all the while was 
 streaming with the blood that flowed from Csesar's wounds.' 
 Shakespeare has adopted this image from North's " Plutarch:"— 
 "Against the base whereupon Pompey's image stood, which 
 ran all of a goare bloud." 
 
 76. Flourish'd. Here used for ' triumphed,' ' exalted ; ' in- 
 cluding the sense of ' prospered,' ' prevailed.' 
 
 77. The dint. ' The impression,' ' the strong effect.' 
 
 To Stir men's blood : I only speak right on ; 
 I tell you that which you yourselves do know ; 
 Show you sweet Cssar's wounds, poor poor dumb 
 mouths. 
 
 And bid them speak for me: but were 1 Brutus, 
 And Brutus Antony, there were an Antony 
 Would ruffle up your spirits, and put a tongue 
 In every wound of Caesar, that should mo\ e 
 The stones of Rome to rise and mutiny. 
 
 Citizens. We'll mutiny. 
 
 First Cit. We'll burn the house of Brutus. 
 
 Third Cit. Away, then ! come, seek the con- 
 spirators. 
 
 Ant. Yet hear me, countrymen ; yet hear me 
 speak. 
 
 Citizens. Peace, ho! hear Antony, most noble 
 Antony. 
 
 Ant. Why, friends, you go to do you know not 
 what. 
 
 Wherein hath Csesar thus deserv'd your loves ? 
 Alas! you know not, — I must tell you, then : — 
 You have forgot the will I told you of. 
 Citizens. Mo,st true ;— the will :— let's stay and 
 
 hear the will. 
 Ant. Here is the will, and under Csesar's 
 seal : — 
 
 To every Roman citizen he gives. 
 
 To every several man, seventy-five drachm.as.^" 
 
 Sec. Cit. Most noble ^Caerar ! — we'll revenge 
 his death. 
 
 Third Cit. Oh, royal Csesar ! 
 
 Ant. Hear me with patience. 
 
 Citizens. Peace, ho! 
 
 Ant. Moreover, he hath left you all his walks. 
 His private arbours, and new-planted orchards, 
 On this side Tiber; he hath left them you. 
 And to your heirs for ever, — common pleasures. 
 To walk abroad, and recreate yourselves.**' 
 Here was a Csesar! when comes such another ? 
 
 First Cit. Never, never. — Come, awny, away ! 
 We'll burn his body in the holy place,^^ 
 And with the brands fire the traitors' houses. 
 Take up the body. 
 
 Sec. Cit. Go fetch fire. 
 
 Third Cit. Pluck down benches. 
 . Fourth Cit. Pluck down form.s, windows, any- 
 thing. [Exeunt Citizens nvith the body. 
 
 See Note 
 
 Folio ; corrected in the 
 
 worth four sesterces ; 
 " Coriolanus." 
 
 78. Private griefs. ' Personal grie 
 Act iv., " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 79. Wit. Printed ' writ ' in the firsi 
 second. 
 
 80. Drachmas. The drachma wa; 
 about sevenpence. See Note 70, Act i., 
 
 81. Common pleasures, to walk abroad, and recreate your- 
 selves. * Pleasures to be enjoyed by you all in common, where 
 you may walk abroad and recreate yourselves.' The construc- 
 tion is elliptical. 
 
 82. In the holy place. ' In consecrated ground.' The place 
 where a body was buried was held sacred by the Romans, but 
 not the place where it was burned. 
 
Act III.] JULIUS C^SAR. [Scene III. 
 
 Octavius. Your brothei- too muht die; consent yon, Lepidus ? 
 Lepidiis. I do consent. Act IV, Scene I. 
 
 Ant. Now let it work : — mischief, thou art 
 afoot, 
 
 Take thou what course thou wilt ! 
 
 Enter a Servant. 
 
 How now, fellow ! 
 Serv. Sir, Octavius is already come to Rome. 
 ■ Ant. Where is he ? 
 Sernj. He and Lepidus are at Cassar's house. 
 Ant. And thither will I straight to visit 
 him : 
 
 He comes upon a wish.^-* Fortune is merry, 
 And in this mood will give us anything. 
 
 83. ffe comes jtpon a wish. An idiomatic form of ' he comes 
 immediately upon my wish,' ' he comes just as I have been 
 wishing for him." 
 
 84. Things uiilucky charge vty fantasy. The Folio gives 
 'unluckily' for "unlucky" here. Warburton made the cor- 
 rection ; which appears to us to be probably right, because 
 
 Sew. I heard him say, Brutus and Cassius 
 Are rid like madmen through the gates of Rome. 
 
 Ant. Belike they had some notice of the people. 
 How I had mov'd them. Bring me to Octavius. 
 
 , \_Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE III.— Rome. A Street. 
 
 Enter Cinna the Poet. 
 
 Cin. I dreamt to-night that I did feast with 
 Csesar, 
 
 And things unlucky charge my fantasy -.^^ 
 
 the passage conveys the idea of superstitious impression, 
 akin to that implied in the passage referred to in Note 63, • 
 Act ii., " Merchant of Venice," and because Steevens men- 
 tions that in an old black-letter treatise on fortune-telling 
 he found that "to dream of being at banquets betokeneth 
 misfortune." 
 
Act IV.j 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 I have no will to wander forth of doors, 
 Yet something leads me forth. 
 
 Enter Citizens. 
 First Cit. What is your name ? 
 Sec. Cit. Whither ari you going ? 
 Third Cit. Where do you dwel.i' 
 Fourth Cit. Are you a married man or a 
 bachelor? 
 
 Sec. Cit. Aiissver every man directly. 
 
 Fiist Cit. Ay, and briefly. 
 
 Fourth Cit. Ay, and wisely. 
 
 Third Cit. Ay, and truly, you were best. 
 
 Cin. What IS my name ? Whither am I going? 
 Where do I dwell ? Am I a married man or a 
 bachelor ? Then, to answer every man directly 
 and briefly, wisely and truly : — Wisely I say, I am 
 a bachelor. 
 
 Sec. Cit. That's as much as to say, they are 
 fools that marry : — you'll bear me a bang for that,*' 
 I fear. Px-oceed ; directly. 
 
 Cin. Directly, I am going to Cresar's funeral. 
 First Cit. As a friend or an enemy ? 
 Cin. As a friend. 
 
 Sec. Cit. That matter is answered directly. 
 Fourth Cit. For your dwelling, — briefly. 
 Cin. Briefly, I dwell by the Capitol. 
 Third Cit. Your name, su-, truly. 
 Cin. Truly, my name is Cinna. 
 First Cit. Tear him to pieces ; he's a con- 
 spirator. 
 
 Cin. I am Cinna the poet, I am Cinna the poet. 
 
 Fourth Cit. Tear him for his bad verses, tear 
 him for his bad verses. 
 
 Cin. I am not Cinna the conspirator. 
 
 Fourth Cit. It is no matter, his name's Cinna ; 
 pluck but his name out of his heart, and turn him 
 going. 
 
 Third Cit. Tear him, tear him ! Come, brands, 
 ho! firebrands: to Brutus', to Cassius' ; burn all : 
 some to Decius' house, and some to Casca's ; some 
 to Ligarius' : away, go ! [Exeunt. 
 
 ACT 
 
 SCENE I.— Rome. ^ Room in An tony's 
 House. 
 
 Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus, seated at a 
 table. 
 
 Ant. These many, then, shall die ; their names 
 
 are prick'd.' 
 Oct. Your brother too must die ; consent you, 
 
 Lepidus? 
 Lep. I do consent, — 
 
 Oct. Prick him down, Antony. 
 
 Lep. Upon condition Publius shall not live, 
 Who is your sister's son, Mark Antony 
 Ant. He shall not live; look, with a spot I 
 doom him. 
 
 85. You'll bear me a tang- /or that. 'You'll have to bear a 
 bang for that.' The " me " is used idiomatically and exple- 
 tively, in the mode we have so often poi nted out. See Note i 
 Act ii., " Timon of Athens." 
 
 86. Pluck but his name out of his heart. ' Do but pluck his 
 lame," &c., ' only pluck his name,' &c. A similar transposition 
 of" but" to those pointed out in Note 48, Act ii. 
 
 1. Prick'd. Marked down for proscription. See Note 42, 
 Act iii. 
 
 2. IVho is your sister's son, Mark Antony. Mr. Upton 
 demonstrated that the person here meant, according to history, 
 was not Publius, but Lucius Caesar, the brother of Mark Antony's 
 mother ; he therefore suggested that the true reading might 
 be, " You are his sister's son, Mark Antony." But it is more 
 
 IV. 
 
 But, Lepidus, go you to Cajsar's house ;^ 
 T'etcii the will hither, and we shall determine 
 How to cut off some charge in legacies. 
 
 Lep. What! shall [ find you here? 
 
 Oct. Or here, or at the Capitol. 
 
 [Exit Lepidus. 
 
 Ant. This is a slight, umneritable man,'' 
 Meet to be sent on errands: is it fit, 
 The three-fold world divided, he should stand 
 One of the three to share it ? 
 
 Oct. So you thought him ; 
 
 And took his voice who should be prick'd to die. 
 In our black sentence and proscription. 
 
 Ant. Octavius, I have seen more days than 
 you : 
 
 probable, we think, that Shakespeare here, as he sometimes 
 does, in adopting passages from history, blended two persons 
 in one; since in Plutarch's " Life of Brutus" we find mention 
 of " Publius Sicilius, who shortly after was one of the proscripts 
 or outlawes appointed to be slaine." 
 
 3. Go you to Casar's house. This sentence and the one 
 a- little farther on, "Or here, or at the Capitol," show that 
 Shakespeare intended to lay the present scene in Rome ; 
 although there is every probability that he had seen in North's 
 "Plutarch" that "all three met together (to wit, Cajsar, 
 Antonius, and Lepidus) in an iland enuironed round about 
 with a little riuer," 
 
 4, A slight, ujtmeritable jnan. ' An insignificant, unmeri- 
 toriousman.' Words ending in "ve" and "ble",-ire occasionally 
 thus used by Shakespeare. See Note 29, Act ii. 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 And though we lay these honours on this man. 
 To ease ourselves of divers slanderous loads, 
 He shall but bear them as the ass bears gold, 
 To groan and sweat under the business, 
 Either led or driven, as we point the way ; 
 And having brought our treasure where we 
 will. 
 
 Then take we down his load, and turn him off. 
 Like to the empty ass, to shake his ears. 
 And graze in commons. 
 
 Oit. You may do your will : 
 
 Bat he 's a tried and valiant soldier. 
 
 Ant. So is my horse, Octavius ; and for that 
 I do appoint him store of provender: 
 It is a creature that I teach to fight, 
 To wind, to stop, to run directly on, — • 
 His corporal motion govern'd by my spirit. 
 And, in some taste,^ is Lepidiis but so ; 
 He must be taught, and train'd, and bid go 
 forth ;— 
 
 A barren-spirited fellow; one that feeds 
 On objects, arts, and imitations, 
 Which, out of use and stal'd by other men,^ 
 Begin his fashion : do not talk of him. 
 But as a property .'7 And now, Octavius, 
 Listen great things -.^ — Brutus and Cassius 
 Are levying powers: we must straight make 
 head : 
 
 Therefore let our alliance be combin'd, 
 Our best friends made, and our best means stretch'd 
 out;« 
 
 And let us presently go sit in council, 
 
 5. Ill some taste. ' In some small degree.' A " taste " is 
 still familiarly used to express a slight specimen of anything. 
 
 6. On objects, arts, and unitations, which, &'c. This is the 
 reading of the Folio ; excepting that there a full stop is placed 
 after "imitations." The line has been variously altered by 
 various emendators : Theobald giving ' abject orts ; ' Staunton, 
 ' abjects, orts and Becket, ' abject arts." The objection we 
 make to all these alterations is, that they represent the par- 
 ticulars spoken of as being already stale ; whereas, it appears 
 to us that they are intended to be things originally available, 
 but now grown ** out of use and stal'd by other men." We 
 think that the commencement of the difficulty found in this 
 passage was occasioned by Malone's note upon it : — Objects," 
 he says, " means, in Shakespeare's language, whatever is pre- 
 sented to the eye." Now, to our mind, by "objects" Shake- 
 speare here means 'objects of pursuit,' 'objects to be attained ;' 
 by "arts," 'artful practices,' 'dexterities in scheming;' and 
 by "imitations," such 'simulations of fairness and truth' as 
 Baconian .statesmen hold to be eligible. That Lepidus is here 
 mentioned as one that affects political strategy and astute tricks 
 of diplomacy that are rejected, as worn out, by other men, but 
 adopted by him as something new and clever, we feel to be not 
 only shown in the present passage, but to be borne out by the 
 character of Lepidus as Shakespeare has admirably drawn it 
 in "Antony and Cleopatra." 
 
 7. As a property. 'As something to be held in subjection, 
 and treated as we please.' See Note 20, Act v., " King 
 John." 
 
 8. Listen great things. " Listen " is here, like some other 
 verbs by Shakespeare, used actively, in contradistinction to 
 modern usage. See Note 32, Act i. 
 
 9. Our best friends made, and our best means stretch'd out. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 How covert matters may be best disclos'd, 
 And open perils surest answered. 
 
 Oct. Let us do so : for we are at the stake, 
 And bay'd about with many enemies 
 And some that smile have in their hearts, I 
 fear. 
 
 Millions of mischieft. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE U.— Before Brutus' Tent, in the Camp 
 near Sardis. 
 
 Drum. Enter Brutus, Lucilius, Lucius, and 
 Soldiers; TiTINlus and PlNDARUS meeting 
 them. 
 
 Bru. Stand, ho ! 
 
 Lucil. Give the word, ho ! and stand. 
 Bru. What now, Lucilius ! is Cassius near ? 
 Lucil. He is at hand ; and Pindarus is come 
 To do you salutation from his master. 
 
 [PiND.\Rus ^r/'wj a letter to Brutus. 
 Bru. He greets me well. — Your master, Pin- 
 darus, 
 
 In his own change," or by ill officers. 
 Hath given me some worthy cause to wish 
 Things done, undone : but, if he be at hand, 
 I shall be satisfied. 
 
 Pin. I do not doubt 
 
 But that my noble master will appear 
 Such as he is, full of regard and honour.^^ 
 
 This is the reading of the second Folio ; the first Folio giving 
 the line thus imperfectly : — ' Our best friends made, our meanes 
 stretcht.' We take occasion to remark that the present passage 
 affords illustration of the one discussed in Note 103, Act iv., 
 "Second Part Henry IV., because in this passage the word 
 "made," and in the other the word "make" in connection 
 with "friends," shows that " to make friends" is not used 
 in these instances by Shakespeare exactly as we use the 
 term, expressing ' to forin friends,' but rather expressing ' to 
 secure friends ; ' ' to make those already friendly into strong 
 adherents.' 
 
 10. Bay'd about with many enemies. Shakespeare uses the 
 word "bay'd" with largely comprehensive meaning: he uses 
 it to express 'surrounded,' 'encompassed,' and 'brought to a 
 stand,' as when a stag is at bay ; to express ' embayed,' 
 ' enclosed,' as when a ship is in a bay ; and to express ' baited 
 at,' 'barked at,' as a hunted animal, or one bound to a stake, is 
 bayed at by dogs. As he uses the word, it means ' beset closely 
 and persecutingly ; ' and even in one instance (see passage 
 referred to in Note 21, Act iv., "Midsummer Night's Dream") 
 it means ' chased and brought to bay.' In the previous passage 
 of the present play, "Here wast thou bay'd, brave hart" (see 
 passage referred to in Note 39, Actiii.), the word makes evident 
 allusion to a hunted deer ; in the present passage the image is 
 of a baited bear. 
 
 11. In his own change. ' Ifl his own changed conduct,' 'in' 
 his own change of conduct.' 
 
 12. Full of regard and honour. Here "regard" is used for 
 that which is worthy of regard ; according to a mode which 
 Shakespeare occasionally has of employing words in this man- 
 ner. See Note 18, Act iii., "All's Well;" Note 65, Act i., 
 " Richard II. ; " and Note 36, Act ii. of the present play. 
 
 JULIUS C/ESAR. 
 
 302 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 JULIUS C-'ESAR. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Biu. He is not double J. — A word, Lucilius; 
 Wow he receiv'd you, let ine be resolv'd. 
 
 Luc'il. With courtesy and with respect enough ; 
 But not with such familiar instances,'* 
 Nor with such free and friendly conference, 
 As he hath us'd of old. 
 
 Hru. Thou hast describ'd 
 
 A hot friend cooling: ever note, Liicilius, 
 When love begins to sicken and decay, 
 It useth an enforced ceremony. 
 There are no tricks in plain and simple faith : 
 But hollow men, like horses hot at hand,'* 
 Make gallant show and promise of their mettle ; 
 But when they should endure the bloody spur, 
 Tliey fall their crests, and, like deceitful jades, 
 Siiik in the trial. Comes his army on f 
 
 Lucil. They mean this night in Sardis to be 
 quarter'd ; 
 The greater part, the horse'' in general. 
 Are come with Cassius. {March 'within. 
 
 Bru. Hark ! he is arriv'd : — 
 
 March gently on to meet him; 
 
 Enter Cassius and Soldiers. 
 Cas. Stand, ho! 
 
 Bru. Stand, ho ! Speak the word along. 
 Within. Stand ! 
 Within. Stand ! 
 Within. Stand ! 
 
 Cas. Most noble brother, you have done me 
 wrong. 
 
 Bru. Judge me, you gods! wrong I mine 
 enemies ? 
 
 And, if not so, how should I wrong a brother ? 
 
 Cas. Brutus, this sober form of yours hides 
 wrongs ; 
 And when you do them — 
 
 Bru. Cassius, be content;'^ 
 
 Speak your griefs softly, — I do know you well : — 
 
 13. Insiances. ' Earnest enforcements,' ' pressing solicita- 
 tions.' ' Instancy,' meaning ' urgency of appeal,' was a form 
 of the word used by writers of Shalcespeare's time. 
 
 _ 14. Hot at hand. ' Full of fire when lej by the h.->nd,' See 
 Note 4t, Act v., " Henry VIII." 
 
 15. Horse. Here used for ' horsemen.' See Note 50, Act i., 
 "Timon of Athens." 
 
 16. Be content. ' Be self-restrained.' 
 
 17. Nothing but love from us. ' To each other' is elliptically 
 understood after " us." 
 
 18. Enlarge your griefs. ' Enlarge upon your grievances,' 
 'give free vent to your grievances.' The word " enlarge," as it 
 is here used, combines the senses it has in both the familiar ex- 
 pressions, ' to enlarge upon a theme,' and ' to enlarge a prisoner ' 
 
 19. Lncilius, do you the like; and let tio man . . . Let 
 Lucius and Titinius guard, i^c. Mr. Craik made a trans- 
 position of the two names, "Lucilius" and "Lucius," and 
 omitted the word " let" in the last line ; an arrangement which 
 has points of decided advantage to recommend it. It obviates 
 the superfluous foot in tlie first line, and it assigns to Lucilius 
 the gnardian.ship of the door in conjunction with Titinius, which 
 seems borne out by Luciiius's subsequent words in the next 
 
 Kc'fore tlie c) es of both our armies here, 
 Wliich should perceive nothing but love from 
 us, '7 
 
 Let us not wrangle : bid them move away ; 
 Then in my tent, Cassius, enlarge ) our griefs,'* 
 And I will give you audience. 
 
 Cas. Pindarus, 
 Biti our commanders lead their charges off 
 A little from this ground. 
 
 Bru. Lucilius, do \ ou the like ; and let nc 
 man 
 
 Come to our tent till we have done our con- 
 ference. 
 
 Let Lucius and Titinius guard our door." 
 
 \_Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE in.— Within the Tent 0/ Brutus. 
 Enter Brutus and Cassius. 
 
 Cas. That you have wrong'd me doth appear 
 in this, — 
 
 You have condemn'd and noted Lucius Pella 
 For taking bribes here of the Sardians ; 
 Wherein my letters, praj ing on his side, 
 Because I knew the man, were slighted- off. 
 Bru. You wrong'd yourself to write in such a 
 case. 
 
 Cas. In such a time as this it is not meet 
 That every nice offence should bear his com- 
 ment.2o 
 
 Bru. Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself 
 Are much condemn'd to have an itching palm ; 
 To sell and mart your offices for gold 
 To undeservers. 
 
 Cas. I an itching palm ! 
 
 You know that )ou are Brutus that speak this. 
 Or, by the gods, this speech were else your last. 
 
 scene, " You shall not come to them," and by Brutus's address- 
 ing the two men together, where he says, " Lucilius and 
 Titinius. bid the commanders," &c. Nevertheless, bearing in 
 mind Shakespeare's occasional too many or too few feet in a 
 line where proper names are concerned (see Note 42, Act i., 
 " Richard II."), also that here Lucilius is sent with a message 
 "to bid the commanders," &c., as he is afterwards, and also 
 that Lucius is within call in the next scene as well as Lucilius, 
 we adhere to our principle of changing the original text as little 
 as possible. Another point we think tends to strengthen the. 
 probability that the Folio gives the names rightly here ; which 
 is, that Lucius is a page in close and constant perstmal attend- 
 ance upon Brutus, and therefore less likely to be despatched 
 on a message to the commanders than Lucilius, who is a 
 military officer ; while the boy would very naturally be bid to 
 remain within the tent, as one of those desired to guard its 
 entrance, and keep watch to prevent intruders. Lucilius, too, 
 may well be imagined to have returned and joined Titinius, ere 
 the time when they enter together, following the camp poet. 
 
 20. Every nice offence should bear his comment. " Nice " is 
 here used in the sense of ' slight,' ' trivial ' (see Note 98, Act iii., 
 " Richard III.") ; and "his" for ' its.' 
 
 303 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 JULIUS C-ESAR. 
 
 Scene III. 
 
 Bru. The name of Cassius honours this corrup- 
 tion, 
 
 And chastisement doth therefore hide his head. 
 Cas. Chastise/nent ! 
 
 Bru. Remember March, the ides of March re- 
 member : 
 
 Did not great Julius bleed for justice' sake ? 
 What villain touch'd his body.^i that did stab. 
 And not for justice ? What! shall one of us, 
 That struck the foremost man of all this world 
 But for supporting robbers, shall we now 
 Contaminate our fingers with base bribes, 
 And sell the mighty space of our large honours 
 For so much trash as may be grasped thus ?— 
 I had rather be a dog, and bay the moon, 
 Than such a Roman. 
 
 Cas. Brutus, bay not me,^^— 
 
 I'll not endure it: you forget yourself. 
 To hedge me in I am a soldier, I,^^ 
 Older in practice, abler than yourself 
 To make conditions.-* 
 
 ^ru. Go to ;26 you are not, Cassius. 
 
 Cas. I am. 
 
 Bru. I say you are not. 
 
 Cas. Urge me no more, I shall forget mv- 
 self; 
 
 Ilave mind upon your health, tempt me no 
 farther. 
 Bru. Away, slight man ! 2? 
 Cas. Is 't possible ? 
 
 S'u- Hear me, for I will spenk. 
 
 Must I give way and room to your rash choler ? 
 Shall I be frighted when a madman stares? 
 
 Cas. Oh, ye gods, ye gods! must I endure all 
 this ? 
 
 Bru. All this! ay, more: fret till your proud 
 
 heart break ; 
 Go sliow your slaves how choleric you are, 
 And make your bondmen tremble. Must I 
 
 budge ? 
 
 Must I observe you ?23 must I stand and crouch 
 
 21. JV/mi villain touch'd his body, &'c. ' Who among those 
 that assailed Csssar was a villain that stabbed him otlierwise 
 than for justice ?' 
 
 22. Brutus, hay not me. The Folio prints ' baite ' here ; but 
 it is evident that C.issius is intended to retort the same word 
 that Brutus has just used. Theobald made the correction. 
 Here "bay" is used for 'pertinaciously bark,' 'harassingly 
 bark.' See Note lo of the present Act. 
 
 23. To hedge lue in. 'To restrain me,' 'to encompass me 
 with restraint.' See Note 6, Act ii., " Merchant of Venice." 
 
 24. I am <y soldier, I. See Note 66, Act iii., " Romeo and 
 Juliet." 
 
 25. To make conditions. To decide the terms upon which 
 offices shall be conferred. 
 
 26. Go to. An idiomatic expression, equivalent to the familiar 
 phrases, 'get away with you,' 'have done with this.' The 
 English 'pooh pooh," or 'pshaw,' and the Irish 'be aisy' are 
 now commonly used in the same sense that "go to" was 
 formerly used, excepting that "goto" was employed with less 
 common effect, although with (generally) an equally scornful 
 one. It occasionally was employed more as the word via 
 
 L) nder your testy humour ? By the gods, 
 You shall digest the venom of your spleen, 
 I'hough it do split ycu; for, from this day forth, 
 I'll use you for my mirth, yea, for my laughter. 
 When you are waspish. 
 
 Cas. Js it come to this ? 
 
 Bru. You say you are a better soldier : 
 Let it appear so ; make ) our vaunting true. 
 And it sliall please me well : for mine own part, 
 I shall be glad to learn of noble men.^'J 
 
 Cas. You wrong me every way ; you wrong 
 me, Brutus ; 
 I said, an elder soldier, not a better : 
 Did I say, better ? 
 
 If you did, I care not. 
 Cas. When Ciesar liv'd, he durst not thus have 
 mov'd me. 
 
 Bru. Peace, peace ! yc u durst not so have 
 
 tempted him. 
 Cas. I durst not ! 
 Bru. No. 
 
 Cas. What ! durst not tempt him ? 
 
 Bru. For your life you durst not. 
 
 Cas. Do not presume too much upon my 
 
 love ; 
 
 I may do that I shall be sorry for. 
 
 Bru. You have done that you should be sorry 
 for. 
 
 There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats j^o 
 For I am arm'd so strong in honesty. 
 That they pass by me as the idle wind. 
 Which I respect not. I did send to you 
 For certain sums of gold, which you denied 
 me ; — 
 
 For I can raise no money by vile means : 
 
 By Heaven, I had rather coin my heart. 
 
 And drop my blood for drachmas, than to wring 
 
 From the hard hands of peasants their vile trash 
 
 By any indirection — I did send 
 
 To you for gold to pay my legions, 
 
 Which you denied me: was that done like Cassius? 
 
 was used (see Note 47, Act ii., "Merry Wives"), to imply 
 encouragement, exultation, or exhortation. ' 
 
 27. Away, sliglit man ! Here "slight" is used in the same 
 disparaging sense of ' insignificant ' that it bears in the passage 
 discussed in Note 4 of the present Act. 
 
 28. Afust I observe you? 'Must I pay you observance?' 
 ' Must I treat you with deferential attention ?' 
 
 29. I shall be glad to learn of noble men. The word "noble " 
 here has been altered to 'abler' by Mr. Collier's MJ. cor- 
 rector and others : but it appears to tis that Brutus, by the 
 word " noble," intends a stinging reflection upon the ignoble , 
 dealings, the selling " offices for gold to undeservers," the taking 
 "base bribes," for which he has been rebuking Cassius ; whose 
 reply, "You wrong me everyway," we think shows that he feels 
 this, as well as the misquoting of bis words in the early part of 
 Brutus's speech, " a better soldier." See Note 54 of this Act. 
 
 30. There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats. The word 
 "terror" is here used like the word "fear" in the passage 
 referred to in Note 36, Act ii 
 
 31. Ijidirection. ' Indirectne.ss,' 'unfairness;' 'unrightful 
 means.' See Note 34, Act iii., " King John." 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 JULIUS C/ESAR. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Sliould I have answer'd Caius Cassius so? 
 When Marcus Brutus grows so covetous, 
 To lock such rascal counters from his friends, 
 Be ready, gods, with all your thunderbolts, 
 Dash him to pieces ! 
 
 Cas. I denied you not. 
 
 Bru. You did. 
 
 Cas. I did not : — he was but a fool that brought 
 My answer b.ick. —Brutus hath riv'd my heart : 
 A friend should bear his friend's infirmities, 
 But Brutus makes mine greater than they are. 
 
 Bru. I do not, till you practise them on me. 
 
 Cas. You love me not. 
 
 Bru. I do not like your faults. 
 
 Cas. A friendly eye could never see such faults. 
 
 Bru. A flatterer's would not, though they do 
 appear 
 
 As huge as high Olympus. 
 
 Cas, Come, Antony, and young Octavius, 
 come. 
 
 Revenge yourselves alone on Cassius, 
 For Cassius is a-weary of the world ; 
 Hated by one he loves ; brav'd by his brother ; 
 Check'd like a bondman ; all his faults observ'd,^- 
 Set in a note-book, learn'd, and conn'd by rote,^^ 
 To cast into my teeth. Oh, I could weep 
 My spirit from mine eyes !— There is my dagger, 
 And here my naked breast ; within, a heart 
 Dearer than Plutus' mine,3i richer than gold : 
 If that thou be'st a Roman, take it forth ; 
 I, that denied thee gold, will give my heart : 
 Strike, as thou didst at Caesar ; for, I know, 
 When thou didst hate him worst, thou lov'dst him j 
 better 
 
 Than ever thou lov'dst Cassius. 
 
 Bru. Sheathe your dagger : ; 
 
 Be angry when you will, it shall have scope ; I 
 Do what you will, dishonour shall be humour.^'' 
 O Cassius, you are yoked with a lamb 
 That carries anger as the flint bears fire ; 
 Who, much enforced,-'"' shows a hasty spark, 
 And straight is cold agsyn. 
 
 Cas. Hath Cassius liv'd 
 
 32. A/l his faults ohserv'd . ... to cast into my te.'th. j 
 Here is another instance of Shakespeare's use of an abrupt 
 change of pronoun in a speech as a means of pathetic force in 
 effect. Cassius uses the words "he" and "his" throughout 
 his lament, until he brings it to piercing climax by the home- 
 thrust in the little word " my." See Note 78, Act iv., " Timon 
 of Athens." 
 
 33. Conn'd by rote. 'Studied thoroughly,' 'committed to 
 memory by dint of repetition.' See Note 3, Act iv., " Coriolanus." 
 
 34. Dearer than Plutus mine. 'Worth more to me than all 
 that Piutus, god of ric'ies, owns.' A similar error occurs in the 
 Folio here as in the pass.ige pointed out in Note 55, Act iii., 
 "Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 35. Dishonour shall be humour. 'Any indi.ijnity coming 
 from you shall be allowed to pass for the effect of hasty tem- 
 perament.' See Note 4, Act ii., " Coriolanus," and Note 77, 
 Act iii., "Timon of Athens." 
 
 36. IVho, much enforced. " Who," used for ' which ' in the 
 
 To be but mirth and laughter to his Brutus, 
 When grief, and blood ill-temper'd, vexeth him ? 
 Bru. When 1 spoke that, I was ill-temper'd 
 too. 
 
 Cas. Do you confess so much ? Give me your 
 hand. 
 
 Bru. And my heart too. 
 C.7J. O Brutus,— 
 
 Bru. What's the matter ? 
 
 Cas. Have not you love enough to bear with 
 me, 
 
 When that rash humour which my mother gave 
 me 
 
 Makes me forgetful ? 
 
 B)u. Yes, Cassius; and, from henceforth, 
 
 When you are over-earnest with your Brutus, 
 He'll think your mother chides, and leave you 
 so. 
 
 Poet. [IV/thi/i.'] Let me go in to see the 
 generals ; 
 
 There is some grudge between them, 'tis not meet 
 They be alone. 
 
 Lucil. [IFithin.'] You shall not come to them. 
 
 Poet. [IFithin ] Nothing but death shall stay 
 me. 
 
 Enter Poet, foiioived by LuciLius and Titinius. 
 
 Cas. How now ! what's the matter ? 
 Poet. For shame, you generals ! what do you 
 mean ? 
 
 Love, and be friends, as two such men should be ; 
 For I have seen more years, I'm sure, tlian ye. 
 Cas. Ha, ha! how vilely doth this cynic^' 
 rhyme ! 
 
 Bru. Get you hence, sirrah ; saucy fellow, 
 hence ! 
 
 Cas. Bear with him, Brutus; 'lis his fashion. 
 Bru. I'll know his humour, when he knows his 
 time : 
 
 What should the wars do with these jigging^^ 
 
 fools ? — 
 Companion,^" hence ! 
 
 Cas. Away, away, be gone! \_Exit Poet. 
 
 present passage, has the same force of effect for figurative pur- 
 pose that it has in the passage pointed out in Note 18, Act v., 
 Richard II." 
 
 37. This cynic. The passage in North's " Plutarch," record- 
 ing the entrance of this intruder, represents him as " a cynic 
 philosopher; " and the expression in the text shows tliat Shake- 
 speare had in mind the character of the person here introduced, 
 as originally recorded, though he rather chose to represent him 
 as one of those professional rhymesters that used to follow the 
 camp in ancient wars, and doggerelise the feats of the leaders. 
 
 38. /'// know his humour, nvhen he knows his time. ' I'll 
 bear in mind the tolerated mode of his class, when he bears in 
 mind his proper time for exerci.sing it.' 
 
 39 7'.?f:i"g- A "jig" was formerly used for a ballad or 
 rhyming verse, as well as for a dance ; therefore here "jigging" 
 means 'rhyming,' 'ballad-making.' 
 
 40. Companion. Used as a term of contempt. See Note 33, 
 Act iv., " Coriolanus." 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 JULIUS 
 
 C^SAR. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Bru.. Lucilius and Titinius, bid the commanders 
 Prepare to lodge their companies to-night. 
 
 Cos. And. come yourselves, and bring Messala 
 with you 
 Immediately to us. 
 
 \_Exeunt Lucilius and Titinius. 
 Bru. Lucius, a hou 1 of wine ! 
 
 Cas. I did not think, you could have been so 
 angry. 
 
 Bru. O Cassius, I am sick of many griefs. 
 Cas. Of your philosophy you make no use, 
 If you give place to accidental evils. 
 Bru. No man bears sorrow better. — Portia is 
 
 dead. 
 Cas. Ha! Portia! 
 Bru. She is dead. 
 
 Cas.. How scap'd I killing when I cross'd you 
 so ?— 
 
 Oh, insupportable and touching loss ! — 
 Upon what sickness 
 
 Bru. Impatient of my absence, ''^ 
 
 And grief that young Octavius with Mark Antony 
 Have made themselves so strong ; — for u ith her 
 death 
 
 That tidings came — with this she fell distract, 
 And, her attendants absent, swallow'd fire.''^ 
 
 Cas. And died so ? 
 
 Bru. Even so. 
 
 Cas. Oh, ye immortal gods ! 
 
 Enter Lucius, luith ucine and tapers. 
 Bru. Speak no more of her. — Give me a bowl 
 of wine.— 
 
 In this I bury all unkindness, Cassius. [_Drinks. 
 
 Cas. My heart is thirsty for that noble pledge.— 
 Fill, Lucius, till the wine o'erswell the cup ; 
 I cannot drink too much of Brutus' love. 
 
 [Dri/tks. 
 
 Bru. Come in, Titinius! 
 
 Re-enter Titinius, luith Messala. 
 
 Welcome, good Messala. — 
 Now sit we close about this taper here, 
 
 41. l//o)i -uhat sickness ? Here " upon " is used idiomatically : 
 and expresses ' in consequence of.' 
 
 42. Impatient of my abse?u:e. The use of " impatient " here, 
 where ' impatience ' would be in more strictly grammatical ac- 
 cordance with "grief" in the sentence, affords a proof how 
 faithfully to nature Shakespeare delineated emotional diction ; 
 which is so apt to fall into disjointed and inaccurate expression. 
 
 43. For with Imr death that tidings came. The construction 
 is elliptical here ; ' the tidings of being understood between 
 " her" and " with." We the rather point this out because the 
 sentence has been differently explained. That our interpreta- 
 tion is correct, we think is shown by Brutus's subsequent 
 words: "I have here received letters," &c. The inconsecu- 
 tive construction in the present speech is consistent with the 
 dramatist's admirable usage in this particular, where he wishes 
 to mark agitation in the speaker. See Note 23, Act ii. of this 
 play. 
 
 44. Swallovj'd fire. This is taken from North's " Plutarch ;" 
 
 [ And call in question''^ our necessities. 
 Cas. Portia, art thou gone 
 
 Bru. No more, I pray you. — 
 
 Messala, I have here receive 1 letters. 
 That young Octavius and Mark Antony 
 Come down upon us witii a mighty power, 
 Bending their expedition toward Philippi. 
 
 Mes. M) self have letters of the selfsame tenour. 
 
 Bru. With what addition ? 
 
 Mes. That by proscription and bills of 
 outlawry, 
 Octavius, Antony, and Lepidus, 
 Have put to death a hundred senators. 
 
 Bru. Therein our letters do not well agree ! 
 Mine speak of seventy senators that died 
 By their proscriptions, Cicero being one. 
 
 Cas. Cicero one ! 
 
 Mes. Cicero is dead, 
 
 And by that order of proscription. — 
 Had you your letters from your wife, my lord ? 
 
 Bru. No, Messala. 
 
 Mes. Nor nothing in your letters writ of her? 
 Bru. Nothing, Messala. 
 
 Mes. Tliat, methinks, is strange. 
 
 Bru. Why ask you ? hear you aught of her in 
 
 . yours ? 
 Mes. No, my lord. 
 
 Bru. Now, as you are a Roman, tell me true. 
 Mes. Then like a Roman bear the truth I 
 tell: 
 
 For certain she is dead, and by strange manner. 
 Bru. Why, farewell, Portia. — We must die, 
 Messala : 
 
 With meditating that she must die once,'"' 
 I have the patience to endure it now. 
 Mes. . Even so great men great losses should 
 endure. 
 
 Cas. I have as much of this in arf*' as you, 
 But yet my nature could not bear it so. 
 Bru. Well, to our work alive. ■'^ What do you 
 think 
 
 Of marching to Philippi presently? 
 Cas. I do not think it good. 
 
 which says: — ".And for Porcia, Brutus' wife, Nicolaus the 
 Philosopher, and Valerius Maximus do write, that she, deter- 
 mining to kil herselfe (her parents and friends carefully looking 
 to her to keepe her from it) tooke hote burning coles and cast 
 them into her mouth, and kept her mouth so close, that she 
 choked herselfe." 
 
 45. Call in question. 'Discuss the question of,' 'bring for- 
 ward for consideration;' the idiom "call in question" is now 
 used to express 'dispute,' 'put into doubt.' 
 
 46. Once. Here used for ' at one time or other.' See Note 
 51, Act v., " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 47. In art. ' In studied philosophy,' ' in acquired reasoning.' 
 
 48. Well, to our work alive. This expression, thus intro- 
 duced, has triple effect : it includes the sense of ' let us now 
 devote ourselves to the work which we survivors have to do ;' 
 the sense of ' let us attend to our work that concerns the living, 
 not the dead ;' and the sense of ' let us proceed to our work 
 with animation.' 
 
Act I V.J 
 
 JULIUS 
 
 C^SAR. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Bru. Your reason ? 
 
 Cas, Tliis it is : — 
 
 'Tis better that the enemy seek us: 
 So shall he waste his means, weary his soldiers, 
 Doing liimself offence; whilst we, lying still, 
 Are full of rest, defence, and nimbleness. 
 
 Bru. Good reasons must, of force, give place 
 to better. 
 
 The people 'twixt Puilippi and this ground 
 
 Do stand but in a forc'd affection ; 
 
 I'"or they have grudg'd us contribution : 
 
 The enemy, marching along by them, 
 
 By them shall make a fuller number up,'" 
 
 Come on refresh'd, new-added,^" and encourag'd ; 
 
 From which advantage shall we cut him off. 
 
 If at Philippi we do face him there. 
 
 These people at our back. 
 
 Cas. Hear me, good brother. 
 
 Bru. Under your pardon. — You must note 
 beside. 
 
 That we have tried the utmost of our friends. 
 
 Our legions are brim-full, our cause is ripe: 
 
 The enemy incr;aseth every day ; 
 
 We, at the height, are ready to decline.^' 
 
 There is a tide in the affairs of men, 
 
 Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune ; 
 
 Omitted, all the voyage of their life, 
 
 Is bound 52 in shallows and in miseries. 
 
 On such a full sea are we now afloat; 
 
 And we must take the current when it serves. 
 
 Or lose our ventures. 
 
 Cas. Then, with your will, go on ; 
 
 We'll along ourselves, and meet them at Philippi. 
 
 Bru. The deep of niglit is crept upon our talk, 
 And nature must obey necessity ; 
 Which we will niggard with a little rest. 
 There is no more to say ? 
 
 Cas. No more. Goodnight: 
 
 Early to-morrow will we rise, and hence. 
 
 Bru. Lucius, my gown. \_Exit Lucius.] Fare- 
 well, good Messala : — 
 Good night, Titinius : — ^noble, noble Cassius,** 
 Good night, and good repose, 
 
 Cas. Oh, my dear brother! 
 
 This was an ill beginning of the night : 
 
 49. Marching along by them, by them sliall, (s'c. As an 
 illustration of the present passage, see Note 46, Act ii., and 
 Note 34, Act iii. of this play. 
 
 50. New-added. This has been altered to ' new-aided,' and 
 'new-hearted;' but " new-added " appears to express 'reinforced,' 
 ' having gained fresh and additional strength of numbers.' 
 
 51. At the height, are ready to decline. 'At the height of 
 our advantage, are in position to decline ;' as the tide inevitably 
 ebbs whan it has attained its highest point. The immediately 
 following image of the " tide " gives this figurative effect to be 
 understood in the present line. 
 
 52. Is bound. Here the word " bound" is used in accordance 
 ■with the sense it bears in the marine technical expressions, 
 'weather-bound,' or 'wind-bound;' and therefore has admirable 
 appropriateness to express ' held fast,' ' hemmed in." 
 
 Never come such division 'tween our souls ! 
 Let it not, Brutus. 
 
 Bru. Everything is well. 
 
 Cas. Good night, my lord. 
 
 Bru. Good night, good brother. 
 
 Tit., Mes. Good night. Lord Brutus, 
 
 Bru. Fare« ell, every one. 
 
 [Exeunt Cas., Tit., and Mes. 
 
 Re-enier Lucius, nju'iih the goivn. 
 
 Give me the gown. Where is thy instrument ? 
 Luc. Here in the tent. 
 
 Bru. W hat ! thou speak'st drowsily ? 
 
 Poor knave I^* I blame thee not; thou art o'er- 
 watch'd.s" 
 
 Call Claudius and some other of my men ; 
 I'll have them sleep on cushions in my tent. 
 Luc. Varro and Claudius ! 
 
 Enter Varro and Claudius. 
 Var. Calls my lord ? 
 
 Bru. I pray you, sirs, lie in my tent and sleep ; 
 It may be I shall raise you by-and-by 
 On business to my brother Cassius. 
 
 Var, So please you, we will stand and watch 
 
 your pleasure. 
 Bru. I will not have it so : lie down, good 
 sirs; 
 
 It may be I shall otherwise bethink me. — 
 
 [Var. and Clau. lie doiun. 
 Look, Lucius, here's the book I sought for so ; 
 I put it in the pocket of my gown. 
 Luc. I was sure your lordship did not give it 
 me. 
 
 Bru. Bear with me, good boy, I am much for- 
 getful. 
 
 Canst thou hold up thy heavy eyes awhile, 
 And touch thy instrument a strain or two ? 
 
 Luc. Ay, my lord, an 't please you. 
 
 Bru. It does, my boy : 
 
 I trouble thee too much, but thou art willing. 
 
 Luc. It is my duty, sir. 
 
 Bru. I should not urge thy duty past thy 
 might ; 
 
 I know young bloods look for a time of rest. 
 
 53. Niggard. A verb formed for his purpose here by Shake- 
 speare, from a word ordinarily used as either a noun or an 
 adjective, to express ' supply sparingly,' ' give in stinted 
 
 54. Noble, noble Cassius. The emphatic repetition of the 
 word "noble" here has the effect, to our minds, of being not 
 only an expression of perfect reconciliation and restored esteem, 
 but also of being a kind of implied atonement for the hinted 
 reflection upon Cassius's conduct in the passage referred to in 
 Note 29 of this Act ; and therefore goes far to support the 
 propriety of retaining the original readmg there. 
 
 55. Knave. Here, and a few speeches farther on, used for 
 'lad,' ' boy.' See Note 46, Act iii., " Merry Wives." 
 
 56. O'er-waicKd. ' Worn out with too much watching,' 
 'kept too long in wakeful attendance.' 
 
Act IV.J JULIUS C^SAR. [Scene III. 
 
 Bniius. Speak to me what thou art. 
 
 Clwst. Thy evil spirit, Brutus. Act IV. Scene III. 
 
 Luc. I have slept, my lord, already. 
 Riu. It was well done; and thou shalt sleep 
 again ; 
 
 I will not hold thee long: if I do live, 
 I will be good to thee. [Music, and a song. 
 
 This is a sleepy tune : — Oh, murderous slumber, 
 Lay'st thou thy leaden mace upon my boy. 
 That plays thee music ?— Gentle knave, good 
 night; 
 
 I will not do thee so much wrong to wake thee : 
 IF thou dost nod, thou break'st thy instrument ; 
 
 I'll take it from thee ; and, good boy, good 
 night.57_ 
 
 Let me see, let me see ; — is not the leaf turn'd 
 down 
 
 Where I left reading ? Here it is, I think. 
 
 [Sits doTvn. 
 
 The Ghost of C^sar appears. 
 
 How ill this taper burns! — Ha! who comes 
 here ? 
 
 I think it is the weakness of mine eyes 
 
 57. /'// take it from thee \ and, good Iwy, good night. Very of tenderest affection, and thinking for his boy-page's natural 
 
 beautifully has Shakespeare introduced this gentle touch of drowsiness with forbearance and paternal softness. 
 
 Brutus's consideration for his young page — almost womanly in 58. How ill this taper burns'. The ancient superstition that 
 
 its kindly compunctious feeling — in a character such as he has j lights grew dim, or burned blue, at the approach of spectres, 
 
 drawn him : Marcus Brutus, the stoic philosopher, by study , has been elsewhere turned to good account in imaginative effect 
 
 and avowed practice, bearing the tidings of his beloved wife's j by Shakespeare (see Note 34, Act v., " Richard III.") ; and in 
 
 death with outward calm and fortitude ; yet Marcus Brutus, [ North's " Plutarch," narrating the present incident, mention is 
 
 according to his own man's nature, speaking with her in terms made of " the light of the lamp, that waxed very dim." 
 
 309 
 
Act V.J 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR. 
 
 [SCkNE I. 
 
 That shapes this monstrous apparition. 
 It comes upon me. — Art thou anything ? 
 Art thou some god, some angel, or some devil. 
 That mak'st my blood cold, an<l my hair to stare 
 Speak ^ to me what thou art. 
 
 Ghost. Thy evil spirit, Brutus. 
 
 Bru. Why com'st thou ? 
 
 Ghost. To tell thee thou shalt see me at 
 Philippi. 
 
 Bru. Well ; 
 Then I shall see thee again ? 
 
 Ghost. Ay, at Philippi. 
 
 Bru. Why, I will see thee at Philippi, then. 
 
 [Ghost disappears. 
 Now I have taken heart thou vanishest : 
 111 spirit, I would hold more talk with thee. — ■ 
 Boy, Lucius ! — Varro ! Claudius ! — Sirs, awake ! — 
 Claudius! 
 
 Luc. The strings, my lord, are false. 
 
 Bru. He thinks he still is at his instrument. — 
 Lucius, awake ! 
 
 Luc. My lord ? 
 
 Bru. Didst thou dream, Lucius, that thou so 
 criedst out ? 
 
 Luc. My lord, I do not know that I did cry. 
 
 Bru. Yes, that thou didst : didst thou see any- 
 thing ? 
 
 Luc. Nothing, my lord. 
 
 Bru. Sleep again, Lucius. — Sirrah Claudius ! 
 Fellow thou, awake ! 
 Far. My lord ? 
 Clau. My lord ? 
 
 Bru. Why did you so cry out, sirs, in your 
 
 sleep ? 
 
 Far., Clau. Did we, my lord ? 
 Bru. ,\y : saw you any thing ? 
 
 Far. No, my lord, I saw nothing. 
 Clau. Nor I, my lord. 
 
 Bru. Go and commend me to my brother 
 Cassius ; 
 
 Bid him set on his powers betimes before, 
 And we will follow. 
 Far., Clau. It shall be done, my lord. 
 
 \_Exeunt. 
 
 ACT V. 
 
 SCENE I.— The Plains of VmLivvi. 
 Enter OcTAVius, Antony, and their Army. 
 
 Oct. Now, Antony, our hopes are answer^ 1 : 
 You said the enemy would not come down, 
 But keep the hills and upper regions ; 
 It proves not so : their battles' are at hand ; 
 They mean to warn^ us at Philippi here, 
 Answei'ing before we do demand of them. 
 
 Ant. Tut, I am in their bosoms, and I 
 know 
 
 Wherefore they do it : they could be content 
 To visit other places ; and come down 
 With fearful bravery, ^ thinking by this face'' 
 
 59. Stare. ' Stand on end," ' stick upright.' 
 
 60. Speak. Here used for ' declare,' ' proclaim,' ' describe,' 
 'explain.' See Note 73, Act ii., and Note 25, Act iii,, " Henry 
 VIII." 
 
 61. Set on. As a modern idiom, this is used to express 
 ' excite to attack,' ' urge to opposition ; ' but here it is used to 
 express ' set forward,' ' set out with,' ' send onward.' 
 
 1. Battles. Here used for ' battalions,' or ' embattled forces.' 
 See Note 2, Act iv., " Henry V." 
 
 2. Warn. Sometimes, as here, used for 'summon.' See 
 Note SI, Act i., " Richard III. ' 
 
 3. Fearful bravery. ' Secretly timid valour.' 
 • 4. This face. 'This show of courage.' 
 
 5. Tlieir bloody sign of battle is hung out, and something to 
 le done, S^c. The construction is elliptical here ; " is " before 
 
 To fasten in our thoughts that they have courage ; 
 But 'tis not so. 
 
 Enter a Messenger. 
 
 Mess. Prepare you, generals : 
 
 The enemy comes on in gallant show ; 
 Their bloody sign of battle is hung out. 
 And something to be done immediately.^ 
 
 Ant. Octavms, lead your battle softly on, 
 Upon the left hand of the even field, 
 
 Oct. Upon the right hand I ; keep thou the left. 
 
 Ant. Why do you cross me in this exigent ?^ 
 
 Oct. I do not cross you ; but I will do so. 7 
 
 [March. 
 
 I "hung" giving 'is' to be understood as repeated before "to 
 be done." The allusion in the text is explained by a passage 
 from North's "Plutarch:" — "The next morning by break of 
 day, the signall of battell was set out in Brutus and Cassius 
 campe, which was an arming scarlet coate." 
 
 6. Exigent. An old form of ' exigence ' or ' exigency.' 
 
 7. But I will do so. ' But I will take the right hand ; ' the 
 construction being in accordance with Shakespe.are's occasional 
 mode of referring to the not immediately preceding antecedent. 
 It is worth remarking also how completely here the dramatist 
 has indicated the peremptory style with which Octavius, although 
 still but a stripling of barely twenty years of age, bore himself 
 towards Mark Antony at the present epoch. It has historical 
 warrant ; and Shakespeare has admirably maintained the cha- 
 racteristic effect, both in this play and in "Antony and 
 
 ' Cleopatra." 
 
 31 
 
Act v.] 
 
 JULIUS 
 
 C^SAR. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Drum. Enter Brutus, Chssws, and their Army; 
 LuciLius, TiTiNius, Messala, and otheis. 
 
 Bru. They stand, and would have parley. 
 Cas. Stand fast, Titinius: we must out and 
 talk. 
 
 Oct. Mark Antony, shall we give sign of battle ? 
 Ant. No, Caesar, we will answer on their charge. 
 Make forth ; the generals would have some words. 
 Oct. Stir not until the signal. 
 Bru. Words before blows : — is it so, country- 
 men ? 
 
 Oct. Not that we love words better, as you do. 
 Bru. Good words are better than bad strokes, 
 Ojtavius. 
 
 Ant. In your bad stroke.^, Brutus, you give good 
 words : 
 
 Witness the hole you made in Csesar's heart, 
 Crying, " Long live! hail, Csesar!" 
 
 Cas. Antony, 
 The posture of your blows are yet unknoivn ;8 
 But for your words, they rob the Hybla bees,^ 
 And leave them honey less. 
 
 Ant. Not stingless too. 
 
 Bru. Oh, yes, and soundless too; 
 For you have stol'n their buzzing, Antony, 
 And very wisely threat before you sting. 
 
 Ant. Villains, you did not so, when your vile 
 daggers 
 
 Hack'd one another in the sides of Csesar : 
 You show'd your teeth like apes, and fawn'd like 
 hounds. 
 
 And bow'd like bondmen, kissing Csesar's feet ; 
 Whilst traitor Casca, like a cur, behind 
 Struck Ceesar on the neck. Oh, you flatterers ! 
 
 Cas. Flatterers! — Now, Brutus, thank yourself : 
 This tongue had not offended so to-day, 
 If Cassius might have rul'd. 
 
 8. The posture of yottr blojus are yet unknown. "Posture" 
 is used to express ' mode of giving,' ' way of dealing,' ' manner 
 of planting or placing ; ' as derived from the Latin, fositum, 
 'a placing.' The false grammatical concord of "are" and 
 "posture" is consistent with a practice licensed in Shake- 
 speare's time. See Note 29, Act ii., " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 9. T/tey rob the Hybla bees, . ' They are so sweet as to 
 seem composed of that which supplies the bees of Mount Hybla.' 
 This is a scoff at Mark Antony's sugary and insinuating eloquence 
 on the occasion of Caesar's funeral. Hybla was a district of 
 Sicily famed for excellent honey. 
 
 10. Three and thirty ivounds. Historical authority gives 
 ' three and twenty ' as the number of Caesar's death-wounds ; 
 but there was probably a larger number popularly traditional in 
 England when Shakespeare wrote ; as in Fletcher's play of 
 " The Noble Gentleman," we find :— 
 
 " So Caesar fell, when in the Capitol 
 They gave his body two and thirty wounds." 
 See Note 3, Act iii. 
 
 11. Till anotlier Ccesar. Octavius here speaks of himself. 
 Antony h.as just previously addressed him as "Caesar;" and 
 Brutus, in his next speech, also gives him this title. 
 
 12. Have added slaughter to i/te sword 0/ traitors. ' Have 
 
 Oct, Come, come, the cause : if arguing make 
 us sweat. 
 
 The proof of it will turn to redder drops. 
 Look, — I draw a sword against conspirators; 
 When think you that the sword goes up again ? — 
 Never, till Cassar's three and thirty wounds'" 
 Be well aveng'd ; or till another Caesar" 
 Have added slaughter to the sword of traitors. 
 Bru. Caesar, thou canst not die by traitors' 
 hands. 
 
 Unless thou bring'st them with thee. 
 
 Oct. So I hope;" 
 
 I was not born to die on Brutus' sword. 
 
 Bru. Oh, if thou wert the noblest of thy strain,'* 
 Young man, thou couldst not die more honour- 
 able. 
 
 Cas. A" peevish schoolboy, worthless of such 
 honour,'^ 
 
 Join'd with a masker and a reveller! 
 Ant. Old Cassius still I'? 
 Oct. Come, Antony; away! — 
 Defiance, traitors, hurl we in your teeth : 
 If you dare fight to-day, come to the field ; 
 If not, when you have stomachs. 
 
 [Exeunt Octavius, Antony, aid their Army. 
 Cas. Why, now, blow wind, swell billow, and 
 swim barque ! 
 The storm is up, and all is on the hazard. 
 Bru. Ho, Lucilius! hark, a word with vou. 
 Luci/. My lord f 
 
 [Brutus and Lucilius connjerse apart. 
 Cas. Messala,— 
 
 Mes. What says my general ? 
 
 Cas. Messal.T, 
 This is my birth-day ; as this very day's 
 Was Cassius born. Give me thy hand, Messala : 
 Be thou my witness that, against my \\ ill, 
 As Pompey was, am I compell'd to set 
 
 been slain by the sword of the same traitors who killed the first 
 
 13. So /hope. Meaning, ' I hope not to die by traitors' hands.' 
 See Note 62, Act i., "As You Like It." 
 
 14. Strain. 'Race,' 'stock,' 'line' See Note 48, Act ii,, 
 " Much Ado." 
 
 15 Honourable. Although Shakespeare frequently uses ad- 
 jectives for adverbs, yet we agree with Mr. Craik in thinking 
 that here very probably Shakespeare wrote 'honorably* (or 
 ' honorablie ') ; because the first Folio prints " honourable " in 
 a passage in the "Third Part Henry 'VI.," Act iii., sc. 2, which, 
 by the parallel passage in " The True Tragedie," is shown to 
 have had 'honorablie' originally written therein; and because 
 in all other instances he uses the word "honourably" where 
 the adverbial form of the expression is intended. 
 
 16. A peevish schoolboy, -worthless of such honour. Here 
 " peevish " h.-is the sense of ' weakly wayward," ' foolishly wilful ;' 
 and "worthless" is used for ' unworthy.' See Note 3, Act v., 
 "Two Gentlemen of Verona." 
 
 17. Old Cassius still! 'Just the same Cassius as ever!' 
 always testy and opprobrious. See Notw 23, Act ii., " Corio- 
 
 18. As this very day. " As " is here used elliptlcally for ' as 
 
Act v.] 
 
 JULIUS 
 
 C^SAR. 
 
 [Scene 11. 
 
 Upon one battle all our liberties. 
 You know that I held Epicurus strong, 
 And his opinion: now I change my mind, 
 And partly credit things that do presage. 
 Coming from Sardis, on our former'^ ensign 
 Two mighty eagles fell ; and there they jjcrch'd, 
 Gorging and feeding from our soldiers' hands. 
 Who to Philippi here consorted us : 
 This morning are they fled away and gone ; 
 And in their steads do ravens, crows, and kites, 
 l''ly o'er our heads, and downward look on u^;. 
 As we were sickly prey : their shadows seem 
 A canopy most fetal, under which 
 Our army lies, ready to give up the ghost. 
 Mes. Believe not so. 
 
 Cas. I but believe it partly ; 
 
 For I am fresh of spirit, and resolv'd 
 To meet all perils very constantly.^ 
 
 Bru. Even so, Lucilius.-' 
 
 Cas. Now, most noble Brutus, 
 
 The goils to-day stand friendly, that we may. 
 Lovers in peace,^* lead on our days to age! 
 But, since the affairs of men rest still incertain,^' 
 Let's reason with the worst that may befall. 
 !f we do lose this battle, then is this 
 The very last time we shall speak together: 
 What are you, then, determine 1 to do ? 
 
 Bru. Even by the rule of that philosophy 
 By which I did blame Cato for the death 
 Which he did give himself: — I know not how, 
 But I do find it cowardly and vile, 
 For fear of what might fall, so to prevent 
 The time of life:^^ — arming myself with patience 
 To stay the providence of some high powers 
 That govern us below. 
 
 ig. Former. This word was sometimes used for 'fore' or 
 'foremost.' Ritson quotes, in corroboration, a passage from 
 Adlyngton's "Apuleius," 1596:— "First hee instructed me to 
 sit at the table vpon my taile, and howe I should leape and 
 daunce, holding vp my former feete." 
 
 20. Constantly. 'Firmly.' See Note 6, Act iii. 
 
 21. Even so, Liicilius. This is said by Brutus in reply to 
 something that Lucilius has said to him, while they were talk- 
 ing apart. See Note 127, Act iv., " Winter's Tale." 
 
 22. Tlie gods to-day stand friendly. ' May ' is here ellip- 
 tically understood before " the gods." See Note 48, Act v., 
 " Timon of Athens." 
 
 23. Lovers hi peace. "Lovers" is here used for 'friends.' 
 See Note 64, Act iii. 
 
 24. Rest still incertain "Incertain" has been changed by 
 a few modern editors to ' uncertain ; ' but Shakespeare uses 
 both forms of the word. See pass.iges raferred to in Note 24, 
 Act iii., "Measure for Measure," and Note 33, Act i., "Two 
 Gentlemen of Verona." 
 
 25. Even by the rule of that philosophy, The construc- 
 tion in this speech is inconsecutive, and well represents a man 
 rather dellljerating with himself and pursuing an inward train of 
 thought, than giving a direct answer to a question. Brutus 
 feels that Cas.sius's inquiry implies, 'Do you mean to survive 
 the shame of such a defeat, or shall you kill yoiiself ?' and he, 
 instead of replying directly to an indirect question, gives, by 
 way of rejoinder, expression to the deljate going on in his own 
 mind. Brutus's principles of Stoic philosophy, backed by his 
 
 Cas. Then, if we lose this battle. 
 
 You are contented to be led in triumph 
 Thorough the streets of Rome P 
 
 Eru. No, Cassius, no: think not, thou noble 
 Roman, 
 
 That ever Brutus will go bound to Rome ; 
 He bears too great a mind. But this same day 
 Must end that work the ides of March begun 
 And whether we shall meet again I know not. 
 Therefore our everlasting farewell take:-^ — 
 For ever, and for ever, farewell, Cassius ! 
 If we do meet again, why, we shall smile; 
 If not, why, then, this parting was well made. 
 
 Cas. For ever, and for ever, farewell, Brutus ! 
 If we do meet again, we'll smile indeed ; 
 If not, 'tis true this parting was well made. 
 
 Bru. Why, then, lead on.— Oil, that a man 
 might know 
 The end of this day's business ere it come ! 
 But it sufficeth that the day will end. 
 And then the end is known. — Come, ho ! away ! 
 
 \E,xeunt. 
 
 SCENE II.— Philippi. The Field of Battle. 
 
 Alarum. Enter Ekvtvs and Messala. 
 Bru. Ride, ride, Messala, ride, and give these 
 
 bills29 
 
 Unto the legions on the other side : [Loud alarum. 
 Let them set on at once ; for I perceive 
 But cold demeanour in Octavius' wing. 
 And sudden push gives them the overthrew. 
 Ride, ride, Messala : let them all come down. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 innate and instinctive feeling, dictate patient fortitude and calm 
 triist : but his more conventional ideas of that which behoves a 
 Roman to do in circumstances of disgrace overpower his better 
 judgment, and in his very next speech he shows himself to be 
 wholly swayed by them. Strikingly, in the character of Brutus, 
 has the poet shown the dual nature that co-exists in most men : 
 the higher and better self, with the less fine and exalted one ; 
 the true sense of right, with the narrowed and biased one ; the 
 noble, elevated, and free soul, with the prejudiced and stunted 
 
 26. So to prevent the time of life. 'So to anticipate the 
 period at which our life is appointed to end.' "Prevent" is 
 here used in its primitive sense, as derived from the Latin, 
 pravenire, ' to come before : ' and " the time of life," used to 
 express 'the time at which life is destined to terminate,' is .akin 
 to the manner in which Shakespeare employs the same phrase 
 to express the appointed term for duration of life. See Hot- 
 spur's next speech to the one referred to in Note 26, Act v., 
 "First Part Henry IV." 
 
 27. Begun. Frequently used, by a grammatical licence, for 
 'began;' especially where the purposes of rhyme are to be 
 served. See the concluding stanza of the clown's song at the 
 end of "Twelfth Night." 
 
 28. Take. Here elliptically used for ' let us take,' or ' take 
 
 2.-1. Bills. What would now be called 'billets.' In North's 
 " Plutarch " they are called ' little bills.' ' Brief written orders ' 
 are meant. 
 
Act v.] JULIUS C^SAR. [Scene III. 
 
 Antony. This was ihe noblest Roman of them all. 
 
 Act V. Scene V. 
 
 SCENE \\\.— Another fart of the Field. 
 Alarum. Entei Cassius and TiriNlus. 
 
 Cas. Oh, look, Titinius, look, the villains fly ! 
 Myself have to mine own turn'd enemy : 
 This ensign here of mine was turning back \^ 
 r slew the coward, and did take it from him. 
 
 Tit. O Cassius, Brutus gave the word too early 
 Who, having some advantage on Octavius, 
 Took it too eagerly : his soldiers fell to spoil, 
 Whilst we by Antony are all enclos'd. 
 
 Enter Pindarus. 
 Ptn. Fly farther off, my lord, fly farther off ; 
 Mark Antony is in your tents, niy lord : 
 Fly, therefore, noble Cassius, fly far off. 
 
 30 This ensign here of mine, &'c. The present passage Note g, Act iii., "Tempest;" Note 39, Act iv , "First Part 
 affords a marked instance of the word "ensign" bearing the Henry IV. ;" and Note 84, Act iii., "Henry V." 
 
 313 
 
 Cas. This hill is far enough. — Look, look, 
 Titinius ; 
 
 Are those my tents where I perceive the fire ? 
 Tit. They are, my lord. 
 
 Cas. Titinius, if thou lov'st me. 
 
 Mount thou my horse, and hide thy spurs in him. 
 Till he have brought thee up to yonder troops. 
 And here again ; that I may restassur'd 
 Whether yond' troops are friend or enemy. 
 
 Tit. I will be here again, even with a thought. 
 
 lExit. 
 
 Cas. Go, Pindarus, get higher on that hill ; 
 My sight was ever thick ; regard Titinius, 
 And tell me what thou not'st about the field. — 
 
 [Pindarus goes up. 
 
 double meaning of 'standard' and 'standard-bearer.' See 
 
 VOI. III. 
 
 206 
 
Act v.] 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 This day I breathed first : time is come round, 
 
 And where I did begin, there shall I end ; 
 
 My life is run his compass. — Sirrah, what news ? 
 
 Pin. \_Abo've.'] Oh, my lord ! 
 
 Cas. What news ? 
 
 Pin. \_Above.'\ Titinius is enclosed round about 
 With horsemen, that make to him on the spur ; — 
 Yet he spurs on. — Now they are almost on him ; — 
 Now, Titinius ! — Now some 'light : — Oh, he 'lights 
 too : — - 
 
 He's ta'en ; — [shout'] — and, hark ! they shout for 
 joy. 
 
 Cas. Come down, behold no more. — 
 Oh, coward that I am, to live so long. 
 To see my best friend ta'en before my face ! 
 
 PiNDARUS descends. 
 Come hither, sirrah ; 
 In Parthia did I take thee prisoner ; 
 And then I swore thee, saving of thy life. 
 That whatsoever I did bid thee do. 
 Thou shouldst attempt it. Come now, keep thine 
 oath ; 
 
 Now be a freeman ; and, with this good sword. 
 That ran through Csesar's bowels, search this 
 bosom. 
 
 Stand not to answer : here, take thou the hilts ; 
 And, when my face is cover'd, as 'tis now. 
 Guide thou the sword. — Cassar, thou art reveng'd, 
 Even with the sword that kill'd thee. [Dies. 
 Pin. So, I am free ; yet would not so have 
 been, 
 
 Durst I have done my will. O Cassius ! 
 Far from this country Pindarus shall run, 
 Where never Roman shall take note of him.'^ 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 Re-enter Titinius uoith Messala. 
 
 Mes. It is bat change, Titinius ; for Octavius 
 Is overthrown by noble Brutus' power, 
 As Cassius' legions are by Antony. 
 
 Tit. These tidings will well comfort Cassius. 
 
 Mes. Where did you leave him ? 
 
 Tit. All disconsolate. 
 
 With Pindarus his bondman, on this hill. 
 
 Mes. Is not that he that lies upon the ground ? 
 
 Tit. He lies not like the living. Oh, my heart ! 
 
 Mes. Is not that he ? 
 
 Tit. No, this was he, Messala, 
 
 But Cassius is no more. — Oh, setting sun, 
 As in thy red rays thou dost sink to night, 
 So in his red blood Cassius' day is set, — 
 
 31. This day I breat/ted_first: time, &=c. These few musing 
 words of Cassius always strike us with pecuH.nrly impressive 
 effect, as put into his mouth by Shakespeare, who himself died 
 on his birth-day. The circumstance of the day of the battle 
 being the anniversary of that on which Cassius was horn, is 
 recorded in North's " Plutarch : " but the dramatist turned it 
 to account in his own poetical manner; a manner that has a 
 
 The sun of Rome is set ! Our day is gone ; 
 Clouds, dews, and dangers come ; our deeds are 
 done ! 
 
 Mistrust of my success hath done this deed. 
 Mes. Mistrust of good success hath done this 
 deed. 
 
 Oh, hateful error, melancholy's child. 
 Why dost thou show to the apt thoughts of men 
 The things that are not? Oh, error, soon con- 
 ceiv'd. 
 
 Thou never com'st unto a happy birth, 
 But kill'st the mother that engender'd thee ! 
 Tit. What, Pindarus! where art thou, Pindarus 
 Mes. Seek him, Titinius, whilst I go to meet 
 The noble Brutus, thrusting this report 
 Into his ears : I may say, thrusting it ; 
 For piercing steel, and darts envenomed, 
 Shall be as welcome to the ears of Brutus 
 As tidings of this sight. 
 
 Tit. Hie you, Messala, 
 
 And I will seek for Pindarus the while. 
 
 [Exit Messala. 
 Why didst thou send me forth, brave Cassius ? 
 Did I not meet thy friends ? and did not they 
 Put on my brows this wreath of victory. 
 And bid me give it thee? Didst thou not hear 
 
 their shouts ? 
 Alas! thou hast misconstru'd everything! 
 But, hold thee, take this garland on thy brow ; 
 Thy Brutus bid me give it thee, and I 
 Will do his bidding. — Brutus, come apace, 
 And see how I regarded Caius Cassius. — 
 By your leave, gods : — this is a Roman's part : 
 Come, Cassius' sword, and find Titinius' heart. 
 
 [Dies. 
 
 Alarum. Re-enter Messala, "with ^kvtvs, young 
 Cato, Strato, Volumnius, and Lucilius. 
 Bru. Where, where, Messala, doth his body 
 lie ? 
 
 Mes. Lo, yonder; and Titinius mourning it. 
 
 Bru. Titinius' face is upward. 
 
 Cato. He is slain. , 
 
 Bru. O Julius Csesar, thou art mighty yet! 
 Thy spirit walks abroad, and turns our swords 
 In our own proper entrails. [Lonxi alarums. 
 
 Cato. Brave Titinius ! 
 
 Look, whe'r he have not crown'd dead Cassius ! 
 
 Bru. Are yet two Romans living such as 
 these ?— 
 
 The last of all the Romans,^^ fare thee well ! 
 
 strangely significant import, when we call to mind the drama- 
 tist's own fate. 
 
 32. Take note of him. Plutarch relates that Pindarus, after 
 the death of Cassius, was never more heard of, 
 
 33. The last of all the Romans. Rowe changed "the last" to 
 ' thou last' here ; but we think that " the" gives more emphatic 
 effect in the present passage, and is more probably what Shake- 
 speare wrote. See also: Note 27, Act V. , " Th ird Part Henry VI." 
 
Act v.] 
 
 It is impossible that ever Rome 
 Should breed thy fellow.— Friends, I owe more 
 tears 
 
 To this dead man than you shall see me pay. — 
 I shall find time, Cassius, I shall find time. — 
 Come, therefore, and to Thassos^'' send his body : 
 His funerals^s shall not be in our camp. 
 Lest it discomfort us. — Lucilius, come; — 
 And come, young Cato ; — let us to the field. — 
 Labeo and Flavius, set our battles on :— 
 'Tis three o'clock ; and, Romans, yet ere night 
 We shall try fortune in a second fight. lExeunt. 
 
 SCENE IV.— Another part of the Field. 
 
 Alarum. Enter, fighting. Soldiers of both Armies : 
 then Brutus, young Cato, Lucilius, and 
 others. 
 
 Bru. Yet, countrymen, oh, yet hold up )our 
 heads ! 
 
 Cato. What bastard doth not? Who will go 
 with me ? 
 
 I will proclaim my name about the field : — 
 I am the son of Marcus Cato, ho ! 
 A foe to tyrants, and my country's friend ; 
 I am the son of Marcus Cato, ho ! 
 
 [Charges the enemy. 
 Bru. And I am Brutus, Marcus Brutus, I ; 
 Brutus, my country's friend ; know me for Brutus! 
 \_Exit, charging the enemy. Young Cato is 
 overpoTJuered, and falls. 
 Lucil. Oh, young and noble Cato, art thou 
 down ? 
 
 Why, now thou diest as bravely as Titiniusj 
 And mayst be honour' d, being Cato's son. 
 
 First Sold, Yield, or thou diest. 
 
 Lucil. Only I yield to die : 
 
 There is so much^s that thou wilt kill me straight ; 
 
 [Offering money. 
 Kill Brutus, and be honour'd in his death. 
 
 First Sol. We must not. — A noble prisoner ! 
 
 Sec. Sold. Room, ho ! Tell Antony, Brutus 
 is ta'en. 
 
 First Sold. I'll tell the news :— here comes the 
 general. 
 
 £«/i?r Antony. 
 Brutus is ta'en, Brutus is ta'en, my lord. 
 Ant. Where is he ? 
 
 Lucil. Safe, Antony; Brutus is safe enough : 
 
 [Scenes IV., V. 
 
 1 dare assure thee that no enemy 
 Shall ever take alive the noble Brutus : 
 The gods defend him from so great a shame ! 
 When you do find him, or alive or dead, 
 He will be found like Brutus, like himself. 
 Ant. This is not Brutus, friend ; but, I assure 
 you, 
 
 A prize no less in worth : keep this man safe. 
 
 Give him all kindness : I had rather have 
 
 Such men my friends than enemies. Go on, 
 
 And see whe'r Brutus be alive or dead ; 
 
 And bring us word unto Octavius' tent 
 
 How everything is chanc'd. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE v.— Another part of the Field. 
 Enter Brutus, Dardanius, Cutus, Strato, and 
 
 VOLUMNIUS. 
 
 Bru. Come, poor remains of friends, rest on this 
 rock. 
 
 Cli. Statilius show'd the torch-light ; but, my 
 lord. 
 
 He came not back : he is or ta'en or slain. 
 Bru. Sit thee down, Clitus : slaying is the 
 word ; 
 
 It is a deed in fashion. Hark thee, Clitus. 
 
 [Whispering him. 
 Cli. What! I, my lord ? No, not for all the 
 world. 
 
 Bru. Peace, then, no words. 
 
 Cli. I'll rather kill myself. 
 
 Bru. Hark thee, Dardanius. [Whispers him. 
 
 Dar. Shall I do such a deed ? 
 
 Cli. O Dardanius ! 
 
 Dar. O Clitus! 
 
 Cli. What ill request did Brutus make to 
 thee? 
 
 Dar. To kill him, Clitus. Look, he medi- 
 tates. 
 
 Cli. Now is that noble vessel full of grief, 
 That it runs over even at his eyes. 
 Bru. Come hither, good Volumnius; list a 
 word. 
 
 Vol. What says my lord ? 
 
 Bru. Why, this, Volumnius ; 
 
 The ghost of Csesar hath appear'd to me 
 Two several times by night, — at Sardis once, 
 And, this last night, here in Philippi fields: 
 I know my hour is come. 
 
 Fol. Not so, my lord. 
 
 JULIUS C/E.SA.R. 
 
 34. Tfiassos. An island at no great distance from Philippi. 35. Funerals. 'Funeral obsequies:" 'funereal ceremonies." 
 The Folio misprints ' Tharsus' for "Thassos." Theobald's cor- The word was formerly sometimes used in the plural, 
 rection ; shown to be right by the account of the circumstance 36. There is so muck. Here " so much" is used to express 
 in North's " Plutarch," which Shakespeare used as his historical an unspecified sum, an indefinite amount of money. See 
 authority. | Note 32, Act ii., " Timon of Athens." 
 
 315 
 
Act v.] 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 Bru. Nay, I am sure it is, Volumnius. 
 Thou seest the world, Volumnius, how it goes ; 
 Our enemies have beat us to the pit : 
 
 \_Lojv alarums. 
 It IS more worthy to leap in ourselves, 
 Thau tarry till they push us. Good Volumnius, 
 Thou know'st that we two went to school together : 
 Even for that our love of old, I pray thee, 
 Hold thou my sword-hilts, whilst I run on it.'' 
 
 Vol. That's not an office for a friend, my lord. 
 
 [Jlarum still. 
 
 Cl'i. Fly, fly, my lord ; there is no tarrying here. 
 
 Bru. I'arewell to you; — and you; — and you, 
 Volumnius. — 
 Strato, thou hast been all this while asleep ; 
 Farewell to thee too, Strato. — -Countryinen, 
 My heart doth joy, that yet, in all my life, 
 1 found no man but he was true to me. 
 ] shall have glory by this losing day, 
 More than Octavius and Mark Antony 
 By this vile conquest shall attain unto. 
 So, fare you well at once ; for Brutus' tongue 
 Hath almost ended his life's history : 
 Night hangs upon mine eyes; my bones would 
 rest. 
 
 That have but labour'd to attain this hour. 
 
 {Alarum. Cry nuithin, " Fly, fly, fly I" 
 ClL Fly, my lord, fly. 
 
 Bru. Hence ! I will follow. 
 
 [Exeunt Clitus, Dardanius, ami Volumnius. 
 I pr'ythee, Strato, stay thou by thy lord : 
 Thou art a fellow of a good respect ; 
 Thy life hath had some smatch's of honour in it: 
 Hold, then, my sword, and turn away thy face. 
 While I do run upon it. Wilt thou, Strato ? 
 Stra. Give me your hand first : fare you well, 
 my lord. 
 
 Bru. Farewell, good Strato. — Caesar, now be 
 
 still -.39 
 
 37. //olti thou my sword-kilts, whilst I rtnc on it. " Hilts" 
 was formerly used as we now use " hilt ;" and was treated as a 
 noun singular. 
 
 38. S match. 'Smack,' 'savour,' 'taste,' 'flavour.' See 
 Note 122, Act ii., "All's Well." 
 
 39. Casar, noiv be still. These few solemn words of e.v- 
 piatory deprecation, bidding the spirit of Caesar be henceforth 
 at peace, as well as the allusion contained in the exclamation, 
 "O Julius Ca;sar, thou art mighty yet!" &c., when Brutus 
 beholds Cassius dead, serve strikingly to denote the abiding 
 impression made upon the speaker's mind by tne deed he has 
 done, and by the apparition he has seen. 
 
 I kili'd not thee with half so good a will. 
 
 [lie runs on his svjoril, and di(S. 
 
 Alarum. Retreat. Enter Octavius, Antony, 
 Messala, Lucilius, and Arwj. 
 Oct. What man is that ? 
 
 Mes. My master's man.— Strato, where is thy 
 master ? 
 
 Stra. Free from the bondage you are in, 
 Messala : 
 
 The conquerors can but make a fire of him ; 
 For Brutus only overcame Jiimself, 
 And no man else hath honour by his death. 
 Lucil. So Brutus should be found. — I thank thee, 
 Brutus, 
 
 That thou hast prov'd Lucilius' saying true. 
 
 Oct. All that serv'd Brutus, I will entertain 
 them.^O— 
 
 Fellow, wilt thou bestow thy tiine with me? 
 
 Stra. Ay, if Messala will prefer me to you. 
 
 Oct. Do so, good Messala. 
 
 Mes. How died my master, Strato? 
 
 Stra. I held the sword, and he did run on it. 
 
 Mes. Octavius, then take him to follow thee. 
 That did the latest service to my master. 
 
 Ant. This was the noblest Roman of them 
 all : 
 
 All the conspirators, save only he, 
 
 Did that they did in envy of great Csesar ; 
 
 He only, in a general honest thought, 
 
 And common good to all, made one of them. 
 
 His life was gentle ; and the elements 
 
 So mix'd in him,*^ that Nature might stand up 
 
 .And say to all the world, " This was a man !" 
 
 Oct. According to his virtue let us use him, 
 With all respect and rites of burial. 
 Within my tent his bones to-night shall lie, 
 Most like a soldier, order'd honourably. — 
 So call the field to rest : and let's away. 
 To part^^ the glories of this happy day. [Exeunt. 
 
 40. Entertain t/iem. ' Receive them into my service.' 
 
 41. Prefer. This word is here used for ' recommend,' ' present 
 for acceptance.' See Note 39, Act iv., "Midsummer Night's 
 
 42. The elements so mivd in him. In reference to the 
 belief which prevailed in Shakespeare's time that the due com- 
 mixture of the four elements i.: a man's composition conduce 
 to render him a perfect human being. See Note 20, Act ii., 
 "Twelfth Night." 
 
 43. To part. Here used for ' to share,' ' to distribute duly,' 
 ' to apportion ; ' ' to divide into just parts.' 
 
DRAMATIS PERSONS. 
 
 Duncan, King of Scotland. 
 Malcolm, \ 
 DoNALBAiN, ] Sons. 
 Macbeth, l 
 
 BANqyo, \ Generals of the King's Army. 
 Macduff, \ 
 Lennox, J 
 
 . . ' ; Noblemen of Scotland. 
 Menteith, I 
 
 Angus, \ 
 
 Caithness, / 
 
 Fleance, Son to Banquo. 
 
 SiWARD, Earl of Northumberland, General of the English Forces. 
 
 Young SiwARD, his Son. 
 
 Seyton, an Officer attending on Macbeth. 
 
 Boy, Son to MacdufF. 
 
 An English Doctor. 
 
 A Scotch Doctor. 
 
 A Soldier. 
 
 A Porter. 
 
 An Old Man. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. 
 Lady Macduff. 
 
 Gentlewoman attending on Lady Macbeth. 
 Hecate, and Three Witches. 
 
 Lords. Gentlemen, Officers, Soldiers, Murderers, Attendants, and Messengers. 
 The Ghost of Banquo, and other Apparitions. 
 
 SCENE — In the end of the Fourth Act, in England ; through the rest of the 
 
 Play, in SCOTLAND. 
 
M A C B E T H ; 
 
 ACT I. 
 
 SCENE ].—Jn open Place. 
 
 Thunder and lightning. Enter three Witches. 
 
 First Witch. When shall we three meet again 
 In thunder, lightning, or in rain? 
 
 I. The first known printed copy of Macbeth is the one in 
 the 1623 Folio ; and there exists record of its perfornir.nce in 
 the MS. diary of Dr. Forman, preserved in the Ashmolean 
 Museum, Oxford. Dr. Forman gives a circumstantial detail of 
 the plot of the tragedy ; and mentions the precise date when 
 and where he saw it, in the opening words of the entry in his 
 diary— "In 'Macbeth,' at the Globe, 1610, the 20th of April, 
 Saturday, there was to be observed, first, how ]\Iacbeth and 
 Banquo, two noblemen of Scotland, riding through a wood, 
 there stood before them three women," &c. It is probable, 
 however, that at the period of this performance, "Macbeth" 
 had been written for some time past, and had been acted many 
 times ; because the words uttered during the vision of the eight 
 kings, in Act iv., sc. i— 
 
 That two-fold balls and treble sceptres carry " — 
 
 containing a direct allusion to the union of the three kingdoms 
 of Great Britain by the accession of James I. to the throne of 
 England, give reason to suppose that they were written at a 
 time more nearly subsequent to the epoch when that union 
 took place, James became King of England by the death of 
 Ehzabeth, 24th March, 1603, and made his entry into London 
 on the 7th of May ; the date of his proclamation was the 24th of 
 October, 1604. But previously to his proclamation — indeed, but 
 a few days after he had entered London — he had already con- 
 ferred a favour on the theatrical company of which Shakespeare 
 was a member; having on the 17th of May, :6o3, granted a 
 patent authorising the actors therein mentioned to perform 
 plays not only at the Globe Theatre, Bankside, but in any part 
 of the kingdom ; and, farthermore, taking them into his royal 
 pay and patronage, and calling them " the king's servants." It 
 is presumable, therefore, that the compliment of taking a story 
 from Scottish history for his subject, and of introducing the 
 above acceptable allusion, was a piece of homage paid by the 
 dramatist to King James soon after his becoming monarch of the 
 united realm. Malone attempted to prove that "Macbeth" 
 was written in 1606 ; grounding his argument upon two passages 
 m the Porter's speech in Act ii., sc. 3—" Here 's a farmer, that 
 hanged himself on the expectation of plenty ;" and " Here's an 
 equivocator, that could swear in both the scales against either 
 scale ; who committed treason enough for God's sake, yet could 
 
 Sec. Witch. When the hurlyburly's done," 
 When the battle's lost and won. 
 
 Third Witch. That will be ere the set of sun. 
 
 first Witch, Where the place ? 
 
 Sec. Witch. Upon the heath. 
 
 not equivocate to heaven." The former passage was supposed 
 by Malone to refer to the known cheapness of corn in the year 
 1606 ; and the latter, to refer to the advocacy of equivocation by 
 Henry Garnet, superior of the order of Jesuits, on the occasion 
 of his trial for being concerned in the Gunpowder Plot, which 
 took place also in 1606. The deduction is ingenious; but we 
 cannot think that it goes far towards establishing the exact 
 date at which this tragedy was written, for the reasons that will 
 be found given at greater length in Note 32, Act ii. However 
 this may be, there seems to be certainty in placing the date of 
 writing " Macbeth" between 1603 and i6io ; with every proba- 
 bility that it was soon after the former-named year. Holinshed's 
 "Chronicle" was the historical authority taken by Shakespeare 
 for the incidents of this grandly-poetical drama ; and it is most 
 interesting to observe the admirable manner in which he has 
 adopted, selected, arranged, and blended materials m producing 
 one of his noblest works. He has taken a story from the most 
 primitive and simple times, yet has treated it with refinement of 
 composition that elevates the subject, while in nowise injuring 
 the characteristic plainness of the epoch ; a story of a murder, a 
 regicide, yet coloured with a rich harmony of painting that 
 glows in gorgeous poetic tints, though nowise embellishing or 
 palliating vice ; a story of a sordid witch-superstition, yet exalted 
 into the region of imagination by touches of fancy that still 
 spare no detail of squalor ; a story of a chieftain and chief- 
 tainess in an era of rudest intellectual cultivation, yet endued 
 with force of character, intelligence, ambition, that make them 
 objects of profoundest moral and metaphysical speculation, while 
 detracting nothing from their naturalness and appropriateness 
 as beings who lived at that rude period. A marvel at once of 
 simplest fitness and loftiest achievement is the superb tragedy 
 of "Macbeth." 
 
 2. The hurlyhitrly's done. Henry Peacham, in his " Garden 
 of Eloquence," 1577, explains the word " hurlyburly " to mean 
 'an uprore and tumultuous stirre ;' in More's " Utopia," trans- 
 lated by Ralphe Robinson, 1551, we find— " All this busy pre- 
 parance to war, whereby so many nations for his sake should 
 be brought into a troublesome hurleyburley, when all his coffers 
 were emptied, his treasures wasted, and his people destroyed ;" 
 and in Holinshed — "There were such hnrlie burlies kept in 
 every place, to the great danger of overthrowing the whole 
 state of all government in this land." 
 
 19 
 
Act l.J 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Thu d IVitcb. There to meet with Macbeth. 
 
 First IVnch. I come, Graymalkin 
 
 All. Paddock calls : * — anon ! — 
 Fair is foul, and foul is fair : 
 Hover through the fog and filthy air. 
 
 [Witches 'vanish. 
 
 SCENE n.—.i Camp near Fores. 
 Alarum ixithin: Enirr Duncan, Malcolm, 
 DoNALBAiN, Lennox, z'/A Attendants, wir/- 
 ir:g a bleedmg Soldier. 
 
 D:m. What bloody man is that ? He can report, 
 Asseemeth by his plight, of the revolt 
 The nenest state. 
 
 Mai. This is the sergeant,* 
 
 Who, like a good and hardy soldier, fought 
 'Gainst my captivity. — Hail, brave friend ! 
 Say to ths kmg the knowledge of the broil 
 As thou didst leave it. 
 
 Sold. Doubtful it stood ; 
 
 As two spent swimmers, that do cling together 
 And choke their art. The inerciless Macdonwald 
 (Worthy to be a rebel, — for, to that,^ 
 The multiplying villanies of nature 
 Do swarm upon him) from the western isles 
 OF kerns and gallovvglasses is supplied 
 And fortune, on his damned quarry smiling,'' 
 Sliow'd like a rebel's wench : but all's too weak : 
 I' or brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name). 
 Disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel, 
 
 3. Gtnyinalkin. An old name for a cat, as "paddock" was 
 (or a toad. In Scot's " Discoverie of Witchcraft" (1584), there 
 IS a passage that serves to illustrate the one in the text — Some 
 say, they [witches] can keepe devils and spirits, in the likeness 
 of todes and cats." 
 
 4. Paddock calls -.—anon ! Pope assigned these words to the 
 Second Witch, making the remainder, " Fair is foiil,"&;c., lo be 
 spoken by the three witches in concert; and certainly there 
 seems great probability that only the concluding couplet was 
 mtended to be said by them all, as a kind of chorus. 
 
 5. Scrgeajit. A term formerly not implying the subaltern 
 officer now so called ,■ but a man performing a special feudal 
 military service, in rank next to an esquire. 
 
 6. For, to that. This has been explained by some to mean 
 ' for, in addition to that ;' while ethers affirm that "for, to that " 
 means no more than ' for that,' or ' cause that.' We think it 
 more proKable that here " for, to that " is an elliptical phrase, 
 expressing ' for, to that end," ' for, to that purpose,' or ' for, as 
 tending naturally to that effect.' 
 
 7. 0/ kerns and galloiuglasses is supplied. "Of" is here 
 used for 'with.' See Note 64, Act i., " Richard III." For an 
 e.vpianation of " kerns and gallowglasses," see Note 82, Act iv., 
 '* Second Part Henry VI." 
 
 8. Fortune, on his damned quarry smiling^. "Quarry" has 
 been changed to ' quarrel ' in this passage by Hanmer and 
 others ; but inasmuch as Shakespeai-e elsewhere uses the word 
 "damned" to express 'doomed' or 'condemned,' and as 
 "quarry" meant a heap of .slaughtered game (.see Note 28, 
 Act i. , " Coriolanus "), « e take the passage to signify — ' Fortune, 
 smiling temporary encouragement upon Macdonwald's herd of 
 fellows doomed to become a heap of slaughtered creatures." 
 
 Which sinok'd with bloody execution. 
 Like valour's minion, 
 
 Carv'd out his passage till he fac'd the slave ; 
 Which ne'er shook hands,^ nor bade farewell lo him, 
 Till he unseam'd him from the nave to the chops, 
 And fix'd his head upon our battlements. 
 
 Dun. Oh, valiant cousin ! worthy gentleman ! 
 
 Sold. As whence the sun 'gins his reflection. 
 Shipwrecking storms and direful thunders break 
 So from that spring, whence comfort seem'd lo 
 come. 
 
 Discomfort swells. Mark, King of Scotland, mark : 
 No sooner justice had, with valour arm'd, 
 Compell'd these skipping kerns to trust their heels. 
 But the Norweyan lord, surveying vantage. 
 With furbish'd arms and new supplies of men, 
 Began a fresh assault. 
 
 Dun. Dismay'd not this 
 
 Our captains, Macbeth and Banquo ? 
 
 Sold. Yes; 
 As sparrows eagles, or the hare the lion." 
 If I say sooth,'"- I must report they were 
 As cannons overcharg'd with double cracks 
 So they, doubly redoubled strokes upon the foe : 
 Except they meant to bathe in reeking wouncl.s, 
 Or memorise''' another Golgotha, 
 1 cannot tell : — 
 
 But I am faint, my gashes cry for help. 
 Dun. So well thy words become thee as thy 
 wounds ; 
 
 They smack of honour both. — Go get him sur- 
 geons. \_Exit Soldier, attended. 
 Who comes here ? 
 
 The fact that " quarry " also signified the offal portion of the 
 venison just killed which was thrown to the hounds, contributee 
 to confirm our belief that here the original word "quarry" is 
 what the poet wrote ; because it is as if, by implication, he 
 called them * a heap of carrion.' That Shakespeare has these 
 largely inclusive epithets, and that he employs boldly poetical 
 expressions of anticipative .signification, wc have shown in 
 several instances. See, among many others. Note 48, Act 
 iv., "Julius Ca:sar ;" and Note 29, Act v., "Romeo and 
 Juliet." 
 
 9. Which ne*er shook hands. " Which " is here used for 
 ' who,' and refers to Macbeth, not to the " slave :" in Shake- 
 speare's mode of allowing a relatively-used pronoun sometimes 
 to refer to the not immediately preceding antecedent. 
 
 10. Direful thunders break. The first Folio omits the need- 
 ful verb at the conclusion of this Imej the second Folio prints 
 'breaking:' and Pope gave "break" as the probably right 
 word, which we adopt. 
 
 11. As sparrows eagles, or the hare the lion. " Disniai''d," 
 in the previous speech, gives 'dismay' before "eagles," and 
 'dismays' before " the lion," to be elliptically understood. 
 
 12. 1/ I say sooth. 'If I speak the truth.' See Note 91, 
 Act iv., "Winter's Tale." 
 
 13. Cracks. Here used for 'reports,' 'explosions.' This is 
 one of the many small and familiar words lo which Shakespeare 
 gives dignity and force by his mode of using them. See Note 3, 
 Act iii., "Tempest." In the present play he uses the word 
 " crack " again with even more strong and even solemn effect. 
 See Note 29, Act iv. 
 
 H. Mejnorise. ' M.ike memorable,' 'commemorate.' See 
 Note 39, Act iii., " Henry VIII." 
 
Act L] 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 MaL The worthy thane of Rosse. 
 
 Len. What a haste looks through his eyes ! So 
 should he look. 
 That seems to speak things strange. 
 
 Enter Rosse. 
 
 Rosse. God save the king ! 
 
 D;in. Whence cam'st thou, worthy thane ? 
 
 Rosse. From Fife, great king ; 
 
 Where the Norweyan banners flout the sky 
 And fan our people cold. 
 Norway himself, with terrible numbers, 
 Assisted by that most disloyal traitor 
 The thane of Cawdor, began a dismal conflict ; 
 Till that Bellona's bridegroom,'^ lapp'd in j)roof,'" 
 Confronted him with self-comparisons,!^ 
 Point against point rebellious, arm 'gainst arm. 
 Curbing his lavish spirit : and, to conclude, 
 The victory fell on us ; — • 
 
 Dun. Great happiness ! 
 
 Rosse. That now 
 Swcno, the Norways' king, craves composition ; 
 Nor would we deign him burial of his men 
 Till he disbursed, at Saint Colmes-inch,!'-* 
 Ten thousand dollars to our general use. 
 
 Dun. No more that thane of Cawdor shall 
 deceive 
 
 15. That seems to speak things strange. * That seems about 
 to speak strange things,' ' that appears to be on the eve of 
 announcing strange tidings.' The mode of using "seems " here 
 is peculiar ; as is the one pointed out in Note 92, Act i., " Romeo 
 and Juliet." 
 
 16. Beltotia^s bridegroom. " Bellona" is the goddess of war ; 
 and Rosse calls Macbeth her " bridegroom," as a poetically- 
 
 17. Lapp'd in proof. ' Encased in armour of proof.' 
 
 18. Confronted him with self-comparisons. ' Met him with 
 competitive strokes of the self-same force as those he gave,' 
 * dealt him blows of equal might to his own.' 
 
 ig. Colmcs-inch. Now called ' Inch-comb.' It is a small 
 island in the Frith of Forth, with an abbey upon it dedi- 
 cated to St. Columb. "Inch," or 'inse,' in Erse, means 'island.' 
 
 20. Aroint. This word is probably derived from the Latin 
 averriinco, ' I drive away evil ;' and employed to mean ' begone,' 
 'stand off,' 'avoid,' 'avaunt.' Various other derivations have 
 been suggested ; but we think the above is the most probable, 
 because old exorcists and witch-suppressors were in the habit of 
 using Latin terms in their adjurations. Dr. Johnson met with 
 an old print representing St. Patrick .visiting the infernal regions 
 and putting the devils to great confusion ; one of whom is driv- 
 ing away a crowd of the condemned, with a label issuing out of 
 his mouth bearing these words—' Out, out, Arongt : ' which 
 word, being probably an antique form of " aroint," comes even 
 nearer to the Latin word, which we believe to be its original 
 root. Nares mentions that the expression is still used in 
 Cheshire ; where, if the cow press too close to the dairy-maid 
 who is milking her, she will give the animal a push, saying at 
 the same time, ' Roint thee ! ' by which she means, ' Stand off. 
 There is also a North-country proverh—' J^jnt ye, witch ! quoth 
 Bcssii^ Locket to her mother.' 
 
 21. The rump fed 7-onyon. Formerly the cooks in large 
 ■establishments claimed as perquisites the fat and chump-ends of 
 the meat ; therefore the epithet in the text is applied by the 
 witch to the sailor's wife as a fleer at her being so poor as to 
 have nothing to feed upon but offal and refuse bits. " Ronyon " 
 means a scuiwy wretch. See Note 17, Act iv., "Merry Wives." 
 
 Our bosom interest: — go pronounce his present 
 death, 
 
 And with his former title greet Macbeth. 
 Rosse. I'll see it done. 
 
 Dun. What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath 
 won. {^Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE III.— ^ Heaih. 
 Thunder. Enter the three Witches. 
 Firs IVitch. Where hast thou been, sister ? 
 Sec. iFitch. Hilling swine. 
 Third IVitch. Sister, where thou ? 
 First IFitch. A sailor's wife had chestnuts in her 
 lap, 
 
 And mounch'd, and mounch'd, and mounch'd : — 
 
 " Give me," quoth I : 
 " Aroint^o thee, witch!" the rump-fed ronyon^' 
 
 cries. 
 
 Her husband's to Aleppo gone, master o' the 
 Tiger: 
 
 But in a sieve I'll thither sail, =3 
 And, like a rat without a tail,-^ 
 ril do, I'll do, and I'll do. 
 Sec. Witch. I'll give thee a wind."^ 
 
 22. To Aleppo gone, master o' the Tiger. Sir W. C. Trevelyan 
 has remarked that in " Hakluyt's Voyages " there are several 
 letters and journals of a voyage made to Aleppo in the ship 
 Tiger, of London, in the year 1583. 
 
 23. In a sieve I'll thit/ter sail. A pamphlet concerning the 
 "Life and Death of Dr. Flan, a Notable Sorcerer," 1591, and 
 describing a conspiracy of 200 witches with Dr. Fian to " be- 
 witch and drowne" King James in the sea, contains this passage : 
 " They altogether went by sea, each one in a riddle or sieve, 
 and went in the same very substantially with flaggons of wine, 
 making merry and drinking by the way in the same riddles or 
 sieves." Reginald Scot, in his " Discoverie of Witchcraft," 
 1584, says it was believed that witches "could sail in an egg 
 shell, a cockle or mussel shell, through and under the tempestuous 
 
 24. Like a rat without a tail. Among other preposterous 
 popular beliefs respecting witches, it was supposed that though 
 a witch could assume the form of any animal she pleased, the 
 tail would still be wanting. 
 
 25. I'll give thee a wind. This offer of a wind as a free gift 
 is accepted as a kindness, because witches were supposed to 
 make it an article of traffic. Witness, among other quotations 
 that have been cited to prove this, a passage from Summers's 
 " Last Will and Testament," 1600 : — 
 
 " In Ireland and in Denmark both, 
 IVitdies for gold will sell a man a wind. 
 Which, in the corner of a napkin wrapp'd, 
 Shall blow him safe unto what coast he will." 
 
 Also an account written in Sir Walter Scott's own graphic style, 
 and given in Lockhart's "Life of Scott" (1845), chap, xxx., 
 p. 276, showing that the custom alluded to in the text survived 
 to a much later date. ' Off Stromness [Orkneys], 17th August, 
 • 1814. — We clomb, by steep and dirty lanes, an eminence rising 
 above the town, and commanding a fine view. An old hag lives 
 in a wretched cabin on this height, and subsists by selling winds. 
 Each captain of a merchantman, between jest and earnest, gives 
 the old woman sixpence, and .she boils her kettle to procure a 
 ■ favourable gale. -She was a miserable figure, upwards of ninety. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 First mtch. Thou art kind. 
 Third Witch. And I another. 
 
 she told us, and dried up like a mummy. A sort of clay-coloured 
 cloak, folded over her head, corresponded in colour to her 
 corpse-like complexion. Fine light-blue eyes, and nose and 
 chin that almost met, and a ghastly expression of cunning, gave 
 
 her quite the effect of Hecate We left our Pythoness, 
 
 who assured us there was nothing evi! in the intercession she 
 was to make for us, but that we were only to have a fair wind 
 through the benefit of her prayers. She repeated a sort of 
 rigmarole, which I suppose she had ready for such occasions ; 
 and seemed greatly delighted and surprised with the amount of 
 our donation, as everybody gave her a trifle, our faithful 
 Captam Wilson making the regular off"ering on behalf of the 
 ship. So much for buying a wind." 
 
 26. And ike very ports they bloiv. ' To ' is elliptically under- 
 stood after " blow." 
 
 27. /' tite stiipinan s card. It has been proposed to add 'to 
 show ' here, in order to complete the line and rhyme ; but the 
 imperfect rhyming and unequal metre to be traced at intervals 
 throughout the speeches of the witches, appear to us to be so 
 marked as to prove that they are intentional on the part of the 
 dramatist ; giving characteristic ruggedness and uncouthness to 
 that which is uttered by these unhallowed creatures. "The 
 shipman's card " is the mariner's compass ; or, mor^ strictly, ■ 
 the paper on which the points of the wind are marked. 
 
 28. Forbid. Here used in the sense of ' forespoken,' ' be- 
 witched ;' under a spell or charm. 'A forbodin fellow' is a 
 Scottish term for an unhappy fellow. 
 
 29. ."ileep sliall neWier iiiglit nor day, &=€ S/mll he 
 
 dwindle, peal:, and pine. In Holinshed Shakespeare found a 
 hint for these witch-spells ; for, speaking of the witchcraft prac- 
 tised against King Duff, the chronicler says, that a witch was 
 found roasting upon a wooden broach an image of wax at the 
 fire, resembling in feature the king's person; and "as the image 
 did waste afore the fire, so did the bodie of the king break forth 
 in sweat : and as for the words of the inchantment, they served 
 to keepe him still wa/cing- from sleepe." 
 
 30. Weird. Spelt in the Folio sometimes ' weyward,' some- 
 times ' v/eyard.' The word " weird " is derived from the Saxon, 
 
 Enter Macbeth and Banquo. 
 
 Macb. So foul and fair a day^i I have not seen. 
 Ean. How far is't call'd to Fores "i^- — What are 
 these 
 
 So wither'd, and so wild in their attire, 
 That look not like th' inhabitants o' the earth, 
 And yet are on 't?— Live you ? or are you auglit 
 That man may question ? You seem to under- 
 stand me, 
 
 By each at once her choppy finger laying 
 Upon her skinny lips: — you should be women, 
 And yet your beards forbid me to interpret 
 That you are so. 
 
 Macb. Speak, if you can ; — what are you ? 
 
 First Wiich. All hail,^^ Macbeth! hail to thee, 
 
 thane of Glamis 
 Sec. Witch. All hail, Macbeth ! hail to thee, 
 
 thane of Cawdor ! 
 Third Witch. All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be 
 
 king hereafter ! 
 Ran. Good sir, why do you start ; and seem to 
 fear 
 
 Things that do sound so fair? — I' the name of 
 truth, 
 
 Are ye fantastical, ^5 or that indeed 
 
 Which outwardly )e show? My noble partner 
 
 wyrd, a fate, or witch ; and signifies 'fatal,' 'prophetic' Shake- 
 speare derived the expression in the text from Holinshed, who 
 says, " The common opinion was, that these women were either 
 the iveird sisters, that is [as ye would say) the goddesses of 
 destinie, or else some nymphs or feiries, indued with knowledge 
 of prophesie by their necromanticall science, bicause everie 
 thing came to passe as they had spoken." 
 
 31. So fottl and fair a day. By these words we think 
 Shakespeare indicates the effect of fair weather overcast an^l 
 rendered foul by the witches' spells. Their appearance is 
 alw.ays accompanied by thunder ; they meet in thunder, light- 
 ning, and rain ; they control the elements, vend the winces, and 
 revel in storm and tempest. The commotion produced in the 
 air by their unholy incantations, and the discord of good marred 
 by evil which they delight to promote, are indicated by some- 
 what similar words, where they previously chant in grim 
 chorus- 
 
 " Fair is foul, and foul is fair : 
 Hover through the fog and filthy air." 
 
 32. How far is 'i call'd to Forest The Folio misprints 
 ' Soris ' for " Fores " here ; shown to be right by the passage in 
 Holinshed which recounts the circumstance of Macbeth and 
 Banquo's meeting the witches on their way " towards Fores, 
 where the king then lay." By these few words, the dramatist 
 contrives to denote the place where the incident takes place, to 
 open the scene naturally and easily, and to mark the moment 
 emphatically when the witches are first beheld by their human 
 
 33. All hail. " Hail " is derived from the Anglo-Saxon had, 
 or hal, meaning 'hale,' 'whole,' or 'healthy;' and "all hail" 
 is a salutation equivalent to the Latin ave or salve, ' God save 
 you !' 
 
 34. Thane of Glamis. The thaneship of Glamis was the 
 ancient inheritance of Macbeth's family. The castle where they 
 lived is still standing ; and was in late years the residence of 
 the Earl of Strathmore. 
 
 35. Fantastical. ' Creatures of fantasy or imagination.' 
 
 First Witch. I myself have all the other ; 
 And the very ports they blow,-^ 
 All the quarters that they know 
 r the shipman's card.-' 
 I'll drain him dry as hay: 
 Sleep shall neither night nor day 
 Hang upon his pent-house lid ; 
 He shall live a man forbid 
 Weary seven-nights nine times nine 
 Shall he dwindle, peak, and pine:^'^ 
 Though his bark cannot be lost, 
 Yet it shall be tempest-tost. — 
 Look what I have. 
 
 Sec. Witch. Show me, show me. 
 
 First Witch. Here I have a pilot's thumb, 
 Wreck'd as homeward he did come. 
 
 [Drum nvithitt. 
 
 Third Witch. A drum, a drum ! 
 Macbeth doth come. 
 
 jill. The weird sisters, hand in hand, 
 Posters of the sea and land, 
 Thus do go about, about : 
 Thrice to thine, and thrice to mine. 
 And thrice again, to make up nine ; 
 Peace ! — the charm's wound up. 
 
Act I.J 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene 111. 
 
 You greet with present grace, and great prediction 
 OF noble having ami cf royal liope, 
 Tluit he seems rapt^'" withal:— lo ine you speak 
 not : 
 
 If you can look into the seeds of time, 
 And say which grain will gro>v, and which will 
 not, 
 
 Speak, then, to me, who neither beg nor fear 
 Your favours nor your hate.-** 
 
 Fust IVitcb. Hail! 
 
 Sec. IVitch. Hail I 
 
 Third IVitch. Hail ! 
 
 F'n si IVitch. Lesser than Macbeth, and greater. 
 Sec. IVitch. Not so happy, yet much happier. 
 Third IVitch. Thou slialt get kings, though 
 
 thou be none : 
 So, all hail, Macbeth and Banquo ! 
 
 Unl IVitcb. Banquo and Macbeth, all hail ! 
 Macb. Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me 
 
 more : 
 
 B)' Sinel's death*' I know I am thane of Glamis; 
 
 But how of Cawdor ? the thane of Cawdor lives, 
 
 A prosperous gentleman ; and to be king 
 
 Stands not within the prospect of belief. 
 
 No more than to be Cawdor. Say from whence 
 
 You owe this strange intelligence ? or why 
 
 Upon this blasted heath you stop our way 
 
 With such prophetic greeting ? Speak, I charge 
 
 you. [Witches •vanish. 
 
 Ban. The earth hath bubbles, as the water 
 
 has. 
 
 And these are of them : — whither are they vanish'd? 
 Macb. Into the air; and what seem'd corporal 
 melted 
 
 As breath into the wind. — Would they had stay'd ! 
 Ban. Were such thmgs here as we do speak 
 about ? 
 
 36. Having. ' Possession,' ' fortune,' ' estate.' See Note 34, 
 Act ii., *'Timoji of Athens. " 
 
 37. Rapt. Here and elsewhere used by Shakespeare to ex- 
 press ' transported ;' ' in a stat.; of niintal abstraction,' ' in a fit 
 of strongly e.xcited impression.' 
 
 38. Wlu> ii!lth:r be^ nor fear your favours nor your hate. 
 ' Who neither b;g your favours nor fear your hate.' See 
 Note 42, Act v., " Coriolanus." 
 
 39. By Stmt's death. Holinshed mentions " Sinell, the thane 
 of Glamis," as bein^ iVIacb-'th's father. 
 
 40. Eaten on th^ iitsaite root. Here "on" is used for 'of. 
 S;e Note 29, Act i., "Henry VIII." It is conjectured that 
 Sh.ikespe.ire, in the present passage, had thought of one that 
 occurs in Batman's "Commentary de Propriet Rerum "—" Hen- 
 b.mi .... is c tiled (, mid, for the use thereof is perillous , 
 fur if it be eate or dronke, it breedeth madnesse, or .slow lyke- 
 ivji^e of sleepe. Therefore this hearb is called commonly Jl/trt- 
 lidtitiii. for it taketh away wit and reason." 
 
 41. H is '.uonders and kis praises, &^c. * His wonder and his 
 admir.rtion at your deeds struggle with desire to e.'ipress them- 
 seive.i in laudation towards your.self nistead of remaining within 
 his own breast ;' or, ' his wonder at your deeds and his desire to 
 praise you for them contend for ma.stery within him.' 
 
 42. .Siteuc'd with tk.it. ' Remaining silently absorbed in that 
 wonder and admiration.' 
 
 43. As tliicic as taie, came post with post. The Folio mls- 
 
 Or have we eaten on the insane root 
 That takes the reason prisonei ? 
 
 Mac. Your children shall be kings. 
 
 Ban. You shall be king. 
 
 Mach. And thane of Cawdor too, — went it not 
 so ? 
 
 Ban. I'o the selfsame tune and words. — Who's 
 here ? 
 
 Enter RossE and Angus. 
 
 Rosse. The king l.-th happily receiv'd, Mac- 
 beth, 
 
 The news of thy succe-. : and when he reads 
 Thy personal venture in the rebels' fight, 
 I His wonders and his praises do conten 
 I Which should be thine or his : silenc'd with that,** 
 
 In viewing o'er the rest o' the selfsame day, 
 j He finds thee in the stout Norweyan ranks. 
 Nothing afeard of what thyself didst make. 
 Strange images of death. As thick as tale. 
 Came post with post and every one did bear 
 Thy praises in his kingdom's great defence, 
 And pour'd them down before him. 
 
 Ang. , We are sent 
 
 To give thee, from our royal master, thanks ; 
 Only to herald thee into his sight, 
 Not pay thee. 
 
 Rosse. And, for an earnest of a greater honour. 
 He bade me, from him, call thee thane of Cawdor: 
 In which addition,'*'* hail, most worthy thane! 
 For it is thine. 
 
 Ban. What ! can the devil speak true ? 
 
 Macb. The thane of Cawdor lives : why do you 
 dress me 
 In borrow'd robes ? 
 
 Ang. Who was the thane lives yet ; 
 
 But under heavy judgment bears that life 
 
 prints 'can' for "came." Rowe's correction. He also changed 
 " tale" to 'hail ;' but when we remember that Shakespeare uses 
 "thick" to e.>cpress 'rapidly' (see Note 52, Act ii., "Second 
 Part Henry IV."), and "tales" in reference to the sense it 
 bears of 'reckoned numbers' (see No.te 46, Act iii,, "Mid- 
 summer Night's Dream"), we believe that here "as thick as 
 tale" means 'as quickly as counting,' 'as rapidly in succession 
 as could be counted.' Baret e.tplains Crel>ritas literaruiit by 
 ' the often sending or tliicic coming of letters ;' while Milton and 
 Dryden both employ the word " tale " in the sense of ' score 
 ■ taken,' or ' number reckoned.' Milton has— 
 
 And every shepherd tells his taie. 
 Under the hawtiiorn iu the dale." 
 
 Dryden has — 
 
 " Both number twice a day the milky danis. 
 And once she takes the tale of all the lambs." 
 
 We think, moreover, that the image of successive numbers 
 , reckoned quickly one after the other accords far better with the 
 arrival of many posts rapidly following each other, than the 
 imige of fast down-coming hail would do ; and therefore we 
 bel eve " as thick as taie " to be wliat Shakespeare wrote m 
 the present passage. 
 
 44. In zv'iich aidition. 'In which title." See Note 97, 
 Act i., " Coriolanus." 
 
 324 
 
Act I.] 
 
 .MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Banqiio. Look, how our pai 
 
 Act I. Scene III. 
 
 Which he deserves to lose. Whether he was 
 combin'd 
 
 With those of Norway, or did line^'^the rebel 
 With hidden help and vantage, or that with both 
 He labour'd in his country's wreck, I know not; 
 But treasons capital, confess'd, and prov'd, 
 Have overtiirown him. 
 
 Macb. [Js/cie.'] Glamis, and thane of Cawdor ; 
 The greatest is behind.— IJlouc/.] Thanks for ' 
 
 your pains. — 
 Do you not hope your children shall be kings, 
 
 When those that gave the thane of Cawdor to me 
 Promis'd no less to them ? 
 
 Ban. That, trusted home,^^ 
 
 Might yet enkindle''^ you unto the crown, 
 Besides the thane of Cawdor.*^ But 'tis strange : 
 And oftentimes, to win us to our harm. 
 The instruments of darkness tell us truths- 
 Win us with honest trifles, to betray us 
 In deepest consequence. — 
 Cousins, a word, 1 pray you. 
 
 Macb. [Aside.] Two truths are told,'" 
 
 45. Line. Here used to express 'strengthen," reinforce,' 'sup: 49. Two truths are told. Steevens and Malone complaii. 
 port,' ' sustain.' See Note 54, Act ii , " First Part Henry IV." j that it is not stated how the former of these " truths" has been 
 
 46. That, trusted home. ' That oracle trusted fully.' See j fulfilled; proceeding to discuss the witch's first salutation as if 
 Note 23, Act v., " All's Well." 1 it were intended to be a prediction. But it appears to us that 
 
 47. Enkindle. 'Incite,' 'stimulate' (see Note 23, Act i., Macbeth is dwelling upon. the. point of whether the titles by 
 "As You Like It ") ; 'fire you with the hope of attaining.' wliich the witches have saluted him are true, and not thinking 
 
 48. Besides the tliane o/Caivdor. Here, and in the preceding I of them all as prophetic. He knows that he is already thane of 
 speech, "thane" is used elliptically for ' thaneship' or 'title of j Glamis, he learns that he has just been created thane of Cawdor, 
 th.me.' I and he tests the probability of the truth that may lie in the 
 
 325 
 
Act I.] 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 As happy prologues to the swelling act 
 
 Of the imperial theme.— [Aloud.] I thank you, 
 
 gentlemen. — 
 [Aside.'] This supernatural soliciting^" 
 Cannot be ill ; cannot be good: — if ill. 
 Why hath it given me earnest of success, 
 Commencing in a truth ? I am thane of Cawdor; 
 If good, why do 1 yield to that suggestion 
 Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair, 
 And make my seated heart knock at my ribs, 
 Against the use of nature ? Present fears^' 
 Are less than horrible imaginings : 
 My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical,'- 
 Shakes so my single state of man," that function 
 Is smother'd in surmise and nothing is 
 But what is not.*^ 
 
 Ben. Look, how our partner's rapt.^^ 
 
 Macb. [Aside.] If chance will have me king, 
 why, chance may crown me, 
 Without my stir. 
 
 Ban. New honours come upon him, 
 
 Like our strange garments, cleave , not to their 
 
 mould 
 But with the aid of use. 
 
 Macb. [Aside.] Come what come may. 
 Time and the hour^s j-u^s through the roughest day. 
 Ban. Worthy Macbeth, we stay upon your 
 leisure.'"'* 
 
 Macb. (jive me your favour:^" — my dull brain 
 was wrought 
 
 With things forgotten.^' Kind gentlemen, your 
 pains 
 
 Are register'd where every day I turn 
 
 The leaf to read them.^'^ — Let us toward the king — 
 
 "shalt be king hereafter" by his knowledge of the verity that 
 hes in the " two truths" already '* told." 
 
 50. Soliciting. Here used for ' prompting,' ' urging upon the 
 
 51. Present fears. 'Objects of fear actually present.' See 
 Note 36, Act 11,, "Julius Caisar." 
 
 52. Fantastical. ' A circumstance of the fantasy or imagina- 
 tion.' See Note 35 of this Act. 
 
 53. Mji siugie state of man. " Single" is here used in the 
 sense of ' imperfect,' ' fallible,' ' weak,' ' simple ' (see Note 54, 
 Act i., "Second Part Henry IV."); and "state of man" is 
 * realm of man,* * constitutional condition of man,' * component 
 conformation' as a human being.' See Note 7, Act ii., " Corlo- 
 lanus ;" and Note 15, Act ii., "Julius Caesar." 
 
 54. Function is smother'd in surmise. 'My mental and 
 bodily powers are absorbed in contemplation of a possible 
 future." 
 
 55. Nothing is but what is not. ' Nothing is palpably be- 
 fore me but that which does not yet exist,' ' Nothing seems real 
 to me but that which is as yet unreal,' ' I can see nothing of the 
 actual things around me, my mind being so occupied with visions 
 of what may hereafter happen.' 
 
 56. Rafit. ' Involved in a state of abstraction,' 'carried away 
 into a fit of thought and aKsence of mind.' See Note 37 of this Act. 
 
 57. Cleave not to their moidd. 'They' is elliptically under- 
 stood before " cleave." 
 
 58. Time and the ho7cr. An idiomatic and pleonastic phrase, 
 in use among early Engli.sh writers ; as its counterpart, il 
 tempo e I'ora, is among Italian writers. In the present passage 
 
 [Aside to Ban.] Think upon what hath chanc'd ; 
 
 and, at more time. 
 The interim having weigh'd it, let us speak 
 Our free hearts each to other. 
 
 Ban. Very gladly. 
 
 Macb, Till then, enough. — Come, friends. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE IV.— Fores. A Room in the Palace. 
 
 Flourish. Enter Duncan, Malcolm, Donal- 
 BAIN, Lennox, and Attendants. 
 
 Dun. Is execution done on Cawdor? Are not 
 Those in commission" yet return'd ? 
 
 Mai. My liege. 
 
 They are not yet come back. But I have spoke 
 With one that saw him die : who did report. 
 That very frankly he confess'd his treasons ; 
 Implor'd your highness' pardon ; and set forth 
 A deep repentance : nothing in his life 
 Became him like the leaving it ; he died 
 As one that had been studied in his death," 
 To throw away the dearest thing he ow'd,^^ 
 As 'twere a careless trifle. 
 
 Dun. There's no art 
 
 To find the mind's construction in the face 
 He was a gentleman on whom I built 
 An absolute trust. 
 
 Enter Macbeth, Banquo, Rosse, «W Angus. 
 
 Oh, worthiest cousin I^^ 
 The sin of my ingratitude even now 
 
 its signification is equivalent to ' Time and the hour destined to 
 1 witness a special event,' ' Time and the hour appointed for a 
 
 pre-ordained event.' 
 
 59. l^e stay upon your leisure, 'We attend upon your will 
 : to depart,' 'we wait but for your convenience to go.' See 
 
 Note 55, Act v., " Coriolanus." 
 I 60. Give me your favour. ' Give me your favourable con- 
 I struction,' ' Give me your indulgence.' 
 
 61. My dull brain was ■wrought with things forgotten. 
 
 "Wrought" is here used for 'working,' 'toiling,' 'occupied.' 
 1 62. Register'd where every day I turn tlie leaf to read them. 
 ! Macbeth poetically refers to his mind as a memorandum-book, 
 
 where he keeps a record of his friends' courtesies and kindly 
 
 deeds. See Note 39, Act iv., " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 63. The interim having weigh'd it. ' The interim having 
 allowed of its being deliberately considered,' or ' duly balanced 
 in our minds.' 
 
 64. Are not those in commission. The first Folio prints 
 ' or ' for " are." Corrected in the second Folio. 
 
 65. As one that had been studied in his death. ' Like one 
 that had perfectly studied the part he was to play in dying with 
 firmness and penitence.' 
 
 66. Om'd. 'Owned.' 
 
 67. To find tlie mind's construction tn the face. ' To dis- 
 cover the mode of construing the inward mind by the exterior 
 demonstrationof the face.' 
 
 68. Oh, worthiest cousin 1 Duncan and Macbeth were the 
 sons of two sisters, Beatrice and Doada, daughters to Malcolm, 
 the previous King of Scotland. 
 
 326 
 
Act I.] 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 Was heavy on me : thou art so far before, 
 That swiftest wing of recompense is slow 
 To overtake thee. Would thou hadst less deserv'd ; 
 That the proportion both of thanks and payment 
 Miglit have been mine only I have left to say, 
 More is thy due than more than all can pay.'" 
 Mad. The ser.vice and the loyalty I owe, 
 In doing it, pays itself.'' Your highness' part 
 Is to receive our duties : and our duties 
 Are to your throne and state, children and servants ; 
 Which do but what they should, by doing every- 
 thing 
 
 Safe toward your love and honour. '- 
 
 Dun. ^ Welcome hither : 
 
 I have begun to plant thee, and will labour 
 To make thee full of growing.— Noble Banquo, 
 That has no less deserv'd, nor must be known. 
 No less to have done so ; let me infold thee, 
 And hold thee to my heart. 
 
 Ban. There if I grow, 
 
 The harvest is your own. 
 
 Dun. My plenteous joys, 
 
 Wanton in fulness, seek to hide themselves 
 In drops of sorrow. — Sons, kinsmen, thanes. 
 And you whose places are the nearest, know, 
 We will establish our estate upon 
 Our eldest, Malcolm; whom we name hereafter 
 The Prince of Cumberland which honour must 
 Not unaccompanied invest him only, 
 But signs of nobleness, like stars, shall shine 
 On all deservers.— From hence to Inverness,"' 
 And bmd us farther to you. 
 
 Mac/). The rest is labour, which is not us'd for 
 you : 
 
 69. T/m/ the propoytion both of thanks and payment might 
 have been mine. The word " mine " has been suspected of 
 error here ; but we think that the sentence bears this interpreta- 
 tion :— ' I would thou hadst deserved less, that the satisfaction 
 mi^ht have been mine of knowing that my thanks and rewards 
 were better proportioned to thy merit than now they can be.' 
 
 70. More ts thy dm than more than all can pay. ' More is 
 ihv due than could be repaid by even more than all that I can 
 give thee." 
 
 71. TIce service and the loyalty I owe, in doing it, pays 
 itself. Here " service " and " loyalty " are treated as one and 
 the same thing, and therefore referred to by " it " and " itself," 
 in-itead of by a plural pronoun. See Note 73, Act iii., " Timon 
 of Athens." 
 
 72. By doing everytliing safe toward yonr love and iionour. 
 " Safe" has here been variously interpreted : Blackstone altering 
 '• your ' to ' you,' and affirming that " safe " bears the same sense 
 in this p.assage that ' sauf does in the form of doing homage 
 during the feudal times :—',9rt«/ /« foy que je day a nostre 
 .Seignof le roy ;' and Upton alleging that here " safe " is used, 
 adverbially, for 'safely.' We incline to think that here " safe " 
 is employed adjectively, meaning ' productive of security ;' as ii 
 IS in Philippians iii. i : "To write the same things to you, to 
 me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe." And there- 
 fore wc take the passage in the te.tt to signify, ' by doing every- 
 thing productive of security toward you whom we love and 
 honour,' or 'by doing everything that tends to secure arid pro 
 mote your love and honour.' 
 
 73. The I'riiue of Cumberland. The crown of Scotland was 
 
 I'll be myself the harbinger, and make joyful 
 The hearing of my wife with your approach ; 
 So, humbly take my leave. 
 
 Dun. My worthy Cawdor ! 
 
 lilacb. [Jside.] The Prince of Cumberland ! 
 that is a step,?^ 
 On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap. 
 For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires ; 
 I Let not light see my black and deep desires : 
 j The eye wink at the hand ; yet let that be. 
 Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see. [Exit. 
 Dun. True, worthy Eanquo, — he is full so 
 valiant 
 
 And in his commendations I am fed,— 
 
 It is a banquet to me. Lei's after him. 
 
 Whose care is gone before to bid us welcome: 
 
 It is a peerless kinsman. '7 [Flourish. Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE v.— Inverness. A Room in 
 
 Macbeth's Castle. 
 Enter Lady Macbeth, reading a letter. 
 
 Lady M. They met me in the day of success ; and I 
 have learned by the perfectest report,'^ they have more in them 
 than mortal knowledge. When I burned in desire to question 
 them farther, they made themselves air, into which they vanished. 
 Whiles I stood rapt in the wonder of it, came missives'' from 
 the king, who all-hailed me, "Thane of Cawdor ;" by which title, 
 before, these weird sisters saluted me, and referred me to the 
 coming on of time, with " Hail, king that shalt be ! " This have 
 I thought good to deliver thee, my dearest partner of greatness, 
 that thou might'st not lose the dues of rejoicing, by being igno- 
 rant of what greatness is promised thee. Lay it to thy heart, 
 and farewell. 
 
 in early times not strictly hereditary ; and when a successor 
 was declared in the lifetime of a king (as was sometimes the 
 case), the title of Prince of Cumberland was conferred upon him 
 m token of his appointment. Cumberland was then held in fief 
 of the English crown. 
 
 74. From lience to Inverness. This royal visit to Macbeth's 
 castle has historical .authority ; and it was customary for the 
 king to make an annual progress through his dominions, 
 .sojourning at the mansions of his nobles. 
 
 75. T/iat is a step. Macbeth being, equally with Duncan, 
 the grandson of the late monarch, considered that his claims 
 to the throne were set aside by this nomination of Malcolm to be 
 heir to the crown ; and it acts as a fresh incentive to his medi- 
 tated deed. 
 
 76. True, worthy Banquo,— he is full so valiant. These 
 words are said by Duncan in reply to something which has been 
 said by Banquo in praise of Macbeth's valour, while conversing 
 apart during Macbeth's soliloquy. The proneness of the latter 
 to fall into abstracted self-communing throughout these first 
 scenes serves forcibly to depict the tumult of his mind ; so 
 engrossed with its subject of secret deb.ite, that it positively 
 cannot disengage Itself therefrom, but causes him to fall into 
 perpetually recurring fits of soliloquising even in the presence 
 of others. 
 
 77. It is a peerless kinsman. See Note 76, Act ii., " Second 
 ■'art Henry IV." 
 
 78. By tlie perfectest report. ' From the most reliable 
 Information.' 
 
 79. Missives. Here used for ' messengers.' 
 
Act I.] 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 Glamis thou art, and Cawiior ; and shalt be 
 What thou art promis'd : yet do I fear thy nature ; 
 It is too full o' the milk of human kindness 
 To catch the nearest way : thou wouKlst be great ; 
 Art not without ambition ; but without 
 The illness'*" should attend it : what thou wovddst 
 highly, 
 
 That wouldst thou holily ; wouldst not play false, 
 And yet wouldst wrongly win : thou'dst ha\e, 
 
 great Glamis, 
 That which cries, " Thus thou must do, if thou 
 
 have it ; 
 
 And that which rather thou dost fear to do 
 
 Than wishest should be undone." Hie thee hither. 
 
 That 1 may pour my spirits in thine ear ; 
 
 And chastise with the valour of my tongue 
 
 All that impedes thee from the golden round, 
 
 Which fate and metaph) sical aid doth seem 
 
 To have 52 thee crown'd withal. 
 
 Enter an Attendant. 
 
 What is your tidings ? 
 Atten. The king comes here to-night. 
 Lady M. Thou'rt mad to say it : 
 
 Is not thy master with him ? who, were 't so. 
 Would have inform'd for preparation. 
 Atten. So please you, it is true :— our thane is 
 coming : 
 
 One of my fellows had the speed of him ; 
 
 Who, almost dead for breath, had scarcely more 
 
 Tlian would make up his message. 
 
 80. Ilbiess. Here used for 'badness,' 'evilness.' 
 
 81. Metaphysical. In Shakespeare's time this word was used 
 to express 'supernatural' or 'preternatural.' 
 
 82. Seem to Iiave. An idiom used by Shakespeare to express 
 ' appear to wish," ' make show of desiring,' ' give token of wish- 
 ing.' See thepassage referred to in Note 39, Act i., "AU'sWell." 
 
 83. Who, almost dead for breath. ' Want of is elliptically 
 understood between " for " and " breath." See Note 33, Act i., 
 •' Henry V." 
 
 84. The raven himself is hoarse, &'c. Lady Macbeth, 
 hearing that the messenger has scarcely breath to announce the 
 king's arrival, follows up the thought by saying to herself, ' Ay, 
 all who proclaim that advent m^y naturally be wanting in voice : 
 the very bird that hath the harshest of notes is hoarse,' &c. 
 
 85. Mortal. Here, and elsewhere, used by Shakespeare for 
 ' deadly.' See Note 81, Act iii., " Twelfth Night," 
 
 86. Nor keep peace between the effect and it. The first 
 Folio prints 'hit' for " it" here ; corrected in the third Folio. 
 Perhaps we should rather say modernised than corrected; for 
 'hit' was an old form of "it." See Note 52, Act v., "All's 
 Well," for a similar first Folio use of ' hit ' as a form of " it ;" 
 the present passage serving to confirm the propriety of our 
 adopted reading there. The word "peace" in the present 
 passage has been suspected of error, Johnson proposing that it 
 should be changed to ' pace :' but by "keep peace " the effect is 
 produced of 'mediate,' 'suspend proceedings,' 'check hostilities,' 
 and therefore of hindering achievement. 
 
 87. .Sightless. Here, and in the passage referred to in Note 
 118 of the present Act, used to express 'unseen,' 'invisible.' 
 Elsewlicre Shakespeare employs it in the sense of 'unsightly' 
 (see Note 8, Act iii,, " King John") ; and these instances afford 
 an example of the I'cjnce with which he uses words ending in 
 
 loss." Sec also Note 32, Act iv., " Timon of Athens." 
 
 L^^'y M. Give him tending ; 
 
 He brings great news. [Exit Attendant. 
 
 The raven liimself is hoarse*^ 
 That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan 
 Under my battlements. Come, you spirits 
 That tend on mortal s= thoughts, unsex me here ; 
 And fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full 
 Of direst cruelty ! make thick my blood. 
 Stop up the access and passage to remorse; 
 That no compunctious visitings cf nature 
 Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between 
 The effect and iti^^ Come to my woman's 
 breasts. 
 
 And take my milk for gall, you murdering mini- 
 sters. 
 
 Wherever in your sightless^' substances 
 You wait on nature's mischief! Come, thick 
 night, 
 
 And pall thee in the dunnest smokers of hell. 
 That my keen knife^' see not the wound it inakes, 
 Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark,'" 
 To cry, "Hold, hold!"3i 
 
 Enter Macbeth. 
 Great Glamis ! worthy Cawdor ! 
 Greater than both, by the all-hail hereafter! 
 Thy letters have transported me beyond 
 This ignorant present,'- and I feel now 
 The future in the instant. 
 
 Mac/>. My dearest love, 
 
 Duncan comes here to-night. 
 
 83 Pall thee in the dunnest smoke. " Pall " has been 
 explained by some to mean ' a robe of state ;' and by others 
 has been derived from the Latin palliare, to ' invest,' 'clothe,' 
 'wrap,' or 'cover.' We think that it is one of Shakespeare's 
 poetically coined verbs from nouns to express ' cover as with a 
 funereal pall.' It will hardly be believed that "dunnest" has 
 been objected to as a mean epithet (!) ; to our minds it has an 
 even superbly impressive effect, in its dark, shadowy grimness. 
 
 89. That iHj keen knife. " Knife," in the present day 
 sounding more familiar than would seem to befit the language 
 of tragedy, was formerly a usual name for a 'dagger.' See 
 Note 19, Act iv., " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 90. The blanket of the dark. Here is another of those 
 familiar expressions which trouble fastidious commentators, 
 causing them to suspect error and propose so-calleil emenda- 
 tion ; but which to poets and poetical appreciators seem fraught 
 w th grand simplicity. See Note 39, Act v., "Merchant of 
 'Venice," and Note 13 of the present Act. 
 
 91. "Hold, hold!" This was the phrase formally and 
 solemnly used when parting combatants. In Bellay's " Instruc- 
 tions for the Wars," 1589, we find that the old military laws 
 declared capital punishment to be the penalty for " whosoever 
 shall strike stroke at his adversary, either in the heat or other- 
 wise, if a third do cry Iiold, to the intent to part them ; except 
 that they did fight a combat in a place enclosed ; and then no 
 man shall be so hardy as to bid Jiold, but the general." 
 
 92. This igjiorant present. ' This present moment unac- 
 quainted with the existence of that which hereafter will exist.' 
 " Ignorant" here includes the sense of ' unpossessed of as well 
 as 'unacquainted wit',' 'unconscious of,' 'unknowing.' The 
 phrase is one of Shakespeare's finely succinct elliptical expres- 
 sions, which the meddlers with his phraseology would fain 
 deprive us of by diluting it into 'this ignorant present time.' 
 
Act I.] 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene VI. 
 
 I.ady M. And when goes hence ? 
 
 Mac/). To-morrow, as he purposes. ' 
 
 lady M. Oh,, never 
 
 Shall sun that morrow see ! 
 Your face, my thane, is as a book where men , 
 May read strange matters : — to beguile the time, 
 Look like the time ; bear welcome in your eye, 
 Your hand, ) our tongue : look like the innocent 
 flower. 
 
 But be the' serpent under it. He that's coming^* 
 Must be provided for : and you shall put 
 This night's great business into my despatch ; 
 Which shall to all our nights and days to come 
 Give solely sovereign sway and masterdom. 
 
 Macb. We will speak farther.^. , . 
 
 Lady M. Only look up clear ; 
 
 To alter favour'* ever is to fear^ . . 
 
 Leave all the 'rest to me. ' [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE VI.— Inverness. Before the Castle. 
 
 Hautboys. Servants of M acbeth attending. Enter 
 Duncan, Malcolm, Donalbain, BANquo, 
 Lennox, Macduff, Rosse, Angus, and 
 Attendants. ' • : 
 
 ' Dun. This castle hath a pleasant seat the air 
 Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself 
 Unto our gentle senses.'^ 
 
 93. He that's coining. By this hard abstract expression, 
 going even beyond her husband's plain mention of the king by 
 his simple name of "Duncan," how strikingly does the drama- 
 tist denote Lady Macbeth's character, and her tact m avoiding 
 direct nomination of their intended victim by any title that may 
 remind her partner of the claims he has upon their respect and 
 (hospitality as king and guest ! 
 
 94. Favour. 'Aspect,' 'appearance,' 'look,' 'countenance.' 
 • See Note 86, Act i., " Julius Cajsar." 
 
 95. Seat. Here used for ' site," ' situation.'' 
 
 96. Unto our gentle senses. Sir Joshua Reynolds, upon the 
 ■present passage, has a graceful note, which comes with double 
 , effect from an artist. He says : "This short dialogue between 
 
 Duncan and Banquo, whilst they are approaching the gates of 
 iMacbeth's castle, has always appeai-ed to me a striking instance 
 
 of what in painting is termed repose The subject of this 
 
 ■quiet .and easy conversation gives that repose so necessary to 
 
 the mind after the tumultuous' bustle of the preceding scenes, 
 'and perfectly contrasts the scene of horror that immediately 
 
 succeeds." 
 
 , g-f.. Martlet. Misprinted ' barlet ' in the Folio. Rowe's 
 correction. See Note 47, Act ii., " Tempest." 
 ■ c^. Approve. Here used for 'prove,' 'testify.' See Note 80, 
 Act iii., "All's Well." 
 
 99. Coigne of vantage. ' Advantageous corner,' ' convenient 
 /nook.' At the opening of Act v., sc. 4, " Coriolanus," Menenius 
 
 says, " See you yond' coigne o' the Capitol,— yond' corker- 
 
 100. God yield. This is probably the same expression and 
 has the same meaning as the phrase " God 'ild," explained in 
 Note gr, Act iii., "As You Like It." In .all the four passages 
 where Shakespeare uses this phrase, the Folio prints it 
 ^differently ; thus: — 
 
 Ean. This guest of summer, 
 
 The temple-haunting martlet,^' does approve, 's 
 By, his lov'd'mansionry, that the. heaven's breath 
 Smells wooingly here : no jiitty, frieze, 
 Buttress, nor coigne of vantage,^' but this bird 
 Hath made his pendent bed and procreant cradle : 
 Where they most breed and haunt, I have ob- 
 
 serv'd. 
 The air is delicate. 
 
 Enter Lady Macbeth. 
 
 Dun. See, see, our honour'd hostess 1 — 
 
 The love that follows us sometime is our trouble, , 
 Which still we thank as love. Herein I teach you 
 How you shall bid God yield"""" us for your pains. 
 And thank us for- your trouble. • " 
 
 Lady M. All our service 
 
 In every. point twice done, and then don« double. 
 Were poor and single business'"'^ to contend 
 Against those honours deep and broad, wherewith 
 Your majesty loads our house: for those of old, 
 And the late dignities '"^ heap'd up to them, 
 We rest your hermits. 
 
 Dun. Where's the thane of Caw^ior ? 
 
 We cours'd him at the heels, and had a purpose 
 To be his purveyor :"'5 but he rides well ; 
 And his great love, .sharp as his spur, hath holp 
 him 
 
 To his home before us. Fair and noble hostess. 
 We are your guest to-night. 
 
 Lady M. ' Your servants ever 
 
 " Goddild you for yoqr last companie." 
 
 "As You Like It," Act i 
 " God'ild you, sir, I desire you of the like." 
 
 "As You Like It," Act v 
 " Shall bid God-eyld vs for your paines." 
 
 "Well, God dil'd you."- 
 
 "Macbeth," Act 
 Hamlet," Act iv.. 
 
 sc. 5. 
 
 The question has been mooted whether the abbreviated phrase 
 meant 'God yield,' meaning ' God reward,' or ' God shield,' 
 meaning,' God protect ;' but.we do not believe that it bears the 
 ■latter sense, because whei-ever Shakespeare has " God shield'.' 
 he employs it to express 'God forbid.' 
 
 :oi. For your trouble. This passage has been pronounced 
 " undoubtedly obscure," We think it is a delicately-worded, 
 royal compliment, ,to this effect : ' We ourselves have sometimes 
 felt the love shown us by our subjects to be a trouble, but, 
 knowing its source, we have thanked it as love ; by this I show 
 ■you how you shall invoke a blessing on our heads, and, thank us 
 for the trouble we give you, since it proceeds from our love 
 ■towards you.' 
 
 iP2, F'oor .and single business. Here 
 used in its sense bf ' weak,' 'feeble,' ' ine 
 of this Act) ; it has also antithetical effect 
 " double " in the previous line. 
 
 103. Late dignities. 'Lately conferred dignities. 
 Note 52, Act ii., " Henry 'V." 
 
 104. Hermits. Beadsmen (see Note 3, Act i., "Two Gentle- 
 men of ■Verona") ; persons dedicated to constant prayer on your 
 behalf. 
 
 .105. Purzieyor. Here used for ' precursor,' ' one that arrives 
 before,'or first.* ■ - 
 
 is. not only 
 ;tual ' 'see Note 53 
 juxtaposition with 
 
 See 
 
 VJL. lit. 
 
 2 08 
 
Act I.] 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene VI T. 
 
 Have theirs, themselves, and what is_ theirs, in 
 compt.ios 
 
 To make their audit at your highness' pleasure. 
 Still to return your own. 
 
 Dun. Give me your hand ; 
 
 Conduct me to mine host: we love him highly, 
 And shall continue our graces towards him. 
 By your leave, hostess. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE VII.— Inverness. ^ Passage Room in 
 the Castle. 
 
 Hautboys and torches. Enter, and pass over, a 
 Sewer,W and divers Servants njitl} dishes 
 and service. Then enter Macbeth. 
 
 Macb. If it were done when 'tis done,"'^ then 
 
 'twere well 
 It were done quickly: if the assassination 
 Could trammel up the consequence, '"^ and catch. 
 With his surcease, success that but this blow 
 Might be the be-all and the end-all here. 
 But here, upon this bank and shoal of time,"' — 
 We'd jump the life to come."^ But in these cases, 
 We still have judgment here ; that we but teach 
 Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return 
 To plague the inventor: this even-handed justice"^ 
 Commends"^ the ingredients of our poison'd 
 
 chalice 
 
 To our own lips. He's here in double trust :'"' 
 First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, 
 Strong both against the deed ; then, as his host, 
 Who should against his murderer shut the door. 
 
 106. In compt. Here used to express ' in trust ;' ' that which 
 is to be accounted for.' See Note 12, Act ii., "Timon of 
 Athens." 
 
 107. A sewer. An officer, whose duty it was to place the 
 dishes on the table. From the French asseoir, meaning ' to 
 place.' 
 
 108. 1/ it were done when 'tis done. ' If it were done with 
 when 'tis done,' ' if it were concluded when 'tis accomplished.' 
 One of Shakespeare's paradoxically framed sentences, replete 
 with meaning. See Notes 55 and 70 of this Act 
 
 109. Trammel up the consequence. A " trammel " was a net 
 in which birds or fish were caught ; and ' trammels ' were 
 shackles in which horses' legs were placed when they were 
 taught to pace ; therefore Shakespeare uses the verb to " tram- 
 mel" for 'impede' or 'obviate.' "Up" is here employed to 
 give an effect of completeness or thoroughness. See Note 66, 
 Act iv., " King John." 
 
 110. And catch, with his surcease, success. " Catch" is here 
 used for 'ensure,' 'securely obtain;' "his" used for 'its' in 
 reference to "assassination " includes the effect of reference to 
 the man who is to be assassinated ; "surcease" means 'cessa- 
 tion,' 'stop' (see Note n, Act iv., " Romeo and Juliet") ; and 
 " success" is here employed in its sense of that which follows 
 or ensues,' ' issue,' ' consequence,' while also including the sense 
 of ' successful termination ' as implying impunity. See Note 122, 
 Act i., " All's Well." 
 
 111. This bank and shoal 0/ time. The Folio gives ' schoole' 
 for "shoal." Theobald's correction. 
 
 Not bear the knife myself. Besides, this Duncan 
 Hath borne his faculties"^ so meek, hath been 
 So clear in his great office, "'^ that his virtues 
 Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongu'd, against 
 The deep damnation of his taking-ofF ; 
 And pity, like a naked new-born babe. 
 Striding the blast, or heaven's cherubin, hors'd 
 Upon the sightless couriers of the air,''^ 
 Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye, 
 That tears shall drown the wind."^ — I have no spur 
 To prick the sides of my intent, but only 
 Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself, 
 And falls on the other. 
 
 Enter Lady Macbeth. 
 
 How now! what news ? 
 Lady M. He has almost supp'd : why have 
 
 you left the chamber ? 
 Macb. Hath he ask'd for me ? 
 Lady M. Know you not he has ? 
 
 Macb. We will proceed no farther in this 
 
 business : 
 
 He hath honour'd me of late ; and I have bought 
 Golden opinions from all sorts of people. 
 Which would be worn now in their newest gloss. 
 Not cast aside so soon. 
 
 Lady M. Was the hope drunk 
 
 Wherein you dress'd yourself? hath it slept since ? 
 And wakes it now, to look so green and pale 
 At what it did so freely ? ' From this time 
 Such I account thy love. Art thou afeard 
 To be the same in thine own .act and valour 
 As thou art in desire ? Wouldst thou have that 
 Which thou esteem'st the ornament of life, 
 And live a coward in thine own esteem. 
 
 112. We'd jump the life to come. 'We'd risk the life to 
 come.' See Note 27, Act iii., " Coriolanus." 
 
 113. This even-handed justice. It has been proposed to 
 change " this " to ' thus ;' but " this " is here used as it is in the 
 passage referred to in Note 42, Act ii., " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 114. Commends. Here used in the sense of 'commits,' 
 'directs.' See passage referred to in Note 7, Act v., "All's 
 Well." 
 
 115. H^s here in douMe trust. There has been no mention 
 of any one by name in this speech ; yet with what pointed 
 significance of elfect the pronoun " he " is here used ! See 
 Note 84, Act i., " Richard III." 
 
 116. Faculties. Here used for 'sovereign powers,' 'royal 
 prerogatives,' ' rights of dominion.' 
 
 117. So clear in his great office. "Clear" is used in the 
 sense of ' pure,' ' free from blemish,' ' immaculate." 
 
 118. The sightless couriers of Die air. For "sightless" see 
 Note 87 of the present Act. " Couriers of the air" is a poetical 
 term for the winds. 
 
 119. Tears sliall drown the wind, A metaphor founded upon 
 the suspension of wind by a shower of rain. 
 
 120. And falls on tlie other. In the present passage " sides," 
 in the penultimate line, allows ' side ' to be elliptically under- 
 stood after " other according to a mode of construction 
 occasionally used by Shakespeare. See, among many other 
 instances, Note 43, Act iii., " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 121. He has almost supp'd. Observe here again the dramatic 
 effect of " he " thus used. 
 
 330 
 
Act II.] 
 
 Letting " I dare not " wait upon " 1 would," 
 Like the poor cat i' the adage ?»22 
 
 Mac/i. Pr'ythee, peace : 
 
 I dare do all that may become a man ; 
 Who dares do more is none.i^^ 
 
 Lady M. What beast was't, then,'24 
 
 That made you break this enterprise to me ? 
 When you durst do it, then you were a man ; 
 And, to be more than what you were, you would 
 Be so much more the man. Nor time nor place 
 Did then adhere, '^s and yet you would make both : 
 They have made themselves, and that their fitness 
 now 
 
 Does unmake you. 1 have given suck, and know 
 How tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me : 
 I would, while it was smiling in my face. 
 Have pluck'd my nipple from his boneless gums. 
 And dash'd the brains out, had 1 so sworn as you 
 Have done to this. 
 
 Macb. If we should fail ? 
 
 Lady M. We fail ! 
 
 But screw your courage to the sticking-place,''*^ 
 And we'll not fail. When Duncan is asleep 
 (Whereto the rather shall his day's hard journey 
 
 [Scene L 
 
 Soundly invite him), his two chamberlains''^'' 
 Will 1 with wine and wassail so convince,*28 
 That memory, the warder of the bram. 
 Shall be a fume, and the receipt of reason 
 A limbeck only I'^o when in swinish sleep 
 Their drenched natures lie as in a death, 
 What cannot you and I perform upon 
 Th' unguarded Duncan ? what not put upon 
 His spongy officers, who shall bear the guilt 
 Of our great quell P"i 
 
 Macb. Bring forth men-children only ; 
 
 For thy undaunted mettle should compose 
 Nothing but males. Will it not be receiv'd. 
 When we have mark'd with blood those sleepy two 
 Of his own chamber, and us'd their very daggers. 
 That they have done 't ? 
 
 Lady M. Who dares receive it other, 
 
 As we shall make our griefs and clamour roar 
 Upon his death ? 
 
 Macb. I am settled, and bend up 
 
 Each corporal agent to this terrible feat. 
 Away, and mock the time with fairest show : 
 False face must hide what the false heart doth 
 know. [^Exeunt. 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 ACT II. 
 
 SCENE I. — Inverness. Court 'within Mac- 
 beth's Castle. 
 
 Enter BANqyo, preceded by Fleance luith a 
 torch. 
 
 Ban. How goes the night, boy ? 
 Fie. The moon is down ; I have not heard the 
 clock. 
 
 Ban. And she goes down at twelve. 
 
 122. Like t)ie poor cat r tlie adnge. A version of the adage 
 here alluded to is to be found in Heywood's " Proverbs," 
 1566 : " The cat would eate fishe, but would not wet her feete." 
 
 123. Who dares do more is notie. The Folio misprints ' no ' 
 for " do." Rowe's correction. 
 
 124. What beast was V, tJven, that, &'c. It has been pro- 
 posed to change " beast " to ' boast' or ' baseness but here, as 
 in more than a dozen other instances, Shakespeare uses " beast" 
 as an antithesis to "man." See Note 82, Act iv., "Timon of 
 Athens." 
 
 125. Adhere. Employed instead of ' cohere.' See Note 58, 
 Act iii., "Twelfth Night." 
 
 126. Screw your courage to tlie siicking-flace . A meta- 
 phorical phrase, taken from " screwing " up the chords of a 
 stringed instrument to their requisite tension ; when the peg 
 remains fast in its " sticking-place," or place whence it is not to 
 recede. 
 
 127. His two cJiamberlains. This incident is taken from 
 Holinshed's account of King Duffe's murder by Donwald ; and, 
 indeed, it is interesting, in reading the old chronicle, to observe 
 
 Fie. I take 't, 'tis later, sir. 
 
 Ban. Hold, take my sword : — there's husbandry ' 
 in heaven. 
 
 Their candles are all out:^ — take thee that too. — 
 A heavy summons lies like lead upon me. 
 And yet I would not sleep : — merciful powers, 
 Restrain in me the cursed thoughts that nature 
 Gives way to in repose I — Give me my sword. — 
 Who's there ? 
 
 from what different portions of the history Shakespeare has 
 here and there culled morsels which he has appropriated, 
 brought together, and turned to choicest account, in his tragedy 
 of "Macbeth." 
 
 128. With wine and wassail so convince. " Wassail " is here 
 used for 'feasting' (see Note 83, Act v., "Love's Labour's 
 Lost"); and "convince" for 'overcome,' 'overpower,' 'sub- 
 due.' See Note 152, Act v., " Love's Labour's Lost." 
 
 129. Warder. ' Guard,' ' sentinel.' 
 
 130. The receipt of reason a limbeck only. "Receipt" is 
 here used for 'recipient' or 'receptacle;' and "limbeck" (a 
 colloquially corrupted form of 'alembic') is a vessel through 
 which distilled liquors pass, in the state of fume or vapour. 
 
 131. Quell. ' Murder ;' from the Saxon guellan, to kill. 
 
 1. Husbandry. Here used for 'thrift,' ' economy,' 'pru- 
 dence.' See Note 35, Act ii. , "Timon of Athens." 
 
 2. Theij' candles are all out. This is the third passage in 
 which Shakespeare uses the homely word "candles" as an epithet 
 for the stars. See Note 63, Act iii., " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 331 
 
Act II.] 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Macbeth. Look on ' 
 Lady Macbeth, 
 Give me the daggers. 
 
 Act II. Sceite II. 
 
 Enter MACBETH, and a Servant 'Vjith a torch. 
 Macb. A friend. 
 
 Ban, What ! sir, not yet at rest ? The king'; 
 a-bed : 
 
 He hath been in unusual pleasure, and 
 Sent forth great largess to your offices 
 This diamond he greets your wife withal, 
 
 3. Sent forth great largess to yout 
 bounty," 'donations.' See Note c 
 ' Offices " was altered bv Rowe to ' 1 
 rf a mansion are the rooms whei 
 
 offices. " Largess " means 
 3, Act i., "Richard IL" 
 ifficers ;' but the " offices" 
 e the household servants 
 
 assemble, and therefore the phrase conveys effect of the largess 
 being sent to Macbeth's household retainers generally. 
 
 4'. And shut up in measureless content. Here "shut up" 
 has been explained to mean either ' closed,' ' concluded,' ' termi- 
 •nated his speech,' or ' retired for the night by shutting himself 
 up into his room ;' but we think, considering the manner in 
 which Shakespeare generally uses the expression "shut up," 
 that here it means * enclosed,' * enfolded,' ' wrapped,' 'enveloped,' 
 and that 'is' is elliptically understood before "shut up." The 
 phrase appears to us to be a somewhat similarly figurative mode 
 
 By the name of most kind hostess ; and shut up 
 In measureless content.'* 
 
 Macb, Being unprepar li, 
 
 Our will became the servant to defect \ ^ 
 Which else should free have wrought. 
 
 Ban, All's well. - 
 
 I dreamt last night of the three weird sisters :5 
 
 of expressing the king's pleased state of mind by saying ' and is 
 wrapped in measureless content ;' as the phrase, " I am wrapp'd 
 in dismal thinkings" is used in "All's Well," Act v., sc. 3, to 
 express the speaker's uneasy state of mind. 
 
 5. Our ■will became, {a'c. ' Our desire to duly welcome the 
 king was made subservient to our defective state of prepara- 
 tion : otherwise our willingness should have more efficiently 
 demonstrated itself.' " Which " refers to " will," not to "de- 
 fect ;" in Shakespeare's mode of allowing a relatively-used 
 pronoun to refer to a not immediately preceding antecedent. 
 
 6. / dreamt last night, &'c. These words serve to illustrate 
 those which Banquo has just previously said in soliloquy : " And 
 yet I would not sleep," &c. It is evident that his last night's 
 dream has suggested " cursed thoughts " from which his 
 
Act II.] 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 To you they have show'd some tiuUi. 
 
 Macb. I think not of them : 
 
 Yet, when we can entreat an hour to serve, 
 We would spend it in some words upon that busi- 
 ness. 
 
 If you would grant the time. 
 Ban. At your kind'st leisure. 
 
 Macb. If you shall cleave to my consent, — when 
 'tis,7 
 
 It shall make honour for you. 
 
 Ban. So I lose none 
 
 In seeking to augment it, but still keep 
 My bosom franchis'd, and allegiance clear, 
 I shall be counsell'd. 
 
 Macb. Good repose the while ! 
 
 Ban. Thanks, sir : the like to you ! 
 
 \Exeunt Banquo and Fleance. 
 
 Macb. Go bid thv mistress, when my drink is 
 ready, 
 
 She strike upon the bell. Get thee to bed.— 
 
 \^Ex'it Servant. 
 Is this a dagger which I see before me. 
 The handle toward my hand ? Come, let me 
 
 clutch thee : — 
 I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. 
 Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible 
 To feeling as to sight ? or art thou but 
 A dagger of the mind, a false creation, 
 Proceeding from the heat oppressed brain ? 
 I see thee yet, in form as palpable 
 As this which now I draw. 
 
 Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going ; 
 And such an instrument I was to use. 
 Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses, 
 Or else worth all the rest : I see thee still ; 
 And on thy blade and dudgeon ^ gouts^ of blood, 
 
 honourable waking sense revolts ; and his praying against even 
 the involuntary temptation presented to his mind during sleep 
 presents fine moral contrast with Macbeth's lying words, ** I 
 think not of them," and his deliberately pursued purpose in 
 spite of all occasional inward promptings to desist. 
 
 7. If you shall cleave to my consent, — when 'tis. " Con- 
 sent " is here used in the sense of ' agreement ' (see Note 17, 
 Act ii., " As You Like It," and Note 13, Act v., " Second Part 
 Henry IV."), 'a.greed opinion;' the sentence meaning, 'If you 
 will adopt and adhere to my opinion, — when my mind is made up.* 
 Macbeth purposely expresses himself vaguely and imperfectly. 
 
 8. And on thy blade and dudgeon. " Dudgeon" is here used 
 for the ' haft ' or ' handle ' of a dagger. Bishop Wilkins ex- 
 plains a dudgeon dagger to be "a dagger whose handle is 
 made of the root of box." The Scottish daggers had generally 
 handles made of box-wood. Torriano has " a Scotch or dudgeon 
 haft dagger." Therefore there is peculiar appropriateness in 
 putting this word into Macbeth's mouth. 
 
 9. Gouts. ' Drops ;' French, gouttes. 
 
 10. T/iere's no such thing. Dr. Bucknill, whose professional 
 acquaintance with every variety of excited and diseased brain 
 entitles his opinion on the subject to the highest respect, says in 
 his admirable volume, "The Psychology of Shakespeare" (1859), 
 "The dagger-scene is an illustration of Shakespeare's finest 
 psychological insight : an hallucination of sight resulting from 
 the high-wrought nervous tension of the regicide, and ' the 
 present horror of the time,' and typifying in form the dread 
 
 Which was not so before. — There's no such thijig: 
 It is the bloody business which informs 
 Thus to mine eyes. — Now o'er the one half world 
 Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse 
 The curtain'd sleep; witchcraft celebrates" 
 Pale Hecate's offerings ; and wither'd murder, 
 Alarum'd by his sentinel, the wolf. 
 Whose howl's his watch, thus with his stealthy 
 pace. 
 
 With Tarquin's ravishing strides,!^ towards his 
 design 
 
 Moves like a ghost. — Thou sure and firm-set 
 earth,i3 
 
 Hear not my steps, which way they walk," for fear 
 Thy very stones prate of my whereabout. 
 And take the present horror from the time, 
 Which now suits with it. — Whiles I threat, he 
 lives : 
 
 Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives.'^ 
 \_A bell rings. 
 I go, and it is done ; the bell invites me. 
 Hear it not, Duncan ; for it is a knell 
 That summons thee to heaven or to hell. \^Exit. 
 
 SCENE U. — The Same. 
 Enter Lady Macbeth. 
 Lady M. That which hath made .them drunk 
 hath made me bold ; 
 What hath quench'd them hath given me fire. — 
 
 Hark !— Peace ! 
 It was the owl that shriek'd, the fatal bellman. 
 Which gives the stern'st good-night. — He is about 
 it: . • 
 
 purpose of his mind ; impressed upon his senses, but rejected by 
 his judgment; recognised as a morbid product of mental excite- 
 ment, and finally its existence altogether repudiated, and the 
 bloody business of the mind made answerable for the foolery of 
 the senses." 
 
 1 1 . T/ie curtain'd sleep ; witcJicrafi celebrates. Davenant, 
 in his altered version of "Macbeth," inserted 'now' before 
 " witchcraft " here ; and Steevens proposed to change " sleep " 
 to ' sleeper,' in order that the regular number of feet might be 
 given in this line. But we have pointed out several passages 
 where Shakespeare has lines containing either redundant or 
 defective metre, if judged by strict metrical rule (see Notes 49 
 and 50, Act iii., " Coriolanus") ; and we think that the present 
 may be of them. 
 
 12. With Tarquin's ravishing strides. The Folio has 
 'sides' instead of "strides." Pope's correction. The expres- 
 sion, " ravishing strides " is in conformity with Shakespeare's 
 occasionally elliptical mode of using epithets (see Note 28, 
 Act iv., " Henry VIII."), meaning ' strides of a ravisher.' 
 
 13. T/iou sure and firm-set earth. The Folio misprints 
 'sowre' for " sure." 
 
 14. Which way they walk The Folio gives 'they may,' 
 instead of " way they," here. 
 
 15. Words to the lieat of deeds too cold breath gives. The 
 false grammatical concord, permitted when Shakespeare wrote, 
 here-afJbrds scope for the needed rhyme. See Note 8 Act v., 
 " Julius Caesar." 
 
 334 
 
Act II.] 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 The doors are open ; and the surfeited grooms 
 Do mock their charge with snores : I have drugg'd 
 
 their possets,^* 
 That death and nature do contend'^ about them, 
 Whether they live or die. 
 Macb. llFithln.-] Who's there ? what, ho! 
 Lady M. Alack, I am afraid they have awak'd, 
 And 'tis not done: — the attempt, and not the 
 deed, 
 
 Confounds us.— Hark !— I laid their daggers ready ; 
 He could not miss them.— Had he not resembled 
 My father as he slept, I had done 't— My hus- 
 band ! 
 
 Re-enter Macbeth. 
 
 Macb. I have done the deed. — Didst thou not 
 
 hear a noise ? 
 Lady M. I heard the owl scream and the 
 crickets cry. 
 Did not you speak ? 
 Macb. When ? 
 
 Lady M. Now. 
 Macb. As I descended ? 
 
 Lady M. Ay. 
 Macb. Hark ! 
 Who lies i' the second chamber ? 
 
 Lady M. Donalbain. 
 Macb. l^Looking on his hands.'\ This is a sorry 
 sight. 
 
 Lady M. A foolish thought, to say a sorry 
 sight. 
 
 Macb. There's one did laugh in's sleep, and 
 one cried " Murder!" 
 That they did wake each other: I stood and 
 heard them : 
 
 But they did say their prayers, and address'd them 
 Again to sleep. 
 Lady M. There are two lodg'd together. 
 
 16. Possess. See Note 24, Act v., " Merry Wives." The 
 several uses made by the dramatist in this scene of the custom 
 which prevailed formerly of taking a night-draught before 
 retiring to rest, are worthy of remarlc. Macbeth, wholly 
 engrossed with his contemplated deed, says to the servant, 
 " Bid thy mistress, when my drink is ready, she strike upon 
 the bell ;" using the signal as a mere summons to his bloody 
 act. Lady Macbeth swallows her portion as that which shall 
 give her nerve and firmness for her task ; while the cup pre- 
 pared for the already "surfeited grooms" is "drugg'd" to make 
 all doubly secure. 
 
 17. Death a/id nature do contettd. "Nature" is here used 
 for ' natural strength,' ' native constitution.' See Note 68, 
 Acti., "All's Well." 
 
 18. Hark! The poetry of this exclamation, as Shakespeare 
 has employed it in this appalling scene, has been strangely 
 vulgarised into bare matter of fact by theatrical representation, 
 which usually accompanies this exclamation of Macbeth by a 
 clap of stage thunder. It appears to us that Macbeth's "Hark!"' 
 here is of a piece with Lady Macbeth's " Hark !" which she 
 twice utters just before. It is put into both their mouths to 
 denote the anxious listening, the eager sensitive ears, the breath- 
 less strain with which each murderous accomplice hearkens after 
 any sound that they dread should break the silence of night. 
 
 bless 
 
 Macb. One cried, " God 
 " Amen," the other ; 
 As they had seen me with these hangman's hands. 
 Listening their fear, I could not say, "Amen," 
 When they did say, " God bless us." 
 Lady M. Consider it not so deeply. 
 
 Macb. But wherefore could not I pronounce 
 " Amen" ? 
 I had most need of blessing, and " Amen " 
 Stuck in my throat. 
 
 Lady M. These deeds must not be thought 
 After these ways ; so, it will make us mad. 
 Macb. Methought I heard a voice cry, " Sleep 
 no more ! 
 
 Macbeth does murder sleep," — the innocent sleep, 
 Sleep that knits up the ravell'd sleave'^^ of care. 
 The death of each day's life, sore labour's bath. 
 Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course, 
 Chief nourisher in life's feast, — 
 Lady M. What do you mean P^" 
 
 Macb. Still it cried, " Sleep no more ! " to all 
 the house : 
 
 " Glamis hath murder'd sleep, and therefore Cawdor 
 Shall sleep no more, — Macbeth shall sleep no 
 more ! " 
 
 Lady M. Who was it that thus cried ? Why, 
 worthy thane, 
 You do unbend your noble strength, to think 
 So brainsickly of things. — Go get some water. 
 And wash this filthy witness from your hand. — 
 Why did you bring these daggers from the place P 
 They must lie there: go carry them ; and smear 
 The sleepy grooms with blood. 
 
 Macb. I'll go no more : 
 
 I am afraid to think what I have done ; 
 Look on 't again I dare not. 
 
 Lady M. Infirm of purpose ! 
 
 Give me the daggers: the sleeping and the dead 
 
 She answers her own ejaculation, in the first place, by observing 
 that "it was the owl that shriek'd ;" and, :'n the second place, by 
 " I laid their daggers ready ;" showing that she is tracking (by 
 her ear) the progress made by her husband, his steps, his descent 
 from the death-chamber : then he, after coming to her, also 
 exclaims, "Hark ["—adding, as the shudder subsides with which 
 he has gasped it forth, "Who lies i' the second chamber?" 
 showing that he too is listening for possible sounds, and not 
 listening to actual ones. The word, to our thinking, expressively 
 indicates that susceptibility to a sound that may at any instant 
 come, which obtains possession of those engaged in a perilous 
 deed— perilous to body and soul— and causes them to bid them- 
 selves hush and hearken to what they fancy might be heard but 
 for the beating of their own heart and the already busy whispers 
 of their own conscience. 
 
 19. Sleave. ' Raw silk,' ' unwrought silk ;' sometimes called 
 • floss silk.' 
 
 20. IV/iat do you mean ? Wonderfully characteristic is this 
 inquiry on the part of Lady Macbeth. Utterly unable to follow 
 the flights of overwrought fancy which shake her imaginative 
 and impressionable husband, she interrupts him with this 
 amazed exclamation. The mental effect produced by their deed 
 upon each of these partners in guilt is indeed a profound meta- 
 physical study. 
 
Act II.] 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Are but as pictures: 'tis the eye of childhood 
 That fears a painted devil. If he do bleed, 
 I'll gild the faces of the grooms withal ; 
 For it must seem their guilt. 
 
 [Exit. Knocking heard. 
 Macb. Whence is that knocking ? 
 How is 't with me, when every noise appals me ? 
 What hands are here ? ha ! they pluck out mine 
 eyes ! 
 
 Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood 
 Clean from my hand? No; this my hand will 
 rather 
 
 The multitudinous seas incarnardine,^' 
 Making the green 22 — one red. 
 
 Re-enter Lady Macbeth. 
 Lady M. My hands are of your colaar; but I 
 shame 
 
 To wear a heart so, white. [Knocking.] I hear a 
 knocking 
 
 At the south entry : — retire we to our chamber : 
 A little water clears us of this deed : 
 How easy is it, then 1^3 Your constancy 
 
 21. Incarnardine. A magnificently poetic verb ; formed from 
 the Italian word incarnardino, ' carnation or flesh colour.' 
 
 22. Making the green — one red. The FoHo prints, ' making 
 the green one, red.' The mode of printing the line which is 
 adopted in our te.xt was first suggested by Murphy ; and we 
 think it advisable that the disjunction of "green" and "one" 
 should be thus marked, in order to designate unmistakably what 
 we believe Shakespeare intended— that the sense of the line is, 
 'making the green of the seas one entire red colour.' Milton, 
 in his "Comus," has a somewhat similar form of expression — 
 " Makes one blot of all the air ;" while Shakespeare himself has, 
 in " Henry VIII.," Act ii., sc. i— " Make of your prayers one 
 
 23. How easy is it, then ! " Easy" is here used in a double 
 sense; that of 'facile of riddance,' and 'slight,' 'inconsiderable,' 
 ' venial.' See Note 23, Act iii., " Second Part Henry VI." 
 
 24. Voter constancy hath left you ujiattended. * Your firm- 
 ness has deserted you.' " Constancy" is here used in the sense 
 it bears as pointed out in Note 91, Act ii., " Julius Caesar." 
 
 25. To know my deed, 'twere best not know myself. This, in 
 rejoinder to Lady Macbeth's concluding words, means — ' Since 
 my thoughts must be conscious of my deed, it were best that I 
 should be " lost " and not be conscious of my own being.' 
 
 26. / would thou couldsi ! This burst of anguished desire 
 that his deed could be undone, thus early after its committal, is 
 of a piece with the lesson read with such terrible force through- 
 out this uniquely drawn scene. The brave soldier— familiar with 
 slaughter and death in their ghastly forms— converted into the 
 trembling dastard who shudders forth, "/am afraid to think 
 what I have done ; look on 't again I dare not;" the racked 
 imagination, blinded with gazing upon his blood-dyed hands ; the 
 writhing desire to be rid of his own identity ; and, finally, this 
 anguished cry of at-once-awakened remorse, all form a match- 
 less picture of present torture foreboding future unending misery. 
 
 27. Old. Here, and elsewhere, used to express ' abundant,' 
 'excessive.' See Note 67, Act ii., " Second Part Henry IV." 
 This short scene of the Porter has been strongly denounced ; 
 Coleridge going so far as to affirm that it is not Shakespeare's 
 writing. Nevertheless, we cannot help thinking that there are 
 many grounds for believing it to have been not only his composi- 
 tion, but his maturedly considered introduction at this point of 
 the tragedy. In the first place, it serves to lengthen out 
 dramatic time, which requires that the period from the king's 
 
 ■ Hath left you unattended.'-*— [Af^oc^/'/z^.] Hark ! 
 
 more knocking : 
 Get on your nightgown, lest occasion call us, 
 And show us to be watchers : — be not lost 
 So poorly in your thoughts. 
 Mad. To know my deed, 'twere best not know 
 myself.25 [Knocking. 
 Wake Duncan with thy knocking ! I would thou 
 couldst!26 [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE III.— r-^^- Same. 
 Enter a Porter. Knocking heard. 
 Porter. Here's a knocking indeed ! If a man 
 were porter of hell-gate, he should have old 2? 
 turning the key. [Knocking.'] Knock, knock, 
 knock ! , Who's there,^^ i' the name of Beelzebub ? 
 Here's a farmer,^^ that hanged himself on the 
 expectation of plenty : come in time have nap- 
 kins^' enow about you; here you'll sweat for 't. — 
 [Knocking.] Knock, knock! Who's th,ere, in the 
 other devil's name ? Faith, here's an equivocator,32 
 
 retiring to rest — the dark hours for the commission of the murder 
 — should be supposed to have elapsed ere the now entrance of 
 Macduff to .attend upon the king's awakening ; and, in the 
 j second place, its repulsively coarse humour serves powerfully to 
 I contrast, yet harmonise, with the base and gory crime that hai 
 j been perpetrated. Shakespeare's subtleties of harmony in con- 
 ' trast are among his most marvellous powers ; and we venture 
 I to think that this Porter scene is one of these subtleties. See 
 Note 43, Act iv., "Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 28. Knock, knock, knock 1 JVho's there, &^c. Here we must 
 suppose the drunken lout to be amusing himself by going through 
 the part, and grotesquely fulfilling the office he has supposed, as 
 " porter of hell-gate. " He imagines-, -in turn, three candidates 
 for admittance there, the " farmer," the 'f equivocator," and the 
 "tailor." ' 
 
 29. Here's a farmer, &'c. This seems to have been a pro- 
 verbially-known accusation; for in Hall's " Satires" we find — 
 
 " Each muckworme will be rich with lawless gaine, 
 Altho' he smother up mowes of seven yeares graine. 
 And hang'd himself e wtien corne grows cheap againe. " 
 
 30. Come in time. We take this to be equivalent to Shake- 
 speare's expression, " Come apace," and to the phrases, ' Be in 
 time, be in time ! ' or ' Come early, come early ! ' of the show- 
 men at fairs. See conclusion of chapter xxxii. of "The Old 
 Curiosity Shop," by Charles Dickens. 
 
 31. Napkins. 'Handkerchiefs.' See Note 69, Act iii., "Julius 
 
 32. An equivocator. This and the phrase explained in Note 
 29 above are the two passages upon which Malone grounded 
 his theory as to the date at which Shakespeare's "Macbeth" 
 was written. See our opening Note of this play. We are in- 
 clined to doubt, however, that the passages in question denote 
 reference to any special year ; because the former seems to 
 have been a traditional joke against the greed of farmers, and 
 the latter contains a term ("equivocator") that appears to have 
 been generally applied to and associated with Jesuits, instead of 
 having been thus associated merely on the occasion of Garnet's 
 trial. For instance, Fuller, in his " Holy and Profane State," 
 on " The Liar," says : " Hence it often comes to pass, 
 
 ' When Jesuits unto us answer Nay, 
 They do not English speak, 'tis Greek they say.' 
 Such an equivocator we leave, more needing a book than character 
 
MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Itlacdiiff. Oh, horror, horror, horror ! Tonjuc nor heart 
 Cannot conceive nor name thee ! Act 11. Scene III. 
 
 that could sweat in both the scales against either 
 scale ; who committed treason enough for God's 
 take, yet could not equivocate to heaven : oh, 
 come in, equivocator. — \_Knock'ing.'] Knock, knock, 
 knock ! Who's there ? Faith, here's an English 
 tailor come hither, for stealing out of a French 
 hose:^* come in, tailor; here you may roast your 
 goose. — \KnockingP\ Knock, knock ; never at 
 quiet ! What are you ? — But this place is too cold 
 for hell. I'll devil-porter it no farther: I had 
 
 to describe him." And Dryden, in " The Hind and the Panther," 
 has the Hne, " Not only Jesuits can equivocate." Altliough 
 both the examples we cite were written subsequently to Garnet's 
 trial, we think it quite as probable that they indicate a previous 
 popular consociation of "Jesuit ' and "equivocator," as that 
 they allude to the notorious consociation of them which occurred 
 on that occasion. That the passage in the text implies allusion 
 to Jesuitism by the term " equivocator" wears great show of 
 likcliliood. 
 
 33. An English tailor come hither, for stealing out of a 
 
 thought to have let in some of all professions, that 
 go the primrose way to the everlasting bonfire.^ 
 {Knockh'g^ Anon, anon ! 1 pray you, remember 
 the porter. {Opens the gate. 
 
 Evter Macduff and Lennox. 
 
 Macd. Was it so late, friend, er 
 bed. 
 
 That you do lie so late ? 
 
 you went to 
 
 French }wse. Meaning, so dexteroi 
 contrive to thieve some surplus stuff t 
 which was in make so ample as to 
 cuttings. See passages referred to i 
 chant of Venice," and Note 116, Act 1 
 34. TIu p 
 
 ; a rogue that he could 
 'en out of a French hose, 
 allow of but very spare 
 Note 48, Act i., " Mer- 
 ., "Henry V." 
 ay to the everlasting bonfire. Even 
 Coleridge was compelled to admit that this sentence came from 
 Shakespeare's pen, so evidently is it his phraseology. Compare, 
 in "Hamlet," Act i., sc. 3, "the primrose path of dalliance ;" 
 and in "All's Well," Act iv. . sc. 5, "the flowery way that leads 
 to the broad gate and the great fire." 
 
 VOI. III. 
 
Act II.] 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Port. Faith, sir, (ve were carousing till the 
 second cock.^^ 
 
 Macd. I believe drink gave thee the lie last 
 night.36 
 
 Port. That it did, sir, i' the very throat on me : 
 but I requited him for his lie ; and, 1 think, being 
 too strong for him, though he took up my legs 
 sometime, yet I made a shift to cast him.^' 
 
 Macd. Is thy master stirring ? — 
 Our knocking has awak'd him; here he comes. 
 
 Enter Macbeth. 
 Len. Good morrow, noble sir. 
 Macb. Good morrow, both. 
 
 Macd. Is the king stirring, worthy thane ? 
 Macb. . Not yet. 
 
 Macd. He did command me to call timely on 
 him : 
 
 I have almost slipp'd the hour. 
 
 Macb. I'll bring you to him. 
 
 Macd. I know this is a joyful trouble to you ; 
 But yet 'tis one. 
 
 Macb. The labour we delight in physics pain. 
 This is the door.^'* 
 
 Macd. I'll make so bold to call, 
 
 For 'tis my limited service. ^9 \Exit. 
 
 Len. Goes the king hence to-day ? 
 
 Macb. He does ; — he did appoint so. 
 
 Len. The night has been unruly : where we lay. 
 Our chimneys were blown down ; and, as they say, 
 Lamentings heard i' the air ; strange screams of 
 death : 
 
 35. The second cock. ' The second cock -crowing.' This seems 
 to have been a familiar expression for an early hour in the 
 morning; and, by the passage referred to in Note 27, Act iv., 
 " Romeo and Juhet," it is defined to be about " three o'clock." 
 Shakespeare also uses the term " the first cock " in " First Part 
 Henry IV.," Act ii., sc. i; and in "Lear," Act iii., sc. 4; 
 signifying the earliest hour of morning. 
 
 ^ 36. Last 7tight. Malone has a long note here upon the 
 difficulty of ascertaining "precisely the time when Duncan was 
 murdered ;" and accuses Shakespeare of being " seldom very 
 exact in his computation of time." The fact is, that the three 
 first scenes of the present Act (divided thus into three scenes in 
 the Folio, and probably by the author's intention, as helping to 
 give effect of prolongation ; and therefore should be kept printed 
 as three scenes), which take place on the same spot, and form but 
 one continuous scene of action, afford a signal instance of Shake- 
 speare's artistic system of dramatic time. He marks its progress, 
 as the action proceeds, with carefuUest touches. First, he makes 
 Banquo's inquiry and Fleance's reply mark that the then time 
 is something "later" than "twelve;" then Macbeth's words, 
 " Now o'er the one half world," &c., give the impression of the 
 dark and silent hours that immediately succeed upon midnight ; 
 Lady Macbeth's " It was the owl that shriek'd," &c., still keep 
 the time to night; the "knocking at the south entry" brings 
 the first token of early stirring and the break of day ; the 
 Porter's soliloquy aids to prolong the advent of the morning- 
 comers, so that when they enter and question him as to his 
 drowsy delay in opening the gate, and he answers by telling 
 them of his "carousing till the second cock," dawn is fairly 
 brought on, morning is come, and there seems no violation of 
 probability in their asking him about " last night." There is also 
 ingenuity in the subsequent questions—" Is thy master stirring?" 
 
 And prophesying, with accents terrible. 
 Of dire combustion and confus'd events 
 New hatch'd to the woeful time: the obscure 
 bird''" 
 
 Clamour'd the livelong night : some say, the earth 
 Was feverous and did shake. 
 
 Macb. 'Twas a rough night. 
 
 Len. My young remembrance cannot parallel 
 A fellow to it. 
 
 Re-enter Macduff. 
 
 Macd. Oh, horror, horror, horror ! Tongue 
 nor heart 
 Cannot conceive nor name theel^' 
 
 Macb., Len. What's the matter ? 
 
 Macd. Confusion now hath made his master- 
 piece ! 
 
 Most sacrilegious murder hath broke ope 
 The Lord's anointed temple, and stole thence 
 The life o' the building ! 
 
 Macb. What is 't you say ? the life ? 
 
 Len. Mean you his majesty P 
 
 Macd. Approach the chamber, and destroy your 
 sight 
 
 With a new Gorgon •.^'^ — do not bid me speak ; 
 See, and then speak yourselves. 
 
 [Exeunt Macb. and Len. 
 Awake, awake ! — 
 Ring the alarum-bell : — murder and treason ! — 
 Banquo and Donalbain ! Malcolm ! awake ! 
 Shake off this downy sleep, death's counterfeit, 
 And look on death itself! up, up, and see 
 
 and "Is the king stirring?" marking the likelihood of their 
 not yet being awake ; and in Macduff's mention that "he did 
 command me to call timely on him," thus drawing attention to 
 the point of its being an extremely early hour, and therefore 
 naturally ensuing upon the previously noted dramatic time. 
 So much for the charge of Shakespeare's " being seldom e.xact." 
 See Note 38, Act ii., "Julius Caesar." 
 
 37 To cast him. Here there is a play upon the word " cast " 
 in its sense of 'reject after swallowing,' and 'throw, as in 
 wrestling. See Note 23, Act ii., " Tempest." 
 
 38. This is the door. Observe the brief constrained replies 
 of Macbeth, " Good morrow, both," and " Not yet," as though 
 the syllables clove to his parched tongue and "stuck in his 
 throat ." then his offer to accompany Macduff to the king's 
 presence, and finally his incapability of entering, marked by the 
 words, ' This is the door." 
 
 39. 'Tis my limited service. "Limited" is here used for 
 ' appointed.' See Note 88, Act iv., " Timon of Athens.". 
 
 40. The obscur-e bird. 'The owl.' Lady Macbeth has twice 
 during the night adverted to its continuous cry : " It was the 
 owl that shriek'd," and "I heard the owl scream." The 
 elemental terrors and portentous signs which accompanied a 
 regicidal act similar to Macbeth's midnight murder of Duncan, 
 are recorded by Holinshed ; but the adoption and appropriation 
 of the historian's record to suit the purposes of his tragedy were 
 thus judiciously made by the dramatist. 
 
 41. Cannot coticeive nor name thee. Instance of double 
 negative, used to give additional force of denial. See Note 46, 
 Act ii., " Henry VIII." 
 
 42. A new Gorgon. The Gorgons were three sisters— 
 Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa— so terrific in appearance that 
 they turned to stone all who gazed upon them. 
 
Act II.] MACBETH. [Scene III. 
 
 The great doom's image ! ^3 Malcolm! Banquo ! 
 As from your graves rise up, and walk like sprites, 
 To countenance this horror ! Ring the bell. 
 
 \Alarum-bell rings. 
 
 Enter Lady Macbeth. 
 
 Lady M. What's the business, 
 
 That such a hideous trumpet calls to parley 
 The sleepers of the house ? speak, speak ! 
 
 Macd. Oh, gentle lady, 
 
 'Tis not for you to hear what I can speak : 
 The repetition, in a woman's ear, 
 Would murder as it fell. — 
 
 Enter Banquo. 
 
 O Banquo, Banquo, 
 Our royal master's murder'd ! 
 
 Lady M. Woe, alas ! 
 
 What ! in our house ? 
 
 Ban. Too cruel anywhere. — 
 
 Dear Duff, I pr'ythee, contradict thyself, 
 And say it is not so. 
 
 Re-enter Macbeth and Lennox. 
 Mac6. Had I but died an hour before this 
 chance, 
 
 I had liv'd a blessed time ; for, from this instant. 
 There's nothing serious in mortality : 
 All is but toys : renown and grace is dead ; 
 The wine of life is drawn, and the mere lees 
 Is left this vault to brag of. 
 
 Enter Malcolm and Donalbain. 
 Don. What is amiss ? 
 
 Macb. You are, and do not know 't : 
 
 The spring, the head, the fountain of your blood 
 Is stopp'd, — the very source of it is stopp'd. 
 
 Macd. Your royal father's murder'd. 
 
 MaL Oh, by whom ? 
 
 Len. Those of his chamber, as it seem'd, had 
 done 't : 
 
 Their hands and faces were all badg'd with blood ; 
 So were their daggers, which, unwip'd, we found 
 Upon their pillows: 
 
 They star'd, and were distracted ; no man's life 
 Was to be trusted with them. 
 
 Macb. Oh, yet I do repent me of my fury, 
 That I did kill them. 
 
 43- The great doom's image. 'A foreshadowing of the 
 horrors of doomsday." 
 
 44. H is silver skin ladd -with his golden blood. See Note 43, 
 Act ii., " King John." 
 
 45. Our tears are not yet bre^v'd. In contemptuous allusion 
 to the feigned lamentation of the host and hostess, which the 
 young princes evidently see through. 
 
 46. Nor our strong sorrow, (^c. ' Nor is our deep and real 
 grief able to parade itself.' The " are " in the previous speech 
 gives 'is' to be elliptically understood between "nor" and 
 " our " here. 
 
 47. And uuhen we have, 'And when we have fully 
 
 Macd. Wherefore did you so? 
 
 Macb. Who can be wise, amaz'd, temperate, 
 and furious, 
 Loyal and neutral, in a moment ? No man : 
 The expedition of my violent love 
 Outrun the pauser reason. Here lay Duncan, 
 His silver skin lac'd with his golden blood 
 And his gash'd stabs look'd like a breach in nature 
 For ruin's wasteful entrance: there, the murderers, 
 Steep'd in the colours of their trade, their daggers 
 Unmannerly breech'd with gore: who could re- 
 frain. 
 
 That had a heart to love, and in that heart 
 Courage to make his love known ? 
 
 Lady M. Help me hence, ho ! 
 
 Macd. Look to the lady. 
 
 Mai. [Aside to Don.] Why do we hold our 
 tongues. 
 
 That most may claim this argument for ours ? 
 Don. [Aside to Mal.] What should be spoken 
 here, where our fate, 
 Hi<i in an auger-hole, may rush, and seize us ? 
 Let's away ; 
 
 Our tears are not yet brew'd.'" 
 
 Mal. [Aside to Don.] Nor our strong sorrow 
 Upon the foot of motion. ''s 
 
 Ban^ Look to the lady :— 
 
 [Lady Macbeth is carried out. 
 And when we have our naked frailties hid, ''^ 
 That suffer in exposure, let us meet, 
 And question ■'^ this most bloody piece of work, 
 To know it farther. Fears and scruples shake us : 
 In the great hand of God I stand ; and thence 
 Against the undivulg'd pretence I fight 
 Of treasonous malice. 
 
 Macd. And so do I. 
 
 All. So all. 
 
 Macb. Let's briefly put on manly readiness, 
 And meet i' the hall together. 
 
 All. Well contented. 
 
 [Exeunt all except Malcolm and 
 Donalbain. 
 
 Mal. What will you do ? Let's not cojisort 
 with them : 
 To show an unfelt sorrow is an office 
 Which the false man does easy. I'll to England. 
 
 Don. To Ireland, 1 ; our separated fortune 
 Shall keep us both the safer: where we are, 
 
 clothed our half-dressed bodies, that risk danger to health by 
 exposure to the open air.' This serves well to denote the hasty 
 summons they have had by the ringing of the alarm-bell, and to 
 indicate the keen northern atmosphere of the castle courtyard, 
 where the scene occurs. The words put into the Porter's mouth 
 have already drawn attention to the same point : " This place is 
 too cold," &c. By such ind'rect touches as these our dramatist 
 constantly manages to keep the spectator in mind of the locali- 
 ties wherein he desires they should imagine themselves to be. 
 48. Question. Here used for 'inquire into,' 'examine into.' 
 I 49. Pretence. ' Intention," ' design," ' purpose." See Note 3, 
 Act iii., "Winter's Tale." 
 
Act II.] 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 1 here's daggers in men's smiles: the near in blood, 
 'J"he nearer bloody.^" 
 
 Mai. Tills murderous shaft that's shot 
 
 Hath not )et lighted and our safest way 
 Js to avoid the aim. Therefore, to horse; 
 And let us not be dainty of leave-taking. 
 But shift''-' au'ay : there's warrant in that theft 
 Which steals itself, when there's no mercy left. 
 
 [Exeu7it. 
 
 SCENE I v.— Inverness. Without the Castle. 
 
 Enter RossE and an old Man. 
 
 Old M. Threescore and ten I can remember 
 well: 
 
 AVithin the volume of w hich time I have seen 
 Hours dreadful and things strange ; but this sore 
 night 
 
 Hath trifled former knowings. 
 
 Rosse. Ah ! good father, 
 
 T hou seest, the heavens, as troubled with man's act, 
 Thi'eaten his bloody stage : b) the clock, 'tis day, 
 And yet dark night strangles the travelling lamp :*3 
 Is 't night's predominance, or the da)'s shame, 
 That darkness does the face of earth entomb. 
 When living light should kiss it ? 
 
 Old M. 'Tis unnatural. 
 
 Even like the deed that's done.''' On Tuesday 
 last, 
 
 A falcon, towering in her pride of place,*' 
 Was by a mousing owl*" hawk'd at and kill'd. 
 Rosse, And Duncan's horses (a thing most 
 strange and certain), 
 Beauteous and swift, the minions of their race, 
 Turn'd wild in nature, broke their stalls, flung out. 
 Contending 'gainst obedience, as they would make 
 War with mankind. 
 
 50. The near in blood, the nearer bloody. Probably " near " 
 is here used for 'nearer.' See Note 13, Act v., " Richard II." 
 Donalbain shows by this that he suspects Macbeth, who was 
 next of kin to Duncan and his two sons. See Note 75, Act i. 
 of the present play. 
 
 51. I'his jntirderous shaft t^iafs shot hath not yet lighted. 
 Meaning that it has not yet fallen upon all against whom it is 
 directed. 
 
 52. Shift. Here used in the same sense of 'act furtively' 
 ■which it bears in the sentence where Falstaff says ("Merry 
 Wives," Act i., sc. 3), " I must coney-catch, I must shift." 
 
 53. Tlie travelling lamp. ' The sun,' See Notes go, Act i., 
 and 2, Act ii. of this play. 
 
 54. Untiatiiral, evcji like the deed ihat^s done. Here again 
 Shakespeare derives material from Holmshed and adapts it to 
 his purpose. The historian, recording the prodigies that 
 occurred after the murder of King Duff, mentions : " For the 
 space of six months togither there appeared no sunne by day, 
 nor moone by night, in any part of the realme, but still was the 
 sky covered with continual clouds ; and sometimes such out- 
 rageous winds arose, with lightenings and tempests, that the 
 people were in gie.it fear of present destruction." 
 
 55. ToiHering in her f ride of place. A technical phrase in 
 
 Old M. 'Tis .^aid they eat each other. 
 
 Rosse. They did so, — to the amazement of mine 
 eyes. 
 
 That look'd upon 't. — Here comes the good Mac- 
 duff. 
 
 Enter Macduff. 
 How goes the world, sir, now ? 
 
 Macd. Why, see you not ? 
 
 Rosse. Is 't known who did this more than 
 bloody deed ? 
 
 Maed. Those that Macbeth hath slain. 
 
 Rosse. Alas! the day. 
 
 What good could they pretend ? 
 
 Macd. They were suborn'd , 
 
 Malcolm and Donalbain, the king's two sons. 
 Are stol'n away and fled ; which puts upon them 
 Suspicion of the deed. 
 
 Rosse, 'Gainst nature still. 
 
 Thriftless ambition, that wilt ravin up 
 Thine own life's means ! — Then 'tis most like 
 The sovereignty will fall upon Macbeth. ''^ 
 
 Macd. He is already nam'd ; and gone to Scone 
 To be invested. 
 
 Rosse, Where is Duncan's body ? 
 
 Macd. Carried to Colme-kill,*' 
 The sacred storehouse of his predecessors, 
 And guardian of their bones, 
 
 Rosse. Will you lo Scone ?«» 
 
 Macd. No, cousin, I'll to Fife.*i 
 
 Rosse. Well, I will thitlier.«2 
 
 Macd. Well, may you see things well done 
 there, — adieu, — 
 Lest our old robes sit easier than our new ! 
 
 Rosse. Farewell, father. 
 
 Old M. God's benison^' go with you ; and with 
 those 
 
 That would make good of bad, and friends of foes I 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 falconry for ' soaring at the highest point of flight.' See Note 
 27, Act v., '* King John." 
 
 56. A mousing awl. An owl hunting for mice, as its usual 
 prey. Holinshed records the circumstance that ' '.there was a 
 sparhaivk strangled by an owl;" and also that " /wrses of 
 singular beauty and swiftness did eat tlicir o^vn flesh." 
 
 Pretend. ' Intend,' design,' 'purpose.' See Note 49 of 
 this Act. 
 
 58. T!u sovereignty will fall upon Macbeth. Because he 
 stood next in succession to the crown, after the sons of Duncan. 
 See Note 50 of this Act. 
 
 59. Colme-kill. The famous lona, one of the western isles, 
 mentioned by Holinshed as the burial-place of many ancient 
 kings of Scotland. "Colme-kill" means the 'cell' or 'chapel 
 of St. Columb.' See Note 19, Act i. "Kill," in the Erse 
 language, signifies a burying-place. 
 
 60. Scone. Where it was customary for the coronation of the 
 Scottish kings to take place. 
 
 61. /'// to Fife. Macduff's castle was at Fife. 
 
 62. / will thither. Meaning to Scone ; Shakespeare some- 
 times allowing a word to refer back to the antecedent which is 
 not the last-named one. 
 
 Benison. 'Blessing.' Old French, fe«/fi7«, 'benediction.' 
 
Macbeth. Both of you 
 
 Know Banquo was your enemy. 
 
 Both Murderers. True, my lord. 
 
 Macbeth. So is he mine. Act III. Scene I. 
 
Act 111. J 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 ACT III. 
 
 SCENE I.— Fores. A Room in the Palace. 
 
 Enter BANquo. 
 Ban. Thou hast it now,— king, Cawdor, Glamis, 
 all, 
 
 As the weird women promis'd and, 1 fear. 
 
 Thou play'dst most foully for 't : yet it was said 
 
 It should not stand in thy posterity ; 
 
 But that myself should be the root and father 
 
 Of many kings. If there come truth from them 
 
 (As upon thee, Macbeth, their speeches shine),'^ 
 
 Why, by the verities on thee made good, 
 
 JVIay they not be my oracles as well, 
 
 And set me up in hope ? But, hush ; no more.^ 
 
 Sennet sounded. Enter Macbeth, as King; Lady 
 Macbeth, as i^een ; Lennox, Rosse, 
 Lords, Ladies, and Attendants. 
 
 M^cb. Here's our chief guest. 
 
 Lady M. If he had been forgotten. 
 
 It had been as a gap in our great feast, 
 And all-thing'' unbecoming. 
 
 Macb. To-night we hold a solemn supper,* sir, 
 And I'll request your presence. 
 
 Ban. Let your highness 
 
 Command upon me ; to the which my duties* 
 Are with a most indissoluble tie 
 For ever knit. 
 
 Macb. Ride you this afternoon ? 
 
 Ban. Ay, my good lord. 
 
 Macb. We should have else desir'd your good 
 advice 
 
 (Which still hath been both grave and prosperous) 
 In this day's council ; but we'll take to-morrow.' 
 Is 't far you ride ? 
 
 1. All, as the weird women promis'd. The wording of this 
 passage is, Iil<e that of the one discussed in Note 49, Act i. , 
 subject to a surmise from Malone that the title of " Glamis " (as 
 well as those of "Cawdor" and "king") was given propheti- 
 cally to Macbeth by the witches ; but we think that the present 
 passage, similarly to the other one, rather implies that the 
 accession of augmented dignities, from the thaneship of Glamis 
 by natural inheritance, to the acquisition of the throne by unex- 
 pected event, has accrued to IVIacbeth as announced to him by 
 the weird women. The dignity of "Glamis" is included as 
 having been stated by them, not as having been foretold by 
 them ; while the construction of the sentence gives " king, 
 Cawdor, Glamis, all," an almost parenthetical effect. 
 
 2. Their speeches shijie. * The brilliant fulfilment of their 
 predictions show obviously.' 
 
 3. But, Imsh ; no more. These words are in perfect moral 
 keeping with Bannuo's previous resolute fighting against evil 
 suggestions. See Note 6, Act ii. 
 
 4. All-thing. ' All ways,' ' every way.' 
 
 5. A solemn supper. This was a phrase used in Shake- 
 speare's time to express a feast or banquet given on a particular 
 occasion, to solemnise some special event, such as a birth, 
 marriage, coronation, &c. 
 
 Ban. As far, my lord, as will fill up the time 
 'Twixt this and supper ; go not my horse the 
 better,* 
 
 1 must become a borrower of the night 
 For k dark hour or twain. 
 
 Macb. Fail not our feast. 
 
 Ban. My lord, I will not.9 
 
 Macb. We hear, our bloody cousins are be- 
 stow'd 
 
 In England and in Ireland ; not confessing 
 Their cruel parricide, filling their hearers 
 With strange invention : but of that to-morrow ; 
 When therewithal we shall have cause of state 
 Cravmg us jointly. Hie you to horse : adieu. 
 Till you return at night. Goes Fleance with you ? 
 Ban. Ay, my good lord : our time does call 
 upon us. 
 
 Macb. I wish your horses swift and sure of foot ; 
 And so I do commend'" you to their backs. 
 Farewell. — \Exit Banquo. 
 
 Let every man be master of his time 
 Till seven at night : to make society 
 The sweeter welcome, we will keep ourself 
 Till supper-time alone : while then, God be with 
 )ou!'' 
 
 [Exeunt Lady Macbeth, Lords, Ladies, &c. 
 Sirrah, a word with you : attend those men 
 Our pleasure ? 
 Atten. They are, my lord, without the palace- 
 gate. 
 
 Macb. Bring them before us. \_Exit Attendant. 
 
 To be thus is nothing ; 
 But to be safely thus : — our fears in Banquo 
 Stick deep ; and in his royalty of nature 
 
 6. To the which my duties, &=c. " 'Which " here, in Shake- 
 speare's mode of making a relatively-used pronoun refer to, an 
 implied particular, refers to ' commands,' as implied in the pre- 
 ceding phrase, " Let your highness command upon me." 
 
 7. IVe it take to-morrow. This is a familiar colloquial idiom : 
 "take "being used in the sense of 'appropriate,' 'employ,' 'use" 
 
 8. Go not my horse the better. ' Should my horse not go 
 well,' or 'if my horse do not go better than slowly.' See 
 Note 63, Act iii., "Timon of Athens." 
 
 9. My lord, I will not. This reply, made to the hypocritical 
 injunction of the intended destroyer by his unconscious victim, 
 comes with fearfully impressive significance of effect, when we 
 find that the pledge given in the flesh is fulfilled in the spirit ; 
 and that the promise which the living man makes to be present 
 at the feast is kept by his dead apparition. Shakespeare's most 
 trivial-seeming speeches, as he employs them, have often deep 
 and important meaning. 
 
 10. Commend. 'Commit.' See Note 114, Act i. 
 
 11. While tlien. Cod be with you ! " While " is here used in 
 the sense of ' till ' or ' until.' See Note 52, Act iv., " Twelfth 
 Night." 
 
 12. Royalty of nature. • Exaltedness of nature,' 'elevated 
 quality of nature.' 
 
Act III.] 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 Reigns that which would be tear'd ; 'tis much he 
 dares ; 
 
 And, to that dauntless temper'^ of his mind, 
 He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valour 
 To act in safety.!^ There is none but he 
 Whose being I do fear : and, under him, 
 My Genius 1* is rebuk'd ; as, it is said, 
 Mark Antony's' was by Caesar. He chid the 
 sisters, 
 
 When first they put the name of king upon me, 
 And bade them speak to him; then, prophet-like, 
 They hail'd him father to a line of kings : . 
 Upon my head they plac'd a fruitless crown, 
 And put a barren sceptre in my gripe. 
 Thence to be wrench'd with an unlineal hand, . 
 No son of mine succeeding. If 't be so. 
 For Banquo's issue liave 1 fil'd'^ my mind ; 
 For them the gracious Duncan have I murder'd; 
 Put rancours in the vessel of my peace 
 Only for them ; and mine eternal jewel 
 Given to the common enemy of man. 
 To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings ! 
 Rather than so, come, fate, into the list. 
 And champion me to the utterance ! — Who's 
 there ? 
 
 Re-enter Attendant, ivith tivo Murderers. 
 Now go to the door, and stay there till we call. 
 
 [Exit Attendant. 
 Was it not yesterday we spoke together ? 
 First Mur. It was, so please your highness. 
 Macb. Well then, now 
 
 Have you consider'd of my speeches ? Know 
 
 13. And to that dauii/less temper. Here " to that is ellip- 
 tically used for ' in addition to that.' 
 
 14. Safety. Here used for ' moral safety,' * righteous pre- 
 caution; ' 'virtuous course." The instinctive perception that 
 Macbeth has of Banquo's superiority in purity and integrity is 
 very pathetic. The recognition of the beauty of truth and good- 
 ness by those who allow themselves to be uglied over and soiled 
 by vice, is among the most affectmg of humanity's strange 
 inconsistencies \ and Shakespeare has wonderfully portrayed it 
 here. 
 
 , 13. My Genius. The attendant spirit believed to preside over 
 each human being's actions, guiding and influencing him to good 
 or evil. See Note 14, Act ii., " Julms Caesar." 
 
 16. FiVd. ' Defiled.' 
 
 17. Mine eternal jewel. ' My immortal soul.' 
 
 18. To the utterance. A phrase derived from the French 
 expression, a I'ou trance ; which signified that a combat was to 
 be fought out 'to the uttermost,' ' to extremity,' or unto death. 
 The sentence in the text means, ' Rather than this should be 
 so, come, fate, mto the list, and fight in support of thy decree 
 against me to the last extremity.' 
 
 19. Pass'd in probation witli you. ' Passed in proving to you.' 
 
 20. Some in /land. ' Beguiled by false expectations,' ' lured 
 on by deceitful encouragement.' See Note 35, Act i., " Second 
 Part Henry IV." 
 
 21. T/iat might to half a soul. ' Even' is elliptically under- 
 stood between "might" and "to" here. For instances of a 
 similar ellipsis, see Note 52, Act i., " Henry V." 
 
 22. Andwent^farther, which is now, di'c. "Which" refers 
 to the suggestion implied in the words " went farther." Mac- 
 
 That it was he, in the times past, which held 
 you 
 
 So under fortune ; which you thought had been 
 Our innocent self: this I made good to you 
 In our last conference, pass'd in probation with 
 you,i9 
 
 How you were borne in hand,-" how cross'd, the 
 instruments, 
 
 Who wrought with them, and all things else that 
 might 
 
 To half a souP' and to a notion craz'd 
 Say, " Thus did Banquo." 
 
 Firs^ Mur. You made it known to us. 
 
 Macb. I did so ; and went farther, which is 
 now 
 
 Our point of second meeting.'* Do you find 
 Your patience so predominant in your nature. 
 That you can let this go ? Are you so gospell'd.''^^ 
 To pray for this good man and for his issue. 
 Whose heavy hand hath bow'd you to the grave, 
 And beggar'd yours for ever ? 
 
 First Mur. We are men, my liege. 
 
 Macb. Ay, in the catalogue ye go for men ; 
 As hounds, and greyhounds, mongrels, spaniels, 
 curs, 
 
 Shoughs,^* water-rugs, and demi-wolves, are clep'd"^ 
 All by the name of dogs : the valu'd file^? 
 Distinguishes the swift, the slow, the subtle. 
 The housekeeper, the hunter, every one 
 According to the gift which bounteous nature* 
 Hath in him clos'd ; whereby he does receive 
 Particular addition, from the bill-^ 
 That writes them all alike : and so of men. 
 
 beth means, ' I did make it known to you ; and I went farther, 
 suggesting to you resentment and revenge for what 1 made 
 known to you.' 
 
 23. Our point of second meeting. ' The point {or object) of 
 our second meeting.' For a sojnewhat similar constructional 
 transposition see Note 23, Act v., " Henry V." 
 
 24. Are you so gospelfd. 'Are you so schooled in gospel 
 precept?' 'Are you so imbued with the spirit of Christian 
 charity ?* " Gospell'd " is one of Shakespeare's expressive par- 
 ticiples framed from a substantive. See Note 63, Act ii, , 
 " Julius Cassar." 
 
 25. Shouglis. Shaggy dogs ; more modernly called ' shocks.' 
 Nashe (a contemporary with Shakespeare), in his " Lenten 
 Staffe," uses the form employed at the time he wrote: "A 
 trundle-tail tike or shough or two." 
 
 26. Clep'd. 'Called.' "Clepeth" is used for 'calleth,' or 
 'calls,' in the speech referred to in Note 14, Act v., " Love's 
 Labour's Lost." 
 
 27. The valu' d file. Here is one of Shakespeare's elliptically 
 and inclusively used epithets. " The valu'd file " means not only 
 the file or list where dogs valuable for particular qualities are 
 entered ; it also means the file in which dogs have their several 
 qualities valued, described, and specially stated. He uses the 
 word "valu'd" here so as to combine its sense of 'esteemed' 
 and ' estimated.' 
 
 28. Particular addition, from the bill. "Addition" is here 
 used in its sense of ' title or claim to superiority,' 'reputation 
 for a certain quality' (see Note 89, Act ii., " Troilus and 
 Cressida") ; and " from" is employed for 'apart from,' ' in con- 
 tradistinction to.' Sec Note 30, Act ii., "Julius Ciesar." 
 
Act III.] 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Noiv, if you have a station in the file,^^ 
 Not i' the worst rank, of manhood, say it; 
 And I will put that business in your bosoms, 
 Wliose execution takes your enemy off; 
 Grapples you to the heart and love of us, 
 Who wear our health but sickly in his life, 
 Which in his death were perfect. 
 
 Sec. Mur. I am one, my liege. 
 
 Whom the vile blo ws and buffets of the world 
 Have so mcens'd, that I am I'eckless what 
 I do to spite the world. 
 
 First Mur. And I another, 
 
 So weary with disasters, tugg'd with fortune, 
 That I would set my life on any chance, 
 To mend it, or be rid on 't. 
 
 Mad. Both of you 
 
 Know Banquo was your enemy. 
 
 Both Mur. True, my lord. 
 
 Macb. So is he mine; and in such bloody distance, 
 That every minute of his being thrusts 
 Against my near'st of life : and though I could 
 With barefac'd power sweep him from my sight. 
 And bid my will avouch it, yet I must not. 
 For certain friends'^" that are both his and mine, 
 Whose loves I may not drop, but wail his fall 2' 
 Whom I myself struck down -.^^ and thence it is 
 That I to your assistance do make love ; 
 Masking the business from the common eye^^ 
 For sundry weighty reasons. 
 
 Sec. Mur. We shall, my lord. 
 
 Perform what you command us. 
 
 First Mur. Though our lives — 
 
 Macb. Your spirits shine through you. Within 
 this hour at most, 
 1 will advise you where to plant yourselves ; 
 
 29. The file. The previous expression, "the 
 allowed to give 'valu'd' to be here elliptically um 
 *' file i" and the word bears the same sense as ii 
 
 valu'd file," is 
 erstood before 
 the preceding 
 
 Itimate Note, thus 
 ,vhich enrols them a 
 , of value, and are : 
 
 ' If you 
 
 valuable 
 ot in the 
 ilue, and 
 
 : used to 
 , Act iv., 
 
 sentence, explained in our peni 
 have a station in the file of men 
 and specifies their particular kin 
 worst rank of manhood where there are none of 
 none with any special quality to distinguish them.' 
 
 30. / must not, for certain friemis. "For" is he 
 express ' on account of,' ' because of.' See Note : 
 " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 31. Bui wail his fall. In the present sentence the "must" 
 in "yet I must not" gives 'must' to be elliptically understood 
 before "wail" here. 
 
 32. Whom I juyself struck down. The Folio gives 'who' 
 instrad of "whom" here (Pope's correction) : and though ' who' 
 for "whom" was a grammatical licence allowed in Shake- 
 speare's time, our idea is, that here perhaps he wrote " whom," 
 the Folio misprinting the word. At any rate, so fine a passage 
 as this may, we think, have the benefit of the doubt. 
 
 33. Masking the business from the common eye. Observe 
 with what skill of significance the general and even common- 
 place word "business" is put into the royal murderer's mouth 
 here ; as well as into his wife's and his own previously in the 
 play, where she says, "You shall put this night's great 
 business into my despatch ;" and where he says, " We will 
 proceed no farther in this business." 
 
 34. T/ie per/ect spy 0' the time. ' The precise time when 
 
 Acquaint you with the perfect spy o' the time,^* 
 The moment on 't ; for 't must be done to-night, 
 And something from the palace ;2^ always thought 
 That 1 require a clearness r^* and with him 
 (To leave no rubs nor botches in the work) 
 Fleance his son, that keeps him company. 
 Whose absence is no less material to me 
 Than is his father's, must embrace the fate 
 Of that dark hour. Resolve yourselves apart : 
 I'll come to you anon. 
 
 Both Mur. We are resolv'd, my lord. 
 
 Macb. I'll call upon you straight : abide within. 
 
 \_Exeurtt Murderers. 
 It is concluded : — Banquo, thy soul's flight, 
 If it find heaven, must find it out to-night. [Exit. 
 
 SCENE II.— Fores. Another Room in the Palace. 
 Enter Lady Macbeth and a Servant. 
 
 Lady M. Is Banquo gone from court ? 
 
 Serv. Ay, madam, but returns again to-night. 
 
 Lady M. Say to the king, I would attend his 
 leisure 
 For a few words. 
 
 Ser^v. Madam, I will. [Exit. 
 
 Lady M. Naught's had, all's spent,*' 
 
 Where our desire is got without content : 
 'Tis safer to be that which we destroy. 
 Than, by destruction, dwell in doubtful joy. 
 
 Enter Macbeth. 
 How now, my lord ! why do you keep alone. 
 Of sorriest-'*' fancies your companions making ; 
 
 you may espy him coming ;' * the exact time at which you may 
 expect to see him approach, and may despatch him.' That this 
 sense is included and implied in the phrase, we perceive from 
 the peculiar use of " it" in the expressions, " the mon.ent on 't," 
 and " for 't must be done to-night :" alluding to an unnamed 
 but perfectly understood deed. 
 
 35. And somet/ii/ig from the palace. *And somewhat away 
 from the palace ;' ' and at some little distance from the palace.' 
 
 36. Always thought that T require a clearness. 'Always bear- 
 ing in mind that I must be held clear from suspicion, and that 
 I require neatness and completeness in the task you have under- 
 taken.' " Clearness," as here used, includes both these senses. 
 
 37. Naught's had, all's spent. In this brief soliloquy, of but 
 three lines and a half, there is wonderful condensation of moral 
 painting and dramatic art. It shows us the deep-seated misery 
 of the murderess, discontented with rank gained by loss of 
 peace, absolutely envying her victim sent to peace, and writhing 
 beneath the constant sense of doubt and dread ; it allows us to 
 see the inward dejection of her spirit, the profound melancholy 
 and perturbation in which she is secretly steeped ; while, on the 
 very instant that she sees her husband approach, she can rally 
 her forces, assume exterior fortitude,, and resume accustomed 
 hardness of manner, with which to stimulate him by remon- 
 strance almost amounting to reproach. 
 
 38. Sorriest. Here used for 'grimmest,' 'dismalest ;' as before, 
 in the present play, where Macbeth, looking on his blood-stained 
 hands, says, "This is a sorry sight," "sorry" means 'grim,' 
 ' dismal,' ' ghjistly.' See Note 9, Act v., " Comedy of Errors." 
 
Act III.] MACBETH. [Scene II. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. What's to be done ? 
 
 Macbeth Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck. 
 Till thou applaud the deed. Act 111. Scene II. 
 
 Using those thoughts which should indeed have i 
 died 1 
 
 With them they think on ? Thir.gs without all ' 
 remedy j 
 
 Should be without regard : what's done is done. 
 Macb. We have scotch'd*^ the snake, not kill'd 
 it: 
 
 She'll close, and be herself ; whilst our poor malice 
 Remains in danger of her former tooth. 
 But let the frame of things disjoint, 
 
 39. Scotch' d. The Folio prints ' scorch'd.' This was pos- 
 sibly an old form of the word, as it seems to be derived from 
 the old French escorcher-, ' to flay,' ' to skin ;' and from the ! 
 Italian, sccrzare, which Florio e.xplains by 'to flea the skin 
 off' The word " scotch 'd," however, more properly means 
 ' gashed with cuts rather more than skin deep ;' and Shake- i 
 speare thus uses it here and elsewhere. See passage referred to 
 in N'ote 53, Act iv., " Coriolanus." 
 
 60th the worlds suffer, 
 
 Ere we will eat our meal in fear, and sleep 
 
 In the affliction of these terrible dreams 
 
 That shake us nightly : better be with the deai), 
 
 Whom we, to gain our peace, have sent to peace,'"' 
 
 Than on the torture of the mind to lie 
 
 In restless ecstacy.^' Duncan is in his grave ; 
 
 After life's fitful fever he sleeps well ; 
 
 Treason has done his worst : nor steel, nor poison. 
 
 40. T<y gain our peace, have sent to peace. The second T'olio 
 changed the first "peace" in this line to ' place a change that 
 has been adopted by several" editors. Not only, however, is the 
 repeated word completely in Shakespeare's manner but it pj-e- 
 cisely suits with that which Macbeth has aimed at, in order to 
 appease his restless ambition, and to give expected fulness of 
 content to all his after days. 
 
 41. Ecstacy. ' Strong emotional disturbance.' See Note 61, 
 Act li., '■ Much Arlo." 
 
 VOU III. 
 
 210 
 
Act III.] 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Malice domestic, foreign levy, nothing, 
 Can touch him farther. 
 
 Lady M. Come on ; 
 
 Gentle my lord, sleek o'er your rugged looks ; 
 Be bright and jovial among your guests to-night. 
 
 Macb. So shall I, love ; and so, 1 pray, be you : 
 Let your remembrance apply to Banquo ; 
 Present him eminence,'*^ both with eye and tongue: 
 Unsafe the while, that we'*^ 
 
 Must lave our honours in these ilattering streams ; 
 And make our faces visards to our hearts, 
 Disguising what they are. 
 
 Lady M. You must leave this. 
 
 Macb. Oh, full of scorpions is iny mind, dear 
 wife ! 
 
 Thou know'st that Banquo, and his Fleance, lives. 
 Lady M. But in them nature's copy's not eterne.'*^ 
 Macb. There's comfort yet ; they are assailable; 
 Then be thou jocund : ere the bat hath flown 
 His cloister' tl flight ere, to black Hecate's sum- 
 mons, 
 
 The shard-borne beetle,''^ with his drowsy hums. 
 Hath rung night's yawning peal, there shall be 
 done 
 
 A deed of dreadful note. 
 
 Lady M. What's to be done ? 
 
 Macb. Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest 
 chuck, 
 
 Till thou applaud the deed. — Come, seeling night,-*^ 
 Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day; 
 And with thy bloody and invisible hand 
 Cancel and tear to pieces that great bond^' 
 
 42. Present him emirience. 'Treat him with the highest 
 
 43. U?tsafe the lukile^ thai, ive, &^c. It seems extremely 
 probable that something has been omitted in the Folio printing 
 of the original passage here. As it stands, we must elliptically 
 understand 'Ah! how' before "unsafe," and 'is ours' before 
 "the while;" since the word " eminence " appears to supply 
 the particular here referred to, and the meaning of the entire 
 sentence to be, ' Treat him with highest dignity and dis- 
 tinction, both by your looks and speech : alas ! how unstable is 
 our own royal dignity when it must condescend to use flattery 
 and diatimulation.' 
 
 44. /« the/!! nature's copy 's not eierne. Here " copy," 
 besides meaning ' example ' or ' specimen ' of humanity, has 
 reference to the technical legal term used for a ' lease ' held by 
 copyhold tenure ; in which the tenant holds an estate for life 
 merely, and not in perpetuity. ' ' Eterne " is an abbreviated form 
 of ' eternal,' frequently used by Ciiaucer. 
 
 45. The bat hath fiozuii his cloister d flight. " Cloister'd " 
 is one of Shakespeare's elliptically-framed epithets ; the ex- 
 pression meaning ' the flight which is taken round and round 
 through cloisters.' Its propriety of effect to the dramatic 
 story, and propriety of truth to natural fact, are both perfect. 
 
 46. The shard-borne beetle. ' The beetle borne along the air 
 by its shards or scaly wings.' 
 
 47. Come, seeling night. " Seeling " is here used for ' blind- 
 ing.' The term is from falconry: it being the custom to seel the 
 eyes of a hawk by sewing its upper and under lids together, 
 which was done in order to accustom it to its hood. 
 
 48. That great bond. M.ncbeth here alludes to the life 
 of Banquo by a legal expression in conformity with Lady 
 
 Which keeps me pale! — Light thickens; and the 
 crow 
 
 Makes wing to the rooky wood 
 Good things of day begin to droop and drowse ; 
 Whiles night's black agents to their preys*" dp 
 rouse. — 
 
 Thou marvell'st at my words : but hold thee still ; 
 Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill : 
 So pr'ythee, go with me. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE III. — Fores. J Park, uohh a path 
 leading to the Palace gate. 
 
 Enter three Murderers. 
 First Mur. But who did bid thee join with us ? 
 Third Mur. Macbeth. 
 Sec. Mur. He needs not our mistrust ;'i since he 
 delivers 
 
 Our offices, and what we have to do, 
 'I'o the direction just. 
 
 Vlrst Mur. Then stand with us. 
 
 ,The west yet glimmers with some streaks of day : 
 Now spurs the lated traveller apace 
 To gain the timely inn ; and near approaches 
 The subject of our watch. 
 
 Third Mur. Hark ! I hear horses. 
 
 Ban. \JFithin.'] Give us a light there, ho ! 
 
 Sec. Mur. Then 'tis he : the rest 
 
 That are within the note of expectation's 
 Already are i' the court. 
 
 Macbeth's previous phrase explained in Note 44 of this Act ; 
 and Shakespeare uses a similar form where he makes Queen 
 Margaret say, in "Richard III.," Act iv., sc. 4, "Cancel his 
 bond of life." 
 
 49. The crow ntakes uoing to the rooky luood. Strange to 
 say, this most poetical sentence has been misunderstood'; 
 whereas it surely gives most vividly the impression of the 
 long flight of crows that troop at close of day to their nests 
 among the high trees of a wood — rooks returning to their 
 rookery. The very epithet "rooky," appears to us to caw 
 with the sound of many bed-ward rooks bustling and croaking 
 to their several roosts. 
 
 50. Preys. One of the words which were used in Shake- 
 speare's time in the plural that now are employed only in the 
 singular. See Note 2, Act iv., " Richard III." 
 
 51. He needs not onr mistmst. The "he" here seems to 
 refer to " Macbeth ; " but it is said of the third murderer by 
 the second nmrderer to his associate, the first murderer. The 
 meaning of the speech is, ' We need not mistrust him, since 
 he brings us word what we have to do, exactly according to our 
 employer's direction.' That this is the true interpretation is 
 shown by the first murderer's rejoinder addressed to the third 
 murderer, "Then stand with us." As this brief dialogue is 
 managed, however, the effect is included of the two men's sense 
 of Macbeth's mistrust of themselves, by thus sending a third 
 to join them and keep them to their pledged deed. 
 
 52. The rest that are within the note of expectation. ' The 
 remainder of those who are included in the list of e.xpected 
 guests." There is evidence that it was the custom to make out 
 a written list of the persons invited to a festive banquet, from 
 the passage referred to in Note 38, Act i., " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 !<5 
 
Act III.] 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Fitsi Mur. His hoiT,es go about. 
 
 Third Mur. Almost a mile : but he does 
 usually, 
 
 So all men do, from hence to the palace- gate 
 Make it their walk.^s 
 
 Sec. Mur. A light, a light ! 
 
 Third Mur. 'Tis he. 
 
 First Mur. Stand to 't. 
 
 Enter BANquo and Fleance, luith a torch. 
 Ban. It uill be rain to-night. 
 First Mur. Let it come down. 
 
 \_Assciulis Banquo. 
 Ban. Oh, treachery! — FIv, good Fleance, tlv, 
 
 fly, fly ! 
 
 Thou mayst revenge. — Oh, slave ! 
 
 [D/Vj. Fleance escapes.^* 
 Third Mur. Who did strike out the light 
 First Mur. Was 't not the way ? 
 
 Third Mur. There's but one down ; the son is 
 fled. 
 
 Sec. Mur. We have lost 
 
 Best half of our affair. 
 
 First Mur. Well, let's away, and say hew much 
 is done. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE IV.— Fores. A Room of State in the 
 Palace. 
 
 A Banquet prepared. Enter Macbeth, Lady 
 Macbeth, Rosse, Lennox, Lords, and 
 Attendants. 
 
 Macb. You know your own degrees, sit down : 
 at first 
 
 And last*^ the hearty welcome. 
 
 Lords. Th.anks to your majesty. 
 
 Macb. Ourself will mingle with societ}-, 
 
 53. Make it their ■walk. With what perfect vividness does 
 this small speech set the actual place before our imagination, 
 and serve most naturally to account for Banquo and Fleance's 
 being on foot when tlieir attackers lie in wait for them. 
 
 54. Fleance escapes. He fled into Wales, where, by the 
 daughter of the prince of that country, he had a son named 
 Walter, who afterwards became Lord High Steward of Scot- 
 land, and from thence assumed the name of Walter Ste-ward. 
 From him in a direct line King James I. was descended ; in 
 compliment to whom Shakespeare made Banquo innocent of the 
 murder of Duncan, although, historically, he was a participator 
 in Macbeth's crime. Moreover, this suited the dramatist's 
 purpose, enabling him to give the moral contrast of the two 
 characters — the one man striving against evil temptation to 
 which the other yielded. 
 
 55. At first and last. Johnson proposed to substitute 'to' 
 for "at" here, explaining the sentence to mean, 'All of what- 
 ever degree, from the highest to the lowest, may be assured 
 that their visit is well received.' As it stands, it probably is 
 intended to include not only this meaning, but also ' let those 
 who arrive at first as well as at last feel heartily welcome," while 
 the phrase itself, "at first and last," is very likely. an equivalent 
 for the familiar expression,/ once for all.' 
 
 And play the humble host. 
 
 Our hostess keeps her state j^s but, in best time, 
 We will require her u elcome. 
 
 Lady M. Pronounce it for me, sir, to all our 
 friends ; 
 
 For my heart speaks they are welcome. 
 
 Macb. See, they encounter thee with their 
 hearts' thanks. — 
 Both sides are even : here I'll sit i' the midst: 
 
 Enter first Murderer to the door. 
 Be large in mirth ; anon we'll drink a measure 
 The table round. — Ti.ere's blood upon thy face. 
 Mur. 'Tis Banquo's, then. 
 Macb. 'Tis better thee without than he within. 
 Is he despatch'd ? 
 
 Mur. My lord, his throat is cut ; that I did for 
 him. 
 
 Macb. Thou art the best o' tlie cut-throats : 
 yet he's good^' 
 That did the like for Fleance: if thou didst it. 
 Thou art the nonpareil. 
 
 Mur. Most royal sir, 
 
 Fleance is scap'd. 
 
 Macb. Then comes my fit again : I had else 
 been perfect ; 
 Whole as the inarble, founded as tlie rock ; 
 As broad and general aa the casing air : 
 j But now I am cabin'd, cribb'd, confin'd, bound 
 in 
 
 To saucy doubts and fears. But Banquo's safe r^" 
 I Mur. Ay, my good lord: safe in a ditch he 
 bides,' 
 
 With twenty trenchui''' gashes on his head; 
 The least a deatli to nature. 
 
 Macb. Thanks for that : 
 
 There tlie grown serpent lies ; the worm,''- that's 
 fled. 
 
 Hath nature that in time will \ enom breed. 
 
 50. Keeps her state. ' Remains in her seat of state.' See 
 Note 122, Act ii., " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 57. 'Tis better thee zuithout than he ivithin. It has been 
 strangely doubted whether this'may not mean, ' It is better that 
 Banquo's blood should be on thy face than he in this room;' 
 but surely the meaning is, ' It is better that Banquo's blood 
 should be outside thee than inside him,' since "he" is some- 
 times used by Shakespeare, according to a grammatical licence 
 of his time, instead of ' him.' See Note 75, Act iii., " Roniio 
 and Juliet." 
 
 53. Yet he's ,zood. "He's" is here probably an elision for 
 ' he is as,' not for ' he is.' 
 
 59. Nonpareil. A French word adopted into the English 
 language, meaning ' not equalled,' * unequalled,' or ' without 
 equal.' 
 
 60. Safe. Here used for ' secure from doing harm,' ' securely 
 done for, or despatched,' while immediately after it is used in the 
 sense of 'securely stowed away.' See Note 72, Act i. of this play. 
 There is a kind of grim levity in the equivocally-sounding word 
 here used, that horribly enhances the ghastliness of the colloquy. 
 
 61. Trenciicd. French, /rawfe' ; ' cut,' ' sliced.' 
 
 62. The ivortn. Here used for ' the young serpent.' See 
 Note 4, Act iii., " Measure for Measure." 
 
 347 
 
Act III.J 
 
 [SCENK IV. 
 
 No teeth for the present.*3--Get thee gone: to- 
 morrow 
 
 We'll hear, ourselves, again \_ExU Murderer. 
 
 LaJy M. My royal lord, 
 
 You do not give the cheer: the feast is sold 
 That is not often vouch'd, while 'tis a-making, 
 'Tis given with welcome:''^ to feed were best at 
 home ; 
 
 From thence the sauce to meat is ceremony ; 
 Meeting were bare without it. 
 
 Macl>. Sweet remembrancer! — 
 
 Now, good digestion wait on appetite, 
 And health on both! 
 Len. May 't please your highness sit. 
 
 [The Ghost o/BANqtJO appears, and sits in 
 Macbeth's place. 
 Macb. Here had wo now our country's lionour 
 roof'd, 
 
 W ere the grac'd person of our Banquo present ; 
 Who may I rather challenge for unkindness 
 Than pity for mischance ! 
 
 Rosie. His absence, sir, 
 
 Lays blame upon his promise. Please it \ our 
 highness 
 
 To grace us with your royal company. 
 Ma.b. The table's luU.M 
 
 Len. Here is a place reserv'd, sir, 
 
 Macb. Wliere ? 
 
 Len. Here, my good lord. What is 't that 
 
 moves your highness 
 Macb. W hich of you liave done this f 
 L-xds. What, my gcod lord ? 
 
 6j ie^t/l for tlie present. ' Hath' before " nature," in 
 tlie previous line, gives ' but hath ' to be elliptically understojj 
 be.^ore *' no teeth." 
 
 64 'Tis given with welcome. The " that" in the preceding 
 line is elliptically understood as repeated before "'tis given," 
 the meaning of the entire sentence being, ' That feast is more 
 liice a vended entertainment at a tavern than a freely bestowed 
 banquet which is not attended by frequent assurances, while it 
 is in progress, that it is given with hearty welcome; if the 
 object be merely to feed, it were best done at home ; away from 
 home, the proper accompaniment to a repast is courteous ob- 
 servance.' *' From" is liere used in its seiise of 'away from,' 
 ' at a distance from.' §ae Note 28 of the present Act. 
 
 65. TIu table's full. Ver>' heart-shaking is the effect upon 
 us of these first few unconscious words of JIacbeth in the 
 presence of his victim's shade. They show us that he sees 
 the row of guests apparently complete by the some one or 
 some thing that is there in the seat which the rest of the com- 
 pany believe is empty, for he has not yet recognised the fig.ire 
 for what it is. 
 
 66. Here, my good lord. JVhai is 7, <&-v. This is the 
 point — between the first sentence and the second of Lennox's 
 speech — where Macbeth first perceives wluit it is that fills the 
 "place reserv'd " for him. 
 
 67. Which 0/ yoH have -done this? For one single instant 
 he thinks that the actual mangled body of his victim has been 
 placed there before him to convict him of his crime. 
 
 68. Thou canst not say I did it. His next impulse is to 
 deny that his own hand has done the deed, ba.sely flinging the 
 foul blame upon his hired instruments. Shakespeare not un- 
 frequently lays the emphasis on the usually unaccented syllable 
 i.i his line, as a musician will som-tiines throw expressional 
 
 Macb. Thou canst not say 1 did it :^s ueyj.,- 
 sliake 
 
 Thy gory locks at me. 
 
 Rosse, Gentlemen, rise ; his highness is not well. 
 Lady M. Sit, worthy friends : — my lord is otten 
 thus. 
 
 And hath been from his \ outh : ]>ray you, keep 
 seat ; 
 
 The fit is momentary ; upon a thought*'' 
 He will again be well : if much ) ou note him. 
 You shall offend him, and extend his passion ; 
 i l'"eed, and regard him not.— -Aie you a man ? 
 j Macb. Ay, and a bold one, that dare look on 
 
 Which might appal the devil. 
 
 Lady M. Oh, proper stuff! 
 
 This is the very painting of your tear : 
 This is the air-drawn dagger which, you said. 
 Led you to Duncan. Oh, these tlaws'" and starts 
 (Impostors to true fear)^' would well become 
 A woman's story at a winter's fire, 
 Authorib'd by her grandam. Shame itself! 
 Why do you make such faces ? When all's done. 
 You look but on a stool. 
 
 Macb, Pr'ythee, see there! behold I look! lo ! 
 how say you '( — 
 Why, what care I ? If thou canst nod, speak too. — 
 If charnel-houses and our graves must send 
 Those that we bury back, our monuments 
 Shall be the maws of kites. [Ghost disappears. 
 
 Lady M. What! quite unniann d in fully ? 
 
 Macb. If I stand lierc, I saw him.'"* 
 
 stress on the unaccented note in a bar, and here the effect of 
 the einpliatic " I " is most striking. Tlieae are the rightful 
 despotisms of Art. 
 
 69. U/>on a thought. ' As quick as thought,' ' with the speed 
 of thought.' 
 
 70. Flaws. ' Sudden gusts." See Note 74, Act iv., " Second 
 Part Henry IV. " 
 
 71. Impostors to true /ear. ' Impostors compared to true 
 fear,' 'impostors in conipai"ison with true fear.' For similar 
 construction, see Note 60, Act iii., " Coriolanus. " 
 
 72. JIo?tuments. Here used for * tombs,' ' sepulciires : ' not, 
 as now, for the mere exterior structures or tombstones. See the 
 concluding line of t'ne speech referred to in Note 10, Act ii., 
 "Henrv VIII." 
 
 73. IJ I stand liere, I sa7u him. Observe, again, tliu ini- 
 pres.sive use of the indefinite word "him" here. See Notes 
 ir5 and 121 of Act i. Macbeth absolutely cannot nainc lii» 
 victim at this awful moment. We may here take occasion to 
 notice that the question has been nrooted as to wliether lire 
 ghost which appears and re-appears in this sceire may not lia\ c 
 been meant for two separate ghosts— those of Duncan and 
 Banquo. In the Folio, the first stage direction is, " Enter tite 
 Gliost of Banquo, awi sits in Macbeth's place ; '* and the second 
 is "Enter Ghost." To say nothing of the likelihood that had 
 a different giiost been intended, there would doubtless have 
 been some indication of it in the original stage-directioir as in 
 Act iv., sc. I, the Folio indicates the three several app.iritions 
 by " I. Apparition, an Armed Head;" "2 Apparition, a 
 Bloody Child;" and "3. Apparition, a Childe Crowned, with 
 a Tree in his hand"), we think that the intrinsic evidence of 
 the text itself clearly shows that but one single ghost is here 
 intended ; the one ir.iriblc spectre that solely haunts Macbeth's 
 
Act III.] 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Lady M. l''ie, for hhame ! 
 
 Macb. Blood hath been shed ere now, i' the 
 olden time/* 
 Ere human statute purg'd the gentle weal 
 Ay, and since too, murders have been perform'd 
 Too terrible for the ear: the times have been,''' 
 That, when the brains were out, the man would die. 
 And there an end ; but now they rise again, 
 With twenty mortal murders on their crowns. 
 And push us from our stools : this is more strange 
 Than such a murder is. 
 
 Lady M. My worthy lord, 
 
 Your noble friends do lack you. 
 
 Macb. I do forget: — 
 
 Do not muse "5 at me, my most worthy friends; 
 I have a strange infirmit)', which is nothing 
 To those that know me. Come, love and health 
 to all ; 
 
 Then I'll sit down. — Give me some wine, fill full. — 
 I drink to the general joy o' the whole table. 
 And to our dear friend Banquo, whom we miss; 
 Would he were here ! to all, and him, we thirst, 
 And all to all.' 9 
 
 Loids. Our duties, and the pledge. 
 
 Ghost re-appears. 
 Macb. Avauntl^o and quit my sight! let the 
 earth hide thee ! 
 
 imagination at present, tlie gaslied coqise of him whom he dares 
 to desire might be " present," of him whom he even a second 
 time dares to " drinlv to," and wish that "he were here!' 
 I'lie mere effort thus twice made by Macbeth in bold defiance 
 of liis tortured fancy, excites it irrto its diseased excess, and 
 brings its horrible creation visibly before him. 
 
 74. /' tlu olden time. ' Even ' is elliptically understood before 
 " i' the " (see Note 21 of tliis Act) ; and "olden " is au antique 
 form of ' old.' 
 
 75. £re jLuiuan statute pnrgd tJie gejitle zveal. * Before 
 human laws Vvcre instituted to restrain the pristine innocence of 
 men in that era when restraint was unneeded.' The allusion is 
 to the golden age of mankind. See Note 18, Act i,, "As You 
 Like It." "Weal" is here used for 'wealth' (as that word is 
 employed in its combination form, ' common-wealth") ; signifying 
 * national state,' ' collective popular condition.' 
 
 76. The times have been. The first Folio prints here, ' The 
 times has bene ; ' and the Cambridge Editors read, ' The time 
 has been.' But we think that the reading of the second Folio, 
 adopted in our text and by the majority of editors, is more pro- 
 bably the origijial sentence, inasmuch as Macbeth is referring to 
 tzM former periods, — before human laws existed, and since then. 
 
 77. The man 'would die .... but jlotsj they rise again. 
 Here the plural pronoun " they," used in reference to the noun 
 singular "man," accords with an occasional practice of Shake- 
 speare's. See Note 73, Act lii,, "Timon of Athens." 
 
 78. Muse. 'Wonder,' 'marvel.' See Note 46, Act iii., 
 *' Coriolanus." 
 
 79. To all, and him, lue thirst, and all to all. To all and to 
 him we desire to drink, and desire all good wishes to all.' See 
 Note 50. Act i., " Timon of Athens." 
 
 80. Avnunt ! 'Away!' ' Hence !'' Begone !' See Note 21, 
 Act iii., " Henry V." This exclamation is derived from the 
 Italian word avanti, 'onward;' the exclamation 'Avanti!' 
 being briefly used either to express ' go onward ' or ' come 
 forward,' though in. strictness they should be aiuiiite avanti and 
 
 Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold ; 
 Tliou hast no speculation in those e} es 
 Which thou dost glare with ! 
 
 Lady M. Think of this, good peers. 
 
 But as a thing of custom : 'tis no other; 
 Only it spoils the pleasure of the tiine. 
 
 Macb. What man dare, I dare : 
 Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear, 
 The arm'd rhinoceros, or the Hyrcan tiger -.'-'^ 
 Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves 
 Shall never tremble : or be alive again, 
 And dare me to the desert with thy sword ; 
 If trembling I inhabit tiien,^^ protest me 
 The baby of a girl.s* Hence, horrible shadow ! 
 Unreal mockery, hence ! [Ghost disappears. 
 
 Why, so; — being gone, 
 I am a man again. — Pray you, sit still. 
 
 Lady M. You have displac'd the mirth, broke 
 the good meeting. 
 With most adinir'd disorder.''* 
 
 Macb, Can such things be, 
 
 And overcome us like a summer's cloud, ^i' 
 Without our special wonder? You make me 
 strange 
 
 Even to the disposition that I owe,^? 
 When now I think you can behold such sights, 
 And keep the natural ruby of your cheeks. 
 When mine are blanch'd with fear.*'* 
 
 81. Speculation. 'Power of sight,' 'faculty of sight.' See 
 Note 43, Act iii., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 82. The Hyrcau tiger. " Hyrcan" is an abbreviated form of 
 " Hyrcanian," used by other writers besides Shakespeare. 
 
 83. 1/ trembling I inliabii tlien. This phi-ase has been 
 changed by various emendatoi-s ; but it appears to us to 'oe 
 perfectly in Shakespeare's style, forming direct antithesis with 
 " dare me to the desert." He uses " inhabit " several times as 
 an intransitive verb, signifying 'remain,' 'dwell;* and here the 
 sense is 'remain within doors,' 'stay in any habitation or in any 
 inhabited place when thou challengest me forth.' That daring 
 an opponent to some wild and lonely spot was a form of defiance 
 in use when Shakespeare wrote, we find from several passages in 
 his works. See Note 9, Act iv., " Richard II. 
 
 84. The baby of a girl. A " baby " was sometimes used for 
 what is now called a 'doll.' 
 
 85. With most admit' d disorder. "Admir'd" is here used 
 for 'wondered at.' The challenge, in " Twelfth Night," Act 
 iii., sc. 4, has the expression, "Wonder not, nor admire not 
 in thy mind, why I," &c. The word " admii-*d " here, as put into 
 Lady Macbeth's mouth, also includes the effect of being used 
 ironically in the sense of 'admirable.' 
 
 86. And overcome us like a sutnntcr^s cloud, &^c. ' And pass 
 over us as a summer's cloud passes over us without exciting any 
 particular wonder.' The use of the word "overcome" here is 
 especially ingenious; as it not only expresses casually come or 
 pass over us, but it also involves the effect of subdue our spirits, 
 impress our senses, as a sudden dark cloud overspreading the 
 summer sky would do. Shakespeare's skill in his selection of 
 words, so as to combine various and even contrasted images, is 
 perfectly marvellous, and worthy of closest study. 
 
 87. You make me strange even to the disposition that I ows. 
 ' ■you make me feel strangely even with regard to my own dis- 
 position,' 'You make me feel doubtful and unacquainted eveii 
 with my own disposition.' 
 
 j 88. When mine are blanch'd with fear. The Folio prmlr. 
 
 350 
 
Act III.] 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 Rosse. What sights, my loni 'i 
 
 Lady M. I pray you, speak not; he grows 
 worse and worse ; 
 Question enrages him : at once, good night : — 
 Stand not upon the order of your going. 
 But go at once. 
 
 Len. Good night ; and better health 
 
 Attend his majesty ! 
 Lady M. A kind good night to all ! 
 
 [Exeunt all except Macbeth and Lady M. 
 Macb. It will liave blood; tliey sa\', blood will 
 have blood : 
 
 Stones have been known to move, and trees to 
 speak ; 
 
 Augurs, and understood relations, have 
 By magot-pies,'''aad choughs,'-" and rooks, brought 
 forth 
 
 The secret'st man of blood.'-— What is the night ? 
 Lady M. Almost at odds with morning, which 
 is which. 
 
 Macb. How say'st thou, that Macduff denies 
 his person 
 At our great bidding ? 
 
 Lady M. Did you send to him, sir ?" 
 
 Macb. I hear it by the way ;'*' hut I will send ; 
 There's not a one of them but in his house 
 I keep a servant fee'd. , I will to-morrow 
 (And betimes I will) to the weird sisters : 
 More shall they speak ; for now I am bent to know, 
 
 89. Augurs, and ttnderstood relations. "Augurs," spelt in 
 the Folio ' Augures,' probably here means 'auguries ' (see Note 
 78, Actii., "Julius Caesar") ; for in Florio's " Dictionary," 1598, 
 the Italian word Augurio is rendered into English by "an 
 augure, a soothsaying, a prediction, a signe, a coniecture, a 
 diuination, a bad or ill hap, a wishing of good hap, a fore- 
 boding." " Understood relations" means 'comprehended affini- 
 ties,' 'perceived links of evidence.' 
 
 90. Alagot-pies. An old form of ' magpies. 
 
 91. Choughs. See Note 32, Act iii., " Midsunmicr Night's 
 Dream." 
 
 92. Brought forth the secrefst luau of blood. 'Brought to 
 li^ht the most concealed murderer.' Stories of discovered 
 crime, such as Shakespeare here alludes to, are recorded in 
 Lnpton's "Thousand Notable Things," and in Goulart's 
 "Admirable Histories." 
 
 93. How say'st thou. Here used to express * How say you to 
 this ?' or ' What think you of this circumstance ?' 
 
 94. Did you send to him, sir ? The quietness, the almost 
 meekness of Lady Macbeth's tone here, as contrasted with the 
 previous stern and contemptuous roughness of her manner to 
 her husband, in such speeches as the one conmiencing, "Oh, 
 proper stufi I" has always struck us as thoroughly characteristic 
 and very significant. As long as he required stimulus, urging 
 him to control and suppress his tell-tale agitation, she roused 
 herself to supply it with all requisite strength and energy ; but 
 the moment they are alone, the moment there is no longer need 
 for this false vigour, she drops from e-vertion into apathy, lapsing 
 into her now habitual depression. The fact is, Lady Macbeth, 
 who is always considered a naturally hard, bold, bad woman, is, 
 in truth, a woman who nerves herself to hardness and boldness 
 for the sake of gaining a point upon which she has set her 
 ambitious heart, and for the 5.ake of her husband whom she 
 loves. She is a thoroughly unscrupulous woman ; but she is 
 anything but a vicious woman, or a woman without native 
 feeling. Her feelings are strong ; even certain of her feelings 
 
 By the worst means, the worst. For mine own 
 good, 
 
 All causes shall give way : I am in blood 
 Stepp'd in so far, that, should I wade no more, 
 Returning were as tedious as go o'er : 
 Strange things I have in head, that will to hand ; 
 Which must be acted e;e they may be scann'd. 
 Lady M. You lack the season'"' of all natures, 
 sleep. 
 
 Macb. Come, we'll to sleep. My strange and 
 self-abuse 
 
 Is the initiate fear,"'' that wants hard use: — 
 
 We are yet but young in deed. [Exeunt. 
 
 ! 
 
 I SCENE V. -The Heath. 
 
 Thunder. Enter the three Witches, ineet'.ng 
 Hecate. 98 
 
 I'irst Witch. Why, how now, Hecate ! you look 
 angerly. 
 
 Hec. Have I not reason, bcldains as you are, 
 Saucy and overbold P How did you dare 
 To trade and traffic with Macbeth 
 In riddles and affairs of death ; 
 And I, the mistress of your charms, 
 j The close contri\ er of all harms. 
 
 are fond, but they are made to merge their fondness in the 
 potencies of those of her feelings which take the form of 
 ambition. Witness her knowing " how tender 'tis to love " the 
 
 b. ibe she has nourished at her breast, but merging that tender 
 experience in the vow that^ should swear to destroy the babe for 
 fulfilment of an ambition. Witness her being withhcLl from 
 murdering the old king by a remembrance of her own " father 
 as he slept," yet letting not that remembrance deter her from 
 abetting her husb.ind in destroying Duncan. Witness her 
 orushing resolutely down all her own sufferings from remorse to 
 soothe those of Macbeth ; and bearing her own nightly horrors 
 of burdened conscience with so brave a silence that they kill 
 her be-'ore she utters one syllabic of complaint to him. Her 
 generous and even aftectionate cour.age in this wi.'ely conduct 
 contrasts, with niDSt subtly charactei istic effect, against Mac- 
 beth's marital confiding to her his affliction of soul, his torture 
 of mind, and those '' terrible dreams that shake " him " nightly." 
 The man, the valorous soldier, reposes his griefs in his wife's 
 bosom ; the woman, the faithful wife, hardened into fortitude 
 for his sake, keeps her " scorpions" of misery within her own 
 heart, until they sting her to death. 
 
 95. I hear it by the way. "By the way" is here used idlomati- 
 
 c. illy, to express ' by indirect means,' ' by a surreptitious course.' 
 
 96. The season. Here used for ' the preservative.' See Note 
 8, Act i., "All's Well." 
 
 97. The initiate fear. ' The fear that attends the initiative 
 steps in guilt' or ' the first entrance into a course of crime.' 
 
 98. Hecate. Regin.ald Scot, in his " Discoverie of Witch- 
 craft," mentions it as the common opinion of all writers, that 
 witches were supposed to have nightly '' meetings with Hero- 
 dias and the Pagan gods," and " that in the night-times they 
 side abroad with IJiana, the goddess of the Pagans," &c. In 
 Middleton's " Witch " Hecate is the name of one of his witches ; 
 and in Ben Jonson's " Sad Shepherd " Maudlin the witch calls 
 Hecate the mistress of witches, "our dame Hecate." See 
 Note 43, Act v., " Midsummer I^ight's Dream," 
 
Act III.] 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene VI. 
 
 Was never call'd to bear my part. 
 
 Or show the glory of our art ? 
 
 And, wliich is worse, all you have done 
 
 Hath been but for a wayward son, 
 
 Spiteful and wrathful ; who, as others do, 
 
 Loves for his own ends, not for you. 
 
 But make amends now : get you gone. 
 
 And at the pit of Acheron ^9 
 
 Meet me i' the morning : thither he 
 
 Will come to know his destiny : 
 
 Your vessels and your spells provide, 
 
 Your charms, and everything beside. 
 
 1 am for the air ; this night I'll spend 
 
 Unto a dismal and a fatal end : 
 
 Great business must be wrought ere noon : 
 
 Upon t ie corner of the moon 
 
 There hangs a vaporous drop profound ; 
 
 I'll catcli it ere it come to ground : 
 
 And that, distill'd by magic sleights, 
 
 Shall raise such artificial sprites. 
 
 As, by the strength of their illusion, 
 
 Shall draw liim on to his confusion : 
 
 He sliall spurn fate, scorn death, and bear 
 
 His hopes 'bove wisdom, grace, and fear : 
 
 And you all know security '"^ 
 
 Is mortals' chiefest enemy. 
 
 [Music and song ixith'in, " Come away, come 
 away," '&cc.^°" 
 Hark ! I am call'd ; my little spirit, see. 
 Sits in a foggy cloud, and stays for me. [Exif. 
 First IVitch. Come, let's make haste; she'll 
 soon be ba:k again. [^Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE VI.— FoRE';. A Room in the Palace. 
 
 Enter Lennox and another Lord 
 Len. My former speeches have but hit your 
 thoughts. 
 
 gg. At the pit of Aclieron. The witches are poetically made 
 to give this name of one of the rivers in the infernal regions (see 
 Note 69, Act iii., "Midsummer Night's Dream") to some foul 
 tarn or gloomy pool in the neiglibourliood of Macbeth's castle, 
 where they habitually assemble. 
 
 100. A vaporous drop profound. " Profound " is here 
 used to express ' possessed of occult properties,' ' containing 
 deeply hidden virtues;' and "the vaporous drop profound" 
 appears to have been intended for the same as the virus lunare 
 of the ancients, which was a foam supposed to be shed by the 
 moon upon particular herbs or other objects, when strongly 
 solicited by enchantment. 
 
 101. Security. Here used in the sense of ' over confidence,' 
 ' rash assurance,' ' presumptuous trust,' ' too great self-reliance.' 
 See Note 48, Act ii., " Henry V.'' 
 
 102. " Come aivay, come aivay,^^ 6r^c. The entire song, ot 
 which this forms the commencing line, is to be found both in 
 Middleton's "-Witch" and in Davenant's version of "Macbeth 
 therefore it was probably Shakespeare's composition, adopted by 
 Middleton and Davenant from some stage copy of the song, as 
 r reserved either by itself or in a more complete transcript of the 
 tragedy than the one from which the Folio was printed. 
 
 Which can interpret farther: only, I sa)', 
 Things have been strangely borne. The gracious 
 Duncan 
 
 Was pitied of Macbeth : — marry, h° was dead : — 
 And the right-valiant Banquo walk'd too late; 
 Whom, you may say, if 't please you, Fleance 
 kiU'd, 
 
 For Fleance fled : men must not walk too late. 
 Who cannot want the thought, '"^ how monstrous 
 It was for Malcolm and for Donalbain 
 To kill their gracious father ? cursed fact ! 
 How it did grieve Macbeth I did he not straight, 
 In pious r.age, the two delinquents tear. 
 That were the slaves of drink and thralls of sleep ? 
 Was not that nobly done ? Ay, and wisely too ; 
 For 't would have angered any heart alive 
 To hear the men deny't. So that, I say. 
 He has borne all things well : and I do think. 
 That, had he Duncan's sons under his key 
 ( A.S, an 't please Heaven, he shall not), they should 
 find 
 
 What 't were to kill a father ; so should Fleance. 
 j But, peace ! — for from broad words, and 'cause he 
 ' fail'd 
 
 i His presence at the tyrant's feast, I hear, 
 I Macduff lives in disgrace : sir, can you tell 
 
 Where he bestows himself? 
 j Lord. The son of Duncan,'"'' 
 
 j From whom this tyrant holds the due of birth. 
 Lives in the English court ; and is receiv'd 
 Of the most pious Edward with such grace. 
 That the malevolence of fortune notliing 
 ! Takes from iiis high respect : thither Macduff 
 I Is gone to pray the holy king, upon his aid 
 I To wake Northumberland and warlike Siward : 
 1 That, by the help of these (with Him above 
 To ratify the work), we may again 
 Give to our tables meat, sleep to our nights ; 
 Free from our feasts and banquets bloody knives ; 
 Do faithful homage, ami receive free honours ;>''6— . 
 
 I 103. IV/io cannot ivcini the thought. 6^c. The superficial 
 j eflTect of this sentence is tantamount to ' Who can fail to ha\ e 
 I the thought how moustrously wicked it was,' &c. ; but, m 
 \ reality, it means, 'Who cannot be without the thought that 
 Malcolm and Donalbain could be so monstrously wicked as to 
 kill,' &c. We have before shown (see Notes 62, Act ii., and 22, 
 Act v., "Henry VIII.") that in the construction of questions 
 Shakespeare is sometimes purposedly peculiar, for the sake 
 of producing double effect ; and in the present instance, the 
 ambiguity of the mode of expression harmonises completely 
 with the strain of irony and mocking question throughout this 
 speech. " Want " is here used in the sense of ' be without," ' be 
 I -.mpossessed of ' See Note 14, Act iii., " Timon of Athens." 
 
 104. The son of Duncan. The Folio misprints ' sonnes ' here 
 for " son." Theobald's correction. 
 
 105. Free from our feasts and hajiquets bloody knii'es. * Free 
 our feasts and banquets from bloody knives.' Instance of trans- 
 posed construction. See Note 45, Act v., "Timon of Athens." 
 
 106. Receive free honours. " Free" is here used to express 
 'free from pollution in the hand that confers them,' 'free from 
 taint of servility in us that accept them" (see Note 36, Act ii., 
 " Wmter's Tale "), and ' free from fear and constraint in their 
 
 352 
 
Act IV.J 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 All wliicli we pine for now: and this report 
 Hath so exasperate the king,^"' that he 
 Prepares lor so.ne attempt oi' war. 
 
 Len. Sent he to Macduff? 
 
 Lord. He did : and with an absolute, " Sir, 
 not I," 
 
 The cloudy messenger turns me his back, 
 
 And hums, as who should say, " You'll rue the time 
 
 That clogs me with this answer." 
 
 Len. And that well might 
 
 Advise him to a caution, to hold what distance 
 His wisdom can provide. Some holy angel 
 Fly to the court oF England, and unfold 
 His message ere he come ; that a swift blessing 
 May soon return to this our suffering country 
 Under a hand accurs'd I^"^ 
 
 Lord. I'll send my prayers with him. 
 
 \_Exeunt. 
 
 ACT 
 
 SCENE I.— A dark Cave. In the tniddle, a 
 cauldron boiling. 
 
 Thunder. Enter the three Witches. 
 
 First JViich. Thrice the brinded cat hath 
 mew'd.i 
 
 Sec. JFitch. Thrice ; and once the hedge-pig 
 whin'd. 
 
 Third IVitch. Harper^ cries:— 'tis time, 'tis time. 
 
 First Witch. Round about the cauldron go ; 
 In the poison'd entrails throw. — 
 Toad, that under cold stone^ 
 Days and nights has thirty-one 
 Swelter'd venom"* sleeping got, 
 Boil thou first i' the charmed pot. 
 
 illl. Double, double toil and trouble ; 
 Fire, burn ; and, cauldron, bubble. 
 
 Sec. Witch. Fillet of a fenny snake. 
 In the cauldron boil and bake ; 
 Eye of newt, and toe of fro^;;, 
 
 possession.' See Note 33, Act iii., "Second Part Henry VI." 
 " Free," as used in the prese.it passage, affords an example of 
 Shakespeare's elliptically used epithets, and of his words which 
 include various combined meanings. 
 
 107. Hath so exasperate the Icing. " E.xasperate " is here 
 used for 'exasperated;' and Shakespeare has employed the 
 same abbreviated form of the word in " Troilus and Cressida," 
 Act v., sc. I, where Thersites a.sks, "Why art thou, then, 
 exasperate, thou," &c. See Note 45, Act ii., "Henry V." 
 The Folio prints ' their ' for " the. " Hanmer's correction. 
 
 io3. Our suffering country imdir a hmd accurs'd I ' Our 
 country suftering under an accursed hand ! ' 
 
 I. Thrice tJie brinded cat Jiaih mew d. It has been detailedly 
 pointed out by Johnson with how much judgment Shakespeare 
 has -selected all the circumstance; of his witchcraft ceremonies, 
 and how exactly he has conformed to common opinions and 
 traditions therein. Douce also observes that " Dr. Warburton 
 has adduced classical authority for the connection between 
 Hecate and this animal [the cat], with a view to trace the reason 
 why it was the agent and favourite of modern witches. It may 
 be added, that among the Egyptians the cat was sacred to Isis, 
 or the moon— their Hecate ox Diana — and accordingly, wor- 
 shipped with great honour. Many cat-idols are stlU preserved 
 
 IV. 
 
 Wool of bat, and tongue of dog. 
 Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting," 
 Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing, — 
 For a charm of powerful trouble, 
 Like a hell-broth boil and bubble. 
 
 All. Double double toil and trouble ; 
 Fire, burn ; and, cauldron, bubble. 
 
 Third Witch. Scale of dragon ; tooth of wolf; 
 Witches' mummy ; maw and gulf 
 Of the ravin'd^ salt-sea shark ; 
 Root of hemlock digg'd i' the dark ; 
 Liver of blaspheming Jew ; 
 Gall of goat; and slips. of yew 
 Sliver'd^ in the moon's eclipse; 
 Nose of Turk, and Tartar's lips ; 
 Finger of birth-strangled babe 
 Ditch-deliver' d by a drab — 
 Make the gruel thick and slab : 
 Add thereto a tiger's chaudron,^ 
 For the ingredients of our cauldron. 
 
 in the cabinets of the curious, and the sistrum or rattle used by 
 the priests of Isis is generally ornamented with a figure of a 
 cat with a crescent on its head." 
 
 2. Harper. The Folio prints ' Harpier ;' which some suppose 
 to be a mistake for 'harpie,' or 'harpy.' Pope gave " Harper;" 
 and in Marlowe's " Tamburlaine," 1590, "Harper" is printed 
 for ' harpie,' or ' harpy.' The word, however, may be the name 
 of some familiar or spirit known in the denionology of that 
 period. 
 
 3 Toaa, thai under cold stone. This line has been variously 
 altered by various emendators ; but we leave it as given in tlie 
 Folio, for the reason stated iu Note 27, Act i. 
 
 4. .Swelter'd venom. In the Philosophical Transactions for 
 1826 Dr. Davy has shown that the toad is poisonous, the poison 
 lying diffused over the body immediately under the skin. 
 
 5. Adder's fork, and llind--vorm s sting. See Note 4, Act 
 iii., "Mea-sure for Measure," and Note 59, Act " ]\Iid- 
 summer Night's Dream." 
 
 6. Gulf. 'Throat,' 'gullet.' 
 
 7. Ravin'd. Here used for 'ravining' or 'ravenous.' See 
 Note 17, Act iv., " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 8. Sliver'd. 'Sliced.' 
 
 g. Climtdron. An old name for 'entrails.' Spelt also 
 'chawdron' and 'chauldron.' 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 AIL Double, double toil and trouble ; 
 Fire, burn ; and, cauldron, bubble. 
 
 Sec. IVitch. Cool it with a baboon's blood, 
 Then the charm is firm and good. 
 
 Enter Hecate.'» 
 IJec. Oh, well done ! I commend your pains ; 
 And every one shall share i' the gains: 
 And now about the cauldron sing, 
 Like elves and fairies in a ring, 
 Enchanting all that you put in. . 
 
 \_Music and Song, " Black spirits," &c." 
 
 \Exit Hecate. 
 Sec. Witch. By the pricking of my thumbs, 
 Something wicked' this way comes: — 
 Open, locks. 
 Whoever knocks ! 
 
 Enter Macbeth. 
 Macb. How now, you secret, black, and mid- 
 night hags ! 
 What is 't you do ? 
 All. A deed without a name. 
 
 Macb. I conjure you, by that wh^gh you profess 
 (Howe'er you come to know it), answer me : 
 Though you untie the winds, and let them fight 
 Against the churches; tliough the yesty^^ waves 
 Confound and swallow navigation up; 
 Though bladed corn be lodgM,'^ ;;nd trees blown 
 down ; 
 
 Though castles topple on their warders' heads , 
 Though palaces and pyramids do slope 
 Their heads to their foundations ; though the 
 treasure 
 
 Of Nature's germins'^ tumble all together, 
 Even till destruction sicken,— answer me 
 To what I ask you. 
 
 First Witch. Speak. 
 
 Sec. Witch. Demand. 
 
 10. Enter Hectte. In the Folio this stage -direction runs 
 thus w H^cat, and the otJier three IVitc/ies but it 
 appears improbable that Sh^I<espeare intended more than the 
 three weird sisters already known to Macbeth to be upon the 
 stage in his present interview with them. Moreover, it was 
 frequently the custom in old plays to accompany the stage- 
 direction, marking the entrance of a fresh personage upon the 
 scene by a recapitulation of those already present. 
 
 11. " Black spirits," This song is also found entire 
 in both Middleton's " Witch '' and Davenant's version of 
 " Macbeth." See Note 102, Act iii. 
 
 12. Vesty. ' Frothy,' ' foaming,' as yeast foams and works, 
 forming a froth on its surface. 
 
 13. Though bladed corn he lodg'd. See Note 80, Act iii., 
 " Second Part Henry VI." In Scot's " Discoverie of Witch- 
 craft" It is said of witches that "they can transferre corn in 
 the blade from one place to another ; " and, in the article on 
 Husbandry in Comenius, " Janua Linguarum," 1673, it is men- 
 tioned that " as soon as standing corn shoots up to a blade, it 
 IS in danger of scathe by a tempest." 
 
 14. Germins. ' Principles of germination,' ' seeds.' Shake- 
 speare uses the same word in Act iii., sc. 2, " King Lear." 
 
 Third Witch. We'll answer. 
 
 First Witch. Say, if thou'dst rather hear it from 
 our mouths, 
 Or from our masters' ? 
 
 Macb. Call them, let me see them. 
 
 First Witch. Pour in sow's blood, that hath 
 eg-ten 
 
 Her nine farrow ;\5 grease, that's sweaten 
 From the murderer's gibbet, throw 
 Into the flame. 
 
 All. Come, high or low ; 
 
 Thyself and office deftly show ! 
 
 Thunder. An Apparition of an armed Head 
 rises.^^ 
 
 Macb. Tell me, thou unknown power, — 
 First Witch. He knows thy thought: 
 
 Hear his speech, but .say thou nauglit.'s 
 App. Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! beware 
 Macduff; 
 
 Beware the thane of Fife. — Dismiss me :— enough.'" 
 \_Descends. 
 
 Macb. Whate'er thou art, for thy good caution, ' 
 thanks ; 
 
 Thou hast harp'd my fear aright :2'' — but one word 
 more, — 
 
 First Witch. He will not be commanded : here's 
 another. 
 More potent than the first. 
 
 Thunder. An Apparition of a bloody Child rises. 
 App. Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! — 
 Macb. Had I three ears, I'd hear thee.^' 
 
 • App. Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to 
 scorn 
 
 The power of man, for none of woman born 
 Shall harm Macbeth. [Descends. 
 Macb. Then live, Macduff: what need I fear 
 of thee ? 
 
 15. Herjtine farrow. In Holinshed's " History of Scotland," 
 1577, among the laws of Kenneth II., it is stated that "if a soiv 
 eate her pigges, let h\ r be stoned to deathe and buried, that no 
 man eate of hyr flesh." 
 
 16. Deftly. 'Dexterously,' 'skilfully.' 
 
 17. An apparition of an armed head rises. Upton pointed 
 out that these three apparitions are symbolical : the first repre- 
 senting Macbeth's head cut off and brought to Malcolm by 
 Macduff ; the second, Macduff " untimely ripped " at the period 
 of his birth ; and the third, Malcolm's soldiers approaching 
 Dunsinane Castle under the screen of boughs borne before 
 them. 
 
 18. Say ihoii naught. Silence was imposed during an incan- 
 tation. See Note 10, Act iv., " Tempest." 
 
 19. Dismiss me: — enough. It was believed that spirits 
 summoned to appear were intolerant of questioning, and were 
 impatient to be gone. See Note 56, Act i., " Second Part 
 Henry VI." 
 
 20. Thou hast harp'd my fear aright. ' Thou hast struck 
 the right key-note of my fear.' 
 
 21. //ad / three ears, I'd hear thee. Macbeth's eager reply 
 to the triple adjuration, " Macbeth ! Macbeth ! Macbeth !" 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 But yet I'll make assurance double sure, 
 And take a bond of fate : thou shalt not live ; 
 That I may tell pale-hearted fear it lies, 
 And sleep m spite of thunder.— What is this, 
 
 Thunder. An Apparition of a Child crouoned, 
 
 nuith a tree in his hand, rises. 
 That rises like the issue of a king. 
 And wears upon his baby brow the round 
 And top of sovereignty 
 
 All. Listen, but speak not to 't. 
 
 A/p. Be lion-mettled, proud ; and take no 
 
 Who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are: 
 Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be, until 
 Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill^s 
 Shall come against him. [Descends. 
 
 Macb. That will never be : 
 
 Who can impress^* the forest ; bid the tree 
 Unfix his earth-bound root? Sweet bodements! 
 good ! 
 
 Rebellious head,^' rise never, till the wood 
 Of Birnam rise, and our high-plac'd Macbeth 
 Shall live the lease of nature, pay his breath 
 To time and mortal custom. — Yet my heart 
 Throbs to know one thing: tell me (if your art 
 Can tell so much), shall Banquo's issue ever 
 Reign in this kingdom? 
 
 All. Seek to know no more. 
 
 Macb. I will be satisfied : deny me this, 
 And an eternal curse fall on you ! Let me know : — 
 
 22. The round and io^> of savereiguty. Meaning 
 tion of a crown that encircles the head and the 
 rises above it. 
 
 23. To high Dunsinane hill. In the present passage Shake 
 speare accents the word '* Dunsinane " as it is usually pronounced 
 (Dun.sinnan; ; but in the si.x other passages of the play- where he 
 uses the word, he accents it as if it were pronounced Dunsinane. 
 
 24. Impress. Here used in the sense of ' press into his service.' 
 
 25. Rebellions head. The Folio prints 'rebellious dead;' 
 which was altered by Hanmer to ' rebellion's head,' and by 
 Theobald to the reading which we adopt. Our reason for so 
 doing is that it departs less from the original ; and not only ex- 
 presses * rebellious body of men,' ' insurgent force ' (see Note 92, 
 Act i., " First Part Henry IV."), but allows the inclusive effect 
 of reference to the apparition of the '* armed head " that Macbeth 
 has lately beheld. This first apparition, be it remembered, un- 
 like the second and third, speaks warningly, and as if foretelling 
 danger, while the other two seem to inspire encouragement and 
 security ; therefore Macbeth may well imagine it to typify the 
 armed force which is likely to rise against him. 
 
 26. Noise. Sometimes used by ancient writers to express 
 'musical sound.' Spenser, in his "Faerie Queene," book i., 
 canto xii., st. 39, says, '* During the which there was a 
 heavenly noise." And in the 47th Psalm of the Liturgy we 
 find, "God is gone up with a merry noise, and the Lord with 
 the sound of the trump." 
 
 27. Thy liair. It has been proposed to change "hair" to 
 * air' or to 'heir;' but the original word draws the spectator's 
 attention to the head of hair surmounted by the symbol of 
 royalty which so disturbs Macbeth in those whom he recognises 
 as but " too like the spirit of Banquo," and therefore as his 
 progeny who are to become kings. 
 
 28. Is like the first. ' Is like that of the first.' A similar 
 
 Why sinks that cauldron? [hautboys] and what 
 noise 28 is this? 
 
 First Witch. Show ! 
 
 Sec. Witch. Show! 
 
 Third Witch. Show! 
 
 All. Show his eyes, and grieve his heart; 
 Co;ne like shadows, so depart! 
 
 Eight Kings appear, and pjss over in order, the 
 last nvith a glass in his hand; BANqyo 
 Jo I hiving. 
 
 Macb. Thou art too like the spirit of Banquo ; 
 down ! 
 
 Thy crown does sear mine eye-balls : — and thy 
 hair,-^ 
 
 Thou other gold-bound brow, is like the first :-* — 
 A third is like the former. — Filthy hags ! 
 .Why do you show me this? — A fourth ?— Start, 
 eyes! — 
 
 What! will the line stretch out to the crack of 
 doom ?29— 
 
 Another yet? — A seventh ?— I'll see no more: — 
 And yet the eighth appears, who bears a glasses 
 Which sho\\^ me many more ; and some I see 
 That two-fold balls and treble sceptres carry -.^^ 
 Horrible sight!— Now, I see, 'tis true; 
 For the blcod-bolter'd^ Banquo smiles upon me. 
 And points at them for his. — What ! is this so ? 
 
 First Witch. Ay, sir, all this is so : — but why 
 Stands Macbeth thus amazedly ? — 
 Come, sisters, cheer we up his sprites, 
 
 form of ellipsis to those pointed out in Note 75, Act i., 
 " Coriolanus." 
 
 29. The crack of doom. ' The disruption of universal Nature 
 at doomsday.' See Note 13, Act i. 
 
 30. A glass. One of the magic mirrors used by sorcerers. 
 See Note 38, -A.ct ii., " Measure for Measure." Among the 
 penal laws against witches there is a passage which states that 
 " they do answer either by the voice, or else set before their 
 eyes in glasses, chrystal stones, &c., the pictures or images of 
 the persons or things sought for." There is a description of one 
 of these wondrous mirrors in Spenser's "Faerie Queene," 
 book iii., canto ii. ; and in "The Squire's Tale," by Chaucer, 
 there is "a brod mirrour of glas," sent by " the King of Arable 
 and of Inde " to King Cambuscan, which possesses many mar- 
 vellous qualities. Boisteau's "Theatrum Mundi," translated 
 by John Alday, mentions that " a certaine philosopher did the 
 like to Pompey, the which shewed him iti a glasse the order of 
 his enemies' march." 
 
 31. Twofold balls and treble sceptres carry. The compli- 
 mentary allusion to James I., referred to in Note i, Act i. 
 
 32. Blood-bolter d. ' Blood-smeared,' ' blood-clotted.' Malone 
 states that " in Warwickshire, when a horse, sheep, or other 
 animal perspires much, and any of the hair or wool, in conse- 
 quence of such perspiration, or any redundant humour, becomes 
 matted into tufts with grime and sweat, he is said to hebol/ered; 
 and whenever the blood issues out and coagulates, forming the 
 locks into hard clotted bunches, the beast is said to be blood- 
 boltered. When a boy has a broken head, so that his hair is 
 matted together with blood, his head is said to be boltered." 
 The term is therefore appropriately applied to Banquo, who had 
 " twenty trenched gashes on his head." 
 
 33. Sprites. In Shakespeare's time ' spirits ' was often thus 
 written and pronounced. 
 
 356 
 
Act IV.] MACBETPI, [Scene I. 
 
 Son oj Macduff. He has kill a me, mother: 
 
 Run away, I pray you Act IV'. Scene II. 
 
 And show the best of our delights : 
 I'll charm the air to give a sound, 
 While you perform your antic round ; 
 That this great king may kindly say, 
 Our duties did his welcome pay. 
 
 [Music. The Witches dance, and then vanish. 
 Macb. Where are they? Gone.*' — Let this 
 pernicious hour 
 Stand aye accursed in the calendar! — 
 Come in, without there ! 
 
 Enter Lennox. 
 ten. What's your grace's will ? 
 
 Macb. Saw you the weird sisters P 
 Len. No, my lord. 
 
 34. Horse. Here used for horses. See Note 3, Act ii., 
 " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 35. AnticipaCst. ' Preventest,' by taking away the oppor- 
 tunity. 
 
 Macb. Came they not by you ? 
 
 Len. No, indeed, my lord. 
 
 Macb, Infected be the air whereon they ride ; 
 And damn'd all those that trust them ! — I did hear 
 The galloping of horse -.'^ who was 't came by ? 
 
 Len. 'Tis two or three, my lord, that bring 
 you word 
 Macduff is fled to England. 
 
 Macb. Fled to England ! 
 
 Len. Ay, my good lord, 
 
 Macb. Time, thou an ticipat'st^* my dread exploits : 
 The flighty purpose never is o'ertook 
 Unless the deed go with it : from this moment 
 The very firstlings of my heart shall be 
 The firstlings^* of my hand. And even now. 
 
 36. Firstlings. Here used to express ' first imagined Jeeds ' 
 and ' first enacted deeds while in the passage referred to iu 
 Note 7, Prologue, " Trollws and Cressida," the word is em- 
 ployed for ' earliest deeds,' ' first acts.' 
 
Act I V.J 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 To crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought 
 
 and done : 
 -The castle ot' MacdufF I will surprise ; 
 Seize upo:\ Fife ; give to the edge o' the sword 
 His wife, his babe^j, and all unfortunate souls 
 That trace him in his line. No boasting like a 
 
 fool; 
 
 This deed I'll do before this purpose cool : 
 But no more sights!^' — Where are these gentle- 
 men ? 
 
 Come, bring me where they are. [^Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE II. — Fife. A Room in Macduff's 
 Castle. 
 
 Enter Lady Macduff, her Son, and Rosse. 
 
 L. Macd. What had he done, to make him fly 
 the land ? 
 
 Rosse. You must have patience, madam. 
 
 L. Macd. He had none: 
 
 His flight was madness ; when our actions do not. 
 Our fears do make us traitors.'' 
 
 Rosse. You know not 
 
 Whether it was his wisdom or his fear. 
 
 L. Macd. Wisdom! to leave his wife, to leave 
 his babes. 
 His mansion, and his titles, in a place 
 From whence himself does fly ? He loves us 
 not ; 
 
 He wants the natural touch ;*"' for the poor wren, 
 The most diminutive of birds, will fight, 
 Her young ones in her nest, against the owl. 
 All is the fear, and nothing is the love ; 
 As little is the wisdom, where the flight 
 So runs against all reason. 
 
 Rosse. My dearest coz, 
 
 I pray you, school yourself: but, for your husband. 
 He is noble, wise, judicious, and best knows 
 The fits o' the season. -"^ I dare not speak much 
 farther : 
 
 37. Trace. 'Follow,' 'succeed.' See Note 38, Act iii., 
 "Henry VIII." 
 
 38. Bnt no more sights! The word "sights" has been 
 changed to ' flights ' and to ' sprites ' here ; but we think that 
 " sights " clearly refer to the apparitions and vision, shown to 
 Macbeth by the witches ; he having actually called the latter 
 "horrible jij^/z^.'" as it passes before him. 
 
 39 When our actions do not, our fears do make lis traitors. 
 ' When our actions do not show us to be traitors, by our 
 cowardly flight we make ourselves seem to be traitors.' 
 Shakespeare occasionally uses "make" in phrases so con- 
 structed as to give the word 'seem' or ' appear ' to be ellipti- 
 cally understood. See Note 34, Act ii., "Julius Csesar." 
 
 40. He wants the natural touch. ' He is without the divine 
 spark of natural affection.' " Wants" is here used in its sense 
 of 'is wanting in,' 'is without,' 'is unpossessed of (see Note 
 103, Act iii.) ; and "touch" affords another instance of Shake- 
 speare's employment of the simplest and briefest words with 
 
 But cruel are the times, when we are traitors, 
 And do not know ourselves j''^ when we hold 
 rumour 
 
 From what we fear, yet know not what we fear,''^ 
 But float upon a wild and violent sea 
 Each way and move. — I take my leave of you: 
 Shall not be long but I'll be here again 
 Things at the worst will cease, or else climb up- 
 ward 
 
 To what they were before. — My pretty cousin. 
 Blessing upon you ! 
 L. Macd. Father'd he is, and yet he's father- 
 less. 
 
 Rosse. I am so much a fool, should 1 stay 
 longer. 
 
 It would be my disgrace and your discomfort: 
 
 I take my leave at once. \^Exit. 
 
 L. Macd. Sirrah, ""^ your father's dead: 
 
 And what will you do now ? How will you live ? 
 
 Son. As birds do, mother. 
 
 L. Macd. What ! with worms and flies ? 
 
 Son. With what I get, I mean ; and so do 
 they. 
 
 L. Macd. Poor bird ! thou'dst never fear the 
 
 net nor lime. 
 The pitfall nor the gin. 
 
 Son. Why should I, mother ? Poor birds they 
 
 are not set for. 
 My father is not dead, for all your saying. 
 
 L. Macd. Yes, he is dead : how wilt thou do 
 
 for a father? 
 Son. Nay, how will you do for a husband ? 
 L. Macd. Why, I can buy me twenty at any 
 
 market. 
 
 Son. Then you'll buy 'em to sell again. 
 L. Macd. Thou speak'st with all thy wit ; and 
 yet, i' faith. 
 With wit enough for thee. 
 Son. Was my father a traitor, mother ? 
 L. Macd. Ay, that he was. 
 Son. What is a traitor ? 
 L. Macd. Why, one that swears and lies. 
 
 most impressive effect in this grandly poetic drama. See Note 
 13, Act i. 
 
 41. The fits 0' the season. ' The crises of the times.' 
 Shakespeare felsewhere uses the word " fit" to expres's 'perilous 
 crisis,' 'critical period :' as when a disorder is at its height. See 
 passage referred to in Note 54, Act iii., " Coriolanus." 
 
 42. When ive are traitors, and do not kjioiu oitrselves. 
 ' When we are believed to be traitors, yet do noT; know our- 
 selves to be traitors,' or 'yet know ourselves to be none.' 
 
 43. WJun ive hold rumour from ivhat ive fear, yet, &^c. 
 'When we' accept rumour according to what we fear may be in 
 store for us, yet not knowing in ourselves a cause for fear,' or 
 'yet knowing ourselves to be free from- that which should 
 inspire us with fear.' 
 
 44. Shall not be long hut I'll he here again. Here ' it ' or 
 "t' is elliptically understood before "shall ;" as in the passages 
 referred to in Note 68, Act iii., " Merchant of Venice." 
 
 45. Sirrah. Sometimes used as a term of affection, or o* 
 familiarity. See Note 90, Act i., " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 So?i. And be all traitors that do so? 
 
 L, Macd. Every one that does so is a traitor, and 
 must be hanged. 
 
 Son. And must they all be hanged that swear 
 and lie ? 
 
 L. Macd. Every one. 
 
 Son. Who must hang them ? 
 
 L. Macd. Why, the honest men. 
 
 Son. Then the liars and su-earers are fools ; for 
 there are liars and swearers enough to beat the 
 honest men, and hang up them. 
 
 L. Macd. Now, God help thee, poor monkey! 
 But how wilt thou do for a father ? 
 
 Son. If he were dead, you'd weep for him: if 
 you would not, it were a good sign that I should 
 quickly have a new father. 
 
 L. Macd. Poor prattler, how thou talk'st ! 
 
 Enter a Messenger. 
 
 Mess. Bless you, fair dame ! I am not to you 
 known. 
 
 Though in your state of honour I am perfect."^ 
 I doubt some danger does approach you nearly : 
 If you will take a homely man's advice. 
 Be not found here ; hence, with your little ones. 
 To fright you thus, methinks, I am too savage ; 
 To do worse to you were fell cruelty, 
 Which 'is too nigh your person. Heaven preserve 
 you ! 
 
 I dare abide no longer. \_Exit. i 
 
 L. Macd. Whither should I fly ? ! 
 
 I have done no harm. But I remember now 
 I am in this earthly world ; where to do harm 
 Is often laudable ; to do good, sometime 
 Accounted dangerous folly : why, then, alas ! 
 Do I put up that womanly defence, 
 
 46. /« your state 0/ honour I am perfect. '* State of 
 honour" is here generally explained to mean ' high rank ;' but 
 v/e think it includes the sense of distinguished condition as a 
 lady of honourable nature, no less than as a lady of honourable 
 station. The man sees her in her own castle, and knows her to 
 be its lady mistress ; but he also seems to know that she is a 
 virtuous, a kind, a good lady as well as a noble lady, and there- 
 fore comes to warn her of approaching danger. The word 
 "perfect "is here used in its sense of 'perfectly acquainted,' 
 'perfectly informed." See Note 39. Act iii., " Winters Tale." 
 
 47. What are Hiese faces ? Only a true poet would have i 
 thought of the impressive simplicity of this expression ; con- t 
 taining horrible significance as to the effect produced upon the ' 
 speaker by the grim visages of the cut-throat.^ as they enter her 
 presence, and causing us to behold them through her words iu 
 their full menace of aspect. 
 
 48. Skai-haiyd. The Folio prints this ' shagge-ear'd ; 
 which seems to be a corruption of shag heard, as " hair" was 
 sometimes formerly written * heare.' See Note 23, Act v., 
 " King John." " Shag-hair'd " is an abusive epithet frequently 
 used by the early writers; and in Alleyn's "Reports" it is 
 stated that the words, " Where is that long-lock'd, shag-ltair d , 
 murdering rogue?" were actionable. In Lodge's " Incarnate 
 Devils of this Age," 1596, the old form of the word is given, 
 thus: " shag-heard slave." Stcevens suggested the correction. 
 
 49. RuiL aiuay, I pray you. The loving unselfishness of these 
 
 To say I have done no harm ? — What arc these 
 faces 
 
 Enter Murderers. 
 
 First Mur. Where is your husband ? 
 
 L. Macd. I hope, in no place so unsanctificd 
 Where such as thou ma) st find him. 
 
 First Mur. He's a traitor. 
 
 Son. Thou liest, thou shag-hair'd ''^ villain ! 
 
 First Mur. What, you egg ! {Stabbing him. 
 Young fry of treachery ! 
 
 Son. He has kill'd me, mother : 
 
 Run away, I pray you \ \_Dies. 
 \_E.i-it Lady Macduff, crying " Murder ! " 
 and pursued bj the Murderers. 
 
 SCENE III.— En-gland. Before the King's 
 Palace. 
 
 Enter Malcolm and Macduff. 
 
 Mai. Let us seek out some desolate shade, a!iJ 
 there 
 
 Weep our sad bosoms empty. 
 
 Macd. Let us rather 
 
 Hold fast the mortal sword ; and, like good men, 
 Bestride our down-feU'n birthdom:^! each new 
 morn 
 
 New widows howl ; new orphans cry ; new sorrows 
 Strike heaven on the face, that it resounds*- 
 As if it felt with Scotland, and ) ell'd out 
 Like syllable of dolour. 
 
 Mai. What I believe, I'll wail; 
 
 What kno\v, believe; and what I can redress, 
 As I shall find the time to friend,*^ I will. 
 
 words, showing the boy's thought for his mother even in the 
 moment of his own assassination, is exactly one of Shakespeare's 
 beautiful touches of humanity ; and the whole of this brief but 
 charmingly written scene forms another of his exquisite delinea- 
 tions of child nature. Witness his portraiture of little York in 
 " Richard III.," and Prince Arthur in " King John." See 
 also Note i. Act ii., " Winter's Tale," and Note 18, Act iv., 
 "Richard III." 
 
 50. Mortal. Here used for ' deadly,' or ' death- dealing.' 
 See Note 68, Act ii., " Coriolanus." 
 
 51. Bestride our down-faWu birthdom. The Folio prints 
 * downfall ' for " down-fall'n ;" which correction was suggested 
 by Johnson. The passage contains the same figurative allusion 
 that is to be found explained ill Note 25, Act i., " Second Part 
 Henry IV." 
 
 52. Ne-dii sorrows strike Iteaven on the face, that it resounds. 
 It is worth while to observe how differently Shakespeare's 
 
 sublimely familiar expressions aftect different judgments and 
 different natures. Mr. Steevens says, "This presents a 
 ridiculous image" (!!!) ; while Professor Wilson exclaims rap- 
 turously, "That is true Shakespeare. No poet, before or 
 since, has in few words presented such a picture. No poet, 
 before or since, has used sitch words. He writes like a man 
 inspired." 
 
 53. To friend. Here used for ' befriend me,' ' be favourable 
 or propitious to me.' See Note 27, Act iii., "Julius Ca;sar." 
 
 359 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene in. 
 
 What you have spoke, it may be so perchance. 
 This tyrant, whose sole name blisters our tongues, 
 Was once thought honest : you have lov'd him 
 well ; 
 
 He hath not touch'd you yet. I am young; but 
 something 
 
 You may discern of him through me and 
 wisdom 
 
 To offer up a weak, poor, innocent lamb 
 To appease an angry god. 
 
 MaccL I am not treacherous. 
 
 Mai. But Macbeth is. 
 
 A good and virtuous nature may recoil 
 In an imperial charge. But I shall crave your 
 pardon ; 
 
 That which you are, my thoughts cannot transpose : 
 Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell : 
 Though all things foul would wear the brows of 
 grace. 
 
 Yet grace must still look so.^s 
 
 Macd. I have lost my hopes. 
 
 Mai. Perchance even there where I did find my 
 doubts. 
 
 Why in that rawness left you wife and child S'' 
 (Those precious motives, those strong knots of 
 love) 
 
 Without, leave-taking ? — I pray you. 
 
 Let not my jealousies be your dishonours. 
 
 But mine own safeties : — you may be rightly just. 
 
 Whatever I shall think. 
 
 Macd. Bleed, bleed, poor country ! 
 
 Great tyranny, lay thou thy basis sure, 
 For goodness dare not check thee! wear thou thy 
 wrongs. 
 
 The title is affeer'd l^^ — Fare thee well, lord : 
 I would not be the villain that thou think'st 
 For the whole space that's in the tyrant's grasp, 
 And the rich East to boot. 
 
 Mai. Be not offended : 
 
 I speak not as in absolute fear of you. 
 
 54. Sojnethiii^ vou may discern oj him throug^h me. The 
 Folio word ' discerne ' was changed by Theobald to ' deserve ;' 
 and since his time the alteration has been adopted by every 
 modern editor save ourselves. After banishing the original 
 word from the passage, they complain that * the construction is 
 difficult, as there is no verb to which " wisdom " can refer,' and 
 assert that * something is omitted, either through the negligence 
 of the printer or the inadvertence of the author,' since ' some- 
 thing is wanted to complete the sense.' Now, if the original 
 word "discern" be retained, we have the sense of the passage 
 unimpaired, thus ; ' I am young, but something you may per- 
 ceive of Macbeth in me [Malcolm has stated that Macbeth 
 " was once thought honest," and afterwards taxes himself with 
 vices], and also you may perceive the wisdom of offering up,' &c., 
 thus gaining the verb before " wisdom" that the conmientators 
 miss. Shakespeare occasionally makes one verb do double duty 
 in a sentence. See Note 23, Act iv., " Timon of Athens." It 
 may be advisable to mention that we made this restoration in 
 the text when preparing our edition of Shakespeare for America 
 in i860. 
 
 55. A good and -uirtnoiis uaiitre may nxoil in an imperial 
 
 I think our country sinks beneath the yoke ; 
 It weeps, it bleeds; and each new day a gash 
 Is added to her wounds : 1 think, withal. 
 There would be hands uplifted in my right ; 
 And here, from gracious England, have I offer 
 Of goodly thousands : but, for all this, 
 When I shall tread upon the tyrant's head. 
 Or wear it on my sword, yet my poor country 
 Shall have more vices than it had before ; 
 More suffer, and more sundry ways than ever, 
 By him that shall succeed. 
 
 Macd. What should he be ? 
 
 Mai. It is myself I mean ; in whom I know 
 All the particulars of vice so grafted. 
 That, when they shall be open'd, black Macbeth 
 Will seem as pure as snow; and the poor state 
 Esteem him as a Iamb, being compar'd 
 With my confineless harms."" 
 
 Macd. Not in the legions 
 
 Of horrid hell can coine a devil more damn'd 
 In evils to top Macbeth. 
 
 Mai. I grant him bloody. 
 
 Luxurious, avaricious, false, deceitful. 
 Sudden,"" malicious, smacking of every sin 
 That has a name : but tliere's no bottom, none, 
 In my voluptuousness: and my desire 
 All continent impediments would o'erbear, 
 That did oppose my will: better Macbeth, 
 Than such a one to reign. 
 
 Macd. Boundless intemperance 
 
 In nature is a tyranny ; it hath been 
 The untimely emptying of the happy throne, 
 And fall of many kings. But fear not yet 
 To take upon you what is yours : you may 
 Convey^' your pleasures in a spacious plenty, 
 And yet seem cold, the time you may so hoodwink. 
 We have willing dames enough ; there cannot be 
 That vulture in you, to devour so many 
 As will to greatness dedicate themselves, 
 Finding it so inclin'd. 
 
 clutrge. ' Even a virtuous disposition may forsake its princip les 
 when urged by a royal command.' 
 
 56. Vet grace must still look so. ' Yet gi-ace must still look 
 itself,' or ' like itself,' or ' as it does look.' For a similar use of 
 the word "so," see Note 94, Act ii., "All's Well." 
 
 57. WAy in that raivncss left you wife and child. " Raw- 
 ness" here includes the combined senses of 'rashness,' 'absence 
 of mature consideration and due preparation,' as well as 'help- 
 lessness,' ' unprovidedness.' See Note 25, Act iv., " Henry V." 
 
 58. The title is affeer'd I Affeer'd is a legal term for 'con- 
 firmed,' ' assessed,' or ' reduced to certainty ;' therefore the 
 meaning of the entire passage seems to be, ' Great tyranny, be 
 securely seated now,f or goodness dare not oppose thee ! wear 
 thou thy wrongfully gained honours, since the title to them is 
 confirmed ! ' 
 
 59. Confineless harms. ' Unlimited evils.' 
 
 60. Sudden. ' Rash," hasty,' ' violent-tempered,' 'passionate. ' 
 See Note 86, Act ii., " As You Like It ;" and Note 74, Act iv., 
 " Second Part Henry IV," 
 
 61. Convey. Here used for ' conduct stealthily,' ' carry on 
 clandestinely or furtively.' 
 
Act IV.] MACBETH. [Scene III. 
 
 Mai. With this, there grows, 
 
 In my most ill-compos'd affection, such 
 A stanchless avarice, that, were I king, 
 I should cut off the nobles for their lands; 
 Desire his jewels, and this other's house: 
 And my more-having would be as a sauce 
 To make me hunger more ; that I should forge 
 Quarrels unjust against the good and lo}al, 
 Destroying them for wealth. 
 
