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THIS  BOOK  IS  FOR  REFERENCE 
USE  ONLY  AND. MAY  NOT  BE  TAKEN 
FROM  THE  ROOM. 


C  Y  M  B  E  L I  N  E 


A    M<;\V   VARIORUM    EDITION 


SHAKESPEARE 


THE   T R  A  c  E  D  -'/'i 


OF 


CYMB  ELINE  ..;$. 


EDITED    BY 


HORACE  HOWARD  FURNESS 


PHILADELPHIA 
J.    15.    UPPINCOTT    COMPANY 

LONDON:  16  JOHN  STREET,  ADELPHI 


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IN    MEMORIAM 


FOREWORD 


THE  last  letter  written  to  me  by  DR  FURNESS  on  August  10, 
1912,  three  days  before  his  death,  contains,  in  reference  to  this 
his  final  work,  words  far  fitter  than  any  I  might  write  to  serve 
as  an  introduction  to  the  present  volume.  Thus  he  wrote: — 'All 
the  Commentary  is  ready  for  the  printer,  and  Preface  almost 
ready.  The  Source  of  the  Plot,  and  Date  of  Composition,  all 
finished  and  type-written.  I've  many  a  time  gone  to  press  when 
I've  been  not  nearly  as  ready  as  I  am  now  with  Cym.'  I  have 
considered  it  best  to  present  the  volume  as  left  by  its  Editor,  and 
have,  therefore,  not  ventured  to  supply  the  articles  on  Stage  His- 
tory of  the  Play,  Actors'  Interpretations,  or  the  List  of  Books  con- 
sulted. The  Index — indispensable  to  these  volumes — has  been  com- 
piled by  Dr  Benson  B.  Charles,  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania. 

-      H.  H.  F.,  JR. 

October,  1913 


PREFACE 


'THIS  play  has  many  just  sentiments,  some  natural  dialogues,  and 
some  pleasing  scenes,  but  they  are  obtained  at  the  expense  of  much 
incongruity. 

'To  remark  the  folly  of  the  fiction,  the  absurdity  of  the  conduct,  the 
confusion  of  the  names  and  manners  of  different  times,  and  the  impos- 
sibility of  the  events  in  any  system  of  life  were  to  waste  criticism  upon 
unresisting  imbecility,  upon  faults  too  evident  for  detection,  and  too 
gross  for  aggravation.'  Time  was  when  my  youthful  eyes  were  dazzled 
by  the  charms  of  Imogen,  that  my  only  comment  on  this  note  by  Dr 
Johnson  was  irrepressible  laughter, — so  stately  was  it  in  its  language, 
so  patronising  in  its  tone,  and  so  purblind  in  its  appreciation  of  one 
whose  name  Dr  Johnson  could  never,  never  have  imagined  would  be 
pronounced  'the  greatest  in  all  literature.'  Time  brings  in  its  revenges, 
however,  and  if  grizzling  hair  the  brain  doth  clear,  what  clarifying 
results  may  not  be  expected  from  hair  snow-white?  It  is  even  so. 
Laughter  died  away  into  a  smile,  the  smile  lapsed  into  a  sad  brow, 
and  the  wrinkled  brow  into  a  vague  assent.  Ay,  Dr  Johnson  was 
right  in  his  estimate  of  this  play  of  Cymbeline, — the  sweetest,  tender- 
est,  profoundest  of  almost  all  the  immortal  galaxy. 

If,  then,  this  play  be  open  to  such  a  criticism  as  Dr  Johnson's, 
which  by  one  eminent  critic*  has  been  pronounced  'true'  and  even 
'moderate,'  whence  comes  then  this  deterioration?  It  can  be  only 
indirectly  due  to  advancing  years.  Although  forty-six  years  of  age 
can  hardly  inaugurate  physical  or  intellectual  senility,  yet  into  that 
span  there  may  have  been  compressed  an  emotional  life  far  outspan- 
ning  the  Psalmist's  threescore  years  and  ten.  Indeed,  it  is  not  difficult 
to  fancy  that  at  this  period  there  may  have  crept  into  Shakespeare's 
study  of  imagination  a  certain  weariness  of  soul  in  contemplating  in 
review  the  vast  throng  of  his  dream-children.  What  possible  joy  can 
thrill  the  human  breast  that  he  has  not  experienced  and  revealed? 
What  pain  or  anguish,  remorse  or  guilt  that  can  rack  the  soul  has  he 
not  vicariously  borne?  And  now  a  sufficing  harvest  of  fame  is  his, 

*  See  Shakespeare,  by  Walter  Raleigh,  1909,  p.  142. 


VI 


PREFACE 


and  honest  wealth,  accompanied  by  honour,  love,  obedience,  and 
troops  of  friends.  Thus  at  last,  safe  moored  within  a  waveless  bay, 
what  more  has  life  to  offer? 

But  inaction  is  not  rest,  and  I  can  most  reverently  fancy  that 
he  is  once  more  allured  by  the  joy  of  creation  when  by  chance  there 
falls  in  his  way  the  old,  old  story  of  a  husband  convinced,  through 
villainy,  of  his  wife's  infidelity.  Thereupon  there  begins  to  live  and 
breathe  before  him  the  heavenly  Imogen,  fair  as  Miranda,  in  colour 
warmer  than  Hermione.  The  woman  tempted  him  and  he  fell,— 
to  the  infinite  happiness  of  all. 

For  a  secondary  plot  anything  will  do,  only  let  its  scene  and  time 
be  remote  enough  to  allow  free  scope  in  manners  and  customs. 
Holinshed,  the  faithful  old  standby,  will  quickly  enough  furnish  all 
that  is  needed.  As  for  the  tedious  drudgery  of  the  minor  char- 
acters, is  there  not  many  a  friend  who  will  assume  all  this  portion 
of  the  task?  When  my  fancy  thus  works  I  do  not  forget  what  en- 
thusiastic Leonard  Digges,  who  must  have  been  one  of  Shakespeare's 
ardent  young  admirers,  says  on  this  very  subject,  that  Shakespeare 
does  not 

Tlagiari-like  from  others  gleane, 
Nor  begges  he  from  each  witty  friend  a  Scene 
To  peece  his  Acts  with,  all  that  he  doth  write, 
Is  pure  his  owne,  plot,  language  exquisite.' 

We  of  this  day,  however,  know  better,  and  love  Shakespeare  with  a 
truer  respect  than  even  his  warm-hearted  friend.  There  are  scenes 
on  scenes  in  many  of  the  Plays  which  no  love  for  Shakespeare  can  be 
so  blind  as  not  to  see  that  they  could  never  have  been  written  by  him. 
'That  some  portions'  [of  Troilus  and  Cressida],  says  Dyce,*  'particu- 
larly towards  the  end,  are  from  the  pen  of  a  very  inferior  dramatist 
is  unquestionable.'  SPEDDING  has  conclusively  proved  that  there  is 
a  joint  authorship — Shakespeare  and  Fletcher — in  Henry  the  Eighth.] 
FLEAY  has  shown  that  only  a  portion  of  Timon  is  by  Shakespeare,  J 
and  Tennyson  maintained  the  same  in  regard  to  Pericles. §  Thus, 
then,  I  believe  that  Cymbeline  grew, — the  joint  work  of  two  minds;  and 
in  studying  it  the  uncritical  position  is  forced  on  us  of  claiming  for 
Shakespeare  all  that  is  good  and  abandoning  to  the  unknown  assist- 

*  Works,  vol.  vi,  p.  2. 

f  Shakespeare  Society  Transactions,  1874,  p.  i. 

J  See  op.  cit.,  p.  130.  §  See  op.  cit.,  p.  252. 


PREFACE  vii 

ant  all  that  is  weak  or  trivial,  or,  in  short,  all  that  Dr  Johnson  con- 
demns. 

Regarded  broadly,  I  believe  that  the  Imogen  love  story  and  all  that 
immediately  touched  it  interested  Shakespeare  deeply;  the  Cymbeline 
portion  was  turned  over  to  the  assistant,  who  at  times  grew  vainglor- 
ious and  inserted  here  and  there,  even  on  the  ground  sacred  to  Imogen, 
lines  and  sentiments  that  shine  by  their  dulness.  Nay,  one  whole 
character  was,  I  think,  confided  to  him.  It  is  Belarius — who  bored 
Shakespeare.  To  rehabilitate  that  hoary  scoundrel  was  not  (I  may 
not  say)  too  great  a  task  for  Shakespeare,  but  one  that  would  divert 
him  from  fairer  and  more  entrancing  subjects.  He,  therefore,  per- 
mitted his  fellow-craftsman  to  convert  into  a  sanctimonious  braggart 
a  man  who,  for  a  personal  affront,  committed  a  crime  against  human- 
ity as  black  as  may  be  found,  and  an  act  of  treachery  against  the  State 
so  foul  that  death  by  torture  would  have  been,  for  that  era,  the  sole 
amends.  This  treason  Belarius  did  not  commit  unwittingly.  He 
knew  it  was  treason  and  acknowledged  it.*  And  he  knew  well  enough 
that  in  stealing  the  King's  sons  he  crushed  a  father's  heart,  and  the 
more  agonising  the  father's  tears,  the  more  highly  he  exulted  in  his 
success. f  And  finally,  as  the  lowest  abysm  of  his  baseness,  he  has 
the  brazen  effrontery  to  demand  of  Cymbeline  payment  in  cash  for 
his  sons'  board  during  all  the  years  they  have  been  stolen.  \  To 
be  sure,  he  adds  that  he  will  return  the  money  as  soon  as  it  is  paid. 
Not  he.  Once  a  thief,  always  a  thief.  He  is  not  for  an  instant  to 
be  trusted. 

Of  course,  I  would  not  be  understood  as  asserting  that  Shakespeare 
had  no  part  or  lot  in  the  Holinshed  scenes.  Here  and  there  through- 
out our  course,  first  on  one  side  and  then  on  the  other,  we  feel  the  un- 
erring noiseless  stroke  that  keeps  the  canoe  headed  straight  for  the 
goal. 

In  the  Fifth  Act  a  masque  is  given,  which  from  Pope's  day  to  the 
present  is  regarded  by  a  large  majority  of  editors  and  critics  as  an 
intrusive  insertion  by  some  hand  not  Shakespeare's.  STEEVENS 
termed  it  'contemptible  nonsense.'  Although  this  eminent  editor 
may  not  be  far  wrong  on  the  present  occasion,  we  cannot  but  remember 
that  he  it  was  that  asserted  that  the  'strongest  act  of  Parliament  that 
'could  be  framed  would  fail  to  compel'  us  to  read  the  Sonnets.  STAUN- 
TON  called  it  'pitiful  mummery,'  and  there  is  many  another  uncompli- 
mentary remark  by  eminent  critics.  In  discussing  his  treatment  of 

*  Act  V,  sc.  v,  line  411.  t  Act  V,  sc.  v,  lines  411-413. 

J  Act  V,  sc.  v,  line  386. 


viii  PREFACE 

the  Text,  Pope,  in  his  excellent  Preface,  explains  that  'some  suspected 
'passages  which  are  excessively  bad  and  which  seem  interpolations 
'by  being  so  inserted  that  one  can  entirely  omit  them  without  any 
'chasm,  or  deficiency  in  the  context,  are  degraded  to  the  bottom  of 
'the  page.'  To  this  degradation  to  the  foot  of  his  page  Pope  has 
subjected  the  whole  of  this  'excessively  bad'  masque.  If  an  audacious 
hand  has  thus  dared  to  thrust  its  fingers  into  one  of  Shakespeare's 
wonderful  scenes,  and  interpolate  nigh  a  hundred  lines,  may  we  not 
suspect  that  no  sense  of  sacrilege  would  restrain  it  from  similar  inter- 
polations elsewhere?  I  do  not  say  it  is  always  the  same  hand,  but  it 
is  a  hand  which  had  a  faith  in  its  own  cunning  greater  than  in  Shake- 
speare's. And  it  is  these  intrusions,  sometimes  inane  and  sometimes 
silly,  which  in  the  aggregate  possibly  prompted  some  of  the  allusions 
in  Dr  Johnson's  criticism. 

No  consideration  for  the  solemnity  of  hour  or  for  consistency  of 
character  restrains  the  interpolator,  who  had  evidently  a  knack  for 
rhyming,  and  liked  a  jingle  at  the  end  of  a  scene.  For  instance,  in  the 
Sixth  Scene  of  the  First  Act,  when  the  desperate  character  of  the 
Queen  is  for  the  first  time  fully  revealed  to  us  in  all  its  enormity,  and 
there  are  dark  intimations  that  Imogen  is  to  be  killed  by  poison,  she 
sounds  Pisanio  to  see  if  she  can  make  him  her  accomplice,  and  leaves 
him  with  the  ominous  expression,  uttered  with  penetrating  signifi- 
cance, 'Think  on  my  words!'  After  the  door  has  closed  behind  her 
Pisanio  says,  with  equal  significance,  'And  shall  do!'  and  we  receive 
instant  relief  in  this  assurance  that  he  sees  through  her  evil  designs,  and 
will  remain  staunch  and  true  to  Imogen  and  to  Posthumus.  And  then 
comes  in  the  interloper  with  his  jarring  tag: 

'But  when  to  my  good  lord,  I  prove  untrue 
I'll  choke  myself;  there's  all  I'll  do  for  you.1 

Were  this  play  a  comedy,  these  lines  would  be  well  enough.  They 
superfluously  make  assurance  double  sure.  But  the  atmosphere  is  as 
tragic  up  to  the  very  last  scene  as  any  downright  tragedies;  there  is 
not  a  comic  character  in  it,  and  to  give  a  comic  turn  to  any  speech  of 
Pisanio,  on  whose  weary,  faithful  shoulders  so  much  of  the  tragedy 
rests,  is,  as  it  seems  to  me,  utterly  unShakespearian. 

Again,  it  is  rather  too  late  a  day  to  urge  the  truth  to  themselves  of 
all  of  Shakespeare's  characters;  they  are  always  perfectly  consistent; 
they  may  in  fleeting  expressions  bear  the  impress  of  Elizabethan  times, 
as  Imogen  in  her  intensest  agony  may  refer  to  ^Eneas  and  to  Sinon, 


PREFACE  ix 

whose  faithful  stories  were  told  in  the  pictured  tapestries  of  her  child- 
hood, and  whose  names  instinctively  now  rise  to  her  lips  as  best  ex- 
pressing her  breaking  heart.  But  what  I  mean  is  that  Shakespeare 
does  not  put  ethical  problems  of  life  into  the  mouth  of  a  born  fool  or 
stupid  dolt.  Yet,  mark  the  following  passage,  and  say,  if  you  can, 
that  Shakespeare  ever  could  have  wished  us  to  believe  that  an  'ass' 
like  Cloten — who  cannot  take  two  from  twenty,  for  his  heart  and  leave 
eighteen — could  have  moralised  the  time  and  the  effect  of  saint- 
seducing  gold: 

'Cloten.     If  she  be  up,  I'll  speak  with  her:  if  not 
Let  her  lie  still  and  dream :  by  your  leave,  ho. 
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  false  themselves,  yield  up 
Their  deer  to  the'  stand  0'  tti  stealer:  and  'tis  gold 
Which  makes  the  true-man  kilVd,  and  saves  the  thief. 
Nay  sometimes  hangs  both  Thief,  and  true-man:  what 
Can  it  not  do  and  undo?     I  will  make 
One  of  her  women  lawyer  to  me,  for 
I  yet  not  understand  the  case  my  selfe. 
By  your  leave.'- -II,  iii,  70-82. 

There  are  instances,  possibly  even  more  gross  than  this,  where 
sentiments  utterly  foreign  to  their  characters  or  to  their  experience 
in  life  are  ascribed  to  the  speakers.  Thus,  in  the  exquisite  lament  over 
Imogen  by  young  Arviragus,  whose  thoughts  dwell  on  the  flower-like 
beauty  of  his  lovely  sister,  and  he  tells  of  pale  primroses,  and  the 
azured  harebells,  and  the  leafy  eglantine  with  which  he  could  cover 
her,  and  then — 

'the  ruddock  would 

With  charitable  bill  (0  bill  sore-shaming 
Those  rich-left  heirs  that  let  their  fathers  lie 
Without  a  monument}.' — IV,  ii,  292,  etc. 

Had  the  interpolator  no  wit,  manners,  nor  modesty  to  put  such  a  simile 
into  the  mouth  of  a  sorrowing  youth  who  had  been  from  his  swathing 
clothes  housed  in  a  rock?  And,  as  though  unwilling  that  Arviragus 
should  be  solitary  in  the  use  of  impossible  allusions,  the  interpolator 


X 


PREFACE 


gives  to  Guiderius  a  reference  which  is  quite  as  foreign  to  any  possible 
knowledge  that  the  mountain-bred  youth  could  have  acquired.  It 
is  in  the  same  scene  a  few  lines  further  on,  where  the  younger  brother 
proposes  to  sing  the  Dirge,  although  their  voices  have  got  the  mannish 
crack.  (Would  Shakespeare  have  made  this  mistake?  Guiderius 
was  now  twenty-three  and  Arviragus  twenty-one.  If  it  be  urged  that 
the  only  youths  in  the  company  at  the  Globe  at  that  time  capable 
of  playing  the  parts  of  these  two  brothers  had  the  'mannish  crack/ 
I  can  only  say  that  this  is  to  set  a  limit  to  Shakespeare's  resources  in 
framing  palliations  for  such  deficiencies,  which  I  for  one  refuse  to  set. 
He  probably  encountered  the  same  deficiency  in  Twelfth  Night,  where 
the  song  that  Viola  should  sing  was  most  adroitly  shifted  to  the 
skill  of  Feste.)  Guiderius,  however,  refuses  to  attempt  to  sing,  but 
says: 

'I'll  weepe  and  word  it  with  thee, 

For  notes  of  sorrow,  out  of  tune,  are  worse 

Than  Priests  and  Fanes  that  lie.' 

Apart  from  the  absurdity  (of  which  Shakespeare  could  never,  never, 
never  have  been  guilty)  that  a  false  note  in  music  betokened  false 
sorrow,  what  could  Guiderius  have  known  of  priests,  be  they  truthful 
or  lying?  Or  what  of  fanes,  either  hallowed  or  fictitious,  when  he  had 
never  seen  a  church?  Not  of  such  are  Shakespeare's  oversights  made. 
Amid  these  surreptitious  interpolations  it  is  refreshing  to  come 
across  one  which  openly  proclaims  itself  a  quotation.  Why  there 
should  be  this  spasmodic  honesty  it  is  not  easy  to  divine.  Though 
the  favour  be  small,  yet  we  should  be  grateful.  In  the  Second  Scene 
of  the  Fourth  Act,  Imogen,  broken  in  heart  and  body,  begs  Belarius 
and  the  two  youths  to  set  forth  on  their  daily  hunt  without  regard  to 
her,  for  she  is  Very  sick';  they  must  not  stay  behind  on  her  account, 
society  is  no  comfort  to  one  not  sociable,  and  then,  with  an  exquisite 
attempt  at  self-forgetting  cheerfulness,  she  adds,  'I  am  not  very  sick 
since  I  can  reason  of  it.'  Each  of  the  youths  in  turn  protest  their 
love  and  devotion  to  the  fascinating  boy.  The  elder,  Guiderius,  as- 
serts that  he  loves  him  as  much  as  his  own  father,  Belarius.  The 
younger,  Arviragus,  of  a  temperament  more  poetic  and  sentimental 
than  his  brother,  goes  further  and  says  that  he  loves  him  better  than 
his  father. 

'O  noble  strain!'  muses  Belarius  aside, 
0  worthiness  of  nature!  breed  of  greatness! 


PREFA  CE  xi 

"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,  loved  before  me. 
.  'Tis  the  ninth  hour  of  morn.' 

The  inverted  commas  here  mark  the  honest  man.  Let  us  not  tarnish 
his  virtue  by  the  suggestion  that  to  shift  elsewhere  the  paternity  of 
such  commonplace  twaddle  is  not  devoid  of  shrewdness.  This  mode  of 
indicating  a  quotation,  which,  I  believe,  has  not  been  here  retained 
in  the  text  of  any  modern  edition,  is  to  be  found  occasionally  in  the 
Folio.  Mr  SIMPSON,  in  his  excellent  and  observant  little  book  on 
Shakespearian  Punctuation,  has  noted  four  or  five  examples  of  it. 

The  insanabile  emendandi  coccethes  is  not  alleviated,  however,  by 
any  inverted  commas;  a  recrudescence  of  the  ailment,  aggravated  by 
an  attack  of  rhyme,  at  times  befalls  on  most  inopportune  occasions, 
even  while  Imogen  is  speaking.  Thus,  in  the  scene  just  quoted,  a  few 
lines  further  on,  Imogen  says  aside: 

These  are  kind  creatures!     Gods,  what  lies  I  have  heard! 

Our  courtiers  say  all's  savage  but  at  court; 

Experience,  O,  thou  disprovest  report! 

Th>  imperious  seas  breed  monsters,  for  the  dish 

Poor  tributary  rivers  as  sweet  fish. 

I  am  sick  still,  heart-sick.     Pisanio, 

I'll  now  taste  thy  drug.' 

Scant  wonder  that  the  poor  child  was  sick. 

Not  even  an  occasion  more  serious  than  this,  nay,  even  more  solemn, 
could  restrain  the  interpolator's  sacrilegious  hands.  Again,  in  this 
same  scene,  as  Belarius  and  Guiderius  are  returning  to  the  cave  they 
hear  the  plaintive  sighing  of  the  'solemn  music'  of  an  ^Eolian  harp, 
and  Belarius  exclaims, 

'My  ingenious  instrument! 
Hark,  Polydore,  it  sounds!     But  what  occasion 
Hath  Cadwal  now  to  give  it  motion?    Hark! 

Guiderius.     Is  he  at  home? 

Belarius.     He  went  from  hence  even  now. 

Guiderius.  What  does  he  mean?  since  death  of  my  dear'st  Mother 
It  did  not  speak  before.  All  solemn  things 


PREFACE 

Should  answer  solemn  accidents.     The  matter? 
Triumphs  for  nothing  and  lamenting  toys 
Is  jollity  for  apes  and  grief  for  boys. 
Is  Cadwal  mad?' 

After  such  exhibitions  of  pressing  in  where  angels  tread,  can  we  be 
surprised  that  a  jingling  tag,  with  the  monotonous  rhyme  of  'must' 
and  'dust,'  is  appended  to  three  of  the  stanzas  of  'The  Dirge'?  After 
the  first  stanza  is  there,  in  the  assertion  that  'golden  lads  and  girls 
'all  must  like  chimney-sweepers  come  to  dust,'  a  feeble  jocosity  in- 
tended in  the  reference  to  the  dust  of  the  chimney-sweeper's  bag?  No 
suggestion  is  too  trifling  or  too  bad.  And  any  one  who  would  believe 
that  Shakespeare  could  have  written  the  lack-luster  line  'All  lovers 
'young,  all  lovers  mus?  will  believe  anything.  Unquestionably  the 
author  of  the  word  'consign,'  in  the  phrase  'consign  to  thee,'  would  have 
been  most  grateful  to  Dr  Johnson  for  devising  a  meaning  for  it;  he 
knew  of  none  himself. 

Rhymes  occurring  in  blank  verse  are  suspicious,  especially  if  pom- 
pously enunciating  a  commonplace.  Thus, 

' 'Imogen.     Your  life,  good  master, 
Must  shuffle  for  itself. 

Lucius.     The  boy  disdains  me, 
He  leaves  me,  scorns  me;  Briefly  die  their  joys, 
That  place  them  in  the  truth  of  girls  and  boys. 
Why  stands  he  so  perplex'd?'- -V,  v,  125,  etc. 

The  omission  of  the  lines  in  italics  leaves  a  hardly  perceptible  gap  in 
the  metre. 

In  the  following  passage  I  mistrust  the  concluding  lines.  It  is  in 
the  First  Scene  of  the  last  Act, — a  scene  whereof  it  is  impossible  to 
exaggerate  the  dramatic  importance.  We  meet  Posthumus  for  the 
first  time  since  lachimo's  triumph  and  since  his  unpardonable 
distrust  of  Imogen  and  brutal  commands  to  Pisanio.  And  although 
we  have  not  seen  him,  yet  every  fresh  sorrow  that  has  befallen  Imogen 
has  quickened  our  hot  anger  against  the  cause  of  it.  Now,  however, 
as  we  draw  towards  a  serene  close  of  the  tragedy,  more  lenient  feelings 
towards  Posthumus  must  be  the  harbingers  of  peace.  We  must  see  the 
devotion  of  a  love  so  triumphant  that  every  thought  of  sin  is  cast 
away  and  the  object  of  it  accepted  by  the  throned  gods.  There 
must  be  the  revelation  of  a  repentance  so  profound  that  its  only  expia- 


PREFA CE 


Xlll 


tion  is  death;  every  phrase,  every  word  must  stamp  this  high  resolve; 
and  every  phrase,  every  word  that  does  not  bear  this  stamp  weakens 
the  impression  and  blurs  our  sympathy. 

"Tis  enough 

That,  Britain,  I  have  killed  thy  mistress-piece, 
I'll  give  no  wound  to  thee.     Therefore,  good  heavens, 
Hear  patiently  my  purpose;  I'll  disrobe  myself 
Of  these  Italian  weeds,  and  suit  myself 
As  does  a  Britain  peasant;  so  I'll  fight 
Against  the  part  I  come  with;  so  I'll  die 
For  thee,  0  Imogen,  even  for  whom  my  life 
Is,  every  breath,  a  death;  and  this,  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  of  the  world,  I  will  begin 
The  fashion  less  without  and  more  within.' 

Can  anything  allay  the  good  precedence  more  effectually  than  these 
last  four  or  five  lines?  It  was  not  then,  it  appears,  to  die  unknown  and 
unpitied  for  Imogen's  dear  sake  that  he  put  on  a  peasant's  dress,  but 
to  show  off  and  make  people  stare.  This  braggart  poseur  would  be 
dressed  as  a  beggar  and  fight  like  a  lion.  Instead  of  seeking  death,  he 
would  give  it,  and,  by  thus  winning  so  much  cheap  admiration,  he— 
he,  whose  every  breath  was  death  for  Imogen's  sake,  would — Heaven 
save  the  mark! — set  the  fashion  of  bad  clothes  to  offset  good  fighting! 

The  last  line  of  the  Fourth  Scene  of  the  Second  Act  jars  in  the 
reading,  and  seems  to  me  an  excrescence  of  the  interpolator: 

'Posthumus.     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.' 

Were  this  a  solitary  example,  it  would  not  be  worth  the  mention. 
It  is  given  here  for  cumulative  effect. 

I  doubt  the  genuineness  of  the  whole  of  the  following  passage.  Its 
metaphors  are  forced  and  involved,  and  in  the  reference  to  'winds  that 
'sailors  rail  at'  there  is  an  allusion  that  no  inland,  mountain-bred  youth 
would  ever  dream  of: 


XIV 


PREFA  CE 


'Arvir.     Nobly  he  yokes 
A  smiling  with  a  sigh;  as  if  the  sigh 
Was  what  it  was,  for  not  being  such  a  smile; 
The  smile  mocking  the  sigh,  that  it  would  fly 
From  so  divine  a  temple,  to  commix 
With  winds  that  sailors  rail  at. 

Guid.     I  do  note 

That  grief  and  patience  rooted  in  him  both, 
Mingle  their  spurs  together. 

Arvir.     Grow  patience! 
And  let  the  stinking  elder,  grief,  untwine 
His  perishing  root  with  the  increasing  vine. 

BeL     It  is  great  morning — Come  away!' — IV,  ii,  70,  etc. 

Finally,  the  last  scene  of  all  has  been  most  highly  extolled  for  the 
marvelous  dramatic  skill  wherewith  all  the  characters,  without  any 
violation  of  probability,  are  brought  together  and  all  dramatic  knots 
are  untied.  The  scene  is  not,  however,  flawless.  There  are,  I  think, 
two  passages  where  the  trail  of  the  interpolator  may  be  traced.  One 
is  where  the  Soothsayer  is  called  in  to  explain  the  'label'  which  the 
interpolator  had  left  on  Posthumus's  bosom;  the  label  and  its  explana- 
tion are  merely  vapid;  and  as  they  are  compressed  within  forty  lines 
they  may  be  stoically  endured. 

The  other  passage,  however,  involves  a  fault  not  so  readily  condoned, 
although  in  both  cases  the  sovereign'st  remedy  is  omission.  If  what 
Dr  Johnson  said  of  Henry  the  Eighth  be  true,  that  'the  genius  of  Shake- 
'speare  comes  in  and  goes  out  with  Katherine,'  it  may  be  asserted,  I 
think,  with  equal  truth  that  in  the  present  play  this  same  genius  comes 
in  and  goes  out  with  Imogen.  While  she  is  before  us  we  have  eyes  and 
ears  and  hearts  and  thoughts  only  for  her.  And  as,  in  this  last  scene, 
we  approach  the  crisis  of  her  fate  and  mark  her  heaving  breast,  with 
her  whole  soul  sitting  in  those  eyes  which  are  fastened  on  lachimo,  and 
every  feature  glowing  in  the  triumph  of  a  mystery  now  solved,  and  hear 
once  more  the  tones  of  that  dear  voice,  agonised  yet  heavenly,  and,  with 
her,  we  are  smitten  to  the  earth  by  that  blind  hand,  who  of  us,  who  has 
ever  felt  what  it  is  to  love  or  be  loved,  but  knows  that  with  the  first 
glimmer  of  returning  consciousness  there  is  the  one  sole  impulse  to 
spring  into  those  arms,  now  stretched  in  staggering  welcome,  with  the 
glad  cry  that  here  again  was  love  as  firm  as  earth's  rocky  base?  In- 
stead of  this,  what  has  the  wretched  interpolator  given  us?  With 
reviving  consciousness  Imogen  begins  an  unseemly  squabble  with 


PREFACE 


xv 


Pisanio!  About  a  drug!  It  made  her  ill!  Then  poor  old  doddering 
Cornelius  must  needs  be  brought  forward,  and  must  tell  again  in  prosy 
words  what  he  had  told  us  all  once  before,  even  to  the  very  same  refer- 
ence to  'cats  and  dogs'!  All  this  while  poor  Posthumus  has  nothing 
to  do  but  shift  first  on  one  foot  and  then  on  the  other,  and  listen  open- 
eyed  to  Imogen's  quarrel  about  some  mysterious  poison.  When  at 
last  Pisanio's  and  Cornelius's  explanation  has  satisfied  Imogen,  and 
the  curiosity  of  Belarius  and  Guiderius  and  Arviragus  is  allayed  about 
the  boy  Fidele,  then  Imogen  arises  and,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  after  care- 
fully dusting  her  clothes  (I  marvel  that  the  interpolator  did  not  insert 
this  tidy  act  as  a  stage  direction),  she  turns  at  last  to  Posthumus. 

Oxen  and  wainropes  cannot  hail  me  to  the  conviction  that  the  pass- 
ages which  I  have  specified  in  the  foregoing  pages  are  Shakespeare's. 
Whose  they  are  I  care  neither  to  know  nor  even  to  surmise.  I  know 
only  that  they  are  not  Shakespeare's. 

From  the  earliest  editorial  days,  the  days  of  Pope,  as  I  have  already 
remarked,  gross  inequalities  have  been  recognised  in  this  play.  To 
account  for  them  it  has  been  suggested  in  modern  days  that  it  was 
written  by  Shakespeare  at  different  periods  of  his  life,  begun  in  youth, 
possibly,  and  revised  in  his  maturer  prime.  Let  those  believe  it  who 
list.  For  myself,  by  no  stretch  of  imagination  can  I  picture  Shake- 
speare young  enough  (and  we  know  him  in  pretty  early  youth  in 
Venus  and  Adonis  and  in  Lucrece)  to  be  so  devoid  of  dramatic  instinct, 
so  barren  of  poesy  as  to  intermingle  within  the  limit  of  a  single  play 
such  heights  of  poetry  and  depths  of  'unresisting  imbecility.' 

In  the  course  of  conversation  between  two  Gentlemen  at  the  open- 
ing of  the  play  it  is  stated  that  Imogen  is  'wedded'  to  Posthumus,  and 
again  that  the  latter  is  banished  because  he  had  'married'  Imogen. 
And  Imogen  herself  in  the  next  scene  says,  'a  Wedded-Lady,  That  hath 
her  Husband  banish'd:  O  that  Husband,'  and  further,  in  the  last  Act, 
exclaims  to  Posthumus,  'why  did  you  throw  your  wredded  lady  from 
you?'  If  Imogen  were  thus  irrevocably  married,  how  is  it  that  the 
Queen  plots  to  force  her  son  Cloten  on  Imogen  as  a  husband,  and  Cloten 
himself  woos  her  to  be  his  wife?  How  can  she  be  married  to  another 
while  Posthumus  is  alive?  He  is  merely  banished.  But  does  not  the 
Queen  here  supply  a  solution  to  the  problem?  She  says  in  effect  that 
Pisanio  as  long  as  he  lives  will  be  a  witness,  or  a  'remembrancer/ 
possibly  the  only  witness,  to  the  'handfasting'  between  Posthumus  and 
Imogen.  Their  marriage  was  not  then  complete.  It  was  merely  a 
'trothplight,'  and,  not  having  been  blest  by  Holy  Church,  was  not  irre- 


xvi  PREFACE 

vocable, — certainly  not  if  royal  influence  be  brought  to  bear.  When 
Cloten  (II,  iii.)  woos  Imogen,  not  once  did  she  appeal  to  the  insuper- 
able barrier  of  her  marriage.  That  the  Handfasting  was  to  her  a 
ceremony  as  holy  as  marriage  itself  is  evident  by  her  calling  Cloten 
a  'profane  fellow'  when  he  had  asserted  that  her  pretended  contract 
with  Posthumus  was  no  contract,  at  least  among  royalties,  as  he  says, 
although  among  the  common  people  a  self-figured  knot,  such  as  a 
'handfast'  is,  might  be  deemed  an  impediment.  Among  the  legal 
depositions  taken  for  the  violation  of  Trothplight,  printed  by  Furnivall 
in  his  Essay  on  Child-Marriages,  &c.  (E.  E.  T.  Soc.,  p.  Ixxx,  foot-note, 
1897),  there  is  one  which  sets  forth  the  ceremony  of  hand-fasting: 
'22  July,  1563,  ...  the  said  Gilberte,  holding  Margery  bie  the  hand, 
said,  "I  Gilberte,  take  the,  Margery,  to  be  my  wedded  wief."  &  the 
said,  Margery,  said  likewise,  she  holding  the  said  Gilberte  by  the  hand, 
and  they  witnes,  seynge  them  handfast  and  trought-plightid,  thought 
it  ynoughe;  but  Gilberte  would  be  more  sure,  and  sware  upon  a  boke 
which  the  dark,  at  the  instance  of  the  said  Gilberte,  send  for,  and 
the  said  Margery  and  Gilberte  sware  upon  the  boke:  &  the  said  Mar- 
gery swore  she  would  neuer  wedd  any  other  man  but  the  said  Gilberte. 
and  after  that,  they  kissed,  and  so  went  into  the  clarkes  house,  and 
Dined  together  after.' 

In  the  chronology  of  these  plays, — a  subject  which  cannot  add 
anything  to  their  inherent  charm,  and  wherein  I  am  by  nature  inca- 
pacitated to  take  more  than  a  tepid  interest, — it  is  conceded,  with  an 
unusual  degree  of  unanimity,  that  The  Winter's  Tale,  The  Tempest, 
and  the  present  play  are  among  the  latest  written  by  Shakespeare. 
So  different  are  they  from  the  Comedies,  the  Tragedies,  and  the 
Historical  Plays,  in  substance  and  in  form,  that  they  have  been  placed 
in  a  class  by  themselves  and  styled  the  'Romantic  Plays,'  or  'the 
Romances.'  In  the  distinguishing  characteristic  of  their  form,  such  as 
involved  and  elliptical  sentences,  condensed  thought,  and  somewhat 
erratic  versification,  Cymbeline  is  held  to  be  most  pronounced,  and,  of 
the  three,  it  is  also  considered  the  earliest.  To  account  for  these  in- 
equalities, or  differences  in  style  from  preceding  plays,  various  causes 
have  been  assigned, — riper  years  with  a  broader  outlook  on  life  and  a 
profounder  philosophy,  or  it  has  been  supposed  that  the  play  was  left 
unfinished  and  another  and  inferior  hand  had  completed  it;  again, 
that  it  had  been  begun  many  years  earlier,  abandoned,  and  finished 
later,*  without  erasing  the  youthful  passages.  These  causes  may  be 
all  well  found.  They  do  not,  however,  satisfy  me.  I  do  not  object  to 

*  See  Appendix,  p.  445. 


PREFA  CE 


xvu 


accepting  the  condensed  and  elliptical  sentences  as  an  indication  of 
the  wisdom  of  the  years  which  bring  the  philosophic  calm,  but  it  is 
impossible  to  believe  that  Shakespeare  would  have  uttered  in  any 
year  of  his  life  such  trivial  improprieties  as  I  have  specified  above. 
As  to  the  fable  and  its  dramatic  treatment,  there  is,  so  it  is  alleged, 
a  divergence  between  the  Romantic  Plays  (and  Cymbeline  in  particular) 
and  Shakespeare's  earlier  plays  so  wide  that  it  can  be  accounted  for,  so 
it  is  maintained,  only  on  the  supposition  that  it  is  due  to  some  external 
influence.  This  influence  is  to  be  found,  so  it  has  been  stoutly  and 
very  ably  argued,*  in  the  tragi-comedy  of  Philaster,  by  Beaumont  and 
Fletcher,  which  was  acted  some  time  before  1610,  at  The  Globe 
Theatre,  by  'his  Majestie's  Servants,'  that  is,  before  Shakespeare's 
own  audience  and  by  his  own  company.  For  the  preceding  seven  or 
eight  years  the  town  had  been  abundantly  supplied  with  Comedies, 
Tragedies,  and  Historical  Plays,  and  here  was  now  a  play,  built  on 
different  and  novel  lines,  which  achieved  an  instant  and  extraordinary 
success.  There  was  in  it  but  very  slight  development  of  character, 
almost  none  at  all,  it  might  be  said;  the  close  of  each  Act  left  the  au- 
dience at  a  fever-heat;  the  heavens  grew  darker  and  darker  until  no  ray 
of  light  seemed  possible,  when  of  a  sudden  in  the  final  Act  the  sun  shone 
out  from  a  cloudless  sky;  and  through  it  all  from  first  to  last  there 
gleamed  and  glinted  a  sweet  idyllic  devotion  forgetful  of  self  and 
lost  in  love.  The  sight  of  such  a  dramatic  treatment,  seeking 
mainly  immediate  effect,  coupled  with  a  very,  very  close  approach 
to  tragedy,  and  stamped  with  the  instant  approval  of  the  public, 
must  give  a  professional  dramatist  pause  if  he  wished  to  do  his 
duty  to  his  employers.  To  Shakespeare  it  gave  such  a  pause,  and 
the  result  was — so  it  is  urged — Cymbeline. 

Those  who  dislike  the  thought  that  Shakespeare  was  an  imitator,  so 
glibly  and  speedily,  must  appeal  to  chronology  to  decide  the  priority 
in  the  case  of  the  two  dramas, — only  to  be  met  with  chagrin.  For 
neither  play  can  the  date  be  decided  with  certainty,  and  for  both  the 
only  authoritative  external  date  is  the  year  1610.  Dr  Forman  saw 
Cymbeline  acted  'at  the  glob'  in  i6io;f  and  in  a  book  called  Scourge 
of  Folly,  by  John  Davies,  of  Hereford,  whereof  the  solitary  date  is  that 
it  was  entered  at  the  Stationers'  Register  October  8,  i6io,J  there  is  a 
wretched  epigram  on  'Love  lies  ableeding,'  etc.,  addressed  'to  the 
Well  Deserving  Mr.  John  Fletcher.'  Thus  chronology,  in  one  of  the 

*  See  The  Influence  of  Beaumont  and  Fletcher  on  Shakespeare,  by  Ashley  H. 
Thorndike,  Ph.D.,  1901 — Appendix,  p.  443. 

t  See  Appendix,  p.  445.  J  See  Appendix,  p.  443. 


XV111 


PREFACE 


few  cases  where  it  is  of  importance,  deserts  us  altogether,  and  we 
must  abandon  any  attempt  to  decide  whether  or  not  Shakespeare,  con- 
sciously or  unconsciously,  imitated  the  twin  poets.  In  this  dilemma 
may  not  those  who  wish  to  claim  priority  for  Shakespeare  appeal,  Itwill 
not  say  to  the  past  history  of  the  respective  poets,  because  those  who 
uphold  Philaster  as  the  original  maintain  that  Cymbeline  is  composed 
on  new  lines,  but  to  the  power,  originality,  and  ultimate  success  of  the 
two  dramas.  This  last  point  is  capable  of  a  proof  more  undeniable 
than  the  two  others.  Philaster  would  not  to-day  draw  an  audience 
for  its  inherent  charm;  its  fable  is  forgotten;  its  very  name  is  unknown. 
Were  it  even  put  upon  the  stage  it  is  doubtful  whether  or  not  the 
exquisite  charm  of  Euphrasia  would  avail  to  make  a  hero  tolerable 
who  could  wound,  almost  unto  death,  two  women  who  idolised  him. 
The  temptation  is  irresistible  to  refer  here,  maugre  its  inappropriate- 
ness,  to  the  most,  most  touching  lines  of  Euphrasia,  who  in  trying  to 
allay  Philaster's  repentence  for  having  wounded  her  (killed  her,  as  he 
believes)  soothes  him  with  the  words: 

'Alas,  my  lord,  my  life  is  not  a  thing 
Worthy  your  noble  thoughts!  'tis  not  a  life, 
'Tis  but  a  piece  of  childhood  thrown  away.'* 

It  is  no  wish  of  mine  to  say  one  word  in  dispraise  of  Philaster.  It 
is  a  noble  drama,  the  first,  according  to  Dry  den,  to  bring  Beaumont 
and  Fletcher  into  fame,  and  it  continued,  for  more  than  a  hundred 
years,  to  be  highly  popular.  The  causes,  however,  of  its  present  eclipse 
are  not  far  to  seek. 

I  have  spoken  of  public  success  as  a  test  of  superiority,  and  if  of 
superiority,  then,  possibly,  of  priority,  to  which  those  may  appeal  wrho 
are  anxious  to  believe  that  Philaster  followed  Cymbeline.  Personally, 
however,  I  am  not  of  those  who  have  any  anxiety  on  this  score. 
Shakespeare  so  towers  above  all  other  dramatists  in  his  pride  of  place 
that  no  questions  of  priority  or  of  imitation  or  of  plagiarism  reach  him. 
Secure  in  this  faith,  we  can  afford  to  listen  with  interest  to  whatever  may 
be  urged  in  favour  of  the  humbler  circle  about  him.  'Shakespeare,' 
says  HAZLITT,  'towered  above  his  fellows,  "in  shape  and  gesture 
proudly  eminent,"  but  he  was  one  of  a  race  of  giants,  the  tallest,  the 
'strongest,  the  most  graceful  and  beautiful  of  them;  but  it  was  a  com- 
'mon  and  a  noble  brood. 'f  DYCE  quotes  this  sentence,  with  the 

*  Philaster,  V,  ii,  14. 

t  Lectures  on  the  Dram.  Lit.  of  the  Age  of  Elizabeth,  p.  12,  ed.  1840. 


PREFACE  xix 

following  comment:  'A  falser  remark,  I  conceive,  has  seldom  been 
'made  by  critic.  Shakespeare  is  not  only  immeasurably  superior  to 
'the  dramatists  of  his  time  in  creative  power,  in  insight  into  the  human 
'heart,  and  in  profound  thought,  but  he  is,  moreover,  utterly  unlike 
'them  in  almost  every  respect, — unlike  them  in  his  method  of  develop- 
ing character,  in  his  diction,  in  his  versification.'* 

Whatever  betide  at  the  hand  of  the  jade  Chronology,  or  of  any 
iconoclast,  no  wave  of  anxiety  for  Shakespeare  need  roll  across  our 
peaceful  breast.  And  here  I  am  so  forcibly  reminded  of  a  passage 
in  one  of  SYDNEY  SMITH'S  Lectures  that  I  cannot  forebear  quoting  it; 
longissimo  intervallo,  be  it  understood,  from  any  frivolous  disrespect 
on  my  part;  it  is  in  his  Lecture  On  the  Faculties  of  Animals,  as  compared 
with  those  of  Men:  'I  confess  I  feel  myself  so  much  at  my  ease  about 
'the  superiority  of  mankind, — I  have  such  a  marked  and  decided 
'contempt  for  the  understanding  of  every  baboon  I  have  yet  seen,- 
'I  feel  so  sure  that  the  blue  ape  with  a  tail  will  never  rival  us  in  poetry, 
'painting,  and  music, — that  I  see  no  reason  whatever  why  justice 
'may  not  be  done  to  the  few  fragments  of  soul  and  tatters  of  under- 
'standing  which  they  may  really  possess.  I  have  sometimes,  per- 
'haps,  felt  a  little  uneasy  at  Exeter  'Change,  from  contrasting  the 
'monkeys  with  the  'prentice  boys  who  are  teasing  them;  but  a  few 
'pages  of  Locke  or  a  few  lines  of  Milton  have  always  restored  me  to 
'tranquillity,  and  convinced  me  that  the  superiority  of  man  had 
'nothing  to  fear.' 

Be  it  not  supposed  that  Shakespeare  is  to  be  held  as  flawless,  that 
he  is  utterly  hors  de  concours,  even  in  his  eminent  domain  of  knowledge 
of  human  nature.  Yet  even  here  we  must  be  cautious.  May  it  not 
be  urged  that  human  nature  has  not  been  forever  the  same?  When 
every  atom  in  the  world  around  us  is  in  a  state  of  flux,  is  our  nature  a 
solitary  exception?  When  all  else  is  shifting,  are  we  alone  stable?  Our 
education  has  been  in  vain  if  we  have  not  departed  widely  from  the 
nature  of  our  forebears.  When  Imogen,  in  her  hour  of  keenest  anguish, 
with  her  heart  torn  by  ineffable  torture,  appeals  to  ^Eneas  as  a  proto- 
type of  Posthumus,  and  finds  a  parallel  to  his  perfidy  only  in  the  false 
tears  of  Sinon,  are  we,  forsooth,  to  pronounce  her  classical  allusions 
as  untrue  to  human  nature  and  condemn  her  distraction  as  mock  he- 
roics? Is  it  not  merely  because  our  childhood  has  not  been  passed  in 
halls  and  chambers  where  every  picture  on  the  tapestried  walls  portrays 
some  classical  story,  which  becomes  ineradicable  in  our  minds,  and 
recurs  to  us  forever  after  as  the  fittest  expressions  of  our  deepest 

*  Works  of  Shakespeare,  vol.  i,  p.  130,  1866,  2d  ed. 


xx  PREFACE 

emotions?  Possibly  the  criticism  which  denounces  Shakespeare's 
inveterate  love  of  playing  on  words  may  have  a  better  show  of  justice. 
When  Lady  Macbeth  says  that  if  Duncan  bleed  she  must  'gild  the 
'faces  of  the  grooms  withal,  For  it  must  seem  their  gilt,'  does  she  here 
intentionally  make  a  pun?  I  think  not.  But  even  if  she  did,  the 
wrorst  that  can  be  urged  is  that  a  pun  was  to  Shakespeare,  in  Dr  John- 
son's words,  the  fatal  Cleopatra,  for  which  he  lost  the  world  and  was 
content  to  lose  it.  It  is  one  of  his  idiosyncrasies  and  we  must  put  up 
with  it.  Has  he  not  himself  taught  us  that  a  friend  should  bear  a 
friend's  infirmities? 


PROPERTY  OF  THt 
CITY  OF  NEW  YORK 


Dramatis    Perfonae 

CYMBELINE,  King  of  Britain.  2 

Cloten,  Son  to  tJic  Queen  by  a  former  Husband. 

i.  As  first  given  by  Rowe.     Om.  Ff. 

2.  Cymbeline]   The   original   of    this    character    in    history  is    Cunobelinus. 
There  is,  however,  as  Professor  T.  F.  Tout  says  (Diet,  of  Nat.  Biog.,  s.  v.),  'nothing 
but  the  name  in  common  between  the  historical  and  the  poetical  King,  for  the  plot 
of  Cymbeline  is  only  partially  derived  from  the  legendary  history  of  Cunobelinus 
that  Shakespeare  found  in  Holinshed's  Chronicle  [see  Appendix,  Source  of  the  Plot], 
and  that  even  has  no  claim  to  historic  truth.'     Inasmuch  as  Shakespeare  wrote 
dramas  and  not  histories,  historic  truth  was  of  small  moment  either  to  him  or  to 
his  audience — or  is  it  to  us,  here  and  now. — HERTZBERG  (Inlrod.,  p.  298)  observes 
that  the  name  is  first  found  as  '  Cinobellinus '  in  Suetonius  (Caligula,  44),  and  that 
during  his  reign  Christ  was  born.     Moreover,  Hertzberg  considers  it  worthy  of 
Italics  that  'not  a  single  extant  author  has  stated  that  Cymbeline  carried  on  war 
with  the  Romans,  except  Shakespeare.1     Dramatic  purposes  are  adequately  served 
when,  by  the  use  of  a  primitive  name,  our  thoughts  are  transferred  to  primitive 
times,  and  an  atmosphere  is  thereby  created  half  real  and  half  legendary,  wherein 
we  are  prepared  to  accept  characters  and  events  beyond  the  scope  of  our  ordinary 
life. — ED. — BOSWELL-STONE  (p.  6):    Holinshed's  Chronicles  contain  all  the  his- 
torical or  pseudo-historical  matter  which  appears  in  Shakespeare's  Tragedy  of 
Cymbeline.     The  historic  Cunobelinus,  son  of  Tasciovanus,  wras  a  King  of  the 
Britons,  whose  capital  was  Camulodunum  (Colchester).     In  A.  D.  40  Cunobelin's 
son,  Adminius,  whom  he  had  banished,  made  a  submission  to  Caligula  which  the 
Emperor  affected  to  regard  as  equivalent  to  a  surrender  of  the  whole  island,  but 
nothing  was  then  done  to  assert  the  imperial  authority.     Cunobelin  was  dead 
when,  in  A.  D.  43,  Aulus  Plautius  was  sent  by  Claudius  to  subdue  Britain;  and 
the  Romans  were  opposed  by  the  late  king's  sons,  Togodumnus  and  the  renowned 
Caractacus.      These    are   the  sole  authentic   particulars   relating   to  Cunobelin, 
besides    the    evidence    derived    from    his    coins. — ULRICI   (ii,   170):    Cymbeline, 
the  husband,  father,  and  king, — who   is   more    or   less   directly  affected  by  the 
complications  in  the  lives  of  all  the  others,  hence,  as  it  were,  the  point  where 
all  the  radii  of  the  wide  circle  meet,  and  from  which  they  in  the  first  instance 
proceed,  and   upon   whom   everything   turns,  although  he   himself  appears  the 
least  active, — he  forms  the  quiescent  centre  of  the  action,  and  in  his  undutiful 
lassitude  and  passiveness  regulates  the  fortunes  of  all,  but  is  ultimately  obliged 
to  take  all  their  fortunes  upon  himself.     The  drama  very  justly,  therefore,  bears 
his  name. 

3.  Cloten]   If  Shakespeare  derived  a  portion  of  the  plot  of  the  present  play 


2  DRAMATIS  PERSONS 

(A  Gentleman  in  love  with  the         4 
Leonatus  Posthumus,  <        Princess,  and  privately  Mar- 

l       ried  to  her.  6 

5,  6.  Leonatus  Posthumus. ..to  her]  Posthumus,  a  «o&/e  gentleman,  Husband  to 
Imogen.  Cap. 

from  Holinshed's  Historic  of  England,  which  Hertzberg,  however,  denies,  it  is 
possible  that  he  also  read  the  brief  history  prefixed  to  the  Description  of  Britaine, 
by  Harrison,  at  least  that  portion  which  refers  to  the  same  Epoch.  If  this  be  so, 
he  must  have  noted  (p.  117,  col.  a,  line  73,  ed.  1587)  that  after  the  death  of  Ferrex 
and  Porrex,  'Cloten,  by  all  writers,  .  .  .  was  the  next  inheritour  of  the  whole 
Empire.  .  .  .  But  after  the  death  of  this  Cloten,  his  sonne  Dunwallo  Mulmutius 
made  warre  vpon  these  foure  kings.  ...  In  token  of  which  victories  he  caused 
himselfe  to  be  crowned  with  a  crown  of  gold,  the  verie  first  of  that  metall  (if  anie 
at  all  were  before  in  vse)  that  was  worne  among  the  kings  of  this  nation.'  (See 
in,  i,  64-67,  post.)  Then,  a  few  lines  before  this  mention  of  Cloten,  three  times 
there  occurs  a  reference  to  'Morgan,'  who  was  'one  of  the  heirs  of  Ebranke.' 
Again  on  the  next  page  (118,  b,  line  67)  we  find,  'Marius,  the  sonne  of  Aruiragus, 
being  king  of  all  Britaine.'  etc. — RUGGLES  (p.  28,  note)  finds  certain  resemblances 
between  the  person  and  character  of  Cloten  and  the  description  of  Claudius  by 
Suetonius  [Cap.  xxx,  xxxiii,  xxxiv.],  but  I  cannot,  I  fear,  accept  them  as  suffi- 
ciently numerous  or  as  close  as  to  warrant  more  than  a  haphazard  similar- 
ity in  one  or  two  details;  both  may  have  ^been  devoted  to  games  of  chance,  but 
assuredly  Cloten  could  hardly  have  followed  Claudius  in  writing  a  book  on  the 
subject. — ED. 

5.  Leonatus]  This  name,  according  to  MALONE,  followed  by  FLEAY  (Manual, 
53),  'is  from  Sidney's  Arcadia,  which  Shakespeare  used  for  his  Lear,'  'Leonato' 
is  a  character  in  Much  Ado,  where  the  scene  is  laid  in  Italy.  In  changing  the  scene 
to  Britain  and  to  Roman  times,  could  not  Shakespeare's  'small  Latin'  suffice  to 
change  'Leonato'  to  'Leonatus'?  Is  Sidney  to  have  the  sole  right  to  select  his 
own  names? — ED. 

5.  Posthumus]  In  the  Latin  adjective  the  penult  is,  of  course,  short,  but  is  it 
not  conceivable  that  Shakespeare  regarded  it  as  compound  of  post  and  humus, 
vaguely  connecting  humus  and  burial,  and,  therefore,  throughout  the  play  places 
the  accent  on  the  second  syllable;  and  had  he  not  ample  right  to  place  it  where  he 
pleased?  The  Latin  adjective  maybe  posthumus,  and  it  will;  the  proper  name  is 
Posthumus.  Just  as  the  accent  in  The  Tempest  is  Stephano,  and  in  The  Mer.  of 
Ven.  it  is  Stephano. — RITSON  asserted  that  in  two  lines  the  accent  is  correctly 
placed — the  first  is  I,  i,  52:  'To  his  protection,  cals  him  Posthumus  Leonatus.' 
'Leonatus'  may  be  left  out  of  the  scansion  altogether,  as  a  proper  name  (see 
Dyce's  note  on  I,  i,  52).  The  line  must  then  be  read  with  'protection,'  not  as  a 
trisyllable,  as  Ritson  erroneously  read  it,  but  as  a  quadrisyllable.  The  ictus  then 
falls  in  the  penult  of  Posthumus.  The  second  line  is  IV,  ii,  400,  where  Imogen,  in 
the  agony  of  her  belief  that  the  headless  corpse  beside  her  is  her  husband's,  shrieks: 
'Strooke  the  main  top!  Oh  Posthumus,  alas.'  Here  Ritson  is  right,  if  no  allow- 
ance is  to  be  made  for  Imogen's  horror  as  the  truth  gradually  dawns  on  her.— 
CAPELL  tried  to  mend  the  line  by  reading  'Posthumus,  Oh,'  but  there  really  is 
no  need;  the  slight  pause  before  'oh'  is  all  sufficient  to  throw  the  accustomed 
accent  on  the  dear  name.  The  Anonymous  author  of  A  New  Study  of  Shakespeare, 


DRAMATIS  PERSONS 


Guiderius,  ^  Disguifd  under  the  Names   of  Polidore         7 
Arviragus,  j         a/id  Cadwal,  supposed  sons  to  Bellarius. 

„  n     .       f  A  Banish?  d  Lord,  disguifd  under  the  name 
Bellarius,  < 

of  Morgan.  io 

Philario,  An  Italian,  Friend  to  Posthumus. 


7.  Disguis'd] 
disguised  Knt. 
Polidore] 

Sons    to 
Paladour, 

Cymbeline, 
Theob.,+ 

Cap. 
9- 

Pol  yd  ore 
Bellarius] 

,  Var.  '73  et  seq. 
Belarius  Theob.  et 

seq. 

rrein  a  connection  is  traced  between  the  plays  and  the  Platonic  philosophy 
through  The  Mysteries,  suggests  that  'in  this  name  there  may  be  a  profound 
intention,  connected  with  some  masculine  birth  of  lime,  involved  in  the  poet's  art, 
some  Posthumus  birth  of  time.'  What  this  portentous  masculine  birth  may  be 
I  have  been,  with  all  diligence  and  a  mind  as  open  to  conviction  as  Danae  to  the 
stars,  unable  to  discover.  The  page  is  338,  and  I  trust  that  the  undeterred  zealous 
student  may  be  more  fortunate  than  the  present  ED. 

7.  Polidore]  STEEVENS,  in  a  note  on  'Paladour,'  III,  iii,  95,  remarks:    'The 
old  copy  of  the  play  (except  here,  where  it  may  be  only  a  blunder  of  the  printer) 
calls  the  eldest  son  of  Cymbeline,  Polydore  as  often  as  the  name  occurs;  and  yet 
there  are  some  who  may  ask  whether  it  is  not  more  likely  that  the  printer  should 
have  blundered  in  the  other  places,  than  that  he  should  have  hit  upon  such  an 
uncommon  name  as  'Paladour'  in  this  first  instance.     Paladour  was  the  ancient 
name  for  Shaftsbury.     So  in  A  meeting  Dialogue-wise  betweene  Nature,  the  Phcenix, 
and  the  Turtle  Done,  by  R.  Chester,  1601:    'This  noble  King  builded  faire  Caer- 
gucnt,  Now  cleped  Winchester  of  worthie  fame,  And  at  Mount  Paladour  he  built 
his  Tent,  That  after-ages  Shaftsburie  hath   to  name.' — [p.   27,  ed.   Grosart.]— 
M ALONE:    I  believe  Polydore  is  the  true  reading.     In  Holinshed,  where  is  an  ac- 
count of  Cymbeline,  Polydore  (i.  e.,  Polydore  Virgil)  is  often  quoted  in  the  margin; 
and  this  probably  suggested  the  name  to  Shakespeare. — STEEVENS:    The  trans- 
lations of  both  Homer  and  Virgil  would  have  afforded  Shakespeare  the  name  of 
Polydore. 

8.  Arviragus]  HERTZBERG  is  the  earliest,  I  think,  to  note  that  Juvenal  (Sat., 
IV,  127)  gives  this  as  the  name  of  a  distinguished  British  soldier.     The  penult 
in  Juvenal  is  short:  'Excidet  Arviragus.     Peregrina  'st  bellua  cernis,'  but  Shake- 
speare makes  it  long  (see  III,  iii,  105).     See  note  above  on  Cloten.     'The  name 
Cadwal,'  says  Malone  (III,  iii,  95),  'is  found  in  an  ancient  poem,  entitled  The 
strange  Birth,  honorable  Coronation,  and  most  vnhappie  Death  of  famous  Arthur 
King  of  Brytaine,  by  Robert  Chester,  1601:   "And  foure   Kings  before  him  did 
abide,  Angisell  King  of  stout  Albania,  And  Cadual  King  of  Venedocia."   —[p.  50, 
ed.  Grosart.] 

9.  Bellarius]  THUMMEL  (Jahrbuch,  xviii,  140) :  When  the  enemy  to  his  country 
is  at  hand,  with  Fatherland  and  King  in  danger,  the  leonine  courage  of  aforetime 
breaks  forth  in  this  hoary  headed  Hero:   'Have  with  you,  boys;  If  in  your  country 
wars  you  chance  to  die,  That  is  my  bed  too,  lads,  and  there  I'll  lie.' — [IV,  iv,  62.] 
Alongside  of  his  boys  he  flings  himself  upon  the  foe  and  saves  that  Britain  whereof 
the  Throne  had  banished  him.     A  through  and  through  Germanic  nature,  defiant 
and  gentle,  of  steel-tried  courage  and  an  affectionate  heart  withal! 

10.  Morgan]   See  note  on  Cloten,  above. 


4  DRAMATIS  PERSONS 

lachimo,  Friend  to  Philario.  12 

Caius  Lucius,  Ambassador  from  Rome. 

Pisanio,  Servant  to  Posthumus. 

A  French  Gentleman,  Friend  to  Philario.  1 5 

Cornelius,  A  Doctor,  Servant  to  the  Queen. 

14.  Servant]  Gentleman  Cap. 

12.  lachimo]  MALONE:   The  name  of  Giacomo  occurs  in  The  Two  Gentlemen  of 
Venice,  a  novel,  which  immediately  follows  that  of  Rhomeo  and  Julietta  in  the 
second  tome  of  Painter's  Palace  of  Pleasure,  1567.— GERVINUS  (ii,  274) :  This  name 
sounds  like  a  diminutive  of  I  ago,  and  the  bearer  resembles  him  in  his  way  of  think- 
ing of  men.— THEO.  ELZE  (Jdhrbuch,  xv,  260):  lachimo,  with  the  accent  on  the 
antepenult,  belongs  to  that  list  of  foreign  names  where,  in  English,  the  accent  is 
changed,  such  as  R6meo,  Desdem6na,  etc.     In  several  plays  where  the  scene  is 
not  laid  in  Italy,  Shakespeare  introduces  Italian  names.     Of  course,  in  Twelfth 
Night,  where  the  scene  is  laid  in  Illyria,  and  in  the  Com.  of  Err.,  in  Ephesus,  we  can 
understand  the  use  of  Italian  names.     But  it  is  noteworthy  that,  on  the  other  hand, 
in  Meas.for  Meas.,  where  the  scene  is  Vienna,  we  meet  with  Angelo,  Escalus  (de- 
rived from  the  French  rendering  of  Scala,  Escale),  Claudio,  Lucio,  Bernadino, 
names  which  do  not  occur  in  the  Novel  whence  the  play  is  taken.     Our  wonder  is 
still  further  aroused  at  rinding  that  Shakespeare  does  not  scruple  to  introduce 
into  Cymbeline,  which  belongs   to  primitive  times,  this  peculiar  name,  lachimo, 
which  clearly  corresponds  to  the  Italian  Gioachmo.     But  when,  however,  we 
reflect  that  Rome  and  Italy  are  very  properly  the  reason  for  this  rather  strange 
selection,  no  such  reason  will  avail  to  explain  the  occurrence  of  Italian  names  in 
Hamlet,  such  as  Bernardo,  Francisco,  Horatio,  Baptista  (as  a  woman's  name),  and 
even  an  Italianate  Rynaldo   (Old   German    Raginolt,   that    is    Reinold,   Italian 
Rinaldo).     To  be  sure,  this  Italianising  fashion  in  names  is  found  in  Shakespeare's 
predecessors,  but  what  was  the  reason  that  moved  Shakespeare  to  adopt  this 
infantile  custom,  and  expand  it  to  an  extreme?     It  could  not  have  been,  assuredly, 
mere  homage  to  a  poetic  fashion;  was  it  some  special  predilection  for  Italy  and  for 
what  was  Italian?     And  whence  did  it  come? 

13.  Caius  Lucius]  Holinshed  might  have  suggested  Lucius  on  more  than  one 
page,  but  HERTZBERG  says  (Introd.,  p.  295)  that  Shakespeare  was  not  likely,  of  his 
own  motion,  to  hit  upon  forming  one  name,  Caius  Lucius,  out  of  two  praenomens, 
against  all  ancient  Roman  custom.     Hertzberg  disbelieves  in  Holinshed  as  the 
original  source  of  Cymbeline,  but  goes  further  back,  to  Holinshed's  sources.     But 
if  he  has  suggested  where  the  original  erroneous  combination,  Caius  Lucius,  is  to 
be  found,  it  has  escaped  me.     I  cannot  avoid  the  conviction  that  such  a  refine- 
ment of   classical  scholarship  as  Hertzberg  demands  was  entirely  unknown  to 
Shakespeare,  and  that  even  if  the  oversight  had  been  made  known  to  him,  he 
would  probably  have  retained  it. — ED. 

16.  Cornelius]  BUCKNILL  (p.  227):  Cornelius  was  the  name  of  the  physician 
to  Charles  V,  who  gained  European  reputation  by  curing  the  Emperor  of  gout 
and  general  ill  habit  of  body.  It  seems  more  probable,  therefore,  that  Shakespeare 
adopted  the  name  from  this  source,  than  from  the  more  classic  one  of  Cornelius 
Celsus. 


DRAMA  TIS  PERSONS 


5 


Two  Gentle  men.  17 

Queen,  Wife  to  Cymbeline. 

Imogen,  Daughter  to  Cymbeline  by  a  former  Queen. 

Helen,  Woman  to  Imogen.  20 

Lords,  Ladies,  Roman  Senators,  Tribunes,  Ghosts,  a 

17.  Lords,  of  Cymbeline's  Court,  four; 

Gentlemen,  of  the  same,  two;  Added  by  Cap 

tii'o  Britain  Captains,  an  Attendant,  Messenger,  and  two  \ 
Jailers.  J 

21.  Ghosts]  Spirits,  in  the  Vision,  of  Sicillius  Leonatus,  his  Wife,  and  two  Sons, 
Father,  Mother,  and  Brothers  to  Posthumus:  and  Jupiter.  Cap. 

19.  Imogen]  FLETCHER  (p.  42):  In  bringing  ourselves  to  feel,  as  well  as  under- 
stand, the  character  of  anyone  of  Shakespeare's  more  ideal  heroines,  we  should  be- 
gin with  considering  the  very  form  and  sound  of  her  name;  for  in  them  we  shall 
commonly  find  the  keynote,  as  it  were,  to  the  whole  rich  piece  of  harmony  developed 
in  her  person,  language,  sentiments,  and  conduct.  In  the  present  instance, 
resolving  to  give  in  one  delightful  being,  'a  local  habitation  and  a  name'  to  'all  the 
qualities  that  man  Loves  woman  for,  besides  that  hook  of  wiving,  Fairness  which 
strikes  the  eye,' — resolving  to  give  to  that  sweet  ideal  of  feminine  excellence  all 
possible  prominence  and  elevation,  by  combining  it  with,  and  making  it  proof 
against,  the  possession  of  the  most  exalted  rank, — it  would  seem  as  if  the  very  re- 
volving in  his  mind  of  this  intended  quintessence  of  feminine  beauty  and  dignity, 
physical,  moral,  and  intellectual,  had  caused  his  inmost  and  most  exquisite  spirit  to 
breathe  out  spontaneously  the  name  of  Imogen — a  word  all  nobleness  and  sweet- 
ness, all  classic  elegance  and  romantic  charm.  'Sweet  Imogen'  ever  and  anon, 
throughout  this  drama,  comes  delicately  on  our  ear,  even  as  the  softest  note  swept 
fitfully  from  an  /Eolian  lyre.  And  as  'her  breathing  perfumes  the  chamber,' 
even  so  does  her  spirit  lend  fragrance,  and  warmth,  and  purity,  and  elevation 
to  the  whole  body  of  this  nobly  romantic  play. — [M ALONE  observes  that  'Holin- 
shed  furnished  Shakespeare  with  his  name,  which  in  the  old  black  letter  is  scarcely 
distinguished  from  Innogen,  the  wife  of  Brute,  King  of  Britain.'  I  do  not  wish  to 
gainsay  Malone's  assertion,  especially  since  he  may  have  had  before  him  the  first 
edition  of  Holinshed,  wherein  the  black  letter  may  have  been  more  obscure  than 
in  my  copy,  that  of  1587,  the  second  edition.  The  name  occurs  there  only  three 
times  (Hist,  of  England,  ii,  p.  8,  6),  and  of  these  one  is  in  large  white  letter;  in  all 
three  the  name  is  distinctly  Innogen,  a  softened  form  of  the  Ignogen  of  Layamon's 
Brute.  It  seems  hardly  possible  that  Shakespeare  could  have  obtained  'Imogen' 
from  Holinshed.  Moreover,  Dr  Simon  Forman,  in  his  account  of  a  performance 
of  this  play  which  he  witnessed  during  Shakespeare's  lifetime,  gives  the  name  as 
unmistakeably  Innogen:  which  is  also  the  name  of  the  wife  of  another  Leonatus, 
or  rather  Leonato  in  Much  Ado,  who,  albeit  she  does  not  afterward  appear  in  the 
play,  enters,  according  to  the  First  Folio,  in  the  very  first  scene.  Verily,  it  seems 
that  if  Imogen  be  a  misprint  for  Innogen,  our  debt  for  it  is  due  to  the  compositors 
of  the  First  Folio,  in  this  particular  play;  the  name  is  found  nowhere  else.  The 
testimony  of  Forman  is  almost  decisive  in  favour  of  Innogen;  and  with  its  sugges- 
tion of  Innocence,  it  certainly  has  a  charm, — and  a  very  great  charm.  But  at 


DRAMATIS  PERSONS 

Soothsayer,  Captains,  Soldiers,  Messengers,  and       22 
other  Attendants. 

SCENE,  for  some  Part  of  the  first,  second,  and  third  Acts, 

lyes  in  Rome  ;  for  the  rest  of  the  Play,  in  Britain.          25 


22.  Soldiers]   Soldiers,  etc.,  a  Dutch  Gentleman,  a   Spanish  Gentleman:    Musi- 
cians; Cap. 

this  late  day,  when  from  boyhood  our  heart-strings  have  been  woven  around 
Imogen,  to  turn  to  Innogen  would  make  earth's  base  seem  stubble. — ED.] 


THE,  TRACED  IE  OF 
CYMBELINE. 


Aftus  Primus.     Sccena  Prinia. 


Enter  two  Gentlemen. 

i.  Gent. 

Ou  do  not  meet  a  man  but  Frownes. 
Our  bloods  no  more  obey  the  Heauens 
Then  our  Courtiers  : 
Still  feeme,  as  do's  the  Kings. 


i.  TRAGEDIE]  TRAGEDY  Ff. 

3.  Scoena]  Scaena  F2.     Scena  F3F4. 

A  Palace.  Rowe.  Cymbeline's 
Palace  in  Britain.  Pope.  A  Part  of  the 
Royal  Garden  to  Cymbeline's  Palace. 
Capell.  Britain.  The  Garden  behind 
Cymbeline's  Palace.  Steevens. 

6-8.  YOu... Courtiers]  Two  lines,  end- 
ing: bloods. ..Courtiers  Rowe  et  seq. 

6.  do]  doe  F2. 

man]  man,  Warb.  Johns.  Cap. 
Varr.  Mai.  Ran.  Steev.  Varr.  Coll. 

Frownes.]  frownes.  F2.  frowns. 
F3F4,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han.  frowns: 
Theob.  et  seq. 

7.  Our  bloods]  Our  blonds  F3F4.     than 
our  looks  Herr  (p.  135). 


7.  no  more]  Not  more  Walker,  Huds. 
Heauens]  heavens  F2F3.     Heavens 

F4.     Heav'ns  Rowe. 

8.  Then]  Than  F4. 

Courtiers:]  courtiers'  Var.  '73, 
Sta.  courtiers',  Var.  78,  '85,  Ran. 
Courtiers  Tyrwhitt,  Var.  '21,  Knt,  Coll. 
Sing.  Dyce,  Cam.  Wh.  ii,  Ingl.  Dtn. 

9.  Still]  But  Rowe,  Pope,  Warb.  Han. 
feeme,]  feeme  Ff ,  Pope,  Han.  Knt, 

et  seq. 

do's  the  Kings.]  do  the  King's. 
Han.  Sta.  does  the  king.  Tyrwhitt, 
Knt,  Coll.  Coll.  (MS),  Sing.  Dyce, 
White,  Del.  Cam.  Glo.  Clarke,  Huds. 
Dtn,  Dowden,  Herford,  Rife,  Gollancz, 
Wyatt. 


2.  Cymbeline]  COLERIDGE  (p.  345):  There  is  a  great  significancy  in  the  names 
of  Shakespeare's  plays.  In  Twelfth  Night,  Mid.  N.  D.,  As  You  Like  It,  and  Wint. 
Tale  the  total  effect  is  produced  by  a  co-ordination  of  the  characters  as  in  a  wreath 
of  flowers.  But  in  Coriol.,  Lear,  Rom.  6*  Jul.,  Hamlet,  Othello,  &c.,  the  effect  arises 
from  the  subordination  of  all  to  one,  either  as  the  prominent  person  or  the  principal 
object.  Cymbeline  is  the  only  exception;  and  even  that  has  its  advantages  in 
preparing  the  audience  for  the  chaos  of  time,  place,  and  costume  by  throwing  the 
date  back  into  a  fabulous  King's  reign. — OHLE  (p.  62):  [Inasmuch  as  all  critics 
are  generally  agreed  in  discerning  a  welding  together,  unusually  artistic  and 
skilful,  of  heterogeneous  elements  in  this  play]  it  seems  to  me  that,  in  these  cir- 
cumstances, it  is  not  out  of  place  to  ask,  as  a  preliminary  question,  what  is  the 

7 


8  .    TKE'  TRACED IX  Qfr  [ACT  i,  sc.  i. 

'  ',      '''•''• 
: _, _  -  _- ^ . 

•   "     [2.  Cymbeline] 

connecting  thread,  the  woof,  of  it?  The  answer  is  not  easy;  it  is  clear  enough  that 
he  who  gives  the  title  to  the  play  is  cast  completely  into  the  shade  by  Posthumus 
and  Imogen.  We  must  not,  however,  allow  the  hirvt  (lo  pass  unheeded  which  is 
supplied  us  even  by  the  wrongful  naming  of  the  play  by  the  poet.  It  is  extremely 
probable  that  the  bearer  of  the  title  r61e  constituted  the  oldest  and  chiefest  con- 
stituent of  the  piece;  possibly,  in  the  course  of  time  he  gradually  lapsed  into  his 
present  secondary  position.  -  Accordingly,  it  woxJd  follow  readily  enough  from  this 
sufficing  reason  that  King  Cynibclinc  and  his  face  represent, — to  use  our  former 
simile, — the  thread  of  the  original  treatment  and  the  other  characters  the  woof, 
that  is,  that  they  were  subsequently  added  and  became  connected  and  interwoven 
with  Cymbeline,  until  finally  they  overtopped  and  obscured  him, — the  new  and 
young  gods  have  always  suppressed  the  old. — WHITE  (p.  281) :  We  pronounce  the 
name  of  this  play  Sim-be-leen;  but  its  proper  pronunciation  is  Kim-be-line.  [For- 
man  who  heard  the  play  '  at  the  glob '  in  Shakespeare's  day  evidently  did  not  there 
hear  its  'proper  pronunciation,'  else,  with  his  phonetic  spelling,  he  would  not  have 
spelled  it  Cymbalin  or  Cimbalin,  and,  in  one  instance,  Cambalin. — ED.] 

3.  Sccena  Prim  a]   ECCLES:    No  circumstance  appears  which  can  be  supposed 
to  mark  the  particular  time  of  the  day  when  the  action  of  this  play  commences. 

4.  Enter  .  .  .]  BULLOCH  (p.  267):   One  of  these  gentlemen  must  have  been  as 
ignorant  of  matters  as  if  he  had  come  from  another  country.     The  facts  related 
must  have  been  known  to  the  poorest  peasant,  for  they  concerned  the  Bang's 
own  family,  and  incidents  that  had  lately  taken  place  and  with  which  people's 
ears  were  still  tingling.     In  the  play  we  have  two  Italians,  a  Roman,  a  Frenchman, 
etc.     Why  not  have  named  the  speakers  a  British  Gentleman  and  a  Foreigner? 
[See  ECCLES,  line  73,  post.] 

5.  i.  Gent]  DELIUS  (Sh.  Soc.  Trans.,  '75-76,  p.  213),  in  an  Essay  on  Shake- 
speare*s  Use  of  Narration,  remarks  that  'if  Shakespeare  had  dramatised  all  the 
circumstances  narrated  by  the  First  Gentleman  he  would  have  doubled  the  length 
of  the  play  [which  is  true],  but  hardly  have  made  it  more  interesting  or  artistic 
[which  is  doubtful].' 

7-9.  our  bloods  .  .  .  Kings]  In  hearing  these  lines  on  the  stage,  we  find  no 
difficulty;  we  at  once  gather  from  them  that  our  moods  are  no  more  dependent  on 
the  state  of  the  weather  than  courtiers  are  dependent  on  the  state  of  the  King's 
moods, — as  the  Heavens  affect  us  so  the  King  affects  his  courtiers;  the  King  frowns 
and  immediately  all  his  courtiers  frown.  It  is  almost  a  commonplace,  and  parallels 
may  be  found  throughout  literature  ancient  and  modern.  But  when,  in  the 
closet,  we  analyse  the  lines  as  they  stand  in  the  Folio,  the  case  is  altered,  and  the 
passage,  even  to  Dr  Johnson,  becomes  '  so  difficult  that  commentators  may  differ 
concerning  it  without  animosity  or  shame.'  The  earliest  editor  to  change  the  text 
was  Sir  Thomas  Hanmer,  who,  as  speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons,  may  have 
acquired  the  art  of  reducing  verbiage  to  conciseness,  and,  undeterred  by  the 
scholastic  ductus  liter  arum,  or  the  durior  lectio,  boldly,  without  comment,  gave 
as  the  true  text:  'Our  looks  No  more  obey  the  heart  ev'n  than  our  courtiers,  But 
seem  as  do  the  King's.'  This  reading  Dr  Johnson  befittingly  pronounced  'licen- 
tious,' and  added,  'but  it  makes  the  sense  clear,  and  leaves  the  reader  an  easy 
passage.'— WARBURTON  sneered  at  it,  however,  by  saying  that  it  'ventured  too 
far'  [this,  from  Warburton!].  He  then  proceeds  to  retain  and  improve  the  thought 
and  sentiment  by  reading  'our  brows  No  more  obey  the  heavens,'  etc.,  because  it 


ACT  i,  sc.  i.]  CYMBELINE  9 

[7-9.   Our  bloods  ...  as  do's  the  Kings] 

had  just  been  asserted  that  everybody  was  frowning,  and  because  '  though  the 
blood  may  be  affected  with  the  weather,  yet  that  affection  is  discovered  not  by 
change  of  colour,  but  by  change  of  countenance.'  This  reason  is  so  'obscure  and 
perplexed'  that  we  may  well  agree  with  Dr  Johnson  in  'suspecting  some  injury 
of  the  press.'  It  may  be  worth  while  to  note  that  the  sagacious  THEOBALD  (Nichol's 
Illust.,  ii,  264)  accepted  Warburton's  'brows,'  in  his  private  correspondence  with 
Warburton,  and  even  suggested  as  an  addition  to  the  text  'they  are  courtiers,' 
because  '  to  say  their  brows  were  courtiers,  in  conformity  with  the  King's,  I  think 
is  not  very  hard;  and  may  seem  grounded  on  Alexander's  courtiers  affecting  to  be 
wry-necked.'  He  did  not,  however,  adopt  his  friend's  emendation  in  his  edition, 
or  even  allude  to  it;  we  may,  therefore,  conclude  that  his  added  emendation  was 
withdrawn. — Dr  JOHNSON,  having  criticised  his  predecessors,  'tells  his  own 
opinion,'  which  is,  that  the  lines  stand  as  they  were  originally  written,  and  that  a 
paraphrase,  such  as  the  licentious  and  abrupt  expressions  of  our  author  too  fre- 
quently require,  will  make  emendation  unnecessary.  '  We  do  not  meet  a  man  but 
frowns;  our  bloods' — our  countenances,  which,  in  popular  speech,  are  said  to  be 
regulated  by  the  temper  of  the  blood, — 'no  more  obey  the  laws  of  heav'n,'  which 
direct  us  to  appear  what  we  really  are, — 'than  our  courtiers';  that  is,  than  the 
'bloods  of  our  courtiers';  but  our  bloods,  like  theirs, — 'still  seem,  as  doth  the 
King's.'  This  paraphrase  seems  well  nigh  as  'obscure  and  perplexed'  as  that  of 
Warburton.  With  both  critics  the  main  difficulty  seems  to  lie  in  the  interpretation 
of  'bloods.'  In  the  meantime,  or  rather,  in  the  same  year  with  Johnson,  HEATH, 
whose  opinions  are  always  respectable,  put  forth  his  paraphrase  (p.  469),  and  for 
the  first  time  interprets  '  bloods '  correctly,  as  it  seems  to  me.  He  thus  paraphrases: 
'Every  one  you  meet  appears  to  be  displeased  and  out  of  humour;  the  heavens 
have  no  more  influence  on  our  dispositions  than  they  have  on  the  courtiers. 
Both  seem  to  be  equally  determined  by  the  humour  the  King  happens  to  be  in. 
If  he  is  cloudy,  all  are  instantly  cloudy  too.'  The  punctuation  seems  to  have 
misled  Heath;  the  colon  after  'courtiers'  kept  him  apparently  from  seeing  what 
I  think  is  correct,  that  'courtiers'  is  the  nominative  to  'seeme.' — CAPELL  accepted 
Heath's  interpretation  of  'bloods,'  as  referring  to  our  dispositions,  which  are  in- 
fluenced by  the  blood  and  this  in  turn  by  'the  heavens,' — thus  understood,  and  with 
making  'courtiers'  a  genitive,  and  an  emphasis  on  'our,'  thereby  importing  'of  us 
who  have  no  dependence  on  court,'  'the  passage  will  be,'  he  says,  'sufficiently  clear 
without  further  explaining.'  In  the  following  year,  TYRWHITT  proposed  a  reading, 
which  by  the  omission  of  the  5  after  'Kings,'  has  been  accepted  more  widely  than 
any  other.  His  reading  is  as  follows:  'Our  bloods  No  more  obey  the  heavens  than 
our  courtiers  Still  seem,  as  does  the  King.'  'That  is,'  he  adds,  'Still  look  as  the 
King  does';  or,  as  he  expresses  it  a  little  differently  afterwards,  ' — wear  their 
faces  to  the  bent  of  the  King's  looks.' — The  Text.  Notes  reveal  how  widely  this 
reading  has  been  followed.  As  for  the  omission  of  the  final  s  in  'Kings,'  all,  who 
are  familiar  with  the  First  Folio  text,  know  how  extremely  common  this  intrusive 
letter  is  at  the  end  of  a  word.  SIDNEY  WALKER  (Crit.,  i,  233)  has  devoted  a  long 
article  to  this  interpolation,  and  goes  so  far  as  to  surmise  that  it  may  have  arisen 
from  some  peculiarity  of  Shakespeare's  handwriting.  The  chiefest  difficulty  in 
this  passage  has  been  solved,  I  think,  by  the  conversion  of  'Kings'  into  King; 
there  are,  however,  other  minor  difficulties  connected  with  several  other  words,  as 
well  as  sundry  emendations  which  must  not  be  overlooked. — COLERIDGE  (p.  302) 


10 


THE   TRACE  DIE   OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  i. 


[7-9.   Our  bloods  ...  as  do's  the  Kings] 

in  his  Lecture,  delivered  in  1818,  says:  'I  have  sometimes  thought  that  the 
word,  "courtiers,"  was  a  misprint  for  countenances,  arising  from  an  anticipation, 
by  foreglance  of  the  compositor's  eye,  of  the  word  "courtier"  a  few  lines  below. 
The  written  r  is  easily  and  often  confounded  with  the  written  n.  The  compositor 
read  the  first  syllable  court,  and — his  eye  at  the  same  time  catching  the  word 
"courtier"  lower  down — he  completed  the  word  without  reconsulting  the  copy. 
It  is  not  unlikely  that  Shakespeare  intended  first  to  express  generally  the  same 
thought,  which  a  little  afterwards  he  repeats  with  a  particular  application  to  the 
persons  meant; — a  common  usage  of  the  pronominal  "our,"  where  the  speaker 
does  not  really  mean  to  include  himself;  and  the  word  "you"  is  an  additional 
confirmation  of  the  "our"  being  used,  in  this  place,  for  men  generally  and  in- 
definitely, just  as  "you  do  not  meet"  is  the  same  as  one  does  not  meet.1  [In  propos- 
ing countenances,  can  it  be  that  Coleridge  overlooked  the  metre?] — JOSEPH  HUNTER 
(ii,  292)  remarks  that  the  punctuation  of  neither  the  old  nor  the  modern  editions 
can  be  right.  'The  following  regulation,'  he  adds,  'was  suggested  to  me  by  Mr 
Bright:  "our  bloods  No  more  obey  the  heavens  then:  our  courtiers  Still  seem  as 
does  the  King."  — BULLOCH  (p.  266),  to  whom  a  little  knowledge  was  apparently 
a  dangerous  thing,  proposed  to  substitute  for  Shakespeare's  text,  the  following  of 
his  own:  '  You  do  not  meet  a  " manly  hail ! "  but  frowns.  Our  bloods  no  more  obey 
the  heaven's  call  Than  do  our  courtiers;  they  Still  seem  as  does  the  King.'- 
STAUNTON, — admirable  as  was  his  fertility  of  invention, — at  times,  sufflaminandus 
erat,  offers  the  following, — can  it  be  termed  an  emendation?  'Tyrwhitt's  reading 
is  now  generally  followed,  though  no  one  perhaps  ever  believed  or  believes  that  this 
was  what  the  poet  wrote.  It  has  been  accepted  because  the  editors  had  nothing 
better  to  offer.  The  real  blot  lies,  we  apprehend,  in  the  words  "Still  seem  as," 
which  were  probably  misheard  or  misread  by  the  compositor  for  still-seemers, 
i.  e.,  ever  dissemblers;  and  the  meaning  appears  to  be  "our  complexions  do  not 
more  sympathise  with  the  changes  of  the  sky,  than  the  looks  of  our  courtiers  (those 
perpetual  simulators}  do  with  the  aspect  of  the  King."  The  expression  "seemers" 
occurs  again  in  the  same  sense  here  attributed  to  it,  in  Meas.for  Meas.,  I,  iii,  53,  54.' 
There  seems  to  be  here  a  return  to  the  spherical  predominance  that  overshadowed 
Warburton  and  Johnson.  Do  our  'complexions  sympathise  with  the  changes  of 
the  sky'?  Almost  the  last  trace  of  this  belief  is  discerned  in  a  note  by  BOSWELL  in 
the  Variorum  of  1821,  as  follows:  'This  passage  means,  I  think,  "our  bloods,  or 
our  constitutions,  are  not  more  regulated  by  the  heavens,  by  every  skyey  influence, 
than  our  courtiers  apparently  are  by  the  looks  or  disposition  of  the  King;  when  he 
frowns,  every  man  frowns."  -WALKER  (Crit.,  i,  72)  thus  criticises  this  note  of 
Boswell:  'This  explanation, — to  say  nothing  more, — is  irreconcilable  with  the 
words  of  the  passage,  which,  to  admit  of  it,  ought  to  be  "Not  more  obey,"  etc. 
But  it  suggested  to  me  the  former  part  of  a  conjectural  emendation.  I  suspect 
that  a  line  is  wanting;  e.  g.  (to  illustrate  my  meaning), —  " — our  bloods  Not  more 
obey  the  heavens,  than  our  courtiers  [Mirror  their  master's  looks:  their  counten- 
ances] Still  seem,  as  doth  the  King's. "  There  are,  as  it  seems  to  me,  several  in- 
stances in  the  Folio  (several,  considered  collectively,  though  few  compared  with 
the  number  of  lines)  of  single  verses  having  dropt  out;  and  the  Folio  is  the  only 
authority  for  Cymbeline.  The  similarity  of  termination,  courtiers — countenances, 
was  the  cause  of  the  omission.  This  conjecture  is  merely  thrown  out  as  a  may-be.' 
It  may  seem  strange  that  Walker  was  not  aware  how  closely  he  was  anticipated  by 


ACT  i,  sc.  i.]  CYMBELINE  II 

2.  Gent.  But  what's  the  matter  ?  10 

i.  His  daughter, and  the  heire  of's  kingdome  (whom 

10.  what's]  whats  F2.  hath]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Theob.  Warb. 

11.  of's]  ofs  F2.     of  his  Cap.  Varr.         Han.    kingdom,  whom. ..(a  widow. ..mar- 
Mal.  Ran.  Steev.  Varr.  Knt,  Ktly.  ri'd)  hath  Cap.  et  seq.  (subs.) 

11-13.  kingdome    (whom  ...  married) 

Coleridge,  but  we  know  that  his  library  was  scanty  and  he  probably  had  never 
heard  of  Coleridge's  criticism.  What  is,  perhaps,  a  little  more  strange  is  that  he 
refused  to  accept  Boswell's  'No  more'  as  'Not  more,'  when  later  on  (Crit.,  ii,  123) 
he  has  an  article  on  'No  more  apparently  misprinted  for  not  more,'  and,  among  other 
examples,  cites  this  present  passage  and  even  refers,  without  comment,  to  his 
previous  note;  but  aliquando  dormitat,  etc. — DYCE  in  his  first  edition  adopted 
Tyrwhitt's  emendation,  without  demur;  but,  in  his  second  edition,  having  read, 
in  the  meantime,  Walker's  valuable  criticisms,  and  finding  that  Walker  suggested 
the  loss  of  a  line,  that  honest  but  vacillating  editor  asks,  'But  does  the  emendation 
[Tyrwhitt's]  now  adopted  set  all  right  in  this  much-disputed  passage?' — WEL- 
LESLEY  (p.  31)  thinks  that  the  chief  difficulty  lies  in  the  word  'Heavens,'  a  mis- 
reading by  the  compositor  for  Queens,  with  the  consequent  false  idea  of  obeying  the 
heavens;  taking  into  consideration  the  next  two  speeches  of  this  First  Gentleman, 
wherein  'the  frowns,  faces,  looks,  and  outward  sorrow  of  all,  King,  Queen,  Courtiers, 
and  Gentlemen,'  are  contrasted  'with  their  bloods,  or  inward  heart,'  Dr  Wellesley 
believes  that  we  shall  arrive  at  a  consistent  meaning  in  this  first  speech  if  'Heavens' 
be  changed  to  Queens;  that  is,  'our  bloods  no  more  obey  the  Queens  Than  our 
courtiers;  Still  seem  as  does  the  Kings.' — To  VAUGHAN  (iii,  327)  the  difficulty  is 
centred  in  'Courtiers,'  which,  by  conversion  into  court  eyes,  gives  'a  quite  satis- 
factory sense,'  and  is  withal,  so  he  asserts,  'the  slightest  change  that  has  been 
proposed,  involving  neither  omission  nor  addition  of  the  number  of  letters.'- 
KEIGHTLEY  takes  a  broader  and  more  liberal  view  than  Vaughan  and  believes  that 
what  the  Courtiers  lack  is  not  'eyes'  but  'faces,'  and  his  text  accordingly  reads 
'our  courtiers'  faces';  in  other  respects  retaining  the  Folio  text.  There  remains 
the  jejune  task  of  citing, — for  I  shall  not  quote  them, — passages  which  have  been 
detected  in  various  authors  parallel  in  sentiment  with  the  present  passage.  At 
best  they  show  that  Shakespeare  was  merely  the  child  of  his  age  and  shared  thoughts 
with  many  a  fellow  writer, — a  very  needless  revelation, — and  at  worst  it  is  a  vain 
parade  of  reading  on  the  part  of  the  critic  and  half  insinuates  plagiarism  on  the 
part  of  Shakespeare.  Of  course  I  refer  to  sheer  parallelisms  from  other  writers. 
Passages  identical  in  sentiment  or  similar  in  expression  from  Shakespeare's  own 
writings,  especially  from  the  Sonnets,  are  always  profitable. — STEEVENS  quotes 
from  Greene's  Never  too  Late,  1590,  p.  22,  ed.  Grosart;  M ALONE,  from  Ant.  6* 
Cleop.,  I,  v,  64,  ed.  Var.;  INGLEBY,  from  the  Com.  of  Err.,  II,  ii,  30-34;  Greene's 
Menaphon,  1589,  pages  23,  24,  ed.  Pearson;  Chapman's  Tragedie  of  Byron,  p.  279, 
ed.  Pearson. — LAROCHE,  in  his  French  Trans.,  1842,  quotes  from  Racine's  Britan- 
nicus,  V,  v.  To  the  citations  from  Shakespeare,  may  be  added,  2  Hen.  IV: 
V,  i,  73,  and  Tempest,  II,  i,  142. — ED. 

ii.  of's]  This  contraction  should  be  of  course  retained,  as  it  has  been,  I  believe, 
by  every  editor  since  Collier,  except  Keightley.  The  same  is  emphatically  true  of 
'shall's'  (III,  ii,  303)  instead  of  shall  we,  which,  the  Cowden-Clarkes  say,  is  to  be 
found  only  in  the  group  of  plays  consisting  of  the  present  play,  The  Winters  Tale, 
Coriolanus,  and  Timon. — ED. 


12 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF 


[ACT  i,  sc.  i. 


He  purpos'd  to  his  wiues  fole  Sonne,  a  Widdow 

That  late  he  married)  hath  referr'd  her  felfe 

Vnto  a  poore,  but  worthy  Gentleman.     She's  wedded, 

Her  Husband  banifh'd;  me  imprifon'd,  all 

Is  outward  forrow,  though  I  thinke  the  King 

Be  touched  at  very  heart. 

2    None  but  the  King? 

i    He  that  hath  loft  her  too :  fo  is  the  Queene, 
That  moft  defir'd  the  Match.     But  not  a  Courtier, 
Although  they  weare  their  faces  to  the  bent 
Of  the  Kings  lookes,  hath  a  heart  that  is  not 


12 


20 


22 


12.  wiues]  wives  Ff.    wife's  Rowe. 

13.  referred]    Ff.      affied    or    assur'd 
Lettsom  ap.  Walker  (Crit.  iii,  313). 

14.  Vnto]  To  Cap.  Walker  (Crit.  iii, 

3I3)- 

She's]  Shes  F2. 

She's  wedded]  Separate  line  Pope, 
Theob.  Warb.  Johns.  Var.  '73.  She's 
wed  Steev.  conj.  Om.  Mitford  ap. 
Cam. 

14,  15.  She's. ..all]  One  line  Ktly. 

She's...imprifon'd]    Separate 
line  Han.  Steev.  conj.  Ingl. 

wedded, . .  .banijh'd;. .  .imprif- 
on'd,]      wedded... .banijh'd;. ..imprifon'd, 


F3F4,  Rowe.  wedded. ...banish'd;... im- 
prison'd.  Pope,  wedded;... banish'd;... 
imprisoned:  Theob.  et  seq.  (subs.) 

15,16.  all  Is]  All's  Han.  Steev.  conj. 

16.  forrow,]  Ff.  Rowe,+,  Coll.  sor- 
row; Cap.  et  cet. 

1 8.  2]  2  Gent.  Rowe. 

21,  22.  Although... lookes]  In  paren- 
theses Pope,  Theob.  Warb.  Han.  Ktly. 

22.  lookes}    look    Pope    ii,    Theob. 
Warb.  Johns.  Var.  '73. 

hath]  but  hath  Pope,  Theob. 
Warb.  Han.  Huds. 

is  not]  is  Pope  ii,  Theob.  Warb. 
Han.  Huds. 


13.  referr'd]  WALKER  (Crit.,  iii,  313)  asks  'what  is  "referr'd"  here?' — SCHMIDT 
(Lex.)  answers  that  it  is  a  'Euphuism'  which  is  'explained  by  the  speaker  in  the 
next  words:  "she's  wedded.'" — INGLEBY  substitutes  outright  in  the  text  pre- 
ferr'd,  because  'Imogen  had  not  "referr'd  herself"  to  Posthumus,  in  the  only  sense 
"referr'd"  can  well  have,  but  preferred  or  commended  herself  to  the  man  she  would 
marry.'  But  why  may  not  'referr'd'  be  here  used  in  its  derivative  Latin  sense,  a 
use  Shakespeare  frequently  employs?  The  King  purpos'd  to  prefer  Imogen, 
that  is,  to  advance  her  to  the  position  of  wife  to  the  Queen's  son,  for  though  she 
was  his  heir,  she  was  as  a  woman  inferior  to  a  prince,  but  Imogen  refused  and 
referred  herself  unto  Posthumus,  that  is,  she  drew  back,  she  retreated  to  a  station 
lower  down. — ED. 

22.  hath  a  heart  that  is  not]  POPE  (ed.  i.)  inserted  a  but  before  'hath,'  thereby 
anticipating  WALKER  (Crit.,  iii,  314),  who  conjectured  it  also,  and  remarked  that 
'the  common  reading  is  absolutely  unmetrical;  and  the  proposed  one,  though 
more  incorrect  in  point  of  grammar  than  Shakespeare's  wont,  is  not  perhaps 
without  a  parallel  in  him.  Or  is  the  error  in  "looks "? '  Pope  in  his  ed.  ii.  amended 
the  grammar  by  omitting  'not.'  Is  there,  however,  any  defect  needing  change  in 
the  Folio? — VAUGHAN  (p.  330)  says  truly  that  '"Not  a  courtier  hath  a  heart  that 
is  not  glad"  is  correctly  equivalent  to  "Every  courtier  hath  a  heart  that  is  glad"; 
and  therefore,  the  text  of  the  Folio  is  certainly  right.' 


ACT  i,  sc.  i.]  CYMBELINE  13 

Glad  at  the  thing  they  fcowle  at.  23 

2    And  why  fo? 

1  He  that  hath  mifs'd  the  Princeffe,  is  a  thing  25 
Too  bad,  for  bad  report  :  and  he  that  hath  her, 

(I  meane,  that  married  her,  alacke  good  man, 

And  therefore  banifh'd)  is  a  Creature,  fuch, 

As  to  feeke  through  the  Regions  of  the  Earth 

For  one,  his  like  ;  there  would  be  fomething  failing  30 

In  him,  that  fhould  compare.     I  do  not  thinke, 

So  faire  an  Outward,  and  fuch  ftuffe  Within 

Endowes  a  man,  but  hee. 

2  You  fpeake  him  farre.  34 

23.  Glad  at]  Glad  of  Sta.  conj.  (Athe-  30.  one,  his  like;]  one,  he  like;  F2F3. 
nseum,  14  June,  '73).                                       one,  he  likes;  F4.    one  his  like,  Pope  et 

the  thing]  the  the  thing  F3.  seq. 

fcowle]  fcoule  F3.    jcowl  F4.  33.  but  hee}  but  him  Rowe,+,  Var. 

24.  why]  wy  F2.  '73. 

27,      28.  (I...banijh'd)]     I...banistid  34.  farre]  F2.   fair  F3F4,  Rowe,  Pope, 

Johns.  Cam.  Theob.  ii.    farr  Theob.  i.    far  Han.  et 

27.  man]  man!  Theob.  et  seq.  seq. 

27.  alacke  good  man]  STAUNTON  (Athenaum,  14  June,  '73)  thinks  that  Capell's 
punctuation,  generally  followed,  which  places  this  exclamation  between  dashes, 
and  with  an  exclamation  mark,  appears  to  imply  that  'Posthumus  is  to  be  com- 
miserated for  having  married  Imogen!'  We  ought,  therefore,  to  read,  'I  mean  that 
married  her — alack,  good  man,  And  therefore  banish'd!—  —HUDSON  adopted 
the  suggestion. 

31.  In  him,  that  should  compare]  INGLEBY:  That  is,  in  the  case  of  him  who 
should  be  selected  to  stand  the  comparison. 

33.  but  hee]  For  numberless  examples  of  irregularities  in  the  use  of  personal 
pronouns,  see  ABBOTT  (§§  205-243). 

34.  farre]  THEOBALD  wisely  followed  Fr,  and  paraphrased  it,  'You  speak  widely, 
with  latitude,  in  his  praises';  and  then  the  other  replies  with  great  propriety,  'as 
widely  as  I  speak  of  him,  I  extend  him  within  the  lists  and  compass  of  his  own 
merit.'     This  true  interpretation  WARBURTON  dogmatically  asserted  to  be  'the 
most  insufferable  nonsense,'  and  proceeded  to  show  that  the  passage  should  be 
read  and  pointed,  'I  don't  extend  him,  Sir;  within  himself  Crush  him,'  &c.,  for 
the  substance  of  his  note,  he  was  bravely  ridiculed  by  Edwards  (p.  223).     War- 
burton's  overbearing  manner  so  intimidated  poor  Theobald,  that  in  his  second  edi- 
tion he  actually  gave  up  'far'  without  comment.     Not  so  HANMER,  who  bravely 
adhered  to  'far'  in  both  his  editions,  but  ignobly  adopted  Warburton's  emenda- 
tion in   the  second  line.     Warburton's  argument  that  'extend,'   ex  m  termini, 
signified  'the  drawing  out  anything  beyond  its  "lists  and  compass,"'  so  far  pre- 
vailed with  CAPELL,  that  he  rashly  followed  Warburton's  text,  but  repented  in  his 
Notes,  p.  102,  and  gives  what  he  calls  'the  certain  interpretation,'  namely,  'admit- 
ting the  extension,  but  asserting  that,/ar  as  he  may  seem  to  have  carry'd  it,  he  has 
come  short  of  what  his  real  worth  is;  and  has  rather  crush 'd  it  together,  than  un- 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  i. 

1  I  do  extend  him  (Sir)  within  himfelfe,  35 
Crufh  him  together,  rather  then  vnfold 

His  meafure  duly. 

2  What's  his  name,  and  Birth  ? 

i    I  cannot  delue  him  to  the  roote  :  His  Father 
Was  call'd  Sicillins,  who  did  ioyne  his  Honor  40 

35.  do]  don't  Han.  Warb.  Cap.  38.  What's]  whats  F2. 

35,  36.  (Sir)  within  himfelfe,  Crujh]  40.  ioyne]   gain  Wh.   Jervis.   Huds. 

Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Cam.    sir;  within  him-  win  Jervis   ap.    Dyce   ii,   Ingl.     earn 

self    Crush    Han.    Warb.    Cap.      sir,  Anon.  ap.  Cam. 

within  himself;  Crush  Theob.  et  cet.  ioyne  his]  purchase  Kinnear.   joy 

35.  within]  which  Ff.  in  Dowden  conj. 

37.  duly]  dully  Ff.    fully  Rowe. 

folded  it  duly' — JOHNSON  thus  tersely  expresses  this  meaning,  'I  extend  him  within 
himself;  my  praise  however  extensive  is  within  his  merit.'  And  then  asks,  'what  is 
there  in  this  which  common  language  and  common  sense  will  not  admit?'  A 
writer,  however,  in  the  Critical  Review,  for  February,  1766  (quoted  by  Eccles,  p.  6), 
would  not  admit  it.  'We  know,'  he  says,  'that  to  extend,  in  a  legal  sense,  is  to 
value  lands,  goods,  and  tenements.  If  the  reader  carries  this  in  his  eye,  Shake- 
speare's meaning,  as  it  stands  in  the  original,  is  as  elegant  and  sensible,  as  Mr 
Johnson's  is  forced  and  unnatural.'  Unquestionably,  to  extend  has  a  legal  mean- 
ing of  to  value,  to  assess,  but  did  ever  lawyer  hear  of  extending  lands  or  goods 
'within  themselves.'  It  would  be  an  enviable  sight  to  see  a  writ  of  extent  thus 
drawn  up,  or  the  puzzled  face  of  the  sheriff  who  received  it!  This  note  from 
The  Critical  Review  would  assuredly  not  have  been  recorded  had  not  VAUGHAN 
(iii,  331),  in  our  own  day,  supported  it,  and  DOWDEN  given  it  recognition.  To  me, 
the  use  of  'within  himself  puts  all  legal  reference  'out  of  court,'  and  sustains  the 
interpretation  of  Theobald,  Heath,  Capell,  Dr  Johnson,  and  of  almost  all  subse- 
quent editors,  as  the  true  one. — DOWDEN:  'If  emendation  be  needed,  perhaps 
joy  in  (as  in  Love's  L.  L.,  I,  i,  104,  "joyed  in  the  glory")  would  be  the  simplest.' 
See  'to  extend  him,'  I,  v,  23. — ED. 

40.  ioyne]  STEEVENS  said  that  he  did  'not  understand  what  can  be  meant  by 
"joining  his  honour  against,"  etc.,  with,  etc.'  Perhaps  our  author  wrote,  'join 
his  banner,'  And  INGLEBY  asserted  that  'it  cannot  be  right,  on  account  of  the 
opposed  clause — "But  had  his  titles,"  etc.'  The  opposition  is  not,  I  think,  be- 
tween 'Honor'  and  'titles,'  but  between  'Cassibulan'  and  'Tenantius.'  Subse- 
quent editors  have  found  here  little  or  no  difficulty. — DEIGHTON  says  that  'the 
meaning  seems  to  be  that  though  Sicilius  fought  honourably  with  Cassibelan 
against  the  Romans,  he  did  not  obtain  any  recognition  of  his  services  in  the  way 
of  titles,  until  later  on  he  again  served  under  Tenantius  against  the  same  enemies.' 
— ROLFE  thinks  no  change  is  really  called  for. — WYATT  believes  that '  "join  "  yields 
good  enough  sense.' — HERFORD  paraphrases:  'brought  his  renowned  soldiership 
to  the  service  of  Cassibelan.' — DELIUS,  to  the  same  effect. — VAUGHAN  (iii,  332), 
however,  considers  that  'neither  the  matter  nor  the  language  countenances  these 
'far-fetched  explanations'  and,  consequently,  evades  all  difficulty  by  changing  the 
words,  and  had  'little  doubt  that  we  should  read'  'did  join  his  colour,'  etc.  'I  have 
adopted,'  says  Dr  Johnson,  in  his  immortal  Preface,  'the  Roman  sentiment,  that 


ACT  i,  sc.  i.]  CYMBELINE  15 

Againft  the  Romanes,  with  Cajfibulan,  41 

But  had  his  Titles  by  Tenantius,  whom 

He  feru'd  with  Glory,  and  admir'd  Succeffe  : 

So  gain'd  the  Sur-addition,  Leonatus. 

And  had  (befides  this  Gentleman  in  queftion)  45 

Two  other  Sonnes,  who  in  the  Warres  o'th'time 

Dy'de  with  their  Swords  in  hand.  For  which,  their  Father 

Then  old,  and  fond  of  yffue,  tooke  fuch  forrow 

That  he  quit  Being  ;  and  his  gentle  Lady 

Bigge  of  this  Gentleman  (our  Theame^  deceaft  50 

As  he  was  borne.     The  King  he  takes  the  Babe 

To  his  protection,  cals  him  Poftliumus  Leonatus,  52 

41.  Romanes]  Romans  F3F4.  50.  Bigge]  Big  Ff. 

Caffibulan]  Caffibelan  Ff  et  (our  Thea-me)  deceajl]  (our  Theam 

seq.  deceaft)  F4.  our  Theam,  deceased;  Rowe, 

46.  o'tk1]  o'the  Cap.  et  seq.  +. 

48.  of]  of's  Coll.  (monovol.  MS.),  52.  Leonatus]  Om.  Pope,+,  Cap. 

Huds.  Varr.  Mai.  Ran.  Steev.  Varr. 

it  is  more  honourable  to  save  a  citizen  than  to  kill  an  enemy,  and  have  been  more 
careful  to  protect  than  to  attack.' — DOWDEN  paraphrases:    'Who  gave  the  in- 
fluence of  his  personal  reputation — or  soldierly  virtue,  summed  up  in  "honour" 
to  Cassibelan,  but  obtained  his  titles  later  from  Tenantius.' 

42.  Tenantius]  M ALONE  gives  a  long  note  here,  which  has  been  followed  in 
whole,  or  in  part,  by  many  editors,  to  the  effect  that,  this  Tenantius  'was  the 
father  of  Cymbeline,  and  nephew  of  Cassibelan,  being  the  younger  son  of  his  elder 
brother,  Lud;  ...  on  whose  death  Cassibelan  was  admitted  King.     Cassibelan 
repulsed  the  Romans  on  their  first  attack,  but,  being  vanquished  by  Julius  Caesar 
on  his  second  invasion  of  Britain,  he  agreed  to  pay  an  annual  tribute  to  Rome. 
After  his  death,  Tenantius,  Lud's  younger  son  (his  elder  brother  Androgeus  having 
fled  to  Rome),  was  established  on  the  throne  of  which  they  had  been  unjustly  de- 
prived by  their  uncle,'  etc.     These  'facts,'  as  Malone  terms  them,  were  furnished, 
as  he  says,  to  Shakespeare  by  Holinshed.     But  BOSWELL-STONE  (p.  7,  foot-note) 
says  that  'Shakespere  seems  to  have  adopted  Fabian's  conjecture  (reported  in 
Holinshed,  i,  Hist,  of  Eng.,  31)  that  Cassibelan,  Androgeus,  and  Tenantius  were 
sons  of  Lud,  Cymbeline's  grandfather;  for  Cymbeline  is  reminded  by  Lucius  that 
tribute  was  imposed  by  Julius  Caesar  on  "Cassibulan,  thine  Vnkle"  (Cym.,  Ill, 

1,9)-' 

51.  King  he]  For  other  instances  of  this  redundant  pronoun,  see  ABBOTT  (§  243). 

52.  protection]    The   -lion   is  to  be  pronounced,   of  course,   dissolute,  which 
throws  the  accent  on  the  second  syllable  of  Posthumus,  as  it  should  be  throughout 
the  play.     See  Dram.  Pers.,  'Posthumus,'  above. 

52.  Leonatus]  This  'sur  addition'  is  omitted  for  the  sake  of  the  metre,  by 
every  editor  from  Pope  to  Knight,  who  remarks  that  'it  was  given  to  connect  the 
child  with  the  memory  of  his  father,  and  to  mark  the  circumstance  of  his  being 
born  after  his  father's  death,'  and  should  be,  therefore,  retained  on  the  score  of  its 
meaning;  and  as  to  the  metre,  DYCE,  in  a  note  on  2  Hen.  VI:  I,  i,  7:  'The  Dukes  of 


THE   TRACE  DIE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  i. 

Breedes  him,  and  makes  him  of  his  Bed-chamber,  53 

Puts  to  him  all  the  Learnings  that  his  time 

Could  make  him  the  receiuer  of,  which  he  tooke  55 

As  we  do  ayre,  faft  as  'twas  minisftred, 

And  in's  Spring,  became  a  Harueft  :  Liu'd  in  Court 

(Which  rare  it  is  to  do)  moft  prais'd,  moft  lou'd, 

A  fample  to  the  yongeft  :  to  th'more  Mature, 

A  glaffe  that  feated  them  :  and  to  the  grauer,  60 

54.  to  him]  him  to  Var.  '03,  '13,  '21.  57.  And  in's  Spring]  Ff,  Johns.  Knt, 
Learnings]  learning  Var.  '78,  '85.         Sta.    Dyce,    Glo.    Cam.      His    spring 

55.  receiuer  of,]  receiver,  o/Ingl.  conj.         Pope,+.    In's  Elze,  Ingl.    In  his  Cap. 

56.  57.    As. ..And]    One    line    Cap.         et  cet. 

Varr.    Mai.    Ran.    Steev.    Varr.    Coll.  Liu'd]  he  liv'd  Han. 

Ktly,  Huds.  Ingl.  59-  yongefl]  youngest  Pope,+,  Cap. 

56.  minijlred,]  Ff,  Rowe,  Johns.  Sta.  th'more]  Ff,  Rowe,+,  Knt.    the 
Glo.     ministred.  Pope,+.     minister 'd;  more  Cap.  et  cet. 

Cap.  et  cet.  60.  feated]  featur'd  Rowe,-f,  Cap. 

Orleans,  Calaber,  Bretagne,  and  Alencon,'  observes  that  Shakespeare,  like  other 
early  dramatists,  considered  himself  at  liberty  occasionally  to  disregard  the  laws 
of  metre  in  the  case  of  proper  names,  e.  g.,  a  blank  verse  speech  in  Rich.  II:  II,  i, 
284,  contains  the  following  formidable  line:  'Sir  John  Norbery,  Sir  Robert  Water- 
ton,  and  Francis  Quoint.' — ED. 

54.  Puts  to  him]  INGLEBY  asserted  that  there  is  no  other  certain  example  in 
Shakespeare  of  this  use  of  'put  to,'  and  because  of  the  phrase  'receiver  of  in  the 
next  line,  he  suggested  that  'puts  to'  may  mean  'puts  into.' — HOLCOMBE  INGLEBY, 
however,  in  a  revised  edition  of  his  father's  work,  quotes  'and  to  him  put  The 
manage  of  my  state.' — Temp.,  I,  ii,  69,  which  is,  apparently,  exactly  parallel,  but 
THISTLETON  doubts,  and  suggests  that  'it  is  rather  to  be  explained  by  the  use  of 
"put"  in  Henry  VII. 's  Statute  De  proclamacione  facienda:  "Whiche  lawes  ought 
to  be  put  in  due  execucion  by  the  Justice  of  peas  in  every  shyre  of  this  reame.  to 
whom  his  grace  hath  put  and  given  full  auctoryte  soo  to  do."'  Thistleton  also 
quotes  the  parallel  use  of  'put'  in  Love's  L.  Lost:  'If  their  sons  be  ingenuous,  they 
shall  want  no  instruction;  If  their  daughters  be  capable,  I  will  put  it  to  them.' — 
IV,  ii,  80. — SCHMIDT  (Lex.,  s.  v.,  4.)  gives  the  present  among  several  other  instances 
to  which  he  gives  the  meaning  to  impart,  but  none  is  exactly  parallel  in  form,  inas- 
much as  their  direct  object  precedes  the  indirect,  which  is  common  enough, — the 
Variorums  of  '03,  '13,  and  '21  so  printed  the  present  phrase, — but  in  our  present 
text  the  indirect  precedes  the  direct.  This  inversion,  however,  creates  no  real 
difficulty,  the  meaning  is  the  same  in  either  case.  If  imparts  implies  an  active  use 
as  a  teacher  unbefitting  the  dignity  of  a  King,  then  paraphrase  it  by  o/er,  or  assign, 
or  place  before. — ED. 

57,  58.  Liu'd  in  Court  .  .  .  most  lou'd]    JOHNSON:    This    enconium   is    high 
and  artful.     To  be  at  once  in  any  great  degree  loved  and  praised  is  truly  rare. 

60.  feated]  It  is  not  worth  while  to  repeat  Dr  JOHNSON'S  long  note  wherein  he 
attempted,  in  revolt  against  Rowe's  featur'd,  to  justify  his  reading  of  feared,  i.  e.,  to 
fright.  It  was  reprinted  in  the  Var.  of  1773,  but  in  that  of  1778  this  paragraph  was 
added:  'If  "feated"  be  the  right  word,  it  must,  I  think,  be  explained  thus:  "a 


ACT  i,  sc.  i.]  CYMBELINE  17 

A  Childe  that  guided  Dotards.     To  his  Miftris,  61 

(For  whom  he  now  is  banifh'd)  her  owne  price 

Proclaimes  how  fhe  efteem'd  him;  and  his  Vertue 

By  her  ele6lio  may  be  truly  read,  what  kind  of  man  he  is. 

2    I  honor  him,  euen  out  of  your  report.  65 

But  pray  you  tell  me,  is  fhe  fole  childe  to'th'King? 

i    His  onely  childe  :  67 

61.  To]  For  Han.  Coll.  MS.  64.  U'hat...he  is}  Separate  line  Rowe 

62.  banijh'd\  banish' d...  Ktly.  et  seq. 

62.  63.  her. ..Vertue]    In  parentheses  65.  euen]  ev'n  Pope,+. 
Vaughan.  65,  66.  euen  out... tell  me]  One  line, 

63.  him;  and  his  Vertue]  Ff,  Rowe  i.         Johns,  et  seq. 

him.     And  his   vertue   Rowe   ii.     him  66.  pray]    'pray   Mai.    Steev.    Varr. 

and   his   vertue.    Pope,  +  ,    Ktly.     him  Knt,  Sing.  Ktly. 

and  his  vertue;  Cap.  et  cet.  to'lh']  to  thee  Cap.  et  seq. 

64.  read,}  read  Pope,  Theob.  Warb.  67.  childe:}  child?  Ff.     child.  Rowe 

et  seq. 

glass  that  formed  them";  a  model,  by  the  contemplation  and  inspection  of  which 
they  formed  their  manners.' — In  MALOKE'S  edition  of  1790,  the  first  to  appear 
after  Johnson's  death  in  1784,  the  note  was  suppressed,  and  of  the  added  paragraph 
only  the  definition  was  retained:  'A  glass  that  formed  them,'  etc.;  and  so  it  has 
appeared  in  all  the  subsequent  Variorums.  We  have  the  adjective  in  this  play 
(V,  v,  106)  where  Lucius  extols  his  page  as  'So  feate,'  when  it  evidently  means 
skilful,  apt,  etc.  As  this  is  the  only  instance  known  to  the  N.  E.  D.  of  the  verb  used 
in  a  similar  connection,  every  student  is  at  liberty  to  form  his  own  definition,  and 
editors  have  availed  themselves  of  the  chance.  To  me,  however,  Dr  BRADLEY'S  def- 
inition (in  the  N.  E.  D.)  preceded  by  a  qu.?  is  just:  'To  constrain  to  propriety.' — ED. 
61.  To  his  Mistris]  CAPELL  has  no  parentheses  in  the  next  line,  but  places  a 
dash  after  'banish'd,'  '  which  shews,'  he  says,  'that  something  is  left  to  be  supplied 
by  ourselves, — which  something  is  easily  deducible  from  what  goes  before;— 
"to  his  mistress,"  etc.  (it  is  needless  to  say  what  he  was);  the  value  that  she  dis- 
cover'd  in  him,  may  be  estimated  by  that  of  herself.' — COLLIER'S  MS.  and  HANMER 
read  'For  his  mistress — .' — MONCK  MASON  says  the  'To'  means  'as  to.'  'As  to' 
appears,  as  an  MS.  correction  in  Warburton's  own  copy  of  Shakespear  (N.  6"  Q., 
VIII,  iii,  263). — DEIGHTON  says  that  here  the  construction  is  changed;  to  the  same 
effect  ROLFE. — WYATT  pronounces  it  an  anacoluthon. — VAUGHAN  asserts  that 
these  concluding  lines  'have  not  been  properly  understood  by  any  critic,'  and  that 
'To  his  mistress'  must  be  understood  as  depending  directly  on  'what  kind  of  a  man 
he  is. '  Whatever  difficulty  there  be,  is  it  not  due  to  the  punctuation? — DOWDEN, 
in  agreement  with  Deighton  and  Rolfe,  thinks  'the  construction  with  "to,"  caught 
from  the  preceding  sentence,  is  broken.'  This  is  true.  To  me  it  seems  that  the 
speaker  means  to  keep  up  exactly  the  same  construction,  but  was  diverted,  by  his 
own  explanatory  parenthesis,  and  then  failed  to  complete  his  sentence  in  harmony 
with  what  preceded.  As  the  sentence  now  stands,  I  think  Wyatt  rightly  pro- 
nounces it  an  anacoluthon.  Had  not  the  compositors  placed  a  period  after 
'Dotards,'  the  mental  continuance  of  the  construction  might  possibly  have  been 
clearer.  Again  in  line  63  the  punctuation  is  misleading:  the  semicolon  after  'him' 
should,  I  think,  follow  'Vertue.' — ED. 


1 8  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  i. 

He  had  two  Sonnes  (if  this  be  worth  your  hearing,  68 

Marke  it)  the  el  deft  of  them,  at  three  yeares  old 
Pth'fwathing  cloathes,  the  other  from  their  Nurfery  70 

Were  ftolne,  and  to  this  houre,  no  gheffe  in  knowledge 
Which  way  they  went. 
2    How  long  is  this  ago  / 

1  Some  twenty  yeares. 

2  That  a  Kings  Children  fhould  be  fo  conuey'd,  75 
So  flackely  guarded,  and  the  fearch  fo  flow 

68,  69.  (if. ..it)]  if. ..it;  Johns.  71.  gheffe]  gueffe  F3.    guefs  F4. 

69.  eldejl]  eld'st  Sing.  Dyce,  Huds.  75.  conuey'd]     Ff,     Theob.     Warb. 
69,   70.  old  I'th\.. cloathes,  the  other]        Johns.  Coll.  Glo.     convey'd!   Rowe  et 

old,  I'th...cloaths  the  other,  Rowe  et  seq.         cet. 

71.  Jlolne,]   Ff,  Rowe,    Glo.     stol'n;  76.  guarded,]     Ff,     Rowe,+,     Coll. 

Pope  et  cet.  Sta.  Glo.    guarded!  Cap.  et  cet. 

69.  eldest]  WALKER  (Vers.,  168)  gives  this  word  as  an  example  of  the  suppres- 
sion of  e  in  superlatives.  The  use  of  the  word  'suppression'  is  here,  I  think,  ob- 
jectionable, especially  when  it  creates  a  word  as  harsh  as  eldst,  which  is  almost 
unpronounceable  by  anyone  who  aims  at -clear  enunciation.  Should  mechanical 
metre  ever  interfere  with  the  music  of  rhythm?  When  Wordsworth  writes, '  Where 
rivulets  dance  their  wayward  round,'  are  we  to  silence  the  dancing  melody  and  at 
the  behest  of  scansion,  lose  a  ripple  in  saying, '  Where  riv'lets  dance?'  A  man  who 
cannot  retain  such  redundant  syllables  and  so  pronounce  them  as  not  to  mar 
the  melody  of  the  verse  should  never  attempt  to  read  poetry  aloud  or  to  speak 
it.— ED. 

71.  no  ghesse  in  knowledge]  INGLEBY:  That  is,  'no  guess'  resulting  'in  knowl- 
edge.'— DOWDEN:  No  intelligent,  well-informed  guess. — HERFG-RD:  No  guess 
which  approves  itself  as  true. — VAUGHAN:  No  guess  in  ascertaining  which  way 
they  went.  [This  last  guess  seems  to  me  the  best.  If  the  order  of  the  words  be 
changed,  will  not  the  phrase  then  explain  itself:  'in  the  knowledge  which  way  they 
went,  there  is  not  seen  a  guess'? — ED.] 

73.  How  long  .  .  .  ago  ?]  ECCLES:  The  ignorance  of  the  second  Gentleman  re- 
specting matters  which  we  must  necessarily  suppose  to  be  of  such  general  notoriety 
can  only  be  accounted  for  by  imagining  him  a  stranger,  or  one  long  absent  from  the 
Court.  [See  BULLOCH,  line  4,  supra.] 

75.  That]  COLLIER  (ed.  ii.):  The  MS.,  perhaps  to  render  the  sense  more  clear, 
and  in  conformity  with  the  recitation  of  the  passage  to  which  his  ear  may  have 
been  accustomed,  gives  the  line  thus  'Strange!  a  King's  children,'  etc.  The  emen- 
dation receives  some  confirmation  from  the  next  speech,  which  begins,  'Howsoe'er 
'tis  strange,'  etc.,  as  if  the  i  Gentleman  had  repeated  the  word  just  spoken  by  the 
person  with  whom  he  was  conversing. 

75.  conuey'd]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.,  6,  b.) :  A  euphuism  for:  To  steal.  [Quota- 
tions follow  from  The  Babees  Book,  1460;  Cranmer,  1548,  and  from  the  oft-quoted 
passage  in  Merry  Wives:  'Nym.  The  good  humour  is  to  steal  at  a  minute's  rest. 
Pistol.  "Convey"  the  wise  it  call.  "Steal!"  fob!  a  fico  for  the  phrase!' — I, 


ACT  i,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE  19 

That  could  not  trace  them.  77 

1  Howfoere,  'tis  ftrange, 

Or  that  the  negligence  may  well  be  laugh'd  at : 

Yet  is  it  true  Sir.  80 

2  I  do  well  beleeue  you. 

I    We  muft  forbeare.     Heere  comes  the  Gentleman, 
The  Queene,  and  Princeffe.  Exeunt         83 


Scena  Secimda. 

Enter  tJic  Queene ,  Pojlliumus,  and  Imogen. 

Qn.     No,  be  affur'd  you  fhall  not  finde  me(Daughter) 
After  the  flander  of  moft  Step-Mothers, 

Euill-ey'd  vnto  you.     You're  my  Prifoner,  but  5 

Your  Gaoler  fhall  deliuer  you  the  keyes 
That  locke  vp  your  reftraint.     For  you  Poflhumus,  7 

77.  That]   That't   or    That'  Elze  (p.  Huds. 

298).  The  same.  Cap.  Mai. 

them.]  Ff.    them —  Rowe,  Johns.  2.  Imogen.]  Imogen  and  Attendants. 

them!—    Pope,  Han.     them—    Theob.  Rowe,  Pope,  Theob.  Johns.  Varr. 

Warb.    them!  Cap.  et  cet.  5.  Euill-ey'd]  Ptt-ey'd  Pope,  Theob. 

79.  at:]  at,  Rowe  et  seq.  Warb.     Ill-eyd  Han. 

80.  is  it]  it  is  Han.  ii.  You're}   Ff,   Rowe,  +  ,   Cap.   Sta. 
83.  Exeunt]  Exrunt.  F2.  Dyce,  Glo.  Huds.     You  are  Varr.  Mai. 

i.  Scena  Secunda]  Scene  continued.         Steev.  Varr.  Knt,  Coll.  Sing.  Ktly. 
Rowe,  Theob.  Sta.  Dyce,  Glo.  Coll.  iii,  Prifoner]  prisoner  Pope,+. 

82.  the  Gentleman]  It  is  not  unlikely  that  the  omission  of  these  two  words  in 
the  Var.  1803  was  accidental.  The  entrance  of  Posthumus  occurs  in  the  stage- 
direction  at  the  opening  of  the  next  scene;  and  REED,  the  editor  of  that  Var.,  was 
a  careful  scholar.  The  Var.  of  1813  and  1821  heedlessly  followed  the  oversight.- 
KNIGHT,  however,  roundly  denounces  the  omission,  which  he  ascribes  to  'the 
editors,'  as  though  it  had  been  intentional  on  the  part  of  all  his  predecessors. — ED. 

1.  Scena  Secunda]  COLLIER:   There  is  evidently  no  change  of  place,  which,  on 
the  English  stage,  is  usually  necessary  in  order  to  constitute  a  new  scene. 

2.  Enter  the  Queene]  WYATT:    The  Queen  allows  the  interview  to  take  place 
in  order  that  she  may  bring  the  King  to  witness  it,  and  so  incense  him  further 
against  Posthumus.     See  lines  41,  42. 

4.  slander]  From  the  days  of  the  novercalia  odia  of  Tacitus,  and  possibly  long 
before,  this  'slander'  has  accompanied  the  human  race. — ED. 

5.  Euill]  For  many  examples  from  Shakespeare,  as  well  as  from  other  dramatists, 
where  this  word  is  evidently  contracted  to  a  monosyllable,  see  WALKER  (Crit.,  ii, 
196). — POPE,  followed  by  THEOBALD  and  WARBURTON,  prints  /'//,  to  show  that  it  is 
a  monosyllable. — HANMER  prints  ///. — ED. 


20  THE  TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  ii. 

So  foone  as  I  can  win  th'offended  King,  8 

I  will  be  knowne  your  Aduocate  :  marry  yet 

The  fire  of  Rage  is  in  him,  and  'twere  good  10 

You  lean'd  vnto  his  Sentence,  with  what  patience 
Your  wifedome  may  informe  you. 

Pojl.    'Pleafe  your  Highneffe,i 
I  will  from  hence  to  day. 

Qu.     You  know  the  perill  :  15 

He  fetch  a  turne  about  the  Garden,  pittying 
The  pangs  of  barr'd  Affections,  though  the  King 
Hath  charged  you  mould  not  fpeake  together.  Exit 

Into.     O  diffembling  Curtefiej   How  fine  this  Tyrant 
Can  tickle  where  me  wounds?    My  deereft  Husband,  20 

I  fomething  feare  my  Fathers  wrath,  but  nothing 
(Alwayes  referu'd  my  holy  duty)  what  22 

13.  'Pleafe]  FT.  Ran.  Knt,  Coll.  i,  Sta.  Om.  Pope,+ 

17.  pangs]  bangs  F4.  As    closing   line  18  Cap.  Mai.  Steev. 

Affections,}  Ff ,  Rovve,  Pope,  Han.  Varr.   Sing.   Dyce,   Ktly,   Glo.   Huds. 

Coll.  Sta.  Glo.     affections;  Theob.  et  Oh  Coll.  ii,  Ktly. 

cet.  20.  wounds?]  Ff,  Cap.  wounds! 

19.  0]  Ff,  Rowe,  Var.  '73,  '78,  '85,  Rovve  et  cet. 

9.  marry]  WALKER  (Vers.,  187)  says  this  is  commonly  a  monosyllable  and  gives 
the  present  line  as  an  instance.  I  cannot  quite  accept  this  assertion;  actors  on  the 
stage  generally  endeavour  to  speak  intelligibly.  Hath  not  here  at  least  the  zeal  of 
Walker's  metre  eaten  him  up? — ED. 

13.  'Please]  Note  the  apostrophe  before  'Please/  which  indicates,  I  suppose,  the 
omission  of  so  or  an  it, — as  commendable  as  it  is  unusual.  Helene,  Imogen's  lady, 
says  'Please  you'  (II,  ii,  4),  but  she  lacks  the  philological  strain  of  Posthumus; 
there  is  no  apostrophe. — ED. 

19.  O]  Led  by  CAPELL,  some  of  the  best  modern  editors  have  printed  this  'O' 
as  closing  the  preceding  line.  I  say  '  printed '  because  it  is  for  the  eye  alone.  Is  it 
conceivable  how,  either  in  acting  or  in  speaking  this  exclamation,  can  be  so  ut- 
tered as  to  indicate  that,  without  it,  the  Queen  had  inconsiderately  departed  leaving 
behind  her  a  metrically  incomplete  line?  Perhaps  Imogen  called  it  quickly  after 
her  before  she  had  quite  shut  the  door. — ED. 

22.  (Alwayes  reseru'd  my  holy  duty)]  JOHNSON:  I  say  I  do  not  fear  my 
father,  so  far  as  I  may  say  it  without  breach  of  duty. — DELIUS  understands  '  holy 
duty'  as  referring  to  her  husband.  'As  long  as  this  remains  undisturbed,  she  does 
not  fear,  in  other  respects,  what  her  father's  anger  can  inflict  on  her.' — HERTZBERG 
takes  the  same  view:  'that  "holy  duty"  refers  to  her  marriage  is  clear  enough;  but 
what,  however,  is  not  so  clear  is  how  her  father's  wrath  can  cause  any  infraction 
of  it,  unless  it  be  that  Imogen  intends  to  express  that  in  some  possible  way  her 
strength  might  prove  insufficient  to  hold  out  in  her  passive  opposition  to  her 
father's  determination  to  marry  her  to  another.'  That  Imogen  could  ever  yield  is 
unthinkable;  and  the  possible  interpretation  of  her  words,  suggested  by  Hertz- 


ACT  i,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE  21 

His  rage  can  do  on  me.     You  muft  be  gone,  23 

And  I  fhall  heere  abide  the  hourely  (hot 

Of  angry  eyes  :  not  comforted  to  Hue,  25 

But  that  there  is  this  lewell  in  the  world, 

That  I  may  fee  againe. 

Pojl.     My  Queene,  my  Miftris  : 
O  Lady,  weepe  no  more,  leaft  I  giue  caufe 

To  be  fufpected  of  more  tenderneffe  30 

Then  doth  become  a  man.    I  will  remaine 
The  loyall'ft  husband,  that  did  ere  plight  troth. 
My  refidence  in  Rome,  at  one  Filoritfs, 
Who,  to  my  Father  was  a  Friend,  to  me 

Knowne  but  by  Letter  ;  thither  write  (my  Queene)  35 

And  with  mine  eyes,  lie  drinke  the  words  you  fend, 
Though  Inke  be  made  of  Gall.  37 

28.  Queene^  Queen!  Rowe  et  seq.  33.  Rome]  Rome's  Ktly. 

Miftris:]  Mistress!  Rowe  et  seq.  Filorio's,]     F2.      Florio's,     F3F4. 

29.  more,]    Ff,    Ro\ve,  +  ,    Var.    '73,         Philario's,    Rowe,    Pope,    Han.    Glo. 
Coll.  Sta.    more;   Cap.  et  cet.  Philario's;  Theob.  et  cet. 

leaft]  left  Ff.  34.  Who]  u-ho  F4.  Rowe  et  seq. 

31.  Then]  Than  F4. 

berg,  reveals,  I  think,  the  error  in  supposing  that  'holy  duty'  refers  to  her  marriage. 
In  Imogen's  darkest  hour  a  divine  prohibition  cravened  her  weak  hand.  So  now 
the  duty  to  her  father  is  rendered  'holy'  by  the  divine  command  in  the  Deca- 
logue.— ED. 

23.  on  me.  You  must]  COLERIDGE  (p.  302):  Place  the  emphasis  on  'me'; 
for  'rage'  is  a  mere  repetition  of  'wrath.' — WYATT  observes  that  'you'  is  also  em- 
phatic. Whereupon  DOWDEN  remarks:  'Perhaps  so,  but  I  am  not  sure  that 
Imogen  contrasts  her  fear  for  herself  with  her  fear  for  Posthumus.  She  shrinks  a 
little  from  the  encounter  with  her  father,  the  wrath  itself  has  some  terror  in  it,  but 
she  does  not  fear  any  punishment  it  can  inflict.'  Is  it  not  likely  that  the  accent 
falls,  as  properly  as  metrically,  on  'must'?  Imogen  feels  that  Fate  has  decreed 
their  separation. — ED. 

29.  O  Lady]  What  a  halo  Shakespeare  throws  about  this  common,  often  vulgar, 
title!  He  seems  almost  to  reserve  it,  as  the  very  highest:  'Why  did  you  throw 
your  wedded  Lady  from  you?' — ED. 

32.  The    loyall'st    husband,    that    did    ere    plight    troth]    Note   that   while 
calling,  and  properly  calling,  himself  'a  husband,'  Posthumus  here  speaks  only  of 
having  plighted  his  troth. — ED. 

36,  37.  He  drinke  .  .  .  Though  Inke  be  made  of  Gall]  JOHNSON:  Shake- 
speare, even  in  this  poor  conceit,  has  confounded  the  vegetable  galls  used  in  ink, 
with  the  animal  gall,  supposed  to  be  bitter. — STEEVENS:  The  poet  might  mean 
either  the  vegetable  or  the  animal-galls  with  equal  propriety,  as  the  vegetable  gall 
is  bitter;  and  I  have  seen  an  ancient  receipt  for  making  ink,  beginning,  'Take  of 
the  black  juice  of  the  gall  of  oxen  two  ounces,'  &c. — VAUGHAN:  A  'conceit'  it  is;  but, 


22  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  ii. 

Enter  Queene.  38 

Qu.     Be  briefe,  I  pray  you  : 

If  the  King  come,  I  fhall  incurre,  I  know  not  40 

How  much  of  his  difpleafure  :  yet  He  moue  him 
To  walke  this  way  :  I  neuer  do  him  wrong, 
But  he  do's  buy  my  Iniuries,  to  be  Friends  : 
Payes  deere  for  my  offences.  44 

41.  difpleafure:      yet}    displeasure —  Q.,  IV,  viii,  197). 

yet  Rowe,  Pope,  Theob.  Han.  Warb.  42,    43.  wrong,. ..Iniuries, ...Friends:] 

displeasure.     Yet  Johns.  Var.  '73,  '78.  wrong.. .Injuries;. ..Friends,  Daniel. 

Coll.  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Ktly.  43.  do's  buy]  buys  of  Han. 

41-44.  yet.., offences.]  As  aside  Rowe  Friends:]    friends.    Ff.    friends, 

et  seq.  Rowe,  Pope,  Theob.  Han.  Warb.  Coll. 

42-44. 1. ..But. ..Friends:  Payes]  For  I  i,  ii.    friends  Johns.  Var.  '73. 

...But. ..friends;  And  pays  or  I. ..But  he  44.  [Exit.  Rowe  et  seq. 
who  buys... friends,  Pays  J.  Beale  (N.  & 

withal,  a  most  loving  pleasantry.     [Though  the  accent  in  'Though  ink  be  made,' 
etc.,  falls  metrically  on  'made,'  I  prefer  to  place  it  on  'be.' — ED.] 

42-44.  I  neuer  .  .  .  offences]  MALONE:  He  gives  me  a  valuable  consideration 
in  new  kindness  (purchasing,  as  it  were,  the  wrong  I  have  done  him)  in  order  to 
renew  our  amity,  and  make  us  friends  again. — KNIGHT:  The  meaning  of  the  crafty 
Queen  appears  to  be,  that  the  kindness  of  her  husband,  even  when  she  is  doing  him 
wrong,  purchases  injuries  as  if  they  were  benefits. — STAUNTON:  'Pays  dear  for  my 
offences'  is  a  clause  intended  possibly  to  replace  or  be  replaced  by  the  words 
'buy  my  injuries  to  be  friends':  the  first  thought  through  the  carelessness  of  the 
compositor  being  inserted  as  well  as  the  reconsidered  one. — B.  NICHOLSON  (N.  6* 
Q.,  Ill,  x,  346,  1866):  At  present  these  two  clauses  are  more  tautological  than  is 
usual  with  Shakespeare,  but  this  objection  may  be  removed,  and  a  distinct  meaning 
given  to  each  by  placing  the  colon  after  'injuries'  instead  of  after  'friends.'  She 
commences  by  saying,  with  direct  reference  to  the  present  instance,  that  when  she 
would  do  the  king  an  ill  turn,  she  so  disguised  it  in  kindness,  that  he  took  it  not  as 
an  offence,  but,  with  misplaced  affection,  bought  it  of  her  at  its  seeming  value. 
The  bringing  together  of  Posthumus  and  Imogen,  though  contrary  to  his  com- 
mands, would  be  put  down  to  such  kindliness  of  disposition,  and  to  such  over- 
fondness  for  all  that  was  his,  as  overcame  her  remembrance  of  the  wrong  done  to 
her  son.  The  bringing  of  himself  to  view  the  interview  would  be  but  forgetfulness 
of  everything  in  her  pleasure  in  his  society,  and  desire  to  withdraw  him  from  the 
general  throng  of  courtiers  into  the  precincts  of  her  own  more  private  garden. 
Such  simulations  of  love  would  be  met,  she  says,  with  a  greater  lavish  of  love. 
After  this,  however,  she  in  her  pride  of  craft  completes  the  portraiture  of  an  old 
and  doting  husband  ruled  by  a  cunning  woman,  and  goes  on  to  say  that  when  she 
quarrelled  with  him,  or  maliciously  or  craftily  bouded  [sic]  with  him,  or  gave  him 
open  offence,  he,  as  though  the  offence  and  blame  had  been  his  own,  would  seek  a 
reconciliation,  and  pay  dear  to  be  friends  again.  On  examining  the  wording,  it 
will  be  found  that '  injuries '  (that  is,  wrongs)  and  '  buys '  in  one  clause,  and  '  offences ' 
and  'pays'  in  the  other,  are  especially  chosen  to  make  the  difference  in  meaning 
more  clear. — VAUGHAN  (p.  337):  'I  shall  incur  the  King's  displeasure  if  he  come; 


ACT  i,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE  23 

Poft.     Should  we  be  taking  leaue  45 

As  long  a  terme  as  yet  we  haue  to  Hue, 
The  loathneffe  to  depart,  would  grow  :  Adieu. 

lino.     Nay,  ftay  a  little  : 
Were  you  but  riding  forth  to  ayre  your  felfe, 
Such  parting  were  too  petty.     Looke  heere  (Loue)  50 

This  Diamond  was  my  Mothers ;  take  it  (Heart) 
But  keepe  it  till  you  woo  another  Wife, 
When  Imogen  is  dead. 

Pojl.     How, how?   Another?  54 

47.  depart,]  depart  Rowe  ii.  et  seq.  Glo.  Ktly,  Cam.     How!  How!  Var.  '73 

48.  little:}  little—  Pope,+.  et  cet. 

54.  How,    how?]    Ff,    Rowe,    Pope,  54.  Another?]  Another !  Rowe, -\-,  Var. 

Theob.  i,  Han.     How,  how,  Theob.  ii,         '73. 
Warb.  Johns.    How,  how!  Cap.  Dyce, 

and  I  will  take  care  he  does  come,  in  order  to  make  a  quarrel,  in  this  way  between  us, 
which  he  will  seek  to  make  good  by  some  round  payment  to  me  in  return  for  my 
ill-treatment  of  him.  In  this  way  I  make  him  pay  dear  for  my  misbehaviour  to 
him.' — ABBOTT  (§  244,  'Omission  of  Relatives'):  So,  after  disobeying  Cymbeline 
by  allowing  Posthumus  to  speak  of  Imogen,  the  Queen,  while  purposing  to  betray 
Posthumus,  says  aside:  'Yet  I'll  move  him  (the  King)  To  walk  this  way;  I  never  do 
him  (the  King)  wrong  But  he  (who,  like  Posthumus)  does  buy  my  injuries  to  be 
friends,  Pays  dear  for  my  offences.' — [This  interpretation,  if  I  understand  it  (the 
punctuation  is  defective,  I  think  there  should  be  a  semicolon  after  'wrong')  is  as 
novel  as  it  is  ingenious.  It  takes  '  But  he  does  buy,'  etc.,  as  a  general  truth,  equiva- 
lent to  'But  whoever  buys,'  etc.  It  may  be  right,  but,  possibly,  we  do  not  know 
quite  enough  of  the  past  relations  between  the  Queen  and  Posthumus,  or  to  what 
extent  he  had  bought  her  injuries,  to  accept  it. — ED.] 

45-48.  Should  .  .  .  little]  VAUGHAN  would  read  'taking  our  leave';  and  to 
gain  this  trifling  immoment  change,  would  end  the  lines,  'be  .  .  .  yet  .  .  .  depart 
.  .  .  little,'  pronouncing  'Stay'  as  a  disyllabic, — a  linguistic  feat  which  arouses 
unavoidable  and  ardent  curiosity  to  know  how  it  is  performed. — ED. 

54.  How,  how  ?]  Can  it  be  that  the  interrogation  mark  is  here  correct?  Does 
Posthumus  ask  'how?'  twice,  as  though  he  had  not  heard  aright?  I  know  that 
this  interpretation  can  be  defended,  and  yet  I  cannot  believe  it  gives  the  true 
meaning.  It  is,  I  think,  the  spelling  which  misleads  us.  Ho!  the  imperative  of  the 
verb  'to  ho,'  to  cease,  stop,  halt,  is  frequently  in  the  Folio  printed  'how';  as  in 
'Ware  pencils,  ho!'  (How  in  the  Folio),  in  Love's  Lab.  Lost,  V,  ii,  45),  where  it  means 
stop!  That  ho  was  frequently  printed  'how'  DYCE  abundantly  shows  (Few  Notes, 
etc.,  p.  57);  in  cases  where  it  does  not  mean  stop,  cease,  as  in  'Peace,  how  the  morne' 
(Mer.  of  Yen.,  V,  i,  120),  where  a  large  majority  of  editors  have  accepted  Malone's 
change  to  'Peace,  ho.1  Again,  in  Ham.,  V,  ii,  298,  'How?'  to  Ho!  (here  Staunton 
opines  that  it  means  Stop!  and  is  addressed  to  the  combatants).  Dyce  adduces 
'From  Scicion  how  the  news'  (Ant.  &•  Cleop.,  I,  ii,  128),  but  this  is  somewhat 
doubtful.  These  instances,  however,  suffice,  I  think,  to  show  that  it  is  possible 
to  take  Posthumus's  'How,  how?'  as  Ho,  ho  in  either  of  the  two  meanings  given 
above;  or  it  may  even  have  a  faint  tinge  of  satyric  laughter. — ED. 


24  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  ii. 

You  gentle  Gods,  giue  me  but  this  I  haue,  55 

And  feare  vp  my  embracements  from  a  next, 

With  bonds  of  death.     Remaine,  remaine  thou  heere, 

While  fenfe  can  keepe  it  on  :  And  fweeteft,  faireft,  58 

56.  fearc]    F2F3.      cere    Steev.    conj.         Warb.  Cap.  Coll.  ii.     here!  Pope,     here 
Wh.   Ktly,  Huds.      seal    Eccles  conj.         Rowe  ii.  et  cet. 

Sing,    fear  F4  et  cet.  57.  [Putting  on  the  Ring.  Rowe  et 

from]  for  Cap.  conj.  seq. 

57.  bonds]    bands    Wh.  i.      brands            58.  it  on]  thee  on  Pope,  +  ,  Var.  '73. 
Jervis.  in  on  Ran.  (misprint). 

heere,]  Ff,  Rowe  i,  Theob.  Han. 

56.  scare]  The  fact  that  to  cere,  i.  e.,  to  wrap  in  a  cerecloth,  was,  in  the  i6th  and 
1 7th  centuries  (according  to  the  N.  E.  D.),  spelled  as  in  the  text,  seare,  i.  e.,  to  dry 
up  or  burn  up,  led  to  some  controversy  among  the  early  editors,  and  to  a  long 
note  by  B.  Nicholson  (N.  &  Q.,  VI,  iv,  444).     But  the  reference  to  'bonds  of  death' 
leaves  no  doubt  that  the  word  here  alludes  to  the  cerements  of  the  dead. — ED. 

57,  58.  Remaine  thou  heere,  While   sense  can  keepe   it  on]   In  reference 
to  Pope's  unauthorised  change  of  'it'  to  thee,  CAPELL  (Notes,  i,  102)  asks:    'is 
the  ear  perfectly  satisfied  with  the  concurrence  to  two  open  vowels  in  thee  and  on? 
and  might  this  not  be  a  reason  for  the  preference  given  to  "it"?' — STEEVENS 
refers  'it'  to  'sense'  and  paraphrases  'while  sense  can  maintain  its  operations.' — 
MALONE  upholds  'it,'  because  Shakespeare  has  'many  similar  inaccuracies,'  and 
proceeds  to  quote  several,  especially  another  in  this  play,  'they  took  thee  for  their 
mother,  And  every  day  do  honour  to  her  grave.' — III,  iii,  114. — STEEVENS  refused 
to  allow  his  interpretation  to  be  thus  summarily  swept  aside,  and  rejoined,  'as 
none  of  our  author's  productions  were  revised  by  himself  as  they  passed  from  the 
theatre  to  the  press;  and  as  Jul.  Cess,  and  Cym.  are  among  the  plays  which  originally 
appeared  in  the  blundering  First  Folio;  it  is  hardly  fair  to  charge  irregularities  on 
the  poet,  of  which  his  publishers  alone  might  have  been  guilty.     I  must,  therefore, 
take  leave  to  set  down  the  present  and  many  similar  offences  against  the  estab- 
lished rules  of  language,  under  the  article  of  Hemingisms  and  Condelisms;  and,  as 
such,  in  my  opinion,  they  ought,  without  ceremony,  to  be  corrected.' — R.  G.  WHITE 
in  an  unhappy  hour  was  'inclined  to  think  that  "it"  is  used  in  a  possessive  sense, 
and  that  "on"  is  a  phonographic  spelling  of  own;  in  which  case  Posthumus  says  to 
the  ring,  "Remain  thou  there  while  sense  can  hold  its  own."      This  conjecture 
would  have  been  more  plausible,  had  'on'  been  spelled  one.     White  in  his  ed.  ii. 
makes  no  reference  to  this  emendation,  having,  in  the  meantime,  it  may  be  pre- 
sumed, wisely  taken  'advice  of  his  washerwoman.'     (See  White's  Preface,  vol.  i, 
p.  xii.). — To  Malone's  reference  to  III,  iii,  114,  INGLEBY  adds  two  more  from  the 
present  play:  IV,  ii,  284,  285,  and  V,  i,  4-6,  where  there  is  a  change  of  the  personal 
pronoun,  similar  to  the  present. — B.  NICHOLSON  (N.  &  Q.,  VII,  ix,  324)  shows  how, 
in  action  on  the  stage,  this  verbal  difficulty  may  be  solved,  and  rightly,  as  I  think. 
'Posthumus,'  he  says,  'having  received  the  ring  with  the  injunction  to  keep  it 
"till  Imogen  is  dead,"  places  it  on  his  finger  with  the  heartfelt  and  emphatic 
adjuration;  "Remain  thou  here,"  naturally,  I  should  say,  kisses  it,  and  then,  while 
continuing  his  words,  he  naturally  looks   towards  Imogen,  and,  replying  to  her 
injunction,  addresses  to  her  the  bowed  promise,  "Not  for  your  lifetime,"  but  "while 
sense  can  keep  it  on."    But  here  we  want  a  new  punctuation,  such  as  "thou  here — ." ' 


ACT    I,   SC.   ii.] 


CYMBELIXE 


As  I  (my  poore  fclfe)  did  exchange  for  you 
To  your  fo  infinite  loffe ;  fo  in  our  trifles 
I  ftill  winne  of  you.    For  my  fake  weare  this, 
It  is  a  Manacle  of  Loue,  He  place  it 
Vpon  this  fayreft  Prifoner. 

I  mo.     O  the  Gods  J 
When  fhall  we  fee  againe/ 

Enter  Cymbeline,  and  Lords. 

Pojl.     Alacke,  the  King. 

Cym.     Thou  bafeft  thing,  auoyd  hence,  from  my  fight : 
If  after  this  command  thou  fraught  the  Court 
With  thy  vnworthineffe,  thou  dyeft.     Away, 
Thou'rt  poyfon  to  my  blood. 

Poft.     The  Gods  protect  you, 


60 


And  bleffe  the  good  Remainders  of  the  Court : 
I  am  gone. 


Exit. 


74 


59.  (my  poore /elf e)}  my  poor  self  Pope 
et  seq. 

61.  this,]  this;  Theob.  et  seq. 

63.  Prifoner]  pris'ner  Pope,  +  . 

[Putting  a  bracelet  on  her  arm. 
Rowe  et  seq. 

66.  [SCENE    in.    Pope,  Han.  Warb. 
Johns. 

67.  King.]  King!  Rowe  et  seq. 

68.  auoyd   hence,}    Ff    (avoid   F3F4). 
avoid,  hence,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han.    avoid; 


Cap.      avoid! 
avoid!  hence, 


hence,  Theob.  Warb. 
hence!  Johns.  Var.  '73 
Var.  '78  et  cet. 

68.  fight:]  sight!  Johns,  et  seq. 

70.  dyeft]    dy'st    Rowe    ii,+,    Cap. 
Varr.  Mai.  Ran. 

Away,]  Away!  Rowe  et  seq. 

71.  Thou'rt]  Thou  art  Var.  '73,  Varr. 
Mai.  Ran.  Steev.  Varr.  Knt. 

74.  /  am]  Fm  Pope,  +  ,  Dyce  ii,  iii, 
Huds. 


What  Nicholson  says  as  to  the  need  of  a  punctuation  which  shall  indicate  a  change 
of  address  is  eminently  just,  but  this  punctuation  already  exists,  begun  by  Capell 
and  fallen  unfortunately  into  disuse.  See  note  on  'Fye,'  line  116,  below. — ED. 

61.  winne  of  you]  That  is,  my  bracelet  is  not  as  valuable  as  your  ring. — ED. 

62.  Manacle]  STEEVENS:    This  properly  means  what  we  now  call  a  handcuff. 
[Under  the  figurative  use  of  manacle,  meaning  bond,  restraint,  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.) 
quotes  the  present  passage,  and  also  'the  manacles  of  the  all-building  Law,'- 
M eas.  for  Meas.,  II,  iv,  93,  which  is  somewhat  doubtful;  Claudio  was  actually  in 
prison.] 

65.  When  shall  we  see  againe]  DYCE  (ed.  ii.):  The  very  same  words  are  ad- 
dressed by  Cressida  to  Troilus  in  Tro.  6*  Cress.,  IV,  iv,  59.  [For  examples  of 
similar  ellipses,  see,  if  need  be,  ABBOTT,  §  382.] 

69.  fraught]  CAPELL  (Various  Readings,  p.  13)  conjectured  fr aught1  st. — ECCLES 
justly  supposes  that  'fraught'  may  be  considered  as  in  the  subjunctive. 

73.  blesse]  ROLFE,  DOWDEN,  and  probably  others  detect  irony  in  this  blessing 
of '  the  good  remainders,'  and  they  may  be  right.  And  yet  is  it  natural  that,  when 
a  man  is  utterly,  abysmally,  hopelessly  crushed,  he  can  find  any  relief  in  a  piece 
of  petty  irony?  To  indulge  in  irony  a  man  must  go  out  of  himself  and  for  a  flash 


26  THE  TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  ii. 

Imo.     There  cannot  be  a  pinch  in  death  75 

More  fharp  then  this  is. 

Gym.     O  difloyall  thing, 

That  fhould'ft  repayre  my  youth,  thou  heap'ft 
A  yeares  age  on  mee.  79 

78,    79.  heap'jl    A    yeares    age]    Ff,  conj.  (withdrawn),     heap'st  instead  A 

Rowe,   Pope,   Johns.   Sta.    Glo.   Cam.  year's  age  Cap.     heapest  years  of  age 

heap'st    A    yare    age    Warb.    Theob.  uponlngl.  conj.    heap' st  at  once  A  year' s 

heapest  many  A  year's  age.  Han.  Ktly.  age  Dowden.     heapest  rather  A  year's 

heap'st      years,      ages     Johns,     conj.  age  Craig,      heapest  a  year's  age  Var. 

heap'st  A  meer  or  A  hoar  age  Theob.  '73  et  cet. 

imagine  its  effect  on  the  victim.  But  at  this  instant  what  there  was  not  of  himself 
on  Posthumus's  breaking  heart,  was  all  Imogen.  Moreover,  we  are  expressly  told 
that  all  the  courtiers  were  his  secret  friends,  and  he  could  not  but  have  known  or 
felt  it.  Wherefore,  then,  should  he  wish  to  leave  behind  him  a  sting  in  their  hearts? 
-ED. 

75.  pinch  in  death]  Does  Imogen  refer  to  Posthumus's  death  or  to  her  own? 
It  is  easy  to  reply  'to  both.'  Possibly,  she  refers  to  neither  separately,  and  this 
exclamation  is  forced  from  her  by  a  premonition  that  this  present  separation  is  an 
eternal  farewell. — ED. 

78,   79.  thou    heap'st    A   yeares    age   on    mee]     THEOBALD:     Surely,     the 
King's  sorrow  was  not  very  extreme,  if  the  effects  of  it  added  only  one  year  to  his 
age.     But  we  must  correct,  as  my  ingenious  friend,  Mr  Warburton,  acutely  ob- 
served to  me,  'A  yare  age  on  me,'  i.  e.,  a  sudden,  precipitate,  old  age.     For  the  word 
signifies  not  only  nimble,  dextrous,  as  it  is  many  times  employed  by  our  author,  but, 
likewise  as  Skinner  expounds  it,  fervidus,  promptus,  prceceps,  impatiens.     And  so 
in  Chaucer,  in  his  Legend  of  Philomela,  we  find  it  spelt,  'This  Tereiis  let  him  make 
his  shippis  yeare,'  i.  e.,  yare,  nimble,  light  vessels  fit  for  sailing.     [This  quotation 
from  Chaucer  (which  Theobald  did  not  repeat  in  his  ed.  ii.)  I  have  given  as  a 
proof  of  Theobald's  wide  reading  in  English  literature  at  that  early  day.     In 
extended  knowledge  of  English  and  exact  scholarship  in  Greek  he  was  shoulder 
high  above  the  critics,  Pope,  Johnson,  Steevens,  who  looked  down  on  him  and 
dubbed  him  'poor   piddling   Tibbald.'] — HEATH  (p.  471):    Yare   never    signifies 
untimely,  what  comes  before  its  time,  which  is  the  sense  the  context  requires.     Here 
Mr  Warburton  seems  to  have  been  deceived  by  the  ambiguity  of  the  Latin  prceceps, 
which  Skinner  gives  as  one  of  the  interpretations  of  the  word  yare.     It  is  extremely 
probable  that  Hanmer's  conjecture  restores  the  genuine  text. — STEEVENS:    If 
Cymbeline  meant  to  say  that  his  daughter's  conduct  made  him  precisely  one  year 
older,  his  conceit  is  unworthy  both  of  himself  and  Shakespeare.     I  would  read 
with  Hanmer. — COLERIDGE  (p.  302):    How  is  it  that  the  commentators  take  no 
notice  of  the  un-Shakespearian  defect  in  the  metre  [line  78],  and,  what  in  Shake- 
speare is  the  same,  in  the  harmony  with  the  sense  and  feeling?     Some  word  or 
words  must  have  slipped  out  after  'youth,' — possibly  and  see. — B.  NICHOLSON 
(N.  &*  Q.,  Ill,  x,  347, 1866) :  How,  if  he  used  the  word  'repair'  in  its  ordinary  sense, 
could  Cymbeline  talk  of  repairing  his  youth  when  he  had  wholly  lost  his  youth? 
and  why  should  any  one  talk  of  repairing  his  youth  instead  of  repairing  his  old 
age  in  a  passage  where  youth's  lustiness  and  heat  are  intended  to  be  contrasted 
with  a  decaying  old  age?     The  true  meaning  of  the  word  will,  I  think,  be  found  on 


ACT  i,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE  2/ 

[78,  79.   thou  heap'st  A  yeares  age  on  mee] 

examination  to  be  that,  in  the  wished-for  marriage,  he  had  thought  to  see  his 
youthful  days  re-equalled;  and,  in  the  happy  contemplation  of  it,  feel  his  days- 
spring  renewed.  A  similar  thought  is  found  in  Sonnet  ii:  'This  were  to  be  new 
made  when  thou  art  old  And  see  thy  blood  warm  when  thou  feel'st  it  cold.'  And 
again  in  Sonnet  iii.  we  have:  'Now  is  the  time  that  face  should  form  another; 
Whose  fresh  repair  if  now  thou  not  renewest.'  And  from  the  wording  of  this,  and 
from  the  phrase  'repair  my  honour  lost'  (j  Henry  VI:  III,  iii,  193)  it  seems  clear 
that,  in  accordance  with  its  derivation,  Shakespeare  sometimes  used  this  word 
'repair'  as  equalling  again  and  making  anew,  and  not  merely  as  patching  or  reno- 
vating. It  does  not,  however,  seem  probable  to  me  that  Shakespeare  would  have 
made  Cymbeline  use  the  phrase,  'repair  my  youth,'  unless  he  had  some  anti- 
thetical conceit  in  view.  Hence,  and  from  a  general  review  of  the  passage,  I  hold 
that  'thy  years'  age' — that  is,  the  age  or  number  of  thy  years — is  a  certain  part 
of  any  emendation;  and  if  any  one  will  compare  this  with  Hanmer's  'Many  a 
year's  age?  it  will  be  seen  how  definite  the  'thy'  makes  an  otherwise  indefinite 
and  indifferent  passage,  and  how  much  it  recovers  of  our  author's  style.  Imogen's 
age  added  to  Cymbeline's  would  be  death  or  an  old  age — 'sans  eyes,  sans  teeth, 
sans  everything.'  What  else  may  be  required  is  more  doubtful.  Some  might 
think  that  the  safest  restoration  of  the  sense  and  metre  would  be — Thou  heapest 
thy  Years'  age  [up]on  me.  Or  we  might  read,  'heapest  up  Thy  years'  age  on  me'; 
but  this  is  hardly  accordant  with  Shakespeare's  usage  in  regard  to  heap.  For 
myself,  however,  I  prefer  thinking  that  the  'heap'st'  of  the  Folio  is  right,  and  that 
the  original  reading  was,  or  was  nearly,  as  follows:  'thou  heap'st  [more  than]  Thy 
years'  age  on  me.' — HUDSON:  This  expression  has  been  thought  too  tame  for  the 
occasion.  Gervinus  regards  it,  and,  I  think,  justly,  as  an  instance  of  the  King's 
general  weakness;  his  whole  character  is  without  vigour;  and  whenever  he  under- 
takes to  say  or  do  a  strong  thing,  he  collapses  into  tameness.  ['Thou'rt  poison  to 
my  blood'  is  not  so  very  tame. — ED.] — (P.  200):  Perhaps  it  should  be  'thou 
heapest  more  than  A  year's  age,'  etc. — VAUGHAN  (p.  339):  All  the  amendments 
involve  the  interpretation  of  'age'  as  'a  portion  of  the  time  of  human  life'  merely, 
whereas  in  truth  'age'  means  old  age.  We  might  read:  'thou  heapest  so  A  year's 
age,'  etc.  That  is,  '  By  such  an  answer  as  yours,  you,  who  should  make  me  young, 
heap  a  year  of  old  age  upon  me.'  But  I  prefer,  '  thou  heapest  so  Early  age  on  me.' 
That  is,  'thou  heapest  premature  old  age  on  me.' — [I  have  reserved  to  the  last 
Capell's  note  (p.  102);  'If  we  place  ourselves  in  Cymbeline's  state, — a  king,  and  at 
the  end  of  his  years, — we  shall  not  think  the  losing  of  one  of  them  a  very  light 
matter.'  Herein  I  agree  with  Capell.  In  the  first  scene  we  are  told  that  Cymbe- 
line's eldest  son,  Guiderius,  is  now  twenty-three  years  old.  We  may,  therefore, 
infer  that  Cymbeline's  own  age  was  about  forty-three  or  four;  certainly  not  a  great 
age,  as  at  present  reckoned.  But  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  it  was  probably  not 
so  reckoned  in  Shakespeare's  time,  to  judge  by  the  longevity  of  the  lives  of  his 
friends  and  contemporaries.  The  average  age  of  Sidney,  Bacon,  Lyly,  Lodge, 
Greene,  Nash,  Spenser,  Chapman,  Peele,  and  Nat.  Field  (the  only  actor  of  Shake- 
speare's contemporaries  whose  birth  and  death  is,  I  believe,  undisputed) — the 
average  age  of  these  ten  men  is  49  and  T8^  years.  If  Shakespeare's  53  be  added, 
the  average  is  almost  exactly  50.  If  the  average  span  of  life  among  intellectual 
men  in  Shakespeare's  time  be  only  fifty,  what  must  it  have  been  in  Cymbeline's 
unhygienic  days!  Even  by  the  Shakesperian  standard,  Cymbeline  could  count 


28  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  ii. 

I  mo.     I  befeech  you  Sir,  80 

Harme  not  your  felfe  with  your  vexation, 
I  am  fenfeleffe  of  your  Wrath  ;  a  Touch  more  rare 
Subdues  all  pangs,  all  feares. 

Cym.     Pafl  Grace  ?  Obedience? 

lino.     Paft  hope,  and  in  difpaire,  that  way  paft  Grace.  85 

Cym.     That  might'ft  haue  had 
The  fole  Sonne  of  my  Queene.  87 

81,  82.  Harme. ..I]     Ff,     Rowe,  +  ,  85.  difpaire,]  despair;  Pope  et  seq. 
Var.  '21,  Coll.  Sta.  Dyce,  Sing.  Glo.  way]    way,    Theob.     Warb.    et 
Cam.     One  line  Cap.  et  cet.                          seq. 

