and doing both with addrefs: And 'tis for the want of this, that Orlando is blamed. WARB. will you fterner be, P. 484. 1. 3. Than be that dies and lives by bloody drops ?] This is fpoken of the executioner. He lives indeed, by bloody drops, if you will: but how does he die by bloody drops? The poet muft certainly have wrote-that deals and hives, &c. i. e. that gets his bread by, and makes a trade of cutting off heads: But the Oxford editor makes it plainer. He reads, Than be that lives and thrives by bloody drops. WAR B. Ibid.] Either Dr. Warburton's emendation, except that the word deals wants its proper construction, or that of Sir T. Hanmer may ferve the purpose; but I believe they have fixed corruption upon the wrong word, and fhould rather read, Than he that dies his lips by bloody drops? Will you speak with more fternnefs than the executioner, whofe lips are used to be fprinkled with blood? The mention of drops implies fome part that must be sprinkled rather than dipped. JOHNS. Ibid.] There is no difficulty in this line. Shakespeare is perpetually ufing verbs neuter, actively. Here dies, is preferr'd to kills, because lives occurs in the fame line, and Shakespeare, feduced by his love for Antithefis, would have it fometimes in found where he could not obtain it in sense. Falls is actively applied two lines before. Capell reads eyes and lives, very improbably. ANON.* L. 19. The cicatrice and capable impreffure] Cicatrice is here not very properly used; it is the fear of a wound. Capable impreffure, bollow mark. JOHNS. L. 26. -power of fancy] Fancy is here used for love, as before in Midfummer Night's Dream. JOHNS. P. 485. 1. 2. Who might be your mother,] It is common for the poets to exprefs cruelty by faying, of thofe who commit it, that they were born of rocks, or fuckled by tigreffes. JOHNS. L. 4. That you infult, exult, and all at once] If the fpeaker intended to accufe the perfon spoken to only for infulting and exulting; then, instead of- - all at once, it ought to have been, both at once. But by examining the crime of the perfon accufed, we fhall difcover that the line is to be read thus, That you infult, exult, and rail, at once. For these three things Phæbe was guilty of. But the Oxford editor improves it, and, for rail at once, reads domineer. WARB. Ibid] Dr. Warburton's cavil cannot impose on any English reader, who must know that our language doth not require this precifion, and Phœbe, tho' fhe had both infulted and exulted, had not faid one word which deferved the imputation of railing. REVIS.* L. 5. what though you have no beauty,] Tho' all the printed copies agree in this reading, it is very accurately obferved to me by an ingenious unknown correfpondent, who figns himself L. H. (and to whom I can only here make my acknowledgements) that the negative ought to be left out. THEOB. no beauty. CAPELL. L. 11. Of nature's fale-work :] i. e. thofe works that nature makes up carelefly and without exactnefs. The allufion is to the practice of mechanicks, whofe work bespoke is more elaborate, than that which is made up for chancecuftomers, or to fell in quantities to retailers, which is called falework. WARB. L. 16. That can entame my Spirits 10 your worship.] I should rather think that Shakespeare wrote entraine, draw, allure. WARB. Ibid.] The common reading feems unexceptionable. REVIS. and JOHNS. L. 30. Foul is most foul, being foul to be a fcoffer:] The only fenfe of this is," an ill-favoured perfon is most illfavoured, when if he be ill-favoured, he is a scoffer." Which is a deal too abfurd to come from Shakespeare; who without question, wrote, Foul is moft foul, being found to be a foffer: i. e. where an ill-favour'd perfon ridicules the defects of others, it makes his own appear exceffive. WARE. Ibid.] The fenfe of the received reading is not fairly reprefented, it is, the ugly feem most ugly when, though ugly, they are fcoffers. REVIS. and JOHNS. with her foulaefs] So Sir T. Hanmer, JOHNS P. 486. 1. 2. the other editions, your foulness L. 13. -Though all the world could fee, None could be fo abus'd in fight as be.] Though all mankind could look on you, none could be fo deceived as to think you beautiful but he. JOHNS. L. 16. Dead Shepberd] Hanmer, Warburton, read deed Shepherd. P. 489. 1. 21. ; fwam in a Gondola] That is, been at Venice, the feat at that time of all licentiousness, where the young English gentlemen wafted their fortunes, debased their morals, and fometimes loft their religion. The fashion of travelling which prevailed very much in Our author's time, was confidered by the wifer men as one of the principal caufes of corrupt manners. It was therefore gravely cenfured by Afcham in his Schoolmaster, and by Bishop Hall in his Quo Vadis, and is here, and in other paffages ridiculed by Shakespeare. P. 491. 