 Macd. This avarice 
 
 Sticks deeper; grows with more pernicious root 
 Than summer-seeming62 lygj. ^nd it hath been 
 The sword of our slain kings: yet do not fear; 
 Scotland hath foisons*'* to fill up your will, 
 Of your mere own all these are portable,^^ 
 With other graces weigh'd. 
 
 Mai. But I have none: the king-becoming 
 graces. 
 
 As justice, verity, temperance, stableness, 
 Bounty, perseverance, mercy, lowliness, 
 Devotion, patience, courage, fortitude, 
 I have no relish of them ; but abound 
 In the division of each several crime. 
 Acting it many ways. Nay, had I power, I 
 should 
 
 Pour the sweet milk of concord into hell, 
 Uproar the universal peace, confound 
 All unity on earth. 
 
 Macd. O Scotland, Scotland ! 
 
 Mai. If such a one be fit to govern, speak : 
 I am as I have spoken. 
 
 Macd. Fit to govern 
 
 No, not to live. — Oh, nation miserable. 
 With an untitled tyrant bloo.iy-scepter'd, 
 When shalt thou see thy wholesome days again, 
 Since that the truest issue of thy throne 
 By his own interdiction stands accurs'd, 
 And does blasphems his breed ? — Thy royal father 
 Was a most sainted king: the queen that bore 
 thee, 
 
 Oftener upon her knees than on her feet, 
 Died every day she liv'd.^^ Fare thee well ! 
 These evils thou repeat' st upon thyself 
 
 62. Summer-seeming. " Seeming " in this compound word 
 has been variously changed to ' teeming,' ' seeding,' 'seaming,' 
 and 'sinning ;* but we take it that the original " seeming " here 
 means 'beseeming,' 'not unseemly in,' 'not unbecoming to,' 
 ' belonging to," ' pertaining to ' the season of youth. This, in a 
 man who is smoothing matters for a young king, would not be 
 inappropriate. Shakespeare uses " seeming " for ' beseemingly,' 
 ' befittingly,' ' becomingly,' in the passage explained in Note 34, 
 Act v., "As You Like It." 
 
 63. Foisoiis. 'Plenty,' 'abundance.' See Note i-j, Act ii., 
 
 6^. 0/ your mere own. ' Absolutely your own.' See Note 73, 
 Act iii., "Henry VIII." 
 
 65. Portable, ' Bearable,' ' endurable. 
 
 66. Died every day she liv' d. An expression derived from 
 Scripture : " I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ 
 Jesus our Lord, I die daily," i Cor. xv. 31. 
 
 Have banish'd me from Scotland. — Oh, my breast, 
 Thy hope ends here ! 
 
 Mai. Macduff, this noble passion, 
 
 Child of integrity, hath from my soul 
 Wip'd the black scruples, reconcil'd my thoughts 
 To thy good truth and honour. Devilish Macbeth 
 By many of these trains hath sought to win me 
 Into his power; and modest wisdom plucks me 
 From over-credulous haste : but God above 
 Deal between thee and me! for even now 
 I put myself to thy direction, and 
 Unspeak mine own deti'action ; here abjure 
 The taints and biames I laid upon myself, 
 For strangers to my nature. I am yet 
 Unknown to woman ; never was forsworn ; 
 Scarcely have coveted what was mine own ; 
 At no time broke my faith ; would not betray 
 The devil to his fellow ; and delight 
 No less in truth than life : my first false speaking 
 Was this upon myself: — what I am truly. 
 Is thine, and my poor country's, to command : 
 Whither, indeed, before thy here-approach. 
 Old Siward, with ten thousand warlike men, 
 Already at a point, was setting forth : 
 Now we'll together; and the chance of goodness 
 Be like our warranted quarrel Why are you 
 silent .!> 
 
 Macd. Such welcome and unwelcome things at 
 once 
 
 'Tis hard to reconcile. 
 
 Enter a Doctor. 
 Mai. Well ; more anon. — Comes the king forth, 
 I pray you ? 
 
 Doct. Ay, sir; there are a crew of wretched 
 souls 
 
 That stay his cure: their malady convinces'' 
 The great assay of art ; but, at his touch. 
 Such sanctity hath Heaven given his hand. 
 They presently amend. 
 
 Mai. I thank you, doctor. {Exit Doctor. 
 
 Macd. What's the disease he means ? 
 
 Mai. 'Tis call'd the evil : 
 
 67. Already at a point. 'Already come to a decision,' 
 'already determined.' "At a point" is an idiomatic phrase, 
 signifying ' arrived at the decisive point.* 
 
 68. A lid the cltance of good7iess be like our ivarranted quarrel. 
 ' And may the chance of our good success be equal to the good- 
 ness of our cause!' In phrases like this Shakespeare some- 
 times allows the word 'may' to be elliptically understood (see 
 Note 22, Act v., "Julius Caesar"). He occasionally employs 
 "goodness" to express ' propitiousness,' 'favour' {see passage 
 referred to in Note 24, Act iv., "Henry VIII."), and here it 
 gives the sense of 'favourable,' ' propitious,' or ' successful issue 
 and as he also uses " goodness " in some cases for 'justice ' (see 
 Notes 25, Act ii., and 66, Act iii., " Henry VIII."), the present 
 passage, moreover, includes the meaning of ' And may our 
 chance of justice be great as the justice of our cause ! ' 
 
 69. Convinces. ' Overcomes,' ' conquers," 'defeats,' 'baffles.' 
 See Note 128, Act i. 
 
 VOL. III. 
 
 2I2 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 A most miraculous work in this good king;^" 
 Which often, since my here remain in England, 
 I have seen him do. How he solicits Heaven, 
 Himself best knows: but strangely-visited people, 
 All swoln and ulcerous, pitiful to the eye, 
 The mere despair of surgery, he cures; 
 Hanging a golden stamp'' about their necks. 
 Put on with holy prayers: and 'tis spoken. 
 To the succeeding royalty lie leaves 
 The healing benediction. With this strange 
 virtue. 
 
 He hath a heavenly gift of prophecy ; 
 
 And sundry blessings hang about his throne. 
 
 That speak him full of grace. 
 
 Macd. See, who comes here ? 
 
 Mai. My countryman ; but yet I know him 
 not.'^ 
 
 Enter Rosse. 
 Macd. My ever-gentle cousin, welcome hither. 
 Mai. I know him now ; — good God, betimes 
 remove 
 
 The means that makes us strangers ! 
 
 Rosse. Sir, Amen. 
 
 Macd. Stands Scotland where it did ? 
 
 Rosse. Alas ! poor country, — 
 
 Almost afraid to know itself! It cannot 
 Be call'd our mother, but oUi' grave ; where 
 nothing, 
 
 But who knows nothing, is once seen to smile ; 
 Where sighs, and groans, and shrieks that rent^'' 
 the air. 
 
 Are made, not mark'd : where violent sorrow 
 seems 
 
 A modern ecstacy :''5 the dead man's knell 
 Is there scarce ask'd for who;'" and good men's 
 lives 
 
 70. This good king. Edward the Confessor ; of whom Holm- 
 shed records, ' As hath been thought, he was inspired with the 
 gift of prophecie, and also to have the gift of healing infirmities 
 and diseases. He used to helpe those that were vexed with the 
 disease commonlie called the king's evil, and left that virtue as 
 it were a portion of inheritance unto his successors, the kings of 
 this realme." The allusion to the custom of royal touching for 
 the king's evil is a compliment to King James ; for it continued 
 to be practised until as late as the reign of Queen Anne, who 
 touched Dr. Johnson when a child for this disease. 
 
 71. A golden stamp. The coin called an angel. See Note 45, 
 Act i., "Merry Wives." 
 
 72. My coiintryinaK; bitt yet I know him not. The Scottish 
 tartan dress worn by Rosse shows Malcolm that it is one of his 
 own countrymen who approaclies ; but until quite near, and 
 addressed by Macduff as his kinsman, the prince does not recog- 
 nise him individually. When he does perceive who it is, he 
 adds an aspiration that the cause may .speedily be removed 
 which prevents him from being thoroughly acquainted with the 
 persons of all his native nobles. 
 
 73. The means that viakes us strangers. This sentence 
 has been variously altered ; but Shakespeare elsewhere treats 
 "means" as a substantive singular. See Note 27, Act v., 
 " Timon of Athens." 
 
 74. Rent. An old form of 'rend.' See Note 55, Act iii., 
 " Midsummer Night's Dream." 
 
 Expire before the flowers in their caps, 
 Dying or ere they sicken.''' 
 
 Macd. Oh, relation 
 
 Too nice, and yet too true ! 
 
 Mai. What's the newest grief? 
 
 Rosse. That of an hour's age doth hiss the 
 speaker ; 
 Each minute teems a new one. 
 
 Macd. How does my wife ? 
 
 Rosse. Why, well. 
 
 Macd. And all my children ? 
 
 Rosse. Well too.'S 
 
 Macd. The tyrant has not batter'd at their 
 peace? 
 
 Rosse. No ; they were well at peace when I 
 
 did leave them. 
 Macd. Be not a niggard of your speech : how 
 
 goes it ? 
 
 Rosse. When I came hither to transport the 
 tidings. 
 
 Which I have heavily borne, there ran a rumour 
 Of many worthy fellows that were out,;'' 
 Which was to my belief witness'd the rather, 
 I'or that I saw the tyrant's power a-foot : 
 Now is the time of help ; your eye in Scotland 
 Would create soldiers, make our women fight, 
 To doff'*" their dire distresses. 
 
 Mai. Be it their comfort 
 
 We are coming thither: gracious England hath 
 Lent us good Siward and ten thousand men ; 
 An older and a better soldier 8' none 
 That Christendom gives out. 
 
 Rosse. Would I could answer 
 
 This comfort with the like ! But I have words 
 That would be howl'd out in the desert air, 
 Where hearing should not latch them. 
 
 Macd. What concern they ? 
 
 75. A modern ecstacy. ' An ordinary emotion,' ' a usual dis- 
 turbance of the mind.' See Note 67, Act iii., " King John," 
 and Note 41, Act iii. of the present play. 
 
 76. The dead man's knell is there scarce ask'd for who. 
 ' There it is scarcely asked for whom the dead man's knell is 
 tolling.' "Who" is here used for 'whom 'by a grammatical 
 licence. See Note i. Act ii., " Coriolanus." 
 
 77. Dying or ere they sicken. ' Dying before they are 
 attacked by disease;' 'dying a premature and unnatural 
 death.' For an explanation of "or ere " see Note 52, Act iv., 
 " King John." 
 
 78. lydl too. One among several passages in Shakespeare 
 which show that it was usual to say of the dead they were 
 " well." See Note 17, Act v., " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 79. Majiy worthy fellozus tJuxt were out. "Out" is here 
 used idiomatically, meaning ' out fighting against tyranny,' ' out 
 in rebellion ;' as it was a common phrase at a later period, 
 " He was out in the '45 ;" meaning he was engaged in the 
 Scotch Rebellion of 1745. 
 
 80. Doff. ' Throw off,' ' cast off ;' 'do off ' or ' put off.' Sec 
 Note 3, Act v., " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 81. An older and a better soldier. Here "older" is used 
 in the sense of 'more experienced,' 'more practised,' 'more 
 proficient.' See Note 81, Act ii., "Julius Caesar." 
 
 82. Latch. Used in North country dialect for ' catch ;' and 
 here employed for ' catch the sound of.' 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 The general cause? or is it a fee-grief*^ 
 Due to some single breast ? 
 
 Rosse, No mind that's honest 
 
 But in it shares some woe ; though the main part 
 Pertains to you alone. 
 
 Macd. If it lie mine, 
 
 Keep it not from me, quickly let me have it. 
 
 Rosse. Let not your ears despise my tongue for 
 ever. 
 
 Which shall possess them with the heaviest sound 
 That ever yet they heard. 
 
 Macd. H'm ! 1 guess at it. 
 
 Rosse. Your castle is surpris'd ; your wife and 
 babes 
 
 Savagely slaughter'd : to relate the manner. 
 Were, on the quarry of these murder'd deer, 
 To add the death of you. 
 
 Mai. Merciful Heaven ! — 
 
 What, man ! ne'er pull your hat upon your 
 brows ; 55 
 
 Give sorrow words : the grief that does not speak 
 Whispers the o'er-fraught heart, and bids it break. 
 Macd. My children too ? 
 
 Rosse. Wife, children, servants, all 
 
 That could be found. 
 
 Macd. And I must be from thence ! — 
 
 .My wife kill'd too ? 
 
 Rosse. I have said. 
 
 Mai. Be comforted : 
 
 Let's make us medicines of our great revenge, 
 To cure this deadly grief 
 Macd. He has no children. — All my pretty 
 
 ones ? 
 
 83. A fee-grief. 'An individual grief,' 'a peculiar sorrow;' 
 ' a grief belonging to one sole possessor.' It has reference to 
 the legal term significative of special and perpetual possession. 
 See Note 22, Act iii., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 84. Qitarry. The sporting technicality for a heap of slaughtered 
 game. See Note 8, Act i. 
 
 85. Ne'er pull your bat iipan your broius. By these few 
 significant words, and by making Malcolm, and not Macduff, 
 utter the exclamation of horror at Rosse's tidings, how ex- 
 pressively does Shakespeare depict the silent anguish that over- 
 whelms the husband and father on their first shock ! 
 
 86. Swoop. The expression used for the sweeping flight with 
 which a bird of prey descends upon the object of its pursuit. 
 
 87. Dispute it like a man. ' Contend jnanfuUy with your 
 sorrow,' 'wrestle with your grief like a man.' We should not 
 have thought it needful to explain this, but that the word 
 "dispute" has been suspected of error, and was changed by 
 Pope to ' endure." 
 
 Did you say all Oh, hell-kite !— All ? 
 What ! all my pretty chickens and their dam 
 At one fell swoop 
 
 Mai. Dispute it like a man.^' 
 
 Macd. 1 shall do so ; 
 
 But I must also feel it as a man : 
 I cannot but remember such things were, 
 That were most precious to me. — Did Heaven 
 look on, 
 
 And would not take their part? Sinful Macduff, 
 They were all struck for thee ! naught that I am. 
 Not for their own demerits, but for mine, 
 Fell slaughter on their souls: Heaven rest them 
 now ! 
 
 Mai. Be this the whetstone of your sword : let 
 grief 
 
 Convert to anger ; blunt not the heart, enrage it., 
 Macd. Oh, I could play the woman witii mine 
 eyes. 
 
 And braggart with my tongue !— But, gentle 
 heavens. 
 
 Cut short all intermission ; front to front 
 Bring thou this fiend of Scotland and myself ; 
 Within my sword's length set him ; if he 'scape. 
 Heaven forgive him too! 
 
 Mai. This tune goes manly. 88 
 
 Come, go we to the king ; our power is ready ; 
 Our lack is nothing but our leave Macbeth 
 Is ripe for shaking, and the powers above 
 Put on'" their instruments. Receive what cheer 
 you may ; 
 
 The night is long that never finds the day. 
 
 {Exeunt. 
 
 88. This tune goes manly. The Folio gives 'tiine' for 
 "tune" here, and it is true that the one word was sometimes 
 used for the other when Shakespeare wrote (see Note 24, 
 Act v., "As You Like It"); but we think it more probable 
 that here 'time' was a misprint, and that the author's word 
 was "tune," because of the idiomatic sense it bears in the 
 present passage ; a sense which he has given to it more than 
 once elsewhere. See, for instance, the passage referred to in 
 Note 22, Act v., " Twelfth Night ;" and " King Lear," Act iv., 
 sc. 3, where Kent says of the distressed king, " Who some- 
 time, in his better tune, remembers," &c. Rowe made the 
 
 8g. Our lack is nothing hut our leave. ' Nothing is needed 
 now but for us to take our leave of the king.' 
 
 90. P7it on. ' Urge,' ' incite,' ' press forward.' See Note 24, 
 Act ii., "Winter's Tale." The phrase me.^ns, 'The powers 
 above urge us, the instruments of their righteous vengeance, to 
 fulfil their purpose.' 
 
 3-^3 
 
_ 1 
 
 Act V.J MACBETH. [Scene I. 
 
 ACT V. 
 
 SCENE I.— DuNsiNANE. A Room in the Castle. 
 
 Enter a Doctor of Physic and a Waiting- 
 Gentlewoman. 
 
 Doct. I have two nights watched with you, but 
 can perceive no truth in your report. When was it 
 she last walked ? 
 
 Gent. Since his majesty went into the field, * I 
 have seen her rise from her bed, throw her night- 
 gown upon her, unlock, her closet, take forth paper, 
 fold it, write upon it, read it, afterwards seal it, and 
 again return to bed ; yet all this while in a most 
 fast sleep.* 
 
 Doct. A great perturbation in nature, — to re- 
 ceive at once the benefit of sleep, and do the effects 
 of watching I — In this slumbery agitation, besides 
 her walking and other actual performances, what, 
 at any time, have you heard her say ? 
 
 Gent. That, sir, which I will not report after 
 her. 
 
 Doct. You may to me ; and 'tis most meet you 
 should. 
 
 Gent. Neither to you nor any one ; having no 
 witness to confirm my speech. — Lo you, here she 
 comes ! 
 
 Enter Lady Macbeth, to '/A a lighted taper. 
 
 This is her very guise ; and, upon my life, fast 
 asleep. Observe her; stand close. 
 
 Doct. How came she by that light ? 
 
 Gent. Why, it stood by her: she has light by 
 her continually ; 'tis her command. 
 
 Doct. You see, her eyes are open. 
 
 Gent. Ay, but their sense is shut, 
 
 Doct. What is it she does now? Look, how 
 she rubs her hands. 
 
 1. Since his majesty went into the field. Mr. Steevens 
 brings one of his usual charges against Shakespeare here, 
 declaring that " this is one of his oversights He forgot that he 
 had shut up Macbeth in Dunsinane, and surrounded him with 
 besiegers;" adding afterwards, "Our poet, in the haste of 
 finishing his play, forgot his plan." The oversight and for- 
 getfulnesa are the commentator's, not the author's ; for Mr. 
 Steevens overlooked the circumstance that it has been before 
 mentioned how Macbeth " prepares for some attempt of war," 
 and that Rosse says, " I saw the tyrant's power a-foot," and 
 forgot that the warlike usurper would be sure to superintend 
 these military preparations ere he enclosed himself in his strong- 
 hold to await the expected assailants 
 
 2. Yet all this while in a most fast sleep. We have here a 
 marked instance of Shakespeare's allowing a nominative to be 
 elliptically understood. Either the previous words, '* I have 
 seen her," are understood as repeated before " in " here, or we 
 must understand ' she was ' after " while." 
 
 3. Hell is murky'. "Murky" means 'dark,' 'gloomily 
 dark.' See Note 44, Act ii., "All's Well." The sentence, 
 
 Gent. It is an accustomed action with her, to 
 seem thus washing her hands : I have known her 
 continue in this a quarter of an hour. 
 
 Lady M. Yet here's a spot. 
 
 Doct. Hark ! she speaks : I will set down what 
 comes from her, to satisfy my remembrance the 
 more strongly. 
 
 Lady M. Out, damned spot! out, I say! — One, 
 two; why, then 'tis time to do 't.— Hell is murky!* 
 — Fie, my lord, fie ! a soldier, and afeard P What 
 need we fear who knows it, when none can call 
 our power to account ? — Yet who would have 
 thought the old man to have had so much blood in 
 hun? 
 
 Doct. Do you mark that ? 
 
 Lady M. The thane of Fife had a wife ; where 
 is she now? — What! will these hands ne'er be 
 clean? No more o' that, my lord, no more o' that : 
 you mar all with this starting. 
 
 Doct. Go to, go to ; you have known what you 
 should not. 
 
 Gent. She has spoke what she should not, I 
 am sure of that: Heaven knows what she has 
 known. 
 
 Lady M. Here's the smell of the blood still : all 
 the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little 
 hand. Oh, oh, oh ! 
 
 Doct. What a sigh is there! The heart is 
 sorely charged. 
 
 Gent. I would not have such a heart in my 
 bosom for the dignity of the whole body. 
 
 Doct. Well, well, well,— 
 
 Gent. Pray God it be, sir. 
 
 ■Doct. This disease is beyond my practice : yet 
 I have known* those which have walked in their 
 sleep who have died holily in their beds. 
 
 ' Hell is murky ! " — that grand 
 
 of the 
 
 soul-dread — has been interpreted by some commentatoi-s to be a 
 contemptuous reiteration of an exclamation she is supposed to 
 dream she hears her husband make. But those who have heard 
 the great tragic actress Ristori (the writer of the present Note, 
 alas ! never heard Mrs. Siddons) drop out the equivalent words 
 in the Italian version of the play, from her perturbed yet slum- 
 berous breathing, as though her lips could scarce form the 
 shuddering words, will understand how they ought to be inter- 
 preted and delivered. The very incoherence and want of 
 sequence in Lady Macbeth's sentences throughout this speech 
 serve to show her disjointed thoughts and broken mind. She 
 first is haunted by the impression of her blood-spotted hands ; 
 then she recurs in imagination to the night of the murder, and 
 hears the hour strike when the deed should be done ; next her 
 inward soul shivers at the thought of that eternal gloom which 
 shall enshroud it evermore ; then she suddenly rouses herself to 
 sustain and inspirit her husband ; and finally she lapses into a 
 trembling horror at the image of aged blood streaming from 
 those pitiless wounds 
 4. This disease is beyond vty practice: yet I have known, 
 urderess's ' &^ir. We have the evidence of Dr. Kellogg, in his book upon 
 364 
 
Act v.] 
 
 MACBETH, 
 
 [Scenes II., III. 
 
 Lady M. Wash your hands, put on your night- 
 gown ; look not so pale : — I tell you yet again, 
 Banquo 's buried ; he cannot come out on 's grave. 
 
 Doct. Even so ? 
 
 Lady M. To bed, to bed ; there's knocking at 
 the gate : come, come, come, come, give me your 
 hand : what's done cannot be undone : to bed, bo 
 bed, to bed. [Exit. 
 
 Doct. Will she go now to bed ? 
 
 Gent. Directly. 
 
 Doct. Foul whisperings are abroad : unnatural 
 deeds 
 
 Do breed unnatural troubles: infected minds 
 To their deaf pillows will discharge their secrets : 
 M.ore needs she the divine than the physician : — 
 God, God forgive us all Look after her ; 
 Remove from her the means of all annoyance. 
 And still keep eyes upon her : — so, good night : 
 My mind she has mated, and amaz'd my sight :^ 
 I think, but dare not speak. 
 Gent. Good night, good doctor. 
 
 lExeunt. 
 
 SCENE II. — The Country near Dunsinane. 
 
 Enter, nvith drum and colours, Menteith, 
 Caithness, Angus, Lennox, and Soldiers* 
 
 Ment. The English power is near, led on by 
 Malcolm, 
 
 His uncle Siward,? and the good Macduff : 
 Revenges burn in them; for their dear causes 
 Would to the bleeding and the grim alarm 
 Excite the mortified man.^ 
 
 Ang. Near Birnam wood 
 
 Shall we well meet them ; that way are they 
 coming. 
 
 Caith. Who knows if Donalbain be with his 
 brother ? 
 
 " Shakespeare's Delineations of Insanity, Imbecility, and 
 Suicide" (1866), that Lady Macbeth's "mental disquietude" 
 in her " state of imperfect sleep " is thoroughly " true to 
 nature." He being Assistant-Physician to the State Lunatic 
 Asylum, Utica, N Y., his opinion has grave weight on the 
 subject ; and it is interesting to note these reiterated tributes of 
 scientific men to the poet's unerring accuracy in psychological 
 detail. See Note 10, Act ii. 
 
 5. Gotl, God forgive us all! It has been conjectured that 
 " God, God " is a misprint for " Good God but to our minds 
 the emphatic and solemn repetition of the Divine name is pre- 
 cisely in Shakespeare's impressive style. Witness, for instance, 
 the exclamation at the commencement of the speech referred 
 to in Note 40, Act iii., "Richard II. ;" and also the fervent 
 iteration pointed out in Note 42, Act iv., " Henry V." 
 
 6. My mind she has jnated, and amaz'd 77iy sight. ' She 
 has-dismayed my mind, and bewildered my sight.' See Note 
 25, Act v., "Comedy of Errors," and Note 67, Act iv., " King 
 John." 
 
 7. His uncle Siward. Holinshed mentions that Duncan 
 had two sons by his wife, who was the daughter of Siward, 
 Earl of Northumberland. 
 
 j Len. For certain, sir, he is not : 1 have a file 
 Of all the gentry : there is Siward's son, 
 And many unrough^ youths, that even now 
 Protest their first of manhood. 
 • Ment. What does the tyrant ? 
 
 Caith. Great Dunsinane he strongly fortifies : 
 Some say he's mad ; others, that lesser hate him. 
 Do call it valiant fury : but, for certain. 
 He cannot buckle his distemper'd cause'" 
 Within the belt of rule. 
 
 Ang. Now does he feel 
 
 His secret murders sticking on his hands ; 
 Now minutely revolts upbraid his faith-breach ; 
 Those he commands move only in command. 
 Nothing in love : now does he feel his title 
 Hang loose about him, like a giant's robe 
 Upon a dwarfish thief. 
 
 Ment. Who, then, shall blame 
 
 His pester'd senses to recoil and start. 
 When all that is within him does condemn 
 Itself for being there ? 
 
 Caith. W ell, march we on, 
 
 To give obedience, where 'tis truly ow'd : 
 Meet we the medicine" of the sickly weal ; 
 And with him pour we, in our country's purge, 
 Each drop of us, 
 
 Len. Or so much as it needs. 
 
 To dew the sovereign flower, and drown the weeds. 
 Make we our inarch towards Birnam. 
 
 [Exeunt, marching. 
 
 SCENE III.— Dunsinane. A Room in the Castle, 
 Enter Macbeth, Doctor, and Attendants. 
 Macb. Bring me no more reports ; let them fly 
 all : 12 
 
 Till Birnam wood remove to Dunsinane, 
 
 I cannot taint with fear. What's the boy Malcolm ? 
 
 8. TJie mortified man. ' The ascetic ;' ' the man who has 
 mortified his passions,' ' the man who is dead to the world and 
 its desires.' See the first line of the speech referred to in 
 Note 5, Act i., "Love's Labour's Lost." The word 'even' is 
 elliptically understood before " the mortified man." See Note 
 55, Act iv., for an instance of similar ellipsi.s. 
 . g. Unroiigh. 'Unbearded.' See Note 23, Act v., "King 
 John." See also the passage referred to in Note 22, Act ii., 
 " Tempest." 
 
 10. His distemper d cause. It has been proposed to substitute 
 'course* for "cause" here; but we think that the present 
 passage affords one of those instances we have pointed out 
 where Shakespeare uses the word " cause " peculiarly, to signify 
 'course of conduct,' 'motived action,' 'impelled procedure,' 
 ' career.' See Note 85, Act iii., " Coriolanus." 
 
 11. The medicine. ' The healer,' ' the physician.' Here used 
 figuratively, in reference to Malcolm. See Note 22, Act ii., 
 "All's -Well." 
 
 12. Bring me 710 iiiore reports; let them Jly all. 'Bring 
 me word of no more desertions ; let all my nobles fly from 
 me.' He twice afterwards mentions the " thanes" as those 
 who "fly." 
 
Act v.] 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Was he not born of woman ? The spirits that 
 know 
 
 All mortal consequences have pronounc'd me 
 thus,— 
 
 "Fear not, Macbeth; no man that's' born of 
 woman 
 
 Shall e'er have power upon thee."— Then fly, false 
 thanes. 
 
 And mingle with the English epicures;'^ 
 The mind I sway by, and the heart 1 bear. 
 Shall never sag" with doubt nor shake with 
 fear. 
 
 Enter a Servant. 
 The devil dye thee black, thou cream-fac'd loon 
 Where gott'st tliou that goose look ? 
 &era>. There is ten thousand — 
 Macb. Geese, villain ? 
 
 Sernj. Soldiers, sir. 
 
 Macb. Go prick thy face, and over-red thy 
 fear, 
 
 Thou lily-liver'd>6 boy. What soldiers, patch 
 Death of thy soul ! those linen cheeks of thine 
 Are counsellors to fear. What soldiers, whey- 
 face? 
 
 Set v. The English force, so please you. 
 Macb. Take thy face hence. [Exit Servant. 
 
 13. TIte English epU 
 
 s. An epithet put naturally i 
 
 to the 
 those 
 
 mouth of Macbeth, one of an abstemious nation, 
 who were more luxurious. Holinshed mentions the spare diet 
 of the Scottish people as contra-sted with the richer fare of the 
 English ; and speaks of " those superfluities which came into 
 the realm of Scotland with the Englishman." 
 
 14. Sag. ' Sink by its own weight ;' ' sway ;' ' pend heavily,' 
 as if overladen. 
 
 15. Loff/i- A term signifying a 'base, abject fellow,' now used 
 only in Scotland ; it was formerly common in England, but spelt 
 * lown ;' and is considered by Horne Tooke as the past par- 
 ticiple of to ' low ' or ' abase.' ' Lowt,' or ' lout,' has the same 
 origin. 
 
 16. Lily-liver d. See Note 21, Act iii., " Merchant of Venice." 
 ■LT. Patch. 'Fool.' See Note 72, Act ii., "Merchant of 
 
 Venice," for farther e.-cplanation of the word. 
 
 18. Take thy face lience. Shakespeare's imaginative ingenuity 
 in devising an expression that shall rivet attention upon the chief 
 point that agitates a speaker in that which he beholds, and so 
 make the reader or hearer mentally see it also, is among his 
 most skilful arts. See Notes 27 and 47, Act iv. 
 
 19. Will cheer me ever, or disseat 7ne now. "Cheer "has 
 been changed by Dr. Percy and others to ' chair ;' but we think 
 that the original word, inasmuch as it follows up the expression, 
 " sick at heart," accords far better than the proposed substitution 
 with the general sense of the passage. Uneasiness of mind and 
 body are the theme throughout Macbeth's ruminations here. 
 We may point out, in corroboration, that the words "cheer" 
 and "sick" are similarly brought into antithetical juxtaposition 
 where the Player Queen, in " Hamlet," Act iii., sc. 2, says, 
 " You are so sick of late, so far from citeer," &c. 
 
 20. IVay of life. 'Course of life,' 'course of existence.' 
 Shakespeare uses the expression in "Pericles," Act i., sc. i, 
 " Thus ready for the way of life or death, I wait the sharpest 
 blow." The ' way of youth,' the ' way of justice,' were ex- 
 pressions used by writers in Shakespeare's time to express 
 'youth,' 'justice;' and here "my way of life" is equivalent to 
 ' my life.' The proposal, therefore, made by Dr. Johnson to 
 
 Seyton ! — I am sick at heart, 
 When I behold — Seyton, I say ! — This push 
 Will cheer me ever, or disjeat me now.'* 
 1 have liv'd long enough : my way of life^" 
 Is fall'n into the sear,^! the yellow leaf; 
 And that which should accompany old age,^^ 
 As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends, 
 I must not look to have ; but, in their stead, 
 Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath,' 
 Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare 
 
 not. — 
 Seyton ! 
 
 Enter Seyton. 
 Sey. What is your gracious pleasure ? 
 Macb. What news more ? 
 
 Sey. All is confirm'd, my lord, which was re- 
 ported. 
 
 Macb. I'll fight, till from my bones my flesh be 
 hack'd. 
 Give me my armour. 
 
 Sey. 'Tis not needed yet. 
 
 Macb. I'll put it on. — 
 Send out more horses, skirr^^ the country round ; 
 Hang those that talk of fear. — Give me mine 
 
 armour. — 
 How does your patient, doctor ? 
 
 Doct. Not so sick, my lord. 
 
 read ' May of life,' instead of " way of life," is clearly inad- 
 misible. 
 
 Sear. Here used for 'dryness,' 'witheredness.' The word 
 is sometimes spelt 'sere.' See Note 17, Act iv., "Comedy of 
 Errors;" and also Note 58, Act ii., "Measure for Measure." 
 In Todd's edition of Johnson's Dictionary, it is asserted that 
 "the sear" is used still, in some parts of the North, for ' the 
 
 22. Old age. Macbeth's mention of himself as being now in 
 the autumn of life, and his anticipation of the period when he 
 shall be old, is one of those touches of long time systematically 
 thrown in at intervals, to convey the effect of a sufficiently 
 elapsed period for the reign of the usurper since his murder of 
 the preceding king, Duncan. It is interesting to trace in how 
 artistic (according to his own system of art) a mode Shakespeare 
 has achieved this indication of dramatic time from the epoch 
 when it is stated that Macbeth is "gone to Scone to be in- 
 vested " with royalty. There is mention of " our bloody cousins 
 [meaning Malcolm and Donalbain] are bestow'd in England, 
 and in Ireland;" there is the dread of " Banquo's issue" 
 succeeding to the throne ; there is his assassination ; there is 
 Macduff's flight to the English court, that he may obtain succour 
 to rescue his " suffering country " from the oppressor's cruel 
 sway; there is the scene in England, with the eloquent descrip- 
 tion of Scotland's miseries, as of a long-standing course of wrong 
 and suffering ; there are the words, " She has light by her con* 
 tinually" and " It is an accustomed action with her to seem thus 
 washing her hands," thrown in during the sleep-walking scene, 
 so as to produce the impression of a protracted period in Lady 
 Macbeth's condition of nightly disquiet ; and now there is intro- 
 duced this allusion to Macbeth's having advanced in years. Be 
 it observed also, that concomitantly with these notifications of 
 long time, there are likewise given touches of short time, such as, 
 " To-night we hold a solemn supper," " I will to-morrow (and 
 betimes I will) to the weird sisters," in order to show passing 
 and existent points of action and actual period ; thus bringing 
 all within appearance of natural progression. 
 
 23. S/sirr. ' Scour.' See Note iii, Act iv., " Henry V." 
 
Act v.] 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Macbeth. Cure lier of that : 
 
 Canst thou not minister to a mind diseas'd ! 
 
 As she is troubled with thick-coming-'' fancies, 
 That keep her from her rest. 
 
 Much. Cure her of that : 
 
 Canst thou not minister to a mind diseas'd ; 
 Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow ; 
 Raze out the written troubles of the brain ; 
 And with some sweet oblivious antidote 
 Cleanse the stuff'd bosom of that perilous stuffs* 
 Which weighs upon the heart? 
 
 Doct. Therein the patient 
 
 Must minister to himself. 
 
 24 Thick-coming. ' ThicI<Iy-coming,' ' coming in rapid suc- 
 cession,' ' quickly-thronging.' See Note 43, Act i. of the pre- 
 sent play. 
 
 25. Cleanse the stujff'd bosom oj that fierdoiis stuff. Mr, 
 Steevens obligingly observes, " For the sake of the ear, which 
 must be shocked by the recurrence of so harsh a word, I am 
 willing to read ' foul ;' " but no one who remembers how Shake- 
 speare purposely uses recurring words in a line for the sake of 
 emphatic efTect, and d'gnifies familiar words by his judicious 
 
 Macb. Throw physic to the dogs,- -I'll none of 
 it. — 
 
 Come, put mine armour on ; give me my staff : — 
 Seyton, send out. — Doctor, the thanes fly from 
 me. — 
 
 Come, sir, despatch. — If thou couldst, doctor, 
 cast 
 
 The water of my land, find her disease, 
 
 And purge it to a sound and pristine health, 
 
 I would applaud thee to the very echo, 
 
 That should applaud again.— Pull 't off, I say. — 
 
 employment, will, we imagine, feel incluied to avail himself of 
 this polite ofiFer, by exchanging the poet's diction for the com- 
 mentator's substitution. The nearness of " stuff'd " and "stuff" 
 here is perfectly iu Shakespeare's style (see, for instance, pas- 
 sages referred to in Notes 25, Act ii. , and 105, Act iii, of the 
 present play ) ; and as for the harshness or ordinariness of the 
 expression, see how Shakespeare has sublimated such words 
 as " crack," " touch," " lamp," " candles," " blanket." " knife," 
 " clutch," and " business," in this nobly poetical drama. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Macbeth. Yet I will try the last :— Before my body 
 I throw ray warlike shield: lay on, Macduff. 
 
 Act V. Scene VII. 
 
 What rhubarb, senna,^^ or what purgative drug, 
 Would scour these English hence? Hear'st thou 
 of them ? 
 
 Doct. Ay, my good lord ; your royal prepara- 
 tion 
 
 Makes us hear something. 
 
 Macb. Bring it after me. — 
 
 I will not be afraid of death and bane,^? 
 Till Birnam forest come to Dunsinane. 
 
 \Exeunt all except Doctor. 
 Doct. Were I from Dunsinane away and 
 clear, 
 
 Profit again should hardly draw me here. {Exit. 
 
 26. Senna. The first Folio prints ' cyme ;' the second and 
 third Folios 'caeny;' while the fourth Folio gives "senna." 
 It seems to us probable that the earlier Folio readings are mis- 
 prints for some old form of the word which has since been known 
 as "sernia ;" such as 'cyna,' or 'cynna,' perhaps. It is stated 
 
 SCENE ly.— Country near Dunsinane: a Wood 
 in 'vieiv. 
 
 Enter, 'with drum and colours, Malcolm, Old 
 SiwARD and his Son, Macduff, Menteith, 
 Caithness, Angus, Lennox, Rosse, and 
 Soldiers, marching. 
 
 Mai. Cousins, I hope the days are near at hand 
 That chambers will be safe. 
 Ment. We doubt it nothing. 
 
 Siix). What wood is this before us ? 
 Ment. The wood of Birnam. 
 
 Mai. Let every soldier hew him down a bough. 
 
 that the leaves of a plant called Cynauckum Arghuel constitute 
 two parts in ten of the senna of Alexandria ; and it may be that 
 there was some word, derived from the same origin, by which 
 " senna" was known among our ancestors. 
 27. Bane. ' Des 
 
 VOL. HI. 
 
 213 
 
Act V.j 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 And bear 't before him : thereby shall we shadow 
 The numbers of our host, and make discovery 
 Err in report of us. 
 
 Soldiers. It shall be done. 
 
 Siiu. We learn no other but the confident 
 tyrant 
 
 Keeps still in Dunsinane, and will endure 
 Our setting down before 't. 
 
 Mai. 'Tis his main hope : 
 
 For where there is advantage to be given,^* 
 Both more and less^' have given him the revolt ; 
 And none serve with him but constrainfel things, 
 Whose hearts are absent too. 
 
 Macd. Let our just censures 
 
 Attend the true event,^ and put we on 
 Industrious soldiership. 
 
 Si-w. The time approaches, 
 
 That will with due decision make us know 
 What we shall say we have, and what we owe.'' 
 Thoughts speculative their unsure hopes relate; 
 But certain issue strokes must arbitrate ; 
 Towards which advance the war. 
 
 {^Exeunt, marching. 
 
 SCENE v.— Dunsinane. Within the Castle. 
 
 Enter, uuith drum and colours, Macbeth, Seyton, 
 and Soldiers. 
 Macb. Hang out our banners on the outward 
 walls ; 
 
 The cry is still, " They come : " our castle's 
 strength 
 
 Will laugh a siege to scorn ; here let them lie 
 Till famine and the ague eat them up : 
 Were they not forc'd'^ with those that should be 
 ours. 
 
 We might have met them dareful, beard to beard. 
 And beat them backward home. 
 
 \_A cry of viomen ivithin. 
 What is that noise ? 
 
 28. Where there is advantage to he given. On account of 
 the word " given " in the next line, the " given " in this line has 
 been variously changed to 'gone,' 'gain'd,' ' got,' ' ta'en,' &c. : 
 but we think the near repetition of the word hardly makes 
 against its being the one used by Shakespeare ; and as a sense 
 is to be obtained from the passage as it originally stands", we 
 leave it untouched in our text. 
 
 29. Both more and less. ' Both those of higher and those of 
 lower rank.' See Note 53, Act iv., " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 30. Let our Just censures attend the true event. ' Let us 
 defer giving our opinion upon these things until the event we are 
 expecting has actually taken place.' 
 
 31. IVhat we shall say we have, and what we oiue. ' What 
 we shall be able tio say we have gained, and what we really 
 shall then possess.' "Owe" is almost always used by Shake- 
 speare for ' own,' 'possess.' 
 
 32. Forc'd. 'Reinforced;' 'provided with forces." One of 
 those vigorous words framed by Shakespeare, of which his 
 emendators would deprive us by proposing various substi- 
 
 Sey. It is the cry of women, my good lord. 
 
 \_Exit. 
 
 Macb. I have almost forgot the taste of fears : 
 The time has been, my senses would have cool'd 
 To hear a night-shriek ; and my fellas of hair 
 Would at a dismal treatise rouse and stir 
 .A.S life were in 't ; I have supp'd full with horrors ; 
 Direness, familiar to my slaughterous thoughts, 
 Cannot once start me. 
 
 Re-enter Seyton. 
 
 Wherefore was that cry ? 
 
 Sey. The queen, my lord, is dead. 
 
 Macb. She should have died hereafter ; 
 There would have been a time for such a word.^'' — 
 To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, 
 Creeps in this petty pace from day to day. 
 To the last syllable of recorded time ; 
 And all our yesterdays have lighted fools 
 The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle ! 
 Life 's but a walking shadow ; a poor player, 
 That struts and frets his hour upon the stage. 
 And then is heard no more : it is a tale 
 Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, 
 Signifying nothing. 
 
 Enter a Messenger. 
 Thou com'st to use thy tongue ; thy story quickly. 
 
 Mess. Gracious my lord, 
 I should report that which I say I saw, 
 But know not how to do it. 
 
 Macb. Well, say, sir. 
 
 Mess. As I did stand my watch upon the hill, 
 I look'd toward Birnam, and anon, methought. 
 The wood began to move. 
 
 Macb. Liar and slave ! 
 
 Mess. Let me endure your wrath, if 't be not so : 
 Within this three mile ^5 may you see it coming ; 
 I say, a moving grove. 
 
 Macb. If thou speak'st false, 
 
 Upon the next tree shalt thou hang alive. 
 Till famine cling^s thee : if thy speech be sooth,'' 
 
 33. Fell. The portion of the skin which produces hair. A 
 dealer in hides is called a y^//-monger. 
 
 34. A word. Here used for ' a sentence.' See Note 64, 
 Act i., "Richard II." Nothing could have served more fully 
 to show the utter prostration and despairing apathy of Macbeth's 
 mind, after all his miserably fulfilled ambition, than the manner 
 in which he receives the tidings of his wife's death. His first 
 few words have almost the dulness of insensibility upon them ; 
 and he follows them up with a gloomy acquiescence in the 
 universal poorness and nothingness of all things that belongs to 
 the utterly disappointed man. No more pregnant les.son upon 
 the worthlessness of fruition in unholy desires was ever penned 
 than Shakespeare's " Macbeth." 
 
 35. Within this three mile. A familiar colloquial idiom, 
 something similar to the one pointed out in Note 77, Act iii., 
 " Henry VIII." It is an ellipsis for ' within this space of three 
 miles," ' within this distance of three miles.' 
 
 36. Cling. A north country word, signifying 'shrivel,' 
 'shrink,* 'wither,' 'dry up.* 
 
 37. Sooth. ' Truth.* See Note 12, Act i. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 [Scenes VI., VII. 
 
 I care not if thou dost for me as much. — 
 I pull ill ^3 resolution ; and begin 
 To doubt the equivocation of the fiend, 
 That lies like truth : " Fear not, till Birnam wood 
 Do come to Dunsinane ;" — and now a wood 
 Comes toward Dunsinane. — Arm, arm, and out ! 
 If this which he avouches does appear, 
 There is nor flying hence nor tarrying here. 
 1 'gin to be a-weary of the sun. 
 And wish th' estate o' the world were now un- 
 done. — 
 
 Ring the alarum-bell ! — Blow, wind ! come, wrack ! 
 At least we'll die with harness^" on our back. 
 
 \_Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE VI.— Dunsinane. A Plain before the 
 Castle. 
 
 Enter, ivith drum and colours, Malcolm, old 
 SiWARD, Macduff, ^c, and their Army 
 njoith houghs. 
 Mai. Now near enough ; your leafy screens 
 throw down. 
 
 And show like those you are. — You, worthy uncle, 
 Shall, with my cousin, your right-noble son. 
 Lead our first battle : worthy Macduif and we 
 Shall take upon us what else remains to do, 
 According to our order. 
 
 Sinju. Fare you well. — 
 
 Do we but find the tyrant's power to-night, 
 Let us be beaten, if we cannot fight. 
 
 Macd. Make all our trumpets speak ; give them 
 all breath. 
 
 Those clamorous harbingers of blood and death. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE VII. — Dunsinane. Another part of the 
 Plain. 
 
 Alarums. Enter Macbeth. 
 Macb. They have tied me to a stake ; I cannot fly. 
 But, bear-like, I must fight the course.^" — What's he 
 That was not born of woman ? Such a one 
 Am I to fear, or none. 
 
 Enter young Siward. 
 To. Situ. What is thy name ? 
 Macb. Thou 'It be afraid to hear it. 
 
 To. Siiu. No ; though thou call'st thyself a 
 hotter name 
 Than any is in hell. 
 
 38. />«///; 
 ' check.' 
 
 39. Harm 
 Athens." 
 
 40. T/iecc 
 
 41. Kerns 
 
 Here used in the sense of ' draw back,' 
 
 sed at bear-baiting. 
 
 Macb. My name's Macbeth. 
 
 To. Siiv. The devil himself could not pronounce 
 a title 
 
 More hateful to mine ear. 
 
 Macb. No, nor more fearful. 
 
 To. Sizu. Thou liest, abhorred tyrant ; with my 
 sword 
 
 I'll prove the lie thou speak'st. 
 
 [They fight, andyoung Siward is slain. 
 Macb. Thou wast born of woman : — 
 
 But swords I smile at, weapons laugh to scorn, 
 Brandish'd by man that's of a woman born. [Exit. 
 
 Alarums. Enter Macduff. 
 Macd. That way the noise is. — Tyrant, show 
 thy face ! 
 
 If thou be'st slain and with no strake of mine. 
 
 My wife and children's ghosts will haunt me still. 
 
 I cannot strike at wretched kerns,'" whose arms 
 
 Are hir'd to bear their staves : either thou, Macbeth, 
 
 Or else my sword, with an unbatter'd edge, 
 
 I sheathe again undeeded. There thou shouldst be ; 
 
 By this great clatter, one of greatest note 
 
 Seems bruited -.^^ — let me find him, fortune! 
 
 And more I beg not. [Exit. Alarums. 
 
 Enter Malcolm and old Siward. 
 Siuu. This way, my lord ; — the castle's gently 
 render'd : 
 
 The tyrant's people on both sides do fight ; 
 The noble thanes do bravely in the war ; 
 The day almost itself professes yours, 
 And little is to do. 
 
 Mai. We have met with foes 
 
 That strike beside us. 
 
 Siixi. Enter, sir, the castle. 
 
 [Exeunt. Alarums. 
 
 Re-enter Macbeth. 
 Macb. Why should I play the Roman fool, and 
 die 
 
 On mine own sword P''^ whiles I see lives,*'' the 
 
 gashes 
 Do better upon them. 
 
 Re-enter Macduff. 
 
 Macd. Turn, hell-hound, turn ! 
 
 Macb. Of all men else I have avoided thee : 
 But get thee back ; my soul is too much charg'd 
 With blood of thine already. 
 
 Macd. I have no words, — 
 
 My voice is in my sword ; thou bloodier villain 
 Than terms can give thee out ! [They fight. 
 
 42. Bruited. ' Noised ;' ' proclaimed with clamour.' See 
 Note II, Act i., " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 43. IVhy should I play the Roman fool, and die on ?nine own 
 sword ? In allusion to the antique Roman idea of the dignity of 
 self-destruction. See Note 25, Act v., "Julius Casar." 
 
 44. Lives. Here poetically used for ' living men.' 
 
Act V.J MACBETH. [Scene VII. 
 
 Macb. Thou losest labour : 
 
 As easy mayst thou the intrenchant''* air 
 With thy keen sword impress, as make me bleed : 
 Let fall thy blade on vulnerable crests ; 
 I bear a charmed life, which must not yield 
 To one of woman born. 
 
 Macd. Despair thy charm ; 
 
 And let the angel whom thou still hast serv'd 
 Tell thee, Macduff was from his mother's womb 
 Untimely ripp'd. 
 
 Macb. Accursed be that tongue that tells me so. 
 For it hath cow'd my better part of man ! 
 And be these juggling fiends no more believ'd, 
 1 hat palter with us in a double sense ; 
 That keep the word of promise to our ear. 
 And break it to our hope. — I'll not fight with thee. 
 
 Macd. Then yield thee, coward, 
 And live to be the show and gaze o' the time : 
 We'll have thee, as our rarer monsters are, 
 Painted upon a pole, and underwrit, 
 " Here may you see the tyrant." 
 
 Macb. I will not yield. 
 
 To kiss the ground before young Malcolm's feet, 
 And to be baited with the rabble's curse. 
 Though Birnam wood be come to Dunsinane, 
 And thou oppos'd, being of no woman born, 
 Yet I will try the last :— Before my body 
 I throw my warlike shield : lay on, Macduff ; 
 And damn'd be him that first cries, " Hold, 
 enough !" *^ [Exeunt, fighting. 
 
 Retreat. Flourish. Enter, ivith drum and colours, 
 Malcolm, old Siward, Rosse, Lennox, 
 Angus, Caithness, Menteith, and Soldiers. 
 Mai. I would the friends -we miss were safe 
 arriv'd. 
 
 Sinu. Some must go off: and yet, by these I 
 see, ' 
 
 So great a day as this is cheaply bought. 
 
 Mai. Macduff is missing, and your noble son. 
 Rosse. Your son, my lord, has paid a soldier's 
 debt: 
 
 He only liv'd but till he was a man ; 
 To which no sooner had his prowess confirm'd 
 In the unshrinking station where he fought. 
 But like a man he died. 
 
 45. Jntrencliatit. Here used to express ' incapable of being 
 cut.' See Note 61, Act iii. 
 
 46. Be him tliai first cries. " Him " is used here instead of 
 ' he,' by a grammatical licence permitted in Shakespeare's time. 
 
 47. Hold, enough See Note gi, Act i. 
 
 48. Why then, GocCs soldier be he') Siward's speech and 
 conduct upon the occasion of his son's death have historical 
 authority. 
 
 49. Behold, where stands the usurper's cursed head. This 
 expression is explained by the record in the chronicle : — "Then 
 cutting his head from his shoulders, /te set it upon a pole, and 
 brought it unto Malcolm." 
 
 50. T/iy kingdom's pearl. ' Thy kingdom's chief ornament,' 
 the nobles of Scotland. 
 
 S 'luo. T hen he is dead ? 
 
 Rosse. Ay, and brought off the field : your 
 cause of sorrow 
 Must not be measur'd by his worth, for then 
 It hath no end. 
 
 Siiu. Had he his hurts before ? 
 
 Rosse. Ay, on the front. . 
 
 Si'uu. Why then, God's soldier be he \ 
 
 Had I as many sons as I have hairs, 
 I would not wish them to a fairer death : 
 And so, his knell is knoll'd. 
 
 Mai. He's worth more sorrow. 
 
 And that I'll spend for him. 
 
 SiTXj. He's worth no more : 
 
 They say he parted well, and paid his score : 
 And so, God be with him ! — Here comes newer 
 comfort. 
 
 Re-enter Macduff, 'with Macbeth's head. 
 
 Macd. Hail, king! for so thou art: behold, 
 where stands 
 The usurper's cursed head :*^ the time is free : 
 I see thee compass'd with thy kingdom's pearl,*" 
 That speak my salutation in their minds ; 
 Whose voices I desire aloud with mine, — 
 Hail, King of Scotland ! 
 
 All. Hail, King of Scotland ! {Flourish. 
 
 Mai. We shall not spend a large expense of 
 time" 
 
 Before we reckon with your several loves. 
 And make us even with you. My thanes and 
 kinsmen. 
 
 Henceforth be earls,— the first that ever Scotland 
 In such an honour nam'd.*^ What's more to do. 
 Which would be planted newly with the time, — 
 As calling home our exil'd friends abroad. 
 That fled the snares of watchful tyranny ; 
 Producing forth the cruel ministers 
 Of this dead butcher, and his fiend-like queen, — 
 Who, as 'tis thought, by self and violent hands 
 Took off her life ; — this, and what needful else 
 That calls upon us, by the grace of Grace, 
 We will perform in measure, time, and place : 
 So, thanks to all at once*^ and to each one. 
 Whom we invite to see us crown'd at Scone. 
 
 [Flourish. Exeunt. 
 
 51. We shall not spend a large expense 0/ time. It has been 
 suggested that ' extent ' or ' expanse ' may have been the word 
 intended by Shakespeare, instead of the Folio word "expense" 
 here. Locke has used ' expanse,' and Charles Cotton has used 
 'extent,' both in the sense of 'space;' and although we leave 
 in the text the word given in the Folio, we think it by no means 
 improbable that it was a misprint for either of the suggested 
 words. 
 
 52. Earls,— the first that ever Scotland in such an honour 
 nam'd. This circumstance is recorded by Holinshed in his 
 history of Scotland. 'Thane' was the title previously in use 
 tnere. 
 
 53. All at once. An idiomatic phrase, signifying 'all in- 
 clusively,' ' all collectively.' See Note 14, Act i., " Henry V." 
 
DRAMATIS PERSONyE. 
 
 Claudius, King of Denmark. 
 
 Hamlet, Son to the former and Nephew to the present King. 
 
 POLONlus, Lord Chamberlain. 
 
 Horatio, Friend to Hamlet. 
 
 Laertes, Son to Polonius. 
 
 voltimand, 
 
 Cornelius, 
 
 rosencrantz, . ^ 
 „ > Courtiers. 
 
 Guildenstern, 
 
 Osric, 
 
 A Gentleman, 
 A Priest. 
 Marcellus, ) ^ 
 Bernardo, ) 
 Francisco, a Soldier. 
 Reynaldo, Servant to Polonius, 
 Players. 
 
 Two Clowns, iGrave-diggers. 
 FoRTiNBRAS, Prince of Norway. 
 A Captain. 
 English Embassadors. 
 
 Gertrude, Queen of Denmark, and Mother to Ham.et. 
 Ophelia, Daughter to Polonius. 
 
 Lords, Ladies, Officers, Soldiers, Sailors, Messengers, aad 
 Attendants. 
 Ghost of Hamlet's Father. 
 
 Scene— Elsinorb. 
 
HAMLET, PRINCE OF DENMARK^ 
 
 ACT 
 
 SCENE I.— Elsinore. A Platform before the 
 Castle. 
 
 Francisco at his post. Enter to him Bernardo. 
 Ber. Who's there ? 
 
 Fran. Nay, answer me:^ stand, and unfold 
 
 yourself. 
 Ber. Long live the king ! 
 Fran. Bernardo ? 
 Ber. He. 
 
 Fran. You come most carefully upon your 
 hour. 
 
 I. There were no fewer than five quarto editions of Hamlet 
 printed before the copy of the play which appeared in the 1623 
 Folio; in 1603, 1604, 1605, i6n, and an undated one, believed 
 to have been published in 1607, as it was entered at Stationers' 
 Hall on November 19 of that year. There also exists an entry 
 in the Register of the Stationers' Company, which seems to 
 mark the period when this tragedy was first performed: — "26 
 July, 1602. James Roberts.] A booke. The Revenge of Hamlett 
 prince of Denmarke, as yt was latdie acted by the Lord Cham- 
 berlayne his servantes." The title-page of the 1604 Quarto 
 describes the work as being " newly imprinted and enlarged to 
 almost as tniich againe as it luas showing that the play was 
 originally written by its author in a very different form from the 
 improved and augmented one in which he ultimately brought it 
 forth. That he bestowed extreme pains upon the re-touching, 
 polishing, and perfectloning of this wonderful drama is evident, 
 and seems to prove that it was a favourite composition of his own. 
 When he first imagined and sketched his " Hamlet " is untrace- 
 able, but It is believed that his perfected version was completed 
 somewhere about the year 1600. The story of the plot is to be 
 found in the "Chronicles of Saxo Drammaticus," the Danish 
 historian ; from whence it was taken by Belleforest, and given 
 as one of his collection of novels ; and from Belleforest it was 
 translated into English, appearing in black letter prose as "The 
 Hystorie of Hamblet." Of this latter work, the earliest edition 
 that has yet been discovered is dated 1608 ; but it is probable 
 that there were earlier impressions, one of which in all likelihood 
 furnished Shakespeare with the materials for his plot. From the 
 bare outline of original story — rude and gross to an excessive 
 degree— our poet has compiled one of the noblest, if not the 
 noblest, drama that human brain has ever produced. None 
 has had such admiring readers, none has had such multiform 
 criticism and analysis, none has had such scrutiny of competent 
 
 I. 
 
 Ber. 'Tis now struck twelve ;* get thee to bed, 
 Francisco. 
 
 Fran. For this relief much thanks : 'tis bitter 
 cold. 
 
 And I am sick at heart. 
 
 Ber. Have you had quiet guard ? 
 
 Fran. Not a mouse stirring. 
 
 Ber. Well, good night. 
 If you do meet Horatio and Marcellus, 
 The rivals of my watch,* bid them make haste.' 
 
 Fran. I think I hear them. — Stand, ho! Who's 
 there ? 
 
 judges, none has had such study of loving disciples. Men return 
 again and again to the perusal of "Hamlet," not so much be- 
 cause of its poetical beauty, its dramatic excellence, its con- 
 summate portraiture of character; but they come to it again and 
 again, because in it they find ever-new reflection of man's myriad 
 varieties of nature, ever-new mirroring of life's mysteries and 
 perplexities. Hamlet is not so much an exquisitely limned 
 image of an individual human being, as he is a transcript of the 
 thousand qualities, emotions, thoughts, and experiences that go 
 to compound humanity generally. In him we all find ourselves 
 depicted ; our highest aspirations, our dearest hopes, our deepest 
 griefs, our bitterest disappointments, our secret conflicts, our 
 daily toil through the labyrinth of existence, all, in him, are set 
 forth with a vividness and truth that supply us with endless 
 interest and food for simultaneous introspection and speculation. 
 Hamlet, in his brief career of a five-act play, goes through the 
 cycle of trials — actual mental, and moral — that beset mankind ; 
 and mankind watch his career with the sympathy of brotherhood. 
 
 2. Nay, answer me. There is an emphasis on " me ;" Fran- 
 cisco meaning, ' Nay, it is for you to answer me, who am on 
 guard here, and have the right to demand the watchword.' 
 Bernardo's rejoinder shows that "Long live the king !" is the 
 watchword for the night. 
 
 3. 'Tis now struck twelve . It has been proposed to substitute 
 'new' for "now" here ; but "now" has the elliptical force of 
 'just now,' ' but now,' ' this moment since.' 
 
 4. The rivals of my watch. "Rivals" is here used for 
 ' sharers,' ' partners,' ' associates.' 
 
 5. Bid them make haste. The effect of these few words, 
 coming upon the inquiry, " Have you had quiet guard ?" serves 
 admirably to indicate the speaker's state of mind (Bernardo 
 having before seen the apparition), and to prepare the audience 
 for what is coming. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Enter HoRATio and Marcellus. 
 Hor. Friends \ o this ground. 
 
 Mar. And liegemen to the Dane. 
 
 Fran. Give y lu good night. 
 Mar. Oh, farewell, honest soldier ; 
 
 Who hath reliev 'd you ? 
 
 Fran. Bernardo has my place. 
 
 Give you good jiight. [Exit. 
 Mar. Holla ! Bernardo ! 
 
 Ber. Say. 
 What ! is Hoi Atio there ? 
 Hor. A piece of him.^ 
 
 Ber. Welcome, Horatio : — welcome, good Mar- 
 cellus. 
 
 Mar. What ! has this thing appear'd again to- 
 night ?7 
 
 Ber. I have seen nothing. 
 
 Mar, Horatio says 'tis but our fantasy. 
 And will not let belief take hold of him 
 Touching this dreaded sight, twice seen of us: 
 Therefore I have entreated him along 
 With us to watch the minutes of this night ; 
 That, if again this apparition come, 
 He may approve our eyes,^ and speak to it. 
 
 Hor. Tush, tush, 'twill not appear.^ 
 
 Ber. Sit down awhile ; 
 
 And let us once again assail your ears, 
 That are so fortified against our story, 
 What we tw9 nights have seen.'" 
 
 Hor. Well, sit we down, 
 
 And let us hear Bernardo speak of this. 
 
 Ber. Last night of all. 
 When yond' same star'' that's westward from the 
 pole 
 
 Had made his course to illume that part of heaven 
 
 6. A piece of him. Warburton explains this by observing, 
 " He says this as he gives his hand." We thinlc that Horatio 
 rather says this as if implying ' the mortal part of him,' ' the 
 substantial or material portion of him,' in all but sportive allusion 
 to his having been summoned by Marcellus and Bernardo to be- 
 hold a spiritual appearance which they believe to have seen, but 
 in which he does not believe. 
 
 7. What I Jias this tiling appear d again to-night ? The 
 latter Quartos assign this speech to Horatio ; but the first 
 Quarto and the Folio give it to Marcellus. We think there 
 is more probability that these are right, because the word 
 "again" has (as Coleridge justly remarks) its credibilising 
 effect ; and as Horatio is sceptical on the subject of the appa- 
 rition, he would hardly use the word " again," even in irony. 
 
 8. He may approve onr eyes. Here "approve" is used in 
 the sense of ' confirm the witness of," ' add proof to the testi- 
 mony of,' the sentence meaning ' he may add the testimony of 
 his eyes to that of ours.' 
 
 9. Tiish, tush, 'twill not appear. Ineffably fine as the 
 opening of this supreme drama is, with its chill midnight 
 terrors clinging to every line that is uttered, there is nothing 
 more artistically conceived in the whole conduct of the first 
 scene than the incredulity of Horatio as to the dead king's 
 spirit having appeared. It forestalls the want of belief that 
 exists among us who read the play or witness its performance, 
 and by the effect produced upon Horatio's mind when the 
 
 Where now it burns, Marcellus and myself. 
 The bell then beating one, — 
 
 Mar. Peace, break thee o^F ; look, where it 
 comes again ! 
 
 Enter Ghost. 
 
 Ber. In the same figiue, like the king that's 
 dead. 
 
 Mar. Thou art a scholar ; speak to it, 
 Horatio. 12 
 
 Ber. Looks it not like the king ? mark it, 
 Horatio. 
 
 Hor. Most like : — it harrows'^ nie with fear 
 
 and wonder. 
 Ber. It would be spoke to. 
 Mar. Question it, Horatio, 
 
 Hor. What art thou, that usurp'st this time of 
 
 night. 
 
 Together with that fair and warlike form 
 In which the majesty of buried Denmark 
 Did sometimes march ? by heaven I charge thee, 
 speak ! 
 Mar. It is offended. 
 Ber. See, it stalks away ! 
 
 Hor. Stay! speak, speak ! I charge thee, speak! 
 
 [Exit Ghost. 
 Mar, 'Tis gone, and will not answer. 
 Ber. How now, Horatio ! you tremble, and 
 look pale : 
 
 Is not this something more than fantasy ? 
 What think you on 't P 
 
 Hor. Before my God, I might not this believe 
 Without the sensible" and true avouch 
 Of mine own eyes. 
 
 Mar. Is it not like the king ? 
 
 Hor. As thou art to thyself : 
 
 spectre actually comes is created the due impression that the 
 author intends to make upon our senses. Horatio's previous 
 light treatment of the men's assertion that they have seen the 
 dread apparition, makes his subsequent words of acknowledged 
 awe, his solemn admission of the truth of what he beholds, 
 together with his trembling and turning pale (noticed by his 
 companions), affect us as if they were the involuntary expres- 
 sion of our own awe-stricken imaginations. 
 
 10. Assail your ears .... m/iat we two nights have seen. 
 ' With ' is elliptically understood before " what." 
 
 11. IVhen yond' same star. How poetically, and with what 
 dramatic fitness, has Shakespeare introduced this touch to mark 
 time and place ! Nothing more natural than for a sentinel to 
 watch the course of a particular star while on his lonely mid- 
 night watch ; and what a radiance of poetry is shed upon the 
 passage by the casual allusion ! See Note 52, Act iii., "Mid- 
 summer Night's Dream." 
 
 12. Thou art a scholar; speak to it, Horatio. The popular 
 belief that spirits and supernatural beings are most fitly ad- 
 dressed by persons of erudition probably arose from exorcisms 
 having been usually spoken in Latin. 
 
 13. Harrows. ' Harasses,' ' tears, ' rends,' as a harrow 
 breaks up the clods. 
 
 14. Sensiile. Here used for that which pertains to the 
 senses, not (as usually) for that which pertains to common sense 
 or good sense. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 Horatio. But, soft, behuU ! lo, where it com 
 I'll cruss it, though it blast me. — Stay, illusion ! 
 
 Act I. Scene I. 
 
 Such was the very armour he had on 
 When he the ambitious Norway combated ; 
 So frown'd he once, when, in an angry parle,'* 
 He smote the sledded Polack''' on the ice. 
 'Tis strange. 
 
 Mar. Thus, twice before, and just at this dead 
 hour, 
 
 With martial stalk hath he gone by our watch. 
 Uor. In what particular thought to work I 
 know not ; 
 
 15. Parle. An abbreviated form of ' parley,' 
 
 16. The sledded Polack. " Sledded " is used to express 
 ' borne in a sled,' or sledge ; and " Polack " means ' Polander,' 
 ' native of Poland.' The old copies spell the word ' Pollax,' 
 which has led some to suppose that the author intended to give 
 the word ' Polacks.' Inasmuch, however, as twice elsewhere in 
 the play Shakespeare employs " Polack," in the singular, to 
 express the Polish people collectively, we think he probably 
 wrote "Polack" here (see Note 34, Act ii.), even if he meant to 
 
 But, in the gross and scope of my opinion. 
 This bodes some strange eruption to our state. 
 Mar. Good now, sit down, and tell me, he that 
 knows. 
 
 Why this same strict and most observant watch 
 So nightly toils the subject of the land ; 
 And why such duily cast of brazen cannon. 
 And foreign mart for implements of war ; 
 Why such impress'? of shipwrights, whose sore 
 task 
 
 Does not divide the Sunday from the week ; 
 
 designate a body of Polanders ; but the word " parle " seems to 
 imply that the Polish leader only was intended. 
 
 17. Impress. This does not signify enlistment against the 
 will, but engagement by money given to hold those retained 
 ready for service ; from the old French word prest, ready. In 
 Chapman's second book of Homer's *' Odyssey " we find ; — 
 " I from the people straight will press for you 
 Free voluntaries." 
 
 VOX. III. 
 
Act I.J 
 
 IIAMLET. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 What might be toward, that this sweaty haste 
 Doth make the night joint labourer with the day : 
 Who is 't that can inform me ? 
 
 Hor. That can I ; 
 
 At least, the whisper goes so. Our last king, 
 Whose image even but now appear'd to us, 
 Was, as you know, by Fortinbras of Norway, 
 Thereto prick'd on by a most emulate pride, 
 Dar'd to the combat; in which our valiant Hamlet 
 (For so this side of our known world esteem'd him) 
 Did slay this Fortinbras ; who, by a seal'd com- 
 pact. 
 
 Well ratified by law and heraldry. 
 
 Did forfeit, with his life, all those his lands 
 
 Which he stood seiz'd of,'^ to the conqueror : 
 
 Against the which, a moiety competent 
 
 Was gaged by our king; which had return'd 
 
 To the inheritance of Fortinbras, 
 
 Had he been vanquisher ; as, by the same co-mart,''-' 
 
 And carriage-" of the article design'd,-' 
 
 His fell to Hamlet. Now, sir, young Fortinbras, 
 
 Of unimprovfed^^ mettle hot and full. 
 
 Hath in the skirts of Norway, here and there, 
 
 Shark'd up^s a list of landless resolutes. 
 
 For food and diet, to some enterprise 
 
 That hath a stomach^* in 't : which is no other 
 
 (As it doth well appear unto our state) 
 
 But to recover of us, by strong hand 
 
 And terms compulsative, those 'foresaid lands 
 
 So by his father lost : and this, I take it, 
 
 Is the main motive of our preparations, 
 
 The source of this our watch, and the chief head 
 
 Of this post-haste and romage^^ in the land. 
 
 £er. I think it be no other, but e'en so : 
 Well may it sort,^^ that this portentous figure 
 Comes armed through our watch ; so like the king 
 That was, and is, the question -of these wars. 
 
 18. Seiz'd of. A legal term, signifying 'lawfully possesse 
 of,' 'rightfully owner of.' 
 
 19. Co-mart. A word formed by Shakespeare to expre; 
 'joint bargain,' 'mutual compact.' We have the words ' C( 
 heiress,' 'co-partner,' &c. 
 
 20. Carriage. ' Import,' 'purport,' ' bearing.' 
 
 21. Design d. 'Designated,' 'indicated,' ' marked out.' 
 
 22. Unimproved. Here used for 'untested by trial;' 'ui 
 practised,' 'inexperienced.' 
 
 23. Shark'd up. 'Snapped up,' 'taki 
 
 24. Stomach. ' Courage,' ' resolutei 
 
 25. Romage. Now spelt ' rummage 
 search,' * commotion.' 
 
 26. Sort. Here used for ' fit,' 'suit 
 
 27. Palmy. ' Victorious ;' the p: 
 victory. _ 
 
 28. As, stars with trains of fire. It has been supposed that 
 a line was omitted here by the early printers of the play ; in 
 which case " as " is probably elliptically used to express 'as, 
 for instance.' See Note 52, Act iv., "As You Like It." But, 
 bearing in mind that Shakespeare uses the word "as" many 
 times with markedly elliptical force, and in passages of very 
 peculiar construction, we do not feel so sure that the present one 
 has suffered from omission. See, for e.xample. Note 50, Act v., 
 
 ' scraped together 
 lee Note 32, Acti, 
 
 'ransacking,' 'thorough 
 
 ' agree,' 'cohere.' 
 ,m being the emblem of 
 
 Hor. A mote it is to trouble the mind's eye. 
 In the most high and palmy^^^ state of Rome, 
 A little ere the mightiest Julius fell, 
 The graves stood tenantless, and the sheeted dead 
 Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets : 
 As, stars with trains of fire,^** and dews of blood. 
 Disasters in the sun ; and the moist star,^' 
 Upon whose influence Neptune's empire stands. 
 Was sick almost to doomsday with eclipse : 
 And even the like precurse of fierce events, — • 
 As harbingers preceding still the flxtes, 
 And prologue to the omen^ coming on, — 
 Have heaven and earth together demonstrated 
 Unto our climatures and countrymen," — 
 But, soft, behold! lo, where it comes again I 
 
 Re-enter Ghost. 
 I'll cross it, though it blast me. Stay, illusion ! 
 If thou hast any sound, or use of voice, 
 Speak to me : 
 
 If there be any good thing to be done. 
 That may to thee do ease, and grace to me, 
 Speak to me : 
 
 Jf thou art privy to thy country's fate. 
 Which, happily, foreknowing may avoid,^^ 
 Oh, speak ! 
 
 Or if thou hast uphoarded in thy life 
 Extorted treasure^-i in the womb of earth, 
 For which, they say, you spirits oft walk in death, 
 [Cock crozLS. 
 
 Speak of it : — stay, and speak ! — Stop it, Marcellus. 
 Mar. Shall I strike at it with my partisan ? 
 Do, if it will not stand. 
 
 'Tis here .' 
 
 'Tis here ! 
 
 'Tis gone ! {Exit Ghost. 
 
 Hor 
 
 We do it wrong, being so majestical. 
 
 ■ Winter's Tale," and Note 85, Act iv 
 t may be that here the 
 
 the 
 
 ; stars with 
 ters in the s 
 
 3n of Athens." 
 nderstood, ' As 
 of fire, and dews of blood, so there 
 
 29. T/ie moist star. 'The moon.' See Note 10, Act i., 
 "Winter's Tale." 
 
 30. Omen: Here used for 'ominous event.' 
 
 31. Our climatures and countrymen. " Climatures " is here 
 used for ' regions.' See Note 70, Act i., " Julius Caesar." The 
 Folio omits Bernardo''s preceding speech and Horatio's present 
 speech as far as this line ; but they are found in all the Quartos, 
 excepting that of 1603. 
 
 32. /'// cross, it, though it blast me. There was a superstition 
 that a person crossing the path of a spectre became subject to 
 its malignant influence. 
 
 33. Which, happily, forekjicntiing may avoid. Here " hap- 
 pily" is used for 'haply,' with the same felicitous blending of 
 the senses of the two words as in the passage referred to in 
 Note 32, Act iv., " Measure for Measure." 
 
 34. Treasure. It was popularly believed that the spirits of 
 persons who had secreted treasure returned to earth for the 
 purpose of disclosing where it was hidden. There is great pro- 
 priety in making Horatio, the scholar and the unbeliever in 
 
 , use the words " they say " and " I have heard," when 
 the various superstitious beliefs regarding apparitions. 
 
 j gh' 
 
Act I.] 
 
 To offer it the show of violence ; 
 I'or it is, as the air, invulnerable, 
 And our vain blows malicious mockery. 
 
 Ber. ]t was about to speak when the cock crew. 
 
 Hor. And then it started, like a guilty thing 
 Upon a fearful summons. 1 have heard, 
 The cock, tliatis the trumpet to the morn, 
 Doth with his lofty and shrill-sounding throat 
 Awake the god of day ; and, at his warning, 
 Whether in sea or fire, in earth or air, 
 The extravagant and erring spirit^* hies 
 To his confine r^^ and of the truth herein 
 This present object made probation. 
 
 Mar. It faded on the crowing of the cock. 
 Some say, that ever 'gainst that season comes 
 Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated. 
 This bird of dawning singeth all night long : 
 And then, they say, no spirit can walk abroad ; 
 The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike, 
 No fairy takes,^!' nor witch hath power to charm ; 
 So hallow'd and so gracious is the time. 
 
 Hor. So have 1 heard, and do in part believe 
 
 it.38 
 
 But, look, the morn, in russet mantle clad. 
 Walks o'er the dew of yon high eastern hill.=- 
 Break we our watch up : and, by my advice, 
 Let us impart what we have seen to-night 
 Unto young Hamlet ; for, upon my life, 
 This spirit, dumb to us, will speak to him. 
 Do you consent we shall acquaint him with it, 
 As needful in our loves, fitting our duty P 
 
 Mar. Let's do 't, I pray ; and I this morning 
 know 
 
 Where we shall find him most convenientl v. 
 
 \_Lxtttnt. 
 
 SCENE n.— Elsinore, A Room of State in the 
 Castle. 
 
 Enter the King, Queen, Hamlet, Polonius, 
 Laertes, Voltimand, Cornelius, Lords, 
 and Attendants. 
 
 King. Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother's 
 death 
 
 The memory be green ; and that it us befitted 
 
 33. T/ie extrava^nnt and erring spirit. Shakespeare uses 
 both these epithets in their classically derived senses : " extrava- 
 gant "from the Latin extravagans, 'wandering out of;' and 
 "erring" from the Latin errando, 'straying,' ' roving.' 
 
 36. Hies to his confine. See Note 72, Act lii., " Midsummer 
 Night's Dream." 
 
 37. No fairy takes. " Takes " is here used in the sense it 
 bore of 'blasts,' 'bewitches.' See Note 22, Act iv., "Merry 
 Wives." 
 
 38. And do in part believe H. This assent of Hor.atio's to so 
 lovely and imaginative a creed is peculiarly appropriate, coming, 
 as It does, immediately upon the supernatural appearance he has 
 
 [SCENK IL 
 
 To bear our hearts in grief, and our whole 
 kingdom 
 
 To be contracted in one brow of woe; 
 Yet so far hath discretion fought with nature, 
 That we with wisest sorrow think on him, 
 Together with remembrance of ourselves. 
 Therefore, our sometime sister, now our queen, 
 The imperial jointress of this warlike state. 
 Have we, as 'twere with a defeated joy, — 
 With one auspicious, and one dropping eye, 
 With mirth in funeral, and with dirge in marriage, 
 Jn equal scale weighing delight and dole, — ■ 
 Taken to wife : nor have we herein barr'd 
 Your better wisdoms, which have freely gone 
 With this afl\xir along : — for all, our thanks. 
 Now follows, that you know, young Fortinbras, 
 Holding a weak supposal of our worth, 
 Or thinking by our late dear brother's death 
 Our state to be disjoint and out of frame, 
 Colleagued with the dream of his advantage, — 
 He hath not fail'd to pester us with message, 
 Importing the surrender of those lands 
 Lost by his father, with all bonds of law, 
 To our mo't valiant brother. So much for him. — 
 Now for ourself, and for this time of meeting : 
 Thus much the business is : — we have here writ 
 To Norway, uncle of young Fortinbras, — - 
 Who, impotent and bed-rid, scarcely hears 
 Of this his nephew's purpose, — to suppress 
 His farther gait^' herein ; in that the levies, 
 The lists, and full proportions, are all made 
 Out of his subject and we here despatch 
 You, good Cornelius, and you, Voltimand, 
 For bearers of this greeting to old Norway ; 
 Giving to you no farther personal power 
 To btisiness'*' with the king, more than the scope 
 Of these dihted articles allow. ''^ 
 Farewell ; and let your haste commend your duty. 
 
 Cor. and Vol. In that and all things will we 
 show our duty. 
 
 King. We doubt it nothing : heartily farewell. 
 
 {^Exeunt Voltimand and Cornelius. 
 And now, Laertes, what's the news with you? 
 You told us of some suit ; what is 't, Laertes ? 
 You cannot speak of reason to the Dane, 
 And lose your voice : what wouldst thou beg, 
 Laertes, 
 
 seen ; when his mind is softened into impressionableness by 
 supernatural influences, and it is prepared to admit the possi- 
 bility of any spiritual wonders that may exist in the system of 
 the universe. 
 
 39. Gait. ' Progress,' 'course,' ' proceeding." 
 
 40. Suliject. Here used for 'subjects;' 'those subject to 
 him.' 
 
 41. To btistness. 'To transact business.' One of Shake- 
 speare's forcible verbs framed from a noun. 
 
 42. The scope of these dilated arfic'es aUow. Instance of 
 the false grammatical concord which was allowable in Shake- 
 speare's time. See Note 29, Act ii., " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 i79 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 That shall not be my ofFer, not thy asking ? 
 The head is not more native to the heart, ■'^ 
 The hand more instrumental to the mouth, 
 Than is the throne of Denmark, to thy father. 
 What wouldst thou have, Laertes ? 
 
 Laer. Dread my lord,-** 
 
 Your leave and fivour to return to France ; 
 From whence though willingly I came to Den- 
 mark, 
 
 To sliow my duty in your coronation ; 
 Yet now, I must confess, that duty done. 
 My thoughts and wishes bend again toward France, 
 And bow them to your gracious leave and pardon. 
 King. Have you your father's leave ? What 
 
 says Polonius ? 
 Pol. He hath, my lord, wrung from me my slow 
 leave 
 
 By laboursome petition ; and, at last. 
 Upon his will I seal'd my hard consent : 
 I do beseech you, give him leave to go. 
 
 King. Take thy fair hour, Laertes time be 
 thine, 
 
 And thy best graces spend it at thy will ! — ■ 
 But now, my cousin Hamlet, and my son, — 
 
 Ham. \_/ls'ule.'] A little more than kin, and less 
 than kind.« 
 
 King. How is it that the clouds still hang on 
 
 )0U? 
 
 Ham. Not so, my lord ; I am too much i' the 
 sun.''!' 
 
 ^een. Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted colour 
 off, 
 
 And let tliine eye look like a friend on Den- 
 mark. 
 
 Do not for ever with thy vailed lids''^ 
 Seek for thy noble father in the dust : 
 Thou know'st 'tis common,— all that live must 
 die. 
 
 Passing through nature to eternity. 
 Ha?n. Ay, madam, it is common. 
 
 43. T/te head is not tiwre native to, Ip^c. ' The head is not 
 more naturally co-operative with the heart, or the hand more 
 actively useful to the mouth, than the throne of Denmark is 
 willing to be serviceable to thy father.' 
 
 44. Dread vty lord. This is the reading of the Folio, while 
 the Quartos give ' my dread lord.' The transposal of the more 
 usual succesr.ion in pronoun and adjective was occasionally 
 adopted at the time when Shakespeare wrote. See Note 15, 
 Act ii., " Winter's Tale." 
 
 45. Take thy fair hour, (s'c. ' Take an auspicious hour, 
 Laertes. Use your own time, and may thy best qualities teach 
 thee to spend it according to thy will ! ' 
 
 46. A httle more than kin, and less than kind. Hamlet 
 implies that his uncle has made himself doubly a kinsman by 
 liis marriage with his brother's wife ; and yet is less than 
 naturally and affectionately attached. The original analogy 
 between the word "kind" and 'kindred' is ably shown iu 
 Trench's " Study of Words " {1852), p. 42. 
 
 47. / am too much e the sun. There is triple allusion in this 
 Manilut moans that he is too much in the glare of 
 
 . nuptial festivities so soon after his father's death ; 
 
 ^ueen. If it be, 
 
 Why seems it so particular with thee ? 
 
 Ham. Seems, madam! nay, it is ; I know not 
 seems. 
 
 'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, 
 Nor customary suits of solemn black, 
 Nor windy suspiration of forc'd bre.ith. 
 No, nor the fruitful river in the eye. 
 Nor the dejected haviour of the visage, 
 Together with all forms, modes, shows of grief. 
 That can denote me truly : tliese, indeed, seem, 
 For they are actions that a man might play : 
 But I have that within which passeth show ; 
 These but the trappings and the suits of woe. 
 King. 'Tis sweet and commendable in your 
 nature, Hamlet, 
 To give these mourning duties to your father : 
 But, you must know, your father lost a father ; 
 Tliat father lost, lost his ; and the survivor bound. 
 In filial obligation, for some term 
 To do obsequious'" sorrow : but to persever^' 
 In obstinate condolement, is a course 
 Of impious stubbornness ; 'tis unmanly grief : 
 It shows a will most incorrect to heaven ; 
 A heart unfortified, a mind impatient ; 
 An understanding simple and unschool'd : 
 For what we know must be, and is as common 
 As any the most vulgar thing to sense. 
 Why should we, in our peevish opposition, 
 Take it to heart ? Fie ! 'tis a fault to heaven, 
 A fault against the dead, a fault to nature. 
 To reason most absurd; whose common tlicme 
 Is death of fathers, and who still hath cried. 
 From the first corse till he that died to-day, 
 " This must be so." We pray you, throw to 
 earth 
 
 This unprevailing*^ woe; and think of us 
 As of a father : for let the world take note, 
 You are the most immediate to our throne ; 
 And with no less nobility of love'-' 
 
 he makes figurative reference to the old proverb, " Out of God's 
 blessing into the warm sun," which signities exchanging a 
 righteous condition for a corrupt one ; and he deplores (by a 
 play upon the word) that he has become son as well as nephew 
 to the usurping king, by the hateful marriage of the latter. 
 
 48. Vailed lids. ' Drooped lids,' ' downcast eyes.' See Note 
 9, Act i., " Merchant of Venice." 
 
 49. Modes. The Folio gives ' moods,' the Quartos ' moodes :' 
 but in all probability these are only different spellings of the 
 word " modes ; ' since Hamlet is here dwelling wholly on 
 externals. 
 
 50. Ol'serfuious. Here used not only in its usual sense of 
 * deferential,' but in the sense of 'belonging to obsequies or 
 funereal observances.' See Note 64, Act ii., "Third Part 
 Henry VI." 
 
 51. Persever. An accentuation' of 'persevere' formerly in 
 use. See Note go. Act iii., " All's Well." 
 
 52. Unprevailing. Formerly sometimes used in the sense of 
 ' unavailing.' 
 
 53. Nobility of love. ' Exaltedness of affection,' ' elevated 
 quality of affection.' 
 
Act I.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [SCliNE II. 
 
 Than that which dearest father bears his son, 
 Do I iinpart^^ toward you. For your intent 
 In going back to school in Wittenberg,=5 
 It sis most retrograde to our desire : 
 And we beseech you, bend you to remain 
 Here, in the cheer and comfort of our eye, 
 Our chiefest courtier, cousin, and our son. 
 
 ^een. Let not thy mother lose her prayers, 
 Hamlet : 
 
 I pray thee, stay with us ; go not to Wittenberg. 
 
 Ham. I shall in all my best obey you, madam. 
 
 King. Why, 'tis a loving and a fair reply : 
 Be as ourself in Denmark. — Madam, come ; 
 This gentle and unforc'd accord of Hamlet 
 Sits smiling to my heart : in grace whereof. 
 No jocund health that Denmark drinks to-day, 
 But the great cannon to the clouds shall tell ; 
 And the king's rouse the heavens shall bruit 
 again, 
 
 Re-speaking earthly thunder. Come away. 
 
 [Exeunt all except Hamlet. 
 Ham. Oh, that this too too solid flesh would 
 melt. 
 
 Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew ! 
 Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd 
 His canon/gainst self-slaughter ! O God ! O God ! 
 How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable 
 Seem to me all the uses of this world ! 
 Fie on 't! oh, fie ! 'tis an unweeded garden. 
 That, grows to seed; things rank and gross in 
 nature 
 
 Possess it merely. That it should come to this ! 
 But two mop'^hs dead! — nay, not so much, not 
 two : 
 
 So excellent a king; that was, to this, 
 Hyperion to a satyr so loving to my mother. 
 That he might not beteem=s the winds of heaven 
 Visit her face too roughly. Heav'en and earth ! 
 
 54. Ijiipcti't. Here used for 'confer,' 'bestow,' 'dispense.' 
 The monarchy of Denmarlc being elective, Kin^ Claudius 
 implies that he will promote Hamlet"s being chosen as his 
 successor to the throne, no less than if he were his own son. 
 
 55. Wittenberg. There was a university at Wittenberg in 
 Shakespeare's time, and he has therefore, for dramatic pur- 
 pose, assumed it to be in existence at the period of this play's 
 story. "Going to school" was a term formerly used for 
 being at college or other place of academical study and in- 
 struction. In the opening scene of " As You Like It," Orlando 
 speaks of his brother, Jaques de Bois, as being " at school," 
 although he is then a young man grown, and older than the 
 speaker. 
 
 56. RoHse. An abbreviated form of ' carouse :' sometimes, 
 as here, used to express a deep draught, in drinking which it 
 was customary to empty the glass or vessel. 
 
 57. That was, to this, Hyperion to a satyr. In this passage 
 "to" has the elliptical force of 'compared to.' "Hyperion," 
 one of the names for .-Apollo, was a model of beauty. 
 
 58. Beteem. ' Allow,' * permit,' 'suffer;' from the Saxon 
 teman, to ' warrantise.' See Note 18, Act i., "Midsummer 
 Night's Dream." 
 
 59. Niohe. The mother of several sons and daughters, of 
 whom she was so proud that she vaunted herself to be better 
 
 Must I rememl)er ? why, she would hang on hi;n. 
 As if increase of appetite had grown 
 By what it fed on : and yet, within a month,— 
 Let me not think on 't, — -Frailty, thy name is 
 woman ! — ■ 
 
 A little month ; or ere those shoes were old 
 With which she foUow'd my poor father's body, 
 Like Niobe,*' all tears; — why she, even she, — 
 O God ! a beast, that wants discourse of reason,^* 
 Would have mourn'd longer, — married with mine 
 uncle, 
 
 My father's brother ; but no more like my father 
 
 Than I to Hercules : within a month ; 
 
 Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears 
 
 Had left the flushing in her galled eyes, 
 
 She married : — Oh, most wicked speed, to post 
 
 With such dexterity to incestuous sheets ! 
 
 It is not, nor it cannot coine to, good : 
 
 But break, my heart, — for I must hold my tongue ! 
 
 Enter HoRATio, Marcellus, and Bernardo. 
 Hor. Hail to your lordship ! 
 Ham. I am glad to see you well : 
 
 Horatio, — or I do forget myself. 
 
 Hor. The same, my lord, and your poor servant 
 ever. 
 
 Haju. Sir, my good friend ; I'll change that 
 name with you : 
 And what make you from Wittenberg,^- Horatio ?-- 
 Marcellus ? 
 
 Mar. My good lord, — 
 
 Ham. I am very glad to see you. — Good even, 
 sir.^3 — 
 
 But what, in faith, make you from Wittenberg ? 
 
 Hor. A truant disposition, good my lord. 
 
 Ham. I woidd not hear your enemy say so ; 
 Nor shall ) ou do mine ear that violence, 
 To make it truster of your own report 
 
 worthy of immortal honours than Latona, who was the mother 
 of Apollo and Diana. This so incensed Latona that she urged 
 her children to avenge her ; and the sons of Niobe were all 
 slain by the darts of Apollo, while the daughters perished by 
 those of Diana. Overwhelmed by her loss, Niobe wept till she 
 became transformed to stone. 
 
 60. Discourse 0/ reason. 'Ratiocination,' 'the power of 
 arguing rationally,' 'the faculty of reasoning.' See Note 42, 
 Act ii., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 61. Pit change iJtat name zvith you. Hamlet means that he 
 will exchange the name of " friend " between Horatio and him- 
 self; but not suffer him to address him as "my lord," or call 
 himself " your poor servant." 
 
 62. What make you from Wittenberg ? ' What do you do 
 away from Wittenberg ?' ' What causes you to have left Witten- 
 berg?' " Make" is here used as in the passage referred to in 
 
 I Note 96, Act iv., " Love's Labour's Lost." 
 
 63. Good cT'en, sir. This is said by Hamlet as a courteous 
 greeting to Bernardo, whom he does not seem to' know so well 
 as he knows the others ; but whom he salutes in his own gracious 
 manner. Hanmer and Warburton changed "even" to 'morn- 
 ing' here; because, in the previous scene, Marcellus has said, 
 
 j " I this morning know where we shall find him." But "good 
 ' even" was used for any time subsequent to noonday. 
 
Act I.J 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 A-gainst yourself : I know you are no truant. 
 But what is your affair in Elsinore ? 
 We'll teach you to drink deep ere you depart. 
 Har. My lord. I came to see your father's 
 funeral. 
 
 Ham. I pray thee, do not mock me, fellow- 
 student ; 
 
 I think it was to see my mother's wedding. 
 Hor. Indeed, my lord, it follow'd hard upon. 
 Ham. Thrift, thrift, Horatio ! the funeral bak'd 
 meats 6* 
 
 Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables. 
 Would I had met my dearest^' foe in heaven 
 Ere I had ever seen that day, Horatio ! — 
 My father, — methinks I see my father. 
 
 Hor. Oh, where, my lord ? 
 
 Ham. ;In my mind's eye,*^ Horatio. 
 
 Hor. I saw him once ; he was a goodly king. 
 
 Ham. He was a man, take him for all in all, 
 I shall not look upon his like again. 
 
 Hor. My lord, I think I saw him yesternight. 
 
 Ham. Saw who ? 
 
 Hor. My lord, the king your father. 
 
 Ham. Th« king my father ! 
 
 Hor. Season your admiration for a while 
 With an attent*' ear; till I may deliver, 
 Upon the witness of these gentlemen. 
 This marvel to you. 
 
 Ham. For God's love, let me hear. 
 
 Hor. Two nights together had these gentlemen, 
 Marcellus and Bernardo, on their watch, 
 In the dead vast and middle of the night, 
 Been thus encounter'd. A figure like your father, 
 Arm'd at all points exactly, cap-a-pe,"' 
 Appears before them,?" and with solemn march 
 Goes slow and stately by them : thrice he walk'd 
 By their oppress'd and fear-surprised eyes, 
 Within his truncheon's length ; whilst they, dis- 
 till'd?' 
 
 Almost to jelly with the act of fear. 
 
 Stand dumb, and speak not to him. This to me 
 
 64. The /line ml bak'd meats. It was anciently the custom 
 to give an entertainment at a funeral. The usage was derived 
 from the Roman cceiia funeralis, or ' funeral supper and it 
 continued to be observed in Scotland and the north of England 
 under the name of an * arvel supper.' 
 
 65. Dearest. Here used with the sense of intensity which 
 we have before pointed out as included in this word by Shake- 
 speare's employment of it. See Note 28, Act v., " Timon of 
 Athens;" and Note 38, Act iii., "Julius Cjesar." 
 
 66. Mind's eye. ' Eye of imagination.' Chaucer uses the 
 expression "eyen of his minde," in "The Man of Lawe'sTale." 
 
 67. Attent. A. 1 abbreviated form of 'attentive.' 
 
 68. The dead vast and middle 0/ the night. The Folio mis- 
 prints 'wast' for "vast," which is the word given in the 1603 
 Quarto, and which is shown to be right by the passage referred 
 to in Note 53, Act i., " Tempest." 
 
 70. Appears before them. The present speech affords a signal 
 instance of Shakespeare's mode of alternately using past time 
 
 In dreadful secrecy impart they did ; 
 And I with them the third night kept the watch : 
 Where, as they:had deliver'd, both in time, 
 I Form of the thing, each word made true and good. 
 The apparition comes : I knew your father ; 
 These hands are not more like. 
 
 Ham. But where was this ? 
 
 Mar. My lord, upon the platform where we 
 watch'd. 
 
 Ham. Did you not speak to it 
 
 Hor. ' My lord, I did ; 
 
 But answer made it none : yet once methought- 
 It lifted up its head,'^ and did address 
 Itself to motion, like as it would speak : 
 But, even then, the morning cock crew loud ; 
 And at the sound it shrunk in haste away,'-* 
 And vanish'd from our sight. 
 
 Ham. Tis very strange. 
 
 Hor. As I do live, my honour'd lord, 'tis true ; 
 And we did think it writ down in our duty 
 To let you know of it. 
 
 Ham. Indeed, indeed, sirs, but this troubles me. 
 Hold you the watch to-night ? 
 
 Mar., Ber. We do, my lord. 
 
 Ham. Arm'd, say you ? 
 
 Mar., Ber. Arm'd, my lord. 
 
 Ham. From top to toe ? 
 
 Mar., Ber. My lord, from head to foot. 
 
 Ham. Then saw you not his face ? 
 Hor. Oh, yes, my lord; he wore his beaver'^ 
 up. 
 
 Ham. What ! look'd he frowningly ? 
 
 Hor. A countenance more in sorrow than in 
 
 anger. 
 Ham. Pale or red ? 
 Hor. Nay, very pale. 
 
 Ham. And fix'd his eyes upon you ? 
 
 Hor. Most .constantly. 
 
 Ham. I would I had been there. 
 
 Hor. It would have much amaz'd you. 
 Ham. Very like, very like. Stay'd it long ? 
 
 and present time in the tenses of verbs while narrating an event. 
 See Note 73, Act ii., "Julius Caesar." 
 
 71. DistilTd. This is the reading of the Quartos ; while the 
 Folio gives ' bestill'd.' " Distill'd " is here used by Shakespeare, 
 as it has been by other writers, to express ' melted," 'dissolved.' 
 
 72. Did you not speak to it 1 The belief was that spirits must 
 be spoken to ere they would speak and unfold what they came 
 to reveal. 
 
 73. It lifted up its head. One of the rare instances where 
 "its" occurs in Shakespeare's writings. See Note 57, Act ii., 
 "Winter's Tale." The Folio prints the form of 'it ' in the pre- 
 sent passage. The use of the impersonal pronoun here, instead 
 of the then more usual ' his,' aids greatly to impart spiritual 
 effect to this passage. 
 
 74. At the sound it shrunk in haste away. That the crowing 
 of the cock was a signal for the disappearance of ghosts is a 
 superstition of very ancient date. 
 
 75. Beaver. The portion of the helmet that could be lifted up 
 or lowered over ^he face. See Note 25, Act iv., " First Part 
 Henry IV." 
 
Act I.] 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Hor. While one with moderate liaste might tell 
 
 a hundred. 
 Mar., Ber. Longer, longer. 
 Hor. Not when I saw 't. 
 
 Ham. His beard was grizzled,— no ? 
 
 Hor. It was, as I have seen it in his lite, 
 A sable silver'd. 
 
 Ham. I will watch to-night ; 
 
 Perchance 'twill walk again. 
 
 Hor. I warrant it will. 
 
 Ham. If it assume my noble father's person, 
 I'll speak to it, though hell itself should gape,^*" 
 And bid me hold my peace. I pray you all. 
 If you have hitherto conceal'd this sight. 
 Let it be tenable^? in your silence still ; 
 And whatsoever else shall hap to-night, 
 Give it an understanding, but no tongue: 
 I will requite your loves. So, fare ye well : 
 Upon the platform, 'twixt eleven and twelve, 
 I'll visit you. 
 
 All. Our duty to your honour. 
 
 Ham. Your loves, as mine to you : farewell. 
 
 \Exeunt Horatio, Marcellus, and 
 Bernardo. 
 My father's spirit in arms ! all is not well ; 
 I doubt some foul play; would the night were come! 
 Till then sit still, my soul : foul deeds will rise, 
 Though all the earth o'erwhelm them, to men's 
 eyes. \_Exit. 
 
 SCENE III. Room in PoLONius' House. 
 Enter Laertes and Ophelia. 
 
 Laer. My necessaries are embark'd : farewell : 
 And, sister, as the winds give benefit, 
 And convoy is assistant, do not sleep. 
 But let me hear from you. 
 
 Oph. Do you doubt that ? 
 
 Laer. For Hamlet, and the trifling of his favour, 
 Hold it a fashion, and a toy in blood ; 
 A violet in the youth of primy nature. 
 Forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting. 
 The perfume and suppliance'S of a minute ; 
 No more. 
 
 76. Gape. Here used in its double sense of 'yawn,' 'open 
 wide,' and of 'roar,' 'yell,' 'howl.' See Note 7, Act iii., 
 •' Henry V." 
 
 77. Tenable. The Folio misprints ' treble ' for " tenable," 
 which is the reading of the Quartos. " Tenable " is here used 
 for * held,* or ' kept ;' according to Shakespeare's occasional 
 practice when employing words ending in 'ble.' See Note 50, 
 Act iv., "Twelfth Night ;" and Note 4, Act iv., "Julius Caesar." 
 
 78. SufpUance. A word framed by Shakespeare to express 
 succinctly that which is supplied. 
 
 79. Thews. ' Muscular power,' 'physical strength,' 'sinewy 
 vigour.' See Note 80, Act i., " Julius Ca:sar." 
 
 ^&o. Cautel. ' Craft,' ' deceit," fraud.' See Note 9, Act iv., 
 " Corlolanus." 
 
 Oph. No more but so ? 
 
 Laer. Think it no more : 
 
 For nature, crescent, does not grow alone 
 In thews"'' and bulk; but, as this temple waxes. 
 The inward service of the mind and soul 
 Grows wide withal. Perhaps he loves you now ; 
 And now no soil nor cautel^" doth besmirch*^' 
 The virtue of his will : ^2 but you must fear, 
 His greatness weigh'd, his will is not his own ; 
 For he himself is subject to his birth : 
 He may not, as unvalu'd persons do, 
 Carve for himself ;83 for on his choice depends 
 The safety and the health of the whole state ; 
 And therefore must his choice be circumscrib'd 
 Unto the voice and yielding of that body. 
 Whereof he is the head. Then, if he says he loves 
 you. 
 
 It fits your wisdom so far to believe it, 
 
 As he in his particular act and place 
 
 May give his saying deed ; which is no fai-ther 
 
 Than the main voice of Denmark goes withal. 
 
 Then weigh what loss your honour may sustain, 
 
 If with too credent ear you list his songs ; 
 
 Or lose your heart ; or your chaste treasure open 
 
 To his unmaster'd importunity. 
 
 Fear it, Ophelia, fear it, my dear sister ; 
 
 And keep you in the rear of your affection,^-' 
 
 Out of the shot and danger of desire. 
 
 The chariest^' maid is prodigal enough, 
 
 If she unmask her beauty to the moon : 
 
 Virtue itself scapes not calumnious strokes : 
 
 The canker galls the infants of the spring, 
 
 Too oft before their buttons^^ be disclos'd ; 
 
 And in the morn and liquid dew of youth 
 
 Contagious blastments are most imminent. 
 
 Be wary, then ; best safety lies in fear: 
 
 Youth to itself rebels, though none else near. 
 
 Oph. I shall the effect of this good lesson keep, 
 As watchman to my heart. But, good my brother, 
 Do not, as some ungracious pastors do, 
 Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven ; 
 Whilst, like a pufFd and reckless libertine. 
 Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads. 
 And recks not his own read.s? 
 
 Laer. Oh, fear me not.^" 
 
 I stay too long: — but here my father comes. 
 
 81. Besmirch. ' Sully.' 
 
 82. The virtue of his will. ' The rectitude of his intention.' 
 ^83. Carve for himself. 'Selfishly select.' See Note 84, 
 
 Act ii., " Richard II." 
 
 84. Keep you in the rear of your affection. 'Be more re- 
 served in manner than your aflFectlon might lead you to be.' 
 
 85. Chariest. 'Most regardful of her honour,' 'holding her 
 honour most dear.' See Note 10, Act ii., " Merry Wives." 
 
 86. Buttons. ' Buds ; ' French, boutons. 
 
 87. Recks not his own .read. ' Heeds not his own monition.' 
 " Read," as a substantive, was sometimes spelt ' rede ' or ' reed.' 
 It means the lesson or precept. 
 
 88. Fear me not. ' Fear not that I shall do thus.' See 
 Note 4, Act i., " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
Act I.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Polonius. What is 't. Ophelia, he hath 
 Opheha. So please you, something loui 
 
 he Lord Hamlet. 
 
 Act I. Scene III. 
 
 A double blessing is a double grace ; 
 Occasion smiles upon a second leave. 
 
 Enter PoLONIUS. 
 ?ol. Yet here, Laertes ! aboard, aboard, for 
 shame ! 
 
 The wind sits in the shoulder of your sail, 
 
 And you are stay'd for. There, — my blessing with 
 
 you ! SJ-ay'ing his hand on Laertes' bead. 
 And these few precepts in thy memory 
 Look thou chardcter.^^ Give thy thoughts no 
 
 tongue. 
 
 Nor any unproportion'd thought his act. 
 Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar. 
 
 89. Look tJlOU cluirdcier. ' Be attentive to mark, imprint, ( 
 'rite down.' 
 
 90. Hooks. The old copies print ' hoops' for hootcs." Pope 
 onection : which seems warranted by the word "grapple." 
 
 91. Do not dull thy palm wit/i^ ^c. ' Do not render calloi 
 
 The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried. 
 Grapple them to thy soul with hooks'"* of steel ; 
 But do not dull thy palm with entertainment^' 
 Of each new-hatch'd, unfledg'd comrade. Beware 
 Of entrance to a quarrel ; but being in, 
 Bear 't, that the opposed may beware cf thee. 
 Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice : 
 Take each man's censure,^^ but reserve thy judg- 
 ment. 
 
 Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy. 
 
 But not express'd in fancy ; rich, not gaudy : 
 
 For the apparel oft proclaims the man ; 
 
 And they in France of the best rank and station 
 
 Are most select and generous, ciiief in that."-* 
 
 thy sense of attachment by giving thy hand and intimacy t 
 every new-made acquaintance.' 
 
 92. Censure. 'Opinion.' See Note 18, Act ii., " Richard III. 
 
 93. Are most select nnd generous, chief in that. This line i 
 printed in the Folio, 'Are of a most select and generous cheffi 
 
 voi. in. 
 
 215 
 
HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Neither a borrower nor a lender be : 
 For loan oft loses both itself and friend ; 
 And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.^* 
 This above all, — to thine own self be true ; 
 And it must follow, as the night the day, 
 Thou canst not then be false to any man. 
 Farewell : rny blessing season'* this in thee ! 
 
 Laer. Most humbly do I take my leave, my lord. 
 
 Pol. The time invites you ; go, your servants 
 tend.98 
 
 Laer. Farewell, Ophelia ; and remember well 
 What I have said to you. 
 
 Oph. 'Tis in my memory lock'd, 
 
 And you yourself shall keep the key of it. 
 
 Laer. Farewell. [^Exit. 
 
 Pol. What is 't, Ophelia, he hath said to you ? 
 
 Oph. So please you, something touching the 
 Lord Hamlet. 
 
 Pol. Marry, well bethought ! 
 'Tis told me, he hath very oft of late 
 Given private time to you ; and you yourself 
 Have of your audience been most free and boun- 
 teous : 
 
 If it be so (as so 'tis put on me, 
 And that in way of caution), I must tell you. 
 You do not understand yourself so clearly 
 As it behoves my daughter and your honour. 
 What is between you ? give me up the truth. 
 
 Oph, He hath, my lord, of late made many 
 tenders 
 Of his affection to me. 
 
 Pol. Affection ! pooh ! you speak like a green 
 girl. 
 
 Unsifted'^ in such perilous circumstance. 
 Do you believe his tenders, as you call them ? 
 Oph. I do not know, my lord, what I should 
 think. 
 
 Pol. Marry, I'll teach you ; think yourself a 
 baby ; 
 
 That you have ta'en these tenders for true pay, 
 Which are not sterling. Tender yourself more 
 dearly ; 
 
 that ;' while the Quartos give it in various somewhat similar forms. 
 The reading we adopt is Rowe's, accepting Ritson's interpretation 
 of its meaning : * The nobility of France are select and generous 
 above all other nations, and chiefly in the point of apparel,' 
 
 94. Husbandry. ' Good economy.' See Note 35, Act ii., 
 " Timon of Athens." 
 
 95. Season. This word here bears the meaning which is 
 given to it by Baret, who explains, "To season: to temper 
 wisely, to make more pleasant and acceptable." 
 
 96. Tend. Abbreviated form of ' attend ;' used in the sense 
 of 'wait.' See Note 107, Act i., " Coriolanus." 
 
 97. Unsifted. Here used for 'untried,' 'untested,' 'inex- 
 perienced.' See Note 32, Act ii. 
 
 98. IV ranging it thus. The Folio prints ' roaming ' for 
 "wronging" here ; but, as the Quartos give 'wrong,' we think 
 it probable that " wronging " (Pope's correction) is the word 
 originally intended. 
 
 99. Vottr entreatments. ' The entreaties you receive for 
 
 Or, — not to crack the wind of the poor phrase. 
 Wronging it thus,'** — you'll tender me a fool. 
 
 Oph. My lord, he hath importun'd me with love 
 In honourable fashion. 
 
 Pol. Ay, fashion you may call it ; go to, go to. 
 
 Oph. And hath given countenance to his 
 speech, my lord. 
 With almost all the holy vows of heaven. 
 
 Pol. Ay, springes to catch woodcocks. I do 
 know. 
 
 When the blood burns, how prodigal the soul 
 Lends the tongue vows : these blazes, daughter. 
 Giving more light than heat, — extinct in both, 
 Even in their promise, as it is a-making, — 
 You must not take for fire. From this time 
 Be somewhat scanter of your maiden presence ; 
 Set your entreatments'' at a higher rate 
 Than a command to parley. For Lord Hamlet, 
 Believe so much in him, that he is yoang ; 
 And with a larger tether may he walk""* 
 Than may be given you:i<" in few, Ophelia, 
 Do not believe his vows ; for they are brokers,^''^ — 
 Not of that dye which their investments show, 
 But mere implorators of unholy suits, 
 Breathing like sanctified and pious bonds,'"* 
 The better to beguile. This is for all, — 
 I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth. 
 Have you so slander any moment's leisure, 
 As to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet. 
 Look to 't, I charge you : come your ways. 
 
 Oph. I shall obey, my lord. [Exeutit. 
 
 SCENE IV.— The Platform. 
 Enter Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus. 
 Hatn. The air bites shrewdly ; it is very cold. 
 Hor. It is a nipping and an eager'"* air. 
 Hatn. What hour now ? 
 
 Hor. I think it lacks of twelve. 
 
 Mar. No, it is struck. 
 
 100. IVii/i a larger tether may he walk. Figuratively used 
 to express ' with greater latitude may he behave.' 
 
 101. Than viay be given you. 'Than may be allowed in 
 you,' or ' than may be granted to you.' See Note 15, Act iii., 
 " Coriolanus." 
 
 1Q2. Brokers. ' Infamous pleaders, agents, or go-betweens.' 
 See Note 84, Act ii., " King John." 
 
 103. Bonds. This word has been suspected of error by 
 several of the editors and commentators ; but all the old copies 
 give it thus in the present passage, and we cannot help believing 
 it to be right, because Shakespeare uses "bonds" in several 
 other instances to express that which agrees with the sense here 
 required. See, for instance, how he employs " bonds " in the 
 passage referred to in Note 73, Act ii. , " Merchant of Venice," 
 and Note 30, Act v., " Troilus and Cressida," to signify 
 'pledged vows,' 'plighted assurances of faith and troth.' 
 
 104. Slander. Here used for ' injure,' ' disgrace,' ' abuse.' 
 
 105. Eager. Here employed in its sense as derived from the 
 French, aigre, ' sharp,' ' keen.' 
 
Act I.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Ilor. Indeed? I heard it not: then it draws 
 near the season 
 Wherein the spirit held his wont to walk. 
 
 \_A flourish of trumpets, and ordnance 
 shot off, iviihin. 
 
 What does this mean, my lord ? 
 Ham. The king doth wakei"« to-night, and 
 
 takes his rouse, 
 Keeps wassail, and the swaggering up-spring 
 
 reels ;W 
 
 And, as he drains his draughts of Rhenish down. 
 The kettle-drum and trumpet thus bray out 
 The triumph of his pledge. 
 
 Hor. Is it a custom ? 
 
 Ham. Ay, marry, is 't : 
 But to my mind, — though I am native here. 
 And to the manner born, — it is a custom 
 More honour'd in the breach than the observance. 
 This heavy-headed revel east and west 
 Makes us traduc'd and tax'd of other nations : 
 They clepe"" us drunkards, and with swinish phrase 
 Soil our addition and, indeed, it takes 
 From our achievements, though perform'd at 
 height. 
 
 The pith and marrow of our attribute. 
 
 So, oft it chances in particular men, 
 
 That, for some vicious mole of nature in them. 
 
 As, in their birth (wherein they are not guilty, 
 
 Since nature cannot choose his origin). 
 
 By the o'ergrowth of some complexion,"" 
 
 Oft breaking down the pales and forts of reason 
 
 Or by some habit, that too much o'er-leavens 
 
 The form of plausive manners ; — that these men,— 
 
 Carrying, I say, the stamp of one defect. 
 
 Being nature's livery, or fortune's star,"' — 
 
 Their virtues else (be they as pure as grace, 
 
 As infinite as man may undergo) 
 
 106. IVnke. * Hold a late revel.' A "wake" originally 
 meant a church night-festival, and came to signify any kind of 
 night revelling. See Note 88, Act v., " Love's Labour's Lost," 
 for this, and for the expression " keeps wassail." t or " rouse," 
 see Note 56 of the present Act. 
 
 107. T/te swa^gcrin^ 7cp spying reels. * Reels through the 
 swaggering dance called an up-spring.' That " up-spring" was 
 the name of a Northern national dance is testified by two lines 
 from Chapman's "Alphonsus, Emperor of Germany :" — 
 
 " We Germans have no changes in our dances ; 
 An abiiain and an Kp-spring, that is all." 
 
 \o1,. Clepe. 'Call.' See Note 26, Act iii., " Macbeth." 
 
 109. With siviiiish phrase soil our addition. * Disgrace our 
 title by a swinish epithet.' See Note 28, Act iii., " Macbeth." 
 The intemperance of the Danes in their drink was matter of 
 special notoriety at the time when Shakespeare wrote ; and 
 marvellous anecdotes are extant of enormous measures drained 
 at a draught by them. 
 
 110. Complexion. Here used for 'natural propensity,' 'con- 
 stitutional tendency.' See Note 43, Act iii., "As You Like It." 
 
 111. Fortune's star. The influence of the planet supposed to 
 govern the birth of each human individual. 
 
 112. The dram of base, This passage is omitted alto- 
 gether in the Folio ; while some of the Quartos give ' ease,' 
 others ' eale,' for "base." In the next line the Quartos print 
 
 Shall in the general censure take corruption 
 From that particular fault : the dram of base"- 
 Doth all the noble substance often dout, 
 To his own scandal."^ 
 Hor. Look, my lord, it comes ! 
 
 Enter Ghost. 
 
 Ham. Angels and ministers of grace defend us! — 
 Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damn'd. 
 Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell, 
 Be thy intents wicked or charitable. 
 Thou com'st in such a questionable shape,"* 
 That I will speak to thee : I'll call thee Hamlet, 
 King, father, royal Dane : oh, answer me ! 
 Let me not burst in ignorance ; but tell 
 Why thy canonis'd hones, hearsed in death. 
 Have burst their cerements;"* why the sepulchre, 
 Wherein we saw thee quietly in-urn'd. 
 Hath op'd his ponderous and marble jaws, 
 To cast thee up again ! What may this mean, 
 That thou, dead corse, again, in complete steel, "^ 
 Re-visit'st thus tiie glimpses of the inoon, 
 Making night hideotis ; and we fools of nature,"^ 
 So horridly to shake our disposition. 
 With thoughts beyond the reaches of our souls ? 
 Say, why is this ? wherefore ? what should we do ? 
 
 [The Ghost beckons Hamlet. 
 
 Hor. It beckons you to go away with it, 
 A.s if it some impartment did desire 
 To you alone. 
 
 Mar. Look, with what courteous action 
 
 It waves you to a more removed ground : 
 But do not go with it. 
 
 Hor. No, by no means. 
 
 Ham. It will not speak ; then will I follow it. 
 
 Hor. Do not, my lord. 
 
 Ham. Why, what should be the fear ? 
 
 'of a doubt* instead of "often dout." Of the many various 
 readings of these two lines we adopt Steevens's correction, as 
 being the one which seems to us to afford the sense and words 
 most likely intended by the author. " Dout" signifies ' do out,' 
 'put out,' 'extinguish,' 'obliterate.' See Note 49, Act iv., 
 " Henry V." That ' doubt ' and '' dout " were often printed the 
 one for the other, and that the two words afforded scope for 
 quibbling play upon them, is testified by the opening jest in 
 "AC. Merry Talys," 1567 (reprinted in 1864), where we find : — 
 " I never harde tell of more doutcs but twayn, that is to say, 
 doiti the candell and dout the fyre." 
 
 113. To his ozuH scandal. " His " used for ' its.' 
 
 114. A questionable shape. 'A shape inviting question or 
 inquiry.' The word "questionable" is here used to express 
 ' conversable,' and not, as more usually, signifying .' doubtful.' 
 See Notes 68 and ico. Act iii., " As You Like It." 
 
 115. Cerements. See Note 87, Act ii., " Merchant of Venice." 
 
 116. In c6mplete steel. It is recorded by Olaus Wormius 
 that it was the custom to bury the Danish kings in their armour. 
 Shakespeare seems to have been .aware of this fact, and has 
 used it with excellent dramatic purpose in this play ; making 
 Hamlet (Act i., sc. 2) emphatically advert to the circumstance, 
 and draw ominous inferences therefrom: — "Aim'd, say you?" 
 and " My father's spirit in arms ! all is not well." 
 
 117. IVe fools of nature. 'We ignoramuses in the numerous 
 secrets and mysteries of nature.' 
 
 387 
 
Horatio. Look, my lord, it comes! 
 
 Hamlet. Angels and ministers of grace defend us! 
 
 Act I. Scene 11^. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 I do not set my life at a pin's tee ; 
 
 And for iny soul, what can it do to that, 
 
 Being a thing immortal as itself ? 
 
 It waves me forth again ; — I'll follow it. 
 
 Hor. What if it tempt you toward the flood, 
 my lord, 
 
 Or to the dreadful summit of the clifF 
 That beetles o'er his base into the sea, 
 And there assume some other horrible form, 
 Which might deprive your sovereignty of reason, 
 And draw you into madness ? think of it : 
 The very place puts toys of desj)eration,"' 
 Without more motive, into every brain, 
 That looks so many fathoms to the sea, 
 And hears it roar beneath. 
 
 Ham. It waves me still. — 
 
 Go on ; I'll follo,v thee. 
 
 Mar. You shall not go, my lord. 
 
 Ham. Hold off your hands. 
 
 Hoi: Be rul'd ; you shall not go. 
 
 Ham. My fate cries out, 
 
 And makes each petty artery in this body 
 As hardy as the Nemean lion's nerve. — 
 
 [Ghost beckons. 
 Still am I call'd : — unhand me, gentlemen ; — 
 
 [Breaking from them. 
 By heaven, I'll make a ghost of him that lets'^' 
 me : — 
 
 I say, away ! — Go on ; I'll follow thee. 
 
 [Exeunt Ghost and Hamlet. 
 Hir. He waxes'^- desperate with imagination. 
 Mar. Let's follow ; 'tis not fit thus to obey him. 
 Hor. Have after. — To what issue will this 
 come ? 
 
 Mar. Something is rotten in the state of Den- 
 mark. 
 
 Hor. Heaven will direct it.'-' 
 
 Mar. Nay, let's follow him. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE V. — A more remote part of the Platform. 
 Enter Ghost and Hamlet. 
 Ham. Where wilt thou lead me? speak; I'll 
 go no farther. 
 
 118. Deprive your sovereignty of reason. "Deprive" is 
 here used ellipticaliy (as Shakespeare uses some verbs) to ex- 
 press ' deprive you of;' and "sovereignty of reason " signifies 
 'pre-eminence of reason,' 'exaliedness of reason,' 'elevated 
 quality of reason.' 
 
 119. Toys 0/ desperation. Here used for 'desperate tricks of 
 fancy,' ' desperate freaks of the imagination.' See Note 12, 
 Act i., " Richard III." 
 
 123. Eac/t Petty artery hardy as tJie Neiitenn lion's 
 
 nerve. Here Shakespeare distinctly consociates the arteries 
 with the nerves. See Note 109, Act iv., " Love's Labour's Lost." 
 
 i2r. Lets. 'Hinders,' 'prevents.' See Note 11, Act iii., 
 "Two Gent'emen of Verona." 
 
 122. \Va.ies. 'Grows.' 
 
 Ghost. Mark me. 
 Ham. I will. 
 
 Ghost. My hour is almost come. 
 
 When I to sulphurous and tormenting flames 
 Must render up myself. 
 
 Ham. Alas ! poor ghost ! 
 
 Ghost. Pity me not, but lend thy serious 
 hearing 
 To what I shall unfold. 
 
 Ham. Speak; I am bound to hear. 
 
 Ghost. So art thou to revenge, when thou shall 
 hear. 
 
 Ham. What? 
 
 Ghost. I am thy father's spirit ; 
 Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night. 
 And for the day confin'd to fast in fires,''^'' 
 Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature 
 Are burnt and purg'd away. But that I am 
 forbid 
 
 To tell the secrets of my prison-house, 
 I could a tale unfold, whose lightest word 
 Would harrow up thy soul ; freeze thy young 
 blood ; 
 
 Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their 
 spheres ; 
 
 Thy knotted and combined locks to part, 
 And each particular hair to stand on end. 
 Like quills upon the fretful porcupine : 
 But this eternal blazon must not be 
 To ears of flesh and blood. — -List, list, oh, list!— 
 If thou didst ever thy dear father love, — 
 Ham. O God ! 
 
 Ghost. Revenge his foul and most unnatural 
 
 murder. 
 Ham. Murder! 
 
 Ghost. Murder most foul, as in the best it is ; 
 But this most foul, strange, and unnatural. 
 Ham. Haste me to know 't, that 1, with wings 
 as swift 
 
 As meditation or the thoughts of love. 
 May sweep to my revenge. 
 
 Ghost. I find thee apt; 
 
 And duller shouldst thou be than the fat weed 
 That rots itself in ease on Lethe wharf, '^e 
 Wouldst thou not stir in this. Now, Hamlet, 
 hear ; 
 
 123. Nave after. An idiomatic expression, signifyin.^' willing- 
 ness to go. See Note 112, Act iv., "Taming of the Sl.rew." 
 
 124. Heaven will direct it. This is a folloH-ing up of 
 Horatio's own question ("To what will this come?"), and 
 forms a kind of response to it after Marcellus' reply. 
 
 125. Confin'd to fast in fires. Heath proposed to change 
 " fast in " to ' lasting ;' but it was supposed that departed spirits 
 felt the same desires and appetites as when existing in the flesh ; 
 therefore deprivation of food was among the penalties they were 
 believed to endure. 
 
 126. Tliat rots itself in ease on Lethe wharf The Quartos 
 read 'roots' instead of "rots," which is the Folio word, and 
 which we think by far the mor ■ fit exoression here. For an 
 explanation of "Lethe" see Note 12, Activ., "Twelfth Night." 
 
Act I.] ha; 
 
 'Tis given out that, sleeping in mine orchard, 
 
 A serpent stung me; so the whole ear of Denmark 
 
 Is by a forged process of my death 
 
 Rankly abus'd : but know, thou noble youth, 
 
 The serpent that did sting thy father's life 
 
 Now wears his crown. 
 
 Ham. Oh, my prophetic soul ! 
 
 My uncle ! 
 
 Ghost. Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast, 
 With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts, 
 (Oh, wicked wit, and gifts, that have the power 
 So to seduce !) won to his shameful lust 
 The will of my most seeming-virtuous queen : 
 
 0 Hamlet, what a falling-ofF was there! 
 From me, whose love was of that dignity, 
 That it went hand in hand even with the vow 
 
 1 made to her in marriage ; and to decline 
 Upon a wretch, whose natural gifts were poor 
 To those of mine ! 
 
 But virtue, as it never will be mov'd. 
 Though lewdness court it in a shape of heaven ; 
 So lust, though to a radiant angel link'd. 
 Will sate itself in a celestial bed. 
 And prey on garbage. 
 
 But, soft ! methinks I scent the morning air; 
 Brief let me be. — Sleeping within mine orchard, 
 My custom always in the afternoon, 
 Upon my secure hour^-^ thy uncle stole, 
 With juice of curs6d hebenon^^s in a vial. 
 And in the porches of mine ears did pour 
 The leperous distil men t ; '^o whose effect 
 Holds such an enmity with blood of man, 
 That, swift as quicksilver, it courses through 
 The natural gates and alleys of the body ; 
 And, with a sudden vigour, it doth posset 
 And curd, like eager^^i droppings into milk. 
 
 127. Orchard. 'Garden.' See Note 53, Act ii., " Much Ado." 
 
 128. My secure hour. ' My hour of fancied security,' ' my 
 hour of supposed safety.' See Note 31, Act v., " Richard II." 
 
 129. llebenon. By this word some suppose Shakespeare to 
 have meant 'henbane ;' the oil of which, according to Pliny, 
 dropped into the ear, disturbs the brain. In Shakespeare's time 
 it was held to be poisonous. Others surmise that the word is used 
 to signify 'ebony ;' which was believed to possess soporific and 
 poisonous qualities. The 1603 Quarto gives the word ' hebona.' 
 
 130. The leperous distilment. Meaning the liquid distilled 
 from "hebenon," which caused the leprosy subsequently de- 
 scribed as producing a " vile and loathsome crust." 
 
 131. Eager. 'Sharp,' 'acid,' 'sour;' French, aigre. See 
 Note 105 of this Act. 
 
 132. Despatch' d. To 'rid' and to 'despatch' were for- 
 merly used the one word for the other. See Note 47, Act v., 
 "Richard II." Here "despatch'd" signifies ' summarily sent 
 from and bereft of.' 
 
 133. ITtthonseVd. ' Without having received the sacrament 
 from the Latin hostiola, which is rendered by Ainsworth, in his 
 Dictionary, ' a little consecrated host, a housel." 
 
 134. Disappointed. 'Uiiappointed,' 'unprepared ;' 'spiritually 
 unprovided.' See Note 13, Act iii., " Measure for Measure." 
 
 135. Unanel'd. ' Without extreme unction.' 
 
 136 Oh, horrible! oh, horrible 1 most horrible ! Notwith- 
 standing that all the old copies concur in assigning these words 
 
 LET, [SCKNE V. 
 
 The thin and wholesome blood: so did it mine; 
 And a most instant tetter bark'd about. 
 Most lazar-like, with vile and loathsome crust, 
 All my smooth body. 
 Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother's hand 
 Of life, of crown, of queen, at once despatch'd:''*^ 
 Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin, 
 Unhousel'djis^ disappointed, unanel'd; "5 
 No reckoning made, but sent to my account 
 With all my imperfections on my head : 
 Oh, horrible! oh, horrible! most horrible !'3o 
 If thou hast nature in thee, bear it not ; 
 Let not the royal bed of Denmark be 
 A couch for luxury and damned incest. 
 But, howsoever thou pursu'st this act, 
 Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive 
 Against thy mother aught: leave her to heaven. 
 And to those thorns that in her bosom lodge. 
 To prick and sting her. Fare thee well at once • 
 The glow-worm shows the matin to be near. 
 And 'gins to pale his uneffectuaP^/ fire : 
 Adieu, adieu! Hamlet, remember me. '^s \_Exit. 
 Ham. Oh, all you host of heaven ! oh, earth ! 
 what else ? 
 
 And shall I couple hell ?— Oh, fie !— Hold, my 
 heart ; 
 
 And you, my sinews, grow not instant old. 
 
 But bear me stiffly up. — Remember thee ! 
 
 Ay, thou poor ghost, while memory holds a scat 
 
 In this distracted globe. Remember thee! 
 
 Yea, from the table of my memory 
 
 I'll wipe away all trivial fond records, 
 
 All saws''*' of books, all forms, all pressures ■''^ past, 
 
 That youth and observation copied there ; 
 
 And thy commandment all alone shall live 
 
 Within the book and volume of my brain. 
 
 to the ghost, some editors have given them to Hamlet. We 
 think they markedly belong to the ghost, if it were only on 
 account of their emphatic triple iteration, which is so completely 
 consistent with the previous three-fold " List, list, oh, list ! " and 
 the subsequent solemn repetition of " Swear ! " 
 
 137. Unejffectical. There is double fignification included in 
 this word ; it means the glow-worm's light, which shines without 
 giving heat, and which no longer shows when morning appears. 
 
 138. Adieu, adieu! Hamlet, remember met This is the 
 Folio reading; but the Quartos give 'Adieu, adieu, adieu! 
 remember me : ' which confirms our view of the triple iteration 
 with which the ghost's diction was marked in the author's con- 
 ception of it, although he may have seen fit to modify it on 
 revisal. See our last Note but one. 
 
 139. This distracted globe. ' This head of mine disturbed 
 with perplexing ideas.' 
 
 140. Table. In figurative reference to the tablets or table- 
 books used for keeping memorandums in, which were tem- 
 porarily inscribed, and could be readily effaced. See Note 39, 
 Act iv., " Second P.art Henry IV." 
 
 i4t. SaTvs. 'Axioms,' 'adages.'. See Note loi. Act iii., 
 "Twelfth Night." 
 
 .142. Pressures. Here used as an abbreviated form of ' im- 
 pressures,' meaning 'impressions.' Shakespeare elsewhere uses 
 *' impressure" for 'impression,' See Note log, Act iii., "As 
 You Like It." 
 
Act I.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 Unmix'd with baser matter: yes, by heaven. — 
 
 Oh, most pernicious woman ! 
 
 Oh, villain, villain, smiling, damned villain ! 
 
 My tables,!''^ — meet it is I set it down, 
 
 That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain ; 
 
 At least I'm sure it may be so in Denmark : 
 
 [IFrhing. 
 
 So, uncle, there you are. Now to iny word 
 It is, " Adieu, adieu! remember me :" 
 I have sworn 't. 
 Hor. [IFithin.] My lord ! my lord ! — 
 Mar. [IFithin.] Lord Hamlet,— 
 
 Hor. [IFiihin.] Heaven secure him ! 
 
 Mar. \_lFithin.-] So be it ! 
 Hor. [/Fithjn.] Illo, ho, ho, my lord ! 
 Ham. Hillo, ho, ho, boy ! come, bird, come."" 
 
 Enter Horatio and Marcellus. 
 
 Mar. How is 't, my noble lord ? 
 
 Hor. What news, my lord ? 
 
 Ham. Oh, wonderful ! 
 
 Hor. Good my lord, tell it. 
 
 Ham. No; you'll reveal it. 
 
 Hor. Not I, my lord, by heaven. 
 
 Mar. Nor I, my lord. 
 
 Ham. How say you, then ; would heart of man 
 once think, it ? — 
 But you'll be secret? 
 
 Hor., Mar. Ay, by heaven, my lord. 
 
 Ham. There's ne'er a villain dwelling in all 
 Denmark 
 But he's an arrant knave. 
 
 Hor. There needs no ghost, my lord, come 
 from the grave 
 To tell us this. 
 
 Ham. Why, right ; you are i' the right ; 
 And so, without more circumstance at all, 
 I hold it fit that we shake hands and part : 
 
 You, as your business and desire shall point you, 
 
 For every man has business and desire. 
 Such as it is ; — and for mine own poor part. 
 Look you, I'll go pray. 
 
 143. My tables. Here refers to the actual tablets or memo- 
 randum-books kept about the person ready for use. 
 
 144. IVoni. Occasionally, as here, used for a brief sentence, 
 a watch-word. See Note 34, Act v., " Macbeth." 
 
 145. Heaven secure him I "Secure" is here used in the 
 sense of 'keep safe,' 'guard,' 'protect.' Shakespeare uses the 
 words " secure" and 'safe' thus respectively, the one including 
 the sense of the other. See Note 72, Act i., " Macbeth." 
 
 146. Hillo, ho, ho, boy I come, bird, come. This is the call 
 used by falconers to the hawk, when they would have it descend 
 from the air to them ; and Hamlet, hearing Horatio shout to 
 him, replies thus, in the spirit of wild levity which suddenly 
 possesses him, and which is so afifectingly the contrary to real 
 hilarity. 
 
 147. Circumstance. Here, as elsewhere by Shakespeare, 
 used in the sense which it formerly sometimes bore of 'circum- 
 locution.' See Note 28, Act i., "Merchant of Venice." 
 
 14S. By Saint Patrick. There is propriety in making the 
 studious prince, Hamlet, use this adjuration, since " Saint 
 
 Hor. These are but wild and whirling words, 
 my lord. 
 
 Ham. I'm sorry they offend you, heartily ; 
 Yes, faith, heartily. 
 Hor. There's no offence, my lord. 
 
 Ham. Yes, by Saint Patrick,''*'* but there is, 
 Horatio, 
 
 And much offence too. Touching this vision 
 here, — 
 
 It is an honest ghost, that let me tell you : 
 For your desire to know what is between us, 
 O'ermaster it as you may. And now, good friends, 
 As you are friends, scholars, and soldiers, 
 Give me one poor request. 
 
 Hor. What is 't, my lord ? we will. 
 
 Ham. Never make known what you nave seen 
 to-night. 
 
 Hor., Mar. My lord, we will not. 
 
 Ham. Nay, but swear 't. 
 
 Hor. In faith, 
 
 My lord, not I. 
 
 Mar. Nor I, my lord, in faith. 
 
 Ham. Upon my sword. 
 
 Mar. We have sworn, my lord, already. 
 
 Ham. Indeed, upon my sword, indeed. 
 Ghost. [Beneath.'j Swear. 
 
 Ham. Ah, ha, boy! say'st thou so? art thou 
 there, true-penny r'^" — 
 Come on, — you hear this fellow in the cellarage, — 
 Consent to swear. 
 
 Hor. Propose the oath, my lord. 
 
 Ham. Never to speak of this that you have 
 seen, 
 
 Swear by my sword. 
 
 Ghost. [Beneath.'] Swear. 
 
 Ham. Hie et ttbique •?'^^^ then we'll shift our 
 ground. — 
 Come hither, gentlemen, 
 And lay your hands again upon my sword : 
 Never to speak of this that you have heard, 
 Swear by my sword. 
 
 Ghost. [Beneath.] Swear. 
 
 Patrick" is the patron saint of Ireland, and Ireland was in 
 ancient times a famed seat of learning whence the whole 
 northern world derived their erudition. Dean Swift's " Verses 
 on the Sudden Drying Up of St. Patrick's Well, 1726," contain 
 many allusions to the early cultivation of literature in Ireland. 
 
 149. Upon my sward. It was the custom to swear by the 
 cross upon the hilt of the sword ; and therefrom came the 
 idiomatic expression ' to swear upon the sword.' 
 
 150. True-penny. A familiar epithet for an honest fellow ; 
 and it has peculiar appropriateness as here used by Shakespeare 
 in reference to the ghost's voice beneath the earth, since it has 
 been asserted by Mr. Collier, on the authority of competent 
 informants, to be a mining term, significative of a particular 
 indication in the soil of the direction in which ore may be 
 found. The tone of forced ease taken by Hamlet in this period 
 of excitement is finely and boldly imagined, as well as wonder- 
 fully in keeping with the whole mental development of the 
 character. 
 
 151. Hie et nbique ? Latin ; ' here and everywhere.' 
 
Act II.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 ham. Well said, old mole ! canst work i' the 
 earth so fast ? 
 A worthy pioneer !— Once more remove, good 
 friends. 
 
 Hor. Oh, day and night, but this is wondrous 
 strange ! 
 
 Ham. And therefore as a stranger give it 
 welcome. 
 
 There are more things in heaven and earth, 
 Horatio, 
 
 Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.'** 
 But come 
 
 Mere, as before, never, so help you mercy, 
 How strange or odd soe'er I bear myself,— 
 As I, perchance, hereafter shall think meet 
 To put an antic disposition on,'** — 
 That you, at such times seeing me, never shall, 
 With arms encumber'd thus, or this head-shake, 
 Or by pronouncing of some doubtful phrase, 
 
 As, " Well, well, we know ; "—or, " We could, an 
 
 if we would ; — 
 Or, " If we list to speak ; "—or, '< There be, an if 
 
 they might;"'*' — 
 Or such ambiguous giving out,'*^ to note 
 That you know aught of me : — this not to do. 
 So grace and mercy at your most need help you. 
 Swear. 
 
 Ghost. [B-eneath.'] Swear. 
 
 Ham. Rest, rest, perturbed spirit !'*' — So, gentle- 
 men. 
 
 With all my love I do commend me to you : 
 
 And what so poor a man as Hamlet is'™ 
 
 May do, to express his love and friending to you, 
 
 God willing, shall not lack. Let us go in together ; 
 
 And still your fingers on your lips, I pray. 
 
 The time is out of joint : — Oh, cursed spite, 
 
 That ever I was born to set it right ! — 
 
 Nay, come, let's go together. [^Exeunt. 
 
 ACT 
 
 SCENE \.—A Rjom in Polonius' House. 
 
 Enter Polonius and Reynaldo. 
 
 Pol. Give him this money and these notes, 
 
 Reynaldo. 
 Rey. I will, my lord. 
 
 Pol. You shall do marv'lous wisely, good 
 Reynaldo, 
 
 152. O/i, day and night. See Note 78, Act i., " Henry VIII." 
 
 153. As a stranger give it ivelcoine. * Receive it with 
 respectful deference, and as something with which you are to 
 appear unacquainted.' 
 
 154. In your philosophy. This is the reading of all the 
 Quartos, while the Folio gives ' our' instead of " your ;" which 
 word is used in the idiomatic manner so frequently pointed out, 
 where the object is to instance a generality. See Note 26, 
 Act ii., " Coriolanus." 
 
 155. To put an antic disfiositiott on. The earnestly disputed 
 question as to whether Hamlet is really insane or not may 
 here, we think, be appropriately adverted to ; since it seems 
 to us sufficiently evident, if only from this one passage, that 
 the author clearly intended Hamlet to assume madness, not 
 to be mad in truth. We feel a certain diffidence in stating 
 our opinion when so totally opopsed to that of the several 
 medical practitioners whose care of insane patients gives to 
 their opinion so much claim to be regarded ; neverthefess, our 
 conviction is strong as derived from the internal evidence of 
 the play itself, and we therefore hold ourselves called upon 
 sincerely and candidly to express our belief that Hamlet is 
 meant by Shakespeare to be profoundly melancholy, to have 
 had his spirits and mental energies depressed to a condition 
 of almost hypochondriacal dejection, but that his intellect is 
 sound and his intelligence thoroughly unimpaired. As we pro- 
 ceed, we shall point out the particular passages which most 
 confirm us in our view and most tend to support our side of 
 the argument. 
 
 156. Vye could, an if we would. 'Tell,' or 'say,' is ellipti- 
 
 II. 
 
 Before you visit him, to make enquiry 
 Of his behaviour. 
 
 Rey. My lord, I did intend it. 
 
 Pol. Marry, well said; very well said. Look 
 you, sir. 
 
 Enquire me first what Danskers' are in Paris ; 
 And how, and who, what means,^ and where they 
 keep, 3 
 
 c.iUy understood after "could." See Note 67, Act iii., "Timon 
 of Athens." 
 
 157. There be, an if tJiey might. An ellipsis for ' there are 
 persons, were they permitted to divulge.' 
 
 158. Or such ambiguous giving out. The previous " by " be- 
 fore " pronouncing " is here understood as repeated before ' ' such." 
 
 159. Rest, rest, perturbed spirit '. After the strain of almost 
 unseemly levity in which Hamlet's agitation of mind has taken 
 refuge — using such expressions as " boy," " true-penny," " this 
 fellow in the cellarage," and "old mole" — it has an effect of 
 pathos and deep heart-feeling, these few murmured soothing 
 words, " Rest, rest, perturbed spirit ! " coming as a clima.\ and 
 
 160. So poor a man as Hamlet is. It is noteworthy that 
 Hamlet frequently speaks of himself in the third person ; which 
 is excellently characteristic of the philosophic man— reflective, 
 thoughtful, given to moralise and speak in the abstract. 
 
 1. Enquire me first what DaUskers. " Me" is used idiomati- 
 cally, in the sense of ' for me' (see Note 33, Act ii., " Merch.int 
 of Venice"); and "Danskers" is an old form of 'Danes.' 
 Warner, in his " Albion's England," calls Denmark Danske. 
 
 2. And ho7v, and who, what means, and, &'c. These two 
 lines afford a notable example of Shakespeare's elliptical style ; 
 'they live there' being understood after "how," 'they are' 
 after " who," ' they have' after "means," 'they frequent' after 
 " company," and ' they live ' after "expense." 
 
 ■i. Keep. ' Dwell,' 'reside.' See Note 13, Act iv., " Love's 
 Labour's Lost." 
 
Act II.] HAMLET. [Scene I. 
 
 Polonius. How now, Ophelia! what's the matter? 
 
 Ophelia. Alas ! my lord, I have beea so affrighted ! Act II. Sceiie I. 
 
 What company, at what expense ; and finding, 
 By this encompassment and drift of question, 
 That they do know my son, come you more 
 nearer 
 
 Than your particular demands will touch it : * 
 Take you, as 'twere, some distant knowledge of 
 him ; 
 
 As thus, " I know his father and his friends. 
 
 And in part him ;" — do you mark this, Reynaldo ? 
 
 Rey. Ay, very well, my lord. 
 
 Pol. "And in part him; — but," you may say, 
 "not well : 
 
 4. Will touch it. "It" here refers to the " enquiry of his 
 behaviour" previously mentioned. 
 
 5. Noted and most knoinn to youth. In ordinary construction 
 this phrase would be written ' notedly most known to youth,' or 
 ' noted to be most known to youth ;' but by Shakespeare's ellip- 
 tical style it is thus succinctly worded, giving * to be known' as 
 understood between *' known " and ** to youth." 
 
 But, if 't be he I mean, he's very wild ; 
 Addicted so and so ;" — and there put on him 
 What forgeries you please ; marry, none so rank 
 As may dishonour him ; take heed of that ; 
 But, sir, such wanton, wild, and usual slips 
 As are companions noted and most known 
 To youth''' and liberty. 
 
 Rey. As gaming, my lord. 
 
 Pol. Ay, or drinking, fencing,* swearing, 
 quarrelling, 
 Drabbing : — you may go so far. 
 
 Rey. My lord, that would dishonour him. 
 
 6. Fencing. This word, as here used, includes the liability 
 to squabbling and brawling to which over-zealous cultivation of 
 skill in the use of the weapon is likely to lead. In Gosson's 
 " Schole op Abuse," 1579, is said : " The cunning of fencers 
 is now applied to quarrelling; they think themselves no men, 
 if, for stirring of a straw, they prove not their valure uppon 
 some bodies fleshe." 
 
 VOL. III. 
 
 216 
 
Act II.] 
 
 [SCENK I. 
 
 Pol. Faith, no ; as you may season it' in the 
 charge. 
 
 You must not put another scandal on him, 
 That he is open to incontinency ; 
 That's not my meaning : but breathe his faults so 
 quaintly,^ 
 
 That they may seem the taints of liberty ; 
 The flash and outbreak of a fiery mind ; 
 A savageness^ in unreclaimed blood, 
 Of general assault.^* 
 
 Rey. But, my good lord, — 
 
 Pol. Wherefore should you do this ? 
 
 Rey. Ay, my lord, 
 
 I would know that. 
 
 Pol. Marry, sir, here's my drift ; 
 
 And, I believe, it is a fetch of warrant:'' 
 You laying these slight sullies on my son. 
 As 'twere a thing a little soil'd i' the working, 
 Mark you. 
 
 Your party in converse, him you would sound. 
 Having ever seen in the prenominate crimes'^ 
 The youth you breathe of guilty, be assur'd 
 He closes '3 with you in this consequence; 
 "Good sir," or so;'* or "friend," or "gentle- 
 man," — 
 
 According to the phrase, or the addition, 
 Of man and country. 
 
 Rey. Very good, my lord. 
 
 Pol. And then, sir, does he this, — he does — 
 What was I about to say ? — By the mass, I was 
 About to say something : — where did I leave ? 
 
 Rey. At " closes in the consequence," 
 At "friend or so," and "gentleman." 
 
 Pol. At — closes in the consequence, — ay, marry; 
 He closes with you thus: — "I know the gentle- 
 man ; 
 
 I saw him yesterday, or t' other day. 
 Or then, or then ; with such, or such ; and, as you 
 say, 
 
 There was he gaming ; there o'ertook in 's rouse ; 
 
 There falling out at tennis :" or perchance, 
 
 " I saw him enter such a house of sale," 
 
 Or so forth. — See you now ; 
 
 Your bait of falsehood takes this carp of truth : 
 
 7. As you may seasoti it. Here "season" is used in nearly 
 the same sense as in the passage referred to in Note 95, Act i., 
 for ' temper,' ' modify.' 
 
 8. Quaintly. Here usSd for 'dexterously,' 'adroitly,' 'in- 
 geniously,* 'skilfully.' See Note 13, Act ii., "Two Gentlemen 
 of Verona." 
 
 9. Savageness.^ ' Wildness,' ' irregularity,' ' lawlessness.' 
 
 10. Of general assault . ' Which generally attacks youth,' or 
 ' to which youth is generally liable.' 
 
 11. A fetch of warrant. 'A warranted contrivance,' 'an 
 allowable trick or stratagem.' 
 
 12. The ^renominate crimes. The crimes I have just named.' 
 
 13. Closes. ' Finally agrees with,' 'comes to the concluding 
 point of assent with.' See Note 127, Act ii., " Second Tart 
 Henry IV." 
 
 14. Or so. Here " so" is used for ' so forth,' ' such and such,' 
 ' thus,' ' after this fashion.' 
 
 And thus do we of wisdom and of reach, 
 With windlaces, and with assays of bias, 
 By indirections find directions out : 
 So, by my former lecture and advice. 
 Shall you my son. You have me, have you not ? 
 Rey. My lord, I have. 
 
 Pol. God b' wi' you ; fare you well. 
 
 Rey. Good my lord ! '^ 
 
 Pol. Observe his inclination in yourself 
 
 Rey. I shall, my lord. 
 
 PoL And let him ply his music.'" 
 
 Rey. Well, my lord. 
 
 Pol. Farewell ! \Exit Reynaldo. 
 
 Enter Ophelia. 
 How now, Ophelia ! what's the matter ? 
 
 Oph. Alas! my lord, I have been so affrighted] 
 
 Pol. With what, i' the name of Heaven ? 
 
 Oph. My lord, as I was sewing in my chamber, 
 Lord Hamlet, — with his doublet all unbrac'd ; 
 No hat upon his head ; his stockings foul'd, 
 Ungarter'd, and down-gyved" to his ancle ; 
 Pale as his shirt ; his knees knocking each other ; 
 And with a look so piteous in purport 
 As if he had been loosed out of hell 
 To speak of horrors, — he comes before me. 
 
 Pol. Mad for thy love T-" 
 
 Oph. My lord, I do not know ; 
 
 But, truly, I do fear it. 
 Pol. What said he ? 
 
 Oph. He took me by the wrist, and held me 
 hard ; 
 
 Then goes he to the length of all his arm ; 
 And, with his other hand thus o'er his brow, 
 He falls to such perusal of my face 
 As he would draw it. Long stay'd he so ; 
 At last, — a little shaking of mine arm. 
 And thrice his head thus waving up and down, — 
 He rais'd a sigh so piteous and profound. 
 That it did seeni to shatter all his bulk,^' 
 And end his being : that done, he lets me go; 
 And, with, his head over his shoulder turn'd. 
 He seem'd to find his way without his eyes ; • 
 For out o' doors he went without their help. 
 
 15. Addition. 'Title.' See No 
 
 play. 
 
 ; 109, Act i. of the present 
 iirtesy used in leave-taking. 
 
 Good my lord! A phrase of co 
 See Note 49, Act ii.; " Henry VIII. 
 
 17. In yo7irself. An idiom equivalent to 'in your own per- 
 son,' ' by your own observation.' , , 
 
 18. Let him ply his music. A figurative expression, nieamng 
 'let him go on to what tune he pleases,' 'let him conduct 'himself 
 in any style, and at any rate he chooses.* 
 
 19. Down-gyved. . Hanging loosely down, like the ring that 
 confines gyves or fetters round the ankle. 
 
 20. Mad for thy love.? Here is the first indication of the 
 "antic disposition" having been "put on," and of its having 
 produced the idea of his being "mad," which Hamlet intended 
 to inspire. 
 
 21. Bulk. 'Body,' 'personal frame ;' especially the chest.' 
 See Note 87, Act i., " Richard III." 
 
Act II.] 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 And, to the last, bended their light on me. 
 
 Pot. Come, go with me : I will go seek the king. 
 Phis is the very ecstacy of love ; 
 Whose violent property fordoes itself 
 And leads the will to desperate undertakings, 
 As oft as any passion under heaven 
 That does afflict our natures. I am sorry, — 
 What! have you given him any hard words of late? 
 
 Opb. No, my good lord ; but, as you did com- 
 mand, 
 
 I did repel his letters, and denied 
 His access :to me. 
 
 Pol. That hath made him mad. 
 
 I am sorry that with better heed and judgment 
 I had not quoted ^3 him : I fear'd he did but trifle. 
 And meant to wreck thee; but, beshrew my 
 
 jealousy ! 
 It seems^* it is as proper to our age 
 To cast beyond ourselves in our opinions, 
 As it is common for the younger sort 
 To lack discretion. Come, go we to the king : 
 This must be known ; which, being kept close, 
 
 might move 
 More grief to hide than hate to utter love.^" 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE II.— J Room in the Castle. 
 
 Enter King, Queen, Rosencrantz, Guilden- 
 STERN, and Attendants. 
 
 King. Welcome, dear Rosencrantz and Guil- 
 denstern ! 
 
 Moreover that we much did long to see you. 
 The need we have to use you did provoke 
 Our hasty sending. Something have you heard 
 Of Hamlet's transformation ; so I call it. 
 Since nor the exterior nor the inward man 
 Resembles that it was. What it should be. 
 More than his father's death, that thus hath put 
 him 
 
 So much from the understanding of himself, 
 
 [ cannot dream of : I entreat you both. 
 
 That, being of so young days brought up with him, 
 
 And since so neighbour'd to his youth and humour, 
 
 That you vouchsafe your rest here in our court 
 
 Some little time : so by your companies 
 
 To draw him on to pleasures, and to gather, 
 
 22. Fordoes. 'Undoes,' 'destroys.' See Note z, Act i., 
 " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 23. Quoted. ' Noted,' ' observed,' 'remarked.' See Note 69, 
 Act iv., "Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 24. It seems. This is the reading of the Folio, while the 
 Quartos give ' By heaven.' See Note 92, Act i., " Romeo and 
 Juhet." 
 
 25. Might move tnore grief, &'c. 'Might occasion us more 
 mischief were we to hide it from the king, than hate from 
 Hamlet were we to speak of his love.' 
 
 26. IV/ietiier aught, to us unknown, afflicts him thus. This 
 
 So much as from occasion you may glean, 
 Whether aught, to us unknown, afflicts him thus,^^ 
 That, open'd, lies within our remedy. 
 ^ueen. Good gentlemen, he hath much talk'd 
 of you ; 
 
 And sure I am two men there are not living 
 To whom he more adheres. If it will please you 
 To show us so much gentry ^7 and good will 
 As to expend your time with us awhile, 
 For the supply and profit of our hope. 
 Your visitation shall receive such thanks 
 As fits a king's remembrance. 
 
 R-os, Both your majesties 
 
 Might, by the sovereign power you have of us. 
 Put your dread pleasures more into command 
 Than to entreaty, 
 
 Guil. Btit we both obey. 
 
 And here give up ourselves, in the full bent,^' 
 To lay our service freely at your feet, 
 To be commanded. 
 
 King. Thanks, Rosencrantz and gentle Guil- 
 denstern. 
 
 ^ueen. Thanks, Guildenstern and gentle Ro- 
 sencrantz : 
 And I beseech you instantly to visit 
 My too much changed son. — Go, some of you, 
 And bring these gentlemen where Hamlet is. 
 Guil. Heavens make our presence and our 
 practices 
 Pleasant and helpful to him ! 
 
 S^iieen. Ay, Amen ! 
 
 {Exeunt Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, 
 and some Attendants. 
 
 Enter PoLONius. 
 
 Pol. The embassadors from Norway, my good 
 lord. 
 
 Are joyfully return'd. 
 King. Thou still hast been the father of good 
 news. 
 
 Pol. Have I, my lord ? Assure you, my good 
 liege, 
 
 I hold my duty, as I hold my soul. 
 Both to my God, and to my gracious king : 
 And I do think (or else this brain of mine 
 Hunts not the trail of policy^' so sure 
 As it hath us'd to do) that I have found 
 The very cause of Hamlet's lunacy. 
 
 line, so necessary to the complete sense of the passage, is 
 omitted in the Folio ; affording another instance of the signal 
 benefit derived from the Quarto copies as guides to obtaining 
 the true text. 
 
 27. Gentry. Here used for ' gentility,' ' gentleness,' ' courtesy.' 
 
 28. The full bent. A phrase expressive of ' the full extent,' 
 ' the full tension,' ' the utmost strain of exertion.' See Note 68, 
 Act ii., "Twelfth Night." 
 
 29. Hunts not the trail of policy. Figuratively referring to 
 the chase of game by the track of its scent. See Note 18, Act 
 iv., " Merry Wives." 
 
Act 11. 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 King. Oh, speak of that ; that do I long to 
 hear. 
 
 Pol. Give first admittance to the embassadors; 
 My news shall he the fruit^o to that great feast. 
 
 King. Thyself do grace to them, and bring 
 them in. ]_Exit Polonius. 
 
 He tells me, my dear Gertrude, he hath found 
 The head and source of all your son's distemper. 
 
 ^eeji. I doubt it is no other but the main, 3' — 
 His father's death, and our o'erhasty marriage. 
 
 KiKg. Well, we shall sift him.^^ 
 
 Re-enter Polonius, nvith VoltiMANd and 
 Cornelius. 
 Welcome, my good friends! 
 Say, Voltimand, what from our brother Norway 
 
 Folt. Most fair return of greetings and desires. 
 Upon our first, he sent out to suppress 
 His nephew's levies; which to him appear'd 
 To be a preparation 'gainst the Polack 
 But, better look'd into, he truly found 
 It was against your highness : whereat griev'd, — 
 That so his sickness, age, and impotence, 
 Was falsely borne in hand,^^ — sends out arrests 
 On Fortinbras ; which he, in brief, obeys ; 
 Receives rebuke from Norway ; and, in fine. 
 Makes vow before his uncle never more 
 To give the assay of arms against your majesty. 
 Whereon old Norway, overcome with joy, 
 Gives him three thousand crowns in annual fee ;^^ 
 And his commission to employ those soldiers, 
 So levied as before, against the Polack : 
 With an entreaty, herein farther shown, 
 
 [Gives a paper. 
 That it might please you to give quiet pass 
 Through your dominions for this enterprise, 
 On such regards of safety and allowance 
 As therein are set down. 
 
 King. It likes us well ;37 
 
 And at our more consider'd time we'll read. 
 Answer, and think upon this business. 
 
 30 The fruit. ' The dessert.' 
 
 31. No other but tlie main. Elliptically expressed ; signifying 
 ' no other than the main and obvious cause.' 
 
 32. IVell, ive shall sift him. "Sift" is here used for 'try,' 
 ' test,' ' search,' ' examine.' See Note 97, Act i. 
 
 33. What from our brother Norway'. "What" is here 
 elliptically employed for 'what news;' "our brother" means 
 ' our brother king ; ' and " Norway is used as in the first and 
 second scene of this play, and as " Morocco " is in the passage 
 referred to in Note 86, Act ii., "Merchant of Venice "—the title 
 of the kingdom used for a royal name. 
 
 34. The Polack. ' The Polanders,' ' the Polish people.' See 
 Note 16, Act i. 
 
 33. Borne in Jiand. 'Deluded,' 'beguiled by falje pretexts 
 and appearances.' See Note 20 Act iii., "Macbeth." 
 
 36. Gives him three thousand croivns in annual fee. ' Gives 
 him a feud (or "fee") in land to the value of three thousand 
 crowns a year.' 
 
 yj. It likes us -well. ' It pleases us well.' See Note 75, Act 
 ii., " King John." 
 
 Meantim-e we thank you for your well-took labour : 
 Go to your rest : at night we'll feast together : 
 Most welcome home ! 
 
 [Exeunt Voltimand and Cornelius. 
 
 Pol. This business is well ended. — 
 
 My liege, and madam, — to expostulate 
 What majesty should be, what duty is. 
 Why day is day, night night, and time is time. 
 Were nothing but to waste night, day, and time. 
 Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit,-''^ 
 And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, 
 I will be brief; — your noble son is mad : 
 Mad call I it ; for, to define true madness. 
 What is 't, but to be nothing else but mad ? 
 But let that go. 
 
 Slueen. More matter, with less art. 
 
 Pol. Madam, I swear I use no art at all. 
 That he is mad, 'tis true : 'tis true 'tis pity ; 
 And pity 'tis 'tis true ; a foolish figure ; 
 But farewell it, for I will use no art. 
 Mad let us grant him, then : and now remains 
 That we find out the cause of this effect,— 
 Or rather say, the cause of this defect, 
 For this effect defective comes by cause : 
 Thus it remains, and the remainder thus. 
 Perpend. 
 
 I have a daughter, — have, while she is mine, — 
 
 Who, in her duty and obedience, mark. 
 
 Hath given me this : now gather, and surmise. 
 
 [Reads. 
 
 To the celestial, and my soul's idol, the most beautified** 
 Ophelia, 
 
 That's an ill phrase, a vile phrase, — " beautified " 
 is a vile phrase ; but you shall hear. Thus : 
 
 [Reads. 
 
 In her excellent white bosom, these,<l &c. — 
 Slueen. Came this from Hamlet to her? 
 Pol. Good madam, stay awhile ; I will be faith- 
 ful. [Reads, 
 
 Doubt thou the stars are fire ; « 
 
 Doubt that the sun doth move ; 
 Doubt truth to be a liar ; 
 
 But never doubt I love. 
 
 Expostulate. From the Latin, expostulare, 
 
 argue 
 
 the, 
 
 39. Wit. Here used for ' wisdom ;' though it includes the 
 sense in which it is ordinarily used. The word signifies intelli^ 
 gential acuteness generally, in grave and serious matters as well 
 as in humorous points. 
 
 40. Beautified. An expression used by Shakespeare, in 
 "Two Gentlemen of Verona," Act iv., sc. i, to signify 'made 
 comely,' 'graced,' 'embellished;' and here meaning 'adorned 
 by many lovely gifts of nature.' The word was employed in 
 various dedications and eulogistic addresses by writers of his 
 time. Polonius, taking it for an affected form of ' beautiful," 
 calls it " a vile phrase." 
 
 41. In her excellent ivhiie bosom, these. See Note 18, Act iii., 
 "Two Gentlemen of Verona." 
 
 42. Doubt thou. &°c. Here, in the first three lines, the word 
 "doubt" is used in the sense of 'have a misgiving,' 'have a 
 dread or half-belief ;' and in the fourth line, in the sense of 
 ' disbelieve.* 
 
Act II.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Oh, dear Ophelia, I am ill at these numbers ;*3 I have not 
 art to reckon my groans : but that I love thee best, oh, most 
 best, believe it. Adieu. 
 
 Thine evermore, most dear lady, vifhilst this 
 machine is to him, Hamlet. 
 
 This, in obedience, hath my daughter shown me: 
 And more above, hath his solicitings, 
 As they fell out by time, by means, and place. 
 All given to mine ear. 
 
 King. But how hath she 
 
 Receiv'd his love ? 
 
 Pol. What do you think of me ? 
 
 King. As of a man faithful and honourable. 
 
 Pol. I would fain prove so. But what might 
 you think, 
 
 When I had seen this hot love on the wing 
 (As I perceiv'd it, I must tell you that, 
 Before my daughter told me), — what might you, 
 Or my dear majesty your queen here, think, 
 If I had play'd the desk or table-book 
 Or given my heart a winking, mute and dumb 
 Or look'd upon this love with idle sight — 
 What might you think? No, I went round to 
 work,^^ 
 
 And my young mistress thus I did bespeak : 
 " Lord Hamlet is a prince, out of thy star 
 This must not be : " and then I precepts gave 
 her, 
 
 That she should lock herself from his resort, 
 Admit no messengers, receive no tokens. 
 Which done, she took the fruits of my advice ; 
 And he, repulsed (a short tale to make), 
 I'"ell into a sadness ; then into a fast ; 
 Thence to a watch thence into a weakness ; 
 Thence to a lightness ; and, by this declension, 
 Into the madness wherein now he raves,*" 
 And all we wail for. 
 
 43. / am ill at these numbers. ' I am unskilful at these 
 attempts in verse.' See Note 98, Act ii., " Twelfth Night." 
 
 44. // I had play'd Hie desk or table-book. ' If I had locked 
 up this letter and the secret of their love as closely as if I had 
 been a desk or a pocket-book.' 
 
 45. Given my heart a winking, mute and dumb. ' Given my 
 heart a tacit hint to be silent about their passion.' The pleo- 
 nastic expression " mute and dumb " is used again by Shake- 
 speare in the T6rst stanza of his " Lucrece and we have 
 explained the principle upon which these redundancies in epithet 
 were formerly used. See Note 29, Act v., " All's Well." 
 
 46. Or look'd upon this love with idle sight. ' Or beheld this 
 love with an unobservant eye.' 
 
 47. Round to uiork. "Round" is here used for 'roundly,* 
 in the sense of ' frankly,' ' bluntly,' ' free-spokenly,' ' straight- 
 forwardly.' 
 
 48. Out 0/ thy star. " Star " is here used in the sense of 
 ' sphere,' ' rank of life,' ' appointed destiny or course of fortune.' 
 See Note 106, Act ii., "Twelfth Night." 
 
 49. Then into a fast ; thence to a match. ' Then into loss of 
 appetite, thence into wakefulness or loss of sleep.' 
 
 50. The madness wherein now he raves. It appears to us 
 that Shakespeare intended Hamlet should be deeply moved by 
 Ophelia's unexplained repulse of him, coming immediately upon 
 the shock he receives from the ghost's revelation ; and that he 
 seizes upon the one as affording apparent cause for his disturbance 
 of mind arising out of the other, and as giving plausible and 
 
 King. Do you think 'tis this ? 
 
 S^ueen. It may be, very likely. 
 Pol. Hath there been such a time (I'd fain 
 know that). 
 That I have positively said, "'Tis so," 
 When it prov'd otherwise ? 
 
 King. Not that I know. 
 
 Pol. [Pointing to his head and shoulder.'] Take 
 this from this, if this be otherwise : 
 If circumstances lead me, I wiN find 
 Where truth is hid, though it were hid indeed 
 Within the centre. 
 King. How may we try it farther ? 
 
 Pol. You know, sometimes he walks four hours 
 together 5' 
 Here in the lobby. 
 
 ^een. So he does, indeed. 
 
 Pol. At such a time I'll loose my daughter to 
 him : 
 
 Be you and I behind an arras^^ then ; 
 Mark the encounter : if he love her not, 
 And be not from his reason fall'n thereon, 
 Let me be no assistant for a state, 
 But keep a farm and carters. 
 
 King. We will try it. 
 
 Slueen. But, look, where sadly the poor wretch 
 comes reading. 
 
 Pol. Away, I do beseech you, both away : 
 I'll board him presentl) : — Oh, give me leave. 
 
 [Exeunt K ing, Queen, and Attendants. 
 
 Enter Hamlet, reading. 
 How does my good Lord Hamlet p 
 Ham. Well, God-a-mercy. 
 Pol. Do you know me, my lord ? 
 Ham. Excellent well ; you are a fishmonger.*^ 
 
 ostensible ground for the madness which he assumes and by 
 which he wishes to be believed to have been seized. Polouius's 
 deduction and his report to the king and queen of that and 
 Hamlet's condition are precisely what the prince desired should 
 successively accrue from his own behaviour. This all appears 
 to us to be in favour of our opinion with regard to Hamlet's 
 /eigned msanity. See Note 155, Act i. 
 
 51. Walks fottr hours together. "Four" here is used as it 
 sometimes was in Shakespeare's time, to express an indefinite 
 number. See Note 81, Act i., " Coriolanus." 
 
 52. Behind an arras. See Note 27, Act iii, , " Merry Wives. " 
 
 53. Keep a farm and carters. The Duke of Bourbon {see 
 p.assage referred to in Note 73, Act iii., " Henry V.") uses a 
 similar figure of speech in alternative. 
 
 54. The poor wretch. See Note 52, Act i., " Romeo and 
 Juliet." 
 
 55. Board. ' Accost,' ' address.' 
 
 56. Vou are a fishmonger. ' You are a dealer in fished-out 
 things.' In allusion to Polonius's being the agent for trying to 
 find out the origin of the speaker's madness. Hamlet evidently 
 suspects that there is a scheme for discovering his secret, and 
 feels himself to be surrounded by spies ; he therefore promotes 
 their belief in his insanity by his incoherent mode of talking, 
 while he baffles their endeavours to ascertain its cause. It 
 appears to us that Hamlet's course of conduct is far too much 
 systematised to be that of one whose mind is really deranged ; 
 madmen are shrewd and cunning, but they are not systeniatip. 
 
Act II.] 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Pol. Not I, my lord. 
 
 Ham. Tiien I would you were so honest a man. 
 Pol. Honest, my lord ! 
 
 Ham. Ay, sir ; to be honest, as this world goes, 
 is to be one man picked out of ten thousand. 
 
 Pol. That's very true, my lord. 
 
 Ham. For if the sun breed maggots in a dead 
 dog, being a god kissing carrion/? — Have you a 
 daughter ? 
 
 Pol. I have, my lord. 
 
 Ham. Let her not walk i' the sun : conception 
 is a blessing; but not as your daughter may con- 
 ceive : — friend, look to 't. 
 
 Pol. How say you by that ? — [Aside.] Still harp- 
 ing on my daughter : — yet he knew me not at first; 
 he said I was a fishmonger : he is far gone, far 
 gone : and truly in my youth I suffered much 
 extremity for love; very near this. I'll speak to 
 him again. — What do you read, my lord p 
 
 Ham. Words, words, words. 
 
 Pol. What is the matter, my lord ? 
 
 Ham. Between whom ? 
 
 Pol. I mean, the matter that you read, my lord. 
 
 Ham. Slanders, sir: for the satirical rogue says 
 here, that old men have grey beards ; that their 
 faces are wrinkled ; their eyes purging thick amber 
 and plum-tree gum ; and that they have a plentiful 
 lack of wit, together with most weak hams : all 
 which, sir, though I most powerfully and potently 
 believe, yet 1 hold it not honesty j^^ve it thus 
 set down ; for you yourself, sir, should be old as I 
 am, if, like a crab, you could go backward. 
 
 Pol. [Aside.l Though this be madness, yet there 
 is method in't. — Will you walk out of the air, my 
 lord? 
 
 Ham, Into my grave P 
 
 Pol. Indeed, that is out o' the air. — \_Aside.'] 
 How pregnant sometimes his replies are ! a hap- 
 piness that often madness hits on,'' which reason 
 and sanity could not so prosperously be delivered 
 
 57. A god kissing- carrion. The old copies print ' good ' 
 instead of "god;" a correction first suggested by Warburton. 
 The expression *' common-l<issing Titan," in '* Cymbeline," Act 
 iii., sc. 4, and the phrase, "Didst thou never see Titan kiss a 
 dish of butter?" (see Note 85, Act ii., " First Part Henty IV."), 
 seem to us to show that the idea of a sod kissing (the influence 
 of the sun-divinity) was here in the poet's mind ; and, more- 
 over, we have seen in Note 75, Act i., "Troilus and Cressida," 
 and Note 71, Act iv., " Coriolanus," instances where 'good' 
 and "god" have been mistakenly printed. The word "for," 
 at the commencement of the sentence, seems to us -to be intro- 
 duced by Hamlet for the purpose of linking on a disconnected 
 and irrelevant phrase in a manner that shall favour the supposi- 
 tion of his being insane. 
 
 58. Honesty. Here used as if in one of the senses in which 
 the French use their lionnetete, ' politeness,' ' civility,' ' deco- 
 rum ;' but, in fact, with the included English and ordinary 
 meaning of ' truth,' ' candour ;' so that witty doubled significa- 
 tion is given by its employment here. 
 
 59. A lutppiness that often madness hits on. Polonius. like 
 the great medical proficients in cases of insanity who have 
 
 of. I will leave him, and suddenly contrive the 
 means of meeting between him and my daughter. — 
 My honourable lord, I will most humbly take my 
 leave of you. 
 
 Ham. You cannot, sir, take from me anything 
 that I will more willingly part withal, — except my 
 life, except my life, except my life.^" 
 
 Pol. Fare you well, my lord. 
 
 Ham. These tedious old fools ! 
 
 Enter Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. 
 Pol. You go to seek the Lord Hamlet; there 
 he is. 
 
 Ros. [To Polonius.] God save you, sir ! 
 
 [Exit Polonius, 
 
 Guil. Mine honoured lord! 
 Ros. My most dear lord ! 
 
 Ham. My excellent good friends! How dost 
 thou, Guildenstern ? Ah, Rosencrantz ! Good 
 lads, how do ye both ? 
 
 Ros. As the indifferent^' children of the earth. 
 
 Guil. Happy, in that we are not over-happy ; 
 On fortune's cap we are not the very button. 
 
 Ham; Nor the soles of her shoe P 
 
 Ros. Neither, my lord. 
 
 Ham. Then you live about her waist, or in the 
 middle of her favours P — What news P 
 
 Ros. None, my lord, but that the world's grown 
 honest. 
 
 Ham. Then is doomsday near : but your news 
 is not true. Let me question more in particular: 
 what have you, my good friends, deserved at the 
 hands of fortune, that she sends you to prison 
 hither P 
 
 Guil. Prison, my lord ! 
 
 Ham. Denmark 's a prison. . 
 
 Ros. Then is the world one. 
 
 Ham. A goodly one ; in which there are many 
 confines, wards, and dungeons, Denmark being one 
 of the worst. 
 
 \yritten upon the subject of Hamlet's madness, squares all that 
 drops from the prince's mouth according to his own precon- 
 ceived conviction that Hamlet is really deranged ; and, in truth, 
 Shakespeare has depicted this character's assumption of madness 
 with so remarkable a knowledge of all the indications attendant 
 upon that fatal malady, that it has occasioned the difficulties of 
 deciding whether Hamlet's brain be diseased or not, which have 
 led to so much and such able discussion. Highest homage is 
 indeed paid by it to the writer whose subtlety of delineation and 
 accurate knowledge have given rise to the debate. 
 
 60. Except my life, except my life, except my life. The 
 Folio has only ' Except my life, my life ;' while the Quarto 
 reading, in its e.xpressive iteration, gives precisely the effect of 
 sentential repetition so often noticed in mad speakers, and which 
 Hamlet purposely uses (as just before, " Words, words, words"), 
 besides being profoundly pathetic and characteristic in convey- 
 ing that impression of utter life-weariness which besets Hamlet 
 throughout. 
 
 61. Indifferent. Here used to express * moderately favoured,' 
 ' tolerably well oft,' ' averagely well treated,' ' impartially 
 treated.' See Note 61, Act ii., " Henry VIII." 
 
Act II.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Ros. We think not so, my lord. 
 
 Ham. Why, then, 'tis none to you ; for there is 
 nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it 
 so : to me it is a prison. 
 
 Ros. Why, then, your ambition makes it one ; 
 'tis too narrow for your mind. 
 
 Ham. O God ! I could be bounded in a nut- 
 shell, and count myself a king of infinite space, 
 were it not that I have bad dreams. 
 
 Guil. Which dreams, indeed, are ambition ; for 
 the very substance of the ambitious is merely the 
 shadow of a dream. 
 
 Ham. A dream itself is but a shadow. 
 
 Ros. Truly, and I hold ambition of so airy 
 and light a quality, that it is but a shadow's 
 shadow. 
 
 Hajn. Then are our beggars bodies, and our 
 monarchs and outstretched heroes the beggars' 
 shadows. Shall we to the court ? for, by my fay,^^ 
 I cannot reason. 
 
 Ros., Guil. We'll wait upon you. 
 
 Ham. No such matter : I will not sort you with 
 the rest of my servants ; for, to speak to you like 
 an honest man, I am most dreadfully attended. 
 But, in the beaten way of friendship, what make 
 you at Elsinore ? 
 
 Ros. To visit you, my lord ; no other occasion. 
 
 Ham. Beggar that I am, I am even poor in 
 thanks; but I thank you : and sure, dear friends, 
 my thanks are too dear a halfpenny.^' Were you 
 not sent for? Is it your own inclining? Is it a 
 free visitation ? Come, deal justly with me : come, 
 come ; nay, speak. 
 
 Guil. What should we say, my lord ? 
 
 Ham. Why, anything — but to the purpose.^* 
 You were sent for ; and there is a kind of con- 
 fession in your looks, which your modesties have 
 not craft enough to colour : I know the good king 
 and queen have sent for you. 
 
 Ros. To what end, my lord ? 
 
 Ham. That you must teach me. But let me 
 conjure you, by the rights of our fellowship, by ths 
 consonancy of our youth, by the obligation of our 
 ever-preserved love, and by what more dear a 
 
 62. By my fay. "Fay" is 
 See Note 105, Act i., " Romec 
 
 63. My tlianks are too dear 
 to be idiomatic, and similar in 
 to in Note 33, Act ii., " As 
 a week :" wliile " halfpenny " 
 
 a familiar corruption of 'faith.' 
 and Juliet." 
 
 a halfpenny. This phrase seems 
 construction to the one referred 
 You Like It"—" It is too late 
 ve take to be here used much as 
 "penny" is in the passages referred to in Note 12,, Act i., 
 "Merry "Wives," and Note 7, Act iii., " Love's Labour's Lost" 
 —the one signifying something lilce ' penny-worth,' the other 
 giving somewhat the sense of 'halfpenny-worth.' 
 
 64. IVhy, anything— but to tlie purpose. " But " here signi- 
 fies ' only let it be ;' while it includes the effect of ' except,' 
 and therefore conveys the covert sarcasm felt by Hamlet. 
 
 65. I fiave an eye of yoji. ' I have a glimpse of your purpose ;' 
 but the word "of" being sometimes used for 'on,' allows the 
 phrase to comprise the meaning of ' I will keep an eye upon you.'. 
 
 better proposer could charge you withal, be even 
 and direct with me, whether you were sent for, or 
 no? 
 
 Ros. [Aside to Guildenstern.] What say you ? 
 
 Ham. [Aside."] Nay, then, I have an eye of 
 you.^5 — ^if you love me, hold not off. 
 
 Guil. My lord, we were sent for. 
 
 Ham. I will tell you why ; so shall my anticipa- 
 tion prevent your discovery, and your secrecy to 
 the king and queen moult no feather. I have of 
 late (but wherefore I know not) lost all my mirth, 
 forgone all custom of exercises ; and, indeed, it 
 goes so heavily with my disposition, that this goodly 
 frame, the earth, seems to me a sterile promontory ; 
 this most excellent canopy, the air, look you, this 
 brave o'erhanging firmament, this majestical roof 
 fretted with golden fire, — why, it appears no other 
 thing to me than a foul and pestilent congregation 
 of vapours. What a piece of work is a man! how 
 noble in reason ! how infinite in faculty ! in form 
 and moving how express and admirable ! in action 
 how like an angel ! in apprehension how like a 
 god ! the beauty of the world ! the paragon of 
 animals ! And yet, to me, what is this quintes- 
 sence of dust? man delights not me; no, nor 
 woman neither, though by your smiling you seem 
 to say so. 
 
 Ros. My lord, there was no such stuff in my 
 thoughts. 
 
 Ham. Why did you laugh, then, when I said, 
 man delights not me ? 
 
 Ros. To think, my lord, if you delight not in 
 man, what lenten entertainment"^ the players shall 
 receive from you: we coted**^ them on the way; 
 and hither are they coming, to offer you service. 
 
 Ham. He that plays the king shall be welcome, 
 — his majesty shall have tribute of me ; the 
 adventurous knight shall use his foil and target ; 
 the lover shall not sigh gratis ; the humorous man 
 shall end his part in peace ; the clown shall make 
 those laugh whose lungs are tickled o' the sere ;"'^ 
 and the lady .shall say her mind freely, or the blank 
 verse shall halt for 't. — What players are they ? 
 
 Ros. Even those you were wont to take delight 
 in, the tragedians of the city. 
 
 66. Lenten entertazmnent. "Lenten" is here used for 
 'sparing,' 'stinted,' 'meagre;' like the fare in Lent. See 
 Note 61, Act i., " Twelfth Night." Moreover, actors were pro- 
 hibited from playing during the season of Lent. 
 
 67. Coied. ' Passed beside,' ' passed by,' ' overtook ;' from 
 the French, cote, ' side.' 
 
 68. Shall make tJwse laugh whose lungs are tickled o' the 
 sere. This phrase seems to mean ' shall make even those laugh 
 whose lungs are troubled with dryness' (see Note 17, Act iv., 
 " Comedy of Errors ") ; but there is a passage in Howard's 
 " Defensative against the Poyson of Supposed Prophecies " 
 (1620I — " Discovering the moods and humours of the vulgar sort 
 to be so loose and tickle of tlie seare " — which gives reason to 
 suppose that the expression may have been an idiom signifying 
 ' so easily excited to rilirth.' 
 
Act II.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Ham. How chances it they travel r their resi- 
 dence, both in reputation and profit, was better 
 both ways. 
 
 Ros. I think their inhibition comes by the 
 means of the late innovation.''' 
 
 Ham. Do they hold the same estimation they 
 did when I was m the cit)- ? are they so followed ? 
 
 Ros. No, indeed, they are not. 
 
 Ham. How comes it ? do they grow rusty ? 
 
 Ros. Nay, their endeavour keeps in the wonted 
 pace: but there is, sir, an aieiy'' of children, little- 
 eyases,''^ that cry out on the top of question,?^ and 
 are most tyranically clapped for't: these are now 
 the fashion ; and so berattle the common stages (so 
 they call them), that many wearing rapiers are 
 afraid of goose-quills, and dare scarce come thither. 
 
 Ham. What! are they children ? who maintains 
 them ? how are they escoted P^"* Will they pursue the 
 quality^* no longer than they can sing.^?* will they 
 not say afterwards, if they should grow themselves 
 to common players (as it is most like, if their 
 means are no better), their writers do them wrong, 
 to make them exclaim against their own succession ? 
 
 69. HoTv chances it they travel? ' How happens it that they 
 have become strolling players?" In Shakespeare's time, to 
 ** travel '* was the technical expression for players who went 
 about the country giving performances at various places. 
 
 70. Their hihibition comes by the j/zeans 0/ tfie late hmova- 
 Hon. 'Their repression is owing to this recent fashion for 
 children's performances.' In Shakespeare's time there were 
 companies of juvenile players that came into vogue, and were 
 called " children of the revels," " the children of St. Paul's," &c. ; 
 and these probably interfered somewhat with the popularity of 
 the troops of grown-up actors. They may have had some 
 influence also in producing an order, issued by the Privy 
 Council during the year 1600, laying severe restrictions upon 
 stage performances, and limiting the number of playhouses to 
 two within the city ; since the present passage seems to infer 
 some allusion of the kind. 
 
 71. An aiery. ' A brood.' See Note 77, Act i., " Richard III." 
 
 72. Eyases. ' Nestlings,' ' fledgelings.' See Note 17, Act 
 iii., " Merry Wives." 
 
 73. Cry out on the top of question. This seems to have been 
 an idiom for ' challenge applause beyond appeal ;' for in Armin's 
 " Nest of Ninnies," fencers and players at single-stick are men- 
 tioned as being made " expert till they cry it up in the top 0/ 
 question" but we think that Shakespeare here includes the sense 
 of ' pipe out their parts at the top of their shrill infantine voices.' 
 
 74. Escoted. ' Paid ;' from the old French, escot, ' shot,' 
 
 ■JS. Quality. ' Profession,' ' calling,' ' avocation.' See Note 
 12, Act ii., "Measure for Measure." 
 
 76. JVo longer than they can sing. ' No longer than they 
 preserve their boyish voices unbroken.' 
 
 77. Common players. Here the term "common," as just 
 previously in the phrase " common stages," is technically used, 
 as it was in Shakespeare's time, to express what we now call 
 ' strolling.' This is evidenced by the following passage from 
 Stephens's " Essayes and Characters" (1615):—"! prefix an 
 epithite of common, to distinguish the base and artlesse 
 appendants of our Citty companies, which often times start 
 away into rusticall wanderers, and then (like Proteus) start 
 backe again into the City number." 
 
 78. Tarre. ' Urge,' ' incite.' See Note 14, Act iv., " King 
 John." 
 
 79. Hercules and his load too. ' The world-bearer as well as 
 
 Ros. I' aith, there has been much to do on both 
 sides; and the nation holds it no sin to tarre '^ 
 them to controversy : there was, for a while, no 
 money bid for argument, unless the poet and the 
 player went to cuffs in the question. 
 
 Ham. Is it possible ? 
 
 Guil. Oh, there has been much throwing about 
 of brains. 
 
 Ham. Do the boys carry it away ? 
 
 Ros. Ay, that they do, niy lord ; Hercules and 
 his load too.'^ 
 
 Ha?n. It is not strange ; for my uncle is king 
 of Denmark,^" and those that would make mows^' 
 at him while iny father lived, give twenty, forty, 
 fifty, a hundred ducats apiece for his picture in 
 little. ^2 'Sblood, there is something in this more 
 than natural, if philosophy could find it out. 
 
 [Flourish 0/ trumpets njuhhin. 
 
 Guil. There are the pla\ ers.'*'' 
 
 Ham. Gentlemen, you are welcome to Elsinore. 
 Your hands, come: the appurtenance of welcome 
 is fashion and ceremony : let me comply with you 
 in this garb lest my extent to the players, which. 
 
 the world.' Probably in allusion to the Globe Theatre, the 
 sign of which was Hercules carrying the globe. It is interesting 
 to see these vestiges of Shakespeare himself, with his partisan- 
 ship for his brother actors and their troop, in certain passages of 
 his plays. We gain a glimpse of his fellowly feeling, his pro- 
 fessional sympathies, his artistic anxieties ; and withal we 
 gather, through all, fresh proofs of his sweet temper and large 
 tolerance, playfully treating even subjects of avocation.al rivalry. 
 
 80. It zs not strajzge ; /or my ujzcle is, &=c. Here "for" is 
 thrown in, with the same intention of giving the effect of insane 
 irrelevance, while using the form of connected phraseology, 
 which we noticed in Note 57 of this Act. 
 
 81. Alahe mows. 'Make mouths,' 'make faces,' 'make 
 erimaces.' Ariel ("Tempest," Act iv., sc. i) tricksily says or 
 sings— 
 
 " Each one, tripping on his toe. 
 Will be here with mop and jnow.^* 
 
 82. In little. ' In miniature.' See Note 33, Act iii., "As 
 You Like It." Beneath his assumed incoherency, Hamlet has 
 an underlying vein of satirical association ; since there is to be 
 traced in this speech the meaning of ' It is not strange that the 
 children performers should obtain popular favour rather than 
 the adult players who formerly pleased ; for now that my uncle 
 is the reigning king, those that put up their lip contemptuously 
 at him while my father lived, are willing to give large sums for 
 a small semblance of him.' 
 
 83. There are the players. This is said in consequence of 
 the flourish of trumpets with which it was customary to announce 
 the approach of a company of actors, See Note 21, sc. i. 
 Induction to "Taming of the Shrew." 
 
 84. Let tize cotizply with you iti this garb. ' Let me be com- 
 plaisant with you in this fashion.' " Comply," as Shakespeare 
 uses it in this play (see Note 88, Act v.), besides meaning ' to 
 bend to,' ' to defer to,' ' to be courteous, obsequious, or com- 
 plaisant to,' as derived from the French complaire, and compiler 
 [plier, ' to bend,' being still a word used in the French language), 
 also comprises the signification that it bore in his time of 
 'enfold,' 'embrace,' 'caress.' Herrick thus employs it in the 
 two following passages : — 
 
 " Witty Ovid, by 
 Whom fair Corinna sits, and doth comply. 
 With iv'ry wrists, his laureat head, and steeps 
 His eye in dew of kisses, while he sleeps ;" 
 
 vol. III. 
 
 217 
 
Act II.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 I tell you, must show fairly outward, should more 
 appear like entertainment than yours. You are 
 welcome : but my uncle-father and aunt-mother 
 are deceived. 
 
 Guil. In what, my dear lord? 
 
 Ham. I am but mad north-north-west : when the 
 wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw."^ 
 
 Pol. 
 
 Enter Polonius. 
 Well be with you, gentlemen ! 
 
 Ham. Hark you, Guildenstern ; — and you too ; — 
 at each ear a hearer: that great baby you see there 
 is not yet out of his swathing-clouts. 
 
 Ros. Haply he's the second time come to them ; 
 for they say an old man is twice a child. 
 
 Ham. I will prophesy he comes to tell me of the 
 players ; mark it. — You say right, sir : o' Monday 
 morning ; 'twas so, indeed. 
 
 Pol. My lord, I have news to tell you. 
 
 Ham. My lord, I have news to tell you. When 
 Roscius was an actor in Rome,^^ — • 
 
 Pol. The actors are come hither, my lord. 
 
 Ham. Buz, buz 
 
 Pol. Upon mine honour, — - 
 
 Ham. Then came each actor on his ass, — • 
 
 Pol. The best actors in the world, either for 
 tragedy, comedy, history, pastoral, pastoral-comi- 
 cal, historical-pastoral, tragical-historical, tragical- 
 
 and— 
 
 " A rug of carded wool 
 
 Which, sponge-like, drinking in the dull 
 
 Light of the moon, seem'd to comply. 
 
 Cloud-like, the dainty deity." 
 85. / knoiu a hawk from a handsauu. An old proverbial 
 saying; "handsaw" being a corruption of 'hernshaw' (spelt 
 also 'hernsew' and 'heronshaw'), which was used in Shake- 
 speare's time for a ' heron,' although, strictly speaking, it 
 signifies a heronry, or place where herons are kept. Spenser 
 employs the word for a * heron ' where he says^ 
 
 "As when a cast of falcons make their flight 
 At a hernshaiv^ that lies aloft on wing," &c. 
 See Note 22, Act ii., "Taming of the Shrew." In the ex- 
 pression, " when the wind is southerly," there may be involved 
 a reference thus ingeniously suggested and explained by a 
 correspondent to the Aihencenm, Dec. 30th, 1865: — "Among 
 the ancient Egyptians the hawk signified the Etesian, or 
 northerly wind (which, in the beginning of summer, drives the 
 vapour towards the south, and which, covering Ethiopia with 
 dense clouds, there resolves them into rains, causing the Nile 
 to swell), because that bird follows the direction of that wind 
 (Job xxxix. 26). The heron, or hern, or hernshaw, signified 
 the southerly wind, because it takes its flight from Ethiopia into 
 Higher Egypt, following the course of the Nile as it retires 
 within its banks, and living on the small worms hatched in the 
 mud of the river. Hence the heads of these two birds may be 
 seen surmounting the canopi used by the ancient Egyptians to 
 indicate the rising and falling of the Nile respectively. Now 
 Hamlet, though feigning madness, yet claims sufficient sanity 
 to distinguish a hawk from a hernshaw -wheii the wind is 
 southerly— that is, in the time of the migration of the latter to 
 the north, and when the former is not to be seen. Shakespeare 
 may have become acquainted with the habits of these migrating 
 birds of Egypt through a translation of ' Plutarch,' who gives 
 a particular account of them, published in the middle of the 
 
 comical-historical-pastoral, scene individable, or 
 poem unlimited : Seneca cannot be too heavy, nor 
 Plautus too light. For the law of writ and the 
 liberty,*' these are the only men. 
 
 Ham. O Jephthah, judge of Israel, what a 
 treasure hadst thou ! 
 
 Pol. What a treasure had he, my lord ? 
 
 Ham. Why, 
 
 One fair daughter, and no more,'" 
 The which he loved passing well. 
 
 Pol. l^Aside.'] Still on my daughter. 
 Ham. Am I not i' the right, old Jephthah ? 
 Pol. If you call me Jephthah, my lord, I have a 
 daughter that I love passing well. 
 Ham. Nay, that follows not. 
 Pol. What follows, then, my lord ? 
 Ham. Why, 
 
 As by lot, God wot, 
 and then, you know, 
 
 It came to pass, as most like it was, — 
 the first row of the pious chanson will show you 
 more ; for look, where my abridgment'* comes. 
 
 Enter four or five Players. 
 You are welcome, masters ; welcome, all : — I am 
 glad to see thee well: — welcome, good friends. — 
 Oh, my old friend! Thy face is valanced^^ since I 
 
 sixteenth century, by Thomas North." To our thinking, such 
 an occult allusion would be most characteristic in a scholarly 
 man like Hamlet, while the superficial effect is given of his 
 saying, in the manner of an insane person, that he is more mad 
 when the wind is in one quarter than when in another. 
 
 86. When Roscius -was an actor itt Rome. See Note 51, Act 
 ii., "Julius Cassar." 
 
 87. .52^2, hiz'. An exclamation used when any one began to 
 relate that which was already known. 
 
 88. Seneca cannot be too heavy, nor Plautus, &^c. In Shake- 
 speare's day, as in our own, it was the custom among the 
 students at the universities to enact Latin plays. 
 
 89. R'or the law of writ and the liberty. ' For the delivery 
 of such plays as are legitimately written, and for those where 
 the actor is at liberty to substitute his own words.' There were 
 formerly extemporal dramas, in imitation of the Italian commedie 
 al improviso, where the performers had to invent the dialogue 
 for themselves. 
 
 90. One fair daughter, (s'c. The scraps here quoted by Ham- 
 let are from an old ballad, entitled " Jephtha, Judge of Israel ;" 
 of which there is a copy preserved in Percy's " Reliques," and 
 another, a more correct version, in Evans's "Old Ballads" (1810). 
 
 91. The first row of the pious chanson. "The first row" 
 means the first column ; old balladr, being frequently printed in 
 double column form. The first Folio prints 'pons' for "pious," 
 which is the word in all the earlier Quartos. " Pious chansons " 
 (French, chanson, 'song') were a kind of Christmas carols, 
 containing some portion of Scripture history rudely versified, 
 and chanted by those who went about from door to door, at 
 church festival seasons, collecting alms. 
 
 92. Abridgment. 'A brief performance' (see Note 9, Act v., 
 "Midsummer Night's Dream") ; 'entertainment,' 'pastime.' 
 Hamlet uses the word " abridgment " in this latter sense, also 
 including a play upon it, to signify ' that which abridges or cuts 
 short my talk.' 
 
 93. Valanced. ' Fringed with a beard.' This is the reading 
 of the Quartos, while the Folio prints 'valiant.' 
 
Act II.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 saw thee last ; comest thou to beard me in Den- 
 mark ? — What! my young lady and mistress ! By'r 
 lady, your ladyship is nearer heaven, than when I 
 saw you last, by the altitude of a chopine.^'' Pray 
 Heaven, your voice, like a piece of uncurrent gold, 
 be not cracked within the ring.''5— Masters, you 
 are all welcome. We'll e'en to 't like French 
 falconers, fly at anything we see : we'll have a 
 speech straight : come, give us a taste of your 
 quality;'^ come, a passionate speech. 
 
 First Play. What speech, my lord ? 
 
 Ham. I heard thee speak me a speech once, — 
 but it was never acted ; or, if it was, not above 
 once ; for the play, I remember, pleased not the 
 million ; 'twas caviare to the general : ^7 but it was 
 (as I received it, and others, whose judgments in 
 such matters cried in the top of luine)^^ an ex- 
 cellent play, well digested in the scenes, set down 
 with as much modesty as cunning. I remember, 
 one said there were no sallets'' in thelinesto make 
 the matter savoury, nor no matter in the phrase 
 that might indict the author of affectation ; but 
 called it an honest method, as wholesome as sweet, 
 and by very much more handsome than fine.'"'^ 
 One speech in it I chiefly loved : 'twas Eneas' 
 tale to Dido ; and thereabout of it especially, where 
 he speaks of Priam's slaughter: if it live in your 
 memory, begin at this line;— let me see, let me 
 see ; — 
 
 The rugged Pyrrhus, like the Hyrcanlan beast, 
 
 — 'tis not SO : — it begms with Pyrrhus : — 
 
 The rugged Pyrrhus,— he, whose sable arms. 
 Black as his purpose, did the night resemble 
 When he lay couched in tlie ominous horse, — 
 Hath now this dread and black complexion smear'd 
 With heraldry more dismal ; head to foot 
 Now is he total gules ; horridly trick'd"" 
 
 94. A chopi; 
 
 A high sho 
 
 clog, formerly worn by 
 
 Spanish and Italian ladies, and adopted at one 
 fashion, by the English. Coryat, in his " Crudities " (1611), 
 mentions them under the name of " chapineys," and says they 
 are worn by the Venetians " of a great height — even half a yard 
 high." The word " chopine " also includes appropriate allusion 
 to the classic cothicriius, which, in Ainsworth's " Latin Dic- 
 tionary " (1761), is thus rendered into English : "A sort of shoe, 
 coming over the calf of the leg, and worn by actors of tragedies, 
 with a high heel to it, that they may seem the taller. Also, a 
 choppen, or chippeti ; a high-soled shoe." It was the custom 
 in Shakespeare's time for boys to play the women characters 
 Csee Note 3, Epilogue to " As You Like It ") ; and Hamlet 
 is addressing the growing youth who enacts the stage heroines. 
 
 95. Cracked ■within tlte ring. The old gold piece was thin, 
 and liable to crack. There was a ring or circle on it, within 
 which the sovereign's head or other device was placed, and if the 
 crack extended beyond this ring it was rendered "uncurrent." 
 Hamlet applies the phrase punningly to the lad's voice, hoping 
 it may not he ' cracked in the ring of its tone,' by his having so 
 much grown since last he saw him, that he has reached the age 
 when the boyish treble voice changes to the manly tenor or 
 bass, and renders him unfit longer to play the lady characters. 
 
 96. Your qnality. Here used for 'your theatrical powers,' 
 ' your professional ability.' See Note 73 of this Act. 
 
 97. Caviare to the general. "Caviare" is a condiment 
 
 With blood of fathers, mothers, daughters, sons, 
 
 Bak'd and impasted with the parching streets. 
 
 That lend a tyrannous and cursed light 
 
 To their vile murders ; roasted in wrath and fire, 
 
 And thus o'er-sized with coagulate gore, 
 
 With eyes like carbuncles, the hellish Pyrrhus 
 
 Old grandsire Priam seeks. — 
 
 So proceed you. 
 
 Pol. 'Fore Heaven, my lord, well spoken, with 
 good accent and good discretion. 
 
 First Play. Anon he finds him 
 
 Striking too short at Greeks ; his antique sword, 
 Rebellious to his arm, lies where it falls. 
 Repugnant to command : unequal match'd, 
 Pyrrhus at Priam drives ; in rage strikes wide ; 
 But with the whifFand wind of his fell sword 
 The unnerved father falls. Then senseless Ilium, 
 Seeming to feel this blow, with flaming top 
 Stoops to his base ; and with a hideous crash 
 Takes prisoner Pyrrhus' ear : for, lo ! his sword, 
 Which was declining on the milky head 
 Of reverend Priam, seem'd i' the air to stick : 
 So, as a painted tyrant, Pyrrhus stood ; 
 And, like a neutral to his will and matter, 
 Did nothing. 
 
 But, as we often see, against some storm, 
 A silence in the heavens, the rack stand still, 
 The bold winds speechless, and the orb below 
 As hush as death, anon the dreadful thunder 
 Doth rend the region ; so, after Pyrrhus' pause, 
 Aroused vengeance sets him new a-work ; 
 And never did the Cyclops' hammers fall 
 On Mars's armour, forg'd for proof eterne, 
 With less remorse than Pyrrhus' bleeding sword 
 Now falls on Priam.— 
 
 Out, out, thou giglot. Fortune I All you gods, 
 In general synod, take away her power ; 
 Break all the spokes and fellies from her wheel, 
 And bowl the round nave down the hill of heaven, 
 As low as to the fiends ! 
 
 Pol. This is too long. 
 
 Ham. It shall to the barber's, with your beard. 
 — Pr'ythee, say on : — he's for a jig,*"^ or a tale of 
 ril)aldry, or he sleeps : — say 8n ; — come to Hecuba. 
 
 made of preserved roes of various fish, chiefly of sturgeon ; and 
 being of strong and peculiar flavour, is not generally popular, 
 though much approved by epicures. Ben Jonson, in his 
 "Cynthia's Revels," speaks of a fellow who "doth learn to 
 make strange sauces, to eat anchovies, maccaroni, Bovoli, 
 Fagioli, and Caviare, because he loves 'em ;" as if it were an 
 acquired taste, and one proper for a fashionable exquisite to 
 affect. " The general " is used in the present passage to 
 express 'the ordinary run of people,' 'the multitude.* See 
 Note 4, Act ii., "Julius Caesar." 
 
 98. Cried in tlie t^p of mine. * Were of higher authority 
 than mine,' 'were more beyond appeal than mine.' See Note 
 73 of this Act. 
 
 99. Sallets. 'Pungent sentences,' 'piquant ph.ases;' what 
 in modern slang might be called ' spicy bits ;' phrases seasoned 
 with salt or ribald meanings. 
 
 100. One said by very much more Jtandsome than 
 
 fiite. In the present passage Shakespeare, to our thinking, is, 
 in his own subtle vein of quiet humour, satirising the foppery of 
 give-and-take criticism. 
 
 101. Gules; horridly trick' d. "Gules" and " trick'd " are 
 b->th heraldic terms; the former signifying 'red,' the latter 
 •blazoned.' 
 
 102. The rack. ' The' train of thin vaporous cloud in upper 
 air.' See Note 19, Act iv., " Tempest." 
 
 103- Jig- This, though now meaning a dance, originally 
 
First Play. 
 
 But who, oh, who had seen the mobled queen — 
 
 Ham. " The mobled queen ? " 
 
 Pol. That's good ; "mobled queen " is good. 
 
 First Play. 
 
 Ruii bareloot up and down, threatening the flames 
 With bissor rheum ; a clout upon that head 
 Where late the diadem stood ; and for a robe, 
 About her lank and all o'er-teen)ed loins, 
 A blanket, ni the alarm of fear caught up : — 
 Who this had seen, with tongue in venom steep'd, 
 'Gainst Fortune's state would treason have pronounc'd : 
 But if the gods themselves did see her then 
 
 meant a ballad or ditty sung to the violin I giga being the 
 Italian word for a fiddle. These old "jigs" were often in the 
 form of farcical dialogues ; and the term was used to express a 
 brief comic interlude. They were frequently broad and coarse 
 
 104. I\Toblcd. A form of * m 
 very late period, the name 
 
 id.' 'A mob cap' was, until 
 a careless kind of morning 
 mob ' was a North cou.-itry 
 
 When she saw Pyrrhus make malicious sport 
 
 In mincing with his sword her husband's limbs, 
 
 The instant burst of clamour that she made 
 
 (Unless things mortal move them not at all). 
 
 Would have made milch the burning eyes of heaven. 
 
 And passion '™ in the gods, 
 
 Pol. Look, whether he has not turned his colour, 
 and has tears in 's eyes. — Pray you, no more. 
 
 Earn. 'Tis H ell ; I'll have thee speak out the 
 rest soon. — Good my lord, will you see the players 
 well bestowed ? Do you hear, let them be well 
 used; for they are the abstracts and brief chronicles 
 
 105. Bisson, 'Blind.' See Note 8, Act ii., " Coriolanus." 
 " Bisson rheum " is here used for ' blinding tears.' See Note 5, 
 Act iii., " King John." 
 
 106. If the gods themselves did see her then. " Did see " is 
 here used for had seen.' Shakespeare has elsewhere these 
 licences of tenses in verbs. See Note 61, Act ii., " Coriolanus." 
 
 107. Mikh. ' Capable of yielding moisture.' 
 
 loS. Passion. "Emotion," 'feeling.' See Note 22, Act i., 
 "Julius Ca:sar.» 
 
King. And can you, by no drift of circumstance, 
 Get from him why he puts on this confusion ? 
 
 Act J II. Scene I. 
 
Act II.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 of the time : after your death you were better have 
 a bad epitaph than their ill report while you live. 
 
 Pol. My lord, I will use them according to 
 their desert. 
 
 Ham. Bodykins, man, much better : use every 
 man after his desert, and who should 'scape whip- 
 ping ? Use them after your own honour and 
 dignity: the less they deserve, the more merit is 
 in your'bounty. Take them in. 
 
 Pol. Come, sirs. 
 
 Ham. Follow him, friends : we'll hear a play 
 to-morrow. 
 
 {Exit PoLONius nuith all the Players 
 except the First. 
 Dost thou hear mt, old friend ; can you play the 
 Murder of Gonzago ? 
 
 First Play. Ay, my lord. 
 
 Ham. We'll have it to-morrow night. You 
 could, for a need, study a speech of some dozen or 
 sixteen lines, which I would set down and insert 
 in 't, could you not ? 
 
 First Play. Ay, my lord. 
 
 Ham. Very well. — Follow that lord ; and look 
 you mock him not^^^ \_Exit First Player.] [To 
 Ros. and GuiL.] My good friends, I'll leave you 
 till night : you are welcome to Elsinore. 
 Ros. Good my lord I"" 
 
 [Exeunt Ros. and GuiL. 
 Ham. Av, so, Heaven be wi' you ! — Now I am 
 alone.'i" 
 
 Oh, what a rogue and peasant slave ^'^ jj]^, j ; 
 Is it not monstrous, that this player here, 
 But in a fiction, in a dream of passion, 
 
 log. Look you mock him not. This is one of the slight but 
 significant touches which show us what a man of deHcate per- 
 ception in points of propriety in feeling our Shakespeare was. 
 See Note 2, Act ii., "Twelfth Night," and Note 73, Act iii., 
 " Merchant of Venice." Hamlet, like the true gentleman that 
 he is, feels that he has been betrayed into treating the old 
 courtier with something of impatience and discourtesy ; there- 
 fore he bids the actor, whom he knows to be naturally and pro- 
 fessionally disposed to waggery, not forget himself to Polonius 
 on the strength of the example just given. The prince not only 
 does not choose to have the old man ridiculed because he is a 
 trusted officer of the state, but because he is the father of the 
 
 110. Good my lord! See Note 16 of this Act. 
 
 111. Now I am alone. The eagerness shown by Hamlet to 
 be left in peace and quiet by himself, appears to us to be a main 
 evidence of his merely acting a part and assicining madness ; 
 he longs to get rid of the presence of persons before whom he 
 has resolved to wear a show of insanity, and whose absence 
 relieves him from the wearisome effort demanded by this self- 
 imposed task. Alone, he is collected, coherent, full of intro- 
 spection and careful auto-examination ; his thoughts range 
 themselves into sequent argument, and he reasons with all the 
 cogency, if not with all the dispassionate coolness, of philo- 
 sophical casuistry. That he is neither dispassionate nor cool 
 appears to us to be the result of his unhappy source of thought, 
 not the result of derangement ; he is morally afflicted, not 
 mentally affected ; his feelings are deeply touched, not his 
 intellects ; his he.^rt, not his mind, is disturbed. 
 
 112. Peasant slave. " Peasant" is here employed adjectively. 
 
 Could force his soul so to his own conceit. 
 That, from her working, all his visage wann'd j"^ 
 Tears in his eyes, distraction in 's aspect, 
 A broken voice, and his whole function suiting 
 With forms to his conceit ? and all for nothing ! 
 For Hecuba ? 
 
 What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba, 
 That he should weep for her? What would he do, 
 Had he the motive and the cue"'' for passion 
 That I have ? He would drown the stage with 
 tears. 
 
 And cle.ave the general ear with horrid speech ; 
 Make mad the guilty, and appal the free,"'' 
 Confound the ignorant ; and amaze,"^ indeed, 
 The very faculties of eyes and ears. 
 Yet I, 
 
 A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak,"? 
 Like John-a-dreams,"** unpregnant of my cause,"' 
 And can say nothing ; no, not for a king, 
 Upon whose property and most dear life 
 A damn'd defeat was made. Am I a coward ? 
 Who calls me villain ? breaks my pate across ? 
 Plucks off my beard, and blows it in my face ? 
 Tweaks me by the nose "i gives me the lie i' the 
 throat, 
 
 As deep as to the lungs ? who does me this, ha? 
 Why, I should take it : for it cannot be 
 But I am pigeon-liver'd, and lack gall 
 To make oppression bitter or, ere this, 
 I should have fatted all the region kites 
 With this slave's offal : — bloody, wanton villain ! 
 Remorseless, treacherous, kindless'^i villain ! 
 Oh, vengeance ! 
 
 to express ' rude,' 'rustic.'. See Note 6, Induction to " Second 
 Part Henry IV." 
 
 113. Wann'd. The Folio prints ' warm'd ' here for *' wann'd," 
 spelt ' wand ' in the Quartos ; which latter serves to show that the 
 right word is "wann'd," meaning "became wan," 'turned pale.' 
 
 114. Cite. Here used for ' prompting cause.' See Note 100, 
 Act iii., " Henry V." 
 
 115. The/ree. Here used for 'the pure,' 'the innocent;* 
 ' those free from crime.' See Note 36, Act ii., " Winter's Tale." 
 
 116. Amaze. ' Bewilder,' * confound.' See Note 67, Act iv., 
 " King John." 
 
 117. Peak. 'Act sneakingly,' 'demean myself pitifully,' 
 ' remain imbecilely inactive.' A passage from " The Wild 
 Goose Chase " of Beaumont and Fletcher serves to show the 
 sense in which the word was thus used : — 
 
 " Why stand'st the 
 Sneaking, and peaking^ as thou w 
 Hast thou not place and time ?" 
 
 ; then, 
 
 ; steal linen ? 
 
 118. yohn-a-dreams. A nick-name for a sleepy -headed, dreamy 
 fellow. It occurs in Armin's " Nest of Ninnies " (1608) :— " His 
 name is John, indeed, says the cinnick, but neither John-a-nods 
 nor yohn-a-dreams. yet either, as you take it." 
 
 119. Unpreo;nant 0/ my cause. ' Unquickened by ; 
 , (^^ 
 
 120. Lack gall to make oppression Utter. Elliptically ex- 
 pressed ; meaning, ' lack gall to make oppression seem bitter 
 
 121. Kindless. 'Unnatural;' 'without regard for ties of 
 kindred.' See Note 8, Act iv., " Much Ado." 
 
Act III.] 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Why, what an ass am I ! This is most brave, 
 That I, the son of a dear father murder'd. 
 Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell. 
 Must, like a wench, unpack my heart u'ith 
 words, 
 
 And fall a-cursing, like a very drab, 
 A scullion ! 
 
 Fie upon 't ! foh ! — About, my brain I'^a I have 
 heard 
 
 That guilty creatures, sitting at a play. 
 Have by the very cunning of the scene 
 Been struck so to the soul, that presently 
 They have proclaim'd their malefactions ;'23 
 For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak 
 
 With most miraculous organ. I'll have these 
 players 
 
 Play something like the murder of my father 
 Before mine uncle: I'll observe his looks; 
 i I'll tenti2-» him to the quick : if he but blench, '26 
 I I know my course. The spirit that I have seen 
 
 May be the devil : and the devil hath power 
 i To assume a pleasing shape ; yea, and perhaps 
 I Out of my weakness and my melancholy 
 j As he is very potent with such spirits), 
 i Abuses me to doom me : I'll have grounds 
 I More relative'-" than this : — the play's the thing 
 j Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king. 
 ! \_Exit. 
 
 ACT III. 
 
 SCENE I.— A Room in the Castle. 
 
 Enter King, Queen, Polonius, Ophelia, Rosen- 
 CRANTz, and Guildenstern. 
 
 King. And can you, by no drift of circum- 
 stance,i 
 
 Get from him why he puts on this confusion, 
 Grating so harshly all his days of quiet 
 With turbulent and dangerous lunacy ? 
 
 Ros. He does confess he feels himself dis- 
 tracted ; 
 
 But froni what cause he will by no means speak. 
 Guil. Nor do we find him forward to be 
 sounded ; 
 
 But, with a crafty madness, keeps aloof, 
 
 122. Aboui^ my brain ! This is a phrase of elliptical con- 
 struction, signifying ' Set about your work, my brain 1' ' Brain, 
 busy yourself about your task t * It is used by Hey wood in his 
 " Iron Age : "— 
 
 1 " My hiain, abo^it again ! for thou hast found 
 
 New projects now to work on." 
 
 123. Proclaimed their malefactions, Thomas Heywood, in 
 his "Apology for Actors" (1612), mentions an instance of this 
 kind of self-betrayal from witnessing the performance of a play 
 upon the subject of murder. 
 
 124. 7V«A 'Probe,' 'search.' See Note 24, Act ii., " Troilus 
 and Cressida." 
 
 ^^S- Blench. ' Flinch,' 'shrink,' 'start from.' See Note 35, 
 Act n., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 126. Relative. 'Pertinent,' 'nearly concerning,' 'closely 
 connected.' 
 
 1. Circumstance. Here used in the sense of ' circumlocution,' 
 ' indirect enquiry.' See Note 147, Act i. 
 
 2. Niggard of question; hit, of our dema?ids, {^c. This 
 sentence has caused much difficulty to the commentators, who 
 complain that it ill agrees with the conversation that took 
 place between the speakers and Hamlet. We think it is be- 
 
 Wh-en we would bring him on to some confession 
 Of his true state. 
 
 Slueen. Did he receive you well ? 
 
 Ros. Most like a gentleman. 
 
 Guil. But with much forcing of his disposition. 
 
 Ros. Niggard of question ; but, of our demands. 
 Most free in his reply. ^ 
 
 ^een. Did you assay him 
 
 To any pastime 
 
 Ros. Madam, it so fell out, that certain players 
 We o'er-raught^ on the way : of these we told him; 
 And there did seem in him a kind of joy 
 To hear of it : they are about the court ; 
 And, as I think, they have already order 
 This night to play before him. 
 
 cause the meaning of the present sentence has been hitherto 
 misinterpreted, that these difficulties and complaints have arisen. 
 If it be borne in mind that Shakespeaie employs "of" very 
 variously, and that he occasionally uses the word "question" 
 to signify 'inquisition,' 'cross-examining' (see Note 48, Act ii., 
 "Midsummer Night's Dream"), it appears to us to be evi- 
 dent that here "niggard of question" elliptically expresses 
 'sparing of speech when we cross-examined him ;' and if it be 
 remembered how peculiarly Shakespeare sometimes employs 
 the possessive case (see " your entreatments, " Note 99, Act i. 
 of the present play; "their ruin," Note 78, Act iii,, "Henry 
 VIII.:" "our main opinion," Note 100, Act i., "Troilus and 
 Cressida;" and ''our recompense," Note 21, Act iii., " Corio- 
 lanus"), we think it will be perceived that here "of our demands" 
 is employed to express ' of demands respecting ourselves.* Thus, 
 then, we take the whole speech to mean— 'He was sparing of 
 speech when we questioned him ; but of demands respecting 
 ourselves he was very free in return :* which interpretation 
 completely tallies with the circumstances which really occurred 
 in the previous interview. 
 
 3. Did you assay him to any pastime? Elliptically expressed, 
 meaning, ' Did you endeavour to win him to any pastime?' 
 
 4. O' er-raught. ' Over-reached : used in the sense of ' over- 
 took.* 
 
Act III.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Pol. 'Tis most true : 
 
 And he beseech'd me to entreat your majesties 
 To hear and see the matter. 
 
 King. With all my heart; and it doth much 
 content me 
 To hear him so inclin'd.' — 
 Good gentlemen, give him a farther edge, 
 And drive his purpose on to these delights. 
 
 Ros. We shall, my lord. 
 
 \_Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. 
 
 King. Sweet Gertrude, leave us too ; 
 
 For we have closely^ sent for Hamlet hither, 
 That he, as 'twere by accident, may here 
 Affront? Ophelia: 
 
 Her father and myself, — lawful espials, ^ — 
 Will so bestow^ ourselves, that, seeing, unseen, 
 We may of their encounter frankly judge ; 
 And gather by him, as he is behav'd. 
 If 't be the affliction of his love or no 
 That thus he suffers for. 
 
 ^een. I shall obey you : — 
 
 And for your part, Ophelia, I do wish 
 That your good beauties be the happy cause 
 Of Hamlet's wildness : so shall I hope your 
 virtues 
 
 Will bring him to his wonted way again, 
 To both your honours. 
 
 Oph. Madam, I wish it may. \Exit Queen. 
 
 Pol. Ophelia, walk you here. — Gracious, so 
 please you, 
 
 We will bestow ourselves.— [To Ophelia.]— Read 
 
 on this book ; 
 That show of such an exercise may colour 
 Your loneliness. — We are oft to blame in this, — 
 'Tis too much prov'd, — that, with devotion's visage 
 And pious action, we do sugar o'er 
 The devil himself. 
 
 5. To hear him so incliii'd. An ellipsis for ' to hear that he 
 is so inchned.' 
 
 6. Closely. 'Secretly/ 'hiddenly' (see Note 17, Act iv., 
 ** King John") ; but, in the present passage, giving the meaning 
 of ' indirectly,' ' in so covert a manner that he shall not know it 
 is I who have sent for him.' 
 
 7. A^ront. Here used for ' meet,' ' encounter,' ' confront.' 
 See Note 7, Act v., " Winter's Tale." 
 
 8. Espials. 'Spies.' See Note 63, Act i., "First Part 
 Henry VI." 
 
 9. Bestow. Here used in the sense of ' place,' ' stow away." 
 See Note 23, Act i., " Comedy of Errors." 
 
 10. GracioiiS. Here used as a form of address to the king. 
 See Note 57, Act iv., "Winter's Tale." 
 
 11. Read on this book. Polonius's subsequent words, ''de- 
 votion's visage and pious action," show that a prayer-book was 
 here intended ; which point accounts for Hamlet's after expres- 
 sion, " In thy orisons be all my sins remember' d." 
 
 12. Not more ugly to i/ze thing .... my deed to my 
 most painted word. Here " to " has the force of ' compared 
 to,' or ' in comparison with.' See Note 57, Act i. 
 
 13. To talie arms against a sea of troubles. This figure has 
 been objected to, and various alterations have been proposed as 
 that which Shakespeare probably wrote ; but we think that 
 
 'sea" is here most expressively used as the type of an over- 
 whelming and multiplied opposing force. 
 
 King. [AsiJe.] Oh, 'tis too true ! 
 How smart a lash that speech doth give my 
 conscience ! 
 
 The harlot's cheek, beautied with plastering art, 
 Is not more ugly to the thing that helps it. 
 Than is my deed to my most painted word 
 Oh, heavy burden 
 
 Pol. I hear him coming ; let's withdraw, my 
 lord. [Exeunt Kmc and PoLONivs. 
 
 Enter Hamlet. 
 Ham. To be, or not to be, — that is the 
 
 question : — 
 Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer 
 The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, 
 Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,'-* 
 And by oppo.sing end them ? — To die, — to sleep, — 
 No more ; and by a sleep to say we end 
 The heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks 
 That flesh is heir to, — 'tis a consummation 
 Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, — ^to sleep ; — 
 To sleep! perchance to dream: — ay, there's the 
 
 rub;» 
 
 For in that sleep of death what dreams may 
 come. 
 
 When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,'* 
 Must give us pause : there's the respect'^ 
 That makes calamity of so long life ; 
 For who would bear the whijjs and scorns of 
 time. 
 
 The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's con- 
 tumely. 
 
 The pangs of despis'd love, the law's delay, 
 The insolence of office, and the spurns 
 That patient merit of the unworthy takes. 
 When he himself might his quietus make 
 With a bare bodkin P'^ who would fardels" bear. 
 
 14. TItere's t!u rub. A familiar phrase, signifying ' there 
 lies the difficulty.' It originated in a technicality used at the 
 game of bowls. See passage referred to in Note 50, Act iii., 
 " Richard II." Shakespeare several times uses the word "rub" 
 to express ' difficulty,' ' obstruction,' ' hindrance ;' and we have 
 elsewhere observed upon his employment of the very simplest 
 expressions in passages of solemn import. See Note 13, Act L, 
 " Macbeth." 
 
 15. Coil. ' Tumult,' ' bustle,' ' worry,' ' fuss.' See Note 81, 
 Act ii., "Romeo and Juliet." The choice of this word in the 
 present passage appears to us peculiarly felicitous, inasmuch as 
 it includes the effect of that which oppressively encircles, like 
 the coil of a serpent around its prey. 
 
 16. Respect. 'Consideration.' See Note 98, Act iii., 
 "Richard III." 
 
 17. Quietus. This phrase originated in the Latin law term, 
 quietus est, which was used in settling accounts at exchequer 
 audits ; but it passed into use as a figurative expression for 
 'final rest,' 'ultimate repose,' 'eternal quiet.' In Sir Thomas 
 Overbury's character of a Franklin, we find— " Lastly, to end 
 him, he cares not when his end comes ; he needs not feare his 
 audit, for his quietus is in heaven." 
 
 18. Bodkin. A name formerly used for a 'stiletto,' or 'small 
 dagger.' 
 
 19. Fardels. 'Burdens.' See Note 191, Act iv., "Winter's 
 Tale." 
 
Act III.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 To giunt and sweat 2" under a weary life, 
 But that the dread of something after death, — 
 The undiscover'd country, from whose bourn 
 No traveller returns, — puzzles the will, 
 And makes us rather bear those ills we have 
 Than fly to others that we know not of? 
 Thus conscience does make cowards of us all ; 
 And thus the native hue of resolution 
 Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought ; 
 And enterprises of great pith and moment, 
 With this regard, their currents turn awry, 
 And lose the name of action. — Soft you now ! 
 The fair Oplielia. — Nymph, in thy orisons 
 Be all my sins remember' d. 
 
 Oph. Good my lord, 
 
 How does your honour for this many a day P^i 
 
 Ham. I humbly thank you ; well, well, well.^^ 
 
 Oph. My lord, I have remembrances of yours, 
 That I have longed long to re-deliver ; 
 I pray you, now receive them. 
 
 Ham. No, not I ; 
 
 I never gave you aught."'' 
 
 Oph. My honour'd lord, I know right well you 
 did ; 
 
 And, with them, words of so sweet breath compos'd 
 As made the things more rich : their perfume lost, 
 Take these again ; for to the noble mind 
 Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind. 
 There, my lord. 
 
 20. To grunt and sweat. " Grunt," although having a some- 
 what harsh sound to modern ears in a passage of poetic dignity, 
 was thought sufificiently expressive to l?e accepted as a proper 
 term when Shalcespeare wrote. In Armin's "Nest of Ninnies" 
 there is a passage exemplifying this : *' How the fat fooles of 
 this age will gronte and sweate ui;ider this massie burden.'* 
 
 21. This niajiy a day. An idiomatic ellipsis for * this period 
 of many a day.' See Note 77, Act iif., " Henry VIII." Here 
 we have one of Shakespeare's touches pf dranaatic long time ; 
 serving to show that a period pf son>e length has elapsed since 
 the abrupt interview referred to in the passage commented upon 
 in Note 19, Act ii. With what subtle dflicacy, too, it,serves to 
 show the regret and tedium of that sad interval to the gentle 
 Ophelia ! There is an exquisite tone of melancholy, perceptible 
 beneath her assumed cheerfulness here, that harmonises wonder- 
 fully with the key-note of the tragedy, and with Hamlet's pro- 
 found and radical melancholia., while so inejfpressibly pathetic 
 in itself. 
 
 22. Wtll, well, well. The iteration of this word (wljich is 
 given by the Folios, though not by the Quairtos — they giving 
 "well " but once here) appears to us to be peculiarly significant. 
 Hamlet, on first seeing Ophelia, addresses her with all his old 
 affection and faith in her sweet rectitude of character ; her 
 gentle inquiry reminds him of the lap.sed interval apd all the 
 misery that has marked it, and he confusedly resumes the 
 sentential repetition with which he characterises his assumed 
 mad mode of speaking. See Note 60, Act ii. 
 
 23. / never gave yoic aught. Almost immediately after his 
 first involuntary address to her, in the old tone of loving belief 
 in her truth and goodness, Hamlet instinctively perceives that 
 Ophelia is acting a part dictated by others, speaking as prompted 
 by others, and that both she and he are watched as they talk ; 
 therefore he takes up his own resolved part of wildness and 
 lunacy, and hence his flat denial in the present speech. 
 
 24. Ha, ha I are you honest ? Hamlet, wounded to the soul 
 by Ophelia's having repulied his love without a word of ex- 
 
 Hum. Ha, ha! are you honest 
 
 Oph. My lord ? 
 
 Ham. Are you fair ? 
 
 Oph. What means your lordship ? 
 
 Ham. That if you be honest and fair, your 
 honesty should admit no discourse to your beauty ."^s 
 
 Oph. Could beauty, my lord, have better com- 
 merce than with honesty ? 
 
 Ham. Ay, truly ; for the power of beauty will 
 sooner transform honesty from what it is to a 
 cheat, than the force of honesty can translate 
 beauty into his likeness : this was sometime a 
 paradox, but now the time gives it proof. 1 did 
 love you once.^* 
 
 Oph. Indeed, my lord, you made me believe so. 
 
 Ham. You should not have believed me ; for 
 virtue cannot so inoculate our old stock, but we 
 shall relish of it I loved you not. 
 
 Oph. I was the more deceived. 
 
 Ham. Get thee to a nunnery : why wouldst 
 thou be a breeder of sinners ? I am myself in- 
 different honest ; but yet I could accuse me of 
 such things, that it were better my mother had 
 not borne me : I am very proud, revengeful, 
 ambitious; with more offences at my betk^^ than 
 I have thoughts to put them in,30 imagination 
 to give them shape, or time to act them in. 
 What should such fellows as I do crawling be- 
 tween heaven and earth ? We are arrant knaves. 
 
 planation, is now stung to the quick by her accusing him of 
 proving "unkind;" and accordmgly launches into the strain of 
 bitter invective against her sex, its caprices, follies, and frailties, 
 which he maintains during the rest of the scene. It is grief at 
 finding her conduct in rejecting him so little coincide with that 
 which he had originally known and loved in her, that goads hini 
 to the present harshness ; for it must aUvays *be borne in mind 
 that Hamlet can only judge of Ophelia's rejection by what he 
 sees it — apparently groundless, heartless, capricious ; he cannot 
 know that it is the mere offspring of her father's will and in- 
 
 25. Your honesty should admit no discourse to yoitr beauty. 
 'Your truth should allow of no flattering address to your beauty.' 
 " Honesty," here, besides meaning ' virtue,' * purity,' includes 
 the sense of ' truth.' 
 
 26. Now tlte time gives it proof. I did love you once. Here 
 Hamlet appears to us to be deeply deploring that dereliction 
 from the singleness and purity of truth which he once believed 
 to exist in the beautiful Ophelia. He once loved her as truth 
 itself ; he now beholds her beauty impaired by the fickleness 
 and instability that belong to a woman without constancy of 
 chaiacter. 
 
 27. Virtue cannot so inoculate oiir old stock, but we shall 
 relish of it ' Individual virtue cannot so wholly overcome 
 orisinal sin but that we shall have some remaining taint of it.' 
 While seeming to acknowledge this inherent viciousness in 
 himself, Hamlet, to our thinking, includes a reflection upon 
 the likelihood that Ophelia, truthful and guileless as she once 
 appeared to him, has inherited a touch of her father's indirect- 
 
 28. Itidif^erent. For ' indiff"erently,' in the sense of ' mode- 
 rately,' 'tolerably,' 'averagely.' See Note 61, Act ii. 
 
 29. At my beck. 'Ready for immediate summons,' 'within 
 call.' 
 
 30. Thoughts to put them in. ' Thoughts to clothe them in, 
 or invest them in.' 
 
Act III.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 all; believe none ot' us. Go thy ways to a nun- 
 nery. Where's your father 
 Oph. At homej my lord. 
 
 Ham. Let the doors be shut upon him, that 
 he may play the fool nowhere but in's own house. 
 Farewell. 
 
 Oph. Oh, help him, you sweet heavens! 
 
 Ham. If thou dost marry, I'll give thee this 
 plague for thy dowry, — be thou as chaste as ice, 
 as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. 
 Get thee to a nunnery, go: farewell. Or, if thou 
 wilt needs marry, marry a fool ; for wise men know 
 well enough what monsters you make of them. 
 To a nunnery, go ; and quickly too. Farewell, 
 
 Oph. Oh, heavenly powers, restore him ! 
 
 Ham. I have heard of your paintings too, well 
 enough ; God hath given you one face,'^ and you 
 make yourselves another: you jig, you amble, and 
 you lisp, and nick-name God's creatures, and make 
 your wantonness your ignorance.'* Go to, I'll no 
 more on 't ; it hath made me mad.^* I say, we 
 will have no more marriages: those that are 
 married already, all but one, shall live ; the rest 
 shall keep as they are. To a nunnery, go. \_Exit. 
 
 Oph. Oh, what a noble mind is here o'er- 
 thrown I's 
 
 The courtier's, soldier's, scholar's, eye, tongue, 
 sword : 
 
 The expectancy and rose of the fair state, 
 The glass of fashion and the mould of form,'^ 
 The observ'd of all observers, — quite, quite down ! 
 And I, of ladies most deject and wretched, 
 That suck'd the honey of his music vows, 
 Now see that noble and most sovereign reason. 
 Like sweet bells jangled, out of tune and harsh ; 
 That unmatch'd form and feature of blown youth 
 Blasted with ecstasy :37 oh, woe is me. 
 To have seen what I have seen, see what I see ! 
 
 Re-enter King and Polonius. 
 King. Love ! his affections do not that way tend ; 
 Nor what he spake, though it lack'd form a little, 
 
 31. Where's your father^ This sudden questinn shows that 
 Hamlet suspects Polonius to be a hidden listener; and, .ilas! 
 Ophelia's disingenuous reply but too well confirms the prince's 
 impression that she has not escaped the infection of her father's 
 duplicity. Shakespeare, with his perfect discrimination in 
 character, has in one or two of his sweetest women permitted 
 it to be seen how feminine gentleness, if forced by uncongenial 
 surroundings into timidity, becomes warped from truth of speech 
 and direct proceeding, 
 
 32. Paintings too, . . . one face. This is the Quarto reading: 
 while the Folio prints 'pratlings' for' " paintings," and 'pace' 
 for "face." 
 
 33. Make your wantonness your ignorance. Elliptically 
 expressed ; ' seem,' or ' pass for,' being understood between 
 " wantonness" and " your ignorance," 
 
 34. It hath made me mad. This completes the evidence 
 that Hamlet suspects himself to be watched during his interview 
 with Ophelia, and, feeling himself compelled to maintain the 
 assumption of insanity throughout, ascribes its origin to the 
 
 Was not like madness. There's something in his 
 
 soul, ' 
 O'er which his melancholy sits on brood ; 
 And, I do doubt, the hatch and the disclose*^ 
 Will be some danger: which for to prevent, 
 I have in quick determination 
 
 Thus set it down: — he shall with speed to England, 
 
 For the demand of our neglected tribute : 
 
 Haply, the seas, and countries different, 
 
 With variable objects, shall expel 
 
 This something-settled matter in his heart ; 
 
 Whereon his brains still beating, puts him thus 
 
 From fashion of himself. What think you on 't ? 
 
 Pol. It shall do well : but yet do I believe 
 The origin and commencement of his gnef 
 Sprung from neglected love. — How now, Ophelia ! 
 You need not tell us what Lord Hamlet said ; 
 We heard it all. — My lord, do as you please ; 
 But, if you hold it fit, after the play. 
 Let his queen mother all alone entreat him 
 To show his grief: let her be round-'*^ with him • 
 And I'll be plac'd, so please you, in the ear 
 Of all their conference. If she find^" him not. 
 To England send him ; or confine him where 
 Your wisdom best shall think. 
 
 King. It shall be so : 
 
 Madness in great ones must not unwatch'd go. 
 
 \_Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE 11.—^ Hall in the Castle. 
 
 Enter Hamlet and certain Pla)ers. 
 
 Ham. Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pro- 
 nounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue : but 
 if you mouth it, as many of your players do, I had 
 as lief the town-crier spoke my lines. Nor do not 
 saw the air too much with your hand, thus ; but 
 use all gently : for in the very torrent, tempest, 
 and, as 1 may say, the whirlwitid of passion, you 
 must acquire and beget a temperance that may 
 
 same cause which he before gave to be inferred. See Note 50, 
 Act ii, 
 
 35. Oh, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown! The poig- 
 nant regret of Ophelia here expressed, and her ejaculatory 
 prayers on Hamlet's behalf in her two previous speeches, are 
 the perfection of love— thought for him more than for herself; 
 her anguish for her own loss of his affection is even subordinate 
 to her grief for his loss of reason. 
 
 36. The glass of fashion and the mould of form. ' The 
 image by which each endeavours reflectedly to fashion himself, 
 and the model upon which all form themselves.' 
 
 37. Ecstasy. Sometimes, as here, used for alienation or 
 aberration of mind. See Note 47, Act iv,, " Comedy of 
 Errors." 
 
 38. T/ie disclose. This was the technical term applied to the 
 fir.st coming of birds from the shell. 
 
 39. Round. 'Plain-spoken,' 'straightforward in speech.' 
 See Note 47, Act ii. 
 
 40. Find. 'Detect.' See Note 116, Act ii., " All's Well." 
 
Act III.] HAMLET. [Scene II. 
 
 Hamlet. Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you- 
 
 Act III. Scene If. 
 
 give it smoothness. Oh, it offends me to the soul 
 to hear a robustious periwig-pated fellow" tear a 
 passion to tatters, to very rags, to split the ears of 
 the groundlings;*"^ who, for the most part, are 
 capable of nothing but inexplicable dumb-shows 
 and noise : I would have such a fellow whipped for 
 o'erdoing Termagant;-*^ it out-herods Hercd:''-' 
 pray you, avoid if. 
 
 Fit St Play. I warrant your honour. 
 
 Ham. Be not too tame neither but let your 
 own discretion be your tutor : suit the action to 
 
 41. Perriwig-paied fellow. Players in Shakespeare's time 
 generally wore wigs and abundance of false hair. 
 
 42. The groundlings. Those who frequented the 'ground' 
 or 'pit' of the theatre. Originally it had neither floor nor 
 l^^nc'.l^2 ; but was a mere sunken space, considerably beneath 
 the level of the stage. 
 
 43. Terjuagant. The name given in old romances to the 
 g.J of the Saracens. 
 
 44 1 1 oin;u-)-uds Herod. The murder of the innocents was a 
 
 the word, the word to the action ; with this special 
 observance, that you o'eistep not the modesty of 
 nature : for anything so overdone is from the 
 purpose of playing, whose end, both at the first 
 and now, was and is, to hold, as 'twere, the mirror 
 up to nature; to show virtue her own feature, 
 scorn her own image, and the very age and body 
 of the time his form and pressure. Now, this 
 overdone, or come tardy ofF,<7 though it make the 
 unskilful laugli, cannot but make the judicious 
 grieve ; the censure of the which one must, in 
 
 i ' 
 
 favourite subject for a mystery, or ancient dramatic performance; 
 and Herod was always represented as an outrageous tyrant. 
 
 45. Is from the purpose 0/ playing. Here " from " is used in 
 the sense of 'away from,' ' contrary to.' See Note 97, Act i., 
 "Twelfth Night." 
 
 46. His form and pressure. * Its form and impression.' See 
 Note 142, Act i. 
 
 47. Or come tardy o^. An idiomatic mcde of saying 'or 
 inefficiently executed.' 
 
Act III.] 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 your allowance, ''8 o'erweigh a whole theatre of 
 others. Oil, there be players that I ha\e seen 
 jflay,- and heard others praise, and that highly, — 
 not to speak it profanely, that, neither having the 
 accent of Christians, nor the gait of Christian, 
 pagan, nor inan, have so strutted and bellowed, 
 that I have thought some of nature's journeymen 
 had made men, and not made them well, they 
 imitated huinanity so abominably. 
 
 First Play. I hope we have reformed that in- 
 differently « with us, sir. 
 
 Ham. Oh, reform it altogether. And let those 
 that play your clowns speak no more than is set 
 down for them : for there be of them that witT' 
 themselves laugh, to set on some quantity of 
 barren spectators to laugh too ; though, in the 
 meantime, some necessary question of the play be 
 then to be considered : that's villanous, and shows 
 a most pitiful ambition in the fool that uses it. Go, 
 make you ready. [Exeunt Plavers. 
 
 Enter PoLONius, Rosencrantz, and Guilden- 
 
 S FERN. 
 
 How now, my lord ! will the king hear this piece 
 of work ? 
 
 Poi. And the queen too, and that presently. 
 Ham. Bid the players make haste. [Exit 
 PotoNius.] Will you two help to hasten them ? 
 Ros., Guil. We will, my lord. 
 
 [Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. 
 Ham. What, ho, Horatio! 
 
 Enter Horatio. 
 Hor. Here, sweet lord, at your service. 
 Ham. Horatio, thou art e'en as just a man 
 As e'er my conversation cop'd withal. 
 Hor. Oh, my dear lord, — 
 
 Ham. Nay, do not think I flatter ; 
 
 For what advancement may I hope from thee, 
 That no revenue hast, but thy good spirits. 
 
 48. In your allouuatt 
 
 ' by your 
 
 49. Indifferently. Here used for 'tolerably well,' 'rather 
 well.' See Note 28 of this Act. 
 
 50. Let ifie candied tongtte. Here "candied" is used for 
 ' sugary,' ' fawningly sweet ; ' while it includes an ironical play 
 u^on the word 'candid.' See Note 27, Act ii., "Tempest." 
 
 51. Pregnant. Sometimes, as here, used by Shakespeare 
 in the sense of 'quick,' 'ready,' 'prompt.' In " Troilus and 
 Cfessida," Act iv., sc. 4, we find, '"To which the Grecians are 
 most prompt and pregfiant." 
 
 52. Blood and Judgment. Blood is here used for ' vehement 
 affection,* 'passions,' 'strong propensitico.* See Note 63, Act 
 ii. , " Much Ado." 
 
 53. Something too muck of this. The genuine manliness of 
 this little sentence put into the mouth of Hamlet, checking 
 himself when conscious that he has been carried away by 
 fervour of affectionate friendship into stronger protestation than, 
 mayhap, becomes the truth and simplicity of sentiment between 
 man and man, is precisely one of Shakespeare's own exquisite 
 touches of innate propriety in questions of feeling. See Note 
 109, Act ii. Let any one, who doubts for a moment whether 
 
 To feed and clothe thee ? Why should the poor 
 
 be flatter'd ? 
 No, let the candied tongue 5" lick absurd pomp ; 
 And crook the pregnant^' hinges of the knee 
 Where thrift may follow fawning. Dost thou 
 
 hear'? 
 
 Since my dear soul was mistress of her choice, 
 And could of men distinguish, her election 
 Hath seal'd thee for herself : for thou hast been 
 As one, in suffering all, that suffers nothing ; 
 A man that fortune's buffets and rewards 
 Hast ta'en with equal thanks : and bless'd are 
 those 
 
 Whose blood and judgment^- are so well co- 
 mingled, 
 
 That they are not a pipe for fortune's finger 
 To sound what stop she please. Give me that 
 man 
 
 That is not passion's slave, and I will wear him 
 In my heart's core, ay, in my heart of heart, 
 As I do thee. — Something too much of this.^^ 
 There is a play to-night before the king ; 
 One scene of it comes near the circumstance 
 Which I have told thee of my father's death : 
 I pr'ythee, when thou seest that act a-foot. 
 Even with the very comment of thy soul 
 Observe mine uncle : if his occulted guilt 
 Do not itself unkennel in one speech, 
 It is a damned ghost that we have seen ; 
 And my imaginations are as foul 
 As Vulcan's stithy Give him heedful note : 
 For I mine eyes will rivet to his face ; 
 And, after, we will both our judgments join 
 In censure*^ of his seeming. 
 
 Hor. Well, my lord : 
 
 If he steal aught the whilst this play is pla) ing. 
 And 'scape detecting, I will pay the theft. 
 
 Ham. They are coming to the jilay ; I must be 
 idle:S6 
 
 Get you a place. 
 
 the author of this supreme drama intended that Hamlet should 
 merely feign madness, read carefully over the present speech, 
 marking its sobriety of expression .even amid all its ardour, 
 its singleness and purity of sentiment amid its most forcible 
 utterance, and then decide whether it could be possible that he 
 should mean Hamlet's wits to be touched. That his heart is 
 shaken to its core, that he is even afflicted with melancholia and 
 hypocondria, we admit : but that his intellects are in the very 
 slightest degree disordered, we cannot for one instant believe. 
 
 54. Stithy. 'Forge,' 'smithy.' See Note 70, Act iv.', 
 " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 55. Censure. Here used for ' opinion,' ' comment.' 
 
 56. / must be idle. ' I must be meaningless in manner,* ' I 
 must put on my crazy behaviour,' * I must seem insensate and 
 purposeless.' That Shakespeare uses "idle" in this sense, we 
 have shown in Note 153, Act ii., "All's Well," and Note 21, 
 Act iv., " Timon of Athens ;" and, moreover, as additional con- 
 firmation that here Shakespeare employs the word thus, in the 
 1603 Quarto, where the queen has the interview with her son 
 in her •wn private room, she says, "For my love forget these 
 idle fits ;** and Hamlet replies, idle, no mother, my pulse doth 
 beate like yours, it is not luadnesse that possesseth," &c. 
 
Act III.] 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Danish March. A flourish. Enter KiKG, Queen, 
 PoLONius, Ophelia, Ro^encrantZj Guil- 
 DENSTERN, and others. 
 
 King. How fares our cousin Hamlet ? 
 
 Ham. Excellent, i' faith ; of the cameleer's 
 dish : I eat the air, promise-crammed : you cannot 
 feed capons so. 
 
 King. I have nothing with this answer, Ham- 
 let ; these words are not mine. 
 
 Ham. No, nor mine now. 5" [To PoLONlus.] 
 My lord, you played once in the university, you 
 say ?58 
 
 Pol. That did I, my lord ; and was accounted 
 a good actor. 
 
 Ham. And what did you enact ? 
 
 Pol. I did enact Julius Csesar : I was killed i' 
 the Capitol Brutus killed me. 
 
 Ham. It was a brute part of him to kill so 
 capital a calf there. — Be the players ready ? 
 
 Ros. Ay, my lord ; they ptay i\pon your 
 patience."'" 
 
 ^leen. Come hither, my dear Hamlet, sit by 
 me. 
 
 Ham. No, good mother, here's metal more 
 attractive. 
 
 Pol. [To the King.] Ch, ho! do you mark 
 
 that : 
 Ham. 
 
 Oph. 
 Ham. 
 Oph. 
 Ham. 
 Oph. 
 
 Lady, shall I I'.e in yoi.r lap 
 
 [Lying donjcn at Ophelia's Jcet. 
 No, my lord. 
 
 I mean, niy head upon your lap ? 
 You are merry, my lord. 
 Who, I ? 
 Ay, my lord. 
 Ham. Oh, heave.i, your only jig-maker. What 
 should a n.an do but be merry ^ for, look you, how 
 
 57. Nor mhu now. An old proverb says, "A man's words 
 are his own no longer than he keeps them unspoken." 
 
 58. Ymt played once in tlie university, you say ? Here "you 
 say " affords an example of Shakespeare's practice of occasion- 
 ally using the present tense where reference is made to some- 
 thing pa^t. In this instance the effect is excellent ; it allows 
 Hamlet to advert to the old courtier's boast as if it were 
 some'.hing just said, whereas it is evident that he has been in 
 the habit of vaunting his having acted in the classical plays 
 w ich it was the custom for college students to perform. See 
 Note 88, Act ii. 
 
 59. / was killed i' the Capitol. See Note 3, Act iii., "Julius 
 
 60. T/iey stay upon your patience. An idiomatic phrase, 
 signifying ' they attend upon your sufferance,' ' they wait for 
 your permission.' Shakespeare uses "patience" occasionally 
 
 61. Lie in your lap. That it was not only the fashion for 
 gallants to lie at the feet of the ladies to whom they paid court, 
 but that it was not uncommon for men to sit at the knee of some 
 gentleman friend who wished to afford them a good place for 
 witnessing a performance, is shown by a passage from the 
 Induction to Marston's " Malcontent" (1604) : — 
 
 Sink. Save you, coose. 
 
 Sly. Oh, coosin, come, you shall sit betweene my legs 
 heare. 
 
 cheerfully my mother looks and my father died 
 within these two hours. 
 
 Oph. Nay, 'tis twice two months," my lord. 
 
 Ham. So long ? Nay, then, let the devil wear 
 black, for I'll have a suit of sables. Oh, heavens ■ 
 die two months ago, and not forgotten yet ? Then 
 there's hope a great man's memory may outlive 
 his life half a yt.ar : bv.t, by'r lady, he must build 
 churches, then ; or else shall he suffer not think- 
 ing on, with the hobby-horse, whose epitaph is, 
 " For, oh, for, oh, the kobby-horse is forgot."^* 
 
 Xmmf;ets sound. The dujiib-show enters. 
 Enter a King and a Queen very loi'ingly ; tJie Queen em- 
 \ bracing him, and lie her. She kneels, and makes show 
 I protestation unto him. He takes Iter up, and declines 
 
 his /tead upon her neck: Itys him down upon a bank of 
 I flowers : slie, seeing him asleep, leaves him. Anon comes 
 j iji a fellow, takes off his a-own, kisses it, and pours poison 
 in the King's ears, and exit. The Queen returns ; fiiids 
 the King dead, and makes passionate action. The Poisoner, 
 ' with some two or three Mutes, comes in again, seeming to 
 1 lament with lier. The dead body is carried away. The 
 Poisonir lUiWM the Queen with gifts: she seems loth and 
 ■mwilling awhile, but in llie end accepts his love. 
 
 \_Exeunt. 
 
 Oph. What means this, my lord ? 
 
 Ham. Marry, this is miching mallecho ;** it 
 means mischief. 
 
 Oph. Belike this show imports the argument of 
 tht play. 
 
 Enter Prologue. 
 
 Ham. We shall know by this fellow : the 
 players cannot keep counsel they'll tell all. 
 Oph. Will he tell us what this show meant ? 
 Ham. Ay, or any show that you'll show him. 
 Oph. You are naught, you are naught: I'll 
 mark the play. 
 Pro. For us, and for our tragedy, 
 
 Here stooping to your clemency, 
 We beg your hearing patiently. 
 
 " Sink. No, indeede, coosin, the audience then will take 
 me for a viol-de-gambo, and thinke that you play upon me." 
 
 62. Twice t'MO montlis. By these few words Shakespeare 
 marks the lapse of dramatic time since Hamlet, in the second 
 
 I scene of the first act, has spoken of his father as having been 
 j "but two months dead — nay, not so much, not two." In his 
 I previous remark here, "within two hours," and his subsequent 
 I one, " two months ago," Hamlet purposely indefinitises the 
 period that has transpired, in order to maintain the wild mode 
 of speech characteristic of that madness which he assumes. 
 
 63. A stcit of sables. " Sables " being the name of a rich fur, 
 and for black, Hamlet says he will have a suit that may 
 nominally pass for mourning ; thus giving a sarcastic fling at 
 the shameless want of respect shown towards his father's 
 
 64. For, oh, for, oh, tJie Jiobby-liorse is forgot. Aline of 
 an old ballad, deploring the omission of the hobby-horse from 
 the May games by desire of the Puritans. See Note 8, Act iii., 
 " Love's Labour's Lost." 
 
 65. Miching Mallecho. * Lurking malice, mischief, or mis- 
 deed.' To ' mich ' is an old English verb for ' lurk,' * skulk,' or 
 *act stealthily;' and malheco is a Spanish word, signifying 
 ' mal-practice,' 'evil doing,' 'mischief.' See Note 129, Act ii., 
 " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 66. Counsel. Here used for 'secrets.' See Note 59, Act iii., 
 " Midsummer Night's Dream." 
 
 414 
 
Act III.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Ham. Is this a prologue or the posy of a ring i 
 O^h. 'Tis brief, my lord. 
 
 F. Ki. 
 
 Enter a King a7id a Queen. ! 
 -. Full thirty limes hath PhoeLus' ;art^"" gone | 
 
 jnd 
 
 Neptune's salt wash and Tellus' ^ orbed ground. 
 And thirty dozen moons with borrow'd sheen ''^ 
 About the world have times twelve thirties been, 
 Since love our hearts, and Hymen did our hands, 
 Unite commutual in most sacred bands. 
 
 P. Queen. So many journe)-s mjiy the sun and moon 
 Make us again count o'er ere love be done ! 
 But, woe is me, you are so sick of late. 
 So far from cheer and from your former state. 
 That I distrust you. Yet, though I distrust, 
 Discomfort you, my lord, it nothing must : 
 For women's fear and love hold quantity ; " 
 
 Now, what my love is, proof hath made you know ; 
 And as my love is siz'd, my fear is so : 
 Where love is great, the littlest doubts are fear ; 
 Where little fears grow great, great love grows there.'* 
 P. Kins- 'Faith, I must leave thee, love, and shortly 
 
 My operant powers their functions leave to do : 
 And thou shalt live in this fair world behind, 
 Honour'd, belov d ; and haply, one as kind 
 
 For husband shalt thou 
 
 P. Qiceen. Oh, confound the rest ! 
 
 Such love must needs be treason in my breast : 
 In second husband let me be accurst ! 
 None wed the second but who kill'd the first. 
 
 nd the tone of 
 which Hamlet allows 
 scene, give evidence of 
 m for her have received 
 ■ unexplained rejection. 
 
 Ham. {^dside^ Wormwood, wormwood. 
 
 P. Queen. The instances'* that second marriage move, 
 Are base respects of thrift, but none of love. 
 
 P. King. I do believe you think what now you speak ; 
 But what we do determine oft we break. 
 Purpose is but the slave to memory ; 
 Of violent birth, but poor validity : 
 Which now, like fruit unripe, sticks on the tree ; 
 But fall, unshaken, when they mellow be. 
 Most necessary 'tis that we forget'^ 
 I'o pay ourselves what to ourselves is debt : 
 What to ourselves m passion we propose. 
 The passion ending, doth the purpose lose. 
 The violence of either grief or joy 
 Their own enactures'^ with themselves destroy : 
 Where joy most revels, grief doth most lament ; 
 Grief joys, joy grieves, on slender accident. 
 This world is not for aye ; nor 'tis not strange 
 That even our loves should with our fcrtuueo v-luuige ; 
 For 'tis a question left us yet to prove. 
 Whether love lead fortune or else fortune love. 
 The great man down, you mark his favourite flies ; 
 The poor advanc'd makes friends of enemies. 
 And hitherto doth love on fortune tend : 
 For who not needs shall never lack a friend ; 
 And w'no in want a hollow friend doth try. 
 Directly seasons him" his enemy. 
 But, orderly to end where I begun, — 
 Our wills and fates do so contrary run, 
 That our devices still are overthrown ; 
 Our thoughts are ours, their ends none of our own : "8 
 So think thou wilt no second husband wed ; 
 But die thy thoughts when thy first lord is dead. 
 
 P. Queen. Nor earth to me give food, nor heaven light ! 
 
 67. As woman's love. This bi 
 cruel lightness — even coarseness— wit! 
 himself to address Ophelia during thi: 
 the deep wound his affection and estei 
 from the apparent heartlessness of he 
 His innocent mistress's seeming' fickleness and faithlessness, 
 combined with his mother's gross conduct, have cut to the root 
 all the prince's belief in the purity and goodness of woman- 
 hood ; and he takes a strange pleasure in probing his own 
 wound by these rough speeches to her in whom he has been so 
 vitally disappointed, as men press a painful sore to momentarily 
 still its aching. When, as is often the case, readers judge 
 Hamlet's treatment of Ophelia to be unprovokedly harsh, they 
 should remember that to tk^vi her entire freedom from ground 
 of reproach is known, while to him it is unknown, being 
 shrouded by what seems unwarranted caprice and inconstancy. 
 
 68. Pliabus' cart. " Cart " was sometimes formerly used for 
 ' car ' or ' chariot.' 
 
 69. Tellus. The classical name, in the ancient mythology, 
 for the earth. 
 
 ^o. Sheen. ' Shining,' ' brightness,' ' lustre.' A word chiefly 
 used in poetry. Spenser has employed it adjectively, as Shake- 
 speare has done (see Note 6, Act ii., "Midsummer Night's 
 Dream") ; and Milton has used it substantively, as Shakespeare 
 does in the present passage. " Sheen," adjectively used, is an 
 abbreviation of ' sheeny. ' 
 
 71. Hold quantity. An idiomatic e.\pression used by Shake- 
 speare (see Note 36, Act i., "Midsummer Night's Dream"); 
 and here meaning ' hold equal quantity,' ' are of equal amount,' 
 'have parity.' 
 
 72. Great love grows there. These two concluding lines of 
 the speech are omitted in the Folio : they are given by all the 
 Quartos. 
 
 73. Leave. Here used in the sense of ' cease.' See Note 21, 
 Act iv., "Henry VIII." 
 
 74. Instances. Here used for ' motives,' ' grounds of induce- 
 ment.' See Note 26, Actiii., "Richard III." 
 
 75. Most necessary 'tis, i^c. ' It is needful that we should I 
 
 omit to perform what we in a rash moment promise ourselves to 
 
 76. Enactures. 'Purposes put into action,' 'intentions 
 enacted.' An expressive word fabricated by Shakespeare ; 
 and which is gi\en in the Quartos, but misprinted in the 
 Folio * enactors.' 
 
 77. Seasons kiin. Here used so as to combine the sense of 
 ' tempers him into,' ' moulds him into ' isee Note 7, ."Vet ii. oi 
 this play), and of ' inures," * habituates, or accustoms him to 
 become.' 
 
 78. Purpose is but tlie slave their ends none of our 
 
 own. We have an idea that this is the passage " of some dozen 
 or sixteen lines " which Hamlet has proposed to " set down and 
 insert" in the play, asking the player whether he could "study" 
 it for the occasion. The style of the diction is markedly different 
 from the remainder of the dialogue belonging to this acted play 
 of "The Murder of Gonzago ;" and it is signally like Hamlet's 
 own argumentative mode. "This world is not for aye," the 
 thoughts upon the fluctuations of " love " and "fortune," and 
 the final reflection upon the contrary current of " our wills and 
 fates," with the overthrow of our " devices," and the ultimate 
 diversity between our intentions and their " ends," are as if 
 proceeding from the prince himself. His motive in writing 
 these additional lines for insertion, and getting the player to 
 deliver them, we take to be a desire that they shall serve to 
 divert attention from the special passages directed at the king, 
 and to make these latter seem less pointed. We have fancied 
 that this is Shakespeare's intention, because of the emphatic 
 variation in the style just here. Observe how very different are 
 the mythological allusions to " Phoebus," " Neptune," "Tellus," 
 " Hymen," " Hecate," and the stiff sentential inversions of 
 "about the world have times twelve thirties been,'' "discomfort 
 you, my lord, it nothing must," &c. ; and, moreover, observe 
 how exactly the couplet commencing the player-king's speech, 
 " I do believe," &c., and the couplet concluding it, " So think 
 thou wilt," &c., would follow on conjoinedly, were the inter- 
 vening lines (which we suppose intended to be those written by 
 Hamlet) not Inserted. 
 
Act III.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Sport and repose lock from me day and n:ght ! 
 To desperation turn my trust and hope ! 
 An anchor's cheer"' in prison be my scope ! 
 Each opposite, that blanks the face of joy, 
 Meet what I would have well, and it destroy ! 
 Both here and hence, pursue me lasting strife, 
 If, once a widow, ever I be wife ! 
 
 Ham. If she should break it now I^o 
 
 P. King. 'Tis deeply sworn. Swe^t, leave me here 
 
 My spirits grow dull," and fain I would beguile 
 
 The tedious day with sleep. \SleeJ>s. 
 
 P. Qiiee7i. Sleep rock thy brain ; 
 
 And never come mischance between us twain ! 'lExii. 
 
 Ham. Madam, how like you this play ? 
 
 ^een. The lady protests too much, methinks. 
 
 Ham. Oh, but she'll keep her word. 
 
 King. Have you heard the argument Is 
 there no offence in 't ? 
 
 Ham. No, no, they do but jest, poison in jest ; 
 no offence i' the world. 
 
 King. What do you call the play ? 
 
 Ham. The Mouse-trap. Marry, how ? Tro- 
 pically. This play is the image ot a murder done 
 in Vienna: Goiizago is the duke's name;*** his 
 wife, Baptista : you shall see anon ; 'tis a knavish 
 piece of work : but what o' that ? your majesty, 
 and we that have free'^ souls, it touches its not : 
 let the galled jade wince, our withers are unwrung. 
 
 Enter Lucianus. 
 
 This is one Lucianus, nephew to the king. 
 
 Oph. You are as good as a chorus,^? my lord. 
 
 Ham. I could interpret between you and y our 
 Iove,'8 if I could see the puppets dallying. 
 
 79. An anchor s cheer. ' An anchorite's fare.' "Anchor," as 
 an abbreviated form of * anchorite,' was used by others besides 
 Shakespeare in his time. 
 
 80. 1/ sJie should break it now ! ' Tis, &^c. Here * it ' is 
 used, according to Shakespeare's mode of employing this pro- 
 noun, in reference to an implied particular, with allusion to ' the 
 vow' which the previous speech forms. See Note 4, Act ii. 
 
 81. Dnii. 'Drowsy,' 'slumberous.' See Note 87, Activ., 
 "Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 82. I/ave you heard the argument ? This shows that the 
 king is intended either not to have noticed the "dumb-show," 
 or not to have known that it denoted the subject of the play. 
 Possibly the latter ; since Ophelia's remark, " Belike this show 
 imports the argument of tiie play," indicates that it does not 
 
 83. Tropically. ' Metaphorically ; ' ' figuratively : ' ' by means 
 of a trope.' 
 
 84. Gonzago is the duke's name. The title of " duke " was 
 sometimes, in Shake.speare's time, used synonymously with that 
 of ' king." See Note 5, Act ii., " Love's Labour's Lost." 
 
 85. Baptista. Here used for a woman's name ; but that 
 Shakespeare was perfectly aware of its being employed in Italy 
 as a man's name, is proved by his character of Baptista Minola 
 in " The Taming of the Shrew." 
 
 86. Free. 'Unguilty,' 'free from crime.' See Note 115, 
 Act ii. 
 
 87. As good,as a cJwrus. Meaning that Hamlet affords an 
 accompanying explanatory comment upon the play ; as we see 
 that the " Chorus " is made to do in Shakespeare's own drama 
 of " Henry V." 
 
 88. / could interpret, is'c. In allusion to the 'Interpreter' 
 
 Oph. Still better, and worse, 
 j Ham. So you must take your husbands.**' — 
 j Begm, murderer ; leave thy horrible faces, and 
 j begin. Come :— the croaking raven doth bellow 
 I for revenge. 
 
 Luc. Thoughts black, hands apt, drugs fit, and time 
 agreeing ; 
 
 Confederate season, else no creature seeing ; 
 Thou mixture rank, of midnight weeds collected,'" 
 With Hecate's ban thrice blasted, thrice in.''ected. 
 Thy natural magic and dire property. 
 On wholesome life usurp immediately. 
 
 \_rours the poison into the sleeper's ears. 
 
 Ham. He poisons him 1' the garden for his estate. 
 His name's Gonzago : the story is extant, and 
 written in very choice Italian. You shall see anon 
 how the murderer gets the love of Gonzago's wife, 
 Oph. The king rises. 
 Ham. What ! frighted with false fire ! 
 Slufen. How fares my lord ? 
 Pol. Give o'er the play. 
 King. Give me some light : — ^away ! 
 All. Lights, lights, lights ! 
 
 [^Exeunt all except Hamlet and Horatio. 
 Ham. Why, let the strucken deer go weep, 5' 
 The hart ungalled play ; 
 For some must watch, while some must 
 sleep ; 
 
 So runs the world away. — 
 Would not this, sir, and a forest of feathers (if tiie 
 rest of my fortunes turn Turk'^ with me), with two 
 Provincial roses on my razed shoes, get me a 
 fellowship in a cry'" of players, sir ? 
 ' Hor. Haifa share.'!' 
 
 who supplied the dialogue for " the puppets " in a show, and 
 occasionally explained the subject represented. See Note 10, 
 Act ii., " Two Gentlemen of Verona." 
 
 89. So you must take your husbands. Referring to the words 
 in the marriage service : — " To have and to hold from this day 
 forward, ytJr better, for worse, for richer, for poorer," &c. 
 
 90. Of midnight weeds collected. This gives the double 
 effect of ' collected from midnight weeds,' and ' made of weeds 
 
 I collected or gathered at midnight.' That poisonous herbs were 
 j obtained at night, in order to add to their my^tic properties and 
 efficacious qualities, is evidenced by the line in " Macbeth," 
 Act iv., sc. I, " Root of hemlock digg'J i' the dark." 
 
 91. Let the strucken deer go weep. An allusion to the tears 
 that deer were supposed to shed when killed by the hunters. 
 See Note 8, Act ii., "As You Like It." 
 
 92. A forest of feat/ie/s. Feathers being an article always in 
 great request for theatrical attire. 
 
 93. Turn Turk. A familiar phrase for any sudden reverse, 
 or violent change of condition or character. See Note 58, 
 Act iii., " Much Ado." 
 
 94. Provincial roses. A name for the roses grown at Provins, 
 in Lower Brie ; and sometimes given to the enormous 'rosettes' 
 worn on the shoes at one period of fashion. 
 
 95. Razed. ' Cut,' ' slashed.' French, rasi. The mode of 
 slashing the shoes was at one time prevalent, as also slashing 
 the dresses. See Note 67, Act iv., " Taming of the Shrew." 
 
 96. A cry. 'A troop,' 'a company ;* 'a pack.' See Note 
 loi. Act iii., " Coriolanus." 
 
 97. Half a share. Players were paid, not by salaries, but by 
 'shares,' or portions of the general profit divided according to 
 
 i5 
 
Act III.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Ham. A whole one, I.'^ 
 
 For thou dost know, O Damon dear,'' 
 
 This realm dismantled was 
 Of Jove himself; and now reigns here 
 A very, very — peacock.""' 
 Hor. You might have rhymed."" 
 Ham. Oh, good Horatio, I'll take the ghost's 
 word for a thousand pound. '"^ Didst perceive ? 
 Hor. Very well, my lord. 
 Ham. Upon the talk of the poisoning, — 
 Hor. I did very well note him. 
 Ham. Ah, ha! — Come, some music! come, the 
 recorders !"'3 — 
 
 For if the king like not the comedy. 
 Why, then, belike,— he likes it not, perdy.'"-'— 
 Come, some music ! 
 
 Re-enter Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. 
 Guil. Good, my lord, vouchsafe me a word with 
 you. 
 
 Ham. Sir, a whole history. 
 Guil. The king, sir, — 
 Ham. Ay, sir, what of him ? 
 Guil. Is, in his retirement, marvellous distem- 
 pered. 
 
 Ham. With drink, sir ? 
 
 Guil. No, my lord, rather with choler. 
 
 Ham. Your wisdom should show itself more 
 richer to signify this to his doctor ; for, for me to 
 put him to his purgation would perhaps plunge him 
 into more choler. 
 
 Guil. Good my lord, put your discourse into 
 some frame, and start not so wildly from my affair. 
 
 Ham. I am tame, sir : — pronounce. 
 
 Guil. The queen, your mother, in most great 
 affliction of spirit, hath sent me to you. 
 
 Ham. You are welcome. 
 
 Guil. Nay, good my lord, this courtesy is not of 
 the right breed. If it shall please you to make me 
 a wholesome answer, I will do your mother's com- 
 mandment: if not, your pardon and my return 
 shall be the end of my business. 
 
 Ham. Sir, I cannot. 
 
 Guil. What, my lord ? 
 
 Ham. Make you a wholesome answer; my 
 wit's diseased : but, sir, such answer as I can make, 
 you shall command; or, rather, as you say, my 
 mother : therefore no more, but to the matter : my 
 mother, you say, — 
 
 Ros. Then thus she says ; your behaviour hath 
 struck her into amazement and admiration. 
 
 Ham. Oh, wonderful son, that can so astonish a 
 mother ! — But is there no sequel at the heels of 
 this mother's admiration ? impart. 
 
 Ros. She desires to speak with you in her closet, 
 ere you go to bed. 
 
 Ham. We shall obey, were she ten times our 
 mother. Have you any farther trade"""' with us? 
 
 Ros. My lord, you once did love me. 
 
 Ham. So I do still, by these pickers and 
 stealers.'"' 
 
 Ros. Good my lord, what is your cause of 
 distemper ? you do, sui-ely, bar the door upon your 
 own liberty, if you deny your griefs to your friend. 
 
 Ham. Sir, I lack advancement. 
 
 Ros. How can that be, when you have the voice 
 of the king himself for your succession in Den- 
 mark ? 
 
 Ham. Ay, sir, but "While the grass grows," i"'' 
 — the proverb is something musty. 
 
 Re-enter Players "^ith recorders. 
 Oh, the recorders: — let me see one. — To with- 
 draw with you:!"' — why do you go about to re- 
 
 gS. A whole one, I. An idiomatic and elliptical form of 
 phrase; the "I" being equivalent to 'I'll have,' or 'for my j 
 part.' 
 
 99. O Damon dear. Hamlet gives this name to Horatio in 
 allusion to the story of the two celebrated friends of antiquity, 
 Damon and Pythias ; a story popularly known in Shakespeare's 
 time. 
 
 100. Peacock. This word is printed in the Folio ' paiocke,' 
 in the early Quartos ' paiock,' in the 1676 Quarto 'paicock,' and 
 in the 1695 Quarto 'pecock.' We think the word is here used 
 to designate a fellow who struts about in a position to which he 
 has no claim ; as Thersites describes the puffed-up Ajax, in 
 "Troilus and Cressida," Act iii., sc. 3 :— " He stalks up and 
 down like ^ peacock— s. stride and a stand." 
 
 101. You might have rhymed. Meaning, ' You might have 
 substituted jackass for peacock.' 
 
 102. ril take the ghost's word for a thousand pound. An 
 idiomatic mode of saying ' I would stake a thousand pounds on 
 the truth of the ghost's assertion.' 
 
 103. Come, some vi7tsk ! come, the recorders ! Hamlet's 
 v/ild state of excitement upon the verification of the spirit's 
 revealments, his putting his utterances into rhymed form and 
 scraps of doggrel, his hysterical levity and false spirits, are 
 most characteristic ; whilst his calling for music at this juncture, 
 as a means of calming his perturbation, is true to a natural 
 
 instinct. "Recorders" are small flutes, or flageolets. See 
 I Note 22, Act v., IVIidsummer Night's Dream." 
 
 104. Perdy. A corrupted form of the French oath, /(Z^-f/Zra. 
 
 105. Distempered. Used here in its sense of 'disturbed,' 
 ■disordered' (see Note 28, Act ii., "Midsummer Night's 
 Dream ") : but Hamlet replies to it as if it included the sense it 
 sometimes bore of 'intemperate,' 'intoxicated.' See Note 51, 
 Act ii., " Henry V." 
 
 io5. Trade. ' Dealing," business.' 
 
 107. These pickers and stealers. Meaning his hands. A 
 passage in the Church Catechism has, "To keep my hands 
 from picking and stealing." 
 
 108. While the grass grows. In allusion to the ancient 
 saying, ' While the grass grows, the steed starves ; ' Hamlet 
 breaking off in the middle because it is so " musty," stale, or 
 often repeated and well known. 
 
 J09 To witlidraw with you. These words have been 
 variously interpreted. Bearing in mind that to "draw" is a 
 term of the chase for track by the scent, trail, or foot-print of 
 the animal pursued (see Note 22, Act iv., " Comedy of Errors"), 
 and that a hunting term ("recover the wind") is immediately 
 after used, we think it probable that the words in the text are 
 indicative that Hamlet, observing the two spies "going about," 
 or drawing a little apart to watch him and track him, mutters, 
 ' Now, then, to withdraw a little as you do, and to track you as 
 18 
 
Act III.] 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 cover the wind of me/'" as if you would drive 
 me into a toil ? 
 
 Guil. Oh, my lord, if my duty be too bold, my 
 love is too unmannerly. 
 
 Ham. I do not well understand that. Will 
 you play upon this pipe ? 
 
 Guil. My lord, I cannot. 
 
 Ham. I pray you. 
 
 Guil. Believe me, I cannot. 
 
 Ham. I do beseech you. 
 
 Guil. I know no touch of it, my lord. 
 
 Ham. 'Tis as easy as lying : govern these 
 ventages^'- with your finger and thumb, give it 
 breath with your mouth, and it will discourse most 
 eloquent music. Look you, these are the stops. "-^ 
 
 Guil. But these cannot I command to any 
 utterance of harmony ; I have not the skill. 
 
 Ham. Why, look you now, how unworthy a 
 thing you make of me! You would play upon 
 me ; you would seem to know my stops ; you 
 would pluck out the heart of my m) stery ; you 
 would sound me from my lowest note to the top 
 of my compass: and there is much music, ex- 
 cellent voice, in this little organ ; yet cannot 
 you make it speak. 'Sblood, do you think I 
 am easier to be played on than a pipe? Call me 
 what instrument you will, though you can fret"'' 
 me, you cannot play upon me. — 
 
 Re-enter Polonius. 
 God bless you, sir I 
 
 you do me ; ' and then proceeds to tax them with their 
 and to trap them by his proffer that they shall play upon the 
 recorder. Hamlet habitually and characteristically uses words 
 with double meaning and comprehensive meaning ; and we 
 believe that his employment of the word "withdraw" here is 
 one of the many instances of this. 
 
 no. To recover the V-nHd of me. A term borrowed from the 
 chase ; to recover the wind of an animal meaning to take advan- 
 tage of it by getting to windward of it, in order that it may not 
 scent its pursuers. See Note 75, Act iii., " All's Well." 
 
 111. If my duty be too bold^ vty love^ ^^'c. * If my duty in 
 endeavouring to discover the cause of your alienation be too 
 bold, the blame must he laid on my love, which makes me thus 
 unmannerly.' The courtier's consciousness that while he pro- 
 fesses duty and love to the prince, he is in fact fulfilling an 
 undertaken task for the king, makes him express himself in the 
 confused phraseology which causes Hamlet to reply, " I do not 
 well un-derstand that." 
 
 112. Govern tliese ventages. "Govern" is here used as a 
 technicality of musical execution, meaning to place the ftngers 
 properly on the instrument 'see Note 23, Act v., " Midsummer 
 Night's Dream"): and "ventages" are the holes in a flute, 
 which, being opened or closed by pressure of the finger, form 
 the different notes required. 
 
 113. The stops. Another name for the " ventages," or wind- 
 holes of the instrument ; which are " governed " or stopped by 
 appliance of the performer's finger. See Note 4, Induction, 
 " Second Part Henry \y 
 
 114. Fret. Here said with a play upon the word; in its 
 sense of ' vex,' and in its sense of that portion of a stringed 
 instrument called a "fret" or 'stop.' See Note 17, Act ii., 
 "Taming of the Shrew." 
 
 115. To tlie top of my bent. To the full e.\t€nt of my 
 
 Pol. My lord, the queen would speak with you, 
 and presently. 
 
 Ham. Do you see yonder cloud that's almost 
 in shape of a camel ? 
 
 Pol. By the mass, and 'tis like a camel, indeed. 
 
 Ham. Methinks it. is like a weasel. 
 
 Pol. It is backed like a weasel. 
 
 Ham. Or like a whale ? 
 
 Pol. Very like a whale. 
 
 Ham. Then will I come to my mother by-and- 
 by. — They fool me to the top of my bent."* — I 
 will come by-and-by. 
 
 Pol. I will say so. 
 
 Ham. By-and-by is easily said. \_Exit Polo- 
 NhJS.] — Leave me, friends. 
 
 \_Exeunt Ros., Guil., Hor., and Players. 
 'Tis now the very witching time of night, 
 When churchyards yawn, and hell itself breathes out 
 Contagion to this world : now could I drink hot 
 blood, 
 
 And do such bitter business as the day 
 Would quake to look on."^ Soft! now to my 
 mother. — 
 
 Oh, heart, lose not thy nature ; let not ever 
 
 The soul of Nero enter this firm bosom : 
 
 Let me be cruel, not unnatural ; 
 
 I will speak daggers to her, but use none ; 
 
 My tongue and soul in this be hypocrites, — 
 
 How in my words soever she be shent,''* 
 
 To give them seals'" never, my soul, consent ! 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 patience,' ' to the utmost strain of my endurance.' See Note 28, 
 Act ii. 
 
 116. Such bitter insiness as the day, &^c. Because the 
 Quartos transpose this passage thus — Such business as the 
 bitter day,' &c., it has been proposed to alter the phrase into 
 ' Such business as the ^i'^^^-r day,' &:c. But the Folio reading, 
 which we give, affords perfectly the sense here required, when 
 it is borne in mind with what special force Shakespeare else- 
 where uses the word in such passages as — 
 
 "Those blessed feet 
 Which fourteen hundred years ago were nail'd 
 For our advantage on the bitter cross." 
 
 " First Part Henry IV.," Act i., sc. i. 
 
 And- 
 
 " There is no help ; 
 The bitter disposition of the time 
 
 " Troilus and Cressida," Ac 
 
 117. / will spenk daggers to her, bin 
 ing of his thoughts from their rage of i 
 the murderous king, this recalling o 
 emotions when preparing to encount 
 
 e none. This steady- 
 ntment in thinking of 
 ;entler and tenderer 
 his mother, this dis- 
 
 crimination of purpose and pre-arrangement of the words and 
 conduct he will use towards her, are surely those of a man 
 whose mind, however tossed by misery, is thoroughly untouched 
 in intellect. 
 
 Shent. ' Reproved,' ' rated,' ' rebuked.' See Note 66, 
 Act ii., "Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 119. To give titem seals. "\ 
 give them force and effect by 
 allusion is to sealing a bond, ii 
 render it effectives 
 
 confirm them 'oy deeds,' ' to 
 ;tion as well as speech.' The 
 order to give it validity and 
 
Act III.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 SCENE III.— ^ Room in the Castle. 
 
 Enter King, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern. 
 
 King. I like him not ; nor stands it safe with 
 us 
 
 To let his madness range. Therefore prepare 
 you ; 
 
 I your commission will forthwith despatch, 
 And he to England shall along with you : 
 The terms of our estate may not endure 
 Hazani so dangerous as doth hourly grow 
 Out of his lunacies. 
 
 Guil. We will ourselves provide : 
 
 Most holy and religious fear it is 
 To keep those many many bodies safe 
 That live and feed upon your majesty. 
 
 Ros. The single and peculiar life is bound, 
 With all the strength and armour of the mind, 
 To keep itself from 'noyance ; but much more 
 That spirit upon whose weal depend and rest 
 The livas of many. The cease of majesty 
 Dies not alone ; but, like a gulf, doth draw 
 What's near it with it: it is a massy wheel, 
 Fix'd on the summit of the highest mount, 
 To whose huge spokes ten thousand lesser things 
 Are morlis'd and adjoin'd ; which, when it falls, 
 Each small annexment, petty consequence, 
 Attends the boisterous ruin. Never alone 
 Did the king sigh, but with a general groan. 
 
 King. Arm you, I pray you, to this speedy 
 voyage ; 
 
 For we will fetters put upon this fear. 
 Which now goes too free-footed.'-" 
 Ros.f Guil. We will haste us. 
 
 \_Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. 
 
 Enter PoLONius. 
 Pol. My lord, he's going to his mother's closet : 
 Behind the arras I'll convey myself, '^i 
 To hear the process ; I'll warrant she'll tax him 
 home : 
 
 And, as you said, and wisely was it said, 
 'Tis meet that some more audience than a mother, 
 Since nature makes them partial,i22 should o'er- 
 hear 
 
 The speech, of vantage. '-^ Pare you well, my 
 liege : 
 
 L20. This fear, which tww goes too free-footed. Here Shake- 
 speare poetically uses the word " fear" as personifying Hamlet, 
 ■who goes too much at large and causes the speaker too much 
 dread. See Note 68, Act i., " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 121. Behind the arras I'll convey myself. See Note 27, 
 Act iii., " Merry V/ives." 
 
 122. More audience than a mother, since nature makes 
 them partial. Here "them" is used in reference to mothers i 
 generally, as implied in the previous " a mother," and not to 
 "audience;" according to an occasional practice of Shake- 
 speare's in this respect. See Note 11, Act iv., " Troilus and \ 
 Cressida." j 
 
 123. Of vantage. 'With the advantage of concealment,' 
 
 I'll call upon you ere you go to bed. 
 And tell you what I know. 
 King. Thanks, dear my lord. 
 
 \_Exit POLONIUS. 
 
 Oh, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven ; 
 It hath the priinal eldest curse upon 't, — 
 A brother's murder ! — Pray can I not. 
 Though inclination be as sharp as will c'^* 
 My stronger guilt defeats my strong mtent ; 
 And, like a man to double business bound, 
 I stand in pause where I shall first begin, 
 And both neglect. What if this cursed hand 
 Were thicker than itself with brother's blood, — 
 Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens 
 To wash it white as snow ? Whereto serves inercy 
 But to confront the visage of offence ? 
 And what's in prayer but this twofold force, — 
 To be forestalled ere we come to fall. 
 Or pardon'd being down ? Then I'll look up ; 
 My fault is past. But, oh, what form of prayer 
 Can serve my turn? Forgive me my foul mur- 
 der !— 
 
 That cannot be ; since I am still pessess'd 
 Of those effecls for which I did the murder, — 
 My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen. 
 May one be pardon'd, and retain the offence P'-* 
 I n the corrupted currents of this world 
 Offence's gilded hand may shove by justice ; 
 And oft 'tis seen the wicked prize itself 
 Buys out the law : but 'tis not so above ; 
 There is no shuffling, — there the action lies 
 In his true nature ; and we ourselves compeird,'^^ 
 Even to the teeth and forehead of our faults, 
 To give in evidence. What then ? what rests ? 
 Try what repentance can : what can it not ? 
 Yet what can it when one cannot repent ? 
 Oh, wretched state ! Oh, bosom black as death ! 
 Oh, limed soul,'-^ that, struggling to be free. 
 Art more engag'd ! Help, angels! make assay : 
 Bow, stubborn knees ; and, heart, with strings of 
 steel. 
 
 Be soft as sinews of the new-born babe ! 
 
 All may be well. {Retires and kneels. 
 
 Enter Hamlet. 
 Ham. Now might I do it pat, now he is 
 praying ; 
 
 'hiving the advantage of being hidden :' and it may also include 
 the sense of ' for the sake of advantage,' 'for future benefit.' 
 
 124. Though inclination be as sharp as will. 'Though my 
 desire be as strong as my determination.' 
 
 125. Retain the offence. Here "offence" is elliptically 
 used for ' the gain for which the offence was committed.' See 
 Note 18, Act iv., "All's Well," and Note 36, Act ii., "Julius 
 Cssar." 
 
 126. We ourselves compell'd. " Is " before " no shuffling," 
 gives "are" to be elliptically understood before "compell'd." 
 See Note 46, Act ii., " Macbeth." 
 
 127. Oh, limed soul. 'Oh, soul, snared as with bird-lime.' 
 See Note 56, Act iii., "Twelfth Night." 
 
Act III.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Hamlet. Now might I do it pat, now he is praying. 
 
 Act III. Scene III. 
 
 And now I'll do 't; — and so he goes to heaven ; 
 And so am I reveng'd : — that would be scann'd : — 
 A villain kills my father ; and, for that, 
 I, his sole son, do this same villain send 
 To heaven. 
 
 Why, this is hire and salary, not revenge. 
 He took my father grossly, full of bread ; 
 With all his crimes broad blown, as flush as 
 May; 
 
 And how his audit stands who knows save heaven ? 
 But, in our circumstance and course of thought, 
 'Tis heavy with him : and am I, then, reveng'd, 
 
 128. That would be scann'd. 'That should be inquired 
 into,' ' that ought to be well considered.' 
 
 129. Hent. 'Seizure,' 'capture.' See Note 74, Act iv., 
 " Measure for Aleasure," and Note 55, Act iv., " Winter's 
 Tale." 
 
 130. Bui prolongs thy sickly days . Thoroughly characteristic 
 of Hamlet, and thoroughly true to an instinct in humanity gene- 
 
 To take him in the purging of his soul. 
 When he is fit and season'd for his passage ? 
 No. 
 
 Up, sword ; and know thou a more horrid hent 
 When he is drunk, asleep, or in his rage ; 
 At gaming, swearing; or about some act 
 That has no relish of salvation in 't; — 
 Then trip him, that his heels may kick at heaven ; 
 And that his soul may be as damn'd and black 
 As hell, whereto it goes. My mother stays: 
 This physic but prolongs thy sickly days. '3" {Exit. 
 
 [The King rises and adnjcmces. 
 
 rally, is this speech. Its violence and exaggerated malice show 
 it to be the refuge taken by a man whose soul is tossed amid 
 conflicting duties. Hamlet's nature, his reflective mind, his 
 scholarly habits, all cause him to recoil from the idea of shed- 
 ding blood ; but his sense of what is due to a father's memory, 
 and to avenging a father's murder, impel him to stern retribu- 
 tion ; and while yielding to his own strong reluctance, he 
 
Act III.] 
 
 -HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 King. My words fly up, iny thoughts remain 
 below : 
 
 Words without thoughts never to heaven go."' 
 
 \_Exit. 
 
 SCENE lY.—Tbe Queen's Private Apartment 
 in the Castle. 
 Enter Queen a?id Polonius. 
 Pol. He will coine straight. Look you lay 
 home to him : 
 Tell him his pranks have been too broad to bear 
 with, 
 
 And that your grace hath screen'd and stood 
 between 
 
 Much heat and him. I'll silence me e'en here.'^- 
 
 Pray you, be round with him. 
 
 Ham. [If^ithin.] Mother, mother, mother ! '^^ 
 ^een. I'll warrant you ; 
 
 Fear me not : — -withdraw, I hear him coming. 
 
 [PoLONiUj conceals himself behind the arras. 
 
 Enter Hamlet. 
 Ham. Now, mother, what's the matter ? 
 ^een. Hamlet, thou hast thy father much 
 offended. 
 
 Ham. Mother, you have my father much 
 offended. 
 
 Slueen. Come, come, you answer with an idle'-** 
 tongue. 
 
 Ham. Go, go, you question with a wicked 
 tongue. '3'* 
 
 S^neen. Why, how now, Hamlet ! 
 
 Ham. What's the matter now ? 
 
 Slueen, Have you forgot me ? 
 
 Ham. No, by the rood,'^^ not so : 
 
 You are the queen, your husband's brother's wife ; 
 And, — would it were not so ! — you are my mother. 
 
 ^een. Nay, then, I'll set those to you that can 
 speak. 
 
 Ham. Come, come, and sit you down ; you 
 shall not budire ; 
 
 satisfies the urgings of his conscience by telling himself that he 
 will take a still more ample vengeance by deferring the deed. 
 It is the excuse of hesitation under the semblance of determined 
 
 131. IVords without thoughts tiever to heaven go. This 
 couplet forms a fitting conclusion to the previous finely monitory 
 speech of the king : the writhings of remorse, of guilty clinging 
 to guilty gains, of feeble struggle towards repentance over- 
 powered by unsubdued vicious inclinations, of the incapacity 
 to pray or to receive the solace of prayer when the soul is thus 
 trammelled, were surely never more forcibly depicted. 
 
 T32. /'// silence tne e^en here. Hanmer and others alter 
 "silence" to 'sconce;' but the expression, "I'll silence me 
 e'en here," for ' I'll silently station myself even here behind the 
 arras,' is not only characteristic of Polonius, but it forms an 
 antithesis to his bidding her "lay home to him" and "be 
 round with him." 
 
 You go not till I set you up a glass 
 Where you may see the inmost part of you. 
 
 ^een. What wilt thou do ? thou wilt not mur- 
 der me ? — 
 Help, help, ho ! 
 
 Pol. [Behind.-] What, ho ! help, help, help ! 
 Ham. How now! a rat? [DraiMS.] Dead, for 
 a ducat, dead ! 
 
 \Makes a pass tht ough the arras. 
 Pol. [Behind.'] Oh, I am slain ! [Falls and dies. 
 S^ueen. Oh, me, what hast thou done ? 
 Ham. Nay, I know nut: 
 
 Is it the king ? 
 
 [Lifts up the arras, and sees Polonius. 
 S^ueen. Oh, what a rash and bloody deed is this I 
 Ham. A bloody deed I — almost as bad, good 
 mother, 
 
 As kill a king, and marry witli his brother. 
 ^leen. As kill a king ! 
 
 Ham. Ay, lady, 'twas my word. — 
 
 [To Pol.] Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, 
 farewell ! 
 
 I took thee for thy better : take thy fortune ; 
 Tiiou find'st to be too busy is some danger. — 
 Leave wringing of your hands: peace! sit you 
 down. 
 
 And let me wring your heart : for so I shall, 
 If it be made of penetrable stuff ; 
 If damned custom have not braz'd it so. 
 That it is proof and bulwark against sense. 
 
 ^eeen. What have I done, that thou dar'st wag 
 thy tongue 
 In noise so rude against me ? 
 
 Ham. Such an act 
 
 That blurs the grace and blush of modesty ; 
 Calls virtue hypocrite ; takes off the rose 
 From the fair forehead of an innocent love, 
 And sets a blister there ; makes marriage-vows 
 As false as dicers' oaths : oh, such a deed 
 As "from the body of contraction plucks 
 The very soul ; and swett religion makes 
 A rhapsody of words : heaven's face doth glow ; 
 Yea, this solidity and compound mass, 
 
 133. Mother, 7notlier, mother' This speech, omitted in the 
 Quartos, is given in the Folio ; and we feel it to be indicative of 
 Hamlet's approaching his mother with the wild iterative mode 
 of speech and abrupt manner which shall keep up the effect of 
 madness that he has assumed ; although he preserves them but 
 for a short time, being goaded into serious reply by her using 
 the tone of reproof to him, and roused into a remembrance of 
 his resolve to rebuke her, when she proposes to bring others 
 who shall second her in speaking authoritatively to him. 
 
 Idle. 'Meaningless,' 'senseless.' See Note 56 of this Act. 
 
 135. With a zvicked tongne. The Folio prints ' idle ' instead 
 of " wicked " here, which is the word given by the Quartos. 
 That a variation in the retort was intended, is shown by the 
 words "answer" and "question." 
 
 136. By the rood. See Note 16, Act iii,, " Second Part 
 
 ;nry IV. 
 
 137. Contraction. ' Contracting in marriage.' 
 
Act III.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Witli tnsLful viiage, as against llie doom, 
 Is thought-sick at the act. 
 
 S^ueen. - Ah me, what act, 
 
 That roars so louJ, and thunders in the Index P'^s 
 
 Ham. Look, here, upon this picture, and on 
 this,— 
 
 The counterfeit presentment of two brothers. 
 See, what a grace was seated on this brow; 
 Hyperion's curls ; the front of Jove himself; 
 An eye like Mars, to threaten and command; 
 A station like the herald Mercury 
 New-lighted on a heaven-kissing hill ; 
 A combination and a form, indeed, 
 Where every god did seem to set his seal, 
 To give the world assurance of a man : 
 This was your husband. — Look you now, what 
 follows : 
 
 Here is yojn- husband ; like a mildew'd ear. 
 Blasting his wholesome brother.'"'" Have you 
 eyes ? 
 
 Could you on this fair mountain leave to feed. 
 And batten on this moor? Ha ! have you eyes ? 
 You cannot call it love.; for at your age 
 The hey-day in the blood is tame, it's humble, 
 And waits upon the judgment : and what judgment 
 Would step from this to this? Sense,'-" sure, you 
 have. 
 
 Else could you not have motion : but, sure, that 
 sense 
 
 Is apoplex'd : for madness would not err ; 
 
 Nor sense to ecstasy was ne'er so thrall'd 
 
 But it reserv'd some quantity of choice, 
 
 To serve in such a difference. What devil was 't 
 
 That thus hath cozen'd you at hoodman-blind ?'■*- 
 
 Eyes without feeling, feeling without sight. 
 
 Ears without hands or eyes, smelling sans all. 
 
 Or but a sickly part of one true sense 
 
 Could not so mope. '■'3 
 
 Oh, shame! where is thy blush ? Rebellious hell. 
 If thou canst mutine''" in a matron's bones, 
 To flaming youth let virtue be as wax. 
 And melt in her own fire : proclaim no shame 
 When the compulsive ardour gives the charge, 
 
 133, IndL-x. As the "index," or table of contents, was 
 formerly placed at the beginning of a book, this word is used 
 by Shakespeare,, to express ' induction,' ' prefatory matter,' 
 'prelude,' 'opening.' See Notes 20, Act ii., and 49, Act iv., 
 "Richard III." 
 
 139, Station. Here used to express 'attitude;' 'position 
 .nssumed when standing.' The construction in this line is ellip- 
 tical (according to Shakespeare's frequent practice in this 
 particular, when passages of comparison are in question) ; 
 'that of 'being understood between "like" and "the herald 
 Mercury." The allusion to the position or attitude of the king, 
 as if standing, shows that full-length pictures of the roy.al 
 brjthers are here intended by the author. 
 
 140 Blasting Jiis ivJiohsome brother. The Folio misprints 
 'breath' for " brother;" which is the word in all the Quartos. 
 
 147. Sensir. Here used for 'appreciation,' 'perception;' 
 power to discriminate the differences in external objects. 
 
 Since frost itselt as actively doth burn. 
 And reason panders will. 
 
 ^een. O Hainlet, speak no more: 
 
 Thou turn'st mine eyes into iny very soul ; 
 And there I see such black and grained spots 
 As will not leave their tinct. 
 
 t^^^"- Nay, but to live 
 
 Stew'd in corruption, honeying and making love 
 Over the nasty sty, — 
 
 ^een. Oh, speak to me no more ; 
 
 These words, like daggers, enter in mine ears ; 
 No more, sweet Hamlet ! 
 
 Ham. A murderer and a villain ; 
 
 \ slave that is not twentieth part the tithe 
 Of your precedent lord; a Vice''*' of kings; 
 A cutpurse of the empire and the rule, 
 That from a shelf the precious diadem stole, 
 And put it in his pocket ! 
 
 ^ueen. No more ! 
 
 Ham. A king of shreds and patches,'^? — 
 
 Enter Ghost. 
 Save me, and hover o'er me with your wings. 
 You heavenly guards !— What would your gracious 
 figure ? 
 Slueen. Alas! he's mad ! 
 
 Ham. Do you not come your tardy son to 
 chide. 
 