82.  I  am]  Pm  Pope,  +  ,  Dyce  ii,  iii,  86.  That]  Thou  Pope,-f,  Var.  '73. 
Huds.  86,  87.  One  line  Rowe  et  seq. 

on  only  six  or  seven  more  years  of  life.  If,  then,  owing  to  Imogen's  selfish  and 
reprehensible  behaviour,  one  of  those  years  was  heaped  on  him  prematurely,  in 
advance,  and  he  was  thereby  brought  nearer  to  his  death  by  a  whole  year,  he 
may  well  be  vehemently  stirred  by  such  a  grievous  loss. — ED.] 

80,  81.  I  beseech  .  .  .  vexation]  This  picture,  from  the  pale  lips  of  Imogen, 
of  the  King's  trembling,  uncontrolled,  almost  frenzied  rage  gives  us,  I  think,  an 
idea  of  the  king's  moral  weakness,  more  vivid  than  any  utterance  of  his  own  can 
give.  And  does  it  not  at  the  same  time  reveal  the  love  for  Imogen  down  deep 
in  his  heart,  which,  must  later,  at  the  close  of  the  drama,  be  made  manifest,  without 
violent  incongruity?  To  be  sure,  he  can  be  justified  in  the  present  emotion,  al- 
though not  for  its  bitter  expression,  by  Coleridge,  who  has  taught  us  that  'to  be 
wroth  with  one  we  love  Doth  work  like  madness  in  the  brain.' — ED. 

82.  a  Touch  more  rare]  WARBURTON:  More  strong,  forcible;  alluding  to  the 
stroke  of  lightning.  [Will  no  one  tell  me  what  he  means? — ED.] — JOHNSON: 
'Rare'  is  often  used  for  eminently  good;  but  I  do  not  remember  any  passage  in 
which  it  stands  for  eminently  bad.  May  we  read,  'more  near.'  'Cura  deam  pro- 
pior  luctusque  domesticus  angit.' — Ovid  [Met.,  xiii,  578].  Shall  we  try  again, 
'more  rear.'  Crudum  mdnus.  But  of  this  I  know  not  any  example.  There  is  yet 
another  interpretation,  which  perhaps  will  remove  the  difficulty.  It  may  mean  a 
nobler  passion. — HEATH  (p.  471):  'More  rare'  signifies  more  precious. — KNIGHT: 
It  means,  a  higher  feeling. — STAUNTON:  It  rather  means,  a  smart,  or  throe  more 
exquisite.  A  touch  in  old  language  was  often  used  to  express  a  pang,  a  wound,  or 
any  acute  pain,  moral  or  physical,  as  in  the  passage  before  us. — WYATT:  The 
'sweet  pain'  of  parting  with  Posthumus  deadens  her  sensibility  to  all  besides. 
[See  'Great  griefs  I  see  med'cine  the  less.' — IV,  ii,  315.] 

84.  Past  Grace]  CRAIG:  Imogen  quibblingly  replies  (though  a  heathen), 
'yes,  past  divine  favour,  and  in  a  state  of  reprobation  where  there  is  no  hope.'  It 
is  curious  that  this  play  has  these  frequent  Calvinistic  allusions.  See  Scene  iii, 
line  24  of  this  Act,  'If  it  be  a  sin  to  make  a  true  election,  she's  damn'd,'  where  the 
Calvinist  doctrine  of  election  is  quibblingly  alluded  to.  Compare  also  I,  iv,  4: 
'if  he  should  write,  And  I  not  haue  it,  'twere  a  Paper  lost  As  offer'd  mercy  is.'- 
[GRANT  WHITE  called  attention  to  the  Calvinistic  'election'  at  I,  iii,  24;  I  think, 
however,  the  allusion  admits  of  doubt. — ED.] 


ART  i,  sc.  ii.j  CYMBELINE  2g 

Imo.     O  bleffed,  that  I  might  not  :  I  chofe  an  Eagle,  88 

And  did  auoyd  a  Puttocke. 

Cym.     Thou  took'ft  a  Begger,  would'ft  haue  made  my         90 
Throne,  a  Seate  for  bafeneffe. 

Imo.     No,  I  rather  added  a  luftre  to  it. 

Cym.     O  thou  vilde  one  ! 

Imo.     Sir, 

It  is  your  fault  that  I  haue  lou'd  Poflhumus  :  95 

You  bred  him  as  my  Play-fellow,  and  he  is 
A  man,  worth  any  woman  :  Ouer-buyes  niee 
Almoft  the  fumme  he  payes. 

Cym.     What?  art  thou  mad  ? 

Imo.     Almoft  Sir  :  Hcauen  re  ft  ore  me  :  would  I  were  100 

88.  bleffed}  Ff,  Rowe  i,  Sing.  Ktly,         No;  Cap.  et  cet. 

Cam.    blest  Rowe  ii.  et  seq.  (subs.)  92.  No,  I  rather  added]  As  closing  line 

90,     91.    Thou. ..Throne]     One     line  91  Rowe  ii.  et  seq. 

Rowe  et  seq.  /]  Om.  Coll.  MS.  ap.  Cam. 

90.  Begger,    would' ft]    F2.      Beggar,  93.  mldc]  mid  F3.     vile  F4  et  seq. 

would' ft   F3F4.     beggar;  would' st   Pope  96.  and  he  is]  he  is  Pope,  Han. 

et  seq.  99.  What?]   Ff,   Rowe,   Pope,  Han. 

92.  No,]  Ff,  Rowe,+.     No.  Coll.  ii.  What,  Cap.     What!  Theob.  et  cet. 

89.  Puttocke]   MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.)\    A  bird  of  prey;  figuratively  applied  to  a 
person  as  having  some  attribute  of  the  kite  (e.  g.,  ignobleness,  greed). 

QO.  would'st]  COLLIER  ii.  (Notes,  etc.,  p.  508):  The  MS.  changes  'would'st'  to 
would,  i.  c.,  'a  beggar  who  would,'  etc.  [In  the  Cambridge  Ed.  it  is  recorded  that 
Collier's  MS.  omits  'I'  in  Imogen's  rejoinder.  This  omission  has,  however, 
escaped  me  in  a  search  through  Collier's  Notes  and  Emendations,  first  and 
second  editions,  through  his  three  editions  of  the  play,  and  through  his 
monovolume. — ED.} 

97,  98.  Ouer-buyes  ...  he  payes]  CAPELL  (Notes,  p.  103):  Modestly  under- 
rating herself,  and  enhancing  the  wroth  of  Posthumus;  who,  she  says,  over-buys 
her  by  almost  the  whole  of  the  sum  he  pays  for  her.  But  what  is  it  that  he  pays 
for  her?  Why,  himself,  and  his  sufferings:  which  if  they  were  rated,  and  a  price 
set  upon  them,  a  small  part  of  it  might  make  the  purchase  of  her. 

100.  me]  Let  no  real  student,  who  cares  alone  for  Shakespeare's  text  and  not  for 
wide  margins  and  stainless  paper,  regret  the  lack  of  an  original  First  Folio,  as 
long  as  he  has  a  copy  of  Lionel  Booth's  Reprint.  I  think  the  world  will  never  see 
a  Reprint  of  any  book  as  bulky  as  this,  more  exact  than  it.  It  is  even  more  satis- 
factory and  useful  than  a  photographic  reproduction,  wherein  there  cannot  be  but 
one  version  of  the  text  (and  we  know  that  copies  of  that  volume  vary  among 
themselves);  whereas  Booth's  Reprint  is  the  result  of  an  accurate  collation 
of  seven  copies  of  the  First  Folio,  and  the  proof  sheets  were  submitted  to 
eight  of  the  best  proof-readers  in  London  before  they  were  struck  off.  In  my 
own  copy  of  the  First  Folio  the  le'  of  'me'  in  the  text  before  us  is  defective,  or, 
as  the  printers  say,  'battered.'  I  turn  to  Booth's  Reprint,  and  lo!  it  is  battered 
there!— ED. 


30  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  ii. 

A  Neat-heards  Daughter,  and  my  Leonatus  101 

Our  Neighbour-Shepheards  Sonne. 

Enter  Queene. 

Cym.     Thou  foolifh  thing ; 

They  were  againe  together  :  you  haue  done  105 

Not  after  our  command.    Away  with  her, 
And  pen  her  vp. 

Qu*     Befeech  your  patience  :  Peace 
Deere  Lady  daughter,  peace.    Sweet  Soueraigne, 
Leaue  vs  to  our  felues,  and  make  your  felf  fome  comfort       1 10 
Out  of  your  beft  aduice. 

Cym.     Nay,  let  her  languifh 
A  drop  of  blood  a  day,  and  being  aged 
Dye  of  this  Folly.  Exit. 

Enter  Pifanio.  115 

Qu.     Fye,  you  muft  giue  way  : 

101.  heards]  herds  F4.  113.  a    day]    aday    Rowe.      a-day 

103.  Enter  Queene]  After   line    104        TPope,+. 

Dyce,  Glo.  Cam.  Coll.  iii.  114.  Folly]  fully  Sprenger. 

104.  thing;]    thing.    Johns.  thing!                     Exit.]   Exeunt  Cymbeline  and 
Han.  Cap.  et  seq.  Lords.  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam.  Coll.  iii. 

105.  [To  the  Queen.  Theob.  Warb.             115.  Enter...]  After   line  116  Dyce, 
et  seq.  Sta.  Glo.  Cam. 

1 08.  your]  you:  Cap.  (Notes,  103).  116.  Fye,  you]    Ff,  Rowe,+.     Fie! 

1 09.  Lady    daughter]    Lady-daughter        you  Var.  '73,  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam.     Fie! — 
Ed.  conj.  you  Cap.  et  cet. 

no.  to  our]  four  Pope,+- 

in.  best  aduice]  STEEVENS:   That  is,  consideration,  reflection. 

112,  113.  languish  A  drop  of  blood  a  day]  CRAIG:  I  think  there  certainly 
should  be  a  comma  after  'languish.'  The  meaning  is  'let  her  pine  away  by  degree, 
at  the  rate  of  a  drop  of  blood  a  day.' — DOWDEN:  'Languish'  was  sometimes  causal 
and  active.  N.  E.  D.  quotes  from  Fenton:  'The  displeasures  .  .  .  languishe  the 
heart,'  and  from  Florio's  Montaigne:  'Least  (lest)  ...  he  might  .  .  .  languish 
that  burning  flame.' 

114.  Dye  of  this  Folly]  GERVINUS  (ii,  217,  ed.  1872):  To  this  curse,  she  who 
is  cursed  will  willingly  respond  'Amen!' — HUDSON:  Of  course,  the  King  means  it 
for  a  curse;  but  he  has  not  snap  enough  to  make  it  such. 

116.  Fye,  you  must  giue  way]  As  a  rule,  the  majority  of  editors  from  CAPELL 
to  the  GLOBE  ED.  indicate  a  change  of  address  by  dashes. — CAPELL  conformed 
rigidly  to  the  rule.  Indeed,  I  think,  it  originated  with  him.  The  Globe  disre- 
garded it,  and  the  editors  since  1864,  who  have  used  the  Globe's  text  to  print  from, 
likewise  omit  these  dashes;  notably  R.  G.  White,  who,  in  his  First  Ed.  1860, 
scrupulously  retained  them;  in  his  second  Ed.,  in  1883,  discarded  them.  To  use 
these  dashes  intelligently  assuredly  adds  to  editorial  problems,  as  in  the  present 
instance.  To  whom  is  this  'Fye'  addressed,  to  Cymbeline  or  to  Imogen?  and  to 


ACT  i,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE  3! 

Heere  is  your  Seruant.     How  now  Sir?    What  newes  ?  117 

Pi/a.     My  Lord  your  Sonne,  drew  on  my  Mafter. 

Qu.     Hah  ? 
No  harme  I  truft  is  done  ?  120 

Pifa.     There  might  haue  beene, 
But  that  my  Mafter  rather  plaid,  then  fought, 
And  had  no  helpe  of  Anger  :  they  were  parted 
By  Gentlemen,  at  hand. 

Qu.     I  am  very  glad  on't.  125 

119.  Hah?]    Hah!    Rowe,  +  .      Ha!  125.  7  am]  I'm  Pope,+,  Dyce  ii,  iii. 

Cap.  et  cet. 

whom  'you  must  give  way'?  'Here  is  your  servant'  is,  of  course,  addressed  to 
Imogen;  Pisanio  is  her  servant.  But  are  any  of  the  preceding  words  addressed 
to  her?  or  are  all  of  them?  No  Globe  or  Cambridge  text  will  avail  here.  Capell 
is  the  prince  of  punctuators;  he  has  influenced,  I  think,  the  punctuation  of  the 
text  of  Shakespeare  more  than  any  other  editor.  I  opine  that  Dyce,  Ed.  i,  printed 
from  him,  and  that  the  Globe  printed  from  Dyce.  It  is  thus  then,  that  Capell 
prints  those  lines:  'Fie! — you  must  give  way  Here  is  your  servant. — How  now, 
sir?'  etc.  Hereby  showing  that,  according  to  Capell,  the  'Fie!'  is  addressed  to  the 
king  by  the  queen  who  has  just  heard  his  cruel  curse;  she  then  turns  to  Imogen, 
and  it  is  to  her  that  'you  must  give  way'  is  spoken,  and  not,  as  it  probably  is  in  the 
Folio,  to  the  king.  And  I  think  rightly.  The  queen  did  not  wish  Cymbeline  to 
give  way;  indeed,  she  wished  him  to  remain  firm;  but  it  was  of  prime  importance  to 
her  that  Imogen  should  give  way,  and  thereby  smooth  the  road  to  the  marriage 
with  Cloten.  At  the  same  time  it  is  quite  possible  to  contend  that  the  queen, 
thorough  hypocrite  as  she  is,  should  wish  to  seem  to  favour  the  daughter  by  coun- 
selling the  father  to  relax  his  severity. — Again,  there  is  a  third  interpretation, 
warmly  advocated  by  ELZE,  that  the  whole  sentence,  'Fie!'  and  all,  is  addressed  to 
Imogen.  No  one  is  competent  dogmatically  to  solve  the  problem  with  a  Q.  E.  D. 
Every  student  must  decide  for  himself  with  what  dramatic  instinct  heaven  has 
vouchsafed  him. — ED. 

123.  no  helpe  of  Anger]  DOWDEN:  So  Sidney,  Arcadia  (Qto  ed.  1590),  p.  315, 
recto:  'his  Courage  (vnused  to  such  injuries)  desired  helpe  of  Anger  to  make  him 
this  answere.'  So  in  Lear,  III,  vii,  79:  'Nay,  then,  come  on  and  take  the  chance 
of  anger.' — CRAIG:  If  a  man  loses  his  temper  in  sword-play  he  gives  himself  away 
to  his  adversary.  Shakespeare  makes  Mecsenas  (Ant.  &*  Cleop.,  IV,  i,  9)  express 
this  truth:  'Never  anger  Made  good  guard  for  itself.'  Here  it  means,  'Cloten's 
brutal  assault  did  not  induce  him  to  strike  him  in  return,  he  merely  stood  on  his 
guard.'  [Craig's  note  seems  to  imply  that  anger  would  not  have  helped  Post- 
humus,  and  that  he  parried  Cloten's  blows,  but  gave  none.  We  know,  however, 
from  the  next  scene  that  he  drove  Cloten  back,  which  could  hardly  have  been  ac- 
complished by  passive  parrying.  Pisanio  says  that  Posthumus  merely  played 
with  Cloten,  and  had  not  that  vindictiveness  that  anger  would  have  imparted.] 
Thus  in  Dowden's  excellent  illustration,  Amphiatus  was  in  a  state  of  passive 
melancholy  and  needed  the  'help  of  anger '  to  rouse  him  to  answer  the  challenge  he 
had  just  received. 


3  2  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  ii. 

lino.     Your  Son's  my  Fathers  friend,  he  takes  his  part        1 26 
To  draw  vpon  an  Exile.     O  braue  Sir, 
I  would  they  were  in  Affricke  both  together, 
My  felfe  by  with  a  Needle,  that  I  might  pricke 
The  goer  backe.     Why  came  you  from  your  Mafter?  130 

Pi/a.     On  his  command  :  he  would  not  fuffer  mee 
To  bring  him  to  the  Hauen  :  left  thefe  Notes 
Of  what  commands  I  fhould  be  subiecl  too, 
When't  pleas'd  you  to  employ  me. 

Qu.     This  hath  beene  135 

Your  faithfull  Seruant  :  I  dare  lay  mine  Honour 
He  will  remaine  fo. 

Pifa.     I  humbly  thanke  your  Highneffe. 

Qu.     Pray  walke  a-while.  139 

126.  friend,]  friend;  Cap.  et  seq.  Cap.  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam.  Wh.  ii. 

126,  127.  part  To. ..Exile.}  part  To...  133.  too]  to  Ff. 

Exile,  Ff.    part  To. ..exile;  Rowe.    part,  134.  When't    pleas'd]    when't    pleafe 

To. ..exile:     Pope,     Theob.     i,     Han.       -  F3F4,    Rowe,    Pope,    Han.     When    it 

part.     To. ..exile:     Theob.     ii,     Warb.  pleas'd  Varr.  Mai.  Ran.  Steev.  Varr. 
part,  To. ..exile.  Cap.     part,  To. ..exile!  139.  a-while]  F2-     awhile  Dyce,  Sta. 

Knt.     part.— To. ..exile!  Johns,  et  cet.  Glo.    Cam.    Coll.    Hi.      a    while    F3F4 

130.  goer   backe]   goer-back   Pope,-)-,  et   cet. 


126,  127.  his  part  To  draw  vpon  an  Exile]  The  Text.  Notes  show  the  almost 
unanimous  approval  of  JOHNSON'S  excellent  punctuation;  converting  the  infinitive 
phrase  'To  draw  upon  an  exile'  into  an  exclamation;  which  is  eminently  Shake- 
spearian. There  are  several  similar  usages  in  Ant.  &°  Cleop.  'The  way  to  lose 
him!' — I,  iii,  14;  'To  be  entangled  with  those  mouth-made  vows,  which  break 
themselves  in  swearing!' — I,  iii,  48;  'So  tart  a  favour  To  trumpet  such  good  tid- 
ings!'— II,  v,  48.  Yet  let  it  not  be  supposed  that  the  text,  as  it  now  stands  before 
us,  does  not  bear  a  good  sense.  The  following  paraphrase  of  it  is,  I  think,  not 
unfair:  'By  drawing  his  sword  on  one  whom  my  father  had  exiled,  he  takes  my 
father's  part  and  shows  that  he  is  his  friend.'  Yet  Johnson's  interpretation  seems 
to  me  far  better. — ED. 

128.  Affricke]  FORSYTH,  in  a  chapter  on  'Parallelisms,'  not  of  Shakespeare  with 
other  writers,  but  with  Shakespeare  himself,  quotes  as  similar  to  the  present  wish 
of  Imogen,,  that    of  Volumnia    in   reference    to    Coriolanus:    'I  would    my  son 
were  in  Arabia,  and  thy  tribe   before  him,'  etc. — Cor.,  IV,  ii,  24;  'or  be   alive 
again,  And  dare  me  to  the  desert  with  thy  sword.' — Macb.,  Ill,  iv,  104;  'I  dare 
meet  Surrey  in  a  wilderness,  And  spit  upon  him  while  I  say  he  lies.' — Rich.  II: 
IV,  i,  74- 

129.  Needle]  ABBOTT  (§  465):  'Needle,'  which  in  Gammer  Gurton  rhymes  with 
'feeble,'  is  often  pronounced  as  a  monosyllable. 

139.  walke  a-while]  That  is,  withdraw.  For  similar  examples,  see  SCHMIDT, 
Lex.,  s.  v. 


ACT  I,  SC.  iii.] 


CYMBELINE 


lino.     About  fome  halfe  houre  hence, 
Pray  you  fpeake  with  me  ; 
You  fhall  (at  leaft)  go  fee  my  Lord  aboord. 
For  this  time  leaue  me. 


33 

140 

Exeunt.       143 


Scena  Tertia. 


Enter  Clottcn  ,and  two  Lords. 
I.  Sir,  I  would  aduife  you  to  fhift  a  Shirt;    the  Vio- 


140,  141.     One  line  Rowe,+,  Var. 
'73,  '78,  '85.  Ran. 

140-143.  hence, ...me;. ..aboard. ...me.] 
hence,... me. •...aboard:... me.  Cap.  Var. 
'78  et  seq. 

141.  Pray    you]    pray    Pope,    Han. 
I   pray  you   Cap.    Steev.    Varr.    Knt, 
Dyce/Wh.  Sta.  Ktly,  Glo.  Cam. 

141-143.  Pray. ..me.]  Two  lines,  end- 
ing: leajl)...me.  Cap.  Mai.  Steev.  et  seq. 
143.  For]  From  Warb.  (misprint?). 


1.  Scena  Tertia.]   Scene   continued. 
Rowe,  Theob.     SCENE  rv.  Pope,  Han. 
Warb.   Johns.     SCENE  n.  Dyce,   Sta. 
Glo.  Coll.  iii,  Cam.  et  seq.  (subs.) 

The  same.  Cap.  A  Publick  Place. 
Mai.  Steev.  Varr.  Knt.  Coll. 

The  same.  A  Public  Place.  Dyce, 
Sta.  Glo.  Cam. 

2.  Clotten]    Ff.     Cloten.    Rowe    et 
seq. 

3.  10,  16,  25,  35.  i]  i  Lord.  Rowe. 


143.  Exeunt]  SHERMAN  (p.  19) :  Evidently  Shakespeare  is  not  yet  fully  at  work. 
Neither  in  this  scene  nor  in  the  preceding  does  his  hand  suggest  the  cunning  that 
it  has  known  in  most  earlier  plays.  Particularly  this  plan  of  character  contrasts, 
which  presents  first  a  scene  of  Imogen,  and  then  of  Cloten,  and  then  of  Imogen 
again,  is  unexampled  in  all  his  work  elsewhere. 

1.  Scena   Tertia]  ECCLES:    Place  is  the  same.     The  time  seems   to  succeed 
immediately  to  that  of  the  last;  by  the  shortness  of  the  interval  between  the  de- 
parture of  Posthumus  in  the  former  scene,  and  the  appearance  of  Pisanio  who 
relates  the  assault  made  on  him  by  Cloten,  we  must  suppose  it  to  have  happened 
either  in  the  palace,  or  immediately  after  Posthumus  had  set  out  from  thence  on 
his  way  to  the  harbour,  and  one  of  the  lords  here  speaks  as  if  Cloten  were  still  warm 
from  the  effects  of  the  encounter. — INGLEBY:   This  scene  is  introduced  to  show  up 
Cloten  in  a  character  which, — to  judge  of  his  subsequent  conduct, — he  hardly 
deserves,  that  of  a  conceited  coward.     The  First  Lord  flatters  him  too  grossly  for 
human  credulity,  and  the  Second  Lord,  by  'asides,'  lampoons  him,  for  the  benefit 
of  the  groundlings.     The  allusions  are  obscure,  and  the  quibbles  poor.     It  would 
be  a  relief  to  know  that  Shakespeare  was  not  reponsible  for  either  this  scene  or  the 
first  of  Act  II.     Both  may  be  omitted,  without  loss,  in  reading  the  play.     [Those 
editors  who  here  mark  the  Second  Scene  are,  it  seems  to  me,  unquestionably  right. 
There  has  been  no  change  of  scene  until  now. — ED.] 

2.  Clotten]  HAZLITT  (p.  8):    The  character  of   Cloten,  the   conceited,  booby 
lord,  and  rejected  lover  of  Imogen,  though  not  very  agreeable  in  itself,  and  at 
present  obsolete,  is  drawn  with  great  humour  and  knowledge  of  character.     The 
description  which  Imogen  gives  of  his  unwelcome  addresses  to  her, — 'Whose 
lovesuit  hath  been  to  me  as  fearful  as  a  siege,'  [III,  iv,  157] — is  enough  to  cure  the 
most  ridiculous  lover  of  his  folly.     It  is  remarkable  that  though  Cloten  makes  so 
poor  a  figure  in  love,  he  is  described  as  assuming  an  air  of  consequence  as  the 

3 


34  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  iii. 

lence  of  Action  hath  made  you  reek  as  a  Sacrifice  :  where 

ayre  comes  out,  ayre  comes  in  :  There's  none  abroad  fo  5 

wholefome  as  that  you  vent. 

Clot.     If  my  Shirt  were  bloody,  then  to  fhift  it. 
Haue  I  hurt  him  ? 

2    No  faith  :  not  fo  much  as  his  patience. 

1  Hurt  him?  His  bodie's  a  paffable  Carkaffe  if  he  bee         10 
not  hurt.    It  is  a  through-fare  for  Steele  if  it  be  not  hurt. 

2  His  Steele  was  in  debt,  it  went  o'th'Backe-fide  the 
Towne. 

Clot.     The  Villaine  would  not  ftand  me. 

2    No,  but  he  fled  forward  ftill,  toward  your  face.  15 

5.  comes  in:}  comes  in,  Johns.  n.  a    through-fare]    F2F4,    Rowe   i, 

6.  wholefome]  unwholesome  Ingl.  i.  Dyce,    Sta.    Glo.    Cam.     thorough-fare 

7.  8.  If. ..him?}  Prose  Cap.  et  seq.  Rowe  ii.     a  thorough-fare  F3  et  cet. 

7.  to  Jhlft  it]  Ff,   Knt,  Dyce,   Sta.  12.  o'th']    Rowe,+,    Cap.      oth'    Ff. 

Glo.  Coll.  iii,  Cam.    to  shift  it—  Rowe  the  Steev.     o'the  Var.  '73  et  cet. 

et  cet.     I'd  shift  it  Lloyd  ap.  Cam.  12,  13.  the  Towne]  o'  the  town  Ktly 

9,  12,  15,  18,  20,  24,  28,  32,  37.  2}  2  conj. 

Lord.  Rowe.  15.  forward]  forward  Pope,  +  ,   Var. 

9,  12,  16.  [Aside.  Theob.  et  seq.  '73. 

Queen's  son  in  a  council  of  State,  and  with  all  the  absurdity  of  his  person  and 
manners,  is  not  without  shrewdness  in  his  observations.  So  true  is  it  that  folly  is 
as  often  owing  to  a  want  of  proper  sentiments  as  to  a  want  of  understanding! 
The  exclamation  of  the  ancient  critic,  Oh,  Menander  and  Nature,  which  of  you 
copied  from  the  other!  would  not  be  misapplied  to  Shakespeare.  [For  other 
estimates  of  Cloten's  character,  see  Appendix.  It  suffices,  I  think,  here  and  now  to 
call  attention  to  Cloten's  irreconcilable  traits  of  character:  he  is  at  once  a  despic- 
able lout  and  a  prudent  councillor,  timid  as  a  hare  and  bold  as  a  lion. — ED.] 

5,6.  so  wholesome  as  that  you  vent]  INGLEBY  reads  unwholesome  in  his  text, 
and  appends  a  foot-note.  The  original  text  is  restored,  and  the  foot-note  silently 
omitted  by  Holcombe  Ingleby  in  the  revised  edition  of  his  father's  book. — DOWDEN: 
Ingleby  misunderstood  the  meaning.  The  speaker  advises  Cloten  to  shift  a 
shirt, — a  common  Elizabethan  expression,  used,  for  example,  in  Massinger,  The 
Picture,  II,  i, — in  order  to  cease  reeking;  otherwise  he  must  take  air  in  to  supply 
what  he  loses,  and  the  outer  air  is  less  wholesome  than  that  of  his  own  sweet  body. 

10.  passable]  SCHMIDT  (Lex.):   Affording  free  passage. 

10,  ii.  if  he  bee  not  hurt  ...  if  it  be  not  hurt]  Can  any  man  lay  his  hand 
on  his  honest  heart  and  say  this  needless  repetition  sounds  like  Shakespeare? — ED. 

12,  13.  His  Steele  .  .  .  Towne]  DELIUS:  In  order  to  spare  him,  Posthumus's 
steel  sneaked  roundabout  Cloten's  body,  like  a  debtor  trying  to  avoid  his  creditors. 
THISELTON  (p.  8):  In  An  Account  of  James  the  First's  Visit  in  1615  to  the  Uni- 
versity of  Cambridge,  given  in  the  Appendix  to  Hawkins'  edition  of  Ignoramus,  we 
read  that  certain  'Jesuits  or  priests,  being  to  be  conveyed  from  London  to  Wisbich 
castle,  were  not  suffered  to  come  thorough  Cambridge,  but  by  the  Sheriff  carried 
over  the  backe  side  of  the  town  to  Cambridge  castle.' 


A.  r  i,  sc.  iii.]  CYMBELINE  3 5 

1  Stand  you  ?  you  haue  Land  enough  of  your  ovvne  :          16 
But  he  added  to  your  hauing,  gaue  you  fome  ground. 

2  As  many  Inches,  as  you  haue  Oceans(  Puppies.) 
Clot.     I  would  they  had  not  come  betweene  vs. 

2    So  would  I,  till  you  had  meafur'd  how  long  a  Foole         20 
you  were  vpon  the  ground. 

Clot.     And  that  fhee  fhould  loue  this  Fellow,    and  re- 
fufe  mee. 

2    If  it  be  a  fin  to  make  a  true  election,  ifhe  is  damn'd. 

I    Sir,  as  I  told  you  alwayes  :  her  Beauty  &  her  Braine         25 
go  not  together.     Shee's  a  good  figne,  but  I  haue  feene 
fmall  reflection  of  her  wit.  27 

16.  17.  As  prose  Pope  et  seq.  23.  mee.]  me!  Rowe. 

18,  20,  24,  28,  32.  [Aside.   Pope  et  24.  flie  is]  she's  Rowe  ii,+. 

seq.  25.  alwayes:]  always,  Rowe  et  seq. 

18.  Oceans(Puppies.)]  F2F3.     Oceans  her  Beauty  6"  her    Braine]   your 

(Puppies)  F4.    oceans,  Puppies!  Rowe,  beauty  and  your  brain  Anon.  ap.  Cam. 

+  .     oceans. — Puppies!     Coll.     Dyce,  26.  Shee's]  Shees  F2. 

Ktly,    Glo.    Cam.     oceans:      Puppies!  fegne]  sun  Sta.  conj.  (Athenaeum, 

Cap.  et  seq.  14  June,  1873). 

17.  But  he  added  .  .  .  ground]  WALKER  (Crit.,  iii,  316)  queries  whether  the 
stage-direction  at  the  head  of  this  Scene  should  not  be,  'Enter  Cloten  and  three 
Lords';  and,  because  he  doubts  that  'Puppies'  refers  to  the  First  Lord  and  Cloten, 
he  gives  this  line  17  to  the  Third  Lord.     [I  cannot  see  how  this  addition  to  the  group 
mends  matters,  or  what  objection  there  is  to  calling  Cloten,  or  the  First  Lord  either, 
a  'puppy.' — ED.] 

18.  Inches  .  .  .  Oceans]  This  antithesis  between  'inches'  and  'oceans'  teases 
us  as  a  possible  allusion  which  time  has  hidden.     But  the  words  may  signify  no 
more  than  their  plain  meaning;  inasmuch  as  Cloten  had  no  'having'  in  oceans,  so  he 
had  no  addition  to  his  'having  in  ground.' — ED. 

20,  21.  So  would  I  ...  ground]  Time  has  evaporated  the  wit  in  this  sentence 
also, — if  it  ever  had  any. — ED. 

24.  election]  WHITE  (ed.  5.) :   The  allusion  plainly  is  to  the  doctrine  of  election 
held  by  the  Calvinists.     [I  think  this  is  doubtful.     The  Calvinistic  'election'  is  a 
prerogative  of  God;  man  cannot  'make  it.'     'Election'  is  here  used,  I  think,  in  its 
ordinary  sense.     See  Craig's  note,  I,  ii,  84. — ED.] 

25.  her  Beauty  &  her  Braine]  JOHNSON:   I  believe  the  lord  means  to  speak 
a  sentence,  'Sir,  as  I  told  you  always,  beauty  and  brain  go  not  together.'     [Have 
we  not  here  an  illustration  of  Dr  Johnson's  own  remark  in  regard  to  a  whirlpool: 
'Sir,  it  is  movement  without  progression.' — ED.] 

26.  signe]  WARBURTON:    If  'sign'  be  the  true  reading,  the  poet  means  by  it, 
constellation,  and  by  'reflection'  is  meant  influence.     But  I  rather  think,  from  the 
answer,  that  he  wrote  shine. — EDWARDS  (p.  no) :   So,  because  shine  signifies  bright- 
ness, you  may  call  a  bright  person — a  good  shine!    The  expression  is  monstrous. 
'Sign'  is  the  true  reading;  without  signifying  constellation,  or  even  a  single  star. 
The  sense  is  plain  as  words  can  make  it.     She  has  a  fair  outside,  a  specious  appear- 


36  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  iii. 

2    She  fhines  not  vpon  Fooles,  leaft  the  reflection  28 

Should  hurt  her. 

Clot.     Come,  He  to   my  Chamber  :    would  there    had         30 
beene  fome  hurt  done. 

2    I  wifh  not  fo,  vnleffe  it  had  bin  the1  fall  of  an  Affe, 
which  is  no  great  hurt. 

Clot.     You'l  go  with  vs  ? 

1  He  attend  your  Lordfhip.  35 
Clot.     Nay  come,  let's  go  together. 

2  Well  my  Lord.  Exeunt.         37 

28,  29.  As  prose  Rowe  ii.  et  seq.  35.  i  lie]  2.  L.  I'll  Cap.  Ran.  Ecc. 

32.  bin]  been  F4.  Dyce  ii,  Huds. 

37.  2  Well]  i  Lord.     Well  Del.  conj. 

ance;  but  no  wit.  O  quanta  species,  cerebrum  non  habet! — Phaedrus. — HEATH  (p. 
472):  'Reflection'  here  means  token  or  display,  not  influence,  for  light  is  chiefly 
manifested  by  being  reflected.  The  sense  is:  She  is  undoubtedly  a  constellation 
of  considerable  lustre,  but  it  is  not  displayed  in  her  wit;  for  I  have  seen  but  little 
manifestation  of  that. — STEEVENS:  To  understand  the  whole  force  of  Shakespeare's 
idea,  it  should  be  remembered,  that  anciently  almost  every  sign  had  a  motto,  or  some 
attempt  at  a  witticism,  underneath  it. — MALONE  refers  oppositely  to  I,  vii,  20- 
22.  [It  is  time  wasted  to  spend  much  thought  on  this  foolish  scene,  which  wain- 
ropes  cannot  hale  me  to  the  belief  that  Shakespeare  ever  wrote. — ED.] 

34.  You'l  go  with  vs]  CAPELL  (Notes,  p.  103)  believes  that  this  is  addressed 
to  the  Second  Lord,  'and,  of  consequence,  he  is  the  answerer,  though  editions  have 
order'd  it  otherwise.'  [There  is  force  in  what  Capell  urges.  He  evidently  takes 
'attend'  in  the  sense  of  await,  as  it  is  used  in  'the  Legions  attending  you  heere,' 
IV,  ii,  415,  and  in  many  another  place,  and  as  Cloten  understands  it;  it  explains  his 
request  that  they  should  not  separate  but  all  'go  together.' — I  think  ELZE  failed  to 
catch  this  meaning;  he  leaves  the  distribution  of  the  speeches  unchanged,  but  ac- 
counts for  Cloten's  remonstrance  by  supposing  that  the  Second  Lord  offers  'either 
to  stay  behind  or  to  leave  by  a  different  door.' — VAUGHAN,  retaining  the  text  of  the 
Folio,  thus  paraphrases:  'The  second  lord,  in  the  words  "Well,  my  lord,"  plays 
sarcastically  on  the  expression  of  Cloten,  "let's  go  together."  Cloten  makes  use 
of  these  words  in  their  literal  sense,  as  "let  us  go  like  companions,  hand  in  hand,  and 
not  like  princes  and  attendant,  the  second  after  the  first":  but  the  second  lord, 
on  the  other  hand,  professes  to  understand  "let  us  go  together"  in  the  metaphorical 
sense,  in  which  the  first  lord  has  already  employed  it,  by  the  phrase  "  her  beauty  and 
her  brain  go  not  together,"  that  is,  "are  not  a  match";  and,  accordingly,  he  adds 
"well,  my  lord,"  that  is,  "you  go  together  well,  my  lord;  you  are  an  excellent  pair 
and  match,  being  both  coxcombs  and  puppies."  He  has  said  the  same  of  them 
before,  in  his  aside  exclamation  "puppies."' 


ACT    I,   SC.   iv.] 


CYMBELINE 


37 


Scena  Quartet. 


Enter  Imogen,  and  Pifanio. 

Imo.\  would  thou  grew'ft  vnto  the  fhores  o'th'Hauen, 
And  questioned' ft  euery  Saile  :  if  he  fhould  write, 
And  I  not  haue  it,  'twere  a  Paper  loft  5 

As  offer'd  mercy  is  :  What  was  the  laft 
That  he  fpake  to  thee? 

Pifa.     It  was  his  Queene,  his  Queene. 

lino.     Then  wau'd  his  Handkerchiefe  ? 

Pifa.     And  kift  it,  Madam.  IO 

lino.     Senfeleffe  Linnen,  happier  therein  then  I : 
And  that  was  all?  12 


i.  Scena  Quarta.]  Scene  continued. 
Rowe.  SCENE  v.  Pope,  Han.  Warb. 
Johns.  SCENE  in.  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo. 
Cam.  Coll.  iii. 

Imogen's  Apartments.  Theob.  A 
Room  in  the  Palace.  Cap. 

3.  o'l/i]    Rowe,+.     olh'    Ff.      o'the 
Cap.  et  seq. 

4.  questioned' ft]     Ff,     Rowe,     Pope, 
Han.      question'd'st      Theob.      Warb. 
questioned  Var.  '85.    qucstiondst  Johns, 
et  cet. 


4.  euery]  ev'ry  Rowe  i. 

5,  6.  'twere... is:]    'livere  as  a  paper 
lost  With  offer 'd  mercy  in  it.  Han. 

5.  Paper     loft]     proper     loss      Dtn 
conj. 

6.  offcr'd]  deferred  Sta.  conj. 
is]  is...  Ktly  conj. 

7.  to  thec]  with  thee  Pope,  +  . 

8.  It  was]  Ff,  Rowe,  Cap.  Knt,  Coll. 
Dyce,    Sta.    Glo.    Cam.     'Twos   Pope 
et  cet. 

ii.  Senfelejfe]  O  senseless  Ktly. 


i.  Scena  Quarta]  ECCLES:  Between  the  former  and  the  present  scene  such  an 
interval  must  be  supposed  as  was  sufficient  for  Pisanio  to  attend  his  master  to  the 
harbour,  agreeably  to  Imogen's  directions,  and  to  return  from  thence  with  an 
account  of  his  departure. 

6.  As  offer'd  mercy]  WARBURTON  refers  this  to  the  'offer'd  mercy  of  heaven.'- 
JOHNSON  and  WYATT  agree  with  him. — HEATH  refers  it  to  the  pardon  of  a  con- 
demned criminal. — Thus  also,  CAPELL,  STEEVENS  (who  quotes,  'Like  a  remorseful 
pardon  slowly  carried.' — All's  Well,  V,  iii,  58);  and  nearly  all  subsequent  editors, 
with  unusual  unanimity. 

n,  12.  Senselesse  .  .  .  all]  WALKER  (Crit.,  iii,  316)  proposes  to  arrange, 
'Senseless  linen,  happier'  as  closing  line  10,  and  read  'Therein  than  I,'  as  a  broken 
line.  WTho  can  discern  therein  any  possible  metrical  gain,  or  imagine  how  the 
change  can  be  pleasurably  indicated  by  the  living  voice.  Line  n  may  not  be  a 
fine  filed  iambic  trimeter,  but  with  its  two  heavy,  long  spondees,  '  senselesse  linnen,' 
it  is  highly  felicitous.  After  the  force  of  these  four  sombre  syllables  has  spent  itself, 
the  choriamb,  'happier  therein,'  imparts,  as  it  should,  a  gayer,  brighter  air,  as 
though  over  Imogen's  sweet  features  a  thought  almost  jocund  had  passed,  as  she 
remembered  her  lovers  last  kiss.  Then,  lastly,  'than  I,'  with  its  downward 
inflection,  prepares  us  for  the  plaintive,  'And  that  was  all?'  And  into  this  music 


38  THE   TRAGEDIE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  iv. 

Pi/a.     No  Madam  :  for  fo  long  13 

As  he  could  make  me  with  his  eye,  or  eare, 

14.  his]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han.  Knt.  14.  his    eye]    his    eyes    F4,     Rowe. 

the  Coleridge,  Ktly.  mine  Ingl.  this  either  eye  Sta.  conj.  (Athenaeum,  14 
Theob.  et  cet.  June,  1873). 

of  William  Shakespeare  rude  fingers  must  be  thrust,  and  the  cords  wantonly 
snapped.  Vaughan  is,  possibly,  the  arch-enthusiast  for  metrical  arrangement 
and  the  supreme  domination  of  metre  over  pronunciation.  The  following  line  is 
of  his  scansion:  'Beyond  thought's  comp'ss  that  former  fab'lous  story.' — (p.  401). 
Again,  'Who  knows  of  one  of  h'r  women  being  corrupted.' — (p.  411).  Again, 
'And  gentl'men  of  It'ly  most  willing  spirits.' — (p.  496).  May  we  not  be  permitted 
to  marvel  why  these  metrical  enthusiasts  do  not  urge  a  return  to  the  intoning  of 
Betterton's  days,  and  the  adoption  of  a  drama  wherein  the  lines  shall  be  faultlessly 
metrical,  but  the  words  unintelligible  and — unpronounceable? — ED.] 

14.  make  me  with  his  eye,  or  eare]  THEOBALD:  How  could  Posthumus  make 
himself  distinguished  by  his  ear  to  Pisanio?  By  his  tongue  he  might,  to  the 
other's  ear:  and  this  was  certainly  Shakespeare's  intention.  We  must,  therefore, 
read,  as  Mr  Warburton  hinted  to  me,  'with  this  eye.'  The  expression  is  Sei/cri/cois, 
as  the  Greeks  term  it.  The  party  speaking  points  to  the  part  spoken  of.  [In 
Nichol's  Illustrations,  ii,  628,  Theobald  conjectures  'with  my  eye';  but  evidently 
withdrew  it.] — JOHNSON:  Hanmer  alters-it  to  'mark  me  with  his  eye,  or  /,'  because 
Pisanio  describes  no  address  made  to  the  ear. — BECKET  (p.  256)  conjectures  'make 
his  eye,  or  e'er  [i]'  and  explains  that  'the  want  of  the  personal  pronoun,  which 
should  accompany  e'er,  obscures  the  expression';  it  must  be  understood. — THISEL- 
TON  (p.  9):  Becket  is,  I  think,  for  once  in  a  right  way  in  [his  conjecture],  but  there 
is  no  misprint:  See  'They  shall  be  parde,  who  eare  do  lesse  '-  —Hake's  News  out  of 
Powles  Churchyarde;  also  'Whatear  we  shew' — Return  from  Parnassus  (Macray), 
Prologue,  64. — COLERIDGE  (p.  303) :  But  'this  eye,'  in  spite  of  the  supposition  of  its 
being  SeuriKcos,  is  very  awkward.  I  should  think  that  either  or  or  the  was  Shake- 
speare's word. — HUDSON:  Coleridge's  proposed  'with  the  eye,'  I  am  apt  to  think 
the  better  correction.  [Unquestionably  there  are  occasions  when  an  actor  may, 
and  even  must,  make  clear  his  meaning  by  'pointing,'  as  Theobald  says,  'to  the 
parts  spoken  of,'  as  where  Polonius  says  'Take  this  from  this,  if  this  be  otherwise,' 
pointing  to  his  head  and  neck.  But  is  the  present  one  of  the  occasions?  Could 
the  effect  be  other  than  ludicrous  (and  the  'absurdity'  struck  Ingleby  also)  to  see 
Pisanio  gravely  raise  his  hand  and  point  first  to  his  eye  and  then  to  his  ear? — ED.] — • 
WHITE  (ed.  i.) :  It  would  be  well  were  there  warrant  for  reading  '  with  or  eye  or  ear.' 
— DEIGHTON'S  text  reads  'with  his  eye,  or  mine,'  with  the  meaning  that  'so  long  as 
he  could  make  me  out,  see  me  at  all,  and  I  could  distinguish  him  from  the  sailors 
on  board,'  etc. — STEEVENS:  This  description,  and  what  follows  it,  seems  imitated 
from  Ovid,  Met.  [463-474].  See  Golding's  trans.  [142  verso,  ed.  1567].  'Shee  lifting 
vp  her  watrye  eyes  behilld  her  husband  stand  Vppon  the  hatches  making  signes  by 
beckening  with  his  hand:  And  shee  made  signes  to  him  ageine.  And  after  that  the 
land  Was  farre  remoued  from  the  shippe,  and  that  the  sight  began  Too  bee  vnable 
too  discerne  the  face  of  any  man,  As  long  as  ere  shee  could  shee  lookt  vppon  the 
rowing  keele.  And  when  shee  could  no  longer  tyme  for  distance  ken  it  weele,  Shee 
looked  still  vppon  the  sayles  that  flashed  with  the  wynd  Vppon  the  maast.  And 
when  she  coulde  the  sayles  no  longer  fynd,  She  gate  her  too  her  empty  bed  with  sad 


ACT  i,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE  39 

Diftinguifh  him  from  others,  he  did  keepe  1 5 

The  Decke,  with  Gloue,  or  Hat,  or  Handkerchife, 
Still  wauing,  as  the  fits  and  ftirres  of's  mind 
Could  beft  expreffe  how  flow  his  Soule  fayl'd  on, 
How  fwift  his  Ship. 

Into.     Thou  fhould'fl  haue  made  him,  20 

As  little  as  a  Crow,  or  leffe,  ere  left 
To  after-eye  him. 

Pifa.     Madame,  fo  I  did. 

Imo.     I  would  haue  broke  mine  eye-ftrings  ; 
Crack'd  them,  but  to  looke  vpon  him,  till  the  diminution         2$ 
Of  fpace,  had  pointed  him  fharpe  as  my  Needle  : 

20.  him]  him  ev'n  Han.     him  seem  25.  them,    but]    'em,    but    Pope,+. 

Sta.  conj.  (Athenaeum,  14  June,  1873).  the  balls  Huds. 

24-29.  Mnemonic  Pope,  Warb.  him,}  Ff,  Coll.  Ktly,  Glo.  Cam. 

24,   25.  /  would... Crack' d  them,  but]  him;  Rowe  et  cet. 

One  line  Pope  et  seq.  26.  Of]  From  Han.     Of's  Warb. 

and  sorye  hart,  And  layd  her  downe.' — DOWDEN  refers  to  a  close  parallel  in  Venus 
&  Adonis,  lines  817-822.  [There  is  one  faint  point  in  favour  of  Warburton's  emen- 
dation which  seems  to  give  it  possibility,  and  this  is  that  the  compositor,  misled 
by  the  repetition  of  the  sound,  heard  from  the  voice  of  his  reader,  or  from  his  mental 
ear,  set  up,  'with  his,'  when  he  should  have  set  up 'with  this,' — the  words  of  the  copy. 
If  these  were  really  the  words  of  the  copy,  an  emendation  is  needed,  if  one  be  needed 
at  all,  quite  as  much  as  ever.  I  see  no  reason,  however,  why  we  should  assume  that 
Posthumus  was  silent  as  long  as  he  was  within  ear-shot.  Such  is  not  the  use  and 
wont  now-a-days  when  the  great  Ocean  Liners  leave  the  dock.  If,  after  all,  the 
phrase  be  unintelligible, — be  it  so.  Have  we  received  at  Shakespeare's  hand 
'favours  so  sweet,  they  went  to  the  heart's  root, — And  shall  we  not  receive  one  bitter 
fruit.'— ED.] 

24.  broke  mine  eye-strings]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.}\  The  strings  (i.  e.,  muscles, 
nerves,  or  tendons)  of  the  eye.     They  were  formerly  supposed  to  break  or  crack 
at  death  or  loss  of  sight. — STAUNTON  (Athcnaum,  14  June,  1873):   No  one  familiar 
with  Shakespeare's  style  can  believe  him  guilty  of  this  bathos.     He  might  have 
written, — 'I  would  have  crack'd  mine  eye-strings;  broke  them,'  etc.,  though  even 
this  would  be  tame  for  him.     It  is  far  more  likely  that  what  he  really  did  write 
was — '  I  would  have  crack'd  mine  eye-strings,  broke  their  balls,'  etc.     I  am  doubtful 
whether  the  expression  of  Pisanio,  III,  iv, — 'I'll  wake  mine  eye-balls  blind  first/ 
adds  anything  to  the  probability  of  this  suggestion,  but  it  may  be  worth  notice. 

25,  26.  diminution  Of  space]  WARBURTON:    But  the  increase  of  distance  is 
the  augmentative,  not  the  'diminution  of  space'  between  the  object  and  the  be- 
holder; which  augmentation  occasions  the  diminution  of  the  object.     We  should 
read,  therefore, '  the  diminution  of's  space,' — i.  e.,  of  his  space,  or  of  that  space  which 
his  body  occupied;  and  this  is  the  diminution  of  the  object  by  the  augmentation  of 
space. — HEATH  (p.  473) :   All  this  is  certainly  true  and  perfectly  right;  but  then  it 
ought  to  have  taught  [Warburton]  to  have  recourse  to  that  rule  of  construction  in 
the  English  language,  that  the  genitive  case  is  frequently  used  to  express  the  cause, 


40  THE   TRACE  DIE   OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  iv. 

Nay,  followed  him,  till  he  had  melted  from  27 

The  fmalneffe  of  a  Gnat,  to  ayre  :  and  then 

Haue  turn'd  mine  eye,  and  wept.     But  good  Pifanio, 

When  fhall  we  heare  from  him.  30 

Pifa.     Be  affur'd  Madam, 
With  his  next  vantage. 

Imo.     I  did  not  take  my  leaue  of  him,  but  had 
Moft  pretty  things  to  fay  :  Ere  I  could  tell  him 
How  I  would  thinke  on  him  at  certaine  houres,  35 

Such  thoughts,  and  fuch  :  Or  I  could  make  him  fweare, 
The  Shees  of  Italy  fhould  not  betray 
Mine  Intereft,-  and  his  Honour  :  or  haue  charg'd  him 
At  the  fixt  houre  of  Morne,  at  Noone,  at  Midnight,  39 

27.  followed]  followed  Pope  et  seq.  37.  Shees]  F2.     She's  F3F4,  Rowe. 

29.  wept.    But]  wept — but  Pope,  Han.  38.  haue  charg'd]  could  charge  Han. 

30.  him.]  him?  Rowe.  39.  fixt]  fexth  F4. 
33-45.  Mnemonic  Warb. 

as  well  as  the  object.  Thus, '  the  diminution  of  space,  will  be  that  diminution  which 
is  caused  by  space  or  distance.  [The  correction  of  Warburton  may  be  always 
safely  left  to  Heath  or  Edwards. — ED.] — JOHNSON:  That  is,  the  diminution  of 
which  space  is  the  cause.  Trees  are  killed  by  a  blast  of  lightning,  that  is,  by  blast- 
ing, not  blasted  lightning. 

28.  of  a  Gnat,  to  ayre]  In  reading  or  speaking,  the  slight  pause  after  'Gnat/ 
indicated  by  the  comma  in  the  Folio,  should  not  be  overlooked. — CAPELL,  I  am 
sorry  to  say,  was  the  first  to  remove  this  comma,  and  he  has  been  almost  uniformly 
followed  by  succeeding  editors.     Of  course,  as  far  as  the  mere  construction  of  the 
sentence  is  concerned,  the  punctuation  of  the  Folio  is  erroneous. — ED. 

32.  vantage]  That  is,  his  next  favourable  opportunity. 

36-38.  Or  I  could  .  .  .  his  Honour]  These  are  to  me  the  only  jarring 
words  that  Imogen  ever  utters.  We  all  know  how  common  it  is,  both  on  and, 
unfortunately,  off  the  stage,  for  wives  to  mistrust  husbands.  This  excuse  may  be 
possibly  urged  in  Imogen's  defence.  But  I  prefer  that  she  should  need  no  defence. 
When  she  learns  the  contents  of  Posthumus's  cruel,  brutal  letter  to  Pisanio,  her 
suspicions  fly  at  once,  not  unnaturally,  to  some  'jay  of  Italy!'  But  it  grates  me 
that  she  should  express  any  such  suspicion,  however  faint,  at  the  very  instant  that 
her  heart  was  breaking  over  their  separation;  and  when  her  every  other  utterance 
at  this  moment  was  that  of  an  '  enskyed  saint.'  Is  the  harboring  of  such  a  thought, 
at  such  a  crisis,  in  harmony  with  a  character  that  was  almost  perversely  obtuse  when 
lachimo  broadly  hinted  at  Posthumus's  infidelity?  These  lines  are  to  me  so 
repugnant  that  I  would  fain  believe  she  never  uttered  them.  Let  them  be  ex- 
cised and  the  remaining  lines  will  flow  with  sufficing  metrical  smoothness:  'Such 
thoughts,  and  such;  or  I  could  have  charg'd  him.' — On  the  other  hand,  Collier 
(ed.  ii.)  remarks  that  the  allusion  to  the  'shes  of  Italy'  is  'an  admirable  preparation 
for  what  succeeds  in  the  play.'  I  cannot  see  it. — ED. 

37.  The  Shees]  See  'Twixt  two  such  She's.' — I,  vii,  47.  For  other  instances 
where  'he'  and  'she'  are  used  for  man  and  woman,  see  ABBOTT,  §  224. 


ACT  i,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE 

T'encounter  me  with  Orifons,  for  then  40 

I  am  in  Heauen  for  him  :  Or  ere  I  could, 

Giue  him  that  parting  kiffe,  which  I  had  fet 

Betwixt  two  charming  words,  comes  in  my  Father, 

And  like  the  Tyrannous  breathing  of  the  North, 

Shakes  all  our  buddes  from  growing.  45 

40.  T  encounter]  Ff,  Rowe,+,  Coll.  40.  Orifons]  Or  also  us  Rowe. 

Dyce  ii,  Sing.  41.  Heauen]  heav'n  Han. 

43.  two  charming  words]  WARBURTOX:  Without  question  by  these  two 
charming  words  she  would  be  understood  to  mean,  'Adieu,  Posthumus.'  The  one 
Religion  made  so;  and  the  other  Love. — EDWARDS  (p.  191):  [According  to  Mr  War- 
burton]  Imogen  must  have  understood  the  etymology  of  our  language  very  exactly; 
to  find  out  so  much  religion  in  the  word  adieu;  which  we  use  commonly  without 
fixing  any  such  idea  to  it;  as  when  we  say  that  such  a  man  has  bidden  adieu  to  all 
religion.  And,  on  the  other  side,  she  must  have  understood  the  language  of  love 
very  little  if  she  could  find  no  tenderer  expression  of  it  than  the  name  by  which 
everybody  else  called  her  husband. — COLLIER:  The  old  meaning  of  to  'charm'  was 
to  enchant,  and  in  that  sense  we  suppose  it  to  have  been  used  by  Imogen  in  this 
passage;  she  would  have  set  the  kiss  betwixt  'two  charming  words,'  in  order,  per- 
haps, to  secure  it  from  'the  shes  of  Italy.'  [And  to  the  same  effect,  all  subsequent 
editors.] — INGLEBY  believes  that  'there  is,  not  improbably,  an  allusion  to  some 
custom  of  Shakespeare's  own  day.' — THISELTON  finds  here  'an  allusion  to  the 
cross, — which  still,  I  understand,  represents  a  kiss  in  love  letters, — that  was  placed 
between  words  in  written  charms  or  "charects. "  —  DOWDEN:  In  Scot's  Discovery 
of  Witchcraft  'use  charming  words'  means  use  words  of  incantation. — DEIGHTON 
suggests  that  'perhaps  "charming"  means  nothing  more  than  "sweet,"  "loving"'; 
whereto  the  present  editor  is  inclined  to  agree. 

45.  Shakes  .  .  .  growing]  WARBURTOX  argues  that  if  Cymbeline's  rage  had 
occurred  when  he  first  discovered  the  marriage,  Imogen  would  have  rightly 
referred  to  it  as  shaking  'all  our  buds  from  growing'  'because  by  banishing  Post- 
humus,  he  quite  cut  off  the  fruits  of  their  loves  and  alliances,  which  were  things  of 
duration;  and  in  this  case  the  buds  of  fruit-trees  had  been  meant.'  But  Posthumus 
was  taking  his  last  farewell  of  her,  which  was  but  of  a  short  and  momentary  dura- 
tion, 'in  this  case,  it  is  plain'  that  the  'buds'  must  refer  to  flowers,  which  do  not 
'grow'  like  fruit  buds,  but  merely  open  or  expand.  Therefore,  we  must  read, 
'Shakes  all  our  buds  from  blowing.' — HANMER  is  the  only  editor  who  was  beguiled 
by  this  hypercritical  emendation. — But  the  Rev.  Dr  HURD,  a  fulsome  admirer  of 
Warburton  in  a  note  on  Cattida  juncture,  in  his  edition  of  Horace's  Art  of  Poetry 
(p.  56,  ed.  1766)  adopted  'blowing'  of  the  'sagacious  editor'  and  modified  the  line 
by  suggesting:  'Shuts  all  our  buds  from  blowing.'  'And,  on  second  thoughts, 
changed  shuts  to  checks,  as  more  like  both  in  sound  to  "Shakes"  and  in  the  traces  of 
the  letters,  and  lastly  because  it  is  easier  and  better  English.'  I  owe  to  ECCLES 
this  reference  to  Kurd.  In  the  emendation  checks,  Hurd  anticipates  BAILEY  (ii, 
128). — CAPELL  (i,  103):  Not  the  fair  bud  of  their  adieus  only,  but  all  their  buds, 
the  whole  promised  crop  of  their  loves  is  shaken  and  beat  to  the  ground  by  this 
'tyrannous  breathing.'  'Growing'  is  equivalent  to  'blowing,'  for  the  expansion 
of  buds  is  growth;  promoted,  as  is  elsewhere  expressed,  'by  summer's  ripening 


42  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  v. 

Enter  a  Lady.  46 

La.     The  Queene  (Madam) 
Defires  your  Highneffe  Company. 

Into.     Thofe  things  I  bid  you  do,'get  them  difpatch'd, 
I  will  attend  the  Queene.  50 

Pi  fa.     Madam,  I  fhall.  Exetint. 


Scena  Quinta. 

Enter  Philario ,  lacltiino  :  a  Frenchman ya  Dntcli- 

man,  and  a  Spaniard.  3 

i.  Scena  Quinta]    SCENE   n.   Rowe.  2.  lachimo:]  lachimo,  Ff.     lachimo, 

SCENE  vi.  Pope,  Han.  Warb.  Johns.  and  Rowe. 

SCENE  iv.  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.   Coll.  iii,  2,  3.  a   Frenchman,   a   Dutchman,] 

Cam.  Frenchman,  Dutchman  F3F4. 

Rome.  Rowe.     A  Room  in  Philario's  a  Dutchman,  and  a  Spaniard] 

House.  Cap.  Om.  Rowe,+,  Varr.  Ran.  Knt. 


breath.' — Rom.  &"  /«/.,  II,  ii,  121. — JOHNSON:    A  bud,  without  any  distinct  idea, 
whether  of  flower  or  fruit,  is  a  natural  representation  of  anything  incipient  or 
immature;  and  the  buds  of  flowers,  if  flowers  are   meant,   grow  to  flowers,  as 
the  buds  of  fruits  grow  to  fruits. — STEEVENS:  I  think  the  old  reading  may  be 
sufficiently  supported  by  'Rough  words  to  shake  the  darling  buds  of  May.'- 
Sonn.,  xviii.     Again  in  'Confounds  thy  fame,  as  whirlwinds  shake  fair  buds.'- 
Tam.  Shr.,  V,  ii,  140. 

1.  Scena  Quinta]  ECCLES  (p.  31) :  Between  this  scene  and  the  last  so  much  time 
must  be  imagined  to  pass  as  was  sufficient  for  Posthumus  to  perform  his  voyage  and 
journey  to  Rome. — DANIEL:  Here  begins  the  Second  Day. — INGLEBY:  The  language 
of  this  scene  presents  a  notable  instance  of  slipshod  writing,  with  an  occasional 
construction  of  equivocal  meaning.     Recent  publications  on  the  authorship  of 
these  plays  induce  the  reflexion,  how  the  fastidious  taste  of  so  great  a  master  of 
prose  as  Francis  Bacon  would  have  been  shocked  by  such  composition  as  we  find 
in  this  and  other  prose  scenes. 

2,  3.  a    Dutchman,    and    a    Spaniard]   CAPELL  (p.  104):    Perhaps  the  Poet 
might  have  intended  to  make  more  of  [these  two]  than  only  silent  co-agents;  or, 
when  he  dropped  that  intention,  let  them  stand  as  a  mark  of  Philario's  benevolence 
and  his  hospitable    disposition    to    strangers. — STEEVENS:    Shakespeare  derived 
[these  four  characters]  from  whatever  translation  of  the  original  novel  he  made  use 
of.     [In  the  Var.  '21  there  is  this  additional  remark  by  Steevens:    'Thus,  in  the 
ancient  one  described  in  our  Prolegomena  to  this  drama:   "Howe  iiii  merchauntes 
met  all  togyther  in  on  way,  whyche  were  of  iiii  dyverse  landes,"  etc.'     This  is 
probably  a  reference  to  the  version  of  Boccaccio,  of  which  Steevens  gives  a  meagre 
account  in  his  Prolegomena.     See  Appendix,  Source  oj 'the  Plot. — SKOTTOWE  quotes 
this  reference  by  Steevens,  and  adds:    'In  the  trifling  particular  of  the  arrange- 


ACT  i,  sc.  v.]  CYMBELINE  43 

lack.     Beleeue  it  Sir,  I  haue  feene  him  in  Britaine;  hee 
was  then  of  a  Creffent  note,  expected  to  proue  fo  woor-  5 

thy,  as  fmce  he  hath  beene  allowed  the  name  of.  But  I 
could  then  haue  look'd  on  him,  without  the  help  of  Ad- 
miration, though  the  Catalogue  of  his  endowments  had  8 

4.  Sir,]    Ff,    Rowe,+,    Coll.    Dyce,         crescent  note;  expected  Theob.  et  cet. 
Glo.  Cam.     Sir;  Cap.  et  cet.  5,  6.  woorthy]  wore  thy  Pope  i. 

5.  then  of  a  Creffent  note,  expeded]  6.  But]  Om.  Han. 

F2.    then  of  a  crejjcnt  none,  expected  F3.  7,  8.  Admiration,]  Ff,  Coll.  Dyce  ii, 

then  of  a  crefcent,  none  expected  F4,  Rowe.  in,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam.     admiration;  Theob. 

than   but   crescent,    none   expected,   him  et  cet. 
Pope    (then  ed.   ii.),  Han.     then   of  a 

ment  of  his  Dram.  Pers.  in  this  Scene,  therefore,  Shakespeare  acted  under  the 
influence  of  authority,  and  this  is  likewise  evident  from  the  circumstance  that  the 
Spaniard  and  Hollander  are  mute.' — KNIGHT  opines  that  Shakespeare  no  doubt 
intended  '  to  show  that  the  foolish  wager  of  Posthumus  was  made  amidst  strangers 
who  resorted  to  Rome.' — WHITE  agrees  substantially  with  Knight,  and  adds  that 
their  'mere  presence  had  a  dramatic  effect.' 

7,  8.  without  the  help  of  Admiration]  STAUNTON  (Athenceum,  14  June, 
1873):  What  befitting  sense  can  be  tortured  out  of  'the  help  of  admiration'? 
Does  not  the  context  plainly  show  that  'help'  is  a  corruption?  I  feel  certain  we 
ought  to  read,  'without  the  yelp  of  admiration,'  or  'the  whoop  of  admiration.' 
Either  word  tallies  with  the  sense,  which  obviously  is — 'I  know  how  distinguished 
this  Briton  is  accounted,  but  if  I  had  studied  every  item  of  his  accomplishments, 
I  could  still  look  on  him  without  a  vulgar  shout  of  wonderment.'  Compare,  'two 
yoke-devils  .  .  .  working  so  grossly  .  .  .  That  admiration  did  not  whoop  at  them.' 
—Henry  V:  II,  ii;  also  'most  wonderful — wonderful!  and  yet  again — wonderful! 
and,  after  that,  out  of  all  whooping!' — As  You  Like  It,  III,  ii. — INGLEBY:  This 
very  difficult  passage  had  been  passed  over  by  all  critics,  with  the  exception  of 
Staunton,  who  was  reduced  to  the  expedient  of  proposing  two  emendations  for 
'help,'  one  of  which  has  no  resemblance  to  the  trace  of  the  letters,  and  the  other  is 
simply  laughable.  It  is  natural,  at  first  sight,  to  suppose  that  lachimo  is  the 
person  who  is  said  to  be  'without  the  help  of  admiration';  but,  if  the  passage  be 
closely  examined,  it  will  be  seen  that  an  atmosphere  of  prestige  would  be  rather  a 
hindrance  than  a  help  to  a  person  desirous  of  critically  estimating  the  hero;  and  even 
tolerable  sense  cannot  be  extracted  from  the  ordinary  interpretation.  What 
lachimo  intended  to  say  is  this:  'but  I  could  then  have  looked  upon  Posthumus, 
whose  name  had  not  at  that  time  obtained  the  glamour  which  now  invests  it.' 
The  phrase  is  slightly  elliptical,  but  not  to  so  great  an  extent  as  is  to  be  found 
in  other  passages  of  this  play.  [The  papers  on  '  Unsuspected  Corruptions  in  Shake- 
speare's Text'  which,  during  1872,  '73,  '74,  STAUNTON  contributed  to  The  Athenceum, 
were  a  source  of  grief  to  his  friends.  The  nice  discrimination,  due  to  wide  reading 
and  a  dramatic  temperament,  seemed  to  have  wholly  deserted  him.  And  the 
emendations  he  proposed  were  received  in  silence,  and  with  the  respect  to  which, 
as  the  editor  of  a  truly  admirable  edition  of  Shakespeare,  he  was  entitled.  Mrs 
MARY  COWDEN-CLARKE  was,  I  think,  the  only  critic  who  openly  remonstrated 
against  some  of  them.  In  those  far-away  days  Shakespeare  had  not,  as  now,  his 


44  THE  TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  v. 

bin  tabled  by  his  fide,  and  I  to  perufe  him  by  Items. 

Phil.     You  fpeake  of  him  when  he  was  leffe  furnifh'd,          10 
then  now  hee  is,  with  that  which  makes  him  both  with- 
out, and  within. 

French.  I  haue  feene  him  in  France  :  wee  had  very  ma- 
ny there,  could  behold  the  Sunne,  with  as  firme  eyes  as 
hee.  1 5 

lach.  This  matter  of  marrying  his  Kings  Daughter, 
wherein  he  muft  be  weighed  rather  by  her  valew,  then  17 

9.  bin]  been  F4.  16.  Kings]  King  F2. 

13.  in  France]  France  F2. 


niche  in  every  household  as  a  fireside  god,  and  emendations  of  his  text  were  not 
then  to  be  resented  as  personal  affronts.  In  the  present  instance,  Staunton's 
changes  of  'help'  into  yelp  or  whoop  are  unhappy,  most  unhappy;  they  need  no 
comment.  In  them,  the  palmiest  days  are  recalled  of  Beckett,  of  Zachary  Jackson, 
and  of  Lord  Chedworth.  As  in  many  others  of  Staunton's  emendations,  the 
difficulty  here  is  of  his  own  creation;  it  is,  as  DOWDEN,  when  speaking  of  Ingleby's 
assent  to  Staunton's  difficulty,  justly  terras,  'imaginary.'  For,  strangely  enough, 
Ingleby  shared  Staunton's  view  of  the  present  passage,  and  pronounced  the  Folio 
text  'very  difficult.'  'An  atmosphere  of  prestige,'  he  thinks,  'would  be  rather  a 
hindrance  than  a  help  to  a  person  desirous  of  critically  estimating  the  hero.'  But 
lachimo  had  no  desire  to  estimate  Posthumus,  either  critically  or  justly,  he  was 
prejudiced  from  the  start,  and  it  was  his  irritating  manner  due  to  this  prejudice 
which  exasperated  Posthumus.  Dr  Ingleby's  son,  Mr  Holcombe  Ingleby,  who 
edited  a  second  edition  of  his  father's  book,  assumed  the  responsibility  of  the  note  in 
the  first  edition  by  acknowledging  that  it  was  written  at  his  suggestion;  and  invited 
a  discussion  of  it  in  the  pages  of  Notes  &  Queries;  and  there  the  student  can  find  it, 
in  VII,  vii,  124,  384;  Ibid.,  viii,  44,  222,  302,  402;  Ibid.,  ix,  263.  In  the  course  of  it 
W.  W.  LLOYD  is  the  solitary  writer,  I  think,  who  found  any  difficulty  in  the  present 
passage,  which  he  amends  by  reading  '  without  the  eyes  of  admiration.'  No  editor, 
I  think,  since  Dr  Ingleby  has  detected  any  difficulty  here,  and  but  few  have  noticed 
Ingleby's  criticism. — ED.] 

9.  peruse]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.,  n,  2):  To  examine  (a  number  of  things)  one 
by  one. 

ii.  makes  him]  JOHNSON:  In  the  sense  in  which  we  say,  This  will  make  or  mar 
you. 

ii,  12.  both  without,  and  within]  DOWDEN  refers  to  'All  that  is  out  of  door 
most  rich,'  etc. — I,  vii,  20.  Possibly  an  equally  apt  comparison  lies  in,  'So  faire  an 
Outward,  and  such  stuff e  Within  Endowes  a  man,  but  hee.' — I,  i,  32. 

14,  15.  as  hee]  DOWDEN:  Perhaps  this  refers  to  lachimo,  and  if  so,  'the  sun' 
must  stand  ironically  for  Posthumus;  but  'he'  may  be  Posthumus,  and  the  mean- 
ing may  be,  we  had  as  many  eagles  as  true  of  breed  as  he.  Compare  3  Hen.  VI: 
II,  i,  91,  92:  'Nay,  if  thou  be  that  princely  eagle's  bird,  Show  thy  descent  by  gazing 
'gainst  the  sun.'  [It  seems  to  me  that  'he'  must  refer  to  'I  have  seen  him  in 
France,'  and  that  Dowden's  paraphrase  is  just. — ED.] 


ACT    I,   SC.   V.] 


CYMBELINE 


45 


his  owne,  words  him  (I  doubt  not)  a  great  deale  from  the         18 
matter. 

French.     And  then  his  banifhment.  20 

lack.  I,  and  the  approbation  of  thofe  that  weepe  this 
lamentable  diuorce  vnder  her  colours,  are  wonderfully 
to  extend  him,  be  it  but  to  fortifie  her  Judgement,  which 
elfe  an  eafie  battery  might  lay  flat,  for  taking  a  Begger 
without  leffe  quality. But  how  comes  it,  he  is  to  foiourne  25 


20.  banijhment.]  banishment—-  Pope, 
+  ,  Knt,  Sing.  Sta.  Ktly.     banishment: 
Cap.  Mai.  Steev.  Varr.     banishment  — 
Dyce. 

21.  /,]  Ay,  Rowe. 

approbation]  approbations  Warb. 
Johns.  Coll.  ii.  (MS.). 

22.  vnder  her  colours]  and  her  dolours 
Coll.  MS. 

are]  is  Ktly. 

22,  23.  are  wonderfully  to]  aids  won- 
derfully to  Warb.  conj.  (Nichols  ii,  265). 
are  "wonderful  to  Cap.  conj.  and  wonder- 


fully do  Ecc.  are  wont  wonderfully  to 
Coll.  ii.  (MS.),  iii.  and  are  wonderfully 
to  Ecc.  conj.  who  wonderfully  do  Orger. 

23.  extend  him]  extend  her  Var.  '73 
(misprint?). 

her]  here  F2. 

25.  without  lejje  quality]  without 
more  quality  Rowe,+,  Ran.  Steev. 
Varr.  Coll.  ii.  (MS.),  Sing.  Ktly. 
without  level  quality  Bailey  (ii,  368). 
without  less  inequality  Cartwright  (p. 
38).  without  self-quality  Bulloch  (p. 
269).  without  best  quality  Vaughan. 


18,  19.  words  him  .  .  .  matter]  JOHNSON:   Makes  the  description  of  him  very 
distant  from  the  truth.     [See  'whose  containing  Is  so  from  sense  in  hardness. '- 
V,  v,  512,  513.] 

20.  banishment]  When  this  sentence  is  assumed  to  be  incomplete,  and  is 
filled  out  with  what  we  are  assured  the  Frenchman  would  have  said,  as  has  been 
done,  we  should  bear  in  mind  that  it  is  Pope's,  not  Shakespeare's,  words  that  are 
supplied.  Pope  is  the  first  to  indicate  that  the  sentence  is  broken,  and  to  put 
words  in  Pope's  mouth  is  harmless  and  allowable,  but  to  put  them  in  Shakespeare's 
mouth  verges  on  the  temerarious.  Is  there  any  good  reason  to  be  given  why  the 
Frenchman's  exclamation  should  be  deemed  incomplete? — ED. 

22.  diuorce  vnder   her   colours,   are]  JOHNSON:    Under  her  banner;  by  her 
influence.     [If  Shakespeare  had  placed  'under  her  colours'  directly  after  the  rela- 
tive pronoun  which  it  qualifies,  thus:  'the  approbation  of  those  under  her  colours 
that  weep  this  lamentable  divorce,'  we  should  then  probably  have  had  'is  wonder- 
fully to  extend  him.'     But  as  the  text  now  stands,  immediately  after  the  plural 
'colours'  follows  the  plural  'are,'  which  is  held  by  Malone  and  others  as  a  'gram- 
matical inaccuracy.'     It  is  merely  the  ordinary  plural  by  attraction;  in  strictness, 
ungrammatical,  but  not  so  far  unpardonable  in  Shakespeare  that  we  need  correct 
it.     It  occurs  again  in  IV,  ii,  396. — ED.] 

23.  extend]  See  note  on  'I  do  extend  him.' — I,  i,  35. 

23,  24.  fortifie  .  .  .  battery]  Did  not  the  use  of  the  military  term,  'fortify,' 
suggest  'battery'? — ED. 

25.  without  lesse  quality]  MALONE  (ed.  1790):  Whenever  less  or  more  is  to  be 
joined  with  a  verb  denoting  want,  or  a  preposition  of  a  similar  import,  Shakespeare 
never  fails  to  be  entangled  in  a  grammatical  inaccuracy,  or,  rather,  to  use  words 
that  express  the  very  contrary  of  what  he  means.  [Thus  far,  Dyce  (ed.  ii.)  quotes 
this  note  without  dissent.  Malone  then  goes  on  to  say  that  he  had  proved  his 


46  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  v. 

[25.  without  lesse  quality] 

assertion  'incontestably '  in  a  note  on  Ant.  &  Cleop.,  IV,  xiv,  72,  73.  Unfortunately 
posterity  has  not  confirmed  his  proof.  Again  he  refers  to  Wint.  Tale,  III,  ii,  58,  59; 
here,  too,  JOHNSON  wisely  pointed  out  that  we  must  remember  that,  of  aforetime, 
two  negatives  did  not  make  an  affirmative,  but  strengthened  the  negation.  In- 
deed, there  are,  in  Shakespeare,  at  least  two  instances  of  even  triple  negatives: 
'No  woman  has,  nor  never  none  shall  mistress  be  of  it,'  etc.,  Twelfth  Night,  III,  i,  163, 
and  'nor  no  further  in  sport  neyther,'  etc.,  As  You  Like  It,  I,  ii,  27.  Be  this  fact 
remembered  in  the  discussion,  not  'luminous  but  voluminous,'  which  follows. — ED.] 
Malone  thus  ends  his  foregoing  note:  Mr  Rowe  and  all  the  subsequent  editors  read: 
'  without  more  quality,'  and  so  undoubtedly  Shakespeare  ought  to  have  written.  On 
the  stage,  an  actor  may  rectify  such  petty  errors;  but  it  is  the  duty  of  an  editor 
to  exhibit  what  his  author  wrote. — STEEVENS:  As  on  this  occasion  and  several 
others,  we  can  only  tell  what  Hemings  and  Condell  printed,  instead  of  knowing  with 
any  degree  of  certainty  what  Shakespeare  wrote,  I  have  not  disturbed  Mr  Rowe's 
emendation,  which  leaves  a  clear  passage  to  the  reader,  if  he  happens  to  prefer  an 
obvious  sense  to  no  sense  at  all. — KNIGHT:  We  doubt  the  propriety  of  [Rowe's] 
change.  Posthumus  is  spoken  of  by  all  as  one  of  high  qualifications, — and  he  is 
presently  introduced  as  'a  stranger  of  his  quality.'  He  was  bred  as  Imogen's 
'playfellow,'  and,  therefore,  cannot  be  spoken  of  as  a  low  man, — 'without  more 
quality.'  .  .  .  We  do  not  feel  warranted  in  altering  the  text,  or  we  would  read: 
'without  his  quality,' — a  beggar  who  does^iot  follow  the  occupation  of  a  beggar. 
[HUDSON  adopted  in  his  text  this  conjecture  of  Knight,  which  seemed  to  him 
'just  the  thing.'  COLLIER  believes  that  'less'  for  'more'  was  a  compositor's  error. 
HALLIWELL  (Folio  ed.  1853,  i,  279)  repeated  the  examples  supplied  by  Malone,  and, 
having  added  to  them  the  following:  'Fortune  forbid  my  outside  have  not 
charm'd  her,' — Twelfth  Night,  II,  iii,  20;  'men  must  not  walke  too  late  who  cannot 
want  the  thought,' — Macb.,  Ill,  vi,  10;  'Let  his  lacke  of  years  be  no  impediment  to 
let  him  lacke  a  reverend  estimation,' — Mer.  of  Ven.,  IV,  i,  168;  'You  lesse  know 
how  to  value  her  desert,  Than  she  to  scant  her  duty,' — Lear,  II,  iv,  135,  deduced 
therefrom  the  following  admirable  summary:  Words  of  negative  import  are  some- 
times used  for  words  of  positive  meaning  where  other  words  implying  negation  or 
detraction  are  placed  in  connection  with  them.  This  apparent  solecism  is  merely 
a  subtle  variation  of  the  use  of  the  double  negative.  This  exposition  is  in  part 
quoted  by  INGLEBY. — DELIUS  (ed.  i,  1855):  According  to  Shakespearian  usage, 
'  less '  appears  in  some  degree  to  strengthen  a  subjoined  negation,  as  here  '  without.' 
Posthumus  is  a  beggar  without  any  other  quality  whatever  than  just  a  beggar  has. 
[Here  follows  the  quotation  from  The  Winter's  Tale,  above  referred  to  by  Malone: 
'I  ne're  heard  yet,  That  any  of  these  bolder  Vices  wanted,  Lesse  Impudence  to 
gaine-say  what  they  did,  Then  to  performe  it  first.' — III,  ii,  57-60.  WHITE  (ed.  i.) 
attributed  the '  obscurity  to  the  poet's  own  carelessness.'  Ibid.  (ed.  ii.) :  '  Doubtless 
Shakespeare  thought  here  that  what  he  had  written  meant,  "  with  so  little  quality." 
In  passages  of  this  construction  he,  like  many  others  who  are  not  Shakespeares,  was 
apt  to  fall  into  confusions.'  In  his  Shakespeare's  Scholar,  1854,  White  conjec- 
tures 'without  this  quality,'  or  'with  less  quality,'  but  as  he  did  not  repeat  these 
emendations  in  his  subsequent  editions,  they  may  be  regarded  as  withdrawn. 
In  the  conjecture  'with  less  quality'  White  anticipated  W.  W.  Lloyd  (N.  &  Qu., 
VII,  ii,  162).  In  his  conjecture  'without  this  quality'  he  anticipated  A.  Hall  (N.  & 
Qu.,  VII,  ii,  164). — STAUNTON  says  that  'without  wore  quality'  was  'apparently, 


ACT  i,  sc.  v.]  CYMBELINE  47 

with  you  ?    How  creepes  acquaintance  ?  26 

26.  creepes]  grew  Lloyd  ap.  Cam. 

though  by  no  means  certainly,  the  meaning  intended';  and  he  then  quotes  Malone's 
note,  so  much  as  refers  to  Shakespeare's  'entanglement'  with  negatives. — HERTZ- 
BERG  (1871)  misquotes  the  Folio:  'without  less  qualities,'  wherein  there  lies  a  dif- 
ference from  the  singular,  'quality,'  and,  in  deciding  in  favour  of  'with  less  qual- 
ities,' is  anticipated  in  the  'with'  by  White.  He  thus  translates:  'Wenn  sie  einen 
Bettler  mit  geringeren  Fahigkeiten  sich  envahlt  hatte.'  Rev.  JOHN  HUNTER 
(1872):  Who  had  no  other  inferiority  lessening  his  quality.  BR.  NICHOLSON 
(N.  &°  Qu.,  1886,  VII,  ii,  23)  zealously  maintains,  and  at  times  with  eminent  success 
(witness  his  palmarian  explanation  of  Malvolio's  'my — some  rich  jewel  '),  that 
many  obscurities  in  the  text  are  to  be  explained  by  dramatic  action,  and  on  the 
present  passage  comments  as  follows:  We  are  obliged  to  suppose  that  either  Shake- 
speare or  the  transcriber  mistakenly  wrote  'less'  instead  of  more,  or  else  seek  a 
means  by  which  the  sentence  will  give  a  meaning  to  this  'less.'  This  latter,  if 
possible,  would  be  more  in  accordance  with  true  criticism  than  suggesting  an 
emendation.  A  snap  of  the  fingers  was  and  is  used  to  express  a  contemptuous 
estimate  of  anything  or  any  one.  Twice  at  least  it  was  so  used  in  plays  of  the 
period;  and  though  I  acknowledge  that  in  these, — so  far  as  my  memory  goes,— 
there  are  the  words  'than  this,'  or  words  to  that  effect,  which  are  wanting  in  this 
instance,  yet  I  think  that  there  the  sentence  was  equivalent  to  'of  less  quality 
[snaps  his  fingers]  [than  that].'  I  have  heard,  and  I  think  I  have  said,  words 
indifferently  to  this  effect,  'I  do  not  value  it  that  [snap],'  or  'I  do  not  value  it' 
and  then  the  snap  completed  the  sentence.  DEIGHTON  (1894):  Even  if  given  only 
in  order  to  confirm  her  judgment,  which  otherwise  might  be  impugned  for  choosing 
a  beggar  without  greater  recommendations  than  belong  to  him.  THISELTON 
(1902,  p.  10):  'For  taking  a  beggar  without  lesse  quality'  practically  amounts  to 
'if  it  were  not  that  she  has  taken  a  Beggar  with  such  great  quality.'  DOWDEN: 
Possibly  Shakespeare  wrote,  'with,  doubt  less  quality,'  a  beggar,  though,  I  admit, 
of  some  merit. — [He  who  has  perused  this  discussion  will  come,  I  think,  to  the 
conclusion  that  'without  less,'  according  to  our  present  habits  of  thought,  means 
'without  more,'  and  that,  according  to  Shakespearian  usage,  it  means  precisely  the 
same,  and  that  in  all  the  foregoing  examples  of  regular  sentences,  there  is  nothing 
ungrammatical,  nor  any  solecism,  nor  any  confusion  in  The  Master's  mind,  but  he 
was  merely  repeating  what  he  met  with  in  reading  and  heard  in  talking;  and, 
finally,  that  wherever  there  be  in  his  text  anything  which  appears  enigmatical  it  is 
wiser  to  accept  it  and  wait  for  fuller  knowledge  of  the  usage  of  his  times,  than  to 
propose  emendations,  which,  at  this  late  day,  will  be  approved  by  no  human  being 
but  by  the  proposer  himself,  and  prove  food  for  mirth  to  every  one  besides. — ED.] 
26.  creepes]  DEIGHTON:  This  verb  does  not  here  seem  to  have  any  notion  of 
slowness,  still  less  of  secrecy;  possibly  a  misprint  for  breeds. — HERFORB:  How  have 
you  stolen  into  acquaintance.  '  Creeps '  hints  at  the  stealthy  process  implied  in  the 
unexpected  result. — DOWDEN:  I  know  no  other  example  of  the  expression.  To 
'creep  in  acquaintance'  occurs  in  Greene,  Quip  for  an  Upstart  Courtier.  ['The  end 
of  all  beeing  is  to  knowe  God,  and  not  as  your  worship  good  masdter  Veluet  breeches 
wrests,  to  creep  into  acquaintance.' — p.  233  ed.  Grossart,  where  it  is  used  in  its 
usual  acceptation.  Circumstances  can  be  imagined  where  'How  creeps  acquain- 
tance?' would  be  intelligible  and  appropriate;  but  such  circumstances  are  not 
before  us  here,  and  so  the  phrase  remains  incomprehensible. — ED.] 


.g  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  ACT  i,  sc.  v. 

Phil.     His   Father  and    I    were  Souldiers  together,  to         27 
whom  I  haue  bin  often  bound  for  no  leffe  then  my  life. 

Enter  Pojlhumus. 

Heere  comes  the  Britaine.     Let  him  be  fo  entertained  a-         30 
mong'ft  you, as  fuites  with  Gentlemen  of  your  knowing, 
to  a  Stranger  of  his  quality.     I  befeech  you  all  be  better 
knowne  to  this  Gentleman,    whom   I   commend  to  you, 
as  a  Noble  Friend  of  mine.     How  Worthy  he  is,  I  will 
leaue  to  appeare  hereafter,  rather  then  ftory  him  in  his         35 
owne  hearing. 

French.     Sir,  we  haue  knowne  togither  in  Orleance. 

PoftS'mcQ  when,  I  haue  bin  debtor  to  you  for  courte- 
fies,  which  I  will  be  euer  to  pay,  and  yet  pay  ftill. 

French.     Sir, you  o're-rate   my  poore  kindneffe,  I   was         40 
glad  I  did  attone  my  Countryman  and  you:  it  had  beene 
pitty  you  fhould  haue  beene  put  together,  with  fo  mor- 
tall  a  purpofe,  as  then  each  bore,  vpon  importance  of  fo 
flight  and  triuiall  a  nature.  44 

o 

28.  bin}  been  F4.  37.  haue  knowne}   have  been  known 

29.  Enter...]  After  quality,  line  32,         Pope,+. 

Dyce,  Sta.  Ktly,  Glo.  Cam.  togither}  FI. 

30.  Britaine}  F2.  Britain  F3F4,  Rowe,  Orleance}  Orleans  Pope. 
Pope,  Theob.  i,   Cap.     Briton  Theob.             38.  bin]  been  F4. 

ii.  et  seq.  debtor]  debter  F4,  Rowe. 

him}  me  Johns,  ap.  Cam.  40.  kindneffe}    Ff.     kindness.    Var. 

35.  then}  than  F4.  '71,  Coll.     kindness;  Rowe  et  cet. 

37.  French.]  Fren.  Ff  throughout.  41.  attone}  atone  F3F4. 

beene}  bin  F3. 

30.  the  Britaine]  See  Walker's  note  on  'Britaine  reueller.  — I,  vii,  72. 

31.  knowing]  Experience,  whether  social  or  otherwise. — THISELTON:    Philario 
means:   'Beggar  though  you  deem  him,  he  has  quality  which  entitles  him  to  a  wel- 
come from  those  of  your  condition,'  and,  to  emphasise  the  point,  introduces  him  as  a 
'Noble  Friend'  of  his  own.     lachimo  was  'Syenna's  brother'  (IV,  ii,  423),  and, 
therefore,  of  high  rank. 

37.  knowne  togither]  A  somewhat  similar  ellipsis  to  'When  shall  we  see  again?' 
—I,  ii,  65. 

38,41.  bin,  beene]  Note  the  lawless  spelling  of  Shakespeare's  compositors. 

39.  I  will  be  euer  to  pay]  ABBOTT  (§  405) :  That  is,  kindnesses  which  I  intend  to 
be  always  ready  to  pay  you,  and  yet  go  on  paying.  [Malone  quotes  similar  expressions 
in  All's  Well,  and  in  the  3oth  Sonnet.  It  is  superfluous  to  quote  them  here,  in  these 
days  of  Mrs  Cowden-Clarke's  Concordance,  of  Bartlett's  and  of  Schmidt's  Lexicon. 

41.  I  did  attone  my  Countryman  and  you]  WYATT:  The  Frenchman  revives 
the  memory  of  a  former  quarrel,  and  thus  paves  the  way  for  the  subsequent  dispute 
on  a  similar  ground. 

43.  importance]   MALONE:    This  is  here,   as  elsewhere  in   Shakespeare,   im- 


ACT  i,  sc.  v.]  CYMBELINE  49 

Pojl.     By  your  pardon  Sir,  I  was  then  a  young  Trauel-         45 
ler,  rather  fhun'd  to  go  euen  with  what  I  heard,  then  in 

45,  46.  Traueller,}  Traveller;  Rowe  et  seq. 

portunity,  instigation.  [Is  not  this  too  strong  a  meaning  here,  for  a  'slight  and 
trivial'  matter?  Elsewhere  it  undoubtedly  bears  this  interpretation.  Yet  to 
DOWDEN  it  'seems  satisfactory,  and  it  may  be  right;  yet  I  rather  prefer  to  accept 
it  as  meaning  simply  subject,  occasion,  a  matter  of  trivial  import.''  COLLIER  (ed.  ii.) 
in  the  belief  that  'importance'  is  here  used  in  its  etymological  sense,  from  the 
French  em  porter,  observes  that  it  means  'carrying  away, — upon  urgency,  or 
provocation  of  so  slight  and  trivial  a  nature.'  Unquestionably,  emporter  means  to 
carry  away,  but  our  word  import,  which  is  adapted  from  it  (see  N.  E.  D.},  means  to 
bring  in.  All  of  this  conversation,  until  we  come  to  the  death-grip  of  lachimo  and 
Posthumus,  seems  pitched  in  a  forced,  laboured,  and  un-Shakespearian  key. 
Philario  is  pompous,  and  lachimo  hysterical,  with  such  phrases  as  'weep  this 
lamentable  divorce,'  'easy  batteries  laying  flat,'  and  'creeping  acquaintance.' 
Shakespeare's  unmistakeable  hand  begins  at  line  53,  and  all  the  preceding  may 
have  been  his,  but  to  me  it  lacks  his  creative  cunning.  At  line  53  you  see  the 
snake,  and  hear  the  soft  modulations  of  Mephistopheles. — ED.] 

46.  rather  shun'd  to  go  euen  with  what  I  heard]  JOHNSON:  This  is  ex- 
pressed with  a  kind  of  fantastical  perplexity.  He  means,  I  was  then  willing  to 
take  for  my  direction  the  experience  of  others,  more  than  such  intelligence  as  I 
had  gathered  myself. — MONCK  MASON  (p.  321):  This  passage  cannot  bear  the 
meaning  Johnson  contends  for.  Posthumus  is  describing  a  presumptuous  young 
man,  as  he  acknowledges  himself  to  have  been  at  that  time;  and  means  to  say,  that 
'he  rather  studied  to  avoid  conducting  himself  by  the  opinions  of  other  people, 
than  to  be  guided  by  their  experience.'  To  take  for  direction  the  experience  of 
others,  would  be  proof  of  wisdom,  not  of  presumption. — CAPELL  (p.  104):  'To 
go  even  with  what  I  heard'  is  no  easy  expression,  nor  the  speech  it  stands  in  quite 
so  clear  as  it  should  be:  The  meaning  of  the  phrase  is — to  assent  to,  'shun'd  to 
assent  to  what  I  heard ' :  this  the  speaker  owns  as  a  fault,  and  in  travellers  'specially, 
which  his  youth  might  draw  him  into  at  that  time;  but  notwithstanding,  that  he 
cannot  admit  even  now  that  his  cause  of  quarrel  was  so  '  trivial '  as  the  other  would 
make  it  out. — STAUNTON:  Should  we  not  read  sinned?  The  meaning  being,  I 
was  then  a  young  traveller  and  wilfully  preferred  rather  to  go  by  what  I  heard  than 
to  be  guided  by  the  experience  of  others.  [An  excellent  interpretation  if  we  can 
take  'shun'd,  or  even  sinned,  as  meaning  preferred. — ED.] — INGLEBY:  This  is  a 
roundabout  way  of  saying  that  Posthumus  preferred  disregarding  the  conventions 
of  his  time,  to  being  'guided  by  others'  experience.' — VAUGHAN  (p.  347):  That  is, 
'rather  than  servilely  follow  the  guidance  of  others,  I  even  avoided  independent 
concurrence  with  their  opinions  so  soon  as  they  were  expressed.'  This  is  the 
contrast  between  'guided  by'  and  'go  even  with'  what  he  heard,  where  Mason 
considers  that  both  are  identical  in  effect;  for  'conducting  myself  by  the  opinion 
of  others'  and  'guided  by  the  experience  of  others'  are  much  the  same.  The 
stroke  of  characteristic  delineation  is  true,  although  fine. — DOWDEN:  The  words 
may  mean:  Being  a  young  traveller  I  liked  to  assert  an  independent  judgment; 
while  I  did  not  refuse  in  my  actions  to  be  guided  by  the  experience  of  others,  I 
asserted  that  the  ground  of  the  quarrel  was  serious,  yet,  in  fact,  I  yielded  and 
rrade  it  up;  now  my  maturer  judgment  regards  it  as  serious.  [Modern  inter- 

4 


50  THE   TRACED  IE   OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  v. 

my  euery  action  to  be  guided  by  others  experiences:  but         47 
vpon  my  mended  iuclgement  (if  I  offend  to  fay  it  is  men- 
ded) my  Quarrell  was   not  altogether  flight. 

French.     Faith   yes,   to  be   put  to  the   arbiterment  of          50 
Swords,  and  by  fuch  two, that  would  by  all  likelyhood 
haue  confounded  one  the  other,  or  haue  falne  both. 

lack.     Can  we  with  manners,  aske  what  was  the  dif- 
ference ? 

French.     Safely,  I   thinke,  'twas  a  contention  in  pub- 
licke,   which    may   (without  contradiction)  fuffer  the  re-          55 
port.     It  was  much  like  an  argument  that    fell  out  laft 
night,  where   each   of  vs    fell   in  praife   of  our  Country- 
Misftreffes.     This  Gentleman,at  that  time  vouching  (and         58 

47.  euery]  very  F3F4.  54.  thinke,]  think;  Pope  et  seq. 

48.  of  end]     Ff.     not     of  end     Coll.  56.  like]  alike  F3F4. 
(MS.)  ii,  iii.     of  end  not  Rowe  et  cet.                57.  each]  earch  F2. 

51.  Swords,]  Swords;  Rowe  et  seq.  57,    58.  Country-MiflreJJes]    country 

52.  or  haue]  and  have  Ktly  conj.  mistresses  Theob.  et  seq. 

pretations  have  not,  I  think,  much  improved  upon  Capell's:  'rather  than  appear 
to  be  guided  by  other's  experience  I  avoided  giving  assent  to  what  I  heard.' — ED.] 
51.  by  such  two]  VAUGHAN  (p.  348):  This  again  is  at  variance  with  modern 
idiom.  'Two  that  would  have  confounded  one  the  other'  means  'two  that  would 
have  killed  each  other.'  Shakespeare  means  by  it  '  two,  one  of  whom  would  have 
killed  the  other.'  It  might  be  amended  by  a  mere  transposition  of  the  words, 
thus:  'by  such  two,  that  one  would  by  all  likelihood  have  confounded  the  other, 
or  both  have  fallen.'  It  is  not  impossible  that  'one'  might  slip  from  one  line  to 
the  other.  It  is  also  possible  that  Shakespeare  may  have  written  as  he  is  repre- 
sented. [Apparently,  CAPELL  detected  this  same  difficulty;  he  conjectures,  with- 
out comment,  'by  such,  too,'  which  sets  all  right.  Of  this  conjecture  Vaughan 
was  probably  unaware. — ED.] 

55,  (without  contradiction)]  JOHNSON:  Which,  undoubtedly,  may  be  publicly 
told. — CAPELL  (p.  104):   This  means, — without  danger  of  drawing  on  another  dis- 
pute like  that  which  happened  before;  in  which  the  truth  of  the  matter  disputed 
was  maintained  by  one  party, — '  upon  warrant  of  bloody  affirmation,'  meaning  that 
he  was  ready  to  shed  his  blood  in  maintaining  it.     [Capell's  interpretation  is  more 
subtle  than  Johnson's;  possibly,  a  little  too  subtle.     It  is  also  possible  that  Capell 
interpreted  the  phrase  as  -without  dispute,  and  on  this  founded  his  comment. 
'Without  contradiction'  does  not  always  mean  undoubtedly.     SCHMIDT  gives  an 
instance  in  Ant.  &°  Cleop.  (II,  vii,  40),  as  having  this  meaning,  and  I  think  he  is 
wrong.     Lepidus  says  'the  Ptolemies'  pyramises  are  very  goodly  things;  without 
contradiction,  I  have  heard  that,'  where  the  sense  is  not,  I  think,  that  Lepidus  had 
undoubtedly  heard  it,  but  that  he  had  heard  it  when  the  assertion  was  not  contra- 
dicted.—ED.] 

56,  57.  fell  out  .  .  .  fell  in]  This  repetition  is  certainly  not  Shakespeare  at  his 
best. — ED. 

57,  58.  Country- Mistresses]  No  one  who  has  read  the  first  ten  lines  of  ABBOTT'S 


ACT  i,  sc.  v.]  CYMBELINE  5! 

vpon    warrant    of  bloody    affirmation )    his    to    be    more 
Faire,  Vertuous,  Wife,  Chafte,   Conftant,    Qualified,   and         60 
leffe  attemptible    then    any,  the  rareft    of  our   Ladies  in 
Frau  nee. 

lack.     That  Lady  is  not  now  lining;    or   this  Gentle- 
mans  opinion  by  this,worne  out. 

Pojl.     She  holds  her  Vertue  ftill,and  I  my  mind.  65 

lack.     You  muft  not  fo  farre  preferre  her,  'fore  ours  of 
Italy. 

Pojlli.     Being  fo  farre  prouokM  as  I  was  in  France:  I         68 

60.  Conftant,       Qualified]       constant  61.  rareft]  ratejl  F3. 
qualified  Cap.     constant-qualified  Cap.             63.  or]  Om.  F3F4. 
(Errata),  Var.  '78,  Mai.   Ran.   Steev.             66.  ours]  our's  Coll.  ii. 

Varr.  Knt,  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam.  68.  France:   I]  France,  I  Rowe  ii.  et 

61.  attemptible]  attemptable  Rowe  ii,         seq. 
+  ,  Coll.  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam. 

Introduction  to  his  admirable  Grammar  need  here  be  told  that  in  Elizabethan 
English  'almost  any  part  of  speech  can  be  used  as  any  other  part  of  speech/  or 
that  here  'Country'  is  an  adjective.  In  the  chapter  on  'Compound  Words,'  in 
that  same  Grammar  (§§  428-435)  a  variety  of  instances  in  great  number  of  these 
compounds  may  be  found.  What  is  possibly  noteworthy  in  the  present  instance 
(Ingleby  calls  attention  to  it)  is  the  conscientious  hyphen  of  the  compositor. — ED. 
60.  Constant,  Qualified]  CAPELL  (p.  104):  That  is,  gifted  with  constancy,  en- 
dow'd  with  it;  but  what  idea  has  'qualified'  singly,  when  separated,  as  it  has  been, 
from  'constant'?  [To  this  question  the  N.  E.  D.  supplies  an  answer:  'qualified' 
when  used  attributively,  as  here,  MURRAY  defines  as  'possessed  of  good  qualities, 
accomplished,  perfect,'  and  quotes  Nashe,  Pierce  Penilesse  (1592,  ed.  2.  25,  b): 
'The  fine  qualified  Gentleman  .  .  .  should  carie  it  clean  away  from  the  lazie 
clownish  droane.'  Also  from  R.  Bernard,  trans,  of  Terence  (1598,  286):  'Such  a 
qualified  yong  gentleman.'  Under  an  authority  as  august  as  Nashe  and  Bernard, 
I  think  Shakespeare  may  be  permitted  to  use  the  word.  DELIUS,  INGLEBY,  and 
TmSELTON  deny  the  propriety  of  this  hyphen.  DELIUS  ingeniously  explains 
'qualified'  (here  meaning  endowed,  geartet}  as  referring  to  all  the  previous  quali- 
ties, not  alone  to  'constant.'  The  hyphen  first  appeared  in  the  text  of  the  Var. 
of  1778,  and  has  been  retained  ever  since  by  a  majority  of  the  editors.  And  all  who 
have  remarked  on  the  passage  at  all  have  attributed  this  hyphen  to  Capell,  wherein 
they  were  misled  by  the  Text.  Notes  of  the  Cambridge  edition,  through  wrongly 
interpreting  them.  Capell,  as  we  have  seen,  intimated  in  his  Note  the  necessity 
for  the  hyphen,  but  it  was  an  afterthought;  in  his  text  there  was  none,  so  he  put 
it  in  his  Errata.  The  Var.  wherein  the  hyphen  is  first  found  was  published  in  1778; 
CapelPs  Notes  and  Errata  in  1779.  Suum  cuique  is  our  Roman  justice;  and  to  the 
Variorum  of  1778  belongs  the  honour  or  the  obloquy  of  the  hyphen.  Moreover,  by 
that  same  justice,  it  is,  I  think,  hardly  fair  to  attribute  the  text  of  this  Variorum 
to  Steevens,  and  to  Steevens  alone.  He  was  associated  with  Dr  Johnson  on  the 
title-pages  of  all  the  early  editions  of  the  Variorum,  and  each  was  specified  as  the 
Second,  Third,  and  Fourth  edition,  even  the  Third  and  Fourth,  which  were  published 


52  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  v. 

wo  uld  abate  her  nothing,  though  I  profeffe  my  felfe  her 
Adorer, not  her  Friend.  70 

after  Dr  Johnson's  death;  the  Fourth,  1793,  is  generally  called  'Steevens's  own'; 
it  would  hardly  be  correct,  nine  years  after  Dr  Johnson's  death,  to  consider  him  as 
a  fellow-editor.  In  the  Text.  Notes  of  the  present  edition  these  Variorums  are 
cited  according  to  their  dates,  except  that  of  Steevens's  Own,  which  is  cited  as 
'Steev.'— ED.] 

69.  though  I  professe  myself,  etc.]  JOHNSON:  Though  I  have  not  the  com- 
mon obligations  of  a  lover  to  his  mistress,  and  regard  her  not  with  the  fondness  of  a 
friend,  but  the  reverence  of  an  adorer. — M.  MASON:  The  sense  seems  to  require  a 
transposition  of  these  words  and  that  we  should  read,  'Though  I  profess  myself 
her  friend  not  her  adorer.'  Meaning  thereby  the  praises  he  bestowed  on  her  arose 
from  his  knowledge  of  her  virtues,  not  from  a  superstitious  reverence  only.  If 
Posthumus  wished  to  be  believed,  as  he  surely  did,  the  declaring  that  his  praises 
proceeded  from  adoration  would  lessen  the  credit  of  them,  and  counteract  his 
purpose.  In  confirmation  of  this  conjecture,  we  find  that  afterwards  he  ac- 
knowledges her  to  be  his  wife.  lachimo  says  in  the  same  scene,  '  You  are  a  friend, 
and  therein  the  wiser.'  Which  would  also  serve  to  confirm  my  amendment  if 
it  were  the  true  reading;  but  I  do  not  think  it  is. — CAPELL  (p.  104):  Why  is  this 
qualified  by  'Though'?  Is  it  not  meant  to  insinuate — that  his  praises  were  the 
dictates  of  truth,  not  of  partial  and  extravagant  passion? — STEEVENS  prefers 
to  consider  'friend'  as  a  euphemism  for  a  coarser  relationship,  which  it  is  un- 
doubtedly elsewhere,  possibly  by  lachimo  afterward,  but  in  Posthumus's  mouth 
here  it  is,  to  me,  revolting.  White,  ed.  i,  reading  in  his  text,  'and  her  friend,' 
'That  is,  and  her  accepted  lover.'  By  here  referring  to  a  note  of  his,  in  Rom.  6* 
Jul.,  Ill,  v,  White  intimates  that  'friend'  is  here  used  in  the  tainted  sense  upheld 
by  Steevens.  'The  Folio,'  says  White,  'has  "not  her  friend";  but  since  Posthumus 
does  profess  himself  the  accepted  lover  of  Imogen,  the  passage  is  surely  corrupt. 
As  the  nature  of  the  declaration  limits  the  signification  of  "friend"  to  that  above 
mentioned,  we  cannot  suppose  it  to  be  used  in  its  general  sense.  With  either  read- 
ing it  is  equally  difficult  to  account  for  the  presence  of  "though."  —In  his  Second 
ed.  WHITE  adhered  to  his  interpretation  of  'friend'  and  pronounced  the  clause 
'very  unsatisfactory.'  'We  naturally  expect,'  he  remarks,  'for  or  as  instead  of 
"though";  and  so  and  instead  of  "not."  Various  attempts  have  been  made  to 
bring  the  text  into  coherence;  but  all  in  vain.' — STAUNTON:  Posthumus,  we  appre- 
hend, does  not  mean, — I  avow  myself,  not  simply  her  admirer,  but  her  worshipper; 
but  stung  by  the  scornful  tone  of  lachimo's  remark,  he  answers, — Provoked  as  I 
was  in  France,  I  would  abate  her  nothing,  though  the  declaration  of  my  opinion 
proclaimed  me  her  idolater  rather  than  her  lover. — INGLEBY:  What  Posthumus 
ought  to  say  is:  'I  would  abate  her  nothing,  though  I  prof  ess' d  myself  her  adorer': 
i.  e.,  one  who  looks  up  to  her,  as  to  a  superior  being,  with  the  worship  of  a  votary, 
rather  than  with  the  jealous  affection  of  a  lover.  He  means,  in  fact,  to  assert  for 
her  a  real  objective  excellence,  apart  from  her  private  relation  to  him. — VAUGHAN, 
whose  New  Readings  was  published  in  the  same  year  with  Ingleby's  edition,  makes 
the  same  emendation:  profess'd,  with  the  following  note:  'This  rather  admits 
than  denies  his  real  relation  to  her,  while  it  denies  the  necessity  of  such  a  relation 
to  justify  his  championship,  if  he  were  so  provoked  as  he  had  been.  Delius,  I 
find,  interprets  "although  I  profess  myself  her  adorer"  as  meaning,  "although  by 
such  refusal  to  abate  her  I  make  myself  liable  to  be  considered  her  adorer."  I 


ACT  i,  sc.  v.]  CYMBELINE  53 

lack.     As  faire,  and  as  good  :  a  kind  of  hand  in  hand         71 
comparifon,    had    beene   fomething    too    faire,    and    too 
good  for  any  Lady  in  Britanie ;  if  fhe  went  before  others. 
I    haue  feene  as  that  Diamond  of  yours  out-lufters  many 
I    haue  beheld,    I   could  not  beleeue  fhe  excelled  many  :         75 

71,  72.  good:  a. ..comparifon,]  good;  73,  74.  others.  I]  others,  I  Rowe. 

a. ..comparison  Pope,  good,  a...compari-  others  you  Vaughan.  others  I  Pope 

son,  Theob.  et  seq.  et  seq. 

71.  hand  in  hand]  hand-in-hand  75.  beheld,  I]  beheld.  I  Ff.  beheld; 

Pope  et  seq.  /  Rowe. 

73.  Britanie]  Britain  Johns.  Var.  '73,  could  not]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope, 

Glo.  Wh.  ii.  Britany  Ff.  Cam.  et  cet.  Theob.  Varr.  Ran.  could  Warb.  Han. 

Britaine  Walker  (Crit.,  ii,  41).  Johns.  Cap.  could  not  but  Mai.  et  cet. 

cannot  concur.' — The  COWDEN-CLARKES:  The  peculiar  mode  in  which  Shakespeare 
uses  the  word  'though'  should  be  borne  in  mind  when  interpreting  this  speech; 
and  it  appears  to  us  that  here  'though'  in  all  probability  bears  the  sense  of  inas- 
much as,  since.  [This  Shakespearian  use  of  'though,'  just  noted,  in  the  sense  of 
since,  inasmuch  as,  because,  occurred  independently  to  the  late  JOSEPH  CROSBY, 
who  under  the  name  of  'Senior'  contributed  to  Shakesperiana  (vol.  i,  p.  285,  1883- 
84)  a  valuable  article  on  it,  and  showed  how,  by  its  application  to  many  passages, 
even  to  those  supposed  to  be  hopelessly  corrupt,  it  largely  removed  the  difficulties. 
We  have  seen  above  how  the  use  of  'though,'  when  taken  in  its  ordinary  concessive 
meaning,  puzzled  Capell  and  White.  For  'though'  substitute  because  in  the 
present  passage,  and  I  think  the  obscurity  is  dissipated,  'I  would  abate  her  nothing, 
because  I  profess  myself  her  adorer,  not  her  friend.' — ED.] 

75.  I  could  not  beleeue]  WARBURTON:  What?  if  she  did  really  excel  others, 
could  he  not  believe  she  really  did  excel  them?  Nonsense.  We  must  strike  out 
the  negative. — HEATH  (p.  474):  The  common  reading,  not  being  sense,  readily 
leads  us  to  the  true  one,  'I  could  but  believe';  that  is,  the  most  I  could  reasonably 
believe  would  be,  that  she  excelled  many.  'Not'  is  frequently  substituted  by 
mistake  for  but  by  our  poet's  transcribers  or  printers. — THEOBALD  (Nichols,  ii,  265) 
made  the  same  conjecture.  It  was,  however,  in  his  private  correspondence  with 
Warburton.  STAUNTON  and  KEIGHTLY  adopted  it,  and  DOWDEN  thinks  it  'not 
unlikely  to  be  right.' — JOHNSON  (Var.,  '73,  '78,  '85):  I  should  explain  the  sentence 
thus:  'Though  your  lady  excelled  as  much  as  your  diamond,  I  could  not  believe 
she  excelled  many;  that  is,  I  too  could  yet  believe  that  there  are  many  whom  she 
did  not  excel.'  But  yet  I  think  Dr  Warburton  right.  [In  the  same  Variorums 
above  given  STEEVENS  has  the  following  note:  'The  old  reading  may  very  well 
stand.  "If,"  says  lachimo,  "your  mistress  went  before  some  others  I  have  seen, 
only  in  the  same  degree  your  diamond  outlustres  many  I  have  likewise  seen,  I 
should  not  admit  on  that  account  that  she  excelled  many:  but  I  ought  not  to  make 
myself  the  judge  of  who  is  the  fairest  lady,  or  which  is  the  brightest  diamond,  till 
I  have  beheld  the  finest  of  either  kind  which  nature  has  hitherto  produced."  The 
passage  is  not  nonsense.  It  was  the  business  of  lachimo  to  appear  on  this  occasion 
as  an  infidel  to  beauty,  in  order  to  spirit  Posthumus  to  lay  the  wager,  and,  therefore, 
will  not  admit  her  excellence  in  any  comparison.'  This  note  and  Dr  Johnson's 
were  dropped  in  the  Var.  '93,  'Steevens's  own,'  because  in  the  meantime  MALONE, 
in  his  ed.  1790,  completely  and  severely  refutes  Steevens's  paraphrase,  and  so  far 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  v. 

but  I  haue  not  feene  the  moft  pretious  Diamond  that  is,  76 
nor  you  the  Lady. 

Poft.     I  prais'd  her,  as  I  rated  her  :  fo  do  I  my  Stone. 

lack.     What  do  you  efteeme  it  at  ?  79 

vindicates  his  own  emendation  that  it  has  been  ever  since  adopted  by  a  majority  of 
the  editors.  It  is  rare  in  Steevens's  literary  career  that  e'en  though  vanquish'd  he 
could  not  argue  still,  but,  in  the  present  instance,  his  discomfiture  was  complete, 
and  it  may  have  been  one  of  the  causes  which  broke  up  his  friendship  with  Malone. 
The  latter's  refutation  is  as  follows :  In  the  first  place  Mr  Steevens  understands  the 
word  as  to  mean  only  as  or  as  little  as;  and  assumes  that  lachimo  means,  not  merely 
to  deny  the  supereminent  and  unparallel'd  value  of  the  diamond  of  Posthumus,  but 
greatly  to  depreciate  it;  though  both  the  context  and  the  words — went  before, 
most  precious,  and  out-lustres — must  present  to  every  reader  a  meaning  directly 
opposite.  Secondly,  according  to  this  interpretation,  the  adversative  particle 
but  is  used  without  any  propriety;  as  will  appear  at  once  by  shortening  Mr  Steevens's 
paraphrase,  and  adding  a  few  words  that  are  requisite  to  make  the  deduction  con- 
sequential: 'If  your  mistress  went  before  others  I  have  seen,  only  in  the  same 
degree  your  diamond  out-lustres  many  I  have  likewise  seen,  I  should  not  admit  on 
that  account  that  she  excelled  many,  [for  your  diamond  is  an  ordinary  stone,  and 
does  not  excel  many:]  But  I  have  not  seen  the  most  precious  diamond  in  the  world, 
nor  you  the  most  beautiful  lady:  and  therefore  I  cannot  admit  she  excells  all.'  Here, 
after  asserting  that  'he  could  not  admit  she  excelled  many,'  he  is  made  to  add,  by 
way  of  qualification,  and  in  opposition  to  what  he  had  already  said,  that  'inasmuch 
as  he  has  not  seen  all  the  fine  women  and  the  fine  diamonds  in  the  world,  he  cannot 
admit  that  she  excells  all.'  If  he  had  admitted  that  she  excelled  many,  this  con- 
clusion would  be  consistent  and  intelligible;  but  not  admitting  that  position,  as  he 
is  thus  made  to  do,  it  is  inconsequential,  if  not  absurd. — Malone's  note  was  so  long 
that,  in  the  Var.  of  '21,  it  was  relegated  to  the  end  of  the  volume,  and  also  because 
Steevens  had  withdrawn  his  note.  It  is  largely  taken  up  with  vindicating  his 
emendment,  'I  could  not  but  believe,'  already  proposed  by  him  in  the  Var.  '85. 
Omitting  the  numerous  parallel  passages  whereby  he  proves  his  position,  it  suffices 
to  give  his  conclusion:  'I  am  persuaded  that  either  the  word  but  was  omitted  after 
"not"  by  the  carelessness  of  the  compositor,  or,  that  "not"  was  printed  instead  of 
but.  .  .  .  Thus  the  reasoning  is  clear,  exact,  and  consequential,  "if,"  says  lachimo, 
"she  surpassed  other  women  that  I  have  seen  in  the  same  proportion  that  your 
diamond  out-lustres  many  diamonds  that  I  have  beheld,  I  could  not  but  acknowledge 
that  she  excelled  many  women;  but  I  have  not  seen  the  most  valuable  diamond  in  the 
world,  nor  you  the  most  beautiful  woman:  and  therefore  I  cannot  admit  she  excells 
ALL."  -INGLEBY  follows  the  Folio,  because,  'First,  it  is  plain  that  [lachimo] 
entirely  disallows  even  her  equality  with  the  ladies  of  Italy;  and  secondly,  the 
comparison  is  between  the  lady's  personal  charms  and  the  diamond's  visible  lustre. 
"If  she  went  before  others  I  have  seen  as  that  diamond  out-lustres  many  I  have 
beheld"  points  to  Imogen's  beauty  rather  than  her  goodness;  and  if  it  be  said,  that 
to  restrict  the  allusion  to  her  beauty  is  somewhat  to  strain  the  language,  the  reply 
is,  that  a  slight  strain  is  to  be  preferred  to  a  violent  alteration  of  the  text.  [Which 
is  true  enough.  But  there  are  strains  and  strains,  and  a  slight  alteration  may  be 
preferred  to  a  violent  strain.  DOWDEN  says  that '  Ingleby  strains  the  Folio  text  to 
get  a  poor  meaning.'  If  that  text  has  received  no  interpretations  of  it  better  than 


ACT  i,  sc.  v.]  CYMBELINE  55 

Poft.     More  then  the  world  enioyes.  80 

lack.     Either    your    vnparagon'd  Miftirs    is    dead,    or 

(lie's  out-priz'd  by  a  trifle. 

Pofl.     You  are  miftaken  :  the  one  may  be  folde  or  gi- 

uen,  or  if  there  were  wealth  enough  for  the  purchafes,  or 

merite  for  the  guift.     The  other  is  not  a  thing  for  fale,         85 

and  onely  the  guift  of  the  Gods. 

81.  vnparagon'd]  paragon'd  Rowe  ii,  84.  purchases]     purchases    F4.     pur- 

Pope.  chase  Rowe  et  seq. 

84.  or  if]  Ff,  Coll.  i,  ii,  Del.  Sta.     if  85,  86.  guift]  Ft. 
Rowe  et  cet. 

those  here  given,  I  think  we  may  all  desert  it  and  creep  acquaintance  with  Malone's 
emendation. — ED.] 

80.  More  .  .  .  enioyes]  ECCLES:  That  is  more  than  the  world  enjoys  that  the 
world  could  give  him  in  exchange  for  it,  agreeably  to  the  distinction  afterwards 
made  by  himself;  where  the  reasoning,  however,  seems  not  to  be  of  the  most  clear 
and  satisfactory  kind,  since  his  wife,  while  she  remains  in  the  world,  may  very 
naturally  be  considered  as  a  part  of  what  'the  world  enjoys,'  lachimo's  remark, 
therefore,  is  urged  not  without  foundation. — VAUGHAN  (p.  352)  also  notices  the 
inconsistency  in  the  words  of  Posthumus,  who,  when  he  says  that  'he  esteems 
[the  stone]  at  more  than  the  world  enjoys,  he  means  to  include  the  value  which  it 
has  as  the  gift  of  Imogen,  in  addition  to  its  intrinsic  or  exchangeable  value.  When 
he  describes  it  as  inferior  in  value  to  Imogen,  he  alludes  to  its  exchangeable  value 
only,  for  this  value  is  the  only  value  which  lachimo  knows,  when  he  speaks  of  it  as  a 
trifle.'  [As  we  gradually  approach  the  awful  crisis  of  the  wager,  we  must  not  forget, 
in  judging  Posthumus,  that  he  has  a  right  to  demand  of  us  a  full  consideration  of 
every  prick  and  stab  that  goaded  him  on.  Here  is  one  of  them.  I  can  imagine 
him  as  courteously  smiling  up  till  now.  His  words  had  not  been  chosen,  for  he 
supposed  he  was  talking  among  friends;  all  of  a  sudden  he  becomes  conscious  that 
there  is  malice  a-foot,  and  he  feels  a  sting,  which  makes  him  answer  rudely,  'you 
are  mistaken!' — ED.] 

84.  or  if]  MALOXE:  The  compositor  inadvertently  repeated  'or.' — COLLIER: 
'Or'  is  here  obviously  to  be  taken  in  the  sense  of  either, — 'either  if  there  were,'  etc. 
The  use  of  'or'  in  this  sense  is  scriptural,  and  it  is  also  countenanced  by  some  of  our 
best  writers  of  the  time. — DYCE  (ed.  ii.) :  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  [Malone  is 
right]. — VAUGHAN  (p.  351):  The  rejection  of  'or'  is  unwarrantable.  To  be  per- 
fectly accurate  here  Shakespeare  should  have  placed  it  thus:  'If  there  were  or 
wealth  enough,'  etc.,  and  if  any  emendation  were  permissible,  it  is  but  the  transpo- 
sition of  'or.'  [I  think  Collier  and  Vaughan  are  right.  Both  Malone  and  Dyce 
apparently  overlooked  the  second  'or'  at  the  end  of  the  line. — ED.] 

84.  purchases]  For  a  long  and  valuable  Article  on  the  '  final  s  frequently  interpo- 
lated and  frequently  omitted  in  the  Folio,'  see  WALKER  (Crit.,  i,  233-268).  Were 
it  not  that  this  frequency  varies  throughout  the  volume,  being  comparatively  rare 
in  the  Comedies,  more  frequent  in  the  Histories,  and  quite  common  in  the  Trage- 
dies, Walker  would  be  inclined  to  attribute  it  to  some  peculiarity  in  Shakespeare's 
handwriting.  See  'thousands,'  line  129,  below;  'desires,'  I,  vii,  9;  'Musickes,' 
II,  iii,  41. 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF 


[ACT  i,  sc.  v. 


lack.     Which  the  Gods  haue  giuen  you  ?  87 

Poft.     Which  by  their  Graces  I  will  keepe. 

lach.  You  may  weare  her  in  title  yours  :  but  you 
know  ftrange  Fowle  light  vpon  neighbouring  Ponds.  90 
Your  Ring  may  be  ftolne  too,  fo  your  brace  of  vnprizea- 
ble  Eftimations,  the  one  is  but  fraile,  and  the  other  Cafu- 
all;.  A  cunning  Thiefe,  or  a  (that  way)  accomplimM 
Courtier,  would  hazzard  the  winning  both  of  firfb  and 
laft.  95 

Poft.  Your  Italy  ,  containes  none  fo  accomplifh'd  a 
Courtier  to  conuince  the  Honour  of  my  Miftris  :  if  in  the 
holding  or  loffe  of  that,  you  terme  her  fraile,  I  do  no- 
thing doubt  you  haue  ftore  of  Theeues,  notwithftanding 
I  feare  not  my  Ring.  IOO 

Phil.     Let  vs  leaue  heere,  Gentlemen  ? 

Poft.  Sir,  with  all  my  heart.  This  worthy  Signior  I 
thanke  him,  makes  no  ftranger  of  me,  we  are  familiar  at 
firft. 

lach.     With  fiue  times  fo  much  conuerfation,  I  mould       105 


87.  you?]  you: —  Theob.  Warb. 
you. —  Johns. 

89,  90.  but  you  know]  Ff,  Knt.  but, 
know:  Var.  '85.  but,  you  know,  Rowe 
et  cet. 

91.  Jo  your]  so  of  your  Theob.  i,  Han. 
50,   of  your  Theob.   ii,   Warb.   Johns. 
Varr.  Mai.  Ran.  Steev.  Varr. 

92.  93.  Cajuall;.]  Fr. 

93.  or  a]  and  a  Vaughan. 

a    (that    way)    accomplijh'd]    Ff, 


Pope,  a,  that  way,  accomplished  Rowe. 
a  thai-way  accomplished  Johns.  Var.  '73, 
Sing,  a  that  way  accomplished  Coll. 
Ktly,  Glo.  Cam.  a  that-way-accom- 
plislid  Theob.  et  cet. 

98.  fraile,  I]  Ff,  Rowe,  Theob.  ii, 
Warb.  frail;  I  Pope,  Theob.  i,  Han. 
frail.  I  Johns,  et  cet. 

100.  fe  are]  FT. 

101.  Gentlemen?]  Ft. 

103.  of  me,]  of  me;  Theob.  et  seq. 


92,  93.  Casuall;.]  SCHMIDT  (Lex.):    That  is,  accidental. — INGLEBY:    Liable  to 
mischance.     [A  similar  instance  of  redundant  punctuation  occurs  in  III,  v,  51. — ED.] 

93.  a    (that   way)    accomplish'd]    DEIGHTON:    That    is,    'framed    to    make 
women  false.' — Oth.,  I,  iii,  404. 

96,  97.  none  so  accomplish'd  a  Courtier]  Compare  'none  a  stranger  ...  so 
merry.' — I,  vii,  70. 

97.  conuince]  WARBURTON:    That  is,  overcome. — JOHN  HUNTER:    In  Oth.,  IV, 
i,  lago  refers  to  knaves  'having  by  their  own  importunate  suit,  convinced  a  mis- 
tress.' 

103,  104.  at  first]  ABBOTT  (§  90):  Here  'at  first'  is  not  opposed  to  afterwards 
(as  it  is  with  us),  but  means  'at  the  first,'  or  rather,  'from  the  first,'  'at  once.' 
[May  it  not  be  a  case  of  absorption  of  the  in  a  final  t.? — i.  e.,  'at  first.'? — ED.] — 
DEIGHTON:  'We  are  familiar  at  first,'  is  a  sarcastic  way  of  saying,  'He  has  quickly 
become  "better  known"  to  me,  as  you  requested  him,  and  has  shown  his  friendli- 
ness by  questioning  the  virtue  of  my  mistress,  even  at  our  first  meeting.' 


ACT  i,  sc.  v.]  CYMBELINE  57 

get  ground  of  your  faire  Miftris;    make  her  go  backe,e-        106 
uen  to  the  yeilding,  had  I  admittance,  and  opportunitie 
to  friend. 

Pofl.     No ,  no. 

lack.  I  dare  thereupon  pawne  the  moytie  of  my  E-  110 
ftate,  to  your  Ring,  which  in  my  opinion  o're-values  it 
fomething  :  but  I  make  my  wager  rather  againft  your 
Confidence,  then  her  Reputation.  And  to  barre  your  of- 
fence heerein  to,  I  durft  attempt  it  againft  any  Lady  in 
the  world.  1 15 

Pofl.  You  are  a  great  deale  abus'd  in  too  bold  a'per- 
fvvafion,and  I  doubt  not  you  fuftaine  what  y'are  worthy 
of, by  your  Attempt. 

lack.     What's  rhat  ? 

Poflli.  A  Repulfe  though  your  Attempt  (  as  you  call  120 
it)  deferue  more;a  punifliment  too. 

Phi.  Gentlemen  enough  of  this ,  it  came  in  too  fo- 
dainely,let  it  dye  as  it  was  borne,  and  I  pray  you  be  bet- 
ter acquainted. 

lack.  Would  I  had  put  my  Eftate,and  my  Neighbors  125 
on  th'approbation  of  what  I  haue  fpoke, 

106.  Miftris;]  mistress,  Glo.  Cam.  Ran.     you'll    Coll.    (MS.),   Ingl.     you 

107.  yeilding.]  Ff.     yielding,  Johns.         will  Coll.  iii. 

yielding;  Pope  et  cet.  117.  y'are]  you're  Rowe  et  seq. 

109.  no.]  no —  Var.  '73.  120.  Repulfe]  Repulfe,   F4.     repulse; 

113.  Reputation.]    Ff,    Rowe,    Pope.         Rowe  et  seq. 

reputation,  Johns,     reputation:  Theob.  121.  deferue]   deferves   F4,    Rowe,+, 

et  cet.  Cap. 

114.  heerein  to,]  hercin-to,  White  i.  122,  123.  fodainely]  suddenly;  Cap. 
hereunto,  Anon.  ap.   Cam.     herein,  so  et  seq. 

Vaughan.     herein  too,  F3F4  et  seq.  125.  Neighbors]     Neighbours     F3F4, 

116,  117.    perfwafion,]     persuasion;         Rowe.     neighbour's  Pope  et  seq. 
Rowe  et  seq.  126.  th' approbation]   the  approbation 

117.  you]  you'd  Rowe,+,  Var.   '73,         Cap.  et  seq. 

106.  get  ground]  A  simile  taken,  I  think,  from  fencing.  In  that  charlatan's 
book,  Vincentio  Saviolo  his  Practise  (sig.  H2,  1595)  the  phrase  occurs:  'follow 
you  well  in  this  warde,  and  getting  sufficient  grounde  of  him,  you  maie  giue  him  a 
stoccata.' — ED. 

108.  to  friend]  For  instances  of  a  similar  use  of  to,  see  ABBOTT,  §  189. 

116.  a  great  deale  abus'd]  JOHNSON:    Deceived. 

117.  you  sustaine]  ABBOTT  (§  368):    The  subjunctive  is  here  used,  where  we 
should  use  the  future.     [See  Text.  Notes.] 

125.  Neighbors]  DELIUS:    From  the  absence  of  any  apostrophe,  it  is  uncertain 
whether  we  should  have  read,  neighbour's  or  neighbours'. 

126.  approbation]  JOHNSON:   Proof. 


58  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  v. 

Pofl.     What  Lady  would  you  chufe  to  affaile?  127 

lack.  Yours,  whom  in  conftancie  you  thinke  ftands 
fo  fafe.  I  will  lay  you  ten  thoufand  Duckets  to  your 
Ring,  that  commend  me  to  the  Court  where  your  La-  130 
dy  is,  with  no  more  aduantage  then  the  opportunitie  of  a 
fecond  conference,  and  I  will  bring  from  thence,  that 
Honor  of  hers,  which  you  imagine  fo  referu'd. 

Po/lhmiis.     I    will  wage    againft    your   Gold,  Gold  to 
it:  My    Ring   I   holde    deere  as   my  finger,   'tis   part  of        135 
it. 

lack.     You  are  a  Friend,  and  there  in  the  wifer  :  if  you        1 37 

127.  chufe]   F2,   Rowe,+,   Var.   '73,  135.  / /]  Fx. 

'85,  Ran.     choofe  F3F4  et  cet.  finger,}  finger;  Cap.  Var.  '78  et 

128.  whom}  who  Pope,+,  Cap.  Varr.         cet. 

Ran.  Ktly.  137.  a    Friend}    Ff,    Rowe,    Pope, 

Jlands]  stand  Vaun.  Johns.  Varr.  Mai.   Steev.  Varr.   Knt, 

129.  thoufands}  thoufand  F3F4.  Coll.     i,     Del.     afraid    Theob.     Han. 
129,153.  Duckets}  ducats  Pope  et  seq.  Warb.    Cap.   Sing.   Dyce,   Ktly,   Coll. 
132.  and  1}  I  Pope,+,  Var.  '73.  iii.    Glo.    Sta.    Cam.     afeard    Coll.    ii. 
134.  wage}  wager  Cap.  Ran.     wage,  -(MS.),     her  friend  Ingl. 

Vaughan.  there  in}  therein  Ff  et  seq. 

129.  thousands]  Another  instance  of  an  interpolated  final  s.  See  note  on 
'purchases,'  line  84,  above. 

132.  and  I  will  bring]  INGLEBY:  'And'  has  no  grammatical  standing  here. 
[A  remark,  to  me,  incomprehensible.  It  does  not  appear  in  the  ed.  by  Ingleby's 
son. — ED.] 

137.  You  are  a  Friend]  THEOBALD:  I  correct  with  certainty:  afraid.  What 
lachimo  says,  in  the  close  of  his  speech,  determines  this  to  have  been  the  poet's 
reading.  'You  have  some  religion  in  you,  that  you  fear.'  [WARBURTON  in  his 
edition  (after  Theobald's  death)  adopted  this  reading  and  this  note  without 
credit  to  Theobald.  Its  authorship  has  been  given,  erroneously  as  I  believe,  to 
Warburton. — ED.] — JOHNSON:.  'You  are  a  friend'  to  the  lady,  'and  therein  the 
wiser,'  as  you  will  not  expose  her  to  hazard;  and  that  you  fear  is  a  proof  of  your 
religious  fidelity. — MALONE:  A  'friend'  often  signified  a  lover.  lachimo  might 
mean  that  Posthumus  was  wise  in  being  only  the  lover  of  Imogen,  and  not  having 
bound  himself  to  her  by  the  indissoluble  ties  of  marriage.  But  unluckily  Post- 
humus  has  already  said  he  is  not  her  friend,  but  her  adorer:  this  therefore  could 
not  have  been  lachimo's  meaning.  ...  It  would  have  been  more  'germane  to  the 
matter'  to  have  said,  in  allusion  to  the  former  words  of  Posthumus — you  are  not 
a  friend,  i.  e.,  a  lover,  and  therein  the  wiser;  for  all  women  are  corruptible. — 
STEEVENS,  by  referring  to  his  previous  slimy  interpretation  of  '  friend,'  shows  that 
he  still  retains  his  mind  on  it,  and  adds,  'Though  the  reply  of  lachimo  may  not 
have  been  warranted  by  the  preceding  words  of  Posthumus,  it  was  certainly  meant 
by  the  speaker  as  a  provoking  circumstance,  a  circumstance  of  incitation  to  the 
wager.'  [Whatever  its  interpretation,  it  led  to  his  concluding  word,  'fear,' — a 
word  no  soldier  like  Posthumus  can  hear,  when  applied  to  himself,  without  growing 


ACT  i,  sc.  v.]  CYMBELINE  59 

buy  Ladies    flefh  at  a  Million  a  Dram,  you  cannot  pre-        138 

feu  re  it  from  tainting;  but  I  fee  you  haue  fome  Religion 

in  you, that  you  feare.  140 

Poflhu.     This  is  but  a  cuftome    in   your  tongue  :  you 
beare  a  grauer  purpofe  I  hope.  142 

138,  139.  prefeure]  Ft. 


white  to  the  lips.] — BOSWELL  asks,  'Does  it  not  mean — "you  show  yourself  a 
jrie-nd  to  your  ring,  which  you  have  described  as  being  so  dear  to  you,  by  not  risking 
it"?'  etc.,  etc.,  etc. — DYCE  (Remarks,  etc.,  p.  252):  After  carefully  comparing  it 
with  the  context,  I  feel  perfectly  satisfied  that  Warburton's  [?]  correction,  afraid, 
is  the  genuine  reading.  In  the  attempts  to  explain,  'a  friend,'  there  is  nothing  but 
weakness. — WHITE  (Shakespeare's  Scholar,  p.  456):  'You  are  a  friend'  has  no 
meaning  consistent  with  the  context,  .  .  .  and  besides,  lachimo  would  have  said 
'her  friend.'  [In  suggesting  'her  friend'  White  anticipated  DELIUS,  who  also  con- 
jectured it,  and  INGLEBY,  who  adopted  it  in  his  text:  his  son  followed  Theobald.— 
ED.] — DYCE,  in  his  edition,  repeats  what  he  says  in  his  Remarks;  after  the  assertion 
that  'a  Friend'  has  been  very  unsuccessfully  defended,  he  adds  'especially  by 
Boswell.' — STAUNTON:  We  are  not  altogether  satisfied  with  the  emendation, 
afraid,  but  are  unable  to  suggest  any  word  more  likely. — THISELTON:  lachimo 
means:  'You  are  not  so  sure  of  your  wife's  divinity  after  all;  you  are  her  protector; 
she  is  human,  and  you  are  the  wiser  not  to  risk  losing  your  unprizeable  diamond  as 
well  as  your  wife's  honour  by  relying  on  her  divinity.'  The  initial  Capital  ['a 
Friend']  absolutely  excludes  the  tenability  of  reading  afraid.- — DOWDEN:  If 
'friend'  (i.  e.,  lover}  be  right,  lachimo  may  mean:  'After  all  you  are  a  lover,  not,  as 
you  professed,  an  "adorer";  you  know  that  your  goddess  is  human  and  you  are 
therein  the  wiser.'  lachimo's  words,  'but  I  see  you  have  some  religion,'  would 
then  refer  sneeringly  to  the  only  part  of  adoration  possessed  by  Posthumus— 
fear;  he  is  wise,  and  the  fear  of  God  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom.  Or  'you  are  a 
friend'  may  mean  'you  have  the  advantage  of  me  in  being  her  intimate,  and  being 
so  far  the  wiser,  you  will  not  risk  your  ring.'  [I  am  afraid  that  Theobald's  'afraid1 
is  too  strong  at  this  stage  of  the  conversation.  It  is  enough  that  lachimo  ends  his 
sentence  with  the  dread  word  'fear';  it  is  not  necessary  that  he  should  begin  with  it. 
Nor  is  it  necessary  that  he  should  say  'You  are  a  friend,'  sneeringly.  He  is  too 
polished  a  gentleman  for  that.  He  might  utter  the  words  almost  jocularly,— 
certainly  assentingly, — and  then  follow  them  with  the  bitter  sentence,  as  though 
he  were  interpreting  Posthumus's  own  conclusion,  and  putting  his  own  sentiments 
into  Posthumus's  mouth,  'if  you  buy  Ladies  flesh  at  a  Million  the  Dram,'  etc. 
Herein  lies  the  sharp  sting  which  demands  all  of  Posthumus's  fast-waning  self- 
control.  It  is  almost  more  than  he  can  bear,  but  as  a  last  barrier  of  protection,  he 
offers  to  lachimo  the  excuse  that  lachimo  has  spoken  in  jest,  as  his  manner  might 
indicate;  but  when  lachimo  swears  he  is  in  earnest  (possibly,  his  manner  changes, 
the  mask  is  discarded,  and  he  shows  his  teeth) ,  then  the  hot  blood  boils  in  Posthu- 
mus's brain,  and  in  a  paroxysm  of  fury  at  Imogen's  being  spoken  of  as  'Ladies 
flesh '  he  closes  the  wager  instantly,  almost  exultingly,  as  though  repelling  an  insult 
to  Imogen's  unsullied  purity.  I  hope  this  interpretation  of  the  Folio  and  adher- 
ence to  the  time-honoured  durior  lectio  is  not  too  far-fetched. — ED.] 


60  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  v. 

lack.     I  am  the  Matter  of  my  fpee  ches, and  would  vn-        143 
der-go  what's  fpoken,  I  fweare. 

Poftlm.     Will  you  ?  I  fhall  but  lend  my  Diamond  till        145 
your  returne  :  let  there  be  Couenants  drawne  between's. 
My  Miftris  exceedes  in  goodneffe,the  hugeneffe   of  your 
vnworthy  thinking.  I  dare  you  to  this  match  :  heere's  my 
Ring. 

Phil.     I  will  haue  it  no  lay.  150 

lacJi.  By  the  Gods  it  is  one  :  if  I  bring  you  no  fuffi- 
cient  teftimony  that  I  haue  enioy'd  the  deereft  bodily 
part  of  your  Miftris:my  ten  thoufand'Duckets  are  yours, 
fo  is  your  Diamond  too  :  if  I  come  off,  and  leaue  her  in 
fuch  honour  as  you  haue  truft  in  ;  Shee  your  lewell,  this  155 
your  lewell,  and  my  Gold  are  iyours  :  prouided,  I  haue 

143,  144.  vnder-go]  undergo  F4.  151.  one:]  one.  Pope,  +  ,  Coll.  Dyce, 

146.  between's]     Ff,     Rowe,     Dyce,  Glo.  Sta.  Cam. 

Glo.  Cam.     between  tis  Pope  et  cet.  no]  not  Rowe,  Pope,  Theob. 

148.  thinking]  things  F3F4.     thoughts  153.  Miftris:]  mistress,  Pope  et  seq. 

Pope,  Han.  153,  156.  yours]  your's  Coll.  ii. 

match:]  match.  Coll.  155.  trujl  in;]  trust  in,  Theob.  et  seq. 

143.  I  am  the  Master  of  my  speeches]  STEEVENS:  That  is,  I  know  what  I  have 
said;  I  said  no  more  than  I  meant. 

151-156.  if  I  bring  you  no  sufficient  .  .  .  and  my  Gold  are  yours] 
WARBURTON:  This  was  a  wager  between  two  speakers.  lachimo  declares  the 
conditions  of  it;  and  Posthumus  'embraces'  them;  as  well  he  might;  for  lachimo 
mentions  only  that  of  the  two  conditions,  which  was  favourable  to  Posthumus, 
namely,  that  if  his  wife  preserved  her  honour  he  should  win;  concerning  the  other 
(in  case  she  preserved  it  not)  lachimo,  the  accurate  expounder  of  the  wager,  is  silent. 
To  make  him  talk  more  in  character,  for  we  find  him  sharp  enough  in  the  prosecution 
of  his  bet,  we  should  strike  out  the  negative  and  read  the  rest  thus:  'If  I  bring 
you  sufficient  testimony  that,  etc.,  my  ten  thousand  ducats  are  MINE;  so  is  your 
diamond  too.  If  I  come  off,  and  leave  her  in  such  honour,  etc.,  she,  your  jewel, 
etc.,  and  my  gold  are  yours.'  [Of  course,  WARBURTON'S  text  conformed  to  this 
emendation.  HANMER  adopted  it,  and  so  also  did  the  cautious  and  conservative 
CAPELL.] — JOHNSON:  I  once  thought  this  emendation  right,  but  am  now  of  opinion 
that  Shakespeare  intended  that  lachimo,  having  gained  his  purpose,  should 
designedly  drop  the  invidious  and  offensive  part  of  the  wager,  and,  to  flatter  Post- 
humus, dwell  long  upon  the  more  pleasing  part  of  the  representation.  One  condi- 
tion of  the  wager  implies  the  other,  and  there  is  no  need  to  mention  both. — DYCE 
(ed.  ii.):  In  opposition  to  Johnson's  defence  of  the  old  text  we  surely  may  urge: 
Allowing  that  'one  condition  of  a  wager  implies  the  other,  there  is  no  need  to 
mention'  that  one  condition  twice  over  in  different  words. — VAUGHAN  (p.  356)  urges 
that  the  wager  had  been  already  substantially  stated  piecemeal,  except  with 
regard  to  the  ring.  'Besides,'  he  says,  shrewdly,  'the  formal  statement  of  the 
wager  is  to  be  in  a  writing  drawn  up  by  counsel.'  But  his  shrewdness  deserts  him,  I 


ACT  i,  sc.  v.]  CYMBELINE  6 1 

your  commendation,  for  my  more  free  entertainment.  157 

Poft.  I  embrace  thefe  Conditions,  let  us  haue  Articles 
betwixt  vs  :  onely  thus  farre  you  fhall  anfvvere,  if  you 
make  your  voyage  vpon  her,  and  giue  me  directly  to  vn-  160 
derftand,  you  haue  preuayl'd,  I  am  no  further  your  Ene- 
my, fhee  is  not  worth  our  debate.  If  fhee  remaine  vnfe- 
duc'd,  you  not  making  it  appeare  otherwife  :  for  your  ill 
opinion,  and  th'affault  you  haue  made  to  her  chaftity  ,you 
fhall  anfwer  me  with  your  Swrord.  165 

lacJi.  Your  hand,  a  Couenant :  wee  will  haue  thefe 
things  fet  downe  by  lawfull  Counfell,  and  ftraight  away 
for  Britaine,  leaft  the  Bargaine  fhould  catch  colde,  and 
fterue  :  I  will  fetch  my  Gold,  and  haue  our  t\vo  Wagers 
recorded.  170 

157.  free]  Om.  Ff,  Rowc,  Pope.  your  vauntage  Coll.  (MS.). 

158.  Conditions,]  conditions;  Pope.  164.  th'affautt]  Ff,  Rowe,  +. 

159.  an/were}    Ff.     answer.    Johns.  166.  hand,}    Ff,    Rowe,-f-.     hand, — 
answer;  Rowe  et  seq.  Dyce.     hand;  Cap.  et  cet. 

160.  make   your   voyage]    make  good  169.  jlerue]  F2,  Sing.  JlarveF3¥4et cet. 

fear,  when  he  goes  on  to  say:  'Posthumus  has  said  to  lachimo,  "Here's  my  ring," 
and  must  accordingly  have  delivered  the  ring  to  him.  lachimo  says  here,  again, 
"This  your  jewel,"  which  implies  that  he  had  it  on  his  hand.'  Had  Vaughan 
looked  ahead  he  would  have  found  in  II,  iv,  137  that  Posthumus  says  to  lachimo 
'Here,  take  this  too,'  meaning  the  ring  in  addition  to  the  bracelet;  and  Philario  says 
to  him  'take  your  Ring  again,'  whereupon  Posthumus  exclaims  to  lachimo  'backe 
my  Ring!'  etc.,  with  other  references  which  prove  that  lachimo  then  received  the 
ring  for  the  first  time. — CAPELL  discerned  the  meaning  of  the  present  exclamation, 
'Here's  my  ring,'  better  than  Vaughan;  he  represents  Philario  as  the  one  who 
accepts  the  ring  from  Posthumus  by  inserting  a  stage-direction  (which  Vaughan 
might  have  seen  duly  recorded  in  the  Cam.  Ed.):  'Putting  it  into  Philario's  hand.' 
-ED. 

1 60.  make   your   voyage    vpon    her]    DYCE     (Strictures,    etc.,    p.     211),    in 
criticising  Collier's  MS.   emendation   (See  Text.  Notes),  adduces  'the  following 
passage,  which  proves  beyond  all  doubt  that  the  old  text  is  what  the  author  wrote: 
"if  he  should  intend  this  voyage  towards  my  wife,  I  would  turn  her  loose  to  him." 
— Mer.  Wives,  II,  i,  198. 

166.  a  Couenant]  RUSHTON  (Sh.  a  Lawyer,  p.  23):  The  Covenant  Shakespeare 
refers  to  is,  according  to  the  quaint  description  of  Thomas  Wood  (Inst.  of  the  Laws 
of  England,  ed.  ii,  p.  228),  'agreements  made  by  deed  in  writing,  by  the  consent  of 
two  or  more,  to  do,  or  not  to  do,'  and  not  the  covenants  (conventiones)  which  are 
clauses  of  agreement  contained  in  a  deed. 

169.  sterue]  SINGER:  This  has  been  inconsiderately  changed  to  starve  in  all 
modern  editions.  [See  Text.  Notes.} — DYCE:  I  do  not  agree  with  Mr  Singer. 
They  are  one  and  the  same  word,  whether  it  be  used  (as  in  the  present  passage) 
simply  in  the  sense  of  perish,  or  in  that  of  dying  with  hunger.  The  Folio  in  Cor., 
IV,  i,  has  'Angers  my  Meate:  I  suppe  upon  myself e,  And  so  shall  sterue  with 


62  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  vi. 

Pojl.     Agreed.  1 7 1 

French.     Will  this  hold,  thinke  you. 
Phil.     Signior  lachimo  will  not  from  it. 
Pray  let  vs  follow  'em.  Exeunt       174 


Scena  Sexta. 


Enter  Queene,  Ladies,  and  Cornelius.  2 

171.  Pofl.]  Host.  Pope  i.  Scene  vn.   Pope,  Han.  Warb.  Johns. 
[Exeunt   Posth.    and   lachimo.         Scene  v.   Dyce,   Glo.   Coll.   iii,   Cam. 

Theob.  Scene  vi.  Eccles. 

172.  you.]  you?  Rowe  et  seq.  Cymbeline's  Palace.  Rowe.  .in  Brit- 

173.  174.  As  prose  Cap.  et  seq.  ain.  Pope 

174.  'em]  Ff.  et  seq.  2.  Cornelius]  Cornelius  with  a  Viol, 
i.  Scena  Sexta]   Scene  m.  Rowe.         Rowe.     (Vial.  Han.  Phial.  Johns.) 

Feeding';  in  which  passage  Mr  Singer  prints  'starve  with  feeding.' — INGLEBY 
takes  'sterve'  in  the  sense  of  perishing  through  cold  (which  Dowden  pronounces 
a  common  meaning),  and  in  accordance  with  it  excellently  paraphrases  the  present 
passage:  'lest  the  wager  which  was  laid  in  the  heat  of  the  dispute  should  be  de- 
clared off,  when  the  disputants  have  had  time  for  cool  reflection.  Compare  Macb., 
IV,  i,  134:  "This  deed  I'll  do  before  this  purpose  cool." 

171.  Agreed]  Mrs  JAMESON  (ii,  73):  'The  baseness  and  the  folly  of  [Posthumus] 
have  been  justly  censured;  but  Shakespeare,  feeling  that  Posthumus  needed  every 
excuse,  has  managed  the  quarrelling  scene  between  him  and  lachimo  with  the 
most  admirable  skill.  The  manner  in  which  his  high  spirit  is  gradually  worked 
up  by  the  taunts  of  this  Italian  fiend  is  contrived  with  far  more  probability  and 
much  less  coarseness  than  in  the  original  tale.  In  the  end  he  is  not  the  challenger, 
but  the  challenged;  and  could  hardly  (except  on  a  moral  principle,  too  much  refined 
for  those  rude  times)  have  declined  the  wager  without  compromising  his  own 
courage  and  his  faith  in  the  honour  of  Imogen. — BODENSTEDT  (Sh.'s  Frauen- 
charaktere,  p.  38) :  In  spite  of  every  argument  which  may  be  adduced  to  exculpate 
Posthumus,  we  cannot  blink  the  revolting  character  of  the  wager,  and  of  a  surety 
Shakespeare  would  not  have  it  otherwise.  He  lets  his  hero  commit  a  grievous  error, 
and  grievously  does  he  let  him  expiate  it. 

i.  ECCLES:  The  period  at  which  this  Scene  passes  must  be  within  that  space  of 
time  which  elapses  between  the  arrival  of  Posthumus  in  Rome  and  the  coming  of 
lachimo  to  the  Court  of  Cymbeline  in  Britain. — DANIEL  (Sh.  Soc.  Trans.,  1877-79, 
p.  241):  An  interval.  lachimo's  journey  to  Britain.  With  the  present  scene 
begins  DAY  3.  Another  possible  arrangement  in  time  would  be  to  make  it  con- 
current with  Day  2;  or  again,  it  might  have  a  separate  day  assigned  to  it,  to  be 
placed  in  the  interval  marked  for  lachimo's  journey  to  Britain.  As  Eccles  has 
suggested.  Its  position  as  the  early  morning  of  Day  3,  'whiles  yet  the  dew's  on 
the  ground'  is,  however,  quite  consistent  with  [this  present]  scheme  of  time. — 
[I  suppose,  in  any  analysis  of  the  time,  that  the  chief  purpose  is  to  calculate  the 
number  of  days  consumed  by  the  action,  and  that  the  sequence  of  the  days  is  of 
secondary  importance.  If,  while  lachimo  is  on  his  journey,  the  time  is  filled  up 


ACT    I,   SC.  vi.] 


CYME  ELI NE 


Qit.     Whiles  yet  the  dewe's  on  ground,  3 

Gather  thofe  Flowers, 
Make  hafte.     Who  ha's  the  note  of  them  ?  5 

Lady.     I  Madam. 

Queen.     Difpatch.  Exit  Ladies. 

Now  Mafter  Doctor,  haue  you  brought  thofe  drugges  ? 

Cor.  Pleafeth  your  Highnes,  I  :  here  they  are,  Madam: 
But  I  befeech  your  Grace,  without  offence  10 


3,  4.  One  line  Rowe  et  seq. 

3.  Whiles}  While  Rowe,  +  . 

4.  Flowers,]    flowers.    Rowe,    Pope, 
Han.      flowers:     Theob.      Johns,      et 
seq. 

5.  hafte]  haft  F4. 
ha's]  Fx. 

6.  Lady.]  Lad.   Ff.     Ladies.   Rowe, 
Pope,     i   Lady.  Theob.     First  Lady. 
Dyce. 

7]  /,  Rowe  et  seq. 

7.  Exit]  Exeunt  Ff. 

8.  Now]  Now,  Theob.  et  seq. 
drugges?]     drugges:     F2.       drugs: 


F3F4. 

9.  /:]  Ay;  Rowe  et  seq. 

[Giving  her  some  Papers.  Cap. 
Presenting  a  small  box.  Theob. 

10.  But  I... offence]  But,  (I. ..offence,) 
Vaun. 

ID,  ii.  without... aske]  Ff.  In  paren- 
theses Cap.  Varr.  Mai.  Rann,  Steev. 
Varr.  Knt,  Sing,  without. ..My. ..ask, 
Rowe.  without. ..(my  conscience  bids 
me  ask)  Pope  et  cet.  (subs.) 

10.  offence]  offence,  Theob.  Warb. 
Johns.  Coll.  offence;  Cap.  Varr.  Steev. 
Varr. 


with  these  scenes  at  Cymbeline's  court,  the  number  of  days  of  action  is  not  less- 
ened. And,  in  fact,  the  very  object  of  these  scenes  intervening  between  the  wager 
in  Rome  and  lachimo's  interview  with  Imogen  is  to  give  an  idea  of  the  lapse  of 
time.  So  that  Eccles's  suggestion  is  good  and  does  not  clash  with  Daniel's  cal- 
culation that  we  are  now  entering  on  the  third  day.  Daniel  refers  to  Eccles's 
computation. — ED.] 

3.  Whiles  yet  the   dewe's  on   ground]   In  Arderne's  Treatises  (circa  1376, 
E.  E.  T.  Soc.,  p.  92,  1910):   A  receipt  is  given  for  making  'oile  of  violettes, '  which 
is  to  be  made  in  the  same  manner  as  'Oile  of  roses,'  as  follows:   'Recipe  roses  that 
bene  ful  spred,  and  gredre  hem  erly  whiles  the  dew  lasteth.' — ED. 

4.  Flowers]  ELLACOMBE  (Season  of  Sh.'s  Plays,  New  Sh.  Soc.,  Trans.,  1880-86, 
p.  74) :  The  Queen  and  her  ladies  gather  flowers,  which  at  the  end  of  the  Scene  we 
are  told  are  violets,  cowslips,  and  primroses,  the  flowers  of  Spring.     In  the  fourth 
Act,  Lucius  gives  orders  to  'find  out  the  prettiest  daisied  plot  we  can,'  to  make  a 
grave  for  Cloten;  but  daisies  are  too  long  in  flower  to  let  us  attempt  to  fix  a  date 
by  them.  ...  [P.  76.]      Even  in  such  common  matters    as    the  names  of  the 
most  familiar  every-day  plants  Shakespeare  does  not  write  in  a  careless,  haphazard 
way,  naming  the  plant  that  comes  uppermost  in  his  thoughts,  but  they  are  all 
named  in  the  most  careful  and  correct  manner,  exactly  fitting  into  the  scenes  in 
which  they  are  placed,  and  so  giving  to  each  passage  a  brightness  and  a  reality 
which  would  be  entirely  wanting  if  the  plants  were  set  down  in  the  ignorance  of 
guesswork.     Shakespeare  knew  the  plants  well;  and  though  his  knowledge  is 
never  paraded,  by  its  very  thoroughness  it  cannot  be  hid. 

5.  Who  ha's]  I  suppose  that  the  apostrophe  marks  the  omission  of  an  imaginary 
e. — ED. 


64  THE   TRACED  IE   OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  vi. 

(My  Confcience  bids  me  aske)  wherefore  you  haue  II 

Commanded  of  me  thefe  moft  poyfonous  Compounds, 
Which  are  the  moouers  of  a  languifhing  death  : 
But  though  flow,  deadly. 

Qu.     I  wonder,  Doctor,  15 

Thou  ask'ft  me  fuch  a  Queftion  :  Haue  I  not  bene 
Thy  Pupill  long  ?  Haft  thou  not  learn'd  me  how 
To  make  Perfumes?  Diftill  ?  Preferue  ?  Yea,  fo, 
That  our  great  King  himfelfe  doth  woo  me  oft 
For  my  Confections  ?   Hauing  thus  farre  proceeded,  20 

(Vnleffe  thou  think'ft  me  diuellifh)  is't  not  meete 
That  I  did  amplifie  my  Judgement  in 
Other  Conclufions  ?     I  will  try  the  forces  23 

11.  aske)    -wherefore]    ask    wherefore  14.  But  though]  But,  though  Theob. 
Vaun.                                                                 et   seq.     And,   though  or    Though   but 

12.  poyfonous]     poisonous     Pope,+,         Anon.  ap.  Cam. 

Cap.  15.  /   wonder]  I  do   wonder  Theob. 

12-14.    Compounds, ...death:. ..deadly.]  Han.  Warb.  Cap.  Steev. 

Ff,  Rowe.    compounds?... death;,   deadly.  Doctor]  doctor,  that  Ktly  conj. 

Pope,  Theob.  Han.  Warb.    compounds  21.  diuellijh]  dev'lish  Pope,  +  ,  Cap. 

...death;. ..deadly.     Johns,     compounds,  is't]  ist  F2.    is  it  F3F4,  Rowe. 

...death,... deadly.     Cam.    compounds,...  23.  try]  prove  Vaun. 
death;... deadly?  Cap.  et  cet. 

13.  languishing]  For  the  sake  of  scansion  WALKER  (Vers.,  p.  66),  and  ABBOTT 
(§  467)  after  him,  would  pronounce  this  word  as  a  disyllabic,  lang'shing.     Can  any 
lover  of  Shakespeare's  musical  language  hear  this  without  ang'sh? — ED. 

14.  15.  But  .  .  .  Doctor]  VAUGHAN  (p.  358)  presents  us  with  the  following  al- 
ternative 'articulation  and  scansion'  of  this  line:    'But  though    slow,  dea    daly. 
I  won    der,  doctor';  or  this:  'But  though    slow  dead    ly  I    ooun    der,  doctor.' 
If,  hereafter,  from  these  pages  all  references  to  Vaughan's  'articulation  and  scan- 
sion,' be  omitted,  I  think  it  will  be  pardoned;  but  if  not,  I  will  bare  my  back  for 
punishment  without  flinching. — ED. 

15.  I  wonder]  It  is  hardly  conceivable  that  STEEVENS  should   have  been  ig- 
norant that  four  editions  before  his  own,  beginning  with  THEOBALD,  had  printed 
'I  do  wonder';  and  yet  he  deliberately  said,  'I  have  supplied  the  verb  do  for  the 
sake  of  the  measure.' — WALKER  (Vers.,  p.  24)  also  suggested  do;  but  for  him  there 
is  some  excuse;  his  library  is  known  to  have  been  scanty. — ED. 

17.  learn'd  me]  Examples  of  'learn'  thus  used,  in  the  sense  of  teach,  are  given 
in  N.  E.  D.  (s.  v.,  II.  4.  c.)  in  every  century  from  1200  to  Shakespeare's  time. 
This  venerable  usage  is  still  happily  preserved  in  this  country. — ED. 

20.  Confections]  DOWDEN:   That  is,  compounded  drugs,  as  in  V,  v,  289. 

21,  22.  is't  not   meete  That   I   did]    ABBOTT    (§  370):    Here,    as    in    'It    is 
time  he  came,7  the   action   is   regarded  as  one  'meet'  in  time  past,  as   well  as 
in  the  future. 

23.  Other  Conclusions]  JOHNSON:  Other  experiments.  'I  commend,'  says 
Walton,  'an  angler  that  trieth  conclusions,  and  improves  his  art.' 


ACT  i,  sc.  vi.]  CYMBELINE  65 

Of  thefe  thy  Compounds,  on  fuch  Creatures  as 

We  count  not  worth  the  hanging  (but  none  humane)  25 

To  try  the  vigour  of  them,  and  apply 

Allayments  to  their  Ac!;,  and  by  them  gather 

Their  feuerall  vertues ,  and  effects. 

Cor.     Your  Highneffe 

Shall  from  this  pra6tife,  but  make  hard  your  heart:  30 

Befides,  the  feeing  thefe  effects  will  be 
Both  noyfome,  and  infectious. 

Qu.     O  content  thee. 

Enter  Pifanio.  34 

i 

25.  humane]  human  Rowe  et  seq.  28.  feuerall]  several  Pope,-)-. 

26.  try]  test  Walker  (Crit.,  i,   288),  29.  Your]  you  Var.  '85  (misprint). 
Huds.                                                                  34.  Enter...]  In  line  27  Dyce. 

27.  by  them]  ECCLES:    These  words  evidently  refer  to  'allayments,'  but  it  is 
by  no  means  clear  whether  the  'virtues'  and  'effects,'  in  the  next  line,  bear  a 
reference    to  the    'compounds'  or   to   the   'allayments';    if    to   the   latter,   the 
sense  would  be  improved  by  substituting  from  for  'by.' — CRAIG:    Perhaps  Shake- 
speare wrote  Allay ment,  'then'   in   the  same  line   referring  to  'acts.' — DOWDEN: 
Does  not   this    mean  by  the   creatures    experimented  on?     For  'act'  meaning 
action,  compare  Oth.,  Ill,  iii,  328.     [It  seems  to   me   that  'by  them'   refers  to 
her  'conclusions,'   her  experiments;  not  to  the  details  as  to  the  strength  of  her 
confections,  or  their  antidotes,  or  the  corpus  vile  on  which  the  poison  was  tried — 
only  by  these  'conclusions'  can  shd  gather  the  several  virtues  and  effects  of  her 
drugs. — ED.] 

30.  Shall  .  .  .  but  make  hard  your  heart]  JOHNSON:  There  is  in  this  passage 
nothing  that  much  requires  a  note,  yet  I  cannot  forbear  to  push  it  forward  into 
observation.  The  thought  would  probably  have  been  more  amplified,  had  our 
author  lived  to  be  shocked  with  such  experiments  as  have  been  published  in  later 
times  by  a  race  of  men  who  have  practised  tortures  without  pity,  and  related  them 
without  shame,  and  are  yet  suffered  to  erect  their  heads  among  human  beings. 
Cape  saxa  manu,  cape  robora,  pastor.  [Virgil,  Georg.,  iii,  420.] — KNIGHT:  We 
are  by  no  means  sure  that  Shakespeare  meant  to  apply  a  sweeping  denun- 
ciation to  such  experiments  upon  the  power  of  particular  medicines.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  the  medical  art,  being  wholly  tentative,  it  becomes  in  some 
cases  a  positive  duty  of  a  scientific  experimenter  to  inflict  pain  upon  an  inferior 
animal  for  the  ultimate  purpose  of  assuaging  pain  or  curing  disease.  It  is  the 
useless  repetition  of  such  experiments  in  the  lecture-room  which  is  'noisome  and 
infectious.' 

32.  noysome  and  infectious]  VAUGHAN  (p.  361):  'Noisome'  may  apply  only 
to  the  direct  effect  upon  her  own  person  of  the  poisons  themselves  employed  by  her; 
while  '  infectious '  applies  only  to  the  indirect  effects  resulting  to  her  person  in  the 
way  of  contagion  by  close  communication  with  the  creatures  suffering  directly  from 
them. 


66  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  vi. 

Heere  comes  a  flattering  Rafcall,  vpon  him  35 

Will  I  firft  worke  :  Hee's  for  his  Mafter, 
And  enemy  to  my  Sonne.    How  now  Pifaniot 
Doctor,  your  feruice  for  this  time  is  ended, 
Take  your  owne  way. 

Cor.     I  do  fufpecl:  you,  Madam,  40 

But  you  mail  do  no  harme. 

Qu.     Hearke  thee,  a  word. 

Cor.     I  do  not  like  her.     She  doth  thinke  Hie  ha's  43 

35.  [Aside.  Rowe  et  seq.  An  enemy  Anon.   (ap.  Cam.  i.),  Ingl. 

36,  37.  Witt. ..And]  One  line  Ktly.  Vaun. 

36.  worke]  let  them  work  Cap.  Ecc.  40.  [Aside.  Rowe. 

for]  factor  for  Walker,  Huds.  42.  [To  Pisanio.  Rowe.    to  Pis,  draw- 

36,  37.  Mafter,  And  enemy]  Master,  ing  him  aside.  Cap. 
An  enemy  Rowe  ii.    Master's  sake  An  thee,  a]  thee  a  Ff. 

enemy    Pope,     Theob.     Han.     Warb.  43.  Cor.     /  do]  Cor.     [Solus.]  /  do 

master,  and  Enemy  Ktly.    master,  and  Johns.    Cor.  Aside.  Cap. 