1. 21. Chroniclers] Read Coroners. fhould read to weep. JOHNS. HANMER. · and when you are inclin'd to fleep.] We WARB. Ibid.] I know not why we fhould read to weep. I believe most men would be more angry to have their sleep hindered than their grief interrupted. JOHNS. L. 13. -Wit, whither wilt ] This must be fome allufion to a story well known at that time, though now perhaps irretrievable. JOHNS. That is, reSir T. HanJOHNS. P. 494. 1. 3. -I will think you the most pathetical breakpromife. There is neither fenfe nor humour in this expreffion. We fhould certainly read, atheistical break-promife. His anfwer confirms it, that he would keep his promise with no lefs religion, than WARB. L. 20. make her fault her bufband's occafion.] prefent her fault as occafioned by her husband. mer reads, her husband's accufation. Ibid.] I do not fee but that pathetical may ftand, which feems to afford as much fence and as much humour as atheiftical. JOHNS. Ibid.] The meaning is, That of all break-promifes he best counterfeits a real paffion. REVIS.* P. 495. 1. 11. In former editions: Then fing him home, the reft shall bear this burden.] This is no admirable inftance of the fagacity of our preceding editors, to fay nothing worfe. One would expect, when they were poets, they would at least have taken care of the rhimes, and not foisted in what has nothing to anfwer it. The reft fhall bear the burden. A marginal note is wifely thrust into the text: the fong being defign'd to be fung by a fingle voice, and the ftanzas to clofe with a burden to be fung by the whole company. THEOB Ibid.] This Song is thus printed by CAPELL. 1. V. What shall he have, that kill'd the deer? Both. Take thou no fcorn To wear the horn, the lufty born; The horn, the horn, the lufty horn, Is not a thing to laugh to fcorn. Sc. 5.] The foregoing noify fcene was introduced to fill up an interval, which is to reprefent two hours. This contraction of the time we might impute to poor Rofalind's impatience, but that a few minutes after we find Orlando fending his excufe. I do not fee that by any probable divifion of the acts this abfurdity can be obviated. JOHNS. P. 497. 1. 17. Youth and kind.] Kind is the old word for :nature. P. 499. 1. 1. Within an hour.] We must read, within two bours. JOHNS. JOHNS. P. 500. 1. 1. Hurtling.] Skirmishing. L. 32. Coufin, Ganymed.] Celia in her first fright forgets Rofalind's character and difguife, and calls out coufin, then recollects herself and fays Ganymede. JOHNS. P. 502. 27. The heathen philofopher, when he defired to eat a grape, &c.] This was defigned as a fneer on the several trifling and infignificant fayings and actions, recorded of the ancient philofophers, by the writers of their lives, such as Diogenes Laertius, Philoftratus, Eunapius, &c. as appears from its being introduced by one of their wife fayings. WARB. P. 503. 1. 17. I will deal in poifon with thee, or in baftinado, or in feel; I will bandy with thee in faction, &c.] All this feems to be an allufion to Sir Thomas Overbury's affair. WARB. Ibid.] If Dr. W. had caft his eye on our hiftory, he would have found, that this affair of poisoning Overbury did not break out till the year 1615, long after Shakespeare had quitted the ftage, REVIS.* P. 504. 1. 15. And you, fair fifter.] I know not why Oliver fhould call Rofalind fifter. He takes her yet to be a man. I fuppofe we should read, and you, and your fair fifter. JOHNS. Ibid.] Oliver fpeaks to her in the character fhe has affumed, of a woman courted by Orlando his brother. CHAMIER. L. 26. But the fight of two rams.] Read, agreeably to Mr. Pope's edition, But the fight of two rams.' REVIS.* P. 505. 1. 4. Clubs cannot part them.] Alluding to the way of parting dogs in wrath. JOHNS. L. 29. Human as he is.] That is, not a phantom, but the real Rofalind, without any of the danger generally conceived to attend the rites of incantation. JOHNS. L. 32. Which I tender dearly, tho' I fay, I am a magician.] Hence it appears this was written in James's time, when there was a fevere inquifition after witches and magicians. WARE. P. 506. 1. 25. All purity, all trial, all obfervance.] As the word obfervance, had been already employed bnt two lines before, might not the poet poffibly have written in this place, all perfeverance, which follows very aptly after trial? The metre will very well admit it; only an anapæft is fubstituted for an iambick juft before the hypercatalectick fyllable. REVIS. P. 508. 1. 9.] The ftanzas of this fong are in all the editions evidently tranfpofed: as I have regulated them, that which in the former copics was the second stanza is now the THIRLBY & JOHNS. L. 27. Truly, young gentleman, tho' there was no great matier laft. |