 That, laps'd in time and passion, lets go by 
 
 The important acting of your dread command ?'^' 
 
 Oh, say ! 
 
 Ghost. Do not forget : this visitation 
 Is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose. 
 But, look, amazement on thy mother sits : 
 Oh, step, between her and her fighting soul, — 
 Conceit"^ in weakest bodies strongest works, — 
 Speak to her, Hamlet. 
 
 Ham. How is it with you, lady ? 
 
 ^een. Alas! how is 't with you. 
 That you do bend your eye on vacancy, 
 And with the incorpoial air do hold discourse ? 
 Forth at your eyes your spirits wildly peep ; 
 And, as the sleeping soldiers in the alarm. 
 
 142. Hoodman-blind. An old name for the game now known 
 as ' Blindman's Buff.' See Note 42, Act iv., "All's Well." 
 
 143. Mope. ' Dully go astray,' ' blindly wander." See Note 
 121, Act iii., "Henry V." 
 
 144. Mutine. An old form of the verb ' mutiny.' 
 
 145. Grained. 'Ingrained:' ' dyed in grain.* 
 
 146. Vice. One of the names given to the jester or fool of 
 i the old moralities. See Note 39, Act iv., " Twelfth Nighl." 
 
 147. A king of shreds and patches. In allusion to the motley 
 coat or parti-coloured suit worn by the fool-jesters. See Note 11, 
 Act iii., " Tempe-.t," and Note 67, Act ii., " As You Like It." 
 
 148. Thit. la/is'd in time and passion, lets go by, (s^c. 
 ' That allows the fulfilment of your solemn injunction to pass 
 unperformed, as if because of lapsed time and abated ardour.' 
 
 149. Conceit. ' Mental conception or apprehension.' See 
 Note 59, Act ii., "As You Like It," and Note 48, Act iii , 
 " Richard III." 
 
 423 
 
Act III.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Your bediied hair, like life in excreinants,''" 
 Starts up, ami stands on end. Oh, gentle son, 
 Upon the heat and flaine of thy distemper 
 Sprinkle cool patience. Whereon do you look? 
 Ham. On him, on him! Look you, how pale 
 he glares ! 
 
 His form and cause conjoin'd, preaching to stones. 
 Would make them capable, — Do not look upon 
 me ; 
 
 Lest with this piteous action you convert 
 My stern- effects : i'- then what I have to do 
 Will want true colour; tears perchance for blood. 
 
 S^ueen. To whom do you speak this ? 
 
 Ham. Do you see nothing there ? 
 
 ^een. Nothing at all ; yet all that is I see. 
 
 Ham. Nor did you nothing hear ? 
 
 ^een. No, nothing but ourselves. 
 
 Ham. Why, look you there ! look, how it 
 steals away ! 
 My father, in his habit as he liv'd ! 
 Look, where he goes, even now, out at the portal ! 
 
 [Exit Ghost. 
 
 ^een. This is the very coinage of your brain : 
 This bodiless creation ecstasy 
 Is very cunning in.^^^ 
 
 Ha?n. Ecstasy ! 
 
 My pulse, as yours, doth temperately keep time. 
 And makes as healthful music: it is not mad- 
 ness 
 
 That I have utter'd : bring me to the test, 
 And I the matter will re-word ; which madness 
 Would gambol from. Mother, for love of grace. 
 Lay not that flattering unction to your soul,^^'' 
 That not your trespass, but my madness speaks : 
 It will but skin and film the ulcerous place, 
 Whilst rank corruption, mining all within, 
 Infects unseen. Confess yourself to heaven ; 
 
 150. Like li/e in excrements. ' As though there were vitality 
 in that excrescent portion of the human frame.' Not only was 
 the term " excrement " applied to hair in Shakespeare's time (see 
 Note 22, Act iii., "Merchant of Venice"), but also to the 
 feathers of birds ; for Walton, in the first chapter of his " Com- 
 plete Angler," says, *' I will not undertake to mention the 
 several kinds of fowl by which this is done ; and his curious 
 palate pleased by day, and which with their very excrements 
 afford him a soft lodging at night." 
 
 151. Capable. Here used in the combined senses of ' sus- 
 ceptible' and of 'intelligent.' See Note 3, Act iii., "King 
 John," and Note 65, Act iii., "Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 152. Effects. 'Deeds;' those which Hamlet says he has 
 " to do." It seems to us that this is most clearly evident ; yet 
 the word "eflfects" has been changed by Mr. Singer and 
 others to ' affects.' " Effects" is not here used for that which 
 has been effected, but for that which is to be effected. 
 
 153. Esctasy is very cunning in. 'Aberration of mind is 
 very skilful in.' See Note 37 of the present Act, and Note 25, 
 Act i., " Taming of the Shrew." 
 
 1 54 M other, for lore of grace, lay not, b'c. Let any one who 
 is inclined to be swayed by the special pleading and question- 
 begging of those who maintain that Hamlet is really mad, read 
 carefully over this speech, with its sad earnestness, its solemn 
 adjuration, its sober remonstrance, and ask himself whether 
 
 Repent what's past ; avoid what is to come ; 
 And do not spread the compost on the weeds, 
 To make them ranker. Forgive me this my 
 virtue ; 
 
 For in the fatness of these pursy times, 
 Virtue itself of vice must pardon beg. 
 Yea, curb and woo for leave to do him good. 
 ^een. O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in 
 twain. 
 
 Ham. Oh, throw away the worser part of it, 
 And live the purer with the other half. 
 Good night; but go not to mine uncle's bed ; 
 Assume a virtue, if you have it not. 
 That monster, custom, who all sense doth eat,'*^ 
 Of habits devil, is angel yet in this, — 
 That to the use of actions fair and good 
 He likewise gives a frock or livery, 
 That aptly is put on. Refrain to-night ; 
 And that shall lend a kind of easiness 
 To the next abstinence : the next more easy ; 
 For use almost can change the stamp of nature, 
 And master the devil, or throw him out 
 With wondrous potency. Once more, good night: 
 And when you are desirous to be bless' d, 
 I'll blessing beg of you. — For this same lord, 
 
 [Pointing to PoLONIUS. 
 [ do repent : but Heaven hath pleas'd it so. 
 To punish me with this, and this with me,'^' 
 That I must be their scourge and minister. 
 I will bestow him, and will answer well 
 The death I gave him. So, again, good night. — 
 I must be cruel, only to be kind : 
 Thus bad begins, and worse remains behind. — 
 One word more, good lady. 
 
 ^ufen. What shall I do ? 
 
 Ham. Not this, by no means, that I bid you do: 
 Let the bloat king tempt you again to bed ; 
 
 Shakespeare could by possibility have intended his hero to be 
 ; otherwise than most sane and sound of mind. 
 ; 155. Forgive tne this my virtue. It has been contended that 
 ; there should be a comma placed after " this," and that Hamlet 
 is here addressing an imploration to his own virtue ; but surely 
 : the context shows that the prince asks his mothei- to pardon the 
 5 candour of his virtuous reproof, adding, " For in the fatness of 
 r these pursy times, virtue itself of vice must fardon beg." 
 
 156. Curb. ' Bend,' ' bow ; ' French, courber. 
 
 157. 7Viat monster, custom, luJio all sense, &^c. This passage 
 J (which is taken from the Quartos, the Folio omitting all between 
 
 " if you have it not," and "refrain to-night ") has been variously 
 5 pointed and variously explained. We take its meaning to be, 
 t ' That monster, custom, who devours or destroys all sense of 
 1 shame in evil-doing, and is the very devil or evil genius of bad 
 1 habits, is yet an angel in this particular.' 
 
 158. To punish mc with this, and this with me. ' To punish 
 5 me by causing me to kill this man, and to punish this man by 
 , letting him be killed by me.' 
 
 159. But Heaven hath pleas'd it so, . . . that I must be 
 ) their scourge. The construction is elliptical in the first clause of 
 
 this sentence, 'been' being understood after "hath," and 'to 
 1 have' after "pleased." That "their" should be used in reference 
 1 to " Heaven," is accordant with Shakespeare's usage elsewhere, 
 r See Note 73, Act i., "Richard III." 
 424 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene 1. 
 
 Pinch wanton on your cheek; call you his mouse 
 And let him, for a pair of reechy'^' kisses, 
 Make you to ravel all this matter out, 
 That I essentially am not in madness, 
 But mad in craft. '^2 'Twere good you let him 
 know ; 
 
 For who, that's but a queen, fair,, sober, wise, 
 Would from a paddock,'^'' from a bat,, a gib,"'^ 
 Such dear concernings hide ? who would do so ? 
 No, in despite of sense and secrecy. 
 Unpeg the basket on the house's top, 
 Let the birds fly,'^* and, like the famous ape, 
 To try conclusions,'^'' in the basket creep. 
 And break your own neck down. 
 
 S^ueen. Be thou assur'd, if words be made of 
 breath, 
 
 And breath of life, I have no life to breathe 
 What thou hast said to m«. 
 
 Ham. I must to England you know that ? 
 
 Siueen. Alack,. 
 I had forgot : 'tis so- cojicluded on. 
 
 Ham. There's letters seal'd : and my two 
 
 schoolfellows, — ■ 
 Whom I will trust as I will adders fang'd, — 
 They bear the mandate ; they must sweep my 
 
 way. 
 
 And marshal me to knavery. Let it work ; 
 For 'tis the sport to have the engineer 
 Hoist with his own petar and it shall go 
 hard 
 
 But I will delve one yard below their mines, 
 j And blow them at the moon : oh, 'tis most sweet, 
 I When in one line two crafts directly meet. — 
 Tills man shall set me packing : 
 I'll lug the carcase to the neighbour room. — 
 Mother, good night.— Indeed, this counsellor 
 Is now most still,, most secret, and most grave. 
 Who was in life a foolish prating knave. 
 Come, sir, to draw toward an end with you. — 
 Good, night, mother. 
 
 \JLxeunt severally ; Hamlet dragging 
 oMoy. the body, of PoLONius. 
 
 ACT 
 
 SCENR Room in the Castle. 
 
 Enter King, Queen, Rosencrantz, and 
 
 GUILDENSTERN. 
 
 King. There's matter in these sighs, these pro- 
 found heaves :: 
 You must translate 'tis fit we understand them. 
 
 160. Mausei Formerly used as a term of. endearm.ent. See 
 Note 75, Act i., "Twelfth Night." 
 
 161. Reechy, Originally 'smoky,' 'grimy ' (seeNote 31, Act ii., 
 " Coriolanus ") ; hut it came to be used as we now use the word 
 'smutty,' signifying 'dirty,' morally as well a6 materially filthy 
 and coarse. 
 
 162. That I essentially ant not in madness, hut mad in 
 craft. It assuredly requires the question-begging, the takicgrfor- 
 granted, and the one-sided views which peculiarly mark those 
 who determine to assert that insanity exists in a mental condition , 
 under examination, to pronounce, after reading this, that Shake- 
 speare intended to represent\Hamlet as really mad. 
 
 163. A paddock. 'A toad.' See Note 3, Act i., "Macbeth." 
 
 164. A gib, ' A jnale cat.' See Note 31, Act i., " First Part 
 Henry IV." 
 
 163. Let the birds fly. It has been supposed that Sir John 
 Suckling, in, one of his letters, alludes to the same story that is 
 here referred to :— " It is the story of the jackanapes and the 
 partridges ; thou starest after a beauty till it be lost to thee, 
 and then let'st out another, and starest after that till it is gone 
 too." 
 
 166. Cmiclusions. 'Experiments.' See Note 24, Act ii., 
 "Merchant of Venice." 
 
 167. / must to England. Malone makes it subject of com- 
 plaint that " Shakespeare does not inform us how Hamlet came 1 
 
 IV. 
 
 Where is your son ? 
 ^teen. [To Ros. and Gun,.]" Bestow this place 
 on us a little while. [Exeunt. 
 Ah ! my good lord, what have I seen to-night ! 
 King. What, Gertrude ? How does Hamlet ? 
 ^een. Mad as the sea and wind,^ when both 
 contend 
 
 to know that he was to be sent to England." But King Claudius 
 has twice mentioned his determination that the prince shall be 
 dispatched thither, first to Polonius, then to Rosencrantz and 
 Guildenstern ; and such personages as these would be sure not 
 to leave a court decree unbuzzed. about, especially as since the 
 first royal expression cf resolve a whole day has elapsed. More- 
 over, Hamlet's succeeding words, "There's letters seal'd," imply 
 that the. decree has been officially announced to him ; and though 
 subsequently (Act iv., sc. 3) he chooses to express surprise when 
 the king announces that he is to set out for England imme- 
 diately, this is but in consonance with his assumed flightiness 
 of .manner and contemptuous flippancy when speaking to his 
 " uncle-father." Shakespeare, like the all-accomplished drama- 
 tist that he is, gives certain points to be inferred without prolix 
 detail, when he has ingeniously provided for their being sug- 
 ge,aed to the imagination of his readers or audience. See Note 
 55, Act v., "All's -Well." 
 
 168. Haist. An old form of 'hoisted,' or 'hois'd.' See Note 
 85, Act iv., " Richard III." 
 
 169. Petar. A kind of mortar used in countermining to break 
 through into the enemy's galleries. 
 
 , I. Translate. 'Explain.' See Note 52, Act iv., "Troilus 
 and Cressida." 
 
 2. Mad as the sea and wind. Here Queen Gertrude both 
 
 5 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Which is the mightier : in his lawless fit, 
 Behind the arras hearing something stir, 
 He whips his rapier out, and cries, " A rat, a 
 rat !" 
 
 And, in this brainish apprehension, kills 
 The unseen good old man. 
 
 King. Oh, heavy deed ! 
 
 It had been so with us, had we been there : 
 His liberty is full of threats to all ; 
 To you yourself, to us, to every one. 
 Alas ! how shall this bloody deed be answered ? 
 It will be laid to us, whose providence 
 Should have kept short, restrain'd, and out of 
 haunt,^ 
 
 This mad young man : but so much was our 
 love, 
 
 We would not understand what was mo$t fit ; 
 But, like the owner of a foul disease, 
 To keep it from divulging, let it feed 
 Even on the pith of life. Where is he gone ? 
 
 Slueen. To draw apart the body he hath kill'd : 
 O'er whom his very madness, like some ore'' 
 Among a mineral ' of metals base, 
 Shows itself pure ; he weeps for what is done. 
 
 King, O Gertrude, come away ! 
 The sun no sooner shall the mountains touch, 
 But we will ship him hence : and this vile deed 
 We must, with all our majesty and skill. 
 Both countenance and excuse. — Ho, Guildenstern : 
 
 Re-enter Rqsencrantz and Guildenstern. 
 
 Friends both, go join you with some farther aid : 
 Hamlet in madness hath Polonius slain, 
 And from his mother's closet hath he dr^igg'd 
 him : 
 
 Go seek him out ; speak fair, and bring the body 
 Into the chapel. I pray you, haste in this. 
 
 [Exeunt Ros. and GuiL. 
 Come, Gertrude, we'll call up our wisest friends ; 
 And let them know, both what we mean to do, 
 And what's untimely done : so, haply, slander,^ — 
 Whose whisper (?'er the world's djameter, 
 
 follows her son's injunction of keeping up the behef in his mad- 
 ness, and, with maternal ingenuity, makes it the excuse for his 
 rash deed. This affords a clue to Hamlet's original motive in 
 putting "ail antic disposition on" and feigning insanity: he 
 foresaw that it might he useful to obviate suspicion of his having 
 a steadily-pursued object in view, and to account for whatever 
 hostile attempt he should make. 
 
 3. Out of haunt. ' Out of company,' * apart from general 
 
 4. Ore. Here used for gold or precious metal. 
 
 5. A mineral. Employed here for a 'metallic vein,' what 
 is now called 'a lode.' Minsheu, in his Dictionary (1617), 
 defines "a mineral" to be "anything that grows in mines, 
 and contains metals'* The word ' minerals ' was formerly 
 sometimes used for 'mines;' thus, in "The Golden Remaines," 
 Hales of Eton (1693), we find, "Controversies of the times, like 
 spirits in the minerals, with all their labour, nothing is done." 
 The "Cambridge Dictionary" (1594), under the Latin word 
 
 As level as the cannon to his blank,' 
 Transports his poison'd shot, — may miss our 
 name. 
 
 And hit the woundless air.' — Oh, come away 
 My soul is full of discord and dismay. \_Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE U.— Another Room in the Castle. 
 Enter Hamlet. 
 Ham. Safely stowed. 
 
 Ros.,Guil. [IVithin.'] Hamlet! Lord Hamlet! 
 Ham. What noise? who calls on Hamlet? 
 Oh, here they come. 
 
 Enter Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. 
 Ros. What have you done, my lord, with the 
 dead body ? 
 
 Ham. Compounded it with dust, whereto 'tis 
 kin. 
 
 Ros. Tell us where 'tis ; that we may take it 
 thence. 
 And bear it to the chapel. 
 Ham. Do not believe it. 
 Ros. Believe what ? 
 
 Ham. That I can keep your counsel, and not 
 mine own. Besides, to be demanded of a sponge : 
 — what replication should be made by the son of a 
 king? 
 
 Ros. Take you me for a .sponge, my lord ? 
 
 Ham. Ay, sir; that soaks up the king's coun- 
 tenance, his rewards, his authorities. But such 
 officers do the king best service in the end : he 
 keeps them, like an ape doth nuts,' in the corner 
 of his jaw ; first mouthed, to be last swallowed : 
 when he needs what you have gleaned, it is but 
 squeezing you, and, sponge, you shall be dry 
 again. 
 
 Ros. I understand you not, my lord. 
 Ham. I am glad of it: a knavish speech sleeps 
 in a foolish ear. 
 
 mineralia, shows how the English "mineral" came to be used 
 ; for a mine. 
 
 i 6. So, haply, slander. The Folio omits all between " untimely 
 done" and "Oh, come away." The Quartos give the pas- 
 sage as it stands in our text, excepting that they have not the 
 words " So, haply, slander," which were inserted by Capell, 
 who slightly modified Theobald's suggestion of 'for, haply, 
 slander. ' 
 
 .7. The cannon to his blank. ' The cannon to its mark.' The 
 "blank" was the technical name for the white mark at which 
 shot or arrows were directed : from the French word blanc^ 
 white. See Note 33, Act ii., "Winter's Tale." 
 
 8. The woundless air. ' The air incapable of being wounded.' 
 See Note 40, Act ii., "Richard III.," and Note 87, Act i., 
 " Macbeth ; " ^Iso, observe the expression, " intrenchant air," 
 Note 45, Act v., " Macbeth." 
 
 9. Like an ape doth nuts. The Folio omits the words 
 "doth nuts which are supplied from the 1603 Quarto. 
 
 426 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Ros. My lord, you must tell us where the body 
 is, and go with us to the king. 
 
 Ham. The body is with the king, but the king 
 is not with the body.'" The king is a thing — • 
 
 Gutl, A thing, my lord ! 
 
 Ham. Of nothing: bring me to iiim. Hide 
 fox, and all after." [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE Ul.—Jnother Room in the Castle. 
 
 Enttr King, attended. 
 
 King. I have sent to seek him, and to find the 
 body. 
 
 How dangerous is it that this man goes loose ! 
 Yet must not we put the strong law on him : 
 He's lov'd of the distracted multitude. 
 Who like not in their judgment, but their eyes; 
 And where 'tis so, the offender's scourge is 
 weigh'd. 
 
 But never the offence. To bear all smooth and 
 even, 
 
 This sudden sending him away must seem 
 Deliberate pause:'- diseases, desperate grown. 
 By desperate appliance are reliev'd. 
 Or not at all. 
 
 Enter ROSENCRANTZ. 
 
 How now! what hath befall'n ? 
 Ros. Where the dead body is bestow'd, my 
 lord. 
 
 We cannot get from hi.Ti. 
 
 King. But where is he ? 
 
 Ros. Without, my lord ; guarded, to know 
 
 your pleasure. 
 King. Bring him before us. 
 Ros. Ho, Guildenstern ! bring in my lord. 
 
 Enter Hamlet and Guildenstern. 
 
 King, Now, Hamlet, where's Polonius ? 
 
 Ham. At supper. 
 
 King. At supper ! where ? 
 
 Ham. Not where he eats, but where he is eaten: 
 a certain convocation of politic worms are e'en 
 at him. Your worm is your only emperor for 
 diet : we fat all creatures else to fat us, and we fat 
 ourselves for maggots : your fat king and your lean 
 
 10. The body is with the king, bnt t!ie king is not with the 
 body. Hamlet is intentionally perplexing the courtierly spies, 
 and keeping up their conviction of his insanity by these riddling 
 replies. It appears to us that the underlying sense of what he 
 here says is — ' Materiality and corporeal grossness characterise 
 the king ; but the king has no real or virtuous substance, no 
 genuine matter in him : he is a thing of naught, a mere worth- 
 less nonentity.' 
 
 11. Hide fox, and all after. The name of a juvenile game, 
 similar to what is now called ' hide-and-seek ; ' where one 
 player hides himself, and the rest run "all after," seeking him. 
 
 beggar is but variable service, — two dishes, but to 
 one table : that's the end. 
 King. Alas, alas 1 
 
 Ham. A man may fish with the worm that 
 hath eat of a king, and eat of the fish that hath fed 
 of that worm. 
 
 King. What dost thou mean by this ? 
 
 Ham. Nothing but to show you how a king 
 may go a progress" through the maw'* of a 
 beggar. 
 
 King. Where is Polonius ? 
 
 Ham. In heaven; send thither to see : if your 
 messenger find him not there, seek him i' the other 
 place yourself. But, indeed, if you find him not 
 within this month, you shall nose him as you go 
 up the stairs into the lobby. 
 
 King. {To some Attendants.] Go seek him 
 there, 
 
 Ham. He will stay till you come. 
 
 [Exeunt Attendants. 
 King. Hamlet, this deed, for thine especial 
 safety, — 
 
 Which we do tender, as we dearly grieve 
 For that which thou hast done, — must send thee 
 hence 
 
 With fiery quickness : therefore prepare thyself ; 
 The barque is ready, and the wind at help, '6 
 The associates tend,'^ and everything is bent 
 For England. 
 
 Ham. For England ! 
 
 King. Ay, Hamlet. 
 
 Ham. Good. 
 
 King. So is it, if thou knevv'st our purposes. 
 
 Ham. I see a cherub that sees them. — But, 
 come; for England! — Farewell, dear mother. 
 
 King. Thy loving father, Hamlet. 
 
 Ham. My mother; father and mother is man 
 and wife ; man and wife is one flesh ; and so, my 
 mother. — Come, for England! [Exit. 
 
 King. Follow him at foot ; tempt him with 
 speed aboard ; 
 Delay it not ; I'll have him hence to-night : 
 Away ! for everything is seal'd and done 
 That else leans on the affi\ir : pray you, make 
 haste. [Exeunt Ros. and Guil. 
 
 And, England, if my love thou hold's t at aught 
 (As my great power thereof may give thee sense, 
 Since yet thy cicatrice looks raw and red 
 
 12. Mnst seem deliberate pause. ' Must seem to be the 
 result of deliberate consideration." 
 
 13. Convocation of politic iiuorms. An allusion to the Diet 
 of Worms, convoked in 1521 by the Emperor Charles V. 
 
 14. A progress. The name of a state journey, or royal visit 
 through the provinces. 
 
 15. Maw. .' Stomach.' See Note 21, Act ii., " Henry V." 
 
 16. The wind at help. ' The wind serves,' ' the wind is 
 favourable to aid your departure.' 
 
 17. Tend. An abbreviated form of ' attend ; ' used in the 
 sense of ' wait.' See Note 107, Act i., " Coriolanus." 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Rosencratitz. What have you done, my lord, with the dead body I 
 
 Hamlet. Compounded it with dust, whereto 'tis kin. Act IV. Scette II. 
 
 After the Danish sword, and thy free awe 
 Pays homage to us), thou mayst not coldly set'* 
 Our sovereign process ; which imports at full. 
 By letters conjuring to that effect, 
 The present death of Hamlet. Do it, England ; 
 I'" or like the hectic in my blood he rages, 
 And thou must cure me: till 1 know 'tis done,'' 
 Howe'er my haps, my joys were ne'er begun. ^ 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 j8. Set. Here used for ' estimate,' ' rate,' ' reckon,' 'value 
 a sense which this word formerly bore. We still have the ex- 
 pression, ' set it at naught ; ' signifying ' value it or rate it at 
 nothing,' ' set down its price at nothing.' 
 
 19. Do it, E7igland till I Itnow 'tis done. Here 
 
 " it " signifies ' this deed," as implied in the previous expression, 
 " tlie present death of Hamlet.'" 
 
 20. Till I knoTjj 'tis done, howe'er iny haps, my joys ivere 
 ne'er begun. ' Until I know this deed is done, however I m.ly 
 fare (or whatever may happen to mei, my joys will never have 
 begun.' That Shakespeare should use "were ne'er " for ' will 
 never have,' is in consonance with an occasional practice of his 
 
 SCENE IV.— Plain in Denmark. 
 
 Enter Fortinbras and Forces, marching. 
 
 For. Go, captain, from me greet the Danish king; 
 Tell him that, by his license, Fortinbras 
 Claims the conveyance of a promis'd march 
 Over his kingdom. You know the rendezvous. 
 If that his majesty would aught with us, 
 We shall express our duty in his eye 
 
 with regard to indefinite future time. See Note 42, Act i., 
 *' Coriolanus." The rhyme in this final couplet of the scene 
 shows it to be the reading probably intended by Shakespeare ; 
 although the Quartos give the last line thus — * Howe'er my 
 haps, my joys will ne'er begin.' 
 
 21. In his eye. ' In his presence.' The expression in the 
 text was according to a state formula used in Shakespeare's 
 time ; since it is found in " The Regulations for the Government 
 of the Queen's Household" (1627) — "All such as doe service 
 in the qiieen's eye ;" and in "The Establishment of the House- 
 hold of Prince Henry" jr6io) — "All such as doe service in the 
 prince's eye. " 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 And let him know so. 
 
 Ca^i. I will do 't, my lord. 
 
 toi-. Go softly on.-- 
 
 \_Exfunt FoKTINBRAS and Forces. 
 
 Enter Hamlet, RosE^'CRANTz, Guilden- 
 
 STERN, 
 
 Ham. Good sir, whose powers are these ? 
 
 Cap. They are of Norway, sir. 
 
 Ham. How purpos'd, sir, I pray you ? 
 
 Cap. Against some part of Poland. 
 
 Ham. Who commands them, sir ? 
 
 Cap. The nephew to old Norway, Fortinbras. 
 
 Ham. Goes it against the main of Poland, sir,-^ I 
 Or for some frontier ? t 
 
 Cap. Truly to speak, and with no addition, j 
 We go to gain a little patch of ground j 
 That hath in it no profit but the name. 
 To pay five ducats, five, I would not farm it; 
 Nor will it yield to Norway or the Pole 
 A ranker rate, should it be sold in fee. 
 
 Ham. Why, then the Polack never will defend it. 
 
 Cap. Yes, it is already garrison'd. 
 
 Ham. Two thousand souls and twenty thousand 
 ducats 
 
 Will not debate the question of this straw : 
 This is the imposthume of much wealth and peace, 
 That inward breaks, and shows no cause without 
 Why the man dies. — I humbly thank you, sir."'' 
 
 Cap. God be wi' you, sir. \_Exii. 
 
 Ros. Will 't please you go, my lord ? 
 
 Ham. I'll be with you straight. Go a little 
 before. [Exeuni ail except Hamlet. 
 
 How all occasions do inform against me. 
 And spur my dull revenge ! What is a man, 
 If his chief goodand market^s of his time 
 Be but to sleep and feed ? a beast, no more. 
 Sure, He that made us with such large discourse,-* 
 Looking before and after, gave us not 
 
 22. Go softly on. The Folio misprints ' safely ' for " softly," 
 and conclades the scene here. To the Quartos we not only owe 
 the right word, " softly " [in the sense of ' gently,' * at a moderate 
 pace'), but also the whole of the dialogue and soliloquy that 
 follow. Possibly they were omitted for stage curtailment ; but 
 their great significance, as part of the development of Hamlet's 
 character, shows the omission to have been made by no desire 
 of the author. 
 
 23. Goes it agaiiisty &^c. Here **it" means 'force,' or 
 ' military expedition," as implied in the previous mention of 
 *' powers " sent " against some part of Poland." 
 
 24. / humbly thank yoit, sir. Very characteristic is this of the 
 gracious-mannered Prince Hamlet. See Note 63, Act i. He un- 
 consciously lapses into his own natural reflective mood upon re- 
 ceiving the captain's information ; then, recollecting himself, he 
 gives him this courteous acknowledgment as a kind of dismissal ; 
 and then follows up his desire to indulge unobserved meditation, 
 by sending his court attendants on a " little before." The whole 
 of this dialogue and soliloquy, to our mind, affords conclusive 
 proof — even if other were wanting — that Hamlet's madness is 
 sheer feigning, and that Shakespeare fully intended him not 
 only to be entirely in possession of his senses, but depicted him 
 ai one of his men of soundest and profoundest intellect. 
 
 1'hat capability and god-like reason 
 To fust-'' in us unus'd. Now, whether it be 
 Bestial oblivion, or some craven scruple 
 Of thinking too precisely on the event, — 
 A thought which, quarter' d, hath but one part 
 wisdom, 
 
 And ever three parts coward, — I do not know 
 
 Why yet I live to say, " This thing's to do 
 
 Sith I have cause, and will, and strength, and means, 
 
 To do 't. Examples, gross as earth, exhort ine : 
 
 Witness this army, of such mass and charge, 
 
 Led by a delicate and tender prince ; 
 
 Whose spirit, with divine ambition puff d. 
 
 Makes mouths at the invisible event; 
 
 Exposing what is mortal and unsure 
 
 To all that fortune, death, and danger dare, 
 
 Even for an egg-shell.-^ Rightly to be great 
 
 Is not to stir without great argument, 
 
 But greatly to find quarrel in a straw 
 
 When honour's at the stake. How stand I, then. 
 
 That have a father kill'd, a mother stain'd. 
 
 Excitements of my reason and my blood, ^ 
 
 And let all sleep ? while, to my shame, I see 
 
 The imminent death of twenty thousand men. 
 
 That, for a fantasy and trick of fame. 
 
 Go to their graves like beds ; fight for a plot^^ 
 
 Whereon the numbers cannot try the cause, 
 
 Which is not tomb enough and continent^- 
 
 To.hide the slain ?— Oh, from tliis time forth. 
 
 My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth ! 
 
 VExh. 
 
 SCENE v.— Elsinore. A Room In the Castle. 
 Enter QuEEN and Horatio. •'^ 
 S^een. I will not speak with her. 
 Hor. She is importunate ; indeed, distract : 
 Her mood will needs be pitied. 
 
 25, Market. Here used for ' purchase made,' ' bargain 
 gained.' Drj'den employs the word "markets" for 'pur- 
 chases,' or 'bargains,' in his translation of the fifth " Satire of 
 Persius : " — 
 
 " With post-haste thy running markets make ; 
 Be sure to turn the penny," 
 
 26. Discourse. ' Capacity for ratiocmation,' ' faculty of 
 reasoning,' 'power of argument.' See Note 60, Act i, 
 
 ■ZT. Fjist. ' Grow mouldy ;' ' become fusty.' 
 
 28. Craven. ' Cowardly,' ' dastardly.' For the derivation 
 of this word see Note 24, Act ii., "Taming of the Shrew." 
 
 29. An egg-shell. Used for a type of extremest insignificance. 
 See Note 29, Act iv., " Coriolanus," 
 
 30. Excitemetits of my reason and my blood. ' Exciting 
 causes sufficient to stimulate my reason and my passions to 
 vengeance.' " Blood " is here used in the sense it bears in the 
 passage discussed in Note 61, Act ii., "Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 31. A plot. A small portion of ground. We still use the 
 word in our term * grass-plot.' 
 
 32. Continent. A word used by Shakespeare to express that 
 which contains. Sec Note 33, Act iii., " Merchant of Venice." 
 
 33. Enter Queen and Horatio. This is the stage direction 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene V, 
 
 Slueen. What would she have ? 
 
 Hor. She speaks much of htr father ; says she 
 hears 
 
 There's tricks i' the world ; and hems, and beats 
 her heart ; 
 
 Spurns enviousl) 3^ at straws; speaks things in doubt, 
 That carry but half sense : her speech is nothing, 
 Yet the unshape.i use of it doth move 
 The hearers to collection ; they aim at it; 
 And botch the words up fit to their own thoughts , 
 Which, as her winks, and nods, and gestures yield 
 them, 
 
 Indeed would make one think there might be 
 thought, 
 
 Though nothing sure, yet much unhappily. 
 'Twere good she were spoken with;'*^ for she may 
 strew 
 
 Dangerous conjectures in ill-breeding minds. 
 
 ^leen. Let her come in. \^Exit HoRATlo. 
 
 To my sick soul, as sin's true nature is. 
 Each toy ^7 seems prologue to some great amiss -.^ 
 So full of artless ^'J jealousy is guilt. 
 It spills itself in fearing to be spilt. 
 
 Re-enter Horatio, uu'ith Ophelia. 
 Opb. Where is the beauteous majesty of Den- 
 mark ? 
 
 Slueen. How now, Ophelia ! 
 Ol>h. lSlng,:\ 
 
 How should I your true love know 
 From another one ? 
 
 in the Folio; while the Quartos introduce "a Gentleman" as 
 well as the two other characters. But we think there is some- 
 thing exquisitely appropriate in making Hamlet's beloved friend 
 Horatio the one who watches and tenderly thinks for Ophelia 
 during the prince's absence, and brings her to his mother alone. 
 Inasmuch as we feel this appropriateness, we believe it to have 
 been Shakespeare's re-considered intention. 
 
 34. Eiiviausly. As ' envy ' was frequently used in Shake- 
 speare's time for * hatred/ 'malice,' 'spite,' and 'envious' for 
 'malicious' (see Notes 6, Act ii., and 23, Act iii., "Henry 
 VIII."), so, here, " enviously" is used for 'maliciously,' 'spite- 
 fully,' ' petulantly,' ' wrathfully.' 
 
 35. Unhappily. 'Mischievously.' See Note 102, Act i,, 
 "Henry VIII." 
 
 36. 'Tiuere ^ood she were spokeii luith. These two concluding 
 lines of Horatio's speech are made, in the Folio, the commence- 
 ment of the queen's next speech ; but the Quartos show, as well 
 as the sense of the words themselves, that they belong to Horatio. 
 
 37. Toy. 'Trifle.' See Note 13, Act iv., " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 38. Amiss. Shakespeare here, as did some of his contem- 
 poraries, uses this word as a substantive ; but while they em- 
 ployed it in the sense of ' misdeed,' he employs it rather in that 
 of ' mishap.* 
 
 39. Artless. Here signifying ' skilless,' or ' unskilful.' 
 
 40. Cockle hat and staff. These were adopted by pilgrims ; 
 as their devotional wanderings took them beyond sea, they put 
 cockle-shells upon their hats, to denote their special mission. 
 Inasmuch as the pilgrim's habit was held sacred, it was fre- 
 quently assumed by persons engaged in love adventures, who 
 were desirous of a safe disguise. 
 
 41. Shooti. All old plural form of 'shoes.' See Note 43, 
 Act iv., " Second Part Henry VI." 
 
 42. Larded with sweet flowers. "Larded" strictly means 
 
 By his cockle hat and staff,*" 
 And his sandal shoon.*"- 
 
 Slueen. Alas! sweet lady, what imports this 
 song? 
 
 Oph. Say you ? na,,y, pray you, mark.. 
 
 iSings.\ He is dead and gone, lady. 
 He is dead and gone ; 
 Ac his head a grass-green turf. 
 Oh, ho ! at his heels a stone. 
 
 ^Ijieen. Nay, but, Ophelia, — 
 Oph. Pray you, mark. 
 
 \Sing$. ] White his shroud as the mountain snow, 
 
 Enter King. 
 Slueen. Alas I look here, my lord. 
 Oph. lS'ings.\ 
 
 Larded with sweet flowers ; *^ 
 Which bewept to the grave did go 
 With true-love showers. 
 
 King. How do you, pretty lad)- ? 
 
 Oph. Well, God 'ild you !« They say the owl 
 was a baker's daughter.'*' Lord! we know what 
 we are, but know not what we may be. God be 
 at your table ! 
 
 King. Conceit upon her father. 
 
 Oph. Pray you, let's have no words of this ; 
 but when they ask you what it means, say you 
 this: 
 
 [S^ngS.] To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day. 
 All in the morning betime. 
 And I a maid at your window, 
 To be your Valentine.** 
 
 stuffed with minute slices of bacon fat, from the Latin, lardum, 
 bacon ; but it came £0 be sometimes, as here, used for ' gar- 
 nished.' 
 
 43. God Hid you. 'God yield you,' 'God give you your 
 reward.' See Note 100, Act i., " Macbeth." 
 
 44. The owl was a hake>'s daughter. In allusion to a legend, 
 which Mr. Douce says " is a common tradition in Gloucester- 
 shire." He thus narrates it :— " Our Saviour went into a baker s 
 shop where they were baking, and asked for some bread to eat. 
 The mistress of the shop immediately put a piece of dough in the 
 oven to bake for him, but was reprimanded by her daughter, 
 who, insisting that the piece of dough was too large, reduced it 
 to a very small size. The dough, however, immediately began 
 to swell, and presently became of a most enormous size, where- 
 upon the baker's daughter cried out, ' Heugh, heugh, heugh,' 
 which owl-like noise probably induced our Saviour to transl'orm 
 her into that bird for her wickedness." 
 
 45. To be your Valentine. The custom of choosing a valen- 
 tine is of ancient date, but its origin has not been decisively 
 discovered. Mr. Douce traces it to a pagan usage of the same 
 kind during the Leupercalia feasts in honour of Pan and Juno, 
 celebrated in the month of February by the Romans. The 
 anniversary of the good bishop, or Saint Valentine, happening in 
 this month, the early Christians placed this popular custom under 
 the patronage of the saint, in order to eradicate the idea of its 
 pagan origin ; but there seems to be nothing in the legend of 
 the saint's life to warrant his being specially associated with 
 the practice of choosing valentines. Ella's charming paper on 
 the subject of " Valentine's Day" throws but little light on the 
 origm of the custom ; and Walter Scott's early chapters of "The 
 Fair Maid of Perth " as little, but they serve delightfully to 
 illustrate the graceful custom itself as variously practised in 
 Great Britain. 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 King. Pretty Ophelia! 
 
 Opb. Indeed, la, without an oath, I'll make an 
 end on 't. 
 
 King. How long hath she been thus? 
 
 OpiJ. I hope all will be well. We must be 
 patient: but I cannot choose but weep, to think 
 they should lay him i' the cold ground. My 
 brother shall know of it : and so I thank you for 
 your good counsel. Come, my coach ! — Good 
 night, ladies; good night, sweet ladies; good 
 night, good night. [_Exit. 
 
 King. Follow her close ; give her good watch, 
 I pray you. \_Exit Horatio. 
 
 Oh, this is the poison of deep grief ; it springs 
 All from her father's death. O Gertrude, Ger- 
 trude, 
 
 When sorrows come, they come not single spies, 
 But in battalions ! P'irst, her father slain : 
 Next, your son gone; and he most violent author 
 Of his own just remove : the people muddied. 
 Thick and unwholesome in their thoughts and 
 u hispers, 
 
 For good Polonius' death ; and we have done but 
 greenly,-'^ 
 
 In hugger-mugger''^ to inter him : poor Ophelia 
 Divided from herself and her fair judgment. 
 Without the which we are pictures, or mere 
 beasts : 
 
 Last, and as much containing as all these. 
 
 Her brother is in secret come from France ; 
 
 Feeds on his wonder, keeps himself in clouds. 
 
 And wants not buzzers to infect his ear 
 
 With pestilent speeches qi his father's death ; 
 
 Wherein necessity, of matter beggar'd. 
 
 Will nothing stick our person to arraign 
 
 In ear and ear. Oh, my dear Gertrude, this. 
 
 Like to a murdering-piece,'*'' in many places 
 
 Gives me superfluous death. \_A noise luiihin. 
 
 ^een. Alack, what noise is this ? 
 
 King. Where are my Switzers P'*^ Let them 
 guard the dooi". 
 
 Enter a Gentleman. 
 What is the matter ? 
 
 Gent, Save yourself, my lord : 
 
 46. Greenly. ' Unwisely,' with unripe judgment, without 
 mature consideration. 
 
 47. /« hugger-mugger. 'In secret,' 'stealthily,' 'clandes- 
 tinely.' The expression occurs in North's " Plutarch's Life of 
 Brutus Antonius, thinking good his testament should be 
 read openly, and also that his bodie should be honorably buried, 
 and not in hugger-mugger, lest the people," &c. 
 
 48. A murdering-piece. A small piece of ordnance, with 
 several barrels. It was charged with bullets, nails, old iron, &c., 
 and with it could be kept up a murderously raking fire. 
 
 49. Switzers. The king calls to his own immediate guard of 
 soldiers — the Swiss being formerly, as now, the mercenaries of 
 any nation that chose to hire them. 
 
 50. Overpeerhtg 0/ his list. ' Overflowing its boundary.' 
 
 51. In a riotoits head. 'Among a rebellious force,' 'leading 
 
 The ocean, overpeering of his list,*" 
 Eats not the flats with more impetuous haste 
 Than young Laertes, in a riotous head, 5' 
 O'erbears your officers. The rabble call him 
 lord ; 
 
 And, as the world were now but to begin,^^ 
 Antiquity forgot, custom not known. 
 The ratifiers and props of every word. 
 They cry, " Choose we; Laertes shall be king !" 
 Caps, hands, and tongues, applaud it to the 
 clouds, 
 
 " Laertes shall be king, Laertes king ! " 
 
 Slueen, How cheerfully on the false trail they 
 ! cry ! 
 
 Oh, this IS counter,-" you false Danish dogs! 
 j King. The doors are broke. {Noise nx^ithin. 
 
 1 Enter LAZRTEi, arnfed ; Danes fol/oicing. 
 I Laer. Where is this king ?— Sirs, stand \ ou all 
 1 without. 
 I Danes. No, let 's come in. 
 
 j Laer. I pray you, give me leave. 
 
 Danes. We uill, we will. 
 I [They retire ivithout the door. 
 
 I Laer. I thank you: — keep the door.— Oh, thou 
 I vile king, 
 
 I Give me my father ! 
 
 Slueen. Calmly, good Laertes. 
 
 Laer. That drop of blood that's calm proclaims 
 me bastard ; 
 Cries dotard to my father; brands the harlot 
 Even here, between the chaste unsmirched** brow 
 Of my true mother. 
 
 King. What is the cause, Laertes, 
 
 1 That thy rebellion looks so giant-like ? — 
 1 Let him go, Gertrude ; do not fear our person 
 There 's such divinity doth hedge a king. 
 That treason can but peep to what it would. 
 Acts little of his will.'* — Tell me, Laertes, 
 Why thou art thus incens'd : — let him go, Ger- 
 trude : — 
 Speak, man. 
 
 Laer. Where is my father ? 
 
 King. Dead. 
 
 S^ieen. But not by him. 
 
 an insurrectionary throng." See Note 92, Act i., " First Part 
 Henry IV." 
 
 52. And, as the ivorld were nmv, <^c. The word "as" here 
 has the force of ' as if,' and the sentence is parenthetical — 
 " ratifiers and props " reftyring to " antiquity '* and " custom." 
 
 53. This is counter. A hunting term, signifying * this is follow- 
 ing on a wrong scent.' See Note 22, Act iv., '* Comedy of Errors.' 
 
 54. Unsmirched. ' Unsullied," spotless.' See Note 47, Act iii., 
 " Much Ado." 
 
 55. Do not fear our person. ' Do not fear for our person.' For 
 a somewhat similar idiom, see Note 83, Act i., " Coriolanus. " 
 
 56. Treason can but peep to ivhat it ivojild, acts little 0/ his 
 will. Here 'and* is understood before "acts,*' in accordance 
 with an elliptical mode of construction sometimes used by Shake- 
 speare. See Note 14, Act ii., " Henry VIII." 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 -HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 Horatio. [Jieads.'] Horat 
 they have letters for him. 
 
 hen thou shalt have overlooked this, give these fellows 
 
 the king : 
 
 ActJy. Scene VI. 
 
 Kivg. Let him demand his fill. 
 Laer. How came he dead ? I'll not be juggled 
 with : 
 
 To hell, allegiance! to this point I stand, — 
 That both the worlds I give to negligence, 
 Let come what comes ; only I'll be leveiig'd 
 Most throughly for my father. 
 
 King. Who shall stay you ? 
 
 Laer. My will, not all the world : 
 And for my means, I'll husband them so well, 
 They shall go far with little. 
 
 King. Good Laertes, 
 
 If you desire to know the certainty 
 Of your dear father's death, is't writ in your 
 revenge, 
 
 57. Repast them with my blood. 
 presses its red-tipped beak against 
 young from the capacious pouch 
 
 The fact that this bird 
 3 breast when feeding its 
 
 That, sweepstake, you will draw both friend and foe. 
 Winner and loser ? 
 
 Laer. None but his enemies. 
 
 King. Will you know them, then ? 
 
 Laer. To his good friends thus wide I'll ope iry 
 arms ; 
 
 And, like the kind life-rendering pelican, 
 Repast them with my blood.^'' 
 
 King. Why, now you speak 
 
 Like a good child and a true gentleman. 
 That I am guiltless of your father's death, 
 And am most sensibly in grief for it. 
 It shall as level to your judgment pierce 
 As day does to your eye. 
 
 Danes. [IVithin.'] Let her come in. 
 
 Laer. How now ! what noise is that ? 
 
 gave rise to the fabulous idea that the pelican nourishes its little 
 ones with its own blood. 
 
 VOL. III. 
 
 221 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 Re-enter Ophelia. 
 Oil, heat, dry up my brains ! tears seven times 
 salt. 
 
 Burn out the sense and virtue of mine eye ! — 
 By Heaven, thy madness shall be paid by weight. 
 Till our scale turn the beam. Oh, rose of May ! 
 Dear maid, kind sister, sweet Ophelia ! — 
 Oh, heavens ! is't possible, a young maid's wits 
 Should be as mortal as an old man's life ? 
 Nature is fine in love and, where 'tis fine, 
 It sends some precious instance of itself 
 After the thing it loves. 
 Oph. [Sing^.] 
 
 They bore him barefac'd on the bier ; 
 Hey non nomiy, nonny, hey nonny ; 
 And on his grave rain'd many a tear, — 
 
 Fare you well, my dove ! 
 
 Laer. Hadst thou thy wits, and didst persuade 
 revenge. 
 It could not move thus. 
 
 Oph. You must sing, " Down a-down, an you 
 call him a-down-a." Oh, how the wheel becomes 
 it I^^ It is the false steward, that stole his master's 
 daughter. 
 
 Laer. This nothing's more than matter. 
 
 Oph. There 's rosemary, that's for remem- 
 brance pray, love, remember: and there is 
 pansies,8i that's for thoughts. 
 
 Laer. A document in madness, — thoughts and 
 remembrance fitted. 
 
 Oph. There 's fennel for you, and columbines : 
 — there 's rue for you ; and here 's some for me : — 
 we may call it herb of grace q' Sundays: — you 
 may wear your rue with a difference. — There's a 
 d.iisy : — I would give you some violets, but they 
 withered all when my father died : — they say he 
 made a good end, — 
 
 [SingS.I For bonny sweet Robin is all my joy, — 
 
 , 58. Nature is fine hi love. These three concluding lines are 
 in the Folio, though omitted in the Quartos. We interpret them 
 to mean, ' Nature is refined by love ; and being thus refined, the 
 most precious of its spiritual essence readily exhales when bereft 
 of the object beloved.' 
 
 59. Oh, how the -wheel becomes it ! " The wheel " was an old 
 name for 'the burden' of a ballad ; Latin, rota — that which goes 
 round and round, recurring again and again. Ophelia, repeat- 
 ing the words "Down a-down," &c. — probably the burden of 
 some old ballad — and using the word "wheel" in commendation, 
 by an association of ideas, thinks of the instrument of torture so 
 called, and says it would well befit " the false steward that stole 
 his master's daughter." 
 
 60. Rosemary, that's for remembrance. See Note 70, Act iv., 
 "Winter's Tale." 
 
 61. Pansies. Misprinted in the Folio ' Paconcies ;' while the 
 Quartos give 'pancies.* The name is derived from the French, 
 pensees, ' thoughts.* 
 
 62. Rue call it herb of grace. See Note 85, Act iv., 
 
 " All's Well," and Note 58, Act iii., " Richard II," " Fennel " 
 was held emblematic of flattery : and "columbines" were given 
 to those who were forsaken. A "daisy" was the token of a 
 dissembler: and "violets" were the symbol of faithmlness. 
 Ophelia's flowers, as it appears to us, are all selected with 
 
 Laer. Thought and affliction, passion, hell 
 itself. 
 
 She turns to favour and to prettiness. 
 Oph. lSings:\ 
 
 And will he not come again ? 
 And will he not come again ? 
 
 No, no, he is dead. 
 
 Go to thy death-bed.'^ 
 He never will come again. 
 
 His beard was as white as snow. 
 All flaxen was his poll : 
 
 He is gone, he is gone, 
 
 And we cast away moan : 
 God ha' mercy on his soul ! 
 
 And of all Christian souls, 
 wi' you. 
 
 pray God. — God be 
 {Exit Ophelia. 
 Laer. Do you see this, O God ? 
 K'uig. Laertes, I must commune^* with your 
 grief, 
 
 Or you deny me right. Go but apart, 
 Make choice of whom your wisest friends you 
 will, 
 
 And they shall hear and judge 'twixt you and 
 me : 
 
 If by direct or by collateral hand 
 They find us touch'd, we will our kingdom 
 give, 
 
 Our crown, our life, and all that we call ours. 
 To you in satisfaction ; but if not. 
 Be you content to lend your patience to us. 
 And we shall jointly labour with your soul 
 To give it due content. 
 
 Laer. Let this be so ; 
 
 His means of death, his obscure funeral, — 
 No trophy, sword, ^gr hatchment o'er his bones. 
 No noble rite, nor formal ostentation, — 
 Cry to be heard, as 'twere from heaven to 
 earth, 
 
 That I must call 't in question. 
 
 affecting reference to her own sorrows ; they have been sup- 
 posed by some explainers to bear typical reference to those to 
 whom she presents them ; but we think she only for a moment 
 wanders off into other application of them than to her own con- 
 dition — which moment being when she tells the king and queen 
 that they " may wear " their " rue with a difference ;" meaning 
 thereby, that for herself it means ' ruth ' in the sense of piteous 
 regret, whereas for them it means ' ruth ' in the sense of con- 
 trition, repentance, or remorse. A passage from Greene's 
 "Quip for an Upstart Courtier" serves to illustrate this: — 
 " Some of them smil'd and said, Rite was called Herbegrace, 
 which though they scorned in their youth, they might wear in 
 their age, and that it was ncTer too late to say miserere." 
 
 63. Go to thy death-bed. This has been changed to ' Gone to 
 his death-bed ; ' but we think that there is intentional irregularity 
 in the delivery of Ophelia's snatches of songs, serving well to 
 mark her wandering of mind. 
 
 64. Commime. This is the reading of all the Quartos, while 
 the Folio prints ' common ; ' but that was merely an old mode 
 of spelling " commune." 
 
 65. Sword. It was the custom to celebrate the obsequies of 
 personages of high rank with great pomp and ceremony ; placing 
 the sword, helmet, gaimtlet, spurs, and armorial insignia of those 
 belonging to knighthood on the grave of the deceased. 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 MAMLET. 
 
 [Scenes VI., VII. 
 
 K}ng. So you shall ; 
 
 And where th' offence is let the great axe fall. 
 1 pray you, go with me. \_Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE y\,~Another Room in the Castle. 
 Enter Horatio and a Servant. 
 Hor. What are they that would speak with me? 
 Ser-Tj. Sailors, sir : they say they have letters 
 for you. 
 
 Hor. Let them come in. — [^Exit Servant. 
 I do not know from what part of the world 
 I should be greeted, if not from Lord Hamlet. 
 
 Enter Sailors. 
 
 First Sail. God bless you, sir. 
 
 Hor. Let him bless thee too. 
 
 First Sail. He shall, sir, an 't please him. 
 There's a letter for you, sir; it comes from the 
 embassador that was bound for England ; if your 
 name be Horatio, as F am let to know it is. 
 
 Hor. [Reads.] Horatio, when tliou shall have over- 
 looked this, give these fellows some means to the king : they 
 have letters for him. Ere we were two days old at sea, a pirate 
 of very warlike appointment gave us chase. Finding ourselves 
 too slow of sail, we put on a compelled valour : in the grapple I 
 boarded them : on the instant they got clear of our ship : so 
 I alone became their prisoner. They have dealt with me like 
 thieves of mercy : but they knew what they did ; I am to do a 
 good turn for them. Let the king have the letters I have sent ; 
 and repair thou to me with as much haste as thou wouldst fly 
 death. I have words to speak in thine ear will make thee dumb ; 
 yet are they much too light for the bore* of the matter. These 
 good fellows will bring thee where I am. Rosencrantz and 
 Guildenstern hold their course for England : of them 1 have 
 much to tell thee. Farewell. 
 
 He that thou knowest thine, Hamlet.^ 
 Come, I will give you way for these your letters; 
 And do't the speedier, that you may direct me 
 To him from whom you brought them. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE YU.—Anothcr Room in the Castle. 
 
 Enter King and Laertes. 
 
 King. Now must your conscience my ac- 
 quittance seal. 
 
 66. Tlie bore. A name for the calibre of a gun, the circum- 
 ferential size of its barrel. Hamlet figuratively says, ' Yet are 
 the words I have to speak much too light missiles for the deadly 
 breadth of matter which sends them forth into thine ear.' 
 
 67. He that thou knowest thine, Hamlet. This simple yet 
 strong conclusion to his sedate but most earnest letter to his 
 bo.som-friend might, we think, fully serve to denote Hamlet's 
 perfect sanity. Madmen do not write thus condensedly and 
 pertinently ; if they are w.arm they are violent, if they are 
 
 . fervent they are excited ; but here is warmth of friendship with 
 staid expression, fervour of feeling with sobriety of assurance. 
 
 68. The general gender. ' The ordinary race of people,' ' the 
 ity,* * the populace.' 
 
 And you must put me in your heart for friend, 
 Sith you have heard, and with a knowing ear. 
 That he which hath your noble father slain 
 Pursu'd my life. 
 
 Laer. It well appears: — but tell me 
 
 Why you proceeded not against these feats, 
 So crimeful and so capital in nature. 
 As by your safety, greatness, wisdom, all things 
 else, 
 
 You mainly were stirr'd up. 
 
 King. Oh, for two special reasons ; 
 
 Which may to you, perhaps, seem much un- 
 sinew'd. 
 
 But yet to me they are strong. The queen his 
 mother 
 
 Lives almost by his looks ; and for myself 
 (My virtue or my plague, be it either which). 
 She's so conjunctive to my life and soul. 
 That, as the star moves not but in his sphere, 
 I could not but by her. The other motive. 
 Why to a public count I might not go. 
 Is the great love the general gender^is bear him ; 
 Who, dipping all his faults in their affection. 
 Would, like the spring that turneth wood to 
 stone,6a 
 
 Convert his gyves to graces ; so that my arrows, 
 Too slightly timber'd for so loud a wind,^' 
 Would have reverted to my bow again. 
 And not where I had aim'd them. 
 
 Laer. And so have I a noble father lost ; 
 A sister driven into desperate terms, — • 
 V\ hose worth, if praises may go back again,''^ 
 Stood challenger on mount of all the age 
 For her perfections : — but my revenge will come. 
 
 King. Break not your sleeps for that : you 
 must not think 
 That we are made of stuff so flat and dull. 
 That we can let our beard be shook with danger, 
 And think it pastime. You shortly shall hear 
 more : 
 
 I lov'd your father, and we love ourself ; 
 
 And that, I hope, will teach you to imagine, — 
 
 Enter a Messenger. 
 How now ! what news ? 
 
 Mess. Letters, my lord, from Hamlet : 
 
 This to your majesty ; this to the queen. 
 
 69. Like the spring that turneth luood to stone. In allusion 
 to waters that possess a petrifying power, such as those of the 
 dropping well at Knaresborough. 
 
 70. Convert his gyves to graces. 'Turn his fetters into 
 adornments ; ' or, figuratively, ' turn all my attempts to restrain 
 him into so many injuries perpetrated against his innocence and 
 good qualities.' 
 
 71. My arrows, too slightly timber'd for so loud a wind. In 
 illustration of this sentence, a passage may be cited from 
 Ascham's "Toxophilus" (1589): "Light shafts cannot stand 
 in a rough wind." 
 
 72. 7f praises may go back again. ' If my praises may revert 
 to the period of what she was before this calamity.' 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 King. From Hamlet ! who brought them ? j 
 Mess. Sailors, my lord, they say ; I saw them , 
 not : I 
 
 They were given me by Claudio, — he receiv'd them 
 
 Of him that brought them. 
 
 King. Laertes, you shall hear them.— 
 
 Leave us. [Exit Messenger. 
 
 [Reads.'] High and mighty,— You shall know I am set 
 naked on your kingdom. To-morrow shall I beg leave to see ^ 
 your kingly eyes : when I sh.ill, first asking your pardon there- 
 unto, recount the occasions of my sudden and more strange 
 return. Hamlet. 
 
 What should this mean ? Are all the rest come 
 back ? 
 
 Or is it some abuse, and no such thing ? 
 
 Laer. Know you the hand ? 
 
 King. 'Tis Hamlet's character : — "Naked," — 
 And in a postscript here, he says, " alone." 
 Can you advise me ? 
 
 Laer. I'm lost in it, my lord. But let him 
 come ; \ 
 It warms the very sickness in my heart, 1 
 That I shall live and tell him to his teeth, 
 " Thus diddest thou." 1 
 
 King. If it be so, Laertes, — ■ i 
 
 As how should it be so ? how otherwise ? — 
 Will you be rul'd by me ? 
 
 Laer. Ay, my lord ; , 
 
 So you will not o'errule me to a peace. { 
 
 King. To thine own peace. If he be now 
 return'd, — [ 
 As checking at"' his voyage, and that he means 
 No more to undertake it,— I will work him j 
 To an exploit, now ripe in my device, 
 Under the which he shall not choose but fall : 
 And for his death no wind of blame shall 
 breathe ; 
 
 But even his mother shall uncharge the prac- 
 tice,"'' 
 And call it accident. 
 
 Laer. My lord, I will be rul'd ; 
 
 The rather, if you could devise it so, 
 That I might be the organ. 
 
 King. It falls right. 
 
 You have been talk'd of since your travel much, | 
 And that in Hamlet's hearing, for a quality 
 Wherein, they say, you shine: your sum of 
 parts 
 
 73. Checking at. 'Shying at,' 'flying startingly from;' an 
 expression borrowed from falconry. See Note g. Act iii , 
 '• Twelfth Night." 
 
 74. SImU nncltarge i!ie practice. ' Shall not charge any 
 one with scheming against him.' See Note 57, Act ii., 
 ' Henry V." 
 
 75. .^iege. Strictly, 'seat,' 'place,' 'state,' 'position;' but 
 here used to signify 'rank,' ' order of merit. 
 
 76. Ijnporiing. Here used with double significance ; mean- 
 ing ' of importance to ' as regards " health," and ' implying' as 
 regards " graveness." 
 
 77. Tluy car. well on horseback. This is the reading of the 
 
 Did not together pluck such envy from him, 
 As did that one ; and that, in my regard. 
 Of the unworthiest siege. 7' 
 
 Laer. What part is that, my lord 
 
 King. A very riband in the cap of youth. 
 Yet needful too ; for youth no less becomes 
 The light and careless livery that it wears. 
 Than settled age his sables and his weeds. 
 Importing'^ health and graveness. — Two months 
 since. 
 
 Here was a gentleman of Normandy, — • 
 I've seen myself, and serv'd against, the French, 
 And they can well on horseback:"^ but this 
 gallant 
 
 Had witchcraft in 't he grew unto his seat ; 
 And to such wondrous domg brouglit his horse, 
 As he had been incorps'd and demi-natur'd 
 With the brave beast : so far he topp'd my 
 thought. 
 
 That I, in forgery of shapes and tricks,"' 
 Come short of what he did. 
 
 Laer. A Norman was 'I ? 
 
 King. A Norman. 
 
 Laer. Upon my life, Lamord. 
 
 King. The very same. 
 
 Laer. I know him well: he is the brooch,-" 
 indeed, 
 And gem of all tlie nation. 
 
 King. He made confession of you ; 
 And gave you such a masterly report. 
 For art and exercise in your defence, 8' 
 And for your rapier most especially, 
 That he cried out, 'twould be a sight indeed, 
 If one could match you: the scrimers**^ of their 
 nation. 
 
 He swore, had neither motion, guard, nor e) e. 
 If you oppos'd them. Sir, this report of his 
 Did Hamlet so envenom with his envy, 
 That he could nothing do but wish and beg 
 Your sudden coming o'er, to play with you. 
 Now, out of this, — 
 
 Laer. What out of this, my lord ? 
 
 King. Laertes, was your father dear to you ? 
 Or are you like the painting of a sorrow, 
 A face without a heart ? 
 
 Laer. Why ask you this ? 
 
 King. Not that I think you did not love your 
 father ; 
 
 Quartos; while the Folio misprints 'ran' for "can." To 
 "can," for ' can do,' is an elliptically expressive verb used in 
 the old English language. 
 
 78. Had witchcraft in' t. Here " 't " refers to 'horseman- 
 ship,' as implied in the previous sentence. See Note 80, 
 Act iii. 
 
 79. Ik forgery of shapes and tricks. ' In invention of 
 dexterous feats,' ' in imagining dexterous feats to describe.' 
 
 80. Brooch. Here, as elsewhere, used for 'distinguishing 
 ornament.' See Note 59, Act v., " Richard II." 
 
 8t. Defence. ' Science of defence ; ' 'fencing.' 
 82. Scrimers. ' Fencers ; ' French, cscrimeurs. 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene VII. 
 
 But that I know love is begun by time 
 And that I see, in passages of proof, 
 Time qualifies the spark and fire of it. 
 There lives within the very flame of love 
 A kind of wick or snuff that will abate it; 
 And nothing is at a like goodness still ; 
 For goodness, growing to a plunsy,"'' 
 Dies in his own too-much : that we would do, 
 We should do when we would ; for this " would " 
 changes, 
 
 And hath abatements and delays as many 
 As there are tongues, are hands, are accidents ; 
 And then this "should" is like a spendthrift 
 sigh, 
 
 That hurts by easing. 85 But, to the quick o' the 
 ulcer : — 
 
 Hamlet comes back : what would you under- 
 take, 
 
 To show yourself your father's son in deed 
 More than in words ? 
 
 Laer. To cut his throat i' the church. 
 
 King. No place, indeed, should murder sanc- 
 tuarise ; 
 
 Revenge should have no bounds. But, good 
 Laertes, 
 
 Will you do this,85 keep close within your chamber. 
 Hamlet return'd shall know you are come home : 
 We'll put on those shall praise your excellence. 
 
 83. Love is begun by time, ' I see by experience of 
 constant occurrences, that time, which originates love, also 
 abates its ardour.' 
 
 84. Plurisy. ' Superabundance,' ' superfiuence.' In Shake- 
 speare's time the word was thus used, as if derived from the I 
 Latin plus, pluris, more. The disease of "pleurisy" was 
 formerly thought to proceed from too much blood flowing to the 
 part affected : but the term is now applied to inflammation of 
 the pleura, which is the Greek name for ' side,' or ' side of the 
 breast.' 
 
 85. A spendthrift sigh, that hurts by easing. 'A prodigal 
 sigh, that injures the constitution while it seems to relieve 
 the heart.' That it was the belief, at the time Shakespeare 
 wrote, that sighs were injurious to the blood and affected the 
 health, we have more than one passage to prove. See Note 42, 
 Act iii., *' Midsummer Night's Dream;" Note 60, Act iii., 
 " Second Part Henry VI. ;" and Note 28, Act iv., " Third Part 
 Henry VI." 
 
 Will you do this. ' If you will do this.' Elllptically and | 
 transposedly constructed. 
 
 87. Remiss. ' Negligent of precaution.' 
 
 88. Unbated. ' Unblunted.' Shakespeare uses "bate" for 
 'blunt' in the opening speech of " Love's Labour's Lost"— 
 "Shall bate his scythe's keen edge." Here " a sword unbated " 
 signifies a weapon unfurnished at its point with the button 
 which fencing foils have. 
 
 89. A pass of practice . 'A skilful thrust ; ' a pass in which 
 Laertes was well practised. 
 
 go. /'// anoint my sword, Ritson expresses " surprise that 
 no one of Shakespeare's commentators has remarked, with 
 proper warmth and detestation, the villanous, assassin-like 
 treachery of Laertes in this horrid plot ;" adding, " There is the 
 more occasion that he should be here pointed out an object of 
 abhorrence, as he is a character we are. in some preceding parts 
 of the play, led to respect and admire." We cannot help 
 wholly disagreeing with this latter observation of Mr. Ritson's 
 We think that the dramatist has, with his usual consistency in 
 
 And set a double varnish on the faine 
 The Frenchman gave you ; bring you, in fine, 
 together, 
 
 And wager on your heads : he, being remiss, 
 Most generous, and free from all contriving. 
 Will not peruse the foils; so that, with ease, 
 Or with a little shuffling, you may choose 
 A sword unbated, 8S and, in a pass of practice,*' 
 Requite him for your father. 
 
 Laer. I will do 't : 
 
 And, for that purpose, I'll anoint my sword.'" 
 I bought an unction of a mountebank. 
 So mortal, that but dip a knife in it. 
 Where it draws blood no cataplasm so rare, 
 Collected from all simples that have virtue 
 Under the moon,'' can save the thing from death 
 T'hat is but scratch'd withal: I'll touch my point 
 With this contagion, that, if I gall him slightly, 
 It may be death. 
 
 King. Let's farther think of this; 
 
 Weigh what convenience both of time and means 
 M.ay fit us to our shape i'^ if this should fail. 
 And that our drift look through our bad per- 
 formance, 
 
 'Twere better not assay'd : therefore this project 
 Should have a back or second, that might hold. 
 If this should blast in proof.'^ Soft ! — let me see: — 
 We'll make a solemn wager on your cunnings, 
 
 character, drawn Laertes throughout as a rash, ill-judging 
 young man. He sets out by conceiving unfounded suspicions 
 of Hamlet's faith and truth, instilling them into his sister's 
 mind, and thus himself laying the foundation for her subsequent 
 unhapplness : upon hearing of his father's death, he rushes 
 back, full of hot-headed fury, accusing and resenting, without 
 a moment given to investigation or just inquiry, and falls an 
 easy prey to Claudius's specious representations, becoming at 
 once the tool of the king's hatred against his nephew. Is this 
 a man to " respect and admire ?" Where is there a single 
 really estimable point in Laertes' character? His furious judg- 
 ments, his hot-headed wrath, are precisely the characteristics 
 that would lead to so murderous a deed as the one he now 
 proposes; and as for its treachery, he believes, with his usual 
 headlong style of leaping to unproved conclusions, that Hamlet 
 has treacherously killed his father, and that therefore he is 
 warranted in his contemplated assassination, as an act of filial 
 revenge. For our parts, we can see nothing but perfect con- 
 sistency of character-drawing as regards Laertes himself, and 
 perfect harmony of dramatic composition as regards his intended 
 vengeance for a father's death, in all that Shakespeare has here 
 achieved. 
 
 gi. All simples thai have virtue under the moon. " Simples " 
 are 'herbs' (see Note 25, Act iii., " Merry Wives"), and that 
 their efficacious growth was supposed to be influenced by ths 
 moon, is adverted to in Note 29, Act iii., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 92. May fit tts to our sJiape. ' May suit to aid us in well 
 playing our intended parts.' 
 
 93. If this should blast i?i proof. A metaphor taken from 
 trying fire-arms, which sometimes burst when being proved. 
 
 94. Voiir cunnings. ' Your respective skills,' ' the respective 
 skill of each of you.' The Folio misprints 'commlngs' for "cun- 
 nings," which is the word in the Quartos ; and this misprint in 
 the present passage, as well as a similar one in "Troilus and 
 Cressida," helps to show the propriety of the reading adopted 
 and discussed in Note 59, Act v., " All's Well." See also Note 
 27, Act iii., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
Act v.] 
 I ha't : 
 
 When in your motion you are hot and dry 
 (As make your bouts more violent to that end), 
 And that he calls for drink, I'll have prepar'd him 
 A chalice for the nonce whereon but sippmg, 
 If he by chance escape your venom'd stuck,'^ 
 Our purpose may hold there. 
 
 Enter Queen. 
 
 How now, sweet queen ! 
 ^een. One woe doth tread upon another's 
 heel. 
 
 So fast tiiey follow ; — your sister's drown'd, Laertes. 
 
 Laer. Drown'd! Oli, where? 
 
 Slueen. There is a willow grows aslant a brook, 
 That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream i**^ 
 There with fantastic garlands did she come 
 Of crow-flowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples 
 That liberal^* shepherds give a grosser name. 
 But our cold maids do dead men's fingers call 
 them : 
 
 There, on the pendent boughs her coronet weeds 
 Clambering to hang, an envious sliver"" broke ; 
 When down her weedy trophies and herself 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Fell in the weeping brook. Her clothes sprcaU 
 wide ; 
 
 And, mermaid-like, awhile they bore her up : 
 Which time she chanted snatches of old tunes ; 
 As one incapable™ of her own distress, 
 Or like a creature native and indu'd^"' 
 Unto that element : but long it could not be 
 Till that her garments, heavy with their drink, 
 Pull'd the poor wretch from her melodious lay 
 To muddy death. 
 
 Laer. Alas! then, she is drown'd ? 
 
 S^ueen. Drown'd, drown'd. 
 
 Laer. Too much of water hast thou, poor 
 Ophelia, 
 
 And therefore I forbid my tears : but yet 
 
 It is our trick ; nature her custom holds, 
 
 Let shame say what it will : when these are gone, 
 
 Tiie woman will be out. 'O^— Adieu, my lord : 
 
 I have a speech of fire, that fain would blaze, 
 
 But that this folly douts it.ix^ {Exit. 
 
 King. Let 's follow, Gertrude : 
 
 How much I had to do to calm his rage ! 
 Now fear I this will give it start again ; 
 1 Therefore let's follow. \_Excunt. 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 ACT V. 
 
 SCENE \.—A Churchyard. 
 Enter t'voo Clowns, ivith spades, &c. 
 First Clo. Is she to be buried in Christian 
 burial that wilfully seeks her own salvation ? 
 
 Sec. Clo. I tell thee she is ; and therefore make 
 her grave straight : 1 the crowner hath sat on her, 
 and finds it Christian burial. 
 
 95. For the jwtice. 'For that occasion,' 'for the special 
 purpose.' See Note 47, Act i., " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 96. Stuck. 'Thrust;' lla.Wa.n, stoccaia. See Note 9, Act iii., 
 " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 97. Shows his hoar leaves in, &'c. Beautifully and poetically 
 true to nature is this image ; the willow having leaves which are 
 green on the upper side, but silvery-grey on the under side, the 
 portion reflected in the water is " hoar," ' hoary,* or white. 
 Moreover, the introduction of this tree has peculiar appropriate- 
 ness here, inasmuch as it is the emblem of despairing love. 
 
 98. Liberal. Here used for 'free-spoken.' 
 
 99. An efivioics sliver. * A malignant slice or portion.* See 
 Note 34 of the present Act, and Note 8, Act iv., " Macbeth." 
 
 100. Incapable. 'Unsusceptible,' 'unintelligent,' 'uncon- 
 scious.' See Note 151, Act iii. 
 
 lor. Iiidud. Here used, with elliptical force, to signify 
 ' endowed with qualities that fitted her,' ' gifted with powers that 
 qualified her.* See Note 73, Act ii., " Henry V.'* 
 
 102. The woman mill be out. ' The womanly tendency to 
 weep at grief will prevail.' 
 
 103. D outs it. ' Does it out,' 'puts it out,' 'extinguishes it.' 
 
 First Clo. How can that be, unless she drowned 
 herself in her own defence ? 
 
 Sec. Clo. Why, 'tis found so. 
 
 First Clo. It must be se offendendo it can- 
 not be else. For here lies the point : if I drown 
 myself wittingly, it argues an act: and an act 
 hath three branches it is, to act, to do, and 
 
 The first Folio here spells the word thus, 'doubts.' See Note 
 112, Act i. The Quartos give 'drownes ' instead of " douts.*' 
 
 'forthwith,' 'at once,' ' imme- 
 102, Act ii., "Merchant of 
 
 1. Straight. ' Straightway,' 
 diately,' 'directly.' See Not 
 Venice." 
 
 2. Se offcndendo. The clown blunderingly confounds this 
 with ' se defendendo^ which is a plea allowed to be used by one 
 accused of homicide, alleging that the act was committed in 
 self-defence. Nevertheless, the fellow blunders with the wit of 
 his author-creator, since he uses the expression " se offendendo," 
 which means ' offending ag.ainst oneself,' or ' committing violence 
 on oneself 
 
 3. An act hath three branches. It has been pointed out that 
 in the gravedigger's dabbling with legal subtleties, Shakespeare 
 has satirised those who figure conspicuously in a law-case, 
 reported among others in Plowden's " Commentaries," concern- 
 ing a certain Sir James Hale, who drowned himself in a river. 
 Assuredly some of the grave disquisitions quoted from that case 
 bear marvellous resemblance to the humorous points discussed by 
 " goodman delver" here. For instance. Sergeant Walsh argued 
 thus : — " The act consists of three parts : the first is," &c. ; 
 
Act v.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 to 
 
 perform : argal,^ slie drowned herself wit- ] than either 
 tingly. j carpenter? 
 
 Se:. Clo. Nay, but hear you, goodmaii delver, — 
 First Clo. Give me leave. Here lies the water; 
 good : here stands the man ; good : if the man go 
 to this water, and drown himself, it is, will he, nill 
 he,5 he goes,— mark you that; but if the water 
 come to him and drown him, he drowns not him- 
 belf : argal, he that is not guilty of his own death 
 shortens not his own life. 
 Sec. Clo. But is this law ? 
 
 first Clo. Ay, marrv, is't; crowner's-quesf' 
 
 the mason, the shipwright, or tlie 
 
 Sec. Clo. Will you ha' the truth on 't ? If this 
 had not been a gentlewoman, she should have been 
 buried out of Christian burial. 
 
 First Clo. Why, there thou sayst: and the 
 more pity that great folk should have countenance 
 in this world to drown or hang themselves, more 
 than their even Christian.'' — Come, my spade. 
 There is no ancient gentleman but gardeners, 
 ditchers, and grave-makers : they hold up Adam's 
 profession. 
 
 Sec. Clo. Was he a gentleman ? 
 
 First Clo. He was the first that ever bore 
 arms. 
 
 Sec. Clo. Why, he had none. 
 
 First Clo. What ! art a heathen ? How dost 
 thou understand the Scripture ? The Scripture 
 says, Adam digged : could he dig without arms ? 
 I'll put another question to thee : if thou answerest 
 me not to the purpose, confess thyself — 
 
 Sec. Clo.. Go to. 
 
 First Clo. Wliat is he that builds^ stronger 
 
 Sec. Clo. The gallows-maker; for that frame 
 outlives a thousand tenants. 
 
 First Clo. I like thy wit well, in good faith : 
 the gallows does well ; but how does it well ? it 
 does well to those that do ill : now, thou dost ill to 
 say the gallows is built stronger than the church : 
 j argal, the gallows may do well to thee. To 't 
 I again, come. 
 
 Sec. Clo. Who builds stronger than a mason, a 
 shipwright, or a carpenter ? 
 
 First Clo. Ay, tell me that, and unyoke.' 
 
 Sec. Clo. Marry, now I can tell. 
 
 First Clo. To 't. 
 
 Sec. Clo. Mass, I cannot tell. 
 
 ■ Enter Hamlet and Horatio, at a distance. 
 First Clo. Cudgel thy brains no more about it, 
 for your dull ass will not mend his pace with 
 i beating ; and, when you are asked this question 
 next, say, a grave-maker ; — the houses that he 
 makes last till doomsday. Go, get thee to 
 Yaughan ; fetch me a stoop" of liquor. 
 
 \_Exit Sec. Clown. 
 
 [Digging and singing.'] 
 
 In youth, when I did love, did love,'''' 
 
 Methought it was very sweet, 
 To contract, oh, the time, for, ah ! my behove. 
 
 Oh, methought, there was nothing meet. 
 
 Ham. Has this fellow no feeling of his business, 
 that he sings at grave-making ? 
 
 Hor. Custom hath made it in him a property 
 of easiness." 
 
 and then Lord Dyer and others follow with such important con- 
 siderations as these : " Sir James Hale was dead, and how came 
 he to his death? It may be answered. By drowning. And 
 who drowned him ? Sir James Hale. And when did he drown 
 him? In his lifetime. So that Sir James Hale being alive, 
 caused Sir James Hale to die, and the act of the living man was 
 the death of the dead man. And then for this offence it is 
 reasonable to piniish the living man who committed the offence, 
 and not the dead man." It is, indeed, very probable that this 
 kind of forensic wire-drawing and hair-splitting was in the 
 poet's mind when he put these sentences into the First Clown's 
 mouth. 
 
 4. Argal. The gi 
 ergo, ' therefore.' 
 
 5. IVill he. Hill he. 
 Shrew," 
 
 6. Crnvner's-quest. 
 quest.' 
 
 7. Even Christian. 
 Christian.' The term 'ever 
 now say ' fellow-servant.' 
 
 8. What is he tluit builds 
 
 ughati. Probably 1 
 
 selle 
 
 vedigger's 
 See Not. 
 
 for the Latin word 
 
 A common corruption of ' coroner's 
 
 An old expression, equivalent to 'fell< 
 even servant ' was formerly used as 
 
 It formed one of the div 
 ancient times to propound questions of this kind; and collections 
 of them are extant, among which is one entitled " Demaundes 
 Joyous" I1511), preserved in the University Library at Cam- 
 bridge. 
 
 9 Unyoke. An expression signifying 'give over,' 'desist,' 
 ' cease doing what you are about.' It is figuratively derived 
 from the nnyokiug of oxen at the end of their labour. 
 
 nt for the name of the " liquor "- 
 measure.' See Note 22, Act ii.. 
 
 11. A stoop. 'A flagon, 
 "Twelfth Night." 
 
 12. In youth, when I did love, did love. The clown sings, in 
 his blundering fashion, three stanzas from a ballad printed in 
 " Tottel'f Miscellany; or, Songes and Sonnettes," by Lord 
 Surrey and others (1575). The ballad is attributed to Lord 
 Vaux, and ha.s been reprinted in Percy's " Reliques," where 
 the version of these three stanzas is given as follows 
 
 " I lothe that I did love. 
 
 In youth that I thought swete ; 
 As tyme requires for my behove. 
 Me thinkes they are not mete. 
 
 *' For age with stealing steps 
 
 Hath clawed me with his crowch, 
 And lusty life away she leapes. 
 As there had been none such. 
 
 " A pikeax and a spade. 
 
 And eke a shrowding shete, 
 A bowse of clay for to be made. 
 For such a guest most mete." 
 
 13. A property 0/ easiness. Here " property," as it appears 
 to us, is used in the same sense that it bears in the passage 
 discussed in Note 53, Act ii., "All's Well;" and we take "a 
 property of easiness" to signify 'an adopted calling that he fulfils 
 with ease,' ' an avocation of his that costs him no uneasiness.' 
 
Ham. 'Tise'en so; the hand of little emiiloy- 
 ment hath the daintier sense. 
 Pint Clo. [Sings.] 
 
 But age, with his stealing steps, 
 
 Hath claw'd ine in his clutch, 
 And hath shipped me intil the land, 
 
 As if I had never been such. 
 
 [Throii-s up a skull. 
 Ham. That skull had a tongue in it, and could 
 sing once : how the knave jowls it to the ground, 
 as if it were Cain's jaw-bone, tiiat did the first 
 
 14. How tlie huive jo-Mls it to Hie ground. If proof were 
 wanted of the exquisite propriety and force of effect with which 
 Shakespeare uses words, and words of even homely fashion, 
 there could hardly be a more pointed instance cited than the 
 mode in which he employs the verb "jowls" here. What 
 strength it gives to the impression of the head and cheek-bone 
 smiting against the earth : and how it makes the imagination 
 feel the bruise in sympathy ! The poet himself so evidently 
 put his whole intense sensitiveness info the passage a» he wrot- 
 
 murder! Tliis might be the pate of a I'olitician, 
 which this ass now o'er-reaches ; one that would 
 circumvent Heaven, might it not ? 
 Hor. It might, my lord. 
 
 Ham. Or of a courtier ; wliich could sa\-, 
 "Good morrow, sweet lord! How dost thou, 
 good lord ?" This might be my lord such-a-one, 
 that praised my lord such-a-one's horse, when he 
 meant to beg it, — might it not ? 
 
 Hor. Ay, my lord. 
 
 Ham, Why, e'en so: and now my Lady 
 Worm's chapless, and knocked about the 
 
 it, that he soon afterwards makes his hero e.\claim, " Mine ache 
 to think on 't." 
 
 15. O'er-reaches. This is the Quarto reading ; which we 
 think is more pointed than that of the Folio— 'ore offices.' 
 
 16. This might be viy lord such-a-one and noiv try 
 
 Lady JVortii's. Elliptically constructed ; meaning. 'This mioht 
 be the pate of my lord such-a one ; an 1 is now the pro- 
 perty of my Lady W'unn.' 
 
 222 
 
Act v.] hamlet. [Scene I. 
 
 iriazardi^ with a sexton's spade : here 's fine revolu- 
 tion, an we had the trick to see 't. Did these bones 
 cost no more the breeding, but to play at loggats^^ 
 with them ? mine ache to think on 't. 
 First Clo. [Sings.'] 
 
 A pick-axe, and a spade, a spade, 
 
 For and a shrouding sheet : 
 Oh, a pit of clay for to be made 
 
 For such a guest is meet. 
 
 [Tbrovjs up another skull. 
 
 Ham. There's another: why may not that be 
 the skull of a lawyer ? Where be his quiddits 
 now, his quillets,^'' his cases, his tenures, and his 
 tricks ? why does he suffer this rude knave now to 
 knock him about the sconce with a dirty shovel, 
 and will not tell him of his action of battery ? 
 H'm ! This fellow might be in 's time a great 
 buyer of land, with his statutes, his recognisances, 
 his fines, his double vouchers, his recoveries i^' is 
 this the fine of his fines, and the recovery of his 
 recoveries, to have his fine pate full of fine dirt ? 
 will his vouchers vouch him no more of his 
 purchases, and double ones too, than the length 
 and breadth of a pair of indentures? The very 
 conveyances of his lands will hardly lie in this 
 box;2^ and must the inheritor himself have no 
 more, ha ? 
 
 Hor. Not a jot more, my lord. 
 
 Ham. Is not parchment made of sheep-skins ? 
 
 Hor. Ay, my lord, and of calf-skins too. 
 
 Ham. They are sheep and calves which seek 
 
 out assurance^s in that. I will speak to this 
 fellow. — Whose grave's this, sir ? 
 First Clo. Mine, sir. — 
 
 \ Sings.] Oh, a pit of clay for to be made 
 For such a guest is meet. 
 
 Ha/n. I think it be thine, indeed ; for thou 
 liest in 't. 
 
 First Clo. You lie out on 't, sir, and therefore 
 it is not yours: for my part, I do not lie in 't, and 
 yet it is mine. 
 
 Ham. Thou dost lie in 't, to be in 't, and say it 
 is thine: 'tis for the dead, not for the quick ; there- 
 fore thou liest. 
 
 First Clo. 'Tis a quick lie, sir; 'twill awaj 
 again, from me to you. 
 
 Ham. What man dost thou dig it for ? 
 
 First Clo. For no man, sir. 
 
 Ham. What woman, then ? 
 
 First Clo. For none, neither. 
 
 Ham. Who is to be buried in 't ? 
 
 First Clo. One that was a woman, sir; but, 
 rest her soul, she 's dead. 
 
 Ham. How absolute the knave is! we must 
 speak by the card,-'* or equivocation will undo us. 
 By the lord, Horatio, these three years 1 have 
 taken note of it; 2= the age is grown so picked,'-^ 
 that the toe of the peasant comes so near the heel 
 of the courtier, he galls his kibe.^^ — How long 
 hast thou been a grave-maker ? 
 
 First Clo. Of all the days i' the year, I came 
 
 ' 17, The mazard. 'The jaw.' Old French, OTnicA^JiV^. 
 
 18. Lo^gats. Small logs or pieces of wood. They were used 
 in a game named after them ; which was played by throwing 
 the " loggats " at a centre, wherein was a stake, a bowl, or first- 
 placed single loggat. Sometimes bones were used by boys at 
 this game instead of wooden "loggats;" a fact that renders 
 Shakespeare's allusion more appropriate. 
 
 19. For and. By reference to the version of this stanza, as 
 quoted in Note 12 of the present Act, it will be seen that " For 
 and" is equivalent to "and eke." Several passages from old 
 writers show that "for and" was sometimes used in the sense 
 of 'and eke;' 'eke' meaning 'also,' 'likewise,' 'besides,' 
 ' moreover.' See Note 13, Act iii., " Midsummer Night's 
 Dream." 
 
 20. His quiddits now, his quillets. " Quiddits " are ' quirks ' 
 or ' subtle points of question ; ' and " quillets " are ' sophistical 
 quibbles,' ' frivolous distinctions in argument.' See Note 105, 
 Act iw., " Love's Labour's Lost." " Quiddits" is a contraction 
 of " quiddities ;" which word is used by Shakespeare, "First 
 Part Henry IV.," Act i., sc. 3, where Falstaff says to Prince 
 Hal, "How now, mad wag! what, in thy quips and thy quiddi- 
 ties t" It is derived from the low Latin word, quiditas ; which 
 was used as a scholastic term to signify the nature or essence 
 of anything, and whith, literally rendered, means ' something- 
 
 21. His double vouchers, his recoveries. Ritson, himself a 
 lawyer, thus explains the numerous legal terms in this speech : 
 "A recovery with doitble voucher \^ the one usually suffered, 
 and is so denominated from two persons (the latter of whom is 
 always the common cryer, or some such inferior person) being 
 successively vouched, or called upon, to warrant the tenant's 
 title. Both fi7ies and recoveries are fictions of law, used to 
 convert an estate tail into a fee simple. Statutes are (not Acts 
 
 41 
 
 of Parliament, but) statutes-merchant and staple, particular 
 modes of recognizance or acknowledgment for seciu-ing debts, 
 which thereby become a charge upon the party's land. Statutes 
 and recognizances are constantly mentioned together in the 
 covenants of a purchase deed." 
 
 22. This box. The humour of .this term, as applied to the 
 grave or the coffin wherein the supposed " lawyer" who is "a 
 great buyer of land" lies in his last sleep, will be perceived 
 when it is recollected that conveyancers and attorneys keep 
 their deeds in bo.\es. 
 
 23. Assurance. A play on the word is here intended ; deeds, 
 generally written on parchment, being called the common 
 assurafices of the realm. 
 
 24. Speali by the card. It has been thought that here allusion 
 is made to "the shipman's card" explained in Note 27, Act i., 
 " Macbeth ;" but we think it more likely, judging from the 
 succeeding words (" the age is grown so picked," &c.), that the 
 reference is rather to the "card or calendar of gentry," men- 
 tioned by Osric, and explained in Note 74 of this Act ; "speak 
 by the card " signifying ' speak according to the rule laid down 
 in the register of etiquette— correctly, accurately, precisely.' 
 
 25. These t/iree years I have taken note o/it. Here " three 
 years" is used as one of those idioms of indefinite time, of 
 which we have pointed out instances in Shakespeare. See 
 
 26. Piciced. ' Over-particular,' ' excessively precise.' See 
 Note 10, Act v., " Love's Labour's Lost." 
 
 27. Kibe. 'Chilblain.' See Note 26, Act ii., "Tempest." 
 Hamlet, speaking thus lightly, almost jestingly, and standing 
 by the grave prepared for the woman of his love — what a homily 
 it all is upon humanity and its unconsciousnesses, treading 
 blindly upon the verge of all we hold most sacred and most 
 
 2 
 
Act v.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 to 't that day that our last King Hamlet o'eicame 
 Fortinbras. 
 
 Ham. How long is that since ? 
 
 First Clo. Cannot you tell that? every fool can 
 tell that : it was the very day that young Hamlet 
 was born, — he that is mad, and sent into England. 
 
 Ham. Ay, marry, why was he sent into 
 England ? 
 
 First Clo. Why, because he was mad : he shall 
 recover his wits there ; or, if he do not, it 's no great 
 matter there. 
 
 Ham. Why ? 
 
 First Clo. 'Twill not be seen in him there ; 
 there the men are as mad as he. 
 
 Ham. How came he ma;i ? 
 
 First Clo. Very strangely, they .say. 
 
 Ham. How strangely ? 
 
 First Clo. ^'aith, e'en with losing his wits. 
 
 Ham. Upon what ground ? 
 
 First Clo. Why, here in Denmark: I ha\e 
 been sexton here, man and boy, thirty years.^^ 
 
 Ham. How long will a man lie i' the earth ere 
 he rot ? 
 
 First Clo. 'Faith, if he be not rotten before he 
 die (as we have many plaguy corses now-a-days, 
 that will scarce hold the laying in), he will last you 
 some eight year or nine year : a tanner will last 
 you nine year. 
 
 Ham. Why he more than another ? 
 
 First Clo. Why, sir, his hide is so tanned with 
 his trade, that he will keep out water a great while ; 
 and your water is a sore decayer of your dead body. 
 Here's a skull now ; this skull hath lain you i' the 
 earth three and twenty years. 
 
 28. Thirty years. This, taken in connection with the clown's 
 previous words, " I came to 't that day," &c., and "the very 
 day that young Hamlet was born," shows that the poet intended 
 distinctly to specify the prince's age at the period of the play. 
 Blackstone has a strange note — one of those notes carping at 
 Shakespeare's " forgetfulness," "discrepancies," "omissions," 
 &c. &c. &c., which it was at one time the fashion to write — 
 wherein he says, " By this scene it appears that Hamlet was 
 then thirty years old ; and yet in the beginning of the play he 
 is spoken of as a very yoitng man, one that designed to go back 
 to school, i.e., to the university of Wittenberg. The poet, in 
 the fifth act, had forgot what he wrote in the first." Rather, 
 the commentator "forgot," or did not know, that "going to 
 school " was a term used for attending college, or being an 
 academic student. See Note 55, Act i. That Shakespeare 
 intended Hamlet to be a man of thirty, his mature reflections 
 upon life, the world, and humanity give strong inferential 
 testimony, besides the direct testimony afforded by the drama- 
 tist's own care in stating his hero's age here ; that he also 
 intended him to be graceful, handsome, possessed of the 
 attractions of a still young man, we are sure, from the expres- 
 sions used by Laertes when first speaking of the prince to 
 Ophelia, and by herself when she speaks of " that unmatched 
 form and feature of blown youth." The very epithet, " bloivjt 
 youth," appears to us advisedly used by the author to precisely 
 designate a young man in his matured prime of life : what, in 
 poetical language, and a loving maiden's language, would be 
 figuratively imaged by a rose or spring flower fully "blown." 
 It appears to us that, in judging of Shakespeare's productions, 
 his peculiar dramatic art in covibinin^ effects — sometimes even 
 
 Ham. Whose was it ? 
 
 First Clo. A mad fellow's it was : whose do 
 you think it was ? 
 
 Ham. Nay, I know not. 
 
 First Clo. A pestilence on him for a mad 
 rogue ! 'a poured a tlagon of Rhenish on my head 
 once. This same skull, sir, was Yorick's skull, the 
 king's jester. 
 
 Ham. This ? 
 
 First Clo. E'en that. 
 
 Ham. Let me see. [Takes the j/^a//.]— Alas ! 
 poor Yorick ! — I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of 
 infinite jest, of most excellent fancy : he hath 
 borne me on his back-' a thousand times; and 
 now, how abhorred in my imagination it is I^" my 
 gorge rises at it. Here hung those lips that t 
 have kissed I know not how oft. Where be your 
 gibes now ? your gambols ? your songs ? your 
 flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the 
 table on a roar? Not one now, to mock your 
 own grinning ?3i quite chap-fallen ? Now get you 
 to my lady's chamber, and tefl her, let her paint 
 an inch thick, to this favour'^ she must come ; 
 make her laugh at that. — Pr'ythee, Horatio, tell 
 me one thing. 
 
 Hor. What 's that, my lord ? 
 
 Ham. Dost thou think Alexander looked o' 
 this fashion i' the earth ? 
 
 Hor. E'en so. 
 
 Ham. And smelt so ? pah ! 
 
 {Puts cloivn the skull. 
 
 Hor. E'en so, my lord. 
 
 Ham. To what base uses we may return, 
 Horatio! Why may not imagination tracers the 
 
 contrary effects — is not sufiiciently taken into consideration by 
 those who estimate him by ordinary standards. His story, his 
 
 character, demanded that the hero of this play 
 
 should be, so to say, both youthful and mature ; both personally 
 young and mentally experienced ; and Shakespeare has, with 
 his wonted felicity of conveying blended impressions, contrived 
 to present this dual combination in the individuality of Hamlet. 
 I 29. He Jiath borne fite on his back, &'c. This point again 
 ] emphasises the age of Hamlet ; he remembers well the jester, 
 1 who has been buried "three and twenty years:" and the 
 relative dates show the prince to have been just seven years old 
 j when Yorick died. 
 
 I 30. And now, ho7u abhorred i?i my imagination it is ! This 
 is the reading of the Quartos ; while the Folio exhibits the 
 passage thus — ' And how abhorred my imagination is ! ' We 
 believe that the reading we have adopted is the correct one ; 
 and that "it "in this sentence (and in the succeeding clause, 
 "my gorge rises at it") is used in reference to the idea of 
 having been borne on the back of him whose skeleton remains 
 are thus suddenly presented to the speaker's gaze, the idea of 
 having caressed and been fondled by one whose mouldering 
 fleshless skull is now held in the speaker's hand. We have 
 pointed out manifold instances of Shakespeare's thus using " it'" 
 in reference to an implied particular. See, among many others, 
 Notes 19 and 23, Act iv., of the present play. 
 
 31. Grimting. This also is the word in the Quartos; the 
 Folio giving 'jeering.' 
 
 32. Favour. ' Aspect,' ' appearance.' See Note 86, Act i., 
 "Julius Cajsar." 
 
 33. Trace. See Note 38, Act ili., " Henry VIII." 
 
Act v.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 noble dust of Alexander, till he find it stopping a 
 bung-hole ? 
 
 Hor. 'Twere to consider too curiously, to 
 consider so. 
 
 Ham. No, faith, not a jot ; but to follow him 
 thither with modesty enough, and likelihood to 
 lead it: as thus; Alexander died, Alexamler was 
 buried, Alexander returneth into dust ; the dust is 
 earth ; of earth we make loam ; and why of that 
 loam, whereto he was converted, might they not 
 stop a beer-barrel ? 
 
 Imperial Csesar,'* dead and turn'd to clay, 
 Might stop a hole to keep the wind away ; 
 Oh, that that earth, which kept the world in 
 awe. 
 
 Should patch a wall to expel the winter's 
 flaw!»5_ 
 
 But soft ! but soft ! aside : — here comes the king, 
 
 Enter Priests, &c., in procession ; the Corpse of 
 Ophelia, Laektes Mourners follouj'ing ; 
 King, Queen, their trains, &c. 
 
 The queen, the courtiers : who is that they 
 follow ? 
 
 And with such maimed rites? This doth be- 
 token, 
 
 The corse they follow did with desperate hand 
 Fordo its own life 'twas of some estate.'*? 
 Couch we awhile, and mark. 
 
 [Retiring m-ith Horatio. 
 
 Laer. What ceremony else ? 
 
 Ham. That is Laertes, 
 
 A very noble youth : mark. 
 
 Laer. What ceremony else ? 
 
 First Priest. Her obsequies have been as far 
 enlarg'd 
 
 As we have warranty : her death was doubtful ; 
 
 34. Imperial Ccesar. The Folio gives ' imperiall,' while the 
 Quartos give 'imperious;' but * imperial' and 'imperious' 
 were formerly used the one for the other. See Note 58, Act iv., 
 
 Troilus and Cressida." It has been suggested that possibly 
 here, and in the two passages referred to in Notes 99 and 100 of 
 Act iii. , Hamlet may be quoting from some ancient ballad ; but 
 we thinl< that he is in both instances merely putting into 
 rhyming form the fancy^that for the moment passes through his 
 mind. Shakespeare has made this a marked characteristic with 
 Hamlet — a tendency to doggerelise, when he is speaking lightly 
 or excitedly : witness (in that same scene, Act iii,, sc. 2I — 
 
 " For if the king like not the comedy, 
 Why then, belike, — he likes it not, perdy." 
 And again, at the close of the present scene — 
 
 " Let Hercules himself do what he may. 
 The cat will mew, and dog will have his day ; " 
 
 where It is not so much a couplet that conventionally closes 
 a scene of e.tit, as it is a fleer extemporaneously put into 
 rhyme, by way of a light turning off from serious thought and 
 remonstrance to a manner that shall favour the belief in his 
 madness. 
 
 ZS- Fla-.v. 'Gust of wind.' See Note 39, Act v., " Corio- 
 
 And, but that great command o'ersways the order, 
 She should in ground unsanctified have lodg'd 
 Till the last trumpet ; for charitable prayers, 
 Shards,^^ flints, and pebbles, should be thrown on 
 her: 
 
 Yet here she is allow'd her virgin crants,'' 
 Her maiden strewments, and the bringing home 
 Of bell and burial. 
 
 Laer. Must there no more be done? 
 
 First Priest. No more be done ! 
 
 We should profane the service of the dead 
 To sing a requiem,'"' and such rest to her 
 As to peace-parted souls. 
 
 Laer. Lay her i' the earth ; — 
 
 And from her fair and unpolluted flesh 
 May violets spring! — [ tell thee, churlish priest, 
 A ministering angel shall my sister be, 
 When thou liest howling. 
 
 Ham. What ! the fiiir Ophelia ! 
 
 ^leen. Sweets to the sweet : farewell ! 
 
 [Scattering Jioxvers. 
 I hop'd thou shouldst have been my Hamlet's 
 wife ; 
 
 I thought thy bride-bed to have deck'd, sweet 
 maid, 
 
 And not have strew'd thy grave. 
 
 Laer. Oh, treble woe 
 
 Fall ten times treble on that cursed head. 
 Whose wicked deed thy most ingenious sense 
 Depriv'd thee of! — Hold off the earth awhile, 
 Till I have caught her once more in mine arms : 
 
 [Leaps into the grange. 
 Now pile your dust upon the (juick and dead. 
 Till of this flat a mountain you have made. 
 To o'ertop old Pelion, or the skyish head 
 Of blue Olympus. 
 
 Ham. [Ail'vancing.'\ What is he whose grief^i 
 
 36. Fordo its own life. " Fordo " means destroy ; and " its " 
 is printed ' it' in the Folio. See Note 73, Act i. 
 
 37. Estate. Here used for ' high rank,' ' distinguished con- 
 
 38. For charitable prayers, shards. " For " is here used to 
 express ' instead of ; ' and " shards " not only means fragments 
 of pots and tiles, but signifies fragmentary rubbish of any 
 
 I kind. Baret mentions "i.irt:?-!/^, or pieces of stones broken and 
 I shattered, rubbel or rubbish of old houses ;" and in Surrey and 
 Sussex bricklayers use the compound words, 'tile-sherds,* 'slate- 
 sherds,' as the Bible speaks of ' pot-sherds.' 
 
 39. Crants. 'Garlands,' 'chaplets,' 'coronals,' 'wreaths.' 
 German, kraiitz. It was the custom to carry garlands before 
 the bier of a maiden, and to hang them over her grave. " Crants" 
 is the word in the Quartos, while the Folio changes it to 'rites.' 
 "Crants" being an unusual word, it may have been thought 
 advisable to substitute a more commonly known term ; and it 
 has been suggested that probably Shakespeare originally met 
 with the word " crants " in some Danish legend of Hamlet ; as 
 krantz is the name for 'garland,' not only in German, but in 
 several of the northern languages. 
 
 40. A requiem. The reading of the Quartos ; while the Folio 
 gives ' sage ' instead of " a." 
 
 41. W liat is lie ivhose grief . Those who insist that Hamlet is 
 really mad, point to his conduct at this juncture as a conclusive 
 
 443 
 
Act v.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene H. 
 
 Bears such an emphasis ? whose phrase of sorrow 
 Conjures the wandering stars, and makes them 
 stand 
 
 Like wonder-wounded hearers ? This is I, 
 Hamlet the Dane. [Leaps into the grave. 
 
 Laer. The devil take thy soul ! 
 
 [Grappling nuith him. 
 
 Ham. Thou pray'st not well, 
 r pr'ythee, take thy fingers from my throat ; 
 For, though I am not splenitive and rash. 
 Yet have I in me something dangerous. 
 Which let thy wiseness fear : hold off thy hand ! 
 
 King. Pluck them asunder. 
 
 ^leen. Hamlet, Hamlet ! 
 
 All. Gentlemen, — 
 
 Hor. Good, my lord, be quiet. 
 
 [The Attendants ^ar/ them, and they come 
 out of the gra've. 
 Ham. Why, I will fight with him upon this 
 theme 
 
 Until my eyelids will no longer wag. 
 
 ^een. Oh, my son, what theme ? 
 
 Ham. I Ipv'd Ophelia: forty thousand brothers 
 Could not, with all their quantity of love,^- 
 Make up my sum. — What wilt thou do for her ? 
 
 King. Oh, he is mad, Laertes. 
 
 i^ieen. For love of heaven, forbear him. 
 
 Ham. 'Sfoot, show me what thou'lt do : 
 Woo't''^ weep ? woo't fight? woo'tfast? woo'ttear 
 thyself? 
 
 Woo't drink up Esil eat a crocodile ? 
 I'll do 't. — Dost thou come here to whine ? 
 To outface me with leaping in her grave? 
 Be buried quick ''^ with her, and so will I : 
 
 proof of the justice of their theory ; whereas we think that in 
 an impressionable temperament like Hamlet's— subject to even 
 morbid excitement at times, by the exceptionally potent causes 
 of anguish from which he has suffered — the demeanour of 
 Laertes at the grave of his sister would be exactly calculated 
 to produce disgust and resentment ; in short, the emotion which 
 Hamlet afterwards, in confidential converse with his friend 
 Horatio, describes as " a towering passion." A man need not 
 be insane to feel outraged at " the bravery of grief," the rant of 
 sorrow displayed by Laertes on this occasion : his rough inso- 
 lence to the officiating priest, his vindictive curses invoked upon 
 the head of him whose deed deprived Ophelia of reason, and 
 his hyperbolical phrases of lament for one .so gentle and so 
 meek-natured as she who lies in that early grave, are each 
 sufficient to excite indignation in the listener — especially a 
 listener like the sorely heart-smitten Hamlet. 
 
 42. Forty tlwiisand brothers could not, &=c. Well may 
 Hamlet, with his passionate love for Ophelia crushed into 
 silence and prisoned within his own heart, feel that he indeed 
 has loved her better than "forty thousand" such "brothers" 
 as Laertes, with his ranting boast of affection, could love her 1 
 Laertes has in his nature more suspicion than attachment, 
 more malice than kindliness, 1 
 begins by imputing evil inter 
 malignant wrath against him, 
 scheme to take away his life. 
 Hamlet than of loving Ophelia. 
 
 43. I'Foo't. An old form of ' 
 still in provincial use. 
 
 44. Esil. Spelt also ' eisel ;' 
 
 n love. He 
 Hamlet, cherishes a 
 es out a treacherous 
 Dre capable of hating 
 
 ,' or ' would'st thou,' 
 
 word used by early 
 
 And, if thou prate of mountains, let them throw 
 Millions of acres on us, till our ground. 
 Singeing his pate against the burning zone. 
 Make Ossa"*" like a wart ! Nay, an thou'lt mouth, 
 I'll rant as well as thou. 
 
 S^ueen. This is mere mad'ness : 
 
 And thus awhile the fit will work on him ; 
 Anon, as patient as the female dove, 
 When that her golden couplets ^7 are disclos'd,''^ 
 His silence will sit drooping. 
 
 Ham. Hear you, sir; 
 
 What is the reason that you use me thus ? 
 I lov'd you ever : but it is no matter ; 
 Let Hercules himself do what he may, 
 'I'he cat will mew, and dog will have his day. 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 King. I pray you, good Horatio, wait upon 
 him. — [Exit Horatio. 
 
 \To Laertes.] Strengthen your patience in our 
 last night's speech ; 
 
 We'll put the matter to the present push 
 
 Good Gertrude, set some watch over your son. — 
 This grave shall have a living monument : 
 An hour of quiet shortly shall we see ; 
 Till then, in patience our proceeding be. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE 11.—^ Hall in the Castle. 
 
 Enter Hamlet and Horatio. 
 
 Ham. So much for this, sir : now shall you see 
 the other; — 
 
 to signify 'vinegar,' or 'wormwood.' Shakespeare uses it to 
 express a bitter and unpalatable draught. It was a fashion of 
 his time for amorous gentlemen to swallow nauseous potions 
 as a proof of their gallantry; and Hamlet is emulating the 
 ranting style of Laertes. The question has been debated 
 whether by "Esil" (spelt in the Folio 'Esile')may not here 
 have been meant the river Yssell, Issell, or Izel, near Den- 
 mark : but we think that the following passage from Shake- 
 speare's iiith Sonnet shows that he uses the word in the sense 
 we above explained : — 
 
 " Like a willing patient, I will drink 
 Potions of eisel 'gainst my strong infection ; 
 No bitterness that I will bittef- think. 
 Nor double penance, to correct correction." 
 
 45. Qidck. 'Alive.' 
 
 46. Ossa. A lofty mountain in Thessaly ; as also was 
 " Pelion," alluded to a few speeches previously. In their war 
 with the gods, the giants were said to heap these mountains 
 the one on the other, in order to reach heaven. It was also 
 asserted that Ossa and Olympus originally formed one moun- 
 tain ; but that Hercules separated them, and made the vale of 
 Tempe between the two. It is possibly in latent allusion to 
 this incident of the mythology that Hamlet concludes his next 
 speech with an apparently irrelevant mention of " Hercules." 
 
 47. Golden couplets. The dove lays but two eggs at a time ; 
 and the young birds, when first hatched, are covered with 
 yellow down. 
 
 48. Disclo^d. Formerly a technical term for 'hatched.' 
 See Note 38, Act iii. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 You do remember all the circumstance ? 
 Hor. Remember it, my lord ! 
 Ham. Sir, in my heart there was a kind of 
 fighting. 
 
 That would not let me sleep : methought I lay 
 Worse than the mutines^' in the bilboes.*" 
 Rashly,— 
 
 (And prais'd be rashness for it let us know. 
 Our indiscretion sometimes serves us well. 
 When our deep plots do pall and that should 
 teach us 
 
 There's a divinity that shapes our ends, 
 R'ough-hew*^ them how we will. 
 
 Hor. That is most certain.) 
 
 Ham. Up from my cabin, 
 My sea-gou'u** scarf d about me, in the dark 
 Grop'd I to find out them -.^^ had my desire ; 
 Finger'd their packet; and, in fine, withdrew 
 To mine own room again : making so bold. 
 My fears forgetting manners, to unseal 
 Their grand commission ; where 1 found, Horatio, 
 Oh, royal Iftiavery ! an exact command,— 
 Larded with many several sorts of reasons. 
 Importing Denmark's health, and England's too. 
 With, ho! such bugs and goblins in my life,*^ — 
 
 49. Mtitines. An abbreviated form of 'mutineers.' See 
 Note 55, Act ii., " King John." 
 
 50. Bilboes. Bars of iron with fetters annexed to them, by 
 which mutinous or disorderly soldiers were anciently linked 
 together. The term is derived from ' Bilboa,' in Spain, where 
 implements of iron and steel were fabricated with great excel- 
 lence. See Notes 22, Act i., and 48, Act iii., "Merry Wives." 
 Inasmuch as these fetters connected the legs of the delinquents 
 very closely together, their attempts to rest must have been 
 as fruitless as those of Hamlet, in whose "heart there was a 
 kind of fighting, that would not let" him "sleep." Every 
 motion of the one "mutine" in his cramped position must have 
 disturbed the other man linked close beside him. The " bilboes" 
 are still shown in the Tower, among other spoils of the Spanish 
 Armada. 
 
 51. Rashly, — and praised be rashness, b'c. The paren- 
 thetical construction of this passage is completely characteristic 
 of Hamlet's mind, which digresses to philosophise upon every 
 thought that strikes him as he proceeds. The thought itself, 
 too, harmonises with Hamlet's disposition ; which lets a sudden 
 impulse and a casual opportunity occasion him to enact a pur- 
 pose long cherished but long deferred. 
 
 52. Pall. Used to express become ' spiritless,' ' lifeless,' 
 * without vigour and vitaJity.' 
 
 53. Rough-hew. 'Give a first form to,' 'sketch out," 'origi- 
 nally devise.' Florio defines the Italian word, abozzare, by 
 "To rough-hew any first draught, to bungle ill-fa vouredly." 
 
 54. Sea-gown. Cotgrave has—" Esclavine : a sea-gowne ; a 
 coarse, high-collar'd and short-sleeved gowne, reaching to the 
 mid-leg, and used mostly by seamen and sailors." 
 
 55. In the dark grop'd I to find out them. The transposed 
 construction here, the condensed brevity of the diction, the use 
 of the pronoun " them " in reference to the bearers of the 
 packet (whom the reader as well as the he.arer knows to be 
 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern), all serve to indicate the breath- 
 less condition of the speaker when enacting that which he is 
 now describing. 
 
 56. Such bugs and goblins in my life. ' Such causes of terror 
 from my dangerous disposition should I be suffered 
 alive.' "Bugs" is an abbreviation of 'bugbears.' See N 
 Act iii., "Winter's Tale." 
 
 That, on the supervise,*'" no leisure bated,*^ 
 No, not to stay the grinding of the axe. 
 My head should be struck ofi^. 
 
 Hor. Is 't possible ? 
 
 Hatn. Here's the commission : read it at more 
 leisure. 
 
 But wilt thou hear me how I did proceed ? 
 Hor. I beseech you. 
 
 Ham. Being thus be-netted round with villa- 
 nies.M— 
 
 Ere I could make a prologue to my brains. 
 They had begun the play,**"— I sat me down ; 
 Devis'd a new commission ; wrote it fair : — 
 I once did hold it, as our statists do, 
 A baseness to write fair, and labour' d much 
 How to forget that learning; but, sir, now 
 It did me yeoman's service — wilt thou know 
 The effect of what 1 wrote ? 
 
 Hor. Ay, good my lord. 
 
 Ham. An earnest conjuration from the king, — 
 As England was his faithful tributary ; 
 As love between them like the palm mig*nt 
 flourish 
 
 As peace should still her wheaten garland wear. 
 And stand a comma 'tween their amities ; 
 
 Holofernes, 
 I will superz 
 
 allowed,' 
 
 57. The supervise. 'The looking over.' 
 "Love's Labour's Lost," Act iv., sc. 2, says, ' 
 the canzonet." 
 
 58. No leisure bated. ' No period of leisi 
 abatement of time suffered.' 
 
 59. yUlanies. The old copies print ' villaines' for " villanies." 
 Capell's correction. 
 
 60. Ere I could mahe a prologue to my brains, they had 
 begun the play. Besides the characteristic effect of this as 
 depicting Hamlet's state of mind when devising the scheme 
 for counter-plotting and frustrating the machinations of his 
 treacherous uncle, we canjiot but believe that it also gives us 
 a vivid picture of Shakespeare's own mode of sitting down to 
 write — his teeming brains begiiniing a play, and seeing all its 
 scope and bearings, ere he had well penned down the opening 
 
 61. Statists. 'Statesmen.' Blackstone observes that " most 
 of the great men of Shakespeare's time, whose autographs have 
 been preserved, wrote very bad hands ; their secretaries very 
 neat ones." There were exceptions to this, of course ; but it 
 has always been a modish affectation to write illegibly as a 
 mark of supposed superiority, and as if to write clearly were a 
 mere vulgar and mechanical accomplishment — an affectation 
 which the poet here satirises. 
 
 62. Yeoman's service. A mode of saying ' effectual service,' 
 ' substantial service.' The ancient yeomen were famous for 
 their staunch valour in the field ; and Sir Thomas Smith says of 
 them, "These were the good archers in time past, and the 
 stable troop of footmen that affraide all France." 
 
 63. Co7nma. This word has been changed by some commen- 
 tators ; and, by others who retain it, it has been explained to 
 mean the smallest point in punctuation, while they interpret the 
 line accordingly. We think, however, that in the present 
 passage Shakespeare uses the word in a different sense from 
 the one in which he uses it as pointed out in Note 17, Act i., 
 " Timon of Athens." There he probably employs it with 
 reference to the minutest stop ; here, we believe that he employs 
 it as the term applied by theoretical musicians to express ' the 
 least of all the sensible intervals in music,' showing the exact 
 proportions between concords. Tuners of organs and piano- 
 fortes use the word " comma " thus to the present day. The 
 
Act v.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 And many such like as's of great charge, — 
 That, on the view and know of these contents,'^'' 
 Without debatement farther, more or less. 
 He should the bearers put to sudden death. 
 Not shriving-time allow'd. 
 
 Hor. How was this seal'd ? 
 
 Ham. Why, even in that was heaven ordinant. 
 1 had my father's signet in my purse. 
 Which was the model of that Danish seal : 
 Folded the writ up in form of the other; 
 Subscrib'd it; gave 't the ^impression ; plac'd it 
 safely, 
 
 The changeling never known. Now, the next 
 day 
 
 Was our sea-fight ; and what to this was sequent 
 Thou know'st already. 
 
 Hor. So Guildenstern and Rosencrantz go to't. 
 
 Ham. Why, man, they did make love to this 
 employment ; 
 They are not near my conscience ; their defeat 
 Does by their own insinuation grow:^^ 
 'Tis dangerous when the baser nature comes 
 Between the pass and fell incensed points 
 Of mighty opposites. 
 
 Hor. Why, what a king is this ! 
 
 Ham. Does it not, think'st thee, stand me now 
 upon "3 — 
 
 He that hath kill'd my king, defil'd my mother ; 
 
 term in its musical sense is fully explained in Hawkins's 
 " History of Music" (Novello's Edition, 1853), at pp. 28, 122, 
 and 410. From the context of the present passage, there is far 
 greater probability that Shakespeare had in view a term re- 
 ferring to concord, than one alluding to the method of stopping ; 
 and we think that he here uses the word " comma" to express 
 a link of amicably harmonious connection. That he was well 
 acquainted with various technical terms in music we have several 
 proofs in his writings. See, among others, Notes 46 and 47, 
 Act iv., " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 64. On the view a7id know of these contents. The Quartos 
 print 'knowing' for "know" here, which latter is the Folio 
 word, and is probably the author's intentional abbreviation of 
 'knowledge.' 
 
 65. The model. Here used in the sense of " copy ;" that 
 which is modelled upon a pattern. See Note 39, Act i., 
 " Richard n," 
 
 66. They did make love to this employment. A more pointed 
 form of the common phrase, ' they courted this employment.' 
 
 67. Their defeat does by their own insinuation ^row. 
 ' Their defeat is the consequence of their having insinuated 
 themselves into so base a service.' 
 
 68. Does it not, think'st thee, stand me norv upon ? ' Does 
 it not, think you, behove me?' See Note 19, Act iv., 
 "Richard HI." The Folio gives ' thinkst thee,' the Quartos 
 ' thinke thee :' and it has been contended that " think'st thee" 
 should rather be printed * thinks 't thee,' as being equivalent to 
 ' thinks it thee.' But we are rather inclined to believe that 
 "think'st thee" is intended for 'thinkest thou' or 'think'st 
 thou,' of which expression there are several instances in Shake- 
 
 6g. /'// count his favours. Rowe and others altered " count " 
 to 'court;' but it appears to us that " I'll count his favours " is 
 a following up of the previous sentence, and means, ' I'll reckon 
 up the favourable points of his cause.' Hamlet has been 
 enumerating all the grounds of his own injuries received from 
 his uncle, and will count those which Laertes has undergone as 
 
 Popp'd in between the election and my hopes; 
 Thrown out his angle for my proper life. 
 And with such cozenage — is 't not perfect con- 
 science. 
 
 To quit him with this arm? and is't not to be 
 damn'd. 
 
 To let this canker of our nature come 
 In farther evil ? 
 Hor. It must be shortly known to him from 
 England 
 
 What is the issue of the business there. 
 
 Ham. It will be short: the interim is mine ; 
 And a man's life 's no more than to say, one. 
 But I am very sorry, good Horatio, 
 That to Laertes I forgot myself ; 
 For, by the image of my cause, I see 
 The portraiture of his : I'll count his favours 
 But, sure, the bravery of ids grief did put me 
 Into a towering passion.'" 
 
 Hor. Peace ! who comes here '{ 
 
 Enter OsRic. 
 Osr. Your lordship is right welcome back to 
 Denmark. 
 
 Ham. I humbly thank you, sir. — \_Aside to HoR.] 
 Dost know this water-fly F^' 
 Hor. [Aside to Ham.] No, my good lord. 
 Ham. [Aside to HoR,] Thy state is tlie more 
 
 those which favourably plead for him — his father killed, his 
 sister deranged and destroyed, himself insulted. 
 
 70. The bravery of his grief did put me ifiio a towering 
 passion. The manly regret for his late violence to Laertes, the 
 generous allowance he makes for the young man's resentment 
 against himself, together with this recurrence to the excusing 
 cause of his own indignation, expressed in confidence to Iiis 
 bosom-friend Horatio, form beautifully characteristic touches of 
 Hamlet's disposition ; and at the same time tend strongly to 
 confute the (to our mind) unsound theory that he is really 
 insane. Through all the agitated account of the counter-plot on 
 board ship there is visible a collected mind, with a rational and 
 vindicated course of procedure ; while this summing-up of the 
 confidence reposed in his friend by self-rebuke, and by men- 
 tioning his "towering passion" as a thing of the past, bespeak 
 a temper capable of cool reflection and staid introspection. It 
 is observable that Hamlet never once here alludes to the lost 
 Ophelia, even though he is pouring out his thoughts to his 
 faithful and cherished friend. The fact is, as it appears to us, 
 that Hamlet said the truth in its sad and full extent, when he 
 told her, "I did love you once." See Note 26, Act iii. He 
 loved her passionately, intensely, with all the warmth and 
 earnestness of his intense nature, but this was while he believed 
 her guileless, artless, incapable of caprice or inconstancy. 
 When he finds her, as he thinks (unknowing that it is from 
 her father's and brother's instigation), capable of rejecting him 
 without apparent cause, his love for her is crushed and buried 
 within his own heart ; and he allows it to lie there extinct, 
 speaking of it as dead and gone, acquiescing, moreover, in the 
 necessity forced upon him by fate of including it among those 
 "trivial fond records" which he had vowed to "wipe away 
 from the table of" his "memory," when binding himself to his 
 vowed duty of avengement. 
 
 71. This water-fly. Any one who has watched the busy 
 yet light skimming of the winged insects that flit upon the 
 surface of pools, will verify the exact appropriateness of this 
 epithet for the court flutterer, Osric. 
 
Act v.] hamlet. [Scene II. 
 
 Osr!c. Your lordship is riglit v/elcome back to Denmark. 
 
 Hamlet. I humbly thank you, sir. — \_Aside to HoKATIO.] Dost know this water-fly? 
 
 Act V. Scene II. 
 
 gracious; for 'tis a vice to know him. He hath 
 much land, and fertile : let a beast be lord of beasts, 
 and his crib shall stand at the king's mess: 'tis a 
 chough ; but, as I say, spacious in the possession 
 of dirt. 
 
 Osr. Siveet lord, if your lordship were at 
 leisure, I should impart a thing to you from his 
 majesty. 
 
 Ham. I will receive it, sir, with all diligence of 
 spirit. Put your bonnet to his right use ; 'tis for 
 the head. 
 
 Osr. I thank your lordship, 'tis very hot. 
 Ham. No, believe me, 'tis very cold; the wind 
 is northerly. 
 
 Osr. It is indifferent cold, my lord, indeed. 
 
 Ham. But yet, methinks it is very sultry and 
 hot ; or my complexion " — 
 
 Osr. Exceedingly, my lord ; it is very sultry, — 
 as 'twere, — I cannot tell how. — But, my lord, 
 his majesty bade me signify to you, that he has 
 laid a great wager on your head : sir, this is the 
 matter, — ■ 
 
 Ham. I beseech you, remember — 
 
 [Hamlet moves him to put on his hat. 
 
 Osr. Nay, in good faith ; for mine ease, in good 
 faith. Sir, here is newly come to court Laertes ; 
 believe me, an absolute gentleman, full of most 
 excellent differences, 7^ of very soft society, and 
 
 72. Or my complexion. This is the Quarto readlnor : while to feel heat.* " Complexion is here used in a similar sense to 
 the Folio gives ' for my complexion.' We think that Hamlet is that pointed out in Note 110, Act i. 
 
 intended to imply, ' I find it very sultry and hot ; or it may be 73. Excellent differences. ' Various and distinguishing ex- 
 that my constitutional temperament renders me peculiarly liable cellences.' 
 
 449 
 
 VOX. III. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 great showing : indeed, to speak feelingly of him, 
 he is the card or calendar of gentry, for you shall 
 find in him the continent of what part a gentleman 
 would see.''' 
 
 Ham. Sir, his definement suffers no perdition in 
 you; — though, I know, to divide him inventorially 
 would dizzy the arithmetic of memory ; and yet 
 but raw,-"* neither, in respect of his quick sail. 
 But, in the verity of extolment, I take him to 
 be a soul of great article ; and his infusion of 
 such dearth and rareness, as, to make true diction 
 of him, his semblable is his mirror ; and who else 
 would trace him, his umbrage, nothing more.'^ 
 
 Osr. Your lordship speaks most infallibly of 
 him. 
 
 Ham. The concernancy, sir ? why do we wrap 
 the gentleman in our more rawer ''^ breath ? 
 Osr. Sir ? 
 
 Hor. Is't not possible to understand in another 
 tongue?'^* You will do't, sir, really. 
 
 Ham. What imports the nomination of this 
 gentleman ? 
 
 Osr. Of Laertes ? 
 
 Hor. [Aside to Ham.] His purse is empty 
 already ; all his golden words are spent. 
 
 Ham. Of him, sir. 
 
 Osr. I know you are not ignorant — 
 
 Ham. I would you did, sir ; yet, in faith, if 
 you did, it would not much approve me : — well, 
 sir. 
 
 74. you shn.ll find in him the continent of, ' You 
 shall find him to be the container and compriser of whatsoever 
 meritorious accomplishment one gentleman would wish to behold 
 in another.' By "the card or calendar of gentry" Osric pro- 
 bably means one of those " books of good manners" mentioned 
 by Touchstone in the passage referred to in Note 37, Act v., 
 " As You Like It." 
 
 75. Yet but raw. The Folio omits the present passage ; 
 while all the Quartos, excepting one (that of 1604, which prints 
 'yaw' for "raw"), give the reading we adopt. We take the 
 word "raw" to be here used in the sense pointed out in Note 
 20, Act iii., "As You Like It;" and we believe it to refer to 
 " definement," at the commencement of Hamlet's speech. He 
 is mimicking Osric's affected phraseology ; purposely expressing 
 himself in the finically fantastic style which the euphuistic fops 
 of Shakespeare's time adopted as a fashionable jargon, and 
 which is here satirised. We thus interpret the sentence : ' Sir, 
 his description loses nothing by your account ; though I know, 
 to sum up his numerous merits would make an arithmetician 
 giddy ; and yet your description is but inefficient and inade- 
 quate, after all, owing to the rate at which he outnms all 
 praise.' 
 
 76. Who else would trace him, his umbrage, nothing more. 
 
 ' Whoever else would endeavour to give but a faint image of 
 him, is his shadow, nothing more.' " Trace " is here used so as 
 to include the senses of ' follow closely,' ' keep up with ' (see 
 Note 38, Act iii., " Henry VITL"), ' emulate,' ' imitate,' ' repre- 
 sent,' ' give a reflection of.' 
 
 77. Rawer. This word, used here, is in keeping with what 
 we conceive to be the right word (" raw '') in the passage dis- 
 cussed in the penultimate note. Hamlet asks, " But to return 
 to the matter that concerns us, sir? Why do we digress to 
 
 Osr. You are not ignorant of what excellence 
 Laertes is — 
 
 Ham. I dare not confess that, lest I should 
 compare with him in excellence ; but, to know a 
 man well, were to know himself. 
 
 Osr. I mean, sir, for his weapon ; but in the 
 imputation ^5 laid on him by them, in his meed,'" 
 he's unfellowed. 
 
 Ham. What's his weapon ? 
 
 Osr, Rapier and dagger. 
 
 Ham. That 's two of his weapons : but, well. 
 
 Osr. The king, sir, hath wagered with him six 
 Barbary horses : against the which he has im- 
 poned,8i as I take it, six French rapiers and 
 poniards, with their assigns, as girdle, hangers,*'^ 
 and so : three of the carriages, in faith, are 
 very dear to fancy, very responsive to the hilts, 
 most delicate carriages, and of very liberal con- 
 ceit. 
 
 Ham. What call you the carnages ? 
 
 Hor. [Aside to Ham.] I knew you must be 
 edified by the margent'*'* ere you had done. 
 
 Osr. The carriages, sir, are the hangers. 
 
 Ham. The phrase would be more german*' to 
 the matter, if we could carry cannon by our sides : 
 I would it might be hangers till then. But, on : 
 six Barbary horses against six French swords, 
 their assigns, and three liberal-conceited carriages ; 
 that's the French bet against the Danish. Why 
 is this imponed, as you call it 
 
 envelope the gentleman in eulogium breathed forth so inex- 
 pertly and inefficiently by us ?" 
 
 78. Is't not possible, i^c. This speech has been variously 
 altered by various emendators ; but its meaning appears to us 
 to be, * Is it not possible to make us comprehend in other and 
 simpler language ? You will be able to do it, sir, assuredly.' 
 The speech admits of yet another interpretation : * Is 't not 
 possible to understand in another and more fantastic language 
 than ordinary parlance ? You will be at no loss to do so, sir, 
 assuredly.' The speaker is joining Hamlet in bantering Osric ; 
 and the poor gentleman-dealer in fine diction being utterly non- 
 plussed by the torrent of sentences in mockery of his own 
 style which the prince pours upon him, is exquisitely comic in 
 effect. 
 
 79. The imputation. * Tlie attributed merit,' ' the imputed 
 excellence.' See Note 95, Acti., "Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 80. Meed. 'Merit,' 'desert;' 'that which deserves meed or 
 reward.' See Note 57, Act i., "Timon of Athens." 
 
 81. Imponed. This is the Folio form of the word, while the 
 Quartos give 'impawned.' " Impoiied" is evidently spelt tjius 
 to mark Osric's affected pronunciation of ' impawned ; ' which 
 meant * pledged,' ' staked,' ' given as a gage.' In " First Part 
 Henry IV.," Act iv., sc. 3, we find, "Let there be impawned 
 some surety," &c. 
 
 82. Hangers. Those portions of the g'rdle or belt by which 
 the sword is suspended. 
 
 83. Tlie margent. Explanatory comments of books were 
 anciently printed on the margin of the pages. See Note 57, 
 Act i., "Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 84. German. 'Akin,' 'allied,' 'pertinent.' See Note 206, 
 Act iv., "Winter's Tale." 
 
 85. Why is this itnponed, as you call it ? Hamlet's inquiry 
 
Act v.] 
 
 HAM 
 
 LET. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Osr. The king, sir, hath laid, that in a dozen 
 passes between yourself and him, he shall not 
 exceed you three hits: he hath laid, on twelve for 
 nine; and it would come to immediate trial, if 
 your lordship would vouchsafe the answer. 
 
 Ham. How if I answer no ? 
 
 Osr. I mean, my lord, the opposition of your 
 person in trial. 
 
 Ham. Sir, I will walk here in the hall : if it 
 please his majesty, it is the breathing time of day 
 with me;'^ let the foils be brought, the gentleman 
 willing, and the king hold his purpose, I will win 
 for him if I can ; if not, I will gain nothing but my 
 shame, and the odd hits. 
 
 Osr. Shall I deliver you so ? 
 
 Ham. To this effect, sir ; after what flourish 
 your nature will. 
 
 Osr. I commend my duty to your lordship. 
 
 Ham, Yours, yours. \^Exie OsRic] — He does 
 well to commend it himself; there are no tongues 
 else for 's turn. 
 
 Hor. This lapwing runs away with the shell on 
 his head.'^^ 
 
 Ham. He did comply with*^ his dug, before he 
 sucked it. Thus has he (and many more of the 
 same breed, that, I know, the drossy age dotes on) 
 only got the tune of the time, and outward habit 
 of encounter; a kind of yesty collection, which 
 carries them through and through the most fond 
 and winnowed opinions;'^ and do but blow them 
 to their trial, the bubbles are out. 
 
 Enter a Lord. 
 
 Lortl. My lord, his majesty commended him to 
 you by young Osric, who brings back to him, that 
 you attend him in the hall: he sends to know if 
 your pleasure hold to play with Laertes, or that 
 you will take longer time. 
 
 Ham. 1 am constant to my purposes ; they 
 
 serves to mark unmistakeably his own raillery of and the j 
 author's intended satire upon Osric's mincing pronunciation, as , 
 pointed out in Note 8i of the present Act. See also Note 34, 
 Act i., "As You Like It." 
 
 86. The breatking time of day with uie. * The time I appro- 
 priate in the day for taking e.vercise.' See Note 44, Act i., 
 " All's Well." 
 
 87. This la/nuiug-, &'r. In allusion to an old proverb, thus 
 given in Meres's "Wits' Treasury" (1598) : "As the lapwing | 
 runneth away with the shell on her head, as soon as she is j 
 hatched." This is Horatio's way of calling Osric a silly 
 fledgling fellow. 
 
 83. /fe did co>nply luith. ' He was complaisant to,' * he was 
 oksequious or deferential to.' See Note 84, .^ct ii. Hamlet's 
 phrase is equivalent to ' he is a born courtier," or ' a courtier 
 from his very cradle.* 
 
 89. The 7t!ost fond and winitowed opinions. This is the 
 Folio reading ; while the Quartos give ' prophane and tren- 
 nowed' instead of " fond and winnowed." Warburton changed 
 "fond" to 'fanned,' a plausible alteration ; but we think that 
 probably here "fond" is used to express 'fondly cherished," 
 
 follow the king's pleasure : if his fitness speaks, 
 mine is ready ; now or whensoever, provided I be 
 so able as now. 
 
 Lord. The king and queen and all are coming 
 down. 
 
 Ham. In happy time.9» 
 
 Lord. The queen desires you to use some 
 gentle entertainment*' to Laertes before you fall 
 to play. 
 
 Ham. She well instructs me. \^Exit Lord. 
 
 Hor. You will lose this wager, my lord^ 
 Ham. I do not think so ; since he went into 
 France, I have been in continual practice ; I shall 
 win at the odds. But thou wouldst not think 
 how ill all 's here about my heart : but it is no 
 matter. 
 
 Hor. Nay, good my lord, — 
 
 Ham. It is but foolery ; but it is such a kind 
 of gain-giving, 93 as would perhaps trouble a 
 woman. 
 
 Hor. If your mind dislike anything, obey it : 
 I will forestall their repair hither, and say you are 
 not fit. 
 
 Ham. Not a whit, we defy augury : there 's 
 a special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If 
 it be now, 'tis not to come ; if it be not to come, 
 it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will 
 come: the readiness is all: since no man, of aught 
 he leaves, knows,'* what is 't to leave betimes? 
 Let be. 
 
 Enter King, Queen, Laertes, Lords, Osric, and 
 Attendants nuith foils, &c. 
 King. Come, Hamlet, come, and take this 
 hand from me. 
 
 [^Tbe King puts Laertes' hand into 
 Hamlet's. 
 
 Ham. Give me your pardon, sir : I've done ) ou 
 wrong ; 
 
 'dearly esteemed,' while "winnowed" we take to mean 
 ' choice,' ' select.* In a previous passage of the present play 
 (see the one adverted to in Note 141, Act i.), "All trivia! fond 
 records," the word "fond" is probably used in this same sense 
 of 'fondly cherished,' ' fondly entertained.' 
 
 90. Ill Iiafpy time. See Note 80, Act iii., "Romeo and 
 Juliet." 
 
 91. Gentle entcrtainnieni. ' Conciliatory conversation ;' 
 'mildness of manner.' 
 
 92. Gain-giving. 'Misgiving;' an internal feeling of mis- 
 trust, and giving way against the impression of coming evil. 
 
 93. Since no man, of aught he leaves, knows. This is the 
 Quarto reading ; while the Folio gives, ' Since no man ha's ought 
 of what he leaves." We adopt the former ; believing it to be 
 more characteristic of Hamlet that he thinks leaving life of little 
 consequence because he cannot come to a right knowledge of 
 its many mysteries and perplexities, than because he cannot 
 carry with him life's goods and advantages. Nay, we think 
 (agreeing in this particular with Johnson) it not improbable that 
 the Folio reading was a simplifisd construction of the original 
 passage ; and that ' ha's ' was merely a misprint for " knows." 
 
Act v.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 But paiiloii 't, as you are a gentleman. 
 This presence knows,^^ 
 
 And you must needs have heard, how I am 
 punish'd 
 
 With sore distraction. What I have done, 
 That might your nature, honour, and excep- 
 tion, 
 
 Roughly awake, I here proclaim was madness. 
 
 Was't Hamlet wrong'd Laertes ? Never Hamlet : 
 
 If Hamlet from himself be ta'en away. 
 
 And when he.'s not himself does wrong Laertes, 
 
 Then Hamlet does it not, Hamlet denies it. 
 
 Who does it, then ? His madness : if 't be so, 
 
 Hamlet is of the faction that is wrong'd ; 
 
 His madness is poor Hamlet's enemy. 
 
 Sir, in this audience. 
 
 Let my disclaiming from a purpos'd evil 
 
 Free me so far in your most generous thoughts. 
 
 That I have shot mine arrow o'er the house, 
 
 And hurt my brother. 
 
 Laer. I am satisfied in nature. 
 
 Whose motive, in this case, should stir me most 
 To my revenge : hut in my terms of honour 
 I stand aloof ; and will no reconcilement, 
 Till by some elder masters, of known honour, 
 I have a voice and precedent of peace, 
 To keep my name ungor'd.^^ But till that 
 time, 
 
 I do receive your ofFer'd love like love, 
 And will not wrong it. 
 
 Ham. I embrace it freely ; 
 
 And will this brother's wager frankly play. — 
 Give us the foils Come on. 
 
 Laer. Come, one for me. 
 
 Ham. I'll be your foil, Laertes : in mine igno- 
 rance 
 
 Your skill shall, like a star i' the darkest night. 
 Stick fiery off indeed.^" 
 
 Laer. You mock me, sir. 
 
 Ham. No, by this hand. 
 
 94. This presence knows. The king, queen, and assembled 
 
 95. / have shot mine arrow o'er the house, and hurt vzy 
 brother. The Folio misprints 'mother' for "brother" here, 
 which is the word given in the Quartos. For the expression, 
 " o'er the house," see Note 6, Act iv., " Twelfth Night." 
 
 96. To keep my name nn^or d. In the Folio there is a mis- 
 print of ' vngorg'd ' for " ungor'd ;" which is shown to be right 
 by the Qu.irto copies. Very consonant with Laertes' character 
 is his present speech ; he admits that he has received satisfaction 
 for the wounds his " nature " has received in the death of his 
 father and the destruction of his sister, but reserves the right to 
 demand farther atonement made to his hurt honour, until some 
 persons of authority in questions of gentlemanly pimclillo shall 
 decide whether or not he may consider himself at liberty to 
 remain satisfied, and feel that his reputation is untouched. The 
 stiffness of egotistical susceptibility, the petty anxiety to pre- 
 serve the world's good opinion, the regard to social claims 
 rather than to natural u.Tections, the artificial gentleman and 
 not the true gentleman — all are admirably embodied in Laertes ; 
 
 King. Give them the foils, young Osric. — 
 Cousin Hamlet, 
 You know the wager ? 
 
 Ham. Very well, my lord ; 
 
 Your grace hath laid the odds o' the weaker 
 side. 
 
 King. I do not fear it ; I have seen you 
 both : 
 
 But since he is better'd, we have therefore 
 odds. 
 
 Laer. This is too heavy, let me see another. 
 Ham. This likes me well. These foils have all 
 a length ? [T'hey prepare to play . 
 
 Osr. Ay, my good lord. 
 
 King. Set me the stoops^* of wine upon that 
 table.— 
 
 If Hamlet give the first or second hit, 
 Or quit in answer of the third exchange. 
 Let all the battlements their ordnance fire ; 
 The;king shall drink to Hamlet's better breath ; 
 And in the cup a union shall he throw. 
 Richer than that which four successive kings 
 In Denmark's crown have worn. Give me the 
 cups ; 
 
 And let the kettle i"" to the trumpet speak, 
 The trumpet to the cannoneer without. 
 The cannons to the heavens, the heavens to 
 earth, 
 
 '• Now the king drinks to Hamlet." — Come, 
 
 begin ; — 
 
 And you, the judges, bear a wary eye. 
 
 Ham. Come on, sir. 
 
 Laer. Come, my lord. [They play. 
 
 Ham. One. 
 
 Laer. No. 
 
 Ham. Judgment. 
 
 Osr. A hit, a very palpable hit. 
 
 Laer. Well ; — again. 
 
 King. Stay ; give me drink. — Hamlet, this 
 
 pearl is thine 
 
 and he forms, besides his dramatic fitness in the play wherein 
 he figures, an excellent impersonated satire upon those empty 
 gallants of whom Shakespeare saw so many specimens in the 
 fashionable circles of his day. 
 
 97. Stick fiery off indeed. " Stick off" is a similar idiom to 
 "stands off," as used in the passage we have referred to in 
 Note 59, Act ii., " Henry V.," and " comes off," as inclusively 
 employed in that referred to in Note 10, Act i., " Timon of 
 Athens." 
 
 98. Stoops. ' Flagons.' See Note 11 of the present .\ct. 
 
 99. A union. A pearl of unique beauty and value. To 
 swallow a pearl in a draught was formerly done as a token of 
 princely liberality and gallantry. 
 
 100. Kettle. An abbreviated form of ' kettle-drum.' 
 
 101. Hamlet, this pearl is thine. Probably here the king is 
 intended to drop a poisonous drug into the cup prepared for 
 Hamlet, imder pretence of putting a pearl into the cup from 
 which he himself is about to drink. The prince's subsequent 
 scoffuig inquiry, "Is thy union here?" seems to confirm the 
 probability that such was the auLhor's intention in the present 
 
Horatio. Now cracks a noble heart :— good night, sweet prince; 
 And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest! 
 
 Jet F. Scene II. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Here 's to thy health. 
 
 [^Drinks from one of the cups. Tru/npets 
 sound, and cannon shot off mi thin. 
 Give him the cup. 
 Ham. I'll play this bout first ; set it by 
 awhile. — 
 
 Come. [They p/ay.] — Another hit; what say 
 you ? 
 
 Laer. A touch, a touch, I do confess. 
 King. Our son shall win. 
 
 ^een. He 's fat, and scant of breath. '"2- 
 
 Here, Hamlet, take my napkin, rub thy 
 brows : 
 
 The queen carouses to thy fortune, Hamlet. 
 
 [Takes the other cup. 
 
 Ham. Good madam! 
 
 King. Gertrude, do not dnnk. 
 
 Slueen. I will, my lord ; I pray you, pardon me. 
 
 {Drinks. 
 
 King. [Jside.l It is the poison'd cup ; it is too 
 late. 
 
 Ham. [QuEET^ offers the cup to Hamlet.] I dare 
 not drink yet, madam ; by-and-by. 
 ^een. Come, let me wipe thy face. 
 Laer. My lord, I'll hit him now. 
 King. I do not think it. 
 
 Laer. [Asi-ie.] And yet 'tis almost 'gainst my 
 
 conscience.'"'' 
 Ham. Come, for the third, Laertes: you but j 
 
 dally ; 
 
 I pray you, pass with your best violence ; 
 I am afeard you make a wanton of me.'^^ 
 Laer. Say you so ? come on. 
 
 [They play. 
 
 Osr. Nothing, neither way. 
 
 passage, and to show that he meant Hamlet to have a suspicion 
 of Claudius's feint. 
 
 I02. he's fat, and scant of breath. By some commentators 
 it has been proposed to substitute * faint ' for ** fat ; " by others, 
 who retain the original word, the passage has been explained as 
 referring apologetically to the obesity of the first actor who 
 played the part— Burbage. We believe, however, that t'he 
 expression in the text refers to Hamlet himself: who, as a 
 sedentary student, a man of contempl.-itive habits, one given 
 rather to reflection than to action, might naturally be supposed 
 to be of somewhat plethoric constitution. This accords well 
 with his not daring to "drink" while he is heated with the 
 fencing bout ; with his being of a " complexion" that makes him 
 feel the weather "sultry and hot ;" with his custom of walking 
 " four hours together in the lobby with his having a special 
 " breathing time of the day ;" and with his telling Horatio that 
 he has " been in continual practice " of fencing — as though he 
 took set exercise for the purpose of counteracting his constitu- 
 tional tendency to that full habit of body which is apt to be the 
 result of sedentary occupation and a too sedulous addiction to 
 scholarly pursuits. 
 
 103. Napkin. 'Handkerchief.' See Note 69, Act iii., 
 "Julius Ca;sar." 
 
 104. And yet 'tis almost ^gabist vty conscience. This 
 symptom of relenting is not only a redeeming touch in the 
 character of Laertes (and Shakespeare, in his large tolerance 
 
 Laer. Have at you now! 
 
 [Laertes mjounds Hamlet ; then, in 
 scuffling, they change rapiers, and 
 Hamlet mjounds Laertes. 
 King. Part thei-n ; they are incens'd. 
 
 Ham. Nay, come, again. [The Queen falls. 
 Osr. Look to the queen there, ho ! 
 
 Hor. They bleed on both sides.— How is it, my 
 lord? 
 
 Osr. How is it, Laertes ? 
 
 Laer. Why, as a woodcock to mine own 
 
 springe, Osric ; 
 I am justly kill'd with mine own treachery. 
 Ham. How does the queen ? 
 King. She swoons to see them bleed. 
 
 ^een. No, no, the drink, the drink, — oh, my 
 
 dear Hamlet, — 
 The drink, the drink ! — I am poison'd. [Dies. 
 Ham. Oh, villany ! — Ho ! let the door be 
 
 lock'd : 
 
 Treachery ! seek it out. [Laertes falls. 
 
 Laer. It is here, Hamlet: Hamlet, thou art 
 slain ; 
 
 No medicine in the world can do thee good. 
 In thee there is not half an hour of life ; 
 The treacherous instrument is in thy hand, 
 Unbated'os and envenom'd : the foul practice 
 Hath turn'd itself on me ; lo, here I lie. 
 Never to rise again : thy mother's poison'd : — • 
 I can no more :— the king, the king 's to blame. 
 
 Ham. The point, — envenom'd too P"'— 
 Then, venom, to thy work. [Stabs the King. 
 
 All. Treason ! treason ! 
 
 King. Oh, yet defend me, friends ; I am but 
 hurt. 
 
 and true knowledge of human nature, is fond of giving these 
 redeeming touches to even his worst characters), but it forms a 
 judiciously interposed link between the young man's previous 
 determination to treacherously take the prince's life and his 
 subsequent revealment of the treachery. From the deliberate 
 malice of becoming the agent in such a plot, to the remorseful 
 candour which confesses it, would have been too violent and too 
 abrupt a moral change, had not the dramatist, with his usual 
 skill, introduced this connecting point of half compunction. 
 
 105. YoH make a wanton of me. ' You treat me as if I 'were 
 an effeminate creature.' In " King John," Act v., sc. i, the 
 term, " a cocker'd silken wanton," is used to express an effemi- 
 nate stripling. 
 
 106. Unbated. ' Unblunted.' See Note 88, Act iv. of this 
 play. 
 
 107. T/ie point, — e7tvenoni d too t "We agree with Mr. 
 Staunton in thinking that instead of printing this, as in most 
 editions, * The point envenom'd too!' there should be a break 
 put after the word "point," to indicate that Hamlet, recurring 
 to what Laertes has just said ("unbated and envenom'd"), 
 examines the foil, and finding it without the customary button, 
 exclaims, " The point," — and then, without completing his sen- 
 tence by "unbated," hurries on to "envenom'd too !" Finding 
 he has a sharp-pointed and poisoned weapon in his hand, he 
 suddenly resolves to make it the instrument of his long-deferred 
 vengeance. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Ham. Here, thou incestuous, murderous, 
 damned Dane, 
 Drink off this potion :— is thy union here i 
 Follow my mother. [King dies. 
 
 Laer. He is justly serv'd ; 
 
 It is a poison temper'd by himself.— 
 Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet : 
 Mine and my father's death come not upon 
 thee, 
 
 Nor thine on me ! \I>ies. 
 Ham. Heaven make thee free of it ! I follow 
 thee. — 
 
 I am dead, Horatio. — Wretched queen, adieu! — 
 You that look pale and tremble at this chance, 
 That are but mutes or audience to this act, 
 Had I but time (as this fell sergeant, death. 
 Is strict in his arrest), oh, I could tell you, — 
 But let it be. — Horatio, I am dead ; 
 Thou liv'st; report me and my cause aright 
 To the unsatisfied. 
 
 Hor. Never believe it : 
 
 I am more an antique Roman than a Dane : 
 Here 's yet some liquor left. 
 
 Ham. As thou 'rt a man, 
 
 Give me the cup : let go ; by heaven, I'll have 
 it.— 
 
 Oh, good Horatio, what a wounded name. 
 Things standing thus unknown, shall live behind 
 me ! 
 
 If thou didst ever hold me in thy heart. 
 
 Absent thee from felicity awhile. 
 
 And in this harsh world draw thy breath in 
 
 pain. 
 To tell my story. 
 
 \_March afar off, and shot nvithin. 
 What warlike noise is this ? 
 Osr. Young Fortinbras, with conquest come 
 from Poland, 
 To the embassadors of England gives 
 This warlike volley. 
 
 Ham. [Fails.] Oh, I die, Horatio ; 
 The potent poison quite o'er-crows"" my spirit : 
 I cannot live to hear the news from England ; 
 But I do prophesy the election lights 
 On Fortinbras : he has my dying voice ; 
 So tell him, with the occurrents, more and less. 
 Which have solicited."" — The rest is silence. 
 
 [Dies. 
 
 108. More an antique Roman than a Dane. See Note 25, 
 Act v., "Julius Caesar." 
 
 109. O'er-cr-ows. ' Overcomes," ' subdues.' 
 
 110. Solicited. ' Urged this decision,' ' prompted this decree.' 
 See Note 50, Act i., "Macbeth." 
 
 111. This quarry cries on havoc. "Quarry" was the term 
 for a heap of slaughtered game. See Note 84, Act iv., 
 " Macbeth." " Cries on" is ' exclaims against' or 'proclaims,' 
 ' announces.' See passage referred to in Note 74, Act ii., "As 
 You Like It," and Note 37, Act v., " Richard III." " Havoc " 
 
 Hor. Now cracks a noble heart : — good night, 
 sweet prince ; 
 And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest !— 
 
 [March nuithin. 
 
 Why does the drum come hither ? 
 
 Enter Fortinbras, the English Embassadors, and 
 others. 
 
 Fort. Where is this sight ? 
 
 Hor. What is it ye would see 'i 
 
 If aught of woe or wonder, cease your search. 
 
 Fort. This quarry cries on havoc.'" — Oh, 
 proud death. 
 What feast is toward "^ in thine eternal cell. 
 That thou so many princes at a shot 
 So bloodily hast struck ? 
 
 First Emb. The sight is dismal ; 
 
 And our affairs from England come too late : 
 The ears are senseless that should give us hear- 
 ing. 
 
 To tell him his commandment is fulfiU'd, 
 That Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead : 
 Where should we have our thanks ? 
 
 Hor. Not from his mouth, 
 
 Had it the ability of life to thank you : 
 He never gave commandment for their death. 
 But since, so jump"' upon this bloody question, 
 You from the Polack wars, and you from Eng- 
 land, 
 
 Are here arriv'd, give order that these bodies 
 High on a stage be placfed to the view ; 
 And let me speak to the yet unknowing world 
 How these things came about : so shall you 
 hear 
 
 Of carnal,"-* bloody, and unnatural acts ; 
 Of accidental judgments, casual slaughters ; 
 Of deaths put on"* by cunning and forc'd 
 cause ; 
 
 And, in this upshot, purposes mistook 
 Fall'n on the inventors' heads: all this can I 
 Truly deliver. 
 
 Fort. Let us haste to hear it, 
 
 And call the noblest to the audience. 
 For me, with sorrow I embrace my fortune : 
 I have some rights of memory in this king- 
 dom, "« 
 
 Which now to claim my vantage doth invite 
 me. 
 
 was the word for profuse and indiscriminate destruction. ! 
 Note 50, Act ii., " King John." 
 
 112. IFhat feast is toward ? See Note 104, Act i., " Ron 
 and Juliet." 
 
 113. Jutitp. 'Just immediately ;' ' exactly,' ' precisely.' 
 
 114. Carnal. 'Sanguinary.' See Note 45, Act 
 "Richard III." 
 
 115. Put on. ' Instigated,' ' occasioned.' 
 
 1 16. Some rishls o/meviory in this kingdom. 'Some rig 
 which are remembered in this kingdom.' 
 
Act v.] 
 
 Hoi: Of that I shall have also cause to speak, 
 And from his mouth whose voice will draw on 
 more : 
 
 But let this same be presently perform' d, 
 
 Even while men's minds are wild ; lest more 
 
 mischance, 
 On plots and errors, happen. 
 
 Fort. Let four captains 
 
 Bear Hamlet, like a soldier, to the stage ; 
 For he was likely, had he been put on. 
 
 117. TAe soldiers' music and the rites of war speak 
 loudly for him. The word "let," which commences this 
 
 [SCENK II. 
 
 To ha\ e j>rov'd most royally : and, for his pas- 
 sage, 
 
 The soldiers' music and the rites of war 
 Speak loudly for him."" — 
 l ake up the bodies : — such a sight as this 
 Becomes the field, but here shows much amiss. — 
 Go, bid the soldiers shoot. 
 
 \A dead march. Exeunt, bearing auoay 
 
 the deaJ bodies ; after •which a peal 
 
 of ordnance is shot off. 
 
 speech, is understood as repeated before " the soldiers' 
 music." 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 456 
 
DRAMATIS PERSONS. 
 
 Lear, King of Britain. 
 
 King of France. 
 
 Duke of Burgundy 
 
 Duke of Cornwall. 
 
 Duke of Albany. 
 
 Earl of Kent. 
 
 Earl of Gloster. 
 
 Edgar, Son to Gloster. 
 
 Edmund, Bastard Son to Gloster. 
 
 CuRAN, a Courtier. 
 
 Oswald, Steward to Goncril. 
 
 Old Man, Tenant to Gloster. 
 
 Physician. 
 
 Fool. 
 
 Captain employed by Edmund. 
 Gentleman, Emissary to Cordelia, 
 A Herald. 
 
 Servants to Cornwall. 
 
 GONERIL, 
 
 Regan, C Daughters to Lear. 
 Cordelia,} 
 
 Knights of Lear's train. Officers, Messengers, Soldiers, 
 Attendants. 
 
 Scene — Britain. 
 
KING LEAR.^ 
 
 ACT I. 
 
 SCENE I.— A Room of State in King Lear's 
 Palace.- 
 
 Enter Kent, Gloster, and Edmund. 
 
 Kent. I thought the king had more affected the 
 Duke of Albany 2 than Cornwall. 
 
 Glo. It did always seem so to us : but now, in 
 the division of the kingdom, it appears not which 
 of the dukes he values most ; for equalities are so 
 weighed, that curiosity' in neither can make choice 
 of cither's moiety.'* 
 
 Kent. Is not this your son, my lord ? 
 
 Glo. His breeding, sir, hath been at my charge : 
 I have so often blushed to acknowledge him, that 
 now I am brazed to't 
 
 Kent. I cannot conceive you. 
 
 Glo. Sir, this young fellow's mother had a son 
 for her cradle ere she had a husband for her bed. 
 Do you smell a fault ? 
 
 I. The earliest known printed copies of this sublime drama 
 are three Quarto editions, published in 1608 ; but they vary, in 
 many particulars, from the text of the play as it appears in the 
 Folio 1623. These variations have all the effect of curtailments 
 made for stage representation : as they consist chiefly of passages 
 which it is not likely that the writer of the tragedy would have 
 cancelled from any other consideration. As manager, he may 
 have sanctioned their omission ; as author, certainly not ; for 
 they possess beauty of diction, development of character, and 
 dramatic fitness. Therefore, it is matter of immense gratulation 
 that these Quarto copies exist, where the original passages are 
 preserved, as well as the Folio copy ; which, together, afford 
 means of giving the text as nearly as possible in accordance with 
 what Shakespeare first penned. Under the date November 26th, 
 1607, the " Stationers' Registers " contain this memorandum — 
 "Na. Butter and Jo. Busby] Entered for their copie under t' 
 hands of Sir George Bucke, Kt., and the Wardens, a booke 
 called Mr. Willm. Shakespeare, his Hystorie of Kinge Lear, 
 as it was played before the King's Majestie at Whitehall, upon 
 St. Stephen's night at Christmas last, by his Majesties Servants 
 playing usually at the Globe on the Bank-side : " thus proving 
 that it was acted at oourt on the 26th of December, 1606. The 
 three Quarto editions, published in the course of the very next 
 year, show how immediately this grand drama became popular. 
 
 Kent. I cannot wish the fault undone, the issue 
 of it being so proper.* 
 
 Glo. But I have a son, sir, by order of law, 
 some year elder than this, who yet is no dearer in 
 my account : though this knave came somewhat 
 saucily into the world before he was sent for, yet 
 was his mother fair; there was good sport at his 
 making, and the son must be acknowledged.— Do 
 you know this noble gentleman, Edmund? 
 
 Edm. No, my lord. 
 
 Glo. My lord of Kent : remember him here- 
 after as my honourable friend. 
 
 Edm. My services to your lordship. 
 
 Kent. I must love you, and sue to know you 
 better. 
 
 Edm. Sir, I shall study deserving. 
 Glo. He hath been out nine years, and away he 
 shall again. — The king is coming. 
 
 [Sennet uuithin. 
 
 The period of its composition has been pointed out as in all 
 probability subsequent to 1603; because Harnet's "Discovery 
 of Popish Impostures " appeared at that date ; and the names of 
 the fiends mentioned by Edgar are evidently derived from that 
 work. Hints for the materials of his plot Shakespeare very likely 
 obtained from Geoffrey of Monmouth, Holinshed, "The Mirror 
 of Magistrates," Spenser's " Faerie Queene," book ii., canto 10; 
 Sidney's "Arcadia," book ii., chap. x-. ; and perhaps from an old 
 anonymous play on the subject, entitled " The True Chronicle 
 History of King Leir, aiid his Three Daughters, Gonorill, Ragan. 
 and Cordelia;" perhaps also from the " Gesta Romanorum," 
 the " Romance of Perceforest," and an old ballad called "King 
 Leir and his Three Daughters," of which there is a version in 
 Percy s " Reliques." However this may be, certain it is that the 
 story was popularly known in our poet's time ; and he treated it 
 in his own super-potential style, producing, perhaps, the loftiest 
 portrayal of tragic passion ever delineated by human hand. 
 
 2. Albany, or ' Albania,' was the ancient name for Scotland. 
 
 3. Curiosity. Here used to express ' extremes! precision of 
 scrutiny.' See Note 69, Act iv. , " Timon of Athens." 
 
 4. Moiety. ' Portion,' ' share.' See Note 16, Act iii., " First 
 Part Henry IV." 
 
 5. Proper. 'Comely,' 'handsome.' See Note i, Act iv., 
 " Two Gentlemen of Verona." 
 
 459 
 
Act I.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Enter Lear, Cornwall, Albany, Goneril, 
 Regan, Cordelia, and Attendants. 
 Lear. Attend the lords of France and Bur- 
 gundy, Gloster. 
 Glo. I shall, my liege. 
 
 [Exeunt Gloster and Edmund. 
 Lear. Meantime we shall express our darker 
 purpose.* — 
 
 Give me the map there. — Know that we have 
 divided 
 
 In three our kingdom : and 'tis our fast intent^ 
 To shake all cares and business from our age ; 
 Conferring them on younger strengths, while we 
 Unburden'd crawl toward death. — Our son of 
 Cornwall, 
 
 And you, our no less loving son of Albany, 
 We have this hour a constant ^ will to publish 
 Our daughters' several dowers, that future strife 
 May be prevented now. The princes, France and 
 Burgundy, 
 
 Great rivals in our youngest daughter's love. 
 Long in our court have made their amorous 
 sojourn. 
 
 And here are to be answer'd. — Tell me, my 
 daughters, 
 
 (Since now we will divest us, both of rule, 
 
 Interest of territory, cares of state,)' 
 
 Which of you shall we say doth love us most ? 
 
 That we our largest bounty may extend 
 
 Where nature doth with merit challenge. — Goneril, 
 
 Our eldest-born, speak first. 
 
 Gon. Sir, I love you more than words can wield 
 the matter; 
 Dearer than eye-sight, space, and liberty ; 
 Beyond what can be valu'd, rich or rare; 
 
 6. Ife shall express our darker purpose. ' We shall now 
 disclose our hitherto unexplained intention.' Lear has already 
 declared that he shall make "division of the kingdom," as we 
 find from Gloster's first speech ; but he here lets it be understood 
 that the equal shares, in which he has been supposed to have 
 divided it, are subject to an ulterior decision on his own part, 
 and that he will make this decision greatly depend upon the 
 amount of love felt for him by each of his three daughters, who 
 are to receive their respective shares in relative proportion to 
 their professed affection. So irrational a scheme serves well to 
 show, at the very outset of the play, how unsound is the old 
 king's judgment, and how already touched with a diseased 
 perversion is his understanding ; a mental condition that has 
 resulted from a long course of irresponsible power and uncurbed 
 self-will, and which is but the commencement of that insanity 
 which ultimately breaks out into complete madness. 
 
 7. Fast intent. ' Firm intention.' 
 
 8. Constant. Here used in the sense of ' steadfast,' ' deter- 
 mined,' 'resolute." See Note gi, Act ii., "Julius Cssar." 
 
 9. IVe 'Mill divest its, bith 0/ rule, interest 0/ territory, cares 
 of state. Here, as elsewhere, Shakespeare uses " both " in 
 reference to more than two specified objects. See Note 69, 
 Act iv., "Winter's Tale." 
 
 10. Beyond all manner 0/ so much / love you. ' Beyond all 
 power of saying how much I love you,' ' beyond all means of 
 stating that so much I love you.' Here "so much" is used 
 idiomatically, to signify an indefinite amount or quantity. 
 
 No less than life, with grace, health, beauty, 
 honour ; 
 
 As much as child e'er lov'd, or father found ; 
 A love that makes breath poor, and speech un- 
 able; 
 
 Beyond all manner of so much I love you.'" 
 
 Cor. [Aside.] What shall Cordelia do? Love, 
 
 and be silent. 
 Lear. Of all these bounds, even from this line 
 
 to this, 
 
 With shadowy forests and with champains'* rich'd, 
 With plenteous rivers and wide-skirted meads. 
 We make thee lady: to thine and Albany's issue 
 Be this perpetual. — What says our second daughter. 
 Our dearest Regan, wife to Cornwall ? Speak. 
 Reg. I am made of that self metal as my 
 sister. 
 
 And prize me at her worth. In my true heart 
 
 I find she names my very deed of love; 
 
 Only she comes too short, — that I profess" 
 
 Myself an enemy to all other joys, 
 
 Which the most precious square of sense possesses ; 
 
 And find I am alone felicitate 
 
 In your dear highness' love. 
 
 Cor. [Aside.'] Then poor Cordelia ! 
 
 And yet not so; since, I am sure, my love's 
 More richer 1* than my tongue. 
 
 Lear. To thee and thine, hereditary ever, 
 Remain this ample third of our fair kingdom ; 
 No less in space, validity,^'' and pleasure, 
 Than that conferr'd on Goneril. — Now, our joy, 
 Although our last, not least ; to whose young 
 love 
 
 The vines of France and milk of Burgundy 
 Strive to be interess'd ;'' what can you say to 
 draw 
 
 Compare the mode in which it is employed in the passages 
 referred to in Note 32, Act ii., " Timon of Athens," and Note 
 36, Act v., "Julius Csesar." 
 
 II. Champains. 'Open stretches of country;' 'extensive 
 tracts of land.' See Note 112, Act ii., "Twelfth Night." 
 " Rich'd" is an abbreviated form of ' enriched.' 
 
 0/ that self metal. " Self" is here used 
 
 ■■ self-5 
 
 express 
 
 13. And pr 
 equal to her in 
 
 14. S/ie con 
 
 at her ivorth. 'And I reckon myself 
 of affection.' 
 too sliort, — that I profess. Here "that" is 
 elliptically used for ' in that,' or ' inasmuch as.' Shakespeare 
 often uses "that" with considerable force of ellipsis. See, 
 among others. Note 121, Act i., " All's Well ;" Note 13, Act i., 
 " Henry VIII. ; " and Note 6, Act i , " Macbeth." 
 
 15. Square. Here employed to express that which comprises ; 
 ' complement,' ' compass.' 
 
 16. More ridier. This is the Quarto reading : while the 
 Folio gives ' more ponderous.' The word " richer " forms the 
 antithesis to "poor," in the penultimate Hne ; and Shakespeare 
 has frequently antithetical style, as well as occasionally a double 
 comparative. 
 
 17. Validity. 'Value.' See Note 5, Act i., "Twelfth 
 Night." 
 
 18. Interess'd. This word was used in Shakespeare's time ; 
 being, derived from the French, interesse, while ' interested ' is 
 derived from the Latin, interest. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene I, 
 
 Lear. Meantime we shall express our darker purpos 
 Give me the map there.— Kuow that we have divided 
 In three our kingdom. 
 
 Act I. Scene I. 
 
 A third more opulent than your sisters Speak. 
 Cor. Nothing, my lord. 
 Lear. Nothing! 
 Cor. Nothing. 
 
 Lear. Nothing will come of nothing: speak 
 again. 
 
 Cor. Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave 
 My heart into my mouth : I love your majesty 
 According to my bond ; nor more nor less. 
 
 ig. What can you say to draw a third more opulent than 
 your sisters ? ' Have drawn ' is elliptically understood after 
 "sisters." The appeal here made by Lear again affords token 
 of his already unsound mind : he puts forth the very last induce- 
 ment that would be likely to move so disinterested a nature 
 as Cordelia's into a declaration of attachment, and he talks 
 of giving her ** a third more opulent," when he has already 
 given an "ample third" to his second daughter that equals 
 the first third given to Goneril, This confusion of division 
 in allotment — giving two large thirds, and then thinking that 
 
 Lear. How, how, Cordelia ! mend your speech 
 a little. 
 
 Lest you may mar your fortunes. 
 
 Cor. Good my lord, 
 
 You have begot me, bred me, lov'd me : I 
 Return those duties back as are right fit. 
 Obey you, love you, and most honour you. 
 Why have my sisters husbands, if they say 
 They love you all Haply, when I shall wed. 
 
 he has in reserve a third still I.irger to bestow— is quite the 
 reasoning of one whose understanding is impaiied by age and 
 habitually despotic wilfulness. Shakespeare has wonderfully 
 prepared the ground for Lear's subsequent derangement of 
 intellect, from the very first opening of the play. His ill- 
 conceived device, his senseless rage at Cordelia's refusal to pro- 
 fess affection, his he.idstrong fury against Kent for his timely 
 remonstrance, are all the precise indications of a weakened 
 brain, that becomes a thoroughly disordered one by misery and 
 resentment. 
 
 461 
 
Act I.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 'I'hat lord whose hand must take my plight shall 
 carry 
 
 Half my love with him, half my care, and duty : 
 Sure, I shall never marry like my sisters, 
 To love my father all. 
 
 Lear. But goes thy heart with this ? 
 
 Cor. Ay, good my lord. 
 
 Lear. So young, and so untender ? 
 
 Cor. So young, my lord, and true. 
 
 Lear. Let it be so, — thy truth, then, be thy 
 dower : 
 
 For, by the sacred radiance of the sun. 
 
 The mysteries -* of Hecate, and the night ; 
 
 By all the operation of the orbs 
 
 From whom we do exist, and cease to be ; 
 
 Here I disclaim all my paternal care. 
 
 Propinquity and property of blood. 
 
 And, as a stranger to my heart and me. 
 
 Hold thee, from this,^' for ever. The barbarous 
 
 Scythian,^ 
 Or he that makes his generation's messes 
 To gorge his appetite, shall to my bosom 
 Be as well neighbour'd, pitied, and reliev'd, 
 As thou my sometime daughter. 
 
 Kent. Good my liege,— 
 
 Lear. Peace, Kent ! 
 Come not between the dragon and his wrath. — 
 I lov'd her most, and thought to set my rest 
 On her kind nursery. Hence, and avoid my 
 sight! 2^ 
 
 So be my grave my peace, as here I give 
 Her father's heart from her ! — Call France ; — who 
 stirs ? 
 
 Call Burgundy. — Cornwall and Albany, 
 With my two daughters' dowers digest the third: 
 Let pride, which she calls plainness, marry her. 
 I do invest you jointly with my power, 
 Pre-eminence, and all the large effects 
 That troop with majesty. — Ourself, by monthly 
 course. 
 
 zo. Mysteries. The first Folio prints ' miseries,' the Quartos 
 print ' mistresse ' here. Corrected in the second Folio. 
 
 21. From ikis. * From this time,' 'from henceforth.' 
 
 22. Scythian. Some writers have represented that the 
 Scythians fed upon human flesh. 
 
 23. His generation. Here used to express ' those whom he 
 has generated ;' his children. 
 
 24. Hence, and avoid my sight ! This, by some, is believed 
 to be parenthetically addressed to Cordelia ; by others, to Kent. 
 It is to be observed that he has already bidden Kent stand 
 aside, while, on the contrary, he immediately sends for France 
 and Burgundy, that he may offer Cordelia to either of their 
 acceptance ; and as for the argument that Kent did not deserve 
 such treatment from the king — having as yet said no more than 
 " Good my liege " — Lear's ire at any one who offers to " come 
 between the dragon and his wrath" is sufficiently impetuous to 
 account for his hurling these words at his faithful counsellor, 
 with quite as much (or as little) reason as at his reticent 
 
 25. Ail the additions to a king. ' All the titles belonging to 
 a king.' See Note 109, Act i. , " Hamlet." 
 
 With reservation of a hundred knights, 
 
 By you to be sustain'd, shall our abode 
 
 Make with you by due turns. Only we still retain 
 
 The name, and all the additions to a king j^s 
 
 The sway, 
 
 Revenue, execution of the rest,'^ 
 
 Beloved sons, be yours : which to confirm. 
 
 This coronet'-^ part between you. 
 
 [Gi'ving the crouun. 
 
 Kent. Royal Lear, 
 
 Whom I have ever honour'd as my king, 
 Lov'd as my father, as my master follow'd, 
 As my great patron thought on in my prayers, — 
 
 Lear. The bow is bent and drawn, make from 
 the shaft. 
 
 Kent. Let it fall rather, though the fork invade 
 The region of my heart : be Kent unmannerly. 
 When Lear is mad.^s What wouldst thou do, old 
 man ? 
 
 Think'st thou that duty shall have dread to speak. 
 When power to flattery bows? To plainness 
 
 honour's bound, 
 When majesty stoops to folly. Reverse thy doom ; 
 And, in thy best consideration, check 
 This hideous rashness : answer my life my judg- 
 
 ment,3<' 
 
 Thy youngest daughter does not love thee least ; 
 Nor are those empty-hearted whose low sound 
 Reverbs*' no hoUowness. 
 
 Lear. Kent, on thy life, no more. 
 
 Kent. My life I never held but as a pawn 
 To wage against^? thine enemies; nor fear to 
 lose it, 
 
 Thy safety being the motive. 
 
 Lear. Out of my sight ! 
 
 Kent. See better, Lear ; and let me still remain 
 The true blank^s of thine eye. 
 
 Lear. Now, by Apollo, — 
 
 Kent. Now, by Apollo, king. 
 
 Thou swear'st thy gods in vain. 
 
 26. Execution of tlie rest. An elliptical expression ; implying 
 ' execution of those offices which belong to a king, and which 
 remain for him to perform.' 
 
 27. Coronet. Sometimes, as here, used for 'crown.' See 
 Note 49, Act v., " First Part Henry VI." 
 
 28. When Lear is mad. This affords obvious corroboration 
 of our view respecting the author's intention ; it serves to 
 manifest how insane the king's conduct is thought by his 
 faithful friend. 
 
 29. Reverse thy doom. This is the reading of the Quartos ; 
 while the Folio gives ' re?erue thy state.' 
 
 30. Answer 7ny li/e-my judgment. 'Let my life be answer- 
 able for my judgment;' ' I will stake my life on the correctness 
 of mv conviction.' 
 
 31. Reverbs. A poetically abbreviated form of ' reverberates. 
 
 32. As a pawn to wage against. ' As a pledge to stake 
 against.' See Note 81, Act v., " Hamlet." 
 
 33. Blank. This was the term for the white mark at which 
 shooters aimed. See Note 7, Act iv., "Hamlet." Kent 
 figuratively says, ' Let me still serve as the point which guides 
 your sight, and aids you to direct your surmises correctly. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Lear. {Grasping bis sivord.] Oh, vassal! mis- 
 creant! 
 
 Aib., Corn. Dear sir, forbear. 
 
 Kent. Do ; 
 Kill thy physician, and the fee bestow 
 Upon the foul disease. Revoke thy gift ; 
 Or, whilst I can vent clamour from my throat, 
 I'll tell thee thou dost evil. 
 
 Lear. Hear me, recreant ! 
 
 On thine allegiance, hear me ! — 
 Since thou hast sought to make us break our vow 
 (Which we durst never yet), and with strain'd 
 pride 
 
 To come betwixt our sentence and our power 
 (Which nor our nature nor our place can bear). 
 Our potency made good, take thy reward. 
 Five days we do allot thee, for provision 
 To shield thee from diseases" of the world ; 
 And, on the sixth, to turn thy hated back 
 Upon our kingdom : if, on the tenth day following 
 Thy banish'd trunk be found in our dominions. 
 The moment is thy death. Away I by Jupiter, 
 This shall not be revok'd. 
 
 Kent. Fare thee well, king: since thus thou 
 wilt appear. 
 
 Freedom lives hence, and banishment is here. — 
 [To Cordelia.] The gods to their dear shelter 
 
 take thee, maid. 
 That justly think'st, and hast most rightly said! — 
 [To GoN. and Reg.] And your large speeches 
 
 may your deeds approve, 
 That good effects may spring from words of love. — 
 Thus Kent, oh, princes, bids you all adieu; 
 He'll shape his old course in a country new. [Exit. 
 
 Flourish. Re-enter Gloster, with France, 
 
 Burgundy, and Attendants. 
 Glo. Here's France and Burgundv, my noble 
 lord. 
 
 Lear. My lord of Burgundy, 
 We first address toward you, who with this king 
 Hath rivall'd for our daughter : what, in the least, 
 
 3^. Diseases. Here used in the sense of ' hardships,' ' dis- 
 comforts," ' uneasinesses,' ' inconveniences.' This is the Quarto 
 word, while the Folio gives 'disasters :' and we think that, in all 
 probability, "diseases" was the author's expression, inasmuch 
 as a " provision " made in " five days " might suffice to avert the 
 difficulties of the world, though scarcely its calamities. 
 
 35. And your large speeches may your deeds approve. ' And 
 may your acts substantiate your ample protestations.' 
 ■ 36. Quest. * Seeking,' * pursuit,' 'suit,' 'solicitation.* 
 
 37. IV e did hold her so. ' We did esteem her worthy of that 
 dower which you say we offered to give as hers.' " Dear" is 
 used in this sentence with a slightly punning effect, as in the 
 senses of 'affectionately valued,' and 'of high value;' while 
 " so " has here elliptical force. 
 
 38. That little seemitig substance. There has been some 
 difference among the commentators as to what this phrase 
 means ; to us it appears to signify a slighting expression on the 
 part of Lear, as if he had said, ' that small scrap of womanhood,' 
 ' that mere morsel of humanity.' He is speaking of Cordelia as 
 
 Will you require in present dower with her, 
 Or cease your quest^^ of love ? 
 
 Bur. Most royal majesty, 
 
 I crave no more than hath your highness offer' d. 
 Nor will you tender less. 
 
 Lear. Right noble Burgundy, 
 
 When she was dear to us, we did hold her so 
 But now her price is fall'n. Sir, there she stands : 
 If aught within that little seeming substance,^^ 
 Or all of it, with our displeasure piec'd, 
 And nothing more, may fitly like your grace,"" 
 She's there, and she is yours. 
 
 Bur. I know no answer. 
 
 Lear. Will you, with those infirmities she owes,'"* 
 Unfriended, new-adopted to our hate, 
 Dower'd with our curse, and stranger'd with our 
 oath. 
 
 Take her, or leave her ? 
 
 Bur. Pardon me, royal sir ; 
 
 Election makes not up on such conditions.-*' 
 
 Lear. Then leave her, sir; for, by the power 
 that made me, 
 I tell you all her wealth. — \To France.] For you, 
 great king, 
 
 I would not from your love make such a stray. 
 To match you where I hate ; therefore beseech 
 you 
 
 To avert your liking a more worthier way 
 Than on a wretch whom nature is asham'd 
 Almost t' acknowledge hers. 
 
 France. This is most strange. 
 
 That she, who even but now was your best object. 
 The argument of your praise, balm of your age. 
 The best, the dearest, should in this trice of time 
 Commit a thing so monstrous, to dismantle 
 So many folds of favour. Sure, her offence 
 Must be of such unnatural degree, 
 j That monsters it,"*^ or your fore-vouch'd affection 
 Fall into taint which to believe of her. 
 Must be a faith that reason, without miracle. 
 Could never plant in me. 
 
 Cor. I yet beseech your majesty 
 
 solely and simply herself, without any of her former advantages 
 as daughter to a king. 
 
 39. May fitly like your grace. In modern phraseology, 
 ' may suit your grace.' 
 
 40. Oives. ' Owns,' ' possesses.' 
 
 41. Election makes tiot up on such conditions. The expres- 
 sion, " makes not up," here is idiomatic and elliptical ; convey- 
 ing the effect of 'makes not up its mind,' 'cannot come to a 
 decision.' 
 
 42. That inofisters it. An idiomatic form of phrase, implying 
 'as to be monstrous,' 'as to assume the proportions of a mon- 
 ster.' Shakespeare occasionally uses " that" for ' as ' in phrases 
 where the word "such" occurs. See passage referred to in 
 Note 59, Act iii., " Coriolanus." 
 
 43. Fall into taint. 'Come within imputation of blame 
 
 ' become subject to accusation as having been misplaced.' 
 Shakespeare has "taints and blames" in the course of the 
 speech referred to in Note 67, Act iv., " Macbeth ;" and he 
 there, as here, uses the word as an abbreviation of ' attaint.' 
 
Act I.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 (If for I want lhat glib and oily aiV* 
 To speak and purpose not ; since what 1 well 
 intend, 
 
 I'll do't before I speak), that you make known 
 
 It is no vicious blot, murder, or foulness,^ 
 
 No unchaste action, or dishonour'd step, 
 
 That hath depriv'd me of your grace and favour ; 
 
 But even for want of that for which I am richer, — 
 
 A still-soliciting eye, and such a tongue 
 
 That I am glad I have not, though not to have it 
 
 Hath lost me in your liking. 
 
 Lear. Better thou 
 
 Hadst not been born than not to have pleas'd me 
 better. 
 
 France. Is it but this, — a tardiness in nature 
 Which often leaves the history unspoke 
 That it intends to do ? — My lord of Burgundy, 
 What say you to the lady ? Love is not love. 
 When it is mingled with respects,^^ that stand 
 Aloof from the entire^' point. Will you have 
 her? 
 
 She is herself a dowry. 
 
 Bur. Royal Lear, 
 
 Give but that portion which yourself propos'd. 
 And here I take Cordelia by the hand. 
 Duchess of Burgundy. 
 
 Lear. Nothing : I have sworn ; I am firm. 
 
 Bur, I am sorry, then, you have so lost a father | 
 That you must lose a husband. 
 
 Cor. Peace be with Burgundy ! 
 
 Since that respects of fortune are his love, 
 I shall not be his wife. 
 
 France. Fairest Cordelia, that art most rich 
 being poor ; 
 
 Most choice, forsaken ; and most lov'd, despis'd ! 
 Thee and thy virtues here I seize upon : 
 Be it lawful I take up what 's cast away. 
 
 " For" is here 
 in that of ' am 
 
 has 
 
 44. Tf for I want tltat glib and o 
 used in the sense of ' because ; ' and 
 without,' or ' have not.' 
 
 45. No vicioics blot, jnurder, or foiibiess. Obj( 
 been made to the word ** murder" here, and subs 
 been proposed ; but, considering that her father has spoken of 
 her as "a wretch whom nature is asham'd almost to acknow- 
 ledge hers," and that the King of France has suggested that 
 "her offence must be of such unnatural degree" as to imply- 
 that it is absolutely monstrous, Cordelia's allusion to even the 
 dark crime of " murder," as among those which she may be 
 suspected of having committed, does not seem at all over- 
 strained. The era of the world in which the story took place 
 upon which this play is founded should be remembered ; an era 
 when the poisoning of one sister by the other, and the putting 
 out the eyes of a man suspected to be a traitor, were occurrences 
 that seem but a part of the savage procedure common to persons 
 in power at that period. 
 
 46. Respects. This is the word in the Quarto copies ; while 
 the Folio gives 'regards.' "Respects" is here, and else- 
 where, used to express 'scrupulous considerations.' 'over- 
 prudential or over-cautious considerations.' See Note 98, 
 Act iii., " Richard III." 
 
 47. Entire. 'Integral;' th.it which comprises in itself its 
 and essential parts. 
 
 Gods, gods ! 'tis strange that from their cold'st 
 neglect 
 
 My love should kindle to inflam'd respect. — 
 Thy dowerless daughter, king, thrown to my 
 chance. 
 
 Is queen of us, of ours, and our fair France : 
 Not all the dukes of waterish Burgundy 
 Can buy this unpriz'd precious maid of me. — 
 Bid them farewell, Cordelia, though unkind -^^ 
 Thou losest here, a better where to find.''' 
 
 Lear. Thou hast her, France : let her be thine ; 
 for we 
 
 Have no such daughter, nor shall ever see 
 That face of hers again : — Therefore be gone 
 Without our grace, our love, our benison.*« — 
 Come, noble Burgundy. 
 
 {Flourish. Exeunt Lear, Burgundy, 
 Cornwall, Albany, Glostek, 
 and Attendants. 
 France. Bid farewell to your sisters. 
 Cor. Ye jewels of our father,*' with wash'd eyes 
 Cordelia leaves you : I know you what you are ; 
 And, like a sister, am m.ost loth to call 
 Your faults as they are nam'd. Love well our 
 father: 
 
 To your professed^- bosoms I commit him : 
 But yet, alas ! stood I within his grace, 
 I would prefer^s him to a better place. 
 So, farewell to you both. 
 
 Reg. Prescribe not us our duty. 
 
 Gon. Let your study 
 
 Be to content your lord, who hath receiv'd you 
 At fortune's alms. You have obedience scanted. 
 And well are worth the want that you have 
 wanted.** 
 
 Cor. Time shall unfold what plighted cun- 
 ning hides: 
 
 48. Unkind. Here includes the combined senses of 'un- 
 natural ' and ' unaffectionate." See Xote 46, Act i., " Hamlet." 
 
 49. Tlwii losest here, a better wltere to _find. " Here" and 
 " where " are in this passage used substantively: and the sen- 
 tence implies, ' Thou losest thine own place here, to find a 
 better place of thine own elsewhere.' In the speech pre\'ious to 
 the one referred to in Note 21, Act i., "Romeo and Juliet,'' 
 " he's some other where " means ' he's in some other place.' 
 
 50. Benison. 'Blessing.' See Note 63, Act ii., " Macbeth." 
 
 51. Ye jewels 0/ our father. In the Folio there is the same 
 misprint of 'The ' for " Ye " here as in the passage pointed out 
 ill Note 73, Act i., " Coriolanus."' Rowe made the present 
 correction. The old mode of occasionally writing * ye ' for ' the * 
 probably led the printer, in both instances, into the mistake of 
 belieWng that ' the ' was intended by the author. 
 
 32. Professed. Here used for ' professing,' or ' full of pro- 
 fessions.' See Note 7, Act iv., " Macbeth." 
 
 53. Prefer. ' Recommend,' ' promote.' See Note 41, Act v., 
 "Julius Csesar." 
 
 54. IVell are worth tJic ■mant iJiai you Itave wanted. ' Well 
 desen-e to be without that which you are without :' ' well 
 deserve to need that dower of which you have been deprived.' 
 See Note 44 of this Act 
 
 55. Plighted. ' Complicated," involved," intricate ' From the 
 Latin plicatus, knitted, plaited or folded together 
 
Act I.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Who cover faults, at last shame them derides. ""^ 
 Well may you prosper ! 
 
 France. Come, my fair Cordelia. 
 
 \_Exeunt France ^j/z^/ Cordelia. 
 
 Gon. Sister, it is not little I have to say of what 
 most nearly appertains to us both. I think our 
 father will hence to-night. 
 
 Reg. That 's most certain, and with you ; next 
 inonth with us. 
 
 Goi. You see how full of changes his age is ; 
 the observation we have made of it hath not been 
 little he always loved our sister most ; and with 
 what poor judgment he hath now cast her oft" 
 appears too grossly. 
 
 Reg. 'Tis the infirmity of his age : yet he hath 
 ever but slenderly known himself. 
 
 Gon. The best and soundest of his time hath 
 been but rash ; then must we look to receive 
 from his age, not alone the imperfections of long- 
 engrafted condition,*" but therewithal the unruly 
 way wardness.that infirm and choleric years bring 
 with them. 
 
 Reg. Such unconstant starts are we like to have 
 from him as this of Kent's banishment. 
 
 Gon. There is farther compliment of leave- 
 taking between France and him. Pray you, let us 
 hit together ; 5' if our father carry authority with 
 such dispositions as he bears, this last surrender of 
 his will but offend us. 
 
 Reg. We shall farther think of it. 
 
 Gon. We must do something, and i' the heat.^" 
 \_Exeunt. 
 
 56. ]Vho cjver fatclts, at last shaine them derides. Th:s, 
 with the e-tception of a misprinted 's' after " cover," is the 
 reading of the Quartos ; while the Folio gives ' who coiiers 
 faults, at last with shame derides.' "Who" is here used for 
 * persons who,' or 'those who.' See Note 53, Act i., "All's 
 Well," and Note 38, Act v,, "Winter's Tale." 
 
 57. The observation ive have made of it hath not been tittle. 
 The Folio omits the word "not" in this sentence, while the 
 Quartos give it ; and we think that the similarly-constructed 
 phrase in Goneril's previous speech (" It is not little I have to 
 say," &c.) tends to confirm the probability that the Quarto 
 reading here is the correct one. What she goes on to say, also, 
 shows that she has much observed her father ; and aids in 
 proving that the text, as here given, is right. This short scene 
 between the two women, by the way, commenting with un- 
 daughterly hardness upon the tokens of failing judgment and 
 uncertain temper in the old king, is full of testimony that he has 
 been for some time in that state of unchecked wilfulness and 
 arbitrariness which is the next stage to mental unsoundness, and 
 which prepares the way for total derangement when thwarting 
 and cruelty come upon him. 
 
 58. Long-engrafted condition. ' A temper rendered imperious 
 by long habit.* 
 
 59. Let 7ts hit together. " Hit " is the Quarto word ; while 
 the Folio prints 'sit.' "Let us hit together" is an idiomatic 
 phrase, signifying ' let us agree together ; ' but it also in- 
 cludes the sense of 'let us strike at the same time,' ' let us 
 act in concert,' as is shown by what Goneril says in her next 
 
 60. li-'e vmst do something, and i the heat. Equivalent to 
 the proverbial phrase, 'We must strike while the iron is hot.' 
 See Note 125, Act ii ," Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 SCENE \\.—A Hall in the Earl of Glostek's 
 Castle. 
 
 Enter Edmund, with a letter. 
 Edm. Thou, nature, art my goddess ; to thy law 
 My services are bound. Wherefore should I 
 Stand in the plague of custom, and permit 
 The curiosity^- of nations to deprive** me, 
 For that I am some twelve or fourteen moon- 
 shines 
 
 Lag of a brother ? Why bastard ? wherefore base ? 
 When my dimensions are as well compact, 
 My mind as generous, and my shape as true, 
 As honest madam's issue ? Why brand they us 
 With base ? with baseness ? bastardy ? base, base ? 
 Legitimate Edgar, I must have your land : 
 Our father's love is to the bastard Edmund 
 As to the legitimate : fine word, — legitimate ! 
 Well, my legitimate, if this letter speed, 
 And my invention thrive, Edmund the base 
 Shall top the legitimate.^'' ] grow ; I prosper: — 
 Now, gods, stand up for bastards! 
 
 Enter Gloster. 
 Glo. Kent banish'd thus ! and France in choler 
 parted ! 
 
 And the king gone to-night! subscrib'd^* his 
 power ! 
 
 Confin'd to exhibition l^" All this done 
 Upon the gad !^7 — Edmund, how now! what news.^ 
 Edm. So please your lordship, none. 
 
 [Putting up the letter. 
 
 61. Stand in the plague of custom. The word "plague" in 
 this passage has been suspected of error by some of the commen- 
 tators ; but we think that the sentence may refer to the social 
 banishment awarded to those who were smitten by the malady 
 of the plague ; and that Edmund means figuratively to say, 
 * Wherefore should I remain an outcast from society, by the 
 stern decree of custom, because I am a younger and an illegiti- 
 mate son?' 'Why should I remain, like a plague-smitten crea- 
 ture, set apart by custom ?' &c. The idiom, " Stand in the 
 plague of," seems to us to have analogy with the old legal 
 expression, " Stand within his danger," explained in Note 18, 
 Act iv., " Merchant of Venice," and with the phrase. " My life 
 stands in the level of your dreams," explained in Note 17, Act iii., 
 "Winters Tale." 
 
 62. Curiosity. 'Scrupulousness,' 'strictness,' 'punctilious- 
 ness.' See Note 69, Act iv., "Timon of Athens," and Note 3, 
 Act i., of the present play. 
 
 63. Deprive. Besides that Shakespeare uses this word with 
 elliptical force (see Note ir8, Act i., "Hamlet"), it was em- 
 ployed, in his time, to express 'disinherit.' 
 
 64. Shall top tlie legitimate. Instead of "top the" (Capell's 
 correction), the Quartos give 'tooth,' and the Folio 'to'th'.' 
 The word "base," in the previous line, lends every appearance 
 of probability to " top" being the right word here. 
 
 65. Subscribed. 'Yielded,' 'surrendered,' 'given up.* See 
 Note so. Act iv., "Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 66. Exhibition. An ancient term for 'an allowance,' 'a 
 stipend.' See Note 32, Act i., "Two Gentlemen of Verona." 
 
 67. Upon tlie gad. Equivalent to ' upon the spur of the 
 moment.' A "gad" or 'goad' was a sharp-pointed piece of 
 steel, used as a spur to urge cattle forward ; whence the ex- 
 pression ' goaded.' 
 
Act I.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Glo. Why so earnestly seek you to put up that 
 letter? 
 
 Edm. I know no news, my lord. 
 Glo. What paper were you reading 
 Edm. Nothing, my lord. 
 
 Glo. No! What needed, then, that terrible 
 despatch of it into your pocket ? the quality of 
 nothing hath not such need to hide itself. Let's 
 see : come, if it be nothing, I shall not need spec- 
 tacles. 
 
 Edm. I beseech you, sir, pardon me : it is a 
 letter from my brother, that I have not all o'er- 
 read ; and for so much as I have perused, I find it 
 not fit for your o'er-looking. 
 
 Glo. Give me the letter, sir. 
 
 Edm. I shall offend, either to detain or give it. 
 The contents, as in part I understand them, are to 
 blame. 
 
 Glo. Let's see, let's see. 
 
 Edm. I hop«, for my brother's justification, he 
 wrote this but as an essay or taste of my virtue. 
 
 Glo. [Reads."] This policy and reverence of age makes 
 the world bitter to the best of our times ; keeps our fortunes 
 from us till our oldness cannot relish them. I begin to find an 
 idle and fond bondage in the oppression of aged tyranny ; who 
 sways, not as it hath power, but as it is suffered. Come to me, 
 that of this I may speak more. If our father would sleep till I 
 waked him, you should enjoy half his revenue for ever, and live 
 the beloved of your brother, Edgar. 
 
 H"m — conspiracy! — "Sleep till I waked him, — you 
 should enjoy half his revenue," — My son Edgar ! 
 Had he a hand to write this P a heart and brain to 
 breed it in ? — When came this to you ? who 
 brought it ? 
 
 Edm. It was not brought me, my lord, — there's 
 the cunning of it ; I found it thrown in at the case- 
 ment of my closet. 
 
 Glo. You know the character to be your 
 brother's ? 
 
 Edm. ' If the matter were good, my lord, I durst 
 swear it were his ; but, in respect of that, I would 
 fain think it were not. 
 
 Glo. It is his. 
 
 Edm. It is his hand, my lord ; but I hope his 
 heart is not in the contents. 
 
 68. Tas/e. 'Test.' See Note 78, Act iii., "Twelfth 
 Night." 
 
 69. /li/e and fond. ' Senseless and weak.' See Note 56, 
 Act iii., "Hamlet." It is worthy of observation how harmo- 
 niously the dram-itist has made the secondary plot of this great 
 tragedy consist with its main subject — the filial treachery and 
 rebellion to age in the person of Gloster, with filial barbarity to 
 age in the person of Lear. 
 
 70. Wliere. Sometimes, as in the present passage, used for 
 •whereas.' See Notes 13 and 100, Act i., " Coriolanus." 
 
 71. Your honour. Here meaning 'your lordship.' See 
 Note 30, Act ii., " Measure for Measure," 
 
 72. Pretence. 'Design,' 'purpose,' 'intention,' 
 
 73. Wind me into him. Here " me " is used in the idiomatic 
 manner so frequently indicated by us. 
 
 74. / would unstate myself, to be, 'I would give all I 
 possess ill sute, rank, and fortujie, to, be duly resolveci (o'r 
 
 Glo. Hath he never heretofore sounded you in 
 this business 
 
 Edm. Never, my lord : but I have often heard 
 him maintain it to be fit, that, sons at perfect age, 
 and fathers declined, the father should be as ward 
 to the son, and the son manage his revenue. 
 
 Glo. Oh, villain, villain ! — His very opinion in 
 the letter ! — Abhorred villain ! Unnatural, de- 
 tested, brutish villain ! worse than brutish ! — Go, 
 sirrah, seek him; I'll apprehend him: — abominable 
 villain ! — Where is he ? 
 
 Edm. I do not well know, my lord. If it shall 
 please you to suspend your indignation against my 
 brother till you can derive from him better testi- 
 mony of his intent, you shall run a certain course; 
 where,'" if you violently proceed against him, mis- 
 taking his purpose, it would make a great gap in 
 your own honour, and shake in pieces the heart of 
 his obedience. I dare pawn down my life for him, 
 that he hath writ this to feel my affection to }'our 
 honour,^! and to no other pretence''- of danger. 
 
 Glo. Think you so ? 
 
 Edm. If your honour judge it meet, I will place 
 you where you shall hear us confer of this, and by 
 an auricular assurahce have your [satisfaction ; and 
 that without any farther delay than this very 
 evening. 
 
 Glo. He cannot be such a monster — 
 Edm. Nor is not, sure. 
 
 Glo. To his father, th it so tenderly'and entirely 
 loves him. — Heaven and earth ! — Edmund, seek 
 him out ; wind me into him,'* I pray you : frame 
 the business after your own wisdom. I would un- 
 state myself, to be in a due resolution."* 
 
 Edm. I will seek him, sir, presently; convey''* 
 the business as I shall find rneans, and acquaint you 
 withal. 
 
 Glo. These late eclipses in the .'un and moon 
 portend no good to us: though the wisdom of 
 nature can reason it thus and thus,"^ yet nature 
 finds itself scourged by the sequent effects : love 
 cools, friendship falls off, brothers divide : in cities, 
 mutinies; in countries, discord ; in palaces, treason ; 
 and the bond cracked between son and'father. This 
 
 satisfiedj of the truth.' Shakespeare frequently uses ' resolved' 
 in the. sense of 'satisfied,' 'fully informed;' witness, for in- 
 stance, " We would be resolv'd, before we hear him, of some 
 things," &c., " Henry V.," Act i., sc. 2 ; and, "To be resolv'd 
 if Brutus so unkindly knocked or no," " Julius Caesar," Act iii., 
 sc. 2 ; see also Note 26, Act iv., " Richard III.," and Note 80, 
 Act ii. of the present play. 
 
 73. Convey. Here used for ' conduct,' ' carry through,' 
 ' manage.' 
 
 76. Tkottgh tfie ivisdom of nature, ^c. ' Though natural 
 philosophy can explain the causes of these eclipses, yet human 
 nature feels their consequences.' This was in accordance with 
 the belief in Shakespeare's time ; and he characteristic.-illy makes 
 the credulous Gloster a medium for showing the faith in 'astro- 
 logical influence as it existed in the general mind, while he 
 makes the shrewd Edmund' a medium for exposing its absurdity 
 and depraving tendency. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene II, 
 
 villain of mine comes under the prediction ; there's 
 son against father : the king falls from bias of 
 nature; there's father against child. We have seen 
 the best of our time : machinations, hollovvi)es.=, 
 treachery, and all ruinous disorders, follow us dis- 
 quietly to our graves.— Find out this villain, Ed- 
 mund ; it shall lose thee nothing ; do it carefully. 
 — And the noble and true-hearted Kent banished ! 
 his offence, honesty 1 — Strange! strange! [Exit. 
 
 Edm. This is the excellent foppery of the world, 
 that, when we are sick in fortune (often the surfeit 
 of our own behaviour), we make guilty of our disas- 
 ters the sun, the moon, and the stars : as if we were 
 villains by necessity ; fools by heavenly compul- 
 sion ; knaves, thieves, and treachers,'^ by sphericaF^ 
 predominance; drunkards, liars, and adulterers, by 
 an enforced obedience of planetary influence ; and 
 all that we are evil in, by a divine thrusting on : an 
 admirable evasion of man, to lay his disposition to 
 the charge of a star!' My nativity was under «rj« 
 major so that it follows, I am rough and lawless. 
 — Tut, I should have been that 1 am, had the 
 maidenliest star in the firmament twinkled on my 
 bastardising. Edgar— 
 
 Enier Edgar. 
 And pat he comes like the catastrophe of the old 
 comedy my cue is villanous melancholy, with a 
 sigh like Tom o' Bedlam. — Oh, these eclipses do 
 portend these divisions! fa, sol, la, mi.^' 
 
 Edg. How now, brother Edmund ! what serious 
 contemplation' are you in ? 
 
 Edm. I am thinking, brother, of a prediction I 
 read this Other day, what should follow these 
 eclipses. 
 
 Edg. Do you busy yourself with that 
 
 Edm. I promise you, the effects he writes of 
 
 77 Trenchers. An old word for * traitors ; * those who are 
 guilty of treacherj% treacherous persons. 
 
 78. Spherical. This word, generally used to express ' sphere- 
 like in shape,' * round,' is here used by Shakespeare in the 
 sense of 'pertaining to the spheres,' 'belonging to the heavenly 
 
 79. Ursa major. 'The great bear;' the constellation so 
 called. See Note 51, Act i., "Twelfth Night." 
 
 80. Like the catastrophe of the old comedy. In this passage 
 the Folio omits the words "Edgar — and;" while the Quartos 
 give them, but misprint 'out' for " pat." It has been supposed 
 that here Shakespeare intended to ridicule the awkward con- 
 clusions of the old comedies, where the persons of the scene 
 make their entry inartificially, and just when the author wants 
 them on the stage : probably so ; but we think that the passage 
 also very likely includes allusion to the adage, "Talk of the 
 devil and he instantly appears," said when any one approaches 
 while he is being spoken of There may have been some well- 
 known morality or ancient dramatic show, where the devil who 
 frequently figured in them (see Notes 39 and 40, Act iv., 
 " Twelfth Night") came in thus patly at the catastrophe of the 
 piece : and the wording of the phrase, " like the catastrophe 
 of tile old comedy," seems to us to countenance our idea. 
 
 81. Fa, sol, la, mi. Dr. Burney has the following note upon 
 this passage :— " Shakespeare shows by the context that he was 
 
 succeed*^ unhappily; as of unnaturalness between 
 the cf-ild and the parent; death, dearth, dissolu- 
 tions of ancient amities; divisions in state, menaces 
 and maledictions against king and nobles; needless 
 diffidences, banishment of friends, dissipation of 
 cohorts,"'* nuptial breaches, and I know not what. 
 
 Edg. How long have ) ou been a sectary astro- 
 nomical ? 
 
 Edm. Come, come; when saw you my father last? 
 E Ig. The night gone by. 
 Edm. Spake you with him ? 
 Edg. Ay, two hours together.^ 
 Edm. Parted you in good terms? Found you 
 no displeasure in him by word or countenance? 
 Edg. None at all. 
 
 Edm. Bethink yourself wherein you may have 
 offended him : and at my entreaty forbear his 
 presence till some little time hath qualified the heat 
 of his displeasure; which at this instant so rageth 
 in him, that with the mischief of } our person it 
 would scarcely allay. 
 
 Edg. Some villain hath done me wrong. 
 
 Ed/n. That's my fear. I pray you, have a con- 
 tinent forbearance"* till the speed of his rage goes 
 slower; and, as I say, retire with me to my lodg- 
 ing, from whence I will fitly bring you to hear my 
 lord speak. Pray you, go ; there 's my key. If you 
 do stir abroad, go armed. 
 
 Edg. Armed, brother ! ' 
 
 Edm. Brother, I advise you to the best ; I am 
 no honest man if there be any good meaning toward 
 you : I have told you what I have seen and heard 
 but faintly, nothing like the image and horror of 
 it : pray you, away. 
 
 Edg. Shall I hear from you anon ? 
 
 Edm. I do serve you in this business. 
 
 {Exit Edgar. 
 
 well acquainted with the property of these syllables in solmisa- 
 tion, which imply a series of sounds so unnatural, that ancient 
 musicians prohibited their use. The monkish writers on music 
 say. Mi contra fa est diabolus: the interval fa mi, including a 
 tritonns or sharp fourth, consisting of three tones without the 
 intervention of a semi-tone, expressed in the modern scale by 
 the letters F G A B, would form a musical phrase extremely dis- 
 agreeable to the ear. Edmund, speaking of eclipses as portents 
 and prodigies, compares the dislocation of events, the times 
 being out of joint, to. the unnatural and offensive sounds, y5i 
 
 82. Do ycnt hiisy yourself ivith that? By the contemptuous 
 inquiry in this and the next speech, put into the mouth of the 
 sensible and worthy Edgar, our poet has emphasised his own 
 opinion upon the astrological creed previously satirised through 
 Edmund's sneering soliloquy. 
 
 83. Sticceed. 'Follow,' ' successively occur.' See Note 122, 
 Act i., "All's Well." 
 
 84. Cohorts. ' Large troops of -soldiers. ' Johnson and others 
 proposed to substitute 'courts' for " cohorts." 
 
 85. Two hours together. An idiom of indefinite time, some- 
 what similar to the one noticed in Note 51, Act ii., " Hamlet." 
 
 86. Have a continent forbearance. ' Keep a forbearing 
 restraint upon yourself,' 'contain yourself within forbearing 
 bounds.' See Note 29, Induction, "Taming of the Shrew." 
 
Act I.] 
 
 KIXXz LEAR. 
 
 [Scene III, 
 
 Ed)7iund. Pray you. : 
 Edgar. Armed, broths 
 
 A credulous father! and a brother noble, 
 
 Whose nature is so far from doing harms, 
 
 That he suspects none; on whose foolish honesty 
 
 My practices^r Hde easy !— I see the business. — 
 
 Let me, if not by birth, have lands by wit : 
 
 All with me's meet that I can fashion fit. \^Ex'ii. 
 
 SCENE \\\.—A Room in the Duke of Albany's 
 Paiace. 
 
 Enter Goneril and Oswald. 
 Gnn. Did my father strike my gentleman for 
 chiding of his fool ? 
 
 87. Pract 
 "Henry V.' 
 
 88. By day and night 
 
 Devices,' 'stratagems.' See Note 57, Act 
 
 passage 
 : 78, Act 
 
 n-e fake these words 
 i., " Henry VIII.," 
 
 Osuj. Ay, madam. 
 
 Gon. By day and nighf*' he wrongs me ; every 
 hour 
 
 He flashes into one gross crime or other, 
 
 Tliat sets us all at odds: Lll not endure it: 
 
 His knights grow riotous, and himself upbraids us 
 
 On every trifle. — When he returns from hunting, 
 
 I will not speak with him; say I am sick : — 
 
 If you come slack of former services. 
 
 You shall do well ; the fault of it I'll answer. 
 
 IHorns heard. 
 
 Os-U3. He's coming, madam ; I hear him. 
 
 Gon. Put on what weary negligence you please. 
 You and your fellows; I'd have it come to ques- 
 
 nd Note 152, Acti. , "Hamlet"), but an idiomatic expression 
 f time, signifying 'daily and nightly,' 'constantly,' ' perpetually.' 
 ' Every hour," immediately afterwards in the same line, seems 
 
 1 the correctness of < 
 
Act I.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 If he distaste it, let him to my sister, 
 Whose mind and mine, I know, in that are one, 
 Not to be over-rul'd. Idle^^ old man. 
 That still would manage those authorities 
 'I' hat he hath given away !— Now, by my life, 
 Old fools are babes again ; and must be us'd 
 With checks as flatteries,'" — wlien they are seen 
 abus'd. 
 
 Remember what I have said. 
 
 Osvj. Well, madam. 
 
 Gon. And let his knights have colder looks 
 among you ; 
 
 What grows of it, no matter; advise your fellows 
 so ; 
 
 I would breed from hence occasions, and I shall. 
 That I may speak : — I'll write straight to my 
 sister, 
 
 To hold my course. — Prepare for dinner. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE IV.— J Hall in the Duke of Albany's 
 Palace. 
 
 Enter Kent, disguised. 
 
 Kent. If but as well I other accents borrow,!"! 
 That can my speech difFuse,'^ my good intent 
 May carry through itself to that full issue 
 For which I raz'd'^ my likeness. — Now, banish'd 
 Kent, 
 
 If thou canst serve where thou dost stand con-r 
 demn'd, 
 
 So may it come, thy master, whom thou lov'st. 
 Shall find thee full of labours. 
 
 Horns heard. Enter Lear, Knights, (tnd 
 Attendants. 
 
 Lear. Let me not stay a jot for dinner; go get 
 it ready. 
 
 \Exit an Attendant.] How now! what art thou ? 
 
 89. Idle. 'Senseless,' 'silly.' See Nate 69 of the 
 
 90. With cluclis as flatteries. "As" seems to be used here 
 ■with the force of 'instead of,' 'in lieu of;' and we take the 
 whole sentence to mean, " Old folk are like children ; and 
 must be treated with restraint rather than with indulgence, when 
 the latter is seen to be misused." The passage is susceptible of 
 another interpretation if "they" be supposed to refer to "old 
 fools," and "abused" be accepted in the sense that Shakespeare 
 sometimes gives it of ' deluded ; ' but we believe our explanation 
 to be the correct one. 
 
 91. 1/ but as well /, <5^»^^. Kent says this in reference to 
 his disguise ; implying, ' If I can but as well alter my tone and 
 utterance as I have altered my dress and appearance,' &c. 
 
 92. Diffuse. ' Disorder ; ' ' render wild, irregular, uncouth, 
 and rough.' See Note 25, Act iv., " Merry Wives," and Note 
 37, Act v., " Henry V." 
 
 93. Razd. ' Eflaced,' 'obliterated.' See the speech where 
 the passage occurs adverted to in Note 25, Act v., " Macbeth." 
 
 94. Converse with. Here used to express not merely ' talk 
 
 Kent. A man, sir. 
 
 Lear. What dost thou profess ? What wouldst 
 thou with us ? 
 
 Kent. I do profess to be no less than I seem ; 
 to serve him truly that will put me in trust; to 
 love him that is honest; to converse with'* him 
 that is wise, and says little; to fear judgment ; 
 to fight when I cannot choose;'* and to eat no 
 fish.96 
 
 Lear. What art thou ? 
 
 Kent. A very honest^hearted fellow, and as 
 poor as the king. 
 
 Lear. If thou be'st as poor for a subject as he is 
 for a king, thou art poor enough. What wouldbt 
 thou ? 
 
 Kent. Service. 
 
 Lear. Whom wouldst thou serve ? 
 Kent. You. 
 
 Lear. Dost thou know me, fellow ? 
 Kent. No, sir; but you have that in your coun- 
 tenance which I would fain call master. 
 Lear. What's that ? 
 Kent. Authority. 
 
 Lear. What services canst thou do ? 
 
 Kent. I can keep honest counsel, ride, run, mar 
 a curious'^ tale in telling it, and deliver a plain 
 message bluntly: that which ordinary men are fit 
 for, I am qualified in ; and the best of me is 
 diligence. 
 
 Lear. How old art thou ? 
 
 Kent, Not so young, sir, to love a woman for 
 singing, nor so old to dote on her for anything: I 
 h3.ve years on my back forty-eight. 
 
 Lear. Follow me ; thou shalt serve me: if I like 
 thee no worse after dinner, I will not part from 
 thee yet. — Dinner, ho, dinner! — Where's my 
 knave my fool? — Go you, and call my fool 
 hither. [Exit an Attendant. 
 
 Enter Oswald. 
 You, you, sirrah, where's my daughter? 
 
 with,' but ' have intercourse with,' ' hold communion with,' 
 'have commerce with.' Shakespeare elsewhere uses the word 
 in this larger sense. See the passage referred to in Note 14, 
 Act iv., " Richard HI.," and also Note 5, Act ii., " Coriolanus." 
 
 95. Wheti I cannot choose. An idiom in use formerly, equiva- 
 lent to ' when I cannot help it,' ' when it is not to be avoided.' 
 See Note 91, Act i., " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 96. 7'o eat no fish. Warburton, in illustration of this passage, 
 has pointed out that during Elizabeth's reign, when Papists were 
 considered as enemies to the Government, there was a proverbial 
 phrase of " He's an honest man, and eats no fish" .signifying 
 he s a friend to the Government and a Protestant ; an assertion 
 corroborated by various citations from plays of that period. But 
 we think that here, Kent, in his just-assumed blunt fashion of 
 speaking, means to infer that he is not very strict in the ob- 
 servance of abstinence and fast days. 
 
 97. Curious. Here used in the sense of 'elaborate,' 'com- 
 plicated,' ' involved,' ' unsimple,' in contradistinction to "plain." 
 
 Cii. Knave. Meaning ' boy.' See Note 30, Act iii., " Love's 
 Labour's ^^QSt." 
 
Act I.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Osrv. So please you, — [Exif. 
 
 Lear. What says the fellow there ? Call the 
 clotpoll '3 back. \_Exit a Knight.]— Where's my 
 fool, ho ? — I think the world's asleep. — 
 
 Re-enter Knight. 
 
 How now ! where's that mongrel ? 
 
 Knight. He says, my lord, your daughter is not 
 well. 
 
 Lear. Why came not the slave back to me 
 when I called him ? 
 
 Knight. Sir, he answered me in the roundest^"" 
 manner, he would not. 
 
 Lear. He would not ! 
 
 Knight. My lord, I know not what the matter 
 is; but, to my judgment, your highness is not 
 entertained with that ceremonious affection as you 
 were wont; there's a great abatement of kindness 
 appears, as well in the general dependants, as in the 
 duke himself also, and your daughter. 
 
 Lear. Ha ! sayest thou so ? 
 
 Knight. I beseech you, pardon me, my lord, if 
 I be mistaken ; for my duty cannot be silent when 
 1 think your highness wronged. 
 
 Lear. Thou but rememberest me of mine own 
 conception : I have perceived a most faint neglect 
 of late; which 1 have rather blamed as mine own 
 jealous curiosity'"' than as a very pretence '"^ and 
 purpose of unkindness: I will look farther into't. 
 — But where's my fool ? I have not seen him this 
 two days. 
 
 Knight. Since my young lady's going into 
 France, sir, the fool hath much pined away.'^s 
 
 Lear. No more of that; I have noted it well. — 
 Go you, and tell my daughter I would speak with 
 her. [Exit an Attendant.]— Go you, call hither 
 my fool. [Exit an Attendant. 
 
 99. Clo'foll. Spelt also ' clotpo'.e' and ' clod-poll.' A 'thick- 
 skull,' a ' blockhead ;' a fellow with a head like a clod of earth. 
 
 100. Roundest. ' BlufFest,' ' bluntest.' See Note 47, Act ii., 
 "Hamlet." 
 
 101. Jealous curiosity. ' Susceptible punctilio, ' ' over- 
 scrupulous care for deference.' See Note 62 of this Act. 
 
 102. A -very pretence. 'An actual intention,' 'an absolute 
 design.' See Note s, Act iii., " Two Gentlemen of Verona." 
 
 103. The fool hath much pined away. By the exquisite 
 touch contained in this little speech and in Lear's rejoinder, 
 how finely has the dramatist concentrated large significance ! 
 It serves to excite a tender interest in the boy-fool even before 
 he enters, and to mark him at once as a creation apart frojn all 
 other of Sh.akespeare's fools ; it serves to depict Cordelia's 
 power of attaching and endearing those around her ; and it 
 serves to denote her old father's already awakened 
 ness that he has done her grievous injustice. 
 
 104. My lady's father I my lord's knave. A retort of tlte 
 kind we have several times pointed out as being a favourite 
 with Shakespeare. See Note io3. Act ii., " First Part 
 Henry IV." 
 
 105. Here^s my coxcomb. The professional fool-jester's cap 
 was ornamented by an appendage in scarlet cloth formed like a 
 cock's comb (see Note 22, Act v., " Merry Wives") ; and even 
 sometimes by the cock's comb itself. In Minshew's "Dictionary" ] 
 (1617, it is said : '• Natural idiots and fools have, and still do 
 
 Re-enter Oswald. 
 Oh, you sir, you, come you hither, sir: ^^■hoam I, sir? 
 O^xo. My lady's'father. 
 
 Lear. My lady's father! my lord's knave:'"'' 
 you dog ! you slave ! you cur I 
 
 Osiu. I am none of these, my lord ; I beseech 
 ) our pardon. 
 
 Lear. Do you bandy looks uith me, you rascal? 
 
 [Striking him. 
 
 Oszv. I'll not be struck, my lord. 
 
 Kent. Nor tripped neither, you base foot-ball 
 ]>layer. [Tripping up his heels. 
 
 Lear, I thank thee, fellow; thou servest me, 
 and I'll love thee. 
 
 Kent. Come, sir, arise, away! I'll teach yoti 
 differences: away, away! If you will measure 
 your lubber's length again, tarry : but away ! go to ; 
 have you wisdom ? so. [Pushes Oswald out. 
 
 Lear. Now, my friendly knave, I thank thcL- : 
 there's earnest of thy service. [Giving Kent money. 
 
 Enter Fool. 
 
 Fool. Let me hire him too : — here's my cox- 
 comb. '"s '[Offering Kent his cap. 
 
 Lear. How now, my pretty knave! how dost 
 thou ? 
 
 Fool. Sirrah, yo-J were best take my coxcomb. 
 Kent. Why, fool? '"6 
 
 Fool. Why, for taking one's part that's out of 
 favour: nay, an thou canst not smile as the wind sits, 
 thou 'It catch cold shortly:'"^ there, take my cox- 
 comb: why, this fellow has banished two of his 
 daughters, and did the third a blessing against his 
 will; if thou follow him, thou must needs wear iriy 
 coxcomb.— How now, nunclel'"* Would I had 
 two coxcombs and two daughters I 
 
 accustom themselves to weare in their cappcs cockes feathers, 
 or a hat luith a cocke and lieadc of a cache on the top, and a bell 
 thereon." 
 
 106. Why, fool ? This is the read ng nf the Quartos, and 
 assigned therein to Kent as his speech ; while the Folio prints 
 'Why, my boy?' giving the prefi.i of 'Lear.' It is evident 
 that the fool, as he approaches, has witnessed Kent's " t.aking" 
 Lear's "part" by tripping up Oswald's heels, and therefore 
 does not answer the king's first speech of inquiry ; but goes 
 straight up to Kent, addresses liim, receives his reply, and does 
 not speak to Lear until the words, " How now, nuncle ! " 
 
 107. Catch cold shortly. ' Be turned out of doors and ex- 
 posed to the inclemency of the weather.' See Note 62, Act i., 
 "Twelfth Night." 
 
 108. Nuncle. A familiar contraction of ' mine uncle.' ' Uncle,' 
 or "nuncle," was the usual appellation of the professional fo.,1 
 for his employer and his superiors. Mr. Vaillant mentions that 
 the lower people in Shropshire call the judge of assize 'my 
 nuncle the judge;' and Mr. Hudson observes that "in the 
 Southern states it is customary for a family, especially the 
 younger members of it, to call an old and faithful servant nncle 
 or au7it, from a mi.s:ed feeling of respect for his character, at- 
 tachment to his person, dependence on his service, and authority 
 over his actions." This, by the way, serves to explain to 
 English readers the name given to the hero of Mrs. Beecher 
 .Stowe's popular book, " Uucle Tom's Cabin." 
 
Act I.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Lear. Why, my boy ? 
 
 Fool. If I gave them all my living,"" I'd keep 
 my coxcombs myself. There's mine ; beg another 
 of thy daughters. 
 
 Lear. Take heed, sirrah,— the whip.'i" 
 
 Fool. Truth's a dog must to kennel ; he ir.ust 
 be whipped out, when Lady, the brach,"' may stand 
 by the fire and stink. 
 
 Lear. A pestilent gall to me ! 
 
 Fool. [To Kent.] Sirrah, I'll teach thee a 
 speech. 
 
 Lear. Do. 
 
 Fool. Mark it, nuncle :— 
 
 Have more than thou showest, 
 Speak less than thou knowest, 
 Lend less than thou owest,"'- 
 Ride more than thou goest. 
 Learn more than thou trowest,"^ 
 Set'i' less than thou throwest ; 
 Leave thy drink and thy roar^ 
 And keep in-a-door, 
 And thou shalt have more 
 Than two tens to a score. 
 
 Kent. This is nothing, fool. 
 
 Fool. Then 'tis like the breath of an unfee'd 
 lawyer, — you gave me nothing for't. — Can you 
 make no use of nothing, nuncle ? 
 
 Lear. Why, no, boy ; nothing can be made out 
 of nothing. 
 
 Fool. [To Kent.] Pr'ythee, tell him, so much 
 the rent of his land comes to : he will not believe 
 a fool. 
 
 Lear. A bitter fool ! 
 
 Fool. Dost thou know the difference, my bov, 
 between a bitter fool and a sweet one ? 
 Lear. No, lad ; teach me. 
 
 105. Living. * Possessions/ * property ; ' * means of liveli- 
 hood.' See Note 47, Act v., " Merchant of Venice." 
 
 no. Take heed, sirrah, — the whip. Lear reminds the lad of 
 the punishment given to fools who e.vceed their privilege of 
 uttering unwelcome truths in the form of jests. See Note 33, 
 Act i., "As You Like It." 
 
 111. Lady, the brach. The Folio prints 'the Lady Brach ;' 
 and the Quartos ' Lady oth 'e brach.' We adopt Malone's cor- 
 rection ; because it tallies with Hotspur's expression, referred 
 to in Note 43, Act iii., " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 112. Oiaest. ' Ownest.' See Note 71, Act ii., " Midsummer 
 Night's Dream." 
 
 113. Trovjcst. 'Believest.' See Note 9, Act v., " Third Part 
 Henry VI." 
 
 114. Set. • Stake.' The word is used for ' staked ' in Act v., 
 sc. 4, "Richard III.," where the king .says, "I have s.'t my 
 life upon a cast and for ' stake ' in Act iii., sc. i, " iMacbeth," 
 where one of the murderers says, " I would set my life on any 
 chance." 
 
 115. Thai lord that couiisell'd tliee. This speech, and all 
 that follows as far as to "Nuncle, give me an egg," &c., is 
 omitted in the Folio. 
 
 116. If I had a monopoly out. "Out" is here used in the 
 sense of 'extant,' 'issued on niy account,' 'given out for my 
 benefit.' The passage is a satire upon the unjust monopolies 
 that were granted in Shakespeare's time, and upon the high 
 
 Fool. That lord that counseled thee^^* 
 To give away thy land. 
 Come place him here by me, — 
 
 Do thou for him stand : 
 The sweet and bitter fool 
 Will presently appear; 
 The one in motley here. 
 The other found out there. 
 Lear. Dost thou call me fool, boy ? 
 Fool. All thy other titles thou hast given away; 
 that thou wast born with. 
 
 Kent. This is not altogether fool, my lord. 
 Fool. No, faith, lords and great men will not let 
 me ; if I had a monopoly out,''^ they would have 
 jiart on 't, and loads too : they will not let me 
 have all fool to myself; they'll be snatching. — 
 Nuncle, give me an egg, and I'll give thee tuo 
 crowns. 
 
 Lear. What two crowns shall they be ? 
 Fool. Why, after I have cut the egg i' the 
 middle, and eat up the meat, the two crowns of 
 the egg. When thou clovest thy crown i' the 
 middle, and gavest away both parts, thou borest 
 1 thine ass on thy back o'er the dirt : thou hadst 
 ( little wit in thy bald crown, when thou gavest thy 
 I golden one away. If I speak like myself in this 
 I let him be whipped that first finds it so. 
 ISlnghig.-] 
 
 Fools had ne'er less grace in a year 
 
 For wise men are grown foppish. 
 And know not how their wits to wear. 
 
 Their manners are so apish. 
 
 Lear. When were )ou wont to be so full of 
 songs, sirrah ? 
 
 Fool. I have used it, nuncle, ever since thou 
 madest thy daughters thy mothers : for when thou 
 gavest them the rod, 
 
 personages who shamelessly shared in the profit made by the 
 monopolist, on the plea that ihey had aided in procuring him 
 his grant from the sovereign ; therefore it has been plausibly 
 supposed that the reason why the passage was omitted in the 
 Folio was because the point and truth of the satire were likely 
 to render it obnoxious to those against whom it was levelled. 
 
 117, Loads. This word is printed in the Quarto copies (the 
 Folio omits the passage altogether) ' lodes ; ' while Capell and 
 most modern editors change the word to ' ladies.' " Loads," how- 
 ever, is a familiar form of expressing ' a large quantity,' ' a great 
 amount ; * and may be the word here intended by the author. 
 
 118. Fools had ne^er less grace in a year. ' Fools were ne\'er 
 in less favour than at present.' The expression "in a year'' 
 seems to be one of those idioms of indefinite time, specimens cf 
 v/hich we have heretofore pointad out (see Note 24, Act i., 
 " Troilus and Cressida," and Note 25, Act v., " Hamlet"), and 
 appears to have been used to imply ' now-a-days,' * at present;* 
 for in Lyly's comedy of "Mother Bombie " (1594) we find: 
 " I think gentlemen had never less wit in a year." In the 
 Quarto copies, the present line has 'wit' instead of "grace ;" 
 which is the word in the Folio. The gist of what the fool here 
 says, or sings, is, ' Fools were never in less favour than at 
 present ; for wise men are grown absurd, and know not how to 
 appear provided with brains, their manners are so fantastic ; ' 
 inferring that there is no need of fools, since there is such an 
 abundance of foolish wiseacres in their stead. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Then they foi- sudden joy did weep. 
 
 And I for sorrow sung,"" 
 That such a king should play bo-peep. 
 
 And go the fools among. 
 
 Pr'ythee, nuncle, keep a schoolmaster that can 
 teach thy fool to lie : I would fain learn to lie. 
 
 Lear. An you lie, sirrah, we'll have you whipped. 
 
 Fool. I marvel what kin thou and thy dauglUers 
 are: they'll have me whipped for speaking true, 
 thou'lt have me whipped for lying ; and sometimes 
 I am whipped for holding my peace. I had rather 
 be any kind o' thing than a fool : and yet I would 
 not be thee, nuncle ; thou hast pared thy wit o' 
 both sides, and left nothing i' the middle : — here 
 comes one o' the parings. 
 
 E/iter GONERIL. 
 Lear. How now, daughter! what makes that 
 frontlet'-" on? Methinks you are too much of 
 late i' the frown. 
 
 Fool. Thou wast a pretty fellow when thou hadst 
 no need to care for her frowning ; now thou art an 
 O'^' without a figure : I am better than thou art 
 now ; I am a fool, thou art nothing. — [To GoN.] 
 Yes, forsooth, I will hold my tongue ; so your face 
 bids me, though you say nothing. Mum, mum, 
 He that keeps nor crust nor crum. 
 Weary of all, shall want some. — 
 [Pointing to Lear.] That 's a shealed peascod.''^^ 
 
 Gon. Not only, sir, this your all-licens'd fool, 
 But other of your insolent retinue 
 Do hourly carp and quarrel ; breaking forth 
 In rank and not-to-be-endured riots. Sir, 
 I had thought, by making this well known unto 
 you. 
 
 To have found a safe redress; but now grow fearful. 
 By what yourself too late have spoke and done, 
 That you protect this course, and put it on'^^* 
 By your allowance which if you should, the fault 
 Would not 'scape censure, nor the redresses sleep. 
 Which, in the tender of a wholesome weal, 
 Migtlt in their working do } ou that offence, 
 j Which else were shame, that then necessity 
 Will call discreet proceeding. 
 Fool. For, you trow, nuncle. 
 The hedge-sparrow fed the cuckoo so long,'-^ 
 That it had its head bit off by its young.''^"* 
 So, out went the candle, and we were left darkling. '^r 
 Lfar. Are you our daughter ? 
 Gon. I would you would make use of your good 
 wisdom. 
 
 Whereof I know you are fraught ; and put away 
 These dispositions, which of late transport you 
 From what you rightly are. 
 
 Fool. May not an ass know when the cart draws 
 the horse ? — Whoop, Jug ! I love thee. '^^ 
 
 Lear. Does any here know me?™ — This is not 
 Lear: does Lear walk thus? speak thus? Where 
 are his eyes? Either his notion weakens or his 
 
 iig. TAeu they for sudden joy did weep, and I, St'c. In 
 Thomas Hey wood's " Rape of Lucrece " (1608) them is a similar 
 
 Dy gan weep, 
 
 vorn by ladies formerly to 
 associated by writers with 
 u "Zephetia," a collection 
 
 " Some men for sodden ■ 
 And I for sorrow sing. 
 
 120. Frontlet. A forehead cloth, 
 prevent wrinkles ; and often, as here, 
 the idea of frowning. For instance, 
 of sonnets (1594), we find :— 
 
 " But now, my sunne, it fits thou take thy set, 
 And vayle thy face with frownes as with a frontlet.''' 
 In Lyly's " Euphues and his England " {1580): — "The next day 
 coining to the gallery where she was solitary, walking, with her 
 froivning cloth, as sick lately of the sullens," &c. And in 
 Gjorge Ch.apmsn's " Hiro and Leander : " — 
 
 " E'en like the forehead cloth that in the night, 
 Or when they sorrow, ladies us'd to wear." 
 
 121. AnO. 'Acipher;' 'ansught.' 
 
 122. A shealed peascod. 'A pea-shell without its peas;' 'a 
 husk containing nothing.' ToUst mentions that " the robing of 
 Richard U.'s effigy in Westminster Abbey is wrought with 
 peascods open, and the peas out ; perhaps an allusion to his being 
 once in full possession of sovereignty, but soon reduced to an 
 empty title." 
 
 123. Put it on. ' Promote it,' 
 
 124. Allowance. ' Approval,' ' sanction.' 
 
 125. Fed the cuckoo so long. See Note 6, Act v., " First Part 
 H^nry IV." 
 
 126 [t had its head bit off by its young. The first Folio 
 prints this, ' It's had it head bit off" by it young.' Corrected in 
 the second Folio. We have before commented upon the rare 
 use of " its " in Shakespeare's time. See Notes 73, Act i., and 
 36, Act v., " Hamlet." 
 
 127. Darkling. 'In the dark.' See Note 72, Act ii., 
 
 ' encourage it,' ' push it forward.' 
 
 "Midsummer Night's Dream." The expression probably in- 
 cluded a figurative meaning of ' baffled,' ' deserted,' ' bereft of 
 light and help ; ' for in all three passages where Shakespeare 
 uses the word " darkling" it. involves this sense. Mr. Charles 
 Knight has well pointed out the link of connection between 
 these apparently irrelevant words of the fool, and a passage in 
 Spenser's " Faerie Queene," where Lear's story is adverted to : — 
 " Bnt true it is, that, -when the oil is spent, 
 TJie light goes out, and wick is thrown away ; 
 So when he had resign'd his regiment, 
 His daughter 'gan despise his drooping day." 
 Sir Joshua Reynolds is quite correct in saying that " Shake- 
 speare's fools are copied from the life," and that "the originals 
 whom he copied had a custom of taking olf the edge of too 
 sharp a speech by Covering it hastily with the end of an old song 
 or any glib nonsense that Game into the mind ;" adding, " I 
 know no other way of accounting for the incoherent words with 
 ■which Shakespeare often finishes this fool's speeches." The 
 fact is, the fool in "Lear" does make "incoherent" and 
 flighty speeches ; but not wholly irrelevant ones. They all, 
 more or less. Contain some fine underlying thread of connection 
 with, and remote allusion to, points that figuratively illustrate 
 the subject which engrosses the lad's dimiy lighted mind and 
 deeply affectionate heart— his old master's ill-usage. 
 
 128. Wlioop, Jug! I love thee. Probably the burden of an 
 old song. Shakespeare, in the speech referred to in Note 94, 
 Act iv., "Winter's Tale," alludes to one which contains the 
 same word— " Whoop, do me no harm, good man;" and Mr. 
 Chappell, in his " Popular Music of the Olden Time" (p. 774), 
 mentions another — • 
 
 " JVhoop, Jenny, come down to me." 
 
 129, Does any here know me ? The Folio prints this speech 
 of Lear's in halting verse, and omits portions of the dialogue 
 here. We adopt the arrangement of the Quartos. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 discernings are lethargied. — Sleeping or waking ? — 
 Ha! sure 'tis not so. Who is it that can tell me 
 who I am?— 
 
 Fool. Lear's shadow/^" — 
 
 Lear. I would learn that for, by the marks 
 of sovereignty, knowledge, and reason, I should be 
 false persuaded I had daughters. 
 
 Fool. Which they will make an obedient 
 father.133 
 
 Lear. Your name, fair gentlewoman ? 
 Gon. This admiration, '^i sir, is much o' the 
 favour 
 
 Of other your new pranks. j i\q beseech you 
 
 To understand my purposes aright : 
 
 As you are old and reverend, should be wise."'' 
 
 Here do you keep a hundred knights and squires; 
 
 Men so disorder'd, so debosh'd,"^ and bold. 
 
 That this our court, infected with their manners. 
 
 Shows like a riotous inn : epicurism and vice 
 
 Make it more like a tavern or an alehouse 
 
 Than a grac'd palace. The shame itself doth speak 
 
 Tor instant remedy : be, then, desir'd 
 
 By her, that else will take the thing she begs, 
 
 A little to disquantity your train ; 
 
 And the remainder, that shall still depend,"^ 
 
 To be such men as may l)esort your age. 
 
 Which know themselves .ind you. 
 
 Lear. Darkness and devils !— 
 
 Saddle my horses; call my train together. 
 
 Degenerate bastard ! I'll not trouble thee : 
 Yet have I left a daughter. 
 
 Gon. You strike my people; and your dis- 
 order'd rabble 
 Make servants of their be'Lters. 
 
 130. Lears shadow. The Quartos erroneously make this a 
 portion of the king's speech ; but the Folio gives it forrectly as 
 the fool's interniption. This is shown to be the author's inten- 
 tion by the lad's next speech, which is a following up of his 
 present interposed words. 
 
 131. / ■would learn that. This is said by Lear in con- 
 tinuation of his own speech, regardless of the fool's intervening 
 reply. 
 
 132. By the marks of soTereigiity, knowledge, and reason, I 
 should he false persuided I had daughters. The Folio omits 
 this, as well as the fool's rejoinder. It has been contended that 
 the passage is obscure; since " the marks of sovereignty, know- 
 ledge, and reason" could not serve to persuade Lear as to 
 whether he had or had not daughters. But we take the conse- 
 cution of thought to be this : ' I cannot be Lear : can any one 
 tell me who I am ? I would know that : for by the tokens of 
 sovereignty that I still retain, by the knowledge and reason that 
 are still mine, I could almost persuade myself into the false 
 belief that I am that King Lear who had daughters.' 
 
 133. Which they will make an obedient father. The fool 
 here concludes his interposed speech ; " which " referring to 
 " Lear's shadow," and " they" to "daughters," 
 
 134. Admiration. Here used to express ' assumed wonder,' 
 ' pretended amazement.' See Note 61, Act ii., " Henry V." 
 
 135. Is much 0' tlie favoicr of otJier, &'c. The Folio and 
 majority of Quartos print 'savour,' while the third Quarto gives 
 " favour," here ; which latter reading we adopt as more in con- 
 sonance with Shakespeare's phraseology elsewhere in passages 
 where the words "favour" and "savour" respectively occur. 
 The word "favour" is here used in the sense of 'aspect,' ' ap- 
 
 Enter Albany. 
 
 Lear. Woe, that too late repents, — [To Alb.] 
 Oh, sir, are you come ? 
 Is it your will ? Speak, sir. — Prepare my horses. — 
 Ingratitude, tliou marble-hearted fiend. 
 More hideous when thou show'st thee in a child 
 Than the sea-monster l'^^ 
 
 Ali. Pray, sir, be patient. 
 
 Lear. [To Gon.] Detested kite! thou liest : 
 My train are men of choice and rarest parts, 
 That all particulars of duty know, 
 And in the most exact regard support 
 The worships of their name. — Oh, most small fault, 
 How ugly didst thou in Cordelia show! 
 Which, like an engine, wrench'd my frame of 
 nature 
 
 From the fix'd place ; drew from my heart all love. 
 And added to the gall. O Lear, Le.ar, Lear ! 
 
 [Striking his head. 
 Beat at this gate, that let thy folly in, 
 And thy dear judgment out ! — Go, go, my people. 
 
 Ali. My lord, I am guiltless, ai I am ignorant 
 Of what hath mov'd you. 
 
 Lear. It may be so, my lord.— 
 
 Hear, Nature, hear; dear goddess, hear! 
 Suspend thy purpose, if thou didst intend 
 To make this creature fruitful ! 
 Into her womb convey sterility ! 
 Dry up in her the organs of increase; 
 And from her derogate '■'^ body never spring 
 A babe to honour her! If she must teem. 
 Create her child of spleen ; that it may live, 
 And be a thwart '''^ disnntur'd i-i^ torment to her ! 
 
 pearance,' ' complexioual character.' See Note 86, Act i., 
 "Julius Caesar.'' 
 
 136. As you are old and reverend, should he wise. The word 
 "you" in this line is elliptically understood as repeated before 
 "should." Two of the Quartos print " you ' a second time in 
 the line ; but we think it likely that the author allowed the 
 repetition to be understood here for the sake of metrical 
 euphony, as he has elsewhere done. 
 
 137. DebosKd. See Note 97, Act ii., "All's Well." 
 
 138. Still depend. Here us^d to express ' remain depend- 
 
 139. The sea-monster. Probably meaning the hippopotamus ; 
 which is the hieroglyphical symbol of impiety and ingratitude. 
 Sandys, in his " Travels," mentions that this animal " killeth 
 his sire." It may be that the hippopotamus was mentioned in 
 Shakespeare's time as a sea-beast ; though it is in fact, as its 
 name imports, the ' river-horse.' 
 
 140. An engine. Here meant for the rack. In his "Nun's 
 Priest's Tale," Chaucer uses the word "engined" for ' racked,' 
 ' tortured,' 'strained upon the rack.' 
 
 141. Derogate. 'Degenerate,' 'deb.ased,' 'degraded,' 'de- 
 praved ;' 'damaged,' 'deteriorated.' Shakespeare, in the word 
 he here puts into Lear's mouth, comprises the effect of ' debased ' 
 from her nature as his daughter, by the deed which has caused 
 him to denounce her .as " Degenerate bastard !" and 'damaged' 
 physically by the fearful malediction he here invokes upon her. 
 
 142. Thwart. This word, used as a noun adjective, is found 
 also in " Promos and Cassandra " (1578) : " Sith fortune thwart 
 doth Crosse my joys with care." 
 
 143. Disnatur'd. ' Unnatural,' ' without natural affection.' 
 
Act I.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 Let it stamp wrinkles in her brow of youth ; 
 \\ ith cadent'-** tears fret channels in her cheek? ; 
 Turn all her mother's pains and benefits 
 To laughter and contempt; that she may feel 
 How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is 
 To have a thankless child !— Away, away ! [Exit. 
 Alb. Now, gods that we adore, whereof comes 
 this ? 
 
 Gon. Never afflict yourself to know the cause ; 
 But let his disposition have that scope 
 That dotage gives it. 
 
 Re-enter Le.\K.. 
 Lear. What! fifty of my followers at a clap ! 
 Within a fort.iight ! 
 Alb. What's the inatter, sir? 
 
 Lear. I'll tell thee,— [To GoN.] Life and death \ 
 I am asham'd 
 That thou hast power to shake my manhood thus ; 
 That these hot tears, which break from me per- 
 force, 
 
 Should make thee worth them. — Blasts and fogs 
 upon thee ! 
 
 The untented"^ woundings of a father's curse 
 Pierre every sense about thee ! — Old fond eves, 
 Beweep this cause again, I'll pluck you out. 
 And cast you, witn the waters that you lose. 
 To temper clay. — Ha ! 
 Let it be so: — i have another daughter, 
 Who, I am sure, is kind and comfortable: 
 When she shall hear this of thee, with her nails 
 She'll flay thy wolfish visage. Thou shalt find 
 That I'll resume the shape which thou dost think 
 I have cast off for ever. 
 
 \_Exeunt Lear, Kext, and Attendants. 
 Gon. Do you mark that ? 
 Alb. I cannot be so partial, Goneril, 
 To the great love 1 bear you,— 
 
 Gon. Pray you, coiitent. — What, Oswald, ho I — 
 [To the Fool.] You, sir, more knave than fool, 
 
 after your master. 
 Fool. Nuncle Lear, nuncle Lear, tarry, and take 
 the fool with thee. — 
 
 A fox, when one has caught her. 
 
 And such a daughter. 
 
 Should sure to the slaughter, 
 
 If my cap would buy a halter : 
 
 So the fool follows after. [^Exit. 
 
 144. Cndeiit. From the Latin, cadeits, ' falling,' ' trickling.' 
 
 145. Within a fortnight! Here is one of Shakespeare's 
 indications of dramatic time, serving to mark the space that 
 has elapsed since the opening scene of the play. So artfully is it 
 introduced, that no %-iolation of probability is felt as to nearly two 
 whole weeks having p.^sed during t'ne progress of the fiist .-Vet. 
 
 146. Untented. ' Untentable.' ' unse-irchabie.' 'incurable.' 
 'not to be relieved or he.aled.' See Note 24. Act ii., ''Troilus 
 and Cressida." Shakespeare thus occasionally uses participles; 
 the passive for the active form, or active for the passive form. 
 See Note 52 of the present .\ct. 
 
 Gon. This man hath had good counsel : — a 
 j hundred knights ! 
 
 'Tis politic and safe to let him keep 
 I .^t pointW a hundred knights: yes, that, on every 
 1 dream, 
 
 I Each buzz, each tancy, each coinplaint, dislike, 
 I He may enguard his dotage with their powers, 
 
 And hold our lives in mercy. — Oswald, I say I — 
 Alb. Well, you may fear too far. 
 Gon. Safer than trust too far: 
 
 Let me still take away the harms I fear. 
 
 Not fear still to be taken : I know his heart. 
 
 What he hath utter'd I have writ my sister : 
 } If she sustain him and his hundred knights, 
 I When I have show'd the unfitness, — 
 
 1 Re-enter Osw.ald. 
 
 1 How now, Oswald ! 
 
 What I have you writ that letter to my sister ? 
 OsTV. Ay, madam. 
 
 Got. Take you some company, and away to 
 horse : 
 
 Inform her full of my particular fear ; 
 
 And thereto add such reasons of your own 
 
 As may compact it more. Get you gone ; 
 
 .And hasten your return. [Exit Oswald.] No, 
 
 no, my lord. 
 This milky gentleness and course of yours. 
 Though I condemn not, yet, under pardon. 
 You are much inore attask'd^^'^ for want of wisdom 
 Than prais'd for harmful mildness. 
 I Alb. How far your eyes may pierce I cannot 
 
 tell: 
 
 Striving to better, oft we mar what 's well. 
 Gon. Na)-, then — • 
 
 Alb. Well, well; the event. [E.xeunt. 
 
 SCENE v.— Court before the Duke of Albany's 
 Palace. 
 
 Enter Lear, Kent, and Fool. 
 Lear. Go you before to Gloster with these 
 letters. .Acquaint my daughter no farther with 
 anything you know than comes from her demand 
 I out of the letter. If your diligence be not speedy, 
 ' I shall be there before you.^^' 
 
 I 147. At point. This is an idiomatic phrase, signifying ' in 
 preparative appointment,' ' in a state of preparation : ' ' armeJ 
 and prepared.' See Note 67, Act iv., " Macbeth." 
 
 148. Attask^d. 'Taken to task,' 'censured,' 'rated,' * taxed.' 
 , 'Tasked' and 'taxed' were formerly not unfrequently used the 
 j one for the other. See Note 53, Act iv., " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 149. / shall be tlure be/ore you. "There" is used, in this 
 j sentence, according to a mode of Shakespeare's when occa- 
 sionally employing the word 'see Note 63, .Act iii. , " .As You 
 Like It :" Note 55. Act ii., " Second Part Henrj- IV. ;" and 
 
 ' Note 4, Act iii., " Henry VIIL" ', to signify an implied place ; 
 476 
 
Act I.] KING LEAR. [Scene V. 
 
 Kent. 1 will not sleep, iny lord, till 1 have 
 delivered your letter. \_Ex]t. 
 
 Fool. If a man's brains were in 's heels, were't 
 not in danger of kibes ? 
 
 Lear. Ay, boy. 
 
 Fool. Then I pr'ythee, be merry; thy wit shall 
 not go slip-shod. 
 Lear. Ha, ha, ha ! 
 
 Fool. Shalt see,i=i thy other daughter will use 
 thee kindly; '52 for though she's as like this as a 
 crab is like an apple, yet I can tell what I can tell. 
 
 and in the present instance means the place to which the 
 spe.ikei i.-. sending his messenger. " Gloster," in this speech, 
 seems to mean the county where the Duke of Gloster's castle 
 is situated, and where the residence of the Duke of Cornwall 
 and his wife is supposed also to be ; since the two mansions 
 are sufficiently near to allow of Regan and her husband setting 
 out late and riding hurriedly through the night from the one 
 house to the other, in order to be away from home when the 
 old king arrives. 
 
 150. 1/ a man's Irai is were in 's heels, were 'i not, &'c. 
 
 Lear. What canst tell, boy ? 
 
 Fool. She will taste as like this as a crab does to 
 a crab. Thou canst tell why one's nose stands i' 
 the middle on 's face ? 
 
 Lear. No. 
 
 Fool. Why, to keep one's eyes of either side 's 
 nose; that what a man cannot smell out, he may 
 spy into. 
 
 Lear. I did her wrong : 
 
 Fool. Canst tell how an oyster makes his 
 shell? 
 
 "Brains" here is treated as a collective noun. See Note 60, 
 Act iii., "Julius Caesar." 
 : 151. Shalt see. 'Thou' is understood before "shall." See 
 [ Note 55. Act v., "Twelfth Night." 
 
 1 152. Kindly. Here used with punning significance ; osten- 
 ; sibly, in the sense of 'affectionately,' and really in the double 
 : sense of 'according to her nature or kind,' and 'with kindred 
 ; cruelty to that of her sister." 
 
 153. I did her wrong. He is reverting to his injustice towards 
 Cordelia. See Note 103 of this Act. 
 477 
 
Act II.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Lear. No. 
 
 Fool. Nor I neither; but I can tell why a snail 
 has a liouse. 
 Lear. Why ? 
 
 Fool. Why, to put his head in ; not to give it 
 away to his daughters, and leave his horns without 
 a case. 
 
 Lear. I will forget my nature. — So kind a 
 fother ! — Be my horses ready ? 
 
 Fool. Thy assco are gone about 'em ! The 
 reason why the seven stars are no more than seven 
 is a pretty reason. 
 
 Lear. Because they are not eight ? 
 
 Fool. Yes, indeed : thou wouldst make a good 
 fool. 
 
 Lear. 'I'o take it again perforce ! — Monster 
 ingratitude ! 
 
 Fool. If thou wert my fool, nuncle, I'd have 
 thee beaten for being old before thy time. 
 Lear. How's that? 
 
 Fool. Thou shouldst not have been old before 
 thou hadst been wise. 
 
 Lear. Oh, let me not be mad, not mad, sweet 
 Heaven ! '=3 
 Keep me in temper: I would not be mad ! — 
 
 Enter Gentleman. 
 How now ! are the horses ready ? 
 Gent. Ready, my lord. 
 
 Lear. Come, boy. [Exeunt. 
 
 ACT 
 
 SCENE \.—A Court %L'iihin the Castle of the 
 Earl of Gloster. 
 
 Enter Edmund and Cur an, meeting. 
 
 E'lm. Save thee, Curan. 
 
 Cur. And ) ou, sir. I have been with your 
 father, and given him notice that the Duke of 
 Cornwall and Regan his duchess will be here with 
 him this night. 
 
 Eclm. How comes that ? 
 
 Cur. Nay, I know not. — You have heard of the 
 news abroad, — I mean the whispered ones, for they 
 are yet but ear-kissing arguments ?' 
 
 Edm. Not I : pray you, what are they ? 
 
 Cur. Have you heard of no likely wars toward, 
 'twixt the Dukes of Cornwall and Albany ? 
 
 F.dm. Not a word. 
 
 Cur. You may, then, in time. Fare j ou well, 
 sir. [Exit. 
 Edm. The duke be here to-night? The better! 
 best ! 
 
 This weaves itself perforce into my business. 
 My father hath set guard to take my brother; 
 And I have one tiling, of a queasy question, ^ 
 Which I must act : — briefness and fortune, work! — 
 
 154. To take il again perforce'. Lear is meditating upon 
 the means of fulfilling his threat to Goneril: — "Thou shalt find 
 that I'll resume the shape which thou dost think I have cast off 
 for ever." 
 
 155. Oh^ lei me noi he ntad^ 7tot miti^ siveet Heaven! In- 
 tensely pathetic is this cry of the shaken mind in its anguish of 
 foreboded overthrow. 
 
 1. Ear-kissing- argmnents. ' Reports buzzed about ; ' as if 
 spoken by one man into another's car. 
 
 2. Of a queasy question. * Of a delicate nature,* ' of par- 
 
 II. 
 
 Brother, a word ; — descend :— brother, I say ! 
 
 Enter Edgar. 
 My father watches :— Oh, sir, fly this place ; 
 Intelligence is given where you are hid ; 
 You have now the good advantage of the night : — 
 Have you not spoken 'gainst the Duke of Corn- 
 wall ? 
 
 He's coming hither; now, i' the night, i' the haste, 
 And Regan with him : have you nothing said 
 Upon his party 3 'gainst the Duke of Albany ? 
 Advise yourself* 
 
 Edg. I am sure on 't, not a word. 
 
 Edm. I hear my father coming : — pardon me; 
 In cunning I must draw my sword upon you : — 
 Draw; seem to defend yourself: now 'quit you 
 well.* — 
 
 Yield: — come before my father. — Lij,ht, ho, here! — 
 Fly, brother. — Torches, torches! — So, farewell. 
 
 [Exit Edgar. 
 
 [Wounds his arm.'] Some blood drawn on me 
 
 would beget opinion 
 Ofmy more fierce endeavour: I have seen drunkards 
 Do more than this in sport. ^ — Father, father ! — 
 Stop, stop ! — No help ? 
 
 ticular concern.' "Queasy" strictly means 'squeamish,' 'fas- 
 tidious.' See Note 49, Act ii., " Much Ado." 
 
 3. Upon /lis party. 'On his side,' 'on his behalf,' 'as a 
 partisan of his.' 
 
 4. Atlvise yourself. 'Recollect yourself;' 'bethink your- 
 self;' 'reflect,' 'consider.' 
 
 5. ^ Quit you tvell. ' Acquit yourself well.' 
 
 6. Do more than this in sport. Feats of the kind here alluded 
 to are enumerated in one of Marston's plays : " Have I not 
 been drunk for your health, eat glasses, drunk wine, stabbed 
 arms, and done all offices of protested gallantry for your sake'" 
 
 78 
 
ACT II.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Enter Glostek, and Servants njoith torches. 
 Glo. Now, Edmund, where 's the villain ? 
 Ed?n. Here stood he in the dark, his sharp sword 
 out. 
 
 Mumbling of wicked charms, conjuring the moon 
 To stand auspicious mistress,' — 
 
 Glo. But where is he ? 
 
 Edm. Look, sir, f bleed. 
 
 Gla. Where is the villain, Edmund ? 
 
 Edm. Fled this way, sir. When by no means 
 he could — 
 
 Gio. Pursue him, ho! — Go after. {^Exeunt some 
 Servants.]—" By no means" what? 
 
 Edm. Persuade me to the murder of your lord- 
 ship ; 
 
 But that I told him, the revenging gods 
 
 'Gainst parricides did all their thunders bend ;** 
 
 Spoke, with how manifold and strong a bond 
 
 The child was bound to the father ; — sir, in fine. 
 
 Seeing how loathly opposite I stood 
 
 To his unnatural purpose, in fell motion. 
 
 With his prepare! sword, he charges home 
 
 My unprovided body, lanc'd mine arm : 
 
 But when he saw my best alarum'd spirits. 
 
 Bold in the quarrel's right, rous'd to th' encounter 
 
 Or whether gasted" by the noise I made. 
 
 Full suddenly he fled. 
 
 Glo. Let him fly far : 
 
 Not in this land shall he remain uncaught ; 
 And found — despatch,'" — The noble duke my 
 master. 
 
 My vi'orthy arch" and patron, comes to-night : 
 By his authority I will proclaim it, 
 That he which finds him shall deserve our thanks, 
 Bringing the murderous coward to the stake; 
 He that conceals him, death. 
 
 Edm. When I dissuaded him from his intent, 
 And found liim pight'- to do it, with curst '^speech 
 I threaten'd to discover him : he replied, 
 " Thou unpossessing bastard ! dost thou think, 
 If I would stand against thee, would the reposal 
 Of any trust, virtue, or worth, in thee 
 Make thy words fixith'd ? No : what I shouid deny 
 
 7. To stand auspicious unstress. Edmund here craftily 
 appeals to his father's foible of credence in superstitions relative 
 to astrological influence. See Note 76, Act i. 
 
 8. Ait their thicuders bend. This is the reading of the 
 Quartos; while the Folio prints, 'all the thunder bend.' 
 
 g. Gasted. ' Aghasted,' ' affrighted.' 
 
 10. Aud found — iespnt:h. 'And being found, despatch is 
 the word ;* he shall be punished forthwith. 
 
 IT. Arcli. Chief. Now used only in compound with other 
 words ; as ' arch-duke,' ' arch-angel,' &c. 
 
 12. Piglit. ' Pitched,' 'fixed,' 'settled,' 'resolved.' 
 
 13. Curst. 'Harsh,' '.scolding,' 'severe.' See Note 58, 
 Act iii., " Midsummer Night's Dream." 
 
 14. Would t/ie reposal, S^c. 'Would any confidence that 
 men may have reposed in thy trustworthiness, virtue, or merit, 
 have caused thy word to be believed V 
 
 (As this I would ; ay, though thou didst produce 
 
 My very character),'* I'd turn it all 
 
 To thy suggestion,'* plot, and cursed practice:'? 
 
 And thou must make a dullard of the world. 
 
 If they not thought the profits of my deatli 
 
 Were very })regnant and potential spurs 
 
 To make thee seek it." 
 
 Glo. Strong and fasten'd '^ villain 
 
 Would he deny his letter ? — I never got him. — 
 
 [Tucket ujithin. 
 
 Hark, the duke's trumpets! I know not why he 
 comes. — 
 
 All ports" I'll bar ; the villain shall not 'scape ; 
 The duke must grant me that : besides, his picture 
 I will send far and near, that all the kingdom 
 May have due note of him; and of my 'land. 
 Loyal and natural boy, I'll work the means 
 To make thee capable. 
 
 Enter Cornwall, Reg.a.n, and Attendants. 
 Corn. How now, my noble friend ! since I came 
 hither 
 
 (Which I can call but nou), I iiave heard strange 
 news. 
 
 Reg. If it be true, all vengeance comes too short 
 Which can pursue the offender. How dost, my lord ? 
 Glo. Oh, madam, my old heart is crack'd, — it's 
 crack' d ! 
 
 Reg. What! did my f.tther's godson seek your 
 life? 
 
 He whom my father nam'd ? your Edgar ? 
 
 Glo. Oh, lady, lady, shame would have it hid ! 
 Reg. Was he not comi)aiiion with the riotous 
 knights 
 That tend upon my father? 
 
 Glo. I know not, madam : — 'tis too bad, too bad. 
 Edm. Yes, madam, he was of that consort. 
 Reg. No marvel, then, though he were ill 
 aflPected : 
 
 'Tis they have put him on '2' the old man's death. 
 To have the expense and waste of his revenues. 
 I have this present evening from my sister 
 Been well inform'd of them ; and with such 
 cautions, 
 
 15. Character. 'Handwriting.' 
 
 16. Stcgg. stiou. ' Instigatif 
 
 17. Practice. ' Scheming,' 
 
 18. Strong a'td fasten'd. 'Confirmed and inveterate;' 
 steadfast in guilt.' 
 
 19. Ports. 'Gates.' See Note 64, Act v., " Coriolanus." 
 
 20. Capable. Here usei to express ' capable of inheriting ; ' 
 because, as an illegitimate son, Edmund was legally disqualified 
 from succeeding to Gloster's title and estate. 
 
 21. Put hint on. ' Incited him to,' 'prompted him to." See 
 Note 123, Act i. It is just one of Shakespeare's subtleties in 
 knowledge of human nature, making Regan seek to associate 
 the accused man. Edgar, with the kni,ghts who belong to her 
 father's train, and whom she is determined to fasten blame 
 upon, as an excuse for her refusal to receive and entertain 
 
Act II.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 That if they come to sojourn at my house, 
 ni not be there. 
 
 Corn. Nor I, assure thee, Regan. — 
 
 Edmund, I hear that you have shown your father 
 A child-like office. 
 
 Edm. 'Twas my duty, sir. 
 
 Glo. He did bewray his practice and receiv'd 
 This hurt you see, striving to apprehend him. 
 
 Corn. Ishepursu'd? 
 
 Glo. Ay, my good lord. 
 
 Corn. If he be taken, he shall never more 
 Be fear'd of doing harm : make your own purpose. 
 How in my strength you please. — For you, 
 Edmund, 
 
 Whose virtue and obedience doth this instant 
 So much commend itself, you shall be ours : 
 Natures of such deep trust we shall much need-; 
 You we first seize on. 
 
 Edm. I shall serve you, sir, 
 
 Truly, however else. 
 
 Glo. For him I thank your grace. 
 
 Corn. You know not why we came to visit 
 you, — 
 
 Reg. Tlius out of season, threading dark-ey'd 
 night : 
 
 Occasions, noble Gloster, of some poise,^^ 
 Wherein we must have use of your advice : — 
 Our father he hath writ, so hath our sister, 
 Of differences, which I best thought it fit 
 To answer from our home the several mes- 
 sengers 
 
 From hence attend despatch. Our good old 
 friend. 
 
 22. He did bewray his practice. ' He disco\ ered his mali 
 cious scheme,' ' he revealed his treacherous device.' 
 
 23. Poise. ' Weight,' ' moment,' ' importance.' 
 
 24. Fr07n our kojne. * Away from our home.' See Note 103, 
 Act iv., " Timon of Athens," 
 
 25. Good daivtiing to thee. Shakespeare here, and elsewhere, 
 uses ' dawning" substantively as a form of * dawn.' He has 
 marked the time throughout this scene with especial care ; 
 opening it with the hours before the breaking of the morning, 
 when it is still " night, yet the moon shines," and allows suf- 
 ficient light for Kent to draw and attack Oswald ; for the re- 
 appearance of Regan and her husband, who have ridden through 
 the night : and yet not sufficient light to permit Kent to read 
 the letter he has received from Cordelia. 
 
 26. If I had thee in Lipsbjiry pinfold. It has been con- 
 jectured that " Lipsbury pinfold" may have been a fabricated 
 name, like ' Lob's pound,' which was a cant term for a jail, or 
 any confined place ; " pinfold " meaning a ' pound ' or ' cattle- 
 pen.' There is a possibility that " Lipsbury pinfold " maybe 
 l.ere intended to signify some enclosed space suited for coming 
 to fisticuffs, or for administering a drubbing; but we think it 
 not unlikely that the present is a rougher version of one of those 
 forms of defiance which we have before pointed out. See 
 Notes It, Act i., and 9, Act iv., " Richard IL ;" and Note 83, 
 Act iii., " Macbeth." Again in this scene Kent says, " If I 
 had you upon Sarum plain;" which distinctly indicates the 
 reference to a wide and deserted place, an open and solitary 
 
 27. Three-suited. This seems to be an epithet flung at the 
 upper-serving-man condition of Oswald, which sufficiently dis- 
 tinguished his class at the time Shakespeare wrote ; for after- 
 
 Lay comforts to your bosom ; and bestow 
 Your needful counsel to our business, 
 Which craves the instant use. 
 
 Glo. I serve you, madam : 
 
 Your graces are right welcome. {^Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE Before Gi.oster's Castle. 
 Enter Kent and Oswald, severally. 
 Osiv. Good dawning to thee,'" friend : art of 
 tills house ? 
 Kent. Ay. 
 
 OsiA}. Where may we set our horses F 
 Kett. r the mire. 
 
 Osiv. Pr'ythee, if thou love me, tell me. 
 
 Kent. I love thee not. 
 
 OsTV. Why, then, I care not for thee. 
 
 Kent. If I had thee in Lipsbury pinfold,'^^ 1 
 would make thee care for me. 
 
 Osiv. Why dost thou use me thus ? I know 
 thee not. 
 
 Kent. Fellow, I know thee. 
 
 OsTv. What dost thou know me for ? 
 
 Kent. A knave; a rascal ; an eater of broken 
 meats; a base, proud, shallow, beggarly, three- 
 suited, 2' hundred-pound,28 filthy, worsted-stocking 
 knave ;2' a lily-livered, action-taking knave a 
 glass-gazing, superserviceable, finical rogue ; one- 
 trunk-inheriting slave ;3i one that wouldst be a 
 broker, in way of good service, and art nothing but 
 the composition of a knave, beggar, coward, and 
 
 wards, Edgar, when reverting to his supposed former station as 
 one of these pampered serving-gentlemen, speaks of himself as 
 one " who hath had three suits to his back." Possibly it was a 
 stipulated part of their hire that they were to have three suits 
 at a time provided for their wear. 
 
 28. Hundred-pound. This also seems to have been an ex- 
 pression formerly used to designate a pretender to gentry ; for 
 in Middleton's play of " The Phoenix " (1607), we find, " Am I 
 used like a ku7idredpound gentleman ;" and in 01dy.s's "Life 
 of Raleigh," At Milan, where there are three hundred-pound 
 Englishmen, they cannot so much as have a barber among 
 them." 
 
 29. Worsted-stocking knai'e. Stockings in England, when 
 Shakespeare wrote, were a very expensive article of apparel ; 
 though elegant ones were reckoned so essential a part of luxurious 
 wear, that Stubbes, in his " Anatomic of Abuses," says, ** Those 
 who have not above forty shillings a year wages, will not stick 
 to have two or three pair of these silk nether stocks, or el.se of 
 the finest yarn that may be got, though the price of them be 
 a ryall, or twenty shillin-js." Prince Hnl adverts to Poins's 
 " silk stockings" as matters "to take note how many pair of" 
 them he possesses (see passage referred to in Note 31, Act ii., 
 " Second Part Henry IV.") ; and m Robert Tailor's comedy of 
 "The Hog hath lost its Pearl" (1614), it is said, "Good parts 
 are no more set by, than a good leg in a woollen stocking." 
 
 30. Action-taking knave. A fellow who, if you beat him, 
 would bring an action for the assault, instead of resenting it like 
 a man of courage. 
 
 31. One-trunk-inheriting slave. One whose sole inheritance 
 is an old chest left by his father, and containing all that exists 
 of the family property. 
 
Act II.] KING LEAR. [Scene II. 
 
 the son and heir of a mongrel : one whom I will 
 beat into clamorous whining, if thou deniest the 
 least syllable of thy addition.^^ 
 
 Os'w. Why, what a monstrous fellow art thou, 
 thus to rail on one that is neither known of thee 
 nor knows thee ! 
 
 Krrtt. What a brazen-faced varlet art thou, to 
 deny thou knowest me! Is it two days since I 
 tripped up thy heels, and beat thee, before the king? 
 
 32. Addition. 'Title,' 'descriptive designation.' See Note 
 89, Act ii., "Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 33. A sop o' the ^noonshiiie. In allusion to an antique dish 
 called 'eggs in rnoonsliine ; ' which consisted of eggs broken 
 and boiled in salad oil till the yolks become hard. Kent's 
 threat is equivalent to ' I'll beat you flat as a pancake.' 
 
 34. Barber-vionger. A ' finical rogue,' who deals much with 
 barbers, to trim and fashion his beard according to the most 
 approved cut. See Note 87, Act ii., "As You Like It." See 
 also the passage where Don Pedro, Claudio, and Leonato rally 
 Benedick upon his having the barber to make him look "younger 
 
 Draw, you rogue: for, though it be night, yet the 
 moon shines; I'll make a sop o' the moonshine''* 
 of }ou : [draiving his siuord] draw, you cuUionly 
 barber-monger,^* draw. 
 
 Os'TU. Away! I have nothing to do with thee. 
 
 Kent. Draw, you rascal : you come with letters 
 against the king; and take Vanity ,^5 the puppet's 
 jiart, against the royalty of her father: draw, you 
 rogue, or I'll so carbonado^" your shanks: — draw, 
 you rascal ; come your ways. 
 
 than he did, by the loss of a beard," "Much Ado," Act iii., 
 sc. 2 ; and the one in " Antony and Cleopatra," Act ii., sc. 2, 
 where Enobarbus mentions Mark Antony as " being barber'd 
 ten times o'er." 
 
 35. Vanity. One of the characters in the ancient moralities 
 and puppet-show dramas. See Note 135, Act ii., " First Part 
 Henry IV." Kent gives this name of "Vanity" to Goneril, in 
 antithesis to " royalty," and as a contrast between her puppet 
 queenship and her father's veritable kingliness. 
 
 36. Carbonado. See Note 94, Act iv., " All's Well." 
 
 Z27 
 
Act II.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Osvj. Help, ho I murder ! help ! 
 Kent. Strike, you slave ; stand, rogue, stand ; 
 you neat slave,^? strike. [Sealing him. 
 
 Osxv. Help, ho! murder! murder I 
 
 Enter Edmund, Cornwall, Regan, Gloster, 
 and Servants. 
 
 Edm. How no.v! What's the matter r^* 
 
 Kent. With you, goodman boy, if you please : 
 come, I'll flesh you;^^ come on, young master. j 
 
 G/o. Weapons! arms! What's the matter I 
 here ? j 
 
 Corn. Keep peace, upon your lives ; i 
 He dies that strikes again. What is the matter ? ' 
 
 Reg. The messengers from our sister and the | 
 king. : 
 
 Corn. What is your difference ? speak. j 
 
 Oj-xo. I am scarce in breath, my lord. ! 
 
 Kent. No marvel, you have so bestirred your 
 valour. You cowardly rascal, nature disclaims in 
 thee : a tailor made thee. 
 
 Corn. Thou art a strange fellow : a tailor make 
 a man ? 
 
 Kent. Ay, a tailor, sir: a stone-cutter or a ' 
 painter could not have made him so ill, though 
 they had been but two hours at the trade. I 
 
 Corn. Speak yet, how grew your quarrel ? 
 
 OsTJU. This ancient ruffian, sir, whose life I have 
 spared at suit of his grey beard, — ] 
 
 Kent. Thou rascal zed!^^ thou unnecessary 
 
 37. Vcu 7teat slave. Here the epithet ''neat" has double 
 and treble significance of allusion. It means ' spruce/ * dapper,' 
 'cleanly,' in reference to Oswald as a glass-gazing, Jiiucal 
 rogue;" * unclean/ like black or 'neat cattle' [from the Saxon 
 iLeieti, or niten, and * villanous,' in allusion to the 'neat land,' 
 or terra villanorutn, which was land let out to feudal tenants. 
 Thus the word " neat" forms an appropriate term for the foppish 
 yet dirtily servile, arrogant yet serf-devoted steward, Oswald. 
 
 38. Wluifs the matter 1 In the Folio these words are fol- 
 lowed by ' Part.' We follow the Quartos, which omit the 
 monosyllable, it being probably a stage-direction, indicating 
 that those who enter part the combatants, or rather interpose 
 between Kent and the object of his castigation. If the word 
 'Part' be retained in the text, it conveys the effect of Kent's 
 saymg he'll part with Edmund, if he please : whereas, he says, 
 "The matter" shall be " with you," if you will. 
 
 39. /'// flesh yoii. ' I'll initiate you in fighting.' See Note 6, 
 Act v., " King John." 
 
 40. Disclaims in tliee. To " disclaim in " was used formerly 
 as, since then, ' disclaim,' simply, is used. 
 
 41. Zed. Kent employs this as a term of contempt because 
 it is the last letter in the Enghsh alphabet ; and it is called an 
 " unnecessary letter," because its place may be supplied by S. 
 
 42. Unbolted. 'Unsifted;' coarse. ' Unbolted mortar' is 
 mortar made of unsifted lime ; and, to break the lumps, it was 
 trodden by men in wooden shoes. 
 
 43. Too intriiise. The Folio jnisprints this ' t' intrince ;' and 
 the Quartos 'to intrench.' Shakespeare probably used "in- j 
 trinse" here as an abbreviated form of " intrinsicate ;" which 
 latter word he employs in the last scene of "Antony and Cleo- 
 patra " to express ' intricate.' 
 
 a,!,. Smootlie. 'Flatter.' See Note 39, Act i., " Richard III." 
 
 45. Renege. The Quarto spells this word ' reneag,' while the 
 Folios misprint it ' reuenge.' " Renege " is ' deny,' 'disclaim,' 
 ' give a negative.' 
 
 letter! — My lord, if you will give me leave, I will 
 tread this unbolted'" villain into mortar, and daub 
 the wall of a sewer with him. — Spare my grey 
 beard, you wagtail ? 
 
 Corn. Peace, sirrah ! 
 You beastly knave, know you no reverence "P 
 
 Kent. Yes, sir ; but anger hath a privilege. 
 
 Corn. Why art thou angry 'i 
 
 Kent. That sucli a slave as this should wear a 
 sword, 
 
 Who wears no honesty. Such smiling rogues as 
 these, 
 
 Like rats, oft bite the holy cords a-twaiii 
 
 Which are too intrinse-'^ t' unloose; smoothe" 
 
 every passion 
 That in the natiu-es of then- lords rebels; 
 Bring oil to fire, snow to their colder moods ; 
 Renege,^* affirm, and turn their halcyon"*^ beaks 
 With every gale and vary of their masters. 
 Knowing naught, like dogs, but following. — 
 A plague upon your epileptic vis.^ge l''^ 
 Smile you my speeches, as I were a fool ? 
 Goose, if I had you upon Sarum''^ plain, 
 I'd drive ye cackling home to Camelot." 
 
 Corn. What! art thou mad, old fellow ? 
 
 Glo. How fell you out ? say that. 
 
 Kent. No contraries hold more antipathy 
 Than I and such a knave. 
 
 Corn. Why dost thou call him knave ? What 
 is his fault ? 
 
 46. Halcyon. One name for the bird called the kingfisher ; 
 which, when dried and hung up by a thread, is popularly be- 
 lieved to turn his bill to the point from whence the wind blows. 
 In Alarlowe's " Jew of Malta" {1633! we find : — 
 
 " But how stands the wind ? 
 Into what corner peers my halcyon's bill ?" 
 
 And in the "Book of Notable Things :"— '^A lytle byrde called 
 the Kings Fysher, being hanged up in the ayre by the neck, 
 his nebbe or byll wyll be always direct or strayght against 
 y winde." 
 
 47. Your epileptic -visage. One of the many signal proofs 
 that Shakespeare was well acquainted with the symptoms of 
 various disorders. During an attack of epilepsy the muscles of 
 the face are in violent action, producing frightful distortions of the 
 countenance ; and Kent, by the term here used, depicts forcibly 
 to our mind's eye the visage of Oswald, grinning with suppressed 
 rage, while striving to pass it off as a smile of contemptuous 
 superiority. 
 
 48. Sarum. The ancient name for Salisbury. Kent threatens 
 the steward that if he had him in the broad open space of Wilt- 
 shire, he would drive him into the adjoining county of Somerset, 
 where there are large moors, famous for breeding great quantities 
 of geese. 
 
 49. Camelot. Situated in Somersetshire. Selden, in his 
 Notes on Drayton's " Polyolbion," says, " By South Cadbury 
 is that Camelot ; a hill of a mile compass at the top ; four 
 trenches encircling it ; and betwi.xt every of them an earthen 
 wall : the contents of it within, about twenty acres ; full of 
 ruins and reliques of old buildings. Antique report makes this 
 one of Arthur's places of the Round Table, as the muse here 
 sings — 
 
 " ' Like Camelot what place was ever yet renown'd ? 
 Where, as at Caerlion oft, he kept the Table Round. ' " 
 
Act II.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Kent. His countenance likes me not. 5" 
 Corn. No more, perchance, does mine, nor his, 
 nor hers. 
 
 Kera. Sir, 'tis my occupation to be plain : 
 I have seen better faces in my time 
 Than stands on any shoulder that I see 
 Before me at this instant. 
 
 Corn. This is some fellow. 
 
 Who, having been prais'd for bluntness, doth affect 
 A saucy roughness, and constrains the garb 
 Quite from his nature:'' he cannot Hatter, he, — 
 An honest mind and plain, — he must speak truth ! 
 An they will take it, so; if not, he's plain. 
 These kind of knaves I know, which in this plain- 
 ness 
 
 Harbour more craft, and more corrupter ends, 
 Than twenty silly ducking observants 
 That stretch their duties nicely. 
 
 Kent. Sir, in good faith, in sincere verity, 
 Under the allowance of your grand aspect, 
 Whose influence, like the wreath of radiant fire 
 On flickering Phcebus' front, — • 
 
 Corn. What mean'st by this ? 
 
 Kent. To go out of my dialect, which you dis- 
 commend so much. I know, sir, I am no flatterer: 
 he that beguiled you in a plain accent was a plain 
 knave; which, for my part, I will not be, though I 
 should win your displeasure to entreat me to't.*^ 
 
 Corn. What was the offence you gave hiin f 
 
 Osuu. I never gave him any : 
 It pleas'd the king his master very late 
 To strike at me, upon his misconstruction ; 
 When he, compact, °* and flattering his displeasure, 
 Tripp'd me behind ; being down, insulted, rail'd,^' 
 And put upon him such a deal of man. 
 That worthied him, got praises of the king 
 
 50. His cmnteuaticc likes iiic not. ' I do not like his counte- 
 nance:' 'his countenance does not please me.' See Note ig. 
 Act v., *' Troilus and Cressida" 
 
 51. Quite from his nature. " His " here used for ' its.' Corn- 
 wall implies, in what he says of Kent, that he distorts the style of 
 straightforward speaking quite from its nature, which is sin- 
 cerity; whereas he m.\kes it a cloak for craft. We e.vplain our 
 view of the passage; because it has been by some coniinentators. 
 who here follow Johnson, stated to me.an, ' Forces his outside or 
 his appearance to something tot.ally different from his natural dis- 
 position ;' whereby " his" is understood as the personal pronoun, 
 and not the impersonal one • its.' which we take it here to be 
 employed for. 
 
 52. Nicely. ' Pimctiliously," 'preciselv.' 'with scrupulous 
 e.v.actness.' .See Note 6S, Act v., '■ Henry V." 
 
 53. TlMHiik I should win your disfile.isure to entreat lire to 'I. 
 'Thoiigh I should win you from your displeasure suthciently to 
 nuke you entreat me to be a knave.' 
 
 54. Cow/>n.-t. 'Acting in concert with him.' 'joined in a 
 compact with him.' See Note 25. .\ct v., " Afeasure for 
 .Me.xsure." 
 
 - 55. Bciui: <ln-.„n. in.-ulted. raiVd. Here T is understood 
 b,-fore '-biin?." and 'he' before "insulted." See Note ^14, 
 Act iv., Timnn of .Athens." 
 
 56. Th the Jieshment of this dread e.rfiloit. 'In the first 
 glory of thi.s grand achievement.' Oswald sneers at Kent's 
 initiative piece of service performed for the king, his master: 
 
 For him attempting who was self-subdu'd ; 
 And, in the fleshment of this dread exploit.'^ 
 Drew on me here again. 
 
 Kent. None of these rogues and cowards, 
 
 But Ajax is their fool.'' 
 
 Corn. Fetch forth the stocks ! — 
 
 You stubborn ancient knave, you reverend brag- 
 gart. 
 
 We'll teach you — 
 
 Kent. Sir, I am too old to learn : 
 
 Call not your stocks for me : I serve the king ; 
 On whose employment I was sent to you : 
 You shall do small respect, show too bold malice 
 Against the grace and person of my master. 
 Stocking his messenger. 
 
 Corn. Fetch forth the stocks!— As I have life 
 and honour, 
 There shall lie sit till noon. 
 
 Reg. Till noon I till night, my lord ;5^ and all 
 night too. 
 
 Kent. Why, madam, if I were your father's dog. 
 You should not use me so. 
 
 Reg. Sir, being his knave, I will. 
 
 Corn. Tliis is a fellow of the self-same colour 
 Our sister speaks of'^ — Come, bring away the 
 stocks! \_S locks brought out.''" 
 
 Glo. Let me beseech your grace not to do so : 
 His fault is much, and tiie good king his master 
 Will check liim for't: your purpos'd low cor- 
 rection 
 
 Is .such, as basest and contemned'st wretches 
 For pilferings and most common trespasses 
 .A.re punish'd with : the king must take it ill, 
 That he, so slightly valu'd in his messenger, 
 Should have him thus restrain'd. 
 
 Corn. I'll answer that. 
 
 " fleshment " being used in reference to the commencing training 
 of a young swordsman. See Note 39 of this Act. 
 
 57. Aj,!.Y is their fool. Equivalent to ' Aja.v is a fool to 
 them ;' the whole speech signifying, ' There is not one of these 
 rogues and coward-, but, by his own account, makes out Ajax to 
 be a mere fool compared with himself.' 
 
 58. nil noon : till night, tny lord. Very artfully is this 
 speech throu'n in. Not only does it serve to paint the vindictive 
 disposition of Regan ; it also serves to regulate dramatic time, 
 by making the subsequent scene, where Lear arrives before 
 CJIoster's castle and finds his faithful messenger in the stocks, 
 appear sufficiently ad\anced in the morning to allow of that 
 same scene closing with the .actual approach of " night " without 
 disiuibing the sense of prokability. So carefully, so artistically 
 does our dramatist work, that he makes a whole day pass before 
 our eyes during a single scene and dialogue, yet all seems con- 
 sistent and natur.il in the course of progression. This great 
 enchanter sw.ays our impressions with such potent art. that the 
 very laws of Nature seon ■■ubjcct to his will : and we accept his 
 order of time and space as established verities. 
 
 59. A fellow of the .^elf-same colour onr sister speaks of. 
 Elliptically e.vpressed : 'a fellow of exactly the s.ame kind as 
 those '"riotous knights"' concerning whom my sister wrote to 
 me.' '■ Colotu- " is here used for ' complexional character.' 
 
 60. Stocks bronchi ont. Formerly in great houses, as at a 
 later period in some colleges, there were movable " stocks" for 
 the C'lrrection of the ser\"ants. 
 
Act II.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Reg. My sister may receive it much more 
 worse, 
 
 To have her gentleman abus'd, assaulted, 
 I'^or following her affairs. — Put in his legs.^i — 
 
 [K.ENT is put in the stocks. 
 
 Come, my lord, away. 
 
 \_Exeunt all except Gloster and Kent. 
 Glo. I am sorry for thee, friend ; 'tis the duke's 
 pleasure, 
 
 Whose disposition, all the world well knows, 
 Will not be rubb'd nor stopp'd:''^ I'll entreat for 
 thee. 
 
 Kent. Pray, do not, sir : I have watch'd,'^ and 
 travell'd hard ; 
 Some time I shall sleep out, the rest I'll whistle. 
 A good man's fortune may grow out at heels : 
 Give you good morrow ! 
 
 Glo. The duke 's to blame in this ; 'twill be ill 
 taken. \^Exit. 
 Kent. Good king, that must approve** the 
 common saw,^* — 
 Thou out of heaven's benediction com'st 
 To tiie warm sun ! 
 
 Approach, thou beacon to this under globe, 
 That by thy comfortable beams I may 
 Peruse this letter !*8—Nothing,almost, sees miracles 
 But misery — 1 know 'tis from Cordelia, 
 
 61. Put in his legs. This line in omitted in the Folio, but 
 given- in the Quartos ; and its concluding portion certainly is 
 most characteristic of Regan's stony and relentless nature. It 
 is difficult to assign the pre-eminence in repulsive qualities 
 between these two horrible women ; but to our thinking there 
 is a brassy malignancy abjut Regan's manner that is still more 
 repulsive than Goneril's disdainful arrogance. The one is meanly 
 as well as cruelly cold and hard ; the other is haughtily un- 
 feeling. 
 
 62, Not be ntb}}^d nor stopped. Double negative. The 
 metaphor is from the game of bowhng. 
 
 63 IVatch'd. ' Been awake,' 'been without sleep.' 
 
 64. Approve. 'Support,' 'confirm,' 'justify;' 'make mani- 
 fest the truth of.' See Note 19, Act iii., "Merchant of 
 Venice." 
 
 65. The common saw. ' The common proverb, or adage ' 
 The one here alluded to is given thus in Heywood's " Dialogues 
 on Pro\'erbs ; " — 
 
 " In your running from him to me ye runne 
 Out 0/ God s blessing into the warm sunne." 
 
 And also in Howell's " Collection of English Proverbs," In his 
 Dictionary (1660), together with Its explanation : — " He goes out 
 of God's blessing to the warm sun, viz, from good to worse." 
 See Note 47, Act i., "Hamlet." Kent is here thinking that 
 the king is likely to receive even worse treatment from Regan 
 than that which he has experienced from Gonerll. 
 
 66. This letter. Meaning ' this letter that I have received ;' 
 and possibly being supposed to draw it forth and look at It for 
 a moment, attempting to read it by the still imperfect light of 
 coming dawn. . 
 
 67. Nothing, almost, sees miracles but misery. 'There is 
 hardly anything but misery that sees miracles.' "Almost" 
 is here used with the effect of 'scnrcely' or 'hardly.' See 
 Note 61, Act iii., " Richard III." Kent .wms to allude to his 
 having adopted the lowly disguise of a serving-man ; which will 
 perchance enable him to behol-1 the miracle of redress for the 
 present unnatural condition of affairs. 
 
 Who hath most fortunately been inform'd 
 Of my obscured course ; and shall find time*^ 
 From this enormous state, — seeking to give 
 Losses their remedies. — All wearyand o'er-watch'd, 
 Take vantage, heavy eyes, not to behold 
 This shameful lodging. 
 
 Fortune, good night: smils once more; turn thy 
 wheel ! [Sleeps. 
 
 SCENE \\\.— The open Country. 
 Enter Edgar. 
 Edg. I heard myself proclaim'd ; 
 And by the happy hollow of a tree 
 Escap'd the hunt. No port is free ; no place, 
 That guard, and most unusual vigilance. 
 Does not attend my taking. While I may 'scape, 
 I will preserve myself : and am bethought 
 To take the basest and most poorest shape 
 That ever penury, in contempt of man. 
 Brought near to beast ; my face I'll grime with 
 filth ; 
 
 Blarket my loins ; elf all my hair in knots 
 And with presented nakedness out-face 
 The winds and persecutions of the sky. 
 The country gives me proof and precedent 
 
 68. And shall find time, Here " shall '' has been altered 
 
 to 'she'll,' with a view to give clearness to a passage which has 
 been pronounced to be "obscure" and "perhaps corrupt;" 
 but we think that It Is made purposely confused In phraseology, 
 to indicate the situation of Kent. In the first place, we believe 
 that "who" before "hath" is allowed to be elllptically under- 
 stood as repeated before "shall ," in accordance with a frequent 
 practice of Shakespeare's in sentences of similar construction. 
 See, for instance. Note 20, Act ii. , " Tempest ;" Notes 15, Act 
 ii., and 61, Act iv., " Timon of Athens ;" and Note 136, Act i. 
 of the present play, among hosts of other e.vamples that we have 
 denoted. In the next place, we take the portion of this speech 
 from "I know 'tis from Cordelia" to "their remedies," to be 
 a series of disjointed sentences, imperfectly uttered by the 
 soliloqulser ; and that the breaks In them are intentionally 
 given, to mark that Kent is dropping off to sleep. The current 
 of his thoughts appears to us to be this : — ' I know this letter is 
 from Cordelia, who hath most fortunately been informed of my 
 disguised condition ; and she will find an opportunity from this 
 irregular and unnatural state of things' [to convert it into duer 
 order\ — 'seekiiig to give losses their remedies' [by reinstating 
 her father in his kingdom and restoring me to my dukedom] : 
 then finding himself unable to pmsue his train of ideas, or even 
 to express them coherently, he interrupts himself with " All 
 weary and o'erwatch'd," &c., and resolves to rest. In this 
 speech we find precisely that felicity of perfect impression in 
 imperfect expression which we have so often pointed out and 
 dwelt upon as one among the numberless excellences of Shake- 
 speare's power in style (see Note 67, Act ill., "Timon of Athens"); 
 as well as that most natural and characteristic inexplicltness in 
 wording, which he gives when writing soliloquy. See Note 34, 
 Act Iv., " Henry V." 
 
 69 Enormous. 'Out of rule,' 'out of order,' contrary to 
 natural ordination ; ' abnormal.' 
 
 70. Elf all my hair in knots. Shakespeare has formed the 
 substantive "elf" into a verb, to succinctly express an operation 
 which was popularly supposed to be performed by elves or fairies. 
 See Note 82, Act i., " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
Act II.] 
 
 KING 
 
 LEAR. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Of Bedlam beggars,'^ who, with roaring voices, 
 Strike in their nurnb'd and mortified bare arms 
 Pins, wooden pricks, nails, sprigs of rosemary ; 
 And with this horrible object, from low farms, 
 Poor pelting''^ villages, sheep-cotes, and mills, 
 Sometime with lunatic bans,'^ sometime with 
 prayers, 
 
 Enforce their charity. — Poor Turlygod poor 
 Tom ! 
 
 That's something yet; — Edgar I nothing am. 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 SCENE IV.— Before Gloster's Castle. Kent 
 in the Stocks. 
 
 Er.ier Lear, Fool, and Gentleman. 
 
 Lear. 'Tis strange that they should so depart 
 from home,"' 
 And not send back my messenger. 
 
 Gent. As I learn'd. 
 
 The night before,?" there was no purpose in them 
 Of this remove. 
 
 Kent. Hail to thee, noble master ! 
 
 Lear. Ha ! 
 Mak'st thou this shame thy pastime ? 
 
 Kent. No, my lord. 
 
 Fool. Ha, ha ! he wears cruel garters. 77 Horses 
 are tied by the head, dogs and bears by the neck, 
 
 71. Bedlam iteo-gars. Aubrey, in his MS. '* Remaines of 
 Gentilisme and Judaisme," describes the liind of wanderers who 
 were Ae originals of tliose here alluded to : — " Before the civil 
 wars, I remember Tom a Bedlams went about begging. They 
 had been such as had been in Bedlam, and come to some 
 degree of .sobernesse ; and when they were licensed to goe out, 
 they had on their left arme an armilla of tinne printed, of about 
 three inches breadth, which was sodered on." The compassion 
 shown for these veritable lunatics occasioned their condition to 
 be counter.'eited by a set of vagabonds, thus mentioned by Randal 
 Holme in his " Academy of Arms and Blazon : "— " The Bedlam 
 is in the same g.\rb, with a long staff, and a cow or ox-horn by 
 his side; but his cloithing is more fantastick and ridiculous; 
 tor being a mad-man, he is madly decked and dressed all over 
 with rubins, feathers, cuttings of cloth, and what not ; to make 
 him seem a mad-man, or one distracted, when he is no other 
 than a dissembling knave." Dicker, in "The Bell-man of 
 London " 1^401, also gives an accotuit of one of these impostors, 
 under the title o{ Abraham Man (which doubtless gave rise to 
 the cant phrase, ' to sham Abraham,' signifying ' to make pre- 
 tence of illness or other false condition') ; — " He swears he hath 
 been in Bedlam, and will talke frantickely of purpose : you see 
 piniies stuck in sundry places of his naked flesh, especially in 
 his amies, which paine he gladly puts himself to, only to make 
 you believe he is out 0/ his wits. He calls himselfe by the name 
 of Poore Tom, an.l, coming near any body, cries out. Poor Tom 
 is a-cold." 
 
 72. Pelting. 'Paltry,' 'petty.' .See Note 10. Act ii., 
 " Richard II." 
 
 73- i^tns. 'Curses.' 
 
 74. Titrlygod. .Sometimes spelt ' Turlygood.' It was the 
 English word in use to signify the Italian Tnrln/ti- o. or T7tr- 
 Inrn, and the French Tiirlnpin, or Tiirelnreiin, which signify 
 ' buffoon,' • foil,' 'crazy fellow.' 
 
 monkeys by the loins, and men by the legs : when 
 a man 's over-lusty at legs, then he wears wooden 
 nether-stocks. 1^ 
 
 Lear. What's he that hath so much thy place 
 mistook 
 To set thee here ? 
 
 Kent. It is both he and she,— 
 
 Your son and daughter. 
 
 Lear. No. 
 
 Kent. Yes. 
 
 Lear. No, I say. 
 
 Kent. I say, yea. 
 
 Lear. No, no, they would not. 
 
 Kejit. Yes, they have. 
 
 Lear. By Jupiter, I swear, no. 
 
 Kent. By Juno, I swear, ay. 
 
 Lear. They durst not do 't ; 
 
 They could not, would not do't; tis worse than 
 murder. 
 
 To do upon respecf such violent outrage: 
 Resolve mejS" with all modest haste, which way 
 Thou mightst deserve, or they impose, this usage. 
 Coming from us. 
 