35,  36.  vpon  him  Will  I  first  worke  :  Hee's  for  his  Master]  CAPELL  (p.  105) 
is  severe  on  his  four  predecessors,  and  asserts  that  their  addition  of  a  solitary  letter 
and  a  solitary  word  is  a  'patch-work  that  does  them  no  credit,'  and  then  proceeds 
to  insert  two  words  of  his  own:  'upon  him  Will  I  first  let  tJtem  work';  whereof  I 
cannot  comprehend  the  special  need,  albeit  Capell  himself  says  that  they  'are  as 
necessary  to  the  sense  as  the  measure,'  because,  'though  this  queen  does  after- 
wards tamper  with  Pisanio,  she  knew  him  too  well  to  think  she  should  do  any  good 
on  him;  determines  as  first  to  get  rid  of  him  by  the  drugs  which  she  has  now  in  her 
hand,  and  is  only  intent  on  the  method,  without  thinking  at  all  about  working  on 
him  in  their  sense  of  the  word.'  Simple-hearted  ECCLES  adopted  Capell's  emenda- 
tion in  his  text,  and  at  the  same  time  confessed  in  a  note  that  he  could  not  perceive 
its  superiority  in  meaning,  over  the  emendation  of  the  four  preceding  editors,  or 
even  over  the  original  text. — WALKER  (Crit.,  ii,  256)  proposes  to  read,  'He's 
factor  for  his  Master,'  and  justifies  the  use  of  factor  by  quoting  the  Queen's  words 
later  on,  line  89,  where  she  speaks  of  Pisanio  as  'the  agent  for  his  master.'  And 
he  might  have  quoted  lachimo  in  the  next  scene,  line  219,  where  he  says 
that  he  'is  Factor  for  the  rest.'  Walker  adds  that  'Factor  in  this  sense 
is  common  in  Shakespeare';  it  occurs,  according  to  Bartlett's  Concordance,  six 
times,  but  if  it  occurred  sixty  times,  its  interpolation  here  is  temerarious,  to 
say  the  mildest. — DANIEL  (p.  84)  ingeniously  modifies  the  punctuation,  and 
turns  'And'  into  An,'  a  very  venial  change:  'He's,  for  his  master,  An  enemy 
to  my  son.' — ED. 

43-54.  I  do  not  like  her,  etc.]  JOHNSON:  This  soliloquy  is  very  inartificial. 
The  speaker  is  under  no  strong  pressure  of  thought;  he  is  neither  resolving,  repent- 
ing, suspecting,  nor  deliberating,  and  yet  makes  a  long  speech  to  tell  himself  what 
himself  knows.  [But  the  audience  does  not.  I  think  it  not  unlikely  that,  in- 
fluenced by  this  note  of  Dr  Johnson,  Garrick  omitted  this  soliloquy  in  the  stage 
performance.  For  which  he  is  thus  criticised  by  REED  (Biog.  Dram.,  iii,  140)  in 
speaking  of  Garrick's  Version:  'A  material  fault  occurs  in  it.  By  omitting  the 


ACT  i,  sc.  vi.]  CYMBELINE 

Strange  ling'ring  poyfons  :  I  do  know  her  fpirit, 

And  will  not  truft  one  of  her  malice,  with  45 

A  drugge  of  fuch  damn'd  Nature.     Thofe  fhe  ha's, 

Will  ftupefie  and  dull  the  Senfe  a-while, 

Which  firft  (perchance)  fhee'l  proue  on  Cats  and  Dogs, 

Then  afterward  vp  higher  :  but  there  is 

No  danger  in  what  (hew  of  death  it  makes,  50 

More  then  the  locking  vp  the  Spirits  a  time, 

To  be  more  frefh,  reuiuing.     She  is  fool'd  52 

44.  ling'ring]   lingering   Var.    '21    et         Cap.  Var.  '73,  '78.  Ran.  Steev.     awhile 
seq.  Var.  '85  et  seq. 

45.  malice,  with]  malice  with  Pope  et  48.  (perchance)]  perchance  Rowe. 
seq.  49.  afterward]      afterwards      Theob. 

46.  Thofe]    Ff,    Rowe,    Pope,    Knt,         Warb.  Johns. 

Coll.    Dyce,    Sta.    Glo.    Cam.      That  51.  locking  vp]  locking-up  Dyce,  Glo. 

Han.     Those,  Theob.  et  cet.  Huds. 

47.  a-while]    a    while    Ff,    Rowe,  +  , 

physician's  soliloquy,  we  are  utterly  unprepared  for  the  recovery  of  Imogen  after 
she  had  swallowed  the  potion  prepared  by  her  stepmother.  To  save  appearances, 
this  speech  was  inserted  in  the  printed  copy,  but  was  never  uttered  on  the  stage. 
Useless  as  it  might  be  to  those  who  are  intimately  acquainted  with  the  piece,  it  is 
still  necessary  toward  the  information  of  a  common  audience' — ED.] — STEEVENS: 
This  soliloquy  is  yet  necessary  to  prevent  that  uneasiness  which  would  naturally 
arise  in  the  mind  of  an  audience  on  recollection  that  the  Queen  had  mischievous 
ingredients  in  her  possession,  unless  they  were  undeceived  as  to  the  quality  of  them; 
and  it  is  no  less  useful  to  prepare  us  for  the  return  of  Imogen  to  life. — HUDSON 
(p.  68) :  This  speech  might  be  cited  as  proving  that  Shakespeare  preferred  expec- 
tation to  surprise  as  an  element  of  dramatic  interest.  The  speech  seems  fairly  open 
to  some  such  reproof  [as  Johnson's].  But  it  prepares,  and  was  doubtless  meant  to 
prepare,  us  for  the  seeming  death  and  revival  of  Imogen;  and  without  some  such 
preparation  those  incidents  would  be  open  to  much  graver  censure  of  clap-trap. 
The  expectancy  thus  started  is  at  all  events  better  than  attempting  to  spring  a 
vulgar  sensation  on  the  audience. — WYATT:  If  Shakespeare  had  not  felt  some- 
thing akin  to  contempt  for  vulgar  melodramatic  effects,  he  would  not  have 
given  us  this  premonition  of  the  result  of  Imogen's  swallowing  the  Queen's  'con- 
fection.' [An  observation  which  DOWDEN  pronounces  'just.'  See  note  on  line 
101,  below.] 

50.  what  shew  of  death  it  makes]  VAUGHAN  (p.  362):    Shakespeare  intends 
'it'  to  refer  to  the  act  of  'dulling  and  stupefying  the  sense,'  and  not  any  object 
mentioned  [This  last  clause,!  think,  is  not  quite  clear. — DELIUS  says  that  'it,'  by 
an  inexact  construction,  refers  to  'those  she  has.'     This  reference  Vaughan  pro- 
nounces 'if  natural,  still  wrong.'     I  cannot  so  see  it;  'show  of  death'  is  only  a 
paraphrase  of  'stupefying  and  dulling  the  sense,'  and  is  the  object  of  'makes.' 
To  me,  the  interpretation  of  Delius  is  just. — ED.] 

51.  a  time]   M ALONE:    All  the  modern  editions,  'for  a  time.'     [I  can  find  no 
edition  wherein  'for  a  time'  is  to  be  found.     Apparently  the  Cam.  Ed.  were  equally 
unsuccessful;  they  record  it  as  'quoted  by  Malone.' — ED.] 


68  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  vi. 

With  a  moft  falfe  effect  :  and  I,  the  truer,  53 

So  to  be  falfe  with  her. 

Qu.     No  further  feruice,  Doctor,  55 

Vntill  I  fend  for  thee. 

Cor.     I  humbly  take  my  leaue.  Exit. 

Qu.     Weepes  me  ftill(  faift  thou?) 
Doft  thou  thinke  in  time 

She  will  not  quench,  and  let  inftructions  enter  60 

Where  Folly  now  poffeffes?  Do  thou  worke  : 
When  thou  fhalt  bring  me  word  fhe  loues  my  Sonne, 
lie  tell  thee  on  the  inftant,  thou  art  then 
As  great  as  is  thy  Matter  :  Greater,  for 

His  Fortunes  all  lye  fpeechleffe,  and  his  name  65 

Is  at  laft  gaspe.    Returne  he  cannot,  nor 
Continue  where  he  is  :  To  fhift  his  being, 
Is  to  exchange  one  mifery  with  another, 
And  euery  day  that  comes,  comes  to  decay 
A  dayes  worke  in  him.     What  fhalt  thou  expect  70 

53.  7,  the]  I  the  Rowe  et  seq.  60.  i nftruc~lions\  instruction  Coll.  (Mo- 

54.  with  her]  Om.  Steev.  conj.  novol.) 

55.  further]  farther  Coll.  64.  Greater]    Ff,    Dyce,    Glo.    Cam. 
55,    56.  Doclor...for    thee]    One  line         greater;  Rowe  et  cet. 

Han.  (omitting  for  thee) .  67.  he    is]    is    Cap.     (corrected    in 

57.  humbly]  Om.  Han.  Errata). 

58,  59.  One  line  Rowe  et  seq.  68.  another,]    Ff,    Rowe,    Coll.    Glo. 
58.  faijl]  sayest  Rowe,  Pope.  Cam.     another;  Pope  et  cet. 

60.  quench,]  quench;  Cap.  Varr.  Mai.  70.  expert]  expect,  Theob.  Warb.  et 

Ran.  Steev.  Varr.  Knt.    quench  Cam.         seq. 
quinch?  Vaun. 

53.  a  most   false   effect]  As  to  the  nature   of  this   drug,  see  notes  on  IV, 
ii,  49. 

54.  to  be]  That  is,  for  being.     For  many  other  examples  of   the  'infinitive, 
indefinitely  used/  see,  if  need  be,  ABBOTT,  §  356. 

60.  quench]  CRAIGIE  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.,  Il.intr.  f  c.  of  a  person):  To  cool  down. 
[The  solitary  example.  It  occurs  'with  a  personal  object'  where  lachimo  (V,  v, 
230)  says,  'Being  thus  quench'd  Of  hope,  not  longing,'  and  is  noted  by  Craigie 
under  3  transf.  f  c. 

66.  at  last]  Possibly  a  case  of  the  absorption  of  the,  'at'  last. — ED. 

67.  shift   his    being]    JOHNSON:    To    change  his  abode.     [Posthumus's  grief 
lay  deeper  than  the  care  for  his  lodging;  coelum  non  animum,  etc.;  although,  possibly, 
the  Queen  did  not  suppose  such  to  be  the  case.     Johnson,  therefore,  may  be  right. 
INGLEBY,  however,  thinks  that  'being'  can  hardly  be  abode  here. — ED.] 

69,  70.  comes  to  decay  A  dayes  worke  in  him]  ECCLES:  The  most  natural 
construction  is  that  of  making  'decay'  a  noun,  and  'a  day's  work'  the  nominative 
to  the  verb  'comes.' 


ACT   I,  SC.  vi.] 


CYMBELINE 


To  be  depender  on  a  thing  that  leanes  ? 

Who  cannot  be  new  built,  nor  ha?s  no  Friends 

So  much,  as  but  to  prop  him  ?  Thou  tak'ft  vp 

Thou  know'ft  not  what  :  But  take  it  for  thy  labour, 

It  is  a  thing  I  made,  which  hath  the  King 

Fiue  times  redeem'd  from  death.     I  do  not  know 

What  is  more  Cordiall.     Nay,  I  prythee  take  it, 

It  is  an  earneft  of  a  farther  good 

That  I  meane  to  thee.     Tell  thy  Miftris  how 

The  cafe  ftands  with  her  :  doo't.  as  from  thv  felfe: 

J 

Thinke  what  a  chance  thou  changeft  on,  but  thinke 
Thou  haft  thy  Miftris  ftill,  to  boote,  my  Sonne, 


69 

71 


75 


80 

82 


71.  depender  on]  depender  of  F3F4. 
71-73.  leanes?. ..prop    him?}    leans,... 

prop  him?  Han.  Knt,  Dyce,  Sta. 
Glo.  Cam.  (subs.)  leans?. ..him.  Coll. 
Ktly. 

72.  new  built]  new-built  Coll. 
nor]  and  Pope,  +  . 

72,  73.  Friends  So  much,]  friends,  So 
much  Rowe  et  seq. 

73.  [Pisanio    looking    on    the    Viol. 
Rowe.      ...takes   up   the  phial.   Pope. 
Dropping   some    of    the  Papers.   Cap. 
The  Queen  drops  a  phial,  Pisanio  takes 
it  up.  Var.  '78.     The  Queen  drops  a 
box...  Mai. 

tak'ft]  takest  Rowe. 
75.  made]  make  F3F4,  Rowe,  +  ,  Cap. 
Varr.  Rann. 


76.  death.]  death;  Rowe  et  seq. 

77.  Nay,]  Nay  Rowe,  Pope. 
prythee]  prcthee  Ff,  Rowe.    pr'y- 

thec  or  prithee  Pope  et  cet. 

78.  farther]  Ff,  Rowe,+,  Cap.  Coll. 
Sing,    further  Varr.  et  cet. 

81.  chance  thou  changejl  on,]  chance 
thou  chancest  on,  Rowe,+,  Cap.  Coll. 
ii,  iii  (MS.),  Dyce.  ii,  iii,  Huds.  change 
thou  chancest  on;  Theob.  Han.  Johns. 
Wh.  i,  Ktly. 

81,  82.  thinke    Thou]    think; — Thou 
Theob.    Warb.    Johns.    Cap.      think— 
Thou  Var.  '73.    think! — Thou  Dowden 
conj. 

82.  Jlill,]  Ff,  Knt,  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam. 
still;  Rowe  et  cet. 

to]  too  F2F3. 


71.  a  thing  that  leanes]  JOHNSON:  That  inclines  towards  its  fall.  [Or  may  it  not 
mean  one  who  leans  on  another  for  support,  'To  be  a  depender  on  one  who  is 
himself  a  depender  on  others'? — ED.] 

78.  It  is  an  earnest  of  a  farther  good]  ECCLES  finds  probability  grossly 
violated  in  this  scene,  and  that  a  purposeful  person  would  not  have  taken  such  a 
roundabout  method  of  effecting  her  object;  while  Pisanio  was  in  health,  he  needed 
no  such  medicine,  and  in  sickness  her  description  was  too  vague  to  lead  him  to  use 
it.  Besides  he  might  administer  it  to  others,  and  thereby  cause  a  disaster  more 
widely  spread  than  even  the  queen  could  composedly  contemplate.  'This  is  one 
of  the  passages,'  he  concludes,  'wherein  Shakespeare  appears  to  have  been  least 
attentive  to  verisimilitude.' 

81.  what  a  chance  thou  changes!  on]  THEOBALD:  I  imagine  the  Poet 
wrote,  'what  a  change  then  chancest  on,'  i.  e.,  if  you  will  fall  into  my  measures,  do 
but  think  how  you  will  chance  to  change  your  fortunes  for  the  better,  in  the  con- 
sequences that  will  attend  your  compliance. — HEATH  (p.  475):  The  sense  is, 
Think  on  what  a  chance,  on  how  promising  a  prospect  of  advancing  thy  fortunes, 
thou  changest  thy  present  attachment.  [To  the  same  effect,  STEEVENS.] — 


70  THE   TRACED  IE   OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  vi. 

Who  fhall  take  notice  of  thee.     He  moue  the  King  83 

To  any  fhape  of  thy  Preferment,  fuch 

As  thou'lt  defire  :  and  then  my  felfe,  I  cheefely,  85 

That  fet  thee  on  to  this  defert,  am  bound 

To  loade  thy  merit  richly.     Call  my  women.       Exit  Pifa. 

Thinke  on  my  words.     A  flye,  and  conftant  knaue, 

Not  to  be  fhak'd  :  the  Agent  for  his  Matter, 

And  the  Remembrancer  of  her,  to  hold  90 

The  hand-faft  to  her  Lord.     I  haue  giuen  him  that, 

Which  if  he  take,  fhall  quite  vnpeople  her  92 

83.  thee.]   Ff,   Rowe,+,   Coll.     thee,  Cap. 

Cap.    thee:  Mai.  et  cet.  88.  Jlye]  shy  Cap.  conj. 

He  moue]  move  Cap.  Ran.  91.  hand-faft]  Var.   '21,  Dyce,   Glo. 

85.  defere]  deserve  Theob.  conj.  (Nich-  Huds.    Cam.      handfast    Coll.    i,    Sta. 

oil's  Illust.,  ii,  629.)  Ktly.    handfast  Ff,  Rowe  et  cet. 

/  checfely,]  I  chiefly  Rowe,  Pope,  /  haue]  I've  Pope,+,  Dyce  ii,  iii, 

Theob.  Warb.     aye,  chiefly,  Vaun.  Huds. 

87.  Exit...]    After    words,    line    88,  giuen]  giv'n  Pope,+. 

CAPELL  adopted  Rowe's  chancest,  and  justified  it  by  urging  that  'the  very  first 
thing  Pisanio  is  to  consider  of  is  no  change.' — M ALONE:  A  line  in  the  Rape  of 
Lucrece  adds  some  [Dyce,  in  quoting  Malone,  here,  after  'some,'  interpolates 
'  [great] '  in  brackets]  support  to  the  reading,  '  thou  chancest  on,'  which  is  much  in 
Shakespeare's  manner:  'Let  there  bechance  him  pitiful  mis-chances.' — [i.  976. 
Yet  Malone  printed  'changest'  in  his  text.] — STAUNTON:  We  should  prefer  reading, 
'  Think  what  a  chance!  thou  changest  one;  but  think,'  etc.  You  only  change  the 
service  of  your  master  for  mine;  retain  your  old  mistress,  and  have  my  son  for 
friend  beside.  Chance,  it  must  be  remembered,  in  old  language  meant  fortune, 
luck,  etc.  Staunton  (Athceneum,  14  June,  1873)  suggested  still  another  emenda- 
tion: 'The  allusion,  I  apprehend,  is  to  hunting.  In  the  language  of  our  old  books 
on  field  sports,  when  a  hound  hunts  backward  the  way  the  chase  has  come,  he 
hunts  counter;  when  he  hunts  any  other  chase  than  that  he  first  undertook,  he 
hunts  change.  We  should  read,  "Think  what  a  chase  thou  changest  on,"  etc.,  or, 
Think  what  a  chase  thou  changest:  oh,  but  think!'  Here  Staunton  gives  several 
examples  where  chase  is  used. — DANIEL  (p.  84):  The  queen  is  urging  Pisanio  to 
abandon  the  cause  of  Posthumus,  and  to  serve  that  of  her  son  Cloten.  She  has 
already  asked  him  what  he  can  expect  by  being  a  'depender  on  a  thing  that  leans.' 
Read,  'Think  what  a  chance  thou  hangest  on.' 

90.  Remembrancer]  INGLEBY:  A  law-term.  There  used  to  be  three  officers  of 
State,  so-called.  The  word  occurs  in  only  one  other  place  in  Shakespeare:  Macb., 
Ill,  iv,  37  [where  it  is  applied  to  Lady  Macbeth], 

90,  91.  to  hold  The  hand-fast  to  her  Lord]  DYCE  (Remarks,  p.  252):  [Collier 
and  Knight  read  hand  fast]  and  most  erroneously.  Read  handfast,  i.  e.,  the 
contract.  Compare  Beau.  &  Fletcher:  'Should  leave  the  handfast  that  he  had  of 
grace,' — The  Woman  Hater,  III,  i.  'I  knit  this  holy  handfast.1 — Wit  at  Several 
Weapons,  v,  i.  (where  the  modern  editors  give  wrongly,  with  the  old  Eds.,  'hand 
fast.') — WHITE:  That  is,  the  betrothal,  the  marriage  to  her  lord. 


ACT  i,  sc.  vi.]  CYMBELINE  71 

Of  Leidgers  for  her  Sweete  :  and  which,  fhe  after  93 

Except  ihe  bend  her  humor,  fhall  be  affur'd 

To  tafte  of  too.  95 

Enter  Pifanio,  and  Ladies. 

So ,  fo  :  Well  done,  well  done  : 

The  Violets,  Cowllippes,  and  the  Prime-Rofes  98 

93.  Leidgers]    leigers    Han.     Johns.  which,  she  after,  Theob.  et  cet. 

Varr.     Mai.     Steev.       ledgers     Cap.  98.  Prime-Rofes]  Prim-Roses  Rowe, 

liegers  Var.  '03  et  seq.  Pope,  Theob.  Han.  (subs.)     primroses 

which,  fhe  after}  which  fhe  after,  Warb. 
Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Coll.  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam. 

93.  Of  Leidgers  for  her  Sweete]  COLLIER  (ed.  i.):  The  meaning  is,  that  it 
will  deprive  Imogen  of  the  'lieger'  or  ambassador,  residing  with  her,  to  represent 
and  maintain  the  interest  of  his  master.  Possibly  'sweet,'  as  the  Rev.  Mr  Barry 
proposes,  ought  to  be  suite. — DYCE  (Remarks,  p.  252),  after  quoting  this  last 
sentence  of  Collier's  note,  observes:  'Surely,  though  such  a  villainous  conjecture 
as  this  might  be  sent  to  Mr  Collier,  he  was  not  bound  to  record  it.' — COLLIER,  in 
his  ed.  ii,  undismayed  by  Dyce's  stigmatising  suite  as  a  'villainous  conjecture,' 
tells  us  that  suite  is  the  reading  of  his  MS.  Corrector,  'but  the  old  text  may  be 
received  without  any  change.' — STAUNTON:  This  apparently  signifies  ambassadors 
to  her  lover. — SCHMIDT  (Lex.,  s.  v.,  sweet,  adj.)  gives  a  long  array  of  examples  where 
'sweet'  is  used  substantively,  as  here,  and  for  a  lover  or  mistress. 

93.  Leidgers  ]  JOHNSON  :  A  lieger  ambassador  is  one  that  resides  in  a  foreign  court 
to  promote  his  master's  interest. 

98.  Violets]  ELLACOMBE  (p.  246) :  In  all  the  passages  in  which  Shakespeare  names 
the  Violet,  he  alludes  to  the  purple  sweet-scented  violet,  of  which  he  was  evidently 
very  fond,  and  which  is  said  to  be  very  abundant  in  the  neighborhood  of  Stratford- 
on-Avon.  For  all  the  eighteen  passages  [which  Ellacombe  quotes]  tell  of  some 
point  of  beauty  or  sweetness  that  attracted  him.  And  so  it  is  with  all  the  poets 
from  Chaucer  downwards.  .  .  .  Violets,  like  Primroses,  must  always  have  had 
their  joyful  associations  as  coming  to  tell  that  winter  is  passing  away  and  brighter 
days  are  near.  Yet  it  is  curious  to  note  how,  like  Primroses  also,  they  have  been 
ever  associated  with  death,  especially  with  the  death  of  the  young. 

98.  Cowslippes]  See  II,  ii,  45. 

98.  Prime- Roses]  The  etymological  history  of  the  name  of  this  plant,  coupled 
with  the  various  plants  to  which  it  has  been  applied,  is  hardly  germane  to  a  com- 
mentary in  Shakespeare,  and  is,  moreover,  too  voluminous  for  these  pages.  See 
the  New  English  Dictionary  or  Ellacombe,  p.  175.  The  latter,  albeit  that  his 
book  is  devoted  to  the  Plant-Love  of  Shakespeare,  acknowledges  that  the  'full 
history  of  the  name  is  too  long'  to  be  given  by  him.  An  extract  from  Dr  PRIOR 
will,  I  think,  amply  supply  all  present  needs:  'Primrose  from  Pryme  rolles  is  the 
name  it  bears  in  old  books  and  MSS.  The  Crete  Herball,  ch.  cccl,  says,  "It  is 
called  Pryme  Rolles  of  pryme  tyme,  because  it  beareth  the  first  floure  in  pryme 
tyme."  This  little  common  plant  affords  a  most  extraordinary  example  of  blunder- 
ing. Primerole  is  an  abbreviation  of  French  primeverole,  Italian  primaverola,  dim. 
of  prima  vera,  from  flor  di  prima  vera,  the  first  spring  flower.  Primerole,  as  an 


72  THE   TRACE  DIE   OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  vi. 

Beare  to  my  Cloffet  :  Fare  thee  well,  Pifanio. 

Thinke  on  my  words.  Exit  Qu.  and  Ladies.        100 

Pi/a.     And  fhall  do  : 

But  when  to  my  good  Lord,  I  proue  vntrue, 
He  choake  my  felfe  :  there's  all  He  do  for  you.  Exit.        103 

101.  And  Jhall  do]  I  shall  do  so  Han.     And  so  shall  do  Ktly.     [Aside.]  Madam,  I 
have  and  shall  do.  Ingl.  conj.    Marry,  and  shall  do;  or  Marry,  and  shall  do  so.  Vaun. 

outlandish,  unintelligible  word  was  soon  familiarised  into  prime  rolles,  and  this  into 
primrose.  This  is  explained  in  popular  works  as  meaning  the  first  rose  of  Spring,  a 
name  that  would  never  have  been  given  to  a  plant  tjiat  in  form  and  colour  is  so 
unlike  a  rose.  But  the  rightful  claimant  of  it,  strange  to  say,  is  the  daisy,  which 
in  the  south  of  Europe  is  a  common  and  conspicuous  flower  in  early  Spring,  while 
the  primrose  is  an  extremely  rare  one,  and  it  is  the  daisy  that  bears  the  name  in  all 
the  old  books.' — The  COWDEN-CLARKES:  Shakespeare  makes  the  miscreant  queen 
use  these  beauteous  and  innocent  products  of  the  earth  as  mere  cloaks  to  her 
wickedness;  she  concocts  '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,  in  thus  forcing  these  sweet  blossoms  to  become 
accomplices  in  her  vile  schemes;  and  we  loathe  her  the  more  for  her  surrounding  her 
unhallowed  self  with  their  loveliness.  [Thus  far  these  observations  are,  I  think, 
eminently  ingenious  and  enlightening,  but  when  the  editors  proceed  to  contrast 
the  queen  and  Friar  Laurence  in  Rom.  6°  Jul.,  me,  at  least,  they  do  not  take  with 
them.  Knight  called  attention  to  the  same  contrast;  I  did  not  insert  his  note 
because  I  could  not  perceive  any  ground  for  a  comparison;  too  deep  is  the  im- 
pression made  by  the  profound  truth  expressed  by —  that  'you  cannot  compare  a 
pound  of  butter  and  four  o'clock.' — ED.] 

101.  And  shall  do]  DOWDEN:  I  conjecture   that    the   Queen's   speech  ended 
with  'Think  on  my  words,  Pisanio,'  and  that  the  printer  finding  'Pisanio'  above 
the  speech   that  followed,   took  this   for  the   speech-heading,  which    he    found 
repeated  before   the   word    'And/  whence  it  was  omitted  after  'words.'       Com- 
pare the  often  repeated  'Hubert'   in   the   temptation   by  King  John   (III,  iii). 
Note  that  Pisanio  has  not  uttered  a  word  to  the  temptress.     [None  that  we 
hear — but  he  talks  with  her  while  Cornelius  is  holding  his   soliloquy,  for  when 
the  latter  goes  out,  the  Queen  addresses    Pisanio   with    'Weeps   she  still   (saist 
thou?).'    In  the  PORTER-CLARKE  edition  is  the  following  keen-witted  remark: 
'This  "saist  thou"  is  an  intimation  that  Pisanio  had  given  in  action,  at  a  part 
of  the  stage  removed  from  the   Doctor's  place  of  standing,  a  semblance  of  a 
report  at  some  length  as  to  Imogen.     This  stage-business  went  on  while  the 
Doctor,  ruminating,  speaks  the  lines  that  "are  needed  to  show  the  audience  the 
real  nature  of  the  drugges  he  has  just  given  the  malicious  Queen."      This  then  is  the 
reason  for  Cornelius's  long  speech  (lines  43  to  54).     We  must  see  Imogen  herself 
and  hear  her  sorrow  from  her  own  lips,  we  must  not  have  it  from  report,  and  yet  it 
is  necessary  that  the  Queen  should  be  embittered  by  the  knowledge  that  she  has 
not  yet  broken  Imogen  to  her  will.     This  knowledge  is  conveyed  to  her  aside,  while 
we  are  listening  to  Cornelius  and  while  Dr  Johnson  is  wondering  why  Cornelius  is 
talking. — ED.] 

102,  103.  But  when  .  .  .  for  you]   Did  William   Shakespeare  write   this  dog- 
gerel?— ED. 


ACT  I,  sc.  vii.]  CYMBELINE 


Scena  Septiina. 


Enter  Imogen  alone. 

Imo.     A  Father  cruell,  and  a  Stepdame  falfe, 
A  Foolifh  Suitor  to  a  Wedded-Lady, 

That  hath  her  Husband  banifh'd  :  O,  that  Husband,  5 

My  fupreame  Crowne  of  griefe,  and  thofe  repeated 

1.  Scena]    Scene    continued.    Rowe.  3.  falfe,]  Ff,  Rowe,  +  ,  Ktly.    false; 
Scene   vm.    Pope,  +  .     Act   II,   sc.    i.         Cap.  et  cet. 

Eccles.     Scene  vi.   Dyce,   Glo.    Cam.  4.  Wedded-Lady]    Wedded    Lady    Ff 

Wh.  ii.  et  cet. 

Scene   changes    to   Imogen's  Apart-  5.  banifli'd:}  banish'd —  Rowe,+. 

ments.  Theob     Another  Room  in  the  Husband,]    Ff,     Cap.      husband! 

same.  Cap.  Rowe  et  cet. 

2.  alone.]  Om.  Cap.  et  seq.  (except  6.  griefe,]  Ff,  Rowe,+.     grief;  Cap. 
Cam.).  Coll.  ii.     grief!  Var.  '73  et  cet. 

i.  Scena  Septima]  ECCLES:  The  space  of  time  between  this  scene  and  the  pre- 
ceding is  undetermined;  between  the  fifth,  however,  and  the  present,  such  a  period 
must  be  supposed  wherein  lachimo  might  pass  from  Rome  to  Britain.  The  time 
seems  to  be  evening;  in  the  next  scene  one  of  the  lords  asks  Cloten:  'Did  you  hear 
of  a  stranger  that's  come  to  court  tonight?' 

3-11.  A  Father  cruell  .  .  .  comfort]  INGLEBY:  These  are  either  rough 
notes  for  a  speech,  or  the  remains  of  a  speech  cut  down  for  representation.  If 
the  former,  we  must  regard  this  soliloquy  as  the  reflection  of  Imogen's  thoughts, 
rather  than  their  articulate  expression.  The  abrupt  transition  to  the  splendour  of 
lachimo's  speeches  is  exceedingly  striking.  [It  is  not  easy  to  comprehend  why 
'rough  notes  for  a  speech'  should  be  set  down  in  faultless  rhythm,  nor  why 
those  lines  are  the  remnant  of  a  speech.  To  have  expatiated  on  any  of  these 
topics  would  have  been  needless  repetition,  a  mere  rehearsal  of  what  already  we 
fully  know.  It  is  enough  dramatically  befitting  here  to  recall  to  us  Imogen's 
utterly  woe-begone  and  friendless  state,  and  thereby  frame  our  minds  to  elevate 
her  to  a  yet  higher  station  in  our  admiring  love,  when,  in  the  approaching  trial  of 
her  faith  in  Posthumus,  we  see  her  grandly  true,  and  that  this  abysmal  desolation  of 
hers,  which  might  well  enough  lead  her  to  even  lower  depths  of  despair,  serves  only 
to  quicken  her  love  for  her  wedded  husband  into  a  stronger  life. — ED.] 

6.  My  supreame  Crowne  of  griefe]  MALOXE:  Thus  in  King  Lear,  'This 
would  have  seem'd  a  period  To  such  as  love  not  sorrow;  but  another,  To  amplify 
too  much,  would  make  much  more,  And  top  extremity.'  [V,  iii,  206.] — Coriolanus, 
'the  spire  and  top  of  praises'  [I,  ix,  24].  Again,  more  appositely,  in  Tro.  dr  Cress. 
'Make  Cressid's  name  the  very  crown  of  falsehood.'  [IV,  ii,  106.] — Again,  in 
Wint.  Tale,  'The  crown  and  comfort  of  my  life,  your  favour,  I  do  give  lost.' 
[Ill,  ii,  95.] — INGLEBY:  That  is,  the  greatest  and  crowning  sorrow  of  that  grief, 
whose  lesser  tributaries  are  the  three  just  mentioned:  cruelty,  falsity,  and  folly, 
equivalent  to  'those  repeated  vexations  of  it.' 


74  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  vii. 

Vexations  of  it.     Had  I  bin  Theefe-ftolne,  7 

As  my  two  Brothers,  happy  :  but  moft  miferable 

Is  the  defires  that's  glorious.     Bleffed  be  thofe 

How  meane  fo  ere,  that  haue  their  honeft  wills,  10 

Which  feafons  comfort.     Who  may  this  be  ?  Fye. 

7.  of  it.]  Ff,  Coll.  ii.    of  it—  Rowe,+.         Ff  et  cet. 

to  it.  Herr.    of  it!  Cap.  et  cet.  9.  Bleffed}  Bless 'd  or  blest  Pope,  +  , 

bin]  F2F3.  Var.  '73,  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam. 

8.  happy:]  Ff,  Rowe,  Cap.     happy!  n.  feafons  comfort]  comfort  seasons 
Pope  et  cet.  Kinnear. 

9.  defires}  Ktly.    degree  Han.    defire  Fye.]  Fie!  Rowe  et  seq. 

6,  7.  and  those  repeated  Vexations  of  it.]    STAUNTON'S    text    reads:    'and 
those,  repeated  Vexations  of  it,'  with  an  enigmatical  comma  after  'those.'     How 
Staunton  caught  it,  found  it,  or  came  by  it,  or  whereof  it  is  born  I  am  yet  to  learn. 
It  is  certainly  found  nowhere  else.      But  with  it  before  him,  it  is  no  wonder  that 
he  says  plaintively:    'Something  must  be  wrong  in  this  place,'  and  instead  of 
detecting  the  perfidious  comma  he  finds  fault  with  the  rhythm  which,  though  it 
is  none  of  the  smoothest,  is  good  enough.     '  No  one,'  he  goes  on  to  say,  '  with  an  ear 
for  Shakespeare's  rhythm  can  ever  believe  he  wrote  the  passage  as  it  stands.' 
As  long  as  Staunton's  text  remains  unchanged,  Peace  will  not  her  wheaten  garland 
wear  nor  stand  that  comma. — ED. — VAUGHAN    (p.  366):    'Repeated'  in  Shake- 
speare commonly  does  not,  as  with  us  now,  mean  'recurring  again  and  again,' 
but  'recited'  or  'mentioned  aloud.'     The  phrase  here  signifies,  therefore,  'those 
accessory  aggravations  of  that  supreme  misery  which  I  have  now  enumerated,  that 
is,  the  step-dame,  the  cruel  father,  the  absurd  and  importunate  suitor.' 

7.  Theefe-stolne]  This  forcible-feeble,  tautological  expression  does  not  sound 
like  Shakespeare  at  his  best. — ED. 

8,  9.  most   miserable  Is   the    desires  that's  glorious]    WARBURTON:    She 
had  been  happy  had  she  been  stolen  as  her  brothers  were,  but  now  she  is  miserable, 
as  all  those  are  who  have  a  sense  of  worth  and  honour  superior  to  the  vulgar,  which 
occasions  them  infinite  vexations  from  the  envious  and  worthless  part  of  mankind. 
Had  she  not  so  refined  a  taste  as  to  be  content  only  with  the  superior  merit  of 
Posthumus,  but  could  have  taken  up  with  Cloten,  she  might  have  escaped  these 
persecutions.     This  elegance  of  taste,  which  always  discovers  an  excellence  and 
chooses  it,  she  calls  with  great  sublimity  of  expression,  'The  desire  that's  glorious.' 
— VAUGHAN  (p.  367)  defines  'the  desire  that's  glorious'  as  'the  ungratified  want  and 
longing  of  a  person  in  a  most  exalted  position.     The  abstract  for  the  concrete. 
"Desire"  means  "a  wish  balked"  and  "  unsatisfied."    We  have  below  "the  cloy'd 
will,  that  satiate  but  unsatisfied  desire,"  as  we  have  here  contrasted  "honest  wills," 
&c.  and  "desire  that's  glorious."      [Vaughan  must  have  been  betrayed  into  this 
extraordinary  meaning  of  'desire'  by  his  memory  of  the  'Quis  desiderio  sit  pudor 
aut  modus  Tarn  cari  capitis'  of  Horace,  where  'desiderio'  does  mean  a  desire,  a 
yearning  for  that  which  is  lost.     But  there  is  a  world-wide  difference  between  this 
'desire'  and  the  'desire'  in  lachimo's  speech  where  it  means  the  lowest  lust. — ED.] 

— BR.  NICHOLSON  (ap.  Ingleby,  ed.  ii.):   'Glorious'  is  equivalent  to  gloriosus,  i.  e., 
full  of  vain-glory. 

9.  desires]  For  this  interpolated  s,  see  'purchases,'  I,  v,  84. 

ii.  Which    seasons    comfort]     WARBURTON:     These   words   are   equivocal, 


ACT  I,  sc.  vii.]  CYMBELINE  75 

[u.   Which  seasons  comfort] 

but  the  meaning  is  this,  Who  are  beholden  only  to  the  seasons  for  their  support  and 
nourishment;  so  that,  if  these  be  kindly,  such  have  no  more  to  care  for  or  desire. 

-JOHNSON:  I  am  willing  to  comply  with  any  meaning  that  can  be  extorted  from 
the  present  text  rather  than  change  it,  yet  will  propose,  but  with  great  diffidence,  a 
slight  alteration:  'With  reason's  comfort.'  Who  gratify  their  innocent  wishes 
with  reasonable  enjoyments. — STEEVENS:  I  shall  venture  on  another  explanation: 
'To  be  able  to  refine  on  calamity  (says  she)  is  the  miserable  privilege  of  those  who 
are  educated  with  aspiring  thoughts  and  elegant  desires.  Blessed  are  they,  how- 
ever mean  their  condition,  who  have  the  power  of  gratifying  their  honest  inclina- 
tions, which  circumstance  bestows  an  additional  relish  on  comfort  itself. — MALONE: 
In  my  apprehension,  Imogen's  meaning  is  simply  this:  '  Had  I  been  stolen  by  thieves 
in  my  infancy  (or,  as  she  says  in  another  place,  "  born  a  neat-herd's  daughter") 
I  had  been  happy.  But  instead  of  that,  I  am  in  a  high,  and,  what  is  called,  a 
glorious  station;  and  most  miserable  in  such  a  situation!  Pregnant  with  calamity 
are  those  desires,  which  aspire  to  glory;  to  splendid  titles,  or  elevation  of  rank! 
Happier  far  are  those,  how  low  soever  their  rank  in  life,  who  have  it  in  their  power 
to  gratify  their  virtuous  inclinations:  a  circumstance  that  gives  an  additional  zest 
to  comfort  itself,  and  renders  it  something  more.' — MONCK  MASON  (p.  323): 
Imogen's  reflection  is  merely  this:  'That  those  are  happy  who  have  their  honest 
wills,  which  gives  a  relish  to  comfort;  but  that  those  are  miserable  who  set  their 
affections  on  objects  of  superior  excellence,  which  are,  of  course,  difficult  to  obtain.' 
'Honest'  means  plain  or  humble,  and  is  opposed  to  glorious. — STAUNTON:  It  is 
probable  that  the  obscure  clause — 'but  most  miserable  is  the  desire  that's  glorious' 

—was  accidentally  transposed,  and  the  true  reading  is,  'Had  I  been  thief-stolen, 
As  my  two  brothers,  happy!  Blessed  be  those,  How  mean  soe'er,  that  have  their 
honest  wills,  Which  seasons  comfort;  but  most  miserable  Is  the  desire  that's 
glorious.'  Happy  are  those,  however  lowly,  who  enjoy  the  moderate  wishes  that 
preserve  comfort,  but  most  wretched  they  whose  inclinations  are  set  in  grandeur.— 
[KEIGHTLEY  (Ex p.,  375)  pronounces  this  arrangement  as  'most  certainly  an  im- 
provement'; and  regrets  that  he  did  not  recollect  it  when  printing  his  Edition,  as 
he  should  'probably  have  adopted  it.' — HUDSON  did  adopt  it,  as  a  'most  important 
transportation.'] — NICHOLS  (ii,  15)  finds  that  the  difficulty  lies  'in  giving  a  right 
antecedent  to  "Which";  it  has  been  sought  for  amongst  words,  when  it  consisted 
of  the  whole  sentence,' — 'Blessed  be  those,  How  mean  soe'er,  that  have  their 
honest  wills.'  [To  the  same  effect,  ROLFE.] — VAUGHAN  (p.  366)  gives  a  fair  ab- 
stract of  the  notes  of  Warburton,  Johnson,  Steevens,  Malone,  and  Mason,  and  then 
'  ventures  to  say'  that  '  all  are  wrong  if  the  text  be  right,  and  all  but  Mason  grossly 
so  in  some  one  particular  or  more.'  He  then  gives  his  own  version:  'A  cruel 
father,  and  a  false  stepmother,  and  a  foolish  man  who  urges  his  suit  upon  me 
although  I  am  married,  as  I  have  my  husband  banished.  Alas  for  that  husband, 
who  is  my  chief  misery!  and  alas  for  those  conditions,  which  I  have  just  mentioned, 
which  are  its  aggravations!  If  I  had  been  stolen  by  thieves,  like  my  brothers,  I 
should  have  been  happy,  but  most  miserable  is  my  vain  longing  in  an  exalted 
sphere;  and  blessed  are  those  in  stations  however  mean,  who  have  their  honourable 
and  moderate  wishes  satisfied  by  timely  gratification.'  [Hereupon  he  quotes  the 
present  text,  'Is  the  desires,'  and  remarks,  'It  is  not  quite  impossible,  therefore, 
that  the  right  reading  would  have  been:  "Most  miserable  Is  she,  desires,  that's 
glorious."  But  this  would  give  exactly  the  same  meaning  as  I  have  ascribed  to 


76  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  vii. 

Enter  Pifanio,  and  lachimo.  1 2 

Pifa.     Madam,  a  Noble  Gentleman  of  Rome? 
Comes  from  my  Lord  with  Letters. 

lack.     Change  you,  Madam  :  1 5 

The  Worthy  Leonatus  is  in  fafety, 

14.  Comes]  come  Cap.  conj.  15.  Madam:]  Ktly,  Ingl.     Madam! 

Ff.    Madam?  Rowe  et  cet. 

the  traditional  text.'  I  think  he  does  himself  injustice.  His  paraphrase  of  the 
text  is,  at  least,  readily  comprehensible,  but  a  phrase  as  elliptical  and  contorted  as 
'is  she,  desires,  that's  glorious'  would  be  hard  to  parallel  either  in  or  out  of  Shake- 
speare.— DOWDEN  says  Vaughan  means,  'is  she  who  is  of  exalted  station,  and  has 
desires,'  and  we  may  gladly  take  his  word  for  it. — CRAIG:  I  suggested  'Is  she  de- 
sires' or  'she-desires  that's  glorious,'  /.  e.,  but  miserable  is  the  woman  of  high  rank 
who  falls  in  love.  '  She '  is  used  for  a  woman  in  this  play  (see  line  47  of  this  scene, 
and  I,  iv,  37).  I  find  that  Vaughan  has  made  pretty  much  the  same  suggestion. — 
INGLEBY:  'that  have  their  honest  wills,'  that  is,  'who  have  godliness  with  content- 
ment' (i.  e.,  the  gratifications  of  their  virtuous  desires),  which  is  said  to  be  'great 
gain,'  and  which  both  sweetens  and  keeps  sweet  their  simple  comforts.  It  is  scarcely 
possible  to  fix,  with  exactness,  the  meaning  of  'seasons'  in  this  passage. — CAPELL 
and  KNIGHT  are  reserved  for  the  last;  they  give  in  the  simplest  and  most  direct 
way,  I  think,  the  meaning,  which  every  one  grasps. — CAPELL:  Then  follow  some 
wishes,  that  she  had  not  been  placed  in  so  exalted  a  station,  whose  constant  lot  is 
unhappiness,  whereas,  those  of  a  lower,  only  in  'having  their  honest  wills,'  find 
the  seasoning  of  every  comfort  that  nature  bestows  on  them. — KNIGHT:  The  mean 
have  their  honest,  homely  wills  (opposed  to  the  desire  that's  glorious),  and  that 
circumstance  gives  a  relish  to  comfort. — ED.] 

ii.  Fye.]  CAPELL:  There  is  much  expression  in  'Fie!' — RANN:  On  such  intru- 
sion.— DEIGHTON:  An  exclamation  of  surprise. — WYATT:  Imogen  is  sorry  to  have 
her  solitude  broken  in  upon. — PORTER  and  CLARKE:  Does  she  exclaim  at  herself 
for  hoping  for  news? — DOWDEN:  An  outbreak  of  impatience  at  the  interruption 
of  her  solitary  thoughts.  [Hence,  it  is  clear  that,  where  our  betters  disagree,  we 
are  all  at  liberty  to  give  to  this  'Fie!'  whatever  intonation  or  interpretation  our 
mood  suggests. — ED.] 

15.  Change  you]  The  COWDEN-CLARKES:  How  by  these  little  words  the  dram- 
atist lets  us  behold  the  sudden  pallor,  and  as  sudden  flush  of  crimson  that  be- 
spread the  wife's  face  at  this  instant. — INGLEBY:    A  very  abrupt  and  even  in- 
delicate mode  of  greeting  any  lady,  seen  for  the  first  time,  and  here  a  princess  of  the 
blood.     We  should  have  expected  lachimo  to  say,  with  a  low  reverence,  'Save  you, 
madam.'  [Of  course,  he  should  have  brought  his  heels  together  with  a  click.   I  doubt 
that  there  were  any  '  flushes  of  crimson ' — every  drop  of  her  blood  had  been  sum- 
moned to  the  heart;  it  was  her  deathlike  pallor  that  frighted  lachimo  out  of  his 
propriety.     When  Henry  the  Fifth  presented  to  the  conspirators  sundry  docu- 
ments containing  the  full  exposure  of  their  treason,  'Why,  how  now,  Gentlemen!' 
he  exclaimed  a  moment  after, '  What  see  you  in  those  papers  that  you  lose  So  much 
complexion?     Look  ye,  how  they  change?     Their  cheeks  are  paper!     Why,  what 
read  you  there,  That  hath  so  cowarded  and  chased  your  blood  out  of  appearance.'— 
II,  ii,  71. — ED.] 


ACT  i,  sc.  vii.]  CYMBELINE  77 

And  greetes  your  Highneffe  deerely.  17 

Imo.     Thanks  good  Sir, 
You're  kindly  welcome. 

lack.     All  of  her,  that  is  out  of  doore,  moft  rich  :  20 

If  fhe  be  furnifh'd  with  a  mind  fo  rare 
She  is  alone  th'Arabian-Bird;  and  I 
Haue  loft  the  wager.     Boldneffe  be  my  Friend  : 
Arme  me  Audacitie  from  head  to  foote, 

Orlike  the  Parthian  I  fhall  flying  fight,  25 

Rather  directly  fly. 

17.  [Gives  a  letter.  Johns.  23,    24.  Friend:. ..foote,]   Ff.     friend; 

20.  [Aside.  Pope  et  seq.  ...foot.     Rowe.      friend  /...foot.     Pope. 

rich:]  rich!  Pope  et  seq.  friend  .'...foot:     Theob.     Han.     Warb. 

22.  th']    Ff,    Rowe,+,    Dyce  ii,    iii.         Johns,  friend /...foot,  Ran.  Coll.  friend! 

the  Cap.  et  cet.  ...foot!  Cap.  et  cet. 

Arabian-Bird]       Arabian  bird             24.  me     Audacitie]     me,     Audacity, 

Rowe.  Theob.  et  seq. 

25-  fight,]  fight;  Cap.  et  seq. 

20.  that  is  out  of  doore]  Compare  'so  faire  an  outward  and  such  stuff  e  With- 
in,' I,  i,  32. 

22.  She  is  alone  th' Arabian. bird]  It  has  been  supposed  by  some  editors 
that '  alone '  is  here  used  because  there  was  never  but  one  Phoenix  at  a  time.  Is  it 
not  better  to  interpret  it  as  meaning  above  all  things  or  beyond  all  others  (for  which, 
see  ABBOTT,  §  18)?  In  this  case  a  comma  is  properly  put  after  it,  as  suggested  by 
CRAIG;  Dowden  adopted  the  suggestion  in  his  text.  The  earliest  account  of  the 
Phoenix  is  obtained  from  Herodotus:  'There  is  another  sacred  bird,  called  the 
phoenix,  which  I  myself  have  seen  only  in  a  picture;  for,  as  the  citizens  of  Helios 
say,  it  visits  them  only  periodically,  every  five  hundred  years;  they  state  that  it 
always  comes  on  the  death  of  its  sire.  If  it  at  all  resembles  its  picture,  it  is  thus 
and  so;  some  of  its  feathers  are  golden-hued,  and  some  are  red;  in  shape  and 
figure  it  most  resembles  the  eagle,  and  in  size  also.  They  say,  but  I  cannot  credit  it, 
that  this  bird  contrives  to  bring  from  Arabia  to  the  temple  of  Helios  the  body  of  its 
father  plastered  up  in  myrrh,  and  there  buries  it.  The  mode  of  carrying  it  is  as 
follows:  first,  he  plasters  together  an  egg  of  myrrh  as  large  as  he  is  able  to  carry, 
after  he  has  tested  his  strength  by  carrying  it;  this  trial  having  been  made,  he 
hollows  out  the  egg  sufficiently  to  place  his  father  within,  then  with  fresh  myrrh 
he  fills  up  the  space  unoccupied  by  his  father's  body;  the  egg  thereby  becomes  of  the 
same  weight  as  before,  and  thus  plastered  up  he  transports  it  to  Egypt  to  the 
temple  of  Helios.  Such  things,  they  say,  this  bird  can  accomplish.' — Herodotus, 
Lib.,  ii,  cap.  73.  See  also  Pliny's  account,  given  in  Temp.,  Ill,  iii,  33,  also  As 
You  Like  It,  IV,  iii,  17,  of  this  edition. 

22.  Arabian-Bird]  According  to  Cam.  Ed.,  there  is  no  hyphen  in  F4.     In  my 
three  copies  of  that  edition  there  is  a  hyphen,  faint  to  be  sure,  but  still  discernible.— 
ROWE  first  omitted  it,  followed  by  all  editors. 

25.  Orlike  the  Parthian,  I  shall  flying  fight]  KNIGHT:  Every  one  will 
remember  the  noble  passage  in  Paradise  Regained:  'He  saw  them  in  their  forms 
of  battle  ranged,  How  quick  they  wheel'd,  and  flying  behind  them  shot  Sharp  sleet 


78  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  vii. 

Imogen  reads.  27 

He  is  one  of  the  Nobleft  note,  to  wJiofe  kindneffcs  I  am  moft  in- 
finitely tied.  Reflect  vpon  him  accordingly,  as  yon  value  your 
trufl.  Leonatus.  30 

28.  He]  *  *  *  *  He  Cap.  Sta.  Sing.  Coll.  ii,  iii.  (MS.),  White,  Ktly, 

29.  30.  your    truft]    our    trust    Or-  Dyce   ii,  iii.     truft—    Var.   '21,   Knt, 
ger.  Coll.    i,    Del.    Sta.    Glo.    Cam.    John 

30.  truft]   Ff,  Rowe,   Pope,  Theob.  Hunter,    Huds.    Dtn,    Ingl.    Herford, 
Johns.  Cap.  Mai.  Varr.     truest.  Han.  Wyatt,  Dowden.  trusty  Thirlby  (Nich- 
truest,  Ran.   truest  Steev.  Var.  '03/13,  ols,  Illust.,  ii,  229). 

of  arrowy  showers  against  the  face  Of  their  pursuers,  and  overcame  by  flight. '- 
[Bk  III,  1.  322.]     The  editors  of  Milton  refer  to  parallel  passages  in  Virgil  and 
Horace  as  amongst  the  images  with  which  our  great  epic  poet  was  familiar.     The 
commentators  of  Shakespeare  suffer  his  line  to  pass  without  a  single  observation. 

29.  Reflect  vpon  him]  INGLEBY:    That  is  cast  upon  him  some  of  the  radiance 
of  your  favour.     See  I,  iii,  28. — SCHMIDT  (Lex.)  gives  'Reflect,'  in  this  passage, 
as  nearly  equivalent  to  look. — DOWDEN  says  that  the  word  does  not  here  mean,  as 
Ingleby  interprets  it,  but  as  simply  regard  him. 

30.  trust.]  MASON,  not  knowing  that  he  had  been  anticipated  by  Hanmer's  text, 
observed  (p.  323):    '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.      I  have  no  doubt,  therefore,  that  we  ought  to  read: 
"your  truest."   — MALONE:     This  conjecture  would  have  more  weight  if  it  were 
certain  that  these  were  intended  as  the  concluding  words  of  the  letter.     It  is  more 
probably  that  what  'warmed  the  very  middle  of  the  heart'  of  Imogen,  proved  the 
conclusion  of  Posthumus's  letter;  and  the  words — 'so  far'  and  'by  the  rest'  support 
that  supposition.     Though  Imogen  reads  the  name  of  her  husband,  she  might 
suppress  somewhat  that  intervened. — STEEVENS:    It  is  certain,  I  think,  from  the 
break,  'He  is  one,'  etc.,  that  the  omitted  part  of  the  letter  was  at  the  beginning 
of  it,  and  that  what  follows  (all  indeed  that  was  necessary  for  the  audience  to  hear) 
was  its  regular  and  decided  termination. — KNIGHT:    The  signature  is  separated 
from  the  word,  which  has  been  changed  to  truest,  by  the  passage  which  Imogen 
glances  at  in  thankful  silence. — WHITE  (ed.  i.):    'Trust'  has  been  defended,  but 
most  ineffectually.     Imogen  had  no  special  trust  from  Posthumus,  and  what  she 
reads  is  certainly  the  end,  not  the  beginning,  of  the  letter;  the  first  word  that  she 
reads,  'he,'  necessarily  implying  a  previous  mention  and  introduction  of  lachimo. 
In  courtesy  Imogen  reads  aloud  her  husband's  commendation  of  her  guest.     'So 
far'  may  very  properly  be  taken  in  the  sense  of  'so  much,'  and  'the  rest,'  of  which 
Imogen  speaks,  may  refer  as  well  to  an  unmentioned  part  that  goes  before  as  to  one 
that  comes  after.     [DYCE  (ed.  ii,  reading  'trust')  quotes  in  full  this  note  of  White, 
as  his  only  comment  on  the  interpretation  of  the  phrase.] — INGLEBY  (who  retains 

'  trust.') :  That  is,  the  '  trust '  she  has  accepted  by  her  marriage-bond.  [Thus  also, 
DEIGHTON.]  For  confirmation  of  this  view,  see  lines  185-187. — The  COWDEN- 
CLARKES  (who  adhere  to  the  Folio) :  We  take  the  sentence,  as  it  stands,  to  be  a  frag- 
mentary 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 
bystander  and  bearer  of  the  letter,  and  serves  for  his  credential  of  introduction  to 
her.  There  has  probably  been  some  previous  mention  of  lachimo  by  name,  since 


ACT  I,  sc.  vii.]  CYMBELINE 

So  farre  I  reade  aloud.  31 

But  euen  the  very  middle  of  my  heart 

Is  warm'd  by'th'reft,and  take  it  thankefully. 

You  are  as  welcome( worthy  Sir)  as  I  34 

31.  aloud.]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,     aloud;  33.  by  'ih']  F2.    by  th'  F3F4,  Rowe,+. 

Ran.  Col.  Wh.     aloud:  Theob.  et  cet.  by  the  Han.  et  cet. 
aloud,  Vaun.  take]  takes  Pope  et  seq. 

33.  warm'd]    warmed    Rowe,    Pope,  thankefully.}  thankfully—    Rowe, 

Han.  Sta.  Pope,  Han. 

the  sentence  commences  with  'He';  and  we  think  it  more  likely  that  'the  rest' 
comes  between  this  sentence  and  the  signature  than  that  this  sentence  forms  the 
closing  one.  .  .  .  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. — Mrs  LATI- 
MER  (p.  407) :  I  think  the  act  I  can  least  forgive  in  Posthumus  is  the  writing  of 
this  letter,  recommending  such  a  scoundrel  as  lachimo,  as  'one  of  noblest  note,  to 
whose  kindnesses  I  am  most  infinitely  tied.' — HUDSON:  This  is,  'my  trust  in  you,' 
or  'the  trust  I  repose  in  you.'  Observe  Imogen  reads  aloud  only  the  first  two 
sentences,  and  then  skips  all  the  rest  till  she  comes  to  the  signature,  which  she  also 
pronounces  aloud. — ROLFE:  Truest  seems  preferable.  Imogen  has  been  reading 
the  letter  to  herself  during  the  preceding  speech  (aside}  of  lachimo.  Having  come 
to  the  end  of  it,  she  now  turns  to  him  and  reads  aloud  the  closing  lines  with  their 
reference  to  himself. — THISELTON:  The  whole  sentence  is:  'Let  your  welcome  to 
him  correspond  to  these  kindnesses  in  such  measure  as  you  value  your  belief  in,  or 
truth  to,  me.'  The  ambiguity  seems  designed  to  give  a  hint  of  possible  danger, 
if  such  a  hint  should  be  necessary. — DOWDEN:  That  is,  value  the  charge  entrusted 
to  you  as  my  wife  and  representative.  [Is  not  this  essentially  the  same  as  Ingle- 
by's?  This  fragment  of  the  letter  is  not,  I  think,  intended  to  raise  Posthumus 
greatly  in  our  esteem.  Where  he  speaks  of  being  'infinitely  knit'  to  lachimo, 
is  it  not  gross  exaggeration?  and  when  of  lachimo's  'kindnesses,'  is  it  not  flagrantly 
untrue?  Posthumus  may  have  believed  that  in  promising  his  'commendation' 
to  lachimo,  he  was,  in  these  expressions,  only  making  good  his  promise  and  vindi- 
cating his  honour.  But  in  his  soul  he  must  have  known  that  his  honour  toward 
Imogen  was  on  a  ground  far  higher  than  that  toward  an  Italian  stranger,  and  I 
cannot  but  believe  that  in  telling  Imogen  that  she  must  be  guided  by  the  value  she 
placed  on  her  'trust'  in  her  treatment  of  lachimo,  he  was  (as  intimated  by  Thisel- 
ton)  sounding  a  note  of  warning,  as  explicitly  expressed  as  he  dared. — ED.] 

31-33.  aloud.  But  .  .  .  th'rest,  and  take  it  thankefully]  VAUGHAN  (p.  369) 
substitutes  a  comma  for  the  full  stop  after  'aloud.';  then  includes  in  a  paren- 
thesis 'But  euen  the  very  middle  of  my  heart  Is  warm'd  by  th'rest,'  and 
retains  'take'  of  the  Folio.  'The  meaning  is,'  he  observes,  'I  read  aloud  so  far, 
and  take  what  I  read  aloud  thankfully';  that  is,  'I  take  the  intelligence  of  your 
kindness  to  Leonatus  with  gratitude,  and  offer  you  the  best  welcome  words  can 
give.  But  what  I  do  not  read  aloud  warms  the  very  core  of  my  heart.'  The 
universally  accepted  alteration  [i.  e.,  takes]  deteriorates  the  passage.  It  destroys 
the  intended  contrast  between  the  pleasure  intense  and  sweet  and  the  open  satis- 
faction claiming  the  expression  of  gratitude.  [It  is  heart-easing  to  have  the  Folio 
thus  excellently  vindicated.  0  si  sic  omnia,  at  Vaughan's  hands! — ED.] 


80  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  vii. 

Haue  words  to  bid  you,  and  fhall  finde  it  fo  35 

In  all  that  I  can  do. 

lack.     Thankes  faireft  Lady  : 

What  are  men  madf    Hath  Nature  giuen  them  eyes 
To  fee  this  vaulted  Arch,  and  the  rich  Crop 

Of  Sea  and  Land,  which  can  diftinguifh  'twixt  40 

The  firie  Orbes  aboue,  and  the  twinn'd  Stones 
Vpon  the  numbered  Beach,  and  can  we  not  42 

38.  [Aside.  Johns.    Half- Aside.  Ktly.         (N.  &  Q.,  V,  vi,   185,   1876),   Huds. 
What  are]  Ff .     What,  are  Rowe,         Herr.  Kinnear. 

Pope,   Han.    Cap.    Dyce.      What!   are  41.  and  the]  and  as  Pope  ii. 

Theob.  et  cet.  twinn'd]     twin     Han.       spurn'd 

mad?]  Vernor  &  Hood,   Booth.  Heath,     whiten' d  Bulloch. 

mad.  FI,  ap.  Cam.  42.  the    number\i]    th'    unnumber'd 

39.  vaulted]  valuted  F2F3.  Theob.  Han.   Ran.   Sing.   Coll.   ii,  iii. 
39,    40.  Crop    Of]    cope    Of   Warb.  (MS.),  Ktly.     the  humble  Eccl.  conj. 

Johns,     cope  O'er  Coll.  ii,  iii.  (MS.).  Beach,]  Ff.     beach;  Coll.    beach? 

Prop  of  Bailey  (i,  114).    scope  of  Crosby         Rowe  et  cet. 

38.  What   are    men   mad]   CAPELL  (p.  105) :    It  has  been   thought    [I    wish 
I  knew  where.    Probably,  however,  in  Capell's  own  mind,  and  he  quieted  the  ob- 
jection by  the  argument  he  proceeds  to  give — ED.]  that  this  artificial  preparative 
to  what  the  speaker  is  meditating  breaks  out  too  soon,  and  that  Pisanio  should  not 
have  been  present  at  it;    as  for  the  latter  objection,  it  is  likely  the  Poet  intended 
to  shew  us  a  picture  of  villany  thrown  off  its  guard,  as   is  sometimes  the  case, 
and  the  speaker's  clumsy  expedient  to  get  rid  of  him  afterwards  confirms  this 
opinion. 

39,  40.  the  rich  Crop  Of  Sea  and  Land]  WARBURTON:   He  is  here  speaking  of 
the  covering  of  sea  and  land.    Shakespeare,  therefore,  wrote:  'the  rich  cope'  [Cole- 
ridge (p.  303),  and  Collier's  MS.,  also  suggested   'cope']. — STEEVENS:  Surely  no 
emendation  is  necessary.     The  '  vaulted  arch '  is  alike  the  cope  or  covering  '  of  sea 
and  land.'     When  the  poet  had  spoken  of  it  once,  could  he  have  thought  this 
second  introduction  of  it  necessary?     'The  crop  of  sea  and  land'  means  only 
the  productions  of  either  element. — FURNIVALL  (N.  &  Q.,  V,  vi,  226,  1876) :   'Crop' 
has  the  metaphorical  meaning  of  fulness  (cf.  'crop-sick,'  sick  with  repletion)  or 
wealth  here.     'The  rich  fulness,  the  wealth,  of  sea  and  land'  is  not  'exceedingly 
harsh'  [as  Crosby  had  termed  it,  in  proposing  scope],  I  think.     The  use  of  'crop' 
also  gives  you  another  image,  that  of  the  long,  calm-sea  level  of  standing  crops  of 
corn,  to  contrast  with  '  this  vaulted  arch '  of  the  bent  heaven  above,  the  string  of 
land  and  sea  beneath  the  bow  of  sky. — INGLEBY:   That  is,  the  vast  prospect,  etc. 
The  crop,  or  out-crop,  is  that  which  strikes  the  eye.     It  might,  however,  be  con- 
tended with  some  shew  of  probability,  that  '  the  rich  crop '  is  that  vast  treasury  of 
pebbles  which  belongs  almost  as  much  to  the  sea  as  to  the  land.     All  other  inter- 
pretations may  be  safely  discountenanced. — VAUGHAN:    If  the  text  be  right,  it 
means  the  rich  harvest  which  the  eye  gathers  in,  consisting  of  sea  and  land.    [Which, 
I  think,  expresses  the  idea  as  tersely  as  may  be. — ED.] 

40.  distinguish]  DOWDEN:    Distinguish  not,  I  think,  orbs  from  stones,  but  orb 
from  orb,  and  stone  from  stone.     [Unquestionably. — ED.] 

41,  42.  the    twinn'd    Stones    Vpon    the    numbered    Beach]  THEOBALD:    I 


ACT  T,  sc.  vii.]  CYMBELINE  8 1 

[41,  42.   the  twinn'd  Stones  Vpon  the  numbered  Beach] 

have  no  idea  in  what  sense  the  Beach  or  Shore  should  be  called  'number'd.' 
I  have  ventured,  against  all  copies,  to  substitute  th'  unnumbered  Beach,'  i.  e., 
the  infinite,  extensive  beach.  We  are  to  understand  the  passage  thus:  'and  the 
infinite  number  of  twinn'd  stones  upon  the  beach.'  The  poet  has  given  them  the 
same  epithet  before,  in  his  Lear:  'The  murmuring  surge,  That  on  th'  unnumber'd 
idle  pebble  chafes.' — [IV,  vi,  20.] — WARBTJRTON:  Sense  and  the  antithesis  oblige 
us  to  read  this  nonsense  thus:  'upon  the  humbPd  beach,'  i.  e.,  because  daily 
insulted  with  the  flow  of  the  tide. — JOHNSON:  I  know  not  well  how  to  regulate  this 
passage.  'Number'd'  is  perhaps  numerous.  'Twinn'd  stones'  I  do  not  under- 
stand. Twinn'd  shells,  or  pairs  of  shells,  are  very  common.  For  'twinn'd/  we 
might  read  twin'd,  that  is,  twisted,  convolved;  but  this  sense  is  more  applicable  to 
shells  than  to  stones.  [It  is  almost  inconceivable  that  anyone  could  have  adopted 
Warburton's  humbl'd.  Yet  the  clear-sighted  and  conservative  CAPELL  not  only 
followed  it  in  his  text,  but  justified  it  in  his  notes,  as  follows:  'the  epithet  is  just 
and  poetical;  near  in  trace  of  letters  to"  number'd";  and  not  liable  to  an  objection 
unnumber'd  is  open  to, — namely,  that  of  presenting  to  the  fancy  nearly  the  same 
idea  that  is  conveyed  in  "twinn'd  stones";  which  epithet  "twin'd,"  is  characteristic 
of  beach  stones;  multitudes  of  them  having  a  more  perfect  sameness  than  can  be 
found  in  anything  else.'  This  last  remark  proves  that  Capell's  spelling  twin'd 
is  not  the  same  as  Johnson's  conjecture. — ED.] — HEATH  (p.  475)  [The  emendation 
unnumber'd  is]  no  other  than  a  synecdoche,  frequently  used  by  the  best  writers, 
by  which  the  whole,  the  'beach/  is  put  for  its  component  parts,  the  pebbles. 
The  poet  might  possibly  have  written  'the  spurn' d  stones.' — STEEVENS:  The  peb- 
bles on  the  seashore  are  so  much  of  the  same  size  and  shape  that  'twinn'd'  may 
mean  as  like  as  twins. — FARMER:  I  think  we  may  read  the  umber 'd,  the  shaded 
beach. — MALONE:  Th'  unnumber'd  and  'the  humbered/  if  hastily  pronounced, 
might  have  been  easily  confounded  by  the  ear.  If  'number'd'  be  right,  it  surely 
means,  as  Johnson  has  explained  it,  abounding  in  numbers  of  stones,  numerous. 
[This  note  of  Malone  is  quoted  by  DYCE,  ii,  without  dissent,  and  yet  he  follows  the 
Folio  in  his  text.] — COLERIDGE  (p.  303) :  As  to  '  twinn'd  stones/  may  it  not  be  a 
bold  catachresis  for  muscles,  cockles,  and  other  empty  shells  with  hinges,  which  are 
truly  twinned?  I  would  take  Farmer's  umber'd,  which  I  had  proposed  before  I 
ever  heard  of  its  having  been  already  offered  by  him;  but  I  do  not  adopt  his  inter- 
pretation of  the  word,  which,  I  think,  is  not  derived  from  umbra,  a  shade,  but  from 
umber,  a  dingy  yellow-brown  soil,  which  most  commonly  forms  the  mass  of  the 
sludge  on  the  seashore,  and  on  the  banks  of  tide-rivers  at  low  water.  One  other 
possible  interpretation  of  this  sentence  has  occurred  to  me,  just  barely  worth 
mentioning:  that  the  'twinned  stones'  are  the  augrim  [i.  e.,  algorism — ED.]  stones 
upon  the  number'd  beech,  that  is,  the  astronomical  tables  of  beech-wood.  [Cole- 
ridge in  his  Table-Talk  (p.  80,  ed.  Morley)  modified  his  extremely  recondite  augrim, 
and  has  then  (in  1830)  'no  doubt'  that  the  passage  should  read:  'the  grimed 
stones  Upon  the  umber'd  beach.' — ED.] — WALKER  (Crit.,  iii,  p.  316):  Warburton's 
humbled  is  absurd  enough;  but  may  not  Shakespeare  have  written  humble  in 
antithesis  to  the  stars?  [Herein  Eccles  has  anticipated  Walker.] — STAUNTON: 
Might  we  not  read,  'the  cumber'd  beach'?  taking  cumber'd  in  the  sense  either  of 
rough,  strewed,  &c.,  or,  perhaps,  troubled? — VAUGHAN  (p.  371)  conjectured  'en- 
cumbered beach/  but  concludes  that,  'in  consideration  of  the  here  quoted  uses  of 
"number"  and  "numerous,"  the  "numbered  beach"  should  stand.' — ABBOTT  (§375) 
6 


82  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  vii. 

Partition  make  with  Spectales  fo  pretious  43 

Twixt  faire,  and  foule  ? 

43.  S petioles]  F2.    Spectacles  F3F4. 

has  a  section  devoted  to  examples  of  where  '  the  Passive  Participle  is  used  to  signify 
not  that  which  was  and  is,  but  that  which  was,  and,  therefore,  can  be  hereafter.    In 
other  words,  -ed  is  used  for  -able.'     Among  his  examples  is  the  passage  from  Lear, 
first  quoted  by  Theobald,  of  '  the  unnumbered  idle  pebbles,'  where  -ed  is  certainly 
used  for  -able.     But,  unfortunately,  in  the  present  passage,  unless  we  adopt  Theo- 
bald's   emendation,    numbered    cannot    be    equivalent    to    numberable.     Abbott, 
therefore,  concludes  that  Theobald  was  right  in  reading  '  th'unnumber'd  beach. '- 
DOWDEN:    Is  the  fancy  too  far-fetched   that   the  beach  is  'number'd'  because 
sung  in  '  numbers '  (numerous  verse)  by  the  waves?      Craig  thinks  hungred  possible, 
comparing  the  'hungry  beach/  of  Cor.,  V,  iii,  58.      [The  very  plausibility  of  Theo- 
bald's unnumbered  is  against  it.     Whether  or  not  the  pebbles  can  be  counted  or 
have  not  been  counted  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  trending  of  lachimo's  thought, 
which  is  that  between  pebbles  as  like  as  twins  Nature  hath  given  us  such  eyes,  such 
precious  spectacles,  that  we  can  distinguish  one  from  another  as  they  lie  on  the 
beach  covered  with  numbers  of  them.     Just  as  '  delighted  spirit '  in  Meas.  for  Meas. 
means  the  spirit  abounding  in  delights,  and  the  '  guiled  shore '  in  the  Mer.  of  Ven. 
means  the  shore  replete  with  guiles,  so  here  the  'mimber'd  beach'  means  the 
beach  covered  with  many  a  number,  or,  in  the  words  which  Malone  has  attributed 
to  Johnson,  'abounding  in  numbers.'— ED.] 

43.  Spectales]  DOWDEN:  Does  this  mean 'with  organs  of  vision'  (as  perhaps  in 
2  Hen.  VI:  III,  ii,  112),  or  having  shows  (of  earth  or  sky)  which  instruct  the  eyes 
in  making  distinctions?     The  meaning  '  shows '  is  common  in  Shakespeare.     [Dow- 
den's  alternative  interpretation  is,  I  think,  excellent,  and  would  be  the  only  one, 
were  not  the  reference  to  the  'eyes,  which  Nature  hath  given  us,'  so  pointed. 
See  the  next  Note  by  'Anon.' — ED.] 

44.  Twixt    faire,    and    foule  ?]  ANON.   (qu.  Lettsom? — Blackwood's  Maga., 
Oct.,  1853,  p.  469):  Let  us  consider  the  bearing  of  the  whole  speech.     It  has  a  sin- 
ister reference  to  Posthumus,  the  husband  of  Imogen,  the  lady  in  whose  presence 
the  speech  is  uttered.     'How  can  Posthumus,'  says  lachimo,  'with  such  a  wife  as 
this — this  Imogen — take  up  with  the  vile  slut  who  now  holds  him  in  her  clutches? 
Are  men  mad — with  senses  so  fine  that  they  can  distinguish,  or  separate  from  each 
other,  the  fiery  orbs  above;  and  also  so  acute  that  they  can  distinguish  between 
the  "twinned"  (or  closely  resembling)  stones  which  can  be  cotmtedupon  the  beach; 
"with  spectacles" — that  is,  with  eyes — so  precious,  are  they  yet  unable  (as  Posthu- 
mus seems  to  be)  to  make  partition  "twixt  a  fair  wife  and  a  foul  mistress?"    The 
words,  "which  can  distinguish  "twixt  the  fiery  orbs  above  and  the  twinned  stones," 
do  not  mean  that  we  have  senses  so  fine  that  we  can  distinguish  between  stars  and 
stones,  but  senses  so  fine  that  we  can  count,  or  distinguish  from  one  another,  the 
stars  themselves;  and  can  also  perceive  a  difference  in  the  pebbles  on  the  beach, 
though  these  be  as  like  to  one  another  as  so  many  peas.     This  interpretation  brings 
out  clearly  the  sense  of  the  expression,  "numbered  beach";  it  means  the  beach  on 
which  the  pebbles  can  be  numbered;  indeed,  are  numerically  separated  by  us  from 
each  other,  in  spite  of  their  homogeneousness,  so  delicate  is  our  organ  of  vision  by 
which  they  are  apprehended;  "yet,"  concludes  lachimo,  as  the  moral  of  his  reflec- 
tions, "with  organs  thus  discriminating,  my  friend  Posthumus  has,  nevertheless, 


ACT    I,   SC.   vii.] 


CYMBELINE 


Imo.     What  makes  your  admiration  ? 

lack.     It  cannot  be  i'th'eye  :  for  Apes,  and  Monkeys 
'Twixt  two  fuch  She's ,  would  chatter  this  way,  and 
Contemne  with  mowes  the  other.     Nor  i'th'iudgment  : 
For  Idiots  in  this  cafe  of  fauour,  would 
Be  wifely  definit  :  Nor  i'th'Appetite. 
Sluttery  to  fuch  neate  Excellence,  opposed 
Should  make  defire  vomit  emptineffe, 
Not  fo  allurd  to  feed. 


83 

45 


53 


46.  [Half-Aside.  Ktly. 

i'th']  F4,  Rowe,  +  ,  Sing.  Dyce  ii, 
iii,  Ktly.    ith'  F2F3.     i'the  Cap.  et  cet. 

48.  i'th']   F4,   Rowe,  +  ,   Sing.   Ktly. 
ith  F2.    ith'  F3.     i'the  Cap.  et  cet. 

49.  Idiots]  Ideots  Rowe,  Pope,  Theob. 
Warb.  Johns. 

50.  definit:]     definit,     Rowe,     Pope, 
Han. 

i'th']  Theob.  Warb.  Johns.  Sing. 
Dyce  ii,  iii,  Ktly.    ith  F2.    in  the  F3F4, 


Rowe,    Pope,    Han.        i'the    Cap.    et 
cet. 

50.  Appetite.]  appetite,  Rowe,  Pope. 
appetite:  Theob.  et  cet. 

51.  Sluttery]  Slutfry  Pope,+. 

52.  vomit]    vomit    ev'n    Pope,    Han. 
Covet  Bailey  (i,  262).    vomit  from  Huds. 

vomit  emptineffe,]  vomit,  empti- 
ness Kinnear  (p.  468).  very  daintiness 
Anon.  ap.  Cam. 

53.  allur,d]  Fj.    allure  't  Han. 


gone  most  lamentably  astray."  This  explanation  renders  the  substitution  of 
unnumbered  not  only  unnecessary,  but  contradictory.  We  cannot  be  too  cautious 
how  we  tamper  with  the  received  text  of  Shakespeare.  Even  though  a  passage 
may  continue  unintelligible  to  us  for  years,  the  chances  are  a  hundred  to  one  that 
the  original  lection  contains  a  more  pregnant  meaning  than  any  that  we  can  pro- 
pose in  its  place. 

46.  It  cannot  be  i'th'eye]  CAPELL  (p.  106):   What  cannot  be  i'the  eye?     Why, 
the  fault  of  making  such  perverse  choices  as  some  men  are  seen  to.     After  exculpat- 
ing the  'eye'  and  the  'judgment,'  he  comes  to  the  'appetite.' 

47.  She's]  See  'The  Shees  of  Italy.' — I,  iv,  37. 

47,  48.  would  chatter  this  way,  and  Contemme  with  mowes  the  other] 
lachimo  intentionally  pays  no  attention  to  Imogen's  question,  neither  here  nor  at 
line  54;  he  appears  to  be,  as  Johnson  says,  'in  a  counterfeited  rapture.'  Where- 
fore we  must  connect  this  present  passage  with  what  is  just  gone  before.  His  last 
words  were  about  making  a  distinction  between  fair  and  foul.  He  now  says  that 
between  two  'such  shees,'  one  fair  and  the  other  foul,  even  apes  and  monkeys  would 
chatter  with  approval  of  the  fair  and  make  faces  at  the  foul.  Of  course,  his  hands 
were  not  hanging  at  his  side,  and  when  he  said  '  to  the  fair,'  he  intimated  to  Imogen 
plainly  enough  that  he  referred  to  her. — ED. 

49.  in  this  case  of  fauour]  DOWDEN:  That  is,  in  this  question  respecting  beauty. 

52,  53.  make  desire  vomit  emptinesse,  Not  so  allur,d  to  feed]  WAR- 
BURTON:  That  is,  that  appetite,  which  is  not  allured  to  feed  on  such  excellence, 
can  have  no  stomach  at  all,  but,  though  empty,  must  nauseate  everything. — 
JOHNSON  (1765):  I  explain  this  passage  in  a  sense  almost  contrary.  lachimo,  in 
this  counterfeited  rapture,  has  shewn  how  the  'eyes'  and  the  'judgement'  would 
determine  in  favour  of  Imogen,  comparing  her  with  the  present  mistress  of  Posthu- 
mus,  and  proceeds  to  say,  that  appetite  too  would  give  the  same  suffrage.  'De- 


84  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  vii. 

Imo.     What  is  the  matter  trow  ? 

lack.     The  Cloyed  will  :  55 

That  fatiate  yet  vnfatisfVd  defire,  that  Tub 
Both  fill'd  and  running  :  Rauening  firft  the  Lambe,  57 

54.  mailer  trow]  matter,  trow  Theob.  56-60.  That. ..well?]  Lines  end:  will: 
et  seq.                                                                 ...desire,... first... what,  Johns.   Var.   '73. 

55.  Cloyed]  cloyed  Dyce.  Lines  end:    will:  ...desire,  ...first  ...Sir, 
will:]  will,  F3F4  et  seq.  Var.    '78,    '85,    Steev.    Var.    '03,    '13, 

56.  57.  That. ..running:]  In  parenthe-         Sing.  Coll.  i,  ii. 

ses  Cap.  Varr.  Mai.  Rann,  Steev.  Varr.  57.  Rauening]  rav'ning  Cap. 

Knt,  Sing.  Coll.  Ktly. 

sire,'  says  he,  when  it  approached  'sluttery,'  and  considered  it  in  comparison  with 
'such  neat  excellence,'  would  not  only  be  'not  so  allured  to  feed,'  but,  seized  with  a 
fit  of  loathing,  'would  vomit  emptiness,'  would  feel  the  convulsions  of  disgust, 
though,  being  unfed,  it  had  nothing  to  eject. — TYRWHITT  (p.  8,  1766):  I  am 
still  unable  to  comprehend  how  'desire,'  or  any  other  thing,  can  be  made  to  'vomit 
emptiness,'  I  rather  believe  the  passage  should  be  read  thus:  'Should  make 
desire  vomit,  emptiness  Not  so  allure  to  feed.'  That  is,  Should  not  so  (in  such 
circumstances)  allure  (even)  emptiness  to  feed. — JOHNSON  (1773):  This  [Tyrwhitt's 
emendation]  is  not  ill  conceived,  but  I  think  my  own  explanation  right.  'To 
vomit  emptiness'  is,  in  the  language  of  poetry,  'to  feel  the  convulsions  of  eructation 
without  plenitude.'  [Any  difficulty,  in  any  passage,  is  cheaply  bought  at  the  price 
of  such  pure  Johnsonese! — CAPELL,  considering  'desire'  a  disyllabic,  as  he  had  a 
right  to  do,  remarked  (p.  106)  that  the  verse  was  lame  both  in  measure  and  sense, 
'till  to  came  to  its  aid';  accordingly  his  text  reads  'vomit  to  emptiness.'  This 
emendation  was  adopted  by  WHITE  (ed.  i.)  and  COLLIER  (ed.  ii.),  who,  however, 
followed  therein  his  MS. — -ED.]— MALONE:  No  one  who  has  been  ever  sick  at  sea, 
can  be  at  a  loss  to  understand  by  what  is  meant  vomiting  emptiness. — BUCKNILL 
(p.  224):  The  meaning  of  this  passage  would  be  plain  enough  but  for  the  word 
'emptiness ';  but  as  it  is  more  difficult  to  vomit  on  an  empty  than  on  a  full  stomach, 
this  word  seems  used  merely  to  augment  the  expression. — STAUNTON:  Certainly  if 
'emptiness'  is  Shakespeare's  word,  to  must  be  understood.  [The  simile  is  not  only 
repulsive,  but  unworthy,  I  think  of  Shakespeare.  No  appeal  to  the  coarseness 
of  Elizabethan  times  can  palliate  it.  Discussion  makes  it  only  more  repulsive; 
the  less  it  is  discussed  the  better — as  I  think.  It  is  for  me  quite  enough  to  ap- 
prehend that,  in  lachimo's  opinion,  sluttery,  in  comparison  with  Imogen's  refine- 
ment, would  prove  nauseating  to  the  last  degree.  May  we  not  discern  herein  that 
this  play  was  written  late  in  life.  Old  men  are  not  as  squeamish  in  matters  of  re- 
finement as  are  younger  men.  Would  Shakespeare  have  used  such  a  simile  in  the 
days  of  Romeo  and  Juliet? — ED.] 

54.  trow]  LETTSON  (Foot-note  to  Walker,  Crit.,  i,  79):  This  apparently  answers 
to  the  modern  /  wonder.  [See  'What  meanes  the  foole  trow?' — Much  Ado,  III,  iv, 
55  (of  this  ed.),  where  'trow'  has  the  same  meaning  as  in  the  present  passage,  which 
is  there  referred  to.] 

55~57-  Tlie  Cloyed  will :...  running :  Rauening]  CAPELL  (p.  106): 
The  word  'desire'  has  crept  in  no  one  knows  how,  to  the  utter  perversion  of  sense 
and  metre:  by  discarding  it,  and  placing  the  parenthesis  properly,  this  speech  is 
perfected  now,  for  the  supplial  of  thing  after  '  that '  is  obvious  to  every  one.  [I 


ACT  i,  sc.  vii.]  CYMBELINE  85 

Longs  after  for  the  Garbage.  58 

Imo.     What,  deere  Sir, 
Thus  rap's  you  ?     Are  you  well  ?  60 

lack.     Thanks  Madam,  well  :  Befeech  you  Sir, 
Defire  my  Man's  abode,  where  I  did  leaue  him: 
He's  ft  range  and  peeuifh.  63 

58.  Garbage.]  garbage —  Rowe,  Pope,  Glo. 

Theob.  Warb.  Johns.  61.  Befeech  you  Sir,]  One  line  Cam. 

60.  rap's]  raps  Rowe.  63.  He's]  he  is  Han.     he  Is  Steev. 

61-63.  Two  lines,  ending:    abode,...  Varr.  Knt,  Sing.  Coll.  Dyce,  Glo. 

peevijh  Han.  Ktly.     Ending:     Defire...  peeuifli]  sheepish  Han. 

He  Steev.  Varr.  Knt,  Sing.  Coll.  Dyce,  [To  Pisanio.  Rowe. 

suppose  Capell  means,  'That  [thing]  satiate,  yet,'  etc.  'Desire'  is  omitted  in  his 
text,  and  'That  satiate  .  .  .  running'  included  in  a  parenthesis. — STEEVENS 
remarks  that  the  irregularity  of  the  metre  '  almost  persuaded '  him  '  that  the  passage 
originally  stood  thus:  ''The  cloyed  will  (That's  satiate,  yet  unsatisfied,  that  tub 
Both  fill'd  and  running)  ravening,"  etc.  The  want  in  the  original  MS.  of  the 
letter  I  have  supplied  perhaps  occasioned  the  interpolation  of  the  word  "desire." 
I  have  but  little  doubt  that  this  emendation  was  suggested  to  Steevens  by  Capell's 
note. — VAUGHAN  (p.  373)  points  out  that  the  demonstrative  'that'  before  'tub' 
shows  that  the  same  pronoun  before  'satiate'  is  also  demonstrative  and  not  relative, 
as  Steevens  assumes;  and  Vaughan  further  opines  that  the  metre  may  be  mended,  in 
lines  58,  59,  either  by  omitting  'deere'  before  'Sir,'  or  by  'compressing'  'deere' 
into  d'r.  Had  Dyce  lived  to  quote  this  d'r,  with  what  a  feast  of  exclamation  marks 
after  it,  we  should  have  been  regaled. — ED.] 

60.  Thus  rap's  you]  WHITE  (ed.  i,  reading  wraps) :  That  is,  wraps  you  in  con- 
templation, of  course.  The  Folio,  'raps  you,'  which  ridiculous  reading  has  been 
hitherto  preserved.  [And  continues  to  be  preserved  in  White's  ed.  ii.  According 
to  Bartlett's  Concordance  this  is  the  only  instance  of  its  use  in  the  present  tense  in 
Shakespeare;  as  a  past  participle,  'rapt,'  he  uses  it  several  times.  I  can  find  no 
reference  to  its  present  use  in  the  N.  E.  D.  Possibly  when  the  letter  W.  is  reached 
it  may  appear  as  a  variant  of  wraps. — ED.] 

62.  Desire  my  Man's  abode]  RANN  was  the  first  to  notice  any  obscurity  in  this 
phrase,  which  he  interpreted  as  meaning  search  out  my  man's  abode,  and  herein, 
of  those  editors  who  have  noticed  it  at  all,  he  was  followed  by  KEIGHTLY  (who 
substituted  Inquire  in  his  text),  by  HUDSON,  by  WYATT  and  by  Miss  PORTER,  and 
by  DELIUS  in  his  ed.  iii.     On  the  other  hand,  DELIUS,  in  his  ed.  i,  in  1855,  gives, 
for  the  first  time,  what  is,  I  think,  the  true  meaning:  'lachimo's  servant,'  says 
Delius,  'must  abide  where  he  had  been  left,  and  must  there  await  his  master.'- 
Rev.  JOHN  HUNTER  gives  the  same  interpretation:    'Desire  my  man  to  abide. '- 
DEIGHTON:    'Bid  him  stay  where  I  left  him.' — ROLFE:    'That  is,  ask  him  to  re- 
main.'    (Rolfe  also  calls  attention  to  the  use  of  'abode'  in  connection  with  time, 
as  in  'Your  patience  for  my  long  abode.' — Mer.  of  Yen.,  II,  vi,  21.) — HERPORD: 
'Bid  my  servant  stay.'    And,  finally,  DOWDEN:  'Desire  my  man  to  settle  himself 
where  I  left  him.'     In  an  unhappy  hour  DELIUS,  in  his  last  edition,  says  that 
Pisanio  must  'seek  out,  lachimo's  servant.' 

63.  He's  strange  and  peeuish]  JOHNSON:  He  is  a  foreigner  and  easily  fretted. 
— LITTLEDALE   (Dyce's  Gloss.):    'Peevish'  appears  to  have  generally  signified, 


86  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  vii. 

Pifa.     I  was  going  Sir, 
To  giue  him  welcome.  Exit.         65 

Imo.     Continues  well  my  Lord  ? 
His  health  befeech  you  ? 

lack.     Well,  Madam. 

Imo.     Is  he  difpos'd  to  mirth  ?    I  hope  he  is. 

lack.     Exceeding  pleasant  :  none  a  ftranger  there,  70 

So  merry,  and  fo  gamefome  :  he  is  call'd 
The  Britaine  Reueller. 

Imo.     When  he  was  heere 
He  did  incline  to  fadneffe,  and  oft  times 
Not  knowiug  why.  75 

lack.     I  neuer  faw  him  fad. 

64,  65.  One  line  Han.  70.  none]  not  Han.     ne'er  Anon  ap. 

64.  going]  just  going  Han.     a  going        Cam. 

Ktly.  72.  Britaine]   Britain  F3F4.     Briton 

65.  Exit.]    Om.    Ff,    Rowe,    Pope,         Han.  Varr.  et  seq. 

Theob.  Warb.  Johns.  Varr.  Ran.  74.  oft  times]  oft-times  Cap.  Var.  '78 

66.  67.  One  line  Han.  Cap.  et  seq.  et  seq.     ofttimes  Sta. 

during  Shakespeare's  days,  silly,  foolish,  trifling,  etc.,  and  such  would  seem  to  be  its 
import  in  the  greater  number  of  instances,  though,  no  doubt,  the  word  was  formerly 
used  to  signify,  as  now,  pettish,  perverse,  etc.  [The  present  passage  is  quoted.] 

66,  67.  Continues  .  .  .  you?]  STAUNTON  reads,  'Continues  well  my  lord  his 
health,  beseech  you?'  and  asks,  'Does  not  "continues"  here  import  preserve,  as  in 
Meas.for  Meas.  "And  how  shall  we  continue  Claudio,"  IV,  iii,  88?'  [If  the  pas- 
sage were  obscure  we  might  well  be  grateful  for  the  interpretation,  but  I  cannot  see 
that  it  needs  any  assistance  whatever. — ED.] 

70,71.  none  a  stranger  ...  So  merry]  Cf.  'none  so  accomplish'd  a  courtier.' 
—I,  v,  96. 

72.  Britaine]  HANMER  changed  this  to  Briton,  but  none  of  his  successors,  WAR- 
BURTON,  JOHNSON,  CAPELL,  or  the  Var.  '73  adopted  it,  until  the  Var.  '78  which 
accepted  Hanmer's  reading,  and  Briton  it  has  remained  ever  since. — WALKER, 
however  (Crit.,  ii,  40),  quotes  'Was  Caius  Lucius  at  the  Britaine  Court'  (II,  iv,  46): 
'the  Britaine  Army'  (V,  ii,  3),  'a  Britaine  Lord'  (V,  iii,  2),  and  then  remarks: 
'In  these  three  places,  however,  I  rather  believe  that  "Britaine"  is  an  adjective, 
Britannus.  The  word  which  we  now  spell  Briton  was  in  old  times  uniformly 
written  Britain;  so  far,  at  least,  as  I  have  observed.  Like  the  Latin  Britannus, 
which  (in  poetry  at  least)  was  used  either  as  a  substantive  or  an  adjective,  Britain, 
might  be  employed  in  both  ways.'  An  instance  which  corroborates  this  last 
remark  occurs  in  'Heere  comes  the  Britaine,' — I,  v,  30.  Walker  adduces  examples 
of  the  use  of  Britain  for  Briton,  in  other  writers,  even  down  to  Bunyan's  Pilgrim's 
Progress,  enough  to  prove,  as  I  think,  that  if  we  are  to  retain  Shakespeare's  own 
language  we  should  retain  'Britain.' — ED. 

74.  sadnesse]  That  is,  seriousness.  Rosalind  says  to  Celia,  'speake  sadde  brow, 
and  true  maid.' — As  You  Like  It,  III,  ii,  209. 


ACT    I,   SC.   vii.] 


CYMBELINE 


There  is  a  Frenchman  his  Companion,  one  77 

An  eminent  Monfieur,  that  it  feemes  much  loues 

A  Gallian-Girle  at  home.     He  furnaces 

The  thicke  fighes  from  him;  whiles  the  iolly  Britaine,  80 

(Your  Lord  I  meane)  laughes  from's  free  lungs  :cries  oh, 

Can  my  fides  hold,  to  think  that  man  who  knowes 

By  Hiftory,  Report, or  his  owne  proofe 

What  woman  is,  yea  what  fhe  cannot  choofe 

But  muft  be  .-will's  free  houres  languifh  :  85 


For  affured  bondage  ? 

79.  Gallian-Girle]  Gallian  girl    Pope 
et  seq. 

home.]  home,  Johns,    home:  Han. 
Cap.  et  seq. 

80.  figJics]  fides  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope  i. 
Britaine}   Britain   F3F4.     Briton 

Theob.  ii.  et  seq. 

81.  from's]  from  his  Ktly. 

oh,}     oh!    Rowe,  +  .      O,     Cap. 
Dyce.   Oh!  Coll.  ii.   O!  Var.  '78  et  seq. 

82.  to  think  that  man]  to  think,  that 
man  Rowe,  Pope,  Han.     to  think  that 
man,  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam.     to  think, 
that  man,  Theob.  et  cet. 

85.  But  mttjl  be:]  But  must  be,  Rowe 
et  seq.     Separate  line  Johns.  Var.  '73. 


85.  will's]    F3F4.    Rowe    i,    Johns. 
wills  F2.    will  his  Rowe  ii.  et  cet. 

85,  86.  But. ..For]    One    line    Steev. 
Varr.  Sing.  Knt,  Coll.  ii,  Dyce,  Sta. 
Ktly,  Glo.  Cam. 

will's... bondage?]    One    line 
Johns.  Var.  '73. 

languiJJi:  For]  languiJJi,  For 
Ff,  Rowe.  languish  out  For  Pope, 
Theob.  Han.  Warb.  Cap.  languish  for 
Johns.  Var.  '73,  Steev.  Varr.  Knt, 
Dyce,  Coll.  ii,  Glo.  Cam.  languish 
For  Var.  '78  et  cet. 

86.  affured]    assur'd    Rowe,     Pope, 
Theob.  Han.  Warb.  Cap.  Varr.  Mai. 
Ran.  Coll.  i. 


79,  80.  He  furnaces  The  thicke  sighes]  According  to  Bartlett's  Concordance, 
this  is  the  only  instance  where  Shakespeare  uses  the  verb  'furnaces';  albeit  Steevens 
and  others  have  found  here  and  there  examples  in  other  authors.     Of  course,  evory 
one  will  recall  'the  lover.     Sighing  like  furnace,'  in  Jaques's  'Seven  Ages.' 

80.  The  thicke  sighes]  That  is,  where  the  sighs  follow  thick  after  each  other. 
Imogen,  full  of  eager  impatience,  tells  Pisanio  to  'speake  thicke'  (III,  ii,  58). 
'Thick'  refers  to  quantity  not  quality. — ED. 

80.  whiles]  ABBOTT  (137):   'Whiles,'  the  genitive  of  while,  means  of,  or  during, 
the  time. 

81.  laughes  from's  free  lungs]  That  is,  laughs  unrestrainedly;  see  'free houres,' 
in  the  fourth  line  below. — ED. 

82.  that  man]  Possibly,  there  is  an  absorption  of  the  in  the  final  /  of  'that,' 
'that  '  man.'— ED. 

85.  will's  free  houres  languish]  The  Text.  Notes  show  how  the  earlier  Edd. 
dealt  with  the  neuter  verb,  'languish.' — DELIUS  thus  paraphrases:  'In  the  hours 
of  his  freedom  he  languishes  for  a  more  assured  bondage.' — The  COWDEN-CLARKES, 
in  support  of  the  same  interpretation,  'think  it  not  improbable,  that  "will's" 
may  be  a  misprint  for  "will  in's  free  hours,"  etc.  In's  would  be  accordant  with 
several  similar  elisional  contractions  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  undisturbed.' — INGLEBY  adopted  this  emendation, 
in's  (with  credit  to  the  Clarkes);  VAUGHAN  says  that  the  phrase  was  probably  thus 


83  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  vii. 

Imo.     Will  my  Lord  fay  fo  ?  87 

lack.     I  Madam,  with  his  eyes  in  flood}  with  laughter, 
It  is  a  Recreation  to  be  by 

And  heare  him  mocke  the  Frenchman  :  90 

But  Heauen's  know  fome  men  are  much  too  blame. 

Ivw.     Not  he  I  hope. 

lack.     Not  he  : 
But  yet  Heauen's  bounty  towards  him,  might  94 

88.  Madam,]     Ff,     Rowe,  +  ,     Coll.  91.  But  Heauen's  know}  but  heav'n 

Dyce.     madam;  Cap.  et  cet.  knows  Pope,  +  .    But  heauens  know  Ff. 

laughter,}    laughter,    or    laughter:  (heav  ns  F2)  et  cet. 

Rowe  ii.  et  seq.  too]  Ff.     to  Rowe. 

90,  91.  And. ..know]  One  line  Pope  93,94-  Not. ..might]  One  line  Rowe  et 

et  seq.  seq. 

written  (without  credit  to  the  Clarkes).  Moreover,  Vaughan  asserts  that  'as 
"languish"  is  not  transitive  in  Shakespeare,  "languish  his  hours"  must  mean 
"languish  during  his  hours."  In  dogmatic  assertion,  Vaughan,  at  times,  appears 
to  be  a  belated  Warburton.  Because  Shakespeare  has  not  elsewhere  used  'lan- 
guish '  as  a  transitive  verb  '  must '  he  be  for  ever  debarred  the  privilege? — a  privi- 
lege accorded  to  other  writers?  In  the  N.  E.  D.  (s.  v.  'languish,'  4.  a.)  BRADLEY 
gives  as  'quasi-trans.  (usually  with  out) :  To  pass  (a  period  of  time)  in  languishing.' 
Hereupon  follows  as  the  first  example  the  present  passage  from  Cym.  Under  the 
next  heading  'f  b.  causal.  To  make  to  languish,'  an  example  is  quoted  from 
Florio's  Montaigne:  'Least  by  that  jouissance  he  might  or  quench,  or  satisfie,  or 
languish  that  burning  flame  and  restlesse  heat  wherewith  he  gloryed.' — III,  v,  p. 
495,  3d.  ed.  This  causal  force  is  sufficient  to  justify  us,  I  think,  in  applying  it  to 
the  interpretation  of  the  present  passage.  But  this  is  not  all.  There  is  another 
sentence,  not  given  by  Bradley,  on  p.  498  of  the  same  volume  of  Montaigne, 
where  this  verb  is  used,  unmistakably  I  think,  in  a  transitive  sense:  'The  innumer- 
able multitude  of  so  manifold  duties  stifling,  languishing,  and  dispersing  our  care.' 
Emboldened  by  this  transitive  use,  several  years  before  the  date  of  Cymbelim,  by 
one  who  was  in  all  likelihood  Shakespeare's  personal  friend,  I  think  Shakespeare 
may  be  allowed,  just  this  once,  to  make  'free  hours'  the  object  of  'languish.' — ED. 

86.  For  assured  bondage]  In  two  passages,  according  to  DYCE  (Gloss.) 
'assures'  bears  the  meaning  of  affianced:  'this  drudge  .  .  .  swore  I  was  assured 
to  her.' — Com.  of  Err.,  Ill,  ii,  145;  'King  Philip.  Young  princes  close  your  hands. 
Austria  And  your  lips  too;  for  I  am  well  assured  That  I  did  so  when  I  was  first 
assured.' — King  John,  II,  i,  534.  I  think  it  more  than  probable  that  here  also 
'assured'  bears  this  meaning;  it  would  bring  to  Imogen  an  especial  pang,  if  it  re- 
minded her  that  she  was  herself  merely  affianced  or  '  hand  fasted '  to  Posthumus, 
which  I  think  was  the  case. — VAUGHAN  asserts  without  qualification:  '"To  be  as- 
sured" in  Shakespeare  is  to  be.  betrothed.'  What  a  flood  of  new  light  Vaughan  thus 
throws  on  Shylock's  character!  It  has  been  always  supposed  that  he  still  mourned 
for  his  Leah,  but  in  the  first  scene  he  says,  '  that  I  may  be  assured,  I  will  bethink 
me.'  Evidently  'twas  the  fear  of  a  step-mother  that  drove  Jessica  from  home. — 
ED. 

92,  93.  Not  he   I   hope.     lach.        Not  he]  PORTER  and  CLARKE:    The  dra- 


ACT  i,  sc.  vii.]  CYMBELINE  89 

Be  vs'd  more  thankfully.     In  himfelfe  'tis  much;  95 

In  you,  which  I  account  his  beyond  all  Talents. 

96.  which  I  account  his]  "whom  I  count  Ktly. 

his  Pope,  Theob.  Han.  Warb.     whom  96.  Talents.]     F2.      talents;    Theob. 

7  account  his  Johns.  Var.  '73.     which  Warb.  Johns.  Var.  '73.     Talents,  F3F4, 

7  account  Coll    ii.  (MS.),  Ktly.  Rowe   et   cet.      Tattenis.   Fx    (Capell's 

his    beyond    all]    beyond    all    his  copy,  ap.  Cam.),    telling.  Kinnear. 

matic  skill  of  this  repetition  is  a  marvel.  lachimo  says  he  is  not  one  of  those  who 
are  much  to  blame,  assenting  to  Imogen's  hope  that  he  is  not.  But  he  means  one 
thing;  she,  quite  another.  He  means  to  blame  as  his  fictitious  sighing  Frenchman 
is.  She,  the  opposite,  that  he  is  not  to  blame  as  a  loose  liver.  Thus,  without  di- 
rectly impeaching  Posthumus's  fidelity,  he  has  struck  desolation  to  Imogen's 
heart  by  indirectly  telling  her  that  this  'Frenchman's'  silly  fault  of  constancy  is 
not  his,  while  seeming  to  echo  her  hope  that  he  is  not  unfaithful.  [If  lachimo 
were  narrating  facts,  and  anxious  to  keep  within  the  bounds  of  truth,  lest  he  be 
hereafter  called  upon  to  make  good  his  words,  it  might  well  serve  his  purpose  to 
prevaricate  to  Imogen  and  deceive  her  under  a  semblance  of  truth  and  allow  her 
to  misunderstand  his  assent.  His  whole  story  is,  however,  pure  fiction,  and  it  is  of 
the  utmost  importance  to  him,  step  by  step,  to  gain  her  credence;  this  he  can  gain 
by  assent;  assenting  to  whatever  she  says,  not  by  opposing;  just  as  sometimes  an 
opponent  will  say,  'Precisely,'  therefore,  it  is,  I  think,  that  he  immediately  re- 
affirms her  timid  hope,  whatever  it  be,  it  matters  not  to  him,  and  then,  as  imme- 
diately, allays  the  good  precedence  with  a  'But  yet.' — ED.] 

95,  96.  In  himselfe  'tis  much  ;  .  .  .  Talents.]  CAPELL:  That  is,  this  beha- 
viour is  much,  even  in  himself,  considered  only  as  coming  from  himself,  a  man  of 
his  qualities;  but  when  I  further  consider  it  as  used  towards  'you' — whom  I 
count  a  part  of  himself,  and  that  an  invaluable  one,  beyond  all  price — 'Whilst  I 
am,'  etc.  [Capell's  text  (where  it  differs  from  the  Folio)  reads:  'In  you, — which 
I  count  his,  beyond  all  talents, — Whilst/  etc.,  and  is  followed  by  STEEVENS  '93; 
Varr.  '03,  '13;  SINGER,  DYCE  ii,  iii,  Coll.  iii.] — RANN:  That  is,  such  conduct  is  very 
extraordinary,  when  considered  only  as  proceeding  from  a  man  of  his  rare  qualities, 
but  when  viewed  as  used  towards  you,  his  mate  inestimable,  as  piteous  as  'tis 
strange.  [This  appears  to  be  a  mere  paraphrase  of  Capell.  Rann's  text  reads, 
'In  you, — which  I  account  his,  beyond  all  talents, — Whilst,'  etc.  Followed  by 
MALONE,  Varr.  '78,  '85,  '21;  KNIGHT,  COLLIER,  ed.  i.  (omitting  comma  after  'his'); 
DELIUS,  DYCE  i;  WHITE  i.  Globe  (omitting  comma  after  'his'),  Cam.  (ditto), 
HERFORD  (ditto),  ROLFE  (ditto),  WYATT  (ditto).] — M ALONE:  If  he  merely  re- 
garded his  own  character,  without  any  consideration  of  his  wife,  his  conduct  would 
be  unpardonable.  [A  note  which  Singer  adopts,  without  acknowledgment.]— 
COLLIER  (ed.  ii.):  The  MS.  Corrector  has  put  his  pen  through  the  pronoun  'his,' 
to  the  improvement  of  the  verse  and  also  of  the  sense.  lachimo  clearly  means  to 
express  his  own.  admiration  of  Imogen.  [Collier  followed  the  MS.  in  his  text,  but 
deserted  it  in  his  ed.  iii.] — STAUNTON,  whose  text  reads,  'In  you, — which  I  account 
his, — beyond  all  talents.,  'remarks,  "all  talents,"  or  we  mistake,  means  here 
incalculable  riches.  The  bounty  of  heaven  towards  him  is  great  in  his  own  endow- 
ments; in  its  gift  to  you  it  is  beyond  all  estimation.  By  the  ordinary  pointing 
[which  differs  from  Staunton's  by  a  comma  after  "talents"]  the  word  "talents" 
is  made  to  signify  accomplishments,  and  the  whole  sense  of  the  passage  miserably 
enfeebled.'  It  is  not  readily  apparent  how  the  presence  of  a  comma  can  work 


90  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  vii. 

[95>  96-   In  himselfe  'tis  much  ;  .  .  .  Talents.] 

such  a  change  in  the  meaning  of  a  single  word.  [Staunton's  text  is  followed  by 
JOHN  HUNTER;  WHITE  (ed.  ii.),  HUDSON,  INGLEBY,  DOWDEN.] — HUDSON:  That  is, 
'Heaven's  bounty  towards  him  in  his  own  person  is  great;  but  in  you, — for  I  regard 
you  as  his  treasure, — it  is  beyond  all  estimate  of  riches.'  [This  appears  to  be 
an  excellent  paraphrase. — HERFORD'S,  which  Rolfe  commends,  is  certainly  more 
terse,  as  follows:]  'That  he  is  not  grateful  for  his  own  gifts,  is  much;  that  he  is  not 
grateful  for  you,  his  gift  beyond  price,  fills  me  with  wonder  and  pity.'  [Wherein 
this  interpretation  falls  a  little  short,  as  I  think,  is  that  the  main  thought  is  repre- 
sented as  gratitude;  should  it  not  be  'Heaven's  bounty'? — ED.] — SCHMIDT  (Lex., 
ed.  ii,  1886)  conjectures  that  'account  his'  should  be  printed  account's,  i.  e.,  account 
is,  on  the  supposition  that  in  the  MS.  the  words  stood  thus  and  the  compositors 
mistook  the  abbreviation  for  his. — ]HERTZBERG  at  once  adopted  this  conjecture, 
wherein,  I  think,  he  will  find  no  follower. — ED.] — DEIGHTON:  Heaven's  bounty 
to  him  is  abundant  in  regard  to  what  is  inherent  in  himself  (e.  g.,  noble  descent, 
heroic  character,  manifold  accomplishments),  while  in  regard  to  you,  whom  I  look 
upon  as  belonging  to  him,  it  is  beyond  all  limit;  but  while  I  am  on  this  account  com- 
pelled to  wonder,  I  am  also  compelled  to  pity. — WYATT:  'As  regards  himself  alone 
he  is  greatly  to  blame;  as  regards  you,  whom  I  must  suppose  to  be  irredeemably 
his,  his  conduct  amazes  me  and  fills  me  with  pity.'  That  is,  I  believe,  the  meaning 
of  this  difficult  sentence.  Most  recent  editors  punctuate  the  line:  'In  you,  which 
I  account  his,  beyond  all  talents.'  This  makes  the  passage  yield  a  totally  different 
meaning,  as  in  Deighton's  paraphrase. — DOWDEN:  I  change  the  full  stop  of  the 
Folio  after  'thankfully'  to  a  colon,  and  insert  a  comma  after  'his.'  .  .  .  The 
meaning  I  believe  to  be:  In  his  own  peculiar  gifts  heaven's  bounty  is  much;  in  you — 
who  are  his — heaven's  bounty  to  him  is  beyond  all  gifts  (or  endowments).  'Talent' 
is  used  for  'gift'  by  Shakespeare.  Mr  Craig,  however,  noticing,  what  is  certainly 
the  fact,  that  'talent'  was  used  by  Elizabethan  and  earlier  writers  for  'inclination,' 
'desire,'  would  let  the  sense  run  to  line  97,  and  explain:  'With  respect  to  you, 
whom  I  account  his  beyond  all  reach  of  loose  desires,  Whilst,'  etc.  [Craig,  in  his 
edition,  did  not  repeat  this  plausible  interpretation  of  'talents'  (see  N.  E.  D.,  sb. 
II.  2.  and  3),  but  merely  quoted  DOWDEN'S  note.  lachimo  had  made  a  bad 
beginning;  the  'boldness'  and  'audacity'  which  he  had  summoned  to  his  aid 
proved  futile,  and  instead  of  awakening  jealousy  his  rapsodies  had  suggested  to 
Imogen  only  that  he  was  tainted  in  his  wits  and  that  he  was  not  well.  This  would 
never  do.  So  he  invents  Posthumus's  scoffs  at  the  love  of  the  Frenchman  and  the 
Gallian  girl,  ending  with  the  sanctimonious  but  ambiguous  remark  that  the 
Heavens  know  some  men  are  much  to  blame,  which  may  apply  either  to  the 
Frenchman  or  to  Posthumus.  To  Imogen's  placid  but  confident  response,  'Not 
he,  I  hope,'  lachimo  had  to  give  an  assent,  for  the  reason,  I  think,  given  in  the 
preceding  note.  Had  he  dissented  and  said  outright  that  Posthumus  was  guilty, 
he  might  as  well  give  up  his  wager  at  once  and  return  to  Italy;  he  had  made  no 
impression  on  Imogen.  He  changes  his  tactics,  therefore,  at  once,  and  qualifies 
his  assent  by  a  regret  that  Posthumus  is  not  sufficiently  thankful  for  the  gifts  which 
Heaven's  bounty  had  bestowed  on  him.  Towards  himself  that  bounty  had  been 
much;  towards  Imogen,  who  was  also  to  be  counted  in  the  sum  of  Posthumus's 
gifts,  that  bounty  had  been  bestowed  beyond  all  calculation.  Then  follows  the 
insidious  remark  that  while  he  wonders  he  must  also  pity.  This  paraphrase  hardly 
varies  from  some  that  have  been  given  by  my  betters.  I  wish  to  give  merely  my 


ACT  i,  sc.  vii.]  CYMBELINE 

Whil'ft  I  am  bound  to  wonder,  I  am  bound  07 

To  pitty  too. 

Imo.     What  do  you  pitty  Sir  ? 

lack.    Two  Creatures  heartyly.  loo 

Imo.     Am  I  one  Sir  ? 

You  looke  on  me  :  what  wrack  difcerne  you  in  me 
Deferues  your  pitty  ? 

lack.     Lamentable :  what 

To  hide  me  from  the  radiant  Sun,  and  folace  105 

I'th'Dungeon  by  a  SnufTe. 

IJJLO.     I  pray  you  Sir, 

Deliuer  with  more  openneffe  your  anfweres 
To  my  demands.    Why  do  you  pitty  me  ? 

lack.     That  others  do,  HO 

(I  was  about  to  fay)  enioy  your but 

It  is  an  office  of  the  Gods  to  ven^e  it, 

o 

Not  mine  to  fpeake  on't.  113 

97.  Whir  ft]  whilft  Ff.  Varr.    Knt.     what,    Cap.    Dyce,    Sta. 

102.  wrack]  F3F4,  Rowe,  Cap.  wracke  Glo.  Cam. 

F2.    wreck  Pope  et  cet.  105.  Sun,  and]  sun  and  Glo. 

104.  Lamentable:]  Lamentable!  Rowe  106.  I'th']   F3F4,   Rowe,+.     Ith  F2. 
et  seq.  Pthe  Cap.  et  seq. 

what]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,     what!  no.  do,]  do — Han. 

Theob.-f,    Varr.    Mai.    Ran.    Steev.  in.  your  -  —  but]  Ff,  Rowe,+.   your 

—But  Cap.  et  seq. 

opinion  that  it  is  not  gratitude  to  Heaven  for  the  bounty,  but  Heaven's  bounty 
lavished  on  Posthumus,  which  is  the  leading  idea.  Then,  having  shown  to  Imogen 
his  appreciation,  akin  to  wonder,  of  her  husband's  heaven-sent  gifts,  with  herself 
as  that  husband's  greatest  possession,  the  proof  that  this  rare  man  wallows  in  filth 
and  slime  will  come  with  heavier  force. — ED.] 

102.  You  looke  on  me]  Here,  I  think,  is  one  of  Shakespeare's  stage  direc- 
tions, almost  the  only  kind  we  ever  need  or  he  ever  uses.  By  the  light  of  these 
words  we  are  to  see  the  bold,  glittering  eyes  of  lachimo  fixed  steadily  on  Imogen. — 
ED. 

105.  To  hide  me]  INGLEBY:    'me'  is  here  expletive. — DEIGHTON:   'me'  is  the 
ethical  dative. — WYATT:  'me'  is  pleonastic.     [Does  it  not  stand  for  myself?    See 
ABBOTT,  §  223. — ED.] 

106.  SnufFe]  JOHN  HUNTER:  An  expiring  candle.     HERFORD:  A  candle-wick. — 
DOWDEN:   The  wick,  as  darkening  the  flame. 

in.  enjoy    your but]    DEIGHTON:    He   interrupts    himself    in    order   to 

further  excite  her  distrust.  [A  variation  in  the  copies  of  Ft  is  noted  in  'Talents' 
in  Text.  Notes,  line  96.  There  is  here  apparently  another  variation.  The  Cam. 

Ed.  record  'your:   but'  as  the  reading  of  Fi.    My  copy  has  'your but,'  and  thus 

also  are  Vernor  &  Hood's  Reprint  of  1807,  Booth's  Reprint,  and  Staunton's  Photo- 
lithograph. — ED.] 


THE  TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  vii. 

lino.     You  do  feeme  to  know 

Something  of  me,  or  what  concernes  me;  pray  you  1 15 

Since  doubting  things  go  ill,  often  hurts  more 
Then  to  be  fure  they  do.    For  Certainties 
Either  are  pad  remedies;  or  timely  knowing, 
The  remedy  then  borne.    Difcouer  to  me 
What  both  you  fpur  and  ftop.  120 

lacti     Had  I  this  cheeke 

To  bathe  my  lips  vpon  :  this  hand,  whofe  touch, 
(Whofe  euery  touch)  would  force  the  Feelers  foule  123 

116-119.  Si  nee... borne.]  In  parenthe-  knowing, ...born,  Mai.  Steev.  Varr.  Knt, 

ses  (subs.),  Pope  et  seq.     In  parenthe-  Dyce.    known,  The  remedy  then  born— 

ses.    For  Certainties... borne.  Vaun.  Ktly.    knowing,.. .born — Glo.    knowing, 

116.  hurts]  hurt  Pope.  ...born,—  -  Cam.     knowing  The  remedy 

117.  Then]  Than  F4.  therefore  Anon.  ap.  Cam. 

do.]  do;  Rowe  et  seq.  1 20.  What  both  you]  What's  both  your 

118.  Either]  or  Pope,+.  Eccl.  conj. 

remedies}  remedy  Boaden,  Ingl.  122.  bathe]    F2.      bath    F3F4,   Rowe, 

118,119.  knowing,.. .borne.]  Ff.  (born.  Pope,  Theob.  Warb.  Cap.    bait  Bailey 

F3F4).      knowing... born;    Rowe,    Pope,  (ii,  129). 

Theob.   Warb.     known,    The  remedy's  123.   (Whofe  euery  touch}]  No  paren- 

then  born;  Han.  Eccl.  conj.     knowing,  theses  Rowe  et  seq. 

The  remedy's  then  born;  Johns,     know-  euery]    F2.      very    F3F4,    Rowe, 

ing,.. .born)     Cap.     Varr.     Ran.     Coll.  Pope,  Han. 

116.  Since  doubting  things  go  ill]  That  is,  being  in  doubt  as  to  whether  or 
not  things  go  ill. 

118,  119.  or  timely  knowing,  The  remedy  then  borne]  JOHNSON:  Rather 
— timely  Known. — MALONE:  I  believe  Shakespeare  wrote  Known,  and  that  the 
transcribers  ear  deceived  him  here  as  in  man}'-  other  places. — J.  BOADEN  (reading, 
'past  remedy;  or  timely  knowing  The  remedy,  then  borne']:  That  is,  'they  are 
either  past  all  remedy;  or,  the  remedy  being  timely  suggested  to  us  by  the  knowing 
them,  they  are  the  more  easily  borne.' — DEIGHTON:  That  is,  being  known  in  time 
their  remedy  is  then  discovered. — WYATT:  'Knowing,'  as  if  the  subject  of  the 
sentence  were  'we'  or  'I,'  is  a  good  example  of  an  'unrelated  participle.' — VAUGHAN 
(p.  378):  I  interpret  thus:  'either  the  evils  certainly  known  are  past  remedies,  or 
the  timely  knowing  them  as  certain  is  the  remedy  brought  into  existence  con- 
currently with  that  of  knowledge.'  'Knowing'  is  both  genuine  and  correct. — 
Do WDEN  disagrees  with  Vaughan  in  taking  '  timely  knowing '  as  itself  the  remedy, 
and  believes  that  'Imogen  speaks  of  evils  known  as  certain,  yet  not  remediless; 
upon  timely  knowledge  the  remedy  is  (the  "is"  being  understood  and  assumed  out 
of  "are")  then  born.'  [As  in  many  an  elliptical  sentence,  the  sense  is  here  readily 
grasped.  In  unfolding  the  ellipsis,  however,  there  is  generally  quot  homines,  tot 
sententiae,  and  it  is  perhaps  well  to  lay  his  choice  before  the  student.  To  me 
Dowden's  paraphrase  is  satisfactory. — ED.] 

1 20.  What  both  you  spur  and  stop]  JOHNSON:  What  it  is  that  at  once 
incites  you  to  speak  and  restrains  you  from  it. — M.  MASON:  What  you  seem 
anxious  to  utter,  yet  withhold. — STEEVENS  informs  us  that  there  is  here  an  allusion 
to  horsemanship. 


ACT  I,  sc.  vii.]  CYMBELINE 


93 


To'th'oath  of  loyalty.    This  obiecl:,  which  124 

Takes  prifoner  the  wild  motion  of  mine  eye, 

Fiering  it  onely  heere,fhould  I  (damn'd  then)  126 

124.  th'oath]  the  oath  Cap.  et  seq.  ing  Ff  et  cet.     Fearing  Nicholson  ap. 

125.  prifoner]  prisoner  Pope,+.  Cam. 

126.  Fiering]  Daniel,  Dowden.    Fix-  126.  damn'd]  F3F4.    damnd  F2. 

124.  oath  of  loyalty]  STEEVENS  admitted  to  his  edition  of  1793  a  note  by 
HOLT  WHITE,  wherein  it  was  maintained  that  there  can  be  no  connection  between 
touching  the  hand  and  the  oath  of  loyalty  unless  we  perceive  therein  an  allusion  '  to 
the  manner  in  which  the  tenant  performed  homage  to  his  lord'  when  the  vassal 
v<held  his  hands  jointly  together  between  the  hands  of  his  lord.'  No  reference 
would  have  been  here  made  to  this  dry-as-dust  note  had  not  HALLIWELL  given  it 
in  full.  It  evoked  from  PYE  (p.  275)  the  comment,  noteworthy  for  its  unwonted 
sense,  that  the  'coloring  in  this  passage  is  too  warm  to  have  any  allusion  to  the 
cold  ceremony  of  doing  homage  to  a  feudal  lord.'  Pyc,  be  it  recalled,  was,  for  more 
than  twenty  years  Poet  Laureate;  he  it  was  who  not  needing  plumpie  Bacchus  with 
pink  eyrie  to  inspire  him,  compounded  for  £27  per  annum  the  historic  tierce  of 
canary. 

124.  This  object]  That  is,  Imogen  herself,  with  cheek  and  hands. 

124,  125.  which  Takes  prisoner  the  wild  motion  of  mine  eye]  PECK  (p. 
227)  thinks  that  Shakespeare  'copied'  this  charming  thought  from  the  Apocrypha, 
Judith,  chap,  xvi,  9:  'Her  beautie  tooke  his  minde  prisoner.'  This  raises  the 
question  of  the  version  of  the  Bible  used  by  Shakespeare.  GINSBURG  (Athenceum, 
28  April,  1883)  infers,  from  a  line  in  Love's  Lab.  Lost:  'For  charity  itself  fulfills 
the  law' — (IV,  iii,  364)  that  Tlie  Bishops'  Bible,  1568,  was  Shakespeare's  Version, 
because  out  of  the  eight  versions  then  extant  The  Bishops'  alone  has  the  phrase  in 
Shakespeare's  words.  On  the  other  hand,  Rev.  T.  CARTER  (p.  195)  adduces  many 
instances  to  prove  that  The  Genevan  Bible  (1560)  wras  most  frequently  paraphrased 
by  Shakespeare.  If  the  decision  lie  with  the  present  passage,  it  must  be  given  in 
favour  of  The  Genevan,  which  has  the  words  as  given  above,  whereas  The  Bishops' 
Bible  reads:  'her  beautie  captiuated  his  minde.' — ED. 

1 26.  Fiering  it  onely  heere]  DANIEL  (p.  85) :  It  seems  to  me  that '  fiering '  (firing, 
giving  fire  to)  is  a  very  good  reading,  and  should  be  restored. — DOWDEN:  I  retain  this 
reading  of  Fi.  The  reading  of  the  Ff ,  '  Fixing,'  is,  perhaps  rightly,  adopted  by  many 
editors  [by  all  editors,  I  think. — ED.].  I  explain:  'from  her  alone  does  the  passion 
of  my  eye  catch  fire';  'motion'  may  mean  passion  here,  as  of  ten  elsewhere. — CRAIG, 
albeit  following  the  Ff  in  his  text,  quotes  Dowden's  explanation,  with  the  remark, 

'  Fiering"  of  FI  is  surely  preferable.'  [To  me  it  is  an  inter -pretatio  certissima.  I 
know  how  strong  may  be  the  defence  of  'Fixing'  by  alleging  that  it  is  Imogen's 
beauty  which  imprisons  the  unconfined  rovings  of  lachimo's  eye,  and  fixes  it 
enchained  on  her;  this  is  the  easiest  reading,  but  it  is  the  durior  lectio  which  is  to  be 
preferred.  'Motion'  here  means  passion,  just  as  it  does  in  Posthumus's  bitter 
soliloquy:  'there's  no  motion  That  tends  to  vice  in  man,  but  I  affirme  It  is  the 
Woman's  part.' — II,  iv,  217;  and  where  Brabantio  accuses  Othello  of  having  prac- 
tised on  Desdemona  'with  drugs  or  minerals  That  weaken  motion';  and  where 
Lucio  describes  Angelo,  in  Meas.  for  Meas.,a.s  a  man  that  'never  feels  the  wanton 
stings  and  motions  of  the  sense ' ;  and  in  many  a  passage  elsewhere.  This  wild  and 
wandering  motion  is  caught  a  prisoner,  and  by  the  sight  of  Imogen's  cheek  and  by 


94 


THE   TRACE  DIE   OF 


Slauuer  with  lippes  as  common  as  the  ftayres 
That  mount  the  Capitoll  :  loyne  gripes,  with  hands 
Made  hard  with  hourely  falfhood  (falfhood  as 
With  labour:)  then  by  peeping  in  an  eye 


[ACT  i,  sc.  vii. 
127 

130 


128.  gripes,]  gripes  Pope. 

129,  130.  Made... labour:)]   One  line 
Rowe,+,  Cap. 

129.  hourely  falfhood  (falfhood}  F2. 
hourly  falfhood  (falfhood  F3,  Var.  '73, 
Coll.  hourly  (faljhood  F4.  hourly 
falshood  Ro\ve,  +  ,  Cap.  hourly  false- 
hood— with  falsehood  Ktly.  hourly 
falsed  falshood  Vaun.  hourly  falsehood 
(falsehood,  Var.  '78  et  cet. 


130.  then}  than  F4.    Then  glad  myself 
Rowe,+,  Cap. 

by  peeping]  Ff,  Rowe,+,  Cap. 
Coll.  i.  lye  peeping  Johnson  conj. 
Varr.  Mai.  Ran.  Steev.  Varr.  Dyce 
ii,  iii.  by-peeping  Knt,  Delius,  Dyce  i, 
Sing.  Wh.  Sta.  Glo.  Cam.  Dowden. 


bo-peeping   Coll.   ii,   iii. 
Ktly.     sit  peeping  Huds. 


bide  peeping 


the  touch  of  her  hands  is  set  on  fire  by  them  alone;  if  so,  could  he  then  leave  them 
and  turn  to  other  lips?  This  he  could  not  do  were  his  eyes  still  '  fixed '  on  her.  The 
very  supposition  that  he  could  seek  a  lower  sort  implies  that  his  eyes  were  free  to 
wander.  The  sentiment  is  parallel  to  Hamlet's  question  to  his  mother:  'Have 
you  eyes?  Could  you  on  this  fair  mountain  leave  to  feed,  And  batten  on  this 
moor?' — III,  iv,  65. — ED.] 

126.  damn'd]  Again  there  is  a  variation  in  the  copies  of  Ft.     The  Cam.  Ed. 
give  dampn'd  as  the  spelling  of  this  word  in  Fx.     In  my  copy  of  that  edition,  in 
Vernor  &  Hood's  Reprint,  in  Booth's  Reprint,  and  in  Staunton's  Photolitho graph 
it  is  spelled  as  in  the  text. — ED. 

127.  Slauuer]  This  is  explained  by  more  than  one  editor  as  'amorous,'  or  'dis- 
gusting kisses.'     Is  it  not  a  profanation  of  a  'kiss'  to  think  of  it  in  this  connection? 
'Slavering  with  lips'  is  not  kissing,  but  mere  slobbering. — ED. 

127,  128.  stayres  That  mount  the  Capitoll]  HALLIWELL:  Mr  Fairholt  sends 
this  note:  'In  addition  to  the  winding  way,  the  via  triumphalis,  that  gave  carriages 
an  ascent  to  the  Capitoll  at  Rome,  there  was  a  flight  of  stairs  for  foot  passengers 
leading  direct  to  the  summit  from  the  Arch  of  Septimus  Severus.' 

128-130.  hands  Made  hard  with  hourely  falshood  (falshood  as  With 
labour]  JOHNSON:  That  is,  hard  by  being  often  griped  with  frequent  change  of 
hands. — RANN  :  '  With  hourly  falshood '  means  with  frequent  pressure. — M.  MASON 
(p.  324):  One  of  these  'falsehoods'  should  be  expunged.  [The  omission  had  been 
made  from  the  Fourth  Folio  to  Capell.] — HUDSON:  Made  hard  by  hourly  clasping 
hands  in  vowing  friendship,  or  in  sealing  covenants,  falsely.  [Is  '  friendship'  strong 
enough  in  this  connection?  or  a  thought  of  legal  formality  possible? — ED.] — 
INGLEBY:  The  hands  were  (metaphorically)  hardened  by  familiar  sin, — habituated 
to  vicious  ministrations, — as  much  as  if  they  had  been  (literally)  hardened  by 
honest  labour. — STAUNTON  (Athenaum,  14  June,  '73):  'Falsehood'  here  implies 
robbery,  dishonesty,  as  in  Sonnet,  xlviii:  'How  careful  was  I  when  I  took  my  way, 
Each  trifle  under  truest  bars  to  thrust:  That  to  my  use  it  might  unused  stay  From 
hands  of  falsehood,  in  sure  wards  of  trust!'  and  hence  the  'as'  in  'as  with  labour' 
may  be  suspected  to  have  been  borrowed  from  the  neighbouring  lines :  the  genuine 
lection  being,  'hourly  falsehood  (falsehood,  not  With  labour).' 

130.  then  by  peeping  in  an  eye]  JOHNSON:  I  read,  'then  lye  peeping.' — 
KNIGHT:  'By-peeping,' — so  in  the  original.  [An  oversight? — ED.]  It  appears 


ACT  i,  sc.  vii.]  CYMBELINE 

Bafe  and  illuftrious  as  the  fmoakie  light  131 

131.  illujlrious]  unluftrious  Rowe,  Pope,  Han.  illustrous  Tieck,  Coll.  Wh.  Sing. 
Ktly.  ill-lustrous  Ingl.  inlustrous  Anon.  ap.  Cam.  unlustrous  Theob.  et  cet. 

to  us  that  'by-peeping'  is  clandestinely  peeping. — COLLIER  (ed.  ii.):  The  happy 
emendation  of  the  MS.  is  bo-peeping.  The  allusion  is  to  the  game  of  bo-peep,  often 
mentioned  in  the  old  dramatists;  thus  in  The  London  Prodigal,  1605,  a  play  im- 
puted to  Shakespeare,  Frances  says,  'Ha,  ha!  sister,  there  you  played  bo-peep  with 
Tom.'  [ad.  fin.].  In  The  Captain  (IV,  iii,  Beau.  &  Fl.,  ed.  Dyce)  Jachimo  says  to 
Frederick,  'Nay,  an'  you  play  bo-peep,  I'll  ha'  no  mercy.'  In  Patient  Grissel, 
I,  i,  Babulo  observes,  'The  sun  hath  played  bo-peep  in  the  element  any  times 
these  two  hours.'  Nothing  could  be  more  easy  than  to  multiply  instances.  [Be 
the  instances  multiplied  a  hundredfold,  they  would  not  suffice  to  prove  that,  at 
such  a  moment,  in  such  a  presence,  and  in  such  a  connection,  lachimo  used  a 
word  suggestive  of  an  innocent  game  in  a  child's  nursery. — ED.] — LETTSOM  (Preface 
to  Walker,  Of/.,  p.  xxv.) :  Johnson  mentioned  the  [original  reading]  with  approbation 
[Where?  Not  in  Johnson's  ed.- — ED.]  in  a  note,  and  at  the  same  time  proposed 
to  read  lie  for  'by.'  His  advice  was  taken  in  both  cases  by  some  succeeding  editors 
[it  appeared  in  seven  successive  editions  before  1860,  when  Lettsom  wrote],  and 
it  might  have  been  expected  that  a  passage,  so  successfully  treated,  might  for  the 
future  have  been  left  alone.  But  in  the  eyes  of  still  later  critics  nothing  is  so 
terrible  as  the  slightest  conjecture,  nothing  so  precious  as  an  old  typographical 
blunder.  In  every  recent  edition  [this  can  refer  only  to  Knight's,  Collier's  i.  and 
ii,  Dyce's  i,  Singer's,  and  Delius's,  the  last  Lettsom  probably  never  saw].  Johnson's 
conjecture,  so  slight,  so  easy,  and  so  indispensable,  had  been  unceremoniously 
rejected,  and  the  sore  has  been  salved,  not  cured,  with  the  help  of  a  hyphen,  by 
reading  by-peeping  or  bo-peeping.  Neither  of  these  reading  satisfies  the  construc- 
tion. Mr  Knight  is  mistaken  in  saying  that  'by-peeping'  is  the  reading  of  the  old 
copy;  the  old  copy  omits  the  hyphen,  the  insertion  of  which  is  as  much  a  conjec- 
ture as  any  other  alteration.  Not  that  it  restored  what  the  poet  wrote.  This  I 
cannot  think  the  case  here.  Johnson  saw,  what  the  more  recent  editors  seem  to 
have  overlooked,  that  'slaver'  and  'join'  require  to  be  connected,  not  with  a 
participle,  but  with  another  verb.  The  same  error  occurs  in  Goffe,  Courageous 
Turk,  II,  i,  'Make  him  by  snoring  on  a  wanton  breast,  And  suck  the  adulterate 
and  spiced  breath,'  etc.,  and  in  Beau.  &  Fl.,  Mad  Lover,  I,  i,  'Your  cold  sallads 
without  salt  or  vinegar  By  wambling  in  your  stomachs,'  where  Mr  Dyce  properly 
adopts  Sympson's  correction,  Lie.  [LETTSOM  is  too  sound  and  keen  a  critic  to  be 
ever  overlooked.  In  the  present  case  I  can  say  only,  perhaps  he  is  right.  If, 
however,  by-thinking  (with  a  hyphen)  can  mean  looking  furtively  or  clandestinely, 
or  winking  on  the  sly,  it  befits  the  passage  better,  I  think,  than  to  lie  peeping, 
wherein  I  fail  to  see  the  force  of  a  recumbent  position  for  the  purpose  of  peeping. 
The  addition  of  a  hyphen  is  certainly  a  less  violent  change  than  the  substitution  of  a 
word,  and  as  for  rejecting  a  participle  because  it  is  preceded  by  two  verbs  in  the 
subjunctive,  it  seems  to  me  too  late  a  week  to  demand  a  strict  sequence  in  tenses 
from  Shakespeare, — a  chartered  libertine  in  a  grammar  which  he  helped  us  to  form. 
—ED.] 

131.  Base  and  illustrious]  MALONE  (reading  'unlustrous'):  Corrected  by  Mr 
Rowe  [see  Text.  Notes;  this  error  has  been  many  times  repeated,  even  by  the 
Cam.  Ed.].  That  '  illustrious '  was  not  used  by  our  author  in  the  sense  of  inlustrous 
or  unlustrous  is  proved  by  a  passage  in  the  old  comedy  of  Patient  Grissel,  1603: 


96  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  vii. 

That's  fed  with  ftinking  Tallow  :  it  were  fit  132 

That  all  the  plagues  of  Hell  fhould  at  one  time 
Encounter  fuch  reuolt. 

lino.     My  Lord,  I  feare  135 

Has  forgot  Brittaine. 

lack.     And  himfelfe,  not  I 
Inclined  to  this  intelligence,  pronounce 
The  Beggery  of  his  change  :  but  'tis  your  Graces  1 39 

132.  Tallow:}    tallow?    Rowe,    Pope,  137.  himfelfe,]himfelf,F3F4.    himself; 

Han.    tallow,  Coll.  Dyce  i.  Rowe,  Cap.    himself.  Pope  et  cet. 

'the  buttons  were  illustrious  and  resplendent  diamonds.' — STEEVENS:  A  'lack- 
lustre eye'  has  been  already  mentioned  in  As  You  Like  It. — TIECK  (vol.  ix,  p.  377, 
1833)  quotes  the  word  as  illustrous,  thus  anticipating  Collier,  and  translates  it 
glorreich,  with  the  remark  that  those  editors  who  adopt  the  tame  word  'unlustrous' 
miss  the  bitter  irony  involved  in  the  contrast. — COLLIER  (ed.  ii.):  All  modern 
editors  (anterior  to  1843)  change  illustrous  to  unlustrous,  which  may  be  more 
strictly  correct;  but  the  word  is  illustrous  (misprinted  'illustrious')  in  all  the  folios, 
and  it  ought  on  every  account  to  be  preferred,  as  that  which  came  from  the  author's 
pen.  [This  is,  as  Capell  would  say,  a  'wipe'  on  Dyce,  whose  text  reads  unlustrous. 
Dyce  felt  it,  and  revenged  himself  by  adducing  a  quotation  of  which  Collier  was 
ignorant.] — DYCE  (ed.  ii.):  But  Chapman  at  least  uses  illustrous  in  a  sense  the  very 
reverse  of  what  they  [i.  e.,  Collier  and  those  who  followed  him]  would  have  it 
convey  in  our  text:  'Telemachus,  into  a  roome  built  hie,  Of  his  illustrous  court, 
and  to  the  eie  Of  circular  prospect,  to  his  bed  ascended,'  &c.,  Homer's  Odyssey,  B.  i, 
p.  15,  ed.  fol. — THISELTON  (p.  15):  The  expression  'Base  and  illustrious'  signifies 
the  conjunction  of  baseness  and  lustre,  and  is  infinitely  more  forcible  than  any 
alteration  that  would  merely  couple  the  ideas  of  baseness  and  lack  of  lustre. — 
DOWDEN:  Perhaps  Thiselton  is  right.  [Whether  we  use  illustrous  or  unlustrous, 
the  meaning,  lustreless,  is  the  same,  and,  for  all  Tieck's  'bitter  irony,'  the  proper 
meaning,  I  think,  in  the  present  passage.  I  have  little  doubt,  however,  that 
'illustrious'  is  Shakespeare's  own  word, — or  his  compositor's,  and  is  akin  tojealious, 
dexterious,  prolixious,  robustious,  beautious, — all  to  be  found  in  the  Folio  and  Quar- 
tos; this  tendency  survives  even  to  this  day  in  vulgar  speech,  in  stupendious  and 
mischievious.  Wherefore,  if  we  are  to  prefer  'that  which  came  from  the  author's 
pen,'  I  am  afraid  we  should  have  to  reject  any  alteration  of  'illustrious.'' — ED.] 

134.  Encounter  such  reuolt]  JOHN  HUNTER:  Meet  such  apostacy. — DEIGHTON: 
Meet  and  punish  such  a  revolt  from  fealty  due  to  you. 

T-37>  J38-  not  *  inclin'd  to  this  intelligence]  JOHN  HUNTER:  It  is  not  that  I 
having  any  inclination  to  impart  this  to  you,  pronounce,  etc. — INGLEBY:  It  is  not 
because  I  am  inclined  to  convey  such  intelligence,  that  I  pronounce,  etc.  [Neither 
of  these  paraphrases  brings  out,  I  think,  the  exact  meaning  of  lachimo's  words. 
He  wishes  to  throw  indirectly  the  obloquy  of  these  revelations  on  Imogen.  'It  is 
not,'  he  says  in  effect,  'I  who  divulge  the  utter  depths  of  his  change,  inclined 
though  I  be  to  impart  the  news,  but  'tis  your  loveliness  that  has  conjured  up  this 
report  from  the  innermost  silence  of  my  consciousness.'  It  seems  not  impossible 
that  in  the  word  '  intelligence '  there  lies  a  suggestion  of  information  obtained  in  an 
underhand  way,  by  stealth,  or  by  spying. — ED.] 


ACT    I,  SC.   vii.] 


CYMBELINE 


97 
140 


That  from  my  muteft  Confcience,  to  my  tongue, 
Charmes  this  report  out. 

lino.     Let  me  heare  no  more. 

lack.    O  deereft  Soule  :  your  Caufe  doth  ftrike  my  hart 
With  pitty,  that  doth  make  me  ficke.     A  Lady 
So  faire,  and  faften'd  to  an  Emperie  145 

Would  make  the  great/ft  King  double,  to  be  partnered 
With  Tomboyes  hyr'd,  with  that  felfe  exhibition 
Which  your  owne  Coffers  yeeld  :  with  difeas'd  ventures        148 


143.  Sonic:]   soul,   Cap.   Dyce,   Sta. 
Cam.     himself!  Rowe  et  cet. 

144.  ficke.]  sick!  Dyce,  Sta.  Cam. 

145.  146.  So  faire... double]  In  paren- 
theses Ktly. 

and... double]  In  parentheses 
Sta. 

Emperie..  double]  Ff.  Han. 
Dyce  ii,  iii,  Huds.  Sta.  (in  parentheses). 
empery,.. .double,  Rowe  i,  Coll.  Dyce  i, 
White,  Del.  Glo.  Cam.  Dtn,  Rife,  Dowd. 
empery, ...double;  Rowe  ii,  Ingl.  em- 


pery,...double!  Pope,  Theob.  Warb. 
Johns.  Cap.  Varr.  Ran.  Mai.  Steev. 
Varr.  Knt,  Sing. 

147.  Tomboyes     hyr'd,    with]    F2F3. 
Tomboys  hir'd,  with  F4,  Rowe  i.    Tom- 
boys, hir'd  with  Rowe  ii  et  seq  (subs.) 

felfe  exhibition]  F4,  Rowe,  Cap. 
Coll.  Cam.  Dyce  iii.  jelfc-exhibition 
F2F3,  Pope  et  cet. 

148.  yeeld:]  yield:  F3F4.    yield!  Rowe 
et  seq. 

ventures]  venters  Rowe  ii,  Pope. 


141.  Charmes]  This  verb  in  the  singular  after  a  plural  subject,  ABBOTT  (§  412) 
calls  'confusion  by  proximity'  inasmuch  as  it  is  close  to  'tongue.'  Older  gram- 
marians call  it  'singular  by  attraction.' — BR.  NICHOLSON  (see  Ingleby,  ii,  p.  48) 
gives  a  concise  rule  for  this  idiom,  as  follows:  'When  that  intervenes  between  the 
noun  and  the  verb  in  Elizabethan  English,  usage  places  the  verb  in  the  singular, 
even  though  the  noun  be  in  the  plural.' 

145,  146.  and  fasten'd  to  an  Emperie  Would  make]  It  is  difficult  to  deter- 
mine the  meaning  of  this  line.  Does  it  mean :  '  A  Lady  so  fair  and  fastened  to  an 
Empiry,  which  Empiry  would  thereby  make  the  greatest  King  double'?  according 
to  the  punctuation  of  the  Folio;  or  does  it  mean,  according  to  the  punctuation  of 
ROWE  (ed.  i.):  'A  Lady  so  fair,  wlto  fastened  to  an  empery,  Would  make  the 
great'st  King  double'?  The  solution  largely  depends  on  the  presence  or  absence 
of  a  comma  after  'Emperie.'  The  Text.  Notes  will,  therefore,  reveal  the  opinions  of 
the  various  editors,  without  rehearsing  them  here. — ED. 

145.  Emperie]  BRADLEY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.,  Empery  2.  a.):  The  territory  ruled 
by  an  Emperor,  b.  In  wider  sense:  The  territory  of  an  absolute  or  powerful  ruler. 
[As  here,  probably.] 

147.  Tomboyes]  HUNTER  (ii,  293) :  This  meant  in  Shakespeare's  time  pretty  much 
what  it  means  now.  Golding  applies  it  to  Arethusa,  who  was  indeed  quite  a  tomboy. 

147.  selfe  exhibition]  JOHNSON:    That  is,  hired  with  the  very  pension  which 
you  allow  your  husband. — NARES  (Gloss.,  s.  v.,  exhibition):   WThen  Lear  complains 
of  being  'confined  to  exhibition,'  he  means  put  upon  a  stated  allowance. — I,  ii. 
The  same  is  the  intent  of  Othello  when  he  requires  for  his  wife,  'Due  reference  of 
place  and  exhibition.' — I,  iii.     Still  used  in  the  universities,  where  the  salaries 
bestowed  by  some  foundations  are  called  'exhibitions.' — INGLEBY:   Now  restricted 
to  a  stipend  awarded  for  proficiency  in  learning. 

148.  ventures]  CAPELL  (p.  106):   Put  figuratively  for  ventures,  i.  e.,  traders. — 

7 


.-B  3U861 

r TfT ' 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  vii. 

That  play  with  all  Infirmities  for  Gold, 

Which  rottenneffe  can  lend  Nature.     Such  boyl'd  ftuffe  150 

As  well  might  poyfon  Poyfon.     Be  reueng'd, 

Or  (he  that  bore  you,  was  no  Queene,  and  you 

Recoyle  from  your  great  Stocke. 

Imo.     Reueng'd  : 

How  mould  I  be  reueng'd?  If  this  be  true,  155 

(As  I  haue  fuch  a  Heart,  that  both  mine  eares 
Muft  not  in  hafte  abufe)  if  it  be  true, 
How  mould  I  be  reueng'd  ? 

lacli.     Should  he  make  me  1 59 

149.  That  play]    To   play   Rowe   ii,  152.  and  you]  or  you  Ingl.  conj. 
Pope,  Han.     That  pay  Coll.  MS.  Ktly  154.  Reueng'd:}  Ff.     Reveng'd,  alas! 
conj.                                                                   Han.    Revenged!  Rowe  et  cet. 

150.  can  lend]  lends  Pope,  +  .  155.  reueng'd?     If... true,}  reveng'd  if 
Nature.}    Nature,    Ff.      nature!        this  be  true,  Rowe.    reveng'd,  if  this  be 

Rowe  et  seq.  true?  Pope,  +  ,  Var.  '73. 

151.  Poyfon.}  poison!  Rowe  et  seq.  156,  157.  (As. ..abufe)}  No  parenthe- 
reueng'd,]    Ff,    Rowe    i,    Coll.         ses  Rowe,  Pope. 

Cam.      reveng'd    Rowe    ii,    Han.      re-  157.  abufe)}  abuses,  Rowe  ii,+,  Var. 

veng'd;  Theob.  et  cet.  '73. 

158.  fliould}  Jhatt  F3F4,  Rowe,+. 

DYCE  (Gloss.}:  Chance  lemans  [The  true  interpretation,  as  I  think. — ED.];  or 
else  equivalent  to  venturers. — VAUGHAN  (p.  380):  'With  those  diseased  gamblers 
who  stake  against  money  all  the  infirmities  which  rottenness  can  lend  nature.' — 
DOWDEN:  Perhaps  'ventures'  means  things  risked  in  the  way  of  trade,  as  in 
Mer.  of  Ven.,  I,  i,  42:  'My  ventures  are  not  in  one  bottom  trusted.' 

149.  That    play   with  .  .  .  for    Gold]    KEIGHTLEY    (Exp.,    376):     We    might 
make  a  transposition,  and  read  'That  play  for  gold,'  etc.,  i.  e.,  stake  their  diseases 
against  gold. 

150.  boyl'd  stuffe]  On  this  unsavory  subject,  STEEVENS  quotes  passages  from 
Shakespeare  and  elsewhere  to  prove  that  this  phrase  refers  to  the  treatment  for  dis- 
graceful diseases,  and  closes  well  enough  with  the  remark  that,  'all  this  stuff  about 
boiling,  scalding,  etc.,  is  a  mere  play  on  stew,  which  is  afterwards  used  for  a  brothel 
by  Imogen.' 

153.  Recoyle  from  your  great  Stocke]  ROLFE:  That  is,  fall  off,  prove  de- 
generate; as  in  Macb.,  IV,  iii,  19:  'A  good  and  virtuous  nature  may  recoil  In  an 
imperial  charge.' 

156.  As  I  haue]  This  'as'  is  here,  I  think,  equivalent  to  inasmuch  as.  See  FRANZ 
(Grammatik,  p.  305). 

159.  Should  he  make  me]  WHITE  (Sh.  Scholar,  p.  457):  Should  we  not  read, 
'  Should  he  make  you '?  What  power  had  Posthumus  over  the  conduct  of  lachimo? 
[etc.,  etc.  This  unhappy  conjecture  was  not  repeated  in  White's  edition;  it  is, 
therefore,  to  be  inferred  that  it  was  happily  withdrawn.  Unfortunately,  however, 
in  that  edition  White  adopted  a  reading  which  was  almost  as  prosaic,  namely: 
'  Should  he  make  thee,'  unmindful  of  the  impropriety  of  addressing  a  princess  with 
the  familiar,  or  contemptuous  Second  Person,  in  one  line,  and,  in  a  few  lines  after, 


ACT  i,  sc.  vii.]  CYMBELINE  99 

Liue  like  Diana's  Prieft,  betwixt  cold  fheets,  160 

Whiles  he  is  vaulting  variable  Rampes 

In  your  defpight,  vpon  your  purfe  :  reuenge  it. 

I  dedicate  my  felfe  to  your  fweet  pleafure, 

More  Noble  then  that  runnagate  to  your  bed, 

And  will  continue  faft  to  your  Affection,  165 

Still  clofe,  as  fure. 

Imo.     What  hoa,  Pifanio  ?  167 

1 60.  Line]  Lie  Walker,  Huds.  162.  purfe:}  purse?  Pope  et  seq. 
Priejl,  betwixt]  priestess,   'twixt  reuenge    it.]    revenge   it!    Pope, 

Han.    priest,  between  Cap.  Theob.  Han.  Johns. 

Jheets,]  sheets;  Rowe,  Cap.  Varr.  163.  your]  you  Pope  ii. 

Mai.  Steev.  Varr.  Sing.  sheets?Pope,-\-.  166.  clofe,  as]  close  as  Han.  Dyce. 

161.  vaulting]  vailing  F2.  167,  176,  183.  hoa]  ho  F4  et  seq. 

speaking  of  'your  despite,'  lyour  purse.'  Throughout  this  interview  both  Imogen 
and  lachimo  have  used  the  respectful  'you';  it  is  not  until  Imogen  pours  out  on  the 
Italian  her  indignation  and  scorn  that  she  uses  for  the  first  time  the  contemptuous 
'thee.' — DYCE  (ed.  ii.),  after  expressing  his  surprise  that  White  should  have  thought 
it  necessary  to  make  such  a  substitution,  justly  observed  that  'lachimo  evidently 
means  "If  I  were  you,  should  you  make  me,"'  etc.— THISELTON  (p.  16)  accepts 
the  text  literally,  and  paraphrases  it, — 'Ought  it  to  be  a  consequence  of  Posthumus's 
gross  infidelity,  that  I,  your  devoted  worshipper,  should  be  restricted  to  a  life  of 
celibacy  owing  to  my  constancy  to  you?'— ED.] 

160.  Diana's  Priest]  M ALONE:  Hanmer  supposed  that  the  text  was  inac- 
curate, and  that  we  should  read  '  Diana's  priestiss,'  but  the  text  is  as  the  author 
wrote  it.  So,  in  Pericles,  Diana  says:  'My  temple  stands  at  Ephesus;  hie  thee 
thither;  There  where  my  maiden  priests  are  met  together.' — V,  i,  243. 

162.  reuenge  it.]  Imogen  has   asked  how  she  is  to  be  revenged.     Should  not 
these  words  of  lachimo  echo  her  question,  and  be  followed  by  an  interrogation 
mark?     'Revenge  it?'     Then  comes  his  answer,  'I  dedicate  myself,'  etc. — ED. 

1 66.  Still  close,  as  sure]  Always  as  secretly,  as  faithfully. 

167.  What    hoa,  Pisanio]  R.  G.  WHITE  (Sh,  Scholar,  p.  459):    The  exquisite 
purity,  the  firm  undallying  chastity  of  Imogen  are  indicated  with  unsurpassable 
tact  and  skill  in  this  Scene,  and  by  her  first  exclamation.     She  is  slow  to  under- 
stand lachimo;  but  the  moment  he  makes  his  proposition  plainly, — without  an 
instant's  delay,  before  a  word  of  anger  or  surprise  passes  her  lips,  she  calls  for  the 
faithful  servant  of  her  lord,  to  remove  him  who  has  insulted  her  and  his  friend's 
honor.     Then  her  indignation  bursts  from  her;  but  again  and  again  she  interrupts 
its  flow  with  '  WTiat  ho,  Pisanio! '     She  holds  no  question  with  him  who  made  such 
a  proposition  to  her;  she  enters  into  no  dispute  of  why  or  wherefore,  draws  no 
contrast  herself  between  her  truth  and  her  husband's  falsehood :    she  seeks  nothing 
but  the  instantaneous  removal  of  a  man  who  has  dared  to  attempt  her  chastity. 
Not  only  does  she  refuse  all  consideration  of  the  right  or  wrong  of  his  proposition, 
all  going  into  the  metaphysics  of  the  question,  but  the  mere  proposal  changes,  on 
the  moment,  all  previous  relations  between  her  and  the  proposer,  although  they 
were  established  by  her  husband  himself.     It  is  not  until  her  pure  soul,  as  quick  to 
believe  the  good  as  it  was  slow  to  imagine  ill,  is  quieted  by  the  entire  withdrawal 


I0o  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  vii. 

lack.    Let  me  my  feruice  tender  on  your  lippes.  168 

Imo.     Away,  I  do  condemne  mine  eares,that  haue 

So  long  attended  thee.     If  thou  wert  Honourable  170 

Thou  would'ft  haue  told  this  tale  for  Vertue,  not 

For  fuch  an  end  thou  feek'ft,  as  bafe,as  ftrange  : 

Thou  wrong'ft  a  Gentleman,  who  is  as  farre 

From  thy  report,  as  thou  from  Honor:  and 

Solicites  heere  a  Lady,  that  difdaines  175 

169.  Away,]   Away!   Theob.    Warb.  et  cet. 
et  seq.  175.  Solicites]  Solicit/I  F2F3.  Solid? ft 

172.  feek'ft,]  Ff>  Rowe,  Pope,  Coll.  F4  et  seq. 
Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam.    seek'st;  Theob. 

of  lachimo's  advances,  and  the  assignment  of  a  comprehensible,  though  not 
excusable  reason  for  them,  that  she  ceases  to  call  for  him  who  is  in  some  sort  the 
representative  of  her  husband. 

168.  Let  me  my  seruice,  etc.]  It  seems  a  little  strange  that  after  Imogen's 
call  for  Pisanio,  lachimo  should  persist  in  his  attempt  and  not  take  instant  alarm. 
But  he  knew  that  a  few  minutes  must  certainly  elapse  before  the  servant  could 
appear — in  fact,  he  does  not  come  at  all — and  from  Imogen's  imperative  'Away!' 
is  it  not  to  be  inferred  that  he  had  actually  drawn  very  close,  his  face  almost  touch- 
ing hers,  to  tender  the  kiss.     Possibly  it  is  always  so  represented  on  the  stage. — ED. 

169.  condemne]  COLLIER  (ed.  ii.):    This  is  amended  to  contemn,  a  much  more 
forcible  word,  in  the  MS.     'Condemn'  is  certainly  intelligible,  but  we  cannot 
doubt  that  Shakespeare's  expression  was,  'I  do  contemn  mine  ears,'  i.e.,  'I  do 
despise  mine  ears  that  have  so  long,'  etc.     [It  is  hardly  worth  while  to  discuss  the 
needlessness  of  this  change.     COLLIER  himself,  after  having  adopted  it  in  his 
Second  Edition,  deserted  it  in  his  Third. — ED.] 

172.  end  thou  seek'st,  as  base,  as  strange]  VAUGHAN:  I  am  not  confident 
that  this  most  obvious  sense  [as  base  as  it  is  strange]  is  the  right  one.  'The  base 
end'  alluded  to  was  in  some  senses  not  a  'strange'  end.  The  line  may  mean,  'for 
such  an  end  as  you  are  aiming  at,  who  are  as  low  a  fellow  as  you  are  foreign  and 
unknown.'  Imogen  has  said  to  him,  'if  thou  wert  honorable,'  etc.  She  also  says 
below  of  him  'a  saucy  stranger.'  [It  is  true  enough  that  'in  some  senses,'  as 
Vaughan  says,  the  end  alluded  to  was  not  strange,  but  Imogen  could  not  say  that 
lachimo  was  'unknown'  to  her;  he  had  brought  high  commendations  from  Posthu- 
mus.  For  a  man,  however,  to  make  base  advances  to  a  Princess,  already  married, 
at  a  first  interview,  is  certainly  'strange';  it  can  hardly  be  a  matter  of  common 
occurrence.  It  is  hardly  admissible  to  interpret  '  strange '  as  foreign.  In  an  un- 
happy hour  Theobald  substituted  a  semi-colon  after  'seek'st,'  for  the  comma  of  the 
Folio. — ED.] 

175.  Solicites]  One  of  WALKER'S  valuable  chapters  (Crit.,  ii,  126)  is  devoted  to 
examples  where  s  is  substituted  for  st  in  the  second  person  singular  of  a  verb,  and 
chiefly  in  verbs  ending  in  /,  as  in  the  present  instance.  I  cannot  but  believe  that  this 
substitution  was  intentional  wherever  used,  indeed,  in  some  cases,  the  rhyme  re- 
quires it.  There  is  a  notable  instance  when  Hamlet  addresses  his  father's  ghost: 
'That  thou,  dead  Corse  .  .  .  Revisits  thus  the  glimpses  of  the  Moon,'  where 
'revisit'st  thus'  is  almost  unpronounceable.  There  is  another  example  in  this 


ACT  i,  sc.  vii.]  CYMBELINE  IOi 

Thee,  and  the  Diuell  alike.     What  hoa,  Pifanio?  176 

The  King  my  Father  fliall  be  made  acquainted 

Of  thy  Affault  :  if  he  fhall  thinke  it  fit, 

A  fawcy  Stranger  in  his  Court,  to  Mart 

As  in  a  Romifh  Stew,  and  to  expound  180 

His  beaftly  minde  to  vs  ;  he  hath  a  Court 

178.  thy]    this    Walker     (Crit.,    ii,  179.  to  Mart}  to  match  Vaun. 

238).  181.  to  vs;]  to  us,  Han.  Var.  '73,  Coll. 

AJJault]  insult  Coll.  conj.  Dyce,  Sta.  Ktly,  Glo.  Cam. 

present  play,  'Thinking  to  barre  thee  of  succession,  as  Thou  refts  me  of  my  lands' 
-III,  iii,  112,  where,  as  in  the  present  'solicits,'  I  think  the  Folio  should  be  followed. 
Grammar  is  dearly  purchased  in  poetry  at  the  price  of  invincible  cacophony.— 
ED. 

178,  179.  thinke  it  fit,  A  sawcy  Stranger]  VAUGHAN  (p.  382):  The  con- 
struction of  this  phrase,  as  appears  by  the  punctuation,  has  been  universally  mis- 
understood. In  truth  it  means,  'if  he  shall  think  that  it  becomes  a  saucy,' etc., 
'Fit'  is  a  verb,  not  an  adjective;  and  this  view  of  it  makes  quite  regular  the  other- 
wise awkward  and  abnormal  infinitives  'to  mart'  and  'to  expound.'  [The  chief 
objection  to  this  truly  excellent  interpretation,  and  chief  though  it  be  it  is  trifling, 
is  the  use  of  the  subjunctive  instead  of  the  indicative  fits.  Where  no  doubt  is 
expressed,  the  indicative  may  follow  an  'if  (see  Abbott,  §  363),  and  the  punctua- 
tion of  the  Folio  shows  that  the  compositors,  at  least,  accepted  'fit'  as  an  adjective. 
Dowden  thinks  that  'perhaps  Vaughan  may  be  right';  and  he  adopts  his  interpre- 
tation so  far  as  to  omit  the  comma  after  'fit.'  Vaughan  is,  I  think,  a  little  hasty  in 
saying  that  the  infinitives  'to  mart'  and  'to  expound'  are  'awkward  and  abnormal.' 
The  instances  in  Shakespeare  are  many  where  the  infinitive  is  used  indefinitely. 
(See  ABBOTT,  §  356.) — ED.] 

180.  Romish]  STEEVENS  asserts  that  'Romish'  in  Shakespeare's  time  was  used 
for  Roman,  and  quotes  three  instances  hi  proof.     He  is,  of  course,  correct  in  his 
assertion;  it  was  so  used;  but  had  he  quoted  thirty  examples,  it  would  not  have 
explained  the  use  of  the  word  here  and  by  Shakespeare.     There  is  to  this  day  a 
subtle  atmosphere   of   nobility   and   grandeur   surrounding   the  word   'Roman.' 
Shakespeare  had  to  use  it  many  times;  a  glance  at  Bartlett's  Concordance  will  show 
more  than  a  column  and  a  half  of  instances.     But  the  present  word  'Romish' 
from  Imogen's  impassioned  and  indignant  lips  is  full  of  scorn  and  contempt;  and 
here,  and  here  only,  is  it  used  by  Shakespeare.     In  ' suum  cuique  is  our  Roman 
justice, — substitute  Romish,  and  mark  the  contempt.' — ED. 

181.  His  beastly  minde    to   vs]   R.  G.  WHITE    (Sh.  Scholar,  p.  458):    Here 
is  an  exquisite  touch  of  the  master's  hand  in  a  single  pronoun.     Born  a  princess, 
she  has  given  herself  to  Posthumus,  a  nameless  man,  as  freely  as  if  she  were  a 
peasant's  daughter;  and  she  is  remarkable,  with  all  her  dignity,  for  her  unassuming 
deportment;  but  the  insult  of  lachimo  stings  her  into  pride,  and  for  the  first  and 
only  time  she  takes  her  state  and  speaks  of  herself  in  the  plural  number.     She 
says,  'to  expound  his  mind,'  not  to  me,  but  'to  us.'      Mrs  Jameson's  delicate 
perception  doubtless  saw  this,  as  well  as    the  constrained  brevity  of  Imogen's 
replies,  even  after  she  has  admitted  the  excuses  of  lachimo. 


IO2 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  vii. 


He  little  cares  for,  and  a  Daughter,  who  182 

He  not  refpe6ls  at  all.     What  hoa,  Pifanio  ? 

lack.     O  happy  Leonatus  I  may  fay, 

The  credit  that  thy  Lady  hath  of  thee  185 

Deferues  thy  truft,  and  thy  moft  perfect  goodneffe 
Her  affur'd  credit,     Bleffed  Hue  you  long, 
A  Lady  to  the  worthieft  Sir,  that  euer 
Country  call'd  his  ;  and  you  his  Miftris,  onely 
For  the  moft  worthieR  fit.     Giue  me  your  pardon,  190 

I  haue  fpoke  this  to  know  if  your  Affiance 
Were  deeply  rooted,  and  mall  make  your  Lord, 
That  which  he  is,  new  o're :  And  he  is  one 
The  trueft  manner'd  :  fuch  a  holy  Witch,  194 

182.  a  Daughter}  Daughter  F3F4.  187.  long,]   long!   Cap.   Var.    '78   et 

who]  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam.  Wh.  ii.  seq. 

whom  Ff  et  cet.  189.  his;]    Ff,    Rowe,    Pope,    Han. 

184.  fay]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han.  Cap.  Coll.     his!  Theob.  et  cet. 

say;  Theob.  et  cet.  190.  moft  worthiejl]  most  worthy  Pope, 

1 86.  truft,}     Rowe,     Pope,     Theob.         Han. 

Warb.  Johns.  Sta.  Glo.   Cam.     trust;  fit.}  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Coll.  Ktly. 

Han.  et  cet.  fit!  Theob.  et  cet. 

187.  credit.   Bleffed]  Cap.  Coll.  Dyce,  194.  trueft  manner'd]  truest-manner' d 
Glo.  Cam.     credit,  Bleffed  F2.     credit,  Var.  '73. 

bleJfed¥^F4.    credit;  blessed  Rowe,  Han.  manner'd:]  manner'd,   Pope,-|-, 

credit!  blessed  Pope  et  cet.  Cam. 

182.  who  He  little  cares  for]  Recent  editors  wisely  retain  this  'who,'  char- 
acteristic as  it  is  of  Shakespeare  and  his  times.  See  also,  'who  the  King  .  .  . 
called,'  III,  iii,  96;  'To  who.' — IV,  ii,  102. 

185.  The   credit   that   thy    Lady    hath    of    thee]    ECCLES:    The    confidence 
which  she  reposes  in  thee  deserves  an  equal  return  on  thy  part,  and  thy  unsullied 
virtue  and  integrity  is  the  surest  foundation  for  that  confidence  in  her — or  possibly, 
'credit'  may  signify  the  good  opinion  which  you  entertain  of  her. 

189.  Country  call'd  his]  That  is,  called  its  own. 

190.  most  worthiest]  For  instances  of  double  comparatives  and  double  super- 
latives, see,  if  need  be,  ABBOTT,  §  n. 

191.  Affiance]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  3.):   The  pledging  of  faith;  solemn  en- 
gagement; especially,  the  plighting  of  troth  between  two  persons  in  marriage,  a 
marriage  contract. 