 Kent. My lord, when at their home 
 
 I did commend your highness' letters to them. 
 Ere I was risen from the place that show'd 
 My duty kneeling, came there a reeking post, 
 Stew'd in his haste, half breathless, panting forth 
 From Goneril, his mistress, salutations ; 
 Deliver'd letters, spite of intermission, 
 
 75. 'Tis strange, (d=c. Here it seems to us that Lear has 
 come to Gloster's castle, instead of going to his daughter Regan's 
 residence, having heard from his attendant gentleman that the 
 Duke and Duchess of Cornwall have left their home and repaired 
 hither. See Note 149, Act i. 
 
 76. Tlie niglit before. This expression, introduced at this 
 juncture, serves to denote that morning is now well set in ; and 
 therefore, though the duke and duchess have retired to their 
 apartment, and still remain there on the plea that " they have 
 travell'd hard to-night," the effect is given of advancing day, 
 and allows the progress of dramatic time to take place with 
 sufficient rapidity for the spectators being beguiled into easy 
 credence, when, at the close of the present long scene, Gloster 
 says, " The night comes on ;" and Cornwall soon after observes, 
 " 'Tis a wild night." See Note 58 of this Act. . 
 
 77. Cruel garters. The fool puns on the word " cruel," as if 
 it were 'crewel;' which is a kind of worsted used for making 
 garters, &c. 
 
 78. Nelher-stocks. An old term for ' stockings.' See Note 84, 
 Act ii., " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 79. To do upon respect. We think that here "respect" is 
 used, with elliptical significance, to signify 'that which should 
 command respect.' Shakespeare sometimes thus uses such words 
 ■as " reproach," "obloquy," "merit," "terror," "offence," &c. 
 See Note 125, Act iii., " Hamlet." As messenger from the 
 king, Kent was entitled to special respect. 
 
 80. Resolve mr. ' Inform me,' 'satisfy mv desire to know.' 
 See Note 74, Act i. 
 
 81. Spite of intermission. 'In defiance of pause required,' 
 for him to take breath, or for me to rise from my knee and 
 receive my answer. That "intermission" bears the sen.se we 
 here give we think is proved by the mode in which .Shakespeare 
 
 I employs the word elsewhere. See Note 37, Act iii., " .Merchant 
 of Venice ;" the passage referred to in Note 67, Act ii., "A-, 
 86 
 
Acr II.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Which presently they read : on whose contents, 
 They summon'd up their meiny,*^ straight took 
 horse ; 
 
 Commanded me to follow, and attend 
 The leisure of their answer; gave me cold looks : 
 And m3eting here the other messenger, 
 Whose welcome, I perceiv'd, had poison'd mine 
 (Being the very fellow which of late 
 Display'd so saucily against your highness). 
 Having more man than wit about me, drew 
 He rais'd the house with loud and coward cries. 
 Your son and daughter found this trespass worth 
 The shame which here it suffers.*'' 
 
 Fool. Winter 's not gone yet, if the wild-geese 
 fl)- that way.ss 
 
 Fathers that wear rags 
 
 Do make their children blind ; 
 But fathers that bear bags 
 
 Shall see their children kind. 
 Fortune still shuts the door, 
 Ne'er turns the key to the poor. — 
 But, for all this, thou shalt have as many dolours*^ 
 for thy daughters as thou canst tell in a year. 
 
 Lear. Oh, how this mother swells up toward 
 my heart 1^^ 
 
 Hysterica passio, — down, thou climbing sorrow. 
 Thy element's below ! — Where is this daughter? 
 Kent. With the earl, sir, here within. 
 
 You Like It ; " and the speech before the one adverted to in 
 Note 88, Act iv., " Macbeth." These three, and the one under 
 consideration, are the only four occasions on which Shakespeare 
 uses "intermission :" and we are thus particular in specilying 
 them because the present passage has been variously explained 
 by other commentators, each giving a different interpretation 
 from ours. 
 
 82. Meiny. 'Train,' 'retinue.' 'From the old French, tneinie; 
 or, as anciently spelt, Jnesnii ; which Du Cange considers to be 
 a form of mesmie or 7,iaisa!iie, from maisau, 'house.' The 
 modern French word is vienage^ 'household.' Our word 
 ■ menial,' still in use, is of the same stock as " meiny." 
 
 83. Having more man than -wit about me, drew. " I " before 
 " perceived " allows the same pronoun to be understood as 
 repeated before " having " or before " drew" in the present line. 
 See Notes 55 and 68 of this Act. 
 
 84. Found this trespass ivortk the shame which here it 
 suffers. By employing the word " worth " here to express 
 ' deserving of,' Shakespeare gives the included contemptuous 
 effect to this sentence of ' found it worth while to put me to the 
 shame which I here undergo.' 
 
 85. Wiuter's not gone yet, if, b'c. Figuratively hinting, 
 'The king's season of discomfort is not over yet, if this be the 
 way his son and daughter behave.' 
 
 86. Dolours. There is a quibble between this word and 
 ' dollars ; ' and ' for thy daughters ' is used in the sense of ' on 
 account of thy daughters,' or 'owing to thy daughters.' See 
 Note 9, Act iv., " Richard III." 
 
 87. How this mother, Sp^c. Lea. affects to pass off the 
 swelling of his heart, in its paroxysm of grief and indigna- 
 tion, for the disease called ' the mother,' or ' hysterica passio,' 
 to which, in Shakespeare's time, men as well as women were 
 believed to be subject. It is probable that our author had this 
 point suggested to him by two passages in Harsnet's " Declara- 
 tion of Popish Impostures," which he in all likelihood consulted 
 in order to supply him with his characteristic matter for portray- 
 
 Lear. Follow me not ; 
 
 Stay here. [Exit. 
 I Gent. Made you no more offence than what you 
 j speak of ? 
 
 ! Kent. None. 
 
 j How chance the king comes with so small a train? 
 1 Fool. An thou hadst been set i' the stocks for 
 that question, thou hadst well deserved it. 
 Ketu. Why, fool ? 
 
 Fool. We'll set thee to school to an ant.^s to 
 teach thee there's no labouring i' the winter. All 
 , that follow their noses are led by their eyes, but 
 j blind men r^' and there 's not a nose among twenty 
 I but can smell him that 's stinking. Let go thy 
 hold when a great wheel runs down a hill, lest it 
 break thy neck with following it ; but the great 
 one that goes up the hill, let him draw thee after. 
 When a wise man gives thee better counsel, give 
 me mine again : I would have none but knaves 
 follow it, since a fool gives it. 
 
 That sir which serves'" and seeks for gain 
 
 And follows but for form, 
 Will pack when it begins to rain. 
 
 And leave thee in the storm. 
 But I will tarry ; the fool will stay. 
 
 And let the wise man fly : 
 The knave turns fool that runs away 
 
 The fool no knave, perdy.'^ 
 
 inghisTom of Bedlam. The first passage runs thus :— " Ma. 
 Maynie had a spice of the hysterica passio, as seems, from his 
 youth ; he himself termes it the moother." The other, thus : — 
 " The disease I spoke of was a spice of the mother, wherewith 
 I had been troubled before my going into Fraunce : whether I 
 
 1 doe rightly term it the mother or no, I knowe not." 
 
 88. Set thee to school to an ant. Solomon says, "Go to the 
 ant, thou sluggard ; consider her ways, and be wise : which 
 having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the 
 sicmmer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.'' The fool 
 
 i implies, ' Had you learned wisdom of the ant, you would have 
 
 I known th.at the king has so small a train because few adhere in 
 the cold season of adversity; the majority preferring the sun- 
 shine of prosperity, which offers prospect of gain.' 
 
 I 89. All that follow, &'c. 'AH men, following their noses, 
 are led by their eyes, excepting blind men ; and even among 
 these, who have nothing but their nose to guide them, there is 
 not one among twenty but has sense enough to perceive when 
 a man's fortunes are tainted and decaying.' 
 
 90, Tluit sir which serves. " Sir" used substantively, and 
 "which" used for 'who.' See Note 62, Act i., "Winter's 
 Tale." 
 
 91. The knave turns fool thai runs away. Joluison and 
 others thought that the sense of this line would be improved if 
 the words " knave " and " fool " were transposed ; but we think 
 that Shakespeare, in his own noble philosophy, here affirms that 
 the cunning rogue who deserts his benefactor in the time of 
 reverse, from motives of prudence, shows himself fool as well as 
 knave, moral miscalculator as well as moral coward. That our 
 poet, through all this jingle of " knave " and " fool " put into 
 the mouth of his subtlest-drawn fool, meant something espe- 
 cially pointed in its bitter and sarcastic irony, he has taken care 
 
 I to mark, by following up the given "counsel" with the words, 
 " I would have none but knaves follow it ;" and, after the entire 
 speech, by Kent's inquiry, "Where learned you this, fool?" 
 I 92. Perdy. See Note 104, Act iii., " Hamlet." 
 4? 7 
 
Acr II.] 
 
 Kent. 
 Fool. 
 
 KING LEAR 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Where learned you tliis, fool ? 
 Not i' the stocks, fool. 
 
 Re-enter Lear, luith Gloster. 
 
 Lear. Deny to speak with me ? They are 
 sick ? they are weary ? 
 They have travell'd hard to-night ? Mere fetches; 
 The images of revolt and flying off. 
 Fetch me a better answer. 
 
 Glo. My dear lord, 
 
 You know the fiery quality of the duke ; 
 How unremovable and fix'd he is 
 I n his own course. 
 
 Lear. Vengeance! plague ! death ! confusion ! — 
 Fiery ? what quality ? Why, Gloster, Gloster, 
 1 'd speak with the Duke of Cornwall and his wife. 
 
 Glo. Well, my good lord, I have inform'd 
 them so. 
 
 Lear. Inform'd them ! Dost thou understand 
 
 me, man ? 
 Glo. Ay, my good lord. 
 
 Lear. The king would speak with Cornwall ; 
 the dear father 
 Would with his daughter speak, commands her 
 service : 
 
 Are they inform'd of this?— My breath and 
 blood !— 
 
 Fiery ? the fiery duke ? — Tell the hot duke that — 
 
 No, but not yet: — may be he is not well : 
 
 Infirmity doth still neglect all office 
 
 Whereto our health is bound ; we are not ourselves 
 
 When nature, being o])press'd, commands the mind 
 
 To suffer with the body : I'll forbear; 
 
 And am fall'n out with my more headier will, 
 
 To take the indispos'd and sickly fit 
 
 For the sound m9.n.^^—\_Looking on Kent.] — Death 
 
 on my state! wherefore 
 Should he sit here ? This act persuades me 
 That this remotion'^ of the duke and her 
 Is practice only. Give me my servant forth. 
 Go tell the duke and 's wife I 'd speak with them, 
 
 93. To take tlie indispos'd and sickly fit for the sound man. 
 The elliptical force and condensation of this phrase has finely 
 characteristic effect here. How well it serves to paint the ill- 
 suppressed wrath, the pathetic effort made by the old king to 
 control his agitation, to compel himself into forbearance and 
 allowance-making ; and what double and treble strength is given 
 by this momentary check, to the burst of indignant rage with 
 which he breaks forth when reminded, by the sight of Kent in 
 the stocks, that the conduct of those who set his faithful servant 
 there is intentional in its slight and offence towards himself 
 
 94. Remotion. ' Removal,' from their own residence to that 
 of the Earl of Gloster. See Note 74, Act iv., " Timon of 
 Athens." 
 
 95. Practice. 'Artifice,' 'designing scheme.' See Note 17 
 of this Act. 
 
 96. Till it cry sleep to death. 'Till it clamour sleep to 
 death;' 'till it give the death-stroke to sleep;' by awakening 
 them, and causing them to slumber no longer. 
 
 97. Cockney. This word meant both a ' ninny ' and a ' cook ;' 
 and, in the present passage, it seems to include reference to both 
 
 Now, presently : bid them come forth and hear me. 
 Or at their chamber-door I'll beat the drum 
 'I'ill it cry sleep to death. 
 
 Glo. 1 would have all well betwixt you. \_Exit. 
 
 Lear. Oh, me, my heart, my rising heart!— but, 
 down ! 
 
 Fool. Cry to it, nuncle, as the cockney'' did to 
 the eels when she put 'em i' the paste alive ; she 
 rapped 'em o' the coxcombs with a stick, and cried, 
 "Down, wantons, down!" 'Twas her brother, 
 that, in pure kindness to his horse, buttered his hay. 
 
 Enter Cornwall, Regan, Gloster, and 
 Servants. 
 Lear. Good morrow to you both. 
 Corn. Hail to your grace ! 
 
 [Kent h set at liberty. 
 Reg. I am glad to see your highness. 
 Lear. Regan, I think you are; I know what 
 reason 
 
 I have to think so : if thou shouldst not be glad, 
 I would divorce me from thy mother's tomb. 
 Sepulchring an adultress. — [To Kent.] Oh, arc 
 you free ? 
 
 Some other time for that. — Beloved Regan, 
 Thy sister's naught O Regan, she hath tied 
 Sharp-tooth'd unkindness, like a vulture, here, — 
 
 [Points to his heart. 
 I can scarce speak to thee; thou 'It not believe 
 With how deprav'd a quality — O Regan ! 
 
 Reg. I pray you, sir, take patience : I have hope 
 You less know how to value her desert ^ 
 Than she to scant her duty. 
 
 Lear. Say, how is that ? 
 
 Reg. I cannot think my sister in the least 
 Would fail her obligation : if, sir, perchance 
 She have restrain'd the riots of your followers, 
 'Tis on such ground, and to such wholesome end. 
 As clears her from all blame. 
 
 Lear. My curses on her I 
 
 Reg. Oh, sir, you are old ; 
 
 these senses. In the only other passage where Shakespeare uses 
 the word, he employs it more in the sense in which it is now 
 used ; a term of contempt for a simpleton born and bred in the 
 metropolis, bigoted to its ways, and knowing nothing beyond 
 them. See Note 2, Act iv., "Twelfth Night." That its deriva- 
 tion has some link of connection with cookery, and that it partly 
 came from the Italian cocagiia, and the French cocagiie, seems 
 certain. Florio translates cocagna by ' Lubberland ;' and the 
 French pays de cocagne means a country containing a fabulous 
 amount of good cheer, such as none but gulls could believe in. 
 
 98. Naught. 'Worthless,' 'good for nothing,' 'bad.' See 
 Note II, Act iii., " As You Like It." The struggle to speak, 
 the broken sentences, the incapacity of utterance, together with 
 the affecting attempt to wile Regan into affectionate conduct by 
 attributing it to her, by professing faith in her, and even by 
 calling her affectionate names himself, is ine.vpressibly pathetic, 
 as delineated in this speech of the unhappy father and wronged 
 old man. 
 
 99. You less kjioru hozv, &^c. ' You are less capable of appre- 
 ciating her merit than she is of failing in her duty.' 
 
Act II.] 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Nature in you stands on the very verge 
 
 Of her confine : you should be rul'd, and led 
 
 By some discretion, that discerns your state 
 
 Better than you yourself. Therefore, I pray you, 
 
 That to our sister you do make return ; 
 
 Say you have wrong'd her, sir. 
 
 Lear. Ask her forgiveness ? 
 
 Do you but mark how this becomes the house r'"" 
 [Kneeling. 
 
 " Dear daughter, I confess that I am old ; 
 Age is unnecessary:"" on my knees I beg 
 
 too. //ffiv this becomes t!ie house. We think that here " the 
 house " is probably used to express ' the household,' ' the 
 domestic circle,' ' the family home.' 
 
 loi. Age is unnecessary. Shakespeare uniformly uses the 
 word "unnecessary" in the sense of 'needless,' 'superfluous ;' 
 and he also uses "unnecessarily" in the sense of 'superflu- 
 ously,' 'needlessly.' Consequently, we think that here by "age 
 is unnecessary " is meant ' living to be old is superfluous,' 
 'advanced years are needless,' 'living beyond a certain period 
 
 That you'll vouchsafe me raiment, bed, and food." 
 
 Reg. Good sir, no more ; these are unsightly 
 tricks : 
 Return you to my sister. 
 
 Lear. [Rising.] Never, Regan: 
 
 She hath abated me of half my train ; 
 Look'd black upon me; struck me with her tongue, 
 Most serpent-like, upon the very heart : — • 
 All the stor'd vengeances of Heaven fall 
 On her ingrateful top I"'^ Strike her young bones, 
 You taking"*-'' airs, with lameness ! 
 
 is unneeded.' The sense is perhaps included of 'age needs 
 but the merest necessaries of life' — no more than ''raiment, 
 bed, and food." 
 
 102. Top. We have before observed upon the dignity with 
 which Shakespeare invests this slight word of three letters by his 
 employment of it. See Note 3, Act iii., "Tempest," and Note 
 
 36, Act ii., " Measure for Measure." 
 
 103. Taking. ' Blighting,' ' infecting,' ' blasting.' See Note 
 
 37, Act i., " Hamlet." 
 
 VOL. in. 
 
Act I I.J 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Com. Fie, sir, iie ! 
 
 Lear. You nimble lightnings, dart your blind- 
 ing fiames 
 
 Into her scornful eyes ! Infect her beauty, 
 You fen-suck'd fogs, drawn by the powerful sun, 
 To fall and blast her pride ! 
 
 Reg. Oh, the blest gods! so will you wish on 
 me. 
 
 When the rash mood is on. 
 Lear. No, Regan, thou shalt never have my 
 curse : 
 
 Thy tender-hefted ^O'* nature shall not give 
 Thee o'er to harshness : her eyes are fierce ; but 
 thine 
 
 Do comfort, and not burn.i"^ ' Tis not in thee 
 To grudge my pleasures, to cut off my train, 
 To bandy hasty words, to scant my sizes,'"* 
 And, in conclusion, to oppose the bolt 
 Against my coming in : thou better know'st 
 The offices of nature, bond of childhood. 
 Effects of courtesy, dues of gratitude ; 
 Thy half o' the kingdom hast thou not forgot,'"' 
 Wherein I thee endow'd. 
 
 Reg. Good sir, to the purpose. 
 
 Lear. Who put my man i' the stocks ? 
 
 [Tucket =wi{hin. 
 
 Corn. What trumpet 's that ? 
 
 Reg. I know 't, — my sister's this approves'"" 
 her letter, 
 That she would soon be here. 
 
 Enter Oswald. 
 
 Is your lady come ? 
 Lear. This is a slave, whose easy-borrow'd pride 
 Dwells in the fickle grace of her he follows. — 
 Out, varlet, from my sight I 
 
 Corn. What mean.'! your grace ? 
 
 I Lear. Who stock'd my servant? Regan, I 
 I have good hope 
 
 Thou didst not know oft. — Who comes here P 
 I Oh, heavens, 
 
 j Enter GONERIL. 
 
 I If you do love old men, if your sw eet sway 
 ! .Allow "" obedience, if yourselves are old. 
 Make it your cause: send down, and take my part! — 
 [To GoN.] Art not asham'd to look upon this 
 beard ? — 
 
 O Regan, wilt thou take her by the hand ? 
 
 Con. Why not by th'e hand, sir ? How have I 
 I offended ? 
 
 I All's not offence, that indiscretion finds, 
 A nd dotage terms so. 
 
 Lear. Oh, sides, you are too tough ; 
 
 Will you yet hold ? — Hoiv came my man i' the 
 stocks ? 
 
 Corn. I set him there, sir ; but his own disorders 
 Deserv'd much less advancement.'" 
 
 Lear. You! did you? 
 
 Reg. I pray you, father, being weak, seem so."- 
 If, till the expiration of your month. 
 You uill return and sojourn with my sister. 
 Dismissing half your train, come then to me : 
 j I am now from home, and out of that provision 
 ' Which shall be needful for your entertainment. 
 
 Lear. Return to her, and fifty men dismiss'd ? 
 No, rather I abjure all roofs, and choose 
 To wage "3 against the enrnity o' the air ; 
 To be a comrade with the wolf and owl, — 
 Necessity's sharp pinch 1"^ — Return with her P 
 Why, the hot-blooded France, that dowerless took 
 Our youngest born, I could as well be brought 
 To knee his throne, and, squire-like, pension beg 
 To keep base life afoot. — Return with her ? 
 
 104. Teitder-Jtefted. This word has been altered bj' various ! loS. / ktttnv '/, — my sister s. Re^an recognises the particular 
 
 \ passage or flourish on the trumpet used for Goneril. It was the 
 custom of great personages to have their arrival announced by 
 a preceding trumpeter, who played some specially adopted 
 , " tucket," or flourish on his instrument. See Xote 25, Act v., 
 
 " Merchant of Venice." 
 \ log. Approves. ' Confirms.' See Xote 64 of this Act. 
 
 no. Allow. 'Approve.' See Kote 51, Act ii., "Merry 
 
 i ... 
 i III. Less advancement. Cornwall's sneering mode of saying 
 
 I that Kent's disorderly conduct deserved even a meaner position 
 
 j than the stocks as his punishment. 
 
 112. Being iveak, seem so. * As you are weak, be content 
 to let it appear that you are so.' There is a cool brutality of 
 bluntness in Regan's speeches to her father, an unsparing hard- 
 ness of allusion to his age and weakness, that are unspeakably 
 revolting. 
 
 113. To wage. Shakespeare uses this word with diverse 
 meaning, and with elliptical force. Here he employs it to 
 express ' contend,' ' wage war.' 
 
 114. Xecessiiy's sharp pinch. Lear's parenthetical exclama- 
 tion, growing out of the three prc\Hous lines ; to abjure all rocfs, 
 
 ' to contend against the inclemency of the weather, to keep fel- 
 lowship \\'ith beasts and birds, — enduring these severe pressures 
 I of necessit>', compelled by the unfilial conduct of his children. 
 
 emendators : but we think, judging from the following grounds, 
 that it was the one here intended by the author. Firstly, in the 
 only place where Shakespeare uses the word. " hefts " he em- 
 ploys it to e.\-press 'hea\-ings.' See Xote 8, Act ii., "Winter's 
 Tale." Secondly, in the speech referred to in Xote i. Act iv., 
 " Hamlet," he uses " heaves " for ' sighs,' or deep-drawn 
 breaths of emotion; and in the present play Act iv., sc. 3 he 
 has " heaved" to express ' breathed sighingly.' He also some- 
 times uses a passive participle instead of an active one : and 
 therefore we think it probable that " tender-hefted nature " may 
 be taken to mean ' tenderly-sighing nature ' or ' tenderly-breath- 
 ing nature,' as signifj'ing ' tenderly-compassionate nature.' 
 
 105. Thine do comfort, and not bitrn. The eagerness of 
 poor, weak-judging Lear to ascribe gentleness to the cold, piti- 
 less eyes of Regan, to prompt her with those kindlinesses which 
 he would have her show him, together with the involuntary be- 
 trayal of his knowledge of her real nature, discovered by his 
 closing appeal to her mercenarj' and interested spirit, are all 
 mar\-elIoiisly drawn. 
 
 io5. Sizes. 'Allotted portions of food,' ' allowances of pro- 
 \-ision.' The term ' sizer ' is still used at Cambridge for that 
 class of students who live there on a stated allowance. 
 
 107. Hast tJwu net forgot. Transposed construction ; ' thou 
 hast not forgot." .Aa emphasis is laid on " thou." 
 
Act II.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Persuade me rather to be slave and sumpter"' 
 To this detested groom. [^Pointing at Oswald. 
 
 Gon. At your choice, sir. 
 
 Lear. I pr'ythee, daughter, do not make me 
 mad : ^'^ 
 
 I will not trouble thee, iny child ; farewell : 
 
 We'll no more meet, no more see one another: — 
 
 But yet thou art my flesh, my blood, my daughter ; 
 
 Or rather a disease that's in my flesh, 
 
 Which I must needs call mine: thou art a boil, 
 
 A plague-sore, an embossW^ carbuncle, 
 
 In my corrupted blood. But I'll not chide thee ; 
 
 Let shame come when it will, I do not call it: 
 
 I do not bid the thunder-bearer shoot, 
 
 Nor tell tales of thee to high-judging Jove : 
 
 Mend when thou canst; be better at thy leisure : 
 
 I can be patient; I can stay with Regan, 
 
 I and my hundred knights. 
 
 Reg. Not altogether so : 
 
 I look'd not for you yet, nor am provided 
 For your fit welcome. Give ear, sir, to my sister ; 
 For those that mingle reason with your passion, 
 Must be content to think vou old, and sc — 
 But she knows what she does. 
 
 Lear. Is this well spoken ? 
 
 Reg. I dare avouch it, sir; what! fifty followers.' 
 Is it not well ? What should you need of more? 
 Yea, or so many, sith that both charge and danger 
 Speak 'gainst so great a number ? How, in one 
 house. 
 
 Should many people, under two commands, 
 Hold amity ? 'Tis hard ; almost impossible. 
 Gon. Why might not you, my lord, receive 
 attendance 
 
 From those that she calls servants, or from mine ? 
 
 Reg. Why not, my lord ? If then they chanc'd 
 to slack you, 
 We could control them. If you will come to me 
 (For now I spy a danger), I entreat you 
 To bring but five-and-twenty : to no more 
 Will I give place or notice. 
 
 Lear. I gave you all — 
 
 Reg. And in good time you gave it. 
 
 Lear. Made you my guardians, my depositarie=; ; 
 But kept a reservation to be follow'd 
 
 115. Siiinpter. Generally combined with the words 'horse' 
 or ' mule ; ' but sometimes formerly used by itself as an abbre- 
 viated form of 'sumpter-horse.' It is also found in the com- 
 pound words, ' sumpter-cloth,' ' sumpter-saddle,' &c. It is 
 derived from the Latin, smnptiis, ' burden,' ' charge ; ' the 
 sumpter-horses being those employed to carry provisions or 
 other necessaries. Here the effect is implied of ' beast of 
 burden.' 
 
 116. Z>i> not make me mad. The dramatist gradually pre- 
 pares for that which follows. See Note 155, Act i. of this 
 play. 
 
 117. Embossed. 'Swollen,' 'protuberant,' See Note 102, 
 Act iii., " First Part Henry IV," 
 
 118. Cheap. 'Of little value;' ' worth as little.' 
 
 119. Tliat patience, patience I need! We think it very pro- 
 bable that a conjecture of Ritson's is true with regard to this 
 
 j With such a number. What ! must I come to you 
 
 With five-and-twenty, Regan ? said you so ? 
 I Reg. And speak 't again, my lord; no more 
 I with me. 
 
 ! Lear. Those wicked creatures yet do look well- 
 i favour'd, 
 
 I When others are more wicked; not being the worst 
 Stands in some rank of praise. — [To GoN.] I'll go 
 I with thee : 
 
 ! Thy fifty yet doth double five-and-twenty, 
 j And thou art twice her love. 
 
 Gon. Hear me, my lord : 
 
 What need you five-and-twenty, ten, or five. 
 To follow in a house where twice so many 
 Have a command to tend you ? 
 
 Reg. . What need one? 
 
 Lear. Oh, reason not the need : our basest 
 _ beggars 
 
 Are in the poorest thing superfluous : 
 ! Allow not nature more than nature needs, 
 i Man's life is cheap "8 as beast's: thou art a lady ; 
 
 If only to go warm were gorgeous, 
 
 Why, nature needs not what thou gorgeous wear'st, 
 
 Which scarcel) keeps thee warm. — But, for true 
 need, — 
 
 You heavens, give me that patience, patience I 
 need! "9 
 
 You see me here, you gods, a poor old man, 
 
 As full of grief as age ; wretched in both ! 
 
 If it be you that stir these daughters' hearts 
 
 Against their fiither, fool me not so much 
 
 To bear it tamely;'^" touch me with noble anger ! 
 
 Oh, let not women's weapons, water-drops. 
 
 Stain my man's cheeks ! — No, you unnatural hags, 
 
 I will have such revenges on you both, 
 
 That all the world shall — I will do such things, — 
 
 What they are, yet I know not ; but they shall he 
 
 The terrors of the earth. You think I'll weep ; 
 
 No, I'll not weep : — 
 
 I have full cause of weeping ; but this heart 
 Shall break into a hundred thousand flaws,''^' 
 Or ere I'll weep.— Oh, fool, I shall go mad ! 
 
 \_Exeunt Lear, Gloster, Kent, and 
 Fool. Storm heard at a distance. 
 Corn. Let us withdraw ; 'twill be a storm. 
 
 line ; and that the author originally wrote it, " You heavens, 
 give me patience ! that I need." 
 
 120. To bear it tamely. EUiptically expressed; 'as to let 
 me bear it tamely' being understood. This momentary lull in 
 Lear's passion, pausing to argue the question of need and super- 
 fluity, praying one instant for "patience," the next supplicating 
 for " noble anger," striving to retain his tears, and finally 
 breaking forth into vague impotence of threat, are all conceived 
 in the verj' finest spirit of poetic delineation, and withal the 
 most perfect truth to incipient madness ; so that we are fully 
 and fearfully prepared for seeing him next in his raving con- 
 dition, braving the storm, and invoking the elements to "let 
 fall " their " horrible pleasure " upon him. 
 
 121. Flams. Anciently used to express ' fragments,' as well as 
 mere 'cracks.' Bailey observes that it was "especially applied 
 to the breaking oS shivers, or thin pieces from precious stones." 
 
Act III.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Reg. This house is little : the old man and his 
 people 
 Cannot be well bestow'd. 
 
 Gon. 'Tis his own blame h'ath put himself 
 from rest, 
 And must needs taste his folly. 
 
 Reg. For his particular, I'll receive him gladly, 
 But not one follower. 
 
 Gon. So am I purpos'd. 
 
 Where is my lord of Gloster? 
 
 Corn. Follow'd the old man forth :— he is re- 
 turn'd. 
 
 Re-enter Gloster. 
 Glo. The king is in high i-age. 
 Corn. Whither is Tie going ? 
 
 Glo. He calls to horse ; but will I know not 
 whither. 
 
 Corn. 'Tis best to give him way ; he leads 
 himself. 
 
 Gon. My lord, entreat him by no means to 
 stay. 
 
 Glo. Alack, the night comes on, and the bleak 
 winds 
 
 Do sorely ruffle ; '"^ for many miles about 
 There 's scarce a bush. 
 
 Reg. Oh, sir, to wilful men. 
 
 The injuries that they themselves procure 
 Must be their schoolmasters. Shut up your doors : 
 He is attended with a desperate train ; 
 And what they may incense him to, being apt 
 To have his ear abus'd, wisdom bids fear. 
 
 Corn. Shut up your doors, my lord ; 'tis a wild 
 night: 
 
 My Regan counsels well : come out o' the storm. 
 
 [^Exeuni. 
 
 ACT 
 
 SCENE \.—A Heath. 
 
 A storm, 'with thunder and lightning. Enter Kent 
 and a Gentleman, meeting. 
 
 Kent. Who 's there, besides foul weather ? 
 Gent. One minded^ like the weather, most un- 
 quietly. 
 
 Kent. I know you. Where's the king ? 
 
 Gent. Contending with the fretful elements ; 
 Bids the wind blow the earth into the sea. 
 Or swell the curled waters 'bove the main," 
 That things might change or cease ; tears his white 
 hair, 
 
 Which the impetuous blasts, with eyeless rage. 
 Catch in their fury, and make nothing of ; 
 Strives in his little world of man to out-scorn 
 
 122. 'Tis his own blame. "Blame" is here used for 'fault,' 
 or ' that which deserves blame;' according to a mode Shake- 
 speare has of employing certain words. See Note 79 of the 
 present Act. The phrase in the text is equivalent to ' He has 
 no one to blame but himself for it.' 
 
 123. Ruffle. Thjs word was formerly used with greater 
 strength of meaning than at present. Here it means ' roughly 
 blow : ' in another passage of this play it means ' roughly tear/ 
 'rend.' See Note 105, Act iii. In the preceding line " bleak " 
 is the Quarto word, while the Folio gives 'high.' We think the 
 former is more probably the poet's epithet, because it adds the 
 effect of ' cold ' to a description where ' boisterous' or ' high' is 
 sufficiently indicated by the expression "ruffle," 
 
 124. Incense. 'Incite,'' instigate.' See Note 5, Act v., 
 "Winter's Tale." Resan's bare-faced pretence — insisting on 
 speaking of her old father as still attended by a large train of 
 followers, both in this speech and the one a little before, where 
 
 III. 
 
 The to-and-fro conflicting wind and rain. 
 This night, wherein the cub-drawn bear' would 
 couch. 
 
 The lion and the belly-pinched wolf 
 Keep their fur dry, unbonneted he runs, 
 And bids what will take all. 
 
 Kent. But who is with him ? 
 
 Gent. None but the fool ; who labours to out-jest 
 His heart-struck injuries. 
 
 Kent. Sir, I do know you ; 
 
 And dare, upon the warrant of my note. 
 Commend a dear thing to you. There is division. 
 Although as yet the face of it be cover'd 
 With mutual cunning, 'twixt Albany and Corn- 
 wall ; 
 
 Who have (as who have not, that their great stars 
 
 she talks of there not being room for " the old man and his 
 people," while in reality he has only with him his faithful Kent 
 and fool— is thoroughly in character with her brassy nature. 
 
 1. One minded. ' One whose mind is," ' one with his mind 
 disposed." This is among the expressive participles which 
 Shakespeare frames from nouns. See Note 24, Act iii., 
 "Macbeth." 
 
 2. T!u; main. Here used for 'the mainland.' See the 
 pas.sage referred to iii Note 23, Act iv., "Hamlet." Lear 
 antithetically bids the wind either blow the land into the water 
 or raise the waters till they overwhelm the land. 
 
 3. The C7cb-draiim bear. ' The bear whose dugs are drawn 
 by its young.' El.sewhere Shakespeare has "a lioness, with 
 udders all drawn dry" [see speech referred to in Note 48, 
 Act iv., "As You Like It") ; in both passages giving the effect 
 of a beast urged by hunger. 
 
Act III.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Thron'd and set high ?)•• servants, who seem no less, 
 Which are to France the spies and speculations^ 
 Intelligent^ of our state ; what hath been seen, 
 Either in snufFs and packings? of the dukes ; 
 Or the hard rein which both of them have borne 
 Against the old kind king ; or something deeper, 
 Whereof perchance these are but furnishings;'* — 
 But, true it is,^ from France there comes a power 
 Into this scatter'd kingdom ; who already, 
 Wise in- our negligence, have secret feet'" 
 In some of our best ports, and are at point 
 To show their open banner. — Now to you : 
 If on my credit you dare build so far 
 To make your speed to Dover, you shall find 
 Some that will thank you, making just report 
 Of how unnatural and bemadding sorrow 
 The king hath cause to plain. 
 I am a gentleman of blood and breeding ; 
 And, from some knowledge and assurance, offer 
 This office to you. 
 
 Gent. I will talk farther with you. 
 
 Kent. No, do not. 
 
 For confirmation that I am much more 
 Than my out wall, open this purse, and take 
 What it contains. If ) 0u shall see Cordelia 
 (As fear not but you shall), show her this ring ; 
 And she will tell you who that fellow is 
 That yet you do not know. [Thunder.'] Fie on 
 
 this storm ! 
 I will go seek the king. 
 
 Gent. Give me your hand : have you no more 
 to say ? 
 
 Kent. Few words, but, to efF?ct, more than all 
 yet,- 
 
 4. That their great stars throt^d and set high. "Stars" is 
 here used for ' fortune,' 'ruling fate or destiny.' Tlieobald and 
 others change "thron'd" to 'throne ;' but we think that here 
 " tliron'd " is used to express * have throned,' according to a 
 mode of construction sometimes employed by Shakespeare in 
 passages referring to indefinitely expressed past time. See 
 Note 61, Act ii., " Coriolanus." In the present instance, the 
 twice-recurring " have " in the preceding line renders the ellipti- 
 cally understood ' have ' before " thron'd " particularly eligible. 
 
 5. Spec7i!atio!!S. Here used to express ' those who speculate 
 or observe.' Shakespeare has several examples of this poetical 
 licence of employing things for persons. See Note 32, Act ii., 
 and Notes 74 and 77, Act iv., " Coriolanus." 
 
 6. Intelligent. This word is used by Shakespeare to express 
 'conveying intelligence,' 'giving information' (see Note go. 
 Act i., "Winter's Tale," and Notes 74 and 95 of the present ' 
 Act) : and here it comprises this sense as well as ' knowing,' 
 ' cognisant.' So that the sense of the entire passage is, ' Who 
 have (as who have not, that have been placed by their destiny 
 in exalted rank and station ?) servants, who seem to be such, 
 but are really in the service of France as spies and observers, ' 
 knowing and communicating all particulars of our state.' : 
 
 7. Snuffs and packings. "Snuffs" are 'offences taken,' i 
 ' angers conceived.' See Note 33, Act v., " Midsummer Night's 1 
 Dream." " Packings " are ' factious conspiracies,' ' private con- ] 
 federacies,' ' underhand machinations.' See Note 23, Act v., ( 
 " Comedy of Errors." f 
 
 8. Furnishings. ' External adjuncts/ ' outward appendages.' 
 
 9. IVhat hath been seen . .... or something deeper .... J 
 
 494 
 
 That, when we have found the king (in which your 
 pain 
 
 That way, I'll this), he that first lights on him 
 Holla the other. {Exeunt senierally. 
 
 SCENE II. — Another part of the Heath. Storm 
 continues. 
 
 Enter Lear and Fool. 
 
 Lear. Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! 
 
 rage ! blow ! 
 You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout 
 Till you have drench'd our steeples, drown'd the 
 
 cocks ! 
 
 You sulphurous and thought-executing fires, 
 Vaunt-couriers'- of oak-cleaving thunderbolts. 
 Singe my white head! And thou, all-shaking 
 thunder. 
 
 Strike flat the thick rotundity o' the world ! 
 Crack nature's moulds, all germins" spill at once, 
 That make ingrateful man ! 
 
 Fool. Oh, nuncle, court holy-water*'' in a dry 
 house is better than this rain-water out o' door. 
 Good nuncle, in ; and ask thy daughters' blessing: 
 iiere's a night pities neither wise inen nor fools. 
 
 Lear. Rumble thy bellyful ! Spit, fire ! spout, 
 rain ! 
 
 Nor rain, wind, thunder, fire, are my daughters: 
 I tax not you, you elements, with unkind ness ; 
 I never gave you kingdom, call'd you children, 
 You owe me no subscription then let fall 
 Your horrible pleasure ; here I stand, your slave. 
 
 B?it, true it is. The phraseology here is inconsecutive, accord- 
 ing to strict construction, but the effect is conveyed of ' Whether 
 it be owing to that which has been seen of the secret enmity 
 between the dukes, or to their harsh treatment of the king, or 
 to something deeper whereof these are but the external ad- 
 juncts — certain it is that,' &c. The irregularity of the diction 
 aids to give it characteristic effect, suiting with the wild circum- 
 stances of the scene, with the mysteriously-hinted nature of the 
 communication, and with the concealed rank of the speaker. 
 
 10. Hazie secret feet. The word " have " here treats " power " 
 as a noun of multitude (see Note 52, Act v., " King John "j ; 
 and "feet" is used for 'footing.' 
 
 11. - Thought-executing. ' Doing execution with the rapidity 
 of thought.' 
 
 12. ]' aunt-couriers. 'The foremost scouts of an army;' 
 here figuratively used for ' precursors.' See Note 7, Prologue, 
 " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 13. Germins. 'Principles of germination,' 'seeds.' See 
 Note 14, Act iv., " Macbeth." 
 
 14. Court ho'y-iuater. A cant phrase for 'empty phrases," 
 'flattering protestations,' 'pretty speeches,' 'lip-service.' Ray, 
 among his proverbial phrases, mentions " court holy-water " as 
 meaning ' fair words.' The French have a similar expression, 
 with similar signification : Eau benite de la cour. Florio ex- 
 plains dare I'allodola by "to cog, to foi.st, to flatter, to give one 
 court-hollie ivater ;" and mantellizzaj-e by "to flatter, to 
 faime, to claw, to sooth up, to give one court-holie luaier" 
 
 15. Subscription. ' Submission,' ' deference,' ' obedience.' 
 See Note 65, Act i. 
 
Act III.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 A poor, infirm, weak, and despis'.d old man :— 
 But yet I call you servile ministers, 
 That will with two pernicious daughters join 
 Your high-engender'd battles 'gainst a head 
 So old and white as this. Oh ! oh ! 'tis foul ! 
 
 tool. He that has a house to put 's head in has 
 a good head-piece. 
 
 The man that makes his toe 
 
 What he his heart should make 
 Shall of a corn cry woe. 
 
 And turn his sleep to wake. 
 — For there was never yet fair woman but she 
 made mouths in a glass. 
 
 Lear. No, I will be the pattern of all patience ; 
 I will say nothing. 
 
 Enter Kent. 
 Kent. Who 's there ? 
 
 Fool. Marry, here 's a wise man and a fool. 
 
 Kent. Alas! sir, are you here ? things that love 
 night, ... 
 Love not such nights as these ; the wrathful skies 
 Gallow"' the very wanderers of the dark. 
 And make them keep their caves : since I was man. 
 Such sheets of fire, such bursts of horrid thunder. 
 Such groans of roaring wind and rain, I never 
 Remember to have heard : man's nature cannot 
 carry 
 
 The affliction nor the fear. 
 
 Lear. Let the great gods, 
 
 That keep this dreadful pother o'er our heads. 
 Find out their enemies now. Tremble, thou wretch, 
 That hast within thee undivulged crimes. 
 
 16. Gallo'M. ' Frighten,' ' terrify,' ' scare.' From the Anglo- 
 Saxon, ag(£la7i, <:>x agxlraiL. The word " galluw," in the cor- 
 rupted form of ' gaily,' still exists in provincial use. 
 
 17. Siviular. ' Simulator,' ' counterfeit.' 
 
 18. Conti7ients. 'Exterior enclosuies;' Shakespeare uses 
 ' continent' for that which contains or encloses. See Note 124, 
 Act ii., " Second Part Henry IV.'" 
 
 19. Suinmoiicrs. Officers that sumn.cn offenders be.''ore a 
 proper tribunal. In Howard s " Defensative against the Poison 
 of Supposed Prophecies" (1581) occurs an illustrative passage : — 
 " They seem to brag most of the strange events which follow for 
 the most part after blazing starres, as if they were the siim- 
 moners of God, to call princes to the seat of judgment." 
 
 . 20. This hard house. Here " this " is used as in the passage 
 discussed in Note 54, Act v., "Richard III." 
 
 21. Force their scanted courtesy. In this sentence "their" 
 is used with reference to the hard-hearted inhabitants implied in 
 the previous words, "this hard house." See Note 18, Act v., 
 " Romeo and Jtiliet." 
 
 22. IV/iere is t/iis straw? Those who stickle for precision in 
 every minute particular of detail might just as well here com- 
 plain that there has been no previous mentirn of "straw," as 
 they have elsewhere complained of what they term.discrepancies. 
 The poet and those of his readers who can appreciate poetically- 
 dramatic writing know that Kent's bidding Lear "repose" in 
 "a hovel" near at hand sufficiently indicates the roughest 
 possible means of taking rest. 
 
 23. Knave. 'Boy,' 'lad.' See Note 98, Act i. of the pre- 
 sent play. This touch of tender consideration of the poor old 
 royal heart, amid all its own griefs, for the stripling that has 
 
 Unwhipp'd of justice : hide thee, thou bloody hand , 
 Thou perjur'd, and thou siinular'? of virtue 
 That art incestuous : caitiff, to pieces shake, 
 That under covert and convenient seeming 
 Hast practis'd on man's life: close pent-up guilts, 
 Rive your concealing continents,!^ and cry 
 These dreadful summoners^' grace. — I am a man 
 More sinn'd against than sinning. 
 
 Kent. Alack, bare-headed ! 
 
 Gracious my lord, hard by here is a hovel '; 
 Some friendship will it lend you 'gainst the teinpest : 
 I Repose you there ; while I to this hard house 20 
 (More hard than is the stone whereof 'tis rais'd 
 Which even but now, demanding after you, 
 Denied me to come in,) return, and force 
 Their scanted courtesy .2' 
 
 Lear. My wits begin to turn.— 
 
 Come on, my boy: how dost, my boy ? art cold ? 
 I am cold myself — Where is this straw,^^ my 
 fellow ? 
 
 The art of our necessities is strange. 
 That can make vile things precious. Come, your 
 hovel. — 
 
 Poor fool and knave,^' I have one part in my heart 
 That 's sorry yet for thee. 
 Fool. \_S''nging.'\ 
 
 He that has and a little tiny wit,"— 
 With hey, ho, the wind and the rain, — 
 
 Must make content with his fortunes fit ; 
 Though the rain it raineth every day. 
 
 Lear. True, boy. — Come, bring us to this 
 hovel. \_Exeunt Lear an^/ Kent. 
 
 Fool. This is a brave night^s to cool a cour- 
 tesan. — I'll speak a prophecy ere I go : 
 
 been its toy in happier hours, and its attached adherent now, 
 is profoundly beautiful. 
 
 24. He that has and a little, d^c. The " and " in this line is 
 omitted in the Quartos, but given in the Folio copy. Inasmuch 
 as the present stanza is evidently either a portion of the clown's 
 song at the end of " Twelfth Night," or a fabricated fragment in 
 imitation of it, the "and" was most probably intended here by 
 the author. See Note 70, Act v., " Twelfth Night." 
 
 25. This is a brave night, &^c. The remainder of this scene, 
 from the present line to the close of the speech, is omitted in 
 the Quartos, although given in the Folio. We heartily concur 
 with a remark of Charles Armitage Brown, in his enthusiastic 
 book, called " Shakespeare's Autobiographical Poems," where he 
 speaks of coarse passages that " were not printed either in one 
 of the old Quartos or in the first Folio ;" he thinks that when 
 passages of such nature are wanting in either one of the old 
 copies, it suffices to prove that they were not written by Shake- 
 speare, and holds it to be warrant for their exclusion altogether ; 
 adding, " They may be spared without the slightest injury to the 
 text — another proof of their having been interpolated." This 
 remark precisely applies to the present passage : it is clearly a 
 scrap of ribaldry tacked on, by the actor who played the fool, 
 to please the "barren spectators" among the audience; just 
 one of those instances of irrelevant and extemporaneous jesting 
 to which Shakespeare himself, through his character of Hamlet, 
 so strongly objects. See the speech following the one referred 
 to in Note 49, Act iii., "Hamlet." The fact of the fool's 
 present speech occurring a/ler Lear has left the stage, alone 
 serves to condemn it as .spurious : Shakespeare's fool utters his 
 half-rambling, half-pertinent morsels for the sake of beguiling 
 
Act III.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scenes III., IV. 
 
 When priests are more in word than matter ; 
 
 When brewers mar their malt with water; 
 
 When nobles are their tailors' tutors ; 
 
 No heretics burn'd, but wenches' suitors ; 
 
 When every case in law is right; 
 
 No squire in debt, nor.no poor knight; 
 
 When slanders do not live in tongues ; 
 
 Nor cutpiirses come not to throngs ; 
 
 When usurers tell their gold i' the field ; 
 
 And jades and sluts do churches build ; — 
 
 Then shall the realm of Albion 
 
 Come to great confusion : 
 
 Then comes the time, who lives to see 't, 
 
 That going shall be us'd with feet. 
 This prophecy Merlin shall make; for I live before 
 his time. [£a-//. 
 
 SCENE III.— Room in Gi.oster's Castle. j 
 
 E':ter Gloster and Edmund. ! 
 
 Glo. Alack, alack, Edmund, I like not this 
 unnatural dealing. When I desired their leave-'' 
 that I might pity him, they took from me the use 
 of mine own house; charged me, on pain of their 
 
 perpetual displeasure, neither to speak of him, ' 
 
 entreat for him, nor any way sustain him. I 
 
 Edm. Most savage ard unnatural ! 
 
 G/o. Goto; say you nothing. There is division ' 
 
 between the dukes ; and a worse matter than that: | 
 
 I have received a letter this night;— 'tis dangerous i 
 
 to be spoken; — I have locked the letter in my i 
 
 closet : these injuries the king now bears will be ! 
 
 revenged home ; there is part of a power already j 
 
 SCENE IV.— J part of the Heath, -with a Ho-jel. 
 Storm continues. 
 Enter Le.\R, Kent, and Fool. 
 
 Kent. Here is the place, my lord ; good my lord, 
 enter : 
 
 The tyranny of the open night's too rough 
 For nature to endure. 
 
 Lear. Let me alone. 
 
 Kent. Good my lord, enter here. 
 
 Lear. Wilt break my heart ? 
 
 Kent. I had rather break mine own. Good my 
 lord, enter. 
 
 Lear. Thou think'st 'tis inuch that this conten- 
 tious storm 
 Invades us to the skin : so 'tis to thee ; 
 But where the greater malady is fix'd, 
 The lesser is scarce felt. Thou'dst shun a bear ; 
 But if thy flight lay toward the roaring sea, 
 Thou'dst meet the bear i' the mouth. When the 
 
 mind 's free. 
 The body's delicate : the tempest in my mind 
 Doth from my senses take all feeling else 
 Save what beats tliere. — Filial ingratitude ! 
 Is it not as this mouth should tear this hand 
 For lifting food to 't ? — But I will punish home : — 
 No, I will weep no more. — In such a night 
 To shut me out I — Pour on ; I will endure : — 
 In such a night as this ! O Regan, Goneril ' — 
 Your old kind father, whose frank heart gave 
 all,— 
 
 Oh, that way madness lies; let me shun that; 
 No more of that. 
 
 Kent. Good my lord, enter here. 
 
 Lear. Pr'ythee, go in thyself : seek thine own 
 ease : 
 
 footed i^'' we must incline to the king. I will seek ! 
 him, and privily relieve him : go you, and maintain This tempest will not give me leave to ponder 
 talk with the duke, that my charity be not of him | On things would hurt me more. — But I'll go in. — 
 perceived : if he ask for me, I am ill, and gone to ! [To the Fool.] In, boy; go first. — You houseless 
 bed. If I die for it, as no less is threatened me, the | poverty, — 
 
 king my old master must be relieved. There is ! Nay, get thee in. I'll pray, and then I'll sleep. — 
 some strange thing toward, Edmund ; pray you, be [Fool goes in. 
 
 careful. [£.v/r. Poor naked wretches, wheresoe'er you are, 
 
 Edm. This courtesy, forbid thee, shall the duke That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm, 
 
 How shall vour houseless heads and unfed sides, 
 Your loop'd and window'd raggedness,'-* defend 
 you 
 
 From seasons such as these ? Oh, I have ta'en 
 
 Instantly know; and of that letter too : — ■ 
 This seems a fair deserving, and must draw me 
 That which my father loses, — no less than all : 
 The younger rises when the old doth fall. \_Exit. 
 
 his old master's thoughts, and labouring *'to out-jest his heart- 
 struck injuries ;" he does not stay behind to jabber trumpery by 
 himself, addressed solely to the rain and wind. Whosoever 
 pitched up and introduced here the present ** prophecy," it is 
 very similar to a version given by Puttenham, in his "Arte 
 of English Poesie " 15S9I, of what was commonly called 
 " Chaucer's Prophecy."" though really of an earlier date. 
 
 26. (/■/;.■/; / tiesii-ed their Icaz'e. " Their '" is here used accord- 
 ing to Sh.ikespeare's skilful system of dramatic art in abrupt 
 commencements of scenes. See Note 53, Act v., "Hamlet." 
 This speech seri-es to explain how it is that Glosters castle, 
 
 alluded to in the previous scene as " this hard house." came to 
 refuse Kent entrance when " demanding after"' his old master: 
 and it ser\'es to show how completely Gloster has fallen into the 
 tyrannously used power of the Duke and Duchess of Comvvall. 
 
 27. Footed. * On foot;' * has obtained footing.' See Note 10 
 of this Act. 
 
 2S. Loap'd atidivindo-.vd ra^edness. Figuratively, ' ragged- 
 ness full of rents and holes.' Loops or loop-fiolcs are apertures 
 that were made in ancient castles for the archers to shoot their 
 arrows from, and also for the admission of light where windows 
 would have been incommodious. 
 
Act III.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Too little care of this ! Take physic, pomp ; 
 Expose thyself to feel what wretches feel, 
 That thou mayst shake the superflux to them, 
 And show the heavens more just. 
 
 Edg. [Within.'] Fathom and half, fathom and 
 half! Poor Tom! 
 
 [The Fool runs out from the ho'vel. 
 
 Fool. Come not in here, nuncle, here 's a spirit. 
 Help me, help me ! 
 
 Kent. Give me thy hand. — Who 's there ? 
 
 Fool. A spirit, a spirit : he says his name 's poor 
 Tom. 
 
 Kent. What art thou that dost grumble there i' 
 the straw ? Come forth. 
 
 Enter Edgar disguised as a madman. 
 Edg. Away ! the foul fiend follows me ! — 
 Through the sharp hawthorn blows the cold 
 wind.— 
 
 H'm ! go to thy cold bed, and warm thee.^ 
 
 Lear. Didst thou give all to thy two daughters P^' 
 And art thou come to this ? 
 
 Edg. Who gives anything to poor Tom ? whom 
 the foul fiend hath led through fire and through 
 flame, through ford and whirlpool, o'er bog and 
 quagmire that hath laid knives under his 
 pillow,^ and halters in his pew ; set ratsbane by 
 his porridge ; made him proud of heart, to ride on 
 a bay trotting-horse over four-inched bridges, to 
 
 "29. Oh, I have ta'en too little care of this! Lear's staying 
 out in the inclement night to reflect upon the wretchedness of 
 others, his self-tasking for former too-heedless thought of their 
 condition, form just one of those subtle monitions upon the 
 schooling from adversity that Shakespeare throws in with his 
 own wise and bounteous hand. Well may Lear say, "I'll 
 pray, and then I'll sleep." These disciplines of introspection, 
 these penitences of the conscience, these layings bare to God 
 our remorseful memories, are the very stuff of which mental 
 prayer is truly composed. 
 
 30. Go to tity cold bed, and luarin thee. A proverbial saying. 
 See Note 8, Induction, " Taming of t' e Shrew." " Cold bed" 
 seems to be an elliptical phrase, like " idle bed" (see Note 24, 
 Act ii., "Julius Csesar"); meaning 'bed to which one goes 
 being cold,' and 'bed feeling cold at first plunge into it.' The 
 Folio omits the word "cold" in this and the preceding line, 
 while the Quartos give it correctly. We think that the markedly 
 frequent recurrence of the word "cold" during this scene has 
 peculiar (and most likely intentional effect : aiding to preserve 
 in our minds the impression of its inclemency throughout. 
 
 31. Didst thoic give all to thy tivo daughters ? The Folio 
 omits the word " two " here ; while the Quartos have ' Hast 
 thou given' instead of "Didst thou give." We think that 
 "two" lends additional point to Lear's unsettled-witted ques- 
 tion ; it tends to make it more strictly arising out of his own 
 personal sorrows, and more inapt to the stranger addressed. 
 
 32. O'er hog a7id quagvtire. In allusion to the luminous 
 vapour in marshes, called ignis fatuns ; supposed to be lights 
 kindled by mischievous goblins to lead travellers to destruction. 
 See Note 84, Act iii., " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 33. Knives under his pillow. In Harsnet's " Declaration of 
 Popish Impostures " there is a passage respecting this kind of 
 temptation to commit suicide, and attributed to infernal influ- 
 ence ; since fiends were popularly supposed to be always urging 
 the wretched to self-destruction. In "Dr. Faustus" (1604) we 
 find:— 
 
 course his own shadow for a traitor. — Bless thy 
 five wits l^^ — Tom 's a-cold, — Oh, do de, do de, do 
 de.^- Bless thee from whirlwinds, star-blasting, 
 and taking !3s Do poor Tom soine charity, whom 
 the foul fiend vexes: — there could I have him now, 
 — and there, — and there again, and there. 
 
 [Storm continues. 
 
 Lear. What! have his daughters brouglit him 
 to this pass?— Couldst thou save nothing? Didst 
 thou give them all ? 
 
 Fool. Nay, he reserved a blanket, else we had 
 been all shamed. 
 
 Lear. Now, all the plagues that in the pen- 
 dulous air 
 
 Hang fated o'er men's faults light on thy daughters! 
 Kent. He hath no daughters, sir. 
 Lear. Death, traitor ! nothing could have sub- 
 du'd nature 
 
 To such a lowness but his unkind daughters. — 
 Is it the fashion, that discarded fathers 
 Should have thus little mercy on their flesh ?^ 
 Judicious punishment ! 'twas this flesh begot 
 Those pelican daughters.'" 
 
 Edg. Pillicock .sat on PiUicock-hill :39— 
 Halloo, halloo, loo, loo! 
 
 Fool. This cold night will turn us all to fools 
 and madmen. 
 
 Edg. Take heed o' the foul fiend : obey thy 
 parents ; keep thy word justly ; swear not ; commit 
 
 * Swords, poisons, halters, and envenom'd steel 
 Are laid before me to despatch myself." 
 
 34 Bless thy five wits ! The " \ 
 ' five," in correspondent number ' 
 itter being sometimes called " tl 
 kct i., "Much Ado." An ancient ii 
 nd the Chylde," reprinted in the 1 
 
 ts " were anciently reckoned 
 ith ' the five senses ; ' these 
 five wits." See Note 11. 
 erlude : called "The Worlde 
 t edition of Dodsley's "Old 
 
 Plays," has a passage that affords illustration of this : — 
 
 " Forsoth, Syr, heryinge, seynge, and smellynge, 
 The remenaunte tastynge, and felynge ; 
 These ben the v wittes bodely." 
 
 35. Oh, do de, do de, do de. Perhaps intended to represent the 
 teeth-chattering sound emitted by one who shivers with cold. 
 See Note 28, Act iv., "Taming of the Shrew." Edgar repeat* 
 these words, in nearly the same form, in sc. vi. of this Act. 
 
 36. Taking. ' Blighting,' infection.' See Note 103, Act ii. 
 
 37. Thus little mercy on their fiesh. In allusion to the ex- 
 posure of " Poor Tom's " body to the severity of the weather. 
 
 38. Those pelican daughters. " Pelican," here, is one of 
 those expressive adjectively-used nouns that Shakespeare frames 
 with such felicitous effect. See Note 48, Act i., "Julius C^sar." 
 The pelican was suppo.sed to feed upon its parent's blood. See 
 Note 57, Act iv., " Hamlet." 
 
 39. Pillicock sat on Fi/licock-hill. In Ri'son's "Gammer 
 Gurton's Garland ; or. The Nursery Parnassus," there is this 
 couplet 
 
 " Pillycock, Pillycock sat on a hill : 
 If he's not gone, he sits there still." 
 
 Cotgrave interprets lifon Turelureau by " My pillicock, my 
 pretty knave" (see Note 74, Act ii.) ; and in Harsnet's book 
 Killico is the name of one of the fiends. " Pelican," at the 
 close of Lear's speech, catches Edgar's ear : and, in his assumed 
 character of " Bedlam beggar," he roars out grotesque exclama- 
 tions of " Poor Tom ! " "Turly god !" " Pillicock !" &c. &c. 
 
Act III.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 not with man's sworn spouse ; set not thy sweet 
 heart on proud array. Tom's a-cold. 
 
 Lear. What hast thou been ? 
 
 Edg. A serving-man, proud in heart and mind ; 
 that curled my hair;^ wore gloves in my cap;'" 
 served the vice of my mistress' heart ; swore as 
 many oaths as I spake words, and broke them in 
 the sweet face of heaven : one that slept in the 
 contriving of sin, and waked to do it: wine loved 
 I deeply, dice dearly ; and in woman out-para- 
 moured the Turk: false of heart, light of ear,''^ 
 bloody of hand : hog in sloth, fox in stealth, wolf 
 in greediness, dog in madness, lion in prey. Let 
 not the creaking of shoes nor the rustling of silks 
 betray thy poor heart to woman : keep thy foot out 
 of taverns, thy hand out of pockets, thy pen from 
 lenders' books, ""^ and defy the foul fiend. — Still 
 through the hawthorn blows the cold wind -.^^ says 
 suum, mun, nonny.''* Dolphin my boy, my boy, 
 sessa ! let him trot by.'is \^Storm continues. 
 
 Lear. Why, thou wert better in thy grave than 
 to answer with thy uncovered body this extremity 
 
 40. Curled vty hair. In Harsnet's Declaration," &c. , 
 occurs this passage : — " Then Ma. Mainy, by the instigation of 
 the first of the seven [spirits], began to set his hands unto his 
 side, curled his hair, and used such gestures as Ma. Edmunds 
 [the exorcist] presently affirmed that that spirit was Pride." 
 
 41. Wore gloves in my cap. Gloves were anciently worn in 
 the cap, either as the favour of a mistress, as the memorial of a 
 friend, or as a token to be challenged by an opponent. See the 
 precedmg speech to that referred to in Note 28, Act v., 
 "Richard II.," and the passage adverted to in Note 122, 
 Act iv., " Henry V.," in illustration of the first and last of these 
 three occasions for wearing gloves in the cap. 
 
 42. Light 0/ ear. ' Easily credulous of slander,' ' prompt to 
 give ear to malicious reports,' ' ready to listen to calumny.' 
 
 43. Lenders' books. When spendthrifts resorted to usurers 
 and money-lenders, receiving advances partly in cash, partly in 
 goods, they had to enter their promissory notes or acknowledg- 
 ments of the transaction in " books" kept for the purpose. 
 
 44. Still through the hawthorn, Edgar here repeats the 
 line (probably a fragment from some old ballad) which he chants 
 as he enters. 
 
 45. Says suuin, mun, nontiy. The Quartos print ' hay no on 
 ny * instead of nonny," which the Folio gives. '* Hey, nonny, 
 nonny" is an ancient ballad-burden which Shakespeare has 
 twice elsewhere used (see the song in "Much Ado," Act ii., 
 sc. 3, and one of Ophelia's ditties in "Hamlet," Act iv., sc. 5) ; 
 and here Edgar is stringing gibberish together composed of 
 scraps of old ballads. 
 
 46. Dolphin my boy, my boy, sessa ! let him trot by. The 
 word "sessa," meaning 'cease,' 'be quiet,' 'stay still,' is used 
 elsewhere by Shakespeare ; see Note 4, Induction, " Taming of 
 the Shrew." Steevens asserts that he heard from an old gentle- 
 man the story of an old Killad, and a portion of the ballad itself, 
 which was written on some battle fought in France, during 
 which the king, unwilling to put the suspected valour of his son 
 the Dauphin, or " Dolphin " (as the title was formerly spelt and 
 pronounced in its corrupted form; see Note 70, Act ii., "All's 
 Well "), to the trial, is represented as desirous to restrain him 
 from any attempt to establish an opinion of his courage on an 
 adversary who wears the least appearance of strength : and at 
 last assists in propping up a dead body against a tree for him to 
 
 ihood upon. Therefore, as different champions are 
 D cross the field, the king always discovers some 
 3 his attacking each of them, and repeats these two 
 ry fresh personage is introduced : — 
 
 try his m: 
 supposed 
 objection 
 lines as e\ 
 
 of the skies. — Is man no more than this? Con- 
 sider him well. Thou owest the worm no silk, the 
 beast no hide, the sheep no wool, the cat no per- 
 fume. — Ha ! here 's three of us are sophisticated I**^ 
 — Thou art the thing itself : unaccommodated man 
 is no more but such a poor, bare, forked animal as 
 thou art. — Off, off, you leadings! — come, unbutton 
 herc^s [Tearing off his clothes. 
 
 FooL Pr'ythee, nuncle, be contented ; 'tis a 
 naughty*' night to swim in. — Now a little fire in 
 a wild field were like an old sinner's heart, — a small 
 spark, all the rest on 's body cold. — Look, here 
 comes a walking fire.'" 
 
 Edg. This is the foul fiend Flibbertigibbet :5i he 
 begins at curfew,*^ and walks till the first cock ; he 
 gives the web and the pin,^^ squints the eye, and 
 makes the hare-lip ; mildews the white wheat, and 
 hurts the poor creature of earth. 
 
 Swithold** footed thrice the old ;55 
 He met the night-mare, and her nine-fold 
 Bid her alight, 
 And her troth plight," 
 
 " Dolphin, my boy, my boy, cease, let him trot by ; 
 It seemeth not that such a foe from me or you would fly." 
 
 In Ben Jonson's "Bartholomew Fair," Act v., sc. 4, Cokes 
 says, "He shall be Dauphin my boy;" but although this be- 
 tokens some popularly-understood allusion, such as allusion to a 
 well-known ballad would be, yet the context to Cokes's words 
 affords no corroboration of their meaning as explained in Stee- 
 
 47. Here's three of us are sophisticated. Meaning himself, 
 Kent, and the fool ; who are dressed in conventional clothing, 
 and therefore "sophisticated" from the plain, simple, natural 
 man. 
 
 48. Come, unbutton here. The Quartos read, ' Come on, be 
 
 49. Naughty. We have before pointed out that this word had 
 much more force of significance formerly than now. See Note 46, 
 Act v., " Much Ado," and Note 98, Act ii. of the present play. 
 
 50. Here comes a walking fire. In allusion to the approach- 
 ing torch, borne by Gloster. 
 
 51. Flibbertigibbet. One of the fiends mentioned in Bishop 
 Harsnet's book :— " Frateretto, Flibberdigibbet, Hoberdidance, 
 Tocobatto, were four devils of the round or morrice." 
 
 52. Begins at curfew. Spirits were supposed to be released 
 from confinement at close of day, and permitted to wander at 
 large until dawn. See Note 36, Act i., " Hamlet." 
 
 53. The web and the pin. A disease of the eyes, resembling 
 the cataract in an imperfect stage. See Note 78, Act i., 
 
 'Win 
 
 ;Tale 
 
 54. Swithold. A contraction of ' S. Withold,' ' St. Withold,' 
 or ' Saint Withold.' There has been no trace yet found of this 
 saint in any of the old legends ; but Shakespeare probably met 
 with the name in the old play of " The Troublesome Raigne of 
 John, King of England," 159: (see our opening Note to " King 
 John "), where occurs ; — 
 
 " Sweet ^. Withold, of thy le 
 And heare us for S. Chariti 
 
 tie, defend lis from extremitie, 
 oppressed with austeritie. " 
 
 55. Old. A provincial corruption of 'wold;' a large wild 
 tract of land. 
 
 56. Ninefold. Here used to express nine imps or familiar 
 spirits, in the likeness of foals ; as it were, ' nine-numbered 
 foals,' or ' nine-fold foals.' 
 
 57. And her troth plight. In allusion to a popular spell 
 against the nightmare, thus mentioned by Reginald Scot, in his 
 
Act III.J KING LEAR. [Scene IV. 
 
 And, aroint*^ thee, witch, aroint thee ! 
 Kent. How fares your grace i 
 
 Enter Gloster, ivith a torch. 
 Lear. What 's he ? 
 
 Kent. Who 's there ? What is 't you seek? 
 
 Glo. What are you there ? Your names ? 
 
 Edg. Poor Tom ; that eats the swimming frog, 
 the toad, the tadpole, the wall-newt and tlie water;"' 
 that in the fury of his heart, when the foul fiend 
 rages, eats cow-dung for sallets swallows the 
 old rat and the ditch-dog ; drinks the green mantle 
 of the standing pool; who is whipped from t) thingi 
 to tything," and stocked, punished, and impri- 
 soned ; who hath had three suits to his back, 6- six 
 shirts to his body, horse to ride, and weapon to 
 wear ; — 
 
 But mice and rats, and such small deer,*' 
 Have been Tom's food for seven long year. 
 
 Beware my follower. — Peace, Smulkin;*^ peace, 
 thou fiend ! 
 
 ** Discoverie of Witchcraft " (1584) ; — ** If any hear the groaning 
 of the party, speak unto him ; so as he wake hiin, he is presently 
 reUeved. Howbeit there are magical cures for it ; as, for 
 example — 
 
 "S. George, S. George, our ladle's knight, 
 He walkt by day, so did he by night ; 
 Until such time as he her found. 
 He her beat, and he her bound. 
 Until her troth she to hitn plight^ 
 He would not come to her that night." 
 
 This same spell is given, with a slight variation, in Beaumont 
 and Fletcher's " Monsieur Thomas" (1639). 
 
 58. Aroint. For a full explanation of this word, see Note 20, 
 Act i., " Macbeth." 
 
 59. The luall-uewt and the mater. ' The wall-newt and the 
 water-newt ; ' the first " newt " being elliptically understood as 
 repeated after '* water." 
 
 60. Sat/ets. Here used in its combined sense of 'salads* and 
 of 'savoury morsels." See Note 87, Act iv., "Second Part 
 Henry VI.," and Note 99, Act ii., " Hamlet." 
 
 61. From tythiiig to tythitig. Equivalent to 'from parish to 
 parish,' A " tything" is, strictly, a district consisting of a tenth 
 part ; the land, in ancient times, having been divided into 
 ' hundreds ' and ' tythings.' In Harrison's " Description of 
 England," published with Holinshed's " Chronicle," the bar- 
 b.irous severities inflicted on the wretched beings, one of whom 
 Edgar is personating, are set forth with horrible minuteness of 
 detail. 
 
 62. Three suits to his back. See Note 27, Act ii. 
 
 63. And such sjnall deer. The word " deer " was anciently 
 used to express animals in general ; as the Germans use their 
 word tliier for all kinds of animals, as well as for animals of the 
 stag species. The couplet here chanted by Edgar is like one in 
 the old metrical romance of " Sir Bevis," describing his hardships 
 during long confinement in a dungeon : — 
 
 " Rattes and myce and such small dere 
 Was his meate that seven yere." 
 
 64. Peace. Stnulkin. Edgar addresses the fiend supposed to 
 be one of those that pos.sess him. In Harsnet's " Declaration," 
 Sc., we find— " The names of other punie spirits cast out of 
 Trayford were these: Hiico, Smolkin, Hlllio," &c. 
 
 65. T tie prince of dartsness is a genile7nan. This is said as 
 a retort to what Gloster has just said. Harsnet's book states— 
 
 Glo. What! hath your grace no better company P 
 Edg. The prince of darkness is a gentleman 
 Modo he 's call'd, and Mahu. 
 
 Glo. Our flesh and blood, my lord, is grown so 
 vile, 66 
 
 That it doth hate what gets it. 
 
 Edg. Poor Tom 's a-cold. 
 
 Glo. Go in with me : my duty cannot suffer 
 To obey 67 in all your daughters' hard commands: 
 Though their injunction be to bar my doors. 
 And let this tyrannous night take hold upon you. 
 Yet have I ventur'd to come seek you out. 
 And bring you where both fire and food is ready. 
 
 Lear, i' irst let me talk with this philosopher.*^— 
 What is the cause of thunder ? 
 
 Kent. Good my lord, take his offer ; go into the 
 house. 
 
 Lear. I'll talk a word with this same learned 
 Theban. — 
 What is your study ? 
 
 Edg. How to prevent the fiend, and to kill 
 vermin. 69 
 
 "Malio was the chief devil that had possession of Sarah Williams ; 
 but another of the possessed, named Richard Malny, was mo- 
 lested by a still more considerable fiend called Modu." And 
 elsewhere the said Richard Malny deposes — " There remaineth 
 still in mee the prince of all other devils, whose name should be 
 Modu." In the " Goblins," by Sir John Suckling, a catch is 
 introduced, which concludes with these two lines 
 
 " The prince of darkness is a gentleman, 
 Mahu, Mahu is his name." 
 
 See also the passage refeired to in Note 88, Act iv. , "All's Well," 
 for Shakespeare's using the title of " the prince of darkness." 
 
 66. Our Jiesh and blood, &^c. Just one of Shakespeare's 
 subtle touches. Some tone, or inflection of tone, in Edgar's 
 voice has reached the father's heart, and bitterly recalls his 
 sense of the supposed unfillal conduct of his elder son, causing 
 him to blend that .son's tokens of unnatural hatred with those 
 shown by Lear's two daughters. Edgar, instinctively feeling 
 this, perseveres with his Bedlam cry, " Poor Tom 's a-cold," to 
 drown the betrayed sound of his own voice, and maintain the 
 impression of his assumed character. 
 
 67. CaitJiot suffer to obey. Another example of the elliptical 
 force with which Shakespeare uses the verb "suffer." It is 
 here made to express ' suffer me ; ' and gives the eflTect of 
 ' bear ' or ' endure.' See Note 87, Act i. , "All's Well." 
 
 68. Talk tvith this philosopher. It Is here that Lear shows 
 the first token of absolute insanity set in. His disordered judg- 
 ment, his violent ravings, his wandering wits in the question, 
 "Didst thou give all to thy two daughters?" his snatching off 
 his clothes to be like the bare natural animal man, are all the 
 symptoms of derangement and coming madness ; but here is the 
 actual madness itself, the fixed delusion, the conviction of un- 
 reason. The storm has told upon his physical condition, the 
 flighty beggar-man's appearance In naked unsophisticated truth 
 of human individuality has struck his imagination, has caught his 
 fancy, has engaged his belief in him as one who, because he abjures 
 the vain adjuncts of clothing, must needs be a "philosopher." 
 
 69. To kill vermin. An instance of Shakespeare's dexterous 
 mode of indicating points that would be treated by other writers 
 of his time with revolting coarseness. When we know what 
 Beaumont and Fletcher, for instance, would make, and did 
 make, of an allusion to the circumstance of a beggar's care to 
 destroy the concomitants of dirt and squalor, we cannot but 
 wonder how people have dared to accuse Shakespeare of coarse- 
 ness, if compared with his contemporaries in authorship. 
 
Act III.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 Lear. Let me ask you one word in private. 
 Kent. Importune him once more to go, • my 
 lord; 
 
 His wits begin to unsettle. 
 
 Glo. Canst thou blame him ? 
 
 His daughters seek his death: — ah! that good 
 Kent!— 
 
 He said it would be thus, — poor banish'd man ! — 
 Thou say'st the king grows mad; I'll tell thee, 
 friend, 
 
 I am almost mad myself: I had a son, 
 
 Now outlaw'd from my blood ; he sought my life, 
 
 But lately, very late : I lov'd him, friend. 
 
 No father his son dearer : true to tell thee, 
 
 \^Siorm continues. 
 
 The grief hath craz'd my wits. — What a night's 
 this!— 
 
 I do beseech your grace,^"— 
 
 Lear. Oh, cry you mercy, sir. — 
 
 Noble philosopher, your company. 
 
 Edg. Tom 's a-cold. 
 
 Glo. In, fellow, there, into the hovel : keep thee 
 warm. 
 
 Lear. Come, let 's in all. 
 
 Kent. This way, my lord. 
 
 Lear. With him ; 
 
 I will keep still with my philosopher. 
 
 Kent. Good my lord, soothe him ; let him take 
 the fellow. 
 
 Glo. Take him you on. 
 
 Kent. Sirrah, come on ; go along with us. 
 
 Lear. Come, good Athenian. 
 
 Glo. No words, no words : 
 
 Hush. 
 
 70. / lio beseech your grace. Here Gloster attempts to lead 
 Lear towards the shelter he has provided in the farm-house ad- 
 joining the castle : but the king will not hear of quitting his 
 "philosopher." Gloster then induces the Bedlam-fellow to go 
 into the hovel, that he may be out of Lear's sight ; but Lear 
 proposes to follow him thither, saying, " Let 's in all." Kent 
 endeavours to draw Lear away ; but, finding him resolved to 
 "keep still with" his "philosopher," begs Gloster to humour 
 the king and "let him take the fellow" with him. Gloster 
 accedes, and bids Kent himself to take the fellow with them in 
 the direction they desire to go ; and this is done. We point out 
 the details of the stage-situation here, as deducible from the 
 dialogue ; because, if it be not e.specially observed, the distinc- 
 tion between the "hovel" and the "farm-house," together 
 with their relative position in the scenes of the story, would 
 hardly be duly understood. The mention of "cushions" and 
 a "joint-stool" in scene vi., shows it to be some place of better 
 accommodation than the "hovel ; " and probably some cottage 
 or farm-house belonging to one of Gloster's tenants. 
 
 71. Child Rowland. "Child" was anciently the title of a 
 noble youth trained up to arms. It is given in old poems and 
 romances to heroes both before and after receiving knighthood, 
 though it is generally used as if it were equivalent to " knight" 
 or " sir." These three lines appear to be a fragment of an old 
 verse-story known in England when Shakespeare wrote, and 
 still preserved in Scotland. When "Child Rowland" comes in 
 search of his sister to the tower where she has been confined by 
 the fairy emissaries of Rosnan, King of Elfland, the elfin 
 monarch exclaims — 
 
 Edg. Child Rowland'' to the dark tower came. 
 His word was still, — Fie, foh, and fum, 
 I smell the blood of a British man. 
 
 {Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE v.— A Room in Gloster's Castle. 
 
 Enter Cornwall and Edmund. 
 
 Corn. I will have my revenge ere I depart his 
 house. 
 
 Edm. How, my lord, I may be censured, that 
 nature thus gives way to loyalty, something fears 
 me to think of. 
 
 Corn. I now perceive, it was not altogether your 
 brother's evil disposition made him seek his death ; 
 but a provoking merit,"'^ set a-work by a reprov- 
 able badness in himself. 
 
 Edm. How malicious is my fortune, that I must 
 repent to be just! This is the letter he spoke of, 
 which approves him'^ an intelligent^'' party to the 
 advantages of France. Oh, heavens ! that this 
 treason were not, or not I the detector ! 
 
 Corn. Go with me to the duchess. 
 
 Edm. If the matter of this paper be certain, 
 you have mighty business in hand. 
 
 Corn. True or false, it hath made thee Earl of 
 Gloster. Seek out where thy father i.s, that he may 
 be ready for our apprehension. 
 
 Edm. {Aside.l If I find him comforting the king, 
 it will stuff his su.spicion more fully. — \To Corn.] 
 I will persevere in my course of loyalty, though 
 the conflict be sore between that and my blood. 
 
 " Fi, fi, fo, and fum ! 
 mell the blood of a Christian man ! 
 he dead, be he living, 
 dash his harns frae his 
 
 ' my brand 
 
 in "Jack 
 story — 
 
 There is a similar stanza, put into the mouth of a ; 
 
 and the Giants ; " evidently derived from the old 
 " Fee, faw, fum, 
 I smell the blood of an Englishman ; 
 Be he alive, or be he dead, 
 I'll grind his bones to make my bread." 
 
 72. A provoking merit. 'An inciting desert.' We think that 
 this probably refers to what the speaker considers the discovered 
 turpitude of Gloster, which deserves punishment, and incites 
 Edgar to seek his death, putting into activity the latter's blam- 
 able "badness" of character. The passage has been otherwise 
 explained ; some authorities thinking that the "merit" referred 
 to is Edgar's, others believing that it is Edmund's. The difi".- 
 culty in the sentence arises out of the pronouns "him," "his," 
 and "himself" here; leaving it somewhat uncertain to whom 
 they respectively allude. 
 
 73. His house .... his death . . . the letter he spoke of . . . , 
 approves hitn. Observe how the pronouns are here used instead 
 of the name of the man against whom the speakers are caballing. 
 See Notes 93 and 115, Act i., "Macbeth." "Approves" is 
 here used for 'proves.' 
 
 74. Intelligent. Here used to express knowing circumstances, 
 and conveying the knowledge of them ; intelligent of events, and 
 communicating intelligence of them. See Note 6 of this Act. 
 
Act III.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene VI. 
 
 Corn. I will lay trust upon thee ; and thou shalt 
 find a dearer father in my love. \_Exeuni. 
 
 SCENE W.—A Chamber in a Farm-house 
 adjoining the Castle. 
 Enter Glostek., Lear, Kent, Fool, and Edgar. 
 
 Glo. Here is better than the open air ; take it 
 thankfully. I will piece oat the comfort with 
 what addition I can : I will not be long from )ou. 
 
 Kent. All the power of his wits has given way 
 to his impatience: — the gods reward your kind- 
 ness ! {Exit Gloster. 
 
 Edg. Frateretto"^ calls me; and tells me Nero 
 is an angler in the lake of darkness. — Pray, inno- 
 cent,7S and beware the foul fiend. 
 
 Fool. Pr'ythee, nuncle, tell me whether a mad- 
 man be a gentleman or a yeoman ? 
 
 Lear. A king, a king! 
 
 Fool. No, he 's a yeoman that has a gentleman 
 to his son ; for he 's a mad yeoman that sees his 
 son a gentleman before him. 
 
 Lear. To have a thousand with red burning spits 
 Come whizzing in upon them, — 
 
 Edg. The foul fiend bites my back. 
 
 Fool. He's mad that trusts in the tameness of a 
 wolf, a horse's health, a boy's love, or a jade's oath. 
 
 Lear. It shall be done; I will arraign them 
 straight. — 
 
 {To Edgar.] Come, sit thou here, most learned 
 justicer ; — 
 
 {To the Fool.] Thou, sapient sir, sit here. — Now, 
 you she foxes ! — 
 Edg. Look, where he stands and glares! — 
 
 75. Fratereito. See the quotation from Harsnet, given in 
 Note 51 of this Act. 
 
 76. Innocent. Addressed to the fool. The term " innocent," 
 though at first appHed to born naturals and idiots, came to be 
 given to professional fool-jesters. In "All's Well," Act iv., 
 sc 3, mention is made of " the Sheriff's fool — a dumb innocent, 
 that could not say nay." 
 
 77. Watitest thou eyes, &'c. This speech has been variously 
 .iltered ; but, to our thinking, it signifies, as originally given, 
 ' Look where the fiend stands and glares ! Do you want eyes 
 to gaze at and admire you during trial, madam? The fiends 
 are there to serve your purpose.' 
 
 78. Bourn. The old copies give ' brnome ' instead of " bourn ;" 
 which means a 'brook' or 'rivulet,' and also a 'boundary,' a 
 'limit.' In an old comedy entitled "The Longer Thou Livest 
 the More Fool Thou Art," there is a fragment of a song given 
 thus : — 
 
 "Com over the hoorne, Besse, 
 My litle pretie Besse, 
 Come over the boorne, Besse, to me." 
 
 " Mad Bessies " was the name given to mad women who wan- 
 dered about the counti-y like the m.idmen who called themselves 
 "Poor Tom." There is "A Songe betweene the Queene's 
 Majestic and Englande," written by Birch, in imitation of an 
 older song (which older song may have furnished the st.anza 
 introduced here by Shakespeare), beginning thus :— 
 
 Wantest thou eyes at trial,'' madam ? 
 
 • Come o'er the bourn,"^ Bessy, to me, — 
 Fool. Her boat hath a leak. 
 
 And she must not speak 
 Why she dares not come over to thee. 
 Edg. The foul fiend haunts poor Tom in the 
 voice of a nightingale. Hopdance^^ cries in Tom's 
 stomach for two white herring.^c Croak not, 
 black angel ; I have no food for thee. 
 
 Kent. How do you, sir? Stand you not so amaz'd : 
 j Will you lie down and rest upon the cushions ? 
 Lear. I'll see their trial first. — Bring in the 
 evidence. — 
 
 {To Edgar.] Thou robed man of justice, take thy 
 place ; — 
 
 {To the Fool.] And thou, his yoke-fellow of equity, 
 I Bench by his side :-^[7o Kent.] You are o' the 
 
 commission, 
 i Sit you too. 
 
 Edg. Let us deal justly. 
 
 Sleepest or wakest thou, jolly shepherd ? 
 
 Thy sheep be in the corn ; 
 And for one blast of thy minikin mouth, 
 Thy sheep shall take no harm, 
 j Pur ! the cat is grey. 
 
 I Lear. Arraign her first ; 'tis Goneril. I here 
 take my oath before this honourable assembly, she 
 kicked the poor king her father. 
 
 Fool. Come hither, mistress. Is your name 
 Goneril ? 
 
 Lear. She cannot deny it. 
 
 Fool. Cry you mercy, I took you for a joint- 
 stool. 
 
 Lear. And here's another, whose warp'd looks 
 proclaim 
 
 What store her heart is made on. — Stop her there ! 
 
 " Come over the bourn, Bessy, 
 Come over the bojirn, Bessy, 
 Sweet Bessy, come over to me ; 
 And I shall thee take, 
 And my dear lady make 
 Before all that ever I see." 
 These citations show that "bourn" is the right word here; while 
 the fool's taking up the first line from Edgar, and supplying 
 the remainder, indicate that it was a generally-known song. 
 
 79. Hopdance. This name may have been suggested by that of 
 " Hoberdidance," as cited from Harsnet in Note 51 of this Act. 
 
 80. Tivo ivhite herring. Pickled herrings were sometimes 
 j called "white herrings." It is observable that here the old 
 
 copies print "herring" without the final s. See Note 84, Act i., 
 "Twelfth Night." It may have been that "herring" was an 
 old familiarly corrupted form of ' herrings ; ' as " horse " was of 
 ' horses.' See Note 3, Act ii., " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 8t. Minikin. Besides meaning ' small,' ' diminutive,' this 
 word was sometimes formerly used to express ' dainty,' ' trim,' 
 * pretty,' ' darling ; ' like the French word, imgnon. 
 
 82. Cry you mercy, I took you for a joint-stool. A proverbial 
 expression ; possibly, in ridicule of a blundering apology that 
 is more insulting than the offence for which it is made. See 
 Note 19, Act ii., "Taming of the Shrew." The fool uses the 
 phrase from seeing his poor old master mistake one of the chairs 
 or stools for his daughter. 
 
Act III.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene VI. 
 
 Arms, arms, sword, fire! — Corruption in the 
 place I — 
 
 False justicer, why hast thou let her 'scape ? 
 Edg. Bless thy five wits 
 
 Kent. Oh, pity ! — Sir, where is the patience now, 
 That you so oft have boasted to retain ? 
 Edg. \_Aside.'] My tears begin to take his part 
 so much, 
 They'll mar my counterfeiting. 
 
 Lear. The little dogs and all. 
 Tray, Blanch, and Sweet-heart, see, they bark 
 at me. 
 
 Edg. Tom will throw his head at them. — 
 
 Avaunt, you curs ! 
 
 Be thy mouth or black or white. 
 Tooth that poisons if it bite ; 
 Mastiff, greyhound, mongrel grim. 
 Hound or spaniel, brach or lym,*^'' 
 Or bobtail tike^s or trundle-tail, — 
 Tom will make them weep and wail : 
 For, with throwing thus my head, 
 Dogs leap the hatch, and all are fled. 
 
 Do de, de, de. Sessal^e Come, march to wakes 
 
 and fairs and market-towns. — Poor Tom, thy horn 
 
 is dry. 87 
 
 Lear. Then let them anatomise Regan ; see 
 what breeds about her heart. Is there any cause in 
 nature that makes these hard hearts ? — [To Edgar ] 
 You, sir, I entertain you for one of my hundred ; 
 only I do not like the fashion of your garments : 
 you will say they are Persian attire ; but let them 
 be changed. 
 
 Kent. Now, good my lord, lie here and rest 
 awhile. 
 
 Lear. Make no noise, make no noise ; draw 
 the curtains : 
 So, so, so: we'll go to supper i' the morning: 
 so, so, so. 
 Fool. And I '11 go to bed at noon."* 
 
 83. Bless thy five wits! The whole portion of this finely- 
 imagined scene, from " The foul fiend bites my back," to "Why 
 hast thou let her 'scape?" inclusive, is wanting in the Folio. 
 Fortunately, it was retained in the Quarto copies. Edgar here 
 repeats his previous exclamation fsee Note 34 of this Act) ; and 
 this repetition serves to mark the difficulty he has in sustaining 
 his character and inventing any more of the Bedlanr beggar's 
 jargon. His next speech still more touchingly marks his inability 
 
 84. Brach or lytn. " Brach" is an old name for a female hound. 
 See Note in, Act i. A " lym," or * lyme,' was a bloodhound. 
 
 85. Tike. A worthless dog, a cur. See Note 13, Act ii., 
 "Henry V." 
 
 r6. Sessxt See Note 46 of the present Act. 
 
 87. Thy horn is dry. The Bedlam beggars usually carried a 
 horn wiih them, into which they put what drink was charitably 
 given to them. Here, therefore, Edgar, in his assumed character 
 of" Poor Tom," says this as one of the usual phrases of reminder 
 that his horn wants filling ; but he also says it In his own person, 
 figuratively signifying that his powers of "counterfeiting" are 
 exhausted. 
 
 88. And ril go to bed at noon. This speech, omitted in the 
 Quartos, but given in the Folio, is the last sentence uttered by 
 
 Re-enter Gloster. 
 Glo. Come hither, friend: where is the king 
 my master ? 
 
 Kent. Here, sir ; but trouble him not, — his wits 
 are gone. 
 
 Glo. Good friend, I pr'ythee, take him in thy 
 arms ; 
 
 I have o'erheard a plot of death upon him : 
 There is a litter ready; lay him in 't, 
 And drive toward Dover, friend, where thou shalt 
 meet 
 
 Both welcome and protection. Take up thy master: 
 I If thou shouldst dally half an houi-, his life, 
 j With thine, and all that offer to defend him, 
 Stand in assured loss : take up, take up ; 
 And follow me, that will to some provision 
 Give thee quick conduct. 
 
 Kent. Oppress'd nature sleeps :"' — 
 
 This rest inight yet have balm'd thy broken 
 senses,'" 
 
 Which, if convenience will not allow, 
 
 Stand in hard cure.— [To the Fool.] Come, help 
 
 I to bear thy master ; 
 
 I Thou must not stay behind. 
 
 I Glo. Come, come, away. 
 
 j [£.vf««/ Kent, Glostek, fl/;^/ //i^" l'"ool, 
 
 bearing auuay Lear. 
 Edg. When we our betters see bearing our woes. 
 We scarcely think our miseries our foes. 
 Who alone suffers, suffers most i' the mind. 
 Leaving free things and happy shows behind : 
 But then the mind much sufferance doth o'erskip, 
 When grief hath mates, and bearing fellowship. 
 How light and portable my pain seems now, 
 When that wb.ich makes me bend, makes tlie king 
 bow ; 
 
 He childed, as I fatlier'd ! — Tom, away ! 
 Mark the high noises;" and thyself bewray, 
 
 Lear's fool. It is greatly significant, though apparently so trivial. 
 It seems but a playful rejoinder to his poor old royal master's 
 witless words of exhaustion, but it is, in fact^ a dismissal of him- 
 self from the scene of the tragedy and from his own short day 
 of life. The dramatist indeed has added one slight passing 
 touch of. tender mention (Kent's saying, "Come, help to bear 
 thy master; thou must not stay behind "), ere he withdraws him 
 frorn the drama altogether ; but he seems, by this last speech 
 put into the fool's own mouth, to let us knov/ that the gentle- 
 hearted fellow who " much pined away " at Cordelia's going into 
 France, ana who has since been subjected to still severer fret at 
 his dear master's miseries — the softly-nurtured jester, petted and 
 pampered at court, now exposed to a whole night's pelting 
 storm — has sunk beneath the accumulated burden, and has gone 
 to his eternal rest even in the very " noon " of his existence. 
 
 89. Oppress'd nature sleeps. This speech of Kent's, and the 
 next of Edgar's, are omitted from the Folio ; but are preserved 
 in the Quartos. 
 
 90. Senses. The old copies print ' sinews' instead of " senses." 
 Theobald's correction. 
 
 91. Mark the high noises. Take note of the rumoured division 
 between the dukes, and the reports of approaching war. 
 
 92. Beivr.iy. 'Betray;' ' discover,' ' disclose,' ' reveal.* 
 
 503 
 
Act III.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene VII. 
 
 Kent. [To the Fool] Come, help to bear thy master: 
 Thou must not stay behmd. 
 Gloster. Come. come. away. Act III. Sceite VI. 
 
 When false opinion, whose wrong thought denies 
 thee, 
 
 In thy just proof, repeals and reconciles thee. 
 What will hap more to-night, safe 'scape the king l'^ 
 Lurk, lurk. [Exit. 
 
 SCENE VII.— ^ Room in Gloster's Cast/f. 
 Enter Cornwall, Regan, Goneril, Edmund, 
 
 and Servants. 
 Corn. Post speedily to my lord your husband ; 
 
 93. What mill hap mVre to-night, safe 'scape the king! 
 ' Let what will happen more to-night, may the king escape 
 safely ! ' See Note 30, Act i. 
 
 94. Festinate. 'Speedy,' 'prompt.' See Note 2, Act iii., 
 " Love's Labour's Lost." 
 
 95. Intelligent. ' Communicative of intelligence,' * conveyant 
 of intelligence.' See Note 74 of this Act. 
 
 show him this letter: — the army of France is 
 landed. — Seek out the traitor Gloster. 
 
 {Exeunt some of the Servants. 
 
 Reg. Hang him instantly. 
 
 Gon. Pluck out his eyes. 
 
 Corn. Leave him to my displeasure. — Edmund, 
 keep you our sister company : the revenges we are 
 bound to take upon your traitorous father are not fit 
 for your beholding. Advise the duke, where you 
 are going, to a most festinate'^ preparation: we 
 are bound to the like. Our posts shall be swift 
 and intelligent'^ betwixt us. Farewell, dear sister : 
 — farewell, my lord of Gloster.'^ 
 
 96. My lord of Gloster. Cornwall here addresses Edmund 
 by the title which he previously said should be conferred upon 
 him, in the fifth scene of this Act, where the duke says, " True 
 or false, it hath made thee Earl 0/ Gloster." Immediately after- 
 ] w.irds, Oswald, of course, means Edmund's father by " my lord 
 of Gloster." 
 
Act III.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene VII. 
 
 Enter Oswald. 
 How now ! where 's the king ? 
 
 Osnv. My lord of Gloster hath convey'd him 
 hence : 
 
 Some five or six and thirty of his knights. 
 Hot questrists'7 after him, met him at gate ; 
 Who, with some other of the lords dependants,^^ 
 Are gone with him toward Dover ; where they 
 boast 
 
 To have well-armed friends. 
 
 Corn. Get horses for your mistress. 
 
 Gon. Farewell, sweet lord and sister. 
 Corn. Edmund, farewell. 
 
 {Exeunt Goneril, Edmund, and Oswald. 
 
 Go seek the traitor Gloster, 
 Pinion him like a thief, bring him before us. 
 
 [Exeunt other Servants. 
 Though well we may not pass upon°^ his life 
 Without the form of justice, yet our power 
 Shall do a courtesy to'"" our wrath, which men 
 May blame, but not control. — Who 's there the 
 traitor ? 
 
 Re-enter Servants, ivith Gloster. 
 Reg. Ingrateful fox ! 'tis he. 
 Corn. Bind fast his corky arms. 
 C/o. What mean your graces ? — Good my 
 friends, consider 
 You are my guests : do me no foul play, friends. 
 Corn. Bind him, I say. [Servants Unci him. 
 Reg. Hard, hard."-'— Oh, filthy traitor ! 
 
 Glo. Unmerciful lady as you are, I'm none. 
 Coin. To this chair bind him. — Villain, thou 
 shalt find — [Regan ^/ac^i his beard. 
 
 Glo. By the kind gods, 'tis most ignobly done 
 To pluck me by the beard. 
 
 97. Quesirisis. 'Seekers,' 'searchers;' these who go in 
 quest. See Note 36, Act i. 
 
 98. Tlie lords dependajiis. In some editions this is given 
 'the lord's dependants,' as if referring to Gloster's adherents; 
 but it is probably used as a designation for the lords dependant 
 upon Lear, those of his train, his hundred knights. This kind 
 of double plural was sometimes used in Shakespeare's time. See 
 Note 59, Act iii., " Henry VIII." 
 
 99. Pass iipon. ' Pass judgment upon,' * decide condemningly 
 upon,' 'pass sentence upon.' See Note 5, Act ii,, "Measure 
 for Measure." 
 
 100. Do a courtesy to. ' Comply with,' ' gratify,' ' confer a 
 favour upon.' 
 
 101. Corky. 'Dry,' 'rigid;' like the bark of a cork-tree. 
 This expressive epithet may have been suggested by a passage 
 in Harsnet's book : " It would pose all the cunning e.xorcists, 
 that are this day to be found, to teach an old corkie woman 
 to writhe, tremble, curvet, and fetch her morice gambols, as 
 Martha Bressier [one of the possessed mentioned in the book] 
 did." 
 
 102. Hard, hard. How subtly the true poet, by these two 
 little repetition monosyllables, strikes an echoing chord in the 
 key-note of Regan's hard nature ; at the very time that he 
 shows the impenetrable material of which she is composed, by 
 this gratuitous piece of e.ttra cruelty. The granite hardness in 
 Regan's composition is so marked an element of her disposition. 
 
 Reg. So white, and such a traitor ! 
 
 Glo. Naughty i»3 lady. 
 
 These hairs, which thou dost ravish from my chin, 
 Will quicken, and accuse thee : I am your host : 
 
 ith robbers' hands my hospitable favours 
 You should not ruffle '"^ thus. What will you do P 
 
 Corn. Come, sir, what letters had you late from 
 France ? 
 
 Reg. Be simple-answer'd, for we know the 
 truth. 
 
 Corn. And what confederacy have you with the 
 traitors 
 
 Late footed in the kingdom ? 
 
 Reg. To whose hands have yon sent the lunatic 
 king? 
 
 Speak. 
 
 Glo. I have a letter guessingly set down. 
 Which came from one that 's of a neutral heart, 
 And not from one oppos'd. 
 
 Corn. Cunning. 
 
 Reg. And false. 
 
 Corn. Where hast thou sent the king ? 
 
 Glo. To Dover. 
 
 Reg. Wherefore to Dover? Wast thoii not 
 charg'd at peril — 
 
 Corn. Wherefore to Dover? Let him answer 
 that. 
 
 Glo. I am tied to the stake, and I must stand 
 the course.'"'' 
 
 Reg. Wherefore to Dover ? 
 
 Glo. Because I would not see thy cruel nails 
 Pluck out his poor old eyes ; nor thy fierce sister'"" 
 In his anointed flesh stick boarish fangs. 
 The sea, with such a storm as his bare head 
 In hell-black night endur'd, would have buoy'd up, 
 And quench'd the stelled'"*' fires: 
 Yet, poor old heart, he holp the heavens to rain. 
 
 that her poor old father, even in his aberration of mind, pre- 
 serves a sense of it as her distinguishing characteristic ; — "Then 
 let them anatomise Regan ; see what breeds about her heart. 
 Is there any cause in nature that makes these hard hearts?" 
 
 103. Naughty. ' Good for naught,' ' worthless,' ' bad,' 
 ' wicked.' See Note 49 of this Act. 
 
 104. Favours. Here used for the component portions of a 
 countenance, its features. See Note 86, Act i., "Julius Cse.sar." 
 
 105. Rujffle. 'Roughly treat,' 'roughly tear;' 'rend.' See 
 Note 123, Act ii. 
 
 106. / must stand the conise. See Note 40, Act v., 
 " Macbeth." 
 
 107. Tliy Jzare sister. Although, superficially considered, 
 Lear's two elder daughters seem so equal in wickedness, and so 
 alike in monstrosity of conduct, as to be hardly distinguishable 
 the one from the other in character, yet, duly examined, they 
 will be found to be individualised with all that discrimination of 
 special characterisation which belongs pre-eminently to Shake- 
 speare By the one epithet "fierce" here (used also in refer- 
 ence to her " eyes" in Actii., sc. 4), as well as by similarly brief 
 but forcible touches elsewhere, he depicts to us the haughtily 
 frowning woman, the scornfully flashing-eyed woman, in Goneril ; 
 while Regan is no less visibly set before us, with her coldly 
 malignant face and brutal inexorability of manner. See Note 
 61, Act ii. 
 
 108. Slellid. 'Starred,' 'starry;' Latin, j/^/.'rt, 'star.' 
 
Act III.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene VII. 
 
 If wolves had at thy gate howl'd that stern tunc, 
 Thou shouldst have said, " Good porter, turn tlie 
 key," 
 
 All cruels else subscrib'd iio^— but I shall see 
 The winged vengeance overtake such children. 
 Corn. See it shalt thou never. — Fellows, hold 
 the chair. — 
 Upon these ey es of thine I'll set my foot. 
 
 Glo. He that will think to live till he be old. 
 Give me some help ! — Oh, cruel ! — Oh, ye gods ! 
 Reg. One side will mock another; the other 
 too.™ 
 
 Corn. If you see vengeance, — 
 
 First Serv. Hold your hand, my lord : 
 
 I have serv'd you ever since I was a child ; 
 But better ser\ ice have I never done you 
 Than now to bid you hold. 
 
 Reg. How now, you dog ! 
 
 First Ser'V. If you did wear a beard upon your 
 chin, 
 
 I'd shake it on this quarrel. What do you mean ? 
 Corn. My villain [Draivs. 
 First Ser'V. Nay, then, come on, and take the 
 chance of anger. 
 
 [Draivs. They fight. Cornwall is 
 luounded. 
 
 Reg. Give me thy sword. — A peasant stand up 
 thus ! [Takes a siuord from another Servant, 
 
 and stabs First Servant. 
 First Sernj. Oh, I am slain I — My lord, you 
 have one eye left 
 To see some mischief on him. — Oh ! [Dies. 
 Corn. Lest it see more, prevent it. — Out, vile 
 jelly! 
 
 Where is thy lustre now ? 
 
 109. Ail cruels else subscrib'd. " Cruels" is here used as a 
 po2tical abbreviation of 'cruelties;' and "subscrib'd" means 
 'yielded,' 'relinquished.' See Note 65, Act i, 
 
 110. The other too. The ferocity, the overflowing ferocity of 
 Regan is marked with unmistakable emphasis by the dramatist. 
 At his period of play-writing, the barbarities committed during 
 this scene were not without parallel in other dramas. In 
 " Selimus, Emperor of the Turks," one of the sons of Bajazet 
 pulls out the eyes of an Aga on the stage, and subsequently his 
 hands are cut off; while in "Antonio's Revenge," Piero's 
 tongue is torn out on the stage. 
 
 111. Villain. Meaning here 'bondman,' 'serf,' 'feudal re- 
 tainer.' See Note 17, Act i., " Comedy of Errors." Regan's 
 words, " A peasant stand up thus ! " show this to be the sense 
 in which "villain" is here used. 
 
 112. Quit. 'Acquit,' 'requite,' 'redress.' 
 
 113. Overture. ' Opening,' 'disclosure,' 'discovery.' 
 
 114. Tlien Edgar was abus'd. This opening of Gloster's 
 mental eyes immediately upon the extinction of his physical 
 eyes, this clearing of his moral sight just as his visual sight 
 
 Glo. All dark and comfortless. — Where's my 
 son Edmund ? 
 Edmund, enkindle all the sparks of nature. 
 To quit"- this horrid act. 
 
 Reg. Out, treacherous villain ! 
 
 Thou call'st on him that hates thee: it was he 
 j 1 hat made the overture"^ of thy treasons to us; 
 Who is too good to pity tliee. 
 
 Glo. Oh, my follies! 
 
 Then Edgar was abus'd."^— 
 Kind gods, forgive me that, and prosper him ! 
 j Reg. Go thrust him out at gates, and let him 
 I smell 
 
 I His way to Dover. — How is't, my lord ? how look 
 you ? 
 
 Corn. I have receiv'd a hurt: — follow me, lady. — 
 Turn out that eyeless villain ; — throw this slave 
 I Upon the dunghill. — Regan, I bleed apace: 
 Untimely comes this hurt: give me your arm. "5 
 [Exit Cornwall, led by Regan. — Some 
 of the Servants unbind Gloster, 
 and lead him out. 
 Sec. Ser'V. I'll never care what wickedness I do, 
 If this man come to good. 
 
 Third Ser'V. If she live long, 
 
 And, in the end, meet the old course of death, i'* 
 Women will all turn monsters. 
 See. Ser'V. Let 's follow the old earl, and get the 
 Bedlam 
 
 To lead him where he would : his roguish madness 
 Allows itself to anything. 
 
 Third Ser'V. Go thou : I'll fetch some flax and 
 
 whites of eggs"^ 
 To apply to his bleeding face. Now, Heaven help 
 
 him ! [Exeunt se-verally. 
 
 has been quenched, is precisely one of Shakespeare's striking 
 points : and very finely, too, do these remorseful words of the 
 earl's, in reference to his elder son, harmonise with Lear's when 
 reverting to his mistaken usage of Cordelia. See Note 153, 
 Act i. The perfect harmony throughout, indeed, between the 
 two blended stories of disunion between parent and child in this 
 grand tragedy, yet without, presenting the slightest effect of 
 repetition or re-duplication, is among the marvels of Shake- 
 spearian dramatic art. 
 
 115. Give me your arm. The remainder of this scene, after 
 these words, is omitted in the Folio, although found in the 
 Qusrtos. 
 
 116. Meet the old course 0/ death. Here used to express ' die 
 a natural death ; ' or, as the common phrase goes, ' die in her 
 bed.' "Old" seems to be employed in the sense of 'usual,' 
 
 117. Flax and ivhites of eggs. Popularly used in Shake- 
 speare's time as an application for staunching blood and as- 
 suaging the pain of wounds ; a medical authority of our own 
 
 I time pronouncing it to be " good domestic surgery." 
 
Act IV.] KING LEAR. [Scene I. 
 
 ACT IV. 
 
 SCENE \.— The Heath. 
 
 Enter Edgar. 
 
 Eclg. Yet better thus, and known to be con- 
 temii'd,! 
 
 Than still contemn'd and flatter'd. To be worst, 
 
 The lowest and most dejected thing of fortune. 
 
 Stands slill in esperance,^ lives not in fear: 
 
 The lamentable change is from the best ; 
 
 The worst returns to laughter. Welcome, then, 
 
 Thou unsubstantial air that I embrace! 
 
 The wretch, that thou hast blown unto the worst, 
 
 Oives nothing to thy blasts. — But who comes here ? 
 
 Enter Gloster, led by an Old Man. 
 My father, poorly led ? — World, world, oh, world ! 
 But that thy strange mutations make us hate thee, 
 Life would not yield to age.^ 
 
 Old Man. Oh, my good lord, I have been your 
 tenant,* and your father's tenant, these fourscore 
 years. 
 
 Glo. Away, get (hee away; good friend, be gone: 
 Thy comforts can do me no good at all ; 
 Thee they may hurt. 
 
 Old Man. Alack, sir, you cannot see your way. 
 
 Glo, I have no way, and therefore want no 
 eyes ; 
 
 I stumbled when I saw : full oft 'tis seen. 
 Our means secure us,' and our mere defects 
 Prove our commodities. — Ah ! dear son Edgar, 
 The food of thy abused father's wrath ! 
 Might I but live to see thee in my touch, ^ 
 I'd say I had eyes again ! 
 
 Old Man. How now ! Who 's there ? 
 
 Edg. [Aside.] Oh, gods ! Who is't can say, " I 
 am at the worst" ? 
 I am worse than e'er I was. 
 
 1. Vet better thus, and known, ist'c. ' It is better to be thus, 
 knowing myself to bt contemned, than to be flattered and 
 covertly contemned.' 
 
 2. Espcratice. A French word adopted into our language by 
 Shakespeare and other writers of his time; 'hope.' See Note 
 22, Act v., "Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 3. Life would not yield to age. Warburton, pronouncing 
 this to be an "obscure passage," has interpreted it one way; 
 and Malone another. We take it to mean, ' Oh, world ! if it 
 were not that thy strange vicissitudes make us hate thee, we 
 should never be willing to surrender life even in old age.' 
 There are other condensedly constructed and concisely ex- 
 pressed phrases pointed out by us in Shakespeare, where the 
 word 'even' is elliptically understood, that corroborate our 
 interpretation here. See Notes 74, Act iii., and 55, Act iv., 
 " Macbeth." 
 
 4. / have been your tenant. We imagine the old man who 
 here speaks to be the occupant of the farm-house in which 
 Glt)ster placed Lear for shelter (see Note 70, Act iii.) ; and that 
 
 Old Man. 'Tis poor mad Tom. 
 
 Edg. [Aside.] And worse I maybe yet: the 
 worst is not 
 So long as we can say, " This is the worst." 
 Old Man. Fellow, where goest P 
 Glo. Is it a beggar-man ? 
 
 Old Man. Madman and beggar too. 
 Glo. He has some reason, else he could not 
 beg. 
 
 r the last night's storm I such a fellow saw ; 
 Which made me think a man a worm : my son 
 Came then into my mind ; and yet my mind 
 Was then scarce friends with him : I have heard 
 more since. 
 
 As flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods, — 
 They kill us for their sport. 
 
 Edg. [Aside.] How should this be ? — 
 
 Bad is the trade that must play fool to sorrov\, 
 Angering itself and others. — [To Glo.] Bless 
 thee, master ! 
 
 Glo. Is that the naked fellow ? 
 
 Old Man. Ay, my lord. 
 
 Glo. Then, pr'ythee, get thee gone : if, for my 
 sake. 
 
 Thou wilt o'ertake us, hence a mile or twain, 
 r the way toward Dover, do it for ancient love ; 
 And bring some covering^ for this naked soul, 
 Which I'll entreat to lead me. 
 
 Old Man. Alack, sir, he is mad. 
 
 Glo.' 'Tis the times' plague, when madmen lead 
 the blind. 
 
 Do as I bid thee, or rather do thy pleasure ; 
 Above the rest, be gone. 
 
 Old Man. I '11 bring him the best 'parel that I 
 have, 
 
 Come on 't what will. [Exit. 
 Glo. Sirrah, naked fellow, — ■ 
 
 the servants, who propose to "get the Bedlam to lead the old 
 earl," when Gloster's eyes are put out, not finding the supposed 
 beggar, have left the blind nobleman in charge of his faithful 
 
 5. Our means secure us. 'Our means render us over-con- 
 fident or rashly trusting.' That "secure" is thus used by 
 Shakespeare, witness the several passages to which a clue is 
 furnished in Note 128, Act i., " Hamlet." The context, " I 
 stumbled when I saw," shows that this is the meaning of the 
 sentence, which is here given according to the original text. 
 
 6. Might I but liiie to see thee in my touch. The poetically 
 expressed aspiration of a blind man. In scene vi. of this Act 
 Gloster uses a kindred phrase, " I see it feelingly." 
 
 7. Some covering. This request of Gloster's, followed by the 
 old man's compliance with it, serves the dramatic purpose of 
 accounting for Edgar's subsequent appearance in better clothing 
 than his Bedlam beggar's blanket; and also serves the moral 
 purpose of showing Gloster's thought for the unfortunate, 
 elicited by his own misfortunes. 
 
Gloster. Sirrah, naked fellow, — 
 Edgar. Poor Tom 's a-cold.— [^«<A'.] I 
 
 Edg. Poor Tom 's a-cold. — [Aside.] I cannot 
 
 daub it farther.^ 
 G/o. Come hither, fellow. 
 
 Edg. [Jside.] And yet I must. — Bless thy sweet 
 
 eyes, they bleed. 
 Glo. Know'st thou the way to Dover ? 
 Edg. Both stile and gate, horse-way and foot- 
 path. Poor Tom hath been scared out of his good 
 
 8. / cmiHot daub it farther. * I cannot any longer keep up 
 this miserable show of imitation, this wretched mimicry.* By 
 the one aptly-chosen monosyllable ** daub," how succinctly yet 
 thoroughly does Shakespeare express this ! Admirably well, 
 too, for the purposes of dramatic art, does he put these words 
 into Edgar's mouth at this juncture ■. they denote the son's 
 grief at his father's calamity, incapacitating him from any longer 
 sustaining his assumed character ; and they bring the Bedlam 
 beggar's jargon to a close at a period of the play when no longer 
 needed and better dispensed with. 
 
 9. From the foul fiend. The Folio omits the remainder of 
 this speech. 
 
 «its:- bless thee, good man's son, from the foul 
 fiend!' — five fiends have been in poor Tom at 
 once ; of wantonness, as Obidicut ; Hobbididance, 
 prince of dumbness ; Mahu, of stealing ; Modo, of 
 murder; Flibbertigibbet, of mopping and mowing, 
 — who since possesses chambermaids and waiting- 
 women.'" So, bless thee, master! 
 
 Glo. Here, take this purse, thou whom the 
 heavens' plagues 
 
 10. Chambermaids and waiting-women. The five fiends 
 mentioned here have these names assigned to them in a de- 
 scription given of the devils who were supposed to possess the 
 female servants, in Harsnet's book ; which has been so often 
 referred to as furnishing Shakespeare with matter for Poor 
 Tom's gibberish. In one passage, Harsnet has — ^" If she have 
 a little helpe of the mother, epilepsie, or cramp, to teach her 
 role her eyes, wrie her mouth, gnash her teeth, starte with her 
 body, hold her armes and handes stiffe, make antike faces, 
 grinne, 7no7u and mop like an ape, then no doubt the younge 
 girle is owle-blasted and possessed." 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 KING 
 
 LEAR. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Have humbled to all strokes : that I am wretched 
 Makes thee the happier : — heavens, deal so still ! 
 Let the superfluous" and sin-dieted man, 
 That slaves '2 your ordinance, that will not see 
 Because he doth not feel, feel your power quickly ; 
 So distribution should undo excess. 
 And each man have enough. — Dost thou know 
 Dover ? 
 Edg. Ay, master. 
 
 Glo. There is a cliff, whose high and bending 
 head 
 
 Looks fearfully in the confined deep 
 Bring me but to the very brim of it, 
 And I '11 repair the misery thou dost bear 
 With something rich about me : from that place 
 1 shall no leading need. 
 
 Edg. Give me th)' arm : 
 
 Poor Tom shall lead thee. \Excunt. 
 
 SCENE \\.— Before the Duke of Albany's 
 Palace. 
 
 Enter Goneril and Edmund ; Oswald tneeting 
 them. 
 
 Gon. Welcome, my lord : I marvel our mild 
 husband 
 
 Not met us on the way. — Now, where 's your master ? 
 Osiv. Madam, within ; but never man so 
 chang'd.'^ 
 
 I told him of the army that was landed ; 
 He smil'd at it: I told him you were coming ; 
 His answer was, " The worse :" of Gloster's 
 treachery, 
 
 11. Superfluous. Here used to e.-ipress ' endowed with super- 
 fluity,' ' possessed of superabundance.' 
 
 12. Slaves. ' Treats as a slave,' 'makes a slave of.' "That 
 slaves your oi'dinance " implies ' that uses your divine ordina- 
 tions as if they were slaves to him, instead of acting in obedience 
 to them.' 
 
 13. Looks fearfully in the confined deep. Here " in " is used 
 for 'into,' as in the common phrase, 'looks in the glass;' the 
 cliff being poetically represented to behold its reflection in the 
 sea, as in a miiTor. 
 
 14. Our mild husband. Shakespeare has the faculty to make 
 a gracious epithet become a sneer in the mouth of a sarcastic 
 speaker. The "fierce" Goneril may well scoff at the "mild 
 husband " who deprecated her treatment of her old father, in 
 Act i., sc. 4. 
 
 15. Never man so chang'd. That is, from the approval and 
 affectionate admiration of his haughty wife, which he formerly 
 entertained, as indicated in Act i., sc. 4, where he says, "I 
 cannot be so partial, Goneril, to the great love I bear you ;" and 
 also from blind partisanship, and belief in the steward's repre- 
 sentations of what is going forward. We may see that until 
 lately Albany has been an easy-going, facile-tempered man, 
 prone to take for granted as right and fair much that he now 
 perceives to be harsh and unjust. More of Shakespeare's subtle 
 teaching on the subject of moral awakening by reason of 
 troublous events ! 
 
 16. Our wishes on ilie way may prove effects. ' The wishes 
 
 And of the loyal service of his son. 
 When I inform'd him, then he call'd me sot, 
 And told me I had turn'd the wrong side out : — 
 What most he should dislike seems pleasant to him ; 
 What like, ofl^ensive. 
 
 Gon. [To Edm.] Then shall you go no farther. 
 It is the cowish terror of his spirit. 
 That dares not undertake : he'll not feel wrongs. 
 Which tie him to an answer. Our wishes on the way 
 May prove effects.^^ Back, Edmund, to my brother; 
 Hasten his musters and conduct his powers : 
 I must change arms at home, and give the distaff 
 Into my husband's hands. This trusty servant 
 Shall pass between us: ere long you are like to hear, 
 If you dare venture in your own behalf, 
 A mistress's command. Wear this ; spare speech ; 
 
 [Giving a favour. 
 Decline your head :'' this kiss, if it dur.st speak, 
 Would stretch thy spirits up into the air : — 
 Conceive, and fare thee well. 
 
 Edm. Yours m the ranks of death. 
 
 Gon. My most dear Gloster ! 
 
 [Exit Edmund. 
 Oh, the difference of man and man ! 
 To thee a woman's services are due : 
 My fooPs usurps my body. 
 
 Ojto. Madam, here comes my lord, 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 Enter. Albany. 
 Gon. I have been worth the whistle.'' 
 Alb. O Goneril ! 
 
 You are not worth the dust which the rude wind 
 Blows in your face.^" I fear your disposition : 
 That nature, which contemns its origin. 
 Cannot be border'd certain in itself;-^ 
 
 that we expressed to each other on our way hither may per- 
 chance be fulfilled.' These "wishes" refer to the death of 
 Albany, and to Goneril's becoming Edmund's wife ; as shown 
 in her letter, read by Edgar (scene vi. of this Act). 
 
 17. Decline your Iiead. She bids Edmund bend towards her, 
 that she may give him " this kiss ;" .so as to make it appear in 
 the eyes of the steward, who is present, a whisper passing 
 between them. 
 
 18. My fool. Just the epithet for Queen Goneril to apply to 
 her "mild husband," whom she dupes and betrays. It is in 
 the nature of arrogant women to consider those who are too 
 generous to resent their insolence, and too forbearing to chastise 
 their misdeeds, as weak creatures, meek fools ; moreover, to 
 consider the marital rights of these meek fools as usurpations. 
 
 19. / have been worth the whistle. Reproaching Albany for 
 not having sooner come to seek her ; she has at the beginning 
 of the scene expressed her wonder that he did not come to meet 
 her " on the way." There is a proverbial saying, " It is a poor 
 dog that is not worth the whistling." 
 
 20. Blo'cus in your face. The remainder of this speech, and 
 the whole of those two which follow, are omitted in the Folio. 
 
 21. Cannot be bordered certain in itself. ' Cannot comprise 
 reliable component substance in itself.' This has been explained 
 to mean ' cannot be restrained within any certain bounds ; ' but, 
 examining the words themselves, together with their following 
 context, we think they rather bear the interpretation we have 
 given. 
 
y 
 
 Act IV.] KING 
 
 She that herself will sliver"' and disbranch 
 I'Vom her material sap,"? perforce must witlier, 
 And como to deadly use.^'' - 
 
 Gon. No more; the text is foolish. 
 
 J/6. Wisdom and goodness to the vile seem 
 vile : 
 
 Filths savour but themselves. What have you done ? 
 Tigers, not daughters, what have you perform'd ? 
 A father, and a gracious aged man, 
 Whose reverence the head-lugg'd bear would lick, 
 Most barbarous, most degenerate ! have you 
 madded. 
 
 Could my good brother suffer you to do it r 
 A man, a prince, by him so benefited ! 
 If that the heavens do not their visible spirits 
 Send quickly down to tame these vile offences. 
 It will come, 
 
 Humanity must perforce prey on itself. 
 Like monsters of the deep. 
 
 Gori. Milk-liver'd man ! 
 
 That bear'st a cheek for blows, a head for wrongs ; 
 Who hast not in thy brows an eye discerning 
 Thine honour from thy suffering -,"5 that not know'st 
 Fools do those villains pity who are punish'd 
 Ere they have done their mischief. Where's thy 
 drum ? 
 
 France spreads his banners in our noiseless land ; 
 With plumed helm thy slayer begins threats; 
 Whilst thou, a moral fool, sitt'st still, and criest, 
 " Alack, why does he so ?" 
 
 Jli. See thyself, devil ! 
 
 Proper deformity seems not in the fiend 
 So horrid as in woman. 
 
 Gon. Oil, vain fool ! 
 
 A/d. Thou changed and self-cover'd thing, 2" for 
 shame, 
 
 22. Siiz'ey. 'Slice off,' ' dismeniber.' See Note gg, Act iv. , 
 " Hamlet." 
 
 23. Her material sap. Literally, ' the sap of the parent tree 
 or trunk;' figuratively, 'her own parental blood,' 'the blood of 
 her old father;' elHptically, 'the parent stock which supplies 
 her vital sap.' " Material " has here especial force of apt mean- 
 ing : materia^ in Latin, besides signifying * material,' ' matter,' 
 'substance,' signifying also 'timber,' 'wood,' 'the trunk of a 
 tree.' 
 
 24. Come to deadly use. In allusion to the use made of 
 withered branches and mystic boughs by sorcerers and en- 
 chanters ; as the " slips of yew sliver'd in the moon's eclipse," 
 mentioned among the ingredients for the witches' cauldron, in 
 "Macbeth," Act iv., sc. i. Albany may well "fear" the 
 "disposition" of one who, by her unnatural revolt from her 
 father, proves henself cap.able of committing any other "deadly" 
 
 25. Frofn thy siij^eriiig. The remanider of this speech is 
 omitted in the Folio. 
 
 26. Proper deformity seems not, &^c. ' Moral obliquity seems 
 not so horriljle in the fiend, to whom it is appropriate, as in 
 woman, who should be by nature righteous.' 
 
 27. Thju changed and self-cover'd thing. ' Thou perverted 
 creature, who hast covered thyself with the hideousness only 
 prooer to a fiend.' This .speech and the two ne.xt are not given 
 in the Folio. 
 
 LEAR. [Scene II. 
 
 Be-monster not thy feature.-* Were 't my fitness 
 To let these hands obey my blood,'' 
 They are apt enough to dislocate and tear 
 Thy flesh and bones c^" — howe'er thou art a fiend, 
 A woman's shape doth shield thee.^i 
 Gon. Marry, your manhood now ! 
 
 Enter a Messenger. 
 Alb. What news :- 
 
 Mess. Oh, my good lord, the Duke of Corn- 
 wall 's dead ; 
 Slain by his servant, going to put out 
 The other eye of Gloster. 
 
 Alb. Gloster's eyes ! 
 
 Mess. A servant that he bred, thrill'd with 
 remorse, 
 
 Oppos'd against the act, bending his sword 
 To his great master ; who, thereat enrag'd, 
 Flew on him, and amongst them^- fell'd him dead ; 
 But not without that harmful stroke, which since 
 Hath pluck'd him after. 
 
 Alb. This sliows you are above, 
 
 You justicers, that these our nether crimes 
 So speedily can venge !- But, oh, poor Gloster! 
 Lost he his other eye ? 
 
 Mess. Both, both, my lord.— 
 
 This letter, madam, craves a speedy answer; 
 'Tis from your sister. 
 
 Gon. [Jj/V/f.] One way I like this well;^:' 
 But being widow, and my Gloster with her. 
 May all the building in my fancy pluck 
 Upon my hateful life : another way. 
 The news is not so tart.— [To Me.s.s.] I'll read, 
 and answer. [Exit. 
 
 Alb. Where was his son when thev did take his 
 eyes ? 
 
 28. Featnrc. Here used to e.vpress 'general aspect or per- 
 sonal appearance.' See Note 77, Act iii., "As You Like It." 
 
 29. Blood. ' Natural impulse,' ' prompting of passion.' See 
 Note 30, Act iv., " Hamlet." 
 
 30. To dislocate and tear thy Jlesh and uo7iis. * To dislocate 
 thy bones and tear thy flesh.' For instances of similarly inter- 
 volved construction, .see Note 25, Act i., " Coriolanus ; " and 
 Note 38, Act i., " Macbeth." 
 
 31. Howtfer thou art a Jiend, a 70omans shape doth shield 
 thee. ' However much thou hast covered thyself with a fiend's 
 ugliness, thy woman's form doth protect thee.' 
 
 32. Amongst th.-m. There is no expressed antecedent to 
 "them" here; but the e.xpression "amongst them" serves to 
 depict the scuffle of the scene, and is equivalent to ' between 
 them both,' signifying 'between the duke and his wife ;' Regan 
 having snatched a sword from one of the other servants, and 
 helped her husband to dispatch the one who turned upon him. 
 
 33. One way I lilie this ivell. Goneril is satisfied with the 
 death of Cornwall, inasmuch as it facilitates her scheme of 
 gaining possession of the entire kingdom, of murdering Albany, 
 and marrying Edmund ; but dissatisfied with it, inasmuch as it 
 leaves her sister a widow and free to wed Edmund. It is 
 worthy of notice that during this dialogue Albany calls the 
 father by his title of " Gloster," while Goneril calls tlie son 
 
 " my Gloster." The old earl is wholly in the thoughts of the 
 husband, while the new-made earl possesses those of the wife. 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Mess. Come with my lady hither. 
 
 J/b. He is not here. 
 
 Mess. No, my good lord ; I met him back again. 
 
 Knows he the wickedness ? 
 Mess. Ay, my good lord ; 'twas he inform'd 
 against him ; 
 And quit the house, on purpose that their punish- 
 ment 
 
 Might have the freer course. 
 
 Jib. Gloster, I live 
 
 To thank thee for the love thou show'dst the king, 
 And to revenge thine eyes. — Come hither, friend : 
 Tell me what more thou knowest. \_Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE \U.^*—rhe French Camp near Dover. | 
 Enter Kent and a Gentleman. j 
 
 Kent. Why the King of France is so suddenly 
 gone back know you the reason? 
 
 Gent. Something he left imperfect in the state, } 
 which since his coming forth is thought of; which 
 imports to the kingdom so much fear and danger, ' 
 that his personal return was most required and 
 necessary. j 
 
 Kent. Whom hath he left behind him general ? 1 
 
 Gent. The Mareschal of France, Monsieur La 
 Far. j 
 
 Kent. Did your letters pierce the queen to any ' 
 demonstration of grief? 
 
 Gent. Ay, sir ; she took them, read them in my 
 presence ; 
 
 And now and then an ample tear trill'd down 
 Her delicate cheek : it seem'd she was a queen 
 Over her passion ; who, most rebel-like. 
 Sought to be king o'er her. 
 
 Kent. Oh, then it mov'd her. 
 
 34. Scene III. This brief but beautiful scene, aiding to the 
 development of the dramatic story by accounting for the absence 
 of the King of France from his army, and exquisitely describing 
 Cordelia's loving sympathy for her father, is wanting in the 
 Folio. It certainly never was omitted from the tragedy by the 
 author's desire, however it may have been an excision permitted 
 by him, as manager, for stage purposes of curtailment. See 
 Note I of the present play. 
 
 35. A Gentleman. The one ivho «as sent in the first scene 
 of Act iii., by Kent to Cordelia, with intelligence of her father's 
 
 36. Strove. Pope's correction of the typographical error, 
 'streme,' in the Quartos. 
 
 37. A better way. This is the reading of all the old copies, 
 though it has been variously altered by various emendators, 
 one of them fMalone! going so far as to pronounce the original 
 phrase " perfectly unintelligible." Now. to our minds, it is not 
 only intelligible, but Shakespearian : that is to say, thoroughly 
 e-cplicit of the idea intended to be conveyed. It means that her 
 mingled " smiles and tears" expressed her feelings in "a belter 
 w.iy" than either "patience or sorrow" could do separately; 
 each of vvbich " strove who should express her goodliest." The 
 words. " her smiles and tears were like a better way," moreover 
 include comparison with tlie opening phrase of the speech, " Not 
 
 Gent. Not to a rage: patience and sorrow 
 strove'^ 
 
 Who should express her goodliest. You have seen 
 Sunshine and rain at once : her smiles and tears 
 Were like a better way -.^'i those happy smilets,^* 
 That play'd on her ripe lip, seem'd not to know 
 What guests were in her eyes; which parted thence. 
 As pearls from diamonds dropp'd. — In brief, sorrow 
 Would be a rarity most belov'd, if all 
 Could so become it. 
 
 Kent. Made she no verbal question ? 
 
 Gent. Faith, once or twice she heav'd the name 
 of " father" 
 Pantingly forth, as if it press'd her heart ; 
 Cried, "Sisters! sisters! — Shame of ladies! sisters! 
 Kent! father! sisters! What, i' the storm ? i" the 
 night ? 
 
 Let pity not be believ'd !"^' — There she shook 
 The holy water from her heavenly eyes. 
 And clamour moisten'd :4<' then away she started 
 To deal with grief alone. 
 
 Kent. It is the stars. 
 
 The stars above us, govern our conditions ;■*! 
 Else one self mate and mate-i^ could not beget 
 Sucli different issues. You spoke not w ith her since ? 
 
 Gent. No. 
 
 Kent. Was this before the king return'd ?''•' 
 Gent. No, since. 
 
 Kent. Well, sir, the poor distress'd Lear's in 
 the town ; 
 
 Who sometime, in his better tune, remembers 
 What we are come about, and by no means 
 Will yield to see his daughter. 
 
 Gent. Why, good sir ? 
 
 Kent. A sovereign shame so elbows him : his 
 own unkindness, 
 That stripp'd her from his benediction, turn'd her 
 To foreign casualties, gave her dear rights 
 
 to a rage ; " showing that her emotion vented itself in nothing 
 like rage, but ("a better way") in gentle *' smiles and tears," 
 compounded of both "patience and sorrow." It appears to us 
 that, as usual, Shakespeare's own svords are not only superior 
 to any attempted substitution fur them, but are far more closely 
 apt and largely comprehensive than any for which they are 
 exchanged. 
 
 38. Smilcts. A graceful diminutive of * smiles ; ' serving well 
 to denote the but slight smiles that "patience" could struggle 
 to muster " on her ripe lip." 
 
 39. Let pity not be belieiuf. * In ' or ' to exist * is here ellipti- 
 cally understood after "believ'd." See Note 62, Act Iv., "Timon 
 of Athens." 
 
 40. And clavtour juoisien^d. The old copies erroneously in- 
 sert ' her ' after " moisten'd ; " the passage meaning, ' and shed 
 tears amid her passionate ejaculations.' 
 
 41. Conditions. ' Dispositions.' ' tempers ;'' individual quali- 
 ties.' See Note 56, Act iv., "Richard III.;" and Note 5:, 
 Act i., "Twelfth Night." 
 
 42. One self mate and mate. ' The same husband and wife.' 
 ' the self-same married pair.' Shakespeare generally uses " self" 
 in the .sense of ' .self-.same.' See Note 12. Act i. 
 
 43. Be/ore the king return'd. By " the king," Kent here 
 means the King of France. 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scenes IV., V. 
 
 To his dog-hearted daughters, — these things sting 
 His mind so venomously, that burning shame 
 Detains him from Cordelia. 
 
 Gent. Alack, poor gentleman ! 
 
 Kent. Of Albany's and Cornwall's powers you 
 heard not 
 
 Gent. 'Tis so,^"" they are a-foot. 
 
 Kent. Well, sir, I'll bring you to our master 
 Lear, 
 
 And leave you to attend him: some dear cause'*' 
 Will in concealment wrap me up awhile ; 
 When I am known aright, you shall not grieve 
 Lending me this acquaintance. I pray you, go 
 Along u'ith me. \_Exei/nt. 
 
 SCENE IV.— ^ Tent in the French Camp. 
 Enter Cordelia, Physician, and Soldiers. 
 
 Cor. Alack, 'tis he : why, he was met even now 
 As mad as the vex'd sea ; singing aloud ; 
 Crown'd with rank fumiter'"' and furrow-weeds, 
 With harlocks,-*? hemlock, nettles, cuckoo-flowers. 
 Darnel,^ and all the idle weeds that grow 
 In our sustaining corn. — A century send forth; 
 Search every acre in the high-grown field, 
 And bring him to our eye, \_Exit an Officer.]— 
 
 What can man's wisdoin 
 In the restoring*" his bereaved sense ? 
 He that helps him take all my outward worth. 
 
 Phy. There is means,*! madam : 
 Our foster-nurse of nature is repose. 
 The which he lacks; that to provoke in him, 
 Are many simples operative, whose power 
 Will close the eye of anguish. 
 
 Cor. All bless'd secrets, 
 
 All you unpublish'd virtues of the earth. 
 Spring with my tears ! be aidant and remediate 
 
 44. 'Tis so. Implj'iiig ' it is as was ramoured,' ' it is just as 
 we expected.' "So" is here used witli elliptical effect. See 
 Note 37, Act i. 
 
 45. Some dear cause. ' Some important motive,' ' some pro- 
 ceeding of great moment,' 'some occasion of particular conse- 
 quence.' "Dear" and "cause" are both here used with the 
 peculiar latitude of significance which we have frequently pointed 
 out in S'hakespeare's employment of them. See Note 23, Act v., 
 "Romeo and Juliet; " and Note 10, Act v., " IWacbeth." 
 
 46. Fumiter. An abbreviated form of ' fumitory. ' The Quat tos 
 print the word ' femlter ; ' the Folio, ' Fenitar.' 
 
 47. Harlocks. The Folio prints ' Hardokes ; ' the Quartos 
 ' hor-docks.' Drayton, in one of his Eclogues, has — 
 
 " The honey-suckle, the harlocke. 
 The lily, and the lady-smocke 
 
 and it is supposed that " harlocke " is a corruption of ' charlock,' 
 which is a weed that grows much in corn-fields, bears a yellow 
 blo.ssom, and is the wild mustard. Hanmer and others give 
 'bur-docks,' while Steevens proposes 'hoar-docks;' but our 
 reason for thinking that neither of these could be intended by 
 Shakespeare in this passage is. that they bear leaves too large 
 to mingle in Lear's crown one wo-.il:l cover h'<; head', and th.it 
 
 In the good man's distress !- Seek, seek tor him ; 
 Lest his ungovern'd rage dissolve the life 
 That wants the means to lead it. =2 
 
 Enter a Messenger. 
 ^^ess. News, madam ; 
 
 j The British powers are marching hitherward. 
 I Cor. 'Tis known before ; our preparation stands 
 In expectation of them.— Oh, dear father. 
 It is thy business that I go about ; 
 Therefore great France 
 
 My mourning and important^^ tears hath pitied. 
 No blown ambition doth our arms incite, 
 But love, dear love, and our ag'd father's right : 
 Soon may I hear and see hiin ! [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE N.—A Room in Gloster's Castle. 
 Enter Regan and Oswald. 
 
 Reg. But are my brother's powers set forth ? 
 
 Osn:. Ay, madam. 
 
 Reg. Himself in person there ? 
 
 Ojto. Madam, with much ado : 
 
 Your sister is the better soldier. 
 
 Reg. Lord Edmund spake not witli your lord 
 at home ? 
 
 Osiu. No, madam. 
 
 Reg. What might import my sister's letter to 
 him "i 
 
 Oi'zv. I know not, lady. 
 
 Reg. Faith, he is posted hence on serious matter. 
 It was great ignorance, Gloster's eyes being out. 
 To let him live ; where he arrives he moves 
 All hearts against us : Edmund, I think, is gone. 
 In pity of his misery, to despatch 
 His nigh ted life ; moreover, to descry 
 The strength o' the enemy. 
 
 they do not grow among corn, whereas " harlocks " (or ' char- 
 locks ') do grow there. Shakespeare, in the passage referred to 
 in Note 30, Act v., "Henry "V.," specially places "docks" 
 :xmong meadozu weeds, while he puts "darnel," "hemlock," 
 and "fumitory" among corn-Jield weeds. 
 
 48. Cuckoo-flowers, darnel . "Cuckoo-flowers," called "cuckoo- 
 buds" by Shakespeare elsewhere (see Note 173, Act v., " Love's 
 Labour's Lost"), is very likely a name for 'cowslips;' for a 
 deicription of "darnel," see Note 2y, Act iii., "First Part 
 Henry VL" 
 
 \<). A century. A co.mpany of a hundred men. See Note 82, 
 Act i. , " Coriolanus." 
 
 50. What can man's 7i'isdom in the restoring. " Can " is 
 here elliptically used for ' can do.' See Note 77, Act iv., 
 " Ham'et." 
 
 51. Tliere is means. Here "means" is used as a noun 
 singular. See Note 73, Act iv., "Macbeth." 
 
 52. That wants the means to lead it. ' Xliat is without the 
 governing power of reason to guide it.' 
 
 53. Important. Here used in the sense of ' importunafe.' 
 Se? Note 84, Act iii., " All's Well." 
 
 54. Bloum. 'Swollen,' 'tumid,' '.inflated.' See Note 62, 
 A.-t v., " Coriolanus." 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene VI. 
 
 Oi'vu. I must needs aUer liiiii, madain, witli my 
 letter. 
 
 Reg. Our troops set forth to-morrow : stay 
 with us ; 
 The ways are dangerous. 
 
 Osixj. I may not, madam : 
 
 My lady charg'd my duty in this business. 
 Reg. Why should she write to Edmund ? Might 
 not you 
 
 Transport her purposes by word ? Belike, 
 Something — I know not what: — I'll love thee much ; 
 Let me unseal the letter. 
 
 Osiv. Madam, I had rather — 
 
 Reg. I know your lady does not love her hus- 
 band ; 
 
 I am sure of that : and at her late being here 
 She gave strange eyeliads^* and most speaking looks 
 To noble Edmund. I know you are of her bosom. 
 Osiu. I, madam ? 
 
 Reg. I speak in understanding ; you are, I 
 know it: 
 
 Therefore I do advise you, take this note 
 
 My lord is dead ; Edmund and I have talk'd ; 
 
 And more convenient is he for my hand 
 
 Than for your lad) 's:— you may gather^' more. 
 
 If you do find him, pray you, give him this 
 
 And when your mistress hears thus much from you, 
 
 I pray, desire her call her wisdom to her. 
 
 So, fare you well. 
 
 If you do chance to hear of that blind traitor, 
 Preferment falls on him that cuts him off. 
 
 Osnx). Would I could meet him, madam ! I 
 would show 
 What party I do follow. 
 
 Reg. Fare thee well. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE Yl.—The Country near Dover. 
 
 Enter Gloster, and Edgar dressed like a peasant. 
 
 Glo. When shall I come to the top of that same 
 hill ? 
 
 55. Eyeliaiis. 'Favouring glances,' 'encouraging looks;' 
 significant expressions of the eye. French, (sillades. See 
 Note 46, Act i., " Merry Wives." 
 
 56. Take this ttotc. ' Take note of this,' * observe tliis.' 
 
 57. You tuny gather. ' You may infer more than I have 
 directly told you.' 
 
 58. Gi7'e him this. Regan Is pro'oably intended here to 
 confide some ring or token to the steward's care for conveyance 
 to Edmund. 
 
 59. Metliiiilis thy voice is alter'd ; and thou spealt'st in letter 
 phrase, (5r=<:. This serves to mark Edgar's having dropped the 
 Bedlam beggar's diction (see Note 8 of this Act), and his 
 having assumed one which he may pass off afterwards as 
 that of "some fiend" supposed to have possessed Poor Tom, 
 and to have taken his own shape while aiding Gloster's 
 desperate thoughts in tempting him to throw himself from off 
 the cliff. See Note 33, Act iii,, and Note 74 of the present 
 Act. 
 
 i Edg. You do climb up it now: look, how ue 
 labour. 
 
 Glo. Methinks the ground is even. 
 
 Edg, Horrible steep. 
 
 Hark ! do you hear the sea ? 
 
 Glo. No, truly. 
 
 Edg. Why, then, your other senses grow im- 
 perfect 
 By your e) es' anguish. 
 
 Glo. So may it be, indeed ; 
 
 Methinks thy voice is alter'd ; and thou speak'st 
 In better phrase and matter than thou didst. ^'^ 
 
 Edg. You 're much deceiv'd : in nothing am I 
 chang'd 
 But in my garments. 
 
 Glo. Methinks you're better spokrn. 
 
 Edg. Come on, sir; here's the place; — stand 
 still. — -How fearful 
 And dizzy 'tis, to cast one's eyes so low ! 
 The crows and choughs that wing the midway air 
 I Show scarce so gross as beetles: half way down 
 
 Hangs one that gathers samphire,^" — dreadful 
 I trade ! 
 
 Methinks he seems no bigger than his head : 
 The fisherinen, that walk upon the beach. 
 Appear like mice ; and yon tall anchoring barque, 
 Diminish'd to her cock her cock, a buoy 
 Almost too small for sight : the murmuring surge. 
 That on the unnumber'd idle pebbles chafes. 
 Cannot be heard so high. — I'll look no more ; 
 Lest my brain turn, and the deficient sight 
 Topple down headlong. ^2 
 
 Glo. Set me where you stand. 
 
 Edg. Give me your hand : — you are now u ithin 
 a foot 
 
 Of th' extreme verge : for all beneath the moon 
 Would I not leap upright. 
 
 Glo. Let go my hand. 
 
 Here, friend, is another purse; in it a jewel 
 Well worth a poor man's taking : fairies and gods 
 Prosper it with thee ! Go thou farther off ; 
 Bid me farewell, and let me hear thee going. 
 
 Edg. Now fare you well, good sir. 
 
 60. Samphire. In Smith's "History of Waterford " {1774) 
 wc find — " Samphire grows in great plenty on most of the sea- 
 clifts in this country : it is terrible to see how people gather it, 
 hanging by a rope several fathom from the top of the impending 
 rocks, as it were, in the air." And Venner's ''I'ia Recta" &c. 
 (1622) — ■" Samphire is in like manner preserved in pickle, and 
 eaten with meates." That Dover cliffs were specially celebrated 
 for yielding this pl.ant, witness the following lines in Drayton's 
 " Polyolbion :"— 
 
 "Some, his ill-season'd mouth that wisely understood, 
 Rob Dovei^s neighbouring cleeves oi sainphyre, to excite 
 His dull and sickly taste, and stir up appetite." 
 
 61. Cock. Abbreviated form of 'cock -boat.' 
 
 62. The dejlcient sight toppJe down headlong. One of those 
 fine poetical condensations which the mere prosaic stickler for 
 literal accuracy would object to — that the "sight" does not 
 topi'jle down, but the looker. 
 
Act IV.] KING LEAR. [Scene VI. 
 
 Gh. With all my heart. 
 
 Edg. lAs'ule.'] Why I do trifle thus with his 
 despair 
 Is done to cure it. 
 
 Glo. Oil, you mighty gods! 
 
 This world I do renounce, and, in your sights, 
 Shake patiently my great affliction off: 
 If I could bear it longer, and not fall 
 To quarrel with your great opposeless^'' wills. 
 My snuff and loathed part of nature should 
 Burn itself out. If Edgar live, oh, bless him ! — 
 Now, fellow, fare thee well. 
 
 Edg. Gone, sir:" — farewell. — ■ 
 
 [Gloster leaps, and falls along. 
 [Aside.'] And yet I know not how conceit may 
 rob 
 
 The treasury of life, when life itself 
 Yields to the theft :"= had he been where he 
 thought, 
 
 By this, had thought been past. — Alive or dead ? 
 [To Glo.] Ho, you sir! friend! — Hear )ou, sir ? 
 — speak ! — 
 
 [As.de.] Thus might he pass^* indeed : — yet he 
 
 revives. — 
 [To Glo.] What are you, sir ? 
 
 Glo. Away, and let me die. 
 
 E'Jg. Hadst thou been aught but gossamer,*^' 
 feathers, air. 
 So many fathom down precipitating, 
 Thou'dst shiver'd like an egg : but thou dost 
 breathe ; 
 
 Hast heavy substance ; bleed'st not; speak'st ; art 
 sound. 
 
 Ten masts at each*** make not the altitude 
 Which thou hast perpendicularly fell : 
 Thy life 's a miracle. Speak yet again. 
 
 63. Opposjless. This word— employed with the usual licence 
 taken by Shakespeare in his use of words ending in ' less ' (see 
 Note 8, Act iv,, " Hamlet ")— conveys the combined effect of 
 ' useless to oppose,' and ' ought not to be opposed.' 
 
 64. GoJie, sir. **I am" is elliptically understood before 
 "gone." 
 
 6v When life itself yields to the tlieft. ' When life willing- 
 ingly gives itself up to be taken away,' ' when life suffers itself to 
 be extinguished.' 
 
 66. Pass. 'Pass away;' 'expire,' 'die.' In the same 
 brief scene referred to in Note no, Act iii., "Second Part 
 Henry VX.," Salisbury says, " Disturb him not, let him ^ass 
 peaceably." 
 
 67. Gossamer. One of the lightest and slightest of sub- 
 stances ; that floats upon the summer air, and is formed of innu- 
 merable spiders' webs. Some have pronounced it to be the down 
 of plants : others, the vapour arising from marshy ground in hot 
 weather. The word is said to be formed from 'gauze o' the 
 summer ; ' which is its name in the North. 
 
 68. A t each. Meaning ' each at end of each,' ' each placed at 
 the end of each.' The word ' eke '—anciently spelt ' eche,' 
 signifying to ' add,' ' lengthen,' or ' piece out '—has the same 
 origin as this idiom. See passage referred to in Note 13, Act iii., 
 " Merchant of Venice." 
 
 69. This chalky bottrn. " Bourn " is here used for ' boundary' 
 (sec Note 78, Act iii ); and as the white cliffs of England form 
 lier boundary, the expression, "this chalky bourn," tend^ to give 
 
 Glo. But have I fall'n, or no ? 
 Edg. From the drcaii summit of this chalky 
 bourn.*' 
 
 Look up a-height ;— the shrill-gorg'd lark so far 
 Cannot be seen or heard : do but look up. 
 
 Glo. Alack, I have no eyes. — 
 Is wretchedness depriv'd that benefit. 
 To end itself by death? 'Twas yet some coin- 
 fort, 
 
 When misery could beguile the tyrant's rage. 
 And frustrate his proud will. 
 
 Edg. Give me your arm : 
 
 Uj) : — so.— How is 't ? Feel you your legs ? Y ou 
 stand. 
 
 Glo. Too well, too well. 
 
 Edg. Tills is above all strangeness. 
 
 Upon the crown o' the cliff, what thing was that 
 W liich parted from you ? 
 
 Glo. A poor unfortunate beggar. 
 
 Edg. As I stood here below, melhought his 
 eyes 
 
 Were two full moons ; he had a thousand noses, 
 1 Horns whelk'd'" and wav'd like the enridged" 
 sea : 
 
 1 It was some fiend ; therefore, thou hnppy father, 
 ! Think that the clearest" gods, who make them 
 honours 
 
 Of men's impossibilities,'^ have preserv'd thee. 
 
 Glo. I do remember now : henceforth I'll bear 
 Affliction till it do cry out itself, 
 "Enough, enough," and die. That thing you 
 
 speak of,''' 
 I took it for a man ; often 'twould say, 
 "The fiend, the fiend :" he led me to that place. 
 Edg. Bear free and patient thoughts.— But who 
 comes here ? 
 
 the effect of extensive space to the object at which Edgar is 
 affecting to gaze up. 
 
 70. Whelk'd. ' Covered with protuberances.' See Note 96, 
 Act iii., " Henry V." ' Whelk ' is the name of a small shell- 
 fish ; its surface being covered with undulating corrugations and 
 protuberant convolutions. *■ 
 
 71. Eiiridged. This is the Quarto word ; while the Folio 
 gives 'enrag'd.' The reading we adopt is probably the one 
 intended by the author, describing the effect of the sea's surface 
 when broken into small ridge-like waves, and the surface of the 
 whelked horns. 
 
 72. Clearest. ' Most pure,' * most immaculate.' See Note 22, 
 Act iv., "Timon of Athens." 
 
 73. Mejils impossibilities. 'Things that are impossibilities to 
 men,' ' things that seem to men to be impossible.' 
 
 74. That thing yen speak of. Here Gloster's credulous 
 disposition (see Note 76, Act i., and Note 7, Act ii.) comes in 
 characteristically ; and makes him accept as plausible the 
 account of the evil spirit that previously possessed the beggar- 
 fellow he had seen, and whose guidance he had taken. It also 
 helps to give a greater air of naturalness to the feint just made 
 by his son of leading him to the top of a cliff, and to his belief 
 in having thrown himself therefrom ; while the vividness in the 
 imagery and description, together with Edgar's vindication of 
 his motive (that he thus humours his father's "despair" in 
 order to "cure" it), complete the dramatic art by which we 
 are swayed to feel no improbability in the incident and scene. 
 
 16 
 
Act IV. 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [SCENK VI. 
 
 Closler. The trick of that voice I do well remember : 
 Is 't not the king 1 
 Lear. Ay, every inch a king. Act ! V. See. 
 
 Enter \.ZkV., fantastically dreised nuhh luild 
 fio-wers. 
 
 The safer sense will ne'er accommodate 
 His master thus.^^ 
 
 Lear. No, they cannot touch me for coining ; 
 I am the king himself.^^ 
 
 75. The safer sense mill ne'er accommodate his master thus. 
 Here " safer" is used for ' surer,' ' steadier,' ' stabler,' 'sounder ;' 
 and " his" for ' its :' the meaning of the whole sentence being, 
 * The underanged sense would never suffer its master to go thus 
 fantastically dressed up;' 'A man in his sound senses would 
 never go about thus whimsically decorated.* Shakespeare else- 
 where uses "safe" and "safer" with the same signification 
 that he gives it here. See the passages referred to in Note j8. 
 Act i., " Measure for Measure," and Note 99, Act ii., " Corio- 
 
 76. They cannot touch me for coining ; T am the king him- 
 se'f. In reference to the ancient and fundamental principle of 
 the English constitution, that the king can do no wrong. See 
 Note 33, Act iv., " Henry V." 
 
 77. Tliere 's your press-money. In allusion to the payment 
 
 Edg. Oh, thou side-piercing sight! 
 
 Lear. Nature's above art in that respect. — 
 There 's your press-money. That fellow handles 
 his bow like a crow-keeper -.'^ draw me a clothier's 
 yard.?' — Look, look, a mouse ! Peace, peace ; — 
 this piece of toasted cheese will do 't. — There 's my 
 
 made to soldiers as a token of engagement when retained ready 
 for the king's service. See Note 17, Act i., "Hamlet." 
 
 78. A crow-keeper. One who keeps crows off the corn. For 
 this purpose, sometimes a fellow with bow and arrow, sometimes 
 a stuffed figure similarly armed, were employed. In Drayton's 
 " Idea " (the 48th) there is this passage : — 
 
 "Or if thou'lt not thy archery forbear, 
 To some base rustic do thyself prefer ; 
 And when corn's sown, or grown into the ear, 
 Practice thy quiver and turn croiu-keeper.'* 
 
 79. A clothier s yard. An arrow the length of a clothier's 
 yard. In Drayton's " Polyolbion" we find — 
 
 " All made of Spanish yew, their bows were wondrous strong ; 
 They not an arrow drew, but was a cloth-yard long : " 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene VI. 
 
 gauntlet; I'll prove it on a giant. — Bring up the 
 brown bills. — Oh, well flown, birdl^i — i' the clout, 
 i' the clout hewgh ! — Give the vvord.^^ 
 
 Edg. Sweet marjoram. 
 
 Lear. Pass. 
 
 Glo. I know that voice. 
 
 Lear. Ha ! Goneril, — with a white beard ! — 
 They flattered me like a dog and told me I had 
 white hairs in my beard ere the black ones were 
 there. 55 To say "ay" and "no" to everything I 
 said ! — " Ay " and " no" too wa.s no good divinity.^" 
 When the rain came to wet me once, and the 
 wind to make me chatter ; when the thunder would 
 not peace at my bidding ; there I found them, there 
 I smelt them out.^^ Go to, they are not men o' 
 their words: they told me I was everything ; 'tis a 
 lie, — I am not ague-proof. 
 
 Glo. The trick ^8 of that voice I do well re- 
 member : 
 Is't not the king? 
 
 Lear. Ay, every inch a king: 
 
 "When I do stare, see how the subject quakes. 
 I pardon that man's life. — What was thy cause ? — 
 Adultery ?— 
 
 Thou shalt not die : die for adultery ! No: 
 For Gloster's bastard son 
 
 and in the old ballad of " Chevy-Chace " — 
 
 "An arrow, that a cloth yarde was lang, 
 To th' hard stele holyde he ; 
 A dynt, that was both sad and soar. 
 He sat on Sir Hewe the Mongon-byrry." 
 
 80. The brown bills. The name of the weapons is here given 
 to their bearers, by a hcence of phraseology in familiar use. 
 See "lances" used for 'lance-men' or 'lancers,' Note 143, 
 Act v., "Love's Labour's Lost;" see also Note 27, Act v. of 
 this play. A description is given of " brown bills" in Note 88, 
 Act iv., " Second Part Henry VI. ;" and, in Marlowe's " King 
 Edward IL," the term is used as in the present passage : — 
 
 " Lo, with a band of bow-men and of pikes, 
 Bro-Mii bills, and targiteers." 
 
 81. \Vcll flown, bird ! The falconer's expression when the 
 hawk was successful in her flight. Lear rambles from military 
 preparations to a device for luring mice, to jousting in the tilt- 
 yard, to arrangements for a battle-field, to falconry, to archer}', 
 to garrison preca'.itions, all In the course of this short speech. 
 
 82. /' the clout. See Note 27, Act iii., " Second Part 
 Henry IV." 
 
 83. Give the word. "Word" is here used for 'watch-word' 
 or ' pass-word.' See Note 144, Act i., " Hamlet." 
 
 84. Tltey flattered me like a dog. This has double significa- 
 tion, according to two of the senses in which the French verb 
 flatter is used, and which the English verb "flatter' may be 
 made to bear as derived therefrom ; — ' They fawned upon me 
 like a spaniel ; ' and ' They smoothly humoured my whims as 
 one strokes a dog.' 
 
 85. Told vie I had ivhite hairs in my beard ere the black 
 ones mere there. A figurative mode of saying, ' Told me I had 
 attained the wisdom of age ere I had reached manhood.* 
 
 86. To say "ay" and "no" to everything I said! — "Ay" 
 and " no " too was no good divinity. Objection has been made 
 to this passage, and it has been altered by Pye and others to 
 'To say "ay" and "no" to everything I said "ay" and 
 " no'' to, was no good divinity ; ' but we think that the passage 
 as it stands is perfectly intelligible. Lear first exclaims indig- 
 
 Was kinder to his father than my daughters. — 
 Behold yond simpering dame. 
 That minces virtue,^^ and does shake the head 
 To hear of pleasure's name ; — 
 Down from the waist they are Centaurs, 
 Though women all above : 
 But to the girdle do the gods inherit, 
 Beneath is all the fiends' ; there 's hell, there 's 
 darkness, 
 
 There is the sulphurous pit, burning, scalding, 
 stench, consumption ; — fie, fie, fie! pah, pah! Give 
 [ me an ounce of civet, good apothecary, to sweeten 
 my imagination : there 's money for thee. 
 Glo. Oh, let me kiss that hand ! 
 Lear. Let me wipe it first ; it smells of mortality. 
 Glo. Oh, ruin'd piece of nature ! This great 
 world 
 
 Shall so wear out to naught. — Dost thou know me? 
 
 Lear. I remember thine eyes well enough. 
 Dost thou squiny at me ? No, do thy worst, blind 
 Cupid ; I '11 not love. — Read thou this challenge ; 
 mark but the penning of it. 
 
 Glo. Were all the letters suns, I could not see one. 
 
 Edg. \_Aside.'\ I would not take this from re- 
 port it is. 
 And my heart breaks at it. 
 
 nantly, " To say ' ay ' and ' no ' to everything I said ! " recol- 
 lecting the facility with which his courtiers veered about in 
 their answers to suit his varying moods, as (in " Hamlet") Osric 
 shifts from agreeing that it is " hot " to denying that it is " hot," 
 consenting that it is "cold" and then negativing the chilliness 
 by allowing that it is "sultry" — a kind of virtual assent and 
 dissent, or "ay" and "no," in apparent affirmation : and this 
 is the kind of "ay" and "no" too, which Lear goes on to 
 say is "no good divinity." In proof that "ay and no" was 
 used by Shakespeare with some degree of latitude as a phrase 
 signifying alternate reply, and not merely in strictness " yes 
 and no," we refer the reader to the passage alluded to in 
 Note 47, Act iii., "As You Like It;" where, if the questions 
 Rosalind asks be examined, it will be perceived that neither 
 "ay" nor "no" will do as answers to any of them with the 
 exception of one — "Did he ask for me?" 
 
 87. When the rain . . . ., iliere I smelt them out. This is 
 one of the passages in which Shakespeare uses the word "there " 
 where 'then' might be, and ordinarily is, employed. See Note 
 72, Act ii., " Romeo and Juliet." Very fine is this allusion of 
 Lear to that night of storm and suffering when first he awoke 
 to a sense of his own sins of omission (see Note 29, Act iii.), 
 and to a perception of the flatteries and sycophancies amid 
 which he had previously lived. 
 
 88. The trick. ' The peculiar quality,' ' the distinguishing 
 characteristic' Shakespeare uses this expression in relation to 
 the countenance (see Note 21, Act i., "All's Well"), conveying 
 the impression of individual look or aspect ; in relation to the 
 voice, conveying the impression of individual intonation or 
 inflection. 
 
 89. Tiai minces virtue. ' That is affectedly demure in 
 v.rtue.' See Note 38, Act ii., " Henry VIII." Cotgrave 
 renders the French expression, Faire la sadiriette, by " to 
 mince it, nicefie it, be very squeamish, backwarl, or coy." 
 
 90. / would not take this from report. It has been com- 
 plained that there is "some obscurity here." Surely not : that 
 which Edgar "would not take from report" ('believe without 
 witnessing'), is the extremity of pathos in the circumstance 
 now taking place before his eyes — the meeting between his 
 blind father and the distracted king. 
 
 18 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene VI. 
 
 Lear. Read. 
 
 Glo. What ! with the case of eyes 
 
 Lear. Oh, ho, are you there with me ? No 
 eyes in your head, nor no' money in your purse ? 
 Your eyes are in a heavy case, your purse in a 
 light: yet you see how this world goes. 
 
 Glo. I see it feelingly.''^ 
 
 Lear. Wliat, art mad ? A man may see how 
 this world goes with no eyes. Look with thine ears : 
 see how yon justice rails upon yon simple thief. 
 Hark, in thine ear: change places; and, handy- 
 dandy, which is the justice, which is the thief? — 
 Thou hast seen a farmer's dog bark at a beggar ? 
 
 Glo. Ay, sir. 
 
 Lear. And the creature run from the cur ? 
 There thou mightst behold the great image of 
 authority: a dog's obeyed in office. — 
 Thou rascal beadle, hold thy bloody hand ! 
 Why dost thou lash that slut? Strip thine own 
 back; 
 
 Thou hotly long'.st to use her in that kind 
 For wliich thou whipp'st her. The usurer hangs 
 the cozener. 
 
 Through tatter'd clothes small vices do appear ;^3 
 Robes and furr'd gowns hide all. Plate sin with 
 gold," 
 
 And the strong lance of justice hurtless breaks ; 
 Arm it in rags, a pigmy's straw doth pierce it. 
 None does ortend, none, — 1 say, none; I'll able 
 'em : 93 
 
 Take that of me, my friend, who have the power 
 
 91. iVitk the case of eyes'? Malone makes the astonishing 
 remark upon tliis passage that " case" could not have been the 
 author's word, since *' case of eyes " in Shakespeare's time signi- 
 fied ' pair of eyes ; ' adding, that this is a sense directly opposed 
 to that intended to be conveyed. Wonderful in the commentator 
 not to see that, by using the word " case" liere, the poet virtually 
 calls the eyes lost Jewels. 
 
 92. / see it feelingly. Intensely pathetic is this play upon 
 the word in Gloster's reply to the old king's quibbling humour. 
 Hardly a stronger instance than the present could be cited in 
 proof of the affecting power with which bitter puns and conceits 
 may be introduced into the most serious and even tragic scenes 
 by ?. true poet. See Note 29, Act v., " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 93. Through tatter'd clothes small vices, &^c. " Small " is 
 the word in all the Quartos, though the Folio gives 'great.' 
 The sentence appears to us to be one of tho.se where Shakespeare 
 allows the word ' even ' to be elliptically understood ; the effect 
 being conveyed of ' In those who wear poor garments even 
 small vices seem unpardonable, while those who dress richly 
 may sin with impunity.' See Note 3 of this Act. 
 
 94. Plate sin with gold. For "plate sin" the Folio prints 
 ' place sinnes.' Pope made the correction ; which is shown to 
 be right, not only by the context here, but by the manner in 
 which Shakespeare uses the word " plated " elsewhere to e.vpress 
 ' clad in plate armour,' or 'armed.' See speech referred to in 
 Note 52, Act i., "Richard II." The present sentence, com- 
 mencing with " Plate sin with gold," and ending with " to 
 seal th' accu-ser's lips," is not given in the Quartos. 
 
 95. I'll able 'em. "Able" is here used to express 'empower ;' 
 we still use ' disable ' in the contrary sense. 
 
 96. Impertinency. 'Irrelevant;' ' that which is not pertinent 
 to the subject.' 
 
 97. This a good block. For similar elliptical contractions of 
 
 To seal th' accuser's lips. Get thee glass eyes ; 
 And, like a scurvy politician, seem 
 To see the things thou dost not. — Now, now, now, 
 now : 
 
 Pull off my boots: harder, harder : — so. 
 
 Edg. ]_Aiide.\ Oh, matter and impertinency*^ 
 mix'd ! 
 Reason in madness! 
 Lear . If thou wilt weep my fortunes, take my 
 eyes. 
 
 I know thee well enough ; thy name is Gloster : 
 Thou must be patient; we came crying hither: 
 Thou know'st, the first time that we smell the air, 
 We wawl and cry. — I will preach to thee : mark me. 
 Glo. Alack, alack the day ! 
 
 Lear. When we are born, we cry that we are 
 come 
 
 To this great stage of fools. — Tliis' a good block — 
 It were a delicate stratagem, to shoe 
 A troop of horse with felt :''8 I '11 put it in proof ; 
 And when I have stolen upon these sons-iii-law, 
 Then, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill 
 
 Enter a Gentleman, njjhh Attendants. 
 Gent. Oh, here he is: lay hand upon him. — Sir, 
 Your most dear daughter — • 
 
 Lear. No rescue? What! a prisoner? lam 
 even 
 
 The natural fool of fortune.'"" — Use me well ; 
 You shall have ransom. Let me liave a surgeon ; 
 I am cut to the brains. 
 
 "this"' for 'this is,' see Note 16, Act v., " Measure for Measure ;" 
 and Note 66, Act i., "Taming of the Shrew." " Block " was 
 anciently used for the form upon which felt hats were moulded 
 into shape, and also for the hats themselves. See Note 15, 
 Act i., "Much Ado ;" and Note 69, Act i., "Winter's Tale." 
 When the king says, " I will preach to thee," he appears to 
 be intended to turn his hat round and round in his hands, as 
 was the custom with preachers of Shakespeare's time, until the 
 sensation of the soft material of which it is made suggests to 
 Lear the "stratagem, to shoe a troop of horse with felt." 
 
 98. Slioe a troop of horse ivith felt. " Horse " here used for 
 'horses.' See Note 34, Act iv., "Macbeth." Lord Herbert, 
 in his " Life of Henry VIII,," mentions that at a tournament in 
 1513 the horses, to prevent their .slipping on a black stone pave- 
 ment, were sitod with felt or flocks ; and in Fenton's " 'I'ragicall 
 Discourses" (1567) we find— "He attyreth himself for the pur- 
 pose in a night-gowne girt to hym. with a paire of shoes of felte, 
 leaste the noyse of his feete shoulde discover his goinge." 
 
 99. A'ill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill I This was formerly the 
 word given in the English army, when an onset was made upon 
 the enemy. It is put into the mouths of the conspirators when 
 they all set upon Coriolanus, in the closing scene of the play 
 
 100. / nm even the nat?iral fool of fortune. See Note 23, 
 Act iii., "Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 101. / nm cut to the brains. This— one of the most power- 
 fully yet briefly expressed utterances of mingled bodily pain and 
 consciousness of mental infirmity ever penned — is not the only 
 subtle indication given in this scene that Lear not merely feels 
 himself to be insane, but also feels acute physical suffering. His 
 " I am not ague-proof" tells how severely shaken his poor old 
 frame has been by exposure throughout that tempestuous night ; 
 his "pull oft my boots: harder, harder" gives evidence of a 
 
 19 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene VI. 
 
 Gent. You shall have anything. 
 
 Lear. No seconds ? all myself? 
 Why, this would make a man a man of salt,'"- 
 To use his eyes for garden water-pots, 
 Ay, and laying autumn's dust. 
 
 Gent. Good sir, — 
 
 Lear. I will die bravely, likeasmug'^^ biide- 
 groom. What! 
 I will be jovial : come, come ; I am a king. 
 My masters, know you that? 
 
 Gent. You are a royal one, and we obey you. 
 
 Lear. Then there's life in't.'"* Nay, an you 
 get it, you shall get it by running. Sa, sa, sa, sa. 
 
 {Exit; A ttendants /o//oxu. ■ 
 
 Gent. A sight most pitiful in the meanest 
 wretch. 
 
 Past speaking of in a king! — Thou hast one 
 daughter, 
 
 Who redeems nature from the general curse 
 Which twain have brought her to. 
 Edg. Hail, gentle sir. 
 
 Geni. Sir, speed you; what 's your will ? 
 
 Edg. Do you hear aught, sir, of a battle toward ? 
 Gent. Most sure and vulgar : '"^ every one hears 
 that, 
 
 Which can distinguish sound. 
 
 Edg. But, by your favour. 
 
 How near 's the other army ? 
 
 Gent. Near and on speedy foot ; the main descry 
 Stands on the hourly thought. '"^ 
 
 Edg. I thank you, sir: that's all. 
 
 Gent. Though that the queen on special cause 
 is here. 
 Her army is mov'd on. 
 
 Edg. I thank you, sir. \_Exit Gent. 
 
 Glo. You ever-gentle gods, take my breath 
 from me ; 
 
 Let not my worser spirit tempt me again 
 
 sensation of pressure and impeded circulation in the feet, so 
 closely connected with injury to the brain ; and his " I am cut 
 to the brains" conveys the impression of wounded writhing 
 within the head, that touches us with deepest sympathy. Yet, 
 at the same time, above all there are the gay irrationality, 
 the rambhng incoherency that mark this stage of mania ; the 
 tendency to deck the person with flowers and scraps ; the idle 
 plays on words ; the witless, inconsecutive wandering from sub- 
 ject to subject, from idea to idea. Oh, wondrous Shakespeare ! 
 
 102. A mati of salt. 'A man of salt tears,' or 'a man of 
 tears.' Aufidius taunts Coriolanus with having given up the 
 conquest of Rome '* for certain drops of salt," meaning ' tears.' 
 
 103. Smu^. 'Spruce,' 'smart,' 'trim,' 'neat.' See Note 19, 
 Act iii., " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 104. T/iere 's life in 'f. ' There is still a chance,' ' there is 
 hope still,' ' the case is not yet lost or desperate.' 
 
 103. Vulgar. Here used to express ' commonly or generally 
 known,' ' publicly reported.' The word is used in its classically- 
 derived sense from the Latin vnlgo, 'publicly.' 'generally.' 
 
 106. The main descry stands on t/ie Iwurly i/tougltt. ' The 
 main body is hourly expected to be descried.' 
 
 107. By the art of knoivn aiid feeling sorro7vs. The word 
 " feeling " is here employed to include the double sense of 
 * personally felt ' and of ' keenly piercing,' or ' deeply moving,' 
 
 To die before you please ! 
 
 Edg. Well pray you, father. 
 
 Glo. Now, good sir, what are you ? 
 Edg. A most poor man, made tame to fortune's 
 blows ; 
 
 Who, by the art of known and feeling sorrows, 
 Am pregnant to good pity. Give me your hand, 
 I'll lead you to some biding. 
 
 Glo. Hearty thanks: 
 
 'I he bounty and the beiiison of Hea\ en 
 To boot, and bout!'"^ 
 
 Enttt Oswald. 
 
 OsTV. A proclaim'd prize ! Most happy ! 
 
 That eyeless head of thine was first frain'd t^esh 
 To raise my fortunes. — Thou old unhappy traitor. 
 Briefly thyself remember : 1**^ — the sword is out 
 That must destroy tiiee. 
 
 Glo. Now let thy friendly liand 
 
 Put strength enough to it."" [Edgar interposes. 
 
 Osix). Wherefore, bold peasant, 
 
 Dar'st thou support a publish'ii traitor ? Hence ; 
 Lest that the infection of his fortune take 
 Like hold on thee. Let go his arm. 
 
 Edg. Ch'ill not let go, zir,'" without varther 
 'casion. 
 
 Osnu. Let go, slave, or thou die-st ! 
 
 Edg. Good gentleman, go your gait,"- and let 
 poor volk pass. An ch'ud ha' been zwaggered out 
 of my life, 'twould not ha' been zo long as 'tis by a 
 vortnight."^ Nay, come not near the eld man ; 
 keep out, che vor' ye,"* or Ise try whether your 
 costard"' or my hallow"^ be the harder; ch'ill be 
 plain with you. 
 
 Osnx!. Out, dunghill! 
 
 Edg. Ch'ill pick your teeth, zir : come; no 
 matter vor your toins."'' 
 
 [Theyjgfjt, and Edgar knock-- him donun. 
 
 See how the expression " feeling son-ows " is used in the speech 
 adverted to in Note 14. Act iv,, " Winters Tale." 
 
 108. TIte benison of Heaven to toot, and boot ! ' The blessing 
 of Heaven over and abo\'e my thanks.' See Note 44, Act v., 
 " Richard III." 
 
 109 Briefly thyself remember. ' Bethink thee quickly of thy 
 sins, and ask Heaven's forgiveness.' 
 
 110. Now let thy friendly /land, f^c. Most true is this to 
 the inconsistency of human nature. Gloster has hardly uttered 
 the wish that the "gods" would "take"his ''breath from" him, 
 ere he calls upon Edgar to defend him, to save his life the instant 
 it is threatened. 
 
 111. Ch'ill not let go. zir. Edgar here speaks in the strong 
 provincial dialect of the West of England, more particularly 
 Somersetshire. 
 
 112. Go yoifr gait. 'Go your ways,' 'begone.' The ex- 
 pression ' gang your gait ' is still in use in "North Britain. 
 
 113. Zo long as'tis by avortnight. One of those idioms of in- 
 definite time common to Shakespeare. See Note 35, Act ii., 
 "As You Like It and Note 118, Act i. of this play. 
 
 114. Cite vor ye. ' I warn you.' 
 
 115. Costard. 'Head.' See Note 96, Act i., " Richard III." 
 
 116. Ballow. ' Pole,' ' staff,' or ' cudgel.' 
 
 117. Foins. 'Thrusts.' See Note 55, Act ii. ." Merry Wives." 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [SCENE VIl. 
 
 OsTV. Slave, thou hast slain me : — villain, take 
 my purse : 
 If ever thou wilt thrive, bury my body ; 
 And give the letters, which thou find'st about me, 
 To Edmund eail of Gloster ; seek, him out 
 Upon the English party : — Oh, untimely death ! 
 
 [Difs. 
 
 E^g. I know thee well : a serviceable villain ; 
 As duteous to the vices of thy mistress 
 As badness would dcbire. 
 
 Glo. What ! is he dead ? 
 
 Edg. Sit you down, father ; rest you. — 
 Let 's see his pockets : these letters that he speaks of 
 May be my friends. — He 's dead ; I am only sorry 
 He had no other death's-man. — Let us see : — 
 Leave, gentle wax ; and, manners, blame us not : 
 To know our enemies' minds, we'd rip their hearts ; 
 Their papers, is more lawful. 
 
 [Reads.] Let our reciprocal vows be remembered.' Yon 
 have many opportunities to cut him off : if your will want not,"* 
 time and place will be fruitfully offered. There is nothing done, 
 if he return the conqueror : then am I the prisoner, and his 
 bed>'3 my gao! ; from the loathed warmth whereof deliver me, 
 and supply the place for your labour. 
 
 Your (wife, so I would say) affectionate servant, 
 
 GONERIL. 
 
 Oh, undistinguish'd space of woman's will i'^o 
 A plot upon her virtuous husband's life ; 
 And the exchange, my brother !— Here, in the 
 sands. 
 
 Thee I'll rake up,i"-i the post unsanctified '22 
 Of murderous treachers r'-^ and, in the mature tiine. 
 With this ungracious paper strike the sight 
 Of the death-practis'd duke : ^-^ for him 'tis well 
 That of thy death and business I can tell. 
 Glo. The king is mad : how stiff is my vile 
 sense, 
 
 That I stand up, and have ingenious feeling 
 Of my huge sorrows! Better I were distract; 
 
 So should my thoughts be sever'd from my griefs, 
 
 And woes, by wrong imaginations, lose 
 
 The knowledge of themselves. [Drum afar off. 
 
 Edg. Give me your hand : 
 
 Far off, methinks, I hear the beaten drum : 
 Come, father,'"^ I'll bestow you with a friend. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 118. 7/ your will tvant not. ' If your will be not wanting,' 
 ' if you have the will.' 
 
 119. To cut him off ... . if he return .... his led. 
 The pronouns " him," "he," and "his" are here u.sed, instead 
 of naming the person referred to, with Shakespeare's usual 
 dramatic and characteristic effect. See Note 73, Act iii. 
 
 120. Oh, undistinguish'd space of 'Monian s will ! Oh, bound- 
 less extent of woman's lawless inclination!" 'Oh, incalcul.ible 
 range of woman's vicious preference!' The word " undi.s- 
 tinguish'd " here seems to include the sense of ' undistinguish- 
 ing ; ' for Edgar exclaims against the wide licence which Goneril 
 permits herself in preferring another man to her hu.sband, and 
 against the want of discrimination that can induce her to prefer 
 the vicious Edmund to the virtuous Albany. 
 
 121. Rake up. ' Cover up.' Johnson states that, in Stafford- 
 shire, to r/ihe the fire is to cover it with fuel for the night ; 
 and the Boston editor, Mr. Hudson, adds, "So 'tis in New 
 England." 
 
 122. Unsanctified. E.xpressing burial in a spot which is not 
 consecrated ground. 
 
 123. Treachers. See Note 77, Act i. 
 
 124. The deaf h-practisd duke. ' The. duke whose death is 
 intended to be effected by treasonous machination.' See Note 17, 
 Act ii. 
 
 125. Ingenious. Here used for 'intelligent,' 'acutely per- 
 
 SCENE VU.—A Tent in the French Camp. Lear 
 on a bed asleep; soft music playing : Physician, 
 Gentleman, and others attending. 
 
 Enter Cordelia and Kent. 
 
 Cor. Oh, thou good Kent, how shall I live and 
 work, 
 
 To match thy goodness My life will be too short. 
 And every measure fail me. 
 
 Kent. To be acknowledg'd, madam, is o'erpaid. 
 All my reports go with the modest truth ; 
 Nor more nor clipp'd, but so. 
 
 Cor. Be better suited :127 
 
 These weeds are memories'^* of those worser hours: 
 I pr'ythee, put them off. 
 
 Kent. Pardon, dear madam ; 
 
 Yet to be known shortens my made intent: 
 My boon I make it, that you know me not 
 Till time and I think meet. 
 
 Cor. Then be 't so, my good lord. — [To the 
 Phys.] How does the king ? 
 
 Phys. Madam, sleeps still. 
 
 Cor. Oh, you kind gods, 
 Cure this great breach m his abusfe 1 nature i 
 Tlie untun'd and jarring senses, oil, wind up 
 Of this child-changed father I'si 
 
 Phys. So please your majesty 
 
 That we may wake the king : he hath slept long. 
 
 ceptive," ' keenly appreciative.' Bullokar, in his " Expositor," 
 interprets "in.genious" by 'quick-conceited;' that i.s, 'acute,' 
 ' prompt in apprehension.' 
 
 126. Come, father. It will be observed that throughout thi.s 
 scene Edgar has availed himself of the customary style of 
 " father," addressed to old men as a token of reverence to age 
 (see Note 38, Act i., " Timon of Athens"), in order that he may 
 indulge himself with using the title really due to Gloster from 
 
 127. Be letter suited. 'Wear a better suit of clothes.' See 
 Note 48, Act i., " Merchant of Venice." 
 
 128. Memories. 'Memorials.' See Note 22, Act ii., "As 
 You Like It." 
 
 129. My made intent. ' My formed intention.' 
 
 130. Madam, sleeps still. ' He ' is elliptically understood be- 
 fore "sleeps." The Folio omits the physician from this scene, 
 giving his speeches to the gentleman ; while the Quartos have a 
 "doctor" as well as a "gentleman," distributing the speeches 
 between them. The blending of the two characters in the Folio 
 seems to have arisen from the occasional stage practice of 
 danlling certain parts ; that is, allowing one actor to represent 
 two dramatic personages. See Note 93, Act ii., "Julius Caesar" 
 
 131. Chi/d-changcd. 'Changed by his children.' Thus 
 Shakespeare, in " Richard III.," uses "care-crazed" for 'crazed 
 by woe,' and " woe-wearied " for ' wearied by woe.' 
 
Act IV.J 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene VII. 
 
 Cor. Be govern'd by your knowledge, and 
 proceed 
 
 r the sway of your own will. Is he array'd ? 
 
 Gent. Ay, madam ; in the heaviness of sleep 
 We put fresh garments on him. 
 
 Phjs. Be by, good madam, when we do awake 
 him ; 
 
 I doubt not of his temperance. 
 
 Cor. Very well. 
 
 Phys. Please you, draw near. — Louder the music 
 there ! 
 
 Cor. Oh, my dear father ! Restoration hang 
 Thy medicine on my lips and let this kiss 
 Repair those violent harms that my tiwo sisters 
 Have in thy reverence made ! 
 
 Kent. Kind and dear princess ! 
 
 Cor. Had you not been their father, these white 
 flakes 
 
 Had challeng'd pity of them. Was this a face 
 
 To be expos'd against the warring winds? 
 
 To stand against the deep dread-bolted'^^ thunder.' 
 
 In the most terrible and nimble stroke 
 
 Of quick, cross lightning? to watch (poor perdu I)''* 
 
 With this thin helm ?'^' Mine enemy's dog. 
 
 Though he had bit me, should have stood that night 
 
 Against my fire; and wast thou fain, poor father, 
 
 l~o hovel thee with swine, and rogues forlorn. 
 
 In short and musty straw ? Alack, alack ! 
 
 'Tis wonder that thy life and wits at once 
 
 Had not concluded all.'^s — He wakes; speak to him. 
 
 Phys. Madam, do you; 'tis fittest. 
 
 Cor. How does my royal lord ? How fares 
 your majesty ? 
 
 132. Restoration hang. &fc. In some editions there is a 
 comma placed after "restoration;" thereby personifying it, 
 and making the first " thy " refer to it. But by following the 
 original copies, ' may* is elliptically understood before "restora- 
 tion," and the first " thy " refers to " father ; " which seems to 
 be the right reading, as thus the grammatical relation between 
 the second " thy " and " father " is constructionally preserved. 
 
 133. Dread-bolted. An expressive compound word, convey- 
 ing ' charged with dreadful bolts.' We would here draw atten- 
 tion to the unusually numerous instances of compound words 
 that occur in this- play isee, among others, Notes 11, Act iii., and 
 131 of thi.s Act) ; affording another example of particular diction 
 .nnd modes of thought which may be traced in certain of Shake- 
 speare's dramas. See Note 71, Act ii. , " Coriolanus." 
 
 134. Poor perdu ! In allusion to those soldiers composing 
 tlie forlorn hope of an army, called in French enfans perdiis 
 (literally ' lost children ; ' used to express ' fellows already given 
 over as lost') ; who, among other desperate service in which 
 they were engaged, had frequently the night " tvatch" to per- 
 form. In Davenant's " Love and Honor" 11649 the expression 
 
 " I have endured 
 Another night would tire a perdu 
 More than a wet furrow and a great frost." 
 
 And in Beaumont and Fletcher's " Little French Lawyer : "— 
 
 " I am set here like a perdu^ 
 To watch a fellow that has wrong'd my mistress." 
 
 135. With this thin helm. ' With this thin helmet.' Mean- 
 ing, ' with no better covering for thy venerable head than " these 
 
 Lear. You do me wrong to take me out o' the 
 grave 
 
 Thou art a soul in bliss ; but I am bound 
 Upon a wheel of fire, that mine own tears 
 Do scald like molten lead. 
 
 Cor. Sir, do you know me ? 
 
 Lear. You are a spirit, I know: when did you die? 
 
 Cor. Still, still, far wide ! 
 
 Phys. He 's scarce awake : let him alone awhile. 
 
 Lear. Where have I been ? Where am I ? — 
 Fair daylight ?— 
 I am mightily abus'd.'-''' — I should even die with pity, 
 To see another thus.— I know not what to say. — 
 I will not swear these are my hands: — let's. see; 
 I feel this pin prick. Would I were assur'd 
 Of my condition ! 
 
 Cor. Oh, look upon me, sir. 
 
 And hold your hands in benediction o'er me ;— 
 No, sir, you must not kneel. 
 
 Lear. Pray, do not mock me : 
 
 I am a very foolish fond old man. 
 Fourscore and upward, not an hour more nor less;'-*' 
 And, to deal plainly, 
 I fear I am not in my perfect mind. 
 Methinks I should know you, and know this 
 man ; 
 
 Yet I am doubtful: for I am mainly ignorant 
 What place this is ; and all the skill I have 
 Remembers not these garments ; nor I know not 
 Where I did lodge last night. Do not laugh at me ; 
 E'er, as I am a man, I think this lady 
 To be my child Cordelia. 
 
 Cor. And so I am, I am."" 
 
 white flakes " of silver hair.' The whole of this passage, from 
 " To stand against" as far .ts " with this thia helm," is omitted 
 in the Folio. 
 
 136. Had not concluded all. Shakespeare sometimes uses 
 all," thus at the close of a phrase, to signify ' entirely,' * alto- 
 gether,' 'completely,' 'collectively.' See, "The army is dis- 
 charged all, and gone," "Second Part Henry IV.," Act iv., 
 sc. 3 ; and, " dispossess her nil," " Timon," Act i., sc. i. 
 
 137. ! ajn mightily abns d. ' I am strangely confused ;* * I 
 am greatly bewildered ; ' ' I am much perplexed with illusions.' 
 Shakespeare elsewhere uses " abused " for ' deluded,' * deceived 
 by false appearances.' See the speech referred to in Note 61, 
 Act v., " Much Ado ; " and also Note 142 of the present Act. 
 
 13S. Not an hour jiwre nor less. This, following upon a 
 statement of indefinite time, as if it were a statement of definite 
 period, is admirably indicative of Lear's feeble mental condition 
 at this juncture. He does not perceive that " fourscore and 
 upward " is vague ; or rather, he is half conscious that it is so, 
 and thinks to verify and confirm it by the added words, "not 
 an hour more nor less." They are not in the Quartos, but are 
 given in the Folio. 
 
 139. This man. Meaning Kent. This momentary recog- 
 nition by Lear of his faithful servant Cains, is one of those 
 beautiful touches of sentiment that our dramatist knows so 
 magically how to throw in. 
 
 140. And so I am, I am. Never surely was the passionate 
 weepin.g of a reticent woman more perfectly expressed in brief 
 written words than these and the " No cause, no cause " that 
 follow. They so admirably portray the suppressed weepin.g 
 natural to such a character as Cordelia's ; concentrated and 
 undemonstrative, yet intensely loving and earnest. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Leur. Be your tears wet? )es, faith. I pray, 
 weep not : 
 
 If you have poison for me, I will drink it. 
 I know you do not love me for your sisters 
 Have, as I do remember, done me wrong: 
 You have some cause, they have not. 
 
 Cor. No cause, no cause. 
 
 Lear. Am I in France? 
 
 Kent. In your own kingdom, sir. 
 
 Lear. Do not abuse me."^ 
 
 Phys. Be comforted, good madam : the great 
 rage. 
 
 You see, is cur'd in him : and yet it is danger 
 To make him even o'er the time he has lost."* 
 Desire him to go in ; trouble him no more 
 Till farther settling. 
 
 Cor. Will 't please your highness walk ? 
 
 Lear. You must bear with me : 
 
 Pray you now, forget and forgive : I am old and 
 foolish. 
 
 [Exeunt Lear, Cordelia, Physician, 
 and Attendants. 
 
 Gent. Holds it true,i« sir, that the Duke of 
 Cornwall was so slain ? 
 
 Kent. Most certain, sir. 
 
 Gent. Who is conductor of his people ? 
 
 Kent. As 'tis said, the bastard son of Gloster. 
 
 Gent. They say Edgar, his banished son, is with 
 the Earl of Kent in Germany. 
 
 Kent. Report is changeable. 'Tis time to look 
 about; the powers of the kingdom approach apace. 
 
 Gent. The arbitrement is like to be bloody. 
 Fare you well, sir. [Exit. 
 
 Kent. My point and period, will be throughly 
 wrought. 
 
 Or well or ill, as this day's battle 's fought. \Ex]t. 
 
 ACT 
 
 SCENE \.—the Camp of the British Forces, near 
 Dover. 
 
 Enter, nviih drum and colours, Edmund, Regan, 
 Officers, Soldiers, and others. 
 
 Edm. Ki ow of the duke if his last purpose hold. 
 Or whether since he is advis'd by aught 
 To change the course : he's full of alteration 
 And self-reproving : — bring his constant pleasure. > 
 [To an Officer, ^ho goes out. 
 
 Reg. Our sister's man is certainly miscarried. 
 
 Edm. 'Tis to be doubted, madam. 
 
 Reg. Now, sweet lord, 
 
 You know the goodness I intend upon you: 
 Tell me, — but truly, — but then speak the truth, 
 Do you not love my sister ? 
 
 Edm. In honour'd love. 
 
 Reg. I am doubtful that you have been conjunct 
 
 141. / know you do not love me. Said partly in consciousness 
 that his behaviour to her has been such as to warrant no love 
 from her, partly in remembrance of her former speeches, where 
 she says, " I love your majesty according to my bond ; nor 
 more nor less : " and which speeches seemed to him so cold, 
 " so untender." 
 
 142. Do not abuse me. ' Do not mislead me," do not delude me,' 
 
 143. To tnake him even o'er the time he has lost. ' To make 
 him pass in review the interval that has elapsed, and endeavour 
 to render its events smooth and easy of comprehension to him- 
 self." See Note 69, Act i., " All's Well." 
 
 144. Holds it true. This dialogue between the gentleman 
 and Kent— finishing the Act, and containing one of those brief 
 comment-scenes upon passing occurrences which we have pointed 
 out as judiciously introduced by our dramatist (see Note 4, 
 Act ii., " Henry VIII.")— is omitted in the Folio, though given 
 in all the Quartos. 
 
 V. 
 
 And bosom'd with her, as far as we call hers. 
 
 Edm. No, by mine honour, madam. 
 
 Reg. I never shall endure her : dear my lord. 
 Be not familiar with her. 
 
 Edm. Fear me not : — 
 
 She and the duke her husband. 2 — 
 
 Enter, uuith drum and colours, ALBANY, Goneril, 
 and Soldiers. 
 
 Gon. [Aside.] I had rather lose the battle than 
 that sister 
 Should loosen him and me. 
 
 AJb. Our very loving sister, well be-met. — 
 Sir, this I hear, — the king is come to his daughter, 
 With others whom the rigour of our state 
 Forc'd to cry out. Where I could not be honest, 
 I never yet was valiant : for this business. 
 It loucheth us, as France invades our land,* 
 
 1. Nis constant pleasure. 'His firm decision,' ' his settled 
 determination.' See Note 6, Act iii., " Julius Caesar ;" and in 
 the same scene to which that Note refers Csesar says, " I was 
 constant Cimber should be banish'd, and constant do remain to 
 keep him so ;" where " constant" is u.sed to express ' decided,' 
 ' firmly resolved.* 
 
 2. She and tlie duke her husband. ' Here she comes, and 
 the duke her husband.' 
 
 3. J^or this business, ii toucheth us, as France invades our 
 land. ' With regard to this affair of the approaching conflict, 
 I feel called upon to take part in it, inasmuch as France in- 
 vades our land, but not inasmuch as France sustains the king 
 and his party, who, I fear, have been but too justly driven 
 into opposition by grievous injuries.' The diction is condensed 
 and cramped here ; and very characteristically so, in a man 
 who has just before been described as " full of alteration and 
 self-reproving. " 
 
Act v.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Lear. The good yeai-s shall devour them, flesh and fell, 
 Ere they shall make us weep : we'll see them starve first. 
 Come. Act V. Scene III. 
 
 Not holds'* the king, with others, whom, I fear, 
 Most just and heavy causes make oppose. 
 
 Edm. Sir, you speak nobly. 
 
 Ri'g. Why is this reason'd ? 
 
 Gon. Combine together 'gainst the enemy ; 
 For these domestic and particular broils 
 Are not the question here. 
 
 Alb. Let 's, then, determine 
 
 With the ancient of war' on our proceedings. 
 
 Edm. I shall attend you presently at your tent. 
 
 Reg. Sister, you '11 go with us ? 
 
 Gon. No. 
 
 Reg. 'Tis most convenient; pray you, go with us. 
 
 4. BoUis. 'Emboldens,' 'encourages,' 'strengthens,' 'sus- 
 tains.' Thus in the ancient interlude of " Hycke Scorner "— 
 '■ Alas ' that I had not one to boliie me :" and in Arthur Hall's 
 translation of the fourth " Iliad" (quarto, 1581) — "And Pallas 
 boUs the Greeks." 
 
 5. Tlie ancient of -war. It has been proposed to change 
 
 Gon. [Jside.] Oh, ho, I know the riddle.— 
 [A/oud.] I will go. 
 
 As they are going out, enter Edgar disguised. 
 Edg. If e'er your grace had speech with man so 
 poor, 
 Hear me one word. 
 A/i>. I'll overtake you. — Speak. 
 
 [Exeunt Edmund, Regan, Goneril, 
 Officers, Soldiers, and Attendants. 
 Edg. Before you fight the battle, ope this letter. 
 If you have victory, let the truinpet sound 
 For him that brought it: wretched though I seein, 
 
 "ancient" here to 'ancients' or to 'ancient men;' but it is 
 possible that " the ancient of war " means ' the experienced in 
 war,' or ' the experienced general,' ' the _experienced. military 
 officer,' ' the experienced authority in military tactics.' Shake- 
 speare uses the word "elder" with the inclusive effect of 'expe- 
 rienced and possibly here " ancient" implies similar meaning. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scenes II., III. 
 
 1 can produce a champion that will prove 
 What is avouched there. If you miscarry, 
 Your business of the world hath so an end, 
 And machination ceases. Fortune love you ! 
 
 Alb. Stay till I have read the letter. 
 
 Edg. I was forbid it. 
 
 When time shall serve, let but the herald cry, 
 And I '11 appear again. 
 
 Alb. Why, fare thee well : I will o'erlook thy 
 paper. {Exit Edgar. 
 
 Re-enter Edmund. 
 Edm. The enemy 's in view ; draw up your 
 powers. 
 
 Here is the guess of their true strength and forces 
 By diligent discovery ;6 — but your haste 
 Is now urg'd on you. 
 
 Alb. We will greet the time.7 [Exit. 
 
 Ed?n. To both these sisters have I sworn my love; 
 Each jealous of the other, as the stung 
 Are of the adder. Which of them shall I take ? 
 Both ? one ? or neither ? To take the widow 
 Exasperates, makes mad her sister Goneril ; 
 And hardly shall I carry out my side,^ 
 Her husband being alive. Now, then, we '11 use 
 His countenance for the battle; which being done, 
 Let her who would be rid of him devise 
 His speedy taking off. As for the mercy 
 Which he intends to Lear and to Cordelia, — 
 The battle done, and they within our power. 
 Shall never see his pardon ;' for my state 
 Stands on me to defend,i° not to debate. {Exit. 
 
 SCENE 11.—^ Field betiveen the tivo Camps. 
 Alarum ivithin. Enter ivith drum and colours, 
 Lear, Cordelia, and their Forces; and exeunt. 
 
 Enter Edgar and Gloster. 
 Edg. Here, father, take the shadow of this tree 
 For your good host;'' pray that the right may 
 thrive ; 
 
 6. Discoziery. Here used for ' investigation,' ' exploring.' 
 " Discoverers " is used in the sense of ' investigators,' ' scouts,' 
 those sent to ascertain the numbers of the enemy, at the com- 
 mencement of Act iv., sc. I, "Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 7. We will greet the time. ' We will be ready to meet the 
 occasion.' 
 
 8. Carry out my side. ' Succeed in winning, making, or 
 maintaining my game.' The metaphor is borrowed from the 
 card-table : ' to carry out a side,' or 'bear out a side,' meaning 
 to maintain the game skilfully with your partner ; * to set up a 
 side,' meaning to become partners in the game ; and ' to pull or 
 pluck down a side,' meaning to lose the game. 
 
 g. A)id they witliin our J>07uer, sliall never, Cp'c. "They" 
 is here elliptically understood as repeated before " shall." 
 
 lo. For my state stands OH, ' For my state requires that I 
 should defend it from all chance of destruction, not debate the jus- 
 tice of its claim.' *' Stands on me" is an idiom signifying * behoves 
 me,' ' requires me.' See Note 33, Act ii., " Romeo and Juliet.' 
 
 If ever I return to you again, 
 I'll bring you comfort. 
 Glo. Grace go with you, sir ! 
 
 {Exit Edgar. 
 
 Alarum; afterixiards a retreat. Re-enter Edgak. 
 Edg. Away, old man,— give me thy hand,— 
 away I 
 
 King Lear hath lost, he and his daughter ta'en 
 Give me thy hand ; come on. 
 
 Glo. No farther, sir ; a man may rot even here. 
 
 Edg. What! in ill thoughts again ? Men must 
 endure 
 
 Their going hence, even as their coming hither: 
 Ripeness '3 is all :— come on. 
 Glo. And that's true too. {Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE 111.— The British Camp near Dover. 
 Enter, in conquest, ivith drum and colours, 
 Edmund ; Lear and Cordelia, as prisoners ; 
 Captain, Officers, Soldiers, 
 
 Edm. Some officers take them away : good 
 guard,''' 
 
 Until their greater pleasures first be known 
 That are to censure them.'^ 
 
 Cor. We are not the first 
 
 Who, with best meaning, have incurr'd the worst. 
 For thee, oppressed king, am I cast down ; 
 Myself could else out-frown false fortune's frown. — 
 Shall we not see these daughters and these sisters : 
 
 Lear. No, no, no, no! Come, let's away to 
 prison : 
 
 We two alone will sing like birds i' the cage : 
 When thou dost ask me blessing, I'll kneel down, 
 And ask of thee forgiveness : so we'll live, 
 And pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh 
 At gilded butterflies, and hear poor rogues 
 Talk of court news ; and we'll talk with them too, — 
 Who loses and who wins ; who's in, who's out; — 
 And take upon 's the mystery of things, 
 As if we were God's spies : and we'll wear out. 
 
 11. Host. Here used for ' protection,' ' shelter ; ' a host being 
 one who shelters and protects his guests. 
 
 12. King Lear /lath lost, he ajid tiis daughter taen. Here 
 " are" is elliptically understood before " ta'en." For an instance 
 of similar construction, see Note 58, Act ii., " Richard II." 
 
 13. Ri/euess. Here used for ' readiness,' * maturity of pre- 
 paration ;' as a ripe fruit is ready for falling. The expression, 
 " the readiness is all" (see speech referred to in Note 93, Act v., 
 " Hamlet"), employed by Shakespeare elsewhere on this same 
 subject, serves to illustrate the present passage. 
 
 14. Good guard. ' Keep,' or ' let there be,' is elliptically 
 understood before "good." 
 
 15. Censure them. Here used for * pass sentence upon 
 them,' * deliver iudgment upon them.' See Note 52, Act i., 
 " Measure for Measure." 
 
 16. Tliese daugJiters and tJiese sisters. A bitter sarcasm in 
 simplest words, thoroughly characteristic in the woman of quiet 
 expression with intense feeling. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 In a wall'd prison, packs and sects of great onei,'' 
 That ebb and flow by the moon. 
 
 Edm. Take them away. 
 
 Lear. Upon such sacrifices, my Cordelia, 
 The gods themselves throw incense. Have I 
 
 caught thee ? 
 He that parts us shall bring a brand from heaven. 
 And fire us hence like foxes. Wipe thine eyes ; 
 The good years shall devour them, flesh and fell, 2" 
 Ere they shall make us weep : we'll see them starve 
 first. 
 
 Coinc. [^Exeunt 'L^Pi.Kand Cordelia, guarded. 
 
 Edm. Come hither, captain ; hark. 
 Take thou this note^i [giving a paper^ ; go follow 
 
 them to prison : 
 One step I have advanc'd thee ; if thou dost 
 As this instructs thee, thou dost make thy way 
 To noble fortunes : know thou this, — that men 
 Are as the time is : to be tender-minded 
 Does not become a sword : — thy great employment 
 Will not bear question either say thou 'It do 't, 
 Or thrive by other means. 
 
 Capt. I'll do't, my lord. 
 
 Edm. About it; and write happy when thou 
 hast done. 
 
 Mark, — I say, instantly ; and carry it so 
 As I have set it down, 
 
 Capt. I cannot draw a cart,^* nor eat dried oats; 
 If it be man's work, I will do 't. [Exit. 
 
 Flourish. Erter Albany, Goneril, Regan, 
 
 Officers, and Attendants. 
 Alb. Sir, you have shown to-day your valiant 
 strain, 2' 
 
 17. We'll wear out, in a walVd prison, paclis,&'c. 'We'll 
 out-stay, within the walls of our prisons, party combinations an J 
 factious confederations of great people, that are friends and 
 enemies, and, are in place and out of place, as often as the moon 
 changes.' 
 
 18. Fire us hence like foxes. In allusion to the ancient 
 practice of smoking foxes out of their holes ; thus referred to 
 in Harrington's translation of " Ariosto : " — 
 
 " E'en as a foxe whom smoke and fire doth fright, 
 So as he dare not in the ground remaine. 
 Bolts out and through the smoke and fire he flieth 
 Into the tarrier's mouth, and there he dieth." 
 
 19. The good years. Equivalent to ' the pestilence.' For the 
 oiigin of this expression, see Note 51, Act i., " Much Ado." 
 
 20. Flesh and fell.- "Fell" means' skin' (see Note 33, 
 Act v., " Macbeth") ; and the expression "flesh and fell " was 
 formerly thus used. From the Specultim Vitce MS. has been 
 cited in evidence these lines : — 
 
 " That alle men sal a domesday rise 
 Oute of their graves in fieshe and felle." 
 
 And from "The Dyar's Playe, Chester Mysteries," this : — 
 
 " I made thee man of fiesh and fell." 
 
 21. Take thou this note. The paper containing " the com- 
 mission" mentioned afterwards (in the speech referred to in 
 Note 56 of the present Act), which gives warrant for the execu- 
 tion of Lear and Cordelia. 
 
 22. Bear question. ' Admit of debate.' 
 
 And fortune led you well : you have the captives 
 Who were the opposites of this day's strife : 
 We do require them of you, so to use them 
 As we shall find their merits and our safety 
 May equally determine. 
 
 Edtn. Sir, I thought it fit 
 
 To send the old and miserable king 
 To some retention and appointed guard ; 
 Who.se age has charms in it, whose title more, 
 To pluck the common bosom-^ on his side, 
 And turn our impress'd lances^? in our eyes 
 Which do command them. With him I sent the 
 queen ; 
 
 My reason all the same ; and they are ready 
 To-morrow, or at farther space, to appear 
 Where you shall hold your session. Ait this time-^ 
 We sweat and bleed : the friend hath lost his 
 friend ; 
 
 And the best quarrels, in the heat, are curs'd 
 By those that feel their sharpness : — 
 The question of Cordelia and her father 
 Requires a fitter place. 
 
 Alb. Sir, by your patience, 
 
 I hold you but a subject of this war, 
 Not as a brother. 
 
 R.eg. That 's as we list to grace him. 
 Methinks our pleasure might have been demanded. 
 Ere you had spoke so far. He led our powers ; 
 Bore the commission 29 of my place and person ; 
 The which immediacy^" may well stand up, 
 And call itself your brother. 
 
 Gon. Not 40 hot : 
 
 In his own grace he doth exalt himself. 
 More than in your addition. -^^ 
 
 23. Write happy. An idiomatic expression, equivalent to 
 ' proclaim thyself to have succeeded,' ' give token that thou 
 hast been fortunate.' See Note 112, Act ii., "All's Well." 
 
 24. / cannot draw a cart. The Folio omits this speech. 
 
 25. You have shown to-day your valiant straiti. ' You have 
 to-day shown of what a valiant stock you come,' ' you have 
 to-day proved that you are descended from a valiant race.' See 
 Note 14, Act v., " Julius Caesar." 
 
 26. The coininoti bosom. ' Popular afifeclion,' ' the favour of 
 the commonalty,' ' the common people's inclination.' See Note 
 24, Act iii. , " Coriolanus." 
 
 27. Lances. The word being used here both for the weapons 
 and for those who bear them (see Note 80, Act iv.l, allows well 
 of the figurative turn given to this passage ; while "impress'd" 
 means engaged ready for service by pre-payment of press-money. 
 See Note 77, Act iv. 
 
 28. At this time. The Folio omits this, and the remainder of 
 the speech. 
 
 29. Commission. * Authority,' ' representativeship.' 
 
 30. Immediacy. A word coined by Shakespeare to succinctly 
 express 'authority immediately derived,' 'representativeship 
 directly held.' Regan wishes to state that Edmund has his 
 position immediately from herself, and not intermediately through 
 any one el.se ; therefore that it is equal in rank and power to 
 that of Albany himself, who is her " brother " or brother-in-law. 
 
 31. Addition. This is the Folio word ; while the Quattos 
 give ' advancement.' But " your addition" means these titles 
 or claims to consideration which you have been enumerating. 
 See Note 25, Act i. 
 
Act V.j 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene III, 
 
 Re£. In my rights, 
 
 By ine invested, he compeers the best. 
 
 Gon. That were the most, if he should husband 
 you.^- 
 
 Rfg. Jesters do oft prove prophets. 
 
 Gon. Holla, holla! 
 
 Tliat eye that told you so look'd but a-squint.^^ 
 
 Reg. Lady, I am not well ; else I should answer 
 From a full-flowing stomach. — General, 
 Take thou my.soKiiers, prisoners, patrimony ; 
 Dispose of them, of me ; the walls are thine 
 Witness the world, that I create thee-here 
 My lord and ipaster. 
 
 Gon. ; Mean you to espouse him ? 
 
 Alb: The let-alone lies not in your good will.'^* 
 
 Ed?n. N,or in thine, lord. 
 
 Alb. _ Half-blooded fellow, ) es. 
 
 Reg. ifb Edmund.] Let the drum strike, and 
 
 prove my title thine. 
 Alb. Stiiyyet; hear reason. — Edmund, I arrest 
 
 thee 
 
 On capital treason; and, in thy arrest, 
 
 {Pointing to Gon] This gilded serpent. — For 
 
 your claim, fair sister, 
 I liar it in the interest of my wife ; 
 ' Tis she is sub-contracted to this lord. 
 And I, her husband, contradict your bans. 
 If you will marry, make your love to me. 
 My lady is bespoke. 
 
 Gon. An interlude ! 
 
 Alb. Thou art arm'd, Gloster : — let the trum- 
 pet sound ^ 
 If none appear to prove upon thy person 
 Thy heinous, manifest, and many treasons, 
 Tlicre is my pledge \tbroixnng doixn a glo-je] ; I'll 
 
 prove it on thy heart. 
 Ere I taste bread, thou art in nothing less 
 Tlian I have here proclaim'd thee. 
 
 Reg. Sick, oh, sick ! 
 
 Gon. [Aside.] If not, I'll ne'er trust poison. 
 
 Eclm. There 's my exchange [throiving dou^n a 
 glow] : what in the world he is 
 That names me traitor, villain-like he lies: 
 
 32. T/inf were the most, 7/ he should husbnitd yozc. 'That 
 would be the utmost he could claim to be in rank, even if he 
 were to become your husband.' The Quartos assign this speech 
 to Goneril ; while the f olios give it to Albany. 
 
 33. That eye that told you so loolS d hut a-sgtthii. In allusion 
 to the proverb, " Love being jealous makes a good eye lo^k 
 a-squint." 
 
 34. Tim ivalls are thine. A metaphor borrowed from military 
 phraseology ; equivalent to ' the besieged city surrenders at 
 discretion.' 
 
 35. Th; let-alone lies not in your goodwill. ' The relinquish- 
 ment of the match depends not upon your will, however much 
 your will mijht desire that relinquishment.' 
 
 36. Poison. The word given in the Quartos; while the Folio 
 
 s 'medicine. 
 37. Virtue. 
 
 courage ; 
 
 the Latin word virtus 
 
 Call by thy trumpet: he that dares approach, 
 On him, on you (\yho not ?), I will maintain 
 My truth and honour firmly. 
 Alb. A herald, ho ! 
 
 Edin. A herald, ho, a herald ! 
 
 Alb. Trust to thy single virtue for thy 
 soldiers. 
 
 All levied in my name, have in my name 
 Took their discharge. 
 
 Reg. My sickness grows upon me. 
 
 Alb. She is not well ; convey lier to my tent. 
 
 {Exit Regan, led. 
 
 Enter a Heralil. 
 Come hither, herald. — Let the trumpet sound, — 
 And read out tliis. 
 
 Off. Sound, trumpet ! {A trumpet sounds. 
 
 Her. {Reads^, If any man of quality or degree within 
 the lists of the army will maintain upon Edmund, supposed Earl 
 of Gloster, that he is a manifold traitor, let him appear at the 
 third sound of the trumpet : he is bold in his de.''ence. 
 
 Edm. Sound! {First tiumpet. 
 
 Her. Again ! {Second triimpel. 
 
 Her. Again ! {Third trumpet. 
 
 [^Trumpet ansivers uuilhin. 
 
 Enter Edgar, armed, and preceded by a trumpet. 
 
 Alb. Ask him his purposes, why he appears 
 Upon this call o' the trumpet. 
 
 Her. What are you ? 
 
 Your name, your quality ? and why you answer 
 This present summons? 
 
 Edg. Know, my name is lost ; 
 
 By treason's tooth bare-gnawn and canker-bit : 
 Yet am I noble as the adversary 
 I come to cope.^' 
 
 Alb. Which is that adversary ? 
 
 Edg. What 's he that speaks for Edmund earl 
 of Gloster P 
 
 Edm. Himself : — what say'st thou to him ? 
 
 Edg. Draw thy sword. 
 
 That, if my speech offend a noble heart, 
 Thy arm may do thee jiistice : here is mine. 
 Behold, it is the privilege'"' of mine honours. 
 My oath, and my profession : I protest, — 
 
 38. Ask him, ^'c. This is according to the ceremonials of 
 the trial by combat in cases criminal. In Selden's " Duello " is 
 found : " The appellant and his procurator first come to the 
 gate. The constable and marshall demand, by voice of herald, 
 what he is, and why he comes so arrayed." 
 
 39. The adversary I come to co/e. "Cope" is here used 
 without the customary ' withal' that generally accompanies the 
 wjrd, as it is at the close of Act ii., " Troilus and Cressida," 
 without the usual 'with.' The Quartos give 'with aU' after 
 " cope " here ; but to the injury of the metre. 
 
 40. Behold, it is the frivilege. That which Edgar asserts to 
 be his " privilege " is the right to draw his sword in main" 
 lenance of the charge he brings against Edmund : and by 
 "mine honours, my oath, and my profession," he means 'my 
 rank and title as a gentleman nobly born, my oath of knight- 
 hood, and my profession of arms a knight.' 
 
Act v.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Lear. Had I your tongues and eyes, I'd 
 That heaven's vault should crack.— She's gone for ever 
 
 Ac£ V. Sce?ie III. 
 
 Maugre^i thy strength, youth, phice, and emi- 
 nence. 
 
 Despite thy victor sword and fire-new fortune, 
 Thy valour and thy heart,— thou art a traitor ; 
 False to thy gods, thy brother, and thy father; 
 Conspirant 'gainst this high illustrious jirince ; 
 And, from the extremest upward of thy head 
 To the descent and dust below thy foot, 
 A most toad-spotted traitor. Say thou " No," 
 This sword, this arm, and my best spirits, are bent 
 
 )f, notwithstanding;' French, 
 
 "Twelfth Night." 
 ion, see Note 24, Act i., "Love's 
 
 41. Maugre. ' In spit< 
 ntalgri. See Note 28, Act 
 
 42. Fire-new. For expla 
 Labour's Lost." 
 
 43. / should ask thy name. In orde. to ascertain whether he 
 be really of the rank he asserts ; becpuse if not of equal "quality 
 or degree " (as specified in the appeal read aloud by the herald), 
 Edmund would have the right to .lecline he combat. 
 
 44. 'Say. An abbreviated form of ' assay,' meaning ' sample,' 
 ' taste,' ' specimen." In the Preface to Maurice Kyffin's transla- 
 
 tion of the " Andria of Ten 
 
 the 
 
 I found, " Some 
 
 To prove upon thy heart, whereto I speak, 
 Thou liest. 
 
 Edm. In wisdom I should ask thy name;'*'^ 
 But, since thy outside looks so fair and warlike, 
 And that thy tongue some 'say^'*- of breedinf 
 breathes, 
 
 What safe and nicely I might well delay 
 By rule of knighthood, I disdain and spnrn : 
 Back do I toss these treasons to thy head ; 
 With the hell-hated lie o'eru helm thy heart; 
 
 othe 
 
 ke places I could recite, but these shall suffice for 
 
 45. What 
 confused in express! 
 himself denounced 
 " Safe " is used for 
 implying ' were I to 
 of chivalry ;' while 
 
 •ticely, &'c. The diction here is purposely 
 : like that of a man enraged at finding 
 a villain, and conscious that he is one. 
 afely ;' and "nicely" for 'punctiliously,' 
 vail myself of the niceties and punctilios 
 e whole sentence signifies, ' I disdain to 
 
 avoid that trial 
 knighthood, I n 
 chivalrous puncti 
 
 by battle which, 
 ight safely delaj', 
 
 ing 
 
 the rules of 
 ail myself of 
 
 VOL. Ill 
 
Act v.] 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene 111. 
 
 Which, — tor they )et glance by,''*' and scarcely 
 bruise, — 
 
 This sword of mine shall give them instant way, 
 Where they shall rest for ever.^ — Trumpets, speak! 
 
 \_Alarums. They fight. Edmund Jails. 
 
 Jib. Save him, save him \'^^ 
 
 Gon. This is practice,-'^ Gloster : 
 
 By the law of arms thou wast not bound to answer j 
 An unknown opposite ; thou art not vanquish'd, j 
 But cozen'd and beguil'd. 
 
 Alb. Shut your mouth, dame, 
 
 Or with this paper shall I stop it :— Hold, sir ; 
 Thou worse than any name, read thine own evil : — 
 No tearing, lady ; I perceive you know it. i 
 {Gi'ves the letter to Edmund, j 
 
 Gon. Say, if I do,— the laws are mine, not thine : ; 
 Who can arraign me for 't ? j 
 
 Alb. Most monstrous ! j 
 
 Know'st thou this paper ? 
 
 Gon. Ask me not what I know.''^ j 
 
 {E.h. I 
 
 Alb. Go after her: she 's desperate ; govern her. j 
 [To an Officer, nx.ho goes out. 
 
 Edm. What you have charg'd 'me with, that 
 have I done ; 
 And more, much more ; the time will liring it out : 
 'Tis past, and so am 1. — But what art thou 
 That hast this fortune on me ? If thou 'rt noble, 
 ] do forgive thee. 
 
 Edg. Let 's exchange charity.*" 
 
 I am no less in blood than thou art, Edmund ; 
 If more, the more thou hast wrong'd me. 
 My name is Edgar, and thy father's son. 
 The gods are just, and of our pleasarrt vices 
 Make instruments to plague us 
 The dark and vicious place where thee he got. 
 Cost him his eyes. 
 
 Edm. Thou hast spoken right, 'tis true ; 
 
 The wheel is come full circle ; I am here. 
 
 Alb. Methought thy very gait did prophesy 
 
 46. Which,— /or they yet, Here 'to' is clliptlcally 
 understood before " which ;" signifying ' to which Iieart.' For 
 similar instances of peculiar construction, see Note 5, Act v., 
 " Tnnon of Athens." 
 
 47. Save him, save him I Albany is anxious to have Edmund 
 saved until he shall have been convicted by sight of the letter 
 that Goneril had addressed to him. 
 
 48. Practice. 'Machination,' ' artful device.' See Note 95. 
 Act ii. 
 
 49. Ask me not "what I know. In the Folio this speech is 
 assigned to Edmund, Goneril's exit being marked earlier ; but 
 the Quartos have the arrangement as here given. We think 
 that Albany's words, "Go after her; she's desperate," show 
 that he is intended to say them immediately upon Goneril's 
 uttering this speech of refusal to be questioned, and then 
 rushing out. 
 
 50. Let's exchange charity. True Shakespearian magna- 
 nimity ; the noble moral of a generous forgiveness he is ever 
 prone to inculcate. And yet Johnson observes upon this 
 passage, " Our author by negligence gives his heathens the 
 sentiments and practices of Christianity." Can we believe that 
 the most careful dramatist that evdr wrote set down anything 
 
 53< 
 
 A ro)al nobleness: — I must embrace thee : 
 Let sorrow split my heart, if ever I 
 Did hate thee or thy father ! 
 
 Edg. Worthy prince, I know 't. 
 
 Alb. Where have you hid \ourself ? 
 Liow have you known the miseries of your father? 
 
 Edg. By nursing them^ my lord. — List a brief 
 tale ;— 
 
 And when 'tis told, oh, that my heart would 
 burst !— 
 
 The bloody proclamation to escape, 
 That foUow'd me so near, (oh, our lives' sweetness ! 
 That we the pain of death would hourly die,^^ 
 Rather than die at once !) taught me to shift 
 into a madman's rags ; to assume a semblance 
 That very dogs disdain'd : and in this habit 
 Met I my father with his bleeding rings. 
 Their precious stones new lost ; became his guide, 
 Led him, begg'd for him, sav'd him from despair; 
 Never (oh, fault !) reveal'd myself imto him, 
 Until some half-hour past, when I was arm d ; 
 Not sure, though hoping, of this good success, 
 1 ask'd his blessing, and from first to last 
 Told him my pilgrimage : but his flaw'd heart, — 
 Alack, too weak the conflict to support I — 
 'Twixt two extremes of passion, joy and grief, 
 Burst smilingly. 
 
 Edm. This speech of yours hath mov'd me, 
 And shall perchance do good : but speak you on ; 
 You look as you had sometliing more to sa) . 
 
 Alb. If there be more, more woful, hold it in ; 
 For I am almost ready to dissolve, 
 Hearing of this. 
 
 Edg. This would have seem'd a period 
 
 To such as love not sorrow but another, 
 'l~o amplify too much, would make much more. 
 And top extremity. 
 
 Whilst I was big in clamour, came there a man. 
 Who, having seen me in my worst estate, 
 Shunn'd my abhorr'd society; but then, finding 
 
 "by negligence?" And is not the virtue of a magnanimous 
 generosity proper to human nature in all ages and in all creeds ? 
 
 51. To plague us. The Quartos give ' scourge,' instead of the 
 Folio word " plague." 
 
 52. That we the pain of death would hourly die. This is the 
 Folio reading ; while the Quartos exhibit the line thus : ' That 
 with the pain of death would hourly die.' 
 
 53. This would have seem'd a period to such, &^c. A con- 
 fessedly difficult passage, which has been variously interpreted. 
 It may either mean, ' This would have seem'd to those who love 
 not sorrow a point whereat I should cease ; while others, to 
 amplify that which is already too much, would add much inore, 
 and surpass the extreme of sorrow ; ' or, ' This would have 
 seemed to those who love not sorrow a point where my calamities 
 might cease ; but another point must be added, to amplify that 
 which is already too much, making it much more, and passing 
 the extreme of sorrow.' The interpretation depends upon the 
 sense that is to be ascribed to "another;" either taking it to 
 mean ' another man,' ' other persons,' or ' another period,' 
 ' another ceasing point.' The Folio omits this and the two next 
 speeches altogether ; while the Quartos give the passage as ia 
 our text. 
 
Act V.J 
 
 KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Who 'twas that so endur'd, with his strong arms 
 He fasten'd on my neck, and bellow'd out 
 As he'd burst heaven : threw him on my father 
 Told the most piteous tale of Lear and him, 
 That ever ear receiv'd : which in recouiitmg 
 His grief grew puissant, and the strings of life 
 Began to crack : twice then the trumpets sounded, 
 And there I left him tranc'd. 
 
 J/6. But who was this ? 
 
 Et/g. Kent, sir, the banish'd Kent ; who in 
 disguise 
 
 Follow'd his enemy king, and did him service 
 Improper for a slave. 
 
 Enter a Gentleman hastily, ivi/h a bloody knife. 
 
 Gent. Help, help, oh, help ! 
 
 Edg. What kind of help ? 
 
 Alb. Speak, man. 
 
 Edg. What means that bloody knife ? 
 
 Gent. 'Tis hot, it smokes; 
 
 It came even from the heart of— oh, she 's dead ! 
 
 Alb. Who dead 'i speak, man. 
 
 Gent. Your lady, sir, your lady : and her sister 
 By her is poison'd ; she hath confess'd it. 
 
 Edm. I was contracted to them both : all three 
 Now marry in an instant. 
 
 Alb. Produce the bodies, be they alive or dead : — 
 {_Exit Gentleman. 
 This judgment of the heavens, that makes us 
 
 tremble. 
 Touches us not with pity. 
 
 Edg. Here comes Kent. 
 
 Enter Kent. 
 Alb. Oh, it is he :— 
 The time will not allow the compliment 
 Which very manners urges. 
 
 Kent: I am come 
 
 To bid my king and master aye good night : 
 Is he not here ? 
 
 Alb. Great thing of us forgot ! — 
 
 Speak, Edmund, where 's the king? and where 's 
 Cordelia ? — \J'he bodies of Goneril and 
 Regan are brought in. 
 See'st thou this object, Kent? 
 Kent. Alack, why thus ? 
 
 Edtn. Yet Edmund was belov'd : 
 
 The one the other poison'd for my sake. 
 And after slew herself. 
 
 Alb. Even so. — Cover their faces. 
 
 give 
 
 54. Threm him on my father. The old copi( 
 instead of "him." Theobald's correction. 
 
 55. Some good I meati to do, despite 0/ mine own nature. 
 This involuntary impulse to do " some good " ere dying, forced 
 upon the bad-natured Edmund by the teaching of disastrous 
 events, is among the many fine moral instilments with which 
 this sublime play abounds. 
 
 56. Fordid. 'Destroyed.' See Note 36, Act v., "Hamlet." 
 
 Edm. I pant for lif.; : — some good I mean to do. 
 Despite of mine own nature. Quickly send, — 
 Be brief in it, — to the castle ; for my writ 
 Is on the life of Lear, and on Cordelia : — 
 Nay, bend in time. 
 
 Alb. Run, run, oh, run ! 
 
 Edg. To whom, my lord?— Who has the 
 office? send 
 Thy token of reprieve. 
 
 Edm. Well thought on : take my sword. 
 Give it the captain. 
 
 Alb. Haste thee, for thy life. 
 
 {Exit Edgar. 
 
 Edm. He hath commi-sion from thy wife and me 
 To hang Cordelia in the prison, and 
 To lay the blame upon her own despair, 
 That she fordid herself. 
 
 Alb. The gods defend her! — Bear him hence 
 awhile. [Edmund is borne off. 
 
 Re-enter Lear, luith Cordelia dead in his arms ; 
 Edgar, Officer, and others follunuin g. 
 Lear. Howl, howl, howl, howl!— Oh, )ou are 
 men of stones : 
 Had I your tongues and e) es, I'd use them so 
 That heaven's vault should crack. — She 's gone for 
 ever ! — • 
 
 I know when one is dead, and when one lives ; 
 She 's dead us earth. — Lend me a looking-glass ; 
 If that her breath will mist or stain the stone. 
 Why, then she lives. 
 
 Kent. Is this the promis'd end f 
 
 Edg. Or image of that horror ? 
 
 Alb. Fall, and cease ! 
 
 Lear. This feather stirs ; she lives! it it be so, 
 It is a chance which does redeem all sorrows 
 That ever I have felt. 
 
 Kent. [Kneeling.] Oh, my good master! 
 
 Lear. Pr'ythee, away. 
 
 Edg. 'Tis noble Kent, your friend. 
 
 Lear. A plague upon you, murderers, traitors 
 all! 
 
 I might have sav'd her ; now she 's gone for ever ! 
 
 Cordelia, Cordelia ! stay a little. Ha ! 
 What is 't thou say'st ? — Her voice was ever soft. 
 Gentle, and low, — an excellent thing in woman. — 
 I kill'd the slave that was a hanging thee. 
 
 Off. 'Tis true, my lords, he did. 
 
 Lear. Did I rot, fellow ? 
 
 I have seen the day, with my good biting falchion 
 I would have made them skip : I am old now. 
 
 57. The promis'd end 'The predicted end of the world.' 
 Edgar's rejoinder, "Or image of that horror?" seems to show 
 this to be the sense of the passage ; while Albany's invocation, 
 " Fall, and cease !" appears 10 us to mean, 'Nay, let it r.ather 
 befall at once, and cause these terrible events to cease.' See 
 Note 43, Act ii., "Macbeth;" and Notes 20 and 21, Act v., 
 " Second Part Henry VI." 
 
Act v.] 
 
 ^KING LEAR. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 And these same crosses spoil me. — Who are you ? 
 Mine eyes are not o' the best : — I'll tell you straight. 
 
 Kent. If fortune brag of two she lov'd and hateJ, 
 One of them we behold. 
 
 Lear. This is a dull sight.^s Are you not Kent ? 
 
 Kent. The same, 
 
 Your servant Kent. — Where is your servant Caius? 
 
 Lear. He 's a good fellow, I can tell you that ; 
 He'll strike, and quickly too: — he's dead and 
 rotten. 
 
 Kept. No, my good lord ; I am the very man — 
 Lear. I'll see that straight. 
 Kent. That, from your first of difference and 
 decay. 
 
 Have follow'd your sad steps, — 
 
 Lear. You are welcome hither. 
 
 Kent. Nor no man else.^" — All 's cheerless, dark, 
 and deadly. — 
 Your eldest daughters have fordone themselves. 
 And desperately are dead. 
 
 Lear. Ay, so I think. 
 
 Alb. He knows not what he says ; and vain is it 
 That we present us to him. 
 Edg. Very bootless. 
 
 Enter an Officer. 
 Off. Edmund is dead, my lord. 
 Alb. That 's but a trifle here.— 
 
 You lords and noble friends, know our intent. 
 What comfort to this great decay"' may come 
 Shall be applied : for us, we will resign. 
 During the life of this old majesty, 
 To him our absolute power : — [7b Edgar and 
 
 Kent.] You, to your rights ; 
 With boot,''- and such addition as your honours 
 
 58. One 0/ tliem lue behold. "We" here means Lear and 
 himself; each beholding in the other a man highly favoured 
 and cruelly used by fortune. 
 
 59. This is a dull sight. Lear, by these words, and by 
 mine eyes are not o* the best," speaks of his eyesight as 
 
 injured by age and grief ; but the dramatist subtly indicates the 
 dim-sightedness that precedes death. 
 
 60. Nor no man else. These words have been differently 
 e.vplained ; but we take them to be a following on of Kent's 
 attempt to explain that he himself is Caius, thus: — "I am the 
 
 very man that, from your first of difference and decay, 
 
 have follow'd your footsteps nor no man else." 
 
 61. This great decay. One of the poet's imaginative imper- 
 sonations of things, here used as a designation for Lear. 
 
 62. With boot. * With e.xtra advantage,' 'with increase.' 
 See Note loS, Act iv. 
 
 63. lily poor fool. A term of endearment (see Note 42, 
 Act ii., "Much Ado," and Note 50, Act i., "Romeo and 
 Juliet"), here applied by Lear to his dead daughter. Sir 
 
 Have more than merited. — All friends shall taste 
 The wages of their virtue, and all foes 
 The cup of their deservings. — Oh, see, see ! 
 
 Lear. And my poor fool is hang'd ! No, no, 
 no life ! 
 
 Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, ha\'e life, 
 And thou no breath at all? Thou 'It come no 
 more. 
 
 Never, never, never, never, never! — 
 Pray you, undo this button : — thank you, sir. — 
 Do you see this ? Look on her, — look, — her lips, — 
 Look there, look there ! — [Dies. 
 
 Edg. He fliints !— My lord, my lord !— 
 
 Kent. Break, heart ; I pr'y thee, break ! 
 
 Edg. Look up, my lord. 
 
 Kent. Vex not his ghost : oh, let him pass! he 
 hates him 
 
 That would upon the rack of this tough world 
 Stretch him out longer. 
 
 Edg. He is gone, indeed. 
 
 Kent. The wonder is, he hath endur'd so long : 
 He but usurp'd his life. 
 
 Alb. Bear Ihem from hence. — Our present 
 business 
 
 Is general woe. — [To Kent and Edgar.] Friendy 
 
 of my soul, you twain 
 Rule in this realm, and the gor'd state sustain. 
 
 Kent. I have a journey, sir, shortly to go ; 
 My master calls me, — I must not say no. 
 Alb. The weight of this sad time we must 
 obey ; 
 
 Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say. 
 The oldest hath borne most : we that are young 
 Shall never see so much, nor live so long. 
 
 [Exeunt, nvith a dead march. 
 
 Joshua Reynolds and others have maintained that the words in 
 the te.\t have literal reference to Lear's fool : but he has been 
 withdrawn from the tragedy by the words commented upon in 
 Note 88, Act iii., there being no farther dramatic need for the 
 character, and we do not believe that Shakespeare would have 
 made the bereaved father recur for even one moment to any 
 thought of other loss than the one before him — his murdered 
 Cordelia. Farthermore, if .Shakespeare had intended to denote 
 a tender reminiscence of the fool on the part of his old master, 
 and to take an opportunity of definitely stating the mode of the 
 fool's death, we do not think that he would have made this the 
 opportunity, or have made hanging the means by which the lad 
 came to his end ; he would not have reserved Lear's mention of 
 the faithful jester until a time when the father's whole soul is 
 engrossed with but one idea, nor would he have committed the 
 dramatic tautology, as well as the dramatic injury to tragic 
 effect, of making the fool as well as Cordelia " hang'd. 
 
 64. The weight, ii'c. The Folio assigns this concluding 
 speech to Edgar ; but the Quartos give it to Albany. 
 
DRAMATIS PERSONS. 
 
 Duke of Venice. 
 Brabantio, a Senator. 
 Other Senators. 
 
 Gratiano, Brother to Brabantio. 
 LoDOViCO, Kinsman to Brabantio. 
 
 Othello, a noble Moor: General in the Venetian service. 
 
 Cassio, his Lieutenant. 
 
 Iago, his Ancient. 
 
 RoDERiGO, a Venetian Gentleman. 
 
 MoNTANO, Othello's predecessor in the Government of Cyprus. 
 
 Clown, Servant to Othello. 
 
 Herald. 
 
 Desdemona, Daughter to Brabantio, and Wife to Othello. 
 Emilia, Wife to Iago. 
 Bianca, Mistress to Cassio. 
 
 Officers, Gentlemen, Messengers, Musicians, Sailors, 
 Attendants, &c. 
 
 Scene— rAi" First Act in Venice; during the rest of the Play, 
 at a Seaport in Cyprus. 
 
OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE/ 
 
 ACT I. 
 
 SCENE I.— Venice. A Street. 
 Enter Roderigo and Iago, 
 
 Rod. Never tell me ; I take it much unkindly 
 That thou, Iago, who hast had my purse 
 As if the strings were thine, shouidst know of this.^ 
 
 Iago. 'Sblood, but you will not bear me : — 
 If ever I did dream of such a matter, 
 Abhor me. 
 
 Rod. Thou told'st me thou didst hold him in 
 thy hate. 
 
 Iago. Despise me, if I do not. Three great 
 ones of the city, 
 
 I. The first known printed edition of this supremely tragic 
 drama is one in Quarto, which appeared some time in the year 
 t622, with the following title " The Tragedy of Othello, The 
 JMoore of Venice. As it hnth beene diverse times acted at the 
 Globe, and at the Black-Friars, by his Maiesties Servants. 
 Written by William Shakespeare. London, Printed by N. O., 
 for Thomas Walkley, and are to be sold at his .shop at the 
 Eagle and Child, in Brittans Bursse, 1622." The Registers of 
 the Stationers' Company contain, under the date of Oct. 6th, 
 1621, the followii.g :— " Tho. Walkley] Entered for his, to wit, 
 under the hands of Sir George Buck and of the Wardens : The 
 Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice." In 1623 the ver- 
 sion in the first Folio was published ; and in 1630 another 
 Quarto copy appeared, which contains some textual variations 
 that offer evidence of its having been printed from some other 
 manuscript source than that used for either the first Quarto 
 copy or for the first Folio copy. In the "Accounts of the 
 Revels at Court" there is an entry containing the earliest 
 authentic record of this play's performance : — " Hallamas Day 
 being thf. first of Nouembur, A play in the Banketinge house 
 att Whithall called The i'\Ioor of Venis. [Nov. ist, 1604.] " 
 The name of *'Shaxberd" (one of the multifarious forms in 
 which "Shakespeare" was then written) is appended to this 
 entry, as being author of the play therein named : therefore 
 its period of composition is thus ascertained to have been before 
 that date. The story of the plot is to be found in one of 
 Cinthio's novels, in his " Hecatommithi ; " a French transla- 
 tion of which, by Gabriel Chappuys, was published in Paris 
 in No English translation of Cinthio's work, dating so 
 
 early as Shakespeare's time, is known to be e.vtant ; but there 
 is every probability that one then e.\isted. That the dramatist 
 
 J In perronal suit to make me his lieutenant, 
 Off-capp'd^ to him : — and, by the faith of man; 
 I know my price, I am worth no worse a place : — 
 But he, as loving his own pride and purposes. 
 Evades them, with a bombast circumstance* 
 Horribly stuff'd with epithets of war; 
 And, in conclusion. 
 
 Nonsuits* my mediators ; for, " Certes,"* says he, 
 
 " I have already chose my officer." 
 
 And what was he ? 
 
 Forsooth, a great arithmetician. 
 
 One Michael Cassio, a Florentine, 
 
 A fellow almost damn'd in a fair wife 
 
 derived his ground-work from this Italian novel is quite evident; 
 but, as usual, he has made a story thus adopted thoroughly his 
 own by his magical power of treatment. For vital domestic 
 interest, for intensity of passion, for truth and variety of cha- 
 racter, for profound knowledge of the human heart in its 
 inmost workings, this arch-tragedy stands imrivalled. 
 
 a. Shouidst knou of this. In Shakespeare's dramatic mode 
 of occasionally opening a play or scene with an already com- 
 menced conversation (see Note 2, Act i., "As You Like It"), 
 the word " this'' refers to the elopement and marriage of Des- 
 demona with Othello ; which Roderigo here accuses Iago of 
 having pre-known. 
 
 3. Off-cnpfd. This is the Folio reading, while the Quartos 
 give ' oft capt.' We think that the context shows that a single 
 interview of solicitation on the part of the three city magnates 
 was intended, and not a repeated scries of applications ; there- 
 fore " off-capp'd," as indicating the deference with which they 
 made their "personal suit," appears to us to be more likely to 
 be the author's e.vpression here than 'oft capp'd,' which would 
 denote reiterated salutations. See Note 86, Act ii., " Corio- 
 lanus," 
 
 4. Ci7r7imsiance. ' Circumlocution.' Sec Note 147, Act i., 
 " Hamlet." 
 
 5. Nonsuits. This word, and " evades " previously, are here 
 used in accordance with Shakespeare's occasional mode of de- 
 viating into present tense when describing a past occurrence. 
 See Note 70, Act i., " Hamlet." 
 
 6. Certes. An antique form of certainly,' 'it is certain.' 
 See Note 18, Act i., " Henry VIII." 
 
 7. A felloiu almost damn'd in a fair wife. The word 
 "wife" in this line has been suspected of error, and has been 
 
Act I.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene I, 
 
 That never set a squadron in the field, 
 Nor the division of a battle knows 
 More than a spinster; unless the bookish theoric,^ 
 Wherein the toged'-* consuls can propose 
 As inasterly as he : jnere prattle, without practice. 
 Is all his soldiership. But he, sir, had th' election : 
 And ],— of whom his eyes had seen the juoof, 
 At Rhodes, at Cyprus, and on other grounds, 
 -Christian and heathen, — must be be-lee'd and 
 calm'd 
 
 By debitor-nnd-creditor,'" this counter-caster;" 
 He, in good time, must his lieutenant be. 
 And I, sir, (bless the mark !) his Moorship's i 
 ancient. j 
 Rod. By heaven, I rather would have been his 
 liapgman. 
 
 lago. Why, there 's no remedy ; 'tis the curse j 
 of service, 
 
 Preferjnent goes by letter and affection. 
 Not by the old gradation, where each second 
 Stood heir to the first. Now, sir, be judge yourself. 
 Whether I in any just term am affin'd''' 
 To love the Moor. 
 
 Rod. I would not follow him, then. 
 
 lago. Oh, sir, content you ; 
 I follow him to serve my turn upon him : 
 We cannot all be masters, nor all masters 
 Cannot be truly foUow'd. You shall mark 
 Many a duteous and knee-crooking knave, 
 
 variously altered ; but it is here used in the sense of ' woman ' 
 (see Note 2, Act v., " Henry V."), and the line, as it stands, 
 admits of several interpretations. If the word " in " be used in 
 the sense of ' into ' (as Shakespeare frequently does, see Note 13, 
 Act iv., "King Lear"), the line might mean, ' A fellow almost 
 transformed into a fair woman if "in" be used as it gene- 
 rally is, then the line might mean, * A fellow whose ignorance 
 of war would be almost condemned in a pretty woman ; ' and, 
 lastly, the line may mean, by a license of expression, *A fellow 
 who would almost go to perdition for a handsome woman,' or 
 ' a fellow who is almost lost in his fondness for a fine woman.* 
 The context of " nor the division of a battle knows more 
 than a spinster," makes for the second interpretation ; while 
 Cassio's conduct with respect to Bianca gives probability to 
 the third being (as we think it is) the true interpretation. We 
 gave this last as our opinion of the passage, as early as in the 
 Glossary to our New York Edition of Shakespeare, published 
 
 8. Theoric. ' Theory.' See Note 13, Act i., " Henry V." 
 
 9. Toged. This is the word in the first Quarto ; while the 
 Folio prints 'tongued.' " Toged " expresses 'gowned,' 'those 
 who wear a toga ; ' and there is a 'similar misprint of ' tongue ' 
 for "toge" pointed out in Note 88, Act ii,," Coriolanus." 
 "Consuls" is here used for 'state rulers, 'civil governors,' 
 ' members of the council.' 
 
 10. Debitor-and-creditor. The title of certain ancient treatises 
 upon commercial book-keeping ; and given to Cassio as a nick- 
 
 11. Counier-casier. In allusion to the custom of reckoning 
 by means of counters. See Note 39, Act iv., "Winter's Tale." 
 The Florentines were famed for their book-keeping and com- 
 mercial knowledge ; therefore the Venetian lago sneers at the 
 Florentine Cassio, not only with the contempt that a professed 
 niartialist feels for a man commercially educated, but with the 
 petty spirit of local grudge that used to subsist between Italians 
 born in different provinces. Even .so lately as far into the ' 
 
 I liat, doting on his own obsequious bondage, 
 Wears out his time, much like his master's ass, 
 For naught but provender; and. When he's old, 
 cashier'd : 
 
 Whip me such honest knaves.''* Others there are. 
 Who, trimm'd in forms and visages of duty, 
 Keep yet their hearts attending on themselves ; 
 And, throwing but shows of service on their lords, 
 Do well thrive by them, and, when they have lin'd 
 their coats. 
 
 Do themselves homage : these fellows have some 
 sold ; 
 
 And such a one do I profess myself. 
 For, sir. 
 
 It is as sure as you are Roderigo, 
 
 Were I the Moor, I would not be Ingo : 
 
 In following him, I follow but myself; 
 
 Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty. 
 
 But seeming so, for my peculiar end : 
 
 For when my outward action doth demonstrate 
 
 The native act and figure of my heart 
 
 In compliment extern, 'tis not long after 
 
 But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve 
 
 For daws to peck at : I am not what I am.'* 
 
 Rod. What a full fortune does the thick-lips 
 owe,''' 
 If he can carry 't thus ! 
 
 lago. Call up her father. 
 
 Rouse him : — make after him,'^ poison his delight, 
 
 present century, it was usual to hear Genoese men speak of 
 Piedmontese, Tuscans, and Neapolitans with a contempt and 
 acrimony that had nothing of the feeling of brotherhood which 
 now is gradually becoming general among all the sons of Italy. 
 
 12. By letter. This has been explained to mean ' by recom- 
 mendation ; ' but may it not mean ' according to the letter of 
 his promise,' or * in accordance with theoretical knowledge and 
 pretensions?' in reference either to Othello's answer, " I have 
 already chose my officer," or to Cassio's being versed in the 
 " bookish theoric." 
 
 13. /;/ any just term am affm'd. * Am bound by any due 
 claim of affinity. ' See Note 47, Act i. , " Troilus and Cressida," 
 and Note 85, Act ii. of the present play. 
 
 14. Honest knaves. lago's sneer in using the word " knaves" 
 for ' servants,' while .scoffing at their fidelity, is of kindred wit 
 to Falstaffs calling a tradesman who applies for his justly- 
 due money a "knave." See Note 36, Act i., "Second Part 
 Henry IV." 
 
 15. In compliment extern. 'In external civility,' 'in super- 
 ficial politeness.' lago is blunt in manner ; and though he may 
 "follow" the Moor "to serve" his "turn upon him," he never 
 permits the thoughts of his " heart" to betray themselves through 
 any assumed obsequiousness. 
 
 16. / am not what I am. 'I am not what I seem to be.' 
 Shakespeare often has phrases where 'seem' is elliptically 
 understood. See Note 120, Act ii., " Hamlet." 
 
 17. What a full fortune does the thick-lips owe. "A full 
 fortune" means 'a plenarily good fortune," 'a completely filled 
 fortune ;' and "owe'" is used for ' own,' 'possess.' 
 
 If he can cairy' t th:<s. * If he can prevail thus.' Shake- 
 speare sometimes uses the word " carry" as we now use 'carry 
 off' 'carry away,' 'carry through,' 'carry the day.' See 
 Note 80, Act ii., " Coriolanus." 
 
 19. House him:— make after him. The first "him" refers 
 to Brabantio ; the second, to Othello. See Note 72, Act iii., 
 " King Lear." 
 
^CT 1.3 OTHELLO. [Scene I. 
 
 KoiU'ufo. \v hat. ho. Lrabantio ! Sjgmor Brabantio, hu : 
 
 Act I. Scene I. 
 
 Proclaim him in the streets ; incen.se her kinsmen, 
 And, though he in a fertile climate dwell. 
 Plague him with flies: though that his joy be joy, 
 Yet throw such changes of vexation on 't, 
 As it may lose some colour. 
 Rod. Here is her father's house; I'll call 
 aloud. 
 
 Ictgo. Do ; with like timorous accent and dire 
 yell 
 
 As when, by night and negligence,^" the fire 
 Is spied in populous cities. 
 
 Rod. What, ho, Brabantio! Signior Brabantio, 
 ho! 
 
 lago. Awake! what, ho, Brabantio ! thieves ! 
 thie\ es ! thieves ! 
 
 20. By night and negligence. 
 sense of ' at,' and understood 
 ' through,' * from,' or 'owing to, 
 
 "By" is here used in the 
 s repeated in the sense of 
 permitting the sense to be 
 
 Look to your house, your daughter, and your 
 
 bags ! 
 Thieves ! thieves ! 
 
 Brabantio appears above, at a 'windovj. 
 Bra. What is the reason of this terrible sum- 
 mons ? 
 What is the matter there ? 
 
 Rod. Signior, is all your family within ? 
 lago. Are your doors lock'<i ? 
 Bra. Why, wherefore ask you this ? 
 
 lago. 'Zounds, sir, you're robbed; for shame, 
 put on your gown ; 
 Your heart is burst, you have lost half your soul ; 
 Even now, now, very now Arise, arise ; 
 
 given of 'as when the fire that has been ocrasioned by negli- 
 gence is spied at night in populous cities.' The construction is 
 peculiar ; and the diction is extremely condensed. 
 
 VOL. III. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene L 
 
 Awake the snorting citizens with the bell ; 
 Arise, I say. 
 
 Bra. What ! have you lost your wits ? 
 
 Rod. Most reverend signior, do you know my 
 voice ? 
 
 Bra. Not I : what are ) ou ? 
 
 Rod. My name is Roderigo. 
 
 Bra. The worser vi'elcome : 
 
 1 have charg'd thee not to haunt about my doors : 
 In honest plainness thou hast heard me say 
 My daughter is not for thee ; and now, in madness, 
 Being full of supper and distempering^i draughts, 
 Upon malicious bravery ,"2 clost thou come 
 To start my quiet. 
 
 Rod. Sir, sir, sir, — 
 
 Bra. But thou must needs be sure 
 
 My spirit and my place have in them power 
 To make this bitter to thee. 
 
 Rod. Patience, good sir. 
 
 Bra. What tell'st thou me of robbing ? this is 
 Venice ; 
 My house is not a grange.^s 
 
 Rod. Most grave Brabantio, 
 
 In simple and pure soul I come to you. 
 
 lago. 'Zounds, sir, you are one of those that 
 will not serve God, if the devil bid you. Because 
 we come to do you service, and you think we are 
 ruffians,^^ you '11 have your daughter contracted 
 with a Barbary horse ; you '11 have your nephews^s 
 neigh to you ; you '11 have coursers for cousins, 
 and gennets for germans.^^ 
 
 Bra. What profane^^ wretch art thou ? 
 
 lago. I am one, sir, that comes to tell you your 
 daughter and the Moor are — ■ 
 
 Bra. Thou art a villain. 
 
 lago. You are — a senator. 
 
 Bra. This thou shalt answer ; I know thee, 
 Roderigo. 
 
 Rod. Sir, I will answer anything. But, I be- 
 seech you, 
 
 If 't be your pleasure and most wise consent. 
 
 21. Disiemperiug. ' Intoxicating.' See Note 105, Act iii., 
 "Hamlet." 
 
 22. Bravery. This is the Quarto word, the Folio having 
 'knaverie.' "Upon malicious bravery," means 'urged by a 
 malicious desire to brave me,' 'out of a malicious- spirit of 
 daring.' 
 
 23. My house is not a grange. Implying, my house is no 
 lonely place where robber>' might easily be committed. For the 
 strict meaning of "grange," see Note 40, Act iii., "Measure for 
 Measure." 
 
 24. Ruffians, Here used for ' rufHers,' 'bullies,' 'swaggerers,' 
 'roisterers,' in which sense the word was sometimes formerly 
 used, rather than in the sense of 'villains,' ' cut^throats,' 'out- 
 ragers." 
 
 25. Nephews. Here used for 'grand-children.' See Note 56, 
 Act ii., " First Part Henry VI." 
 
 26. Gejitteis for germans. A "gennet," 'ginet,* or 'jennet,* 
 is a small Spanish horse ; from the Spanish word gbteie, a small 
 horse of line breed. "Germans" mean 'relations,' 'kindred.' 
 See Note 72, Act iv., " Timon of Athens." 
 
 (As partly I find it is), that your fair daughter, 
 
 At this odd-events and dull watch o' the night. 
 
 Transported, with no worse nor better guard 
 
 But with a knave of common hire, a gondolier. 
 
 To the gross clasps of a luxurious Moor,^' — 
 
 If this be known to you, and your allowance. 
 
 We then have done you bold and saucy wrongs; 
 
 But, if you know not this, my manners tell me 
 
 We have your wrong rebuke. Do not believe 
 
 That, from the sense of all civility,^" 
 
 I thus would play and trifle with your reverence : 
 
 Your daughter, — if you have not given her leave, — ■ 
 
 I say again, hath made a gross revolt ; 
 
 Tying her duty, beauty, wit, and fortunes. 
 
 In an extravagant^i and wheeling stranger 
 
 Of here and everywiiere. Straight satisfy yourself : 
 
 If she be in her chamber or your house. 
 
 Let loose on me the justice of the state 
 
 For thus deluding you. 
 
 Bra. Strike on the tinder, ho! 
 
 Give me a taper! — call up all my people ! — 
 This accident is not unlike my dream : 
 Belief of it oppresses me already. — 
 Light, I say ! light I \_Exit above. 
 
 lago. Farewell ; for I must leave you : 
 
 It seems not meet, nor wholesome to my place. 
 To be produc'd (as, if I stay, I shall) 
 Against the Moor : for, I do know, the state, — 
 However this may gall him with some check, — 
 Cannot with safety cast him ; for he 's embark'd 
 With such loud reason to the Cyprus wars 
 (Which even now stand in act), that, for their souls, 
 Another of his fathom they have none. 
 To lead their business : in which regard. 
 Though I do hate him as I do hell pains, 
 Yet, for necessity of present life, 
 I must show out a flag and sign of love, 
 Which is indeed but sign. That you shall surely 
 find him. 
 
 Lead to the Sagittary^- the raised search ; 
 
 And there will I be with him. So, farewell. \_Exit. 
 
 27. Profane. Here used to express ' coarse-spoken,' ' gross- 
 languaged ; ' in its classically derived sense from the Latin word 
 profanus^ which, besides signifying * ungodl}^,' 'irreligious/ 
 meant 'common,' 'ordinary,' 'impure," polluted,' 'unhallowed.' 
 
 28. Odd-even. Apparently meant for the interval between 
 twelve at night and one in the morning; that time which Shake- 
 speare elsewhere refers to by the words, " What is the night? — 
 Almost at odds with morning, which is which." See the speech 
 referred to in Note 92, Act iii., " Macbeth." 
 
 29. That your fair daughter . . . iratisporied . . . to the 
 gross, i^c. The construction is elliptical here, allowing either 
 'should be' to be understood before "transported," or ' herself 
 to be understood after " transported." 
 
 30. From the sense of all civility. Here " from " is used in 
 the sense of ' deviating from,' * contrary to.' See Note 24, 
 Act ii., " King Lear." 
 
 31. Extravagant. 'Wandering,' 'vagabond,' See Note 35, 
 Act i., " Hamlet." 
 
 32. The Sagittary. Mr. Charles Knight says, " This is 
 generally taken to be an inn. It was the residence at the 
 
Act I.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene IL 
 
 Etiter, belotu, Brabantio, and Servants njuith 
 torches. 
 
 Bra. It is too true an evil : gone she is ; 
 And what's to come of my despisecl time 
 Is naught but bitterness. — Now, Roderigo, 
 Where didst thou see her ?— Oh, unhappy girl !— 
 With the Moor, say'st thou?— Who would be a 
 father !— 
 
 How didst thou know 'twas she ? — Oh, she deceives 
 me 
 
 Past thought! — What said she to you ?— Get more 
 tapers ; 
 
 Raise all my kindred. — Are they married, think 
 you ? 
 
 Rod. Truly, I think they are. 
 
 Bra. Oh, heaven !— How got she out? — Oh, 
 treason of the blood ! — 
 Fathers, from hence trust not your daughters' minds 
 By what ) ou see them act. — Are there not charms 
 By which the property of youth and maidhood 
 May be abus'd ? Have you not read, Roderigo, 
 Of some such thing ? 
 
 Rod. Yes, sir, I have indeed. 
 
 Bra. Call up my brother.''' — Oli, that you had 
 had her !— 
 
 Some one way, some another. — Do you know 
 Where we may apprehend her and the Moor? 
 
 Rod. I think I can discover him, if you please 
 To get good guard, and go along with me. 
 
 Bra. Pray you, lead on. At every house I'll 
 call ; 
 
 I may command at most.''^ — Get weapons, ho! 
 And raise some special officers of night. — 
 On, good Roderigo ; — I'll deserve your pains. 
 
 'iExeunt. 
 
 arsenal of the commanding officers of the navy and army of the 
 republic. The figure of an archer, with his drawn bow, over 
 the gates, still indicates the place. Probably Shakespeare had 
 looked upon that sculpture." There is a possibility that by 
 "the Sagittary" Shakespeare meant neither the Venetian 
 arsenal nor an inn, but a private house bearing one of those 
 distinctive names, and even signs, which it was the mode for- 
 merly to give to private mansions in England, and which custom 
 Shakespeare has occasionally made that of other countries. 
 See Note 15, Actiii., " Comedy of Errors;" Note 83, Act iv., 
 " Taming of the Shrew;" and Note 70, Act i., " Henry VIII." 
 That Othello should not take his bride either to his official 
 residence or to a place of public entertainment, but rather to a 
 private dwelling-house, engaged by himself for her reception, 
 seems likely. That it is not the place where Othello usually 
 lives while in Venice, is shown by Cassio's subsequent words, 
 " being not ^.tyoiir lodging to be found : " and that it is not the 
 general's milit.ary quarters at the arseniil, seems testified by 
 Cassio's question, " What makes he here?" The very diflnculty 
 of finding Othello, indicated by the senate's "several quests" 
 sent in search of him, denotes that it is some unwonted place of 
 resort ; and this confirms our idea that some newly-taken house, 
 bearing the classical name and sign of "the Sagittary," is 
 intended. See Note 73 of this Act. A description of the tradi- 
 tional "Sagittary" is given in Note 57, Act v., " Troilus and 
 Cressida." 
 
 33. Call 7i/> my brother. Meaning Gratiano. 
 
 SCENE n.— Venice. Another Street. 
 
 Enter Othello, Iago, and Attendants lu'ith 
 torches. 
 
 Iago. Though in the trade of war I have slain 
 men, 
 
 Yet do I hold it very stuff o' the conscience 
 To do no contriv'd murder : I lack iniquity 
 Sometimes to do me service : nine or ten times 
 I had thought to have yerk'd^^ him here under the 
 ribs. 
 
 0th. 'Tis better as it is. 
 
 Iago. Nay, but he prated, 
 
 And spoke such scurvy and provoking terms 
 Against your honour. 
 That, with the little godliness I have, 
 I did full hard forbear him. But, I pray you, sir, 
 Are you fast married ? for, be sure of this, 
 That the m.agnifico''^ is much belov'd ; 
 And hath, in his effect, a voice potential 
 As double^^ as the duke's : he will divorce you ; 
 Or put upon you what restraint and grievance 
 The law (with all his might to enforce it on) 
 Will give him cable. 
 
 0th. Let him do his spite : 
 
 My services, which I have done the signiory. 
 Shall out-tongue his complaints. 'Tis yet to 
 know, — 
 
 Which, when I know that boasting is an honour, 
 I shall promulgate, — I fetch my life and being 
 From men of royal siege and my demerits^" 
 May speak, unbonneted,''! to as proud a fortune 
 As this that I have reach'd : for know, Iago, 
 But that 1 love the gentle Desdemona, 
 I would not my unhoused ""^ free condition 
 
 34. I may comt)iand at most. ' Of them' is elliptically under- 
 stood after " most." 
 
 35. Yerk'd. 'Thrust,' 'stabbed.' See Note 114, Act iv., 
 "Henry V." 
 
 36. Magnifico. A Venetian title. :'t here refers to Bra- 
 bantio, who is one of the magnates of Venice. 
 
 37. Double. Here not only meant for 'forcible,' 'strong,' 
 but including the sense of ' possessing duplicate power,' either 
 to "divorce " or to imprison. 
 
 38. Will give him cable. Elliptically expressed; 'for,' or 
 'to put on,' being understood after "cable." See Note 62, 
 Act iv., " Timon of Athens." 
 
 39. Men of 7oyitl siege. ' Men who have sat on kingly 
 thrones.' " Siege," used for 'seat,' is more than once found in 
 Shakespeare. See Note 44, Act ii., " Tempest;" and Note 33, 
 Act iv. , "Measure for Measure." 
 
 40. Demerits. Here used to express 'merits.' See Note 41, 
 Act i., " Coriolanus." In Dugdale's " Warwickshire " the word 
 is thus employed — "Henry Conway, Esq., for his singul.ar 
 demerits received the dignity of knighthood;" and Bullokar 
 says, "Demerit, a desert; also (on the contrary, and as it is 
 most commonly used at this day), ill-deserving." 
 
 41. Utibonneted. We think that this word is here used to 
 include the meanings of 'openly,' 'uncovered,' and .Iso, 'with- 
 out need of deferential obsen-ance,' ' without being cap in hand.' 
 See Note 47, Act ii., "Coriolanus," 
 
 42. Unhoused. This word has double propriety of introduc- 
 
Act I.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene IL 
 
 Put into circumscription and confine 
 For tiie sea's worth.''^ But, look ! what lights 
 come yonder ? 
 
 lago. Those are the raised father and his friends : 
 You were best go in. 
 
 Q,h. Not I ; I must be found ; 
 
 My parts, my title, and my perfect soul, 
 Shall manifest me rightly. Is it they ? 
 
 lago. By Janus,'*-' I think no. 
 
 Enter Cassio, and certain Officers iju it h torches. 
 Olh. The servants of the duke, and my lieute- 
 nant. — 
 
 The goodness of the night upon you, friends ! 
 What is the news? 
 
 Cas. The duke does greet ) ou, general ; 
 
 And he requires your haste-post-haste''^ appear- 
 ance, 
 
 Even on the instant. 
 
 Oth. What is the matter, think you ? 
 
 Cas. Something from Cyprus, as 1 may divine : 
 It is a business of some heat : the galleys 
 Have sent a dozen sequent messengers 
 This very night at one another's heels ; 
 And many of the consuls, ''^ rais'd and met. 
 
 Re-enter Othello. 
 lago. Marry, to — Come, captain, will you go ? 
 Oih. Have with you. 
 
 Cas. Here comes another troop to seek for )ou. 
 lago. It is Brabantio : — general, be advis'd ; 
 He comes to bad intent. 
 
 Enter Brabantio, Roderigo, and Officers uuith 
 torches and nceapons. 
 
 Olh. Holla! stand there! 
 
 Rod. Signior, it is the Moor. 
 
 Bra. Down with him, thief! 
 
 [They drauj on both sides. 
 
 lago. You, Roderigo! come, sir, I am for you. 
 
 Oth. Keep up your bright swords, for the dew 
 will rust them. — 
 Good signior, you shall more command with years 
 Than with your weapons. 
 
 Bra. Oh, thou foul thief, where hast thou stow'd 
 my daughter ? 
 Curs'd as thou art, thou hast enchanted her; 
 For I '11 refer me to all things of sense, 
 If she in chains of magic were not bound. 
 Whether a maid so tender, fair, and happy, 
 
 Are at the duke's already : you have been hotly j So opposite to marriage, that she shunn'd 
 
 call'd for ; 
 
 When, being not at your lodging to be found, 
 The senate halh sent about three several quests''" 
 To search you out. 
 
 Olh. ' ris well I am found by you. 
 
 I u-ill but spend a word here in tlie house, 
 And go with you. \_Exit. 
 Cas. Ancient, what makes he here ?''^ 
 
 lago. Faith, he to-night hath boarded a land 
 carrack : 
 
 If it prove lawful prize, he 's made for ever. 
 Cas. I do not understand. 
 lago. He's married. 
 
 Cas. To u ho:n r 
 
 tion here, implying not only ' uncircnmscribed,' ' unconfnied to 
 house and home,' but also 'immarried.' Florio — with wliose 
 productions Shal^esp^are was evidently well acquainted, from 
 the excellent and large use he has made of them— explains the 
 Italian word castrre by 'to marrie, to wed, to house;' and 
 Othello not only refers to his condition of unrestrained freedom 
 to go forth in military enterprises, but to his bachelor condition. 
 
 43. The sea's worth. ' All that the sea contains.' Pliny, the 
 naturalist, has a chapter on the riches of tJie sea; and Shake- 
 speare has several references to its heaps of engulfed wealth. 
 See passages referred to in Note 40, Act i., " Henry V, ;" and 
 Note 86, Act i.; "Richard III." 
 
 44. By Janus. See Note 11, Act i , " Merchant of Venice." 
 
 45. Haste -post -haste. An ancient form of superscription 
 written on letters of importance, and here used as an expres- 
 
 46. The consuls. See Note g of the present Act. 
 
 47. Quests. Here used for 'seekers.' See Note 97, Actiii., 
 "King Lear;" Note 6, Act ii., "All's Well;" and Note 12, 
 Act iv., " Measure for Measure." 
 
 48. Aticient, ',vhnt i:in!;rs he lie re ? "Ancient " is synonymous 
 with ' ensign ; ' which was lago's military grade. See Note 84, 
 
 The wealthy curie I darlings^" of our nation, 
 Would ever have, to incur a general mock. 
 Run from her guardage to tiie sooty bosom 
 Of such a thing as thou, — to fear, not to delight. 
 Judge me the worhl, if 'tis not gross in sep.se,*' 
 That thou hast practis'd on -her with foul charms; 
 .'^bus'd her delicate ) outh with drugs or minerals 
 That weaken motion: — I '11 have 't disputed on ; 
 'Tis probable, and palpable to thinking. 
 I therefore apprehend and do attach tiiee 
 For an abuser of the world, a jiractiser 
 Of arts inhibited and out of warrant.— 
 Lay hold upon him: if he do resist. 
 Subdue him at his peril. 
 
 Act iii., " Henry V." "What makes he here ?" is equivalent to 
 ' What is he doing here ? ' or ' What does he do here ? ' See 
 Note 26, Act ii., "Merry Wives." Cassio asks this question 
 and the next, " To whom ? " in order that he may appear un- 
 conscious of the secret of Othello's attachment to Desdcmona, 
 with which we subsequently find he has been entrusted. See 
 Note 18, Act iii. It appears that lago has been informed where 
 ihe bride is conveyed Immediately after the marriage has taken 
 pkace (.see Note 73 of this Act) ; while Cassio had been in the 
 confidence of his gener.al throughout 
 
 49. Carrack. A ship of large burden ; a Spanish galleon. 
 See Note 33, Act iii., " Comedy of Errors." 
 
 50. The wealthy curled darlings. There are many allusions 
 in writers of Shakespeare's time to the efFeminate fashion of 
 curling the hair pra:;tised by young gallants ; and he himself 
 alludes to it in the passage referred to in Note 40, Act ill., 
 
 51. Gross in sense. ' Palpable to reason.' 
 
 52. Weaken motion. ' Subdue the impulse of affection, 
 'vanquish inclination.' Farther on, the first senator asks 
 Othello, " Did you by indirect and forced courses subdue and 
 poison this yotuig maid's affections ? " 
 
lago. You, Roderigo ' come, f ir, I am for you. 
 Othello. Keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust 
 them. 
 
 Act I. Scene II. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Olh. Hold your hands, 
 
 Both you of my inclining, and the rest : 
 Were it my cue to fight, I should have known it 
 Without a prompter. — Where will you that I go 
 To answer this your charge ? 
 
 Bra. To prison ; till fit time 
 
 Of law, and course of direct session, 
 Call -thee to answer. 
 
 Olh. What if I do obey ? 
 
 How may the duke be therewith satisfied, 
 Whose messengers are here about my side, 
 Upon some present business of the state 
 To bring me to him ? 
 
 First Off. 'Tis true, most worthy signior; 
 
 The duke's in council, and your noble self, 
 I am sure, is sent for. 
 
 Bra. How ! the duke in council ! 
 
 In this time of the night ! — Bring him away : 
 Mine's not an idle cause: the duke himself, 
 Or any of my brothers of the state. 
 Cannot but feel this wrong as 'twere their own ; 
 For if such actions may have passage free, 
 Bond-slaves and pagans shall our statesmen be. 
 
 [^Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE HI.— Venice. A Council-Chamber. 
 The Duke and Senators sitting at a table; Officeis 
 attending. 
 
 Duke. There is no composition Jn these news 
 That gives them credit. 
 
 First Sen. Indeed, they are disproportion'd ; 
 My letters say a hundred and seven galleys. 
 
 Duke. And mine, a hundred and forty. 
 
 Sec. Sen. And mine, two hundred : 
 
 But though they jump^* not on a just account, — 
 As in these cases, where the aim^^ reports, 
 'Tis oft with difference, — yet do they all confirm 
 A Turkish fleet, and bearing up to Cyprus. 
 
 Duke. Nay, it is possible enough to judgment: 
 I do not so secure me in the error, 
 But the main"'' article I do approve 
 In fearful sense. 
 
 See Note 44, Act 
 56. / do iiot sc 
 
 ed for ' consistency, 
 insist,' ' coincide.' See Note 39, 
 'guess,' 'conjecture.' 
 
 53. Composition. Herei: 
 
 54. Jump. 'Agree,' '( 
 Act v., "Twelfth Night." 
 
 55. Aim. Here used for 'surmise,' 
 Julius C-Esar." 
 
 '.re m: in the error, but the main, &'c. 
 ' I do not feel so over-confident on .iccoiint of the error that may 
 be in these reports, but that I can perceive ground for dread in 
 the m.ain particular.' 
 
 57. This ca7inot be, by no assay of reason. 
 the case, if brought to any test of reason ; 
 believed to be so, if subjected to any trial of 1 
 means 'test,' 'trial;' and a double negativ 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 'This 
 
 cannot be 
 cannot be 
 lason.' "Assay" 
 is often used by 
 
 Sa lor. [IVithin.] What, ho! what, ho! what, ho! 
 First Off. A messenger from the galleys. 
 
 Enter a Sailor. 
 Duke. Now,— the business? 
 
 Sail. The Turkish preparation makes for 
 Rhodes ; 
 
 So was I bid report here to the state 
 By Signior Angelo. 
 
 Duke. How say you by this change ? 
 
 First Sen. This cannot be, 
 
 By no assay of reason :57 'tis a pageant, 
 To keep us in false gaze. When we consider 
 The importancy of Cyprus to the Turk ; 
 And let ourselves again but understand, 
 That as it more concerns the Turk than Rhodes, 
 So may he with more facile question bear it,^* 
 For that it stands not in such warlike brace,^^ 
 But altogether lacks the abilities 
 That Rhodes is dress'd in: — if we make thought 
 of this. 
 
 We must not think the Turk is so unskilful 
 To leave that latest which concerns him first, 
 Neglecting an attempt of ease and gain, 
 To wake and wage™ a danger profitless. 
 
 Duke. Nay, in all confidence, he's not for 
 Rhodes. 
 
 First Off. Here is more news. 
 
 Enter a Messenger. 
 Mess. The Ottomites, reverend and gracious, 
 Steering with due course toward the isle of 
 Rhodes, 
 
 Have there injointed them with an after fleet. 
 First Sen. Ay, so I thought. — How many, as 
 
 you guess ? 
 
 Mess. Of thirty sail : and now they do re-stem 
 Their backward course, bearing with frank ap- 
 pearance 
 
 Their purposes toward Cyprus. — Signior Montano, 
 Your trusty and most valiant servitor, 
 With his free duty recommends you thus, 
 And prays you to believe^' him. 
 
 Duke. 'Tis certain, then, for Cyprus.— 
 Marcus Luccicos,^^ is not he in town ? 
 
 58. With fiiore facile question bear it. ' With greater facility 
 of contest carry it,' ' with more ease of conflict prevail.' 
 
 59. Snch ivarlike brace. ' Such warlike condition of defence,* 
 'such warlike state of armed preparation.' 'To brace on the 
 armour' signified ' to arm.' 
 
 60. Wage. ' Maintain,' ' carry on,' ' encounter,' ' undertake.' 
 See Note 63, Act iv., " First Part Henry IV. ;" and Note 113, 
 Act ii. , " King Lear." 
 
 61. Believe. It has been proposed to substitute this word by 
 'relieve;' but we take the meaning of these two lines to be— 
 " With his freely-rendered duty informs you of this intelligence, 
 and begs you to believe him when he sends it to you." 
 
 62. Marcus Luccicos. We quote Mr, Charles Knight's excel- 
 lent note here. He says :— " Both the Folio and Qu,arto give 
 this proper name thus. Capell changed it to Marcus Lucchese, 
 
Act I.j 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene IIL 
 
 First Sen. He's now in Florence. 
 Duke, Write from us to him ; post-post-haste 
 despatch. 
 
 First Sen. Here comes Brabantio and the 
 valiant Moor. 
 
 Enter Brabantio, Othello, Iago, Roderigo, 
 and Officers. 
 
 Duke. Valiant Othello, we must straight em- 
 ploy you 
 
 Against the general enemy Ottoman.''^ — 
 [To Bra.] I did not see you ; welcome, gentle 
 signior ; 
 
 We lack'd your counsel and your help to-night. 
 
 Bra. So did I yours. Good your grace, pardon me; 
 Neither my place, nor aught I heard of business. 
 Hath rais'd me from my bed ; nor doth the general 
 care 
 
 Take hold of me ; for my particular grief 
 Is of so flood-gate and o'erbearing nature 
 That it engluts and swallows other sorrows, 
 And it is still itself. 
 
 Duke. Why, what 's the matter ? 
 
 Bra. My daughter! Oh, my daughter ! 
 
 Duke and Senators. Dead ? 
 
 Bra. Ay, to me ; 
 
 She is abus'd, stol'n from me, and corrupted 
 By spells and medicines bought of mountebanks; 
 For nature so preposterously to err, 
 Being not deficient, blind, or lame of sense, 
 Sans witchcraft could not. 
 
 Duke. Whoe'er he be that, in this foul pro- 
 ceeding. 
 
 Hath thus beguil'd your daughter of herself, 
 And you of her, the bloody book of law 
 You shall yourself read in the bitter letter 
 After your own sense; yea, though our proper son 
 Stood in your action. ''S 
 
 Bra. Humbly I thank your grace. 
 
 Here is the man, this Moor ; whom now, it seems, 
 Your special mandate, for the state-affairs, 
 Hath hither brought. 
 
 saying that such a termination as Luccicos is unknown in the 
 Italian. But who is the duke inquiring after ? Most probably 
 a Greek soldier of Cyprus— an Estradiot— one who from his 
 local knowledge was enabled to give him information. Is it 
 necessary that the Greek should bear an Italian name? and 
 does not the termination in cos better convey the notion which 
 we believe the poet to have had ?" 
 
 63. Agaiiist the general enemy Ottoman. It was part of the 
 policy of the Venetian sute to employ strangers, and even 
 Moors, in their wars. In Thomas's " History of Italye " there 
 occurs this illustrative passage :— " By lande they are served of 
 straungers, both for generals, for capitaines, and for all other 
 menofwarre, because theyr lawe permitteth not any Venetian 
 to be capitaine over an armie by lande ; fearing, I thinke, 
 Caesar's example." 
 
 64. The bloody book o/law. By the Venetian law the giving 
 love-potions was highly criminal; as appears in the "Coda 
 della Promission del Malefico." Among the edicts of King 
 James I. are those which refer to the same subject. 
 
 Duke and Sen. We are very sorry for it. 
 
 Duke. [To 0th.] What, in your own part, can 
 you say to this ? 
 
 Bra. Nothing, but this is so. 
 
 0th. Most potent, grave, and reverend signiors, 
 My very noble and approv'd good masters, — 
 That I have ta'en away this old man's daughter. 
 It is most true ; true, I have married her: 
 The very head and front of my offending 
 Hath this extent, no more. Rude am I in my 
 speech. 
 
 And little bless'd with the soft phr.ise of peace ; 
 For since these arms of mine had seven years' 
 pith, 
 
 Till now- some nine moons wasted,'"' they have us'd 
 Their dearest " action in the tented field ; 
 And little of this great world can I speak. 
 More than pertains to feats of broil and battle ; 
 And therefore little shall I grace my cause 
 In speaking for myself. Yet, by your gracious 
 patience, 
 
 I will a round unvarnish'd tale deliver 
 Of my whole course of love ; what drugs, what 
 charms. 
 
 What conjuration, and what mighty magic, — 
 For such proceeding I am charg'd withal, — 
 1 won his daughter.''^ 
 
 Bra. A maiden never bold ; 
 
 Of spirit so still and quiet, that her motion 
 Blush'd at herself; 69 and she, — in spite of nature. 
 Of years, of country, credit, everything, — 
 To fall in love with what she fear'd to look on ! 
 It is a judgment maim'd and most imperfect, 
 That will confess perfection so could err 
 Against all rules of nature ; and must be driven 
 To find out practices of cunning hell. 
 Why this should be. I therefore vouch again. 
 That with some mixtures powerful o'er the blood. 
 Or with some dram conjur'd to this effect, 
 He wrought upon her. 
 
 Duke. To vouch this, is no proof. 
 
 Without more wider and more overt test 
 Than these thin habits 7" and poor likelihoods 
 
 63. Tlwugh our proper son, {s'c. ' Though our own son were 
 the subject of your accusation.' 
 
 66. Till noiv some nine moons wasted. ' Until about nine 
 months ago.' 
 
 67. Dearest. Here used to express combinedly ' most 
 effectual,' 'most strenuous,' and also 'favourite,' ■* most dear' 
 to the speaker. We have repeatedly pointed out the varied 
 and inclusive meaning with which Shakespeare uses the words 
 "dear," "dearer," "dearest," and "dearly." See Note 45, 
 Act iv., " King Lear." 
 
 I 68. / luon his daughter. 'With' is elliptically understood 
 after "daughter." See Note 38 of the present Act. 
 
 69, Her motion blush'd at herself. According to the practice 
 among writers in Shakespeare's time, the personal pronoun is 
 here used instead of the neutral pronoun, — " herself" for ' it- 
 self See Note 39, Act ii., " Much Ado ; " and Note 10, Act i.-, 
 
 j "Julius Ca;sar." - 
 
 1 70. Thin lutbits. Here used for ' slender assumptions.' 
 
Act I.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene IIL 
 
 Of modern'' seeming do prefer against him. 
 
 First Sen. But, Othello, speak : 
 Did you by indirect and forced courses 
 Subdue and poi>on this young maid's affections ? 
 Or came it by request,'- and such fair question 
 As soul to soul aftbrdeth ? 
 
 0th. I do beseech you, 
 
 Send for the lady to the Sagittary, 
 And let her speak of me before her father : 
 If you do find me foul in her report, 
 The trust, the office, 1 ilo hold of you, 
 Not only take aivay, but let your sentence 
 Even fall upon my life. 
 
 Duke. Fetch Desdemona hither. 
 
 Oth. Ancient, conduct them; you best know 
 the place. ''3 — 
 
 {^Exeunt Iago and Attendants. 
 And, till she come, as truly as to heaven 
 I do confess the vices of my blood, 
 So justly to your grave ears I'll present 
 How I did thrive in this fair lady's love. 
 And she in mine. 
 
 Duke. Say it, Othello. 
 
 Oth. Her father lov'd me; oft invited me; 
 Still question'd me the story of my life, 
 I''rom year to year,— the battles, sieges, fortunes, 
 That I have pass'd. 
 
 I ran it through, even from my boyish davs, 
 To the very moment that he bade me tell it : 
 Wherein I spake of most disastrous chances. 
 Of moving accidents by flood and field ; 
 OF hair-breadth scapes i' the imminent deadly 
 breach ; 
 
 Of being taken by the insolent foe. 
 
 And sold to slavery ; of my redemption thence. 
 
 71. Modern. * Common,' ' usual,' ' ordinary,' * insignificant.' 
 See Note 43, Act iii., " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 72. This young maid's affections ? or came it by, &'c. Here 
 "it" is used in reference to " affections" as if the word were in 
 the singular — 'affection.' See Note 71, Act i., " Macbeth." 
 
 73. You best know the place. This confirms our belief that 
 some private house bearing the name ;and possibly a fresco or 
 relievo representing the. figure) of "the Sagittary" is meant. 
 Had the arsenal of Venice been intended, the ducal mes- 
 sengers could have had no difficulty in finding " the place," 
 and there would have been no need to bid Iago "conduct 
 them," as " best knowing " whereabouts it was. See Note 32 
 of the preset Act. We think not only that Iago, as here in- 
 dicated, is specially cognisant of the place, and therefore, 
 having been entrusted by Othello with the secret of where the 
 hr-,use is to which he has taken his bride, is doubly treacherous 
 iji discovering the marriage to her father, but that also it denotes 
 lago's wife, Emilia, having been the lady-attendant appointed 
 to receive Desdemona at this newly-engaged house, " the 
 Sagittary ; " which is evidently in some retired quarter of the city. 
 
 74. Portance. ' Conduct,' ' carriage,' ' bearing.' See Note 
 loD, Act ii., " Coriolanus." 
 
 73. ,4 litres. 'Caverns:' LRtin, antrum. 
 
 76. fd/e. Here used for 'unfertile,' 'unproductive,' 'un- 
 fruitful,' "baiTen," 'sterile.' Wickliffe h.as— " The earth was 
 i'de! and voide " 
 
 77. T/ie .Aiitliro/'nlyhagi. and men, &-Y. In writing this pas- 
 sage Shakespeare proba'oly had in his mind a descript.on given 
 
 .^nd portance"'' in my travel's history : 
 Wherein of antres''* vast and deserts idle,"" 
 Rough quarries, rocks, and hills whose heads touch 
 heaven. 
 
 It was my hint to speak, — such was the process ; 
 1 And of the Cannibals that each other eat, 
 I The Anthropophagi, and men whose heads"'' 
 j Do grow beneath their shoulders. This to hear 
 ' Would Desdemona seriously incline : 
 
 But still the house-affairs would draw her thence ; 
 
 Which ever as she could with haste despatch. 
 
 She 'd come again, and with a greedy ear 
 
 Devour up my discourse : — which I observing, 
 i Took once a pliant hour ; and found good means 
 j To draw from her a prayer of earnest heart 
 
 That I would all my pilgrimage dilate, 
 j Whereof by parcels she had something heard, 
 I But not intentively : "s I did consent; 
 
 And often did beguile her of her tears, 
 • When I did speak of some distressful stroke 
 I That my youth suffer'd. My story being done. 
 
 She gave me for my pains a world of siglis -.'•'^ 
 j She swore,^"— in faith, 'twas strange, 'twas passing 
 strange ; 
 
 'Twas pitiful, 'twas wondrous pitiful : 
 I She vvish'd she had not heard it; yet she wish'd 
 i That heaven had made her such a man i^' she 
 
 thank'd me ; 
 I And bade me, if I had a friend that lov'd her, 
 .1 should but teach him how to tell my story, 
 I And that would woo her. Upon this hint ] spake ; 
 
 She lov'd me for the dangers I had pass'd ; 
 j And I lov'd her that she did pity them. 
 
 This only is the witchcraft I have iis'd :— 
 
 Here comes the lady ; let her witness it. 
 
 1 by Raleigh in his " Discoverie of Guiana," 1596, where he 
 mentions the Amazons, the cannibals, and the " nation of 
 
 ; people whose heads appear not above their shoulders ; " and 
 perhaps also an account given by Pliny of " other Scythians 
 called Anthropophagi, where is a country named Abarimon, 
 
 I within a certain vale of the mountain Imaus, wherein are found 
 savage <uid wild men, living and conversing usually among the 
 brute beasts, who have their feet growing backward, and turned 
 behind the calves of their legs, howbeit they run most swiftly. 
 The former Anthropophagi, or eaters of man's flesh, whom we 
 have placed above the north pole, tenne dales journej' by land 
 
 j above the river Borysthenes, used to drinke out of the sculs of 
 mens heads, and to weare the scalpes, haire and all, insteed of 
 mandellions or stomachers before their breasts .... Beyond 
 the Sciopodes westward, some there be without heads standing 
 
 \ upon theire neckes who carrie eies in their shoulders.'' 
 
 ! 78. Intcntively. The Quarto word here ; while the Folio 
 gives 'instinctively.' " Intentively " means 'attentively,' 'in- 
 tently,' Bullokar, in his " E.xpositor " ^I6I6), has — Intentive, 
 which listeneth well and is earnestly bent to a thing." 
 
 79. Sighs. The Folio misprints 'kisses' for "sighs" in this 
 passage ; given correctly in the Quartos. 
 
 80. Swore. Formerly used for ' ax'erred,' ' affirmed.' 
 
 81. She wish'd timt heaven had made her such a man. 
 'For' is elliptically understood before "her." We point this 
 out, because it has been strangely questioned whether the 
 meaning might not be, ' she wish'd that heaven had made her- 
 
 ' self such a man.' 
 54' 
 
ACT I.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene IIL 
 
 Enter Desdemona, Iago, and Attendants. 
 Duke. I think this tale would win my daughter 
 
 too 
 
 Good Brabantio, 
 
 Take up this mangled matter at the best : 
 Men do their broken weapons rather use 
 Than their bare hands. 
 
 Bra. I pray you, hear her speak : 
 
 ]f she confess that she was half the wooer, 
 Destruction on my head, if my bad blame 
 Light on the man ! — Come hither, gentle mistress : 
 Do you perceive in all this noble company 
 Where most you owe obedience ? 
 
 Des. My noble father, 
 
 I do perceive here a divided duty : 
 To } ou I am bound for life and education ; 
 My life and education both do learn ,ne 
 How to respect you ; you are the lord of duty,— 
 I am hitherto your daughter: but here's my 
 husband ; 
 
 And so much duty as my mother show'd 
 To you, preferring you before her father, 
 So much I challenge that I may profess 
 Due to the Moor iny lord. 
 
 Bra. God be with you ! — I have done. — 
 
 Please it your grace, on to the state affairs : 
 I had rather to adopt a child than get it. — 
 Come hither. Moor : 
 
 I here do give thee that with all my heart, 
 Which, but thou hast already, with all my heart 
 I would keep from thee. — For your sake, jewel, 
 I am glad at soul I have no other child ; 
 I'or thy escape**^ would teach me t)Tanny, 
 To hang clogs on them. — I have done, my lord. 
 Duke. Let me speak like yourself and lay a 
 sentence. 
 
 Which, as a grise^^ or step, may help these lovers 
 Into your flivour. 
 
 When remedies are past, the griefs are ended 
 
 By seeing the worst, which late on hopes depended. 
 
 To mourn a mischief that is past and gone 
 
 82. Lem-n. Sometimes formerly, as here, used for 'teach.' 
 See Note 26, Act i., " As You Like It." 
 
 83. Escape. Besides its meaning of ' getting forth,' ' flight,' 
 'elopement,' v/e think it probable that "escape" here includes 
 the sense of ' sally,' ' prank ; ' as shown to be derived from the 
 French word, escafade. See Note 53, Act iii., "Winter's Tale." i 
 
 84. Let jne speak like yourself. I'his has been variously 1 
 interpreted ; but we take it to mean, ' Let me speak in a strain j 
 of resignation to that which is irretrievably past and gone, like 
 yours, when you say, " I have done." 
 
 85. Grise. ' Degree,' ' step." See Note 19, Act iv., " Timon j 
 of Athens." I 
 
 86. Next. 'Readiest,' ' nighest,' 'nearest.' See Note 60, 
 Act iii., "Winter's Tale." 
 
 87. The fi-ee comfort which from thence he hears. ' The 
 gratuitous sentiments of consolation which" he hears delivered 
 together with the sentence.' 
 
 88. Pierce,/. 'Penetrated,' 'reached,' 'arrived at.' Shake- 
 speare frequently uses "pierce" in this sense. See the next 
 
 Is the next^s way to draw new mischief on. 
 What cannot be preserv'd when fortune takes. 
 Patience her injury a mockery makes. 
 The robb'd that smiles steals something from the 
 tliief; 
 
 He robs himself that spends a bootless grief. 
 
 Bra. So let the Turk of Cyprus us beguile ; 
 We lose it not, so long as we can smile. 
 He bears the sentence well, that nothing bears 
 But the free comfort which from thence, he hears ; 
 But he bears both the sentence and the sorrow. 
 That, to pay grief, must of poor patience borrow. 
 These sentences, to sugar, or to gall, 
 Being strong on both sides, are equivocal : 
 But words are words ; I never yet did hear 
 That the bruis'd heart was pierced through the 
 ear. — 
 
 Beseeeh you, now to the affairs of state. 
 
 Duke: The Turk with a most mighty prepara- 
 tion makes for Cyprus :— Othello, the fortitude of 
 the place ,is best known to you; and though we 
 have there a substitute of most allowed sufficiency, 
 yet opinion, a sovereign mistress of effects, throws 
 a more safer voice on you : you must therefore be 
 content to slubber the gloss of your new fortunes*' 
 with this more stubborn and boisterous expedition. 
 
 0th. The tyrant custom, most grave senators, 
 Hath made the flinty and steel couch of war 
 My thrice-driven bed of down -.^^ 1 do agnise'' 
 A natural and prompt alacrity 
 I find in hardness ; and do undertake 
 These present wars against the Ottoinites. 
 Most huinbly, therefore, bending to your state, 
 I crave fit disposition for my wife ; 
 Due reference of place and exhibition 
 With such accommodation and besort'^ 
 As levels with hei; breeding. 
 
 Duke. If you please. 
 
 Be 't at her father's. 
 
 Bra. I'll not have it so. 
 
 0th. Nor I. 
 
 Des. Nor I ; I would not there reside, 
 
 line to the one commented upon in Note 153, A<^v., "Love's 
 Labour's Lost." 
 
 89. To slubber the gloss, &^c. " Slubber " is ' smear,' 'sully,' 
 ' pollute.' The word " slubber," as here used, seems to have the 
 same origin as "slobbery" (see Note 73, Act iii., " Henry V.") ; 
 but as used by Shakespeare elsewhere (see Note 95, Act ii. , 
 " Merchant of Venice"), it seems rather allied to ' sloven.' In 
 fact, all of these words are derived from the same source, im- 
 plying ' dirty,' ' neglectful' 
 
 90. Tlirice-driven bed of do^vn. A bed made of feathers 
 which have been driven by a fan, in order to separate the 
 downier portions from the coarser portions. 
 
 91. Agnise. 'Acknowledge,' 'recognise,' 'confess,' 'avow.' 
 
 92. Exhibition. 'Provision,' 'allowance.' See Note 66, 
 Act i., " King Lear." 
 
 93. Besort. ' Befitting attendance,' ' suitable companionship, 
 'proper retinue.' Shakespeare uses this \^'fn■d in " King Lear," 
 Act i., sc. 4, as a verb, to express ' befittingly consort with,* 
 'suitably attend upon.' 
 
Act I.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 To put my father in impatient thoughts 
 By being in his eye. Most gracious duke, 
 To my unfolding lend your prosjierous^* ear; 
 And let me find a charter in your voice, 
 To assist my simpleness. 
 
 Duke. What would you, Desdemona ? 
 
 Des. That I did love the Moor to live with him,^' 
 My downright violence and storm of fortunes'^ 
 May trumpet to the world : my heart 's subdu'd 
 Even to the very quality of my lord : 
 I saw Othello's visage in his mind ; 
 And to his honours and his valiant parts 
 Did I my soul and fortunes consecrate. 
 So that, dear lords, if I be left behind, 
 A moth of peace, and he go to the war. 
 The rites for which I love him are bereft me, 
 And I a heavy interim shall support 
 By his dear absence.'^ Let me go with him. 
 
 0th. Your voices, lords: beseech ) ou, let her \\\\\ 
 Have a free way. 
 
 Vouch with me, Heaven, I therefore beg it not. 
 To please the palate of my appetite ; 
 Nor to comply with heat (the young affects'' 
 In me defunct)'"" and proper satisfaction ; 
 But to be free and bounteous to her mind : 
 And Heaven defend your good souls, that you 
 think 
 
 I will your serious and great business scant 
 For she is with me : no, when light-wing'd toys 
 Of feather'd Cupid seel"" with wanton dulness 
 My speculative and offic'd instruments,"'^ 
 That my disports corrupt and taint my business, 
 Let housewives make a skillet'"-' of my helm, 
 And all indign and base adversities 
 Make head against my estimation !'"■• 
 
 94. Prosperous. Here used for ' propitious,' ' prospering.' 
 
 95. Tliat I did love the Moor to live ■with him, c^'c. Here 
 is a notable instance of the way in which Shal<espeare makes 
 his most gentle women speak out firmly and eloquently when 
 stress of need comes. See Note 12, Act i., " Midsummer Night's 
 Dream." Desdemona, since her entrance, has remained silent, 
 save when directly appealed to by her father ; when seconding 
 her husband's fiat, by echoing his " Nor I ; " and now when 
 replying to the duke's question. Desdemona is gentle even to 
 timidity ; but, like many women whose gentleness of nature has 
 been wrought into timidity by a too rigid strictness on the part 
 of those who bring them up, she is capable of singularly bold 
 action and self-assertion on rare occasions. Her independent 
 act in leaving her father's house, and marrying the man of her 
 choice, is precisely characteristic of the one and her present 
 speech is an eminent specimen of the other. Encouraged by 
 loving treatment, she is capable of exerting moral strength ; 
 chilled by severity, she is a moral coward. Desdemona has the 
 virtues of a gentle-natured woman j but, alas ! she also has the 
 faults of a timid woman. This we shall take occasion to point 
 out as the story proceeds. 
 
 96. l\Iy downright violence and storm of fortunes. 'The 
 downright violence and storm of fortunes which I have volun- 
 tarily encountered in order to marry him.' We have frequently 
 pointed out the elliptical mode in which Shakespeare often uses 
 the pos.sessive case. See Note 2, Act v. , " Richard III;" Note 100, 
 Act i. , " Troilus and Cressida ; " Note 73, Act iv. , " King Lear ; " 
 and Note 104 of the present Act and play. We point this out in 
 
 Duke. Be it as you shall privately determine. 
 Either for her stay or going : the affair cries haste, 
 And speed must answer it. 
 
 First Sen. You must away to-night. 
 
 Olh. With all my heart. 
 
 Duke. At nine i' the morning here we '11 meet 
 again. — 
 
 Othello, leave some officer behind. 
 And he shall our commission bring to you; 
 With such things else of quality and respect 
 As doth import you. 
 
 Oth. So please your grace, my ancient ; 
 
 A man he is of honesty and trust : 
 To his conveyance I assign my wife, 
 With what else needful your good grace shall think 
 To be sent after me. 
 
 Duke. Let it be so. — 
 
 Good night to every one.— [To Bra.] And, noble 
 signior, 
 
 If virtue no delighted '"^ beauty lack, 
 
 Your son-in-law is far more fair than black. 
 
 First Sen. Adieu, brave Moor ; use Desdemona 
 well. 
 
 Bra. Look to her. Moor, if thou hast eyes to 
 see : 
 
 She has deceiv'd her father, and may thee. 
 
 \_E.xeunt Duke, Senators, Officers, &c. 
 Olh. My life upon her faith ! — Honest lago, 
 My Desdemona must I leave to thee : 
 I pr'ythee, let thy wife attend on her; 
 And bring them after in the best advantage.— 
 Come, Desdemona ; I have but an hour 
 Of love, of worldly matters and direction, 
 To spend with thee: we must obey the time. 
 
 [Exeunt Othello and Desdemona. 
 
 the present instance, because the passage has been much dis- 
 cussed : and, we think, 'by many discussers misunderstood. 
 
 97. Quality. Here used to e.xpress ' individual nature,' ' moral 
 and mental identity.' It has been asserted that here " quality " 
 is used in its sense of 'profession' (see Note 75, Act ii., 
 "Hamlet") ; but we think that the words, "I saw Othello's 
 visage in his mind," prove that our interpretation is right. 
 Shakespeare uses the words "quality" and "qualities" with 
 large variety of signification. 
 
 98. His dear absence. ' His intensely-felt absence.' We 
 have heretofore pointed out the effect of intensity, whether in 
 a pleasant or painful sense, that '■' dear" bears in Shakespeare's 
 
 • employment of the word. See Note 61, Act i., "As 'Vou Like 
 '\t : " and Note 67 of the present Act. 
 
 99. Affects. An abbreviated form of ' .nffections.' See Note 
 94, Act i., " Richard II." 
 
 TOO. hi me defunct. The old copies have ' my ' instead of 
 " me." Rann's correction. 
 
 101. Seel. ' Blind,' ' close up ; ' 'incapacitate.' See Note 47, 
 Act iii., "Macbeth." 
 
 102. My sjieculative and offic'd insinitnents. ' My organs 
 of sight and action,' 'my visual and active powers.' 
 
 103. Skillet. A small kettle or boiler; old French, escuelle. 
 T04. J^/y estimation. 'The estimation in which I am held.' 
 
 See Note 96 of this Act. The Quartos have ' reputation ' instead 
 of the Folio word, " estimation." 
 
 105. Delighted. Here used for 'delighting,' 'delightful,' or 
 ' delighted in.' See Note 52, Act i., " King Lear.'' 
 
 547 
 
Act I.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene IIL 
 
 Rod. lago, — 
 
 lago. What say'st thou, noble heart? 
 
 Rod. What will I do, thinkest thou ? 
 
 lago. Why, go to bed, and sleep. 
 
 Rod. I will incontinently drown myself. 
 
 lago. If thou dost, I shall never love thee after. 
 Why, thou silly gentleman ! 
 
 Rod. It is silliness to live when to live is tor- 
 ment ; and then have we a prescription to die 
 when death is our physician. 
 
 lago. Oh, villanous ! I have looked upon the 
 world for four times seven years and since I 
 could distinguish betwixt a benefit and an injury, 
 I never found man that knew how to love him- 
 self. Ere I would say, I would drown myself for 
 the love of a guinea-hen,'"' I would change my 
 humanity with a baboon. 
 
 Rod. What should I do ? I confess it is my 
 shame to be so fond ; but it is not in my virtue to 
 amend it. 
 
 lago. Virtue! a fig! 'tis in ourselves that we 
 are thus or thus. Our bodies are gardens ; to the 
 which our wills are gardeners : so that if we will 
 plant nettles, or sow lettuce ; set hyssop, and weSd 
 up thyme ; supply it with one gender of herbs, or 
 distract it with many ; either to have it sterile 
 with idleness, or manured with industry; why, 
 the power and corrigible authority of this lies in 
 Our wills. If the balance of our lives had not one 
 scale of reason to poise another of sensuality, the 
 blood and baseness of our natures would conduct 
 us to most preposterous conclusions: but we have 
 reason to cool our raging motions, our carnal 
 stings, our unbitted lusts; whereof I take this, 
 that you call love, to be a sect'"'-" or scion. 
 
 Rod. It cannot be. 
 
 106. Incontinently. 'Immediately,' 'at once,' 'without 
 delay,' 'without pause.' 
 
 107. / have looked upon the world for fonr times se7'en years. 
 It is remarkable that Shakespeare has here taken pains to 
 specify the exact age of lago, as he has specified that of 
 Hamlet. See Note 28, Act v., "Hamlet." They are perhaps 
 the two most intellectual characters that our poet has drawn ; 
 and he has made them nearly of the same age, as if at that 
 period of life a man's intellect were at its culminating point of 
 activity and energy. But the manner in which the intellectual 
 gifts of the two men are influenced by their moral essence — the 
 one being as noble in nature as the other is vile, the one as 
 just and virtuous in impulse as the other is unjust and vicious, 
 the one as scrupulous and conscientious as the other is un- 
 scrupulous and remorseless — is a perfect study in ethical phi- 
 losophy. That lago should be no more than twenty-eight years 
 old, and yet so versed in worldly ways, so decided in his 
 opinions, so competent in stratagem, so expert in turning the 
 worthiest as well as the weakest points of human nature to his 
 purpose, so utterly without faith in goodness as he is, makes 
 him the more an innate villain. His c-j nical contempt is not 
 the growth of sad experience or soured feeling, his coarseness 
 and hardness are not the result of a long course of battling 
 with the world, the savage pertinacity of revenge is not the 
 offspring of an old-conceived resentment ; but he is a hard, 
 c^ld-blooded, almost vivacious scoundrel, from inherent dis- 
 position, who uses his keen intellect with the same fierce joy 
 
 lago. It is merely a lust of the blood and a 
 permission of the will. Come, he a man : drown 
 thyself! drown cats and blind puppies. I have 
 professed me thy friend, and 1 confess me knit 
 to thy deserving with cables of perdurable"" 
 toughness; I could never better stead thee than 
 now. Put money in thy purse ; follow these wars ; 
 defeat thy favour"' with an usurped beard; I say, 
 put money in thy purse. It cannot be that Des- 
 demona should long continue her love to the 
 Moor, — put money in thy purse, — nor he his to 
 her : it was a violent commencement, and thou 
 shalt see an answerable sequestration ;"2 — put but 
 money in thy purse. — 1 hese Moors are changeable 
 in their wills ; — fill thy purse with money : the 
 food that to him now is as luscious as locusts,!'^ 
 shall be to him shortly as bitter as coloqiiintida."* 
 She must change for youth : when she is sated 
 with him, she will find the error of her choice : 
 she must have change, she must : therefore put 
 money in thy purse. — If thou wilt needs doom 
 thyself, do it a more delicate way than drowning. 
 Make all the money thou canst : if sanctimony 
 and a frail vow betwixt an erring"* barbarian 
 and a supersubtle Venetian be not too hard for 
 my wits, thou shalt have her ; therefore make 
 money. A plague of drowning thyself! it is clean 
 out of the way : seek thou rather to be hanged in 
 compassing thy joy than to be drowned and go 
 without her. 
 
 Rod. Wilt thou be fast to my hopes, if I depend 
 on the issue ? 
 
 lago. Thou art sure of me : — go, make money : 
 — I have told thee often, and I re-tell thee again 
 and again, I hate the Moor : my cause is hearted ; 
 thine hath no less reason. Let us be conjunctive 
 
 in its skill and power to destroy that he uses his sharp dagger 
 or sword. 
 
 108. A guinea-hen. A cant term for a woman who may be 
 had for money — who may be bought over or purchased; a 
 mercenary woman. And it is characteristic of the base nature 
 of lago — incapable of appreciating or believing in purity— that 
 he should apply such a term, even indirectly, to Desdemona. 
 
 109. A sect. That which gardeners call 'a cutting.' 
 
 wo. Perdurable. ' Extra durable,' ' extremely lasting.' See 
 Note loi. Act iv., "Henry V." 
 
 111. Defeat thy favour. 'Disfigure thy countenance,' 'obli- 
 terate thy natural aspect,' 'disguise thy look.' See Note 27, 
 Act v., " Comedy of Errors ;" and Note 32, Act v., " Hamlet." 
 
 112. Sequestration. Here used to indicate 'a mutual seques- 
 tration from each other's company,' ' a voluntary separation 
 between the married pair.' 
 
 113. Locusts. It has been asserted by some that this is in 
 allusion to the insects so called, which are eaten and considered 
 great delicacies in the East ; others believe it to refer to the 
 fruit of the locust-tree ; a long black pod that contains the seeds, 
 among which there is a very sweet, luscious juice, of much the 
 same consistency .as fresh honey. 
 
 114. Coloquintida. The fruit of a plant bearing this name, 
 brought from the Levant, about the size of a large orange, and 
 often called bitter apple. It is used for medicinal purposes. 
 
 115. Erring. 'Erratic,' 'wandering.' See Note 35, Act i., 
 " Hamlet." 
 
Act I.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene IH. 
 
 Roderigo. I will incontinently drown myself. 
 Ingo If thou dost, I shall never love thee after. 
 Why, thou silly gentleman ! Act I. 
 
 in our revenge against him : if thou canst injure 
 him, thou dost thyself a pleasure, me a sj>ort. 
 There are many events in the womb of time, which 
 will be delivered. Traverse go; provide thy 
 money. We will have more of this to-morrow. 
 
 Adieu. 
 Rod. 
 
 Rod. 
 lago 
 
 Where shall we meet i' the morning ? 
 At my lodging. 
 I'll be with thee betimes. 
 Go to ; farewell. Do you hear, Roderigo ' 
 What say you ? 
 
 No more of drowning, do you hear? 
 
 1 1 6. Traverse. An ancient form of the military command, 
 march.' See Note 51, Act iii., "Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 woodcock " was frequently 
 
 117. Snipe. Inasmuch 
 applied as a nickname typical of 
 lago here call Roderigo by the 
 somewhat the same species, to ( 
 insignificant. See Note 92, Act 
 
 0 Shakespeare makes 
 
 1 still smaller bird of 
 being ultra silly and 
 
 ng of the Shrew." 
 
 Rod. I am changed : I'll sell all my land. 
 
 lago. Go to; farewell: put money enough in 
 your purse. — {Exit R0DER.IGO. 
 
 Thus do I ever make my fool my purse ; 
 For I mine own gain'd knowledge should profane, 
 If I would time expend with such a snipe,''? 
 But for my sport and profit. 1 hate the Moor; 
 And it is thought abroad, that in my home 
 He hath betray'd me : I know not if 't be true ; 
 But I, for mere suspicion in that kind. 
 Will do as if for surety. He holds me well ; "9 
 The better shall my purpose work on him. 
 
 118. /, for viere suspi 
 Here " for " is. In both ii 
 'through;' the sentence meaning, 
 act as if I acted, from certainty,' 1 
 being the fact.' 
 
 119. He holds me well. 'He 
 
 . ivill do as if for surety. 
 sed in the sense of ' from ' or 
 ' I, from mere suspicion, will 
 
 entertains a good opinion 
 
Act II.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Cassio's a proper ''2" man : let me see now ; 
 
 To get liis place, and to plume up my will 
 
 In double knavery ,'2* — Hou', how P — Let's see: — 
 
 After some time, to abuse Othello's ear 
 
 That he is too familiar with his wife : — 
 
 He hath a person, and a smooth dispose, 
 
 To be suspected ; fram'd to make women false. 
 
 The Moor is of a free and open nature, 
 
 That thinks men honest that but seem to be so ; 
 
 And will as tenderly be led bv the nose 
 
 As asses are. 
 
 I have 't ; — it is engender'd : — hell and night 
 Must bring this monstrous birth to the world's 
 light. lExit. 
 
 ACT 
 
 SCENE J.— A Seaport Toiun in Cyprus. A 
 Platform. 
 
 Enter Montano and tuoo Gentlemen. | 
 
 Mon. What from the cape can you discern at ; 
 sea ? j 
 First Gent. Nothing at all : it is a high-wrought 
 flood ; 
 
 I cannot, 'twixt the heaven and the main,* 
 Descry a sail. 
 
 Mon. Methinks the wind hath spoke aloud at 
 
 land ; 1 
 A fuller blast ne'er shook our battlejuents : 
 If it hath ruffian'd so upon the sea, , 
 What ribs of oak, when mountains melt on them, 
 Can hold the mortise?" What .shall we hear of ! 
 
 this? 
 
 Sec. Gent. A segregation ' of the Turkish fleet: | 
 For do but stand upon the foaming shore, j 
 The chidden billow seems to pelt the clouds ; 
 The wind-shak'd surge, with high and irionstrous 
 mane,* 
 
 Seems to cast water on the burning bear,^ 
 
 Z20. Proper. 'Comely,' 'personable,' 'handsome.' See 
 Note 45, Act i., " Richard III." 
 
 121. To plujne itp my ivill in double kna^'ery. This, in 
 I.igo's mouth, has most characteristic effect ; as if any project 
 that involved reduplication of knavery were a feather in the cap 
 of his depraved will — a thing to plume himself upon as a feat of 
 intellectual volition. The words Shakespeare chooses are so 
 significant, so inclusive, that they suggest a crowd of images in ' 
 their expressive conciseness. 
 
 122. Dispose. Here used for 'disposition,' 'manner,' ' de- 
 me.anour." j 
 
 I. ^Twixt the heaven and the viaitt. The first Quarto mis- 
 prints ' h.aven ' for ''heaven" here, while the Folio gives the word 
 rightly. Steevens suggested that "perhaps our author wrote 
 ' the heavens ;' " and Malone remarks that " the article prefixed 
 strongly supports the original copy, for applied to Iteaven it is 
 extremely awkward." But the fact is that Shakespeare uses 
 "the heaven" no fewer than twelve times in the course of his 
 plays ; and here it is used emphatically to designate ' the sky.' 
 In", "Love's Labour's Lost," Act iv, sc. 2, Holofernes saj's, 
 " The sky, the welkin, the heaven." " The main " is here used [ 
 for ' the ocean,' ' the sea ;' as if the speaker h,id said, ' 'twixt sky j 
 and sea. ' 
 
 II. 
 
 And quench the guards of th' ever-fixed pole 
 I never did like molestation view 
 On the enchafed flood.. 
 
 Mon. If that the Turkish fleet 
 
 Be not enshelter'd and einbay'd, they are drown'd; 
 It is impossible to bear it out. 
 
 Enter a third Gentleman. 
 Third Gent. News, lads ! our wars are done. 
 The desperate tempest hath so bang'd the Turks, 
 That their designment halts: a noble ship of 
 Venice 
 
 Hath seen a grievous wreck and sufferance 
 On most part of their fleet. 
 Mon. How ! is this true ? 
 
 Third Gent. The ship is here put in, 
 
 A Veronessa;" Michael Cassio, 
 Lieutenant to the warlike Moor Othello, 
 Is come on shore : the Moor himself 's at sea, 
 And is in full commission here for Cyprus. 
 
 Mon. I am glad on 't ; 'tis a worthy governor. 
 
 Third Gent. But this same Cassio, — though he 
 speak of comfort 
 
 2. 77Le mortise. Tlie hole of one piece of timber fitted to 
 receive the tenon of another, forming a joint. 
 
 3. A segrcg-ation. ' A separated portion.' 
 
 4. IVith high and monstrous mane. The Folio prints 
 'maine,' the Quartos 'mayne' here; and we have always 
 adopted Mr. Charles Knight's reading of "mane," agreeing 
 with him in supposing the image of a war-horse tossing its 
 mane to have been in the thoughts of the poet when writing this 
 line. Nevertheless, we have an idea th.at very possibly "main" 
 here may be the right word after all, employed in its sense of 
 ' strength,' ' force,' ' violence,' as it is used in the famllTar phrase, 
 'with might and main.^ 
 
 5. Tlie burning bear. The constellation called 'the great 
 bear,' near to the polar star. 
 
 6. Tlie guards 0/ tli' ever-Jixi-d pole. In allusion to the star 
 Arctophylax, which literally signifies the guard of the bear, or 
 north. 
 
 7. A Veronessa. This is the orthography of the Quartos, the 
 Folio giving ' Verennessa.' "A Veronessa " probably means a 
 ship built at the cost of the people belonging to Verona, a 
 city of the Venetian state, and supplied for the service of the 
 Government at Venice. She is, therefore, first generally 
 styled "a noble ship of Venice," and then particularised as 
 " a Veronessa." 
 
Act II.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene I, 
 
 Touching the Turkish loss, — yet he looks sadly, 
 And prays the Moor be sate ; for they were parted 
 With foul and violent tempest. 
 
 Mon. Fray Heaven he be; 
 
 For I have serv'd him, and the man commands 
 Like a full soldier.3' Let's to the seaside, ho! 
 As well to see the vessel that 's come in, 
 As to throw out our e) es for brave Othello, 
 Even till we make the main and the aerial blue 
 An indistinct regard. 
 
 Third Gent. Come, let 's do so ; 
 For every minute is expectancy 
 Of more arrivauce.' 
 
 Enter Cassio. 
 
 Cas. Thanks, you, the valiant of this warlike isle, 
 That >o approve the Moor! Oh, let the heavens 
 Give him defence against the elements. 
 For I have lost him on a dangerous sea ! 
 
 Mon. Is he well shipp'd ? 
 
 Cas. His barque is stoutly timher'd, and his pilot 
 Of very expert and approv'd allowance 
 Therefore my hopes, not surfeited to death, 
 Stand in bold cure." 
 
 [IFithin.J A sail, a sail, a sail ! 
 
 Enter a fourth Gentleman. 
 Cas. What noise ? 
 
 tourth Gent. The town is empty ; on the brow 
 o' the sea 
 
 Stand ranks of people, and they cry, " A sail !" 
 Cas. My hopes do shape him for the governor. 
 
 \_Guns heard. \ 
 
 Sec. Gent. They do discharge their shot of j 
 courtesy : ^ 
 Our friends at least. 
 
 Cas. I pray you, sir, go forth. 
 
 And give us truth who 'tis that is arriv'd. 
 
 Sec. Gent. I sliall. [Exit. 
 
 Mon. But, good lieutenant, is your general | 
 wiv'd ? ! 
 
 Cas. IMost fortunately : he hath achiev'd a maid j 
 That paragons description and wild fame ; \ 
 One that excels the quirks of blazoning pens. 
 
 8. Like a full soldier. "Full" is used to express 'fully 
 accomplished," ' plenarily competent,' ' complete,' or ' completely 
 proficient.' See Note 17, Act i. 
 
 9. Arrivcince. This is the form of the word as given in 
 the Quarto copies, the Folio giving ' arriu.incie.' We shall 
 have occasion to point out, as we proceed, that there is a 
 marked prevalence of words ending in " ce " to be traced in this 
 play. 
 
 10. Of very ex/>ert and afifirov'd allowance. ' Of very 
 allowed and proved e.tpertness.' 
 
 11. J)/y hopes, not surfeited to death, stand ill bold cure. 
 ' My hopes, not having been utterly destroyed by reiterated 
 false excitement and successive defeat, remain in confident 
 expectation of being fulfilled.' 
 
 12. Bear all excellency. This is the reading of the first 
 Quarto, while the Folio gives ' tire the ingc:ier. 
 
 And in the essential vesture of creation 
 Does bear all excellency.'^ — 
 
 Re-enter second Gentleman. 
 
 How now ! who has put in ? 
 
 Sec. Gent. 'Tis one lago, ancient to the general. 
 
 Cas. Hehashadmostfavourableand happyspeed: 
 Tempests themselves, high seas, and howling winds. 
 The gutter'd rocks, and congregated sands,— 
 Traitors ensteep'd to clog the guiltless keel, — 
 As having sense of beauty, do omit 
 Their mortal'^ natures, letting go safely by^ 
 The divine Desdemona. 
 
 Mon. What is she ? 
 
 Cas. She that I spake of, our great captain's 
 captain, 
 
 Left in the conduct of the bold lago ; 
 Whose footing here anticipates our thoughts 
 A se'nnight's speed. — Great Jove,'^ Othello guard, 
 And swell his sail with thine own powerful breath, 
 That he may bless tliis bay witli his tall ship. 
 Make love's quick pants in Desdemona's arms, 
 Give renew'd fire to our extincted spirits. 
 And bring all Cyprus comfort 1— Oh, behold. 
 
 Enter Desdevona, Emilia, Iago, Roderigo, 
 and Attendants. 
 The riches of the ship is come on shore !" 
 Ye men of Cy prus, let her have )our knees. — 
 Hail to thee, lady ! and the grace of Heaven, 
 Before, behind thee, and on every hand, 
 En wheel thee round ! 
 
 Des. I thank you, valiant Cassio. 
 
 Wliat tidings can you tell me of my lord ? 
 
 Cas. He is not yet arriv'd : nor know I aught 
 But that he 's well, and will be shortly here. 
 Des. Oh, but 1 fear — How lost you company ? 
 Cas. The great contention of the sea and skies 
 Parted our fellowship : — 
 
 [inthin.] " A sail, a sail !" 
 But, hark ! a sail. [Guns heard. 
 Sec. Gent. They give their greeting to the 
 citadel : 
 This likewise is a friend. 
 
 13. Mortal. Here used for 'deadly,' 'destructive.' See 
 Note 68, Act ii., " Coriolanus." 
 
 14. Great Jove. Malone observes, " For this absurdity I 
 have not the smallest doubt that the Master of the Revels, and 
 not our poet, is answerable." The same commentator made a 
 similar remark on the introduction of " Jove " elsewhere. See 
 Note 63, Act iv., "Henry V.:" and Note 97, Act iv., " Second 
 Part Henry VI." Far from thinking that there is either " ab- 
 surdity" in the word, or that it was a substitution for any other, 
 we believe it to have been the author's own word, characteristi- 
 cally put into Cas.sio's mouth here. To this day Italians use 
 mythological adjurations in common with C"ln-istian appeals ; 
 and in Shakespeare's time the custom was almost universal. See 
 also Note 69. Act iii. 
 
 15. 'J'he riches of the ship is come on shore. " Riches" is 
 here treated as a collective noun. See Note 72. Act i. 
 
Act II.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene L 
 
 Cas. See for the news. — 
 
 \_Exit Gentleman. 
 Good ancient, you are welcome : — [To Emilia.] 
 
 Welcome, mistress: — 
 Let it not gall your patience, good lago, 
 'I hat I extend my manners ; 'tis my breeding 
 That gives me this bold show of courtesy. 
 
 [Kissing her. 
 
 lago. Sir, would she give you so much of her lips 
 As of her tongue slie oft bestows on me, 
 You'd have enough. 
 
 Des. Alas ! she his no speech. 
 
 lago. In faith, too much ; 
 I iind it still, when I have listi" to sleep : 
 Marry, before your ladyship, I grant, 
 She puts her tongue a little in her heart, 
 And chides with thinking. 
 
 Em'il. You have little cause to say so. 
 
 lago. Come on, coine on ; you are pictures out 
 of doors. 
 
 Bells in your parlours, wild-cats in your kitchens, 
 Saints in your injuries,'" devils being offended, 
 Players in your housewifery, and housewives in 
 your beds. 
 
 Des. Oh, fie upon thee, slanderer ! 
 
 lago. Nay, it is true, or else I am a Turk : 
 You rise to play, and go to bed to work. 
 
 Emil. You shall not write my praise. 
 
 lago. No, let me not. 
 
 Des. What wouldst thou write of me, if thou 
 shouldst praise me 'i 
 
 lago. Oh, gentle lady, do not put me to 't ; 
 Tor I am nothing, if not critical.'" 
 
 Des. Come on, assay. — There's one gone to 
 the harbour ? 
 
 lago. Ay, madam. 
 
 Des. I am not merry ; but 1 do beguile 
 The thing I am, by seeming Otherwise. — 
 Come, bow wouldst thou praise me ? 
 
 lago. I am about it; but, indeed, my invention 
 Comes from my p.-ite as birdlime does from frize, — 
 It plucks out brains and all : but my Muse labours, 
 And thus she is deliver'd. 
 If she be fair and wise, — fairness and wit, 
 
 16. List. 'Desire,' 'inclination.' This is the word in the 
 first Quarto, while the other Quartos and the Folio misprint 
 'leave' for "list." 
 
 17. Saints iti your injuries. 'Sanctimonious when you are 
 committing injuries.' "Your injuries" here affords another 
 example of the peculiar manner in which Shakespeare occa- 
 sionally uses the possessive case. See Note 104, Act i. 
 
 18. Critical. Here used for 'cynical,' 'censorious.' See 
 Note 89, Act iv., " Love's Labour's Lost;" and Note 24, Act v., 
 '• Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 ig. One that, in the authority of her merit, did justly, dy'c. 
 ' One who, in the consciousness of her own merit, dare challenge 
 the attestation of malice itself on her behalf " Put on" is here 
 used in the sense it bore of ' urge,' ' incite,' ' instigate,' ' provoke.' 
 Sec Note 123. Act i., " King Lear." 
 
 20. To change the cod's head for the salmon's tail. Im- 
 plying, to exchange a delicacy for a less es!ecmed morsel. In 
 
 The one 's for use, the other uselh it. 
 
 Des. Well praib'd ! How if she be black and 
 witty ? 
 
 lago. If she be black, and thereto have a wit, 
 She '11 find a white that shall her blackness fit. 
 
 Des. Worse and worse. 
 
 Emil. How if fair and foolish ? 
 
 lago. She never yet was foolish that was fair ; 
 For even her folly help'd her to an heir. 
 
 Des. These are old fond paradoxes to make 
 fools laugh i' the alehouse. What miserable praise 
 hast thou for her that 's foul and foolish ? 
 
 lago. There 's none so foul, and foolish thereunto, 
 But does foul pranks which fair and wise ones do. 
 
 Des. Oh, heavy ignorance ! — thou praisest tlie 
 worst best. But what praise couldst tliou bestow 
 on a deserving woman indeed,— one that, in the 
 autliority of her merit, did justly put on the vouch 
 of very malice itself P'^ 
 
 lago. She that was ever fair, and never proud ; 
 Had tongue at will, and yet was never loud ; 
 Never lack'd gold, and yet went never gay ; 
 Fled from her wish, and yet said, " Now I may ;" 
 She that, being anger'd, her revenge being nigh. 
 Bade her wrong stay, and her disj)leasure fly; 
 She that in wisdom never was so frail 
 To change the cod's head for the salmon's tail ;20 
 She that could think, and ne'er disclose her mind ; 
 See suitors following, and not look behind ; 
 She was a wight,"' if ever such wight were, — 
 
 Des. To do what ? 
 
 lago. To suckle fools, and chronicle small 
 beer.-2 
 
 Des. Oh, most laine and impotent conclusion ! 
 — Do not learn of him, Emilia, though he be thy 
 husband. — How say you, Cassio ? is he not a most 
 profane and liberal counsellor P^' 
 
 Cas. He speaks home, madam : you may relish 
 him more in the soldier than in the scholar. 
 
 lago. [/Iside.] He takes her by the palm : ay, 
 well said,^'' whisper: with as little a web as this 
 will I ensnare as great a fly as Ca.ssio. Ay, smi!e 
 upon her, do; I will gyve thee in thine own court- 
 ship.^5 You say true ; 'tis so, indeed : if such 
 
 Queen Elizabeth's Household Book for the forty-third year of 
 her reign, there is—" Item, the master cookes to have to fee all 
 the salmons' tailes," &c. 
 
 21. A wight. An old term for 'a person.' See Note 39, 
 Act i., " Merry Wives." 
 
 22. To sitcl^le fools, and chronicle small beer. Implying, to 
 suckle such foolish children as she woiUd have, and keep the 
 household accounts. 
 
 23. A most profane and liberal counsellor. " Profane " is 
 used for 'infamous,' 'unhallowed' (see Note 27, Act i.l; 
 "liberal" for 'licentious,' and "counsellor" for 'instructor,' 
 
 24. IVell said. Often, as here, used for 'well done.' See 
 Note 97, Act i., " Rpmeo and Juliet." 
 
 25. Gyve thee in thine own courtship. "Gyve" is 'fetter,' 
 shackle' (see Note 70, Act iv., "Hamlet); and "courtship" 
 
 5; 
 
Act II J 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene L 
 
 tricks as these strip you out of your lieutenantry,2S 
 it had been better you had not kissed your three 
 fingers so oft, which now again you are most apt 
 to play the sir in. Very good; well kissed! an 
 excellent courtesy 'tis so, indeed. Yet again 
 your fingers to your lips ? would they were blisters 
 for your sake ! [Trumpet heard.'] — The Moor ! I 
 know his trumpet. 
 Cas. 'Tis truly so. 
 
 Des. Let 's meet him, and receive him. 
 Cas. Lo, where he comes ! 
 
 Enter Othello and Attendants. 
 
 0th. Oh, my fair warrior I^' 
 
 Des. My dear Othello \^ 
 
 0th, It gives me wonder great as my content 
 To see you here before me. Oh, my soul's joy ! 
 If after every tempest come such calms, 
 May the winds blow till they have waken'd death ! 
 And let the labouring barque climb hills of seas 
 Olympus-high, and duck again as low 
 As hell's from heaven ! If it were now to die, 
 'Twere now to be most happy; for, I fear. 
 My soul hath her content so absolute. 
 That not another comfort like to this 
 Succeeds in unknown fate. 
 
 Des. The heavens forbid 
 
 But that our loves and comforts should increase. 
 Even as our days do grow ! 
 
 0th. Amen to that, sweet powers ! — 
 
 I cannot speak enough of this content ; 
 It stops me here ; it is too much 'of joy : 
 And this, and this [kissing her], the greatest dis- 
 cords be 
 That e'er our hearts shall make ! 
 
 lago. [Aside.] Oh, you are well-tun'd now ! 
 But I'll set down the pegs^i that make this music. 
 As honest as I am. 
 
 26. Lieiitenantry. Here used for ' lieutenancy," or ' lieu- 
 tenantship.' 
 
 27. To play the sir. ' To play the fine gentleman,' ' to enact 
 the courtier.' " Sir" used as a noun is not unusual in Shake- 
 speare. See Note 90, Act ii., " King Lear." 
 
 28. A;i excellent courtesy I The word " courtesy " here may 
 either mean ' piece of courteous behaviour,' in allusion to Cassio's 
 kissing his hand " so oft ; " or it may mean that he bows to Des- 
 demona while speaking to her ; since "courtesy" or 'court' sy' 
 was applied formerly to a man's as well as a woman's act of 
 salutation. See Note 95, Act ii., "Twelfth Night." 
 
 29. Oh, my fair warrior ! Othello playfully applies this name 
 to his wife, in allusion to her having refused to " be left behind, 
 a moth of peace, and he go to the war." It was a term, like 
 those e.xplained in Note 25, Act i., " All's Well," which it was 
 the fashion for amorous gallants to bestow upon their mistresses, 
 whose supposed cruelty and antagonism it was usual to deprecate. 
 Ronsard, the French sonnetteer, frequently calls his charmers 
 giierrieres ; and Southern, who imitated him, has in his fifth 
 sonnet, " And, my marrier, my light shines in thy fair eyes." 
 In his sixth sonnet twice ; thus : 
 
 " I am not, my cruel luarrier, the Thebain," &c. 
 " I came not, my luarrier, of the blood Lidain," &c. 
 See Note 104, Act iii. of the present play. 
 
 0th. Come, let us to the castle. — 
 
 News, friends; our wars are done, the Turks are 
 drown'd. 
 
 How does my old acquaintance of this isle ? — 
 Honey, you shall be well desir'd in Cyprus ; 
 I have found great lo.e amongst them. Oh, my 
 sweet, 
 
 I prattle out of fashion,-'^- and I dote 
 In mine own comforts. — I pr'ythee, good lago, 
 Go to the bay, and disembark my coffers : 
 Bring thou the master to the citadel ; 
 He is a good one, and his worthiness 
 Does challenge much respect. — Come, Desde- 
 mona. 
 
 Once more well met at Cyprus. 
 
 [Exeunt Othello, Desdemona, 
 and Attendants. 
 
 lago. Do thou meet me presently at tl.e harbour. 
 Come hither. If thou be 'st valiant, — as, they say, 
 base men^ being in love have then a nobility in 
 their natures more than is native to them, — list 
 me. The lieutenant to-night watches on the court 
 of guard: 3"' — first, I must tell thee this — Desde- 
 mona is directly in love with him. 
 
 Rod. With him ! why, 'tis not possible. 
 
 lago. Lay thy finger thus,^* and let thy soul be 
 instructed. Mark me with what violence she first 
 loved the Moor, but for bragging, and telling her 
 fantastical lies : and will she love him still for 
 prating ? let not thy discreet heart think it. Her 
 eye must be fed ; and what delight shall she have 
 to look on the devil ? When the blood is made 
 dull, there should be,— agaiii to inflaire it, — love- 
 liness in favour, sympathy in years, manners, and 
 beauties ; all which the Moor is defective in : now, 
 for want of these required conveniences, her delicate 
 tenderness will find itself abused, begin to heave 
 the gorge, disrelish and abhor the Moor; very 
 
 30. My dear Othello I Exquisitely true to such a nature as 
 Desdemona's, her having no more words than this simple ex- 
 clamation in which to express her full-hearted happiness ; while 
 equally true to the glowing ardour of such a nature as Othello's 
 is his giving way to that burst of eloquent tenderness which 
 describes the overflow of his manly delight. 
 
 31. I'll set down tlie pegs. Pope substituted ' let ' for " set " 
 here ; but it is possible that to " set down the pegs " of an in- 
 strument was formerly as much a musical technicality as is now 
 ' let down the pegs.' 
 
 32. Out of fashion. ' Out of conventional method,' ' con- 
 trary to usual form.' 
 
 33. Base men, &'c. The insolent contempt with which lago 
 treats Roderigo, not even caring to conceal the disdain he feels 
 for his inferiority of intellect and weak credulity, is one of the 
 peculiarities of his tact in swaying this poor dupe. It coolly 
 assumes his own superiority as an incontrovertible fact, which 
 imposes upon his victim, and tames him into unquestioning sub- 
 
 34. Tlie court of guard. The place where the guard 1 
 See Note 1, Act ii., " First Part Henry VI." 
 
 35. Lay thy finger thus. Implying, lay thy finger on 
 thy lips, .and be silent, while a wiser man than thyself 
 speaks. 
 
Act II.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 nature will inbtruct her in it, and compel her to 
 some second choice. Now, sir, this granted,— as it 
 is a most pregnant^^ and unforced position, — who 
 stands so eminently in the degree of this fortune as 
 Cassio does? a knave very voluble; no farther 
 conscionable than in putting on the mere form 
 of civil and humane seeming, for the better com- 
 passing of his salt and most hidden loose affection ? 
 why, none; why, none: a subtle, slippery knave ; 
 a finder-out of occasions ; that has an eye can 
 stamp and counterfeit advantages, though true 
 advantage never present itself. Besides, the knave 
 is handsome, young, and hath all those requisites 
 in him that folly and green^'' minds look after : a 
 pestilent complete knave ; and the woman hath 
 found him already. 
 
 Rod. I cannot believe that in her ; she 's full of 
 most blessed condition. 
 
 lago. Blessed fig's-end ! the wine she drinks is 
 made of grapes : if she had been blessed, she would 
 never have loved the Moor: blessed pudding! 
 Didst thou not see her paddle with the palm of liis 
 hand ? didst not mark that ? 
 
 Rod. Yes, that I did ; but that was but courtesy. 
 
 lago. Levity, by this hand ; an index^' and 
 obscure prologue to the history of foul thoughts. 
 They met so near with their lips, that their breaths 
 embraced together. Villanous thoughts, Roderigo ! 
 when these mutualities so marshal the way, hard at 
 hand comes — pish ! — But, sir, be you ruled by me : 
 I have brought you from Venice. Watch you 
 to-night ; for the command, I'll lay 't upon you ; 
 Cassio knows you not : — I'll not be far from you : 
 do you find some occasion to anger Cassio, either 
 by speaking too loud, or tainting'"' his discipline; 
 or from what other course you please, which the 
 time shall more favourably minister. 
 
 36. Pregnant. Here used to express ' full of plausibility.' 
 
 37. Green. ' Immature,' ' inexperienced.' 
 
 38. Condition. 'Qualities of nature,' 'moral disposition.' 
 See Note 53, Act i., " Merchant of Venice." 
 
 39. Index. Formerly placed at tht commencemeitt oihook^. 
 .See Note 138, Act iii., " Hamlet." 
 
 40. Tainting. ' Throwing a slur upon,' ' impugning.' 
 
 41. Qiialijication. Here used for 'allayed anger,' 'abated 
 displeasure,' 'assuaged wrath,' 'appeasement,' 'pacification.' 
 Baret has— "To appease and qualifie one that is angrie ;" and 
 Shakespeare uses the word " qualified " in two passages so as to 
 support this interpretation of the word " qualification " here. 
 See the speech referred to in Note i, Act v., " King John," 
 and the penultimate speech before the one referred to in Note 
 85, Act i., " King Lear ; " also, Note 55 of the present Act. 
 
 42. Prefer. ' Advance,' ' promote.' 
 
 43. / must fetch his mcessaries ashore. Even the word 
 "his" here in reference to Othello, without naming him or 
 givmg him his title, has characteristic effect m lago's mouth as 
 a piece of cool, off-hand, slighting mention ; and therefo)^ eal. 
 culated to confirm the impression he wishes to pvacjuce upon 
 Roderigo of hatred towards the Moor. 
 
 44. If this poor trash of Venice, rnhmn / trash for his, 
 The second " trash" in this liiia is printed 'trace' (probably a 
 form of ' trasi' or " trash"] in th«) Folia arid second and third 
 
 Rod. Well. 
 
 lago. Sir, he is rash, and very sudden in choler, 
 and haply may strike at you: provoke him, that he 
 may ; for even out of that will I cause these of 
 Cyprus to mutiny ; whose qualification shall come 
 into no true taste again but by the displanting of 
 Cassio. So shall you have a shorter journey to 
 your desires, by the means I shall then have to 
 prefer^^ them ; and the impediment most .profitably 
 removed, without the which there were no expec- 
 tation of our prosperity. 
 
 Rod. I will do this, if I can bring it to any 
 opportunity. 
 
 lago. I warrant thee. Meet me by-and-by at 
 the citadel : I must fetch his necessaries ashore. 
 Farewell. 
 
 Rod. Adieu. [Exit. 
 
 lago. That Cassio loves her, I do well believe it; 
 That she loves him, 'tis apt, and of great credit : 
 The Moor, — howbeit that I endure him not, — 
 Is of a constant, loving, noble nature ; 
 And I dare think he'll prove to Desdemona 
 A most dear husband. Now, I do love her too ; 
 Not out of absolute lust, — though peradventure 
 I stand accountant for as great a sin, — 
 But partly led to diet my revenge, 
 For I suspect the Moor: the thought whereof 
 Doth, like a poisonous mineral, gnaw my inwards ; 
 And nothing can or shall content my soul 
 Till I am even'd with him, wife for wife ; 
 Or, failing so, yet that I put the Moor 
 At least into a jealou.sy so strong 
 That judgment cannot cure. Wiiich thing to 
 do,— 
 
 If this poor trash of Venice, whom I trash 
 
 For his quick hunting,^^ stand the putting on,''^ — 
 
 I'll have our Michael Cassio on the hip ;<s 
 
 Quartos ; while the first Quarto misprints it ' crush.' All the 
 old copies agree in giving the first " trash'" in the line correctly. 
 We think it likely that the present is one of the many passages 
 where Shakespeare gives a closely repeated word (see Note 103, 
 Act ii., " Henry V. ; " Note 52, Act iii., "Troilus and Cressida ;" 
 Note 25, Act iv., " Coriolanus ; " and Note 24, Act i., "Timon 
 of Athens "), for the sake of emphatic or quibbling effect ; and 
 that the second "trash" is used in the sense of ' check,' 'stop,' 
 'keep back.' See Note 20, Acti. , "Tempest." That a sport- 
 ing' term is here intended, is shown by the expression, " for his 
 quick hunting ; " lago meaning that he restrains Roderigo like 
 a hound for his too impatient pursuit of Desdemona. The first 
 " trash " being used as a scoffing epithet, and afterwards, farther 
 on in the play, in the same manner, is consistent with a practice 
 which we have pointed out aa belonging to Shakespeare's style. 
 See Note 10, Act v. 
 
 45. Stand the putting on. ' Brook the urging,' ' bear the 
 instigation.' Here "the putting on" refers to lago's inciting 
 Roderigo to pick a quarrel with Cassio, in contradistinction to 
 " trash for his quick hunting," which refers to lago's restraining 
 Roderigo from too keenly pursuing Desdemona ; and this talk- 
 ing of restraint and incitement in a breath gives complete effect 
 to lago's ascendancy over his dupe. He can either pull him 
 back or push him on at pleasure. 
 
 46. /'// ^vff our Michael Cassio on the hip. An expressiori 
 
Act II.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scenes IL, III. 
 
 Abuse him to the Moor in the rank garb,'*'' — ■ 
 For I fear Cassio with my night-cap too ; — 
 Make the Moor thank me, love me, and reward me, 
 For making him egregiously an ass, 
 And practising upon his peace and quiet 
 Even to madness. 'Tis here, but yet confus'd : 
 Knavery's plain face is never seen till us'd."" 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 SCENE 11.-^ S/,re/. 
 Enter a Herald ivith a proclamation ; People 
 follouoing. 
 
 Her. It is Othello's pleasure, our noble and 
 valiant general, that, upon certain tidings now 
 arrived, importing the mere''^ perdition of the 
 Turkish fleet, every man put himself into triumph ; 
 some to dance, some to make bonfires, each man 
 to what sport and revels his addiction leads him : 
 for, besides these beneficial news, it is the celebra- 
 tion of his nuptial : — so much was his pleasure 
 should be proclaimed. All offices*" are open ; and 
 there is full liberty of feasting from this present 
 hour of five till the bell have told eleven. Heaven 
 bless the isle of Cyprus anii our noble general 
 Othello: [Exeiwt. 
 
 used in wrestling, meaning ' to have an antagonist at thorough 
 disadvantage,' ' to have him completely within the speaker's 
 power.' See Note 6i, Act i., " Merchant of Venice." 
 
 47. In the rank garb. ' In the coarsest fashion,' ' in the most 
 rampantly free style.' For the manner in which Shakespeare 
 uses " rank" see passage referred to in Note 57^ Act i., " Troilus 
 and Cressida and for his mode of using " garb" see the pas- 
 sage referred to in Note 51, Act ii., " King Lear." The Folio 
 misprints ' right ' here for "rank;" which is the word given in 
 the Quartos. 
 
 48. Knavery's jilain facets never seen till us'd. 'The full 
 design of knavery is never visible until the moment comes for its 
 being put in practice.* lago's complacent contemplation of his 
 own villany, his willing self-admission of scoundrelism, are 
 thoroughly those of a man whose pride of intellect is all-engross- 
 ing, and who has no one perception of moral beauty or dignity. 
 He can even afford to allow that " the Moor is of a free and 
 open nature," that he " is of a constant, loving, noble nature," 
 even though he hates him, because he holds these as very poor 
 and contemptible characteristics ; he carelessly admits the pos- 
 sibility of his having an adulterous liking for Desdemona, but 
 chooses to ascribe it quite as much to desire of "revenge" as 
 preference ; and remorselessly plans the ruin of Cassio from no 
 stronger motive than bare suspicion and professional envy ; his 
 sovereign thought, through all, being his own superiority of in- 
 tellect, which can crush these simple good people from out of his 
 path at will, as if they were so many miserable worms. 
 
 49. Mere. 'Absolute,' 'complete,' 'utter.' See Note 48, 
 Act iii., ''Merchant of Venice." 
 
 50. Offices. The roonis in the castle where refreshments were 
 prep.-ired and dispensed. See Note 36, Act ii., "Timon of 
 Athens." 
 
 61. Good Michael, look you to the guard. These few words, 
 introduced at this juncture, are illustrative of Shakespeare's 
 peculiar skill in dramatic art. They seem insignificant ; but 
 they give augmented eftect to Othello's subsequent anger at 
 Cassio's being betrayed not only into neglect of duty in pre- 
 
 SC EN E II \.—A Rail in the Castle. 
 Enter Othello, Desdemona, Cassio, and 
 Attendants. 
 
 i Oih. Good Michael, look you to the guard" 
 to-night: 
 
 ' Let's teach ourselves tliat honourable stop, 
 I Not to outsport discretion, 
 i Cas. lago hath direction what to do ; 
 j But, notwithstanding, u-ith my personal eye 
 j Will I look to't. 
 
 I 0th. I'igo is most honest. 
 
 Michael, good night : to-morrow with your earliest 
 Let me have speech with you. — \To Des.] Come, 
 
 my dear love. — • 
 Good night. \_E.xeunt Othello, Desdemona, 
 and Attendants. 
 
 Enter I ago. 
 
 Cas. Welcome, lago ; we must to the watch. 
 
 lago. Not this hour, lieutenant; 'tis not yet ten 
 o'clock. Our general cast us'^ thus early for the 
 love of his Desdemona ; whom let us not therefore 
 blame. 
 
 Cas. She 's a most exquisite lady. 
 
 lago. What an eye she has ! methinks it sounds 
 a parley to provocation. 
 
 Cas. An inviting eye ; and yet methinks right 
 modest. ^3 
 
 serving order, but into breach of order himself. They also 
 serve to set well before the mind Othello's trust and confidence 
 in Cassio as his chosen officer, and his liking for him as a per- 
 sonal friend ; calling him by his Christian name, " Michael," 
 which, after the one final impressive appeal to him — "How 
 comes it, Michael, you are thus forgot ?" — he never again uses. 
 
 52. Cast 7is. ' Dismissed us,' ' sent us to our posts/ ' ap- 
 pointed us to our stations.' 
 
 53. Vet methinks right jnodest. It is worthy of observation, 
 how wonderfully this brief morsel of dialogue is made to serve the 
 dramatist's purpose in development of character. It shows the 
 hard intellectual calculator, lago, dallying with unhallowed sug- 
 gestions, and presenting them to the thought of the man whom 
 he hopes to corrupt and sway to his purpose ; while the imagina- 
 tion of even the sensualist, Cassio, is held within bounds by the 
 more potent influence of Desdemona's pure immaculacy. It is the 
 counteracting power of virtue against vice ; the might of in- 
 nocence over guilt ; and while depicting forcibly the natures of 
 the two men, indirectly denotes that of the woman. It has been 
 the fashion to speak of " the decent c'naracter of Cassio" here 
 as " most powerfully contrasted with that of the licentious lago;" 
 but the fact is, Cassio is a man of far warmer temperament 
 than lago, and is a man of "licentious" conduct, while lago's 
 passions are ever kept subordinated to his intellect and will. 
 Cassio is free-mannered and free-spoken with such women as 
 Emilia and Bianca ; but he has sufficient good in him to be 
 mode-st-mannered, modest-spoken, and even modest-thoughted 
 towards Desdemona. lago has perception of personal be.auty ; 
 but no other perception of moral be.auty than .as something 
 weak, which may be turned to advantageous account by his 
 intellectual strength. He can perceive that " she is of so free, 
 so kind, so apt, so blessed a disposition, she holds it a vice in 
 her goodness not to do more than' she is requested ; " he can 
 even admit, in communing with himself, that " 'tis most easy 
 the inclining Desdemona to subdue in any honest suit: she's 
 fram'd as fruitful as the free elements:" but this power to see 
 her excellence prompts him to spare her no jot either in .act 
 
 556 
 
. Act I I.J 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene IIL 
 
 lago. And when she speaks, is it not an alarum 
 to love ? 
 
 Cas. She is, indeed, perfection, 
 
 lago. Well, happiness to their union ! Come, 
 lieutenant, I have a stoops'* of wine; and here 
 without ai-e a brace of Cyprus gallants that would 
 fain have a measure to the health of black Othello, i 
 
 Cas. Not to-night, good lago : I have very 
 poor and unhappy brains for drinking: 1 could 
 well wish courtesy would invent some other cus- 
 tom of entertainment. 1 
 
 lago. Oh, they are our friends; but one cup: 
 I'll drink for )'ou. j 
 
 Cas. I have drunk but one cup to-night, and j 
 that was craftily qualified too, and, behold, what 
 innovation it makes here : I am unfortunate in the 
 infirmity, and dare not task my weakness with any ' 
 more. 
 
 lago. What, man ! 'tis a night of revels : the 
 gallants desire it. 
 
 Cas. Where are they ? 
 
 lago. Here at the door ; I pray you, call 
 them in. 
 
 Cas. I'll do 't ; but it dislikes me.^^ \_Exit. 
 
 lago. If I can fasten but one cup upon him, 
 With that which he hath drunk to-night already, 
 He'll be as full of quarrel and offence 
 As my young mistress' dog. Now, my sick fool 
 Roderigo, 
 
 Whom love has turn'd almost the wrong side out, 
 To Desdemona hath to-night carous'd 
 Potations pottle deep ; and he 's to watch : j 
 Three lads of Cyprus, — noble swelling spirits. 
 That hold their honours in a wary distance, 
 The very elements'^ of this warlike isle, — 
 Have I to-night fluster'd with flowing cups, j 
 And they watch too. Now, 'mongst this flock of ! 
 drunkards, j 
 
 against her peace or thought against her purity. He classes her I 
 with the rest of her sex ; whom he, in his r.-inltness of intellectual 
 pride, despises as naturally frail, and denounces as naturally 
 gross. I 
 
 54. A stoop. A vessel for holding a measure of wine. See 
 Note 22, Act ii., " Twelfth Night.'' 
 
 55. Craftily qualified. ' Secretly allayed with water,' ' slily 
 abated in strength of quality by the admixture of water.' 
 
 56. U dislikes tm. ' It displeases me,' ' it is distateful to me ;' 
 'I do it unwillingly.' See Note 13, Act ii., "Romeo and 
 Juliet." 
 
 ^ 57. Elemeit/s. Implying, fellows as quick in opposition as 
 
 58. If consejneiice do hit approve my dream. ' If the issue 
 do but prove accordant with the scheme I have previsionarily 
 formed.' 
 
 59. A rouse. 'A deep draught.' See Note 56, Act i., 
 "Hamlet." 
 
 60. Your Dane, your German. See Note 50, Act i., " Mer- 
 chant of Venice ; ' and Note 109. Act i., " Hamlet." 
 
 61. Are nothing to your En;ylisk. ' Compared' is elliptically 
 understood before "to." Henry Peacham, in his " Compleat 
 Gentleman" (i622\ has a section entitled " Drinking the Plague 
 of our English Gentry," wherein he says, " Within these fiftie 
 
 Am I to put our Cassio in some action 
 
 That may offend the isle: — but here they come ; 
 
 If consequence do but approve my dream, 
 
 My boat sails freely, both with wind and stream. 
 
 Re-enter C Assio, ivi/b h/m MotfTA^o and Gentle- 
 men. Servant folloixitng njo'ith 'wine, 
 
 Cas. 'Fore heaven, they have given mearouse^' 
 already. 
 
 Man. Good faith, a little one; not past a pint, 
 as I am a soldier. 
 
 lago. Some wine, ho ! 
 [Singing.] 
 
 And let me the canakin clink, clink : 
 And let me the canakin dink : 
 
 A soldier's a man ; 
 
 A life 's but a span ; 
 V.'hy, then, let a soldier drink. 
 
 Some wine, boys I 
 
 Cas. 'Fore heaven, an excellent song. 
 
 lago. I learned it in England, where, indeed, 
 they are most potent in potting : )our Dane, your 
 German,"" and your swag-be!lied Hollander, — 
 Drink, ho! — are nothing to your English. 
 
 Cas. Is your Englishman so exquisite in his 
 drinking ? 
 
 lago. Why, he drinks you, with facility, your 
 Dane dead drunk ; he sweats not to overthrow 
 your Almain ; he gives your Hollander a vomit, 
 ere the next pottle^^ can be filled. 
 
 Cas. To the he.ilth of our general ! 
 
 Mon. I am for it, lieutenant ; and I'll do you 
 justice." 
 
 lago. Oh, sweet England! 
 
 King Stephen was a worthy peer,'^^ 
 His breeches cost him but a crown ; 
 
 He held them sixpence all too dear. 
 With that he c-ill'd the tailor lown.«« 
 
 or three score yeares it was a rare thing with us to see a drunken 
 man, our nation carrying the name of the most sober and tem- 
 perate of any other in the world. But since we had to doe in 
 the quarrell of the Netherlands, the custom of drinking and 
 pledging healthes was brought over into England , wlierein let 
 the Dutch be their owne judges, if we equall them not ; yea, I 
 think rather excell them." 
 
 62. Exquisite. This is the word given in the Folio and two 
 of the Quarto copies ; while the first Quarto has ' expert,' which 
 latter word has been adopted by several modern editors. We 
 cannot help thinking that "exquisite" was intended here by 
 Shakespeare ; because it is a favourite word of Cassio's. He 
 uses it before in this same scene—" She's a most exquisite lady ;" 
 and again, subsequently in this scene, "This is 3. more exquisite 
 song than the other ;" moreover, it is a well-chosen word to put 
 into the mouth of a drunkard, with his natural use of a familiar 
 word, and with the humorous efiFect of his thick-spoken utter- 
 ance. 
 
 63. Pottle. See Note 21, Act ii., " Merrj' Wives." 
 
 64. Do you justice. ' Drink as much as you do.' See Note 
 53, Act v., " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 65. Peer. This title, as well as ' lord ' and ' duke,' was sonie- 
 times applied to a king in old romances and ballads. 
 
 66. Lo7un. ' Lout,' Moon,' 'stupid fellow.' 
 
Act II.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 He was a wight of high renown, 
 
 And tliou art but of low degree : 
 'Tis pride that pulls the country down ; 
 
 Then take thine auld cloak about thee.^' 
 
 Some wine, ho ! 
 
 Cas. Why, this is a more exquisite song than 
 the other. 
 
 lago. Will you hear 't again ? 
 
 Cas. No ; for I hold him to be unworthy of his 
 place that does those things. Well, — heaven 's 
 above all ; and there be souls must be saved, and 
 there be souls must not be saved. 
 
 lago. It 's true, good lieutenant. 
 
 Cas. For mine own part, — no offence to the 
 general, nor any man of quality, — 1 hope to be 
 saved. 
 
 lago. And so do I too, lieutenant. 
 
 Cas. Ay, but, by your leave, not before me ; 
 the lieutenant is to be saved before the ancien'. 
 Let's have no more of this; let's to our affairs. — 
 Forgive us our sins! — Gentlemen, let's look to 
 our business. Do not think, gentlemen, I am 
 drunk : this is my ancient ; — this is my right hand, 
 and this is my left hand : — I am not drunk now ; 
 I can stand well enough, and speak well enough. 
 
 All. Excellent well. 
 
 Cas. Why, very well, then ; you must not think, 
 then, that I am drunk. [Exit. 
 
 Man. To the platform, masters; come, let's 
 set the watch. 
 
 lago. You see this fellow that is gone before ; — 
 He is a soldier fit to stand by Csesari'S 
 And give direction : and do but see his vice ; 
 'Tis to his virtue a just equinox. 
 The one as long as the other : 'tis pity of him. 
 I fear the trust Othello puts him in. 
 On some odd time of his infirmity. 
 Will shake this island. 
 
 Mon. But is he often thus ? 
 
 lago. 'Tis evermore the prologue to his sleep : 
 He'll watch the horologe a double set, 
 If drink rock not his cradle. ''S 
 
 Mon. It were well 
 
 The general were put in mind of it. 
 Perhaps he sees it not ; or his good nature 
 
 67. T/tefi take thine auld cloak about thee. In Percy's 
 "Reliques" there is a ballad bearing the name of "Take thy 
 old cloak about thee," which contains a stanza slightly varied 
 from these lines sung by lago. 
 
 68. He is a soldier fit to, Compare this with lago's 
 disparagement of Cassio in the opening scene of the play ; and 
 see how, for his purpose, he can praise or dispraise. To 
 Roderigo he can lie one way, to Montano another ; equally 
 false, perhaps, the very low or the verj' high estimate of Cassio's 
 soldiership. 
 
 69. He'll watch the horologe a double set, if drink, (s'c. 
 ' He'll keep awake while the clock marks two rounds of twelve 
 hours each, if he have not drink to make him sleep.' " Horo- 
 loge" was used for a time-piece; whether clock, watch, or 
 hour-glass. 
 
 Prizes the virtue that appears in Cassio, 
 And looks not on his eVils : is not this true ? 
 
 Enter Roderigo. 
 lago. [Aside to him.'] How now, Roderigo! 
 I pray ) ou, after the lieutenant ; go. 
 
 [Exit Roderigo. 
 Mon. And 'tis great pity that the noble Moor 
 Should hazard such a place as his own second, 
 With one of an engraft"" infirmity : 
 It were an honest action to say 
 So to the Moor. 
 
 lago. Not I, for this fair island : 
 
 I do love Cassio well ; and would do much 
 To cure him of this evil — But, hark! what noise ? 
 
 [Ciy 'zui/hin, — " Help ! help !" 
 
 Re-enter Cassio, dri'ving in Roderigo. 
 Cas. You rogue I you rascal ! 
 Mon. What 's the matter, lieutenant ? 
 
 Cas. A knave ! — teach me my duty ! 
 I'll beat the knave into a twiggen?' bottle. 
 Rod. Beat me ! 
 
 Cas. Dost thou prate, rogue ? 
 
 [Striking RoDERIGO. 
 Mon. [Staying him.] Nay, good lieutenant ; 
 
 I pray you, sir, hold your hand. 
 
 Cas. Let me go, sir, 
 
 Or I'll knock you o'er the mazard.^^ 
 
 Mon. Come, come, you 're drunk. 
 
 Cas. Drunk ! [They fight, 
 
 lago. [Aside to Roderigo.] Away, I say; go 
 out, and cry a mutiny ! [Exit Rod. 
 
 Nay, good lieutenant, — alas ! gentlemen ; — 
 Help, ho ! — Lieutenant, — sir, — Montano, — sir ; — 
 Help, masters ! — Here 's a goodly watch indeed ! 
 
 [Bell rings. 
 
 Who 's that that rings the bell P— Diablo, ho !"3 
 The town will rise : heaven's will, lieutenant, hold ! 
 You will be sham'd for ever. 
 
 Re-enter Othello and Attendants. 
 0th. What is the matter here p 
 
 Mon. 'Zounds, I bleed still ; I am hurt to the 
 death.74 
 
 70. Engraft. An abbreviated form of ' engrafted ; ' used in 
 the sense of ' rooted,' ' inveterate.' See Note 58, Act i., " King 
 
 71. Twiggen. ' Made of twigs,' * wicker.* 
 
 ■J2. Mazard. ' The jaw.' See Note 17, Act v., " Hamlet." 
 
 73. Diablo, }u> ! Appropriately put into the mouth of the 
 Italian lago. See Notes 44, Act i., and 14, Act ii. of this 
 play. 
 
 74. / am hurt to the death. The first Quarto prints this line 
 thus; the Folio omits "zounds," and adds "he dies" at the 
 close of the line ; while the second and third Quartos give "he 
 faints" as a stage direction. But Othello's " Hold, for your 
 lives ! " and lago's words, " Hold, lieutenant !— sir, — Montano, 
 —gentlemen, — &c.," show that the contest is still proceeding, 
 and therefore that one of them cannot have fainted. 
 
ACT II.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene TIL 
 
 Oih. Hold, for your lives ! 
 
 lago. Hold, hold, lieutenant !— sir, — Montano, 
 — gentlemen, — - 
 Have you forgot all sense of place and duty ? 
 Hold ! the general speaks to you ; hold, for shame ! 
 0th. Why, how now, ho! from whence ariseth 
 this ? 
 
 Are we turn'd Turks, and to ourselves do that 
 Which heaven hath forbid the Ottomites ? 
 For Christian shame, put by this barbai-ous brawl : 
 He that stirs next to carve'" for his own rage 
 Holds his soul light; he dies upon his motion. — 
 Silence that dreadful bell ! it frights the isle 
 From her propriety. — What is the matter, 
 masters ? — 
 
 Honest lago, that look'st dead with grieving. 
 Speak, who began this? on thy love, I charge 
 thee. 
 
 lago. I do not know : — friends all but now, 
 even now. 
 
 In quarter/^ and in terms like bride and groom 
 Devesting them for bed ; and then, but now 
 (As if some planet had unwitted men), 
 Swords out, and tilting one at other's breast. 
 In opposition bloody. I cannot speak 
 Any beginning to this peevish odds; 
 And would in action glorious I had lost 
 Those legs that brought me to a part of it ! 
 
 0th. How comes it, Michael, you are thus 
 forgot? 78 
 
 Cas. I pray you, pardon me ; I cannot speak. 
 0th, Worthy Montano, you were wont be 
 civil ; 
 
 The gravity and stillness of your youth 
 The world hath noted, and your name is great 
 In mouths of wisest censure ;'* what 's the matter. 
 That you unlace your reputation thus, 
 And spend your rich opinion for the name 
 Of a night-brawler ? give me answer to it. 
 
 Mon. Worthy Othello, I am hurt to danger : 
 Your officer, lago, can inform ) ou, — 
 
 75. All setise 0/ place. The old copies misprint it thus trans- 
 posedly, ' all place of sense.' Hanmer's correction. 
 
 76. Carve. ' Hew recklessly. ' See Note 84, Act ii., 
 " Richard II." 
 
 77. Ill quarter. ' On our station,' ' at our posts.' In " King 
 John," Act v., sc. 5, the Dauphin says, " Keep good quarter, 
 and good care to-night ; " and in " Timon of Athens," Act v., 
 sc. 5, Alcibiades says, " Not a man shall pass his qztartcr.'^ 
 The word means the military place, station, or post, for the 
 time appointed ; and in the present instance, this was the hall 
 of the castle, "the court of guard." See Note 34 of this Act. 
 
 78. Yoic are thus forgot. 'You have thus forgotten yourself.' 
 
 79. Censure. 'Opinion,' 'judgment.' See Note 92, Act i., 
 "Hamlet." 
 
 80. Your rich opinion. ' The high opinion in which you are 
 held,' ' the high opinion entertained of you ; ' ' your good re- 
 putation.' See Note 100, Act i., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 81. Jlfy blood begins my safer guides to rule. * My angry 
 impulse begins to prevail over my steadier sense and judgment.' 
 See Notes 29 and 75, Act iv., " King Lear." 
 
 82. Collied. Literally, ' blackened ' as by coal or smut ; 
 
 While I spare speech, which something nbw 
 
 offends me, — 
 Of all that I do know : nor know I aught 
 By ]Tie that 's said or done amiss this night ; 
 Unless self-charity be sometimes a vice, 
 And to defend ourselves it be a sin 
 When violence assails us. 
 
 0th. Now, by heaven, 
 
 My blood begins my safer guides to rulc;^' 
 And passion, having my best judgment collied,''- 
 Assays to lead the way :— if I once stir, 
 Or do but lift this arm, the best of you 
 Shall sink in my rebuke. Give me to know 
 How this foul rout began, who set it on ; 
 And he that is approv'd^s in this offence. 
 Though he had twinn'd with me, both at a birth, 
 Shall lose me. — What! in a town of war. 
 Yet wild, the people's hearts brimful of fear. 
 To manage private and domestic quarrel. 
 In night, and on the court and guard of safety I^^* 
 'Tis monstrous. — lago, who began it ? 
 
 Mon. If partially affin'd,^' or leagu'd in office, 
 Thou dost deliver more or less than truth. 
 Thou art no soldier. 
 
 lago. Touch me not so near : 
 
 I had rather have this tongue cut from my mouth 
 Than it should do offence to Michael Cassio ; 
 Yet, I persuade myself, to speak the truth 
 Shall nothing wrong him. — Thus it is, general. 
 Montano and myself being in speech, 
 There comes a fellow crying out for help ; 
 And Cassio following him with determin'd sword. 
 To execute upon him. Sir, this gentleman 
 Steps in to Cassio, and entreats his pause : 
 Myself the crying fellow did pursue,^^ 
 Lest by his clamour (as it so fell out) 
 The town might fall in fright : he, swift of foot, 
 Outran my purpose ; and I return'd, the rather 
 For that I heard the clink and fall of swords. 
 And Cassio high in oath ; which till to-night 
 I ne'er might say before. When I came back 
 
 figuratively, 'obscured,' 'darkened.' See Note 21, Act i., 
 " Midsummer Night's Dream." 
 i^. Approved. ' Proved to be.' See Note 10 of this Act. 
 
 84. On tlie co7trt a7td guard of safety. This has been altered 
 to ' on the court of guard and safety ; ' but we think that the 
 original reading conveys the effect of ' on the very spot and 
 guarding-place of safety.' 
 
 85. Affin d. ' Swayed by any link of affinity.' See Note 13, Act i. 
 
 86. The cryiug fellow did pursue. lago's thoroughly lying 
 account of the incidents that occurred, with his art in seeming 
 to " mince" the " matter" .and make " it light to Cassio," while 
 
 I in fact contriving to give all possible heightening touches of his 
 misdeed, is most .skilfully managed in this speech. It will be 
 remembered that far from pursuing Roderigo and returning to 
 the scene of the aonflict, I.-igo never stirs from the spot, but 
 remains to direct the movements of his puppets, and prompt 
 them in the parts which he has previously designed that they 
 shall perform ; and that instead of Cassio's having been " higli 
 ' in oath," he has given vent to nothing more offensive in speech 
 than the threats, " I'll beat the knave into a twiggen bottle," 
 : and " 111 knock you o'er the mazard." 
 559 
 
Act II.] 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 I ago. What ! are you hurt, 
 Cassio. Ay, past all surgery. 
 lago. Marry, Heaven forbid ! 
 
 Act II. Scene III. 
 
 (For this was brief), I found them close together, 
 At blow and thrust ; even as again they were 
 When you yourself did part them. 
 More of this matter can I not report : — 
 But men are men ; the best sometimes forget :— 
 Though Cassio did some little wrong to him, — 
 As men in rage strike those that wish them best, 
 Yet, surely, Cassio, I believe, receiv'd 
 I'roiii iiim that fled some strange indignity. 
 Which patience could not pass. 
 
 Oth. I know, lago, 
 
 Thy honesty and love doth mince this matter. 
 Making it light to Cassio.— Cassio, I love thee ; 
 But never more be officer of mine. — 
 
 Re-enter Desdemona, attended. 
 Look, if my gentle love be not rais'd up !— 
 [To Cas.] I'll make thee an example. 
 
 ^es. What 's the matter ? 
 
 now, sweeting ; coine away to 
 be 
 
 Oth. All 's we 
 bed. 
 
 [To MoNTANo.] Sir, for your hurts, myself u 
 your surgeon : 
 
 Lead him off. [Montano is led off. 
 
 lago, look with care about the tou n, 
 
 And silence those whom this vile brawl dis- 
 tracted. — 
 
 Come, Desdemona : 'tis the soldiers' life 
 
 To have their balmy slumbers wak'd w ith strife. 
 
 \_Exeunt all except Iago and Cassio. 
 
 lago. What ! are you hurt, lieutenant ? 
 
 Cas. Ay, past all surgery. 
 
 lago. Marry, Heaven forbid ! 
 
 Cas. Reputation, reputation, reputation ! Oh, 
 I have lost my reputation ! I have lost the im- 
 mortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial. 
 — My reputation, lago, my reputation ! 
 
 lago. As I am an honest man, I thought you 
 
Act II.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 had received some bodily wound ; there is more 
 offence^'', in that than in reputation. Reputation 
 is an idle and most false imposition ; oft got with- 
 out merit, and lost without deserving : you have 
 lost no reputation at all, unless you repute yourself 
 such a loser. What, man ! there are ways to 
 recover the general again : you are but now castas 
 in his mood, a punishment more in policy than in 
 malice; even so as one would beat his offenceless 
 dog to affright an imperious lion : sue to him again, 
 and he 's yours. 
 
 Cas. I will rather sue to be despised than to 
 deceive so good a commander with so slight, so 
 drunken, and so indiscreet an officer. Drunk ? and 
 speak parrot ? 8^ and squabble? swagger? swear? 
 and discourse fustian with one's own shadow? — 
 Ob, thou invisible spirit of nine, if thou hast no 
 name to be known by, let us call tliee devil ! 
 
 lago. What was he that you followed with your 
 sword ? What had he done to you ? 
 
 Cas. I know not. 
 
 lago. Is 't possible ? 
 
 Cas. I remember a mass of things, but nothing 
 distinctly ; a quarrel, but nothing wherefore. — Oh, 
 that men should put an enemy in their mouths to 
 s'eal away their brains! that we should, with jov, 
 pleasance,'" revel, and applause, transform our- 
 selves into beasts ! 
 
 lago. Why, but you are now well enough: how 
 came you thus recovered ? 
 
 Cas. It hath pleased the devil drunkenness to 
 give place to the devil wrath : one unperfectness 
 shows me another, to make me frankly despise 
 myself 
 
 lago. Come, you are too severe a moraler:" 
 as the time, the place, and the condition of this 
 country stands, 1 could heartily wish this had not 
 befallen ; but, since it is as it is, mend it for your 
 own good. 
 
 Cas. I will ask him for my place again,— he 
 shall tell me I am a drunkard ! Had 1 as many 
 mouths as Hydra, such an answer would stop 
 them all. To be now a sensible man, by-and-by a 
 fool, and presently a beast ! Oh, strange !— Every 
 inordinate cup is unblessed, and the ingredient is a 
 devil. 
 
 lago. Come, come, good wine is a good familiar 
 
 87. Offence. . This is the reading of the Quartos ; while the 
 Folios print ' sence.' 
 
 88. Cast. ' Dismissed,' 'discharged,' ' cashiered.' See Note 
 52 of this Act. 
 
 89. Speak parrot. ' Talk idly,' ' prate meaninglessly.' 
 
 90. Plensance. An antique form of ' pleasure ' or ' pleasantry ;' 
 * gaiety,' 'gladness.' 
 
 91. Moraler. Old form of ' moraliser' or ' moralist.' 
 
 92. Hydra. See Note 46, Act iv., " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 93. Denotement. The old copies have ' deuotement ; ' pro- 
 bably the not unusual typographical error of what is technically 
 called a turned letter. Theobald made the correction. 
 
 creature, if it be well used : exclaim no more 
 against it. And, good lieutenant, I think you 
 think I love you. 
 
 Cas. I have well approved it, sir. — 1 drunk ! 
 
 lago. You or any man living may be drunk at 
 some time, man. I'll tell you what you shall do. 
 Our general's wife is now the general ; — I may say 
 so in this respect, for that he hath devoted ami 
 given up himself to the contemplation, mark, and 
 denotement^* of her parts and graces; — confess 
 yourself freely to her; importune her; she'll help 
 to put you in your place again : she is of so free, so 
 kind, so apt, so blessed a disposition, she holds it a 
 vice in her goodness not to do more than she is 
 requested : this broken joint between you and her 
 husband entreat her to splinter ;^'' and, my fortunes 
 against any lay^^ worth naming, this crack of your 
 love shall grow stronger than it was before. 
 
 Cas. You advise me well. 
 
 lago. I protest, in the sincerity of love and 
 honest kindness. 
 
 Cas. I think it freely; and betimes in the 
 morning I will beseech the virtuous Desdemona to 
 j undertake for me : I am desperate of my fortunes 
 I if they check me here. 
 
 j li-tgo. You are in the right. Good night, 
 : lieutenant ; I must to the watch. 
 I Cas. Good night, honest lago. \Exit. 
 lago. And what's he, then, that says I play the 
 • villain ? 
 
 When this advice is free'^ I give, and honest, 
 Probal"'' to thinking, and, indeed, the course 
 To win the Moor again ? For 'tis most easy 
 1 The inclining'^ Desdemona to subdue 
 In any honest suit : she 's fram'd as fruitful*' 
 As the free elements. And then for her 
 To win the Moor, — were 't to renounce his 
 baptism. 
 
 All seals and symbols of redeemed sin, 
 His soul is so enfetter'd to her love. 
 That she may make, unmake, do what she list. 
 Even as her appetite shall play the god 
 With his weak function. How am I, then, a 
 villain 
 
 To counsel Cassio to this parallel course,'™ 
 Directly to his good ? Divinity of hell ! 
 I When devils will the blackest sins put on,"" 
 
 94. Splinter. Used by Shakespeare and writers of his time 
 for ' splint.' See Note 13, Act ii., " Richard III." 
 
 95. Lay, ' Wagered stake.' 
 
 96. Free. 'Liberal.' 
 
 97. Probal. A word peculiar to Shakespeare. It is in all 
 likelihood a contraction of * probable ; ' but it may be a form of 
 ' proveable.' 
 
 98. IncUnuis^, * Compliant,' ' kindly disposed.' 
 
 99. Frnit/nl. ' Bountiful,' ' generous.' 
 
 100. Parallel course. ' Course that keeps pace with his 
 wish,' ' course that runs level with his purpose.' 
 
 101. Tlie blackest sins put on. 'Instigate the blackest sins ;' 
 
 VOL. III. 
 
 237 
 
Act III.] 
 
 They do suggestion at first with heavenly shows, 
 
 As I do now : for while this honest fool 
 
 Plies Desdeiiiona to repair his fortunes, 
 
 And she for him pleads strongly to the Moor, 
 
 I '11 pour this pestilence"^ into his ear, — 
 
 That she repeals him for her wantonness ; 
 
 And by how much she strives to do him good, 
 
 S.he shall undo her credit with the Moor. 
 
 Sj will I turn her virtue into pitch ; 
 
 And out of her own goodness make the net 
 
 That shall enmesh them all. 
 
 Enter Roderigo. 
 
 How now, Roderigo! 
 Rod. I do follow here in the chase, not like a 
 hound that hunts, but one that fills up the cry. 
 My money is almost spent ; I have been to-night 
 exceedingly well cudgelled ; and I think the issue 
 will be — I shall have so much experience for my 
 pains; and so, with no money at all, and a little 
 more wit, return again to Venice. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 logo. How poor are they that have not patience ! 
 What wound did ever heal but by degrees ? 
 Thou know'st we work by wit, and not by witch- 
 craft ; 
 
 And wit depends on dilatorv time. 
 Does 't not go well ? Cassio hath beaten thee, 
 And thou, by that small hurt, hast cashier'd Cassio: 
 Though other things grow fair against the sun,"'* 
 Yet fruits that blossom first will first be ripe : 
 Content thyself awhile. — By the mass, 'tis morningj 
 Pleasure and action make the hours seem short. — 
 Retire thee ; go where thou art billeted : 
 Away, I say ; thou shalt know more hereafter : 
 Nay, get thee gone. [_Exit Rod.] Two things 
 
 are to be done, — 
 My wife must move for Cassio to her mistress ; 
 I'll set her on ; 
 
 Myself the while to draw the Moor apartj^^^ 
 And bring him jump '"^ when he may Cassio find 
 Soliciting his wife : — ay, that's the way ; 
 Dull not device by coldness and delay. [Exit. 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 ACT III. 
 
 SCENE I.— Cyprus. Before the Castle. 
 Enter Cassio and some Musicians. 
 Cas. Masters, play here, — I will content your 
 pains, — 
 
 Something that's brief; and bid good morrow, 
 general.' [Music. 
 Enter Clown. 
 Clo. Why, masters, have your instruments been 
 in Naples, that they speak i' the nose thus ?2 
 First Mus. How, sir, how ! 
 Clo. Are these, I pray you, wind-instruments ? 
 First Mus. Ay, marry, are they, sir. 
 
 se:: Notes 19 and 45 of the present Act for the expressions ''put 
 on" and " putting on," used in this sense. 
 
 102. Suggest. 'Tempt,' 'entice.' See Note 65, Act ii., 
 " Henry V." lago's pride of intellect takes delight in maintain- 
 ing that its diabolical ingenuity is equal to that of the fiends 
 themselves, 
 
 103. PestHence. Here used for ' poison.' 
 
 104. Though other things groiv fair, These two lines 
 have been variously explained. We think they imply, ' Although 
 our other plans are growing to maturity, yet the fruits of our 
 scheme for the removal of Cassio, as it first bore promising 
 blossom, will natur.\lly first ripen.' lago is trying to inspire 
 Roderigo with pn.tience for the rip'ining of his plan against 
 Desdemona, by bidding him remember that meanwhile his plan 
 against Cassio is succeeding. 
 
 105. Myself the while to drmo the Moor apart. The old 
 copies give 'a' instead of "the" before "while." Theobald's 
 correction. The word " to" in the sentence is used in accord- 
 ance with Shakespeare's construction when, as here, he makes 
 
 Clo. Oh, thereby hangs a tale. But, masters, 
 here's money for you: and the general so likes your 
 music, that he desires you, for love's sake, to make 
 no more noise with it. 
 
 First Mus. Well, sir, we will not. 
 
 Clo. If you have any music that may not be 
 heard, to 't again : but, as they say, to hear music 
 the general does not greatly care. 
 
 First Mus. We have none such, sir. 
 
 Clo. Then put up your pipes in your bag, for 
 I '11 away : go ; vanish into air ; awav ! 
 
 [Exeunt Musicians. 
 
 Cas. Dost thou hear, mine honest friend ? 
 
 the speaker debating a plai 
 Act iv., " Timon of Athens.' 
 
 106. Jump. 'Precisely,' 
 " Hamlet." 
 
 supposed case. See Note i 
 actly.' See Note 113, Act ' 
 
 1. Bid good morrow, general. It was the custom for friends 
 to serenade a new married couple on the morning after the 
 celebration of their marriage ; or to bid them " good morrow" 
 by a morning song. See Note 70, Act iii., " Romeo and 
 Juliet." The time is thus marked at the commencement of 
 the present Act, as being the morning immediately after the 
 night brawl ; since, towards the close of the preceding Act, 
 Cassio has said, '■ Betimes in the mo>-ning I will beseech the 
 virtuous Desdemona to undertake for me." 
 
 2. In Naples, that they speak i' the nose thus. The 
 Neapolitans have a singularly drawling nasal twang in the 
 utterance of their dialect; and Shylock talks of "when the 
 bag-pipe sings V the nose.'^ See context of passage re.^rred to 
 in Note 7, Act iv., " Merchant of 'Venice." 
 
Act III.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scenes IL, in. 
 
 Clo. No, I hear not your honestfriend ; I hear you. 
 
 Cas. Pr'y thee, keep up thy quillets.^ There's 
 a poor piece of gold for thee: if the gentlewoman 
 that atte.ids the general's wife be stirring, tell her 
 there's one Cassio entreats her a little favour of 
 speech : wilt thou do this ? 
 
 Clo. She is stirring, sir : if she will stir hither, I 
 shall seem to notify unto her.'' 
 
 Cas. Do, good my friend. \_Exit Clown. 
 
 Enter Iago. 
 
 In happy time, Iago. 
 
 Iago. You have not been a-bed, then ? 
 
 Cas. Why, no ; the day had broke 
 Before we parted. I have made bold, Iago, 
 To send in to your wife : my suit to her 
 Is, that she will to virtuous Desdemona 
 Procure me some access. 
 
 Iago. I'll send her to you presentl)'; 
 
 And I '11 devise a mean to draw the Moor 
 Out of the way, that your converse and business 
 May be more free. 
 
 Cas. I humbly thank you for 't. \_Exu Iago.] 
 I never knew 
 A Florentine more kind and honest.* 
 
 Enier Emilia. 
 Emil. Good morrow, good lieutenant : I am sorry 
 For your displeasure; ^ but all will soon be well. 
 The general and his wife are talking of it; 
 And she speaks for you stoutly :' the Moor replies. 
 That he you hurt is of great flime in Cyprus 
 And great affinity, and that in wholesome wisdom 
 He might not but refuse you ; but he protests he 
 loves you, 
 
 And needs no other suitor but his likings 
 To take the saf'st occasion by the front 
 To bring you in again. 
 
 ■i- Quillets. ' Quibbling quirks,' 'word-twisting quips.' See 
 Note 20, Act v., " Hamlet." The introduction of this slight 
 scene of sportive dialogue just before Cassio's gravely anxious 
 appeal, and moreover very shortly before that supremely serious 
 scene of tragic interest— than which, perhaps, nothing finer in 
 artful working upon the passions was ever written — is thoroughly 
 true to Shiikespeare's system of dramatic contrast. See Note 
 27, Act ii., "Macbeth." 
 
 4. / shall seem to notify unto her. The expression "seem 
 to," used thus, is a colloquial idiom. In " Midsummer Night's 
 Dream," Act iii., sc. i, we have— " Let the prologue seem to 
 say;" and in "Merchant of Venice," Act ii., sc. 4—" An it 
 shall please you to break up this, it shall seem to signify." See 
 also "it seems," as exemplified in Note 92, Act i., " Romeo 
 and Juliet : " and Note 24, Act ii., " Hamlet." 
 
 5. / never knew a Florentine more kind and honest. This 
 is one of the sentences where Shakespeare allows the word 
 'even' to be elliptically understood. See Notes 93, Act iv., 
 and 32, Act v., " King Lear." Cassio, the Florentine, says of 
 Iago, the Venetian, ' I never knew even one of my own fellow- 
 Florentines more kind and honest than this man.' There are 
 several passages in the play showing that Cassio was a Floren- 
 tine and Iago a Venetian. See Note 11, Act i. ; and not only in 
 the third scene of the present Act Iago says, " I know o?ir 
 country disposition well; in Venice they," &c. ; but also in 
 
 Cas. Yet, I beseech you, — 
 
 If you think fit, or that it may be done, — 
 Give me advantage of some brief discourse 
 With Desdemona alone. ^ 
 
 Emil. Pray you, come in : 
 
 I will bestow you where you shall have time 
 To speak your bosom freely. 
 
 Cas I am much bound to you. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE 11.—^ Room in t},e Castle. 
 Enter Othello, Iago, and Gentlemen. 
 0th. These letters give, Iago, to the pilot; 
 And, by him, do my duties to the senate : 
 That done, I will be walking on the works ; 
 Repair there to me. 
 
 Iago. Well, my good lord, I '11 do 't, 
 
 0th. This fortification, gentlemen, — shall we 
 see 't ? 
 
 Gent. We '11 wait upon your lordship. 
 
 [_Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE \\\.— Before the Castle.. 
 Enter Desdemona, Cassio, and Emilia. 
 Des. Be thou assur'd, good Cassio, I will do 
 All my abilities in thy behalf. 
 Emil. Good madam, do : I warrant it grieves 
 my husband. 
 As if the case were his. 
 Des. Oh, that's an honest fellow. — Do not 
 doubt, Cassio, 
 But I will have my lord and you again 
 As friendly as you were. 
 
 Cas. Bounteous madam, 
 
 Whatever shall become of Michael Cassio, 
 
 Act v., sc. I he exclaims, "Alas! my friend and my dear 
 countryman Roderigo?" replying, "Even he," when Gratiano 
 rejoins, " What ! of Venice V 
 
 6. Your displeasure. 'The displeasure you have incurred 
 from Othello.' See Notes 17 and 80, Act ii., for similar in- 
 stances of Shakespeare's using the possessive case. 
 
 7. She speaks for you stoutly. By this we find that the 
 gentle-hearted and generous-natured Desdemona has already 
 been pleading, unsolicitedly, for the officer who has fallen into 
 disgrace ; and that his general would have pardoned him and 
 restored him to place and favour again, had no adverse element 
 of treachery and misrepresentation been introduced into the 
 
 8. With Desdemona alone. The Folio prints ' Desdemon ' 
 here ; though the Quartos have " Desdemona." We think th.Tt 
 the circumstance of the Folio's giving the abbreviated form of 
 ' Desdemon ' in this passage, as well as in the five other in- 
 stances pointed out by Mr. Charles Knight, suffices to subvert 
 his theory, very graceful though it be, that the contraction of 
 the name was purposely made by Shakespeare as an epithet of 
 familiar tenderness. Had this been the case, he would not 
 have put it into Cassio's mouth. Therefore we believe it to 
 have been a mere transcriber's or printer's error ; and, in 
 accordance with this belief, we have uniformly given " Des- 
 demona" in the text. 
 
Act III.] 
 
 OTHliLLO. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Cnssw. Bounteous madam. 
 
 W h.-itever shall become of Michael Cassio. 
 He s never anything but vour true servant 
 
 ylc/ III. Sc-i 
 
 ■ in. 
 
 He 's never an\ (liing but vour true ftrvant. 
 
 Des. I know 't, — I tliank you. You do love 
 my lord : 
 
 You have known him long; and be you well 
 ar.5njr'd 
 
 He shall in strangeness stand no farther off 
 Than in a politic distance. 
 
 Cas. ' Ay, but, lady. 
 
 That policy may either last so long, 
 Or feed upon such nice and waterish diet,' 
 Or breed itself so out of circumstance, 
 That, I being absent, and my place supplied, 
 My general will forget my love and service. 
 
 Des. Do not doubt that;'" before Emilia here 
 I give thee u nrrant of thy place : assure thee, 
 
 If 1 do vow a friendship, I '11 perform it 
 To the last article : m) lord shall never rest; 
 I '11 watch him tame," and talk him out cf 
 patience ; 
 
 His bed shall seem a school, '.lis board a shrift ;'2 
 
 I '11 intermingle everything he does 
 
 With Cassio's suit: therefore be merry, Cassio; 
 
 For thy solicitor shall rather die 
 
 Than give thy cause away. 
 
 Emit. Madam, here comes my lord. 
 
 Cas. Madam, I '11 take my leave. 
 
 Des. Why, stay, and hear me speak. 
 
 Cas. Madam, not now : I am very ill at ease, 
 Unfit for mine own purposes. 
 
 Des. Well, do your discretion. \^Exit Cassio. 
 
 g. Or feed nfon, £y=c. ' Or be i^ustainec 
 ences, or be renewed by such unforeseen cit 
 
 lo. r>0 not doubt that. Here "doubt" 
 dread,* ' have a misgivin;^ of See Note . 
 
 by such trivial occur 
 :umst.->nce5, that,' ^i-c. 
 s used in the sense of 
 
 11. 77/ watch h. 
 keeping a hawk aw 
 Note 39. Act iv., "1 
 
 12. .4 shr/t. He 
 
 ; tame. In allusion to 
 :e in order to train and i 
 ming of the Shrew.'* 
 ; used for ' a confessional.' 
 
Ac I- III.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene IIL 
 
 Enter Othello and Iago. 
 lago. Ha! [ like not that. 
 
 Oih. What dost thou s:i) ? 
 
 Iago. Nothing, my lord : or if — I know not 
 what. 
 
 Oth. Was not that Cassio parte<l from my wife r 
 ligo. Cassio, my lord ! No, sure, I cannot 
 think it, 
 
 That he would steal away so guilty-like. 
 Seeing you coming. 
 
 Oth. I do believe 'twas he. 
 
 Des. How now, my lord ! 
 I have been talking with a suitor here, 
 A man that languishes in your displeasure. 
 
 Oih. Who is 't you mean ? 
 
 Des. Why, your lieutenant, Cassio. Good iny 
 lord. 
 
 If I have any grace or power to move you, 
 
 His ])resent reconciliation''* take ; 
 
 For if he be not one that truly loves you, 
 
 That errs in ignorance, and not in cunning,'* 
 
 I have no judgment in an honest face : 
 
 I pr'ythee, call him back. 
 
 Oih. Went he hence now ? 
 
 Des. Ay, sonth so humbled, 
 That he hath left part of his grief with me, 
 To suffer with him. Good love, call him back. 
 
 Oih. Not now, sweet Desdemona; some other 
 time. 
 
 Des. But shall 't be shortly ? 
 
 Oih. The sooner, sweet, for you. 
 
 Des. Shall 't be to-night at supper ? 
 
 Oih. No, not to-night. 
 
 Des. To-morrow dinner, then ? 
 
 Oth. I shall not dine at home ; 
 
 I meet the captains at the citadel. 
 
 Des. Why, then, to-morrow night; or T'ues- 
 day morn 
 
 On Tuesday noon, or night; on Wednesday 
 morn : — 
 
 I pr'ythee, name the time ; but let it not 
 Exceed three days : in faith, he 's penitent ; 
 
 13. Reconciliation. * Atonement,' * submission ; ' ' act of ^ 
 conciliation.' j 
 
 14. Cunning. ' Knowledge,' ' intentional deed.' I 
 
 15. Sooth. ' In truth,' ' truly.' 
 
 16. Out of their b;st. The old copies give ' her ' instead of 
 "their," which is Rowe's correction. 'The' ami 'our' have 
 been proposed ; but ' her ' as a ni-sprint for " their " is not an 
 unfrequent typographical error. 
 
 17. Mammering. ' Hesitating,' or ' hesitatingly.' The word 
 is used for 'hesitation' or 'suspense' in Lyly's " Euphues " 
 (1580) : "Neither stand in a mitnering whether it be best to 
 depart or not." j 
 
 18. Came a-ivooing -wiih yoit. Ry this, and a passage a little 
 farther on, we find that Michael Cassio has been in Othello's 
 confidence while courting Desdemona ; and that therefore the 
 lieutenant's inquiries of Iago in an early scene of the play (see 
 passage referred to in Note 48, Act i.) were made with the 
 design of affecting ignorance of his general's intended marriage, 
 
 And yet his trespass, in our common reason, — 
 Save that, they say, the wars must make examples 
 Out of their best,'° — is not almost a fault 
 To incur a private check. When shall he come ? 
 Tell me, Othello : I wonder in my soul. 
 What you could ask me, that I should den\'. 
 Or stand so mammering''' on. What! Michael 
 Cassio, 
 
 That came a-wooing with you ;'•'' and so many :i 
 time, 
 
 When I have sjioke of you dispraisingly," 
 Hath ta'en your part ; to have so much to do 
 To bring him in ! Trust me, I could do much, — 
 Oth. Pr'ythee, no more : let him come wiien he 
 will ; 
 
 I will deny thee nothing. 
 
 Des. Wh\', tills is not a boon ; 
 
 'Tis as I should entreat you wear your gloves, 
 Or feed on nourishing dishes, or keep you warm. 
 Or sue to you to do a peculiar profit 
 To your own person : nay, when I have a suit 
 Wherein I mean to touch your love indeed. 
 It shall be full of poise'-" and difficult weight, 
 And fearful to be granted. 
 
 Oth. I will deny thee nothing : 
 
 Whereon, I do beseech thee, grant me tiiis, 
 To leave me but a little to myself. 
 
 Des. Shall I deny you? no: farewell, my lord. 
 
 Oth. Farewell, my Desdemona : I'll come to 
 thee straight. 
 
 Des. Emilia, come. — Be as your fancies teach 
 you ; 
 
 Whate'er you be, I am obedient. 
 
 \Exit, "with Emilia. 
 Oth. Excellent wretch !"' Perdition catch my 
 soul, 
 
 But I do love thee ! and when I love thee not, 
 Chaos is come again. 
 
 Iago. My noble lord, — 
 
 Oth. What dost thou say, Iago ? 
 
 Iago. Did Michael Cassio, when you woo'd my 
 lady, 
 
 Know of your love ? 
 
 and thus preserving the secret entrusted to him. That the con- 
 fiding friendship of the Moor for his young subaltern, as well as 
 the fond affection for his gentle wife, which his noble nature 
 has entertained, should be destroyed by the machinations of a 
 human fiend, is an additional point of tragic regret and interest 
 in this supremely beautiful play. 
 
 ig. Dispraisingly. That this subtlety in womanhood was 
 thoroughly known to our poet in all its delicate windings, wit- 
 ness not only the present passage, but the one referred to in 
 Note 56, Act v., " Henry V. ;" and for a kindred branching 
 involution of the same enchanting womanly wile, see Note 98, 
 Act iii., "As You Like It." 
 
 20. Poise. This word, besides the sense of ' weight,' ' moment,' 
 ' importance' (.see Note 23, Act ii., " King Lear"), includes that 
 of 'nice balance,' 'careful adjustment,' as by scales. 
 
 21. Wre'ch. Here employed as a term of affectionate ten- 
 derness. See passages referred to in Note 52, Act i. , " Romeo 
 and Juliet ;" and Note 54, Act ii., " Hamlet." 
 
Ac 1- 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene IlL 
 
 Oth. He did, from first to last : why dost thou ask ? 
 
 lago. But for a satisfaction of my thought ; 
 No farther harm. 
 
 Oth. Why of thy thought, lago ? 
 
 lago. I did not think he had been acquainted 
 with her. 
 
 Oth. Oh, yes ; and went between us very oft. 
 lago. Imieed 1 
 
 Oth. Indeed ! ay, indeed : — discern'st thou aught 
 in that ? 
 Is he not honest ? 
 
 lago. Honest, my loid ! 
 
 Oth. Honest! ay, honest. 
 
 lago. My lord, for aught I know. 
 
 Oth. What do^t thou think ? 
 
 lago. Think, my lord ! 
 
 Oth. Think, my lord ! 
 
 By heaven, he echoes me, 
 
 As if there were soine monster m his thought 
 Too hideous to be shown. — Thou dost mean 
 something : 
 
 I heard thee say but now,— thou lik'dst not that, 
 When Cassio left my wife : what didst not like ? 
 And when 1 told thee he was of my counsel 
 In my whole course of wooing, thou criedst, 
 " Indeed !" 
 
 And didst contract and purse thy brow together, 
 As if thou then hadst shut up in thy brain 
 Some horrible conceit -.22 if thou dost love me, 
 Show me thy thought. 
 
 lago. My lord, }ou know I love you. 
 
 Oth. I think thou dost ; 
 
 And, — for I know thou'rt full of love and honesty. 
 And weigh'st thy words before thou giv'st them 
 breath, — 
 
 Therefore these stops of thine fright me the more : 
 For such things in a false disloyal knave 
 
 22. Conceit. ' Conception,' ' idea.' 
 
 23. Delations. The first Quarto gives ' denotements ' here ; 
 while the Folio and the two other Quartos give ' dilations,' 
 which is probably a misprint for "delations ;" Johnson's cor- 
 
 wardly-conceived impugnings,' ' quietly-conveyed intimations.' 
 We have pointed out in Note 24, Act iii., " Measure for 
 Measure," the combined meaning of ' carried ' and ' accused ' 
 whicii the word ' delated ' includes ; and we believe that in that 
 passage "delighted" is a misprint for 'delated,' as 'dilations' 
 is for "delations" here; Shakespeare, in his inclusive style, 
 probibly comprising something of both meanings in each 
 severally used word. Sir Henry Wotton, in his " Reliquise 
 Wottonianae" (:65i), speaking of the Inquisitori di Stati at 
 Venice, says : " To which are commonly deputed three gentle- 
 men of the gravest and severest natures, who receive all secret f/.?- 
 laiions in matter of practice against the Republick ;" where the 
 word is clearly used in the sense of 'accusations,' ' intimations.' 
 
 24. Workiit!^ from the heart, that passio7i cannot rule. This 
 sentence may be unJ^rstiod in two ways ; either ' working from 
 the heart that cannot control its passion of generous indigna- 
 tion,' or ' working from the heart that passionate impulse cannot 
 move to speak out unadvisedly.' 
 
 25. Would they might seem none! ' Would they might not 
 seem h.mest m.-n ! ' We have before shown the l.trgely elliptical 
 
 Are tricks of custom ; but in a man that's just 
 Tiiey 're close delations, ^3 working from the heart, 
 That passion cannot rule.--" 
 
 lago. For Michael Cassio, 
 
 I dare be sworn, I think, that he is honest. 
 
 Oth. 1 think so too. 
 
 lago. Men should be what the_\ seem ; 
 
 Or, those that be not, would they might seem 
 none 
 
 Oth. Certain, men should be what they seem. 
 lago. Why, then, I think Cassio 's an honest 
 man. 
 
 Oth. Nay, yet tb.ere 's more in this : 
 I pry'thee, speak to me as to thy thinkings. 
 As thou dost ruminate ; and give thy worst of 
 
 thoughts 
 The worst of words. 
 
 lago. Good my lord, pardon me : 
 
 Though I am bound to every act of duty, 
 I am not bound to that all slaves are free to. 2* 
 Utter, my thoughts ? Why, say they are vile and 
 false,— 
 
 As where 's that palace whereinto foul things 
 Sometimes intrude not ? who has a breast so pure. 
 But some uncleanly apprehensions"^^ 
 Keep leets and law-days, and in session sit 
 With meditations lawful ? 
 
 Oth. Thou dost conspire against thy friend, 
 lago. 
 
 If thou but think'st him wiong'd, and mak'st his 
 ear 
 
 A stranger to thy thoughts. 
 
 lago. I do beseech you, — 
 
 Though I perchance am vicious in my guess,^^ 
 As, I confess, it is my nature's plague 
 To spy into abuses, and oft my jealousy 
 Shapes faults that are not, — that your wisdom yet, 
 
 See 
 
 force with which Shakespeare uses the word " 
 Note 27, Act v., " Henry VIII." 
 
 26. / ant not hound to tJiat all slaves are free to. Elliptically 
 expressed ; the line meaning, ' I am not bound to do that 
 which even all slaves are free to 'do or not to do.' Here is 
 another instance of a passage where the word ' even ' is allowed 
 to be understood. See Note 5 of this Act. 
 
 27. Who lias a breast so f>tire, but some, {s'c. 'Who has a 
 breast so pure that some injurious suspicions will not occa- 
 sionally enter into it, keep court there for judging others, and sit 
 side by side, as on a law bench, with more legitimate medita- 
 tions?' "Leets" is a legal technical term for what are also 
 called " law-days." Jacob, in his " Law Dictionary," says, 
 
 Leet is otherwise called a lazv-day;'^ and he explains it to 
 be a court or meeting of the hundred, "to certify the king of 
 the good manners and government of the inhabitants." 
 
 28. Though I percltance, &'c. Here " though" is used 
 according to Shakespeare's occasionally peculiar employment 
 of this word, in the sense of 'inasmuch as' or 'since.' See 
 Note 70, Act iv., " Timon of Athens." The confused and im- 
 perfect construction in this speech is wonderfully managed, to 
 give the effect of lago's adoption of a hesitatin.g, unwilling 
 manner: half expressing, half suppressing his suggestions, and 
 whetting his victim's anxiety to hear more by bidding him desire 
 
Act III.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene IIL 
 
 From one that so imperfectly conceits,^' 
 
 Would take no notice ; nor build yourself a trouble 
 
 Out of his scattering and unsure observance. 
 
 It were not for your quiet nor your good, 
 
 Nor for my manhood, honesty, or wisdom. 
 
 To let you know my thoughts. 
 
 Olh. What dost thou mean ? 
 
 lago. Good name in man and woman, dear my 
 lord, j 
 Is the immediate jewel of their souls : 
 Who steals my purse, steals trash ; 'tis something, i 
 nothing ; 
 
 Twas mine,'tis his,and has heenslave to thousands; 
 But he that filches from me my good name 
 Robs me of that which not enriches him, I 
 And makes me poor indeed. | 
 Oth. By heaven, I'll know thy thoughts. | 
 lago. You cannot, if my heart were in your hand ; 
 Nor shall not, whilst 'tis in my custody. 
 Oth. Ha ! 
 
 lago. Oh, beware, my lord, of jealousy ; 
 It is the green-ey'd monster, which doth mock 
 The meat it feeds on -.^ that wrong'd man lives in j 
 bliss 
 
 Who, certain of his fate, loves not his wronger ; 
 But, oh ! what damned minutes tells he o'er 
 Who dotes, yet doubts; suspects, yet strongly loves ! 
 Oth. Oh, misery ! 
 
 lago. Poor and content is rich, and rich enough; 
 But riches fineless^' is as poor as winter 
 To him that ever fears he shall he poor : — 
 Good Heaven, the souls of all my tribe defend 
 From jealousy ! 
 
 Oth. ' Why, why is this? , 
 
 Think'st thou I'd make a life of jealousy. 
 To follow still the changes of the moon 
 With fresh suspicions ? No ; to be once in doubt 
 Is once to be resolv'd : exchange me for a goat, j 
 When I shall turn the business of mv soul '\ 
 
 29 Conceits. ' Conceives,' ' imagines.' 
 
 30. Vat/i mock the meat it feeds on. Hanmer and others 
 change " mock" to ' make ;' but here " mock'' bears the sense 
 of 'disdain,' 'spurn.' 'tear wrathfiilly,' even while feeding on. 
 Elsewhere, when Shakespeare uses the word " mock," he fre- 
 quently includes the sense of 'use despitefully ' together with 
 that of ' scoff at,' or 'make, game of.' For instances, among 
 others, see the previous context of the passage referred to in 
 Note 61, Act v., " Love's Labour's Lost," and of that referred 
 to in Note 15, Act ii., "Richard IL" Je.alousy, even while 
 greedily devouring scraps of evidence, and stray tokens of sup- 
 posed guilt, bitterly scorns them, and stands self-:ontemned for 
 feeding on them. 
 
 31. Fineles;. ' Endless,' ' infinite.' 
 
 32. Exsiifflicate. This word is spelt ' exufflicate ' in .all the 
 old copies. Some authorities opine that it is derived from the 
 low 'L.-^\\x\, exsufflarc, 'to spit down upon,' an ancient form of 
 exorcising; and that therefore it signifies 'despicable,' ' con- 
 temptible,' ' abhorrent,' 'repudiated.' Others suppose it to have 
 reference to ' sufflation," 'which is interpreted by Phillips 'a 
 puffing up, a making to swell with blowing ;' which allows the 
 word to mean ' pufled up,' 'blown out,' 'exaggerated.' ' ex- 
 trav.agant.' Others believe it to be framed from the It.alian, 
 
 To such exsuffllcate^s and blown surmises. 
 Matching thy inference. 'Tis not to make me 
 jealous, 
 
 To say my wife is fair, feeds well, loves company. 
 Is free of speech, sings, pla\s, and dances well ; 
 Where virtue is, these are more virtuous : 
 Nor from mine own weak merits will I draw 
 The smallest fear or doubt of her revolt ; 
 For she had eyes, and chose me. No, Ingo ; 
 I'll see before I doubt ; when I doubt, prove ; 
 And, on the proof, there is no more but this, — 
 Away at once with love, or jealousy ! 
 
 lago. I am glad of it; for r.ow I shall have 
 reason 
 
 To show the love and duty that I bear you 
 With franker spirit: therefore, as I am hound, 
 Receive it from me: — I speak not yet of proof. 
 Look to your wife; observe her well with Cassio ; 
 Wear your eye thus, not jealous nor secure : 
 I would not have your free and noble nature, 
 Out of self-bounty j^''* be abus'd ; look to 't : 
 I know our country disposition well ; 
 In Venice they do let heaven see the pranks 
 They dare not show their husbands ; their best 
 conscience 
 
 Is not to leave undone, but keep unknown. 
 Oth. Dost thou say so ? 
 
 lago. She did deceive her father, marrying you ; 
 And when she seem'd to siiake and fear your looks. 
 She lov'd them mo^t. 
 
 Oth. And so she did.3< 
 
 lago. Why, go to, then ; 
 
 She that, so young, could give out such a seeming, 
 To seeP* her father's eyes up close as oak,^'' — 
 He thought 'twas witchcraft: — but I am much to 
 blame ; 
 
 I humbly <to beseech you of your pardon ^7 
 For too much loving you, 
 
 Oth. I am bound to thee for ever. 
 
 suffolare, ' to whisper ; ' which gives the sense of ' whispered,' 
 ' breathed.' It is possible that the word Shakespeare here 
 employed was intended to convey something of all these varied 
 meanings inclusively. 
 
 33. Self-bounty. ' Inherent generosity.' 
 
 3j. And so she did. In this htdo speech of four mono- 
 syllabic words' is contained the moral of Desdemona's fate. 
 Had Othello been able to refute as a foul calumny this in- 
 sinuated truth of lago's, the villain's scheme must have come 
 to naught at once. But, unhappily, Desdemona's timidity has 
 led her to conceal from her father her love for the Moor by 
 alTecting to dread him ; and this former deviation from strict 
 honesty is now enabling a traitor to undermine her husband's 
 faith in her honour. Oh. just and wise, and most moral .'Shake- 
 speare ! See Note 93, Act i. 
 
 35. Seel. ' Fasten from the use of sight ; ' |as a hawk's 
 eyelids were sewed up. See Note loi, Act i. 
 
 36. Close as oak. This simile is used, by a poetical licence, 
 for 'close as the grain of oak ;' that wood being notoriously 
 clo.se-grained. 
 
 37. / hiDnbly do beseech yoit of yom- pardon. A peculiar con- 
 struction of sentence : to which we find a similar one elsewhere. 
 See Note i, Act v., " Henry V." 
 
Act 111.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene IIL 
 
 lago. I tee this hath a litt.e dabh'd ) our spirits. 
 Olh. Not a jot, not a jot. 
 
 lago. Trust me, I fear it has. 
 
 I hope you will consider what is spoke 
 Comes from my love; — but I do see you're 
 mov'd : — 
 
 I am to pray you not to strain my speech 
 To grosser issues nor to larger reach 
 Than to suspicion. 
 0th. I will not. 
 
 lago. Should you do so, my lord, 
 
 My speech should fall into such vile success^^ 
 As my thoughts aim not at. Cassio's my worthy 
 
 friend : — 
 My lord, I see you're mov'd. 
 
 0th, No, not much mov'd i^''— 
 
 I do not think but Desdemona's honest. 
 
 lago. Long live she so ! and long live you to 
 think so! 
 
 Olh. And yet, how nature erring from itself, — 
 lago. Ay, there's the point: — as, — to be bold 
 with you, — 
 Not to affect many propoi^eJ matches 
 Of her own clime, complexion,-*" and degree, 
 Whereto we see in all things nature tends, — 
 Foh ! one may smell in such a will most rank. 
 Foul disproportion, thoughts unnatural : — 
 But pardon me : I do not in position 
 Distinctly speak of her : though I may fear 
 Her will, recoiling to her better judgment, 
 
 38. Success. ' Consequence ; ' that which succeeds or fol- 
 lows. See Note 47, Act iv,, "Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 39. / see yoic 're inov d. No, not 7mich mov'd. The art 
 with which this wretch contrives to exasperate the pangs of the 
 wound he is inflicting, affecting to commiserate while he is 
 stabbing deeper anj deeper, torturing the brave nature by 
 noticing its ill-concealed anguish, together with the efforts made 
 by the courageous man to repress the writhings of his pierced 
 sou!, arc suiely unsurpassed in passionate composition. They 
 who can remember Edmund Kean in this scene will be able to 
 recall one actor, at least, who could duly give expression to the 
 mental agonies of the noble Moor. 
 
 40. Complexion. This word, as here used, comprises allusion 
 to the fair Venetian skin of Desdemona in contrast with the 
 dark Moorish skin of Othello, as well as allusion to the tem- 
 
 perament of the Italians in comparison with the still more fervid 
 temperament of the nations nearer to the torrid zone See 
 Note 43, Act iii., "As You Like It." 
 
 41. Happily. Sometimes, where it suits the metre, u.sed for 
 'haply.' Sec Note 32, Act iv., " Mea ure for Measure." 
 
 42. Set on thy wife to observe. In this brief speech of 
 Othello's the dramatist has wonderfully combined the native 
 nobleness of the speaker with the meanness inevitably super- 
 vening from jealousy. The nature of the man revolts from 
 hearing the probabilities of his chosen wife's fall discussed by 
 the gross lips of lago, and he abruptly dismisses him ; but the 
 vitiating poison of jealousy having once been instilled, the moral 
 dignity that has already taken one step in degradation con- 
 descends to desire him to watch, and to " set on" his " wife to 
 
 43. With great ability. Observe again how the liar can 
 treacherously eulogise, when it may .serve his purpo.se. See 
 Note 6S, Act ii. In the present instance, he knows that at this 
 particular juncture praise of Cassio would be specially calculated 
 
 May fall to match )ou with her country forms. 
 And happily-'' repent. 
 
 0th. Farewell, farewell : 
 
 If more thou dost perceive, let me know more ; 
 Set on thy wife to observe leave me, lago. 
 
 lago. My lord, I take my leave. \Goipg. 
 
 0:h. Why did I marry ?— This honest creature 
 doubtless 
 
 Sees and knows more, much more, than he ui folds. 
 
 lago. [Returning.] My lord, I would I might 
 entreat your honour 
 To scan this thing no farther ; leave it to time: 
 Although 'tis fit that Cassio have his place,— 
 For, sure, he fills it up with great ability, -"^ — 
 Yet, if you please to hold him o(F awhile. 
 You shall by that perceive him and his means :■•* 
 Note, if your lady strain his entertainmenf* 
 With any strong or vehement importunity ; 
 Mucli will be seen in that. In the meantime, 
 Let me be thought too busy in my fears, — 
 As worthy cause I have to fear I am, — 
 And hold her free,-'^ I do beseech your honour. 
 
 Otb. Fear not my government. 
 
 lago. I once more take my leave. [Exit. 
 
 0th. This fellow 's of exceeding honesty, 
 And knows all qualities, with a learned spirit. 
 Of liuman dealings. If I do prove her haggard,'" 
 Thougii that her jesses^" were my dear heart- 
 strings, 
 
 I'd whistle her off, and let her down the wind,*' 
 
 to injure instead of benefit him with Othello ; and moreover, the 
 mention of Cassio's "place" serves to suggest the idea that 
 lago himself may fill it— a suggestion adopted and acted upon, 
 as is seen by Othello's words at the close of this scene : " Now 
 
 ; thou 
 
 my I 
 
 . His means 
 . Strain hi: 
 
 Implying the 
 
 tertainm nt. ' Urge his 1 
 to pay and office.' For the word "enter- 
 tainment," as a military term, see Note 23, Act iv., " Corio- 
 lanus." 
 
 46. Hold her free. " Free " is here used in its combined 
 senses of 'pure,' 'chaste,' and of 'exempt from blame.' See 
 Note 36, Act ii., " -Winter's Tale." 
 
 47. Fear not my government. ' Do not distrust my power 
 of self-control." See Note 83, Act i., " Coriolanus." 
 
 48. And knows all qualities, with a learned spirit, of human 
 dealings. " Learned " is here used for 'experienced,' and the 
 construction is transposed : the meaning of the sentence being, 
 ' And knows with an cx-perienced spirit all qualities of human 
 dealings.* 
 
 49. Haggard. A degenerate hawk ; ' wild,' ' irreclaimable : ' 
 or, more strictly, 'unreclaimed.' See Note 9, Act iii., "Twelfth 
 Night." 
 
 50. jtesses. Short thongs or straps of leather attached to the 
 foot of the hawk ; which tlie falconer twisted round his hand, to 
 hold the bird firmly on the fist. 
 
 51. I'd whistle her off. and let her down the wind. Terms 
 used in falconry, thus explained by Dr. Johnson, who had the 
 information from reliable authority: "The falconer always let 
 
 j fly the hawk against the wind ; if she flies with the wind behind 
 I her, she seldom returns. If therefore a hawk was for any reason 
 to be dismissed, she was let dmvn the wind, and from that time 
 shifted for herself, and preyed at fortune." 
 56) 
 
 VOL. III. 
 
 238 
 
Act II I.J 
 
 [SCEiXE 111. 
 
 To prey at forLune. Haply, for I am black, 
 And have not those soft parts of conversation 
 That chamberers*^ have ; or, for 1 am declin'd 
 Into the vale of years, — yet that 's not much ; — 
 She 's gone ; I am abus'd ; and my relief 
 Must be to loathe her. Oh, curse of marriage. 
 That we can call these delicate creatures ours, 
 And not their appetites ! I had rather be a toad, 
 And live upon the vapour of a dungeon. 
 Than keep a corner in the tiling I love 
 I' or others' uses. Yet, 'tis the plague of great ones ; 
 Pierogativ'd are they less than the base ; 
 'Tis destiny unshunnable, like death: 
 Even then this forked plague^s is fated to us 
 When we do quicken. — Desdemona comes: 
 If she be false, oh, then heaven mocks itself ! — 
 I'll not believe it. 
 
 Re-C7iter Desdemona and Emilia. 
 
 Des. Hoiv now, my dear Othello ! 
 
 Your dinner, ami the generous islanders*^ 
 By you invited, do attend your presence. 
 
 0th. I am to blame. 
 
 Des. Why is your speech so faint P^*" 
 
 Are you not well ? 
 
 0th. I have a pain upon my forehead here. 
 Des. Faith, that's with watching; 'twill away 
 again : 
 
 Let me but bind it hard, within this hour 
 It will be well. 
 
 0th. Your napkin W is too little; 
 
 \lie puts the handkerchief from him ; 
 
 and she drops it. 
 Let it alone. Come, I'll go in with you. 
 
 Des. I am very sorry that you are not well. 
 
 [Exeunt Othello and Desdemona. 
 
 52. Chamherers. Haunters of ladies' drawing-rooms; those 
 wlio are versed in drawing-room talk and behaviour. 
 
 53. This forked plague. See Notes 60 and 65, Act i., 
 "Winter's Tale." 
 
 54. When we do quicken. 'When we jjegin to live.' 
 
 55. Generous islanders. ' Islanders of rank and distinction.' 
 See Note 73, Act iv., " Measure for Measure." 
 
 56. Why is your speech so faints This is the reading of all 
 the Quartos ; while the Folio gives, ' Why do you speak so 
 faintly?' The effect conveyed, by this inquiry, is double; it 
 .serves to im.jress upon us the fearful conflict of emotion that has 
 deprived the brave soldier of voice and strength, and to indicate 
 the wife's loving promptness of ear, quick to detect the slightest 
 variation in her husb.inl's tone. 
 
 57. Napkiu. An old word for ' handkerchief See Note 103, 
 Act v., " Hamlet." 
 
 58. A hundred times. "Hundred" is here u.sed in the 
 idiomatic manner that various words denoting indefinite number 
 are employed by Shakespeare ; but, moreover, the expression, 
 " a hundred times," is here mtroduced to give the effect of a 
 considerable period having e'apsed. In hardly any play is our 
 dramatist's system of simultaneously indicated long time and 
 short time more visibly and skilfully su'^tained than in this one 
 of Othello. He b id to give the brief effect o'' recent marriage, 
 consequent upon the elopement and secret espousals which occur 
 in the opening of the play ; and he had also to give the lengthened 
 
 EiriiL. I am glad I have found this napkin : 
 This was her first remembrance from the Moor: 
 My wayward husband hath a hundred times^s 
 
 Woo'd me to steal it ; but she so loves the token, 
 
 For he conjur'd her she should ever keep it, 
 
 That she reserves it evermore about her 
 
 To kiss and talk to. I'll have the work ta'en out,^^ 
 
 And give 't lago : 
 
 What he will do with it heaven knows, not I ; 
 I nothing, but to please his fantasy. 
 
 Re-enter Iago. 
 
 lago. How now ! what do )'ou here alone ? 
 Emil. Do not you chide ; I have a thing for 
 you.6» 
 
 lago. A thing for me ! — it is a common thing — 
 Emil. Ha ? 
 
 Iago. To have a foolish wife. 
 
 Emil. Oh,is tliat all? What will you give me now 
 For that same handkerchief.*" 
 
 Iago. What handkerchief ? 
 
 Emil. What handkerchief! 
 Why, that the Moor first gave to Desdemona ; 
 That which so often"' you did bid me steal. 
 
 Iago. Hast stol'n it from her ? 
 
 Emil. No, faith ; she let it drop by negh'gcnce, 
 And, to the advantage, I, being here,^^ took 't up. 
 Look, heie it is. 
 
 Iago. A good wench ; give it me. 
 
 Emil. What uill you do v.'ith 't, that you have 
 been so earnest 
 To have me filch it ? 
 
 Iago. {Snatching it.] Why, what 's that to you ? 
 
 Emil. If it be not for some purpose of import, 
 Give 't me again : poor lady ! she'll run mad 
 When she shall lack it. 
 
 effect of conjugal union, in order to add to the tragic impression 
 of broken wedded faith and destroyed wedded happiness. To 
 produce the former effect, he has made but one night elapse 
 since the arrival of the married pair in Cyprus and the celebra- 
 tion of their nuptials; to produce the latter effect, he throws in 
 occasional touches that indicate a prolonged period. The present 
 is one of these ; and we shall point out others as they occur. 
 
 59. Ta'en out. 'Copied.' The term in this sense occurs 
 again in the play. See Note 109 of this Act, and Note 21, Act iv. 
 That it was thus used formerly is showm by a passage in the 
 Preface to Philemon Holland's translation of Pliny (1610)— 
 " Nicophanes (a famous painter) gave his mind wholly to antique 
 pictures, partly to exemplify and take out their patterns;" and 
 by a passage in Middleton's " Women Beware of Women" — 
 
 " She intends 
 To take out other works in a new sampler." 
 
 60. T)o not yon rhide; I have, Emilia has intended to 
 have the work copied, and a duplicate made of the handker- 
 chief, in order to conceal her having taken the original ; but her 
 husband coming in and addressing her sharply, makes her give 
 it to him, in the hope of appeasing his churlish humour. Even 
 in this slight circimist.ance, Shakespeare has drawn the facile- 
 charactered, unstable woman. 
 
 61. So often. Long time. See Note 58 of this Act. 
 
 62. To the advantage, I,beiughere. ' I being opportunely here.' 
 
Acr III.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene II L 
 
 lago. Be notacknown'''* oa 't ; I have u=e for it. 
 Go, leave me. \_Exit Emslia. 
 
 I will in Cassio's lodging lose this napkin, 
 And let him find it. Tritles light as air 
 Are to the jealous confirmations strong 
 As proofs of holy writ : this may do something. 
 The Moor already changes with my poison : — 
 Dangerous conceits are, in their natures, poisons, 
 Which at the first are scarce found to distaste, 
 But, with a little act upon the blood, 
 Burn like the mines of sulphur. — I did say so : — • 
 Look, wliere he comes ! Not poppy, nor man- 
 dragora,63 
 
 Nor all the drowsy syrups of the world.. 
 Shall ever medicine thee to that sweet sleep 
 Which thou ovy'dst^" yesterday. 
 
 Re-enter Othello. 
 0th. Ha ! ha ! false to me ? 
 
 lago. Why, how now, general ! no more of that. 
 0th. Avaunt ! be gone ! thou hast set me on 
 the rack : — 
 I swear 'tis better to be much abus'd 
 Than but to know 't a little. 
 
 lago. How now, my lord ! 
 
 0th. What sense had I of her stol'n hours of 
 lust? 
 
 I saw 't not, thought it not, it harm'd not me : 
 I slept the next night'''' well, was free and merry ; 
 I found not Cassio's kisses on her lips : 
 He that is robb'd, not wanting wliat is stol'n. 
 Let him not know 't, and he 's not robb'd at all. 
 
 lago. I am sorry to hear this. 
 
 0th. I had been happy, if the general camp, 
 Pioneers63 ^nd all, had tasted her sweet body, 
 
 63. Ackno2vn. The Folio and the second Quarto give this 
 word; while the first and third Quarto have 'Be not you 
 knowne on't.' The word " acknown," besides implying know- 
 ledge, includes ' acknowledgment : ' and is therefore better suited 
 to the present passage, since the effect is imparted to the sen- 
 tence not only of ' do not you know anything about it,' but also 
 of ' do not acknowledge anything concerning it.' The phrase 
 condensedly expresses, ' Be not you acknowledgedly aware of 
 it.' That the word was used in Shakespeare's time is shown 
 by a passage in the " Life of Ariosto," subjoined to Sir 
 John Harringtons translation of the "Orlando Furioso " 
 (1607) : " Some say he was married to her privilie, but durst 
 not be ncknownc of it;" and by one in Kyd's tragedy of 
 " Cornelia" (139^) : 
 
 'Our friend's misfortune doth increase our own. 
 Cic. But ours of others will not be ncknown." 
 
 64. / did say so:— Lmk, luhcre Jie comes! Implying, 'I 
 have just said that poisonous suggestions burn fiercely ; and see 
 where he comes, to confirm my words by his pangs of restless 
 misery ! ' 
 
 63. nrandragora. 'Mandrake.' See Note 21, Act iv., 
 " Romeo and Juliet." It was used in medicine as a sedative, 
 or as an opiate ; which is testified by a passage from Pliny's 
 "Natural History " — " The herb mandr.igoras some writers 
 call circeium : two or three roots it hath of a fleshie substance 
 running downe into the earth almost a cubit, .ind a fruit or apple 
 of the bignesse of filberds or hazel-nuts, within which there be 
 
 So I had nothing known. Oh, now, for ever 
 Farewell the tranquil mind ! farewell content ! 
 Farewell the plumed troop, and the big wars, 
 That make ambition virtue ! Oh, farewell ! 
 Farewell the neighing steed, and the shrill trump. 
 The spirit-stirring drum, the ear-piercing fife. 
 The royal banner, and all quality, 
 Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war ! 
 And, oh! you mortal engines, whose rude throats 
 The immortal Jove's dread clamours"' counterfeit, 
 Farewell ! Othello's occupation 's gone ! 
 
 lago, Is"t possible, my lord ? 
 
 0th. Villain, be sure thou prove my love un- 
 true, — 
 
 Be sure of it ; give me the ocular proof ; 
 
 \_Seiz,ing him by the throat. 
 Or, by the worth of mine eternal soul, 
 Thou hadst been better have been born a dog 
 Than ansH-er my wak'd wrath ! 
 
 lago. Is 't come to this ? 
 
 Oth. M.ake me to see't; or, at the least, so 
 prove it, 
 
 That the probation bear no hinge nor loop 
 To hang a doubt on ; or woe upon thy life ! 
 lago. My noble lord, — 
 
 Oth. If thou dost slander her, and torture me, 
 Never pray more ; abandon all remorse 
 On horror's head horrors accumulate ; 
 Do deeds to make heaven weep, all earth amaz'd ; 
 For nothing canst thou to damnation add 
 Greater than that. 
 
 lago. Oh, grace ! O Heaven, defend me ! 
 
 Are you a man ? have you a soul or sense ? — • 
 God be wi'you; take inine office. — Oh, wretched fool. 
 That liv'st to make thine honesty a vice !— 
 
 seeds like unto the pippins of peares .... In some 
 they venture to eat the apples or fruit thereof: but those that 
 know not how to dresse and order them aright loose the use of 
 their tongue thereby, and prove dumbe for the time. And 
 verily if they be so bold as to take a great quantity thereof in 
 drink, they are sure to die for it. Yet it may be used safely 
 ynough for to procure sleepe if there be good regard had in the 
 dose, that it be answer.ible in proportion to the strength and 
 complexion of the patient. Also it is an ordinary thing to drink 
 it against the poyson of serpents : likewise before the cutting, 
 cauterizing, pricking, or layncing of any member to take away 
 the scnce or feeling of such extreme cures. And suflicient it is 
 in some bodies to cast them into a sleepe with the smell of 
 
 6i. Owdst. 'Ownedst.' See Note 17, Act i. 
 
 67. The next night. Indication of long lime ; as if a succes- 
 sion of nights had elapsed. See Note 58 of this Act. 
 
 68. Pioneers. Im.plying, the vilest of the camp. Pioneers 
 were generally degraded soldiers ; appointed to be such, as a 
 punishment for misbehaviour. There is testimony to this effect 
 in "The Laws and Ordinances of War" (1640). 
 
 69. JoveS dread clamours. Here, although Othello is a 
 Christian (for lago s.ays, speaking of the Moor in Act ii., sc. 3, 
 "Were't to renounce his baptism, all seals and symbols of re- 
 deemed sin,"&c.), he uses the familiar "Jove," so generally 
 employed. See Note 14, Act ii. 
 
 70. Remorse. 'Pity;' 'compunctious restraint.' See Note 
 56, Act iv., "King John." 
 
Act III.J OTHELLO. [Scene IIL 
 
 What will you give me 
 handkerchief? 
 
 What handkerchief? 
 
 Act III. Scene III. 
 
 Oh, monstrous world ! Take note, take note, oh ! 
 world, 
 
 To be direct and honest is not safe.— 
 
 I thank you for this profit ; and from hence 
 
 I'll love no friend, sith love breeds such offence. 
 
 0th. Nay, stay : — thou shouldst be honest. 
 
 lago. I should be wise ; for honesty 's a fool, 
 And loses that it works for. 
 
 Oih. By the world, 
 
 1 think my wife be honest, and think she is not ; 
 I think that thou art just, and think thou art not : 
 I'll have some proof : her name, that was as fresh 
 As Dian's visage, is now begrim'd and black 
 As mine own face.— If there be cords, or knives. 
 Poison, or fire, or suffocating streams, 
 I'll not endure it. — Would I were satisfied ! 
 
 lago. 1 see, sir, you are eaten up with passion : 
 
 yi. Prime, ' Forward,' ' prompt.' 
 
 I do re}>ent me that I put it to you. 
 You would be satisfied P 
 
 Otb. Would ! nay, I will. 
 
 lago. And may: but,how? how satisfied, my lord ? 
 Would you, the supervisor, grossly gape on ? 
 
 Oth. 'Oh! 
 
 lago. 'Twere a tedious difficulty, I think. 
 To bring them to that prospect. What then ? liow 
 then ? 
 
 What shall I say ? Where 's satisfaction ? 
 It is impossible you should see this. 
 Were they as prime as goats, and fools as gross 
 As ignorance made drunk. But yet, I say. 
 If imputation and strong circumstances,— 
 Which lead directly to the door of truth,— 
 Will give you satisfaction, you may have 't. 
 Oth. Give me a living'^ reason she 's disloyal. 
 
 72. Living. 'Vital;' " a living 
 
 1 " means a rea.son that 
 
Act III.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 lago. I do not like the office : 
 But, sith I am enter'd in this cause so far, — 
 Prick'd to 't by foolish honesty and love, — 
 I will go on. I lay with Cassio lately ; 
 And, being troubled with a raging tooth, 
 1 could not sleep. 
 
 There are a kind of men so loose of soul, 
 
 That in their sleeps will mutter t.-.eir affiirs : 
 
 One of this kind is Cassio : 
 
 In sleep I heard him say, " Sweet Desdemona, 
 
 Let us be wary, let lis hide our loves ;" 
 
 And then, sir, would he gripe an i wring my hand. 
 
 Cry, " Oh, sweet creature!" and then kiss me hard, 
 
 As if he pluck'd up kisses by the roots. 
 
 That grew upon my lips : and sigh'd', and then 
 
 Cried, "Cursed fate that gave thee to the Moor !" 
 
 0th. Oh, monstrous ! monstrous ! 
 
 lago. Nay, this was but his dream. 
 
 0th. But this denoted a foregone conclusion : 
 'Tis a shrewd doubt, though it bs but a dream. 
 
 lago. And this may help to thicken other 
 proofs 
 
 That do demonstrate thinly. 
 
 Oib. I'll tear her all to pieces. 
 
 lago. Nay, but be wise : yet we see nothing done ; 
 She may be honest yet. Tell me but this, — 
 Have you not sometimes seen a handkerchief, 
 Spotted with strawberries, in your wife's hand ? 
 
 Oih. I gave her such a one ; 'twas my first gift. 
 
 lago. I know not that; but such a handkerchief 
 (I am sure it was your wife's) did I to-day 
 See Cassio wipe his beard with. 
 
 Oth. If it be that,— 
 
 lago. If it be that, or any that was hers,"'' 
 It speaks against her with the other proofs. 
 
 0:h. Oh, that the slave had forty thousand lives, — 
 One is too poor, too weak for iny revenge ! 
 Now do I see 'tis true. — Look here, lago ; 
 All my fond love thus do I blow to heaven : 
 'Tis gone. — 
 
 Arise, black vengeance, from the hollow hell ! 
 Yield up, oh ! love, thy crown and hearted throne 
 To tyrannous hate! Swell, bosom, with thy fraught, 
 For 'tis of aspics' tongues ! 
 
 has the life of truth and fact 
 
 founded 
 
 73. Thai g:a-M iliee to the Moor. The effect of long time is 
 conveyed throughout this speech. See Note 58 of this Act. 
 
 74. Or- any that was hers. The old copies misprint ' it ' for 
 " that." Malone's correction. 
 
 75. Ne'er feels retiring ebb. This is the reading of the 
 second and third Quartos ; the Fo'io giving ' keepes ' for "feels." 
 It is probable Shakespeare framed this simile from a passage 
 in Holland'^ translation of Pliny's " Natural History And 
 the sea Pontus evermore floweth and runneth out into Pro- 
 pontis ; but the sea never retireth backe againe within Pontus." 
 
 76. Capable. As Shakespeare here uses this word, it com- 
 prises the senses of ' capacious,' ' comprehen-iive,' ' capable of 
 receiving,' and * capable of satisfying.' See Note 109, Act iii., 
 " As You Like It." 
 
 lago. Pray, be content. 
 
 Oth. Oh ! blood, lago, blood ! 
 lago. Patience, I say ; your mind perhaps may 
 change. 
 
 Oth. Never, lago. Like to the Pontic sea, 
 Whose icy current and compulsive course 
 Ne'er feels retiring ebb,?* but keeps due on 
 To the Propontic and the Hellespont ; 
 Even so my bloody thoughts, with violent pace, 
 Shall ne'er look back, ne'er ebb to humble love, 
 Till that a capable'^ and wide revenge 
 Swallow them up.— [A'«f^/j.] Now, by yond' 
 
 marble heaven, 
 In the due reverence of a sacred vow 
 I here engage my words. 
 
 lago. Do not rise yet. — \_Kneels. 
 
 Witness, you ever-burning lights above, 
 You elements that clip us round about,'''' — 
 Witness that here lago doth give up 
 The execution ''5 of his wit, hands, heart, 
 To wrong'd Othello's service! Let him command, 
 And to obey shall be in me remorse,'' 
 What bloody work soever. 
 
 Oth . I greet thy love, 
 
 Not with vain thanks, but with acceptance 
 
 bounteous, 
 And will upon the instant put thee to 't : 
 Within these three days let me hear thee say 
 That Cassio 's not alive. 
 
 lago. My friend is dead;^'' 'tis done at your 
 request : 
 But let her live. 
 
 Oth. Her!— 
 Come, go with me apart ; I will withdraw, 
 To furnish me with some swift means of death 
 For the fair devil. Now art thou my lieutenant. 
 
 lago. I am your own for ever. \_Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE \y.—The Same. 
 Enter Desdemona, Emilia, and Clown. 
 Des. Do you know, sirrah, where Lieutenant 
 Cassio lies ? 
 
 77. Witness, you ever-burning lights above, you elements 
 t!iat clip us round about. These two lines establish the fact 
 that Shakespeare intended this scene to take place in the open 
 air, in the face of Nature. See Note 52, Act iii., "Midsummer 
 Night's Dream." 
 
 78. Tlie execution. Here used to express ' the employment,' 
 ' the e.xercise.' 
 
 79. Remorse. Here used in the sense of ' pity,' ' compas- 
 sionate tenderness' (see Note 70 of this Act) ; the meaning of 
 the sentence being, ' To obey him shall be in me an act of pity 
 and commiseration for his wrongs, not of cruelty towards others, 
 whatever blood-shedding this may involve.' 
 
 80. My friend is dead. One of our poet's vigorous licenses of 
 anticipative construction. See Note 6i, Act ii., " Second Part 
 Henry IV. ;" Note 73, Act v., " Richard II. ;" and Note 29, 
 Act v., " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
Act III.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Enter Othello. 
 How is 't with you, my lord ? 
 0th. Well, my good Udy.— [Aside.] Oh, hard- 
 ness to dissemble ! — 
 How do you, Desdemona P 
 
 Des. Well, my good lord. 
 
 0th. Give me your hand : this hand is moist, 
 I my lady. 
 
 Clo. I dare not say he lies anywhere. 
 Des. Why, man ? 
 
 Clo. He 's a soldier ; and for one to say a 
 soldier lies, is stabbing. 
 
 Des. Go to : where lodges he ? 
 
 Clo. To tell you where he lodges, is to tell you 
 where I lie. 
 
 Des. Can anything he made of this P^' 
 
 Clo. I know not where he lodires: and for me ; ti- ,, i i ^ r u i 
 
 ' Des. It yet has felt no age nor known no 
 
 to devise a lodging, and say he lies here or he lies : gQi-,-ow 
 
 there, were to lie in mine own throat. [ q,i,_ This argues fruitfulness and liberal 
 
 Des. Can you inquire him out, and be edified j heart : 
 
 by report P . Hot, hot, and moist : this hand of yours requires 
 
 Clo. I will catechise the world for him ; that is, | A sequester from liberty, fasting and prayer, 
 make questions, and by them answer.s^ j Much castigation, exercise s5 devout. ' 
 
 Des. Seek him, bid him come hither : tell him 'Tis a good hand, a frank one. 
 
 id hope all i Des. You may, indeed, say so ; 
 
 I For 'twas that hand that gave away my heart. 
 
 I have moved my lord in his behalf, 
 will be well. 
 
 Clo. To do this is within the compass of man's 
 wit; and therefore I will attempt the doing it. 
 
 [Exh. 
 
 Des. Where should I lose that handkerchief, 
 Emilia? 
 
 Emil. I know not, madam. S'' 
 Des. Believe me, I had rather have lost my 
 purse 
 
 Full of cruzadoes -.^'^ and, but my noble Moor 
 Is true of mind, and made of no such baseness 
 As jealous creatures are, it were enough 
 To put him to ill thinking. 
 
 Emil. Is he not jealous ? 
 
 Des. Who, he? I think the sun where he was 
 born 
 
 Drew all such humours from him. 
 
 Emil. Look, where he comes. 
 
 Des. 1 will not leave him now till Cassio 
 Be call'd to him. 
 
 81. Can anything be 7nade of this ? The phrase here used 
 gives confirmation of the adopted reading discussed in Note 21, 
 Act i., " Merchant of Venice." 
 
 82. And by them answer. 'And by means of the answers I 
 shall thus get I will answer you.' 
 
 83. / have vioved my lord in his behalf. This introduces 
 short time again ; making the present period a following up of 
 Desdemona's appeal to her hvisband that same morning, at the 
 commencement of the previous scene : " I have been talking 
 with a suitor here," &c. See Note 58 of this Act. 
 
 84. I know not, madam. Here the slip-knot-principled woman 
 tells a point-blank falsehood. Although she knows that her lady 
 will be deeply distressed at its loss (she has before said, " Poor 
 lady ! she'll run mad when she shall lack it"), yet she has not 
 the courage to own that she has taken the handkerchief, lest her 
 husband should " chide" her for violating his injunction to " be 
 not acknown on't" (see Note 60 of this Act). Emilia is one of 
 those who think that a lie is the easiest means of evading a diffi- 
 culty; and the dramatist has made her a coarse type of such 
 women ; while he has made the delicate, the gentle, the inno- 
 cent Desdemona a refined type of them. Fine moral harmony 
 in even two such dissimilar characters ! 
 
 85. Cruzadoes. Portuguese coins, current in England when 
 Shakespeare wrote. There were three sorts ; one with a long 
 cross, one with a short cross, and the great cruzado of Portugal. 
 
 0th. A liberal hand : the hearts of old gave 
 hands ;W 
 
 But our new heraldry is— hands, not hearts. 
 
 Des. I cannot speak of this. Come now, your 
 promise. 
 
 0th. What promise, chuck ? 
 
 Des. I have sent to bid Cassio come speak with 
 you. 
 
 0th. I have a salt and sullen rheum offends me;' 
 Lend me thy handkerchief. 
 
 Des. Here, my lord. 
 
 0th. That which I gave you. 
 
 Des, I have it not about me. 
 
 0th. Not ? 
 
 Des. No, indeed, my lord. 
 
 0th. That is a fault. 
 
 Tiiat handkerchief 
 Did an Egyptian to my mother give ; 
 She was a charmer, and could almost read 
 
 They were of gold, and weighed from two pennyweights six 
 grains to two pennyweights sixteen grains ; and differed in 
 value from six shillings and eightpence to nine shillings. 
 
 86. Exercise. Here used in the same sense as in the passage 
 referred to in Note 80, Act iii., "Richard III.," for 'religious 
 duty,' ' prayer.' 
 
 87. Tlie hearts of old gave hands. In allusion to the old 
 form of troth-plight (see Note 8, Act iii., " Tempest"), and to 
 giving the hand in marriage. The expression "gave hands'' 
 suggests to Othello the heraldic term ' to give arms,' and he 
 says, " Our new Iteraldry is — hands, not hearts." A passage in 
 the "Essays" of Sir Wliliam Cornwallis the Younger (1601) 
 shows the antithetical mode in which the words "hands" and 
 "hearts" were used by other writers as well as Shakespeare : — 
 " We of these later times, full of a nice curiositie, mislike all 
 the performances of our forefathers : we say they were honest, 
 plaine men, but they want the capering wits of this ripe age. 
 They had wont to give their hands and hearts together, but we 
 think it a finer grace to looke asquint, our hand looking one 
 way and our lieart another." 
 
 88. Sullen. This is the word given in the Quartos, signifying 
 * churlish,' ' vexatious ;' while the Folio gives ' sorry.' 
 
 89. A charmer. Here used for 'an enchantress;' one who 
 deals in charms and spells. So in Perkins's "Discourse on 
 Witchcraft" (iSio) : — " By witches we understand not those only 
 
Act III.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Th5 thoughts of people ; she told lier, while she 
 kept it, 
 
 'TvvoLild make her amiable, and subdue my father 
 
 Entirely to her love ; but if she lost it, 
 
 Or made a gift of it, my father's eye 
 
 Should hold her loathe. i, and his spirits should hunt 
 
 After new fancies : she, dying, gave it me ; 
 
 And bid me, when my fate would have me wive. 
 
 To give it her.'" I did so : and take heed on 't ; 
 
 Make it a darling like your precious eye ; 
 
 To lose or give 't away were such perdition 
 
 As nothing else could match. 
 
 Des. Is 't possible ? 
 
 0th. 'Tis true : there 's magic in the web of it : 
 A sibyl, that had number'd in the world 
 The sun to course two hundred compasses. 
 In her prophetic fury sew'd the work ; 
 The worms were hallow'd that did breed tlie silk ; 
 And it was dy'd in mummy'' which the skilful 
 Consei v'd of maidens' hearts. 
 
 Df^s. Indeeil ! is 't true ? 
 
 0/h. Most veritable ; therefore look to 't well. 
 
 Des. Tiien would to heaven that I had never 
 seen it ! 
 
 Oib. Ha ! wherefore ? 
 
 Dei. Why do you speak so startingly and rash ? 
 Oih. Is't lost? is 't gone ? speak, is it out o' 
 the way ? 
 
 Dei. Heaven bless us ! 
 Oth. Say you ? 
 
 DcS. It is not lost ; but what an if it were ? 
 Orb. How ! 
 
 Des. I say, it is not lost. 
 
 Oth. Fetch 't, let me see 't. 
 
 which kill and tormsiU, but all diviners, charmers, jugglers, all 
 wizards, commonly called wise men and wise women." 
 
 90. To give it Iier. Here "her'' is used according to Shake- 
 speare's manner of employing a pronoun in relation to an implied 
 particular; the present particular being 'my wife," as implied 
 in " when my fate would have me vjive:' See Note 30, Act v., 
 " Hamlet ; " and Note 32, Act iv., " King Lear." 
 
 gt. Dy'd in miuiiiiiy. The bal samic liquor that oozed from 
 mummies was formerly believed to possess anti-epileptic virtues. 
 It was also used by painters, as a transparent brown colour 
 that threw warmth into the shadows of a picture. 
 
 92. Why, so I ca,i. With marvellous tact and truth has 
 Shakespeare here depicted Des.1emona's character ; naturally 
 gentle, and circumstantially timid. See Note 95, Act i. When 
 her husband speaks " so startingly and rash," she exclaims, 
 "Heaven bless us!" half in alarm, half in ev.asion of direct 
 answer. When he persists, she faintly denies, with " It is not 
 loit;" adding the glanced-at possibility of its being so, by 
 " what an if it were?" Finding, however, that this admission 
 makes him only the more vehement, she repeats more firmly her 
 denial, " It is not lost ; " and finally, upon his angry command, 
 " Fetch 't, let me see 't," she plunges into absolute falsehood, 
 and says she "can" do so, though she knows she has it not, 
 having just before said, " I had rather have lost my purse full 
 of cruzadoes." 
 
 93. My ijiind misgives. This phrase, without the customary 
 'me' after "misgives," is an ellipsis found elsewhere. See 
 speech re'erreil to in Note 84, Act i.. " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 94. Talk me 0/ Cassia. " jMe" is here u^Ied in the idiomatic 
 
 Des. Why, so I can,'^ ..^ir, but I will not now. 
 This is a trick to put me from my suit : 
 Pi-ay you, let Cas^io be receiv'd again. 
 
 Oth. Fetch me the handkerchief : my mind 
 misgives." 
 
 Des. Come, come ; 
 You'll never meet a more sufficient man. 
 
 Oih. The handkerchief! 
 
 Des. 1 pray, talk me of Cassio.'-* 
 
 Oth. The handkerchief! 
 
 Ds^ A man that all his time 
 
 Hath founded his good fortunes on your love ; 
 Shar'd dangers with you, — 
 
 Oth. The handkerchief ! 
 
 Des. In sooth, you are to blame. 
 
 Oth. Aw.ay! \_Exit. 
 
 Em: I. Is not this man jealous ? 
 
 Des. I ne'er saxv tliis before. 
 Sure, there 's some wonder in this handkerchief : 
 I am most unhappy in the loss of it.'^ 
 
 Emil. 'Tis not a year or two shows us a man 
 They are all but stomachs, and we all but food ; 
 They eat us hungerly, and when they are full. 
 They cast us.— Look you, — Cassio and my hus- 
 band. 
 
 Enter Cassio and Iago. 
 lago. There is no other way ; 'tis she must 
 do 't : 
 
 And, lo, the happiness! go, and importune her. 
 
 Des. How now, good Cassio! what's the news 
 with you ? 
 
 Cas. Madam, my former suit : I do beseech you 
 That by your virtuous means I may again 
 
 manner of which we have so frequently pointed out instances. 
 See Note 73, Act i., " King Lear." 
 
 95. / am most unhappy in the loss of it. And yet, even yet, 
 Emilia says nothing of her having found the handkerchief .and 
 given it to her husband ! Her an.xiety to gratify him must be 
 very strong, to outweigh the need to step forward with the 
 truth for Desdcmojia's relief; for Emilia really is attached to 
 her gentle lady-mistress. But she is also strongly attached to 
 Iago ; she has for him that attachment which women of her 
 nature feel towards men whom they both admire and fear, 
 whom they personally like and mentally stand in awe of. She 
 does not understand his superiority of intellect or his strength of 
 will, but she feels their domination and defers to their unex- 
 plained behests. 
 
 95. ' Tis not a year or two, &'c. This line of Emilia's, and 
 Desdemona's words just previously, "I ne'er saw this before," 
 aid in producing the effect of long time. They are indefinite 
 e.'cpressions, and the present one applies to e.xperience of mar- 
 riage in the abstract ; but they tend to do away with the effect 
 of Desdemona's recent nuptials, and to substitute that of her 
 having been some time wedded. It is extremely interesting 
 to trace the ingenuity with which the dramatist has contrived 
 to establish the impression of a considerable period having 
 elapsed, even while preserving the stated few hours from the 
 arrival in Cyprus to the catastrophe of the tragedy. With his 
 own wonderful and peculiar .skill, and by his own admirably 
 invented system of dramatic art, unity of time with dual 
 impression is consistently and constantly maintained. See 
 Note 58 of this Act. 
 
 575 
 
Act III.] OTHELLO. [Scene IV. 
 
 Cassia. Sweet Bianca, 
 
 Take me this work out. 
 JJiuiua. O Cassio! wlience came this? Act III. Scene IV,. 
 
 Exist, and be a member of his love 
 
 Whom I, with all the office"' of my heart, 
 
 Entirely honour: I would not be delay'd. 
 
 If my offence be of such mortal kind 
 
 That nor my service past, nor present sorrow;, 
 
 Nor purpos'd merit in futurity. 
 
 Can ransom me into his love again. 
 
 But to know so must be my benefit ; 
 
 So shall I clothe me in a forc'd content, 
 
 And shut myself up in some other course. 
 
 To fortune's alms."* 
 
 Des. Alas! thrice-gentle Cassio ! 
 
 97- Office. This is the word here in the Folio and two of 
 the Quartos, while the first Quarto gives ' duty ; ' but " office" 
 was sometimes used synonymously with * duty,' and expressed 
 'dedicated service.' Baret has — " Dutie, office, dutie of 
 behaviour in honestie and reason : officium." 
 
 gS. Shut 7}iyself up in some other course, to fortitne s alms. 
 ' Confine myself to some other course, awaiting whatever for- 
 
 My advocation is not now in tune ; 
 My lord is not my lord ; nor should I know him. 
 Were he in favour,'-" as in humour, alter'd. 
 So help me every spirit sanctified, 
 As I have spoken for you all my best. 
 And stood within the blank"'" of his displeasure' 
 For my free speech ! You must awhile be patient: 
 What I can do I will ; and more I will 
 Than for myself I dare : let that suffice you. 
 lago. Is my lord angry ? 
 
 Emil. He went hence but now. 
 
 tune may bestow upon me.' The expression " fortune's alms" 
 is used elsewhere. See context of passage referred to in Note 
 54, Act i., " King Lear." 
 
 gg. Favour. ' Aspect,' ' appearance,' ' countenance.' See 
 Note III, Act i. 
 
 IOC. Siood 7uithiii tlie blank. * Stood within the range, aim, 
 or mark.' See Note 33, Act ii., " Winter's Tale ; " and Note 7, 
 Act iv., '• Hamlet." 
 
 VOL. IP. 
 
 239 
 
Act III.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 And certainly in strange unquietness. 
 
 lago. Can he be angry ? I have seen the 
 cannon, 
 
 When it hath blown his ranks into the aLr, 
 And, like the devil, from his very arm 
 Puff'd his own brother;— and can he be angry ? 
 Something of moment, then : I will go meet 
 him : 
 
 I'here's matter in't indeed, if lie be angry. 
 
 Des. I pr'ythee, do so. [Exit Iago. 
 
 Sometliing, sure, of state, — 
 Either from Venice, or some unhatch'd practice '"i 
 Made demonstrable here in Cyprus to him, — 
 Hath puddled his clear spirit ; and in such cases 
 Men's natures wrangle with inferior things, 
 'I'hough great ones are their object. 'Tis even so ; 
 For let our finger ache, and it indues '"^ 
 Our other healthful members even to that sense 
 Of pain : nay, we must think men .are not gods. 
 Nor of them look for such observances 
 As fit the bridal. '"^ — Beshrew me much, Emilia, 
 I was (unhandsome warrior as I am) 
 Axraigning his unkindness with my soul ; 
 But now I find I had suborn'd the witness, 
 And he 's indicted falsely. 
 
 Emit. Pray Heaven it be state matters, as you 
 think. 
 
 And no conception nor no jealous toy'"^ 
 Concerning you. 
 
 Des. Alas ! the day, I never gave him cause ! 
 
 Emil. But jealous souls will not be answer'd so ; 
 They are not ever jealous for the cause. 
 But jealous for they are jealous : 'tis a monster 
 Begot upon itself, born on itself. 
 
 Des. Heaven keep that monster from Othello's 
 mind ! 
 
 Emil. Lady, Amen. 
 
 Des. I will go seek him. — Cassio, walk here- 
 about : 
 
 101. UnhatcKd practice. ' Undeveloped treason.' 
 
 102. Indues. We think that here " indues" bears the sense 
 which Shakespeare elsewhere assigns to it of 'endows,' 'gifts' 
 (see Note loi, Act iv., "Hamlet"); and that "to," in the 
 present sentence, is used peculiarly, conveying the eiTfect of 
 'with.' In the passage referred to in Note s. Act v., "King 
 John," the word " to" is similarly employed : " Shall we send 
 f.iir-play orders, and make compromise, insinuation, parley, and 
 base truce, to arms invasive ? " where we see that as regards 
 the verb "send," " to" has its usual effect, but that as regards 
 " make compromise, insinuation, parley, and base truce," it has 
 the effect of 'with.' So here, the sentence signifies, 'Let but 
 our finger ache, and it endows our other healthful members with 
 the same sense of pain ; ' or ' Let but our finger ache, and it gives 
 to our other healthful members a like sense of pain.' It is 
 requisite, when judging some of Shakespeare's sentences that 
 have puzzled his commentators, to bear well in mind the peculiar 
 and varied mode in which he uses prepositions ; and, indeed, 
 very many words and parts of speech. 
 
 103. Such observances as Jit^ the bridal. Another artfully 
 introduced touch of protracted dramatic time ; it is, in fact, put 
 into the mouth of a wonialn the morning after the celebration of 
 
 If I do find him fit, I'll move your suit, 
 And seek to effect it to my uttermost. 
 Cas. I-htimbly thank your ladyship. 
 
 [Exeunt Desdemona and Emilia. 
 
 Enter Bianca. 
 Bian. Save you, friend Cassio 
 Cas. What make you from home r"" 
 
 How is it with you, my most fair Bianca? 
 r faith, sweet love, I was coming to your house. 
 
 Bian. And I was going to your lodging, Cassio. 
 What! keep a week away?'"' seven days and 
 nights ? 
 
 Eight score eight hours ? and lovers' absent hours. 
 More tedious than the dial eight score times ? 
 Oh, weary reckoning ! 
 
 Cas. Pardon me, Bianca : 
 
 I have this while with leaden thoughts been 
 press' d ; 
 
 But I shall, in a more continuatei<*8 time. 
 Strike off this score of absence. Sweet Bianca, 
 
 [Giving her Desdemona's handkerchiej. 
 Take me this work out.'o^ 
 
 Bian. O Cassio ! « hence came this ? 
 
 This is some token from a newer friend : 
 To the felt absence now I feel a cause : 
 Is 't come to this ? Well, well. 
 
 Cas. Go to, woman ! 
 
 Throw your vile guesses in the devil's teeth. 
 From whence you have them. You are jealous 
 now 
 
 That this is from some mistress, some remem- 
 brance : 
 No, in good troth, Bianca. 
 Bian. Why, whose is it ? 
 
 Cas. I know not, sweet: I found it in my 
 chamber. 
 
 I like the work well : ere it be demanded 
 (As like enough it will), I'd have it copied : 
 
 her nuptials, one who is still a bride ; but it gives the effect of 
 being spoken by a woman long past the season of her honey- 
 moon. See Note 96 of this Act. 
 
 104. Unhandsome warrior as I am. A lovely reminiscence 
 of her husband's having called her "my fair warrior," in the joy 
 of his first meeting with her on arrival. See Note 29, Act ii. 
 
 105. Toy. 'Trifle;' ' vagary of the imagination.' See Note 
 119, Act i., " Hamlet." 
 
 106. W!iai make you from homel 'What do you from 
 home ? ' ' Why are you away from home 1 ' See Note 48, Act i. 
 
 107. What! keep a week away? According to dramatic 
 short time, it is now only the morning after Cassio's arrival in 
 Cyprus : but this speech introduces the requisite effect of dra- 
 matic long time. See Note 58 of the present Act. 
 
 108. Contimcate. 'Uninterrupted.' 
 
 log. Take me this work out. ' Copy this work for me.' See 
 Note 59 of the present Act. 
 
 no. To the felt absence now I feci a cause. Here the word 
 "to" includes the double effect of 'in addition to' and 'for;' 
 since the sentence implies both ' In addition to the felt absence 
 I now feel its cause,' and ' I now feel that there is a cause for 
 the felt absence.' See Note 102 of this Act. 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene L 
 
 Take it, and do 't ; and leave me for this lime. 
 
 Bian. Leave you! wherefore? 
 
 Cas. I do attend here on' the general ; 
 And think it no addition, nor my wish, 
 To have him see me woman'd. 
 
 Bian. Why, I pray you ? 
 
 Cos. Not that I love you not. 
 
 Bian. But that you do not love me. 
 
 I pray you, bring me on the way a little 
 And say if I shall see you soon at night. 
 
 Cas. 'Tis but a little way that I can bring you ; 
 For I attend here : but I'll see you soon. 
 
 Bian. 'Tis very good ; I must be circumstanc'd."- 
 [£Arlr^<'?/. 
 
 ACT IV. 
 
 SCENE I.— Cyprus. Before the Castle. 
 Enter Othello and Iago. 
 
 Will vou think : 
 
 Think, so, Iago ! 
 
 What! 
 
 Iago. 
 0th. 
 Iago. 
 To kiss in private ? 
 
 Oih. An unauthoris'd kiss. ! 
 
 Iago. Or to be with her friend an hour or more. 
 Not meaning any harm ? j 
 0th. And not mean harm ! i 
 
 It is hypocrisy against the devil : 
 
 They that mean virtuously, and yet do so, ' | 
 The devil their virtue tempts, and they tempt I 
 Heaven. 
 
 Iago. If they do nothing, 'tis a venial slip ; 
 But if I give my wife a handkerchief, — I 
 
 Olh. What then ? [ 
 
 Iago. Why, then, 'tis hers, my lord ; and, being I 
 hers, f 
 She may, I think, bestow 't on any man. ' 
 
 Olh. She is protectress of her honour too : i 
 May she give that :•' 
 
 Iago. Her honour is an essence that 's not seen ; 
 They have it very oft that have it not -."^ 
 But, for the handkerchief, — 
 
 Oth. By Heaven, I would most gladly have 
 forgot it :— 
 Thou said'st, — oh, it comes o'er my memory, 
 As doth the raven o'er the infected house,* 
 Boding to all,— he had my handkerchief. 
 
 111. Bring jiif oh the ^iiny a tittle. ' Escort or accompany [ 
 me a little on iny wav.' See Note 44, Act iii., "Romeo and 
 Juliet." I 
 
 112. I must be circuinstaitc ci. 'I must be content to yield 
 to circumstance^, ' ' I must be made subservient to circum- 
 
 Iago. Ay, what of that ? 
 
 Oth. That 's not so good now. 
 
 Iago. What! 
 If I had said I had seen him do you wrong? 
 Or heard him say, — as knaves be such abroad. 
 Who having, by their own importunate suit. 
 Or voluntary dotage of some mistress, 
 Convince i or supplied them, cannot choose 
 But they must blab, — 
 
 Olh. Hath he said anything ? 
 
 Iago. He hath, my lord; but be you well assur'd, 
 No more than he'll unswear. 
 
 Olh. What hath he said ? 
 
 Iago. Fnith, that he did, — I know not «'hat he 
 did. 
 
 Oth. 
 
 Iago. 
 
 Oth. 
 
 Iago. 
 
 Oth. 
 sions, — 
 
 What? what? 
 Lie— 
 
 With her? 
 
 With her, with her; what you will. 
 That 's fulsome. — Handkerchief, — confes- 
 handkerchief ! — To confess, and be hanged* 
 for his labour ; — first, to be hanged, and then to con- 
 fess. — I tremble at it. Nature would not invest 
 herself in such shadowing passion, without some 
 instruction. It is not words that shake me thus : — 
 pish! — Is it possible? — Confess, — handkerchief!* 
 — Oh, devil !— [Falls in a trance. 
 
 Iago. Work on. 
 My medicine, work ! Thus credulous fools are 
 caught ; 
 
 And manv worth v and chaste dames even thus. 
 
 3. T/,e ra.rn 
 infected ;" the 
 
 saymg, alluded to elsj 
 
 thj infected house. The Quartos give 
 o 'infectious.' It was believed that the 
 near a house where there was the plague. 
 be Jianged. This was an old proverbial 
 See Note 60. Act i., -'Timou of 
 
 1. And yet do so. 
 temptations.' See No 
 is used with similar foi 
 
 ' And yet expose themselves to such po« 
 
 37, Acti., " King Lear ;" where "so" anc 
 
 : of ellipsis. ' i:ni 
 
 2. Tliey have it very oft that have it not. One of Shake- tre: 
 
 speare's parodo.\ical sentencei containing profoundest truth, i pro 
 
 See Note 55, Act i,, "Macbeth ;" and Note i6, Act i. of the ] Sef 
 
 present play. ! Ac 
 
 Is it possible? — Confess. — luiiidkerchie/ '. This speech, com- 
 zA entirely of abrupt and incoherent words, disjointed phrases, 
 
 unconnected exclamations, wrung from the depths of a soul 
 lersed in images of the most revolting and poignantly dis- 
 cing kind, affords a notable instance of Shakespeare's might in 
 ducing powerful impressions through imperfect expression. 
 Note 67, Act iii., "Timon of Athens:" and Note 140, 
 
 iv., •■ King Lear." 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 All guiltless, meet repronch. — What, ho! my lor 
 My lord, I say ! Othello! 
 
 Enter Cassio. 
 
 How now, Cassio ! 
 Cas. What's the matter ? 
 lago. My lord is fall'n into an epilepsy : 
 This is his second fit ; he had one yesterday." 
 Cas. Rub him about the temples. 
 lago. No, forbear ; 
 
 The lethargy must have his quiet course : 
 If not, he foams at mouth, and by-and-by 
 Breaks out to savage madness. Look, he stirs : 
 Do you withdraw yourself a little while. 
 He will recover straight: when he is gone, 
 I would on great occasion speak with you. 
 
 [Exit Cassio. 
 
 How is it, general ? have you not hurt your heaci r 
 
 Otb. Dost thou mock me ? 
 
 lago. I mock you! no, by Heaven. 
 
 Would you would bear your fortune like a man I 
 
 0th. A horned man 's a monster and a beast. 
 
 lago. There 's many a beast, then, in a populous 
 city. 
 
 And many a civil monster. 
 
 Oih. Did he confess it ? » 
 
 lago. Good sir, be a man ; 
 
 Think every bearded fellow that's but yok'd 
 May draw with you: there's millions now alive. 
 Oh, 'tis the sj)ite of hell, the fiend's arch-moik, 
 To lip a wanton in a secure couch,' 
 A nd to suppose her chaste ! No, let me know ; 
 And knowing what I ain, I know what she 
 shall be. 
 
 0th. Oh, thou art wise; 'tis certain. 
 
 lago. Stand you awhile apart ; 
 
 Confine yourself but in a patient list. ^ 
 Whilst you were here o'erwhelmeJ with your 
 grief,— 
 
 A passion most unsuiting such a man, — 
 Cassio came hither: I shifted him away. 
 And laid good 'scuse upon your ecstasy :' 
 Bade him anon return, and here speak with me ; 
 The which he promis'd. Do but encave yourself, 
 And mark the fleers, the gibes, and notable scorns, 
 Tliat dwell in every region of his face ; 
 
 6. He had one yesterday. lago is so solid a liar, that this 
 cannot be taken literaliy ; but it aids to give the effect of pro- 
 
 7. A secure couch. ' A couch fancied to be safe from dis- 
 lionour,' ' a couch believed to be secure from disgrace.' See 
 Note 128, Act i., " Hamlet," for the word "secure" used with 
 this elliptical force. 
 
 8. /na fiatient list. ' Within the bounds of patience.' 
 
 9. Ecstasy. ' Violent disturbance of mind,' ' fit of strong 
 emotion.' See Note 61, Act ii., " Much Ado.'' 
 
 10. Encave yourself. ' Conceal yourself,' ' withdraw into 
 some hiding-place.' 
 
 11. You are all ill all in spleen. ' You are entirely composed 
 of choler,' ' you are wholly plunged in wrath.' I 
 
 ! For I will make him tell the tale anew : 
 
 I say, but mark his gesture. Marry, patience; 
 Or I shall say you are £lll in all in spleen," 
 And nothing of a man. 
 
 0th. Dost thou hear, lago ? 
 
 I will be found most cunning in my patience ; 
 But, — dost thou hear ? — most bloody. 
 
 lago. That 's not amiss ; 
 
 But yet keep time in all. Will you withdraw? 
 
 [Othello retires. 
 Now will I question Cassio of Bianca, 
 A housewife that, by selling her desires. 
 Buys herself bread and clothes : it is a creature 
 That dotes on Cassio, — as 'tis the wanton's plague 
 To beguile many and be beguil'd by one : — 
 He, when he hears of her, cannot refrain 
 From the excess of laughter: — here he comes: — 
 As he shall smile, Othello shall go mad ; 
 And his unbookish 12 jealousy must construe 
 Poor Cassio's smiles, gestures,'and light behaviour, 
 Quite in the wrong. 
 
 Re-enter Cassio. 
 
 How do you now, lieutenant? 
 Cas. The worser that you give me the addition 
 Whose want even kills me. 
 
 lago. Ply Desdemona well, and you are sure on 't. 
 {Speaking loiver.] Now, if this suit lay in Bianca's 
 power, 
 
 How quickly should you speed ! 
 
 Cas. Alas! poor caitiff!'* 
 
 0th. [Jside.l Look, how he laughs already ! 
 lago. I never knew woman love man so. 
 Cas. Alas ! poor rogue ! I think, 'i faith, slie 
 loves me. 
 
 0th. [Aside.] Now he denies it faintly, and 
 laughs it out. 
 
 lago. Do you hear, Cassio ? 
 0th. [Aside.] Now he importunes him 
 
 To tell it o'er : — go to ; well said, well said. 
 
 lago. She gives it out that you shall marry her: 
 j Do you intend it ? 
 I Cas. Ha, ha, ha ! 
 
 I 0th. [Aside.] Do you triumph, Roman P'^ do 
 
 you triumph ? 
 I Cas. I marry her! — what, a customer!'" I 
 
 12. UnliooMsh. ' Ignorant,' ' inexperienced.' 
 
 13. Addition. 'Title;' in allusion to lago's calling him 
 "lieutenant." See Note 15, Act ii., " Hamlet." 
 
 14. Caitiff. Here used— as " wretch," " fool," &c., some- 
 times were— to denote half playful, half fond familiarity. See 
 Notes 50 and 52, Act i., " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 15. Do you triumph, Romans The word "triumph" sug- 
 gests "Roman" to Othello as a term for Cassio. That 
 triumphal celebration was associated in Shakespeare's mind 
 with the ancient Romans, witness the passage in "As You 
 Like It," Act iv., sc 2. where Jaques, asking who is the vic- 
 torious huntsman that has killed the deer, says, " Let's present 
 him to the duke, like a Homan conqueror." 
 
 16. A customer. A woman who infamously trades on her 
 
lago. Work on, 
 My medicine, work ! 
 
 Thus credulous fools are caught. 
 
 Act IV. Scene 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene L 
 
 pr'ythee, bear some charity to my wit ; do not 
 think it so unwholesome : — ha, ha, ha ! 
 
 Oih. \_Aside.'] So, so, so, so : — they laugh that 
 win. 
 
 lago. Faith, theory goes that you shall marry her. 
 
 Cas. Pr'ythee, say true. 
 
 lago. I am a very \ illain else. 
 
 Oih. [Aside.] Have you scored me P^' Well. 
 
 Cas. This is the monkey's own giving out : 
 she is persuaded I will marry her, out of her 
 own love and flattery, not out of my promise. 
 
 Oih. [Aside.] lago beckons me ; now he begins 
 the story. 
 
 Cas. She was here even now; she haunts me 
 in every place. I was, the other day,^* talking 
 on the sea-bank with certain Venetians; and 
 thither comes this bauble, and, by this hand, she 
 falls me thus about my neck, — 
 
 Oih. [Aside.] Crying, "Oh, dear Cassio!"as 
 it were : his gesture imports it. 
 
 Cas. So hangs, and lolls, and weeps upon me ; 
 so hales, and pulls me :— ha, ha, ha ! 
 
 0th. \_Aside.] Now he tells how she plucked 
 him to my chamber. Oh, I see that nose of yours, 
 but not that dog I shall throw it to. 
 
 Cas. Well, I must leave her comp.any. 
 
 lago. Before me ! look, where she comes. 
 
 Cas. 'Tis such another fitchew!'^ marry, a 
 perfumed one. 
 
 Enter BiANCA. 
 What do you mean by this haunting of me ? 
 
 Bian. Let the devil and his dam haunt you! 
 What did you mean by that same handkerchief 
 you gave me even now P^" I was a fine fool to 
 take it. I must take out the workl^i— A likely 
 piece of work, that you should find it in your 
 chamber, and not know who left it there ! 
 This is some minx's token, and I must take out 
 the work ! There, — give it wheresoever you had 
 it ; I'll take out no work on 't. 
 
 Cas. How now, my sweet Bianca ! how now ! 
 how now ! 
 
 beauty. . In the last scene of "All's Well," the king says to 
 Diana, " I think thee now some common c?isiof>ii:r." 
 
 17. Scored me. Here used to signify 'branded me,' 'set a 
 mark of infamy upon me.' 
 
 18. 7721? other day. Indicating long time. 
 
 19. ^Tis such another Jitchew I '"Tis such another" is an 
 idiomatic waggish phrase (see passage referred to in Note 67, 
 Act i., "Merry Wives"); and "fitchew" is 'pole-cat.' See 
 Note 8, Act V , "Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 20. Yoii gave me even now. This allows short time to be 
 still maintained : since the sentence links on the present scene 
 with the close of the last Act, where Cassio gives her the hand- 
 kerchief. 
 
 21. I nmst take out tlie work! 'I must copy the work, or 
 embroidery.' See Note 109, Act iii. 
 
 22. An yoiill come to supper to-night. This also indicates 
 short time, by linking on the present scene vith the dialogue 
 at the conclusion of the last Act, where Bianca has asked 
 
 Oih. [Aside.] By Heaven, that should be my 
 handkerchief! 
 
 Bian. An you'll come to supper to-night,"^ 
 you may ; an you will not, come when you are 
 next prepared for. {Exit. 
 
 lago. After her, after her. 
 
 Cas. Faith, I must ; she'll rail in the street else. 
 lago. Will you sup there ? 
 Cas. Faith, I intend so. 
 
 lago. Well, I may chance to see you ; for I 
 would very fain speak with you. 
 
 Cas. Pr'ythee, come ; will you ? 
 
 lago. Go to ; say no more. [Exit Cassio. 
 
 0th. [Comivg fonoard.] How shall I murder 
 him, lago ? 
 
 lago. Did you perceive how he laughed at his 
 vice ? 
 
 Oih. O lago ! 
 
 lago. And did you see the handkerchief ? 
 0th. Was that mine ? 
 
 lago. Yours, by this hand : and to see how he 
 prizes the foolish woman your wife V^'^ she gave it 
 him, and he hath given it his mistress. 
 
 0th. I would have him nine years a-killing. — 
 A fine woman ! a fair woman ! a sweet woman ! 
 
 lago. Nay, you must forget that. 
 
 0th. Ay, let her rot, and perish,— and to- 
 night ;2"' for she shall not live: no, my heart is 
 turned to stone ; I strike it, and it hurts my 
 hand. — Oh, the world hath not a sweeter creature : 
 she might lie by an emperor's side, and command 
 him tasks. 
 
 lago. Nay, that's not your way. 
 
 0th. Hang her ! I do but say what she is : — so 
 delicate with her needle ! — an admirable musician ! 
 oh, she will sing the savageness out of a bear ! — 
 of so high and plenteous wit and invention ! 
 
 lago. She's the worse for all this. 
 
 0th. Oh, a thousand thousand times : — and 
 then, of so gentle a condition \-'^ 
 
 lago. Ay, too gentle. 
 
 Oih. Nay, that's certain : — but yet the pity of 
 it, lago ! O lago ! the pity of it, lago ! 
 
 Cassio to " say if I shall see you soon at night ; " " soon " sig- 
 nifying 'by-and-by' (see Notes 18, Act i., and 39, Act iii., 
 " Comedy of Errors"), and showing that the night of the same 
 day is meant. 
 
 23. The foolish woman your wife. That lago should dare to 
 use this expression in speaking of Desdemona to her husband, 
 that the noble Moor should have deigned to hide and play the 
 eaves-dropper, are the dramatist's pointed modes of showing to 
 what a pass of ignominious meanness jealousy brings its victims. 
 See Note 42, Act iii. 
 
 24. To-night. It is this necessity for jtrotnpi vengeance on 
 the part of Othello that makes the dramatist throw in occasional 
 touches of short time ; as it is the need for effect of destruction 
 to established wedded faith and Jiappiness that makes Shake- 
 .speare introduce denotements of long time. See Note 58, 
 Act iii. 
 
 25. Condition. ' Disposition,' ' native character.' See Note 
 38, Act ii. 
 
ACT IV.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene L 
 
 lago. If you are so fond over her iniquity, give 
 her patent to offend ; for, if it touch not you, it 
 comes near nobody. 
 
 Oih. I will chop her into messes :— dishonour 
 me '. 
 
 lago. Oh, 'tis foul in her. 
 0th. With mine officer! 
 lago. That 's fouler. 
 
 0th. Get me some poison, lago ; this night : — 
 I'll not expostulate with her, lest her body and 
 beauty unprovide my mind again : — this night, lago. 
 
 lago. Do it not with poison, strangle her in 
 her bed, even the bed she hath contaminated. 
 
 0th. Good, good : the justice of it pleases : 
 very good. 
 
 lago. And for Cassio, — let me be his under- 
 taker: you shall hear more by midnight. 
 
 Oth. Excellent good. \_A trumpet heard ?\ What 
 trumpet is that same ? 
 
 lago. Something from Venice, sure. 'Tis 
 Lodovico 
 
 Come from the duke : and, see, your wife is with 
 him. 
 
 Enter LoDOViCO, Desdemona, and Attendants. 
 Lod. Savcyou, worthy general ! 
 Oth. With all my heart, sir.^s 
 
 Lod. The duke and senators of Venice greet 
 you. {Gives him a packet. 
 
 Oth. I kiss the instrument of their pleasures. 
 
 [Opens the packet, and reads. 
 Dcs. And' what's the news, good cousin Lodo- 
 vico 
 
 lago. I am very glad to see you, signior ; 
 Welcome to Cyprus. 
 
 Lod. I thank you. How does Lieutenant 
 Cassio ? 
 
 lago Lives, sir. 
 
 Des. Cousin, there's fall'n between him and 
 my lord 
 
 An unkind breach : but you shall make all well. 
 Oth. Are you sure of that ? 
 
 26. With all my heart, sir. Malone and Steevens disagree 
 with respect to the exact meaning and application of these 
 words. The fact is, they form an elliptical phrase, found else- 
 where in Shakespeare, He has them as a reply to a salutation 
 in "JCiiig Lear," Act iv., sc. 6; where Edgar says, "Now 
 fare you well, good sir, ' and Gloster replies, " With all my 
 heart." And he has them as a salutation itself in " Timon of 
 Athens." Act iii., sc. 6, where Timon enters, saying, " With all 
 my heart, gentlemen both." As a reply to a salutation, it 
 elliptically signifies, 'I thank you with all my heart;' as a 
 salutation, it elliptically signifies, ' I greet you with all my 
 heart.' 
 
 27. Ato/ie them. 'Make them one,' 'reconcile them.' See 
 Note 72, Act iv., " Coriolanus." 
 
 28. / am glad to see you mad. We cannot help thinking 
 that the words here may have been transposed by the original 
 transcriber or printer ; and that the author probably wrote, ' I 
 am mad to see you glad.^ But we have not ventured to alter 
 the text ; because Othello's reply, as it stands, allows the mean- 
 
 Des. My lord ? 
 
 Oth. [Reads.] This fail you not to do, as you will— 
 Lod. He did not call ; he 's busy in the paper. 
 
 Is there division 'twixt my lord and Cassio ? 
 Des. A most unhappy one: I would do much 
 
 To atone tliem,'^? for the love I bear to Cassio. 
 
 Oth. Fire and brimstone ! 
 
 Des. My lord ? 
 
 Oth. Are you wise ? 
 
 Des. What ! is he angry ? 
 
 Lod. May be, the letter mov'd him ; 
 For, as I think, they do command him home, 
 Deputing Cassio in his government. 
 
 Des. Trust me, I'm glad on 't. 
 
 Oth. Indeed! 
 
 Des. My lord ? 
 
 Oth. I am glad to see vou mad.'^* 
 
 Des. How, sweet Othello ? 
 
 Oth. Devil ! [Striking her. 
 
 Des. I have not deserv'd this. 
 
 Lod. My lord, this would not be believ'd in 
 
 Venice, 
 
 Though I should swear I saw it : 'tis very much : 
 Make her amends ; she weeps. 
 
 Oth. Oh, devil, devil ! 
 
 If that the earth could teem with woman's tears,^ 
 Each drop she falls would prove a crocodile. 2" — . 
 Out of my sight ! 
 
 Des. I will not stay to offend you. [Going. 
 
 Lod. Truly, an obedient lady 
 I do beseech your lordship, call her back. 
 
 Oth. Mistress ! 
 
 Des. My lord ? 
 
 Oth. What would you with her, sir? 
 
 Lod. Who, I, my lord ? 
 
 Oth. .\\; you did wish that I would make her 
 turn: 
 
 Sir, she can turn, and turn, and yet go on. 
 And turn again; and she can weep, sir, weep; 
 And she's obedient, as you say, — obedient, — 
 Very obedient. — Proceed you in your tears. — 
 Concerning this, sir, — Oh, well-painted passion ! 3' — 
 
 ing to be understood of ' I am glad to see you unwise,' in 
 reference to his having asked, " Are you wise ?" 
 
 29. Could teem with woman's tears. ' Could become fertile 
 by means of woman's tears,' ' could be capable of producing 
 anim.als by means of woman's tears.' " With" is here used for 
 ' by.' See Note 8, Act ii., " Richard III." 
 
 30. Each drop she falls would prove a crocodile. " Falls " is 
 used actively for 'lets fall,' 'drops' (see Note 57, Act iii., 
 " Richard II." ) ; and " would prove a crocodile" has reference 
 to the fabulous accounts of this animal, which represent it as 
 especially deceitful, and as weeping hypocritical tears over its 
 
 I victims. Bullokar, in his "Expositor" (1616), states that in 
 I Latin there is a proverb, " Crocodile lachrymee, crocodiles 
 [ teares, to signifie such teares as are feigned, and spent only 
 
 \vith intent to deceive or do harm." See the speech referred to 
 
 in Note 33, Act iii., " Second Part Henry VI." 
 
 31. Passion. Here used for ' distressful emotion,' ' sorrowful 
 agitation.' See Note 7, Act iii., "Timon of Athens." The 
 struggle to preserve his tone of scorn, with his perpetually 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene 11. 
 
 I am commanded home. — Get you away; 
 
 I'll send for you anon. — Sir, I obey the mandate, 
 
 And will return to Venice. — Hence, avaunt! 
 
 [Exit Desdemona. 
 Cassio shall have my place. And, sir, to-night, 
 I do entreat that we may sup together: 
 You are welcome, sir, to Cyprus. — Goats and 
 monkeys ! [Exit. 
 
 Loci, Is this the noble Moor whom our full senate 
 Call all-in-all sufficient? this the noble nature 
 Whom passion could not shake? whose solid virtue 
 The shot of accident, nor dart of chance, 
 Could neither graze nor pierce ? 
 
 lago. He is much chang'd. 
 
 Lod. Are his u its safe r^^ he not light of brain ? 
 
 Jago. He's that he is: I may not breathe my 
 censure. 
 
 What he might be, — if, what he might, he is not, — 
 I would to Heaven he were ! 
 
 Loci. What, strike his wife ! 
 
 lago. Faith, that was not so well; yet would I knew 
 That stroke would prove the worst ! 
 
 Lod. Is it his use P 
 
 Or did the letters work upon his blood, 
 And new-create this fault ? 
 
 lago. Alas, alas! 
 
 It is not honesty in me to speak 
 What I haveseenandknown. You shall observe him ; 
 And his own courses will denote him so. 
 That I may save my speech : do but go after. 
 And mark how he continues. 
 
 Lod. 1 am sorry that I am deceiv'd in him. 
 
 [Exeu/it. 
 
 SCENE U.— A Room inihe Castle.'"^ 
 Enter Othello and Emilia. 
 0th. You have seen nothing, then ? 
 Emtl. Nor ever heard, nor ever did suspect. 
 0th. Yes, you have seen Cassio and her together. 
 Em'il. But then I saw no harm, and then I heard 
 Each syllable that breath made up between them. 
 0th. What! did they never whisper? 
 
 recurring notice of Desdemona's passionate grief, which ex- 
 ercises its irresistible power of influence over his feelings, and 
 makes its artless appeal to his sense of truth and innocence, are 
 all conveyed with matchless skill in this speech of broken, in- 
 
 32. Safe. Here used for 'steady,' 'stable,' 'in sound con- 
 dition.' See Note 8i, Act ii. 
 
 33. A room in the castle. It has been remarked that there 
 is difficulty in ascertaining the place of this scene, because at its 
 commencement Othello's words to Emilia, " Shut the door," 
 imply an apartment in the castle ; while, at its close, Roderigo's 
 careless entry seems to bespeak some out-of-door place adjoining 
 the castle. But if it be remembered that a portion of the man- 
 sion is used as a guard-room (see Note 77, Act ii.), it would be 
 natural enough that Roderigo should seek lago there, and, not 
 finding him, should pursue his search in some of the apartments 
 adjacent ; moreover, it should be remembered that Roderigo is 
 partially disguised, and therefore not likely to be recognised as 
 
 Emil. Never, my lord. 
 
 Otb. Nor send you out o' the way ? 
 Emil. Never. 
 
 Oih. To fetch her fan, her gloves, her mask, 
 nor nothing ? 
 
 EmiL Never, my lord. 
 0th. That 's strange. 
 
 Emil. I durst, my lord, to wager she is honest. 
 Lay down my soul at stake : if you think other, ' 
 Remove your thought, — it doth abuse your bosom. 
 If any wretch have put this in your head, 
 Let Heaven requite it with the serpent's curse ! 
 For, if she be not honest, chaste, and true. 
 There 's no man happy ; the purest of their wives 
 Is foul as slander. 
 
 0th. Bid her come hither: — go. 
 
 \_Exit Emilia. 
 She says enough ; — yet she 's a simple one 
 That cannot say as much. This is a subtle jade, 
 A closet-lock-and-key of villanous secrets: 
 And yet she'll kneel and pray; I have seen her do 't. 
 
 Enter Desdemona ^ith Emilia. 
 Des. My lord, what is your will ? 
 Oih Pray, chuck, come hither. 
 
 Des. What is your pleasure ? 
 0th. Let me see your eyes; 
 
 Look in my face. 
 
 Des. What horrible fancy's this ? 
 
 Oth. \To Emil.] Some of your function, mis- 
 tress ; shut the door ; 
 Cough, or cry hem, if anybody come : 
 Your mystery,^* your mystery ;— nay, despatch. 
 
 [Exit Emilia. 
 
 Des. Upon my knees, what doth your speech 
 import ? 
 
 I understand a fury in your words, 
 But not the words. 
 
 Oth. Why, what art thou ? 
 
 Des. Your wife, my lord; your true 
 
 And loyal wife. 
 
 Oth. Come, swear it, damn thyself ; 
 
 Lest, being like one of heaven,^^ the devils themselves 
 
 the man who gave Brabantio intelligence of Othello's having 
 married Desdemona. See Note in. Act i. 
 
 34. Nor ever heard, nor ever did suspect. Here long time 
 is introduced : giving the effect of a lapsed period sufficient to 
 allow tokens of undue intimacy to have passed. 
 
 35. Your mystery. 'Your trade.' See Note 18, Act iv., 
 "Measure for Measure." Othello taunts Emilia with having 
 made a traffic in connivance at stolen meetings between Cassio 
 and Desdemona, and now bids her give a specimen of pro- 
 ficiency in her avocation ; afterwards following up his insult by 
 flinging her "money for" her "pains." 
 
 36. Being like one of heaven. By such side touches as these 
 the poet contrives to set before our eyes the personality of certain 
 of his characters, and the effect it produces upon certain other of 
 his characters. How exquisitely these few words serve to paint 
 to us Desdemona's look of angelic purity and innocence, toge- 
 ther with the impression it exercises upon even her husband's 
 jaundiced sight I 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 [SCENt: II. 
 
 Emilia. How do you, madam ? how do you, my good lady ? 
 
 Desdemoiia. Faith, half asleep. Act IV. Scene II. 
 
 Should fear to seize thee : swear thou art honest. 
 
 Des. Heaven doth truly know it. 
 
 0th. Heaven truly knows that thou art false. 
 
 Des. To whom, my lord? with whom? how am 
 I false ? 
 
 Oth. O Desdemona ! — away! away! away! 
 D;s. Alas the heavy day ! — Why do you 
 weep? 
 
 Am I the occasion of these tears, my lord? 
 
 If haply you my fether do suspect 
 
 An instrument of this your calling back, 
 
 37. Pleas' d Heaven .... had he ratn'd. The Folio prints 
 'they' here, instead of " he ;" which is the reading of all the 
 Quartos. See Note 61, Act v., " King John." 
 
 38. A fixed figure for the time of scorn to point his slow, 
 iinmoving finger at. The Folio prints these two lines thus :— 
 
 ' The fixed Figure for the time of Scorne, 
 To point his slow, and mouing finger at.' 
 
 We adopt the reading of the second and third Quartos ; which 
 
 Lay not your blame on me: if you have lost him. 
 Why, I have lost him too. 
 
 Oih. Had it pleas'd Heaven 
 
 To try me with affliction ; had he rain'd'7 
 All kinds of sores and shames on my bare head ; 
 Steep'd me in poverty to the very lips ; 
 Given to captivity me and my utmost hopes ; 
 I should have found in some part of my soul 
 A drop of patience: but, alas ! to make me 
 A fixed figure for the time of scorn 
 To point his slow, unmoving finger at !*" — 
 
 is that of the first, excepting that it has ' fingers ' instead of 
 " finger." We take " the time of scorn ' to be an impersonation 
 of the scornful spirit of the epoch in which the speaker lives, 
 including allusion to the image of Time which many ancient 
 clocks bore (see Note 23, Act iv., " Richard III.") ; while the 
 expression "to point his slow, unmoving finger at" we think 
 implies ' to point his finger, which generally moves slowly, im- 
 movingly at me.' To our minds the combination epithet, "slow, 
 unmoving," serves exactly to describe the hand of a dial, with 
 
 VOI. III. 
 
 240 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene IL 
 
 Yet could I bear that too ; well, very well : 
 But there, where I have garner'd^s up my heart, 
 Where either I must live, or bear no life, 
 The tbuntaia from the which my current runs, 
 Or else dries up ; to be discarded thence! 
 Or keep it as a cistern for foul toads 
 To knotand gender in ! — turn thy complexion there. 
 Patience, thou young and rose-lipp'd cherubin, — ■ 
 Ay, there, look grim as hell ! 
 
 Des. I hope my noble lord esteems me honest. 
 
 0th. Oh, ay ; as summer flies are in the shambles. 
 That quicken even with blowing. Oh, thou weed. 
 Who art so lovely fair, and smell'st so sweet, 
 That the sense aches at thee, — would thou hadst 
 ne'er been bora ! 
 
 Des. Alas! what ignorant sin have I committed 
 
 0th. Was this fair paper, this most goodly book. 
 Made to write false upon ? What committed ! 
 Committed ! — Oh, thou public commoner! 
 I should make very forges of my cheeks. 
 That would to cinders burn up modesty, 
 Did I but speak thy deeds. — What committed ! 
 Heaven stops the nose at it, and the moon winks; 
 The lawless wind, that kisses all it meets. 
 Is hush'd within the hollow mine of earth, 
 And will not hear it. — What committed ! — 
 Impudent wanton ! 
 
 Des. By Heaven, you do me wrong. 
 
 Otb. Are not you a wanton ? 
 
 Des. No, as I am a Christian : 
 
 If to preserve this vessel for my lord 
 From any other foul unlawful touch, 
 Be not to be a wanton, I am none. 
 
 0th. What ! not a whore ? 
 
 Des. No, as I shall be sav'd. 
 
 0th. Is 't possible ? 
 
 Des. O Heaven, forgive us ! 
 
 Oth. I cry you mercy, then : 
 
 I took you for that cunning whore of Venice 
 That married with Othello. — You, mistress. 
 That have the office opposite to Saint Peter,''^ 
 And keep the gate of hell ! 
 
 Re-enter Emilia. 
 
 You, you, ay, you I 
 We have done our course ; there 's money for your 
 pains 
 
 Its onward-stealing yet apparently still finger ; so that, in every 
 way, the idea of the clock is presented to the imagination by 
 this passage. 
 
 39. Garner'd. 'Stored,' ' treasured.' Shakespeare twice else- 
 where uses the word " garners" in this sense. See " Tempest," 
 Act iv., sc. I (song) ; and " Coriolanus," Act i., sc. i. 
 
 40. Ay, there. The old copies print ' I here.' Capell's correction. 
 
 41. Wliat ig7iorant sinhave I committed^ The use of the epithet 
 "ignorant" here givesduplicate effect to the sentence ; conveying 
 the two meanings of ' What senseless sin have I committed ? ' and 
 "What sin have I ignorantly committed?" For instances of 
 similar effect produced, see Note 62, Act i., " Henry VIII." 
 
 42. The office opposite to Saint Peicr. 'Th.it of is ellip- 
 
 I pray you, turn the key, and keep our counsel. 
 
 [£jr//. 
 
 Em'il. Alas! what does this gentleman conceive? — 
 How do you, madam ? how do you, my good lady? 
 Des. Faith, half asleep. 
 
 Em'il. Good madam, what 's the matter with 
 my lord ? 
 
 Des. With whom ? 
 
 Emil. Why, with my lord, madam. 
 
 Des. Who is thy lord ? 
 
 Emil. He that is yours, sweet lady. 
 
 Des. I have none : do not talk to me, Emilia; 
 I cannot weep ; nor answer have I none, 
 But what should go by water. Pr'ythee, to-night 
 Lay on my bed my wedding sheets, — remember; — 
 And call thy husband hither. 
 
 Emil. Here 's a change indeed ! \Exit. 
 
 Des. 'Tis meet I should be us'd so, very meet. 
 How have I been beliav'd, that he might stick 
 The small'st opinion on my least misuse ?''3 
 
 Re-enter Emilia 'with Iago. 
 lago. What is your pleasure, madam ? How 
 is 't with you ? 
 
 Des. I cannot tell. Those that do teach young 
 babes 
 
 Do it with gentle means and easy tasks : 
 
 He might have chid me so ; for, in good faith, 
 
 I am a child to chiding. 
 
 lago. What 's the matter, lady? 
 
 Emil. Alas! Iago, my lord hath so bewhor'd her. 
 Thrown such despite and heavy terms upon her,^* 
 As true hearts cannot bear. 
 
 Des. Am I that name, Iago ? 
 
 lago. What name, fair lady ? 
 
 Des. Such as she says my lord did say I was. 
 
 Emil. A beggar in his drink could not have laid 
 Such terms upon his callat.^^ 
 
 lago. Why did he so ? 
 
 Dts. I do not know ; I am sure I am none such. 
 
 lago. Do not weep, do not weep : — alas the day ! 
 
 Emil. Has she forsook so many noble matches, 
 Her father, and her country, and her friends, 
 To be so call'd ? would it not make one weep ? 
 
 Des. It is my wretched fortune. 
 
 laeo. Beshrew him for 't ! 
 
 tically understood between "te" and "Saint." See Note 75, 
 Act i., " Coriolanus." 
 
 43. My least misuse. This is the reading of the Folio and . 
 the two latter Quartos ; while the first Quarto has ' my greatest 
 abuse.' We take the passage to mean, ' How can I have 
 behaved, that he could conceive the smallest ill opinion of me 
 from even my least misdeed V ' How can I have behaved, that 
 even my least misconduct should have subjected me to the 
 smallest misconstruction on his part?' 
 
 44. ThroiviL such despite and heavy terjjcs itpon her. This 
 shows that Emilia, among her other objectionable characteristics, 
 is a listener— a mean listener at doors. Consistent Shakespeare ! 
 
 45. Callat. ' Low-born, shrewish wench,' ' coarse creature,' 
 ' drab.' See Note 39, Act i., " Second Part Henry VI." 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene IL 
 
 How comes this trick, upon him ? • 
 
 Des. Nay, Heaven doth know. 
 
 Emil. I will be hang'd, if some eternal villain/^ 
 Some busy and insinuating rogue, 
 Some cogging, cozening slave, to get some office, 
 Have not devis'd this slander ; I'll be hang'd else. 
 
 lago. Fie, there is no such man ; it is im- 
 possible. 
 
 Des. If any such there be, Heaven pardon him ! 
 Emil. A halter pardon him ! Who keeps her 
 company ? 
 
 What place ? what time ? what form ? what likeli- 
 hood ? 
 
 The Moor's abus'd by some most villanous knave, 
 Some base notorious knave, some scurvy fellow : — 
 
 0 Heaven, that such companions'^ thou 'dst unfold. 
 And put in every honest hand a whip 
 
 To lash the rascals naked through the world 
 Even from the east to the west ! 
 
 lago. Speak within door.'*' 
 
 EmU. Oh,fieuponthemI Some such squire he was 
 That turn'd your wit the seamy side without, 
 And made you to suspect me with the Moor. 
 
 lago. You are a fool ; go to. 
 
 Des. ■ Oh, good lago, 
 
 What shall I do to win my lord again ? 
 Good friend, go to him ; for, by this light of heaven, 
 
 1 know not how I lost him. Here I kneel :— 
 
 If e'er my will did trespass 'gainst his love. 
 
 Either in discourse of thought^" or actual deed ; 
 
 Or that mine eyes, mine ears, or any sense, 
 
 Delighted them in any other form ; 
 
 Or that I do not yet, and ever did. 
 
 And ever will, — though he do shake me off 
 
 To beggarly divorcement, — love him dearly, 
 
 Comfort forswear me! Unkindness may do much ; 
 
 And his unkindness may defeat my life. 
 
 But never taint my love. I cannot say whore,— 
 
 It does abhor me now I speak the word ; 
 
 To do the act that might the addition earn 
 Not the world's mass of vanity could make me. 
 
 lago. I pray you, be content; 'tis but his humour : 
 The business of the state does him offence, 
 And he does chide with you.*^ 
 
 Des. If 'twere no other, — 
 
 lago. 'Tis but so, I warrant. 
 
 [Trumpels heard. 
 Hark, how these instruments summon to supper ! 
 The- messengers of Venice stay the meat : 
 Go in, and weep not; all things shall be weH 
 
 [Exeunt Desdemoxa. awt/ Emilia. 
 
 Enter Roderigo. 
 How now, Roderigo ! 
 
 Rod. I do not find that thou dealest justly with me. 
 
 lago. What in the contrary ? 
 
 Rod. Every day^^ thou daff'st me^* with some 
 device, lago ; and rather, as it seems to me now, 
 keepest from me all conveniency than suppliest me 
 with the least advantage of hope. I will, indeed, 
 no longer endure it; nor am I yet persuaded to 
 put up in peace what already I have foolishly 
 suffered. 
 
 lago. Will you hear me, Roderigo? 
 
 Rod. 'Faith, I have heard too much; for your 
 words and performances are no kin together. 
 
 lago. You charge me most unjustly. 
 
 Rod. With naught but truth. I have wasted 
 myself out of my means. The jewels you have had 
 from me to deliver to Desdemona would half have 
 corrupted a votarist : you have told me she has 
 received them, and returned me expectations and 
 comforts of sudden respect and acquaintance ; but 
 I find none. 
 
 lago. Well ; go to ; very well. 
 
 Rod. Very well ! go to ! I cannot go to, man ; 
 nor 'tis not very well : by this hand, I say, it is 
 very scurvy, and begin to find myself fobbed ^5 in it. 
 
 46. I luili he /mug'd, if some, The actresses Avho im- 
 personate Emilia commit the mistake of making her say this 
 speech as if she suspected her husband of being this " eternal 
 villain" whom she denounces; whereas it is plain that the 
 dramatist intends her to glance at some one whom she believes 
 has misled lago as well as Othello, has slandered herself as 
 well as Desdemona. She has before told the ]\[oor, " If any 
 wretch have put this in your head, let Heaven requite it with 
 the serpent's curse." She has a suspicion of some one, "some 
 busy and insinuating rogue," "some slave," "some knave," 
 " some scurvy fellow," who has done this " to get some office ; " \ 
 but her suspicion never for an instant falls upon her own bus- i 
 band. The very repetition of the word " some " serves to keep ' 
 the object of her suspicion vague and undefined, showing that 
 it is no one especially she suspects— least of all her husband, to 
 whom she is strongly attached ; and whose good opinion she is 
 so wishful to retain that she resents its being undermined by 
 this same suspected calumniator. 
 
 47. Noiorious. Here used to express ' that should be noted,' 
 ' that ought to be exposed to notoriety,' ' egregious.' 
 
 48. Compatnons. Occasionally, as here, employed as a term 
 of scorn. See Note 40, Act iv., "Julius Ccesar." 
 
 49. Speak luithm door. ' Keep your tongue within bounds ; ' 
 ' do not rave so loud as to be heard outside the house.' 
 
 50. Discourse of thought. ' Discursive range of thought,' ' ex- 
 tensive operation of thought. ' See Note 6o, Act i., " Hamlet." 
 
 51. The addition. ' The title.' See Note 13 of this Act. 
 
 52. He does chide with you. To " chide with " was a form of 
 phrase used in Shakespeare's time ; giving the effect of quarrel 
 with' as well as * reprove.' 
 
 . S3. Every day. Effect of long time given ; though but one 
 day (according to computation by short time) has elapsed since 
 they have been in Cyprus. 
 
 54. Daff^st me. ' Put'st me off,' ' set'st me aside ; ' * beguil'st 
 me.' See Note 23, Act iv., " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 55. Fobhed. The old copies print ' fopt ' instead of " fobbed ;'' 
 which is Rowe's correction, and which we adopt, believing it to 
 be the word Shakespeare here intended, because he has used 
 "fobbed" elsewhere to express the same sense which it bears 
 here of 'snubbed,' 'baffled,' 'checked' (see FalstafF's speech in 
 " First Part Henry IV.," Act i., sc. 2 : "And resolution thus 
 
 fobbed, as it is, with the rusty curb of old father antic, the law ";, 
 and because he also has " fob," bearing a similar sense. See 
 passage referred to in Note 12, Act i. , " Coriolanus." 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene IIL 
 
 lago. Very well. 
 
 Bod. I tell you 'tis not very well. I will make 
 myself known to Desdemona : if she will return 
 me my jewels, I will give over my suit, and repent 
 my unlawful solicitation ; if not, assure yourself I 
 will seek satisfaction of you. 
 
 lago. You have said now. 
 
 Rod. Ay, and said nothing but what I protest 
 intendment of doing. 
 
 lago. Why, now I see there 's mettle in thee ; 
 and even from this instant do build on thee a 
 better opinion than ever before. Give me thy 
 hand, Roderigo : thou hast taken against me a 
 most just exception ; but yet, I protest, 1 have 
 dealt most directly in thy affair. 
 
 Rod. It hath not appeared. 
 
 lago. I grant, indeed, it hath not appeared ; 
 and your suspicion is not without wit and judg- 
 ment. But, Roderigo, if thou hast that in thee 
 indeed, which I have greater reason to believe now 
 than ever, — I mean purpose, courage, and valour, — 
 this night show it : if thou the next night follow- 
 ing win not Desdemona, take me from this world 
 with treachery, and devise engines for my life. 
 
 Rod. Well, what is it? is it within reason and 
 compass ? 
 
 Jago. Sir, there is especial commission come 
 from Venice to depute Cassio in Othello's place. 
 
 Rod. Is that true ? why, then Othello and 
 Desdemona return again to Venice. 
 
 lago. Oh, no; he goes into Mauritania, and 
 takes away with him the fair Desdemona, unless 
 his abode be lingered here by some accident : 
 wherein none can be so determinate 57 as the 
 removing of Cassio. 
 
 Rod. How do you mean, removing of him ? 
 
 lago. Why, by making him uncapable of 
 Othello's place, — knocking out his brains. 
 
 Rod. And that you would have me to do ? 
 
 lago. Ay, if you dare do yourself a profit and a 
 right. He sups to-night with a harlotry,^^ and 
 thither will I go to him : — he knows not yet of his 
 honourable fortune. If you will watch his going 
 
 56. Engines. ' Racks,' ' instruments of torture." See Note 
 140, Act i., *' Kinf^ Lear." 
 
 57. Determinate. Used to express 'tending to that end,' 'pro- 
 motive of decided result.' See Note i.Actii., " Twelfth Night." 
 
 58. A luirlotry. Here used for ' a hireling,' ' a woman that 
 may be had for money.' See Note 34, Act iii., "First Part 
 Henry IV.," for the probable derivation of the word. 
 
 59. Amazed. 'Bewildered,' ' confounded,' ' confused.' See 
 Note 67, Act iv., " King John." 
 
 60. High supper-titne. An idiomatic expression similar to 
 'great morning.' See Note 14, Act iv., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 " It is now high supper-time" signifies * it is now high time for 
 supper,' ' supper-time is now fully come.* There would hardly 
 be need to explain this, were it not that Mason proposed to 
 ch:inge " high" for ' nigh.' 
 
 61. The night grcnvs to waste. ' The night is wasting away,' 
 * the night is wearing away.' 
 
 thence, — which I will fashion to fall out between 
 twelve and one, — you may take him at your 
 pleasure; I will be near to second your attempt, 
 and he shall fall between us. Come, stand not 
 amazed'' at it, but go along with me ; I will show 
 you such a necessity in his death, that you shall 
 think yourself bound to put it on him. It is now 
 high supper-time,^'' and the night grows to waste 
 about it. 
 
 Rod. I will hear farther reason for this. 
 
 lago. And you shall be satisfied. \^Exeiint. 
 
 SCENE III.— Another Room in the Castle. 
 Enter Othello, Lodovico, Desdemona, E.milia, 
 and Attendants. 
 Lod. I do beseech you, sir, trouble yourself no 
 farther. 
 
 0th. Oh, pardon me ; 'twill do me good to 
 walk.*^ 
 
 Lod. Madam, good night ; I humbly thank 
 your ladyship. 
 
 Des. Your honour is most welcome. 
 
 Oth. Will you walk, sir ?— 
 
 Oh, — Desdemona, — 
 
 Des. My lord ? 
 
 Oth. Get you to bed on the instant ; I will be 
 returned forthwith : dismiss your attendant there : 
 look 't be done. 
 
 Des. 1 will, my lord. 
 
 [Exeunt Othello, Lodovico, 
 and Attendants. 
 Emil. How goes it now P he looks gentler than 
 he did." 
 
 Des. He says he will return incontinent i^* 
 He hath commanded me to go to bed, 
 And bade me to dismiss you. 
 
 Emil. Dismiss me ! 
 
 Des. It was his bidding ; therefore, good Emilia, 
 Give me my nightly wearing, and adieu : 
 We must not now displease him. 
 
 Emil. I would you had never seen him ! 
 
 62. 'Tiuill do me good to walk. One of Shakespeare's 
 subtle indications of physical condition ; it perfectly shows 
 the restlessness, the mal-ease, the fret of limb and frame ac- 
 companying fever of the mind. See Note loi. Act iv., " King 
 Lear.' 
 
 63. He looks gentler than he did. This also serves to denote 
 the present state of Othello with perfect truth to natural course 
 in emotional disturbance. His look and manner are calmer, 
 because he has come to a resolved conclusion ; he has deter- 
 mined to put her to death, and he is therefore able to suppress 
 those starts of speech and that fierceness of glance which were 
 uncontrollable while his soul was tossed with doubt and racked 
 with suspense. His mind being once made up as to the course 
 he must pursue and the punishment he will inflict, it can suffer 
 him to speak and look more gently than he did. 
 
 64. Incontinent. 'Immediately;' the adjective used for the 
 adverb. See Note 106, Act i. 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Des. So would not I : my love doth so approve him, 
 That even his stubbornness, his checks, his frowns, — 
 Pr'y thee, unpin me, — have grace and favour in them. 
 
 Em'il. I have laid those sheets you bade me on 
 the bed. 
 
 Des. All's one.— Good father ! how foolish are 
 our minds ! — 
 If I do die before thee, pr'ythee, shroud me 
 In one of those same sheets.** 
 
 Em'il. Come, come, you talk. 
 
 Des. My mother had a maid call'd Barbara : 
 She was in love ; and he she lov'd prov'd mad,^* 
 And did forsake her : she had a song of " willow ;" 
 An old thing 'twas, but it express'd her fortune, 
 And she died singing it : that song to-night 
 Will not go from my mind ; I have much to do. 
 But to go hang my head"^ all at one side. 
 And sing it like poor Barbara.— Pr'ythee, despatch. 
 
 Emil. Shall I go fetch your night-gown ? 
 
 Des. No, unpin me here. — 
 
 This Lodovico is a proper*^ man. 
 
 Emil. A very handsome man. 
 
 Des. He speaks well. 
 
 Emil. I know a lady in Venice would have 
 walked barefoot to Palestine for a touch of his 
 nether lip. 
 
 Des. [Singing.] 
 
 The poor soul sat^' sighing by a sycamore tree. 
 
 Sing all a green willow ; 
 Her hand on her bosom, her head on her knee, 
 
 Sing willow, willow, willow : 
 The fresh streams ran by her, and murmur'd her moans ; 
 
 Sing willow, willow, willow ; 
 Her salt tears fell from her, and soften'd the stones ; — 
 
 65. If I do die before tfiee. pr^ythee, shroud me in one of 
 those sains sheets. Re 'erring to her " wedding sheets ;" which, 
 in the previous scene, in the height of her distress, she has 
 bidden Emilia lay on her bed this night. The touch of super- 
 stit:ous foreboding, the touch of tender sentiment, the touch of 
 seif-chiding for being weak enough to indulge them, are all per- 
 fectly womanly ; and make one marvel how a man could so 
 Intuitively have conceived the passage. But then, the man is 
 Shakespeare ; whose knowledge of womanhood, in all its 
 intensest depths, is a miracle in itself. See Note i, Act iv., 
 " Love's Labour's Lost." 
 
 66. Mad. The commentators assert that this word ought to 
 be taken here in the sense of ' wild,' or ' frantic,' or * uncertain,' 
 or ' inconstant,' or ' unruly,' or ' fickle ; ' but we do not see any 
 reason to suppose that the author meant it in any other sense 
 than the usual one of 'insane.' It appears to us that "prov'd 
 mad " may be taken to signify ' went mad,' ' went out of his 
 mind," 'ran distracted;' or 'turned out to be mad,' 'became 
 known to be deranged.' 
 
 67. / have much to do, but to go hang- my head. " To do " 
 is here used where ' ado' is generally employed ; but "to do " 
 and ' ado ' were sometimes used the one for the other. In 
 Chaucer's " Romaunt of the Rose," line 5083, the word 'ado' 
 is employed for "to do;" "And done al that thei ban ado." 
 In the present play there is another instance of " to do " for 
 ' ado.' See the next line to the one referred to in Note ig, 
 Act iii. Johnson suggested that "but" might be changed to 
 'not' in this passage: the fact is, "but" has here large ellip- 
 tical force ; the phrase signifying, ' I have much ado to do any 
 thing but to go hang my head,' &c. 
 
 Lay by these : — 
 [Singing.] 
 
 Sing willow, willow, willow ; 
 Pr'ythee, hie thee; he'll come anon : — 
 [Singing.] 
 
 Sing all a green willow must be my garland. 
 Let nobody blame him ; his scorn I approve,- 
 
 Nay, that's not next.— Hark! who is't that knocks ? 
 Emil. It's the wind. 
 Des. [Singing.] 
 
 I call'd my love false love ; but what said he then ? 
 
 Sing willow, willow, willow : 
 If I court mo women,"" you'll couch with mo men.— 
 
 So, get thee gqpe ; good night. Mine eyes do itch ; 
 Doth that bode weeping ? 
 
 Emil. 'Tis neither here nor there. 
 
 Des. I have heard it said so.— Oh, these men, 
 these men ! — 
 Dost thou in conscience think, — tell me, Emilia, — 
 That there be women do abuse their husbands 
 In such gross kind P'^ 
 
 Emil. There be some such, no question. 
 
 Des. Wouldst thou do such a deed for all the 
 world ? 
 
 Emil. Why, would not you ? 
 
 Des. No, by this heavenly light I^* 
 
 Emil. Nor I neither by this heavenly light ; 
 I might do 't as well i' the dark. 
 
 Des. Wouldst thou do such a deed for all the 
 world ? 
 
 Emil. The world's a huge thing : it is a great 
 price 
 For a small vice. 
 
 Des. In troth, I think thou wouldst not. 
 
 68. Proper. * Comely,' ' good-looking.' See Note 5, Act i., 
 "King Lear;" and Note 120, Act i. of the present play. 
 
 69. The poor soul sat, &'c. The ballad whence these snatches 
 are taken is given in Percy's " Reliques," from a black-letter 
 copy in the Pepys Collection. It is originally a man's song, 
 being entitled " A Lover's Complaint, being forsaken of his 
 Love ; " but Shakespeare makes it a woman's song, and varies 
 its diction somewhat, to adapt it for his pjrpose. 
 
 70. If I court mo women. " Mo" is an antique abbreviation 
 of ' more , ' and was frequently used in ballad poetry. See 
 Note 57, Act ii., " Much Ado." 
 
 71. /« such gross kind. Just one of Shakespeare's natural 
 touches of abrupt reference and introduction of subject. Des- 
 demona asks this question, and Emilia answers it, using the 
 word "such," although there has been no mention of unfaith- 
 fulness during this scene ; but it has been the subject of their 
 thought, it has lain at the root of their dread that Othello is 
 jealous, and they now show that it is perfectly present to their 
 mind by this unushered allusion. 
 
 72. No, by this heavenly light ! The contrast, throughout 
 the present brief dialogue, of the innately pure woman and the 
 ingrained coarse woman, the white-souled Desdemona and the 
 gross-thoughted, mercenary, lax-principled Emilia, with her 
 thread-bare sophisms, her shallow excuses, and her palterings 
 with right and wrong, forms a fine climax to the light and dark 
 characteristic difference between these two principal female 
 figures in the tragedy picture, even while the dramatic harmony 
 is maintained by the single point of moral fallibility which they 
 have in common. Sec Note 84, Act iii. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 Emll. In troth, I think 1 should ; and undo t 
 when I had done. Marry, I would not do such a 
 thing for a joint-ring,''' nor for measures of lawn, 
 nor for gowns, petticoats, nor caps, nor any petty 
 exhibition ; but, for the whole world, — why, who 
 would not make her husband a gull to make him a 
 monarch ? I should venture purgatory for 't. 
 
 Des. Beshrew me, if I would do such a wrong 
 For the whole world. 
 
 Emit. Why, the wrong is but a wrong 1' the 
 world; and having the world for your labour, 'tis a 
 wrong in your own world, and you might quickly 
 make it right. 
 
 Des. I do not think there is any ^^ich woman. 
 
 Emil. Yes, a dozen ; and as many to the van- 
 tage''* as would store the world they played for. 
 But I do think it is their husbands' faults 
 If wives do fall : say that they slack their duties, 
 And pour our treasures into foreign laps ; 
 Or else break out in peevish jealousies, 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Throwing restraint upon us; or say they strike us, 
 Or scant our former having in despite ; 
 Why, we have galls; and though we have some 
 grace. 
 
 Yet have we some revenge. Let husbands know 
 Their wives have sense like them : they see, and 
 smell, 
 
 And have their palates both for sweet and sour, 
 As husbands have. What is it that they do 
 When they change us for others ! Is it sport ? 
 I think it is : and doth affection breed it ? 
 I think it doth : is't frailty that thus errs ? 
 It is so too: and have not we affections. 
 Desires for sport, and frailty, as men have ? 
 Then let them use us well : else let them know, 
 The ills we do, their ills instruct us so. 
 
 Des. Good night, good night : Heaven me 
 such usage send,'' 
 Not to pick bad from bad, but by bad mend ! 
 
 \_Exeunt. 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 ACT V. 
 
 SCENE I.— Cyprus. A Street. 
 Enter Iago and Roderigo. 
 lago. Here, stand behind this bulk;" straight 
 will he come : 
 Wear thy good rapier bare, and put it home : 
 Quick, quick ; fear nothing ; I'll be at thy elbow : 
 It makes us, or it mars us ; think on that, 
 And fix most firm thy resolution. 
 
 73. A joint-ring. This was anciently a usual token among 
 lovers ; and it is described in a passage from Dryden's " Don 
 Sebastian : " — 
 
 " A curious artist wrought them 
 joints so close as not to be perceiv'd ; 
 Yet are they both each other's counterpart : 
 Her part had Juan inscrib'd, and his had Zayda 
 (You know these names are theirs), and in the midst 
 A heart divided in two halves was plac'd." 
 
 74. To tJie vantage. An idiomatic phrase, equivalent to 
 ' over and above/ 'in addition to them.' 
 
 75. Heaven me such usage send. "Usage" is the word 
 given in the first Quarto ; while the others and the Folio give 
 ' uses.' Most modern editors adopt the word ' uses,' without 
 stating in what sense they take it here ; while Johnson prefers 
 the word *'usage," adding that it is an old word for cnstom. 
 But surely, in the present passage, " usage" bears the meaning 
 of ' treatment ; ' the sentence signifying, ' May Heaven send 
 me such treatment as that I shall not have to sort out bad from 
 bad, but — if I must have bad treatment — to mend my own cha- 
 racter by learning to bear bad treatment patiently.' It should 
 be borne in mind that Shakespeare often gives greatly elliptical 
 sentences : especially at the end of speeches previously to the 
 speaker's exit, and at the close of scenes. 
 
 Rod. Be near at hand ; I may miscarry in 't. 
 Iago. Here, at thy hand : be bold, and take thy 
 stand. \Ret'ires to a little distance. 
 
 Rod. I have no great devotion to the deed ; 
 And yet he hath given me satisfying reasons : — 
 Tis but a man gone — forth, my sword ; he dies. 
 
 [Goes to his stand. 
 Iago. I have rubb'd this young quat' almost to 
 the sense. 
 
 1. Bulk. This is the word in the Quartos ; the Folio giving 
 ' barke.' " Bulk " is explained to be a part of a building jutting 
 out, from the Danish bieicke, a beam ; but we believe that most 
 probably Shakespeare here meant by "bulk" one of those 
 stands, like tall benches, which the writer of this note remem- 
 bers in childhood seeing at various stations in London. There 
 was one, for instance, near to the corner of Park Lane, in Oxford 
 Street, appended to the pump that stood there ; one farther 
 down Oxford Street, near to James Street ; and one where 
 Farringdon Street joined Holborn Hill. They were generally 
 placed near to markets, and were used for porters to rest the 
 loads from their knots upon, or for those who carried burdens to 
 deposit them while resting. That these were well known to 
 Shakespeare, as a haunter of London streets, and that he should 
 have chosen to place one of them in a street in Cyprus, because 
 it was an object familiarly known to the majority of his audience, 
 is consistent with a practice of his. See Note 89, Act ii., 
 " Coriolanus." 
 
 2. ' Tis but a man gone. A half-line containing one of Shake- 
 speare's pregnant moral lessons : Roderigo's weak and wicked 
 companionship with Iago leading even to this ! 
 
 3. Quat. A word still used in the midland counties for 
 'pimple' or 'pustule;' which, being "rubbed," is made to 
 smart. " Rubbed to sense " means rubbed to the quick, or to 
 the seat of sensation ; and Roderigo is called a " quat " by the 
 
 59° 
 
Act v.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene L 
 
 And he grows angry. Now, whether he kill Cassio, 
 
 Or Cassio him, or each do kill the other, 
 
 Every way makes my gain : live Roderigo, 
 
 He calls me to a restitution large 
 
 Of gold and jewels that I bobb'd from him,'' 
 
 As gifts to Desdemona ; 
 
 It must not be : if Cassio do remam, 
 
 He hath a daily beauty in his life 
 
 That makes me ugly ; and, besides, the Moor 
 
 May unfold me to him ; there stand I in much peril : 
 
 No, he must die : — be 't so, I hear him coming. 
 
 Enter Cassio. 
 
 Rod. I know his gait, 'tis he. — Villain, thou ' 
 
 diest ! [Rushes from his post, and makes j 
 
 a pass at Cassio. | 
 
 Cas. That thrust had been mine enemy indeed, ; 
 
 But that my coat* is better than thou know'st : j 
 
 I will make proof of thine. | 
 
 {^Drauos, and 'zuounds Roderigo. } 
 
 Rod. Oh, I am slain ! | 
 
 [Iago rushes from his post, cuts Cassio ' 
 
 behind in the leg, and exit. i 
 
 Cas. I am maim"d for ever.— Help, ho ! murder! j 
 murder ! \_Falls. 
 
 Enter Othello, at a distance. 
 0th. The voice of Cassio : — Iago keeps his word. 
 Rod. Oh, villain that I am I 
 
 0th. It is even so. I 
 
 Cas. Oh, help, ho ! light ! a surgeon ! 
 
 Oih. 'Tishc: — oh, brave Iago, honest and just, 
 
 That hast such noble sense of thy friend's wrong ! 
 
 Thou teachest me, — Minion, your dear lies dead. 
 
 And your unblest fate hies :— wanton, I come ! 
 
 Forth of my heart those charms, thine eyes, are 
 blotted ; 
 
 Thy bed, sin-stain'd, sliall with sin's blood be 
 spotted. \_Exit. 
 
 Enter LoDOViCO and Gratiano, at a distance. 
 
 Cas. What, hoi no watch ? no passage ?^ mur- 
 der! murder ! 
 
 Gra. 'Tis some mischance ; the voice is very 
 direful. 
 
 Cas. Oh, help! 
 
 Lod. Hark ! 
 
 Rod. Oh, wretched villain ! 
 
 Lod. Two or three groan :— it is a heavy night :7 
 These may be counterfeits : let 's think 't unsafe 
 To come in to the cry without more help. 
 
 same figurative form of phrase that Sir Toby uses when he 
 exclaims, "Out, scab.!" or that Falstafif employs. See Note 
 54, Act iii., " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 4. That I bobb-d from him. ' That I fooled him out of;' in 
 modern vulgar language, ' that I jockeyed him out of 
 
 5. My coat. Meaning the under-coat of proof or shirt of 
 mail, which he wears ; and hearing this it is that causes Iago 
 to wound him in " the leg" instead of the bodj'. 
 
 Rod. Nobody come ? then shall I bleed to death. 
 Lod. Hark ! 
 
 Gra. Here 's one comes in his shirt, with light 
 and weapons. 
 
 Re-enter Iago, nuith a light. 
 Iago. Who's there? whose noise is this that 
 cries on* murder 
 
 Lod. We do not know. 
 
 Iago. Did not you hear a cry ? 
 
 Cas. Here, here ! for Heaven's sake, help me ! 
 
 Iago. What 's the matter ? 
 
 Gra. This is Othello's ancient, as I take it. 
 
 Lod. The same indeed ; a very valiant fellow. 
 
 Iago. What ate you here that cry so grievously ? 
 
 Cas. Iago? Oh, I am spoil'd, undone by villains ! 
 Give me some help. 
 
 Iago. Oh, me, lieutenant! what villains have 
 done this ? 
 
 Cas. I think that one of them is hereabout, 
 And cannot make away. 
 
 Iago. Oh, treacherous villains !— 
 
 [To Lod. and Gra.] What are you there ? come 
 in, and give some help. 
 
 Rod. Oh, help me here ! 
 
 Cas. That's one of them. 
 
 Iago. Oh, murderous slave! oh, villain! 
 
 [Stabs RcDERIGO. 
 
 Rod. Oh, damn'd Iago! Oh, inhuman dog! 
 
 Iago. Kill men i' the dark ! — ^Where be these 
 bloody thieves ? — 
 How silent is this town ! — Ho ! murder ! murder ! — 
 What may you be ? are you of good or evil ? 
 
 Lod. As you shall prove us, praise us. 
 
 Iago. Signior Lodovico ? 
 
 Lod. He, sir. 
 
 Iago. I cry you mercy. Here 's Cassio hurt 
 by villains. 
 
 Gra. Cassio ! 
 
 Iago. How is 't, brother ?" 
 
 Cas. My leg is cut in two. 
 
 Iago. Marry, Heaven forbid ! — 
 
 Light, gentlemen: — I'll bind it with my shirt. 
 
 Enter Bianca. 
 Rian. What is the matter, ho? who is't thatcried ? 
 Iago. Who is 't that cried ! 
 Bian. Oh, my dear Cassio! my sweet Cassio ! 
 O Cassio. Cassio, Cassio ! 
 
 Iago. Oh, notable wanton ! — Cassio, may you 
 suspect , 
 
 6. Nn passage ? No passengers 1' ' No one passing by 1 ' 
 
 7. ft is a heavy night. " Heavy" here bears the sense of 
 'dark,' ' thickly clouded ' (see Note 6, Act iv., "Measure for 
 Measure") ; while including that of 'sad,' 'grievous,' 'fraught 
 with mischance.' 
 
 8. Cries on. 'Proclaims,' 'announces,' 'exclaims against.' 
 See Note iii. Act v., " Hamlet." 
 
 9. Brother. Here used for ' brother officer.' 
 
Who they should be that have thus mangled you ? 
 Cas. No. 
 
 Gra. 1 am sorry to find you thus : I have been 
 to seek you. 
 
 lago. Lend me a garter : — so. — Oil, for a chair, 
 To bear him easily hence ! 
 
 Bian. Alas! he faints !—0 Cassio, Cassio, 
 Cassio ! 
 
 lago. Gentleman all, I do suspect this trash i" 
 To be a party in this injury. — 
 Patience awhile, good Cassio.— Come, come ; 
 Lend me a light. — Know we this face or no ? 
 Alas ! my friend and my dear countryman 
 Roderigo? no:— yes, sure; O Heaven! Roderigo. 
 
 Gra. What! of Venice? 
 
 lago. Even he, sir : did you know him ? 
 
 lo. Trash. Again used by lago as a disparaging epithet. 
 See Note 44, Act ii. 
 
 Gra. Know him ! ay. 
 
 lago. Signior Gratiano? I cry you gentle 
 pardon ; 
 
 These bloody accidents must excuse my manners, 
 That so neglected you. 
 
 Gra. I am glad to see you. 
 
 lago. How do you, Cassio ? — Oh, a chair, a 
 chair! 
 
 Gra. Roderigo I 
 
 lago. He, he, 'tis he. — Oh, that 's well said — 
 the chair: — [A chair brought in. 
 
 Some good man bear him carefully from hence ; 
 
 I '11 fetch the general's surgeon. — [To Bian.] For 
 you, mistress. 
 
 Save you your labour. — He that lies slain here, 
 Cassio, 
 
 II. JVell said. Sometimes, as here, used for 'well done.' 
 See Note 24, Act ii. 
 
 593 
 
 VOL. III. 
 
 241 
 
Act v.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene IL 
 
 Was my dear friend : what malice was between you ? 
 Cas. None in the world ; nor do I know the man. 
 lago. [To BiAN.] What ! look you pale ?— Oh, 
 bear him out o' the air. — 
 
 {_Cassio and Rod, are borne off. 
 Slay you, good gentlemen. — Look you pale, mis- 
 tress ? — 
 
 Do you perceive the gastness of her eye? — 
 Nay, if you stare, we shall hear more anon. — 
 Behold her well ; I pray you, look upon her : 
 Do you see, gentlemen ? nay, guiltiness will speak, 
 Tliough tongues were out of use. 
 
 Enter Emilia. 
 
 Emtl. Alas! what's the matter? what's the 
 matter, husband ? 
 
 lago. Cassio hath nere been set on in the dark 
 By Roderigo, and fellows that are 'scap'd : 
 He 's almost slain, and Roderigo dead. 
 
 Emit. Alas! good gentleman; alas! good Cassio! 
 
 lago. Pr'ythee, Emilia, 
 
 Go know of Cassio where he supp'd to-night. — 
 What ! do you shake at that ? 
 
 Bian. He supp'd at my house ; but I therefoi-e 
 shake not. 
 
 lago. Oh, did he so ? I charge you, go with me. 
 Emil. Fie, fie upon thee, wanton ! 
 Bian. I am no wanton ; but of life as honest 
 As you that thus abuse me, 
 Emil. As I ? foh ! fie upon thee ! 
 
 lago. Kind gentlemen, let's go see poor Cassio 
 dress'd.'"— 
 
 Come, mistress, you must tell 's another tale. — 
 Emilia, run you to the citadel. 
 And tell my lord and lady what hath happ'd. — 
 Will you go on, I pray ? — [Aside.'] This is the 
 night 
 
 That either makes me or fordoes'^ me quite. 
 
 \_Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE U.—A Bedchamber in the Castle: 
 Desdemona in bed, asleep i a light burning. 
 
 Enter Othello, 
 Olh. It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul, — 
 Let me not name it to you, you chaste stars ! — 
 
 12. Poor Cassio dress'd. ' Poor Cassio's wound dressed.' 
 Elliptical construction. 
 
 13. Fori/oes. ' Undoes,' ' ruins, ' destroys.' See Note 22, 
 Act ii., " Hamlet." 
 
 14. /i is the cause, it is the ca7(se . ... it is the cause. 
 This is one of Shakespeare's impressively abrupt commence- 
 ments of scenes. It shows Othello in debate with his own 
 soul on the fatal necessity for putting his wife to death, and 
 striving to justify the deed by the cause which exists for its 
 perpetration. The iteration of the phrase, " it is the cause," 
 serves admirably to denote the need he feels for urging upon 
 himself the instigating motive for his proposed act. 
 
 15. Put out the light, and then— Put out the light! The 
 
 It is the cause."— Yet I '11 not shed her blood ; 
 Nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow. 
 And smooth as monumental alabaster. 
 Yet she must die, else she '11 betray more men. 
 Put out the light, and then— Put out the light !" 
 If I quench thee, thou flaming minister, 
 I can again thy former light restore, 
 Should I repent me : — but once put out thy light, 
 Thou cunning'st pattern of excelling nature, 
 I know not where is that Promethean heat 
 That can thy light relume. When I have pluck'd 
 thy rose, 
 
 I cannot give it vital growth again, 
 ! It needs must wither : — I '11 smell it on the tree. — 
 ! [Kissing her. 
 
 '■■ Oh, balmy breath, that dost almost persuade 
 ! Justice to break her sword ! — One more, one 
 more : — 
 
 1 Be thus when thou art dead, and I will kill thee, 
 ! And love thee after : — one more, and this the last : 
 So sweet was ne'er so fatal. I must weep, 
 But they are cruel tears : this sorrow's heavenly ; 
 It strikes where it doth love.— She wakes. 
 
 Des. Who's there? Othello? 
 
 0th. Ay, Desdemona. 
 
 Des. Will you come to bed, my lord ? 
 
 0th. Have you pray'd to-night, Desdemona? 
 
 Des. Ay, my lorti. 
 
 0th. If you bethink yourself of any crime 
 Unreconcil'd as yet to Heaven and grace, 
 Solicit for it straight. 
 
 Des. Alack, my loi'd, what may you mean by 
 that? 
 
 0th. Well, do it, and be brief ; I will walk by : 
 I would not kill thy unprepared spirit ; 
 No, — Heaven forfend!^^ — I would not kill thy soul. 
 
 Des. Talk you of killing ? 
 
 0th. Ay, I do. 
 
 Des. Then Heaven 
 
 Have mercy on me ! 
 
 0th. Amen, with all my heart ! 
 
 Des. If you say so, I hope you will not kill me, 
 
 0th. H'm ! 
 
 Des. And yet I fear you ; for you are fatal then, 
 When your eyes roll so: why I should fear I know 
 not. 
 
 Since guiltiness I know not ; but yet I feel I fear, 
 
 introduction of a dash after " then," indicating a pause in the 
 speaker's soliloquy, as if struck by his own words and repeating 
 them, was made by Warburton, who thus interprets the pas- 
 sage : " The meaning is, ' I will put out the light, and thoi 
 proceed to the execution of my purpose.' But the expression 
 of putting out the light, bringing to mind the effects of the 
 extinction of the light of life, he breaks short, and questions 
 himself about the effects of this metaphorical extinction, intro- 
 duced by a repetition of his first words, as much as to say, 
 ' But hold, let me first weigh the reflections which this expres- 
 sion so naturally excites.'" 
 
 16. For/end. 'Forbid.' Shakespeare sometimes uses "de- 
 fend" to express 'forbid,' 'prohibit.' 
 
Act v.] 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Oth. Think on thy sins. 
 
 Des They are loves I bear to ) ou. 
 
 Oib. Ay, and for that thou diest. 
 Des. That death 's unnatural that kills for 
 loving,— 
 
 Alas! why gnaw you so your nether lip ? 
 Some bloody passion shakes your very frame : 
 These are portents ; but yet I hope, I hope, 
 They do not point on me. 
 
 Oih. Peace, and be still ! 
 
 Des. I will so. What's the matter? 
 
 Oib. That handkerchief which I so lov'd, and 
 gave thee, 
 Thou gav'st to Cassio. 
 
 Des. No, by my life and soul ! 
 
 Send for the man, and ask him. 
 
 Oth. Sweet soul, take heed. 
 
 Take heed of perjury ; thou art on thy death-bed. 
 
 Des. Ay, but not ) et to die. 
 
 Oth. Yes, presently ; 
 
 Therefore confess thee freely of thy sin ; 
 I' or to deny each article with oath 
 Cannot remove nor choke the strong conception 
 That I do groan withal. Tliou art to die. 
 
 Des. Then Lord have mercy on me ! 
 
 Oth. I say. Amen. 
 
 Des. And have you mercy too ! — I never did 
 Offend you in my life ; never lov'd Cassio 
 But with such general warranty of Heaven 
 As I might love ; I never gave him token. 
 
 Oth. By Heaven, I saw my handkerciiief in 's 
 hand. 
 
 Oh, perjur'd woman ! thou dost stone m) heart, 
 And mak'st me call what I intend to do 
 A murder, which I thought a sacrifice 
 I saw the handkerchief. 
 
 Des. He found it, then ; 
 
 I never gave it him : — send for him hithei ; 
 Let him confess a truth. 
 
 Oth. He hath confess'd. 
 
 Des. What, my lord ? 
 
 Oth. That he hath— us'd thee. 
 
 Des. . How ? unlawfully ? 
 
 Oth. Ay. 
 
 Des. He will not say so. 
 
 Oth. No, his mouth is stopp'd ; 
 
 Honest lago hath ta'en order for 't.'^ 
 
 Des. Oh, my fear interprets ! — what! is he dead ? 
 Oth. Had all his hairs been lives, my great 
 revenge 
 
 17. Thou dost stone my heart, and mak'st me call what I 
 intend to do a murder, which I thought a sacrijice. 'Thcu 
 dost harden my heart by denying thy guilt, and causest me to 
 kill thee from wrath at thy perjury, when 1 intended thy death 
 to be a sacrifice made to justice.' 
 
 iS. Ta'en order for' t. ' Taken means to effect it,' ' made 
 provision to secure its being done.' See Note 17, Act iv., 
 "Richard III." 
 
 19. Being done, t/tere is no pause. ' My deed of retribution 
 
 Had stomach for them all. 
 
 Des. Alas ! he is betray'd, and I undone ! 
 
 Oth. Out, wanton ! weep'st thou for him to my 
 fiice ? 
 
 Des. Oh, banish me, my lord, but kill me not ! 
 Oth. Down, wanton ! 
 
 Des. Kill me to-morrow; let me live to-night ! 
 Oth. Nay, if you strive, — 
 Des. But half an hour ! 
 
 Oth. Being done, there is no pause." 
 
 Des. But while I say one prayer ! 
 
 Otb. It is too late. 
 
 [Smothers her. 
 
 Emil. [IFithhi.] My lord, my lord! what, ho I 
 my lord, my lord ! 
 
 Oth. What noise is this ?— Not dead ? not yet 
 quite dead ? 
 I that am cruel am yet merciful ; 
 I would not have thee linger in thy pain : — 
 So, so. 20 
 
 Emil. [fFiihift.] What, ho! my lord, my lord ! 
 Oth. Who's there ? 
 
 Emil. [IVithin.] Oli, good my lord, I would 
 speak a word with you ! 
 
 Oih. Yes: — 'tis Emilia: — by-and-by. — She's 
 dead. — 
 
 'Tis like she comes to speak of Cassio's death; 
 The noise was high. — Ha ! no more moving ? 
 Still as the grave. — Shall she come in ? were 't 
 good ?— 
 
 I think sh.> stirs again : — no. — What's best to do ? 
 
 If she come in, she '11 sure speak to my wife : 
 
 My wife! my wife! what wife: — I have no wife. 
 
 Oil, insupportable ! oh, heavy hour ! 
 
 Methinks it should be now a huge eclipse 
 
 Of sun and moon, and that the affrighted globe 
 
 Should yawn at alteration. 
 
 Emil. [IFithin.] I do beseech you 
 
 That I may speak with you, oh, good my lord ! 
 
 Oth. I had forgot thee : oh, come in, Emilia : — 
 Soft, — by-and-by : — let me the curtains draw. — 
 Where art thou ? [Opens the door. 
 
 Enter Emilia. 
 What 's the matter with thee now 
 Emil. Oh, my good lord, yonder 's foul murder 
 done : 
 
 Oth. What, now ? 
 
 Emil. But now, my lord. 
 
 Oth. It is the very error-' of the moon ; 
 
 :mg once put 
 
 there must be no pause in com- 
 
 pleting it.' 
 
 20. So, so. It has been supposed that here Othello .stabs 
 Desdemona to put an end to her sufferings, as is usually done 
 on the modern stage ; but the words in the text may merely be 
 intended to represent that he Iie.aps more clothes around her, 
 pressing the pillow more closely upon her mouth. 
 
 21. Error. This word includes the sen.ses of ' mistaken 
 path,' and ' errant or wandering path.' See Note 115, Act i. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene IL 
 
 a young 
 
 She comes more near the earth than she was wont, 
 And makes men mad, 
 
 Emil. Cassio, my lord, has kiU'd 
 Venetian 
 Call'd Roderigo. 
 
 Oih. Roderigo kill'd! 
 
 And Cassio kill'd ! 
 
 Emil. No, Cassio is not kill'd. 
 
 0th. Not Cassio kill'd! then murder's out of 
 tune, 
 
 And sweet revenge grows harsh. 
 Dfs. Oh, falsely, falsely murder'd ! 
 Emil. Alas ! what cry is that ? 
 
 0th. That! "/hat? 
 
 Emil. Out, and alas ! that was my lady's 
 voice. — 
 
 Help ! help, lio ! help ! — Oh, lady, speak again ! 
 Sweet Desdemona! oh, sweet mistress, speak ! 
 
 Des. A guiltless death I die. 
 
 Emil, Oh, who hath done this deed ? 
 
 De.^. Nobody ; I myself. Farewell : 
 Commend me to my kind lord : oh, farewell ! 
 
 [[>}es. 
 
 0:h. Why, how should she be murdfr'd ? 
 Emil. Alas ! who knows ? 
 
 0th. You heard her say herself, it was not \. 
 Emil. She said so : I must needs report the 
 truth. 
 
 Oth. She 's, like a liar, gone to burning hell : 
 'Twas I that kill'd her. 
 
 Emil. Oh, the more angel she. 
 
 And you the blacker devil ! 
 
 Oth. She turned to folly. 
 
 Emil. Thou dost befie her. 
 
 Olh. She was false as water. 
 
 Emil. Thou art rash as fire, to say 
 
 That she was false : oh, she was heavenly true ! 
 
 Oth. Cassio did win her ; ask thy husband else. 
 Oh, I were damn'd beneath all depth in hell. 
 But that I did proceed upon just grounds 
 To this extremity. Thy husband knew it all. 
 
 Emil. My husband ! 
 
 Oth. Thy husband. 
 
 Emil. That she was false to wedlock ? 
 
 Olh. Ay, with Cassio. Nay, had she been true. 
 If Heaven would make me such another world 
 Of one entire and perfect chrysolite,^ 
 I'd not have sold her for it. 
 
 Emil. My husband ! 
 
 Oth. Ay, 'twas he that told me first : 
 
 22. Chrysolite. A precious stone of a dusky green, with a 
 cast of yellow. It is the same as that which is modernly called 
 ' peridot.' 
 
 23. My husband 1 The numerous repetitions of this exclama- 
 tion serve to prove how impossible it is for Emilia to conceive 
 that lago can be guilty of so atrocious a calumny, can be im- 
 plicated in the plot against Othello and Dcsdemona's peace, or to 
 suspect him for a moment in any way. See Note 46, Act iv. 
 
 An honest man he is, and hates the slime 
 That sticks on filthy deeds. 
 
 Emil. My husband!"' 
 
 Olh. What needs this iterance,^* woman ? i say 
 thy husband. 
 
 Emil. Oh, mistress, villany hath made mocks 
 with love !^' — 
 My husband say that she was false ! 
 
 Oth. He, woman ; 
 
 I say thy husband : dost understand the worii ? 
 My friend, thy husband, honest, honest lago. 
 
 Emil. If he say so, may his pernicious soul 
 Rot half a grain a day ! he lies to the heart : 
 She was too fond of her most filthy bargain. 
 • Oth. Ha! 
 
 Emil. Do thy worst r 
 This deed of thine is no more worthy Heaven 
 Than thou wast worthy her. 
 
 Oth. Peace ! you were best. 
 
 Em I. Thou hast not half the power to do me 
 harm 
 
 As I have to be hurt.^s Oh, gull ! oh, dolt ! 
 As ignorant as dirt ! thou hast done a deed, — 
 I care not for thy sword ; I'll make thee known, 
 Though I lost twenty lives. — Help! help, ho! 
 help! 
 
 The Moor has kill'd my mistress ! Murder ! 
 murder ! 
 
 Enter Montano, G-RATIANO, and I ago. 
 Mon. What is the matter ?— How now, general ? 
 Emil. Oh, are you come, lago ? you have done 
 well. 
 
 That men must lay their murders on your neck. 
 Gra. What is the matter ? 
 
 Emil. Disprove this villain, if thou be'st a man : 
 He says thou told'st him that his wife was false : 
 I know thou didst not, thou'rt not such a villain : 
 Speak, for my heart is full. 
 
 lago. I told him what I thought ; and told no 
 more 
 
 Than what he found himself was apt and true. 
 Emil. But did you ever tell him she was false ? 
 lago. I did. 
 
 Emil. You told a lie ; an odious lie ; 
 
 Upon my soul, a lie ; a wicked lie : — • 
 She false with Cassio !— did you say with Cassio ? 
 
 lago. With Cassio, mistress. Go to, charm ^' 
 your tongue. 
 
 Emil. I will not charm my tongue ; I am bound 
 to speak : 
 
 24. Iterance. ' Iteration,' ' repetition.' 
 
 25. Villany hath made mocks with love. ' Villany has 
 played off its false tricks upon true affection.' 
 
 26. As I have to be hurt. * As I have power to endure being 
 hurt.' Elliptically expressed. 
 
 27. Charm. Here used for lay or still, as by a charm ; bind, 
 as by 3 spell. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene 1L 
 
 My mistress here lies murder'd in her bed, — 
 All. Oh, heavens forfend I 
 
 Emit. And your reports have set the murder on. 
 Oih. Nay, stare not, masters: it is true, indeed. 
 Gra. 'Tis a strange truth. 
 Mon. Oh, monstrous act ! 
 
 Emit. Villany, villany , villany !— 
 
 I think upon 't,— I think,— !" smell 't ;— oh, vil- 
 lany I — 
 
 I thought so then;=8_I'll kill myself for grief:— 
 Oh, villany, villany! 
 
 lago. What ! are you mad ? I charge you, get 
 you home. 
 
 Emil. Good gentlemen, let me have leave to 
 speak : 
 
 'Tis proper I obey him, but not now. — 
 Perchance, lago, I will ne'er go home. 
 
 0th. Oh ! oh ! oh ! [Falling on the bed. 
 
 Emil. Nay, lay thee down and roar ; 
 
 For thou hast kill'd the sweetest innocent 
 That e'er did lift up eye. 
 
 Olh. \_Rislng.'\ Oh, she was foul !— 
 
 I scarce did know you, uncle there lies your 
 niece, 
 
 Whose breath, indeed, these hands have newly 
 stopp'd : 
 
 I know this act shows horrible and grim. 
 Gra. Poor Desdemona ! I am glad thy father 's 
 dead : 
 
 Thy match was mortal to him, and pure grief 
 Shore his old thread in twain : did he live now. 
 This sight would make him do a desperate turn. 
 Yea, curse his better angel from his side, 
 And fall to reprobance.^" 
 
 Oth. 'Tis pitiful; but yet lago knows 
 That she with Cassio hath the act of shame 
 A thousand times^i committed; Cassio confess'd it: 
 And she did gratify his amorous works 
 With that recognisance and pledge of love 
 Which I first gave her ; I saw it in his hand : 
 
 28. / tliought so then. In allusion to her suspicion that there 
 was some slanaerer at work to defame Desdcinona and deceive 
 Othello. See Note 46, Act iv. She seems to us to be about to 
 say, ' I thought then that there was villany going on, but little 
 thought my husband was its author.' The very thought that 
 lago could be capable of such villany causes her to interrupt 
 her half-uttercd sentence with " I'll kill my.self for grief." 
 
 2g. Uncle. Gratiano is brother to Brabantio, Desdemona's 
 father ; therefore Othello here addresses him as "uncle." 
 
 30. Reprobance. A form of 'reprobation,' or ' reprobate- 
 ness.' The recurrence of this particular form of words— as 
 ** arrivance," "iterance," " continuate," and "determinate" — 
 in the present play is remarkable ; and tends to confirm our 
 theory of certain modes of thinking or style of writing being 
 traceable in certain of Shakespeare's plays. See Note 133, Act 
 iv,, "King Lear;" and Note 9, Act ii. of this play. 
 
 31. A thousand times. One of Shakespeare's idiomatic ex- 
 pressions indicative of indefinite number ; but here introduced 
 for the sake of conveying the effect of long time. Precisely 
 the same remarks apply to it as those made upon the expres- 
 sion, "a hundred times," in Note 58, Act iii. 
 
 It was a handkerchief, an antique token 
 My father gave my mother.^s 
 
 Emil. O Heaven ! oh, heavenly powers ! 
 
 lago. Come, hold your peace. 
 
 Emil. 'Twill out, 'twill out :— I hold my peace, 
 sir ? no ; 
 
 I'll be in speaking liberal as the air : 
 
 Let Heaven and men and devils, let them all, 
 
 All, all, cry shame against me, yet I'll speak. 
 
 lago. Be wise, and get you home. 
 
 Emil. I will not. 
 
 [Iago offers to stab EMILIA. 
 
 Gra. Fie ! 
 
 Your sword upon a woman ? 
 
 Emil. Oh, thou dull Moor! that handkerchief 
 thou speak'st of 
 I found by fortune, and did give my husband ; 
 For often, with a solemn earnestness, — 
 More than, indeed, belong'd to such a trifle, — 
 He begg'd of me to steal it. 
 
 lago. Villanous hag ! 
 
 Emil. She give it Cassio ! no, alas! I found it, 
 And I did give 't my husband. 
 
 lago. Filth, thou liest ! 
 
 Emil. By Heaven, I do not, I do not, gentle- 
 men. — 
 
 Oh, murderous coxcomb ! what should such a fool 
 Do with so good a wife ? [Iago stabs Emilia. 
 
 Oth. Are there no stones in heaven 
 
 But what serve for the thunder P^^ — Precious 
 villain ! 
 
 [Assaults Iago, and is disarmed by 
 MoNTANO. Iago runs out. 
 Gra. The woman falls; sure, he has kill'd his 
 wife. 
 
 Emil. Ay, ay : — Oh, lay me by my mistress' side. 
 Gra. He 's gone, but his wife 's kill'd. 
 Mon. 'Tis a notorious 35 villain. Take yoQ this 
 weapon. 
 
 Which I have here recover'd from the Moor : 
 
 32. An antique token my father gave my mother. This 
 differs from what Othello said when he told Desdemona, "That 
 handkerchief did an Egyptian to my mother give;" but he 
 there stated it to be a direct gift from the "charmer" herself, 
 in order to heighten the impression of its mystic virtues upon 
 his wife's imagination. See Note 89, Act iii. Even this slight 
 deviation from truth on the part of Othello works its own retri- 
 bution. Had he not over-excited the gentle lady's fears by this 
 description of the. handkerchief, and startled her by his 
 peremptoriness in demanding it, she might not have been 
 tempted to prevaricate and tell a falsehood in reply to his 
 divergence from absolute fact. Thus subtly does the greatest 
 of dramatic moralists draw his ethical lessons. See Note 92, 
 .Act iii. 
 
 33. Liberal. Here used for 'free,' 'unrestrained.' 
 
 34. Are there no stones in heaven but, &^c. Implying, 
 ' Hath heaven no bolts wherewith to punish this miscreant as 
 well as to denounce his crime?' See Note 73, Act i., "Julius 
 Csesar." 
 
 35. Notorious. Here again used in the sense of ' egregious,' 
 'that should be noted and exposed.' See Note 47, Act iv. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene 1L 
 
 Come, guard the door without ; let him not pass, 
 But kill him rather. I'll after that same villain. 
 For 'tis a rurs^d slave. 
 
 [Exeunt Montano and Gratiano. 
 
 0th. 1 am not valiant neither, 
 
 But every puny whipster gets my sword :— 
 But why should honour, outlive honesty ? 
 Let it go all. 
 
 Emil. What did thy song bode, lady ? 
 
 Hark, canst thou hear me I will play the swan, 
 And die in music : 36_willow, willow, willow. — 
 Moor, she was chaste ; she lov'd thee, cruel Moor; 
 So come my soul to bliss, as I speak true ; 
 So speaking as I think, I die, — I die. [Dies. 
 
 0th. I have another weapon in this chamber ; 
 It is a sword of Spain, the ice-brook's temper — 
 Oh, here it is. — Uncle, I must come forth. 
 
 Gra. [Within.'] If thou attempt it, it will cost 
 thee dear : 
 
 Thou hast no weapon, and perforce must suffer. 
 
 0th. Look in upon me, then, and speak with me, 
 Or, naked as I am, I will assault thee. 
 
 R'-enter Gratiano. 
 Gra. What is the matter ? 
 
 0th. Behold, I have a weapon ; 
 
 A better never did itself sustain 
 Upon a soldier's thigh : I have seen the day. 
 That, with this little arm and this good sword, 
 I have made my way through more impediments 
 Than twenty times your stop — but, oh, vain 
 boast ! 
 
 Who can control his fate? 'tis not so now. — 
 Be not afraid, though you do see me weapoii'd ; 
 Here is my journey's end, here is my butt, 
 And very sea-mark of my utmost sail. 
 Do you go back dismay'd ? 'tis a lost fear ; 
 Man but a rush against Othello's breast. 
 And he retires : — where should Othello go ? — 
 Now, how dost thou look now ? Oh, ill-starr'd 
 wench ! 
 
 Pale as thy smock ! when we shall meet at compt, 
 This look of thine will hurl my soul from heaven, 
 And fiends will snatch at it. Cold, cold, my girl ! 
 Even like thy chastity. — 
 
 Oh, cursed, cursed slave ! — Whip me, ye devils. 
 From the possession of this heavenly sight ! 
 Blow me about in winds ! roast me in sulphur ! 
 Wash me in steep-down gulfs of liquid fire ! — 
 O Desdemona ! Desdemona ! dead ! Oh, oh, oh ! 
 
 36. / luill play the sivan, and die in music. Referring to 
 the graceful traditional notion of the swan, at point of death, sing- 
 ing its own dirge. See Note 14, Act iii., " Merchant of Venice." 
 
 37. A sword 0/ Spain, the ice-brook's temper. Spanish 
 sword-blades were highly esteemed (see Note 81, Act i., 
 " Romeo and Juliet"), and the steel of which they were made 
 was tempered by plunging it into cold water— the colder the 
 water, the higher the temper attained. 
 
 That 's he that was Othello ; — here I am. 
 Where is that viper ? bring the villain 
 
 Enter LoDOViCO, MoNTANO, Cassio carried in a 
 chair, and Officers 'xvith Iago, prisoner. 
 
 Lod. Where is this rash and most unfortunate 
 man ? 
 
 0th. 
 
 Lod. 
 forth. 
 
 0th. I look down towards his feet,^' — but that's 
 a fable. — 
 
 If that thou be'st a devil, I cannot kill thee. 
 
 [Wounds Iago. 
 
 Lod. Wrench his sword from him. 
 
 Iago. I bleed, sir; but not kill'd. 
 
 0th. I am not sorry neither: I'd have thee live ; 
 For, in my sense, 'tis happiness to die. 
 
 Lod. Oh, thou Othello, that wert once so good, 
 Fall'n in the practice^" of a cursed slave, 
 What shall be said to thee ? 
 
 0th. Why, anything : 
 
 An honourable murderer, if you will ; 
 For naught I did in hate, but all in honour. 
 
 Lod. This wretch hath .part confess'd his 
 villany : 
 
 Did you and he consent in Cassio's deatli ? 
 0 th. Ay. 
 
 Cas. Dear general, I never gave you cause. 
 
 Oih. I do believe it, and I ask your pardon. — 
 Will you, I pray, demand that demi-devil 
 Why he hath thus ensnar'd my soul and body? 
 
 Iago. Demand me nothing : what you know, 
 you know : 
 
 From this time forth I never will speak word. 
 Lod. What! not to pray? 
 
 Gra. Torments will ope your lips. 
 
 0th. Well, thou dost best. 
 
 Lod. Sir, you shall understand what hath 
 befall'n, 
 
 Which, as I think, you know not. Here is a letter 
 Found in the pocket of the slain Roderigo ; 
 And here another: the one of them imports 
 The death of Cassio to be undertook 
 By Roderigo. 
 0th. Oh, villain ! 
 
 Cas. Most heathenish and most gross ! 
 
 Lod. Now here 's another discontented paper. 
 Found in his pocket too ; and this, it seems, 
 Roderigo meant to have sent this cursed villain ; 
 But that, belike, Iago in the interim 
 Came in and satisfied him. 
 
 0th. Oh, the pernicious caitifl"! — 
 
 38. More impediments tha?i twenty times yoicr stop. Ellip- 
 tically expressed ; the phrase signifying ' more impediments 
 than twenty times as much as that by which you would stop 
 me.' 
 
 39. / look down towards his feet. Implying, to see if they 
 be cloven. 
 
 40. In the practice. ' In the snare ;' ' by the machinntions.' 
 
Acr v.] 
 
 OTHELLO. 
 
 [Scene IL 
 
 How came you, Cassio, by that handktrcliief 
 That was my wife's ? 
 
 Cas. I found it in my chamber : 
 
 And he himself confess'd but even now 
 That there he dropp'd it for a special purpose 
 Which wrought to h'ls desire. 
 
 0th. Oh, fool ! fool ! fool ! 
 
 Cas. There is besides in Roderigo's letter, — 
 How he upbraids lago, that he made him 
 Brave me upon the watch ; whereon it came 
 That I was cast:"" and even but now he spake, 
 After long seeming dead, — lago hurt him, 
 lago set him on. 
 
 Lod, You must forsake this room, and go 
 with us : 
 
 Your power and your command is taken off, 
 And Cassio rules in Cyprus. For this slave, — 
 If there be any cunning cruelty 
 That can torment him much and hold him long. 
 It shall be his. You shall close prisoner rest, 
 Till that the nature of your fault be known 
 To the Venetian state. — Come, bring away. 
 
 0th. Soft you ; a word or two before you go. 
 I have done the state some service, and they 
 know it; — 
 
 No more of that. — T pray, you, in your letters. 
 
 When you shall these unlucky deeds relate. 
 
 Speak of me as I am ; nothing extenuate. 
 
 Nor set down aught in malice : then must you speak 
 
 Of one, that lov'd not wisely, but too well ; 
 
 Of one, not easily jealous, but, being wrought. 
 
 41. Cast. ' Dismissed from office,' ' cashiered.' See Note 88, 
 Act ii. 
 
 42. T/ie base Intiian. This is the reading of all the Quartos : 
 while the Folio gives ' ludean' instead of '* Indian." Theobald 
 maintained that * Jiidean ' was the word ' intended,' and that 
 the allusion was to Herod, who, in a fit of blind jealousy, threw 
 away such a jewel of a wife as Mariamne was to him. Malone 
 aUo favoured ' Judean,* because he thought the word " tribe 
 indicated that the Jews were referred to ; but in the present 
 play we see the word "tribe" more generally applied, where 
 lago says, " Good Heaven, the souls of all my /rilte defend from 
 jealousy!" Three passages, cited from other writers, show 
 that the recklessness with which Indians treat the treasures 
 yielded by their native realms was subject of known allusion. 
 In Habington's poem, " To Castara Weeping," is found : 
 
 " So the unskilfull Indian those bright gems 
 Which might adde majestie to diadems 
 'Mong the waves scatters." 
 In Sir Edward Howard s "The Woman's Conquest:" 
 " Behold my queen— 
 Who with no more concern I'll cast aivay 
 Than Indians do a pearl, that ne'er did know 
 Its value." 
 And in Dnayton's " Legend of Matilda : " 
 
 " The wretched Indian spurnes the golden ore." 
 Even though wc adopt the Quarto reading, we confess to enter- 
 
 Perplex'd in the extreme ; of one, whose hand. 
 Like the base Indian,''^ threw a pearl away 
 Richer than all his tribe ; of one, whose subdu'd 
 eyes. 
 
 Albeit unused to the melting mood. 
 Drop tears:'3as fast as the Arabian trees 
 Tlieir medicinal"" gum. Set you down this ; 
 And say, besides, — that in Aleppo once, 
 Where a malignant and a turban'd Turk'" 
 Beat a Venetian and traduc'd the state, 
 I took by the throat the circumcised dog, 
 And smote him — thus. \Stabs himself. 
 
 Loci. Oh, bloody period ! 
 
 Gra. All that 's spoke is marred. 
 
 0th. I kiss'd thee ere I kill'd thee :— no way 
 but this, {^Falllng upon Desdemona. 
 
 Killing myself, to die upon a kiss. \^Dles. 
 
 Cas. This did I fear, but thought he had no 
 weapon ; 
 For he was great of heart. 
 
 Lod. [To I AGO.] O Spartan dog.'-^ 
 
 More fell than anguish, hunger, or the sea ! 
 Look on the tragic loading of this bed ; 
 This is thy work : — the object poisons sight; 
 Let it be hid. — Gratiano, keep the house. 
 And seize upon the fortunes of the Moor, 
 For they succeed on you. — To you, lord governor. 
 Remains the censure*' of this hellish villain ; 
 The time, the place, the torture, — oh, enforce it ! 
 Myself will straight aboard ; and to the state 
 This heavy act with heavy heart relate. [Exeunt. 
 
 taining considerable doubts whether the Folio word 'Judean' 
 may not, after all, have been what Shakespeare wrote. That 
 he was well acquainted with the story of " Herod of Jewry" 
 is evident from his having no fewer than eight allusions to 
 him in the course of his plays ; and in all probability he 
 had seen Lady Elizabeth Carew's tragedy of " Mariam, the 
 Fair Queen of Jewry " {1613), with the passage where Herod 
 is made to say, 
 
 " I had but one inestimable jewel — 
 
 Yet in suddaine choler cast it downe 
 
 And dasht it all to pieces.'.' 
 
 We have given the corroborative citations on each side of the 
 argument, and have honestly stated our own difficulty of deci- 
 sion ; leaving the reader to judge the question. 
 
 43. Drop tears. The sudden deviation from past tense to 
 present tense here has impressive effect ; it tends to make the 
 weeping of the noble-natured man and brave soldier the more 
 vividly actual and intense to the imagination of reader or spec- 
 tator. See Note 5, Act i. 
 
 44. Medicinal. This is the word in the Quartos ; the Folio 
 giving ' medicinable.' 
 
 45. A turban'd Turk. It has been affirmed that it was im- 
 mediate death for a Christian to strike a Turk in Aleppo. 
 
 46. Spartan dog. The dogs of Spartan race were reckoned 
 among those of the most fierce and savage kind. 
 
 47. Cens7ire. Here used for 'sentence,' 'judgment,' 'con- 
 demnation.' See Note 8, Act ii., "Measure for Measure." 
 
DRAMATIS PERSONS. 
 
 M. Antony, 
 
 OCTAVIUS CiESAR, 
 
 Triumvirs. 
 
 M. j^MIL. Lepidus, ) 
 Sextus Pompeius. 
 DoMiTius Enobarbus, , 
 Ventidius, I 
 Eros, # 
 
 SCARUS, S Friends to Antony. 
 
 Dercetas, y 
 Demetrius, j 
 Philo, / 
 Mec^nas, \ 
 Agrippa, J 
 
 Varrius, ; 
 Taurus, Lieutenant-General to Cnesar. 
 Canidius, Lieutenant-General to Antony. 
 SiLius, an Officer in Ventidius's Army. 
 EuPHRONius, an Ambassador from Antony to CiEsar. 
 Alexas, Mardian, Seleucus, and Diomedes, Attendants on Cleopatra. 
 A Soothsayer. 
 A Clown. 
 
 Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. 
 
 OCTAVIA, Sister to Cassar, and Wife to Antonj'. 
 
 Officers, Soldiers, Messengers, and other Attendants. 
 
 dolabella, 
 
 Proculeius, 
 
 Thyreus, 
 
 Gallus, 
 
 Menas, 
 
 Menecrates, 
 
 Friends to Cssar. 
 
 Friends to Pompey. 
 
 Attendants on Cleopatra. 
 
 Scene — In several parts of the Roman Empire. 
 
ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA/ 
 
 ACT I. 
 
 SCENE I. — Alexandria. A Room in 
 Cleopatra's Palace. 
 
 Enter Demetrius and Philo. 
 
 Phi. Nay, but this dotage of our general's^ 
 O'erflows the measure : those his goodly eyes, 
 That o'er the files and musters of the war 
 Have glow'd like plated* Mars, now bend, now 
 turn. 
 
 The office-' and devotion of their view 
 Upon a tawny front his captain's heart, 
 Which in the scuffles of great fights hath burst 
 The buckles on his breast, reneges* all temper. 
 
 I. The first known printed copy of Antony and Cleopatra 
 is the one in the 1623 Folio. There exists an entry in the 
 Stationers' Registers, made by Edward Blount, dated May 20th, 
 1608, of " A booke called Anthony and Cleopatra ; " which 
 entry in all probability refers to Shakespeare's play on this 
 subject, as Blount was one of the publishers of the 1623 Folio. 
 The inference, therefore, is that Shakespeare's "Antony and 
 Cleopatra " was very likely written, and possibly acted, some- 
 where about the close of 1607, or commencement of i6o3 ; the 
 intrinsic evidence of the style showing it to have been among 
 the productions of his maturest period m composition. He has 
 derived his materials from Sir Thomas North's translation of 
 " Plutarch ; " following his authority with a closeness, a fidelity 
 the most remarkable, while at the same time investing his his- 
 toric details with a richly glowing beauty and harmony of poetic 
 colouring that render his "Antony and Cleopatra" the most 
 superb and consummate picture-drama of history ever put upon 
 literary canvas. His Antony is an heroic figure that preserves 
 its majesty and dignity amid sensual indulgence and spell-bound 
 bewitchment that would sully and degrade a less magnificently 
 limned character; and Cleopatra is a matchless heroine of 
 voluptuous fascination and gorgeous charm. The author has 
 had the singular art to preserve their splendour of portraiture, 
 their grandeur of delineation, without rendering their example 
 
 all I 
 
 their vices attr 
 
 he 
 
 compromi; 
 
 the truth of virtue or morality, even while investing this brace 
 of imperial voluptuaries with all the opulence of Oriental glow 
 and imagery. He has set them forth as that which will ever- 
 more secure the gaze of the world ; as that which enchains our 
 attention, even our admiration ; but amid all the glamour of 
 colour, warmth, and beauty, he has left us undazzled in judg- 
 
 And is become the bellows and the fan 
 
 To cool a gipsy's^ lust. [Flourish ■uuithin.'] Look, 
 
 where they come: 
 Take but good note, and you shall see in him 
 The triple^ pillar of the world transform'd 
 Into a wanton's fool: behold and see. 
 
 Enter Antony and Cleopatra, ivith their 
 trains ; Attendants fanning her. 
 Cleo. If it be love indeed, tell me how much. 
 Ant. There 's beggary in the love that can be 
 reckon'd. 
 
 Cleo. I'll set a bourn' how far to be belov'd. 
 
 ment, and free to withhold esteem or sympathy. We admire, 
 but we never love ; we yield our imaginations, but not our hearts 
 Neither the hero nor the heroine excite one moment's attach- 
 ment ; but they e.vercise unfading sway upon our fancy, and 
 reign supreme over our sensuous perceptions. 
 
 2. Nay, but this dotage, &^c. One of Shakespeare's abrupt 
 commencements, as with a conversation already begun, giving 
 great ease and naturalness of effect. See Note 2, Act i., "As 
 You Like It." 
 
 3. Plated. 'Clad in plate armour." See Note 94, Act iv., 
 ** King Lear." 
 
 4. Office. Here used to express ' dedicated service,' ' duteous 
 observance." See Note 97, Act iii., " Othello." 
 
 5. A taiuny froiU. A poetical indication of Cleopatra's Eastern 
 complexion. All traditional records agree in stating that she 
 was not handsome, lineally handsome ; but all likewise agree in 
 mentioning that she possessed an inexpressible charm of face 
 and person, incomparable grace of manner and discourse, with 
 irresistibly engaging and inexhaustibly varied demeanour. 
 
 6. Reneges. Pronounced dissyllabically, as if written 're- 
 neagues,' or 'reneags ;' and signifying 'renounces,' 'disclaims,' 
 ' denies." See Note 45, Act ii,, " King Lear.""' 
 
 7. Gipsy. An epithet here given to Cleopatra as a disparaging 
 term applied to a woman, and as appropriate to her from being 
 an Egyptian. See Note 4, Act v., " Midsummer Night's 
 Dream ;" and Note 47, Act ii,, " Romeo and Juliet."' 
 
 8. Triple. Here used for 'third,' ' one of three.' See Note 
 32, Act ii., "All's Well." Antony was one of Rome's trium- 
 virs ; sustaining strengths of the world. 
 
 9. Bourn. ' Bound," ' limit.' See Note 78, Act iii., " King 
 
Act I.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Ant. Then mu5t thou needs find out new 
 heaven, new earth.'" 
 
 Eiier an Attendant. 
 
 Alt. News, my good lord, from Rome. 
 
 Ant. Grates me : — the sum." 
 
 Cleo. Nay, hear them, Antojiy : 
 Fuh'ia perchance is angry ; or, who knows 
 It the scarce-bearded Caesar have not sent 
 His po.verful mandate to you, " Do this, or this ; 
 Take in^" that kingdom, and enfranchise that ; 
 Perform 't, or else we damn'* thee." 
 
 Ant. How, my love ! 
 
 Cleo. Perchance, — nay, and most like, — 
 You must not stay here longer; your dismission 
 Is come from Cssar; therefore hear it, Antony, — 
 Where's Fulvia's process?'^ Csesar's I would 
 
 say P— both ?— 
 Call in the messengers. — As I am Egypt's queen, 
 Thou blushest, Antony ; and that blood of thine 
 Is Ca-sar's homager : else so thy cheek pays shame 
 When shrill-tongu'd Fulvia scolds. — The mes- 
 sengers ! 
 
 Ant. Let Rome in Tiber melt, and the wide 
 arcii 
 
 Of the rang'd empire fall ! Here is my space. 
 Kingdoms are clay: our dungy earth'* alike 
 Feeds beast as man : the nobleness of life 
 Is to do thus \emhradng\ ; when such a mutual 
 pair 
 
 And such a twain can do't, in which I bind, 
 On pain of punishment, the world to weet,'' 
 We stand up peerless. 
 
 Cleo. Excellent falsehood ! 
 
 Why did he marry Fulvia, and not love her ? — 
 
 10. Tlieii micst thou tieeds, Implying, ' Then you must 
 discover a new universe wherein to appoint the boundary of my 
 love, for the present space sufiiceth not.' 
 
 11. Grates me : — the sum. Elliptically expressed ; signifying 
 ' news that grates upon me ; tell me at once its amount.' 
 "News" is here used as a collective noun and treated as a 
 singular ; while in Cleopatra's rejoinder, '* Nay, hear them^' the 
 word is treated as a plural. See Note 86, Act iv., " Richard III." 
 
 12. Take in. 'Conquer,* 'subdue.' See Note 6i, Act iii., 
 " Coriolanus." 
 
 13. Damn. Used in the sense of ' doom ' or ' condemn.* See 
 Note 8, Act i., " Macbeth." 
 
 14. Process. Here employed for * summons,* ' citation.' 
 Minshew, in his "Dictionary" (1617), says, "Liwyers sometimes 
 call that the processe, by which a man is called into the court 
 
 15. Rang'd. Like the French word range, this word here 
 bears the sense of ' well-ordered,' 'well-arranged.' "Ranges," 
 in the speech referred to in Note 29, Act iii., " Coriolanus," is 
 used with similar signification. 
 
 16. Dungy earth. Shakespeare has used this strong e.Kpres- 
 sion both here and elsewhere (see the speech subsequent to the 
 one referred to in Note 26, Act ii., "Winter's Tale") to express 
 the material and element.T.1 globe on which we exist. 
 
 17. To weet. ' To know,' ' to be aware.' 
 
 18. But stirr'd by Cleopatra. This is in rejoinder to what 
 she has said ; and signifies, 'Ay, he will be himself; but he 
 will be so if inspired thereto by Cleopatra.' 
 
 I'll seem the fool I am not ; Antony 
 Will be himself. 
 
 Ant. But stirr'd by Cleopatra.''— 
 
 Now, for the love of Love'^ and her soft hours, 
 Let's not confound 20 the time with conference 
 harsh : 
 
 There 's not a minute of our lives should stretch 
 Without some pleasure now: — what sport to-night? 
 
 Cleo. H ear the ambassadors. 
 
 Ant. Fie, wrangling queen ! 
 
 Whom everything becomes, — to chide, to laugh, 
 To weep ; whose every passion fully strives 
 To make itself, in thee, fair and admir'd ! 
 No messenger; but thine, and all alone, 
 To-night we'll wander through the streets, and note 
 The qualities of people. Come, my queen ; 
 Last night you did desire it: — speak not to us. 
 
 {Exeunt Ant. and Cleo. luith theh train. 
 
 Dent. Is Caesar with Antonius priz'd so slight? 
 
 Phi. Sir, sometimes, when he is not Antony, 
 He comes too short of that great property 
 Which still should go with Antony. 
 
 Dent. I am full sorry 
 
 That he approves the common liar,^' who 
 Thus speaks of him at Rome: but I will hope 
 Of better deeds to-morrow. Rest you happy ! 
 
 \_Ex(unt. 
 
 SCENE II. — Alexandria. Another Room in the 
 Palace. 
 
 Enter Charmian, Iras, and Alexas.-^ 
 Char. Lord Alexas, sweet Alexas, most any- 
 
 ig. For the love of Love. * For the sake of Venus, queen of 
 love.' See Note 25, Act iii., " Comedy of Errors." 
 
 20. Confound. Here used for 'lose,' 'spend,' 'consume.' 
 See Note 74, Act i., " Coriolanus." 
 
 21. That he approves tlie common liar. " Approves " is used 
 in the sense of ' proves true,' 'confirms' (see Note 35, Act i., 
 "King Lear"); and "the common liar" means 'report,' 
 
 22. Enter Charmian, &'c. The stage direction here in the 
 Folio gives the names of three additional personages, " Lam- 
 prius, Rannius, Lucihus ;" but as they take no part in the 
 dialogue, they were probably intended to be omitted, though by 
 chance retained in the copy from which the Folio was printed. 
 A similar circumstance is pointed out in Note 2, Act i., " Much 
 Ado." An interest attaches to the first of the above three 
 names : as it may be an indication that Shakespeare originally 
 meant to have introduced into this play a character and direct 
 authority for certain of its details, thus mentioned by Plutarch : 
 " I have heard my Grandfather Lampryas report, that one 
 Philotas, a Physitian, borne in the city of Amphion, told him, 
 that he was at that present time in Alexandria, and studied 
 Phisicke : and that having acquaintance with one of Antonius 
 cookes, he tooke him with him to Antonius house 'being a yong 
 man desirous to see things) to shew him the wonderfull sumptuous 
 charge and preparation of one only supper. When he was in 
 the kitchin, and saw a world of diuersities of meets, and amongst 
 others, eight wild bores rested whole, he began to wonder at 
 it," &c. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 finite book of secrecy 
 
 Soothsayer. In 
 A little I can read. 
 
 Alexas. Show him your hand. 
 
 Act I. Scene II. 
 
 thing Alexas, almost most absolute Alexas, where 's 
 the soothsayer that you praised so to the queen ? 
 Oh, that I knew this husband, which, you say, must 
 charge his horns with garlands!^* 
 Alex. Soothsayer! 
 
 Enter a Soothsayer. 
 Sooth. Your will ? 
 
 Char. Is this the man ? — Is 't you, sir, that 
 know things ?2« 
 
 23. Must cliarge his hortis with garlands. We have always 
 adopted the substitution proposed by Southern and Warburton, 
 and made by Theobald, of "charge" for 'change' here, as 
 being probably Shakespeare's word ; nevertheless, we think it 
 just possible that the reading of the Folio may be right, sig- 
 nifying ' this husband, who, you say, is to bring his future horns 
 in exchange for our present garlands.' It is certain that Shake- 
 speare elsewhere uses "change" for 'exchange' (see Note 20, 
 Act ii., " Othello ") ; still, as the typographical error of ' change' 
 for " charge " is an easy misprint, and is to be found in the Folio 
 
 Sooth. In Nature!s infinite book of secrecy 
 A little I can read. 
 Alex. Show him vour hand. 
 
 Enter Enobarbus. 
 Iring in the banquet quickly ; 
 
 Eno 
 
 enough 
 Cleopatra's health to drink. 
 
 Char. Good sir, give me good fortune. 
 Sooth. I make not, but foresee. 
 Char. Pray, then, foresee me one. 
 
 edition of Shakespeare elsewhere {see Note 49, Act v., " Corio- 
 lanus"), we think it very likely that it was made in the present 
 passage. 
 
 24. Is 't you^ sir, that knovj things ? Admirably contrasted 
 is the waiting-woman's obtuseness in this form of question, with 
 the simple loftiness of the soothsayer's reply ; the blundering 
 generalisation of Common-place, with the large all-embracing 
 amplitude of research into Nature's wonders ; the prosaic vague- 
 ness, and the poetic vagueness. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Sooth. You shall be yet far fairer than you are. 
 
 Char. He means in flesh. 
 
 Iras. No, you shall paint when you are old. 
 
 Char. Wrinkles forbid ! 
 
 Alex. Vex not his prescience ; be attentive. 
 
 Char. Hush I 
 
 Sooih. You shall be more beloving than belov'd. 
 Char. I had rather heat my liver with drinking." 
 Alex. Nay, hear him. 
 
 Char. Good now, some excellent fortune! Let 
 me be married to three kings in a forenoon, an I 
 widow them all : let me have a child at fifty, to 
 whom Herod of Jewry may do homage: find me 
 to marry me with Octavius Cssar, and companion 
 me with my mistress. 
 
 Sooth. You shall outlive the lady whom you serve. 
 
 Char. Oh, excellent! I love long life better than 
 
 figS.27 
 
 Sooth. You have seen and prov'd a fairer former 
 fortune 
 
 Than that which is to approach. 
 
 Char. Then belike my children shall have no 
 names. 28 — Nay, come, tell Iras hers. 
 
 Alex. We'll know all our fortunes. 
 
 Eno. Mine, and most of our fortunes, to-night, 
 shall be — drunk to bed. 
 
 Iras. There 's a palm presages chastity, if 
 nothing else. 
 
 Char. Even as the o'erflowing Nilus presageth 
 famine. 
 
 Iras. Go, you wild bedfellow, you cannot 
 soothsay. 
 
 Char. Pr'ythee, tell her but a worky-day for- 
 tune. 
 
 Sooth. Your fortunes are alike. 
 
 Iras. But how, but how? give me particulars. 
 
 Sooth. I have said. 
 
 Iras. Am I not an inch of fortune better than 
 .she? 
 
 Char. Our worser thoughts heavens mend ! — 
 Alexas, — come, his fortune, his fortune ! — Oh, let 
 him marry a woman that cannot go, sweet Isis, I 
 beseech thee ! and let her die too, and give him a 
 worse! and let worse follow worse, till the worst of 
 alj follow him laughing to his grave ! Good Isis, 
 
 25. I had rat/ier heat my liver with drinking. The liver 
 was anciently supposed to be the seat of the passions. See Note 
 7, Act iv., "Tempest." 
 
 26. Herod 0/ Jewry. Four times alluded to in the present 
 play, besides the reference in this passage. Being a contem- 
 porary monarch of the period, there is great propriety in his 
 mtroduction ; and, moreover, he was a personage well known to 
 Shakespeare's audiences, through the old mysteries, as a famous 
 tyrant of the most haughty and domineering character. See 
 Note 44, Act iii., " Hamlet ; " and Note 42, Act v., " Othello." 
 The under-lying stroke of humour in Charmian's desiring that 
 she should have a child to whom the future Massacrer of the 
 Innocents shall " do homage," is in keeping with the headlong 
 oddity of this imperial lady's-maid, as drawn throughout by the 
 
 ' , most characteristic pencil. 
 
 hear me this prayer, though thou deny me a matter 
 of more weight; good Isis, I beseech thee ! 
 
 Iras. Amen. Dear goddess, hear that prayer 
 of the people ! for as it is a heart-breaking to see a 
 handsome man loose-wived, so it is a deadly sorrow 
 to behold a foul knave unguUed: therefore, dear 
 Isis, keep decorum, and fortune him accordingly ! 
 
 Char. Amen. 
 
 Eno. Hush! here comes Antony. 
 
 Char. Not he; the queen. 
 
 Enter Cleopatra. 
 Cleo. Saw you my lord ? 
 Eno. No, lady. 
 
 Cleo. Was he not here ? 
 
 Char. No, madam. 
 \ Cleo. He was dispos'd to mirth ; but on the 
 I sudden 
 A Roman thought hath struck him. — Enobarbus, — 
 Eno. Madam ? 
 
 Cleo. Seek him, and bring him hither. — Whese 's 
 I Alexas? 
 
 Alex. Here, at your service. — My lord ap- 
 I proaches. 
 
 Cleo. We will not look upon him : go with us. 
 [Exeunt Cleopatra, Enobarbus, Charmian, 
 Iras, Alexas, and Soothsayer. 
 
 Enter Antony to/'/A a Messenger Attendants. 
 
 Mess. Fulvia thy wife first came into the field. 
 
 Ant. Against my brother Lucius? 
 
 Mess. Ay : 
 But soon that war had end, and the time's state 
 Made friends of them, jointing"^ their force 'gainst 
 Caesar ; 
 
 Whose better issue in the war, from Italy, 
 Upon the first encounter, drave^o them. 
 
 Ant. Well, what worst ? 
 
 Mess. The nature of bad news infects the teller. 
 
 Ant. When it concerns the fool or coward. — 
 On:- 
 
 Things that are past are done with me. — 'Tis 
 thus ; 
 
 Who tells me true, though in his tale lie death, 
 I hear him as he flatter'd. 
 
 27. / love long life better than Jigs. A proverbial saying, 
 but its special effect here is from its being said in reply to the 
 soothsayer's prognostic that Charmian shall "outlive" Cleo- 
 patra ; a prognostic verified by her outliving her mistress for a 
 few minutes only. 
 
 ■2%. Have tw names. ' Be illegitimate.' In " Two Gentlemen 
 of Verona," Act iii., sc. i, Launce's comment upon the item in 
 the catalogue of his mistress's quahties, " She hath many name- 
 less virtues," affords illustration of this. 
 
 29. Jointing. Here used for ' joining in confederacy,* 
 ' combining conjointly.' By an error, this word is given 
 in "The Concordance to Shakespeare" as if it were 'join- 
 ing ;' an error which we here take occasion to point out and 
 
 30. Drave. An antique form of ' drove.' 
 
Act I.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Mess. Labienus 
 (This is stiff news) hath, with his Parthian force, 
 Extended^i Asia from Euphrates; 
 His conquering banner shook, from Syria 
 To Lydia and to Ionia ; whilst — 
 
 Ant. Antony, thou wouldst say,— 
 
 Mess. Oh, my lord ! 
 
 Ant. Speak to me home, mince not the general 
 tongue: 
 
 Name Cleopatra as she is call'd in Rome ; 
 Rail thou in Fulvia's phrase ; and taunt my faults 
 With such full licence as both truth and malice 
 Have power to utter. Oh, then we bring forth weeds. 
 When our quick winds lie still ;32and our ills told us 
 Is as our earing.33 Fare thee well awhile. 
 
 Mess. At your noble pleasure. '[Exit. 
 
 Ant. From Sicyon, ho, the news ! Speak there! 
 
 First Att. The man from Sicyon,— is there such 
 a one ? 
 
 Sec. Att. He stays upon your will. 
 
 Ant. Let him appear. — 
 
 These strong Egyptian fetters I must break, 
 Or lose myself in dotage. 
 
 Enter another Messenger, 
 What are you? 
 Sec, Mess. Fulvia thy wife is dead. 
 
 Where died she? 
 
 Sec. Mess. In Sicyon: 
 Her length of sickness, with what else more serious 
 Importeth thee to know, this bears. 
 
 [Giving a letter. 
 
 Ant. Forbear me. 
 
 \_Exit Sec. Messenger. 
 There 's a great spirit gone! Thus did I desire it : 
 What our contempts do often hurl from us. 
 We wish it ours again ; the present pleasure, 
 By revolution lowering,^* does become 
 The opposite of itself : she 's good, being gone ; 
 The hand could pluck her back ^ that shov'd heron. 
 I must from this enchanting queen break off : 
 Ten thousand harms, more than the ills I know, 
 My idleness doth hatch.— Ho, Enobarbus! 
 
 31. Extended. A law term for ' seized.' See Note 9, Act iv , 
 "Twelfth Night. 
 
 32. IV/ieit otir quick winds lie still. Warburton changed 
 " winds " to ' minds ' here ; an alteration which has been adopted 
 by many editors since. It appears to us that Antony is meta- 
 phovising himself and men in general as land or soil ; and he 
 employs "winds" as a figurative image for the brisk whole- 
 somely searching winds that make the earth dnly fruitful instead 
 of letting it lie stagnant and overgrown with idle weeds ; as well 
 as for the wholesomely rough breath of public censure and 
 private candour which prevent the growth of moral weeds, and 
 allow good fruits to spring up into existence. " Our quick 
 v/inds," for ' the . quick winds that stir and vivify us,' is a form 
 of phrase which Shakespeare often uses when employing the 
 possessive case. See Note 2, Act ili., " Hamlet." 
 
 33. And our ills told us is as our earing. The metaphor is 
 still maintained here ; Antony going on to say, ' And the errors 
 
 Re-enter Enobarbus. 
 
 Eno. What 's your pleasure, sir ? 
 
 Ant. I must with haste from hence. 
 
 Eno. Why, then, we kill all our women : we 
 see how mortal an unkindness is to them ; if they^ 
 suffer our departure, death 's the word. 
 
 Ant. I must be gone. 
 
 Eno. Under a compelling occasion, let women 
 die : it were pity to cast them away for nothing ; 
 though, between them and a great cause, they 
 should be esteemed nothing. Cleopatra, catching 
 but the least noise of this, dies instantly ; I have 
 seen her die twenty times upon far poorer 
 moment :36 I do think there is mettle in death, 
 which commits some loving act upon her, she hath 
 such a celerity in dying. 
 
 Ant. She is cunning past man's thought. 
 
 Eno. Alack, sir, no ; her passions are made of 
 nothing but the finest part of pure love : we cannot 
 call her winds and waters sighs and tears ; they are 
 greater storms and tempests than almanacs can 
 report: this cannot be cunning in her; if it be, 
 she makes a shower of rain as well as Jove. 
 
 Ant. Would I had never seen her ! 
 
 Eno. Oh, sir, you had then left unseen a 
 wonderful piece of work ; which not to have 
 been blessed withal would have discredited your 
 travel. 
 
 Ant. Fulvia is dead. 
 
 Eno. Sir ? 
 
 Ant. Fulvia is dead. 
 
 Eno. Fulvia! 
 
 Ant. Dead. 
 
 Eno. Why, sir, give the gods a thankful 
 sacrifice. When it pleaseth their deities to take 
 the wife of a man from him, it shows to man the 
 tailors of the earth ; comforting therein, that when 
 old robes are worn out, there are members to make 
 new. If there were no more women but Fulvia, 
 then had you indeed a cut, and the case to be 
 lamented : this grief is crowned with consolation; 
 your old smock brings forth a new petticoat : — 
 
 we commit be'ng told us is as ploughing to our inert soil' [or 
 mor.al self\ That "earing" was an old word for 'ploughing' 
 has been shown in Note 30, Act iii., " Richard II." 
 
 34. The present pleasure, by revolution, it'c. 'That which is 
 to us at the time being a pleasure becomes, by the depreciating 
 effect of revolution in events, a positive pain.' 
 
 35. The Iiand could pluck her hack. Here "could" is used 
 with optative, not potential, force, signifying inclination not 
 power. The phrase implies, 'That hand which nepulsed her 
 would now willingly rescue her,' * I could find it in my heart to 
 wish her back, I who wished her away.' The mode in which 
 "could," "should," "would," "shall," and "will" were 
 formerly used is matter of interesting philological study. See 
 Note 77, Act iv., "Timon of Athens ;" and Note 128, Act iii., 
 " Hamlet." 
 
 36. Upon far poorer mojnent. ' Upon occasion of far less 
 importance,' ' from a cause of much less consequence.' 
 
Act I.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 and, indeed, the tears live in an onion that should 
 water this sorrow. 
 Ant. The business she hath broached in the 
 state 
 
 Cannot endure my absence. 
 
 Eno. And the business you have broached here 
 cannot be without you; especially that of Cleo- 
 patra's, which wholly depends on your abode. 
 
 Ant. No more light answers. Let our officers 
 Have notice what we purpose. I shall break 
 The cause of our expedience^' to the queen. 
 And get her love to part.-*^ For not alone 
 The death of Fulvia, with more urgent touches,^' 
 Do strongly speak, to us ; but the letters too 
 Of many our contriving friends in Rome 
 Petition us at home : Sextus Pompeius 
 Hath given the dare to Csesar, and commands 
 The empire of the sea : our slippery people 
 (Whose love is never link'd to the deserver 
 Till his deserts are past) begin to throw 
 Pompey the Great, and all his dignities, 
 Upon his son; who, high in name and power. 
 Higher than both in blood and life, stands up 
 Vox the main soldier: whose quality, going on, 
 The sides o' the world may danger : much is 
 breeding. 
 
 Which, like the courser's hair,'" hath yet but life, 
 And not a serpent's poison. Say, our pleasure. 
 To such whose place is under us, requires''- 
 Our quick remove from hence. 
 
 Eno. I shall do 't. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCiiNE III.— Another Room in the Palace. 
 Enter Cleopatra, Charmian, lKhs,and Alexas. 
 Cleo. Where is he ?« 
 
 Char. I did not see him since. 
 
 37. Expedience. 'Expedition.' See Note 7, Act i., " First 
 Part Henry IV." 
 
 38. Atid get her love to part. Pope and others have changed 
 " love " to ' leave ' here; but we understand the sentence ellip- 
 tically: 'And induce her love to part with us,' 'and win her 
 love to let us depart,' ' and prevail upon her love to endure 
 parting.' 
 
 39. With more urgent touches. " With" has here the force 
 of ' together with ' or ' with other ; ' and ■' more urgent touches " 
 mean ' points that touch me mjre sensibly,' ' more pressing 
 
 40. Petition us at home. ' Demand our presence at home.' 
 
 41. Like the courser's Jtair. In allusion to the ancient popular 
 belief that a horse's hair placed in corrupt water would become 
 a living worm, poisonou? if swallowed. Dr. Lister, in the 
 " Philosophical Transactions," demonstrated that what were vul- 
 garly believed to be animated horse-hairs were real thread- worms ; 
 and Coleridge says, " A horse-hair, laid in a pail of water, will 
 become the supporter of seemingly one worm, though probably 
 of an immense number of small shiny water-lice. The hair will 
 twirl round a finger, and sensibly compress it. It is a common 
 experiment with school-boys in Cumberland and Westmoreland." 
 Mr. Hudson, the Boston editor, adds, " We remember very well 
 when the same thing was believed by children in Vermont ; as 
 
 Cleo, See where he is, who's with him, what he 
 does : — 
 
 I did not send you — if you find him sad. 
 
 Say I am dancing ; if in mirth, report 
 
 l hat I am sudden sick: quick, and return. 
 
 {Exit Alexas. 
 
 Char. Madam, metlunks, if you did love him 
 dearly. 
 
 You do not hold the method to enforce 
 The like from him. 
 
 Cleo. What should I do, I do not ?« 
 
 Char. In each thing give him way, cross him in 
 nothing. 
 
 Cleo. Thou teachest like a fool, — the way to 
 lose him. 
 
 Char. Tempt him not so too far ; I wish, for- 
 bear :« 
 
 In time we hate that which ye often fear. 
 But here comes Antony. 
 
 Cleo. I am sick and sullen. 
 
 Enter Antony. 
 Ant. I am sorry to give breathing to my pur- 
 pose, — 
 
 Cleo. Help me away, dear Charmian ; I shall 
 fall: 
 
 It cannot be thus long, the sides of nature 
 Will not sustain it. 
 
 Ant. Now, my dearest queen, — 
 
 Cleo. Pray you, stand farther from me. 
 
 Ant. What 's the matter ? 
 
 Cleo. I know, by that sainee_\e, there's some 
 good news. 
 
 What says the married woman — You may go ; 
 Would she had never given you leave to come ! 
 Let her not say 'tis I that keep you here, — 
 I have no power upon you ; hers you are. 
 
 it also was Jbat if one swallowed a hair, it would turn into a 
 snake in the stomach." 
 
 42. To such whose place is utider ns, requires. The first 
 Folio has — ' To such whose places vnder us, require.' Corrected 
 in the second Folio. 
 
 43. Where is he? One of Shakespeare's characteristically 
 abrupt commencements ; the pronoun 'he' without naming the 
 person intended, who is perfectly understood by speaker and 
 hearer. See Note 73, Act iii., " King Lear." 
 
 44. / did not send you. Cleopatra desires Alexas to go to 
 A'htony as if unsent by her, and as if without her knowledge. 
 See Note 12, Act iv., " Troilus and Cressida," for a similar form 
 of suggestion and prompted conduct. 
 
 45. Wluxt slwuld I do, I do not ? ' That ' is el.iplically under- 
 stood before " I do not." 
 
 46. I wish, forbear. Here 'you would ' is elliptically under- 
 stood before " forbear ; " or if, as is probable, "wish" be used 
 in the sense it sometimes bore of ' recommend ' (see Note 5, 
 Act iii., "Much Ado'), then 'you to' must be understood 
 before "forbear." 
 
 47. T lie married woman. A notable instance of Shakespeare's 
 power to convert a gracious term into a scoff, when put into the 
 mouth of a sarcastic speaker. See Note 14, Act iv. , "King 
 Lear." From Cleopatra this expression has the effect of a 
 sup;rb piece of contempt. 
 