193,  194.  one  The  truest]  ABBOTT  (§18):    'one'  is  used  for  above  all  in  Eliza- 
bethan English  with  superlatives. 

194.  a  holy  Witch]  WALKER  (Crit.,  ii,  88) :   'Witch'  in  the  sense  of  a  male  sor- 
cerer, or  without  any  specific  reference  to  sex,  frequently  occurs  in  the  old  writers 
[whereof  many  examples  follow,  among  them  the  present  passage.     In  Wint.  Tale, 
an  example  which  Walker  did  not  note,  Leontes  calls  Paulina  a  'witch/  and  to  add 
to  it  an  especial  roughness  calls  her  a  'mankind  witch.'      Walker  concludes  his 
article  with  a  quotation  from  Minsheu's  Guide  Into  the  Tongues,  1617  (s.  v.  '  Coniura- 


ACT  i,  sc.  vii.]  CYMBELINE 

That  he  enchants  Societies  into  him  :  195 

Halfe  all  men  hearts  are  his. 

luw.     You  make  amends. 

lacli.    He  fits  'mong'ft  men,  like  a  defended  God;  198 

195.  into]  Ff,   Rowe,   Pope,  Theob.         Theob.  ii.  et  seq. 

Warb.  Johns.   Dyce,   Sta.   Ktly,   Glo.  198.  'mongfl]    mongfl    F2.     amongfl 

Cam.    unto  Han.  et  cet.  F3F4,  Rowe  i.     'mong  Theob.  ii,  Warb. 

196.  men]    mens    Ff,    Rowe,    Pope,         Johns. 

Theob.  i,  Han.    mens'  Var.  '73.    men's  defended]  defcended  Ff  et  seq. 

tion')  where  the  difference  is  set  forth  'betueene  Conjuration,  Witchcraft,  and 
Inchantment'; — 'the  Coniurer  seemeth  by  praiers  and  inuocation  of  Gods  powerfull 
names,  to  compel!  the  Diuell  to  say  or  doe  what  he  commandeth  him;  The  Witch 
dealeth  rather  by  a  friendly  and  voluntarie  conference  or  agreement  betweene  him 
or  her  and  the  Diuell  or  Familiar,  to  haue  his  or  her  turne  serued  in  lieu  or  stead  of 
blood,  or  other  gift  offered  vnto  him,  especially  of  his  or  her  soule;  So  that  a  Con- 
iurer compacts  for  curiositie  to  know  secrets,  and  work  maruels;  and  the  Witch 
of  meere  malice  to  doe  mischief e:  And  both  these  differ  from  Inchanters  or  Sor- 
cerers, because  the  former  two  haue  personall  conference  with  the  Diuell,  and  the 
other  meddles  but  with  Medicines  and  ceremoniall  formes  of  words  called  Charmes, 
without  apparition.'  Walker  quotes  only  a  portion  of  the  foregoing,  but  the  whole 
of  it  seems  interesting.  — CHURTON  COLLINS  (Note  in  The  Pinner  of  Wakefield,  III, 
ii,  703)  quotes  from  Latimer:  'We  run  hither  and  thither  to  witches  or  sorcerers 
whom  we  call  wise  men.' — Sermons  preached  in  Lincolnshire,  V.  (ed.  not  given). 
In  my  edition  of  1572,  however,  this  passage  runs,  'we  runne  hither  and  thither 
to  wyssardes,  or  sorcerers,  whome  we  call  wyse  men.' — Fol.  98,  verso.  The  fore- 
going note  is  reprinted  from  Commentary  on  Ant.  &  Cleop.,  I,  ii,  42,  of  this  edi- 
tion.— ED.] 

195.  he  enchants]  That  is,  as  a  Witch. — M ALONE:  So,  in  Shakespeare's  Lover's 
Complaint:  'That  he  did  in  the  general  bosom  reign  Of  young  of  old;  and  sexes 
both  enchanted  .  .  .  Consents  bewitch'd,  ere  he  desire,  have  granted.' 

195.  into]  DYCE:    There  are  other  passages  in  these  plays  where  our  author 
(like  the  writers  of  his  day)  uses  '  into '  for  unto. 

196.  Halfe  all  men  hearts  are  his]   It   will  be  deemed,  possibly,  a  flagrant 
instance  of  'Foliolatry'  to  suggest  that  we  should  not  too  hastily  change  'men 
hearts'  into  ' 'men's  hearts.'     Yet  may  not  something  be  pleaded  in  its  favour? 
Shakespeare  could  hardly  say  all  'male  hearts'  nor  all  'wow-hearts.'     And  yet  is  it 
not  the  idea  which  he  intended  to  convey  that  'half  of  all  men  who  have  manly 
hearts  are  his'?     It  is  because  they  are  'men'  that  they  sympathise  with  Posthu- 
mus,  not  because  they  have  hearts. — ED. 

198.  defended  God]  UPTON  (p.  220),  whose  laudable  zeal  it  was  to  prove  that 
Shakespeare,  bred  in  a  learned  age,  was  equal  in  learning  with  his  contemporaries, 
here  points  out  that  'there  is  no  less  learning  than  elegance  in  this  expression.' 
The  Greeks  called  a  'descended  God'  /carcti/Sdr^s,  and  that  Jupiter  was  peculiarly 
worshipped  as  such.  'Agreeable  to  this  opinion,  Paul  and  Barnabas  were  thought 
by  the  people  of  Lycaonia  to  be  descended  Gods.' — Acts,  xiv.  n. — CAPELL  (p.  106): 
This  very  learned  allusion  never  enter'd  into  the  head  of  the  Poet. — PORTER  and 
CLARKE:  There  is  some  appropriateness  in  the  unusual  adjective  'defended  God,' 


I04  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  vii. 

He  hath  a  kinde  of  Honor  fets  him  off, 

More  then  a  mortall  feeming.     Be  not  angrie  2OO 

( Moft  mighty  Princeffe)  that  I  haue  aduentur'd 

To  try  your  taking  of  a  falfe  report,  which  hath 

Honoured  with  confirmation  your  great  Judgement, 

In  the  election  of  a  Sir,  fo  rare, 

Which  you  know,  cannot  erre.     The  loue  I  beare  him,  205 

Made  me  to  fan  you  thus,  but  the  Gods  made  you 

(Vnlike  all  others)  chaffeleffe.     Pray  your  pardon. 

Imo.     All's  well  Sir  : 
Take  my  powre  i'th'Court  for  yours. 

lac/i.     My  humble  thankes  :  I  had  almoft  forgot  210 

T'intreat  your  Grace,  but  in  a  fmall  requefl, 
And  yet  of  moment  too,  for  it  concernes  : 
Your  Lord,  my  felfe,  and  other  Noble  Friends  213 

199.  Honor]  F2.    honour  F3F4.  208,  209.  One  line  Rowe  et  seq. 
202.  your  taking  of  a]  you  with  a  Han.             209.  i'thJ]ith'¥2F3.    i'the  Cap.  et  seq. 

you  by  a  Cap.     your  taking  a  Steev.  -  211.  T'intreat]    Ff,    Rowe,-f,    Coll. 

Var.  '78.     your  taking,  a  Knt.     your  Dyce  ii,  iii.     To  intreat  Cap.  et  cet. 
taking  of  Vaun.  212.  concernes:}  Ingl.  ii.     concernes, 

Sir,fo  rare,]  sir  so  rare,  Var.  '78  F2.    concerns,  F3.    concerns  F4  et  cet. 
et  seq.  213.  Lord,]  Ff,  Dyce,  Coll.  ii,  Sta. 

rare,]  rare.  F2.  Lord;  Rowe  et  cet. 

meaning  that  he  sets  aloof  from  others,  defended  as  a  God  from  mortal  contact  or 
degradation  by  the  Honor  that  sets  him  off.  So  royalty  was  set  off  by  sitting  apart, 
fended  off  from  rude  contact,  on  a  dais  or  at  a  table  by  itself.  A  'descended' 
God  is  not  thought  of  readily  as  sitting,  but  as  alighting.  Hence  we  suspect 
that  'defended'  was  intended,  and  the  'correction  ["descended"]  is  really  a 
corruption.' 

200.  More   then   a  mortall  seeming]  CAPELL  (p.  106):    'Honor'  in  the  line 
before  this,  is:  dignity  of  carriage  and  thinking;  and  that  such  as  seem'd  more  than 
'a  mortal  one,'  or  than  might  belong  to  a  mortal;  the  expression  were  less  ambigu- 
ous, if  we  read — 'more  than  a  mortal's,'  or,  'more  than  of  mortal.' 

202-204.  which  hath  ...  a  Sir,  so  rare]  ECCLES  and  others  have  given 
profuse  paraphrases  of  these  lines;  they  seem  to  me  superfluous.  Language  can 
hardly  be  less  obscure  than  the  original.  The  only  point  wherein  there  seems  to  lie 
any  doubt  is  the  antecedent  to  'which';  it  has  been  taken  as  'false  report.'  Is  it 
not  rather  the  trial  of  Imogen's  fidelity  by  a  false  report? — ED. 

205.  Which  you  know,  cannot  erre]  That  is,  you  yourself  know  your  judge- 
ment of  your  husband's  character  cannot  be  mistaken. 

212,  213.  for  it  concernes  :  Your  Lord,]  H.  INGLEBY  (Rev.  ed.}\  Editors  have, 
without  sufficient  justification,  placed  a  stop  at  'Lord'  instead  of  at  'concernes,' 
as  in  the  Folio.  '  It  concerns '  is  equivalent  to  '  it  concerns  you,' — it  is  your  business. 
We  find  exactly  the  same  use  in  Wint.  Tale,  III,  ii,  85:  'Which  to  deny  concernes 
more  than  avails,'  where  you  is  similarly  understood.  As  Posthumus  is  mixed  up 


ACT  i,  sc.  vii.]  CYMBELINE  105 

Are  partners  in  the  bufmeffe. 

lino.     Pray  what  is't  ?  215 

lack.     Some  dozen  Romanes  of  vs,  and  your  Lord 

(The  beft  Feather  of  our  wing)  haue  mingled  fummes 

To  buy  a  Prefent  for  the  Emperor  : 

Which  I  (the  Factor  for  the  reft)  haue  done 

In  France  :  'tis  Plate  of  rare  deuice,  and  Jewels  220 

Of  rich,  and  exquifite  forme,  their  valewes  great, 

And  I  am  fomething  curious,  being  ftrange 

To  haue  them  in  fafe  ftowage  :  May  it  pleafe  you 

To  take  them  in  protection. 

Into.     Willingly :  225 

And  pawne  mine  Honor  for  their  fafety,  fince 

My  Lord  hath  intereft  in  them,  I  will  keepe  them 

In  my  Bed-chamber.  228 

217.  (The  bejl]  Best  Pope,+.    Ttibest  seq. 
Cap.  222.  ft  range]  ft  range,  Ff  et  seq. 

220.  deuice,]  device;  Vaun.  224.  protection.]    Ff,    Rowe,    Pope, 

221.  forme,]  form.  Coll.    form;  Cap.  Var.  '73.    protection?  Theob.  et  cet. 

et  seq.  226.  fafety,]  F3F4.  Rowe.    fafty,  F2. 

valcwes]    values  F3F4.      value's        safety.  Pope,+.     safety:  Cap.  et  cet. 
Coll.  ii,  iii,  Ktly.  228.  Bed-chamber.]  F4.    Bedchamber: 

great,]  Ff,  Coll.  great;  Rowe  et         F2.    Bed  chamber.  F3. 

in  this  business,  it  naturally  concerns  Imogen;  and  the  change  of  punctuation,  be 
it  noted,  still  leaves  something  to  be  desired.  [In  addition  to  this  instance  from 
The  Wint.  Tale,  SCHMIDT  (Lex.)  gives  a  second,  where  'concern'  is  used  intransi- 
tively, from  Love's  Lab.  L.:  'deliver  this  paper  into  the  royal  hand  of  the  king;  it 
may  concern  much.' — IV,  ii,  146.  To  these  two  instances  the  present  should 
unquestionably  be  added  as  a  third,  and  if  so,  it  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that 
yon  is  understood;  it  means  simply,  'for  it  is  of  much  importance,'  thereby  justi- 
fying the  assertion  that  the  request,  though  small,  was  yet  of  moment.  This  just 
adherence  to  the  Folio  by  H.  Ingleby  obviates  the  necessity  of  the  semi-colon  after 
'Lord'  in  the  next  line,  which  was  placed  there  by  Rowe  and  adopted  by  every 
subsequent  editor,  except  Dyce,  Collier  (ed.  ii.),  and  Staunton,  who  retained  the 
comma  of  the  Folio,  'Lord,'  and  remarked  that  'who'  or  'that'  has  to  be  supplied 
before  'Are  partners,'  etc.,  which  is  presumably  what  H.  Ingleby  refers  to  in  his 
concluding  remark  that  the  modern  punctuation  'still  leaves  something  to  be 
desired.' — ED.] 

222.  curious]  This  has  been  defined  as  careful,  accurate,  scrupulous,  particular, 
anxious,  and  painstaking.     The  'curious'  student  may,  therefore,  take  his  choice.— 
ED. 

222.  strange]  HALLIWELL:  That  is,  being  a  stranger.  So  in  Lyly's  Euphues  and 
his  England,  1623,  ' — at  the  last  they  came  to  London  where  they  met  with  divers 
stranges.' 

228.  In  my  Bed-chamber]  OHLE  (p.  65)  in  an  exhaustive  discussion  of  the 


I06  THE   TRACE  DIE  OF  [ACT  i,  sc.  vii. 

lack.     They  are  in  a  Trunke 

Attended  by  my  men  :  I  will  make  bold  230 

To  fend  them  to  you ,  onely  for  this  night : 
I  muft  aboord  to  morrow. 

lino.     O  no,  no. 

lack.     Yes  I  befeech  :  or  I  fhall  fhort  my  word 
By  lengthening  my  returne.     From  Gallia,  235 

I  croft  the  Seas  on  purpofe,  and  on  promife 
To  fee  your  Grace. 

Imo.     I  thanke  you  for  your  paines  : 
But  not  awav  to  morrow. 

s 

lack.     O  I  muft  Madam.  240 

229.  Trunke]    Trunk    F3F4,    Rowe,        et  cet. 

Pope,  Han.    trunk,  Theob.  et  seq.  234.  befeech]  beseech  you  Rowe,  +  - 

230.  men]  man  Elze.  236.  purpofe,]    purpose    Dyce,    Sta. 

231.  night:]  night.  Knt.    night,  Coll.  Glo.  Cam. 

232.  aboord]    aboard   F3F4.      a-board  239.  to  morrow.]  Ff,  Rowe,  Cap.    to- 
Var.  '73.  -morrow?    Pope,+,   Varr.   Mai.   Varr. 

to  morrow.]    F4.      to    morrow,  -  Coll.    to-morrow!  Knt,  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo. 

F2F,.  Cam. 

233.0  no]    Ff,    Ro\ve,+.      0!    no,  240.  O  I]  F2F3.    /  Pope,  Han.    OH 

Coll.  i,  iii.  Oh!  no,  Coll.  ii.    O,  no,  Cap.  Coll.  i,  iii.    Oh,  I  Coll.  ii.    0,  /  F4  et  cet. 

sources  of  the  Plot,  criticises  the  introduction  of  the  trunk  into  the  story.  It  was 
well  enough  in  the  early  versions  of  the  story,  because  the  scene  was  laid  among  the 
common  people,  but  here  in  Shakespeare's  version  the  characters  are  of  the  highest 
nobility.  'The  trunk  is,  therefore,  unnecessary,  nay,  unbefitting.  By  virtue  of 
his  letter  of  introduction,  lachimo  had  received  a  free  admittance  to  Imogen's 
presence.  He  petitions  that  he  should  bring  the  trunk  to  her;  she  at  once  volun- 
tarily offers  to  take  it  into  her  bed-chamber.  But  this  offer  of  hers,  with  its 
specific  place  of  concealment  at  once  arouses  the  suspicion  of  a  spectator  at  the 
improbability  of  any  predetermined  scheme;  for  lachimo  himself  had  forgotten  the 
main  item  of  his  petition,  namely,  that  the  trunk  should  find  a  place  of  conceal- 
ment in  her  bed-chamber.  His  scheme  would  have  utterly  failed  had  not  Imogen 
come  to  his  aid.  No  original  narrator  of  the  story  could  have  made  so  clumsy  an 
intrigue.  It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  both  lachimo  and  Imogen  were  well-drilled 
actors  who  had,  in  some  way  or  other,  read  or  heard  the  Italian  novel.'  Beneath 
Ohle's  humour  there  lies  the  question  more  or  less  serious,  as  to  what  would  have 
been  lachimo's  course  had  Imogen  not  made  the  offer  of  her  bed-chamber,  Shake- 
speare foresaw  this  difficulty,  I  think,  and,  therefore,  it  is  that  lachimo  dwells  on 
the  interest  Posthumus  had  in  the  safekeeping  of  the  imperial  presents,  and  it  is  this 
fact  that  prompts  Imogen's  offer. — ED. 

234.  short  my  word]  SCHMIDT  (Lex.}:  That  is,  to  take  from,  to  impair,  to 
infringe  (antithetically).  [The  present  passage  is  Schmidt's  only  example  of  its 
use  with  this  meaning.  'Short'  as  a  verb  occurs  in  'Short,  night,  tonight,  and 
length  thyself  tomorrow.' — Pass.  PHg.,  210,  but  this  bears  a  different  signification. 
—ED.] 


ACT  i,  sc.  vii.]  CYMBELINE  IO; 

Therefore  I  fhall  befeech  you,  if  you  pleafe  241 

To  greet  your  Lord  with  writing,  doo't  to  night, 
I  haue  out-ftood  my  time,  which  is  materiall 
To'th'tender  of  our  Prefent. 

Imo.     I  will  write :  245 

Send  your  Trunke  to  me,  it  fhall  fafe  be  kept, 
And  truely  yeelded  you  :  you're  very  welcome.      Exeunt. 

244.  To'th']  F2.     To  th'  F3F4,  Rowe,        Han. 

+  .    To  the  Cap.  et  seq.  247.  you're]  Ff,  Rowe,+,  Cap.  Coll. 

245.  write:]  write.  Cap.  et  seq.  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam.    you  are  Var.  '73  et 

246.  me,]  me;  Cap.  et  seq.  cet. 

fafe  be]  be  fafe  F3F4,  Rowe,  Pope,  Exeunt]  Fxeunt  F2. 

243.  out-stood]  COLLIER  (ed.  ii.):  In  the  MS.  it  is  oulslay'd,  and  perhaps  the 
line  was  sometimes  so  delivered,  but  alteration  would  be  unadvisable.  It  may  be 
added  that  in  short-hand  'outstood'  and  outstay' 'd  would  be  spelt  with  the  same 
letters. 

246.  Send  your  Trunke  to  me]  HORN  (iv,  162):  We  must  bear  in  mind  that 
Imogen  cannot  possibly  be  as  fortunate  as  we  are,  who  can,  at  any  time,  from 
any  moderately  sized  circulating  library,  reap  such  a  harvest  of  the  knowledge  of 
human  nature  that  we  can  hardly  carry  it.  We  would  assuredly  not  have  taken 
lachimo's  trunk  into  our  bed-chamber,  simply  because  we  have  read  Boccaccio 
and  Shakespeare,  which  poor  Imogen  cannot  very  well  have  done. 

246.  it   shall    safe  be  kept]  WALKER  (Crit.,  ii,  247):   I  am  not  quite  sure  that 
we  ought  not  to  read,  'it  shall  be  safe  kept.'     [Walker  was  evidently  unaware  he 
had  been  long  anticipated  in  this  change.     See  Text.  Notes.] 

247.  yeelded  you  :  you're  very  welcome]  BR.   NICHOLSON  (N.  &*  Q.,  VII, 
ii,  23):  suggests  a  dash  after  'you,'  because  'lachimo,  like  a  true  courtier,  and  as  a 
private  gentleman  answering  a  princess,  acknowledges  her  gracious  assent  to  his 
request  by  a  low  bend  of  the  knee  or  head,  perhaps  even  kisses  her  hand,  for  most 
dutiful  observance  is  now  his  cue.     And  it  is  to  this  that  she  replies,  'You're  very 
welcome/  that  is,  as  the  hearer  likes,  either  generally  welcome  to  the  court,  or  to 
this  granted  assent,  or  to  both. 

247.  Exeunt]  HAZLITT  (p.  5):  Imogen's  readiness  to  pardon  lachimo's  false 
imputations  and  false  designs  against  herself  is  a  good  lesson  to  prudes;  and  may 
show  that  where  there  is  a  real  attachment  to  virtue,  it  has  no  need  to  bolster  itself 
up  with  an  outrageous  or  affected  antipathy  to  vice. 


IOS  THE  TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  n,  sc.  i. 

Aftiis  Secundus.     Scena  Prima. 

Enter  Clotten  ,and  the  two  Lords. 

Clot.    Was  there  euer  man  had  fuch  lucke  ?  when  I  kift 
the  lacke  vpon  an  vp-caft?  to  be  hit  away  ?    I  had  a  hun- 
dred  pound  on't  :   and  then   a  whorfon   lacke-an-Apes,  5 
muft   take    me  vp  for   fwearing,    as  if  I  borrowed   mine 
oathes  of  him,  and  might  not  fpend  them  at  my  pleafure. 

1.  What  got  he    by   that  ?   you  haue  broke  his  pate 
with  iyour  Bowie. 

2.  If  his  wit  had  bin  like  him  that  broke    it  :  it   would          10 
haue  run  all  out. 

1.  Scena  Prima]  Scene  n.  Eccles.  Sta.  Coll.  iii,  Glo.  Huds.  Cam. 
Scene.     The    Palace.    Rowe    i.     A         5.  I acke-an- Apes]  jackanapes  Cap.  et 

Palace.  Rowe  ii.     Cymbeline's  Palace,     seq. 

Pope.     Court  before  the  Palace.  Cap.         8,  10,  etc.  i.  2.]  i  Lord.    2  Lord,  etc. 

2.  the  two  Lords.]  Ff.     two  Lords.     Rowe. 

Rowe  et  cet.     the  two  lords,  as  from  10.  [Aside.  Theob. 

the  Bowling-alley  Coll.  MS.  had]  had  not  Kinnear. 

4.  lacke    vpon  an  vp-caft,   to]  jack,'  him]  his  Han.  Cap. 

upon  an  up-cast  to  Knt,  Dyce,  Sing. 

i.  Actus  Secundus]  ECCLES:  The  time  is  the  evening  of  the  same  day  con- 
tinued, and,  perhaps,  pretty  far  advanced.  The  sport  of  bowling,  however,  must 
be  pursued  in  the  open  air  and  by  daylight,  and  Cloten  appears  to  have  but 
lately  retired  from  the  scene  of  his  amusement. — DANIEL  still  continues  Day  3. 

3.  4.  I  kist  the  lacke  vpon  an  vpcast,]  JOHNSON:   He  is  describing  his  fate 
at  bowls.     The  'jack'  is  the  small  bowl  at  which  the  others  are  aimed.     He  who  is 
nearest  to  it  wins.     'To  kiss  the  jack'  is  a  state  of  great  advantage. — STEEVENS: 
The  expression  frequently  occurs  in  the  old  comedies.     So,  in  A  Woman  Never  Vex't, 
by  Rowley,  1632:    'Yon  city  bowler  has  kissed  the  mistress  at  the  first  cast.' — 
[IV,  i.] — MURRAY  (N,  E.  D.,  s.  v.,  Jack.  18)  quotes  the  present  passage  as  an  illus- 
tration that  the  'Jack'  is  'a  smaller  bowl,  placed  as  a  mark  for  the  players  to  aim  at.' 
Also  from  Taylor,  the  Water  Poet's  Comedy,  Wit  and  Worth  (Works,  ii,  193): 
'The  which  they  ayme  at  hath  sundry  names  and  Epithets,  as  a  Blocke,  a  Jacke, 
and  a  Mistris.' — M.  MASON  (p.  325):    Cloten  means  to  lament  his  ill-fortune  in 
being  hit  away  by  an  'upcast  when  he  kissed  the  jack.'    The  line  should,  therefore, 
be  pointed  thus:    'When  I  kissed  the  jack,  upon  an  upcast  To  be  hit  away.'- 
[KNIGHT  adopted  this  punctuation,  because,  as  he  said,  'the  jack  was  kissed  by 
Cloten 's  bowl,  and  the  up-cast  of  another  bowler  hit  it  away.''     But  is  any  change 
necessary?     Might  not  an  opponent's  upcast  make  Cloten's  bowl  kiss  the  jack 
quite  as  easily  as  drive  it  away?     Dowden  thinks  that  the  punctuation  of  the  Folio 
may  be  right  and  that  the  'upcast'  was  made  by  Cloten  himself,  and  not  by  his 
opponent.     Whatever  obscurity  may  surround  the  phrase,  is  hardly  worth  the 
time  spent  in  removing  it. — ED.] 

6.  must  take  one  vp]  SCHMIDT  (Lex.,  9):   That  is,  rebuke,  rate,  scold. 
10,  ii.  it  would  haue  run  all  out]  That  is,  because  it  was  so  thin,  watery,  and 
so  little  of  it. 


ACT    II,  SC.   i.] 


CYMBELINE 


109 


Clot.     When   a   Gentleman   is   difpos'd  to   fvveare:  it  is          1 2 
not  for  any  ftanders  by  to  curtail  his  oathes.     Ha  ? 

2.    No  my  Lord;  nor  crop  the  eares  of  them. 

Clot.    Whorfon  dog  :  I    gaue    him  fatisfa<5tion  ?  would          15 
he  had  bin  one  of  my  Ranke. 

2.    To  haue  fmell'd  like  a  Foole. 

Clot.  I  am  not  vext  more  at  any  thing  in  th'earth  :  a 
pox  on't.  I  had  rather  not  be  fo  Noble  as  I  am  :  they  dare 
not  fight  with  me,  becaufe  of  the  Queene  my  Mo-  20 
ther  :  euery  lacke-Slaue  hath  his  belly  full  of  Fighting, 
and  I  muft  go  vp  and  downe  like  a  Cock,  that  no  body 
can  match. 

2.    You    are    Cocke    and    Capon    too,    and    you   crow         24 


13.  ftanders  by]  slander s-by  Pope  et 
seq.    stander-by  Walker  (Crit.,  i,  245). 

curtail]    F2.      ciirtal    F3.      curtail 

F4. 

oathes.  Ha?}  Ff,  Rowe,  + 
Var.  '73.  oaths,  ha?  Coll.  Dyce,  Sta. 
Glo.  Cam.  oaths:  Ha?  Cap.  et  cet. 

14.  2.  No... nor... them  ]  i  Lord.    No 
my  lord.    2  Lord.    Nor.. .them.    [Aside. 
Johnson  con].,  Ran. 

15.  dog:]  dog!  Rowe  et  seq. 
gaue]  give  Ff  et  seq. 

1 6.  bin]  been  F4. 

17.  [Aside.  Pope. 


17.  JmclVd]  fmelt  F3F4  et  seq. 

1 8.  th'earth:}   F2.      the   earth:   F3F4, 
Glo.  Cam.    the  earth.  Coll.    the  earth, — 
Rowe  et  cet. 

21.  belly  full]  belly-full  Cap.  Sta. 
Belly  fully  Rowe  ii.  bellyful  Dyce, 
Glo.  Cam. 

24.  [Aside.  Rowe. 

Cocke  and  Capon]  F2.  Mai.  Steev. 
Knt,  Coll.  Sing.  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam. 
a  cock  and  capon  Cap.  Var.  '03,  '21.    a 
Cock  and  a  capon  F3F4  et  cet. 
crow]  crow,  Theob.  et  seq. 


13,  14,  16,  17,  curtail  .  .  .  crop  .  .  .  Ranke  .  .  .  smell'd]  All  this  cheap  punning 
and  quibbling  is  unworthy  of  Shakespeare,  and  so,  indeed,  is  the  whole  scene, 
if  he  ever  wrote  it,  whereof  there  may  be  a  doubt.  It  is  dramatically  necessary, 
however,  that  a  scene,  preferably  light  and  airy,  should  intervene  between  lachimo's 
failure  and  his  success.  His  estimate  of  Shakespeare's  fertility  of  invention  must 
be  low  indeed,  who  does  not  know  that  Shakespeare  could  have  devised  some  scene 
better  than  this,  and  one  which  could  at  the  same  time  have  informed  us  that 
lachimo's  visit  was  not  unknown  at  Court,  which  seems  to  be  all  that  the  present 
scene  accomplished. — ED. 

13.  Ha]  Thus  Shylock  says,  'What  says  that  fool  of  Hagar's  off-spring?  ha? 
Where,  as  here,  I  think  we  should  pronounce  it  'Hey'? — ED. 

15.  I  gaue  him  satisfaction  ?]  In  order  to  retain  the  interrogation,  all  editors 
have  adopted  'give'  of  the  Ff.  The  Cam.  Ed.  records  a  suggestion  by  BR.  NICHOL- 
SON which  retains  'gave,'  but  changes  the  interrogation  into  an  exclamation,  for 
the  better,  I  think.  Cloten  had  given  satisfaction  by  an  ignoble  blow  on  the  pate 
with  a  bowl,  and  in  these  words  exults  in  it,  but  immediately  wishes  that  the  jacka- 
napes had  been  one  of  his  own  rank  that  he  might  have  fought  and  wounded  him. 
I  suppose  that  this  was  Nicholson's  idea;  I  do  not  know  where  his  explanation  of  the 
suggestion  is  to  be  found. — ED. 

24.  Capon]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  1.  c.):   As  a  type  of  dullness,  and  a  term  of 


1 10  THE   TRAGEDIE  OF  [ACT  n,  sc.  i. 

Cock,  with  your  combe  on.  25 

Clot.     Sayeft  thou  f 

2.  It  is  not  fit  you  Lordfhip  fhould  vndertake  euery 
Companion,  that  you  giue  offence  too. 

Clot.  No,  I  know  that  :  but  it  is  jfit  I  fhould  commit 
offence  to  my  inferiors.  30 

0 

2     I,  it  is  fit  for  your  Lordfhip  onely. 
Clot.     Why  fo  I  fay. 

1.  Did  you  heere  of  a  Stranger  that's  come  to  Court 
night  ? 

Clot.     A  Stranger,  and  I  not  know  on't?  35 

2.  He's   a  ftrange  Fellow  himfelfe,and  knowes  it  not. 
i.     There's  an    Italian  come,  and  'tis  thought  one  of 

Leonatus  Friends. 

Clot.  Leonatus  t  A  banifht  Rafcall;  and  he's  another, 
whatfoeuer  he  be.  Who  told  you  of  this  Stranger  ?  40 

1.  One  of  your  Lordfhips  Pages. 

Clot.  Is  it  fit  I  went  to  looke  vpon  him  ?  Is  there  no 
derogation  in't  ? 

2.  You  cannot  derogate  my  Lord.  44 

25.  your  combe  on]  your  cap-on  Ran.  36.  [Aside.  Theobald, 
conj.  37.  thought]  though  F2. 

26.  Sayeft]  Say'st  Rowe,+,  Var.  '73.  38.  Leonatus]  Ff.    Leonatus's  Rowe, 

27.  2.]  i  Lord.  Johns.  +,  Var.  '73.    Leonatus'  Cap.  et  cet. 
you]  your  F3F4.  39.  another,]  another.  F2. 

28.  Companion]  Ff,  Rowe,+.  40.  what/oeuer]  F2.    wheresoever  F3F4, 
too.]  FI.  Rowe,  Pope,    whosoever  Han.  Cap. 

31.  /,]  Ay,  Rowe.     Om.  Johns.  43.  derogation]  FT. 

34.  night?]   to   night.     Ff.    to   night?  44.  2.]    i    Lord.    Johns.    Var.    Mai. 

Rowe.  Steev.  Varr.  Knt,  Coll. 

reproach.  1551.  T.  Wilson,  Logike,  n:  'Some  [men]  are  capones  by  kinde,  and  so 
blunt  by  nature,  that  no  arte  at  all  can  whet  them.'  1590.  Com.  of  Err.,  Ill,  i,  32: 
'capon,  coxcomb,  idiot,  patch!' 

25.  with  your  combe  on]  JOHNSON:  The  allusion  is  to  a  fool's  cap,  which  hath  a 
comb  like  a  cock's. — STAUNTON:  A  cock's  comb  was  one  of  the  badges  of  the  house- 
hold fool,  and  hence  the  compound  became  the  synonym  for  simpleton. 

28.  Companion]  JOHNSON:  The  use  of  'companion'  was  the  same  as  of  fellow 
now.     It  was  a  word  of  contempt. 

29,  30.  commit  offence]  This  bears,  at  times,  a  coarse  meaning.     It  is  in 
reference  to  this  meaning  that  the  Second  Lord  levels  his  sarcasm  in  the  next  line. 
The  phrase  '  do  no  offence '  occurs  in  the  exquisite  Song  by  the  Fairies  in  Mid.  N. 
Dream,  II,  ii,  23. — ED. 

44.  derogate]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D., s.  v.  6  intrans.}:  To  do  something  derogatory 


ACT  ii,  sc.  i.]  CYMBELINE  MI 

Clot.     Not  eafily  I  thinke.  45 

2.    You  are  a   Foole  graunted,   therefore  your  Iffues 
being  foolifh  do  not  derogate. 

Clot.     Come,    He  go  fee  this  Italian  :  what  I  haue  loft 
to  day  at  Bowles,  He  winne  to  night  of  him.     Come  :  go. 

2.     He  attend  your  Lordfhip.  Exit.  50 

That  fuch  a  craftie  Diuell  as  is  his  Mother 
Should  yeild  the  world  this  Affe  :  A  woman,  that 
Beares  all  downe  with  her  Braine,  and  this  her  Sonne, 
Cannot  take  two  from  twenty  for  his  heart, 

Aud  leaue  eighteene.     Alas  poore  Princeffe,  55 

Thou  diuine  Imogen,  what  thou  endur'ft, 
Betwixt  a  Father  by  thy  Step-dame  gouern'd, 
A  Mother  hourely  coyning  plots  :  A  Wooer, 
More  hatefull  then  the  foule  expulfion  is 

Of  thy  deere  Husband.     Then  that  horrid  Act  60 

Of  the  diuorce,  heel'd  make  the  Heauens  hold  firme 

46.  [Aside.  Pope.  ii,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam. 

47.  foolijh]  F2.    foolish,  F3F4.  Rowe,  55.  PrinceJJe\  princess!  alas,  Ktly. 
Pope,  Cap.  et  seq.                                                58.  plots:]  plots,  Glo.  Dyce  ii,  iii,  Cam. 

49.  Bowles,]  bowls  Knt,  Dyce,  Glo.  59.  expulfion]  cxpufeon    Fi,   CapelPs 
Cam.                                                                  Copy,  ap.  Cam. 

Come:]  Come,  Cap.  et  seq.  60.  Husband.     Then]  husband,  Then 

50.  Exit.]   Exit   Glov.   Rowe.     Exit         F2.    husband,  then  F3.    husband.    From 
Cloten  and  i  Lord.  Cap.  Knt.    Husband,  than  F4  et  cet. 

50.  51.  2.  He. ..That]   i  Lord.  /'//...             61.  diuorce,    heel'd    make    the]    Ff. 
2  Lord.  Thai  Elze,  305.  divorce — he'll   make   the   Rowe,    Pope. 

51.  is]    Om.    Pope,+,  Cap.    Varr.         divorce  he'ld  make. — The  Theob.  Glo. 
Mai.  Rann.  divorce  hell  made.     The  Han.     divorce 

52.  yeild  ]F2.  Hell-made.     The   Warb.      divorce   he'd 
AJfe:}  ass!  Cap.  et  seq.                         make,    the    Knt.      divorce    he'd   make! 

54.  twenty  for]  twenty,  for  Dyce,  Coll.         The  Cap.  et  cet.  (subs.) 

to  one's  rank  or  position.  (Cf.  French  deroger,  deroger  a  noblesse,  to  do  anything 
entailing  loss  of  the  privileges  of  nobility.)  [The  present  passage  is  quoted.] 

46.  Issues]  DOWDEX:  That  is,  what  proceeds  from  you,  your  acts,  with  a  play 
on  issues  meaning  offspring.  Compare  Jul.  Cces.,  Ill,  i,  294:  'the  cruel  issue  of 
these  bloody  men.' 

51  That  such  a  craftie]  SCHMIDT  (Lex.,  s.  v.  'That,'  conj.  i)  gives  many  exam- 
ples where  'that'  is  used  'when  the  principal  sentence  is  omitted,  and  the  sub- 
ordinate clause  (with  should)  express  indignant  surprise.'  The  omission  here  is, 
possibly,  some  such  phrase  as  can  it  be  possible,  who  would  believe,  etc. — ED. 

56.  Thou  diuine  Imogen]  ROLFE:  'Divine'  is  accented  on  the  first  syllable, 
because  preceding  the  noun.  [Not  of  necessity,  in  the  present  case;  iambic  metre 
admits  of  a  choriamb  in  the  first  two  feet. — ED.] 

60,  61.  Then  that  horrid  Act  of  the  diuorce,  heel'd  make  the  Heauens 
hold  firme]  THEOBALD:  I  dare  be  positive,  I  have  reformed  the  pointing  and  by 


112  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  n,  sc.  ii. 

The  walls  of  thy  deere  Honour.     Keepe  vnfhak'd  62 

That  Temple  thy  faire  mind,  that  thou  maifb  ftand 

T'enioy  thy  banifh'd  Lord  :  and  this  great  Land.  Exeunt.         64 

Scena  Secunda. 

Enter  Imogen,  in  her  Bed,  and  a  Lady. 
Imo.     Who's  there  ?  My  woman  :  Helcne  ?  3 

62.  Honour.]F4.  honor.  F2F3.  honour;  A  magnificent  Bedchamber,  in  one 

Rowe  et  seq.  part  of  it  a  large  Trunk.  Rowe. 

64.  T'enioy]  Ff,  Rowe,-f-,  Coll.  Sing.  2.  Enter...]    Imogen    is    discover'd 

Ktly.    To  enjoy  Cap.  et  cet.  reading    in    Bed,    a   Lady   attending. 

Lord:]    Ff,    Rowe,    Pope,      lord  Rowe. 

Dyce,  Glo.  Cam.    lord,  Theob.  et  cet.  3.  woman:      Helene?]    F2.      woman, 

Exeunt.]  Exit.  Cap.  Helen?   Coll.     woman  Helen?  F3F4  et 

i.  Scena  Secunda.]  Scene  ni.  Eccl.  cet. 

that  retrieved  the  true  sense.  'This  wooer,'  says  the  speaker,  'is  more  hateful  to 
her  than  the  banishment  of  her  lord,  or  the  horrid  attempt  to  make  that  banish- 
ment perpetual  by  his  marrying  her  in  her  lord's  absence.'  Having  made  this 
reflexion,  he  subjoins  a  virtuous  wish,  that  Heaven  may  preserve  her  honour 
unblemished,  and  her  to  enjoy  her  husband  back  and  her  rights  in  the  Kingdom. 
[See  Text.  Notes.  This  punctuation  with  its  consequent  interpretation  is  one  of 
Theobald's  happy  emendations,  and  has  been  followed,  substantially,  from  that 
day  to  this;  the  exceptions  are  HANMER,  WARBURTON,  and  KNIGHT,  the  last  be- 
lieves that  a  'clearer  sense  is  attained  by  the  change  of  "Then  that  horrid  act" 
to  "From  that  horrid  act,"  than  by  altering  the  construction  of  the  sentence. 
The  Lord  implores  that  the  honour  of  Imogen  may  be  held  firm,  to  resist  the  horrid 
act  of  the  divorce  from  her  husband  which  Cloten  would  make.' — VAUGHAN 
(p.  387)  would  retain  the  'Then'  in  'Then  that  horrid  Act,'  and  emphasize  it,  and 
he  may  be  right.  'The  wooer,'  he  says,  could  not  be  'more  hateful'  than  the 
'horrid  act'  by  which  he  would  'divorce'  Imogen  from  her  husband.  'Then' 
introduces  a  final  and  crowning  misery  and  the  prayer  to  'Heavens.' — THISELTON 
(p.  17):  Divorces  were  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Spiritual  Courts  and  were 
allowed  only  within  certain  clearly  defined  limits.  The  'Act'  is  here  the  judicial 
Act;  as  we  might  say  'the  Desire.'  In  modern  style  the  comma  after  'divorce' 
would  be  represented  by  a  note  of  exclamation. 

i.  Scena  Secunda]  ECCLES:  The  time, — midnight,  succeeding  the  same  day.— 
INGLEBY:  In  the  course  of  this  lovely  scene  one  is  frequently  reminded  of  pas- 
sages in  the  Second  Act  of  Macbeth;  a  fact  which  may  be  of  use  in  determining  an 
earlier  date  (1606)  for  parts  of  this  play.  One  would  naturally  infer  that  this 
scene  was  written  while  Macbeth,  II,  i,  ii,  and  iii  were  fresh  in  the  writer's  mind. 
There  is  little  else  to  be  done,  in  the  way  of  comment,  but  to  note  some  of  these 
resemblances: — lines  5,  6,  Cf.  Macb.,  II,  i,  3:  'Ban.  How  goes  the  night,  boy? 
Fie.  The  moon  is  down:  I  have  not  heard  the  clock.  Ban.  And  she  goes  down  at 
twelve.'  Lines  12-15.  Cf.  Ibid.,  6-9:  'A  heavy  summons  lies  like  lead  upon  me. 
.  .  .  Merciful  powers!  Restrain  in  me  the  cursed  thoughts  that  nature  gives 
way  to  in  repose!'  Lines  17,  18.  Cf.  Ibid.,  II,  ii,  38:  'Sore  labour's  bath.'  Lines 
18,  19.  Cf.  Ibid.,  II,  i,  55,  56:  'With  Tarquin's  ravishing  strides,  towards  his 


ACT    II,   SC.  ii.] 


CYMBELINE 


La.     Pleafe  you  Madam. 

lino.     What  houre  is  it  ? 

Lady.     Almoft  midnight,  Madam. 

lino.     I  haue  read  three  houres  then  : 
Mine  eyes  are  weake, 

Fold  downe  the  leafe1  where  I  haue  left  ;  to  bed. 
Take  not  away  the  Taper,  leaue  it  burning  : 
And  if  thou  canft  awake  by  foure  o'th'clock, 
I  prythee  call  me :  Sleepe  hath  ceiz'd  me  wholly. 
To  your  protection  I  commend  me, Gods, 
From  Fayries,  and  the  Tempters  of  the  night, 
Guard  me  befeech  yee.  Sleepes. 

lacJdmo  from  the  Trunke. 

lack.     The  Crickets  fing,and  mans  ore-labor'd  fenfe 


5 


10 


4.  Madam.]  Madam —  Rowe,  +  . 

5.  houre]  hone  FI.     Capell's   copy, 
ap.  Cam. 

7,  8.  One  line  Rowe  et  seq. 

7.  then:]  then.  Coll. 

8.  iveake,]  weak:  Cap.  et  seq. 

9.  bed.]    F2.  Johns.  Var.   '73,  Coll. 
bed  F3F4,   Rowe,   Pope,   Theob.   Han. 
bed:  Cap.  et  seq. 

11.  o'th']  o'the  Cap.  et  seq. 

12.  me:]    me—     Rowe,    Pope,    Han. 


Warb.    me.  Johns,  et  seq. 

12.  ceiz'd]  feiz'd  Ff. 

[Exit  Lady.  Rowe  et  seq. 

13.  Gods,]  Ff,  Rowe.    gods;  Pope,  +  , 
Cap.  Var.  '73.    gods!  Var.  '78  et  cet. 

15.  me]  me,  F4  et  seq. 

yee.]  ye!  Han.  Cap.  et  seq. 

16.  lachimo...]  lachimo  rises...  Rowe. 
lachimo  comes...  Coll.  i.     Enter  lachi- 
mo... Coll.  ii.    lachimo  rises  out  of  the 
trunk.  Coll.  iii. 


design  Moves  like  a  ghost.'  Lines  28,  29.  Cf.  Ibid.,  II,  iii,  118:  'His  silver  skin 
laced  with  his  golden  blood.'  Line  37.  Cf.  Ibid.,  II,  iii,  81:  'Shake  off  this  downy 
sleep,  death's  counterfeit.'  Add  to  these  the  slight  resemblance  in  the  mention  of 
'heaven'  and  'hell'  at  the  end  both  of  this  scene  and  of  Macb.,  II,  i. 

14.  From  Fayries,  and  the  Tempters  of  the  night]  RITSON  (p.  27):  Fairies 
are  supposed  by  some  to  have  been  malignant,  but  this,  it  may  be,  was  mere 
calumny,  as  being  utterly  inconsistent  with  their  general  character,  which  was 
singularly  innocent  and  amiable.  It  must  have  been  the  Incubus  (now  called  the 
nightmare)  Imogen  was  so  afraid  of.  [Steevens,  Dyce,  Ingleby,  and  others  have  re- 
ferred to  Banquo's  words  as  here  parallel  to  Imogen's  or,  at  least,  suggestive  of  hers, 
which  is  to  me  more  than  doubtful.  In  Banquo's  mind  dark  suspicions  of  Macbeth 
were  rising;  he  himself  tells  Macbeth  that  the  night  before  he  had  dreamt  of  the 
Witches  and  of  the  verification  thus  far  of  their  prophecies;  such  'cursed  thoughts' 
he  prays  may  not  again  visit  him  when  his  reason  is  not  alert  to  dispel  them. 
That  Imogen  couples  the  tempters  of  the  night  with  fairies  shows  how  innocent 
and  pure  was  the  temple  of  her  fair  mind.  That  she  and  Banquo  both  prayed  before 
going  to  sleep  seems  to  be  the  sole  point  of  resemblance. — ED.] 

17.  lach.]  MORELY  (p.  293):  Mr  Anderson's  bedroom  scene,  spoken  throughout 

in  an  oppressively  ostentatious  stage-whisper,  is  an  intolerable  blunder.    Does  he 

suppose  that  Shakespeare's  soliloquies  are  pieces  of  mere  realism,  representing  the 

defects  of  people  who  can't  keep  their  tongues  still  even  when  they  are  alone? 

8 


II4  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  n,  sc.  ii. 

Repaires  it  felfe  by  reft  :  Our  Tarquine  thus  18 

Did  foftly  preffe  the  Rufhes,ere  he  waken'd 

The  Chaftitie  he  wounded.     Cythcrea,  20 

How  brauely  thou  becom'ft  thy  Bed;frefh  Lilly, 

And  whiter  then  the  Sheetes  :  that  I  might  touch, 

But  kiffe,  one  kiffe.     Rubies  vnparagon'd,  23 

20.  Cytherea,]  Cytherea!  Eccl.  Ktly.  et  cet. 

21.  Bed;frejh  Lilly,]  Ff.     Bed!  fresh  23.  kiffe,  one  kiffe.]  Ff,  Ingl.     kiss, 
lilly,   Rowe,+,    Var.    '73.      bed,  fresh  one  kiss—    Rowe,-f.     kiss;  one  kiss! 
lily,  Glo.    Bed!  fresh  lilly!  Cap.  Var.  Cap.  et  cet.    kiss  one  kiss!  Vaun.    kiss! 
'78  et  seq.  one  kiss!  John  Hunter. 

22.  Sheetes... touch]     Ff.       Sheets!...  [Kissing    her.     Cap.     Coll.    iii. 
touch,  Rowe,+.     sheets!... touch!  Cap.  (MS.) 

In  all  the  soliloquies, — and  lachimo's  part  in  Imogen's  bedroom  is  especially 
and  most  necessarily  of  this  sort, — we  are  supposed  only  to  be  following  a  train 
of  secret  thought.  We  can  thus,  by  slight  exercise  of  imagination,  pass  into  the 
innermost  recesses  of  the  mind  depicted  for  us,  watch  its  secret  workings,  and  look 
for  the  mainspring  of  its  action.  It  would  be  the  densest  stupidity  to  suppose  that 
lachimo  uttered  a  sound  he  could  suppress  while  he  was  at  his  base  work  around 
the  sleeping  Imogen.  Let  his  part  here  be  unostentatiously  spoken,  and  we  under- 
stand well  enough  that,  in  the  usual  way,  we  are  enabled  to  penetrate  to  the  thoughts 
that  direct  his  silent  action.  But  let  it  all  be  ostentatiously  whispered,  and  we 
have  the  foolish  spectacle  of  lachimo,  with  a  tongue  too  loosely  hung,  making  noise 
enough  to  wake  fifty  Imogens,  and  huskily  struggling  to  keep  his  importunate  hiss- 
ing and  breathing  as  much  as  he  can  below  the  standard  of  an  engine  blowing  off 
its  steam.  The  laboured  stage-effect  hopelessly  ruins  the  illusion  of  the  scene. 

17.  The  Crickets  sing]  When  Macbeth,  in  a  frenzy  of  terror,  after  murdering 
Duncan  asks  Lady  Macbeth  if  she  heard  no  noise,  she,  in  order  to  give  a  proof  of 
the  deepest  silence,  replies,  'I  heard  the  owl  scream  and  the  crickets  cry.'     Thus, 
here,  lachimo,  in  three  words,  hushes  the  chamber  into  a  silence  so  profound  that 
the  chirp  of  a  cricket  is  audible.     And,  in  '  man's  oer-laboured  sense  repairs  itself 
by  rest,'  this  quiet  and  repose  are  extended  to  the  whole  house.    So  also  Macbeth's 
'now  o'er  the  one  half- world  nature  seems  dead.' — ED. 

1 8.  Our  Tarquine]  JOHNSON:   The  speaker  is  an  Italian. 

19.  Did  softly  presse  the  Rushes]  JOHNSON:   It  was  the  custom  in  the  time 
of  our  author  to  strew  chambers  with  rushes,  as  we  now  cover  them  with  carpets; 
the  practice  is  mentioned  in  Caius  de  Ephemera  Britannica.     [A  needless,  and,  I 
fear,  pedantic  reference.     Shakespeare  himself  is  an  all-sufficient  authority  for  the 
custom.     Thus,  Romeo  says :  '  let  wantons  light  of  heart  Tickle  the  senseless  rushes 
with  their  heels.' — I,  iv,  35.     And  Grumio,  in  Tarn,  of  the  Shrew,  says:   'is  supper 
ready,  the  house  trimmed,  rushes  strewed,  cobwebs  swept?'  etc.,  IV,  i,  48.     If  the 
student  need  examples  from  other  sources,  they  may  be  found  in  the  Variorum  of 
1821,  and  in  Halliwell. — ED.] 

20.  Cytherea]  ECCLES:  This  should  be  considered,  I  think,  as  an  exclamation  ad- 
dressed to  the  goddess  who  presided  over  beautiful  objects  upon  the  first  view  of  so 
much  beauty.    [This  interpretation  seems,  to  me,  to  carry  conviction.   It  is  also  pro- 
posed by  VAUGHAN  (p.  387)  and  had  occurred  independently  to  the  present  ED.] 


ACT  IT,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE  115 

How  deerely  they  doo't  :  'Tis  her  breathing  that 

Perfumes  the  Chamber  thus  :  the  Flame  o'th'Taper  25 

Bowes  toward  her,  and  would  vnder-peepe  her  lids. 

To  fee  th'inclofed  Lights,  now  Canopied  27 

24.  they   doo't:]    they   do't—     Rowe,        o'the  Cap.  et  seq. 

Pope,      they'd    do't!     Nicholson,    ap.  26.  lids.]  Ff.    lids  Cam.    lids,  Rowe 

Cam.   Vaun.      they    do't!    Theob.    et  et  cet. 

seq.  27.  th']  Ff,  Rowe,  +  ,  Dyce.    the  Cap. 

25.  o'th']   F4,   Rowe,  +  .     oiV   F2F3.  et  cet. 

22,  23.  that  I  might  touch,  But  kisse,  one  kisse]  COLLIER  (ed.  ii.):  It  seems 
by  the  MS.  that  lachimo  actually  'kissed  Imogen'  at  these  words. — [CAPELL  here 
adds  the  stage-direction,  'kissing  her,'  without  comment,  as  though  it  were  an  act 
so  generally  accepted  and  so  manifest  as  to  need  no  remark.  Therein,  I  think,  he 
erred.  I  doubt  that,  in  recent  times,  this  passage  has  been  generally  thus 
interpreted.  There  are  few  notes  on  it — none  at  all  before  the  foregoing  note 
by  Collier.  Apart  from  the  disgust,  instinctively  felt  at  the  sight  of  such  a  lib- 
erty, by  such  a  man,  at  such  a  time,  the  risk  of  discovery  is  too  great.  Into 
such  a  peril,  lachimo  was  too  cautious  and  too  self-controlled  to  venture;  his 
whole  fortune,  nay,  his  very  life,  was  at  stake;  everything  depended  on  Imogen's 
profound  slumber. — INGLEBY  asserts  roundly  that  lachimo  'does  not  kiss  her,' 
and  denounces  Capell's  stage-direction  as  'vulgar'  and  'too  monstrous  to  need 
refutation.' — ED.] 

24.  How  deerely  they  doo't :]  VAUGHAN  (p.  387)  having  suggested  the  punc- 
tuation, 'But  kiss  one  kiss!'  accordingly  adds  the  amendment,  'How  dearly 
they'd  do't!'  i.  e.,  'kiss  one  kiss.'  'As  the  passage  stands,'  he  asserts,  'there  is  no 
action  to  which  'do't'  can  possibly  refer.'  This  dogmatic  assertion  is  well-nigh 
incomprehensible.  I  should  rather  say  that  the  action  is  so  clear  that  it  cannot 
possibly  be  missed.  lachimo  yearns  to  steal  a  kiss,  but  this  cannot  be  done, 
whereas  her  lips  '  two  kissing  cherries ' — how  dearly  they  do  it.  Rev.  JOHN  HUNTER 
explains  'How  dearly  they  do't'  as  meaning  'at  what  peril  they  take  the  kiss,' 
which  implies,  I  think,  his  assumption  that  lachimo  kisses  Imogen.  DOWDEN, 
on  the  other  hand,  says  that  'dearly'  is  equivalent  to  exquisitely,  but  makes  no 
reference  to  an  actual  kiss  by  lachimo,  wherefrom  we  may  hopefully  infer  his  dis- 
belief in  it. — ED. 

24,  25.  "Tis  her  breathing  that  Perfumes,  etc.]  MALONE:  Thus,  in  The 
Metamorphosis  of  Pigmalions  Image,  by  J.  Marston,  1598:  'Then  view's  her  lips, 
no  lips  did  seeme  so  faire  In  his  conceit,  through  which  he  thinks  doth  flie  so  sweet 
a  breath,  that  doth  perfume  the  ayre.'  [Stanza  7,  ed.  Grossart.] 

26.  Bowes   toward  her]  FLETCHER  (p.  44):    Was  ever  the  victory  of  silent 
beauty,  elegance,  and  purity,  over  the  awe-struck  spirit  of  a  sensualist,  so  ex- 
quisitely painted  or  so  nobly  celebrated  as  in  the  lines  of  this  soliloquy?     It  is  not 
'the  flame  o'  the  taper'  that  here  'bows  toward  her,'  but  the  unhallowed  flames  in  a 
voluptuary  and  a  treacherous  breast,  that  render  extorted  yet  grateful  homage  to 
that  lovely,  spotless,  and  fragrant  soul!     [Is  there  herein  a  suggestion  that  the 
atmosphere  of  the  chamber  is  so  absolutely  quiet  and  still  that  the  mere  move- 
ment of  lachimo's  body,  as  he  glides  past,  causes  the  flame  to  follow  his  motion 
toward  the  bed? — ED.] 


u6 


THE  TRACED  IE  OF 


[ACT  ii,  sc.  ii. 


Vnder  thefe  windowes,  White  and  Azure  lac'd 
With  Blew  of  Heauens  owne  tin<5t.     But  my  defigne. 


28 


28.  thefe]  the  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Cap. 

28,  29.  thefe  windowes... With]  those 
curtains  white  with  azure  lac'd,  The 
Han. 

28.  windowes,]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han. 
Dyce,  Glo.  Cam.  windows:  Theob. 
et  cet. 

28,  29.  and  Azure  lac'd  With]  Ff, 
Sta.  Glo.  with  azure  lac'd,  The  Warb. 
and  azure!  lac'd  With  Johns.  Varr. 
and  azure,  lac'd:  With  Cap. '  Mai. 
with  azure  lac'd  With  Ran.  and  azure- 


-lac'd  With  B.  Nicholson,  ap.  Cam. 
Ingl.  ii.  and  azure,  lac'd  With  Rowe  et 
cet. 

29.  tincl.]  tinct,  Ff.     tinct —  Rowe, 
Pope. 

defigne.]  F2,  Var.  '21,  Knt  i. 
defigne' s  F3.  defign's  F4,  Rowe,+, 
Eccl.  Dyce  ii,  iii,  Huds.  Coll.  iii. 
design  Var.  '73,  Knt  ii,  Ingl.  design, 
Coll.  i,  ii,  Dyce  i,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam. 
design?  FI  (Capell's  copy,  ap.  Cam.), 
Cap.  et  cet. 


27,  28.  th'enclosed  Lights,  now  Canopied  Vnder  these  windowes,  White 
and    Azure    lac'd]   CAPELL  asserts   that   the   comma   after  'windows'    ('which 
the  Poet  would  have  called  shutters,  for  that's  his  meaning,  had  the  dignity  of  his 
subject  permitted  it ')  maims  the  sense  by  making  '  White  and  Azure'  refer  to  them; 
'whereas  there  is  much  more  propriety  in  applying  those  words  to  all  the  visible 
parts  of  the  lady,  pronouncing  them  rapturously, — Here  is  "white  and  azure!" 
the  white  "lac'd"  with't,  as  'twere!  with  an  azure  as  rich  as  that  of  the  heavens!' 
[I  believe  no  editor  or  commentator  has  adopted  this  extended  and  comprehensive 
view  of  Capell. — ED.] — M ALONE:  These  words,  I  apprehend,  refer  not  to  Imogen's 
eye-lids  (of  which  the  poet  would  scarcely  have  given  so  particular  a  description), 
but  to  the  inclosed  lights,  i.  e.,  her  eyes,  which,  though  now  shut,  lachimo  had  seen 
before,  and  which  are  here  said  in  poetical  language  to  be  blue,  and  that  blue  celes- 
tial.    [That  the  'windows'  are  the  eye-lids,  Malone  shows  by  Friar  Laurence's 
words:    'thy  eyes'  windows  fall,  Like  death,  when  he  shuts  up  the  day  of  life.' — 
Rom.  and  Jul.,  IV,  i,  100. — PORTER  and  CLARKE  are,  I  think,  Malone's  sole  fol- 
lowers in  the  belief  that  'lac'd  with  blue'  refers  to  the  blue  of  the  enclosed  lights; 
'As  fancied  not  seen,'  they  say,  'beneath  the  fringe  of  the  lashes  interlaced  over 
them,  this  is  not  unlikely.' — ED.] — KNIGHT:      We  are  disposed  to  agree  with 
Warburton  that  the  eye-lids  were  intended.     The  eye-lid  of  an  extremely  fair  young 
woman  is  often  of  a  tint  that  may  be  properly  called  '  white  and  azure, '  which  is 
produced  by  the  network  of  exceedingly  fine  veins  that  runs  through  and  colours 
that  beautiful  structure.     In  the  text  before  us,  the  eye-lids  are  not  only  of  a 
'white  and  azure'  hue,  but  they  are  also  'lac'd  with  blue  of  heaven's  own  tinct' — 
marked  with  the  deeper  blue  of  the  larger  veins.     The  description  here  is  as  accurate 
as  it  is  beautiful.     It  cannot  apply  with  such  propriety  to  the  eye,  which  certainly 
is  not  'laced'  with  blue,  nor   to  the  skin  generally,  which  would  not  be  beautiful 
as  'white  and  azure,'      It  is,  to  our  minds,  one  of  the  many  examples  of  Shake- 
speare's extreme  accuracy  of  observation,  and  of  his  transcendant  power  of  making 
the  exact  and  the  poetical    blend    with    and  support   each  other. — STAUNTON: 
The  beauty  of  this  image  is  not  enhanced  by  the  usual  punctuation.     [That  is, 
with  a  comma  after  'azure,'  whereby  'white  and  azure'  are  made  to  refer  to 
'windows.'     Staunton's  text  reads  'white,  and  azure  lac'd  With,'  etc.     'Perhaps,' 
says  DOWDEN,  'this  reading  of  Staunton  is  right.'] — HUDSON:    Observe,  'lac'd' 
agrees  with  'windows,'  not  with  'white  and  azure';  for  the  'azure'  is  the  'blue 
of  heaven's  own  tinct.'     'Perhaps  the  sense  would  be  clearer  thus:    'white  with 


ACT  ii,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE  \\-j 

To  note  the  Chamber,  I  will  write  all  downe,  30 

Such,  and  fuch  pictures  :  There  the  window,  fuch 
Th'adornement  of  her  Bed;  the  Arras,  Figures,  32 

30.  Chamber, ...downe,]  Ff.     chamber  32.   adornement]  adronement  FI  (Ca- 
—...down,  Rowe,+.     chamber, ...down:         pell's  copy,  ap.  Cam.). 

Cap.  et  cet.  Bed;]  bed —  Rowe,-f-. 

[Takes  out  his  tables.  Coll.  MS.  Arras,  Figures]  arras-figures  M. 

(monovol.)  Mason,  Ran.  Wh.  i.    arras;  figures  Glo. 

31.  pictures:}  pictures—    Rowe,-f-.  Wh.  ii. 

window,]  window;  Cap.  et  seq.  Figures^  figures — Rowe,-j-,  Ran. 

32.  77*']   Ff,   Rowe,+,   Coll.   Dyce.        figures?  Cap.  Varr. 
The  Cap.  et  cet. 

azure  lac'd,  the  blue.'  [Herein  Hudson  is  anticipated  by  Warburton.  In  referring 
'lac'd'  to  'windows'  Hudson  anticipates  Vaughan,who  thinks  the  sense  would  be 
made  clearer  by  reading:  'These  windows  white  and  azure,  lac'd  With  blue,'  etc. 

29.  But  my  designe.j  When  Shylock  replies,  'I'll  not  answer  that;  But  say  it  is 
my  humour,'  there  is,  I  believe,  an  absorption  of  to  in  the  final  /  of  'But';  thus: 
'I'll  not  answer  that  But  [to]  say,'  etc.,  which  might  be  printed  'But'  say.  Thus 
here,  there  is,  I  think,  another  case  of  similar  absorption,  and  lachimo's  words, 
slightly  changing  the  punctuation  of  FI,  should  be  printed  'But  my  design  To 
note  the  Chamber.  I  will  write  all  down,'  etc.  (Since  writing  these  lines,  I  find, 
on  referring  to  the  Cam.  Ed.,  that  I  have  been  anticipated  in  the  insertion  of  to  by 
'Nicholson.'  If  this  be  the  late  Brinsley  Nicholson  I  am  happy  in  recording  that 
there  are  very  few  whom  I  would  more  gladly  follow  than  that  keen-sighted, 
well-equipped,  accurate  scholar.) — ED. 

29.  designe.]  CAPELL:   The  interrogation  at  the  end  of  'design 'is  only  in  theF,. 
[See  Text.  Notes.]     Here  the  speaker  pulls  out  his  tables;  and  having  minuted  some 
of  his  items  is  stopped  by  a  reflection  upon  their  little  significance  in  comparison 
with  some  others  he  specifies,  but  in  lines  that  were  neither  grammatical  nor  sense 
as  they  have  been  written  and  pointed  hitherto.     [In  the  conclusion  of  this  note  by 
Capell,  see  Comment  on  lines  34-36.] 

30.  I  will  write   all  downe]  COLLIER  (ed.  ii.):    It  seems  by  a  marginal  note 
in  the  MS.  that,  at  these  words,  lachimo  'took  out  his  tables,'  and  noted  at  the 
moment  the  particulars  which  he  observed  in  the  Chamber.     It  may  be  doubted 
whether  the  poet  intended  that  he  should  do  so  at  the  time;  but  we  take  it  for 
granted  that  such  was  the  course  when  the  old  annotator  saw  the  play,  and  such 
may  certainly  have  been  the  custom  on  our  early  stage. 

32.  the  Arras,  Figures]  M.  MASON  (p.  325):  This  should  be  pointed  thus, 
'the  Arras-figures?'  That  is,  the  figures  of  the  Arras. — WHITE  (ed.  i.)  adopted  this 
hyphen  of  Mason,  but,  in  his  ed.  ii,  following  the  Globe,  he  placed  an  emphatic 
semicolon  between  the  two  words. — MALOXE:  I  think  Mason  is  mistaken.  It 
appears  from  what  lachimo  says  afterwards  [II,  iv,  87],  that  he  had  noted  not  only 
the  figures  of  the  arras,  but  the  stuff  of  which  the  arras  was  composed.  Again  in 
[V,  v,  238]  'averring  notes  of  Chamber-hanging,  Pictures,'  etc.  [That  these 
'Figures'  have  any  connection  with  the  Arras  is,  I  think,  doubtful.  When  lachimo 
afterwards  describes  this  chamber  to  Posthumus,  he  refers  to  the  '  story '  on  the 
'tapistry'  or  arras,  which  was  that  of  Cleopatra;  he  then  describes  the  chimney- 
piece  where  the  'figures'  were  carved.  Is  it  not  to  these  'figures'  which  he  now 
refers? — ED.] 


n8  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  11,  sc.  ii. 

Why  fuch,  and  fuch  :  and  the  Contents  o'th'Story.  33 

Ah,  but  fome  naturall  notes  about  her  Body, 

Aboue  ten  thoufand  meaner  Moueables 

Would  teftifie,  t'enrich  mine  Inuentorie.  36 

33.  and  fuch:}  and  such —  Rowe,+.  34.  naturall}  natural  Pope,+. 

o'th]  of  the  Cap.    o'the  Var.  '73             35.  Moueables}     moveables,     Theob. 

et  seq.  Warb.  Johns,    moveables  they  Cap. 

Story.]  story, —  Cap.  et  seq.  36.  Would}  They' Id  Elze. 

34.  fome]  foJJie  F2.  t' enrich]     Ff,     Rowe,  +  ,      Coll. 

Sing.  Dyce.    to  enrich  Cap.  et  cet. 

34-36.  Some  naturall  notes  about  her  Body,  Aboue  ten  thousand  meaner 
Moueables  Would  testifie,  t'enrich  mine  Inuentorie]  CAPELL:  If  the 
reader  shall  think  it  permissible,  and  the  lines  improved  by  it,  they  might  be 
ranged  thus:  'Ah,  but  some  natural  notes  about  her  body  |  To  enrich  mine  inven- 
tory! they  would  testify  |  Above  ten  thousand  meaner  moveables.'  While  the 
speaker  is  about  making  search  for  those  'natural  notes,'  his  eye  is  caught  by  the 
bracelet,  and  having  taken  it  off,  spies  the  '  mole ' :  at  finding  of  which  he  expresses 
much  exultation,  and  is  going  to  enter  that  in  his  tables,  but  stops,  asking  himself  a 
question,  that  has  much  dramatical  beauty  when  relieved  from  those  impertinent 
words  ['No  more'].  The  book  is  spied  next;  of  which  he  makes  another  memento,  and 
then  shuts  up  his  tables. — VAUGHAN  (p.  389):  This  passage  has  been  universally 
misunderstood.  The  universal  punctuation  shows  that  'would  testify,'  etc.,  is 
interpreted  'would  testify  in  such  a  way  as  to  enrich  my  inventory.'  But  the 
enrichment  of  his  inventory  would  be  a  very  paltry  effect  of  their  testimony;  nor, 
as  their  testimony  must  follow  the  possession  of  his  inventory,  could  they  well  be 
said  to  testify  to  enrich  his  inventory  at  all?  'To  enrich  mine  inventory'  really 
depends  on  'sleep  lie  dull  upon  her,  and  be  her  sense,'  etc.  This  would  give  him  the 
precious  bracelet,  'to  witness  outwardly';  and  thus  enrich  the  inventory  of  his 
possessions,  and  also  of  his  proofs,  by  a  proof  as  strong  as  conscience.  A  full 
period  should  be  placed  after  'testify,'  where  the  sense  is  completed.  I  would 
read,  therefore,  and  punctuate:  'some  natural  notes  about  her  body  Above  ten 
thousand  meaner  moveables  would  testify.  To  enrich  mine  inventory  O  sleep, 
thou  ape,'  etc.  [This  remarkable  comment  is  given  unabridged,  and,  possibly, 
would  not  have  been  given  at  all,  were  it  not  that  in  his  punctuation  Vaughan 
anticipated  Dowden,  as  Dowden  himself  tells  us,  whence  we  may  infer  that  he 
substantially  agrees  with  Vaughan.  It  seems  to  me  that  it  is  Vaughan  (and  not 
the  'universe')  who,  misled  by  the  virtual  parenthesis  in  the  second  line,  has 
misunderstood  the  whole  passage.  Attention  to  the  punctuation,  here  faultless, 
of  the  Folio,  or  even  to  Capell's  proposed  reading,  as  recorded  in  the  Cam.  Ed., 
would  never  have  induced  the  belief  that  lachimo  intended  the  'meaner  moveables' 
to  testify  so  as  to  enrich  his  inventory,  or  even  to  testify  at  all.  It  is  the  'natural 
notes '  about  Imogen's  body  that  are  to  enrich  the  inventory  as  nothing  else  could. 
In  effect,  lachimo  says:  let  me  enrich  my  list  by  a  few  birthmarks,  the  proof 
afforded  by  these  would  outweigh  the  testimony  of  ten  thousand  articles  of  furni- 
ture, whereof  the  knowledge  could  be  gained  by  hearsay.  It  was  while  gazing 
in  search  of  these  natural  notes  that  his  eye  catches  sight  of  the  bracelet.  Then 
follows  the  adjuration  to  Sleep  to  make  Imogen  as  insensate  as  marble  so  that  he 


ACT  ii,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE  !  !9 

O  fleepe,  thou  Ape  of  death,  lye  dull  vpon  her,  37 

And  be  her  Senfe  but  as  a  Monument, 

Thus  in  a  Chappell  lying.     Come  off,  come  off; 

As  flippery  as  the  Gordian-knot  was  hard.  40 

'Tis  mine,  and  this  will  witneffe  outwardly, 

As  ftrongly  as  the  Confcience  do's  within  : 

To'th'madding  of  her  Lord.     On  her  left  breft  43 

37.  Jleepe,]  sleep!  Coll.  ii,  Ingl.  40.  Gordian-knot]  Gordian  knot  Pope 
her,}  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han.  Sta.         et  seq. 

her;  Coll.  ii.    her!  Theob.  et  cet.  hard.}  hard!  Cap.  et  seq. 

38.  Monument}  monument's  Vaun.  41.  mine,}    Ff,    Rowe,    Pope,    Han. 

39.  lying.}  lying!  Theob.  et  seq.  mine!  Coll.  i,  ii.    mine;  Theob.  et  cet. 
Come  off,]  O/,  Cap.  conj.  will  witnejje}  witnejje  F3F4. 
com-e  off;]   come  off—    Rowe  i,             42.  within:]  within,  Rowe  et  seq. 

Var.  '73.    come  of.--  Rowe  ii,  +  .  43.  To'th']  To  th'  Ff,+.    To  the  Cap. 

[Taking  off  her  bracelet.  Rowe.          et  seq. 

can  secure  it.      The  very  word  'sense'  (that  is,  feeling,  sensation)  intimates  this, 
and  his  'Come  off,  come  off'  proves  it. — ED.] 

38.  Sense]  WHITE:    That  is,  her  sensuous  part,  her  body. 

38.  a  Monument,  Thus  in  a  Chappell  lying]     MALONE:    Shakespeare    was 
here  thinking  of  the  recumbent  whole-length  figures,  which,  in  his  time,  were 
usually  placed  on  the  tombs  of  considerable  persons.     The  head  always  reposed 
upon  a  pillow.     He  has  again  the  same  allusion  in  his  R.  of  L.:   'Where  like  a  vir- 
tuous monument  she  lies,  To  be  admired,'  etc.  [line  391]. 

39,  40.  come  off;  As  slippery  as]  VAUGHAN:  All  editors  have,  it  seems  to  me, 
slightly  misunderstood  this.     [Yaughan  then  proceeds  to  prove  the  proper  under- 
standing by  proposing  to  consider  'slippery'  an  adverb  qualifying  'come  off,'  thus 
'come  off  As  slippery  as,'  etc.     If  this  be  the  true  interpretation,  it  is  obtained,  I 
think,  at  the  expense  of  the  dramatic  action  and  of  all  appreciation  of   the  scene. 
There  is  a  pause  after  the  first,  'Come  off!'  and  a  second  pause,  longer  and  more 
breathless,  after  the  latter,  'Come  off!' — as  the  bracelet  was  nearing  the  wrist  and 
hand.     Then  as  the  bracelet  is  almost  free  lachimo  breathes  forth,  'As  slippery  as 
the  Gordian  knot,  was  hard.'     It  is,  of  course,  the  bracelet  that  was  slippery.     If 
Vaughan's  construction  be  correct  and  'slippery'  qualifies  the  coming  off,  then  to 
maintain  the  analogy  he  should  read  'as  the  Gordian  knot  was  hard  in  untying.' 
As  the  text  stands, '  slippery '  qualifies  bracelet  and  '  hard '  qualifies  the  Gordian  knot. 
In  the  use  of  'slippery,'  may  we  not  detect  one  of  Shakespeare's  stage-directions? 
Posthumus,  when  he  gave  the  bracelet  to  Imogen,  called  it  a  'manacle.'     Manacles 
are  fastened  with  a  clasp.     To  unclasp  the  bracelet  would  have  been  an  easier  and 
more  momentary  task  than  to  free  it  with  infinite  delicacy  of  touch,  and  with  eyes 
glancing  every  tenth  of  a  second  at  the  sleeper's  closed  lids,  along  the  arm,  down 
the  wrist,  and  over  the  hand.     By  using  'slippery'  Shakespeare  tells  us  that  it  was 
not  to  be  unclasped,  but  removed  by  a  way  more  perilous  and  dramatic,  and  one 
which  sustains  the  thrill  of  suspense  until  there  comes  the  triumphant,  'Tis  mine!' 
—ED.] 

42.  Conscience]  DYCE  (Few  Notes,  155):  It  may  not  be  useless  to  observe  that 
'  conscience '  is  used  here  for  consciousness.  ('  As  strongly  as  his  inward  conscious- 
ness.') 


120  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  ACT  n,  sc.  ii. 

A  mole  Cinque-fpotted  :  Like  the  Crimfon  drops 

V  th'bottome  of  a  Cowflippe.     Heere's  a  Voucher,  45 

Stronger  then  e'uer  Law  could  make;  this  Secret 

Will  force  him  thinke  I  haue  picked  the  lock,  and  t'ane 

The  treafure  of  her  Honour.     No  more  :  to  what  end?  48 

44.  J 'potted:]  spotted — Rowe,    spotted,  47.  /  haue]  I've  Pope,+,  Dyce  ii,  iii, 
Pope  et  seq.                                                      Huds. 

45.  Fth']  I'the  Cap.  et  seq.  t'ane]  Ff.     ta'en  Rowe. 
Cowflippe.]     cowslip:      Cap.    et            48.  No  more:]  Ff.    No  more —  Rowe, 

seq.  +,  Om.  Cap.    No  more.  Var.  '78  et  seq. 

44.  A  mole]  In  reference  to  this  mole,  MALONE  notes  that  Shakespeare  derived 
it  from  Boccaccio,  and  not  from  Westward  for  Smelts.  See  Appendix:  Source  of  the 
Plot. 

44.  the  Crimson  drops]  STEEVENS:  This  simile  contains  the  smallest  out  of  a 
thousand  proofs  that  Shakespeare  was  an  observer  of  nature,  though,  in  this 
instance,  no  very  accurate  describer  of  it,  for  the  drops  alluded  to  are  of  a  deep 
yellow. — BEISLEY  (p.  20):  This  description  shows  how  particularly  Shakespeare 
observed  natural  objects.  The  five  spots  in  the  corolla  of  the  cowslip  have  escaped 
the  attention  of  some  of  our  botanists. — ELLACOMBE  (p.  49):  'Cowslips!  how 
the  children  love  them,  and  go  out  into  the  fields  on  sunny  April  mornings  to 
collect  them  in  their  little  baskets,  and  then  come  home  and  pick  the  pips  to  make 
sweet  unintoxicating  wine,  preserving,  at  the  same  time  untouched,  a  bunch  of  the 
goodliest  flowers  as  a  harvest-sheaf  of  beauty!  and  then  the  white  soft  husks  are 
gathered  into  balls  and  tossed  from  hand  to  hand  till  they  drop  to  pieces,  to  be 
trodden  upon  and  forgotten.  And  so  at  last,  when  each  sense  has  had  its  fill  of 
the  flower  and  they  are  thoroughly  tired  of  their  play,  the  children  rest  from  their 
Celebration  of  the  Cowslip.  Blessed  are  such  flowers  that  appeal  to  every  sense!' 
So  wrote  Dr  Forbes  Watson  in  his  pretty  and  Ruskinesque  little  work,  Flowers  and 
Gardens,  and  the  passage  well  expresses  one  of  the  chief  charms  of  the  cowslip. 
It  is  the  most  favourite  flower  with  children.  It  must  have  been  also  with  Shake- 
speare.— GRINDON  (p.  5) :  The  solitary  Shakespearian  botanical  slip  is,  like  all  his 
other  lapses,  so  palpable  as  to  be  detected  on  the  instant.  ...  A  certain  amount  of 
latitude  is  always  permissible  in  descriptions  designed  to  be  vivid  and  picturesque, 
but  it  is  going  quite  beyond  the  reality  to  say  that  the  spots  in  the  cup  of  the 
cowslip  are  'crimson.'  The  nearest  approach  to  that  colour  ever  seen  could  be 
described  only  as  rosy  orange.  [It  is  not  the  flower  but  the  leaves  which  receive 
the  fullest  description,  both  in  Lyte's  Niewe  Herbal,  1578,  and  in  Gerarde's  Herball, 
1623  (2d  and  larger  ed.).  The  latter  rather  provokingly  says  of  the  flower  that  it 
'is  so  commonly  knowne  that  it  needeth  no  description,' — not  that  any  description 
can  equal  Shakespeare's,  but  it  seemed  to  me  worth  while  to  examine  these  ancient 
books  and  see  if,  by  chance,  the  spots  were  anywhere  called  'drops,'  which,  pos- 
sibly, Shakespeare  used  to  avoid  the  repetition  involved  in  'cinque-spotted.' 
-MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  f  9) :  A  spot  of  colour  (like  the  mark  or  stain  of  a  drop). 
1607.  Topsell,  Fourc-footed  Beasts,  91:  'Their  belly  is  parted  with  black  strokes  or 
drops.'  As  for  the  'botanical  error,'  in  calling  the  drops  crimson,  we  must  bear  in 
mind  how  extremely  difficult  it  is  to  determine  the  value  of  colours.  Here  Steevens 
and  Grindon  are  not  precisely  at  one.  Shakespeare  frequently  terms  blood  crimson, 
and  yet  Macbeth  speaks  of  Duncan's  'silver  skin  lac'd  with  his  golden  blood.' — ED.] 


ACT  ii,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE  12\ 

Why  fhould  I  write  this  downe,  that's  riueted, 

ScrewM  to  my  memorie.     She  hath  bin  reading  late,  50 

The  Tale  of  Tcrcus,  heere  the  leaffe's  turn'd  downe 

Where  Philomcle  gaue  vp.     I  haue  enough, 

To'th'Truncke  againe,and  fhut  the  fpring  of  it. 

Swift,  fwift,  you  Dragons  of  the  night, that  dawning 

May  beare  the  Rauens  eye  :  I  lodge  in  feare,  55 

49.  riueted]  riveteds  F2.     rivitted  F3.         up—  •  Rowe,+,  Cap.  Varr.  Ran.     up; 
rivetted  F4.    riuete  Fx,  Capell's  copy,  ap.         Mai.  et  cet. 

Cam.  53.  ///']  the  Cap.  et  seq. 

50.  memorie.}   mem'ry?   or   memory?  54.  night,]    Knt,    Coll.    Dyce,    Sta. 
Theob.  et  seq.                                                   Glo.  Cam.    night!  Pope  et  cet. 

She  hath]  Sh'hath  Pope,  Theob.  i,  55.  beare. ..eye:]  F2.  bear. ..eye:  F3F4, 

Han.  Rowe,  Theob.  Warb.  Cap.  ope. ..eye: 

bin]  been  F4.  Pope,    bare  it's  raven-eye:  Han.  Johns. 

late,]  Ff,  +  ,  Varr.  late:  Cap.  bare. ..eye!  Knt,  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam. 

late  Mai.  et  seq.  Ingl.  ii.  bear. ..eye!  Ingl.  i.  bare  the 

51.  Tereus,]  F2.     Terus,  F3F4.      Te-  heaven's   eye  Leo   (withdrawn),     dear 
reus;  Theob.  et  seq.  Uie  raven's  eye  Vaun.     bar  or  bier  the 

52.  Philomele]    Philomel    Johns,    et  raven's  eye.  Thiselton.    bare. ..eye:  Var. 
seq.  '73  et  cet. 

vp.]  Ff,  Coll.  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam.  feare,]  fear;  Cap.  et  seq. 

51.  The  Tale  of  Tereus  .  .  .  Where  Philomele  gaue  up]  M ALONE: 
Tereus  and  Progne  is  the  second  ['pretie  hystorie']  in  A  Petite  Pallace  of  Pettie  his 
Pleasure,  in  Qto,  1576.  The  same  tale  is  in  Gower's  Confessio  A  mantis,  lib.  V 
[p.  313,  ed.  Pauli.],  and  in  Ovid,  Metam.,  lib.  vi.  ['frustra  clamato  saepe  parente, 
Saepe  sorore  sua,  magnis  super  omnia  divis.' — line  524.  Golding's  Trans.,  p.  74, 
verso,  1567.] — HERFORD:  It  is  characteristic  that  Imogen  should  stop  at  this 
point. — WALKER  (Crit.,  i,  152)  devotes  a  chapter  to  Ovid's  Influence  on  Shakespeare. 

54.  you  Dragons  of  the  night]  STEEVENS  (Note  on  'night-swift  Dragons, '- 
Mid.  N.  D.,  Ill,  ii,  400,  of  this  ed.):  The  task  of  drawing  the  chariot  of  the  night 
was  assigned  to  dragons  on  account  of  their  supposed  watchfulness. — MALONE: 
This  circumstance  Shakespeare  might  have  learned  from  Golding's  Ovid,  which 
he  has  imitated  in  The  Tempest:  'And  brought  asleep  the  dragon  fell,  whose  eyes 
were  never  shet.' 

54,  55.  that  dawning  May  beare  the  Rauen's  eye]  THEOBALD  (Nichol's 
Illust.,  ii,  265)  wrote  to  Warburton:  'I  think  "beare"  should  be  either  bore,  or  bare, 
i.  e.,  make  bare.  Though  the  raven  be  a  night-bird,  it  does  not  prey  during  that 
whole  season,  but  slumbers  towards  morning,  and  is  disturbed  by  the  first  approach 
of  dawn.  Now  making  bare  the  eye  seems  to  me  peculiarly  proper,  as  most  birds 
and  many  quadrupeds  have  a  membrane  for  nictation,  wherewith  they  can  at 
pleasure  cover  their  eyes,  though  their  eyelids  be  open,  and  with  this  membrane 
they  often  defend  their  eyes  from  too  strong  a  light,  and  draw  it  over  the  pupil, 
when  they  do  not  shut  down  the  eyelid  at  all.'  Theobald  did  not  again  refer  to  his 
conjecture,  bore,  so  we  may  consider  it  as  withdrawn.  In  his  subsequent  edition, 
he  has,  after  severely  criticising  Pope  for  the  reading  ope,  the  following:  'I  could 
help  Mr  Pope  to  an  emendation  with  a  very  minute  change  of  letter:  May  bare 
the  raven's  eye,  i.  e.,  make  bare,  naked;  and  this  would  be  a  much  more  poetical 


122  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  n,  sc.  ii. 

[54,  55.  that  dawning  May  beare  the  Rauen's  eye] 

word  than  ope.1  After  writing  thus  sensibly,  and  offering  an  emendation,  which 
has  been  ever  since  generally  adopted,  he  succumbed,  in  an  unhappy  hour,  to  the 
domineering  influence  of  'thought-swarming,  but  idealess,  Warburton,'  as  Cole- 
ridge calls  him,  and  retained  'bear,'  as  'a  very  grand  and  poetical  expression' 
(Warburton  himself,  having  devised  it,  pronounces  it  '  sublime ') ,  inasmuch  as  it  is 
'a  metaphor  borrowed  from  Heraldry;  as  in  Much  Ado,  "if  he  have  wit  enough  to 
keep  himself  warm,  let  him  bear  it  for  a  difference  between  himself  and  his  horse." 
I,  i,  66.]  Theobald  then  goes  on  to  say, '  that  the  Dawn  should  bear  the  Rauen's  eye, 
means  that  it  should  rise  and  show  that  colour.  Now  the  Raven's  eye  is  remark- 
ably grey:  and  grey-eyed,  '  tis  known,  is  the  epithet  universally  joined  to  the  morn- 
ing,' Here  follow  five  or  six  quotations  where  grey  is  thus  'joined  to  morning,' 
which  need  not  be  here  repeated;  a  Concordance  will  furnish  them. — WARBURTON: 
Had  Shakespeare  meant  to  bare  or  open  the  eye,  that  is,  to  awake,  he  had  instanced 
rather  in  the  lark  than  raven  as  the  earliest  riser.  Besides,  whether  the  morning 
bared  or  opened  the  raven's  eye  was  of  no  advantage  to  the  speaker,  but  it  was  much 
advantage  that  it  should  bear  it,  that  is,  become  light. — HEATH  (p.  476):  I  am 
inclined  to  think  that  bare,  that  is,  open  it,  is  the  genuine  text.  Our  poet  says  of 
the  crow  (a  bird  whose  properties  resemble  very  much  those  of  the  raven)  in  Tro. 
6°  Cress.,  'O  Cressida!  but  that  the  busie  day,  Wak'd  by  the  lark,  has  rous'd  the 
ribald  crows.' — [IV,  ii,  8.]  Mr  Warburton  objects  that '  the  opening  of  the  raven's 
eye  was  no  advantage  to  the  speaker';  no  more  was  the  dawning,  decking  itself  in 
grey,  considered  in  itself,  but  both  were  of  equal  advantage  to  him,  considered  as 
the  constant  forerunner  of  day. — STEEVENS  :  The  poet  means  no  more  than  that  the 
light  might  wake  the  raven;  or,  as  it  is  poetically  expressed,  bare  his  eye. — KNIGHT: 
We  are  not  quite  sure  of  the  propriety  of  Theobald's  correction,  bare.  .  .  .  The 
dawning  may  bare  that  eye;  or  the  dawning  may  bear,  may  sustain,  may  be  distinct 
enough  to  endure — the  proof  of  that  acute  vision  [attributed  to  the  raven  in  search 
of  his  prey.] — COLLIER  (ed.  i.)  notes  a  suggestion  of  Barren  Field  that  'night'  is 
here  poetically  described  as  'the  raven.'  'This  may  certainly  be  so,'  adds  Collier, 
and  the  suggestion  deserves  attention,  though  we  are  not  acquainted  with  any  other 
instance  where  night  is  so  personified,  admitting  that  the  'raven'  and  its  plumage 
are  often  mentioned  as  accompaniments  of  or  similes  for  night;  as  in  the  well- 
known  words  of  Milton:  'smoothing  the  raven  down  Of  darkness  till  it  smiled.' — 
DYCE  (Remarks,  etc.,  254)  quotes  this  note  of  Collier,  and  scorns  it:  'That  "you 
dragons  of  the  night"  mean  "you  dragons  that  draw  the  chariot  of  the  Night," 
neither  Mr  Field  nor  Mr  Collier  will,  I  presume,  dispute;  here,  therefore,  Night 
is  spoken  of  as  A  GODDESS;  and  is  it  to  be  supposed  for  a  moment  that  in  the  very 
next  line  Shakespeare  would  turn  her  into  A  RAVEN?  Besides,  how  could  the 
"dawning"  said  to  open  the  eye  of  Night?  do  not  poets  invariably  describe  Night  as 
betaking  herself  to  repose  at  the  dawn  of  Day?  '  Darknesse  is  fled:  looke,  infant 
Morne  hath  drawne  Bright  siluer  curtains  'bout  the  couch  of  Night.'" — Marston's 
Antonio's  Reuenge,  1602,  sig.  B.  2. — COLLIER  (ed.  ii.  reading  'may  dare  the  raven's 
eye'.  (Perhaps  the  letter  d  was  mistaken  by  the  old  printer,  and  thus  dare  might 
become  bare  or  'beare.'  'May  dare  the  raven's  eye'  must  have  reference  to  the 
practice  of  daring,  or  dazzling,  the  eyes  of  larks  by  pieces  of  looking-glass.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  true  reading  of  'beare'  may  be  bleare,  in  the  sense  of  'blear  the  eye,' 
which  was  a  very  common  expression  in  the  time  of  Shakespeare.  .  .  .  To  'blear 
the  raven's  eye'  would  mean  to  render  it  dim,  like  any  other  night-bird  by  the 


ACT  ii,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE  123 

[54,  55.   that  dawning  May  beare  the  Rauen's  eye] 

brightness  of  the  morning;  but  having  no  authority  for  blear,  we  adopt  dare  from 
the  MS.  [In  his  ed.  iii.  Collier  abandoned  dare  and  returned  to  bare.] — SINGER 
(Text  Vindicated,  etc.,  p.  304):  How  any  one  could  have  conceived  that  he  could 
amend  this  passage,  and  suggest  dare  and  bleare,  is  past  my  comprehension!  One 
must  be  blear-eyed  indeed  not  to  perceive  that  'dawning  may  bare  the  raven's 
eye'  is  a  highly  poetical  image  for  returning  day  opening  the  eye  of  night.  The 
celebrated  passage  in  Macbeth:  'Come,  seeling  night  Scarf  up  the  tender  eye  of 
pitiful  day,' — alone  might  have  opened  the  eyes  of  the  correctors  of  this  passagem 
and  spared  us  their  dare  and  bleare. — LETTSOM  (?  Blackwood's  Maga.,  Oct.,  1853, 
p.  470) :  We  have  little  doubt  that '  the  raven's  eye  here  means  night's  eye.  'May 
bare  the  raven's  eye' — that  is,  may  open  the  eye  of  darkness  and  thus  usher  in  the 
day.  Has  not  Milton  got  'smoothing  the  raven  down  of  darkness  till  it  smiled'? 
This  interpretation  must  be  placed  to  the  credit  of  Mr  Singer,  although  it  had 
occurred  previously  to  ourselves.  [Who  the  author  was  of  these  Notes  in  Black- 
wood  has  never,  as  far  as  I  know,  been  made  authoritatively  known.  Ingleby 
(N.  &  Q.,  V,  vii,  224,  speaks  of  them  as  'by  the  late  Mr  Lettsom';  but  Lettsom 
himself,  in  his  Preface  to  Walker  (Grit,  i,  p.  liv.),  quotes  a  sentence  from  them  with 
which  he  utterly  disagrees  and  holds  the  author  of  them  up  to  ridicule. — ED.] 
DYCE  (ed.  ii.)  refers  to  a  passage  in  Drout's  Pityfull  Historic  of  Ganlfrido  and  Bar- 
nado  le  vayne,  etc.,  Sig.  F.  2.  Then,  after  quoting  the  note  in  Collier's  ed.  ii,  just 
given,  repeats  the  note  from  his  Remarks,  etc.,  and  adds,  '1865.  Mr  Collier  .  .  . 
also  proposes  (most  ridiculously)  "May  blear  the  raven's  eye."  [KEIGHTLEY 
so  far  from  finding  it  ridiculous,  adopts  it  in  his  text.] — CARTWRIGHT  (p.  38)  pro- 
poses cheer  for  'bare,'  because  the  raven  wanted  his  breakfast. — The  Misses 
PORTER  and  CLARKE:  lachimo  had  reason  to  fear  the  Raven's  eye,  reason  to  fear 
the  prompt  guard  of  the  loyal  servant,  Pisanio,  to  whom  he  may  here  refer  under 
this  figure.  .  .  .  He  longs  for  that  dawning  when  he,  no  longer  there  in  the  trunk, 
subject  to  discovery,  may  thus  beare,  stand  the  Raven's  scrutiny. — THISELTON 
(p.  1 8) :  The  Raven  here  is  clearly  the  Night-raven;  hence  the  usual  modern  reading 
bare  is  singularly  out  of  place.  Why  did  not  Theobald  conjecture  bar,  which  would 
be  written  barre?  .  .  .  We  might  then  have  had  a  really  neat  allusion  to  the 
membrana  nictitans,  though  the  sense  might  shift  well  enough  without  it.  Com- 
pare '  The  Night-raven  or  Crowe  is  of  the  same  manner  of  life  that  the  Owle  is,  for 
she  onely  commeth  abrode  in  the  darke  night  fleeing  the  daylighte  and  sunne' 
(Maplet's  A  Greene  Forest, — Cent.  Did.;  'this  Birde  ["  the  night  crowe"]  is  called 
Noctna,  as  it  were  sharply  seeing  by  night;  for  by  night  she  maye  see,  and  when 
shining  of  the  sunne  commeth,  her  sight  is  dim') — [Batman,  Bk,  12,  chap.  27. 
In  Batman's  own  addition  to  this  chapter,  the  bird  is  spoken  of  as  'this  kinde  of 
Owle.'  In  Batman's  chap.  10  'of  the  Rauen,'  there  is  no  reference  to  its  nocturnal 
habits. — ED.]  I  am  indebted  to  a  friend  for  another  interpretation  of  the  original 
text,  which  has  the  advantage  of  dispensing  with  any  suspicion  of  alteration  therein. 
According  to  this,  lachimo  calls  upon  the  Dragons  of  the  Night  so  to  accelerate 
their  flight  that  dawning  may  for  once  undergo  or  endure  the  Night-raven's  eye, 
which  it  usually  avoids  by  its  gradual  approach.  There  is  a  further  possibility 
that  in  'beare'  we  may  have  the  word  bier  used  as  a  verb,  and  that  by  'the  Raven's 
eye'  lachimo  may  mean  his  own,  boding  ill-luck  to  Imogen.  His  thought  would 
then  be  'Let  it  be  dawning  that  carries  the  Raven's  eye'  into  its  seclusion  as  of  the 
grave;  and  slipping  into  the  'Trunke'  which  sufficiently  resembles  a  coffin,  he  would 


124 


THE   TRACE  DIE  OF 


Though  this  a  heauenly  Angell  :  hell  is  heere. 

Clocke  flrikes 
One,  two,  three  :  time,  time.  Exit. 


[ACT  ii,  sc.  ii. 

56 

58 


56.  Angell:]  angel,  Rowe  et  seq. 

57.  [Counting  the  clock.  Cap. 

58.  time.]  time!  Pope  et  seq. 


58.  [He  goes  into  the  Trunk,  the 
Scene  shifts.  Rowe  i.  (closes.  Rowe  ii.). 
Shuts  the  trunk  upon  himself.  The 
scene  closes.  Cap. 


imagine  himself  as  dead,  Imogen  appearing  as  an  Angel,  and  the  darkness  of  the 
'  Trunke '  as  Hell.  .  .  .  Such  an  interpretation  will,  however,  probably  be  regarded 
as  too  fanciful,  if  not  grotesque.  [In  the  Shakespeare  Jahrbuch  (iv,  383,  1869), 
JULIUS  MARTENSEN  rehearses  various  interpretations  that  have  been  given  of  this 
passage,  and  comes  to  the  conclusion  that  they  are  all  insufficient,  and  that  the  true 
meaning  is  that  the  'raven'  is  'the  trunk  itself  with  its  raven-black  darkness. 
The  raven's  eye  is,  therefore,  the  opening  of  the  trunk,  the  opening,  which  the  lid 
of  the  trunk  holds  fast  shut  like  an  eyelid,'  etc.  Further  amplification  or  comment 
is  needless;  in  the  Jakrbuch  for  1875  (p.  382)  the  suggestion  was  judiciously  with- 
drawn. We  have  thus  seen  that  the  Raven  has  been  supposed  to  be  Night,  the 
Trunk,  and  Pisanio.  What,  we  may  ask,  has  lachimo  himself  done  that  he  should 
be  overlooked?  Is  he  not  to  join  the  sable  group?  Thiselton  has  just  answered. 
Verily,  a  whole  flock  of  ravens  could  not  yearn  for  dawning  to  bare  their  eyes 
more  bitterly  than  the  stifled  prisoner.  After  mentioning  the  Raven's  eye,  does 
he  not  instantly  refer  to  himself:  '/  lodge' — one  eye  almost  in  grammatical 
apposition  to  the  other?  Assuredly,  the  Raven  is  lachimo.  In  conclusion,  it 
seems  to  me  that  the  meaning  of  the  phrase  can  be  expressed  hardly  better  or  more 
tersely  than  it  has  been  by  Steevens. — ED.] 

56.  Though  this  a]  WALKER  (Vers.,  85)  regards  this  as  one  of  the  many  in- 
stances when  an  absorption  occurs  of  is  in  'this.' — DYCE  (ed.  ii.)  quotes  Walker, 
and  remarks  that  'he  is  probably  right.'  It  is  difficult  to  come  to  any  other  con- 
clusion in  view  of  the  numerous  examples  gathered  by  Walker  in  his  Article  VI, 
not  only  from  Shakespeare,  but  from  his  contemporaries.  Indeed,  the  number  is  so 
great  that  the  theory  of  absorption  is  threatened,  and  one  might  almost  affirm 
that  'This'  is  used  absolutely  in  Elizabethan  English. — ED. 

56.  hell  is  heere]  If  there  be  anywhere  a  comment  on  these  words  I  have  failed 
to  find  it,  and  to  me  they  are  not  so  clear  as  to  need  none.  DEIGHTON,  it  is  true, 
remarks  that  'hell'  is  'torment,'  but  this  does  not  help  us  much;  it  is  hardly  to  be 
supposed  that  hell  is  a  synonym  of  comfortable  ease.  Of  course,  it  has  no  reference 
to  the  trunk.  Does  not  lachimo  strike  his  breast?  and  is  not  'here'  used  Sei/cn/ccos? 
(I  dislike  the  pedantic  word,  but  no  other  will  precisely  fit.)  Is  it  that  after  the 
deed  is  done  a  wave  of  sudden  remorse  overwhelms  him,  like  Macbeth's,  'Wake 
Duncan  with  thy  knocking?  I  would  thou  couldst ! '  Or,  as  Wordsworth  expresses 
it:  '  'Tis  done — and  in  the  after  vacancy  We  wonder  at  ourselves  as  men  betrayed.' 
Or  is  it  one  of  Shakespeare's  ways  of  preparing  us  for  the  future,  like  Brabantio's 
warning  to  Othello  in  reference  to  Desdemona:  'She  has  deceived  her  father  and 
may  thee'?  lachimo's  final  repentance  must  be  represented  in  the  last  Act  as 
deep  and  long,  and  is  this  a  preparation  for  it? — ED. 

58.  One,  two,  three]  M ALONE:  Our  author  is  often  careless  in  his  computation 
of  time.  Just  before  Imogen  went  to  sleep,  she  asked  her  attendant  what  hour  it 
was,  and  was  informed  by'  her  it  was  almost  midnight.  lachimo,  immediately 


ACT  ii,  sc.  iii.]  CYMBELINE  125 

Scena  Tertia. 

Enter  Clotten ,  and  Lords .  2 

i.    Your  Lordfhip  is  the  moft  patient  man  in  loffe,  the 
moft  coldefl  that  euer  turned  vp  Ace.  4 

i.  Scena  Tertia.]  Scene  iv.  Eel.  Cap.     The    same.     An    ante-chamber 

The  Palace.   Rowe.    The    Palace  adjoining  Imogen's  apartments  in  the 

again.  Pope.    Scene  changes  to  another  same.  Dyce. 

Part  of   the  Palace,   facing   Imogen's  3.  /.]  i  Lord.  Rowe. 

Apartments.  Theob.    Without  the  Pal-  4.  moft  coldefl]  coldest  Pope,+. 

ace,  under  Imogen's  Apartment.  Han.  euer]  Om.  Ff. 
An  Anti-Room  to  the  above  Chamber. 


after  she  has  fallen  asleep,  comes  from  the  trunk,  and  the  present  soliloquy  cannot 
have  consumed  more  than  a  few  minutes, — yet  we  are  now  told  that  it  is  three 
o'clock.  [This  shallow  remark  is  admirably  answered  by]  DANIEL  (New.  Sh.  Soc. 
Trans.,  1877-79,  p.  242,  foot-note):  Surely  the  many  dramatic  camels  Malone 
must  have  swallowed  should  have  enabled  him  to  pass  this  little  fly  without 
straining.  Stage-time  is  not  measured  by  the  glass,  and  to  an  expectant  audience 
the  awful  pause  between  the  falling  asleep  by  Imogen  and  the  stealthy  opening  of 
the  trunk  from  which  lachimo  issues  would  be  note  and  mark  of  time  enough. 
Instances  of  the  night  of  one  day  passing  into  the  morning  of  the  next  in  one  un- 
broken scene  is  too  frequent  in  these  plays  to  need  more  than  a  general  reference. 

58.  time,  time]  INGLEBY:  This  means  that  'four'  is  struck,  the  hour  when 
Helen  was  to  call  Imogen.  [But  'four'  has  not  struck, — only  three.  When  Lady 
Macbeth  counts  '  One !  Two ! '  are  we  to  suppose  she  means  '  three '  o'clock?  More- 
over, would  it  not  be  foolhardiness  in  the  extreme  for  lachimo  to  wait  until  the 
very  moment  when  he  was  liable  to  be  caught  by  Helen? — ED.] 

58.  Exit]  COLLIER  (ed.  ii.):  It  seems  likely  that  the  traverse-curtain,  which 
sometimes  separated  the  back  from  the  front  of  the  stage,  was  used  on  the  occasion. 
Thus,  what  was  left  of  the  stage  would  form  an  ante-chamber  to  Imogen's  bedroom. 

2.  Enter  Clotten]  ECCLES:  The  time  is  early  the  following  morning. — Accord- 
ing to  DANIEL  (p.  242)  Day  4  begins  when  lachimo  issues  from  the  trunk;  and 
his  scheme  agrees  with  Eccles's  as  to  early  morning. 

4.  turn'd  vp  Ace]  Assuming  that  a  game  of  cards  is  here  intended,  INGLEBY 
(Revised  ed.)  observes  that  the  'ace  is  evidently  here, — contrary  to  expectation,— 
a  losing  card;  but  if  we  can  apply  "turned  up"  to  the  cutting  of  the  pack,  the 
ace  would  naturally  be,  as  it  always  has  been,  the  lowest  card;  and,  as  Dr  Nichol- 
son observes,  the  game  of  cutting  for  stakes  (if  it  can  be  dignified  with  the  title 
of  "game")  would  best  suit  Cloten's  impatience  and  limited  comprehension.' 
But  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.)  assumes,  and  rightly,  that  dice  are  referred  to,  and 
gives  as  his  first  definition  of  'ace'  (with  this  present  line  as  an  example),  'one  at 
dice,  or  the  side  of  the  die  marked  with  one  pip  or  point.'  This,  as  we  all  know,  is 
the  lowest  throw. — SCHMIDT  (Lex.)  says  that  'ace'  is  here  used  with  a  quibble; 
this  means,  of  course,  that  it  was  pronounced  much  like  ass.  And  that  this  in- 
terpretation is  not  astray  we  learn  from  the  only  other  passage  where  Shake- 
speare uses  it.  In  Mid.N.  D.,  after  Pyramus  has  exclaimed  'dye,  dye,  dye,'  there 


I26  THE   TRACE  DIE   OF  [ACT  n,  sc.  Hi. 

Clot.     It  would  make  any  man  cold  to  loofe.  5 

I.  But  not  euery  man  patient  after  the  noble  temper 
of  your  Lordfhip ;  You  are  moft  hot,  and  furious  when 
you  winne. 

Winning  will  put  any  man  into  courage :   if  I    could  get 
this  foolifh  Imogen,  I  fhould  haue  Gold  enough  :  it's  al-          10 
moft  morning,  is't  not  ? 

I    Day,  my  Lord. 

Clot.     I  would  this  Muficke  would  come  :    I  am  adui- 
fed  to  giue  her  Muficke  a  mornings, they  fay  it  will  pene- 
trate. Enter  Mufitians.  15 
Come  on,  tune  :  If  you  can  penetrate  her  with  your  fin- 
gering, fo  :  wee'l  try  with  tongue  too  :  if  none  will  do,  let 
her  remaine  :  but  He  neuer  giue  o're.    Firft,  a  very  excel- 
lent good  conceyted  thing;  after  a  wonderful  fvveet  aire, 
with  admirable  rich  words  to  it,    and  then  let  her  confi-         20 
der. 

SONG. 

5.  loofe]  Om.  Ff.  14.  a    mornings]    a-mornings    Pope, 

9.  Winning]     Clot.     Winning     F4.  Han.    o'mornings  Theob.  et  seq. 
(Clot,  is  the  catchword  on  preceding  16.  her]  here  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han. 

page  in  F!F2F3.)  18.  giue]  Om.  Cap. 

10.  Jhould]  shall  Rowe  ii,  Pope,  Han.  18,   19.  excellent  good  conceyted]  Ff, 
enough:]    enough.    Johns.     Knt,  Rowe,+,    Knt,    Coll.      excellent   good- 
Coll.  Dyce,  Sing.  Sta.  Ky,  Glo.  Cam.  conceited  Cap.   et  cet.     excellent- good- 

14.  Muficke    a    mornings]     music;  -conceited  B.  Nicholson  ap.  Cam. 
o'mornings  Anon.  ap.  Cam.  19.  after  a]  after,  a  Pope  et  seq. 

follows  this  colloquy:  'Demetrius.  No  die,  but  an  ace  for  him;  for  he  is  but  one. 
Lysander.  Lesse  than  an  ace,  man.  For  he  is  dead,  he  is  nothing.  Duke.  With  the 
helpe  of  a  surgeon,  he  might  yet  recover,  and  proue  an  Asse.' — V,  i,  310.  Of 
course,  Cloten  is  too  obtuse  to  note  the  quibble. — ED. 

7,  8.  most  hot,  and  furious  when  you  winne]  A  back-handed  compliment; 
betokening  boisterous  and  domineering  manners. — ED. 

14.  a  mornings]  What  scholarly  reason  can  be  given  for  changing  this  into 
o'mornings?  especially  here,  where,  if  it  be  an  illiterate  pronunciation,  it  is  in 
character? — ED. 

14,  15.  it  will  penetrate]  The  present  passage  is  the  only  instance  given  by 
MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.)  of  the  intransitive  use  of  this  verb.  He  defines  it:  'To 
touch  the  heart,  affect  the  feelings.' 

21.  SONG]  STEEVENS:  Compare  the  29th  Sonnet.  'Like  to  the  lark,  at  break  of 
day  arising  From  sullen  earth,  sings  hymns  at  heaven's  gate.' — REED  quotes  some 
of  the  lines  from  Lyly's  Compaspe.  The  whole  song  is  as  follows,  from  Bond's  ad- 
mirable edition,  vol.  ii,  p.  351:  'TRico  singeth.  Song.  What  bird  so  sings,  yet 
so  dos  wayle?  O  t'is  the  rauish'd  Nightingale.  Jug,  Jug,  Jug,  Jug  tereu,  shee  cryes, 
And  still  her  woes  at  Midnight  rise.  Braue  prick  song!  who  is't  now  we  heare? 


ACT  ii,  sc.  iii.]  CYMBELINE  I2/ 

Hearkc ,  hcarke ,  the  Larke  at  Heauens  gate  fings,  22 

and  Plicebus  gins  arife , 
His  Steeds  to  ivater  at  thofe  Springs 

on  chalic'd  Flowres  that  lyes :  25 

22.  Hearke,    hearke]     Hark,    hark!  23.  gins]  'gins  Rowe  et  seq.  (except 

Theob.  +  .     Hark!    hark!    Var.  '73   et         Dyce,  Ingl.  Rife), 
seq.  (subs.)  25.  on. ..lyes]   Each    chalic'd    flower 

supplies:  Han. 

None  but  the  Larke  so  shrill  and  cleare;  How  at  heauens  gate  she  claps  her  wings, 
The  Morne  not  waking  till  shee  sings.  Heark,  heark,  with  what  a  pretty  throat 
Poore  Robin  red-breast  tunes  his  note;  Heark  how  the  jolly  Cuckoes  sing  Cuckoe, 
to  welcome  in  the  spring,  Cuckoe,  to  welcome  in  the  spring.' — DOUCE  contributed 
to  Steevens's  edition  the  following  passages  from  other  poets;  he  says,  of  course, 
that  Shakespeare  'might  have  imitated'  them,  for  which  remark  it  is  not  Douce 
that  is  to  be  blamed,  but  the  tinsel  times  in  which  he  lived:  'The  busy  larke,  mes- 
sager  of. day,  Saluteth  in  hire  song  the  merwe  gray;  And  fyry  Phebus  ryseth  up  so 
bright,'  etc. — Chaucer,  Knightes  Tale,  633,  ed.  Morris.  'Wake  now  my  loue, 
awake;  for  it  is  time,  The  Rosy  Morne  long  since  left  Tithones  bed,  All  ready  to  her 
siluer  coche  to  clyme,  And  Phoebus  gins  to  shew  his  glorious  hed.  Hark  how  the 
cheerefull  birds  do  chaunt  theyr  laies  And  carroll  of  loues  praise.  The  merry 
Larke  hir  mattins  sings  aloft,  .  .  .  Ah  my  deere  loue  why  doe  ye  sleepe  thus  long.' 
Spenser,  Epithalamion,  74,  ed.  Grosart.  'Again,'  says  Douce,  'in  our  author's 
Venus  and  Adonis:  "  Lo,  here  the  gentle  lark,  weary  of  rest,  From  his  moist  cabinet 
mounts  up  on  high,  And  wakes  the  morning,  from  whose  silver  breast  The  sun 
ariseth  in  his  majesty."  —854.  [It  is  needless  either  to  quote  or  cite  more  passages 
wherein  occur  references  to  the  lark  or  Phoebus;  all  aubades  contain  them,  just  as 
all  serenades  refer  to  the  nightingale  or  the  moon.  Every  one  will  recall  the 
charming  dispute  between  Romeo  and  Juliet,  on  the  morning  after  their  marriage 
(Act  III,  sc.  v.),  whether  the  song  they  hear  is  the  nightingale's  which  betokens 
that  it  is  still  night,  or  the  lark's,  which  heralds  the  day.  This  present  'Song' 
is  the  supreme  crown  of  all  aubades,  and  comes,  by  Shakespeare's  consummate 
art,  laden  with  heaven's  pure,  refreshing  breath,  after  the  stifling  presence  of 
lachimo  in  Imogen's  chamber. — ED.] 

22.  Heauens  gate]    According  to  WALKER   these  two  words  are  pronounced 
as  one,  with  the  accent  on  the  first  syllable.     So  also  'swannes-nest,'  III,  iv,  158, 
where  the  hyphen  occurs  in  the  Folio.    See  III,  i,  39. 

23.  gins]  BRADLEY  (N.  E.  D.}:    Aphetic  form  of  BEGIN   (in  early  instances 
perhaps  rather  of  ONGIN)  ;    in  Mid.  Eng.  chiefly  used  in  the  past  tense,  gan.    In 
modern  archaistic  use  sometimes  written  'gin.    [The  present  passage  is  quoted.] 

24.  Springs]  It  seems  almost  food  for  babes  to  note  that  this  refers  to  what 
Shakespeare  elsewhere  calls  'the  morn-dew  on  the  myrtle  leaf.' — ED. 

25.  chalic'd  Flowres]  JOHNSON:    It  may  be  noted  that  the  cup  of  a  flower 
is  called  the  calix,  whence  'chalice.'     [Sir,  he  who  calls  the  'cup'  of  a  flower  the 
chalice  should  vindicate  his  assertion  by  producing  his  authority.     I  doubt  that 
the  'cup  of  a  flower,'  whatever  that  may  be,  was  ever  called  the  calix.    The  earliest 
reference  I  can  find  to  'Calix'  is  in  Lyte's  Nievve  Herbal,  1578,  p.  655,  where  it  is 
stated  that '  the  bud  of  the  Rose  before  the  opening  is  called  Calix,'  which,  barring 
the  spelling,  is  not  egregiously  at  variance  with  the  Botany  of  today.     According 


I28  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  n,  sc.  iii. 

And  winking  Mary-buds  begin  to  ope  their  Golden  eyes  26 

With  euery  thing  that  pretty  is,  my  Lady  five  et  arife  : 

Arife ,  arife.  28 

26.  Two  lines,  the  first  ending:  'be-  27.  euery.. .is,]    all   the    things.. .bin; 

gin,'  Pope  et  seq.  (except  Knt,  Wh.  i.).  Han.    everything.. .bin  Warb. 

26,  27.  eyes  With]  eyes,  With  Pope.  is]  bin  Han.  Warb.  Johns.  Cap. 
eyes;  with  Theob.  et  seq.  Varr.    Mai.    Ran.    Steev.    Varr.    Sing. 

27.  Two  lines,  the  first  ending:  'is'  Ktly. 

Pope  et  seq.  (except  Knt,  Wh.  i.).  28.  arife.]  arise!  Coll.  et  seq. 

to  WHITNEY  (Cent.  Diet.,  s.  v.  calyx) :  'In  modern  use  the  Lat.  calyx,  Greek  /caXu£, 
a  calyx,  and  its  derivatives,  are  often  confounded  with  the  Lat.  calix,  a  cup,  and  its 
derivatives.  In  Botany,  in  general,  the  calyx  is  the  outer  set  of  the  envelopes  which 
form  the  perianth  of  a  flower.'  From  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  Chalice)  we  learn  that 
from  the  Lat.  calix,  through  Old  French,  with  a  phonetic  change,  we  get  chalice. 
Under  chaliced  the  present  passage  is  given  with  the  definition,  'Having  cup-like 
blossoms.'  He  also  notes  that  from  a  quotation,  in  1824,  the  Daffodil  was  called 
the  Chalice-flower,  'from  the  nectary  being  shaped  like  a  chalice.'  If  qnly  we 
could  trace  this  name  for  daffodils  back  to  Shakespeare's  time,  and  could  change 
the  words  to  Chalice-flowers,  an  additional  gleam  of  gold  would  be  possibly  flashed 
into  these  perfect  lines, — only  possibly;  we  cannot  gild  refined  gold;  and  we  must 
bear  in  mind  that  the  golden  eyes  of  the  Mary-buds  are  just  beginning  to  wink. — ED.] 

25.  that  lyes]   For  many  examples  where  'the  relative  takes  a  singular  verb, 
though  the  antecedent  be  plural,'  see  ABBOTT,  §  247. 

26.  Mary-buds]  LYTE  (p.  163  of  mary golds.    Calendula.}:  'At  the  toppe  of  the 
stalkes  [of  the  Marygold]  growe  pleasant  bright  &  shining  yellow  flowers,  somewhat 
strong  in  savour,  the  whiche  do  close,  at  the  setting  downe  of  the  Sunne,  and  do 
spread  and  open  againe  at  the  Sunne  rising.' — R.  C.  A.  PRIOR  (p.  146,5.  v.,  Mary- 
bud)  quotes  that  portion  of  Lyte's  observation  which  refers  to  the  opening  and 
shutting  of  the  flower,  and  adds:   'a  phenomenon  to  which  the  older  poets  allude 
with  great  delight,  both  in  respect  to  this  flower  and  the  daisy';  he  gives  its  botan- 
ical name,  Calendula  officinalis. — BRITTEN  and  HOLLAND  (p.  326):  This  has  given 
rise  to  some  discussion,  but  [the  Calendula  officinalis]  is  almost  certainly  meant 
[here  in  Cym.].    Chatterton  speaks  of  'The  marybud  that  shutteth  with  the  light.' 
[The  discussion  just  referrred  to  is,  probably,    that  which  was  carried  on  in  Notes 
&  Queries,  in  1873.    It  began  by  P.  P.  C's  demurring  to  the  marigold,  and  asserting 
that  it  is  the  daisy. — BR.  NICHOLSON  replied,  and  quoted  Perdita,  who  says,  'Here's 
flowers  for  you:  .  .  .  The  marigold  that  goes  to  bed  wi'  the  sun,  And  with  him 
rises  weeping.' — Wint.  Tale,  IV,  iv,  103. — JAMES  BRITTEN  continued  the  discus- 
sion, and  quoted  Dr  Prior,  as  above;    he  then  added,  'but  if  it  is  thought  that  a 
common  British  plant  is  indicated,  it  is  probably  the  Lesser  Celandine  (Ranunculus 
ficaria).    I  do  not  think  the  daisy  was  meant,  nor  was  that  plant,  as  far  as  I  am 
aware,  ever  dedicated  to  our  Lady.'     C.  A.  W.  thinks  that  'there  is  very  little 
difficulty  in  asserting  that  these  "Mary-buds"  are  marigolds,  but  which  of  the 
marigolds  is  meant,  of  course,  nobody  can  settle  positively,  and  there  is  no  need  to 
settle  it  at  all.    Every  one  of  them  is  classed  by  Withering  under  the  genus  Syn- 
genesia,  and  the  daisy  comes  under  the  same  head.'     The  painful  student  may  find 
the  full  discussion  in  Notes  &°  Queries,  IV,  xii,  243,  283,  363,  456;  V,  i,  24.    I  think 
the  betossed  soul  may  find  peace  in  Calendula  officinalis. — ED.] 

27.  that  pretty  is]  It  is  not  easy  to  recall  any  needless  emendation  of  Shake- 


ACT  ii,  sc.  iii.]  CYMBELINE  I29 

So,  get  you  gone  :  if  this  pen  trate,    I  will  confider  your         29 

29.  So]  Clo.    So  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam.  29.  pen  trate]  Ff. 

gone:]  gone —  Rowe,+. 

speare  which  is  become  so  imbedded  in  the  popular  mind  as  this  substitution  by 
Hanmer  of  bin  for  'is.'     This  is  due  partly  to  the  mistaken  idea  that  a  rhyme  is 
needed  to  'begin,'  partly  because  Hanmer's  was  the  edition  of  the  'nobility  and 
gentry,'  and  partly,  I  think,  because  'bin'  is  adopted  in  the  version  which  Schubert 
set  to  peerless  music. — JOHNSON  observes  that  Hanmer  'very  properly  restored' 
bin;  'but,'  he  added,  'he  too  grammatically  reads:   "With  all  the  things  that  pretty 
bin.'1      And  hereby  hangs  a  tale.    Johnson  says  that  bin  is  'too grammatical,'  and 
yet  every  one  of  the  four  quotations  which  his  fellow-editor,  STEEVENS,  adduced 
to  prove  the  proper  use  of  'bin'  shows  that  the  authors  of  these  quotations  properly 
used  bin  as  a  plural.     Hanmer  must  have  known  this,  and,  therefore,  changed 
'every  thing'  into  all  the  things  for  the  sake  of  concord,  which  Johnson  pronounced 
'too  grammatical.'     Not  one  of  Hanmer's  twelve  critical  followers,  save  only 
Keightly,  has  noted  the  necessity  of  providing  a  plural  nominative  to  the  plural 
bin, — possibly  because  they  found  a  plural  use  in  'every  thing,'  which  is  the  excuse 
put  forward  by  Keightley,  and,  too,  a  legitimate  one.    That  his  predecessors  were 
aware  of  it  may  be  doubted,  else,  I  think,  they  would  have  instantly  availed  them- 
selves of  it. —  CAPELL  gives  the  strangest  of  excuses  for  following  Hanmer's  bin; 
he  grants  that  the  word  is  'both  rustick  and  antequated,'  but  says  that  it  is  in  keep- 
ing with  the  character  of  the  'owner'  of  the  song,  that  is,  Cloten.    Angels  and 
ministers  of  grace,  defend  us! — MURRAY,  in  his  monumental  article  on 'Be,'  notes 
(A.  1, 1-3  plural,  7 ,  T-)  that  'Been,  bin  was  erroneously  used  by  i6th  century  Scotch 
writers,  in  supposed  imitation  of  Chaucer,  and  by  Byron  (in  supposed  imitation 
of  Shakespeare)  as  singular.  .  .  .  Don  Juan,  XIII,  xxvi,  "Also  there  bin  another 
pious  reason,"'  etc.     Lo,  here  there  is  another  excuse  for  the  advocates  of  bin; 
Cloten,  Capell's  Cloten,  lapsed  into  Scotch,  and  was  imitating  Chaucer!    As  to 
the  needlessness  of  Hanmer's  change, — had  Pope  not  tampered  with  the  division  of 
the  lines  as  they  stand  in  the  Folios  and  in  Rowe,  the  necessity  for  a  rhyme  to 
'begin '  would  have,  possibly,  occurred  to  no  one.   (It  is  temerarious  rashness  to  deny 
the  possibility  of  any  change  in  Shakespeare's  text.)     Knight's  is  the  first  loyal 
voice  to  be  raised  in  protest  against  this  division.    He  remarks  that  as  the  lines 
are  printed  in  the  Folio,  'in  all  probability,  a  different  time  of  the  air  was  indicated, 
— a  more  rapid  movement.' — GRANT  WHITE'S  voice  is  the  second  in  protest,  and 
as  far  as  I  know,  the  last.    'The  stanza  or  stave  of  this  song  is,'  he  says,  'one  of  four 
fourteen-syllable  verses  and  a  refrain.    The  subdivision  of  such  verses  into  alter- 
nate lines  of  eight  and  six  syllables  was  at  first  an  irregularity  caused  by  the  intro- 
duction of  rhymes  at  the  caesural  pauses.    These  ca5sural  rhymes  were  sometimes 
introduced  in  one  part  of  a  song  and  omitted  in  others.'    Thus  reads  his  First 
Edition;  in  his  Second,  which  he  printed  from  the  Globe  Text,  he  adopted  Pope's 
division. — ED. 

29.  consider]  STEEVENS  (note  on  'gently  consider'd,'  Wint.  Tale,  IV,  iv,  882,  of 
this  ed.):  This  means,  'I  having  a  gentlemanlike  consideration  given  me,'  i.  e., 
a  bribe.  So  in  The  Three  Ladies  of  London,  1584:  'Sure,  sir,  I'll  consider  it  here- 
after if  I  can.  Dissimulation.  What?  consider  me?  does  thou  think  I  am  a  bribe- 
taker?' [p.  279  ed.  Hazlitt-Dodsley]. — DYCE  (Gloss.}:  That  is,  requisite.  [The 
present  instance,  and  the  foregoing  from  Wint.  Tale,  are  the  only  examples  given  by 
Dyce  where  '  consider '  bears  the  meaning  to  requite. — SCHMIDT  (Lex.}  adds  a  third, 

9 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  n,  sc.  iii. 

Muficke  the  better  :  if  it  do  not,  it  is  a  voyce  in  her  eares         30 
which  Horfe-haires,    and  Calues-guts,    nor  the  voyce  of 
vnpaued  Eunuch  to  boot,  can  neuer  amed. 
Enter  Cymbaline ,  and  Queene. 

2    Heere  comes  the  King. 

Clot.    I  am  glad  I  was  vp  fo  late,  for  that's  the  reafon          35 
I  was  vp  fo  earely  :  he  cannot  choofe  but  take   this  Ser- 

30.  voyce]    F2.      voice    F3F4,     Knt.  32.  vnpaued]  Castratus,  i.  e.  sine  tes- 
jault  Coll.  MS.    Vice  Rowe  et  seq.               ticulis,  i.  e.  stones. 

31.  and]  Om.  Eel.  can  neuer]  can  ever  Vaun. 
Calues-guts]    cat's- guts    Rowe,  amed]  amend  Ff. 

Cap.    cats-guts  Pope,  Theob.  i,  Johns.  [Exeunt  Musicians.  Theob. 

Varr.     Mai.     Steev.   Varr.      cats' -guts  33.  Enter...]  Enter  Queen  and  Cym- 

Theob.  ii,  Warb.    cat-guts  Rann.  beline.  F3F4.     After    fatherly,  line    37 

nor]  with  Han.  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam. 

of]  of  an  Coll.  MS.  34-  2]  2  Lord.  Rowe. 

also  from  Wint.  Tale,  IV,  ii,  19,  which,  I  think,  is  open  to  doubt;  nevertheless, 
including  it,  we  have  but  three  examples  bearing  the  meaning  of  bribing  or  requit- 
ing. But  be  it  noted  that  the  last  word  Cloten  utters  before  the  Song  begins  is 
'consider,'  where  it  can  have  no  reference  whatever  to  payment,  but  means  simply 
'let  her  lay  it  to  heart.'  Why  should  Cloten,  after  speaking  ten  or  a  dozen  words, 
use  the  identical  expression  in  an  entirely  different  meaning?  Why  should  he 
not  intend  in  this  second  use  of  '  consider'  to  say,  '  If  your  music  touches  her  soul 
I  will  more  highly  appreciate  it'?  At  the  same  time,  it  is  possible  that  Cloten  uses 
the  word  a  second  time,  with  the  meaning  given  by  Steevens. — ED.] 

30.  voyce  in  her  eares]  KNIGHT  (ed.  i.):  'Voice'  has  been  changed  to  vice. 
But  why? — DYCE   (Remarks,  p.   254):    The  answer  is,  because  common  sense 
shews  the  absolute  necessity  of  the  change.    [When  a  character  is  described  to  us 
as  so  utterly  stupid  that  he  '  cannot  take  two  from  twenty,  for  his  heart,  and  leave 
eighteen,'  does  it  behoove  us  to  reform  his  language  to  meet  the  requirements  of 
'common  sense'?    On  the  contrary,  does  not  the  attempt  show  a  lack  of  common 
sense  in  us?    Possibly,  vice,  i.  e.,  defect,  is  the  meaning  here;  but  it  is,  I  think,  open 
to  doubt.     WALKER  (Crit.,  i,  319)  points  out,  however,  an  instance  in  Mer.  of  Ven. 
(Ill,  ii,  81),  where  all  the  Folios  have  'vice'  and  the  Quartos  'voyce,'  the  true 
word.    It  is  the  application  of  '  common  sense '  to  the  uncouth  words  or  expressions 
of  such  characters  as  Cloten,  Sir  Andrew  Aguecheek,  and  Clowns  and  Peasants 
which  is,  I  think,  to  be  deprecated.     The  Misses  PORTER  and  CLARKE  stoutly 
uphold  'voyce,'  for  the  reason  that  'music,  as  the  natural  voice  of  love,  is  nothing 
of  practical  use  to  Cloten,  otherwise  it  is  a  mere  "voice  in  her  ears."    — ED.] 

31.  Horse-haires,  and  Calues-guts]  Of  course,   'Horse-hairs'  refers  to  the 
violin-bow. — MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  Catgut):   So  far  as  the  name  can  be  traced 
back,  it  distinctly  means  guts  or  intestines  of  the  cat,  though  it  is  not  known  that 
these  were  ever  used  for  the  purpose.    (Some  have  conjectured  a  humourous  refer- 
ence to  the  resemblance  of  the  sound  to  caterwauling),    i.  The  dried  and  twisXed 
intestines  of  the  horse  and  ass,  used  for  the  strings  of  musical  instruments. 

35,  36.  I  was  vp  so  late  .  .  .  vp  so  earely]   Sir  Toby  Belch   says,  'not  to 
be  abed  after  midnight,  is  to  be  up  betimes.' — Twel.  N.,  II,  iii,  i. 


ACT  ii,  sc.  iii.]  CYMBELINE  j^ 

uice  I  haue  done,  fatherly.     Good  morrow  to  your  Ma-         37 
iefty,  and  to  my  gracious  Mother. 

Oym.Attend  you  here  the  doore  of  our  ftern  daughter 
Will  fhe  not  forth  ?  40 

Clot.  I  haue  affayl'd  her  with  Mufickes,  but  fhe  vouch- 
fafes  no  notice. 

Cym.     The  Exile  of  her  Minion  is  too  new, 
She  hath  not  yet  forgot  him,  fome  more  time 
Muft  weare  the  print  of  his  remembrance  on't,  45 

And  then  fhe's  yours. 

Qu.     You  are  moft  bound  to'th'King, 
Who  let's  go  by  no  vantages,  that  may 
Preferre  you  to  his  daughter  :  Frame  your  felfe 
To  orderly  folicity,  and  be  friended  50 

38.  to  my]  Om.  F3F4,  Rowe.  45.  on'/]    F4,    Dowden.      ou't    F3F4. 

39.  daughter]    F2.      daughter.    F3F4.         out  Rowe  et  cet. 

daughter?  Rowe  et  seq.  47.  to'tti]  F2.    to  th'  F3F4,  Rowe,+. 

41.  Mufickes]    F2.      Muficks    F3F4,  to  the  Cap.  et  seq. 

Rowe,+,  Cap.  Varr.  Rann,  Herford,  48.  let's]  Fr. 

Knt,  Dowden.     music    Han.  Mai.  et  50.  folicity, ]folicits,  Ff,  Rowe.  solicit- 

cet.  ing  Coll.  ii,  Ktly,  Glo.  Cam.     solicits; 

43.  new,]   Johns,     new.    Ff,    Rowe,  Pope  et  cet. 

Pope,  Han.    new;  Theob.  et  cet.  be  friended]  befriended  Rowe  ii, 

44.  him,]  him:  Pope  et  seq.  Pope,  Han.  Knt,  Sing.  Coll.  ii. 

41.  Musickes]  For  other  instances  of  this  interpolated  s,  if  it  be  one  here,  see 
Walker's  note  on  I,  v,  84. — On  the  present  passage  LETTSOM,  Walker's  editor, 
remarks,  in  a  foot-note  (Crit.,  i,  240),  that,  since  many  editors  have  retained 
'musics'  (see  Text.  Notes),  'it  is,  therefore,  not  superfluous  to  show  that  in  this 
particular  point  [the  interpolated  s]  the  authority  of  the  First  Folio  is  next  to  noth- 
ing.' Lettsom,  albeit  an  admirable  critic,  keen  and  well-equipped,  sometimes 
was,  I  think,  unduly  severe  on  the  First  Folio.  HERFORD  ingeniously  upholds 
'musics,'  which,  he  says,  is  'a  Clotenism  for  "pieces  of  music."  He  has  assailed  her 
as  yet  with  only  one;  but  the  plural  gives  a  heightened  impression  of  Imogen's 
obstinacy.'  He  may  be  right;  albeit,  we  have  'Musicke'  in  lines  13,  14,  and  30,  just 
above.  'Tis  dangerous  to  meddle  with  anything  Cloten  says,  at  least  here,  com- 
paratively in  the  beginning  of  our  acquaintance.  His  character  changes  much 
before  the  curtain  falls. — ED. 

44,  45.  time  Must  weare  .  .  .  remembrance  on't]  If  'on't'  were  without 
the  apostrophe,  it  is  likely  that  there  would  be  no  hesitation  in  pronouncing  it  a 
misprint  for  out;  but  the  persistent  apostrophe  in  all  the  Folios  must  give  us  pause; 
and  I  cannot  but  follow  DOWDEN  in  retaining  it,  and  in  reading  'on't.'  It  is  time 
which  must  wear  the  remembrance  imprinted  on  it  a  little  longer.  In  'his  remem- 
brance,' 'his'  is  an  objective  genitive. — ED. 

49.  Preferre]  SCHMIDT  (Lex.) :   That  is,  recommend.     Thus  also  IV,  ii,  476,  and 
IV,  ii,  490. 

50.  orderly  solicity]   STEEVENS:    That  is,   regular  courtship,  courtship  after 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  n,  sc.  iii. 

With  aptneffe  of  the  feafon  :  make  denials  5 1 

Encreafe  your  Seruices  :  fo  feeme,  as  if 

You  were  infpir'd  to  do  thofe'  duties  which 

You  tender  to  her  :  that  you  in  all  obey  her,  54 

51.  feafon:]  season,  Pope,  Han.  Knt,  53.  were]  are  Rowe  ii,  Pope,  Han. 

Sing.  Coll.  ii.  54.  her:    that. ..her,]    her:    that. ..her. 

Ff.    her,  that. ..her,  Knt. 

the  established  fashion.  [The  large  number  is  eminently  noteworthy  of  the  in- 
stances 'of  a  certain  class  of  noun  substantives  (accuse  for  accusation,  begin  for 
beginning,  depart  for  departure}'  which  WALKER  (Crit.,  ii,  313)  has  furnished. 
The  present  word  or,  rather,  its  correction,  solicits,  from  the  Second  Folio,  is  among 
them;  and  another  example  of  it  is  given  by  Walker  from  Shirley,  The  Arcadia, 
V,  ii,  p.  245,  ed.  Dyce:  'tir'd  with  his  solicits  I  had  no  time  to  perfect  my  desires.' 
Cf.  'Speak,  Prince  of  Ithaca;  and  be't  of  less  expect.' — Tro.  &  Cress.,  I,  iii,  70. 
'Again.  What's  his  excuse?  Ulyss.  He  hath  none,  But  carries  on  the  stream  of  his 
dispose  Without  observance.' — Ib.  II,  iii,  173.  LETTSOM,  in  a  foot-note,  observes 
that  'Dispose  is  found  in  DRYDEN,  Rival  Ladies,  ii,  about  fifty-five  lines  from  the 
end:  "Your  dowry  is  at  my  dispose."  Milton  uses  retire  as  a  substantive  in 
Par.  Lost,  xi,  267.  COLLIER  (ed.  ii.)  reads  soliciting, '  the  old  printer  having  mistaken 
the  termination  ting  for  ty,  a  not  unlikely  error.' — ED.] 

50-52.  and  be  friended  With  aptnesse  of  the  season :  make  denials 
Encrease  your  Seruices]  In  ROWE'S  ed.  ii.  'be  friended'  is  changed  to 
befriended.  This  change  was  adopted  by  sundry  editors  (see  Text.  Notes'),  and 
proposed  ('stumbled  on/  says  Dyce)  by  M.  Mason  as  a  new  reading.  DYCE, 
however,  disapproved  of  it  and  asks,  'what  has  Cloten's  being  "befriended  with 
aptness  of  the  season"  to  do  with  his  "making  denials  increase  his  services"?' 
Although  '  be  friended '  seems  the  better  reading,  as  more  in  accord  with  the  other 
imperatives,  'make  denials'  and  'so  seem,'  yet  it  is  not  easy  to  perceive  the  per- 
tinency of  Dyce's  question;  befriended  merely  changes  an  imperative  into  a  parti- 
ciple, and  makes  the  phrase  parenthetical.  'And,'  says  the  Queen  (favoured  by 
the  fitness  of  the  occasion),  'make  denials  increase,'  etc.  This  parenthesis  is  indi- 
cated by  commas  in  the  text  of  KNIGHT,  thus:  'and,  befriended  With  aptness 
of  the  season,  make  denials  Increase,'  etc.  This  reading  and  exactly  the  same 
punctuation  is  proposed  by  Vaughan  (p.  34)  as  his  own,  and,  therefore,  the  correct 
one. — ED. 

52-54.  so  seeme,  as  if ...  tender  to  her :  that  you  in  all  obey  her] 
Here  again  the  colon  after  'to  her,'  in  line  54,  presents  the  same  difficulty  as  the 
colon  after  'Seruices,'  in  line  52.  KNIGHT  again  replaces  the  colon  by  a  comma, 
and  connects  'that  you  in  all  obey  her'  with  'so  seem,'  and  gives  as  the  'clear 
meaning,'  'so  seem  that  you  in  all  obey  her,  as  if  you  were  inspir'd,  etc.'  The 
cutting  off,'  says  Knight,  'of  the  last  member  of  the  sentence  [whereby  he  refers, 
I  suppose,  to  the  colon — ED.]  is  destructive  to  the  sense.  'You  are  senseless" 
has  the  meaning  of  be  you  senseless.'  Again  Vaughan's  punctuation  is  the  same  as 
Knight's.  This  time,  however,  he  is  aware  of  the  fact,  but,  apparently,  begrudges 
Knight  all  credit,  because,  he  says,  though  Knight  gives  the  right  punctuation,  he 
gives  the  wrong  interpretation,  and  fails  to  see  that  the  force  of  'so,'  in  the  first 
line,  extends  to  therein  'you  are  senseless,'  in  the  last,  to  which  Knight  'unwarrant- 
ably' gives  the  wrong  meaning.  The  right  meaning,  according  to  Vaughan,  is  'so 


ACT  ii,  sc.  in.]  CYMBELINE  ^ 

Saue  when  command  to  your  clifmiffion  tends,  55 

And  therein  you  are  fenfeleffe. 

Clot.     Senfeleffe  ?    Not  fo. 

Mef.    So  like  you  (Sir)  Ambaffadors  from  Rome; 
The  one  is  Cains  Lucius. 

Cym.     A  worthy  Fellow,  60 

Albeit  he  comes  on  angry  purpofe  now  ; 
But  that's  no  fault  of  his  :  we  muft  receyue  him 
According  to  the  Honor  of  his  Sender, 
And  towards  himfelfe,  his  goodneffe  fore-fpent  on  vs 
We  muft  extend  our  notice  :  Our  deere  Sonne,  65 

57.  [Enter  a  Messenger.  Rowe.  64.  his]  for's  Han.      for    his    Cap. 

58.  from]  fr  from  F2.  Ktly. 

59.  The  one  is]  One's  Han.  his... fore-fpent]  for  his  goodness 
64.  himfelfe,]    himself    Mai.    Steev.  spent  Anon.  ap.  Cam. 

Varr.  on  vs]  on  Rowe  ii,  Pope. 


seem  .  .  .  that  you  do  not  in  such  case  [of  your  dismission]  even  understand  her 
in  doing  so.'  To  which,  I  think,  Knight  could  retort  that  his  interpretation  is 
much  the  more  vigorous;  it  is,  in  effect:  'appear  to  be  inspired  to  do  everything 
you  tender  her,  and  that  you  will  obey  her  implicitly  until  she  commands  you  to 
leave  her — then  (not  tamely  put  on  an  appearance,  but — )  be  you  senseless!' — ED.] 

56.  senseless e]  The  CowDEN-CLARKES:  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  ignorance,  just  sufficiently  aware  of  its  own  in- 
capacity 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  pass  for 
an  accomplished  prince,  a  vulgar  boor  fancying  himself,  and  desirous  of  being  taken 
for,  a  thorough  gentleman.  He  presumes  upon  his  position;  believes  that  it  con- 
stitutes 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  respect,  even  from  those  who  flatter  and  humour  him  to  his  face  and  sneer 
at  him  behind  his  back. 

58.  So  like  you]  ABBOTT  (§  297):  'Like,'  in  this  present  instance,  is  probably 
(not  merely  by  derivation,  but  consciously  used  as)  impersonal. 

64,  65.  towards  himselfe,  his  goodnesse  fore-spent  on  vs  We  must  extend 
our  notice]  MALONE:  That  is,  we  must  extend  towards  himself  our  notice 
of  his  goodness  heretofore  shown  to  us.  VAUGHAN  (p.  397)  paraphrases:  'we 
must  extend  our  notice  to'  ('towards')  'his  own  goodness  forespent  upon  us,' 
which  apparently  means  that  notice  must  be  extended  to  the  man's  goodness 
instead  of  to  the  man  himself;  it  is  somewhat  difficult  to  see  how  Caius  can  appre- 
ciate this  nice  discrimination.  Vaughan  then  goes  on  to  say  that  '"himself  his 
goodness"  is  identical  with  " himself 's  goodness,"-— that  is,  "his  own  personal 
goodness."  This  Dyce  would  call,  I  fear,  a  barbarous  construction.  It  is  the 
presence,  however,  of  the  comma  between  '  himself  and  '  his '  which  causes  Vaughan 


134  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  n,  sc.  iii. 

When  you  haue  giuen  good  morning  to  your  Miftris,  66 

Attend  the  Queene,  and  vs,  we  fhall  haue  neede 

T'employ  you  towards  [this  Romane. 

Come  our  Queene.  Exeunt. 

Clot.     If  me  be  vp,  He  fpeake  with  her  :  if  not  70 

Let  her  lye  ftill,  and  dreame  :  by  your  leaue  hoa, 
I  know  her  women  are  about  her  :  what 
If  I  do  line  one  of  their  hands,  'tis  Gold 
Which  buyes  admittance  (oft  it  doth)  yea,  and  makes 
Diana's  Rangers  falfe  themfelues,  yeeld  vp  75 

68.  T'employ]    Ff,    Rowe,  +  ,    Dyce,  73.  hands,}  F2.  hands:  F3F4.  hands— 

Sing.  Ktly.     To  employ  Cap.  et  cet.  Rowe.     hands!  Ktly.     hands?  Pope  et 

68,  69.  One  line  Rowe  et  seq.  cet. 

69.  Exeunt.]   Exeunt   Cym.   Queen,  .-      74.  buyes]  buys  F4.    buy  Pope  (mis- 
Mess,  and  Lords.  Cap.    Exeunt  all  but  print). 

Cloten.  Glo.  (oft    it   doth}}    oft'    doth;   or    oft 

Scene    iv.  Pope,    Han.  Warb.        doth;  Vaun. 
Johns.  yea]  Erased,  Coll.  MS. 

71.  leaue  hoa,]  F2F3.     leave  ho,   F4.  and]  Om.  Pope,-)-. 

leave  ho!  Rowe,  Pope,   leave,  Ao/Theob.  75.  Rangers]   rangers,   Coll.    (mono- 

et  seq.  vol.) 

[Knocks.   Theob.      Calls.    Coll.  yeeld   vp]   and   yield   up    Rowe. 

(monovol.)  and  yield  Pope,  Han. 

72.  her:]  her —  Rowe,+.   her.  Johns. 

to  assert  that  'all  editors  and  critics'  who  retain  it  are  proved  thereby  to  misun- 
derstand the  construction. — ED. 

75.  Diana's  Rangers]  CRAIGIE  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  Ranger.  2):  A  first  officer,  a 
gamekeeper.  Now  only  archaic,  and  as  the  official  title  of  the  keepers  of  the  royal 
parks. — MADDEN  (p.  241):  To  carry  out  this  scheme  the  aid  of  the  forester  was 
needed.  It  was  by  his  directions  that  the  company  were  to  be  conducted  to  the 
special  stands  assigned  to  them.  This  aid,  however,  might  be  bought.  In  these 
days  (I  write  of  three  hundred  years  ago)  there  could  be  found  foresters  and 
keepers  [i.  e.,  rangers]  willing  to  accept  gold  at  the  hands  of  their  masters'  guests. 
'Take  this  for  telling  true.'  So  saying,  the  Princess  in  Love's  Lab.  Lost  rewards  the 
forester  who  leads  her  to  what  he  describes  as  'a  stand  where  you  may  make  the 
fairest  shoot.'  When  Cloten  would  gain  admittance  to  Imogen,  he  bethinks  him 
thus:  [here  follow  lines  72-76].  I  know  not  whether  this  thought  was  suggested 
by  the  venality  of  Master  Shallow's  forester.  But  it  is  certain  that  he  was  somehow 
induced  to  lend  his  aid.  It  was  arranged  that  he  should  himself  attend  to  the 
driving  of  the  deer,  leaving  to  assistants  the  placing  of  the  company  in  their  stands. 
Thus  it  would  be  easy  to  persuade  the  Justice  afterwards  that  these  varlets  mistook 
his  directions  and  he  would  escape  scot  free.  [Of  course,  the  rangers  of  Diana  are 
Imogen's  '  women,'  the  foresters  of  the  Goddess  of  hunting  and  of  chastity.] 

75.  false  themselues]  'False'  cannot  here  be  classed  with  any  certainty  either 
as  a  verb  or  as  an  adjective. — BRADLEY  (N.  E.  D.)  places  it  under  the  heading  of  a 
verb,  and,  if  a  verb,  it  is  the  sole  example  of  its  reflexive  use;  but  not  only  does  he 
precede  it  with  a  '?,'  but  after  defining  it,  'To  betray  one's  trust,'  adds  in  paren- 
theses, '(Doubtful;  the  word  may  be  an  adjective.)'  There  is  no  objection  to  urge 


ACT  ii,  sc.  iii.]  CYMBELINE  ^5 

Their  Deere  to'th'ftand  o'th'Stealer  :  and  'tis  Gold  76 

Which  makes  the  True-man  kill'd,  and  faues  the  Theefe: 
Nay,  fometime  hangs  both  Theefe,  and  True-man  :  what 
Can  it  not  do,  and  vndoo?  I  will  make 

One  of  her  women  Lawyer  to  me,  for  80 

I  yet  not  vnderftand  the  cafe  my  felfe. 
By  your  leaue.  Knackes. 

Enter  a  Lady. 

La.     Who's  there  that  knockes  ? 

Clot.     A  Gentleman.  85 

La.     No  more. 

Clot.     Yes,  and  a  Gentlewomans  Sonne. 

La.     That's  more 

Then  fome  whofe  Taylors  are  as  deere  as  yours, 
Can  iuftly  boaft  of  :  what's  your  Lordfhips  pleafure  ?  90 

Clot.     Your  Ladies  perfon,  is  (he  ready? 

La.     I,  to  keepe  her  Chamber.  92 

76.  to'th'...o'th']  to  the. ..of  thee  Steev.  82.  leaue.}  leave —  Var.  '73. 
Varr.    to  the. ..o 'the  Cap.  et  cet.  (subs.)  86.  more.}  more?  Rowe  ii.  et  seq. 

77.  True-man}  Ff,  Rowe  i,  Cap.  Var.  88-90.  That's... boaft  of]   Aside   Del. 
'73.    true  man  Rowe  ii.  et  cet.  conj. 

78.  fometime]     sometimes     Rowe,+,  91,  92.   Your. ..I,}  As  one  line  Han. 
Var.  '73.  Cap.  Steev.  et  seq. 

True-man:}  true-man.  Johns.  Var.  92.  7, ]  A y,  Rowe. 

'73.    true  man:  Han.  Var.  '78  et  seq.  to  keepe  her  Chamber}  Aside  Del. 

79.  vndoo?]  undo:  F3F4.  conj. 

against  it  as  a  verb.  Examples  are  not  lacking  of  its  inflected  use. — STEEVENS 
quotes  an  example  thereof  in  Com.  of  Err.,  'Nay,  not  sure,  in  a  thing  falsing.' — II, 
ii,  95.  And  Bradley  furnishes  others,  with  varying  meanings,  from  the  Ancren 
Riwle  down  to  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century. — ED. 

77,  78.  True-man]  WALKER'S  seventy-eighth  Article  (Crit.,  ii,  136)  deals  with 
'noticeable  modes  of  spelling  in  the  Folio, — not,  indeed,  peculiar  to  it,  being  common 
(for  the  most  part  at  least,  if  not  universally)  to  all  the  publications  of  that  age'; 
such  as  Richman,  youngman,  oldman,  deadman  (as  in  this  play,  'the  strait  pass  was 
damm'd  with  deadmen,' — V,  iii,  15,  16).  'In  fact,'  says  Walker,  'man,  in  combina- 
tions of  this  kind,  such  of  them,  I  mean,  as  from  their  nature  are  of  frequent  occur- 
rence, had  an  enclitic  force.  This  is  evident  not  only  from  their  being  so  frequently 
printed  either  in  the  manner  above  or  with  a  hyphen  [as  in  the  present  instance], 
but  also  from  the  flow  of  the  verse  in  many  of  the  passages  where  they  occur.' 

89.  Taylors  are  as  deere  as  yours]  INGLEBY  (ed.  ii.):  Dr  Nicholson  states 
this  to  be  directed  at  the  new  knights  and  others  of  no  birth  recently  made  favour- 
ites at  Court.  But  that  the  creation  of  Baronets  was  a  year  later  than  the  latest 
date  assigned  to  this  play,  one  might  suppose  it  to  be  a  hit  at  them.  [Is  it  not  a 
universal  truth,  applicable  at  all  times  and  in  all  countries? — ED.] 

91.  ready]  CRAIGIE  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  A.  i.  b.):    Properly  dressed  or  attired; 


136 


THE   TRACE  DIE  OF 


[ACT  ii,  sc.  iii. 
93 

95 


Clot.     There  is  Gold  for  you, 
Sell  me  your  good  report. 

La.     How,  my  good  name  ?  or  to  report  of  you 
What  I  mall  thinke  is  good.     The  Princeffe. 

Enter  Imogen. 

Clot.     Good  morrow  faireft,  Sifter  your  fweet  hand. 

Imo.     Good  morrow  Sir,  you  lay  out  too  much  paines 
For  purchafmg  but  trouble  :  the  thankes  I  giue,  IOO 

Is  telling  you  that  I  am  poore  of  thankes, 
And  fcarfe  can  fpare  them. 

Clot.     Still  I  fweare  I  loue  you. 

Imo.    If  you  but  faid  fo,  'twere  as  deepe  with  me  :  104 


93,  94.  There  is. ..report]  One  line 
Pope  et  seq.  (except  Cap.  Dyce,  Glo. 
Cam.) 

93.  There   is]   There's  Var.  '78,  '85, 
Mai.    Rann,   Steev.  Varr.    Coll.    Sing. 
Sta.  Ktly. 

94.  95.  Sell. ..name?]  As  one  line  Han. 
Cap. 

95.  How,]  How  F2.     How!  Cap.  et 
seq. 

95,  96.  or  to. ..thinke]  One  line  Cap. 

96.  /  JJiall  thinke  is]  I  think  Han. 
good.]  good?  Pope  et  seq. 

The  Princeffe.]  As  separate  line 
Han.     The  Princess!  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo. 


Cam.     The  Princess —  Pope  et  cet. 
96.  [Exit  Lady.  Cap. 

98.  faireft,  Sifter]   Ff.   Rowe,   Pope. 
fairest.   Sister  Johns.   Var.    '73,   Ktly. 
fairest  sister:  Cap.  Var.  '78,  '85,  Mai. 
Ran.  Steev.  Var.  '03,  '13,  Sta.    fairest: 
sister  Theob.  et  cet. 

99.  Sir,]  Ff,  Rowe.    Sir.  Coll.  Dyce. 
Sta.   Ktly,  Glo.   Cam.     Sir;   Pope   et 
cet. 

103.  Still  I  fweare]  Ff.  Rowe,  Pope, 
Han.  Theob.  i,  Cam.     Still,  I  swear 
Knt,  Dyce,   Sta.  Glo.     Still,  I  swear, 
Theob.  ii.  et  cet. 

104.  you  but]  you'd  but  F3F4,  Rowe. 


having  finished  one's  toilet.  [Thus  in  Macbeth  when  the  occupants  of  the  Castle, 
hurried  from  their  beds  by  the  horror  of  Duncan's  murder,  and  the  time  comes  for 
them  to  separate,  Banquo  says,  '  when  we  have  our  naked  frailities  hid  That  suffer 
in  exposure,  let  us  meet,'  and  Macbeth  replies,  'Let's  briefly  put  on  manly  readi- 
ness,' where  'readiness'  bears  the  same  meaning  as  'ready'  here.  The  Lady, 
however,  to  spite  Cloten  gives  the  ordinary  meaning  to  the  word.  JOHN  HUNTER 
appositely  refers  to  the  stage  direction  in  i  Hen.  VI:  II,  i,  38:  '  Enter  the  Bastard 
of  Orleans,  Alencon,  and  Reignier,  half  ready,  and  half  unready.' — ED.] 

94.  your  good  report]  Again,  to  tease  Cloten,  the  Lady  takes  'report'  in  the 
sense  of  reputation;  as  Belarius  uses  it  where  he  says  'my  report  was  once  First 
with  the  best  of  note,'  III,  iii,  63. — ED. 

104.  as  deepe  with  me]  ROLFE:  'Deep'  is  elsewhere  associated  with  swearing, 
as  in  Sonn.,  152,  9,  'I  have  sworn  deep  oaths';  R.  of  L.,  1847,  'that  deep  vow.' 
['Deep'  is  one  of  Shakespeare's  favourite  adjectives.  Naturally,  he  uses  'good' 
far  more  frequently  than  any  other  adjective.  Independently  of  its  general  use, 
BARTLETT'S  Concordance  gives  about  fourteen  columns  of  its  use  in  especial  com- 
binations, such  as  'good  faith,'  'good  credit,'  'good  sweet,'  etc.  'High'  comes 
next,  in  these  especial  combinations,  with  about  two  columns.  'Brave'  next, 


ACT  ii,  sc.  iii.]  CYMBELINE 

If  you  fweare  ftill,  your  recompence  is  ftill  105 

That  I  regard  it  not. 

Clot.     This  is  no  anfwer. 

/;«<?.     But  that  you  fhall  not  fay,  I  yeeld  being  filent, 
I  would  not  fpeake.     I  pray  you  fpare  me,  'faith 
I  fhall  vnfold  equall  difcourtefie  no 

To  your  beft  kindueffe  :  one  of  your  great  knowing 
Should  learne  (being  taught)  forbearance.  112 

108.  yeeld]  Ff,  Rowe  ii,  Dyce,  Sta.         Theob.  ii,  Warb.  Johns,    me;  Theob.  i. 
Glo.  Cam.    yield,  Rowe  ii.  et  cet.  et  cet. 

109.  me,]    Ff,    Rowe,    Pope,      me—  109.  'faith]  i' faith  Var.  '03,  '13,  '21, 

Knt.    faith  Coll.  Dyce,  Cam. 

with  about  a  column  and  a  half.  Then  '  deep,'  as  the  fourth  favourite,  with  over  a 
column.  'Bad'  and  'light'  with  about  three-quarters  of  a  column  each.  These, 
of  course,  are  rough  approximations,  but  sufficiently  accurate  to  convey  a  general 
idea,  and  it  is,  at  least,  highly  satisfactory  to  know  that  there  is  far,  far  more  of 
'good'  in  Shakespeare  than  'bad'  or  any  other  quality. — ED.] 

105.  still]  That  is,  constantly,  for  ever,  as  in  Shakespeare  passim. 

no,  in.  I  shall  vnfold  equall  discourtesie  To  your  best  kinduesse] 
That  is,  I  shall  unfold  discourtesy  equal  to  your  best  kindness.  See  ABBOTT, 
§  419  a.  on  Transposition  of  adjective  phrases,  where  this  line  is  quoted. — WYATT: 
But  it  is  at  least  equally  likely  that  the  more  obvious  meaning  is  the  right  one. 
[What  the  more  'obvious  meaning'  is  DOWDEN  supplies,  'as  much  discourtesy  as  I 
have  shown.'] 

in,  112.  one  of  your  great  knowing  Should  learne  (being  taught)  for- 
bearance] It  seems  hardly  fair  to  Warburton  to  record,  in  the  Text.  Notes, 
his  wild  amendments  without  giving  his  reasons  for  them.  Accordingly,  he  ex- 
plains his  reading,  'Should  learn  (being  tort)  forbearance,'  as  meaning  'one  of  your 
wisdom  should  learn  (from  a  sense  of  your  pursuing  a  forbidden  object)  forbearance: 
which  gives  us  a  good  and  pertinent  meaning  in  a  correct  expression.'  He  then 
proceeds  to  say  that  'tort  is  an  old  French  word,  signifying  being  in  the  wrong' 
and  appeals  to  Skinner's  Etymologicon  as  his  authority.  Warburton  had  assailants 
(Edwards,  author  of  the  Canons  of  Criticisms,  and  Heath,  the  author  of  TheRevisal 
of  Shakespeare's  Text),  between  them  they  seriously  and  deservedly  injured  the  sale 
of  his  edition.  Of  them  Dr  Johnson  speaks,  in  his  immortal  Preface,  in  terms  that 
we  well  might  commit  to  memory,  so  characteristic  is  it  and  so  vigorous — of  Dr 
Warburton's  chief  assailants:  'one  [Edwards]  ridicules  his  errours  with  airy  petu- 
lance, suitable  enough  to  the  levity  of  the  controversy;  the  other  [Heath]  attacks 
them  with  gloomy  malignity,  as  if  he  were  dragging  to  justice  an  assassin  or  an 
incendiary.  The  one  stings  like  a  fly,  sucks  a  little  blood,  takes  a  gay  flutter,  and 
returns  for  more;  the  other  bites  like  a  viper,  and  would  be  glad  to  leave  inflam- 
mations and  gangrene  behind  him.'  In  the  present  instance  the  chance  was  too 
good  for  Edwards  to  lose;  accordingly  (p.  100)  he  shows  that  tort  is  not  an  'old 
French  word'  in  any  sense  other  than  that  all  French  words  are  old,  and  that  it  is  a 
noun  and  not  an  adjective,  and  that  a  reference  to  Skinner's  definition,  which  he 
quotes  in  full,  gives  no  manner  of  authority  to  Warburton's  assertion,  and  ends 
with  the  hope  that  'for  the  future  Mr  Warburton  will  apply  Imogen's  advice  to  this 


THE   TRACED  IE   OF  [ACT  n,  sc.  iii. 

Clot.     To  leaue  you  in  your  madneffe,  'twere  my  fin,  1 13 

I  will  not. 

Imo.    Fooles  are  not  mad  Folkes.  1 1 5 

113.  fm,]    Ff,    Rowe,    Pope.      sin.  115.  are  not]  cure  not  Theob.  +  ,  Cap. 
Johns.  Var.  '73.     sin;  Theob.  et  cet.         White,  Huds.  Ingl.   Baugust,  Wyatt, 

114.  not.}  not  do't.  Han.  are  not  for  Daniel  ap.  Cam. 

Folkes.}  folks,  Sir  Han. 

liberty  he  takes  of  coining  words,  and  according  to  his  own  reading,  " — learn 
(being  TORT)  forbearance.'" — HEATH'S  'gloomy  malignity'  is  as  follows:  'For 
this  most  extravagant  and  ridiculous  imagination  of  Mr  Warburton's  we  must, 
it  seems,  discard  the  natural  easy  sense  of  the  common  reading.  But  Mr  Warbur- 
ton  objects,  that  "whoever  is  taught  necessarily  learns,  and  that  learning  is  not 
the  consequence  of  being  taught,  but  the  thing  itself."  Which  is  just  the  same  as 
to  say  that  there  is  no  manner  of  distinction  between  the  means  and  the  end.  Do 
we  not  every  day  see  glowing  examples  of  people  who  are  taught  what  they  never 
do,  and,  indeed,  are  never  able  to  learn?  Hath  not,  for  instance,  a  well-known 
an  tick  [i.  e.,  Warburton]  been  on  many  occasions  abundantly  taught  modesty 
and  good  manners,  and  that  teaching  sometimes  accompanied  with  very  severe 
discipline,  of  the  pen  at  least?  But  would  it,  therefore,  be  a  just  conclusion  to  say 
that  he  hath  learned  them?  I  appeal  to  the  reader,  who  will  find  [in  the  foregoing 
quotation  from  Edwards]  the  common  text  well  explained  and  fully  justified,  and 
this  idle  whimsey  unanswerably,  and  with  great  spirit  and  pleasantry,  fully 
exploded.' — JOHNSON:  That  is,  a  man  being  taught  forbearance  should  learn  it.— 
CAPELL  (p.  108):  'Being  taught'  means — being  so  often  desired  to  it,  [i.  e.,  being 
so  often  desired  to  forbear],  which  had  been  a  teaching  to  any  other  but  Cloten. 
-THISELTON  (p.  19):  Cloten  misunderstood  Imogen  to  mean  merely  that  she 
wishes  him  to  withdraw,  in  accordance  with  a  frequent  signification  of  the  word 
'forbear.'  [This  ingenious  suggestion  seems  clearly  right. — ED.] 

115.  Fooles  are  not  mad   Folkes]  THEOBALD:    The  reasoning  is  perplexed 
in  a  slight  corruption;  and  we  must  restore  as  Mr  Warburton  likewise  saw:   'Fools 
cure  not  madness.'    You  are  mad,  says  he,  and  it  would  be  a  crime  in  me  to  leave 
you  to  yourself.   Nay,  says  she,  why  should  you  stay?    A  Fool  never  cured  madness. 
Do  you  call  me  Fool?  replies  he,  etc.    All  this  is  easy  and  natural.    And  that  cure 
was  certainly  the  Poet's  word  I  think  is  very  evident  from  what  Imogen  imme- 
diately rejoins:  'If  you'll  be  patient,  I'll  no  more  be  mad,  That  cures  us  both,'  i.  e., 
If  you'll  cease  to  torture  me  with  your  foolish  solicitations,  I'll  cease  to  show 
towards  you  anything  like  madness;    so  a  double  cure  will  be  effected,  of  your 
folly  and  my  supposed  frenzy.      [This  note,  without  any  acknowledgment  to 
Theobald,  is  copied  word  for  word  (except  the  reference  to  Mr  Warburton),  but 
not  signed  by  Warburton,  and  consequently  to  him  it  is  accredited  by  Johnson, 
by  the  Van.  1773,  1778,  and  1785,  and  by  several  other  editors;  it  is  as  clear  a 
piece  of  literary  dishonesty  as  one  may  wish  to  see  in  a  summer's  day. — ED.] — 
STEEVENS:    This,  as  Cloten  very  well  understands  it,  is  a  covert  mode  of  calling 
him  fool.    The  meaning  implied  is  this:    if  I  am  mad,  as  you  tell  me,  I  am  what 
fools  can  never  be.    'Fools  are  not  mad  folks.' — WHITE:   Even  admitting  such  a 
very  subtle  and  recondite  meaning  [as  this  of  Steevens],  what  fitness  has  it  to  the 
passage?    Cloten  says  he  must  stop  with  Imogen  to  take  care  of  her  because  she 
is  mad;  and  she  being  provoked  by  his  boorishness  to  'unfold  equal  discourtesy,' 


ACT  ii,  sc.  iii.]  CYMBELINE 

Clot.    Do  you  call  me  Foole?  116 

Imo.   As  I  am  mad_  I  do  : 
If  you'l  be  patient,  He  no  more  be  mad, 
That  cures  vs  both.    I  am  much  fony  (Sir)i 

You  put  me  to  forget  a  Ladies  manners  120 

By  being  fo  verball  :  and  learne  now,  for  all, 

118.  patient}    prudent    Warb.    conj.  118.  mad,]  mad;  Theob.  et  seq. 

(probably  withdrawn). 

indirectly  calls  him  a  fool  by  telling  him  that  the  attendance  of  fools  is  of  no 
service  to  the  mad.  This  reading  is  confirmed  [by  'cures'  in  her  reply]. — HUDSON: 
Cloten  had  just  implied  that  his  purpose  is  to  cure  Imogen  of  her  imputed  madness. 
She,  in  her  reply,  insinuates  that  he  is  a  fool;  and  so  he  understands  her.  Her 
next  reply  is  in  accordance  with  this;  meaning,  'If  you  will  desist  from  your  folly 
in  making  suit  to  me,  I  will  leave  off  being  mad;  that  act  of  yours  will  cure  us  both.' 
[DEIGHTON'S  text  follows  the  Folio,  but  in  his  note  he  cites  Ingleby  as  adopting 
Theobald's  cure,  and  adds,  'rightly,  I  think,'  in  MS.  in  the  copy  which  Deighton 
kindly  sent  me.  He  quotes  Ingleby's  note  in  full,  which  is  virtually  the  same  in 
effect  as  White's  and  Hudson's;  as  is  also  B AUGUST'S.] — WYATT  quotes  Steevens's 
interpretation,  with  this  comment:  'If  Cloten  understood  this,  he  must  have  been 
as  clever  as  a  Shakespearian  commentator.  It  is  certainly  not  the  most  obvious 
inference  from  "Fools  are  not  mad  folks,"  which  rather  is:  "Whether  I  am  a  fool 
may  be  a  matter  of  question,  but  even  fools  are  not  necessarily  mad."  I  am  com- 
pelled to  adopt  Warburton's  [sic]  conjecture:  (i)  because  it  makes  Imogen's  reply 
to  Cloten  perfectly  apposite,  and  his  following  question  most  natural  and  pertinent; 
(2)  because  of  the  added  force  it  gives  to  "That  cures  us  both";  (3)  because,  though 
there  are  plenty  of  obscurities  in  the  later  plays,  there  is  hardly  a  trace  of  obscurity 
in  all  Imogen's  very  plain  speaking  to  Cloten.  To  this  I  need  only  add,  that  when 
Imogen  says  she'll  "no  more  be  mad,"  she  does  not  refer  to  the  madness  that 
Cloten  meant,  that  of  her  love,  but  to  the  madness  which  made  her  call  him  fool.'- 
HERFORD:  That  is,  you  are  in  no  danger  of  such  'madness'  as  mine. — THISELTON 
(p.  20) :  That  Imogen  herself  means  '  though  you  may  think  me  a  Fool,  you  have 
no  right  to  class  me,  a  Princess,  with  Bedlamites,'  is,  I  think,  clenched  by  the 
initial  capital  ('Folkes').  She  has  overheard  Cloten's  mention  of  'This  foolish 
Imogen'  (line  10).  He,  of  course,  has  no  idea  of  this,  and  takes  her  to  mean  'I  had 
rather  be  mad  than  a  Fool  like  you.' — DOWDEN:  I  take  it  to  mean:  'I  am  not  mad, 
I  am  only  a  fool,  and  so  you  may  safely  leave  me  to  my  folly.'  ...  If  we  are  to 
emend,  I  may  add  the  conjecture  'Fools  spare  not  mad  folks,'  fools  exercise 
no  forbearance  to  mad  folks,  but  torment  them.  The  word  'spare'  is  commonly  so 
used  by  Shakespeare,  and  Imogen  has  prayed  (line  109)  to  be  spared.  But  no 
emendation  should  be  made. — ROLFE  :  Cure  certainly  gives  a  simpler  sense,  and  is 
favoured  by  cures  just  below,  but  no  change  is  imperatively  demanded.  [I  say 
'ditto  to  Mr  Burke.'— ED.] 

121.  so  verball]  JOHNSON:  That  is,  so  verbose,  so  full  of  talk. — KNIGHT: 
But  neither  Cloten  nor  Imogen  have  used  many  words.  Imogen  had  been  parrying 
her  strange  admirer;  but  she  now  resolves  to  speak  plainly, — to  be  verbal, — and 
thus  to  forget  a  lady's  manners. — TIECK  (p.  378):  'Verbal'  does  not  mean  prolix, 
talkative,  but  outright,  that  is,  to  speak  out  bluntly  or  without  mincing  matters. 


1 40  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  n,  sc.  iii. 

That  I  which  know  my  heart,  do  heere  pronounce  122 

By  th'very  truth  of  it,    I  care  not  for  you, 

And  am  fo  neere  the  lacke  of  Charitie 

To  accufe  my  felfe,  I  hate  you  :  which  I  had  rather  125 

You  felt,  then  make't  my  boaft. 

Clot.     You  finne  againft 
Obedience,  which  you  owe  your  Father,  for 
The  Contract  you  pretend  with  that  bafe  Wretch,  129 

122.  which]  who  Pope,+.  myself)  Cap.  et  seq.  (subs.) 
125.  To    accufe]    Taccuse    Pope,  +  ,  126.  make't}  make  Pope,  +  . 

Dyce  ii,  iii.  128.  Father,    for]     Ff.      father;    for 

To  accufe  my  felfe,]  (To  accuse  Rowe,+.    father.  For  Cap.  et  seq. 

— SCHMIDT  (Lex.)  adopts  this  view. — SINGER:  That  is,  so  explicit,  not  verbose. — • 
HUDSON:  Imogen  refers  to  his  forcing  her  thus  to  the  discourtesy  of  expressing 
her  mind  to  him,  of  putting  her  thoughts  into  words. — WHITE  (ed.  ii.):  That  is, 
wordy  and  ready  to  catch  at  words. — TNGLEBY:  That  is,  by  expressing  in  words 
what  is  ordinarily  understood  by  implication. — VAUGHAN  (p.  398):  This  imports: 
'I  am  sorry,  sir,  that  you  provoke  me  to  forget  a  lady's  good  manners  in  speaking 
so  plainly  to  you.' — DEIGHTON:  To  me  it  seems  plain  that  Imogen  refers  to  Cloten's 
worrying  her  with  so  many  protestations.  '  You  will  take  no  denial,'  she  says, '  you, 
by  pestering  me  with  so  many  words,  cause  me  to  lose  my  temper ' ;  thus,  Middle- 
ton,  A  Chaste  Maid,  etc.,  I,  line  64,  'He's  grown  too  verbal,'  i.  e.,  as  the  context 
shows,  too  fond  of  words.  [Deighton's  interpretation  is  essentially  that  of  Herford, 
and  of  Wyatt.] — DOWDEN:  If  this  refers  to  Imogen,  as  I  think,  it  may  mean,  pro- 
fuse of  words,  or  perhaps  plain-spoken. — MINSHEU  (1627)  explains  'verbal'  as 'full 
of  words.'  [I  cannot  but  think  that  this  refers  to  Cloten.  If  it  refer  to  Imogen,  it 
will  make  no  difference  in  the  meaning  wherever  the  phrase  occurs  in  the  sentence. 
Transpose  it,  and  it  will  then  clearly  seem,  I  think,  to  refer  to  Cloten;  thus:  'I 
am  much  sorry,  sir,  By  being  so  verball,  you  put  me  to  forget  A  lady's  manners.' 
We  must  bear  in  mind  the  tension  of  Imogen's  mood  at  this  moment,— over  the 
loss  of  her  bracelet  her  mind  was  distracted,  and  while  every  nerve  was  quivering 
with  dismay  and  anxiety  she  was  sprighted  with  a  fool,  frighted,  and  angered  worse. 
She  had  begged  him  to  forbear  further  words  (line  109),  and  would  have  held  her 
peace  but  for  the  fear  that  silence  would  seem  to  give  consent.  And  yet  there  still 
came  from  Cloten  those  intolerable  bursts  of  speaking,  with  the  snatches  in  his 
voice,  which  fairly  maddened  her.  But  mistress  of  herself,  she  retained  her  calm 
dignity  until  she  saw  that  he  must  receive  an  outspoken  refusal, — this,  she  says,  is 
to  forget  a  lady's  manners. — ED.] 

124,  125.  Charitie  To  accuse  myselfe]  CAPELL  (p.  108):  If,  instead  of  the 
long  notes  [on  cure,  the  editors]  had  bestowed  their  attention  upon  Imogen's  next 
speech,  they  had  perceived  the  wrong  pointing  in  the  last  line  but  one  of  it,  and 
amended  it  as  it  is  in  this  copy,  [i.  e.,  CapelPs  text.  See  Text.  Notes,  where  Capell's 
parenthesis  corrects  the  faulty  punctuation  of  the  Folio,  and  makes  it  evident  that 
Imogen  herein  accuses  herself  of  lack  of  charity. — ED.]. 

129.  The  Contract]  JOHNSON:  Here  Shakespeare  has  not  preserved,  with  his 
common  nicety,  the  uniformity  of  his  character.  The  speech  of  Cloten  is  rough  and 
harsh,  but  certainly  not  the  talk  of  one  'Who  can't  take  two  from  twenty,  for  his 


ACT  ii,  sc.  iii.]  CYMBELINE 

One,  bred  of  Almes,  and  fofter'd  with  cold  dimes,  1 30 

With  fcraps  o'th'Court :  It  is  no  Contract,  none  ; 

And  though  it  be  allowed  in  meaner  parties 

(Vet  who  then  he  more  meane)  to  knit  their  foules 

(On  whom  there  is  no  more  dependancie 

But  Brats  and  Beggery)  in  felfe-figur'd  knot,  135 

Yet  you  are  curb'd  from  that  enlargement,  by 

The  confequence  o'th'Crowne,  and  muft  not/oyle  137 

132.  allowed]  allow' d  Rowe  et  seq.  135.  Jelfe-figur'd]  felf  figur'd  F3F4. 

133.  then]  than  Rowe.  136.  enlargement,}  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope. 
meane]  F2.    mean  F3F4.     mean,         enlargement  Theob.  et  cet. 

Rowe.    mean?  Pope  et  cet.  137.  notjoyle]    not  foyle  F2F3.     not 

I33~I35-  Joules  (On... Beggery)]  souls  foil  F4,  Rowe,+,  Mai.  Coll.  i,  Ktly. 
On. ..Beggary,  Rowe,  Pope.  not  soil  Han.  et  cet.  'file  Ingl.  conj. 

heart,  And  leave  eighteen.'  His  argument  is  just  and  well  enforced,  and  its  prev- 
alence is  allowed  throughout  all  civil  nations;  as  for  rudeness,  he  seems  not  to  be 
much  over-matched.  [An  ill-considered  remark,  with  all  respect  be  it  spoken;  or 
did  Dr  Johnson  wish  to  illustrate  in  this  note  the  'imbecility'  with  which  he 
charges  the  whole  play? — ED.] — INGLEBY  (Revised  Ed.):  Dr  Nicholson  observes 
that  Cloten's  phrases  and  perseverance  show  that  there  had  been  no  marriage 
between  Imogen  and  Posthumus,  but  simply  a  'contract'  or  handfasting,  which, 
however,  was  then  considered  equivalent  to  it,  as  far  as  intercourse  was  concerned. 
130  bred  of  Almes]  HALLIWELL:  'A  foster-father,  that  keepeth  a  child  of 
almes,  or  for  God's  sake.' — Withals's  Dictionarie,  ed.  1608,  p.  275. 

134.  dependancie]  MURRAY  (A7.  E.  D.  4.  b.):   A  body  of  dependants;  a  house- 
hold establishment. — DEIGHTON  understands  this  differently;  thus:  'And  though 
with  people  of  lower  origin,  in  the  case  of  whose  marriage  no  other  result  is  de- 
pending except  the  rearing  of  brats  in  begging,  it  is  permitted  to  them  to  enter 
into  any  union  they  choose,'  etc.     [And  perhaps  rightly.     'On  whom'  in  this  line 
refers,  I  think,  to  'meaner  parties.' — ED.] 

135.  in  selfe-figur'd  knot]  WARBURTON:   This  is   nonsense.    We  should  read, 
self -finger' d  knot,  i.  e.,  a  knot  solely  of   their  own  tying,  without  any  regard  to 
parents  or  other  more  public  consideration.      [It  is  not  worth  contention,  but  I 
think  that  this  emendation  was  Thirlby's.    See  Nichols,  Illust.,  ii,  p.  829.] — JOHN- 
SON:   But  why  nonsense?     A  'self-figured  knot'  is  a  knot  formed  by  yourself.— 
COLLIER  (ed.  ii.):  We  are  strongly  inclined  to  think  Warburton's  emendation,  in 
the  sense  of  a  knot  tied  only  by  themselves,  right;  we  do  not  alter  the  text. — HUD- 
SOX:  That  is,  marrying  to  suit  themselves;  whereas  the  expectant  of  a  throne  must 
marry  to  serve  the  interests  of  his  or  her  position. 

137.  must  not(foyle]  COLLIER:  Here  'foil'  seems  to  have  been  a  misprint  for 
soil. — INGLEBY:  The  Folio  has  '  Joyle,'  the  point  being  inverted.  If  the  apostrophe 
were  intentional,  '<foyle'  might  be  an  error  for  "fyle'  or  "file/  equivalent  to  defile. 
But  soil  seems  the  most  probable  correction. — BRADLEY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  Foil, 
whereof  one  of  the  forms  during  the  i4th  and  i6th  centuries  is  foyle,  verb  III,  6): 
To  foul,  defile,  pollute.  [As  authorities,  a  quotation  is  given  from  Wiclif,  in  1380; 
a  second  from  HYLTON,  Souls  Perfect  (in  1440 — W.  de  W.,  1497),  1.  xxxiv:  'A 
man  hath  be  moche  foyled  with  wordly  or  flesshely  synnes,'  which  seems  to  bear 


I42  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  n,  sc.  iii. 

The  precious  note  of  it;  with  a  bafe  Slaue,  138 

AHilding  for  a  Liuorie,  a  Squires  Cloth, 

A.Pantler;  not  fo  eminent.  140 

138.  note]  robe  Elze.     hope  Wray  ap.  140.  A.Pantler;]    Ff,  Rowe,+,  Var. 

Cam.  '73.    A  pantler, —  Sta.  Ktly.   A  p antler, 

138.  it;  with]  it  with  Pope  et  seq.  Cap.  et  cet. 

out  the  meaning  to  pollute;  a  third  from  UDALL,  Ralph  Roister  Doister  (1550):  'a 
man  Hath  no  honour  to  foil  his  hands  on  a  woman.' — V,  vi;  a  fourth  is  from 
Phineas  Fletcher's  Purple  Island,  1633:  'Ranc'rous  Enemies,  that  hourely  toil 
Thy  humble  votarie  with  loathsome  spot  to  foil. — xi,  33.  Of  these,  the  last  seems 
fully  to  authorize  the  meaning  given  by  Bradley;  if  the  date  were  only  a  little 
earlier  it  would  be  more  appropriate  to  the  present  passage  from  Shakespeare. 
The  quotation  from  Ralph  Roister  Doister  is,  I  fear,  somewhat  doubtful.  The 
meaning  given  to  'foil'  in  that  passage  by  Farmer  in  his  ed.  of  1906, p.  127,  is  'to 
lay  hands  on;  literally,  to  make  a  mark  or  track:  foil  is  equivalent  to  the  track  of  a 
deer.'  This  definition  seems  quite  to  exclude  an  application  to  Cloten's  'foyle.' 
DOWDEN  quotes  from  Capt.  Smith's  Advertisements,  etc.,  1631  (Works,  Arber,  p. 
926):  'all  our  Plantations  have  beene  so  foyled  and  abused,  their  best  good  willers 
have  beene  .  .  .  discouraged,  and  their  good  intents  disgraced,'  etc.  But  the 
context  shows,  I  think,  that  here  the  word  hardly  means  to  pollute,  but  rather  to 
frustrate,  to  baulk,  owing  to  the  complaints  of  the  people  in  England;  accordingly, 
the  quotation  would  fall,  I  think,  more  befittingly  under  Bradley's  5th  head.  If 
the  word  'foyle'  here  in  the  text  before  us  can  bear  no  other  meaning  than  to 
pollute,  to  disgrace,  and  it  very  closely  approaches  that  meaning,  we  need  no  author- 
ity for  its  use.  It  is  all-sufficient  that  Shakespeare  so  uses  it.  Unfortunately, 
editors  and  critics  are  not  here  all  of  one  mind,  and  many  are  beguiled  by  the 
simple  change  of  /  into  s.  VAUGHAN  (p.  399)  asserts  that  'foyle'  is  here  meta- 
phorically used  for  the  leaf  of  thin  metal  placed  beneath  a  precious  stone  to  give 
it  greater  brilliancy;  and  quotes  as  a  similar  instance  a  passage  in  Rich.  Ill:  V,  iii, 
250,  where,  however,  'foil'  is  a  different  word,  meaning  the  setting  of  a  ring, — 
not  the  tin-foil  placed  beneath  the  jewel. — ED.] 

138.  note  of   it]  COLLIER  (ed.  ii.):  We  may  suspect  a  misprint  in  the  word 
'note.' — HUDSON:    'Note'  seems  a  rather  strange  word  for  this  place.    Perhaps  it 
should  be  worth. — SCHMIDT  (Lex.):   That  is,  of  the  crown. — ONIONS:   Distinction, 
importance,  eminence. 

139.  Hilding]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.):   i.  Of  obscure  origin.     2.  A  contemptible, 
worthless  person  of  either  sex;  a  good-for-nothing.    [The  present  instance  quoted.] 

139.  for  a  Liuorie,   a  Squires  Cloth]   MALONE:   Only  fit  to  wear  a  livery, 
and  serve  as  a  laquey. — MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  Cloth,  III,  13):  The  distinctive 
clothing  worn  by  the  servants  or  retainers  of  a  master.     [A  quotation  which 
aptly   applies   to   the    present    phrase,    'a    Squire's    Cloth,'    follows    from    Flo- 
rio's  Epistle  Dedicator  ie,  in  his  Worlde  ofWordes,  1598:  'The  retainer  doth  some 
seruice,  that  now  and  then  but  holds  your  Honors  styrrop,  or  lendes  a  hande 
ouer  a  stile  ...  or  holds  a  torch  in  a  darke  waie:  enough  to  ware  your  Honors 
cloth,'  p.  3.] 

140.  A.Pantler]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.}:    Apparently  an  altered  form  of  Panter. 
?  after  Butler.     Equivalent  to  Panter,  which  Murray  thus  defines:    'originally 


ACT  ii,  sc.  iii.]  CYMBELINE 

hno.     Prophane  Fellow  :  141 

Wert  thou  the  Sonne  of  /7///&r,and  no  more, 
But  what  thou  art  befides  :  thou  wer't  too  bafe, 
To  be  his  Groome  :  thou  wer't  dignified  enough 
Euen  to  the  point  of  Enuie.     If 'twere  made  145 

Comparatiue  for  your  Vertues,  to  be  ftil'd 
The  vnder  Hangman  of  his  Kingdome;  and  hated 
For  being  prefer'd  fo  well. 

Clot.     The  South-Fog  rot  him.  149 

141.  Fellow:}  fellow!  Pope.  Han. 

143.  befides:]  besides,  Rowe  et  seq.  147.  vnder     Hangman]     Ff,     Rowe, 

143,  144.  weSt]  Ff.    u<ert  Rowe.  Pope,  Cap.    tinder-hangman  Theob.  et 

145.  Enuie.  If]  Envy,  If  F2.     Envy,  cet. 

if  F3F4,  Rowe  et  seq.  Kingdome]  realm  Pope,+- 

146.  Verities,    to]    verities    to    Pope,  149.  South-Fog]  South  Fog  F4. 

meaning  "  baker,"  but  in  Mid.  Eng.  usually  applied  to  the  officer  of  a  household 
who  supplied  the  bread  and  had  charge  of  the  pantry.  Thus  in  Falstaff's  descrip- 
tion of  Prince  Hal  "a  'would  have  made  a  good  pantler,  a  'would  ha'  chipped 
bread  well,"  2  Hen.  IV:  II,  iv,  258.'  [In  the  Verner  &:  Hoods  Reprint,  in  Booth's, 
in  Craig's  there  stands  a  period  between  'A'  and  'Pantler.'  It  is  not  found  in 
Staunton's  Photolithograph,  nor  in  my  own  copy  of  Fi;  nor  has  the  Cam.  Ed.  noted 
it.  Note  the  descending  degrees  of  Cloten's  contempt:  first,  the  livery  of  a 
gentleman's  servant;  next  the  cloth  of  a  squire,  and  last  a  menial  servant.  'Not 
so  eminent'  must  be  one  of  those  'bursts  of  speaking'  which  left  an  impression  so 
ineffaceable  in  Belarius's  mind  that  the  lapse  of  twenty  years  had  not  blurred  it; 
see  note  IV,  ii,  148.  This  characteristic  is  lost  without  the  semicolon  of  the 
Folio. — ED.] 

146.  Comparatiue  for  your  Vertues]  MALONE:  If  it  were  considered  as  a 
compensation  adequate  to  your  virtues,  to  be  styled,  etc. — INGLEBY:  That  is,  if  it 
were  a  question  of  your  virtues  as  compared  with  his.  SCHMIDT  (Lex.) :  That  is, 
serving  as  a  comparison,  to  express  the  respective  value  of  things. — BR.  NICHOLSON 
(Ingleby,  Revised  Ed.) :  If  your  post  were  made  in  any  way  comparable  to  your 
abilities  for  it. — MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  5):  Serving  as  a  means  of  comparison. 
But  perhaps  [it  should  be]  comparable,  worthy  to  be  compared. — HUDSON:  If 
your  dignity  were  made  proportionable  to  your  merits,  you  were  honoured  enough 
in  being  styled  the  under-hangman  of  his  kingdom;  and  even  that  place  would  be 
so  much  too  good  for  you  as  to  make  you  an  object  of  envy  and  hatred.  [This  free 
paraphrase  seems  to  me  to  convey  the  full  meaning. — ED.] 

149.  South-Fog]  'Windes  be  twelue,  foure  of  them,  are  called  Cardinales,  chife 
winds,  and  eight  Collaterals,  side  windes.  .  .  .  The  third  Cardinall  and  chiefe 
winde  is  Auster,  the  Southerne  winde:  and  he  ariseth  vnder  the  South  starre,  that 
is  called  Polus  Antarticus.  .  .  .  And  this  Southerne  winde  is  hot  and  moyst,  and 
maketh  lightning  and  grose  aire  and  thick,  and  norisheth  myst  with  heate.  .  .  . 
Also  he  openeth  the  pores  of  bodyes,  and  letteth  vertue  of  feelyng,  and  maketh 
heauiness  of  bodie,  as  Ipocras  sayth.  .  .  .  For  Southerne  winds  vnbind  humours, 
&  moue  them  out  of  the  inner  parts  outwarde,  &  they  cause  heauinesse  of  wits  & 


144 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF 


[ACT  ii,  sc.  iii. 


Imo.     He  neuer  can  meete  more  mifchance,  then  come        1 50 
To  be  but  nam'd  of  thee.     His  mean'ft  Garment 
That  euer  hath  but  dipt  his  body;  is  dearer 
In  my  refpecl:,  then  all  the  Heires  aboue  thee, 
Were  they  all  made  fuch  men  :  How  now  Pifanio  ? 

Enter  Pifanio,  \  5  5 

Clot.     His  Garments  ?  Now  the  diuell. 

Imo.     To  Dorotliy  my  woman  hie  thee  prefently. 

Clot.     His  Garment  ? 

Imo.     I  am  fprighted  with  a  Foole, 


151.  mean' ft]  Sing,     meanejl  Ff,   et 
cet. 

152.  body;  is]  body,  's  Pope,+.    body, 
is  Ff,  et  cet. 

153.  Heires]  haires  F2.    hairs  F3F4. 

154.  How  now  Pifanio?]  How  now, 
Pifanio?    F4,    Clot.     How   now?   Imo. 
Pisanio!  Han.  Ho,  now,  Pisanio!  Huds. 
How  now?  [missing  the  bracelet]  Pisa- 
nio! Anon.  ap.  Cam. 

155.  Enter...]  Before  line  154.  Cap. 
After  men:  Dyce. 

156.  His   Garments?}    His   garment! 


159 


Dyce   i.      'His  garment'!   Glo.    Cam. 
Dyce  ii,  iii.    His  Garment?  Ff  et  cet. 

156.  dwell.]    divell.    F2.      devill.    F3. 
Devil.  F4,  Rowe,  Pope,    devil —  Theob. 
et  cet. 

157.  prefently.]    Ff,    Rowe,+,    Coll. 
Presently —  Theob.   ii,   Var.   '73,    Glo. 
Dyce  ii,  iii.   presently, —  Dyce  i,  Cam. 
presently: —  Cap.  et  cet. 

158.  His  Garment?]   'His  garment!' 
Glo.  Cam.  Dyce  ii,  iii. 

159.  fprighted]  spirited  Dyce,  Ktly, 
Glo.  Cam.  Coll.  iii. 


of  feeling:  they  corrupt  and  destroye,  they  heat,  and  maketh  men  fall  into  sicknesse. 
And  they  breed  the  gout,  the  falling  euill,  itch,  and  the  ague.' — Batman  vppon 
Bartholome,  1582,  lib.  xi,  chap.  3. — ED. 

153.  Heires  aboue  thee]  That  is,  the  hairs  of  his  head;  but  SINGER  considers 
it  a  'misprint,'  and  adopts   in   his    text  'about  thee,'  wherein  he  is  followed  by 
KEIGHTLEY. 

154.  How   now  Pisanio?]  HAMMER  distributes  'How  now'   to  Cloten,  and 
'Pisanio'  to  Imogen,  and  with  some  show  of  propriety.     If  Imogen  wishes  to 
summon  Pisanio  to  her  presence,  she  would  hardly  call  'How  now!' — WALKER 
(Crit.,  iii,  319)  makes  the  same  distribution,  but  changes  'How  now'  to  How!  How! 
— DYCE  (ed.  ii.)  observes  '  we  have  the  same  words  before  [I,  vi,  37],  and  they  occur 
afterwards  [III,  ii,  27].    But  qy.  are  they  right  here?    "How"  (as  I  have  several 
times  before  observed)  is  frequently  the  old  spelling  of  "Ho,"  and  we  might  expect, 
as  at  [I,  vii,  167],  "What  ho,  Pisanio!    Enter  Pisanio."'    Dyce  overlooks,  I  think, 
that  in  the  first  two  instances   which  he  cites  Pisanio  is  already  present  or  just 
entering,  and  the  expression  is  not  a  summons,  but  a  greeting. — ED. 

159.  sprighted  with  a  Foole]  STEEVENS:  That  is,  I  am  haunted  by  a  fool, 
as  by  a  spright.  [Rather  a  tame  paraphrase,  it  seems  to  me;  and  yet  it  has  been 
adopted  by  every  editor  who  has  noted  the  passage,  together  with  Schmidt  (Lex.) 
and  Dyce  (Gloss.).  Can  it  be  paraphrased,  'I  am  tormented  by  a  legion  of  sprights 
with  this  fool  here'?  'Guiled'  means  beset  with  guiles;  'delighted'  means  bathed 
with  delights;  may  not  'sprighted'  here  imply  surrounded  by  sprights  with  or  from 
this  fool?  When  Imogen  adds  'frighted,'  I  doubt  that  she  refers  to  Cloten.  She 
who  stood  unquailed  before  lachimo,  could  hardly  be  affrighted  by  Cloten.  She 


ACT  ii,  sc.  iii.] 


CYMBELINE 


Frighted,  and  angred  worfe  :  Go  bid  my  woman 

Search  for  a  lewell,  that  too  cafually 

Hath  left  mine  Arme  :  it  was  thy  Matters.     Shrew  me 

If  I  would  loofe  it  for  a  Reuenew, 

Of  any  Kings  in  Europe.    I  do  think, 

I  faw't  this  morning  :  Confident  I  am. 

Laft  night  'twas  on  mine  Arme;  I  kifs'd  it, 

I  hope  it  be  not  gone,  to  tell  my  Lord 

That  I  kiffe  aught  but  he. 

Pif.     'Twill  not  be  loft. 

Imo.     I  hope  fo  :  go  and  fearch. 

Clot.       You  haue  abus'd  me  : 


H5 
160 


I/O 


160.  worfe:]  worse — Rowe,+.  worse. 
Coll. 

162.  Arme:]  arm —  Rowe,+. 

162.  Majlers.  Shrew]   Ff.      master's. 
Shrew  Rowe,  Pope,     master's.   'Shrew 
Theob.  Han.  Warb.  Johns.  Var.   '73. 
master's:  shrew  Cap.  Var.  '78,  '85,  Ran. 
Dyce.    master's:  'shrew  Mai.  et  cet. 

163.  loofe]  FI. 

164.  Kings]  Ff,  Rowe  i.    King  Pope, 
+  ,    Var.    '73-      King's    Rowe    ii,    et 
seq. 

165.  am.]  Ff.     am  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo. 
Cam.    am,  F4  et  cet. 

1 66.  Lajl   night]   I   saw't   last   night 
Vaun. 


166. 
conj. 


'twas   on]    it    was    upon    Cap. 


mine]  my  F3F4,  Rowe,+. 

/  kifs'd  it,]  Ff,  Rowe  i.  7 
kiss'd  it.  Rowe  ii,  Coll.  Wh.  i.  / 
kissed  it.  Pope,+.  For  I  kiss'd  it. 
Ktly.  /  kiss'd  it:  Cap.  et  cet.  7 
kiss'd  it  then  or  7  know  I  kiss'd  it  then 
Anon.  ap.  Cam. 

1 68.  aught]  ought  F3F4,  Rowe,  Pope, 
Theob.  i,  Han.  Cap. 

he]  him  Ff,  Rowe,+,  Cap.  Varr. 
Rann,  Coll.  iii. 

170.  [Exit  Pisanio.  Han. 

171,  172.   You... Garment?]  One  line 
Rowe,  Pope. 


is  frightened  at  the  thought  of  the  loss  of  her  bracelet,  and  'angered'  worse  by  both 
it  and  Cloten  combined.  For  a  similar  use  of  a  past  participle,  see  'fear'd  hopes,' 
II,  iv,  9. — ED.] 

166.  'twas  on  mine  Arme  :  I  kiss'd  it,]    If  we  count   the  syllables  in   this 
line  with  our  fingers,  in  the  right  butter-woman's  rank  to  market,  it  is   unques- 
tionably deficient,  and  the  Text.  Notes  show  the  attempts  to  supply  the  gap.     To 
my  ear,  after  'Last  night  'twas  on  mine  arme,'  there  is  a  mora  vacua  which  will 
fulfill  every  demand  of  rhythm;  and  I  plead  for  these  morace  vacua,  not  in  the  in- 
terest of  bald  rhythm,  but  because  in  highly  wrought  emotional  scenes,  like  the 
present,  they  are  positively  demanded.     Shall  not  Imogen  be  allowed  to  pause 
while  her  betossed  soul  recalls  every  instant  of  the  past  hours?      Must  she  say, 
as  Malone  would  have  her,  'twas  on  mine  arrum,'  so  that  she  can  reel  off  the  line 
like  a  school  miss?    Shall  we  not  here  and  there,  and  once  in  a  while,  trust  to  the 
delicacy  of  Shakespeare's  ear,  and  accept  these  pauses  as  gracious  openings  into  the 
mind  and  heart  of  his  characters? — ED. 

167,  168.  I    hope  .  .  .  but    he]    MRS    JAMESON    (p.   72):   It   has   been   well 
observed  that  our  consciousness    that   the  bracelet  is  really  gone  to  bear  false 
witness  against  her,  adds  an  inexpressibly  touching  effect  to  the  simplicity  and 
tenderness  of  this  sentiment. 


10 


146  THE   TRACE  DIE  OF  [ACT  n,  sc.  iii. 

His  meaneft  Garment?  172 

Imo.     I,  I  faid  fo  Sir, 
If  you  will  mak't  an  Action,  call  witneffe  to't. 

Clot.     I  will  enforme  your  Father.  175 

Imo.    Your  Mother  too  : 

She's  my  good  Lady;  and  will  concieue,  I  hope 
But  the  worft  of  me.    So  I  leaue  your  Sir, 
To'thVorft  of  difcontent.  Exit. 

Clot.     He  ibereueng'd  : '  180 

His  mean'ft  Garment  ?   Well.  Exit. 

172,  181.  His. ..Garment?]  His. ..gar-  174.  If. ..to't.]  Call  witness  to't,  if  you 
ment!   Dyce  i.     'His... garment' I  Glo.        will  make't  an  action  Han. 

Cam.  Dyce  ii,  iii.  174.  to't]  Om.  Steev.  conj. 

173.  /,]  Ay,  Rowe.  175.  enforme]     enform    F4.      inform 
173.  Sir,]  Sir;  Theob.  +  ,  Cap.  Varr.         Rowe. 

Rann,    Dyce,    Glo.    Cam.      sir.   Mai.  178.  yoiir  Sir,]  you,  fir,  F3F4  et  seq. 

Steev.  Varr.  Knt,  Coll.  179.  To'th']  To  the  Cap.  et  seq. 

181.  mean'ft]  meaneft  Ff  et  seq. 

172-177.  His  meanest  .  .  .  good  Lady]  WALKER  rearranges  these  lines 
so  as  to  give  them,  what  he  considers,  a  better  form  of  rhythm,  which  by  no  possi- 
bility could  be  conveyed  to  an  audience  by  an  actor  on  the  stage.  As  such  arrange- 
ments are  solely  for  the  eye,  Walker's  feelings  could  not  be  hurt,  nor  his  intentions 
thwarted,  if  his  rearrangement  be  here  referred  to  the  eye  of  the  student  in  the 
third  volume  of  his  Criticisms,  p.  320. — ED. 

177,  178.  She's  my  good  Lady  .  .  .  the  worst  of  me]  DEIGHTON:  'She 
is  my  good  friend  (said  ironically),  and  I  may  reasonably  hope  that  she  will  think 
nothing  worse  of  me  than  the  very  worst.' 

179.  To'th'worst  of  discontent]  CAPELL  (p.  108):  The  lady's  words,  with 
which  she  takes  her  leave  of  her  suitor,  have  a  poignancy  something  disguised;  her 
meaning  in  them  is — his  own  company,  for  she  leaves  him  alone. 


ACT  ii,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE  1 4; 


Scena  Ouarta. 

t~ '^^ 

Enter  Pofthum  us,  and  Pliilario. 

Pojl.     Feare  it  not  Sir  :  I  would  I  were  fo  fure 
To  winne  the  King,  as  I  am  bold,  her  Honour 
Will  remaine  her's.  5 

Phil.     What  meanes  do  you  make  to  him  ? 

Pojl.     Not  any  :  but  abide  the  change  of  Time, 
Quake  in  the  prefent  winters  ftate,  and  wifh 

i.  Scena  Quarta]  Scene  v.  Pope,  Han.  Philario's  House.  Cap. 
\Varb.  Johns.  Act  III,  Scene  i.  Garrick,  8.  "winters     Jlatc]     winter-state      M. 

Eccles.  Mason,     winter's  flawe  Walker  (Crit., 

Rome.   Rowe.     Rome.  A  Room  in  ii,  294). 

i.  Scena  Quarta]  For  this  scene  ECCLES  substitutes  the  First  Scene  of  Act 
III,  on  the  ground  that  in  the  last  scene  (the  Third)  Cymbeline  observes  to  Cloten: 
'When  you  have  bid  good  morrow  to  your  mistress,  Attend  the  Queen  and  us;  we 
shall  have  need  To  employ  you  towards  Rome '  ( I,  iii,  65),  etc.,  and  Imogen  remarks 
respecting  her  bracelet, — 'confident  I  am  last  night  'twas  on  my  arm,'  etc.  (II,  iii, 
165) ;  and,  furthermore,  lachimo  being  interrogated  whether  'Caius  Lucius  was  in  the 
Britain  court  \Vhen  he  was  there?'  replies,  'he  was  expected  then,  But  not  ap- 
proach'd'  (II,  iv,  46).  Wherefore  for  these  reasons  Eccles  believes  that  not 
enough  time  is  given  for  lachimo's  journey  back  to  Rome,  and  a  scene  should  in- 
tervene for  this  purpose,  and  with  it  the  Act  should  close;  wherefore  he  introduces 
the  political  scene  with  Caius  Lucius.  It  is  quite  unnecessary  to  attempt  any 
refutation.  It  is  sufficient  to  note  that  Eccles  is  a  victim  of  Shakespeare's  leger- 
demain in  hurrying  forward  the  action  at  an  intensely  exciting  point,  and  then 
retarding  it  to  give  our  excitement  time  to  subside.  To  introduce  a  political 
scene  between  the  theft  of  the  bracelet  and  the  triumph  of  the  villain  will  find  us 
cold  at  the  very  crisis  of  the  plot.  Eccles  decants  the  champagne  and  never  notices 
that  its  effervescence  and  exhilaration  are  gone.  DANIEL  marks  'an  Interval' 
between  the  preceding  scene  and  the  present  one,  which  he  holds  to  be  DAY  5. 
The  sequence  of  time  is  here  impossible.  As  we  have  seen,  Eccles  boldly  transposes 
the  scenes,  at  the  cost  of  breaking  the  dramatic  interest.  Daniel  more  wisely 
accepts  the  situation  and  lets  our  excitement  run  on  to  fever  heat,  as  Shakespeare, 
I  think,  intended  it  should.  Eccles  acknowledged  that  Garrick  would  not  accept 
his  arrangement.  Garrick  was  too  good  a  manager,  and  knew  his  audience. 
—ED. 

4.  I  am  bold]  MURRAY  (TV.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  Bold.  6.):  Confident  (in),  certain,  sure 
(of).  [The  present  line  quoted.] 

6.  What  meanes  do  you  make]  MURRAY  (AT.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  Mean.  sb2.  13.  a.): 
Mediation,  intercession;  exercise  influence  to  bring  about  something.  [Murray 
refers  to  sense  9,  where  examples  are  given  with  the  sense  of  'One  who  acts  as  a 
mediator,  "go-between,"  or  ambassador  between  others.'  Thus  Bacon,  Essays, 
Suitors  (Arber,  471),  'Let  a  man  in  the  choice  of  his  meane  rather  chuse  the  fittest 
meane  than  the  greatest  meane.'] 


148  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  n,  sc.  iv. 

That  warmer  dayes  would  come  :  In  thefe  fear'd  hope  9 

I  barely  gratifie  your  loue;  they  faylingi 

I  muft  die  much  your  debtor.  1 1 

9.  fear'd  hope]  sear'd  hopes  Tyrwhitt  MS.  Knt,  Sing.  Dyce,  C.  Clarke,  Glo. 
sere  hopes  Huds.  dear  hopes  Elze.  fair  hopes  Sprenger,  Vaun.  fair'd  hopes. 
Vaun.  fear'd  hopes  Ff  et  cet. 

9-11.  In  these  .  .  .  debtor]  VAUGHAN  (p.  402):  If  these  hopes  are  hand- 
somely realised,  I  have  barely  the  means  of  requiting  your  love;  and  if,  on  the 
other  hand,  they  fail  me  of  realisation,  I  must  die  deeply  in  your  debt. 

9.  fear'd  hope]  ECCLES:  This  signifies,  I  believe,  '  hopes  blended  or  intermixed 
with  fears' — KNIGHT:  We  have  ventured  to  change  the  text  to  'sear'd  hopes.' 
'In  the  present  winter's  state'  the  hopes  of  Posthumus  are  sear'd;  but  they  still 
exist,  and  in  cherishing  them,  wither'd  as  they  are,  he  barely  gratifies  his  friend's 
love. — COLLIER  (ed.  ii.) :  That  is,  in  these  hopes  which  I  fear  may  never  be  realised. 
The  passage  has  not  been  understood  by  those  who,  in  modern  times,  have  printed 
' sear'd  hopes.' — DYCE  (ed.  ii.):  The  alteration  of  'fear'd'  to  sear'd  is  proposed  by 
Tyrwhitt  in  his  copy  of  F2,  now  in  the  British  Museum;  and  it  has  been  also  made  by 
Mr  Knight.  Since  most  copies  of  the  Folio,  in  Mcas.  for  Meas.,  II,  iv,  19,  have  the 
misprint,  'Grownefeard,  and  tedious,'  I  cannot  think  that  the  original  reading  here 
is  to  be  defended  on  the  supposition  that  '  fear'd  hopes '  may  mean  '  fearing  hopes ' 
or  'hopes  mingled  with  fears,' — like  Lucan's  'spe  trepido'  or  Petrarch's  'paventosa 
speme.'  [Is  the  single  instance,  which  Dyce  adduces  of  the  mistake  by  the  com- 
positor of  a  long  f  for  an  f ,  quite  sufficient  to  sweep  aside  all  attempts  to  adhere 
to  the  only  authentic  text  we  have?  To  understand  the  following  note  by  Crosby, 
it  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  in  regard  to  the  verb  Ajfeer,  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.) 
pronounces  it  the  'regular  phonetic  descendant  of  late  Latin,  afforare,  to  fix  the 
price  or  market  value';  and  that  it  is  used  in  Macb.,  IV,  iii,  34,  in  the  sense  of  con- 
firmed: 'thy  title  is  affeer'd.'  A  weak  point  in  Crosby's  conjecture  is  that  he  gives 
no  example  of  'affeer'd'  abbreviated  to  'feer'd;  it  is  not  unlikely  that  such  an  ex- 
ample might  be  found,  but  it  would  be  well  to  know  that  Shakespeare  used  it 
elsewhere.] — CROSBY  (Shakes periana,  vol.  i,  p.  47) :  It  is  likely  that  'feer'd  hopes, 
meaning  these  hopes,  or  grounds  of  hope,  that  I  have  given,  taken  for  what  they  are 
•worth.  Posthumus  does  not  believe  that  his  hopes  are  altogether  sear'd  or  blasted; 
for  he  still  has  hopes  of  warmer  days  to  come;  he  sets  them  before  his  friend,  such 
as  they  are,  begs  him  to  accept  them  for  what  they  are  worth.  [It  seems  to  me  that 
Eccles  was  the  first  and  Ingleby  the  next  to  understand  'fear'd'  aright.  In  recent 
editions  the  Folio  is  almost  uniformly  followed,  albeit  the  Globe  edition,  now  the 
just  and  common  text  of  almost  all  editions,  has  sear'd, — its  editors  returned, 
however,  to  the  Folio  in  the  Cambridge  edition.  I  doubt  that '  fear'd '  is  even  yet  ac- 
cepted in  what  is  to  me  its  truly  Shakespearian  sense.  It  is  not,  I  think,  a  past 
participle  of  the  verb  to  fear;  it  is  the  noun  fear  with  a  suffix  ed,  to  make  it  an 
adjective,  and  conveys  an  idea  of  multitude.  In  the  last  preceding  scene,  where 
Imogen  says  she  is  'sprighted  with  a  fool,'  she  means,  I  think,  that  before,  behind, 
and  on  every  side  she  is  pestered  with  folly,  as  though  by  imps.  When  Lear  speaks 
of  'the  loop'd  and  window'd  raggedness'  of  poor  naked  wretches,  he  pictures  the 
innumerable  loops  and  windows  in  their  rags.  When  Scarus,  in  Ant.  &  Cleop., 
speaks  of '  the  token'd  pestilence '  he  gives  the  idea  of  the  plague  spots  all  over  the 


ACT  ii,  sc.  iv.]  CYMRELINE 

PJiil.     Your  very  goodneffe,  and  your  company,  12 

Ore-payes  all  I  can  do.    By  this  your  King, 
Hath  heard  of  great  Auguflus  :  Cains  Lucius, 
Will  do's  Commiffion  throughly.     And  I  think  15 

Hee'le  grant  the  Tribute  :  fend  th'Arrerages, 
Or  looke  vpon  our  Romaines,  whofe  remembrance 
Is  yet  frefh  in  their  griefe. 

Poft.     I  do  beleeue 

(Statift  though  I  am  none, nor  like  to  be)  2O 

That  this  will  proue  a  Warre;  and  you  fliall  heare 
The  Legion  now  in  Gallia,  fooner  landed 
In  our  not-fearing-Britaine,  then  haue  tydings 
Of  any  penny  Tribute  paid.    Our  Countrymen  24 

13.  By  this]  By  this,  Pope  et  seq.  17.  Or]  E'er  Theob. +  ,  Cap. 

14.  Caius]  Caius,  F3.  21.  will]    shall    Theob.     ii,    Warb. 

15.  do's]   Ff,   Rowe,  +  ,   Coll.   Dyce,         Johns. 

Sta.  Glo.  Cam.    do  his  Cap.  et  cet.  22.  Legion]   Ff,   Rowe,   Pope,   Coll. 

1 6.  Tribute:]  tribute,  Han.   Cap.   et         legions  Theob.  et  cet. 

seq.  23.  not-fearing-Britainc]      Ff.        not 

th'Arreragcs]  F2F,.      th'   Arrear-        fearing     Britain     Warb.       not-fearing 

ages  F4,  +  ,  Dyce.  the  arrearages  Cap.         Britain  Rowe  et  cet. 

et  cet.  24.  any]  a  Ingl. 


body.  Thus,  in  the  present  case,  'fear'd  hopes'  conveys  the  meaning  of  something 
more,  I  think,  than  hopes  blended  with  fear  or  mingled  with  fear — it  seems  to 
mean  hopes  so  encompassed  with  fears  that  the  hopes  are  almost  lost.  Ingleby 
says  that  adjectives  'similar'  to  '  fear'd '  'occur  passim  in  Shakespeare.'  I  doubt. 
I  have  found  but  comparatively  few  of  them.  Adjectives  formed  from  nouns  are, 
of  course,  common  enough. — ED.] 

15-18.  And  I  think  ...  in  their  griefe]  VAUGHAX:  The  right  inter- 
pretation is  this:  'I  think  that  your  King  will  both  grant  the  tribute  and  send 
the  arrearages,  rather  than  face  our  Romans,  the  very  memories  of  whom  in  their 
power  of  producing  annoyance  are  still  fresh.' 

17.  Or  looke]  THEOBALD  (Nichols,  Illitst.,  ii,  266):  Surely,  you  [/.  e.,  War- 
burton]  say,  this  should  be  not.  I  have  long  since  cured  it  with  a  less 
change:  ' Ere  lock.'  [In  his  edition  Theobald  observes  that  in  a  note  in  Til. 
And.  he  showed,  'from  Chaucer,  and  the  old  Glossaries,  that  "Or"  was  formerly 
used  for  e'er,  before;  but  this  usage  had  become  too  obsolete  in  Shakespeare's 
days.'] 

20.  Statist]  That  is,  a  statesman;  used  only  here  and  in  Hamlet,  V,  ii,  33, 
according  to  Bartlett. 

22.  The  Legion]  THEOBALD:  Posthumus  is  saying  that  the  Britons  are  much 
strengthened  since  Caesar's  attack  upon  them;  would  then  the  Romans  think  now 
of  invading  them  with  a  single  legion?  [Theobald  thereupon  changes  it  to  Legions, 
and  quotes  the  following  passage,  where  the  plural  is  found:  III,  viii,  6  and 
16;  IV,  ii,  414;  IV,  iii,  30.] 


150  THE  TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  n,  sc.  iv. 

Are  men  more  order'd,  then  when  Inlius  Ccefar  25 

SmiPd  at  their  lacke  of  skill,  but  found  their  courage 

Worthy  his  frowning  at.    Their  difcipline, 

(Now  wing-led  with  their  courages)  will  make  knowne         28 

25.  men]    now    Walker     (Crit.,    iii,         will  Anon.  ap.  Cam. 

320).  28.  wing-led]  Var.   '73.     mingled  Ff 

27,   28.  difcipline,   (Now. ..will]  disci-        et  cet. 
pline  Now,  winged  with  their  courages,  courages]  courage  Dyce,  Sta. 

26.  their  lacke  of  skill]   BOSWELL-STONE  (p.  8,  foot-note  2):  Holinshed  says 
(ii,  The  first  inhabitation  of  Ireland,  51/1/14)  .  .  .  'the  British  nation  was  then 
vnskilfull,  and  not  trained  to  feats  of  war,  for  the  Britons  then  being  onelie  vsed 
to  the  Picts  and  Irish  enemies,  people  halfe  naked,  through  lacke  of  skill  easilie 
gaue  place  to  the  Romans  force.' 

27.  "Worthy  his  frowning  at]  VAUGHAN  (p.  405):    The  frown,  as  appears  by 
Henry  the  Fifth's  advice  to  his  soldiers,  is  the  proper  condition  of  brow  and  face 
with  which  to  meet  a  dangerous  enemy.    'Worthy  his  frowning  at'  does  not,  there- 
fore, express  disapprobation,  but  the  collection  of  all  his  spirit  and  vigour  to  repel 
such  adversaries.    See  Hen.  V:  III,  i,  9-13. 

28.  (Now  wing-led  with  their  courages)]   STEEVENS:    This  may  mean  their 
discipline  borrowing  wings  from  their  courage,  i.  e.,  their  military  knowledge  being 
animated  by  their  natural  bravery. — M ALONE:  The  same  error  that  has  happened 
here  being  often  found  in  these  plays,  I  have  not  hesitated  to  adopt  the  emenda- 
tion which  was  made  by  Mr  Rowe.    [Here  is  revealed  how  small  was  the  attention 
paid  even  by  Malone  to  the  Folios.      See   Text.  Notes.]    Thus  in  the  last  Act  of 
King  John  we  have  'wind'  for  mind;  in  Ant.  &•  Chop.,  'winds'  for  minds;  in  Meas. 
for  Meas.,  'flawes'  instead  of  flames,  etc. — KNIGHT:  [Malone's]  reason  is  not  very 
strong,  for  those  who  have  watched  the  progress  of  printers'  errors  know  that  an 
uncommon  word  is  not  ordinarily  substituted  for  a  common  one.     We  would 
restore  '  wing-led '  to  the  text  because  the  phrase  conveys  one  of  those  bold  images 
which  are  thoroughly  Shakespearian;  but  we  feel  that  the  speaker  is  deliberately 
reasoning,  and  does  not  use  the  language  of  passion,  under  which  state  Shakespeare 
for  the  most  part  throws  out  such  figurative  expressions.    The  simple  word  mingled 
is  most  in  harmony  with  the  entire  speech. — DANIEL  (p.  85)  would  punctuate  and 
read:   'Their  discipline  (Now  winged)  with  their  courages  will,'  etc.    That  is,  now 
fledged. — CARTWRIGHT   (p.  39)   proposes   the  same  change. — HUDSON:    Mingled 
agrees  with  the  context,  as  it  gives  the  idea  that  the  Britons  had  courage  before,  and 
now  discipline  has  been  added  to  courage.     But  for  this  latter  consideration  I 
should  certainly  read  winged;  as  it  seems  to  me  nothing  could  well  be  more  in  the 
Poet's  style  than  the  figure  of  courage  adding  wings  to  discipline. — THISELTON 
(p.  21):    'Wing-led'  is  a  magnificent  image  derived  from  the  acies  simiata — a  dis- 
position under  which  the  wings  of  an  army  opened  the  attack  (see  Clement  Ed- 
monds' Observations  on  Ccesar's  Commentaries,  I,  19).    For  'courages,'  cf.  'which 
great  and    haughtie    courages    have    often   attempted'    (Smith's   The  Common- 
wealth of  England,  I,  v.).  .  .  .  In  the  present  passage  the  metaphor  ('wing-led') 
makes  the  plural  ('courages')  very  appropriate;  and  there  may  also  be  a  suggestion 
that  discipline  has,  as  it  were,  doubled  in  effect  the  courage  of  the  Britons. — 
DOWDEN:    'Wing-led'  may  be  right.     Mr  Craig  notes  that  in  Qt  of  Rich.  Ill: 


ACT  ii,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE  IcI 

To  their  Approuers,  they  are  People,  fuch 

That*mend  vpon  the  world.  Enter  lachimo.  30 

Phi.     See  lacJiimo. 

Poft.    The  fwifteft  Harts  haue  pofted  you  by  land; 
And  Windes  of  all  the  Corners  kifs'd  your  Sailes, 
To  make  your  veffell  nimble. 

Phil.     Welcome  Sir.  35 

Poft.    I  hope  the  briefeneffe  of  your  anfwere,  made 
The  fpeedineffe  of  your  returne. 

I  acid.     Your  Lady,  38 

30.  That]    As    Pope,    Theob.    Han.        32.  The  fwiftejl]  Sure  the  swift  Pope, 
Warb.  +. 

Scene   vi.    Pope,    Han.     Warb.  Harts]  hearts  F3F4. 

Johns.  35.  Phil.    Welcome]    Post    Welcome 

31.  See  lachimo.]  Ff.  (Jachimo  F4),     Theob.  ii.  (misprint?)  Warb. 

Rowe,     Pope,     Han.       See,     lachimo  36.  Poft.  7  hope]  Phil.  7  hope  Theob. 

Theob.  Warb.  Johns.  Var.   '73.     See!  ii.  (misprint?),  Warb. 

lachimo?    Coll.    Sing.     See!  lachimo!  an/were,]  answer  Theob.  et  seq. 

Cap.  et  cet.  37~39-  The. ..Is]  One  line  Ingl. 

[Surprised.  Coll.  iii.  38.  Lady,]  lady  Theob.  et  seq. 

II,  i,  88,  we  find  'a  wingled  Mercury.'  If  'wing-led'  be  right,  'courages'  may 
possibly  mean  'gallants.'  In  Hamlet,  I,  iii,  65,  Qi  and  Q2  read  'each  new-hatched, 
unfledged  courage,'  meaning  'gallant,'  and  other  examples  are  cited  in  N.  E.  D. 
'Wing-led  with  their  courages'  may  mean  'led  in  wings  or  divisions  (a  disciplined 
formation)  by  their  gallant  commanders.'  Compare  I,  iii,  9,  where  the  'wings' 
of  Cymbeline's  army  are  mentioned. — [Had  the  word  in  Fx  been  'wingled'  instead 
of  'wing-led,'  then  the  assertion  of  many  editors  that  wingled  was  the  mere  sub- 
stitution by  the  compositor  of  a  -w  for  an  m,  would  have  been  unassailable,  but  it  is 
'wing-led,'  and,  as  Knight  truly  says,  an  uncommon  word  is  not  usually  substi- 
tuted for  a  common  one,  thereby  merely  paraphrasing  the  sound  scholastic  rule  of 
durior  lectio  prceferenda  est.  I  do  not  like  the  tame  expression  of  '  mingling  disci- 
pline with  courage' — it  is  inert,  and  dead,  and  unShakespearian.  If  it  be  the  true 
text,  then  I  doubt  that  Shakespeare  wrote  the  line.  Dowden,  it  seems  to  me,  has 
given  the  best  possible  paraphrase  of  the  text.  The  Misses  PORTER  and  CLARKE 
suggest  that  Posthumus  is  thinking  of  the  Roman  eagle,  as  now  transferred,  by 
discipline,  to  the  Briton  ranks. — ED.] 

29.  Approuers]  WARBURTON:   To  those  who  try  them. 

30.  mend  vpon  the  world]  SCHMIDT  (Lex.,  s.  v.  2) :  Equivalent  to  get  the  upper- 
hand  of  the  world.    [Schmidt  refers  to  ' Begin  you  to  grow  upon  me?' — As  You  Like 
It,  I,  i,  91,  where,  as  well  as  in  the  present  passage,  it  is  possible  that  the  meaning 
is  what  Schmidt  gives.     And  yet  'To  get  the  upperhand'  is,  I  think,  a  little  too 
strong;  in  mending  is  there  not  implied  a  steady  progress  or  improvement,  upon  what 
the  world  had  hitherto  found  them? — ED.] 

33.  Windes  of  all  the  Corners]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.v.  Corner.  8.):  An 
extremity  or  end  of  the  earth;  a  direction  or  quarter  from  which  the  wind  blows. 
[The  present  line  and  Much  Ado,  II,  iii,  103,  quoted.] 


152 


THE   TRACED  IE   OF 


[ACT  ii,  sc.  iv. 


Is  one  of  the  fayreft  that  I  haue  look'd  vpon 

Poft.     And  therewithall  the  beft,  or  let  her  beauty 
Looke  thorough  a  Cafement  to  allure  falfe  hearts, 
And  be  falfe  with  them. 

lachi.     Heere  are  Letters  for  you. 

Poft.    Their  tenure  good  I  truft. 

lack.    'Tis  very  like. 

Poft.    Was  Cains  Lucius  in  the  Britaine  Court, 
When  you  were  there  ? 

lack.     He  was  expected  then, 
But  not  approach'd. 

Poft.     All  is  well  yet, 

Sparkles  this  Stone  as  it  was  wont,  or  is't  not 
Too  dull  for  your  good  wearing  ? 

lacli.     If  I  haue  loft  it, 


40 


45 


53 


39.  one     of    the]     of    the    Pope,+, 
Var.  '73.    one  the  Steev.  Var.  '03,  '13. 

fayrejl]  feyrejl  F2.     fair'st  Cap.  - 
(Errata). 

that]  Om.  Anon.  ap.  Cam. 

that  I  haue]  that  ever  I  Rowe  ii. 
/  e'er  Pope,+.    that  I've  Dyce  ii,  iii. 

vpon]  upon.  F4.    upon, —  Ingl. 

40.  bejl,]    Ff,     Rowe,    Pope,    Han. 
Cam.    best;  Theob.  et  cet. 

41.  thorough]  through  Rowe  ii.  et  seq. 
44.  tenure]   Ff,   Rowe,   Pope,     tenor 


Cap.    tenour  Theob.  et  cet. 
44.  [Taking  them.  Coll.  iii. 

46.  Poft.]  Phil.  Cap.  Mai.  et  seq. 

47.  [Posthumus  reads.  Coll.  ii. 

49.  not]  was  not  yet  Han. 

50.  All... yet]    As    an    aside,    Anon, 
ap.  Cam. 

yet,]  yet.  Rowe  ii.  et  seq. 

51.  wont,]  wont?  Cap.  et  seq. 

53.  /  haue  lojl  it]  I've  lost  it  Pope,+. 
/  had  lost  it  Sing.  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam. 
Coll.  iii.  /  had  lost  Coll.  ii.  (MS.). 


39.  vpon]  Does  the  persistent  absence,  through  the  first  three  Folios,  of  any 
period  after  this  word  betoken  a  hasty  interruption  by  Posthumus?  I  think  not. 
It  is  merely  an  instance  of  that  'nature  of  things'  that  Porson  was  wont  to  damn. — 
ED. 

40-42.  or  let  her  beauty  .  .  .  And  be  false  with  them]  The  best  explana- 
tion of  the  meaning  of  this  brutal  speech  will  be  found  in  Timon,  IV,  iii,  115,  116. 
Does  Shakespeare  wish  to  create  in  us,  at  the  outset,  an  aversion  to  Posthumus, 
so  that  at  the  close  of  this  scene  our  hearts  will  be  duly  hardened  to  endure  the  sight 
of  his  misery? — ED. 

46.  Post.]  CAPELL  (p.  108):  No  thinking  person  will  ever  be  of  opinion  that 
Posthumus  could  be  the  asker  of  such  a  question  as  this.  He  has  that  in  his  hand 
which  engages  him  wholly;  and  his  eagerness  to  know  the  contents  of  it  appears  in 
his  very  hasty  perusal  even  now  that  he  is  eased  of  this  speech,  for  the  time  allowed 
is  so  short  that  we  must  conceive  it  helped  by  the  action.  [The  credit  of  this  just 
change  was  assumed  by  STEEVENS;  it  was  attributed  to  him  by  M ALONE.] 

46.  Britaine]  See  I,  vii,  72,  for  Walker's  discrimination  between  Briton  and 
Britaine. 

53.  If  I  haue  lost]  DYCE  (ed.  i,  reading,  'If  I  had  lost'):  Though  some  passages 
occur  in  our  old  writers  where  '  have '  seems  to  be  equivalent  to  had,  the  present  one 


ACT  ii,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE 


153 


I  fhould  haue  loft  the  worth  of  it  in  Gold, 

He  make  a  iourney  twice  as  farre,  t'enioy  55 

A  fecond  night  of  fuch  fweet  fhortneffe,  which 

Was  mine  in  Britaine,  for  the  Ring  is  wonne. 

Poft.     The  Stones  too  hard  to  come  by. 

lac/i.    Not  a  whit, 
Your  Lady  being  fo  eafy.  60 

Pojl.    Make  note  Sir 

Your  loffe,  your  Sport  :    I  hope  you  know  that  we 
Muft  not  continue  Friends. 

lack.     Good  Sir,  we  muft 

If  you  keepe  Couenant :  had  I  not  brought  65 

The  knowledge  of  your  Miftris  home,  I  grant 
We  were  to  queftion  farther;  but  I  now 
Profeffe  my  felfe  the  winner  of  her  Honor, 
Together  with  your  Ring ;  and  not  the  wronger 
Of  her,  or  you  hailing  proceeded  but  70 

By  both  your  willes. 

54.  Gold,]  gold;  Rowe,  +  .    gold.  Cap.  65.  Couenant:]  covenant.  Johns.  Var. 
et  seq.  '73,  Coll.  Dyce,  Ktly,  Glo.  Cam. 

55.  t'enioy]  Ff,  Rowe,  +  ,  Coll.  Dyce  67.  farther]   Ff,+,   Cap.   Coll.   Sing, 
ii,  iii.    to  enjoy  Cap.  et  cet.  Sta.  Ktly,  Cam.   further  Var.  '73  et  cet. 

58.  Stones]  stone's  Rowe.  70.  her,  or  you]  her  or  you,  Dyce,  Sta. 

61.  note]  not  Ff.  Glo.  Cam.    her,  or  you,  Ff.  et  cet. 


cannot,  I  think,  be  considered  as  belonging  to  that  class.  (In  Coriolanus,  IV,  vii, 
12,  the  Folio  has,  'Yet.  I  wish  Sir  [I  meane  for  your  particular]  you  had  not  loyn'd 
in  Commission  with  him;  but  either  haue  borne  The  action  of  your  selfe,  or  else  to 
him,  had  left  it  soly.') — WHITE  (ed.  i.)  disagrees  with  Dyce,  and  thinks  'haue  'was 
not  intended  as  an  equivalent  to  had; '  the  difference  made  in  the  sentence  by  "have" 
and  "had"  is  not  merely  in  grammatical  form,  but  in  thought.  lachimo  says,  "If 
I  have  lost  it  now,  that  loss  is  the  consequence  of  my  having  then  lost  the  weight 
of  it  in  gold."  We  do  not  use  this  form  of  thought  now-a-days.'  [In  his  second  ed. 
White  has,  apparently,  forgotten  all  about  this  'form  of  thought';  he  there  prints 
'had'  without  comment. — ED.] — COLLIER  (ed.  ii.):  Mr  Singer  introduces  had,  [see 
Text.  Notes],  merely  observing  that  'the  Folios  read  have.'  Whence  did  he  procure 
had?  From  the  MS.  which  most  provokingly  anticipated  Mr  Singer's  emenda- 
tion. Perhaps,  therefore,  it  is  no  wonder  that  he  takes  it  to  himself,  and  says  noth- 
ing about  the  correspondence  of  the  'MS.'  with  his  notion.  The  'MS.'  omits  'it' 
after  'lost,'  for  it  is  clear  that  lachimo  would  not  have  lost  the  ring,  but  'the  worth 
of  it  in  gold.'  Posthumus  would  have  lost  the  ring;  and  to  make  lachimo  say 
'If  I  had  lost'  renders  the  whole  dialogue  consistent. 

66.  knowledge]  To  any  one  familiar  with  the  Old  Testament  any  reference  to 
the  meaning  of  this  word  is  superfluous. 


154 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF 


Pojl.     If  you  can  mak't  apparant 
That  yon  haue  tafted  her  in  Bed ;  my  hand, 
And  Ring  is  yours.     If  not,  the  foule  opinion 
You  had  of  her  pure  Honour;  gaines,or  loofes, 
Your  Sword,  or  mine,  or  Mafterleffe  leaue  both 
To  who  fhall  finde  them. 

lack.     Sir, my  Circumftances 
Being  fo  nere  the  Truth,  as  I  will  make  them, 
Muft  firft  induce  you  to  beleeue;  whofe  ftrength 
I  will  confirme  with  oath,  which  I  doubt  not 
You'l  giue  me  leaue  to  fpare,  when  you  fhall  finde 
You  neede  it  not. 

Poft.     Proceed. 

lack.    Firft,  her  Bed-chamber 
(Where  I  confeffe  I  flept  not,  but  profeffe 
Had  that  was  well  worth  watching)  it  was  hang'd 
With  Tapiftry  of  Silke,  and  Siluer,  the  Story 
Proud  Cleopatra,  when  fhe  met  her  Roman, 
And  Sidnus  fwell'd  aboue  the  Bankes,  or  for 


[ACT  ii,  sc.  iv. 
72 


75 


80 


90 


72.  mak't]  F2F4.    make  it  Varr.  Mai. 
Rann.     make't  F3  et  cet. 

apparent]  apparent  F4. 

73.  yon]  Fi. 

Bed;]   Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Theob. 
Han.  Warb.    bed,  Johns,  et  cet. 

73.  74.  hand,  And  Ring]  Ff,  Rowe,+, 
hand  And  ring  Dyce,  Ktly,  Glo.  Cam. 
hand,  and  ring,  Cap.  et  cet. 

74.  is]  are  Coll.  MS. 

yours.}  yours;  Johns,  et  seq. 
//  not,}  If  not  F3F4. 

75.  pure}    poor    F3F4,    Rowe,    Pope. 
prov'd    Warb.     (Nichols,     Illust.,     ii, 
266). 


75.  loofes]  lofes  F4. 

76.  your  Sword,  or  mine}  My  sword  or 
yours  Vaun. 

leaue}  leaves  Rowe  et  seq. 

79.  nere}  near  F4. 

81.  oath}  Ff,  +  .    oath;  Cap.  et  seq. 

84.  Proceed.}  Proceed,  sir  Anon.  ap. 
Cam. 

86.  not}    Ff,    Rowe,    Pope,    Han. 
Johns.  Coll.  Cam.    not;  Theob.  et  cet. 

88.   Tapiftry}  tapestry  Rowe. 

Silke,  and  Siluer]  silver  and  silk 
Pope,    silver'd  silk  Han. 

90.  Sidnus]  Cidnus  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope. 
Cvdnus  Theob. 


76.  Masterlesse  leaue]  'Leave'  is  here,  I  think,  a  plural  by  proximity. 

87.  well  worth  watching]  STEEVENS:  That  is,  that  which  was  well  lying 
awake  for.  [STAUNTON  takes  '  watching '  as  the  term  in  falconry  for  taming  the 
haggards  by  keeping  them  awake.  That  Shakespeare  does  use  this  term  of  fal- 
conry we  all  know  (Desdemona  says  of  Othello,  'I'll  watch  him  tame'),  but  I 
think  it  doubtful  that  it  is  so  used  here.  Is  it  not  sufficient  to  take  it  as  a  mere 
equivalent  of  'not  sleeping.'  Furthermore,  is  there  not  an  absorption  of  the  in 
the  th  of  'worth':  'Had  that  was  well  worth  '  [the]  watching'? — ED.] 

90.  And  Sidnus]  CAPELL  changed  'And'  to  On,  and  complacently  observes: 
The  lovers  of  Shakespeare  will  not  be  displeas'd  to  see  his  diction  a  little  improved, 
when  it  can  be  done  at  so  trifling  a  change  as  is  [here  made] :  and  if  one  as  trifling 


ACT  ii,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE  155 

The  preffe  of  Boates,  or  Pride.    A  peece  of  Worke  91 

So  brauely  done,  fo  rich,  that  it  did  ftriue 

In  Workemanfhip,  and  Value,  which  I  wonder'd 

Could  be  fo  rarely,  and  exactly  wrought 

Since  the  true  life  on't  was —  95 

91.  Pride.]  Johns.  Var.  '73.    pride,—  'twas.  Coll.  ii,  iii.  (MS.),    on't  was  not— 

Warb.    Pride:  Ff  et  cet.  Walker  (Crit.,  iii,  320).    on  it  was  Ktly. 

93.  Value,]  value;  Pope  et  seq.  outdone    'twas.    Vaun.      was    out    on't 

95.  Since]  such  Mason,  Sing.  Anon.  ap.  Cam. 
on't  was—  —]  on't  was.  Han.  on't 

as  this  can  give  sense  to  a  passage  that  never  had  it  before  (which,  it  was  appre- 
hended, was  the  case  of  one  at  the  end  of  this  speech),  they  will  perhaps  be  in- 
clined dare  manus  libenter.  [The  'case'  just  referred  to  is  line  95,  'the  true  life 
on't  was — ';  this  Capell  changed,  needlessly,  into  'the  true  life  was  in  it.'] 

90.  aboue  the  Bankes]  ECCLES  :  The  expression  would  have  been  neater  had  it 
been  'his'  or  lils  banks.'  [That  word  'neater'  deserves  letters  of  beaten  gold.] 

90,  91.  or  for  The  presse  of  Boates,  or  Pride]  WARBURTON:  That  is,  an 
agreeable  ridicule  on  poetic  exaggeration,  which  gives  human  passions  to  inanimate 
things;  and  particularly  upon  what  he  himself  writes  in  the  foregoing  play  on 
this  very  subject: — 'And  made  the  water,  which  they  beat,  to  follow  faster,  As 
amorous  of  their  strokes.'  But  the  satire  is  not  only  agreeably  turned,  but  very 
artfully  employed;  as  it  is  a  plain  indication  that  the  speaker  is  secretly  mocking 
the  credulity  of  his  hearer,  while  he  is  endeavouring  to  persuade  him  of  his  wife's 
falsehood. — JOHNSON  quotes  Warburton  in  full,  and  then  remarks:  It  is  easy  to  sit 
down  and  give  our  author  meanings  which  he  never  had.  Shakespeare  has  no 
great  right  to  censure  poetical  exaggeration,  of  which  no  poet  is  more  frequently 
guilty.  That  he  intended  to  ridicule  his  own  lines  is  very  uncertain,  when  there 
are  no  means  of  knowing  which  of  the  two  plays  was  written  first.  The  commen- 
tator has  contented  himself  to  suppose  that  the  foregoing  play  in  his  book  was 
the  play  of  earlier  composition.  Nor  is  the  reasoning  better  than  the  assertion. 
If  the  language  of  lachimo  be  such  as  shows  him  to  be  mocking  the  credibility  of 
his  hearer,  his  language  is  very  improper,  when  his  business  was  to  deceive.  But 
the  truth  is,  that  his  language  is  such  as  a  skilful  villain  would  naturally  use,  a 
mixture  of  airy  triumph  and  serious  deposition.  His  gayety  shews  his  seriousness 
to  be  without  anxiety,  and  his  seriousness  proves  his  gayety  to  be  without  art. 

92,  93.  it  did  striue  In  Workemanship,  and  Value]  SCHMIDT  (Lex.,s.v.  Strive, 
5.)  quotes  this  passage  under  the  head  'to  emulate,  to  vie,'  and  happily  para- 
phrases it:  'it  was  doubtful  which  of  the  two,  workmanship  or  value,  was  greater.' 

95.  Since  the   true  life  on't  was ]   For   Capell's   reading,  see  line  90.- 

STAUNTON:  To  any  of  the  proposed  emendations  we  should  prefer:  'Since  the 
true  life  on't  has.'  But  what  necessity  is  there  for  change?  The  speech  is  evidently 
intended  to  be  interrupted  by  Posthumus. — INGLEBY  in  his  text  reads,  'Since 
true  life  was  not — '  and  explains  that  the  conclusion  of  the  sentence  is  'represent- 
able  in  silk  and  silver.' — THISELTON:  As  a  dash  naturally  arouses  curiosity,  I 
would  suggest  that  lachimo,  if  he  had  not  been  interrupted,  would  have  proceeded 
to  describe  'the  Chimney  piece,'  and  that  the  minute  detail  that  the  Chimney 
was  south  the  chamber  was  inserted  as  an  afterthought  in  order  to  increase  the 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  n,  sc.  iv. 

Poft.     This  is  true  :  96 

And  this  you  might  haue  heard  of  heere,  by  me, 
Or  by  fome  other. 

lack.     More  particulars 
Muft  iuftifie  my  knowledge.  IOO 

Poft.     So  they  muft, 
Or  doe  your  Honour  iniury. 

lack.    The  Chimney 

Is  South  the  Chamber,  and  the  Chimney-peece 
Chafte  Dian,  bathing  :  neuer  faw  I  figures  105 

So  likely  to  report  themfelues  ;  the  Cutter 
Was  as  another  Nature  dumbe,  out-went  her, 
Motion,  and  Breath  left  out. 

Poft.     This  is  a  thing  109 

96.  This]  Why,  this  Han.  Vaun.    cutting  Anon.  ap.  Cam. 

true]  most  true  Coll.  ii.  (MS.)  107.  Nature    dumbe,    out-went]    Ff, 

104.  Chamber,]  Ff ,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han.  Rowe,    Pope,    Johns.    Ktly.      nature, 
Glo.  Cam.    chamber;  Theob.  et  cet.  dumb,     out-went     Theob.     Var.     '73. 

105.  Chafte]    chaft    F3F4,    Rowe,  +  ,  nature,   dumb   out-went   Han.     nature; 
Cap.  Var.  '73.  dumb,    out-went    Cap.      nature,   dumb; 

106.  Cutter]  cutten    Anon.  ap.  Cam.  out-went  Warb.  et  cet. 

particularity  of  the  description,  when  he  finds  Posthumus  is  not  sufficiently  im- 
pressed by  his  relation. 

98.  Or  by  some  other]  THISELTON:  This  is  a  self-correction  by  Posthumus, 
as  he  realises  the  unlikelihood  of  having  given  the  information  himself  to  Jachimo. 

104.  Chimney-peece]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  Piece  in  the  artistic  sense): 
i.  A  picture,  piece  of  sculpture,  or  of  tapestry,  placed  as  an  ornament  over  a 
fireplace.  [The  present  passage  is  the  earliest  recorded.] 

106.  So  likely  to  report  themselues]  JOHNSON:  So  near  to  speech. — 
CAPELL  (p.  109) :  That  is,  expressive  of  the  passions  intended;  so  much  so  as  not  to 
need  an  interpreter,  the  figures  speaking  themselves.  [HANMER  reads,  instead  of 
'likely,'  lively.  DOWDEN  says,  'and  perhaps  he  was  right.'  VAUGHAN  suggests  the 
same  change.] 

106,  107.  the  Cutter  Was  as  another  Nature  dumbe]  WARBURTON: 
This  nonsense  should,  without  question,  be  read  and  printed  thus:  'Has  as  another 
nature  done;  out-went  her,  Motion,'  etc.,  i.  e.,has  worked  as  exquisitely,  nay,  has 
exceeded  her,  if  you  will  put  motion  and  breath  out  of  the  question. — JOHNSON: 
This  emendation  I  think  needless.  The  meaning  is  this,  The  Sculptor  was  as  nature, 
but  as  nature  dumb;  he  gave  everything  that  nature  gives  but  breath  and  motion. 
In  breath  is  included  speech. — CAPELL:  The  cutter,  another  nature;  nay,  outgoing 
her  works,  if  we  but  suppose  them  divested  of  speech,  motion,  and  breath. — J. 
BEALE  (N.  &°  Q.,  V,  viii,  182)  informs  us  that  the  'best  sense'  he  'can  make  is  to 
read:  "The  cutter  Was  another  nature;  [the]  dumb  out  went  her,  Motion  and 
breath  left  out";  that  is  to  say,  the  mute  statuary  or  dead  art  was  made  to  surpass 
speechless  humanity  or  dead  nature.'' 


ACT  ii,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE 

Which  you  might  from  Relation  likewife  reape,  1 10 

Being,  as  it  is,  much  fpoke  of. 

lack.     The  Roofe  o'th'Chamber, 
With  golden  Cherubins  is  fretted.     Her  Andirons 
(I  had  forgot  them)  were  two  winking  Cupids 
Of  Siluer,  each  on  one  foote  ftanding,  nicely  115 

Depending  on  their  Brands. 

no.  reape^   F2.     read  F3F4,   Rowe,  -f-,  Varr.  Ran. 

Pope,  reap;  Theob.  et  cet.  113.  is]  Om.  Walker. 

in.  muck    fpoke    of]    much    spoke  fretted.]  fretted;  Theob.   Warb. 

Vaun.  et  seq. 

112.  o'ttt]  o'the  Cap.  et  seq.  Her]  ThJ  Pope  ii,+,  Varr.  Rann. 

113.  Cherubins]  cherubims  Rowe  ii,  114.  winking]  -winged  Coll.  MS. 

113.  With  golden  Cherubins  is  fretted]  STEEVENS:  The  same  tawdry  image 
occurs  in  Hen.  VIII:  I,  i,  23:  'their  dwarfish  pages  were  As  cherubins,  all  gilt/ 
The  sole  recommendation  of  this  Gothic  idea,  which  is  tritically  repeated  by  modern 
artists,  seems  to  be  that  it  occupies  but  little  room  on  canvas  or  marble;  for  chubby, 
unmeaning  faces,  with  ducks'  wings  tucked  under  them,  are  all  the  circumstances 
that  enter  into  such  infantine  and  absurd  representations  of  the  choirs  of  heaven.— 
DOUCE  (ii,  101):  Shakespeare  is  not  accountable  for  the  fashions  or  follies  of  his 
age,  and  has,  in  this  instance,  given  a  faithful  description  of  the  mode  in  which 
the  rooms  in  great  houses  were  sometimes  ornamented.  [Apparently,  according 
to  the  authorities  quoted  by  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.),  no  manner  of  spelling  the  word, 
whether  'cherubins'  or  'cherubims,'  or  even  the  use  of  'cherubim'  as  a  singular, 
can  be  condemned  as  wrong  or  without  authority.] 

113.  Andirons]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.) :  An  adoption  of  Old  French  andier  (modern 
French  landier,  i.  e.,  V andier).    Its  remoter  history  unknown.    In  English  the  ter- 
mination was  at  an  early  date  identified  with  the  word  yre,  yren,  iron,  whence 
the  later  illusive  spelling,  and-iron. 

114.  winking  Cupids]    COLLIER    (ed.  ii.)  informs    us   that  his  MS.   changes 
'winking'  to  winged.    'It  certainly  seems  unlikely,'  he  remarks,  'that  lachimo,  by 
that  dim  light,  should  have  observed  whether  the  Cupids  were  "winking,"  although 
he  could  have  seen  that  they  were  winged.    We  believe  winged  to  be  right,  but  we 
are  not  so  sure  of  it  as  to  warrant  a  desertion  of  what  has  always  been  considered 
the  text.' — STAUXTOX:   That  is,  blind  Cupids,  Cupids  with  closed  eyes. 

115.  116.  nicely  Depending  on  their  Brands]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.)  quotes  this 
line  as  an  illustration  of   his  definition  (3,  c.)  of  Brand,  which  is  'the  torches  of 
Cupid  and  the  Furies.'    It  is  hardly  worth  while  to  expend  much  time  over  de- 
scriptions of  furniture,  like  the  present,  but  it  is  worth  while  to  have  whatever 
image  is  presented  to  the  mind  clear  and  distinct. — STEEVENS  acknowledges  that 
he  is  not  sure  that  he  understands  this  passage.    'Perhaps,'  he  says,  'Shakespeare 
meant  that  the  figures  of  the  Cupid  were  nicely  poized  on  their  inverted  torches,  one 
of  the  legs  of  each  being  taken  off  the  ground,  which  might  render  such  a  support 
necessary.' — Poized  may  be,  possibly,  accepted  as  a  paraphrase  of  'depending,' 
but  I  should  much  prefer  (as  nearer  to  the  Latin,  dependeo)  hanging  on  or  leaning 
on.    In  inverting  the  torches,  however,  Steevens  is,  I  think,  wholly  wrong.    Ac- 
cording to  ancient  symbolism,  as  portrayed  on  many  monuments,  an  inverted  and, 


THE  TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  n,  sc.  iv. 

Pojl.     This  is  her  Honor  :  117 

Let  it  be  granted  you  haue  feene  all  this  (and  praife 
Be  giuen  to  your  remembrance)  the  defcription 
Of  what  is  in  her  Chamber,  nothing  faues  120 

The  wager  you  haue  laid. 

lack.     Then  if  you  can 
Be  pale,  I  begge  but  leaue  to  ay  re  this  lewell  :  See,  123 

117.  This. ..Honor:]      Ff.        (honour  118,119.  and  praife  Be  giuen]  Praise 
F3F4),  Rowe,  Pope  i.     What's  this  t'her        be  Pope,  +  . 

honour?  Theob.  Pope  ii,  Han.  Warb.  122.  [Pulling     out     the      Bracelet. 

This. ..honour?    Johns.     Cap.       This...  Rowe.    Producing  the  bracelet  from  its 

honour. —  Coll.     This  is  mere  rumour  case.  Coll.  iii. 

Anon.  ap.  Cam.      This... honour!  Var.  122,123.  can  Be  pale,  I]  Ff,  Rowe,+, 

'73  et  cet.  Knt.  i.    can  Be  pale;  I  Var.  '73.    can, 

1 1 8.  Let  it  be]  Be  it  Cap.  Be  pale;  I  Cap.  et  cet. 

Let. ..this]  One  line  Pope,+.  123.  See,]  see! —  Rowe  et  seq. 

therefore,  extinguished  torch  represented  death.  Cupid's  hymeneal  torch  was,  on 
the  contrary,  held  aloft  and  burning.  The  little  Cupids  stood  on  one  foot  because 
the  legs  were  crossed;  and,  by  that  same  symbolism,  crossed  legs  represented 
sleep,  which  was  also  indicated,  possibly,  by  the  winking  eyes.  The  Cupids  were 
diminutive  and  the  hymeneal  torches  were  tall,  so  that  the  Cupids  could  very 
properly  lean  or  'depend  on'  them.  This  seems  to  me  the  true  interpretation  of 
lachimo's  description. — ED. 

117.  This  is  her  Honor:]  THEOBALD:  I  think  there  is  little  question  but  we 
ought  to  restore  the  place  thus:  'What's  this  /'her  Honour?'  I  proposed  this 
emendation  in  the  Appendix  to  my  Shakespeare  Restor'd,  and  Mr  Pope  has  thought 
fit  to  embrace  it  in  his  last  edition. — UPTON  (p.  230) :  But  why  may  it  not  be  read 
[sic]  without  altering  it  one  word,  only  by  an  easy  transposition,  'Is  this  her 
honour?'  or  perhaps  he  speaks  ironically,  'This  is  her  honour!' — JOHNSON:  [This 
emendation  of  Theobald]  has  been  followed  by  both  the  succeeding  editors,  but  I 
think  it  must  be  rejected.  The  expression  is  ironical.  lachimo  relates  many 
particulars,  to  which  Posthumus  answers  with  impatience:  'This  is  her  honour.' 
That  is,  And  the  attainment  of  this  knowledge  is  to  pass  for  the  corruption  of  her 
honour. — CAPELL  (p.  109):  This  line  wants  nothing  but  the  tone  of  the  utterer 
to  give  it  the  force  of  'What's  this  t'her  honour?'  [as  proposed  by  Theobald]. 

122,  123.  Then  if  you  can  Be  pale]  JOHNSON:  If  you  can  forbear  to  flush 
your  cheek  with  rage. — BOSWELL:  I  rather  think  it  means,  If  you  can  controul 
your  temper,  if  you  can  restrain  yourself  within  bounds.  To  pale  is  commonly  used 
for  to  confine  or  surround.  Thus  in  Ant.  &  Cleop.,  'Whate'er  the  ocean  pales,  or 
sky  enclyps.' — II,  vii,  74.  [Poor  Boswell. — ED.] — KNIGHT:  We  follow  the  punctua- 
tion of  the  original  [in  preference  to  Capell's] ;  lachimo  has  produced  no  effect  upon 
Posthumus  up  to  this  moment;  but  he  now  says,  if  you  can  be  pale,  I  will  see  what 
this  jewel  will  do  to  make  you  change  countenance. — DYCE  (Remarks,  p.  255): 
I  have  no  doubt  that  the  punctuation  given  by  Mr  Collier  [i.  e.,  Capell's]  is  right; 
and  that  the  passage  means,  'Then,  if  you  can  (i.  e.,  if  anything  has  power  to  make 
you  change  colour)  be  pale  (become  pale  at  the  sight  of  this),  I  beg,'  etc.  [To 
me  the  punctuation  of  the  Folio  is  the  better.  Dyce's  (and,  of  course,  Capell's) 


ACT    II,   SC.   iv.] 


CYMBELINE 


159 


And  now  'tis  vp  againe  :  it  muft  be  married 
To  that  your  Diamond,  He  keepe  them. 

Poft.     loue 

Once  more  let  me  behold  it  :  Is  it  that 
Which  I  left  with  her  ? 

lack.     Sir  (I  thanke  her)  that 
She  ftript  it  from  her  Arme  :  I  fee  her  yet  : 
Her  pretty  Action,  did  out-fell  her  guift, 
And  yet  enrich'd  it  too  :  fhe  gaue  it  me, 
And  faid,  fhe  priz'd  it  once. 

Poft.     May  be,  fhe  pluck'd  it  off 
To  fend  it  me. 

lack.    She  writes  fo  to  you  ?  doth  fhee  ? 

Poft.    O  no,  no,  no,  'tis  true.     Heere,  take  this  too, 


125 


130 


135 
137 


125.  Diamond,]  Ff.    diatnond.  Rowe, 
+  .    diamond;  Cap.  et  cet. 

them.]  them —  Ed.  conj. 

126.  loue—  —}  Jove!  Rowe  et  seq. 

129.  that]  Ff,  Rowe  i.     that.  Johns. 
Ktly.    that:  Rowe  ii.  et  cet. 

130.  her  yet:]   her  yet  Ff.     her  yet, 
Rowe  +. 

131.  AClion,  did]  action  did  Rowe,  +  . 
guift]  F2. 

132.  too:]  Om.  Steev.  conj. 

132,    133.  And  yet. ../aid,}   One   line 


Steev.   Varr.   Knt,   Dyce,   Sing.   Ktly, 
Glo. 

134.  May  be,]  Om.   Han.     May  be 
Knt,  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam. 
off]  Om.  Vaun. 

136.  you?  doth  Jhee?]  you,  doth  she? 
Coll.  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam. 

137.  no,  'tis]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han. 
no.     'Tis  Johns,     no!     'Tis  Var.  '73, 
Dyce,  Glo.  Cam.    no;  'tis  Theob.  et  cet. 

too,]  too;  Theob.  Warb.  et  seq. 
[Gives  the  ring.  Johns. 


interpretation  seems  to  imply  that  Posthumus  is  so  utterly  brazen-faced  that  noth- 
ing less  than  a  cataclasm  can  make  him  change  colour;  it  almost  necessitates  an 
emphasis  and  action  on  lachimo's  part  that  verges  on  the  theatrical,  whereas  it 
was  lachimo's  cool,  mocking  assumption  of  triumph  that  was  so  intensely  galling  to 
Posthumus.  According  to  the  Folio,  he  may  be  imagined  as  uttering  these  words 
with  a  courteous  bow  and  a  mocking  smile. — ED.] 

123.  See]  ELZE  (p.  310),  for  the  sake  of  metre,  would  have  this  form  'a  most 
energetic  interjectional  line.' 

125.  He  keepe  them]  WYATT:  'I'll  keep  them,'  though  your  mistress  and  you 
have  parted  with  them  so  easily, — a  perfectly  Satanic  thrust!  [Admirably  said! 
and  yet  such  is  the  hurricane  in  the  victim's  brain  that  I  doubt  he  heeds  it. — ED.] 

131.  out-sell]  SCHMIDT  (Lex.):  That  is,  exceeded  it  in  value.  See  where 
Cloten  speaks  of  Imogen  and  of  her  superiority  above  other  women,  'and  she  of 
all  compounded  Out-sells  them  all.' — III,  v,  93. 

136.  She  writes  so  to  you  ?]  This  letter  of  Imogen  is  still  an  unknown  source 
of  danger  to  lachimo.  He  knows  well  enough  that  all  his  scheming  may  be  yet 
in  vain  and  his  wager  lost  if  Imogen  has  revealed  to  Posthumus  the  false  reports 
with  which  his  interview  with  her  began,  or  the  foiled  attempts  to  beguile  her,  and 
the  fabricated  story  of  regal  presents  in  a  trunk  which  she  had  guarded  in  her  very 
bed-chamber.  An  inkling  of  the  truth  might  dawn  from  this  letter  on  Posthumus, 


i6o 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF 


[ACT  ii,  sc.  iv. 


It  is  a  Bafiliske  vnto  mine  eye,  138 

Killes  me  to  looke  on't  :  Let  there  be  no  Honor, 

Where  there  is  Beauty  :  Truth,  where  femblance  :  Loue,        140 

Where  there's  another  man.     The  Vowes  of  Women, 

Of  no  more  bondage  be,  to  where  they  are  made, 

Then  they  are  to  their  Vertues,  which  is  nothing  : 

O,  aboue  meafure  falfe. 

PhiL     Haue  patience  Sir,  145 

And  take  your  Ring  againe,  'tis  not  yet  wonne  : 
It  may  be  probable  fhe  loft  it  :  or 
Who  knowes  if  one  of  her  women,  being  corrupted  148 


139.  on't:]  on't.  Coll.  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo. 
Cam. 

139,  140.  Honor,. ..Beauty  :... fem- 
blance :  Loue,]  Honor, ...beauty, ...sem- 
blance, love  Rowe. 

141.  man.]  Ff,  Rowe,  +  ,  Ktly.  man: 
Cap.  et  cet. 

141-143.  Women,. ..be,. ..made, ...Ver- 
ities,] Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Theob.  -women. 
...be. ..made, ...virtues,  Han.  women... 
be, ...made, ...virtues,  Warb.  Johns. 
women,.  ..be.,  .made,. .  .virtues;  Knt. 


•women. ..be, ...made, ...virtues;  Cap.  et  cet. 

142.  they  are]  they're  Pope,  +  ,  Dyce 
ii,  iii. 

144.  falfe.]  false!  Rowe  et  seq. 

146.  againe,]  again;  Rowe  et  seq. 

148.  knowes     if]     knows,     Pope,+. 
knows,  if  Var.  '73,  '78. 

knowes... women]  knows,  if  one, 
her  women  Coll.  i.  knows,  if  one,  her 
woman  Coll.  ii. 

one. ..her]  one  o'  her  Dyce.  one 
of  her  Ff  et  cet. 


and,  for  aught  lachimo  could  tell,  Posthumus  in  his  blind  fury  might  cut  him  down 
on  the  spot.  This  reference  to  the  letter  sprang,  therefore,  from  deep  cunning. — ED. 

138.  Basiliske]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.):  i.  A  fabulous  reptile,  also  called  a  cocka- 
trice, alleged  to  be  hatched  by  a  serpent  from  a  cock's  egg;  ancient  authors  stated 
that  its  hissing  drove  away  all  other  serpents,  and  that  its  breath,  and  even  its  look, 
was  fatal.  [The  interested  student  will  find  in  Wint.  Tale,  I,  ii,  449  (of  this  ed.),  a 
note  wherein  are  quoted  the  accounts  of  this  creature  derived  from  Holland's 
Plinie,  Bk  xxix,  Cap.  iv;  Batman  vppon  Bartholome,  p.  350,  verso;  and  Topsell's 
History  of  Serpents,  p.  119.  Wherein  it  is  to  be  especially  noted  that  it  is  not  the 
sight  of  the  basilisk,  but  the  sight  from  the  basilisk  which  proves  fatal;  and  Leontes 
in  Wint.  Tale  thus  correctly  refers  to  it.  But  here  Posthumus  reverses  the  fatal 
process. — ED.] 

141-143.  The  Vowes  of  Women  ...  to  their  Vertues]  JOHNSON:  The 
love  vowed  by  women  no  more  abides  with  him  to  whom  it  is  proved  than  women 
adhere  to  their  virtue. — VAUGHAN  (p.  411):  Johnson  interprets  as  an  aphorism 
that  which  is  a  prayer  or  imprecation.  .  .  .  As  'let  there  be'  commences,  so  'be' 
continues  under  a  different  form  of  the  imperative  mood,  thus:  'Let  there  be  no 
honour,'  etc.,  and  'let  women's  vows  have  no  more  efficacy,'  etc. 

147.  It  may  be  probable]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  Probable,  i.):    Capable  of 
being  proved,  demonstrable,  provable. 

148.  if  one  her  women]   COLLIER,  probably  unwilling  to  harm  the  metre  by 
adopting  the  'of  in  ¥2,  accepted,  in  his  ed.  i,  'one,  her  women'  as  elliptical,  and 
'the  same  as  "one  of  her  women."' — Whereupon,  DYCE  (Remarks,  p.  255)  asserts 
that  Collier  adopts  'from  the  Folio  an  error  in  defence  of  which  no  one  ever  dreamed 


ACT    II,   SC.   iv.] 


CYMBELINE 


161 


Hath  ftolne  it  from  her. 

Poft.     Very  true,  1 50 

And  fo  I  hope  he  came  by't  :  backe  my  Ring, 
Render  to  me  fome  corporall  figne  about  her 
More  euident  then  this  :  for  this  was  ftolne. 

lack.    By  lupiter,  I  had  it  from  her  Arme. 

Poft.    Hearke  you,  he  fweares  :  by  lupiter  he  fweares.         155 
'Tis  true,  nay  keepe  the  Ring  ;  'ti  s  true  :  I  am  fure 
She  would  not  loofe  it  :  her  Attendants  are 
All  fworne,  and  honourable  :  they  induc'd  to  fteale  it  ?  158 


149.  Hath  ftolne]  Ff.  might  stoln 
Pope,  might  not  have  stolen.  Han.  Hath 
stoln  or  stol'n  Rowe  et  cet. 

her.]  her?  Han.  Knt,  Coll.  Dyce, 
Glo.  Cam.  her  chamber?  Anon.  ap. 
Cam. 

151.  by't:}  by't.  Coll.  Dyce,  Glo. 
Cam. 

backe]  back,  Coll.  iii. 

Ring,]  ring.  Coll.    ring;  Theob. 


et  seq. 


[Restoring  it  to  his  finger.  Coll. 


in. 


152.  corporall]  corporrl  F4. 

153.  was  ftolne]  Cap.     wat  ftole  F2. 
was  ftole  F3F4,  Rowe,  +  .    was  stolen  or 
stol'n  Var.  '73  et  cet. 


156.  'Tis  true,]  Ff,  Cap.  Dyce.    'Tis 
true—    Rowe,  +  .     'Tis  true;  Var.   '73 
et  cet. 

Ring;]  Ff.    ring,  Dyce.    ring — 
Rowe  et  cet. 

'ti  s  true:]  'tis  true.  Coll. 

[Offering  the  ring.  Coll.  iii. 

/  am]  I'm  Pope,+,  Dyce  ii,  iii. 

157.  would]  F2.    Jhould  F3F4.     could 
Rowe,  +  ,  Varr.  Ran. 

loofe]  lofe  F4. 

158.  fworne,  and]  sworn  and  Rowe  ii, 
Johns.    Dyce,    Ktly,    Glo.    Cam.    Om. 
Pope,  Theob.  Han.  Warb. 

158.  fteale  it?}  Ff,  Cap.  Coll.  ii.    steal 
it!  Rowe  et  cet. 


of  saying  a  word.  Such  an  ellipsis  is  impossible.  We  have  had  before  in  the  present 
play:  "I  will  make  One  of  her  women  lawyer  to  me."  —II,  iii,  80. — Thereupon, 
COLLIER  relinquished  his  ellipsis,  and  says  with  assurance  that  '  the  true  emenda- 
tion is  evidently  to  put  "women"  in  the  singular,  to  which  there  can  be  no  reason- 
able objection';  he  recalls  that  Imogen  had  a  woman  'Helen,'  and  that  hereafter 
there  will  be  a  'Dorothy,'  and  just  before  her  flight  there  is  an  unnamed  one  who  is 
to  'feign  sickness.'  His  second  text,  therefore,  reads,  'if  one,  her  woman,  being,' 
etc.  But  his  conscience  was  evidently  uneasy;  in  his  ed.  iii.  his  text,  without  a  note, 
reads:  'if  one  of  her  women,  being,'  etc. — STAUNTON  considers  the  expression  'as 
awkward  without  the  preposition,  unless  we  read,  "if  one,  her  women  being 
corrupted,"  etc.' 

154.  By  lupiter]  FLETCHER  (p.  62):  It  should  here  be  borne  in  mind  that  this 
form  of  obtestation,  in  the  age  and  country  wherein  this  scene  is  laid,  was  a  very 
different  matter  from  swearing  'by  Jove'  now-a-days;  the  oath  by  the  father  of  the 
gods  had  a  real  and  awful  solemnity;  and  it  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  dramatist, 
with  subtle  propriety,  has  made  even  the  unscrupulous  lachimo  employ  it  only  this 
once,  and  in  support  of  an  assertion  which,  though  not  substantially,  is  literally 
true.  [The  propriety  of  Fletcher's  remark  is  proved  by  Posthumus's  exclamation 
in  response.  It  is  this  oath  of  highest  sanctity  that  convinces  Posthumus,  and 
forces  him  to  say  "Tis  true.' — ED.] 

158.  All   sworne]  PERCY:  It  was  anciently  the  custom  for  the  attendants  on  our 

ii 


!62  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  11,  sc.  iv. 

And  by  a  Stranger  ?  No,  he  hath  enioy'd  her, 

The  Cognifance  of  her  incontinencie  160 

Is  this  :  fhe  hath  bought  the  name  of  Whore,  thus  deerly 

There,  take  thy  hyre,  and  all  the  Fiends  of  Hell 

Diuide  themfelues  betweene  you. 

Phil.     Sir,  be  patient : 

This  is  not  ftrong  enough  to  be  beleeu'd  165 

Of  one  perfwaded  well  of. 

Pofl.     Neuer  talke  on't : 
She  hath  bin  colted  by  him. 

lack.     If  you  feeke  169 

159.  Stranger?]  Ff,  Cap.  Mai.  Ran.  161.  deerly]     deerely     F2.       dearly; 
Steev,  Var.  '03,  '13,  Coll.  ii.    stranger!        Theob.    Warb.    Johns,      dearly.    F3F4 
Rowe  et  cet.                                                     et  cet. 

her}  her.  Pope,+.    her:  Cap  et  162.  hyre]  hire;  Cap.  et  seq. 

cet.  163.  you.]  you!  Theob.  et  seq. 

161.  this:]  Ff.  Rowe  ii,  Pope,  Theob.  i.  [Giving  the  ring.  Coll.  iii. 

Coll.     this;  Rowe  i,  Theob.   ii,  Han.  166.  well  of.]  Ff,  Dyce.     well  of. — 

Johns,    this, —  Cap.  et  cet.  Theob.  Warb.    well  of —  Rowe  et  cet. 
Jhe  hath]  sh'  hath  Pope,  Han.  168.  bin]  been  F3F4. 

nobility  and  other  great  personages  (as  it  is  now  for  the  servants  of  the  King) 
to  take  an  oath  of  fidelity  on  their  entrance  into  office.  In  the  household  book  of 
the  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland  (compiled  A.  D.  1512)  it  is  expressly  ordered  (p. 
49)  that  '  what  person  soever  he  be  that  commyth  to  my  Lordes  service,  that  in- 
.  contynent  after  he  be  intred  in  the  chequyrroull  [check-roll]  that  he  be  sworn  in  the 
countynge-hous  by  a  gentillman-usher  or  yeman-usher  in  the  presence  of  the  hede 
officers.'  Even  now  every  servant  of  the  King's  at  his  first  appointment  is  sworn  in, 
before  a  gentleman  usher,  at  the  lord  chamberlain's  office. 

1 60.  Cognisance]  JOHNSON:    That  is,  the  badge;  the  token;  the  visible  proof. 
— CAPELL:   An  heraldic  term  properly,  signifying   the  crest;  by  translation,  any 
badge  or  mark  that  is  used  to  distinguish;  the  great  value  of  the  wager  which  the 
speaker  has  lost  is  (says  he) '  the  cognisance '  which  distinguishes  the  '  incontinency' 
of  she  [sic]  we  are  talking  of  from  that  of  all  other  women. — MURRAY  (N.  E.  D., 
5.  v.,  Ill,  5.):  Specifically,  in  Heraldry,  a  device  or  emblem  borne  for  distinction 
by  all  the  retainers  of  a  noble  house,  whether  they  bore  'arms'  or  not.     (The 
chief  sense  in  Middle  English,  and  still  frequent.)    [The  colon  after '  this,'  in  the  next 
line,  gives  rise  to  some  obscurity,  to  me  at  least.    Possibly,  THISLETON  or  SIMPSON 
would  interpret  it  as  merely  marking  an  emphatic  pause,  and  this  may  be  right, 
yet,  all  the  same,  the  colon  is  sometimes  used,  as  we  and  the  Germans  now  use  it,  in 
the  sense  of  namely;  and  it  is  possible  for  it  to  bear  this  sense  here.    But  I  think  not. 
I  prefer  the  emphatic  pause,  and  that  'this'  refers  to  the  ring,  which  may  also  be 
CapelPs  meaning,  obscured  though  it  be  in  a  mist  of  words. — ED.] 

166.  Of  one  perswaded  well  of]  INGLEBY:  That  is,  of  one  whom  we  are 
persuaded  to  think  well  of.  [If  the  sentence  be  complete,  Ingleby's  paraphrase  is 
just,  but  if  the  sentence  be  broken  off,  which  a  large  majority  of  the  editors  seem 
to  believe,  then  DOWDEN  suggests  'her  truth'  as  the  words  Philario  would  have 
added.] 


ACT    II,   SC.   iv.] 


CYME  ELI NE 


163 


For  further  fatisfying,  vnder  her  Breaft  170 

(Worthy  her  preffmg)  lyes  a  Mole,  right  proud 

Of  that  moft  delicate  Lodging.     By  my  life 

I  kift  it,  and  it  gaue  me  prefent  hunger 

To  feede  againe,  though  full.     You  do  remember 

This  ftaine  vpon  her  ?  175 

Poft .     I,  and  it  doth  confirme 
Another  ftaine,  as  bigge  as  Hell  can  hold, 
Were  there  no  more  but  it. 

lacli.     Will  you  heare  more? 

Poft.     Spare  your  Arethmaticke,  180 

Neuer  count  the  Turnes  :  Once,  and  a  Million. 

lack.     He  be  fworne. 

Poft.    No  fwearing  : 

If  you  will  fweare  you  haue  not  done't,  you  lye, 
And  I  will  kill  thee,  if  thou  do'ft  deny  185 

Thou'ft  made  me  Cuckold. 

lack.     He  deny  nothing. 

Poft.     O  that  I  had  her  heere,  to  teare  her  Limb-meale:        188 


171.  her]  Ff,  Cap.  Ran.    the  Rowe  et 
cet.    your  Anon.  ap.  Cam. 

172.  Lodging.]  lodging:  Cap.  et  seq. 

173.  kift  it,]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han. 
Coll.  ii,  iii,  Cam.    kiss'd  it;  Theob.  et 
cet. . 

176.  /,]  Ay  Rowe. 

180.    181.  Spare. ..Turnes]    One   line 
Han.  Cap.  et  seq. 

180.  Arethmaticke,]  Arithmelicke,  F2. 
Arithmetick ,  F3F4.    arithmetick.  Rowe  ii, 
+  .     arithmetick;  Cap.  et  seq. 

181.  Neuer  count]  Count  not  Pope,+. 
Ne'er  count  Var.  '73. 

Million.]  Ff,  Rowe,  Han.  Cap. 


million!  Pope  et  cet. 

182.  fworne.]  sworn—    Rowe  et  seq. 

183.  /wearing:]  swearing.  Steev.  Varr. 
Knt,  Coll.  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam. 

184.  done't,  you]  done't  you  Cam. 
you  lye]  you'll  lie  Ingl. 

185.  do'ft]  F3F4.    dofl  F2. 

186.  Thou'ft}  Thou  hast  Cap.  Varr. 
Mai.  Rann,  Steev.  Varr.  Knt. 

187.  He]  F2.    Fie  F3.    /'//  F4.    /  will 
Cap.  Varr.  Ran,  Steev. 

1 88.  her]  Om.   Cap.     (Corrected  in 
Errata.) 

meale:]  meal !  Theob.  et  seq. 


171.  Worthy  her  pressing]  CAPELL:  'Her'  is  most  improperly  alter'd  to  the 
in  all  modern  editions;  defacing  a  very  delicate  complement  to  put  in  one  that  is 
gross.  [Collier's  MS.  has  the,  and  Collier  remarks  that  'lachimo  can  scarcely  mean 
that  it  was  worthy  Imogen's  pressing.'  Why  not?  It  is,  I  think,  exactly  what  he 
does  mean.  THISELTON  defends  'her,'  and  suggests  rightly,  as  I  think,  that  it 
refers  to  the  mole  as  '  worthy'  to  be  pressed  by  Imogen's  breast.  lachimo's  admira- 
tion of  the  mole  may  then  be,  possibly,  a  reminiscence  of  Boccaccio's  story,  where 
Ambroginolo  detects  a  mole  under  the  left  breast,  'about  which  were  sundry  little 
hairs  as  red  as  gold.' — ED.] 

188.  Limb-meale]  BRADLEY  (N.  E.  D.):  Old  English  limmdelum.  Limb  from 
limb,  limb  by  limb. 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  n,  sc.  iv. 

I  will  go  there  and  doo't,  i'th'Court,  before 

Her  Father.     He  do  fomething.  Exit.  190 

Phil.     Quite  be  fides 

The  gouernment  of  Patience.     You  haue  wonne  : 
Let's  follow  him,  and  peruert  the  prefect  wrath 
He  hath  againft  himfelfe. 

lack.     With  all  my  heart.  Exeunt.  195 

i8Q.  doo't,    i'W]    F2.     do't    ith'    F3.  Cap.    something —  Rowe  et  cet. 
do't  i'th'  F4,  Rowe,-K     do't;  i'the  Cap.  191,    192.  befides   The]   befedes.     The 

et  cet.  Ff. 

Court],  court;  Cap.  et  cet.  192.  Patience.]     patience!    Pope    et 

190.  Father.]     Ff,     Coll.      father —  seq. 

Rowe,-K   father:  Cap.  et  cet.  193.  peruert]  prevent  Heath,  Mason. 

fomething.]       Ff.        something:  divert  Cap.  conj.,  Jervis. 

190.  He  do  something]  Compare  Lear:  '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  be  The  terrors  of  the  earth.' — II,  iv,  283. 

193,  194.  peruert  the  present  wrath  He  hath  against  himselfe]  CAPELL: 
It  seems  as  if  the  Poet,  instead  of  'pervert/  was  about  to  write  divert;  but  seeing 
instantly  something  unfit  in  it,  put  the  former  word  down,  giving  it  the  sense  of  the 
latter. — M ALONE:  That  is,  turn  his  wrath  to  another  course. — STEEVENS:  To 
'pervert,'  I  believe,  only  signifies  to  avert  his  wrath  from  himself,  without  any  idea 
of  turning  it  to  another  person.  To  what  other  course  it  could  have  been  diverted 
by  the  advice  of  Philario  and  lachimo,  Mr  Malone  has  not  informed  us. — MALONE: 
If  they  turned  the  wrath  he  had  against  himself  to  patience  or  fortitude,  they 
would  turn  it  to  another  course;  I  had  not  said  a  word  about  turning  it  against 
any  other  person. — THISELTON:  Posthumus's  wrath  is  not  'against  himself  in  the 
ordinary  sense,  but  against  Imogen.  We  must,  therefore,  either  take  'against 
himself '  as  equivalent  to  contrary  to  his  better  nature  or  irrationally;  or  construe  the 
phrase  in  close  connection  with  'pervert,' — we  must  influence  the  wrath  which  is  now 
his  servant  to  desert  his  service.  The  former  alternative  seems  to  me  the  more 
natural. 

195.  Exeunt]  FLETCHER  (p.  52):  The  truth  is  that  Posthumus,  under  the 
first  shock  and  provocation  of  this  revolting  encounter,  behaves  both  modestly 
and  patiently — 'as  calm  as  virtue,'  according  to  lachimo's  penitent  admission. 
He  does  not  propose  the  wager:  it  is  forced  upon  him  by  the  scoffs  and  taunts  of  the 
Italian;  and  is  accepted  at  last  with  a  view  to  punish  them, — first,  by  the  repulse 
which  his  addresses  are  sure  to  sustain, — secondly,  by  the  loss  of  his  property,— 
and  thirdly,  by  the  duel  which  is  to  follow.  They  who  have  so  violently  objected 
against  the  husband's  procedure  on  this  occasion  have  judged  of  it  according  to  the 
cool,  calculating  habits  of  feeling  belonging  to  the  modern  time, — ignorant  of  or 
overlooking  the  real  character  of  that  chivalric  love,  that  truly  religious  faith  and 
devotion  of  the  heart,  which  Shakespeare  found  it  here  his  business  to  paint, 
lachimo,  in  his  repentance,  gives  the  right  version  of  the  matter, — for,  according 
to  the  code  of  chivalry,  so  far  from  its  being  regarded  as  an  insult  and  profanation 
on  the  husband's  part,  to  permit  such  an  experiment  to  be  made  upon  the  con- 
stancy of  his  wife,  it  was  looked  upon  as  the  highest  proof  of  his  confidence  in  her 


ACT  ii,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE 

Enter  Pq/lhumus.  \  96 

Poft.     Is  there  no  way  for  Men  to  be,  but  Women 
Mult  be  halfe-workers  ?     We  are  all  Baftards,  198 

196.  Scene  vn.   Pope,  Han.   Warb.  198.  We...BaJlards,]  We  are  bastards 

Johns.  Scene  v.  Cap.  et  seq.  The  same.  all,  Pope,+,  Steev.  Var.  '03,  '13.    We... 

Another  Room  in  the  same.  Cap.  bastards;  all:  Cap.  Walker.    We  are,  all 

Enter]  Re-enter  Theob.  Warb.  of  us,  bastards;  Ktly.     Now  we...bas- 

Johns.  lards.  Vaun. 

virtue,  and,  therefore,  as  the  most  decided  homage  he  could  pay  to  it;  and  the  at- 
tempting seducer,  in  such  a  case,  was  afterwards  to  be  called  to  account  by  the 
husband,  not  so  much  for  the  attempt  itself,  as  for  the  disbelief  in  the  lady's  fidelity 
which  it  implied. 

196.  Enter   Posthumus]  In  designating  Scenes,  Pope's  rule  was,  apparently, 
to  consider  that  as  a  new  Scene  whenever  change  took  place  in  the  group  of  char- 
acters on  the  stage;  and  he  numbered  the  Scenes  accordingly.    If  any  characters, 
or  even  if  a  single  character,  left  the  stage,  straightway  a  new  Scene  was  marked. 
If  any  character  entered,  the  Scene  was  equally  new  and  so  numbered.    Herein 
he  was  followed,  apparently  without   thought,  by  HANMER,  WARBURTOii,  and 
JOHNSON.    THEOBALD,  in  the  same  circumstances,  marked  a  new  Scene,  but  did 
not  number  it.      Thus  in  the  present  instance  Pope  and  his  followers,  just  men- 
tioned, marked  the  entrance  of  Posthumus  as  Scene  vii.     THEOBALD  marks  no 
change,  but  merely  reads:  'Re-enter  Posthumus.'    ECCLES,  who  has  changed  the 
division  even  of  the  Acts,  marks  it  as  Act  III,  Scene  ii.    CAPELL  marks  it  as  Scene 
v.  and  has  been  herein  followed  by  all  subsequent  editors  down  to  the  present  time; 
and  all  of  them  follow  him  substantially  by  adding:  'Another  Room  in  the  same,' 
[i.  e.,  Philario's  House].    It  is  all  a  matter  of  trifling  moment,  yet  I  cannot  but  think 
that  by  deserting  the  Folio,  and  marking  a  new  Scene  in  another  apartment,  we  lose 
a  fleeting  glimpse  into  the  depths  of  Posthumus's  misery.    He  has  dashed  from  the 
shot  of  triumphant  eyes,  and  wandered  aimlessly  and  unconsciously  from  room  to 
room,  until  he  again  finds  himself  alone  in  the  apartment,  now  deserted,  from  which 
he  had  flung  himself,  and  can  at  last  unpack  his  heart. — ED. 

197.  Is  there  no  way,  etc.]  FLETCHER:    Here  we  must  observe  how  seriously 
the  acting  play  is  mutilated  by  entirely  omitting  this  soliloquy  of  Posthumus. 
Shakespeare's  dramatic  purpose  in  it  is  evident  and  essential:   to  lay  clearly  open  to 
us  that  stormy  desolation,  those  volcanic  heavings  of  a  noble  heart,  our  full  con- 
ception of  which  can  alone  make  us  tolerate  the  purpose  of  sanguinary  vengeance 
which  is  to  be  formed  and  pursued  by  his  hero.     [I  must  reluctantly  disagree. 
This  soliloquy  is,  I  think,  only  for  the  closet,  and,  possibly,  of  doubtful  propriety 
even  there. — ED.] — v.  FRJESEN  (iii,  475) :   After  an  experience  such  as  Posthumus 
has  just  undergone  this  wonderfully  beautiful  monologue  is  in  entire  harmony 
with  the  state  of  a  noble  mind  enraged  to  the  very  highest  degree.    It  is  the  mood 
in  which  the  very  noblest  dispositions  are  most  violently  and  irresistably  impelled 
to  inhuman  resolutions. 

198.  halfe-workers]  For  similar  sentiments  STEEVENS  refers  to  Paradise  Lost, 
Bk  x,  [888-895];  Euripides,  Hippolylus,  [616-626,  ed.  Dindorf];  Rodomont's  invec- 
tive against  women,  Orlando  Fnrioso,  Bk  xxvii,  stanzas  96,  97. 

198.  Bastards]   MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.}:    BAST,  subs2,  adopted  from  old  French 
bast,  packsaddle  (used  as  a  bed  by  muleteers  in  the  inns),  in  phrases  fils  (homme, 


1 66 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF 


[ACT  n,  sc.  iv. 


And  that  moft  venerable  man,  which  I 

Did  call  my  Father,  was,  I  know  not  where 

When  I  was  ftampt.     Some  Coyner  with  his  Tooles 

Made  me  a  counterfeit  :  yet  my  Mother  feem'd 

The  Dian  of  that  time  :  fo  doth  my  Wife 

The  Non-pareill  of  this.     Oh  Vengeance,  Vengeance  ! 

Me  of  my  lawfull  pleafure  fhe  reftrain'd, 

And  pray'd  me  oft  forbearance  :  did  i  t  with 

A  pudencie  fo  Rofie,  the  fweet  view  on't 

Mio;ht  well  haue  warm'd  olde  Saturne  : 

o  * 

That  I  thought  her 

As  Chafte  as  vn-Sunn'd  Snow.     Oh,  all  the  Diuels  ! 

This  yellow  lachimo  in  an  houre,  was't  not  ? 

Or  leffe;  at  firftf  Perchance  he  fpoke  not,  but 

Like  a  full  Acorn'd  Boare,  a  I  armen  on, 

Cry'de  oh,  and  mounted ;  found  no  oppofition 


200 


205 


2IO 


214 


200.  Did}  Dih  F2. 

201.  flampt.}  stamped;  Coll.    stampt; 
Cap.  et  seq. 

204.  this.]  this —  Rowe,+. 

206.  me  oft]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han. 
Var.  '73,  Coll.  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam.  me, 
oft,  Theob.  et  cet. 

206-208.  forbearance:  did... Saturne;} 
forbearance,  (did... Saturn),  Vaun. 

208.  Saturne;}  Saturn —  Rowe,+. 

208,  209.  Might. ..her}  One  line  Pope 
et  seq. 

211.  houre,  was't  not?]  hour — was  't 
not? —  Rowe  et  seq.  (subs.) 

212.  leffe;  at  firft?]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope, 
Theob.     Han.    Warb.       less — at  first? 
Johns.   Varr.   Mai.   Dyce,   Glo.    Cam. 


less:  at  first:  Cap.  less? — at  first:  Coll. 
ii.  less? — at  first—  Ktly.  less?) — at 
first,  Ingl.  less, — at  first:  Ran  ei  seq. 

212.  he]  Om.  F3F4,  Rowe. 

213.  full  Acorn'd]  full-acorn' d  Pope, 
Theob.  ii.  et  seq. 

a  larmen  on}  F2.  a  Jarmen  on 
F3F4.  a-churning  on  Pope,  Warb. 
a  foaming  one  Coll.  ii,  iii.  (MS.). 
a  briming  one  Sing,  a  lachimo  Herr. 
a  human  one  Phin.  alarum'' d  on  or 
alarum  on  Thiselton.  a  German  one 
Rowe  et  cet. 

214.  Cry'de  oh,}  F2.    Cry'd  oh,  F3F4, 
Rowe.      cry'd,    oh,    Cap.      Cried   'O!' 
Dyce,  Glo.  Cam.     Cry'd  oh!  Pope  et 
cet. 


etc.),  de  bast,  literally  'packsaddle  child,'  as  opposed  to  a  child  of  the  marriage  bed. 
BASTARD,  adopted  from  Old  French  bastard,  modern  bdtard,  equivalent  to  fils  de 
bast,  'packsaddle  child,'  formed  on  bast  +  the  pejorative  suffix  -ard. 

201.  stampt]  MALOXE:  We  have  again  the  same  image  in  Meas.for  Meas.,  II, 
iv,  44-46- 

213.  a  larmen  on]  DYCE  (Strict.,  p.  16):  Since  The  Sec.  Part  of  Henry  IV:  II,  i, 
the  Quarto  of  1600  has  'the  larman  [i.  e.,  German}  hunting  in  water-worke,'  etc.,  I 
am  perfectly  convinced  that  '  a  larman  on '  is  (as  Rowe  saw)  the  old  spelling  for  '  a 
German  one.' — DOWDEN:  I  am  not  at  all  sure  that  'larman'  does  not  here  mean 
german,  germane.  'larman'  is  an  obsolete  form  of  german  (occurring,  for  ex- 
ample, in  Hamlet,  Q2),  and  several  early  examples  of  german,  meaning  genuine, 
true,  thorough,  are  cited  in  the  N.  E.  D.;  'a  german  one'  may  thus  mean  a  genuine 
one. 


ACT  ii,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE 

But  what  he  look'd  for,  fhould  oppofe,  and  fhe  215 

Should  from  encounter  guard.    Could  I  finde  out 

The  Womans  part  in  me,  for  there's  no  motion 

That  tends  to  vice  in  man,  but  I  affirme 

It  is  the  Womans  part  :  be  it  Lying ,  note  it, 

The  womans  :  Flattering,  hers  ;  Deceiuing,  hers  :  220 

Luft,  and  ranke  thoughts,  hers,  hers  :  Reuenges  hers  : 

Ambitions,  Couetings,  change  of  Prides,  Difdaine, 

Nice-longing,  Slanders,  Mutability;  223 

215.  But]  From  Han.  Warb.  221.  Lujl... Reuenges  hers]  Om.  Var. 
for,  fltould]  for  should  Pope   et         '03,  '13,  '21  (misprint?). 

seq.  223.  Nice-longing]  Ff,  Rowe.  nice- 

217.  me,]  me — Pope,  +  .  me!  Johns.  longings  Pope,  nice  longing  Cap.  Dyce, 

et  seq.  Glo.  Cam.  nice  longings  Theob.  et  cet. 

219.  be  it]  be't  Pope,+,  Varr.  Mai.  Mutability;]  mutability,  Cap.  et 

Ran,  Dyce  ii,  iii.  seq. 

216,  217.  Could   I  finde    out    The  Womans  part  in  me]  It  is  interesting,  I 
think,  to  note  passages  wherein  we,  native  born  to  Shakespeare's  tongue,  perceive 
no  difficulty  whatsoever,  which,  nevertheless,  present  to  foreigners  an  almost  in- 
soluble obscurity.    Certainly  the  proficiency,  as  an  English  scholar,  is  undoubted, 
of  Herzberg,  who  was  among  the  very  earliest  to  announce  the  chronological  value 
of  the  rhyme  test,  etc.,  and  yet  Herzberg  acknowledges  that  in  its  present  con- 
nection he  cannot  understand  this  sentence.    '  Perhaps,'  he  says, '  Posthumus  means 
to  say:  "  If  I  could  only  bring  myself  to  be  just  as  faithless  and  wanton  as  Imogen !" 
And  then,  after  quoting  Schmidt's  correct  paraphrase,  namely,  'if  I  could  only 
find  out  what  in  m'e  comes  from  woman  that  I  might  tear  it  out  and  cast  it  from 
me,'  Herzberg  adds  'non  liquet.' — ED. 

222.  change  of  Prides]  WHITE  (ed.  i.):  Here  'change'  is  used  as  in  Cor.,  II,  i, 
214:    'I  have  received  not  only  greetings,  But  with  them  change  of  honours.'    In 
both  cases  it  clearly  means  variety,  severally,  as  in  the  phrase  'changes  of  raiment.' 
[I  am  not  sure  that  the  quotation  from  Coriolanus  is  exactly  parallel  with  the 
present  passage.    Coriolanus  means,  I  think,  that  the  Senate  has  sent  him  not  only 
salutations,  but  exchanged  his  present  honours  for  higher  ones.   Nor  does  'changes 
of  raiment'  exactly  correspond  to  'change  of  prides,'  which  means,  I  think,  merely 
to  change  without  reason  from  one  kind  of  pride,  whatever  it  may  be,  to  another. 
INGLEBY  says  that  'prides'  are  'sumptuous  dresses,'  and  a  passage  quoted  by 
DOWDEN  from  Henry  VIII:  I,  i,  25,  seems  to  bear  him  out:   'the  madams'  almost 
'sweat  to  bear  The  pride  upon  them,'  that  is,  says  Dowden,  'proud  attire,'  but  it 
may,  equally  well,  mean  gold  and  jewels.    SCHMIDT  (Lex.)  well  paraphrases  the 
present  passage:    'That  is,  one  excess  is  changed  for  another.' — ED.] 

223.  Nice-longing]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  Nice):   The  precise  development 
of  the  very  divergent  senses  which  this  word  acquired  in  English  is  not  altogether 
clear.    In  many  examples  from  the  i6th  to  i7th  centuries  it  is  difficult  to  say  in 
what  particular  sense  the  writer  intended  it  to  be  taken.     ['  Nice '  in  the  present 
passage  has  been  defined  by  various  editors  as  fanciful,  whimsical,  capricious, 
squeamish,  fastidious;  but  not  one  of  these  adjectives  indicates  a  fault  worthy  of 
Hell's  knowledge.    Something  is  required  more  vigorous  than  these.    It  is  found,  I 


1 68 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF 


[ACT  n,  sc.  iv. 


All  Faults  that  name,  nay,  that  Hell  knowes, 

Why  hers,  in  part,  or  all  :  but  rather  all  For  euen  to  Vice       225 

They  are  not  conftant,  but  are  changing  ftill ; 

One  Vice,  but  of  a  minute  old,  for  one 

Not  halfe  fo  old  as  that.    He  write  againft  them, 

Deteft  them,  curfe  them  :  yet  'tis  greater  Skill 

In  a  true  Hate,  to  pray  they  haue  their  will  :  230 

The  very  Diuels  cannot  plague  them  better.  Exit. 


224,  225.  All. ..hers,]  One  line  Mai. 

224.  that  name,]  Mai.     that  have  a 
name,    Dyce    conj.,  Ingl.      that    man 
Daniel,    that  man  can  name  or  that  man 
may  name  Walker  (Crit.,  ii,  258).    that 
men  do  name  Ktly.    that  have  that  name 
Nicholson  (N.  &  Q.,  VI,  v,  424)-     that 
name  may  name  Vaun.     that  may  be 
named  Ff  et  cet. 

225.  all    For]    all.    For    Ff,    Rowe, 
Theob.   Warb.   Johns,     all— for  Pope, 


Han.     all  In  every  part  by  turns,  for 
Vaun.    all:  For  Cap.  et  cet. 

225.  For... Vice]  One  line  Cap.  Varr. 
Ran.  et  seq.     For. ..Vice  to  which  they 
are  so  prone  Ktly  conj. 

226,  227.  Jlill;  One]  still  One  Johns. 
Var.  '78  et  seq. 

229.  curfe  them:]  curse  them —  Rowe, 
+  .  curse  them;—  Johns,  curse  them. 
Coll. 


think,  in  Murray's  division  2,  with  the  meaning  'wanton,  lascivious.'  The  hyphen, 
possibly,  indicates  that  'nice,'  whatever  be  its  meaning,  enters  so  closely  into 
'longing'  as  to  become  identified  with  it,  and  form  one  complex  idea.  There  is  a 
good  illustration  of  this  latter  meaning  of  'nice'  in  Love's  Labor  Lost:  'These  are 
humours;  these  betray  nice  wenches,  that  would  be  betrayed  without  them,' — III, 
i,  24.— ED.] 

229.  Detest  them]  WALKER  (Crit.,  ii,  311):   In  the  writers  of  that  age  'detest' 
is  used  in  the  sense  which  as  then  it  still  retained  from  its  original,  detestari,  being 
indicative  of  something  spoken,  not  of  an  affection  of  the  mind;  compare  attest, 
protest,  which  still  retain  their  etymological  meaning.    So  understand  [the  present 
passage.  See  Ant.  &  Cleop.,  IV,  xiv,  69,  70  (of  this  ed.),  where  the  N.  E.  D.  is  quoted 
to  prove  that  Walker's  observation  is  a  little  too  restricted. — ED.] 

230.  In  a  true   Hate,   to  pray  they  haue  their  will]  STEEVENS:    So  in  Sir 
Thomas  More's  Comfort  against  Tribulation:  '  God  could  not  lightly  do  a  man  more 
vengeance,  than  in  this  world  to  grant  him  his  own  foolish  wishes.'    [Do  we  not  all 
remember  Pope's  'Atossa,  cursed  with  every  granted  prayer'? — ED.] 

231.  The  very  Diuels  .  .  .  better]  DANIEL  (p.  86):   Qy.  is  this  last  line  the 
cynical  note  of  some  reader  of  the  MS.  play,  accidentally  foisted  into  the  text? 
The  sense  and  sentence  are  complete  without  it,  and  the  speech  should  surely  end 
with  the  rhyming  couplet.    [Oxen  and  wainropes  cannot  hale  me  to  the  belief  that 
this  line  is  Shakespeare's. — ED.] 


ACT  in,  sc.  i.]  CYMBELINE 


Actus  Tertius.     Scena  Prima. 


Enter  in  State,  Cymbeline  y  Queene ,  Clottcn ,  and  Lords  at  2 

i.  Actus  Tertius.  Scena  Prima.]  2.  Enter  in  State. ..Lords]  Enter... 

Act  II,  Scene  iv.  Eccles.  Lords  and  others:  Cymbeline  takes 

Scene.  A  Palace.  Rowe.  A  State  his  Throne;  after  which,  enter  Lucius... 

Room  in  Cymbeline's  Palace.  Cap.  Cap. 

1.  Actus   Tertius.     Scena   Prima]   Inasmuch   as   in   II,   iii,   58,   the   arrival 
of  the  Ambassadors  from  Rome  is  announced,  and  Cymbeline  bids  Cloten  attend 
the  audience  with  them  after  he  has  said  good  morrow  to  Imogen,  ECCLES  trans- 
poses this  present  scene,  Act  III,  sc.  i,  and  numbers  it  Act  II,  sc.  iv.    This  he  does 
in  order  to  give  time  to  lachimo  to  return  to  Rome,  especially  since  on  his  arrival 
there,  in  answer  to  Philario's  question,  his  reply  is  that  when  he  left  the  Roman 
ambassadors  were  expected  at  the  British  court,  but  had  not  yet  arrived.    'In  the 
next  scene,'  says  Eccles  [that  is,  in  the  next  scene,  after  Imogen  has  discovered  the 
loss  of  her  bracelet],  'we  find  lachimo  returned  to  Rome,  and  in  the  first  scene  of 
Act  the  third,  according  to  the  original  arrangement,  Lucius  appears  for  the  first 
time  to  be  introduced  into  the  presence  of  Cymbeline  in  his  public  character;  now, 
as  a  considerable  interval  of  time,  perhaps  not  less  than  two  or  three  wreeks,  at  the 
least,  must  pass  while  lachimo  was  performing  his  journey,  the  same  portion  of 
time  must  also  intervene  before  Lucius  is  admitted  to  his  public  audience;  notwith- 
standing that,  as  we  have  seen,  Cymbeline  speaks  of  this  latter  as  a  circumstance 
that  was  immediately  to  take  place.    In  order  then  to  remedy  this  obvious  incon- 
sistency, I  have  transposed  the  scenes  and  placed  Scene  the  First  of  Act  the  Third 
immediately  after  Scene  the  Third  of  Act  the  Second,  as  Scene  the  Fourth,  and  made  it 
also  conclude  the  Act.    The  scene  in  which  lachimo  enters  to  Philario  and  Posthu- 
mus  will  be  the  beginning  of  the  following  act,  and  a  pause  left  for  the  journey.' 
It  is  hardly  worth  while  to  defend  the  original  arrangement,  or  to  show  that  Eccles 
was  the  victim  of  Shakespeare's  legerdemain  when  dealing  with  time,  letting  it 
run  on  hot-foot  ahead  of  due  sequence  through  exciting  scenes,  and  then,  while  the 
hot  blood  is  cooling,  gently  leads  us  back  over  the  lost  ground,  until  we  find  our- 
selves calmly  resuming  a  thread  which  seems  never  to  have  been  broken.    Eccles's 
rearrangement  was  unnoticed  in  his  own  day,  much,  apparently,  to  his  surprise  and 
chagrin.    On  page  118  he  remarks  that  'Mr  Garrick,  or  whoever  adapted  this  play 
for  representation,'  does  not  seem  'to  have  attended  to  the  necessity  of  the  trans- 
position now  adopted.' — ED. — DANIEL  (p.  243):    The  time  of  this  scene  [Act  III, 
sc.  i]  is  so  evidently  that  of  Day  No.  4,  that  I  am  compelled  to  place  it  here  [in 
Day  No.  5]  within  brackets,  as  has  been  done  in  other  cases  where  scenes  are  out  of 
their  due  order  as  regards  time. 

2.  Enter   in    State,    Cymbeline,    etc.]     BOSWELL-STONE:    In    the    following 
passages   Holinshed  has   given  an  untrustworthy  account  of  Cymbeline,  mixed 
with  genuine  information  touching  the  circumstances  of  the  Empire  and  Britain 
during  the  reign  of  Augustus:    HOLINSHED  (The  Third  Booke.     The  historic  of 
England,  p.  32,  col.  2):   Kymbeline  or  Cimbeline  the  sonne  of  Theomantius  was  of 
the  Britains  made  king  after  the  deceasse  of  his  father,  in  the  yeare  of  the  world 
3944,  after  the  building  of  Rome  728.  and  before  the  birth  of  our  Sauiour  33.     This 
man  (as  some  write)  was  brought  vp  at  Rome,  and  there  made  knight  by  Augustus 


j-70  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  in,  sc.  i. 

one  doore ,  and  at  anotlicr ,  Caius ,  Lucius ,  3 

and  Attendants. 

Cym.    Now  fay,  what  would  Augujlus  Cczfar  with  vs  ?  5 

Luc.     When  lulius  Cczfar  (whofe  remembrance  yet 
Liues  in  mens  eyes,  and  will  to  Eares  and  Tongues 
Be  Theame,  and  hearing  euer)  was  in  this  Britain,  8 

3.  Caius,  Lucius,]  Caius  Lucius,  Rowe.        8.  this]  Om.  Pope,  Han 

Cesar,  [see  lines  77,78,  post.],  vnder  whome  he  serued  in  the  warres,  and  was  in  such 
fauour  with  him,  that  he  was  at  libertie  to  pay  his  tribute  or  not.  .  .  .  Touching 
the  continuance  of  the  yeares  of  Kymbelines  reigne,  some  writers  doo  varie,  but  the 
best  approoued  affirme,  that  he  reigned  35  years  and  then  died,  &  was  buried  at 
London,  leauing  behind  him  two  sonnes,  Guiderius  and  Aruiragus. 

But  here  is  to  be  noted,  that  although  our  histories  doo  affirme,  that  as  well  this 
Kymbeline,  as  also  his  father  Theomantius  liued  in  quiet  with  the  Romans,  and 
continuallie  to  them  paied  the  tributes  which  the  Britains  had  couenanted  with 
Julius  Cesar  to  pay,  yet  we  find  in  the  Romane  writers,  that  after  Julius  Cesars 
death,  when  Augustus  had  taken  vpon  him  the  rule  of  the  empire,  the  Britains 
refused  to  paie  that  tribute;  whereat  as  Cornelius  Tacitus  reporteth,  Augustus 
(being  otherwise  occupied)  was  contented  to  winke;  howbeit,  through  earnest 
calling  vpon  to  recouer  his  right  by  such  as  were  desirous  to  see  the  vttermost  of 
the  British  kingdome;  at  length,  to  wit,  in  the  tenth  yeare  after  the  death  of  Julius 
Cesar,  which  was  about  the  thirteenth  yeare  of  the  said  Theomantius,  Augustus 
made  prouision  to  passe  with  an  armie  ouer  into  Britaine,  &  was  come  forward 
vpon  his  iournie  into  Gallia  Celtica;  or  as  we  maie  saie,  into  these  hither  parts  of 
France. 

5.  Now   say  .  .  .  with  vs]  STEEVENS:   So  the  first  line  of  King  John:  'Now, 
say,  Chatillon,  what  would  France  with  us?' 

6.  Luc.     When  lulius  Csesar,   etc.]   For  this  hostile  embassy,  and  demand 
for  the  tribute,  'lately  left  vntender'd,'  Shakespeare  has  no  authority,  nor  did  he, 
probably,  care  for  any.    Boswell-Stone's  thorough  sifting  of  Holinshed  discovered, 
in  the  Historic  of  Scotland  (p.  45),  a  statement  that  'there  came  vnto  Kimbaline 
king  of  the  Britains  an  ambassador  from  Augustus';  his  mission,  however,  so  far 
from  being  a  demand  for  the  arrears  of  tribute,  was  one  of  thanks  for  having  kept 
his  allegiance  to  Rome.     It  was  Cymbeline's  son,  Guiderius,  who,  'being  a  man 
of  stout  courage,'  according  to  Holinshed  (Hist.  Eng.,  i,  33),  refused  to  pay  this 
tribute. — ED. 

7.  8.  Liues  in  mens  eyes  .  .  .  hearing  euer]  VAUGHAN  (p.  415):  That  is, 
the  remembrance  of  whom  now  consists  in  the  memory  of  something  actually 
seen,  and  will  consist  hereafter  and  for  ever  in  the  memory  of  something  spoken  of 
and  'heard.'     [Vaughan  speaks  of  'the  inversion  of  the  due  order  of  words  "theme 
and  hearing,"  which  would  correctly  be  "hearing  and  theme.'"    There  is  here  no 
inversion  of  the  due  order,  it  is  exactly  in  accordance  with  the  use  and  wont  not 
only  of  Shakespeare,  but  of  many  a  writer  in  English,  Greek,  and  Latin.     It  is 
simply  an  instance  of  what  Corson  named  'respective  construction,'  a  happier  name 
than  the  pedantic,  chiasm,  although  the  latter  expresses  the  construction  somewhat 
more  vividly;  for  instance,  let  'Ears  and  Tongues'  be  written  above  'Theame  and 


ACT  in,  sc.  i.]  CYMBELINE  \>j\ 

And  Conquered  it,  Cajfibulan  thine  Vnkle 

(Famous  in  Ccefars  prayfes,  no  whit  leffe  10 

Then  in  his  Feats  deferuing  it)  for  him, 

And  his  Succeffion,  granted  Rome  a  Tribute, 

Yeerely  three  thoufand  pounds  ;  which  (by  thee)  lately 

Is  left  vntender'd. 

Qu.     And  to  kill  the  meruaile,  1 5 

Shall  be  fo  euer. 

Clot.     There  be  many  Ccefars,  17 

9>  37>  47-  Caffibulan]    Caffibelan  Ff  14.  vnlender'd.]  ttntender'd—-  Ingl. 

et  seq.  15.  kill]  fill  Lloyd  ap.  Cam. 

ii.  it)  for]  it  for  Rowe.    it,  for  Johns.  meruaile]  mervaile  F2.    mervaUF3, 

Dyce,  Glo.  Cam.  (subs.)     //,)  for  Mai.  marvail   F4,   Rowe,+.     marvel  Johns. 

Steev.  Varr.  Knt.  et  seq. 

hearing,'  and  lines  joining  'ears'  and  'hearing'  and  'Tongues'  and  'Theame'  will 
form  the  Greek  letter  Chi.  Instances  of  this  construction  abound  in  Shakespeare. 
It  occurs  in  II,  iv,  75,  76,  where  Posthumus  says,  ' The  foule  opinion  .  .  .  gains  or 
looses  Your  sword  or  mine,'  /.  e.,  gains  my  sword  or  loses  yours.  And  Vaughan  made 
there  the  same  mistake  and  suggested  that  the  order  was  inverted. — ED.] 
9.  Cassibulan  thine  Vnkle]  See  I,  i,  42. 

10.  no  whit  lesse]  DOWDEN:  Did  Shakespeare  err,  as  elsewhere,  in  using  the 
word  'less'  with  a  negative,  and  does  the  sense  require  'more'?  Or  does  Lucius 
mean  that  Cassibelan  was  not  only  deserving  of  praise  but  also  received  praise  equal 
to  his  merits?  [Or,  may  it  not  mean,  that  exalted  as  were  Caesar's  praises,  Cassi- 
belan's  deeds  were  in  no  way  inferior  to  the  praises  he  deservedly  received?  which 
is  hardly  different  from  Dowden's  alternative.  In  paraphrases  it  is  generally 
fortunate  that  we  have  the  original  at  hand  to  elucidate  them. — ED.] 

13.  three  thousand  pounds]  YERPLANCK:   The  computation  of  the  amounts  of 
plunder,  tribute,  wealth  of  conquered  kings,  etc.,  not  in  Roman  sesterces,  or  the 
foreign  money  of  account,  but  in  pounds  of  gold  or  silver,  is  of  such  frequent  occur- 
rence in  ancient  writers,  that  it  is  not  ascribing  any  great  learning  or  antiquarian 
accuracy  to  Shakespeare,  who  was  well  read  in  the  translations  at  least  of  several 
of  the  classics,  to  understand  him  here,  just  as  we  should  Knowles  or  Miss  Baillie, 
in  any  similar  case,  as  speaking  not  of  pounds  sterling,  but  of  pounds  weight  of 
coin,  as  a  Roman  would  have  estimated  the  tribute-money  of  a  subject  foreign 
prince. 

14.  Is  left  vntender'd]  BOSWELL-STOXE  (p.  9) :  This  pretension  to  tribute  arose 
when  Cassar,  after  defeating  Cassibelan,  blockaded  the  residue  of  the  British  levies, 
so  that— [Hoi.  i.  H.  E.  30]— '  Cassibelane  in  the  end  was  forced  to  fall  to  a  com- 
position, in  couenanting  to  paie  a  yearlie  tribute  of  three  thousand  pounds.' 

15.  to  kill  the   meruaile]  DOWDEN:  The  idea  is  that  wonder  ['astonishment,' 
Schmidt,  Lex.]  at  the  unpaid  tribute  will  cease  when  the  non-payment  has  estab- 
lished itself  as  the  constant  rule. 

17.  There  be  many  Cassars]  WARBITRTON  (MS.  N.  &  Qu,  VIII,  Hi,  263): 
Read:  There'll  be— there  will  be  (for  there  was  but  one  yet  come  when  Cloten  made 
this  answer). 


if  2  THE   TRACE  DIE  OF  [ACT  in,  sc.  i. 

Ere  fuch  another  lulius  :  Britaine's  a  world  1 8 

By  it  felfe,  and  we  will  nothing  pay 

For  wearing  our  owne  Nofes.  20 

Qu.     That  opportunity 

Which  then  they  had  to  take  from's,  to  re  fume 
We  haue  againe.    Remember  Sir,  my  Liege, 
The  Kings  your  Ancestors,  together  with 
The  naturall  brauery  of  your  Ifle,  which  ftands  25 

1 8.  lulius.-]  Julius.  Var.  '73  et  seq.  22.  front's]  Ff,  Rowe,+,  Dyce,  Sta. 

Britaine's]    F2.      Britain's  F3F4,  Glo.  Cam.   from  us  Cap.  et  cet. 
Rowe.     Britain  is  Pope  et  seq.  23.  Remember    Sir,]   F2.     remember, 

18,  19.  a  world. ..pay]  One  line  Pope  Sir  Pope,  Han.     remember,  Sir,  F3F4 
et  seq.  et  cet. 

19.  By  it  felfe]   it  self  Pope,   Han.  24.  Anceftors]   Ff,   Rowe,  Var.   '73, 
by't  self  Theob.  Warb.  Johns.     Whole  Coll.  Ktly,  Glo.  Cam.    ancestors;  Pope 
by  itself  Anon.  ap.  Cam.  reading  line  et  cet. 

18  as  in  Fx. 

18,  19.  Britaine's  a  world  By  it  selfe]  To  prove  how  general  was  this  idea 
that  Britain  is  a  separate  little  world,  THEOBALD  quotes  from  Virgil:  'et  penitus 
toto  divisos  orbe  Britanos.' — Ed.,  I,  67;  [Holinshed,  in  his  Description  of  Britaine, 
quotes  this  also];  from  Florus  (referring  to  Caesar's  conquests):  'et,  quamvis  toto 
orbe  divisa,  tamen,  qui  vinceret,  habuit  Britannia.' — Epitome,  III,  cap.  x.;  from 
Claudian:  'Hispana  tibi  Germanaque  Tethys  Paruit,  et  nostro  diducta  Britannia 
mundo.' — De  Mallii  Theodori  Consulatu  Panegris,  line  50;  from  Horace:  'Serves 
iturum  Cassarem  in  ultimos  Orbis  Britannos.' — Carminum,  I,  xxxv.  Theobald 
wisely  concludes  that,  after  all,  Shakespeare  might  have  had  '  none  of  these  classical 
passages  in  view,  but  be  alluding  to  what  is  recorded  of  Cassibelan  in  the  Chron- 
icles. When  Comius  of  Arras  came  to  him  with  a  message  from  Julius  Caesar,  in 
which  homage  and  subjection  and  a  Tribute  were  demanded,  Cassibelan  replied: 
"That  the  ambition  of  the  Romans  was  insatiable,  who  would  not  suffer  Britaine, 
a  new  world,  placed  by  Nature  in  the  Ocean,  and  beyond  the  bounds  of  their 
Empire,  to  lie  unmolested."  [To  quote  a  passage  from  'the  Chronicles'  is  ex- 
tremely vague;  I  have  not  succeeded  in  finding  this  valiant  speech  of  Cassibelan's 
in  Holinshed,  and,  apparently,  it  has  also  escaped  the  keen  sight  of  Boswell-Stone, 
who  quotes  several  other  extracts  therefrom,  which  may  have  caught  Shakespeare's 
eye,  all  of  them  containing  a  panegyric  of  Britain's  splendid  isolation. — ED.] 

20.  For  wearing  our  owne  Noses]  That  is,  for  being  ourselves. 

21,  etc.  That   opportunity,   etc.]    BOSWELL-STONE    (p.    12,   foot-note):    It  is 
possible  that  before  writing  the  Queen's  harangue, — the  aim  of  which  is  to  show 
how  Caesar's  prosperity  deserted  him  in  Britain, — Shakespeare  glanced  at  Caesar's 
remark  upon  the  unforeseen  lack  of  cavalry  to  pursue  the  retreating  Britons,  after 
the  legionaries  had  effected  their  landing.    'And  this  one  thing  seemed  onelie  to 
disappoint  the  luckie  fortune  that  was  accustomed  to  follow  Caesar  in  all  his  other 
enterprises.' — Hoi.,  i,  Hist.  Eng.,  25. 

25.  naturall  brauery]  That  is,  the  naturall  state  of  defiance.  Anthony  says: 
'if  Fortune  be  not  ours  today,  it  is  Because  we  brave  her.' — Ant.  &°  Cleop.,  IV, 
iv,  4. 


ACT  in,  sc.  i.j  CYMBELINE  173 

As  Neptunes  Parke,  ribb'd,  and  pal'd  in  26 

With  Oakes  vnskaleable,  and  roaring  Waters, 

With  Sands  that  will  not  beare  your  Enemies  Boates, 

But  fucke  them  vp  to'th'Top-maft.     A  kinde  of  Conqueft 

Ccefar  made  heere,  but  made  not  heere  his  bragge  30 

Of  Came,  and  Saw,  and  Ouer-came  :  with  fhame 

(The  firft  that  euer  touch'd  him)  he  was  carried 

From  off  our  Coaft,  twice  beaten  :  and  his  Shipping  33 

26.  As... ribbed  and  pal'd]  Ff,  Rowe  i.         cet. 

As    the   great... ribb'd   and   pal'd    Cap.  28.  Sands]   Sand   F4,    Rowe,    Pope, 

As. ..ribbd... paled  Coll.   ii.     As. ..ribbed  Han. 

and  paled  Rowe  ii.  et  cet.  30.  Caefar]  Caefars  Fx. 

27.  Oakes]    F2.     Oaks    F,F4,    Rowe,  31.  Oner-came]  Overcome  F2. 
Pope,  Theob.    rocks  Seward,  Warb.  et            33.  beaten:]  beaten?  F2. 

25.  26.  your  Isle,  which  stands  .  .  .  ribb'd,  and  pal'd  in]   INGLEBY  (ed.  i.) 
divided  line  25  at  'isle,'  and  retained  in  line  26  the  contracted  'ribb'd'  and  pal'd' 
of  the  Folio.    In  the  edition  revised  by  Ingleby's  son,  this  division  and  reading  are 
withdrawn,  and  the  text  follows  that  of  Rowe  ii. 

26.  Parke]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.) :  In  Law,  a  park  is  distinguished  from  a  forest, 
or  chase,  by  being  enclosed. 

27.  Oakes    vnskaleable]   In   Hanmer's   edition,   the   first   to   amend   'oakes' 
to  rocks,  the  emendation  is  attributed  to  Warburton.     In  Warburton's  edition, 
which  followed  Hanmer's,  the  emendation  is  attributed  to  Hanmer — an  instance 
of  mysterious  altruism  highly  creditable  to  each  editor  in  these  evil  days.   The  solu- 
tion of  the  mystery  is,  however,  that  the  emendation  belonged  to  neither.    It  was 
communicated  to  Hanmer  by  SEWARD,  who,  in  a  note  on  Beaumont  and  Fletcher's 
The  Mad  Lover,  V,  i,  p.  281,  remarks,  in  reference  to  the  present  line,  that  'oaks' 
'appeared  very  absurd,  as  the  Britons  were  not  then  famed  for  large  ships;  I  there- 
fore had  the  honour  of  communicating  the  emendation  [rocks]  to  Sir  Thomas 
[Hanmer],  and  find  that  the  ingenious  Mr  Warburton  concurred  with  me  in  it.'- 
DOWDEN  asks,  'Can  any  Elizabethan  example  be  found  of  "oaks"  used  metaphor- 
ically for  ships  of  war?'  As  we  have  just  seen,  Seward  uses  it  for  'large  ships' — but 
this  was  in  1740. — ED. — PORTER  and  CLARKE  [retaining  'oakes']:  The  sea  is  made 
by  the  figure  of  speech  here  a  Parke,  and  the  rocks  are  made  the  fence  of  oaks  that 
pale  it  in.  To  change  one  of  the  terms  of  the  Poet's  metaphor  is  an  unworthy  prosing 
bit  of  editing  that  should  no  longer  be  retained.    It  is  like  substituting  an  explana- 
tory note  for  a  part  of  the  text. 

30,  31.  his  bragge  Of  came,  and  Saw,  and  Ouer-came]  See  As  You  Like  It: 
'Caesars  thrasonicall  bragge  of  I  came,  saw,  and  ouercame.' — V,  ii,  35. 

32,  33.  he  was    carried  .   .  .  and    his     Shipping,      etc.]     BOSWELL-STONE: 
'The  next  day  [this  was  on  Ca;sar's  second  expedition],  as  he  had  sent  foorth  such 
as  should  haue  pursued  the  Britains,  word  came  to  him  from  Quintus  Atrius,  that 
his  nauie  by  rigour  of  a  sore  and  hideous  tempest  was  greeuouslie  molested,  and 
throwne  vpon  the  shore,  so  that  the  cabels  and  tackle  being  broken  and  destroied 
with  the  force  of  the  vnmercifull  rage  of  the  wind,  the  maisters  and  mariners  were 
not  able  to  helpe  the  matter.' — Holinshed,  i,  H.  E.,  28/2/2. 

33.  twice    beaten,   etc.]    BOSWELL-STONE:     'Thus    according    to    that    which 


174  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  in,  sc.  i. 

(Poore  ignorant  Baubles)  on  our  terrible  Seas 

Like  Egge-fhels  mouM  vpon  their  Surges,  crack'd  35 

As  eafily  'gainft  our  Rockes.     For  ioy  whereof, 

The  fam'd  Cajfibulan,  who  was  once  at  point 

(Oh  giglet  Fortune)  to  mafter  Cczfars  Sword, 

Made  Luds-Towne  with  reioycing- Fires  bright,  39 

34,     35.  Seas  ...  Egge-jhels  ...  Surges,]  Dyce  ii,  iii.    giglot  Mai.  Steev.  et  cet. 
Seas...Jhels,... Surges  F2F3.    Seas...sheels,  38.  Fortune]  fortune!  Rowe  et  seq. 

...Surges     F4.       seas, ...shells, ...Surges,  39.  Luds-Towne]     Lud's-Town    F4. 

Rowe.     seas,... shells... stir ges,    Pope   et  Luds  Town  Rowe  ii. 
cet.  reioycing-Fires]  Ff,  Rowe  i,  Ingl. 

38.  giglet]  Ff,  Rowe,  +  ,  Cap.  Varr.  Dowden.    rejoicing  fires  Rowe  ii.  et  cet. 

Cesar  himselfe  and  other  autentike  authors  haue  written,  was  Britaine  made 
tributarie  to  the  Romans  by  the  conduct  of  the  same  Cesar.  But  our  histor[i]es 
farre  differ  from  this,  affirming  that  Cesar  comming  the  second  time,  was  by  the 
Britains  with  valiancie  and  martiall  prowesse  beaten  and  repelled,  as  he  was  at 
the  first,  and  speciallie  by  meanes  that  Cassibellane  had  pight  in  the  Thames  great 
piles  of  trees  piked  with  yron,  through  which  his  ships  being  entred  the  riuer,  were 
perished  and  lost.  And  after  his  comming  a  land,  he  was  vanquished  in  battell, 
and  constrained  to  flee  into  Gallia  with  those  ships  that  remained.' — Holinshed,  i, 
E.  E.,  30/2/9. 

34.  ignorant]  JOHNSON:  That  is,  unacquainted  with  the  nature  of  our  boisterous 
seas. 

37.  38.  once    al    point  ...  to    master    Caesar's    Sword]  Bos  WELL-STONE 
(p.  13) :   According  to  the  Historia  Britonum,  Caesar  actually  lost  his  sword  during 
the  battle  in  which  he  met  with  the  first  of  those  defeats  whereof  the  Queen  reminds 
Caius  Lucius.     'The  same  Historic  [Historia  Britonum]  also  maketh  mention  of 
.  .  .  Nenius  brother  to  Cassibellane,  who  in  fight  happened  to  get  Caesar's  swoord 
fastened  in  his  shield  by  a  blow  which  Cassar  stroke  at  him.' — Holinshed,  i,  Hist. 
Eng.,  27/1/40.      The   Queen's   expression,  'at   point  to  master  Caesar's   sword' 
implies  that  his  sword  was  nearly  wrested  from  him  by  force,  not  caught  by  acci- 
dent; and  she  has,  it  will  be  observed,  attributed  to  Cassibelan  the  honour  of  this 
partial  success.    Caesar's  sword  was  placed  by  Cassibelan  in  a  sarcophagus,  with 
the  body  of  Nennius,  who  died  fifteen  days  after  the  battle  from  a  wound  inflicted 
by  this  weapon. 

38.  giglet]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.}:    Of  obscure  origin,     a.  A  wanton  woman. 
b.  A  giddy,  laughing,  romping  girl. 

39.  Luds-Towne]  WALKER  (Vers.,  234,  and  also  Crit.,  ii,  140):  Such  combi- 
nations as  Lud's  Town  (compare  Newtown,  &c.),  Heaven's  Gate  (compare  Kirkgate, 
Ludgate,  &c.) ,  and  others  of  the  same  kind  are  pronounced  as  if  they  were  single 
words,  with  the  accent  on  the  first  syllable.     [See  also  'Lud's  Town,'  IV,  ii,  135; 
V,  v,  567.     Also  'Swannes-nest,'  III,  iv,  158;  and  Heaven's  gate,  II,  iii,  22.] — 
HOLINSHED  (Hist,  of  England,  Bk  III,  p.  23):    'After  the  decesse  of  the  same 
Helie,  his  eldest  son  Lud  began  his  reigne,  in  the  yeere  after  the  creation  of  the 
world  3805,  after  the  building  of  the  citie  of  Rome  679,  before  the  comming  of 
Christ  72,  and  before  the  Romanes  entred  Britaine  19  yeeres.    This  Lud  proued 
a  right  worthie  prince,  ammending  the  lawes  of  the  realme.  .  .  .  but  speciallie  he 
delited  most  to  beautifie  and  inlarge  with  buildings  the  citie  of  Troinount  which 


ACT  in,  sc.  i.]  CYMBELINE  175 

And  Britaines  ftrut  with  Courage.  40 

Clot.  Come,  there's  no  more  Tribute  to  be  paid  :  our 
Kingdome  is  flronger  then  it  was  at  that  time  :  and  (as  I 
faid)  there  is  no  mo  fuch  Cczfars,  other  of  them  may  haue 
crook'd  Nofes,  but  to  owe  fuch  ftraite  Armes,  none. 

Cym.    Son,  let  your  Mother  end.  45 

Clot.  We  haue  yet  many  among  vs,  can  gripe  as  hard 
as  Cajfibulan,  I  doe  not  fay  I  am  one  :  but  I  haue  a  hand. 
Why  Tribute.^  Why  fhould  we  pay  Tribute  ?  If  Ccefar 
can  hide  the  Sun  from  vs  with  a  Blanket,or  put  the  Moon 
in  his  pocket,  we  will  pay  him  Tribute  for  light:  elfe  Sir,  50 

40.  Britaines]  Britons  Theob.  ii.  et         Mai.  Sta.  Sing.  Ktly,  Cam. 

seq.  44.  owe]   own   Pope,   Theob.   Warb. 

41.  paid:]  paid?  F2.    paid.  Rowe,-f,         Johns.  Var.  '73,  '78. 

Coll.  46-51.  Six    lines    of    verse,    ending: 

41-44.  Five  lines  of  verse,  ending:  hard. ..one:. ..pay      Tribute?. ..Blanket,... 

paid:. .. time:. ..Casars,... but. ..none.  Ktly.  Tribute... now.  Ktly. 

43.  mo]  moe  Glo.  Cam.  woreFf  etcet.  47.  Caflibulan,]       Caffibelan,       Ff, 

44.  crook'd]  crooked  Var.  '03,  '13,  '21,  Ro\ve,  Pope.  Cassibelan;  Theob.  etcet. 

he  compassed  with  a  strong  wall  made  of  lime  and  stone,  .  .  .  and  in  the  west 
part  of  the  same  he  erected  a  strong  gate,  which  he  commanded  to  be  called  after 
his  name,  Luds  gate,  and  so  vnto  this  daie  it  is  called  Ludgate,  (s)  onelie  drowned 
in  pronunciation  of  the  word,  ...  he  builded  for  himself e  not  farre  from  the 
said  gate  a  fine  palace,  which  is  the  bishop  of  Londons  palace  beside  Paules  at  this 
daie,  as  some  thinke.  ...  By  reason  that  King  Lud  so  much  esteemed  that 
citie  before  all  other  of  his  realme,  .  .  .  and  continuallie  in  manner  remained 
there,  the  name  was  changed,  so  that  it  was  called  Caerlud,  that  is  to  saie,  Luds 
towne:  and  after  by  corruption  of  speech  it  was  named  London.'  [This  deriva- 
tion of  London  from  Luds-town  does  not  satisfy  Richard  Verstegan  (whose  English 
name  was  Richard  Rowlands,  according  to  the  D.  N.  B.,  wherefrom  we  also  learn 
that  he  was  a  scholar  of  note  and  an  early  student  of  Anglo-Saxon).  In  his  Resti- 
tution of  Decayed  Intelligence  (p.  134)  he  thus  argues:  'As  touching  the  name  of  our 
most  ancient  chief  and  famous  citie,  it  could  neuer  of  Luds-town  take  the  name 
of  London,  because  it  had  neuer  anciently  the  name  of  Luds-town,  neither  could  it, 
for  that  town  is  not  a  britifh,  but  a  Saxon  woord,  but  yf  it  took  any  appellation 
after  king  Lud  it  mull  then  haue  bin  called  Caer-lud  &  not  Luds-town,  but  con- 
fidering  of  how  litle  credit  the  relations  of  Ge/rey  of  Monmouth  are,  who  from  Lud 
doth  deryue  it,  it  may  rather  bee  thought  that  hee  hath  imagyned  this  name  to 
haue  come  from  king  Lud  because  of  some  nearness  of  found,  for  our  Saxon  ances- 
ters  hauing  diuers  ages  before  Geffrey  was  borne,  called  it  by  the  name  of  London, 
he  not  knowing  from  whence  it  came,  might  ftraight  imagin  it  to  haue  come  from 
Lud  &  therefore  ought  to  bee  Caer-Lud,  or  Luds-town,  as  after  him  others  called  it, 
&  fome  alfo  of  the  name  of  London,  in  britifh  found  made  it  L'hundain,  both 
appellations  as  I  am  perf waded,  beeing  of  the  britans,  firft  taken  vp  and  vfed  after 
the  Saxons  had  giuen  it  the  name  of  London.' — ED.] 
50.  Sir  ]  DOWDEN:  Cloten  addresses  the  King. 


76 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF 


[ACT  in,  sc.  i. 


no  more  Tribute,  pray  you  now. 

Cym.     You  muft  know, 
Till  the  iniurious  Romans,  did  extort 
This  Tribute  from  vs,  we  were  free.     Cczfars  Ambition, 
Which  fwell'd  fo  much,  that  it  did  almoft  ftretch 
The  fides  o'th'World,againft  all  colour  heere, 
Did  put  the  yoake  vpon's ;  which  to  fhake  off 
Becomes  a  warlike  people,  whom  we  reckon 
Our  felues  to  be,  we  do.     Say  then  to  Cafar, 


55 


59 


52.  Cym.]  Queen.  Elze  (p.  310). 

53.  Romans,]  F2F3.     Roman  Theob. 
ii,  Warb.  Johns.  Varr.  Ran.     Romans 
F4  et  cet. 

54.  Tribute]  Om.  Vaun. 

from  vs]  Om.  Han.  front's 
Walker,  Dyce  ii,  iii. 

free.]  Ff,  Rowe,+.  free:  Cap. 
et  seq. 

56.  The  ft,des]  To  th'  sides  Daniel. 
o'th']  o'the  Cap.  et  seq. 

colour  heere,]  F2.  colour  here, 
F3F4,  Rowe.  colour  here  Pope,  Han.  Glo. 
Cam.  colour,  here  Theob.  et  cet. 

57.  vpon's]  Ff,  Rowe,+,  Dyce,  Sta. 
Glo.  Cam.    upon  its  Cap.  et  cet. 

58.  59.  w/ww...Caefar,]  Ff.    whom  we 
reckon  Ourselves  to  be:  we  do.    Say  then 
to  Caesar,  Rowe,  Cap.  Var.  '73,  '78,  '85, 


Ran,  Eel.  (which  we  reckon  Our  selves  to 
be)  to  do.  Say  then  to  Caesar,  Pope, 
Theob.  Warb.  such  as  we  Reckon  our- 
selves to  be.  Say  then  to  Caesar,  Han. 
which  we  reckon  Ourselves  to  be.  We  do. 
Say  then  to  Caesar,  Johns,  whom  we 
reckon  Ourselves  to  be.  We  do  say,  then, 
to  Caesar,  Mai.  Steev.  Varr.  Knt,  Coll. 
i,  Sing.  Ktly,  Wh.  i,  Ingl.  ii.  whom 
we  reckon  Ourselves  to  be.  Clo.  We  do. 
Cym.  Say  then  to  Caesar,  Coll,  ii.  iii. 
(MS.),  Dyce,  Wh.  ii.  whom  we  reckon 
Ourselves  to  be.  Say  then,  we  do,  to 
Caesar.  Sta.  whom  we  reckon  Ourselves 
to  be.  Clot,  and  Lords.  We  do.  Cym. 
Say  then  to  Caesar,  Glo.  Cam.  whom 
we  reckon  Ourselves  to  be.  We  do! 
say  then  to  Qesar,  Ingl.  i. 


53.  iniurious]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.  2.):  Wilfully  hurtful  or  offensive  in  language; 
contumelious,  insulting.  'Call  me  their  traitor!  Thou  injurious  tribune!' — Cor. 
Ill,  iii,  69.  [See  'Thou  iniurious  Theefe,'  IV,  ii,  117,  post.] 

56.  against  all  colour]  JOHNSON:    Without  any  pretence  of  right. 

58,  59.  whom  we  reckon  Our  selues  to  be,  we  do.  Say  then]  COLLIER 
(Notes,  etc.,  p.  516):  The  clumsy  contrivance  of  making  Cymbeline  use  the 
expression  ['we  do.  Say  then']  has  proceeded  from  a  blunder  on  the  part  of  the 
copyist,  who  made  one  of  Cloten's  impertinent  interjections  a  portion  of  the 
speech  of  Cymbeline.  This  part  of  the  dialogue  in  the  MS.  is  divided  as  follows: 
Cymbeline  ends, — 'whom  we  reckon  Ourselves  to  be.  Cloten.  We  do.  Cym.  Say 
then,  to  Caesar,'  etc.  This  interruption  by  Cloten  is  most  consistent  with  his 
character  and  conduct,  and  we  have  no  doubt  such  was  the  mode  in  which  the  line 
was  distributed,  before  the  corruption  crept  into  the  early  editions.  [This  note 
Collier  repeated  substantially  in  his  edition,  adding  in  conclusion  that  'it  is  quite 
in  character  for  Cloten  to  interpose  his  "We  do"  just  after  Cymbeline  has  de- 
clared that  the  Britons  reckon  themselves  to  be  a  warlike  people.'] — DYCE  at 
once  adopted  this  reading,  and  (what  is  remarkable)  adhered  to  it  through  his 
three  editions. — WHITE,  in  his  Shakespeare 's  Scholar,  asserted  that  'there  cannot 
be  a  doubt  that  this  [Collier's  reading]  is  the  proper  distribution  of  the  text.' 
Six  years  later,  in  his  ed.  i,  he  pronounced  it  'very  plausible,'  and  added,  'But  the 


ACT  in,  sc.  i.]  CYMBELINE  177 

Our  Anceftor  was  that  Mulmutius,  which  60 

60.  which]  who  Pope,  Theob.  Han.  Warb. 

emphatic  form,  "We  do  say,"  etc.,  is  specially  appropriate  here  in  the  mouth  of 
Cymbeline;  and  the  original  text  cannot  be  safely  disturbed.  He  'disturbed'  it, 
however,  in  his  ed.  ii,  and  silently  adopted  Collier's  reading. — STAUNTON  ac- 
knowledged that  the  reading  is  'ingenious,'  'It  is  pleasant,'  he  says,  'and  gener- 
ally safe  to  agree  with  Mr  Dyce;  but  we  cannot  help  thinking  the  words  in  question 
["We  do"]  belong  to  the  King's  speech,  but  were  transposed  through  the  negli- 
gence of  transcriber  or  compositor.'  Staunton's  own  reading,  which  differs  from 
all  others  (see  Text.  Notes),  Dyce  condemned  as  'not  happy.'  The  CAMBRIDGE 
EDITORS,  in  the  Globe  edition,  to  justify,  I  suppose,  the  plural  'we/  give  the  ex- 
clamation 'We  do'  to  'Cloten  and  Lords.' — W.  W.LLOYD  (N.  6"  Qu.,  VII,  ii,  24, 
1886),  after  reviewing  the  various  readings,  says,  'It  is  agreeable  for  once  to  get 
back  to  the  dear  corrupt  old  Folio,  and  find  that  the  editors  might  have  spared 
themselves  their  trouble  in  tinkering.  The  phrase,  "Whom  we  reckon  ourselves 
to  be,  we  do,"  is  but  a  form  of  emphatic  pleonasm,  which  continues  familiar  enough 
colloquially.  This  I  believe  to  be  the  true  explanation,  I  do;  the  critics  mistake  if 
they  think  otherwise,  they  do;  though  I  am  well  aware  that  they  reckon  themselves 
sometimes  infallible,  they  do.'  This  light  and  airy  treatment  of  the  question 
did  not  please  Dr  BR.  NICHOLSON,  who  (A7.  £r  Qu.,  VII,  ii,  164)  replied,  'Quite 
allowing  that  ive  do  may  be  taken  as  a  pleonasm,  I  would  say  that  it  is  a  horribly 
sounding  one,  and  an  unpleasant  vulgarism.  One  can,  I  think,  be  safely  challenged 
to  find  such  a  phrasing  in  any  classic  of  that  day,  or  even  in  any  cultivated  writer. 
Can  Mr  Watkiss  Lloyd  read  over  his  imitations  of  this  would-be  pleonasm  without 
first,  laughter,  and  then  the  feeling  that  it  is  unaccustomed  and  strange  English? 
Dr  Johnson's  change  of  the  comma  to  a  period  has,  I  take  it,  this  effect, — it  makes 
"we  do"  equivalent  to  "we  do  [shake  off  the  yoke]"  (line  57).  This  it  is  clear 
gives  excellent  sense;  but  I  must  say  that — perhaps  from  being  more  accustomed 
to  it — I  prefer  Malone's  "we  do  say."  Nicholson's  challenge  is  far-sweeping 
and  bestirs  the  memory.  Dickens  may  not  be  a  classic,  but  he  can  hardly  be 
called  an  uncultivated  writer,  and,  I  think,  on  one  occasion,  in  Pickwick,  Master 
Tommy  Bardell  says,  'I'm  going  too,  I  am!' 