Act I,] 
 
 AXTONY AND CLEOPATRA, 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Ant. The gods best know, — 
 
 Cleo. Oh, never was there queen 
 
 So mightily betray'd ! yet at the first 
 I saw the treasons planted. 
 
 Ant. Cleopatra,— 
 
 Cleo. Why should I think you can be mine and 
 true, 
 
 Though you in swearing shake the throned gods, j 
 Who have been false to Ful via? Riotous madness. 
 To be entangled with those mouth-made vows, i 
 Which break themselves in swearing ! | 
 Ant. Most sweet queen, — | 
 
 Cleo. Nay, pray you, seek no colour for your j 
 
 going. I 
 But bid farewell, and go : when you su'd staying, i 
 Then was the time for words: no going then 
 Eternity was in our lips and eyes,''^ 
 Bliss in our brows' bent none our parts so poor, 
 But was a race of heaven they are so still, 
 Or thou, the greatest soldier of the world. 
 Art turn'd the greatest liar. 
 Ant. How now, lady I 
 
 Cleo. I would I had thy inches ; thou shouldst 
 know 
 
 There were a heart in Egypt. 
 
 Ant. Hear me, queen ; 
 
 The strong necessity of time commands 
 Our services awhile ; but my full heart 
 Remains in use^^ with you. Our Italy 
 Shines o'er with civil swords : Sextus Pompeius 
 Makes his approaches to the port^^ of Rome: 
 Equality of two domestic powers 
 Breeds scrupulous faction: the hated, grown to 
 strength. 
 
 Are newly grown to love: the condemn'd Pompey, 
 Rich in his father's honour, creeps apace 
 Into the hearts of such as have not thriv'd 
 Upon the present state, whose numbers threaten ; 
 And quietness, grown sick of rest, would purge 
 
 48. Eternity 7ms in our lips and eyes, bliss . . . . a 
 race of hcat'cn. Cleopatra tauntingly says this as if it were 
 a repetition of what Antony liad formerly said of her. See 
 Note 64, Act i., " Henry V.," for an instance of similar 
 phraseology. 
 
 49. Our irows' lent. This includes the combined senses of 
 ' the arched curve of our eye-brows,' ' the bending of our brows 
 in e.\-pressive mobility,' and ' the half frown of onr brows when 
 knit in sudden anger.' See Note 24, Act v., " Henry V." 
 Cleopatra, in this one phrase, " bliss in our brows' bent," recalls 
 to Antony the rapture he has felt at every varying b.m\ of those 
 ilexile and bewitching brows of hers. 
 
 50. Was a race of heaven. 'Was framed of hea\-enly 
 materia!,* 'was derived from a divine source.' 
 
 51. In use. 'In trust ' 'in pledge,' as guarantee for future 
 possession. The meaning of this phrase, as a legal technicality, 
 i-s explained in Note 34, Act iv., " Merchant of Venice." 
 
 ^2. Port. 'Gate.' See Note 19, Act ii., " King Lear." 
 
 53. Tliat '.vhich most wiiJi yon sJionld safe 7ny going: 'That 
 which most on your account should render safe my going.' 
 
 54. Tliough age from folly could not, b'c. ' Though age 
 could not render me free from foolish fondness, it docs prevent 
 
 be 
 
 my giving childish credence to whatever is told ) 
 true that FuK ia is really dead V 
 
 53. Gnrhoils. ' Disturbances,' ' commotions. 
 From the Italian, garbnglio. 
 
 56. At the last, — best, — JCf, iSr'f. This has been variously ex- 
 plained by the commentators ; we take it to mean, ' At the last 
 of what is here stated, read that which will best content you— 
 see when and where Fulvia died.' 
 
 57. The sacred vials. In allusion to the lachrymatory vials, 
 or small bottles filled with tears, which the Romans placed in the 
 tomb of a departed friend. 
 
 58. / am quickly ill, and 'Mell ; so Antony loves. " So " has 
 heri the force of thus,' 'in such manner ;' Cleopatra me.aning, 
 ' My health is fluctuating and variable ; thus fickly doth Antony 
 love.' 
 
 59. Give true evidence to lus love. It has been proposed to 
 change "evidence" to ' credence ' here ; but the phrase signifies, 
 ' bear true testimony to his love.' 
 
 60. Belong to Egypt. Cleopatra is here spe.aking of herself 
 by the title given to her as Queen of Egypt. See Note 33, 
 Act ii., " Hamlet." 
 
 61. This Herculean Roman. Antony traced his descent 
 
 By any desperate change : my more particular, 
 And that which most with you should safe my 
 
 going," 
 Is Fulvia's death. 
 
 Cleo. Though age from folly could not give me 
 
 freedom, j 
 It does from childishness: — can Fulvia dier'* ! 
 
 Ant. She 's- dead, my queen : j 
 Look here, and, at thy sovereign leisure, read i 
 The garboils55 she awak'd ; at the last,— best,— j 
 See when and where she died.'^ | 
 
 Cleo. Oh, most false love ! 
 
 Where be the sacred vials^'' thou shouldst fill 
 With sorrowful water ? Now I see, I see, 
 In Fulvia's death, how mine receiv'd shall be. 
 
 Ant, Quarrel no more, but be prepar'd to know 
 The purposes I bear ; which are, or cease. 
 As you shall give the advice : by the fire 
 That quickens Nilus' slime, I go from hence 
 Thy soldier, servant ; making peace, or war. 
 As thou affect' St, 
 
 Cleo. Cut my lace, Charmian, come; — 
 
 But let it be : — I am quickly ill, and well ; 
 So Antony loves.''* 
 
 Ant. My precious queen, forbear ; 
 
 And give true evidence to his love,''^ which Stan Is 
 An honourable trial. 
 
 Cleo. So Fulvia told me. 
 
 I pr'ythee, turn aside, and weep for her ; 
 Then bid adieu to me, and say the tears 
 Belong to Egypt :5'' good now, play one scene 
 Of excellent dissembling ; and let it look 
 Like perfect honour. 
 
 Ant. You'll heat my blood : no more. 
 
 Cleo. You can do better yet ; but this is meetly. 
 
 Ant. Now, by my sword, — 
 
 Cleo. And target— Still he mends ; 
 
 But this is not the best : — look, pr'ythee, Charmian, 
 How this Herculean Roman"' does become 
 
Ac I- I.] 
 
 ANTOiNY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 The carriage of his chafe.'''^ 
 Ant. I'll leave you, lady. 
 
 C!eo. Courteous lord, one word. 
 
 Sir, you and I must part, — but that 's not it : 
 Sir, \'oii and I have lov'd, — but there 's not it ; 
 That you know well : something it is I would, — ■ 
 Oh, my oblivion "3 is a very Antony, 
 And I am all forgotten,^' 
 
 Ant. But that your royalty 
 
 Holds idleness your subject, I should take you 
 For idleness itself, 
 
 Cleo. 'Tis sweating labour 
 
 To bear such idleness so near the heart 
 As Cleopatra this. But, sir, forgive me ; 
 Since my becomings kill me, udien they do not 
 Eye well to you:'''' your honour calls you hence ; 
 Therefore be deaf to my unpitied folly, 
 And all the gods go with you! upon your sword 
 Sit laurel'd victory I"? and smooth success 
 Be strew'd before your feet ! 
 
 Ant. Let us go. Come ; 
 
 Oar separation so abides, and tlies, 
 That thou, residing here, go'st yet with mc, 
 And I, hence fleeting, here remain with thee. 
 Away! , [E.yfnnt. 
 
 SCENE IV.— Rome. An Apji tmc/it in Cmsxk's 
 Hc/si-. 
 
 Enter Ocrx\ivsCJEi.\K, LKViDVi,ancl Attendants. 
 Ccs. You may see, Lepidus, and henceforth 
 know, 
 
 from Anton, a son of Hercules ; and Cleopatra artfully throw.s 
 in this little scrap of flattering allusion amid her shovver of taunts. 
 
 62. Does hcconie the carriage 0/ his chafe. 'Makes his 
 ch.ifed bearing become him.' 
 
 63. Oblivion. Here used for ' obliviousness,' ' defective 
 niemory.' 
 
 64. / am (til forgotten. This includes the double sense of 
 'I am entirely forgotten,' and of 'I am thoroughly forgetful,' 
 ' I am wholly compounded of forgetfulness.* 
 
 63. But that your royalty holds, &^c. ' If it were not that I 
 know your sovereignty of bewitchment can make trifling sub- 
 servient to your purposes, I should take you for trilling itself.' 
 Cleopatra's reply shows that "idleness" bears this sense ; since 
 her .answer signifies, 'Ah ! it is hard work to sustain such trifling 
 so ne.ar the heart (or with so much of earnest feeling beneath 
 it) as Cleopatra has carried on this trifling of hers.' 'Trifling' 
 or 'idle discourse' is here called " idleness," because that word 
 admits of the antithesis between itself and "labour." In like 
 manner, the words " royalty " and " subject " are antithetically 
 employed in this passage. 
 
 66. .1/y becomings kill me. iL'hen. &^c. ' -I huse moods \vhich 
 you have said become me are offensive to myself, when they do 
 not find favour in your eyes.' She adroitly refer* to wh.it 
 Antony himself has before said, " Eie, wrangling queen ! whom 
 everything bccovies." 
 
 67. Lavrefd victory. TheFoliohas ' lawrell' for " laurel'd." 
 Corrected in the second Folio. 
 
 68. Our great competitor. The Folio gives ' one' for " our." 
 Heath's correction. "Competitor" signifies ' colleague,' ' con- 
 sociate.' See Note 10, Act ii., " Love's Labour's Lost.'' 
 Octavius, Antony, and Lepidus were co-partners in the Roman 
 
 It is not Cesar's natural vice to hate 
 Our great competitor from Alexandria 
 This is the news : — he fishes, drinks, and wastes 
 The lamps of night in revel : is not more manlike 
 Than Cleopatra; nor the queen of Ptolemy 
 More womanly than he: hardly gave audience, or 
 Vouchsaf'd to think he had partners: you shall 
 find there 
 
 A man who is the abstract of all faults 
 That all men follow. 
 
 Ltp. I must not think there are 
 
 Evils enow to darken all his goodness : 
 His faults, in hiin, seem as the spots of heaven,'^ 
 .More fiery by night's blackness ; hereditary, 
 Rather than purchas'd what he cannot change. 
 Than what he chooses. 
 
 Cces. You are too indulgent. Let us grant, it 
 is not 
 
 Amiss to tumble on the bed of Ptolem}' ; 
 To give a kingdom for a mirth ; to sit 
 A nd keep the turn of tippling with a slave ; 
 To reel the streets at noon, and stand the buffet 
 With knaves that smell of sweat ; say this be- 
 comes him, — 
 As his composure must be rare indeed 
 Whom these things cannot blemish,— yet mu?t 
 Antony 
 
 i No way excuse his soils,?' when we do bear 
 I So great weight in his lightness. If he fill'd 
 
 His vacancy with his voluptuousness, 
 i Full surfeits and the dryness of his bones 
 I Call on him for't :'''' but to confound sucli time, 
 
 69. The queen of Ptolemy. This title is given to Cleopatra, 
 whose father and whose brother were both called Ptolemy. It 
 was the name borne by a long line of Egyptian kings. 
 
 70. His faults, in him. seem, &'c. ' His faults, in him, 
 appear the more evident from contrast with his many excellent 
 qualities, as the bright specks of heaven (the stars) seem more 
 resplendent from contrast with night's darkness.' We have often 
 had occasion to point out the condensation of expression and 
 elliptical style that mark those of Shakespeare's similes written 
 at an advanced period of his composition ; and succinctness of 
 diction generally is very strongly traceable throughout the 
 present drama. See Note 9, Ac 
 
 71. Purchas'd. Her 
 tarily procured.' 
 73. .Is his comjiosui 
 
 .ised i 
 
 ' Romeo and Juliet." 
 1 the sense of ' acquired,' ' volun- 
 
 iust be, &'C. In this parenthetical 
 It in reference to Antony, as Johnson 
 seems to imagine, when he pronounces the passage to be " m- 
 consequent," proposes altering "as" to 'and,' and gives his 
 paraphr.ase of the sentence) to represent 'that man's,' byway 
 of a general proposition. A similar use of "his" occurs ill 
 "Macbeth," Act iv., sc. 3, where Malcolm says, "Desire his 
 jewels, .and this other's house." "Composure" is used in the 
 present pass.age to e.v;prcss 'composition,' 'native component 
 qualities.' See Note 88, Act ii., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 Here "as" is used with the effect of 'thouah;' in the same 
 way that " though" is sometimes used by Shakespeare with the 
 effect of ' as,' See Note 28, Act iii., " Othello ;" and Note 53, 
 Act iv,, "All's Well." 
 
 73. Soils. The Folio has ' foylcs ; ' and probably the simi- 
 larity between the letter f and the old-fashioned long s occa- 
 sioned a misprint here. Malone made the correction. 
 
 74. Call OH him for 't. An idiom equivalent to "call him to 
 
Act I.j 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 That drums him from his sport, and speaks as loud 
 As his own state and ours, — "tis to be chid'» 
 As we rate boys, who, being mature in know- 
 ledge," 
 
 Pawn their experience to their present pleasure, 
 And so rebel to judgment. 
 
 Enter a Messenger. 
 Lep. Here 's more news. 
 
 Mess. Thy biddings have been done; and every 
 hour, 
 
 Most noble Csesar, shalt thou have report 
 How 'tis abroad. Pompey is strong at sea ; 
 And it appears he is belov'd of those 
 That only have fear'd Ca;sar to the ports 
 The discontents''' repair, and men's reports 
 Give him much v rong'd. 
 
 C^s. I should have known no less : 
 
 It hath been taught us from the primal state. 
 That he which i , was wish'd until he were 
 And the ebb'd man, ne'er lov'd till ne'er wortli 
 love,**" 
 
 Comes dear'd by being lack'd.^' This common 
 body. 
 
 Like to a Voagabond flag upon tlie stream. 
 Goes to and back, lackeying'*- the varying tide, 
 To rot itself with motion. 
 
 Mess. Cassar, I bring thee word, 
 
 Menecrates and Menas, famous pirates, 
 Make the sea serve them, which they ear^^ an,i 
 wound 
 
 account for it,' 'take him to ta-ilc for it,' 'call him to a reckoning 
 for it,' ' cite him to pay for it.' In the " First Part Henry IV.," 
 Act v., sc. I, Falstaff uses "calls not on me" in precisely the 
 same sense of ' does not call me to a reckoning,' ' does not call 
 upon me to pay,' where he says, " 'Tis not due yet ; I would 
 be loath to pay him before his day. What need I be so for- 
 ward with him that calls not on tne V 
 
 75. 'Tis to be chili. Here "to be" is used peculiarly and 
 clliptically, allowing the phrase to signify, ' it is to deserve to be 
 chidden ; ' or " 'tis " may be taken as the elliptical expression, 
 allowing the phrase to mean, 'it ought to be chidden,' or 'it 
 must be chidden.' 
 
 76. liTatnre in knowledge. Here used to express ' old enough 
 to know their duty. ' 
 
 77. TImt only liavc /cay'd Ceesar. ' That hitherto ha ve really 
 fear'd Csesar while seeming attached to him.' One of the many 
 instances of phrases where Shakespeare allows 'seem' or 
 'seeming' to be elliptically understood. See Note 16, Act i., 
 "Othello." 
 
 78. Discontents. Sometimes used for ' malcontents.* See line 
 referred to in Note 10, Act v., " King John." 
 
 79. Tiwt he which is was wish'd until he were. In this line 
 "he" is used (like "his" in the passage explained in Note 72 of 
 this Act) to represent ' the man,' ' the person,' as a general pro- 
 position ; the present passage signifying, ' that the man who is 
 in power was wished for until he came to be in power.' 
 
 8q. Ne'er lov'd till ne'er worth lo-jc. It has been proposed to 
 change the second " ne'er" in this line to ' not ; ' but "ne'er" 
 (or 'never') was sometimes used by Sliakespcare for 'not.' 
 See the speech referred to in Note 49, Act iii., " Richard III.," 
 where Hastings says, "I think there's re'i'er a man in Christen- 
 dom can," &c. It appears to us that Shakespeare uses " ne'er" 
 instead of ' not ' for the sake of the repeated word— of which he 
 
 With keels of every kind : many hot inroads 
 They make in Italy ; the borders maritime 
 
 I Lack blood to think on 't, and flush youtii 
 
 i revolt:^* 
 No vessel can peep forth, but 'tis as soon 
 Taken as seen ; for Pompcy's name strikes more 
 Than could his war resisted. 
 
 Cas. Antony, 
 Leave thy lascivious wassails. When thou once 
 Wast beaten from Modena, where thou slew'st 
 Hirtius and Pansa, consuls, at thy heel 
 
 I Did famine follow ; whom thou fought'st against, 
 
 j Though daintily brought up, with patience m'jre 
 Than savages could suffer -.^^ thou didst drink 
 The stale of horses, and the gilded puddle 
 Which beasts would cough at: thy palate tlien did 
 deign 
 
 The roughest berry on the rudest hedge ; 
 j Yea, like the stag, when snow the pasture sheets, 
 1 The barks of trees thou browsed'st ; on the 
 ' Alps 
 
 , It is reported thou didst eat strange flesh, 
 Which some did die to look on : and all this 
 (It wounds thine honour that I speak it now) 
 
 j Was borne so like a soldier, that thy cheek 
 So much as lank'd not. 
 
 Le[>. 'Tis pity of him. 
 
 C(SS. Let his shames quickly 
 Drive him to Rome : 'tis time we twain 
 Did show ourselves i' the field ; and to that end 
 Assemble m^e immediate council Poinpey 
 
 I is so fond, and which often tends to give such emphatic effect — 
 j in this passage. See Note 44, Act ii., " Othello." 
 I 8r. Comes dear'd by being lack'd. Here "comes" is used 
 j for ' becomes,' or ' comes to be.* The Folio gives ' fear'd ' in- 
 stead of " dear'd ; " which is Warburton's correction, as signiTj - 
 ing ' endear'd.' 
 
 82. Lackeying. The Folio has 'lacking' for "lackeying," 
 
 Theobald's correction. 
 33. Ear. ' Plough.' See Note 33 of this Act. 
 I 84. Lack blocd to think on 't, and Jlnsh youth re-'olt. Here 
 ' "lack blood" is used for 'turn pale,' and "flush" for 'fresh- 
 ; complexioned,' 'red-cheeked,' high-coloured,' 'quick-bloodej ;' 
 ! so that the expressions involve an antithesis, 
 j 85. Wassails. The Folio- prints ' vassailes ' here. Pope m.adc 
 j the correction, which seems shown to be right by the gist of 
 j the remainder of the speech ; that contrasts Antony's former 
 ! abstinence with his present excess, his previous fortitude and 
 
 spare diet with his present riot and feasting. In proof tliat 
 [ "wassail "was used for revelry generally — eating and drinking 
 
 in particular— see Note S8, Act v., "Love's Labour's Lost;" 
 
 Note 128, Act i., "Macbeth ;" and Note 106, Act i., " Hamlet." 
 
 86. With fiatience more than savages could suffer. The 
 "with" before "patience" allows 'with' to be elliptically 
 understood as repeated after " suffer ; " which latter word we 
 have frequently pointed out that Shakespeare uses elliptically. 
 See Note 87, Act i., " All's Well." 
 
 87. Thou didst eat strange ffcsh. In this account of Antonj-'s 
 i privations, and the equanimity wltli which he endured theni. 
 1 Shakespeare has followed Plutarch with minutest accuracy, even 
 I while investing the description with his own poetry of diction. 
 
 { See Note 66, Act i., " Julius Cffisar." 
 
 88. Assemble me immediate council. In some editions the 
 ! second Folio's alteration of "me" to 'we 'has been .adopted, 
 
[Scene V. 
 
 Here 's more news. 
 
 Acll. Scene ly. 
 
 Thrives in our idleness. 
 
 Lep. To-morrow, Csesar, 
 
 I shall be furnish'd to inform you rightly 
 Both what by sea and land I can be able 
 To front this present time.^ 
 
 Cics. Till which encounter, 
 
 It is my business too. Fare well. 
 
 Lep. Farewell, my lord : what you shall know 
 meantime 
 
 Of stirs abroad, I shall beseech you, sir, 
 To let me be partaker. 
 
 Ctcs. Doubt not, 
 
 I knew it for mv bond. 5" 
 
 \_Excunt. 
 
 SCENE v.— Alexandria. A Room in ih 
 Palace. 
 
 Enter Cleopatra, Charmian, Iras, and 
 Mardian. 
 Cleo. Charmian,— 
 Char. Madam ? 
 
 under the idea that Octavius speaks to I.epidits as his equal in 
 command ; but although it is true that in this very speech he 
 uses "we," "ourselves," and " our," when .alluding to what is 
 their joint duty and condition, yet it is very like Oct.-ivius's 
 treatment of Lepidus to use the more personal " me" in issuing 
 a command. The tone of deference taken by the latter in reply 
 to the dictatorial one of the former is very visible : and tends to 
 confirm the probability that the reading of the first Folio is right. 
 
 8g. To front this present time. ' With ' is clliptlcally under- 
 stood after " time." For instance-j of similar ellipsis, see Note 
 68, Act i., "Othello," and Note 86 of. the present Act and 
 play. One also occurs in Lepidus's ne.\t speech ; where either 
 "of" is understood as repeated, or 'in' is understood after 
 "partaker." 
 
 go. / k/ieit) it foy my loud. ' I knew it to be my boundcn 
 duty.' 
 '3 
 
Act I.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 Cleo. Ha, ha !— 
 Give me to drink inandragoi-a." 
 Chai: Why, madam ■ 
 
 Cleo. That I might sleep out this great gap of 
 time 
 
 My Antony is away. 
 Char. You tliink of him too much. 
 
 Cleo. Oh, 'tis treason ! 
 
 Char. Madam, I trust, not so. 
 
 Cleo. Thou, minstrel Mardian ! 
 Mar. What "s your highness' pleasure 
 
 Cleo. Not now to hear thee sing. — O Cliar- 
 mian, 
 
 Where think'st thou he is now? Stands he, or 
 sits he ? 
 
 Or does he walk ? or is he on his horse ? 
 Oh, happy horse, to bear the weight of Antony 1 
 Do bravely, horse ! for wott'st thou whom thou 
 mov'st ? 
 
 The demi- Atlas of this earth, the arm 
 And burgonet^- of men. — He 's speaking now. 
 Or murmuring, " Where 's mv serpent of old 
 Nile?" 
 
 For so he calls me :— now I feed myself 
 With most delicious poison :— think on me. 
 That am with Phoebus' amorous pinches black, 
 And wrinkled deep in time? Broad-fronted'-" 
 Cassar, 
 
 When thou wast here above the ground, I was 
 A morsel for a monarch : and great Pompey 
 Would stand, and make his eyes grow in my 
 brow ; 
 
 There would he anchor his aspect, and die 
 With looking on his life. 
 
 91. Mtindi-ngora. Used as a soporific. See Note 65, Act iii., 
 "Othello." In Adlington's translation of the "Golden Ass of 
 Apuleiiis " is found : " I gave him no poyson but a doling drink 
 of fiiaJidragoras, which is of such force, that it will cause any 
 man to sleepe as though he were dead." Gerard, in liis Herbal, 
 says of this plant, " Dioscorides doth particularly set down 
 many faculties hereof, of which notwithstanding there be none 
 proper unto it, save those that depend upon the drowsie and 
 sleeping power thereof." 
 
 92. Biii-got/et. A helmet. See Note 15, Act v., "Second 
 P.art Henry VI." 
 
 * 93. JViik P/ia-bus' anioiviis pinches black. A poetical mode 
 of expressing 'sun-burned,' 'dark-complexioned;' implying 
 'unattractive,' 'not fair.' See Note 87, XqX. i., "Troilus and 
 Cressida." This affected disparagement of her charms, tliis 
 mention of her Eastern darkness of skin as if it were a blemish, 
 this e.\aggeration of her age, is in e.\quibite taste, as character- 
 istically Cleopatran. 
 
 94. Broad-fronted. An epithet well devised for bringing to 
 the imagination Julius Csesar's bald expanse of forehead. 
 
 93. With his tinct gilded thee. In allusion to the philo- 
 .sopher's stone ; which, by its touch, converts metal into gold. 
 The alchemists called the matter, whatever it be, by which they 
 perform transmutation, a "medicine ;" and also gave this name 
 to their elixir and solution of gold. See Note 97, Act iv., 
 " Second P.art Henry IV. ; " and Note 37, Act v., " Tempest." 
 
 95. This orient pearl. " Orient" has double propriety when 
 applied to a " pearl : " the word signifying both ' eastern' and 
 ' bright.' 
 
 j Enter Alex.\s. 
 
 Alex. Sovereign of Egypt, hail ! 
 
 j Cleo. How much unlike art thou Mark Antony ! 
 I Yet, coming from him, that great medicine hath 
 ! With his tinct gilded thee. ''5— 
 I How goes it with my brave Mark Antony ? 
 Alex. Last thing he did, dear queen. 
 He kiss'd, — the last of many doubled kisse.-^,— 
 This orient pearl his speech sticks in my heart. 
 Cleo. Mine ear must pluck it tlience. 
 Alex. "Good friend," quoth lie, 
 
 " Say, the firm Roman to great Egypt sends 
 This treasure of an oyster ; at whose foot, 
 To mend the petty present, I will piece 
 j Her opulent throne with kingdoms ; all the ea-t, 
 I Say thou, shall call- her mistress." So he nodded, 
 I And soberly did mount an arm-gaunt^^ steed, 
 Who neigh'd so high, that what I would have spoke 
 Was beastly dumb'd by him.°^ 
 Cleo. What ! was he sad or merry ? 
 
 Alex. Like to the time o' the year between the 
 extremes 
 
 i Of hot and cold, he was nor sad nor merry. 
 
 Cleo. Oh, well-divided disposition! — Note him, 
 Note him, good Charmian, 'tis the man ; but note 
 him ; 
 
 He was not sad,— for he would shine on those 
 That make their looks by his; he was not merry,— 
 Which seem'd to tell them his remembrance lay 
 In Egypt with his joy ; but between both ; 
 I Oh, heavenly mingle !— Be'st thou sad or merry, 
 The violence of either thee becomes. 
 So does it no man else.'""— Mett'st thou'"! my 
 posts ? 
 
 97. The firm Roman. Shakespeare here uses "firm" for 
 ' constant,' as he elsewhere uses 'constant' for "firm." See 
 Note 6, Act iii., "Julius Cxsar." 
 
 98. Arm-gaunt. This is the epithet given in the Folio ; and 
 as it may be taken to mean 'gaunt from long being clad in 
 armed caparisons, and from long bearing an armed rider,' it is 
 suffered to remain in our text. But we were struck, during the 
 preparation of our edition for America, published in i860, with 
 the idea that "arni-gaunt" w.as probably a misprint for 'ram- 
 pant' formerly spelt 'rampaunt' : unconscious that the same 
 suggestion had already been made by Mr. Grant White in his 
 " Shakespeare's Scholar," 1854. 
 
 99. Was beastly dnmb'd by hint. The Folio prints ' dumbe ' 
 for "dumb'd." Theobald's correction. "Beastly" is an ad- 
 jective used adverbially, to express ' in a beast-like manner.' 
 
 There is an instance of somewhat similar -phraseology, \\herc 
 "so" implies 'as,' in " Macbeth," Act i., sc. 2: "So well thy 
 words become thee as thy wounds." 
 
 loi. Xote him : he was not sad .... his joy .... Be'st llioii 
 sad .... thee becomes .... Mett'st thou. Observe how the 
 pronouns are used in this speech: the third person, "him," 
 "he," "his," changed for the second person, "thou," "thee,'' 
 in reference to the same individual; and then "thou" applie'! 
 to the man addressed by the speaker : and how admirabl;' 
 it all serves to denote the eagerness of the speaker. Sec 
 Note 78, Act iv., " Timoa of Athens;" and Note jo, 'Act i.. 
 " Othello." 
 
Act II.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Alex. Ay, madam, twenty several messengers : 
 Why do you send so thick r'"^ 
 
 Cleo. Who 's born that day 
 
 When I foi-get to send to Antony, 
 Shall die a beggar.— Ink and paper, Charmian. — 
 Welcome, my good Alexas. — Did I, Charmian, 
 Ever love Cajsar so ? 
 
 Char. Oh, that brave Ca?sar I 
 
 Cleo. Be chok'd with such another emphasis I 
 Say, the brave Antony. 
 
 Char, The valiant Csesarl 
 
 Cleo. By Isis, I will give thee bloody teeth, 
 ' If thou with Cassar paragon again 
 My man of men. 
 
 Char. By your most gracious pardon, 
 
 I sing but after you. 
 
 Cleo. iVTy salad days. 
 
 When I was green in judgment :— cold in blood, 
 I To say as I said then !i»3_^But, come, away 
 Get me ink and paper \ 
 He shall have every day a several greeting, 
 Or I'll unpeople Egypt. , [Exaint. 
 
 ACT 
 
 SCENE T.— Messina. A Room in Pompey's 
 
 House. \ 
 
 Enter Pompey, Menecrates, and Menas. | 
 
 Pom. If the great gods be just, they shall assist ' ; 
 The deeds of jiistest men. ; 
 
 Mene. Know, worthy Pompev, 
 
 That what they do delay, they not deny. i 
 
 Pom. Whiles we are suitors to their throne, ' 
 decays 
 
 The thing we sue for. , 
 Mene. We, ignorant of ourselves, , 
 
 Beg often our own harms, which the wise powers 
 
 Deny us for our good ; so find we profit 
 
 By losing of our prayers. 
 
 Pom. 1 shall do well : 
 
 The people love me, and the sea is mine ; 
 
 My power 's a crescent,^ and my auguring hope 
 
 I02. So thick. 'In such quick succession.' See Note 43, 
 Act i., " M.icbetli." 
 
 J03. liTy snlnd i/,iys, '.u/u-ic I -mis ^t-ecit in jitelgment •.—cold 
 ill blood, io.^ny, &~c. Tlie phraseology is greatjy elliptical here; 
 the sentences meaning, 'That was in my unripe season, when 
 my judgment was crude and unformed — 'twas to be cold- 
 blooded, to say as I said then ! ' The condensed diction aids in 
 denoting Cleopatra's hurry of spirits and delighted excitement. 
 We cannot agree with Warburton and others who assert that 
 the words "cold in blood" are applied by Cleopatra to Char- 
 mian, as an upbraiding expostulation ; we think that they are a 
 following-up of Cleopatra's animadversion upon her own former 
 lack of discrimination. 
 
 1. If the grcixi gods be just, they shall assist. " Shall" 
 was often used by .Shakespeare, and by other writers of his 
 time, where now ' will' is used. See Note 33, Act i. 
 
 2. My poiucy 's a crescent. This is Theobald's correction of 
 the Folio reading, ' My powers are cressent ; ' and we have 
 adopted the correction on the assumption that it was what 
 Shakespeare intended, while the Folio's version w.as a misprint. 
 At the same time, we confess, that, calling to mind the passages 
 referred to in Note 73, Act iii,, " Timon of Athens," and Note 71, 
 
 II. 
 
 Says it will come to the full. Mark Antony 
 
 In Egypt sits at dinner, and will make 
 
 No wars without doors: Cssar gets money where 
 
 He loses hearts: Lepidus flatters both, 
 
 Of both is flatter'd ; but he neither loves, 
 
 Nor either cares for him. 
 
 Meit, Caesar and Lepidus 
 
 Are in the field ; a mighty strength they carry. 
 
 Pom. Where have you this ? 'tis filse. 
 
 Men. From Silvius, ^.ir. 
 
 Pom. He dreams: I know they are in Rom:' 
 together. 
 
 Looking for Antony. But all the charms of love," 
 
 Salt* Cleopatra, soften thy wan'd lip '.^ 
 
 Let witchcraft join with beauty, lust with both 
 
 Tie up the libertine in a field of feasts. 
 
 Keep his brain fuming ; Epiciirean cooks'' 
 
 Shai-pen with cloyless sauce his appetite ; 
 
 Act i., " jiacbeth," we have grave doubts whether the original 
 phrase, ' my powers are crescent,' may not by possibility be 
 right. Still, the image of the moon suggested by the words 
 "crescent" and "full," make it more probable that the word 
 " power" was meant to be in the singular. 
 
 3. But all the charms of love. ' May ' is elliptically under- 
 stood between "but" and " all." 
 
 4. Salt. 'Wanton,' 'impure,' 'licentious.' See Note 42, 
 Act v., " iNIeasUre for IMeasure." 
 
 5. Thy wan'd lij>. The Folio prints 'wand' for " w.an'd." 
 Steevens's correction, suggested by Percy. " Wan'd," as an 
 epithet applied to lip, gives the effect of a lip declined in beauty, 
 a lip diminished in attraction, a lip that has lost .somewhat of its 
 fulness and redness. The expression, ' her beauty is in its 
 M ane,' is very usual ; and Cleopatra herself (though with a 
 triumphant consciousness that her being no longer ygimg is no 
 abatement of her power of alluring) has admitted that her fresh- 
 ness of youth is past. See Notes 93 and 103, Act i. If .she 
 will allow this, Pompey, whose cue is to depreciate her attrac- 
 tions even while invoking their aid to retain Antony in Egj'jit, 
 is sure to fully grant it when speaking of her here. 
 
 6. Eficmean cooks. "Let" before "witchcraft" is under- 
 stood as repeated before " Epicurean." 
 
Act II.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 That sleep and feeding may prorogue his honour 
 Even til) a Lcthe'd dulness!''— 
 
 Enter Varrius. 
 
 How now, Varrius ! 
 Var. This is most certain that I shall de- 
 liver: — 
 
 Mark Antony is every hour in Rome 
 Expected; since he went from Egypt, 'tis 
 A space for farther travel.** 
 
 Pom. I could have given less matter 
 
 A better ear.— Menas, I did not think 
 This amorous surfeiter would have donn'd his 
 helm 
 
 For such a petty war: his soldiership 
 Is twice the other twain : but let us rear 
 The higher our opinion, that our stirring 
 Can from the lap of Egypt's widow ^ pluck 
 The ne'er lust-wearied Antony. 
 
 Men, I cannot hope 
 
 C^Bsar and Antony shall well greet together:!" 
 His wife that 's dead did trespasses to C«sar ; 
 His brother wari-'d upon him ; although, I 
 
 think, 
 Not mov'd by Antony. 
 
 Pom. I know not, Menas, 
 
 How lesser enmities may give way to greater. 
 Were 't not that we stand up against them all, 
 'Twere pregnant they should square between 
 
 themselves 
 For they have entertained cause enough 
 To draw their swords; but how the fear of us 
 May cement their divisions, and bind up 
 The petty difference, we yet not know. 
 Be 't as our gods will have 't! It only stands 
 
 7. J\[<iy prorogue his /loiiour even till a Lethe'd dnluess. 
 " Prorogue" is here used to convey the effect of ' linger on,' 
 ' weary out,' ' dawdle away,' 'gradually lull and subdue;' and 
 " till " was formerly sometimes used for 'to' or 'unto.' Here, 
 '■even till a Lethe'd dulness " expresses 'even till it reach to 
 a Lethe'd dulness,' or ' even till it become a Lethe'd dul- 
 ness.' "Dulness," besides its meaning of ' sluggishness,' ' in- 
 .iptness," ' inertness,' includes that of ' drowsiness.' See Note ; 
 87, Act iv,, " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 8. Since he tveiit from Egypt, 'tis a space for fartlicr trave'. 
 ' Since he left Egypt, a space of time has elapsed in which a 
 longer journey might have been performed tlian from Egypt to 
 Rome.' 
 
 9. Egypfs -Micio-a: Cleopatra's hand had been given in 
 marriage by her father's will to Ptolemy XIH. ; and when 
 he was drowned in the Nile, flying from Julius Cesar's \ic- 
 torious arms, tlie conqueror caused her to marrj' tlie next 
 I'colomean king, then in the eleventh year of his age. See j 
 Note 69, Act i. I 
 
 10. / cannot hope Ccesar and Antony sJiall, &'c. " Hope " 
 was sometimes formerly used in the sense of ' expect ;' as occa- 
 sionally 'e-xpect' was used for 'await,' 'stand in hope of 
 lhat in Ireland 'e.vpect' is still employed for "hope," there 
 exists testimony humoro\isIy turned to account in Miss Edge- 
 worth's pleasant story of "The Limerick Gloves." Chaucer 
 uses "hope" for 'expect' in his "Reeve's Tale," line 4027: 
 " Our manciple I hope he wol be dead." 
 
 Our lives upon to use our strongest hands. 1- 
 Comc, Mena.s. lExeutu. 
 
 SCENE II.— Rome. A Room in the House of 
 Lepidus. 
 
 Enter Enobarbus and Lepidus. 
 Lep. Good Enobarbu.s, 'tis a worthy deed,'^ 
 And shall become you well, to entreat your cap- 
 tain 
 
 To soft and gentle speech. 
 
 Eno. I shall entreat him 
 
 To answer like himself: if Csesar move him, 
 Let Antony look over Caesar's head. 
 And speak as loud as Mars. By Jupiter, 
 Were I the wearer of Antonius' beard, 
 j I would not shave 't to-day." 
 ; Lep. 'Tis not a time 
 
 I For private stomaching. 
 
 Eno. Every time 
 
 Serves tor the matter that is then born in 't. 
 
 Lep. But small to greater matters must give 
 way. ■ 
 
 F.no. Not if the small come first. 
 ! Lep. Your speech is passion ; 
 
 , But, pray you^ stir no embers up. Here comes 
 I The noble Antony. 
 
 Enter Antony and Ventidius. 
 F.no. And _\ onder, Ca;sn,r. 
 
 Enter C.€SAR, Mec^^nas, and Agrippa. 
 Ant. If we compose well here, to Parthia i'" 
 
 11. *T-were pregnant they slionld square between thenisetves. 
 ' It were full of probability that they would quarrel with each 
 other.' See Note 6, Act ii., "Measure for Me.isure;" and 
 Note 7, Act ii., " Midsummer Night's Dream." 
 
 12. It only stands our lives upon, to use, &=c. ' It behoves 
 us as we value our lives to use, &c. ; 'it is incunrbent upon 
 us for the sake of our lives to use,' &c. The idiom " stands 
 on" or "stands upjn" is shown in Note 10, Act v., "King 
 Lear." 
 
 13. 'Tis a wort/iy deed. Lepidus is here exercising some of 
 his diplomatic contrivance, of which he is evidently proud. See 
 Note 6, Act iv., "Julius Csesar." 
 
 14. / would not shave 't to-day. Implying, ' I would not 
 prepare myself with any extraoidinary show of nicety and 
 deferential neatness.' The trimming and careful arrangement 
 of the beard was a token of solicitude to appear to advantage 
 :>ee Note 34, Act ii., "King Le.ir "; : and Enobarbus's words 
 also include reference to the expression, ' to beard a man,' sig- 
 niffing 'to defy him,' ' to dare him.' See context of passage 
 explained in Note 93, Act ii., " Hamlet." 
 
 15. 'Stomaching. 'Quarrelling,' 'indulging wrath and choler,' 
 ' giving way to mutual grudges.' See Note 32, Act i., 
 " Tempest." 
 
 16. If we compose well here, to Parthia. ' If we come to a 
 felicitous composition or agreement here, we will turn our 
 thoughts to Parthia ; we will imdertake the expedition to 
 Parthia.' 
 
Act II.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene II 
 
 Hark you, Ventidius. 
 
 des. I do not knou', 
 
 Mecsenas ; ask Agrippa.'? 
 
 Lep. Noble friends, 
 
 That which combin'd us was most great, and let 
 not 
 
 A leaner action rend us. What 's amiss, 
 May it be gently heard : when we debate 
 Our trivial difference loud, we do commit 
 Murder in healing wounds : then, noble partners, — 
 The rather, for I earnestly beseech, — 
 Touch you the sourest points with sweetest 
 terms. 
 
 Nor curstness grow to the matter.'^ 
 
 Ant. 'Tis spoken well. 
 
 Were we before our armies, and to fight, 
 I should do thus. 
 
 Cas. Welcome to Rome. 
 
 J'!t. Thank you. 
 
 Cas. ' Sit. 
 
 Jnt. Sit, sir. 
 
 Cces. Nay, then — 
 
 Jut. I learn, you take things ill whicii are not 
 so, 
 
 Or, being, concern you not. 
 
 Ca-s. I must be laugh'd at, 
 
 If, or for nothing or a little, I 
 
 Siiould say myself offended, and with you I 
 Chiefly i' the world ; more laugh'd at, that I shoulil 
 Once name you derogately, when to sound _\ our 
 
 name ( 
 It not concern'd mc. 
 
 Jilt. My being in Egypt, Cxsar, 
 
 What was 't to you ? 
 
 Cas. No more than my residing here at Rome 
 Might be to you in Egypt: yet, if you tliere 
 Did practise on my state, your being in Egypt i 
 Might be my question." j 
 
 J/if. How intend you, practis'd f | 
 
 17. / do noi know, RIeaenns ; ask Agri^pa. This by- ' 
 play of tlie two principals in the approaching interview, 
 each speaking apart with his respective adherent, and thus 
 deferring the moment of mutual salutation, is precisely con- 
 ceived in Shakespeare's characteristic style of conducting a 
 di.alogue. 
 
 18. Nor acrstiiess grow to the matter. 'And let not ill- 
 temper and wrangling come near the subject of our discussinn.' 
 See Note 13, Act ii., " King Lear." 
 
 19. My question. ' I\Iy subject of discourse,' 'my theme of 
 animadversion.' 
 
 23. How intend you, practise/? ' In what sense do you mean, 
 practis'd ? ' The word was employed to express ' used un- 
 warrantable .stratagems,' 'plotted,' 'schemed treacherously.' 
 See Note loi, Act iii., " Othello." 
 
 21. Th^ir contestation isias theme for yon. ' Their contes'.a- 
 tion had you for its theme,' ' their contestation took you for its 
 pretexted subject.' The construction is peculiar here. 
 
 22. Rly Irother never did urge me in his act. ' My brother 
 never put me forward as the motive of his act,' ' my brother 
 never instanced me as the causer of his deed.' 
 
 23. Reports, Here used for 'reporters.' One of Shake- 
 speare's lioldly eflective impersonations of things. See Note 
 
 Cas. You may be pleas'd to catch at mine 
 intent 
 
 By what did here befall me. Your wife and 
 brother 
 
 Made wars upon me ; and their conte.station 
 Was theme for you,2i you were the word of war. 
 Ant, You do mistake your business; my brother 
 never 
 
 Did urge me in his act:" I did enquire it ; 
 And have my learning from some true reports,-^ 
 That drew their swords with you. Did he not 
 rather 
 
 Discredit my authority with yours ; 
 And make the wars alike ai^ainst my stomach, 
 Having alike your cause r^* Of this my letters 
 Before did satisfy you. If you'll patch a quarrel, 
 As matter whole you have to make it with, -5 
 It must not be with this. 
 
 Cies. You praise yourself 
 
 By lad ing defects of judgment to me ; but 
 You 1 atch'd up your excuses. 
 
 Ant. Not so, not so ; 
 
 I know you could not lack, I am certain on 't, 
 Very necessity of this thought, that I, 
 Your partner in the cau.se 'gainst which lie 
 fought, 
 
 Could not with graceful eyes attend-" those wars 
 Which fronted-' mine own peace. /\s for mv 
 wife, 
 
 I would you had her spirit in such another: 
 The third o' the world is yours ; which witli a 
 snaffle 
 
 You may pace easy, but not such a wife. 
 
 Erio. Would we had all such wives, that the 
 men might go to wars with the women ! 
 
 Ant. So much uncurbable, her gai boils, 
 Cxsar, 
 
 Made out of her impatience, — which'not wanted 
 Slirewdness of policy too,— I grievijig grant 
 
 Richard 
 
 and Note 5, Act iii., " Kin,:; 
 
 79, Act 
 Lear." 
 
 24. Having alike yonr cause. ' I ' is here elliptically under 
 stood before " h.aving ; " the sentence meaning, 'I being allied 
 wiih you in the cuise against which my brother fought.' .An 
 instance of a similar ellipsis is pointed out in Note 55, Act ii , 
 '• King Lear.-' 
 
 25. As matter i^'hole you hav:' to mnice it with. Rowe and 
 many o:hers insert 'not' between "have" and "to'' here; 
 but we. think that both sense and metre are injured by the inser- 
 tion. We take the .sentence to mean, ' If you wish to botch up 
 a quarrel, as you have whole, and sound matter to make it goml 
 with, ynu must not use such flimsy stuff as this.' We think that 
 the phraseology is" purposely equivocal here: Antony allowing 
 Csesar to luiderstand either ' If you desire to pick a quarrel with 
 me, you could find stronger ground for basing it upon th.an these 
 frivolous causes of complaint,' or, 'If you wish to make up ih^^ 
 quarrel between us, you have better means of doing so than l-)>- 
 rippin.g up these trivial grievances.' . 
 
 26. Jl'ith graceful eyes attend. 'Look graciously upon,' 
 ' look approvingly upon,' 
 
 27. Fronted. Here used for ' affronted,' ' opposed.' 
 23. Carl'yi/s. See Note 55, Act i. 
 
 VOL. III. 
 
 244 
 
Act II.] ANTONY AND 
 
 Dili you too much disquiet: for that you must i 
 But say, I could not help it. 
 
 CiCSi I wrote to you 
 
 When rioting in Alexandria ; you 
 Did pocket up my letters, and with taunts 
 Did gibe my missive out of audience. 
 
 Ant. Sir, 
 He fell upon me ere admitted: then 
 Tliree kings I had newly feasted, and did want 
 Of what I was i' the morning: but next day 
 I told him of myself;™ which was as much 
 As to have ask'd him pardon. Let this fellow | 
 Be nothing of our strife; if we contend, j 
 Out of our question wipe him, [ 
 
 Cccs. You have broken I 
 
 The article of your oath ; whicii you shall ne\ er ! 
 Have tongue to charge me with. 
 
 Lep. ' Soft, Cassarl 
 
 Ant. No, Lepidus, let him speak.: 
 The honour "s sacred which he talks on now. 
 Supposing that I lack'd it.^i — But, on, Ca;sar; I 
 The article of my oath. | 
 
 Gcs. To lend me arms and aid when I requir'd j 
 them ; 
 
 The which you both denied. 
 
 Ant. Neglected, rather; 
 
 And then when poison'd hours had bound me up 
 From mine own knowledge. As nearly as I 
 
 may, ! 
 I'll play tlie penitent to you; but mine honesty 
 Shall not make poor my greatness, nor my power \ 
 Work without it.^'- Truth is, that Fulvia, 
 To have me out of Egypt, made ^vars here ; 
 For which myself, the ignorant motive, do i 
 So far ask pardon as befits mine honour 
 To stoop in such a case, 
 
 Lep. ' Tis nobly spoken, j 
 
 Mec. If it might please you, to enforce no ; 
 farther i 
 The griefs^'' between ye: to forget them quite, 
 Were to remember that the present need 
 Speaks to atone 2* you. 
 
 Lep. Worthily .spoken, Mecaenas. 
 
 Eno. Or, if you borrow one another's love for : 
 the instant, you may, when you hear no more . 
 
 20. JZ/ss/t'c. ' ^Icssencer.' See 79, Act i., *' Macbeth." 
 io. / tWit hull of Diysclf. ' I told him the condition I was in 
 v.iicn lie pre\iously came to me.' 
 
 31. The honour's sacred ivhkh he talks on now, s„fiJ>osing, 
 i,~c. Implying, 'The honour involved in the keeping of an : 
 oath, wliich is the honour he is now speaking of, is a sacred 
 matter, even supposing that I had failed in it ; therefore let liinr 
 proceed, that I may show how I have rather neglected to ful fil 
 my oath, than forfeited my honour by breaking my oath.' 
 
 32. Nor my Jio^vcr work wWuvit it. ' Nor my greatness 1 
 work without mine honesty.' ! 
 
 33. To enrorce no farther the griefs. " Enforce " is used in | 
 the sense of 'urge' (see Note 83, Act iii., " Coriolanus ") ; and j 
 "griefs" in the sense of 'grievances.' See Note 13, Act iv,, 
 
 " Second Part Henry IV," I 
 
 CLEOPATRA. [Scene II. 
 
 words of Pompey, return it again ; you shall have 
 time to wran.gle in when you have nothing else 
 to do. 
 
 Ant. Thou art a soldier only : speak no 
 more. 
 
 Eno. That truth should be silent, I had almost 
 forgot. 
 
 Ant. You wrong this presence; therefore ."^peak 
 no more. 
 
 Eno. Go to, then ; your considerate stone. ''^ 
 Ctes. I do not much dislike the matter, but 
 The manner of his speech ; for 't cannot be 
 We shall remain in friendship, our conditions 
 So differing in their acts. Yet, if I knew 
 What hoop should hold us stanch, from edge to 
 edge 
 
 O' the world I would pursue it. 
 Agr. Give me leave, C;csar, — 
 
 C(vs. Speak, Agrippa, 
 
 Agr. Thou h.ast a sister by the mother's side, 
 Admir'd Octavia : great Mark Antony 
 Is now a wido\f er. 
 
 C<cs. Say not so, Agrippa ; 
 
 If Cleopatra heard you, your reproof 
 Were well deserv'd of rashness.^' 
 
 Ant. I am not married, Caesar: let me hear 
 Agrippa farther speak. 
 
 Agr. To hold you in perpetual amity. 
 To make you brothers, and to knit your heart!^ 
 With an unslipping knot, take Antony 
 Octavia to his wife ; whose beauty claims 
 No worse a husband than the best of men ; 
 Whose virtue and whose general graces speak 
 That which none else can utter. By this marriage, 
 All little jealousies, which now seem great. 
 And all great fears, which now import their 
 dangers, 
 
 Woulil then be nothing ; truths would be bttt 
 tales,2s 
 
 Where now half tales be truths : her love to 
 both 
 
 Would, each to other, and all loves to both, 
 Draw after her. Pardon what I have spoke ; 
 For 'tis a studied, not a present thouglit, 
 By duty ruminated. 
 
 l^. Atone. 'Reconcile.' See Note 27, Act iv., " Othello." 
 
 35. Go to, then ; yozir considerate stone. ' I am ' is elliptically 
 understood before "your considerate;" Enobarbus meaning to 
 say, ' Well, then, I will be discreetly silent, as mute as a stone.' 
 
 36. From edge to edge 0' tJie %uorld. This expression is here 
 well introduced to convey the impression of the idea anciently 
 conceived of the world, that it was a circular plane or disk, not 
 that it was a sphere or globe, as by more modern science it is 
 
 37. Your rcfirooj iverc well deser-Jd of rashness. 'Hie Fol io 
 prijits 'proofe' for "reproof" Hanmer's correction ; the sen- 
 tence meaning, ' The reproof you would receive from Iier would 
 be well deserved for your rashness.' 
 
 38. Truths would be but talcs. The Folio omits "but " iii 
 this phrase. Hanmer inserted the needed H ord. 
 
Acr II.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA, 
 
 [SCKXK II. 
 
 Ant. Will Cxsar speak ? 
 
 Cics. Not till ])c hears how Antony is toiicli'd 
 With w hat is spoke already. 
 
 Ant. What power is in Agripp.n, 
 
 It I would say, " Agrippa, be it so," 
 To make this good ? 
 
 C(cs. Thcpou'er oF Ciusar, and 
 
 His po\vcr unto Octavia. 
 
 Ant. May I never 
 
 To this good purpose, that so fairly shows. 
 Dream of impediment! — Let me have thy hand ; 
 I'arther this act of grace; and from this hovu- 
 The heart of brothers govern in our loves, 
 And sway our great designs ! 
 
 C<rs. There is my hand. 
 
 A sister I bequeath you, whom no brother 
 Did ever love so dearly : let her live 
 To join our kingiioms and our hearts ; and 
 never 
 
 Fly off our loves again I 
 ^■(p- ' Happily, Amen ! 
 
 Ant. I diti not think to draw my sword 'gainst 
 Pompey ; 
 
 I'' or he hath laid strange courtesies and great 
 Of late upon me : I must thank him only. 
 Lest my'remembrance suffer ill report 
 At heel of that, defy him, 
 
 I'^P- Time calls upon us : 
 
 Of us must Pompey presently be souglit, 
 Or else he seeks out us. 
 
 Ant. Where lies he ? 
 
 Qrs. About the Mount Misenum. 
 
 A'lt. What's his strength 
 
 By land ? 
 
 C(cs. Great, and increasing : but by sea 
 He is an absolute master. 
 
 Ant. So is the fame. 
 
 Would we had spoke together! Haste we 
 for it : 
 
 Yet, ere we put ourselves in arms, despatch we 
 The business we have talk'd of. 
 
 I Cccs. With most gladness; 
 
 And do invite you to my sister's view, 
 , Whither straight I'll lead you. 
 
 Ant. Let us, Lepidus, 
 
 Not lack your company, 
 I Lcp. Noble Antony, 
 
 Not sickness should detain me. 
 : ^Flourish. Exeunt C^sar, Anponv, and 
 
 j Lepidus, 
 ! Mec. Welcome from Egypt, sir. 
 
 Eno. Half the heart of Cx>sar, worthy iMecx- 
 I nas ! — My honourable friend, Agrippa !— 
 ' Agr. Good Enobarbus! 
 
 Mec. We have cause to be glad that matters 
 
 are so well digested. You staved well bv "t in 
 
 I Eno. Ay, sir : we did sleep day out of counte- 
 I nance, and made the night light with drinking, 
 Mec. Eight wild boars" roasted whole at a 
 
 breakfast, and but twelve persons there ; is thi^ 
 
 true ? 
 
 j Eno. This was but as a fly by an eagle : we hud 
 much more monstrous matter of feast, which 
 
 39. / must thank him only, lest my, &>c. ' I must just thank 
 liiiu, lest I should be censured for being unmindful of these 
 courtesies ; and after that, I will defy him.' 
 
 40. With most gladness. Heri " most " is used in the sense 
 of 'utmost,' 'greatest,' Sse Note 32, Act v., "King Lear;" 
 and Note i+, Act iv., " Second Part Henry IV." In the ne.vt 
 line ' I • is elliptically understood before " c'o.'' S;e Note 24 of 
 the present Act and play. 
 
 41. Eight wild hoars. .See Note 22, Act i., for the source 
 whence Shakespeare derived this p.articular. 
 
 42. If rejiort he square to her. Here "square" is used in 
 the .sense of ' just,' ' equitable,' ' according to due rule,' ' level.' 
 See Note 43, Act v., '* Timon of Alliens." 
 
 43. Upon the riverof Cydnus. Some of the commentators have 
 arraigned this passage as " a stiange instance of negligence and 
 inattention in Shakespeare:" because, they remark, " lino'oar- 
 Ijus is made to say that Cleopatra gained Antony's heart on the 
 river Cydnus ; but it appears from the conclusion" of his own 
 description that Antony had never seen her there ; that whilst 
 she was on the river Antony was sitting alone, enthroned in the 
 
 worthily deserved noting. 
 
 Mec. She 's a most triumphant lady, if report be 
 square to her.^'- 
 
 Eno. When she first met Mark Antony, she 
 pursed up his heart, upon the river of Cydnus.''^ 
 
 Agr. There she appeared indeed ; or my reporter 
 devised well for her. 
 
 Eno. I will tell you. 
 The barge she sat in, like a burnish'd throne, 
 Burn'd on the water : the poop was beaten gold ; 
 Purple the sails, and so perfumkl that 
 The winds were love-sick with them ; the oar.-- 
 were silver, 
 
 Which to the tune of flutes kept stroke, and made 
 The water, which they beat, to follow faster. 
 As amorous of their strokes. For her own person, 
 It beggar'drfiU description: she did lie 
 In her pavilion (cloth-of-gold of tissue),''* 
 
 market-place," &c. But the " inattention " is 
 tors', not Shakespeare's ; for the e,-cpre.ssion, "upon the river of" 
 Cydnus," is here used to signify ' the district on the shores of 
 the river Cydnus,' including the "city" which "cast her people 
 out upon her," and its "market-place" wherein "Antony" 
 sat " enthron'd."' The idiom, 'upon the Seine,' or 'upon the 
 Thames,' is employed to express the adj.acent shores of those 
 rivers, the country m their neighbourhood. 
 
 44. Cloth-of-gold of tissue. It has been proposed to change the 
 word "of" to 'and 'before " ti.ssue ; " while Mr. Staunton, re- 
 taining " of," explains it to bear the sense of ' on ' here. We 
 think it more probable that "cloth-of-gold of tissue" means 
 'cloth-of-gold in texture,' 'cloth-of-gold its texture;' "of" 
 being frequently employed in this sense by Shakespeare, and 
 "tissue" meaning 'texture,' 'woven fabric,' as well a.- 
 interwo\en with threads of gold or silver.' The 
 " cloth-of-gold " seems to show that it cannot be upon " 
 in the sense of stuff formed by glittering threads. Ba 
 "The chariot was covered with cloth of gold tissin 
 blue;" which, by showing how the word "tissued" w. 
 
 ' stuff 
 
Act Il.j AiNTOMY AND CLEOPATRA. [Sce^e II. 
 
 Ciejnr. There is my hand. 
 
 A sister I bequeath you, whom no brother 
 
 Did ever love so dearly. .-h/ II. Scene II. 
 
 O'er-picturing that Venus where we see 
 The fancy outwork nature: on each side her 
 Stood pretty dimpled boys, liice smiling Cupids, 
 With divers-colour'd fans, whose wind did seem 
 To gloW' the delicate cheeks which they did cool, 
 And what they undid, did. 
 Agr. Oh, rare for Antony I 
 
 serves to indicate how Shakespeare probably used " tissue " 
 here. 
 
 45. Glow. Misprinted in the Folio 'gloue.' Corrected by Rowe. 
 
 46. Tended her V the eyes. ' Waited upon her looks,' ' at- 
 tended in her sight.' There has been difficulty found in this 
 p!irase ; but Shakespeare has a similar expression in " Rlid- 
 siimmer Night's Dream," Act iii., sc. i, where Titania bids her 
 e'.ves attend upon the transformed Bottom, " and gambol in his 
 eyes." 
 
 47. Made theu lends adornings. ' Made their graceful bow- 
 ings additional ornaments to their own beauty and to that of 
 lier whom they surrounded," 'made their graceful movements 
 enhancements of the general beauty of the scene.' 
 
 48. Tlie silken tackle swell with the ioitchcs. Here "tackle" 
 
 Eno. Her genllewomen, like the Nereids, 
 So many mermaids, tended her i' the eyes,'*'' 
 And made their bends adornings at the helm 
 A seeming mermaid steers : the silken tackle 
 Swell with the touches of those flower-soft hands, 
 That yarely frame ''^ the office. From the barge 
 A strange invisible perfume hits the sense 
 
 is used to signify the general rigging of a vessel— sails as well 
 as ropes ; and therefore has the verb " swell " in the plural. Tiie 
 word " swell " has been suspected of error ; but we think it is 
 intended to represent the appearance assumed by the appurte- 
 nances of a ship when the ropes are swung and the sails are set 
 by the hands of the mariners, and when the wind takes them 
 and roundly curves them. As a proof that " tackle " was some- 
 times used in this general sense, Todd's "Johnson's Dictionary" 
 has the following quotation from Heylin : "As for tackle, the 
 Boeotians invented the oar, Daedalus and his son Icarus the 
 masts and sails." 
 
 49. Yarely frame. 'Alertly perform,* 'dexterously fulfil.' 
 See Note 2, Act i., "Tempest;" and Note 2j, Act iv., 
 " Measure for Measure." 
 
 7 
 
Act II.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Of the adjacent whnrfs. The city cast 
 Her people out upon her ; and Antony, 
 Enthron'd i' the market-place, did sit alone, 
 Whistling to the air; which, but for vacanc},"" 
 Had gone to gaze on Cleopatra too. 
 And made a gap in Nature. 
 
 ^gr. Rare Egyptian ! 
 
 Eno. Upon her landing, Antony sent to her, 
 Invited her to supper: she replied, 
 It should be better he became her guest ; 
 Which she entreated: our courteous Anton}', 
 Whom ne'er the word of "No" woman heard 
 speak, 
 
 Being barber'd ten times o'er, goes to the feast. 
 And, for his ordinary, pays his heart 
 For what his eyes eat only. 
 
 ^gr. Ro) al wench ! 
 
 She made great Csesar lay his sword to bed. 
 
 Eno. I saw her once 
 Hop forty paces through the public street ; 
 And having lost her breath, she spoke, and panted, 
 That she did make defect perfection, 
 And, breathless, power breathe forth. 
 
 Mec. Now Antony must leave her utterly. 
 
 Eno. Never ; he will not: 
 Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale 
 Her infinite variety : other women cloy 
 The appetites they feed ; but she makes hungry 
 Where most she satisfies : for vilest things 
 Become theinselves^i in her; that the holy priests 
 Bless her when she is skittish. 
 
 Mec. If beauty, wisdom, modesty, can settle 
 The heart of Antony, Octavia is 
 A blessed lottery ^2 to him. 
 
 ^g>- Let us go.— 
 
 Good Enobarbus, make yourself my guest 
 Whilst you abide here. 
 
 E/io. Humbly, sir, I thank you. [Exn/n/. 
 
 50. IV/iic/:, but for vacancy. 'Which, c.vceptnig for the 
 vacuum that it would thus have left.' 
 
 51. Become themselves. Here used for 'appear becoming,' 
 or 'become becoming.' We have heretofore pointed out that 
 Shakespeare uses the verb "become" very peculiarly. See, 
 among others, Note 50, Act iii., " As You Like It ; " and Note 
 62, Act i. of the present play, 
 
 52. Lottery. Here used for ' allottery,' or ' allotment.' 
 
 53- Good night, sir. These words, in tlie first Folio, are 
 made to form the conclusion of Antony's speech ; but he has 
 begun by bidding Cffisar good night, and it is not so likely that 
 he should repeat these words, as that they should be Octavia's 
 reply to him. The second Folio assigned them, we think, 
 rightly to her. 
 
 54. Would I had never come from thence, nor you thither ! 
 Mason proposed to change " thither" to ' hither,' asserting that 
 to come hither is English, but to come thither is not. But 
 Shakespeare h.is, "Till so much blood thither come again," 
 ''Richard II.," Act iii., sc. 2; "When thou com'st thither." 
 "Richard III.," Act iv., sc. 4; "He not coming thither," 
 "Comedy of EiTors," Act v., sc. 1; and "We are coming 
 thither," " Macbeth," Act iv., sc. 3. 
 
 55. / see it in my motion, have it not in my tongue. 
 "Jlotion" is here, and elsewhere by Shakespeare, used to 
 
 SCENE III.— Rome. A Room in Cesar's House. 
 
 Enter C^SAR, Antony, Octaa ia bet-iueen them ; 
 and Attendants. 
 Ant. The world and my great office will some- 
 times 
 
 Divide me from vour bosom. 
 
 Oct. All which time 
 
 Before the gods my knee shall bow my prayers 
 To them for you. 
 
 Ant. Good night, sir.— My Octavia, 
 
 Read not my blemishes in the world's report : 
 I have not kept my square ; but that to come 
 Shall all be done by the rule. Good night, dear 
 lady.— 
 
 Oct. Good night, sir." 
 
 Cics. Good night. \_Exiunt CtsAR and 
 
 Octavia. 
 
 Enter Soothsayer. 
 Ant. Now, sirrah, — you do wish yourself in 
 I Kgypt ? 
 
 j Sooth. Would I had never come from thence, 
 ! nor you 
 
 ; Thither 
 
 I Ant. If vou can, your reason F 
 
 ' Sooth. I see it in 
 
 My motion, have it not in my tongue :^^ but yet 
 
 Hie you to Egypt again. 
 : Ai't. Say to mc, 
 
 1 Whose fortimes shall rise higher, Csesar's or mine? 
 j Sooth. . Cssar's. 
 
 Therefore, O Antony, stay not by his side : 
 I Thy demon, — that thy spirit whicli keeps thee,*''- - 
 is 
 
 Noble, courageous, high, unmatchable. 
 Where Cajsar's is not ; bvit, near liim, thy angel 
 Becomes a Fear, 5' as being o'erpower'd : therefore 
 Make space enough between you. 
 '- 
 
 express 'secret impulse of conviction,' ' mental prompting ' (see 
 j Note 32, Act i. , " King John ; " and Note 36. Act i., " Henry 
 
 VIII."); and "I" before "see" is elliptically understood as 
 I repeated before "have." 
 
 1 56. That thy spirit which keeps thee. This is the reading of 
 
 [ the first Folio; while the second Folio changed "that" to 
 ' that's .' At one time we adopted the alteration of the second 
 Folio; but we have since perceived that ihe original reading is 
 right, inasmuch as it agrees with Shakespeare's construction in 
 other similar phrases. For instance, in " Macbeth," Act ii., 
 sc. 2, we have, " Thit my hand will rather," &c. ; in "Mac- 
 beth," Act iii., sc. 6, " This onr suffering country," &c. ; in 
 "Julius Csesar," Act v., sc. 5, " Tlmt our love of old;" and 
 in the present play (see Note 32, Act iii.\ " The throat of that 
 his officer." It is, in fact, an adoption of an Italian idiomatic 
 form of phraseology (see Note 29, Act v., " Timon of Athens") ; 
 as qnesta mia majio, gnel tno spirito. 
 
 57. Thy angel becomes a Fear. "Thy angel" refers to the 
 special attendant spirit believed to preside over each human 
 
 I being's conduct (see Note 15, Act iii., "Macbeth") ; and "a 
 Fear" alludes to the personage so denominated, who figured in 
 
 j the ancient dramatic shows and moralities. Sec Note 24, 
 
 ■ Act iii., "Troilus and Cressida." 
 
Act II.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scenes IV., A'. 
 
 Aut. Speak this no more. 
 
 Sooth, To none but thee ; no more, but when 
 to thee. 
 
 It" thou dost play with him at anv game, 
 
 Thou art sure to lose ; and, of that natural luck, 
 
 He beats thee 'gainst the odds : thy lustre thickens. 
 
 When he shines by : I say again, thy spirit 
 
 Is all afraid to govern thee near him ; 
 
 But, he away, 'tis noble. 
 
 Ant. Get thee gone : 
 
 Say to Ventidius I would speak with him :— 
 
 \_Exit Soothsayer. 
 He shall to Parthia, — Be it art or hap. 
 He hath spoken true : the very dice obey him ; 
 And, in our sports, my better canning faints 
 Under his chance : if we draw lots, he speeds ; 
 His cocks do win the battle still of mine, 
 When it is- all to nauglit ; and his quails^* ever 
 Beat itiine, inhoop'd, at odds, I will to Egypt : 
 And though I make this marriage for my peace, 
 r the east my pleasure lies. 
 
 Enter Ventidius. 
 
 Oh, come, Ventidius, 
 You must to Parthia : your commission 's ready* 
 I'ollow me, and receive 't. [Excutit, 
 
 SCENE IV. — Rome. A Sircet. 
 Enter Lepidus, M^cenas, and Agkipp.v. 
 
 Lep. Trouble yourselves no farther : pray you, 
 hasten 
 Your generals after. 
 
 Agr. Sir, Mark Antony 
 
 Will e'en but kiss Octavia, and we'll follow. 
 
 Lep. Till I sliall see you in your soldier's drcss, 
 Which will become you both, farewell. 
 
 Mec. ' We shall, 
 
 As I conceive Ihe journey, be at the Mount*'-" 
 Before you, Lepidus. 
 
 Lep. Your way is shortei" ; 
 
 My purposes do draw me much about : 
 You'll win two days upon me, 
 
 Mec, Agr. Sir, good success ! 
 
 Lep. Farewell. \_Exeunt. 
 
 58. Quails. It was customary, among the ancients, to matrli 
 quails and let them liglit : as in more modern times, game cocl<s 
 were trained for tliis purpose. Julius Pollux relates that a circle 
 was made, in which the birds were placed ,or " inhoop'd"), and 
 he whose quail was first driven out of this circle lost the stake. 
 The particulars in the present speech are derived from Plutarch. 
 
 59- -It the Mount. Meaning 'at Mount Misenum.' 'The 
 first Folio omits " the added in the second Folio. 
 
 60. Moody. Here used in the sense of ' pensive,' ' melan- 
 choly,' 'sad,' 'mournful.' See context of passage referred to 
 in Note 5, Act v., " Comedy of Errors.'' 
 
 SCENE V. — Alex.\xdri.\. A Room in the Palace. 
 Enter Cleopatra, Charmian, Iras, Alexas, and 
 Attendant. 
 
 Cleo. Give me some music,— music, moody 
 food 
 
 Of us that trade in love. 
 1 Att, The music, ho I 
 
 ' Enter Mardiax. 
 
 Clco. Let it alone; let's to billiards: come, 
 Charmian. 
 
 Char. My arm is sore ; best play with Mardian. 
 Cleo. As well a woman with a minstrel play'd, 
 As with a woman. — Come, you'll play with me, 
 
 sir 't 
 
 Mar. As well as I can, madam, 
 Cleo. And when good will is show'd, though 't 
 come too short, 
 The actor may plead pardon. I'll none now: — 
 ' Give me mine angle, — we'll to the river: there, 
 [ My music playing far off, I will betray 
 Tawny-finn'd^i fishes; my bended hock shall 
 pierce 
 
 Their slimy jaws ; and, as I draw them up, 
 I I'll think them every one an Antony, 
 ; And say, " Ah, ha ! you're caught." 
 
 Char. 'Twas merry u hen 
 
 You wager'd on your angling ; when your diver 
 
 Did hang a salt-fish on his hook,"'- which he 
 
 With fervency drew up. 
 ' Cleo. That time, — oh, times I — 
 
 , I laugh'd him out of patience ; and that night 
 I I laugh'd him into patience: and next morn, 
 ! Ere the ninth hour, I drunk him to his bed ; 
 I Then put my tires and mantles on him, whilst 
 
 I wore his sword Philippan.^' 
 
 Enter a Messenger. 
 
 Oh, from Italy!— 
 Ram thou thy fruitful tidings in mine ears," 
 That long time have been barren. 
 
 Mess. Madam, madam, — 
 
 Cleo. Antony 's dead 1 — if thou say so, villain, 
 Thou kill'st thy mistress : but well and free, 
 If thou so yield him, there is gold, and here 
 My bluest veins to kiss,— a hand that kings 
 Have lipp'd, and trembled kissing. 
 
 61. 'rti'i.'ny-Jiitu\i. 'I'he Fr)lio prints ' tawny fine,' Theo- 
 bald's correction. 
 I 62. Did hnitg n salt-Jish on /lis hook. This practical jest of 
 I the Egyptian queen's is recorded in " Plutarch." 
 I 63. His s^L'ord Philippan. .\ntony's weapon, so named after 
 j the famous battle of Philippi. 
 
 j 64. Ram thou tliy fniitfiil tidings. &^c. Ritson objected lo 
 ] "ram" here as "rt vulgar ivord,'' and proposed to substitute 
 i 'rain.' To our minds " ram" is a forcible word, most forcible ; and 
 I therefore most appropriate in the mouth of Cleopatra, who — of all 
 ' Shakespeare's women— certainly does not mince her expressions. 
 
Act II.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 Mess. First, mndam, he is well. ^ 
 
 Cleo. Why, there 's more goKi. j 
 
 But, sirrah, mark, u-e usa 
 To say the dead are well bring it to that, 
 The gold I give thee will I melt and pour 
 Dou-n thy ill-uttering tl-.roat. 
 
 M- ss. Good madam, hear me. 
 
 C/g}. Well, go to, I will ; 
 
 But there. "s no goodness in thy face : if Antony 
 Be free and healthful,— so tart a favour 
 To trumpet such good tidings I If not well, 
 Thou shouldst come like a Fury crown'd with 
 
 snakes. 
 Not like a formal nran.''' 
 
 Mess. Will 't please you hear me ? 
 
 Cleo. I have a mind to strike thee ere thou 
 speak'st : 
 
 Yet, if thou say Antony lives, is well,''^ 
 Or friends with Cicsar, or not captive to him, 
 I'll set thee in a shower of gold, and hail 
 Rich pearls upon thee. 
 
 Mess, Madam, he 's well. 
 
 Cleo. Well said. 
 
 Mess. And friends with Cfcsar. 
 
 Cleo. Thou'rt an honest man. 
 
 Mess. C';i;s;u- and he are greater friends than 
 
 Ch o. Make thee a fortune from me. 
 
 Mess. But yet, madam, — 
 
 Cleo. I d:> not like " But yet," it does allay 
 
 The good precedence ; fie upon " But yet " I 
 '•' But yet " is as a gaoler to bring forth 
 Some monstrous malefactor. Pr'ythee, friend, 
 Pour out the pack of matter to mine ear, 
 The good and bad together; he's friends with 
 Ca;sar ; 
 
 In state of health tliou say'st ; and thou say'st 
 free. 
 
 Mess. Free, madam ! no ; I made no such re- 
 port : 
 
 He 's bound unto Octavia. 
 Cleo. For what good turn ? 
 
 Mess. Madam, he 's married to Octavia. 
 Cleo. The most infectious pestilence upon thee 1 
 \_Strikes him doT-vn. 
 Mess. Good madam, patience. 
 Cleo. What say you? — Hence, 
 
 \_S takes him again. 
 Horrible villain I or I'll spurn thine eyes 
 Like balls before me ; I'll unhair thy head : 
 
 [She hales him up and do-wn. 
 
 65. ;/V tise to say the dead are luell. See Note 17, Act v., 
 " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 65. So tart a favour. Rowe and other editors insert ' why ' 
 before "so;" but probably the .diction was intended to be 
 broken and interrupted here, "so tart a favour," &c., forming 
 a separate exclamation. 
 
 67, .■{formal inan. 'A nwn in his riglit .sense.s," a sedate, 
 
 Thou Shalt be whipp'd with wire, and stew'd in 
 brine, 
 
 Smiirting in lingering pickle. 
 
 Mess. Gracious madam, 
 
 I that do bring the news made not the match. 
 Cleo. Say 'tis not so, a province I will give 
 thee. 
 
 And make thy fortunes proud : the blow thou 
 hadst 
 
 Shall make thy peace for moving me to rage ; 
 And I will boot thee"^ with what gift beside 
 Thy modesty can beg. 
 
 Mess. He 's married, madam. 
 
 Cleo. Rogue, thou hast liv'd too long. 
 
 [Drauos a dagger. 
 Mess. Nay, then I'll run. — 
 
 What mean you, madam r I have made no fault. 
 
 lExi,. 
 
 Char. Good madam, keep yourself within your- 
 self: 
 
 The man is innocent. 
 
 Cleo. Some Innocents 'scape not the tlutndcr- 
 bolt.— 
 
 Melt Egypt into Nile ! and kindly creatures 
 Turn all to serpents ! — Call the slave again : — 
 Though I am mad, I will not bite him : — call. 
 Char. He is afeard to come. 
 Cleo. I will not hurt him. 
 
 [Exit Attendant. 
 Tiiese hands do lack nobility, that they strike 
 A meaner than myself; since I myself 
 j Have given myself the cause. — 
 
 Re-enter Attendant and Messenger. 
 
 Come hither, sir. 
 Though it be honest, it is never good 
 To bring bad news: give to a gracious message 
 I A host of tongues ; but let ill tidings tell 
 ! Themselve:s when they be felt, 
 j Mess. I have done my duty, 
 
 Cleo. Is he married ? 
 I cannot hate thee worser than I do, 
 If thou again say '■' Yes." 
 
 .Mess. He 's m.arried, madam. 
 
 Cleo. The gods confound thee '. dost thou hold 
 
 there still ? 
 Mess. Should I lie, madam 'i 
 Cleo. Oh, I would thou didst. 
 
 So half my Egypt were submerg'd, and made 
 . A cistern for scal'd snakes ! Go, get thee 
 ' hence : 
 
 ' composed, or staid man.' See Note 7, Act v., " Comedy of 
 I Errors." 
 
 68. Is well. The Folio prints "tis' for "is "here. Capell's 
 
 69. I uuill boot thee. "Boot" is here used for ' profit,' 'ad- 
 vantage;' 'give something over and above.' Sec Note 48. 
 Activ., "Richard III." 
 
Act II.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene VI. 
 
 Hadst thou Narcissus'" in thy face, to me 
 
 Thou vvouldst appear most ugly. He is married ? 
 
 Mess. I crave your highness' pardon. 
 
 C/eo. He is married ? 
 
 Mess. Take no offence that I would not offend 
 you : 
 
 To punish me for what you make me do, 
 Seems much unequal : he 's married to Octavia. 
 Cleo. Oh, that his fault should make a knave of 
 thee, 
 
 That art not what thou'rt sure of!'' — Get thee 
 hence ; 
 
 The merchandise''^ which thou hast brought from 
 Rome 
 
 Are all too dear for me : lie they upon thy 
 hand, 
 
 And be undone by 'em ! [Exit Messenger. 
 
 Char. Good your highness, patience, 
 
 Cleo. In praising Antony, I have disprais'd 
 Cssar. 
 
 Char. Many times, madam. 
 C/eo. I am paid for 't now. 
 
 Lead me from hence ; 
 
 I faint: — O Iras, Charmian ! — 'tis no matter. — 
 Go to the fellow, good Alexas; bid him 
 Report the feature of Octavia, her years, 
 Her inclination, let him not leave out 
 The colour of her hair — bring me word quickly. 
 
 [Exit Alexas. 
 Let him for ever go : — let him not — Charmian, 
 Though he be painted one way like a Gorgon,''" 
 The other way 's a Ma.rs.''^— [To Mardian.] Bid 
 you Alexas 
 
 70. Narcissus. A Thespian youth, renowned for his beauty ; 
 which was so excessive, that its sight, reflected in a fountain, 
 caused his death from desperation. 
 
 71. That art not what thou'rt sure of. This passage has 
 been variously altered ; to our thinking, it means, ' who art 
 not thyself that fault which thou art so sure has been com- 
 mitted." The messenger has before said, " I that do bring the 
 news made not the match," and *' I have made no fault ; " and 
 he has so often repeated his assertion that Antony is married, 
 that Cleopatra alludes to it as " what thou 'rt sure of" 
 
 72. Merchandise. Here used as a synonyme for ' wares' or 
 * goods;' and accordingly treated as a plural, having the verb 
 " are " after it instead of ' is.' 
 
 73. The feature. 'The general personal appearance,' 'the 
 general aspect.' See Note 77, Act iii., "As You Like It." 
 
 74. The coioitr of her hair. That this was a point in woman's 
 beauty of peculiar importance to Shakespeare himself, we may 
 infer from the several passages where he introduces this par- 
 ticular. See the portion of Julia's soliloquy forming the con- 
 text to that observed upon in Note 36, Activ., "Two Gentlemen 
 of Verona;" Benedick's affected indifference on the point (see 
 Note 54, Act ii., "Much Ado"): and the present touch of 
 Cleopatra's special anxiety on this score. Any indication of 
 Shakespeare's own tastes and individual predilections are in- 
 tensely interesting and valuable ; since his very power of 
 dramatic impersonation renders all denotement of self ex- 
 tremely rare. 
 
 75. Tliough he be painted one way like, b'c. In ?,llusion to 
 the dual-imaged pictures formerly produced, thus described by 
 Burton : " Like those double or turning pictures ; stand before 
 
 Bring me word how tall she is. — Pity me, Char- 
 mian, 
 
 But do not speak to me. — Lead me to my 
 chamber. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE N\.—Near Misenum. 
 
 Flourish. Enter Pompey and Menas from one 
 side, nviih drum and trumpet : from the other, 
 C^sAR, Antony, Lepidus, Enobarbus, 
 MECii;NAS, 'with Soldiers tnarching. 
 
 Pom. Your hostages I have, so have you 
 mine; 
 
 And we shall talk before we fight. 
 
 Cas. Most meet 
 
 That first we come to words ; and therefore 
 have wc 
 
 Our written purposes before us sent; 
 Which, if thou hast consider'd, let us know 
 If 'twill tie up 77 thy discontented sword. 
 And carry back to Sicily much tall''" youth 
 That else must perish here. 
 
 Pom. To you all three. 
 
 The senators alone of this great world, '<* 
 Chief factors for the gods, — I do not know 
 Wherefore my father should revengers want,*"" 
 Having a son and friends ; since Julius Cassar, 
 Who at Philippi the good Brutus ghosted,*'' 
 There saw you labouring for him. What was 't 
 That mov'd pale Cassius to conspire; and what 
 Made the all-honour'd,^^ honest Roman, Brutus, 
 
 which you see a fair maid, on the one side an ape, on the other 
 an owl." And by Chapman in his "All Fools:" "But like a 
 couzening picture, which one vjay slwms like a crom, another 
 like a swaa." 
 
 76. Tlie other way's a Mars. " He" before "be painted" 
 is elliptically understood as repeated between " way" and " 's." 
 
 77. Our written purposes .... which, if thou . ... let us 
 know if 'twill tie up. Here " which" a-id " 't," or ' it,' refer 
 to the 'intention' or 'determination,' or 'proposal,' implied 
 in " our written 'purposes ; " according to a mode of con- 
 struction occasionally used by Shakespeare in passages where 
 an implied particular is referred to. See Note 90, Act iii., 
 •■ Othello." 
 
 78. Tall. ' Stout,' ' brave,' ' courageous,' ' valiant.' See 
 Note 95, Act i., " Richard III." 
 
 79. To you all three, tile senators, &=c. "To" is here used 
 elliptically, giving the effect of ' I .say to,' as a kind of formal 
 address or salutation. 
 
 80. / do not know wherefore, G^c. ' I know no reason why 
 my father should be without revengers, having a son and 
 friends ; since Julius Caesar, whose spirit appeared to Brutus at 
 Philippi, there beheld you, his son and friends, fighting to 
 avenge him.' Pompey here, by implication, calls Octavius the 
 son of Julius Caesar , because he was adopted by him. See 
 Note 53, Act iii., "Julius Cssar." 
 
 81. Ghosted. This was a verb, formerly in use. Burton, in 
 his "Anatomy of Melancholy" (1632), has, "What madnesso 
 ghosts this old man ? But what madnesse ghosts us all ? " 
 
 82. Made the all-honour'd. The first Folio omitted " the " 
 here ; added in the second Folio. 
 
 Vf>i. nr. 
 
 >45 
 
Act II.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene VI. 
 
 With the ann'd rest, courtiers of beauteous 
 freedom, 
 
 To drench the Capitol; but that they would 
 Have one man but a man ? And that is it 
 Hath made me rig my navy ; at whose burden 
 The anger'd ocean foams ; with which I meant 
 To scourge the ingratitude that despiteful Rome 
 Cast on my noble father. 
 
 Cces. Take your time. 
 
 Ant. Thou canst not fear us,^^ Pompey, with 
 thy sails ; 
 
 We'll speak with thee at sea: at land, thou 
 know'st 
 
 How much we do o'er-count thee. 
 
 Pom. At land, indeed, 
 
 Thou dost o'er-count me of my father's house : si 
 But, since the cuckoo builds not for himself, ^3 
 Remain in 't as thou mayst. 
 
 Lep. Be pleas'd to tell us 
 
 (For this is from the present^^) how you take 
 The offers we have sent you. 
 
 CcBS. There 's the point. 
 
 Ant. Which do not be entreated to, but weigh 
 What it is worth embrac'd. 
 
 C<Bs. And what may follow. 
 
 To try a larger fortune. 
 
 Pom. You have made me offer 
 
 Of Sicily, Sardinia; and I must 
 Rid all the sea of pirates ; then, to send 
 Measures of wheat to Rome ; this 'greed upon. 
 To part with unhack'd edges, and bear back 
 Our targes 87 undinted. 
 
 Cces., Ant., Lep. That 's our offer. 
 
 Pom. Know, then, 
 
 1 came before you here, a man prepar'd 
 To take this offer : but Mark Antony 
 Put me to some impatience : — though I lose 
 The praise of it by telling, **s you must know. 
 When Csesar and your brother were at blows. 
 
 83. Thou canst not fear us. "Fear" used actively in the 
 sense of 'affright.' See Note i, Act ii., "Measure for 
 Measure." 
 
 84. Thou dost o'er-count me of my father's house. This is a 
 fleer at Antony's having gained possession of Pompey the 
 Great's house in Rome without due payment. Plutarch has 
 three allusions to the circumstance : one of which states that 
 "when Pompey's house was put to open sale, Antonius bought 
 it : but when they asked him money for it, he made it very 
 strange, and was offended with them." It is very probable 
 therefore that the word " o'er-count," m the text, is intended to 
 convey the effect of ' over-reach ' as well as ' out-number.' 
 
 85. Since the cuckoo builds not for himself In allusion to 
 the cuckoo's possessing itself of the nests of other birds. See 
 Note 6, Act v., " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 86. For this is from the present. ' For this recrimination is 
 apart from the present consideration or point of discussion.' 
 The phrase is elliptically expressed; and 'from' is used in its 
 sense of 'away from,' ' apart from,' 'foreign to.' 
 
 87. Targes. Pronounced as a monosyllable ; with a hard g, 
 or as if written ' targnes.' It is an abbreviated form of ' targets ;' 
 meaning bucklers or .shields. See Note 129, Act v., "Love's 
 Labour's Lost." 
 
 Your mother came to Sicily, and did find 
 Her welcome friendly. 
 
 Ant. I have heard it, Pompey ; 
 
 And am well studied for a liberal thanks, 
 Which I do owe you. 
 
 Pom. Let me have your hand : 
 
 I did not think, sir, to have met )ou here. 
 
 Ant. The beds i' the east are soft; and thanks 
 to you. 
 
 That call'd me, timelier than my purpose, hither; 
 For I have gain'd by 't. 
 
 Cas. Since I saw you last, 
 
 There is a change upon you. 
 
 Pom. Well, I know not 
 
 What counts harsh fortune casts upon my face ;*' 
 But in my bosom shall she never come. 
 To make my heart her vassal. 
 
 Lep. Well met here. 
 
 Pom. I hope so, Lepidus. — Thus we are 
 agreed : 
 
 I crave our composition may be written, 
 And seal'd between us. 
 
 Cas. That 's the next to do. 
 
 Pom. We'll feast each other ere we part; and 
 let 's 
 
 Draw lots who shall begin. 
 
 Ant. That will I, Pompey. 
 
 Pom. No, Antony, take the lot: but, first 
 Or last, your fine Egyptian cookery 
 Shall have the fame. I have heard that Julius 
 Csesar 
 
 Grew fat with feasting there. 
 
 Ant. You have heard much. 
 
 Pom. I have fair meanings, sir. 
 
 Ant. And fair words to them. 
 
 Pom. Then so much have I heard: 
 And I have heard, Apollodorus carried — 
 
 Eno. No more of that:— he did so. 
 
 Pom. What, I pray you ? 
 
 88. Though 1 lose the praise of it by telli7ig. The historical 
 fact of Sextus Pompey's having courteously received Antony's 
 mother in Sicily when she fled from Italy, is recorded by 
 Plutarch; but the touch of delicacy in sentiment— declaring 
 that to remind or reproach another with a benefit conferred is to 
 forfeit the merit of it — is the dramatist's own exquisite addition. 
 
 Shakespeare has more than once take 
 refinement in social morality ; he has 
 warm-natured, delicate-souled being, 
 in "Twelfth Night " (whom we can 
 strange closeness of analogy, with 
 ch.iracter and disposition — see Not' 
 Night"), say, 
 
 " Do not tempt my misery,. 
 Lest that it make me so unsound a man 
 As to upbraid you with those kindnesses 
 That I have done for you." 
 
 1 occasion to enforce this 
 made that noble-minded, 
 Antonio, the sea-captain 
 lever help associating, in 
 Shakespeare himself in 
 98, Act iii., "Twelfth 
 
 What counts harsh fortune casts upon my face. In 
 itive allusion to making marks or lines when casting 
 
 ' Compa 
 
Act II.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene VII. 
 
 Eno. A certain queen to Caesar in a mattress." 
 Pom. I know thee now: how far'st thou, 
 
 soldier ? 
 
 Eno. Well ; 
 
 And well am like to do; for, I perceive. 
 Four feasts are toward. 
 
 Pom. Let me shake thy hand ; - 
 
 I never hated thee: I have seen thee fight, 
 When I have envied thy behaviour. 
 
 Eno. Sir, 
 I never lov'd yo*u much ; but I have prais'd you, 
 When you have well deserv'd ten times as much 
 As I have said you did. 
 
 Pom. Enjoy thy plainness, 
 
 It nothing ill becomes thee. — 
 Aboard my galley I invite you all : 
 Will you lead, lords ? 
 
 Cizs., Ant., Lep. Show us the way, sir. 
 
 Pom. Come. 
 [Exeunt all except Menas and Enobarbus. 
 
 Men. \_Aside.'] Thy father, Pompey, would ne'er 
 have made this treaty.— [To Eno.] You and I 
 have known, sir.'^ 
 
 Eno. At sea, I think. 
 
 Men. We have, sir. 
 
 Eno. You have done well by water. 
 
 Men. And you by land. 
 
 Eno. I will praise any man that will praise me; 
 though it cannot be denied what I have done by 
 land. 
 
 Men. Nor what I have done by water. 
 Eno. Yes, something you can deny for your 
 own safety : you have been a great thief by sea. 
 Men. And you by land. 
 
 Eno. There I deny my land service. But give 
 me your hand, Menas: if our eyes had authority, 
 here they might take two thieves kissing. 
 
 Men. All men's faces are true, whatsoe'er their 
 hands are. 
 
 Eno. But there is never a fair woman has a true 
 face. 
 
 Men. No slander, — they steal hearts. 
 
 Eno. We came hither to fight with you. 
 
 Men. For my part, I am sorry it is turned to a 
 drinking. Pompey doth this day laugh away his 
 fortune. 
 
 91. A certain queen to Ccssar, 6r'c. The incident of Cleo- 
 patra's introduction to Julius Caesar is thus quaintly narrated by 
 Plutarch : — " She only taking Apollodorus Sicilian of all her 
 friends, tooke a little bote, and went away with him in it in the 
 night, and came and landed hard by the foot of the castell. 
 Then having no other meane to come into the court without 
 being knowne, she laid herselfe downe vpon a mattresse or flock 
 bed, which Apollodorus her friend tied and bound vp together 
 like a bundle with a gre.-it leather thong, and so tooke her vpon 
 his back, and brought her thus hampered in this fardle vnto 
 Caesar in at the castle gate." 
 
 92. K<j« ajid I have known, sir: ' Each other ' is ellipticallv 
 understood after " known ; " and "known" is sometimes thus 
 used by Shakespeare for ' been acquainted.' 
 
 e 
 
 Eno. If he do, sure, he cannot weep it back again. 
 
 Men. You have said, sir. We looked not for 
 Mark Antony here: pray you, is he married to 
 Cleopatra ? 
 
 Eno. Cesar's sister is called Octavia. 
 
 Men. True, sir ; she was the wife of Caius 
 Marcellus. 
 
 Eno. But she is now the wife of Marcus 
 Antonius. 
 
 Men. Pray you, sir ? 
 Eno. 'Tis true. 
 
 Men. Then is Caesar and he for ever knit 
 together. 
 
 Eno. If I were bound to divine of this unity, 1 
 would not prophesy so. 
 
 Men. I think, the policy of that purpose made 
 more in the marriage, than the love of the parties. 
 
 Eno. I think so too. But you shall find, the 
 band that seems to tie their friendship together 
 will be the very strangler of their amity: Octavia 
 is of a holy, cold, and still conversation.''^ 
 
 Men. Who would not have his wife so ? 
 
 Eno. Not he that himself is not so ; which is 
 Mark Antony. He will to his Egyptian dish 
 again: then shall the sighs of Octavia blow the 
 fire up in Cassar ; and, as I said before, that which 
 is the strength of their amity shall prove the im- 
 mediate author of their variance. Antony will 
 use his affection where it is : he married but his 
 occasion here. 
 
 Men. And thus it may be. Come, sir, will you 
 aboard ? I have a health for you. 
 
 Eno. I shall take it, sir: we have used our 
 throats in Egypt. 
 
 Men. Come, let's away. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE VII.— 0« board Pgmpey's Galley, lying 
 near Misenum. 
 
 Music. Enter fwo or three Servants, ivith a 
 banquet. 
 
 First Serv. Here they'll be, man. Some o' 
 their plants are ill-rooted already ; the least wind 
 i' the world will blow them down. 
 
 93. Conversation. ' Conduct,' ' behaviour ; ' ' moral pro- 
 j cedure.' 
 
 94. Plants. Here humorously and figuratively used for ' the 
 soles of the feet ;' from the Latin, planta. What drollery there 
 
 I is in even this brief introductory dialogue to certainly the 
 richest scene of drunken riot ever penned ! How it prepares the 
 spectators for the condition of those who are to appear ; how 
 waggishly it denotes the merriment with which the sea-faring 
 attendants have perceived the unsteadiness of the grand guests' 
 steps — partly proceeding from overflow of bumpers, partly 
 (•!am. visMi q( " sea-legs ;" and how well it sketches that keen 
 insight into the peculiarities of their superiors in rank which is 
 frequently possessed by dependants ! 
 
Act II.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene VII. 
 
 Sec. Serv. Lepidus is high-coloured. 
 First Sern). They have made him drink alms- 
 drink." 
 
 Sec. Sera;. As they pinch one another by the 
 disposition,^'' he cries out, " No more;" re- 
 conciles them to his entreaty, and liimself to 
 the drink. 
 
 First Ser'v. But it raises the greater war between 
 him and his discretion. 
 
 Sec. Sern). Why, this it is to have a name in 
 great men's fellowship: I had as lief have a reed 
 that will do me no service as a partisan''' I could 
 not heave. 
 
 First Sernj. To be called into a huge sphere, 
 and not to be seen to move in 't, are the holes 
 where eyes should be, which pitifully disaster the 
 cheeks.'s 
 
 A sennet sounded. Enter C^sar, Antony, 
 Lepidus, Pompey, Agrippa, Mec^nas, 
 Enobarbus, Menas, ujith other Captains. 
 Ant. [To CiESAR.] Thus do they, sir: they take 
 the flow o' the Nile^*^ 
 By certain scales i' the pyramid ; they know, 
 By the height, the lowness, or the mean, if 
 dearth 
 
 Or foisoni"" follow: the higher Nilus swells. 
 The more it promises: as it ebbs, the seedsman 
 Upon the slime and ooze scatters his grain. 
 And shortly comes to harvest. 
 
 Lep. You've strange serpents^"' there. 
 
 Ant. Ay, Lepidus. 
 
 Lep. Your serpent of Egypt is bred, now, of 
 your mud by the operation of your sun : so is your 
 crocodile. 
 
 Ant. They are so. 
 
 95. Alms-drink. Warburton affirms that this is a phrase 
 signifying ' that liquor of another's share which his companion 
 drinks to ease him.' 
 
 96. As they pinch one another by the disposition. It has 
 been proposed to change " disposition " to ' disputation ; ' but 
 the phrase in the text signifies ' as they try each other's temper 
 by banter,' ' as they gall or plague each other's sensitiveness by 
 their mutual taunts.' 
 
 97. A partisan. A weapon between a pike and a halberd; 
 and not being so long, it was used in mounting a breach. See 
 Note 8, Act i., " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 98. Are the holes where eyes should be, which, &r'C. ' Is as 
 sorry a blank as are the empty spaces where eyes ought to be, 
 which," &c. We have frequently pointed out the elliptical style 
 in which many of Shakespeare's similes and comparisons are 
 couched. See Note 7, Act iv., " Troilus and Cressida ;" and 
 Note 70, Act i. of the present play. Yet Dr. Johnson remarks 
 that " this speech seems to be mutilated, and to supply the de- 
 ficiencies is impossible : " while Mason observes that it is 
 "miserably expressed." (!) 
 
 99. They take the Jlnu o' the Nile. Reed pointed out that 
 Shakespeare prob.ably derived these particulars respecting the 
 measurement of the various heights to which the Nile rises, 
 from Philemon Holland's Translation of " Pliny ; " while Leo's 
 " History of Africa," translated by John Pory (i6ool, has been 
 suggested as another book from which the dramatist obtained 
 his information on this subject. 
 
 Pom. Sit, — and some wine ! — A health to 
 Lepidus ! 
 
 Lep. I am not so well as I should be, but I'll 
 ne'er out. 
 
 Eno. Not till you have slept ; I fear me you'll 
 ] be in till then. 
 
 Lep. Nay, certainly, I have heard the Ptolemies' 
 ! pyramises'"^ are very goodly things; without con- 
 j tradiction, I have heard that. 
 
 Men. [Aside to Pom.] Pompey, a word. 
 
 Pom. [Aside to Men.] Say in -mine ear: what 
 is 't P 
 
 Men. [Aside to Pom.] Forsake thy seat, I do 
 beseech thee, captain, 
 And hear me speak a word. 
 
 Pom. [Aside to Men.] Forbear me till anon. — 
 This wine for Lepidus ! 
 Lep. What manner o' thing is your crocodile ? 
 Ant. It is shaped, sir, like itself; and 'it is as 
 broad as it hath breadth: it is just so high as it is, 
 j and moves with its own organs: it lives by that 
 I which noiirisheth it; and the elements once out 
 of it, it transmigrates. 
 
 Lep. What colour is it of ? 
 Ant. Of its own colour too. 
 Lfp. 'Tis a strange serpent. 
 Alt. 'Tis so. And the tears of it are wet.'"-" 
 Ciss. Will this description satisfy him ? 
 Ant. With the health that Pompey gives him, 
 else he is a very epicure. 
 
 Pom. [Aside to Men.] Go hang, sir, hang! 
 Tell me of that ? away ! 
 Do as I bid you. — Where's this cup I call'd 
 for ? 
 
 Men. [Aside to PoM.] If for the sake of merit 
 thou wilt hear me, 
 Rise from thy stool. 
 
 100. Foison. 'Plenty,' 'abundance.' See Note 63, Act iv., 
 " Macbeth.'' 
 
 101. Strange serpents. Deliciously chosen words for a 
 drunken man to utter. See Note 62, Act ii., " Othello." That 
 Shakespeare himself relished it, we think is evident by his re- 
 peating it a little farther on — -"'Tis a strange serpent." These 
 poets have perfect ears in such matters. See, for instance, the 
 delectable humour of Chaucer, in his " Pardoner's Tale," who 
 says of a diuukard, 
 
 " And thurgh thy dronken nose semeth the soun 
 As though thou saidest ay, Sampsoun ! Sampsoun ! 
 
 102. Pyramises. The form of ' pyramis ' for ' pyramid ' was 
 in use among writers of Shakespeare's time (see context of 
 passage referred to in Note 84, Act i., " First Part Henry 
 ■VI.") ; but the plural "pyramises" instead of 'pyramids,' is 
 just one of Shakespeare's happy inventions, to put into the 
 mouth of the soaked Lepidus. His feeble attempt at scien- 
 tific inquiry, in the remar'K concerning " your serpent of 
 Egypt," &c., his flabbily persistent researches touching " your 
 crocodile," and his limp recurrence to his pet expression, 
 "strange serpent," are all conceived in the highest zest of 
 comic humour. 
 
 103. The elements. See Note 20, Act ii., " Twelfth Night." 
 
 104. The tears 0/ it are wet. See Note 30, Act iv., 
 "Othello." 
 
Act II.] ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. [Scene VII. 
 
 Pom. [Aside to Men.] I think thou'rt mad. 
 The matter ? 
 
 [Rises, and 'walks aside ivith Menas. 
 
 Men. I have ever held my cap ofF^Oj to thy for- 
 tunes. 
 
 Pom. Thou hast serv'd me with much faith. 
 What 's else to say 
 Be jolly, lords. 
 
 Ant. These quick-sands, Lepidus, 
 
 Keep off them, for you sink.'^^ 
 
 Men. Wilt thou be lord of all the world ? 
 
 Pom. What say'st thou ? 
 
 105. Held viy cap off. Implying 'been deferential,' 'obse- 
 quious,' or ' subser\-ient.' See Note 3, Act i., " Othello." 
 
 106. For yon sink. The Folio word " for" has been strangely 
 changed to ' fore' and to 'or;' lut surely the original is right, 
 since the phrase, as it stands, describes the sudden lurch and 
 downward slide of Lepidus, who is now, in expressive vulgar 
 
 Men. Wilt thou be lord of the whole world ? 
 
 That 's twice. 
 Pom. How should that be ? 
 Men. But entertain it. 
 
 And, though thou think me poor, I am the man 
 Will give thee all the world. 
 
 Pom. Hast thou drunk well ? 
 
 Men. No, Pompey, I have kept me from the 
 cup. 
 
 Thou art, if thou dar'st be, the earthly Jove: 
 Whate'er the ocea^n pales, or sky inclips,'"' 
 Is thine, if thou wilt have 't 
 
 parlance, "floored." We hear nothing more from him, or of 
 him, till Pompey exclaims, " This health to Lepidus ! " and 
 Antony significantly replies, " Bear him ashore. — I'll pledge it 
 for him, Pompey." 
 
 107. Iitclips. ' Embraces,' ' encloses.' See Note 45, Act iv., 
 " Coriolamis," and Note 77, Act iii., " Othello." 
 
Act II.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene VII. 
 
 Pom. Show me which way. 
 
 Men. These three world-sharers, these com- 
 petitors.ios 
 Are in thy vessel : let me cut the cable ; 
 And, when we are put off, fall to their throats: 
 All there is thine. '"^ 
 
 Pom. Ah, this thou shouldst have done. 
 
 And not have spoke on 't ! In me 'tis villany ; 
 In thee't had been good service. Thoa must 
 know, 
 
 'Tis not my profit that does lead mine honour ; 
 Mine honour, it. Repent that e'er thy tongue 
 Hath so betray'd thine act : being done unknown, 
 I should have found it afterwards well done ; 
 But must condemn it now. Desist, and drink. 
 
 [Returns to his guests. 
 
 Men. [Jside.l For this, 
 I'll never follow thy pall'd"" fortunes more. — 
 Who seeks, and will not take when once 'tis offer'd, 
 Shall never find it more. 
 
 Pom. This health to Lepidus! 
 
 Jnt. Bear him ashore. — I'll pledge it for him, 
 
 Pompey. 
 Eno. Here 's to thee, Menas ! 
 Men. Enobarbus, welcome ! 
 
 Pom. Fill till the cup be hid. 
 Eno. There 's a strong fellow, Menas. 
 
 [Pointing to the Attendant ivho carries 
 off Lepidus. 
 
 Men. Why ? 
 
 Eno. He bears the third part of the world, 
 
 man ; see'st not ? 
 Men. The third part, then, is drunk : would it 
 
 were all. 
 That it might go on wheels! 
 
 Eno. Drink thou ; increase the reels. 
 Men. Come. 
 
 Pom. This is not yet an Alexandrian feast. 
 
 108. Competitors. ' Consociates,' ' colleagues.' See Note 63, 
 Act i. 
 
 109. A U t/ure is thiiie. " There " has been altered to ' the./ 
 and to ' theirs ; ' but we have heretofore shown that Shake- 
 speare sometimes uses " there " where ' then' is ordinarily used. 
 See Note 72, Act ii., " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 110. Pall'd. 'Impaired,' 'deteriorated.' 'Palled wine' is 
 wine that has become vapid, flat, spiritless. See Note 52, Act 
 v., " Hamlet." 
 
 111. Strike t!ie vessels. This has been explained to mean 
 'tap the casks.' Tiiat "strike" was used in the sense of 'tap' 
 or ' broach ' is true ; but tliat it is here used in that sense we do 
 not believe. Antony would hardly bid them broach more wine 
 where Pompey is the entertainer; and, moreover, at this stage 
 of the entertainment there would be no question of any one 
 giving such an order. The exclamation of ^' Strike the vessels, 
 ho ! " seems to us to mean, ' Strike your cups together in token of 
 good fellowship and high revelry : ' as glasses are clinked and 
 struck against one another by animated and friendly carousers 
 when hobnobbing and joining in a toast. 
 
 112. Possess if. Some demur has been made to the word 
 " possess " here ; while those who retain it explain it to refer 
 to the health proposed. But we believe that "possess it" has 
 reference to "the time." Antony bids Octavius "be a child 
 
 Ant. It ripens towards it. — Strike the vessels,"' 
 hoi- 
 Here is to Csesar ! 
 
 Cies. I could well forbear 't. 
 
 It's monstrous labour, when I wash my brain. 
 And it grows fouler. 
 
 Ant. Be a child o' the time. 
 
 Cies. Possess it,"'^ I'll make answer: 
 But I had rather fast from all four days 
 Than drink so much in one. 
 
 Eno. [To Ant.] Ha, my brave emperor 1 
 Shall we dance now the Egyptian Bacchanals, 
 And celebrate our drink ? 
 
 Pom. Let's ha 't, good soldier. 
 
 Ant. Come, let's all take hands, 
 Till that the conquering wine hath steep'd our 
 sense 
 
 In soft and delicate Lethe. 
 
 Eno. All take hands.— 
 
 Make battery to our ears with the loud music : — 
 The while I'll place you : then the boy shall sing ; 
 The holding every man shall bear''^ as loud 
 As his strong sides can volley. 
 
 [Music plays. Enosakbvs places them 
 hand in hand. 
 
 SONG. 
 
 Come, thou monarch of the vine, 
 Plumpy Bacchus with pink eyne ! 
 In thy vats our cares be drown'd,"^ 
 With thy grapes our hairs be crown'd 
 Cup us, till the world go round. 
 Cup us, till the world go round ! 
 
 Cas. What would you more ?— Pompey, good 
 
 night. — Good brother. 
 Let me request you off : our graver business 
 Frowns at this levity. — Gentle lords, let's part ; 
 You see we have burnt our cheeks : strong 
 
 Enobarbe 
 
 o' the time," that, is, ' give yourself up to the spirit of the 
 present hour,' ' be a mad reveller as the rest are upon this 
 occasion;' and Octavius replies, 'Well, occupy it, fill it up, 
 i be master of it, in your own way : I 11 respond, I'll follow your 
 ' lead.' In confirmation of our view, see how the word " pos- 
 j sess " is used in the sense of ' occupy,' ' take possession of,' in 
 the passages, "And this the regal seat: possess it, York," 
 "Third Part Henry VI.," Act i., sc. i ; and "Things rank and 
 j gross in nature possess it merely," " Hamlet," Act i., sc. 2. 
 
 113. Tlu: holding every man shall bear. "Holding" was 
 an old term for what is now called the 'burden' of a song : and 
 
 I "bear" is Theob.ild's correction of the Folio misprint, ' beate,' 
 j here. In Ariel's first song, we have. " And sweet sprites the 
 I burden bear." Moreover, "bear the burden" is still an ex- 
 pression used for taking part in the chorus of a song. 
 
 114. Pink eyne. "Pink" was a word that signified 'small,' 
 •little,' 'narrow,' applied to ej-es and to ships, in the words 
 ' pink-eyed ' and ' pink-sterned ; ' but by here using the term 
 "pink eyne" in reference to Bacchus, the poet combmes 
 the effect of eyes not only half closed, but also reddened by 
 inebriation. 
 
 115. In thy vats our care-: be drown'd. The Folio prints 
 'fattes' for "vats," 'fats' being an old form of "vats;" but 
 we give the modern orthography in the text. 
 
Act 1 1 1.3 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Is weaker than the wine; and mine own tongue 
 Splits what it speaks : the wild disguise hath 
 almost 
 
 Antick'd us all."* What needs more words? 
 
 Good night. — 
 Good Antony, your iiand. 
 
 Pom. I'll try you dn the shore. 
 
 Ant. And shall, sir : give's your hand. 
 Pom. O Antony, 
 
 You have my father's house, — But, what ? we are 
 
 friends. 
 Come, down into the boat. 
 
 Eno. Take heed you fall not. 
 
 \_Exeunt Pompey, C^sar, Antony, and 
 Attendants. 
 
 Menas, I'll not on shore. 
 
 Men. No, to my cabin. — 
 
 These drums ! — these trumpets, flutes I what ' — 
 Let Neptune hear we bid a loud farewell 
 To these great fallows : sound, and be hang'd 
 sound out ! \A flourish, 'with drums. 
 
 Eno. Hoo ! says 'a. — There 's my cap. 
 
 Men. Hoo'.i's — Noble captain, come. 
 
 \_Exeunt. 
 
 ACT 
 
 SCENE \.—A Plain in'S\Kik. 
 
 Enter Ventidius in triumph, 'with SiLIUS, and 
 other Romans, Officers, and Soldiers; the dead 
 body of Pacorus borne bejore him. 
 
 Fen. Now, darting Parthia, art thou struck;' 
 and now 
 
 Pleas'd fortune does of Marcus Crassus' death 
 Make me revenger. — Bear the king's son's body 
 Before our army. — Thy Pacorus, Orodes,^ 
 Pays this for Marcus Crassus. 
 
 Sil. Noble Ventidius, 
 
 Whilst yet with Parthian blood thy sword is warm. 
 The fugitive Parthians follow ; spur through 
 Media, • 
 
 Mesopotamia, and the shelters whither 
 The routed fly : so thy grand captain, Antony, 
 Shall set thee on triumphant chariots, and 
 Put garlands on thy head.^ 
 
 Fen. O Silius Sifius, 
 
 116. Ths wild disguise hath almost antick'd us all. The 
 discriminative characterisation developed in each of the revel- 
 lers — Lepidus's fatuity and solemn dulness floundering beneath 
 the overpowering effect of the repeated healths, or toasts, with 
 which he is plied ; Octavius's reluctance at the subversion of 
 his cold equanimity by the riot of the carousal and the influence 
 of the wine ; Enobarbus's mad spirits — yet even he at length 
 giving token of being "weaker than the wine;" Pompey's 
 capital bit of maudlin (" O Antony, you have my father's 
 house, — But, what? we are friends"), half-lingering resentment, 
 half drunken magnanimity of forgiveness ; the untouched strength 
 of the seasoned Mark Antony, able to bear any amount of 
 drained cups ; together with the rich gusto and classical grape- 
 crowned animation of the whole scene, combine to render this 
 one of the most magnificently painted orgy-descriptions ever 
 set down upon paper. It glows before our eyes like a Rubens' 
 canvas. 
 
 117. No, to my cabiu. The Folio makes these lines a con- 
 
 III. 
 
 I have done enough : a lower place, note well. 
 May make too great an act ; for learn this, 
 Silius, — 
 
 Better to leave undone, than by our deed 
 Acquire too high a fame when him we serve 's 
 away. 
 
 Csesar and Antony have ever won 
 More in their officer than person : Sossius, 
 One of my place in Syria, his-lieutenant, 
 For quick accumulation of renown. 
 Which he achiev'd by the minute, lost his favour. 
 Who does i' the wars more than his captain can. 
 Becomes his captain's captain : and ambition. 
 The soldier's virtue, rather makes choice of 
 loss, 
 
 Than gain which darkens him. 
 I could do more to do Antonius good, 
 But 'twould offend him ; and in his offence 
 Should my performance perish. 
 
 Sil. Thou hast, Ventidius, that 
 
 tinuation of Enobarbus's speech, omitting the requisite prefix 
 of Menas. 
 
 118. Hoo! says 'a. — TJtere^s my cap, Hoo I This finishing 
 the whole with a shout and a flinging-up of caps, puts the 
 finishing stroke of climax to this finely-conceived scene of wild 
 vivacity. 
 
 \. Struck. In reference to "darting;" implying, 'Thou 
 whose darts have often struck others, art struck now thyself.' 
 
 2. Thy Pacorus, Orodes. Pacorus was the son of Qrodes, 
 King of Parthia. 
 
 3. Set thee on trijimphant chariots, and put garlands on 
 thy head. It has been questioned whether "chariots" should 
 not be 'chariot' here; but it might as well be proposed that 
 " garlands" also should be in the singular. The fact is, a plural 
 form, used in this way, is not unfreqnent among poets and 
 poetic writers or speakers, to give the effect of amplitude and 
 generalisation. See Note 31, Act iii., " Winter's Tale." 
 
ycntiaius. 
 Before our army. 
 
 Jear tne king s son s body 
 
 Act III. Scene 1. 
 
Act III.] ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. [Scene II. 
 
 Cresar. No. sweet Octavia. 
 
 You shall hear from me still : the time shall not 
 
 Out-go my thmking on you. Act III. Scene II. 
 
 Without the which a soldier, and his sword, 
 Grants scarce distinction.^ Thou wilt write to 
 Antony ? 
 
 Ven. I'll humbly signify what in his name, 
 That magical word of war, we have effected ; 
 How, with his banners and his well-paid ranks. 
 The ne'er-yet-beaten horse of Parthia 
 We have jaded* out o' the field. 
 
 S'll. Where is he now ? 
 
 Ven. He purposeth to Athens: whither, with 
 what haste 
 
 The weight we must convey with 's will permit, 
 We shall appear before him. — On, there ; pass 
 along ! [Exeunt. 
 
 A,. Grants scarce distinction. "Grants" is here used in the 
 sense of 'yields' or 'affords;' the sentence implying, 'Thou 
 hast that sagacity without which a soldier is scarcely distin- 
 guishable from his sword ; ' ' Thou hast that prudence which, if 
 
 SCENE II.— Rome. An Ante-Chamber in 
 Cesar's House. 
 
 Enter Agpippa and Enobarbus, 
 meeting. 
 
 Agr. What ! are the brothers parted ? 
 Eno. They have despatch'd with Pompey, he is 
 gone; 
 
 The other three are sealing. Octavia weeps 
 To part from Rome ; Cssar is sad ; and Lepidus, 
 Since Pompey's feast, as Menas says, is troubled 
 With the green sickness. 
 Agr. 'Tis a noble Lepidus. 
 
 the soldier be wanting in, there is scarcely any distinction 
 afforded between himself and his sword.' 
 
 5. Horse of Parthia me have Jaded. " Horse " used for 
 'horsemen,' and "jaded" for 'driven as jades.' See Note 15, 
 Act iv., "Julius Caesar;" and Note 64, Actiii., "Henry VIII.' 
 
 246 
 
Act III.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Eno. A very fine one : oh, how he loves Csesar ! 
 ^gr. Nay, but how dearly he adores Mark 
 Antony ! 
 
 Eno. Caesar ? Why, he 's the Jupiter of men. 
 Agr. What's Antony ? The god of Jupiter. 
 Eno. Spake you of Csesar ? Hoo ! the non- 
 pareil is 
 
 Agr. O Antony! oh, thou Arabian bird!'' 
 Eno. Would you praise Caesar, say, " Csesar," 
 
 — go no farther. 
 Agr. Indeed, he plied them both with excellent 
 
 praises. 
 
 Eno. But he loves Cssar best ; — yet he loves 
 Antony : 
 
 Hoo! hearts, tongues, figures, scribes, bards, poets, 
 cannot 
 
 Think, speak, cast, write, sing, number, — hoo ! — 
 His love to Antony. But as for Csesar, 
 Kneel down, kneel down, and wonder. 
 
 Agr. Both he loves. 
 
 Eno. They are his shards, and he their beetle. ^ 
 — [Trumpets nvithin.'] So, — 
 This is to horse. — Adieu, noble Agrippa. 
 
 Agr. Good fortune, worthy soldier; and farewell. 
 
 Enter Caesar, Antony, Lepid.us, and Octavia. 
 Ant. No farther, sir. 
 
 Cas. You take from me a gr^at part of 
 myself ; 
 
 Use me well in 't. — Sister, prove such a wife 
 As my thoughts make thee, and as my farthest 
 band 
 
 Shall pass on thy approof.' — Most noble Antony, 
 
 Let not the piece of virtue, which is set 
 
 Betwixt us as the cement of our love. 
 
 To keep it builded, be the ram to batter 
 
 The fortress of it ; for better might we 
 
 HaVe lov'd without this mean, if on both parts 
 
 This be not cherish'd. 
 
 6. Hoo ! iJie iionpnreill The Folio prints * How' for Hoo," 
 here ; but "hoo !" is such an evidently favourite and character- 
 istic exclamation of Enobarbus (see Note ii8, Act ii.), that we 
 cannot doubt its being intended here. The breathless fun of 
 the present dialogue, its hurry of hyperbolical phrases heaped 
 one a-top of the other, as the speakers tumble them out in 
 emulation of each other, for representation of what Lepidus 
 says in exaggerated praise of both his objects of admiration, 
 make one feel that Shakespeare himself enjoyed writing it. 
 
 7. Arabian bird. The phoenix. See Note 78, Act iv., 
 " Richard III." 
 
 8. They are his sJiards, and he their beetle. Implying, 
 ' They are the wings that raise this lumpish insect from the 
 ground.' "Shards" are the ' scaly wings ' of the beetle. See 
 Note 46, Act iii., " Macbeth." 
 
 9. And as my farthest band shall pass on thy approof. 
 ' And as my greatest pledge of security shall be staked on thy 
 proving what I think thee.' " Band" was sometimes used for 
 ' bond.' See Note 40, Act v., " Tempest." 
 
 10. Curious. ' Scrupulous in inquiry,' 'particular in examina- 
 tion, careful m making investigation or in searching into.' See 
 Note 89, Act iv., " Taming of the Shrew." 
 
 Ant. Make me not offended 
 
 In your distrust. 
 
 Cips. I have said. 
 
 Ant. You shall not find. 
 
 Though you be therein curious, the least cause 
 For what you seem to fear : so, the gods keep you, 
 And make the hearts of Romans serve your ends ! 
 We will here part. 
 
 Ctrs. Farewell, my dearest sister, fare thee 
 well : 
 
 The elements be kind to thee, and make 
 Thy spirits all of comfort !i' fare thee well. 
 Oct. My noble brother! — 
 
 Ant. The April's in her eyes: it is love's 
 spring. 
 
 And these the showers to bring it on. — Be cheerful. 
 Oct. Sir, look well to my husband's house ; 
 and — 
 
 Cas. What, Octavia ? 
 
 Oct. I'll tell you in your ear. 
 Ant. Her tongue will not obey her heart, nor 
 can 
 
 Her heart inform her tongue, — the swan's down 
 feather. 
 
 That stands upon the swell at full of tide,'^ 
 And neither way inclines. 
 
 Eno. [Aside to Agr.] Will Caesar weep ? 
 
 Agr. [Aside to Eno.] He has a cloud in's face.'^ 
 
 Eno. [Aside to Agr.] He were the worse for 
 that, were he a horse ; 
 So is he, being a man. 
 
 Agr. [Aside to Eng.] Why, Enobarbus, 
 When Antony found Julius Cassar dead. 
 He cried almost to roaring ; and he wept. 
 When at Philippi he found Brutus slain. 
 
 Eno. [Aside to Agr.] That year, indeed, he was 
 troubled with a rheum ; 
 What willingly he did confound he wail'd : 
 Believe 't, till I weep too."* 
 
 11. The elements be kind to iliee, and make thy spirits all of 
 comfort I This aspiration of her brother for Octavia includes a 
 wish that the elements may be gentle to her in the course of 
 the voyage she is about to make with her new-made husband, 
 Antony, from Rome to Athens, and also a desire that the 
 elements of which human life was supposed to be compounded 
 may combine to sustain her in health and cheerfulness. See 
 Note 42, Act v., "Julius Cxsar." 
 
 12. Stands upon tlie swell at full of tide. The first Folio 
 inserts ' the ' before " full ; " corrected in the second Folio. 
 
 13. A cloud in's face. Said of a horse that has a dark- 
 coloured spot in its forehead between the eyes ; which, giving 
 the animal a scowling look, and being supposed to indicate a 
 vicious temper, is considered a great blemish. The phrase is 
 applied by Burton, in his "Anatomy of Melancholy" (1632), to 
 a lowering expression of the human countenance : " Every lover 
 admires his mistress, though she be very deformed of herself— 
 thin, leane, chitty-face, have clouds in her face, be crooked," &c. 
 
 14. Believe* t, till I iveep too. "Weep" has been changed 
 by Theobald and others to ' wept ; ' but we take the passage 
 to mean, 'That which he willingly saw destroyed he cried over ; 
 believe it, till you see me cry also in the same hypocritical way.' 
 
Act III.] ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. [Scene III. 
 
 Cas. No, sweet Octavia, 
 You shall hear from me still ; the time shall 
 not 
 
 Out-go my thinking on you. 
 
 Ant. Come, sir, come ; 
 I'll wrestle with you in my strength of love : 
 Look, here I have you ; thus I let you go, 
 And give you to the gods. 
 
 Cas. Adieu ; be happy ! 
 Lep. Let all the number of the stars give 
 light 
 To thy fair way ! 
 
 Cizs. Farewell, farewell ! 
 
 {^Khses Octavia. 
 Ant. Farewell ! 
 
 {Trumpets sound njoithin. Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE III. — Alexandria. A Room in the 
 Palace. 
 
 Enter Cleopatra, Charmian, Iras, a/z^/ Alexas. 
 
 Cleo. Where is the fellow ? 
 
 Alex. Half afeard to come. 
 
 Cleo. Go to, go to. — 
 
 Enter a Messenger. 
 
 Come hither, sir. 
 
 Alex. Good majesty, 
 Herod of Jewry dare not look upon you, 
 But when you are well pleas'd. 
 
 Cleo. That Herod's head 
 I'll have: but how, when Antony is gone, 
 Through whom I might command it ? — Come 
 tliou near. 
 
 Mess. Most gracious majesty, — 
 
 Cleo. Didst thou behold 
 Octavia ? 
 
 Mtss. Ay, dread queen. 
 
 Cleo. Where ? 
 
 Mess'. Madam, in Rome 
 I look'd her in the face, and saw her led 
 Between her brother and Mark Antony. 
 
 Cleo. Is she as tall as me 
 
 Mess. She is not, madam. 
 
 Cleo. Didst hear her speak ? is she shrill-tongu'd 
 or low ? 
 
 Mess. Madam, 1 heard her speak ; she is low- 
 voic'd. 
 
 Cleo. That's not so good:'^ — he cannot like 
 her long. 
 
 Char. Like her ! O Isis ! 'tis impossible. 
 
 Cleo. I think so, Charmian : dull of tongue, 
 and dwarfish 1 — 
 What majesty is in her gait ? Remember, 
 If e'er thou look'dst on majesty. 
 
 Mess. She creeps ; 
 Her motion and her station are as one : 
 She shows a body rather than a life ; 
 A statue, than a breather. 
 
 Cleo. Is this certain ? 
 
 Mess. Or I have no observance. 
 
 Char. Three in Egypt 
 Cannot make better note. 
 
 Cleo. He 's very knowing ; 
 I do perceive 't : — there 's nothing in her yet : — 
 The fellow has good judgment. 
 
 Char. Excellent. 
 
 Cleo. Guess at her years, I pr'ythee. 
 
 Mess. Madam, 
 She was a widow, — 
 
 Cleo. Widow ! — Charmian, hark. 
 
 Mess. And I do think, she 's thirty. 
 
 Cleo. Bear' st thou her face in mind? is't long 
 or round ? 
 
 Mess. Round even to faultiness. 
 
 Cleo. For the most part, too, they are foolish 
 that are so. — 
 Her hair, what colour ? 
 
 Mess. Brown, madam: and her forehead 
 .•\s low as she would wish it.'^ 
 
 Cleo. There 's gold for thee. 
 Thou must not take my former sharpness 
 ill:— 
 
 I will employ thee back again ; I find thee 
 
 Most fit for business : go make thee ready ; 
 
 Our letters are prepar'd. {Exit Messenger. 
 Char. A proper man.i^ 
 Cleo. Indeed, he is so : I repent me much 
 
 That so I harried-" him. Why, methinks, by 
 him. 
 
 noted by Lear's words, while hanging over his dead daughter 
 Cordelia : 
 
 " Her voice was ever soft, 
 Gentle, and low, — an excellent thing in woman." 
 
 17. Station. ' Attitude when standing,' ' remaining still.' 
 See Note 139, Act iii., " Hamlet." 
 
 18. As low as she would wish it. A cant phrase, implying 
 ' lower than she could wish it to be.' 
 
 ig. A proper man. ' A comely man,' ' a good-looking man.' 
 See Note 68, Act iv., " Othello." 
 
 20. Harried. 'Harassed,' 'worried,' 'molested,' 'used 
 roughly.' 
 
 15. Is slie as tall as me ? " Me" for ' I ' and ' I ' for " me" 
 were frequently used, by a grammatical licence, the one for the 
 other, in Shakespeare's time. See Note 27, Act i., "As You 
 Like It." 
 
 16. That's not so good. Cleopatra, in her present moodj 
 would have made this reply to whichever description of tone 
 the messenger had assigned as that of Octavia's voice— 
 whether " shrill-tongu'd or low." The very wording of the 
 Egyptian queen's inquiry shows this ; as also is evinced 
 by her immediately afterwards distorting " low-voic'd" into 
 "dull of tongue." What was Shakespeare's own opinion 
 relative to the true loveliness irl this respect is clearly de- 
 
 6.3 
 
Act III.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scenes IV., V. 
 
 This creature 's no such thing.^' 
 
 Char. Nothing, madam. 
 
 Cleo. The man hath seen some majesty, and 
 should knoiv. 
 
 Char. Hath he seen majesty ? Isis else defend, 
 And serving you so long ! 
 
 Cleo. I have one thing more to ask him yet, 
 good Charmian : 
 But 'tis no matter ; thou shalt bring him to me 
 Where I will write. All may be well enough. 
 
 Char. I warrant you, madam. [Exfuni. 
 
 SCENE IV.— Athens. A Room in Antony's 
 House. 
 
 Enter Antony Octavia. 
 
 tint. Nay, nay, Octavia, not only that, — 
 That were excusable, that, and thousands more 
 Of semblable import, — but he hath wag'd 
 New wars 'gainst Pompey ; made his will, and 
 
 read it 
 To public ear: 
 
 Spoke scantly of me : when perforce he could not 
 But pay me terms of honour, cold and sickly 
 He vented them ; most narrow measure lent me: 
 When the best hint was given him, he not took 't. 
 Or did it from his teeth. 
 
 Oct. Oh, my good lord, 
 
 Believe not all ; or, if you must believe. 
 Stomach not all.^^ A more unhappy lady. 
 If this division chance, ne'er stood between, 
 Praying for both parts : 
 The good gods will mock me presently. 
 When I shall pray, " Oh, bless my lord .and hus- 
 band ! " 
 
 Undo that prayer,^^ by crying out as loud, 
 "Oh, bless my brother!" Husband win, win 
 brother. 
 
 Prays, and destroys the prayer ; no midway 
 'Twixt these extremes at all. 
 
 21. No suck thing. Equivalent to the more modern idiomatic 
 phrase, * no such great things.' 
 
 22. From his teeth. An idiom signifying ' superficially,' 
 ' pretendedly,' ' without heartiness or sincerity.' Dryden, in 
 his "Wild Gallant," has, "I am confident she is only angry 
 from tlie teeth outward;" and Burton, " Friend.ship yVa«z 
 teeth outward, counterfeit." 
 
 23. Stomach not all. ' Take not all resentfully or wrath- 
 fully.' See Note 15, Act ii. of this play. 
 
 24. W lien I shall pray, "Oh, bless . . . ." Undo that prayer. 
 Elliptically expressed ; ' and when I shall ' being understood 
 before "undo." Shakespeare occasionally has this kind of 
 construction where a nominative does double duty in a 
 sentence (see Notes 20, Act i., and 20, Act ii., "Tempest") ; 
 and in the present passage it aids to denote the agitation of the 
 speaker. 
 
 25. Shall stain your brother. The word "stain" has been 
 
 Ant. Gentle Octavia, 
 
 Let your best love draw to that point, which seeks 
 Best to preserve it : if I lose mine honour, 
 1 lose myself; better I were not yours, 
 Than yours so branchless. But, as you requested. 
 Yourself shall go between us: the meantime, lady, 
 I'll raise the preparation of a war 
 Shall "stain your brother; 2* make your soonest 
 haste : 
 
 So, your desires are yours. 
 
 Oct. Thanks to my lord. 
 
 The Jove of power make me, most weak, most 
 weak. 
 
 Your reconciler ! Wars 'twixt you twain would be 
 As if the world should cleave, and that slain men 
 Should solder up the rift. 
 
 Ant. When it appears to you where this begins, 
 Turn your displeasure that way; for our faults 
 Can never be so equal, that your love 
 Can equally move with them. Provide your 
 going; 
 
 Choose your own company, and command what 
 cost 
 
 Your heart has mind to. {Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE v. — Athens. Another Room in 
 Antony's House. 
 
 Enter Enobarbus and Eros, meeting. 
 
 Eno. How now, friend Eros! 
 
 Eros. There 's strange news come, sir. 
 
 Eno. What, man ? 
 
 Eros. Csesar and Lepidus have made wars upon 
 Pompey. 
 
 Eno. This is old : what is the success r^^ 
 Eros. Csesar, having made use of him in the 
 wars 'gainst Pompey, presently denied him 
 rivality;^' would not let him partake in the 
 glory of the action: and not resting here, accuses 
 him of letters he had formerly wrote to Pompey ; 
 
 altered to ' stay,' ' strain,' ' stun,' ' slack,' &c. ; but it is possible 
 that the original is right, used in the sense of 'eclipse,' 'throw 
 into .shade,' ' obscure.' This is rendered probable by the sub- 
 sequent enumeration of Antony's royal mustering of allies for 
 this war : " He hath assembled Bocchus, the king of Libya : 
 Archelaus," &c. See Note 41 of this Act. The pomp of this 
 list of monarchs may well cast into the shade other "levying." 
 Moreover, we think it likely that the sentence in the text in- 
 volves one of those constructional forms sometimes employed by 
 Shakespeare where 'that of is elliptically understood (see Note 
 42, Act iv,, "Othello"); so that the sentence implies, Til 
 raise the preparation of a war that shall eclipse that of your 
 brother,' or 'eclipse your brother's.' 
 
 26. miat is the success ? ' What is the issue ? ' ' What hath 
 ollowed thereon?' See Note 38, Act iii., "Othello." 
 
 27. Rivality. 'Equal rank in consociation.' See Note 4, 
 Act i,, " Hamlet." 
 
Act III.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene VI. 
 
 upon his own appeal,^^ seizes him: so the poor 
 third is u^,^'^ till death enlarge his confine. 
 
 Eno. Then, world, thou hast a pair of chaps, 
 no more 
 
 And throw between them all the food thou hast. 
 They'll grind the one the other.=" Where 's 
 Antony ? 
 
 Eros. He 's walking in the garden— thus; and 
 spurns 
 
 The rush that lies before him ; cries, " Fool 
 
 Lepidus ! " 
 And threats the throat of that his officer^^ 
 That murder'd Pompey. 
 
 Eno. Our great navy 's rigg'd. 
 
 Etos. For Italy and Cossar. More, Domitius;^^ 
 My lord desires you presently: my news 
 I might have told hereafter. 
 
 Eno. 'Twill be naught: 
 
 But let it be. — Bring me to Antony. 
 
 Eros. Come, sir. [Exeunf. 
 
 SCENE VI. — Rome. A Room in Cjesak's 
 House. 
 
 Enter C^sar, Agrippa, and Mec^nas. 
 
 Cas. Contemning Rome, he has done all this, 
 and more. 
 
 In Alexandria: here 's the manner of it : — 
 r the market-place, on a tribunal silver'd,^* 
 Cleopatra and himself in chairs of gold 
 Were publicly enthron'd : at the feet sat 
 Casarion, whom they call my father's son,^' 
 And all the unlawful issue that their lust 
 Since then hath made between them. Unto her 
 He gave the 'stablishment of Egypt ; made her 
 Of lower Syria, Cyprus, Lydia, 
 Absolute queen. 
 Mec. This in the public eye ? 
 
 28. Appeal. Here used in the sense which it bears in common 
 law— that of "accusation." But by the way in which Shake- 
 speare constructs his sentence here, it conveys the efFect of ' on 
 his own responsibility,' as well as of ' on his own accusation 
 solely.' 
 
 29. So tlie poor third is up. From the manner in which the 
 little Word "up" is here employed, the sentence doubly ex- 
 presses, ' so the poor triumvir is pent up in prison,' and ' so it's 
 all up with the poor triumvir.' 
 
 30. Then, world, thou hast a pair of chaps, no more. The 
 Folio prints this, ' Then would thou hadst a paire of chaps no 
 more.' Hanmer's correction. "No more" is here used for 
 'and no more,' not for 'no longer.' 
 
 31. They'll grind tlie one the otiier. The Folio omits "the 
 one" here. Inserted by Capell. 
 
 32. The throat of that his officer. A form of construction 
 similar to the one pointed out and explained in Note 56, 
 Act ii. 
 
 33. More, Doinilius. " More" is elliptically used for ' more- 
 over,' or ' I have this much more to tell you.' Eros addresses 
 
 Cces. V the common show-place, where they 
 exercise. 
 
 His sons he there proclaim'd the kings of kings :26 
 
 Great Media, Parthia, and Armenia, 
 
 He gave to Alexander; to Ptolemy he assign'd 
 
 Syria, Cilicia, and Phoenicia : she 
 
 In the habiliments of the goddess Isis 
 
 That day appear'd ; and oft before gave audience, 
 
 As 'tis reported, so. 
 
 Mec. Let Rome be thus 
 
 Inform'd. 
 
 Agr. Who, queasy with his insolence 
 Already, will their good thoughts call from him. 
 
 C(BS. The people know it ; and have now 
 receiv'd 
 His accusations. 
 
 Agr. Whom does he accuse ? 
 
 Cas. Caesar: and that, having in Sicily 
 Sextus Pompeius spoil'd, we had not rated him 
 His part o' the isle: then does he say, he lent me 
 Some shipping unrestor'd : lastly, he frets 
 That Lepidus of the triumvirate 
 Should be depos'd ; and, being, that we detain 
 All his revenue. 
 
 Agr. Sir, this should be answer'd. 
 
 Cas. 'Tis done already, and the messenger 
 gone. 
 
 I have told him, Lepidus was grown too cruel ; 
 That he his high authority abus'd. 
 And did deserve his change : for what I have 
 conquer'd, 
 
 I grant him part ; but then, in his Armenia, 
 And other of his conquer'd kingdoms, I 
 Demand the like. 
 
 Mec. He'll never yield to that. 
 
 C(Bs. Nor must not, then, be yielded to in 
 this. 
 
 Enter Octavia, nxjith her tra'in.^^ 
 Oct. Hail, Cssar, and my lord ! hail, most dear 
 Caesar ! 
 
 Enobarbus by his pre-name of " Domitius " here, as Antony 
 does at the commencement of the second scene of Act iv. 
 
 34. On a tribunal silver'd. The details in this speech are 
 closely copied from Sir Thomas North's " Plutarch." 
 
 35. My fathers son. Here Octavius himself calls Julius 
 Caesar " my father." See Note 80, Act ii. 
 
 36. His sons he there proclaimed the kings of kings. The Folio 
 prints 'hither' instead of "he there," and omits the s before the 
 first "kings." The former is Johnson's correction; the latter 
 Rowe's. • 
 
 37. Who, queasy with, &'c. Here "who" is made to lefer 
 to the Roman people, as implied in the word " Rome," used 
 just before. See Note 85, Act iv., " Coriolanus." " Queasy " is 
 here used for ' sickened,' ' revolted,' ' repugned,' ' made 
 squeamish.' See Note 2, Act ii., " King Lear." 
 
 38. Enter Octavia, with her train. This is the stage direc- 
 tion in the Folio : though some modern editions omit the words 
 "with her train," as being inconsistent with what Octavius 
 says of her coming so insufficiently attended. But though she 
 herself says, "To come thus was I not constrain'd, but did it on 
 
Act III.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene VII. 
 
 Ctes. That ever I should call thee castaway! 
 Oct. You have not call'd me so, nor have you 
 cause. 
 
 Cies. Why have you stol'n upon us thus ? You 
 come not 
 
 Like Cesar's sister: the wife of Antony 
 Should have an army for an usher, and 
 The neighs of horse to tell of her approach 
 Long ere she did appear ; the trees by the way 
 Should have borne men ; and expectation fainted, 
 Longing for what it had not; nay, the dust 
 Should have ascended to the roof of heaven, 
 Rais'd by your populous troops: but you are come 
 A market-maid to Rome ; and have prevented 
 The ostentation of our love, which, left unshown, 
 Is often left unlov'd : we should have met you 
 By sea and land ; supplying tvery stage 
 With an augmented greeting. 
 
 Oct. Good my lord, 
 
 To come thus was I not constrain'd, but did it 
 On my free will. My lord, Mark Antony, 
 Hearing that you prepar'd for war, acquainted 
 My grieve 1 ear withal ; whereon, I begg'd 
 His pardon for return. 
 
 Cas. Which soon he granted. 
 
 Being an obstruct^' 'tween his lust and him. 
 
 Oct. Do' not say so, my lord. 
 
 Ccrs. I have eyes upon him. 
 
 And his affairs come to me on the wind. 
 Where is he now ? 
 
 Oct. My lord, in Athens. 
 
 Cms. No, my most wronged sister ; Cleopatra 
 Hath nodded him to her. He hath given his 
 empire 
 
 Up to a quean ; who now are levying 
 
 The kings o' the earth for war: he-hath assembled 
 
 Bocchus, the king of Libya ; Archelaus, 
 
 Of Cappadocia; Philadelphos, king 
 
 Of Paphlagonia ; the Thracian king, Adallas; 
 
 King Malchus of Arabia ; King of Pont ; 
 
 Herod of Jewry ; Mithridates, king 
 
 Of Comagene; Polemon and Amyntas, 
 
 my free will," it merely implies that she comes with a small 
 retinue when compared with that which her brother would fain 
 have her attended by, not that she has no train whatever. 
 Antony's concluding words to her are, "Provide your going; 
 choose your own company, and command what cost, " &c. ; 
 therefore it is to be supposed that her own moderation has 
 chosen to be escorted by what appears to her brother to be a 
 very inadequate train. 
 
 39. Obstruct. The Folio prints 'abstract' for "obstruct." 
 Theobald's correction, made at Warburton's suggestion. It is 
 probably the word intended by Shakespeare, as an abbreviated 
 form of * obstruction.' 
 
 40. IVho now are levying the 'kings, <5r--c. " Who " is here 
 used in reference to Antony and Cleopatra ; signifying ' which 
 two persons.' 
 
 41. Pjlemoti and Amyntas, the kings of Bfede and Lycaonia 
 Upton proposed to alter this to ' Polemon and Amyntas, of 
 Lycaonia ; and the king of Mede,' as being more accurate : but 
 as the words in the text are probably what Shakespeare wrote, 
 
 The kings of Mede and Lycaonia,'*' 
 With a more larger list of sceptres. 
 
 Oct. Ah ! me most wretched 
 
 That have my heart parted betwixt two friends 
 That do afflict each other ! 
 
 Cces. Welcome hither : 
 
 Your letters did withhold our breaking forth ; 
 Till we perceiv'd, both how you were wrong 
 
 And we in negligent danger.^^ Cheer your 
 heart : 
 
 Be you not troubled with the time, which drives 
 O'er your content these strong necessities ; 
 But let determin'd things to destiny 
 Hold unbewail'd their way. Welcome to Rome ; 
 Nothing more dear to me. You are abus'd 
 Beyond the mark of thought : and the high 
 gods. 
 
 To do you justice, make their ministers'** 
 
 Of us and those that love you. Best of comfort ; 
 
 And ever welcome to us. 
 
 Jgr. Welcome, lady. 
 
 Mec. Welcome, dear madam. 
 Each heart in Rome does love and pity you : 
 Only the adulterous Antony, most large 
 In his abominations, turns you off; 
 And gives his potent regiment ''^ to a trull, 
 That noises it against us. 
 
 Oct. Is it so, sir? 
 
 Cas. Most certain. Sister, welcome: pray 
 you, 
 
 Be ever known to patience: my dearest sister ! 
 
 \_Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE VIL — Antony's Camp, near the Pro- 
 montory of Actium. 
 
 Enter Cleopatra and Enobarbus. 
 
 Cleo. I will be even with thee, doubt it not. 
 Eno. But why, why, why? 
 
 we leave them untouched. This is the catalogue of enlisted 
 kings to which we referred in Note 25 of the present Act as 
 affording support to the reading there discussed. 
 
 42. Htnv you were wrong led. Capell and others change 
 "wrong led" to 'wrong'd;' hut we think that "wrong led" 
 here means ' misled as to Antony's being in Athens,' and ' misled 
 into coming hither,' Octavia having said, " Whereon, I begg'd 
 his pardon for return." 
 
 43. And we i^t negligent danger. *And we in danger of 
 being negligent ; ' ' and we in danger from negligence.' Shake- 
 speare's mode of using an elliptical epithet has frequently been 
 pointed out [by us. See Note ii, Act iv., " King Lear ;" and 
 Note 7, Act iv., "Othello." 
 
 44. Make their ministers. The first Folio prints ' makes 
 his' for " make their." Theobald's correction. 
 
 ^S. Regiment. 'Rule,' 'power,' 'command,' 'authority,' 
 'government.' Spenser, in his "Faery Queene, " Book IL, 
 Canto X., uses the word in this sense : 
 
 " So when he had resign'd his j-egiment." 
 
Act III.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene VII. 
 
 Cleo. Thou hast forspoke-*^ my being in these 
 wars, 
 
 And say'st it is not fit. 
 
 Eno. Well, is it, is it ? 
 
 Cleo. If not denounc'd against us, why should 
 not we 
 Be there in person ? 
 
 Eno. [Aside.] Well, I could reply : — 
 
 Cleo. What is 't you say ? 
 
 Eno. Your presence needs must puzzle Antony; 
 Take from his heart, take from his brain, from 's 
 time, 
 
 What should not then be spar'd. He is already 
 Traduc'd for levity; and 'tis said in Rome 
 That Photinus a minstrel and your maids 
 Manage this war. 
 
 Cleo. Sink Rome, and their tongues rot 
 
 That speak against us ! A charge we bear i' the 
 w ar. 
 
 And, as the president of my kingdom, will 
 Appear there for a man. Speak not against it ; 
 I will not stay behind. 
 
 Eno. Nay, I have done. 
 
 Here comes the emperor. 
 
 Enter Antony and Canidius. 
 
 Ant. Is it not strange, Canidius, 
 
 That from Tarentum and Brundusium 
 He could so quickly cut the Ionian sea. 
 And take in^^ Toryne P — You have heard on 't, 
 sweet ? 
 
 Cleo. Celerity is never more admir'd 
 Than by the negligent. 
 
 Ant. A good rebuke, 
 
 Which might have well become the best of men, 
 To taunt at slackness. — Canidius, we 
 Will fight with him by sea. 
 
 Cleo. By sea ! what else ? 
 
 Can. Why will my lord do so ? 
 
 Ant. For that he dares us to 't. 
 
 Eno. So hath my lord dar'd him to single fight. 
 
 Can. Ay, and to wage this battle at Pharsalia, 
 Where Cassar fought with Pompey: but these 
 offers, 
 
 Which serve not for his vantage, he shakes off ; 
 And so should you. 
 
 Eno. Your ships are not well mann'd, — 
 
 Your mariners are muleteers, reapers, people 
 Ingross'd by swift impress ; in Csesar's fleet 
 
 46. Forspoke. ' Spoken against,' ' gainsaid.' 
 
 47. If not denounc'd agamst us. ' If it be not interdicted,' 
 ' if there be not absolute proclamation prohibiting us from doing 
 so.' Inasmuch as Shakespeare uses " denunciation " with the 
 sense it bears in the passage pointed out in Note 27, Act i., 
 " Measure for Measure," we think it probable that he employs 
 " denounc'd " here to express the meaning we have given. 
 
 48. Take in. ' Vanquish,' ' subdue,' ' take by conquest' See 
 Note 61, Act iii., " Coriolanus." 
 
 Are those that often have 'gainst Pompey tought : 
 Their ships are yare ;^' yours, heavy : no disgrace 
 Shall fall you for refusing him at sea. 
 Being prepar'd for land. 
 
 Ant. By sea, by sea. 
 
 Eno. Most worthy sir, you therein throw away 
 The absolute soldiership you have by land ; 
 Distract your army, which doth most consist 
 Of war-mark'd footmen ; leave unexecuted 
 Your own renowned knowledge ; quite forego 
 The way which promises assurance ; and 
 Give up yourself merely to chance and hazard. 
 From firm security. 
 
 Ant. I'll fight at sea. 
 
 Cleo. I have sixty sails, Caesar none better. 
 
 Ant. Our overplus of shipping will we burn ; 
 And, with the rest fuU-mann'd, from the head of 
 Actium 
 
 Beat th' approaching Csesar. But if we fail, 
 We then can do 't at land. 
 
 Enter a Messenger. 
 
 Thy business ? 
 Mess. The news is true, my lord ; he is 
 descried ; 
 Csesar has taken Toryne. 
 
 Ant. Can he be there in person ? 'tis impossible ; 
 Strange that his power should be. — Canidius, 
 Our nineteen legions thou shalt hold by land. 
 And our twelve thousand horse. — We'll to our 
 ship: 
 
 Away, my Thetis l^o 
 
 Enter a Soldier. * 
 
 How now, worthy soldier! 
 Sold. Oh, noble emperor, do not fight by sea ; 
 Trust not to rotten planks : do you misdoubt 
 This sword and these my wounds? Let the 
 
 Egyptians 
 And the PhcEnicians go a-ducking : we 
 Have us'd to conquer, standing on the earth. 
 And fighting foot to foot. 
 Ant. Well, well : — away I 
 
 \_Exeunt Antony, Cleopatra, and 
 Enobarbus. 
 
 Sold. By Hercules, I think I am i' the right. 
 Can. Soldier, thou art : but his whole action 
 grows 
 
 Not in the power on 't so our leader 's led, 
 
 49. Yare. 'Alertly ready,' ' well prepared,' 'nimble.' See 
 Note 49, Act ii. 
 
 50. My Tlietis. Antony calls Cleopatra by the sea-nymph's 
 name, because she is about to become his goddess in this naval 
 expedition. 
 
 51. His whole action grmvs net in the prMcr on 'i ' His 
 whole course of action proceeds not wherein its chief power 
 lies : ' 'his entire action takes not the course where its best 
 strength is found.' Canidius is censuring Antony for refusing to 
 
Act III.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [SCEXK. VII 
 
 And we are women's men. 
 
 Sold. You keep by land 
 
 The legions and the horse whole, do you not ? 
 
 CanJ^ Marcus Octavius, Marcus Justeius, 
 Publicola, and Caelius, are for sea: 
 But we keep whole by land. This speed of 
 
 Csesar's 
 Carries beyond belief 
 
 Soid. While he was yet in Rome, 
 
 His power went out in such distractions"^ as 
 Beguil'd all spies. 
 
 Can. Who 's his lieutenant, hear you ? 
 
 Sold. They say, one Taurus. 
 
 Can. Well I know the man. 
 
 Enter a Messenger. 
 Mess. The emperor calls Canidius. 
 Can. With news the time's with labour; and 
 throes forth. 
 
 Each minute, some. \_Exeu':t. 
 
 Enter Canidius, marching lutih his land army 
 one 'way; and Taurus, the Lieutenant of 
 C.'ESAR., -Tuith his army, the other luay. After 
 they are gone, the noise of a sea-fight is heard. 
 
 Alar 
 
 Re-enter Eiiobarbus. 
 
 Eno. Naught, naughtj all naught! I can behold 
 I no longer : 
 
 ! The Antoniad,'' the Egyptian admiral, 
 ! With all their sixty, flv, and tui 
 
 turn the rudder : 
 
 To see 't mine eyes are blasted. 
 
 Scar 
 
 Enter ScARus. 
 
 Gods and goddesses, 
 
 SCENE VIII.- A Plain near Actium. 
 
 Enter C^sar, Taurus, Officers, and others. 
 
 Cces. Taurus, — 
 Taur. My lord ? 
 
 Cces. Strike not by land ; keep whole : provoke 
 not battle. 
 
 Till we have done at sea. Do not exceed 
 The prescript of this scroll : our fortune lies 
 Upon this jump. 5^ [^Excu}ii. 
 
 Enter Antony and Enobarbus. 
 Ant. Set we our squadrons on yon side o" the 
 hill. 
 
 In eye of Cssar's battle; from which place 
 
 We may the number of the ships behold. 
 
 And so proceed accordingly. \Exeunt. 
 
 fight by land, where his greatest power is, and for allowing 
 himself to be biased by a woman's will. 
 
 52. Can. This prefix is Pope's correction, and the speech 
 seems naturally to belong to Canidius. The Folio gives ' Ven.,' 
 instead of "Can.;" but as neither Ventidius nor any other 
 character whose name begins thus figures in this scene, it is 
 probable that R[r. Collier is right when ho suggests that Ven. 
 was meant "perhaps for Vennard, an actor in the part of 
 Canidius." 
 
 53. DUlraciions. ' Detachments.' ' separate bodies.' 
 
 54. This jump. 'This chance,' 'this venture,' 'this risk.' 
 See Note 112, Act i., " Macbeth." 
 
 53. Tlii Antoniad. Plutarch mentions this as the name of 
 Cleopatra's ship. 
 
 56. Cantle. 'Portion,' 'fragment,* 'corner.' See Note 18, 
 Act iii., " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 57. The token' d pestilence. The propriety here of the 
 epithet " token'd " will be perceived on reference to Note 105, 
 Act V , " Love's Labour's Lo^t." 
 
 All the whole synod of them 1 
 Eno. What 's thy passion ? 
 
 Scar. The greater cantle^^ of the world is 
 lost 
 
 With very ignorance ; we have kiss'd away 
 
 Kingdoms and provinces. 
 J Eno. How appears the fight 1-* 
 
 : Scar. On our side like the token'd pestilence,*' 
 j Where death is sure. Yon ribald-rid** nag of 
 I Egypt,- 
 
 Whom leprosy o'ertake ! — i' the midst o' the 
 
 ! fight. 
 
 When vantage like a pair of twins appe-ir'd, 
 Botli as the same, or rather ours the elder,*' — 
 The brize*" upon her, like a cow in June, — 
 ' Hoists sails and flies. 
 E'lo. That I beheld : 
 Mine eyes did sicken at the sight, and could not 
 Endure a farther view. 
 
 Scar. She once being loof'd,^' 
 
 The noble ruin of her magic, Antony, 
 Claps on his sea-wing, and, like a doting mallard, ^- 
 Leaving the fight in height, flies after her : 
 I never saw an action of such shame ; 
 , Experience, manhood, honour, ne'er before 
 i Did violate so itself 
 
 Eno. Alack, alack I 
 
 Z'i. Ribald-rid. The Folio prints this ' ribaudred.' Maloue's 
 correction, suggested by Steevens. , 
 
 59. Or ratlier ours the elder. Here "elder" is used with 
 the same inclusive sense of ' better,' ' superior,' as well 
 as 'older,' which we pointed out in Note 81, Act ii., 
 "Julius Caesar;" and the one passage affords illustration of 
 the other. 
 
 60. TItebrize. ' The gad-fly.' See Note 51, Act i., " Troilus 
 and Cressida." 
 
 6r. Loofd. A sea term, modemly spelt and pronounced 
 'luffed.' It means ' brought close to the wind,' 'sailed before 
 the wind,' ' went to windward.' 
 
 e^z. Mallard. The drake of the wild duck. Falstaffhas two 
 allusions to the extreme timidity of the wild duck ; in the 
 "First Part Henr>' IV.," Act ii., sc. 2, he says, "There's 
 no more valour in that Poins than in a wild duck ; " and 
 in Act iv., sc. 2 of the same play, he -says, "Such as fear 
 the report of a caliver worse than a struck fowl, or a hurt wiid 
 duck." 
 
 TOL. in. 
 
Act III.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA 
 
 [Scene IX. 
 
 Enter Canidius. 
 
 Can. Our fortune on the sea is out of breath, 
 And sinks most lamentably. Had our general 
 Been what he knew himself, it had gone well : 
 Oh, he has given example for our flight. 
 Most grossly, by his own ! 
 
 Eno. Ay, are you thereabouts 
 
 Why, then, good night indeed. 
 
 Can. Toward Peloponnesus are they fled. 
 
 Scar. 'Tis easy to 't ; and there I will attend 
 What farther comes. 
 
 Can. To Cajsar will I render 
 
 My legions and my horse : six kings already 
 Show me the way of yielding. 
 
 Eno. I'll yet follow 
 
 The wounded chance of Antony, though my reason 
 Sits in the wind against me. \_Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE IX. — Alexandria. A Room in the 
 Palace. 
 
 Enter Antony and Attendants. 
 
 Ant. Hark ! the land bids me tread no more 
 upon 't. 
 
 It is asham'd to bear me ! — Friends, come hither : 
 I am so lated^* in the world, that I 
 Have lost my way for ever : — I have a ship 
 Laden with gold ; take that, divide it ; fly. 
 And make your peace with Csesar. 
 
 Attendts. Fly ! not we. 
 
 Ant. I have fled myself; and have instructed 
 cowards 
 
 To run and show their shoulders. — Friends, be 
 gone, 
 
 1 have myself resolv'd upon a course 
 Which has no need of you ; be gone 
 My treasure 's in the harbour, take it. — Oh, 
 I foUow'd that I blush to look upon : 
 
 63. Are you i/ureaiouis ? An idiomatic phrase, equivalent to 
 ' Is that your way of thinking ? ' ' Is that your opinion ? ' " Good 
 night" is another idiomatic phrase, explained in Note 78, Act i., 
 " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 64. Lated. ' Belated,' ' benighted.' The word occurs in 
 " Macbeth," Act iii., sc. 3 : " Now spurs the lated traveller apace 
 to gain the timely inn." 
 
 65. Let that he left which leaves itself. The Folio prints 
 ' them ' here instead of " that." Capell's correction. 
 
 66. Nay, do se ; for, indeed, I have lost command. ' Nay, 
 let me entreat you to leave me ; for it is true that I have lost all 
 power to command you to go.' 
 
 67. Sir, sir, — Ves, my lord, yes. One of those retorts which 
 we have pointed out as frequently used by Shakespeare ; ck- 
 pressing sometimes playfulness, sometimes petulance. See Note 
 104, Act i., "King Lear." Antony replies curtly to Eros, 
 and immediately re-plunges into 'his reverie respecting Csesar's 
 previous inferiority to himself in military skill. 
 
 68. Ke/,/ his siuord ecn lilic a dancer. Implying 'kept his 
 
 My very hairs do mutiny ; for the white 
 Reprove the brown for rashness, and they them 
 For fear and doting. — Friends, be gone : you shall 
 Have letters from me to some friends that will 
 Sweep your way for you. Pray you, look not sad, 
 Nor make replies of loathness : take the hint 
 Which my despair proclaims ; let that be left 
 Which leaves itself: to the sea-side straightway : 
 I will posse.ss you of that ship and treasure. 
 Leave me, I pray, a little: 'pray you now : — 
 Nay, do so ; for, indeed, I have lost command, 
 Therefore I pray you :— I '11 see you by-and-by. 
 
 {Sits, douon. 
 
 Enter Cleopatra, led by Charmian and Iras ; 
 Eros follonjuing. 
 
 Eros. Nay, gentle madam, to him, — comfort 
 him. 
 
 Iras. Do, most dear queen. 
 
 Char. Do ! Why, what else ? 
 
 Cleo. Let me sit down. O Juno! • 
 
 Ant. No, no, no, no, no. 
 
 Eros. See you here, sir ? 
 
 Ant. Oh, fie, fie, fie ! 
 
 Char. Madam, — 
 
 Iras. Madam, oh, good empress,— 
 
 Eros. Sir, sir, — 
 
 Ant, Yes, my lord, yes; ^ — he at Philippi kept 
 His sword e'en like a dancer ;^3 while I struck 
 The lean and wrinkled Cassius ; and 'twas I 
 That the mad Brutus ended : he alone 
 Dealt on lieutenantry,^^ and no practice had 
 In the brave squares of war: yet now — No matter. 
 
 Cleo. Ah ! stand by. 
 
 Eros. The queen, my lord, the queen. • 
 Iras. Go to him, madam, speak to him : 
 He is unqualified'''' with very shame. 
 Cleo. Well then, — sustain me : — oh ! 
 Eros. Most noble sir, arise; the queen ap- 
 proaches : 
 
 Her head 's declin'd, and death will seize her,'' but 
 
 by a dancer than one 
 "Airs Well," where 
 
 sword in its sheath more like one wo 
 used by a warrior.' See Note 9, Act i 
 the practice alluded to is explained. 
 
 69. He alotie dealt on lieuienantry . ' He dealt solety in 
 lieutenantry,' 'he acted merely through his lieutenants,' 'he 
 made war only by means of his lieutenants.' "Alone" is used 
 in the sense of ' solely,' ' only ; ' "on " is employed for ' in' (see 
 Note 28, Act v., " Henry V.") ; and "lieutenantry" is here 
 used for a body of lieutenants, as ' tenantry ' is for a body of 
 tenants, or 'infantry' for a body of foot-soldiers. In North's 
 
 j " Plutarch" the historian mentions that it was said of Antony and 
 Caesar, "They were alway more fortunate when they made 
 
 I warre by ilieir lieutenants than by themselves ;" and in the 
 first scene of the present Act Ventidius says, " Csesar and 
 Antony have ever won more in their officer than person." 
 
 j 70. Unqualitied. Here used to express ' deprived of his 
 
 . natural faculties,' ' divested of his usual qualities of courage and 
 splilt.' See Note 97, Act i. , "Othello." 
 
 ! 71. Death ivill seize her. The first Folio has 'cease' for 
 642 
 
 1 
 
Act III.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene X. 
 
 Your comfort makes the rescue. ^2 
 
 Ant. I have offended reputation, — 
 A most unnoble swerving. 
 
 Eros. Sir, the queen. 
 
 Ant. Oh, whither hast thou led me, Egypt ? See, 
 How I convey my shame out of thine eyes?* 
 By looking back what I have left behind 
 'Stroy'd in dishonour. 
 
 Cleo. Oh, my lord, my lord, 
 
 Forgive my fearful sails ! I little thought 
 You would have follow'd. 
 
 Ant. Egyp^ t^o*^ knew'st too well 
 
 My heart was to thy rudder tied by the strings. 
 And thou shouldst tow!'-' after : o'er my spirit 
 Thy full supremacy 7' thou knew'st, and that 
 Thy beck might from the bidding of the gods 
 Command me. 
 
 Cleo. Oh, my pardon ! 
 
 Ant. Now I must 
 
 To the young man send humble treaties, dodge 
 And palter in the shifts of lowness ; who 
 With half the bulk o' the world play'd as I pleas'd, 
 Making and marring fortunes. You did know 
 How much you were my conqueror ; and that 
 My sword, made weak by my affection, would 
 Obey it on all cause. 
 
 Cleo. Pardon, pardon ! 
 
 Ant. Fall not a tear, I say ; one of them rates ^ 
 All that is won and lost : give me a kiss ; 
 Even this repays me. — We sent our school- 
 master 
 
 Is he come back ? — Love, I am full of lead. — 
 Some wine, within there, and our viands ! — ^Fortune 
 knows 
 
 We scorn her most when most she offers blows. ' 
 
 {Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE X.—Cjes\k's Camp in Egypt. 
 Enter C^sar, Dolabella, Thyreus, and others. 
 
 Cas. Let him appear that's come from Antony. — 
 Know you him ? 
 
 "seize;" and althou^jh to * cease ' was sometimes used as an 
 active verb in Shakespeare's time (see Note 4, Act ii. , " Timon of 
 Athens "), yet the word " rescue " in the present sentence malces 
 it probable that "seize " was the word here intended. 
 
 72. But your comfort, " But" is here used in the sense 
 of ' unless.' See Note 15, Act ii., " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 73. How I convey my shame out of, &^c. ' How I take my 
 shame out of thy sight by letting my eyes, instead of meeting 
 thine, look back upon all that I have left behind me, lost in dis- 
 honour.' We have several times before pointed out how 
 peculiarly and elliptically Shakespeare uses the verb ' to look.' 
 See Note 11, Act iv., "Merry Wives of Windsor;' and 
 Note 146, Act iv., "Winter's Tale." 
 
 74. To!u. Misprinted ' stowe ' in the Folio. Rowe's correc- 
 tion. 
 
 75. O'er my spirit thy full supremacy. The Folio has ' the ' 
 for " thy " here. Theobald' 
 
 Dol. Cassar, 'tis his schoolmaster: 
 
 An argument that he is pluck'd, when hither 
 He sends so poor a pinion of his wing, 
 Which had superfluous kings for messengers 
 Not many moons gone by. 
 
 Enter Euphronius. 
 
 Cccs. Approach, and speak. 
 
 Eufb. Such as [ am, I come from Antony : 
 I was of late as petty to his ends 
 As is the morn-dew on the myrtle leaf 
 To his grand sea.^o 
 
 CcBs. Be 't so : — declare thine office. 
 
 Euph. Lord of his fortunes he salutes thee, 
 and 
 
 Requires to live in Egypt : which not granted. 
 He lessens his requests ; and to thee sues 
 To let him breathe between the heavens and 
 earth, 
 
 A private man in Athens: this for him. 
 Next, Cleopatra does confess thy greatness; 
 Submits her to thy might ; and of thee craves 
 The circle*' of the Ptolemies for her heirs. 
 Now hazarded to thy grace. 
 
 Gas. For Antony, 
 
 1 have no ears to his request. The queen 
 Of audience nor desire shall fail, so she 
 From Egypt drive her all-disgraced friend, 
 Or take his life there : this if she perform. 
 She shall not sue unheard. So to them both. 
 
 Euph. Fortune pursue thee ! 
 
 Cies. Bring him through the bands. 
 
 {Exit Euphronius. 
 [To Thyr.] To try thy eloquence, now 'tis time : 
 despatch ; 
 
 From Antony win Cleopatra : promise, 
 And in our name, what she requires ; add more. 
 From thine invention, offers : women are not 
 In their best fortunes strong ; but want will 
 perjure 
 
 The ne'er-touch'd vestal : try thy cunning, 
 Thyreus ; 
 
 76. Fall. ' Drop,' ' let fall." See Note 30, Act iv., " Othello." 
 
 77. Rates. Here used for ' equals in value.' 
 
 78. Our schoolmaster. Meaning Euphronius, who was 
 preceptor to Antony's children by Cleopatra. 
 
 79. Which liad superfluous kings. "Which" used for 
 ' who.' 
 
 80. As is the mom-dew on t/te myrtle leaf to his grand sea. 
 Here 'compared' is elliptically understood before "to," and 
 " his" is used for ' its.' Shakespeare's poetic philosophy treats 
 the sea as the source of atmospheric moisture generally— of dew 
 as well as of rain. See the context of passage referred to in Note 
 90, Act iv., " Timon of Athens ;" " The sun 's a thief, and with 
 his great attraction robs the vast sea." 
 
 81. The circle. Here used for 'the crown,' ' the diadem.' 
 
 82. Friend. Sometimes used in Shakespeare's time for 
 ' lover' (see Note 71, Act iii., " Romeo and Juliet") ; and here 
 disdainfully used for ' paramour,' 
 
 83. Thyreus. The Folio gives this name thus, 'Thidias;' 
 
Act III.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene XI. 
 
 Make thine own edict for thy pains, which we 
 Will answer as a law, 
 
 Thyr. Csesar, I go. 
 
 Cas. Observe how Antony becomes his flaw.^' 
 And what thou think'st his very action speaks 
 In every power that moves. 
 
 Thyr, Cssar, I shall. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE XI. — Alexandria. J Room in the 
 Palace. 
 
 Enter Cleopatra, Enobarbus, Charmian, and 
 Iras. 
 
 Cleo. What shall we do, Enobarbus ? 
 
 Eno. Think, and die.'* 
 
 Cleo. Is Antony or we in fault for this ? 
 
 Eno. Antony only, that would make his will 
 Lord of his reason. What though you fled 
 From that great face of war, whose several ranges 
 Frighted each other; why should he follow ? 
 The itch of his affection should not then 
 Have nick'd^? his captainship ; at such a point. 
 When half to half the world oppos'd, he being 
 The mer^d question:** 'twas a shame no less 
 Than was his loss, to course your flying flags, 
 And leave his navy gazing. 
 
 Cleo. Pr'ythee, peace. 
 
 Enter Antony, 'vcith Euphronius. 
 
 Ant. Is that his answer ? 
 Euph. Ay, my lord. 
 
 Ant. The queen shall, then, have courtesy, so 
 she 
 
 Will yield us up. 
 
 Euph. He says so. 
 
 probably by a misprint, as North's " Plutarch" has " Thyreus." 
 Theobald made the correction. 
 
 84. HoTu Antony becomes his JIatu. "Becomes" is here 
 used to express ' makes becoming,' ' suffers to befit him,' or 
 • comforts himself beneath' (see Note 51, Act ii.) ; and " flaw" 
 is employed with double force, to express ' breach of fortune,' 
 ' cracked fortune,' and ' tempest of fortune, ' storm of fortune.' 
 See previous context of Note 102, Act v., " Love's Labour's 
 Lost ; " and Note 39, Act v., " Coriolanus." 
 
 85. Think, and die. To " think " is here used with the same 
 sense that to " take thought" formerly bore — to ' take to heart,' 
 to 'grieve,' to 'give way to sorrowful pensiveness.' See Note 
 35, Act ii., " Julius Cxsar." 
 
 86. That grjat face of war, wlwse several ranges. It has 
 been proposed to alter "ranges" to 'rages,' here ; but we take 
 "face" to be used in the sense of 'front,' and "ranges" to 
 represent the several ranks of armed men and war-gallies drawn 
 up in formidable array during the late sea-fight. 
 
 87. Nick'd. Equivalent to 'befooled,' or 'set the mark of 
 folly upon;' in allusion to the practice explained in Note 17, 
 Act v., '• Comedy of Errors." 
 
 88. The ineri'd question. We think it probable that " mer^d 
 is a word framed by Shakespeare from " mere," in its sense of 
 
 Ant. Let her know it. 
 
 To the boy Csesar send this grizzled head. 
 And he will fill thy wishes to the bnm 
 With principalities. 
 
 Cleo. That head, my lord ? 
 
 Am. To him again: tell him he wears the rose 
 Of youth upon him ; from which the world should 
 note 
 
 Something particular: his coin, ships, legions 
 May be a coward's; whose ministers would prevail 
 Under the service of a child as soon 
 As i' the command of Csesar: I dare him there- 
 fore 
 
 To lay his gay comparisons*^ apart. 
 
 And answer me declin'd,^" sword against sword. 
 
 Ourselves alone. I'll write it : follow me. 
 
 \_Exeunt Antony and Euphronius. 
 Eno. [Aside.] Yes, like enough, high-battled 
 Cssar will 
 
 Unstate his happiness, and be stag'd to the show,'-" 
 Against a sworder! I see men's judgments are 
 A parcel of their fortunes ; and things outward 
 Do draw the inward quality after them. 
 To suffer all alike. That he should dream. 
 Knowing all measures, the full Csesar will 
 Answer his emptiness ! — Caesar, thou hast subdu'd 
 His judgment too. 
 
 Enter an Attendant. 
 
 Att. A messenger from Caesar. 
 
 Cleo. What ! no more ceremony ? — See, my 
 women ! — 
 
 Against the blown rose may they stop their nose 
 That kneel'd unto the buds. — Admit him, sir. 
 
 [Exit Attendant. 
 Eno. [Aside.] Mine lionesty and I begin to 
 square.'* 
 
 The loyalty well held to fools does make 
 
 'absolute,' 'entire,' 'sole' (see Note 49, Act ii., "Othello"), 
 and " mere " in the sense which it bore of ' boundary ' or ' limit ; ' 
 so that the sentence here expresses ' he being the sole person in 
 question,' 'the question being limited entirely to himself and 
 his cause,' ' the question being confined absolutely to the settle- 
 
 89. Comparisons. Here used to express the ' comparatI\'e 
 advantages' which Octavius possesses, as just cited by Antony 
 — ^" the rose of youth," "his coin, ships, legions" — in all of 
 which the speaker is now deficient. 
 
 go. Declined. Elliptically employed to express ' declined in 
 age and power.' Shakespeare thus uses the same word in 
 " King Lear," Act i., sc. 2 : " Sons at perfect age, and fathers 
 declined." 
 
 91. Stag'd to the show. ' Exhibited, like conflicting gla- 
 diators, to the public gaze.' 
 
 92. To suffer all alike. Here "suffer" appears to us to be 
 used elliptically ; signifying ' suffer abatement,' ' suffer diminu- 
 tion,' 'suffer deterioration,' 'suffer declension.' We have fre- 
 quently had occasion to point out the elliptical force with 
 which Shakespeare uses the verb " suffer." See Note 86, 
 Act i. 
 
 <^T,. Square. ' Quarrel," ' differ.' See Note 11, Act ii. 
 
Act III.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA.. 
 
 [Scene XI. 
 
 Our faith mere folly: yet he that can endure 
 To follow with allegiance a fall'n lord, 
 Does conquer him that did his master conquer, 
 And earns a place i' the story.^* 
 
 Enter Thyreus. 
 
 Cleo. C»3ar's will f 
 
 Thyr. Hear it apart. 
 
 Cleo. None but friends : say boldly. 
 
 Thyr. So, haplv, are they friends to Antony. 
 
 Eno. He needs as many, sir, as Caesar has ; 
 Or needs not us. If Caesar please, our master 
 Will leap to be his friend : for us, you know 
 Whose he is we are, and that is, Csesar's. 
 
 Thyr. So. — 
 
 Thus then, thou most renown'd : Caesar entreats, 
 Not to consider in what case thou stand'st. 
 Farther than he is Caesar."* 
 
 Cleo. Go on : right royal. 
 
 Thyr. He knows that you embrace not Antony 
 As you did love, but as you fear'd him. 
 
 Cleo. Oh ! 
 
 Thyr. The scars upon your honour, therefore, 
 he 
 
 Does pity, as constrained blemishes. 
 Not as deserv'd. 
 
 Cleo. He is a god, and knows 
 
 What is most right: mine honour was not yielded, 
 But conquer'd merely. 
 
 Eno. [AsitJe.] To be sure of that, 
 I will ask Antony. — Sir, sir, thou art so leaky. 
 That we must leave thee to thy sinking, for 
 Thy dearest quit thee. [Exit. 
 
 Thyr. Shall I say to Caesar 
 
 What you require of him ? for he partly begs 
 To be desir'd to give. It much would please 
 him. 
 
 That of his fortunes you should make a staff 
 To lean upon: but it would warm his spirits, 
 To hear from me you had left Antony, 
 And put yourself under his shroud. 
 The universal landlord. 
 
 94. Earns a place i' the story. Equivalent to ' is entitled to 
 be considered a hero.' 
 
 95. Farther than he is Cessar. The first Folio adds an s 
 after CaDsar. Corrected in the second Folio. The sentence, as 
 it stands, implies ' farther than that he is Caesar— therefore 
 both able and willing to remedy thy present condition.* 
 
 96. In disputation I kiss his conqiCring hand. "Disputa- 
 tion" has been changed by Theobald and others to ' deputation ' 
 here, while Mr. Staunton proposes ' disposition : ' but we think, 
 judging by the way in which Shakespeare uses "disputation" 
 and "disputations" elsewhere (see "that's a feeling disputa- 
 tion," in " First Part Henry IV.," Act iii., sc. i, and "a few 
 disputations .... in the way of arg iment" in " Henry V.," 
 Act iii., sc. 2: also, "dispute" in the passage referred to in 
 Note 49, Act iii , " Romjo and Juliet"), it is evident that "in 
 disputation I kiss his conqu'ring hand" means, ' I defer to him 
 in debating terms,' ' I da not attempt to parley with him.' It 
 appears to us that the whole context, not only of the pre- 
 
 Cleo. What's your name ? 
 
 Tbjr. My name is Thyreus. 
 
 Cleo. Most kind messenger. 
 
 Say to great Caesar this: — in disputation 
 I kiss his conqu'ring hand:'^ ^^\\ j^jj^^ 
 prompt 
 
 To lay my crown at 's feet, and there to kneel : 
 Tell him, from his all-obeying breath I hear 
 The doom of Egypt. 
 
 Thyr. 'Tis your noblest course. 
 
 Wisdom and fortune combating together, 
 If that the former dare but what it can. 
 No chance may shake it. Give me grace'* to lay 
 My duty on your hand. 
 
 Cleo. Your Cassar's father «9 oft, 
 
 When he hath mus'd of taking kingdoms in,'"" 
 Bestow'd his lips on that unworthy place. 
 As it rain'd kisses. 
 
 Re-enter Antony and Enobarbus. 
 Ant. Favours, by Jove that thunders ! — 
 
 What art thou, fellow ? 
 
 Thyr. One that but performs 
 
 The bidding of the fullest man,"" and worthiest 
 To have command obey'd. 
 
 Eno. [Aside.'] You will be whipp'd. 
 
 Ant. Approach, there ! — Ay, you kite ! — Now, 
 gods and devils ! 
 Authority melts from me: of late, when I cried, 
 "Ho!" 
 
 Like boys unto a muss,"'^ kings would start forth, 
 And cry, " Your will ? " — Have you no ears ? I am 
 Antony yet. 
 
 Enter Attendants. 
 Take hence this Jack,'"^ and whip him. 
 Evo. [Aside.] j'Tis better playing with a lion's 
 whelp, 
 
 Than with an old one dying. 
 
 Ant. Moon and stars ! — 
 
 Whip him. — Were 't twenty of the greatest 
 tributaries 
 
 sent speech, but of the entire dialogue, shows this to be the 
 interpretation, and that the original word "disputation" is 
 right. 
 
 97. His all-obeying breath. ' His breath obeyed by all.' 
 
 98. Give me grace. ' Grant me the favour.' 
 
 99. Vour Ctesar's father. Meaning Julius Csesar. See 
 Note 35 of this Act. 
 
 100. Taking kingdoms in. ' Conquering kingdoms.' See 
 Note 48 of the present Act. 
 
 101. The fullest man. 'The completest man," 'the most 
 fully exalted man.' See Note 8, Act ii., " Othello." 
 
 102. A muss. ' A scramble.' Ben Jonson uses the word in 
 his "Bartholomew Fair" and his " Magnetick Lady;" and 
 Dryden, in the Prologue to " Widow Ranter :" 
 
 " Bauble and cap no sooner are thrown down, 
 But there 's a muss of more than half the town." 
 
 103. This Jack. See Note 14, Act. v., "Much Ado." 
 
Act III.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA, 
 
 [Scene XL 
 
 That do acknowledge Csesar, should I find them 
 So saucy with the hand of— she here, what's her 
 name, 
 
 Since she was Cleopatra pi"*— Whip him, fellows, 
 Till, like a boy, you see him cringe his face. 
 And whine aloud for mercy: take him hence. 
 Thyr. Mark Antony, — 
 
 Ant. Tug him away: being whipp'd. 
 
 Bring him again :— this Jack of Csesar's shall 
 
 Bear us an errand to him. 
 
 lExeunt Attendants 'with Thyreus. 
 
 You were half blasted ere I knew you: — ha ! 
 
 Have I my pillow left unpress'd in Rome, 
 
 Forborne the getting of a lawful race. 
 
 And by a gem of women, to be abus'd 
 
 By one that looks on feeders 
 Cleo. Good my lord, — 
 
 Ant. You have been a boggier ever :— '■ 
 
 But when we in our viciousness grow hard 
 
 (Oh, misery on 't !), the wise gods seel'"" our eyes ; 
 
 In our own filth drop our clear judgments; 
 make us 
 
 Adore our errors ; laugh at 's, while we strut 
 To our confusion. 
 
 Cleo. Oh ! is 't come to this ? 
 
 Ant. I found you as a morsel cold upon 
 Dead Cssar's trencher; nay, you were a fragment 
 Of Cneius Pompey's ; besides what hotter hours, 
 Unregister'd in vulgar fame, you have 
 Luxuriously pick'd out : for, I am sure. 
 Though you can guess what temperance should be, 
 You know not what it is. 
 
 Cleo. Wherefore is this ? 
 
 Ant. To let a fellow that will take rewards, 
 And say, " God quit you !" be familiar with 
 My playfellow, your hand ; this kingly seal 
 And plighter of high hearts! — Oh, that I were 
 Upon the hill of Basan, to outroar 
 The hornfed herd ! for I have savage cause ; 
 And to proclaim it civilly, were like 
 A halter'd neck which does the hangman thank 
 For being yare'^^ about him. 
 
 Re-enter Attendants, luith Thyreus. 
 
 Is he whipp'd ? 
 First Att. Soundly, my lord. 
 
 104. Since she was Cleopatra. 
 was Cleopatra.' 
 
 105. One that looks 
 menials.' "Feeders" 
 vants ' formerly ; and \ 
 
 106. Seel. ' Blind ; ' 
 
 ' Since the time when- she 
 
 t feeders. 
 >d 'eater 
 re tht 
 close. 
 
 ' One that deigns to notice 
 ers ' were nicknames for ' ser- 
 uscd by the elder dramatists, 
 'fasten from the use of sight.' 
 
 See Note 35, Act iii., " Othello." 
 
 107. Civilly. 'Staidly,' ' soberly,' ' sedately.' See Note 52, 
 Act iii., " Twelfth Night." 
 
 108. Yare. ' Nimble,' ' dextrous,' ' adroit,' ' ready,' ' prompt.' 
 See Note 49 of this Act. 
 
 103. Quit. Here used for 'requite,' 'retaliate upon.' 
 
 no. One t/utt ties his points. Implying 'one that performs 
 
 Ant. Cried he ? and begg'd he pardon ? 
 
 First Att. He did ask favour. 
 Ant. If that thy father live, let him repent 
 Thou wast not made his daughter; and be thou 
 sorry 
 
 To follow Caesar in his triumph, since 
 Thou hast been whipp'd for following him: hence- 
 forth 
 
 The white hand of a lady fever thee, 
 Shake thou to look on 't. — Get thee back to 
 Cssar, 
 
 Tell him thy entertainment : look, thou say 
 He makes me angry with him ; for he seems 
 Proud and disdainful, harping on what I am, 
 Not what he knew I was : he makes me angry; 
 And at this time most easy 'tis to do 't. 
 When my good stars, that were my former 
 guides, 
 
 Have empty left their orbs, and shot their fires 
 Into the abysm of hell. If he mislike 
 My speech and what is done, tell him he has 
 Hipparchus, my enfranchis'd bondman, whom 
 He may at pleasure whip, or hang, or torture, 
 As he shall like, to quit'"^ me : urge it thou : 
 Hence with thy stripes, begone ! 
 
 \_Exit Thyreus. 
 
 Cleo. Have you done yet ? 
 
 Ant. Alack, our terrene moon 
 
 Is now eclips'd ; and it portends alone 
 The fall of Antony! 
 
 Cleo. I must stay his time. 
 
 Ant. To flatter Caesar, would you mingle eyes 
 With one that ties his points 
 
 Cleo. Not know me yet ? 
 
 Ant. Cold-hearted toward me ? 
 
 Cleo. Ah ! dear, if I be so, 
 
 From my cold heart let Heaven engender hail, 
 And poison it in the source ; and the first stone 
 Drop in my neck : as it determines,"' so 
 Dissolve my life ! The next Csesarion''^ smite ! 
 Till, by degrees, the memory of my womb. 
 Together with my brave Egyptians all, 
 j By the discandying"^ of this pelleted storm, 
 Lie graveless,— till the flies and gnats of Nile 
 Have buried them for prey ! 
 
 his meanest services,' 'his lackey.' The "points" were the 
 tagged strings or laces used in fastening the trunk -hose to the 
 upper portion of the dress. See Note 63, Act i., "Twelfth 
 Night." 
 
 111. Determines. Here used for 'melts away,' 'dissolves.' 
 See Note 94, Act iv., " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 112. Ccesariou. Cleopatra's son by Julius Csesar. 
 
 11-^. Discandyiu^. ' Melting,' ' liquefying.' See the manner 
 in which "candied" is used by Shakespeare in the passage 
 referred to in Note 27, Act ii , " Tempest," as an illustration of 
 the way in which " discandying" is here employed. See also 
 Note 44, Act iv. of the present play. The Folio prints ' dis- 
 candering' for "discandying;" which is Theobald's emenda- 
 tion, suggested by Thirlby. 
 
Act III.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene XI. 
 
 Thyreus. 
 My duty on your hand. 
 
 Act III. ScetieXI. 
 
 Ant. I am satisfied. 
 
 Cassar sits down in Alexandria ; where 
 I will oppose his fate. Our force by land 
 Hath nobly held ; our sever'd navy too 
 Have knit again, and fleet/" threatening most sea- 
 like. 
 
 Where hast thou been, my heart ? — Dost thou hear, 
 lady ■> 
 
 If from the field I shall return once more 
 To kiss these lips, I will appear in blood ; 
 I and my sword will earn our chronicle : 
 There 's hope in 't yet. 
 Cleo. That 's my brave lord ! 
 
 114. Our se-c'er'd ruivy too Jiave knit again, and fleet. 
 " Narvy," which strictly means an assemblage of ships, is 
 here treated as a plural noun; and "fleet" is an old form of 
 ' float. 
 
 115. Xicf. Here used for 'effeminately luxurious,' 'soft, 
 
 Ant. I will be treble-sinew'd, hearted, breath' d, 
 And fight maliciously: for when mine hours 
 Were nice'i' and lucky, men did ransom lives 
 Of me for jests ; but now I'll set my teeth, 
 And send to darkness all that stop me. — Come, 
 Let's have one other gaudy night -.^^^ call to me 
 All my sad captains, fill our bowls ; once more 
 Let's mock the midnight bell. 
 
 Cleo. It is my birth-day : 
 
 I had thought to have held it poor ; but, since my 
 lord 
 
 Is Antony again, I will be Cleopatra. 
 Ant. We will vet do well. 
 
 'delicate,' 'full of ease and prosperity.' See Note 15, Act i 
 " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 116. Gaudy night. 'Festive night,' or ' festival night.' 1 
 the colleges of both universities, 'gaudy days' is the term use 
 or feast days ; Latin, gaudium, joy, mirth, rejoicing. 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 Cleo. Call all his noble captains to my lord. 
 Ant. Do so, we'll speak to them ; and to-night 
 I'll force 
 
 The wine peep through their scars. — Come on, my 
 queen ; 
 
 There 's sap in 't yet"? The next time I do fight, 
 I'll make death love me ; for I will contend 
 Even with his pestilent scythe. 
 
 [Exrunt all except Enobarbus. 
 
 [Scenes I., II. 
 
 Eno. Now he'll outstare the lightning. To be 
 furious, 
 
 Is to be frighted out of fear ; and in that mood 
 The dove will peck the estridge;''* and I see still, 
 A diminution in our captain's brain 
 Restores his heart : when valour preys on 
 reason,'-" 
 
 It eats the sword it fights with. I will seek 
 Some way to leave him. \_Exit. 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 ACT 
 
 SCENE I. — C MS ak's Camp at Alexandria. 
 Enter C^sar, reading a Letter ; Agrippa, 
 JVIec^nas, and others. 
 
 Cas. He calls me boy ; and chides, as he had 
 power 
 
 To beat me out of Egypt ; my messenger 
 He hath whipp'd with rods; dares me to personal 
 combat, 
 
 Caesar to Antony : — let the old ruffian know 
 I have many other ways to die ; ' ineaiUime 
 Laugh at his challenge. 
 
 Mec. Ca;sar must think. 
 
 When one fo great begins to rage, he 's hunted 
 Even to falling. Give him no breath, but now 
 iVIake boot 2 of his distraction :— never anger 
 Made good guard for itself. 
 
 C^s. Let our best heads 
 
 Know, that to-morrow the last of many battles 
 We mean to fight : — within our files there are, 
 Of those thatserv'd Mark Antony but late, 
 Enough to fetch him in. See it done : 
 
 117. T/iere 's sap in 7 yet. ' There 's vitality in it still ; ' ' our 
 cause is not yet wholly without hope.' See Note 104, Act iv., 
 " King Lear." 
 
 118. T/ie estridge. Shakespeare has used the word " estridges " 
 In the passage adverted to in Note 24, Act iv., "First Part 
 Henry IV.," there evidently meaning ' ostriehes ;' but though 
 "estridge" might here signify 'ostrich,' as being the largest 
 of birds, yet it is possible that "estridge" here means the 
 'estridge falcon' or 'goshawk,' from the barbarous Latin, 
 estricinm; there having been a practice formerly of flying 
 falcons at pigeons, to which this passage may have reference. 
 
 119. Heart. Here used for 'spirit,' 'valour.' 
 
 120. ]Vheii. valour preys mi reason. The Folio has ' prayes 
 in ' for " preys on." Rowe's correction. 
 
 I. / have many other %uays to die. It has been proposed to 
 
 IV. 
 
 And feast the army ; we have store to do 't. 
 And they have earn'd the waste. Poor Antony ! 
 
 {^Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE II.— Alexandria. A Room in the 
 Palace. 
 
 Enter Antony, Cleopatra, Enobarbus, Char- 
 MiAN, Iras, Alexas, and others. 
 
 Ant. He will not fight with me, Domitius. 
 Eno. No. 
 Ant. Why should he not ? 
 
 Eno. He thinks, being twenty times of better 
 fortune. 
 He is twenty men to one. 
 
 Ant. To-morrow, soldier. 
 
 By sea and land I'll fight : or I will live, 
 Or bathe my dying honour in the blood 
 Shall make it live again. Woo't thou fight well 
 
 Eno. I'll strike, and cry, " Take all."* 
 
 change " I have " to ' he hath ' here ; and the following passage 
 has been quoted from North's "Plutarch," to show that its 
 ambiguous wording misled Shakespeare : — " Antonius sentagaine 
 to challenge Caesar to fight with him handc to hande. Cassar 
 answered him, that he had many other ways to die than so." 
 But it strikes us that the dramatist may have intended to make 
 CjEsar say that he had other ways to die than by Antony's 
 hand, as a bitter scoff at the assumption that Antony was sure 
 to overcome him were they to meet in single fight. 
 
 2. Make hoot. 'Take advantage.' See Note 59, Act ii,, 
 "iVIeasure for Measure." 
 
 3. Woo't tJiou fight Weill. See Note 43, Act v., " Hamlet." 
 
 4. Take all. Implying, 'Let the survivor take all.' It is 
 an expression of desperate or despairing recklessness ; here used 
 in the former sense, and in " King Lear," Act iii., sc. i, in the 
 latter sense : " Unbonneted he nuis, and bids what wHl take 
 all." 
 
 TOL. in. 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene HI. 
 
 Ant. 
 
 Call forth my household 
 Be bounteous at our meal 
 
 Well said ; come on. — 
 servants : let's to-night 
 
 Enter Servants. 
 
 Give me thy hand, 
 Thou hast been rightly honest ; — so hast thou ; — 
 Thou, — and thou, — and thou : — you have serv'd 
 me well, 
 
 And kings have been your fellows. 
 
 Cleo. lAside to Eno.] What means this? 
 
 Eno. [Aside to Cleo.] 'Tis one of those odd 
 tricks which sorrow shoots 
 Out of the mind. 
 
 Ant. And thou art honest too. 
 
 I wish I could be made so many men. 
 And all of you clapp'd up together in 
 An Antony, that I might do you service 
 So good as you have done; 
 
 Servants. The gods forbid ! 
 
 Ant. Well, my good fellows, wait on me to- 
 night: 
 
 Scant not my cups ; and make as much of me 
 As when mine empire was your fellow too. 
 And sufter'd my command. 
 
 Cleo. [Aside to Eno.] What does he mean? 
 
 Eno. [Aside to Cleo.] To make his followers 
 weep. 
 
 Ant. Tend me to-night ; 
 
 May be it is the period of your duty : 
 Haply you shall not see me more ; or if, 
 A mangled shadow perchance to-morrow 
 You'll serve another master. I look on you 
 As one that takes his leave. Mine honest friends, 
 I turn you not away ; but, like a master 
 Married to your good service, stay till death : 
 Tend me to-night two hours, I ask no more. 
 Ami the gods yield you for't ! ^ 
 
 Eno. What mean you, sir. 
 
 To give tnem this discomfort ? Look, they weep ; 
 And I, an ass, am onion-ey'd : for shame, 
 T'ransform us not to women. 
 
 Ant. Ho, ho, ho ! 
 
 Now the witch take me, if I meant it thus! 
 Grace grow where those drops fall ! My hearty 
 friends, 
 
 You take me in too dolorous a sense ; 
 For I spake to you for your comfort, — did desire 
 you 
 
 To burn this night with torches : know, my 
 hearts, 
 
 I hope well of to-morrow ; and will lead you 
 
 5- Or ij, a inangled shadow. Elliptically expressed ; imply- 
 ing. ' Or if you fee me more, you will see me a mangled shadow 
 —only the broken semblance of what I was.' 
 
 6. The gods yield you for't. 'The gods yield you your 
 reward for it.' See Note 43, Act iv., " Hamlet." 
 
 Where rather I'll expect victorious life 
 
 Than death and honour. Let's to supper, come. 
 
 And drown consideration. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE I IL— Alexandria. Before the Palace. 
 
 Enter two Soldiers to their guard. 
 
 first Sold. Brother, good night : to-morrow is 
 the day. 
 
 Sec. Soli. It will determine one way : fare you 
 well. 
 
 Heard you of nothing strange about the streets? 
 First Sold. Nothiiig. What news? 
 Sec. Sold. Belike 'tis but a rumour. Good night 
 to you. 
 
 First Sold. Well, sir, good night. 
 
 Enter tuco other Soldiers. 
 
 Sec. Sold. Soldiers, have careful watch. 
 
 Third Sold. And you. Good night, good night. 
 
 [The first and second go to their posts. 
 
 Fourth Sold. Here we: [the third and Jourth 
 go to their posts] and if to-rmorrow 
 Our navy thrive, I have an absolute hope 
 Our landmen will stand up. 
 
 Third Sold. Tis a brave army, 
 
 And full of purpose. 
 
 [Music as of hautboys underground.'' 
 
 Fourth Sold. Peace ! what noise ? 
 
 First Sold. List, list ! 
 
 Sec. Sold. Hark ! 
 
 First Sold. Music i' the air. 
 
 Third Sold. Under the earth. 
 
 Fourth Sold. It signs well,** does it not ? 
 
 Third Sold. No. 
 
 First Sold. Peace, I say ! 
 
 What should this mean ? 
 
 Sec. Sold. 'Tis the god Hercules, whom Antony 
 lov'd. 
 Now leaves him. 
 
 First Sold. Walk ; let's see if other watchmen 
 Do hear what we do ? 
 
 [They advance to another post. 
 
 Sec. Sold. How now, mastei-s ! 
 
 Soldiers. [Speaking together.] How now ! 
 
 How now! d(iyou hear this? 
 
 First Sold. Ay ; is't not strange ? 
 
 Third Sold. Do you hear, masters ? do ) ou 
 hear ? 
 
 7. Music as of hautboys underground. There is mention 
 of this supernatural music, thus heard at night, in North's 
 " Plutarch." 
 
 8. // signs well. * It is a good sign,' ' it is an auspicious 
 omen,' ' it augurs or bodes well.' 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scenes IV., V. 
 
 First Sold. Follow the noise so far as we have 
 
 quarter ; 
 Let's see how it will give off. 
 Soldiers. [^Speaking together. 1 Content. 'Tis 
 
 strange. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE IV. — Alexandria. J Room in the 
 Palace. 
 
 Enter Antony and Cleopatra, Charmian, 
 Iras, and others attending. 
 
 Ant. Eros I mine armour, Eros ! 
 Cleo. Sleep a little. 
 
 Ant. No, my chuck. — Eros, come; mine armour, 
 Eros ! 
 
 Enter Eros, luith armour. 
 Come, good fellow, put mine iron on :^ — 
 If fortune be not ours to-day, it is 
 Because we brave her:— come. 
 
 Cleo. Nay, I'll help too. 
 
 What 's this for ? 
 
 Ant. Ah ! let be, let be! thou art 
 
 The armourer of my heart :— false, false ; this, this. 
 
 Cleo, Sooth, la, I'll help : thus it must be. 
 
 Ant. Well, well ; 
 
 We shall thrive now.—Seest thou, my good fellow ? 
 Go put on thy defences. 
 
 Eros. Briefly, sir. 
 
 Cleo. Is not this buckled well ? 
 
 Ant. Rarely, rarely : 
 
 He that unbuckles this, till we do please 
 To doff 't" for our repose, shall hear a storm. — ■ 
 Thou fumblest, Eros ; and my queen 's a squire 
 More tight'^at this than thou: despatch.— Oh, love, 
 That thou couldst see my wars to-day, and knew'st 
 The royal occupation ! thou shouldst see 
 A workman in 't. — 
 
 Enter an Officer, armed. 
 
 Good morrow to thee ; welcome: 
 Thou look'st like him that knows a warlike 
 charge : 
 
 To business that we love we rise betime. 
 And go to 't with delight. 
 
 9. P7tt mine iron on. The Folio has 'thine' for "mine" 
 here (Hanmer's correction) ; but though 'thine iron' might be 
 taken to mean ' the iron that thou hast there and bring'st for 
 me,' in the same way that " thy glove" is used in the passage 
 explained in Note 128, Act iv., "Henry V.," for the speaker's 
 glove, yet we think it more probable that here ' thine ' was a 
 misprint for " mine." 
 
 10. Ah! lei be, let be < In the Folio this is made part of 
 Cleopatra's speech. The arrangement here adopted in the 
 dialogue is Malone's, suggested by Capell. 
 
 u. To doff't. 'To put it off.' See Note 34, Act iii., 
 " King John." 
 
 Off. A thousand, sir, 
 
 Early though 't be, have on their riveted trim. 
 And at the port expect you. 
 
 \Shout and flourish of trumpets luithin 
 
 Enter Captains atid Soldiers. 
 
 Capt. The morn is fair. — Good morrow, general. 
 
 All. Good morrow, general. 
 
 Ant. 'Tis well blown, lads: 
 
 This morning, like the spirit of a youth 
 That means to be of note, begins betimes. — 
 So, so; come, give me that: this way; well said. — 
 Fare thee well, dame, whate'er becomes of me : 
 This is a soldier's kiss \kisses her] : rebukable. 
 And worthy shameful check it were, to stand 
 On more mechanic compliment, I'll leave thee 
 Now, like a man of steel. — You that will fight. 
 Follow me close ; I'll bring you to 't. — Adieu. 
 [Exeunt Antony, Eros, Officers, and Soldiers. 
 
 Char. Please you, retire to your chamber. 
 
 Cleo. Lead me. 
 
 He goes forth gallantly. That he and Caesar might 
 Determine this great war in single fight ! 
 Then, Antony, — but now — Well, on. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE v.— AtiTONY's Camp near Alexandria. 
 
 Trumpets sound nvithin. Enter Antony and 
 Eros ; a Soldier meeting them. 
 
 Sold. The gods make this a happy day to 
 Antony ! «* 
 
 Ant, Would thou and those thy scars had once 
 prevail'd 
 To make me fight at land ! 
 
 Sold, Hadst thou done so, 
 
 The kings that have revolted, and the soldier 
 That has this morning left thee, would have still 
 Follow'd thy heels. 
 
 Ant. Who 's gone this morning ? 
 
 Sold. Who ! 
 
 One ever near thee: call for Enobarbus, 
 He shall not hear thee ; or from Csesar's camp 
 Say, " I am none of thine." 
 
 12. Tight. 'Adroit,' 'dextrous,' 'handy.' See Note 48, 
 Act i., " Merry Wives." 
 
 13. Thoii look'st like him that knows. Here " him " is used 
 as "his" and " he" are used in the passages explained in Notes 
 72 and 79 of Act i., to represent 'one,' 'a man,' or 'a person,' 
 by way of instancing a general proposition : the sentence sig- 
 nifying, ' Thou look'st like one who is accustomed to a warlike 
 charge.' 
 
 14. The gods, &'c. This speech and the two following from 
 the same speaker are given in the Folio to Eros ; but it is clear 
 that they are uttered by the same soldier who, in Act iii., sc. 7, 
 conjured Antony not to fight by sea. Hanmer and Capell made 
 the arrangement adopted in this scene. 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scenes VI., VII. 
 
 What say'st thou ? 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Ant. 
 
 i>old. 
 He is with Csesar. 
 
 Eros. Sir, his chests and treasure 
 
 He has not with him. 
 
 Ant. Is he gone ? 
 
 Sold. Most certain. 
 
 Ant. Go, Eros, send his treasure after ; do it ; 
 Detain no jot, I charge thee: write to him 
 (I will subscribe) gentle adieus and greetings; 
 Say that I wish he never find more cause 
 To change a master. — Oh, my fortunes have 
 Corrupted honest men!— Despatch. — Enoharbusl'^ 
 {Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE VI. — Cesar's Camp before Alexandria. 
 Flourish. Enter C^sar luith Agrifpa, 
 Enobarbus, and oihers. 
 
 Cues. Go forth, Agrippa, and begin the fight : 
 Our will is, Antony be took alive ; 
 Make it so known. 
 
 Agr, Csesar, I shall. {Exit. 
 
 Cies, The time of universal peace is near:" 
 Prove this a prosperous day,'? the three-nook'd 
 
 world '8 
 Shall bear the olive freely. 
 
 Enter a Messenger. 
 
 Mess, Antony 
 Is come into the field, 
 
 Ctes, Go, charge Agrippa 
 
 Plant those that have revolted in the van, 
 That Antony may seem to spend his fury 
 Upon himself, {Exeunt all except Enobarbus. 
 
 Eno. Alexas did revolt ; and went to Jewry on 
 Affairs of Antony; there did persuade 2" 
 Great Herod to incline himself to Cssar, 
 
 15. Despatch.— Enobarbus 1 The second Folio here changed 
 "Enobarbus" to 'Eros;' thus changing into a common-place 
 order a characteristic expression of bitter reflection and regret. 
 The mistake probably originated in the first Folio having 
 printed the words without proper punctuation, ' Dispatch Eno- 
 barbus.' Whereas it is evident that the dramatist intended 
 " Despatch " to be a command given to Eros, and " Enobarbus !" 
 to be Antony's exclamation of grief at his old adherent's 
 desertion. 
 
 16. The time of universal peace is near. This is poetically 
 put into the mouth of Octavius, afterwards styled Augustus 
 Caesar, during whose reign the Messiah came upon earth ; at 
 which epoch historians and poets have combined to declare 
 that peace universally prevailed. See, for instance, Milton's 
 glorious " Ode on the Nativity." 
 
 17. Prove this a prosperous day. ' If this prove a prosperous 
 day,' 'should this prove a prosperous day.' See Note 12, 
 Act iii., " Merchant of Venice," for an e.\-ample of similar con- 
 
 18. The ihree-nook'd world. This expression, conveying the 
 idea of the worid as of triangular form, is possibly here used to 
 
 And leave his master Antony : for this pains 
 Cffisar hath hang'd him. Canidius, and the rest 
 That fell away, have entertainment, but 
 No honourable trust. I have done ill; 
 Of which I do accuse myself so sorely, 
 That I will joy no more. 
 
 Enter a Soldier of Cesar's. 
 
 Sold. Enobarbus, Antony 
 
 Hath after thee sent all thy treasure, with 
 His bounty overplus : the messenger 
 Came on my guard ; and at thy tent is now 
 Unloading of liis mules, 
 
 Eno. I give it you. 
 
 Sold. Mock not, Enobarbus. 
 I tell you true : best you saf'd 21 the bringer 
 Out of the host; I must attend mine office, 
 Or would have done 't myself. Your emperor 
 Continues still a Jove. {Exit. 
 
 Eno. I am alone the villain of the earth, 
 And feel I am so most. O Antony, 
 Thou mine of bounty, how wouldst thou have paid 
 My better service, when my turpitude 
 Thou dost so crown with gold! This blows my 
 heart: 22 
 
 If swift thought break it not, a swifter mean 
 Shall outstrike thought : but thought will do 't, I 
 feel.23 
 
 I fight against thee ! — No : I will go seek 
 Some ditch wherein to die ; the foul'st best fits 
 My latter part of life. {Exit. 
 
 SCENE — Field of Battle befiveen the 
 
 Camps. 
 
 Alarum. Drums and trutnpets. Enter Agrippa 
 and others. 
 
 Agr. Retire, we have engag'd ourselves too far: 
 
 denote the antique notions which subsisted on this subject. See 
 Note 36, Act ii. of the present play. Shakespeare has another 
 passage implying the same idea of the earth's shape ; in the 
 speech %vhich concludes the drama of " King John" we find, 
 " Come the three corners 0/ the world in arms." 
 
 19. Shall bear the olive freely. A figurative mode of ex- 
 pressing ' shall flourish in peace.' In " Second Part Henry IV.," 
 Act iv., sc. 4, Westmoreland says, " Peace puts forth her olive 
 everywhere." 
 
 20. Persuade. The Folio has 'dissuade' instead of "per- 
 suade." Rowe's correction ; shown to be right by the context 
 here, as well as by the passage in North's " Plutarch/' whence 
 this is taken. 
 
 21. Saf'd. 'Safely conveyed,' 'rendered his going safe.' 
 See Note 53, Act i. 
 
 22. This blows my heart. Rowe changed " blows " to 
 ' bows ; ' but the original word is far more effective, combining, 
 as it does, the sense of ' swells ' (see Note 92, Act ii., " Twelfth 
 Night"), and the effect of 'strikes.' 
 
 23. Bui tJwught .mill do 't, I feel. "Thought " is here used 
 for ' grieving reflection,' ' taking to heart.' See Note 85, Act iii. 
 
Cffisar himself has work, and our oppression ^* 
 Exceeds what we expected. [Exeunt. 
 
 JIarum. Enter Antony, and SCARUS ivounded. 
 
 Scar. Oh, my brave emperor, this is fought indeed ! 
 Had we done so at first, we had driven them hoine 
 With clouts about their heads. 2= 
 
 Ant. Thou bleed'st apace. 
 
 Scar. I had a wound here that was like a T, 
 But now 'tis made an H. 
 
 Jnt. They do retire. 
 
 Scar. We'll beat 'em into bench-holes: I have yet 
 Room for six scotches more. 
 
 24. Our oppression. ' The oppression we are sustaining,' ' the 
 force by which wc are oppressed or overpowered.' See Note 21, 
 Act ill., *' Coriolanus." 
 
 25. With clouts about iJieir heads. This phrase has double 
 force of scoffing allusion ; lirst, to the practice of wearing a 
 
 Enter Eros. 
 Eros. They are beaten, sir ; and our advantage 
 serves 
 For a fair victory. 
 
 Scar. Let us score their backs, 
 
 And snatch 'em up, as we take hares, behind : 
 'Tis sport to maul a runner. 
 
 Ant. I will reward thee 
 
 Once for thy sprightly comfort, and ten-fold 
 For thy good valour. Come thee on. 
 
 Scar. I'll halt after. 
 
 {Exeunt. 
 
 cloth or kerchief upon the head when sick or wounded (see 
 Note 67, Act ii., "JuHus Csesar;" and context of passage 
 referred to in Note 105, Act ii., " Hamlet," "A clout upon that 
 head where late the diadem stood") ; secondly, to the vulgar 
 phrase, ' a clout upon the head,' signifying ' a bang or knock 
 upon the head.' 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scenes VIII., IX. 
 
 SCENE V III.— Under the JFalls of 
 Alexandria. 
 
 Alarum. Enter Antony, marching; Scarus, 
 and Forces. 
 
 Ant. We have beat him to his camp : — run one 
 before, 
 
 l^nd let the queen know of our gests.^^ — To- 
 morrow, 
 
 Before the sun shall see us, we'll spill the blood 
 That has to-day escap'd. I thank you all ; 
 For doughty-handed ^7 are you, and have fought 
 Not as you serv'd the cause, but as 't had been 
 Each man's like mine; you have shown all 
 Hectors.23 
 
 Enter the city, clip 2' your wives, your friends. 
 Tell them your feats ; whilst they with joyful tears 
 Wash the congealment from your wounds, and kiss 
 The honour'd gashes whole. — [To Scarus.] Give 
 me thy hand; 
 
 Enter Cleopatra, attended. 
 
 To this great fairy I'll commend thy acts, 
 Make her thanks bless thee. — Oh, thou day o' the 
 world. 
 
 Chain mine arm'd neck; leap thou, attire and all, 
 Through proof of harness to my heart, and there 
 Ride on the pants triumphing ! 
 
 Cleo. Lord of lords ! 
 
 Oh, infinite virtue,^- com'st thou smiling from 
 The world's great snare uncaught ? 
 
 Ant. My nightingale. 
 
 We have beat them to their beds. What, girl ! 
 though grey 
 
 Do something mingle with our younger brown, 
 
 yet have we 
 A brain that nourishes our nerves, and can 
 Get goal for goal of youth.^' Behold this man ; 
 Commend unto his lips thy favouring hand : — 
 Kiss it, my warrior :— he hath fought to-day 
 As if a god, in hate of mankind, had 
 Destroy'd in such a shape. 
 
 Cleo. I'll give thee, friend, 
 
 An armour all of gold ; it was a king's. 
 
 26. Gesis. The Folio prints ' guests ' for " gests." Theo- 
 bald's correction, suggested by Warburton. "Gests" signifies 
 ' deeds,' ' exploits,' ' achievements ; ' Latin, gesta. 
 
 27. Doughty -handed. ' Valorous -handed,' ' conquering- 
 handed.' 
 
 28. You have sliown all Hectors. ' You have, all of you, 
 shown yourselves like Hectors;' 'you have shown yourselves 
 all to be, each man, as valorous as Hector.' For a similar con- 
 structional form, see Note lo, Act iv., " Timon of Athens." ! 
 
 29. C//>. 'Embrace.' See Note 45, Act iv., " Coriolanus." 
 ^o. Fairy. 'Enchantress.' j 
 
 31. Prot>/ 0/ harness. ' Armour of proof See Note 39, 
 Act v., "Macbeth." | 
 
 32. Oh, iiijinite virtue. "'Virtue" is here used in the sense 
 
 65 
 
 Ant. He has deserv'd it, were it carbuncled 
 Like holy Phoebus' car. — Give me thy hand : — 
 Through Alexandria make a jolly march ; 
 Bear our hack'd targets like the men that owe 
 them : 34 
 
 Had our great palace the capacity 
 To camp this host, we all would sup together. 
 And drink carouses to the next day's fate. 
 Which promises royal peri!.— Trumpeters, 
 With brazen din blast you the city's ear; 
 Make mingle with our rattling tabourines ;^'' 
 That heaven and earth may strike their sounds 
 together, 
 
 Applauding our approach. \E.\eunt. 
 
 SCENE IX.— CESAR'S Camp. 
 Sentinels at their post. 
 
 First Sold. If we be not reliev'd within this hour. 
 We must return to the court of guard :^ the night 
 Is shiny ; and they say we shall embattle 
 By the second hour i' the morn. 
 
 Sec. Sold. This last day was 
 
 A shrewd one to us. 
 
 Enter Enobarbus. 
 
 £,'^70. Oh, bear me witness, night, — 
 
 Third Sold. What man is this ? 
 
 Sec. Sold. Stand close, and list him. 
 
 Eno. Be witness to me, oh, thou blessed moon. 
 When men revolted shall upon record 
 Bear hateful memory, poor Enobarbus did 
 Before thy face repent ! — 
 
 First Sold. Enobarbus ! 
 
 Third Sold. Peace ! 
 
 Hark farther. 
 
 Eno. Oh, sovereign mistress of true melancholy 
 The poisonous damp of night dispunge upon me, 
 That life, a very rebel to my will. 
 May hang no longer on me : throw my heart 
 Against the flint and hardness of my fault ; 
 Which, being dried with grief, will break to powder, 
 
 of ' courage,' ' valour ; ' as the Latin word virtus is employed. 
 See Note 37, Act v., " King Lear." 
 
 33. Can get goal for goal 0/ youth. ' Can win goal for goal, 
 from youth ; ' ' can gain the superiority in every contest waged 
 against those who are younger than I am.' 
 
 34. Liie the men that owe them. " Owe " is here used for 
 • own ; ' the whole sentence implying, ' Bear our hacked targets 
 like the brave men who own them, and have received the hacks 
 upon them, not like fellows to whom they do not belong, and 
 who have never been where blows are dealt.' 
 
 35. Tabourines. ' Small drums.' See Note 76, Act iv., 
 " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 36. The court of guard. 'The place where the guard 
 musters.' See Note 34, Act ii., " Othello." 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene X. 
 
 And finish all foul thoughts. O Antony, 
 
 Nobler than my revolt is infamous, 
 
 Forgive me in thine own particular ; 
 
 But let the world rank me in register 
 
 A master-leaver and a fugitive : 
 
 O Antony! O Antony! [D/'es. 
 
 Sec. Sold. Let 's speak 
 
 To him. 
 
 First Sold. Let 's hear him, for the things he 
 
 speaks 
 May concern Caesar. 
 
 Third Sold. Let 's do so. But he sleeps. 
 
 First Sold. Swoons rather ; for so bad a prayer 
 
 as his 
 
 Was never yet for sleep. 
 
 Sec. Sold. Go we to him. 
 
 Third Sold. Awake, sir, awake ; speak- to us. 
 
 Sec. Sold. Hear you, sir? 
 
 First Sold. The hand of death hath raught^? 
 him. \^Druins afar off.] Hark ! the drums 
 Demurely wake the sleepers. Let us bear him 
 To the court of guard ; he is of note : our hour 
 Is fully out. 
 
 Third Sold. Come on, then ; 
 He may recover yet. \_Exeunt luilh the body. 
 
 SCENE X. — Ground betiveen the tixjo Camps. 
 Enter Antony and Scarus, 'with Foixes, 
 
 Ant. Their preparation is to-day by sea; 
 We please them not by land. 
 
 Scar. For both, my lord. 
 
 Ant. I would they'd fight i' the fire or i' the air, 
 We'd fight there too. But this it is ; our foot 
 Upon the hills adjoining to the city 
 Shall stay with us : order for sea is given ; 
 They have put forth the haven : farther on, 
 Where their appointment we may best discover. 
 And look on their endeavour. [Exeunt. 
 
 37. Raught. This word, as here used, will bear the sense of 
 ' reached,' and also of ' snatched,' ' seized,' ' taken away.' See 
 Note 30, Act ii., " Second Part Henry VI." 
 
 38. Tlie drums demurely wake the sleepers. The word 
 "demurely" has been suspected of error, and various altera- 
 tions have been proposed; but we think that " denriurely " 
 serves not inaptly to express the solemnly measured beat, the 
 gravely regulated sound of drums that summon sleeping soldiers 
 to wake, and prepare themselves for a second day's fighting after 
 a first that has just been described by the listeners as *'a shrewd 
 one to us." The circumstances under which his speakers use 
 certain descriptive epithets should be taken into consideration 
 when judging our dramatist's expressions. 
 
 39. They have put forth the haven. The Folio gives the 
 line thus incompletely; something having been apparently 
 omitted. Various additions have been suggested ; thft one 
 we adopt is Rowe's— " farther on." 
 
 Enter CAESAR, luith his Forces, marching. 
 Cms. But being charg'd,^" we will be still by 
 land, 
 
 Which, as I take 't, we shall; for his best force 
 
 Is forth to man his galleys. To the vales, 
 
 And hold our best advantage. [Exeunt. 
 
 Re-enter Antony and Scarus. 
 Ant. Yet they are not join'd : where yond' pine 
 does stand, 
 I shall discover all : I'll bring thee word 
 Straight, how 'tis like to go. [Exit. 
 
 Scar. Swallows have built 
 
 In Cleopatra's sails their nests : the augurers*' 
 Say they know not, — they cannot tell; -look 
 grimly. 
 
 And dare not speak their knowledge. Antony 
 Is valiant, and dejected ; and, by starts. 
 His fretted fortunes give him hope, and fear, 
 Of what he has, and has not. 
 
 [Alarum afar off., as at a sea fight. 
 
 Re-enter Antony. 
 Ant. All is lost ! 
 
 This foul Egyptian hath betrayed me : 
 My fleet hath yielded to the foe ; and yonder 
 They cast their caps up, and carouse together 
 Like friends long lost. — Triple traitress! 'tis thou 
 Hast sold me to this novice ; and my heart 
 Makes only wars on thee.— Bid them all fly ; 
 For when I am reveng'd upon my charm,''- 
 I have done all : — bid them all fly ; begone. 
 
 [Exit Scarus. 
 Oh, sun, thy uprise shall I see no more : 
 Fortune and Antony part here; even here 
 Do we shake hands. — All come to this!' — The 
 hearts 
 
 That spaniel'd me at heels,^^ to whom I gave 
 Their wishes, do discandy,''* melt their sweets 
 On blossoming Caesar ; and this pine is bark'd 
 That overtopp'd them all. Betray'd I am : 
 Oh, this false soul of Egypt ! this grave charm,^^ — 
 
 40. But being chirg^d. " But" is here used in its exceptive 
 sense ; the phrase signifying ' unless, except, or without we be 
 charged.' See Note 72, Act iii. 
 
 41. Augurers. The Folio prints this 'auguries' here. 
 Capell's correction. See Note 78, Act ii., "Julius Cassar." 
 
 42. My charm. Here, and farther on in this speech, the 
 word " charm " is used for ' spell,' ' bewitchment,' ' sorceress,' 
 ' enchantress.' 
 
 43. That spaniel'd me at heels. The Folio prints 'pan- 
 nelled ' for " spaniel'd." Hanmer's correction. " Spaniel " was 
 often corruptly pronounced ' spannel ; ' and the Folio printer 
 very frequently added or omitted s in printing a word. 
 
 44. Discandy. This word, as here used, serves to support 
 the reading discussed in Note 113, Act iii. 
 
 45. This grave charm. The correctness of the word " grave " 
 has been disputed ; but we think the epithet is used in the 
 sense of 'fatal,' 'deadly,' 'destructive,' ' noxio.is,' 'pernicious.' 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scenes XL, XIL 
 
 Whose eye beck'd forth my wars, and call'd them 
 home ; 
 
 Whose bosom was my crownet/" my chief end, — 
 Like a right gipsy, hath, at fast and loose,-*^ 
 Beguii'd me to the very heart of loss. — 
 What, Eros, Eros! 
 
 Enter Cleopatra. 
 
 Ah, thou spell ! Avaunt! 
 Cleo. Why is my lord enrag'd against his love ? 
 Ant. Vanish, or I shall give thee thy deserving, 
 And blemish Cae-sar's triumph. Let him take 
 thee, 
 
 And hoist thee up to the shouting plebeians : 
 
 Follow his chariot, like the greatest spot 
 
 Of all thy sex; most monster-like, be shown 
 
 For poor'st diminutives, for doits ; and let 
 
 Patient Ojtavia plough thy visage up 
 
 With her prepared nails. \_Exit CLEOPATRA. 
 
 'Tis well thou'rt gone. 
 If it be well to live ; but better 'twere 
 Thou fell'st into my fury, for one death 
 Might have prevented many. — Eros, ho ! — 
 The shirt of Nessus is upon me : — teach me, 
 Alcides, thou mine ancestor, thy rage: 
 Let me lodge Lichas on the horns o' the moon ; 
 And with those hands, that grasp'd the heaviest 
 club. 
 
 Subdue my worthiest self^o fhe witch shall die : 
 To the young Roman boy she hath sold me, and I 
 fall 
 
 Under this plot ; she dies for 't. — Eros, ho ! 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 SCENE XI. — Alexandria. A Room in the 
 Palace. 
 
 Enter Cleopatra, Charmian, Iras, and 
 Mardian. 
 
 Cleo. Help me, my women ! oh, he is more 
 mad 
 
 Than Telamon for his shield;^' the boar of 
 
 Thessaly 
 Was never so emboss'd.-^' 
 
 Char. To the monument ! 
 
 There lock yourself, and send him word you are 
 
 dead. 
 
 The soul and body rive not more in parting 
 Than greatness going off. 
 
 Cleo. To the monument ! — 
 
 Mardian, go tell liim I have slain myself ; 
 Say, that the last I spoke was " Antony," 
 And word it, pr'ythee, piteously : hence, Mardian, 
 And bring me how he takes my death. — To the 
 monument! [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE XU.— Another Room in the Palace. 
 Enter Antony and Eros. 
 
 Ant. Eros, thou yet behoJd'st me ? 
 
 Eros. Ay, noble lord. 
 
 Ant. Sometime we see a cloud that's dragonisii ; 
 A vapour sometime like a bear or lion, 
 A tower'd citadel, a pendent rock, 
 A forked mountain, or blue promontory 
 With trees upon 't, that nod unto the world, 
 And mock our eyes with air: thou hast seen these 
 signs ; 
 
 They are black vesper's pageants. 
 
 Eros. Ay, my lord. 
 
 Ant. That which is now a horse, even with a 
 thought 
 
 The rack dislimns,*"* and makes it indistinct. 
 As water is in «'ater. 
 
 Eros. It does, my lord. 
 
 Ant. My good knave Eros, now thy captain is 
 Even such a body: here I am Antony; 
 Yet cannot hold this visible shape, my knave. 
 I made these wars for Egypt ; and the queen, — ■ 
 Whose heart I thought I had, for she had 
 
 The Latin word gravis, among the many varied senses which 
 it bears, includes those which make probable our interpretation 
 of the word "grave" as here used by Shakespeare. 
 
 46. My crcnviiei. ' That which crowned my wishes,' ' that 
 which formed the crown of all my endeavours.' 
 
 47. Fast and loose. An old cheating game, known also by 
 the name of ' pricking at the belt or girdle.' It was practised in 
 Shakespeare's time by the gipsies and wandering dealers in 
 fortune-telling and sleight of hand. The word "gipsy" in the 
 pre.sent passage has reference to this and to Cleopatra's being 
 an Egyptian. See Note 7, Act i. 
 
 48. Doits. The Folio prints 'Dolts' for "doits," here. 
 Warburton's correction at Thirlby's suggestion. See Note 71, 
 Act i., " Coriolanus." 
 
 49. Let me lodge Lichas an, h'c. Alluding to Hercules 
 having hurled Lichas to destruction when he brought the 
 poisonous garment of Nessus from Dejanira. See Note 10, 
 Act ii., " Merchant of Venice." 
 
 50. Subdue viy ■worthiest self. Implying, ' after having per- 
 formed some fell deed of destruction, let me destroy myself, 
 who am worthiest of destruction.' 
 
 51. Tela}no7i for his shield. In allusion to the rage of Ajax 
 Telamon, at having the arms (among which was the celebrated 
 "shield") of Achilles assigned to Ulysses instead of to himself 
 
 52. The boar of Tliessaly. The boar killed by Meleager ; 
 for an account of whom see Note 40, Act ii., " Second Part 
 Henry IV." 
 
 53. Ejuboss d. Foaming at the mouth. See Note 12, Indue" 
 tion to " Taming of the Shrew." 
 
 54. The rack dislimns. The vaporous scud of upper air 
 defaces the image presented by the cloud a moment before. 
 See Note ig, Act iv., "Tempest;" and Note 102, Act ii.. 
 
 'Ha 
 
 nlet.'^ 
 
 55. My good kjiave . . . . 
 used for ' lad' or 'attendant.' 
 
 my knave. Here "knave" is 
 Sec Note 46, Act iii., "Merry 
 
 TOL. in 
 
 249 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene XI I. 
 
 Which, whilst it was mine, had annex'd unto't 
 A million more, now lost,— she, Eros, has 
 Pack'd cards with CEesar,"^ and false play'd my 
 glory 
 
 Unto an enemy's triumph. — 
 
 Nay, weep not, gentle Eros ; there is left us 
 
 Ourselves to end ourselves. 
 
 Enter Mardian. 
 
 Oh, thy vile lady ! 
 She has robb'd me of my sword. 
 
 Mar. No, Antony; 
 
 My mistress lov'd thee, and her fortunes mingled 
 With thine entirely. 
 
 Ant. Hence, saucy varlet ; peace ! 
 
 She hath betray'd me, and shall die the death. 
 Mar. Death of one person can be paid but 
 once. 
 
 And that she has discharg'd : what thou wouldst do 
 Is done unto thy hand : the last she spake 
 Was, " Antony ! most noble Antony !" 
 Then in the midst a tearing groan did break 
 The name of Antony ; it was divided 
 Between her heart and lips : she render'd life. 
 Thy name so buried in her. 
 
 Ant. Dead, then ? 
 
 Mar. Dead. 
 
 Ant. Unarm, Eros; the long day's task is done, 
 And we must sleep. — That thou depart'st hence 
 safe. 
 
 Does pay thy labour richly ; go. 
 
 [Exit Mardian. 
 Off, pluck off:- 
 The seven-fold shield of Ajax cannot keep 
 The battery from my heart.*^ Oh, cleave, my 
 sides ! 
 
 Heart, once be stronger than thy continent,^^ 
 Crack thy frail case! — Apace, Eros, apace.— 
 No more a soldier : — bruised pieces, go ; 
 You have been nobly borne. — From me awhile. 
 
 \_Exit Eros. 
 
 I will o'ertake thee, Cleopatra, and 
 
 56. Packed cards with CtEsar. * To pack cards' was a term 
 used for shuffling cards unfairly ; and the metaphor of playing 
 a game cheatingly is maintained by the word " triumph," in its 
 double sense of ' conquest ' and ' trump-card.' The Italian 
 -word for trump-card is ' trion/o,^ and the French word is 
 ' iriamf/ie.' " C2esar" is misprinted 'Cassars' in the Folio. 
 
 57. The battery from vty heart. Here "from" has the 
 force of ' proceeding from ; ' the sentence signifying, ' Even 
 the seven-fold shield of Ajax cannot retain this battery that 
 comes from my heart. Let it break through ; and oh, may my 
 sides cleave asunder ! ' 
 
 58. Continent. Shakespeare uses this word to express that 
 which contains. See Note 33, Act iii., " Merchant of Venice." 
 
 59. All length is torture. Steevens proposed to change 
 " length " to ' life ; ' but it appears to us that " length " is here 
 used to express ' lingering,' ' deferred conclusion,' ' length of 
 endurance and existence.' 
 
 &). Less noble mind. 'And to be of is elliptically under- 
 
 Weep for my pardon. So it must be, for now 
 All length is torture — since the torch is out, 
 Lie down, and stray no farther : now all labour 
 Mars what it does; yea, very force entangles 
 Itself with strength : seal then, and all is done.— 
 Eros! — I come, my queen.— Eros !— Stay for me: 
 Where souls do couch on flowers, we'll hand in 
 hand, 
 
 And with our sprightly port make the ghosts gaze : 
 
 Dido and her ^neas shall want troops, 
 
 And all the haunt be ours. — Come, Eros ! Eros! 
 
 Re-enter Eros. 
 Erps. What would my lord ? 
 Ant. Since Cljopatra died, 
 
 I have liv'd in such dishonour, that the gods 
 Detest my baseness. I, that with my sword 
 Quarter'd the world, and o'er green Neptune's 
 back 
 
 With ships made cities, condemn myself to lack 
 The courage of a woman ; less noble mind^" 
 Than she which by her death our Csesar tells, 
 " I am conqueror of myself." Thou art sworn, 
 Eros, 
 
 That, when the exigent should come (which now 
 Is come indeed), when I should see behind me 
 The inevitable prosecution of' 
 Disgrace and horror, that, on my command, 
 Thou then would'st kill me: do't; the time is 
 come : 
 
 Thou strik'st not me, 'tis Csesar thou defeat'sr. 
 Put colour in thy cheek. 
 
 Eros. The gods withhold me ! 
 
 Shall I do that which all the Parthian darts. 
 Though enemy, lost aim, and could not ? 
 
 Ant. Eros, 
 Wouldst thou be window'd in great Rome, and 
 see 
 
 Thy master thus with pleach'd^' arms, bending 
 down 
 
 His corrigible ^2 neck, his face subdu'd 
 
 To penetrative ^3 shame, whilst the wheel'd seat 
 
 stood before " less ; " this clause of the sentence being a follow- 
 ing on of the previous clause, " condemn myself to lack," &c. 
 The original passage in North's " Plutarch " will serve to illus- 
 trate the present one in Shakespeare : — ** O Cleopatra, it grieueth 
 me not that I haue lost thy company, for I will not be long fro 
 thee : but I am sorry, that hauing bene so great a Captaine 
 and Emperor, I am indeed condemned to be judged 0/ lesso 
 courage and noble mmd then a tuoman." It appears to us 
 that the construction in the present sentence is somewhat 
 similar to that in the sent^ce explained in Note 48, Act i., 
 "Henry VIII. ;" and we have thus thoroughly pointed this 
 out and discussed the reading here, because it has been sus- 
 pected of error and altered. 
 
 61. PleacKd. ' Intertwined,' ' folded together.' See Note 2, 
 Act iii., " Much Ado." 
 
 62. Corrigible. Here used for ' corrected.' See Note 66/ 
 Act i., "Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 63. Penetrative. Employed here in the sense of ' penetrating.' 
 See Note iii. Act i., " Twelfth Night." 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene XII. 
 
 Of fortunate Cffisar, drawn before hiin, branded 
 His baseness that ensu'd P^* 
 
 Eros. I would not see 't. 
 
 Ant. Come, then ; for with a wound I must be 
 cur'd. 
 
 Draw that thy honest sword, which thou hast 
 worn 
 
 Most useful for thy country. 
 
 Eros. Oh, sir, pardon me \ 
 
 Ant. When I did make thee free, swor'st thou 
 not then 
 
 To do this when I bade thee ? Do it at once ; 
 Or thy precedent services are all 
 But accidents unpurpos'd. Draw, and come. 
 Eros. Turn from me, then, that noble coun- 
 tenance. 
 
 Wherein the worship of the whole world lies.. 
 Ant. Lo thee ! [Turning from him. 
 
 Eros. My sword is drawn. 
 
 Ant, Then let it do at once 
 
 The thing why thou hast drawn it. 
 
 Eros. My dear master, 
 
 My captain, and my emperor, let me say, 
 Before I strike this bloody stroke, farewell. 
 
 Ant. 'Tis said, man and farewell. 
 
 Eros. Farewell, great chief. Shall I strike 
 no\Y ? 
 
 Ant. Now, Eros. 
 
 Eros. Why, there then \_Falls on his szvord] : — 
 thus 1 do escape the sorrow 
 Of Antony's death. [Dies. 
 
 Ant. Thrice nobler than myself! 
 
 Thou teachest me, O valiant Eros, what 
 I should, and thou couldst not. My queen and 
 Eros 
 
 Have, by their brave instruction, got upon me'''' 
 A nobleness in record : but I will be 
 A bridegrooin in my death, and run into 't 
 As to a lover's bed. Come, then ; and, Eros, 
 Thy master dies thy scholar : to do thus 
 
 [Falling on his six ord. 
 I learn'd of thee. How ! not dead P not dead P — 
 The guard, ho ! — oh, despatch me ! 
 
 Enter Dercetas and Guard. 
 
 First Guard. What 's the noise ? 
 
 Ant. I have done my w-ork ill, friends : oh, 
 make an end 
 Of what I have begun. 
 
 Sec. Guard. The star is fall'n. 
 
 First Guqrd. And time is at his period. 
 
 All. Alas, and woe ! 
 
 64. Branded kis baseness that 
 ness him who followed.* 
 
 65. Pardon t^e. Here used i: 
 See Note 39, Act v., " Richard II." 
 
 66. Got npon me. An idiomatic phrase, signifying ' forc- 
 
 tisu'd. ' Branded with base- 
 the sense of 'excuse me.' 
 
 Ant. Let him that loves me strike me dead. 
 First Guard. Not I, 
 
 Sec. Guard. Nor I. 
 
 Third Guard. Nor any one. [Exeunt GmsltA. 
 Der. Thy death and fortunes bid thy followers 
 fly. 
 
 This sword but shown to Ca;sar, with this tidings. 
 Shall enter me with him.^^ 
 
 Enter Diomedes. 
 Dio. Where 's Antony ? 
 
 Der. There, Diomed, there. 
 
 Dio. Lives he ? 
 
 Wilt thou not answer, man ? [Exit Dercetas. 
 
 Ant. Art thou there, Diomed ? Draw thy 
 sword, and give me 
 Sufficing strokes for death. 
 
 Dio, Most absolute lord, 
 
 My mistress Cleopatra sent me to thee. 
 
 Ant. When did she send thee P 
 
 Dio. Now, my lord. 
 
 Ant. Where is she P 
 
 Dio. Lock'd in her monument. She had a 
 prophesying fear 
 Of what hath come to pass : for when she saw 
 (Which never shall be found) you did suspect 
 She had dispos'd^^ with Csesar, and that your 
 rage 
 
 Would not be purg'd, she sent you word she was 
 dead ; 
 
 But, fearing since how it might work, hath sent 
 Me to proclaim the truth ; and I am come, 
 I dread, too late. 
 Ant. Too late, good Diomed : — call my guard, 
 I pr'ythee. 
 
 Dio. What, ho, the emperor's guard ! The 
 guard, what, ho ! 
 Come, your lord calls ! 
 
 Enter some of the Guard. 
 
 Ant. Bear me, good friends, wher? Cleopatra 
 bides ; 
 
 'Tis the last service that I shall command you. 
 First Guard. Woe, woe are we, sir, you may not 
 live to wear 
 All your true followers out. 
 All. Most heavy day ! 
 
 Ant. Nay, good my fellows, do not please sharp 
 fate 
 
 To grace it with your sorrows; bid that welcome 
 Which comes to punish us, and we punish it 
 
 stalled 
 
 winning or securing,' 'gained in advance of 
 
 67. Shall enter 7ne with him. * Will give me entrance into 
 his service,' ' will cause him to give me acceptance and entertain 
 me in his service.' 
 
 68. Dispos'd. 'Arranged;' 'adjusted matters." 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA 
 
 [Scene XIII. 
 
 Seeming to bear it lightly. Take me up : 
 
 I have led you oft : carry me now, good friends, 
 
 And have my thanks for all. 
 
 [Exeunt, bearing Antony. 
 
 SCENE XIII.— Alexandria. A Monument. 
 Enter, above, Cleopatra, Charmian, and Iras. 
 
 Cleo. O Charmian, I vi'ill never go from hence. 
 
 Char. Be comforted, dear madam. 
 
 Cleo. No, I will not : 
 
 All strange and teiTible events are welcome, 
 But comforts we despise ; our size of sorrow, 
 Proportion'd to our cause, must be as great 
 As that which makes it. 
 
 Enter, beloiv, Diomedes. 
 
 How now ! is he dead ? 
 Dio. His death 's upon him, but not dead. 
 Look out o' the other side your monument ; 
 His guard have brought him thither.*^ 
 
 Enter, beloixi, Antony, borne by the Guard. 
 Cleo. O sun, 
 
 Burn the great sphere thou mov'st in — -darkling'' 
 stand 
 
 The varying shore''^ o' the world. — O Antony, 
 Antony, Antony ! — Help, Charmian, help, Iras, 
 help;— 
 
 Help, friends below ; — let 's draw him hither. 
 
 Ant. . Peace ! 
 
 Not Csesar's valour hath o'erthrown Antony, 
 But Antony's hath triumph'd on itself 
 
 Cleo. So it should be, that none but Antony 
 Should conquer Antony ; but woe 'tis so ! 
 
 Ant. I am dying, Egypt, dying; only 
 
 69. Have hrought him thither. Here "thither" is used for 
 ■ there,' as in the passage e.\plained in Note 44, Act iii., 
 "Romeo and Juliet." See also Note 54, Act ii., of the present 
 play. 
 
 70. O suii, bum the great sjihere thou mov st in '. According 
 to antique philosophy, the sun was a planet that was whirled 
 round the earth by the motion of a solid sphere in which it was 
 fixed. Were this sphere to be burned, the sun must necessarily 
 • drop through and wander in endless space, thus leaving the 
 earth involved in eternal night. Here is another of those allu- 
 sions to ancient theories in astronomy which aid in giving the 
 effect of primitive period to the epoch of this noble drama. See 
 Note iS of the present Act. 
 
 71. Darkling. ' In darkness.' See Note 127, Act i., " Kinj 
 Lear." 
 
 72. T/te varying shore. The epithet "var>-ing" indicates 
 the variations and alternations of light and darkness upon the 
 earth. 
 
 73. / dare not. Meaning, ' I dare not come down out of the 
 monument.' 
 
 74. Brooch' d. 'Ornamented,' 'adorned,' 'decorated.' See 
 Note 80, Act iv., " Hamlet." 
 
 75. Still conclusion. ' Quiet determination,' ' calm and fimal 
 
 I here importune death awhile, until 
 Of many thousand kisses the poor last 
 I lay upon thy lips. 
 
 Cleo. I dare not, dear, — 
 
 Dear my lord, pardon, — I dare not,^^ 
 Lest I be taken : not the imperious show 
 Of the full-fortun'd Csesar ever shall 
 Be brooch'd with me ; if knife, drugs, serpents, 
 have 
 
 Edge, sting, or operation, I am safe . 
 Your wife Octavia, with her modest eyes 
 And still conclusion, 75 shall acquire no honour 
 Demuring^6^pQr^ ,^g_ — g^(. come,come, Antony, — 
 Help me, my women, — we must draw thee up ; — 
 Assist, good friends. 
 
 Ant. Oh, quick, or I am gone. 
 
 Cleo. Here 's sport indeed !'''' — How heavy weighs 
 my lord ! 
 
 Our strength is all gone into heaviness, 
 That makes the weight : had I great Juno's power, 
 The strong-wing'd Mercury should fetch thee up. 
 And set thee by Jove's side. Yet come a little, — • 
 Wishers were ever fools, — oh, come, come, come; 
 
 [They dranu Antony up. 
 And welcome, welcome! die where thou hast 
 liv'd : '8 
 
 Quicken with kissing : 7' had my lips that power, 
 i Thus woiild I wear them out. 
 
 All. A heavy sight! 
 
 I Ant. I am dying, Egypt, dying : 
 
 Give me some wine, and let me speak a little. 
 I Cleo. No, let me speak; and let me rail so high, 
 
 'I'hat the false housewife Fortune break her wheel, 
 
 Provok'd by my offence. 
 I Ant. One word, sweet queen : 
 
 Of Cssar seek your honour, with your safety. — Oh ! 
 I Cleo. They do not go together. 
 I Ant. Gentle, hear me : 8" 
 
 ! None about Cffisar trust but Proculeius. 
 
 This picturing of Cleopatra's imagmation, represent- 
 ing to her her rival's quietude in the tokens of disdain she will 
 doubtless overwhelm her with, is finely characteristic ; showing, 
 too, as it does, that the Egyptian queen has not forgotten the 
 sweet, "low-voiced" tone she once heard described, and which 
 she then could afford to disparage as "dull of tongue" (see 
 Note 16, Act iii.), though now she feels it to be an acute en- 
 hancement of the scorn she anticipates. 
 
 76. Demuring. A word felicitously coined by Shakespeare 
 to express the look from Octavia's " modest eyes" as conceived 
 by Cleopatra to be cast upon herself 
 
 77. Here's sport indeed t Several felonious attempts have 
 been made to rob us of the word " sport " here, by those who 
 would substitute 'support,' or 'port;' but surely "sport" re- 
 presents precisely the bitter mood of Cleopatra's mind at this 
 
 cruel earnest into mocking pastime. The play 
 lical exclamation 
 ist be right. 
 
 upon words with which she follows up her irc 
 might suffice to show that the original word m 
 
 78. Die where thou hast lii/d. The Folio 
 ' ' where. " Pope's correction. 
 
 79. Quicken with kissing. ' Revive by 
 again by my caresses.' 
 
 " 80. Gentle, hear me. See Note 67, Act iv. 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene XIII. • 
 
 Cleo. My resolution and my hands I'll trust; 
 None about Caspar. 
 
 Ant. The miserable change now at my end 
 Lament nor sorrow at; but please your thoughts 
 In feeding them with those my former fortunes 
 Wherein I liv'd, the greatest prince o' the world, 
 The noblest ; and do now not basely die,*' 
 Not cowardly put off my helmet*^ to 
 My countryman, — a Roman by a Roman 
 Valiantly vanquish'd. Now my spirit is going ; 
 I can no more. 
 
 • Cleo. Noblest of men, woo't die ? 
 
 Hast thou no care of me?^^ shall I abide 
 In this dull world, which in thy absence is 
 No better than a sty ? — Oh, see, my women, 
 
 [Antony- dies. 
 The crown o' the earth doth melt :— My lord !— 
 Oh, wither'd is the garland of the war. 
 The soldier's pole^* is fall'n: young boys and girls 
 Are level now with men ; the odds is gone, 
 And there is nothing left remarkable 
 Beneath the visiting moon. [Faints. 
 Char. Oh, quietness, lady ! 
 
 Iras. She is dead too, our sovereign. 
 Char. Lady !— 
 
 Iras. Madam! — 
 
 Char, Oh, madam, madam, madam ! — 
 Iras. Royal Egypt ! 
 
 Empress ! — 
 
 ow not basely die. ' That I ' is elliptically under- 
 o." The construction in the present passage is 
 )ne discussed in Note 60 of this Act. 
 zrdly put off tny helmet. "Not" has been 
 
 81. And do } 
 stood before " ( 
 like that in the 
 
 82. Not COIL 
 
 changed by Rowe and others to *nor' here: but Shakespeare 
 sometimes has this kind of repeated word in a sentence ; as for 
 instance, " Cymbellne," Act iv., sc. 2 — "Not frenzy, not absolute 
 madness could so far," &c. ; " Second Part Henry VI.," Act v., 
 sc. I— "No, thou art 7iot king; not fit to govern," &c., and 
 " Othello," Act iii., sc. 3—" .Shall ne'er look back, ne'er ebb to 
 humble love." It has also been suggested that " put off" should 
 be changed to ' but doff,' altering the punctuation of the line. 
 This change, however, would reverse the meaning of the sen- 
 tence ; which we take to be—' Solace your thoughts by dwelling 
 upon the prosperous fortunes wherein X formerly lived the 
 greatest and noblest prince of the world ; and by remembering 
 that I now do not basely die as a conquered man, coward-like 
 taking off my helmet to my countryman— but as a Roman by 
 a Roman valiantly vanquished in fair field, and dying by his own 
 hand.' See Note 25, Act v., "Julius Caesar," and Note 108, 
 Act v., " Hamlet." 
 
 83. Hast thou no care of me ? It is worthy of observation 
 
 Char. Peace, peace, Iras ! 
 
 C/eo. No more, but e'en a woman, 8= and com- 
 manded 
 
 By such poor passion as the maid that milks. 
 And does the meanest chares.*^ — It were for me 
 To throw my sceptre at the injurious gods; 
 To tell them that this world did equal theirs 
 Till they had stol'n our jewel. All 's but 
 naught ; 
 
 Patience is sottish, and impatience does 
 Become a dog that 's mad : then is it sin 
 To rush into the secret house of death, 
 Ere death dare come to us? — How do you, 
 women ? 
 
 What, what! good cheer! Why, how now, 
 Charmian ! 
 
 My noble girls ! — Ah, women, women, look, 
 Our lamp is spent, it 's out ! — Good sirs,*^ take 
 heart: — 
 
 We'll bury him; and then, what 's brave, what's 
 noble, 
 
 Let 's do it after the high Roman fashion. 
 And make death proud to take us. Come 
 away : — 
 
 This case of that huge spirit now is cold : 
 
 Ah, women, women ! — come; we have no friend 
 
 But resolution, and the briefest end. 
 
 l^Exeunt; those abonje bearing oj- 
 Antony's body. 
 
 how truly Shakespeare has preserved throughout this scene the 
 selfishness that characterises such a woman as Cleopatra, and 
 such love as hers. Contrast her egoistic waitings and selfish 
 calculations in the moment of Antony's death — though she loves 
 him as thoroughly as it is in the nature of women like her to 
 love — with the noble self-abnegation of such women as Imogen, 
 Hermione, Desdemona, Helena, Juliet, &c. 
 
 84. The soldiers pole. Their standard or rallying point. 
 
 85. No more, but e'en a woman. The Folio has ' in ' for 
 " e'en." Capell's correction. Cleopatra says this in reply to 
 Iras, who has addressed her as " Royal Egypt " and " Empress." 
 Shakespeare not imfrequently has these crossing speeches. See 
 Note 87, Act i., " Julius Csesar." 
 
 86. Chares. ' Transient services,' in opposition to permanent 
 service ; and we still have the word ' char-woman ' for a person 
 engaged by the day, to perform a single task or bout of work, 
 in contradistinction to a regular hired servant. See Note 50, Act v. 
 
 87. Good sirs. Malone added a stage-direction here \To the 
 Guard below], thinking the words must be addressed to men ; 
 but " sirs " was formerly sometimes used in speaking to women 
 as well as to men. Several passages from oiu: elder dramatists 
 testify this. See Note 49, Act v. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 ACT 
 
 SCENE I. — Cesar's Camp before Alexandria. 
 
 Enter C^sar, Agrippa, Dolabella, Mec^nas, 
 Gallus, Proculeius, and others. 
 
 Cas. Go to him, Dolabella, bid him yield ; 
 Being so frustrate,' tell him he mocks us by - 
 The pauses that he makes. 
 
 Dol. C;esar, I shall. \_Exit. 
 
 Enter Dercetas, nxihh the sivord of Antony. 
 
 Cies. Wherefore is that ? and what art thou 
 that dar'st 
 Appear thus to us P 
 
 Der. I am call'd Dercetas ; 
 
 Mark Antony I serv'd, who best was worthy 
 Best to be serv'd : whilst he stood up and 
 spoke, 
 
 He was my master ; and I wore my life 
 To spend upon his haters. If thou please 
 To take me to thee, as I was to him 
 I'll be to Cssar; if thou pleasest not, 
 I yield thee up my life. 
 
 C<es. What is 't thou say'st ? 
 
 Der. I say, O Csesar, Antony is dead. 
 
 Ciss. The breaking of so great a thing should 
 make 
 
 A greater crack : the round world-* 
 
 Should have shook lions into civil streets, 
 
 And citizens to their dens :— the death of Antony 
 
 Is not a single doom ; in the name lay 
 
 A moiety of the world. 
 
 Der. He is dead, Cassar; 
 
 Not by a public minister of justice. 
 Nor by a hired knife ; but that self hand. 
 Which writ his honour in the acts it did. 
 Hath, with the courage which the heart did 
 lend it. 
 
 1. Frustrate. An abbreviated form of ' frustrated ; ' as 
 "create" is of 'created' (see Note 45, Act ii., " Henry V."), 
 and " derogate" of 'derogated.' See Note 141, Act i., "King 
 
 2. He mocks us by. The Folio on-.its 'us by.' Inserted by 
 Malone. 
 
 3. Tliat dar'st appear thus to us ? " Thus " implies ' with a 
 drawn and bloody sword in thy hand.' 
 
 4. The round world. It has been conjectured that something 
 has been omitted from this line, and various insertions have been 
 proposed, as, ' in rending,' or ' convulsive,' at its close ; but as 
 some such words may be elliptically understood after "the 
 round world," and the sense is conveyed that the earth, being 
 riven by so dread an event as the destruction of Antony, should 
 have shaken lions into men's streets, and men into lions' dens, 
 we leave the text as it stands in the Folio. 
 
 5. Till gods rebuke me, but it is tidings, <5r>f. ' May the 
 gods rebuke me if t'.is be not tidings to make kings weep.' 
 
 V. 
 
 Splitted the heart. — This is his sword ; 
 I robb'd his wound of it; behold it stain' d 
 With his most noble blood. 
 
 Cces. Look you sad, friends ? 
 
 The gods rebuke me, but it is tidings 
 To wash the eyes of kings.* 
 
 Agr.^ And strange it is, 
 
 That nature must compel us to lament 
 Our most persisted deeds. 
 
 Mec. His taints and honours 
 
 Wag'd ' equal with him. 
 
 Agr. A rarer spirit never 
 
 Did steer humanity : but you, gods, will give us 
 Some faults to make us men. Csesar is touch'd. 
 
 Mec. When such a spacious mirror's set before 
 him, 
 
 He needs must see himself. 
 
 Cies. O Antony ! 
 
 I have foUow'd thee to this ; — but we do lance' 
 Diseases in our bodies : I must perforce 
 Have shown to thee such a declining day, 
 Or look on thine ; we could not stall together 
 In the whole world ; but yet let me lament, 
 With tears as sovereign as the blood of hearts, 
 That thou, my brother, my competitor* 
 In top of all design, my mate in empire, 
 Friend and companion in the front of war, 
 The arm of mine own body, and the heart 
 Where mine his thoughts did kindle,'" — that our 
 stars, 
 
 Unreconcileable, should divide 
 
 Our equalness to this. — Hear me, good friends, — 
 
 But I will tell you at some meeter season : 
 
 Enter a Messenger. 
 The business of this man looks out of him ; 
 We'll hear him what he says. — Whence are you ? 
 
 " But" is here used in the same manner that it is in the context 
 of the passage referred to in Note 132, Act i., " Hamlet "— " Oh, 
 day and night, biit this is wondrous strange ! " 
 
 6. Agr. The Folio gives this and the next speech to Dola- 
 bella, who has left the scene to fulfil Ca:sar's behest, as Ca;sar 
 himself afterwards recollects when he says, " I r, member now 
 how he's employed." Theobald made the correction. 
 
 7. Wag'd. We have more than once pointed out the peculiar 
 manner in which Shakespeare uses this word, and the elliptical 
 force with which he employs it. See passages referred to in 
 Note 60, Act i., "Othello." Here we take the sentence to 
 mean, ' His blemishes and honourable qualities maintained equal 
 strength of contending prevalence in him.' 
 
 8. Lance. Printed in the Folio, 'launch ; ' which was an old 
 corrupt form of " lance." 
 
 9. Competitor. ' Associate.' See Note 108, Act ii. 
 
 10. TAe heart where mine his thoughts did kindle. " His " 
 used for ' its.' 
 
Act v.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Ccesar. 'Wherefore ; 
 Appear thus to us ? 
 
 that? and what art thou that darst 
 
 Act V. Scene I. 
 
 Mess. A poor Egyptian yet.'i The queen my 
 mistress, 
 
 Confin'd in all she has, her monument, 
 Of thy intents desires instruction. 
 That she preparedly may frame herself 
 To the way she 's forc'd to. 
 
 Cces. Bid her have good heart; 
 
 She soon shall know of us, by some of ours, 
 How honourable and how kindly we 
 Determine for her ; for Csesar cannot live 
 To be uny-entle. 
 
 II. IVkence are you ? A poor Egyptian yet. It has been 
 proposed to add 'What?' after "you?" to complete the line, 
 and to introduce the reply more consistently ; but Shakespeare 
 occasionally has these peculiar and apparently inexact re- 
 joinders. See Note 44, Act iv., " King Lear;" and Note 29, 
 Act iv., " King John." The word "yet" here has the force 
 of 'as yet,' or 'till now.' See Note 35, Act iii., "Second Part 
 Henry VI." The messenger means, t have been hitherto no 
 
 Mess. 
 
 So the gods preserve thee ! 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 Ctes. Come hither, Proculeius. Go and say. 
 We purpose her no shame: give her what comforts 
 The quality of her passion shall require. 
 Lest, in her greatness, by some mortal stroke 
 She do defeat us ; for her life in Rome 
 Would be eternal in our triumph: go. 
 And with your speediest bring us wliat she says, 
 And how you find of her. 
 
 Pro. Casar, I shall." \_Exit. 
 
 more than a poor Egyptian ; but, at present— now that my queen 
 is bereft of all — I am messenger from Cleopatra to Octavius 
 CKsar. 
 
 12. CiEsar cannot live to be ungentle. The Folio has ' leave ' 
 for "live." Rowe's correction. 
 
 13. Her life in Rome would be eternal in our triumph. 
 ' Her living presence in Rome would render our triumph 
 
Act v.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 Cleopatra. Ha^t th. 
 That kills and pa 
 
 Act V. Scene II. 
 
 Cces. Gallus, go you along. [Exit Gal.] 
 Where's Dolabella, 
 To second Pioculeius ? 
 
 Jgr. Mec. Dolabella ! 
 
 Cies. Let him alone, for I remember now 
 How he's employ'd : he shall in time be ready. 
 Go with me to my tent ; where you shall see 
 How hardly I was drawn into this war; 
 How calm and gentle I proceeded still 
 [n all my writings : go with me, and see 
 What I can show in this. [Exeunt. 
 
 14. Tlie monument. In the present scene, as hi scene 13 of 
 the previous Act, the inside as well as the outside of the monu- 
 ment arc supposed to be visible to the spectators ; and we have 
 instances of this kind of scenic arrangement in more than one of 
 Shakespeare's plays. See Note 4, Act iii,, "Julius Ca:sar." 
 
 15. Which shackles accidents, and bolts up change ; which 
 sleeps. Here " which," by a poetical and constructional licence, 
 is allowed to represent the act by which death is self-inflicted, 
 and then the condition of death thus caused. 
 
 SCENE I r. — Alexandria. The Monument.^* 
 Enter Cleopatra, Charmian, and Iras. 
 
 Cleo. My desolation does begin to make 
 A better life. 'Tis paltry to be Csesar ; 
 Not being Fortune, he 's but Fortune's knave, 
 A minister of her will : and it is great 
 To do that thing that ends all other deeds ; 
 Which shackles accidents, and bolts up change ; 
 Which sleeps, '-5 and never pal.itcs more the 
 dung,''" 
 
 The beggar's nurse and Cajsar's. 
 
 16. The dung. This has been altered by Theobald and others 
 to ' the dug ;' but we take " the dung" here to mean the grossly 
 material products of the earth (see Note 16, Act i.), that afford 
 nutriment equally to the beggar and to Caesar. Shakespeare 
 more than once makes earth the general source of human food, 
 of that which sustains corporeal life. See, for instance, the 
 passage referred to in Note 45, Act iv., " Timon of Athens." 
 See also Note 57, Act v., of the present play. 
 
 TOL. in. 
 
 250 
 
Act v.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Enter, beloiu, to the gates of the Monument, 
 Proculeius, Gallus, and Soldiers. 
 Pro. Caesar sends greeting to the Queen of 
 Egypt ; 
 
 And bids thee study on what fair demands 
 Thou inean'st to have him grant thee. 
 
 Cleo. What's thy name ? 
 
 Pro. My name is Proculeius. 
 
 C/eo. Antony 
 Did tell me of you, bade me trust you ; but 
 I do not greatly care to be deceiv'd, 
 That have no use for trusting. If your master 
 Would have a queen his beggar, you must tell him. 
 That majesty, to keep decorum, must 
 No less beg than a kingdom : if he please 
 To give me conquer'd Egypt for my son, 
 He gives me so much of mine own, as I 
 Will kneel to him with thanks. 
 
 Pro. Be of good cheer ; 
 
 You're fall'n into a princely hand, fear nothing : 
 Make your full reference freely to my lord, 
 Who is so full of grace, that it flows over 
 On all that need : let me report to him 
 Your sweet dependancy ; and you shall find 
 A conqueror that will pray in aid^^ for kindness, 
 Where he for grace is kneel'd to. 
 
 Cleo. Pray you, tell him 
 
 I am his fortune's vassal, and I send him 
 The greatness he has got.'' I hourly learn 
 A doctrine of obedience ; and would gladly 
 Look him i' the face. 
 
 Pro, This I'll report, dear lady. 
 
 Have comfort, for I know your plight is pitied 
 Of him that caus'd it. 
 
 Ga/. \_Astde to Pro.] You see how easily she 
 may be surpris'd : 
 
 Proculeius and tivo of the Guard ascend 
 the Monument by a ladder, and come 
 behind Cleopatra. Some of the 
 Guard unbar and open the gates, 
 discovering the loiuer room of the 
 Monument. 
 
 \_Aloud to Pro.] Guard her till C«sar come. 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 Iras. Royal queen ! 
 
 Char. O Cleopatra! thou art taken, queen! 
 
 17. As I will kneel to him with thanks. Here !t has been 
 averred that "as " is used for ' that ; ' but we think that this is 
 one of the sentences where Shakespeare allows a final word to 
 be elliptically understood — 'for' being here understood after 
 "thanks." See Note 27, Act i., "Romeo and Juliet;" and 
 Note 89, Act i., of the present play. See also Note 23 of this Act. 
 
 18. Pray in aid. A law term ; 'praying in aid' being used 
 for a petition made in a court of justice for the calling in of help 
 from another that hath an interest in the cause in question. 
 
 19. / send him the greatness he has got. ' I deliver up to 
 him that power which he has already achieved.' 
 
 20. {[/ idle talk will once be necessary.) ' If it be needful to 
 prate of my intentions.' " Idle " is here used in the sense of 
 
 Cleo. Quick, quick, good hands.. 
 
 \_Draixing a dagger. 
 
 Pro. Hold, worthy lady, hold : 
 
 [^Seizes and disarms her. 
 Do not yourself such wrong, who are in this 
 RelieV'd, but not betray'd. 
 
 Cleo. What, of death too, 
 
 That rids our dogs of languish i 
 
 Pro. Cleopatra, 
 Do not abuse my master's bounty by 
 The undoing of yourself: let the world see 
 His nobleness well acted, which your death 
 Will never let come forth. 
 
 Cleo. Where art thou, death ? 
 
 Come hither, come ! come, come, and take a 
 queen 
 
 Worth many babes and beggars ! 
 
 Pro. Oh, temperance, lady ! 
 
 Cleo. Sir, I will eat no meat, I'll not drink, sir; 
 (If idle talk will once be necessary,)20 
 I'll not sleep neither : this mortal house I'll ruin, 
 Do Csesar what he can. Know, sir, that I 
 Will not wait pinion'd at your master's court ; 
 Nor once be chastis'd with the sober eye 
 Of dull Octavia. Shall they hoist me up, 
 And show me to the shouting varletry 
 Of censuring Rome ? Rather a ditch in Egypt 
 Be gentle grave to me ! rather on Nilus' mud 
 Lay me stark nak'd,^' and let the water-flies 
 Blow me into abhorring ! rather make 
 My country's high pyramides^^ my gibbet, 
 And hang me up in chains ! 
 
 Pro. You do extend 
 
 These thoughts of horror farther than you shall 
 Find cause in Caesar.^^ 
 
 Enter DoLABELLA, Lelonu. 
 Dol. Proculeius, 
 What thou hast done thy master Caesar knows, 
 And he hath sent for thee : for the queen, 
 I'll take her to my guard. 
 
 Pro. So, Dolabella, 
 
 It shall content nie best : 
 
 [Brings Cleopatra donvn into the loixer 
 room of the Monument, and delivers 
 her to Dolabella.2^ 
 
 be gentle to her.- — 
 
 ' futile,' ' vain,' 'superfluous;' "will be" is sometimes used by 
 Shakespeare where there is no question of future time (see 
 Note 77, Act iii., " Cynibeline " ) ; and " oBce," for 'at all,' 'at 
 any time,' 'some time,' 'at an indefinite time.' See Note 63, 
 Acti., " Henry VIII." 
 
 21. Nak'd. Sometimes, as here, used monosyllabically, where 
 the rhythm of the line requires it, by writers contemporary with 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 22. Pyramides. A form of 'pyramids,' sometimes formerly 
 employed where a quadrisyllable was needed. 
 
 23. Farther than you shall find cause in Ccesar. ' For 
 them' is elliptically understood after " cause." 
 
 24. {^Brings Cleofatra down, b'c. This stage direction has 
 
Act v.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 [To Cleo.] To Caesar I will speak what you 
 
 shall please, 
 If you'll employ ine to him. 
 Cleo. . Say, I would die. 
 
 \_Exeunt Proculeius and Soldiers. 
 Dol. Most noble empress, you have heard of 
 me? 
 
 Cleo. I cannot tell. 
 
 Dol. Assuredly you know me. 
 
 Cleo. No matter, sir, what I have heard or 
 known. 
 
 You laugh when boys or women tell their dreams ; 
 Is 't not your trick ? 
 
 Dol. I understand not, madam. 
 
 Cleo. I dream'd there was an emperor Antony : — 
 Oh, such another sleep, that I might see 
 But such another man ! 
 
 Dol. If it might please you, — 
 
 Cleo. His face was as the heavens; and therein 
 stuck 
 
 A sun and moon, which kept their course, and 
 
 lighted 
 The little O, the earth.^' 
 
 Dol. Most sovereign creature, — 
 
 Cleo. His legs bestrid the ocean : his rear'd 
 arm 
 
 Crested the world : his voice was propertied 
 As all the tuned spheres, and that to friends ; 
 But when he meant to quail and shake the orb, 
 He was as rattling thunder. For his bounty. 
 There was no winter in 't ; an autumn 'twas 
 That grew the more by reaping : his delights 
 Were dolphin-like ; they show'd his back above 
 The element they liv'd in : in his livery 
 Walk'd crowns and crownets ; realms and islands 
 were 
 
 As plates*^ dropp'd from his pocket. 
 
 Dol. Cleopatra, — 
 
 Cleo. Think you there was, or might be, such 
 a man 
 As this I dream'd of? 
 
 Dol. Gentle madam, no. 
 
 Cleo. You lie, up to tiie hearing of the gods. 
 
 But, if there be, or ever were, one such. 
 It's past the sizs of dreaming : nature wants stuff 
 To vie 2' strange forms with fancy ; yet, to imagine 
 
 been added by the editors, as affording an idea of the situation 
 in the present scene. They have had no scruple in doing this, 
 since the rest of the stage directions are modern additions 
 founded upon Plutarch's narration of the incidents here drama- 
 tised ; and there would be no means of accounting for what 
 subsequently takes place, were we not to imagine Cleopatra as 
 being still withinside her monument. 
 
 25. T/ie little O, the earth. Shakespeare uses " O " to cy- 
 press an orb, globe, or circular object. See Note 2, Act i., 
 " Henry V." 
 
 26. An autumn 'twas. The Folio misprints 'Anthony' for 
 "autumn." Theobald's correction, suggested by Thirlby. 
 
 , 27. Plates. Silver coin or pieces of money. Spanish, plata. 
 28. To vie. 'To produce compotitively.' "Vie" is a term 
 
 An Antony, were nature's piece 'gainst fancy. 
 Condemning shadows quite.-' 
 
 DoL Hear me, good madam. 
 
 Your loss is as yourself, great ; and you bear it 
 As answering to the weight : would I might never 
 O'ertake pursu'd success, but I do feel, 
 By the rebound of yours, a grief that smites^" 
 My very heart at root. 
 
 Cleo. I thank you, sir. 
 
 Know you what Csesar means to do with me ? 
 
 Dol. I am loath to tell you what I would you 
 knew. 
 
 Cleo. Nay, pray you, sir, — 
 
 Dol. Though he he honourable, — 
 
 Cleo. He'll lead me, then, in triumph ? 
 
 Dol. Madam, he will ; I know it. 
 
 [Flourish luilhin. 
 Within. Make way there ! — Cassar ! 
 
 Enter Cjeskk, Gallus, Proculeius, Mecenas, 
 Seleucus, and Attendants. 
 
 Cvs. Which is the Queen of Egypt ? 
 
 Dol. It is the emperor, madam. 
 
 [Cleopatra kneels. 
 
 Cics. Arise, you shall not kneel : 
 I pray you rise ; rise, Egypt. 
 
 Cleo. Sir, the gods 
 
 Will have it thus ; my master and my lord 
 I must obey. 
 
 Cics. Take to you no hard thoughts : 
 The record of what injuries you did us, 
 Though written in our flesh, we shall remember 
 As things but done by chance. 
 
 Cleo. Sole sir 3' o' the world, 
 
 I cannot project'^ mine own cause so well 
 To make it clear ; but do confess I have 
 Been laden with like frailties which before 
 Have often sham'd our sex. 
 
 Gas. Cleopatra, know. 
 
 We will extenuate rather than enforce : 
 If you apply yourself to our intents 
 (Which towards yoii are most gentle), you shall 
 find 
 
 A benefit in this change ; but if you seek 
 To lay on me a cruelty, by taking 
 Antony's course, you shall bereave yourself 
 
 used at cards, and came to be more generally applied. See 
 Note 30, Act i!., " Taming of the Shrew." 
 
 2j. Condemning shadows quite. The diction is condensed 
 here ; but we take the sense of the passage to be — ' Nature is 
 deficient in material to compete with fancy in producing extra- 
 ordinary forms : yet to conceive an Antony was a masterpiece 
 of nature produced against fancy, that cast into defeat aU 
 imaginary shapes whatever.' 
 
 y:>. Smites. The Folio prints ' suites' for " smites." Capeli's 
 
 31. Sir. Here used substantively. See Note 27, Act ii., 
 "Othello." 
 
 32. Project. ' Put forth,' ' set forth,' ' make out a state- 
 
Act V.J 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Of my good purposes, and put your children 
 To that destruction which I'll guard them from, 
 If thereon you rely. I'll take my leave. 
 Cleo. And may, through all the world : 'tis 
 yours ; and we, 
 Your scutcheons and your signs of conquest, shall 
 Hang in what place you please. Here, inv good 
 lord. 
 
 Cces. You shall advise me in all for Cleopatra. 
 
 Cleo. [Gi-v/)!g a scroti.'] This is the briefs of 
 money, plate, and jewels, 
 I am possess'd of : 'tis exactly valu'd ; 
 Not petty things admitted.^* Where 's Seleucus ? 
 
 Set. Here, madam. 
 
 Cleo. . This is my treasurer : let him speak, my 
 lord, 
 
 .Upon his peril, that I have reserv'd 
 To myself nothing.— Speak the truth, Seleucus. 
 
 Sel. Madam, 
 I had rather seal my lips,^' than, to my peril. 
 Speak that which is not. 
 
 Cleo. What have I kept back ? 
 
 Sel. Enough to purchase what you have male 
 known. 
 
 Cas. Nay, blush not, Cleopatra ; I apj)rove 
 Your wisdom in the deed. 
 
 Cleo. See, Caesar ! oh, behold, 
 
 How pomp is follow'd ! mine will now be yours; 
 And, should we shift estates, yours would be mine. 
 The ingratitude of this Seleucus does 
 Even make me wild : oh, slave, of no more trust 
 Than love that 's hir'd ! — What, goest thou back F 
 thou shalt 
 
 Go back, I warrant thee ; but I'll catch thine eyes, 
 'Though they had wings: slave, soulless villain, 
 
 dog! 
 Oh, rarely base ! 
 
 Cas. Good queen, let us entreat you. 
 
 Cleo. O Caesar, \yhat a wounding shame is 
 'this,— 
 
 That thou,' vouchsafing here to visit me, 
 Doing the honour of thy lordliness 
 
 33. The brief. 'The short list,' 'the memorandum.' See 
 Note 16, Act ii., " King John." 
 
 34. Not petty things admitted. Theobald proposed to alter 
 "admitted" to 'omitted' here ; but it appears to us that the 
 original word expresses precisely what Cleopatra wishes to 
 convey— that she has not entered in the list certain articles 
 which she afterwards designates as " lady trifles," " immoment 
 toys," and " things of such dignity as we greet n)odern friends 
 withal." Then, finding that her treasurer betrays her having 
 kept back enough to equal in value that which she has made 
 known, she vindicates this by speaking of it as " some nobler 
 token " that she has " kept apart for Livia and Octavia, to 
 induce their mediation.'* 
 
 35. / had rather seal my lips. The Folio gives ' seele ' for 
 "seal," probably by a misprint; since Shakespeare uses the 
 expressions "seal up your Hps," and "seal th' accuser's lips," 
 elsevyhere ; whereas he employs ' seel ' almost exclusively in 
 reference to eyes or sl^ht. 
 
 36. Parcel the sum. ' Increase the amount of collective 
 
 To one so meek, that mine own servant should 
 Parcel the su.n^'' of my disgraces by 
 Addition of his envy Say, good Caesar, 
 Tliat I some lady trifles have reserv'^d, 
 Immoment toys, things of such dignity 
 As we greet modern** friends withal; and say. 
 Some nobler token I have kept apart 
 For Livia 3^ and Octavia, to induce 
 Their mediation ; must I be unfolded 
 With one that I have bred ? The gods! it 
 smites me 
 
 Beneath the fall I have.— [To Sel.] Pr'ythee, go 
 hence ; 
 
 Or I shall show the cinders of my s})irits 
 Through the ashes of my chance : — wert thou a 
 man, 
 
 I'hou wouldst have mercy on me. 
 
 Cics. Forbear, Seleucus. 
 
 lExit Seleucjus. 
 Cleo. Be it known, that we, the greatest, are 
 misthought 
 For things that others do ; and, when we fall, 
 We answer others' merits in our name. 
 Are therefore to be pitied 
 
 Cces. Cleopatra, 
 Not what vou have reserv'd, nor what acknovv- 
 ledg'd. 
 
 Put we i' the roll of conquest: still be 't yours, 
 Bestow it at your pleasure; and believe, 
 Ca;3ar's no merchant, to make prize with you 
 Of things that merchants sold. Therefore be 
 cheer'd ; 
 
 Make not your thoughts your prisons : no, dear 
 queen ; 
 
 For we intend so to dispose you, as 
 
 Yourself shall give us counsel, l'"eed, and sleej) : 
 
 Our care and pity is so much upon you. 
 
 That we remain your friend ; and so, adieu. 
 
 Cleo. My master, and my lord ! 
 
 Cas. Not so. Adieu. 
 
 [Flourish. Exeunt C^SAR and his Train. 
 
 items in the sum.' See Note 78, Act ii., " First Part 
 Henry IV." 
 37. Envy. ' Malice.' 
 
 ■ii. Modern. ' Usual,' ' ordinary,' / common.' See Note 71, 
 Acti., "Othello." 
 
 39. Livia. Tne wife of Octavius Cffisar. 
 
 40. Unfolded with one that /, " With " used for ' by.' 
 
 41. Chance. Here used for 'fortune,' 'lot;' the sentence 
 signifying, ' Or the last smouldering sparks of my fiery nature 
 will flam; forth through the ashes of my decayed fortune.' 
 
 42. Merits. This word, sometimes employed as ' deserts,' is 
 here used to express that which deserves reprobation, that 
 which merits punishment. 
 
 43. Are tiiereforc to be pitied. 'And' is elliptically under- 
 stood before " are." Several instances of this construction are 
 to be fijund in " Henry VIII.," and one of them is pointed out 
 in Note 14, Act ii., of that play. 
 
 44. Ma/cenot your tlwughts your prisons. 'Do not envelop 
 yourself in gloomy reflections.' In the last scene of "All's 
 Well," the king says, " I am wrapp'd in dismal thinkings." 
 
Cleopatra. Come, thou mortal wretch 
 
 With thy sharp teeth this knot intrinsicate 
 Of life at once untie. 
 
 Act r. Sc, 
 
Act v.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Cleo. He words me, girls, he words me, that I 
 should not 
 
 Be noble to myself : but, hark thee, Charmian. 
 
 [IVhispers Charmian. 
 
 Iras. Finish, good lady; the bright day is done, 
 And we are for the dark. 
 
 CUo. Hie thee again : 
 
 I have spoke already, and it is provided ; 
 Go put it to the haste. 
 
 Char. Madam, I will. 
 
 Re-enter DoLABELLA. 
 Dol. Where is the queen 
 
 Char. Behold, sir. {Exit. 
 
 Cleo. Dolabella ! 
 
 Dol. Madam, as thereto sworn by your 
 command. 
 Which my love makes religion to obey, 
 I tell you this: Czesar tlirough Syria 
 Intends his journey ; and, within three days. 
 You with your children will he send before: 
 Make your best use of this: I have perforin' d 
 Your pleasure, and my promise. 
 
 Cleo. Dolabella, 
 I shall remain your debtor. 
 
 Dol. I your servant. 
 
 Allien, good queen ; I must attend on Csesar. 
 
 Cleo. Farewell, and thanks. [£a-/7 Dolabella. 
 
 Now, Iras, what Ihink'st thou? 
 Thou, an Egyptian puppet, shalt be shown 
 In Rome, as well as I: mechanic slaves 
 With greasy aprons, rules, and hammers, shall 
 Uplift us to the view ; in their thick breaths. 
 Rank of gross diet, shall we be enclouded, 
 And forc'd to drink their vapour. 
 
 Iras. The gods forbid ! 
 
 Cleo. Nay, 'tis most certain, Iras: — saucy lictors 
 Will catch at us, like wantons ; and scald ^» 
 rhymers 
 
 Ballad us out o' tune : the quick comedians 
 Extemporally will stage us, and present 
 Our Alexandrian revels ; Antony 
 Shall be brought drunken forth, and I shall see 
 Some squeaking Cleopatra boy my greatness''? 
 r the posture of a wench. 
 
 45. Scald. ' Sorry,' ' scurvy.' The word is thus used twice 
 in " Henry V.," Act v., sc. i. 
 
 46. Qicick. Here used for ' quick-witted,' 'inventive,' 'lively,' 
 ' vivacious.' See Note 19, Act i., " Love's Labour's Lost." 
 
 47. Bay my greatness. The custom that prevailed in Shake- 
 speare's time of boys enacting the women characters in plays, 
 gives force to tiie expressive verb "boy" here, as formed by the 
 poet from the noun, and to the epithet " squeaking." See 
 Note 95, Act ii., "Hamlet." 
 
 48. Their most absitrd intents. The word " absurd " here 
 has been objected to, and 'assur'd' proposed in its stead ; but to 
 
 .Cleopatra, Octavius's intention of carrying her to Rome in 
 triumph certainly seems "absurd," since she already beholds 
 it defeated by her own intention of destroying herself. She 
 
 Iras. Oh, the good gods ! 
 
 Cleo. Nay, that is certain. 
 
 Iras. I'll never see it; for, I am sure, my nails 
 Are stronger than mine eyes. 
 
 Cleo. Why, that 's the way 
 
 To fool their preparation, and to conquer 
 Their most absurd intents.'*^ 
 
 Re-enter Charmian. 
 
 Now, Charmian! — 
 Show me, my women, like a queen : — go fetch 
 My best attires ; — I am again for Cydnus, 
 To meet Mark Antony : — sirrah Iras, go.^' — 
 Now, noble Charmian, we'll despatch indeed ; 
 And, when thou hast done this chare,*" I'll give 
 thee leave 
 
 To play till doomsday. — Bring our crown and all. 
 \Exit Iras. A noise uoithin.l 
 Wherefore 's this noise ? 
 
 Enter one of the Guard. 
 
 Guard. Here is a rural fellow 
 
 That will not be denied your highness' presence ; 
 He brings ) ou figs. 
 
 Cleo. Let him come in. {Exit Guard. 
 
 What poor an instrument 
 May do a noble deed! he brings me liberty. 
 My resolution's plac'd, and I have nothing 
 Of woman in me : now from head to foot 
 I am marble-constant ; now the fleeting moon 
 No planet is of mine. 
 
 Re-enter Guard, ivith a Clown bringing in a 
 basket. 
 
 Guard. This is the man. 
 
 Cleo. Avoid, and leave him. {Exit Guard. 
 Hast thou the pretty worm of Nilus there. 
 That kills and pains not ? 
 
 Cloven. Truly, I have him : but I would not 
 be the party that should desire you to touch him, 
 for his biting is immortal; those that do die of it 
 do seldom or never recover. 
 
 Cleo. Rememberest thou any that have died 
 on 't ? 
 
 Cloivn. Very many, men and women too. I 
 heard of one of them no longer than yesterday : a 
 
 afterwards exclaims, when the asp is aiding her to baffle these 
 "most absurd intents," "Oh, couldst thou speak, that I might 
 hear thee call great Caesar ass nnpolicied ! " 
 
 49. Sirrah Iras, go. "Sirrah" was formerly sometimes ap- 
 plied to a woman as well as to a man ; in the same way that 
 •" sirs " was occasionally used. See Note 87, Act iv. 
 
 50. This chare. 'This task;' familiarly, ' this job,' 'this 
 piece of work.' See Note 86, Act iv. 
 
 51. What poor an instrument. A similar form of construc- 
 tion with the one pointed out in Note 3, Act i., "As You Like It." 
 
 52. Fleetitig. 'Fluctuating,' 'flitting,' 'inconstant,' 'variable,' 
 ' changeable.' See Note 89, Act i., " Richard III." 
 
 53. Worm. Anciently used for serpent or snake. See Note 
 4, Act iii., "Measure for Measure." 
 
Act v.] 
 
 very honest woman, but something given to lie ; 
 as a woman should not do, but in the way of 
 honesty: how she died of the biting of it, what 
 pain she felt, — truly, she makes a very good report 
 o' the worm; but he that will believe all that they 
 say, shall never be saved by half that they do : but 
 this is most fallible," the worm 's an odd worm. 
 
 Cleo. Get thee hence; farewell. 
 
 CloTun. I wish you all joy of the worm. 
 
 [Sets douon basket. 
 
 Cleo. Farewell. 
 
 Clo-xun. You must think this, look you, that 
 the worm will do his kind.*' 
 Cleo. Ay, ay ; farewell. 
 
 CloTJun. Look you, the worm is not to be trusted 
 but in the keeping of wise people ; for, mdeed, 
 there is no goodness in the worm. 
 
 Cleo. Take thou no care ; it shall be heeded. 
 
 Cloxvn. Very good. Give it nothing, 1 pray 
 you, for it is not worth the feeding. 
 
 Cleo. Will it eat me ? 
 
 Clown. You must not think I am so simple 
 but I know the devil himself will not eat a woman : 
 I know that a woman is a dish for the gods, if the 
 devil dress her not ; but, truly, these same devils 
 do the goils great harm in their women ; for in 
 every ten that they make, the devils mar five. 
 
 Cleo. Well, get thee gone ; farewell. 
 
 CloTvn. Yes, forsooth : I wish you joy o' the 
 worm. 55 \_Exit. 
 
 Re-enter Iras, lu'ith a i obe, croiun, &c. 
 Cleo. Give me my robe, put on my crown ; I 
 have 
 
 Immortal longings in me : now no more 
 
 The juice of Egypt's grape shall moist this lip':^? — 
 
 Yare, yare,5=* good Iras; quick. — Methinks I hear ' 
 
 Antony call ; I see him rouse himself 
 
 To praise my noble act ; I hear him mock 
 
 The luck of Csesar, which the gods give men 
 
 54. Fallible. The Clown's blunder for ' infallible.' 
 
 55. IVill do his kind. • Will act according to his nature," 
 'will do as those of his species do.' See Note 8, Act ii., "Julius 
 Caesar." 
 
 56. / wish you joy 0' tlie worm. This short scene pf the 
 Clown's rustic obtuseness and grinning familiarity, serves won- 
 derfully to heighten the effect of Royal Egypt's coming death- 
 scene ; and its introduction at this juncture is completely con- 
 sistent with our dramatist's scheme of contrasted situations. 
 See Note 3, Act iii., "Othello." 
 
 57- Now no more tlie juice of Egypt's grape sluill moist this 
 lip. To our thinking, the present passage tends to support the 
 original reading as preserved in the text, and discussed in Note 16 
 of this Act. Cleopatra here, in her own gorgeously poetical 
 strain, takes leave of the material portion of existence, and pre- 
 pares to enter upon the spiritual portion ; she has previously 
 condensed the aggregate products of earth — corn, wine, oil, 
 fruits, and, indirectly, flesh-meat— into one superbly disdainful 
 word, " dung; " and she now figuratively .sums them up in one 
 draught of grape-juice, as the wine of life, the sustainer of 
 mortal being, to which she bids farewell. 
 
 67 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 To excuse their after wrath: — husbajid, I come : 
 Now to that name my courage prove my title ■ 
 I am fire and air; my other elements*^ 
 I give to baser life. — So, — have you done ? 
 Come then, and take the last warmth of my lips. 
 Farewell, kind Charmian ; — Iras, long farewell. 
 
 [^Kisses them. Iras falls and dies.^'' 
 Have I the aspic in my lips? Dost fall ? 
 If thou and nature can so gently part, 
 The stroke of death is as a lover's pinch, ' 
 Which hurts, and is desir'd. Dost thou lie still ? 
 If thus thou vanishest, thoutell'st the world 
 It is not worth leave-taking. 
 
 Char. Dissolve, thick cloud, and rain ; that I 
 may say. 
 The gods themselves do weep ! 
 
 Cleo. 'I his proves me base : 
 
 If she first meet the curled Antony, 
 He'll make demand of her, and spend that kiss 
 Which is my heaven to have. — Come, thou mortal 
 wretch, [To an asp, ivhich she applies 
 
 to her breast. 
 With thy sharp teeth this knot intrinsicate*' 
 Of life at once untie: poor venomous fool. 
 Be angry, and despatch. Oh, couldst thou speak. 
 That I might hear thee call great Cssar ass 
 Unpolicied ! 
 
 Char. Oh, eastern star ! 
 
 Cleo. Peace, peace ! 
 
 Dost thou not see my baby at my breast, 
 That sucks the nurse asleep ? 
 
 Char. Oh, break ! oh, break ! 
 
 Cleo. As sweet as balm, as soft as air, as gentle, — 
 O Antony ! — -Nay, I will take thee too : — 
 
 [■Applying another asp to her arm. 
 What should I stay— 
 
 [Falls on a bed, and d:es. 
 Char. In this wild world — So, fare thee 
 well.— 
 
 Now boast thee, death, in thy possesfion lies 
 
 58. Yare, yare. ' Nimbly,' ' alertly,' promptly.' See Note 2, 
 Act i., " Tempest ; " and Note 108, Act iii., of this play. 
 
 59. My oilier elements. Another allusion to the ancient 
 belief that human life was composed of a combination of the 
 four elements. See Note 20, Act ii., "Twelfth Night;" and 
 Note II, Act iii., of the present play. 
 
 60. Iras falls and dies. That Iras dies thus soon may be 
 accounted for by her having applied an asp to her arm when she 
 has brought her mistress's robes, and Cleopatra has bidden her 
 be " quick." Throughout this scene Iras has shown eagerness 
 for death ; witness her words — " Finish, good lady ; the bright 
 day is done, and we are for the dark ; " and, " I'll never see it ; 
 for I am sure my nails are stronger than mine eyes." 
 
 61. Intrinsicate. Used as an equivalent for ' intricate.' See 
 Note 43, Act ii., " King Lear." 
 
 62. In this wild world. The Folio word " wild " has been 
 changed to 'vile' and 'wide;' but surely the original epithet 
 expressly denotes that which the world has now become to 
 Charmian, left in a desert of thorny desolation, by her mis- 
 tress's death, with whom she had dwelt in luxurious and even 
 pampered refinement. 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 A lass unparallel'd.— Downy windows,, close : 
 And golden Phoebus never be beheld 
 Of eyes again so royal ! — -Your crown 's awry; 
 I'll mend it, and then play^^ — 
 
 Enter the Guard, rushing in. 
 First Guard. Where is the queen 
 Char. Speak, softly, wake her not. 
 
 First Guard. Csesar hath sent — 
 Char. Too slow a messenger. 
 
 [Jpplies an asp. 
 Oh, come apace, despatch : I partly feel thee. 
 First Guard. Approach, ho! All's not well: 
 
 Caesar's beguil'd. 
 Sec. Guard. There 's Dolabella sent from 
 
 Cssar; call him. 
 First Guard. What work is here!— Charmian, 
 
 is this well done? 
 Char. It is well done, an ! fitting for a princess 
 Descended of so many royal kings. 
 Ah, solilier ! [^Dies. 
 
 Re-enter Dolabella. 
 
 Dol. How goes it iiere ? 
 
 Sec. Guard. All dead. 
 
 Dol. Csesar, thy thoughts 
 
 Touch their effects in this: thyself art coming 
 To see perform'd the dreaded act which thou 
 So sought'st to hin(ier. 
 
 IFilhin. A way tliere, a way for Csesar! 
 
 Re-enter C^sar and his Train. 
 Dol. O sir, you are too sure an augurer ; 
 That you did fear is done. 
 
 Cces. Bravest at the last, 
 
 She levell'd at our purposes, and, being royal. 
 Took her own way. — The manner of their 
 
 deaths ? 
 I do not see them bleed. 
 
 63. Dawny zvimiozvs, close. The dramatist's poetical indica- 
 tion that here Charmian renders her mistress the reverential 
 office first performed towards the dead, and that she closes 
 Cleopatra's eyes. 
 
 64. Your crown 's awry. The Folio gives ' away ' for " awry." 
 Pope's correction. 
 
 65. I'll vieiid it, and then play— In the Folio a dash is 
 placed after " play," to mark the interruption of the speech by 
 the hurried entrance of the guards. Charmian is thinking of 
 
 I Dil. Who was last with them ? 
 
 First Guard. A simple countryman^ that brougl.t 
 I her figs: 
 
 i This was his basket. 
 
 Cccs. Poison' d, then. 
 
 First Guard. Q Ca;;;ar, 
 
 ! This Charmian liv'd but now ; she stood and 
 j spake : 
 
 j I found her trimming up the diadem 
 
 j On her dead mistress; tremblingly she stood, 
 
 And on the sudden dropp'd. 
 j Ca;s. Oh, noble weakness !- 
 
 j If they had swallow'd poison, 'twould appear 
 j By external swelling : but she looks like sleep, 
 
 As she would catch another .Antony 
 j In her strong toil of grace, 
 j Dol. Here, on her breast, 
 
 i There is a vent of blood, and something blown 
 i The like is on her arm. 
 
 First Guard. Tliis is an aspic's trail : and these 
 fig-leaves 
 
 Have slime upon them, such as the aspic leaves 
 
 Upon the caves of Nile. 
 
 Cies. Most probable 
 
 That so she died ; for her physician tells me 
 1 She hath pursu'd conclusions^'' infinite 
 
 Of easy ways to die. — Take up her bed ; 
 j And bear her women from the monument : — 
 I She shall be buried by her Antony: 
 
 No grave upon the earth shall clip in it 
 
 A pair so famous. High events as these 
 
 Strike those that make them ; and their story is 
 
 No less in pity than his glory which 
 
 Brought them to be lamented. Our army 
 shall 
 
 In solemn show attend this funeral ; 
 
 And then to Rome. — Come, Dolabella, see 
 
 High order in this great solemnity. {Exeunt. 
 
 Cleopatra's words — "And when thou hast done this chare, I'll 
 give thee leave to play till doomsday." 
 
 66. Something blmvn. ' Somewhat swollen,' ' somewhat 
 puffed or tumid.' See 1^01643, Act iv.. " First Part Henry IV. ;" 
 Note 54, Act iv., " King Lear;" and Note 22, Act iv., of the 
 present play. 
 
 i b-j. Purmed conclusions. ' Tried experiments,' See Note 
 \ 166, Act iii., " Hamlet." 
 
 I 68. Clip. ' Enclose,' ' enfold.' See Note 29, Act iv. 
 
 67^ 
 
DRAMATIS PERSONS. 
 
 Cymbeline, King of Britain. 
 
 Cloten, Son to the Queen by a former husband. 
 
 PosTHUMUS Leonatus, Husband to Imogen. 
 
 Belarius, a banished Lord, disguised under the name of Morgan. 
 
 GuiDERius, ) Sons to Cymbeline, disguised under the names of Poly-- 
 
 Arviragus, ) (lore and Cadvval, supposed sons of Belarius. 
 
 Philario, Friend to Posthumus, ) , ,. 
 
 c Italians 
 Iachimo, Friend to Philario, ) 
 
 A French Gentleman, Friend to Philario. 
 
 Caius Lucius, General of the Roman Forces. 
 
 A Roman Captain. 
 
 Two British Captains. 
 
 Pisanio, Servant to Posthumus. 
 
 Cornelius, a Physician. 
 
 Two Lords of Cymbeline's Court. 
 
 Two Gentlemen of the same. 
 
 Two Gaolers. 
 
 Queen, Wife to Cymbeline. 
 
 Imogen, Daughter to Cymbeline by a former Queen. 
 Helen, Woman to Imogen. 
 
 Lords, Ladies, Roman Sent^cors, Tribunes, a Soothsayer, a Dutch 
 Gentleman, a Spanish Gentleman, Musicians, Officers, Captains, 
 Soldiers, Messengers, and other Attendants. 
 
 Apparitions. 
 
 Scene - Sometimes in Britain, sometimes in Italy. 
 
C YM B ELI NE/ 
 
 ACT I. 
 
 SCENE I. — Britain. The Garden of Cymbe- 
 line's Palace. 
 
 Enter fwo Gentlemen. 
 
 First Gent. You do not meet a man but frowns : 
 our bloods 
 
 No more obey the heavens than out courtiers 
 Still seem as does the king.^ 
 
 Sec. Gent. But what's the matter? 
 