As  for  the  reading  of  Collier's  MS.  annotator, — it  seems  judicious;  it  breaks  a 
long  monologue,  and  is  possibly  in  harmony  with  a  new  and  unexpected  phase 
of  Cloten's  character.  More  compunction  might  be  felt  in  deserting  the  Folio  if 
there  were  traces  of  Shakespeare's  hand  in  the  scene,  which  barely  rises,  if  at  all, 
above  mediocrity, — so  it  seems  to  me. — ED. 

60.  Mulmutius]  BOSWELL-STONE  (p.  14):  Among  the  great  deeds  of  Mulmutius 
there  are  recorded:  'He  also  made  manie  good  lawes,  which  were  long  after  vsed, 
called  Mulmucius  lawes,  turned  out  of  the  British  speech  into  Latine  by  Gildas 
Priscus,  and  long  after  translated  out  of  latine  into  english  by  Alfred  King  of 
England,  and  mingled  in  his  statues.  .  .  .  After  he  had  established  his  land,  and 
set  his  Britains  in  good  and  conuenient  order,  he  ordeined  him  by  the  aduise  of  his 
lords  a  crowne  of  gold,  &  caused  himselfe  with  great  solemnitie  to  be  crowned, 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  pagan  lawes  then  in  vse:  &  bicause  he  was  the  first 
that  bare  a  crowne  heere  in  Britaine,  after  the  opinion  of  some  writers,  he  is  named 
the  first  King  of  Britaine,  and  all  the  other  before  rehearsed  are  named  rulers, 
dukes,  or  gouernors.' — Holinshed,  i,  Hist,  of  Eng.,  15/2/34. 

12 


TRACED  IE  OF 


[ACT  in,  sc.  i. 


Ordain'd  our  Lawes,  whofe  vfe  the  Sword  of  Cczfar  6 1 

Hath  too  much  mangled  ;  whofe  repayre,  and  franchife, 

Shall  (by  the  power  we  hold)  be  our  good  deed, 

Tho  Rome  be  therfore  angry .  Mulmutius  made  our  lawes 

Who  was  the  firft  of  Britaine,  which  did  put  65 

His  browes  within  a  golden  Crowne,and  call'd 

Himfelfe  a  King. 

Luc.     I  am  forry  Gymbeline, 
That  I  am  to  pronounce  Auguftus  Ccefar 

(Cczfar,  that  hath  moe  Kings  his  Seruants,  then  70 

Thy  felfe  Domefticke  Officers)  thine  Enemy  : 
Receyue  it  from  me  then.     Warre,  and  Confufion 
In  C(zfars  name  pronounce  I  '  gainft  thee  :  Looke 
For  fury,  not  to  be  resitted.     Thus  defide, 
I  thanke  thee  for  my  felfe.  75 


61.  Lawes,]  Ff,  Rowe,+,  Dyce,  Sta. 
Glo.  Cam.  Laws;  Cap.  et  cet. 

61-64.  whofe  vfe. ..angry]  In  paren- 
theses, Steev.  Varr.  Knt. 

63.  Shall  (by. ..hold)}  Ff.     Shalt  by... 
hold     Rowe,    Pope,      shall,    by...  hold, 
Theob.  et  seq. 

64.  Mulmutius. ..lawes]     That     Mal- 
mutius    Pope,    Theob.     Han.    Warb. 
Malmutius  Steev.  Var.  '03,  '13. 

68.  /  am]  Fm  Pope,+,  Dyce  ii,  iii. 


69.  Auguftus]  Auguctus  F2. 

70,  71.  (Caefar  ...  Officers)}    Caesar... 
officers,  Rowe,  Johns. 

70.  moe]  Cam.     more  Ff  et  cet. 

71.  Enemy:]    Enemy?    F2.      Enemy. 
F3F4,  Rowe,  +  ,  Coll.  ' 

72.  then.]  then:  Cap.  et  seq. 
Warre,  and  Confufion]  Ff,  Rowe. 

War  and  confusion  Pope,  +  ,  Dyce,  Glo. 
Cam.    War,  and  confusion,  Cap.  et  cet. 
74.  to  be]  Om.  Vaun. 


64.  made  our  lawes]  STEEVENS:  I  have  not  scrupled  to  drop  these  words;  nor 
can  suppose  our  readers  will  discover  that  the  omission  has  created  the  smallest 
chasm  in  our  author's  sense  or  measure.  The  length  of  the  parenthetical  words 
(which  were  not  then  considered  as  such,  or  enclosed,  as  at  present,  [see  Text. 
Notes.},  in  a  parenthesis)  was  the  source  of  the  interpolation.  Read  the  passage 
without  them,  and  the  whole  is  clear:  'Mulmutius,  who  was  the  first  of  Britain,' 
etc. — KNIGHT'S  patience  gives  out  occasionally  over  the  freedom  with  which 
Steevens  deals  with  Shakespeare's  text;  'he  walks  amidst  the  luxurious  growth  of 
Shakespeare's  versification,'  says  Knight,  'like  a  gardener  who  has  predetermined 
to  have  no  shoot  above  ten  inches  long  in  the  whole  parterre.'  'Is  it  not  evident 
that  the  oratorical  construction  of  the  sentence  requires  this  repetition,  after  the 
long  parenthesis  which  occurs  after  the  first  mention  of  Malmutius?  The  skill 
of  Shakespeare  is  shown  in  repeating  the  idea,  without  repeating  precisely  the 
same  words;  of  which  skill'  there  is  a  'signal  example'  in  Love's  Lab.  Lost:  'For 
when  would  you  my  Lord,  or  you,  or  you,'  etc.,  IV,  iii,  316.  [This  line  is  repeated 
as  line  339;  it  is  an  unfortunate  reference  for  Knight;  it  is  not  a  repetition  of  'the 
idea  without  repeating  the  same  words,'  it  is  a  repetition  of  the  identical  words.] — • 
STAUNTON:  This,  with  the  next  three  lines,  was  perhaps  either  a  portion  of  the 
old  play  upon  which  Shakespeare  founded  his  'Cymbeline,'  or  of  his  own  first 
sketch,  and  were  intended  to  be  superseded  by  the  previous  clause,  [line  60]. 


ACT  in,  sc.  i.]  CYMBELINE 

Cj'in.     Thou  art  welcome  Caius,  76 

Thy  Ccefar  Knighted  me  ;  my  youth  I  fpent 
Much  vnder  him  ;  of  him,  I  gathered  Honour, 
Which  he,  to  feeke  of  me  againe,  perforce, 

Behooues  me  keepe  at  vtterance.      I  am  perfect,  80 

That  the  Pannonians  and  Dalmatians,  for 

76.  TJtou  art]  Thou'rt  Pope,-f-,  Dyce         Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam.    as  he  seeks  Han. 
ii,  iii.  him  to  seek  Eccles  conj.     whoso  seek 

Caius,]  Caius;  Theob.-K    Caius.         Vaun. 
Cap.  et  seq.  80.  keepe]  keep't  Han. 

79.  he,  to  feeke]  he  to  seek  Pope,  +  ,  vtterance]  variance  Pope. 

77,  78.  Thy  Caesar  Knighted  me,  etc.]  See  Holinshed,  III,  i,  2. 

80.  at  vtterance]  THEOBALD:    Holinshed  tells  us   that  at   the   Coronation  of 
Richard  III,  Sir  Robert  Dimock,  the  Champion,  made  proclamation:    'Whoever 
shall  say  that  King  Richard  is  not  lawful  King,  I  will  fight  with  him  at  the  utter- 
ance,' i.  e.,  to  the  hazard  of  death. — STEEVENS:   That  is,  to  keep  at  the  extremity 
of  defiance. — M ALONE:    So  in  Macbeth:    'come,  fate,  into  the  list,  And  champion 
me  to  the  utterance.' — III,  i,  72. — WHITE  (ed.  i.):   That  is,  he  attempting  to  take 
away  by  force  the  honor  which  he  gave  me,  it  behooves  me  to  keep  it  to  the  utter- 
most.— HUDSON  :   A  very  elliptical  passage.    The  meaning  appears  to  be,  '  Of  him 
I  gather'd  honour;  which,  he  being  now  about  to  force  it  away  from  me,  7  am 
bound  to  maintain  to  the  last  extremity.'    'At  utterance'  is  to  the  uttermost  defiance. 
[To  this  unanimity  of  interpretation,  Ingleby,  among  editors,  offers  the  only  excep- 
tion in  the  following  note:  '"at  utterance"    =  ready  to  be  put  out,  or  staked,  like 
money  at  interest,  and,  therefore,  ready  to  be  championed  and  fought  for.     Cf. 
A  Paste  with  a  Packet  of  Mad  Letters,  Book  II,  No.  43. — Nicholas  Breton,  1637 
(Grosart,  II,  p.  45) :   "Usurers  are  halfe  mad  for  lack  of  utterance  of  their  money." 
The  phrase,  which  admits  of  no  doubt,  has  been  confounded  by  Steevens  and  Malone 
with  a  very  different  "epithet  of  war,"  viz.,  "to  the  utterance,"  which  is  a  transla- 
tion of  the  French  a  entrance.'    This  note  is,  unhappily,  too  brief.    Had  the  critic 
only  explained  one  or  two  points,  he  might  have  gained  adherents.    It  would  be 
well  to  know  how  money  at  interest  can  be  more  readily  fought  for  than  money 
in  bank.  Again,  the  similarity  is  not  quite  clear  between  a  usurer  half  mad  because 
his  money  is  not  in  circulation  and  a  knight  who  had  gathered  honour  which  it  be- 
hooved him  to  keep.    In  truth,  it  seems  that  it  is  Ingleby,  and  not  '  Steevens  and 
Malone, '  who  has  misinterpreted  the  phrase.    Breton  is  not  needed  as  an  authority; 
at  this  day  we  speak  of  'uttering  counterfeit  money,'  and  a  man  is  condemned  for 
its  'utterance.' — ED.] — Under  'utterance,'  WHITNEY  (Cent.  Diet.)  gives  the  defini- 
tion:   'A  putting  forth,  disposal  by  sale  or  otherwise,  circulation.    "What  of  our 
commodities  have  most  vtterance  there,  and  what  prices  will  be  given  for  them?" 

— Hakluyt,  Voyages,  i,  300.  "  But  the  English  have  so  ill  utterance  for  their  warm 
clothes  in  these  hot  countries." — Sandys,  Travailles,  p.  95.'  Here  we  have  'utter- 
ance' whereto  the  quotation  from  Breton  is  appropriate,  but  in  this  connection 
I  doubt  that  'at  utterance'  can  ever  have  been  used. — ED.] 

80.  I  am  perfect]  STAUNTON:    That  is,  I  am  well  assured. 

81.  Pannonians     and     Dalmatians]     THEOBALD:     This      circumstance      is 
again  repeated  by  a  Roman  Senator,  in  this  Act,  Sc.  viii,  line  5.    From  this  par- 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  in,  sc.  i. 

Their  Liberties  are  now  in  Armes  :  a  Prefident  82 

Which  not  to  reade,  would  fhew  the  Britaines  cold  : 
So  Ccefar  fhall  not  finde  them. 

Luc.     Let  proofe  fpeake.  85 

Oot.     His  Maiefty  biddes  you  welcome .       Make  pa- 

82.  Prefident]  Precedent  F4  et  seq.  86-91.  Seven  lines  of  verse,  ending: 

83.  Britaines]    F2.      Britains    F3F4,         with  vs. ..seek  vs. ..finde  vs...bcate  vs. ..fall 
Rowe,  Pope,  Theob.  i,  Cap.     Britons        in... you... end.  Ktly. 

Theob.  ii.  et  cet. 

ticularity  we  may  precisely  fix  the  suppos'd  date  of  this  War  on  Britaine,  for  the 
recovery  of  tribute  in  arrear  to  Rome;  and,  at  one  view,  see  how  our  Author  has 
jumbled  facts  against  the  known  tenour  of  Chronology.  In  the  tenth  year  after 
the  assassination  of  Julius  Caesar  (Anno  U.  C.  719)  Augustus  had  a  design  of  mak- 
ing a  descent  on  Britaine:  but  was  diverted  from  it  by  an  insurrection  of  the  Pan- 
nonians  and  Dalmatians,  in  order  to  shake  off  their  subjection  to  Rome.  Now  this 
period  of  time  was  coincident  with  the  i3th  year  of  Tenantius's  reign,  who  was  the 
father  of  Cymbeline:  and  Tenantius  reign'd  9  years  after  this.  Again,  we  find,  from 
the  very  opening  of  our  play,  that  Cymbeline  had  been  at  least  23  years  on  the 
throne:  for  it  was  twenty  years  since  his  two  sons  were  stoln,  and  the  eldest  of 
them  then  was  at  least  3  years  old.  Now  the  23rd  year  of  Cymbeline  falls  in  with 
the  42nd  of  Augustus,  the  very  year  in  which  Christ  was  born.  So  that  our  Author 
has  confusedly  blended  facts  at  32  years  distance  from  each  other.  Whether  he  was 
aware  of,  or  neglected,  this  discordance  in  time,  it  has  contributed  to  another 
absurdity.  It  is  said  more  than  once  in  our  play,  'That  the  remembrance  of  the 
Romans  is  yet  fresh  in  the  Britains'  Grief,'  i.  e.,  that  they  still  felt  the  smart  of  their 
overthrow.  Now  Julius  Caesar  subdued  Britaine,  n  years  before  his  assassination, 
in  the  year  of  Rome  698.  This  war  on  Cymbeline  cannot  be  before  the  42nd  year 
of  Augustus:  (U.  C.  751)  so  that  here  is  an  interval  of  53  years,  a  time  sufficient  to 
erase  the  memory  of  the  most  dreadful  enemy;  especially  in  a  people  who  are  boast- 
ing of  the  strength  they  have  acquir'd  since  their  defeat. — HOLINSHED  (Third 
Booke,  the  historic  of  England,  p.  32):  But  here  receiuing  aduertisements  that  the 
Pannonians,  which  inhabited  the  countrie  now  called  Hungarie,  and  the  Dalmatians 
whome  now  we  call  Saluons  had  rebelled,  he  thought  it  best  first  to  subdue  those 
rebells  neere  home,  rather  than  to  seeke  new  countries,  and  leaue  such  in  hazard 
whereof  he  had  present  possession,  and  so  turning  his  power  against  the  Pannonians 
and  Dalmatians,  he  left  off  for  a  time  the  warres  of  Britain, — whereby  the  land 
remained  without  feare  of  anie  inuasion  to  be  made  by  the  Romans,  till  the  yeare 
after  the  building  of  the  citie  of  Rome  725,  and  about  the  19  yeare  of  King  Theo- 
mantius  reigne,  that  Augustus  with  an  armie  departed  once  againe  from  Rome  to 
pass  ouer  into  Britaine,  there  to  make  warre.  .  .  .  But  whether  this  controuersie 
which  appeareth  to  fall  forth  betwixt  the  Britains  and  Augustus,  was  occasioned  by 
Kymbeline,  or  some  other  prince  of  the  Britains,  I  haue  not  to  auouch:  for  that  by 
our  writers  it  is  reported,  that  Kymbeline  being  brought  vp  in  Rome,  &  knighted 
in  the  court  of  Augustus,  euer  shewed  himselfe  a  friend  to  the  Romans,  &  chiefiie 
was  loth  to  breake  with  them,  because  the  youth  of  the  Britaine  nation  should  not 
be  depriued  of  the  benefit  to  be  trained  and  brought  vp  among  the  Romans,  whereby 
they  might  learne  both  to  behaue  themselues  like  ciuill  men,  and  to  atteine  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  feats  of  warre. 


ACT    III,  SC.  ii.] 


CYMBELINE 


ftime  with  vs,  a  day  or  two,  or  longer  :  if  you  feek  vs  af-         87 
terwards  in  other  tearmes,  you   fhall  finde  vs  in  our  Salt- 
water-Girdle :  if  you  beate  vs  out  of  it,  it  is  yours  :  if  you 
fall  in  the  aduenture,  our  Crowes  fhall  fare  the  better  for         90 
you  :  and  there's  an  end. 

Luc.     So  fir. 

Cym.     I     know  your  M afters  pleafure,  and  he  mine  : 
All  the  Remaine,  is  welcome.  Exeunt.         94 

Scena  Secunda. 


Enter  Pifanio  reading  of  a  Letter. 
Pif.    How?  of  Adultery  ?    Wherefore  write  you  not 
What  Monfters  her  accufe  ?    Leonatus  : 


87.  vs,   a  day]    us   a  day   Ro\ve   et 
seq. 

88.  in  other]  on  oilier  Pope,-)-. 

88,    89.  Salt-U'atcr-Girdlc]    salt-icaler 
girdle  Rowe. 

94.  the  Remaine,    is]  the  remain    is, 
Theob.  et  seq.    that  remains—-  Daniel. 
welcome]   'Welcome.'   Glo.   Cam. 
Daniel. 

i.  The    scene    continued.      Rowe, 
Theob.     Scene  iv.  Eccles. 


Another  Room  in  the  Same.  Cap. 
2.  Pifanio]  Pifania  F2F3. 

of]  Om.  Pope  et  seq. 
4.  Monfters    her    accufe}    Ff,    Rowe, 
Johns.   Varr.    Coll.   i,   iii,   Ktly.     have 
accused  her  Pope,  Theob.  Han.  Warb. 
monster's  her  accuser  Cap.  et  cet. 

accufe?     Leonatus:]   accuser,  Leo- 
natus?   Elze. 

Leonatus:]      Ff.       O     Leonatus! 
Ktly.    Leonatus!  Rowe  et  cet. 


i.  Scena  Secunda]  ECCLES:  Pisanio  has  just  received  a  letter  from  Posthumus; 
between  this  scene,  therefore,  and  that  wherein  Posthumus  speaks  the  soliloquy 
full  of  invective  against  women  so  much  time  must  be  imagined  to  pass  as  was 
sufficient  for  the  conveyance  of  the  letter  from  Rome  to  the  British  court.  The 
time  may  be  supposed  the  morning. — WYATT:  The  whole  of  this  scene,  after  the 
entrance  of  Imogen,  is  a  prolonged  example  of  tragic  irony. — DANIEL  (Sh.  Soc. 
Trans.,  1877-79,  p.  243):  DAY  6.  Cymbeline's  Palace.  Pisanio  receives  a  letter 
from  Posthumus.  Imogen  arranges  with  Pisanio  to  set  out  at  once. 

4.  Monsters  her  accuse]  MALOXE:  The  order  of  the  words,  as  well  as  the 
single  person  named  by  Pisanio  ['false  Italian'],  fully  support  [CapelTs]  emenda- 
tion.— DYCE  (Remarks,  etc.,  p.  256):  The  reading  [of  the  Ff]  must  be  wrong;  be- 
cause, in  the  first  place,  we  cannot  suppose  that  Shakespeare  would  have  em- 
ployed here  such  an  awkward  inversion  as  'her  accuse';  secondly,  because  we  have 
in  the  next  line  but  one  'What  false  Italian,'  etc.,  and,  thirdly,  because  it  leaves 
the  metre  imperfect.  [For  very  many  examples  where  final  e  and  final  er  have 
been  confounded,  see  WALKER  (Crit.,  ii,  52).] 

4.  Leonatus]  THISELTON  (p.  25):  This  is  the  only  occasion  on  which  Pisanio 
employs  'the  Sur-addition.'  It  may  be  gathered  it  was  the  more  familiar  name, 
as  between  Posthumus  and  Imogen,  from  the  signature  of  the  letter  in  I,  vii, 


l$2  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  in,  sc.  ii. 

Oh  Matter,  what  a  ftrange  infection  5 

Is  falne  into  thy  eare?  What  falfe  Italian, 

(As  poyfonous  tongu'd,as  handed )hath  preuail'd 

On  thy  too  ready  hearing  ?  Difloyall  ?  No. 

She's  punifh'd  for  her  Truth;  and  vndergoes 

More  Goddeffe-like,then  Wife-like;  fuch  Affaults  10 

As  would  take  in  fome  Vertue.    Oh  my  Mafter, 

6.  eare]  Ff.     heart  Han.  Cap.  et  seq. 

7.  (As... handed)]    Ff,     Sing.      As...  9.  Truth;]  truth,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam. 
handed,  Rowe  et  cet.  (subs.)  -undergoes]  undergoes,  Cap.  et  seq. 

poyfonous      tongu'd]      poisonous-  10.  -like,  ...  -like;]      Ff.        —like,  ... 

-tongu'd   Theob.   Warb.  Johns.    Dyce,  like,     Rowe,     Theob.     Warb.     Johns. 

Glo.  Cam.  Coll.  iii.  — like  ...  — like,   Pope,    Han.    Cap.    et 

8.  hearing?]  ear!  Pope,  Han.  seq. 

No.]    Ff.      No,    Rowe,  +  .      No:  n.  take  in]  take-in  Cap. 

when  no  doubt  of  Imogen  had  arisen  in  Posthumus's  mind,  and  from  Imogen's 
'my  Lord  Leonatus'  a  little  later  in  the  present  scene  (line  29).  .  .  .  The  letter 
in  this  scene  is  signed  'Leonatus  Posthumus,' — a  signature  which  cannot  be  so 
warm  as  the  previous  'Leonatus/  and,  likely  enough,  intended  as  an  unconscious 
indication  of  a  change  that  Posthumus  is  unable  entirely  to  suppress,  though 
Imogen,  in  her  eagerness  for  reunion,  fails  to  notice  it.  The  name  'Leonatus'  is 
here  very  appropriately  used  by  Pisanio;  they  must  be  Monsters  indeed  who  can 
by  their  slanders  bring  it  about  that  Imogen  is  thought  ill  of  by  her  Leonatus, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  the  name,  as  equivalent  to  Lion-born,  suggests  that  im- 
pulsiveness of  nature  upon  which  Pisanio  forthwith  proceeds  to  comment.  [Be  it 
remembered  that  the '  sur-addition,  Leonatus/  was  given  to  the  father  of  Posthumus.] 
6.  false  Italian]  JOSEPH  HUNTER  (ii,  293):  We  have  a  good  deal  in  this  play 
of  the  skill  of  the  Italians  in  mixing  potions.  The  opinion  of  their  great  skill  in 
the  art  of  poisoning  prevailed  in  England  in  the  time  of  Elizabeth,  and  there  was 
one  nobleman  very  near  her  person  who  lay  under  strong  suspicion  of  dealing  un- 
lawfully with  Italians  skilled  in  this  art,  when  people  saw  falling  around  him,  by 
strange  diseases,  persons  who  stood  in  the  way  of  his  ambition.  Even  the  life  of 
the  Queen  was  more  than  once,  as  was  supposed,  attempted  by  poison  prepared 
in  some  skilfull  manner  by  an  Italian.  The  author  of  the  book  entitled  Leycester's 
Common-wealth  thus  writes:  'Neither  must  you  marvaile  though  all  these  died  in 
divers  manners  of  outward  diseases,  for  this  is  the  excellency  of  the  Italian  art,  for 
which  this  Chyrurgian  and  Doctor  lulio  were  entertained  so  carefully,  who  can 
make  a  man  dye,  in  what  manner  or  shew  of  sicknesse  you  will:  by  whose  in- 
structions no  doubt  his  Lordship  [Leicester]  is  now  cunning/  etc.,  [ed.  1641,  p.  23. 
In  the  paragraph  preceeding  Hunter's  quotation  we  are  told  that  the  '  Chyrurgian/ 
whose  name  is  not  given,  'then  was  newly  come  to  my  Lord  from  Italy:  a  cunning 
man  and  sure  in  operation.'  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  remind  the  reader  that  it  is 
from  this  same  book  that  we  obtain  the  account  of  the  death  of  Amy  Robsart. — 
ED.] 

9.  vndergoes]  VAUGHAN  (p.  422):    That  is,  bears  without  yielding.    Thus  in 
The  Tempest,  'Which  rais'd  in  me  An  undergoing  stomach  to  bear  up  Against  what 
should  ensue.' — I,  ii. 

n.  take  in]  JOHNSON:   To  'take  in'  a  town  is  to  conquer  it. 


ACT    III,  SC.  ii.] 


CYMBELINE 


Thy  mind  to  her,  is  now  as  lowe,  as  were 

Thy  Fortunes.    Ho\v  ?  That  I  fhould  murther  her, 

Vpon  the  Loue,  and  Truth,  and  Vowes;  which  I 

Haue  made  to  thy  command?  I  her  ?  Her  blood? 

If  it  be  fo  ,to  do  good  feruice,  neuer 

Let  me  be  counted  feruiceable.     How  looke  I, 

That  I  mould  feeme  to  lacke  humanity, 

So  much  as  this  Fact  comes  to  ?  Doo't  r'The  Letter. 

TJiat  I  haue  fcnt  her ,  by  her  ownc  command, 

Shall  giue  thce  opportunitie.     Oh  damn'd  paper, 


183 

12 
15 


20 


12.  her,]  Ff,  Rowe.    hers  Han.  Warb. 
her  Pope  et  cet. 

13.  murther]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Theob. 
Han.    Cap.    Knt.      murder   Warb.   et 
cet. 

her,]  her?  Pope  et  seq. 

14.  Lone,  and  Truth,]  love  and  truth 
Pope,  +  ,  Glo.  Cam. 

Loue,  and. ..Vowes]   vows  of  love 
and  truth  Coll.  conj. 

Vowes;]    Ff.      vows    Glo.    Cam. 
vows,  Rowe  et  cet. 

16.  fo,]  so  Pope  et  seq. 


19.  [Reading.    Rowe    et    seq.    Om. 
Knt.  Herford. 

Doo't:  The  Letter.]  Ff,  Cap. 
Do't — the  letter  (in  italic  or  as  quota- 
tion) Rowe,  Pope,  Han.  Do't — the 
letter,  Theob.  Warb.  Johns.  Do't- 
The  Letter,  Var.  '73.  Do't:  The  letter 
Var.  '78,  et  cet. 

20.  command]  Ff,  Rowe,  Cap.    com- 
mand Pope  et  cet. 

21.  thee]  the  F4,  Rowe. 

paper,]  Ff,  Cap.     paper!  Rowe 
et  cet. 


12.  Thy  mind  to  her]  MALONE:  That  is,  thy  mind  compared  to  hers  is  now  as 
low  as  thy  condition  was  compared  to  hers. — VAUGHAN  (p.  423)  justly  corrects 
Malone:  '"her"  has  still  been  misunderstood,'  he  remarks,  'to  be  the  possessive 
with  "mind"  understood,  whereas  it  means  herself.'' 

19.  Fact]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  i.  c.):   An  evil  deed,  a  crime.    In  the  i6th 
and  1 7th  centuries  the  commonest  sense;  now  obsolete  except  in  to  confess  the  fact 
and  after,  before  the  fact.     [I  think  there  is  no  exception  in  Shakespeare  to  this 
'commonest  sense.' — ED.] 

20,  21.  That    I    haue  .  .  .  opportunitie]    MALONE:    The    words    here    read 
by  Pisanio  from  his  master's  letter  (which  is  afterwards  given  at  length  and  in 
prose)  are  not  found  there,  though  the  substance  of  them  is  contained  in  it.    This 
is  one  of  the  many  proofs  that  Shakespeare  had  no  view  to  the  publication  of  his 
pieces.    There  was  little  danger  that  such  an  inaccuracy  should  be  detected  by  the 
ear  of  the  spectator,  though  it  could  hardly  escape  an  attentive  reader. — KNIGHT 
[after  quoting  Malone's  note]:    Now,  we  would  ask,  what  can  be  more  natural,— 
what  can  be  more  truly  in  Shakespeare's  own  manner,  which  is  a  reflection  of 
nature, — than  that  a  person,  having  been  deeply  moved  by  a  letter  which  he  has 
been  reading,  should  comment  upon  the  substance  of  it  without  repeating  the  exact 
words?    The  very  commencement  of  Pisanio's  soliloquy — 'How!  of  adultery? '- 
is  an  example  of  this.    The  word  adultery  is  not  mentioned  in  the  letter  upon  which 
he  comments.  .  .  .  Really,  a  critic   putting  on  a  pair  of  spectacles  to  compare 
the  recollections  of  deep  feeling  with  the  document  that  has  stirred  that  feeling, 
as  he  would  compare  the  copy  of  an  affidavit  with  the  original,  is  a  ludicrous  exhi- 


1 84  THE   TRAGEDIE   OF  [ACT  in,  sc.  ii. 

Blacke  as  the  Inke  that's  on  thee  :  fenfeleffe  bauble,  22 

Art  thou  a  Fcedarie  for  this  A61;  and  look'ft 
So  Virgin-like  without  ?  Loe  here  fhe  comes. 

Enter  Imogen.  25 

I  am  ignorant  in  what  I  am  commanded. 

Into.     How  now  Pifanio  ? 

Pif.     Madam,  heere  is  a  Letter  from  my  Lord.  28 

22.  thee:]  Ff,   Rowe,+.     thee.   Coll.  23.  and]  F2.    thou  F3F4,  Rowe.    that 
Ktly.    thee!  Cap.  et  cet.                                Pope,  Han. 

bauble,}    bauble!   Rowe,  +  ,    Var.  25.  Enter...]  After  line  26,  Sing,  ii, 

'85.  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam. 

23.  Fcedarie}  feodary  Cap.  et  seq.  26.  I    am    ignorant}    I'm    ignorant 

Pope,-}-,  Dyce  ii,  iii. 

bition. — DYCE,  after  quoting  Malone's  note,  without  dissent,  adds:  'Mr  Knight 
has  contrived  to  persuade  himself  that  Pisanio  is  not  reading  the  letter,  but  only 
commenting  upon  its  substance.'  [Notwithstanding  Dyce's  covert  sneer  at  Knight, 
the  tendency  of  modern  comment  is,  I  think,  to  accept,  in  the  main,  Knight's 
view,  rather  than  to  accuse  Shakespeare  of  palpable  negligence.  We  must  also 
bear  in  mind  that,  except  the  personal  pronouns,  the  only  indication  in  the  Folio 
that  these  words  are  quoted  is  the  Italic  type,  and  that  our  only  authority  is  Rowe 
for  the  assertion  that  Pisanio  reads  them.  It  may  well  be  that  as  he  glances  at  the 
letter  a  second  time,  and  catches  sight  of  'Letter,'  'give  thee  opportunity,'  he 
weaves  the  very  words  into  his  own  construction  of  them,  just  as  he  changes 
the  phraseology  of  the  letter  into  'adultery'  and  'disloyal,'  and  amplifies 
the  two  words  'thy  faith'  into  'the  love,  and  truth,  and  vows  which  I  have 
made  at  thy  command.'  Any  interpretation  or  explanation  is  preferable  to  the 
thought  that  what  was  hidden  from  William  Shakespeare  was  patent  to  Edmund 
Malone. — ED.] 

23.  Fcedarie]  BRADLEY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  Fedarie):  [A  variant  of  fcedary,feudary, 
but  used  by  Shakespeare  in  a  sense  due  to  erroneous  association  with  Latin  fcedus. 
The  form  federarie,  which  would  be  a  correctly  formed  derivative  of  fcedus,  but 
occurs  only  in  a  single  passage  of  the  First  Folio  [Wint.  Tale,  II,  i,  go],  is  perhaps  a 
misprint  or  a  scholarly  correction,  as  the  usual  iorm,fedarie,  suits  the  metre  better. 
The  Second  Folio  and  most  subsequent  editors  read  foedarie-y  in  all  the  passages.] 
A  confederate,  accomplice.  'Else  let  my  brother  die,  If  not  a  fcedary,  but  only  he 
Owe  and  succeed  thy  weakness.' — Meas.for  Meas.,  II,  iv,  121;  'She's  a  traitor  and 
Camillo  is  A  federary  with  her.' — Wint.  Tale,  II,  i,  89.  [And  the  present  passage 
in  Cymbeline.  Mr  Bradley  is,  I  fear,  a  little  too  hasty  in  asserting  that '  the  Second 
Folio  and  most  subsequent  editors  read  fcedarie-y  in  all  the  passages.'  In  the 
passage  from  The  Winter's  Tale  my  copies  of  the  Second,  Third,  and  Fourth  Folios 
follow  the  First  in  reading  Federarie,  and  so  also  do  all  subsequent  editors,  save  only 
Collier,  Dyce,  and  Hudson. — ED.] 

26.  I  am  ignorant  .  .  .  commanded]  STEEVENS:  That  is,  I  am  unpractised 
in  the  art  of  murder. — JOSEPH  HUNTER  (ii,  294) :  I  do  not  take  this  line  in  the  sense 
given  to  it  in  the  notes.  It  seems  to  me  to  express,  'I  must  appear  as  if  these 
instructions  had  not  been  sent  to  me.'  [Hunter  is,  I  think,  unquestionably  right, 
and  Pisanio  himself  verifies  it  in  action. — ED.] 


ACT    111,   SC.   ii.] 


CYMBELINE 


181 


Imo.     Who,  thy  Lord  ?  That  is  my  Lord  Leonatus  ? 
Oh,  learn'd  indeed  were  that  Aftronomer 
That  knew  the  Starres,  as  I  his  Characters, 
Heel'd  lay  the  Future  open.     You  good  Gods, 
Let  what  is  heere  contain'd,  rellifh  of  Loue, 
Of  my  Lords  health,  of  his  content  :  yet  not 
That  we  two  are  afunder,  let  that  grieue  him; 
Some  griefes  are  medcinable,  that  is  one  of  them, 
For  it  doth  phyficke  Loue,  of  his  content, 


35 


37 


2g.  Who,  thy  Lord?}  Who!  thy  Lord?  35.  a/under]  a  /under  F2.     a-Junder 


Ff. 

Lord  Leonatus?]  Ff,  Rovve,  Han. 
lord  Leoanatus:  Pope,  Theob.  Warb. 
Lord  Leonatus.  Johns,  lord:  Leonatus. 
Coll.  lord, — Leonatus?  Dyce,  Ktly. 
lord,  Leonatus!  Sta.  Glo.  lord  Leo- 
natus! Cam.  lord?  Leonatus?  Cap.  et 
cet. 

30.  Aftronomer]      astrologer      Warb. 
Johns.  Var.  '73. 

34.  health,... content:]    health:. ..con- 
tent: Ff.     health, ...content;—    Theob. +  . 
health, ...content,  Rowe,  et  cet. 

34-37.  yet  not. ..Lone]  In  parentheses, 
Theob.  Pope  ii. 


36,  37.  Some.. .Loue]  In  parentheses, 
Cap.  Var.  '78,  '85,  Mai.  Ran.  Var.  '21, 
Sta. 

36.  medcinable]        medicinable       F4, 
Ro\ve,  +  ,  Var.  '73,  '78,  '85,  Coll.  Cam. 
med'cinable    Cap.    Mai.    Steev.    Varr. 
Knt,    Sing.    Dyce.    Wh.    Sta.     Ktly, 
Glo. 

that  is]  that's  Walker   (Crit.,   i, 
1 86). 

37.  Loue,]  Ff,  Rowe.     love  Pope  i. 
love)  Pope  ii,  Cap.  Var.  '78,  '85,  Ran. 
love;—    Johns,     love;)    Theob.   et   cet. 
(subs.)  ' 


29.  thy  .  .  .  my]  DOWDEX:  I  think  that  'thy'  and  'my'  are  to  be  pronounced 
with  an  emphasis — as  if  Imogen  felt  wronged  by  Posthumus  being  claimed  as 
Pisanio's  lord. 

33.  Let  .  .  .  rellish  of  Loue]  CAPELL  (p.  no):  'Let  it  relish'  must  be  car- 
ried forward,  and  prefixed  to  'of  his  content'  in  line  37.  [THEOBALD,  in  his  Shake- 
speare Restored,  endeavoured  to  make  this  same  construction  manifest  by  enclosing 
in  a  parenthesis  'yet  not  That  physicke  Loue,'  and  this  reading  was  adopted  by 
Pope  in  his  second  edition.  It  is  a  little  surprising  that  Capell  did  not  also  follow 
it;  his  comment  seems  to  imply  the  need  of  such  a  large  parenthesis,  and  yet  he 
enclosed  only  a  portion  of  lines  36  and  37.  See  Text.  Notes.] 

34,35.  content:  yet  not  That  we,  etc.]  TYRWHITT:  I  should  wish  to  read: 
'of  his  content, — yet  no;  That  we  two  are  asunder,  let  that  grieve  him!' — M. 
MASON  (p.  328):  The  passage  is  right  as  it  stands,  and  there  is  nothing  wanting  to 
make  it  clear, but  placing  a  stop  longer  than  a  comma  after  'asunder.'  The  sense 
is  this:  'Let  the  letter  bring  me  tidings  of  my  lord's  health,  and  of  his  content; 
not  of  his  content  that  we  are  asunder — let  that  circumstance  grieve  him;  but  of 
his  content  in  every  shape  but  that.'  [Mason's  interpretation  does  not  prove 
Tyrwhitt's  emendation  wrong.  The  meaning  is  not  changed. — ED.] 

36.  medcinable]  Here  used  in   an  active  sense.     See  WALKER  (Crit.,  i,  186). 

37.  it   doth   physicke    Loue]    JOHNSON:    That    is,   grief    for    absence   keeps 
love  in  health  and  vigour. — STEEVENS:  Thus,  'it  is  a  gallant  child;  one  that,  indeed, 
physicks  the  subject,  makes  old  hearts  fresh.' — Wint.  Tale,  I,  i,  40. 


!86  THE  TRACED  IE   OF  [ACT  in,  sc.  ii. 

All  but  in  that.     Good  Wax,  thy  leaue  :  bleft  be  38 

You  Bees  that  make  thefe  Lockes  of  counfaile.     Louers, 

And  men  in  dangerous  Bondes  pray  not  alike,  40 

Though  Forfey tours  you  caft  in  prifon,yet 

You  clafpe  young  Ciipids  Tables  :  good  Newes  Gods.  42 

38.  All. ..that]  In  all  but  that.  Han.  40.  alike,]  alike.  Ff,  Rowe,+.    alike; 

leaue:]  leave —  Pope,  Han.    leave.  Cap.  et  seq. 

Theob.  i,  Johns.  Coll.  Ktly,  Glo.  Cam.  41.  Forcfeytours]     F2.       Forfeitours 

leave,  Theob.  ii,  Warb.  F3F4.     forfeitures   Rowe,+.     forfeiters 

38,  39.  be  You  Bees]  be,  You  bees,  Cap.  Han.  et  cet. 

Var.  '78,  '85,  Mai.  Ran.  Steev.  Varr.  42.  Tables:]  tables.  Johns,  et  seq. 

Coll.  i,  ii,  Sing.  Neives    Gods.]    news,    Gods.    F4, 

39.  counfaile.]    F2.      counfel.  F3F4,        Rowe.    news,  gods!  Pope  et  seq. 
Rowe.    counsel!  Pope  et  seq.  [Reading.  Rowe. 

38.  39.  blest  be  You  Bees]  Capell's  text  reads  'Blest  be,  you  bees';  the  Text. 
Notes  reveal  how  very  generally  be  has  been  followed  by  subsequent  editors,  who 
never  looked,  apparently,  at  Capell's  Errata,  where  he  changed  this  reading  to 
'Blest  be  you,  bees.'    I  am  not  sure  that  this  change  is  not  for  the  better. — ED. 

39.  Lockes  of  counsaile]  That  is,  you  bees  that  make  these  locks  on  secret 
confidences  of    love, — as  in  line  59  'Loues  Counsailor'  means  Love's  confidant. 
In  The  Winter's  Tale  Leontes  reminds  Camillo  that   he  had  entrusted  him  with 
his  '  Chamber-councels,'   that  is,  with  his  private  affairs. — DOWDEN  appositely 
quotes  from  Jonson's  Cynthia's  Revels,  II,  i:     'Who's  your  doctor,  Phantaste?' 
and  Phantaste  replies,  'Nay,  that's  counsel,'  /'.  e.,  that's  a  secret.     Gifford,  in  a 
foot-note  on  this  passage,  says  that  'the  expression  is  very  common  in  this  sense,' 
and  refers  to  Massinger's  The  Duke  of  Milan,  III,  i,  where  Charles  says,  'nay,  it 
is  no  counsel,  You  may  partake  it.' — ED. 

40.  men  in  dangerous  Bondes]  Portia,  referring   to  Shylock,  asks  Antonio, 
'you  stand  within  his  danger,  do  you  not?'  where  'danger'  does  not  of  necessity 
mean  peril,  but  merely  'you  stand  within  his  debt.'     Thus  '  these  dangerous  bonds' 
here  means,  I  think,  simply  bonds  of  indebtedness,  where  peril,  though  not  ex- 
cluded, is  not  necessarily  included.      Such  bonds  contain  promises  of  repayment, 
but  these  promises  are  not  like  the  prayers  of  a  lover.    Of  course  the  bonds  bore 
seals  of  wax  (Shylock  says  to  Antonio,  'seal  me  there  a  merry  bond'),  and  if  for- 
feited, it  was  this  wax  that  cast  the  makers  into  prison,  yet  the  selfsame  wax 
clasped  in  young  Cupid's  tablets. — VERPLANCK  remarks  that  the  'seal  was  essen- 
tial to  the  bond,  though  a  signature  was  not.' — ED. 

41.  42.  Forfeytours    you    cast  .  .  .  You    claspe]    JOHNSON:    Here     seems 
to  be  some  corruption.    Opening  the  letter,  she  gives  a  benediction  to  the  bees  with 
whose  wax  it  was  sealed,  then  makes  a  reflection;  the  bees  have  no  such  grateful 
remembrance  from  men  who  have  sealed  bonds  which  put  their  liberty  in  danger, 
and  are  sent  to  prison  if  they  forfeit;  but  wax  is  not  made  terrible  to  lovers  by 
its  effect  on  debtors.    I  read,  therefore:    'Though  forfeitures  them  cast  in  prison, 
yet  We  clasp  young  Cupid's  tables.'     You  and  vm  are,  in  the  old  angular  hand, 
much  alike.     [This  note  was  not  repeated  in  the  subsequent  Variorums;  we  may 
suppose,  therefore,  that  it  was  withdrawn.] 

42.  good  Newes   Gods]  For  a   similar  adjuration,   see   'Such   a   Foe,   good 
Heauens.' — III,  vi,  29. 


ACT  in,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE 

IVflice,  and  your  Fathers  wrath  (J/iould  he  take  me  in  his         43 
Dominion}  could  not  befo  crucllto  me  ^  as  yon  :  (oil  the  dee- 
rest  of  Creatures}wonld  en  en  renew  me  with  your  eyes.    Take         45 

43, 44.  (mould. ..Dominion)]  Ff,  Sing.  you,  Knt,  Jervis.    me,  as  you,  Ff.  et  cet. 

should. ..dominion,  Rowe  et  cet.  45.  would]    would    not    Cap.    Mai. 

44.  me,  as  you:]  me,  but  you  Pope,  Steev.  Varr. 

Theob.    Warb.      me,    but    you,    Han.  euen]  Anon.  Jervis.   you  not  now 

me;  as  you,  Johns.  Var.  '73.     me,  an  Daniel. 

44,  45.  cruell  to  me,  as  you  :  .  .  .  would  euen  renew  me]  ECCLES: 
The  quaint,  affected  style  of  this  letter  may  be  accounted  for  from  the  state  of 
Posthumus's  mind,  and  the  dissimulation  which  he  thinks  it  necessary  to  practice. 
— M.  MASON  (p.  328):  This  passage,  which  is  probably  erroneous,  is  nonsense, 
unless  we  suppose  that  the  word  'as'  has  the  force  of  but.  'Your  father's  wrath 
could  not  be  so  cruel  to  me,  but  you  could  renew  me  with  your  eyes.' — MALONE: 
The  word  not  was,  I  think,  omitted  at  the  press  after  'would.'  [Capell  supplied 
it;  but  then  Malone  ignored  Capell.]  By  its  insertion  a  clear  sense  is  given. 
Justice  and  the  anger  of  your  father  .  .  .  could  not  be  so  cruel  to  me,  but  that 
you  .  .  .  -would  be  able  to  renovate  my  spirits,  etc. — KNIGHT:  This  sentence  is 
very  difficult;  but  it  does  not  appear  to  be  mended  by  the  departure  from  the  orig- 
inal reading.  ...  It  is  evident  [in  the  original]  that  the  printer  has  mistaken  the 
sense  in  his  'could  not  have  been  so  cruel  to  me,  as  you';  and  when  printers  have 
a  crotchet  as  to  the  meaning  of  a  sentence,  they  seldom  scruple  to  deviate  from  the 
copy  before  them.  The  'so'  required,  therefore,  from  them  its  parallel  conjunction 
'as.'  But  if  we  alter  a  single  letter  we  have  a  clear  meaning  without  any  forced 
construction.  An  is  often  used  familiarly  for  if  by  Shakespeare.  .  .  .  Let  us,  there- 
fore, read  the  sentence  thus:  'could  not  be  so  cruel  to  me  an  you  .  .  .  would  even 
renew  me,'  etc.  'Even'  is  here  used  in  the  old  sense  of  equally,  even-so,  and  is  op- 
posed to  'so  cruel.' — SINGER:  Posthumus  means  to  say  that  'Justice  .  .  .  could  not 
be  so  (i.  e.,  very)  cruel  to  him,  as  what  he  might  surfer  would  be  amply  compensated,' 
etc. — COLLIER  (ed.  i.):  The  change  ['would  not'],  as  Mr  Amyot  remarks,  hardly 
seems  required,  the  apparent  sense  being  that  Justice  and  the  wrath  of  Cymbeline 
could  not  do  Posthumus  any  cruelty  but  such  as  might  be  remedied  by  the  eyes  of 
Imogen.  [Collier  in  his  ed.  ii.  makes  no  comment  whatever  on  Posthumus's  letter; 
and  DYCE  merely  rehearses  a  few  of  the  emendations  that  have  been  proposed.] 
—WHITE  (ed.  i.) :  I  think  that  there  has  been  no  worse  corruption  than  a  transposi- 
tion of  '  so '  by  accident,  or,  perhaps,  sophistication,  ['  could  not  be  cruel  to  me  so  as 
you,'  etc.].  The  passage  with  this  alteration  needs  no  explanation.  Perhaps  'even' 
is  a  misprint  for  ever. — IBID  (ed.  ii.) :  This  confused  sentence  stands,  I  am  now  per- 
suaded, as  Shakespeare  wrote  it,  intending  a  comparison  between  the  power  of 
Imogen's  father's  wrath  and  her  power  to  compensate  and  restore. — STAUNTON: 
Was  it  not  intended  to  be  enigmatical? — The  COWDEN-CLARKES  :  The  phraseology 
is  purposely  obscure  and  enigmatical,  and  conveys  a  double  idea, — the  more 
obvious  one  (to  Imogen  who  is  addressed) ;  and  a  secondary  one  (perceptible  to  the 
reader  of  the  play)  '  could  not  be  as  cruel  to  me  as  you '  (in  the  supposed  wrong  she 
has  done  him  who  writes  to  her). — DEIGHTON  finds  it  difficult  to  understand  why 
these  words  should  be  intended  to  be  enigmatical,  seeing  that  the  rest  of  the  letter 
is  so  plain  in  its  meaning. — HUDSON:  Various  changes  have  been  proposed;  but 


1 88  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  HI,  sc.  ii. 

notice  that  I  am  in  Cambria  at  Milford-Hauen  :  what  your         46 
owne  Loue,  will  out  of  this  ad uifeyou,  follow.  So  he  wifhesyou 

47.  owne  Loue,]  own,  love,  Rowe  i.  47.  So]    Ff,    Pope,    Han.    Sta.    Glo. 

own  love  Rowe  ii.  et  seq.  Cam.    So,  Theob.  et  cet. 


Pope's  is  the  simplest  and  the  best.  [See  Text.  Notes.] — INGLEBY:  That  is, 
'Justice  and  your  father's  wrath,'  etc.,  are  not  capable  of  as  much  cruelty  to  me  as 
you  yourself;  for  you  can  refuse  to  meet  me.  Should  not  the  relative  who  be  under- 
stood before  'would'? — IBED  (Revised  ed.):  A  fine  example  of  the  condensed  lan- 
guage so  characteristic  of  Shakespeare,  which  may  be  matched  with  V,  v,  147,  148. 
Paraphrase:  'Justice  and  your  father's  wrath  could  not  harm  me  so  much  as  you 
would  do  me  good,  even  by  casting  your  eyes  upon  me.'  .  .  .  But  even  this  para- 
phrase does  not  fully  interpret  the  language,  for  it  is  implied  that  Imogen's  cruelty 
would  outweigh  both  the  law  and  her  father's  cruelty  if  she  refused  to  come 
and  meet  Posthumus. — VAUGHAN  (p.  425) :  I  find  a  sense  in  [the  Folio  text]  legit- 
imately derived,  to  this  effect:  If  I  were  taken  by  your  father,  justice  and  his 
wrath  would  not  have  such  power  to  torment  me '  ('  would  not  be  so  cruel  to  me ') 
'as,  if  I  were  seen  by  you,  your  eyes  would  have  power  even  to  renovate  me.'- 
THISELTON,  accepting  the  punctuation  of  the  Folio  as  a  main  reliance  in  all  cir- 
cumstances in  the  interpretation  of  the  text,  believes  that  the  colon  after  'you' 
indicated  that  'what  follows  is  of  the  nature  of  an  explanation,  or  of  an  extension, 
of  what  precedes.'  Accordingly,  he  observes  that '  the  subject  of "  would  even  renew 
me"  is  "Justice,  and  your  Father's  wrath";  and  "with  your  eyes"  is  equivalent 
to  "if  accompanied  with  the  sight  of  your  eyes."  'This,'  he  goes  on  to  say,  'is 
the  only  interpretation  of  the  text  as  it  stands  that  gives  adequate  force  to  "even." 
Imogen  has  the  opportunity  of  being  more  cruel  to  Posthumus  than  the  Law  or  her 
Father's  wrath  by  not  meeting  him  at  Milford,  for  the  harm  that  they  could  do  him 
would  not  count  if  at  the  same  time  he  could  see  Imogen  again — that  is  the  im- 
pression Posthumus  intends  to  convey.' — DOWDEN:  I  take  the  reading  of  the 
Folio  to  mean :  Justice  and  your  Father's  wrath  could  not  cause  me  to  suffer  more 
pain  than  your  eyes  would  make  amends  for  by  giving  me  even  new  life.  ...  I 
am  not  sure  we  ought  not  to  keep  the  colon  [after  '  you ']  and  interpret :  You,  dear- 
est, are,  by  being  absent,  a  greater  cruelty  to  me  than  justice  and  your  father's 
wrath  could  be;  these  (justice,  etc.)  would  even  renew  me  with  a  sight  of  you. 
[I  cannot  believe  that  there  was  in  Posthumus's  mind,  in  writing  this  dastardly 
letter,  any  other  thought  than  that  of  decoying  Imogen  to  some  remote  region  in 
order  that  Pisanio  might  kill  her;  and  for  this  remoteness  he  had  to  give  some  excuse 
such  as  fear  of  Justice,  etc.,  and  with  it  must  be  coupled  some  tender  words  of  love 
which  his  false  heart  hoped  that,  without  stopping  to  criticise  or  mistrust,  Imogen 
would  believe;  that  she  so  accepted  them  we  know  from  her  exuberant  joy.  As 
she  accepted  them,  so  must  we — be  her  father  cruel  as  he  will,  she  must  believe,  on 
his  word  that  at  the  sight  of  her  even  life  itself  would  be  renewed.  What  cared  she 
for  colons,  or  commas,  or  constructions?  A  horse  with  wings  for  her.  What  we  in 
cooler  blood  may  question,  if  we  dare,  is,  how  Posthumus,  having  lost  every  atom  of 
faith  in  the  fidelity  of  Imogen,  could  suppose  that  she  still  had  left  enough  love  for 
him  to  take  a  long  and  perilous  journey,  and,  a  King's  daughter,  with  but  one  male 
attendant,  merely  to  see,  for  a  passing  hour,  a  husband,  to  whom  she  knew  in  her 
heart  she  had  proved  unfaithful. — ED.] 


ACT    III,  SC.   ii.] 


CYMBELINE 


189 


•,  tliat  rcmaincs  loyal!  to  his  Vow,  and  vour  cncrca-         48 


fmg  in  Lone. 


Leonatus  Pofthumus  . 


Oh  for  a  Horfe  with  wings  :  Hear' ft  thou  Pifaniot 

He  is  at  Milford-Hauen  :  Read,  and  tell  me 

How  farre  'tis  thither.     If  one  of  meane  affaires 

May  plod  it  in  a  weeke,  why  may  not  I 

Glide  thither  in  a  day  ?  Then  true  Pifanio, 

Who  long' ft  like  me,  to  fee  thy  Lord;  who  long'ft 

(Oh  let  me  bate)but  not  like  me  .•  yet  long'ft 

But  in  a  fainter  kinde.    Oh  not  like  me  : 

For  mine's  beyond,  beyond  :  fay,  and  fpeake  thicke 


55 


48.  remaincs]  remanies  F2. 

48,  49.  and  your. ..in  Loue.]  F2. 
and  your  increafmg  in  Love.  F3)  Var. 
'73.  and  your  increafmg  in  Love,  F4, 
Rowe,  Pope,  (love;  Theob.  Warb. 
Johns,  love  Cap.)  and  you;  increas- 
ing in  love,  Johns,  conj.  and  your,  in- 
creasing in  love,  Tynvhitt,  Var.  '78  et 
cet. 

48.  your]  your's  Han. 

50-58.  Mnemonic  lines  Warb. 

55-58.  Who. ..beyond]  In  parentheses, 
Cap.  Varr.  Mai.  Ran.  Steev.  Varr. 


Knt,   Coll.   Sta.   (subs.) 

56.  (Oh. ..bate)]  Oh. ..bate,  Rowe. 
bate]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Theob.  i, 

Han.    Dyce,    Sta.    Glo.    Cam.      'bate 
Theob.  ii.  et  cet. 

57.  kinde.]     Ff.      kind—      Rowe,+. 
kind:  Cap.  et  seq. 

58.  beyond,    beyond:]    Ff.      beyond, 
beyond—     Rowe,+.     beyond,   beyond,) 
Cap.  Var.  '78,  '85,  Mai.  Ran.    beyond 
beyond,  Ritson,  Steev.  et  seq. 

thicke]  Ff,  Rowe  i.    thick:  Rowe 
ii,+,  Sing,    thick,  Cap.  et  cet. 


48,  49.  and  your  encreasing  in  Loue]  TYRWHITT:  We  should,  I  think, 
read  thus:  'and  your,  increasing  in  love,  Leonatus  Posthumus,' — to  make  it  plain, 
that  'your'  is  to  be  joined  in  construction  with  Leonatus,  and  not  with  'increasing'; 
and  that  the  latter  is  a  participle  present,  and  not  a  noun. — THISELTON  (p.  27): 
That  is,  your  advancement  or  prosperity  in  Love:  and  may  be  taken  either  as 
governed  by  'to'  or  as  a  second  object  to  'wishes.' 

52.  one  of  meane  affaires]  'Mean'  does  not  here  signify  low,  degraded,  but 
of  the  average,  everyday  affairs. 

56.  let  me  bate]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  Bate,  if  [aphetic  form  of  Abate]:  5. 
To  mitigate,  moderate,  assuage,  diminish. 

58.  beyond,  beyond]  RITSON:  The  comma,  hitherto  placed  after  the  first 
'beyond,'  is  improper.  The  second  is  used  as  a  substantive;  and  the  plain  sense  is, 
that  her  longing  is  further  than  beyond;  beyond  anything  that  desire  can  be  said  to 
be  beyond. — KNIGHT:  The  Scotch  have  a  saying,  'at  the  back  of  the  beyont.' 

58.  speake  thicke]  STEEVENS:  That  is,  crowd  one  word  on  another,  as  fast  as 
possible.  So:  'And  speaking  thick,  which  nature  made  his  blemish,  Became  the 
accents  of  the  valiant.' — 2  Hen.  IV:  II,  iii,  24.  [See  in  All's  Well,  where  the 
Clown  wishes  the  Countess  to  ply  him  faster  with  questions:  'O  Lord,  Sir!  Thick, 
thick,  spare  not  me.' — II,  ii,  47.  In  connection  with  the  quotation  just  given  by 
Steevens,  from  2  Henry  the  Fourth,  BERNAYS  (p.  no)  recalls  the  fact  that  Schlegel 
misunderstood  this  phrase 'to  speak  thick,'  and  translated  it  to  stutter  (stotterri); 
wherefore  all  German  actors  who  thereafter  personated  Hotspur  sedulously 


THE   TRACE  DIE  OF 


[ACT  in,  sc.  ii. 


( Loues  Counfailor  fhould  fill  the  bores  of  hearing, 
ToW {mothering  of  the  Senfe)how  farre  it  is 
To  this  fame  bleffed  Milford.     And  by'th'way 
Tell  he  how  Wales  was  made  fo  happy,  as  | 
T'inherite  fuch  a  Hauen.     But  firfb  of  all, 
How  welmay  fteale  from  hence:  and  for  the  gap 
That  we  fhall  make  in  Time,  from  our  hence-going? 
And  our  returne,  to  excufe  :  but  firft,  how  ger  hence. 


60 


59.  60.  (Loues  ...  Senje)}      Love's  ... 
sense,  Rowe,+. 

60.  TV/A']    To   M    F3F4,    Rowe,  +  . 
To  the  Cap.  et  seq. 

61-70.  Mnemonic  lines,  Warb. 

61.  Milford.}  Ff,  Rowe  i.     Milford? 
Rowe   ii,   Pope.     Milford:   Theob.    et 
cet. 

by'M]  Fa.    by  iV  F3F4,  Rowe,+ . 
by  the  Cap.  et  seq. 

62.  happy,]  happy  Dyce,  Sta.   Glo. 
Cam. 

63.  T inker ite]    Ff,    Rowe,+,    Coll. 
Dyce,    Sing.    Ktly.      To   inherit  Cap. 


et  cet. 

63.  Hauen.}  haven:  Cap.  et  seq. 

64.  we  may]  F2.    may  we  F3F4,  Rowe, 

+  . 

hence:]     Ff.       hence?     Pope,+. 

hence,  Glo. 

65.  hence-going]    hence    going    Rowe 

ii,  +- 

66.  And  our]  Till  our  Pope,  +  ,  Varr. 
Ran.  Huds.    To  our  Cap. 

to  excufe:]  to  excuse—  Rowe. 
tj  excuse—  Pope,+.  to  excuse?  Var. 
'73.  V excuse:  Dyce  ii,  iii. 

ger}  Fi. 


stuttered;  and  so  enshrined  in  popular  affection  had  this  stuttering  Harry  Percy 
become  that  it  was  only  with  difficulty  that  actors  could  be  induced  to  abandon 
what  has  been  for  so  many  years  a  favourite  and  captivating  characteristic. — • 
ED.] 

59,  60.  Loues  Counsailor  .  .  .  smothering  of  the  Sense]  CAPELL 
(p.  no):  The  justness  of  this  maxim  is  well  exemplified  by  the  speaker  herself 
in  this  speech,  if  we  consider  her  as  what  she  really  is, — her  own 'counsellor,' — that 
is,  contriver  of  expedients  to  gratify  a  desire  so  extreme  she  has  not  words  to 
express  it  by;  for  her  thoughts  are  turned  every  way;  to  going,  to  what  will  follow 
her  going,  to  the  method  and  quickness  of  it,  and  the  huddle  of  her  ideas  is  such  as 
leaves  no  time  for  correctness;  at  the  beginning  of  line  64  the  words  Tell  me  are 
wanting;  and  again  at  the  end  of  it;  in  which  sentence  'to  excuse'  must  have  the 
sense  of — what  excuse  shall  we  make;  and  'or  e'er  begot,'  the  line  after  it,  means — • 
before  the  matter  to  be  excused  has  existence. 

65,  66.  from  our  hence-going  .  .  .  how  ger  hence]  HUDSON  [reading 
'how  to  get  hence']:  As  hence  is  emphatic  here,  to  seems  fairly  required;  and  'get' 
is  evidently  in  the  same  construction  as  'excuse.'  To  be  sure,  the  insertion  of  to 
makes  the  verse  an  Alexandrine;  but  the  omission  does  not  make  it  a  pentameter. 
The  omission  was  doubtless  accidental.  The  original  also  has  'And'  instead 
of  Till.  The  correction  is  Pope's.  'And'  makes  'from'  equivalent  to  between;  a 
sense,  surely,  which  the  word  cannot  bear.  [Hudson  here  quotes  from  Coriolanus: 
'He  cannot  temperately  support  his  honours  From  where  he  should  begin  and  end.' 
II,  i,  215, — the  very  passage  which  here  Malone  also  quotes  to  prove,  and  I  think 
successfully,  that  'from'  followed  by  'and'  (in  this  passage)  means  'from  where 
he  should  begin  to  where  he  should  end.'  Here  in  Cymb.  the  meaning  is,  I  think, 
'from  our  hence-going  to  our  return.' — ED.] 


ACT  in,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE 

Why  fhould  excufe  be  borne  or  ere  begot  ?  67 

Weele  talke  of  that  heereafter.     Prythee  fpeake, 

How  many  ftore  of  Miles  may  we  well  rid 

Twixt  houre,  and  houre  ?  70 

Pif.     One  fcore  'twixt  Sun,  and  Sun, 
Madam's  enough  for  you  :  and  too  much  too. 

lino.    Why,  one  that  rode  to's  Excution  Man, 
Could  neuer  go  fo  flow :  I  haue  heard  of  Riding  wagers, 
Where  Horfes  haue  bin  nimbler  then  the  Sands  75 

67.  or  ere  begot]  F2.  Theob.  ii,  Warb.  73.  to's]   Ff,   Rowe,+,    Coll.    Dyce, 

Johns.     Cap.     Ktly,     Cam.       or    ere-  Sta.  Glo.  Cam.    to  his  Cap.  et  cet. 

-begot   Theob.   i.      or    e're  begot   F3F4.  Excution  Man,]   Fx.     Execution 

or-ere  begot  Pope,  Han.     or  e'er  begot  man,  F2.     Execution,  man,  F3F4. 

Rowe  et  cet.  74.  /  haue]   I've   Pope,+,   Dyce   ii, 

69.  Jlore]  fcore  Ff.  et  seq.  iii. 

rid]  ride  Ff.  et  seq.  Riding]  Om.  Han. 

72.  you:]  you,  Coll.  i,  ii,  Dyce,  Cam.  wagers]  Om.  Vaun. 
you:   and  ...  too.]    you:      [Aside.]  75.  bin]  been  F3F4. 

and. ..too.  Glo. 

69-71.  store  .  .  .  score]   A  good  illustration  of  the  ease  wherewith  c  and  / 
are  confounded,  which  forms  the  subject  of  an  article  in  Walker  (Crit.,  ii,  274). 

69.  may  we  well  rid]   DOWDEN:   Mr  Craig  thinks  that  'rid'  may  be  right, 
meaning   dispose  of,  clear.      The  proverbial   expression   'willingness  rids  way' 
occurs  in  3  Hen.  VI:  V,  iii,  21.    So  Peele,  Arraignment  of  Paris,  III,  [iv,  ed.  Dyce], 
'my  game  is  quick,  and  rids  a  length  of  ground.'    Cotgrave,  under  Semelle,  has  'a 
strong  foot,  and  a  light  head  rids  way  apace.' — CRAIG:   I  think  it  is  nearly  certain 
that  'rid'  is  correct.    See  Dr  Dowden's  note  [above].  .  .  .  'To  rid  way,'  i.  e.,  the 
way  (cp.  'to  devour  the  way')  of  a  runner  [qu.  of  a  gentleman  on  horseback?]  in 
2  Hen.  IV:  I,  i,  47]  appears  to  have  been  a  proverbial  expression.     It  is  found  more 
than  once  in  Cotgrave.     [There  seems  to  be  no  doubt  that  Craig  has  vindicated 
the  First  Folio.    The  meaning  of  'rid'  which  he  contends  for  is  given  by  Whitney 
(Cent.  Diet.},  and  Craigie  (N.E.D.,  s.  v.  Rid,  the  verb.  8.)  adds  other  examples  of 
'To  rid  ground  (or  space),  to  cover  ground,  to  move  ahead,  to  make  progress'; 
as  well  as  of  to  rid  way.    In  the  former,  the  earliest  example  is  the  passage  from 
Peele's  Arraignment  of  Paris  (antecedently  quoted  by  Dowden,  as  above),  1584; 
and  in  the  latter,  the  earliest  quotation  is  from  2  Hen.  VI,  1593.    It  was  not,  how- 
ever, recognised  as  a  'proverbial  expression'  by  the  printers  of  the  Second  Folio, 
nine  years  later  than  the  First  Folio. — ED.] 

70.  Twixt  houre,  and  houre]  HUDSON:   Between  the  same  hours  of  morning 
and  evening;  or  between  six  and  six,  as  between  sunrise  and  sunset,  in  the  next 
speech. — ELZE  (p.  312):    Imogen's  longing  .  .  .  would  not  have  been  satisfied 
with  such  a  slow  rate  of  travelling;  what  she  wishes  to  know  is,  how  many  score 
of  miles  she  may  ride  from  the  stroke  of  one  hour  to  that  of  the  next.      Compare 
'To  weep  'twixt  clock  and  clock.' — III,  iv,  45. 

73.  Excution]   DOWDEN:    Imogen's  words    are   touched  with  dramatic  irony. 
Is  it  not,  in  fact,  to  execution  that  she  rides? 

74.  75.  Riding  wagers,  Where  Horses,  etc.]  It  is  difficult  to  decide  whether 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  m,  sc.  ii. 

That  run  i'th'Clocks  behalfe.     But  this  is  Foolrie,  76 

76.  run]  ran  Orger.  behalf:  Cap.  et  cet. 

i'th']  Ff,Rowe,+.  z'//zeCap.etseq.  76.  Foolrie,]     Ff.      foolery,     Rowe. 

behalfe.]  FT.    behalf.  F3F4,  Rowe,  fool'ry   Pope,+,   Coll.    Ktly.     foolery: 

+  ,   Coll.    Glo.    Cam.      behalf-    Ktly.  Cap.  et  cet. 

this  refers  to  horse  racing  or  merely  pitting  one  horse  against  another.  MADDEN 
(p.  274)  evidently  accepts  the  latter.  'The  racehorse,'  he  remarks,  'is  the  only 
horse  in  whom,  and  in  whose  doings,  Shakespeare  took  no  interest,  and  the  horse- 
race is  the  only  popular  pastime  to  which  no  allusion  can  be  found  in  his  writings. 
It  is  true  that  the  Turf  and  the  thoroughbred  are  institutions  of  later  date,  for 
which  we  are  indebted  to  the  Stuarts,  not  to  the  Tudors.  .  .  .  The  impulse  to 
match  horse  against  horse  is  probably  coeval  with  the  subjugation  of  the  animal 
by  man.  .  .  .  '  A  way  our  Ancestors  had  of  making  their  Matches '  is  '  thus  de- 
scribed by  Nicholas  Cox:  "The  Wild  goose  chase  received  its  name  from  the 
manner  of  the  flight  which  is  made  by  Wild  Geese,  which  is  generally  one  after  an- 
other; so  the  two  Horses  after  the  running  of  Twelvescore  Yards  had  the  liberty 
which  horse  soever  could  get  the  leading  to  ride  what  ground  he  pleas'd:  the  hind- 
most Horse  being  bound  to  follow  him  within  a  certain  distance  agreed  on  by 
Articles,  or  else  to  be  ivhipt  up  by  the  Triers  or  Judges  which  rode  by,  and  whichever 
Horse  could  distance  the  other  won  the  Match." — Gentleman's  Recreation,  1674. 
There  is  also  a  distant  recognition  of  the  match  or  wager,  as  something  heard  of 
rather  than  seen,  [in  the  present  passage].  The  match  or  wager  between  two  horses 
is  plainly  different  from  the  race-horse,  in  which  several  competitors  strive  for  the 
mastery.  And  in  the  horse-race  Shakespeare  shows  no  interest  whatever.  It 
occupies  the  unique  position  of  a  sport  recognized  by  Bacon  and  ignored  by  Shake- 
speare.'— BLAKEWAY,  in  the  Var.  1821.  quotes  a  sentence  from  Fynes  Moryson's 
Itinerary  which  looks  much  as  though  it  referred  to  horse-racing.  Moryson  is  justi- 
fying the  'putters  out  of  five  for  one,'  and  says  he  'remembered  that  no  meane 
Lord,  and  Lords  sonnes,  and  Gentlemen  in  our  Court  had  in  like  sort  put  out 
money  vpon  a  horserace,  or  a  speedie  course  of  a  horse,  vnder  themselues,  yea 
vpon  a  iourney  on  foote.' — Part  I,  Booke  3,  Chap,  i,  p.  198;  this  happened  in 
1595.  The  phrase  'vnder  themselues'  looks  much  as  though  it  referred  to  what 
is  now  understood  as  a  horse-race.  The  Encyclopedia  Brit.  (Eleventh  ed.,  s.  v. 
Horse-racing,  p.  727)  says  that  the  first  distinct  indication  of  horse-racing  in 
England  occurs  in  Fitzstephen's  Description  of  the  City  of  London,  c.  1174. 
There  is  evidence  from  the  poems  of  Bishop  Hall  (1597)  that  racing  was  in  vogue 
in  Queen  Elizabeth's  reign,  though  apparently  not  patronised  by  her;  indeed,  it 
seems  then  to  have  gone  much  out  of  fashion.  James  I,  however,  when  he  came 
to  the  throne,  greatly  patronised  it.  The  weight  of  evidence,  is,  I  think,  in  favour 
of  the  view  that  Imogen  refers  to  horse-racing  rather  than  to  matches  between 
unmounted  horses. — ED. 

76.  That  run  i'th'Clocks  behalfe]  WARBURTON:  This  fantastical  ex- 
pression means  no  more  than  sand  in  an  hour-glass,  used  to  measure  time. — 
COLLIER  (Notes,  etc.,  p.  517)  tells  us  that  the  MS.  reads  by  half  'in  order  to  state 
how  much  faster  they  run.'  In  his  subsequent  edition,  however,  Collier  acknowl- 
edges that  he  was  '  in  error  when  he  expressed  his  approbation '  of  the  change  by  the 
MS.  'The  old  annotator  did  not  understand  the  passage,  and  we  were  here,  as  in 
a  few  other  places,  misled  by  him.'  The  phrase  means  'that  run  instead  of  the 
clock,  as  a  substitute  for  the  clock.' 


ACT  in,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE 

Go,  bid  my  Woman  faigne  a  Sickneffe,  fay  77 

She'le  home  to  her  Father  ;  and  prouide  me  prefently 

A  Riding  Suit  :  No  coftlier  then  would  fit 

A  Franklins  Hufwife.  80 

Pi/a.     Madam,  you're  befl.  confider. 

lino.    I  fee  before  me(  Man )  nor  heere,  not  heere;  82 


77.  faigne]  F2.  housewife  Rowe  ii.  et  seq. 
Sickneffe,]  Ff,  Rowe,  Theob.  i,  +  ,  81.  you're]  you'd  Pope,+- 

Cam.    sickness:  Theob.  ii.  et  cet.  confider.]  consider —  Ktly. 

78.  to  her]  /'  her  Pope,  +  .  82.  (Man)  Ff.    man;  Cap.  Ran.  Knt, 
Father;]  Father,  Rowe.  Coll.    Dyce,    Sta.    Sing.    Ktly,    Glo. 
prefently]  present  Rowe  ii.  Pope,  Cam.    Man,  Rowe  et  cet. 

Theob.  Han.  Warb.  nor  heere,  not  heere;]  nor  here  nor 

79.  Suit:]  suit,  Vaun.  here,  Pope,    nor  here,  nor  there  Heath, 

80.  Hufwife}  Houfwife  F4,   Rowe  i.  Ingl.    Nor  here,  nor  here,  Ff.  et  cet. 


80.  A  Franklins  Huswife]    JOHNSON:    A   'franklin'   is   literally  a  freeholder, 
with  a  small  estate,  neither  villain    nor   vassal.      [Imogen   probably  selects   this 
riding  suit  as   one  which,  while  respectable,  would  be  inconspicuous.     What  a 
Franklin  was  socially,  we  may  gather   with  some  probability  from  Sir  Thomas 
Overbury's  Characters:  'A  Franklin,  His  outside  is  an  ancient  Yeoman  of  England, 
though  his  inside  may  giue  armes  (with  the  best  Gentleman)  and  ne're  see  the 
Herauld.    There  is  no  truer  seruant  in  the  house  then  himselfe.    Though  he  be 
Master,  he  sayes  not  to  his  seruants,  goe  to  field,  but  let  vs  goe;  and  with  his 
owne  eye,  does  both  fatten  his  flocke,  and  set  forward  all  manner  of  husbandrie. 
Hee  is  taught  by  nature  to  bee  contented  with  a  little;  his  owne  fold  yeeld  him 
both  food  and  rayment;  hee  is  pleas'd  with  any  nourishment  God  sends,  whilest 
curious  gluttonie  ransackes,  as  it  were,  Noahs  Arke  for  food,  onely  to  feed  the  riot 
of  one  meale.    Hee  is  nere  knowne  to  goe  to  Law;  vnderstanding,  to  bee  Law-bound 
among  men,  is  like  to  be  hide  bound  among  his  beasts;  they  thriue  not  vnder  it; 
and  that  such  men  sleepe  as  vnquietly,  as  if  their  pillows  were  stuf t  with  Lawyer  pen- 
knives.   When  he  builds,  no  poore  Tennants  cottage  hinders  his  prospect;  they  are 
indeed  his  Almes-houses,  though  there  be  painted  on  them  no  such  superscrip- 
tion.   He  neuer  sits  vp  late  but  when  he  hunts  the  Badger,  the  vowed  foe  of  his 
Lambs;  nor  uses  hee  any  cruelty  but  when  he  hunts  the  Hare.  .  .  .  He  allows  of 
honest  pastime,  and  thinkes  not  the  bones  of  the  dead  anything  bruised,  or  the 
worse  for  it,  though  the  countrey  Lasses  dance  in  the  Church-yard  after  Euen-song. 
Rocke-Monday,  and  the  Wake  in  Summer,  shrouings,  the  wakeful  ketches  on 
Christmas  Eue,  the  Hoky,  or  Seed  cake,  these  he  yeerely  keepes,  yet  holds  them 
no  reliques  of  Popery.  .  .  .  Hee  is  Lord  paramount  within  himselfe,  though  he 
hold  by  neuer  so  meane  a  Tenure;  and  dyes  the  more  contentedly  (though  he  leaue 
his  heire  young)  in  regard  he  leaues  him  not  liable  to  a  couetous  Guardian.    Lastly, 
to  end  him;  hee  cares  not  when  his  end  comes,  he  needs  not  feare  his  Audit,  for  his 
Quietus  is  in  heauen.' — Sig.  04,  ed.  1627. — ED.] 

81.  you're     best    consider]    ABBOTT   (§    230):     'You'   may  represent   either 
nominative  or  dative,  but  was   almost  certainly  used  by  Shakespeare  as  nomi- 
native. 

13 


194  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  ACT  in,  sc.  ii. 

Nor  what  enfues  but  haue  a  Fog  in  them  83 

That  I  cannot  looke  through.     Away,  I  prythee, 

83.  enfues  but]  Ff,  Rowe  i.     ensues,  83.  haue]  they've  Eccles. 

but  Rowe  ii,  +  ,  Ran.  Knt,  Coll.  Dyce,  in  them]  Ff,  Han.   Coll.  ii.     in 

Sta.    Glo.    Cam.      ensues,   that   Warb.  ken,  Theob.    in  them,  Rowe  et  cet. 

ensues;  they  Ktly,  conj.     ensues;  but  84.  through]  thorough  Rowe  ii. 
Cap.  et  cet. 

82-84.  I  see  before  me  .  .  .  cannot  looke  through]  Inasmuch  as 
there  appears  to  be  no  nominative  to  'in  them/  THEOBALD  substituted  'in  ken,' 
which  means  'in  prospect,  within  sight.'  Afterwards  Imogen  'Thou  was't  within 
a  kenne.' — III,  vi,  8.  No  one  adopted  the  emendation. — WARBURTON  pensively 
remarks  of  the  Folio  text  that '  this  nonsense  is  occasioned  by  the  corrupt  reading  of 
"BUT  have  a  fog"  for  "THAT  have  a  fog";  and  then  all  is  plain.'  No  one  adopted 
the  emendation. — JOHNSON:  The  lady  says:  'I  can  see  neither  one  way  or  other, 
before  me  nor  behind  me,  but  all  the  ways  are  covered  by  an  impenetrable  fog.' 
There  are  objections  insuperable  to  all  I  can  propose,  and  since  reason  can  give 
me  no  counsel,  I  will  resolve  at  once  to  follow  my  inclination. — HEATH  (p.  479) 
believes  that  all  will  be  plain  if  we  only  put  an  interrogation  mark  after  'man' 
and  read  'nor  here,  nor  there,'  which  yields,  he  thinks,  the  following  paraphrase: 
Wouldst  thou,  man,  have  me  consider  and  distract  myself  in  the  search  of  the 
consequences  which  may  possibly  attend  the  step  I  am  about  to  take?  That  would 
be  to  very  little  purpose  indeed.  For  whatever  step  I  should  take,  whether  I  stay 
here  or  go  thither,  the  consequences  which  may  attend  either  are  all  equally  cov- 
ered with  such  a  thick  mist  of  obscurity  as  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  penetrate; 
and,  this  being  so,  it  would  be  folly  in  me  to  deliberate  further  on  the  subject. — 
CAPELL  (p.  no):  That  is,  'I  have  no  eyes,  man,  to  look  on  this  side,  or  that  side, 
or  upon  what  is  behind  me;  upon  all  these  there  is  a  fog  that  I  neither  can  nor  would 
penetrate,  and  have  neither  eye  nor  thought  that  is  directed  to  anything  else  but 
the  way  I  would  go,  the  way  "before  me";  that  I  can  see  and  that  only:  "nor 
here"  is  made  grammatical  by  substituting  for  it,  I  see  neither  here,  etc.' — M. 
MASON  (p.  329):  When  Imogen  speaks  these  words,  she  is  supposed  to  have  her 
face  turned  towards  Milford;  and  when  she  pronounces  the  words  'nor  here,  nor 
here,'  she  points  to  the  right  and  to  the  left.  This  being  premised,  the  sense  is 
evidently  this:  'I  see  clearly  the  way  before  me;  but  that  to  the  right,  that  to  the 
left,  and  that  behind  me,  are  all  covered  with  a  fog  that  I  cannot  penetrate.  There 
is  no  more,  therefore,  to  be  said,  since  there  is  no  way  accessible  but  that  to  Milford.' 
— THISELTON,  by  calling  in  aid  the  comma  after  the  first  'heere,'  which  he  informs 
us  is  'frequently  used  to  separate  sentences  in  close  connection  with  each  other'; 
and  the  semicolon  after  the  second  'heere,'  which  he  also  informs  us  is  'sometimes 
used  to  separate  clauses  or  phrases  which  balance  each  other';  and  then  by  under- 
standing neither  before  'before  me,'  about  which  he  gives  us  no  information,  is  at 
last  enabled  to  give  us  Imogen's  meaning,  which  is:  'I  see  neither  in  front  of  me, 
nor  where  I  am.  My  present  situation  and  the  Future  are  alike  for  me  full  of  im- 
penetrable fog.  Consideration  is,  therefore,  out  of  the  question.  My  only  chance 
of  escape  from  this  gloom  lies  in  the  direction  of  Milford.  For  Milford  I  must 
make  at  all  costs.'  Thiselton  concludes:  'Regard  for  the  punctuation  settles,  I 
hope,  the  interpretation  of  this  passage  once  for  all — and  that,  too,  without  im- 
peachment of  the  Folio  text.'  [The  greatest  difficulty  to  me  in  connection  with 


ACT  in,  sc.  iii.]  CYMBELINE 

Do  as  I  bid  thee  :  There's  no  more  to  fay:  85 

Acceffible  is  none  but  Mil  ford  way.  Exeunt. 


Sccna    Tertia. 


Enter  Belarius ,  Guiderius ,  and  Andragus.  2 

i.  Scena...]  Scene  n.  Rowe.     Scene        Wales.  Pope).    A  mountainous  country. 
v.  Eccl.  Cap. 

A  Forest  with  a  Cave.   Rowe.    (in  2.  Enter...]  Enter  from  a  cave,  Bel.; 

then,  Guid.  and  Arvir.  Cap. 


these  lines  is  to  understand  how  any  difficulty  can  be  found  in  them, — at  least 
since  the  days  of  Capell  and  Monk  Mason.  DYCE,  COLLIER,  WHITE,  and  STAUN- 
TON  judiciously  ignore  the  necessity  of  having  any  note  on  them  whatever. — ED.] 

86.  Milford  way]  Lady  Martin  (p.  188):  Oh,  how  I  enjoyed  acting  this  scene! 
All  had  been  so  sad  before.  What  a  burst  of  happiness,  what  play  of  loving  fancy, 
had  scope  here!  It  was  like  a  bit  of  Rosalind  in  the  forest.  The  sense  of  liberty,  of 
breathing  in  the  free  air,  and  for  a  while  escaping  from  the  trammels  of  the  Court 
and  her  persecutors  there,  that  gave  light  to  the  eyes,  and  buoyancy  to  the  step. 
Imogen  is  already,  in  imagination,  at  the  height  of  happiness,  at  that  'beyond  be- 
yond' which  brings  her  into  the  presence  of  her  banished  lord.  She  can  only  'see 
before  her';  she  can  look  neither  right  nor  left,  nor  to  aught  that  may  come  after. 
These  things  have  'a  fog'  in  them  she  cannot  look  through.  We  can  imagine  with 
what  delighted  haste  Imogen  dons  the  riding-suit  of  the  franklin's  housewife! 
Pisanio  is  barely  allowed  time  to  procure  horses.  Her  women  hurry  on  the  prep- 
arations, for,  as  we  have  heard,  they  are  all  'sworn  and  honourable';  Pisanio  has 
little  to  say  during  the  scene;  but  what  may  not  an  actor  express  by  tone,  and 
look,  and  manner?  We  know  his  grief  for  her,  his  bitter  disappointment  in  her 
husband.  These  thoughts  are  in  his  mind,  and  give  the  tone  to  his  whole  bearing. 
Had  Imogen  been  less  wrapped  up  in  her  own  happiness,  she  must  have  noticed  and 
questioned  him  about  his  strange  unwillingness  to  obey  his  master's  orders — 
wondered,  too,  at  his  showing  no  gladness  at  the  thought  of  seeing  him  whom  she 
believed  that  he, '  next  to  herself,'  most  longed  to  see  again.  But  her  eyes  are  full  of 
that  'fog'  which  obscures  everything  from  view  but  the  one  bright  spot — that 
blessed  Milford  where  her  heart  is. 

i.  Scena  Tertia]  HUNTER  (ii,  295):  There  are  few  finer  scenes  than  this, 
breathing  of  the  old  innocent  world,  and  the  thoughts  and  feelings  of  generous 
youth;  full  also  of  the  wisdom  of  age,  a  wisdom  applicable  to  the  circumstances 
in  which  all  were  placed,  but  instructive  to  men  in  whatever  state  of  society 
they  may  be.  I  should  class  it  with  the  best  of  the  scenes  in  which  Jaques  is  a 
principal  character,  with  the  Flower-scene  in  The  Winter's  Tale,  the  scene  of  Olivia 
and  Viola  in  Twelfth  Night,  and  the  moon-light  scene  in  The  Merchant  of  Venice. 
— ECCLES:  Between  the  foregoing  scene  and  the  present  I  conceive  some  part 
of  a  day,  a  night,  and  an  entire  day  and  night  to  have  intervened.  Let  us  suppose 
that  Imogen  was  employed  during  a  portion  of  the  day  to  which  the  last  scene 
belonged  in  making  the  necessary  preparations  for  her  flight,  and  that  she  took  her 


10,6  THE   TR  AGED  IE  OF  [ACT  in,  sc.  iii. 


A  goodly  day,  not  to  keepe  houfe  with  fuch,  3 

Whofe  Roofe's  as  lowe  as  ours  :  Sleepe  Boyes,this  gate 
Inftructs  you  how  t'adore  the  Heauens;  and  bowes  you  5 

To  a  mornings  holy  office.    The  Gates  of  Monarches 

3-61.  Mnemonic,  Pope.  4.  Sleepe  Boyes,]  'Sleep,  boys?  Anon. 

3.  day,  ...houfe.  ..fuch,]      Ff,      Rowe.         (1814)  ap.  Cam. 

day  .'...house.  ..such,  Pope.    day!.  ..house,  5.  how  t'adore]  F2F3,  Rowe,+,  Coll. 

...such    Theob.    Han.    Warb.    Johns.  Dyce  ii,  iii,  Sing.  Ktly.     how  '/  adore 

day...  house,...  such  Cap.  et  cet.  F4.    how  to  adore  Cap.  et  cet. 

4.  Sleepe]    F2.      Sleep    F3F4.      See,  6.  To  a]  Ff,  Rowe,  Var.   '21,  Knt, 
Rowe,+,     Slope  Vaun.      Stoop   Han.  Coll.   i,   ii,   Dyce  i,   Sta.   Sing.   Ktly, 
et  cet.  Glo.  Cam.     To  Pope  et  cet. 

The]  Om.  Pope,  +  . 

departure  from  the  palace  on  the  afternoon  of  the  same.  Her  journey  may  be 
continued  the  following  day,  attended  by  Pisanio,  who  is  her  guardian  also  during 
the  ensuing  night.  Thus  we  have  the  two  nights  of  which  she  afterwards  speaks 
as  having  '  made  the  ground  her  bed  '  —  through  an  apprehension,  we  may  reasonably 
imagine,  of  being  discovered  in  consequence  of  her  endeavouring  to  procure  a  better 
lodging.  The  time  is  early  morning  when  Belarius  and  his  young  men  are  sallying 
forth  to  pursue  the  chase.  In  the  evening  of  the  same  day  Imogen  comes  to  the 
cave,  having  parted  from  Pisanio  in  the  former  part  of  it.  —  DANIEL:  This  scene 
may  be  supposed  concurrent  with  the  preceding  scene  ii.  An  interval,  including  one 
clear  day.  Imogen  and  Pisanio  journey  into  Wales. 

3.  A  goodly  day,  etc.]  PORTER  and  CLARKE:  This  is  obviously  a  scene-setting 
speech.    It  shows  the  audience,  with  emphasis,  that  the  rear-stage  is  now  a  cave; 
and  it  may  be  noticed  that  the  Folio  stage-directions  for  Scena  Prlma  do  not  place 
that  scene  in  the  rear-stage,  but  outside;  for  Cymbeline  and  his  train  enter  at  one 
doore,  and  the  Roman  with  his  at  another.    Scena  Secunda  is  also  a  fore-stage  scene. 
Out-door  effects,  and  the  use  of  the  rear-stage  as  a  cave  in  the  woods,  are  thus 
arranged  for  the  rest  of  the  Play.     The  simple  preparation  for  this  scene,  the 
grouping  of  trees  and  bushes  around  the  rear-stage,  was  reinforced  by  such  speeches. 

4.  Sleepe]  MALONE,  in  the  Var.  1785,  conjectured  Sweet,  which  was  adopted  by 
RANN,  1789,  and  reprinted  in  successive  Variorums,  until  that  of  1821,  when  it 
disappeared,    and   may   be,    therefore,    considered    as    withdrawn.  —  THISELTON: 
The  following  extracts  from  Henry  Smith's  sermon,  A  Disswasionfrom  Pride,  and  an 
Exhortation  to  Humilitie,  are  not,  I  think,  without  interest:    'his  (/.  e.,  God's) 
Majestic  .  .  .  would  not  have  her  (i.  e.,  pride's)  favourites  come  to  Court,  unlesse 
they  hold  downe  their  Mace,  stoope  when  they  enter.    But  if  you  can  get  in  with 
Humilitie,  and  weare  the  colours  of  lowlinesse,  then  you  may  goe  boldly,  and  stand 
in  the  king's  sight,  and  step  to  his  chamber  of  presence,  and  put  up  your  petitions, 
and  come  to  honour';  'they  which  will  be  strouters  shall  not  want  flatterers  which 
will  .  .  .  say  .  .  .  that  it  becomes  them  well  to  jet  in  their  going';   'then  the  rich 
Glutton  jetted  in  purple  every  day,  but  now  the  poor  unthrift  jettes  as  brave  as  the 
Glutton';    and  'As  the  way  to  heaven  is  narrow  ...  so  the  gate  is  low,  and  he 
had  need  to  stoope  which  entreth  in  at  it.'    The  same  Sermon  has  more  than  one 
mention  of  Giants.     [According  to  the  D.  N.  B.  'silver-tongued  Smith'  died  in 

QI-] 

6.  To  a  mornings]  This  'a'  is  one  of  the  very  many  examples,  gathered  by 


ACT  in,  sc.  iii.]  CYMBELINE 

Are  Arch'd  fo  high,  that  Giants  may  iet  through  7 

And  keepe  their  impious  Turbonds  on,  without 

Good  morrow  to  the  Sun.     Haile  thou  faire  Heauen, 

We  houfe  i'th'Rocke,  yet  vfe  thee  not  fo  hardly  10 

7.  iet]  jet  Ff.    walk  Wray  ap.  Cam.  9.  Heauen,]  heav'n!  Pope  et  seq. 

8.  Turbonds]     Turbands    Ff.      Tur-  10.  i'th']  i'  the  Cap.  et  seq. 
bants  Johns,    turbans  Sing. 

WALKER  (Crit.,  i,  90),  where  this  indefinite  article  is  interpolated  and  sometimes 
omitted  in  the  First  Folio. 

6-8.  The    Gates    of  Monarches  .  .   .  Turbonds    on]    STAUNTON:    Webster 
has  happily  expressed  a  similar  idea:    'Yet  stay,  heaven  gates  are  not  so  highly 
arch'd  As  Princes'  pallaces,  they  that  enter  there  Must  go  upon  their  knees.'— 
Duchess  of  Malfi,  IV,  ii,  Qto,  1623. 

7.  may  iet  through]   STEEVENS:   That  is,  strut,  walk  proudly.    So  in  Twelfth 
Night,  Fabian  says  of  Malvolio,  'how  he  jets  under  his  advanced  plumes.' — II,  v,  36. 

— ECCLES:  'Jet'  has  been  altered  by  Hanmer  to  get.  [The  Cambridge  Editors  say 
that  'this  is  not  the  case  in  either  of  the  editions'  before  them,  nor  is  it  the  case  in 
either  of  my  editions. — ED.] 

8.  impious  Turbonds]  JOHNSON:   The  idea  of  a  giant  was,  among  the  readers 
of  romances,  who  were  almost  all  the  readers  of  those  times,  always  confounded  with 
that  of  a  Saracen. 

10.  We  house  i'th'Rocke]  J.  HILL  (Stratford  Herald,  quoted  in  Shake- 
speriana,  V,  51,  Jan.,  1888):  Upon  a  recent  visit  to  Tenby  I  was  much  impressed 
with  a  claim  which  I  found  had  been  advanced  that  the  principal  scene  in  Cymbel- 
ine,  the  cave  of  Belarius,  was  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  town.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  Shakespeare's  cave  was  in  or  near  a  wood,  and  also  near  the  main 
road  to  Milford  Haven.  Such  is  the  position  even  to  the  present  day  of  the  cave 
known  as  Hoyle's  Mouth.  An  inspection  of  the  cave  and  neighborhood  at  once  sug- 
gests the  fitness  and  probability  of  the  theory,  but  on  more  serious  examination  it  is 
surprising  how  facts  as  well  as  probabilities  confirm  the  impression.  The  high- 
road from  Tenby  to  Milford  Haven  is  one  of  great  antiquity.  It  is  one  of  the  old 
ridgeways  which  have  existed  from  the  Roman  occupation;  the  only  road,  in  fact, 
which  could  have  been  taken.  Leaving  Tenby,  it  winds  round  what  was  almost  the 
sea  shore,  a  vast  tract  of  sea  having,  in  recent  times,  been  reclaimed.  About  a  mile 
from  Tenby,  and  a  short  distance  from  the  road,  still  obscured  in  the  wood,  and 
still  to  be  found  only  by  some  perseverance,  is  the  cave,  which,  doubtless,  was 
originally  formed  by  the  washing  of  the  sea.  Time  has  added  to  the  deposit  upon 
its  floor,  and  necessitated  the  removal  of  portions  at  various  times.  But  when  the 
probability  of  Shakespeare  being  intimately  acquainted  with  the  cave  is  examined, 
it  will  be  found  that  probability  becomes  almost  a  certainty.  The  importance  of  the 
fortified  town  of  Tenby  in  Elizabeth's  day  (and  the  walls  are  in  great  part  still 
standing)  leaves  no  room  for  doubt  that  the  companies  of  players  would  periodically 
proceed  thither  in  their  customary  travels.  This  is  rendered  more  certain  still 
from  the  fact  that  it  lay  upon  the  only  road  to  Carew  Castle,  Pembroke  Town, 
Castle  Manobier,  and  other  strongholds,  and  even  to  St.  David's,  Haverfordwest, 
etc.  That  Shakespeare,  therefore,  not  only  visited  Tenby,  but  passed  and  repassed 
along  the  old  road  over  the  ridge  way  with  his  company  few  will  question,  and  when 
it  is  considered  that  these  visits  were  not  of  a  hurried,  flying  character,  but  that  his 

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10,8  THE   TRACED  IE   OF  [ACT  in,  sc.  iii. 

As  prouder  liuers  do.  II 

Guid.     Haile  Heauen. 

Antir.     Haile  Heauen. 

Bela.     Now  for  our  Mountaine  fport,  vp  to  yond  hill 
Your  legges  are  yong  :  He  tread  thefe  Flats.     Confider,  15 

When  you  aboue  perceiue  me  like  a  Crow, 
That  it  is  Place,  which  leffen's,and  fets  off, 
And  you  may  then  reuolue  what  Tales,  I  haue  told  you, 
Of  Courts,of  Princes;  of  the  Tricks  in  Warre. 
This  Seruice,  is  not  Seruice;  fo  being  done,  20 

But  being  fo  allowed.     To  apprehend  thus, 
Drawes  vs  a  profit  from  all  things  we  fee  : 
And  often  to  our  comfort,  fhall  we  finde 
The  fharded-Beetle,  in  a  fafer  hold  24 

14.  yond]  yon'  Cap.     yon  Var.  '78,  War,)  Vaun. 

'85,    Mai.    Ran.    Steev.    Varr.    Knt.  18.  /  haue]I Pope, +•  I've  Dyce  ii, iii. 

yond?  Coll.  Sing.  Ktly.  19.  Courts,     of]     courts     of     Vaun, 

hill]  F2F3.     Mil.  Var.  '73.     hill:  Dowden. 
Coll.  Glo.    hill!  Cam.    hill,  F4  et  cet.  20.  This]   That  Pope,  Theob.  Han. 

17.  lefferfs]  F2.  Warb.  Ran.  Coll.  MS. 

off,]    Ff,    Rowe.      off;    Pope,+,  21.  allowed]  allow'd  Rowe  et  seq. 

Knt,    Coll.    Dyce,    Glo.    Cam.      off.  22.  a]  Om.  F4. 

Johns,  et  cet.  24.  Jharded-Beetle]  F2.    Jharded  Beetle 

17-19.  of,  And. ..Warre.]  of,  (And...  F3F4  et  seq. 

stay  would  be  of  sufficient  length  to  enable  him  to  fully  investigate  the  surround- 
ings of  this  remarkable  neighborhood,  and  fit  in  its  chief  features  with  his  historical 
imagination,  one  cannot  but  contemplate  this  remarkable  cave  with  the  deepest 
interest. — HALLIWELL  (Outlines,  &c.,  p.  499):  It  may  be  just  worth  notice  that  a 
cavern  near  Tenby,  that  might  be  passed  in  a  walk  to  Milford,  known  as  Hoyle's 
Mouth,  has  been  suggested  as  the  prototype  of  the  cave  of  Belarius. 

20.  This  Seruice,  is  not  Seruice,  etc.]  JOHNSON:  In  war  it  is  not  sufficient  to 
do  duty  well;  the  advantage  rises  not  from  the  act,  but  the  acceptance  of  the  act.— 
MALONE:    'This  service'  means  'any  particular  service.'    The  observation  relates 
to  the  court,  as  well  as  to  war. — VAUGHAN  (p.  432):   That  is,  as  size  is  not  size  in 
itself,  but  as  it  is  seen,  so  service  is  not  service  in  itself,  but  as  it  is  allowed. 

24.  sharded-Beetle]  WHITNEY  (Century  Diet.,  s.  v.  Shard):  In  the  sense  of 
'shell'  or  'wing  case'  shard  may  be  due  in  part  to  Old  French  escharde,  French 
echarde,  a  splinter  =  Old  Italian  scarda,  scale,  shell,  scurf.  3.  The  wing-cover  or 
elytrum  of  a  beetle.  ['Sharded'  is,  therefore,  furnished  with  shards  or  elytra.  By 
contrasting  the  'sharded  beetle'  with  the  'full-winged  eagle,  it  seems  as  though 
the  author  of  these  lines  regarded  the  shards  as  hampering  the  insect's  flight. 
Shakespeare,  on  the  other  hand,  apparently  regarded  the  shards  as  assissting  the 
flight, — possibly,  as  being  the  chief  means  of  flight;  Macbeth  speaks  of  'The 
shard-borne  beetle.' — II,  iii,  57.  Again,  quite  as  emphatically,  Enobarbus  refers 
to  Caesar  and  Antony  as  the  '  shards '  to  Lepidus  (in  the  latter's  opinion) ,  that  is,  as 
mere  instruments  to  enable  him  to  fly  (Ant.  &•  Chop.,  Ill,  ii,  24). — ED.] 


ACT  in,  sc.  iii.]  CYMBELINE  199 

Then  is  the  full- wing' d  Eagle.     Oh  this  life,  25 

Is  Nobler,  then  attending  for  a  checke  : 

Richer,  then  doing  nothing  for  a  Babe:  27 

26.  checke:]  check,  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam.  Steev.    Varr.    Ingl.      bauble    Rowe,  +  , 
Jack  Bulloch.     beck  Bailey.  Dyce  i,  Ktly,  Glo.  Cam.     bribe  Han. 

27.  nothing]     nothidg     F2.       homage  Knt,  Coll.  i,  Dyce  ii,  iii,  Sta.  Huds. 
Bulloch.  Dtn.     bob  Coll.   ii,   iii.   (MS.),     brabe 

for]  from  Anon.  (1814)  ap.  Cam.        Johns,    conj.    Sing.      badge    Bulloch. 
Babe]  Ff,  Cap.  Varr.  Mai.  Ran.        brave  Sing.  conj. 

26.  attending  for  a  checke]  RANN:   A  state  of  abject  servility,  or  subjection 
to  the  control  and  caprice  of  another. — DYCE,  SCHMIDT,  and  others  define  it  as 
'a  reproof,  rebuke.1    But  see  KXIGHT,  in  next  note. 

27.  then     doing     nothing    for    a    Babe]    WARBTJRTON    [reading    'bauble']: 
That  is,  vain  titles  of  honour  gained  by  an  idle  attendance  at  Court.     But  the 
Oxford  Editor  [Hanmer]  reads,  'for  a  bribe.1 — JOHNSON:   The  Oxford  Editor  knew 
the  reason  of  his  alteration,  though  his  censurer  knew  it  not.      Of  'babe'  some 
corrector  made  bauble;  and  Hanmer  thought  himself  equally  authorised  to  make 
bribe.    I  think  'babe'  cannot  be  right. — IBID.  (Var.,  1773) :  I  have  always  suspected 
that  the  right  reading  of  this  passage  is  what  I  had  not  in  my  former  edition  the 
confidence  to  propose:  '  than  doing  nothing  for  a  brabe.'    Brabium  is  a  badge  of  hon- 
our or  the  ensign  of  an  honour,  or  anything  worn  as  a  mark  of  dignity.   The  word 
was  strange  to  the  editors,  as  it  will  be  to  the  reader;  they,  therefore,  changed  it  to 
'babe';  and  I  am  forced  to  propose  it  without  the  support  of  any  authority. 
Brabium  is  a  word  found  in  Holyoak's  [qu.  Holyoke?]  Dictionary,  who  terms  it  a 
reward.    Cooper,  in  his  Thesaurus,  defines  it  to  be  a  prize,  or  reward  for  any  game. — 
CAPELL  (p.  in):  The  word  'babe'  is  made  bauble  unnecessarily,  'babe'  having  the 
same  signification;  the  Poet's  meaning  is — titles,  the  too  frequent  reward  of  worth- 
less services,  which  he  calls  'doing  nothing  for  them.' — STEEVENS:    It  should  be 
remembered  that  bauble  was  anciently  spelt  bable;  so  that  Warburton  [Rowe],in 
reality,  has  added  but  one  letter.    As  it  was  once  the  custom  in  England  for  favour- 
ites at  Court  to  beg   the  wardship  of  infants  who  were  born  to  great  riches,  our 
author  may  allude  to  it  here.     Frequent  complaints  were  made  that  nothing  was 
done  towards  the  education  of  these  neglected  orphans.    ['Such  an  allusion  would 
hardly  have  been  intelligible  to  his  audience.'— COLLIER,  i.]— MALONE:  A  'babe' 
and  baby  are  synonymous.    A  baby  being  a  puppet  or  play-thing  for  children.    I 
suppose  a  'babe'  here  means  a  puppet.  .  .  .  The  following  lines  in  Drayton's 
Owle,  1604,  may  add,  however,  some  support  ['more  than  some,  I  think.' — DYCE,i.] 
to    Rowe's    emendation:    'Which    with    much    sorrow    brought    into    my  mind 
Their  wretched  soules,  so  ignorantly  blinde,  When  even  the  greatest  things,  in  the 
world  unstable,  Clyme  but  to  fall,  and  damned  for  a  bable.' — CHALMERS:    'Babe' 
is  merely  the  babee  of  the  Scots  coinage,  which  Shakespeare  introduced  here  as  a 
sly  stroke  at  the  Scots  coin,  which  King  James  had  regulated  by  proclamation. 
.  .  .  The  editors  have  only  to  change  the  spelling  to  Babee,  and  the  player  to 
pronounce  it  trippingly  on  the  tongue,  and    the  whole  passage  will  have  a  sense 
and  smartness  which  have  hitherto  been  prevented  by  affectation  and  obscured 
by  ignorance.     ['Rejecting  altogether  the  nonsense  of   George   Chalmers,'   says 
CHARLES  KNIGHT.] — BOSWELL:  There  was  such  a  word  as  brabe  in  English,  though 
apparently  bearing  a  very  different  meaning  from  that  which  Dr  Johnson  ascribed 


200  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  in,  sc.  iii. 

[27.   then  doing  nothing  for  a  Babe] 

to  it.  Heth  is  thus  explained  by  Speght  in  his  Glossary  to  Chaucer:  'Brabes  and 
such  like'  Hething,  for  so  Mr  Tyrwhitt  gives  the  word,  he  interprets — contempt. 
[COLLIER  (ed.  ii.):  'Speght  does  not  explain  heth  at  all,  but  hether,  and  says  that  it 
means  mockery,  which  was  also  Hearne's  explanation.'  I  can  find  brabe  neither  in 
the  Century  Diet,  nor  in  the  N.  E.  D. — ED.] — KNIGHT:  We  believe  that  the  source 
of  the  ideas  which  Shakespeare  had  in  his  mind  to  have  been  Spencer's  Mother 
Hubberd's  Tale.  Belarius  begs  his  boy  to  'revolve  what  tales  I've  told  you  Of 
courts,  of  princes';  and  he  then  goes  on  to  say  that  their  own  life  'Is  nobler  than 
attending  for  a  check.'  Spencer  describes,  in  one  of  the  finest  didactic  passages  of 
our  language,  the  condition  of  the  man  'whom  wicked  fate  hath  brought  to  court': 

'  Full  little  knowest  thou,  that  hast  not  tride, 
What  hell  it  is  in  suing  long  to  bide: 
To  loose  good  dayes,  that  might  be  better  spent; 
To  wast  long  nights  in  pensive  discontent; 
To  speed  to  day,  to  be  put  back  to  morrow; 
To  feed  on  hope,  to  pine  with  feare  and  sorrow; 
To  have  thy  Princes  grace,  yet  want  her  Peeres; 
To  have  thy  asking,  yet  waite  manie  yeeres; 
To  fret  thy  soule  with  crosses  and  with  cares; 
To  eate  thy  heart  through  comfortlesse  dispaires; 
To  fawne,  to  crowche,  to  waite,  to  ride,  to  ronne, 
To  spend,  to  give,  to  want,  to  be  undone. 
Unhappy  wight,  borne  to  desastrous  end, 
That  doth  his  life  in  so  long  tendance  spend!' 

Here  we  have  the  precise  meaning  of  'attending'  furnished  by  tendance,  and,  we 
think,  the  meaning  of  'cheek,'  which  has  been  controverted,  is  supplied  us  by  'to 
be  put  back  to-morrow.'  The  whole  passage  is,  indeed,  a  description  of  the  alter- 
nate progress  and  check,  which  the  'miserable  man'  of  Spencer  receives.  .  .  .  Look- 
ing at  the  usual  course  of  typographical  errors,  we  should  say  it  is  the  easiest 
thing  possible  for  '  babe '  to  be  printed  for  bribe,  even  if  the  word  were  bribe  in  the 
manuscript.  [Knight  here  expounds  the  intricacy  of  the  printer's  'case'  and  the 
likelihood  of  one  letter's  being  picked  up  by  mistake  for  another,  which  I  think  we 
will  all  cheerfully  concede  without  the  headache  which  might  follow  the  attempt  to 
understand  it.] — VERPLANCK:  The  sense  is  good  of  Hanmer's  bribe:  'Such  a  life 
of  activity  is  richer  than  that  of  the  bribed  courtier,  even  though  he  pocket  his 
bribe  without  rendering  any  return.'  Such  a  thought  was  perfectly  intelligible  to 
Shakespeare's  audience,  who  lived  in  those  'good  old  times'  when  the  greatest  and 
sometimes  the  wisest  were  not  only  accessible  to  bribes,  but  expected  them;  while 
every  concern  of  life  was  dependent  upon  the  caprice  or  the  favour  of  those  in 
power. — WHITE  (ed.  i.) :  This  change  [bauble]  agrees  ill  with  the  first  and  controlling 
word  in  the  line,  which  implies  a  more  substantial  reward  than  a  bauble;  and, 
therefore,  Hanmer's  emendation  is  the  more  acceptable. — COLLIER  (ed.  ii.):  The 
MS.  instructs  us  to  substitute  bob  for  '  babe,'  and,  in  the  sense  of  blow,  it  is  quite 
consistent  with  what  precedes;  ...  a  'check'  is  a  reproof;  and  Belarius  proceeds 
from  a  'check'  to  a  blow.  ...  It  seems  to  us,  therefore,  that  the  emendation,  bob, 
is  a  happy  one;  and  when  'babe'  was  pronounced,  as  then,  with  the  a  broad,  it 
would  sound  not  unlike  bob.  .  .  .  Bob  was,  in  all  probability,  Shakespeare's  word. 


ACT  in,  sc.  Hi.]  CYMBELINE  2OI 

Prouder,  then  milling  in  vnpayd-for  Silke  :  28 

28.  vnpayd-for]  un- paid- for  F3F4. 

— DYCE  (ed.  ii.):  In  my  former  edition  I  adopted  Rowe's  emendation;  but  I  now 
prefer  that  of  Hanmer,  which  Walker  mentions  as  undoubtedly  right. — WALKER 
(Crit.,  ii,  275):  This  page  [of  the  Folio],  by  the  way,  381,  contains  more  than  the 
usual  proportion  of  errors;  which  may  help  to  confirm, — were  any  additional  proof 
needed, — the  emendation,  bribe  instead  of  'babe.'  [In  a  foot-note  LETTSOM  ob- 
serves: 'In  Green's  James  IV.  (Dyce,  vol.  ii,  p.  112),  Sir  Bartram  says  of  Ateukin, 
—"But  he,  injurious  man,  who  lives  by  crafts,  And  sells  king's  favours  for  who  will 
give  most,  Hath  taken  bribes  of  me,  yet  covertly  Will  sell  away  the  thing  pertains 
to  me."  This  shows  how  a  man  may  do  nothing,  or  worse  than  nothing,  for  a  bribe; 
a  feat  that  seems  incomprehensible  to  the  primitive  simplicity  of  the  nineteenth 
century.'] — STAUNTON:  Of  these  emendations,  the  original  being,  of  course,  wrong, 
we  prefer  Hanmer's  bribe;  though  we  have  very  little  confidence  even  in  that.— 
R.  M.  SPENCE  (N.  fir  Q.,  VI,  i,  52,  1880):  I  think  it  unfortunate  that  brabe,  Dr 
Johnson's  happy  correction,  has  been  superseded  by  bauble.  Brabc  appears  to  me 
to  have  been,  on  Shakespeare's  part,  a  designedly  chosen  word.  T6  /3pa/9eloi', 
derived  from  which  we  find  in  Mediaeval  Latin  'brabium  vel  bravium,'  was  the 
prize  awarded  to  the  victor  in  the  public  games.  Courtly  services,  in  the  view  of 
Brabantius,  no  more  deserved  the  name  of  work  than  did  the  labours  of  the  athlete. 
To  bauble  it  may  be  objected  that  by  the  possession  of  a  bauble  no  man  is  enriched. 
-DEIGHTON:  I  think  that  'doing  nothing'  indicates  some  solid  remuneration, 
the  fact  of  his  making  no  return  for  his  bribe  being  a  slur  upon  the  receiver,  while 
in  doing  nothing  for  a  bauble  or  a  badge  there  would  hardly  be  such  slur. — VAUGHAN 
(p.  553):  I  would  read  bablc,  which  here  means  an  official  or  Courtly  decoration 
displayed  on  the  person,  whether  'chain'  or  what  else.  'Babe'  occurs  in  writers 
of  Shakespeare's  age,  although  as  'hale'  was  probably  pronounced  'haul,'  so 
'bable'  may  possibly  have  been  sounded  as  'bauble.' — THISELTON:  Those  who  are 
busied  with  attendance  at  Court  are  so  occupied  with  their  unserviceable  services 
that  they, — as  well  as  those  whom  they  serve, — have  no  time  for  the  duties  that 
Nature  has  imposed  upon  parents;  children  are  committed  to  foster-parents  so  that 
their  real  parents  may  not  be  bothered  with  them.  With  such  neglect  Belarius 
would  contrast  the  care  which  he  and  Euriphile  have  bestowed  upon  the  bringing 
up  of  Guiderius  and  Arviragus,  counting  himself  and  his  reputed  sons  richer  in  the 
harvest  reaped  therefrom  than  the  courtiers  and  their  children  are  in  the  harvest 
reaped  from  the  courtiers'  aforesaid  neglect. — DOWDEN  (reading  bribe}:  This 
emendation  I  explain  as  'taking  bribes  of  suitors,  and  doing  nothing  in  their  in- 
terest'; 'richer'  suggests  some  kind  of  wealth,  and  it  must  be  base  kind  of  wealth. 
[From  the  foregoing  notes  there  has  been  excluded  as  much  as  possible  all  criticism 
of  the  emendations  of  fellow-critics.  If  all  these  censorious  views  be  well  taken,  we 
should  find  as  many  insuperable  objections  to  each  of  the  proposed  emendations 
as  there  are  to  the  original  text,  and  we  have  gained  nothing  by  deserting  it.  I 
am  happy  in  adopting  HALLIWELL'S  conclusion:  'Nothing  that  has  been  written 
on  this  line  is  entirely  satisfactory,  and  the  selection  of  a  reading  is,  with  our  present 
means  of  information,  a  matter  of  fancy  rather  than  that  of  judgement.' — ED.] 

28.  rustling  in  vnpayd-for  Silke]  KNIGHT:  As  we  have  had  the  nobler 
and  the  richer  life,  we  have  now  the  prouder.  The  lines  which  follow  mean,  we 
take  it,  that  such  a  one  as  does  rustle  in  unpaid-for  silk  receives  the  courtesy 


2O2 


THE   TRACED  IE   OF 


[ACT  in,  sc.  iii. 


Such  gaine  the  Cap  of  him,  that  makes  him  fine, 

Yet  keepes  his  Booke  vncros'd  :  no  life  to  ours.  30 

Gui.Qut  of  your  proofe  you  fpeakiwe  poore  vnfledg'd 
Haue  neuer  wing'd  from  view  o'th'neft;  nor  knowes  not 
What  Ayre's  from  home.     Hap'ly  this  life  is  beft, 
( If  quiet  life  be  beft )  fweeter  to  you 

That  haue  a  (harper  knowne.     Well  correfponding  35 

With  your  ftiffe  Age;  but  vnto  vs,it  is 
A  Cell  of  Ignorance  :  trauailing  a  bed,  37 


29.  gaine]  gains  Knt,  Ingl. 

makes  him]  makes  them  Rowe,-f-, 
Varr.  Mai.  Ran.  Steev.  Var.  '03,  '13. 
Coll.  iii.  makes  'em  Cap.  Dyce,  Sta. 
Ktly,  Glo.  Huds.  Cam.  keeps  'em  Coll. 
conj. 

30.  keepes  his]  Keep  their  Sing.  conj. 
Keep  his  Huds. 

vncros'd:]  uncro_Q''d,  Ff.  tin- 
cross' d.  Var.  '73. 

31.  we    poore   vnfledg'd}    F2,    Rowe, 
Pope,  Han.     we  poor   unfledg'd,   F3F4. 
we.    poor,    unjledg'd,    Theob.     Warb. 
Johns,    we,  poor  unfledged,  Cap.  et  cet. 

32.  o'th']  o'the  Cap.  et  seq. 
nejl;]  nest,  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam. 


32.  knowes]  know  Ff  et  seq. 

not]    Om.    Pope,    Theob.    Han. 
Warb. 

33.  Hap'ly]   Haply  Han.   Johns,   et 
seq. 

34.  be]  is  Rowe,-j-. 

35.  knowne.      Well]      F2.      Known, 
well  Coll.  Sing.  Ktly,  Cam.     Known; 
well  F3F4  et  cet. 

37.  Ignorance:  trauailing  a  bed,} 
'Ff  (abed,  F2)  Rowe  i.  ignorance; 
travelling  a-bed,  Rowe  ii,  Pope,  Theob. 
i.  ignorance,  travelling  abed,  Coll. 
ignorance,  travelling  a-bed,  Cam.  ig- 
norance; travelling  a-bed;  Theob.  ii,  et 
cet. 


(gains  the  cap)  of  him  who  makes  him  fine,  yet  he,  the  wearer  of  silk,  keeps  his,  the 
creditor's,  book  uncross'd.  To  cross  the  book  is,  even  now,  a  common  expression  for 
obliterating  the  entry  of  a  debt. 

29.  Such  gaine  the  Cap,  etc.]  VAUGHAN  [reading  'Seeking  for  Such  gain/ 
and  substituting  a  dash  for  the  colon  after  'vncros'd'  in  the  next  line]:  Thus  we 
have  a  life  made  up  of  these  four  things — attending  for  a  check,  doing  nothing  for  a 
bribe,  rustling  in  unpaid-for  silk,  and  fishing  for  the  ostensible  homage  of  the  man 
one  is  impoverishing.  Our  life  is  nobler  than  the  first  practice,  richer  than  the 
second,  prouder  than  the  third;  while  the  fourth  is  no  life  at  all  to  our  life.  So 
amended,  too,  the  passage  discloses  four  participles  all  descriptive  of  court  life — at- 
tending, doing,  rustling,  seeking — with  which  are  contrasted  '  this  life '  and  '  our  life.' 

29.  that  makes  him]  DYCE:  We  have  seen  before  that  'him'  is  frequently 
confounded  with  'cm  or  them  by  transcribers  and  printers.  [See  Text.  Notes.] 

35.  knowne]  THISELTON  (p.  30):  The  full  stop  after  'knowne'  is  really  a  guide 
to  elocution,  showing  that  the  construction  is  '  (Haply  this  life  is)  well  correspond- 
ing,' etc.,  and  that  'Well  compounding'  is  not  in  agreement  with  'a  sharper.' 
[Is  a  '  full  stop '  necessary?  would  not  the  semicolon  (F3  and  F4)  suffice  sufficiently 
at  least  to  keep  up  the  voice  so  as  to  show  the  connection  between  '  this  life '  and 
'Well  corresponding'?  Were  it  not  that  this  connection  is  so  very  manifest,  and 
no  other  construction  conceivable,  this  'full  stop,'  it  seems  to  me,  would  prove  an 
elocutionary  stumbling-block.  Certainly,  its  guiding  power  was  exhausted  by  the 
time  of  the  Third  Folio.— ED.] 

37.  Cell  of  Ignorance :]  DOWDEN:    Possibly  in  opposition  to  a  cell  for  study; 


ACT  in,  sc.  iii.j  CYMBELINE  203 

A  Prifon,  or  a  Debtor,  that  not  dares  38 

To  ftride  a  limit. 

Ami.     What  fhould  we  fpeake  of  40 

38.  Prifon,  or]  F4.    Prifon  or  F2F3.    prison,  for  Pope,+.    prison  o'er  Sia,.    prison 
of  Vaun,  Dowden.    prison  for  Cap.  et  cet. 

Prompt.  Parv.  has  'Ceele,'  or  'stodyynge  howse.  Ce//a.'--TmsELTON:  The  colon 
after  'Ignorance'  should,  I  think,  be  refered  to  Rule  XII:  In  a  series  of  things 
where  one  is  singled  out  for  the  premier  position  by  way  of  pre-eminence,  it  will 
sometimes  be  marked  off  from  the  rest  by  a  semicolon  or  colon,  the  succeeding 
members  of  the  series  being  separated  by  commas. 

37.  trauailing    a    bed]    DEIGHTON:    That   is,   'no  better  than  travelling  the 
length  and  breadth  of  one's  bed.' — VAUGHAN  (p.  434) :   This  means  'travelling  in  a 
litter,'  for  a  'litter'  is  equivalent  to  a  'coach.'    Our  coach  in  its  verbal  form  is  but 
an  old  expression  for  a  'litter,'  that  is,  a  'coach.'    So  we  have  in  North's  Plutarch: 
'For  the  most  part  he  slept  in  his  coach  or  litter,  and  thereby  bestowed  his  rest,' 
etc. — Julius  Casar,   p.    719. — DOWDEN:    The  imagined  travel  of  one  who  lies 
motionless.    I  think  the  best  comment  on  this  is  Shakespeare's  Sonnet,  27:  'Weary 
with  toil  I  haste  me  to  my  bed,  The  dear  repose  for  limbs  with  travel  tired;  But 
then  begins  a  journey  in  my  head.' — I.  H.  PLATT  (N.  £r"  Qu.,  X,  x,  165,  1908) :  What 
'travelling  a-bed'  means  I  can  form  no  idea.   It  has  been  suggested  that  with  the 
original  spelling,  'travailing,'  it  might  be  equivalent  to  suffering  in  bed,  but  this 
hardly  seems  satisfactory.    Tentatively,  I  suggest  following  the  punctuation  of  the 
First  Folio:  'travelling  forbid.'     The  young  princes,  forbidden  to  travel,  were  in 
the  position  of  a  debtor  who  is  not  permitted  to  cross  certain  bounds. — J.  P. 
MALLESON  (Op.  tit.,  p.  345):  That  is,  you  have  travelled  and  seen  the  world;  our 
knowledge  is  all  'in  the  mind's  eye';   our  travelling  is  like  that  of  a  man  who, 
lying  a-bed,  roams  abroad  only  in  imagination  or  in  dreams. — T.  O.  HODGES 
(Ibid.) :  This  phrase  is  an  example  of  the  construction  well  known  to  students  of  the 
Greek  drama,  in  which  an  adjective  so  far  qualifies  a  noun  that  it  contradicts  it; 
and   it  means   travelling    which   is   no   travelling,  which    goes   no  further  than 
one's  bed.     'You  are  free!'  says  Belarius.    'Free?'  says  his  son.    'Yes!  but  free 
to  do  nothing!' — W.  E.  WILSON  (Ibid.):   We  travel — but  only  within  the  narrow 
limits  of  our  own  bed.     [An  utterly  frivolous  mind  would  attribute  this  to  Shake- 
speare's prophetic  sense,  and  accept  it  as  an  anticipation  of  the  modern  sleeping 
car. — ED.] 

38.  A  Prison,  or  a  Debtor]  HUNTER  (ii,  294):    The  old  reading,  when  rightly 
understood,  is  better  than  [for  instead  of  'or'],  though  it  has  something  of  that 
haste  and  unfiledness  which  is  found  in  many  of  the  finest  passages:    'A  prison, 
or  a  debtor,  that  not  dares  To  stride  a  limit.' 

39.  To  stride  a  limit]  C.  K.  DAVIS  (p.  237):   As  to  prisoners  for  debt,  certain 
boundaries  were  designated  as  prison  limits.     If  the  debtor  went  beyond  these, 
either  of  his  own  will  or  by  the  permission  or  negligence  of  the  officer,  it  constituted 
an  escape. 

40.  What  should  we  speake  of,  etc.]   JOHNSON:   This  dread  of  an  old  age, 
unsupplied  with  matter  for  discourse  and  meditation,  is  a  sentiment  natural  and 
noble.    No  state  can  be  more  destitute  than  that  of  him  who,  when  the  delights  of 
sense  desert  him,  has  no  pleasures  of  the  mind. 


204  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  in,  sc.  iii. 

When  we  are  old  as  you  ?    When  we  fhall  heare  41 

The  Raine  and  winde  beate  darke  December  ?     How 

In  this  our  pinching  Caue,  fhall  we  difcourfe 

The  freezing  houres  away  ?    We  haue  feene  nothing  : 

We  are  beaftly;  fubtle  as  the  Fox  for  prey,  45 

Like  warlike  as  the  Wolfe,  for  what  we  eate  : 

Our  Valour  is  to  chace  what  flyes  :  Our  Cage 

We  make  a  Quire,  as  doth  the  prifon'd  Bird, 

And  fmg  our  Bondage  freely. 

Bel.     How  you  fpeake.  50 

Did  you  but  know  the  Citties  Vfuries, 
And  felt  them  knowingly  :  the  Art  o'th'Court, 
As  hard  to  leaue,  as  keepe  :  whofe  top  to  climbe  53 

41.  old]  as  old  Varr.  Mai.  Ran.  48.  Quire]  choir  Pope,  Theob.  Han. 

42.  December?]    Ff,    Rowe,  +  -      De-        Warb. 

cember,  Han.  et  cet.  50.  fpeake.] /peak?  Ff,  Rowe.    speak! 

43.  Caue,]  cave  Han.  Coll.  Cam.  Pope  et  seq. 

45.  We  are]  We're  Pope,-f.  51.  Citties]  Cities  F3F4.    city's  Rowe. 

beajlly; fubtle]  beastly-subtle  Anon.  52.  felt]  feel  Anon.  ap.  Cam. 

ap.  Cam.  52.  o'lh]  o'the  Cap.  et  seq. 

53.  keepe:]  keep,  Rowe,  Johns. 

42.  December?     How]  VAUGHAN  upholds  the  punctuation  of  the  Folio,  and,  I 
think,  justly.    'The  Poet,'  he  says,  'is  drawing  by  contrast  two  pictures  of  winter, 
not  one, — its  boisterous  and  rainy  darkness,  and  its  biting  frosts.' 

43.  our  pinching  Caue]   Thus  in  Lear:    'To  be  a  comrade  with  the  wolf  and 
howl  Necessity's  sharp  pinch.' — II,  iv,  213.     (This  'howl'  for  owl  of  the  Folio  is, 
I  think,  an  emendatio  certissima  due  to  Collier's  MS.)      This  quotation  is  more 
apposite  to  the  present  passage  than,  it  seems  to  me,  Imogen's  '  There  cannot  be 
a  pinch  in  death,'  etc. — ED. 

50.  How  you    speake]   HAZLITT   (p.  12):    This  answer  of  Belarius  to  the  ex- 
postulation is  hardly  satisfactory;  for  nothing  can  be  an  answer  to  hope,  or  the 
passion  of  the  mind  for  unknown  good,  but  experience. — VAUGHAN   (p.  435): 
There  is  no  consequence  of  knowing  the  city's  usurers  mentioned  to  be  found  in  the 
whole  speech  which  follows,  and  is  thus  made  a  long  sentence  without  any  apodosis. 
I  certainly  would  amend  thus:    'How  you'd  speak,  Did  you  but  know  the  city's 
usurers!'  etc. 

51.  Citties]  DELIUS:   According  to  the  mode  of  printing  in  the  Folio,  this  may 
be  either  city's  or  cities'. 

51.  Vsuries]  STAUNTON:  'Usuries,'  in  this  instance,  would  appear  to  mean  no 
more  than  usages,  customs,  etc.;  though  in  Meas.  for  Meas.,  Ill,  ii,  where  the 
word  occurs  seemingly  in  the  same  general  sense — '  Twas  never  merry  world  since, 
of  two  usuries,  the  merriest  was  put  down,  and  the  worser  allowed  by  order  of  the 
law  a  furred  gown  to  keep  him  warm ' — it  certainly  bears  a  particular  reference  to 
usury;  for  what,  says  Taylor,  the  Water-poet,  in  his  Waterman's  suit  concerning 
Players,  1630? — 'and  sleepe  with  a  quieter  spirit  then  many  of  our  furre-goivnd 
moneymongers  that  are  accounted  good  commonwealths  men.' 


A i  r  in,  sc.  iii.] 


CYMBELINE 


Is  ccrtaine  falling  :  or  fo  flipp'ry ,  that 

The  feare's  as  bad  as  falling.     The  toyle  o'th'Warre, 

A  paine  that  onely  feemes  to  feeke  out  danger 

I'th'name  of  Fame,  and  Honor,  which  dyes  i'th'fearch, 

And  hath  as  oft  a  fland'rous  Epitaph, 

As  Record  of  faire  A6t.     Nay,  many  times' 

Doth  ill  deferue,  by  doing  well  :  what's  worfe 

Mnft  curt'fie  at  the  Cenfure.    Oh  Boyes,  this  Storie 

The  World  may  reade  in  me  :  My  bodie's  mark'd 

With  Roman  Swords  ;  and  my  report,  was  once 

Firft,  with  the  beft  of  Note.     Qymbeline  lou'd  me, 

And  when  a  Souldier  was  the  Theame,  my  name 

Was  not  farre  off:  then  was  I  as  a  Tree 

Whofe  boughes  did  bend  with  fruit.     But  in  one  night, 

A  Storme,  or  Robbery  (call  it  what  you  will) 

Shooke  downe  my  mellow  hangings  :  nay  my  Leaues, 


54.  falling:}  Ff,  Theob.  Warb.    fall- 
ing, Rowe  et  cet. 

jlipp'ry]  Ff,  Rowe,+.     slippery 
Cap.  et  seq. 

55.  JtK]    Ff,    Rowe.      of    Pope,+. 
o'the  Cap.   Dyce,  Glo.     Cam.     of  the 
Var.  '73  et  cet. 

Warrc]     War     F3.       War     F4. 
war;  Theob.  Warb. 

56.  out]  our  Ff. 

57.  /'///'...  i'th]  rthe  ...  i'the  Cap.  et 
seq. 

Honor,]     Honour,     Ff,     Johns. 


2O5 


55 


60 


69 


honour;  Rowe  et  cet. 

58.  Jland'rous]    Ff,    Rowe,-f-,    Cap. 
Sing.    Ktly.      slanderous    Var.    '73    et 
cet. 

59.  Ad.]  Ff.    act;  Rowe  et  seq. 
many  times]  many  time  Rowe  ii, 

Pope,  Theob.  Warb.  Johns. 

61.  Cenfure.]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Johns. 
Coll.  Ktly.  censure: —  Theob.  et 
cet. 

63.  report]  report  F3F4  et  seq. 

69.  hangings:}  hangings,  Rowe  et 
seq. 


56.  that  onely  seemes  to  seeke]  I  think  that  here  'only'  qualifies  'to  seek,' 
and  that  it  has  its  present  position  for  the  sake  of  the  rhythm.    Otherwise  I  do  not 
comprehend  the  passage. — ED. 

57.  which    dyes    i'th'search]  INGLEBY  thinks  that  the  antecedent  to  'which' 
is  'name,'  'though  it  is,'  he  says,  'really  "fame  and  honor  which  dies  in  the  search." 

-DOWDEN  holds,  more  justly,  I  think,  that  'pain'  is  the  antecedent,  and  that  'the 
labour  perishes  without  attaining  fame  and  honor,  and  its  epitaph  is  often  slan- 
derous.' The  Cambridge  Editors  record  'which  dye,'  as  a  reading  of  Collier's  MS. 
I  cannot  find  it  either  in  the  First  or  Second  Editions  of  Collier's  Notes  and  Emenda- 
tions, nor  in  his  'Seven  Lectures  on  Shakespeare,'  etc.,  nor  in  the  Second  Edition  of 
his  Shakespeare,  nor  in  his  Monovolume,  which  is  supposed  to  embody  all  the  read- 
ings of  the  MS.  Let  the  record  be  accepted,  therefore,  on  the  authority  of  the 
Cam.  Edd.,  which  is  ample. — ED. 

60.  ill  deserue]  IXGLEBY:   That  is,  earn  (not  merit). 

63.  my  report]  Cf.  Cloten's  'sell  me  your  good  report.' — II,  iii,  94. 


206 


THE   TRACED  IE   OF 


[ACT  in,  sc.  iii. 


And  left  me  bare  to  weather. 

Gui.     Vncertaine  fauour. 

Bel.     My  fault  being  nothing  (as  I  haue  told  you  oft) 
But  that  two  Villaines,  whofe  falfe  Oathes  preuayl'd 
Before  my  perfect  Honor,  fwore  to  Cymbeline, 
I  was  Confederate  with  the  Romanes  :  fo 
Followed  my  Banifhment,  and  this  twenty  yeeres, 
This  Rocke,  and  thefe  Demefnes,  haue  bene  my  World, 
Where  I  haue  liu'd  at  honeft  freedome,  payed 
More  pious  debts  to  Heauen,  then  in  all 
The  fore-end  of  my  time.     But,  vp  to'th'Mountaines, 
This  is  not  Hunters  Language  ;  he  that  ftrikes 
The  Venifon  firft,  fhall  be  the  Lord  oWFeaft , 
To  him  the  other  two  fhall  minifter, 
And  we  will  feare  no  poyfon,  which  attends 
In  place  of  greater  State  : 


70 


75 


80 


70.  weather]  the  weather  Ktly.    wither 
Long  MS.  ap.  Cam. 

71.  fauour.]  fauour!  Rowe  et  seq. 

72.  /  haue]  I  Pope,  Han.    I've  Dyce 
ii,  iii. 

76.  Followed]    Ff,    Var.    '73.      Fol- 
low'd  Rowe  et  cet. 

Banifhment,]    banishment;    Pope 
et  seq. 

this]  these  Johns.  Varr.  Ran. 
78.  payed]  pay'd  Rowe  et  seq.  (subs.) 
80.  time.]    time —    Rowe    ii,    Pope, 
Han.  Johns. 


to  the 


80.  to'th']  F2.    to  th'  Rowe, 
Cap.  et  seq. 

Mountaines,]  Ff,  Rowe.  moun- 
tains! Pope,+,  Coll.  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam. 
mountain!  Var.  '73.  mountains;  Cap. 
et  cet. 

81.  Hunters]  F2,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han. 
Hunter'  's  F3F4,  Coll.     hunters'  Theob. 
et  cet. 

82.  o'th']  o'the  Cap.  et  seq. 

85,  86.  In...  Vail  eyes]  One  line  Han. 
Cap.  et  seq. 

85.  greater]  Om.  Han. 


70.  weather]  For  other  instances  where  this  means  storms,  tempests,  see  SCHMIDT 
(Lex.). 

73,  74.  false  Oathes  .  .  .perfect  Honor]  VAUGHAN  (p.  437):  Shakespeare 
here  probably  alludes  to  the  privilege  of  nobility,  which  pledges  its  'honour,'  where 
'lower  ranks  take  their  oaths,'  or  pledge  their  'honesty';  and  'perfect  honour' 
means  'honour  not  violated  by  falsehood,'  as  'false  oaths'  means  oaths  so  violated. 

84.  will   feare    no   poyson,   which    attends]   SCHMIDT  (Lex.),  under  the  verb 
'attend,'  used  absolutely,  quotes  this  passage  and  adds  'which  is  present  to  do 
service.'    This,  I  fear,  I  do  not  understand.     Does  Schmidt  mean  that  poison  is 
present  to  do  service? — VAUGHAN  (p.  437)  is,  to  me,  almost  equally  obscure.    His 
explanation  is, ' "  Poison  "  here  is,  as  the  context  shows,  the  abstract  for  the  concrete 
"attendant  who  poisons."      Both  commentators  apparently  take  'poison'  as  the 
antecedent  of  'which,'  as,  I  think,  wrongly.    The  antecedent  is  'fear,'  the  fear  of 
poison,  from  which  the  tables  of  the  great,  with  their  'tasters'  and  closely  covered 
dishes,  were  never  free. — ED. 

85.  greater  State]  STEEVENS:   The  comparative  'greater' — which  violates  the 
measure — is  surely  an  absurd  interpolation;  the  'low-brow'd'  cave  in  which  the 


ACT    III,   SC.   iii.] 


CYMBELINE 


207 


He  meete  you  in  the  Valleyes.  Exeunt.         86 

How  hard  it  is  to  hide  the  fparkes  of  Nature  ? 

Thefe  Boyes  know  little  they  are  Sonnes  to'th'King, 

Nor  Cymbcline  dreames  that  they  are  aliue. 

They  thinke  they  are  mine,  90 

And  though  train'd  vp  thus  meanely 

Fth'Caue,  whereon  the  Bowe  their  thoughts  do  hit, 

The  Roofes  of  Palaces ,  and  Nature  prompts  them  93 


86.  Exeunt.]  Exeunt  boys.  Pope. 

87.  Nature?]  nature!  Theob.  et  seq. 

88.  to'th']  to  the  Cap.  et  seq. 

89.  Nor... dreames]    Nor. ..dreams    not 
Anon.  ap.  Cam.    Nor. ..e'er  dream  Sta. 
conj.  (Athenaeum,  14  June,  1873). 

are  aliue]  are  still  alive  Ingl. 

90.  91.  They... meanely]     One     line 
Rowe  et  seq. 

90,  91.  they  are  mine, ...train'd]  they're 
mine;  tho'  trained  Pope,  Theob.  they're 
mine,  tho'  trained  Warb.  they're  mine; 
and,  though  train'd  Han.  Dyce,  ii,  iii. 
they  are  mine:  and,  though  train'd  Cap. 


et  cet.  (subs.) 

91.  meanely]  meanly.  Warb. 

92.  I'th' ...  Bowe  their]  Ff  (bow  Ff) 
Johns.     I'th'  cave,  where,  on  the  bow, 
their  Rowe.    Here  in  the  cave,  wherein 
their  Pope.    I'th'  cave,  there,  on  the  brow, 
their  Theob.    I'lh'  cave  here  on  this  brow, 
their  Han.    I'the  cave,  where  on  the  bow, 
their    Cap.      I'th'    cave,    wherein    they 
bow,  their  Warb.  et  cet.  (subs.) 

92,  93.  hit,    The]   hit    The    F3F4    et 
seq. 

93.  Roofes]    roof    Pope    ii.    Theob. 
Warb.  Johns. 


princes  are  meanly  educated,  being  a  palace  of  no  state  at  all.  [See  Text.  Notes.] 
— M ALONE:  This  kind  of  phraseology  is  used  every  day  without  objection. 

89.  Nor  Cymbeline  .  .  .  are  aliue]  WALKER  (Crit.,  iii,  322):  Could 
Shakespeare's  ear  have  tolerated  this  line?  [Walker  then  proceeds  to  divide  the 
preceding  lines  in  order  to  eliminate  all  harshness,  and  to  add  a  syllable  which  he 
thinks  is  lacking,  thus:  'I'll  meet  you  in  the  valleys. — How  hard  it  is  |  To  hide 
the  sparks  of  nature!  these  two  boys  |  Know  little,  they  are  sons  to  th'  King;  nor 
CjTTibeline  |  Dreams  that  they  are  alive.'  Can  it  be  that  it  never  occurred  to 
Walker  that  all  such  divisions  of  lines  are  solely  for  the  eye?  If  the  lines  are  spoken 
intelligently  no  ear  could  possibly  distinguish  the  cleavage. — ED.] 

91-95.  And  though  ...  of  others]  BOAS  (p.  514) :  These  lines  guide  us  to  what  is 
(more  than  any  other)  the  central  idea  binding  together  the  two  sections  of  the  play. 
Nature  will  have  her  rights,  and  it  is  useless  to  seek  arbitrarily  to  override  them.  The 
princely  youths,  though  reared  in  a  cave,  pine  for  a  court,  which  is  their  native  air, 
while  Imogen,  whom  the  accident  of  their  abduction  has  made  heiress  to  the  throne, 
yearns  for  the  seclusion  of  domestic  life,  and  thus  has  chosen  a  man  of  humble  for- 
tunes as  her  husband.  She  has  even  longed,  in  the  pain  of  separation  from  Posthu- 
mus,  to  be  'a  neat-herd's  daughter,'  with  him  as  their  neighbor  shepherd's  son. 

92.  I'th'Caue,  whereon  the  Bowe  their,  etc.]  THEOBALD  explains  his 
reading  by  reminding  us  that  'we  call  the  Arching  of  a  Cavern,  or  Overhanging  of  a 
Hill,  metaphorically,  the  Brow.'  In  a  letter  to  Warburton  (Nichols,  ii,  267), 
Theobald  writes,  'as  for  your  change  of  wherein  to  within,  it  gives  such  sense  and 
elegance  too,  that  I  cannot  but  approve  it.'  I  can  find  no  subsequent  reference  to 
this  emendation,  'within';  we  may,  therefore,  conclude,  as  the  Cam.Edd.  has  con- 
cluded, that  it  was  withdrawn. — WARBURTON  thus  paraphrases  his  emendation, 
which  has  been  generally  adopted:  'Yet  in  this  very  cave,  which  is  so  low  that  they 


2o8  THE   TRACE  DIE  OF  [ACT  HI,  sc.  iii. 

In  fimple  and  lowe  things,  to  Prince  it,  much 

Beyond  the  tricke  of  others.     This  Paladour ,  95 

The  heyrc  of  Cymbeline  and  Britaine,  who 

The  King  his  Father  call'd  Guiderius  .  loue,  97 

95.  Paladour]  Ff ,  Theob.  Han.  Warb.  96.  who]    Dyce,   Glo.    Cam.     whom 
Cap.     Polydor  or  Polydore   Rowe  et        Ff.  et  cet. 

cet.  97-  Guiderius.     loue,]    Ff.      Guide- 

96,  97.  The... Guiderius]    In    paren-        rius,    Jove!    Rowe,+,      Guiderius,— 
theses,  Pope,  Theob.  Han.  Warb.  Jove!  Cap.  et  seq.  (subs.) 

must  bow  or  bend  on  entering  it,  yet  are  their  thoughts  so  exalted,'  etc.  This  is  the 
antithesis.  Belarius  had  spoken  before  of  the  lowness  of  the  cave. — JOHNSON: 
I  think  the  reading  is  this,  Tth'  Cave,  where  in  the  Bow,'  etc.  That  is,  they  are 
trained  up  in  the  '  cave,  where  their  thoughts  in  hitting  the  bow,  or  arch  of  their 
habitation,  hit  the  roofs  of  palaces.'  In  other  words,  though  their  condition  is  low, 
their  thoughts  are  high.  The  sentence  is  at  least,  as  Theobald  remarks,  abrupt, 
but  perhaps  not  less  suitable  to  Shakespeare.  I  know  not  whether  Dr  Warburton's 
conjecture  be  not  better  than  mine.  [This  conjecture  of  Dr  Johnson  was  reprinted 
in  the  Var.  of  '73  and  '78,  and  there  an  end.] — STAUNTON'S  punctuation  of  the 
whole  passage  (Athenaum,  June  14,  1873)  is  thus:  'They  think  they  are  mine: 
and,  though  train'd  up  thus  meanly,  |  I'th'  cave  wherein  they  bow  their  thoughts 
do  hit  |  The  roofs  of  palaces.'  This  punctuation  was  adopted  by  INGLEBY  (see 
Corrections,  p.  xx.) — DOWDEN  also  adopts  Staunton's  comma  after  'meanly.'- 
THISELTON  accepts  the  Folio  without  change,  and  appears  no  whit  disheartened  by 
finding  no  apodosis  to  'though  trained  vp,'  etc.  'The  initial  capital  in  Bowe,'  he 
says,  'suggests  that  the  "Bowe"  meant  is  what  they  think  to  be  "The  Roofes  of 
Palaces  " ;  had  "  Bowe  "  been  a  verb  we  should  have  expected  to  find  "  hit "  similarly 
capitalised.  The  Bowe  may  either  be  the  vaulted  ceiling  of  the  Cave  or  the  arch 
over  its  entrance.  .  .  .  The  Cave's  "Bowe"  they  take  to  be  "The  Roofes  of  Palaces" 
and  fret  to  find  that  it  is  nothing  of  the  sort.' — PORTER  and  CLARKE:  The  compari- 
son is  made  of  the  arch  of  the  Cave's  roof  to  a  bow,  whence  they  shoot  forth  the 
arrows  of  their  lofty  thoughts  far  beyond  it.  Warburton's  change,  universally 
adopted,  misses  the  metaphor  altogether,  and  along  with  it  the  significance  of  the 
whole  passage. — DOWDEN:  I  think  this  emendation  of  Warburton  almost  certainly 
right,  the  misprint  'the'  for  they  is  a  very  common  one.  ...  If  we  understood 
'on  the  bow'  to  mean  like  arrows  on  the  bow,  a  change  of  one  letter  would  give 
sense  and  grammar  to  the  Folio  text:  'I'  th'  cave,  there,  on  the  bow,  their  thoughts 
do  hit  The  roofs  of  palaces.'  In  IV,  ii,  380,  a  thought  is  compared  to  a  bolt  'shot 
at  nothing.'  [Warburton's  emendation  is  so  slight  that  it  seems  a  small  price 
to  pay  for  an  interpretation  so  fine:  although  these  boys  have  been  brought  up  in 
this  mean,  low  cave,  their  thoughts  are  yet  as  lofty  and  royal  as  though  they  were 
re-echoed  from  the  domes  of  palaces.  'Ha,  majesty!'  exclaims  the  Bastard  in 
King  John,  'how  high  thy  glory  towers,  When  the  rich  blood  of  kings  is  set  on 
fire!'— II,  i,  350.— ED.] 

94.  to  Prince  it]  For  other  examples  of  this  indefinite  use  of  'it'  after  nouns 
or  words  that  are  not  generally  used  as  verbs,  to  give  them  the  force  of  verbs, 
such  as  'Foot  it  featly,'  Temp.,  I,  ii,  380;  'I'll  queen  it  no  inch  further,'  Wint. 
Tale,  IV,  iv,  460,  etc.,  see  ABBOTT,  §  226. 

96.  who]  See  'who,'  I,  vii,  182. 


ACT   III,  SC.  Hi.] 


CYMBELINE 


When  on  my  three-foot  ftoole  I  fit,  and  tell 
The  warlike  feats  I  haue  done,  his  fpirits  flye  out 
Into  my  Story  :  fay  thus  mine  Enemy  fell, 
And  thus  I  fet  my  foote  on's  necke,  euen  then 
The  Princely  blood  flowes  in  his  Cheeke,  he  fweats, 
Straines  his  yong  Nerues,  and  puts  himfelfe  in  pofture 
That  acts  my  words.     The  yonger  Brother  Cadwall ', 
Once  Aruiragits,  in  as  like  a  figure 
Strikes  life  into  my  fpeech,  and  fhewes  much  more 
His  owne  conceyuing.     Hearke,  the  Game  is  rows'd, 


209 
98 

100 


105 

107 


98-104.  Mnemonic  VVarb. 

98.  three-foot   ftoole]    three-foot-stool 
Theob.  Warb. 

99.  The... flye]  One  line,  Han. 

/    haue]    I've     Pope,+,    Dyce 

•  •        •  •  • 

11,  111. 

99,  100.  out  Into]  Out  at  Han. 

loo.  fay]  Ff,  Glo.  Cam.    say,  Rowe 
et  cet. 

100,  101.  thus  mine... necke]  As  quo- 
tation, Theob.  Han.  Johns,  et  seq. 


101.  on's]  Ff,  Rowe,+,  Coll.  Dyce, 
Sta.  Sing.  Glo.  Cam.  on  his  Cap.  et 
cet. 

103.  Straines]  Stains  Rowe  ii. 

105.  figure]  vigour  Coll.  MS. 

107.  Hearke,]  [Horn]  Heark!  Coll.  iii. 
rows'd,]  F2.  rouz'd,  F3F4. 
rouz'd—  Rowe,  Pope,  Han.  Warb. 
rouz'd.  Theob.  Johns.  Cap.  Coll.  i,  ii. 
rous'd,  Coll.  iii.  rouz'd!  Var.  '73  et 
cet.  (subs.) 


103.  Nerues]  That  Shakespeare  often  uses  'nerves'  where  we  should  say 
'sinews'  we  all  know.  I  am  not  sure  that  in  Shakespeare's  mind  sinews,  arteries, 
and  nerves  were  not  all  three  the  sources  of  strength.  Hamlet  says,  'My  fate  cries 
out,  And  makes  each  petty  artery  in  this  body  As  hardy  as  the  Nemean  lion's 
nerve.'  Henry  the  Fifth  calls  on  his  soldiers  to  'Stiffen  the  sinews,  summon  up  the 
blood.'  But  Shakespeare,  when  the  hot  blood  was  stirring,  cared  little  for  any  nice  an- 
atomical distinctions;  his  Globe  audience  cared  less;  and,  surely,  we  least  of  all. — ED. 

105.  in  as  like  a  figure]  HERFOKD:   That  is,  acting  my  words  as  graphically 
as  his  brother.     While  Guiderius's  gestures  reflect  the  immediate  impression  of 
Belarius's  tale,  Arviragus,  a  more  imaginative  hearer,  heightens  what  he  hears  by 
his  greater  energy  of  conception. — DOWDEN:    I  think  that  'figure'  here  means 
'part  enacted,'  as  in  The  Tempest,  'Bravely  the  figure  of  this  harpy  hast  thou 
Perform'd.'— Ill,  iii,  83. 

106.  shewes  much  more]  DOWDEN:  Not,  shows  more  than  his  brother,  but 
exhibits  his  own  conception  of  things  much  more  than  merely  gives  life  to  what  I 
say. — WYATT:    Belarius  has  here  given  us  the  clue  to  the  discrimination  of  the 
characters  of  the  two  youths,  apparently  so  much  alike, — a  clue  that  must  be 
followed  up  in  the  succeeding  scenes. 

107.  the  Game  is  rows'd]  MADDEN  (p.  26,  foot-note):  The  word  'rouse'  seems 
to  have  been  generally  used  in  the  absence  of  special  terms  of  venery.    We  find  it 
applied  to  the  lion  and  the  panther,  and  Gervase  Markham,  in  his  edition  of  the 
Boke  of  St.  Albans  (1595),  sanctions  its  application  to  the  hart.    But  it  was  in  strict- 
ness a  term  of  art  used  in  reference  to  the  buck,  and  it  is  so  used  by  Shakespeare. 
Thus,  even  if  other  indications  were  wanting,  we  could  have  told  that  Belarius  and 
the  sons  of  Cymbeline  were  engaged  in  the  sport  of  shooting  fallow  deer  with  the 
cross-bow  when  he  exclaimed,  'Hark,  the  game  is  roused!'  and  that  Henry  Boling- 

14 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  m,  sc.  iii. 

Oh  Cymbeline  ^  Heauen  and  my  Confcience  knowes  108 

Thou  didd'ft  vniuftly  banifli  me  :  whereon 

At  three,  and  two  yeeres  old,   I  ftole  thefe  Babes,  1 10 

Thinking  to  barre  thee  of  Succeffion,  as 

Thou  refts  me  of  my  Lands.     Euriphilc, 

Thou  was't  their  Nurfe,  they  took  thee  for  their  mother, 

And  euery  day  do  honor  to  her  graue  :  1 14 

108.  Cymbeline,]      Cymbeline.     Ff.  113.  Nurfe,]    nurse;    Theob.    Warb. 

Cymbeline!  Rowe  et  seq.  et  seq. 

knowes]  know  Pope,  +.  took]  take  Pope,+. 

in.  Succeffion,]  succession  Cam.  114.  her]  thy  Han.  Warb.  Cap.  Ran. 

112.  refts]  reft'st  Rowe  et  seq.  Ktly. 

113.  was't]  waft  F3F4. 

broke  had  in  mind  the  chase  of  the  buck  when  he  assured  the  Duke  of  York  that  his 
son  would  have  found  in  John  of  Gaunt  a  father  '  to  rouse  his  wrongs  and  chase  them 
to  the  bay.' — Rich.  II:  II,  iii,  128.  ...  Absolute  certainty  in  Shakespearian  criti- 
cism is  attainable  only  in  matters  of  venery  and  horsemanship.  Shakespeare  would 
as  soon  write  of  rousing  a  fox  as  of  starting  a  deer. 

108-116.  Oh  Cymbeline  .  .  .  Game  is  vp]  DOWDEN  (p.  405,  foot-note):  Pro- 
fessor Ingram  suggests  to  me  that  the  speech  as  written  by  Shakespeare  ended 
immediately  before  these  lines  with  the  words,  '  The  game  is  roused.'  These  words 
are  awkwardly  repeated  at  the  end  of  the  speech,  'The  game  is  up.' — [I  do  not 
doubt  that  Professor  Ingram  is  right.  May  we  not  here  recognise  the  same  intru- 
sive hand  from  which  this  play  suffers  elsewhere? — ED.] 

no.  I  stole  these  Babes]  JOHNSON:  Shakespeare  seems  to  intend  Belarius 
for  a  good  character,  yet  he  makes  him  forget  the  injury  he  has  done  to  the  young 
princes,  whom  he  has  robbed  of  a  kingdom  only  to  rob  their  father  of  heirs. — The 
latter  part  of  this  soliloquy  is  very  inartificial,  there  being  no  particular  reason 
why  Belarius  should  now  tell  to  himself  what  he  could  not  know  better  by  telling  it. 
-INGLEBY:  Belarius's  soliloquy  here  serves  the  purpose  of  a  chorus.  [I  have 
grave  doubts.  It  bears  no  resemblance  to  any  of  Shakespeare's  Choruses.  A 
Greek  Chorus  was  composed  of  spectators. — ED.] 

112.  Thou  refts]  See  'solicits,'  I,  vii,  175. 

112.  Euriphile]  WALKER  (Crit.,  ii,  31):  This  is  perhaps  a  corruption  of  Euriphyle. 
— DYCE  (ed.  ii.):  Walker  certainly  must  have  written  'a  corruption  of  Eriphyle.' 
[Could  Dyce  have  read  to  the  end  of  Walker's  note?  Following  what  is  given 
above,  Walker  quotes  from  Chapman's  Odyss.,  xi,  '"Masra,  Clymene,  I  witness'd 
there,  and  loath'd  Eryphile,"  [i.  e.,  Eriphyle].'  Possibly  the  bracketed  name  was 
added  by  Lettson;  still,  it  is  there  on  the  printed  page. — ED.] 

114.  to  her  graue]  MALONE:   The  Poet  ought  rather  to  have  written  'to  thy 
grave.'    This  change  of  persons  frequently  occurs  in  our  author.    Thus,  in  Julius 
Casar,  'Casca,  you  are  the  first  that  rears  your  hand.' — III,  i,  30;  'Hail  to  thee, 
worthy  Timon,  and  to  all  That  of  his  bounties  taste.' — Timon,  I,  ii,  129.    We  meet 
with  this  construction  in  Scripture,  Acts,  xvii,  2:  'And  Paul  .  .  .  reasoned  with 
them  out  of  the  scriptures  .  .  .  and  that  Jesus,  whom  I  preach  unto  you,  is  Christ.' 

-VAUGHAN:     The  youths   really  were  honouring   their   mother's  grave   alone, 
whether  the  grave  actually  contained  the  ashes  of  their  mother,  or  the  ashes  of  one 


ACT  in,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE  211 

My  felfe  Bclarius,  that  am  Mcrgan  call'd  1 15 

They  take  for  Naturall  Father.    The  Game  is  vp.        Exit. 

Scena  Quarta. 

Enter  Pifanio  and  Imogen. 

Imo.    Thou  told'ft  me  when  we  came  fro  horfe,  y  place 
Was  neere  at  hand  :  Ne're  long'd  my  Mother  fo 
To  fee  me  firft,  as  I  haue  now  .  Pifanio,  Man  :  5 

116.  [Horn  again  sounded.  Coll.  ii.  5.  fee  me]  feeme  F2.    feem  F3F4. 

Game  is]  game's  Pope,  +  .  /  haue  now.}  Han.  Johns.  Coll.  ii, 

i.  Scene  continued.  Rowe,  Theob.  Glo.  Cam.  Ingl.     7  have  now —  Rowe, 

Scene  vi.  Eccles.  Pope,  Theob.  Warb.  Coll.  i,  Sta.  Ktly. 

Another  Part  of  the  above  country.  I  hope  now  Sprenger.    7  do  now  Daniel, 

Cap.     Near  Milford-Haven.  Var.  '73.  Huds.     7  haue  now:  Ff.  et  cet. 

4.  at]  ar  F2.  Pifanio,     Man:]      Ff.       Pifanio! 

4,  5.  my  ...fee   me]   his  ...  see  him  Rowe    ii,  +  .      Pisanio,    Man,    Johns. 

Southern  MS.  Han.  Pisanio!  Man!  Rowe  i,  et  cet. 

mistaken  to  be  so.  The  expression,  therefore,  is  not,  I  apprehend,  incorrect,  still 
less  spurious. — Br.  NICHOLSON  (N.  &*  Q.,  VII,  ix,  324,  1890):  I  think  this  may  be 
explained  by  supposing  that  a  natural  stage-action  takes  place,  and  we  are  at 
liberty  to  suppose  such  the  more  if  it  explain  a  passage.  Belarius,  having  said, 
'They  took  thee  for  their  mother,'  his  mind  naturally  reverts  to  the  fact  that  she 
has  been  his  devoted  wife  and  chief  companion  of  his  solitude  for  many  years,  and 
he  turns  away  and  pauses  meditatingly  on  her.  I  say  'devoted'  and  'pauses/ 
because  they  must  not  only  have  been  accomplices,  but  to  be  an  accomplice 
she  at  least  must  have  loved  him,  and  if  he  had  not  done  so  at  first, — and  it  is  more 
likely  that  he  did  if  we  consider  his  character, — his  lonely  life  with  her  only  as  his 
helpmate  in  bringing  up  such  children,  he  must  have  learned  to  love  her.  After, 
then,  this  pause,  marked  by  or; — ,  he  reflectingly  says,  'And  every  day  do 
honour  to  her  grave,'  where  he  the  more  uses  the  third  person,  because  his  mind 
again  recurs  to  his  first  topic — the  sparks  in  the  youths'  noble  and  princely  natures, 
— and  leads  him  to  reckon  this  filial  love  among  their  excellences.  [See  I,  ii,  58, 
where  there  is  a  similar  change  of  personal  pronoun  and  a  similar  explanation  given 
by  Nicholson.  See  also  IV,  ii,  284,  285,  and  V,  i,  4-6.] 

116.  Naturall  Father]  CRAIGIE  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  Natural):  13.  Of  children  actu- 
ally begotten  by  one  (in  contrast  to  adopted,  etc.)  and  especially  in  lawful  wedlock; 
hence,  frequently  equivalent  to  legitimate,  b.  Similarly  of  other  relationships 
(especially  natural  father  or  brother)  in  which  there  is  actual  consanguinity  or  kin- 
ship by  descent.  [The  present  line  quoted  in  illustration.] 

i.  Scena  Quarta]  ECCLES:  The  time  I  suppose  to  be  in  the  early  part  of  the 
morning  of  the  same  day  as  the  last  scene.  It  seems  as  if  Pisanio  had  reached 
the  court  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  also,  which  he  does  in  the  ensuing  scene.— 
DANIEL  (Sh.  Soc.  Trans.,  1877,  p.  244):  Between  this  and  the  preceding  scene 
there  is  an  interval  of  one  clear  day.  Imogen  and  Pisanio  journey  into  Wales. 
This  scene  begins  DAY  7.  At  its  close  Pisanio  hastens  back  to  Court. 

4,  5.  My   Mother  .  .  .  see  me  first]   VERPLANCK:  Southern  altered  his  Fourth 


212  THE   TRACED  IE   OF  [ACT  m,  sc.  iv. 

Where  is  Pofthumus  ?     What  is  in  thy  mind  6 

That  makes  thee  flare  thus  ?  Wherefore  breaks  that  figh 
From  th'inward  of  thee  ?  One,  but  painted  thus 
Would  be  interpreted  a  thing  perplex'd  9 

6.  Where}  Where  Ktly.  et  cet. 

What  is]  What's  Ktly.  8.  One,]  One,  One,  Ff,  Rowe  i.    One 

8.  th' inward]     Ff,     Rowe,+,     Coll.  Han.  Cam. 
Dyce,  Sta.  Sing.  Ktly.    the  inward  Cap. 

Folio  thus:  'Ne'er  long'd  his  Mother  to  see  him  first,'  which  certainly  is  more  con- 
sistent with  Imogen's  state  of  mind,  and  renders  the  words  'As  I  have  now'  more 
relative. 

5,  6.  To  see  ...  in  thy  mind]  WALKER  (Crit.,  iii,  323):  We  should  ar- 
range, I  suspect, — 'To  see  me  first  as  I  have  now: — Pisanio! —  |  Man! — Where's 
Posthumus? — What  is  in  thy  mind,'  etc.  [Again  we  have  an  arrangement  which 
no  ear  of  mortal  mould  could  detect  when  spoken  by  an  impassioned  actress. 
Nor  is  this  all.  Such  an  arrangement  betrays  a  lack  of  dramatic  instinct  in  Walker. 
As  the  tone  stands  in  the  Folio,  the  weary,  woebegone,  impatience  of  Imogen  in 
its  rhythm:  'Where  IS  Posthumus?'  Walker's  'Where's  Posthumus?'  is  no  more 
dramatic  than  if  she  had  asked,  'Where's  my  handkerchief?' — ED.] — STAUNTON 
also  re-arranged  these  lines  and  supplied  an  omission  (Athenceum,  14  June,  1873). 
But  he,  too,  has  'Where's  Posthumus?'  which  is  less  excusable  in  him  than  in 
Walker;  Staunton  was  at  one  time  on  the  stage,  so  it  was  said.  His  notice  is  as 
follows:  'I  would  read  and  arrange, — but  that  the  alteration  might  be  thought  too 
violent  even  in  this  most  corruptly  printed  play, — "To  see  me  first,  as  I  to  see 
this  haven,  I  Now,  Pisanio,  Man!  Where's  Posthumus?"  See  ante, — "this  same 
blessed  Milford," — and  note  that  "haven"  here  and  in  other  places  must  be  pro- 
nounced hane;  as  "raven,"  metri  gratia,  must  be  often  sounded  rane.'  Did  Staunton 
notice  that  he  changes  the  accent  of '  Posthumus '  from  its  usual  erroneous  position 
on  the  penult  to  the  antepenult? — ED.] 

5.  as  I  haue  now]  CAPELL:  Imogen  only  expresses  the  degree  of  her  longing 
by  saying  'twas  as  great  as  her  mother's;  its  object  is  sufficiently  known,  and  the 
mention  of  it  this  way  has  more  beauty  than  had  she  made  it  direct. — VAUGHAN 
(p.  439)  finds  a  contrast  between  'Ne're  long'd  my  Mother'  and  'as  I  have  now' 
"in  this  short  time,  since  we  came  from  horse,  have  longed  to  see  Posthumus." 
[Is  not  Rowe's  broken  sentence  to  be  preferred?  Pisanio's  agonised  expression 
startles  Imogen  and  affrights  her.  Suspicion  begins  to  dawn  on  her,  and  her  sen- 
tence remains  unfinished. — ED.] 

8.  From  th'inward  of  thee]  SCHMIDT  (Lex.)  gives  as  parallel  to  the  present 
phrase, '  those  jacks  that  nimble  leap  to  kiss  the  tender  inward  of  thy  palm.' — Sonn., 
cxxviii.  Yet  this  is  not  the  same  'inward'  as  Pisanio's,  and,  according  to  Bart- 
lett's  Concordance,  these  two  are  the  only  instances  of  the  word,  which  really  needs 
no  parallel  or  explanation  whatever. — ED. 

8.  painted]  That  is,  described  or  set  forth  as  in  a  picture.  In  Coriolanus, 
after  Menenius  has  been  describing  Coriolanus  and  ends  with  that  unparalleled 
expression,  'He  wants  nothing  of  a  god  but  eternity  and  a  heaven  to  throne  in,' 
Sicinius  sighs,  'Yes,  mercy,  if  you  report  him  truly.'  Then  Menenius  replies,  'I 
paint  him  in  the  character.' — V,  iii,  27. — ED. 