 First Gent. His daughter, and the heir of 's 
 kingdom, whom 
 He purpos'd to his wife's sole son (a widow 
 That late he- married), hath referr'd herself 
 Unto a poor but worthy gentleman : she 's wedded ; 
 Her husband banish'd ; she imprison'd : all 
 
 I. The first known printed copy of Cymbeline is that in the 
 1623 Folio ; and the earliest known record of its performance is 
 one in Dr. Simon Forman's Diary, which record, although not 
 dated, is ascertained from dates in other parts of his diary to 
 have been some time between the 20th of April, i6iq, and the 
 15th of May, 1611. There is every reason to believe that when 
 Dr. Forman withessed its performance, "Cymbeline" was a 
 recently written play : its internal structure testifies to its having 
 been composed at the same period as " The Winters Tale," 
 "Henry VIII.," " Coriolanus," and " Timon of Athens." See 
 our opening Notes to those plays. There is the same signally 
 condensed construction, the same abundant imagery, the same 
 lofty and mature tone of morality, and the same peculiar elisional 
 contractions that are to be found in the above-named produc- 
 tions. For instance, we meet with the very unusual contraction 
 of " shall 's" for 'shall us'— used where ' sh.all we' ought in 
 strictness to be employed-in " The Winter's Tale," in " Corio- 
 lanus," in *'Tim:)n of Athens," and in the present play of 
 " Cymbeline ; " if we are not mistaken, only in these four plays. 
 For the source of the plot Shakespeare was indebted to Boc- 
 caccio ; between whose story of " Bernabo da Genova," &c. 
 {related in the ninth novel of the second day of the *' De- 
 camerone"), and the portion of " Cymbeline" concerning Post- 
 humus, Imogen, and lachimo, there is evident similarity. 
 There was a translation of the " Decamerone " published in 
 1620, the preface to which mentions that there had been other 
 previous English versions printed ; and one of these had pro- 
 bably been met with by Shakespeare. The historical particulars 
 in this play were in all likelihood derived by him from Holin- 
 shed ; who gives the names of Cymbeline and his sons, Guiderius 
 and Arvlragus, besides making mention of the tribute claimed 
 by the Roman emperor. But the ground-work of this most 
 
 Is outward sorrow ; though, I think, the king 
 Be touch'd at very heart. 
 
 Sec. Gent. None but the king ? 
 
 First Gent. He that hath lost her too : so is 
 the queen, 
 
 That most desir'd the match : but not a courtier. 
 Although they wear their faces to the bent 
 Of the king's Icwks,^ hath a heart that is not 
 Glad at the thing they scowl at. 
 
 Sec. Gent. And why so? 
 
 First Gent. He that hath miss'd the princess is 
 a thing 
 
 Too bad for bad report : and he that hath her 
 (I mean, that married her, — alack, good man 1 — 
 .^nd therefore banish'd) is a creature such 
 
 charming play, as above indicated, is the mere skeleton, taken 
 by the poet, and endued with vitality, vigour, beauty, grace, 
 perfection. The wliole of the lovely episode of the stolen 
 princes, their mountain life In Wi.les, their brotherly instinct 
 of affectionate fondness for the seeming boy, their sister; the 
 masterly portrait of the Italian lachimo ; the passionate nature 
 of Posthumus ; and, above all, the peerless womanhood of 
 Imogen, are all originated and consummated by Shakespeare's 
 own poetic brain and God-gifted soul. In no one of his plays 
 do we feel more truly to know the dramatist and man, Shake- 
 speare ; in no one of his plays do we m^re earnestly revere his 
 genius, more Intensely love his spirit. 
 
 2. Still seem as does ike king. Tbis opening speech is but 
 the first of a long line of difficult passages occuirlng in the 
 present play. We print it as given in the Folio, with the excep- 
 tion of the last word "king," which is there printed 'kings;' 
 an additional or omitted final s being a frequent typographical 
 error in that most precious, though, alas ! most errorful volume. 
 Tyrwhitt made the correction. We take the passage elliptically 
 to signify, ' Our temperaments are not more surely influenced 
 by every change of sky and weather, than are our courtiers 
 aspects controlled by that of the king— still wearing the same 
 looks that he does.' This passage is illustrated by one a 
 little farther on, which is adverted to in the next Note. 
 "Bloods" is here used as Shakespeare often uses "blood;" 
 in the sense of 'constitutional impression,' ' natural disposition,* 
 'native impulse or temperament.' See Note 81, Act ii., 
 "Othello." 
 
 3. To i!i^ bent of the king's loolis. ' According to the stern 
 glance of the king's countenance,' ' in accordance with the frown 
 of the king's looks.' See Note 49, Act i., "Antony and Cleo- 
 
Act I.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene II, 
 
 As, to seek through the regions of the earth 
 For one his like, there would be something failing 
 In hiin that should compare : — I do not think 
 So fair an outward, and such stuff within, 
 Endows a man but he. 
 Sec. Gent. You speak him far.^ 
 
 First Gent. I do extend him, sir, within him- 
 self ;5 
 
 Crush him together, rather than unfold 
 His measure duly. 
 
 Sec. Gent. What 's his name and birth ? 
 
 First Gent, I cannot delve him to the root : his 
 father 
 
 Was call'd Sicilius, who did join his honour,* 
 Against the Romans, with Cassibelan ; 
 But had his titles by Tenantius, whom 
 He serv'd with glory and admir'd success, — 
 So gain'd the sur-addition Leonatus : 
 And had, besides this gentleman in question, 
 Two other sons, who, in the wars o' the time. 
 Died with their swords in hand ; for which their 
 father 
 
 (Then old and fond of issue) took such sorrow, 
 That he quit being -J and his gentle lady, 
 Big of this gentleman, our theme, deceas'd 
 As he was born. The king he takes the babe 
 To his protection ; calls him Posthumus Leonatus;^ 
 Breeds him, and makes him of his bed-chamber : 
 Puts to him all the learnings that his time 
 Could make him the receiver of ; which he 
 took, 
 
 As we do air, fast as 'twas minister'd ; 
 And in 's spring became a harvest : liv'd in court 
 (Which rare it is to do) most prais'd, most 
 lov'd : 
 
 A sample to the youngest ; to the more mature 
 A glass that feated ' them ; and to the graver 
 A child that guided dotards : to his mistress. 
 For whom he now is banish'd, — her own price 
 
 4. You speak him far. ' You speak of him in largely praising 
 terms,' 'You speak of him with wide latitude of praise.' 
 
 5. / lia extend Jiim, sir; within himself. ' I stretch his praise 
 within the bounds of his own excellence,' ' I enlarge in his praise 
 less than his own ample scope of virtue allows me to do.' 
 
 6. Did join his honour. This phrase has been suspected of 
 error, and various substitutions have been proposed for "join,'' 
 as 'win,' 'gain,' and 'earn;' but we think "did join his 
 honour" is used to express 'gave his brave aid conjunctly," 
 
 * fought honourably in consociation.* Shakespeare frequently 
 uses " honour" in the sense of ' noble valour,' 'military glory ; 
 and we think that it here conveys some such signification ; the 
 speaker meaning that Sicihus valiantly and honourably fought 
 under the standard of Cassibelan, who was a usurper, but 
 gained his titles under Tenantius, who was the rightful king. 
 Cassibelan was Lud's younger brother, while Tenantius was 
 Lud's son ; and on Lud's death, the uncle took the throne to 
 which the nephew was direct heir. After Cassibelan's death 
 Tenantius reigned ; and he was father to Cymbeline, who suc- 
 ceeded as king. 
 
 • 7. Quit being. ' Quitted existence,' ' left life.' See Note 30, 
 Act i., "Tempest." 
 
 Proclaims how she esteem'd him and his virtue ; 
 By her election may be truly read 
 Wliat kind of man he is. 
 
 Sec. Gent. I honour him 
 
 Even out of your report. But, pray you, tell me, 
 Is she sole child to the king ? 
 
 First Gent. His only child. 
 
 He had two sons, — if this be worth your hearing, 
 Mai-k it, 10— the eldest of them at three years old, 
 r the swathing clothes the other, from their 
 nursery 
 
 Were stol'n ; and to this hour no guess in know- 
 ledge 
 
 Which way they went. 
 
 Sec. Gent. How long is this ago ? 
 
 First Gent. Some twenty years. 
 
 Sec. Gent. That a king's children should be 
 so convey 'd !" 
 So slackly guarded ! and the search so slow, 
 That could not trace them ! 
 
 First Gent. Howsoe'er 'tis strange, 
 
 Or that the negligence may well be laugh'd at. 
 Yet is it true, sir. 
 
 Sec. Gent. I do well believe you. 
 
 First Gent. We must forbear: here comes the 
 gentleman, 
 
 The queen, and princess. \Exeunt, 
 
 SCENE W.— The Same. 
 
 Enter the Queen, Posthumus, and Imogen. 
 
 ^een. No, be assur'd you shall not find me, 
 daughter, 
 
 After the slander of most stepmothers, 
 Evil-ey'd unto you: you're my prisoner, but 
 
 S. Calls him Posthumus Leonatus. Pope and others omit 
 *' Leonatus" here, as injurious to the measure of the line ; but 
 we have before pointed out that Shakespeare, in common with 
 many ancient verse-writers, did not regard accuracy of metre 
 in lines where proper names occur. See Note 19, Act iv,, 
 "Julius Csesar." 
 
 9. Feated. 'Shaped,' 'fashioned/ 'moulded;' set before 
 them a model whereby they formed themselves. Palsgrave 
 has — •" I am well feted or shapen of my lymmes ; Je suis bien 
 aligne." Shakespeare himself has p'.irases of. similar significa- 
 tion, which aid in illustrating the present one. See passage 
 referred to in Note 36, Act iii., " Hamlet ; " and the passage in 
 "Second Part Henry IV.," Act ii., sc. 3—" He was, indeed, 
 the glass wherein the noble youth did dress themselves." 
 
 10. Mark it. Shakespeare's dramatic art uses this expedient, 
 naturally introduced into the dialogue, to draw special attention 
 t.i a circumstance that it is essential should be borne in mind, 
 and which otherwise might escape notice in the coqrse of narra- 
 tion. He employs a similar means in the dialogue between 
 Prospero and Miranda, where the father recounts to his daughter . 
 their antecedent history. 
 
 11. Convey d. ' Stolen.' See Note 29, Act iv., " Richard IL" 
 
Act I.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Posthuinus. For my sake 
 
 It IS a manacle of love : I II place it 
 Upon this fairest prisoner. 
 
 Act I. Scene J I. 
 
 Your gaoler shall deliver you the keys 
 
 That lock up your restraint. — For you, Posthuinus, 
 
 So soon as I can win the offended king, 
 
 I will be known your advocate : marry, yet 
 
 The fire of rage is in him ; and 'twere good 
 
 You lean'd unto his sentence with what patience 
 
 Your wisdom may inform you. 
 
 Post. Please your highness, 
 
 I will from hence to-day. 
 
 ^een. You know the peril.— 
 
 I'll fetch a turn about the garden, pitying 
 The pangs of barr'd affections; though the king 
 Hath charg'd you should not speak together. 
 
 \_Ex:t. 
 
 Imo. Oh, 
 
 Dissembling courtesy ! How fine this tyrant 
 Can tickle where she wounds ! — My dearest hus- 
 band, 
 
 I something fear my father's wrath ; but nothing 
 
 677 
 
 (Always reserv'd my holy duty)'^ what 
 His rage can do on me : you must be gone ; 
 And I shall here abide the hourly shot 
 Of angry eyes ; not comforted to live. 
 But that there is this jewel in the world, 
 That I may see again. 
 
 Post. My queen ! my mistress ! 
 
 Oh, lady, weep no more, lest I give cause 
 To be suspected of more tenderness 
 Than doth become a man ! I will remain 
 The loyal'st husband that did e'er plight troth : 
 My residence in Rome at one Philario's ; 
 Who to my father was a friend, to me 
 Known but by letter : thither write, my queen. 
 And with mine eyes I'll drink the words you send. 
 Though ink be made of gall. 
 
 12. Ahuays reserv'd my holy duty. 'Always excepting that 
 respect to his anger which is due from me as his daughter. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 Re-enter Queen. 
 i^een. Be brief, I pray you : 
 
 If the king come, I shall incur J know not 
 How much of his displeasure. — [^dside.'] Yet I'll 
 move him 
 
 To walk this way: I never do him wrong. 
 But he does buy my injuries, to be friends ; 
 Pays dear for my offences. \_Exit. 
 
 Post. Should we be taking leave 
 
 As long a term as yet we have to live, 
 The loathness to depart- would grow. Adieu! 
 
 Into. Nay, stay a little : 
 Were you but riding forth to air yourself. 
 Such parting were too petty. Look here, love ; 
 This diamond was my mother's : take it, heart; 
 But keep it till you woo another wife. 
 When Imogen is dead. 
 
 Post. How, how ! another ? — 
 
 You gentle gods, give me but this I have, 
 And sear''* up my embracements from a next 
 With bonds of death ! — Remain, remain thou here 
 \_Putiing on the ring. 
 While sense can keep it on!'* And, sweetest, 
 fairest, 
 
 As I my poor self did exchange for you. 
 To your so infinite loss ; so in our trifles 
 I still win of you : for my sake, wear this, 
 It is a manacle of love ; I'll place it 
 Upon this fairest prisoner. [Putting a bracelet 
 upon her arm. 
 Imo. Oh, the gods ! 
 
 When shall we see again i-'^ 
 ■Post. Alack, the king ! 
 
 Enter Cymbeline and Lords. 
 Cym. Thou basest thing, avoid! hence, from 
 my sight ! 
 
 If after this command thou fraught tiie court 
 With thy unworthiness, thou diest : away! 
 Th'ou 'rt poison to my blood. 
 
 Post. The gods protect you ! 
 
 And bless the good remainders of the court ! 
 I am gone. [Exit. 
 
 13. Sear. This woird haS been believed to be mistakenly given 
 in the Folio, and that ' cere' or ' seal' may have been intended 
 in its stead ; but we think it probable that "sear" was here used 
 to express the dry withering of death, as well as the closing with 
 wax by those "bonds of death," cerecloths, sometimes written 
 searecloths. See Note 87, Act ii., "Merchant of Venice;" 
 and Note 21, Act v., " Macbeth." 
 
 14. Remain thou lure while sense can keep H on! The 
 "thou" and "it" in this sentence afford another instance of 
 passages where Shakespeare has a sudden change of pronoun. 
 See Note 32, Act iii., "Richard II. and Note 32, Act iv., 
 "Julius Caesar." The sentence signifies, 'Ring, remain thou 
 here while I have sensation to retain thee upon this my 
 finger !' 
 
 15. When shall we see again ? See Note 24, Act iv., " Troilus 
 and Cressida." 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Into. There cannot be a pmch in death 
 More sharp than this is. 
 
 Cym. Oh, disloyal thing, 
 
 That shouldst repair'^ my youth, thou heapest 
 A year's age on me ! 
 
 Imo. I beseech you, sir, 
 
 Harm not yourself with your vexation : 
 I am senseless of your wrath; a touch's more 
 rare 
 
 Subdues all pangs, all fears. 
 
 Cym, Past grace ? obedience ? 
 
 Imo. Past hope, and in despair ; that way, past 
 grace. 
 
 Cym. That mightst have had the sole son of my 
 queen ! 
 
 Imo. Oh, bless'd, that I might not! I chose an 
 eagle. 
 
 And did avoid a puttock.'' 
 
 Cym. Thou took'st a beggar; wouldst have 
 made my throne 
 A seat for baseness. 
 
 Imo. No ; 1 rather added 
 
 A lustre to it. 
 
 Cym. Oh, thou vile one ! 
 
 Imo. Sir, 
 It is your fault that I have lov'd Posthumus : 
 You bred him as my playfellow; and he is 
 A man worth any woman ; overbuys me 
 Almost the sum he pays.^" 
 
 Cym. What! art thou ma<i ? 
 
 Imo. Almost, sir: Heaven restore me ! — Would 
 I were 
 
 A neat-herd's daughter, and my Leonatus 
 Our neighbour shepherd's son ! 
 
 Cym. Thou foolish thing ! — 
 
 Re-enter Queen. 
 They were again together : you have done 
 Not after our command. Away with her. 
 And pen her up. ' ■ ' 
 
 ^een. Beseech your patience. — Peace, 
 
 Dear lady daughter, peace ! — Sweet sovereign. 
 Leave us to ourselves ; and make ) ourself some 
 comfort 
 
 16. Repair. 'Renew,' 'revive,' 'renovate.' See Note 47, 
 Act i., "All's Well." 
 
 17. Thou heapest a years age on mc. There have been 
 various alterations proposed in this passage. We have ere now 
 pointed out that "a year," "a week," "an hour," &c., were 
 used as idioms of indefinite time. See Note 118, Act i., " King 
 Lear;" Note 33, Act ii., "As You Like It;" and Note 36, 
 Act v., " Measure for Mea.sure." 
 
 18. A touch. Here used for 'a keen sense,' 'an acute 
 perception;' 'a pang,' 'a three.' See Note 5, Act v., 
 
 zg. A puttock. 'A kite;' an 'inferior species of hawk." See 
 Note 9, Act v., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 20. Overbuys me almost the sum he pays. ' In making me 
 his wife, and exchanging himself for me, he gives a price that 
 outvalues almost entirely what he receives.' 
 
 CYMBELINE. ' 
 
Act I.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [SCExNES III., IV. 
 
 Out of your best advice.^i 
 
 Cym. Nay, let her languish 
 
 A drop of blood a day : and, being aged, 
 Die of this folly. [Exeunt Cymbeline and Lords. 
 
 ^ueen. Fie ! you must give way. 
 
 Enter PiSANlO. 
 Here is your servant. — How now, sir! What 
 news ? 
 
 Pis. My lord your son drew on my master. 
 
 %ec«. Ha ! 
 
 No harm, I trust, is done ? 
 
 Pis. There might have been. 
 
 But that my master rather play'd than fought, 
 And had no help of anger : they were parted 
 By gentlemen at hand. 
 
 ^een. I am very glad on 't. 
 
 Imo. Your son 's my father's friend ; he takes 
 his part. — 
 
 To draw upon an exile ! — Oh, brave sir! — 
 I would they were in Afric both together 
 Myself by with a needle, that 1 might prick 
 The goer-back. — Why came you from your 
 master ? 
 
 Pis. On his command : he would not suffer me 
 To bring 23 him to the haven : left these notes 
 Of what commands I should be subject to. 
 When 't pleas'd you to employ me. 
 
 Sluecn. This hath been 
 
 Your faithful -servant : I dare lay mine honour 
 He will remain so. 
 
 Pis. I humbly thank your highness. 
 
 ^ueer.. Pray, walk awhile. 
 
 Imo. [To PiSANio.] About some half-hour 
 hence, 
 
 I pray you, speak with me : you shall at least 
 Go see my lord aboard : for this time leave me. 
 
 \Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE in.— BRiTAm. A Public Place. 
 
 Enter Cloten atid ttuo Lords. 
 
 First Lord. Sir, I would advise you to shift a 
 shirt ; the violence of action hath made you reek 
 as a sacrifice : where air comes out, air comes in : 
 there 's none abroad so wholesome as that you vent. 
 
 21. Advice. 'Reflection,' 'consideration,' 'self-counsel or 
 deliberation.' See Note 7, Act iii., " Two Gentlemen of 
 Verona." 
 
 22. / would they mere in Afric both together. An allusion 
 to the form of defiance formerly in use when an opponent was 
 dared to meet the challenger in some wild and desert spot. See 
 Note 83, Act iii., " Macbeth." 
 
 3^. Bring. 'Accompany.' See Note in. Act iii., " Othello." 
 24. PiipJ>ies I This appears to us to be the exclamation of 
 the second lord ; in his disgust at the swagger of Cloten and 
 
 Clo. If my shirt were bloody, then to shift it — 
 Have I hurt him ? 
 
 Sec. Lord. [Aside.] No, faith ; not so much as 
 his patience. 
 
 First Lord. Hurt hiin ! his body's a passable 
 carcass, if he be not hurt: it is a throughfare for 
 steel, if it be not hurt. 
 
 Sec. Lord. [Aside.'] His steel was in debt ; it 
 went o' the backside the town. 
 
 Clo. The villain would not stand me. 
 
 Sec. Lord. [Aside.] No ; but he fled forward 
 still, toward your face. 
 
 First Lord. Stand you ! You have land enough 
 of your own : but he added to your having; gave 
 you some ground. 
 
 Sec. Lord. [Aside.] As many inches as you 
 have oceans. — 'Puppies 1^^ 
 
 Clo. I would they had not come between us. 
 
 Sec. Lord. [Aside.] So would I, till you had 
 measured how long a fool you were upon the 
 ground. 
 
 Clo. And that she should love this fellow, and 
 refuse me ! 
 
 Sec. Lord. [Aside.] If it be a sin to make a 
 true election, she is doomed. 
 
 First Lord. Sir, as I told you always, her 
 beauty and her brain go not together she's a 
 good sign, but have seen small reflection of her 
 wit. 
 
 Sec. Lord. [Aside.] She shines not upon fools, 
 lest the reflection should hurt her. 
 
 Clo. Come, I'll to my chamber. Would there 
 had been some hurt done ! 
 
 Sec. Lord. [Aside.] I wish not so ; unless it 
 had been the fall of an ass, which is no great hurt. 
 
 Clo. You '11 go with us ? 
 
 First Lord. I'll attend your lordship. 
 
 Clo. Nay, come, let's go together. 
 
 Sec. Lord. Well, my lord. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE IV.— Britain. A Room in Cymbe- 
 line's Palace. 
 Enter Imogen and Pisanio. 
 
 Imo. I would thou grew'st unto the shores o' 
 the haven. 
 
 the sycophancy of the first lord, who plies the swaggerer with 
 spaniel flattery and fawning. We state our view of the pas- 
 sage, because it has been doubted whether "Puppies!" refers 
 to Cloten and the first lord. 
 
 25. Go not together. ' Are not matched,' ' are . not on a 
 par.' 
 
 26. She's a good sign, but /, <5j^i:. ' Her face and person are 
 good, but,' &c. It is possible that there may be some allusion 
 to the figures on sign-posts, which anciently used to have some 
 motto or attempted facetious sentence inscribed beneath. 
 
Act L] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 And question'dst every sail : if he should write, 
 And I not have it, 'twere a paper lost, 
 As offer'd mercy is.*? What Was the last 
 That he spake to thee ? 
 
 Pis. It was, His queen, his queen ! 
 
 Into. Then wav'd his handkerchief P 
 
 Pis. And kiss'd it, madam. 
 
 Imo. Senseless linen ! happier therein than I ! — 
 And that was all ? . 
 
 Pis. No, madam ; for so long 
 
 As he could make me with this eye or ear^s 
 Distinguish him from others, he did keep 
 The deck, with glove, or hat, or handkerchief, 
 Still waving, as the fits and stirs of 's mind 
 Could best express how slow his soul sail'd on. 
 How swift his ship. 
 
 Imo. Thou shouldst have made him 
 
 As little as a crow, or less, ere left 
 To after-eye him. 
 
 Pis. Madam, so I did. 
 
 Imo. I would have broke mine eye-strings ; 
 crack'd them, but 
 To look upon him ; till the diminution 
 Of space 2^ had pointed him sharp as my needle 
 Nay, foUow'd him, till he had melted from 
 The smallness of a gnat to air ; and then 
 Have turn'd mine eye, and wept. — But, good 
 Pisanio, 
 
 When shall we hear from him ? 
 
 Pis. Be assur'd, madam, 
 
 With his next vantage. 3' 
 
 Imo. I did not take my leave of him, but had 
 Most pretty things to say : ere I could tell him 
 How I would think on him, at certain hours. 
 Such thoughts and such ; or I could make him 
 swear 
 
 The shes32 of Italy should not betray 
 Mine interest and his honour ; or have charg'd 
 him, 
 
 At the sixth hour of morn, at noon, at mid- 
 night, 
 
 To encounter me with orisons, for then 
 
 27. ' Tivere a paper lost^ as offered niercy is. * It would be to 
 me a paper lost as grievously as offer'd mercy lost would be,' or 
 ' The loss of that paper would be to me as grievous as the loss of 
 offered mercy would be.' The present is one of the many ex 
 tremely elliptical passages that occur in this play. 
 
 28. With this eye or ear. The Folio gives 'his 'for "this." 
 Theobald's correction, at Warburton's suggestion. 
 
 2g. The diminution of space. 'The diminution caused by 
 space. ' 
 
 30. Sharp as my needle. There is something in this reference 
 ot Imogen's to her "needle ' — both her» and in the context of 
 the previous passage discussed in Note 22 of the present Act — 
 that aids in characterising her to our imagination as a womanly 
 woman — one fond of feminine occupations, housewifely, domestic, 
 a home-treasure : a creature fascinating as a lady and princess, 
 and no less charming as a woman, a simple woman and wife 
 She is certainly the most consummately enchanting of all Shake- 
 speare's enchanting heroines. 
 
 31. Vantage. ' Kavour.-ible opportunity.' 
 
 I am in heaven for him ;^ or ere I could 
 Give him that parting kiss which I had set 
 Betwixt two charming words, comes in my 
 father. 
 
 And, like the tyrannous breathing of the north, 
 Shakes all our butls^^ from growing. 
 
 Enter a Laiy. 
 
 The queen, madam, 
 less' company. 
 
 Lady. 
 Desires your highne 
 
 Imo. Those things I bid you do, get them 
 despatch'd. — 
 I will attend the queen. 
 
 Pis. Madam, I shall. {Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE v.— Rome. An Apartment in Phi- 
 LARio's House. 
 
 Enter Philario, Iachimo, a Frenchman, a 
 Dutchman, and a Spaniard. 
 
 lach. Believe it, sir, I have seen him in Britain : 
 he was then of a crescent note ; expected to prove 
 so worthy as since he hath been allowed the name 
 of : but I could then have looked on him without 
 the help of admiration ; though the catalogue of 
 his endowments had been tabled by his side, and I 
 to peruse him by items. 
 
 Phi. You speak of him when he was less fur- 
 nished, than now he is, with that which makes^" 
 him both without and within. 
 
 French. I have seen him in France : we had 
 very many there could behold the sun with as firm 
 eyes as he. 
 
 lach. This matter of marrying his king's 
 daughter, — wherein he must be weighed rather by 
 her value than his own, — words him, I doubt not, 
 a great deal from the matter.''^ 
 
 French. And then his banishment, — 
 
 32. S/tes. . Used substantively, to express ' women.' See 
 Note 32, Act ii., " Henry V." 
 
 33. To encounter tne with orisons, for then I am in heaven 
 for him. 'To meet me in spirit with mutual prayers, for at 
 those periods of time I intend to raise myself in thoughts and 
 solicitations to heaven on his behalf.' In the present passage 
 " I am " is used as it is in the passages observed upon in Note 6r, 
 Act ii., " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 34. Two clmrming words. " Charming" is here used in the 
 double sense of 'enchanting' and 'enchanted;' words that 
 should act as a charm to pres-^rve him from evil. See Note 5, 
 Act v., " First Part Henry VI." 
 
 35. Buds. Used elliptically and figuratively for ' buds of 
 affection,' ' flowers of love.' 
 
 36. JIfahes. ' Accomplishes,' ' completes.' 
 
 37. Words him . . . . a great deal from the matter. ' Causes 
 him to be described in terms that are far from being warranted 
 by the truth.' " From" is here used in its sense of ' away from," 
 
 apart from,' 'contrary to.' See Note 30, Act i., "Othello." 
 
Act I.] CYMBELINE. [Scene V. 
 
 lach. Ay, aiui the approbation of those that-'''' 
 weep uiis lamentable divorce, under her colours,-*'' 
 are wonderfully to extend him;'"' be it but to 
 fortify her judgment, which else an easy battery 
 might lay flat, for taking a beggar without less 
 quality. But how comes it, he is to sojourn with 
 you ? how creeps acquaintance ? 
 
 Phi. His father and I were soldiers together; 
 to whom I have been often bound for no less than 
 
 38. The approbation of those that weep .... are wonder- 
 fi'lly. The construction here is in accordance with a gram- 
 matical licence which allows " the approbation of those" to be 
 treated plurally and followed by " are," as if it were the appro- 
 bations or commendations of those persons. The sentence also 
 conveys the effect of ' It is the cue of those persons who give 
 him their approbation, to wonderfully,' &c. 
 
 39. Those .... under !ier colours. ' Those who are on ner 
 side,' ' those who are her partisans.' 
 
 40. To extend hiin. 'To stretch his praise,' ' to enlarge in 
 praise of him." See Note 5 of this Act. 
 
 my life.— Here comes the Briton : let him be so 
 entertained amongst you as suits, with gentlemen 
 of your knowing, to a stranger of his quality. — 
 
 Enter Posthumus. 
 I beseech you all, be better known to this gentle- 
 man ; whom I commend to you as a noble friend 
 of mine : how worthy he is I will leave to appear 
 hereafter, rather than story him in his own hearing. 
 
 41. A beggar without less quality. Rowe changed " less " to 
 'more' here; while Malone accuses Shakespeare of "gram- 
 matical inaccuracy," and of using " words that express the very 
 contrary of what he means." But this is one of the passages 
 where Shakespeare uses the word " less" very peculiarly. See 
 Note 61, Act i., " Coriolanus." We take the sense of the 
 present passage to be, ' a beggar without even less quality than 
 a beggar's,' ' a beggar possessing even less quality than a beggar 
 possesses.' Posthumus was born an orphan, and owed all to 
 the king's bounty and compassion ; a condition which the speaker 
 chooses to treat as being less than that of a beggar. 
 
 VOL. 111. 
 
 252 
 
Act I.J 
 
 French. Sir, we have known^^ together in 
 Orleans. 
 
 Post. Since when I have been debtor to you for 
 courtesies, which 1 will be ever to pay, and yet pay 
 still. 
 
 French. Sir, you o'er-rate my poor kindness : I 
 was glad I did atone'*^ my countryman and you; 
 it had been pity you should have been put together 
 with so mortal a purpose as then each bore, upon 
 importance'*'' of so slight and trivial a nature. 
 
 Post. By your pardon, sir, I was then a young 
 traveller; rather shunned to go even with^^ ^hat I 
 heard, than in my every action to be guided by 
 others' experiences : but, upon my mended judg- 
 ment,— if I offend not to say it is mended,''^ — my 
 quarrel was not altogether slight. 
 
 French. Faith, yes, to be put to the arbitrement 
 of swords ; and by such two that would, by all 
 likelihood, have confounded'" one the other, or 
 have fallen both. 
 
 lach. Can we, with manners, ask what was the 
 difference ? 
 
 French. Safely, I think: 'twas a contention in 
 public, which may, without contradiction, suffer 
 the report. It was much like an argument that 
 fell out last night, where each of us fell in praise of 
 our country mistresses ; this gentleman at that 
 time vouching (and upon warrant of bloody affir- 
 mation) his to be more fvir, virtuous, wise, chaste, 
 constant-qualified, and less attemptable, tlian any 
 the rarest of our ladies in France. 
 
 lach. That lady is not now living ; or this 
 gentleman's opinion, by this, worn out. 
 
 Post. She holds her virtue still, and I my mind. 
 
 lach. You must not so far prefer her 'fore ours 
 of Italy. 
 
 Post. Being so far provoked as I was in France, 
 I would abate her nothing ; though I profess 
 myself her adorer, not her friend. ''^ 
 
 lach. As fair and as good, — a kind of hand- 
 in-hand comparison, — had been something too fair 
 and too good for any lady in Britany. If she went 
 
 42. Khowii. ' Been acquainted.' See Note 92, Act ii., 
 Antony and Cleopatra." 
 
 43. Alone. 'Reconcile.' See Note 34, Act li., "Antony 
 and Cleopatra." 
 
 44. Importance. Here used for ' import,' ' matter,' ' subject,' 
 ' concern.' See Note 26, Act v., " -Winter's Tale." 
 
 45. Rattier slmnned to go evea mit/t, S^c. ' Rather avoided 
 acting in accordance with what I heard from others, than chose 
 to have my every act guided by their experience.' 
 
 46. // I o^end not to say it is mended. The Folio omits 
 " not." Inserted by Rowe. 
 
 47. Coiifoimded. 'Destroyed.' See Note 51, Act iii., 
 " Merchant of Venice." 
 
 48. Not tier friend. An ellipsis for ' not merely her friend.' 
 " Friend" was sometimes used in the sense of 'lover' (see Note 
 82, Act iii., "Antony and Cleopatra") ; and Posthumus avers 
 that he professes himself to be her adorer rather than her lover. 
 The ftculiar mode in which Shakespeare uses the word 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 before others I have seen, as that diamond of yours 
 outlustres many I have beheld, I could not but 
 believe^' she excelled many : but I have not seen 
 the most precious diamond that is, nor you the 
 lady. 
 
 Post. I praised her as I rated her : so do I my 
 stone. 
 
 lach. What do you esteem it at ? 
 
 Post. More than the world enjoys. 
 
 lach. Either your unparagoned mistress is dead, 
 or she's outprized by a trifle. 
 
 Post. You are mistaken : the one may be sold, 
 or given, if there were wealth enough for the 
 purchase, or merit for the gift: the other is not a 
 thing for sale, and only the gift of the gods. 
 
 lach. Which the gods have given you 
 
 Post. Which, by their graces, I will keep. 
 
 lach. You may wear her in title yours : but, 
 you know, strange fowl light upon neighbouring 
 ponds. Your ring may be stolen too : so, your 
 brace of unprizable estimations, the one is but 
 frail, and the other casual ; a cunning thief, or a 
 that-way-accomplished courtier, would hazard tiie 
 winning both of first and last. 
 
 Post. Your Italy contains none so accomplished 
 a courtier to convince ^' the honour of my mistress; 
 if, in the holding or loss of that, you term her frail. 
 I do nothing doubt you have store of thieves ; not- 
 withstanding, I fear not my ring. 
 
 Phi. Let us leave here, gentlemen. 
 
 Post. Sir, with all my heart. This worthy 
 signior, I thank him, makes no stranger of me ; 
 we are familiar at first. 
 
 lach. With five times so much conversation, I 
 should get ground of your fair mistress; make her 
 go back, even to the yielding, had I admittance, 
 and opportunity to friend.*^ 
 
 Post. No, no. 
 
 lach. I dare thereupon pawn the moiety of my 
 estate to your ring ; which, in my opinion, o'er- 
 values it something; but I make my wager rather 
 against your confidence than her reputation : and, 
 
 "though" should be borne in mind, when interpreting this 
 speech ; and it appears to us that here " though " in all pro- 
 bability bears the sense of ' inasmuch as,' ' since.' See Note 28, 
 Act iii., " Othello." 
 
 I could not but believe. The Folio omits " but." Inserted 
 by Malone. 
 
 50. If iltere were ivealt/i enough. The Folio inserts ' or ' 
 before "if" here; and, inasmuch as Shakespeare sometimes 
 uses the double " or" in a sentence, it maybe right here; but we 
 think, from the immediately preceding "or" before "given," 
 it was very likely repeated before " if" by a printer's mistake. 
 Rowe made the correction. 
 
 51. Convince. 'Overcome,' 'conquer,' 'defeat.' See Note 
 128, Act i., "Macbeth." 
 
 52. Leave. Used here for ' leave off,' ' cease ; ' ' discontinue 
 
 53. To friend. 'To be my friend,' 'to befriend me,' 'for 
 friend.' See Note 27, Act iii., "Julius Caesar." 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene VI. 
 
 to bar your offence herein too, I durst attempt it 
 against any lady in the world. 
 
 Post. You are a great deal abused''' in too bold 
 a persuasion ; and I doubt not you sustain what 
 you 're worthy of by } our attempt, 
 
 lach. What's that? 
 
 Post. A repulse : though your attempt, as you 
 call it, deserve more, — a punisiiment too. 
 
 Phi. Gentlemen, enough of this : it came in 
 too suddenly ; let it die as it was born, and, I pray 
 you, be better acquainted. 
 
 lach. Would I had put my estate and my 
 neighbour's on the approbation of what I have 
 spoke ! 
 
 Post. What lady would you choose to assail ? 
 
 lach. Yours ; whom in constancy you think 
 stands so safe. I will lay you ten thousand ducats 
 to your ring, that, commend me to the court where 
 your lady is, with no more advantage than the 
 opportunity of a second conference, and I will 
 bring from thence that honour of hers which you 
 imagine so reserved. 
 
 Post. I will wage against your gold, gold to it : 
 my ring I hold dear as my finger; 'tis part of it. 
 
 lach. You are a friend, and therein the wiser. 
 If you buy ladies' flesh at a million a dram, you 
 cannot preserve it from tainting : but I see you 
 have some religion in you, that ) ou fear. 
 
 Post, This is but a custom in your tongue ; you 
 bear a graver purpose, I hope. 
 
 lach. I am the master of my speeches ; and 
 would undergo what 's spoken, I swear. 
 
 Post. Will you ? — I shall but lend my diamond 
 till your return : — let there be covenants drawn 
 between us : my mistress exceeds in goodness the 
 hugeness of your unworthy thinking : I dare you 
 to this match : here 's my ring. 
 
 Phi. [ will have it no lay.^' 
 
 lach. By the gods, it is one. — If I bring you no 
 sufficient testimony that I have won your mistress, 
 my ten thousand ducats are yours ; so is your dia- 
 mond too: if I come off, and leave her** in such 
 honour as you have trust in, she your jewel, this 
 your jewel, and my gold are yours ;— provided I 
 have your commendation, for my more free 
 entertainment. 
 
 54. Abused. ' Deceived.' See context of passage referred to 
 in Note 47, Act iv., "Othello," for "abused" employed in a 
 similar sense. 
 
 55- Approbation. Here used for ' proof.' See Note 22 Act i , 
 " Henry V." 
 
 56. You are a friend, and Uierein the wiser. "A friend" 
 has been changed by Theobald and others to ' afraid ; ' but we 
 think that lachimo says " a friend " in sneering allusion to Post- 
 humus's having said, " I profess myself her adorer, not her 
 friend;" and means to imply, 'You are a friend (or lover), not 
 an adorer, and therein the wiser, since women are not worthy 
 of adoration and worship, as immaculate beings.' It appears to 
 us that the word " religion," at the close of this speech, tends to 
 show that our conviction of the sense of the passage is right ; 
 
 Post. I embrace these conditions ; let us have 
 articles betwixt us. — Only, thus far you shall 
 answer : if you make your voyage, and give me 
 directly to understand you have prevailed, I am no 
 farther your enemy; she is not worth our debate : 
 if she remain unseduced, — you not making it 
 appear otherwise, — for your ill opinion, and the 
 assault you have made to her chastity, you shall 
 answer me with your su ord. 
 
 lach. Your hand, — a covenant : we will have 
 these things set down by lawful counsel, and 
 straight away for Britain, lest the bargain should 
 catch cold and starve I will fetch my gold, and 
 have our two wagers recorded. 
 
 Post. Agreed. 
 
 {^Exeunt PosTHUMUs and Iachimo. 
 
 French. Will this hold, think you ? 
 
 Phi. Signior lachimo will not from it. Pray, 
 let us follow 'em. \^Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE VI.— Britain. A Room in Cymue- 
 line's Palace. 
 
 Enter Queen, Ladies, and Cornelius. 
 
 ^een. Whiles yet the dew 's on ground, gath er 
 those flowers ; 
 Make haste : who has the note of them ? 
 
 First Lady. I, madam. 
 
 ^een. Dispatch. — \_Excunt Ladies. 
 
 Now, master doctor, have you brought those 
 drugs ? 
 
 Cor. Pleaseth your highness, ay ; nere they are, 
 madam ; [Presenting a small box. 
 
 But I beseech your grace, without offence, — 
 My conscience bids me ask, — wherefore you have 
 Commanded of me these most poisonous com- 
 pounds, 
 
 Which are the movers of a languishing death ; 
 But, though slow, deadly ? 
 
 ^een. I wonder, doctor, 
 
 Thou ask'st me Luch a question. Have I not 
 been 
 
 and if emphasis be placed on ''some" before "religion," we 
 think the meaning of the whole passage, as we interpret it, will 
 be clear. 
 
 57. Lay. 'Wager,' 'bet.' See Note 17, Act v., "Second 
 Part Henry VI." 
 
 58. If I bring you no sufficient . ... if I come o_ff, and 
 leave S^c. This is put in the form of a converse proposition 
 (see Note 66, Act iv., " Timon of Athens ; " and Note 187, Act 
 iv., "Winter's Tale") ; but it is in accordance with lachimo's 
 designing manner. He affects to state the terms of the wager 
 on both sides ; but he, in fact, proposes them so that they shal' 
 suggest, either way, Posthumus's winning. 
 
 59. Starve. ' Die,' ' perish.' "Starve" was anciently thus 
 used; though, modernly, it is almost exclusively used for 'die 
 of hunger,' and sometimes, as here, 'perish with cold.' 
 
Act I.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [SCENE VL 
 
 Thy pupil long? Hast thou not learn'd ine 
 how 
 
 To make perfumes ? distil r preserve ? yea, so 
 That our great king himself doth woo me oft 
 For my confections ? Having thus far pro- 
 ceeded,— 
 
 Unless thou think'st me devilish, — is 't not meet 
 That I did amplify my ju<igment in 
 Other conclusions P^" I will try the forces 
 Of these thy compounds on such creatures as 
 We count not worth the hanging, — but none 
 
 human, — 
 To try the vigour of them, and apply 
 Allayments to their act; and by them gather 
 Their several virtues and effects. 
 
 Car. Your highness 
 
 Shall from this practice but make hard your 
 
 heajrt : 
 
 Besides, the seeing these effects will be 
 Both noisome and infectious. 
 
 ^een. Oh, content thee. — 
 
 l^/lside.'] Here comes a flattering rascal ; upon 
 him 
 
 Will I first work : he 's for his master, 
 And enemy to my son. — 
 
 Enter Pisanio. 
 
 How now, Pisanio ! — 
 Doctor, your service for this time is ended ; 
 Take your own way. 
 
 Cor. \_Aside.'\ I do suspect you, madam ; 
 
 Put you shall do no harm. 
 §ueen. [To Pisanio.] Hark thee, a word. 
 Cor. [JsicJe.] I do not like her. She doth think' 
 she has 
 
 Strange lirjgering poisons : I do know her spirit, 
 And will not trust one of her malice with 
 A drug of such fell nature. Those she has 
 Will stupify and dull the sense awhile ; 
 Which first, perchance, she'll prove on cats and 
 dogs. 
 
 Then afterward up higher : but there is 
 No dinger in what show of death it malces, 
 More than the locking up the spirits a time, 
 To be more fresh, reviving. She is fool'd 
 With a most false effect ; and I the truer, 
 So to be false with her.s> 
 
 60. Conclitsions. 'Experiments.' See Note 67, Act v., 
 "Antony and Cleopatra." 
 
 61. So to be false iviih her. Far from agreeing with Dr. 
 Johnson — who pronounces this soliloquy to be " very inartificial," 
 and says that Cornelius " makes a long speech to tell himself 
 what himself knows" — we think that these lines, spoken apart, 
 are in strict accordance with Shakespeare's felicitous system of 
 dramatic art on sqcli occisions. See Note iot, Act iii., 
 "Twelfth Night." The present soliloquy is characteristic, 
 inasmuch as it emanates from a reflective rnaii, a student, one 
 accustomed to ponder upqn his experiments, and to render him- 
 self an account of the effects they will produce ; in the next 
 place, it serves the purpose qf informing the audience what is 
 
 I Sitteen. No farther service, doctor, 
 
 I Until 1 send for thee. 
 
 Cor, I humbly take my leave. 
 
 \Exit. 
 
 Slueen. Weeps she still, sa}'st thou? Dost 
 thou think in time 
 She will not quench,^^ and let instructions enter 
 I Where folly now possesses ? Do thou work : 
 I When thou shalt bring me word she loves my 
 son, 
 
 I'll tell thee on the instant thou art then 
 As great as is thy master ; greater, — for 
 His fortunes all lie speechless, and his name 
 , Is at last gasp : return he cannot, nor 
 [ Continue where lie is : to shift his being,^' 
 
 Is to exchange one misery with another ; 
 J And every day that comes, corries to decay 
 I A day's work in him. What shalt thou expect, 
 I /To be depender on a thing that l^ans,^* — ^ 
 j Who cannot be new built, nor has no friends, 
 I So much as but to prop him ? — {The QuEEN drops 
 ' the box; Pisanio takes it up.] — Thou tak'st 
 
 I up 
 
 Thou know'st not what ; but take it for thy 
 j labour: 
 
 It is a thjng I made, which hath the king 
 i I'ive times redeem'd from death : 1 do not know 
 I What is more cordial : — nay, I pr'ythee, take it ; 
 
 It is an earnest of a farther good 
 I That I mean to thee. Tell thy mistress how 
 ''■ The case stands with her ; do 't as froni thyself, 
 i Think what a chance thou changest on ; 55 but 
 ' think 
 
 Thou hast thy mistress still.^to boot, my son, 
 ^ Who shall take notice of thee ; I'll mo\e the 
 \ king 
 
 j To any shape of thy preferment, such 
 j As thou'lt desire; and then myself, I chiefly, 
 That set thee on to this desert, am bound 
 To load thy merit richly. Call my women : 
 \ Think on my words. \_Exh Pisanio. 
 
 A sly and constant knave ; 
 j Not to be shak'd : the agent for his master ; 
 j And the remembrancer of her, tq hold 
 j The handfast to her lord. — I have given him that, 
 [ Which, if he take, shall quite unpeople her 
 Of leigers for her sweet ; and which she after, 
 
 the nature of the drugs thus entrusted to the queen's power, and 
 prepares for the incident of Imogen's return to life after having 
 swallowed them. 
 
 62 Quench. 'Abate her warmth,' 'grow cool," 'become 
 subdued.' 
 
 63. To shift his being. 'To change his abode;' 'to change 
 his mode of existence.' 
 
 64. Leans. 'Droops,' ' is in a falling condition.' 
 
 65. Think what a chance tlion changest on. This has been 
 variously altered : but we take the p.issage, as it stands, to 
 signify, ' Think what a prospect of fortune you change allegiance 
 for.' See Note 79, Act iv. 
 
 65. Leigers for (ler s-Meei. ' Resident embnssidors for her 
 
Act I.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 Except she bend her humour, shall be assur'd 
 To taste of too. 
 
 Re-enter Pisanio and Ladies. 
 
 So, so ; — well done, well done : 
 The violets, cowslips, and the primroses. 
 Bear to my closet.''^— Fare thee well, Pisanio ; 
 Think, on my words. 
 
 [Exeunt Queen and Ladies. 
 Pis. And shall do : 
 
 But when to my good lord I prove untrue, 
 I'll choke myself : there 's all I'll do for you. 
 
 \_Exlt. 
 
 SCENE YU.—Anoiher Room in the Palace. 
 
 Enter Imogen. 
 Imo, A father cruel, and a step-dame false; 
 A foolish suitor to a wedded lady. 
 That hath her husband banish'd ;— Oh, that hus- 
 band ! 
 
 My supreme crown of grief! and those repeated 
 Vexations of it ! Had I been thief-stol'n. 
 
 beloved husband,' ' those who are permanent promoters of 
 Posthumus's interests in Britain during his absence abroad.' 
 See Note 12, Act iii., " Measure for Measure." 
 
 67. T/ie violets, cowslips, and the primroses, bear to vty 
 closet. The art with which the poet and dramatist has placed 
 these words in the mouth of this queen miscreant is worthy of 
 remark. He makes her use these beauteous and innocent 
 products of earth as mere cloaks to her wickedness ; she con- 
 cocts "perfumes" and "confections" from them, as a veil to 
 the "drugs" and "poisonous compounds" which she collects 
 for the fellest purposes. It enhances the effect of her guilt, her 
 thus forcing these sweet blossoms to become accomplices in her 
 vile schemes ; and we loathe her the more for her surrounding her 
 luihallowed self with their loveliness. Moreover, she is un- 
 touched by their grace ; she has learned no lesson from their 
 exquisite structure, colour, fragrance ; she looks upon them as 
 mere means to an end— and that end a bad one. Observe, too, 
 how skilfully Shakespeare has juade this evil woman order her 
 ladies to "gather those flowers;" how she desires that they 
 shall be borne to her "closet" — her laboratory; not gathering 
 them or cari-ying them herself ; not caring for the touch, and 
 scent, and sight of these gentle things— that all good people 
 instinctively love, and cherish, and caress. How different is the 
 poet's treatment of the subject, where he makes the virtuous 
 Friar Lawrence rise with the dawn, himself to gather the 
 "precious-juiced flowers," "ere the sun advance his burning 
 eye ;" and dilating with fond enthusiasm on their " many virtues 
 excellent," and philosophising on their varied qualities and 
 purposes. Supplementary to this higher ethical teaching of the 
 great moralist, Shakespeare, how truly we see the man of rural 
 natural knowledge, in his being aware of the fact that moruiiig- 
 gatlicred flowers remain longest fresh and unwithered ! 
 
 68. But most miserable is the desire that 's glorious. ' But 
 most doomed to disappointment is the exalted aspiration.' She 
 is thinking of her desire to have her chosen noble-natured 
 husband by her side, instead of having the mean-souled Cloten 
 forced upon her notice. 
 
 69. Seasons. ' Gives zest or relish to ; ' ' renders more pleasant 
 and acceptable.' See Note 95, Act i., " Hamlet." 
 
 70. Change vou, madam ? How by these three little words 
 
 As my two brothers, happy ! but most miserable 
 Is the desire that's glorious bless'd be those. 
 How mean soe'er, that have their honest wills. 
 Which seasons^^ comfort. — Who may this be? 
 Fie! 
 
 Enter Pisanio and Iachimo. 
 
 Pis. Madam, a noble gentleman of Rome, 
 Comes from my lord with letters. 
 
 lach. Change you, madam P^" 
 
 The worthy Leonatus is in safety. 
 And greets your highness dearly. 
 
 [Presents a letter. 
 
 Into. Thanks, good sir : 
 
 You are kindly welcome. 
 
 lach. [Aside.] All of her, that is out of door, 
 most rich ! 
 If she be furnish'd with a iniiid so rare, 
 She is alone the Arabian bird ; ' ' and 1 
 Have lost the wager. Boldness be my friend ! 
 Arm me, audacity, from head to foot ! 
 Or, like the Parthian, I shall flying fight ; 
 Rather, directly fly. 
 
 Imo. [Reads.] He is one of the no lest, note, to whose 
 kindnesses I am most infinitely tied. Reflect upon him accord- 
 ingly, as you value your trust'^— Leonatus. 
 
 the dramatist lets us behold the sudden pallor and as sudden 
 flush of crimson that bespread the wife's face at this instant. 
 See Note 43, Act iii., " As You Like It." 
 
 71. The Arabian bird. "The phcenix," See Note 7, Act 
 iii., "Antony and Cleopatra." 
 
 72. As you value your trust — Leonatus. Hanmer and others 
 have changed "trust" to 'truest' here, making the word an 
 
 eluding one, introductory of the signature. There is a plausi- 
 bility in the alteration : but we take the sentence, as it stands, 
 to be a fragmentary one; one that occurs in the midst of the 
 letter, and selected by Imogen as that which she will "read 
 aloud," since it contains complimentary mention of the by- 
 stander and bearer of the letter, and serves for his credential of 
 introduction to her. There has probably been some previous 
 mention of Iachimo by name in the letter, since the sentence 
 commences with " He ; " and we think it more likely that " the 
 rest," which warms the very middle of the wife's heart, comes 
 between this sentence and the signature, than that this sentence 
 forms the closing one of the letter. She hastily selects the 
 words she will "read aloud," and then subjoins the name of 
 him who signs the letter, by way of giving force to his in- 
 junction ; but her eye glances at "the rest" that intervenes, 
 until she shall be left by herself to re-read it fondly and enjoy it 
 fully. Mason objects to the word " trust," on the ground that 
 " were Leonatus writing to his steward, this style might be 
 proper ; but it is so strange a conclusion of a letter to a princess 
 and a beloved wife, that it cannot be right." Mr. Mason should 
 have borne in mind the peculiar mode in which Shakespeare 
 sometimes uses the possessive case (see, among many other 
 instances, "your injuries," "your displeasure," "your rich 
 opinion," "your reproof," &c.. Note 6, Act iii., "Othello;" 
 Note 37, Act ii., " Antony and Cleopatra ") ; and that therefore 
 "your trust" is probably here intended to express ' the trust I 
 repose in you.' Towards the close of the present scene Iachimo 
 exclaims— 
 
 " Oh, happy Leonatus ! I may say : 
 The credit that thy lady hath of thee 
 Deserves thy trust." 
 And not unfrequently we may learn the sense in which a word 
 
Act I.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [SCEKTE VII. 
 
 So far I read aloud : 
 
 But even the very middle of my heart 
 
 Is warm'd by the rest, and takes it thankfully.— 
 
 You are as welcome, worthy sir, as 
 
 Have words to bid you; and shall find it so, 
 
 In all that I can do. 
 
 lach. Thank«, fairest lady. — • 
 
 What! are men mad? Hath nature given them 
 eyes 
 
 To see this vaulted arch, and the rich crop'^ 
 Of sea and land, which can distinguish 'twixt 
 The fiery orbs above, and the twinn'd stones'^ 
 Upon the number'd beach and can we not 
 Partition make with spectacles so precious 
 'Twixt fair and foul ? 
 
 Into. What makes your admiration ? 
 
 lach. It cannot he i' the eye; for apes and 
 monkeys, 
 
 'Twixt two such shes,'7 would chatter this way, 
 and 
 
 Contemn with mows the other: nor i' the juiig- 
 ment ; 
 
 For idiots, in this case of favour, would 
 Be wisely definite : nor i' the appetite ; 
 Sluttery, to such neat excellence oppos'd, 
 Should make desire vomit emptiness, 
 Not so aliur'd to feed. 
 
 Into. What is the matter, trow P^^ 
 
 lach. The cloye 1 will,— 
 
 That satiate y.et unsatisfied desire, that tub 
 Both fiU'd and running,— ravening first the lamb, 
 Longs after for the garbage. 
 
 Im-i. What, dear sir, 
 
 Thus raps you Are you well ? 
 
 lach. Thanks, madam; well.— [T'o Pisanio.] 
 Beseech you, sir, desire 
 My man's abode where I did leave him : he 
 Is strange and peevish. 8" 
 
 is used by our authir, frjm observinj how he employs it in a 
 passage not far removed from the one in question. Shakespeare, 
 in many passages, uses " trust" with the exalted and even 
 sacred meaning which this word, in its fullest sense, includes ; 
 and he may most assuredly have thus used it in a letter from 
 husband to wife. 
 
 73. Hath nature given th:^m eyes to see .... and can 
 ive not, &^c. "Them" and "we," in this sentence, present a 
 similar change of pronoun to. that pointed out in Note 14 of this 
 Act ; yet the sticklers for consistency, who wish to make 
 Shakespeare's varied style accord with their conventional ideas 
 of correctness, have not noticed this instance of his peculiar 
 construction, though they find fault with an attempt to alter 
 the other one. 
 
 74. T/ie rich crop. Warburton proposed to alter " crop" to 
 ' cope : ' but "crop " is here used to express ' produce.' 
 
 75. The twinn'd stones. 'The stones alike as twins," 'the 
 stones as like one another as twins.' 
 
 76. The number'd beach. 'The beach composed of num- 
 bers,' 'the beach consisting of numbers.' 
 
 77. 'Twixt two such shes. See Note 32 of this Act. 
 
 78. Whxt is the matter, troiu ? See Note 59, Act iii., 
 "Much Ado about Nothing." 
 
 79. Rafis you. 'Transports you,' 'seizes your imagina- 
 
 Pls. I was going, sir, 
 
 To give him welcome. {^Exit. 
 Imo. Continues well my lord? His health, 
 
 beseech you ? 
 lach. Well, madam. 
 
 Imo. Is he dispos'd to mirth ? I hope he is. 
 
 lach. Exceeding pleasant ; none a stranger there 
 So merry and so gamesome : he is call'd 
 The Briton reveller. 
 
 Imo. When he was here. 
 
 He did incline to sadness; and oft-times 
 Not knowing why. 
 
 lach. I never saw him sad. 
 
 There is a Frenchman his companion, one 
 An eminent monsieur, that, it seems, much loves 
 A Gallian girl at home : he furnaces 8' 
 The thick sighs from him ; whiles the jolly 
 Briton,— 
 
 Yoiir lord, I mean, — laughs from 's free lungs, 
 cries, " Oh, 
 
 Can my sides hold, to think, that man, — who 
 knows 
 
 By history, report, or his own proof. 
 What woman is, yea, what she cannot choose 
 But must be, — will his free hours languish for 
 Assure 1 bondage ?" 
 
 Imo. Will my lord s.ay so ? 
 
 lach. Ay, madam; with his eyes in flood with 
 laughter : 
 It is a recreation to be by. 
 
 And hear him mock the Frenchman. But, heavens 
 know. 
 
 Some men are much to blame. 
 Imo. Not he, I hope. 
 
 lach. Not he : but yet Heaven's bounty towards 
 him might 
 
 Be us'd more thankfully. In himself, 'tis much ; 
 In you, — which I 'count his, — beyond all talents. 
 
 tion,' 'carries you into this fit of wondering abstraction.' See 
 Note 56, Act i., " Macbeth." 
 
 80. He is strajige and peevish. 'He is a foreigner and a 
 simpleton.' See Note 9, Act iv., " Comedy of Errors," and 
 Note 100 of the present Act and play. 
 
 81. Furnaces. Shakespeare has evidently so well liked the 
 humorous simile used in the passage referred to in Note 84, 
 Act ii., "As You Like It," that he has here framed a forcible 
 verb from the noun there employed. 
 
 82. Will his free hours languish for assured bondage. 
 
 Although the phrase, as it is, may be interpreted to mean, ' will 
 languish away his free hours for the sake of assured bondage," 
 
 yet we think it not improbable that the Folio version of the 
 phrase, " will 's free houres languish : For a.ssured bondage," 
 may be a misprint for ' will i>i 's free hours languish for assured 
 bondage.' * In "s ' would be accordant with several similar 
 elisional contractions that occur in this play. Nevertheless, it 
 is true that " languish " was sometimes used in .Shakespeare's 
 time as a verb active ; and therefore we leave the text undis- 
 
 83. In you, — which I 'count his, — beyond all talents. The 
 present passage is, we think, generally mispunctuated and mis- 
 interpreted ; probably owing to the Folio having put no stop 
 whatever after "his." We believe that the entire sentence 
 
CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene Vll. 
 
 Whilst I am bound to wonder, I am bound 
 To pity too. 
 
 Imo. What do you pity, sir ? 
 
 lach. Two creatures heartily. 
 
 Imo. Am [ one, sir? 
 
 You look on me ; what wreck discern you in me 
 Deserves your p;t)- ? 
 
 lach. Lamentable ! What, 
 
 To hide me from the radiant sun, and solace 
 r the dungeon by a sautF? 
 
 Imo. I pray you, sir, 
 
 Delis'er with more openness your answers 
 To my demands. Why do you pity me ? 
 
 lach. That others do, 
 
 1 was about to say, enjoy your But 
 
 It is an office of the gods to venge it. 
 
 Not mine to speak on 't. i 
 
 Ifno. You do seem to know , | 
 
 Something of me, or what concerns me ; pray you 
 (Since doubting*** things go ill often hurts more 
 Than to be sure they do ; for certainties 
 Either are past remedies, or, timeiy knowing. 
 The remedy then born) discover to ine 
 What both you spur anti stop.**' 
 
 lach. Had I this cheek 
 
 To bathe my lips upon ; this hand, whose touch, 
 Whose every touch, would force the feeler's soul 
 To the oath of loyalty ; this object, which 
 Takes prisoner the wild motion of mine eye. 
 Fixing it only here ;— should I (cm-s'd then) 
 Slaver with lips as common as the stairs 
 That mount the Capitol ; join gripes with hands 
 Made hard with hourly falsehooil (falsehood, as 
 With labour); then by-peeping ''^ in an e) e 
 Base and unlustrous^' as the smoky light 
 That 's fed with stinking tallow,^it were fit 
 That all the plagues of hell should at one time 
 Encounter such revolt. ] 
 
 Imo. ' My loni, I fear, { 
 
 signifies, ' As regards himself and his own good qualities. 
 Heaven's bounty is much ; as regards you, — whom I reckon 
 his by divine gift, — Heaven's bounty is beyond all sums of 
 wealth.* The word " talents " was sometimes used to express 
 an indefinite amount, or article of great value (see Note 33, 
 Acti., " Timon of Athens*'): and Shakespeare, in stanza 30 
 of his poem called " A Lover's Complaint," employs it to de. 
 scribe rich masses of hair. 
 
 84. Solace. ' Take joy,' ' take delight.' See Note 34, Act iv., 
 '* Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 85. Doubting. Here used in the sense of ' dre.idmg,' ' having 
 a misgiving that.' See Note 42, Act ii., Hamlet." 
 
 86. Of, timely /morning, t/ie remedy then born. EUiptically 
 e,^:pressed ; 'them' being understood after "knowing," and 
 ' is' after "remedy." The present passage affords an instance 
 •of one of Shakespeare's forcible parentheses. See Note 10, Act 
 iii., "'Winter's Tale." Put into the mouth of Imogen, it has 
 characteristic eff'ect ; aiding to show how admirably she com- 
 bines reflection, good sense, moral courage, and a sedate strength 
 of mind, with her feminine sweetness, gentleness, tenderness, 
 ind generosity of affection. 
 
 87. ll'' hat both yon ^pnr and stop. ' That information which 
 
 Has forgot Britain. 
 
 lach. And himself. Not I, 
 
 Inclm'd to this intelligence, pronoutice 
 The beggary of his cliange; but 'tis your graces 
 That, from my mutest conscience, to iriy tongue, 
 Charms this report out. 
 
 Imo. Let me hear no more; 
 
 lach. Oh, dearest soul, your caiise doth strike 
 my heart 
 
 With pity, that doth make me sick ! A lady 
 So fair, and fasten'd to an empery,'-'" 
 Would make the great'st king douDlej— to be 
 partner'd 
 
 With tomboys, SI hir'd with that self-exhibition 
 Which your own coffers yield 1 with diseas'd 
 ventures 
 
 That play with all infirmities for gold 
 
 Which rottenness can lend nature I such boil'd 
 
 stuff- 
 As well might poison poison ! Be reveng'd ; 
 Or she that bore you was no queen, and you 
 Recoil from your great stock. 
 
 hno. Reveng'd ! 
 
 How should I be reveng'd "i If this be true, — 
 As I have such a heart that both mine ears 
 Must not in haste abuse, — if it be trUe, 
 How should I be reveng'd ? 
 
 lach. Should he make me live like Diana's 
 priest. 
 
 Whiles he is vaulting variable ramps, 
 
 In your despite, upon your purse ? Revenge it. 
 
 I liedicate myself to ) our sweet pleasure ; 
 
 More noble than that runagate to your bed ; 
 
 And will continue fast to your affection, 
 
 Still close as sure. 
 
 Imo. What, ho, Pisaniol^^ 
 
 lack. Let me my service tender on your lips. 
 Imo. Away I — I do condemn mine ears that 
 have 
 
 you urge forward as seeming eager to utter, yet which you 
 check as seeming unwilling to utter.' The sentence has figura- 
 tive allusion to horsemanship. 
 
 88. By-peeping. This lias been changed to * lie peeping,* 
 ' bide peeping,' and ' bo-peeping ; ' but the original word seems 
 to us to be equivalent to ' leering,' ' ogling," ' casting side-way 
 or stealthy glances.' 
 
 89. Unlustrous. The Folio misprints 'illustrious.' Rowe's 
 
 90. Empery. ' Imperial sway,' ' supreme command,' ' sove- 
 reign djiulnion.' See Note 51, Act i., " Henry 'V." 
 
 91. Tomboys. ' Hoydens,' ' bold roystering wenches.' 
 
 92. That self-exhibition. ' That self-same stipend.' See 
 Note 42, Act iv., "King Lear," and Note 32, Act i., "Two 
 Gentlemen of Veroiia," 
 
 93. As I have such a heart that both mine ears must not m 
 haste abuse. Noble Imogen ! model to your sister women, for 
 love with warmth of impulse in it, yet not such impulse aa 
 carries temper and judgment away ! 
 
 94. l-y/iat, ho, Pisanio ! Observe how, upon the villain 
 revealing himself, she does not even answer him, but calls her 
 faithful servant to her side before replying. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene VII. 
 
 So long attended thee. — It thou wert honourable, 
 
 Thou wouldst have told this tale for virtue, not 
 
 For such an end thou seek'st, — as base as strange. 
 
 Thou wrong'st a gentleman, who is as far 
 
 From thy report as thou from honour ; and 
 
 Solicit'st here a lady that disdains 
 
 Thee and the devil alike. — What ho, Pisanio! — 
 
 The king my father shall be made acquainted 
 
 Of thy assault: if he shall think it fit, 
 
 A saucy stranger, in his court, to mart 
 
 As in a Romish^* stew, and to expound 
 
 His beastly mind to us, — he hath a court 
 
 He little cares for, and a daughter whom 
 
 He not respects at all. — ^What ho, Pisanio!— 
 
 lacb. Oh, happy Leonatus! I may say: 
 The credit that thy lady hath of thee 
 Deserves thy trust ; and thy most perfect goodr.ess 
 Her assur'd credit. — Blessed live you long ! 
 A lady to the worthiest sir that ever 
 Country call'd his ! and you his mistress, only 
 For the most worthiest fit! Give me your pardon. 
 I have spoke this, to know if your affiance'"' 
 Were deeply rooted ; and shall make your lord. 
 That which he is, new o'er: and he is one 
 The truest manner'd ; such a holy witch,'-'? 
 That he enchants societies into him 
 Half all men's hearts are his. 
 
 Imo. You make amends. 
 
 lach. He sits 'mongst men like a descended 
 god: 
 
 He hath a kind of honour sets him off. 
 More than a mortal seeming. Be not angry. 
 Most mighty princess, that I have adventur'd 
 To try your taking of a false report ; which hath 
 Honour'd with confirmation your great judgment 
 I n the election of a sir so rare, 
 Which you know cannot err: the love I bear him 
 Made me to fan you thus; but the gods made you, 
 Unlike all others, chaffless. Pray, your pardon. 
 Imo. All 's well, sir : take my power i' the 
 court for yours. 
 
 lath. My humble thanks. I had almost forgot 
 To entreat your grace but in a small request, 
 And yet of moment too, for it concerns 
 Your lord ; myself, and other noble friends, 
 Are partners in the business.''-* 
 
 Imo. Pray, what is 't ? 
 
 lach. Some dozen Romans of us, and your 
 lord,— 
 
 The best feather of our wing, — have mingled 
 sums 
 
 To buy a present for the emperor; 
 Which I, the factor for the rest, have done 
 In France : 'tis plate of rare device, and jewels 
 Of rich and exquisite form ; their values great; 
 And I am something curious, being strange,'"" 
 To have them in safe stowage : may it please ) ou 
 To take them in protection ? 
 
 Lno. Willingly; 
 And pawn mine honour for their safely : since 
 My lord hath interest in them, I will keep them 
 In my bedchamber. 
 
 Iich. They are in a trunk, 
 
 Attended by my men : I will make bold 
 To send them to you, only for this night ; 
 I must aboard to-morrow. 
 
 Imo. Oh, no, no. 
 
 lach. Yes, I beseech ; or I shall short my word 
 By lengthening my return. From Gallia 
 I cross'd the seas on purpose and on promise 
 To see your grace. 
 
 Imo. I thank you for your pains : 
 
 But not away to-morrow! 
 
 lach. Oh, I must, madam : 
 
 Therefore I shall beseech you, if you please 
 To greet your lord with writing, do 't to-night : 
 I have outstood my time ; which is material 
 To the tender of our present. 
 
 Imo. I will write. 
 
 Send your trunk to me ; it shall safe be kept. 
 And truly yielded you. You're very welcome. 
 
 [E.\fu>it. 
 
 95. Romish. Formerly sometimes used for ' Roman ; ' now 
 generally used for ' Popish.' 
 
 96. Affiance. ' Reliance,' ' trust,' ' confidence.' See Note 
 70, Act ii., "Henry V." 
 
 97. Suck a holy witch. Like several other words that are 
 now only used in application to women, "witch" was formerly 
 used for a male practiser of the forbidden arts of magic and 
 sorcery, as well as for a female practiser of them. 
 
 98. He enchants societies into him. "Into" is here used 
 where 'unto' is generally employed. Other writers besides 
 Shakespeare have so used the word ; and in the present passage 
 it has specially good effect, from its according with the image 
 presented of enchanting those around him into his magic circle. 
 
 99. For it concerns your lord; myself, and other noble 
 friends, are partners in the business. 'With him' is ellipti- 
 cally understood after "partners." Some editors place a 
 comma after "lord," and understand ' who' before " are ; " but 
 we think that lachimo concludes the first clause of his sentence 
 with "your lord," and adds the partnership of himself and 
 friends as a concludmg clause of comparatively slight im- 
 portance. 
 
 100. / am something curious, being strange. " Something 
 curious" is used in the sense of 'rather careful,' 'somewhat 
 anxious or solicitous' (see Note 46, Act i., "All's Well that 
 Ends Well"); and "strange" for 'foreign' or 'a foreigner.' 
 See Note 80 of this Act. 
 
 voT,. in. 
 
 253 
 
Act II.] CYMBELINE. [SCENES I., II. 
 
 ACT II. 
 
 SCENE I. — Britain. Co«j7 ^^or^- Cymbeline's j 
 Palace. 
 
 Enter Cloten and tvjo Lords. 
 
 Clo. Was there ever man had such luck I when 
 I kissed the jack,' upon an up-cast to be hit away! 
 I had a hundred pound on't: and then a jack- 
 anapes must take me up^ for swearing; as if I 
 borrowed mine oaths of him, and might not spend 
 them at my pleasure. 
 
 First Lord. What got he by that? You have 
 broke his pate with your bowl. 
 
 Sec. Lord. [Aside.] If his wit had been like him 
 that broke it, it would have run all out. 
 
 C/o. When a gentleman is disposed to swear, it 
 is not for any standers-by to curtail his oaths, ha ? 
 
 Sec. Lord. No, my lord; [aside] nor crop the 
 ears of them. 
 
 C/o. Dog! — I give him satisfaction Would 
 he had been one of my rank !■* 
 
 Sec. Lord. [Aside.] To have smelt like a fool. 
 
 C/o. I am not vexed more at anything in the 
 earth, — A plague on't! I had rather not be so 
 noble as I am ; they dare not fight with me, 
 because of the queen my mother : every Jack- 
 slave hath his bellyful of fighting, and I must go 
 up and down like a cock that nobody can match. 
 
 Sec. Lord. [Aside.] You are cock and capon 
 too; and you crow, cock, with your comb on.^ 
 
 Clo. Sayest thou ? 
 
 Sec. Lord. It is not fit" your lordship should under- 
 take every companion'' that you give offence to. 
 
 C/o. No, I know that; but it is fit I should 
 commit offence to my inferiors. 
 
 Sec. Lord. Ay, it is fit for your lordship only. 
 
 C/o. Why,' so I say. 
 
 First Lord. Did you hear of a stranger that 's 
 come to court to-night ? 
 
 C/o. A stranger, and I not know on 't! 
 
 Sec. Lord. [Aside.] He 's a strange fellow him- 
 Sfclf, and knows it not. 
 
 First Lord. There 's an Italian come ; and, 'tis 
 tiiought, one of Leonatus' friends. 
 
 C/o. Leonatus! a banished rascal; and he's 
 
 Who told 
 
 1. Kissed the jack. A term used in the game of bowls. See 
 Note 21, Act iii,, " Troilus and Cressida." " Upon an up cast" 
 means ' by a thiow from another bowler directed straigiit up.' 
 
 2. Take vie up. Punningly used ; as in the passage explained 
 in Note 1x7, Act ii., "All's Well," &c. 
 
 3. / give him satis/aciion ? The first Folio has ' gave ' for 
 "give;" corrected in the second Folio. 
 
 4. Ratik. Cloten says this in the sense of ' degree,' ' station :' 
 the second lord replies to it quibblingly in the sense of 'rancid,' 
 ' uffensively scented.' See Note 36, Act i., "As Yon Like It." 
 
 yOl 
 
 of this 
 
 Italian : what I 
 to-night of hiin. 
 
 another, whatsoever he be. 
 stranger ? 
 
 First Lord. One of your lordship's pages. 
 Clo. Is it fit 1 went to look upon him "t is there 
 no derogation in 't ? 
 
 First Lord. You cannot derogate, my lord. 
 Clo. Not easily, I think. 
 
 Sec. Lord. [Aside.] You are a fool granted ; 
 therefore your issues,*^ being foolish, do not 
 derogate. 
 
 C/o. Come, 1 11 go see thi; 
 have lost to-day at bowls I'll wi 
 Come, go. 
 
 Sec. Lord. I'll attend your lordship. 
 
 [Exeimt Cloten and First Lord. 
 That such a crafty devil as is his mother 
 Should yield the world this ass! a woman that 
 Bears all down with her brain ; and this her son 
 Cannot take two from twenty, for his heart, 
 And leave eighteen. Alas! poor princess. 
 Thou divine Imogen, what thou endur'st ! — 
 Betwixt a father by thy step-dame goveru'd ; 
 A mother hourly coining plots ; a wooer 
 More hateful than the foul expulsion is 
 Of thy dear husband, than that horrid act 
 Of the divorce he 'd make ! The heavens hold firm 
 The walls of thy dear honour ; keep unshak'd 
 That temple, thy fair mind ; that thou mayst stand, 
 To enjoy thy banish'd lord and this great land ! 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 SCENE II.— Imogen's Bedchamber in Cymbe- 
 LINE's Palace : on one side, a trunk. 
 
 Imogen reading in her bed ; a Lady attending 
 
 Imo. Who 's there ? my woman Helen ? 
 Lady. Please ) ou, madam. 
 
 Imo. What hour is it ? 
 
 Lady. Almost midnight, madam. 
 
 Imo. I have read three hours, then : mine eyes 
 
 5. Vou crow, cock, with your comb on. Meaning, ' you are 
 a coxcomb.' 
 
 6. It is not Jit, ^c. This speech has been assigned by 
 Johnson and others to the first lord ; but it appears to us to 
 be the ironical reply made by the second lord, in answer to 
 Cloten's asking him what he has muttered to himself. 
 
 7. Companion. Often, as here, used contemptuously, to 
 signify ' low fellow." See Note 40, Act iv., "Julius Cassar." 
 
 8. Issues. 'Procedures,' 'acts.' See Note 56, Act iii., 
 " Julius Cassar." 
 
Act II.] 
 
 CY.MBELINE. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Fold down the leaf where I have left : to bed : 
 Take not away the taper, leave it burning; 
 And if thou canst awake by four o' the clock, 
 I pr'ythee, call me.* Sleep hath seiz'd me wholly. 
 
 [Exit Lady. 
 To your protection I commend me, gods ! 
 from fairies, and the tempters of the night, 
 Guard me, beseech ye ! 
 
 [^Sleeps. Iachimo comes from the trunk, 
 lach. The crickets sing, and man's o'er-labour'd 
 sense 
 
 Repairs itself by rest. — Our Tarquin^" thus 
 Did softly press the rushes," ere he waken'd 
 The chastity he wounded. — -Cytherea,'- 
 How bravely thou becom'st thy bed ! fresh lily! 
 And whiter than the sheets! That I might 
 touch ! 
 
 But kiss; one kiss! — Rubies unparagon'd. 
 How dearly they do 't: — 'Tis her breathing that 
 Perfumes the chamber thus : the flame o' the taper 
 Bows toward her ; and would under-peep her lids. 
 To see the enclosed lights, now canopied 
 Under these windows,^^ white and azure, lac'd 
 With blue of heaven's own tinct. — But my 
 design. 
 
 To note the chamber I will write all down :— 
 
 9. Almost midnight .... if thou canst atvnke l^y fonr 
 o' the clock, I fr'ytliee, call me. Shakespeare has been care.''ul 
 to mark the time at the commencement of this scene by the 
 words "almost midnight," and yet so to carry on the imagina- 
 tion by the mention of "four o' the clock" next morning, as tq 
 induce us to believe we witness the lapse of hours needful to 
 bring in naturally lachinio's counting the clock by the words, 
 " One, two, three," at the close of this same scene. Notwith- 
 standing, Malone has a note here complaining that "our author 
 is hardly ever exact in his computation of time." The poet's 
 system of dramatic time is so original, so ingenious, that it 
 beguiles our fancy into accepting that which we behold as a 
 perfect poetic representation of the period necessary to the 
 incidents and story. We feel as if we had actually seen this 
 night of innocence lying at the mercy of guilty calumny, as if 
 we had felt the long, lagging hours that press their weight upon 
 the calumniator, rendering him unable to breathe freely in the 
 pure atmosphere of beauty and virtue ; and this impression it 
 was the cue of the dramatist to produce. 
 
 10. Our Tarqinn. The propriety of this pronoun "our" in 
 the mouth of Iachimo will be felt, when it is remembered that 
 he is an Italian. 
 
 11. The rushes. Alluding to the ancient custom of strewing 
 rushes on the floors of apartments. See Note 70, Act i., 
 " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 12. Cytherea. One of the many poetical names given to 
 Venus. See Note 79, Act iv., " Winter's Tale." 
 
 13. These windows. Her eyelids ; the casements to her eyes. 
 This same epithet, applied to eyelids, occurs in the speech re- 
 ferred to in Note 11, Act iv., " Romeo and Juliet:" "Thy eyes' 
 windows fall, like death, when he shuts up the day of life." 
 
 14. W hiie and azure, lac'd with Hue 0/ heaven's own tinct. 
 This phrase has been variously altered ; but we think, as it 
 stands, it may either be taken to designate the delicate tint of 
 blueish white, which is the hue of young eyelids, superlaced 
 with threading veins of a deeper blue, or it may describe the lids 
 of white and azure, the azure being the blue veins which inter- 
 lace the white skin. 
 
 15. Bitt my design, to note the chamber. This is the reading 
 
 Such and such pictures; — there the window ; —such 
 'I he adornment of her bed ; — the arras, figures, 
 Why, such and such ; — and the contents o' the 
 story,— 
 
 Ah ! but some natural notes about her body. 
 Above ten thousand meaner movables 
 Would testify, to enrich mine inventory : — 
 Oh, sleep, thou ape of death, lie dull upon her ! 
 And be her sense but as a monument,"' 
 Thus in a chapel lying ! — Come off, come off ; — 
 
 [Taking off her bracelet. 
 As slippery as the Gordian knot'" was hard ! — 
 'Tis mine; and this will witness outwardly. 
 As strongly as the conscience does within. 
 To the madding of her lord. — On her left breast 
 A mole cinque-spotted, '8 like the crimson droiis 
 r the bottom of a cowslip : here's a voucher. 
 Stronger than ever law could make : this secret 
 Will force him think I have pick'd the lock, and 
 ta'en 
 
 The treasure of her honour. No inore. To what 
 end .P 
 
 Why should I write this down, that 's riveted, 
 Screw'd to my memory?— She hath been reading 
 late 
 
 The tale of Tereus;" here the leaf's turn'd down 
 
 of the first Folio, and accords with Shakespeare's frequent mode 
 of construction in similar passages ; although the third Folio 
 alters " design " to ' design 's.' The phrase is elliptical ; signi- 
 fying, ' But let me remember my design; which is, to note the 
 chamber. ' 
 
 16. Be her sense bid as a monument. ' That of is elliptically 
 understood before "a monument." See Note 42, Act iv., 
 " Othello." 
 
 17. The Gordian knot. In allusion to the classical story of 
 Gordius, a Phrygian peasant ; who, in consequence of a sentence 
 from the oracls, was chosen for king by his countrymen as he 
 was going to the temple of Jupiter mounted on a chariot. In 
 the temple he preserved this chariot ; the traces of which 
 were tied in a knot so intricate that no one could unfasten it. 
 Hence arose a belief that the empire of Asia was destined to 
 become his yvho could untie the Gordian knot. .Alexander the 
 Great, undertaking the conquest of Asia, and wishing to inspire 
 the idea that he was destined to succeed, cut with his sword the 
 knot he could not disentangle — a soldierly soluticn of a difficult 
 problem. From this circumstance "the Gordian knot" has 
 passed into an accepted expression for anything presenti))g 
 difficulty of disentanglement or solution ; and Shakespeare has 
 thus used it in " Henry V.," Act i., sc. i :— 
 
 " Turn him to any cause of policy, 
 
 The Gordian knot of it he will unloose. 
 Familiar as his garter." 
 
 18. Cinque-spotted. "Cinque," a French word signifying 
 ' five,' has been adopted into our language ; generally in com - 
 pound with other words, as " cinque-foiled," " cinque-pace," and 
 "cinque-ports." See Note 6, Act ii., "Much Ado about 
 Nothing," and Note 9, Act iv., " Henry VIII." 
 
 19. Tlie tale 0/ Tereus. Told by Ovid in the sixth book of his 
 " Metamorphoses," by Gower in the fifth book of his " Confessio 
 Amantis," and forms the second story in "A Petite Palace of 
 Pettie his Pleasure" (1576). The piteous narrative of Philo- 
 mela's cruel wrong was an appropriate one for the perusal of 
 Imogen, herself destined soon to become the victim of atrocious 
 injury. 
 
Act II.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Where Philomel gave up.— I have enough : 
 To the trunk again, and shut the spring of it. — 
 Swift, swift, you dragons of the night,^" that 
 dawning 
 
 May bare the raven's eye I^' I lodge in fear; 
 Though this a heavenly angel, hell is here. 
 
 [Clock strikes. 
 
 One, two, three,— Time, time ! 
 
 [Goes into the trunk. Scene closes. 
 
 SCENE III.— ^« Ante-chamber adjoining 
 Imogen's Apartment. 
 
 Enter Cloten and Lords. 
 
 First Lord. Your lordship is the most patient 
 man in loss, the most coldest that ever turned 
 up ace. 
 
 Clo. It would make any man cold to lose. 
 
 First Lord. But not every man patient, after 
 the noble temper of your lordship. You are most 
 hot and furious when you win. 
 
 Clo. Winning will put any man into courage.--^ 
 If I could get this foolish Imogen, I should have 
 gold enough. It 's almost morning, is 't not ? 
 
 First Lord. Day, my lord. 
 
 Clo. I would this music would come : I am 
 advised to give her music o' mornings ; they say 
 it will penetrate.- 
 
 Enter Musicians. 
 Come on ; tune : if you can penetrate her with 
 your fingering, so ; we'll try with tongue too : if 
 none will do, let her remain ; but I'll never give 
 o'er. First, a very excellent good-conceited thing; 
 
 20. Yoic dmgoiis of the nigJU. The dragons that were sup- 
 posed to draw the car of night. See Note 71, Act lii., " Mid- 
 summer Night's Dream." 
 
 zi. That dawning may bare the raven's eye. The Folio gives 
 'beare' instead of "bare;" which is Steevens's correction, 
 sug,gested by Theobald. ' Bare" is here used for 'uncover,' 
 ' unclose,' ' open ; ' the raven being one of the earliest birds to 
 awake. 
 
 22. Courage. Here used in the sense of 'spirit,' 'heart.* 
 See Note 28, Act iii., " Tiraon of Athens." 
 
 23. His steeds to 'water at those springs on c/ialic'd Jiowers 
 that lies. A poetical way of saying that the morning sun dries 
 up the dew which lies in the cups of the flowers. "Chalices," 
 here used for 'cups' (see Note 44, Act iii., "Merry Wives of 
 Windsor" ), has peculiar propriety, because the cup of a flower 
 is botanlcilly called its calix. The false concord between 
 " springs " and " lies " is one of those grammatical licences 
 which were permitted at the time when Shakespeare wrote. 
 See Note 55, Act iii., " Coriolanus." 
 
 24. Maty-buds. ' Marigolds ; ' which, like many other 
 flowers, close at sunset and re-open at sunrise. See Note 76, 
 Act iv., "Winter's Tale." 
 
 25. IVith everything thai pretty is. Hanmer changed " is 
 to ' bin,' for the sake of rhyme. We have, however, shown 
 several instances of non-rhyming couplets that occur in passages 
 
 after, a wonderful sweet air, with admirable rich 
 words to it, — and then let her consider. 
 
 SONG. 
 
 Hark, hark ! the lark at heaven's gate sings. 
 
 And Phoebus 'gins arise, 
 His steeds to water at those springs 
 
 On chalic'd flowers that lies ; 
 And winking Mary-buds ^' begin 
 
 To ope their golden eyes ; 
 With every thing that pretty is : 
 
 My lady sweet, arise ; 
 Arise, arise ! 
 
 Clo. So, get you gone. If this penetrate, I 
 will consider your music the better if it do 
 not, it IS a vice in her ears, ^7 vvhich horse-hairs 
 and calves'-guts, ^ nor the voice of squeaking 
 minstrel to boot, can never amend. 
 
 \Exeunt Musicians. 
 
 See. Lord. Here comes the king. 
 
 Clo. [ am glad I was up so late ; for that 's the 
 reason I was up so early he cannot choose but 
 take this service I have done, fatherly. — 
 
 Enter Cymbeline and Queen. 
 
 Good morrow to yoiu- majesty and to my gracious 
 mother. 
 
 Cyni. Attend you here the door of our stern 
 daughter ? 
 Will she not forth ? 
 
 Clo. I have assailed her with music, but she 
 vouchsafes no notice. 
 
 Cym. The exile of her minion is too new; 
 She hath not yet forgot him : some more time 
 Must wear the print of his remembrance out. 
 And then she 's yours. 
 
 S^ueen. You are most bound to the king. 
 
 Who lets go by no vantages that may 
 
 where Shakespeare lias the majority of the lines rhymed. See 
 Note 38, Art v., " Richard II." 
 
 26. I will consider your music the better. Punningly used ; 
 in the sense of ' I will believe your music to be the more 
 e.'ccellent,' and in the sense of ' I will remunerate your music 
 the more handsomely ' See Note 208, Act iv., " Winter's Tale," 
 for a passage in confirmation of this. 
 
 27. It is a vice in Iter ears. The Folio has ' voyce ' for 
 "vice." Rowe's correction. 
 
 28. Calves' -guts. Rowe altered this to ' cats' -guts ; ' but Sir 
 John Hawkins, in his ' History of Music," speaking of Mer- 
 sennus, observes: "In his book entitled ' De Instnimentis 
 Harmonlcis,' Prop, ii., he takes occasion to speak of the chords 
 of musical instruments, and of the substances of which they are 
 formed ; and these he says are metal and the intestines of 
 sheep ov any other animals." It is probable that calves'-guVs" 
 were selected by Shakespeare as consorting humorously with 
 " /:(?rj^-hairs " in Cloten'5 scoffingly jumbled mention of musical 
 mstrument strings, together with the filaments used for violin 
 bows. 
 
 29. / am glad I luas np so late; for that 's the reason I was 
 up so early. " Up," here, is first used in the idiomatic sense of 
 'sitting up,' or 'not gone to bed and, secondly, in the sense 
 of ' arisen,' or 'up from bed.' See Note 73, Act iii., "Romeo 
 and Juliet,"_for a similar phrase. 
 
Act ll.J 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Prefer you to his daughter. Frame yourself 
 To orderly solicits, and be friended 
 With aptness of the season ; make denials 
 Increase your services ; so seem as if 
 You were inspir'd to do those duties which 
 You tender to her; that you in all obey her,'' 
 Save when command to your dismission tends, 
 And therein you are senseless. 
 
 Clo. Senseless ! not so. 
 
 Enter a Messenger. 
 Mess. So like you, sir, embassadors from Rome ; j 
 The one is Caius Lucms. 
 
 Cym. A worthy fellow, 
 
 Albeit he comes on angry purpose now ; 
 lJut that 's no fault of his : we must receive him 
 According to the honour of his sender ; 
 And towards himself, his goodness forespent 
 on us,** 
 
 We must extend our notice. — Our dear son. 
 When you have given good morning to your 
 inistress, 
 
 Attend the queen and us ; we shall have need 
 To employ you towards this Roman. — Come, our 
 queen. 
 
 \Exeunt Cymbeline, Queen, Lords, 
 and Messenger. 
 Clo. If she be up, I'll speak with her; if not. 
 Let her lie still and dream. — By your leave, ho! — 
 ^Knocks. 
 
 I know her women are about her: what 
 If I do line one of their hands? 'Tis gold 
 Which buys admittance ; oft it doth ; yea, and 
 makes 
 
 Diana's rangers '-i false themselves,'" yield up 
 Their deer to the stand o' the stealer; and 'tis 
 gold 
 
 Which makes the true man kill'd, and saves the 
 thief; 
 
 Nay, sometime hangs both thief and true man ■ 
 what 
 
 30. Frain3 yoiirsslf to orderly solicits. The first Folio 
 gives * solicity ' instead of " solicits." Corrected in the second 
 Folio. 
 
 31. Thai you in all obey Iter. "So seem" before "as if," 
 allows 'make it seem' or ' let it appear' to be understood before 
 "that." Shakespeare frequently has this kind of condensed 
 and elliptical construction, where a word in one clause of a 
 sentence is allowed to be understood in another subsequent 
 clause ; and in the present play this condensed phraseology 
 abundantly occurs. 
 
 32. Senseless. The cunning queen uses this word with the 
 signification of ' unconscious,' ' purposely without perception : ' 
 her obtuse son affrontedly disclaims it, as signifying ' stupid,' 
 'devoid of sense.' The angry susceptibility and tetchiness of 
 ignor.-ince, just sufficiently aware of its own incapacity to be 
 perpetually afraid that it is found out and insulted by others, 
 blended with the stolid conceit that invariably accompanies this 
 inadequate self-knowledge, are all admirably delineated in 
 Cloten : he is a dolt striving to pa.ss for an accomplished prince, 
 a vulgar boor fancying himself, and desirous of being taken for 
 
 Can it not do and undo "i I will make 
 
 One of her women lawyer to me ; for 
 
 I yet not understand the case myself — 
 
 By your leave. {tinocks. 
 
 Enter a Lady. 
 Lady. Who's there that knocks ? 
 Clo. A gentleman. 
 
 Lady. No more ? 
 
 Clo. Ye.=, and a gentlewoman's son. 
 Lady. That's more 
 
 Than some, whose tailors are as dear as yours, 
 Can justly boast of. What 's your lordship's 
 pleasure ? 
 
 Clo, Your lady's person : is she ready r"^ 
 
 Lady. Ay, 
 To keep her chamber. 
 
 Clo. There is gold for you ; 
 
 Sell me your good report. 
 
 Lady. How ! my good name ? or to report of 
 you 
 
 What I shall think is good ?— The princess ! 
 
 Enter Imogen. 
 Clo. Good morrow, fairest : sister, your sweet 
 
 hand. \^Exit Lady. 
 
 Into. Good morrow, sir. You lay out too much 
 
 pains 
 
 For purchasing but trouble: the thanks I give 
 Is telling you that I am poor of thanks, 
 And scarce can spare them, 
 
 Clo. Still, I swear I love you. 
 
 Imo. If you hut said so, 'twere as deep with me : 
 If you swear still, your recompense is still 
 That I regard it not. 
 
 Clo. This is no answer. 
 
 Into. But that you shall not say I yield, being 
 silent, 
 
 I would not speak, I pray you, spare me: faith, 
 I shall unfold equal discourtesy 
 
 To your best kindness : one of your great knowing 
 
 a thorough gentleman. He presumes upon his position ; be^ 
 lieves that it constitutes him the exalted personage who ought 
 to command respect ; not perceiving that it renders the more 
 conspicuous those natural disqualifications which deprive him of 
 all re.spect, even from those who flatter and humour him to his 
 face and sneer at him behind his back. 
 
 33. His goodness forespent on us. " Forespent on" means 
 'formerly spent on,' 'heretofore shown to' (see Note 97, Act 
 ii., "Henry V."); and "according to," before "the honour," 
 allows 'according to' or 'for the sake of to be eUiptically 
 understood before "his goodness." 
 
 34. Diana's rangers. A poetical name for '\irgin ladies,' 
 ' maiden women.' See Note 7, Act iii., " As You Like It." 
 
 35. False t/iemsehKs. 'Be false to themselves,' ' play them- 
 selves false.- See Note 24, Act ii., " Comedy of Errors." 
 
 36. /ss/ie reafy? 'Is she dressed?" See Note 5, Act ii., 
 "First Part Henry VI." "Ready" was an old term for 
 ' dressed,' and Cloten uses it in that sense ; but the lady chooses 
 to take it in the sense of 'prepared to conje forth,' 'ready to 
 appear,' and aijsvvers contradictorily. 
 
Act II.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Should learn, being taught, forbeai-ance. 
 
 C/o. To leave )ou iu your madness, 'twere my 
 sin : 
 I will not. 
 
 I/no. Fools are not mad iolks. 
 
 Clo. Do ) ou call me fool ': 
 
 lino. As I am mad, I do : 
 If you'll be patient, I'll no more be mad ; 
 That cures us both. I am much sorry, sir. 
 You put me to forget a lady's manners, 
 By being so verbal and learn now, for all, 
 That I, which know my heart, do here pronounce. 
 By the very truth of it, I care not for you ; 
 And am so near the lack of charity, — 
 To accuse myself, — I hate you ; which I had rather 
 You felt than make 't my boast. 
 
 Clo. You sin against 
 
 Obedience, which you owe your father. For 
 The contract you pretend with that base wretch,— 
 One bred of alms, and foster'd with cold dishes, 
 With scraps o' the court, — it is no contract, none : 
 And though it be allow'd in meaner parties,— 
 Yet who than he more mean ? — to knit their souls 
 (On whom there is no more dependency 
 But brats and beggary) in self-figur'd knolj^s 
 Yet you are curb'd from that enlargement by 
 The consequence o' the crown ; and must not soiP' 
 The precious note of it with a base slave, 
 A hilding''" for a livery, a squire's cloth, 
 A pantler,*" not so eminent. 
 
 Imo. Profane fellow! 
 
 Wert thou the son of Jupiter, and no more 
 But what thou art besides, thou wert too base 
 To be his groom : thou wert dignified enough. 
 Even to the point of envy, if 'twere made 
 Comparative for your virtues, to be styl'd 
 The under-hangman of his kingdom ; and hated 
 For being preferr'd so well. 
 
 Clo. The south-fog rot him ! 
 
 Imo. He never can meet more mischance than 
 come 
 
 To be but nam'd of thee. His meanest garment. 
 That ever hath but clipp'd''^ his body, is dearer 
 
 In my respect than all the hairs above'** thee, 
 Were they all made such men. 
 
 Enter PisANlO. 
 
 How now, Pisanio!^' 
 Clo. His garment! Now, the devil — 
 Imo. To Dorothy my woman hie thee pre- 
 sently, — 
 Clo. His garment ! 
 
 Imo. I am sprighteii with a fool 
 
 Frighted, and anger'd worse :— go bid my woman 
 Search for a jewel, that too casually 
 Hath left mine arm: it was thy master's; "shrew me. 
 If I would lose it for a revenue 
 Of any king's in Europe. I do think 
 I saw 't this morning ; confident I am 
 Last night 'twas on mine arm ; I kiss'd it : 
 I hope it be not gone to tell my lord 
 That I kiss aught but he. 
 
 Pis. 'Twill not be lost. 
 
 Imo. I hope so: go and search. 
 
 [Exit PiSAMIO. 
 
 Clo. You have abus'd me : — 
 
 His meanest garment ! 
 
 Imo. Ay, I said so, sir: 
 
 If you will make 't an action, call witness to 't. 
 
 Clo. I will inform your father. 
 
 Imo. Your mother too : 
 
 She 's my good lady and will conceive, I hope, 
 But the worst of me. So, I leave you, sii-,' 
 To the worst of discontent. \_Exit. 
 
 Clo. I'il be reveng'd ; — 
 
 His meanest garment! — Well. \_Exit. 
 
 SCENE IV.— Rome. An Apartment in 
 Philario's House. 
 Enter Posthumus and Philario. 
 Post. Fear it not, sir : I would I were so sure 
 To win the king, as I am bold her honour 
 Will remain hers. 
 
 37. So verbal. 'So full of words;' implying, 'so explicit,' 
 'so expressing in speech that which I think of you.' 
 
 38. Self-Jigur'dkiwt. 'Aknot tiedor formed by themselves.' 
 
 39. Soil. The Folio gives ' foyle ' instead of "soil." Han- 
 mer's correction. 
 
 ^o. HildiHg. 'Hireling;' ' despicable wretch.' See Note 
 54, Act iii., " All's Well that Ends Well." " For " has here the 
 force of fit for.' 
 
 41. Paittler. See Note 109, Act ii., " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 42. If 'twere niade comparative for yoitr virtues. ' If the 
 nommation were made in comparative degree with your virtues,' 
 •if the designation were given in comparison with your virtues.' 
 
 Clipp'd. ' Embraced,' 'enclosed,' 'enfolded.' See Note 
 68, Act v., " Antony and Cleopatra." 
 
 44. Above. Mr. Singer changed this word to ' about ; ' but 
 "above" here has the sense of 'upon' or 'over.' Tooke, in 
 his "Diversions of Purley," shows 'above,' 'up,' 'upon,' 
 
 ' over,' to have all ( 
 
 ;in and signification, from the 
 axon, upan. 
 
 45. Horn now, Pisatiio ! This is generally printed previously 
 I the entrance of Pic^r,:/^ -^r.A u^^,^ — 1,. „i. — j — 
 
 . and has been variously 
 the assumption that it is said by Imogen to summ 
 We think it is her exclamation upon 
 entrance affording her 
 woman to seek for the ....^.^...^ .j.. 
 the address put by Shakespeare 
 
 Aiiiaiiuii upuii beemg iiiiii enter; nis 
 opportunity of bidding him go tell her 
 
 s usually 
 
 : mouths of those who 
 see others enter, or who are themselves entering. " How now, 
 Pisanio ! " occurs thus twice in the present play ; in Act i., sc. 
 6, and in Act iii., sc. 2. 
 
 46. / am sprightedwith a fool. ' I am haunted by a fool as by 
 a spright ; ' " spright " being an old spelling of ' sprite,' or spirit. 
 
 47. She 's my good lady. Used ironically, in its idiomatic 
 sense of ' she is my good friend," ' she befriends me.' See Note 
 60, Act iv., " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
Act 11. ] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Cloten. You have abus'd me : — 
 
 His meanest garment ! 
 
 Imogen. Ay, I said so, sir : 
 
 If you will make 't an action, call witness to 't. Act II. Scene III. 
 
 Phi. What means do you make to him : 
 
 Post. Not any ; but abide the change of time; 
 Quake in the present winter's state, and wish 
 That warmer days would come : in these senr'd 
 hopes,''^ 
 
 I barely gratify your love; they failing, 
 I must die much your debtor. 
 Phi. Your very goodness and your company 
 
 48. These seared hopes. The Folio has * these fear'd hopes.' 
 Knight made the correction of " sear'd " for ' fear'd,' which had 
 been previously suggested by Tyrrwhitt. A similar misprint is 
 pointed out in Note 58, Act ii., " Measure for Measure." With 
 the remembrance that the old-fashioned long / caused many 
 typographical mistakes between s and f, and with the belief that 
 "sear'd," in the sense of 'withered,' consisted better with 
 "winter's state," we have always adopted the present as the 
 right reading ; nevertheless we avow a misgiving that perhaps 
 ' fear'd hopes ' may have been used by Shakespeare to express 
 ' tremblingly entertained hopes," ' fearingly cherished hopes,' 
 
 O'erpays all I can do. By this, your king 
 Hath heard of great Augustus : Caius Lucius 
 Will do 's commission thoroughly: and I think 
 He'll grant the tribute, send the arrearages, 
 Or look upon our Romans,^' whose remembrance 
 Is yet fresh in their grief. 
 
 Post. I do believe, — 
 
 Statist^" though I am none, nor like to be,— 
 
 which assuredly would consist with " quake " in this sentence, 
 and would have some analogy with the phrase pointed out and 
 explained in Note 25, Act v., " As You Like It." Under the 
 uncertainty, we own our scruple, while abiding by the phrase we 
 have hitherto adopted. 
 
 49. Or look np07i 02ir Romans. "Or" is here used in the 
 sense of ' ere.' See Note 52, Act iv., " King John." " Look 
 upon" is here employed for 'face,' 'confront,' 'meet face to 
 face.' 
 
 50. Statist. Formerly, as here, used for ' statesman.' See 
 Note 61, Act v., " Hamlet." 
 
Act II.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 That this will prove a war; and you shall hear 
 The legions/* now in Gallia, sooner landed 
 In our not-fearing Britain than have tidings 
 Of any penny tribute paid. Our countrymen 
 Are men more order'd than when Julius Csesar 
 Smil'd at their lack of skill, but found their courage 
 Worthy his frowning at : their discipline 
 (Now mingled with their courage) will make 
 known 
 
 To their approvers'^ they are people such 
 That mend upon the world. 
 
 Phi. See ! lachimo ! 
 
 Enier Iachimo. 
 Posi. The swiftest harts have posted you by 
 land ; 
 
 And winds of all the corners kiss'd your sails, 
 To make your vessel nimble. 
 
 Phi. Welcome, sir. 
 
 Post. I hope the briefness of your answer made 
 The speediness of your return. 
 
 lach. Your lady 
 
 Is one of the fairest that I have look'd upon. 
 
 Post. And therewithal the best; or let her 
 beauty 
 
 Look through a casement to allure false hearts, 
 And be false with them. 
 
 lach. Here are letters for you. 
 
 Post. Their tenour good, I trust. 
 
 lach. 'Tis very like. 
 
 Phi. Was Caius Lucius'^ in the Britain court 
 When you were there ? 
 
 lac'j. He was expected then. 
 
 But not approach'd.5* 
 
 Post. All- is well yet.— 
 
 Sparkles this stone as it was wont or is 't not 
 Too dull for your good wearing ? 
 
 lach. If I had lost it,'" 
 
 I should have lost the worth of it in gold. 
 I'll make a journey twice as far,*'^ to enjoy 
 
 51. Legio-is. The Folio here omits the final 's,' according to 
 its freqnent practice. See Note 2, Act i., and Note 52 of the 
 present Act. Theobald made the correction. The construction 
 in this sentence is both transposed and elliptical ; its meaning 
 being, ' You shall sooner hear that the legions are landed in our 
 not-fearing Britain, than have tidings of any penny of tribute 
 having been paid.' 
 
 52. Now mingled wiih their courage. The Folio prints 
 'wing-led' for *' mingled," and adds an s to ** courage." The 
 second Folio made the correction of " mingled," which we think 
 is most likely to have been Shakespeare's word, because the 
 parenthesis is introduced to describe " discipline " as something 
 added to their original courage ; whereas ' wing-led ' would have 
 made " discipline " that which first subsisted, and " now " urged 
 on by " courage." Moreover, though the figure of courage 
 giving wings to discipline in leading men on, would not be un- 
 poetical or un-Shakespearian, yet inasmuch as wings are generally 
 associated with the image of flight in the sense of retirement, he 
 would hardly use it for eagerly flying forward. 
 
 53. Their approvers. * Those who put them to the proof,' 
 ' those who test or try them.' 
 
 A second night of such sweet shortness which 
 Was mine in Britain ; for the ring is won. 
 
 Post. The stone 's too hard to come by. 
 
 lach. Not a whit, 
 
 Your lady being so easy. 
 
 Post. Make not, sir. 
 
 Your loss your sport : I hope you know that we 
 Must not continue friends. 
 
 lach. Good sir, we must. 
 
 If you keep covenant. Had I not brought 
 The knowledge of your mistress home, I grant 
 We were to question farther : but I now 
 Pi-ofess myself the winner of her honour, 
 Together with your ring ; and not the wronger 
 Of her or you, having proceeded but 
 By both your wills. 
 
 Post. If you can make 't apparent. 
 
 My ring is yours : if not, the foul opinion 
 You had of her pure honour gains or loses 
 Your sword or mine, or masterless' leaves both 
 To who shall find them. 
 
 lach. Sir, my circumstances, 
 
 Being so near the truth as I will make them. 
 Must first induce you to believe : whose strength 
 I will confirm with oath ; which, I doubt not, 
 You'll give me leave to spare, when you shall find 
 You need it not. 
 
 Post. Proceed. 
 
 lach. First, her bedchamber, — 
 
 Where, I confess, I slejit not; but profess 
 Had that was well worth watching,*^ — it was hang'il 
 With tapestry of silk and silver ; the story 
 Proud Cleopatra, when she met her Roman, 
 And Cydnus swell'd above the banks, or for 
 The press of boats or pride : a piece of work 
 So bravely done, so rich, that it did strive 
 In workmanship and value; which I wonder'd 
 [ Could be so rarely and exactly wrought. 
 Since the true life on 't wasi^^ — 
 
 Post. This is true ; 
 
 54. Was Cains Lucius, &^c. The Folio erroneously assigns 
 this speech to Posthumus, who is engaged in reading his letters, 
 as is shown by his ne.\t remark, "All is well yet." Capell made 
 the correction. 
 
 55. But not approacKd. ' But had not yet approached, or 
 
 I 56. //'/ had lost it. The Folio misprints 'have' for "had" 
 here. Singer's correction. See Note 82, Act iv., " Coriolanus," 
 for an instance of a similar typographical error. 
 
 57. /'// make a journey iiuice a^ far. Shakespeare occa- 
 sionally, as here, uses " I'll" for 'I'd.' See Note 77, Act iv., 
 "Timon of Athens." 
 
 58. Was ivell worth watching. " For " is elliptically under- 
 stood after "watching" (see Note 17, Act v., "Antony and 
 Cleopatra"); this latter word being here used in the sense 
 of ' keeping awake.' See Note 29, Act iv., " Romeo and 
 Juliet." 
 
 59. Since the true life on 't was. Various alterations have 
 been made here, with a view to complete the sense of the phrase ; 
 but it is evidently left uncompleted on purpose, to mark that the 
 
 ' speech is interrupted by Posthumus's impatience. 
 
Act II.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 And this you might have heard of here, by m;-, 
 Or by some other. 
 
 lach. More particulars 
 
 Must justify my knowledge. 
 
 Post. So they must, 
 
 Or do your honour injury. 
 
 lach. The chimney 
 
 Is south the chamber ; and the chimney-piece, 
 Chaste Dian bathing: never saw I figures 
 So likely to report themselves the cutter 
 Was as another nature, dumb ; outwent her, 
 Motion and breath left out.^' 
 
 Post. This is a thing 
 
 Which you might from relation likewise reap, 
 Being, as it is, much spoke of. 
 
 lach. The roof o' the chamber 
 
 With golden cherubiiis is fretted : her andirons,^^ — 
 I had forgot them,— were two winking Cupids 
 (Ji silver, each on one foot standing, nicely 
 Depending on tlieir brands. 
 
 Post. This is her honour 1 — 
 
 Let it be granted you have seen all this,— and praise 
 Be given to your remembrance,— rthe description 
 Of what is in her chamber nothing saves 
 The wager you have laid. 
 
 lach. Then, if you can, 
 
 Be pale : I beg but leave to air this jewel ; see !— 
 \_Producing the bracelet. 
 And now 'tis up again : it must be married 
 To that your diamond ; I'll keep them. 
 
 Post. ' Jove !— 
 
 Once more let me behold it ; is it that 
 Which I left with her ? 
 
 lach. Sir,— I thank her,— that : 
 
 She stripp'd it from her arm ; I see her yet ; 
 Her pretty action did outsell her gift. 
 And yet enrich'd it too : she gave it me, and said 
 She priz'd it once. 
 
 Post. May be she pluck'd it off 
 
 To send it me. 
 
 lach. She writes so tq you, doth she ? 
 
 Post. Oh, no, no, no! 'tis true, Here, take 
 this too ; [Gi'ving the ring. 
 
 It is a basilisk" unto mine eye, 
 
 60. So likely to report themselves. ' So likely to bespeak their 
 own excellence,' ' so apparently gifted with speech.' A not un- 
 common expression is, ' a speaking likeness,' ' a speaking picture.' 
 
 61 . IVas as another nature, dumb ; outwent her, motion, &^c. 
 'Was like another nature, but a nature dumb; excelled her, 
 save that he omitted to give motion and breath breath " 
 i^c^uding power of speech. See Note 57, Act iv., " Timon of 
 
 62. Andirons. These were the front end portions of the irons 
 upon which logs of wood were burned on ancient hearths. They 
 often represented figures of much grace, and were sometimes of 
 great cost and magnificence in workmanship. It has been 
 affirmed that " brands," in this sentence, is an abbreviation of 
 ' brandirons,' which is a north-country term for the horizontal 
 portion of the irons, or 'dogs,' on which the logs rest. But we 
 take "brands" to signify the torches held in the hands of the 
 Cupids, upon which they nicely lean or depend, balanced upon 
 
 Kills me to look on 't. — Let there be no honour 
 Where there is beauty; truth, where semblance; 
 love, 
 
 Where there's another man : the vows of women 
 Of no more bondage be, to where they are made, 
 1 han they are to their virtues; which is nothing.- 
 Oh, above measure false ! 
 
 Phi. Have patience, sir, 
 
 And take your ring again ; 'tis not yet won ; 
 It may be probable she lost it ; or 
 Who knows if one of her women, being corrupted, 
 Hath stol'n it from her ? 
 
 Post. Very true ; 
 
 And so, I hope, he came by 't. — Back my ring: 
 Render to me some corporal sign about her, 
 More evident than this ; for this was stol'n. 
 
 lach. By Jupiter, I had it from her arm. 
 
 Post. Hark you, he swears; by Jupiter he 
 swears. 
 
 'Tis true, — nay, keep the ring, — 'tis true: I am 
 sure 
 
 She would not lose it : her attendants are 
 All sworn and honourable : — they induc'd to 
 steal it ! 
 
 And by a stranger ! — No, he hath seduc'd her : 
 The cognisance^'' of her incontinency 
 Is this, — she hath bought the name of false thus 
 dearly. — 
 
 There, take thy hire; and all the fiends of hell 
 Divide themseU es between you ! 
 
 Phi. Sir, be patient ; 
 
 This is not strong enough to be believ'd 
 Of one persuaded u ell of— 
 
 Post. Never talk on 't ; 
 
 She hath been sullied by liim. 
 
 lach. If you seek 
 
 For farther satisfying, — under her breast 
 (Worthy the pressing) lies a mole, right proud 
 Of that most delicate lodging: by my life, 
 I kiss'd it ; and it gave me present hunger 
 To feed again, though full. You do remember 
 This stain upon her ? 
 
 Post. Ay, and it doth cqnfirm 
 
 Another stain, as big as hell can hold. 
 
 one foot ; and we the rather believe that this was the poet's in' 
 tention, because, the torch being Hymen's emblem, it is here 
 placed in the hand of the " winking Cupids " to present the 
 blended image of Love and Wedlock in Imogen's chamber. 
 "Winking" means 'with closed eyes,' 'blindfold.' See Note 
 37, Act ii., "King John." 
 
 63. Then, if you can, be pale : I beg, Id'c. This passage has 
 been variously punctuated and variously explained ; we take it 
 to imply, ' You have hitherto been red with indignant incre- 
 dulity ; now, if you can, be pale with conviction of the truth." 
 
 64. A basilisk. See Note 59, Act iii., " Second Part 
 Henry VI." 
 
 65. Siuorn. It was torinerly the custom for attendants enler- 
 ing the service of high families (as it is still for those entering 
 the royal household) to take an oath of fidelity. 
 
 66. Cognisance. ' Badge," ' token,' ' visible proof.' See 
 Note 40, Act ii., " First Part Henry VI." 
 
Act III.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Were there no mure but it. 
 
 1 ,ch. Will you hear more ? 
 
 Post. Spare your arithmetic — 
 
 lach. I'll be sworn,— 
 
 Post. No swearing. 
 
 If you will swear you have not done 't, you lie ; 
 And I will kill thee, if thou dost deny— 
 
 lach. I'll deny nothing. 
 
 Post. Oh, that I had her here, to tear her limb- 
 meal 
 
 I will go there and do 't ; i' the court; before 
 Her father I'll do something — \_Exit. 
 
 Phi. Quite beside 
 
 The government of patience !— You have won : 
 Let's follow him, and pervert the present wrath 
 He hath against himself. 
 
 lach. With all my heart. 
 
 \_Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE v. — Rome. Another Room in PniLkKio's 
 House. 
 
 Enter Posthumus. 
 
 ^ost. Is there no way for men to be, but 
 women 
 
 Must be half-workers ? We are all bastards ; 
 
 We all are counterfeit : yet my mother seem'd 
 The Dian of that time : so doth my wife 
 The nonpareil of this.— Oh, vengeance ! 1 thought 
 her 
 
 As chaste as unsunn'd snow : — Oh, all the devils ! — 
 This yellow lachimo, in an hour, — was 't not ? — 
 Or less,— at iirst ?— perchance. — Could I find 
 out 
 
 The woman's part in me ! For there 's no 
 motion 
 
 That tends to vice in man, but I affirm 
 It is the woman's part: be it lying, note it. 
 The woman's ; flattering, hers ; deceiving, hers ; 
 Will and rank thoughts, hers, hers ; revenges, 
 hers ; 
 
 Ambitions, covetings, change of prides, disdain, 
 Nice longing, slandei'S, mutability. 
 All faults that may be nam'd, nay, that hell 
 knows. 
 
 Why, hers, in part or all ; but rather, all ; 
 For even to vice 
 
 They are not constant, but are changing still 
 One vice, but of a minute old, for one 
 Not half so old as that. I'll write against them,*' 
 Detest them, curse them : — yet 'tis greater skill 
 In a true hate, to pray they have their will : 
 The very devils cannot plague them better. 
 
 lExit. 
 
 ACT 
 
 SCENE I,— Britain. A Room of State in 
 Cymbeline's Palace. 
 
 Enter, from one side, Cymbeline, Queen, Cloten, 
 and Lords ; from the other, Caius Lucius 
 and Attendants. 
 
 Cym. Now say, what would Augustus Csesar 
 with us? 
 
 Luc. When Julius Csesar, — whose remembrance 
 yet 
 
 Lives in men's eyes, and will to ears and tongues 
 Be theme and hearing ever, — was in this Britain, 
 
 67. Limh-77ieal. 'A limb at a time,' ' limb from limb.' See 
 Note 30, Act ii., "Tempest." 
 
 68. Pervert. Here used as we use ' divert,' in the sense of 
 ' turn from its course ; ' Shakespeare sometimes using the pre- 
 syllable per with its classically derived effect of intensive force. 
 See Note 23, Act iii., " Measure for Measure." 
 
 69. rU ivrite agahisi them. ' I'll denounce them,' ' I'll pro- 
 test against them.' See Note 3, Act iv., " Much Ado." 
 
 III. 
 
 And conquer'd it, Cassibelan, thine uncle,' — 
 Famous in Casar's praises, no whit less 
 Than in his feats deserving it,^ — for him, 
 And his succession, granted Rome a tribute, 
 Yearly three thousand pounds; which by thee 
 
 lately 
 Is left untender'd. 
 
 Siueen. And, to kill the marvel 
 
 Shall be so ever. 
 
 Clo. There be many Casars, 
 
 Ere such another Julius. Britain is 
 A world by itself; and we will nothing pay 
 For wearing our own noses. 
 
 S^ueen. That opportunity, 
 
 1. Cassibelan, thine uncle. Cassibelan was great uncle to 
 Cymbeline, who was son to Tenantius, the nephew of Cas- 
 sibelan. See Note 6, Act i. 
 
 2. Ciesai's praises .... deserving- it. "Praises" is here 
 referred to by " it," as if the noun were in the singular — ' praise.' 
 See Note 72, Act i., " Othello." 
 
Act III.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Which then they had to take from us, to resume 
 We have again. — Remember, sir, my liege, 
 The kings your ancestors ; together with 
 The natural bravery of your isle, which stands 
 As Neptune's park, ribbed and paled in 
 With rocks unscalalile' and roaring waters; 
 With sands that will not bear your enemies' boats, 
 But suck them up to the topmast. A kind of 
 conquest 
 
 Cssar made here ; but made not here his brag 
 Of "Came," and "saw," and "overcame :" with 
 shame, — 
 
 The first that ever touch'd him, — he was carried 
 From off our coast, twice beaten ; and his 
 
 shipping, — 
 Poor ignorant baubles !— on our terrible seas. 
 Like egg-shells mov'd upon their surges, crack'd 
 As easily 'gainst our rocks: for joy whereof 
 The fam'd Cassibelan, who was once at point, — 
 Oh, giglof fortune! — to master Csesar's sword, ^ 
 Made Lud's town with rejoicing fires bright. 
 And Britons strut with courage. 
 
 C/o. Come, there 's no more tribute to be paid : 
 our kingdom is stronger than it was at that time ; 
 and, as I said, there is no more such Csesars: 
 other of them may have crooked noses ; but to 
 owe^ such straight arms, none. 
 
 Cym. Son, let your mother end. 
 
 Clo. We have yet many among us can gripe as 
 hard as Cassibelan : I do not say I am one ; but I 
 have a hand. — Why tribute ? why should we pay 
 tribute ? If Cssar can hide the sun from us with 
 a blanket, or put the moon in his pocket, we will 
 pay him tribute for light ; else, sir, no more 
 tribute, pray you now. 
 
 Cym. You must know, 
 Till the injurious Romans did extort 
 This tribute from us, we were free : Caesar's 
 ambition, — 
 
 Which swell'd so much, that it did almost stretch 
 The sides o' the world, — against all colour,? here 
 Did put the yoke upon us ; which to shake off 
 Becomes a warlike people, whom we reckon 
 Ourselves to be. We do say, then, to Csesar,^ 
 Our ancestor was that Mulmutius which 
 Ordain'd our laws,— whose use the sword of Cssar 
 
 3. IVith rocks miscalable. The Folio prints 'cakes' for 
 rocks. Hanmer's correction, 
 
 4. Giglot. A light fickle wench. See Note 51, Act iv., 
 " First Part Henry VI." 
 
 5. To 7iiaster Ctesar's sword. Shakespeare has here assigned 
 an exploit to Cassibelan, which, according to the old chroniclers, 
 was achieved by his brother Nennius. 
 
 6. To owe. ' To own,' ' to have,' ' to possess.' See Note 34, 
 Act iv., "Antony and Cleopatra." The vulgar flippancy of 
 Cloten is admirably preserved ; and even the little word 
 "come," at the commencement of his speeches, is well em- 
 ployed to give additional effect of bullying pretension. 
 
 7. Af:ainst all colour. ' Contrary to all show of right,' ' with- 
 out any ostensible right.' See Note 43, Act i., " Henry VIII." 
 
 Hath too much mangled ; whose repair and fran- 
 chise 
 
 Shall, by the power we hold, be our good deed, 
 Though Rome be therefore angry ; Mulmutius 
 
 made our laws, 
 Who was the first of Britain which did put 
 His brows within a golden crown, and call'd 
 
 : Himself a king.' 
 
 Luc. I am sorry, Cymbeline, 
 
 ] That I am to pronounce Augustus Csesar, — 
 Csesar, that hath more kings his servants than 
 
 j Thyself domestic officers, — thine enemy. 
 
 j Receive it from me, then : — war and confusion 
 In Caesar's name pronounce I 'gainst thee: look 
 For fury not to be resisted. — Thus defied, 
 I thank thee for myself. 
 
 Cym. Thou art welcome, Cauis. 
 
 Thy Csesar knighted me ; my youth I spent^" 
 Much under him; of him I gather'd honour; 
 Which he to seek of me again, perforce. 
 Behoves me keep at utterance." I am perfect 
 That the Pannonians and Dalmatians, for 
 Their liberties, are now in arms, — a precedent 
 Which not to read would show the Britons cold : 
 So Cassar shall not find them. 
 
 Luc. Let proof speak. 
 
 Clo. His majesty bids you welcome. Make 
 pastime with us a day or two, or longer : if you 
 seek us afterwards in other terms, you shall find 
 us in our salt-water girdle : if you beat us out 
 of it, it is yours ; if you fall in the adventure, 
 our crows shall fare the better for you; and 
 there 's an end. 
 Luc. So, sir. 
 
 Cym. I know your master's pleasure, and he 
 mine : 
 
 All the remain is, welcome. \_Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE 11.— Another Room in Cymbeline's 
 Palace. 
 
 Enter Pisanio, njuith a letter. 
 Pis. How ! of adultery ? Wherefore write you 
 not 
 
 8. Ourselves to be. We do say, t/ieu, to Ccesar. This line is 
 printed in the Folio, 'Our seines to be, we do. Say then to 
 Caesar;' which has been variously altered since. We adopt 
 Malone's arrangement. 
 
 9. The first of Britain .... calFd himself a king. This 
 is recorded by Holinshed ; whence Shakespeare probably de- 
 rived the particular. 
 
 10. Thy Cresar knighted me; my youth I spent, &^c. For 
 this also Holinshed is the authority. 
 
 11. At utterance. An English version of the French phrase, 
 a I'outrance; ' to the uttermost,' 'to extremity,' ' at the extreme 
 of defiance.' See Note 18, Act iii., " Macbeth." 
 
 12. Perfect. ' Well informed,' 'perfectly aware.' See Note 
 39, Act iii., " Winter's Tale." 
 
Act III.] 
 
 CYAIBELINE. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 What monster's her accuser — Leonatus ! 
 Oh, master ! what a strange infection 
 Is fall'n into thy ear ! What false Italian 
 (As poisonous tongu'd as handed) hath prevail'd 
 On thy too ready hearing ? — Disloyal ! No : 
 Slie 's punish'd for her truth ; and undergoes, 
 More goddess-like than wife-like, such assaults 
 As would take in'^ some virtue. — Oh, my master! 
 Thy mind to her is now as low as were 
 Thy fortunes. >^ — How ! that I should murder 
 her? 
 
 Upon the love, and truth, and vows, which I 
 Have made to thy command? — I, her? — her 
 blood ? 
 
 If it be so to do good service, never 
 Let me be counted serviceable. How look I, 
 That I should seem to lack humanity 
 So much as this fact comes to P [Reading.'] " Do't : 
 the letter!? 
 
 That I have sent her, by her own command 
 Shall give thee opportunity:" — Oh, curs'd paper! 
 Black as the ink that's on thee ! Senseless bauble. 
 Art thou a feodary^^ for this act, and look'st 
 So virgin-like without? — Lo, here she comes.— 
 I am ignorant in what I am commanded.'^ 
 
 Imo. 
 Pis. 
 Imo, 
 
 Enter Imogen. 
 How now, Pisanio ! 
 
 Madam, here is a letter from my lord. 
 Who? thy lord? that is my lord,^ 
 Leonatus ? 
 Oh, learn'd indeed were that astronomer 
 That knew the stars as I his characters j 
 He'd lay the future open. — You good gods, 
 Let what is here contain'd relish of love, 
 Of my lord's health, of his content, — yet not, 
 That we two are asunder, — let that grieve him, — 
 
 What monster's her accuser ? The Folio prints, ' What 
 her accuse?' Capell made the correction; which is 
 shown to be right by the words, "What false Italian," that 
 immediately follow. 
 
 H. As poisonous tongu'd as handed. The Italians were held 
 to be not only skilled in concocting poisons, but unscrupulous 
 in their use of them ; and Italian history affords but too fre- 
 quent testimony of the ji^t ground there was for this opinion. 
 
 15. Take in. ' Subdue,' ' conquer,' ' defeat.' See Note 167, 
 Act iv., "Winter's Tale." 
 
 16. Thy mind to her is now as low as mere thy fortunes. 
 ' Thy mind, compared to her fine nature, is as low as were thy 
 fortunes in comparison with her rank.' A similar ellipsis has 
 been frequently pointed oat by us. See Note 12, Act iii., 
 " Hamlet." 
 
 17. £>o't: the letter, dfc. Here is one of the several in- 
 stances of variation in wording that we find given by Shake- 
 speare. See Note 67, Act v., " All's Well ; " Note 64, Act v., 
 "Twelfth Night ;" and Note 10, Act i., " Second Part Henry 
 VI." Here Pisanio is glancing at the cruel contents of the 
 letter which Imogen -reads at full in the fourth scene of this 
 Act ; it is there given in prose ; here the sentence forms part of 
 Pisanio's speech ; the substance being the same, though slightly 
 varied in diction. 
 
 18. Feodary. 'Confederate,' 'accomplice.' See Note 76, 
 
 (Some griefs are med'cinable ; that is one of them, 
 For it doth physic love) ;— of his content, 
 All but in that! — Good wax, thy leave : — bless'd be 
 You bees that make these locks of counsel I 
 Lovers, 
 
 And men in dangerous bonds, pray not alike: 
 Though forfeiters you cast in prison, yet 
 You clasp young Cupid's tables. — Good news, 
 gods ! \Reads. 
 
 Justice, and your father's wrath, should he take me in his 
 dominion, could not be so cruel to me, as yo\i, oh, the dearest 
 of creatures, would even renew me with your eyes. 20 Take 
 notice that I am in Cambria, at Milford Haven; what your own 
 love will, out of this, advise you, follow. So, he wishes you all 
 happiness, that remains loyal to his vow, and your, increasing 
 in love, Leonatus Posthumus. 
 
 Oh, 
 
 ith 
 
 ngs! 
 
 Hear'st thou, 
 
 for a horse 
 Pisanio? 
 
 He is at Milford Haven : read, and tell me 
 How far 'tis thither. If one of mean affairs 
 May plod it in a week, why may not I 
 Glide thither in a day ? — Then, true Pisanio 
 (Who long'st, like me, to see thy lord ; who 
 long'st, — 
 
 Oh, let me 'bate, — but not like me ; — yet long'st,— 
 But in a fainter kind : — Oh, not like me ; 
 For mine 's beyond beyond), say, and speak 
 thick,2»— 
 
 Love's counsellor should fill the bores of hearing, 
 To the smothering of the sense, — how far it is 
 To this same blessed Milford : and, by the way. 
 Tell me how Wales was made so happy as 
 To inherit such a haven : but, first of all. 
 How we may steal from hence ; and for the gap 
 That we shall make in time, fioui oar hence- 
 going 
 
 And our return,^^ to excuse :-^but first, how get 
 hence : 
 
 for Me 
 
 Nc 
 
 Act 
 
 Act ii., " M 
 "Winter's Tale." 
 
 19. / am ignorant in what I am commanded. ' I will 
 appear not to know of this deed which I am commanded to 
 
 20. Could not be so cruel to ;;, 
 creatures, would even renew int 
 been variously altered ; but, as it 
 conveys the sense of ' could not s 
 sight of you could cure and revi 
 purposely obscure and enigmatical 
 
 as you, oh, the dearest of 
 with your eyes. This h.is 
 ands, we think the passage 
 cruelly wound but that the 
 ; me.' The phraseology is 
 nd conveys a double idea — ■ 
 
 the above explained more obvious one (to Imogen, who is ad- 
 dressed) ; and a secondary one (perceptible to the reader of the 
 play), 'could not be so cruel to me as you' [in the supposed 
 wrong she has done him who writes to her]. Shakespeare else- 
 where has instances of this kind of intentionally enigmatic dic- 
 tion (see Notes 10, 11, 24, Act i., "All's Well"); and also of 
 giving duplicate meaning to a sentence by peculiar or wrong 
 stopping. See passage referred to in Note 21, Act v., "Mid- 
 summer Night's Dream." 
 
 21. Speak thick. 'Speak fast,' 'speak rapidly or quickly.' 
 See Note 52, Act ii., " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 22. From our hence-going and our return. ' From the period 
 of our hence-going until that of our return.' See Note 36, Act 
 ii., " Coriolanus," for an instance of similar construction. The 
 
Act III.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Why should excuse be born or e'er begot 
 We'll talk of that hereatter. Pr'ythee, speak, 
 How- many score of miles may we well ride 
 'Twixt hour and hour ? 
 
 Pis, One score 'twixt sun and sun, 
 
 Madam, 's enough for you, and too much too. 
 
 [mo. Why, one that rode to 's execution, man. 
 Could never go so slow: I ha\e heard of riding 
 wagers. 
 
 Where horses have been nimbler than the sands 
 That run i' the clock's behalf:"^* — but this is 
 
 foolery : — 
 Go bid my woman feign a sickness ; say 
 She'll home to her fixther : and provide me 
 
 presently 
 
 A riding-suit, no costlier than would fit 
 A franklin's housewife. '^^ 
 
 P/s. Madam, you're best consider. 
 
 Imo. I see before me, man : nor here, nor 
 here. 
 
 Nor what ensues, but have^' a fog in them. 
 That I cannot look through. Away, I pr'ythee; 
 Do as T bid thee : there's no more to say; 
 Accessible is none but Milford way. [Exeunf. 
 
 SCENE nr.— Wales: a Mountainous Country 
 'with a Cave. 
 Enter Belarius, Guiderius, and Arviragus. 
 
 Bel. A goodly day not to keep house, with 
 such 
 
 elliptical style throughout this speech, the parenthetical breaks, 
 the fluttering from point to point in its varied clauses, all serve 
 admirably to express the happy hurry of spirits and joyous im- 
 patience of the excited speaker. 
 
 23 Why shoidd excuse be born or e'er begot ? Besides the 
 meaning which is usually assigned to this line. ' Why should 
 excuse be framed before the act is done for which excuse will 
 be necessary?' we think it also includes the meaning of 'Why 
 should excuse be born or ever be begotten?" 'Why should 
 excuse be made or ever be conceived?' Imogen, true to her 
 own character, deplores the need for excuse— the next thing to 
 deception. That 'or ere' and "or e'er" were used for 'before" 
 we have already shown in Note 52, Activ., " King John,"" and 
 Note 77, Act iv., "Macbeth;" but we have likewise shown 
 that Shakespeare frequently combines more than one meaning 
 in his words or phrases, and that he is fond of putting tliis 
 inclusive style into the mouths of his noblest-charactered women. 
 See Note 13, Act iii., " Winter's Tale." 
 
 24. The sands that mn r t/te clock's behalf. ' The sands of 
 the hour-glass, that serve to measure time.' 
 
 ■ZS- A franklin- shousexmfe. ' A yeoman's thrifty wife.' See 
 Note 17, Act ii., " First Part Henry IV."" 
 
 26. Madam, yon're best consider. " You 're "' for ' you were ' 
 is one of the many elisional contractions to be found in this 
 play; and "were" for 'had" was not unfrequently used in 
 Shakespeare"s time. In scene 6 of the present Act Imogen 
 says, " I were best not call."" 
 
 27. Nor here, nor here, nor what ensues, but have, &=€. 
 ' Nor this course, nor that course, nor what may ensue upon 
 any course which I might upon heedfuller consideration pursue. 
 
 ours! Stoop, boys:^** this 
 
 gates of 
 
 ' through 
 thout 
 tl'.ou fair 
 
 Whose roof's as low 
 gate 
 
 Instructs you how to adore the heavens, and bow 
 you 
 
 To morning's holy office : ^he 
 monarchs 
 
 Are arch'd so high, that giants may jet 
 And keep their impious turbans-*' on, v 
 Good morrow to the sun. — Hail, 
 heaven ! 
 
 We house i' the rock, yet use thee not so 
 
 hardly 
 As prouder livers do. 
 
 Gui. Hail, heaven ! 
 
 Arnj. Hail, heaven ; 
 
 Bel. Now for our mountain sport: up to )-on 
 hill. 
 
 Your legs are young ; I'll tread these flats. 
 Consider, 
 
 When you above perceive me like a crow, 
 That it is place which lessens and sets off : 
 And you may then revolve what tales I have told 
 you 
 
 Of courts, of princes, of the tricks in war : 
 This service is not service, so being done. 
 But being so allow'd :32 to ajiprehend thus, 
 Draws us a profit from all things we see ; 
 And often, to our comfort, shall we find 
 The sharded beetles^ in a safer hold 
 Than is the fiiU-wing'd eagle. Oh, this life 
 Is nobler than attending for a check. 
 Richer than doing nothing for a bribe ;^-' 
 Prouder than rustling in unpaid-for silk : 
 Such gain the cap of him that makes tliem fine, 
 
 but are clouded to my eye with impo.ssibility ; I can see and 
 take none other than the way to Milford." We feel this to be 
 the interpretation of the passage, rather than the mote literal 
 one which is generally given. 
 
 28. Stoop, boys. The Folio misprints ' sleepe ' for "stoop."' 
 Hanmer's correction. 
 
 29. To morning's holy office. The Folio inserts 'a' before 
 "morning's." Pope made the correctior. 
 
 30. Jet. 'Strut," 'walk pompously." See Note 89, Act ii., 
 'Twelfth Night."" 
 
 31. Turbans. " Giants "" were genemlly represented as 
 Saracens in the romances of Shakespeare's time. 
 
 32. />ut being so alloau'd. Here "allow"d" is used in the 
 sense of 'accepted approvingly," 'considered," or 'esteemed;' 
 the sentence signifying, ' Military service consists not so much 
 in being done, as in being well received,' 'A service is not so 
 much itself from being effected as from being favourably ac- 
 cepted." ''Service" here applies both particularly, as regards 
 "war," and generally, as regards "courts" and "princes" 
 The word "this" is employed in Shakespeare's mode of making 
 it instance an object cited by way of general observation. See 
 Note 113, Act i., "Macbeth." 
 
 33. The slmrded beetle. 'The scaly-winged beetle.' See 
 Note 8, Act iii., "Antony and Cleopatra.'' 
 
 34. R idler than doing nothing for a bribe. The Folio thus 
 prints this line : ' Richer then doing no thing for a babe." The 
 concluding word has been variously altered, by various emenda- 
 tors, to ' bauble,' ' brabe,' &c. We adopt Hanmer's correction, 
 "bribe,'" as that which, upon careful consideration, appears to 
 us the most likely to have been Shakespeare's word here. 
 
Act III.] CYMBELINE. [Scene III. 
 
 Belarius. Hail, thou fair 
 
 We house i' the rock, yet use thee not s 
 As prouder livers do. 
 
 Act III. Scene III. 
 
 Yet keeps his book uncross'd no life to ours.^s 
 Gill. Out of your proof you speak : we, poor 
 unfledg'd, 
 
 Have never wing'd from view o' the nest, nor 
 know not 
 
 What air's from home. Haply this life is best. 
 If quiet life be best ; sweeter to you 
 That have a sharper known ; well corresponding 
 With your stiff age ; but unto us it is 
 
 35. Suck gain the cap of him thai makes them fine, yet keeps 
 his book uncross'd. " Such" is here used for ' such people,' or 
 'such persons' (see Note 15, Act ii., "All's Well that Ends 
 Well"); "gain the cap" means 'obtain the salutation' {see 
 Note 9, Act ii., " Coriolanus ") ; "him" is used in reference to 
 the mercer or vendor of " unpaid-for silk ; " " them " is Rowe's 
 correction of the Folio misprint 'him;' and "keeps his book 
 uncross'd " is equivalent to ' has his account-book with the entry 
 of debt uneffaced,' ' has his ledger without the scratching 
 through which marks the debt as settled by payment made.' 
 
 A cell of ignorance ; travelling a-bed ; 
 A prison for a debtor, that not dares 
 To stride a Iimit.37 
 
 Arv. What should we sp-eak of 
 
 When we are old as you ? when we shall hear 
 The rain and wind beat dark December, how. 
 In this our pinching cave, shall we discourse 
 The freezing hours away? We have seen nothir 
 We are beastly subtle as the fox for prey ; 
 
 is no life comparable to our! 
 npared with ours.' See Note i 
 
 36. No life to ours. 
 ' There is no life that c 
 Act iii., " Hamlet." 
 
 37. To stride a limit. ' To overpass a prescribed bound." 
 The mode in which Shakespeare uses the word " stride" in this 
 passage tends to show that our interpretation of " bestride," in 
 Note 47, Act iv., " Coriolanus," is right. In the previous line 
 the Folio has 'or' instead of " for," which is Pope's correction. 
 
 38. Beastly. ' Beast-like,' ' like animals." See Note 99, Act 
 i., " Antony and Cleopatra." 
 
Act III.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Like warlike as the wolf for what we eat : 
 Our valour is to chase what flies ; our cage 
 We make a quire, as doth the prison'd bud, 
 Aiui sing our bondage freely. 
 
 Bel. How you speak I 
 
 Did you but know the city's usuries,^" 
 And felt them knowingly . the art o' the court, 
 As hard to leave as keep ; whose top to climb 
 Is certain falling, or so slippery that 
 The fear 's as bad as falling : the toil of the war, 
 A pain that only seems to seek out danger 
 r the name o» fame and honour ; which dies i' the 
 search ; 
 
 And hath as oft a slanderous epitaph 
 As record of fair act ; nay, many times, 
 Doth ill deserve by doing well ; what 's worse. 
 Must court'sy at the censure : — Oh, hoys, this story 
 The world may read in me ; my bo ly 's mark'd 
 With Roman swords ; and my report was once 
 First with the best of note : Cymbeline lov'd me ; 
 And when a soldier was the theme, my name 
 Was not far off ; then was I as a tree 
 Whose boughs did bend with fruit: but in one 
 night, 
 
 A storm or robbery, call it what you will. 
 
 Shook down my mellow hangings, nay, my leaves. 
 
 And left me bare to weather. 
 
 Gui. Uncertain favour ! 
 
 Bel. My fault being nothing, — as I have told 
 you oft, — 
 
 But that two villains, whose false oaths prevail'd 
 Before my perfect honour, swore to Cymbeline 
 I was confederate with the Romans ; so, 
 Follow'd my banishment; and, this twenty years. 
 This rock and these demesnes have been my world : 
 Where 1 have liv'd at honest freedom ; paid 
 More pious debts to Heaven than in all 
 The fore-end of my time. — But, up to the moun- 
 tains ! 
 
 This is not hunters' language : — he that s-trikes 
 The^"venisorl first shall be the lord o' the feast; 
 To him the other two shall minister ; 
 And we will fear no poison, which attends 
 In place of greater state. I'll meet you in the 
 valleys. 
 
 Exeunt Guiderius and Arviragus. 
 
 How hard it is to hide the sparks of nature ! 
 These boys know little they are sons to the king ; 
 Nor Cymbeline dreams that thev are alive. 
 They think they are mine : and, though train'd up 
 thus meanly 
 
 r the cave wherein they bow,^" their thoughts do 
 hit 
 
 The roofs of palaces ; and nature prompts them. 
 In simple and low things, to prince it much 
 Beyond the trick of others. This Polydore, — ■ 
 The heir of Cymbeline and Britain, whom 
 The king his father call'd Guiderius,— Jove ! 
 When on my three-foot stool I sit, and tell 
 The warlike feats I have done, his spirits fly out 
 Into my story : say, " Thus mine enemy fell. 
 And thus I set my foot on 's neck ;" even then 
 The princely blood flows in his cheek, he sweats, 
 Strains his young nerves, and puts himself in 
 posture 
 
 That acts my words. The younger brother, 
 Cadwal 
 
 (Once Arviragus), in as like a figure. 
 Strikes life into my speech, and shows much more 
 His own conceiving. — Hark, the game is rous'd ! — 
 O C) mbeline ! Heaven and my conscience knows 
 Thou didst unjustly banish me : whereon. 
 At three and two years old, I stole these babes ; 
 Thinking to bar thee of succession, as 
 Thou reft'st me of iny lands. Euriphile, 
 Thou wast their nurse ; they took tliee for their 
 motlier. 
 
 And every day do honour to her grave 
 Myself, Belarius, that am Morgan call'd. 
 They take for natural father. — The game is up. 
 
 YExit. 
 
 SCENE IV.— Wales. Near Milford Haven. 
 
 Enter Pisanio and Imogen. 
 
 hno. Thou told'st me, when we came from 
 horse,^^ the place 
 Was near at hand : — ne'er long'd my mother so 
 To see me first, as I have now -.^^ — Pisanio ! man I 
 
 39. Usuries. Shakespeare seems to use this word not only in honour to her grave, Tlie mode in which " thou," " thee. 
 
 its sense of investing money to procure large intere 
 any pursuit or investment with view to consequent : 
 
 but for 
 n. See 
 
 42, Act iii. 
 
 Me 
 
 imposmg practK 
 
 : for Measure.'' 
 to include the 
 * * extortionate 
 
 speech referred to in Ni 
 In the present passage " ' 
 meaning of ' impositions,' 
 dealings.' 
 
 40. /' the cave wherein they toiv. The Folio prints ' whereon 
 the bowe' for " wherein they bow." At the commencement of 
 the scene Belarius has alluded to the Imvness of the roof beneath 
 which they dwell, and says it " bows you to morning's holy 
 office." 
 
 "her" succeed each other in t 
 stance of Shakespeare's changin 
 sentence when referring to the £ 
 Act iv., " Julius Casar," and No 
 42. When we came from hoi 
 
 s passage afiords another in- 
 the person of a pronoun in a 
 me individual. See Note 32, 
 I 73, Act i. of the present play. 
 ?. Serving to show that they 
 
 Euriphile, thou zvasi 
 
 iliey took thee for 
 
 have performed the previous portion of their long journey by 
 riding, and have now alighted on account of the more rugged 
 and mountainous district through which their way lies. For a 
 similar touch of dramatic art-expedient, see Note 53, Act iii., 
 " Macbeth." 
 
 43. Ne*er longed my mother so to see me Jirst, as I have now. 
 "Long'd" is eiliptically understood as repeated after "now;" 
 
 VOL. III. 
 
 255 
 
Act III.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Where is Posthumus ? What is in thy miml, 
 That makes thee stare thus? Wherefore breaks 
 that sigh 
 
 From th' inward of thee? One, but painted thus, 
 Would be interpreted a thing perplex'd 
 Beyond self-explication : put thyself 
 Into a haviour of less fear, ere wildness 
 Vanquish my staider senses. What 's the matter ? 
 Why tender'st thou that paper to me, with 
 A look untender ? If 't be summer news, 
 Smile to't before ; if winterly, thou need'st 
 But keep that countenance still. — My husband's 
 hand ! 
 
 That drug-damn'd Italy hath out-craftied him. 
 And he's at some hard point. — Speak, man : thy 
 tongue 
 
 May take off some extremity, which to read 
 Would be even mortal to me. 
 
 Pis. Please you, read ; 
 
 And you shall find me, wretched man, a thing 
 The most disdain'd of fortune. 
 
 Imo. IReads.'] Thy mistress, Pisanio, hath played the 
 wanton in my bed ; the testimonies whereof He bleeding in me. 
 I speak not out of weak surmises ; but from proof as strong as 
 my grief, and as certain as I expect my revenge. That part 
 thou, Pisanio, must act for me, if thy faith be not tainted with 
 the breach of hers. Let thine own hands take away her life : I 
 shall give thee opportunity at Milford Haven : she hath my 
 letter for the purpose : where, if thou fear to strike, and to make 
 me certain it is done, thou art the pander to her dishonour, and 
 equally to me disloyal. 
 
 Pis. What shall I need to draw my sword ? the 
 paper 
 
 Hath cut her throat already. — No, 'tis slander; 
 Whose edge is sharper than the sword ; whose 
 tongue 
 
 Outvenoms all the worms*' of Nile ; whose breath 
 Rides on the posting wind.s, and doth belie 
 All corners of the world : kings, queens, and states, 
 Maids, matrons, nay, the secrets of the grave 
 
 implying * longed to arrive at the " place " where we were to find 
 Posthumus,' and ' longed to see him.' 
 
 44. That driig-damn'd Italy. Here again is allusion to the 
 notoriousness of Italian poisoning. See Note 14 of this Act. 
 
 45. The worms. ' The serpents,' ' the snakes.' See Note 53, 
 Act v., " Antony and Cleopatra." 
 
 46. yay. An old term for an infamous woman. See Note 19, 
 Act iii., " Merry Wives of Windsor." It is specially applicable 
 in the present passage, because the Italian coarse term for a bad 
 woman, and the ItaHan name for the bird called in English a jay, 
 is one and the same. This may have been the origin of the 
 term ; and because the gay feathers of the jay — which have 
 been called by poets its painted feathers — may have suggested 
 the similitude between these and the painted faces and tawdry 
 clothes of hireling women. 
 
 47. Whose viother was her- painting. This phrase appears 
 to us to be not only a figurative mode of saying ' the producer of 
 whose beauty was her rouged face,' ' whose sole origin of 
 comeliness was her painted complexion' (just as Kent figuratively 
 tells Oswald, "A tailor made thee;" see context of passage 
 referred to in Note 40, Act ii., " King Lear," and as understood in 
 the proverbial expression, " Fine feathers make fine birds") ; but 
 we also believe that it includes some scolT, understood at the 
 
 This viperous slander enters. — What cheer, 
 madam ? 
 
 Imo. False to his bed ! What is it to be 
 false ? 
 
 To lie in watch there, and to think on him ? 
 To weep 'twixt clock and clock P if sleep charge 
 nature. 
 
 To break it with a fearful dream of him, 
 And cry myself awake ? that 's false to his bed, 
 is it ? 
 
 Pis. Alas ! good lady. 
 
 Imo. I false! Thy conscience witness: — 
 lachimo. 
 
 Thou didst accuse him of incontinency; 
 Thou then look'dst like a villain ; now, methinks, 
 Thy favour's good enough. — Some jay's of Italy, 
 Whose mother was her painting,'''' hath betray'd 
 him : 
 
 Poor I am stale, a garment out of fashion ; 
 And, for I am richer than to hang by the walls,''^ 
 I must be ripp'd : — to pieces with me ! — Oh, 
 Men's vows are women's traitors ! All good 
 seeming, 
 
 By thy revolt, oh, husband, shall be thought 
 Put on for villany ; not born where 't grows, 
 But worn a bait for ladies. 
 
 Pis. Good madam, hear me. 
 
 Imo. True honest men being heard, like false 
 .(Eneas, 
 
 Were, in his time, thought false ; and Sinon's 
 
 weeping'" 
 Did scandal many a holy tear ; took pity 
 From most true wretchedness: so thou, Posthumus, 
 Wilt lay the leaven on all proper men 
 Goodly and gallant, shall be false and perjur'd. 
 From thy great fail.^' — Come, fellow, be thou 
 
 honest : 
 
 Do thou thy master's bidding : when thou see'st 
 him, 
 
 time when Shakespeare wrote, implied in a reference to the 
 " mother" of a pretender to beauty. See Note in. Act iii., 
 "As You Like It." 
 
 48. And, for I am richer than to hang by thewalls. *' For" 
 is here used in the sense of 'because;' and "to hang" is 
 employed for ' to be hung.' It was formerly the custom to hang 
 up cast clothes in a room dedicated to their reception, and keep 
 them there collected, instead of giving them away ; only, when 
 consisting of some " richer " material than ordinary, they were 
 occasionally " ripped," and the pieces were converted to other 
 purposes, leaving no vestige of the form which they originally 
 bore. 
 
 49. Sinon's weeping. See Note 26, Act iii., "Third Part 
 Henry VI." 
 
 50. IVi/t lay ilie leaven on all proper men. " Leaven," 
 being literally the sour dough which communicates fermentation 
 to the whole mass of dough prepared for making bread, is used 
 (figuratively) to express the evil principle which spreads cor- 
 ruption and depravity into moral natures. 
 
 51. Thy great fail. "Fail" is here used for 'failing,' in 
 the sense of 'fault,' 'error,' 'failing in virtue.' See Note 63, 
 Act i., "Henry VIII.," for an instance of "fail" used sub- 
 stantively. 
 
ACT III.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 A little witness my obsdience look ! 
 I draw the sword myself: take it, and hit 
 The innocent mansion of my Jove, my heart : 
 Fear not ; 'tis empty of all things but grief : 
 Thy master is not there ; who was, indeed. 
 The riches of it : do his bidding ; strike. 
 Thou mayst be valiant in a better cause ; 
 But now thou seem'st a coward. 
 
 Pis. Hence, vile instrument ! 
 
 Thou shalt not damn my hand. 
 
 Into. Why, I must die ; 
 
 And if I do not by thy hand, thou art 
 No servant of thy master's : against self-slaughter 
 There is a prohibition so divine 
 That cravens my weak hand. Come, here 's my 
 heart :— 
 
 Something 's afore 't : — soft, soft ! we'll no defence 5 
 Obedient as the scabbard. — [Takes papers from her 
 
 bosom.'] What is here ? 
 The scriptures^s of the loyal Leonatus, 
 All turn'd to heresy ? Away, away, 
 Corrupters of my faith ! you shall no more 
 Be stomachers to my heart. Thus may poor 
 
 fools 
 
 Believe false teachers : though those that are 
 betiay'd 
 
 Do feel the treason sharply, yet tlie traitor 
 Stands in worse case of u oe.^^ 
 And thou, Postiiumus, that didst set up 
 My disobedience 'gainst the king my father, 
 And make me put into contempt the suits 
 Of princely fellows,^^ shalt hereafter find 
 It is no act of common passage, but 
 A strain of rareness: and I grieve myself 
 To think, when thou shalt be disedg'd by her 
 That now thou tir'st on,'^ how thy memory 
 Will then be pang'd by me. — Pr'ythee, despatch : 
 The lamb entreats the butcher : where 's thy 
 knife ? 
 
 52. A little witness my obedience. Shakespeare uses the 
 expression "a little " with much force of pathetic effect. Here, 
 for instance, how it serves to mark the sad resignation with 
 meek involuntary reproach contained in Imogen'^ submission to 
 her husband's cruel decree ; in Volumnia's mouth, " I am 
 hush'd until our city be a fire, and then I'll speak a little," how 
 it emphasises the concentrated threat and quiet sting of the 
 proud mother's words ; and in Mark Antony's dying mouth, 
 " Give nje some wine, and let me speak a little," with 
 what vividness it paints his eagernpss tq utfer the last few words 
 of tenderness and warning ere he shall expire. 
 
 53. The scriptures. Here used for ' the writings ' or ' the 
 letters,' in order to fonn an antithesis with "heresy." 
 
 54. Tliongh those tf^at are betray d do feel the treason sharply, 
 yet thp trc^itor stands in worse case ofiuoe. Noble-hearted and 
 true-faithed \yoman and writer, Imogen and Shakespeare ! And 
 with what accurate knowledge of her sex's purest feelings does 
 he make her here grieve over her husband's future pangs of 
 remorse, rather than over her own present affliction— deep as 
 that is. 
 
 55. Fellows. ' Equals ; ' those in fellowship of rank with 
 herself 
 
 56. Disedg'd by Iter that noiii thou tir'st on. The metaphor 
 
 Thou art too slow to do ttiy master's bidding, 
 When I desire it too. 
 
 Pis. Oh, gracious lady, 
 
 Since I receiv'd command to do this business 
 I have not slept one wink. 
 
 Imo. Do 't, and to bed then.'^ 
 
 Pis. I'll wake mine eye-balls blind first. 
 
 Imo. Wherefore, then. 
 
 Didst undertake it ? Why hast thou abus'd 
 So many miles with a pretence ? this place ? 
 Mine action, and thine own ? our horses' labour? 
 The time inviting thee ? the perturb'd court, 
 ["or my being absent ; whereunto I never 
 Purpose return ? Why hast thou gone so far. 
 To be unbent*' when thou hast ta'en thy stand. 
 The elected deer before thee ? 
 
 Pis. But to win time 
 
 To lose so bad employment ; in the which 
 I have consider'd of a course. Good lady. 
 Hear me with patience, 
 
 Imo. Talk thy tongue weary ; speak : 
 
 I have heard I am a wanton ; and mine ear. 
 Therein false struck, can take no greater wound, 
 Nor tenf^o to bottom that. But speak. 
 
 Pis. Then, madam, 
 
 I thought you would not back again. 
 
 Imo. Most like, — 
 
 Bringing me here to kill mo. 
 
 Pis. Not so, neither : 
 
 But if I were as wise as honest, then 
 My purpose would prove well. It cannot be 
 But that my master is abus'd :^' 
 Some villain, ay, and singular in his art. 
 Hath done you both this cursed injury. 
 
 Imo. Some I^oman courtesan. 
 
 Pis. No, on my life. 
 
 I'll give but notice you are dead, and send him 
 Some bloody sign of it ; for 'tis commanded 
 I should do so :''2 you shall be miss'd at court, 
 
 is taken from falconry; a hawk having the edge of its appetite 
 taken away when it has tired (pecked or fe4} upon the food 
 provided for it. See Note 62, Act iii., " Timon of Athens." 
 
 57. Do 't, and to bed then. Shakespeare's power of keen 
 sarcasm in simplest words is miraculous ; and it is intensified by 
 his occasionally putting it into the mouth of his very gentlest 
 women. See Note 16, Act v., " King Lear." 
 
 58. /'// wake viine eye-balls blind first. Hanmer inserted 
 the word "blind" here; the Folio printing the line thus: 'He 
 wake mine eye-balles first.' Both sense an4 metre seem to 
 indicate that some monosyllable was omitted ; and the suggested 
 one, " blind," appears to us to be very probably that which was 
 left out. 
 
 59. To be unbent. ' To have thy bow qnbcnt ;' in allusion to 
 
 60. Tent. ' Curatively search,' ' probe.' 
 
 61. Abus'd. ..'Deceived,' 'deluded,' 'beguiled.' See Note 
 54, Act i. 
 
 62. For 'tis comimnded I should do so. No portion of the 
 letter to Pisanio, which has been read aloud by Imogen, con- 
 tains the command here alluded to ; but it may be supposed to 
 have been added in a postscript. At any rate, the present 
 affords another instance of those purposed deviations from verbal 
 
Act III.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 And that will well confirm it. 
 
 ]mo. Why, good fellow, 
 
 What shall I do the while ? where bide ? how 
 live ? 
 
 Or in my Ufe what coinf.jrt, when I am 
 Dead to my husband Y 
 
 Pis. If you'll back to the court, — 
 
 Imo. No court, no father ; nor no more ado 
 With that harsh, noble, simple nothing,— 
 That Cloten, whose love-suit hath been to me 
 As fearful as a siege. 
 
 Pis. If not at court. 
 
 Then not in Britain must you bide. 
 
 Imo. Whei-e th.en ? 
 
 Hath Britain all the sun that shines ? Day, night. 
 Are they not but in Britain ? I' the world's 
 volume 
 
 Our Britain seems as of it, but not in 't ; 
 
 In a great pool a swan's nest: pr'ythee, think 
 
 There 's livers out of Britain.^-' 
 
 Pis. I am most glad 
 
 You think of other place. Th' embassador, 
 Lucius the Roman, comes to Milford Haven 
 To-morrow: now, if you could wear a mind 
 Dark as your fortune is,'''' and but disguise 
 That which, to apjiear itself, must not yet be 
 But by self-danger,^^ you should tread a course 
 Pretty and full of view;*" yea, haply, near 
 The residence of Posthumus, — so nigh, at least, 
 That though his actions were not visible, yet 
 Report should render him hourly to your ear 
 As truly as he moves. 
 
 Imo. Oh, for such iiieajis ! 
 
 Though peril to my modesty, not deatli on't, 
 I would adventure. 
 
 Pis. Well, then, here's the point: 
 
 1 allusion to letters or in repeated speeches which we 
 have several times pointed out as occurring in Shakespeare's 
 plays. See Note 17 of the present Act. 
 
 63. There's livers out of Britain. " There 's " affords an in- 
 stance of one of the numerous elisional contractions in this play, 
 and of the grammatical licence occasionally used by Shake- 
 speare of putting "there 's" before a plural noun. 
 
 64. If you could wear a mind dark as your fortune is. ' If 
 you could keep your thoughts and purposes as much veiled by 
 secrecy as your fortune is obscured by present adversity.* 
 
 65. A nd but disguise that which, to appear itself tnust not, 
 &'c. "That" here refers to Imogen's personal identity as 
 woman and princess. 
 
 66. Pretty and full of view. " Pretty " appears to us to bear 
 the sense of 'fair,' 'prosperous,' 'propitious;' and "full of 
 view " to include the combined significations of ' full of pro- 
 mising aspect,' or ' full of auspisious prospect,' also ' full of 
 means of observation,' and likewise ' full in view.' Pisanio 
 means that her assuming the garb Df a boy will be propitious to 
 her, in affording her prospect of better times, in giving her 
 means of observing Posthumus's procedure, and all the while 
 permitting her to be full in view of those around her, though 
 preserving the secret of her identity. 
 
 67. Quarrelous as the weasel. See Note 53. Act. ii., "First 
 Part Henry IV." "Quarrelous" is an old form of ' quarrel- 
 
 You must forget to be a woman ; change 
 Command into obedience ; fear and niceness, — 
 The handmaids of all women, or, more truly, 
 Woman its pretty self, — into a waggish courage; 
 Ready in gibes, quick-answer'd, saucy, and 
 As quarrelous as the weasel ;*? nay, you must 
 Forget that rarest treasure of your cheek, 
 Exposing it,— but, oh, the harder heart! 
 Alack, no remedy!— to the greedy touch 
 Of common-kissing Titan ;*s ^nd forget 
 Your laboursome and dainty trims, wherein 
 You made great Juno angry. 
 
 Imo. Nay, be brief : 
 
 I see into thy end, and am almost 
 A man already. 
 
 Pis. First, make yourself but like one. 
 
 Fore-tliinking this, I have already fit 
 ('Tis in my cloak-bag) doublet, hat, hose, all 
 That answer to them : would you, in their 
 serving. 
 
 And with what imitation you can borrow 
 From _\ outh of such a season, 'fore noble Lucius 
 Present yourself, desire his service, tell him 
 Wherein you're happy,*' — which you'll make him 
 know,'" 
 
 [f that his head have ear in music, — doubtless 
 With joy he will embrace you; for he's honour- 
 able. 
 
 And, doubling that, most holy. Your means 
 abroad,"' 
 
 You have me, rich ; and I will never fail 
 Beginning nor supplyment. 
 
 Imo. Thou art all the comfort 
 
 The gods will diet me with. Pr'ythee, away : 
 There 's more to be consider'd ; but we'll even 
 All that good time will give us -.''^ this attempt 
 
 68. Common-kissing Titan. See Note 57, Act ii., " Hamlet." 
 This allusion to the loveliness of Imogen's complexion, while 
 bidding her suffer it to become tanned and sun-burnt, this 
 reference to her graceful demeanour and attire, appear to us to 
 be thoroughly indicative of Shakespeare's perception respecting 
 the consolation of kindly and delicate compliment coming in 
 moments of bitter humiliation and distress. It insensibly soothes 
 and cheers ; gives her spirit to respond with alacrity, and to 
 enter upon the proposed project with revived energy ; inspired, 
 moreover, by the hope to rejoin her husband at any cost, at any 
 risk. 
 
 69. Happy. Here used for 'accomplished,' 'gifted.' 
 
 70. Which you'll make him know. The Folio prints ' will ' 
 for "you'll." Hanmer's correction. 
 
 71. Your means abroad. This phrase is elliptical, and we 
 must either imderstand 'for' before "your," in which case it 
 would signify 'for your means of .subsi.stence while abroad,' or 
 we must understand ' being' before " abroad," in which case it 
 would signify ' your own means being dispersed, or scattered.' 
 
 72. W^ll even all that good time will give ns. This is 
 the third time that Shakespeare uses the word " even " as a 
 verb. See Note 69, Act i., "Alls Well," and Note 143, Act 
 iv., "King Lear." The present passage will bear and in- 
 cludes several interpretations : it gives the effect of ' we'll make 
 our attempts keep pace with the time allowed us for endtavour,' 
 ' we'll arcomplish, achi<-vp, or colnp;lS^i all that time will give us 
 
Act III.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 I am soldier to, and will abide it with 
 A prince's courage. Away, I pr'ythee. 
 
 Pis. Well, madam, we must take a short fare- 
 well, 
 
 Lest, being miss'd, I be suspected of 
 Your carriage from the court. My noble mistress, 
 Here is a box ; I had it from the queen : 
 What 's in 't is precious ; if you are sick at sea, 
 Or stomach-qualm'd at land, a dram of this 
 Will drive away distemper.— To some shade, 
 And fit you to your manhood :— may the gods 
 Direct you to the best ! 
 
 Imo. Amen : I thank thee. 
 
 [^Exetint. 
 
 SCENE V. — A Room in Cymbeline's Palace. 
 
 Enter Cymbeline, Queen, Cloten, Lucius, and 
 Lords. 
 
 Cym. Thus far ; and so, farewell. 
 
 Luc. Thanks, royal sir. 
 
 My emperor hath wrote ; I must from hence ; 
 And am right sorry that I must report ye 
 My master's enemy. 
 
 Cym. Our subjects, sir. 
 
 Will not endure his yoke ; and for ourself 
 To show less sovereignty than they, must needs 
 Appear unkinglike. 
 
 Luc. So, sir, I desire of you 
 
 A conduct over-land to Milford Haven. — 
 Madam, all joy befal your grace, and you I''-' 
 
 Cym. My lords, you are appointed for that 
 office ; 
 
 The due of honour in no point omit.— 
 So, farewell, noble Lucius. 
 
 Luc. Your hand, my lord. 
 
 Clo. Receive it friendly; but from this time 
 forth 
 
 I wear it as your enemy. 
 
 Luc. Sir, the event 
 
 Is yet to name the winner: fare you «'ell. 
 
 Cym. Leave not the woithy Lucius, good my 
 lords, 
 
 leave to try for,' 'we'll do all that time enables us to do,' ' we'll 
 meet smoothly and with even temper all that time brings,' and 
 'we'll accept thankfully all that good time grants.' Be it more- 
 over observed that there is here the same trust in " time " and 
 its beneficent dispensations which we have before pointed out as 
 put by Shakespeare into the mouth of his most exalted-souled 
 characters. See Note 19, Act ii., " Winter's Tale." 
 
 73. This attempt I am soidie,' to, and will, &'c. 'I am pie- 
 pared to undertake this attempt with the active hardihood of a 
 soldier, and will sustain it with the fortitude of a prince.' 
 
 74. Madam, all joy befal yoitr grace, ajid you ! This line 
 has been variously altered ; but we think that, as it stands, it 
 conveys a parting salutation to the queen and to her son ; the 
 final " and you " being a(j3resied to Cloten. 
 
 Till he have cross'd the Severn. — Happiness ! 
 
 \_Exeunt Lucius and Lords 
 S^een. He goes hence frowning : but it 
 honours us 
 That we have given him cause. 
 
 C/o. 'Tis all the better ; 
 
 Your valiant Britons have their wishes in it. 
 Cym. Lucius hath wrote already to the em- 
 peror 
 
 How it goes here. It fits us therefore ripely 
 Our chariots and our horsemen be in readiness : 
 The powers that he already hath in Gallia 
 Will soon be drawn to head, from whence he 
 moves 
 j His war for Britain. 
 
 I ^leen. 'Tis not sleepy business ; 
 
 1 But must be look'd to speedily and strongly. 
 Cym. Our expectation that it would be tlius 
 Hath made us forward. But, my gentle queen, 
 Where is otir daughter ? She hath not appear'd 
 Before the Roman, nor to us hath tender'd 
 The duty of the day : she looks us like''* 
 
 { A thing more made of malice than of duty : 
 We have noted it. — Call her before us ; for 
 We have been too slight in sufferance. 
 
 [Exit an Attendant. 
 ^leen. Royal sir, 
 
 Since the exile of Posthumus, most retir'd 
 Hath her life been ; the cure whereof, my lord, 
 'Tis time must do. Beseech )our majesty. 
 Forbear sharp speeches to her: she 's a lady 
 So tender of rebukes, that words are strokes,'* 
 And strokes death to her. 
 
 Re-tnter Attendant. 
 
 Cym. Where is she, sir ? How 
 
 Can her contempt be answer'd ? 
 
 Attcn. Please \ ou, sir. 
 
 Her chambers are all lock'd ; and there's no 
 answer 
 
 That will be given ''^ to the loud'st of noise we 
 make.'* 
 
 ^een, My lord, when last I went to visit her, 
 Slie pray'd me to excuse her keeping close ; 
 Whereto constrain'd by her infirmity, 
 She should that duty leave unpaid to you, 
 
 75. S/ie looks us like. The Folio prints this, ' She looke vs 
 like.' Johnson corrected 'looke' to "looks." We have fre- 
 quently had occasion to notice the elliptical mode in which 
 Shakespeare uses the verb " to look" (see Note 73, Act iii., 
 "Antony and Cleopatra " ) ; and here ' to ' is elliptically under- 
 stood after " looks." 
 
 76. Wvrds are strokes. The first Folio gives 'stroke' for 
 " strokes " here. Corrected in the second Folio. 
 
 77. There 's no answer that ■will be given, &'c. Instance of 
 " will be " used without reference to the future time. See Note 
 20, Act v., " Antony and Cleopatra." 
 
 78. To the loud St of noise ive make. The Folio print.-. 
 ' lowd ' for " loud'st." Capell's correction. 
 
 7! 
 
Act III.] 
 
 Which daily she was bound to proifer : this 
 She wish'd me to make known ; but our great 
 court 
 
 Made me to blame in memory. 
 
 Cym. Her doors lock'd ? 
 
 Not seen of late ? Grant, heavens, that which 1 
 fear 
 
 Prove false ! {Exit, 
 ^een. Son, I say, follow the king. 
 Clo. That man of hers, Pisanio, her old 
 servant, 
 
 1 have not seen these two days. 
 
 Slueen. Go, look after. — 
 
 {Lxh Cloten. 
 Pisanio, thou that stand'st so for Posthumus ! — 
 He hath a drug of mine ; I pray his absence 
 Proceed by swallowing that ; for he believes 
 It is a thing most precious. But for her, 
 Where is she gone Haply, despair hath seiz'd 
 her, 
 
 Or, wing'd with fervour of her love, she 's flown 
 
 To her desir'd Posthumus : gone she is 
 
 To death or to dishonour ; and my end 
 
 Can make good use of either : she being down, 
 
 I have the placing of the British crown. 
 
 Re-enter Cloten. 
 How now, my son ! 
 
 Clo. 'Tis certain she is fled. 
 
 Go in and cheer the king : he rages ; none 
 Dare come about hiin. 
 
 ^een. All the better : may 
 
 This night forestall him of the coming day!"' 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 Clo. I love and hate her : for she 's fair and 
 royal,so 
 
 And that she hath all courtly parts more exquisite 
 Than lady, ladies, woman from every one 
 The best she hath, and she, of all compounded, 
 Outsells them all,'^ — I love her therefore: but. 
 Disdaining me, and throwing favours on 
 The low Posthumus, slanders so her judgment, 
 That what 's else rare is chok'd ; and in that 
 point 
 
 I will conclude to hate her, nay, indeed. 
 To be reveng'd upon her. For, when fools 
 Shall— 
 
 79. May this 7tight forestall him of the coming day t * May 
 his this night's rage and grief preclude his Uving to see another 
 day, by prematurely destroying him ! ' 
 
 80. For she 's fair and royal. " For" used in the sense of 
 'because.' 
 
 81. Than lady, ladies, woman. Elliptically expressed ; signi- 
 fying 'than any lady, than all ladies, than all womankind.' A 
 similar phrase occurs in " All's Well," Act ii., sc. 3 : "To any 
 count, — to all counts, — to what is man." 
 
 82. Outsells them all. " Outsells " is here used for ' out- 
 values ; ' as in scene 4 of the previous Act, "outsell " is used for 
 ' out- value,' where lachimo says, " Her pretty action did outsell 
 her gift." 
 
 [SCENE V. 
 
 Enter PiSANIO. 
 Who is here? What! are you packing,^^ sirrah ? 
 Come hither : ah, you precious pander ! Villain, 
 Where is thy lady ? In a word ; or else 
 Thou art straightway with the fiends. 
 
 Pis. Oh, good my lord ! 
 
 Clo. Where is thy lady ? or, by Jupiter — 
 I will not ask again. Close villain, 
 I'll have this secret from thy heart, or rip 
 Thy heart to find it. Is she with Posthumus 
 From whose so many weights of baseness cannot 
 A dram of worth be drawn. 
 
 Pis. Alas! my lord. 
 
 How can she be with him ? When was she 
 
 miss'd ? 
 He is in Rome. 
 
 Clo. Where is she, sir ? Come nearer; 
 
 No farther halting : satisfy me home 
 What is become of her. 
 Pis. Oh, my all-worthy lord ! 
 Clo. All-worthy villain ! 
 
 Discover where thy mistress is at once, 
 At the next word, — no more of worthy .'ord, — 
 Speak, or thy silence on the instant is 
 Thy condemnation and thy death. 
 
 Pis. Then, sir. 
 
 This paper^'' is the history of my knowledge 
 Touching her flight. [Presenting a Utter. 
 
 Clo. Let 's see 't. — I will pursue her 
 
 Even to Augustus' throne. 
 
 Pis. [Aside.] Or this, or perish.^" 
 
 She 's far enough ; and what he learns by this 
 May prove his travel, not her danger. 
 
 Clo. H'm! 
 Pis. [Aside.] I'll write to my lord she 's dead. 
 O Imogen, 
 Safe mayst thou wander, safe return again ! 
 Clo. Sirrah, is this letter true ? 
 Pis. Sir, as I think. 
 
 Clo. It is Posthumus' hand; I know 't.— Sirrah, 
 if thou wouldst not be a villain, but do me true 
 service, undergo^^ those employments wherein I 
 should have cause to use thee with a serious indus- 
 try, — that is, what villany soe'er I bid thee do, to 
 perform it directly and truly, — I would think thee 
 an honest man : thou shouldst neither want my 
 
 83. PacHing. 'Plotting,' 'contriving,' 'scheming,' 'con- 
 spiring.' See Note 7, Act iii., " King Lear." 
 
 84. This paper. The one subsequently alluded to by Pisanio, 
 where he says (Act v., sc. s), "I had a feigned letter of my 
 master's then in my pocket ; which directed him," &c. We may 
 suppose it to have been one fabricated by Pisanio to plausibly 
 account for Imogen's having left the court of her own accord, in 
 case he should be charged with having been the adviser and 
 aider of her flight. 
 
 85. Or this, or perish. 'I must either practise this deceit 
 upon Cloten or perish by his fury.* 
 
 86. Undergo. 'Undertake.' See Note 85, Act i., "Julius 
 Cssar." 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
means for thy relief, nor my voice for thy prefer- 
 mt nt. 
 
 Pis. Well, my good lord. 
 
 C/c Wilt thou serve me ?— for since patiently 
 and constantly thou hast stuck to the bare fortune 
 of that beggar Posthumus, thou canst not, in the 
 course of gratitude, but be a diligent follower of 
 mine, — wilt thou serve me ? 
 
 Pis. Sir, I will. 
 
 Clo. Give me thy hand; here 's my purse. 
 Hast any of thy late master's garments in tliy 
 possession ? 
 
 Pis. I have, my lord, at my lodging, the same 
 suit he wore when he took leave of my lady and 
 mistress. 
 
 C/o. The first service thou dost me, fetch that 
 suit hither : let it be thy first service ; go. 
 
 Pis. I sliall, my lord. [Exit. 
 
 Clo. Meet thee at Milford Haven !— I forgot to 
 ask him one thing ; I'll remember 't anon : — even 
 there, thou villain Posthumus, will I kill thee. — I 
 would these garments were come. She said upon 
 a time, — the bitterness of it I now cast from my 
 heart, — that she held the very garment of Pos- 
 thumus in more respect than my noble and natural 
 person, together with the adornment of my quali- 
 ties. With that suit upon my back, will I outrage 
 her: first kill him, and in her eyes ; there shall she 
 see my valour, which will then be a torment to her 
 contempt. He on the ground, my speech of 
 insultment ended on his dead body, — and when my 
 will hath dined (which, as I say, to vex her I will 
 execute in the clothes that she so praised), — to the 
 court I'll knock her back, foot her home again. 
 She hath despised me rejoicingly, and I'll be merry 
 in m) revenge. 
 
Act III.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene VI. 
 
 Re-enter Pisanio, 'with the clothes. 
 Be those the garments ? 
 Pis. Ay, my noble lord. 
 
 Clo. How long is 't since she went to Milford 
 Haven ? 
 
 Pis. She can scarce be there yet. 
 
 Clo. Bring this apparel to my chamber ; that is 
 the second thing that I have commanded thee : the 
 third is, that thou wilt be a voluntary mute to my 
 design. Be but duteous, and true preferment shall 
 tender itself to thee. — My revenge is now at Mil- 
 ford : would 1 had wings to follow it ! — Come, and 
 be true. [Exit, 
 
 Pis. Thou bidd'st me to my loss : for, true to 
 thee 
 
 Were to prove false, which I will never be, 
 To him that is most true. To Milford go, 
 And find not her whom thou pursu'st. — Flow, 
 flow, 
 
 You heavenly blessings, on her! — This fool's 
 speed 
 
 Be cross'd with slowness; labour be his meed ! 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 SCENE VI.— Wales. Before the Ca've of 
 Belarius. 
 
 Enter Imogen, in day's clothes, 
 
 Imo, I see a man's life is a tedious one ; 
 I have tir'd myself; and for two nights together 
 Have made the ground my bed. I should be 
 sick, 
 
 But that my resolution helps me. — Milford, 
 When from the mountain-top Pisanio shovv'd 
 thee. 
 
 87. To him thai is most trtte, 
 faithful-hearted Pisanio that he ne 
 tion that Posthiimus is good and 
 cruel letter commanding Imogen' 
 
 It is characteristic of the 
 er swerves from his convic- 
 true," notwithstanding the 
 destruction. He believes 
 what he has told her ; that Posthumus has been deceived by 
 "some villain," who has worked this injury" to both. 
 
 88. Foundations. Used, in a general sense, for edifices or 
 dwelling-places ; in a particular sense, with reference to esta- 
 
 . blishments (generally religious ones) where a revenue was settled 
 for charitable purposes, and where alms and relief were given. 
 See Note 49, Act v., " Much Ado." 
 
 89. Sorer. Here used for ' more criminal,' ' more injurious.' 
 
 go. Plenty and peace breeds cowards. One of the gram- 
 matical licenses used by Shakespeare ; ' the state of being 
 understood before "plenty and peace." See Note 71, Act I., 
 "Macbeth." 
 
 91. Civil. Here used for ' civilised.' 
 
 92, Take or lend. ' Take payment for what I need, or lend 
 it me from kindliness.' " Lend " is often used for ' bestow,' 
 'confer ;' as in the familiar plirase, 'Lend me aid,' 'Lend me 
 succour.' See passage referred to in Note 89, Act iii., " Romeo 
 and Juliet;" where, if "lent" be the right word, it must be 
 used in the sense of 'bestowed upon,' or 'conferred upon.'- 
 
 Thou wast within a ken : O Jove 1 I think 
 I'oundations85 fly the wretched; such, I mean, 
 Where they should be reliev'd. Two beggars told 
 me 
 
 I could not miss my way : will poor folks lie, 
 l hat have afflictions on them, knowing 'tis 
 A punishment, or trial ? Yes ; no wonder. 
 When rich ones scarce tell true : to lapse in 
 fulness 
 
 Is sorer^s than to lie for need ; and falsehood 
 Is worse in kings than beggars,— My dear lord ! 
 Thou art one o' the false ones ; now I think on 
 thee. 
 
 My hunger's gone ; but even before, I was 
 At point to sink for food.— But what is this ? 
 Here is a path to 't : 'tis some savage hold : 
 I were best not call ; I dare not call : yet famine. 
 Ere clean it o'erthrow nature, makes it valiant. 
 Plenty and peace breeds cowards ; hardness ever 
 Of hardiness is mother. — Ho ! Who's here ? 
 If anything that 's civil, speak ; if savage. 
 Take or lend.92 Ho!— No answer? then I'll 
 enter. 
 
 Best draw my sword ; and if mine enemy 
 But fear the sword like me, he'll scarcely look 
 on 't, 
 
 Such a foe, good heavens I'-*" 
 
 [Goes into the Caiie. 
 
 Enter Belarius, Guiderius, and Arviragus. 
 
 Bel. You, Polydore, have prov'd best wood- 
 man, and 
 Are master of the feast : Cadwal and I 
 Will play the cook and servant ; 'tis our match : 
 The sweat of industry would dry and die. 
 But for the end it works to. Come ; our stomachs 
 Will make what's homely savoury : weariness 
 Can snore upon the flint, when resty'" sloth 
 
 93. Such a foe, good heavens! Exquisitely feminine through- 
 out is this speech. Its confession of limb-weary fatigue, of 
 faintness from exhaustion, its moral strength amid physical 
 weakness, its tender epithet for the . husband whose cruel in- 
 justice is felt none the less deeply for the irremovable love she 
 still cherishes for him, its timid hesitation in calling for help, its 
 vague thought of defence, in " best draw my sword," its avowal 
 of greater dread at the very sight of the sword than the sword- 
 dr.wer can hope to inspire by use of the weapon, together with 
 the final softly smiling, half self-pitying exclamation, half aspira- 
 tion for divine aid, are all intensely true to the mingled mental 
 courage and bodily delicacy of such a woman as Imogen, who 
 is the verj' embodiment of supreme womanhood. 
 
 94. Woodman. 'Hunter.' See Note 7, Act v., "Merry 
 Wives," and Note 64, Act iv., " Measure for Measure." 
 
 95. Match. Here used for ' compact,' 'agreement.' In the 
 third scene of the present Act Belarius has promised, " He 
 that strikes the venison first shall be the lord 0' the feast ; to 
 him. the other two shall minister." 
 
 96. Resty. 'Inert,' 'sluggish,' 'dull,' 'heavy,' 'idle;' too 
 full of rest. Shakespeare thus itses it in his "Sonnet C 
 and Milton in the same sense in his " Eiconoclastes," sec. 24: 
 "The master is too resty, or too rich, to say his own prayers, 
 
Act III.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene VI. 
 
 Finds the down pillow hard. — Now, peace be here, 
 Poor house, that keep'st thyself! 
 
 Gui. I am thoroughly weary. 
 
 Arv. I am weak with toil, )et strong in 
 appetite. 
 
 Gui. There is cold meat i' the cave ; we'll 
 
 browse on that, 
 Whilst what we have kill'd be cook'd. 
 Bel. [Loo.iing into the Ca've.] Stay; come not 
 
 in. 
 
 But that it eats our victuals, I should think 
 Here were a fairy. 
 
 - Gui. What 's the matter, sir ? 
 
 Bel. By Jupiter, an angel ! or, if not. 
 An earthly paragon ! — Behold divineness 
 No elder than a boy ! 
 
 Re-enter Imogen. 
 Imo. Good masters, harm me not : 
 Before I enter'd here, I call'd ; and thought 
 To have begg'd or bought what I have took: good 
 troth, 
 
 I have stol'n naught ; nor would not, though I had 
 foil nd 
 
 Gold streu-'d i' the floor.^^ Here 's money for my 
 meat : 
 
 I would have left it on the board, so soon 
 As I had made my meal ; and parted 
 With prayers for the provider. 
 
 Gui. Money, youth ? 
 
 Jr-z>. All gold and silver rather turn to dirt ! 
 As 'tis no better feckon'd, but of those 
 Who worship dirty gods. 
 
 Imo. I see you're angry : 
 
 Knovv, if you kill me for my fault, I should 
 Have died had I not made it. 
 
 Bel. Whither bound ? 
 
 Imo. To Milford Haven. 
 
 Bel. What 's your name ? 
 
 Imo. Fidele, sir. I have a kinsman who 
 Is bound for Italy ; he embark'd at Miltord ; 
 
 or to bless his own table." " Resty " has been otherwise inter- 
 preted, and has been altered to ' restive,' the Folio having spelt 
 the word 'restie;' but we think that the previous expression, 
 " weariness," signifying ' fatigue from due exertion,' ' tired out 
 after hearty toil,' as opposed to 'over-rested ease,' shows the 
 antithesis intended, and shows our interpretation to be right. 
 
 97. Behold divineness no elder than a boy'. In the present 
 passage, as k seeras to us, " elder" includes the same sense of 
 'superior,' 'more exalted,' that we have hitherto pointed out in 
 Shakespeare's occasional use of this word (see Note 59, Act iii., 
 " Antony and Cleopatra ") ; since we think that this phrase 
 signifies, ' Behold divineness in a shape no older or more digni- 
 fied and reverend than that of a boy ! ' 
 
 93. Strew\ii' the floor. Here " i'" or " in " is used for ' on.' 
 See Note 12, Act v., " Second Part Henry VI." 
 
 99. / bid for you as I do btiy. This has been variously 
 changed ; but, as the phrase stands, it appears to us that the 
 meaning of the speech is, ' If you were a woman, youth, I would 
 woo hard to be your bridegroom ; as it is, I honestly bid for 
 your affection as I do buy it with mine own to you;' or, ' In 
 
 To whom being going, almost spent with hunger, 
 I am fall'n in this offence. 
 
 Bel. Pr'ythee, fair youth, 
 
 Think us no churls, nor measure our good minds 
 By this rude place we live in. Well encountcr'd ! 
 'Tis almost night : you shall have better cheer 
 Ere you depart ; and thanks to stay and eat it. — 
 Boys, bid him welcome. 
 
 Gui. Were you a woman, youth, 
 
 I should woo hard but be your groom:— in 
 
 honesty, 
 I bid for you as I do buy.'' 
 
 Ar'v. I'll make 't my comfort 
 
 He is a man ; I'll love him as my brother : — 
 And such a welcome as I'd give to him 
 After long absence, such is yours : — most wel- 
 come ! 
 
 Be sprightly, for you fall 'mongst friends. 
 
 Imo. 'Mongst friends. 
 
 If brothers, — \_Aside.'\ Would it had been so, that 
 they 
 
 Had been my father's sons ! then had my prize 
 Been less and so more equal ballasting 
 To thee, Posthuinus. 
 
 Bel. He wrings at some distress. 
 
 Gui. Would I could free 't ! 
 
 Arv. Or I ; whate'er it be, 
 
 Wliat pain it cost, what danger ! Gods ! 
 
 Bel. Hark, bo)S. 
 
 [IVhispering. 
 
 Imo. Great men, 
 
 That had a court no bigger than this cave, 
 That did attend themselves, and had tlie virtue 
 Which their own conscience seal'd them, — 
 laying by 
 
 That nothmg gift of differing multitudes, 
 Could not out-peer these twain. Pardon me, 
 gods! 
 
 I'd change my sex to be companion with them, 
 Since Leonatus' false. '"^ 
 
 Bel. It shall be so. 
 
 honesty, I bid for your affection by purchasing it with mine own 
 in return.' The phrase elliptically expresses, ' I bid honestly 
 for your liking— offering you mine in exchange for yours— as I 
 do buy, by exchanging money for what I purchase.' The 
 phraseology throughout this play is so very elliptical, as to be 
 perhaps the most so of all Shakespeare's ; and the present 
 sentence appears to us to be in accordance with this particular. 
 
 100. T/ieu had iny prize been less. ' Then had my value been 
 less ; ' implying, ' Then would the prize which Leonatus gained 
 in winning the heiress to the crown have been lessened by my 
 being but sister to the royal heirs.' 
 
 101. Wrings. ' Feels acutely ; ' ' writhes in anguish.' See 
 Note 5, Act v., " Much Ado." 
 
 102. Laying by that nothing gift of differing nntltitudes. 
 ' Setting aside that worthless attribution of the varying-minded 
 populace.' 
 
 103. Since Leonatus' false. The Folio prints 'Leonatus' 
 here without the apostrophe ; but we take it to be a similar 
 elisionally contracted form to the one we pointed out in Note 97, 
 Act iv., " King Lear,"—" this'" for ' this is.' 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Boys, we'll go dress our hunt.'"^ — Fair youth, 
 come in : 
 
 Discourse is heavy, fasting ; wnen we have supp'd, 
 We'll mannerly demand thee oF tny story. 
 So far as thou wilt speak it. 
 
 Gui. Pray, draw near. 
 
 Aid. The night to the owl, and morn to the 
 lark, less welcome. 
 
 Into. Thanks, sir. 
 
 Aid. 1 pray, draiv near. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE VII.— Rome. J Public Place. 
 
 Enter two Senators an.l Tribunes. 
 
 first Sen. This is the tenour of the em})eror's 
 writ, — 
 
 That since the common men are now in action 
 'Gainst the Pannonians and Dalmatians; 
 And that the legions now in Gallia are 
 Full weak to undertake our wars against 
 T'he fall'ii-off Britons ; that we do incite 
 The gentry to this business. He crer.tes 
 Lucius pro-consul : and to you, the tribunes, 
 I'or this immediate lev;.', he commands 
 His absolute commission.'"* Long live Caesar! 
 
 First. Tri. Is Lucius general o.^' the forces ? 
 
 Sec. Sen. Ay. 
 
 First Tri. Remaining now in Gallia? 
 
 First Sen. With those legions 
 
 Which 1 have spoke of, whereunto your levy 
 Must be suppliant: the words of your commission 
 Will tie you to the numbers, and the time 
 Of their despatch. 
 
 First Tri. We will discharge our duty. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 ACT 
 
 SCENE I.— Britain, x-l-es: the Forest near 
 the Cave of Belarius. 
 Enter Cloten. 
 
 Clo. I am near to the place where they should 
 meet, if Pisanio have mapped it truly. How fit 
 his garments serve me ! Wliy should his mistress, 
 w.io was made by him that made the tailor, not 
 be fit too ? the rather, — saving reverence of the 
 word,— for 'tis said a woman's fitness comes by 
 
 104. We'll go dress our hunt. Here " hunt " is used Tor 
 that which has been obtained by hunting, as "chase" is used 
 for that which is being chased, in the passage explained in Note 
 47, Act iii., " Winter's Tale." 
 
 105. To you . . . . Jie commands kts absolute commission. 
 Here VVarburton and others alter ' ' commands " to ' commends ; ' 
 but we think that the phrase is elliptical, signifying, ' He com- 
 mands that his absolute commission shall be given to you.' Dr. 
 Johnson illustrates this interpretation by remarking, So we 
 say, ' I ordered the materials to the workmen.' " .Shakespeare 
 h.mself, in "Richard II.," Act iv., sc. i, has a somewhat 
 similar elliptical sentence: "An if my word bi sterline^ yet in 
 England, let it command a mirror hither straight : " mean- 
 ing, ' Let it command that a mirror shall be broujjht hither 
 immediately. 
 
 1. In sin°^le oppositions. ' In single encounters,* ' in single 
 combat,' ' in fighting m.an to man.' An " opposite" was a term 
 formerly used for an ' adversary ' or an ' antagonist." See Note 
 38, Act iii., "Twelfth Night;" also, the context of passage 
 referred to in Note 70, Act i., " first Part Henry IV." 
 
 2. Imperscverant. ' Undiscerning,' ' unperceiving.' The 
 word was variously spelt ; and if ' impercey veraunt ' or ' imper- 
 
 IV. 
 
 fits. Therein I must play the workman. 1 dare 
 speak it to myself,— for it is not vain-glory for a 
 man and his glass to confer in his own chamber, — 
 I mean, the lines of my body are as well drawn as 
 his; no less young, more strong, not beneath him 
 in fortunes, beyond him in the advantage of the 
 time, above him in birth, alike conversant in 
 general services, and more remarkable in single 
 oppositions:' )et this imperseverant^ thing loves 
 him in my despite. What mortality is ! Pos- 
 
 ceiverant' be adopted, the sense here explained would be more 
 obvious ; but we believe that by preserving the Folio spelling 
 (excepting that ' u' is put for " v" in the word), we allow it to 
 retain the comb ned sense of ' obstinately persevering,' or ' very 
 persevering,' which it may possibly have been intended to in- 
 clude. In the following passage, which Mr. Dyce quotes from 
 the old play of " The Widow " (as confirming his opinion that 
 here " impersever.ant " signifies ' undiscerning,' and should be 
 spelt ' imperceiverant'), it appears to us that the word "per- 
 severance" is there employed in such a way as to include the 
 duplicate sense which we here assign to the word " imper- 
 
 " Methinks the words 
 Themselves should make him do 't, had he but ihe perseverance 
 Of a cock-sparrow, that will come at Philip, 
 And can nor write nor read, poor fool ! " 
 
 The writers of those days did u.-.e words in this manner ; and 
 knowing, as we do, Shakespeare's largely comprehensive em- 
 ployment of expressive epithets, while considering the whole gist 
 of Cloten's sentence here, we are strongly of opinion that " im- 
 perseverant" is intended to convey the double effect of 'undis- 
 cerning' and ' inveterately persevering.' 
 5 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 thumus, thy head, which now is growing upon thy 
 shoulders, shall within this hour be ott ; thy mis- 
 tress enforced ; thy garments cut to pieces before 
 thy face: ^ and ail this done, spurn her home to 
 her father ; who may haply be a little angry for 
 my so rough usage; but my mother, having power 
 of his testiness, shall turn all into my commenda- 
 tions. My horse is tied up safe: out, sword, and to 
 a sore purpose ! Fortune, put them into my hand ! 
 Tliis is the very description of their meeting-place; 
 and the fellow dares not deceive me. \^Exit. 
 
 SCENE 1 {.—Before the Cave of Belarius. 
 
 Enter, from the Cave, Belarius, Guiderius, 
 Arviragus, and Imogen. 
 
 Bel. [To Imo.] You are not well : remain here 
 in the cave ; 
 We'll come to )ou after hunting. 
 
 Ar-v. [To Imo.] Brother, stay here : 
 
 Are we not brothers ? 
 
 Imo. So man and man should be; 
 
 But clay and clay differs in dignity, 
 WhosL' dust is both alike. I am very sick. 
 
 Gui. Go you to hunting ; I'll abide with hiin. 
 
 Imo. So sick I am not, — yet 1 am not well ; 
 But not so citfzen a wanto as 
 To seem to die ere sick : so please you, leave me ; 
 Slick to your journal'* course: the breach of 
 custom 
 
 Is breach of all. I am ill ; but your being by me 
 Cannot amend me ; society is no comfort 
 
 To one not sociable: I am not very sick. 
 Since I can reason of it. Pray you, trust ine 
 here : 
 
 I'll rob none but myself; and let me die, 
 Stealing so poorly. 
 
 Gui. I love thee ; I have spoke it : 
 
 How much the quantity, the weight as much. 
 As I do love my fathei\ 
 
 Bel. What? how! how! 
 
 Arv. If it be sin to say so, sir, I yoke me 
 In my good brother's fault : I know not wliy 
 I love this youth ; and I have heard you say. 
 Love's reason 's without reason : the bier at door, 
 And a demand who is 't shall die, I 'd say, 
 " My father, not this youth." 
 
 Bel. [Aside.] Oh, noble strain ! 
 
 Oh, wortliiness of nature ! breed of greatness ! 
 Cowards father cowards, and base things sire 
 base : 
 
 Nature hath meal and bran, contempt and grace. 
 I'm not their father ; yet who this should be. 
 Doth miracle itself, lov'd before me. — 
 [A/oud.] 'Tis the ninth hour o' the morn. 
 
 Arv. Brother, farewell. 
 
 Imo. I wish ye sport. 
 
 Arv. You health. — So please you, sir.* 
 
 Imo. [Aside.] These are kind creatures. Gods, 
 what lies I have heard ! 
 
 Our courtiers say all 's savage but at court : 
 
 Experience, oh, thou disprov'st report ! 
 
 The imperious seas breed monsters; for the dish, 
 
 Poor tributary rivers as sweet fish. 
 
 I am sick still ; heart-sick : — Pisanio, 
 
 I'll now taste of thy drug.^ [Snallo-ivs some. 
 
 Gui. I could not stir l;im :' 
 
 3. Cut to pieces be/ore thy face. Warburton and others change ; 
 "thy" to 'her' here; but Cloten is pouring out a torrent of I 
 furious threats, expressed in his usual blundering, headlon.s; 1 
 manner ; and the thought of cutting to pieces those "garments " ! 
 — the meanest of which Imogen has declared is dearer to her j 
 than a thousand such men as Cloten— before the dead face of i 
 the man whose head he had just cut off, would present no in- 
 congruous image to a mind like this speaker's, who has pre- ' 
 viously revelled in the idea of " He on the ground, my speech j 
 of insultment ended on his dead body," &c. In this very idea, ] 
 be it observed, th;re is no clear indication of whether the 
 "speech of insultment" is to be made to Imogen or to the 
 "dead body;" in that passage he blends the thought of 
 both of them being included in the insult, as in this passage 
 he includes bjth Posthumus and Imogen in the outrage he 
 will commit in cutting to pieces these hated garments be- | 
 fore the face of the murdered man and in sight of his hapless 
 wife. 
 
 4. Journal. ' Daily.' See Note 53, Act iv., " Measure for 
 Measure." 
 
 5. So please you, sir. It has been proposed to make these 
 words the commencement of Imogen's next speech ; but they 
 appear to us to be spoken by Arviragus, in reply to Belarius's 
 observation, " 'Tis the ninth hour o' the mjrn ;" and that they 
 imply, * So please you, lead on, sir, we are ready.' In Act ii., 
 sc. 2, Imogen's lady answers, " Please you. madam," in reply 
 to her mistress's summons, to signify being ready in attendance. 
 
 It Is evident that here Belarius and the two young men go to 
 equip themselves and collect tlieir implements of the chase, 
 while Imogjn speaks to herself; and that the brothers talk 
 somewhat apart, respecting her; because Guiderius, when he 
 resumes, shows this to be the case by his words, " I could not 
 stir him,'' &c. The youths linger, fasc'nated by the interest 
 they feel in their unknown sister, though they profess their 
 readiness to attend their supposed father, who reiterates his 
 call to the hunting-field. 
 
 6. I'll no^v taste 0/ thy drug. These words are accompanied 
 by no stage direction in the Folio ; and at one time we believed 
 they were merely meant to indicate that Imogen intends taking 
 some of the drug when she returns into the cave and shall be 
 once more alone. But upon re-consideration of the stage 
 situation — the momentary withdrawal of Belarius and the 
 young men, which gives her the opportunity of speaking in 
 soliloquy and of remembering Pisanio's gift— we think it pro- 
 bable that the author intended !his to be the juncture at which 
 she swallows some. Rowe first inserted a stage direction, "Drinks 
 out of the vial ;" but Mr. Dyce, remarking that the drug was a 
 solid, gave the stage direction which we adopt. We learn from 
 various passages in the play that this drug was contained in " a 
 box ; " and the fact that such receptacles were frequently used 
 for medicaments in Shakespeare's time may be gathered from 
 several indications in his works. 
 
 7. / could not stir him. ' I could not move him to tell me of 
 himself,' ' I could not induce him to relate his story.' 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 He said he was gentle,^ but unfortunate ; 
 Dishonestly afflicted, but yet honest. 
 Aru. Thus did he answer me : yet said, here- 
 after 
 
 I might know more. 
 
 Bel. To the field, to the field !- 
 
 [To Imo.] We'll leave you for this time : go in 
 and rest. 
 Arv. We'll not be long away. 
 Bel. Pray, be not sick, 
 
 For you must be our housewife. 
 
 Imo. Well or ill, 
 
 I am bound to you.^ 
 Bel. And shalt be ever. 
 
 \_Exit Imogen into the Ca'ue. 
 This youth, howe'er distress'd, appears he hath 
 had 
 
 Good ancestors.!" 
 Ari). How angel-like he sings ! 
 
 Gui. But his neat cookery! he cut our roots in 
 characters 
 
 And sauc'd our broths, as Juno had been sick. 
 And he her dieter. 
 
 At v. Nobly he yokes 
 
 A smiling with a sigh, — as if the sigh 
 Was that it was, for not being such a smile ; 
 The smile mocking the sigh, that it would fiy 
 From so divine a temple, to commix 
 With winds that sailors rail at. 
 
 Gui. 1 do note 
 
 That grief and patience, rooted in him both,'^ 
 Mingle their spurs^* together. 
 
 Ar'v. Grow, patience ! 
 
 And let the stinking elder, grief, untwine 
 His perishing root with the increasing vine ! 
 
 Bel. It is great morning.^^ Come, away! — 
 Who's there? 
 
 8. Geiille. 'Well born;' 'of superior race or rank.' See 
 Note 65, Act i., " Tempest." 
 
 9. / am bound to you. Imogen says this in the sense of ' I 
 am bound in obligation and gratitude to you ; ' while Belarius 
 replies to it in the sense of ' And shalt be bound to us evermore 
 by ties of mutual affection and attachment.' We explain this, 
 because Mason proposed to alter "shalt " to * shall,' and to give 
 both asseveration and response to Imogen as the conclusion of j 
 her speech. I 
 
 10. This youth, howler distress'd, aj>fiears he Itath had 
 good ancestors. Here " appears " is employed in the sense 
 of 'shows,' 'makes manife.st.' See Note 21, Act iv., " Corio- 
 lanus." 
 
 11. Bui his iieai cookery I he cut our roots, (d'c. The Folio 
 erroneously inserts theprefi.x "Ami. " between "cookery" and 
 "he" here; but the sentences evidently follow each other and 
 belong to the same speaker, because Arviragus (so also in the 
 Folio) begins his next speech with " Nobly he yokes," &c. 
 With exquisite propriety has Shakespeare given this accom- 
 plishment of culinary skill to Imogen : not only were the 
 princesses of old made mistresses of all womanly and domestic 
 occupations, but the special attribution of them to this particular 
 heroine, and at this particular juncture, is what tends to exalt 
 her in our loving admiration as the most peerless of feminine 
 
 See Note 30, Act i. of the present play. 
 
 Etiter Cloten. 
 Clo. I cannot find those runagates ; that villain 
 Hath mock'd me :— I am faint. 
 
 Bel. Those runagates ! 
 
 Means he not us ? 1 partly know him ; 'tis 
 Cloten, the son o' the queen. I fear some 
 ambush. 
 
 I saw him not''' these many years, and yet 
 I know 'tis he. — We are held as outlaws : 
 hence ! 
 
 Gui. He is but one : you and my brother 
 search 
 
 What companies'^ are near : pray you, away ; 
 Let me alone with him. 
 
 [Exeunt Belarius a/zi/ Arviragus. 
 
 Clo. Soft !— What are you 
 
 That fly me thus? some villain mountaineers ? 
 I have heard of such. — What slave art thou ? 
 
 Gui. A thing 
 
 More slevish did I ne'er, than answering 
 A " slave" without a knock.'" 
 
 Clo. Thou art a robber, 
 
 A law-breaker, a villain : yield thee, thief. 
 
 Gui. To whom ? to thee ? What art thou ? 
 Have not I 
 An arm as big as thine ? a heart as big ? 
 Thy words, I grant, are bigger ; for 1 wear not 
 My dagger in my mouth. Say what thou art. 
 Why I should yield to thee ? 
 
 Clo. Thou villain base, 
 
 Know'st me not by my clothes ? 
 
 Gui. No, nor thy tailor, rascal. 
 
 Who is thy grandfather : he made those clothes. 
 Which, as it seems, make thee. 20 
 
 Clo. Thou precious varlet. 
 
 My tailor made them not.^' 
 
 12. Rooted ill him both. The Folio has 'them 'for "him." 
 Pope's correction. 
 
 13. Spurs. The largest and longest leading roots of trees. 
 See Note 9, Act v., " Tempest." 
 
 14. Grow, patience I The Folio gives ' Grow patient.' Rowe's 
 correction. 
 
 15. Untwine his perishing root with the increasing vine. 
 Here " with " is used for ' from ; ' or, rather, ' from growing ' is 
 elliptically understood before "with." 
 
 16. It is great morning. See Note 14, Act iv., " Troilns and 
 Cressida." 
 
 xj. I saw him not. ' I have not seen him.' For an instance 
 of similar diction, see Note 2, Act ii., " Second Part Henry VI." 
 
 18. Companies. 'Companions,' 'associates.' See Note 16, 
 Act i., " Henry V." 
 
 19. Than answering a "slave" without a ktiock. By the 
 Construction of this sentence, Guiderius neatly contrives to call 
 Cloten "slave" in retort for his calling him one, while seeming 
 only to say, 'than answering that injurious term of "slave" 
 without a knock.' 
 
 20. Thy grandfather: lie made those clothes, which, £r>c. 
 The present figurative phrase serves to illustrate the one ex- 
 plained and the one from " King Lear" alluded to in Note 47, 
 Act iii. 
 
 21. My tailor made tJiem not. It must be remembered that 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 CYMBELINE, 
 
 [Scene ii. 
 
 Gut. Hence, then, and thank 
 
 The man that gave them thee. Thou art some 
 fool ; 
 
 I am loath to beat thee. 
 
 Clo. Thou injurious thief, 
 
 Hear but my name, and tremble. 
 
 Gut. What 's thy name ? 
 
 Clo. Cloten, thou villain. 
 
 Git't. Cloten, thou double villain, be thy name, 
 I cannot tremble at it: were it toad, or adder, 
 spider, 
 
 'Twould move me sooner. 
 
 Clo. To thy farther fear. 
 
 Nay, to thy mere 22 confusion, thou shalt know 
 I am son to the queen. 
 
 Gui. I am sorry for 't ; not seeming 
 
 So worthy as thy birth. 
 
 Clo. Art not afeard ? 
 
 Gui. Those that I reverence, those I fear,— the 
 wise : 
 
 At fools I laugh, not fear them. 
 
 Clo. Die the death : 
 
 When I have slain thee with my proper hand, 
 I'll follow those that even now fled hence. 
 And on the gates of Lud's town set your heads : 
 Yield, rustic mountaineer. {^Exeunt, fighting. 
 
 Re-enter Belarius and Arviragus. 
 Bel. No company 's abroad. 
 Arv. None in the world: you did mistake him, 
 sure. 
 
 Rel. I cannot tell : — long is it since I saw him. 
 But time hath nothing blurr'd those lines of 
 favour-^ 
 
 Which then he wore ; the snatches in his voice. 
 And burst of speaking, were as his : I am abso- 
 lute -"^ 
 'Twas very Cloten. 
 
 Cloten has on the garments of Posthumus, which he obtained 
 from Pisanio. 
 
 22. Mere. 'Utter,' 'complete.' See Note 49, Act ii., 
 "Othello." 
 
 23. Favour. 'Aspect,' 'appearance.' See Note 11 1, Act i., 
 "Othello." 
 
 24. Absolute. Here used for ' certain,' 'positive, 'decided.' 
 ■2'^. Fell. ' Cruel,' ' fierce," inhuman.' See Note 66, Act iii., 
 
 " King John." 
 
 26. Apprehension. Here used for ' intelligential perception,' 
 'sensible appreciation.' See Note 122, Act iii., " Henry V. ; " 
 where the passage re.'erred to helps in elucidating the present 
 
 27. For defect of judgment is oft the cause of fear. This is 
 the reading of the Folio; and so contradictory does this second 
 clause of the sentence appear, in connection with the first, that 
 we have hitherto in our previous editions considered it to be a 
 misprint, and accordingly adopted Theobald's alteration of ' th' 
 effect' for "defect," because we thought the antithetical 
 phraseology of ' th' effect' and ''the cause" was in Shake- 
 speare's style. But upon maturer consideration of his elliptical 
 diction generally, and of that which so remarkably characterises 
 the present play, we have come to the conviction that here " for" 
 is either intended to be equivalent to ' though it is true that,' or ' 
 
 Ayn>. In this place we left them : 
 
 I wish my brother make good time with him, 
 You say he is so fell.^s 
 
 Bel. Being scarce made up, 
 
 I mean, to man, he had not apprehension^'' 
 Of roaring terrors ; for defect of judgment 
 Is oft the cause of fear.-' — But, see, thy brother. 
 
 Re-enter Guiderius 'with Cloten's head. 
 Gui. This Cloten was a fool, an empty 
 purse, — 
 
 There was no money in 't : not Hercules 
 Could have knock'd out his brains, for he had 
 none : 
 
 Yet I not doing this, the fool had borne 
 My head as I do his. 
 
 Bel. What hast thou done ? 
 
 Gui. I am perfect what:--'* cut off one Cloten's 
 head. 
 
 Son to the queen, after his own report ; 
 Who call'd me traitor, mountaineer ; and swore. 
 With his own single hand he'd take us in,^^ 
 Disj)lace our heads where (thank the gods !) they 
 grow, 3" 
 
 And set them on Lud's town. 
 
 Bel. We are all undone. 
 
 Gui. Why, worthy father, what have we to 
 lose. 
 
 But that he swore to take, our lives? The law 
 Protects not us: then why should we be tender 
 To let an arrogant piece of flesh threat us. 
 Play judge and executioner, all himself. 
 For we do fear the law f^i What company 
 Discover you abroad 
 
 Bel. No single soul 
 
 Can we set eye on ; but in all safe reason 
 He must have some attendants. Though his 
 humour 
 
 that it is possibly a misprint for ' though.' The point that most 
 weighs with us in believing that the present passage is right as 
 it stands is, that there occurs just sucn another instance of 
 apparently contradictional construction farther on in this very 
 play (see Note 22, Act v.) ; where, in like manner, ' though it is 
 true that' seems to be elliptically understood. Moreover, it 
 may be that in the pre.sent passage " for" has the force of ' for 
 all ;' which, idiomatically used, is employed to signify 'notwith- 
 standing that ' or ' even allowing that.' In the present play, 
 Act v., sc. 4, we find, "There are verier knaves desire to live, 
 for all he: be a Roman." 
 
 28. / am perfect lu/iai. ' I am perfectly aware what I have 
 done.' ' I know quite well what I have done.' See Note 12, 
 Act iii. 
 
 29. Take us in. ' Conquer us,' ' vanquish us,' ' subdue us.' 
 See Note 15, Act iii. 
 
 30. Displace our heads where [thank the gods'.) they grow. 
 "Where" has here the force of ' from where.' The Folio gives 
 ' thanks' for " thank ; " corrected by Steevens. 
 
 31. For ive do fear the law. " For" used as ' because.' See 
 Note 80, Act iii. 
 
 32. In all s rfe reason. " Safe " is here used in the sense 
 of 'sound,' 'sure,' 'steady,' 'stable.' See Note 75, Act iv., 
 " King Lear." 
 
 3 
 
Act I V.J CYMBELINE. [Scenb; II. 
 
 Belarius. What hast thou iloiie ? 
 
 Guiderius. I am perfect what : cut off one Cloten's head, 
 Son to the queen, after his own report. Act IV. Seem II. 
 
 Was nothing but mutation,'^ — ay, and thaf 
 From one bad thing to worse, — not frenzy, not 
 Absolute madness could so far have rav'd, 
 To bring him here alone : although, perhaps, 
 It may be heard at court, that such as we 
 Cave here, hunt h'ere, are outlaws, and in time 
 May make some stronger head ; the which he 
 li earing, 
 
 (As it is like liim) might break out, and swear 
 He'd fetch us in ; \et is 't not probable 
 To come alone, either he so undertaking, 
 Or they so suffering : then on good ground we 
 fear, 
 
 If we do fear this body hath a tail 
 More perilous than the head. 
 
 Arnj. Let ordinance 
 
 33. Thoitgli his hnmoitr was nothing hut inuiatio?t. The 
 Folio gives ' honor' for *' humour." Theobald's correction. 
 
 r- 
 
 Come as the gods foresay it : howsoe'er,-''^ 
 My brother hath done well. 
 
 Bel. \ had no mind 
 
 To hunt this day: the boy Fidele's sickness 
 Did make my way long forth.^* 
 
 Gui. With his own sword, 
 
 Which he did wave against my throat, I have ta'en 
 His head from him : I'll throw 't into the creek. 
 Behind our rock ; and let it to the sea, 
 And tell the fishes he 's the queen's son, Cloten : 
 That 's all t reck. iExit. 
 
 Bel. I fear 'twill be reveng'd : 
 
 Would, Polydore, thou hadst not done 't ! though 
 valour 
 
 Becomes thee well enough. 
 
 34. Hoiusoe'er. Elliptically used for ' howsoever this may be. ' 
 
 35. Did make my way long forth. ' Did make my way in 
 going forth from the cave seem tedious.' 
 
ACT IV.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 ^rn). Would I had done 't, 
 
 So the revenge alone pursu'd me ! — Polydore, 
 I love thee brotherly ; but envy much 
 Thou hast robb'd me of this deed : I would 
 revenges, 
 
 That possible strength might meetj^*^ would seek us 
 
 through, 
 And put us to our ansvver. 
 
 Bel. Well, 'tis done:— 
 
 We'll hunt no more to-day, nor seek for danger 
 Where there 's no profit. 1 pr'ythee, to our 
 
 xock ; 
 
 You and Fidele play the cooks : I'll stay 
 Till hasty Polydore return, and bring him 
 To dinner presently. 
 
 Arv. Poor sick Fidele! 
 
 I'll willingly to him : to gain his colour''*^ 
 I'd let a parish of such Clotens blood,** 
 And praise myself for charity. \_Exit. 
 
 Bel. Oh, thou goddess. 
 
 Thou divine Nature, how thyself thou blazon'st^^ 
 In these two princely boys ! They are as gentle 
 As zephyrs, blowing below the violet. 
 Not wagging his sweet head ; and yet as rough. 
 Their ro) al blood enchaf'd, as the rud'st wind. 
 That by the top doth take the mountain pine. 
 And make him stoop to the vale. 'Tis wonder, 
 Thaf** an invisible instinct should frame them 
 To royalty unJearn'd ; honour untaught; 
 Civility not seen from other ; valour. 
 That wildly grows in them, but yields a crop 
 As if it had been sovv'd.— Yet still it 's strange 
 What Cloten's being here to us portends, 
 Or what his death will bring us. 
 
 Re-enter Guiderius. 
 Gu'i. Where 's my brother ? 
 
 I have sent Cloten's clotpolH' down the stream, 
 
 36. / woidd revenges, that fossible strength might meet, 
 
 'I would that deeds of just vengeance, such as might come 
 within the possibility of strength to achieve, would fall to our 
 share, and put us to the test. ' 
 
 37. To gain his colour. Elliptically expressed ; signifying 
 ' to gain him his colour,' ' to restore colour to his cheeks.' 
 
 38. I'd let a parish of such Clotens blood. ' I would let 
 blood (or bleed) a whole parish of such fellows as Cloten.' " A 
 parish " was sometimes used, in Shakespeare's time, to express 
 ' a great number.' 
 
 39. How thyself thou blazon' st. The Folio has ' thou ' 
 instead of "how " here. Pope's correction. 
 
 40. 'Tis wonder, that, b'c. Pope and others have changed 
 "wonder" to 'wonderful' here; but "'tis wonder" is an ellip- 
 tical phrase signifying ' 'tis a wonder,' or ' 'tis matter for 
 wonder ; ' and Shakespeare has used it elsewhere. See con- 
 text of passage referred to in Note 136, Act iv., " King Lear." 
 
 41. Clotfioll. ' Cloddish head,' ' lumpish head.' See Note 99, 
 Act i., " King Lear." 
 
 42. My i,igenious i,ist}-ument ! The Folio misprints 'in- 
 genuous ' for " ingenious " here (Rowe's correction) ; and 
 though the one word was sometimes used for the other in 
 Ghakespeare's time (see Note 2, Act i.,"" Taming of the Shrew," 
 .ind Note .-6, Act ii.. " Timon of Athens"), we do not think he 
 
 In embassy to his mother : his body 's hostage 
 For his return. [Solemn music. 
 
 Bel. My ingenious instrument 
 
 Hark, Polydore, it sounds ! But what occasion 
 Hath Cadwal now to give it motion ? Hark ! 
 
 Gui. Is he at home ? 
 
 J^^^- He went hence even now. 
 
 Gui. What does he moan ? since death of my 
 dear'st mother 
 It did not speak before. All solemn things 
 Should answer solemn accidents. The matter ? 
 Triumphs for nothing, and lamenting toys,-"* 
 Is jollity for apes, and grief for boys. 
 Is Cadwal mad ? 
 
 Bel. Look, here he comes, 
 
 And brings the dire occasion in his arms 
 Of what we blame him for ! 
 
 Re-enter Arviragus, bearing Imogen, as dead, in 
 bis arms. 
 
 Arv. 'J'lie bud is dead 
 
 That we have made so much on. I had rather 
 Have skipp'd from sixteen years of age to 
 sixty. 
 
 To have turn'd my leaping-time into a crutch. 
 Than have seen this. 
 
 Gui. Oh, sweetest, faire.st lily ! 
 
 My brother wears thee not the one half so well 
 As when thou grew'st th) self.^* 
 
 Bel. Oh, melancholy ! 
 
 Who ever yet could sound thy bottom ? find 
 The ooze, to show what coast thy sluggish 
 crare''* 
 
 Might easiliest harbour in ? — Thou blessfed thing ! 
 Jove knows what m.in thou mightst have made ; 
 but I, 
 
 Thou diedst,^^ a most rare boy, of melancholy ! — 
 How found you him ? 
 
 wrote ' ingenuous * here, both because it would be incorrect and 
 because the word "ingenuous" never occurs elsewhere in his 
 writings. The "instrument" intended in the present passage 
 we take to be similar to the one meant by Shakespeare in the 
 passage referred to in Note 40, Act iii., " First Part Henry IV. 
 and that the expression used by Belarius, " give it motion," is 
 equivalent to 'set it playing.' 
 
 43. Toys. 'Trifles.' See Note 37. Act iv., " Hamlet." 
 
 44. My brother wears thee Jiot the one half so veil as when 
 thou grew'st thyself ' My brother holds thee thus drooping in 
 his arms not half so gracefully as thou, when alive, .sustainedst 
 thyself We have heretofore remarked upon the excessive con- 
 densation of ellipsis to be observed in Shakespeare's similes. 
 See Notes 7 and 51, Act iv., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 45. Crare. The Folio prints 'care' for " crare ;" which cor- 
 rection, first suggested by Sympson, was adopted by Steevens 
 and most editors since. A " crare," spelt variously ' craer,' 
 ' crayer,' ' craye,' ' Cray,' and ' crea,' is a slow-sailing vessel 
 of small burthen. The word is found defined in Carpenter's 
 " Latin Supplement," and occurs in North's " Plutarch," in 
 Hackluyt's "Voyages," in England's "Helicon ;" also in the 
 Statute 2 Jac. I., c. 32, where it stands thus: " The owner of 
 every ship, vessel, or crayer." 
 
 46. Jove knozvs ivhat man thou mighfst have made; but I, 
 
Act IV.]. 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Arv. Stark,''^ as you see : 
 
 Thus smiling, as some fly had tickled slumber, 
 Not as deatli's dart, being laugh'd at ; his right 
 cheek 
 
 Reposing on a cushion. 
 
 Gui. Where? 
 
 Ar--v. O' the floor ; 
 
 His arms thus leagu'd : [ thought he slept ; and 
 put 
 
 My clouted brogues*^ from off my feet, whose 
 
 rudeness 
 Answer'd my steps too loud. 
 
 Gut. Why, he but sleeps : 
 
 If he be gone, he'll make his grave a bed ; 
 With female fairies will his tomb be haunted, 
 And worms will not come to thee.-" 
 
 Ar-v. With fairest flowers, 
 
 Whilst summer lasts, and I live here, Fidele, 
 I'll sweeten thy sad grave: thou shalt not lack 
 The flower that's like thy face, pale primrose ; nor 
 The azur'd harebell, like thy veins ; no, nor 
 The leaf of eglantine, whom not'" to slander, 
 Out-sweeten'd not thy breath: the ruddock 5' 
 would. 
 
 With charitable bill,— oh, bill, sore-shaming 
 Those rich-left heirs that let their fathers lie 
 Without a monument ! — bring thee all this ; 
 Yea, and furr'd moss besides, when flowers are 
 none, 
 
 To winter-ground'2 thy corse. 
 
 thou diedst, It has been proposed to change " I " to ' ah ! ' 
 
 here ; but "knows" after "Jove" permits ' know' to be under- 
 stood after " I." We have ere now pointed out precisely 
 similar instances of elliptical construction in our author. See, 
 among a multitude of others, Note 4, Act i,, " Richard III. ;" 
 Note 126, Act iii., " Hamlet ;" also, Notes 27, Act i., and 62, 
 Act iv. of the present play. 
 
 47. Stark. 'Stiff.' That Shakespeare intended this effect 
 to be the one ensuing from such drugs as that which Imogen 
 has swallowed, is manifested by his making Friar Lawrence say 
 to Juliet, when describing the results of her drinking the potion 
 he gives her — 
 
 " Each part, depriv'd of supple government, 
 Shall, stiff and stark and cold, appear like death." 
 
 In each instance, trance is produced ; and the usual tokens of 
 death exhibit themselves. 
 
 48. Clouted brog7tes. Coarse shoes, with the soles strengthened 
 by clouts, or hob-nails. See Note 43, Act iv., " Second Part 
 Henry VI." " Brogues," as a name for shoes, is derived from 
 the Gaelic, hrog. 
 
 49. Wilt his tomb be haunted, and worms will not come to 
 thee. "He" and "his" are used in this speech until the last 
 line, when "thee" is introduced; wjiich is consistent with a 
 practice that we have several times pointed out in Shakespeare. 
 See Note 41, Act iii. The sudden change of pronoun in the 
 present instance has, to our thinking, the same pa-ssionate eftect 
 which we indicated in those referred to in Note 78, Act iv., 
 " Timon of Athens," and Note 32, Act iv., " Julius Caesar." 
 Here Guiderius replies to his brother's remark upon Fidele's 
 looking but as if asleep, and continues speaking of the gentle 
 lad in the third person until, looking upon the beautiftd form 
 that lies apparently dead before him, a sense of its loveliness 
 and his own impassioned regret at having to consign it to the 
 
 Gui. Pr'y thee, have done ; 
 
 And do not play in wench-like words with that 
 Which is so serious. Let us bury him. 
 And not protract with admiration what 
 Is now due debt. — To the grave I^-'' 
 
 Ar'U. Say, where shall 's lay him ? 
 
 Gui. By good Euriphile, our mother. 
 
 Avv. Be 't so : 
 
 And let us, Polydore, though now our voices 
 Have got the mannish crack, sing him to the 
 ground, 
 
 As once our mother use like note and words, 
 Save that Euriphile must be Fidele. 
 
 Gui. Cadwal, 
 I cannot sing : I'll weep, and word it with 
 thee ; 
 
 For notes of sorrow out of tune are worse 
 Than priests and fanes that lie. 
 
 Arnj. We'll speak it, then. 
 
 Bel. Great "griefs, I see, medicine the less ; for 
 Cloten 
 
 Is quite forgot. He was a queen's son, boys : 
 And, though he came our enemy, remember 
 He was paid" for that : though mean and mighty, 
 rotting 
 
 Together, have one dust, yet reverence 
 (That angel of the world) doth make distinction 
 Of place 'tween high and low. Our foe was 
 princely ; 
 
 grave, comes full upon him, and he ends with addressing it 
 rather than speaking of it. 
 
 50. Nor the leaf of eglantine, luhom not, S^c. "Whom" is 
 here used for ' which.' See Note 52, Act ii., " Midsummer 
 Night's Dream ; " and Note 58, Act iii , " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 51. The ruddock. ■ The redbreast,' ' the robin.' This beautiful 
 antique creed, for it is almost more than a graceful popular super- 
 stition, has been alluded to by other poets than Shakespeare ; 
 Chapman, Webster, and Drayton have each some exquisite 
 lines hymning it, while the old tender ballad of " The Children 
 in the Wood" has immortalised it, rendering it at once revered 
 and familiar to every one from their very babyhood. Even 
 when told in simple prose the fancy takes kindly shape ; as 
 when in "Cornucopia, or Divers Secrets," by Thomas Jack.son, 
 1596, it is thus stated — " The robin redbreast, if he find a man 
 or woman dead, will cover all his face with mosse ; and some 
 thinke that if the body should remain unburied that he would 
 cover the whole body also." 
 
 52. To minier-grou7id. This has been variously altered ; but 
 there is every probability that it was a technical term for pro- 
 tecting tender plants from frost and inclement weather by cover- 
 ing them with straw or other light material. 
 
 53. Is now due debt. — To the gravel The Folio prints this 
 line thus : ' Is now due debt. To' th' graue.' We have an 
 impression that the line ought to be given as follows : ' Is now 
 due debt to the grave ' — making but one sentence of ' and not 
 protract with admiration what is now due debt to the grave.' 
 But we content ourselves with stating this impression, and leave 
 the text as it is usually printed in this passage : taking "To the 
 grave ! " as a separate exclamation, equivalent to ' Go we at 
 once to the grave ! ' 
 
 54. As once ourmother. The Folio erroneously inserts 'to' 
 after "once." Pope made the correction. 
 
 55. Paid. Here used in the sense of punished. See Note 41, 
 Act iv., " Merry Wives ; " and Note 29, Act iv., " Henry V." 
 
 '3 
 
Act I V.J 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 And though you took his lite, as being our toe, 
 Yet bury him as a prince. 
 
 Gui. Pray you, fetch him hither. 
 
 Thersites' body is as good as Ajax,*^ 
 When neither are alive. 
 
 .■Ir-v. It ) ou'U go fetch him. 
 
 We'll say our song the whilst. — Brother, begin. 
 
 [Exi/ Belarius. 
 
 Gui. Niy, Cadwal, we must lay his head- to tiie 
 east ; 
 
 My father hath a reason for 't. 
 Afv. 'Tis true. 
 
 Gui. Come on, then, and remove him. 
 ^rv. So.— Begin. 
 
 SONG. 
 
 Gui. Fear no more the heat o' the sun. 
 Nor the furious winter's rages ; 
 Thou thy worldly task hast done, 
 
 Home art gone, and ta'en thy wages ; 
 Golden lads and girls all must, 
 As chimney-sweepers, come to dust. 
 
 Ar-lf. Fear no more the frown o' the great. 
 Thou art past the tyrant's stroke ; 
 Care no more to clothe and eat ; 
 
 To thee the reed is as the oak : 
 The sceptre, learning, physic, must 
 All follow this, and come to dust. 
 
 Gui. Fear no more the lightning-flash, 
 Ar-Tj. Nor the all-dreaded thunder-stone ; w 
 Gui. Fear not slander, censure rash ; 
 AfV. Thou hast finish'd joy and moan : 
 Both. All lovers young, all lovers must, 
 
 Consign^s to thee, and come to dust 
 
 Gui. No e.\orciser^9 harm thee ! 
 At V, Nor no witchcraft charm thee ! 
 Gui. Ghost unlaid forbear thee ! 
 ArV. Nothing ill come near thee ! 
 Both. Quiet consummation have; 
 And renowned be thy grave ! 
 
 Re-enter Belarius iviih tie body of Cloten. 
 
 Gui. We have done our obsequies ; come, lay 
 him down. 
 
 Bel. Here 's a few flowers ; but 'bout midnight, 
 more : 
 
 The lierbs that have on them cold dew o' the 
 night 
 
 Are strewings fitl'st for graves. — Upon their 
 faces.'' — 
 
 You were as flowers, now wither'd : even so 
 These herb'lets shall, which we upon you strow.*- — 
 Come on, away : apart upon our knees. 
 The ground that gave them first has them again : 
 Their pleasures here are past, so is their pain.*'' 
 
 [Exeunt Belarius, Guiderius, and Arviragus. 
 
 Jmo. [Awaking.] Yes, sir, to Milford Haven; 
 which is the way ? — 
 I thank you. — By yon bush ?— Pray, how far 
 thither? 
 
 'Ods pittikins I" can it be six miles yet ? — 
 I have gone all night ;— faith, I'll lie down and 
 sleep. [Seeing the body of Cloten. 
 
 But, soft ! no bedfellow :— Oh, gods and goddesses I 
 These flowers are like the pleasures of the world ; 
 This bloody man, the care on't. — 1 hope I dream ; 
 l''or so I thought I was a cave-keeper,''' 
 
 56. Thersites' body is as good as Ajax. ' The body of Ther- 
 sites is as good as that of Ajax.' See, for an instance of sijnilar 
 ellipsis, Note 55, Act iii., " Timon of Athens." 
 
 57. Thunder-stoiie. Here used for ' thunder-bolt.' See Note 
 73, Act i., "Julius Caesar," for a description of the " thunder- 
 
 5S. Consign. 'Yield,' 'subscribe.' See Note 42, Act v., 
 "Henry V." 
 
 59. Exorciser. Shakespeare here uses this word, as he uses 
 "e.-corcist" elsewhere, to signify one who raises spirits, not one 
 who lays them. See Note 68, Act ii., " Julius Caesar." 
 
 60. Ccnsianmation. Shakespeare, in the present passage, and 
 in Himlet's celebrated soliloquy (see context of the sentence 
 referred to in Note 13, Act iii., ' Hamlet"), uses the word 
 " consummation " to express ' termination of mortal existence,' 
 ' final summing up of earthly existence.' 
 
 61. Upon their faces. Malone observed that "Shakespeare 
 did not recollect when he wrote these words, that there was 
 but one face on which the flowers could be strewed;" and 
 another commentator remarks that " it is one of the poet's 
 lapses of thought " Now inasmuch as we do not find these 
 "lapses of thought" of which Shakespeare has been so often 
 accused, we are inclined to believe that here he has been (as 
 usual, when these accusations are brought against him) mis- 
 understood in his meaning of the passage. It seems to us very 
 likely that " upon their faces " does not refer so much to the 
 faces of the two bodies now lying there apparently dead, as to 
 the faces of corses generally, when prepared for burial, and 
 having flowers strewn upon them, or when already in their 
 " graves," and having " strewings " scattered upon that portion 
 of the mound of earth beneath which the head and face lie. 
 It is not likely that the circumstance of Cloten's face not 
 
 being there should escape the memory of the autlior, when, a 
 few lines farther on, he makes Imogen exclaim, K headless 
 man ! " Shakespeare, to our thinking, so thoroughly betokens 
 that he has the situation and persons of his scenes and 
 people constantly present to his mind and imagination, that 
 we can rather believe a sentence of his is misapprehended 
 by its peruser, than that he himself wrote it with any " lapse 
 of thought. " 
 
 62. Yoit were as flowers, now wither'd : even so these herb- 
 'lets shall, wh:ch we, &^c. Here "wither'd" after "now" 
 allows ' wither ' to be elliptically understood afier " shall." See 
 Note 46 of the present Act. 
 
 63. So is tlieir pain The Folio gives ' are ' for " is " here. 
 Pope made the correction. 
 
 64. 'Ods pittikins ! One of the petty oaths formerly in use : 
 as " Od's bodykins," "Od's lifelings," &c. Suffixed to a word, 
 " kin " is often used as a diminutive ; and " 'Od's pittikins " is a 
 miniature form of ' God's pity.' 
 
 65. For so I thought I was, b'c. " So " has been changed 
 to ' sure,' and to ' lo," here ; but it appears to us that " so " here 
 means 'with similar semblance of actuality,' 'with like appear- 
 ance of reality.' The ivords "but 'tis not so" (meaning, 'but 
 'tis not real'), which immediately ensue, seem to us to prove 
 this. Imogen is looking at the " flowers " and " bloody man " 
 close beside her ; and in the confusion of her first waking from 
 the drug-produced sleep or trance, she can scarcely distinguish 
 dreams from realities, or find that the strange things around her 
 are more actual than her having been in the cave with Belarius 
 and the two youths. We have heretofore had occasion to point 
 out the elliptical use that Shakespeare makes of the word "so." 
 See Note 37, Act i., " King Lear," and Note 58, Act i., " Antony 
 and Cleopatra." 
 
Act 1\'.J 
 
 CYMBliLlNE. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 And couk to lioiiest creatures: but 'tis not so; 
 'Tu'as but a bolt of nothing, shot at nothing, 
 Which the brain makes of fumes: our very eves 
 Are sometimes like our judgments, blind. Good 
 faith, 
 
 I tremble still with fear: but if there be 
 Yet left in heaven as small a drop of pity 
 As a wren's eye, fear'd gods, a part of it ! 
 The dream 's here still : even when I wake, 
 it is 
 
 Without me, as within me ; not imagin'd, felt. 
 A headless man ! —The garments of Posthuinui ! 
 I know the shape of 's leg : this is his hand ; 
 His foot Mercurial ; his Mirtial thigh ; 
 The brawns of Hercules: but his Jovial 
 face — 
 
 Murder in heaven !— How ? — 'Tis gone. — Pisanio, 
 All curses madded Hecuba gave the Greeks, 
 And mine to boot, be darted on thee ! Thou, 
 Conspir'd with that irregulous^^ devil, Cloten, 
 Hast here cut off my lord. — To write and read 
 Be henceforth treacherous ! — Curs'd Pisanio 
 Hath with his forged letters,— curs'd Pisanio — 
 From this most bravest vessel of the world 
 Struck the main-top ! — O PosthumusI alas. 
 Where is thy head ? where 's that ? Ah me ! 
 
 Where's that? 
 Pisanio might have kill'd thee at the heart. 
 And left this head on.'^ — How should this be r' 
 
 Pisanio? 
 
 'Tis he and Cloten i malice and lucre in them 
 Have laid this woe here. Oh, 'tis pregnant, 
 pregnant 
 
 The drug he gave me, which he said was precious 
 And cordial to me, have I not found it 
 Murderous to the senses? That confirms it 
 home : 
 
 This is Pisanio's deed, and Cloten's : oh ! — 
 Give colour to my pale cheek with thy blood, 
 That we the horrider may seem to those 
 Which chance to find us : oh, my lord, mv 
 Icrd! 
 
 66. J.vial. Here used for ' like Jove,' or ' like that which 
 belongs to Jove ; ' as " mirtial " is for ' like that of Mars,' and 
 " Mercurial'" for 'like that belonging to Mercury.' 
 
 67. Irregitloics. This word has not been met with in any 
 other author ; and we take it to have been invented by Shake- 
 speare to combine the senses of ' irregular,' ' disorderly,' ' law- 
 lesb* ' licentious,' as well as of 'anomalous,' 'mongrel,' 'mon- 
 strous ; ' out of ordinary rule in every way, 
 
 68. And left this /uud on. "This" has been altered by 
 Hanmer and others to 'thy' here; but "this head' elliptically 
 signifies ' the head that belonged to this body.' To our think- 
 ing, whatever inaccuracy— according to strict construction- 
 there may be in the present diction, it most perfectly accords 
 with the dramatist's iiitentio;i of marking perturbation in the 
 speaker. Shake.speare frequently has these purpo.-ied inexact- 
 nesses in agitated soliloquies (see Note 50, Act iii., "Twelfth 
 Night;" Note 2S, Act iv., "Troilus and Cressida." among 
 others) ; and even in characteristic dialogue. See Note 22, Act 
 iii., " King Lear," on " Where is this straw?" 
 
 Enter Lucius, a Captain and other Officers, and a 
 Sootlisa) er. 
 
 Cap. To them the legions garrison d in Gallin, 
 After your will, have cro^s'd the sea; attending 
 You here at Milford Haven with your ships : 
 They are in readiness.''" 
 
 Luc. But what from Rome ? 
 
 Cap. The senate hath stirr'd up the confiners 
 And gentlemen of Italy; most willing spirits. 
 That promise noble service: and they come 
 Under the conduct of bold lachimo. 
 Sienna's brother.''^ 
 
 Luc. When expect you them ? 
 
 Cap. With the next benefit o' the wind. 
 
 Luc. This forwardness 
 
 Makes our hopes fair. Command our present 
 numbers 
 
 Be muster'd ; bid the captains look to't. — Now, sir, 
 What have you dream'd of late of this war's 
 purpose ? 
 
 Sooth. Last night the very gods'- shovv'd me a 
 vision,- - 
 
 I fast^^ and pray'd for their intelligence, — thus: — 
 I saw Jove's bird, the Roiran eagle, wing'd 
 From the spungy south to this part of the west, 
 There vanish'd in the sunbeams : which portends,— 
 Unless my sins abuse my divination,— 
 Success to the Roman host. 
 
 Luc. Dream often so, 
 
 And never f.ilse.— Soft, ho! what trunk is here. 
 Without his top ? The ruin speaks that sometime 
 It was a worthy building.— How ! a page ! — 
 Or dead, or sleeping on him ? But dead, rather ; 
 For nature doth abhor to make his bed 
 With the defunct, or sleep upon the dead. — 
 Let's see the boy's face. 
 
 Cap. He 's alive, my lord. 
 
 Luc. He '11, then, instruct us of this body. — 
 Young one, 
 Inform us of thy fortunes ; for it seems 
 They crave to be demanded. Who is this 
 
 69. Pregnant. ' Full of probability,' ' full of ground for be- 
 lief.' See Note 36, Act ii., " Othello." 
 
 70. They are in readiness. The first Folio inserts * here ' 
 between "are" and "in;" but probably by a mistake of the 
 printer, whose eye may have cauglit the word " here " from the 
 previous line. Corrected in the second Folio. 
 
 71. Sienna's brother. ' Brother to the ruler of Sienna.' 
 Shakespeare often uses the name of the place as the title of its 
 ruler (see Note 60, Act i., "Antony and Cleopatra"); and 
 Sienna, being in the time of Augustus Cassar a Roman colony 
 or dependency, had a governor or ruler, who is here supposed 
 to be brother to lachimo. 
 
 72. Tlie very gods. 'The gods themselves;' implying that 
 the "vision" was no common dream, but one sent by divine 
 ordination for a special purpose. 
 
 73. Fast. An old form of ' fasted ; ' as " waft " for ' wafted,' 
 "graft" for 'grafted,' "quit" for ' quitted,' &c. &c. See Note 
 2, Act v., "Merchant of 'Venice ;" Note 87, Act iii., " Richard 
 III. ;" and Note 7, Act i. of the present play. 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Thou mak'st thy bloody pillow P Or who was he 
 That, otherwise than noble nature did, 
 Hath alter'd that good picture ?'* What 's thy 
 interest 
 
 In this sad wreck ? How came it ? Who is it ? 
 What art thou ? 
 
 Imo. I am no*-hing : or if not, 
 
 Nothing to be were better. This was my master, 
 A very valiant Briton and a good, 
 That here by mountaineers lies slain : — alas! 
 There are no more such masters ■.''^ I may wander 
 From east to Occident, cry out for service. 
 Try many, all good, serve truly, never''^ 
 Find such another master. 
 
 Luc. 'Lack, good youth ! 
 
 Thou mov'st no less with thy complaining than 
 Thy master in bleeding : say his name, good 
 friend. 
 
 Imo. Richard du Champ. If I do lie, 
 and do 
 
 No harm by it, though the gods hear, I hope 
 They '11 pardon it.'''— Say you, sir? 
 
 Luc. Thy name ? 
 
 Imo. Fidele, sir. 
 
 Luc. Thou dost approve'''' thyself the very same: 
 Thy name well fits thy faith, thy faith thy name. 
 Wilt take thy chance wilh me ?'^ I will not say 
 Thou shalt be so well master'd ; but, be sure. 
 No less belov'd. The Roman emperor's letters. 
 Sent by a consul to me, should not sooner 
 Than thine own worth prefer thee : go with me. 
 
 74. l-F/io w.TS lie that, otJiermise than noble nature did, hath 
 alter'd iJiat good picture ? ' Who was he that altered this good 
 pictnre, making it otherwise than nature did it?' 'To do a 
 picture or woric of art well,' and 'a picture is well di)ne,' are 
 not only familiarly used phrases, but Shakespeare himself has 
 ** Is 't not well done ? " in " Twelfth Night," Act i., sc. 5, where 
 Olivia is speaking of her face as a picture, and Viola answers, 
 " Excellently done, if God did all." In the " Merchant of 
 Venice," Act iii., sc. 2, Bassanio, contemplating Portia's like- 
 ness, exclaims, '* But her eyes, — how could he see to do them?" 
 And in the " Winter's Tale,'' Act v., sc. 2, the supposed statue 
 of Hermione is spoken of as " a piece many years in doi?ig ; " 
 while in the next scene Polixenes says it is "masterly done." 
 We may also observe that the word "picture" is here used in 
 the same large sense of the word— signifying quite as much a 
 statue or image as a painted portrait — that it bears in the pas- 
 sage referred to in Note 47, Act v., " Winter's Tale." 
 
 75. There are no more suck masters. The first Folio prints 
 'is' for "are" here ; corrected in the second Folio. It is true 
 that in a previous scene (see context to passage discussed in 
 Note 6, Act iii.) we find, " there is no more such Cajsars ; " but 
 in that case the speaker is Cloten, and the grammatical inaccuracy 
 has characteristic effect. 
 
 76. Try many, all good, serve truly, never, a'c. This line 
 has been variously altered, to make up its defective measure ; 
 but we confess that, to our ear, its very halting, its too few feet, 
 its limping, disjointed utterance, its very imperfection, serve to 
 make it express the panting, inarticulate phrases with which the 
 wife page sobs out her pathetic story. When it is remembered 
 how often Shakespeare has given imperfect lines, and — as we 
 have pointed out (see Notes 49 and 50, Act iii., " Coriolanus' )— 
 with excellent dr.amatic purpose and effect, we cannot but believe 
 that in the present instance the faltering line was intentional. 
 
 Imo. I'll follow, sir. But first, an 't please the 
 _ gods, 
 
 I'll hide my master from the flies, as deep 
 As these poor pickaxes^" can dig: and when 
 With wild wood-leaves and weeds I have strew' d 
 
 his grave, 
 And on it said a century'" of prayers, 
 Such as I can, tviice o'er, I'll we p and sigh ; 
 And, leaving so his service, follow you, 
 So please you entertain me. 
 
 Luc. Ay, good youth ; 
 
 And rather father thee than master thee.— 
 My friends. 
 
 The boy hath taught us manly duties : let us 
 
 Find out the prettiest daisied plot we can. 
 
 And make him with our pikes and partisans 
 
 A grave: oome, arm him.ss — Boy, he is preferr'd 
 
 By thee to us ; and he shall be interr'd 
 
 As soldiers can. Be cheerful ; wipe thine eyes : 
 
 Some falls are means the happier to arise. 
 
 \Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE III.— Britain. A Room in Cymbe- 
 line's Palace. 
 Enter Cymbeline, Lords, Pisamo, and 
 Attendants. 
 
 Cym. Again ; and bring me word how 'tis with 
 her. 
 
 77. 1/ I do lie, and do no harm by it, though t!ie gods liear, 
 I hope they'll pardon it. Into the mouth of the pure-souled 
 Imogen Shakespeare has characteristically put this shrinking 
 from the necessity for untruth, and the appeal to Heaven for 
 divine forgiveness of her reluctantly-committed error. See Note 
 23, Act iii. He has depicted the same instinctive aversion to 
 falsehood in the innocent and royal-natured Perdita (see Note 
 17, Act v., "Winter's Tale"); while he has made even the 
 princely Florizel condescend to misstatements for the sake of 
 needful concealment. Thus cleariy does the man and poet 
 Shakespeare denote his genuine perception and appreciation of 
 the sacredness of truth, at the very time that the dramatist 
 Shakespeare allows of equivocation as a necessary part of 
 dramatic disguise. We take this opportunity to point out also 
 the unaftected piety and holiness of trust with which he has 
 endowed his transcendent heroine, Imogen. So supreme in 
 her heart is a devout reliance, and an ever-present sense of 
 divine beneficence, that not only are her last words before sink- 
 ing to sleep a prayer to Heaven, but she prefaces the opening of 
 her husband's letter by a murmured aspiration : " Good news, 
 gods ! " 
 
 jZ. Approve. Here used for ' prove,' ' attest.' See Note 21, 
 Act i., "Antony and Cleopatra." 
 
 79. Wilt take thy chance with me ! ' Wilt thou take thy 
 chance of good fortune with me ? ' ' Wilt thou seek thy fortune 
 in my service?' The present passage serves to elucidate the 
 one explained in Note 65, Act i. 
 
 80. These poor pickaxes. Meaning her fingers. 
 
 81. A century. Here aggregately used for ' a hundred ; ' as 
 'a score' is for 'twenty,' 'a dozen' for twelve, 'a gross' for 
 twelve dozen, &c. 
 
 82. Pikes atid partisans. See Note 8, Act i., " Romeo and 
 Juliet." 
 
 83. Arm him. ' Take him up in your arms. 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 A fever with the absence of her son ; 
 
 [Exil an Attendant. 
 A madness, of which her life 's in danger. — 
 Heavens, 
 
 How deeply you at once do touch me ! Imogen, 
 The great part of ray comfort, gone ; my queen 
 Upon a desperate bed, and in a time 
 When fearful wars poi.it at me ; her son gone, 
 So needful for this present : it strikes me, past 
 The hope of comfort. — But for thee, fellow, 
 Who needs must know of her departure, and 
 Dost seem so ignorant, we'll enforce it from thee 
 By a sharp torture. 
 
 Ph. Sir, my life is yours, 
 
 I humbly set it at your will : but, for my 
 mistress, 
 
 I nothing know where she remains, why gone. 
 Nor when she purposes return. Beseech your 
 
 highness, 
 Hold me your loyal servant 
 
 b 'lrst Lard. Good my liege. 
 
 The day that she v.'as missing he was here : 
 I dare be bound he's true, and shall perform 
 All parts of his subjection loyally. For Cloten, — 
 There wants no diligence in seeking him, 
 And will, no doubt, be found. 
 
 Cym. The time is troublesome, — 
 
 [7b Pis.] We'll slip you for a season ; but our 
 
 jealousy 
 Does yet depend.*' 
 
 First Lord. So please your majesty. 
 The Roman legions, all from Gallia drawn, 
 Are landed on your coast; with a suj)ply 
 Of Roman gentlemen, by the senate sent. 
 
 Cym. Now for the counsel of my son an i 
 queen 1 — 
 I am amaz'd with matter.*'' 
 
 First Lord. Good my liege, 
 
 Your preparation can affront no less 
 Than what you hear of:**? come more, for more 
 
 you 're ready : 
 The want is, but to put those powers in motion 
 That long to move. 
 
 Cym. I thank you. Let 's with Iraw ; 
 
 84. Alii luill, no doubt, be found. "He" is Hliptically 
 understood b;fare " will." See Note 55, Act ii., and Note 130, 
 Act iv. , *' King Lear." 
 
 85. Our jealousy does yet depend. ' Our suspicion of you still 
 hangs in suspense.' 
 
 86. / am amaz-d with matter. 'I am bewildered with 
 accumulation of affairs that demand attention ' 
 
 87. Your freM'-ation can affront no less than what you hear 
 of. ' The military force you have in readiness is able to con- 
 front an army no less numerous than that which you hear is 
 coming to attack you." 
 
 88. / heard no letter from my master. It has been proposed 
 to chanje " I heard " to ' I've had,' ' I have had,' and ' I had : ' 
 but "I heard no letter" accords with 'Nor hear I from my 
 mistress,' and seams like a familiarism of soliloq ly, or thinking 
 aloud ; as there is a familiar idiom, ' I heard no jot, syllable, or 
 
 And meet the time as it seeks us. We fear not 
 What can from Italy annoy us; but 
 We grieve at chances here. — Away ! 
 
 [Exeunt all except Pisanio. 
 Pis. I heard no letter from my master*" since 
 I wrote him Imogen was slain : 'tis strange: 
 Nor hear I from my mistress, who did promise 
 To yield me often tidings; neither know I 
 What is betid to Cloten ; but remain 
 Perplex'd in all :— the heavens still must work. 
 Wherein I am false I am honest; not true, to be 
 true : 
 
 These present wars shall find I love my country, 
 Even to the note o' the king,*^ or I'll fall in them. 
 All other doubts, by time let them be clear'd : 
 Fortune brings in some bo.its that are not steer' d. 
 
 {Exit. 
 
 SCENE IV.— Wales : before the Caw of 
 Belarius. 
 
 Enter Belarius, Guiderius, and Arviragus. 
 
 Gui. The noise is round about us. 
 Bel. Let us from it. 
 
 Ar-Tj. What pleasure, sir, find we in life,^'' to 
 lock it 
 
 From action and adventure ? 
 
 Gui. Nay, what hope 
 
 Have we in hiding us? This way, the Rom.ans 
 Must or for Britons slay us, or receive us 
 For barbarous and unnatural revolts'*' 
 During their use, and slay us after. 
 
 Bel. Sons, 
 We'll higher to the mountains ; there secure us. 
 To the king's party there 's no going : newness 
 Of Cloten's death, — we being not known, net 
 muster'd 
 
 Among the bands, — may drive us to a render 
 Where we have liv'd ;3- and so extort from 's that 
 Which we have done, whose answer would be 
 
 death 93 
 Drawn on with torture. 
 
 word from him,' when it is meant that no letter has been 
 received. 
 
 89. Eiien to the 7iote o' the king. ' Even until the proof I 
 give of it shall attract the king's observation.' 
 
 90. J^ind we in life. The first Folio gives 'we finde in life.' 
 Corrected in the second Folio. 
 
 91. Revolts. Here, and in "King John," Act v., sc. 4, used 
 for 'revolters,' or those who have revolted. 
 
 92. May d.ive tts to a render where we have liv'd. 'May 
 compel us to render an account of where we have Uved.' See 
 Note 18, Act v., " Timon of Athens." 
 
 93. Whose answerwould be, &^c. ' Our having to answer for 
 which deed would be,' &c. This is another instance of Shake- 
 speare's peculiar use of the possessive case, which we have so 
 often pointed out. See Note 24, Act iv,, "Antony and Cleo- 
 patra," and Note 100, Act iii. of the present play. Also, a little 
 farther on, he employs " our note " toe.vpress ' taking nnte of us.' 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Gu':. This is, sir, a doubt 
 
 III such a time nothing becoming you, 
 Nor satisfying us. 
 
 Ai-'v. It is not likely 
 
 Thnt when they hear the Roman horses neigh,''' 
 Behold their quarter'd fires,'^^ have both their 
 eyes 
 
 And ears so cloy'd importantly as now, 
 
 That they will waste their tiine upon our note. 
 
 To know from whence we are. 
 
 Brl. Oh, \ am known 
 
 94. When they hear the Roman horses neigh. The Folio 
 prints 'their' for "the." Rowe's correction, 
 
 95. Their guarter'd fires. 'The fires where they are 
 quartered,' ' the fires in the several quarters of the Roman 
 army.' 
 
 96. The certainly 0/ this Jinrd li'e. ' The certain con- 
 
 Of many in the army : many years. 
 Though Cloten then but young, you see, not wore 
 him 
 
 From my remembrance. And, besides, the 
 king 
 
 Hath not deserv'd my service nor your loves ; 
 Who find in my exile the want of breeding, 
 The certainty of this hard life ; ''^ aye hopeless 
 To have the courtesy your cradle promis'd, 
 But to be still hot summer's tanlings,"'" and 
 The shrinking slaves of winter. 
 
 sequence of this hard life ' has been given as the interpre- 
 tation of this sentence : but it may also mean, ' the actual 
 e,vperience of this hard life.' The first Folio prints ' heard ' for 
 
 97. Bnt to be still hot summer's tannings. Here some 
 such verb as ' doom'd,' ' condemu'd,' or destin'd' is elliptically 
 
Act IV.] CYMBELINE. [Scene IV. 
 
 Gu'i. Than be so, 
 
 Better to cease to be. Pray, sir, to the army : 
 I and my brother are not known ; yourself 
 So out of thought, and thereto so o'ergrown,?* 
 Cannot be question'd. 
 
 Arv. By this sun that shines, 
 
 I'll thither : what thing is it's that I never 
 Did see man die! scarce ever look'd on blood. 
 But that of coward hares, hot goats, and veni- 
 son ! 
 
 Never bestrid a horse, save one tliat had 
 
 understood before " to be." We have ere now pointed out 
 the very peculiar and elliptical mode in which Shakespeare 
 sometimes uses the expression "to be." See Note 14, Act 
 ii., "Timonof Athens," and Note 75, Act i., "Antony and 
 
 98. AndtJtereio so o'ergrawn. " Thereto " has here the force 
 of * in addition thereto ; ' as in the passage adverted to in Note 
 3, Act i., "Troilus and Cressida," "to" is elliptically used for 
 
 A rider like myself, who ne'er wore rowel 
 Nor iron on his heel ! I am asham'd 
 To look upon the holy sun, to have 
 The benefit of his bless'd beams, remaining 
 So long a poor unknown. 
 
 Gui. By heavens, I'll go : 
 
 If you will bless me, sir, and give me leave, 
 I'll take the better care'; but if you will not, 
 The hazard therefore due fall on me by 
 The hands of Romans! 
 
 Arv. So say I, — Amen. 
 
 'in addition to.' "So o'ergrown " means having a beard and 
 hair so bushy and long ; since, in Act v., sc. 3, Posthumus says 
 of Belarius, , . ^^^-^^^ soldier,- 
 
 An honest one, I warrant ; who deserv'd 
 So ^OHg a breeding as /us white beard came to." 
 gg. What thing- is it. A form of ' what a thing is it,' or 
 'what a thing it is.' See Note 72, Act i., "Julius Ca;sar." 
 
 VOL. III. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 Bel, No reason 1, since of your lives you set 
 So slight a valuation, should reserve 
 My crack'd one to more care. Have with you, 
 boys ! 
 
 If in your country wars you chance to die, 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 That is my bed too, lads, and there I'll lie :™ 
 Lead, lead.— .] The time seems long; their 
 
 blood thinks scorn. 
 Till it fly out, and show them princes born. 
 
 \_Exeiint. 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 ACT V. 
 
 SCENE I.— Britain. A Field between the 
 British and Roman Camps. 
 
 Enter Posthumus, 'Uiith a bloody handkerchief. 
 
 Post. Yea, bloody cloth, i I'll keep thee ; for I 
 wish'd 
 
 Thou shouldst be colour'd thus." You married 
 ones, 
 
 If each of you should take this course, how 
 many 
 
 Must murder wives much better than themselves 
 I'or wrying^ but a little ! — O Pisanio ! 
 Every good servant does not all commands: 
 No bond but to do just ones. — Gods ! if } ou 
 
 loo. That is my bed to}, lads, and tliere I'll lie. The 
 manner in which " that " and " there " occur in this line affords 
 an example of Shakespeare's mode of using pronouns in reference 
 to an implied particular ; the particular in the present instance 
 being ' the battle-field,' as implied in the previous clause of the 
 sentence. . 
 
 luded 
 
 by Pisanio, when he 
 :ice you are dead, and 
 
 The Folio inserts 'am' 
 ie the correction, 
 viating from the path of 
 
 prompt 
 
 1. Bloody cloth. The on 
 says, in Act iii., sc. 4, " I'll give but 
 send him some bloody si^n of it." 
 
 2. For Iivisli'd thou shouldst, &-c. 
 between *' I " and " wish'd." Pope n 
 
 3. IVrying;. Here used tu express ' 
 duty,' 'swerving from \irtue.' 
 
 4. To put oil this. 'To instigate this deed 
 this act.' See Note loi. Act ii., " Othello." 
 
 5. The noble Imogen. Hardly could there have been a higher 
 testimony to the native worth of Shakespeare's finest heroine 
 than this epithet put into the mouth of her hu5b.ind, who has 
 had reason to believe himself injured by her. In spite of the 
 incontrovertible evidence which he thinks he has obtained 
 of her faithlessness, the original conviction of her worth 
 and purity which made him first love her now re-asserts its 
 power upon his heart and reason, and he feels that she is in- 
 nately "noble," and true, and good, notwithstanding all he has 
 heard. Her supposed lapse from virtue seems to him but a 
 "little fault," when compared with what he himself knows of 
 her exalted nature, her generosity, her gentleness, her tender- 
 ness, her prodigal love for him ; and he owns her supremacy 
 with all the warmth of an irresistible affection and the anguish 
 
 6. Dfor. 
 
 uorth 
 
 'Mo 
 
 vengeance. 
 
 vengeance,' 'more deserving your vengeance.' 
 
 7. You snatch some hence .... you some permit. 
 is here used for ' some persons,' ' some human beings.' 
 
 mentmg yc 
 
 Should have ta'en vengeance on my faults, I 
 never 
 
 Had liv'd to put on this :» so had you sav'd 
 The noble Imogen^ to repent ; and struck 
 Me, wretch, more worth ) our vengeance. But, 
 alack, 
 
 You snatch some hence for little faults ; that 's 
 love. 
 
 To have them fall no more : you some permit^ 
 To second ills with ills, each elder worse,^ 
 And make them dread it, to the doers' thrift.^ 
 But Imogen is your own : do your best wills. 
 And make me biess'd to obey ! — I am brought 
 hither 
 
 8. To second ills with ills, each elder worse. This has been 
 variously altered; but we think that in all the comments hitherto 
 written upon this passage, sufficient regard has not been had 
 to Shakespeare's very peculiar use of the word " elder." See 
 Note 81, Act ii., "Julius Csesar;" Note 59, Act iii., "Antony 
 
 j and Cleopatra ; " and Note 97, Act iii. of the present plaj^ In 
 the present passage " elder" appears to us to convey the effect 
 of an ill deed which has been committed by one grown older in 
 a course of ill-doing, more experienced in evil, more hardened 
 in guilt, more confirmed in sin ; and that thus the epithet " elder," 
 as meaning ' confirmed,' ' hardened,' is applied by a poetical 
 
 I license to the deed itself rather than to its committer. Shake- 
 speare often uses epithets thus elliptically. See Note 24, Act 
 ii., "Julius Csesar." Briefly, "elder" here expresses an ill of 
 larger growth, and not of earlier-dated growth ; as an older 
 child is larger than a younger one. "Elder" so used occurs 
 again in " Pericles," Act 1., sc. 2. Shakespeare also employs 
 "elder" to include the sense of 'more advanced in time,' 'at a 
 later period,' as well as ' increased in age,' or ' older ' isee 
 " elder days" as used in Act ii., sc. 3, and Act v., sc. 3, " Richard 
 II.") ; so that " each elder" here comprises the sense of ' each 
 ill committed at a later period,' ' each ill done at an ad^■anceJ 
 
 9. And make them dread it, to the doers' thrift. This has 
 , been variously altered ; but the line, as here given according to 
 
 the original text, affords an instance of Shakespeare's using "it" 
 I in reference to an implied particular. " It" here refers either 
 I to ' sudden punishment of crime,' as implied in " you snatch 
 some hence for little faults ; " or " it " relates to ' long course of 
 crime,' as implied in " to second ills with ills, each elder worse : " 
 in either case, a salutary dread for the " doers " to entertain— 
 " to the doers' thrift " signifying ' to the advantage of the 
 committers,' ' to the benefit of those who commit such deeds.' 
 See Note 77, Act ii., "Antony and Cleopatra," and Note 33, 
 Act i.- " Merchant of Venice." 
 
ACT v.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scenes II., III. 
 
 Among the Italian gentry, and to figlit 
 Against my lady's kingdom : 'tis enough 
 That, Britain, I have kiU'd thy mistress ; peace ! 
 I'll give no wound to thee. Therefore, good 
 heavens. 
 
 Hear patiently my purpose :— I'll disrobe me 
 Of these Italian weeds, and suit myself 
 As does a Bnton peasant: so I'll fight 
 Against the part I come with ; so I'll die 
 For thee, O Imogen, even for whom my life 
 Is, every breath, a death : and thus, unknown, 
 Pitied nor hated, to the face of peril 
 Myself I'll dedicate. Let me make men know 
 More valour in me than my habits show. 
 Gods, put the strength o' the Leonati in me ! 
 To shame the guise o' the world, I will begin 
 The fashion, — less without and more within. 
 
 {Exit. 
 
 SCENE U.—The Same. 
 
 Enter, from one side, Lucius, Imogen, Iachimo, 
 and the Roman Army ; from the other side, 
 the British Army ; Leonatus Posthumus 
 folloiving, like a poor soldier. They march 
 ouer av.d go out. Alarums. Then enter 
 again. In sklrm'sh, IachimO PosTHUMUS : 
 he 'vanquisheth and disarmeth Iachimo, and 
 then leaves him. 
 
 luch. Tl-.e heaviness and guilt within my 
 bosom 
 
 Takes otF my manhooil ; I have belied a ladv. 
 The princess of this country, and the air on "t 
 Revengingly enfeebles me ; or could this carl," 
 A very drudge of nature's,'" have subdu'd me 
 lii my profession ? Kniglithoods and honours, 
 borne 
 
 As I wear mine, are titles but of scorn. 
 If that thy gentry, Britain, go before 
 This lout as he exceeds our lords, the odds 
 Is,'^ that we scarce are men, and you are gods. 
 
 \_Exlt. 
 
 10. For ivhom tny life is, every breath, a death. One of 
 Shakespeare's paradoxically and powerfully expressed sentences ; 
 the paradoxical phraseology aiding to make the powerful effect 
 the more striking. Intense is the impression thus produced 
 of the ever-living agony that pierces the husband's remorse- 
 stricken heart, and stabs him with perpetual regret for his loss 
 of her whose excellence he involuntarily recognises. This 
 survival of Posthunius's sense of Imogen's true worth over his 
 sense of her supposed fault, is precisely one of Shakespeare's 
 subtleties in indirect tribute to virtue and innocence. See 
 Note 36, Act iv., " Othello," 
 
 11. Carl. ' Carlot,' 'churl;' meaning here a ' boor,' a 'low 
 fellow,' in contradistinction to a gentleman. See Note 122, 
 Act iii , "As You Like It " 
 
 12. A very drudge 0/ nature's. An instance of that pleonastic 
 form of the possessive case, remarked upon in Note 31, Act i., 
 •'Timon of Athens." 
 
 The Battle continues; the Britons fly; Cymbeline 
 is taken: then enter, to his rescue, Belarius, 
 GuiUERius, and Arviragus. 
 Eel. Stand, stand ! We have the advantage of 
 the ground ; 
 The lane is guarded : nothing routs us but 
 The villany of our fears. 
 
 Gul., Jrn:. Stand, stand, and fight ! 
 
 Re-enter Posthumus, and seconds the Britons: 
 they rescue Cymbelixe, and exeunt. Then 
 re-enter Lucius, Imogen, and Iachimo. 
 Luc. Away, boy, from the troops, and sa\e 
 thyself, 
 
 For friends kill friends, and the disorder 's such 
 As war were hoodwink'd. 
 
 lach. 'Tis their fresh supplies. 
 
 Luc. It is a day turn'd strangely : or betimes 
 Let's re-enforce, or fly. \_Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE III. -.Another part of the field. 
 Enter Posthumus and a British Lord. 
 Lord. Cam'st thou from where they made the 
 stand ? 
 
 Post. I did : 
 
 Though you, it seems, come from the fliers. 
 
 Lord. ' I did. 
 
 Post. No blame be to you, sir; for all was lo.^t. 
 But that the heavens fought : the king himself 
 Of his wings destitute,''' the army broken. 
 And but the backs of Britons seen, all flying 
 Til rough a strait lane ; the enemy full-hearted. 
 Lolling the tongue with slaughtering, having u ork 
 More plentiful than tools to do 't, struck down 
 Some mortally, some slightly touch'd, some falling 
 Merely through fear ; that the strait pass was 
 damm'd 
 
 With dead men hurt behind, and cowards living 
 To die with lengthen'd shame. 
 
 Lord. Where was this lane ? 
 
 13. TJie odds is. The word "odds" is here treated as a 
 collective noun. See Note 15, Act ii., " Othello." 
 
 14. The king himaelf of his luings destitute. Shakespeare 
 found this incident, of the Roman army being stopped by three 
 persons, related in Holinshed's "History of Scotland;" an I 
 effectively introduced it into the present drama. The br.ive 
 fellows were the Hays, father and two sons ; a family whose 
 name deserves record, while their deed has received immortality 
 in Shakespeare's page. That the dramatist derived the circum- 
 stance from this source is evidenced by the following passage 
 from the old chronicler: " Haie beholding tiie king, with the 
 most part of the nobles fighting with great valiancie in the 
 middle-ward, now destitute of the luings," &c. It seems that 
 another great poet is .associated with this spirited exploit ; for it 
 is said that Milton intended to have written a play on ihis 
 sjbject. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 Po^t. Close by the battle, ditch'd, and wall'd 
 with turf ; 
 
 Which gave advantage to an ancient soldier, — 
 An honest one, I warrant; who deserv'd 
 So long a breeding as his white beard came to, 
 In doing this for 's country ; — athwart the lane, 
 He, with two striplings (lads nnore like to run 
 The country base'' than to commit such slaughter; 
 With faces fit for masks, or rather fairer 
 Than those for preservation cas'd, or shame). 
 Made good the passage : cried to those that 
 fled, 
 
 " Our Britain's harts die flying, not our men : 
 To darkness fleet, souls that fly backwards I 
 Stand ; 
 
 Or we are Romans, and will give you that 
 Like beasts, which you shun beastly, and may 
 save. 
 
 But to look back in frown r'^ stand, stand!" — 
 
 These three, 
 Three thousand confident, in act as many, — 
 For three performers are the file when all 
 The rest do nothing, — witli this word, " Stand, 
 
 stand," 
 
 Accommodated by the place, more charming'^ 
 With their own nobleness (which could have 
 turn'd 
 
 A distafl^ to a lance), gilded pale looks, 
 Part shame, part spirit renew'd ; that some, turn'd 
 coward 
 
 But by example, — oh, a sin in war, 
 Curs'd in the first beginners! — 'gan to look 
 The way that they did, and to grin like lions 
 Upon the pikes o' the hunters. Then began 
 A stop i' the chaser, a retire ; anon 
 A rout, confusion thick : forthwith thev flv'^ 
 
 15. To run ike coimiry base. 'To play at the game called 
 •prison-bars/ or * prisoners'-base * 
 
 16. \V ill give yoit that like beasts^ which yoit shun beastly^ 
 and may save, but to look back in/rown. ' Will give you that 
 death like beasts, which you shun lil:e beasts, and which you 
 might save yourselves from, only by looking back with a bold 
 frown of defiance.' ** Beastly " is here used in the manner 
 pointed out in Note 38, Act iii. ; " save " has elliptical force ; and 
 " to look " is employed (as Shakespeare often employs the in- 
 finitive mood) where, ordinarily, the form ' by looking ' would be 
 used. 
 
 17. Charming. * Influencing as by a spell,' 'actuating as by 
 enchantment." It also, in a measure, includes the double sense 
 in which the word is previously used in the present play. See 
 Note 34, Act i. 
 
 18. A stop I the chaser .... forfhwiih tliey fly. Here 
 *' the chaser," being employed like ' the foe ' or ' the enemy,' to 
 express a number of soldiers, has " they" as its relative pronoun. 
 
 19. Stoop'd. Misprinted ' stopt ' in the Folio. Rowe's 
 correction. 
 
 20. Tlu strides they victors made. In the Folio 'the' is 
 given instead of "the/ " here. Corrected by Theobald. 
 
 21. The 7nortal bugs. 'The deadly terrors,' or 'bugbears.' 
 See Note 56, Act v., " Hamlet." 
 
 22. Nay, do not monder at it: you are made, ^'c. The 
 second clause of this sentence is in apparent contradiction with 
 the first ; but ' though,' or ' though it is true that,' is elllptically 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Chickens, the way which they stoop'd eagles; 
 slaves, 
 
 The strides they victors made : 20 and now our 
 cowards 
 
 (Like fragments in hard voyages) became 
 The lite o' the need ; having found the back-door 
 open 
 
 Of the unguarded hearts, heavens, how they 
 wound ! 
 
 Some slain before ; some dying ; som.e their friends 
 O'er-borne i' the former wave : ten, chas'd by one, 
 Are now each one the slaughter-man of twenty : 
 Those that would die or e'er resist are grown 
 The mortal bugs^' o' the field. 
 
 Lord. This was strange chance, — 
 
 A narrow lane, an old man, and two boys ! 
 
 Post. Nay, do not wonder at it : you are made-'- 
 Rather to wonder at the things you hear 
 Than to work any. Will you rhyme upon 't, 
 And vent it for a mockery ? Here is one : 
 " Two boys, an old man twice a boy, a lane, 
 Preserv'd the Britons, was the Romans' bane."-^ 
 
 Lord. Nay, be not angr)-, sir. 
 
 Post. 'Lack, to what end ? 
 
 Who dares not stand his foe, I'll be his friend ; 
 For if he'll do as he is made to do, 
 I know he'll quickly fly my friendship too. 
 You have put me into rhyme. 
 
 Lord. Farewell ; you're angry. 
 
 lEx]t. 
 
 Post. Still going ps-i— This is a rord!^^ Oh, 
 noble missry,— 
 To be i' the field, and ask, what news, of me ! 
 To-day how many would have given their honours 
 To have sav'd their carcasses! took heel to do 't. 
 And yet died too ! I, in mine own woe charm'd,-^ 
 
 understood before "you." See Note 27, Act iv. It is as if 
 Posthumus had said, ' Nay, do not prove yourself the fool you 
 are by wondering at it ; for you are one of those who are made,' 
 &c. Posthumus's indignant petulance, excited by this lord s 
 vapid expression of wonder at the feat performed so bravely, 
 and related so enthusiastically, is of a piece with Hotspur's 
 wratlf at the " certain lord" (see passage referred to in Note 
 55, Act i., " First Part Henry IV.") who came to demand the 
 prisoners taken at Holinedon. Shakespeare has more ihan once 
 introduced this kind of impertinent flutteixr, whose insipid affec- 
 tations are so inexpressibly exasperating to persons engaged in 
 gravely momentous or even deeply affecting considerations. 
 See Note 34, Acti., " As You Like It ; " Notes 75 and Ss.Actv., 
 " Hamlet;" and Notes 105 and 106, Act iv., " King Lear." 
 
 23. Preserv'd the Britons, -was the Romans' bane. ' And ' 
 is elliptically understood before "was;" "was" being used n 
 reference to ' the circumstance' of " two boys, an old'man," &c. 
 
 24. Still going ^ Said in contemptuous allusion to his having 
 " come from the fliers,'' and to his being one that will " quickly 
 
 fly" a poor-looking man's " friendship." 
 
 23. This is a lord! A form of the scoflSng exclamation, ' This 
 a lord !' or, ' And this is a lord ! ' or, ' This is a lord, forsooth ! ' 
 
 26. /, in mine own woe diarm'd. Posthumus speaks of his 
 woe as one of those charms that were sometimes superstitiously 
 worn for preservatives against mischance in battle. Macbeth 
 (see context of Note 45, Act v., "Macbeth") says, " I bear .1 
 charmedUz;" and Macduff replies, " Despair thy f /;«?-;«. " 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Could not fiiuf death where I did hear him 
 groan, 
 
 Nor feel him where he struck : being an ugly 
 monster, 
 
 'Tis strange he hides him in fresh cups, soft 
 beds, 
 
 Sweet words ; or hath more ministers than we 
 That draw his knives i' the war. — Well, I will find 
 him 
 
 For being now a favourer to the Briton, 
 No more a Briton,-' I have resum'd again 
 The part I came in : fight I will no more. 
 But yield me to the veriest hind that shall 
 Once touch my shoulder. Great the slaughter is 
 Here made by the Roman ; great the answer^^ be 
 Britons must take : for me, my ransom's death ; 
 On either side I come to spend my breath ; 
 Which neither here I'll keep nor bear again. 
 But end it by some means for Imogen. 
 
 Enter tivo British Captains and Soldiers. 
 
 First Cap. Great Jupiter be prais'd ! Lucfus is 
 taken : 
 
 'Tis thought the old man and his sons were 
 angels. 
 
 Sec. Cap. There was a fourth man, in a silly-' 
 habit. 
 
 That gave the affront^" with them. 
 
 First Cap. So 'tis reported : 
 
 But none of 'em can be found. — Stand! who's 
 there ? 
 
 Post. A Roman ; 
 Who had not now been drooping here, if seconds 
 Had answer' d him. 
 
 Sec. Cap. Lay hands on him ; a dog !— 
 
 A leg of Rome sh. 
 
 not return to tell 
 
 27. For bein^ 7101U a favoicrer to the Briton^ no 7nore a 
 Briton. H.-(iimer changed the first " Briton " here to ' Roman ;' 
 while Capell and others, who retain the passage as it is, explain 
 " a favourer" to refer to "death." We are strongly of opinion 
 that Posthuinus is speaking of himself, and that he uses the 
 word " now" as it is used by Cassio when he says, "To be noiu 
 a sensible man, by-and-by a fool, and presently a beast ] " (see 
 context of passage referred to in Note 92, Act ii., " Olhello ") 
 and as Cominius uses it where he says, " Now all's his ; when, 
 by-and-by, the din of war," &c. See context of Note 69, Act ii. , 
 '* Coriolanus." Shakespeare, in several instances, employs " now" 
 with reference to a past time ; as, in " Coriolanus," Act i., sc. 3, 
 Volumnia says, " I sprang not more in joy at first hearing he 
 was a man-child, than now in first seeing he had proved himself 
 a mxn." See also the passage referred to in Note 3, Act i., 
 'Hamlet;" where " no v " means 'just now,' 'a short time 
 since.' Consequently, we believe that the present passage sig- 
 nifies 'For being now ['just now'] a favourer of the Briton, 
 and now ('subsequently,' 'by-and-by'] no more a Briton,' or 
 ' For having been shortly since a favourer to the Briton, but at 
 present no longer a Briton.' If the previous passage, where 
 
 Posthun 
 
 iays. 
 
 Of the 
 
 As doe 
 
 " I'll disrobe m 
 Italian weeds, and su 
 a Briton peasant : so 
 the part I come with,' 
 
 t myself 
 '11 fight 
 
 What crows have peck'd them here : — he brags his 
 service 
 
 As if he were of note : bring him to the king. 
 
 Enter Cymbeline, attended ; Belarius, Gui- 
 DERius, Arviragus, Pisanio, and Roman 
 Captives. The Captains present Posthumus 
 to Cymbeline, nuhy. dcU'vers him over to a 
 Gaoler : after uuhich, all go out.'^^ 
 
 SCENE IV.-Britain. A Prison. 
 Enter Po.sthumus and tuuo Gaolers. 
 First Gaol. You shall not now be stol'n, ) ou 
 have locks upon you 
 So, graze as you find pasture. 
 
 Sec. Gaol. Ay, or a s'omach. 
 
 [Exeunt Gaolers. 
 Post. Most welcome, bondage ! for thou art a 
 way, 
 
 I think, to liberty : yet am I better 
 Than one that's sick o' the gout; since he had 
 rather 
 
 Groan so in perpetuity than be cur'd 
 By the sure physician, death ; who is the key 
 To unbar these locks. My conscience, thou art 
 fctter'd 
 
 More than my shanks and wrists : you good gods, 
 give me 
 
 The penitent instrument to pick that bolt. 
 Then, free for ever ! Is 't enough I am sorry ? 
 So children temporal fathers do appease ; 
 Gods are more full of m.ercy. Must I repent ? 
 I cannot do it better than in gyves, 
 Desir'd more than constrain'd to .satisfv. 
 
 read carefully in conjun 
 
 think : 
 
 her 
 
 a with the present passa.ge, we 
 : Posthumus is intended to imply. 
 
 ' Having, as I said I would, fought on the side of the Britons, 
 I'll be no longer a Briton, but resume again,' &c. 
 
 28. Answer. Here used for 'reprisal,' 'retaliation.' See 
 Note 74, Act ii., " Henry V." 
 
 29. Siilji. Here used for 'simple,' in the sense of 'rustic,' 
 ' plain,' ' homely.' See Note 71, Act ii., " Twelfth Niglit." 
 
 30. AJjfront. Here used for * encounter,' 'confronting,' 'meet- 
 ing in attack.' See Note 87, Act iv. 
 
 31. After which, all go out. This is a stage-direction in- 
 dicating one of those "dumb shows" that were introduced by 
 many of Shakespeare's contemporaries, and of which he has 
 given us instances in his drama of " Pericles." They generally 
 occurred at the commencement of a scene ; and rarely, as here, 
 at the close of a scene. It is to be observed, also, that the 
 stage directions in the present Act of this play are unusually 
 detailed and numerous, when compared with Shakespeare's 
 ordinary practice in this particular. 
 
 32. Yon have locks ufon you. 
 custom of putting a lock on a horse 
 
 33. / cannot do it better than if 
 constrain'd. ' I cannot repent bett 
 
 In jocose allu 
 
 gyves, desir'd more than 
 r than in gyves, desiring to 
 
 led t 
 
 do ! 
 
Act v.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 It of my freedom 'tis the main part, take 
 No stricter render of me than my all.^^ 
 I know you are more clement than vile men, 
 Who of their broken debtors take a third, 
 A sixth, a tenth, letting them thrive again 
 On their abatement : that 's not my desire : 
 For Imogen's dear life take mine; and though 
 ' ris not so dear, yet 'tis a life ; you coin'd it: 
 'Tween man and man they weigh not every stamp; 
 Though light, take pieces for the figure's sake : 
 You rather mine, being yours : and so, great 
 powers, 
 
 If you will take this audit, take this life, 
 
 And cancel these cold bonds. — O Imogen ! 
 
 I'll speak to thee in silence. [^Sleeps. 
 
 Solemn music. Enter, as in an apparition, SiClLlUS 
 LzonA.-\us, father to Posthumus, a« old man, 
 attired like a luarrior ; leading in his hand 
 an ancient matron, his ucife, and mother to 
 PosTHUMUS, ujith music before them: then, 
 after other music, folloix) the tnuo young 
 Leonati, brothers to PoSTHUMUS, luith 
 rounds as they died in the -wars. They circle 
 PosTHUMUS round, as he lies sleeping. 
 
 Sici. No more, thou thunder-master, show 
 
 Thy spite on mortal flies : 
 With Mars fall out, with Juno chide, 
 
 That thy adulteries 
 
 Rates and revenges. 
 Hath my poor boy done aught but well. 
 
 Whose face I never saw? 
 1 died whilst in the womb he stay'd 
 
 Attending nature's law : 
 Whose father then (as men report. 
 
 Thou orphan's father art) 
 Tliou shouldst have been, and shielded him 
 
 From this earth-vexing smart. 
 
 34. To satisfy, if of my freedom 'tis ilte main part, take no 
 stricter render, ^c. Eiliptically expressed; signifying, *To 
 satisfy your just wrath, if my life be the maui part of my 
 freedom, take no less surrender from me than my life, which is 
 my all.' In explaining this condensed and difficult passage, its 
 interpreters have generally assigned the sense of ' no more 
 severe,' ' no more rigorous or rigid,' to the words " no stricter; ' 
 but we believe that here they include the contrary effect of ' no 
 more restricted,' ' no more limited,' ' no straiter,' ' no narrower, 
 ■"no less.' Hooker, a contemporary writer with Shakespeare, 
 thus uses the word, where he says, " As they took the compass 
 of their commission stricter or larger, so their dealings were 
 more or less moderate." If the whole gist of Posthumus's 
 appeal to the gods be taken into careful consideration, we think 
 it will be perceived chat our view of this passage is the true 
 one ; for he says, " That 's not my desire." He does not wish 
 the gods to be even as lenient as those "vile men " who take 
 " but a third, a sixth, a tenth," from their " broken debtors ; " 
 he is willing that they should take the whole, his "all," his 
 " life." At the same time, when taken in connection with what 
 the speaker says of "'tis not so dear" and "though light," the 
 words " no stricter " will bear the sense of ' no more strictly 
 equivalent;' and therefore they are used in that largely com- 
 
 Moth. Lucina lent not me her aid, 
 But took me in my throes ; 
 That from me was Posthumus ripp'd, 
 Came crying 'mong-t his foes, 
 A thing of pity ! 
 
 Sici. Great nature, like his ancestry. 
 Moulded the stuff so fair. 
 That he deserv'd the praise o' the world. 
 As great Sicilius' heir. 
 
 tirst Bro. When once he was mature for m.an, 
 In Britain where was he 
 That could stand up his parallel ? 
 
 Or fruitful object be 
 In eye of Imogen, that best 
 Could deem his dignity? 
 
 Moth. With marriage wherefore was he mock'd, 
 To be exil'd, and thrown 
 From Leonati' seat, and cast 
 From her his dearest one, 
 Sweet Imogen ? 
 
 Sici. Why did you suffer lachimo, 
 Slight thing of Italy, 
 To taint his nobler heart and brain 
 
 With needless jealousy ? 
 And to become the geek and scorn 
 C the other's villany ? 
 
 Sec. Bro. For this, from stiller seats we came. 
 
 Our parents, and us twain. 
 That, striking in our country's cause, 
 
 Fell bravely, and were slam ; 
 Our fealty and Tenantius' right 
 
 With honour to maintain. 
 
 First Bro. Like hardiment^^ Posthumus hath 
 To Cymbeline perform'd : 
 Then, Jupiter, thou king of gods. 
 
 prehensive and inclusive manner which is a peculiarity of 
 Shakespeare's in his employment of words, and which makes 
 his style require very attentive examination ere the full meaning 
 of his condensed passages can be perceived. 
 
 35. And cancel these cold bonds. Here "bonds" is used 
 with triple play on the word ; in reference to the legal instru- 
 ment so called, to the iron shackles on the speaker's limbs, and 
 to the sense in which the poet uses " bond " as that whereon 
 the term of " life " is held. See Note 48, Act iii., " Macbeth." 
 
 36. /'// speak to tliee in silence. Another of those paradoxical 
 sentences by whichj to our taste, Shakespeare so intensifies the 
 impassioned effect of certain of his emotional speeches. See 
 Note 10 of this Act. Who has not felt the inadequacy of 
 waking speech for intercommunion with the beloved lost 
 and dead ? and the thirst of the soul for the more spiritual 
 utterance of converse in dreams, which is sometimes vouch- 
 safed during sleep and " silence" to those who deeply mourn ? 
 
 37. And to become the geek and scorn. ' Suffer Posthumus' 
 is eiliptically understood before "to become;" and "gcck" 
 means * dupe,' one who is befooled. See Note 53, Act v., 
 "Twelfth Night." 
 
 38. Hardiment. 'Valorous service,' 'hard fighting.' See 
 Note 71, Act i., " First Part Henry IV." 
 
Act v.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Why hast thou thus adjourn'd 
 The graces for his merfts due, 
 
 Being all to dolours turn'd ? 
 Sici. Thy crystal window ope ; look out ; 
 
 No longer exercise 
 Upon a valiant race thy harsh 
 
 And potent injuries. 
 
 Mo.h. Since, Jupiter, our son is good, 
 
 Take off his miseries. 
 Sici. Peep through thy marble mansion ; help ; 
 
 Or we poor ghosts will cry 
 To the shining synod of the rest 
 
 Against thy deity. 
 Sec. Bro. Help, Jupiter ; or we appeal, 
 
 And from thy justice fly. 
 
 Jupiter descends in thunder and lightning, sitting 
 upon an eagle : he throuos a thunderbolt. The 
 Ghosts fall on their knees. 
 
 Jup. No more, you petty spirits of region low, 
 
 Offend our hearing; hush! How dare you 
 ghosts 
 
 Accuse the thunderer, whose bolt, you know, 
 
 Sky-planted, batters all rebelling coasts? 
 Poor shadows of Elysium, hence ; and rest 
 
 Upon your never-withering banks of flowers: 
 Be not with mortal accidents opprest; 
 
 No care of yours it is ; you know 'tis ours. 
 Whom best I love I cross ; to make my gift, 
 
 The more delay'd, delighted. Be content; 
 Your low-laid son our godhead will uplift: 
 
 His comforts thrive, his trials well are spent. 
 Our Jovial star reign'd at his birth, and in 
 
 Our temple was he married. — Rise, and fade ! — 
 He shall he lord of lady Imogen, 
 
 And happier much by his affliction made. 
 This tablet lay upon his breast ; wherein 
 
 Our pleasure his full fortune doth confine : 
 And so, away : no farther with your din 
 
 Express impatience, lest you stir up mine. — 
 
 Mount, eagle, to my palace crystalline. 
 
 [Ascends. 
 
 Sici. He came in thunder; his celestial breath 
 Was sulphurous to smell : the holy eagle 
 Stoop'd, as to foot US:''! his ascension is 
 More sweet than our bless'd fields : his royal bird 
 Prunes^s the immortal wing, and cloys « his beak. 
 As when his god is pleas'd. 
 
 39. The more delay'd, delighted. 'The more delay'd, the 
 more delighted in.' The word " delighted " is .here used, as m 
 the passage adverted to in Note 105, Act i., " Othello," for 
 'delighting,' 'delightful,' or 'delighted in.' 
 
 40. Jovial. See Note 65, Act iv. 
 
 41. As to foot us. ' As if to clutch us in his talons.' 
 
 42. Prunes. The action of a bird when setting its feathers 
 in order. See Note 19, Act i , " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 43. Cloys. 'Claws ;' the 'cleys' or 'clees' of a bird being an 
 
 All. Thanks, Jupiter! 
 
 Sici. The marble pavement closes, he is enter'd 
 His radiant roof, — Away! and, to be blest. 
 Let us with care perform his great behest. 
 
 [Ghosts vanish. 
 
 Post. [IVaking.'] Sleep, thou hast been a gra.nd- 
 . sire, and begot 
 A father to me ; and thou hast created 
 A mother and two brothers: but (oh, scorn!) 
 Gone ! they went hence so soon as they were born : 
 And so I am awake.^Poor wretches that depend 
 On greatness' favour dream as I have done; 
 Wake, and find nothing.— But, alas! I swerve: 
 Many dream not to find, neither deserve, 
 And yet are steep'd in favours ; so am I, 
 That have this golden chance, and know not why. 
 What fairies haunt this ground ? A book ? Oh, 
 rare one ! 
 
 Be not, as is our fangled world, a garment 
 l^obler than that it covers : let thy effects 
 So follow, to be most unlike our courtiers, 
 I As good as promise. [Reads. 
 
 j Whenas*^ a lion's whelp shall, to himself unknown, without 
 seeking find, and be embraced by a piece of tender air ; and 
 when from a stately cedar shall be lopped branches, which, 
 being dead many years, shall after revive, be jointed to the 
 old stock, and freshly grow ; then shall Posthumus end his 
 miseries, Britain be fortunate, and flourish in peace and plenty. 
 
 'Tis Still a dream ; or else such stuff as madmen 
 Tongue, and brain not : either both, or nothing : 
 Or senseless speaking, or a speaking such 
 As sense cannot untie. Be what it is,'*^ 
 The action of my lif'e is like it, which 
 I'll keep, if but for sympathy. 
 
 Re-enter First Gaoler. 
 
 First Gaol. Come, sir, are you ready for death ? 
 
 Post. Over-roasted rather ; ready long ago. 
 
 First Gaol. Hanging is the word, sir: if you be 
 ready for that, you are well cooked. 
 
 Post. So, if I prove a good repast to the spec- 
 tators, the dish pays the shot. 
 
 First Gaol. A heavy reckoning for you, sir. 
 But the comfort is, you shall be called to no more 
 payments, fear no more tavern- bills ; which are 
 often the sadness of parting, as the procuring of 
 mirthj:*'' you come in faint for want of meat, depart 
 reeling with too much drink ; sorry that you have 
 paid too much, and sorry that you are paid too 
 
 old term fcr its claws. To claw their beaks is an accustomed 
 action with ;agles and hawks. 
 
 44. Faiigled. ' Decked out ; ' ' frivolously decorated,' ' fan- 
 tastically fashioned.' See Note 12, Act i.," Love's Labour's Lost." 
 
 45. IVlieuas. An antique form of 'when.' See Note 57, 
 Act iv., " Comedy of Errors." 
 
 46. BewJiat it is. An ellipsis for ' be it -vthat it may.' 
 
 47. Which are often the sadness of parting, as the, Gt'c. 
 ' As' is elHptlcally understood before "often." 
 
Act v.] CYMBELINE., [Scene V. 
 
 much purse and brain both empty, — the brain 
 the heavier for being too light, the purse too light, 
 being drawn of heaviness:''' oh, of this contradic- 
 tion you shall now be quit. — Oh, the charity of a 
 penny cord ! it sums up thousands in a trice : you 
 have no true debitor-and-creditor'^" but itj of 
 what 's past, is, and to come, the discharge : — your 
 neck, sir, is pen, book, and counters ; so the 
 acquittance follows. 
 
 Post. I am merrier to die than thou art to 
 live. 
 
 First Gaol. Indeed, sir, he that sleeps feels not 
 the toothache : but a man that were to sleep your 
 sleep, and a hangman to help him to bed, I think 
 he would change places with his officer ; for, look 
 you, sir, you know not which way you shall go. 
 
 Post. Yes, indeed do I, fellow. 
 
 First Gaol. Your death has e) es in 's head, 
 then ; I have not seen him so pictured • you must 
 either be directed by, some that take upon them to 
 know; or take upon yourself^' that which I am 
 sure you do not know ; or jump the after-inquiry 
 on your own peril : and how you shall speed in your 
 journey's end, I think you'll never return to tell 
 one. 
 
 Post. I tell thee, fellow, there are none want 
 eyes to direct them the way I am going,*''' but such 
 as wink*'* and will not use them. 
 
 First Gaol. What an infinite mock is this, that 
 a man should Kave the best use of eyes to see the 
 way of blindness ! I am sure hanging's the way of 
 winking. 
 
 Enter a Messenger. 
 
 Mess. Knock off his manacles; bring your 
 prisoner to the king. 
 
 Post. Thou bringest good news, — I am called 
 to be made free. 
 
 First Gaol. I'll be hanged, then. 
 
 Post. Thou shalt be then freer than a gaoler ; 
 no bolts for the dead. 
 