ACT  in,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE  213 

Beyond  felfe-explication.     Put  thy  felfe  10 

Into  a  hauiour  ofleffe  feare,  ere  wildneffe 

Vanquifh  my  ftayder  Senfes.     What's  the  matter? 

Why  tender'ft  thou  that  Paper  to  me,  with 

A  looke  vntender  ?  If 't  be  Summer  Newes 

Smile  too't  before  :  if  Winterly,  thou  need'ft  15 

But  keepe  that  countenance  ftil.    My  husbands  hand  ? 

That  Drug-damn'd  Italy,  hath  out-craftied  him,  17 

11.  hauiour]  'haviour  Rowe,+,  Cap.  13.  tender1  ft]  ojjer'st  Pope,  Han. 
Varr.  Ran.  Knt,  Sta.  Ktly.  [Pisanio     reaches     her     out     a 

•wildncffc]  wilderness  Warb.  ('cor-  Letter.  Cap. 
reeled  in  MS.'  ap.  Cam.)  14.  //'/]  //  it  Varr.  Mai.  Ran.  Steev. 

12.  my]  thy  Pope,  Han.  Varr.  Knt,  Coll. 
ftayder]  F2.    ftaieder  F4,  Rowe  i.  15.  ioo't]  to't  F3F4  et  seq. 

steadier  Rowe  ii,  Pope,  Han.  ftaider             16.  hand?]  hand!  Cap.  et  seq. 

F3,  Cap.  et  cet.  17.  out-craftied]     out-crafty'd     Cap. 

Senfes.]   senses—     Pope,  Theob.         Mai.     out-crafted  Varr.  Ran.  Dyce  ii, 

Han.  Warb.  iii. 

10.  selfe-explication]  CAPELL  (p.  1 1 1) :  That  is,  beyond  the  person's  own  power 
of  explaining. 

11.  hauiour]  MURRAY  (AT.  E.  D.}:    Originally  adopted  from  the  French  avier, 
avoir,  having,  possession,  property,  etc.  ...  In  the  i4th  and  i5th  centuries,  asso- 
ciation with  the  English  have,  having,  introduced  the  variants  haver,  havoir,  havour, 
and  the  h  was  established  before  1 500.    At  the  same  time  the  parallel  behavour  was 
formed  in  the  English  behave;  and  in  the  i6th  century,  havour,  besides  its  original 
sense  of  'possession,'  took  also  that  of  behavour.    Subsequently  the  termination  of 
both  words  passed  through  eour  to  lour  (cf.  saviour,  and  vulgar '  lovier ');  the  original 
sense, 'possession,'  became  obsolete;  and,  in  the  new  sense,  haviour  came  down 
alongside  of  behaviour,  of  which  it  may  often  have  been  viewed  as  a  shortened  form. 

13.  14.  tender'st  .  .  .  vntender]    INGLEBY:    A    quibble,    very    common    with 
the  writers  of  that  time,  though  insufferable  now.     [If  by  a  'quibble'  is  meant  a 
pun,  and  if  a  'pun'  means  a  jest,  then  was  Imogen's  quibble  as  insufferable  in  1609 
as  it  would  be  in  1909  or  2009.   It  was,  I  think,  merely  an  association  of  sound,  not 
of  meaning,  that  caused  one  'tender'  to  follow  another  'tender,'  an  illiteration 
that  has  nothing  more  of  a  quibble  in  it  than  there  is  in  our  'might  and  main,' 
'stock  and  stone.'     It  is  the  same  with  Lady  Macbeth's  'I'll  guild  the  faces  of  the 
grooms  withal  For  it  must  seem  their  guilt ' — this  too  has  been  called  a  quibble.    I 
do  not  forget  old  John  of  Gaunt's  death  bed,  where  'misery  makes  sport  to  mock 
itself;  and  where  he  plays  nicely  with  his  name  of  set  purpose.    That  situation 
is  far  different  from  the  impassioned   moments  of  Lady  Macbeth  and  of  Imo- 
gen.— ED.] 

14.  Summer  Newes]  MALOXE:   So,  too,  in  Sonnet  xcviii:    'Yet  nor  the  lays 
of  birds  nor  the  sweet  smell  Of  different  flowers  in  odour  and  in  hue  Could  make 
me  any  summer's  story  tell,'  etc. 

16.  But  keepe]  DEIGHTON:    Possibly  'But'  should  be  Not,  i.  e.,  the  news,  if 
bad,  will  be  sufficient  in  itself,  and  there  will  be  no  need  of  your  fierce  looks. 

17.  Drug-damn'd   Italy]  HERFORD:  That  is,  detested  for  its  (poisonous)  drugs. 
17.  out-craftied]   M ALONE:    Thus   the  old  copy,  and  so  Shakespeare  wrote. 


2i4  THE   TRACE  DIE  OF  [ACT  in,  sc.  iv. 

And  hee's  at  fome  hard  point.     Speake  man,  thy  Tongue          18 

May  take  off  fome  extreamitie,  which  to  reade 

Would  be  euen  mortall  to  me.  20 

Pif.     Pleafe  you  reade, 

And  you  (hall  finde  me  (wretched  man)  a  thing 
The  moft  difdain'd  of  Fortune. 

Imogen  reades. 

THy  Miftris  (Pi/amo)  hatli plaide  the  Strumpet  in  my         25 
Bed:  the  tejlimonies  whereof ,  lyes  bleeding  in  me .  If  peak 
not  out  of  weake  Surmifes,  but  from  proof e  as  Jlrong  as  my 
greefe,  and  as  certaine  as  I  expect  my  Reuenge.  T/iatpart,  thou 
(  Pifanio)  mujl  ac~lefor  me,  if  thy  Faith  be  not  tainted  with  the 
breach  of  hers ;  let  tJiine  owne  hands  take  azvay  her  life*:  IJliall         30 
giue  tliee  opportunity  at  Milford  Hauen.    She  hath  my  Letter 
for  tlie  purpofe ;  where,  ifthoufeare  toftrike,  and  to  make  mee 
certaine  it  is  done,  tlwu  art  the  Pander  to  her  dijlionour,  and 
equally  to  me  dijloyall. 

Pif.    What  mall  I  need  to  draw  my  Sword,  the  Paper  35 

Hath  cut  her  throat  alreadie  ?  No,  'tis  Slander, 
Whofe  edge  is  fharper  then  the  Sword,  whofe  tongue  37 

18.  Speake   man,]   Speak,   man,   F4,  35,    36.  Sword, ...alreadie?}    Sword,... 

Rowe  i.    Speak,  man;  Rowe  ii.  et  seq.  already,  F3F4,  Rowe.     sword?. ..already. 

26.  lyes]  lie  Rowe  et  seq.  Pope  et  seq. 

29.  me,]  me.  Theob.  ii,  Warb.  Johns.  36,37.  Slander,... Sword,]  Ff,  Rowe, 

30.  owne]     Om.    Theob.    ii,    Warb.  Pope,     Han.     Glo.       slander,... sword, 
Johns.  Theob.    Warb.    Johns.      slander, — ... 

34.  [She  swoons.  Ktly.  sword;    Knt.      slander, ...sword;    Coll. 

35-47.  Mnemonic  Pope,  Warb.  Sta.    slander;... sword;  Cap.  et  cet. 

So  in  Coriolanus,  'chaste  as  the  icicle  that's  curded  by  the  frost  from  purest  snow.' 
—[V,  iii,  15]. — DYCE  (ed.  ii,  reading  out-crafted):  But  in  such  cases  no  stress  can 
be  laid  on  the  spelling  of  the  Folio.  In  Coriolanus  it  has  '  You  have  made  faire 
hands,  You  and  your  Crafts,  you  have  crafted  faire,' — IV,  vi,  117;  and  while  in 
All's  Well  it  has  'muddied,'  in  The  Tempest  it  twice  has  'mudded.' 

34.  disloyall]  LADY  MARTIN  (p.  190):  My  pen  stops  here.  I  know  not  how  to 
write.  Such  a  charge  as  that  letter  contains,  to  meet  the  eye  of  such  a  creature! 
She  has  begun  to  read,  full  of  apprehension  for  her  husband's  safety,  and  from  his 
hand  she  now  receives  her  deathblow.  As  the  last  word  drops  from  her  lips,  her 
head  bows  in  silence  over  the  writing,  and  her  body  shrinks  as  if  some  mighty  rock 
had  crushed  her  with  its  weight.  These  few  words  have  sufficed  to  blight,  to 
blacken,  and  to  wither  her  whole  life.  The  wonder  is  that  she  ever  rises.  I  used  to 
feel  tied  to  the  earth. 


ACT  in,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE  215 

Out-venomes  all  the  Wormes  of  Nyle,  whofe  breath  38 

Rides  on  the  porting  windes,  and  doth  belye 

All  corners  of  the  World.    Kings,  Queenes,  and  States,  40 

Maides,  Matrons,  nay  the  Secrets  of  the  Graue 

This  viperous  {lander  enters.    What  cheere,  Madam? 

7;;w.Falfe  to  his  Bed  ?    What  is  it  to  be  falfef  43 

38.  Nyle,]  Ff,  Rowe  i.     Nile,  Rowe  world,  Kings... matrons;  Eel. 

ii,  Pope,  Han.  Glo.     Nile;  Theob.  et  41.  Matrons,}  matrons, —  Knt;  Sta. 

cet.  43.  Bed?}  bed!  Rowe  et  seq. 

40.  World.}  Ff,  Rowe,+.     world-  What...falfe?]   What!  is  it  to  be 

Knt.    world:  Cap.  et  cet.  false    M.    Mason,    Ran.    Sing.    Ktly, 

40,   41.  World.     Kings  ...  Matrons,]  Coll.  iii. 

38.  Out-venomes]  Thus  in  Richard  II:  'Pierced  to  the  soul  with  slander's 
venom 'd  spear.' — I,  i,  171. 

38.  Wormes  of  Nyle]  That  is,  all  the  asps  of  the  Nile.  Cleopatra  asks  the 
Clown,  'Hast  thou  the  pretty  worm  of  Nilus  there?' — V,  ii,  242. 

39-41.  doth  belye  .  .  .  World.  Kings  .  .  .  Matrons]  VAUGHAN  (p.  441): 
First,  'corners'  cannot  be  belied  in  Shakespeare's  sense  of  that  word,  'to  tell 
lies  of,'  although  they  may  be  'filled  with  lies,'  and  so  be  belied  in  a  conceived 
sense  of  that  word,  which  is  not  Shakespeare's  meaning.  ...  I  would  interpret 
and  punctuate  thus:  'doth  belie, — All  corners  of  the  world, — kings,  queens,  and 
states,  Maids,  matrons';  which  means  'where  language  is  borne  on  the  fleet  winds, 
and  at  every  corner  of  the  world,  belies  kings,  queens,  and  persons  of  highest  dignity, 
and  both  maid  and  matron: — nay,'  etc. — DOWDEN  adopts  Vaughan's  reading  and 
interpretation.  Yet  if  the  punctuation  of  the  Folio  is  to  be  discarded,  and  it  is  not 
felicitous,  Eccles's  punctuation  (see  Text.  Notes)  seems  to  me  to  be  preferable  to 
Vaughan's;  in  the  latter  there  is  a  parenthetical  clause  so  elliptical  that  it  has  to  be 
explained  in  the  paraphrase  by  the  addition  of  an  at.  Vaughan's  reason  for  making 
this  clause,  'All  corners  of  the  world/  parenthetical  seems  to  me  to  lack  strength. 
We  are  dealing  with  poetry,  and  is  there  anything  to  be  criticised  in  the  passionate 
exclamation  that  Slander's  breath  rides  on  the  posting  winds  and  covers  with  lies 
every  corner  of  the  earth? — ED.] 

40.  States]  JOHNSON:   That  is,  persons  of  highest  rank. 

43.  False  to  his  Bed?  etc.]  MRS  GRIFFITH  (p.  481):  Nothing  in  situation  of 
circumstance,  in  thought,  or  expression  can  exceed  the  beauty  or  tender  effect 
of  these  lines.  They  catch  such  quick  hold  of  our  sympathy  that  we  feel  as  if  the 
scene  was  real,  and  are  at  once  transported  amidst  the  gloom  and  silence  of  the 
forest,  in  spite  of  all  the  glare  of  the  theatre,  and  the  loud  applause  of  the  audience. 
It  is  in  such  instances  as  these  that  Shakespeare  has  never  yet  been  equalled,  and 
can  never  be  excelled.  What  a  power  of  natural  sentiment  must  a  man  have  been 
possessed  of  who  could  so  adequately  express  that  kind  of  ingenuous  surprise  upon 
such  a  challenge,  which  none  but  a  woman  can  possibly  feel!  Shakespeare  could 
not  only  assume  all  characters,  but  even  their  sexes  too. — EDWARD  ROSE  (Sh. 
Soc.  Trans.,  1880-6,  p.  i,  1879):  I  shall  endeavour  to  sketch  the  effect  upon  many 
different  personages  of  sudden  emotion;  but  I  shall  look  upon  their  characters  not  as 
many  and  diverse,  but  as  essentially  only  two — as  modifications  (or,  more  rarely, 


216  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  m,  sc.  iv. 

[43.   False  to  his  Bed?  etc.] 

pure  examples)  of  two  great  opposing  types:  the  men  who  are  habitually  self- 
conscious,  given  to  analyse  their  own  minds  and  deeds,  and  the  men  who  are  not. 
Yet,  to  make  clear  what  I  mean,  I  should  like  to  mention  one  or  two  characters  in 
real  life  which  impress  every  one,  I  believe,  as  almost  pure  types  of  the  two  classes 
I  have  named.  In  the  class  of  simple,  direct  minds,  acting  from  obvious  motives 
and  with  a  minimum  of  self-consciousness,  must  surely  come  those  of  John  Bright, 
of  Darwin,  of  the  late  Duke  of  Wellington,  and  of  a  vast  mass  of  undistinguished 
people,  some  dull,  some  hard,  some  exquisitely  innocent,  some  marvellously  selfish. 
These  people  vary  as  much  as  angel  from  devil,  yet  there  is  about  them  all  a  certain 
childlikeness,  good  or  bad,  a  certain  self-confidence,  useful  or  dangerous.  Even 
Darwin,  while  he  admits  most  freely  that  he  may  be  mistaken,  has  the  self-confi- 
dence of  utter  purity;  he  knows  that  he  is  merely  telling  you  what  he  has  seen 
honestly,  dully,  and  without  arriere-pensee  or  reserve.  So  the  Duke  of  Wellington 
did  simply  what  seemed  to  him  his  duty,  never  thinking  what  it  might  seem  to 
other  men:  and  so  many  a  man  quite  unconsciously  obeys  his  own  pleasure,  his  own 
ambition,  or  the  will  of  some  superior  nature  who  without  an  effort  masters  him. 
Of  the  opposite  kind  are  many  modern  poets — Tennyson,  Browning,  very-  notice- 
ably the  late  Arthur  Clough: — men  who  constantly  look  into  their  own  minds, 
examine  their  own  motives,  deliberate,  doubt,  and  change.  A  student  of  human 
nature,  in  the  literary  sense — a  subjective  poet — is,  in  the  nature  of  things, 
bound  to  be  of  this  class.  Goethe  and  Byron,  though  both  men  of  much  prac- 
tical sense,  belonged  essentially  to  it — they  made  it  the  business  of  their  lives 
to  think  and  to  express  their  thoughts:  they  were  not  among  the  great  doers 
of  this  world.  Their  fine  general  powers  might  have  obtained  for  them  a  good 
place  among  practical  men,  but  nothing  like  the  rank  to  which  some  parts  of  their 
faculties  would  seem  to  have  entitled  them.  That  there  have  also  been  men  of 
infinite  littleness  in  this  class  hardly  needs  to  be  said:  a  tiny  intellect  eagerly 
scrutinising  itself  cannot  well  be  of  any  calculable  value.  Shakspere,  as  a  purely 
dramatic  poet,  had  of  necessity  a  nature  prone  to  self-analysis,  though  his  genius 
was  large  enough  to  analyse  also  nearly  every  other  mind,  while  it  yet  noted  all 
natural  objects,  and  constantly  kept  all  things  in  due  proportion.  ...  In  his  very 
latest  plays,  the  Winter's  Tale  and  Cymbeline,  he  has  companion  studies  of  two 
contrasting  characters,  under  circumstances  to  a  considerable  extent  the  same. 
Both  Hermione  and  Imogen  are  accused  by  their  husbands  of  infidelity,  though  it  is 
true  that  the  former  is  impeached  in  the  presence  of  many  people,  while  the  latter 
is  quite  alone,  except  for  the  faithful  servant  who  bears  the  news.  But  Hermione's 
is  evidently  a  simple  and  grand  nature  of  unusual  strength,  which,  though  fully 
realising  its  position,  had  force  enough  to  bear  with  the  amplest  dignity  a  terrible 
trial.  For  this  great  soul  no  personal  attack  is  too  heavy  to  be  endured;  it  is 
only  at  the  death  of  her  son — following  upon  a  joy  so  great  that  she  could  utter  but 
one  word — that,  like  Hero,  and  not  unlike  Othello,  she  falls  into  a  deadly  swoon. 
It  is  not  thus  that  Imogen's  curious,  imaginative  character  is  affected  by  such  an 
accusation.  She  thinks;  thinks  fast  and  hard,  and  talks  as  fast — she  makes  what 
is  an  almost  continuous  speech  of  sixty  lines.  She  does  not  even  casually  mention 
Cloten  without  an  elaborate  definition  of  his  character — 'that  harsh,  noble, 
simple  nothing.'  These  are  her  first  words,  after  that  silence  so  often  to  be  noticed 
in  parallel  cases  in  Shakspere. — Sudden  Emotion :  in  its  Effect  upon  different 
Characters,  as  shown  by  Shakespeare. 


ACT  in,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE  2 1/ 

To  lye  in  watch  there,  and  to  thinke  on  him? 

To  weepe  'twixt  clock  and  clock? If  fleep  charge  Nature,         45 

To  breake  it  with  a  fearfull  dreame  of  him, 

And  cry  my  felfe  awake  ?     That's  falfe  to's  bed  ?  Is  it  ? 

Pifa.     Alas  good  Lady* 

Imo.     I  falfe?     Thy  Confcience  witneffe  :  lacliimo,  49 

47.  That's]  that  Pope,  Theob.  Han.  47.  Is  it?}  Ff,  Rowe,  Johns.  Dyce, 

Warb.  Sta.  Glo.  Cam.  Om.  Pope,+.     Sepa- 

falfe]  FI.  rate  line  Cap.  et  cet. 

to's]    Ff,    Rowe,+,  Dyce,  Sta.  49.  witneffe:]  witness,  Rowe,-f,  Del. 

Glo.  Cam.    to  his  Cap.  et  cet.  Ingl.    witness.  Coll.  i,  ii,  Ktly. 

bed?]    bed;    Rowe,    Coll.      bed!  lachimo,]      lachimo,—      Theob. 

Pope,+.    bed,  Ran.  Dyce,  Sing.  Ktly.  Warb.  Johns. 
Glo.  Cam. 


43.  What  is  it  to  be  false  ?]  VAUGHAN  (p.  442,  adopting  M.  Mason's  reading 
—see  Text.  Notes) :  Imogen  does  not  ask  the  general  question  what  falsehood  to  his 

bed  is,  but  whether  all  which  she  describes,  that  is,  all  which  she  herself  does,  be 
falsehood;  and  then  concludes,  'that  is  falsehood,  is  it?'  Further,  there  is  but 
one  question,  and  that  is  whether  the  accumulation  of  acts  here  described  consti- 
tutes falsehood;  not  many  questions  as  to  many  acts,  for  that  spoils  the  picture 
of  her  absolute  devotion,  which  shows  itself  in  a  whole  group  of  actions  and  suffer- 
ings. Of  the  impressive  group  she  says,  'that's  false  to  his  bed;  is  it?'  a  question 
she  has  already  asked  at  the  beginning  of  the  sentence,  and  which  she  energetically 
repeats  at  the  end  of  it.  [It  seems  to  me  that  the  appeal  here  to  be  made  is  to  the 
dramatic  effect.  Imogen,  as  Rose  says,  'thinks  fast,'  but  she  thinks  piecemeal, 
and  each  reminiscence,  as  it  rises  in  her  mind,  is  a  question,  with  the  faintest 
possible  pause,  but  yet  a  pause,  after  each  one,  for  the  indignant  denial.  We  must 
bear  in  mind  that  she  is  before  an  audience,  and,  however  fast  she  may  think,  she 
must  not  think  faster  than  they,  and  so  o'erstep  the  modesty  of  nature. — ED.] 

44.  To  lye  in  watch  there,  etc.]   HUNTER  (ii,  295):    Shakespeare  has  shown 
here,  and  in  the  character  of  the  wife  of  Hotspur,  how  beautifully  he  can  depict 
conjugal  tenderness  and  affection.    Lady  Percy  of  King  Henry  the  Fourth  was  the 
Countess  of  Northumberland,  of  Shakespeare's  own  time,  the  amiable  wife  of  a 
morose  husband.    A  daughter  of  hers  was  Countess  of  Leicester,  wife  of  a  Sidney; 
and  I  am  tempted  to  quote  a  passage  from  one  of  her  letters  to  the  Earl,  so  like 
this  speech  of  Imogen,  that  if  we  may  not  suppose  she  had  recently  read  it,  and  the 
words  had  left  their  trace  on  her  memory,  we  may  at  least  take  them  as  proof 
how  justly  the  Poet  has  here  delineated  some  of  the  most  sacred  and  honourable 
of  human  sentiments:  'Mr  Seladine  comes  in  with  your  letter,  whom  I  am  engaged 
to  entertain  a  little:   besides  it  is  supper-time,  or  else  I  should  bestow  one  side 
of  this  paper  in  making  love  to  you.    And  since  I  may  with  modesty  express  it,  I 
will  say  that  if  it  be  love  to  think  on  you  sleeping  and  waking,  to  discourse  of  nothing 
with  pleasure  but  what  concerns  you,  to  wish  myself  every  hour  with  you,  and  to 
pray  for  you  with  as  much  devotion  as  for  my  own  soul,  then  certainly  it  may  be 
said  that  I  am  in  love;  and  this  is  all  which  you  shall  at  this  time  hear  from  yours, 
D.  Leycester.' 

46.  fearfull  dreame  of  him]  That  is,  fearful  for  him,  for  his  safety. 

49.  Thy  Conscience  witnesse  :  lachimo]  CAPELL  (p.  in):  As  the  moderns 


218  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  in,  sc.  iv. 

Thou  didd'ft  accufe  him  of  Incontinencie,  50 

Thou  then  look'dft  like  a  Villaine  :  now,  me  thinkes 

Thy  fauours  good  enough.     Some  lay  of  Italy 

(  Whofe  mother  was  her  painting)  hath  betraid  him  :  53 

51.  me  thinkes]  me  thinks  F3.     me-        Elze.     colour  was   Herr.     broker  was 
thinks  F4  et  seq.  (i.  e.  brother,   i.  e.   mother)    Sprenger. 

52.  fauours}  favours  Rowe  et  seq.  motheur   was   Becket.      smoother   was: 
good]  well  Cap.                                      Jackson,      honour    was    her    plaything 

53.  mother    was]   feather    was    Cap.        Gould. 

Eel.    plumage  was  Bailey,    favour  was  53.  betraid]  bedlaid  Bulloch. 

Cartwright.       pander     was     Bulloch, 

[i.e.,  Capell's  predecessors]  have  pointed  this  passage,  Imogen's  appeal  is  tolachimo's 
conscience;  whereas  the  Folios  direct  it  to  Posthumus,  and  the  other  is  apostro- 
phized afterwards. — ECCLES:  I  cannot  avoid  entertaining  a  suspicion  that  this 
address  might  have  been  directed  to  Pisanio,  whose  close  attendance  upon  her 
person  might  be  supposed  to  afford  him  the  best  assurance  of  her  fidelity. — DELIUS, 
as  well  as  all  editors  who  adopted  Rowe's  punctuation  (see  Text.  Notes),  suppose 
that  this  appeal  is  made  to  lachimo. — HERZBERG  (p.  460)  dissents,  however,  and 
follows  the  Folio.  '  Thy,'  he  says, '  can  refer  only  to  Pisanio  In  the  vividness  of  her 
emotion  Imogen  then  turns  to  the  absent  lachimo,  to  whom,  of  course,  "Thou" 
applies.  In  moments  of  passionate  excitement  such  a  change  of  appeal  is  as  true 
psychologically  as  it  is  common  to  poets  of  all  times.' — VAUGHAN:  'Thy  conscience 
witness'  applies  to  Posthumus — and  means  more  than  its  words  adequately  ex- 
press— in  the  sense  of  'Thy  conscience  witness  whether  it  is  I  or  thou  that  is  false,' 
and  does  not  apply  to  lachimo. — DOWDEN:  That  is,  thy  inmost  consciousness. 
Is  this  addressed  to  Pisanio  or  to  Posthumus?  I  think  to  the  latter.  [I  doubt 
that  Imogen  was  at  that  instant  conscious  of  Pisanio's  presence. — ED.] 

52.  fauours  good  enough]  MALONE:   So,  in  Lear,  'Those  wicked  creatures  yet 
do  look  well-favor'd,  when  others  are  more  wicked.' — II,  iv,  259. 

52.  Some    lay  of  Italy]   MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.)  describes  the  Jay  as  a  noisy, 
chattering  bird  with  vivid  tints  of  blue,  heightened  by  bands  of  jet  black  and 
patches  of  white.      From  a  bird  of  this  description  the  sense  is  easily  transferred 
to  'a  showy  or  flashy  woman;  one  of  light  character.'      And  inasmuch  as  its  earliest 
use  (according  to  Murray)  in  this  transferred  sense  is  found  in  The  Merry  Wives, 
where  Mrs  Ford  says,  'We'll  teach  him  to  know  turtles  from  jays' — III,  iii,  44, 
it  is  not  impossible  that  it  is  Shakespeare's  own  original  comparison,  unless  he 
obtained  the  idea  from  the  Italian  Puta,  which  means  both  the  bird  and  a  wanton 
woman.    Capell  was  the  first  to  call  attention  to  this  Italian  similarity,  and  it  was 
afterward  put  forward  by  SINGER,  without  credit  to  Capell,  and  mentioned  by 
KNIGHT,  but  I  think  no  importance  has  been  attached  to  it. — ED. 

53.  (Whose  mother  was  her  painting)]   The  text  of  ROWE'S  first  edition 
reads,  'Whose  W 'other, ,'  etc.     It  is  a  misprint,  merely  an  inverted  M,  which  was 
corrected  in  his  second  edition,  but  not  before  CHARLES  GILDON  put  forth  a  volume 
in  1710  containing  Shakespeare's  Poems  with  Critical  Remarks,  etc.,  of  his  own, 
and  a  Glossary  of  about  five  pages  containing  An  Explanation  of  the  Old  Words 
us'd  by  Shakespeare  in  his  Works.     In  this  Glossary  he  loyally  inserted  Wother, 
and  still  more  loyally  supplied  a  definition,  namely:    'Merit,  Beauty,  etc.'     I  am 
indebted  for  this  reference  to  Gildon  to  Theobald,  who  was  distressed  over  his 


ACT  in,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE  219 

[53.    (Whose  mother  was  her  painting)] 

inability  to  find  another  example  of  W  other,  no  matter  what  it  meant.  Theo- 
bald's own  emendation  was  not  happy;  the  text  'seems  to  me,'  he  says,  'to  have 
this  sense,  "Whose  Mother  was  a  Bird  of  the  same  Feather";  i.  e.,  such  another  gay 
wanton:  which  is  severe  enough.  I  have  imagin'd  the  Poet  might  have  wrote: 
"whose  mother  was  her  planting,"  i.  e.,  was  bawd  to  her,  and  planted  her  on  Pos- 
thumus:  which  is  still  more  sarcasticall.' — 'The  true  word,'  asserts  WARBURTON, 
'is  meether,  a  north  country  word,  signifying  beauty.  So  that  the  sense  of  her 
meether  was  her  painting  is  that  she  had  only  an  appearance  of  beauty,  for  which 
she  was  beholden  to  her  paint.' — I  can  find  no  such  word  as  meether  in  Dr  JOSEPH 
WRIGHT'S  monumental  English  Dialect  Dictionary. — Dr  ALDIS  WRIGHT,  in  the 
foot-notes  in  the  Cam.  Ed.,  says  that  the  conjecture  was  'withdrawn  in  MS.'- 
Dr  JOHNSON  wisely  and  temperately  observes:  'The  present  reading,  I  think, 
may  stand;  "some  jay  of  Italy,"  made  by  art  the  creature,  not  of  nature,  but  of 
painting.  In  this  sense  "painting"  may  be  not  improperly  termed  her  "mother." 
—I  think  that  Theobald  may  have  indirectly  suggested  HANMER'S  emendation 
which,  in  his  first  edition,  he  inserted  in  his  text  without  comment;  it  is  'Whose 
feathers  are,'  etc.  This,  after  changing  it  to  'Whose  feather  is,'  etc.,  was  adopted 
by  CAPELL. — STEEVENS  tells  us  that  he  met  with  a  similar  expression  in  one  of  the 
old  comedies,  but  forgot  to  note  the  date  or  name  of  the  piece:  ' — a  parcel  of  con- 
ceited feather-caps,  whose  fathers  were  their  garments.'  This  quotation  is  almost 
conclusive,  if — .  In  the  Variorum  of  1803  HARRIS  is  quoted  as  remarking  that 
'"Whose  mother  was  her  painting"  means  her  likeness.'  The  connection  is  not 
readily  detected,  I  think,  between  the  betrayal  of  Posthumus  and  the  painted 
likeness  of  the  mother  of  some  jay  of  Italy.  As  a  family  portrait  it  may  have 
been  source  of  pride,  but  as  a  means  of  seduction  its  value  is  obscure. — In  WILLIAM 
RICHARDSON'S  Essays,  which  are  thoughtful  and  didactic,  but  barren  of  enthusiasm 
or  vivacity,  there  is  on  p.  190  a  foot-note  on  the  present  passage,  which  to  R.  G. 
WHITE  (Shakespeare  Scholar,  p.  462)  appears  to  be  'entirely  satisfactory.'  'Imo- 
gen,' says  Richardson,  'is  moved  by  indignation,  and  even  resentment.  These 
feelings  incline  her  to  aggravate  obnoxious  qualities  in  the  object  of  her  displeasure. 
The  "jay  of  Italy"  is  not  only  very  unworthy  in  herself,  but  is  so  by  transmitted, 
hereditary,  and,  therefore,  by  inherent  wickedness.  She  derived  it  from  her 
parents:  matri  turpi  filia  turpior;  her  mother  was  such  as  she  is;  her  picture,  her 
portrait;  for  the  word  "painting"  in  old  English  was  used  for  portrait.  Shake- 
speare himself  so  uses  it:  "Laertes,  was  your  father  dear  to  you?  Or  are  you 
like  the  painting  of  a  sorrow,  A  face  without  a  heart?"  Perhaps,  too,  the  poet 
uses  that  sort  of  figure  which,  according  to  rhetoricians,  presents  as  expressing 
some  strong  emotion,  the  consequent  in  place  of  the  antecedent,  or  the  effect  for 
the  cause.  So  that,  instead  of  saying  that  the  jay  of  Italy  was  the  picture  of  her 
mother,  Imogen  says,  more  indignantly  and  more  resentfully,  that  her  mother 
was  such  another,  was  her  very  picture.  So  that  she  was  inherently  and  hereditarily 
worthless,  and  capable  of  the  arts  of  seduction.' — This  is  really  what  I  suppose 
Harris  means,  and  it  is  to  me  eminently  unsatisfactory.  I  cannot  divine  why,  at 
that  supreme  hour,  Imogen's  thoughts  should  fly  to  the  jay's  mother  as  a  distinct 
person.  If  it  aggravate  the  jay's  guilt  by  showing  that  her  mother  before  her  was 
as  bad  as  she  is,  why  stop  at  the  mother?  The  hereditary  stain  will  be  deeper  if 
the  jay  had  a  gay  granddam,  and  so  on,  further  and  further  back.  Of  course  this 
is  absurd,  but,  I  think,  it  tests  Richardson's  theory.  Moreover,  the  meaning  which 


220  THE  TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  in,  sc.  iv. 

[53.   (Whose  mother  was  her  painting)] 

Claudius,  in  speaking  to  Laertes,  attaches  to  'painting'  cannot  I  think  be  attached 
to  the  word  as  Imogen  uses  it.  Claudius  refers  to  it  as  a  mere  piece  of  canvas,  a 
simulacrum.  Whatever  Imogen  meant,  this  she  did  not  mean.  We  must  bear  in 
mind  that  jays  not  only  in  Italy,  but  everywhere,  were  conspicuous  by  their  paint- 
ing. Of  this  enough  examples  may  be  found  in  Measure  for  Measure. — KNIGHT 
asks,  'May  we  venture  to  suggest,  without  altering  the  text,  that  muffler  was  the 
word;  which  as  written  might  be  easily  mistaken  for  "mother"?  The  class  of  per- 
sons which  Shakespeare  here  designated  by  the  term  "jay"  were  accustomed  to 
wear  a  veil  or  mask  called  a  "muffler,"  [because,  as  Randle  Holmes  says,  in  his 
Academy  of  Armory,]  "they  were  ashamed  to  show  their  faces."  The  jay  of  Italy 
needed  no  other  disguise  than  the  painting  of  her  face — her  muffler  was  her  "paint- 
ing."' 

In  January,  1852,  COLLIER  announced  the  discovery  of  his  Annotated  Copy  of 
the  second  Folio,  and  published  in  the  next  year  the  Notes  and  Emendations  con- 
tained in  it.  On  p.  518  of  that  volume  the  emendation,  by  the  annotator  of  the 
present  passage,  is  thus  set  forth  by  Collier:  'We  are  told  by  the  amender  of  the 
Folio,  1632, to  read  "Who  smothers  her  with  painting,"  etc.  We  fairly  admit  it  to 
be  possible  that  the  old  corrector,  not  understanding  the  expression,  "Whose 
mother  was  her  painting,"  as  it  was  recited  before  him,  might  himself  mistake  it 
for  "Who  smothers  her  with  painting";  but  it  is  much  more  likely  that  in  this  place, 
where  Imogen  was  to  give  vent  to  her  disgust  and  anger,  she  would  not  use  a 
metaphor,  especially  so  violent  a  one,  as  to  call  the  daubing  of  the  face  actually  the 
"mother"  of  a  courtezan.  .  .  .  Imogen  would,  therefore,  be  disposed  to  render  the 
contrast  as  strong  as  words  could  make  it,  and  would  not  be  content  to  throw  cen- 
sure on  her  debased  and  profligate  rival  merely  by  a  far-fetched  figure  of  speech. 
Shakespeare,  indeed,  in  this  very  play  employs  such  a  figure,  but  under  extremely 
different  circumstances,  viz.,  where  Guiderius  ridicules  Cloten  for  asking  if  he  did 
not  know  him  by  his  fine  clothes.  The  answer  is:  "No,  nor  thy  tailor,  rascal:  Who 
is  thy  grandfather?  he  made  those  clothes,  Which,  as  it  seems,  make  thee."-  —IV, 
ii,  109-111.  These  lines  occur  in  Act  IV,  and  what  Imogen  says  of  the  "jay  of 
Italy"  is  inserted  in  the  immediately  preceding  Act;  and  if  one  thing  more  than 
another  could  persuade  us  that  "who  smothers  her  with  painting"  is  the  true 
text,  it  is  that,  if  we  suppose  differently,  it  makes  Shakespeare  employ  the  very 
same  metaphor  in  two  consecutive  Acts.  Our  great  dramatist  was  neither  so 
poverty-stricken  as  regards  language,  nor  so  injudicious  as  regards  nature,  to 
repeat  himself  in  this  way.  .  .  .  Imogen  would  not  study  metaphors  at  such  a 
time.  ...  It  is  an  axiom  that  genuine  passion  avoids  figures  of  speech,  because 
passion  does  not  reflect,  and  a  figure  of  speech  is  the  fruit  of  reflection;  therefore, 
we  feel  assured  that  the  scribe  misheard,  and  wrote  "whose  mother  was  her  paint- 
ing" instead  of  "who  smothers  her  with  painting."  The  coincidence  of  sound  seems 
otherwise  almost  inexplicable.' — Inasmuch  as  this  emendation  was  the  source  of 
much  controversy,  it  seems  best  that  the  painful  student  should  have  thus  before 
him  the  arguments  wherewith  Collier  first  introduced  it.  The  substance  of  the 
foregoing  from  his  Notes,  etc.,  Collier  repeated  in  his  edition,  and  added:  'besides, 
if  Shakespeare  had  meant  to  say  that  "  painting  "  was  the  mother  of  the  Jay  of  Italy, 
he  would  not  have  inserted  the  passage  as  he  has  done;  the  line  does  not  in  any 
way  call  for  it;  to  have  said  "Whose  painting  was  her  mother"  would  have  suited 
the  line  just  as  well  as  the  inversion.  No  inversion  is  used  when  Guiderius  speaks  of 


ACT  in,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELIXE  221 

[53.    (Whose  mother  was  her  painting)] 

the  tailor  as  the  grandfather  of  Cloten.  In  Hamlet  "good  mother,"  as  it  properly 
stands  in  the  First  Folio,  had  been  misprinted  in  the  quarto  of  161 1 ,  "  could  smother." 
— I,  ii,  77.  Still  ...  we  do  not  place  the  emendation  of  the  manuscript  in  the 
text,  upon  our  ordinary  principle,  not  to  disturb  words  in  the  old  copies  which  bear 
a  consistent  and  intelligible  meaning.' — COLLIER  announced  his  possession  of  this 
Annotated  Copy  of  the  Second  Folio  in  The  Athtzneum  on  the  3ist  of  January,  1852. 
A  few  weeks  afterward,  in  March,  HALLIWELL  wrote  a  small  pamphlet  of  fifteen 
pages,  wholly  directed  against  this  emendation:  'Whose  mother  -was  her  painting.' 
'The  original  text,  whatever  the  reading,  clearly  means,'  says  Halliwell,  'that  the 
jay  of  Italy  was  the  creature  of  Painting,  not  of  Nature,  and  that  this  is  expressed 
by  the  original  reading  in  grammatical  phraseology,  and  that  it  is  confirmed  by 
other  passages  in  the  -works  of  Shakespeare  himself.''  [Italics  Halliwell's.]  .  .  .  Not 
only  is  this  kind  of  imagery  unusual,  but  we  actually  find  it  introduced  into  the  very 
next  Act  of  this  same  play, '  Cloten.  Thou  villain  base,  know'st  me  not  by  my  clothes? 
Guiderius.  No,  nor  thy  tailor,  rascal:  who  is  thy  grandfather?  he  made  those 
clothes,  which,  as  it  seems,  make  thee?' — IV,  ii,  107-111.  Here  is  precisely  the  same 
thought,  and  might  be  expressed  in  the  same  terms,  'whose  father  was  his  clothing.' 
A  much  stronger  instance  will  be  found  in  All's  Well,  'Let  me  not  live,  quoth  he, 
...  to  be  the  snuff  of  younger  spirits  .  .  .  whose  judgments  are  Mere  fathers  of 
their  garments.' — I,  ii,  58.  Mr  Collier  has  a  sensible  note  on  this  passage.  'Tyr- 
whitt,'  he  says,  'would  read  feathers  for  "fathers";  but  the  sense  of  the  old  reading 
is  very  obvious;  the  judgements  of  such  persons  are  only  employed  in  begetting 
new  modes  of  dressing  their  persons.'  Precisely  so;  and  a  similar  explanation 
will  suit  the  passage  in  Cymbeline.  If  'whose  mother  was  her  painting'  was,  as  I 
have  heard  it  said,  too  obscure  a  phrase  to  be  used  before  the  'groundlings'  of  The 
Globe,  surely  'mere  fathers  of  their  garments'  is  open  to  the  same  objection.  .  .  . 
It  must  be  recollected  that  the  metaphorical  use  of  father,  mother,  parent  is  of 
very  frequent  occurrence  in  the  old  dramatists.  .  .  .  The  imagery  is  surely  not 
more  forced  with  painting  than  with  clothing.  If  a  man's  dress  can  be  meta- 
phorically called  his  father,  a  courtesan's  painting  can,  with  equal  propriety,  be 
called  her  mother;  and  it  must  be  also  noticed  that  Imogen  continues  the  imagery 
in  the  next  line,  calling  herself  'a  garment  out  of  fashion.' — A.  E.  B[RAE]  (N.  6* 
Qu.,  I,  v,  484,  May,  1852):  In  the  following  lines  from  -4s  You  Like  It,  mother  is 
directly  used  as  a  sort  of  warranty  of  female  beauty!  Rosalind  is  reproving  Phebe 
for  her  contempt  of  her  lover,  and  in  derision  of  her  beauty,  she  asks:  'Who 
might  be  your  mother?  That  you  insult,  exult,  and  all  at  once  over  the  wretched? ' 
— Ill,  v,  35.  Now  if  Phebe  had  been  one  who  smothered  her  in  painting,  an  ap- 
propriate answer  to  Rosalind's  question  might  have  been — her  mother  was  her 
painting!  Most  certainly  this  latter  phrase  is  the  more  graceful  mode  of  express- 
ing the  idea.  [Surely,  the  appeal  to  a  mother  is  not  here  made  as  a  '  warranty  of 
beauty,'  but  as  a  warranty  of  sweetness  and  forbearance. — ED.] — ANON.  (Black- 
wood's  Maga.,  October,  1853,  p.  471):  We  take  it  that  'mother'  here  means  Italy, 
and  that  the  painting  means  model;  so  that  the  gloss  on  the  passage  should  run 
thus:  Some  jay  of  Italy,  to  whom  Italy  (/'.  e.,  Italian  manners)  was  the  model  ac- 
cording to  which  she  shaped  her  morals  and  her  conduct,  hath  betrayed  him. 
That  this,  or  something  like  it,  is  the  meaning  is  confirmed  by  what  follows — 'Poor 
I  am  stale,  a  garment  out  of  fashion';  that  is,  the  new  fashions,  the  new-fangled 
ways,  are  to  be  found  only  in  Italy,  and  doubtless  that  daughter  of  Italy — that  jay 


222  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  in,  sc.  iv. 

[53.    (Whose  mother  was  her  painting)] 

or  imitative  creature  by  whom  Posthumus  is  now  enslaved — is  a  considerable  pro- 
ficient in  those  fashionable  and  novel  methods  of  conquest.  ...  If  we  adopt 
Johnson's  meaning,  we  must  change  'was'  into  is.  [The  anonymous  author  of 
these  notes  in  Blackwood  is  spoken  of  by  Ingleby  in  N.  &•  Qu.,  V,  vii,  224,  as  'the 
late  Mr  Lettsom,  but  Lettsom  himself,  in  his  Preface  to  Walker's  Criticisms,  etc., 
p.  liv,  speaks  of  Anon.'s  remarks  in  Blackwood  in  terms  of  decided  contempt. — ED.] 
— R.  G.  WHITE  (Shakespeare's  Scholar,  pp.  44-48)  opposes  the  emendation  of 
Collier's  MS.,  because  it  is  'not  absolutely  necessary,'  and  is,  moreover,  a  descent 
from  poetry  to  prose.  The  best  portion  of  White's  remarks  is  a  refutation  of 
Collier's  rash  assertions  that  'Imogen  would  not  study  metaphors  at  such  a 
moment,'  and  that  'genuine  passion  avoids  figures  of  speech.'  In  White's  subse- 
quent edition,  in  1860,  his  own  contribution  to  the  discussion  is  mainly  a  reference 
to  the  foregoing  paper  in  his  Shakespeare's  Scholar. — STAUNTON  quotes  Steevens's 
extract  from  an  old  Comedy  (the  title  whereof  Steevens  could  not  remember)  and 
adds  another  'equally  pertinent,'  from  Middleton's  Michaelmas  Term,  'Why 
should  not  a  woman  confess  what  she  is  now,  since  the  finest  are  but  deluding 
shadows,  begot  between  tirewomen  and  tailors?  for  instance,  behold  their  parents! ' — 

III,  i,  4.     Collier's  annotator  proposes  a  change  which  everyone  must  admit  to  be 
singularly  striking  and  ingenious. — HALLIWELL  (Folio  edition,  1865):  '[Collier's 
MS.],  not  being  acquainted  with  the  figurative  idiomatic  phraseology  which  was 
current  under  various  forms  in  the  dramatic  literature  of  Shakespeare's  period, 
gives  a  reading  which  is  unquestionably  more  suitable  to  modern  hearers,  and, 
under  any  circumstances,  must  be  considered  a  verbal   alteration  of  peculiar 
ingenuity.' — DYCE  (ed.  ii.)  refers  to  the  emendation  by  Collier's  MS.  as  'most 
ingenious.' — The  CAMBRIDGE    EDITION  (ed.  i,  1866):    If    the  text  be  right,  the 
meaning  probably  is:   'Whose  mother  aided  and  abetted  her  daughter  in  the  trade 
of  seduction.'     Such  a  person  is  introduced  by  Middleton  in  A  Mad  World,  My 
Masters,  where  in  Act  I,  sc.  i,  we  find:  'See  where  she  comes,  The  close  curtezan, 
whose  mother  is  her  bawd?'     It  suits  the  character  of  Imogen  that  she  should 
conceive  a  circumstance  to  account  for,  and  in  some  measure  palliate,  her  husband's 
fault. — Ibid.  (ed.  ii.)  Dr  W.  ALOIS  WRIGHT  adds  to  the  foregoing  note  the  following 
comment:  'The  passage  from  Middleton  is  quoted  in  WarburtonMS.,  but  it  does 
not  justify  the  explanation  above  given,  which  I  always  regarded  as  very  doubtful. 
If  the  reading  in  the  text  be  correct,  Johnson's  interpretation  is  right.    Compare 

IV,  ii,  108-111.' — R.  M.  SPENCE  (N.  6°  Qu.,  VI,  i,  52,  1880):   A  few  lines  below,  in 
the  same  speech  of  Imogen,  we  read:   'All  good  seeming  .  .  .  shall  be  thought 
Put  on  for  villainy:   not  born  where  't  grows,'  etc.     So  the  beauty  which  Imogen 
feared  had  seduced  Posthumus  into  infidelity  to  her  was  '  not  born  where  it  grew, 
was  not  native,  but  the  product  of  meretricious  art.     Of  the  seeming  bloom  on  the 
vice-paled  cheek,  the  paint-pot  was  the  "mother."    —HUDSON  (1881) :  That  is,  who 
was  born  of  her  paint-box;  who  had  no  beauty,  no  attraction,  no  womanhood  in  her 
face,  but  what  was  daubed  on;  insomuch  that  she  might  be  aptly  styled  the  creature 
of  her  painting,  one  who  had  daubery  for  her  mother.      So,  in  Lear  II,  ii,  Kent  says 
to  Oswald,  'You  cowardly  rascal,  Nature  disclaims  in  thee;  a  tailor  made  thee.' 
And  when  Cornwall  says  to  him,  'Thou  art  a  strange  fellow;  a  tailor  make  a  man?' 
he  replies,  'Ay,  a  tailor,  sir;  a  stonecutter,  or  a  painter,  could  not  have  made  him 
so  ill,  though  they  had  been  but  two  hours  at  the  trade.'     A  figure  more  in  Shake- 
speare's style  than  this  [the  present  text]  is  hardly  to  be  met  with  in  the  whole 


ACT  in,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE  223 

Poore  I  am  ftale,  a  Garment  out  of  fafhion, 

And  for  I  am  richer  then  to  hang  by  th'walles,  55 

55.  I  am]  I'm  Pope,+.  55.  th'walles]  the  walls  Cap.  et  seq. 

compass  of  his  plays.  .  .  .  Nothing  short  of  a  written  order  direct  from  the  Poet 
himself  would  persuade  me  into  the  substitution  [of  Collier's  MS.],  and  even  then  I 
should  entreat  him  to  reconsider  before  he  authorized  the  change. — R.  ROBERTS 
(New  Sh.  Soc.  Trans.,  1880-6,  p.  202):  Compare:  'If  Madame  Newport  should  not 
be  link't  with  these  Ladyes,  the  chain  wold  never  hold;  for  shee  is  sister  to  the 
famous  Mistress  Porter  .  .  .  and  to  the  more  famous  Lady  Maryborough  (whose 
Paint  is  her  Pander).' — Newes  from  the  New-Exchange,  or  the  Commonwealth  of 
Ladies.  Printed  in  the  yeere  of  Women  without  Grace,  1650,  p.  Q.  Again,  com- 
pare: 'Finally  hee  would  thou  his  equalls  .  .  .  and  said  that  his  Arrne  was  his 
Father,  his  works  his  Linage.' — Shelton's  Transl.  of  Don  Quixote,  1632,  f.  133. 
[Br.  NICHOLSON  (N.  6*  Qu.,  VI,  viii,  241,  1883)  pronounced  these  two  quotations 
'exact  parallels'  to  Imogen's  words.  Their  value  is,  I  fear,  weakened  by  their 
late  date. — ED.] — INGLEBY:  The  hysteria  passio  was,  on  more  special  grounds, 
called  'the  mother,'  as  in  Lear,  II,  iv,  56.  Accordingly  the  word  stands  for  the 
characteristic  strength  or  weakness  of  woman ;  and  here  it  seems  to  stand  for  fe- 
male vanity. — IBID.  (Revised  ed.)  justly  remarks  that  'the  use  of  the  word  "mother" 
must  not  here  be  confounded  with  the  meaning  as  a  warranty  for  female  tender- 
ness, nor  with  the  hysteria  passio  for  which  it  sometimes  stands.' — THISELTON: 
The  Jay  itself  is  no  sham,  for  all  its  showy  plumage:  the  jay  of  Italy  is  an  egregious 
fraud, — the  daughter  of  her  pigmentary  adornments,  to  which  she  owes  her  ex- 
istence, such  as  it  is,  and  without  which  she  would  not  count.  But  it  is  not  unlikely 
that  there  is  a  concurrent  allusion  to  the  'mother'  of  fluids.  Minsheu  explains: 
'the  mother  or  lees  of  wine,  so  called,  because  it  nourisheth  and  preserveth  the  wine 
as  a  mother.'  We  might  interpret,  'Whose  quality  depends  on  her  paint.'  There 
may  also  be  a  connection  between  the  '  mother '  and  the  colour  of  the  liquid,  of  which 
it  may  have  been  regarded  as  the  source. — DOWDEN  :  The  suggestion  '  whose  mother 
wore  her  painting,'  or  'saw  her  painting'  (letters  transposed  from  'was'),  meaning 
whose  mother  was  of  the  same  ill  trade,  has  not  hitherto  been  made.  If  we  might 
disregard  the  parenthesis,  a  slight  emendation  would  alter  the  sense.  Imogen 
might  have  had  a  thought  similar  [to  the  quotation  from  Middleton  given  by  the 
Cambridge  edition],  but  have  been  unable, — like  Desdemona, — to  frame  her  lips 
to  utter  so  gross  a  word;  and  we  might  read:  'Some  jay  of  Italy  Whose  mother 
was — her  painting  hath  betray'd  him.' 

[The  whirlpool  of  comment  that  has  eddied  about  this  phrase  has,  apparently, 
revealed  only  'motion  without  progression.'  I  am  content  to  accept  the  text  as 
it  stands  with  Dr  Johnson's  paraphrase.  In  the  Text.  Notes  the  conjectures  are 
recorded  of  Zachary  Jackson,  Andrew  Becket,  and  George  Gould,  careless  and 
confident  amenders  of  Shakespeare's,  whose  random  guesses  I  announced,  long  ago, 
I  should  cease  to  record  on  these  pages.  They  may  be  found  duly  credited  by  the 
CAMBRIDGE  EDITORS,  whose  long-suffering  toleration  exceeds  mine.  Possibly  it  is 
well  in  emergencies  like  the  present  to  set  forth  every  conjecture,  and  I  have, 
therefore,  set  forth  those  of  these  three  copesmates. — ED.] 

54.  Garment   out   of   fashion]     STEEVENS:     Thus,  in   Westward  for  Smelts, 
1620:  '  But  (said  the  Bainford  fish-wife)  I  like  her  as  a  garment  out  of  fashion.' 

55.  hang  by  th'walles]  STEEVENS:  This  does  not  mean  to  be  converted  into 


224  THE   TRACE  DIE  OF  [ACT  m,  sc.  iv. 

I  muft  be  ript  :  To  peeces  with  me  :  Oh  !  56 

Mens  Vowes  are  womens  Traitors.     All  good  feeming 

By  thy  reuolt(oh  Husband)  fhall  be  thought 

Put  on  for  Villainy ;  not  borne  where't  growes, 

But  worne  a  Baite  for  Ladies.  60 

Pifa.     Good  Madam,  heare  me. 

Imo.    True  honefb  men  being  heard, like  falfe  dSneas, 
Were  in  his  time  thought  falfe  :  and  Synons  weeping  63 

56.  Oh!]  Ff,  Rowe  i,  Coll.  ii,  iii.    Oh,  61.  Good]  Om.  Pope,  Theob.  Han. 
Rowe  ii,+.    01  or  O,  Cap.  et  cet.                Warb. 

57.  good  feeming]  good-seeming  Ktly.  61.  me.]  me —  Rowe,+- 

59.  borne]  born  F3F4  et  seq.  62-68.  Mnemonic  Pope,  Warb. 

growes,]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han.  62.  True  honejl]  True-honest  Walker 

Knt,    Coll.    Dyce,    Sta.    Glo.    Cam.         (Crit.,  i,  33),  Dyce  ii. 
grows;  Theob.  et  cet.  63.  Synons]  Synon's  Rowe.    Sinon's 

Theob. 

hangings  for  a  room,  but  to  be  hung  up,  as  useless,  among  the  neglected  contents 
of  a  wardrobe.  So  in  Meas.  for  Meas.:  '  Which  have,  like  unscour'd  armour,  hung 
by  the  wall.' — I,  ii,  171.  When  a  boy,  at  an  ancient  mansion-house  in  Suffolk, 
I  saw  one  of  these  repositories,  which  (thanks  to  a  succession  of  old  maids!)  had 
been  preserved,  with  superstitious  reverence,  for  almost  a  century  and  a  half. 
Clothes  were  not  formerly,  as  at  present,  made  of  slight  materials,  were  not  kept  in 
drawers,  or  given  away  as  soon  as  lapse  of  time  or  change  of  fashion  had  impaired 
their  value.  On  the  contrary,  they  were  hung  up  on  wooden  pegs  in  a  room  ap- 
propriated to  the  sole  purpose  of  receiving  them;  and  though  such  cast-off  things 
as  were  composed  of  rich  substances  were  occasionally  ripped  for  domestick  uses 
(viz.,  mantles  for  infants,  vests  for  children,  and  counterpanes  for  beds),  articles  of 
inferior  quality  were  suffered  to  'hang  by  the  walls'  till  age  and  moths  had  de- 
stroyed what  pride  would  not  permit  to  be  worn  by  servants  or  poor  relations. 
'Comitem  horridulum  trita  donare  lacerna'  (Pers.  I,  54)  seems  not  to  have  been 
customary  among  our  ancestors,  .  .  .  and  there  is  yet  in  the  wardrobe  of  Covent- 
Garden  Theatre  a  rich  suit  of  clothes  that  once  belonged  to  King  James  I.  When 
I  saw  it  last  it  was  on  the  back  of  Justice  Greedy,  a  character  in  Massinger's  New 
Way  to  Pay  Old  Debts.  [M ALONE  disagrees  with  this  view,  which  really  seems  to 
be  correct,  in  the  following  note:]  Imogen,  as  Mr  Roberts  suggests  to  me,  'alludes 
to  the  hangings  on  walls,  which  were  in  use  in  Shakespeare's  time.'  These  being 
sometimes  wrought  with  gold  or  silver,  were,  it  should  seem,  occasionally  ript  and 
taken  to  pieces  for  the  sake  of  the  materials. 

56.  I  must  be  ript]  Both  ROLFE  and  DOWDEN  see  a  play  on  words  here,  and 
refer  to  Cloten's  threat  to  Pisanio :  '  He  haue  this  secret  from  thy  heart,  or  rip  Thy 
heart  to  finde  it.' — III,  v,  108.  I  venture  to  think  that  it  would  be  more  ac- 
curately denned  as  a  figure  or  metaphor  than  as  a  play  on  words. — ED. 

56.  Oh !]  Is  this  an  exclamation  of  anger,  or  of  sorrow,  or  of  scorn,  or  is  it  a 
shudder? — ED. 

62,  63.  honest  men  .  .  .  thought  false]  ECCLES  suggests  that  'heard'  is 
here  repeated  in  reply  to  what  Pisanio  has  uttered.  This  seems  very  doubtful,  if 
the  punctuation  proposed  in  the  following  note  by  Vaughan  is  to  be  accepted. — 


ACT  in,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE  22$ 

Did  fcandall  many  a  holy  teare  :  tooke  pitty  64 

From  moft  true  wretchedneffe.     So  thou,  Poflhumus 

Wilt  lay  the  Leauen  on  all  proper  men ;  66 

64.  teare:]  tear,  Pope,  Han.  Dyce  ii,  66.  Leauen  on]  leven  to  Ff,  Rowe, 
Hi,  Glo.  Cam.                                                  Pope,  Theob.  Warb.  Johns,     level  to 

tooke]  tooky  F2.    took  F3F4.  Han. 

65.  wretchedneffe.]  wretchedness:  Cap.  on    all    proper]    on    all;    proper 
et  seq.                                                                Daniel. 

VAUGHAN  (p.  444):  This  is,  'honest  men  when  they  spoke  like'  ('being  heard  like') 
'yEneas  were  in  the  time  of  /Eneas  thought  false';  not,  as  all  editors  seem  to  under- 
stand, 'honest  men  were  thought  false,  like  false  ^Eneas,  as  soon  as  they  were 
heard.'  We  should  print  thus:  True  honest  men,  being  heard  like  false  ^Eneas, 
were  in  his  time  thought  false.' — DOWDEN  says  of  this  punctuation  that  'perhaps  it 
is  right.'  It  seems  to  me  entirely  right. — ED. 

63.  Synons]   In  the  'skilful   painting,  made  for  Priam's  Troy,'  which  poor 
Lucrece  sees  and  describes  there  is  much  about  Sinon's  perjury  and  his  'borrow'd 
tears,'  and  how  she  tears  his  likeness  in  the  picture  with  her  nails. — R.  of  L.,  1521- 
1564. 

64.  tooke  pitty]  That  is,  abstracted  pity. 

65.  So   thou,    Posthumus]    WARBURTON:    When    Posthumus    thought    his 
wife  false,  he  unjustly  scandalised  the  whole  sex.     His  wife  here,  under  the  same 
impression  of  his  infidelity,  attended  with  more  provoking  circumstances,  acquits 
his  sex,  and  lays  the  fault  where  it  is  due.     The  poet  paints  from  nature.     This 
is  life  and  manners.      [This  idea  Warburton  proceeds  to  amplify  in  half  a  dozen 
commonplace  lines.      The  whole  note,  EDWARDS  opines,  might  be  referred  as  an 
example  under  his  canon  that  'The  Profess'd  Critic,  in  order  to  furnish  his  quota 
to  the  bookseller,  may  write  Notes  of  Nothing;  that  is,  Notes  which  either  explain 
things  which  do  not  want  explanation;  or  such  as  do  not  explain  matters  at  all,  but 
merely  fill  up  so  much  paper.'] 

66.  lay  the  Leauen]  CAPELL  (p.  112):    To  'lay  the  leaven'  on  anything  is  a 
scripture  phrase;  and  used  (as  grammarians  are  wont  to  term  it)  in  malam  partem, 
for — vitiate  or  corrupt  it,  the  sense  it  has  here;  and  is  also  that  of  'o'erleaven'  in 
Hamlet,  I,  iv,  29;  but  in  Meas.  for  Meas.  we  have  'leaven'd,'  its  participle,  in  the 
sense  of  seasoned  simply:  for  'leaven'  is  a  sour  dough,  seasoned  with  salt;  ...  to 
a  lump  of  this  dough  before  salting  (at  which  time  it  is  insipid  and  tasteless)  is 
•Ajax  compared  by  Thersites  in  Tro.  and  Cress.,  II,  i,  15. 

66.  Leauen]  UPTON  (p.  212):  A  reference  to  i  Corinthians,  v.  6-8,  'a  little 
leaven  leaveneth  the  lump,'  explains  this  present  passage,  which  means  that  Posthu- 
mus '  will  infect  and  corrupt  their  good  names,  like  sour  dough  that  leaveneth  the 
whole  mass,  and  will  render  them  suspected.  In  line  68  I  would  read,  '  From  thy 
great /a//.'  Compare,  'And  thus  thy  fall  hath  left  a  kind  of  blot;  to  mark  the  full- 
fraught  man  and  best  indued  with  some  suspicion.  I  will  weep  for  thee;  For  this 
revolt  of  thine,  methinks,  is  like  Another  fall  of  man.' — Hen.  V:  II,  ii,  138.  [The 
similarity  between  this  passage  and  the  present  would  lend  unusual  plausibility  to 
Upton's  conjecture,  if  the  smallest  objection  could  be  raised  against  'faile.'  In 
WORDSWORTH'S  quotation  (p.  333)  of  this  passage  from  Cymbeline,  fall  is  printed 
without  comment.  I  have  failed  to  find  it  in  any  text. — ED.] 

66.  proper  men]  DOWDEN:   Not,  I  think,  handsome  men  (a  frequent  meaning 


226  THE   TRACED  IE   OF  [ACT  in,  sc.  iv. 

Goodly,  and  gallant,  fhall  be  falfe  and  periur'd  67 

From  thy  great  faile  :  Come  Fellow,  be  thou  honeft, 

Do  thou  thy  Matters  bidding.     When  thou  feeft  him, 

A  little  witneffe  my  obedience.     Looke  70 

I  draw  the  Sword  my  felfe,  take  it,  and  hit 

The  innocent  Manfion  of  my  Loue  (my  Heart :) 

Feare  not,  'tis  empty  of  all  things,  but  Greefe  : 

Thy  Mafter  is  not  there,  who  was  indeede 

The  riches  of  it.     Do  his  bidding,  ftrike,  75 

Thou  mayft  be  valiant  in  a  better  caufe  ; 

But  now  thou  feem'ft  a  Coward. 

Pif.     Hence  vile  Inftrument, 
Thou  (halt  not  damne  my  hand. 

Into.     Why,  I  mufl  dye  :  80 

And  if  I  do  not  by  thy  hand,  thou  art 
No  Seruant  of  thy  Matters.     Againft  Selfe-flaughter,  82 

67.  Goodly,  and    gallant]   goodly  and  75.  Jlrike,]   strike;   Pope,+.      strike, 

gallant  Han.  Dyce,  Ktly.  Glo.  Cam.  Cap.  et  seq. 

69.  bidding.]  Ff,  Rowe,  Coll.  Ktly,  76.  caufe;]  cause,  Pope,  +  ,  Knt,  Coll. 
Cam.     bidding:  Pope  et  cet.  Sta.  Cam. 

70.  obedience.]    Ff,    Rowe,  +  ,    Cam.  79.  [Hurling  it  away.  Coll.  iii. 
obedience:  Cap.  et  cet.  Si.  And  if]  An  if  Walker. 

Looke]  Look,  F3F4,  Cap.     Look!  82.  Againjl]  'Gainst  Pope,+,  Dyce, 

Pope  et  cet.  ii,  iii. 

73.  Feare  not,]  Fear  not;  Cap.  et  seq. 

of  'proper'),  but  rather  honest,  respectable,  as  in  'a  proper  gentlewoman.' — 2  Hen. 
IV:  II,  ii,  169. 

75.  Do  his  bidding,  strike]  Compare  the  treatment  of  this  scene  in  the  two 
versions:  that  in  Boccaccio,  and  that  in  Westward  for  Smelts.  In  the  former  it  rises 
to  a  level  no  higher  than  the  rest  of  the  story;  but  in  the  latter  it  has,  in  rude  out- 
lines, the  pathos  and  beauty  of  the  present  scene — a  proof  quite  sufficient,  as  I 
think,  to  show  that  it  is  an  adaptation  from  Shakespeare. — ED. 

82,  etc.  Against  Selfe-slaughter,  etc.]  Once  before  we  have  had  a  reference 
to  this  'divine  prohibition.'  Hamlet  wishes  'that  the  Everlasting  had  not  fix'd 
His  canon  'gainst  self-slaughter!'  In  reference  to  this  passage  (see  note  ad  loc., 
I,  ii,  132,  of  the  present  edition). — R.  GRANT  WHITE  remarks,  'Shakespeare  may 
have  known  the  Bible,  as  he  knew  all  other  things  in  his  day  knowable,  so  much 
better  than  I  do  that  I  may  not  without  presumption  question  what  he  says  about 
it.  But  I  have  not  been  able  to  discover  any  such  specific  prohibition? — Bishop 
WORDSWORTH  (p.  149) :  There  is  nothing  in  which  Shakespeare  is  more  emphatic 
than  in  representing  the  act  of  suicide  as  a  direct  violation  of  the  Divine  law  [as  in 
Hamlet  and  in  the  present  passage].  I  am  not  aware  that  such  a  prohibition  is  to 
be  found  in  the  Holy  Scripture  [foot-note:  Unless  it  be  in  the  Sixth  Command 
ment];  in  Cymbeline  any  reference  to  Revelation  would  have  been  out  of  place. 
The  'canon,'  therefore,  to  which  our  poet  refers  must  be  one  of  natural  religion. 


ACT  in,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE  227 

There  is  a  prohibition  fo  Diuine,  83 

That  crauens  my  weake  hand  :  Come,  heere's  my  heart : 

84.  That]  That'tVa.un.  84.  heart:]  heart-    Rowe,+.     heart. 

Cam. 

[It  is  unlike  Shakespeare  to  refer,  without  due  authority,  to  a  specific  'canon/  or 
to  a  'divine  prohibition.'  A  conviction,  therefore,  has  never  deserted  me  that 
eventually  time  would  vindicate  him.  Almost  discouraged  by  a  fruitless  search 
through  a  printed  collection  of  'The  Canons  of  the  Church'  from  the  earliest 
years  down  to  the  time  of  Shakespeare,  at  last,  in  happy  hour,  through  a  common 
friend,  I  applied  to  Father  CLIFFORD,  formerly  a  member  of  the  English  Province 
of  the  Jesuits,  and  now  parish  priest  of  'Our  Lady  of  Mercy'  in  Whippany,  New 
Jersey,  whose  wide  and  accurate  learning  is  acknowledged  in  two  hemispheres. 
From  his  courteous  hands  I  have  received  the  following  note,  whereby  the  question 
is  finally  set  at  rest,  and  Shakespeare's  accuracy  vindicated:  'The  ecclesiastical 
enactments  on  the  subject  of  suicide  are  very  rigid,  very  specific;  and  almost  as  old 
as  Church  legislation  itself.  Thus:  (A)  In  the  Rituale  Romamim,  in  current  use 
today,  we  have  the  following:  De  Exequiis:  Cap.  2:  Quibus  non  licet  dare  eccle- 
siasticam  sepulturam.  S.  3:  Se  ipsos  occidentibus  ob  desperationem  vel  iracundiam 
(non  tamen  si  ex  insania  id  accidat)  nisi  ante  mortem  dederint  signa  poenitentiae. 
(B)  Father  Lehenkuhl  (vol.  i.  of  his  Theologia  Moralis,  editio  sexta)  quotes  the 
Dccretales  as  affording  abundant  evidence  of  the  Church's  mind  in  the  matter. 
(The  Decretales  or  Litterae  Dccretales,  compiled  by  Alexander  III.  (1159-1187), 
were  published  by  Gregory  IX,  and  afterwards  re-edited  again  under  Papal  direc- 
tion by  S.  Raymund  de  Pennaforte  (1234),  commonly  known  as  S.  Raymundus 
Non-natus.  The  contents  of  this  remarkable  collection  of  Decisions  on  Cases 
that  had  come  up  for  solution  previous  to  the  twelfth  century  really  carry  one 
back  to  the  fourth,  and,  possibly  (?),  to  the  third  century.)  (C)  Bishop  Hefele 
(Hist.  Ch.  Councils)  quotes  a  canon  (No.  4)  of  the  XVI.  Synod  of  Toledo:  'If  anyone 
has  attempted  to  commit  suicide  and  has  been  prevented,  he  is  to  be  excluded  for 
two  months  from  all  fellowship  with  Catholics  and  from  the  Holy  Communion.' 
I  quote  from  William  Clark's  Trans.,  vol.  v,  p.  245.  Edinburgh,  T.  and  T.  Clark. 
(D)  Cardinal  de  Lugo  (a  Spanish  Jesuit  Theologian  of  great  name  and  influence) 
cites  some  very  recondite  and  curious  evidence  from  S.  Augustine  Contra  Petili- 
anum,  cap.  XXIV,  apropos  of  the  Circumcelliones,  or  Circuitores,  who  defended 
suicide,  apparently,  in  just  such  cases  as  Hamlet  finds  himself  in,  and  who  even 
described  it  as  a  species  martyrii.  (E)  In  the  De  Civitate  Dei,  cc,  xvii-xxviii,  of 
Book  i,  the  Saint  discusses  quite  an  array  of  instances  and  cases,  and  invariably 
concludes  against  the  lawfulness  of  suicide  in  any  circumstances  whatsoever. 
It  is  a  most  interesting  discussion, — Lucretia,  Cato,  Regulus,  Judas  Iscariot,— 
they  all  come  up  for  notice.  (F)  A  Council  of  Braga  (Concilium  Bracharense), 
anno  411,  is  also  instanced  by  De  Lugo;  but  scholars,  I  believe,  are  agreed  that  the 
Council  in  question  left  no  clear  evidence  behind  it.  The  decrees  usually  cited  are 
now  known  to  be  spurious.  Yet,  spurious  or  genuine,  they  are  very  old  and  show 
the  mind  of  the  time, — say,  of  a  century  and  half  later.  In  all  these  enactments 
the  word  canon  is  explicitly  used.  Whether  the  Elizabethans  vaguely  appre- 
hended all  this  intricate  and  ecclesiastical  connotation  in  their  use  of  the  word, 
or  whether  Shakespeare  saw  it  and  felt  it,  is  a  nice  point  that  I  should  like  to  see 
discussed.'] 


228  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  in,  sc.  iv. 

Something's  a-foot  :  Soft,  foft,  wee'l  no  defence,  85 

Obedient  as  the  Scabbard.     What  is  heere, 

The  Scriptures  of  the  Loyall  Leonatus, 

All  turn'd  to  Herefie  ?   Away,  away 

Corrupters  of  my  Faith,  you  fhall  no  more 

Be  Stomachers  to  my  heart  :  thus  may  poore  Fooles  90 

Beleeue  falfe  Teachers  :  Though  thofe  that  are  betraid 

Do  feele  the  Treafon  fharpely,  yet  the  Traitor  92 

85.  Something's]  Something  Han.  ii.  88.  [Pulling   his   letter   out    of   her 
a-foot]  F2.     afoot  F3F4.     in  front         Bosom.  Rowe  (Letters  Pope),  +  - 

Coll.  MS.    afore't—  Rowe  et  seq.  89.  Faith,]  faith!  Theob.   Warb.   et 

[Opening  her  breast.  Rowe.  seq. 

Joft,]   Ff,   Rowe,+.     soft!   Coll.  90.  heart:]      heart!       Cap.       heart. 

Sing.    Dyce,    Ktly.       soft;     Cap.    et  Dyce. 

cet.  91.  Though]  Om.  Pope,  Han. 

86.  heere,]    Ff,    Rowe.      here;    Knt.  thofe  that  are]  those,  are  Vaun. 
here?  Pope  et  cet.  are]  art  F4. 

85.  Something's  ...  no  defence]  This  line,  VAUGHAN  (p.  445)  suggests, 
should  be  placed  in  a  parenthesis,  whereby  it  is  the  'heart'  and  not  Imogen  herself 
generally  that  is  made  obedient  to  the  scabbard. — DOWDEN  adopted  the  sug- 
gestion. Would  not  the  time,  however,  which  Imogen  must  take  in  discovering 
what  it  is  which  is  afore  her  heart,  and  the  delay  implied  by  'Soft,  soft/  break 
this  connection  with  heart,  when  heard  on  the  stage?  This  line  is  highly  dramatic. 
There  lies  in  it  surprise,  wonderment,  and  '  soft,  soft '  shows  that  she  was  searching 
fold  after  fold  of  her  garment  until  she  finds  the  letters  beneath  the  inmost  of  all, — 
next  to  her  very  heart. — ED. 

87.  The  Scriptures]  STEEVENS:    So  Ben  Jonson,  in  The  Sad  Shepherd:  'The 
lovers'  scripture,  Heliodore's,  or  Tatii.'     [I,  ii,  'scriptures'  here  means  novels, 
stories,  not  letters. — ED.]     Shakespeare  means,  however,  in  this  place  an  opposi- 
tion between  'scripture,'  in  its  common  signification,  and  heresy.     [It  seems  to  me 
it  would  be  more  correct  to  say  that  having  called  the  dear  letters  of  her  loyal 
lover  'scripture,'  the  instant  thought  of  his  disloyalty  as  quickly  suggested  'heresy.' 

— ED.] — HERAUD  (p.  331):  Where  did  Imogen  find  this  'canon  'gainst  self- 
slaughter?  not  in  the  'scriptures,'  to  which  Imogen  afterwards  alludes,  for  they 
have  no  special  prohibition  of  such  a  crime;  and  the  Hebrew  annals,  like  the 
Roman,  contain  many  instances  of  self-sacrifice.  The  curious  use  made  of  those 
'scriptures'  as  a  simile  might,  again,  be  almost  taken  as  a  testimony  against  the 
reformers  in  favour  of  the  claims  of  the  Catholic  Church  to  set  her  authority 
above  the  written  word.  [And  so  Heraud's  note  runs  on,  to  prove  that  Shake- 
speare was  an  'extreme  Protestant'  and  would  'no  more  admit  a  paper  Pope 
than  he  would  a  personal  one, '  etc.  I  do  not,  I  cannot  believe  that  Heraud 
imagined  that  Imogen,  in  referring  to  the  'Scriptures'  of  Leonatus,  supposed  that 
what  was  afore  her  heart  was  a  copy  of  Posthumus's  Bible,  and  yet  his  words 
come  perilously  near  that  meaning.  Probably  he  considered  it  so  evident  that 
love-letters  were  intended  that  he  did  not  deem  it  worth  while  to  mark  the 
distinction. — ED.] 


ACT    III,   SC.   iv.] 


CYMBELINE 


Stands  in  worfe  cafe  of  woe.     And  thou  Pojlhumus, 

That  didd'ft  fet  vp  my  difobedience  'gainft  the  King 

My  Father,  and  makes  me  put  into  contempt  the  fuites 

Of  Princely  Fellowes,  malt  heereafter  finde 

It  is  no  a6le  of  common  paffage,  but 

A  ftraine  of  Rareneffe :  and  I  greeue  my  felfe, 

To  thinke,  when  thou  (halt  be  difedg'd  by  her, 


229 
93 

95 


99 


93-95.  Lines  end:  woe  ...Jet  vp  ... 
Father  ...Juites  Cap.  Var.  '78,  '85,  Ran. 
Steev.  Varr.  Eel.  Knt,  Coll.  Sing.  Dyce, 
Glo.  Cam.  Huds.  Rife,  Dtn,  Dowden. 

93.  thou]  thou  too,  Ktly.  conj. 

94.  That  didd'Jl  fet  vp]   Ff,   Rowe, 
Han.  Var.  '73,  Mai.  Knt,  Coll.  Sing. 
Dyce,  Sta.  Ktly.    That  set  Pope,  Theob. 
Warb.        That     set'st     Johns.        That 
diddcst  set  up  Var.  '78,  '85.     thou  that 
did'st  set  up  Cap.  et  cet. 

94-96.  Four  lines,  ending:  dif obe- 
dience...makes. ..fuites.. .finde  (reading 
A  gainst. ..and  did'st  make. ..even  the  suits) 
Han. 

Lines  end:    'gai nft... contempt 


...finde    Mai.     Sta.     fet. ..vp... Father... 
fuites. ..finde  Ingl. 

95.  My  Father]  Om.   Pope,  Theob. 
Warb.  Johns. 

and  makes]  Ff.  and  mad'st 
Ro\ve,+,  Cap.  Var.  '78,  '85,  Ran. 
Eel.  and  didst  make  Han.  mad'st 
Var.  '73.  and  make  Cap.  et  cet. 

95,  96.  fuites... finde]  One  line  Ktly. 

96.  Fellowes,]   Fellows,   F4.     fellows; 
Rowe,  Pope,  Han. 

Jlialt]  shall  Sta.  ii.  (misprint). 

98.  greeue}  grieve  F3F4. 

fclfe,]  self  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam. 

99.  difedg'd]  dis-sieg'd  Theob.  conj. 
(Sh.  Rest.,  189,  withdrawn.) 


93-95.  Stands  .  .  .  the  suites]  Within  the  compass  of  these  three  lines 
so  many  changes  have  been  made  in  the  division  of  them,  for  the  sake  of  scansion, 
that  the  CAMBRIDGE  EDITION  apparently  gave  up  the  attempt  to  set  them  forth 
in  Text.  Notes  with  intelligible  clearness  and  devoted  a  full  page  to  reprint  the 
various  versions  at  full  length.  I  do  not  flatter  myself  that  I  have  succeeded  where 
my  betters  have  failed.  If  I  have  failed  I  could  be  extremely  sorry  that  it  was  not 
in  a  better  cause.  For  what  do  all  these  changes  amount  to,  when  no  ear  either 
can,  or  ought  to,  detect  them  on  the  stage?  unless  we  return  to  the  sing-song  chant 
of  Betterton's  days?  Is  rhythm  to  be  our  master?  The  cadences  into  which 
Shakespeare's  music  flows,  under  the  stress  of  deep  emotion,  do  not  depend  on  the 
length  of  lines  or  on  their  division. — ED.] 

96.  Princely  Fellowes]  MALONE:    One  of  the   same  fellowships  or  rank  with 
myself. — COLLIER  pronounced  'Fellows'  'absurd,'  and  in  his  second  and  third 
editions  adopted  the  reading  of  his  MS.  followers. — ANON.  (Blackwood,  Oct.,  1853, 
p.  471):    Imogen  means  princely  equals.     This  is  undoubted.     Posthumus  was 
beneath  her  in  rank;  yet,  for  his  sake,  she  had  declined  the  proposals  of  suitors  as 
high-born  as  herself. 

97.  common  passage]  SCHMIDT  (Lex.):    That  is,  occurrence. 

98.  straine  of  Rarenesse]  SCHMIDT  (Lex.):    That  is,  motion  of  the  mind,  im- 
pulse, feeling. 

98.  I  greeue  my  selfe,  etc.]  Compare  Hermione's  pathetic  speech  to 
Leontes,  in  The  Wint.  Tale:  'how  this  will  grieue  you,  When  you  shall  come 
to  clearer  knowledge  that  You  thus  haue  publish'd  me.' — II,  i,  119  (of  this 
ed.).— ED. 


230  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  m,  sc.  iv. 

That  now  thou  tyreft  on,  how  thy  memory  100 

Will  then  be  pang'd  by  me.     Prythee  difpatch, 

The  Lambe  entreats  the  Butcher.    Wher's  thy  knife? 

Thou  art  too  flow  to  do  thy  Matters  bidding 

When  I  defire  it  too. 

Pif.     Oh  gracious  Lady  :  105 

Since  I  receiuM  command  to  do  this  bufineffe, 
I  haue  not  flept  one  winke. 

Imo.     Doo't,and  to  bed  then. 

Pif.     He  wake  mine  eye-balles  firft.  109 

TOO.  That]  Whom  Pope,-f-.  Johns.  Sta.     break. ..first  Rowe,  Pope, 

101.  me.}    me —    Pope,    Theob.     ii,  Theob.  Warb.  Hal.     crack. ..first  Coll. 
Han.  ii,    iii.     (MS.).      make. ..first—      Ktly. 

102.  thy}  the  F4,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han.  wake... out  first  Johns,  conj.  Ingl.    waste 

103.  too}  to  F2.  ...first  Elze.     wake. ..blind  first  Han.  et 
109.  wake...firfl}    Ff    (eye-balls    F4),         cet. 

100.  thou  tyrest  on]  WHITNEY  (Cent.  Diet.} :  The  Primary  intransitive  mean- 
ing of  to  'tyre'  is:   To  engage  in  pulling  or  tearing  or  rending:    used  especially  in 
falconry  of  hawks  pouncing  upon  their  prey.     The  secondary  meaning  is:    To  be 
earnestly  engaged;  to  dote;  gloat  [as  in  the  present  line]. 

101.  pang'd]  For  many  other  examples  of  verbs  formed  from  nouns,  see  ABBOTT, 
§290;  where  'panging'  is  quoted  from  Hen.  VIII:  II,  iii,  15:    "Tis  a  sufferance 
panging  As  soul  and  body's  severing.' 

109.  lie  wake  mine  eye-balles  first]  JOHNSON:  I  read:  I'll  wake  mine 
eye-balls  out  first,  or  blind  first.  [Of  these  two  readings,  only  the  former  is  John- 
son's own;  the  latter  appeared  in  Hanmer's  text  twenty  years  before  the  date  of 
Johnson's  edition.] — STEEVENS:  Dr  Johnson's  conjecture  may  receive  some  sup- 
port from  the  following  in  The  Bugbears,  a  MS.  comedy  more  ancient  than  Cym- 
beline:  'I  doubt  Least  for  lacke  of  my  slepe  I  shall  watche  my  eyes  oute.'  [Steevens's 
quotations,  which  cannot  be  verified,  should  be  received  with  caution. — ED.] 
Again  in  The  Revenger's  Tragedy,  1608:  'A  piteous  tragedy!  able  to  wake  An  old 
man's  eyes  bloodshot.'  [Hazlitt-Dodsley  reads  'able  to  make'  and  in  a  foot-note 
says:  'The  Qto  reads  wake.'  Churton  Collins  also  reads  'make'  and  no  foot-note.] 
Again,  in  The  Roaring  Girl,  1611:  'I'll  ride  to  Oxford,  and  watch  out  my  eyes,  but 
I'll  hear  the  brazen  head.' — COLLIER  (ed.  ii,  reading  cracke  for  'wake'):  Neither 
Hanmer  nor  any  of  his  successors  has  informed  us  where  the  expression  to  'wake 
eye-balls  blind'  is  to  be  found.  It  is,  in  truth,  without  precedent,  whereas  'to  crack 
the  eye-balls'  is  a  phrase  perfectly  natural,  and  requires  no  addition  of  'blind' 
or  of  any  other  word.  Our  text  is  that  of  the  MS.  and  we  are  confident  it  is  right. 
— STAUNTON  after  referring  to  Hanmer's  emendation  and  that  of  Collier,  'who,' 
he  says,  'adopts  the  almost  ludicrous  alteration  of  his  MS.,'  remarks:  'There  is 
not  the  slightest  need  for  a  change  of  any  kind.  "Wake"  is  a  synonym  for  watch, 
and  to  watch  is  a  technical  term  in  falconry  for  the  cruel  method  of  taming  the 
newly-taken  hawks  by  depriving  them  of  sleep.  "I'll  wake  mine  eye-balls"  then, 
means,  "I'll  prevent  sleep  even  by  the  tortures  of  my  eye-balls."  The  very  ex- 
pression, indeed,  though  overlooked  by  all  the  editors,  occurs  in  Lust's  Dominion, 


ACT  in,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE  231 

[109.    He  wake  mine  eye-balles  first] 

I,  ii:   "  I'll  still  wake  And  waste  these  balls  of  sight  by  tossing  them  In.,"  '  etc.    So, 
also,  in  Middleton's  Roaring  Girl,  [quoted  by  Steevens]. — DYCE  (Strictures,  p.  212) : 
'  To  crack  the  eye-strings1  is  a  not  uncommon  expression,  and,  indeed,  occurs  in  this 
very  play,  'I  would  have  broke  mine  eye-strings,  crack'd  them,'  etc.,  I,  iv,  24;  but 
who  ever  heard  of  'cracking  the  eye-balles,'  though  Mr  Collier  calls  it  'a  phrase 
perfectly  natural?  ...  I  cannot  think  that  [in  the  passage  quoted  by  Mr  Staun- 
ton]  the  verb  'wake'  (after  which  Mr  Staunton  throws  out  the  comma)  governs 
'eye-balls,' — the  meaning  I  conceive  to  be,  'I'll  still  keep  myself  awake,  and  waste 
these  balls,'  etc.     (So  in  Spenser:    'All  night  she  watcht;  ne  once  adowne  would 
lay  Her  dainty  limbs  on  her  sad  dreriment,  But  praying  still  did  wake,  and  waking 
did  lament.' — The  Faerie  Queene,  b.  i,  c.  xi,  st.  32).    Some  word,  therefore,  seems  to 
be  required  after '  eye-balls ' ;  nor  is  the  metre,  which  throughout  this  scene  is  far  from 
irregular,  complete  without  it.      [This  note  Dyce  repeated  in  his  ed.  ii.] — INGLEBY 
quotes  from  Democritus  his  Dreame,  Peter  Woodhouse,  1605:   'and  then  I  make  no 
doubt,  Thou'lt  laugh  no  more,  but  weep  thine  eye-balles  out.' — p.  2,  ed.  Grossart. 
[But  'weeping'  is  not  waking.     Here,  if  ever,  we  must  obey  the  only  safe  rule  that 
the  hardest  reading  is  to  be  preferred.     Staunton  is,  I  think,  right  in  adhering  to 
the  Folio,  if  any  legitimate  sense  can  be  obtained  from  it.    Dyce  himself  does  not 
appear  to  be  thoroughly  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  emendation;  he  says:   'some 
word  seems  to  be  required  after  eye-balls.'     This  is  not  saying  that  the  line  would 
be  unintelligible  without  it.     The  objection,  at  first  sight,  to  Staunton's  interpre- 
tation is  that  watch  and  'wake'  are  hardly  synonyms.     Watch  but  not  'wake'  is 
the  technical  term  used  in  the  training  of  hawks.     HARTING  (p.  45)  quotes  from 
Edmund  Bert's  Treatyse  of  Hawks  and  Hawking,  1619:  'I  have  heard  of  some  who 
watched  and  kept  hawks  awake  seven  nights  and  as  many  days.'    This  use  of 
watch  is  frequent  in  Shakespeare,  but  even  had  he  meant  it  here  he  could  hardly 
have  used  it  in  place  of  'wake';  even  to  a  falconer's  ears  it  might  have  sounded 
strange  to  hear  Pisanio  say  'I'll  watch  my  eye-balls  first.'    What  is  needed,  there- 
fore, to  uphold  the  present  text  are  examples  of  the  use  of  'wake'  in  the  sense 
of  watch.     The  N.  E.  D.  is  not,  at  this  writing,  advanced  as  far  as  the  letter  W. 
Next  to  it  in  value  is  The  Century  Dictionary,  there,  under  'wake,'  WHITNEY  gives 
a  quotation  from  Syr  John  Maundeville's  Voiage,  which  seems  exactly  in  point. 
In  his  chapter  xlviii,  Syr  John  says:    'in  thaf.  countrey  is  an  olde  castell  that  is  on 
a  rock,  yt  men  call  the  castell  of  Spirys,  and  there  men  finde  an  hawke  sitting  upon 
a  perch  right  well  made  &  a  faire  lady  of  Fayry  that  keepeth  it,  &  he  that  will  wake 
this  same  hawke  seven  days  and  seven  nights,  .  .  .  alone  without  any  company 
and  without  slepe,  this  faire  ladie  shall  come  unto  him  at  the  vii  dayes  ende  & 
shall  graunte  unto  him  the  first  thing  that  he  shall  aske  of  worldly  things.  .  .  . 
And  so  uppon  a  time  it  befell  that  a  man  which  that  tyme  was  Kinge  of  Armonye 
[Armenia]  that  was  a  right  doughty  man  waked  uppon  a  tyme,  and  at  the  seven 
dayes  ende  the  lady  came  to  him  and  bade  him  aske  what  he  would  for  he  had 
wel  done  his  devoure  [devoir].  .  .  .  Also  a  poore  mannes  soone  as  he  waked  on  a 
tyme,  and  asked  the  lady  that  he  might  be  rych  and  happy  in  marchaundise  and  the 
lady  graunted  him.  .  .  .  Also  a  Knight  of  the  Templars  waked  likewise  and  when 
he  had  done,  he  desired  to  have  a  purse  full  of  golde.  .  .  .  But  he  that  shal  wake 
hath  great  nede  for  to  kepe  him  from  slepe,  for  if  he  sleepe  he  is  lost  that  he  shall 
neuer  bee  seene.' — pp.  110-112,  ed.  Ashton.     Thiselton  also  refers  to  the  Century 
Dictionary.     After  such  an  array  of  examples  where  '  wake '  is  used  in  the  sense  of 


232  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  in,  sc.  iv. 

Imo.     Wherefore  then  no 

DidcTft  vndertake  it?  Why  haft  thou  abus'd 
So  many  Miles,  with  a  pretence  ?    This  place  ? 
Mine  Action  ?  and  thine  owne  ?  Our  Horfes  labour  ? 
The  Time  inuiting  thee?  The  perturb'd  Court 
For  my  being  abfent  ?  whereunto  I  neuer  115 

Purpofe  returne.     Why  haft  thou  gone  fo  farre 
To  be  vn-bent  ?  when  thou  haft  'tane  thy  ftand, 
Th'elected  Deere  before  thee  ? 

Pif.     But  to  win  time 
To  loofe  fo  bad  employment,  in  the  which  1 20 

no.  Wherefore]  Ah,  wherefore  Pope,  Var.  '73.    return?  Rowe  ii,  et  cet. 

Theob.    Warb.      And   wherefore    Coll.  117.  vn-bent?  when]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope. 

MS.  unbent   when   Han.    Knt,    Dyce,    Sta. 

113.  Action?]  action  Var.  '73.   action,  Glo.  Cam.    unbent,  when  Theob.  et  cet. 

Cap.  et  seq.  'tane]  tane  Ff .  ta'en  Rowe  et  seq. 

115.  abfent?]  Rowe  ii,  +  ,  Glo.  Cam.  118.  Tk']  Ff,  Rowe,  +  ,  Coll.  Dyce 
absent,  Ktly,  Dyce  ii,  iii.     absent;  Ff  ii,  iii.    The  Cap.  et  cet. 

et  cet.  119.  time]    time;    Var.    '21.      time, 

116.  returne]    Ff,    Pope,+,     Ktly,        Coll. 

Glo.  Cam.     return;  Rowe  ii.     return!  120.  loofe]  lofe  F4. 

watch — and  of  a  torturing  watch — are  we  justified  in  changing  Shakespeare's 
text?  To  be  sure,  these  examples  are  all  from  one  very  old  writer  and  all  from  one 
chapter,  but  he  uses  throughout  the  language  of  the  common  people,  and  it  is  fair 
to  assume  that  he  was  commonly  understood.  And  is  it  not  also  fair  to  assume  that, 
in  spite  of  the  changes  in  language  between  the  years  when  the  First  Folio  and  the 
Fourth  were  printed, '  wake '  still  retained  its  meaning  throughout  those  sixty-two 
years  and  was  duly  comprehended  both  by  Shakespeare's  compositors  and  by  his 
auditors,  and  that  it  was  only  through  the  decline  of  Falconry  that  the  force  of  the 
word  became  lost? — ED.] 

in,  112.  abus'd  So  many  Miles]  A  vivid  personification  of  miles,  implying 
that  they  had  rights  which  those  who  travelled  them  were  bound  to  respect.  Here 
Pisanio  had  'abused'  them  by  not  fulfilling  the  purpose  which  he  had  in  view  when 
he  set  out  to  journey  over  them.  'Abus'd'  occurs  in  its  ordinary  meaning  in  line 
134,  below. — ED. 

117.  To   be   vn-bent]  JOHNSON:    To  have  thy  bow  unbent,  alluding  to  an 
hunter.     [Did  Dr  Johnson  drop  some  of  his  aitches?  or  was  the  dropping  in  his 
day  allowable  in  'hunter/  as  it  still  is  in  honour,  hour,  etc.? — ED.] — MADDEN  (p. 
236) :  It  was  a  question  to  be  asked,  for  when  the  deer  are  driven  by  the  stand,  then 
comes  the  moment  for  action.     A  stand  was  a  hiding  place  constructed  in  the 
thickest  brake,  commanding  the  land  across  which  the  deer  were  expected  to  pass. 

118.  Th'elected  Deere  before    thee]    M ALONE:    So,   in   The  Passionate  Pil- 
grim:   'When  as  thine  eye  hath  chose  the  dame,  And  stall'd  the  deer  that  thou 
should'st  strike.' — line  299. 

120.  loose]  DELIUS:  To  'lose'  may  be  used  as  the  opposite  of  to  win,  and  it 
may  also  mean  to  be  free  from,  to  be  loose  from.  [This  note  of  Delius,  VAUGHAN 
(p.  447)  controverts,  but  I  think  he  misinterprets  Delius's  doppelsinnig,  which  he 


ACT  in,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE  233 

I  haue  confider'd  of  a  courfe:  good  Ladie  121 

Heare  me  with  patience. 

lino.     Talke  thy  tongue  weary,  fpeake  : 
I  haue  heard  I  am  a  Strumpet,  and  mine  eare 
Therein  falfe  ftrooke,  can  take  no  greater  wound,  125 

Nor  tent,  to  bottome  that.     But  fpeake. 

Pif.     Then  Madam, 
I  thought  you  would  not  backe  againe. 

I  mo.     Moft  like, 
Bringing  me  heere  to  kill  me.  1 30 

Pif.     Not  fo  neither : 
But  if  I  were  as  wife,  as  honeft,  then 
My  purpofe  would  proue  well  :  it  cannot  be, 
But  that  my  Mafter  is  abus'd.     Some  Villaine, 
I, and  fmgular  in  his  Art,  hath  done  you  both  135 

121.  courfe:]  course.  Coll.  Dyce,  Sta.        Cap. 

Sing.  Ktly,  Glo.  Cam.  133.  well:]  well.  Johns,  et  seq. 

122.  me]    Om.    Cap.    (corrected    in  134-136.  But     that...imurie.]     Lines 
Errata.)                                                             end:      abus'd  ...  Art  ...  iniurie.       Cap. 

patience]  patence  F2.  et  seq.  (except  Ktly,  Cam.,  who  follow 

123.  weary,]  weary;  Cap.  et  seq.  FI). 

fpeake]  Om.  Vaun.  134.  abus'd.]  Ff.  abus'd,  Rowe,  Pope. 

124.  /  haue]  I've  Pope,  +  ,  Dyce  ii,        abus'd;  Theob.  et  seq. 

Hi.  135.  /,  and]  Ff.    And  Pope,+.    Ay, 

125.  ftrooke]   ftrook    F3F4,    Rowe    i,        and  Rowe  et  cet. 

takes  as  meaning  an  'equivocation/  as  it  certainly  does  mean  usually;  but  here, 
I  think,  the  excellent  German  editor  intends  simply  that  the  word  is  capable  of  two 
interpretations,  without  any  implication  of  equivocation  or  double  meaning,  in 
malam  partem,  as  the  old  grammarians  would  say. — ED.] 

121,  122.  good  Ladie  Heare  me  with  patience]  I  marvel  that  neither  Capell 
nor  other  editor  has  here  added  a  stage  direction:  Imogen  makes  a  gesture  of  im- 
patience; just  as  in  line  213  of  this  scene,  when  Pisanio  says  to  Imogen:  'Heere  is  a 
boxe,'  Capell  obligingly  inserts  a  double  dagger  to  let  us  know  that  Pisanio  hands 
it  to  her.  One  is  almost  tempted  to  assert  that,  other  than  the  very,  very  scanty 
stage  directions  in  the  Folio,  Shakespeare  needs  none  from  the  first  page  of  The 
Tempest  to  the  last  of  Pericles. — ED. 

126.  Nor  tent]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.}:   A  probe.     'Modest  Doubt  is  cal'd  .  .  . 
the  tent  that  searches  To'th'  bottome  of  the  worst.' — Tro.  6*  Cress.,  II,  ii,  16. 

132.  But  if  I  were]  Rev.  JOHN  HUNTER:   That  is,  I  thought  that  if  I  were. 

134,  135.  Some  Villaine,  I,  and  singular,  etc.]  VAUGHAN:  These  lines 
should  run  thus,  probably:  'But  that  my  master  is  abus'd:  some  villain,  Some 
villain — ay,  and  singular  in  his  art.'  No  words  are  so  often  lost  by  mistake  in 
Shakespeare  as  words  repeated;  and  the  repetition  here  is  natural.  [Vaughan  fol- 
lowed, without  investigation,  Capell's  text.  Had  he  only  looked  occasionally  into 
the  Folio,  I  think  that  both  he  and  his  readers  would  have  been  happier.  He 
believed  he  was  adding  'some  villain'  to  line  134;  in  reality  he  was  prefixing  it  to 


234 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF 


[ACT  in,  sc.  iv. 


This  curfed  miurie. 

Into.    Some  Roman  Curtezan  f 

Pifa.     No,  on  my  life  : 

He  giue  but  notice  you  are  dead,  and  fend  him 
Some  bloody  figne  of  it.     For  'tis  commanded 
I  mould  do  fo  :  you  mail  be  mift  at  Court, 
And  that  will  well  confirme  it. 

Imo.     Why  good  Fellow, 

What  fhall  I  do  the  while  ?  Where  bide  ?  How  Hue  ? 
Or  in  my  life,  what  comfort,  when  I  am 
Dead  to  my  Husband  ? 

Pif.     If  you'l  backe  to'th'Court. 

lino.    No  Court,  no  Father,  nor  no  more  adoe 
With  that  harm,  noble,  fimple  nothing: 


136 


140 


145 


149 


137.  Curtezan?]     Ff,     Rowe,     Pope. 
curtezan—   Theob.  Han.  Warb.  Johns. 
curtezan.  Cap.  et  cet. 

138.  life:}  life.  Pope  et  seq. 

139.  but]  F2.    him  F3F4,  Rowe,+. 

140.  of  it.}  of  it:  Pope  et  seq. 

141.  fo:]  so.  Pope,+. 
mift]  miss'd  Rowe. 

143.  Fellow}  Fellow;  Rowe,     Pope. 

144,  153.  bide]  'bide  Theob.  ii,  Warb. 
Johns. 

147.  to'th']  F2.    to  tti*  F3F4,  Rowe,  +  . 
to  the  Cap.  et  seq. 

Court.}  court —  Pope  et  seq. 

148.  Father]  Father;  Rowe  et  seq. 

149.  150.  With...Clotten]   One    line 
Pope,  Theob.  Han.  Warb.  Cap.  Dyce, 
Huds. 


149.  noble}  ignoble  noble  B.  Nichol- 
son (N.  &  Q.,  Dec.,  1868).  nothing  noble, 
Ingl.  i,  Dtn.  that  ignoble  Elze.  no, 
no  noble  Perring.  hardly  noble  Leo. 

noble,  fimple]  noble-simple  D. 
C.  T.  (N.  &  Q.,  June,  1882). 

fimple  nothing:]  fimple  nothing; 
F2,  Ingl.  fimple  nothing?  F3F4.  simple 
nothing,  Rowe,  Pope,  Coll.  i,  Dyce  i, 
Glo.  Cam.  Dtn.  simple,  Nothing, 
Cloten:  Theob.  Warb.  simple  nothing, 
Cloten:  Han.  Cap.  Dyce  (reading 
Cloten — ,')  ii,  iii,  Huds.  simple,  nothing, 
Johns.  Sta.  Sing.  Ktly.  simple,  empty 
nothing,  Coll.  ii,  iii.  (MS.),  noble 
simply  in  nothing,  Vaun.  simple, 
nothing;  Var.  '73  et  cet. 


line  135;  and  thereby  changing  lines  that  possibly  needed  no  change.  The  same 
emendation  occurred  previously  to  CRAIG,  but  he  properly  placed  the  repetition  at 
the  beginning  of  line  135. — ED.] — WALKER  (Grit.,  iii,  323):  I  am  all  but  certain 
we  should  read  and  arrange:  'And  singular  in  's  art,  hath,'  etc.  I  follow  the  Folio, 
only  expunging  'I'  (Ay)  after  'villain,'  and  altering  'his'  to  's.'  [Walker's  library 
was  small,  and  he  is  possibly,  therefore,  excusable;  but  I  think  Walker's  editor, 
Lettsom,  should  have  noted  that  the  omission  of  '  I '  is  as  old  as  Pope,  and  that  of 
the  two  emendations  the  alteration  of  'his'  to  's'  is  alone  Walker's  and  so  trifling 
as  to  be  hardly  worth  recording. — ED.] 

140.  'tis  commanded]  ROLFE:  This  is  implied  in  the  injunction  'to  make 
me  certain  it  is  done,'  which  Pisanio  is  left  to  interpret  his  own  way. 

142.  will  well  confirme  it]  ECCLES:  As  that  circumstance  might  be  sup- 
posed soon  to  reach  the  ears  of  Posthumus,  though  himself  absent. 

147.  you'l  backe  to'th'Court]  ECCLES:  It  is  not  easy  to  say  what  follow- 
ing expedient  he  would  have  suggested  to  her,  if  such  had  been  her  determination. 


ACT  in,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE  235 

That  Clotten,  whofe  Loue-futte  hath  bene  to  me  150 

As  fearefull  as  a  Siege. 

Pif.     If  not  at  Court, 

Then  not  in  Britaine  muft  you  bide. 

Imo.    Wherethenf  154 

150.  That  Clotten,]  Ff.    That  Cloten:  154.  Imo.]  Luc.  F4. 

Ro\ve.    Cloten:  Pope.  Imo.    Where  then?]    Imo.  Hath 

153,   154.  Then  ...Where  then?]    One  Han.   Warb.   MS. 

line,     given    to    Pisan.    Han.    Warb.  Where  then?]   What    then    Cap. 

MS.  conj.,  Ran.  Huds. 

The  account  intended  to  be  sent  to  her  husband  of  her  death  would  in  that  case 
have  lost  its  effect,  and  consequently  must  have  been  laid  aside. 

149.  that  harsh,  noble,  simple  nothing]  MALONE:  Some  epithet  of  two 
syllables  has  here  been  omitted  by  the  compositor;  for  which,  having  but  one 
copy,  it  is  now  vain  to  seek. — WHITE  justly  adds:  'but  no  addition  is  needed  to 
perfect  the  sense.' — SINGER  (Shakespeare  Vindicated,  etc.,  p.  308)  goes  even  further 
and  asserts  that  the  'line  is  quite  as  harmonious,  and  more  effective,'  without  any 
addition. — BULLOCH  (1868,  p.  275):  Some  dozen  years  ago  I  adopted  the  follow- 
ing reading:  'that  harsh  noodle  simple  mouthing  fool — .'  Noodle  is  not  in  Shake- 
speare, neither  is  mouthing,  though  'mouthed'  is  and  so  is  ' mousing ';  fool  is  sup- 
plied; the  terms  are  all  applicable  and  the  measure  is  filled  up. — R.  M.  SPENCE 
(N.  6°  Qu.,  VI,  i,  52,  1880):  'Noble'  I  take  to  be  here  used  in  its  monetary  sense. 
'Harsh'  I  regard  as  a  misprint  for  trash.  The  line  I  read  thus:  'With  that  trash 
noble,  simple  nothing,  Cloten.'  She  calls  him  first  a  'trash  noble' — a  base  coin; 
then,  correcting  herself,  as  even  that  was  too  good  a  name  for  him,  she  calls  him 
a  'simple  nothing.' — ARTHUR  GRAY  (N.  &*  Qu.,  VII,  vi,  343,  1888):  'Noble'  is 
unquestionably  right.  It  is  practically  the  synonym  of  'simple'  and,  like  it,  may 
be  used  in  the  honourable  sense  of  artless,  ingenious,  or  mockingly,  as  foolish. 
[Hereupon  follow  examples  of  the  use  of  '  noble '  in  the  two  opposed  senses,  which, 
we  are  told,  are  practically  synonyms,  but  unfortunately,  do  not  cure  the  halting 
rhythm.] — Br.  NICHOLSON  (N.  &  Qu.,  VII,  viii,  45, 1889)  defends  the  reading  he  had 
proposed  many  years  before.  See  Text.  Notes.  He  urges,  first,  that  Cloten  was 
both  by  birth  and  character  an  'ignoble  noble';  secondly,  that  the  phrase,  while 
stronger  than  'that  harsh,'  is  less  strong  than,  but  a  fitting  preliminary  to,  the 
climax  'simple  nothing';  thirdly,  that  the  similarity  between  'ignoble'  and  'noble' 
gives  a  ready  cause  for  the  compositor's  catching  up  the  latter  only. — PORTER  and 
CLARK  remark  that  the  time  of  the  missing  foot  is  filled  up  by  '  Imogen's  exasper- 
ated pause,  when  she  can  think  of  nothing  bad  enough  further,  except  his  name.' 
[If  ever  a  poet  writ  whose  selection  of  words  approached  perfection,  it  is  Shake- 
speare. We  all  know  this;  and  yet  when  there  is  a  chance  of  ekeing  out  the  metre 
with  a  word  of  two  syllables,  how  eager  we  all  are  light-heartedly  to  fill  the  gap 
and  expect  an  admiring  world  to  acknowledge  our  success  in  recalling  Shakespeare's 
very  word.  But  the  world  is  cold,  and  scorns  our  word  and  instantly  substitutes 
a  true  one  of  its  own.  'Tis  with  our  emendations,  as  our  watches,  none  are  just 
alike,  but  each  believes  his  own.  The  line,  I  think,  needs  no  aid  beyond  the  pause 
which  Miss  Porter  and  Miss  Clarke  suggest. — ED.] 

154.  Where  then?]  CAPELL  (p.  112):  There  is  no  accounting  for  this  question, 
and  making  it  proper,  if  we  suppose  it  connected  with  the  others  that  follow:  but 


236  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  in,  sc.  iv. 

[154.   Wherethen?] 

considering  it  a  question  apart,  and  the  others  as  afterthoughts,  'Where  then'  may 
be  right;  and  its  rectitude  would  appear  in  the  action,  by  a  due  length  of  pause  be-  • 
tween  that  and  the  other  questions.  [Capell  does  not  here  mention  his  own  con- 
jecture What  then?,  which  was  probably  an  afterthought,  see  page  14  of  his  Various 
Readings.  Six  years  later,  in  1785,  Monck  Mason  made  the  same  conjecture.] — 
MALONE:  Perhaps  Imogen  silently  answers  her  own  question:  'anywhere.  Hath 
Britain,'  etc. — THISELTON  (p.  32):  This  is  equivalent  to  /  care  not  where. — ELZE 
(p.  316):  Imogen  cannot  possibly  be  the  speaker  of  the  two  lines  following  'Where 
then?.'  The  original  distribution  of  the  lines,  in  my  opinion,  was  this:  'Pisanio. 
Hath  Britain  all  the  sun  that  shines?  Day,  night,  Are  they  not  but  in  Britain? 
Imogen.  I'the  world's  volume  Our  Britain  .  .  .  There's  livers  out  of  Britain.' 
— VAUGHAN,  whose  New  Readings,  etc.,  was  published  in  the  same  year  with  Elze's 
Notes,  also  made  a  new  distribution  of  speeches,  as  follows:  Imogen  asks,  'Where 
then?'  Pisanio  replies,  'Hath  Britain  all  the  sun,'  etc.;  and,  continuing,  concludes 
with,  'Prythee  think,  There's  livers  out  of  Britain,'  Whereto  Imogen  answers, 
'I  am  most  glad  you  think  of  other  place.'  Pisanio  resumes,  'The  Ambassador,' 
etc.  In  the  course  of  Pisanio's  speech,  line  157,  Vaughan  changes  'but  not  in't' 
to  'but  not  it.'  [This  re-arrangement  DOWDEN  pronounces  'bold,'  which  it  cer- 
tainly is,  but  not,  I  think,  too  bold.  I  can  only  sigh  under  my  breath,  'Pereant  qui 
ante  nos  nostra  dixerunt.'  Exactly  the  same  arrangement  had  occurred  to  me. 
It  seems  highly  unnatural  that  Imogen  after  the  sad  wail  from  her  darkened 
soul,  'Where  then?'  should  at  once  answer  her  own  question  with  a  cheerful  al- 
lusion to  sunlight  over  the  whole  globe,  and  then  go  on  trippingly,  rehearsing  the 
advantages  of  leaving  the  island,  advantages  that  would  come  more  naturally  from 
Pisanio,  arguments  leading  up  to  his  counsel  to  Imogen  actually  to  follow  Posthu- 
mus  to  Rome.  His  was  no  plan  formed  on  the  spur  of  the  moment;  as  the  con- 
ference goes  on,  we  see  that  every  detail  had  been  anticipated  by  him,  and  note  how 
tactfully  he  deals  with  his  gracious  Lady  from  the  very  first  intimation  of  his  plan, 
'I  thought  you  would  backe  againe,'  on  through,  'Then  not  in  Britaine  must  you 
bide,'  until  we  hear  this  first  cheering  note  'Hath  Britaine  all  the  sun  that  shines,' 
and  at  its  conclusion  how  pitifully  Imogen's  words  sound,  'I  am  most  glad  you  think 
of  other  place.'  The  chief est  objection  to  this  re-arrangement, — apart  from  its 
boldness, — is,  I  think,  to  be  found  in  the  poetic  imagery,  ignoble  though  it  be,  in 
which  Pisanio,  of  all  men!  and  at  such  a  tragic  hour!  indulges.  I  do  not  forget  how 
a  poetic  thought,  or  worse,  even  a  pun,  will  prove  the  fatal  Cleopatra  to  Shake- 
speare, and  he  will  follow  it  to  ruin,  but  in  the  present  burst  of  ill-timed  patriotism 
there  is  no  charm  of  poetry  nor  cadence  of  rhythm  to  allure  him  astray.  A  nest 
of  sticks  in  a  great  pool  as  a  description  of  England  never  fell  from  lips  that  had 
once  called  it  'this  precious  stone  set  in  a  silver  sea.'  Never  would  Shakespeare, 
speaking  of  his  own  'demi-Paradise,'  have  used  a  degrading  image,  like  the  present, 
or  like  Byron's  'yeasty  waves.'  I  am  sure  that  the  lines  beginning  with  'Day? 
Night? '  and  ending  with  '  Swannes-nest '  are  by  the  same  tawdry  hand  that  added 
to  The  Dirge,  'Golden  lads  and  girls  all  must  Like  Chimney  sweepers  come  to 
dust.'  Finally,  this  omission  does  not  affect  the  rhythm  harmfully.  'Hath 
Britaine  all  the  Sunne  that  shines?  prythee  thinke '  has  but  one  extra  syllable,  which 
is  common, — line  156  has  one. — ED.] — DOWDEN:  I  suppose  that  Imogen  at  first 
cannot  think  of  leaving  Britain;  then  pauses;  and  then  suddenly  determines  that  she 
will  leave  her  country. 


ACT    III,  SC.  iv.] 


CYMBELIXE 


237 


Hath  Britaine  all  the  Sunne  that  fliines?  Day?  Night? 
Are  they  not  but  in  Britaine/  I'th'worlds  Volume 
Our  Britaine  feemes  as  of  it,  but  not  in't : 
In  a  great  Poole,  a  Swannes-neft,  prythee  thinke 
There's  liuers  out  of  Britaine. 

Pif.     I  am  moft  glad 
You  thinke  of  other  place  :  Th'Ambaffador, 


155 


160 


155.  Day?  Night?]  Day,  night,  Theob. 
et  seq. 

156.  I'M]  Ith'  F3F4.     rthe    Cap.  et 
seq. 

157.  of  it,.. .in't:}  off  it,... in  it  Schmidt 
(Lex.,  s.  v.  '  off  ')•    in  it,.. .of  it;  Daniel, 
Huds.     of  it,.. .it,  Vaun. 

in't]  Ff,  Rowe,  Cap.  Dyce, 
Sta.  Sing.  Ktly,  Glo.  Cam.  in  it  Pope 
et  cet. 

158.  nejl,]  Ff,  Rowe  i.     nest.  Rowe, 
+  ,  Ktly.    nest:  Cap.  et  cet. 


158.  prythee]  F2.    prethee  F3F4,  Rowe 
i.     prithee  Rowe  ii,  Knt,  Dyce,  Glo. 
Cam.    Pr'ythee  Pope  et  cet. 

159.  liuers]     living     Pope,     Theob. 
Han.  Warb.  Eel. 

1 60.  /  am]  Fm  Pope,  +  ,  Dyce  ii,  iii. 

161.  place:]  place.  Cap.  et  seq. 

77*']  Ff,  Rowe,  +  ,  Coll.  Dyce 
ii,  iii,  Sing.  Ktly.  The  Cap.  et  cet. 

Ambaffador]  embassador  Cap. 
Var.  '78,  '85,  Mai.  Ran.  Steev.  Varr. 
Sing.  Coll.  iii. 


155.  Hath  Britaine  all  the  Sunne  that  shines]  MALONE:  Shakespeare 
seems  here  to  have  in  his  thoughts  a  passage  in  Lily's  Euphues,  1580,  which  he  has 
imitated  in  Rich.  II:  [I,  iii,  275], '  Nature  hath  given  no  man  a  country,  no  more  than 
she  hath  a  house  or  lands,  or  liuings.  .  .  .  Plato  would  never  accompt  him  ban- 
ished yat  had  ye  Sun,  Fire,  Aire,  Water  and  Earth,  that  he  had  before,  where  he 
felt  the  Winter's  blast  and  the  Summer's  blaze,  where  ye  same  Sun,  and  the  same 
Moone  shined,  whereby  he  noted  that  every  place  was  a  country  to  a  wise  man, 
and  al  parts  a  pallace  to  a  quiet  mind.  .  .  .  How  can  any  part  of  the  world  be  dis- 
tant farre  from  the  other,  when  as  the  Mathematicians  set  down  that  the  earth  is 
but  a  point  being  compared  to  ye  heauens?' — Letters  of  Euphues,  p.  187,  ed.  Arber. 

157.  Britaine  seemes   as   of  it,    but  not   in't]  HUDSON*:    Daniel's  change  is 
fully  warranted  by  the  context.     'To  be  in  the  world,  but  not  of  it'  has  long  been 
a  sort  of  proverbial  phrase. — INGLEBY  considers  Daniel's  transposition  as  'specious,' 
and  observes,  'But  the  "great  pool"  stands  for  the  ocean,  and  not  for  the  world. 
Britain  is  "in  the  world's  volume,"  but  seems  not  to  be  so,  being  divisa  toto  orbe  by 
the  sea,  as  a  swan's  nest  in  a  great  pool  is  divided  from  the  land.' — DOWDEN:  I 
take  the  text  to  mean — Britain  is  a  page  of  the  world's  great  volume,  but  as  it  were, 
a  page  torn  from  it — 'of  it,  but  not  in  it';  it  is  islanded  in  ocean  like  a  swan's  nest 
in  a  pool,  far  from  the  world,  as  is  a  swan's  nest  from  the  shores  of  the  pool.     The 
'world'  means  the  terrene,  inhabited  world,  and  Britain  was  not  in  it,  as  Battista 
Guarino  writes:    'Britannia  ipsa,  quae  extra  orbem  terrarum  posita  est' — quoted 
in  Einstein's  Italian  Renaissance  in  England,  p.  19  n.     So  in  Trevisa's  translation 
of  Bartholomew  Glanvil  (Of  Anglia}:   'England  is  the  most  island  of  Ocean,  and  is 
beclipped  all  about  by  the  sea,  and  departed  from  the  roundness  of  the  world,'  i.  e., 
of  it,  yet  not  in  it. 

158.  Swannes-nest]  WALKER  (Vers.,  235)  calls  attention  to  this  hyphenated 
word  as  an  illustration  of  his  observation  that  'Such  combinations  as  "Luds'  town," 
"  Heaven's  Gate,"  and  others  of  the  same  kind  are  pronounced  as  if  they  were  single 
words,  with  the  accent  on  the  first  syllable.'     See  III,  i,  39. 


238  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  in,  sc.  iv. 

Lucius  the  Romane  comes  to  Milford-Hauen  162 

To  morrow.     Now,  if  you  could  weare  a  minde 

Darke,  as  your  Fortune  is,  and  but  difguife 

That  which  t'appeare  it  felfe,  muft  not  yet  be,  165 

But  by  felfe-danger,  you  fhould  tread  a  courfe 

163.  morrow.]    Ff,    Rowe,+,    Ktly.  mask  Kinnear.     blind  Vaun. 
morrow:  Cap.  et  cet.  165.  fappeare]     Ff,   Rowe,  +  ,    Coll. 

minde]     mien     Warb.     Theob.  Dyce  ii,  iii.  Ktly.   to  appear  Cap.  et  cet. 
Han.    mine  Theob.  conj.  (withdrawn).  166.  JJiould]  shall  Var.  '73. 

163.  weare  a  minde]  WARBURTON:  What  had  the  darkness  of  her  mind  to  do 
with  the  concealment  of  person,  which  is  the  only  thing  here  advised?  On  the 
contrary,  her  'mind'  was  to  continue  unchanged,  in  order  to  support  her  change 
of  fortune.  Shakespeare  wrote, '  wear  a  mien.'  Or,  according  to  the  French  orthog- 
raphy, from  whence  I  presume  arose  the  corruption,  'wear  a  mine.'  [Mine  was 
Theobald's  conjecture,  in  a  letter  to  Warburton.] — JOHNSON:  To  wear  a  dark 
mind  is  to  carry  a  mind  impenetrable  to  the  search  of  others.  Darkness,  applied  to 
the  mind,  is  secrecy;  applied  to  fortune,  is  obscurity.  The  next  lines  are  obscure. 
'You  must,'  says  Pisanio,  'disguise  that  greatness,  which,  to  appear  hereafter  in  its 
proper  form,  cannot  yet  appear  without  great  danger  to  itself.' — HEATH  (p.  481): 
That  is,  Now,  if  you  can  suffer  your  mind  to  be  disguised  in  conformity  to  your 
fortune.  That  the  mind  was  to  be  disguised,  as  well  as  the  person,  Pisanio  plainly 
tells  Imogen  on  the  next  page,  'you  must  forget  to  be  a  woman,'  etc. — CAPELL  (p. 
112):  -Previous  to  his  proposal  about  her  person,  Pisanio  enquires  about  the  state 
of  his  mistress's  'mind';  whether  she  can  'disguise  that,'  put  off  the  princess,  and 
submit  herself  to  her  fortune;  and,  to  the  end  she  may  appear  what  she  really  is  in 
some  future  time,  forego  the  appearance  of  it  now  when  it  cannot  be  worn  without 
danger.  This  seems  to  be  the  sense  of  this  difficult  passage,  which  the  Author's 
masculine  brevity  has  rendered  obscure. — VAUGHAN  (p.  453):  What  Pisanio 
counsels  her  to  disguise  principally,  if  not  solely,  is  her  sex;  her  greatness  was  al- 
ready disguised  by  the  costume  of  a  franklin's  wife.  I  understand  '  which  to  ap- 
pear itself  must  not  yet  be,  but  by  self-danger'  as  equivalent  to  'which  cannot 
yet  appear  in  an  undisguised  form  without  destruction  to  self.'  So  I  would  inter- 
pret the  whole  thus:  'If  you  would  but  disguise  that  womanhood,  which  cannot 
possibly  yet  appear  openly  and  in  its  own  character  without  self-destruction,  you 
would,'  etc.  What  the  Poet  so  meant  is  shown  by  Pisanio's  explanation  of  his  ad- 
vice in  the  next  speech  which  he  makes,  about  the  change  of  fear  into  courage,  and 
all  the  exterior  and  interior  characteristics  of  a  woman  into  those  of  a  youthful 
man. — THISELTON:  The  following  words  of  Musidorus  to  Pyrocles  on  the  latter's 
assumption  of  the  Amazonian  garb,  strongly  confirm  the  Folio  text  'weare  a  mind': 
'to  take  this  womanish  habite  (without  you  frame  your  behaviour  accordingly) 
is  wholly  vaine:  your  behaviour  can  never  come  kindly  from  you,  but  as  the  mind 
is  proportioned  unto  it.' — Arcadia,  p.  44.  [Capell's  paraphrase  is,  I  think,  the 
happiest  and  most  concise. — ED.] 

165.  That  which  t'appeare  it  selfe,  must  not  yet  be]  ABBOTT  (§  296): 
That  is,  that  which,  as  regards  showing  itself,  must  not  yet  have  any  existence. — 
DEIGHTON:  Abbott's  rendering  does  not  take  into  account  the  words  'but  by  self- 
danger.' 


ACT  in,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE  239 

Pretty,  and  full  of  view  :  yea,  happily,  neere  167 

The  refidence  of  Pofthumus  ;  fo  nie  ( at  leaft ) 

That  though  his  Actions  were  not  vifible,  yet 

Report  fhould  render  him  hourely  to  your  eare,  170 

167.  Pretty,  and]  Privy,  yet  Coll.  ii.  168.  nie]  F2.    nigh  F3F4,  Om.  Vaun. 

(MS.).     Privy,    and    Coll.   iii.   (MS.).  168.  lea/I]  lafl  Ff. 

Happy  and  Cartwright.     Ready,  and  169.  Actions]    action    Rowe,    Pope, 

Bulloch.  Han. 

happily]  haply  Pope  et  seq.  169.  yet]  Om.  Pope,+. 

167.  Pretty,  and  full  of  view]  WARBURTON:  That  is  likely  to  prove  suc- 
cessful.— JOHNSON:  With  opportunities  of  examining  your  affairs  with  your  own 
eyes. — CAPELL  (p.  112):  Full  of  fair  view,  or  affording  fair  prospect  of  turning  out 
happily. — STEEVENS:  This  may  mean,  affording  an  ample  prospect,  a  complete 
opportunity  of  discerning  circumstances  which  it  is  your  interest  to  know.  Thus, 
in  Pericles,  'full  of  face'  appears  to  signify  'amply  beautiful,'  [i  Gower,  23];  and 
Duncan  assures  [Macbeth]  that  he  will  make  him  'full  of  growing,'  i.  e.,  of  'ample 
growth,'  [I,  iv,  29]. — COLLIER  (Notes,  etc.,  p.  521):  What  can  be  the  meaning  of 
'pretty'  here?  It  is  an  indisputable  blunder,  perhaps  from  defective  hearing; 
Pisanio  is  showing  Imogen  how  she  may  remain  concealed,  and  yet  have  a  full 
view  of  all  that  is  passing  around  her.  [The  MS.  thus  amends:  'Privy;  yet  full 
of  view.'  She  was  to  remain  private  and  unknown,  while  she  was  able  to  mark 
all  that  was  done  by  others.] — WHITE  (ed.  i.):  Here  'pretty'  seems  to  be  used  as  a 
diminutive  of  proper,  suitable,  as  'my  daughter's  of  a  pretty  age,'  i.  e.,  to  be  married. 
— Rom.  &*  Jul.,  I,  iii.  The  reading  of  Mr  Collier's  MS.  is  merely  specious. — IBED. 
(ed.  ii.) :  Obscure.  '  Pretty '  may  mean  nicely  proper;  '  full  of  view,'  open.  But  the 
passage  is  very  unsatisfactory,  and  yet  not  certainly  corrupt. — STAUNTON:  But 
that  [Collier's  MS.]  implies  the  misprinting  of  two  words  together,  we  should  un- 
hesitatingly adopt  his  emendation;  for  Privy  restores  sense  to  the  passage,  and  may 
have  been  mistaken  for  'Pretty'  in  old  writing,  where  the  one  was  spelt  Prime  and 
the  other  'Pretie.' — BR.  NICHOLSON  (N.  &°  Qu.,  VI,  viii,  241,  1883):  Collier's 
privy  appears  to  be  the  best  change  yet  proposed,  but  the  then  English  did  not, 
as  does  the  correctness  of  this  age,  require  the  change  of  'and'  to  yet.  The  word 
privy  gives  a  Shakesperian  antithesis  to  'full  view,'  explained  in  the  next  clause. 
Unseen  by  Posthumus,  you  can  see  him,  or  be  so  nigh  that  'Report  should  render 
him  hourly  to  your  ear,  As  truly  as  he  moves.' — THISELTON:  'Tread  a  course' 
suggests  an  equestrian  allusion,  and  for  'Pretty'  we  may,  therefore,  compare  'and 
for  a  need,  to  ride  pretty  and  well'  (Patient  Grissel,  II,  i,  Sh.  Soc.,  p.  19).  'Full 
of  view'  can,  having  regard  to  't'appeare  it  selfe,'  only  be  equivalent  to  'for  all 
to  see,'  whence  soever  the  metaphor  may  be  drawn;  it  is  the  opposite  of  'viewless.' 
I  have  no  doubt  that  the  source  of  the  metaphor  running  through  the  passage  is  to 
be  found  in  the  tournament,  in  which  the  combatants  wore  armour  which  so  far 
disguised  them  that  they  could  be  recognized  only  by  the  devices  they  bore,  and 
which  was  to  protect  that  which  could  not  be  uncovered  without  'selfe-danger,' 
while  they  performed  the  'courses'  (see  Arcadia,  p.  62)  in  full  view  of  the  specta- 
tors.— DOWDEN:  Perhaps  'Pretty'  means  becoming,  but  I  think  it  qualifies  'full 
of  view,'  as  it  seems  to  qualify  'dark'  in  the  following  from  Beaumont  and  Fletcher, 
'Mistress,  it  grows  somewhat  pretty  and  dark.' — Beggar's  Bush,  V,  i. 

170.  render]  Both  WALKER  (Vers.,  67)  and  ABBOTT  (§  465),  for  the  sake  of  what 


240 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF 


[ACT  in,  sc.  iv. 


As  truely  as  he  mooues. 

Imo.     Oh  for  fuch  meanes, 
Though  perill  to  my  modeftie,  not  death  on't 
I  would  aduenture. 

Pif.     Well  then,  heere's  the  point : 
You  muft  forget  to  be  a  Woman  :  change 
Command,  into  obedience.     Feare ,  and  Niceneffe 
( The  Handmaides  of  all  Women,  or  more  truely 
Woman  it  pretty  felfe)  into  a  waggifh  courage, 


171 


175 


179 


172.  meanes,]  means!  Cap.  et  seq. 

173.  Though]  Through  Heath,  Johns, 
conj.  Ran. 

174.  aduenture.}    adventure —    Ktly. 
adventure!  Cam. 

175.  heere's}  there' 's  F4,  Rowe. 
176-187.  Mnemonic  Pope. 

176.  forget]    forgot  Theob.   ii.    (mis- 
print). 

Woman:]  Woman,  Rowe,  Pope, 
Han. 


177.  into]  in  Rowe  ii. 
179.  Woman    it]    W Oman's    Walker 
(Crit.,   iii.).     Woman  her  very  Wray 
ap.  Cam. 

it}  Ff,  Coll.  i,  ii,  Wh.  i,  Sta. 
Ktly,  Cam.  Ingl.  it's  or  its  Rowe  et  cet. 

into  a]  to  Pope,+.  to  a  Steev. 
Var.  '03,  '13,  Knt. 

courage}  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han. 
Cap.  carriage  Coll.  MS.  courage; 
Theob.  et  cet. 


they  are  pleased  to  term  'versification'  or  'rhythm,'  would  have  us  pronounce 
('soften,'  Abbott  calls  it)  this  word  into  a  monosyllable. 

173.  Though  perill,  etc.]  HEATH:  I  think  it  more  probable  that  the  poet  wrote 
'Through  peril,'  etc. — JOHNSON:  I  read  ' Through  peril.'  'I  would  for  such  means 
adventure  through  peril  of  modesty';  I  would  risk  everything  but  real  dishonour. — 
[Heath's  Revisal  and  Johnson's  Edition  were  published  in  the  same  year,  1765. 
But  before  Johnson  had  completed  his  edition  he  must  have  seen  Heath's  volume; 
he  speaks  in  his  immortal  Preface  of  the  'gloomy  malignity'  with  which  Heath 
attacks  Warburton.  Priority  in  this  case  is  of  small  moment.  Their  emendation 
has  received  but  slight  regard.  They  have  only  one  solitary  follower.  In  the 
preceding  line,  is  Capell's  exclamation  point  after  'means'  quite  right?  Does 
it  not  separate  that  word  too  widely  from  its  verb,  'adventure'? — ED.] 

176-179.  change  Command  .  .  .  courage]  DEIGHTON:  You  must  ex- 
change that  habit  of  command,  to  which  you  have  been  brought  up,  for  obedience; 
that  timidity  and  coyness,  which  are  the  accompaniments  of  all  womankind  or,  I 
might  say  more  truly,  which  make  up  the  very  nature  of  fascinating  woman,  for  a 
roguish  courage. 

179.  Woman  it  pretty  selfe]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  Its):  The  original 
genitive  or  possessive  neuter  was  HIS,  as  in  the  masculin^,  which  continued  in 
literary  use  till  the  i7th  century.  But  with  the  gradual  substitution  of  sex  for 
grammatical  gender  in  the  concord  of  the  pronouns,  the  indiscriminate  use  of  his 
for  male  beings  and  for  inferior  animals  and  things  without  life  began  to  be  felt 
inappropriate,  and  already  in  the  Mid.  Eng.  period  its  neuter  use  was  often  avoided, 
substitutes  being  found  in  thereof,  of  it,  the,  and  in  N.  W.  dialect,  the  genitive  use  of 
his,  it,  which  became  very  common  about  1600,  and  is  still  retained  in  [certain 
counties].  Finally,  it's  arose,  apparently  in  the  south  of  England,  and  appears 
in  books  just  before  1600.  It  had  been,  no  doubt,  colloquial  for  some  time  previous, 


ACT  in,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE  241 

Ready  in  gybes,  quicke-anfwer'd,  fa\vcie,and  180 

As  quarrellous  as  the  Weazell  :  Nay,  you  muft 

Forget  that  rareft  Treafure  of  your  Cheeke, 

Expofing  it  (but  oh  the  harder  heart,  183 

183.  heart,]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Johns,   hap!  Warb.  Theob.  Han.    heart!  Cap.  et  cet. 

and  only  gradually  attained  to  literary  recognition.  Its  was  not  admitted  in  the 
Bible  of  1611  (which  has  thereof,  besides  the  his,  her  of  old  grammatical  gender); 
the  possessive  it  occurs  once,  ['That  which  groweth  of  it  owne  accord  of  thy  harvest, 
thou  shalt  not  reape,'  etc. — Lev.,  xxv,  5],  but  was  altered  (in  an  edition  of  1660) 
to  its,  which  appears  in  all  editions.  7/5  does  not  appear  in  any  of  the  works  of 
Shakespeare  published  during  his  lifetime  (in  which  and  the  First  Folio  the  pos- 
sessive //  occurs  15  times),  but  there  are  9  examples  of  it's  and  i  of  its  in  the  plays 
first  printed  in  Folio  of  1623.  In  one  of  these  at  least  (Hen.  VIII:  I,  i,  18,  'Each 
following  day  Became  the  next  dayes  master,  till  the  last  Made  former  Wonders, 
it's')  the  word  is  probably  Shakespeare's  own  (unless  he  wrote  his).  By  this  time 
it's  had  become  common  in  literature,  from  which  the  possessive  use  of  it  soon 
disappeared;  the  neuter  his  is  found  as  late  as  1675. 

181.  quarrellous]  CRAIGIE  (N.  E.  D.):  Quarrelsome.  In  common  use  from 
about  1560  to  1650. 

181.  Weazell]  TOPSELL  (pp.  725-733)  devotes  eight  Folio  pages  to  this  little 
animal,  yet  nowhere  attributes  to  it  any  general  disposition  to  quarrel,  but  rather 
restricts  its  range  of  animosity.  'They  are,'  he  says,  'in  perpetual  enmity  with 
swine,  Ravens,  Crowes,  and  Cats.'  Their  'epithets  are,  feareful,  In-creeper,  and 
swift,  and  besides  these  I  finde  not  any  materiall  or  worthy  to  bee  rehearsed.' 
It  is  only  when  it  is  used  medicinally,  whether  eaten  raw,  or  baked, or  powdered, 
as  set  forth  by  Topsell,  that  its  virtues  shine.— ED. 

183.  Exposing  it]  WHITE  (ed.  ii.):  In  Shakespeare's  time  gentlewomen  com- 
monly wore  masks  in  the  open  air. 

183.  oh  the  harder  heart]  JOHNSON:  I  think  it  very  natural  to  reflect  in  this 
distress  on  the  cruelty  of  Posthumus. — CAPELL:  This  has  reference  to  Posthumus 
whose  'hard  heart'  drove  them  to  these  extremities. — HUDSON:  Pisanio  apprehends 
that  Imogen,  in  the  part  she  is  going  to  act,  will  feel  the  need  of  a  man's  harder  or 
tougher  heart. — PORTER  and  CLARK:  Referring  to  Posthumus,  whose  harder 
heart,  harder  than  his  own  in  proposing  such  exposure,  has  driven  them  to  these 
extremities. — ROLFE  :  This  too  hard  hard  heart  of  mine.  Compare  the  use  of  the 
comparative  in  Latin.  [To  the  same  effect, — attributing  the  reference  to  Pisanio 
himself. — HERFORD]. — INGLEBY  (Revised  ed.,  p.  105):  That  is,  too  hard,  Pisanio 
turns  aside  for  a  moment  to  blame  and  excuse  himself  for  the  suggestion. — WYATT: 
I  am  not  certain  of  the  meaning  of  these  words,  and  therefore  give  three  other  in- 
terpretations before  adding  one  of  my  own:  (i)  'How  more  than  hard  his  (Pos- 
thumus's)  heart,'  i.  e.,  for  compelling  you  to  such  hardships.  (2)  'This  too  hard 
heart  of  mine,'  which  urges  you  to  such  a  course.  (3)  Pisanio  apprehends  that 
Imogen,  in  the  part  she  is  going  to  act,  will  feel  the  need  of  a  man's  harder,  or 
tougher  heart.  (4)  I  would  suggest  as  possible:  'O,  the  danger  of  your  heart 
becoming  harder,  more  like  a  man's,  when  you  don  man's  attire!'  The  following 
'Alack,  no  remedy!'  at  least  seems  to  lend  some  countenance  to  this  suggestion.— 
DOWDEN:  I  take  it  to  mean  '0,  the  more  than  cruelty  of  it!' — taking  'hard  heart' 
16 


242  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  in,  sc.  iv. 

Alacke  no  remedy )  to  the  greedy  touch 

Of  common-kiffmg  Titan:  and  forget  185 

Your  labourfome  and  dainty  Trimmes,  wherein 

You  made  great  htno  angry. 

Into.     Nay  be  breefe  ? 
I  fee  into  thy  end,  and  am  almoft 
A  man  already.  190 

Pif.     Firft,  make  your  felfe  but  like  one, 
Fore-thinking  this.     I  haue  already  fit  192 

184.  remedy )\   remedy!   Mai.   Steev.        conj. 

et  seq.  188.  breefe?]  breefe:  F2.     brief:  F3F4 

185.  Titan:]  Titin:  F2.     Titan,  Glo.        et  seq. 

Cam.  191.  one,]  one.  Rowe  ii.  et  seq. 

forget]  forgot   F2.     forego   Cap.  192.  this.    7]  this,  /  Rowe  et  seq. 

as  equivalent  to  severity,  cruelty.  For  'harder  heart'  Daniel  suggested  'ardour, 
heat.''  [No  explanation  yet  given  seems  altogether  satisfactory;  Dowden's  comes  the 
nearest,  I  think.  The  reference  cannot  be  to  Pisanio,  so  it  seems  to  me.  He  did  not 
create  the  situation,  he  was  merely  an  agent.  His  words  sound  to  me  like  an  echo  of 
'oh,  the  pity  of  it,  lago!'  And  yet  this  has  far  too  tragic  a  tone  at  this  particular 
point  of  the  speech;  when  the  foundations  of  Imogen's  deepest  life  are  shattered  it  is 
an  anticlimax  almost  verging  on  the  comic  to  bewail  an  injury  to  her  complexion! 
And  yet,  in  the  same  breath,  Pisanio  refers  to  Imogen's  'dainty  trims' — an  illusion 
not  far  removed  from  her  complexion.  May  we  not  infer  that  Imogen  herself  per- 
ceived how  inappropriate  were  Pisanio's  words,  by  stopping  them  with  'Nay,  be 
brief '?  Just,  as  on  a  later  occasion,  Guiderius  says  to  Arviragus, '  Prythee,  have  done 
And  do  not  play  in  wenchlike  words  with  that  Which  is  so  serious.' — ED.] 

185.  common-kissing   Titan]    STEEVENS:    Compare:    'and   beautiful    would 
haue  bene,  if  they  had  not  suffered  greedy  Phoebus,  ouer-often,  and  harde,  to  kisse 
them.' — Sidney,  Arcadia,  Lit.,  3,  p.  248  verso. 

186.  laboursome  and  dainty   Trimmes]   HUDSON:    It  seems  as  if  the  Poet 
meant  to  gather  up  the  whole  traine  of  womanly  graces  and  accomplishments  in 
this  peerless  heroine;  so  he  here  represents  her  as  a  perfect  mistress  in  the  art  of 
dressing — so  much  so  as  to  provoke  the  jealousy  of  Juno  herself.     And  he  appears 
to  have  deemed  it  not  the  least  of  a  lady's  duties  to  make  herself  just  as  beautiful 
and  attractive  as  she  could  by  beauty  and  tastefulness  of  dress,  this  being  one  of 
her  ways  of  delighting  those  about  her. 

191,  192.  but  like  one,  Fore-thinking  this]  THISELTON  (vindicating  this 
penetration):  'Fore-thinking'  is  here,  I  believe,  the  word  that  is  perhaps  more 
correctly  spelt  'for- thinking';  'this'  either  sums  up  the  femininities  upon  which 
Pisanio  has  enlarged  in  his  last  speech,  or  as  he  speaks  he  may  actually  point  to 
Imogen's  dress.  Imogen  is  no  longer  to  cherish  these  foibles  in  her  mind.  She 
is  to  repent  them,  or  perhaps  even  the  word  will  bear  the  meaning  of  renouncing  or 
forsaking.  [Hereupon  follow  examples  of  'forthenke,'  from  The  Romaunt  of  the 
Rose,  Skeats's  Chaucer,  3957;  of  'forethinke,'  from  the  Faerie  Queene,  IV,  xii,  14; 
and  from  Spotswood's  Hist,  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  1655,  p.  229.  Many  more 
are  given  by  BRADLEY  (N.  E  D.,  s.  v.)  with  several  shades  of  meaning,  whereof  the 
nearest  approach  to  Thiselton's  '  renouncing '  or  '  forsaking '  seems  to  be  to  despise 


ACT  in,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE  243 

('Tis  in  my  Cloake-bagge)  Doublet,  Hat,  Hofe,  all  193 

That  anfwer  to  them  :  Would  you  in  their  feruing, 

(And  with  what  imitation  you  can  borrow  195 

From  youth  of  fuch  a  feafon )  'fore  Noble  Lucius 

Prefent  your  felfe,  defire  his  feruice  :  tell  him 

Wherein  you're  happy ;  which  will  make  him  know, 

If  that  his  head  haue  eare  in  Muficke,  doubtleffe  199 

194.  Would]      'Would     Theob.      ii.  198,  199.  which. ..Muficke,]  In  paren- 

Warb.  theses   (subs.)   Pope  ii,  Theob.  Warb. 

feruing]  seeming  Daniel.  Varr.  et  seq. 

196.  'fore  Noble]  before  Pope,  Han.  198.  will... know,]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope  i, 

197.  feruice:]  service,  Theob.  et  seq.  Sta.  Ingl.  (without  comma  after  know 

198.  you're]  Ff,  Rowe,+,  Cap.  Dyce,  Dowden).     will. ..so,   Pope   ii,   Theob. 
Sta.  Ktly,  Glo.  Cam.    you  are  Var.  '73  Warb.     you  will. ..know,   Coll.     well... 
et  cet.  know,  Vaun.    you'll... know,  Han.  et  cet. 

happy;]     Ff,     Theob.     Warb.  199.  Muficke,]  musick;  Theob.  Warb. 

Johns,    happy,  Rowe  et  set.  Johns. 

or  neglect,  but  this,  says  Bradley,  is  in  'Old  English  only';  the  essential  thought 
which  seems  to  run  through  the  definitions  is  that  of  regret  or  repentance.  This 
idea  will  give  a  meaning  to  the  present  sentence,  and  hereby  'save  the  face'  of  the 
compositors,  but  the  question  then  arises,  will  it  apply  to  Imogen  in  her  present 
circumstances?  Thiselton  thinks  it  does  apply,  and  he  may  be  right;  it  obeys  the 
golden  rule  of  Durior  lectio,  etc.  And  yet  even  this  golden  rule  should  give  way 
when,  with  only  a  change  in  punctuation,  we  can  escape  all  hermeneutical  torture, 
and  find  so  easy  a  solution  as  that  started  by  Rowe,  and  adopted  by  every  editor 
since  his  day.  See  Text.  Notes. — ED.] 

192.  fit]  That  is,  prepared,  ready. 

194.  in  their  seruing]  That  is,  with  their  aid. 

196.  such  a  season]  SCHMIDT  (Lex.):   That  is,  of  such  an  age. 

198.  happy]  STEEVEXS:    That  is,  whereon  you  are  accomplished. 

198,  109.  which  will  make  him  know,  If  that  his  .  .  .  eare,  etc.]  THEOBALD, 
in  his  Shakespeare  Restored,  seven  years  before  his  edition  appeared  in  1733,  fol- 
lowed Rowe's  punctuation  of  a  comma  after  '  happy '  instead  of  the  semi-colon  of  the 
Folio,  and  so  missed  the  meaning,  yet  suggested  an  emendation  which  so  commended 
itself  to  Pope  that  he  adopted  it  in  his  second  edition,  of  which  fact  Dr  Johnson 
was  evidently  ignorant,  or  he  would  never  have  here  indulged  in  his  heartsome  sneer 
at  Theobald  for  'one  of  his  long  notes.'  Theobald  (Sh.  Rest.,  p.  153)  says,  'it  is 
evident  that  this  passage  is  faulty  in  the  pointing  and  in  the  Text.  "Which  will 
make  him  know" — What?  What  connection  has  this  with  the  rest  of  the  sen- 
tence? Surely,  Shakespeare  can't  be  suspected  of  so  bald  a  meaning  as  this: 
"If  you  tell  him  wherein  you're  happy,  that  will  make  him  know  wherein  you're 
happy";  yet  this  is  the  only  meaning  the  words  can  carry  as  they  now  stand. 
In  short,  I  take  the  Poet's  sense  to  be  this:  Pisanio  tells  Imogen,  if  she  would  dis- 
guise herself  in  the  habit  of  a  youth,  present  herself  before  Lucius,  offer  her  service, 
and  tell  him  wherein  she  was  happy,  i.  e.,  what  an  excellent  talent  she  had  in 
singing,  he  would  certainly  be  glad  to  receive  her.  Afterwards  Belarius  and 
Arviragus,  talking  of  Imogen,  [remark  how  'angel-like  he  sings!'].  I  doubt  not, 
therefore,  but  the  passage  should  be  restored  thus:  "Wherein  you're  happy  (which 


244 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF 


[ACT  in,  sc.  iv. 


With  ioy  he  will  imbrace  you  :  for  hee's  Honourable, 
And  doubling  that,  moft  holy.     Your  meanes  abroad 
You  haue  me  rich,  and  I  will  neuer  faile 
Beginning,  nor  fupplyment. 

Imo.     Thou  art  all  the  comfort 
The  Gods  will  diet  me  with.     Prythee  away, 
There's  more  to  be  confider'd  :  but  wee'l  euen 


200 


205 


200.  you:]  you,  Glo. 

201.  Your]  For  Anon.  ap.  Eel,  Coll. 
ii.  conj. 

abroad:]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Var. 
'21,  Sing,  abroad,  Theob.  Var.  '73, 
Knt,  Coll.  Dyce,  Sta.  Ktly,  Glo.  Cam. 
abroad?  Johns.  abroad!  Anon.  ap. 
Eel.  abroad —  Ingl.  abroad  Han.  et  cet. 

202.  me  rich]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Sing. 
me   rich;  Theob.   Han.    Johns,     made 
me   rich   Anon.    ap.    Eel.     me,    rich; 
Warb.  et  cet. 


203.  Beginning]  Revenue  Kinnear. 
fupplyment]  supply  Pope,+. 

204.  Thou  art]  Thou'rt  Pope,  +  ,  Dyce 
ii,  iii. 

205.  209.  Prythee]  F2.    Prethee  F3F4, 
Rowe  i.    Prithee  Rowe  ii,  Knt,  Dyce, 
Glo.  Cam.  Coll.  iii.    Pr'ythee  Pope  et 
cet. 

206.  conftder'd:]  considered,  Coll. 
euen]   do  even  Eel.  conj.     even 

do  Ktly  conj.     leave  Vaun.  need  Wray 
ap.  Cam. 


will  make  him  so,  If  that  his  head  have  ear  in  music);  doubtless,"  etc.'  This  note 
was  repeated  substantially  in  Theobald's  edition. — MALONE,  reading  with  Hanmer 
you'll,  observes  that '  the  words  were  probably  written  at  length  in  the  manuscript, 
you  will,  and  you  omitted  at  the  press;  or  "  will "  was  printed  for  we'll.' — STAUNTON: 
Neither  you'll  of  Hanmer,  nor  you  will  of  [Collier]  is  satisfactory.  We  might  per- 
haps come  nearer  to  Shakespeare  by  reading,  'Which  will  make  him  bow'  (i.  e., 
incline,  yield,  etc.);  a  change  supported  by,  'Orpheus,  with  his  lute,  made  trees 
.  .  .  Bow  themselves  when  he  did  sing.' — Hen.  VIII:  III,  i,  4. — INGLEBY:  That  is, 
which  will  make  him  know  whether  he  has  an  ear  for  music. — DEIGHTON:  Which  he 
will  quickly  discover  if  he  has  the  smallest  ear  for  music. — THISELTON:  Nothing  could 
be  more  persuasive  than  Imogen's  voice.  See  IV,  ii,  463;  also  IV,  ii,  48;  V,  v,  280. 

201.  holy]  SCHMIDT  (Lex.}:   Pious,  godly,  virtuous,  righteous,  of  a  pure  heart. 

201.  Your  meanes  abroad]  MALONE:  As  for  your  subsistence  abroad,  you 
may  rely  on  me.  So, '  thou  should'st  neither  want  my  means  for  thy  relief,  nor  my 
voice  for  thy  preferment.' — III,  v,  43. — KNIGHT:  Surely  'abroad'  is  not  here  used 
in  the  sense  of  being  in  foreign  parts.  It  is  the  old  adverb  on  brede.  The  means  of 
Imogen  are  far  off, — not  at  hand, — all  abroad,  as  we  still  say. — STAUNTON: 
'Abroad,'  that  is,  disbursed,  expended. — Rev.  JOHN  HUNTER:  You  have  me,  or  the 
credit  of  my  name,  as  your  means  abroad,  rich  in  what  you  entrusted  to  me  for  the 
benefit  of  Posthumus. — DOWDEN:  As  to  your  means  abroad,  you  have  me  and  I 
am  rich.  [As  this  interpretation  is  the  latest,  so  it  seems  to  me  the  best. — ED.] — • 
SPRENGER,  to  whom  a  little  English  seems  to  have  proved  a  dangerous  thing,  ob- 
serves that '  it  appears  to  have  escaped  Elze's  notice  that  the  present  passage  is  one 
of  the  most  corrupt  in  the  play;  it  cannot,  as  it  stands  at  present,  be  explained  in 
any  admissible  manner.  I  conjecture  that  Shakespeare  wrote:  "Your  means 
abroad,  I  hope,  be  rich:  and  you  will  never  fail  In  begging  our  supplyment." 

205.  diet]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  i.  trans.):    To  feed  in  a  particular  way,  or 
with  specified  kinds  of  food.     In  a  figurative  sense  [the  present  passage  quoted]. 

206,  207.  wee'l  euen  All  thet  good  time  will  giue  vs]  JOHNSON:  We'll  make 


ACT  in,  sc.  iv.J  CYMBELINE  245 

All  thEt  good  time  will  giue  vs.     This  attempt,  207 

I  am  Souldier  too,  and  will  abide  it  with 
A  Princes  Courage.     Away,  I  prythee. 

Pif.     Well  Madam,  we  muft  take  a  fhort  farewell,  210 

Leaft  being  mift,  I  be  fufpected  of 
Your  carriage  from  the  Court.     My  Noble  Miftris, 
Heere  is  a  boxe,  I  had  it  from  the  Queene, 
What's  in't  is  precious  :  If  you  are  ficke  at  Sea, 
Or  Stomacke-qualm'd  at  Land,  a  Dramme  of  this  215 

Will  driue  away  diftemper.     To  fome  fhade, 
And  fit  you  to  your  Manhood  :  may  the  Gods 
Direct  you  to  the  beft. 

Imo.     Amen  :  I  thanke  thee.  Exeunt.          219 

207.  thm]  Fx.  211.  Leajl]  Lejl  Ff. 

207,  208.  attempt,   I. ..too,]   Ff.     at-  214.  you  are]  you're  Pope,+,  Dyce 
tempt  I. ..to,  Rowe   ii.    (too,  Rowe  i.),         ii,  iii. 

Cap.   Varr.  Mai.   Ran.   Dyce  i,   Sing.  215.  Stomacke-qualm'd]  stomach 

Ktly,  Glo.  Cam.    attempt  I'm  soldiered  qualm1  d  Rowe. 

to,  Han.    attempt  I'm.. .to,  Pope  et  cet.  216.  dijlemper.]    distemper—     Pope, 

209.  Away,}  Haste  away,  Han.  Theob.  Warb.  Johns. 

210.  farewell,]    Ff,    Rowe    i,    Han.  217.  Manhood:]  manhood.  Var.  '73. 
Coll.  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam.    farewel.  Rowe  218.  bejl.}  best!  Pope  et  seq. 

ii,  Pope,    farewe'l;  Theob.  et  cet.  [Giving  clothes,  etc.  Coll.  iii. 

our  work  even  with  our  time:  we'll  do  what  time  will  allow. — SCHMIDT  (Lex.)  defines 
'even,'  as  a  verb,  by  'to  act  up  to,  to  keep  pace  with,'  which  the  N.  E.  D.  adopts 
tot  idem  vcrbis.  In  illustration,  Schmidt  gives  'to  even  your  content.' — All's  Well, 
I,  iii,  3,  and  the  present  passage  in  Cymbeline,  which  he  paraphrases,  'we'll  profit 
by  any  advantage  offered.'  In  the  A7.  E.  D.  the  present  passage  is  the  only  quota- 
tion. Is  it  not  possible,  however,  to  take  'even,'  as  a  verb,  in  its  primary  significa- 
tion,' to  level,  render  plain,  or  smooth1  and  then  paraphrase  Imogen's  cheering, 
courageous  words  thus:  'there's  more  to  be  considered;  but  whatsoever  good,  time 
may  bring  us,  we'll  smoothe  and  even  it  all '? — ED. 

208.  I   am    Souldier  too]  WARBURTON:    I  have  enlisted  and  bound  myself 
to  it. — MALONE:    Rather,  I  think,  I  am  equal  to  this  attempt,  I  have  enough 
ardour  to  undertake  it. — STEEVENS:    Mr  Malone's  explanation  is  undoubtedly 
just.     'I'm  soldier  to'  is  equivalent  to  the  modern  cant  phrase,  'I  am  up  to  it,' 
i.  c.,  I  have   ability  for  it. — DOWDEX  is  the  only  editor  who,  in  the  paraphrase, 
'  courageously  prepared  for,'  seems  to  have  perceived  that  there  is  here  no  reference 
to  ardour  or  ability,  but  solely  to  courage,  and  to  the  courage  of  a  Prince,  the  great- 
est of  soldiers. — ED. 

213.  Heere  is  a  boxe]  MALONE:  Instead  of  this  box,  the  modern  editors  have 
in  a  former  scene  made  the  Queen  give  Pisanio  a  vial,  which  is  dropped  on  the  stage 
without  being  broken. 

213.  I  had  it  from  the  Queene]  CRAIG:  Probably  these  words  would  be 
spoken  aside,  [as  'likely  to  excite  Imogen's  distrust,'  adds  DOWDEX], 


246  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  in,  sc.  v. 

Scena  Quinta. 

Enter  Cymbeline  ^  Quecne,  Cloten ,  Lucius ,  2 

and  Lords. 
Cym.     Thus  farre,and  fo  farewell.  4 

1.  Scena  Quinta]   Scene  in.   Rowe.         Lords  and  Attendants.  Han. 

Scene  vn.  Eccles.  4.  farre,]    far,     F4,    Rowe,+.    far; 

The  Palace.  Rowe.  Cap.  et  seq. 

2,  3.  Enter.. .and     Lords.]     Enter... 

i.  Scena  Quinta]  ECCLES:  This  I  assign  to  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  to 
which  the  last  two  scenes  belong,  so  as  to  leave  time  for  Pisanio  to  perform  his 
journey  back  to  court  after  his  separation  from  Imogen  somewhere  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Milford-Haven.  As  haste  was  necessary,  and  he  may  be  imagined 
to  travel  when  alone  with  greater  expedition,  he  may,  perhaps,  have  accomplished 
in  less  than  a  day  what,  during  his  attendance  upon  his  mistress,  may  have  re- 
quired a  somewhat  longer  period.  That  so  little  time  was  necessary,  however,  for 
going  and  returning,  obliges  us  to  suppose  the  residence  of  Cymbeline  at  no  very 
remote  distance  from  the  above-mentioned  harbour,  since  the  whole  of  Pisanio's 
absence  is  here  conceived  to  be  included  within  a  compass  of  time  equal  to  about  two 
days  and  nights.  Lucius  here  takes  leave  of  the  king  upon  setting  out  for  Milford- 
Haven,  where  he  was  either  to  embark,  or  be  joined  by  the  Roman  troops  from 
Gaul.  Cloten  had  said,  in  the  concluding  scene  of  the  last  act  as  it  is  now  disposed 
of,  to  Lucius,  'His  majesty  bids  you  welcome — Make  pastime  with  us  a  day,  or 
two,  or  longer/  &c.  But  we  shall  find  it  necessary  to  conceive  Lucius  to  have 
remained  many  more  days  at  the  court  of  Cymbeline,  according  to  the  system  here 
laid  down,  namely,  while  lachimo  was  proceeding  to  Rome,  and  the  letter  of 
Posthumus  on  the  road  from  thence,  and  even  somewhat  longer,  since  we  find  him 
here  setting  out  just  before  the  reappearance  of  Pisanio,  after  his  return  from  his 
attendance  upon  Imogen. — DANIEL  (New  Sh.  Soc.  Trans.,  1877-79,  P-  244): 
DAY  8.-  In  Cymbeline's  Palace.  The  ambassador  Lucius  takes  his  departure,  and 
desires  'a  conduct  over-land  to  Milford-Haven.'  Lucius  has  sojourned  in  Cym- 
beline's court  since  Day  No.  4;  since  then  the  space  between  Rome  and  Britain  has 
been  twice  traversed — by  lachimo  going  to  Rome,  and  by  the  post  bringing  letters 
from  Posthumus  to  Pisanio — and  Lucius  himself  appears  to  have  informed  the  em- 
peror of  the  failure  of  his  embassy,  and  to  have  received  a  reply;  for  he  says— 

'My  emperor  hath  wrote,  I  must  from  hence.' 

The  'day  or  two  longer'  during  which  he  was  invited  to  rest  at  Court  would  hardly 
suffice  for  this,  unless  we  are  to  imagine  that  Rome  is  only  'behind  the  scenes,  in 
the  green-room.'1  Yet  more  than  a  day  or  two  is  inconsistent  with  Cymbeline's 
remark  immediately  after  Lucius's  departure.  He  misses  his  daughter— 

'She  hath  not  appear'd 
Before  the  Roman,  nor  to  us  hath  tender 'd 
The  duty  of  the  day,'  etc. 

And  this  scene,  be  it  observed,  cannot  be  put  earlier  in  time,  as  with  Act  III,  sc.  i. 

1  See  Professor  Wilson's  Time- Analysis  of  Othello,  New  Sh.  Soc.  Trans. j  1875-76, 
part  ii,  p.  375. 


ACT  in,  sc.  v.]  CYMBELINE 


247 


Luc.     Thankes,  Royall  Sir  :  5 

My  Emperor  hath  wrote,  I  muft  from  hence, 
And  am  right  forry,  that  I  muft  report  ye 
My  Mafters  Enemy. 

Cym.     Our  Subjects  (Sir) 

Will  not  endure  his  yoake  ;  and  for  our  felfe  10 

To  fhew  leffe  Soueraignty  then  they,  muft  needs 
Appeare  vn-Kinglike. 

Luc.     So  Sir  :  I  defire  of  you 
A  Conduct  ouer  Land,  to  Milford-Hauen. 
Madam,  all  ioy  befall  your  Grace, and  you.  15 

6.  wrote,}  Ff,  Rowe,  Coll.  Glo.  Cam.         Glo.  Cam.     overland  Dyce  ii,  iii. 
•wrote;  Pope  et  cet.  15.  Madam. ..you.}  All  joy  befall  your 

hence,}  Ff,  Rowe,+,  Ingl.    hence;  Grace!  and  Madam,  you!  Huds. 
Cap.  et  cet.  your  Grace,  and  you.}  Ff,  Rowe, 

7.  am}  I'm  Anon.  ap.  Cam.  Pope,    his  Grace,  and  you!  Cap.  conj. 
ye]  you  Var.  '73.  Ran.      your   Grace,    and   yours!   Cap. 

12.  vn-Kinglike}     F2F3,     Pope,     +.  Dyce.    your  Grace, — and  you  Coll.  ii, 
un-King   like    F4,    Rowe.      unkinglike  Sta.     your  Grace!  Queen.     And  you! 
Cap.  et  seq.  Cam.  Edd.  conj.,  Rife,  Glo.  your  Grace; 

13.  So  Sir:}  F2.     So,  Sir:  F3F4,  Rowe,  and  you!  Coll.  iii.    your  Grace,  and  you, 
Pope,  Theob.  Warb.  Johns.  Glo.  Cam.  sir.  Jervis.     your  grace  and  you!  [To 
So,  Sir.  Coll.     So,  Sir,  Han.  et  cet.  Cloten.     Anon.  ap.  Cam.    your  grace; 

of  you]  Om.  Han.    you  Walker.         adieu!  Vaun.     your  Grace,  and  you! 

14.  ouer  Land}  over-land  Dyce  i,  Sta.         Theob.  et  cet. 

was  necessary;  for  Imogen's  absence  now  is  the  consequence  of  those  journeyings  to 
and  from  Rome  since  Lucius's  arrival.  The  King  sends  to  seek  Imogen,  and  it 
then  appears  that  she  is  really  missing.  Cloten  remarks  that  he  has  not  seen 
Pisanio,  her  old  servant,  these  two  days.  Exeunt  all  but  Cloten.  To  him  enters 
Pisanio,  who  has  returned  to  Court.  Cloten  bullies  him  into  telling  where  his 
mistress  has  gone,  and  induces  him  to  provide  a  suit  of  Posthumus's  garments  in 
which  he  resolves  to  set  out  in  pursuit  of  Imogen. 

6,  7.  wrote,  .  .  .  hence,  And  am]  The  punctuation  here  has  been  deemed  im- 
portant, on  it  apparently  depends  a  nominative  to  'am.'  Pope  placed  a  semicolon 
after  'wrote,'  and  retained  the  comma  after  'hence';  this  was  not  altogether  satis- 
factory, it  converted  '  wrote '  to  an  absolute  use,  without  any  direct  object. — CAPELL, 
however,  retained  the  semicolon,  and  added  another  after  'hence,'  which  has  main- 
tained its  position  to  this  day,  and  obliges  'am,'  in  the  next  line,  to  find  a  first  person 
by  implication. — ED. 

ii.  Soueraignty]  SCHMIDT  (Lex.}:    That  is,  royal  dignity. 

13.  So   Sir:   I   desire  of  you]  WALKER  (Crit.,  iii,  325):   Qu.,  'I  desire  you.' 
(Perhaps,  too,  'So,  sir;  I  desire  you,'  etc.,  but  I  greatly  doubt  this.) — DYCE  (ed.  ii.) : 
Collier  alters  [the  colon  of  the  Folio]  to  a  full  stop.    But  though  we  have  had  before 
[III,  i,  92]  'So,  sir,'  as  a  complete  sentence,  here  it  can  hardly  be  disjoined  from  the 
words  which  follow.     [May  not  'so'  here  mean  'very  good,'  as  DEIGHTON  gives  it, 
or  any  equivalent  phrase  of  acquiescence?      In  this  case  its  disjunction,  from  the 
words  which  follow,  is  complete. — ED.] 

14.  Conduct]  SCHMIDT  (Lex.}:   Escort,  guard. 


248  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  in,  sc.  v. 