 [^Exeunt PoSTHUMUS and Messenger. 
 
 48. Sorry that yoii are paid too much. " Paid " is here used 
 in the sense of 'punished,' 'paid out,' 'settled with' {see Note 
 55, Act iv.) ; having received or imbibed " too much drink." 
 
 49. Being drawn of heaviness. ' Having had its weight of 
 cash extracted;' as a fowl is said to be "drawn," when its 
 entrails are taken out. 
 
 50. Debitor-and-creditor. ' Treatise upon account keeping,' 
 ' dissertation upon book-keeping.' See Note 10, Act i., 
 "Othello." The expression here includes the meaning of a 
 kind of ' Ready Reckoner,' and of a ledger or account-book. 
 
 51. Or take tipon yourself. The Folio inserts 'to' between 
 "or" and "take" here. Capell made the correction; which 
 was suggested by Heath. The gaoler, as it appears to us, 
 is propounding a series of optional courses, indicated by the 
 repetition of the word '' or ; " though some editors have changed 
 the second " or" into ' for,' taking a slight mark (which in the 
 F:i]io precedes the second "or") to be an imperfectly printed 
 "f." 
 
 52. Jump. ' Risk,' ' hazard.' See Note 112, Act i , 
 " Macbeth." 
 
 First Gaol. Unless a man. would marry a 
 gallows, and beget young gibbets, I never saw one 
 so prone. 55 Yet, on my conscience, there are verier 
 knaves desire to live, for all he be a Roman : and 
 there be some of them too, that die against their 
 wills ; so should I, if I were one. I would we 
 were all of one mind, and one mind good ; oh, 
 there were desolation of gaolers and gallowses I^s 
 I speak against my present profit; but my wish 
 hath a preferment in 't. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE v.— Britain. Cymbeline's Tent. 
 
 Enter Cymbeline, Belarius, Guiderius, Arvira- 
 GUS, PiSANIO, Lords, Officers, and Attendants. 
 
 Cym. Stand by my side, you whom the gods 
 have made 
 
 Preservers of my throne. Woe is my heart. 
 That the poor soldier, that so richly fought, 
 Whose rags sham'd gilded arms, vvhose naked 
 breast 
 
 Stepp'd before targes*? of proof, cannot be 
 found : 
 
 He shall be happy that can find him, if 
 Our grace can make him so. 
 
 Bel. I never saw 
 
 Such noble fury in so poor a thing ; 
 Such precious deeds in one that promis'd 
 naught 
 
 But beggary and poor looks. 
 
 Cym. No tidings of him ? 
 
 Pis. He hath been scarch'd among the dead 
 and living, 
 But no trace of him. 
 
 Cym. To my grief, I am 
 
 The heir of his reward ; which I will add 
 [To Bel., Gui., and Arv.] To you, the liver, 
 heart, and brain of Britain, 
 
 53. The7'e are none wafti eyes to direct them the way / arn 
 going, but such as, &'c. This is completely one of our poet's 
 sublimely simple declarations of faith ; earnest, trustful, true- 
 souled. See Note 22, Act v., " Timon of Athens." 
 
 54. IVink. Shakespeare very frequently uses this word to 
 express firm closing of the eyes. See Note 27, Act i., " Two 
 Gentlemen of Verona." 
 
 55. Prone. ' Prompt,' ' ready, ' forward,' ' willing,' ' alertly 
 disposed.* 
 
 56. I would we were all of one mind, and one mind good ; 
 oh, there were desolation of gaolers and gallowses'. In the 
 form of a jesting sentence, Shakespeare has here, accord- 
 ing to an ingenious mode of his, put forth a noble and 
 profound truth. See Note 1^3, Act iv., "Timon of Athens." 
 But the first gaoler in "Cymbeline," during the short time he 
 is on the scene, utters some really glorious things in humorous 
 guise. 
 
 57. Targes. An old form of ' targets.' It is pronounced 
 monosyllabically, with a hard " g," as if spelt ' targues.' See 
 Note 87, Act ii., "Antony and Cleopatra." 
 
 VOL III. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 By whom I grant she lives. 'Tis now the time 
 To ask of whence you are : — report it. 
 
 Bel. Sir, 
 In Cambria are we born, and gentlemen : 
 Farther to boast were neither true nor modest, 
 Unless I add we are honest. 
 
 Cym. Bow your knees. 
 
 Arise my knights o' the battle : I create you 
 Companions to our person, and will fit you 
 With dignities becoming your estates. 
 
 Enter Cornelius and Ladies. 
 There 's business in these faces. — Why so sadly 
 Greet you our victory ? you look like Romans, 
 And not o' the court of Britain. 
 
 Cor. Hail, great king ! 
 
 To sour your happiness, I must report 
 The queen is dead. 
 
 Cym. Whom worse than a physician 
 
 Would this report become ? But I consider, 
 By medicine life may be prolong'd, yet death 
 Will seize the doctor too. — How ended she ? 
 
 Cor. With horror, madly dying, like her 
 life; 
 
 Which, being cruel to the world, concluded 
 Most cruel to herself. What she confess'd 
 I will report, so please you : these her women 
 Can trip me, if I err ; who with wet cheeks 
 Were present when she finish'd. 
 
 Cy>n. Pr'ythee, say. 
 
 Cor. First, she confess'd she never lov'd you ; 
 only 
 
 Alfected greatness got by you, not you : 
 Married your royalty, was wife to your place ; 
 Abhorr'd your person. 
 
 Cym. She alone knew this ; 
 
 And, but she spoke it dying, I would not 
 Believe her lips in opening it. Proceed. 
 
 Cor. Your daughter, whom she bore in hand to 
 lovers 
 
 With such integrity, she did confess 
 Was as a scorpion to her sight ; whose life. 
 But that her flight prevented it, she had 
 Ta'en off by poison. 
 
 Cym. Oh, most delicate fiend ! 
 
 Who is 't can read a woman ? — Is there more ? 
 
 Cor. More, sir, and worse. She did confess 
 she had 
 
 For you a mortal mineral ; which, being took, 
 Should by the minute feed on life, and, lingering, 
 By inches waste you : in which time she 
 purpos'd, 
 
 58. IVhojK sJie bore in hand to love. ' Whom she affected or 
 pretended to love ; ' ' whom she deluded or beguiled with an 
 appearance of love.' See Note 35, Act ii., " Hamlet." 
 
 59. Ves, and in time. This "yes" is wanting in the first 
 Folio, and supplied in the second Folio. 
 
 60. Thai heard Iter flattery. The first Folio gives ' heare ' 
 
 By watching, weeping, tendance, kissing, to 
 O'ercome you with her show ; yes, and in 
 time,M 
 
 When she had fitted you with her craft, to 
 work 
 
 Her son into the adoption of the crown : 
 But, failing of her end by his strange absence, 
 Grew shameless-desperate ; open'd, in despite 
 Of Heaven and men, her purposes ; repented 
 The evils she hatch'd were not effected ; so, 
 Despairing, died. 
 Cym. Heard you all this, her women P 
 
 First Lady. We did, so please your highness. 
 Cy7n. Mine eyes 
 
 Were not in fault, for she was beautiful ; 
 Mine ears, that heard her flattery;'" nor my 
 heart. 
 
 That thought her like her seeming ; it had been 
 vicious 
 
 To have mistrusted her : yet, oh, my daughter ! 
 
 That it was folly in me, thou mayst say. 
 
 And prove it in thy feeling. Heaven mend all ! 
 
 Enter Lucius, Imogen, Iachimo, the Soothsayer, 
 and other Roman '^riiotxe.ti,, guarded ; PoST- 
 HUMUS behind. 
 Thou com'st not, Caius, now for tribute ; that 
 The Britons have raz'd out, though with the 
 loss 
 
 Of many a bold one ; whose kinsmen have made 
 suit 
 
 That their good souls may be appeas'd with 
 slaughter 
 
 Of you their captives, which ourself have granted : 
 So, think of your estate. 
 
 Luc. Consider, sir, the chance of war : the 
 day 
 
 Was yours by accident ; had it gone with us. 
 We should not, when the blood vvas cool, have 
 threaten'd 
 
 Our prisoners with the sword. But since the 
 gods 
 
 Will have it thus, that nothing but our lives 
 May be call'd ransom, let it come : sufficeth, 
 A Roman with a Roman's heart can suffer: 
 Augustus lives to think on 't : and so much 
 For my peculiar care. This one thing only 
 I will entreat ; my boy, a Briton born, 
 Let him be ransom'd : never master had 
 A page so kind, so duteous, diligent. 
 So tender over his occasions, true, 
 So feat, so nurse-like let his virtue join 
 
 for "heard;" corrected in the third Folio. Printing a final 
 "e" instead of "d" is not an unfrequent typographical error 
 in the first Folio. See Note 28, Act ii., " Timon of Athens ; " 
 and Notes gg. Act i., and 61, Act ii., "Antony and Cleopatra." 
 
 61. So feat, so nurse-like. "Feat "means 'dextrous,' 'deft,' 
 'adroit,' 'prompt.' This gentle adaptation of herself and her 
 
ACT v.] 
 
 With my request, which I'll make bold your 
 highness 
 
 Cannot deny ; he hath done no Briton harm, 
 Though he have serv'd a Roman : save him, 
 sir, 
 
 And spare no blood beside. 
 
 Cym. I have surely seen him : 
 
 His favour ^2 familiar to me. — Boy, 
 Thou hast look'd thyself into my grace. 
 And art mine own. — I know not vvhy, nor where- 
 fore,65 
 
 To say, live, boy ne'er thank thy master; 
 live : 
 
 And ask of Cymbeline what boon thou wilt, 
 Fitting my bounty and thy state, I'll give it ; 
 Yea, though thou do demand a prisoner. 
 The noblest ta'en. 
 
 Imo. I humbly thank your highness. 
 
 Luc. I do not bid thee beg my life, good lad ; 
 And yet I know thou wilt. 
 
 Imo. No, no; alack. 
 
 There's other work in hand : I see a thing 
 Bitter to me as death : your life, good master. 
 Must shuffle for itself. 
 
 Luc. The boy disdains me, 
 
 He leaves me, scorns me : briefly die their joys 
 That place them on the truth of girls and boys. — 
 Why stands he so perplex'd ? 
 
 Cym. What wouldst thou, boy ? 
 
 I love thee more and more : think more and 
 more 
 
 What's best to ask. Know'st him thou look'st 
 on ? speak, 
 
 Wilt have him live ? Is he thy kin ? thy friend ? 
 Imo. He is a Roman ; no more kin to me 
 
 womanly accomplishments to her assumed office of page, crowns 
 the perfection of Imogen's character. Her power, too, of at- 
 tracting and attaching all who come near her — her father, who 
 loves her in spite of the harshness he has shown her under the 
 influence of his fiendish queen ; her husband, who has been her 
 " play-fellow" when a boy, and her lover in manhood, even 
 after her supposed death ; her faithful servant, Pisanio ; her 
 brothers, who know her but as a poor, homeless boy ; Belarius, 
 whose sympathy for the sick youth makes the way forth seem 
 tedious ; and Lucius, who pleads for the gentle lad's life with 
 so earnest a warmth, while bearing so affectionate a testimony 
 to his qualities as a page— this power of hers speaks indirectly, 
 but indisputably, in testimony of her bewitching nature. 
 
 62. Fai^our. * Aspect,' * countenance.' 
 
 63. / know not why, nor wherefore. The Folio omits " nor ; " 
 inserted by Rowe. 
 
 64. To say, live, hoy. ' I should be induced,' or ' I feel 
 impelled,' is elliptically understood before " to say." 
 
 65. One sand another not more resembles that sweet rosy 
 lad who died. This has been variously altered ; but we take 
 it to be one of the many extremely elliptically expressed sen- 
 tences in the present play, and that * than he does' must be 
 understood after " resembles. " We have heretofore had occa- 
 sion to point out the elliptical style which specially marks 
 Shakespeare's passages of simile or comparison. See, among 
 a multitude of others, the notes referred to in Note 44, Act iv. 
 
 66. Biit we saw him dead. The Folio misprints ' see ' for 
 " saw." Rowe's correction. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 Than I to your highness; who, being born your 
 
 vassal. 
 Am something nearer. 
 
 Cym. Wherefore ey'st him so ? 
 
 Imo. I'll tell you, sir, in private, if you please 
 To give me hearing. 
 
 Cym. Ay, with all my heart. 
 
 And lend my best attention. What 's thy name ? 
 
 Imo. Fidele, sir. 
 
 Cym. Thou'rt my good youth, my page ; 
 
 I'll be thy master: walk with me; speak freely. 
 
 [Cymbeline and Imogen con'verse apart. 
 
 BeL Is not this boy reviv'd from death P 
 
 Arn). One sand another 
 
 Not more resembles that sweet rosy lad 
 Who died," and was Fidele. What think you ? 
 
 Gut. The same dead thing alive. 
 
 Bel. Peace, peace ! see farther ; he eyes us not ; 
 forbear ; 
 
 Creatures may be alike : were 't he, I am sure 
 He would have spoke to us. 
 
 Gui. But we saw him dead.^* 
 
 Bel. Be silent ; let 's see farther. 
 
 Pis. \_Aside.'] It is my mistress : 
 
 Since she is living, let the time run on 
 To good or bad. 
 
 [Cymbeline and Imogen come fornuard. 
 
 Cym. Come, stand thou by our side ; 
 
 Make thy demand aloud.— [To Iach.] Sir, step 
 you forth ; 
 
 Give answer to this boy, and do it freely ; 
 Or, by our greatness, and the grace of it. 
 Which is our honour, bitter torture shall 
 Winnow the truth from falsehood. — [To Imo.] On, 
 speak to him.^^ 
 
 67. On, speak to him. The Folio gives ' one ' for " on " here : 
 but 'one' and "on" were frequently spoken, written, and 
 printed, the one word for the other formerly. See Note i, 
 Act ii., "Two Gentlemen of Verona." It is evident that 
 Cymbeline addressee these words to Imogen, as a following 
 up of his saying to her, " Make thy demand aloud." He 
 encourages her to stand by his side, and bids her speak directly 
 to lachimo ; but though royally encouraged, and bidden by a 
 king, observe how the pure-minded woman and most noble- 
 spirited princess chooses to avoid even speaking to the man 
 whom she knows to have once insulted her, and now suspects 
 to be a scoundrel traitor. Thoroughly characteristic of Imogen 
 is her conduct throughout this scene ; very subtly indicated are 
 her awakened suspicion and steadfast watching of lachimo by 
 Lucius's words, "Why stands he so perplex'd?" and by 
 Cymbeline's " Know'st him thou look'st on?' and "Wherefore 
 ey'st him so?' very clearly are her disgust and repugnance at 
 the thought of again coming into communion with the villain 
 denoted by her offering to tell Cymbeline "in private" of her 
 desire that lachimo should be questioned ; and equally obvious 
 is her determination that she will not question him herself, but 
 actually addresses her "demand" through the king, and thus 
 induces him to conduct the examination for her. The feminine 
 dignity blended with feminine modesty, the feminine spirit and 
 good sense combined with the utmost gentleness and tenderness 
 of character that distinguish all Shakespeare's most charming 
 women, shine in none more conspicuously than in matchless 
 Imogen. 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 I/no. My boon is, that this gentleman may 
 render 
 
 Of whom he had this ring.^s 
 
 Post. [Aside.] . What's that to him ? 
 
 Cym. That diamond upon your finger, say. 
 How came it yours ? 
 
 lach. Thou'lt torture me"' to leave unspoken 
 that 
 
 Which, to be spoke, would torture thee. 
 
 Cy/ff. How ! me ? 
 
 Lich. I am glad to be constrain'd to utter 
 that 
 
 Which torments me to conceal. By villany 
 
 I got this ring : 'twas Leonatus' jewel ;'° 
 
 Whom thou didst banish ; and, — which more may 
 
 grieve thee, 
 As it doth me,— a nobler sir ne'er liv'd"^ 
 'Twixt sky and ground. Wilt thou hear more, 
 my lord ? 
 Cym. All that belongs to this. 
 lach. That paragon, thy daughter, — 
 
 For whom my heart drops blood, and my false 
 spirits 
 
 Quail to remember, — Give me leave ; I faint. 
 Cym. My daughter ! what of her ? Renew thy 
 strength : 
 
 1 had rather thou shouldst live while nature will. 
 Than die ere I hear more : strive, man, and 
 speak. 
 
 lach. Upon a time, — unhappy was the clock 
 That struck the hour! — it was in Rome,^accurs'd 
 The mansion where ! — 'twas at a feast, — oh, would 
 Our viands had been poison'd, or at least 
 Those which I heav'd to head ! — the good Post- 
 humus, — 
 
 68. T/iis ring. Imogen points to the ring worn by lachimo ; 
 which she recognises for the one (her " mother's") that she gave 
 to her husband at parting, and which he then promised to keep 
 upon his finger " while sense can keep it on." See Note 67, 
 Act iii., " Coriolanus," for an example of " this" so used. 
 
 69. ThouUUrtureme,&'c. Implying, ' If thou knew'st all, 
 thou wouldst torture me,' &c. We have before now observed 
 that Shakespeare sometimes uses " I'll" for ' I'd' (see Note 77, 
 Act iv., "Timon of Athens"); as here "thoult" is used for 
 
 70. ' Twas Leouahis' jew(l. See Note 72, Act iii., " Twelfth 
 Night." 
 
 71. A twbler sir ne'er liv'd. This is the third time that 
 " sir" is used as a noun in the present play ; lachimo has pre- 
 viously said (Act i., sc. 7), "the worthiest sir," and "a sir so 
 rare ; " where he is also speaking of Posthumus. 
 
 72. Sitting sadly, hearing tts praise, is'c. The description 
 here does not precisely consist with the circumstances of the 
 incident as it actually occurred (see the fifth scene of the first 
 Act) ; but Shakespeare sometimes has these variations in par- 
 ticular details. See Note 62, Act iii. In the present case, he 
 may either have made it to give the effect of that inaccuracy of 
 memory which often marks the narration of a past occurrence 
 even in persons habitually truthful, or in order to denote 
 lachimo's innate untruthfulness and unscrupulousness, which 
 lead him to falsify in minor matters as in those of greater 
 
 73. Feature. Formerly used for 'general personal appear- 
 
 What should I say ? he was too good to be 
 Where ill men were ; and was the best of all 
 Amongst the rar'st of good ones, — sitting sadly, 
 Hearing us praise our loves of Italy 
 For beauty that made barren the swell' d boast 
 Of him that best could speak; for feature/^ 
 laming 
 
 The shrine of Venus, 74 or straight-pight'^ Minerva, 
 Postures beyond brief nature for condition, 
 A shop of all the qualities that man 
 Loves woman for ; besides, that hook of wiving, 
 Fairness, which strikes the eye, — 
 
 Cym. I stand on fire : 
 
 Come to th.e matter. 
 
 lach. All too soon I shall, 
 
 Unless thou wouldst grieve quickly. — This Post-, 
 humus, — 
 
 Most like a noble lord in love, and one 
 That had a royal lover,^'— took his hint ; 
 And, not dispraising whom we prais'd, — therein 
 He was as calm as virtue, — he began 
 His mistress' picture ; which by his tongue being 
 made, 
 
 And then a mind put in 't, either our brags 
 Were crack'd of kitchen trulls, or his description 
 Prov'd us unspeaking sots. 
 
 Cy?n. Nay, nay, to the purpose. 
 
 lach. Your daughter's chastity — there it begins. 
 He spake of her, as Dian had hot dreams, 
 And she alone were cold : whereat I, wretch, 
 Made scruple of his praise ; and wager'd with 
 him 
 
 Pieces of gold 'gainst this which then he wore 
 
 Upon his honour'd finger, to attain 
 
 In suit the place of his bed, and win this ring 
 
 ance' (see Note 73, Act ii., "Antony and Cleopatra"); here 
 more especially referring to proportion and moulding of the 
 limbs, general shapeliness. 
 
 74. Laming the shrine of Venus. " Laming " is here used 
 to express ' making seem lame or deformed in comparison ; ' as 
 sometimes ' dwarfing ' is used to express ' making seem com- 
 paratively short.' "The shrine of Venus" is employed by a 
 poetic licence of ellipsis for 'the statue of the goddess con- 
 tained in the shrine of Venus.' 
 
 75. Straight-j>ighi. ' Erectly-standing, ' ' firmly-poised ; ' 
 "pight" being an old word for 'pitched' or 'fixed.' See 
 Note 80, Act v., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 , 76. Posttires beyond brief nature. ' Whose attitudes surpass 
 the transient attitudes of nature.' This phrase has been dif- 
 ferently interpreted ; it being stated that " brief nature " means 
 ' hasty and unelaborate nature.' But we think the author's 
 intention was not so much to undervalue Nature's work in 
 comparison with the sculptor's, as to state that the attitudes 
 of these celebrated statues exceeded in permanent grace and 
 dignity the transient grace and dignity of attitudes seen in 
 nature. 
 
 77. Lover. Sometimes used in Shakespeare's time as a term 
 for a woman as well as for a man. See Note 47, Act i., 
 " Measure for Measure." 
 
 78. As Dian had hot dreams. 'If is elHptically understood 
 after"as." See Note 4, Act i., " Henry VIII," "As"for'as 
 if occurs several times in the present play ; and Shakespeare 
 frequently thus uses "as" elsewhere. 
 
Act V.J 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 Imogen. My boon is. that this gentleman may render 
 Of whom he had this ring. Act V. Scene V. 
 
 By hers and mine adultery: he, true knight, 
 No lesser of her honour confident 
 Than I did truly find her, stakes this ring; 
 And would so, had it been a carbuncle 
 Of Phoebus' wheel ; and might so safely, had it 
 Been all the worth of his car. Away to Britain 
 Post I in this design : — well may you, sir. 
 Remember me at court ; where I was taught 
 Of your chaste daughter the wide difference 
 'Twixt amorous and villanous.'' Being thus 
 quench'd 
 
 Of hope, not longing, mine Italian brain 
 
 79. The wide difference 'iwixt amorous and vilianous. 
 It well becomes the greatest poet-moralist that ever wrote thus 
 to vindicate a truth too little UMderstood and believed. Love — 
 true love, pure love, love itself— is as widely different from vile- 
 ness as heaven from earth. Love, in its unselfishness, ungross- 
 ness, unmeanness, is as opposite to base and evil propensities 
 as light and dark. Love, in its divine essence, is as contrary to 
 coarseness as spirituality to materialism. It is only because 
 
 *Gan in your duller Britain operate 
 Most vilely; for my vantage, excellent; 
 And, to be brief, my practice so prevail'd. 
 That I return'd with simular proof enough 
 To make the noble Leonatus mad, 
 By wounding his belief in her renown 
 With tokens thus, and thus; averring notes^" 
 Of chamber-hanging, pictures, this her bracelet,- 
 Oh, cunning, how I got it!^' — nay, some marks 
 Of secret on her person, that he could not 
 But think her bond of chastity quite crack'd, 
 I having ta'en the forfeit. Whereupon, — 
 
 ;d hypocrites and sensualists have sought to confound 
 love with vice, and ''amorous" with "vilianous," that the 
 truth which the great dramatic teacher here promulgates has 
 ever been misconceived. 
 
 80. Averring notes. "Averring" is here used adjcctively 
 to signify 'confirmatory,' ' evidential.' 
 
 81. Oh, cunning, how I got it 1 The first Folio omits " it ; " 
 supplied in the second Folio. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 Methinks, I see him now, — 
 
 Post. [Coming forward.'] Ay, so thou dost, 
 Italian fiend ! — Ah me, most credulous fool. 
 Egregious murderer, thief, anything 
 That's due to all the villains past, in being, 
 To come ! — Oh, give me cord, or knife, or poison, 
 Some upright justicerl^^ Thou, king, send out 
 For torturers ingenious : it is I 
 That all the abhon-§d things o' the earth amend. 
 By being worse than. they. I am Posthumus, 
 That kill'd thy daughter :— villain-like, I lie; 
 That caus'd a lesser villain than myself, 
 A sacrilegious thief, to do 't : — the temple 
 Of virtue was she; yea, and she herself 
 Spit, and throw stones, cast mire upon me, set 
 The dogs o' the street to bay me x^* every villain 
 Be call'd Posthumus Leonatus; and 
 Be villany less than 'twas I — O Imogen ! 
 My queen, my life, my wife ! O Imogen, 
 Imogen, Imogen ! 
 Imo. Peace, my lord ; hear, hear — 
 
 Post. Shall 's have a play of this ? Thou scorn- 
 ful page. 
 
 There lie thy part. [Striking her : she falls. 
 
 Pis. Oh, gentlemen, help ! 
 
 Mine and your mistress ! — Oh, my lord Posthumus ! 
 You ne'er kill'd Imogen till now. — Help, help I — 
 Mine honour'd lady ! 
 
 Cym. Does the world go round ? 
 
 Post. How come these staggers^ on me ? 
 
 Pis. Wake, my mistress ! 
 
 Cym. If this be so, the gods do mean to strike me 
 To death with mortal joy. 
 
 Pis. How fares my mistress ? 
 
 Imo. Oh, get thee from my sight ; 
 Thou gav'st me poison : dangerous fellow, hence ! 
 Breathe not where princes are. 
 
 82. yusticer. An old form of 'justice.' Shakespeare uses 
 the word more than once in "King Lear;" and ancient law 
 books have frequently 'justicers of the peace' for 'justices of 
 the peace.' 
 
 83. Y ea, and she herself . ' Ay, and even virtue herself." 
 
 84. To bay me. 'To denouncingly bark at rae.' See Note 22, 
 Act iv., "Julius Caesar." 
 
 85. These staggers. Here used to express ' these reelings of 
 the brain,' and ' totterings of the frame." Shakespeare else- 
 where uses the word for ' unsteadinesses,' ' swervings." See 
 Note 102, Act ii., " All's Well." It also includes the effect of 
 'confusing or bewildering shock;" since in "Richard II.," 
 Act v., sc. 5, the king, beneath the shock of Exton's assault, 
 says, "That hand shall burn in never-quenching fire that stag- 
 gers thus my person." 
 
 Z(>. Approve. ' Prove,' ' attest.' See Note 78, Act iv. 
 
 87. To te?7iper. ' To mix,' ' to compound,' ' to prepare." See 
 Note 78, Act iii., " Romeo and Juliet," 
 
 88. !Vhy did you throw, Various proposals have been 
 made for the alteration of this speech : Johnson pronouncing 
 that "there is little meaning" in it, "or in the answer:" while 
 a more modern critic asserts that it is " a passage of im- 
 penetrable obscurity." To our thinking it is, on the contrarj', 
 full of meaning ; meaning that is only so far obscure, as to be 
 veiled by that imperfect expression through which Shakespeare 
 
 Cym. The tune of Imogen ! 
 
 Pis. Lady, 
 The gods throw stones of sulphur on me, if 
 That box I gave you was not thought by me 
 A precious thing: I had it from the queen. 
 
 Cym. New matter still ? 
 
 Imo. It poison'd me. 
 
 Cor. Oh, gods 1— 
 
 I left out one thing which the queen confess' d, 
 Wnich must approve thee honest : " If Pisanio 
 Have," said she, " given his mistress that confection 
 Which I gave him for cordial, she is serv'd 
 As I would serve a rat." 
 
 Cym. What's this, Cornelius ? 
 
 Cor. The queen, sir, very oft importun'd me 
 To temper^? poisons for her; still pretending 
 The satisfaction of her knowledge only 
 In killing creatures vile, as cats and dogs. 
 Of no esteem : I, dreading that her purpose 
 Was of more danger, did compound for her 
 A certain stuff, which, being ta'en, would cease 
 The present power of life ; but in short time 
 All offices of nature should again 
 Do their due functions. — Have you ta'en of it ? 
 
 Imo. Most like I did, for I was dead. 
 
 Eel. My boys, 
 
 There was our error. 
 
 Gui. This is, sure, Fidele. 
 
 Imo, Why did you throw your wedded lady 
 from you P^s 
 Think that you are upon a rock ; and now 
 Throw me again. [Embracing him. 
 
 Post. Hang there like fruit, my soul. 
 
 Till the tree die ! 
 
 Cym. How now, my flesh, my child ! 
 
 What, mak'st thou me a dullard in this act P^* 
 Wilt thou not speak to me ? 
 
 so often conveys perfect impression in passionate speeches. See 
 Note 76, Act iv. The repetition of the word "throw" in 
 Imogen's speech here, seems to us to afford the clue to all that 
 she implies by her loving and confiding sally— half acted, half 
 uttered : ' Why did you throw your wedded lady from you, 
 when she stood beside you unknown 1 Now that she throws 
 herself upon your breast, known to you for your own, imagine 
 yourself upon some high rock ; and throw me from you again — 
 if you've the heart!' We think that her husband's words, 
 "Hang there like fruit, my soul, till the tree die!" give 
 evidence that 'throws herself upon your breast' is implied in 
 the wife's speech ; because we bear well in mind the significant 
 and largely comprehensive mode in which our poet uses the 
 word "there" (see speech referred to in Note 40, Act iv., 
 "Othello"); and because we think that by "there" Post- 
 humus means his breast, which he metaphorises as the trunk 
 of a tree whereon his wife shall hang like fruit till it die. 
 Observe, moreover, how completely in Shakespeare's style is 
 the construction of Imogen's speech, commencing by speaking 
 of herself in the second person, and concluded by the more 
 home-appealing first person "me." See Note 49, Act iv. of 
 the present play. 
 
 89. Mak'st tliou me a dullard in this act ? ' Dost thou treat 
 me as one insensible and unconcerned in this act of making 
 thyself known ? " 
 
Act v.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 Imo. [Knreling.l Your blessing, sir. 
 
 Be/. [To Gui. a'7d Arv.] Though you did love 
 this youth, I blame ye not ; 
 You had a motive for't. 
 
 Cjm. My tears that fall 
 
 Prove holy water on thee! Imogen, 
 1 hy mother's dead. 
 
 Imo. I am sorry for 't, my lord. 
 
 Cym. Oh, she was naught ; and 'long of her it 
 was 
 
 That we meet here so strangely : but her son 
 Is gone, we know not how nor where. 
 
 Pis. My lord, 
 
 Now fear is from me, I'll speak troth. Lord 
 Cloten, 
 
 Upon my lady's missing, came to me 
 With his sword drawn ; foam'd at the mouth, and 
 swore, 
 
 If I discover'd not which way she was gone, 
 
 It was my instant death. By accident, 
 
 I had a feigned letter of my master's 
 
 Then in my pocket; which directed him 
 
 To seek her on the mountains near to Milford ; 
 
 Where, in a frenzy, in my master's garments. 
 
 Which he enforc'd from me, away he posts'" 
 
 With unchaste purpose, and with oath to violate 
 
 My lady's honour: what became of him 
 
 I farther know not. 
 
 Gui. Let me end the story : 
 
 I slew him there. 
 
 Cym. Marry, the gods forfend ! 
 
 I would not thy good deeds should from my lips 
 Pluck a hard sentence : pr'ythee, valiant youth, 
 Deny 't again. 
 
 Gui. I have spoke it, and I did it. 
 
 90. Wliere . . . . away he posts. "Where" is here used for 
 ' whereto," or ' whither.' It has been pointed out that in the 
 dialogue with Pisanio (Act iii., sc. 5) Cloten said nothing of his 
 intention as here stated ; and it is asked whether Pisanio learned 
 this intention from a subsequent conversation with the queen's 
 son in his apartments. The dramatist leaves to be inferred the 
 mode by which Pisanio obtained his information ; deeming it 
 sufficient that the readers or spectators have been made aware, 
 through Cloten's soliloquy towards the close of that scene, that 
 Pisanio is here relating the fact with regard to the brutal prince's 
 intention. Moreover, Cloten's saying to Pisanio, when he re- 
 turns with Posthumus's clothes, "The third is, that thou wilt 
 be a voluntary mute to my design," conveys the effect of 
 Pisanio's knowing what the "design" is. We have often 
 had occasion to show that Shakespeare sometimes allows 
 certain particulars to be inferred, instead of stating them cir- 
 cumstantially [see Note 167, Act iii., "Hamlet"); and more 
 especially when, as in the present case, the scene where the 
 
 passage of in 
 in the play. 
 
 91. Hath J 
 ever scar foi 
 and various 5 
 sion appears 
 
 bavins pi. 
 accordance 
 
 ;ompIete detail occurs forms the concluding scene 
 See Note 55, Act v., "All's Well." 
 lore of tliee Juerited tJian a band of Clotens had 
 : The word " scar" has been suspected of error, 
 ubstitutlons have been proposed ; but the expres- 
 ;o us to be a very characteristic one for a veteran 
 , who can conceive no better claim of merit than 
 rs to show. The phraseology here is in 
 th the excessively condensed and elliptical style 
 
 Cym. He was a prince. 
 
 Gui. A most incivil one : the wrongs he did me 
 Were nothing prince-like ; for he did provoke me 
 With language that would make me spurn the sea. 
 If it could so roar to me : I cut off 's head ; 
 And am right glad he is not standing here 
 To tell this tale of mine. 
 
 Cym. I am sorry for thee: 
 
 By thine own tongue thou art condemn'd, and 
 must 
 
 Endure our law: thou'rt dead. 
 
 Imo. That headless man 
 
 I thought had been my lord. 
 
 Cym. Bind the offender. 
 
 And take him from our presence. 
 
 Bel. Stay, sir king : 
 
 This man is better than the man he slew. 
 As well descended as thyself; and hath 
 More of thee merited than a band of Clotens 
 Had ever scar for.'' — [To the Guard.] Let his 
 
 arms alone ; 
 They were not born for bondage. 
 
 Cym. Why, old soldier. 
 
 Wilt thou undo the worth thou art unpaid for. 
 By tasting of our wrath P'^ How of descent 
 As good as we ? 
 
 Arn). In that he spake too far. 
 
 Cym. And thou shalt die for 't. 
 
 Bel. We will die all three. 
 
 But I will prove that two on 's are as good 
 As I have given out him.'^ — My sons, I must. 
 For mine own part, unfold a dangerous speech, 
 Though, haply, well for you. 
 
 Arnj. Your danger 's ours. 
 
 Gui. And our good his.'* 
 
 that is to be traced through 
 signifying, ' has merited n 
 such fellows as Cloten ever 
 
 the present drama ; the sentence 
 of thee than a whole band of 
 :ived a single scar to entitle them 
 it observed, that "a band of Clotens " is here 
 le same way that "a parish of Clotens" is pre- 
 e 38, Act iv. 
 
 - wrath ? Johnson explains this to mean, 
 ,s to make thee taste of our wrath,' saying that the 
 is taken for the whole action. Inasmuch as Shake- 
 occasionally thus use verbs, it may be that this 
 
 See No 
 ing of on 
 
 to claim.' I 
 used ihuch ir 
 viously used. 
 
 92. Bytas 
 ' by forcing 
 consequence 
 
 interpretation is right ; but we agree with Mr. Staunton in 
 thinking that here "tasting" may be used in the sense of 
 ' testing,' ' trying,' as " taste " is used in the passages adverted 
 to in Note 29, Act iv., " First Part Henry IV." " Tasting" is 
 used in " Much Ado," Act v., sc. i, to express ' experiencing 
 which blends the sense of the word involved in Dr. Johnson's 
 explanation with that involved in Mr. Staunton's suggestion. 
 
 93. IVe will die all three, but I -will prove that, &r'c. In 
 most modern editions, a colon is put after " three." We follow 
 the Folio in putting merely a comma there ; as we take the 
 passage to be similar in construction to the one explained in 
 Note 5, Act v., " Antony and Cleopatra." Belarius is not 
 asserting the simple fact that he and his supposed sons are 
 willing to die ; he is saying that he and they will be ready to 
 die if he be not able to prove that two out of the three are as 
 well-born as he has declared Guiderius to be. 
 
 94. Your danger^ s ours. And our good his. Well might 
 
Bel. Have at it, then ! — 
 
 By leiive,— thou hadst, great king, a subject who 
 Was call'd Belanui. 
 
 Cym. What of him ? he is 
 
 A banishM traitor, 
 
 Bel. He it is that hath 
 
 AssumM this age i''^ iiuieed, a banishM man 
 I know not how a traitor. 
 
 Cym. Take him hence . 
 
 The whole world shall not save him. 
 
 Bel. Not too hot 
 
 Belarius exclaim (Act iv., sc. 2I, " Thou divine Nature, how 
 thyself thou blazon'st in these two princely boys ! " The ex- 
 altedness of moral courage, no less than that nobility of per- 
 sonal courage which so wins the enthusiastic admiration of the 
 veteran warrior, shines out of these two youths with all the 
 effulgence of their illustrious origin. 
 
 95. Assumed this age. "Assumed" does not here include 
 
 First pay me for the nursing of thy sons ; 
 And let it be confiscate all, so soon 
 As I have receiv'd it. 
 
 Cym. Nursing of my sans ! 
 
 Bel. I am too blunt ami saucy: here's r 
 knee : 
 
 Ere I arise, I will prefer'^ my sons ; 
 Then spare not the old father. Mighty sir, 
 These two young gentlemen, that call i 
 father, 
 
 And think they are my sons, are none of mine ; 
 
 its sense of 'put on,' 'taken the appearance of ;* but it is used 
 to express 'acquired,' 'attained,' 'summed up unto.' "This 
 age" is said in reference to the speaker's overgrowth of hair 
 and beard (see Note 98, Act iv.) ; which makes him look so 
 much older than when Cymbeline last saw him, and which bears 
 token of the time that has since then elapsed. 
 96. Prefer. * Advance,' ' promote.' 
 
Act v.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 They are the issue of your loins, my liege, 
 And blood of your begetting. 
 
 Cym. How ! my issue ! 
 
 Bel. So sure as you your father's. I, old 
 Morgan, 
 
 Am that Belarius whom you sometime banish'd : 
 Your pleasure was my mere offence,'^ my punish- 
 ment 
 
 Itself, and all my treason ; that I sufFet'd 
 Was all the harm I did. These gentle princes,— 
 For such and so they are, — these twenty years 
 Have I train'd up : those arts they have as I 
 Could put into them:^^ my breeding was, sir, as 
 Your highness knows. Their nurse, Euriphile, 
 Whom for the theft I wedded, stole these children 
 Upon my banishment: I mov'd her to 't ; 
 Having receiv'd the punishment before, 
 For that which I did then : beaten for loyalty, 
 Excited me to treason : their dear loss,"' 
 The more of you 'twas felt, the more it shap'd 
 Unto my end of stealing them. But, gracious sir. 
 Here are your sons again ; and I must lose 
 Two of the sweet'st companions in the world : — 
 The benediction of these covering heavens 
 Fall on iheir heads like dew ! for they are worthy 
 To inlay heaven with stars. 
 
 Cym. Thou weep'st, and speak'st. 
 
 The service that you three have done is more 
 Unlike than this thou tell' st. I lost my children : 
 If tliese be they, I know not how to wish 
 A pair of worthier sons. 
 
 Bel. Be pleas'd awhile. — 
 
 97. Vour pleasure luas my mere offence, my, Is'c. ' My 
 offence, my punishment, and all my treason, originated solely in 
 its biinj your pleasure to consider me guilty and to punish me.' 
 The Folio gives 'neere' for "mer^.'' Rann's correction, sug- 
 gested by Tyrrwhitt. 
 
 98. T/wse arts they have as I could, put into them. " Those " 
 is here used, where, in ordinary construction, 'such' would be 
 employed. 
 
 gg. Their dear loss. 'Their intensely-felt loss.' Here the 
 word " dear" is used precisely as in the passage pointed out in 
 Note 98, Act i., "Othello." 
 
 100. Unlike, Here used for 'unlikely;' the king arguing 
 that the exploits performed by the "three " are even more im- 
 probable than the story now related ; therefore there may well 
 be in the latter that truth to which the relater's tears and 
 agitated speech bear witness. 
 
 101. A mole, a sanguine star. Most poetically, as well as 
 with most subtle philosophical knowledge of Nature's workings 
 in the matter of kindred and inherited distinctive marks, has 
 Shakespeare in this play given to the prince brother an almost 
 precisely similar personal badge-spot with the one which lies 
 upon the snow of the princess sister's breast Imogen's " mole 
 cinque-spotted, like the crimson drops i' the bottom of a cow- 
 slip," and Guiderius's " mole, a sanguine star," are twinned in 
 beauty with a poet's imagination and a naturalist's truth. 
 
 102. Sless'd pray you be. Rowe and others alter "pray" to 
 'may' here; but the sentence is elliptically constructed, sig- 
 nifying, ' I pray that you may be bless'd.' There are other 
 instances in Shakespeare of "pr;.y" being thus used with the 
 usually preceding ' I ' being elliptically understood : as, in 
 "Winter's Tale," Act iv., sc. 3, "Pray heartily he be at 
 ■palace;" in "Richard II.," Act i., sc. 4, "Pray God, we 
 
 This gentleman, whom I call Polydore, 
 Most worthy prince, as yours, is true Guiderius : 
 This gentleman, my Cadwal, Arviragus, 
 Your younger princely son ; he, sir, was lapp'd 
 In a most curious mantle, wrought by the hand 
 Of his queen mother, which, for more probation, 
 I can with ease produce. 
 
 Cym. Guiderius had 
 
 Upon his neck a mole, a sanguine star;"" 
 It was a mark of wonder. 
 
 Bel. This is he ; 
 
 Who hath upon him still that natural stainp : 
 It was wise nature's end in the donation. 
 To be his evidence now. 
 
 Cym. Oh ! what, am I 
 
 A mother to the birth of three ? Ne'er mother 
 Rejoic'd deliverance more. — Bless'd pray you be, ""2 
 That, after this strange starting from your orbs, 
 You may reign in them now ! — O Imogen, 
 Thou hast lost by this a kingdom. 
 
 I mo. No, my lord ; 
 
 I have got two worlds by't.'"^ — O my gentle 
 brothers, 
 
 Have we thus met? Oh, never say hereafter 
 But I am truest speaker you call'd me brother. 
 When I was but your sister ; I you brothers. 
 When you were so indeed. 
 
 Cym. Did you e'er meet P 
 
 Arv. Ay, my good lord. 
 
 Gui. And at first meeting lov'd ; 
 
 Continu'd so, until we thought he died."** 
 Cor. By the queen's dram she swallow'd.'"^ 
 
 may make haste, and come too late ! " and in " Othello," Act ii., 
 sc. r, " Pray Heaven he be." 
 
 103. / have got iivo worlds by '/. True and generous-hearted 
 Imogen ! . 
 
 104. Oh, never say hereafter but I am truest speaker. 
 Imogen's playfulness, when she is happy, is as enchantingly 
 full of true womanhood as her deep and earnest pathos when 
 she is afflicted. See, too, how her large heart has room for 
 fond and warm affection towards her brothers, whom she from 
 the first instinctively loves, as well as for the abounding passion 
 that it cherishes towards her husband ; and note, moreover, how 
 sincere, how simply pure and true are her demonstrations of 
 attachment : she lets the whole force of her passionate love 
 show it.self to her chosen wedded lord, she allows the whole 
 warmth of her impulsive affection to manifest itself towards her 
 noble young brothers ; but she confines herself to dutiful ex- 
 pressions and respectful observance in her words to her father, 
 and limits her reception of the news that her step-mother is 
 dead to " I am sorry for 't, my lord " Such a w^oman as 
 Imogen is to be trusted and beloved through life, and held in 
 ever affectionate memory even after death. Happy those who 
 have and have had such a woman to trust and love when alive, 
 and to treasure in memory when dead. 
 
 105. At first meetitig lov'd; continu'd so, until, &^c. Here 
 is an instance of Shakespeare's elliptical use of the word " so." 
 The previous word "lov'd" allows "so" to imply 'so loving 
 him.' 
 
 106. Until me thought he died. By the queen's dram she 
 swalloiud. In the respective use of the two pronouns, "he" 
 and "she," by these two speakers, wo trace Shakespeare's 
 miraculous skill in appropriate and subtly significant diction. 
 The youth Guiderius is reverting to the time when, irresistibly 
 
Act v.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 Cym. Oh, rare instinct ! 
 
 When shall I hear all through P This fierce 
 
 abridgment 
 Hath to it circumstantial branches, which 
 Distinction should be rich in.""* — Where ? how 
 
 liv'd you ? 
 
 And when came you to serve our Roman captive ? 
 How parted with your brothers ? how first met 
 them ? 
 
 Why fled you from the court ? and whither ? These, 
 And your three motives'*" to the battle, with 
 I know not how much more, should be demanded ; 
 And all the other by-dependencies, 
 From chance to chance : but nor the time nor 
 place 
 
 Will serve our long inter'gatories."" See, 
 Posthumus anchors upon Imogen ; 
 And she, like harmless lightning, throws her eye 
 On him, her brothers, me, tier master ; hitting 
 Each object with a joy : the counterchange 
 Is severally in all. — Let's quit this ground. 
 And smoke the temple with our sacrifices. — 
 [To Bel.] Thou art my brother; so we'll hold 
 thee ever. 
 
 Imo. You are my father too ; and did relieve me, 
 To see this gracious season. 
 
 Cym. All o'erjoy'd. 
 
 Save these in bonds : let them be joyful too, 
 For they shall taste our comfort. 
 
 Imo. " My good master, 
 
 I will yet do you service. 
 
 Luc. Happy be you ! 
 
 Cym. The forlorn soldier, that so nobly fought, 
 He would have well become this place, and grac'd 
 The thankings of a king. 
 
 Post. I am, sir. 
 
 The soldier that did company these three 
 In poor beseeming ; 'twas a fitment for 
 The purpose I then follow'd. — That I was he, 
 Speak, lachimo : I had you down, and might 
 
 attracted to the gentle lad Fidele, he offers his own affec 
 friendship in return for that of the sweet boy (see Note gg, 
 Act iii.,1 and the impression of his image as he was then, 
 seconded by the stili-worn boy-attire, is so strong that Guiderius 
 uses the masculine pronoun "he" in speaking of his newly- 
 discovered sister. On the contrary, the physician Cornelius, 
 whose thoughts have been wholly occupied with the incident of 
 the discovery of the king's daughter, and who has known 
 Princess Imogen in her own person and garments, and in her 
 own station at court, naturally speaks of her as a woman, 
 employing the feminine pronoun "she." 
 
 107. T/n's fierce abridgment. Shakespeare here, as else- 
 where, uses "fierce" to express 'hasty,' 'rapid,' 'brief See 
 Note 62, Act iii,, " King John. ' 
 
 108. Wliich distinction should be rich in. 'Which a more 
 distinct and amplified relation ought abundantly to possess and 
 
 log. Vonr three motives. Here used to express ' the motives 
 of you three.' For instances of a similar constructional form, 
 see Note 10, Act iv,, " Timon of Athens ; " also context of 
 passage explained in Note 29, Act ii , " Romeo and Juliet," 
 
 Have made you finish. 
 
 lach. [KneeHng.'\ I am down again : 
 But now my heavy conscience sinks my knee, 
 As then your force did. Take that life, beseech 
 you, 
 
 Which I so often owe : but your ring first ; 
 And here the bracelet of the truest princess 
 'I'hat ever swore her faith. 
 
 Post. Kneel not to me: 
 
 The power that I have on you is to spare you ; 
 The malice towards you to forgive you : live, 
 And deal with others better. 
 
 Cym. Nobly doom'd ! 
 
 We '11 learn our freeness of a son-in-law : 
 Pardon 's the word to all. 
 
 Jrv. You holp us, sir. 
 
 As you did mean indeed to be our brother; 
 Joy'd are we that you are. 
 
 Post. Your servant, princes. — Good my lord of 
 Rome, 
 
 Call forth your soothsayer : as I slept, methought 
 Great Jupiter, upon his eagle back'd, 
 Appear'd to me, with other spritely shows'" 
 Of mine own kindred : when I wak'd, I found 
 This label on my bosom ; whose containing 
 Is so from sense in hardness,"- that I can 
 Make no collection of it :"■' let him show 
 His skill in the construction. 
 
 Lttc. Philarmonus,— 
 
 Sooth. Here, my good lord. 
 
 Luc. Read, and declare the meaning. 
 
 Sooth. [Reads.'] Whenas a lion's whelp shall, to himself 
 unknown, without seeking find, and be embraced by a piece oi 
 tender air ; and when from a stately cedar shall be lopped 
 branches, which, being dead many years, shall after revive, be 
 jointed to the old stock, and freshly grow ; then shall Posthumus 
 end his miseries, Britain be fortunate, and flourish in peace and 
 plenty. 
 
 Thou, Leonatus, art the lion's whelp ; 
 The fit and apt construction of thy name. 
 
 where "both our remedies" means 'the remedies of us both,' 
 or ' the remedy for us both.' 
 
 no. Inter' gatories. Though the Folio here prints 'inter- 
 rogatories,' it is probable that the old elisional form of " in- 
 ter'gatories " was intended by the author ; because he h.as used 
 it twice elsewhere (see Note 52, Act iv., "All's Well"), and 
 because it here suits the measure. Malone made the correc- 
 tion ; which was suggested by Tyrrwhitt, and has since been 
 adopted by all editors. 
 
 111. Spritely shoius. 'Ghostly apparitions,' 'troops of 
 sprites.' 
 
 112. Whose containing is so from sense in hardness. 'That 
 which is contained therein is so far removed from sense in its 
 difficulty of solution.' 
 
 113. That I can make no collection of it. "Collection" is 
 here used for 'collective deduction,' 'conclusion drawn from 
 aggregate premises ; ' the word being also thus employed in the 
 speech referred to in Notes 34 and 35, Act iv., " Hamlet," where 
 Horatio says, 
 
 " Her speech is nothing, 
 Yet the unshap&d use of it doth move 
 The hearers to collejtiojt.'* 
 
Acr v.] 
 
 CYMBELINE. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 Being Leo-natus, doth import so much : 
 [To Cym.] The piece of tender air, thy virtuous 
 daughter, 
 
 Which we call mollis aer ; and mollis aer 
 We term it mulier : which mulier, I divine, 
 Is this most constant wife ; [to Post.] who, even 
 now,"'* 
 
 Answering the letter of the oracle. 
 
 Unknown to you, unsought, were clipp'd about 
 
 With this most tender air. 
 
 Cym, This hath some seeming. 
 
 Sooth. The lofty cedar, royal Cymbeline, 
 Personates thee : and thy lopp'd branches point 
 Thy two sons forth ; who, by Belarius stol'n, 
 For many years thought dead, are now reviv'd, 
 I'o the majestic cedar join'd ; whose issue 
 Promises Britain peace and plenty. 
 
 Cym. Well, 
 My peace we will begin — and, Caius Lucius, 
 Although the victor, we submit to Csesar, 
 And to the Roman empire; promising 
 To pay our wonted tribute, from the which 
 We were dissuaded by our wicked queen ; 
 Whom heavens, in justice, both on her and hers. 
 Have laid most heavy hand."* 
 
 114. Who, ereti now, &'c. The present passage is very in- 
 volved in construction, from the circumstance that " who " is 
 made to do double duty in the sentence, that word being used 
 in reference to Imogen, and used in addressing Posthumus. 
 Throughout the very condensed and elliptical diction of this 
 play, there is scarcely a more remarkable instance of it than 
 the one now commented upon. Capell, perceiving the difficulty 
 in the passage, changed " this " to ' thy ; ' but that change does 
 not meet the really perplexing point of the peculiar construction 
 here, which we think lies in the duplex use of the word 
 " who." It may be proper to state that we asserted this 
 in the preface to our edition which was published in New 
 York, i860. Shakespeare not unfrequently makes a verb do 
 double duty in a sentence (see Note 23, Act iv., " Timon 
 of Athens"); but, to the best of our remembrance, this is the 
 
 I Sooth. The fingers of the powers above do 
 I tune 
 
 I The harmony of this peace. The vision 
 Which I made known to Lucius, ere the stroke 
 
 I Of this yet scarce-cold battle,''? at this instant 
 Is full accomplish'd ; for the Roman eagle. 
 From south to west on wing soaring aloft, 
 
 , Lessen'd herself, and in the beams o' the sun 
 
 j So vanish'd : which forethow'd our princely 
 eagle, 
 
 The imperial Caesar, should again unite 
 His favour with the radiant Cymbeline, 
 Which shines here in the west. 
 
 Cym. Laud we the gods ; 
 
 And let our crookeii smokes climb to their 
 nostrils 
 
 From our bless'd altars. Publish we thi^ peace 
 
 To all our subjects. Set we forward : let 
 
 A Roman and a British ensign wave 
 
 Friendly together ; so through Lud's town march : 
 
 And in the temple of great Jupiter 
 
 Our peace we'll ratify ; seal it with feasts. — 
 
 Set on there !— Never was a war did cease. 
 
 Ere bloody hands were wash'd, with such a peace. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 only instance where he makes a pronoun perform similar two.old 
 office. 
 
 T15. My feace we will be^in. Hanmer changed "my" to 
 ' by ' here ; but we think that Cymbeline uses " my " to denote 
 the " peace " that he himself will at once inaugurate, in con- 
 tradistinction to the future "peace" predicted to Britain as 
 resulting from the reign of his sons after him. 
 
 116. Who7n heavens, in justice, both on Iter and hers, have 
 laid most heavy hand. Here "on" after "both" allows 'on' 
 to be understood either before " whom " or after " hand." See, 
 for an instance of similar construction. Note 71, Act iv., " King 
 John." 
 
 117. Of this yet scarce-cold battle. The first Folio gives 
 'yet this' transposedly for "this yet." Corrected in the third 
 Folio. 
 
 748 
 
DRAMATIS PERSONS, 
 
 SiMONIDES, King of Peiitapolis. 
 Cleon, Governor of Tliarsus. 
 Lysimachus, Governor of Mytilene. 
 Cerimon, a Lord of Epliesus. 
 Thaliard, a Lord of Antioch. 
 Philemon, Servant to Cerimon. 
 Leonine, Servant to Dionyza. 
 Marshal. 
 
 A Keeper of a House of 111 Fame. 
 BouLT, his Servant. 
 
 The Daughter of Antiochus. 
 Dionyza, Wife to Cleon. 
 Thaisa, Daughter to Simonides. 
 Marina, Daughter to Pericles and Tliaisa. 
 Lychorida, Nurse to Marina. 
 
 The Wife to the Keeper of the House of 111 Fame. 
 
 Lords, Knights, Gentlemen, Sailors, Pirates, Fishermen, and Messengers. 
 
 Scene — Dispersedly in various Countries* 
 
 * To show In how many regions the scene Is dispersed, It may be remarked that Aniioch 
 was the metropolis of Syria : Tyre, a city of Phoenicia, in Asia; Tkarsus, the metropolis of 
 Cillcia, a country of Asia Minor ; Mytileiie, the capital of Lesbos, an island in the iEgean 
 Sea ; Ephesus, the capital of Ionia, a country of the Lesser Asia. 
 
 Antiochus, King of Antioch, 
 Pericles, Prince of Tyre. 
 
 Diana. 
 
 GowER, as Chorus. 
 
PERICLES/ 
 
 ACT I. 
 
 Enter Gower.^ 
 
 Before the Palace of Antioch. 
 
 To sing a song that old^ was sung, 
 
 From ashes ancient Gower is come 
 
 Assuming man's infirmities, 
 
 To glad your ear, and please your e) es. 
 
 It hath been sung at festivals, 
 
 On ember-eves and holy-ales;* 
 
 I. Although this play is not given in the first FoHo, we think 
 there is no doubt that it was Shakespeare's production. In- 
 ternal evidence as well as external evidence show it to have 
 been his ; the poetry of imagination and poetic diction, in 
 certain scenjs especially, appear to us to be essentially his. 
 For instance, the whole of the first scene of the third Act and 
 first scene of the fifth Act seem to us to be written as but one 
 dramatic hand ever wrote. Fervour of expression in the most 
 nat iral language, and passion welling up from the very depths of 
 the human heart, are here to be found as only one writer with 
 whom we are acquainted ever presented them to mortal sight 
 by pen and ink. The tokens we perceive of our poet's author- 
 ship in particular passages will be pointed out in our notes ap- 
 pended thereto as we proceed through the play. The first 
 known Quarto edition was published in 1609, and bore William 
 Shakespeare's name on the title as its author. Other Quarto 
 editions followed, published successively in 161 1, 1619, 1630, 
 1635, 1639; and it was inserted in the Folios of 1664 and 1685 
 It had been entered in the registers of the stationers' books on 
 the 20th of May, 1608, by Edward Blount (one of the publishers 
 of the first Folio; ; but the 1609 Quarto edition was published by 
 Henry Gosson, not by Edward Blount. The period when this 
 play was first performed upon the stage seems to have been 
 somewhere about 1607 or 1608 ; for in the title-page to the 
 earliest known Quarto (1609) it is called "The lute and much 
 admired Play, called Pericles';" while the title of a prose tract, 
 written by George Wilkins, published in 1608, and founded upon 
 this popular drama, runs thus: "The Painfull Adventures of 
 Pericles Prince of Tyre. Being the true History of the Play 
 of Pericles as it was lately presented by the worthy and ancient 
 Poet John Gower." With regard to the date of its composition, 
 it may have been originally written by Shakespeare when first 
 trying his hand upon a tragic subject ; and that he re-touched 
 and revised it for 'oringing out upon the stage in 1607 or i6o3. 
 Dryden, in his Prologije to Charles Davenant's " Circe," written 
 in 1675, has a line which testifies to this effect : 
 
 " Shakespeare's own Muse his Pericles first bore." 
 The story on which the plot of this drama is based is found in 
 
 And lords and ladies in their lives 
 
 Have read it for resturatives : 
 
 The purchase^ is to make men glorious; 
 
 Et bonum quo atitiquius, eo melius.'' 
 
 If ) 0u, born in these latter times, 
 
 When wit 's more ripe, accept my rhymes, 
 
 And that to hear an old man sing 
 
 May to your wishes pleasure bring, 
 
 I life would wish, and that I might 
 
 the ancient romance of " King Apollonius of Tyre," and also in 
 Gower's " Confesslo Amantis," where King Appolin of Tyre is 
 treated erf ; while the more Immediate source whence the in- 
 cidents were derived is probably a prose translation of the 
 " Gesta Romanorum," by Lawrence Twine, first printed in 
 1576, which gives a novel, entitle.i, "The Palterne of paine- 
 fuli Aduentures : containing the most excellent, pleasant, and 
 variable Historle of the strange accidents that befell vnto Prince 
 Apollonius," &c. 
 
 2. Goiver. An ancient English poet, a contemporary with 
 Chaucer. It was because he relates in his " Confessio Amantis" 
 the story on which this play is founded, that the chorus here 
 introduced Is represented in his character. 
 
 3. Old. Here used for ' of old' or ' anciently.' 
 
 4. Is come. The imperfect rhyme of "sung" and "come" 
 In this couplet is not more licentious than several that occur in 
 these chorus-speeches of Gower : and we have heretofore pointed 
 out instances of occasional imperfect rhyme and even of non- 
 rhyme in Shakespeare's rhymed passages. See Note 38, Act v., 
 " Richard II. : " and Note 25, Act ii., " Cymbeline." 
 
 5. Holy-ales. The old copies give ' holy dayes ' here ; but 
 Malone's correction, suggested by Dr. Farmer, is probably 
 right, "holy-ales" being synonymous with ' church-ales,' which 
 were certain ecclesiastic holidays. See Note 34, Act ii., "Two 
 Gentlemen of Verona." It is evident that these chorus-speeches 
 were intended to be in rhyming form, however imperfect the 
 rhymes occasionally are. The old printed text of the present 
 play is so corrupt, that it is difficult to decide where, and where 
 not, emendation Is needed ; all a conscientious editor can do is 
 to examine carefully and exercise the power of decision to the 
 best of his judgment. 
 
 6. Purchase. Here used for 'advantage,' 'gain,' 'profit.' 
 Bacon, in his " Advancement of Learning," thus uses the 
 word : " Some fall in love with accesse to princes, others with 
 popidar fame and applause, supposinge they are things of greate 
 purchase, when in many cases they are but matters of envy, 
 perill, and Impediment." 
 
 7. Et bojnim gtto antiquuts, eo melius. Latin ; * And a good 
 thing the more ancient it Is, the better It is.' 
 
Act I.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Waste it for you, like taper-light. — 
 
 This Aiitioch, then, Antiochus tlie Great 
 
 Built up, this city, for his chijfest seat; 
 
 The fairest in all Syria, — 
 
 I tell you what mine authors say : 
 
 This king unto him took a pheere,^ 
 
 Who died and left a female heir, 
 
 So buxom, blithe, and f.ill of face,' 
 
 As heaven had lent her al his grace; 
 
 With whom the father liking took. 
 
 And her to incest did provoke : — 
 
 Bad child ; worse father! to entice his oivji 
 
 To evil should be done by none : 
 
 By custom'" what they did begin 
 
 Was with long use account" no sin. 
 
 The beauty of this sinful dame 
 
 Made many princes thither frame, 
 
 To seek her as a bed-fellow. 
 
 In marringe-pleasures play-fellow: 
 
 Which to prevent he made a law, — 
 
 To keep her still, and men in awe, — 
 
 That whoso ask'd her for his wife, 
 
 His riddle told not, lost his life : 
 
 So for her many a wight did die, 
 
 As yon grim looks do testify.''' 
 
 What now ensues, to the judgment of your eye 
 
 I give, my cause who'^ best can justify. [Exi/. 
 
 SCENE I.— Antioch. A Room in the Palace. 
 Enter Antiochus, Pericles, and Attendants. 
 Jnt. Young prince of Tyre,'^ you have at 
 large receiv'd 
 
 8. Phsere. The old copies misprint ' peere ' for "pheere." 
 Malone's correction. This antique term for a ' mate ' or ' com- 
 panion' was variously spelt, but most frequently 'fere.' 
 
 9. So buxom, blithe, and full of face. "Buxom" means 
 'fresh,' 'lively' (see Note 85, Act iii , "Henry V."): and 
 " full " is used to express ' fully beautiful,' 'plenarily attractive.' 
 See Note 17, Act i., "Othello." 
 
 10. By custom. The old copies have 'but' for "by." 
 Malone's correction. 
 
 11. Account. An abbreviated form of ' accounted ;' probably 
 intended here, though the old copies give ' account'd,' ' ac- 
 counted,' and 'counted.' Malone made the correction. 
 
 12. Thither frame. ' Thither shape their course,' ' bend 
 their cour.se thither.' 
 
 13. IVight. An old word for 'person,' 'individual.' See 
 Note 21, Act ii., " Othello." 
 
 14. As yoji grim looks do testify. In reference to the heads 
 of those who had failed to guess the riddle, which were placed 
 over tlie palace gate, and supposed to be in sight of the 
 audience. 
 
 15. Wtio. Here used for 'which,' in relation to "the judg- 
 ment of your- eye." 
 
 lb. Voutig prince of Tyre. " Prince," as applied to Pericles 
 in this play, means prince regnanf; since we find him monarch 
 of Tyre, and his father being spoken of by him in Act ii., sc. i. 
 as "dead." In the " Gesta Romanorum " Apolloniis is King 
 of Tyre: but in Twine's translation he is repeatedly called 
 prince of Tyrus, as he is in Gower s " Confessio Amantis." 
 
 [ The danger of the task you undertake. 
 
 Per. 1 have, Antiochus, and, with a soul 
 I Embolden'd with the glory of her praise, 
 ! Think death no hazard in this enterprise, 
 j Ant. Bring in our daughter, clothfed like a 
 j bride, 
 
 I I'or the embracements^ even of Jove himself ; 
 
 .\t whose conception (till Lucina reign'd) 
 ! Nature this dowry gave, to glad her presence,'^ 
 j The senate-house of planets all did sit,'' 
 j To knit in her their best peifections. 
 
 j Music. Enter the Daughter of Antiochus. 
 Per, See where she comes, apparell'd like the 
 
 I spring, 
 Graces her subjects, and her thoughts the king^o 
 
 j Of every virtue gives renown to men ! 
 Her face the book of praises,^' where is read 
 Nothing but curious pleasures, as from thence 
 Sorrow were ever raz'c), and testy wratli 
 Could never be her mild companion. ^"^ 
 You gods that made me man, and su ay in love. 
 That have inflam'd desire in my breast 
 To taste the fruit of yon celestial tree, 
 Or die in the adventure, be my helps, 
 As I am son and servant to your will, 
 To compass such a boundless happiness! 
 Ant. Prince Pericles, — 
 
 Per. That would be son to great Antiochus. 
 
 Ant. Before thee stands this fair Hesperides,^' 
 With golden fruit, but dangerous to be touch'd ; 
 For death-like dragons here affright thee hard : 
 Her face, like lieaven, enticeth tViee to view 
 ! Her countless glory, which desert must gain ; 
 And which, without desert, because thine eye 
 Presumes to reach, all thy whoh heap must die.^* 
 
 17. For the embracements. " For" has here the force of ' fit 
 for.' See Note 40, Act ii., " Cymbehne." The old copies omit 
 " the," which was added by Malone. 
 
 18. At whose conception . ... to glad her presetice. 
 "■Whose" and " her" relate to the daughter of Antiochus. 
 
 19. Tlu setiate-house of planets all, dr'c. In Sidney's 
 "Arcadia" there occurs almost this identical phrase and 
 
 I idea : " The senate-house of the planets was at no time to 
 set for the decreemg of perfection in a man;" and in Milton 
 a very similar passage: All heaven. 
 
 And happy constellations, on that hour 
 Shed their .selectest influence." 
 
 20. Graces hfr subjects, and her thoughts, A^r. Elliptically 
 constructed : the sentence signifying, ' The Graces are her 
 subjects, and her thoughts are the sovereign of every virtue 
 that gives renown to men ! ' 
 
 21. Her face the book of praises. 'Her face is as a book 
 containing all that is praiseworthy,' or ' that may elicit praises." 
 
 22. Her 7nild companion. ' The companion of her mildness. 
 Shakespeare often has these elliptically employed epithets. See 
 Note 59, Act ii., " Julius Ca:sar." 
 
 23. This Jair Hesperides. Antiochus calls his daughter by 
 the name poetically used for the garden where the renowned 
 golden apples were kept. See Note 113, Act iv., "Love's 
 Labour's Lost." 
 
 24. All thy whole heap must die. ' Thy entire mass must b« 
 
Act I.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Yon sometime famous princes, like thyself, 
 Drawn by report, adventurous by desire. 
 Tell thee, with speechless tongues and semblance 
 pale. 
 
 That, without covering, save yon field of stars, 
 Here they stand martyrs, slain in Cupid's wars ; 
 And with dead cheeks advise thee to desist 
 For going on death's net,-* whom none resist. 
 
 Per. Antiochus, I thank thee, who hath taught 
 My frail mortality to know itself. 
 And by those fearful objects to prepare 
 This body, like to them, to what I must 
 For death remember'd should be like a mirror. 
 Who tells us life 's but breath, to trust it error. 
 I'll make my will, then; and, as sick men do. 
 Who know the world, see heaven,^^ but, feeling 
 woe, 
 
 Gripe not at earthly joys, as erst^^ (-^ey jjj . 
 So I bequeath a happy peace to you 
 And all good men, as every prince should do ; 
 My riches to the earth from whence they came ; — 
 [To the Daughter of Antiochus.] But my un- 
 spotted fire of love to you. 
 Thus ready for the way of life or death, 
 I wait the sharpest blow. 
 Ant. Scorning advice,— read the conclusion, 
 then : 
 
 Which read and not expounded, 'tis decreed, 
 As these before thee, thou thyself shalt bleed. 
 Daugh. Of all 'say'd ) et,^' mayst thou prove 
 prosperous ! 
 Of all 'say'd yet, I wish thee happiness ! 
 
 Per. Like a bold champion, I assume the 
 lists. 
 
 Nor ask advice of any other thought 
 But faithfulness and courage.^" 
 
 [Reads the riddle. 
 
 destroyed ; ' implying, thy whole body must pay the penalty for 
 the offence of a portion of it — " thine eye." 
 
 25. To desist /or going 071 death's 7iet. '* For" is here used 
 either with the effect of ' for fear of (see Note 25, Act i., " Two 
 Gentlemen of Verona "J or with the effect of 'from' (see Note 68, 
 Act iv., " Second Part Henry VI."} ; and "on" is used where 
 'in' is ordinarily employed (see Note 52, Act ii., " Richard II."), 
 because driving headlong on to the net as well as entering head- 
 long into the net is thus implied. 
 
 26. To lutiat I must. 'Come to' or 'become' is elliptically 
 understood after " must." 
 
 27. See heaven. This passage has been variously altered ; 
 but we think that "see heaven" is intended to convey the 
 double effect of 'see a heaven of delight in their mundane 
 pleasures,' and ' see heaven itself only as a distant goal to be 
 attained.' The entire sentence is condensedly expressed; but 
 we take it to signify, ' As sick men do, who know the world, 
 seeing a heaven of delight in its pleasures while they lasted, 
 and seeing heaven itself only as a distant object of attainment: 
 but, feeling illness and sorrow, care no longer for earthly joys as 
 once they did.' 
 
 28. Erst. ' Formerly,' ' previously,' ' once,* ' at first.* See 
 Note 32, Act v., " Henry V." 
 
 29. 0/ all 'say'd yet. ' Of all who have yet essayed.' 
 
 30. Nor ask advice 0/ any other thought but faithfulness and 
 
 I am no viper, yet I feed 
 On mother's flesh which did me breed. 
 I sought a husband, in which labour 
 I found that kindness in a father : 
 He 's father, son, and husband mild; 
 I mother, wife, and yet his child. 
 How they may be, and yet in two. 
 As you will Hve, resolve it you. 
 
 Sharp physic is the last: but, oh, you powers! 
 That give heaven countless eyes to view men's 
 acts. 
 
 Why cloud they not their sights perpetually. 
 If this be true, which makes me pale to read 
 it? 
 
 {Takes hold of the hand of the Brincess.] Fair glass 
 
 of light, I lov'd you, and could still. 
 Were not this glorious casket stor'd with ill : 
 But I must tell )ou, — now my thoughts revolt ; 
 For he 's no man on whom perfectiojis wait^^ 
 That, knowing sin within, will touch the gate. 
 You are a fair viol, and your sense the strings ; 
 Who, finger'd to make man his lawful music. 
 Would draw heaven down, and all the gods, to 
 hearken ; 
 
 But being play'd upon before your time. 
 Hell only danceth at so harsh a chime. 
 Good sooth, I care not for you. 
 
 Ant. Prince Pericles, touch not, upon thy life. 
 For that 's an article within our law. 
 As dangerous as t-lie rest. Your time 's expir'd : 
 Either expound now, or receive your sentence. 
 
 Per. Great king. 
 Few love to hear the sins they love to act; 
 'Twould 'braid yourself too near for me to tell it. 
 Who has a book of all that monarchs do, 
 He 's more secure to keep it shut than shown : 
 For vice repeated is like the wandering wind, 
 Blows dust in others' eyes,^^ to spread itself; 
 
 courage. Again there is similarity between this passage and 
 one in Sir Philip Sidney's " Arcadia : " — "Whereupon asking 
 advice of no other thought but faithfubtess and courage, he 
 presently lighted from his own horse," &c. See Note 19 of the 
 present Act. It is pleasant to meet with these vestiges of 
 Shakespeare's acquaintance with his contemporary writers ; to 
 fancy him as having lately hung over Sir Philip's pages replete 
 with graceful fancies, and so haunted by some of them that their 
 trace Imgers in his own pen, and transfers itself to his own page. 
 See Note 20, Act iii., "Merry Wives;" and Note 3, Act i., 
 "Twelfth Night." 
 
 31. Sharp physic is the last. Referring to the intimation in 
 the concluding hne of the riddle, that his life depends upon its 
 solution. 
 
 32. He 's no man on whom perfections wait. ' He's no man 
 possessed of righteous qualities,' ' he's no perfect, true, or honest 
 
 33. Blows dust, 6^<r. ' That * or ' which ' is elliptically under- 
 stood before "blows ; " the entire sentence signifying, 'Whoever 
 is acquainted with the ill deeds of monarchs is more safe in _ 
 concealing than in revealing his knowledge ; for the repeater of 
 vicious practices is like the wind, which blows dust in others' 
 eyes, while pursuing its way ; yet 1 uys its freedom thus dearly — 
 the blast once gone, the eyes made sore by the passing dust see 
 clearly enough to stop the air that effectually hurts them.' 
 
Act I.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 And yet the end of all is bought thus dear, 
 The breath is gone, and the sore eyes see 
 clear 
 
 To stop the air would hurt them. The blind 
 mole casts 
 
 Co])p'd'*^ hills towards heaven, to tell the earth is 
 throng'd*^ 
 
 By man's oppression ; and the poor vvorm^* doth 
 die for 't. 
 
 Kings are earth's gods; in vice their law's their 
 will ; 
 
 And if Jove stray, who dares say Jove doth ill ? 
 It is enough you know ; and it is fit, 
 What being more known grows worse, to smother 
 it. 
 
 All love the womb that their first being bred. 
 Then give my tongue like leave to love my 
 head. 
 
 Ant. [Aside.] Heaven, that I had thy head ! he 
 has found the meaning : 
 But I will gloze^' with him. — Young Prince of 
 Tyre, 
 
 Though by the tenour of our strict edict, 
 Your exposition misinterpreting, 
 We might proceed to cancel^' of your days ; 
 Yet hope, succeeding from so fair a tree 
 As your fair self, doth tune us otherwise : 
 Forty days longer we do respite you ; 
 If by which time our secret be undone. 
 This mercy shows we'll joy in such a son : 
 And until then your entertain shall be 
 As doth befit our honour and your worth. 
 
 [Exeunt all except Pericles. 
 Per. How courtesy would seem to cover sin, 
 Whe'n what is done is like a hypocrite, 
 The which is good in nothing but in sight 1 
 Antioch, farewell ! for wisdom sees, those men 
 Blush not^s in actions blacker than the night, 
 Will shun no course'"' to keep them from the 
 light. 
 
 One sin, I know, another doth provoke ; 
 Murder 's as near to lust as flame to smoke : 
 Poison and treason are the hands of sin. 
 Ay, and the targets, to put off the shame: 
 
 ■H- Copp'ci. Conically shaped ; in form like a sugar-loaf. In 
 Horman's "Vulgaria" (1519), we find, "Sometime men wear 
 copped caps like a sugar-loaf ; " and in Baret, " To make copped, 
 or sharpe at top ; cacumino." See Note 4, Act v., " Taming of 
 the Shrew;" where " copatain hat" and its derivation are 
 explained. 
 
 35. ^ Throng'd Steevens changed " throng'd " to ' wrong'd ; ' 
 but "throng'd" means 'crowded,' 'surcharged.' 
 
 36. Tlie poor worm. A term of commiseration applied to 
 the mole. Prospero thus uses it, where, in " Tempest," Act iii , 
 sc. I, he exclamis, observing his daughter Miranda's affection 
 engaged, ''Poor -worm! thou art infected." Pericles is pur- 
 sumg his illustrations of the danger there is in divulging the 
 offences committed by princes ; and as he implies by the simile 
 of the wind, dust, and eyes, so does he by that of the mole and 
 mole-hills, that destruction follows those who discover or com- 
 
 Then, lest my life be cropp'd to keep you clear,'" 
 By flight I'll shun the danger which I fear. 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 Re-enter Antiochus. 
 Ant. He hath found the meaning, for the 
 which we mean 
 To have his head. 
 
 He must not live to trumpet forth my infamy, 
 
 Nor tell the world Antiochus doth sin 
 
 In such a loathed manner; 
 
 And therefore instantly this prince must die 
 
 For by his fall my honour must keep high. — 
 
 Who attends us there ? 
 
 Enter Thaliard. 
 
 Thai. Doth your highness call ? 
 
 Ant. Thaliard, 
 You are of our chamber, and our mind partakes^- 
 Her private actions to your secrecy : 
 And for your faithfulness we will advance you. 
 Thaliard, behold, here 's poison, and here 's gold ; 
 We hate the Prince of Tyre, and thou must kill 
 him : 
 
 It fits thee not to ask the reason why. 
 Because we bid it. Say, is it done.P 
 
 Thai. My lord, 
 
 'Tis done. 
 
 Ant. Enough. — 
 
 Enter a Messenger. 
 Let your breath cool yourself, telling your haste. 
 
 Mess. My lord, Prince Pericles is fled. [Exit. 
 
 Ant. As thou 
 
 Wilt live, fly after: and, as an arrow shot 
 From a well-experienced archer, hits the mark 
 His eye doth level at, so thou ne'er return 
 Unless thou say,." Prince Pericles is dead." 
 
 Thai. My lord. 
 If I can get him within my pistol's length, 
 I'll make him sure : so, farewell to your highness. 
 
 Ant. Thaliard, adieu! [Exit Thal.] Till 
 Pericles be dead. 
 My heart can lend no succour to my head. [Exit. 
 
 plain of these wrongs ; the mole remaining secure till it casts up 
 those small mounds which betray its course to the mole-catcher. 
 
 37. Gloze. 'Talk speciously,' ' beguilingly, insinuatingly,' 
 ' conciliatingly.' See Note 24, Act i., " Henry V." 
 
 38. Cancel. Here used as an abbreviated form of ' cancel- 
 ment ;' as, six lines farther on, " entertain" is used for 'enter- 
 tainment.' 
 
 39. Those vien Husk not. " Who " is elliptically understood 
 before " blush." 
 
 40. Will shun no course. The old copies give ' shew ' for 
 " shufi." Malone's correction. 
 
 41. Clear. * Clear from suspicion,' ' free from chance of 
 detection.' See Note 36, Act iii., " Macbeth." 
 
 42. Partakes. Here used for 'imparts.' We have "par- 
 take " employed thus, as an active verb, elsewhere. See Note 
 62, Act v., " Winter's Tale." 
 
 755 
 
Act I.] PERICLES. [Scene II 
 
 Aniiochus. ihaliard, behold, here's poison, and here s 
 We hate the Prince of Tyre, and thou must kill hira. 
 
 Act I. Scene I. 
 
 SCENE II.— Tyre. A Room in the Palace. 
 
 Enter Pericles, Helicanus, and other Lords.''^ 
 
 Per. Let none disturb us. — [Helicanus and 
 Lords stand aloof.] Why should this change 
 of thought^,■'■* 
 The sad companion, dull-ey'd melancholy. 
 Be my so us'd a guest ''^ as not an hour, 
 In the day's glorious walk, or peaceful night 
 (The tomb where grief should sleep), can breed 
 me quiet ? 
 
 43. E7iier Pericles, Helicanus, &'c. The old copies have 
 this stage direction at the commencement of the scene ; but as 
 it is evident that Pericles utters his speech in soliloquy, after the 
 words, " Let none disturb us," we add the second stage direc- 
 tion ; '* \_Helica7ius and I^ords stand aloq/.y 
 
 44. IVhy should this c/uinge of thoughts. Steevens and others 
 alter "change" to 'charge* here; but it seems to us that 
 "change of thoughts" may be taken to mean ' conflicting in- 
 
 Here pleasures court mine eyes, and mine eyes 
 
 shun them, 
 And danger, which I fcar'd, is at Antioch, 
 Whose arm seems far too short to hit me here : 
 Yet neither pleasure's art can joy my spirits. 
 Nor yet the other's distance comfort me. 
 Then it is thus : the passions of the mind. 
 That have their first conception by mis-dread, 
 Have after-nourishment and life by care ; 
 And what was first but fear what might be 
 
 done, 
 
 terchange of thoughts,' ' revolving and intervolving current of 
 thoughts,' ' disturbing mutation of thoughts ; ' or it may be taken 
 to signify, ' this alteration of my thoughts from their previous 
 cheerfuller course.' 
 
 45. Be my so us'd a guest. The old copies give 'by me* 
 instead of " be my ; " the original transcriber or printer evidently 
 having transposed the final letters of the two words. Mr, Dyce's 
 correction. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Grows elder now,''^ and cares it be not done. 
 And so with me :— the great Antiochus, — 
 'Gainst whom I am too little to contend, 
 Since he's so great can make his will his act, — 
 Will think me speaking, though I swear to silence ; 
 Nor boots it me to say I honour him,''' 
 If he suspect I may dishonour him ; 
 And what may make him blush in being known, 
 He'l' stop the course by which it might be known ; 
 With hostile forces he'll o'erspread the land, 
 And with the ostent of war''^ will look so huge. 
 Amazement shall drive courage from the state ; 
 Our men be vanquish'd ere they do resist. 
 And subjects punish'd that ne'er thought offence : 
 Which care of them, not pity of myself,— 
 Who am no more*' but as the tops of trees. 
 Which fence the roots they grow by, and defend 
 them, — 
 
 Makes both my body pine and soul to languish, 
 And punish that before that he would punish. 
 
 Helicanus and Lords dravi near. 
 First Lord. Joy and all comfort in your sacred 
 breast ! 
 
 Sec. Lord. And keep your mind, till you return 
 to us. 
 
 Peaceful and comfortable ! 
 
 Hel. Peace, peace, and give experience tongue. 
 They do abuse the king that flatter him : 
 For flattery is the bellows blows up sin ; 
 The thing the which is flatter'd, but a spark, 
 To which that blast gives heat'" and stronger 
 glowing ; 
 
 Whereas reproof, obedient, and in order. 
 Fits kings, as they are men, for they may err. 
 When Signior Sooth here" does proclaim a 
 peace. 
 
 He flatters you, makes war upon your life. 
 Prince, pardon me, or strike me, if you please. 
 [Kneeling.'] I cannot be much lower than my 
 knees. 
 
 Per. All leave us else ; but let your cares o'er- 
 look 
 
 What shipping and what lading 's in our haven, 
 
 And then return to us, [Exeunt Lords.] Heli- 
 canus, thou 
 
 Hast moved us : what seest thou in our looks ? 
 
 Hel. An angry brow, dread lord. 
 
 Per. If there be such a dart in princes' frowns, 
 How durst thy tongue move anger to our face ? 
 
 Hel. How dare the plants look up to heaven, 
 from whence 
 They have their nourishment ? 
 
 Per. Thou know'st I have power 
 
 To take thy life from thee. 
 
 Hel. I have ground the axe myself ; 
 Do you but strike the blow. 
 
 Per. Rise, pr'ythee, rise. 
 
 Sit down : thou art no flatterer ; 
 I thank thee for it ; and heaven forbid 
 That kings should let their ears hear their faults 
 hid 
 
 Fit counsellor and servant for a prince, 
 
 Who by thy wisdom mak'st a prince thy servant, 
 
 What wouldst thou have ine do ? 
 
 Hel. To bear with patience 
 
 Such griefs as you yourself do lay upon yourself. 
 
 Per. Thou speak'st like a physician, Helicanus, 
 That minister'st a potion unto me 
 That thou wouldst tremble to receive thyself. 
 Attend me, then : I went to Antioch, 
 Where, as thou know'st, against the face of death, 
 I sought the purchase of a glorious beauty. 
 From whence an issue I might propagate. 
 Are arms to princes,*^ and bring joys to subjects. 
 Her face was to mine eye beyond all wonder; 
 The rest (hark in thine ear) as black as incest : 
 Which by my knowledge found, the sinful father 
 Seem'd not to strike, but smootli:*'' but thou 
 
 kriow'st this, 
 'Tis time to fear when tyrants seem to kiss. 
 1 Which fear so grew in me, I hither fled. 
 Under the covering of a careful night, 
 Who seem'd my good protector; and, being here. 
 Bethought me what** was past, what might 
 succeed. 
 
 I knew him tyrannous ; and tyrants' fears 
 Decrease not, but grow faster than the years : 
 
 46. Grours eUiernmxj. "Elder" is here used in the peculiar 
 manner in which Shakespeare sometimes employs this word. 
 See Notes, Act v., " Cymbeline." In the present passage it 
 includes the senses of 'larger,' 'stronger,' 'more confirmed,' 
 ' more established,' and ' more advanced in time," ' having at- 
 tained to a later period.' 
 
 47. To say I honour him. The old copies omit "him." 
 Added by Rowe. 
 
 48. Tlie ostent of war. The old copies give ' the stint ' instead 
 of " the ostent." Tyrrwhitt suggested the 
 
 49. iVIw am no more. The old copies have ' once ' for "am." 
 Dr. F armer's suggested correction. 
 
 50. To which that blast gives heat. Here, instead of " blast" 
 (Mason's proposed emendation) the old copies give ' spark ; ' the 
 first printer or transcriber having by mistake repeated that word 
 from the previous line. 
 
 51. Signior Sooth here. 'Sir Flatterer here." See Note 40, 
 I Act iii., "Richard II." Helicanus is here instancing an imaginary 
 I personage ; just as Leontes does in the " Winter's Tale," Acti., 
 
 sc. 2, when he speaks of " Sir Smil;, his neighbour." 
 
 52. That kings sJiould let their ears Jiear their faults hid I 
 This has been variously altered ; but we take its meaning to be 
 that which Holt White gave— 'That kings should suffer their 
 ears to hear their failings palliated ! ' 
 
 53. An issue I might propagate, are arms, 6r'c. 'That' is 
 clliptically understood before "are;" and "issue" is treated 
 as a noun of number, being followed by the plural form, " are " 
 and " bring." 
 
 54. Smooth. 'Flatter,' 'cajole.' See the line referred to in 
 Note 52, Act i., " Richard III." 
 
 55. Bethought me what. The old copies omit " me." Added 
 by Rowe. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 And should he doubt it/^ — as no doubt he doth, — 
 That I should open to the listening air 
 Hoiv many worthy princes' bloods were shed, 
 To keep his bed of blackness unlaid ope, — 
 To lop that doubt, he'll fill this land with arms. 
 And make pretence of wrong that I have done 
 him ; 
 
 When all, for mine, if I may call 't, offence,''' 
 Must feel war's blow, who spares not innocence : 
 Which love to all, — of which thyself art one, 
 Who now reprov'st me for it,— 
 
 Hel. ' Alas, sir ! . 
 
 Per. Drew sleep out of mine eyes, blood from 
 my cheeks, 
 
 Musings into my mind, with thousand doubts 
 How I might stop this tempest, ere it came ; 
 And finding little comfort to relieve them, 
 I thought it princely charity to grieve them. 
 
 Hel. Well, my lord, since you have given me 
 leave to speak, 
 Freelj; will I speak. Antiochus you fear, 
 And justly too, I think, you fear the tyrant. 
 Who either by public war or private treason 
 Will take away your life. 
 Therefore, my lord, go travel for a while. 
 Till that his rage and anger be forgot, 
 Or till the Destinies do cut his thread of life. 
 Your rule direct to any ; if to me. 
 Day serves not light more faithful than I'll be. 
 
 Per. I do not doubt thy faith ; 
 But should he wrong my liberties in my absence ? 
 
 Hel. We'll mingle our bloods together in the 
 earth, 
 
 From whence we had our being and our birth. 
 Per. Tyre, I now look from thee, then, and to 
 Tharsus 
 
 Intend my travel, where I'll hear from thee; 
 And by whose letters I'll dispose myself. 
 Tlie care I had, and have, of subjects' good. 
 On thee I lay, whose wisdom's strength can bear it. 
 I'll take thy word for faith, not ask thine oath : 
 Who shuns not to break one will sure crack both : 
 But in our orbs we'll live** so round and safe, 
 
 5G. And should he doubt it. Some of the Quartos give * doot,' 
 others ' thinke," instead of "doubt it." Steevens proposed the 
 correction ; which seems warranted by the subsequent words, 
 " to lop that doubt." 
 
 57. 1/ 1 may call 'i offence. The old copies have ' call ' in- 
 stead of " call 't." Malone's correction. 
 
 58. In our orbs -we'll live. "Orbs" is here used for 
 'orbits' or 'spheres.' In one of the old copies 'will,' in the 
 rest ' we,' is given instead of " we'll " here. Malone made the 
 
 59. Convince. ' Overcome ;'' confute,' ' refute.' See Note 51, 
 Act i., " Cymbeline." 
 
 60. He ivas a ivise fellow. We quite Steevens's note upon 
 this sentence : — " Who this wise fello.v was may be known from 
 the following passage in Bamabie Riche's ' Souldier's Wishe to 
 Briton's Welfare, or Captaine Skill and Captaine Pill,' 1604, 
 p. 27 : ' I will therefore commende the poet Phillipides, who 
 
 That time of both this truth shall ne'er con- 
 vince, 
 
 Thou show'dst a subject's shine, I a i;rue prince. 
 
 \_Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE III.— Tyre. An Ante-chamber in the 
 Palace. 
 Enter Thaliard. 
 Thai. So, this is Tyre, and this the court. 
 Here must I kill King Pericles ; and if I do it not, 
 I I am sure to be hanged at home: 'tis dangerous.— 
 Well, I perceive he was a wise fellow,^" and had 
 good discretion, that, being bid to ask what he would 
 of the king, desired he might know none of his 
 secrets: now do I see he had some reason for't; 
 for if a king bid a man be a villain, he 's bound by 
 the indenture of his oath to be one. — Hush ! here 
 come the lords of Tyre. 
 
 Enter Helicanus, Escanes, and other Lords. 
 Hel. You shall not need, my fellow peers of 
 Tyre, 
 
 Farther to question me of your king's departure : 
 His seal'd commission, left in trust with me. 
 Doth speak sufficiently he's gone to travel. 
 
 Thai. lAside.] How ! the king gone ! 
 
 Hel. If farther yet you will be satisfied. 
 Why, as it were unlicens'd of your loves, 
 i^e would depart, I'll give some light unto you. 
 Being at Antioch — 
 
 Thai. [Aside.] What from Antioch ? 
 
 Hel. Royal Antiochus, — on what cause I know 
 not, — 
 
 Took some di.spleasijre at him ; at least he judg'd 
 so : 
 
 And doubting lest that he had err'd or sinn'd, 
 To show his sorrow, he'd correct himself; 
 So puts himself unto the shipman's toil. 
 With whom each minute threatens life or death. 
 
 Thai. lAiide.-] Well, I perceive 
 I shall not be hang'd now, although I would ; 
 But since he's gone, the king's seas must please :^' 
 
 being demanded by King Lisimachus what favour hee might 
 doe unto him for that he loved him, made this answere to the 
 king ; that your maiestie would never impart unto me any of 
 your secrets." 
 
 61. The king's seas must please. This is the reading of the 
 old copies ; which Malone explains by, " i.e., must do their 
 pleasure : must treat him as they will." It may, by a forced 
 interpretation, be taken to mean, * the king's seas must do as 
 they please,' or 'must please themselves;' but the passage has 
 decidedly the air of being corrupt. Various emendations have 
 been proposed ; but none appear to us satisfactory. Possibly, 
 the phrase may have originally been written thus : "The king 
 the seas must please ; ' signifying, ' the seas must now please: 
 the king.' Shakespeare has occasionally such involutions of 
 phraseology'. See Note 99, Act i., " Coriolanus ; " Note 45, 
 Act v., "Timon of Athens;" Note 51, Act ii., and Note 46, 
 Act iii. ef the present play. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scene IV, 
 
 He scap'd the land, to perish at the sea.— 
 
 I'll present myself. — Peace to the lords of Tyre ! 
 
 Eel. Lord Thaliard from Antiochus is 
 welcome. 
 
 Thai. From him I come 
 With message unto princely Pericles ; 
 But since my landing^J J have understood 
 Your lord has betook himself to ujiknown travels, 
 My message must return from whence it came. 
 
 Hel. We have no reason to desire it. 
 Commended to our master, not to us : 
 Yet, ere you shall depart, this we desire, — 
 As friends to Antioch, we may feast in Tyre. 
 
 \_Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE IV.— Tharsus. A Room in the 
 
 Governor's House. 
 Enter Cleon, Dionyza, and Attendants 
 
 Cle. My Dionyza, shall we rest us here, 
 And by relating tales of others' griefs. 
 See if 'twill teach us to forget our own ? 
 
 Dio. That were to blow at fire in hope to 
 quench it ; 
 For who digs hills because they do aspire, 
 Throws down one mountain to cast up a higher. 
 Oh, my distressed lord, even such our griefs ;| 
 Here they're but felt, and seen with mischief's 
 eyes.s-' 
 
 But Ijke to groves, being topp'd, they higher rise. 
 
 Cle. O Dionyza, 
 Who wanteth food, and will not say he wants it. 
 Or can conceal his hunger till he famish ? 
 
 landing. 
 
 'As' 
 
 ellipticaUy understood 
 
 62. But i 
 before " since." 
 
 63. Commended to our master. ' Being ' is ellipticaUy under- 
 stood before " commended." 
 
 64. Seen with mischief's eyes. The word "mischief's" has 
 been variously altered ; but it seems to us to be here used to 
 e.xpress ' calamity's,' ' disaster's.' Shakespeare frequently uses 
 " mischief" in the sense of * harm,' ' disastrous occurrence,' ' ill 
 
 65. Our tongues and sorrows do tound .... our eyes do 
 iveep, till tongues fetch breath. Some of the old copies mis- 
 print 'to* for "do" here, in both instances. The second 
 "tongues" has been suspected of error; Malone and others 
 changing it to 'lungs.' But Shakespeare frequently has these 
 closely repeated words (see instances cited in Note 44, Act il., 
 ■■Othello") ; and in " Richard II.," Act i., sc. 3, we find the 
 expressions, " Which robs my tongue from breathing native 
 breath," and, 'The tongue's office should be prodigal to breathe 
 th' abundant dolour of the heart." 
 
 66. If Heaven slumber mhile their, S^c. Instances of " their" 
 used in reference to " Heaven" have been pointed out by us 
 elsewhere. See Not.'; 159, Act iii., "Hamlet." 
 
 67. Helps. Printed ' helpers' in the old copies. Malone's 
 
 68. I'll, then, discourse our ivoes, felt several years. The 
 word " several" is here used to express ' more than one.' 
 Shakespeare thus uses the word iii "Richard HI.," Act iii.. 
 
 Our tongues and sorrows do sound deep 
 
 Our woes into the air ; our eyes do weep. 
 
 Till tongues fetch breath that may proclaim 
 
 them louder ; 
 That, if Heaven slumber while their creatures 
 
 want,''^ 
 
 They may awake their helps to comfort them. 
 I'll, then, discourse our woes, felt several years,** 
 And, wanting breath to speak, lielp me with 
 tears. 
 
 Dio. I'll do my best, sir. 
 
 Cle. This Tharsus, o'er which I have the 
 
 government, 
 A city on whom plenty held full hand, 
 For riches strew'd herself*' even in the streets ; 
 Whose towers bore heads so high they kiss'd the 
 
 clouds. 
 
 And strangers ne'er beheld but wonder'd at ; 
 Whose men and dames so jetted and adorn'd, 
 Like one another's glass to trim them by 
 Their tables were stor'd full, to glad the sight. 
 And not so much to feed on as delight ; 
 All poverty was scorn'd, and pride so great. 
 The name of help grew odious to repeat. 
 Dio. Oh, 'tis too true. 
 
 Cle. But see what Heaven can do ! By this our 
 change, 
 
 These mouths, whom but of late, earth, sea, and 
 air, 
 
 Were all too little to content and please. 
 Although they gave their creatures in abundance, 
 As houses are defil'd for want of use. 
 They are now starv'd for want of exercise : 
 Those palates, who, not yet two summers 
 younger, 72 
 
 sc. 2, where Stanley says, " I do not like these several coun- 
 cils," there having been " two councils" spoken of in the same 
 scene. He not only means 'separate' (as the word "severall" 
 is used in the passage from Holinshed as quoted in Note 23, 
 Act iii., " Richard III.") but ' more than one.' See also 
 Note 20, Act ii., "Love's Labour's Los'." That "several" 
 here bears this limited sense (instead of the usual one of 
 ■many'), is shown by the words farther on; "These mouths, ' 
 whom but of late, earth, sea, and air," &c., and " Those palates, 
 who, not yet two summers younger.^* 
 
 69. For ric/ies strew'd herself. " Riches " here, as elsewhere, 
 IS used as a collective noun (see Note 15, Act ii., " Othello ") ; 
 and is referred to as if of feminine gender (like the French 
 word richesse), by the pronoun "herself" 
 
 70. Jetted. 'Strutted.' See Note 30, Act iii., " Cymbeline." 
 
 71. Like one anot/ier' s glass to trim t/iem by. Compare the 
 present passage with the one referred to in Note 9, Act i., 
 "Cymbeline," as being illustrative the one of the other. 
 
 72. Not yet two summers younger. The old copies have 
 ' too sauers' and ' to savers' instead of " two summers." Mason 
 originally proposed this correction ; which was subsequently 
 shown to be right, by the discovery of the prose narrative 
 published in 1608 (mentioned in our opening note to the present 
 play), where, describing the famine at Tharsus this very phrase 
 occurs ; " The ground of which forced lamentation was to sec 
 the power of change, that this their city, who uot two . 
 younger, did so excell in pompe," &c. 
 
Act I.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Must have inventions to delight the taste, 
 Would now be glad of bread, and beg for it : 
 Those mothers who, to nousle'^ up their babes, 
 Thought naught too curious, are ready now 
 To eat those little darlings whom they lov'd. 
 So sharp are hunger's teeth, that man and wife j 
 Draw lots who first shall die to lengthen life. 
 Here stands a lord, and there a lady weeping ; 
 Here many sink, yet those which see them fall 
 Have scarce strength left to give them burial. 
 Is not this true ? 
 
 Dio. Our cheeks and hollow eyes do witness it. 
 
 Cle. Oh, let those cities that of Plenty's cup 
 And her prosperities so largely taste, 
 With their superfluous riots, hear these tears ! 
 The misery of Tharsus may be theirs. 
 
 Enter a Lord. 
 Lord. Where 's the lord governor ? 
 Cle. Here. 
 
 Speak out thy sorrows, which thou bring'st, in 
 haste ■; 
 
 For comfort is too far for us to expect. 
 
 Lord. We have descried, upon our neighbour- 
 ing shore, 
 
 A portly sail of ships make hitherward. 
 
 Cle. I thought as much. 
 One sorrow never comes but brings an heir, 
 That may succeed as his inheritor ; 
 And so in ours : some neighbouring nation, 
 Taking advantage of our misery. 
 Hath stuflPd?-* these hollow vessels With their 
 power. 
 
 To beat us down, the which are down already ; 
 And make a conquest of unhappy me. 
 Whereas"^ no glory's got to overcome. 
 
 Lord. That 's the least fear ; for, by the 
 semblance 
 
 Of their white flags display'd, they bring us peace. 
 And come to us as favourers, not as foes. 
 
 Cle. Thou speak'st like him 's untutor'd to 
 repeat : 
 
 Who makes the fairest show means most deceit. 
 
 73. To nousle. This expressive verb, synonymous with ' to 
 foster,' ' to cherish,' ' to train up,' ' to nurse,' was used by many 
 
 74. Hath stuff' d. The old copies give 'that' for "hath," 
 Rowe's correction. 
 
 75. Whereas. Here used for ' where.' See Note 29, Act i,, 
 "Second Part Henry VI." 
 
 76. Consist. ' Stand,' ' rest ;' used in the sense of the word 
 as derived from the Latin. See Note 35, Act iv., " Second Part 
 Henry IV." 
 
 77. Vou happily may think. ' Which ' is elUptically under- 
 stood before "you:" and "happily" is used for 'haply.' See 
 Note 33, Act 1 , " Hamlet." 
 
 But bring they what they will and what they can. 
 What need we fear? 
 
 The ground's the lowest, and we are half way 
 there. 
 
 Go tell their general we attend him here. 
 
 To know for what he comes, and whence he 
 
 comes, 
 And what he craves. 
 Lord. I go, my lord. 
 Cle. Welcome is peace, if he 
 consist 
 
 If wars, we are unable to resist. 
 
 peace 
 
 Enter Pericles luiih Attendants. 
 Per. Lord governor, for so we hear you are. 
 Let not our ships and number of our men 
 Be, like a beacon fir'd, to amaze your eyes. 
 We have heard your miseries as far as Tyre, 
 And seen the desolation of your streets: 
 Nor come we to add sorrow to your tears, 
 But to relieve them of their heavy load ; 
 And these our ships, you happily may think^^ 
 Are, like the Trojan horse, war-stufF'd within 
 VVith bloody veins, expecting overthrow, 
 Are stor'd with corn to make your needy bread,''* 
 And give them life whom hunger starv'd half 
 dead. 
 
 All. [Kneeling.'] The gods of Greece protect you ! 
 And we'll pray for you. 
 
 Per. Rise, I pray you, rise ; 
 
 We do not look for reverence, but for love. 
 And harbourage for ourself, our ships, and mfen. 
 
 Cle. The which when any shall not gratify, 
 Or pay you with unthankfulness in thought, 
 Be it our wives, our children, or ourselves. 
 The curse of Heaven and men succeed their evils ! 
 Till when, — the which I hope shall ne'er be 
 seen, — 
 
 Your grace is welcome to our town and us. 
 
 Per. Which welcome we'll accept ; feast here 
 awhile. 
 
 Until our stars that frown lend us a smile. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 78. Like the Trojan, horse, luar-stuff'd within. The old 
 copies have ' was stuff'd ' instead of " war-stuff'd ; " which is 
 Steevens's suggested correction. It is worthy of remark that 
 Chapman, in his translation of Homer's " Odyssey," uses the 
 same word " stuff'd," when speaking of the contents of the 
 famous wooden horse brought into Troy ; — 
 
 "Which, by force of sleight, 
 Ulysses brought into the city's height. 
 When he had stuff'd it with as many men 
 As levell'd lofty Ilion with the plain." 
 
 79. To make your needy bread. ' To make bread for your 
 needy people.' "Your needy" is here used in the same way 
 that ' th; poor' is sometimes used for ' poor people.' 
 
 760 
 
Act II.] PERICLES. [Chorus. 
 
 ACT 
 
 Enter GowER. 
 Goiv. Here have you seen a mighty king 
 His child, I WIS,' to incest bring ; 
 A better prince, and benign lord, 
 That will prove awful^ both in deed and word. 
 Be quiet, then, as men should be, 
 Till he hath pass'd necessity. 
 I'll show you those in troubles reign, 
 Losing a mite, a mountain gain. 
 The good in conversation, ^ — 
 To whom I give my benison,'' — 
 Is still at Tharsus, where each man 
 Thinks all is writ he spoken can 
 And, to remember what he does, 
 Build his statue to make him glorious 
 But tidings to the contrary 
 Are brought your eyes ; what need speak I ? 
 
 Dumb Show. 
 
 Enter, from one side, Pericles, talking •uiith 
 Cleon ; their trains ivith them. Enter, from 
 the other side, a Gentleman, H'/VA a letter to 
 Pericles; uoho shoivs the letter to Cleon; 
 then giues- the Messenger a re-ivard, and 
 
 1. I wis. *I know/ 'I am aware.' See Note 63, Act i., 
 " Richard III." 
 
 2. Awful. * Worthy of respect,' and 'lawful in conduct.' 
 See Note s, Activ., " Two Gentlemen of Verona.'.' The con- 
 struction here allows " here have you seen " to be understood as I 
 repeated before " a better prince." I 
 
 3. The good in conversation. Alluding to Pericles. "Con- ' 
 versation '' is here used for * moral conduct * or * behaviour.' See 
 Note 93, Act ii., "Antony and Cleopatra." | 
 
 4. Benison. 'Blessing.' See Note 108, Activ., " King Lear." 1 
 
 5. Thitiks all is writ lie spoken can. This is generally inter- 
 preted to mean, 'pays as much respect to whatever Pericles 
 says, as if it were ho'y writ.' But we believe it may mean, 
 'thinks all that he can speak is equal to written wisdom." See 
 Note 42, Act iv., "Measure for Measure," 
 
 6. Build his statue to make him glorious. This circumstance 
 is recorded in the " Confessio Amantis " as well as in the ancient 
 romance of " King Apollonius of Tyre." See the first note upon 
 the present play. 
 
 7. For though he strive, ific. "For though" has been 
 variously changed ; and certainly, if " though be taken in its 
 ordinary acceptation, the passage, as it stands, is inaccurate and 
 inconclusive. But we think that the word " though" may here 
 be used in some peculiar sense now no longer pertaining to it ; 
 according to Shakespeare's occasional treatment of this word, I 
 as several times pointed out by us [see Note 48, Act i., " Cym- 
 beline"); and if this be so, "for though he strive" might be 
 equivalent to 'for this did he strive,' 'since he did strive,' or 
 'accordingly did he strive.' "Though" has been asserted by 
 some etymologists to be the imperative of the Saxon verb 
 ihnian, to 'allow,' 'permit,' 'grant,' 'yield,' 'assent;' or of the 
 Saxon verb thiegean, to 'accept;' and it is therefore very pro- 
 bable that some more confirmative sense than that in which the ! 
 word " though " is now accepted may anciently have been ' 
 
 II. 
 
 knights him. Exeunt sewrally Pericles and 
 
 Cleon, 'with their trains. 
 Good Helicane, that stay'd at home, 
 Not to eat honey like a drone 
 From others' labours ; for though he strive' 
 To killen bad, keep good alive ; 
 And to fulfil his prince' desire,** 
 Sends word of all that haps in Tyre 
 How Thaliard came full bent with sin 
 And hid intent to murder him ; 
 And that in Tharsus was not best 
 Longer for him to make his rest. 
 He, knowing so,'° put forth to seas. 
 Where when men been, there 's seldom ease ; 
 For now the wind begins to blow ; 
 Thunder above, and deeps below. 
 Make such unquiet, that the ship 
 Should house him safe is wreck'd and split ;" 
 And he, good prince, having all lost, 
 By waves from coast to coast is tost : 
 All perishen of man, of pelf, 
 Ne'^ aught escapen" but himself; 
 Till fortune, tir'd with doing bad. 
 Threw him ashore, to give him glad : 
 And here he comes. What shall be next, 
 Pardon old Gower, — this 'longs the text.'^ [Exit. 
 
 attached to it. The diction of Gower throughout these chorus- 
 speeches is so purposely made antiquated by the author, that 
 there is large scope for surmising antique meanings in the words 
 put into his mouth ; while at the same time, the text of the 
 present play has been in many passages so ruthlessly and ob- 
 viously cornipted by the transcriber or printer, that its decipher- 
 ing becomes inevitably guess-work. 
 
 8. His prince' desire. " Prince'" is an abbreviated form of 
 'prince's,' as "horse"' of 'horse's.' See Note 46, Act iv., 
 "Second Part Henry VI." 
 
 9. Sends word of all that haps, &=c. The old copies give 
 ' sav'd one ' instead of " sends word " here. Malone and Steevens 
 (at Theobald's suggestion) made the correction ; which is shown 
 to be right by the parallel passage in Wilkins's narrative : — 
 " Good Helicanus, as prouident at home, as his prince was 
 prosperous abroade, let no occasion slip wherein hee might 
 send word to Tharsus of what occurrems soeuer had happened 
 in his absence," &c. 
 
 10. He, knowing so. The old copies have 'doing' for " know- 
 ing." Steevens's correction. 
 
 11. That the ship slwuld house him safe is wreck'd and split. 
 •Which' is here elliptically understood before "should." The 
 license in the rhyme between "ship "and "split" is not more 
 than that between " home" and " drone," or " sin " and " him," 
 in this same chorus-speech. See Note 4, Act i. of the present 
 play. 
 
 12. Ne. An old negative form : sometimes, as here, used for 
 'not,' and sometimes for ' nor.' 
 
 13. Escapen. Printed ' escapend' and ' escapen'd' in the old 
 copies ; but " escapen " is probably what Shakespeare here wrote, 
 as we have "killen" and "perishen" previously in this same 
 chorus-speech. 
 
 14. What shall be ticxt, pardon old Goiver, — this 'longs the 
 
 ▼ OL. III. 
 
 262 
 
Act II.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 SCENE I.— Pentapolis.15 An open Place by the 
 Sea-side. 
 Eiter Pericles, luet. 
 
 Per. Yet cease your ire,, you angry stars of 
 heaven ! 
 
 Wind, rain, and thunder, remember, earthly man 
 Is but a substance that must yield to you ; 
 And I. as fits my nature, do obey you : 
 Alas ! the sea hath cast me on the rocks, 
 Wash'd me from shore to shore, and left me 
 breathie 
 
 Nothing to think on but ensuing death : 
 
 Let it suffice the greatness of your powers 
 
 To have bereft a prince of all his fortunes; 
 
 And having thrown him from your watery grave, 
 
 Here to have death in peace is all he'll crave. 
 
 Enter three Fishermen. 
 
 First Fish. What, ho. Pilch ! 
 
 Ser. F:sh. Ho, come and bring away the nets ! 
 
 First Fish. What, Patch-breech, I say ! 
 
 Third Fish. What say you, master ? 
 
 First Fish. Look how thou stirrest now! come 
 away, or I'll fetch thee with a wannion.^^ 
 
 Third Fish. Faith, master, I am thinking of 
 the poor men that were cast away before us even 
 now. 
 
 First Fish. Alas ! poor souls, it grieved my 
 heart to hear what pitiful cries they made to us to 
 help them, when, well-a-day, we could scarce help 
 ourselves. 
 
 Third Fish. Nay, master, said not I as much 
 when I saw the porpus, how he bounced and 
 
 text. Very elliptically expressed ; signifying, ' What shall occur 
 next, excuse old Gower from telling you, — it belongs to the text, 
 and not to his province as chorus.' " Pardon " is here used in 
 its sense of 'excuse.' See Note 65, Act iv., "Antony and 
 Cleopatra." 
 
 15. Psniapolis. This name is found in all the old sources 
 whence Shakespeare directly and indirectly derived the story 
 of the present play ; and its site is marked in an ancient MS. 
 map of the world, preserved in the Cotton Library, British 
 Museum. Peiitapolitajia regio is mentioned in history as a 
 country in Africa, consisting of five cities, as indicated by its 
 name ; Penta being the Greek word for ' five,' and folis for 
 'city.' 
 
 16. And left me hreath. The old copies have ' my ' instead 
 of " me." Malone's correction. 
 
 17. What, ho. Pilch! In the old copies this is given thus: 
 ' What, to pelch ? ' Tyrwhitt made the emendation, remarking 
 that "pilch" means a leather coat. See Note 12, Act iii., 
 " RoTieo and Juliet." The word is here used in calling to the 
 Second Fisherman ; either as being his name, or as a nickname 
 given him by his master. 
 
 18. With a ■watinion. This expression, which is equivalent 
 to 'with a vengeance ' or ' with a witness,' is frequently used by 
 the old dramatic writers ; but the exact meaning of "wannion" 
 has never been ascertained. We think it may have been derived 
 from the Saxon wanian, to ' wane,' 'fall away,' 'want,' 'be de- 
 ficient in ; * and that " a wannion " may have been used in 
 imprecation, to signify 'a falling away,' 'adecline,' 'a decrease,' 
 
 I tumbled P they say they're half fish, half flesh : a 
 I plague on them, they ne'er come but I look to be 
 
 washed. 1^ Master, I marvel how the fishes live in 
 
 the sea. 
 
 First Fish. Why, as men do a-land, — the great 
 ones eat up the little ones; I can compare our 
 rich misers to nothing so fitly as to a whale; 'a 
 plays and tumbles, driving the poor fry before him, 
 and at last devours them all at a mouthful : such 
 whales have I heard on o' the land, who never 
 leave gaping till they've swallowed the whole 
 parish, church, steeple, bells, and all. 
 
 Per. [Jside.l A pretty moral. 
 
 Third Fish. But, master, if I had been the 
 sexton, I would have been that day in the belfry. 
 
 Sec. Fish. Why, man ? 
 
 Third Fish. Because he should have swallowed 
 me too : and when I had been in his belly, I 
 would have kept such a jangling of the bells, that 
 he should never have left, till he cast bells, steeple, 
 church, and parish, up again. But if the good 
 King Simonides were of my mind, — 
 
 Per. [Aside.-] Simonides ! 
 
 Third Fish. We would purge the land of these 
 drones, that rob the bee of her honey. 
 
 Per. [Aside.] How from the finny subject of 
 the sea 20 
 
 These fishers tell the infirmities of men ; 
 And from their watery empire recollect 
 All that may men approve or men detect ! — 
 [Aloud.] Peace be at your labour, honest fisher- 
 men. 
 
 Sec. Fish. Honest ! good ftllow, what 's that 
 If it be a day fits you, search out of the calendar, 
 and nobody look after it.^' 
 
 or ' a famine,' a ' dearth,' just as 'a plague,' 'a pestilence," 'a 
 murrain,' &c., were used. 
 
 19. TJiey ne'er come but I look to be washed. It is a com- 
 mon observation with mariners, and those dwelling near the sea- 
 shore, that the appearance of porpoises playing on the surface 
 of the water is indicative of foul weather approaching. 
 
 20. How from the finny subject 0/ the sea, b'c. The old 
 copies give ' fenny ' for " finny." Malone made the cor- 
 rection : which is shown to be right by the corresponding 
 passage from Wilkins's narrative, or novel, founded on this 
 play :— " Prince Pericl6s wondering that from the fiutiy subjects 
 of the sea these poor country people learned the infirmities of 
 
 21. If it be a day fits you, search out of tJie calendar, and 
 nobody look after it. This has been variously altered ; but, as 
 the passage stands, it may be taken to mean, ' If it be a day that 
 suits you, search it out in the calendar, and nobody will look 
 after it.' The fisherman facetiously implies by "search out" 
 seeking with intention to take ; and 'will' or "U' is elliptically 
 understood before "look." There is great probability in Dr. 
 Farmer's suggestion, that by the word "honest" there may be 
 an allusion to the dies honestissimus of Cicero ; and we think 
 it is possible that some trace of this term may have lurked in the 
 old almanacks, which put down lucky and unlucky days, auspi. 
 cious and ill omened days, festival days and fast-days, &c. &c. 
 See Note 56, Act v., " Love's Labour's Lost ;" also IVIacbeth's ex- 
 clamation, " Let this pernicious Iwur stand aye accttfsui ill 
 the calendar !" 
 
Act II.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Per. You may see, the sea hath cast upon your 
 coast -2 — 
 
 Sec. Fish. What a drunken knave was. the sea 
 to cast thee in our way ! . 
 
 Per. A man whom both the waters and the 
 wind, 
 
 In that vast tennis-court, have made the ball 
 For them to play upon, entreats you pity him ; 
 He asks of you, that never us'd to beg. 
 
 First Fish. No, friend, cannot you beg? 
 Here 's them in our country of Greece gets more 
 with begging than we can do with working. 
 
 Sec. Fish. Canst thou catch any fishes, tlien ? 
 
 Per. I never practis'd it. 
 
 Sec. Fish. Nay, then thou wilt starve, sure ; for 
 here's nothing to be got now-a-days, unless thou 
 canst fish for 't. 
 
 Per. What 1 have been I have- forgot to 
 know ; 
 
 But what I am, want teaches me to think on : 
 A man throng'd up with cold my veins are 
 chill, 
 
 And have no more of life than may suffice 
 To give my tongue that neat to ask your help ; 
 Which if you shall refuse, when I am dead. 
 For that I am a man, pray see me buried. 
 
 First Fish. Die quoth-a ? Now gods forbid it ! 
 J have a gown here ; come, put it on ; keep thee 
 warm. Now, afore me, a handsome fellow ! 
 Come, thou shalt go home, and we'll have flesh 
 for holidays,-^ fish for fasting-days, and moreo'er 
 puddings and flap-jacks and thou shalt be 
 welcome. 
 
 Per. I thank you, sir. 
 
 Sec. Fish. Hark you, my friend, — you said you 
 could not beg. 
 
 Per. I did but crave. 
 
 Sec. Fish. But crave ! Then I'll turn craver too, 
 and so I shall 'scape whipping.^'' 
 
 Per. Why, are all your beggars whipped, then ? 
 
 22. You vtay see the sea, ir'c. The Quarto editions omit 
 '"you," while the two Folios (1664 and 1685) give ' Y' may see 
 the sea,' &c. 
 
 23. A mcin throng'd up with cold. " Throng'd up " here in- 
 cludes the meanings of 'hard press'd,' 'beset,' and ' pierc'd.' 
 That the ancient writers used the word in this latter sense is evi- 
 dent from the following passage quoted by Tooke from Gower :— 
 
 "A naked swerde the vvhiche she bare 
 Within hir mantell priuely, 
 Betvvene hir hondfes sodeinly 
 She toke, and through hir herte it thronge." 
 
 24. Flesh for holidays. The old copies give ' all day ' instead 
 of "holidays." Malone's correction. 
 
 25. Flap-jacks. An old name for 'pancakes.' Thus in 
 Taylor's ' ' Jack a Lent : " " Until at last, by the skill of the cooke, 
 it is transformed into the form of a flap-jack, which, in our 
 translation, is cald a pancake." Mr. Hudson, the Boston 
 editor, adds that "the word is still used continually in New 
 England." 
 
 26. But crave! T:ien T II turn craver too, and so, &^c. A 
 
 Sec. Fish. Oh, not all, my friend, not all; for if 
 all your beggars were whipped, I would wish no 
 better office than to be beadle. — But, master, I'll 
 go draw up the net. 
 
 \_Exit -with Third Fisherman. 
 
 Per. [Aside.'] How well this honest mirth 
 becomes their labour ! 
 
 First Fish. Hark you, sir, — do you know where 
 you are? 
 
 Per. Not well. 
 
 First Fish. Why, I'll tell you: this is called 
 Pentapolis; and our king, the good Simonides. 
 
 Per. The good King Simonides, do you call 
 him ? 
 
 First Fish. Ay, sir; and he deserves so to be 
 called for his peaceable reign, and good govern- 
 ment. 
 
 Per. He is a happy king, since he gains from 
 his subjects the name of good by his government. 
 How far is his court distant from this shore ? 
 
 First Fish. Marry, sir, half a day's journey : 
 and I'll tell you, he hath a fair daughter, and to- 
 morrow is her birth-day ; and there are princes 
 and knights come from all parts of the world to 
 just and tourney for her love. 
 
 Per. Were my fortunes equal to my desires, I 
 could wish to make one there. 
 
 First Fish. Oh, sir, things must be as they may ; 
 and what a man cannot get, he may lawfully deal 
 for — his wife's soul.-^ 
 
 Re-enter Second and Third Fishermen, draiuing 
 up a net. 
 
 Sec. Fish. Help, master, help! here's a fish 
 hangs in the net, like a poor man's right in the 
 law; 'twill hardly come out. Ha! bots on 't,'^* 'tis 
 come at last, and 'tis turned to a rusty armour. 
 
 Per. An armour, friends! I pray you, let me 
 see it. — 
 
 Thanks, fortune, yet, that, after all my crosses, 
 
 pleasant bit of satire upon the world-wide and ever-prevailing 
 fashion of dressing-up shabby practices in genteel phrases. 
 
 27. And what a man cannot get, he 7nay lawfully deal for— 
 his wife's soul. This sentence has been pronounced to be 
 "mutilated," to be "not very intelligible," and to have "hitherto 
 successfully resisted exposition." We trust we have discovered 
 the solution of the enigma ; for we take the passage to imply 
 that " a man, who has not much chance of getting his wife's 
 soul out of purgatory, may nevertheless pay for masses with 
 that view." The fisherman is jocosely advising Pericles to 
 remain contented with his poor "fortunes," which prevent his 
 appearing at the tournament ; yet that he may, if he please, in- 
 dulge the e.xtravagant " wish to make one there." 
 
 28. Bots on '/, A vulgar execration, formerly in use : " bots '' 
 being the name of a disease to which horses are subject ; so 
 called from the worms generated by the malady. See Note 9, 
 Act ii., " Second Part Henry IV." 
 
 29. A fter all my crosses. The old copies omit " my ;" added 
 by Malone. In the parallel passage in Wilkins's novel ' thy ' is 
 the word employed : which may possibly be what was originally 
 
Act II.] PERICLES. [Scene I, 
 
 Pericles. Alas ! the sea hath cast me on the rocks, 
 Wash'd me from shore to shore. 
 
 Act II. Scene I. 
 
 Thou giv'st me somewhat to repair myself; 
 And though it was mine ownj^" part of my heritage, 
 Which my dead father did bequeath to me, 
 With this strict charge, even as he left his life, 
 " Keep it, my Pericles ; it hath been a shield 
 'Twixt me and death;" — and pointed to this 
 brace ;2' — 
 
 " For that it sav'd me, keep it ; in like necessity 
 (The which the gods protect thee from !) it may 
 
 defend thee."^^ 
 It kept where I kept, I so dearly lov'd it; 
 Till the rough seas, that spare not any man, 
 Took it in rage, though calm'd, have given 't again : 
 I thank thee for't: my shipwreck now's no ill, 
 Since I have here my father's gift in 's will. 
 
 30. And though it was mine own. "Thanks, fortune," in 
 the penultimate line, allows ' I thank you ' to be elliptically 
 understood be ore " though " in the present Une. 
 
 F'lnt Fish. What mean you, sir ? 
 Per. To beg of you, kind friends, this coat of 
 worth, 
 
 For it was sometime target to a king ; 
 
 I know it by this mark. He lov'd me dearly. 
 
 And for his sake I wish the having of it ; 
 
 And that you'd guide me to your sovereign's court, 
 
 Where with it I may appear a gentleman ; 
 
 And if that ever my low fortunes better, 
 
 I'll pay your bounties; till then rest your debtor. 
 
 First Fish. Why, wilt thou tourney for the lady ? 
 
 Per. I'll show the virtue I have borne in arms. 
 
 First Fish. Why, do ye take it, and the gods 
 give thee good on 't ! 
 
 31. Brace. Armour for the arm ; so named from the French 
 word, hras, arm. See Note 90, Act i., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 32. It may defend thee. The old copies give ' Fame ' instead 
 Qf**it. '' Steevens's correction. 
 
Act II.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 Sec. fish. Ay, but hark you, my friend; 'twas 
 we that made up this garment through the rough 
 seams of the waters : there are certain condole- 
 ments, certain vails. I hope, sir, if you thrive, 
 you'll remember from whence you had it.'^^ 
 
 Per. Believe 't, I will. 
 By your fartherance I am cloth'd in steel ; 
 And, spite of all the rapture of the sea,^^ 
 This jewel holds his building on my arm:^* 
 Unto thy valuers vvill I mount myself 
 Upon a courser, whose delightful steps 
 Shall make the gazer joy to see him tread. — 
 Only, my friend, I yet am unprovided 
 Of a pair of bases. 
 
 Sec. Fish. We'll sure provide : thou shalt have 
 my best gown to make thee a pair; and I'll bring 
 thee to the court myself 
 
 Per. Then honour be but a goal to my will. 
 This day I'll rise, or else add ill to ill. [Exeunt, 
 
 SCENE II.— PENT.4P0LIS. A Platform leading 
 to the Lists. A Pa-vilion by the side of it 
 for the reception of the King, Princess, Lords, 
 (Sc. 
 
 Enter Simonides, Thaisa, Lords, and Attendants. 
 
 Sim. Are the knights ready to begin the 
 triumph P^s 
 
 First Lord. They are, my liege ; 
 And stay your coming to present themselves. 
 
 Sim. Return them,^' we are ready ; and our 
 daughter, 
 
 In honour of whose birth these triumphs are. 
 
 33. From whence you had it. ' Them ' is the word given in 
 the old copies instead of " it " here. 
 
 34. S/ii'/e of all the rapture of the sea. The old copies have 
 'rupture' for "rapture;" which has been shown to be the 
 right word, by the parallel passage in Wilkins's novel : — " Which 
 horse he provided with a jewel, whom all the raptures of the 
 sea could not bereave from his arme," " Rapture " here 
 means ' seizure,' ' violent snatching away.' 
 
 35. Holds his building on my arm. " His" is here used for 
 'its;' and "building" means 'firm placing,' ' strong and solid 
 position,' ' fixture." 
 
 36. U7ito thy vahie. It has been proposed to change " thy " 
 to ' the ' here : but we have frequent instances of a change of 
 pronoun applied to one subject in the course of the same speech 
 (see Note 78, Act iv., " Timon of Athens," and Note 88, Act v., 
 " Cymbeline"), and we think that in the present case Pericles, 
 partly speaking to the fishermen, partly to himself, is made first 
 to allude to the "jewel" in the third person, and then in the 
 second person, as a token of his half-soliloquismg frame of mind. 
 Mr. Sydney Walker, who proposes to alter "thy" to 'the,' asks. 
 Why should he apostrophise the jewel ? We believe that he does 
 so in the sudden gladness of discovering that he still possesses 
 this resource wherewith to purchase the horse he needs for the 
 tournament. 
 
 37. A pair of bases. A kind of lower garment worn by 
 knights on horseback. " Bases" are several times mentioned in 
 Sir Philip Sidney's "Arcadia ;" as :— "About his middle he had. 
 
 Sits here, like beauty's child, whom Nature gat 
 For men to see, and seeing wonder at. 
 
 {Exit a Lord. 
 
 Thai. It pleaseth you, my royal father, to express 
 My commendations great, whose merit 's less. 
 
 Sim. It 's fit it should be so ; (or princes are 
 A model, which Heaven makes like to itself: 
 As jewels lose their glory if neglected, 
 So princes their renown if not respected. 
 'Tis now your honour, daughter,'"' to explain-" 
 The labour of each knight in his device. 
 
 Thai. Which, to preserve mine honour, I'll 
 perform. 
 
 Enter a Knight; he passes over, and his Squire 
 presents his shield to the Princess. 
 
 Sim. Who is the first that doth prefer himself.? 
 
 Thai. A knight of Sparta, my renowned father; 
 And the device he bears upon his shield 
 Is a black .^lithiop reaching at the sun; 
 The word, ^2 Lux tua vita mihi.*^ 
 
 Sim. He loves you well that holds his life of 
 you. [The Second Knight passes over. 
 
 Who is the second that piesents himself? 
 
 Thai. A prince of Macedbn, my royal father; 
 And the device he bears upon his shield 
 Is an arm'd knight that 's conquered liy a lady; 
 The motto thus, in Spanish, Piu por duizuia que 
 por fuerza.^* 
 
 [The Third Knight passes over. 
 
 Sim. And what 's the third ? 
 
 Thai. The third of Antioch ; 
 
 And his device, a wreath of chivalry ; 
 The word. Me pompa provexit apex.'^^ 
 
 [The Fourth Kmght passes over. 
 
 Sim. What is the fourth ? 
 
 instead of bases, a long cloake of silke," &c. ; and " His bases 
 (which he ware so long, as they came almost to his ankle), were 
 embroidered," &c. Also in Massinger's " Picture : " "It appears 
 your petticoat serves for bases to this warrior." 
 
 38. Triumph. 'A pageant celebration,' ' a processional show.' 
 See Note 19, Act v., " Richard II." 
 
 39. Return tJiem. ' Return them word,' 'give them notice in 
 
 40, '^'zs now your hon 
 has been suspected of be 
 have been made ; but we 
 for ' honourable duty ' or 
 
 perfo 
 
 da2t^hter, to, &^c. "Honour" 
 misprint, and various alterations 
 ? it that here "honour" is u^ed 
 honourable ta.sk,' th.it which it is a 
 ■e think that Thaisa's reply demon- 
 
 tak 
 
 , thif 
 
 41. To explain. The old copies have, entertame mstead of 
 " explain " here. Steevens's correction. 
 
 42. The word. 'The motto.' See Note 64, Act i., 
 " Richard II.," and Note 144, Act i., " Hamlet." 
 
 43. L71X tua vita mihi. Latin ; 'Thy light is life to me.' 
 
 44. Piu por dulznra que por fuerza. ' More by sweetness 
 than by force.' The Itali.an word "piu " is here used instead of 
 the Spanish word ' mas ' for ' more ; ' but formerly these two 
 languages were much confused, the one for the other, in quota- 
 tions made by English writers. 
 
 45. Me pmipce provexit apex. Latin ; ' The summit of 
 glory has carried me forward.' 
 
Act II.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Thai. A burning torch that's turned upside down ; 
 The word, ^uod me alit, me extinguit^^ 
 Sim. Which shows that beauty hath his power 
 and will, 
 
 Which can as well inflame as it can kill. 
 
 [Tie Fifth ]!in\gh\. passes over. 
 Thai. The fifth, a hand environed with clouds, 
 Holding out gold that 's by the touchstone tried ; 
 The motto thus, Sic spectanda fides.^'' 
 
 [The Sixih Knight (Pericles) tasses over 
 Sim. And what 's 
 The sixth and last, the which the knight himself 
 With such a graceful courtesy deliver'd ? 
 
 Thai. He seems to be a stranger; but his 
 present is'is 
 A wither'd branch, that's only green at top; 
 The motto. In hac spe vi-ijo.*^ 
 
 Sim. A pretty moral ; 
 From the dejected state wherein he is. 
 He nopes by you his fortunes yet may flourish. 
 first Lord. He had need mean better than his 
 outward show 
 Can any way speak in his just commend ; 
 For, by his rusty outside, he appears 
 To have practis'd more the vvhipstock^" than the 
 lance. 
 
 Sec. Lord. He well may be a stranger, for he 
 comes 
 
 To an honour'd triumph strangely furnished. 
 Third Lord. And on set purpose let his armour 
 rust 
 
 Until this day, to scour it in the dust. 
 
 Sim. Opinion 's but a fool, that makes us scan 
 The outward habit by the inward man. 5' 
 But stay, the knights arc coming : we'll withdraw 
 Into the gallery. [Exeunt. 
 [Great shouts, and all cry, " The mean knight ! " 
 
 SCENE III.— Pen-tapolis. A Hall of State: a 
 Banquet prepared. 
 
 Enter Simonides, Thaisa, Marshal, Ladies, 
 Lords, Knights, and Attendants. 
 Sim. Knights, 
 To say you're welcome were superfluous. 
 
 46. QKoimealit, meextmgiiit. Latin; 'That which feeds 
 
 47. Sic siectanda fides. Latin; ' So faith is to be proved.' 
 
 48. But his present is, ]VIr. Singer altered " present " 
 to ' impress ; ' but here " present " is used to express that which 
 is presented. 
 
 49. In luK spe vivo. Latin ; ' In this hope I Hve. 
 
 50. Tlie luhipstock. 'The handle of a whip.' See Note 29, 
 Act ii., "Twelfth Night." The First Lord implies that, judging 
 from Pericles' shabby appearance, his hand has been more 
 familiar with a carter's whip than with a knightly lance. 
 
 51. Thui mikes us scaii the ojctwn-rd habit by ttie in-ward 
 man, ' That makes us scan the inward man by the outward 
 habit.' Such inversions of phraseology are occasionally found 
 
 To placets upon the volume ot your deeds. 
 As in a title-page, your worth in arms, 
 Were more than you expect, or more than 's fit. 
 Since every worth in show commends itself. 
 Prepare for mirth, for mirth becomes a feast : 
 You are princes and my guests. 
 
 Thai. But you, my knight and guest ; 
 To whom this wreath of victory I give. 
 And crown you king of this day's happiness. 
 
 Fer. 'Tis more by fortune, lady, than by merit. 
 
 Sim. Call it by what you will, the da.y is yours ; 
 And here, I hope, is none that envies it. 
 In framing an artist, art hath thus decreed, 
 To make some good, but others to exceed ; 
 And you're her labour'd scholar. — Come, queen 
 
 o' the feast, — 
 For, daughter, so you are, — here take your place : 
 Marshal the rest, as they deserve their grace. 
 
 Knights. We are honour'd much by good 
 Simonides. 
 
 Sim. Your presence glads our days : honour 
 we love ; 
 
 For who hates honour hates the gods above. 
 Marshal. Sir, yond 's your place. 
 Per. Some other is more fit. 
 
 First [Knight. Contend not, sir; for we are 
 gentlemen 
 
 That neither in our hearts nor outward eyes 
 Envy the great nor do the low despise. 
 
 Per. You are right courteous knights. 
 
 Sim. Sit, sir, sit.— 
 
 [Aside."] 3y Jove, I wonder, that is king of 
 thoughts,^' 
 
 These cates^"* resist me, he but thought upon. 
 
 Thai. [Aside.] By Juno, that is queen 
 Of marriage, all the viands that I eat 
 Do seem unsavoury, wishing him my meat. 
 Sure, he's a gallant gentleman. 
 
 Sim. [Aside.] He 's but a country gentleman ; 
 He has done no more than other knights have done ; 
 He has broken a staff or so ; so let it pass. 
 
 Thai. [Aside.] To me he seems like diamond 
 to glass. 
 
 Per. [Aside.] Yon king 's to me like to my 
 father's picture. 
 Which tells me in that glory once he was ; 
 
 in Shakespeare. See Note 13, Act v., " Antony and Cleopatra ; " 
 Note 48, Act iii., " Othello ; " and those cited in Note 61, Act i. 
 of the present play. 
 
 52. To place. The earlier copies give ' I ' for " to ;" corrected 
 in the fourth Folio. 
 
 53- y^'^^t ^ wonder, &^c. These two lines were assigned 
 to Pericles by Malone, Stecvens, and others ; changing " he " 
 in the second line to 'she.' From comparison with the parallel 
 passage in Wilkins's novel, it has since been ascertained that 
 they rightly (as in the old copies) b=long to Simonides ; and 
 thus we gave them, preceding them by " [_Aside']'" in our New 
 York Edition, published in 1S60. 
 
 54. Caies. 'Choice viands,' 'dainties,' 'delicacies.' See 
 Note 27, Act iii., " First Part Henry IV." 
 
Act II.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Had princes sit, like stars, about his throne. 
 And he the sun, for them to reverence ; 
 None that beheld him, but, like lesser lights. 
 Did vail 55 their crowns to his supremacy : 
 Where now his son 's like a glow-worm in the 
 night,56 
 
 The which hath fire in darkness, none in light: 
 Whereby I see that Time 's the king of men. 
 For he 's their parent, and he is their grave, 
 And gives them what he will, not what they 
 crave. 
 
 Sim. What! are you merry, knights? 
 First Knight. Who can be other in this royal 
 presence ? 
 
 Sim. Here, with a cup that 's stor'd unto the 
 brim,*^ — 
 
 As you do love, fill to your mistress' lips,— 
 We drink this health to you. 
 
 Knights. We thank your grace. 
 
 Sim. Yet pause awhile : 
 Yon knight doth sit too melancholy, 
 As if the entertainment in our court 
 Had not a show might countervail his worth. 
 Note it not you, Thaisa ? 
 
 Thai. What is it 
 
 To me, my father ? 
 
 Sim. Oh, attend, my daughter: 
 
 Princes, in this, should live like gods above, 
 Who freely give to every one that comes 
 To honour tiiem : 
 
 And princes not doing so are like to gnats. 
 Which make a sound, but kill'd are wonder'd 
 at. 53 
 
 Therefore to make his entrance''^ more sweet. 
 Here, say we drink this standing-bowl*" of wine to 
 him. 
 
 Thai. Alas ! my father, it befits not me 
 Unto a stranger knight to be so bold : 
 He may my proffer take for an offence, 
 Since men take women's gifts for impudence. 
 
 55. Vail. ' Lower,' ' stoop.' See Note 17, Act iii., " Corio- 
 lanus." 
 
 55. Wlieye now his son 's like a gloiu-worm in the night. 
 The old copies give 'sonne' instead of "son's." Steevens's 
 correction. We think it probable that the old copies also mis- 
 took in putting the "a" before "glow-worm;" as the rhythm 
 of the line is thereby injured. " Where " is here used with the 
 force of ' whereas.' See Note 75, Act i. 
 
 57. With a cup that's stor'd unto the brim. The old copies 
 have ' stur'd,' 'sturd,' and 'stirr'd,' instead of " stor'd ; " which 
 is Steevens's correction. 
 
 58. But kill'd are wonder'd at. The passage implies, 
 ' Princes, not living beneficently, are like insignificant insects ; 
 they make some noise in the world ; but, once dead, excite only 
 wonder at their idle buzzing with so little result.' 
 
 59. Entrance. This is probably an abbreviated form of 
 ' entrancement,' or an amplified form of ' trance,' signifying 
 'reverie,' * musing.' The Ime gives evidence of mutilation, 
 and various changes have been proposed. At one time we 
 thought that " entrance " m;ght have been a misprint for 
 ' countenance ; ' but we now incline to believe that " entrance " 
 is the right word, and that it very likely was accented on the 
 
 Sim. How ! 
 Do as I bid you, or you'll move me else. 
 
 Thai. l^Aside.'] Now, by the gods, he could not 
 
 please me better. 
 Sim. And farther tell him, we desire to 
 
 know," 
 
 Of whence he is, his name and parentage. 
 
 Thai. The king my father, sir, has drunk to 
 you. 
 
 Per. I thank him. 
 
 Thai. Wishing it so much blood unto your 
 life. 
 
 Per. I thank both him and you, and pledge him 
 freely. 
 
 Thai. And farther he desires to know of you, 
 Of whence you are, your name and parentage. 
 
 Per. A gentleman of Tyre, — my name, Pericles; 
 My education been in arts and arms ; — 
 Who, looking for adventures in the world. 
 Was by the rough seas reft of ships and men. 
 And, after shipwreck, driven upon this shore. 
 
 Thai. He thanks your grace ; names himself 
 Pericles, 
 A gentleman of Tyre, 
 Who only by misfortune of the seas 
 Bereft of ships and men, cast on this shore. 
 
 Sim. Now, by the gods, I pity his misfortune, 
 And will awake him from his melancholy. — 
 Come, gentlemen, we sit too long on trifles. 
 And waste the time, which looks for other revels. 
 Even in your armours, as you are address'd,*'' 
 Will very well become a soldier's dance. 
 I will not have excuse, with saying tliis 
 Loud music 55 (-00 harsh for ladies' heads, 
 Since they love men in arms. 
 
 [The Knights dance. 
 So, this was well ask'd, 'twas so well perform'd. — 
 Come, sir ; 
 
 Here is a lady that wants breathing too; 
 And I have often heard you knights of Tyre 
 
 second syllable, while some such word as * sad ' (which perhaps 
 originally preceded it) may have been omitted in the old copies. 
 
 60. Standijig-boivl. An old name for a drinking-vessel that 
 was supported by a foot. 
 
 61. And farther tell him, we desire to know. The old copies 
 have 'furthermore' instead of "farther," and 'of him' after 
 "know," Malone's correction. 
 
 62. My education been in arts and arms. ' Has ' is ellipti- 
 cally understood before "been;" as, in the previous line, 'I 
 am' is understood before "a gentleman," and 'is' before 
 " Pericles." 
 
 63. Bereft of ships and men, cast on this shore. Here ag.ain 
 the construction is elliptical ; ' has been ' or ' was ' being under- 
 stood before " bereft," and 'and ' before " cast." 
 
 64. Address' d. 'Accoutred;' ' ready for the previour, joust- 
 ing,' 'prepared for combat.' See Note 7, Act iii., "Julius 
 Caesar. " 
 
 65. This loud music. In reference to the clashing of their 
 
 66. Breathing. 'Exercise.' See Note 85, Act v., " Hamlet." 
 
 67. And I have often heard. "Often" is not in the old 
 copies ; it was added by Malone. 
 
Act II.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Are excellent in making ladies trip; 
 And that their measures are as excellent. 
 Pei-. In those that practise them they are, my 
 lord. 
 
 Sim. Oh, that 's as much as you would be 
 denied 
 Of your fair courtesy. 
 
 [^The Knights and Ladies dance. 
 Unclasp, unclasp : 
 Thanks, gentlemen, to all ; all have done well, 
 [To Per.] But you the best— Pages and lights, 
 to conduct 
 
 These knights unto their several lodgings! — 
 
 Yours, sir. 
 We have given order to be next our own. 
 Per. I am at your grace's pleasure. 
 Sim. Princes, it is too late to talk of love ; 
 And that 's the mark I know you level at : 
 Therefore each one betake him to his rest ; 
 To-morrow all for speeding jhgij. best. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE IV. 
 
 -Tyre. A Room 
 House. 
 
 Enter Helicanus and Escanes. 
 
 Hel. No, Escanes ; know this of me, — 
 Antiochus from incest liv'd not free : 
 For which, the most high gods not minding longer 
 To withhold the vengeance that they had in store. 
 Due to this heinous capital offence. 
 Even in the height and pride of all his glory, 
 When he was seated,^' and his daughter with him, 
 In a chariot of inestimable value, 
 A fire from heaven came, and shrivell'd up 
 Their bodies,™ even to loathing; for they so 
 stunk. 
 
 6S. Speeding. ' Obtaining success,' ' achieving success.' See 
 Note 25, Act iii., " Winter's Tale." 
 
 69. When he was seated, ir'c. We give these two lines as 
 arranged by Steevens ; the old copies here, and in so very 
 many passages of the present play, being so manifestly mis- 
 printed as to leave it matter of mere conjecture how they were 
 originally written. 
 
 70. Their bodies. The old copies give 'those' instead of 
 "their." Steevens's correction; shown to be right by the 
 parallel sentence in Wilkins's novel. 
 
 71. All those eyes adord titein. ' Which ' is elllptically under- 
 stood before "ador'd;" as 'that' is understood before "their 
 hand " in the next line. 
 
 72. Not a man, &fic. Steevens has the following note upon 
 the present speech :— " To what this charge of partiality was 
 designed to conduct, we do not learn ; for it appears to have no 
 influence over the rest of the dialogue." We think it is designed 
 to show the impatience felt by these lords at having no oppor- 
 tunity of stating their anxiety respecting Pericles to Helicane ; 
 since he accords to no one the facilities of "private conference 
 or council " which he accords to Escanes. They are jealous of 
 the greater confidence reposed in Escanes, and the ^Teater 
 
 That all those eyes ador'd them''^ ere their fall. 
 Scorn now their hand should give them burial. 
 Esca. 'Twas very strange. 
 
 Hel. And yet but just ; for though 
 
 This king were great, his greatness was no 
 
 guard / 
 To bar Heaven's shaft, but sin had his reward. 
 
 Esca. 'Tis very true. 
 
 Enter three Lords. 
 First Lord. See, not a man in private con- 
 ference 
 
 Or council has respect with him but he. 
 
 Sec. Lord. It shall no longer gneve without 
 reproof. 
 
 Third Lord. And curs'd be he that will not 
 second it.^^ 
 
 First Lord. Follow me, then. — Lord Helicane, 
 a word. 
 
 HeL With me ? and welcome : — happy day, 
 my lords. 
 
 First Lord. Know that our griefs are risen to 
 the top. 
 
 And now at length they overflow their banks. 
 Flel. Your griefs ! for what ? wrong not your 
 
 prince you love.'* 
 First Lord. Wrong not yourself, then, noble 
 
 Helicane ; 
 
 But if the prince do live, let us salute him. 
 Or know what ground 's made happy by his 
 breath. 
 
 If in the world he live, we'll seek hiin out ; 
 If in his grave he rest, we'll find him there ; 
 And be resolv'd'^ he lives to govern us. 
 Or dead, gives cause to mourn his funeral. 
 And leaves us to our free election. 
 Sec. Lord. Whose death's, indeed, the strongest 
 in our censure 
 And knowing this kingdom is without a head, 77— 
 
 preference shown by Helicane ; and they not only demonstrate 
 their solicitude respecting the absent prince, but they seek to 
 curry favour with his representative by electing him at once to 
 sovereign power. 
 
 73. It shall no longer grieve that will 7tot second it. 
 
 " It" is here, in both instances, used in reference to an implied 
 particular; the first "it" meaning 'this sense of our being 
 treated by Helicanus with less confidence than Escanes,' and 
 the second "it" signifying 'this intended remonstrance (or 
 "reproof") which we intend to make.' 
 
 74. Wrong 7iot your prince ymi love. "Your" was altered 
 by Steevens to ' the ; ' but ' whom ' may be elliptically under- 
 stood before " you." 
 
 75. Resolv'd. 'Satisfied,' 'fully informed.' See Note 74, 
 Act i., " King Lear." 
 
 76. Whose death 's, indeed, the strongest in our censure. 
 "Death's" is printed ' death ' in the old copies; as "leaves," 
 in the previous line, has the final s omitted. Malone's correc- 
 tion. "The strongest" implies 'the strongest probability,' or 
 'the most probable ;' and " censure" is used for 'opinion.' 
 
 77. And kno7uing this kingdoyn is, &^c. 'Thus,' or ' in that 
 case,' is elliptically understood before "knowmg. ' 
 
Act I I.J 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scene V. 
 
 Like goodly buildings left without a roof, 
 Soon fall to ruin, — your noble self. 
 That best know'st how to rule and how to 
 reign, 
 
 We thus submit unto, — our sovereign. 
 All. Live, noble Helicane ! 
 Hel. For honour's cause, ''s forbear your 
 suffrages : 
 
 If that you love Prince Pericles, forbear. 
 Take I your wish, I leap into the seas,^' 
 Where's hourly trouble for a minute's ease. 
 A twelvemonth longer, let me entreat you 
 To forbear the absence of your king ; 
 If in which time expir'd, he not return, 
 I shall with aged patience bear your yoke. 
 But if I cannot win you to this love, 
 Go search like nobles, like noble subjects, 
 And in your search spend your adventurous 
 worth ; 
 
 Whom if you find, and win unto return, 
 You shall like diamonds sit about his crown. 
 
 First Lord. To wisdom he 's a fool that will 
 not yield ; 
 And since Lord Helicane enjoineth us. 
 We with our travels will endeavour it.*' 
 
 Hel. Then you love us, we you, and we'll 
 clasp hands : 
 When peers thus knit, a kingdom ever stands. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE v.— Pentapolis. J Room in the 
 Palace. 
 
 Enter Simonides, reading a letter : the Knights 
 meet him. 
 
 First Knight. Good morrow to the good 
 Simonides. 
 
 Sim. Knights, from my daughter this I let yoii 
 know. 
 
 That for this twelvemonth she'll not undertake 
 A married life.^^ 
 
 78. For /wnour's cause. The old copies give ' try ' instead of 
 " for." Mr. Dyce's correction. 
 
 79. Take I your wish, I leap into tlie seas. 'Were I to 
 accept what you wish, I should plunge into a sea of difficulty.' 
 
 80. To forbear tlie absence of your king. This line is defec- 
 tive, and various attempts have been made to piece it out. If it 
 be accepted as it stands, " forbear " must be taken in the sense 
 of ' bear with,* ' tolerate,' ' bear patiently,' ' endure.' Shake- 
 speare uses the word thus in " Second Part Henry I V.," Act iv. , 
 sc. 4, where the kinfj says to his son. Prince Henry, " What ! 
 canst thou not forbear me half an hour 1 " 
 
 81. lyat endeavour it. The old copies omit the final word 
 " it." Steevens's addition. 
 
 82. For this twelvemonth she'll not undertake a married 
 life. The expedient here devised by Simonides for having the 
 suitors " well despatch'd " is, indeed, not very consonant with 
 the dignity of trath ; but it is quite characteristic of the waggish 
 tendency to stratagem shown by the royal old gentleman, in 
 
 Her reason to herself is only known. 
 Which yet from her by no means can I get. 
 Sec. Knight. May we not get access to her, my 
 lord? 
 
 Sim. Faith, by no means ; she hath so strictly 
 tied her 
 
 To her chamber, that it is impossible. 
 One twelve moons more she'll wear Diana's 
 livery ; 
 
 This by the eye of Cynthia hath she vow'd. 
 And on her virgin honour will not break it. 
 
 Third Knight. Though loath to bid farewell, we 
 take our leaves. {Exeunt Knights. 
 
 Sim. So, 
 
 They are well despatch'd ; now to my daughter's 
 letter c^-* 
 
 She tells me here, she'll wed the stranger knight. 
 
 Or never more to view nor day nor light. 
 
 'Tis well, mistress ; your choice agrees with mine ; 
 
 I like that well : — nay, how absolute she 's in 't, 
 
 Not minding whether I dislike or no ! 
 
 Well, I commend her choice ; 
 
 And will no longer have it be delay'd.^s — 
 
 Soft! here he comes : I must dissemble it. 
 
 Enter Pericles. 
 Per. All fortune to the good Simonides ! 
 Sim. To you as much, sir! I am beholden to 
 you 
 
 For your sweet music this last night : I do 
 Protest my ears were never better fed 
 With such delightful pleasing harmony. 
 
 Per. It is your grace's pleasure to commend ; 
 Not my desert. 
 
 Sirii. Sir, you are music's master. 
 
 Per. The worst of all her scholars, my good 
 lord. 
 
 Sim. Let me ask you one thing : 
 What do you think of my daughter, sir ? 
 Per. As of a most virtuous princess.^^ 
 Sim. And she is fair too, is she not ? 
 Per. Asa fair day in summer, — wondrous fair. 
 
 proceeding to "dissemble" his satisfaction at his daughter's 
 choice, and to play off a pretended anger at the lovers' mutual 
 affection, that he may keep them in a flutter of suspense until he 
 choose to join their hands and bid them wed at once as the 
 penalty of their transgression, in daring to fall in love with 
 each other without his leave. Steevens solemnly demurs to this 
 conduct of Simonides ; yet, though it may not be " ingenuous," 
 it is perfectly in character— diplomatically as well as drama- 
 tically. 
 
 83. Though loath to bid farewell, we take our leaves. Th# 
 old copies omit " though." Steevens's addition. 
 
 84. Nozu to my daughter's letter. The princess's revelation 
 of her love for the Knight of Tyre in a letter to her father, occurs 
 in the Confessio Amantis. 
 
 85. Have it be delay d. " It " refers to the marriage implied 
 in the previous word "choice." See Note 73, of the present 
 Act. 
 
 86. As of a most virtuous princess. The old copies omit ' as 
 of a.' Steevens's addition. 
 
Act IL] PERICLES. [Scene V. 
 
 Sunonides. 
 Both. 
 
 What ! are you both agreed ? 
 
 Yes, if 't please your majesty. 
 
 Act II. Scene F. 
 
 Sim. Sir, my daughter thinks very well of you ; 
 Ay, so well, that you must be her master, 
 And she will be your scholar: therefore look to it. 
 
 Per. I am unworthy for her schoolmaster. 
 
 Sim. She thinks not so ; peruse this writing 
 else. 
 
 Per. [J side.] What's here? 
 A letter, that she loves the knight of Tyre ! 
 'Tis the king's subtilty to have my life. — 
 [Jloud.] Oh, seek not to entrap me, gracious lord, 
 A stranger and distressed gentleman. 
 That never aim'd so high to love your daughter, 
 But bent all offices to honour her. 
 
 Sim. Thou hast bewitch'd my daughter, and 
 thou art 
 A villair. 
 
 Per. By the gods, I have not: 
 Never did thought of mine levy offence; 
 
 Nor never did my actions yet commence 
 
 A deed might gain her love or your displeasure. 
 
 Sim. Traitor, thou liest. 
 
 Per. Traitor ! 
 
 Sim. Ay, traitor. 
 
 Per. Even in his throat,— unless it be the 
 king,— 
 
 That calls me traitor, I return the lie. 
 Sim. {Aside.] Now, by the gods, I do applaud his 
 courage. 
 
 Per. My actions are as noble as my thoughts, 
 That never relish'd of a base descent. 
 I came unto your court for honour's cause, 
 A nd not to be a rebel to her state ; 
 And he that otherwi.se accounts of me, 
 This sword shall prove he 's honour's enemy. 
 
 Sim. No ? 
 Here comes my daughter, she can witness it. 
 
Act III.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Chorus. 
 
 Enter Thaisa. 
 Per. Then, as you are as virtuous as fair, 
 Resolve your angry father,^ if my tongue 
 Did e'er solicit, or my hand subscribe 
 To any syllable that made love to you. 
 
 Thai. Why, sir, say if you had, 
 Who takes offence at that would make me 
 glad? 
 
 Sim. Yea, mistress, are you so peremptory ? — 
 [/Iside.'] I am glad on 't with all my heart. — 
 [To her.'] I'll tame you ; I'll bring you in sub- 
 jection. 
 
 Will you, not having my consent, 
 Bestow your love and your affections 
 Upon a stranger who, for aught I 
 
 knOw, 
 
 May be (nor can I think the contr.-.ry) 
 As great in blood as I myself.— 
 [Aloud.'] Therefore hear you, mistress; either 
 frame 
 
 Your will to mine, — and you, sir, hear you. 
 Either be rul'd by me, or I will make you — 
 Man and wife : — 
 
 Nay, come, your hands and lips must seal it too : 
 And being join'd, I'll thus your hopes destroy; — 
 And for a farther grief, — God give you joy ! — 
 What! are you both pleas'd ? 
 
 Thai. Yes, if you love me, sir. 
 
 Per. Even as my life, or blood that fosters it. 
 
 Sim. What ! are you both agreed ? 
 
 Both. Yes, if 't please your majesty. 
 
 Sim. It pleaseth me so well, that I will see you 
 "■ed. [Exeunt. 
 
 ACT 
 
 Enter Gower. 
 
 Go-Lv. Now sleep yslaked> hath the rout;* 
 No din but snores the house about,* 
 Made louder by the o'er-fed breast 
 Of this most pompous marriage-feast. 
 The cat, with eyne'' of burning coal. 
 Now couches 'fore the mouse's hole;^ 
 And crickets sing at the oven's mouth, 
 Are the blither for their drouth. « 
 Hymen hath brought the bride to bed ; 
 And time that is so briefly sped 
 With your fine fancies quaintly eche :7 
 What's dumb in show I'll plain ^ with speech. 
 
 87. Resolve your angry father-. " Resolve" is here used in 
 the sense of ' satisfy,' ' inform,' ' tell,' See Note 75 of this 
 Act. 
 
 1. Yslaked. V is an ancient prefix to participles past (see 
 Note 9, Acti., "Second Part Henry VI.") ; and 'slaked' here 
 means ' relaxed in repose,' 'subdued in slumber.' 
 
 2. Rout. An old word for 'company,' 'assemblage.' Until 
 as late as the commencement of the present (nineteenth) century, 
 the word survived in use applied to a fashionable party of a 
 particular kind. 
 
 3. The Iwuse about. The old copies give ' about the house.' 
 Malone made the requisite transposition. 
 
 ^ ^. Eyne. Antique plural form of 'eyes.' See Note 38, Act i., 
 'Midsummer Night's Dream and Note 114, Act ii., "Antony 
 and Cleopatra." 
 
 5. Now couches 'fore the mouse's hole. The old copies give 
 ' from ' for " 'fore." Malone's suggested correction. 
 
 6. Are ilie blither for their drouth. " Are" has been variously 
 
 III. 
 
 Dumb Show. 
 Enter, from one side, Pericles and Simonides 
 nx^ith Attendants; a Messenger meets them, 
 kneels, and g'lnjes Pericles a letter: he shonus 
 it to Simonides; the Lords kneel to Pericles.' 
 Then enter Thaisa luith child, and Lycho- 
 RIDA. Simonides shotvs his daughter the 
 letter; she rejoices: she and Pericles take 
 lea've of her father, and depart luith Lycho- 
 RIDA and their Attendants. Then exeunt 
 Simonides and the rest. 
 By many a dearn'" and painful perch" 
 Of Pericles the careful search. 
 
 altered ; but we think that probably ' and ' is elliptically under- 
 stood before " are." We have several instances of similar 
 elliptical construction in Shakespeare (see Note 63, Act ii.) ; as 
 also of close repetition of the word " and " in a single sentence. 
 For example, in the present play, we have "And for his sake 
 I wi.sh the h.Tving of It; and that you'd guide me," &c. ; 
 likewise, " He's their parent, and he is their grave and gives 
 them," S:c. 
 
 7. Quaintly eche. ' Skilfully eke out.' See Note 12, Act iii., 
 " Two Gentlemen of Verona." 
 
 8. Plain. Here used for ' make plain.' 
 
 9. The lords kneel to Pericles. Because they now, through 
 this letter, learn for the first time that he is King of Tyre. 
 
 10. Dearn. Sometimes spelt ' dern,' or ' dsrne.' The word 
 is by some old writers used to express ' dismal,' ' direful,' ' sad,' 
 ' lonely,' ' solitary,' ' dreary ; ' by others, ' secret : ' by others, 
 'earnest,' eager.' Here it may be intended to combine some- 
 thing of each of these senses. 
 
 11. Perck. A measure of five yards and a half. 
 
ACT III.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 By the four opposing coignes'^ 
 
 Which the world together joins, 
 
 Is made with all due diligence 
 
 That horse and sail and high expense 
 
 Can stead the quest. At last from Tyre,— 
 
 Fame answering the most strange enquire,"— 
 
 To the court of King Simonides 
 
 Are letters brought, the tenour these :— 
 
 Antiochus and his daughter dead ; 
 
 The men of Tyrus on the head 
 
 Of Helicanus would set on 
 
 The crown of Tyre,** but he will none : 
 
 The mutiny he there-hastes t' oppress;"" 
 
 Says to them, if King Pericles 
 
 Come not home in twice six moons, 
 
 He, obedient to their dooms, 
 
 Will take the crown. The sum of this. 
 
 Brought hither to Pentapolis, 
 
 Y-ravished'7 the regions round, 
 
 And every one with claps can sound, 
 
 "Our heir-apparent is a king ! 
 
 Who dream'd, who thought of such a thing ?" 
 
 Brief, he must hence depart to Tyre : 
 
 His queen with child makes her desire 
 
 (Which who shall cross?) along to go : — 
 
 Omit we all their dole and woe : — 
 
 Lychorida, her nurse, she takes, 
 
 And so to sea. Their vessel shakes 
 
 On Neptiine's billow; half the flood 
 
 Hath their keel cut: but fortune's mood^' 
 
 Varies again; the grisly nOrth^" 
 
 12. Coignes. The old copies misprint this ' crignes.' Rowe's 
 correction. See Note 99, Act i., " Macbeth ; " and Note 18, Act 
 iv., "Antony and Cleopatra." 
 
 13. Can stead the quest. 'Can aid the search.' See Note 
 36, Act i., " King Lear." 
 
 14. The most strange enquire. " Strange " has been altered 
 by Malone and others to ' strong ; ' but we think that here 
 "strange" is used to express 'unusual,' 'uncommon,' 'extra- 
 ordinary.' See Note 14, Act v., " Midsummer Night's Dream.'' 
 
 15. On the head of Helicames uioidd sst on the crozun, 
 Similar pleonasms of expression are occasionally found in Shake- 
 speare. See Note 106, Act i., " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 16. T' oppress. ' To suppress.' 'Y'tvs "L^ivci ^oxd. oppriinere 
 bears this sense as one of its meanings. 
 
 17. Y-ravished. See Note 1 of the present Act for another 
 instance of the antique prefix, y. "Ravished" is here used in 
 the sense of ' delighted,' ' rejoiced.' 
 
 18. With claps can sonnd. The word " can " was often used 
 by ancient writers instead of ' 'gan.' Here we retain the original 
 word ; because the author's aim was evidently to give as anti- 
 quated an air as possible to Gower's diction in these chorus- 
 speeches. 
 
 19. But fortune's mood. The old copies give ' mou'd,' or 
 ' moou'd,' for " mood." Stcevens's correction. 
 
 20. The grisly north. In the old copies "grisly " is variously 
 spelt 'grisled,* 'grislee,' 'grieslee,* and "grisly." Some modern 
 editions give ' grizzled ; ' but the word " grisly," signifying 
 ' terrible,' ' hideous,' is used by Shakespeare elsewhere (in 
 " Midsummer Night's Dream," Act v, sc. 1) ; and we think 
 precisely suits for the requisite epithet here. 
 
 21. Well-a-near. An exclamation equivalent to ' well-a-day ; ' 
 of which it is a provincially used form. See Note 14, Act ii. , 
 " Henry V." 
 
 Disgorges such a tempest forth, 
 
 That, as a duck for life that dives. 
 
 So up and down the poor ship drives : 
 
 The lady shrieks, and, well-a-near,^' 
 
 Does fall in travail with her fear : 
 
 And what ensues in this fell storin 
 
 Shall for itself itself perform. 
 
 I nill relate,^^ action may 
 
 Conveniently the rest convey ; 
 
 Which might not what by me is told.^' 
 
 In your imagination hold 
 
 This stage the ship, upon whose deck 
 
 The sea-tost Pericles'-* appears to speak. [Exit- 
 
 SCENE I.— 0« a Ship at Sea. 
 Enter Pericles. 
 Per. Thou 25 god of this great vast,^^ rebuke 
 these surges. 
 
 Which wasli both heaven and hell ; and thou, that 
 hast 
 
 Upon the winds command, bind them in brass, 
 Having call'd them from the deep! Oh, still 
 Thy deafening, dreadful thunders ; gently quench 
 Thy nimble, sulphurous flashes!— Oh, how, Lycho- 
 rida, 
 
 How does my queen ? — Thou storm, venomously 
 Wilt thou spit all thyself P^^— The seaman's 
 whistle 
 
 22. / nill relate. " Nill " is an ancient negative ; framed 
 from 'ne will,' and signifying 'will not.' See Note 27, Act ii., 
 " Taming of the Shrew." 
 
 23. Which might not what by me is told. ' Which ("action ") 
 might not so conveniently have represented to you what is re- 
 lated by me.' 
 
 24. The sea-tost Pericles. " Sea-tost," in the old copies, is 
 given 'seas tost.' Rowe made the correction. 
 
 25. TIwu god of this great vast. The old copies give 'the' 
 for " thou " here. Rowe's correction. The diction throughout 
 the present scene is veritably Shakespearian. It has that 
 majesty of unstrained force which distinguishes his finest 
 descriptive passages, and that dignity of expression, combined 
 with the most simple and natural pathos, which characterises 
 his passages of deepest passion. After the comparative stiffness 
 traceable in the phraseology of the previous scenes, and after 
 the cramped and antiquated chorus-speeches of Gower, this 
 opening of the third Act always comes upon us with the effect 
 of a grand strain of music— the music of the great master him- 
 self—with its rightly touched discords, and its nobly exalted 
 soul-sufilicing harmonies. 
 
 26. This great vast. 'This wide expanse of sky and sea.' 
 At once, by these words, the poet shows us Pericles on the deck, 
 face to face with Nature in her terrible aspect, exposed to the 
 full sweep of the tempest, out amid the din and clamour of the 
 elements ; vainly striving to make his voice heard in calling to 
 Lychorida, who is within the cabin, attending upon his queen. 
 The stage appointments "of the time permitted no efficient repre- 
 sentation of shipboard ; but the dramatist's words are of suffi- 
 cient force to place before us the absolute particulars of the 
 
 27. Thoti storin, venomously wilt thou spit all thyself^ The 
 old copies give ' Then storme venomously, wilt thou spet all thy- 
 
 774 
 
Act III.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Is as a whisper in the ears of death, 
 Unheard. — Lychorida ! — Lucina, oh, 
 Divinest patroness, and midwife^* gentle 
 To those that cry by night, convey thy deity 
 Aboard our dancing boat ; make swift the pangs 
 Of my queen's travails l^^ — 
 
 Enter Lychorida, tx-/VA an Infant. 
 
 Now, Lychorida ! 
 
 Lye. Here is a thing too young for such a place. 
 Who, if it had conceit,3» would die, as I 
 Am like to do : take in your arms this piece 
 Of your dead queen. 
 
 Per. How, how, Lychorida! 
 
 Lyc. Patience, good sir ; do not assist the storm. 
 Here 's all that is left living of your queen, — 
 A little daughter : for the sake of it. 
 Be manly, and take comfort. 
 
 Per. Oh, you gods ! 
 
 Why do you make us love your goodly gifts, 
 And snatch them straight away ? We here below 
 Recall not what we give, and therein may 
 Vie honour with you.^' 
 
 Lyc. Patience, good sir. 
 
 Even for this charge. 
 
 Per. Now, mild may be thy life ! 
 
 For a more blust'rous birth had never babe : 
 Quiet and gentle thy conditions ! ^2 
 For thou art the ruddiest welcome to this world 
 
 self?' Malone altered 'then' to " thou," which alteration we 
 adopt, because it seems evident to us that the " storm" is here 
 addressed ; just as, before, the speaker has been intended to use 
 " thou " when invoking the " god of this great vast ; " but we 
 cannot agree with the Cambridge Editors, in accepting Mr. 
 Dyce's change of "storm "to ' stormest ; ' which destroys the 
 address to the storm itself that we believe was here intended by 
 the author. " Venomously " is here used to express ' maliciously,' 
 'spitefully,' 'virulently;' and "Wilt thou spit all thyselT?" is 
 equivalent to 'Wilt thou spend thyself entirely?' 'Wilt thou 
 exhaust thyself utterly?' See, for an employment of "all," in 
 a similar sense. Note 136, Act iv., " King Lear ; " and Note 64, 
 Act i., " Antony and Cleopatra." "Wilt thou spit all thyself?" 
 also includes the meaning of ' Wilt thou foam thus loudly to the 
 exclusion of all other sounds ?' because Pericles goes on to say 
 that, owing to the noise of the storm, the boatswain's whistle 
 cannot be heard ; then how can he himself hope to make 
 Lychorida hear his call? And yet, desper.ately, he again repeats 
 his summons ; then lapses into agonising prayer for Thaisa. 
 
 28. Midwife. The old copies give 'my wife.' Steevens's 
 correction. 
 
 29. My gueen^s travails, "Travails" is one of the words 
 formerly used in the plural as well as the singular, though now 
 only in the latter. See Note 2, Act iv., " Richard IIL" 
 
 30. Conceit. Here used for ' power of conceiving thought.' 
 
 31. May vie honour with you. The old copies have ' vse ' 
 instead of " vie." Mason's and Steevens's correction. See 
 Note 13, Act iv. 
 
 32. Quiet and gentle thy conditions '. ' May thy qualities and 
 disposition be quiet and gentle!' "May be" before "thy 
 life" allows 'maybe' to be elliptically understood as repeated 
 in the present phrase. "Conditions" are 'qualities of cha- 
 racter,' ' dispositions of mind.' See Note '38, Act ii. , " Othello." 
 
 33. The ritdeliest welcome to this world. Malone altered 
 "welcome" to 'welcom'd;' but Wilkins's novel shows "wel- 
 come ' to be the right word here. 
 
 That e'er was prince's child. Happy what follows ! 
 Thou hast as chiding a nativity 
 As fire, air, water, earth, and heaven can make,^* 
 To herald thee from the womb : even at the first, 
 Thy loss is more than can thy portage quit,'' 
 With all thou canst find here. — Now, the good gods 
 Throw their best eyes upon 'tl^s 
 
 Enter t-iKO Sailors. 
 
 First Sail. What courage, sir ? God save you I 
 
 Per. Courage enough : I do not fear the flaw 
 It hath done to me the worst. Yet, for the lo\ e 
 Of this poor infant, this fresh new se^-i-farer, 
 I would it would be quiet. 
 
 First Sail. Slack the bolins^' there! — Thou 
 wilt not, wilt thou ? Blow, and split thyself. 
 
 Sec. Sail. But sea-rcom, an the brine and 
 cloudy billow kiss the moon, I care not. 
 
 First Sail. Sir, your queen must overboard : 
 the sea works high, the wind is loud, and will not 
 lie till the ship be cleared of the dead. 
 
 Per. That 's your superstition. 
 
 First Sail. Pardon us, sir ; with us at sea it 
 hath been still observed ; and we are strong in 
 custom. Therefore briefly yield her ; for she 
 must overboard straight.^" 
 
 Per. As you think meet. — Most wretched 
 queen ! 
 
 Lyc. Here she lies, sir."^ 
 
 34. As chiding a nativity as _fire, air, dr'c. Here, besides 
 the direct allusion to the rough concomitants of Nature's stormy 
 condition by which his child's birth into the world is ushered, 
 Pericles refers indirectly to the influence which it was believed 
 the due admixture of the elements in human composition 
 exercised upon its future being. See Note 11, Actiii. , "Antony 
 and Cleopatra." 
 
 35. Thy loss is more than can thy portage quit. ' Thy loss 
 [in losing thy mother] is more than can be counterbalanced by 
 thy safe conveyance into life,' 
 
 36. IVith all thoit canst find here. — Noiv, the good gods 
 throw their best eyes upon' t! The present passage affords an 
 instance of a peculiarity in Shakespeare's style, which we have 
 frequently pointed out ; a sudden change of personal pronoun, 
 applied to the same object. Throughout the speech, Pericles 
 has used " thou" in apostrophising his new-born child ; but, in- 
 voking the gods' best blessings, he abruptly concludes with 
 ' it,' or " upon '/." See Note 36, Act ii. 
 
 37. Flaw. ' Stormy blast,' ' tempestuous gust of wind.' See 
 Note 35, Act v., " Hamlet " 
 
 38. Bolins. A sailorly pronunciation of 'bow-IInes.' The 
 ropes by which the sails of a ship are governed when the wind is 
 unfavourable : they are slackened when it is high, 
 
 39. And we are strong in custom. The old copies print 
 ' easterne ' as the final word here. Mason proposed ' earnest ; ' 
 Steevens, 'credence;' Jackson, 'astern;' and Boswell, 'cus- 
 tom ; ' which latter we adopt, as being probably the right one. 
 
 40. For she 7nust overboard straight. As an example of the 
 excessive corruption in the printing of the old copies, these 
 words were there shuffled into the next speech of Pericles ; 
 whereas they evidently belong to the first sailor, and form the 
 conclusion of his present speech. Malone made the requisite 
 
 41. Here she lies, sir. At these words we must suppose that 
 Lychorida puts by a curtain and discovers an inner cabin with 
 Thaisa lying apparently dead ; the old stage appurtenance of a 
 
Act III.] PERICLES. [Scene II. 
 
 Per. A terrible child-bed hast thou had, my 
 dear ; 
 
 No light, no fire : the unfriendly elements 
 Forgot thee utterly ; nor have I time 
 To give thee hallow'd to thy grave, but straight 
 Must cast thee, scarcely coffin'd, in the ooze 
 Where, for a monument^^ upon thy bones, 
 And aye-remaining'*^ lamps, the belching whale 
 And humming water must o'erwhelm thy 
 corpse, 
 
 Lying with simple shells. — O Lychorida, 
 Bid Nestor bring me spices, ink and paper, 
 My casket and my jewels; and bid Nicander 
 Bring me the satin coffer lay the babe 
 Upon the pillow: hie thee, whiles I say 
 A priestly farewell to her: suddenly, woman. 
 
 ]_Exit Lychorida. 
 
 Sec. Sail. Sir, we have a chest beneath the 
 hatches, caulked and bitumed ready. 
 
 Per. I thank thee. — Mariner, say what coast is 
 this ? 
 
 Sec. Sail. We are near Tharsus. 
 Per. Thither, gentle mariner, 
 Alter thy course for Tyre.'"' When canst thou 
 reach it ? 
 
 Sec. Sail. By break of day, if the wind cease. 
 
 Per. Oh, make for Tharsus ! — 
 There will I visit Cleon, for the babe 
 Cannot hold out to Tyrus : there I'll leave it 
 At careful nursing. — Go thy ways, good mariner: 
 I'll bring the body presently. [^Exeunt. 
 
 raised portion at the back, provided with curtains, allowing of 
 inner rooms, upper rooms, or even lower rooms to be supposed 
 to be made visible to the audience. See Note 34, Act v., 
 "Henry VIII.;" and Notes 14 and 24, Act v., "Antony and 
 Cleopatra." In the present instance, the interior of the cabin 
 beneath is supposed to be revealed to view : so much had the 
 words of the poet-dramatist to do in appealing to the imaginations 
 of his hearers. 
 
 42. ]n ike onze. B'or this the old copies give 'in oare.' 
 Steevens's correction. 
 
 43. W!iere,fora monument. Here "for" has the force of 
 'instead of.' See Note 38, Act v., " Hamlet." 
 
 44. Aye-remaining. The old copies misprint' ' ayre remayn- 
 ing' here. Steevens, at the suggestion of Malone, made the 
 correction ; the propriety of which is evident when it i.s borne 
 in mind that the poet here refers to those ever-lighted lamps 
 kept perpetually burning in ancient shrines and .sepulchres. 
 
 45. The satin coffer. The old copies give ' coffin ' instead of 
 "coffer" here. Malone's correction; which we take to be 
 right, because subsequently (in the fourth scene of the present 
 Act) Cerimon says, " Madam, this letter, and some certain 
 jewels, lay with you in your coffer." It has been opined that by 
 " the satin coffer " Pericles means a trunk in which satins and 
 rich stuffs are kept, and that he here calls for it with the intention 
 of taking thence the " cloth of state," in which Cerimon finds her 
 "shrouded : " but we think it possible that the prince, by " the 
 satin coffer," may mean one of those antique trunks lined with 
 ihickly-quilted satin formerly in use, wherein he meant to deposit 
 his dead queen ; and that the " chest," offered by the sailor as 
 
 caulked and bitumed ready," is accepted and used as an outer 
 coffin. 
 
 46. Thither, gentle mariner, alter thy course for Tyre. 
 'Alter thy course, which is now for Tyre, to go thither [to 
 
 SCENE II. — Ephesus. A Room in Cerimon's 
 House. 
 
 Enter Cepimon, a Servant, and some Persons luho 
 han)e been ship'wrecked. 
 Cer. Philemon, ho ! 
 
 Enter Philemon. 
 Phil. Doth my lord call ? 
 Cer. Get fire and meat for these poor men : 
 It has been a turbulent and stormy night. 
 Serii. I have been in many ; but such a night 
 as this, 
 Till now, I ne'er endur'd. 
 
 Cer. Your master will be dead ere you return ; 
 There 's nothing can be minister'd to nature 
 That can recover him. — [To Phil.] Give this to 
 
 the 'pothecary. 
 And tell me how it works.'*' 
 
 [Exeunt all except Cerimon. 
 
 Enter mo Gentlemen. 
 
 First Gent. Good morrow, sir. 
 
 Sec. Gent, Good morrow to your lordship. 
 
 Cer. Gentlemen, 
 Why do you stir so early ? 
 
 First Gent. Sir, 
 Our lodgings, standing bleak upon the sea. 
 Shook as the earth did quake ; 
 The very principals^' did seem to rend. 
 
 Tharsus].' This is one of those passages of involved construc- 
 tion which we have occasionally pointed out in Shakespeare. 
 See Note si, Act ii. 
 
 47. Go tliy 7uays, good mariner: I'll bring the body pre- 
 sently.. Perfect Shakespeare is visible in every line of this 
 short scene. The poetical appeal to Nature in her storm-throes 
 of the husband anxiously thinking of his wife's travail-throes ; 
 the burst of agony with which he hears of her sudden death ; the 
 suppression of his lament for the sake of the child put into his 
 arms, and exchanging exclamations of regret for those of 
 aspiration that he may invoke blessings upon the head of his 
 new-ljorn daughter ; the mildness of his attempted remonstrance 
 with the sailors, and almost immediate acquiescence with their " 
 demand ; the pathetic address to his dead wife, with its tender 
 committal of her to the bosom of the ocean, there to lie "with 
 simple shells;" his accumulating around her all embalming 
 spices and rich envelopments ; his gentle patience and courtesy 
 towards the mariners; his thought for his infant's due bestowal ; 
 and his final desiring that he may be left alone with his beloved 
 dead, that he may take his last " priestly farewell " of it, and 
 that he may bring it in his own arms for consignment to the 
 sea, are all conceived and expressed with a passionate force that 
 but one writer we know ever possessed. 
 
 48. Give this to the 'pothecary, and tell me how it ivorhs. 
 These words indicate that Cerimon gives the servant some 
 recipe, which is to be made up by the apothecary. It is evident 
 that it cannot be intended for the servant's master, who is pro- 
 nounced to be beyond medical help ; but it is probably intended 
 for the servant himself, who may be supposed to have received 
 some bruise or injury requiring a healing application, the effect 
 of which Cei imon desires to know. 
 
 49. The very principals. The " principals " are the Strongest 
 rafters in the roof of a building. 
 
Crrimon. Oh, you most potent gods ! what 's here ? a corse : 
 First Gentleman. Most strange ! 
 
 Cerimon. Shrouded in cloth of state. Act III. Scene 11 
 
ACT III.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scene II, 
 
 And all to topple pure surprise and fear 
 Made me to quit the house. 
 Sec. Gent. That is the cause we trouble you so 
 early ; 
 
 'Tis not our husbandry." 
 
 Cer. Oh, you say well. 
 
 First Gent. But I much marvel that your lord- 
 ship, having 52 
 Rich tire about you, should at these early hours 
 Shake off the golden slumber of repose. 
 'Tis most strange. 
 
 Nature should be so conversant with pain. 
 Being thereto not compell'd. 
 
 Cer. I held it ever," 
 
 Virtue and cunning^^ were endowments greater 
 Than nobleness and riches: careless heirs 
 May the two latter darken and expend ; 
 But immortality attends the former. 
 Making a man a god. 'Tis known, I ever 
 Have studied physic, through which secret art, 
 By turning o'er authorities, I have 
 (Together with my practice) made familiar 
 To me and to my aid the blest infusions 
 That dwell in vegetives, in metals, stones ; 
 And can speak of the disturbances that nature 
 Works, and of her cures ; which doth give me 
 A more content*' in course of true delight 
 Than to be thirsty after tottering honour. 
 Or tie my treasure*^ up in silken bags. 
 To please the fool and death. 
 
 Sec. Gent. Your honour has through Ephesus 
 pour'd forth *8 
 Your charity, and hundreds call themselves 
 Your creatures, who by you have been restor'd : 
 
 50. To rend, and all to topple. "All" was often formerly 
 used as an augmentative particle before "to." 
 
 51. Husbandry. 'Diligence,' 'assiduity,' ' economical pru- 
 dence.' See Note 94, Act i., " Hamlet." 
 
 52. / much marvel that your lordship, having, {^c. In 
 Twine's translation of the " Gesta Romanorum," Cerimon is a 
 physician ; but Shakespeare — by making him a man of title, 
 wealth, and retired leisure, who voluntarily devotes himself to 
 the study of physic, and dedicates himself to the service of his 
 
 uffering fellow-creatures— takes advantage, as usual, of- his 
 dramatist power, to read a lesson of benevolent opulence pre- 
 ferring a life of active utility to one of self-indulgence and ease. 
 Shakespeare, in his manifold homilies — acted rather than 
 preached ; inculcated rather than delivered — shows indeed how 
 dramatic art, duly exercised, becomes a divine art. 
 
 53. / held it ever. The old copies give 'hold' instead of 
 "held" here (Malone's correction) ; and though we are aware 
 that Shakespeare occasionally uses a verb in the present tense 
 while referring to a past occurrence, yet we think that the word 
 "were" in this phrase suffices to show that he most probably 
 wrote "held" and not ' hold.' Had he written 'hold,' we think 
 he would have considered that the construction of the phrase , 
 required 'are' after it instead of "were;" whereas all the 
 original editions coincide in giving "were" before " endow- 
 
 54. Cntming. Here used for 'knowledge,' 'wisdom.' See j 
 Note 2, Act iv., " Coriolanus." j 
 
 55. A more content. "More" is here used for 'greater,' j 
 'a mpler.' See Note 7, Act ii., " King John." 
 
 And not your knowledge, your personal pain,*^ 
 but eve. 
 
 Your purse, still opec, hath built Lord Cerimon 
 Such strong renown as iime shall never^" — 
 
 Enter tuco Servants, uuua a Chest, 
 
 First Sernj. So ; lift there. 
 
 Cer. What is that ? 
 
 First Serv. Sir, even now 
 
 Did the sea toss upon our shore this chest : 
 'Tis of some wreck. 
 
 Cer. Set it down, let 's look upon 't. 
 
 Sec. Gent. 'Tis like a coffin, sir. 
 
 Cer. Whate'er it be, 
 
 'Tis wondrous heavy. Wrench it open straight: 
 If the sea's stomach be o'ercharg'd with gold, 
 'Tis a good constraint of fortune it bilches upon 
 us. 
 
 Sec. Gent. 'Tis so, my lord. 
 Cer. How close 'tis caulk'd and bitum'd 1^^ — • 
 Did the sea cast it up ? 
 First Serv. I never saw so huge a billow, 
 sir. 
 
 As toss'd it upon shore. 
 
 Cer. Wrench it open ; 
 
 Soft! — it smells most sweetly in my sense. 
 
 Sec. Gent. A delicate odour. 
 
 Cer. As ever hit my nostril. — So, up with 
 it.— 
 
 Oh, you most potent gods ! what 's here ? a corse ! 
 First Gent. Most strange ! 
 
 Cer. Shrouded in cloth of state ; balm'd and 
 entreasur'd 
 
 56. Treasure. The old copies give ' pleasure ' and ' pleasures' 
 instead of " treasure." Steevens's correction. 
 
 57. To please the fool and death. An allusion to two of 
 the personages in the old moralities or dramatic shows. See 
 Note 2, Act iii., " Measure for Measure," and Note 23, Act iii., 
 " Romeo and Juliet." Steevens records that he once saw an old 
 Flemish print in which Death was represented as plundering a 
 miser of his bags, while the fool stood behind, grinning at the 
 process. 
 
 58. Your lionour has through Ephestis pour'd forth, (p^c. 
 " Your honour " is here, as elsewhere, used for ' your lordship.' 
 See Note 30, Act ii., " Measure for Measure." 
 
 Pain. Here used for ' trouble," exertion.' See Note 41, 
 Act iii., " Henry VIII. ;" while 'only' is elliptically understood 
 before "your knowledge," and 'and' before "your personal 
 
 ^ 60. As time shall never— The earliest Quartos give tliis 
 passage thus, excepting that they put a full stop after "never." 
 The latter Quartos and Folios give ' never shall decay ; ' from 
 which Mr, Staunton formed the reading 'shall ne'er decay.' 
 We adhere to the reading of the original copies : merely adopt- 
 ing Malone's addition of a dash, to mark that the speech is 
 interrupted in its completion by the entrance of the servants, 
 because Shakespeare has several examples of this kind of in- 
 tercepted conclusion. See Nqte 65, Act v., "Antony and 
 Cleopatra." 
 
 61. Hoiv close Uis caulk'd and bitum'd t The old copies give 
 'bottom'd' instead of " bitum'd " here; but the words of the 
 Second Sailor in the previous scene, as well as the parallel 
 passage in Wilkins's novel, show " bitim-i'd " to be correct. 
 
ACT III.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 V\ ith full bags of spices! A passport too ! — 
 
 lUnfolds a scroll. 
 Apollo, perfect me in the characters I^^ [Reads. 
 
 Here I give to understand,— 
 
 If e'er this coffin drive a-land,"— 
 
 I, King Pericles, have lost 
 
 This queen, worth all our mundane cost.s* 
 
 Who finds her, give her burying : 
 
 She was the daughter of a king : 
 
 Besides this treasure for a fee, 
 
 The gods requite his charity ! 
 
 If thou liv'st, Pericles, thou hast a heart 
 That even cracks for woe ! — This chanc'd to- 
 night. 
 
 Sec. Gent. Most likely, sir. 
 
 Cer. Nay, certainly to-night ; 
 
 For look how fresh she looks ! — They were too 
 rough 
 
 That threw her in the sea.— Make fire within : 
 Fetch hither all the boxes in my closet. 
 
 [Exit Sec. Servant. 
 Death may usurp on nature many hours. 
 And yet the fire of life kindle again 
 The o'erpress'd spirits. I heard of an Egyptian 
 That had nine hours lien^^ (lead. 
 Who was by good appliance recovered. 
 
 Re-enter Second Servant, iiith boxes, ni. 
 and fire. 
 
 Well said,"' well said ; the fire and cloths. — 
 The rough and woful music that we have, 
 Cause it to sound, beseech you. 
 
 'pkins, 
 
 62. Apollo, perfect 7ne in the characters ! These words may 
 be intended merely to convey the speaker's trust that he shall 
 be able to peruse the scroll should it be written in a foreign 
 language ; but it- is likely that there is also an included refer- 
 ence to the possibility of its being inscribed (according to the 
 ancient custom of graving funereal inscriptions) in strange 
 and even various characters. See Note 33, Act v., " Timon of 
 Athens." 
 
 63. A-land. This word, which Shakespeare has used twice 
 in the present play (here, and in Act ii., sc. i), occurs several 
 times in Twine's translation of the story of " Apollonius of Tyre " 
 from the " Gesta Romanorum." 
 
 64. Mundane cost. ' "Worldly possessions.' Shakespeare 
 occasionally uses "cost" in the sense of 'wealth,' 'riches,' 
 ' costly goods ; ' for instance, in "As You Like It," Act ii., 
 sc. 7 : — "The city-woman bears the cost of princes on unworthy 
 shoulders." 
 
 65. / heard of an Egyptian, &=c. This sentence has been 
 variously altered. We give it according to the earliest Quartos. 
 ' Have ' is elliptically understood before " heard ; " and we have 
 often pointed out instances of similar construction in Shake- 
 speare. See Note 4, Act iii., " King Lear." 
 
 66. Lien. An old form of * lain.' 
 
 67. Well said. Sometimes, as here, used for 'well done.' 
 See Note 42, Act v., " First Part Henry IV." 
 
 68. The vial once 7nore. In the three earlier Quartos " vial '' 
 is printed ' vioU ; ' in the three latter, ' viall.' It has therefore 
 been questioned whether Cerimon is here meant to call for a 
 small bottle or for a musical instrument. To us it is very evident 
 that the former is intended ; because it is more likely that he 
 should be eager to have some pungent essence for Thaisa to 
 inhale, than that he should name some special instrument when 
 desiring that "music" shall play. It appears to us that the 
 
 The vial once more :"3_how thou stirr'st, thou 
 block !— 
 
 The music there! — I pray you, give her air. 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 This queen will live : nature awakes; a warmth 
 Breathes out of her :«3 she hath not been entranc'd 
 Above five hours : see how she 'gins to blow 
 Into life's flower again ! 
 
 First Gent. The heavens. 
 
 Through you, increase our wonder, and set up 
 Your fame for ever. 
 
 Cer. She is alive ; behold, 
 
 Her eyelids, cases to those heavenly jewels 
 Which Pericles hath lost,?" 
 Begin to part their fringes of bright gold ; 
 The diamonds of a most praised water 
 Do appear, to make the world twice rich. — Live, 
 And make us weep to hear your fate, fair creature, 
 Rare as you seem to be. \She momes. 
 
 Thai. Oh, dear Diana, 
 
 Where am I ? Where 's my lord ? What world is 
 this ?'i 
 
 Sec. Gent. Is not this strange ? 
 First Gent. Most rare. 
 
 Cer. Hush, gentle neighbours ! 
 
 Lend me your hands; to the next chamber bear 
 her. 
 
 Get linen : now this matter must be look'd to. 
 For her relapse is mortal. Come, come ; 
 And i^lsculapius guide us !''2 
 
 \_Exeunt, carrying out Thaisa. 
 
 call for music is made and renewed ; while the demand for 
 "the vial " containing a volatile spirit is parenthetical. 
 
 69. Nature awakes; a ixjarmth breathes out of her. The 
 old copies print this, ' Nature awakes a warmth breath out of 
 her,' and ' Nature awakes a warme breath out of her.' Steevens 
 suggested the reading adopted by us and by most modern 
 
 70. Those heavenly jewels which Pericles hath lost. Who, 
 if not Shakespeare, wrote this? We recognise his poetry, his 
 rhythmical music, his sentiment, his intensity of expression in 
 this passage. And there is also the strength of individual 
 realisation so specially his ; since, later on in the play, there is 
 another similarly-worded allusion to the peculiar beauty and 
 brilliancy of Thaisa's eyes, which suggests the brightness of 
 
 jewels. See Note 29, Act v. Moreover, the expression, 
 " their fringes of bright gold," is akin to the same epithet 
 applied to eye-lashes in his play of the " Tempest," where, in 
 Act i., sc. 2, Prospero says, " The fringed curtains of thine 
 eye advance." 
 
 ■ji. Oh, dear Diana, where ant n. Where's my lord 1 What 
 world is this ? The three questions here uttered by Thaisa, on 
 her return to life, are taken verbatim from the parallel passage 
 in the " Confessio Amantis:" but the invocation ("Oh, dear 
 Diana") by which they are preceded is just one of Shake- 
 speare's felicitous additions when adopting some point from an 
 original source. Thaisa's calling upon the virgin goddess's name 
 subtly serves to suggest the young princess, so few months a 
 wife, that her maiden appeals to divine succour come most 
 
 naturally to her lips on first 
 serve to appropriately usher i 
 herself as a votaress in Diana' 
 artistically does our dramatist v 
 72. And /Esculapius guide t 
 
 vering her senses ; and also 
 le subsequent dedication of 
 mple. Thus judiciously and 
 
 Cerimon here appropriately 
 
Act III.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scenes III., IV. 
 
 SCENE III.— Tharsus. A Room in Cleon's 
 House. 
 
 Enter Pericles, Cleon, Dionyza, and Lycho- 
 RiDA luhh Marina in her ai ms. 
 
 Per. Most honour'd Cleon, I must needs be 
 gone; 
 
 My twelve months are expir'd, and Tyrus stands 
 In a litigious peace. You, and your lady, 
 Take from my heart all thankfulness ! The gods 
 Make up the rest upon you ! 
 
 Cle. Your shafts of fortune, though they hurt 
 you mortally,'3 
 Yet glance full wanderingly on us. 
 
 Dion. Oh, your sweet queen ! 
 
 That the strict fates had pleas'd you had brought 
 
 her hither, 
 To have bless' d mine eyes I 
 
 Per. We cannot but obey 
 
 The powers above us-. Could I rage and roar 
 As doth the sea she lies in, yet the end 
 Must be as 'tis. My gentle babe Marina, — whom, 
 For she was born at sea,'-* I have nam'd so, — here 
 1 charge your charity withal, and leave her 
 The infant of your care ; beseeching you 
 To give her princely training, that she may be 
 Manner'd as she is born. 
 
 Cle. Fear not, my lord, but think 
 
 Your grace, that fed my country with your corn, — 
 For which the people's prayers still fall upon 
 you, — 
 
 Must in your child be thought on. If neglection 
 Should therein make me vile, the common body. 
 By you reliev'd, would force me to my duty : 
 But if to that my nature need a spur. 
 The gods revenge it upon me and mine. 
 To the end of generation ' 
 
 invokes the aid of ^sculapius, god of medicine, as previously, 
 when unfolding the scroll, he addresses an imploration to 
 Apollo, god of letters and learning. 
 
 73. Vour shafts of fortune, though they, d^c. In this 
 speech the old copies give 'shakes' for "shafts," 'hant' for 
 "hurt," and ' wondringly ' for " wanderingly." Steevens made 
 the needful corrections. Shakespeare elsewhere uses similar 
 figurative expressions to the *' shafts of fortune" (see Note 33, 
 Act ii., " Henry VIII."; ; and the gist of the present speech 
 appears to be, ' Those misfortunes which pierce you with such 
 deadly aim, include ourselves in their effect, since we deeply 
 sympathise with the grief they cause you, and since they compel 
 you to leave us so soon for Tj-re.' 
 
 74. Wliom, for she was bom at sea. " For " is here used in 
 the sense of 'because.' See Note 80, Act iii., " Cymbeline." 
 
 75. Ujiscissar'd shill this hair. The old copies print ' un- 
 sisterd shall this hej-re.' Steevens's correction ; shown to be 
 right by the parallel passage in Wilkinss novel. 
 
 76. Though I show ill in V. The old copies give ' will ' for 
 "ilL" Malone suggested the emendation; which has been 
 proved to be correct by the following passage (which applies to 
 the contents of the preceding Note as well as to those of the 
 present one) from Wilkins's novel :— " Vowing solemnely by 
 othe to himself, his head should grow z'nscisserd, his beard 
 
 Per. I believe you ; 
 
 I Your honour and your goodness teach me to 't, 
 I Without your vows. Till she be marriei'. 
 i madam, 
 
 j By bright Diana, whom we honour, all 
 j Unscissar'd shall this hair'^ of mine remain, 
 Though I show ill in't.'^ So I take my leave. 
 Good madam, make me blessdd in your care 
 In bringing up my child. 
 
 Dion. I have one myself. 
 
 Who shall not be more dear to my respect 
 Than yours, my lord. 
 
 Per. Madam, my thanks and prayers. 
 
 Cle. We'll bring yovu: grace e'en to the edge o' 
 the shore, 
 
 Then give you up to the ma.sk'd Neptune 7' and 
 
 The gentlest winds of heaven. 
 Per. I will embrace 
 
 Your offer. Come, dearest madam. — Oh, no 
 j teafS, 
 ! Lychorida, no tears : 
 
 \ Look to your little mistress, on whose grace 
 You may depend hereafter. — Come, my lord, 
 
 \Exeunt. 
 
 i SCENE IV.— Ephesus. A Room in Cerimons 
 House. 
 
 Enter Cerimon and Thaisa. 
 
 Cer. Madam, this letter, and some certain 
 jewels. 
 
 Lay with you in your coffer : which are 
 
 At your command. Know you the character ? 
 
 Thai. It is my lord's. 
 That I was shipp'd at sea, I well remember, 
 I Even on my yearning"^ time ; but whether there 
 
 vntrimmed, himself in all vncomely, since he had lost his 
 Queene,"&c. 
 
 77. The mask'd Xe/ttune. The epithet " mask'd " has been 
 I suspected of error, acd has been variously altered : but we 
 j think the phrase means, ' Neptune wearing his serene aspect,' 
 i ' Neptune veiling his terrible visage.' ' Neptune having a smooth 
 surface ; ' which accords well with " the gentlest winds of 
 
 70. Yearning. The Quarto copies give 'learning,' and the 
 Folio copies ' eaning,' instead of " yearning " here. Steevens 
 suggested the correction ; pointing out that a common expression 
 for the period of a woman's labour is her ' groaning time.' 
 Shakespeare himself has a passage that confirms this, in 
 " Measure for Measure," Act ii., sc. 2, where the Provost 
 says, "What shall be done, sir, with the groaning Juliet? 
 She's verj' near her hour." And elsewhere the poet uses the 
 wcrd "yearn" to express 'grieve,' 'lament,' 'suffer;' and 
 "yearned" to express 'grieved' or 'pained.' See Note 65, 
 Activ., "Henry v.; "and Note 64, Act v., "Richard II." The 
 word in the Quarto copies differs but one letter from the word 
 proposed by Steevens and adopted by ourselves ; and we cannot 
 but think that it is more likely Shakespeare would put inro the 
 mouth of Thaisa an expression (" yearning time ") which is .^kin 
 to one ordinarilj' used for a it'oman in labour, than that he would 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Chorus. 
 
 Deliver'd, by the holy gods, 
 I cannot rightly say. But since King Pericles, 
 My wedded lord, I ne'er shall see again, 
 A vestal livery will I take me to, 
 And never more have joy. 
 Cer. Madam, if this you purpose as you 
 speak, 
 
 Diana's temple is not distant far, 
 Where you may 'bide until your date expire.''^ 
 Moreover, if you please, a niece of mine 
 Shall there atiend you. 
 
 Thai. My recompense is thanks, that 's all ; 
 Yet my good will is great, though the gift small. 
 
 [^Exeunt. 
 
 ACT 
 
 Enter GowER. 
 GoTV. Imagine Pericles arriv'd at Tyre, 
 Welcom'd and settled to his own desire. 
 His woful queen we leave at Ephesus, 
 Unto Diana there a votaress. 
 Now to Marina bend your mind, 
 Whom our fast-growing scene must find 
 At Tharsus, and by Cleon train'd 
 In music, letters ; who hath gain'd 
 Of education all the grace, 
 Which makes her both the heart and place 
 Of general wonder.* But, alack, 
 That monster envy, oft the wrack 
 Of earnfed praise, Marina's life 
 Seeks to take off by treason's knife. 
 And in this kind hath our Cleon 
 One daughter, and a wench full grown,* 
 
 cause her to use a term ("eaning time") which he has himself 
 shown to be strictly applied to an animal bringing forth its 
 young. See passage referred to in Note 67, Act i., " Merchant 
 of Venice," 
 
 79. Where yoti may 'hide tmtil your date expire. 'Where 
 you may remain until your appointed term of life is concluded.' 
 The old copies give ' abide till ' instead of "'bide until." Malone's 
 correction. 
 
 1. Makes her both the heart and place 0/ general wonder. 
 ' Makes her both the central point and rest ng-spot of general 
 admiration.' The old copies give ' hie ' and ' high ' for " her," 
 and ' art ' for " heart." Steevens made the correction. Shake- 
 speare frequently uses "heart" for 'central point;' as "the 
 heart of falsehood" (" Troilus and Cressida," Act iii., sc. 2); 
 " their very heart of hope" (" Coriolanus," Act i., sc. 6) ; and 
 "the very heart of loss" ("Antony and Cleopatra," Act iv., 
 sc. 10) ; and " place " is here used in the sense which it formerly 
 bore of ' residence,' ' mansion,' ' dweUing-place.' See Note 27, 
 Act ii,, " As You Like It." 
 
 2. <A nd in this kind hath our Cleon 
 
 ^ One daughter^ aiid a luench full grown. 
 This couplet is misprinted thus in the old copies :— 
 ' And in this kinde, our Cleon hath 
 One daughter and a full growne wench.' 
 
 Steevens made the tran.iposition required by the rhyme, and 
 most likely originally written by the author. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Even ripe for marriage rite this maid 
 
 Hight"* Philoten : and it is said 
 
 For certain in our story, she 
 
 Would ever with Marina be : 
 
 Be't when she weav'd^ the sleided silk^ 
 
 With fingers long, small, white as milk ; 
 
 Or when she would with sharp neeld^ wound 
 
 The cambric, which she made more sound 
 
 By hurting it ; or when to the lute 
 
 She sung, and made the night-bird ^ mute. 
 
 That still records' with moan ; or when 
 
 She would with rich and constant pen 
 
 VaiP" to her mistress Dian ; still 
 
 This Philoten contends in skill 
 
 With absolute ^1 Marina: so 
 
 With the dove of Paphos might the crow 
 
 3. Marriage rite. The old copies give 'sight' for "rite." 
 Singer's correction. 
 
 4. Might. An antique word for 'named,' 'called.' See 
 Note 21, Act i., " Love's Labour's Lost." 
 
 5. Be 't when she weav'd. The old copies have ' they ' instead 
 of " she." Malone's correction ; which the context shows to be 
 right. 
 
 6. Sleided silk. ' Unwrought silk,' prepared for weaving by 
 passing it through the weaver s sley or reed-comb. See Note 19, 
 Act ii., "Macbeth." 
 
 7. Neeld. An ancient abbreviated form of ' needle/ probably 
 written here by the author, though printed in the old copies 
 ' needle ' in this passage as well as in those pointed out in Note 
 28, Act v., " King John." Malone's emendation. 
 
 8. The night-bird. In the old copies "bird" is misprinted 
 'bed.' Malone made the correction, which is an obvious one, 
 the nightingale being here evidently meant. 
 
 g. Records. ' Sings." The verb, thus applied, is a bird- 
 fancier's technicality. See Note 5, Act v., "Two Gentlemen 
 of Verona." 
 
 10. Vail. It has been proposed to change this word to 
 ' hail ' or ' wail ; ' but Shakespeare uses " vail " in this very play 
 for 'lower,' 'stoop' (see Note 55, Act ii. ; also Note g, Act i., 
 "Merchant of Venice"), and we think that in the present 
 passage he employs it to express ' pay homage,* ' deferentially 
 honour,' ' bendingly present written hymns or odes.' 
 
 11. Absolute. ' Fully accomplished,' ' completely excellent.' 
 See Note 2, Act v., " Measure for Measure." 
 
 12. W ith the dove 9/ Paphos might the crow. The old copies 
 
ACT IV.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Vie feathers white." Marina gets 
 All praises, which are paid as debts, 
 And not as given. This so darks 
 In Philoten all graceful marks, 
 That C Icon's wife, with envy rare, 
 A present murderer does prepare 
 For good Marina, that her daughter 
 Might stand peerless by this slaughter. 
 The sooner her vile thoughts to stead, 
 Lychorida, our nurse, is dead : 
 And cursed Dionyza hath 
 The pregnant^'* instrument of wrath 
 Prest'' for this blow. The unborn event 
 I do commend to your content 
 Only I carry 1'' winged time 
 Post on the lame feet of my rhyme ; 
 Which never could I so convey, 
 Unless your thoughts went on my way.— 
 Dionyza doth appear. 
 With Leonine, a murderer. [Exit. 
 
 SCENE I.— Tharsus. An open Place near the 
 Sea-shore. 
 
 Enter Dionyza and Leonine. 
 
 Dion. Thy oath remember ; thou hast sworn 
 • todo't: 
 
 give the line thus : ' The Doue of Paphos might with the crow.' 
 Mason suggested the requisite transposition. 
 
 13. Vtf feathers white. ' Compete in white feather.'^.' See 
 Note 31, Act iii. 
 
 14. Pregnant. 'Apt,' 'prompt.' See Note 51, Act iii., 
 " Hamlet." 
 
 15. Prest. ' Ready.' See Note 29, Act i., " Merchant of 
 Venice." 
 
 16. The U7tborn event I do coinntend to your content. ' The 
 unrevealed consequence of this scheme I trust will prove to 
 your satisfaction.' 
 
 17. Carry. The old copies give 'carried.' Steevens made 
 the correction. 
 
 18. Let not_ conscience, which is but cold. ' Let not your 
 conscience, which is but cold at its best, and which has but just 
 been made colder by my arguments.' She is asserting the 
 coldness of Leonine's individual conscience, and not that of 
 conscience in general ; thus trying to urge him to suffer his 
 conscience to lie dead, and not to let it kindle into sparks of 
 compunction. 
 
 19. Inflaming love in thy bosom. The old copies print this 
 ' in flaming, thy loue bosome.' Mr. Charles Knight's correction. 
 
 20. Nicely. Here used for 'scrupulously,' 'considerately,' 
 'compassionately.' 
 
 21. But be a soldier to thy purpose. ' Keep bravely to thy 
 purpose.' There is a similar form of expression explained in 
 Note 73, Act iii., " Cymbeline," 
 
 i-i. Here she comes weeping for her only mistress' death. 
 We give this according to the text in the old copies, as none of 
 the attempts made at emendation are satisfactory. Dr. Percy 
 observes, "As Marina had been trained in musick, letters, &c., 
 and had gained all the graces of education, Lychorida could not 
 have been her only mistress. I would therefore read, ' Here 
 comes she weeping for her old nurse's death.'" But we think 
 
 'Tis but a blow, which never shall be known. 
 Thou canst not do a thing i' the world so soon, 
 To yield thee so much profit. Let not conscience, 
 Which is but cold,'** inflaming love in thy bosom,^' 
 Inflame too nicely nor let pity, which 
 Even women have cast off, melt thee, but be 
 A soldier to thy purpose.^' 
 
 Leon. I will do't; but yet she is a goodly 
 creature. 
 
 Dion. The fitter, then, the gods should have 
 j her. — Here 
 
 She comes weeping for her only mistress' death.22 — 
 Thou art resolv'd ? 
 
 Leon. I am resolv'd. 
 
 Enter Marina, Tjoith a basket of flouoers. 
 Mar. No, T will rob Tellus^s of her weed. 
 To strew thy green-'' with flowers : the yellows, 
 blues. 
 
 The purple violets, and marigolds, 
 Shall, as a carpet, hang upon thy grave, 
 While summer days do last. — Ah me ! poor 
 maid, 
 
 Born in a tempest, when my mother died, 
 This world to me is like a lasting storm. 
 Whirring me from my friends. 
 I Dion. How now, Marina ! why do you keep 
 
 I alone? 
 
 ! How chance my daughter is not with you ? Do 
 not 
 
 I Consume your blood with sorrowing :26 you have 
 
 j 
 
 that there are two points of consideration which make for the 
 probability that " only mistress" may be right. In the first 
 j place, Lychorida, the lady-attendant upon a queen, may well be 
 I supposed to possess the accomplishments of working skilfully in 
 " silk" and embroidering well upon "cambric"' (as described in 
 Gower's chorus-speech to the present Act), besides being versed 
 in other refinements pertaining to a court education ; and these 
 accomplishments and refinements she would naturally take pride 
 I and joy in imparting to her charge, the young princess Marina : 
 in the next place, the word "only" formerly often bore — and 
 indeed still occasionally bears — the sense of 'chief,' 'principal,' 
 ' one above all other.' Dr. Johnson points out that Spenser thus 
 
 "Whose only 'loy was to relieve the needs of wretched souls ;" 
 and observes that it is thus employed in the familiar phrase, 
 ' he is the only man for music' RIoreover, Shakespeare himself 
 elsewhere uses the word " only " in precisely this sense : — " He 
 is the only man in Italy," "Much Ado," Act iii., sc. i; 
 "Motley's the only wear," "As You Like it," Act ii., 
 sc. 7; "Your 'if is the only peace-maker," "As You Like 
 It," Act v., .sc. 4; "Oh, heaven, your only jig-maker," 
 "Hamlet," Act iii., .sc. 2. See also Note 56, Act iv., "First 
 Part Henry VI." 
 
 23. Tellus. A mythological name for the earth as a goddess. 
 "Weed" is here used with peculiar appropriateness for 'gar- 
 ment' (see Note 53, Actii., "Midsummer Night's Dream"), 
 because it inclusively suggests the more usual acceptation of 
 the word, as signifying ' wild flower,' ' simple and spontaneously- 
 growing blossom.' 
 
 24. Thy green. A poetical term for the turf or sod which 
 covers the simple mound of earth beneath which Lychorida lies 
 
 25. Do not consume your blood with sorrowing. See Note 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scene II. 
 
 A nurse of me. Lord, how your favour 's chang'd^^ 
 With this unprofitable woe ! Come, 
 Give me your flowers, ere the sea mar them.^'' 
 Walk with Leonine ; the air is quick there, 
 And it pierces and sharpens the stomach.— Come 
 Leonine, take her by the arm, walk with her. 
 
 Mar. No, I pray you ; 
 rn not bereave you of ) our servant. 
 
 DioK. Come, come ; 
 
 I love the king your father, and yourself, 
 With more than foreign heart.^s We every day 
 Expect him here : when he shall come, and find 
 Our paragon to all reports^' thus blasted, 
 He will repent the breadth of his great voyage ; 
 Blame both my lord and me, that we have taken 
 No care to your best courses. Go, I pray you, 
 Walk, and be cheerful once again ; reserve^" 
 That excellent complexion, which did steal 
 The eyes of young and old. Care not for me ; 
 I can go home alone. 
 
 Mar. Well, I will go ; 
 
 But yet I have no desire to it. 
 
 Dion, Come, come, I know 'tis good for you. — 
 Walk half an hour. Leonine, at the least : 
 Remember what I have said. 
 
 Leon. I warrant you, madam. 
 
 Dion. I'll leave you, my sweet lady, for a 
 while : 
 
 Pray, walk softly, do not heat your blood : 
 What ! I must have a care of you. 
 
 Mar. My thanks, sweet madam. — 
 
 \_Exit DioxYZA. 
 
 Is this wind westerly that blows ? 
 
 Leon. South-west. 
 
 Mar. When I was born, the wind was north. 
 
 Leon. Was 't so ? 
 
 Mar. My father, as nurse said, did never fear, 
 But cried, " Good seamen ! " to the sailors, galling 
 His kingly hands, hauling ropes ; 
 And, clasping to the mast, endur'd a sea 
 That almost burst the deck. 
 
 Leon. When was this ? 
 
 Mar. When I was born : 
 Never were waves nor wind more violent ; 
 And from the ladder-tackle washes off 
 A canvas-climber.3' "Ha !" says one, "wilt out ?" 
 And with a dropping industry they skip 
 
 42, Act iii., "Midsummer Night's Dream;" and Note 60, 
 Act iii., " Second Part Henry VI." 
 
 26. How your favour s chatig'd. "Favour" is here, as else- 
 where, used for ' aspect,' ' look,' ' appearance,' ' countenance.' 
 
 27. Give me your Jloxvers, ere the sea mar them. The old 
 copies print ' it' for " them." Mr. Knight's correction; which 
 we adopt, on the assumption that in the present instance there 
 is one of those typographical errors which so abound in this 
 play. Otherwise, we might believe that 'it' was used in refer- 
 ence to "flowers" fas "it" in reference to "flatteries," see 
 Note 73, Act iii.j ' ' Timon of Athens ; " and " it " in reference to 
 "praises," see Note 2, Act iii., " Cymbeline "), implying ' the 
 colour or freshness of the flowers.' 
 
 From stem to stern -.^^ the boatswain whistles, and 
 The master calls, and trebles their confusion. 
 
 Leon. Come, say your prayers. 
 
 Mar. What mean you ? 
 
 Leon. It you require a little space for prayer, 
 I grant it : pray ; but be not tedious. 
 For the gods are quick of ear, and I am sworn 
 To do my work with haste. 
 
 Mar. -Why will you kill me ? 
 
 Leon. To satisfy my lady. 
 
 Mar. Why would she have me kill'd ? 
 Now, as I can remember, by my troth, 
 I never did her hurt in all my life : 
 I never spake bad word, nor did ill turn 
 To any living creature : believe me, la, 
 I never kill'd a mouse, nor hurt a fly : 
 I trod upon a worm against my will, 
 But I wept for it. How have I ofl^ended, 
 Wherein my death might yield her profit, or 
 My life imply her any danger ? 
 
 Leon, My commission 
 Is not to reason of the deed, but do it. 
 
 Mar. You will not do 't for all the world, I hope. 
 You are well favour'd, and your looks foreshow 
 You have a gentle heart. I saw you lately. 
 When you caught hurt in parting two that fought : 
 Good sooth, it show'd well in you : do so now : 
 Your lady seeks my life ; come you between. 
 And save poor me, the weaker. 
 
 Leon. I aiii sworn. 
 
 And uill despatch. 
 
 Enter Pirate.-^, 'whilst MARINA is slrttggling. 
 First Pirate. Hold, villain ! 
 
 [Leonine runs away. 
 Sec. Pirate. A prize ! a prize ! 
 Third Pirate. Half-part, mates, half-part. 
 Come, let's have her aboard suddenly. 
 
 [Exeunt Pirates uuith Marina. 
 
 SCENE II.— The Same. 
 Enter Leonine. 
 Leon. These roguing thieves serve the great 
 pirate Valdes 
 
 28. lyM more than foreign heart. Implying, ' with more 
 than the affection of one who is not his own countrywoman.' 
 
 29. Our paragon to all reports. ' Our fair charge, whose 
 beauty equalled all that report described it to be.' 
 
 30. Reserve. Here used for 'keep carefully,' 'preseive, 
 ' guard from injury.' 
 
 31. A canvas-climber. A sailor ; one who climbs the mast to 
 furl or unfurl the canvas or sails. 
 
 32. From stem to stern. The old copies have ' from Sterne to 
 Sterne.' Malone's correction. 
 
 33. The great pirate Valdes. It has been pointed out by 
 Malone that Shakespeare probably had this name suggested to 
 him by the fact that Don Pedro de Valdes was an admiral in 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [SCENE III. 
 
 Third Pirate. Half-part, 
 
 s, half-part. Come, let 's have her aboard suddenly. 
 
 Act IV. Scene I. 
 
 I'll su-ear she's 
 sea, — But I'll see 
 
 And they have seiz'd Marina. Let her go 
 There's no hope she '11 return 
 dead, 
 
 And thrown into the 
 farther : 
 
 Perhaps they will but please themselves upon 
 her, 
 
 Not carry her aboard. If she remain, 
 
 Whom they have outrag'd must by me be slain. 
 
 lExit 
 
 tl.e fleet of the Spanish Armada, having the command of the 
 great galleon of Andalusia. His ship being disabled, he was 
 taken by Sir Francis Drake, on the 22nd of July, 1588, and sent 
 to Dartmouth. That the name of this commander should be 
 assigned to a " pirate," was likely to prove a popular point with 
 an Elizabethan audience. In Robert Greene's " Spanish Mas- 
 querade " (1589), there is a particular account of Admiral Valdes, 
 who was then prisoner in England. 
 
 34. Cheqitiiis. A coin of It.ily, and also of Barbary. The 
 
 SCENE III.— Mytilene. J Room in a House 
 oj Ill-fame. 
 
 Enter its Keeper, his Wife, and BOULT, their 
 Ser-oant. 
 
 Keep. Boult,— 
 Boult. Sir ? 
 
 Keep. Search the market narrowly ; Mytilene 
 is full of gallants. 
 
 Boult. I'll go search the market. \_Exit. 
 
 Keep. Three or four thousand chequins^-i were as 
 pretty a proportion to live quietly, and so give over.'* 
 
 name was originally zecchiui, from zecca, a mint. A zecchino 
 was a gold coin of Venice, worth about seven or eight 
 shillings. 
 
 35 Were as pretty a proportion to live quietly, and so give 
 over. EUiptically expressed ; the sentence signifying, ' would 
 be as pretty a competence as need be to live quietly with, and 
 so give over our present occupation." 
 
Act I V.J 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Wife. Why to give over, I pray you ? is it a 
 shame to get when we are old ? 
 
 Keep. Oh, our credit comes not in like the 
 commodity, nor the commodity wages not with 
 the danger -.^^ therefore, if in our youths we could 
 pick up some pretty estate, 'twere not amiss to keep 
 our door hatched. Besides, the sore terms we 
 stand upon with the gods will be strong with us 
 for giving over. 
 
 IVife. Come, other sorts offend as well as we. 
 
 Keep. As well as we! ay, and better too; we 
 offend worse. Neither is our profession any trade ; 
 it's no calling. — But here comes Boult. 
 
 Re-enter Boult, luhh the Pirates, bringing 
 Marina. 
 
 Boult. [To Mar.] Come your ways. — My 
 masters, you say she 's a virgin ? 
 
 First Pirate. Oh, sir, we doubt it not. 
 
 Boult. Master, I have gone thorough for this 
 piece, you see : if you like her, so ; if not, I have 
 lost my earnest.39 
 
 Wife. Boult, has she any qualities ? 
 
 Boult. She has a good face, speaks well, and 
 has excellent good clothes: there's no farther 
 necessity of qualities can make her be refused. 
 
 ffi/e. What's her price, Boult ? 
 
 Boult. I cannot be bated one doit of a thousand 
 pieces.'"' 
 
 Keep. Well, follow me, my masters, you shall 
 have your money presently. — Wife, take her in. 
 
 [Exeunt Keeper, Pirates, and Boult. 
 Mar. Alack that Leonine was so slack, so 
 slow ! — 
 
 He should have struck, not .spoke ; — or that these 
 pirates 
 
 (Not enough barbarous) had not o'erboard thrown 
 me 
 
 For to seek my mother ! 
 
 fFife. Why lament you, pretty one ? 
 Mar. That I am pretty. 
 
 IFife. Come, the gods have done their part in 
 you. 
 
 Mar. I accuse them not. 
 
 36. Wages not with the danger. ' Does not equal the 
 danger.' See Note 7, Act v., " Antony and Cleopatra." 
 
 37. To keep onr door hatched. Implying, ' to keep our door 
 closed against customers.' That a spiked half-door or " hatch" 
 was a usual distinctive appendage to low haunts of profligacy 
 and theft we have before stated. See Note 33, Act ii., "Merry 
 Wives." 
 
 38. / have gone thorough. An idiomatic phrase ; here im- 
 plying, ' I have bid high,' ' I have gone thoroughly to work in 
 the price I have offered.' The old copies print 'through' for 
 " thorough ; " the one word having been formerly often used for 
 the other. See Note 84, Act ii., " Troilus and Cressida." 
 
 39. Earnest. Money given in token of ratifying a bargain; 
 sum deposited as a pledge of intention to purchase. See Note 
 181, Act iv., "Winter's Tale." 
 
 40. / cannot be bated one doit., &^<r. ' I cannot get them to 
 
 Wife. You are lit into my hands, where you 
 are like to live. 
 
 Mar. The more my fault. 
 To 'scape his hands where I was like to die.^i 
 
 Wife. Ay, and you shall live in pleasure. 
 
 Mar. No. 
 
 Wife. Yes, indeed shall you : you shall fare 
 well. What ! do you stop your ears ? 
 Mar. Are you a woman ? 
 
 Wife. What would you have me be, an I be 
 not a woiTian ? 
 
 Mar. An honest woman, or not a woman. 
 
 Wife. Marry, whip thee, gosling : I think I 
 shall have something to do with you. Come, 
 you're a young foolish sapling, and must be bowed 
 as I would have you. 
 
 Mar. The gods defend me ! [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE IV.— Tharsus. A Room in 
 House. 
 
 Enter Cleon and Dionvza. 
 
 Dion. Why, are you foolish ? Can it be 
 undone ? 
 
 Cle. O Dionyza, such a piece of slaughter 
 The sun and moon ne'er look'd upon ! 
 
 Dion. I think 
 
 You'll turn a child again. 
 
 Cle. Were I chief lord of all this spacious 
 world, 
 
 I'd give it to undo the deed. — Oh, lady, 
 Much less in blood than virtue, yet a princess 
 To equal any single crown o' the earth 
 r the justice of compare!— Oh, villain Leonine ! 
 Whom thou hast poison'd too : 
 If thou hadst drunk to him,"*^ it had been a 
 kindness 
 
 Becoming well thy fact ^r^^t canst thou say 
 When noble Pericles shall demand his child ? 
 Dion. That she is dead. Nurses are not the 
 fates. 
 
 To foster it, nor ever to preserve. 
 
 bate me one doit,' &c. For an explanation of " doit," See Note 
 37, Act ii., "Tempest." 
 
 41. The more 7ny fault, to ^ scape, &^c. Shakespeare some- 
 times, as here, uses " fault" for ' mischance,' ' misfortune,' 
 ' mishap.' See Note 34, Act iii., " Merry Wives." The Italians 
 use their word disgrazia in the sense of ' misfortune.' 
 
 42. If Hiou hadst drunk to him. Implying, ' If thou hadst 
 destroyed thyself in tasting the contents of the poisoned cup ere 
 thou presented it to him.' See Note 51, Act v., " King John." 
 
 43. Becoming well thy fact. The old copies give ' face for 
 "fact." Mr. Dyce's correction ; "fact" meaning ' deed,' 'crime.' 
 See Note 18, Act iii., " Winter's Tale." 
 
 44. To foster it, nor ever to preserve. ' To foster life, nor to 
 preserve it for ever.' "It" is here used in reference to 'life,' 
 as implied in the previous words, " That she is dead." The 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 She died at night; I'll say so. Who can cross •'^ it ? 
 Unless you play the pious innocent,''^ 
 And for an honest attribute cry out, 
 "She died by foul play." 
 
 Cle. Oh, go to. Well, well, 
 
 Of all the faults beneath the heavens, the gods 
 Do like this worst. 
 
 Dion. Be one of those that think 
 
 The petty wrens of Tharsus will fly hence,*'' 
 And open this to Pericles. I do shame 
 To think of what a noble strain you are. 
 And of how coward a spirit. 
 
 Cle. To such proceeding 
 
 Who ever but his approbation added. 
 Though not his pre-consent,''^ he did not flow 
 From honourable courses. 
 
 Dion. Be it so, then : 
 
 Yet none does know, but you, how she came dead. 
 Nor none can know, Leonine being gone. 
 She did disdain my child,'*' and stood between 
 Her and her fortunes : none would look on her. 
 But cast their gazes on Marina's face ; 
 Whilst ours was blurted at,'" and held a malkin,'! 
 Not worth the time of day.^^ It pierc'd me 
 thorough ; 
 
 present passage affords a notable example of Shakespeare's em- 
 ployment of " it" in relation to an implied particular. 
 
 45. Cross. Here used for ' contradict,' ' controvert,' ' dispute,' 
 'refute.' 
 
 46. The pioics injwcent. In the first three Quarto copies 
 ' impious ' is given instead of " pious ; " while the rest omit the 
 epithet altogetlier. Mason conjectured " pious," which is proved 
 to be right by the parallel passage from Wilkins's novel. " In- 
 nocent" was a term anciently applied to an idiot. See Note 76, 
 Act iii-, " King Lear." 
 
 47. Be one of those that ihink, f^c. It appears to us that 
 this speech is thoroughly worthy of the hand that afterwards 
 depicted Lady Macbeth's character and penned her diction. 
 There is the same cutting sarcasm clothed in vigorous yet refined 
 phraseology : the same well-directed encouragement conveyed 
 through a stinging fleer ; the same subtle compliment to the 
 husband's nobility of nature beneath the apparent scoff at his 
 cowardice. There is much evidence, to our minds, throughout 
 the present play, that it was here Shakespeare made his first 
 attempt at original tragic writing, at producing the true high 
 pitch of tragedy thought and expression. 
 
 48. Though not his pre-consent. The old copies give ' prince 
 consent' and 'whole consent' instead of " preconsent." Stee- 
 vens's correction. 
 
 49. She did disdain my child. Steevens suggested (and some 
 other editors since his time have adopted) the alteration of "dis- 
 dain" to 'distain ;' while he added the remark that Marina was 
 not of a disdainful temper. We think that the original word 
 " disdain" has been rejected from the text by those who do not 
 sufficiently bear in mind a peculiar ellipsis occasionally used by 
 Shakespeare ; and we believe that here he did not intend 
 Dionyza to say that Marina disdained Philoten, but that 
 Marina^ by her superior gr.ace, caused Philoten to be disdained 
 in comparison with herself. The whole context of this speech 
 appears to us to support our view of the sentence ; which is, 
 that "she did disdain my child" signifies 'she did cause my 
 child to be disdained.' For a similar instance of elliptical con- 
 struction, see Note 29, Act iv., " Second Part Henry IV.," 
 where " think" is used for 'cause you to be tTiought.' Also, in 
 " Cymbeline," Act iv., cc. 2, the soothsayer says, " Unless my 
 
 And though you call my course unnatural, 
 You not your child well loving, yet I find 
 It greets me^^ as an enterprise of kindness 
 Perform'd to your sole daughter. 
 
 Cle. Heavens forgive it ! 
 
 Dion. And as for Pericles, 
 What should he say ? We wept after her hearse. 
 And even yet we mourn : her monument 
 Is almost finish'd, and her epitaphs'-' 
 In glittering golden characters express 
 A general praise to her, and care in us 
 At whose expense 'tis done. 
 
 Cle. Thou art like the harpy,'' 
 
 Which, to betray, dost, with thine angel's face, 
 Seize with thine eagle's talons.'^ 
 
 Dion. You are like one that superstitiously 
 Doth swear to the gods that winter kills the 
 flies 
 
 But yet I know you'll do as I advise. \_Exeunt. 
 
 Enter GoWER, before the Monument of Marina 
 at Tharsus. 
 
 Go u\ Thus time we waste and longest 
 leagues make short ; 
 
 sins abuse my divination ; " meaning ' unless my sins cause jite 
 to be deceived in my divination,' or, ' unless my sins cause my 
 divination to be fallacious.' See likewise Note i, Act v. of the 
 present play. 
 
 50. Bbirted at. 'Held in contempt,' 'treated scornfully.' 
 The expression frequently occurs in our ancient dramas ; as, for 
 instance, in " King Edward III." (1596) : — 
 
 " This day hath set derision on the French, 
 And all the world will bhtrt and scorn at us." 
 The word "blurt" was also used as a disdainful exclamation; 
 thus — " Blurt, pish ! " as quoted by Dr. Johnson from Sher- 
 wood. The derivation of this expression is unascertained. 
 
 51. A inalkin. A coarse wench. See Note 29, Act ii., 
 " Coriolanus." 
 
 52. Not worth the time of day. ' Not worth bidding good 
 day to ;' ' not worthy of receiving the most ordinary salutation.' 
 
 53. It greets me. ' It comes before me,' ' it presents itself to 
 my mind,' ' it appears to me.* 
 
 54. Her epitapfis. In the three first Quartos " epitaphs" 
 stands thus, in the plural ; in the latter old copies it is given in 
 the singular, ' epitaph.' We think the word was probably 
 intended by the author to be in the plural ; partly because of 
 the custom explained in Note 44, Act v., "Much Ado," and 
 partly for the sake of the effect of amplitude and generalisation 
 indicated in Note 3, Act iii., "Antony and Cleopatra." 
 
 55. The harpy. For a description of this fabulous creature 
 see Note 35, Act ii., " Much Ado." 
 
 56. Talons. Spelt in the old copies ' talents ; ' which was an 
 old form of " talons." See Note 44, Act iv., " Love's Labour's 
 Lost." 
 
 57. You arc like one that superstitiously, Ist'c. ' You are 
 like one that with over-scrupulous and superfluous explicitness 
 assures the gods that winter kills the flies.' Dionyza is twitt-ing 
 Cleon with his needless anxiety to' inform Pericles of the par- 
 ticulars of Marina's death, when it might easily pass for having 
 occurred in the natural course of events. We give our explana- 
 tion of the passage— which seems to us simply and sufficiently 
 obvious— because other interpretations, more far-fetched, have 
 been given by Malone, Mason, and Boswell ; the latter of which 
 has been repeated by some more recent editors. 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scene IV. 
 
 Clem. • What canst thou say 
 
 When noble Pericles shall demand his child ? 
 
 DioHyza. That she is dead. Act IV. 
 
 Sail seas in cock!es,58 have an wish but for't j^' 
 Making/" — to take"' your imagination, — 
 From bourn to bourn, region to region. 
 By you being pardon'd, we commit no crime 
 To use one language in each several clime 
 Where our scenes seem to live. I do beseech you 
 To learn of me, who stand i' the gaps to 
 
 teach you. 
 The stages of our story. Pericles 
 
 58. Sail seas in cockles. Alluding to the belief that witches 
 could sail in egg-shells, cockle-shells, &c. See Note 23, Act i., 
 " Macbeth." 
 
 59. Have an wish but for V. Eliiptically and transposedly 
 constructed ; the phrase signifying, ' Have, an we but wish for 
 it r 'We have but to wish for it to have it.' "An " is used for 
 'if;' and "t' or 'it' here implies an extensive change of 
 place. 
 
 60. Making. Here used for ' proceeding,' ' travelling.' See 
 Note 80, Act iv., " Richard III." 
 
 Fs now again thwarting the wayward seas, 
 Attended on by many a lord and knight, 
 To see his daughter, all his life's delight. 
 Old Escanes, whom Helicanus late^^ 
 Advanc'd in time to great and high estate. 
 Is left to govern. Bear you it in mind. 
 Old Helicanus goes along behind. 
 Well-sailing ships and bounteous winds hn 
 brought 
 
 61. Take. ' Engage,' ' take possession of,' ' enlist,' * ca 
 tivate. 
 
 62. Old Escanes, wlwm Helicanus, &=c. This, and the thn 
 following lines appear in the old copies thus mispiacedlj : — ' 
 
 ' Old Helicanus goes along behind, 
 Is left to gouerne it, you beare in mind. 
 Old Escenes, whom Hellicanus late 
 Aduancde in time to great and hie estate.' 
 
 The arrangement adopted in our text is Steevens's. 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scenes V., VI. 
 
 This king to Tharsus, — think this pilot 
 thought; 63 
 
 So with his steerage shall your thoughts grow 
 on,—" 
 
 To fetch his daughter home, who first is gone.*^ 
 Like motes and shadows see them move awhile ; 
 Your ears unto your eyes I'll reconcile. 
 
 Dumb Show. 
 Enter, from one s'lde, Pericles nx>ith his train ; 
 from the other, Cleon and DiONYZA. Cleon 
 shouos Pericles the tomb of Marina, 'whereat 
 Pericles makes lamentation, puts on sackcloth, 
 and in a mighty passion^^ departs. Then 
 exeunt Cleon and Dionyza. 
 See how belief may suffer by foul show ! 
 This borrow'd passion stands for true old^? woe ; 
 And Pericles, in sorrow all devour'd, 
 With sighs shot through, and biggest tears 
 
 o'ershow'r'd. 
 Leaves Tharsus, and again embarks. He 
 swears 
 
 Never to wash his face, nor cut his hairs : 
 He puts on sackcloth, and to sea.^^ He bears 
 A tempest, which his mortal vessel^' tears. 
 And yet he rides it out. Now please you wit^" 
 The epitaph is for Marina writ 
 By wicked Dionyza. 
 
 [Reads the- inscription on Marina's Monument. 
 
 The fairest, sweet'st, and best lies here, 
 
 Who wither'd in her spring of year. 
 
 She was of Tyrus the king's daughter. 
 
 On whom foul death hath made this slaughter; 
 
 Marina was she call'd ; and at her birth, 
 
 Thetis, being proud, swallow'd some part o' the earth :"' 
 
 Therefore the earth, fearing to be o'erflow'd. 
 
 Hath Thetis' birth-child on the heavens bestow'd : 
 
 Wherefore she does (and swears she'll never stint) 
 
 Make raging battery upon shores of flint. 
 
 No visor does become black villany 
 So well as soft and tender flattery. 
 
 63. Tkiiik this pilot thought. Malone and others change 
 "this" to 'his;' but "think this pilot thought" means 'let 
 your imagination conceive this thought that I suggest to you ; 
 and which, like a pilot, shall conduct and accompany Pericles 
 on^ his sea-voyage.' Here "pilot" is one of those nouns used 
 adjectively which we sometimes find in Shakespeare's writings. 
 See Note 38, Act iii., " King Lear." 
 
 6.4. Grow on. The old copies give ' grone ' instead of "grow 
 on." Malone's correction. 
 
 63. Who first is gotie. ' Who has left Tharsus before he 
 arrives there.' 
 
 66. Passion. "Passion" is here, and in the second line of 
 Gower-s resumed speech, used for ' emotional grief,' ' passionate 
 sorrow.' See Note 38, Act v., " Midsummer Night's Dream." 
 
 67. Old. Probably here intended to include the duplicate 
 sense of ' belonging to a period of primitive simplicity,' and 
 ' excessive ' or ' abundant.' See Note 27, Act ii. , " Macbeth." 
 
 68. He puts on sackcloth, and to sea. Here "puts on" 
 ^^fore "sackcloth" allows 'puts' to be elliptically understood 
 
 69. His mortal vessel. 'His body.' The Egyptian queen 
 
 Let Pericles believe his daughter's dead. 
 
 And bear his courses to be ordered 
 
 By Lady Fortune; while our scene must play^^ 
 
 His daughter's woe and heavy well-a-day 
 
 In her unholy service. Patience, then. 
 
 And think you now are all in Mytilen. \_Exit, 
 
 \ SCENE v.— Mytilene. A Street before the 
 House of Ill-fame. 
 
 Enter, from the house, tix,o Gentlemen. 
 
 First Gent. Did you ever hear the like ? 
 
 Sec. Gent. No, nor never shall do in such a 
 place as this, She being once gone. 
 
 First Gent. But to have divinity preached 
 there! did you ever dream of such a thing ? 
 
 Sec. Gent. No, no. Come, I am for no more 
 bad houses :— shall we go hear the vestals sing ? 
 
 First Gent. I'll do anything now that is vir- 
 tuous. {^Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE M\.—rhe Same. A Hoom in the House 
 of Ill-fame. 
 Enter Keeper, Wife, and Boult. 
 Keep. Well, I had rather than twice the worth 
 j of her she had ne'er come here. 
 I Wife. Fie, fie upon her ! she has me her quirks, 
 I her reasons, her master reasons, her pravers, her 
 knees ; that she would make a puritan of the devil, 
 ! if he should cheapen a kiss of her. Here comes 
 the Lord Lysimachus disguised. 
 
 Enter Lysimachus. 
 1 Lys. How now ! 
 
 Wife. Now, the gods to-bless?'^ your honour ! 
 
 uses a similar term, " this mortal house," in the speech referred 
 to in Note 20, Act v., "Antony and Cleopatra." 
 
 70. New please you wit. ' Now be pleased to know or under- 
 stand.' See Note 3, Act v., " As You Like It." 
 
 71. Thetis, being proud, siiiallow'd, i^c. Thetis, one of the 
 sea-goddesses, is here poetically made an impersonation of the 
 sea see Note 49, Act i., "Troilus and Cressida ") ; and the 
 passage may be thus interpreted ; — ' The sea-goddess, exulting 
 at the birth of Marina in her domain, proudly swelled and 
 
 I whelmed some portion of the earth ; therefore the earth, fearing 
 ' to be o'erflowed, has sent the birth-child of Thetis to heaven, 
 I which causes Thetis, in angry vengeance, evermore to beat 
 j against the shores of earth.' 
 
 ) 72. Stint. 'Cease,' 'stop.' See Note 53, Act v., " Timon 
 i of Athens." 
 
 I 73. While our scene 7)iust play. The old copies give ' steare ' 
 for "scene." Malone's correction. 
 
 74. To-bless. The use of " to " in compositioti with verbs is 
 very common in Gower and Chaucer : while we have a few 
 instances of it in Shakespeare. See Note 26, Act iv., "Merry 
 Wives ;" and Note 14, Act v,, " King John." 
 
Act IV.] 
 
 Boult. I am glad to see your honour in good 
 health. 
 
 Lys. You may so; 'tis the better for you. 
 How now, wholesome iniquity ! Have you that a 
 man may deal withal ? 
 
 IFife. We have here one, sir, there never 
 came her like in Mytilene. 
 
 Lys. Well, call forth, call forth. 
 
 Boult. For flesh and blood, sir, white and red, 
 you shall see a rose. [Exit Boult. 
 
 Wife. Here comes that which grows to the 
 stalk. 
 
 Re-enter Boult h ith Marina. 
 Is she not a fair creature ? 
 
 Lys. Well, there 's for you : — leave us. 
 
 IVife. I beseech your honour, give me leave : 
 a word, and I'll have done presently. 
 
 Lys . I beseech you, do. 
 
 Wife. \T 0 Mar.] First, I would have you note, 
 this is an honourable man. 
 
 Mar. I desire to find him so, that I may 
 worthily note him. 
 
 Wife. Next, he 's the governor of this country, 
 and a man whom I am bound to. 
 
 Mar. If he govern the country, you are bound 
 to him indeed ; but how honourable he is in that, I 
 know not. 
 
 Wife. Pray you, will you use him kindly ? 
 He will line your apron with gold. 
 
 Mar. What he will do graciously, I will 
 thankfully receive.— 
 
 [Exeunt Wife, Keeper, and Boult. 
 If you were born to honour, show it now ; 
 If put upon you, make the judgment good 
 That tiiought you worthy of it. 
 
 Lys. How 's this ? how 's this ? — Some more ; — 
 be sage. 
 
 Mar. For me. 
 
 That am a maid, though most ungentle fortune 
 Have plac'd me in this sty, 
 Oh, that the gods 
 
 Would set me free from this unhallow'd place. 
 Though they did change me to the meanest bird 
 That flies i' the purer air ! 
 
 Lys. I did not think 
 
 Thou couldst have spoke so well ; ne'er dream'd 
 
 thou couldst. 
 Had I brought hither a corrupted mind, 
 Thy speech had alter'd it. Hold, here's gold 
 
 for thee : 
 
 Persever in that clear'^ way thou goest. 
 And the gods strengthen thee ! 
 
 Mar. The good gods preserve you ! 
 
 Lys. For me, be you thoughten 
 
 [Scene VI. 
 
 That I came with no ill intent ; for to me 
 The very doors and windows savour vilely. 
 Fare thee well. Thou art a piece of virtue, and 
 I doubt not but thy training hath been noble. — 
 Hold, here 's more gold for thee. — 
 A curse upon him, die he like a thief. 
 That robs thee of thy goodness ! If thou dost 
 Hear from me, it shall be for thy good. \Extt. 
 
 Re-enter Boult. 
 Boult. Come, mistress ; come your ways with me. 
 Mar. Pr'ythee, tell me one thing first. 
 Boult. Come now, your one thing. 
 Mar. What canst thou wish tliine enemy to 
 be ? 
 
 Boult. Why, I could wish him to be my 
 master; or rather, my mistress. 
 
 Mar. Neither of these are so bad as thou art. 
 Since they do better thee in their command. 
 Thou hold'st a place, for which the pained'st fiend 
 Of hell would not in reputation change. 
 
 Boult. What would you have me do ? go to 
 the wars, would you ? where a man may serve seven 
 years for the loss of a leg,'" and have not money 
 enough in the end to buy him a wooden one P 
 
 Mar. Do anything but this thou doest. 
 Empty 
 
 Old receptacles, or common sewers, of filth ; 
 Serve by indenture to the common hangman : 
 Any of these ways are yet better than this ; 
 For what thou professest, a baboon, could he 
 speak. 
 
 Would own a name too dear.— Oh, that the gods 
 
 Would safely deliver me from this place !— 
 
 Here, here's gold for thee. 
 
 If that thy master would gain by me. 
 
 Proclaim that I can sing, weave, sew, and dance. 
 
 With other virtues, which I'll keep from boast ; 
 
 And I will undertake all these to teach. 
 
 I doubt not but this populous city will 
 
 Yield many scholars. 
 
 Boult. But can you teach all this you speak of? 
 
 Mar. Prove that I cannot, take me home 
 again. 
 
 Boult. Well, I will see what I can do for thee : 
 if I can place thee, I will. 
 
 Mar. But amongst honest women. 
 
 Boult. Faith, my acquaintance lies little 
 amongst them. But since my master and mistress 
 have bought you, there 's no going but by their 
 consent : therefore I will make them acquainted 
 with your purpose, and I doubt not but I sliall find 
 them tractable enough. Come, I'll do for thee 
 what I can ; come your ways. [Exeunt. 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 75. Clear. Sometimes, as here, used by Shal<espeare to 76. Go to the wars, would you ? where a man may serve, 
 express ' pure/ ' immaculate,' ' innocent.' See Note 22, Act iv., Is^c. The pungent morsel of satire contained in this speech 
 " Timon of Athens." smacks genuinely of Shakespeare's spicery. 
 
 790 
 
Act v.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 ACT 
 
 Enter Gower. 
 Gow. Marina thus the brothel 'scapes, and 
 chances 
 
 Into an honest house, our story says. 
 She sings like one immortal, and she dances 
 As goddess-like to her admirfed lays ; 
 Deep clerks she dumbs ;i and with her neeld 
 composes^ 
 
 Nature's own shape, of bud, bird, branch, or 
 berry, 
 
 That even her art sisters the natural roses ; 
 Her inkle,^ silk, twin with the rubied cherry :'' 
 That pupils lacks she none of noble race. 
 Who pour their bounty on her ; and her 
 gain 
 
 She gives the curjeJ bawd. Here we her 
 place ; 
 
 And to her father turn our thoughts again. 
 Where we left him, on the sea. We there him 
 lost ; 
 
 Whence, driven before the winds,^ he is arriv'd 
 Here where his daughter dwells; and on this 
 coast 
 
 Suppose him now at anchor. The city striv'd 
 God Neptune's annual feast to keep : from 
 whence 
 
 Lysimachus our Tyrian ship espies, 
 His banners sable,^ trimm'd with rich ex- 
 pense ; 
 
 And to him in his barge with fervour hies. 
 In your supposing once more put your sight 
 Of heavy Pericles ;7 think this his barque : 
 
 1. Deep clerks she dumbs. This phrase serves to elucidate the 
 one referred to in Note 49, Act iv. , as explained by us ; since 
 " deep clerks she dumbs " signifies ' profoundly learned men she 
 causes to seem dumb in comparison with her fluent proficiency/ 
 or 'well-read persons she causes to remain contentedly silent 
 when she speaks.' "Dumbs" is an e.xpressive verb framed 
 from an adjective, and here used for ' silences,' or ' causes to be 
 silent,' as " dumb'd " is used for 'silenced' or 'rendeied 
 inaudible' in the passage referred to in Note 99, Act i., 
 " Antony and Cleopatra." 
 
 2. W itk her neeld composes. The first three Quartos print ' 
 'neele' here ; the rest ' needle.' See Note 7, Act iv. | 
 
 3. Inkle. This was a name for ' tape ' (see Note 98, Act iv., | 
 "Winter's Tale ") ; but it also meant a narrow flexible fabric of I 
 silk or worsted, like what is modernly called ' braid.' This kind I 
 of "inkle " was anciently used in embroidery ; as braid is some- I 
 times introduced now-a-days into particular kinds of embroidered [ 
 works. We have been thus minute in explaining this point, , 
 because Steevens remarks, " It will not easily be discovered how j 
 Marina could work such resemblances of nature with tape." 
 
 4. Titihi -Mith the rubied cherry. The old copies give ' twine ' 
 instead of " twin." Malone's correction; .shown to be right by , 
 the context of the word "sisters" in the previous line. I 
 
 5. We there him lost; 'Mhence, driven, £^c. This is Malone's I 
 alteration of the first Quarto reading, which gives 'left' fur j 
 
 V. 
 
 Where what is done in action, more, if might. 
 Shall be discover'd ;8 please you, sit, and hark. 
 
 \Exlt. 
 
 SCENE \.—0n board Pericles' ship, off Myti- 
 LENE. A pwuilion on deck, uuith a curtain 
 before It; Pericles njoithin It, reclined on a 
 couch. A barge lying beside the Tyrian vessel. 
 Enter tivo Sailors, one belonging to the Tyrian 
 •vessel, the other to the barge. 
 Tyr. Sail. [To Myt. Sail.] Where 's the Lord 
 Helicanus ? he can resolve you. 
 Oh, here he is. — 
 
 Enter Helicanus. 
 Sir, there 's a barge put off from Mytilene, 
 And in it is Lysimachus the governor. 
 Who craves to come aboard. What is your will ? 
 
 Hel. That he have his. Call up some 
 gentlemen. 
 
 Tyr. Sail. Ho, gentlemen ! my lord calls. 
 
 Enter tivo or three Gentlemen. 
 First Gent. Doth your lordship call ? 
 Hel. Gentlemen, 
 There is some of worth would come aboard ; 
 
 I pray. 
 Greet him fairly.^ 
 
 [The Gentlemen and the tujo Sailors 
 descend, and go on board the barge. 
 
 "lost," an! 'where' for "whence;" while the rest of the old 
 copies give these two lines as follow : — • 
 
 ' Where we left him at sea, tumbled and tost, 
 And driuen before the winde, he is arriude.' 
 
 6. His banners sable. It has been proposed to change " his" 
 to ' her,' or to accept " his " as used for ' its ; ' but it may be 
 that "his banners " means " Pericles' banners." 
 
 7. In yojcr supposittg once viore put your sight 0/ heazy 
 Pericles. ' Once more place what you behold of the melancholy 
 Pericles under the influence of your imagination.' 
 
 8. Wliere what is done in action, more, if might, shall be 
 discover'd. ' Where all that may be displayed in action (and 
 more, if it were possible, should be shown) shall be exhibited.' 
 This is one of the many apologies for the then inadequacy of 
 stage representation which occur in Shakespeare's chorus- 
 speeches. See Note 71, Act v., "Henry V.," and Note 5, 
 Prologue, " Henry VIII." He at once confesses his conscious- 
 ness of defective theatrical means, and appeals to the poetical 
 and intellectual faculties of his audience as the best mode of 
 supplying the acknowledged defect. 
 
 9. There is some of worth greet him fairly. This 
 
 is the reading of the three first Quartos ; while the rest of the 
 old copies give 'them' instead of "him." It seems probable 
 that the three earlier Quartos are right : because Helicanus has 
 
Act v.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Enter, from thence, Lysimachus and Lords ; luith 
 the Gentlemen and the tuuo Sailors. 
 
 Tyr. Sail. Sir, 
 This is the man that can, in aught you would, 
 Resolve you." 
 
 Lys. Hail, reverend sir! the gods preserve 
 you ! 
 
 Hel. And you, sir, to outlive" the age I am. 
 And die as I would do. 
 
 Lys. You wish me well. 
 
 Being on shore, honouring of Neptune's triumphs. 
 Seeing this goodly vessel ride before us, 
 I made to it, to know of whence you are. 
 
 Hel. First, what is your place ? . 
 
 Lys. I am the governor 
 
 Of this place you lie before. 
 
 Hel. Sir, 
 Our vessel is of Tyre, in it the king; 
 A man who for this three months hath not spoken 
 To any one, nor taken sustenance 
 But to prorogue '2 his grief. 
 
 Lys. Upon what ground is his distemperature ? 
 
 Hel. 'Twould be too tedious to repeat ; 
 But the main grief springs from the loss 
 Of a beloved daughter and a wife. 
 
 Lys. May we not see him ? 
 
 Hel. You may ; 
 But bootless is your sight,- he will not speak 
 To any. 
 
 Lys. Yet let me -obtain my wish. 
 
 Hel. Behold him. [Pericles discovered.'] '3 
 This was a goodly person, 
 Till the disaster that, one mortal night,!'* 
 Drove him to this. 
 
 Lys. Sir king, all hail ! the gods preserve you ■ 
 Hail, royal sir ! 
 
 Hel. It is in vain ; he will not speak to you. 
 
 First Lord. Sir, 
 We have a maid in Mytilen, I durst wager, 
 Would win some words of him. 
 
 heard but of one person, " Lysimachus the governor, who 
 craves to come aboard ; " and because " some " was occasionally 
 used formerly to express 'some one' or 'some person.' In 
 Heywood's " Fortune by Land and Sea," there occurs a passage 
 exemplifying this : — 
 
 " Besides a sudden noise 
 some that swiftly ran towards your fields : 
 Make haste ; 'twas now ; he cannot be far off." 
 
 10. Resolve you. ' Satisfy you,' ' give you the information 
 you seek.' See Note 87, Act ii. 
 
 11. And you, sir, to outlive. The old copies omit "sir." 
 Inserted by Malone. 
 
 12. Prorogue, 'Linger out the period of,' 'protract the 
 wearisome duration of.' See Note 7, Act ii., "Antony and 
 Cleopatra." 
 
 13. {Pericles discovered.'] There is no stage-direction here in 
 the old copies ; but the words " Behold him " denote that we 
 must imagine the withdrawal of a curtain or some such expe- 
 dient as the one .idopted at the words, " Here she lies," accord- 
 ing to the explanation we have given in Note 41, Act iii. The 
 
 Lys. 'Tis well bethought. 
 
 She, questionless, with her sweet harmony 
 And other choice attractions, would allure, 
 And make a battery through his deafen'd^' parts. 
 Which now are midway stopp'd : 
 She is all happy as the fair'st of all,'^ 
 And, with her fellow maids, is now'^ upon 
 The leafy shelter'^ that abuts against 
 The island's side. 
 
 {Whispers First Lord ; luho goes off in the 
 barge of LYSIMACHUS. 
 Hel. Sure, all's effectless;'^ yet nothing we'll 
 o-mit 
 
 That bears recovery's name. But, since your 
 kindness 
 
 We have stretch'd thus far, let us beseech you 
 That fcr our gold we may provision have, 
 Wherein we are not destitute for want. 
 But weary for the staleness. 
 
 Lys. Oh, sir, a courtesy. 
 
 Which if we should deny, the most just gods 
 For every graff would send a ca-terpillar. 
 And so afflict our province.^" — Yet once more 
 Let me entreat to know at large the cause 
 Of your king's sorrow. 
 
 Hel. Sit, sir, I will recount it to you :- 
 
 But, see, I am prevented. 
 
 Re-enter, from the barge. First Lord, 'xxiith 
 Marina, and a young Lady. 
 Lys. Oh, here is 
 
 The lady that I sent for. — Welcome, fair one !— 
 Is't not a goodly presence P^' 
 
 Hel. 'She 's a gallant lady. 
 
 Lys. She 's such a one, that, were I well 
 assur'd 
 
 Came of a gentle kind and noble stock, 
 I'd wish no better choice, and think me rarely 
 wed. — 
 
 Fair one, all goodness that consists in bounty 2- 
 
 narratives describe hii 
 
 nmg 1 
 
 the cabin of his 
 
 14. One mortal flight. The old copies misprint ' wight ' for 
 "night." Malone's correction. "Mortal" here has the sense 
 of ' deadly,' ' fatal." See Note 68, Act ii., " Coriolanus." 
 
 15. Dea/en'd. The old copies give ' defend ' and ' defended ' 
 instead of " deafen'd." Malone's correction. 
 
 16. She is all happy as the fairest of all. ' She is as entirely 
 and happily graced as the fairest of all women.' 
 
 17. And, with her fellow maids, is now. The old copies 
 omit "with" and "is" in this line. Malone supplied these 
 two words. 
 
 18. Upon the leafy shelter. ' Upon the leafy and sheltered .spot. 
 
 19. Sure, all's effectless. Here the old copies give 'all' 
 instead of "all's." Malone's correction. 
 
 20. And so afflict our province. The old copies have * inflict' 
 for "afflict." Malone's suggested correction. 
 
 21. Presence. The old copies misprint ' present ' for " pre- 
 sence." Malone's emendation. 
 
 22. Bounty. This is Steevens's suggested substitution for the 
 word in the old copies — ' beauty.' 
 
Act v.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Lysiinachits, See, she will speak to him. 
 
 Act V. Scene I. 
 
 Expect even here, where is a kingly patient : 
 If that thy prosperous and artificial feat^* 
 Can draw him but to answer thee in aught, 
 Thy sacred physic shall receive such pay 
 As thy desires can wish. 
 
 Mar. Sir, I will use 
 
 My utmost skill in his recovery, 
 
 23. Feat. The old copies print ' fate ' instead of " feat ;" an 
 emendation proposed by Dr. Percy. In Gower's penultimate 
 chorus-speech the word "feats" is used to express 'enacted 
 revels,' 'graceful performances;' so that "prosperous and 
 artificial feat " is probably here employed to signify ' felicitous 
 accomplishment,' ' gracefully and skilfully performed deed.' 
 
 24. Marina sings. The stage direction in the old copies is, 
 " The song ; " and, as often was the case in the old dramas, the 
 indication as to what was the special song introduced is left thus 
 vaguely stated. So, in the "First Part Henry IV.," Act iii., 
 sc. I, where Lady Mortimer sings, the Folio gives a stage 
 direction thus : " Heere the Lady sings a Welsh song ; " and in 
 " Julius Caesar," Act iv., sc. 3, where Lucius touches his 
 instrument at his master's bidding, the stage direction in the 
 
 Provided 
 
 That none but I and my companion maid 
 Be suffer'd to come near him. 
 
 Lys. Come, let us leave her ; 
 
 And the gods make her prosperous ! 
 
 [Marina sings.^* 
 
 Lys. Mark'd he your music ? 
 
 Folio is, " Musicke, and a song." This gave the performer an 
 opportunity of introducing whatever favourite air and words 
 might be best suited either to his own powers or to the taste of 
 his audience ; and it may have been that in the present instance 
 the song was left to the choice of the stage Marina. Neverthe- 
 less, it is probable that she was intended to sing a set of verses 
 that appear in Wilkins's novel founded on this play, and which 
 verses differ little from those given in Twine's translation from 
 the " Gesta Romanorum." They describe the singer's having 
 fallen into evil hands, but as having preserved her innocence 
 intact ; her desiring to find her parents, who are of kingly 
 race ; her determination to bear cheerfully her present low 
 estate, and her confidence in Divine power to send her a happier 
 future. 
 
 VOL. III. 
 
 266 
 
Act v.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 Mar. No, nor look'd on us. 
 
 Lys. See, she will speak to him. 
 
 Mar. Hail, sir ! my lord, lend ear. 
 
 Per. H'm ? ha ? 
 
 Mar. I am a maid. 
 My lord, that ne'er before invited eyes. 
 But have been gaz'd on like a comet : she speaks, 
 My lord, that, may be, hath endur'd a grief 
 Might equal yours, if both were justly weigh'd. 
 Though wayward fortune did malign my state. 
 My derivation was from ancestors 
 Who stood equivalent with mighty kings : 
 But time hath rooted out my parentage. 
 And to the world and awkward ^5 casualties 
 Bound me in servitude. — [Aside.'] I will desist ; 
 But there is something glows upon my cheek. 
 And whispers in mine ear, "Go not till he 
 speak." 
 
 Per. My fortunes — parentage — good parent- 
 age— 
 
 To equal mine ! — was it not thus ?. what say you ? 
 Mar. I said, my lord, if you did know my 
 parentage. 
 You would not do me violence."^ 
 
 Per. I do think so. — Pray you, turn your eyes 
 upon me. 
 
 You are like something that^? — What country- 
 woman ? 
 Here of these shores ? 
 
 Mar. No, nor of any shores : 2^ 
 
 Yet I was mortally brought forth, and am 
 No other than I appear. 
 
 25. Awkward. 'Adverse,' * unpropitlous,' 'calamitous.' See 
 Note 64, Act iii., " Second Part Henry VI." 
 
 26. Yoit would 7tot do me violejice. Marina refers to the 
 repulse with which Pericles has met her first approaches, and to 
 which he himself afterwards alludes : — "Didst thou not say, 
 when I did pitsh thee back [which was when I first perceiv'd 
 thee), that thou," &c. There is here an example of one of those 
 judicious modifications of points derived by Shakespeare from 
 original sources which we indicated in Notes 52 and 71, Act iii. 
 of the present play. Both in the " Confessio Amantis," and in 
 Twine's translation of the Latin story, the disconsolate prince is 
 represented as striking the unknown maiden when she first 
 accosts him ; but our poet, with his usual discriminative sense 
 of what is dramatically befitting, qualifies this extreme pro- 
 ceedmg by making Pericles put Marina aside with a gesture of 
 impatient rejection. 
 
 27. Yoii are like something thai — Here we have indubitable 
 and unmistakable Shakespeare. The half unconscious few first 
 muttered words, in vacant reply, " I do think so " (reminding 
 us of Lear himself in the very words he utters before his last 
 and death speech) ; the instinctive yearning to have his 
 daughter's look meet his, and to feel her eyes resting upon his 
 face, " Pray you turn your eyes upon me;" the imperfectly- 
 uttered broken sentence, "You are like something that — " 
 telling how the stricken thoughts revert to the countenance of 
 his dead wife, all irresistibly come home to our heart as indis- 
 putably Shakespeare's, and Shakespeare's only. See, in con- 
 firmation, the passage referred to in Note 25, Act v., ""Winter's 
 Tale." 
 
 28. Here of these shores ? No, nor of any shores. The 
 honour of this unquestionably true correction (the old copies 
 misprinting ' shewes' for " shores " here) belongs to the Earl of 
 
 Per. I am great with woe, and shall deliver 
 weeping. 
 
 My dearest wife was like this maid, and such a one 
 My daughter might have been : my queen's square 
 brows ; 
 
 Her stature to an inch ; as wand-like straight ; 
 As silver-voic'd ; her eyes as jewel-like. 
 And cas'd as richly ;29 in pace another Juno ; 
 Who starves the ears she feeds, and makes them 
 hungry, 
 
 The more she gives them speech. — Where do you 
 live P 
 
 Mar. Where I am but a stranger : from the 
 deck 
 
 You may discern the place. 
 
 Per. Where were you bred ? 
 
 And how achiev'd you these endowments, which 
 You make more rich to owe P^" 
 
 Mar. Should I tell my history, 'twould seem 
 Like lies disdain'd in the reporting. 
 
 Per. Pr'ythee, speak : 
 
 Falseness cannot come from thee: for thou look'st 
 Modest as Justice, and thou seem'st a palace 
 For the crown'd Truth to dwell in : I will believe 
 thee. 
 
 And make my senses credit thy relation 
 To points that seem impossible ; for tliou look'st 
 Like one 1 lov'd indeed.-"** What were thy 
 friends 
 
 Didst thou not say, when I did push thee back 
 (Which, was when I perceiv'd thee), that thou 
 cam'st 
 
 Charlemont, who suggested it to Malone. There is gratification 
 in the thought that to discover a right reading of a passage in 
 our prince of poets adds a gem to an earl's coronet, and that 
 noblemen have felt the reflected lustre cast upon themselves by 
 throwing light upon a sentence in his pages. Peers as well as 
 private gentlemen, lords as well as commoners, have enrolled 
 themselves among the band of his annotators, proud of the dis- 
 tinction acquired, and eager to secure it to themselves ; while 
 even royalty itself has deemed it a privilege to contribute 
 towards Shakespearian commentary. See Note 47, Act v., 
 "Third Part Henry VL" 
 
 29. Her eyes as jewel-like, and ca^d as richly. This touch 
 of inherited resemblance, the daughter possessing her mother's 
 gem-bright eyes and golden eyelashes, is thoroughly in accord- 
 ance with Shakespeare's dramatic art. See Note loi, Act v. , 
 " Cymbeline ; " and Note 70, Act iii. of the present play. 
 
 30. TJiese endowments, which yoic 7nake mo7'e rich to owe. 
 'These endowments, which you render more valuable by your 
 possessing,' or ' to which you give additional value by their being 
 in your possession.' The present sentence is but another form of 
 the elegantly complimentary phraseology explained in Note 86, 
 Act i., " Timon of Athens." 
 
 31. For thou look'st like one I lov'd indeed. The beauty of 
 the poetical imagery in this fervent address, together with the 
 simply yet intensely worded effusion at its close ; the conviction 
 of pure virgin truth in the unrecognised daughter that stands 
 before him, inspired by her own transparent looks, which are 
 but a reflex of those which belonged to her mother and his lost 
 wife ; the blended present impression and past memory struggling 
 in the father and husband's heart, producing this pa.ssionate out- 
 burst of spontaneous credence, are all conceived and expressed 
 in Shakespeare's own transcendant style. 
 
Act v.] 
 
 PERICLESi 
 
 [Scene I. 
 
 From good descending ? 
 Mar. So indeed I did. 
 
 Per. Report thy parentage. I think thou 
 said'st 
 
 Thou hadst been toss'd from wrong to injury, 
 And that thou thought'st thy griefs might equal 
 
 mine, 
 If both were open'd. 
 
 Mar. Some such thing 
 
 I said, and said no more but what my thoughts 
 Did warrant me was likely. 
 
 Per. Tell thy story ; 
 
 If thine consider'd prove the thousandth part 
 Of my endurance, thou art a man, and I 
 Have sufFer'd like a girl : yet thou dost look 
 Like Patience gazing on kings' graves, and 
 smiling 
 
 Extremity out of act.^^ What were thy friends ? 
 How lost thou them ? Thy name,^* my most kind 
 virgin ? 
 
 Recount, I do beseech thee : come, sit by me. 
 
 Mar. My name is Marina. 
 
 Per. Oh, I am mock'd, 
 
 And thou by some incensed god sent hither 
 To make the world to laugh at me. 
 
 Mar. Patience, good sir. 
 
 Or here I'll cease. 
 
 Per. Nay, I'll be patient. 
 
 Thou little know'st how thou dost startle me. 
 To call thyself Marina. 
 
 Mar. The name 
 
 Was given me by one that had some pouer, — 
 My father, and a king. 
 
 Per. How ! a king's daughter ? 
 
 And call'd Marina ? 
 
 Mar. You said you would believe me ; 
 
 32. Smiling extremity out of act. 'Disarming calamity 
 by meek and smiling gentleness.' ''Extremity" is here per- 
 sonified ; but it is used in the present passage, as in the one 
 explained in Note 53, Act v., "King Lear," to express the 
 extreme of calamitous infliction and suffering. 
 
 33. Ho2u lost thou them ? Thy name. The old copies print 
 ' How lost thou thy name ?' Malone inserted " them," dividing 
 
 i given in our text, and as evidently intended by 
 
 the 
 
 And are no fairy 1 I\lotio. 
 sly punctuated and various 
 1. We adopt the punctuatio 
 ■ " before " fairy " 
 
 This passage has been 
 ly interpreted by different 
 n of the early Folio copies, 
 to be elliptically understood 
 
 and believe 
 
 as repeated before "Motion;" thus taking "motion" to be 
 used in its sense of ' puppet,' ' doll-like representative of woman- 
 hood,' 'daintily-made image of humanity.' See Note 10, Actii., 
 " Two Gentlemen of Verona." 
 
 35. CalCd Marina for I was born at sea. " For" is here 
 used in the sense of ' because.' See Note 74, Act iii. 
 
 36. My mother was the daugh ter of a king ; who died, &^c. 
 The manner in which "who" is here used affords an instance 
 of Shakespeare's occasional mode of employing a relative 
 pronoun in reference to a not immediately preceding ante- 
 cedent ; since here "who" relates to "my mother" and "the 
 daughter," not to " king." See Note 107, Act ii., " All's 
 Well." 
 
 37. My daughter's luried. Here the old copies print 
 
 But, not to be a troubler of your peace, 
 I will end here. 
 
 Per. But are you flesh and blood ? 
 
 Have you a working pulse ? and are no fairy ? 
 Motion — Well ; speak on. Where were you 
 born ? 
 
 And wherefore call'd Marina? 
 
 Mar. Call'd Marina 
 
 For I was born at sea.^' 
 
 Per. At sea ! what mother ? 
 
 Mar. My mother was the daughter of a king ; 
 Who died the minute I was born,^* 
 As my good nurse Lychorida hath oft 
 Deliver'd weeping. 
 
 Per. Oh, stop there a little !— 
 
 \Aside.'\ This is the rarest dream that e'er dull 
 sleep 
 
 Did mock sad fools withal : this cannot be : 
 
 My daughter's buried.^'' — \Aloud.'\ Well: — where 
 
 were you bred ? 
 I'll hear you more, to the bottom of your story, 
 And never interrupt you. 
 Mar. You scorn to believe me,^ 'twere best I 
 
 did give o'er. 
 Per. I will believe you by the syllable 
 Of what you shall deliver.^^ Yet, give me 
 
 leave : — 
 
 How came you in these parts ? where were you 
 bred ? 
 
 Mar. The king my father did in Tharsus leave 
 me ; 
 
 Till cruel Cleon, with his wicked wife. 
 Did seek to murder me : and having woo'd 
 A villain to attempt it, who having drawn to 
 do't.^o 
 
 A crew of pirates came and rescu'd me ; 
 
 "s." Steevens's correction, 
 ifhich a similar typographical 
 
 ' daughter, ' instead of " daughte: 
 See Note ig of the present Act, in ' 
 error is pointed out. 
 
 38. You scorn to believe me. The old copies give * You 
 scorn, beleeue me.' Malone altered to ' Yuu'U scarce believe 
 me,' observing that Pericles had expressed no scorn in the pre- 
 ceding speech ; but to Marina his pausing and muttering to 
 himself, and then bidding her resume, and he will hear her 
 without interruption, may seeni to imply a scornful toleration of 
 her story, as listening to it yet doubting it. When we prepared 
 our edition for New York we believed that the old text might 
 stand, if a colon were placed after "scorn :" but since then, 
 on re-considering the words in connection with those used by 
 Pericles in reply, we have adopted Mr. Staunton's correction, 
 " You scorn to believe me." 
 
 39. / will believe you by tJie syllable of what you shall 
 deliver. ' I will believe every syllable of what you may tell 
 me.' 
 
 40. A villain to attempt it, who Imvi^i^ drawn to do '/. 
 This line is so defective in metre, and the construction of the 
 whole passage is so awkward, that we think it very likely this 
 IS one of the many, many instances of erroneous printing in the 
 old copies of the present play. It seems to us probable that 
 originally the line was written thus—' A villain to attempt it, 
 he being drawn,' since the expression ' being drawn ' would 
 accord well with a phrase elsewhere used by Shakespeare. See 
 Note 29, Act ii., " Tempest." 
 
Act v.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [♦Scene I. 
 
 Brought me to Mytilene. But, good sir, 
 Whither will you have me ? Why do you weep ? 
 It may be, 
 
 You think me an impostor : no, good faith ; 
 I am the daughter to King Pericles, 
 If good King Pericles be. 
 
 Per. Ho, Helicanus ! 
 
 Hel. Calls my lord ? 
 
 Per. Thou art a grave and noble counsellor, 
 Most wise in general : tell me, if thou canst, 
 What this maid is, or what is like to be. 
 That thus hath made me weep ? 
 
 Hel. I know not ; but 
 
 Here is the regent, sir, of Mytilene 
 Speaks nobly of her. 
 
 Lys. She would never tell"" 
 
 Her parentage ; being demanded that. 
 She would sit still and weep. 
 
 Per. O Helicanus, strike me, honour'd sir; 
 Give me a gash, put me to present pain ; 
 Lest this great sea of joys rushing upon me 
 O'erbear the shores of my mortality, 
 And drown me with their sweetness. — Oh, come 
 hither. 
 
 Thou that begetfst him that did thee beget ; 
 Thou that wast born at sea, buried at Tharsus, 
 And found at sea again ! — O Helicanus, 
 Down on thy knees, thank the holy gods as 
 loud 
 
 As thunder threatens us : this is Marina. — • 
 What was thy mother's name ? tell me but 
 that, 
 
 For truth can never be confirm'd enough, 
 Though doubts did ever sleep.''- 
 
 Mar. First, sir, I pray. 
 
 What is your title ? 
 
 Per. I am Pericles of Tyre : but tell me now 
 My drown'd queen's name, — as in the rest you 
 said 
 
 41. She would never tell. The old copies give ' She never 
 would tell.' Steevens made the required transposition. 
 
 42. Thotigh doubts did ever sleep. ' Though nothing occurred 
 to awaken doubts.' 
 
 43. A7id another life to Pericles thy father. The old copies 
 here give 'like ' instead of " life " iMason's proposed correction), 
 as chey do in another passage a little farther on in the present 
 play. See Note 46 of this Act. The line in Pericles' previous 
 speech, " Thou that begett'st him that did thee beget," serves 
 to show that "life" is in every probability the true reading 
 )iere ; and also "thou that begett'st" and "thou that wast 
 born " give tolcen that ' thou ' is elliptically understood before 
 " the heir of kingdoms." 
 
 1^1,. Music t My lord, I hear— In some modern editions the 
 word "music" has been removed from the te.xt and put into 
 the margin as a stage direction ; but, to our thinking, this is 
 literalising a poetical passage. It appears to us that Shake- 
 speare intended the "music" to which Pericles so repeatedly 
 r.;fers to be a purely visionary music, the spiritual echo of his 
 ov/n harmonious condition of soul, which is tuned to rapture by 
 the recent recovery of his supposed dead child. Lyslmachus, 
 fulfilling his own injunction to "give him way " by humouring 
 
 Thou hast been godlike perfect, — the heir of 
 
 kingdoms, 
 And another life to Pericles thy fath er.^^ 
 
 Mar. Is it no more to be your daughter than 
 To say my mother's name was Thaisa ? 
 Thaisa was my mother, who did end 
 The minute I began. 
 
 \Throivs herself at his feet. 
 Per. Now, blessing on thee! rise ; thou art my 
 child.— 
 
 Give me fresh garments. — Mine own, Helicanus, — 
 She is not dead at Tharsus, as she should have 
 been. 
 
 By savage Cleon : she shall tell thee all ; 
 When thou shalt kneel, and justify in knowledge 
 She is thy very princess.— Who is this ? 
 
 Hel. Sir, 'tis the governor of Mytilene, 
 Who, hearing of your melancholy state. 
 Did come to see you. 
 
 Per. I embrace you. — 
 
 Give me my robes. — I am wild in my beholding. — 
 Oh, heavens bless my girl ! — But, hark, what 
 
 music ? — 
 Tell Helicanus, my Marina, tell him 
 O'er, point by point, for yet he seems to doubt. 
 How sure you are my daughter. — But, what 
 music ? 
 
 Hel. My lord, I hear none. 
 
 Per. None ? 
 The music of the spheres !— List, my Marina. 
 
 Lys. It is not good to cross him; give him 
 way. 
 
 Per. Rarest sounds! Do ye not hear? 
 
 ij)f. Music ? My lord, I hear-i^— 
 
 Per. Most heavenly music ! 
 It nips me unto listening, and thick slumber 
 Hangs upon mine eyes : let me rest. [Sleeps. 
 
 Lys. A pillow for his head — 
 So, leave him all.— Well, my companion friends, 
 
 this fancied hearing of "rarest sounds," repeats the word 
 "music?" questioningly ; adding words that shall calm the 
 prince by letting him suppose that otliers besides himself hear 
 the divine strains which fill his senses thus lullingly. A sig- 
 nificant confirmation of our opinion that Shakespeare intended 
 no stage introduction of music here, is contained in the fact 
 that there is no mention whatever of music at this juncture in 
 Wilkins's novel founded upon the present play. 
 
 45. A pillmv for his head. It was suggested by Malone that 
 1 this speech belongs to Marina ; and he points out that the ex- 
 pression " companion friends" (which he suggests should be 
 altered to 'companion friend') tallies with Marina's having 
 spoken of the young lady who accompanies her on board 
 Pericles' ship as " my companion maid." But though there is 
 plausibihty in the suggestion, we think the whole tone of the 
 speech shows it rather to pertain to Lysimachus. There is the 
 tone of command and direction more suitable to the Governor 
 of Mitylene than to the young girl Marina, princess though she 
 be ; and there is the unassured conviction implied in the line, 
 " if this but answer to my just belief," which rather befits the 
 admirer of Marina than Marina herself, who is thoroughly aware 
 that she is none other than Pericles' own daughter. 
 
 796 
 
Act v.] PERICLES. [Sckne II. 
 
 If this but answer to my just belief, 
 I'll well remember you. 
 
 [Exeunt all except Pericles. 
 
 SCENE ll.— The Same. 
 
 Pericles on the deck, asleep; Diana appearing to 
 htm in a 'vision. 
 
 Dia. My temple stands in Ephesus : hie thee 
 thither, 
 
 And do upon mine altar sacrifice. 
 
 There, when my maiden priests are met together. 
 
 Before the people all, 
 
 Reveal how thou at sea didst lose thy wife : 
 To mourn thy crosses, with thy daughter's, call. 
 And give them repetition to the life,^^ 
 Or perform my bidding, or thou liv'st in woe ; 
 Do it, and happy by my silver bow ! 
 Awake, and tell thy dream. 
 
 [Diana disappears. 
 Per. Celestial Dian, goddess argentine,'** 
 I will obey thee. — Helicanus ! 
 
 Helicanus, Lysimachus, and Marina. 
 Hel. Sir ? 
 
 Per. My purpose was for Tharsus, there to 
 strike 
 
 The inhospitable Cleon ; but I am 
 For other service first : toward Ephesus 
 
 46. Give them repetiiioii to tJie life. The old copies mis- 
 print * like ' for " life." Malone's correction ; which is not only 
 shown to be right by the rhyme, but by the sense of the pas- 
 sage. '* To the life " (an idiomatic expression, signifying ' with 
 life-like precision of truth,' * with vitality of perfect resemblance' 
 — as we say, 'that portrait is done to the life' or 'that cha- 
 racter is acted to the life') is used by Shakespeare in another 
 passage, which tends to prove that he employed it here. In 
 " Coriolanus," Act iii., sc. 2, the son of Volumnia says to her, 
 " You have put me now to such a part, which never I shall dis- 
 charge totki life." 
 
 47. Do it, and happy. "Thou liv'st" before "in woe" 
 allows 'thou liv'st' to be elliptically understood as repeated 
 before "happy." For instances of similar construction, see 
 Note 68, Act iv. of this play. 
 
 48. Goddess argentine. ' Deity of the silver moon.' Lord 
 Charlemont pointed out to Malone that in the language of 
 alchemy, which was well understood when the present play 
 was written, Luna or Diana means silver or argent, as sol 
 means gold or or. 
 
 49. Eftsooiis. Another of the many antique words used in 
 this play. "Eftsoons" is an old expression, signifying 'very 
 soon,' 'forthwith,' 'immediately.' 
 
 50. Shall vie refresh us, sir. Such a point of nature as the 
 suddenly awakened desire for food upon the revival of joy in a 
 bosom previously given up to affliction, was not likely to escape 
 the notice or omit being notified by our supreme dramatist. 
 It has been remarked by observers of humanity from time im- 
 memorial ; and there is a striking instance recorded by Leigh 
 Hunt, in his beautifully told verse-story of " M;.hmoud," where 
 the Sultan-father's heart, relieved from the intolerable burden 
 
 Turn our blown sails; eftsoons *s I'll tell thee 
 why. — 
 
 [To Lys.] Shall we refresh us, sir, 6" upon you 
 shore, 
 
 And give you gold for such provision 
 As our intents will need ? 
 Lyi. Sir, 
 
 With all my heart ; and, when you come ashore, 
 I have another suit.^' 
 
 Per. You shall prevail. 
 
 Were it to woo my daughter ; for it seems 
 You have been noble towards her.'^ 
 
 i-J^- Sir, lend me your arm. 
 
 Per. Come, my Marina. [Exeunt. 
 
 Enter Gower, before the Temple of Diana at 
 Ephesus. 
 
 GoT.v. Now our sands are almost run ; 
 More a little, and then dumb.^^ 
 This, as my last boon,^* give me, — 
 For such kindness must relieve me, — 
 That you aptly will suppose 
 What pageantry, what feats, what shows 
 What minstrelsy, and pretty din. 
 The regent made in Mitylin, 
 To greet the king. So he thriv'd. 
 That he is promis'd to be wiv'd 
 To fair Marina ; but in no wise 
 Till he had done his sacrifice,^* 
 As Dian bade : whereto being bound, 
 The interim, pray you, all confound. 
 In feather'd briefness sails are fill'd. 
 
 of fear that it was his own son who had committed the deed of 
 wrong which he had come to avenge, calls for wine and meat : 
 " And when he had refresh' d his noble heart. 
 He bade his host be blest, and rose up to depart." 
 
 51. I have another suit. The old copies give 'sleight' for 
 "suit." Malone made the emendation. 
 
 52. For it see7ns you have been noble towards her. Here is 
 one of those passages, instances of which we have pointed out 
 {see Note 90, Act v., " Cymbeline"), where our dramatist judi- 
 ciously allows certain particulars to be taken for granted. There 
 has been nothing in the dialogue during this last scene on board 
 Pericles' ship to inform the king that Lysimachus had behaved 
 nobly towards Marina ; nevertheless, since the readers or spec- 
 tators know it to have been the case, Shakespeare allows it to 
 be thus alluded to as an assumed circumstance. 
 
 53. And tlien dutnb. 'And then I shall be silent' The old 
 copies print ' dum ' for " dumb," and for which Rowe substituted 
 ' done ; ' but the rhyme of " run " and " dumb " is not worse 
 than many that occur in these chorus-speeches. See Note 11, 
 Act ii. 
 
 54. This, as my last boon. "As" was omitted in the old 
 copies, and supplied by Steevens. 
 
 55. So he thriv'd, that he ... . till he had done his sacrifice. 
 The mode in which "he" is first applied to Lysimachus and 
 afterwards to Pericles in this passage accords with Shakespeare's 
 occasional practice when employing similar pronouns in refer- 
 ence to different persons in the same sentence. See Note loi, 
 Act i., " Antony and Cleopatra." 
 
 56. Confound. 'Consume,' ' lose,' or 'spend,' by process of 
 imagination. See Note 20, Act i., "Antony and Cleopatra." 
 
Act v.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 And wishes fall out as they're will'd. 
 
 At Ephesus, the temple see, 
 
 Our king, and all his company. 
 
 That he can hither come so soon, 
 
 Is by your fancy's thankful boon.^? [Exit. 
 
 SCENE lU.—The Temple of Dim \ at Ephesus; 
 Thaisa standing near the altar, as high 
 priestess ; a number of Virgins on each sid? ; 
 Cerimon and other Inhabitants of Ephesus 
 attending. 
 
 Enter Pericles, loith his train ; Lysimachus, 
 Helicanus, Marina, and a Lady. 
 
 Per. Hail, Dian! to perform thy just command, 
 I here confess myself the king of Tyre ; 
 Who, frighted from my country, did wed 
 At Pentapolis the fair Thaisa. 
 At sea in childbed died she, but brought forth 
 A maid-child call'd Marina ; who, oh, goddesSj^s 
 Wears yet thy silver livery ."^ She at Tharsus 
 Was nurs'd with Cleon ; whom at fourteen years 
 He sought to murder : but her better stars 
 Brought her to Mitylene ; 'gainst whose shore 
 Riding,'''' her fortunes brought the maid aboard us, 
 Where, by her own most clear remembrance, she 
 Made known herself my daughter. 
 
 Thai. ■ Voice and favour"!®'' — ■ 
 
 You are, you are— Oh, royal Pericles! — 
 
 [She faints. 
 
 Per. What means the woman she dies ! 
 help, gentlemen ! 
 
 Cer. Noble sir, 
 If you have told Diana's altar true, 
 This is your wife. 
 
 Per. Reverend appearer, no ; 
 
 I threw her o'erboard with these very arms. 
 
 Cer. Upon this coast, I warrant you. 
 
 P^''- 'Tis most certain. 
 
 Cer. Look to the lady ;— oh, she 's but o'er- 
 joy'd — 
 
 Early one blustering morn''' this lady was 
 Thrown upon this shore. I op'd the coffin. 
 Found there rich jewels; recover'd her, and plac'd 
 her 
 
 Here in Diana's temple. 
 
 Per. May we see them ? 
 
 Cer. Great sir, they shall be brought you to my 
 house, 
 
 Whither I invite you.— Look, Thaisa is 
 Recover'd. 
 
 Thai. Oh, let me look ! 
 If he be none of mine, my sanctity 
 Will to my sense bend no licentious ear. 
 But curb it, spite of seeing.— Oh, my lord. 
 Are you not Pericles ?" Like him you speak, 
 Like him you are : did you not name a tempest, 
 A birth, and death ? 
 
 Per. The voice of dead Thaisa ! 
 
 Thai. That Thaisa am I, supposed dead 
 And drown'd."** 
 
 Per. Immortal Dian ! 
 
 Thai, Now I know you better. — 
 
 When we with tears parted Pentapolis, 
 The king my father gave you such a ring. 
 
 [Points to his ring.^^ 
 
 57. Is by your/ancys thankful boon. The old copies print 
 'Is by your fancies thankful doom;' Rowe giving "fancy's" 
 instead of 'fancies,' and Steevens giving "boon" for 'doom.' 
 Although we adopt these corrections on the supposition that the 
 old copies are here typographically corrupt, as in so very many 
 passages of the present play, we are by no means convinced 
 that this is the case ; since "soon" and 'doom' would be no 
 faultier rhyme than others we have pointed out. See Note 53 
 of the present Act. " Thankful " is here used to express ' thank- 
 fully received.' 
 
 58. Who, oh, goddess .... whom at foicrteen years. The old 
 copies transpose "who" and " whom " in the present passage. 
 Malone made the correction. 
 
 59. Wears yet thy silver livery. ' Still wears the pure white 
 robes of an unmarried maiden ; ' Diana being the protecting 
 goddess of virgins. 
 
 60. 'Gainst whose shore riding. 'Against whose shore we 
 riding at anchor.' One of the passages where Shakespeare 
 allows a nominative to be elliptically understood. See Note 20, 
 Act i., " Tempest." 
 
 61. Favour. 'Aspect,' 'countenance.' The present speech 
 is one of Sh.-ikespeare's excellently written pieces of perfect im- 
 pression in imperfect expression. How well it conveys the 
 effect of the panting eagerness, the interrupted breath, the fail- 
 ing utterance, of one who swoons from emotion on hearing an 
 unexpected revelation of happiness ! See Note i5. Act iii., 
 " Romeo and Juliet." 
 
 62. What means the woman ? This is the reading of the 
 
 /atter old copies, while the three first Quartos give ' mum ' in- 
 stead of " woman." Mr. Collier made the plausible conjecture 
 that * mum' may have been a misprint for ' nun ;' but as some 
 of the old copies give the word " woman," we retain it as pos- 
 sibly that which was written by Shakespeare. 
 
 63. £arly one blustering morn. The old copies give ' in ' for 
 " one." Malone's suggested correction. 
 
 64. Oh, my lord, are you jiot Pericles ? Malone observes, 
 " The simiHtude between this scene and the discovery in the 
 
 I last act of ' The Winter's Tale ' will, I suppose, strike every 
 j reader." There is similitude, it is true, because a mutual re- 
 1 cognition between wife, husband, and daughter is, in both 
 cases, the subject ; but mark with what strikingly characteristic 
 I difference our dramatist has depicted the scene : here, Thaisa 
 I is full of eager rapturous warmth and voluntarily proffered 
 I tokens of identification ; while Hermione is reticent, self-con- 
 tained, testifying in act only her return to her husband's affec- 
 tion. See Note 59, Act v., " Wmter's Tale." 
 
 65. Drown'd. Formerly this word was sometimes, as here, 
 used to express not destroyed by water, but submerged therein. 
 KnoUes, in his " History of the Turks," says, " Galleys might 
 be drowned in the harbour -with the great ordnance, before they 
 could be rigged." 
 
 66. \_Points to his ring.'] There is no stage direction here 
 given in the old copies. Malone inserted ' shows a ring,' which 
 has been usually adopted ; but the one which we give demon- 
 strates better that which we think the context shows— that it is 
 a ring worn by Pericles which Thaisa alludes to, and which 
 causes her to say, " Now I know you better." 
 
Act v.] 
 
 PERICLES. 
 
 [Scene III. 
 
 Per. This, this : no more, you gods ! your 
 present kindness 
 Makes my past miseries sport : you shall do well, 
 That on the touching of her lips I may 
 Melt, and no more be seen. — Oh, come, be buried 
 A second time within these arms. 
 
 Mar. ' My heart 
 
 Leaps to be gone into my mother's bosom. 
 
 {^Kneels to Thaisa. 
 Per, Look, who kneels here ! Flesh of thy 
 flesh, Thaisa ; 
 Thy burden at the sea, and call'd Marina 
 For she was yielded there. 
 
 Thai. Bless'd, and mine own ! 
 
 Hel. Hail, madam, and my queen ! 
 Thai. I know you not. 
 
 Per. You have heard me say, when I did fly 
 
 from Tyre, 
 I left behind an ancient substitute : 
 Can you remember what I call'd the man ? 
 I have nam'd him oft. 
 
 Thai. 'Twas Helicanus then. 
 
 Per. Still confirmation : 
 Embrace him, dear Thaisa ; this is he. 
 Now do I long to hear how you were found ; 
 How possibly preserv'd ; and who to thank. 
 Besides the gods, for this great miracle. 
 
 Thai. Lord Cerimon, my lord ; this man, I 
 Through whom the gods have shown their power; j 
 that can ] 
 From first to last resolve you.^^ I 
 
 Per. Reverend sir, j 
 
 The gods can have no mortal officer j 
 More like a god than you. Will you deliver | 
 How this dead queen re-lives ? 
 
 Cer, I will, my lord. | 
 
 Beseech you, first go with me to my house, i 
 Where shall be shown you all was found with her ; 
 How she came placed here in the temple ; 
 No needful thing omitted. 
 
 Per. Pure Dian, bless thee for thy vision ! I 
 
 67. Resolve you. ' Satisfy you,' 'give you full information.' 
 See Note 10 of this Act. 
 
 68. This ornament makes vie look dismal. * Which ' is ellip- 
 tically understood before "makes." 
 
 69. In Pericles^ his queen and daughter, seen. "You have" 
 before " heard " allows ' you have ' to be elliptically understood 
 as repeated before " seen." For an instance of similar construc- 
 tion, see Note 47 of this Act. 
 
 70. Virtue preserv'd /rom fell de strut: tiotCs blast. The old 
 
 Will offer night oblations to thee Thaisa, 
 
 This prince, the fair-betrothed of your daughter, 
 Shall marry her at Pentapolis. — And now, 
 This ornament 
 
 Makes me look dismal will I clip to form ; 
 And what this fourteen years no razor touch'd, 
 To grace thy marriage-day, I'll beautify. 
 
 Thai. Lord Cerimon hath letters of good credit, 
 sir, 
 
 My father's dead. 
 Per. Heavens make a star of him ! Yet there, 
 my queen, 
 
 We'll celebrate their nuptials, and ourselves 
 Will in that kingdom spend our following days: 
 Our son and daughter shall in Tyrus reign.— 
 Lord Cerimon, we do our longing stay 
 To hear the rest untold : sir, lead the way. 
 
 \Exeunt. 
 
 Enter Gower. 
 Goto. In Antiochus and his daughter you 
 have heard 
 Of monstrous lust the due and just reward : 
 In Pericles, his queen and daughter, seen*' 
 (Although assail'd with fortune fierce and keen) 
 Virtue preserv'd from fell destruction's blast,'" 
 Led on by heaven, and crown'd with joy at last : 
 In Helicanus may you well descry 
 A figure of truth, of faith, of loyalty : 
 In reverend Cerimon there well appears 
 The worth that learned charity aye wears : 
 For wicked Cleon and his wife, when fame 
 Had spread their cursed deed, and honour'd 
 name 
 
 Of Pericles, to rage the city turn, 
 That him and his they in his palace burn 
 The gods for murder seemed so content 
 To punish them,'^ — although not done, but 
 meant. 
 
 So, on your patience evermore attending. 
 
 New joy wait on you! Here our play has ending. 
 
 \Exit. 
 
 copies give ' preferd ' and ' preferred ' instead of " preserv'd." 
 Malone's correction. 
 
 71. To rage the city turn, that him and his they in 
 his palace burn. "The city" is here used as a collective 
 noun, to express the united body of the citizens ; and is 
 therefore followed by the verb " turn " and the pronoun 
 "they." 
 
 72. To punish them. The old copies omit " them." Malone 
 made the correction. 
 
 CASSELL, PETTER, AND GALPIN, BELLE SALVAGE WORKS, LONDON, E.G.