Cym.     My  Lords,  you  are  appointed  for  that  Office  :          16 
The  due  of  Honor,  in  no  point  omit : 

15.  ioy  befall  your  Grace,  and  you]  CAPELL  (whose  text  differs  from  the 
Folio  only  in  yours  instead  of  'you'):  Though  the  editor  is  clear  that  there  is  a 
printer's  mistake  in  this  line,  he  is  not  so  at  present  that  he  has  mended  it  rightly; 
but  is  more  inclined  to  think  it  lay  in  'your'  than  in  'you,'  and  that  'your'  should 
be  his;  let  the  reader  determine.  [This  conjecture  of  his  for  'your'  was  put  forth 
by  Malone,  and  the  reading  yours  for  'you'  by  Steevens;  and  in  neither  case  was 
there  any  acknowledgement  or  reference  to  Capell.  Dyce  pilloried  Steevens,  but 
he  did  not  know,  as,  possibly,  he  should  have  known,  that  Malone  was  equally  in 
fault. — ED.] — DANIEL  (p.  88):  Read,  'All  joy  befall  your  grace!  Madam,  and 
you!'  Lucius  is  addressing  the  King;  he  wishes  him  all  joy,  and  then,  turning  to 
the  Queen,  he  wishes  her  the  like. — HUDSON:  I  have  varied  a  little  from  this 
[reading  of  Daniel]  for  metre's  sake.  [Thus,  '  All  joy  befall  your  Grace!  and,  madam, 
you!'] — THISELTON:  'Your  Grace,  and  you,'  /.  e.,  I  think,  'you  as  Queen,  and  as 
friend.' — INGLEBY  remarks  that  the  words  'and  you'  appear  to  indicate  Cymbe- 
line. — BR.  NICHOLSON  (N.  6°  Qu.,  VII,  ii,  23,  1886)  quotes  the  various  explana- 
tions of  this  line,  and,  as  to  Ingleby's  suggestion,  that  'and  you'  refers  to  Cym- 
beline,  says  that  the  '  fatal  objection  is  that  Lucius,  taking  formal  leave  and  bearing 
back  a  declaration  of  defiance,  is  made,  with  complete  disregard  to  etiquette  and 
precedent,  to  take  leave  first  of  the  Queen, — one  not  of  royal  blood, — and  then  of 
the  King,  in  words  and  in  a  sequence,  as  though  he  were  an  all  but  unregarded 
William  newly  married  to  a  Mary,  the  rightful  queen.  He  thus  omits  also  to  take 
leave  of  the  son  of  this  queen,  whom  he  is  made  to  consider  a  principal  personage, 
and  who  had  been  appointed  as  his  immediate  attender  and  entertainer. — II,  iii,  68. 
And  since  the  simple  "and  you"  is  an  absurdly  impolite  way  of  addressing  a  king,^ 
an  enemy  king,  to  whom  he  is  ambassador, — it  is  suggested  that  the  metrically 
needless  sir  may  possibly  have  dropped  out.  Lastly,  it  is  absurd  that  Lucius,  even 
in  mere  courtesy,  should  wish  all  joy,  that  is  victory,  to  one  whom  he  is  about  to 
assail  as  a  rebel.  As  to  the  Globe  variation,  one  asks  in  vain,  Where  is  the  adieu 
to  the  King?  He  is  made  a  puppet  not  worth  taking  into  account;  the  Queen 
alone  receives  his  wishes,  while  the  text  is  needlessly  altered  to  make  her  answer 
him.  Dyce  most  oddly  says  that  here  "  So,  sir: "  can  hardly  be  disjoined,  as  they  are 
by  the  colon,  from  the  words  which  follow.  The  disjunction  brings  out  the  haughti- 
ness of  state  with  which  the  Roman,  again  an  ambassador,  after  suggesting  a  favor- 
able answer,  receives  the  same  decision, — "So, sir,  your  words  are  spoken:  I  now 
desire  of  you  safe  conduct  to  Milford  Haven."  With  the  same  haughtiness  he, 
either  after  "So,  sir:"  or  after  "Haven"  —not  improbably,  indeed,  after  both — 
makes  his  farewell  but  silent  obeisance  to  the  King,  who  from  that  moment  is  a 
rebel  to  Augustus,  and  the  King  in  return  gives  an  equally  formal  and  silent  ac- 
knowledgement of  it  and  of  his  assent  to  the  request.  If  we  do  not  accept  these 
silent  actions  we  make  both  the  King  and  the  Roman  utter  barbarians,  and  the 
former  one  who  does  not  even  deign  to  notice  Lucius's  request  for  an  escort. 
Then  the  Ambassador,  turning  to  the  Queen,  who  is  no  recognized  arbitress  of 
peace  or  war, — or,  indeed,  politically  speaking,  no  political  personage  at  all, — 
and  making  another  knee-bend,  addressing  her  with  "Madam  .  .  .  grace,"  and 
lastly  to  Cloten,  who  had  been  specially  appointed  as  his  care-taker,  but  of  whom 
he  had  taken  a  correct  measurement,  he,  simply,  and  in  the  same  breath,  adds,  if 
the  text  be  right,  "and  you."  I  say  if  the  text  be  right,  for  independently  I  was  led 


ACT  in,  sc.  v.j  CYMBELINE  249 

So  farewell  Noble  Lucius.  18 

Luc.     Your  hand,  my  Lord. 

Clot.     Receiue  it  friendly  :  but  from  this  time  forth  20 

I  weare  it  as  your  Enemy. 

Luc.     Sir,  the  Euent 
Is  yet  to  name  the  winner.     Fare  you  well. 

Cym.    Leaue  not  the  worthy  Lucius,  good  my  Lords 
Till  he  haue  croft  the  Seuern.  Happines.     Exit  Lucius, &c         25 

Qu.     He  goes  hence  frowning  :  but  it  honours  vs 
That  we  haue  giuen  him  caufe. 

Clot.     'Tis  all  the  better, 
Your  valiant  Britaines  haue  their  wi  fries  in  it. 

Cym.     Lucius  hath  wrote  already  to  the  Emperor  30 

How  it  goes  heere.     It  fits  vs  therefore  ripely 
Our  Chariots, and  our  Horfcmen  be  in  readineffe  : 
The  Powres  that  he  already  hath  in  Gallia  33 

22.  Sir,]  Om.  Pope,+.  28.  better,]  better;  Theob.  Warb.   et 

23.  winner.]  Ff,  Rowe,+,  Coll.    win-        seq. 

ner;  Cap.  et  cet.  29.  Brilaines]  Britains  F3F4,  Rowe, 

25.  the  Seuern]  Severn  Ff,  Rowe  i.  Theob.  i,  Cap.    Britons  Pope  et  cet. 

Happines.]  Happiness!  Pope  et  30.  wrote]  wrot  F2,  Cap. 

seq.  31.  ripely]  F2,  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam. 

ripely,  F3F4  et  cet. 

to  wish  that  yours,  the  suggestion  of  Steevens  [Capell's  text. — ED.],  were  the 
text  reading,  as  this  would  more  mark  his  veiled  contempt  for  the  private,  but 
insolent  and  interfering,  son  of  a  widow,  Neither  Ingleby's  suggestion  nor  the 
Globe's  alteration  would  be  out  of  place  were  they  necessary,  but  my  contention 
is  that  in  the  acted  play  they  are  unnecessary.'  [If  action  be  here  so  essential  to  the 
comprehension  of  the  text,  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that  Shakespeare  would  not  have 
given  us  some  intimation  of  what  that  action  should  be,  not  in  a  stage  direction,— 
Shakespeare  does  not  stoop  to  that,  except  on  the  rarest  occasion, — but  by  some 
expression  let  fall  by  the  speaker  or  by  some  one  present.  In  the  last  scene  (V, 
v,  390),  when  Belarius  thinks  he  may  have  addressed  Cymbeline  discourteously, 
he  says,  'here's  my  knee.'  Thus  here,  had  Lucius  made  a  'knee-bend'  to  the 
Queen,  as  Nicholson  surmises,  and  an  'obeisance'  to  the  King, — I  think  we  may 
safely  trust  Shakespeare  to  have  given  us  a  hint.  This  is  not  denying  that  Dr 
Nicholson  is  right.  It  may  be  as  he  says.  We  must  never  forget  that  to  him  we 
owe  the  palmarian  solution  of  that  incomplete  line  in  Malvolio's  day-dream,  'And 
play  with  my-some  rich  jewel,'  where  the  steward  was  about  to  say  'play  with  my 
chain '  when  it  flashed  on  his  mind  that  his  chain  was  a  servile  badge. — ED.] 

25.  Till  he  haue  crost  the  Seuern]  ECCLES:  This  renders  it  probable  that  the 
residence  of  Cymbeline  was  supposed  to  be  at  no  great  distance  from  the  sea. 

31,  32.  It  fits  vs  .  .  .  our  Horsemen  be]  This  'be'  may  be  either  an  infini- 
tive with  to  omitted,  or  the  subjunctive  with  that  omitted.  The  latter  seems 
preferable. — ED. 


THE   TRACED  IE   OF  [ACT  in,  sc.  v. 

Will  foone  be  dravvne  to  head,  from  whence  he  moues 

His  warre  for  Britaine.  35 

<2».     'Tis  not  ileepy  bufmeffe, 
But  muft  be  look'd  too  fpeedily,and  ftrongly. 

Cym.     Our  expectation  that  it  would  be  thus 
Hath  made  vs  forward.     But  my  gentle  Queene, 
Where  is  our  Daughter  ?  She  hath  not  appear'd  40 

Before  the  Roman,  nor  to  vs  hath  tendered 
The  duty  of  the  day.     She  looke  vs  like 
A  thing  more  made  of  malice,  then  of  duty, 
We  haue  noted  it.     Call  her  before  vs,  for  44 

36.  not]  no  Daniel.  Cap.    (corrected  us   in  Errata),   Sing. 
bttfineffe,]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han.         looks  on's  Anon.  ap.   Cam.     looks  us 

Coll.  Cam.     business;  Theob.  et  cet.  Johns,  et  cet. 

37.  too]  FL  43-  duty,]  duty;  Pope  et  seq. 

38.  would]  Jhould  Ff,  Rowe,-f,  Varr.  44,    45-  We    haue]    We've    Pope,+, 
Ran.                                                                   Dyce  ii,  iii. 

42.  looke  is]  lookes  as  F2.    looks  as  44.  vs,]  Ff,  Rowe,+,  Coll.    us;  Cap. 

F3F4,  Rowe,  Pope,  Theob.  Han.  Warb.        et  cet. 

42.  She  looke  vs  like]  Does  this  mean  'she  looks  to  us,'  i.  e.,  where  'us'  is 
the  dative  and  Imogen  is  passive,  and  appears  to  be  in  the  eyes  of  Cymbeline  'a 
thing  of  malice '?  or  does  it  mean  '  she  looks  at  us,'  where  Imogen  is  active  and  glares 
with  malice  at  her  father?  In  other  words,  is  it  Cymbeline  who  is  surly  or  Imogen? 
It  is  pleasant  to  know  that  only  two  or  three  editors  attribute  the  fault  to  Imogen, 
and  they  would  probably  soften  their  decision  by  explaining  that  Cymbeline  mis- 
interpreted Imogen's  gentle  looks.  The  following  critics  apparently  think  that 
Imogen's  looks  were  really  malicious:  RANN,  HERFORD,  and  VAUGHAN.  The  first 
interprets  the  phrase:  'She  looks  on  us,  eyes  us,  or  surveys  us.'  The  second: 
'Looks  upon  us  like.'  And  the  third  thus  comments:  '"She  gives  us  a  look  more 
like  that  of  a  being  who  is  showing  malignity,  than  of  one  tendering  duty."  As  she 
has  not  appeared  this  morning,  the  Poet  proceeds,  in  order  to  avoid  misconstruction 
of  the  verb  in  the  present  tense,  "  she  looks,"  with  "  we  have  noted  it."  The  follow- 
ing critics  are  in  favour  of  Imogen:  CAPELL:  That  is,  looks  on  us,  eyes  us,  or  surveys 
us  [thus  far  Rann  copied  Capell,  but  did  not  complete  CapelPs  note,  who  adds], 
an  expression  suiting  the  surly  mood  of  the  speaker. — WHITE,  HUDSON,  SCHMIDT 
(Lex.),  ROLFE,  DEIGHTON,  DOWDEN,  all  repeat  the  same  phrase:  'she  seems  to  us.' 
— KEIGHTLEY  (Exp.)  sweeps  the  horizon  with  the  remark:  'I  think  we  should  insert 
on,  at,  or  to  after  'look.' — SINGER  follows  F4  in  his  text,  and  naively  remarks  that 
'"looks  us"  is  an  awkward  phrase.' — Whereto  DYCE  replies,  'in  spite  of  its  "awk- 
wardness," it  is  assuredly  the  right  reading;  our  early  writers  frequently  use  the 
word  "look"  with  an  ellipsis  of  the  word  which  modern  phraseology  requires  after 
it.  Thus,  "By  looking  back  what  I  have  left  behind.'"— A nt.  &•  Chop.,  Ill,  xi,  33 
(or  57  of  this  ed.). — ABBOTT  (§  220):  'Us'  probably  is  used  for  'to  us'  in  [this  pas- 
sage].— IBTD.  (§  200)  gives  instances  of  the  omission  of  a  preposition  after  'look'; 
thus,  'Look  our  dead.' — Hen.  V:  IV,  vii,  76;  'I  must  go  look  my  twiggs.' — All's 
Well,  III,  vi,  115;  'He  hath  been  all  this  day  to  look  you.' — As  You  Like  It,  II,  v,  34. 


ACT    III,   SC.  V.] 


CYMBELINE 


We  haue  beene  too  flight  in  fufferance. 

Qu.     Royall  Sir, 

Since  the  exile  of  Pofthumus ,  moft  retyr'd 
Hath  her  life  bin  :  the  Cure  whereof,  my  Lord, 
'Tis  time  muft  do.     Befeech  your  Maiefty, 
Forbeare  fharpe  fpeeches  to  her.     Slice's  a  Lady 
So  tender  of  rebukes,  that  words  are  ftroke;, 
And  ftrokes  death  to  her. 

Enter  a  Meffenger. 

Cym.     Where  is  me  Sir  ?  How 
Can  her  contempt  be  anfwer'd  ? 

Me/.    Pleafe  you  Sir, 

Her  Chambers  are  all  lock'd,  and  there's  no  anfwer 
That  will  be  giuen  to'th'lowd  of  noife,  we  make. 


251 
45 


55 


45.  flight}  light  Ff,  Rowe,+,  Cap. 
Varr.  Ran. 

[Exit  a   Servant.  Theob.  ...Mes- 
senger. Han. 

48.  bin]  been  F4. 

49.  Befeech]   'Beseech    Theob.   ii,  +  , 
Varr.    Mai.    Ran.    Steev.    Varr.-   Knt, 
Sing.  Ktly. 

51.  ftroke;,}  ftrokes,  Ff. 

54.  Jhe  Sir?  How]  she?  lion*  Pope, 
she?  and  hoiu  Han.  she,  sirrah?  Ingl. 
conj. 


57.  lock'd}  Ff,  Rowe,-f ,  Sta.    lock'd; 
Cap.  et  cet. 

58.  to'th']  to  th'  F3F4,  Rowe,+.    to 
the  Cap.  et  seq. 

lowd  of  noife]  Ff  (loud  F3F4), 
Var.  '73,  '78.  loud  noise  Var.  '73, 
Coll.  i,  Ktly.  loud'st  of  noise  Cap. 
Mai.  Steev.  Varr.  Knt,  Dyce  i,  Sta. 
Cam.  Dowden.  loud'st  noise  Coll. 
(MS.),  Sing.  White,  Dyce  ii.  loudest 
noise  Rowe  et  cet. 


51.  stroke  ;,]  A  semicolon  has  here  usurped  an  s.  There  is  no  such  excuse,  how- 
ever, in  I,  v,  93,  where  a  parallel  instance  of  erroneous  punctuation  occurs. — ED. 

58.  to'th'lowd  of  noise]  COLLIER  (ed.  i.) :  The  preposition  of  is  mistakenly 
inserted  after  'loud';  it  is  needless  to  the  sense  and  injurious  to  the  metre. — 
SINGER:  It  is  most  probable  that  of  is  a  misprint  for  'st. — DYCE  (Remarks,  p.  256): 
'Loud  noise'  [of  Collier,  ed.  i .]  does  not  afford  the  meaning  which  the  Poet  certainly 
intended,  viz.,  that  the  very  loudest  noise  which  they  could  make  drew  forth  no 
answer. — VAUGHAX:  The  Folios  are  right,  and  all  editors  and  critics,  from  Rowe 
to  the  last  commentator,  are  wrong  in  their  corrections  of  them,  probable  as  they 
seem  to  be.  It  has  escaped  the  observation  of  the  best  lexicographers  of  the 
English  language,  including  Junius  and  Skinner  [The  Century  and  N.  E.  D. — ED.], 
that  'loud'  was  in  the  fifteenth  [?]  and  sixteenth  centuries  not  an  adjective  only, 
but  a  substantive,  signifying  'high  and  full  sound.'  So  in  Holland's  Plinie,  where 
the  author  is  full  of  animated  comment  on  the  nightingale's  song :  '  For  at  one  time 
you  shall  heare  her  voice  ful  of  loud,  another  time  as  low;  and  anon  shrill  and  on 
high.' — The  tenth  Booke,  chap.  29.  I  should  certainly  read  'the  loud  of  noise.' 
[Vaughan  gives  no  example  from  the  fifteenth  century;  Holland's  Plinie  was  pub- 
lished in  1601,  which  is,  strictly,  the  seventeenth  century,  but  may  be  reasonably 
considered  as  of  the  sixteenth. — PORTER  and  CLARK,  staunchly  loyal  to  the  Folio, 
assert  that  it  is  right,  and,  that  albeit  without  another  example  in  proof,  'loud'  is 


252  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  ACT  in,  sc.  v. 

Qu.     My  Lord,  when  laft  I  went  to  vifit  her, 
She  prayM  me  to  excufe  her  keeping  clofe,  60 

Whereto  conftrain'd  by  her  infirmitie, 
She  fhould  that  dutie  leaue  vnpaide  to  you 
Which  dayly  fhe  was  bound  to  proffer  :  this 
She  wifh'd  me  to  make  knowne  :  but  our  great  Court 
Made  me  too  blame  in  memory.  65 

Cym.     Her  doores  lockM  ? 

Not  feene  of  late  ?  Grant  Heauens,  that  which  I 
Feare,  proue  falfe.  Exit. 

Qu.     Sonne,  I  fay,  follow  the  King. 

Clot.     That  man  of  hers,  Pifanio,  her  old  Seruant  70 

I  haue  not  feene  thefe  two  dayes.  Exit. 

Qu.     Go,  looke  after  : 
Pi/a nio,  thou  that  ftand'ft  fo  for  Pofthumus,  73 

60.  clofe,]  close;  Theob.  et  seq.  69.  Jay,]  say;  Rowe,  Pope,  Han. 

65.  too]  to  F4.  follow]  follow  you  Han. 

66.  doores]  door's  Knt.  71.  Exit.]    Exit  Cloten.    After   line 

67.  68.  Not. ..Feare]    As    one  '  line,         72.  Cap. 

Rowe  et  seq.  (except  Coll.  i,  ii,  Sing.  72.  after:]  Ff.     after —  Rowe,  Pope, 

Ktly).  Theob.    Warb.    Var.    '73.      after   him. 

67.  Grant  Heauens]  Grant,  Heavens,  Ktly.     after.  Johns,  et  cet. 

Cap.  et  seq.  73.  thou    that    ftand'ft]    that    stands 

69.  Sonne,]  Son,  F3F4.    Go,  son  Steev.  Johns, 
conj.    Son, — son,  Walker,  Huds. 

a  noun.  We  may  all  echo  Thiselton's  wish  that  Vaughan  had  vouchsafed  us  a  few 
more  examples, — more  especially  since  it  seems  to  me  not  improbable  that  'the 
ful  of  loud'  is  a  misprint  for  'ful  oft  loud.'  Plinie  is  enthusiastic  over  the  wonderful 
range  and  power  of  the  song,  and  in  the  sentence  quoted  by  Vaughan  the  word  'of 
is  at  the  end  of  the  line,  where  a  /  might  readily  have  slipped  out.  I  am  bound  to 
say  that  there  is  no  indication  of  a  missing  letter  in  my  copy  of  Plinie;  I  suggest  it 
merely  as  a  possibility,  which  would  grow  to  a  probability,  if  no  other  example  of 
'loud'  as  a  noun  is  to  be  found  in  English  literature. — ED.] 

63.  bound]  DOWDEN:  Does  this  mean  bound  in  duty?  or  is  the  sense  ready, 
willing,  as  often? 

65.  too  blame  in  memory]  ABBOTT  (§  73)  furnishes  several  examples  of  'too* 
used  in  connection  with  'blame,'  and  suggests  that  'perhaps  "blame"  was  con- 
sidered an  adjective,  as  in,  "In  faith,  my  lord,  you  are  too  wilful-blame."-— r  Hen. 
IV:  III,  i,  177.'  Inasmuch  as  Shakespeare  uses  the  idiom,  and  it  is  common  in 
Elizabethan  writers,  there  seems  no  urgent  reason  why  we  should  discard  it,  espe- 
cially where  it  seems  to  add  strength  to  the  context. — ED. 

72,  73.  Go,  looke  after:  Pisanio,  thou  that,  etc.]  VAUGHAN  (p.  462):  Such 
interrupted  language,  and  so  sudden  an  apostrophe  to  Pisanio,  involving  so 
unusual  a  change  of  person,  leave  me  in  little  doubt  that  in  the  two  commands, 
'son,  I  say,  follow  the  King'  (very  imperative  words,  not  admitting  very  slow 
performances),  and  'Go  look  after,'  were  two  commands  to  two  different  persons. 


ACT  in,  sc.  v.]  CYMBELINE  253 

He  hath  a  Drugge  of  mine  :  I  pray,  his  abfence 

Proceed  by  fwallowing  that.     For  he  beleeues  75 

It  is  a  thing  moft  precious.     But  for  her, 

Where  is  fhe  gone  ?  Haply  difpaire  hath  feiz'd  her : 

Or  wing'd  with  feruour  of  her  loue,  (he's  flowne 

To  her  defir'd  Pofthumus  :  gone  fhe  is, 

To  death,  or  to  difhonor,  and  my  end  80 

Can  make  good  vfe  of  either.     Shee  being  downe, 

I  haue  the  placing  of  the  Brittifh  Crowne. 

Enter  Clot  en. 
How  now,  my  Sonnef 

Clot.     'Tis  certaine  fhe  is  fled  :  85 

Go  in  and  cheere  the  King,  he  rages,  none 
Dare  come  about  him. 

Qu.     All  the  better  :  may 
This  night  fore-flail  him  of  the  comming  day.        Exit  Qu.         89 

75.  that.]  that,  Coll.     that;  Rowe  et  85.  fled:]   Cap.   Var.   '78,   '85,   Mai. 

cet.  Ran.   Steev.   Varr.   Knt.     fled,  Warb. 

77.  Haply]  haply,  Theob.  Warb.  et  fled.  Ff,  et  cet. 

seq.  86.  King,  he  rages,]  king;  he  rages, 

79.  is,]  Ff ,  Rowe,  Cap.  is  Pope  et  cet.  (or  rages;)  Cap.  et  seq. 

80.  dijhonor,]  dijhonour,  F3F4,  Rowe,  88.  [Aside.  Walker,  Glo.  Cam.  Dyce 
Pope,  Han.    dishonour;  Theob.  Warb.  ii,  Coll.  iii,  Dowden. 

et  seq.  89.  day.]  day!  Pope  et  seq. 

The  author  wrote:  ' — I  have  not  seen  these  two  days.  [Exit  Cloten.]  Queen  (to 
Attendant).  Go,  look  after  Pisanio,  thou,  that  stands  so  for  Posthumus.'  That  is, 
'look  thou  after  Pisanio,  who  stands  so  for  Posthumus.'  Nothing  could  be  more 
natural  than  that  the  Queen,  having  once  already  directed  Cloten  to  follow  the 
King,  and,  having  heard  but  now  that  Pisanio  had  not  lately  been  seen,  should 
dismiss  her  attendant  to  search  for  Pisanio.  [In  this  interpretations  of  these 
puzzling  lines,  HANMER  anticipates  Vaughan,  but  with  a  little  more  violence  to  the 
text,  thus:  'I  have  not  seen  these  two  days.  [Exit.]  Queen  [To  the  Messenger]. 
Go,  look  after  Pisanio — he  that  standeth  so  for  Posthumus,'  etc.  Neither  Hanmer 
nor  Vaughan  indicates,  however,  the  exact  time  of  the  Messenger's  departure;  it  is 
probably  after  'He  hath  a  drug  of  mine,'  which  the  Queen  gives  as  reason  for  send- 
ing after  him.  To  be  relieved  from  supposing  that  Pisanio  is  here  apostrophised  is 
certainly  a  gain,  and  purchased,  too,  at  little  cost. — ED.] 

88,  89.  may  This  night  fore-stall  him  of  the  comming  day]  MALONE:  May 
his  grief  this  night  prevent  him  from  ever  seeing  another  day,  by  an  anticipated 
and  premature  destruction. — BRADLEY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  forestall,  4  b.):  To  bar,  or 
deprive  (a  person)  by  previous  action  from,  of,  out  of  (a  thing).  [The  present  line 
quoted.] — WYATT:  It  seems  to  me  preferable  to  give  the  sentence  a  figurative 
meaning:  'May  this  (night  of)  sorrow  and  despair  caused  by  Imogen's  disap- 
pearance deprive  him  of  (the  coming  day  of)  her  succession  to  the  throne  and  happy 
reign.' — DOWDEN:  Wyatt's  interpretation  seems  to  be  somewhat  strained.  The 


254  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  in,  sc.  v. 

Clo.     I  loue,  and  hate  her  :  for  fhe's  Faire  and  Royall,  90 

And  that.fhe  hath  all  courtly  parts  more  exquifite 
Then  Lady,  Ladies,  Woman,  from  euery  one  92 

go.  Royall,]  Ff,  Rowe,+,  Dyce,  Sta.  ning  Han.     Than  lady  Ladies;  winning 

Ktly.    royal;  Cap.  et  cet.  Warb.    Than  lady,  ladies,  woman;  Pope 

91.  that  Jhe]  Om.  Ingl.  conj.  et  cet.      Than   lady,  lass,  or    woman; 

92.  Then... Woman,]    F2F3.      Than...  or    Than    lady,    lassie,    woman;   Elze. 
Ladies  Woman,  F4.    Than  Lady,  Ladies,  Than,  birlady,  any  woman;  Sprenger. 
Woman,  Rowe.     Than  any  lady,  win-  92.  euery]  each  Pope,+. 


Queen  hopes  that  the  King's  violent  agitation  may  end  her  husband's  life.— 
WALKER  (Crit.,  iii,  325):  Would  the  Queen  have  said  this  to  Cloten?  [Foot-note 
by]  LETTSOM:  And  would  even  Cloten  take  no  notice,  if  such  a  speech  had  been 
addressed  to  him?  It  is  strange  the  Old  Corrector  [/.  e.,  Collier's  MS.]  did  not  add 
an  Aside  here.  [See  Text.  Notes.] 

90,  91.  for   she's   Faire  .  .  .  And    that   she    hath]    That    is,   because    she's 
fair.  .  .  .  And  because  that  she  hath,  etc.— See  ABBOTT,  §  285,  if  need  be. 

92.  Then  Lady,  Ladies,  Woman,  from  euery  one,  etc.]  WARBURTON: 
This  line  is  intolerable  nonsense.  It  should  be  read  and  printed  thus,  'Than  lady 
Ladies;  winning  from  each  one,'  The  sense  of  the  whole  is  this,  I  love  her  be- 
cause she  has,  in  a  more  exquisite  degree,  all  those  courtly  parts  that  ennoble 
(lady)  women  of  qualities  (ladies) ,  winning  from  each  of  them  the  best  of  their 
good  qualities,  etc.  'Lady'  is  a  plural  verb,  and  'Ladies'  is  a  noun  governed  of 
it;  a  quaint  expression  in  Shakespeare's  way,  and  suiting  the  folly  of  the  character. 
['Warburton's  acuteness  seems  usually  to  have  forsaken  him  the  moment  he  lost 
his  malignity.  As  some  beasts  muddy  the  water  by  trampling  before  they  drink, 
so  nothing  is  palatable  to  Warburton  but  what  he  has  made  turbid.'  Landor, 
Conversation  between  Dr.  Johnson  and  Home  Tooke. — ED.] — SEWARD  (Note  on 
Spanish  Curate,  I,  i,  p.  185):  I  cannot  see  any  impenetrable  nonsense  in  this, 
unless  o'er-weaning  criticks  will  labor  to  expound  it  into  such.  The  Poet's  text 
is  a  just  climax;  scU.  'She  hath  all  courtly  parts  more  exquisite  than  any  single 
Lady  whoever;  ay,  than  many  Ladies;  nay,  than  the  whole  sex  put  together.' 
Ferdinand,  speaking  of  his  Mistress  Miranda,  says  almost  the  same  thing  in  The 
Tempest.  'But  you,  O  you,  So  perfect  and  so  peerless  are  created  Of  ev'ry  creature's 
best.' — III,  i,  47.  [It  is  not  impossible,  nay,  it  is  highly  probable,  that  in  the 
notes  to  this  play  we  have  the  very  last  editorial  work  of  poor,  neglected,  poverty- 
stricken  Theobald.  On  the  title-page  to  this,  the  second  volume  of  Seward's 
edition  of  Beaumont  &  Fletcher,  it  is  stated  that  '  The  Custom  of  the  Country,  The 
Elder  Brother,  The  Spanish  Curate  to  page  233  are  Printed  under  the  Inspection  of 
the  late  Mr  Theobald.'  Theobald  died  in  1744.  The  ten  volumes  were  long  in 
going  through  the  press,  and  are  all  dated  1750. — JOHNSON  adopted  the  same  in- 
terpretation as  above  of  the  present  line,  and  M ALONE  adopted  the  reference  to 
The  Tempest. — TOLLET  added  an  apposite  reference  to  All's  Well:  'Lafeu.  Are 
you  companion  to  the  Count  Rousillon?  Parolles.  To  any  count,  to  all  counts,  to 
what  is  man.' — II,  iii,  202.  All  commentators  agree  in  the  interpretation  of  the 
present  passage  as  first  given  by  Theobald  (probably)  in  Seward's  volume,  except 
CRAIG,  who  has  the  following  note  on  it:  There  are  many  certainly  corrupt 
passages  in  this  ill-printed  play  (we  have  unfortunately  no  Quarto  to  assist  us); 


ACT    III,  SC.   V.] 


CYMBELINE 


The  beft  me  hath,  and  fhe  of  all  compounded 

Out-felles  them  all.     I  loue  her  therefore,  but 

Difdaining  me,  and  throwing  Fauours  on 

The  low  PqfthumuS)  flanders  fo  her  iudgement, 

That  what's  elfe  rare,  is  choak'd  :  and  in  that  point 

I  will  conclude  to  hate  her,  nay  indeede, 

To  be  reueng'd  vpon  her.    For,  when  Fooles  fhall- 

Entcr  Pifanio. 

Who  is  heere?  What,  are  you  packing  firrah  ? 
Come  hither  :  Ah  you  precious  Pandar,  Villaine, 
Where  is  thy  Lady  ?    In  a  word,  or  elfe 
Thou  art  ftraightway  with  the  Fiends. 


255 
93 

95 


100 


104 


94.  Oiil-fclles]  Excels  Coll.  conj. 

all.}  Ff,  Pope,  Coll.  all  —  Dyce, 
Sta.  all:  Rowe  et  cet. 

therefore,]  therefore;  Rowe  et  seq. 
96.  flanders]  she  slanders  Ktly. 

99.  For,    when    Fooles   Jhall — ]    F2, 
Coll.  i,  ii,  Ktly.     For,  when  Fooles— 
F3F4   (Fools  F4),   Rowe  i.     For    when 
Fool. —    Rowe    ii.      For   when  fools- 
Pope.    For  when  fools  Shall —  (Shall— 
begining  line  101),  Theob.  et  cet. 

100.  Scene   vi.    Pope,    Han.    Warb. 
Johns. 

101.  What,  are]  Ff,  Rowe,  Cap.  Dyce, 


Glo.  Cam.    What  are  Pope.    What!  are 
Theob.  et  cet. 

102.  Ah]    Ff,    Rowe,    Pope,    Han. 
Ah!  Theob.  Warb.  Johns.    Ah,  Cap.  et 
seq. 

Pandar,  Villaine,]  Pope,  Theob. 
i,  Han.  Pander,  Villain,  Ff,  Rowe, 
Warb.  Johns,  pandar!  Villain,  Cap.  et 
seq. 

103.  word,]  Ff,  Rowe,  +  ,  Coll.   word; 
Cap.  et  cet. 

104.  Thou  art]  ThoiCrl  Pope,+,  Dyce 
ii,  iii. 

[Drawing  his  sword.  Theob. 


this  is  one.  Shakespeare  never  wrote  this  nonsense.  It  is  best  to  leave  it,  but 
he  may  have  written  something  like  this:  '  she  hath  all  courtly  parts  more  excellent 
Than  loveliest  ladies;  robbing  [or  stealing]  from  every  one  The  best,'  etc.  If  the 
line  be  nonsense,  as  Warburton  and  Craig  assert,  is  it,  therefore,  misplaced  in 
Cloten's  mouth?  If  the  speeches  of  Cloten  are  read  aloud,  no  one,  I  think,  can 
fail  to  observe  in  them  a  certain  jerkiness,  as  though  the  words  were  jolted  forth, 
they  do  not  glide  trippingly  (or,  rather,  they  trip  too  much),  but  come  spasmodi- 
cally. This  is  one  of  his  characteristics,  and  by  it  Belarius  recognized  him  after 
long  years.  It  was  by  'the  snatches  in  his  voice,  And  burst  of  speaking'  (IV,  ii, 
142)  that  made  Belarius  'absolutely'  certain  of  his  identity.  Can  we  ask  for  an 
illustration  of  his  manner  of  speaking  better  than  the  present  line?  Each  degree  of 
comparison,  'Lady — Ladies — Woman,'  explodes  separately. — ED.] 

99.  when  Fooles  shall]  THISELTON:  Cloten  possibly  had  in  view  some  para- 
phrase of  the  proverb  'Fools'  haste  is  no  speed.'  This  seems  to  me  to  be  confirmed 
by  'are  you  packing  sirrah';  but,  at  least,  Pisanio  practically  finishes  the  sentence 
for  Cloten  in  this  sense,  when  he  says  at  the  end  of  this  scene  'This  Fooles  speede 
Be  crost  with  slownesse;  Labour  be  his  meede.' 

101.  packing]  STAUNTON:    Plotting,  contriving,  scheming. 

102.  Pandar,  Villaine,]    WALKER    (Crit.,  i,  31):    Perhaps,    ' pandar- villain !' 
The  reading  in  the  edition  of  1821  [Capell's]  seems  more  probable. 


2c6  THE  TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  in,  sc.  v. 

Pif.     Oh,  good  my  Lord.  105 

Clo.    Where  is  thy  Lady  ?     Or,  by  lupiter, 
I  will  not  aske  againe.    Clofe  Villaine, 
He  haue  this  Secret  from  thy  heart,  or  rip 
Thy  heart  to  fincle  it.     Is  fhe  with  Pojlhumus  ? 
From  whofe  fo  many  waights  of  bafeneffe,  cannot  no 

A  dram  of  worth  be  drawne. 

Pif.     Alas,  my  Lord, 

How  can  fhe  be  with  him  ?     When  was  fhe  mifs'd  ? 
He  is  in  Rome. 

Clot.     Where  is  fhe  Sir?    Come  neerer  :  115 

No  farther  halting  :  fatisfie  me  home , 
What  is  become  of  her  ? 

Pif.     Oh,  my  all-worthy  Lord. 

Clo.     All-worthy  Villaine, 
Difcouer  where  thy  Miftris  is,  at  once,  1 20 


105.  good  my]  my  good  Theob.  Warb.  108.  Ik]  Will  Ktly,  Dyce  ii,  iii. 
Johns.  116.  farther]  Ff,  Rowe,+,  Coll.  Sta. 

106.  lupiter]    Jupiter—     Var.     '21,  Cam.    further  Johns,  et  cet. 

Coll.  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam.  117.  her?]  her:  Ff.    her.  Rowe,  Pope, 

107.  Clofe]   Come,  thou  close  Anon.  Theob.  Han.  Warb.  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam. 
ap.  Cam.  her,  Cap.  (corrected  in  Errata). 

Villaine]    villain,    thou    Steev.  118.  Lord.]  Lord!  Rowe  et  seq. 

conj.    villain,  I  Ktly,  Dyce  ii,  iii.  119.   Villaine]  villain!  Rowe  et  seq. 


107.  Close]  That  is,  secret,  as  in  'still  close  as  sure.' — I,  vii,  166. 

107.  Villaine]  WALKER  (Crit.,  ii,  44)  devotes  a  chapter  on  Villaine  and  Vil- 
lainie  confounded,  wherein  the  present  word  is  the  first  example.  'For  "villaine" 
read  wllainie,  metri  gratia.  This  correction  also  spares  us  the  repetition  of  "  villain  " 
three  times  within  a  few  lines.  The  mode  of  address  (abstractum  pro  concrete) 
is  frequent  in  Shakespeare  and  his  contemporary  poets.  Gifford,  if  I  understand 
him  aright,  has  made  the  same  remark,  Massinger,  vol.  iii,  p.  580,  ed.  ii.' — [VAUGHAN 
makes  the  strange  remark  that  'S.  Walker  suggests  "villany"  conjecturally,  but 
does  not  adduce  any  examples  which  confirm  his  supposition.'  Of  course,  where 
conjectures  are  concerned,  downright  confirmation  is  always  an  open  question. 
But  Walker,  in  fact,  presents  ten  or  twelve  examples  which  he  himself  believes 
amply  confirm  his  conjecture, — a  conclusion  which,  I  think,  many  students  will 
share  who  read  his  chapter. — ED.] 

115.  Come  neerer]  HUDSON:  He  means  'Come  nearer  to  the  point.''  Speak 
more  to  the  purpose.  [In  support  of  this  just  interpretation,  CRAIG  quotes: 
'What  need'st  thou  run  so  many  miles  about,  When  thou  may'st  tell  thy  tale  a 
nearer  way.' — Rich.  Ill:  IV,  iv,  461.  There  is  a  sinister  idea  in  Hen.  V:  'give 
us  leave  Freely  to  render  what  we  have  in  charge;  Or  shall  we  sparingly  show  you 
far  off  The  Dauphin's  meaning,'  etc. — I,  ii,  238. — ED.] 


ACT  in,  sc.  v.]  CYMBELINE  257 

At  the  next  word  :  no  more  of  worthy  Lord  :  121 

Speake,  or  thy  filence  on  the  inftant,  is 
Thy  condemnation,  and  thy  death. 

Pif.     Then  Sir  : 

This  Paper  is  the  hiftorie  of  my  knowledge  125 

Touching  her  flight. 

Clo.     Let's  fee't :  I  will  purfue  her 
Euen  to  Augujlus  Throne. 

Pif.    Or  this,  or  perifli. 

She's  farre  enough,  and  what  he  learnes  by  this,  130 

May  proue  his  trauell,  not  her  danger. 

Clo.    Humh.  132 

121.  worthy  Lord:]  Ff.     worthy  lord,  129-131.  [Aside.  Rowe  et  seq. 

Rowe  i.    worthy  lord.  Rowe  ii.  et  seq.  129.  Or   this,   or    periJJt]    Given    to 

As  a  quotation,  Theob.  Warb.  Johns.  Cloten,  Johns,  conj.,  Ran.  Ingl.  i. 

Sta.  Dyce  ii,  iii,  Glo.  Cam.  130.  enough,]  enough;  Theob.  et  seq. 

126.  [Presenting  a  letter.  Mai.    Pre-  131.  trauell]  travail  H.  Ingl.  conj. 
senting  Posthumus's  letter.  Ingl.  132.  Humh.]  Ff,  Rowe,+.     Humh! 

127.  fee't]  feet  F2.  Cap.    Humph!  Var.  '03,  '13,  '21.  Hum! 

128.  [He  reads  it.  Coll.  ii.  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam. 


125.  This  Paper]  Pisanio  afterwards  (V,  v,  330)  says  that  this  was  a  counter- 
feit letter  of  Posthumus  which  he  had  by  accident  in  his  pocket!  It  is  to  be  feared 
that  this  is  one  of  the  instances  of  the  '  folly  of  the  fiction '  which  Dr  Johnson  found 
in  this  play;  any  comment  on  it  would  be,  therefore,  wasted  on  '  unresisting  im- 
becility.'— ED. 

129.  Or  this,  or  perish]  JOHNSON:  These  words,  I  think,  belong  to  Cloten. 
Then  Pisanio,  giving  the  paper,  says  to  himself:  'She's  far  enough,'  etc. — RANN: 
Give  me  the  paper,  or  thou  diest. — M ALONE:  Cloten  knew  not,  till  it  was  tendered, 
that  Pisanio  had  such  a  letter  as  he  now  presents;  there  could,  therefore,  be  no 
question  concerning  his  giving  it  freely  or  withholding  it.  These  words,  in  my 
opinion,  relate  to  Pisanio's  present  conduct,  and  they  mean,  I  think,  'I  must  either 
practise  this  deceit  upon  Cloten,  or  perish  by  his  fury.' — INGLEBY,  by  an  evident 
oversight,  adopted  Johnson's  conjecture  in  his  text  with  the  following  note:  'The 
alteration,  however,  is  not  necessary  to  explain  Pisanio's  subsequent  account  of  this 
interview;  for  Cloten  had  already  threatened  him  with  death  if  he  did  not  disclose 
Imogen's  whereabouts.'  In  the  Revised  Ed.,  by  his  son,  the  error  is  corrected,  and 
the  present  words  given  to  Pisanio. — THISELTON:  As  Pisanio  says  this  he  hands 
Cloten  the  letter,  the  Aside  not  commencing  until  the  next  line.  He  means 
Cloten  to  understand  that  he  yields  to  the  latter's  threats,  while  he  really  ex- 
presses a  wish  that  Cloten  may  not  reach  Imogen  before  he  arrives  at  Augustus's 
throne  (which,  considering  the  state  of  war,  was  a  perilous  thing  to  attempt,  and 
would  scarcely  assist  his  design),  or  that  he  should  perish  in  the  attempt. — DOWDEN: 
Perhaps  these  words  are  not  spoken  aside,  and  are  meant  to  deceive  Cloten  by 
apparent  reluctance  in  showing  a  letter  which  Pisanio  believes  can  really  do  no 
harm  to  Imogen. 

17 


258 


THE   TRACE  DIE   OF 


[ACT  in,  sc.  v. 


Pif.    He  write  to  my  Lord  fhe's  dead  :  Oh  Imogen ,  133 

Safe  may  ft  thou  wander,  fafe  returne  agen. 

Clot.     Sirra,  is  this  Letter  true?  135 

Pif.    Sir,  as  I  thinke. 

Clot.  It  is  Poflhumus  hand,  I  know't.  Sirrah,  if  thou 
would'ft  not  be  a  Villain,  but  do  me  true  feruice:  vnder- 
go  thofe  Imployments  wherein  I  fhould  haue  caufe  to  vfe 
thee  with  a  ferious  induftry,  that  is,  what  villainy  foere  I  140 
bid  thee  do  to  performe  it,  dire6tly  and  truely,  I  would 
thinke  thee  an  honeft  man  :  thou  fhould'ft  neither  want 
my  meanes  for  thy  releefe,  nor  my  voyce  for  thy  prefer- 
ment. 

Pif.     Well,  my  good  Lord. 

Clot.     Wilt  thou  ferue  mee  ?    For  fince  patiently  and       145 
conftantly  thou  haft  ftucke  to  the  bare  Fortune  of  that 
Begger  Poflhumus^  thou  canft  not  in  the  courfe  of  grati- 
tude, but  be  a  diligent  follower  of  mine.    Wilt  thou  ferue 
mee  ? 

Pif.     Sir,  I  will.  150 

Clo.    Giue  mee  thy  hand,  heere's  my  purfe.     Haft  any 
of  thy  late  Mafters  Garments  in  thy  poffeffion  ? 

Pif  an.     I  haue  (my  Lord)  at  my  Lodging,    the  fame 
Suite  he  wore,  when  he  tooke  leaue  of  my  Ladie  &    Mi-       154 
ftreffe. 


133,  134.  [Aside.  Theob. 

133.  write  to]  write  Walker. 
Jhe's]  Jhe  is  Ff,  Rowe. 

dead:}  Ff,  Cap.    dead.  Rowe  et 
cet. 

134.  agen.}  Ff,  Rowe  i,  Sta.    again. 
Rowe  ii,  et  cet. 

137.  Pofthumus]  F2,  Var.  '78.    Post- 
humus's  F3,  Rowe,+.    Posthumu's  F4. 
Posthumus'  Cap.  et  cet. 

138.  but  do]  but  to  do  Rowe,  Pope. 

139.  Imployments]  employments  F3F4. 

140.  thee  with]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han. 
Dyce,  Glo.  Cam.    thee,  with  Theob.  et 


cet. 

140.  foere}  Joe're  F3F4.    soe'er  Rowe. 

141.  do  to  performe}  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope. 
do,  perform  Han.    do,  to  perform  Theob. 
et  cet. 

truely,]  truly:  Pope,  Han.    truly. 
Coll.  i. 

142.  man:]  man,  Pope,  Han. 

148.  mine.]  mine—  Dyce,  Sta. 
mine:  Glo. 

151.  hand,}  hand;  Var.  '73,  Coll. 
Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam. 

153.  at  my}  at  the  F4,  Rowe,  Pope  i, 
Han. 


137.  Clot.  It  is  Posthumus  hand,  etc.]  FLEAY  (Life,  etc.,  p.  246)  believes 
that  this  play  was  written  at  different  times,  the  last  three  Acts  in  1606  just  after 
Lear  and  Macbeth.  'Especially  should  III,  v,  be  examined,'  he  says,  'from  this 
point  of  view,  in  which  the  prose  part  is  a  subsequent  insertion,  having  some  slight 
discrepancies  with  the  older  parts  of  the  scene.' 


ACT    III,   SC.   V.] 


CYMBELINE 


259 


Clo.     The  firft  feruice  thou  doft  mee,  fetch  that    Suite        155 
hither,  let  it  be  thy  firft  feruice,  go. 

Pif.     I  fhall  my  Lord.  Exit. 

Clo.  Meet  thee  at  Milford-Hauen  :  (I  forgot  to  aske 
him  one  thing,  He  remember't  anon:)  euen  there,  thou 
villaine  Poflhumus  will  I  kill  thee.  I  would  thefe  Gar-  160 
ments  were  come.  She  faide  vpon  a  time  (the  bitterneffe 
of  it,  I  now  belch  from  my  heart)  that  fhee  held  the  very 
Garment  of  Po/lhumus,  in  more  refpect,  then  my  Noble 
and  naturall  perfon  ;  together  with  the  adornement  of 
my  Qualities.  With  that  Suite  vpon  my  backe  wil  I  ra—  165 
uifh  her  :  firft  kill  him,  and  in  her  eyes;  there  fhall  me  fee 
my  valour,  which  wil  then  be  a  torment  to  hir  contempt. 
He  on  the  ground,  my  fpeech  of  infulment  ended  on  his 
dead  bodie,  and  when  my  Luft  hath  dined  (which,  as  I  169 


155.  fetch]  fetch  me  Cap. 

157.  Exit.]  Exeunt.  Ff. 

158.  Meet... II auen]    In    Italics,    as 
quotation,  Han.  Sta. 

Hauen:}  Ff.  Haven?  Rowe,+. 
Haven—  Han.  Haven.  Coll.  \Vh.  i. 
Haven!  Dyce,  Coll.  iii,  Glo.  Cam. 

159.  thing,]  thing;  Cap.  et  seq. 

160.  villaine]      F2.       villain,      F^F4, 
Rowe,  Var.    '03,    '13,    '21,   Coll.    i,   ii. 
Ktly. 


164.  per/on;]  person,  Pope  et  seq. 

165.  backe]  back,  Cap.  et  seq. 

1 66.  eyes;]    eyes—     Ro\ve,+.      eyes. 
Johns. 

167.  hir]  FI. 

1 68.  infulment]  infnltment  Ff. 

169.  bodie,    and]    Ff,    Rowe,    Pope, 
Han,  Glo.  Cam.  Dyce  ii,  Wh.  ii.    body; 

—and  Theob.  Warb.  Johns,     body  — 
and  Cap.  et  cet.     body — /  know  what 
I'll  do, — and  Cap.  conj. 


158.  Meet  thee  at  Milford-Hauen]  HAXMER  and  STAUNTON  put  these 
words  in  Italics  very  properly,  as  it  seems  to  me,  to  indicate  that  they  are  quoted. 
Cloten  reads  them  from  the  feigned  letter  Pisanio  has  given  him. — ED. 

158,  159.  I  forgot  to  aske  him  one  thing]  ECCLES,  in  a  note  on  line  177, 
'How  long  is't  since  she  went  to  Milford  Haven?'  suggests  that  this  'is  the  inquiry 
that  before  he  had  forgotten  to  make.' — THISELTON:  As  to  the  rest  of  this  speech, 
Pisanio  evidently  overhears  Cloten.  [Thus  only  (and  there  is  not,  in  the  text,  a 
tittle  of  evidence  of  it)  can  Pisanio's  word  in  the  last  scene  of  the  play  be  trusted. — 
ED.] 

161,  162.  the  bitternesse  of  it,  ...  from  my  heart]  DEIGHTON:  That  is, 
he  can  get  rid  of  it  now,  since  his  prospect  of  revenge  is  so  near  at  hand. 

169.  bodie,  and]  VAUGHAN  contributes  here  a  long  note  with  an  arrangement 
of  the  punctuation,  which  DOWDEN  commends  as  making  'the  whole  passage  run 
more  smoothly.5  Vaughan's  note  reveals  not  only  his  complete  misapprehension 
of  CapelPs  punctuation,  but  contains  the  statement  that  'Capell,  for  the  same 
purpose,  actually  inserted  "I  know  what  I'll  do"  before  "and."  A  glance  at 
Capell's  text  at  once  shows  that  this  statement  is  without  foundation.  Capell's 
text  has  no  such  insertion.  In  his  Notes  (p.  113) — but  I  will  not  repeat  his  un- 
savory explanation.  Cloten's  whole  speech  is  not  a  subject  for  comment.  I  am, 
however,  certain  that  had  Vaughan,  who  is  prone  to  be  over-hasty,  comprehended 


260  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  in,  sc.  v. 

fay,  to  vex  her,  I  will  execute  in  the  Cloathes  that  fhe  fo       170 
praisM  :)to  the  Court  He  knock  her  backe,  foot  her  home 
againe.    She  hath  defpis'd  mee  reioycingly,    and  He  bee 
merry  in  my  Reuenge. 

Enter  Pifanio. 
Be  thofe  the  Garments  ?  175 

Pif.     I,  my  Noble  Lord. 

Glo.     How  long  is't  fince  fhe  went  to  Milford-Hauen  ? 

Pif.    She  can  fcarfe  be  there  yet. 

Clo.     Bring  this  Apparrell  to   my  Chamber,     that    is 
the  fecond  thing  that  I  haue  commanded  thee.    The  third        180 
is,  that  thou  wilt  be  a  voluntarie  Mute  to  my  defigne.    Be 
but  dutious,  and  true  preferment  fhall  tender  it    felfe     to 
thee.    My  Reuenge  is  now  at  Milford,  would  I  had  wings       183 

171.  knock]  kick  Han.  Warb.  and  true,  Walker,  Ingl.     duteous-true, 

174.  Enter...]  Enter  Pisanio  with  a  and  Elze. 

suit  of  deaths.  Rowe.  183.  Mil-ford,}  Mil-ford;  Cap.  et  seq. 

179.  Chamber}  chamber;  Cap.  et  seq.  would}  '"would  Theob.  ii,  Warb. 

1 80.  thee.]  thee:  Cap.  et  seq.  Johns.   Cap.   Mai.   Steev.   Varr.   Knt, 
182.  dutious,  and  true]  Ff.     duteous  Sing. 

Capell,  neither  his  own  note  nor  Dowden's  commendation  would  ever  have  been 
written. — ED. 

181.  voluntarie    Mute]  DEIGHTON:   That  is,  willingly  silent,  not  by  neces- 
sity or  compulsion;  with  an  allusion  to  the  mutes  in  Turkish  harems,  who  were,  if 
not  dumb  by  nature,  made  so  by  having  their  tongues  cut  out  that  they  might  not 
be  able  to  reveal  secrets. 

182.  dutious]    Another   example  of  the  class    of  words  wherein,  before  the 
termination  ous,  the  compositors  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  were 
wont  to  insert  at  will  an  i  where  we  now  have  an  e  or  a  u,  or  no  vowel  at  all,  such 
as  jealous  (uniformly  so  spelled  in  Othello);  prolixious  (Meas.for  Meas.,  II,  iv,  162); 
robustious  (Ham.,  Ill,  ii,  10;  Hen.  V:  III,  vii,  150);  tempcstious  (Webbe,  Disc,  of 
Eng.  Poetrie,  p.  47,  ed.  Arber);  dexterious  (Twel.  Night,  I,  v,  58);  it  is  noteworthy 
that  in  Love's  Lab.  Lost,  IV,  i,  we  have,  in  line  71,  'beauteous,'  and  in  the  next  line, 
72,  'beautious';  this  practice  descended  even  to  Milton,  in  whose  Samson  Agonistes, 
line  1627,  we  find  'All  with  incredible,  stupendous  force.'    It  may  be  said  to  have 
survived  even  to  the  present  day,  in  common  speech,  in  tremendious  and  mis- 
chiemous.    The  substance  of  this  note  will  be  found  in  the  foregoing  references  to 
Twel.  Night  and  Love's  Lab.  Lost  of  this  edition. — ED. 

182.  dutious,  and  true  preferment]  WALKER  (Crit.,  iii,  326):  What  has  true 
preferment  to  do  here?  Point:  'Be  but  dutious  and  true,  preferment  shall,'  etc. 
[This  punctuation  is  plausible,  and  may  be  right;  but  'true  preferment'  may  not  be 
so  far  wrong  as  Walker  supposes.  There  may  be  therein  the  suggestion  of  a  con- 
trast between  what  Cloten  can  offer,  which  would  be  solid  and  substantial,  and 
what  Pisanio  might  hope  for  from  his  loyalty  to  Imogen  and  Posthumus,  which 
would  be  insubstantial  and  false. — ED.] 


ACT  in,  sc.  v.]  CYMBELINE  26l 

to  follow  it.     Come,  and  be  true.  Exit 

Pif.     Thou  bid'ft  me  to  my  loffe  :  for  true  to  thee,  185 

Were  to  prone  falfe,  which  I  will  neuer  bee 
To  him  that  is  moft  true.     To  Milford  go, 
And  finde  not  her,  whom  thou  purfueft.     Flow,  flow 
You  Heauenly  bleffings  on  her :  This  Fooles  fpeede 
Be  croft  with  flowneffe  ;  Labour  be  his  meede.  Exit       190 

184.  •//.]  Ff,  Rowe,  Coll.    it!  Pope  et  187.  To  him]  To  her  Han.     To  Him 
cet.                                                                     Anon.  ap.  Cam. 

185.  my]  thy  Coll.  ii.  (MS.),  Huds. 

185.  to  my  losse]  COLLIER  (ed.  ii.):  Thy  and  'my'  were  often  confounded  by 
the  old  printers,  and  this  seems  a  case  of  the  kind;  the  MS.  puts  thy  for  'my,'  and 
with  apparent  reason;  it  was  to  Cloten's  loss  that  he  bade  Pisanio  be  true,  because 
Pisanio  was  resolved  to  be  true  to  his  own  master,  Posthumus,  who,  he  was  per- 
suaded, was  himself  true,  not  meriting  any  part  of  the  accusation  of  falsehood  made 
to  Imogen. 

187.  To  him  that   is  most   true]   THISELTOX:    That  is,  'to  Jove.'    The  cir- 
cumstances clearly  preclude  any  other  interpretation.     Pisanio  could  not  apply 
the  epithet  'most  true'  to  Posthumus;   see  his  soliloquy  on  Posthumus's  letter, 
III,  ii,  1-23.     Nor  could  he  say  that  he  would  never  be  false  to  Posthumus  whose 
command  he  disobeys,  and  to  whom  he  has  just  said  that  he  would  write  that 
Imogen  is  dead.     Pisanio  is  one  of  Shakespeare's  great  minor  characters. — DOWDEN 
quotes  Thiselton's  interpretation,  and  adds  'perhaps  right,'  wherewith,  I  think, 
ihere  will  be  general  acquiescence.     In  the  Cam.  Ed.  there  is  recorded  a  conjecture 
by  'Anon.'  (whom  I  almost  always  suspect  to  be  the  peerless  Editor  himself)  of 
'To  Him.'     This,  if  I  understand  it,  with  its  capital  H,  is  a  reference  to  an  authority 
far  higher  than  the  'Jove'  of  Thiselton.     Are  we  quite  sure,  however,  that  Shake- 
speare's audience,  or  any  audience,  could  recall  Pisanio's  former  mistrust  or  present 
deception  so  swiftly  as  to  perceive  that  he  here  refers  to  a  heavenly  standard  and 
not  to  Posthumus  himself?     His  latest  references  to  Posthumus  have  been  un- 
swerving confidence  in  the  absolute  truth  of  Posthumus  as  regards  Imogen.    Do 
we  not,  without  stopping  to  reason,  almost  instinctively  accept  the  fact  that  truth 
to  Cloten  is  falsehood  to  Posthumus,  loyalty  to  the  one  is  disloyalty  to  the  other? 
And  may  not  this  fleeting  allusion  to  Posthumus's  truth,  if  it  really  is  so,  be  one  of 
Shakespeare's  artful  devices  to  soften  our  hearts  unconsciously  towards  Imogen's 
cruel  husband,  and  prepare  us  gradually  for  his  full  pardon  at  our  hands?     That 
I  do  not  err  in  supposing  that  Pisanio's  reference  'to  him  that  is  most  true'  is 
generally  accepted  as  referring  to  Posthumus,  Malone's   note  on  this  passage,  I 
think,  will  show:  'Pisanio,  notwithstanding  his  master's  letter,  commanding  the 
murder  of  Imogen,  considers  him  as  true,  supposing,  as  he  has  already  said  to  her, 
that  Posthumus  was  abused  by  some  villain,  equally  an  enemy  to  both.' — CAPELL'S 
note  is  to  the  same  effect.     I  do  not  forget  that  an  actor  could  reveal  the  meaning 
of  Anon.'s  conjecture  by  lifting  his  eyes  to  Heaven. — ED. 

188,  189.  Flow,  flow  ...  on  her]  VAUGHAN:  This  means,  'abound  to  the  utter- 
most in  her,'  'come  in  a  flood  tide.'    'Flowing,'  in  Shakespeare,  commonly  signifies 
'abounding  greatly  in  measure  and  in  degree.' 


262  THE   TRACE  DIE  OF  [ACT  in,  sc.  vi. 


Scena  Sexta. 

Enter  Imogen  alone .  2 

hno.     I  fee  a  mans  life  is  a  tedious  one, 
I  haue  tyr'd  my  felfe  :  and  for  two  nights  together  4 

1.  Scena    Sexta.]    Scene    iv.    Rowe.         Cloaths.   Rowe.      Enter.. .'tir'd   like   a 
Scene  vn.  Pope,  Han.  Warb.  Johns.         boy.  Coll.  MS.     Enter... attired  like  a 
Scene  vm.  Eccles.  boy.  Coll.  ii. 

The  Forest  and  Cave.  Rowe.    Before  3.  one,]  one:  Pope  et  seq. 

the    Cave   of    Belarius.    Cap.    Wales:  4.  /  haue]  I've  Pope,+,  Dyce  ii,  iii. 

before  the  cave  of  Belarius.  Dyce.  tyr'd]  tired  F3F4,   Rowe,   Pope  i, 

2.  Enter...]  Enter  Imogen  in  Boy's  Han.    'tir'd  Sing.  Coll.  ii.  (MS.). 

i.  Scena  Sexta]  ECCLES :  The  time  is  the  evening  of  the  same  day  with  that  of  the 
two  preceding  scenes.  Imogen,  having  parted  from  Pisanio  in  the  morning  and  wan- 
dered alone  during  the  intermediate  part  of  the  day,  having  directed  her  steps 
towards  Milford-Haven,  arrives,  accidentally,  at  the  cave  of  Belarius  a  little  be- 
fore he  and  his  youths  return  from  hunting,  and  when  they  are  about  to  pre- 
pare for  supper. — DANIEL  (Sh.  Soc.  Trans.,  1877-79,  P-  245)-  When  Pisanio 
parted  from  Imogen  Milford  was  within  ken,  but  since  then,  for  two  nights  to- 
gether, she  has  made  the  ground  her  bed,  and  now  on  the  third  evening  she  arrives, 
faint  with  hunger  and  fatigue,  before  the  cave  of  Belarius.  If  we  suppose,  as 
I  think  we  may,  this  scene  to  occur  on  the  same  day  as  the  preceding  scene,  we 
get — including  this  day,  the  day  of  her  departure  from  court,  and  the  two  inter- 
vals suggested  by  the  time  she  has  wandered  alone — a  period  of  five  days,  which 
may  be  considered  sufficient,  dramatically,  for  the  journeyings  to  and  from  the 
vicinity  of  Milford,  and  not  altogether  inconsistent  with  Cymbeline's  remark 
as  to  her  not  having  lately  paid  him  the  daily  duty  she  was  bound  to  proffer. 
She  may  have  seen  him  on  the  day  of  her  departure  (Day  6);  on  the  next  three 
days  she  is  absent  from  his  presence,  and  on  the  fourth  (this  Day  No.  8)  he  notices 
her  absence  and  discovers  that  she  has  fled.  Even  Cloten's  remark  of  his  not 
having  seen  Pisanio  for  these  two  days  need  not  form  any  serious  objection  to 
this  scheme  of  time;  and  all  we  can  say  to  Pisanio's  remark  on  quitting  Imogen, 
that  Lucius  would  be  at  Milford-Haven  on  the  morrow,  is  that  his  prediction 
has  not  been  verified.  Imogen  goes  into  the  cave  in  search  of  food,  and  Belarius, 
Guiderius,  and  Arviragus,  returning  from  hunting,  find  her  there  and  welcome 
her  to  their  rustic  hospitality.  It  is  '  almost  night '  when  this  scene  closes. 

An  interval,  including  one  clear  day — on  the  principle  of  allowing  to  Cloten  for 
his  journey  into  Wales  about  the  same  time  that  has  been  allowed  to  Imogen  and 
Pisanio. 

4.  I  haue  tyr'd  my  selfe]  COLLIER  (ed.  ii,  reading  'I  have  'tir'd  myself): 
That  is,  Attired  myself;  this  emendation  is  from  the  MS.  .  .  .  We  have  still  some 
doubt  whether  the  meaning  of  Imogen  be  that  she  has  dressed  herself  like  a  boy, 
or  that  she  has  wearied  herself;  in  the  first  line  she  says  that  'a  man's  life  is  a 
tedious  one,'  and  in  the  next  she  may  reasonably  follow  it  up  by  stating  that  she 
had  tired  herself. — DYCE  (Strictures,  etc.,  p.  214):  This  emendation  certainly  does 
not  make  Imogen  say,  as  Mr  Collier  supposes,  that  'she  has  dressed  herself  like  a 


ACT  in,  sc.  vi.]  CYMBELINE  263 

Haue  made  the  ground  my  bed.     I  fhould  be  ficke,  5 

But  that  my  refolution  helpes  me  :  Milford, 

When  from  the  Mountaine  top,  Pifanio  fhew'd  thee, 

Thou  was't  within  a  kenne.    Oh  loue,  I  thinke 

Foundations  flye  the  wretched  :  fuch  I  meane,  9 

5-18.  Mnemonic  Warb.  7.  top,]  top  Ff  et  cet. 

5.  ground]  gound  F2.  8.  was't]  Ff. 

bed.]  bed:  Coll.  Sing.  kenne.]  F2F3.     ken.  F4,  Rowe,+, 

6.  me:]  me.  Pope  et  seq.  Coll.  ii,  Ktly.    ken:  Cap.  et  cet. 

7.  Mountaine     top]      mountain -top  Oh  lone,]  Oh,  Jove,  F3F4,  Rowe. 
Theob.  ii,  Han.  Var.  '03,  '13,  '21,  Knt,  0  Jove!  Cap.  et  seq. 

Coll.    Dyce,     Sta.     Sing.    Ktly,    Glo.  9.  wretched:]   wretched,   F3F4,   Rowe, 

Cam.  Pope,  Han. 

boy';  it  makes  her  say  that  'instead  of  walking  about  in  puris  naturalibus,  she 
has  put  on  some  clothes.' 

4.  my  selfe .-]  THISELTON  (Rule  xiii.) :  An  italicised  colon  sometimes  seems  to 
stand  for  a  note  of  exclamation;  and  may,  at  times,  be  used,  by  a  slight  extension 
of  the  present  use  of  that  note,  for  the  purpose  of  emphasis.  [Is  it  a  fact  that 
the  Elizabethan  compositor's  case  was  so  ill-supplied  with  exclamation  marks  that 
the  compositor  had  to  resort  to  the  ampler  supply  of  Italic  colons?  Can  any 
reason  be  given  why,  when  he  had  the  exclamation  marks  under  his  hand  in  the 
case  before  him,  and  it  was  the  type  he  needed,  he  should  move  to  an  adjoining 
case  for  an  Italic  colon?  I  cannot  answer,  Davus  sum,  non  (Edipus. — ED.] 

6.  my  resolution  helpes  me]  Possibly  'helps'  here  means  cures,  as  it  is 
used  several  times  in  All's  Well  (see  SCHMIDT,  Lex.);  although,  strictly  speaking, a 
cure  can  only  follow  sickness,  with  which  Imogen  was  merely  threatened. 

6.  Milford]  LADY  MARTIN  (p.  195):  Oh,  that  name,  Milford-Haven!  I 
never  hear  it  spoken,  see  it  written,  without  thinking  of  Imogen.  Weary  and 
footsore,  she  wanders  in,  with  the  dull  ache  at  her  heart — far  worse  to  bear  than 
hunger — yearning,  yet  dreading,  to  get  to  Milford,  that  'blessed  Milford,'  as  once 
she  thought  it.  When  I  read  of  the  great  harbour  and  docks  which  are  now 
there  I  cannot  help  wishing  that  one  little  sheltering  corner  could  be  found  to 
christen  as  Imogen's  Haven.  Never  did  heroine  or  woman  deserve  to  have  her 
name  thus  consecrated  and  remembered. 

8.  kenne]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.) :   Range  of  sight  or  vision. 

9.  Foundations]  BRADLEY  (N.  E.  D.,  4):  That  which  is  founded  or  established 
by  endowment;  an  institution  (e.  g.,  a  monastery,  college,  or  hospital)  established 
with  an  endowment  and  regulations  for  its  maintenance.     [That  Imogen  refers 
to  such  a  'foundation'  as  a  hospital  I  think  her  next  words  show.     Of  course,  we 
all  see  the  play  on  the  word  in  a  double  sense,  by  imputing  to  what  is  fixed  and 
founded  the  power  of  flight;  and  who  does  not  feel  the  pathos  of  this  wan  smile  in 
the  hour  of  her  hopeless  misery?     DELIUS,  however,  takes  a  different  view;  he 
thinks  that  'foundation'  refers  to  Milford,  which,  'by  its  very  nature,  built  and 
founded  on  the  earth,  should  be  immoveable,  and  yet  flies  when  the  wretched 
approach  it  for  relief.     Imogen  has  again  lost  the  road  to  Milford  which  she  had 
lately  seen  from  the  mountains.'     Delius  may  be  right;  but  the  fact  that  to  this 
day  in  England  charitable  institutions    are    called  'Foundations,'  coupled  with 
what  Imogen  goes  on  to  say,  weakens  his  interpretation;  as  it  seems  to  me. — ED.] 


264 


THE   TRACED  IE   OF 


[ACT  in,  sc.  vi. 


Where  they  fhould  be  releeu'd.    Two  Beggers  told  me,          10 

I  could  not  miffe  my  way.     Will  poore  Folkes  lye 

That  haue  Afflictions  on  them,  knowing  'tis 

A  punifhment,  or  Triall  ?    Yes;  no  wonder, 

WThen  Rich-ones  fcarfe  tell  true.    To  lapfe  in  Fulneffe 

Is  forer,  then  to  lye  for  Neede  :  and  Falfhood  15 

Is  worfe  in  Kings,  then  Beggers.    My  deere  Lord, 

Thou  art  one  o'th'falfe  Ones  :  Now  I  thinke  on  thee, 

My  hunger's  gone ;  but  euen  before,  I  was 

At  point  to  fmke,  for  Food.     But  what  is  this? 

Heere  is  a  path  too't :  'tis  fome  fauage  hold  :  2O 

I  were  beft  not  call ;  I  dare  not  call  :  yet  Famine 

Ere  cleane  it  o're-throw  Nature,  makes  it  valiant. 

Plentie,  and  Peace  breeds  Cowards  :  Hardneffe  euer 

Of  Hardineffe  is  Mother.     Hoa?  who's  heere  ?  24 


10.  releeu'd]    believed    John    Hunter 
conj. 

Beggers]  Beggars  F3F4. 

11.  way.]  Ff,  Rowe,  +  ,  Ktly.     way: 
Cap.  et  cet. 

Folkes]    Folks    F3F,.      folk    Var. 
'73,  '78,  '85,  Ran. 

12.  afflictions]  affliction  Han. 
them,]  Ff,  Rowe,  +  ,  Coll.  Dyce, 

Glo.  Cam.    them;  Cap.  et  cet. 

13.  Yes;  no]  yes  no  Pope,     yet  no 
Han. 

14.  Rich-ones]  rich  ones  Rowe  et  seq. 
tnte.]   Ff,   Rowe,+,   Glo.     true: 

Cap.  et  cet. 

15.  Neede:]  need,  Glo. 

17.  Thou  art]  ThoiCrt  Pope,+,  Dyce 


*  •       *•  •       TTyi          • 

n,  in,  Wn.  i. 

17.  o'th']    F4,    Rowe,  +  .      o'/A    F2. 
oltt  F3.    o'the  Cap.  et  seq. 

IQ.  [Seeing  the  Cave.  Rowe. 

20.  too't:]  to't:  Ff,  Cap.  Dyce,  Sta. 
Sing.  Glo.  Cam.   to't — Rowe,+.  to  it — 
Johns,    to  it: —  Var.  '73  et  cet.  (subs.) 

21.  7  were]  'Twere  Pope,  Theob.  Han. 
Warb.    It  were  Var.  '73. 

22.  cleane   it]    it  clean   F3F4,   Rowe, 
Pope,  Theob.  Han.  Warb. 

makes]  make  Ff. 

23.  breeds]  breed  Han. 

Cowards:]    cowards,    Ff,    Rowe, 
Pope. 

24.  26.  Hoa?]  Ho?  F4.    Ho!  Rowe  et 
seq. 


13.  or  Triall]  DOWDEN:   That  is,  a  test  of  their  virtue. 

14.  To  lapse  in  Fulnesse]  DOWDEN:    To  fall  from  truth  in  a  state  of  pros- 
perity; which  reminds  Imogen  of  Posthumus,  who,  in  the  fulness  of  possessing  her 
love,  had  lapsed. 

15.  Is  sorer]  JOHNSON:   Is  a  greater  or  heavier  crime. 

18.  but   euen   before]    SCHMIDT    (Lex.):    That   is,  just,   precisely.     In   King 
John,  'And  even  before  this  truce,  but  new  before,'  etc.,  Ill,  i,  233;  or  as  Portia,  in 
Mer.  of  Ven.,  'and  even  now,  but  now,  This  house,  these  servants  and  this  same 
myself  Are  yours,'  etc.,  Ill,  ii,  171. 

19.  At  point]  For  examples  of  a  similar  use  of  at,  see  ABBOTT,  §  143. 

21.  I  were  best]  For  this  construction,  see  ABBOTT,  §  352,  and  'Best  draw  my 
Sword,'  line  27,  below. 

24.  Hoa?  who's  heere?]  LADY  MARTIN  (p.  197):  In  my  first  rehearsals  of 
this  scene  I  instinctively  adopted  a  way  of  my  own  of  entering  the  cave  which 


ACT  in,  sc.  vi.]  CYMBELINE  265 

If  any  thing  that's  ciuill,  fpeake  :  if  fauage,  25 

Take,  or  lend.     Hoa?    No  anfwer?    Then  He  enter. 

25.  thing]  Om.  F3F4.  '73.     Take,  or  yield  food:  Han.     Take 
fpeake:  if  ]f peak,  if  F3F4,  Rowe  i.         'or't  end— ho!  Warb.    Take  or  lend  Ho! 

26.  Take,  or  lend.     Hoa?}Fi.    Take,        Johns.     Take  or  rend.     Ho!  Sprenger. 
or  lend — Ho!  Rowe,  Pope,  Theob.  Var.         Take,  or  lend.     Ho!  Cap.  et  cet. 

I  was  told  was  unusual.  .  .  .  Mr  Macready,  after  expressing  many  apprehensions, 
thought  I  might  try  it.  ...  Imogen's  natural  terror  was  certain  to  make  her  ex- 
aggerate tenfold  the  possible  dangers  which  that  cave  might  cover,  from  wild 
animals  or,  still  worse,  from  savage  men.  .  .  .  The  'Ho!  who's  here?'  was  given 
with  a  voice  as  faint  and  as  full  of  terror  as  could  be, — followed  by  an  instant 
shrinking  behind  the  nearest  bush,  tree,  or  rock.  Then  another  and  a  little  bolder 
venture:  'If  anything  that's  civil,  speak!'  Another  recoil.  Another  pause: 
'If  savage,  take  or  lend!  Ho!'  Gaining  a  little  courage,  because  of  the  entire 
silence:  'No  answer?  then  I'll  enter!' — peering  right  and  left,  still  expecting 
something  to  pounce  out  upon  her,  and  keeping  ready,  in  the  last  resort,  to  fly.  .  .  . 
And  so,  with  great  dread,  but  still  greater  hunger,  and  holding  the  good  sword 
straight  before  her,  she  creeps  slowly  into  the  cave. 

25,  26.  If  any  thing  that's  ciuill,  speake  :  if  sauage,  Take,  or  lend] 
WARBURTON:  For  'take  or  lend'  we  should  read,  'Take  'or't  end,'  that  is,  take  my 
life  ere  famine  end  it.  'Or'  was  commonly  used  for  ere. — HEATH  (p.  483):  That 
is,  either  take  my  life  or  render  me  your  assistance. — CAPELL  (p.  112):  The 
meaning  is,  Take  me  for  food,  or  lend  food  to  me;  and  is  proper  enough  in  her 
circumstances,  whatever  the  savage  might  be,  beast  or  man. — JOHNSON:  I  ques- 
tion whether  after  the  words  'if  savage'  a  line  be  not  lost.  I  can  offer  nothing 
better  than  to  read:  'If  any  thing  that's  civil,  take  or  lend,  If  savage,  speak.'  If 
you  are  civilized  and  peaceable,  take  a  price  for  what  I  want,  or  lend  it  for  a  future 
recompense;  if  you  are  rough,  inhospitable  inhabitants  of  the  mountian,  speak, 
that  I  may  know  my  state. — STEEVENS:  It  is  by  no  means  necessary  to  suppose 
that  'savage  hold'  signifies  the  habitation  of  a  beast.  It  may  well  be  used  for 
the  cave  of  'a  savage'  or  wild  man. — M.  MASON  (p.  330):  Steevens  is  right  in 
supposing  that  'savage'  does  not  mean,  in  this  place,  a  wild  beast,  but  a  brutish 
man,  and  in  that  sense  it  is  opposed  to  'civil';  in  the  former  sense  the  word  human 
would  have  been  opposed  to  it  and  not  'civil.'  I  should  be  inclined  to  read,  'if 
savage,  take  or  end,'  if  I  did  not  suspect  that  'take  or  lend'  might  have  been  a 
proverbial  expression  in  use  at  that  time,  though  not  now  understood. — M  ALONE: 
Dr  Johnson's  interpretation  of  the  words  'take,  or  lend'  is  supported  by  what 
Imogen  says  afterwards:  'Before  I  enter'd  heere,  I  call'd,  and  thought  To  have 
begg'd,  or  bought,  what  I  have  took.' — KNIGHT  (reading  'If  anything  that's 
civil,  speak; — if  savage — take,  or  lend'):  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  affix  any 
precise  meaning  to  words  which  are  meant  to  be  spoken  under  great  trepidation. 
The  poor  wanderer  entering  the  cave  which  she  fears  is  '  some  savage  hold '  exhorts 
the  inhabitant  to  speak  if  civil — if  belonging  to  civil  life.  This  is  clear.  But  we 
doubt  whether  she  goes  on  to  ask  the  savage  to  take  a  reward  for  his  food  or  to 
lend  it;  in  that  case  she  would  address  ideas  to  the  savage  which  do  not  belong 
to  his  condition.  .  .  .  We  have  ventured  to  print  the  passage  as  if  the  expression 
'if  savage'  were  merely  the  parenthetical  whisper  of  her  own  fears — 'If  anything 
that's  civil,  speak;  take,  or  lend.'  The  'if  savage'  is  interposed  when  no  answer 


266  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  in,  sc.  vi. 

Beft  draw  my  Sword  ;  and  if  mine  Enemy  27 

But  feare  the  Sword  like  me,  hee'l  fcarfely  look  on't. 

Such  a  Foe,  good  Heauens.  Exit.       29 

27.  and  if]  an  if  Huds.  29.  good]  ye  good  Cap. 

28.  29.  hee' '1... Heauens.]    One    line  Exit]  She  goes  into  the  Cave. 
Walker.                                                              Rowe. 

29.  Such]  Grant  such  Pope,+. 

is  returned  to  'speak.' — HARTLEY  COLERIDGE  (ii,  p.  192):  The  text  is  probably 
right.  Shakespeare  does  not  plan  his  sentences  beforehand,  and  lay  them  out  in 
even  compartments;  they  grow  and  expand,  like  trees,  towards  heaven.  If  you 
be  civil,  speak;  nay,  but  however  savage,  at  least  assist  me  for  recompense. — 
SCHMIDT  (Lex.,  s.  v.  lend):  Perhaps  'take  or  leave,'  i.  e.,  destroy  me  or  let  me  live. 
'If  the  strawy  Greeks  .  .  .  Fall  down  before  him,  like  the  mowers  swath;  here, 
there,  and  everywhere,  he  leaves  and  takes.' — Tro.  &  Cress.,  V,  v,  26. — BR.  NICHOL- 
SON (N.  &  Q.,  VII,  i,  423,  1886):  Imogen  calls  out,  'if  you  be  savage,  still  you 
can  understand  my  wants  and  questions,  here  take  this  I  offer' — advancing  her 
hand  with  her  purse  in  it,  or  lifting  it  horizontally  from  her  girdle — 'or  lend  me 
what  I  want.' — INGLEBY:  No  explanation  or  emendation  of  this  phrase  hitherto 
proposed  is  satisfactory.  .  .  .  After  all,  the  sense  is  so  doubtful  that  'speak'  and 
'take,  or  lend'  might,  as  Johnson  proposed,  change  places;  or  'civil'  and  'savage* 
might  do  so. — DEIGHTON:  That  is,  probably,  take  money  for  the  food  I  so  surely 
need  or  bestow  it  upon  me  out  of  compassion;  'lend'  is  frequently  used  by  Shake- 
speare without  the  idea  of  return,  though  generally  in  this  sense  figuratively. — • 
HERFORD:  Take  payment,  or  give  me  (food).  The  ellipse  is  harsh,  and  not  quite 
clear;  but  Imogen's  preoccupation  with  the  thought  of  food  makes  it  very  natural. — 
WYATT:  If  'take'  has  the  meaning  [of  taking  money  in  exchange  for  food],  'lend' 
cannot  have  its  usual  modern  sense,  for  a  stranger  could  not  proffer  money  and  in 
the  same  breath  suggest  a  loan;  'lend'  is  frequently  used  by  Shakespeare  without 
the  notion  of  return. — VAUGHAN  (p.  555):  The  words  'speak'  and  'take,  or  lend' 
have  been  understood  as  addressed  to  the  inmate  of  the  cave;  but  I  take  them  to 
be,  like  the  words  immediately  following,  'then  I'll  enter,'  expressive  of  Imogen's 
intentions.  Indeed,  it  seems  almost  absurd  that  Imogen  should  ask  the  inmate 
of  the  cave,  supposed  or  found  incapable  of  conversation  with  her,  to  'take  or 
lend' — words  of  which  he  knew  not  the  meaning.  I  would  read:  'if  savage, 
Take  on  lend. — Ho! — No  answer;  then  I'll  enter.'  The  whole  amounts  to  this: 
'If  he  be  one  capable  of  conversation,  I  will  speak;  if  a  wild  rustic, incapable  of  it, 
I  will  take  upon  loan' — 'Ho! — no  answer;  then  I'll  enter.'  'Lend'  was  a  noun 
substantive  when  Shakespeare  wrote,  equivalent  to  loan.  So  (I  borrow  the  quo- 
tation from  Latham's  Johnson's  Diet.}:  'For  the  lend  of  the  ass  you  might  give  me 
the  mill.' — The  Crafty  Miller. — DOWDEN:  I  think  that  'or'  here  means  ere  (as 
often  it  does),  before.  If  robbers  lurk  in  the  cave,  Imogen  bids  them  'take,'  seize 
on,  what  she  possesses,  before  they  'lend,'  afford  her  the  sustenance  she  needs. 
Lines  [25  and  26  in  the  next  scene]  addressed  to  'civil'  men  refer  to  the  begging 
or  buying  which  she  would  have  addressed  to  civil  occupants  of  the  cave. 

27.  Best  draw  my  Sword]  For  examples  of  similar  construction,  see  ABBOTT, 
§  351,  and  'I  were  best,'  line  21,  above. 

29.  Such  a  Foe,  good  Heauens]  Cf.  'good  Newes  Gods',  III,  ii,  42. 


ACT  in,  sc.  vii.]  CYMBELINE  267 

Scena  Septima. 

Enter  Belarius,  Guiderius,  and  Aruiragus.  2 

Bel.     You  Polidore  haue  prou'd  beft  Woodman,  and 

Are  Mafter  of  the  Feaft  :  Cad^cvall,  and  I 

Will  play  the  Cooke,  and  Seruant,  'tis  our  match  :  5 

The  fweat  of  induftry  would  dry,  and  dye 

But  for  the  end  it  workes  too.     Come,  our  ftomackes 

Will  make  what's  homely,  fauoury  :  Wearineffe 

Can  fnore  vpon  the  Flint,  when  reftie  Sloth 

Findes  the  Downe-pillow  hard.    Now  peace  be  heere,  10 

Poore  houfe,  that  keep'ft  thy  felfe. 
Gui.     I  am  throughly  weary. 
And.     I  am  weake  with  toyle,  yet  ftrong  in    appetite.          13 

i.  Scena  Septima.]  Ff,  Cap.     Scene  10.  Downe-pillow]  Ff,  Rowe  i,  Ktly, 

continued,  Rowe  et  cet.  Dyce  ii,  iii.     down  pillow  Rowe  ii.  et 

3.  Polidore]      Paladour      Theob. +  ,         cet. 

Cap.    Polydore  Var.  '73  et  seq.  Now]  F2,  Glo.     No  F3F4.     Now, 

4.  Cadwall]  Cadwal  Pope  et  seq.  Cap.  et  cet. 

5.  Seruant,]  servant;  Theob.  et  seq.  n.  felfe.]  self!  Pope  et  seq. 

6.  of]  and  Cam.  (misprint?)  [Exit,  to  the  Cave.  Cap. 

7.  too]  to  Ff.  12,13.  lam]  I'm  Pope,  +  ,  Dyce  ii,  iii. 
Come,]  Come;  Cap.  et  seq.  12.  throughly]    througly     F3.       thor- 

o.  re/lie]  Sing.  Ktly.  restive  Steev.  oughly  Theob.  ii,  Warb.  Johns.  Coll. 
Var.  '03,  '13.  refty  Ff  et  cet.  Wh.  i. 

3.  Woodman]  REED  (Meas.  for  Meas.,  IV,  iii,  170):  A  'woodman'  seems  to 
have  been  an  attendant  or  servant  to  the  officer  called  Forrester.  See  Man  wood,  in 
the  Forest  Laius,  1615,  p.  46.  It  had,  however,  a  wanton  sense.  [Here  it  signifies, 
of  course,  merely  a  hunter.] — MALONE:  So  in  Lucrece:  'He  is  no  woodman  that 
doth  bend  his  bow  To  strike  a  poor  unseasonable  doe.' — 580. 

5.  our  match]  STEEVENS:    That  is,  our  compact.    See  III,  iii,  81-83. 

6.  The  sweat  of  industry,  etc.]   VAUGHAN:   The  language  here  is  to  our  ears 
unpleasant  and  inappropriate,  but  chiefly  because  we  regard  sweat  as  the  perspira- 
tion collected  on  the  surface  of  the  skin.     But  Shakespeare  treats  it  here  as  a  vital 
and  virtuous  juice  in  the  tissues  of  industry,  which,  if  industry  were  disappointed  of 
its  reward,  would  dry  up  and  perish  out  of  its  constitution.     Possibly  it  is  since 
Shakespeare's  day  that  the  word  'sweat'  has  caught  up  associations  which  make 
it  unpleasant.     He  often  uses  it  in  tragic  passages.     [See  the  Bible,  passim.] 

9.  restie]  CRAIGIE  (N.  E.  D.,  2):  Disinclined  for  action  or  exertion;  sluggish; 
indolent,  lazy.  [Examples  here  follow  from  Coopers'  Thesaurus,  1565;  Golding, 
1571,  and  from  Jonson,  1609,  but  none  so  good  as  the  present.  Cotgrave,  s.  v., 
Cabrer  stir  le  devoir,  gives,  'To  be  restie,  or  backward  in  duetie.' — ED.] — STAUNTON: 
Dull,  idle,  perhaps  uneasy, 

ii.  Poore  house,  that  keep'st  thy  selfe]  Thus  in  As  You  Like  It:  'But  at 
this  hour  the  house  doth  keep  itself;  There's  none  within.' — V,  iii,  82. 


268 


THE   TRACED  IE   OF 


[ACT  in,  sc.  vii. 


GUI.    There  is  cold  meat  i'th'Caue,  we'l  brouz  on  that 
Whil'ft  what  we  haue  kill'd,  be  Cook'd.  15 

Bel.     Stay,  come  not  in  : 

But  that  it  eates  our  victualles,  I  fhould  thinke 
Heere  were  a  Faiery. 

Gui.     What's  the  matter,  Sir  ? 

Bel.     By  lupiter  an  Angell  :  or  if  not  20 

An  earthly  Paragon.    Behold  Diuineneffe 
No  elder  then  a  Boy. 

Enter  Imogen. 

Imo.     Good  matters  harme  me  not  : 

Before  I  enterM  heere,  I  calPd,  and  thought  25 

To  haue  beggM,  or  bought,  what  I  haue  took  :  good  troth 
I  haue  ftolne  nought,  nor  would  not,  though  I  had  found 
Gold  ftrew'd  i'th'Floore.  Heere's  money  for  my  Meate,  28 


14.  /'/&']  UK  F2F3.   i'the  Cap.  et  seq. 
Cane,]  cave;  Cap.  et  seq. 
brouz]  F2F3.     browse  Dyce,  Sta. 

Glo.  Cam.  Coll.  iii.    bronze  F4  et  cet. 

15.  we  haue}  we've  Pope,+. 

16.  [Re-enter  Belarius.  Cap. 
Stay,]  Stay;  Cap.  et  seq. 

in:]   in—     Rowe,+,    Ktly.     in. 
Coll.  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam. 

[Looking  in.  Rowe. 

17.  1 8.  Mnemonic  Warb. 

18.  Heere]  Ff,  Rowe  i.    He  Rowe  ii, 
Ingl.     //   Pope,   Theob.   Han.   Warb. 
Here  Johns,  et  cet. 

20-22.  Angell:  ...  Paragon.  ...Boy.] 
angel /...paragon.. ..boy.  Rowe,-f.  angel: 
...paragon!. ..boy.  Cap.  angel  /...para- 
gon!... boy!  Var.  '73  et  seq. 


23.  Enter...]  Re-enter...  Dyce. 
24-28.  Mnemonic  Warb. 

24.  majlers]  master  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope. 

25.  call'd,]  call'd;  Theob.  Warb.  Cap. 
et  seq. 

26.  To  haue]  T'have  Pope,  +  ,  Dyce 
ii,  iii. 

27.  nought,]   Ff,   Rowe,+.     naught; 
Dyce.    nought;  Cap.  et  cet. 

I  had]  I'd  Pope,+. 

28.  ftrew'd  i'th']  Strewed  in  the  Ingl. 

*• 

n. 

i'th']  F2F4,  Rowe,+.  ith'  F3. 
i'the  Coll.  Dyce,  Sta.  Sing.  Ktly,  Glo. 
Cam.  o'th  or  o'the  Han.  et  cet. 

28-30.  Lines    end:    for  ...  Boord,  ... 
parted  Ingl. 

28.  Mcate,]  meat:  Cap.  et  seq. 


14.  we'l  brouz  on  that]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.}\  To  browse  properly  im- 
plies the  cropping  of  scanty  vegetation — said  of  goats,  deer,  cattle.  [The  present 
is  the  earliest  instance  recorded  by  Murray  of  the  use  of  '  browse '  in  a  figurative 
sense.  If  this  prove  correct,  it  is  perhaps  worthy  of  remark  that  even  now,  when 
use  and  wont  have  familiarized  us  with  fanciful  uses  of  the  term,  to  speak  of  'brows- 
ing on  cold  meat'  would  raise  a  smile,  and  that  this  smile  must  have  broadened 
into  a  laugh  when,  for  the  first  time,  a  Globe  audience  heard  this  huntsman's  word 
put  into  a  huntsman's  mouth,  and  thus  drolly  applied. — ED.] 

21.  An  earthly  Paragon]  Thus  in  Two  Gent.,  'Valentine.  — and  is  she  not  a 
heavenly  saint.'  Proteus.  No;  but  she  is  an  earthly  paragon.' — II.  iv,  146. 

26.  To  haue  begg'd]  For  instances  of  the  Complete  Present  Infinitive,  see 
ABBOTT.  §  360. 

28.  Gold   strew'd    i'th'Floore]     BOSWELL:    Change    to   'o'the    floor'   is   un- 


ACT    III,   SO    vii.] 


CYMBELINE 


269 


I  would  haue  left  it  on  the  Boord,  fo  foone 
As  I  had  made  my  Meale  ;  and  parted 
With  Pray'rs  for  the  Prouider. 

GUI.     Money  ?     Youth. 

Aru.     All  Gold  and  Siluer  rather  turne  to  durt, 
As  'tis  no  better  reckon'd,  but  of  thofe 
Who  worfhip  durty  Gods. 

lino.    I  fee  you're  angry  : 
Know,  if  you  kill  me  for  my  fault,  I  mould 
Haue  dyed,  had  I  not  made  it. 

Bel.    Whether  bound  ? 

lino.    To  Milford-Hauen. 

Bel.    What's  your  name  ? 

lino.    Fidcle  Sir  :  I  haue  a  Kinfman,  who 
Is  bound  for  Italy ;  he  embark'd  at  Milford, 


35 


40 


43 


29.  Boord,}  board  F3F4,  Ro\ve,  Pope, 
Han.  Glo.  Cam. 

30.  Meale;]  meal,  Coll.  Glo.  Cam. 
parted]    parted    thence    Pope,-K 

parted  so  Cap. 

32.  Money?  Youth.}  Money,   Youth? 
Rowe  et  seq. 

33.  to  durt,]  doe  diirl,  FjF,.    do  durt, 
F4.    to  dirt,  Rowe.    to  dirt!  Pope  et  seq. 

36.  you're]  F,F4,  Rowe,+,  Cap.  Dyce, 
Sing.  Ktly,  Glo.  Cam.     your  F2.    yo it- 


are  Var.  '73  et  cet. 

39.  Whether]  Whither  F4. 

40.  Hauen,]  Haven,  sir.  Cap.  Steev. 
Var.  '03,  '13. 

41.  What's]  Say,  what  is  Han.    What 
is  Cap.  Steev.  Var.  '03,  '13,  Knt. 

42.  Sir:]  Sir.  Var.  '73,  Coll.  Dyce, 
Ktly.  Glo.  Cam. 

43.  he  embark' 'd]  he  'embark'd  Pope. 
he  embarques  Han.  Eccl.  Ingl.  i.     here 
embark'd  Vaun. 


necessary.  'In'  was  frequently  used  for  on.  Thus,  in  the  Lord's  Prayer:  'Thy 
will  be  done  in  earth.' — COLLIER  (ed.  ii.) :  Further  on  we  have  'fallen  in  this  offence' 
[line  45]  for  'fallen  into  this  offence,'  and  there  is  as  much  reason  for  amending  the 
one  as  the  other. 

30.  As  I  had  made  my  Meale  ;  and  parted]  The  Text.  Notes  show  how 
editors,  in  the  belief  that  this  line  needs  a  syllable,  supplied  the  gap. — M ALONE 
added  'With'  from  the  next  line,  and  bids  us  say  'Prayers'  as  a  disyllabic.  KEIGHT- 
LEY  adopted  this  injunction,  with  its  division  of  the  line.  I  cannot  believe  that 
the  line  needs  anything  but  a  very  timid  pause  after  'Meale.'- — ED. 

42.  Fidele]    Our    German   brothers   find   some   difficulty   in   transferring   this 
name  into  their  own  language,  where  it  will  then  bear  a  signification  which  by  no 
means  comports  with  Imogen's  tragic  situation. — TIECK  converts  it  to  Fidelia; 
HERTZBERG,  to  Fidel-is;  and  GILDEMEISTER,  to  Fidus. — ED. 

43.  he  embark'd  at  Milford]  INGLEBY:    ' Embark'd '  not  only  mars  the  sense, 
but  makes  Imogen  say  what  is  absurd. — H.  INGLEBY  (Ingleby,  ii.):  Some  editors 
read  embarks,  after  Hanmer,  but  Posthumus  might  well  be  supposed  to  be  on  the 
high  seas,  and  Imogen  about  to  join  him  in  Italy. — THISELTON:   That  is,  'was  to 
embark.'     The  tense  may  perhaps  be  explained  by  taking  '  he  embark'd  at  Milford ' 
as  virtually  in  the  oratio  obliqua;  it  is  as  if  Imogen  were  thinking  of  a  letter  in  which 
Posthumus  might  have  written  'I  embark  at  Milford.' 


270 


THE   TRACED  IE   OF 


[ACT  in,  sc.  vii. 


To  whom  being  going,  almoft  fpent  with  hunger, 
I  am  falne  in  this  offence. 

Bel.     Prythee  (faire  youth) 

Thinke  vs  no  Churles  :  nor  meafure  our  good  mindes 
By  this  rude  place  we  liue  in.    Well  encountered, 
Tis  almoft  night,  you  fhall  haue  better  cheere 
Ere  you  depart :  and  thankes  to  ftay,  and  eate  it  : 
Boyes,  bid  him  welcome. 

Gui.    Were  you  a  woman,  youth, 
I  fhould  woo  hard,  but  be  your  Groome  in  honefty  : 
I  bid  for  you,  as  I  do  buy. 


45 


54 


45.  I  am]  I'm  Pope,+,  Dyce  ii,  iii. 

47.  Churles:]     churls,     Pope     ii,+, 
Coll.  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam. 

48.  Well  encountered^  Ff.     Well-en- 
counter'd.     Rowe.       W 'ell-encounter 'd ! 
Pope.    Well  encountered!  Theob.  et  cet. 

49.  night,]  night:  Cap.  et  seq. 

50.  depart:]  depart,  F3F4,  Rowe,+- 
thankes]  Ff,  Rowe,+,  Dyce.  Glo. 

Coll.  iii,  Cam.    thanks,  Cap.  et  cet. 

eate  it:]  Ff,  Rowe.    eat.  Var.  '73. 
eat  it.  Pope  et  cet. 

53.  woo]   wooe  F2F3,   Pope,+.     woe 
F4,  Rowe,  Johns. 


53.  hard,]  hard  Knt,  Dyce,  Wh.  Sta. 
Glo.  Cam. 

Groome  in  honejly:]  F2.  Groom 
in  honejly;  F3F4,  Rowe,+,  Cap.  Ingl. 
groom. — In  honesty  Tyrwhitt,  Var.  '78 
et  cet. 

54.  I  bid  for  you,  as  I  do  buy.]  Ff  (doe 
F2F3),  Rowe,  Pope,  Theob.  Warb.  Coll. 
i,  iii,  Dyce,  Wh.  i,  Ktly,  Ingl.    I'd  bid 
for  you,  as  I  would  buy.  Han.    I'd  bid 
for  you  as  I'd  buy.  Johns.  Cap.  Coll.  ii. 
I  bid  for  you,  as  I'd  buy.  Tyrwhitt,  Var. 
'78  et  cet.    /  bid  (welcome)  to  you  as  I'd 
be  done  by.  Herr. 


45.  falne   in   this   offence]   For  instances  of  'in'  used  for  into,  see  ABBOTT, 

§  159- 

53.  I    should   woo   hard,    but   be]  ABBOTT  (§  126):    There  is  here,  perhaps, 

a  confusion  between  'if  I  could  not  be  your  groom  otherwise'  and  'but  in  any  case 
I  would  be  your  groom.'  [Is  there  not  here  an  absorption  of  to  in  the  final  t  of 
'but?  That  is,  'I  should  woo  hard  but  '  [to]  be  your  groom  in  all  honesty.' — 
ED.] 

53,  54.  Groome  in  honesty:  I  bid  for  you,  as  I  do  buy]  TYRWHITT: 
I  think  the  passage  might  be  better  read  thus:  'but  be  your  groom.  In  honesty, 
I  bid  for  you,  as  I'd  buy.'  That  is,  'I  should  woo  hard,  but  I  would  be  your  bride- 
groom. (And  when  I  say  that  I  should  woo  hard,  be  assured  that)  in  honesty 
I  bid  for  you  only  at  the  rate  at  which  I  would  purchase  you.' — M.  MASON  (p.  331): 
Hanmer's  [Johnson's. — ED.]  amendment  is  absolutely  necessary:  'I'd  bid  for  you 
as  I'd  buy.'  That  is,  'I  would  bid  for  you  as  if  I  were  determined  to  be  the  pur- 
chaser.' And  '  in  honesty '  means  in  plain  truth.  '  I  bid  for  you,'  in  the  indicative 
mood,  is  undoubtedly  wrong;  for  Guiderius  does  not  bid  for  him,  or  express  a  desire 
for  bidding  for  him,  except  on  a  supposition  that  he  was  a  woman;  and  accordingly 
Arviragus  in  reply  to  him  says :  '  he  is  thoroughly  satisfied  to  find  him  a  man  and 
will  love  him  as  a  brother.' — COLLIER  (ed.  ii.):  The  whole  sentence  is  evidently 
conditional,  and  it  is  just  as  necessary  to  amend  the  first  part  of  the  sentence  as 
the  last.  Guiderius  is  stating  figuratively  what  he  would  give,  if  it  happened  that 
'Imogen  was  a  woman. — STAUNTON:  We  are  not  satisfied  that  the  present  emen- 


ACT  in,  sc.  vii.]  CYMBELINE  271 

And.     He  make't  my  Comfort  55 

He  is  a  man,  He  loue  him  as  my  Brother  : 
And  fuch  a  welcome  as  I'd  giue  to  him 
(After  long  ab fence)  fuch  is  yours.    Moft  welcome  :  58 

55.  Comfort]  Ff,  Rowe,+,  Dyce,  Sta.  Warb.    Glo.    Cam.    Wh.    ii.      brother, 
Sing.  Ktly,  Coll.  iii,  Glo.  Cam.    comfort,  Johns,    brother;  Coll.  Wh.  i.    brother:— 
Cap.  et  cet.  Han.  et  cet. 

56.  man,]    Ff,    Rowe,    Cap.      man;  58.  fuch  is]  such  as  Var.    '03,    '21, 
Pope  et  cet.  Dyce  i.  (misprint?) 

Brother:]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Theob. 

dation,  which  is  Tyrwhitt's,  gives  us  what  the  author  wrote,  but  have  none  better 
to  offer. — INGLEBY:  The  letters  of  'I  do  buy'  spell  bid  yon.  The  sense  then  would 
be  'For  that  you  are  a  man,  I  bid  for  your  friendship,  as  I  bid  you' — i.  e.,  as  offer- 
ing favours,  not  suing  for  them.  'Bid'  is  equivalent  to  invite.  No  tolerable 
sense  has  ever  been  made  of  'I  do  buy'  by  tinkering  the  second  word. — IBID. 
(ed.  ii,  H.  INGLEBY):  To  say  the  least,  it  is  a  somewhat  lame  speech.  Arviragus 
[sic]  could  hardly  speak  in  the  present  time,  knowing  or  believing  Imogen  to  be  a 
boy.  Perhaps  it  would  make  better  sense  if  the  second  'I'  were  treated  as  Ay, 
it  being  ordinarily  so  spelt;  and  then  if  we  take  Steevens's  reading  in  line  [53],  we 
might  paraphrase  the  passage  thus:  'Were  you  a  woman,  youth,  I  should  woo 
hard  to  be  your  groom  in  right  good  faith, — ay,  bid  for  you  with  the  intention  of 
getting  you.' — DOWDEN:  Of  proposed  emendations  the  best  is  that  in  the  text 
above  [Tyrwhitt's]  or  Hanmer's.  But  the  first  'I'  is  perhaps  an  error,  caught 
from  the  preceding  line,  and  I  venture  to  propose  'Bid  for  you  as  I'd  buy,'  the  force 
of  'I  should'  running  on  to  the  word  'Bid';  the  meaning  would  be  'I  should  offer 
myself  to  you  in  honourable  love,  even  as  I  would  obtain  you.'  My  suggestion, 
if  adopted,  would  improve  the  time  metrically.  The  text  of  the  Folio  may  mean 
'What  I  promise  I  will  pay.' — THISELTON:  In  other  words,  'Here's  my  hand;  if 
you  were  a  woman  I  should  offer  it  as  for  a  "Hand  fastynge"  in  token  that  I  fer- 
vently desired  to  be  betrothed  to  you  in  all  good  faith;  since,  however,  you  are  a 
man,  I  offer  it,  after  the  manner  of  binding  a  bargain,  to  show  that  I  mean  the 
welcome  I  bid  you  in  exchange  for  your  friendship.'  .  .  .  'Your  Groome'  is  prob- 
ably an  exact  equivalent  to  'your  young  man. '  [I  can  see  no  excellent  good  reason 
for  deserting  the  punctuation  of  the  Folio.  It  is  of  far  more  importance,  is  it  not, 
to  be  'honest'  in  your  wooing  than  in  dealing  with  your  grocer?  albeit  apparently 
those  who,  with  Tyrwhitt,  transfer  'honesty'  to  the  tradesmen,  might  not  agree 
with  me.  Is  there  any  insuperable  objection  to  regarding  'I  bid'  as  the  present 
tense  denoting  custom:  'I  am  now  bidding  for  you  as  I  always  do  when  I  buy.' 
Whether  or  not  the  bargaining  words,  'bid'  and  'buy,'  are  such  as  should  enter  the 
ears  of  love  (if  a  woman)  or  a  friendship  (if  a  man)  rests  with  Guiderius  or,  rather, 
with  the  same  intrusive  paddling  hands  that  mar  'the  Dirge'  with  'golden  boys 
and  girls.' — ED.] 

55-58.  He  make't  my  Comfort  .  .  .  such  is  yours]  BR.  NICHOLSON  (N. 
&°  Q.,  VII,  i,  425,  1886):  The  words,  'I'll  make't  my  comfort  He  is  a  man, 
I'll  love  him  as  my  brother,'  are  spoken  partly  soliloquy-wise,  partly  generally; 
then  turning  to  Imogen,  he  addresses  her  with  'And  such  a  welcome  ...  is 
yours,'  and  in  agreement  therewith  embraces  her,  saying  after  the  embrace,  'Most 
welcome!'  There  is  no  necessity  for  a  full  stop  after  'brother';  indeed,  so  long  a 


2/2  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  in,  sc.  vii. 

Be  fprightly,  for  you  fall  'mongft  Friends. 

Imo.    ' Mongft  Friends  ?  60 

If  Brothers  :  would  it  had  bin  fo,  that  they 
Had  bin  my  Fathers  Sonnes,  then  had  my  prize 
Bin  leffe,  and  fo  more  equall  ballafting  63 

59.  [Embracing  her.  Ingl.  Dowden.    friends!    If  brothers?  Cap. 

60.  [Aside.  Rovve.  et  cet. 

60,  61.  Friends'?  If  Brothers:}  friends.  61,  62,  63.  bin]  been  F4. 

//  Brothers:  Ff.    friends,  If  brothers:  62.  Sonnes,]  sons!  Theob.  et  seq. 

Rowe,  Theob.   Warb.    Eel.      friends?  prize]    price   Han.    Warb.    Cap. 

//  brothers,  Pope,  Johns,    friends,  If  Coll.  ii,  iii.    poize  Theob.  conj.  (Nichols 

brothers —  Han.    friends!    If  br  oilier  s,  ii,  630).    peize  Vaun. 

Var.  '73.    friends,  If  brothers. —  Dyce,  63.  ballajling]  balancing  Han.  Warb. 

Wh.  Glo.  Cam.  Coll.  iii.    friends,  If  Cap. 
brothers, —   Sta.     friends,  If  brothers! 

pause  would  not  be  natural,  but  there  is  need  of  a  dash  to  show  that  there  is  a 
change  of  address — a  change  of  direct  address  to  Imogen. — VAUGHAN  (p.  468) 
somewhat  modifies  Nicholson's  ingenious  arrangement  by  not  including  so  much 
in  the  Aside,  and  by  changing  'He  love'  into  I  love.  Thus:  ' Arv.  [aside]  I'll  mak't 
my  comfort  He  is  a  man.  [To  Imogen]  I  love  him  as  my  brother,  And  such  a 
welcome,  as  I'd  give  him  After  long  absence,  such  is  yours.'  'He'  in  line  50  is 
the  disguised  Imogen;  'him'  in  the  same  line  is  Guiderius,  pointed  at  by  Arvira- 
gus.  So  is  'him'  in  the  next  line.  'I'll  love'  is  a  most  natural  depravation  of 
/  love,  being  in  pronunciation  identical.  [Of  the  two  interpretations,  Vaughan's 
seems  to  me  the  better — /  love  and  /'//  love  are  almost  indistinguishable  in  pro- 
nunciation, and  by  making  the  direct  address  to  Imogen  begin  with  these  words,  a 
certain  awkwardness  in  beginning  it  with  'And'  (as  Nicholson  begins  it)  is  avoided. 
Inasmuch  as  both  Vaughan's  and  Nicholson's  suggestion  appeared  in  the  same 
year,  no  priority  can  be  claimed  for  either. — ED.] 

60,  61.  'Mongst  Friends?  If  Brothers:]  To  both  A.  E.  THISELTON  and 
PERCY  SIMPSON  we  are  all  much  indebted  for  their  vindication,  in  very  many 
instances,  of  the  much  calumniated  punctuation  of  the  Folio.  Of  the  present 
Italic  interrogation  mark  after  'Friends'  I  can  find  no  explanation  in  either  of 
them.  In  general,  the  compositors  affixed  an  interrogation  to  any  sentence  which 
contained  a  How,  or  a  What,  or  a  Who,  etc.,  where  we  should  now  place  an  ex- 
clamation. In  the  present  instance  there  is  no  such  cause:  the  interrogation  must, 
therefore,  have  a  meaning  of  its  own,  and  derived  from  the  copy;  it  is  rather  beyond 
the  intelligence  of  a  compositor  to  have  supplied  it  of  his  own  motion.  Should 
it  not,  therefore,  be  retained?  Is  it  not  conceivable  that  Imogen,  still  doubting, 
repeats  Arviragus's  last  words  questioningly,  'Mong'st  Friends?'  and  then  seeing 
the  adoration  of  the  boys  written  in  their  faces,  adds  with  a  smile  of  assent:  'If 
Brothers.'  There  is  no  need  of  adding  'Yes,'  or  'Indeed,' — a  smile  would  answer 
everything.  For  this  dramatic  reason  I  think  the  interrogation  should  be  re- 
tained.— ED. 

62,  63.  my  prize  Bin  lesse  .  .  .  ballasting]  HEATH  (p.  483):  The  sense 
is,  Then  had  the  prize  thou  hast  mastered  in  me  been  less,  and  not  have  sunk  thee, 
as  I  have  done,  by  overloading  thee. — JOHNSON:  That  is,  Had  I  been  a  less  prize, 
I  should  not  have  been  too  heavy  for  Posthumus. — DOWDEN:  Imogen  means 


ACT    III,   SC.   vii.] 


CYMBELINE 


273 


To  thee  Pofthumus. 

Bel.     He  wrings  at  fome  diftreffe. 

GUI.    Would  I  could  free't. 

Anil.    Or  I,  what  ere  it  be, 
What  paine  it  coft,  what  danger  :  Gods ! 

Bel.    Hearke  Boyes. 

Imo.    Great  men 

That  had  a  Court  no  bigger  then  this  Caue, 
That  did  attend  themfelues,  and  had  the  vertue 
Which  their  owne  Confcience  feal'd  them  :  laying  by 
That  nothing-guift  of  differing  Multitudes 


70 


74 


68.  danger:]   danger,   Theob.   Warb. 
Ingl.       danger.     Johns.      Coll.      Glo. 
danger!  Cap.  et  cet. 

Gods!]  Aside,  and  given  to  Imo- 
gen Elze. 

69.  [Whispering.  Rovve.  Talks  with 
them  apart.  Cap. 

70-77.  [Aside.  Cap. 
73,  74.  them:  lay  ing. ..Multitudes]  Ff, 
Rowe.    them;  laying.. .multitudes,  Pope, 


Theob.  Warb.  them,  laying. ..multitudes, 
Han.  Johns.  Ktly.  them,  (laying... 
multitudes)  Cap.  et  cet.  (subs.) 

74.  nothing-guift]  Ff,  nothing-gift 
Rowe,-f,  Cap.  (in  Errata),  Dyce  ii,  iii, 
Sta.  Wh.  Glo.  Cam.  Coll.  iii.  nothing 
gift  Var.  '73,  et  cet. 

differing]  defering  Theob.   Han. 
Warb.    deafening  Bailey  (ii,  132). 

Multitudes]  multitude  Spence. 


that  if  she  had  been  a  rustic  girl,  her  price  or  value  would  have  been  less  (or  she 
would  have  been  less  of  a  prize),  and  it  being  a  more  even  weight  to  that  of  Post- 
humus,  the  ship  of  their  fortunes  would  have  run  more  smoothly. 

65.  He  wrings  at  some  distresse]  Both  SCHMIDT  (Lex.)  and  WHITNEY 
(Cent.  Diet.)  define  to  'wring'  by  to  writhe  in  pain  or  torture.  This  implies  phys- 
ical contortion  and  can  hardly  be  applicable  either  here  or  in  Much  Ado,  "Tis 
all  men's  office  to  speak  patience  To  these  that  wring  under  the  load  of  sorrow.'- 
V,  i,  28.  I  think  the  word  means  here  that  Imogen's  whole  demeanour  signified 
suffering,  deep-seated  and  sharp. — ED. 

72.  attend  themselues]  That  is,  wait  on  themselves. 

74.  That  nothing-guift  of  differing  Multitudes]  THEOBALD:  The  only 
idea  that  'differing'  can  here  convey  is  variable  changing,  as  in  the  Prologue  to 
2  Hen.  IV:  'The  still -discordant  wavering  multitude,'  line  19.  But  then  what  is 
the  '  nothing-gift '  which  they  are  supposed  to  bestow?  The  Poet  must  mean  that 
court,  that  obsequious  adoration,  which  the  shifting  vulgar  pay  to  the  great,  is  a 
tribute  of  no  price  or  value.  [Having  thus  showed  that  he  has  exactly  understood 
the  word  'differing,'  and  illustrated  it  from  Shakespeare  himself,  Theobald,  by  one 
of  the  oddest  of  freaks,  asserts  that  he  is  'persuaded,  therefore,  [Italics  mine]  that 
our  Poet  coined  it  from  the  French  verb  deferer — to  be  obsequious,  to  pay  defer- 
ence.' And  in  his  text  he  actually  changed  'differing'  into  defering,  and  Warbur- 
ton  said  that  he  had  rightly  so  spelled  it ! — ED.] — HEATH  (p.  483) :  The  '  nothing- 
gift'  which  the  multitude  are  supposed  to  bestow  is  glory,  reputation,  which  is  a 
present  of  little  value  from  their  hands,  as  they  are  neither  unanimous  in  giving  it, 
nor  constant  in  continuing  it. — JOHNSON:  I  do  not  see  why  'differing'  may  not  be 
a  general  epithet,  and  the  expression  equivalent  to  the  many-headed  rabble. — M. 
MASON  (p.  332):  'Differing  multitudes'  means  unsteady  multitudes,  who  are  con- 
18 


274  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  HI,  sc.  vii. 

Could  not  out-peere  thefe  twaine.     Pardon  me  Gods,  75 

I'ld  change  my  fexe  to  be  Companion  with  them, 

Since  Leonatus  falfe.  77 

75.  out-peere]  oul-peece  F2.    out-piece  ii,+,  Cap.    Leonatus  false —  Var.  '73, 
F3F4,  Rowe.  '78,  '85,  Ran.    Leonatus'  false.  Walker, 

76.  them,]  them.  Var.  '85.  Sing.  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam.    Leonate  is 

77.  Leonatus  falfe.]  Leonatus' s  false.  Cap.  conj. 
Rowe  i,  Ingl.    Leonatus  is  false.  Rowe 


tinually  changing  their  opinion,  and  condemn  to-day  what  they  yesterday  ap- 
plauded.— COLLIER  (ed.  ii.):  This  means  merely  differing  in  respect  of  rank  from 
the  persons  upon  whom  those  multitudes  bestow  the  'nothing-gift'  of  reputation. 
The  poet  is  contrasting,  in  a  manner,  the  givers  with  the  person  to  whom  the  gift 
is  made. — DYCE  (Remarks,  p.  257):  When  Monck  Mason  [Theobald. — ED.]  cited 
the  line  from  the  Induction  to  2  Hen.  IV.  he  pointed  out  the  true  meaning  of  'differ- 
ing' in  the  present  speech. — STAUNTON:  'Differing  multitudes'  is  a  very  dubious 
expression.  Imogen  is  struck  with  the  generous  courtesy  and  spirit  of  the  young 
mountaineers,  and  she  reflects  that  even  princes  or  noblemen  placed  as  they  are 
(setting  aside  the  worthless  consideration  of  different  ranks)  could  not  outshine  these 
peasant  youths.  Does  it  not  appear,  then,  more  than  probable  that  Shakespeare 
wrote  'differing  altitudes '? — THISELTON  (p.  35):  The  force  of  'nothing-gift'  de- 
pends upon  the  legal  rule  that  'a  gift  without  delivery  is  ineffectual  to  pass  any 
property  unless  the  gift  be  by  Deed.'  (Warton's  Law  Lexicon.)  'The  virtue  which 
their  owne  Conscience  seal'd  them'  is  clearly  contemplated  as  theirs  by  Deed; 
whereas  the  gift  of  the  '  differing  multitudes '  is  merely  verbal,  and  therefore  value- 
less, as  not  having  the  seal  of  Conscience. — DOWDEN:  That  is,  disregarding  ap- 
plause from  crowds  which  differ  one  from  another,  and  all,  at  various  times,  from 
themselves,  a  gift  which  is  an  airy  nothing. 

75.  out-peere]  The  CAM.  EDD.  note  that  F4  lacks  the  hyphen.     One  of  my 
copies  of  F4  agrees  with  the  note  of  the  Cam.  Edd. ;  the  other  two  have  a  hyphen — 
thus  affording  a  needless  warning  against  trusting  too  much  to  the  old  texts. — ED. 

76.  I'ld   change   my   sexe,    etc.]   GERVINUS  (p.  644):    As  the  royal  blood  in 
these  brothers  longed  with  the  might  of  natural  desire  to  escape  out  of  lowliness 
and  solitude  into  the  life  of  the  world,  so  Imogen's  woman's  blood,  on  the  contrary, 
as  naturally  longed  to  escape  out  of  the  intrigues  of  the  world,  so  well  known  to  her, 
into  retirement  and  peace. 

77.  Since  Leonatus  false]  CAPELL  (p.  113):    This  sentence  shows  with  what 
religion  Shakespeare  kept  to  his  accent;  since  rather  than  violate  it  by  using  Post- 
humus  there,  he  chose  to  violate  harmony  by  that  hissing  collision  that  is  now  in 
this  line,  if  is  be  admitted  as  necessary,  as  all  the  moderns  [i.  e.,  Rowe,  Pope,  Theo- 
bald, Hanmer,  Warburton]  have  thought  it,  and  as  it  must  be  in  truth.     There  is 
a  method  of  soft'ning  this  line,  and  retaining  is  too,  which  the  editor  can  see  no 
objection  to;  and  that  is — by  supposing  that  'Leonatus'  singly  is  a  mistake  of  the 
printer's  for  '  Leonate  is' ;  a  contraction  exactly  similar  ('Desdemone'  for  Desdemona) 
is  thrice  met  with  at  the  latter  end  of  Othello.     [STEEVENS  adds  the  instances  of 
'  Prosper '  for  Prosper o, '  Enobarbe '  for  Enobarbus.] — M ALONE  :  As  Shakespeare  has 
used  '  thy  mistress'  ear'  and  'Menelaus'  tent'  for  'thy  mistresses  ear'  and  '  Mene- 
lauses  tent'  so,  with  still  greater  license,  he  used  'Leonatus  false '  for  'since  Leonatus 


ACT  in,  sc.  vii.]  CYMBELINE  2?$ 

Bel.     It  fhall  be  fo  :  78 

Boyes  wee'l  go  dreffe  our  Hunt.    Faire  youth  come  in  ; 
Difcourfe  is  heauy,  faftmg  :  when  we  haue  fupp'd  80 

Wee'l  mannerly  demand  thee  of  thy  Story, 
So  farre  as  thou  wilt  fpeake  it. 

GUI.    Pray  draw  neere. 

Ami.    The  Night  to'th'Owle, 
And  Morne  to  th'Larke  leffe  welcome.  85 

I  mo.   Thankes  Sir. 

Ami.    I  pray  draw  neere.  Exeunt .         87 

79.  Faire  youth]  Faire  you  F2.    Fair,  83.  Pray]  I  pray  Pope,+. 

you  F3F4,  Rowe.  84,  85.  One  line  Pope  et  seq. 

So.  -we  haue]  we've  Pope,+,  Dyce  ii,  to'th']  Ingl.     to  th'  Ff,  Rowe, 

iii.  +,  Dyce  ii,  iii.    to  the  Cap.  et  cet. 

82.  it.]    Om.    Pope,    Theob.    Han.  86,  87.  Om.  Pope,  Han. 
Warb. 

is  false.' — STEEVENS:  Of  such  a  license,  I  believe,  there  is  no  example  either  in  the 
works  of  Shakespeare  or  any  other  author.  [A  rash  assertion,  which  I  think 
Steevens  would  not  have  made  before  his  quarrel  with  Malone.  If  he  refer  to  the 
absorption  of  the  substantive  verb  in  a  preceding  s,  an  example  occurs  in  this 
very  play.  As  lachimo  resumes  his  position  in  the  trunk,  he  says,  'Though  this 
a  heavenly  angel,'  etc.,  where  is  is  absorbed  in  'this.'  Similar  examples  are 
numerous  in  Shakespeare;  many  of  them  are  gathered  by  WALKER,  Vers..  p.  98. 
-ED.] 

81.  demand  thee  of  thy  Story]  This  idiom  is  common.  See  'I  shall  de- 
sire you  of  more  acquaintance.'— Mid.  N.  D.,  Ill,  5,  188.— ABBOTT  (§  174)  has 
gathered  many  examples  wherein  he  explains  the  use  of  'of '  as  meaning  concerning 
or  about.  This,  however,  will  not  always  apply;  within  six  or  seven  lines  of  the 
foregoing  quotation  from  Mid.  N.  D.,  Bottom  says  (in  the  Ff),  'I  shall  desire  of  you 
more  acquaintance,'  repeating  the  identical  words,  yet  changing  the  construction, 
whereby  ABBOTT'S  observation  will  hardly  apply.  Perhaps  it  would  be  better, 
in  cases  like  the  present,  to  regard,  with  DEIGHTON,  'of  thy  story'  as  a  partitive 
genitive. — ED. 


2/6  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  in,  so.  viii. 


Scena  Offiaua. 


Enter  two  Roman  Senators ,  and  Tribunes.  2 

l.Sen.    This  is  the  tenor  of  the  Emperors  Writ ; 
That  fince  the  common  men  are  now  in  Action 
'Gainft  the  Pannonians,  and  Dalmatians,  5 

And  that  the  Legions  now  in  Gallia,  are 
Full  weake  to  vndertake  our  Warres  againft 
The  falne-off  Britaines,  that  we  do  incite  8 

1.  Scena  Oclaua.]  Warb.  Johns.  Cap.         tain...  Cap. 

Ingl.  Scene  v.  Rowe.    Scene  changes  to  4.  That  fince]  Since  that  Vaun. 

Rome.  Theob.     In  margin,  and  sub-  7.  Warres}  War  Pope,  Theob.  Han. 

stituting  iv,  in,  in  the  text  as  Scene  vm,  Warb. 

and  closing  the  Act.  Pope,  Han.    Scene  8.  falne-ojf  ]  falVn  of  Pope,  Theob.  i, 

vii.  Var.  '73  et  cet.  Han. 

Rome.  Rowe.     Rome.  The   Senate-  Britaines]   Britaine   F2.     Britains 

House.  Cap.     A  public  Place.  Dyce.  F3F4,    Rowe,    Pope,    Theob.    i,    Cap. 

2.  Enter  two  Roman....]  Enter  cer-  Britons  Theob.  ii.  et  cet. 

i .  Scena  Octaua]  This  scene  is  transposed  by  ECCLES  to  follow  II,  iv,  with  the  fol- 
lowing note:  'Great  absurdities  and  inconsistencies  respecting  the  time  and  order  of 
events  must  be  the  consequence  of  permitting  this  scene  to  retain  its  former  situation. 
According  to  the  present  scheme,  intelligence  may  be  transmitted  to  the  Roman 
State  relative  to  the  success  of  Lucius's  embassy  at  the  British  Court  while  lachimo 
is  posting  back  to  Rome,  and  he  arrives  at  the  house  of  Philario,  after  his  return, 
before  the  Senators  deliver  the  Emperor's  orders  to  the  Tribunes  in  consequence 
of  that  intelligence.  The  time  may  be  imagined  a  part  of  the  same  day  with  the 
preceding.  [That  is,  the  day  when  lachimo  won  the  wager  from  Posthumus.] — 
CAPELL  (p.  114):  This  whole  scene  is  discarded  and  thrown  to  the  bottom  by 
[Pope  and  Hanmer],  and  another  scene  stuck  in  place  of  it, — the  third  of  next 
act, — which  they  make  the  concluding  one  of  this.  No  reason  is  given  for  this  ex- 
traordinary liberty,  nor  no  good  one  could  be  given;  on  the  contrary,  there  are  many 
against  it,  which  it  were  too  long  to  enumerate,  tedious  to  the  uncritical  reader,  and 
needless  to  those  who  read  with  attention.— DANIEL  (Sh,  Soc.  Trans.,  1877-79,  P- 
246) :  We  learn  that  Lucius  is  appointed  general  of  the  Army  to  be  employed  in  the 
war  in  Britain.  This  scene  is  evidently  out  of  place.  In  any  time-scheme  it  must 
come  much  earlier  in  the  drama.  ...  I  rather  think  it  may  be  supposed  to  occupy 
part  of  the  interval  I  have  marked  as  'Time  for  Posthumus's  letters  from  Rome  to 
arrive  in  Britain.' — THISELTON:  The  insertion  here  of  this  scene,  if  somewhat  out  of 
the  actual  order  of  time,  is  justified  by  its  marking  the  turning-point  of  the  action, 
gently  foreshadowing,  as  it  does,  the  reappearance  of  the  'false  Italian'  along 
with  Posthumus  in  Britain,  which  is  so  essential  to  the  complete  vindication  of 
Imogen. 

7.  Our  Warres]  VAUGHAN  (p.  472):  'Wars'  is  a  singular  noun  substantive  in 
sense  here,  being  equivalent  to  'war.'  So  in  North's  Plutarch:  'And  they  say  that 


ACT  in,  sc.  viii.]  CYMBELINE  277 

The  Gentry  to  this  bufmeffe.     He  creates 

Lucius  Pro-Confull  :  and  to  you  the  Tribunes  IO 

For  this  immediate  Leuy,  he  commands 

His  abfolute  Commiffion.    Long  liue  Cczfar. 

Tri.    Is  Lucius  Generall  of  the  Forces  ? 

2. Sen.    I. 

Tri.    Remaining  now  in  Gallia  ?  1 5 

i  .Sen.    With  thofe  Legions 
Which  I  haue  fpoke  of,  whereunto  your  leuie 
Mud  be  fuppliant :  the  words  of  your  Commiffion 
Will  tye  you  to  the  numbers,  and  the  time 
Of  their  difpatch.  20 

Tri.     We  will  difcharge  our  duty.  Exeunt. 

ii.  commands]      commends      Warb.  Cam. 

Theob.  Sing.  Dyce,  Coll.  ii,  iii,  Sta.  18.  fuppliant]    Ff,    Rowe,  +  ,    Coll. 

Glo.  Cam.  Sing.  Wh.  i,  Ktly.    supplyant  Cap.  et 

13,  15,  21.  Tri.]  First  Tri.  Dyce,  Glo.  cet. 

there  died  in  that  wars  .  .  .  about  the  number,'  etc.  So  again  in  Rick.  II:  'Wars 
[Qq,  Ff]  hath  not.  wasted  it,  for  warr'd  he  hath  not.' — II,  i,  252. 

11,12.  he  commands  His  absolute  Commission]  THEOBALD:  'Commands  his 
commission'  is  such  a  strange  phrase  as  Shakespeare  would  hardly  have  used.  I 
have  by  Mr  Warburton's  advice  ventured  to  substitute  commends,  i.  e.,  he  recom- 
mends the  care  of  making  this  levy  to  you;  and  gives  you  an  absolute  commission 
for  so  doing. — CAPELL:  Is  commends  a  fit  word  to  be  joined  with  'absolute  com- 
mission '?  or  for  an  Emperor  to  use,  and  to  '  tribunes'?  The  Poet  thought  otherwise, 
and  made  choice  of  'commands,'  a  direct  gallicism. — JOHNSON:  He  'commands' 
the  commission  to  be  given  to  you.  So  we  say  I  ordered  the  materials  to  the 
workman. — SINGER:  Commend  was  the  old  formula.  We  have  it  again  in  Lear: 
'I  did  commend  your  highness'  letters  to  them.' — II,  iv,  28;  All's  Well:  'Com- 
mend the  paper  to  his  gracious  hand.' — V,  i,  31.  [DYCE  quotes  this  with  ap- 
proval.]— HALLIWELL:  Commends  may  be  almost  said  to  be  the  correct  technical 
term  which  ought  to  be  here  employed. 

18.  suppliant]  See  'supplement,'  III,  iv,  203. 


2/8  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  iv,  sc.  i. 


Adlus  Quartus.     Scena  Prima. 

Enter  Clot  ten  alone.  2 

Clot  I  am  neere  to'th'place  where  they  fhould  meet, 
if  Pifanio  haue  mapp'd  it  truely.  How  fit  his  Garments 
ferue  me?  Why  fhould  his  Miftris  who  was  made  by  him  5 

that  made  the  Taylor,  not  be  fit  too  ?  The  rather  ( failing 
reuerence  of  the  Word )  for  'tis  faide  a  Womans  fitneffe 
comes  by  fits  :  therein  I  muft  play  the  Workman,  I  dare 

The  Forest.  Rowe.     The  Forest  in  5.  me?]  me!  Rowe  et  seq. 

Wales.  Theob.    Country  near  the  Cave.  7.  for]  because  Pope,-}-. 

Cap.  8.  fits:]  Ff,  Rowe,  Cap.    fits.  Pope 

2.  Clotten]    Cloten   F3F4,   Rowe   et  et  cet. 

seq.  Workman,]      Ff,     Rowe,     Pope. 

3.  to'th']  F2,  Ingl.    to  th'  F3F4.  Rowe,         workman;  Theob.  Han.  Warb.     work- 
+  ,  Cap.    to  the  Var.  '73  et  cet.  man.  Johns,  et  cet. 

i.  Scena  Prima]  ECCLES:  I  am  inclined  to  suppose  that  more  than  two  nights  and 
a  day  have  intervened  since  the  concluding  scene  of  the  foregoing  act  [which,  accord- 
ing to  Eccles's  arrangement,  is  III,  vii.],  that  is,  that  the  present  scene  opens  with  a 
part  of  the  morning  of  the  second  day  from  the  evening  wherein  Imogen  first  arrived 
at  the  cave  of  Belarius.  By  this  supposition,  the  strong  affection  which  the  two 
young  men  appear  to  have  conceived  for  her  in  her  assumed  character,  before 
she  sickens  and  apparently  dies,  will  be  rendered  more  probable,  and  time  be 
allowed  for  all  the  parties  concerned  to  reach  the  neighborhood  of  Milford,  while 
it  must,  nevertheless,  be  acknowledged  that  the  distance  they  have  to  travel 
is  a  point  entirely  undetermined,  and  that  Pisanio,  in  III,  iv,  which  has  been 
represented  as  passing  on  the  morning  of  the  same  day,  in  which  she  happened  upon 
the  retreat  where  she  now  abides,  had  said,  '  the  Ambassador.  Lucius  the  Roman, 
comes  to  Milford-Haven  Tomorrow,'  line  162.  But  there  is  no  occasion  for  imag- 
ining his  intelligence  to  have  been  so  perfectly  exact. — DANIEL  (New  Sh.  Soc. 
Trans.,  1877-79,  p.  246):  DAY  9.  Wales.  Enter  Cloten  dressed  as  Posthumus. 

4.  if   Pisanio   haue    mapp'd   it    truely]  PORTER-CLARKE:  This  helps  out  de- 
ficiencies by  the  implication  that  Pisanio  had  added  special  instructions.     These 
may  be  imagined  to  take  Cloten  out  of  his  way,  on  the  supposition  that  Imogen 
had  gone  straight  on  in  hers  to  Milford-Haven.     But  she  stopped  in  the  cave,  on 
which,  of  course,  Pisanio  did  not  count. 

7.  for  'tis  saide]  See  ABBOTT  (§  151)  for  many  other  examples  of  the  common 
use  of  'for'  in  the  sense  of  because. 

7,  8.  a  Womans  fitnesse  comes  by  fits]  BRADLEY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  Fit,  sbz,  4.  f.) : 
A  violent  access  or  outburst  of  laughter,  tears,  rage,  [or  of  any  emotions;  inasmuch 
as  Cloten  apologises  for  the  word  'fitness,'  he  probably  uses  it  in  an  objectionable 
sense. — ED.]. 

8.  play  the  Workman]  Not  his  outer  garments,  but  his  own  personal  attrac- 
tions must  here  be  the  agent.    This  leads  him  to  rehearse  his  personal  advantages, 
—ED. 


ACT  iv,  sc.  i.]  CYMBELINE  279 

fpeake  it  .to  my  felfe,  for  it  is  not  Vainglorie  for  a  man, 
and  his  Glaffe,  to  confer  in  his  ovvne  Chamber;  I  meane,          10 
the  Lines  of  my  body  are  as  well  drawne  as  his ;  no  leffe 
young,  more  ftrong,    not  beneath  him  in  Fortunes,  .  be- 
yond him  in   the  aduantage  of  the  time,    aboue  him  in          13 

9,    10.  felfe,  for...GlaJJe,   to   confer...  ...chamber — 7  Glo.  Cam.   self,  for... glass 

Chamber;   I  meane,]  Ff,  Rowe,   Pope,  to  confer... chamber.    I  mean,  Ingl.     self, 

Han.     self,  (for. ..glass  to  confer... chain-  (for. ..glass  to  confer;. ..chamber,  I  mean) 

ber;)  I  mean  Theob.  Warb.  Knt,  Coll.  Johns,  et  cet.  (subs.), 

i,  iii,  Dyce  i,  Sta.  (subs.),     self,  (for...  9.  not]  Om.  Rowe  ii,  Pope,    wo  Han. 

glass  to  confer •;... chamber;)  I  mean,  Var.  Vainglorie]  F2.    Vain-glory  F3F4. 

'21,  Sing.  Ktly.  self— for. ..glass  to  confer  10.  7  meane]  I  ween  Vaun. 

9,  10.  selfe,     for  ...  Glasse,    to     confer  .  .  .  Chamber ;    I    meane]     I 
found  it  well  nigh  impossible  to  collate  this  passage,  wherein  the  difference  of  the 
readings  lies  solely  in  the  punctuation,  without  separating  it  into  such  a  number 
of  items,  each  consisting  of  only  two  or  three  words,  that  the  student  would  find 
it  hard  to  obtain  from  the  collation  any  intelligible  idea.     I  decided,  therefore,  to 
record  mainly  the  limits  of  the  parenthesis,  and  disregard  minute  accuracy  in  the 
intermediate  punctuation.     I  infer  that  the  CAM.  EDO.  found  the  same  difficulty; 
their  only  note  records  the  reading  of  'Capell,'  which  I  have  attributed  to  Johnson, 
whose  edition,  I  incline  to  think,  preceded  Capell's. — ED. 

10.  Chamber;   I  meane]  COLLIER  (ed.  ii.):    It  has  been  invariable  to  make 
the  parenthesis  end  at  'chamber,'  [as  in  Coll.  i.  and  iii.— ED.],  but  it  is  a  decided 
error.     [I  cannot  quite  agree  with  Collier  that  it  is  a  'decided  error'  to  end  the 
parenthesis  at  'chamber';  many  excellent  editors  have  so  ended  it,  videlicet  Collier 
himself.     To-day  I  think  it  is  better  to  include  the  explanatory  'I  mean.'     To- 
morrow I  may  think  differently.     Ophelia's  wits  were  not  wandering,  but  she  was 
highly  sane  when  she  said  'Lord,  we  know  what  we  are,  but  know  not  what  we 
shall  be.'     And  Emerson  speaks  of  'The  fool's  word:  consistency.' — ED.] 

12.  not    beneath    him    in     Fortunes]    What    are    the    'fortune?'    wherein 
Cloten  was  on  an  equality  with  Posthumus?     And  wherefore  does  Shakespeare  so 
very  frequently  use  the  plural?     Is  it  to  make  a  distinction  between  mere  wealth, 
fortune,  and  the  many  blessings  or  advantages  which  are  independent  of  wealth? 
Nerissa  says  to  Portia,  'If  your  miseries  were  in  the  same  abundance  as  your  good 
fortunes  are,'  etc.     Orlando  says  to  Oliver,  'I  will  go  buy  my  fortunes.'     Lysander, 
in  Mid.  N.  Dream,  asserts,  'My  fortunes  every  way  as  fairly  ranked  as  his.'     May 
we  not  discern  running  through  these  examples,  and  including  Cloten's  words,  a 
strain  of  thought  which  suggests  opportunities  or  chances  of  future  good  luck? 
Orlando   with    his    patrimony   could    buy   opportunities    to    make    his    fortune. 
Lysander's  chances  in  life  ranked  Demetrius's.     Portia's  miseries  were  not  as 
abundant  in   the  present  as  her  opportunities  of  happiness  in  the  future;  and 
although   Posthumus  was  exiled  and  in  disgrace,  his  chances  of  a  turn  of  the 
tide  were  as  fair  as  any  one's,  and  Cloten  was  not  beneath  him  in  it.     I  have 
nowhere  found  any  explanation  of  this  plural,  'fortunes.' — SCHMIDT  (Lex.)  merely 
states  it  as  a  fact  that  Shakespeare  frequently  uses  the  plural,  and  the  N.  E.  D. 
does  not,  I  think,  mention  it  at  all. — ED. 

13.  aduantage  of  the  time]  That  is,  a  better  reputation  in  the  world  wherein 
we  live,  in  the  society  about  us.     Macbeth  says, '  Away  and  mock  the  time  with  fair- 


28o  THE   TRACE  DIE  OF  [ACT  iv,  sc.  i. 

Birth,  alike  conuerfant  in  generall  feruices,  and  more  re-         14 
markeable  in  Tingle    oppofitions  ;   yet  this   imperfeuerant 
Thing  loues   him  in   my  defpight.     What   Mortalitie  is?          16 

15.  imperfeuerant]ill-perseverant'H.a,n.         errant  Coll.  MS.  im  per  clever  ant  Coll.  iii. 
Johns,      ill  perseverant  Warb.      imper-  16.  Thing]  Things  Rowe  ii. 

ceiverant    Dyce,    Glo.   Cam.     perverse,  is?]  is!  Rowe  et  seq. 

est  show.'     And  Hamlet  says, '  show  the  very  age  and  body  of  the  time  his  form  and 
pressure';  and  in  many  another  passage. —  En. 

14.  generall  seruices]  ECCLES:   That  is,  those  perfornied  on  the  field  of  battle. 

15.  single    oppositions]    CAPELL    (p.    114):     Opposition    of    man    to   man, 
duels;  see  i  Hen.  IV:   'In  single  opposition,  hand  to  hand.' — I,  iii,  99. — SCHMIDT 
(Lex.,  s.  v.  Opposition):    That  is,  when  compared  as  to  single  accomplishments. 
According   to    the   usual   interpretation,    equivalent    to   single   combats.     [With 
CapelPs  quotation  from  i  Hen.  IV.  before  us,  this  interpretation  seems  to  be  the 
only  one. — ED.] 

15,  1 6.  this  imperseuerant  Thing]  HANMER'S  emendation,  ill- per  sever  ant, 
was  adopted  by  JOHNSON  without  comment,  further  than  to  note  his  authority 
for  it.  What  meaning  he  attached  to  the  words  in  the  present  context  it  is  difficult 
to  divine;  in  his  Dictionary  he  defines  'perseverant'  as  'persisting;  constant.' 
Either  meaning,  with  'ill'  prefixed, — ill-persisting  or  ill-constant, — is  hardly  con- 
sistent with  Cloten's  denunciation  of  Imogen ;  they  indicate  the  very  quality  which 
alone  could  give  him  hope.  This  unsatisfactory  emendation,  however,  died  out 
with  Warburton. — CAPELL  next,  in  his  Glossary  (vol.  i,  p.  34),  pronounced  the  word 
a  'mistake  of  the  Speaker  [i.  e.,  Cloten]  for  perseverant,  a  French  word,  signifying 
persevering,  unshaken,  not  to  be  shaken.' — STEEVENS  followed  with  a  suggestion 
which  sufficed  all  editors  and  editions  down  to  and  including  Knight.  '"Imper- 
severant"  may  mean,'  said  Steevens,  'no  more  than  perseverant,  like  /wbosomed, 
zwpassioned,  im-masked,'  implying,  therefore,  I  suppose,  that  these  words  meant 
no  more  than  bosomed,  passioned,  and  masked;  of  these,  however,  im-masked  is 
the  only  one  used  by  Shakespeare.  Yet  Steevens  builded  better  than  he  knew. — 
COLLIER  (ed.  i.)  agreed  with  him;  'unless,'  he  says,  'we  suppose  Cloten  to  mean 
imperceptive  or  unperceiving  as  regards  his  advantages  over  Posthumus.'  Whether 
or  not  DYCE  took  a  hint  from  this  note  by  Collier  we  cannot  know,  but  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  in  his  Remarks,  etc.  (p.  258),  after  quoting  Collier,  he  continues, 
'The  right  reading  (according  to  modern  orthography)  is  undoubtedly  "this 
imper  ceiverant  thing,"  i.  e.,  "this  thing  without  the  power  of  perceiving  my  supe- 
riority to  Posthumus."  A  passage  in  The  Widow  (by  Jonson,  Fletcher,  and 
Middleton)  stands  as  follows  in  the  old  copy:  "methinks  the  words  Themselves 
should  make  him  do't,  had  he  but  the  perseverance  of  a  cock  sparrow,  that  will 
come  as  Philip,  And  can  nor  write,  nor  read,  poor  fool!"  —Ill,  ii;  where,  of  course, 
"perseverance"  is,  with  our  present  spelling,  perceiverance,  i.  e.,  power  of  per- 
ceiving.' The  next  contribution  to  the  discussion  came,  nine  years  after  Dyce's 
Remarks,  from  W.  R.  ARROWSMITH  (N.  &  Q.,  I,  vii,  400,  23  April,  1853),  who  ob- 
serves that  the  only  other  example  of  '  imperseverant '  besides  this  in  Cymbeline 
which  he  found  occurs  'in  Bishop  Andrewes's  Sermon  preached  before  Queen 
Elizabeth  at  Hampton  Court,  in  1594,  in  the  sense  of  unenduring:  "For  the  Sodom- 
ites are  an  example  of  impenitent  wilful  sinners;  and  Lot's  wife  of  imperseverant  and 
relapsing  righteous  persons." — Library  of  Ang.  Cath.  Theology,  vol.  ii,  p.  62.  Per- 


ACT  iv,  sc.  i.]  CYMBELINE  28 1 

[15,  16.   this  imperseuerant  Thing] 

sever  ant,  discerning,  and  persevers,  discerns,  occur  respectively,  at  pp.  43  and  92 
of  Hawes's  Pastime  of  Pleasure  (Percy  Soc.  ed.).  The  noun  substantive,  per- 
severance -  =  discernment,  is  as  common  a  word  as  any  of  the  like  length  in  the 
English  language.  To  omit  the  examples  that  might  be  cited  out  of  Hawes's 
Pastime  of  Pleasure,  I  will  adduce  a  dozen  other  instances;  and  if  these  should 
not  be  enough  to  justify  my  assertion,  I  will  undertake  to  heap  together  two  dozen 
more.  Mr  Dyce,  in  his  [Remarks],  rightly  explains  the  meaning  of  the  word  in 
Cymbeline.''  Hereupon  Arrowsmith  sets  forth  the  'promised  dozen'  examples; 
it  is  needless,  I  think,  to  repeat  them  here;  especially  as  they  are  not  of  the  adjec- 
tive, but  of  the  noun  'perseverance,'  whereof  he  might  have  found  two  more  ex- 
amples in  Shakespeare,  one  in  Tro.  6s  Cress.,  Ill,  iii,  150,  and  another  in  Macbeth, 
IV,  iii,  93.  When  Arrowsmith  says  that  he  had  found  a  second  instance  of  the  use 
of  'imperseverant'  in  Andrewes's  Sermon  he  did  not  emphasize  the  fact  that  it 
did  not  bear  the  same  meaning  that  Dyce  attributes  to  the  word  Cloten  uses. 
Cloten  means,  so  says  Dyce,  tin-discerning;  whereas  Andrewes  means  unenduring; 
wherefore  'imperseverant'  in  Cloten's  mouth  still  remains  unparalleld.  Dyce's 
spelling,  impcrceiverant,  with  its  meaning  of  undiscerning,  has  been  adopted  by 
The  Globe  Ed.,  the  Cam.  Ed.,  and  by  the  N.  E.  D.,  the  last  gives  'imperseverant,' 
but  refers  for  its  definition  to  impcrceiverant.  To  the  instances  of  perseverance 
already  given,  P.  A.  DANIEL  (New  Sh.  Soc.  Trans.,  1887-92,  p.  212)  contributes: 
'  There  is  not  one  amonge  the  very  brute  bestes  that  hath  not  perseuerance  of  suche 
good  as  is  done  vnto  him.' — Fol.  8  verso.  'Som  other  receiue  a  plesour  offered 
so  carelessly  that  he  that  gaue  it  maye  in  maner  stande  in  doute  whether  he  that 
receiued  it  hadde  any  perserueaunce  that  he  was  plesoured  or  no,'  1569.  Nicolas 
Ha  ward,  The  Line  of  Liberalise,  etc.,  Fol.  73  recto.  Daniel  adds:  'It  has  already 
been  proved  up  to  the  hilt  by  Dyce  and  others  that  he  was  right  in  modernising  the 
word  to  imperceiverant;  the  above  is  an  additional  proof.  But  see  Schmidt.'  It 
has  been  intimated  above  that  Steevens  was  nearer  right  than  he  was  aware, 
for  this  reason:  Shakespeare  uses  'persever,'  according  to  Schmidt  (Lex.},  ten  times 
in  the  sense  of  persevere,  to  insist,  to  be  constant,  whereof  the  participial  adjective, 
perseverant,  would  bear  the  same  meaning;  and  'imperseverant,' if  we  regard  the  int 
as  of  negative  force,  would  mean  unpersevering,  that  is,  inconstant,  uninsistent, 
fickle,  which  clearly  cannot  be  Cloten's  meaning  when  he  applies  the  word  to 
Imogen.  But  are  we  obliged  to  take  im-  as  of  negative  force?  Why  may  we  not 
accept  it  as  of  an  intensive  force?  We  find  it  frequently  thus  used  by  Shakespeare, 
for  example:  '[they]  rather  choose  to  hide  them  in  a  net  Than  amply  to  imbar 
their  crooked  titles.' — Hen.  V:  I,  ii,  94;  where  the  excellent  editor,  Walter  George 
Stone,  proves,  I  think,  that  'imbar'  is  used  intensively,  meaning  to  bar,  or  obstruct 
amply,  thoroughly.  Again,  'And  never  yet  did  insurrection  want  Such  water 
colors  to  impaint  his  cause.' — i  Hen.  IV:  V,  i,  80;  'trick'd  With  blood  of  fathers, 
mothers,  daughters,  sons,  Baked  and  impasted  with  the  parching  street.' — Hamlet, 
II,  ii,  481;  'this  trunk  which  you  Shall  bear  along  impawn'd.' — Wint.  Tale,  I,  ii, 
436;  'I  am  too  sore  enpearced  with  his  shaft.' — (impearced  or  im  pierced,  F2F3F4) 
Rom.  6°  Jul.,  I,  iv,  19;  'these  talent  of  their  hair  With  twisted  metal  amorously 
impleached.' — Lov.  Comp.,  205;  'If  that  the  Turkish  fleet  Be  not  enshelter'd  and 
embay'd. ' — Oth.,  II,  i,  18; '  that  sweet  breath  Which  was  embounded  in  this  beauteous 
clay.' — King  John,  IV,  iii,  137;  'Nips  youth  i'  the  head  and  follies  doth  emmeiv.'- 
Meas.  for  Meas.,  Ill,  i,  91 ; '  How  much  an  ill  word  may  empoison  liking.' — Much  Ado, 


282  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  iv,  sc.  i. 

PoflhuinuS)  thy  head  (which  now  is  growing  vppon  thy          17 
fhoulders)  fhall  within  this   houre  be  off,    thy  Miftris  in- 
forced,  thy  Garments  cut  to  peeces  before  thy  face  :  and          19 

17.  now  is]  is  now  Rowe  ii,+,  Varr.  18,  19.  inforced]  enforced  Rowe  et  seq. 
Ran.  19.  thy  face:]  her  face;  Warb.  Han. 

18.  of}  of;  Cap.  et  seq.  Johns.  Dyce  ii,  iii. 

Ill,  i,  86.  These  words  are,  of  course,  compounded  of  a  verb  and  the  prefix  in- 
changed  into  im-  before  b,  m,  and  p.  All  the  examples  with  the  prefix  im-,  which 
have  been  just  quoted,  belong,  I  think,  to  the  Fourth  Class  according  to  MURRAY 
(N.  E.  D.  s.  v.  In-);  where  the  in-  or  im-  is,  so  Murray  says,  'of  Teutonic  origin, 
prefixed  to  Old  English  and  Middle  English  adjectives  [and  verbs  also,  in  times  much 
more  recent,  I  venture  to  think]  with  an  intensive  force.  In  origin  akin  to  [the 
Latin  in-]  with  the  sense  "only,"  "intimately,"  "thoroughly";  and  hence  "ex- 
ceedingly," "very."  It  is  to  this  intensive  class,  therefore,  that  I  think  'im- 
perseverant'  belongs,  and  that  Cloten,  in  effect,  calls  Imogen  'this  most  constant, 
this  immoveably  persistent  thing.'  Any  change  in  spelling  is,  I  fear,  of  more  than 
doubtful  propriety. — SCHMIDT'S  unhappy  definition,  to  be  discarded  needs  but  to 
be  seen:  'giddy  headed,  flighty,  thoughtless.' — Since  writing  the  foregoing,  I  find 
that  the  Rev.  JOHN  HUNTER  has  the  judicious  note  on  ' imperseverant ' :  'That  is, 
persisting,  stubborn.  The  prefix  im-  is  not  here  the  negative  one,'  which  is  in 
accord  with  what  I  have  just  said. — ED. 

19.  thy    Garments    cut    to    peeces    before   thy    face]  WARBURTON:    Post- 
humus  was  to  have  his  head  struck  off,  and  then  his  garments  cut  to  pieces  before 
his  face;  we  should  read  'her  face,'  i,  e.,  that  is  Imogen's,  done  to  despite  her,  who 
had  said    she    esteem'd    Posthumus's  garment  above  the  person  of    Cloten. — 
M  ALONE:   Shakespeare,  who  in  The  Winter's  Tale,  makes  a  Clown  say,  'If  thou'lt 
see  a  thing  to  talk  on  after  thou  art  dead,'  would  not  scruple  to  give  the  expression 
in  the  text  to  so  fantastic  a  character  as  Cloten.     The  garments  of  Posthumus 
might  indeed  be  cut  to  pieces  before  his  face,  though  his  head  were  cut  off;  no  one, 
however,  but  Cloten  would  consider  this  circumstance  as  any  aggravation  of  the 
insult. — DYCE  (ed.  ii.),  after  styling  this  note  of  Malone  'preposterous,'  remarks 
that  'Cloten  could  have  no  possible  object  in  cutting  to  pieces  the  garments  of 
Posthumus  before  his  face,  even  if  Posthumus  had  been  alive  to  witness  the  dis- 
section.    Cloten  wishes  to  cut  them  to  pieces  before  the  face  of  Imogen  as  a  sort 
of  revenge  [for  what  she  had  said  to  him].     Cloten  is  certainly  not  the  downright 
idiot  that  Capell  and  Malone  would  make  him  out  to  be.' — KNIGHT  agrees  with 
Malone:    'Cloten  in  his  brutal  way,  thinks  it  a  satisfaction  that,  after  he  has  cut 
off  his  rival's  head,  the  face  will  still  be  present  at  the  destruction  of  the  garments.' 

-PORTER-CLARKE  explain  'thy  face'  by  supposing  that  'Cloten  is,  in  fancy, 
taunting  Imogen,'  and  they  may  be  right;  albeit,  that  after  using  'thy'  three  times 
in  addressing  Posthumus,  the  transition  in  the  fourth  '  thy '  to  Imogen  is  somewhat 
abrupt.  It  seems  to  me,  however,  that  too  much  attention  has  been  given  to  the 
'face'  and  not  enough  to  the  'garments.'  In  the  prospective  duel  there  can  be  but 
two  suits  of  garments;  one  on  each  of  the  combatants.  Unhappily  both  suits 
belong  to  Posthumus.  To  which  one,  therefore,  does  Cloten  refer?  He  could 
hardly  refer  to  the  suit  he  himself  wore.  His  return  to  the  Palace  in  rags  (which 
would  not  have  been  improved  by  his  acrobatic  'spurning'  of  Imogen,  while  on 
horse-back)  did  not  exactly  comport  with  his  royal  rank.  He  must,  therefore, 


ACT    IV,  SC.   ii.] 


CYMBELINE 


283 


all  this  done,   fpurnc  her  home  to  her  Father,  who  may         20 
(happily)  be  a  little  angry  for  my  fo  rough  vfage:  but  my 
Mother  hauing  power  of  his  teftineffe,  fhall  turne  all  in- 
to my  commendations.     My  Horfe  is  tyed  vp  fafe  ,   out 
Sword,  and  to  a  fore  purpofe  :  Fortune  put  them  into  my 
hand  :  This  is  the  very  defcription  of  their  meeting  place         25 
and  the  Fellow  dares  not  deceiue  me.  Exit. 


Scena  Secuuda. 


Enter  Belarins ,  Guiderius ,  Annragiis ,  and  2 

Imogen  from  the  Cane. 

Bel.     You  are  not  well  :  Remaine  heere  in  the  Caue, 
Wee'l  come  to  you  after  Hunting.  5 

Ami.     Brother,  ftay  heere  : 
Are  we  not  Brothers  ? 

Ivw.  So  man  and  man  fhould  be, 
But  Clay  and  Clay,  differs  in  dignitie, 
Whofe  duft  is  both  alike.  I  am  very  ficke,  10 


20.  fpurne]  I'll  spurn  Han. 
Father,]  father;  Cap.  et  seq. 

21.  happily]    haply    Johns,    et    seq. 
(except  happely  Wh.  i.). 

23-  fafe,]  safe,  Johns,  safe:  Pope  et 
seq. 

24.  purpofe:]  purpose.  Cap.  Coll.  ii, 
iii.  purpose!  Pope  et  cet. 

24,  25.  Fortune. ..hand:]     fortune... 
hand!   Han.      Fortune, ...hand!   Johns, 
et  cet. 

25.  meeting  place]  Ff,  Rowe,  Theob. 


Warb.  Johns,  meeting-place  Han.  et 
cet. 

i.  Scene  continued.  Rowe. 

Scene  changes  to  the  Front  of  the 
Cave.  Theob. 

4.  [To  Imo.  Cap. 

Caue,]  cave;  Theob.  Warb.  et  seq. 

5.  to  you]  t'you  Pope,+. 

6.  [To  Imo.  Theob. 

8.  be,]  be;  Theob.  Warb  et  seq. 
10,  16.  /  am]  I'm  Pope,+,  Dyce  ii, 
iii. 


have  in  mind  the  suit  worn  by  Posthumus.  May  we  not  then  picture  the  fight,  as 
it  outlined  itself  in  the  conceited  brain  of  the  braggart,  where  his  every  stroke 
cut  and  slashed  his  victim's  fine  garments,  while  that  victim  was  still  alive,  and, 
in  the  havoc  of  his  clothes,  receive  a  foretaste  of  his  own  doom,  before  Cloten  gave 
him  his  coup  de  grace?  If  this  picture  be  true,  the  Folio  text  needs  no  change.— 
ED. 

10.  Whose  dust  is  both  alike]  DEIGHTON  takes  'dust'  here  as  a  reference 
to  the  ashes  of  death,  and  he  may  be  right;  but  I  had  always  supposed  the  sen- 
tence to  mean  that  clay  and  clay  are  different  in  outward  show,  although  both  are 
composed  of  the  same  dust,  where  'dust'  is  used  in  its  Biblical  sense:  'dust  thou 
art  and  unto  dust  shall  thou  return.' — ED. — PORTER-CLARKE  suggest  that  these 
words  were  elicited  by  'an  embrace  from  the  loving  and  sympathetic  Arviragus, 
from  which,  although  not  in  itself  objectionable,  Imogen  had  instinctivly  recoiled.' 


284  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  iv,  sc.  ii. 

Gui.     Go  you  to  Hunting,  He  abide  with  him.  1 1 

Imo.    So  ficke  I  am  not,  yet  I  am  not  well : 
But  not  fo  Citizen  a  wanton,  as 

To  feeme  to  dye,  ere  ficke  :  So  pleafe  you,  leaue  me, 
Sticke  to  your  lournall  courfe  :  the  breach  of  Cuftome,  15 

Is  breach  of  all.     I  am  ill,  but  your  being  by  me 
Cannot  amend  me.     Society,  is  no  comfort 
To  one  not  fociable  :  I  am  not  very  ficke , 
Since  I  can  reafon  of  it  :  pray  you  truft  me  heere, 
He  rob  none  but  my  felfe,  and  let  me  dye  20 

Stealing  fo  poorely. 

Gui.     I  loue  thee  :  I  haue  fpoke  it,  22 

11.  Hunting,]   hunting;    Coll.    Dyce,  17.  Society,]  Society  Rowe  et  seq. 
Sta.  Glo.  Cam.    hunting.  Sing.  18.  /  am]  I'm  Pope,+,  Steev.  Var. 

12.  not,]   Ff.   Rowe,+,   Coll.    Dyce,  '03, '13,  Dyce  ii,  iii. 
Sta.  Glo.  Cam.    not;  Cap.  et  cet.  ficke,]  feck.  F2. 

well:]  well,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han.  19.  of  it:]  Ff,  Coll.    oft  Han.    of  it. 

13.  Citizen]  sickening  Perring.  Rowe  et  cet. 

14.  me,]  me;  Cap.  et  seq.  heere,}  here:  Cap.  et  seq. 

15.  Cuflome,]  custom  Cap.  et  seq.  20.  felfe}  Ff,   Rowe,+,  Coll.     self; 

15.  16.  Cuflome,  Is]  custom  is  The        Cap.  et  cet. 

Sta.  conj.  (Athenaeum,  14  June,  1873).  dye]  dye,  Cap.  et  seq. 

1 6.  ill,]  ill;  Cap.  et  seq.  22.  fpoke   it,]    spoke    it;   Theob.    et 

17.  me.]  me:  Cap.  et  seq.  seq. 


13.  not  so  Citizen  a  wanton]  NARES  (Gloss.,  s-.  v.  Citizen.  As  an  adjec- 
tive): Town  bred;  delicate. — HUDSON:  I  suspect  this  is  an  instance  of  transposi- 
tion, and  that  'wanton'  is  to  be  taken  as  an  adjective, — 'so  wanton  a  citizen,'  or 
'a  citizen  so  wanton.' — SCHMIDT  (Lex.}  supplies  many  an  instance  of  'wanton'  used 
as  a  noun.  None,  however,  can  be  better  than  the  following,  which  DOWDEN 
supplies  from  Roper's  Life  of  Sir  Thomas  More  (Lumbys  ed.  of  Utopia,  xlii.) ,  where 
Sir  Thomas  says:  'For  me  thinketh  God  maketh  me  a  wanton,  and  setteth  me 
on  his  lapp  and  dandleth  me.' — MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  i\  Citizen,  4.  adjective): 
Citizenish,  city-bred,  nonce-use.  [The  present  line  the  sole  quotation.] 

15.  your  lournall  course]  JOHNSON:  Keep  your  daily  course  uninterrupted; 
if  the  stated  plan  of  life  is  once  broken,  nothing  follows  but  confusion. 

19.  Since   I    can   reason  of  it:  pray  you  trust  me]  WALKER  (Crit.,  i,  77) 
devotes  a  chapter  to  examples  where,  as  he  says,  '  'Pray  you,  'beseech  you,  are  fre- 
quent in  Shakespeare.    I  remember  also  'crave  you  (in  Macb.),  and  the  substitution, 
in  printing,  of  the  longer  form  for  the  shorter  has  destroyed  the  metre  of  numerous 
passages  in  our  old  dramatists.'     Among  the  examples  is  the  present  line,  which 
Walker  would  accordingly  read:  'Since  I  can  reason  of  't.    Pray  trust  me  here.' 
So  again  in  IV,  ii,  323,  324,  below. 

20.  He  rob  none  but  my  selfe]    DOWDEN:     Does  Imogen   give  her   words 
point  for  herself  by  a  hidden  reference  to  the  womanly  charms  and  princely  graces 
she  has  deprived  herself  of? 


ACT  iv,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE  285 

How  much  the  quantity,  the  waight  as  much,  23 

As  I  do  loue  my  Father. 

Bel.     What?  How?  how?  2$ 

Ami.     If  it  be  fmne  to  fay  fo  (Sir)  I  yoake  mee 

In  my  good  Brothers  fault  :  I  know  not  why 

I  loue  this  youth,  and  I  haue  heard  you  fay, 

Loue's  reafon's,  without  reafon.     The  Beere  at  doore, 

And  a  demand  who  is't  fhall  dye,  Pld  fay  30 

My  Father,  not  this  youth. 
Bel.     Oh  noble  ftraine  ! 

O  worthineffe  of  Nature,  breed  of  Greatneffe  J 

"Cowards  father  Cowards  ,&  Bafe  things  Syre  Bace  ; 

"Nature  hath  Meale,  and  Bran  ;  Contempt,  and  Grace.  35 

23.  How]  As  Heath  and  Johns,  conj.  Rowe. 

Cap.  Ran.  31.  My. ..youth.]  As  quotation,  Han. 

waight  as  much,]  weight,  as  much  Johns,  et  cet.  (except  Coll.  i.). 

Perring.  32-37.  [Aside,  Cap. 

much,}  muchlngl.  (Perringconj.).  33.  Nature,]  nature!  Cap.  et  cet. 

28.  youth,]  Ff,  Rowe,  +  ,  Sta.    youth;  34,    35.  As    quotation,    Ff,    Rowe. 
Cap.  et  cet.  In  margin,  Pope,  Han. 

29.  Loue's  reafon's,]  Loves  reafons  F2.  34.  Cowards    father     Cowards}     F2. 
Love's  reafons  F3F4.    Lore  reasons  Pope,  Cowards,  Father,  Cowards  F3F4.     Cow- 
+  .    Love's   reason's   Rowe,    Johns,    et  ards,  father  cowards  Rowe  i. 

seq.  things  Syre  Bace]  F2.  things, 

reafon.]  Ff,  Rowe,+,  Ktly,  Ingl.  Sire,bafeY^P^.  things,  Sire  base  Rowe  i. 

reason;  Cap.  et  cet.  things  sire  the  base  Pope,+.  things 

Beere]  F2.  Beer  F3F4.  Bier  sire  base  Rowe  ii.  et  cet. 

23.  How  much  the  quantity]  JOHNSON'S  Edition  and  HEATH'S  Revisal  were 
issued  in  the  same  year;  priority  in  the  Notes  can  be  given  therefore  to  neither  in 
proposing  '.4s  much,'  etc.  (In  his  Preface,  however,  Johnson  refers  to  Heath.)— 
M ALONE:  Surely  the  present  reading  has  exactly  the  same  meaning,  'How  much 
soever  the  mass  of  my  affection  to  my  father  may  be,  so  much  precisely  is  my  love 
to  thee;  and  as  much  as  my  filial  love  weighs,  so  much  also  weighs  my  affection  for 
thee.' — VAUGHAN  (p.  475):  I  cannot  legitimately  extract  Malone's  interpretation 
from  Shakespeare's  words.  As  Shakespeare  did  not  intend  '  weight '  to  be  identical 
with  quality,  'so  much  is  my  love'  is  not  to  be  discovered  in  his  words.  The 
line  may  be  amended  thus:  'So  much  the  quantity,'  etc. — DOWDEN:  As  I  read 
this,  the  sentence  runs:  'I  love  thee  (I  have  spoke  it)  as  I  do  love  my  father.' 
Line  23  I  regard  as  parenthetical.  Guiderius  cannot  deny  that  in  quantity,  the 
accumulation  of  years  of  affection,  the  love  of  his  father  may  be  greater,  but  in 
weight  (of  passion)  this  new  love  equals  it.  'How  much  the  quantity'  means 
'Whatever  the  quantity  may  be.' 

32.  Oh  noble  strain e]  NARES  (Gloss.)  defines  'strain'  as  'descent,  lineage,' 
which  harmonises  with  what  Belarius  goes  on  to  apostrophise,  'O  breed  of  Great- 
ness!'— SCHMIDT  (Lex.)  defines  it  by  'impulse,  feeling' — a  meaning  of  which  it  is 
certainly  capable,  but  not,  I  think,  in  the  present  context. — ED. 

34>  355  45-47;  72-75;  8o»  81.    All  these  lines  POPE,  followed  by  HANMER,  de- 


286  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  iv,  sc.  ii. 

I'me  not  their  Father,  yet  who  this  fhould  bee,  36 

Doth  myracle  it  felfe,  lou'd  before  mee. 

36.  I'me]  F3.    ImeF2.    Pm  F4,  Rowe,  37.  it  felfe,  lou'd  before  mee\  itself; 

+  ,  Knt,  Dyce,  Sta.  Sing.  Ktly,  Glo.  lov'd    before    me!    Rowe,    Pope,    Han. 

Cam.    /  am  Cap.  et  cet.  itself,  lov'd  before  me!  Theob.   Warb. 

Father,]  father;  Theob.  Warb.  et  Johns, 
seq. 

servedly  degraded  to  the  foot  of  the  page, — without  comment,  and  no  comment 
was  needed, — their  just  belief  was  thereby  indicated  that  the  lines  were  none  of 
Shakespeare's.  Not  so,  however,  CAPELL,  who  administers  a  grave  rebuke  (p. 
1 1 6):  'licenses  of  this  sort,'  he  says  austerely,  'ought  never  to  be  taken  at  any 
time  without  reasons  which  carry  instant  conviction,  which  cannot  be  urged  for 
any  one  of  the  above-mentioned  couplets;  whose  meanness  (the  cause,  in  all  likeli- 
hood, of  their  being  rejected)  may  have  a  source  they  were  not  aware  of;  namely, 
that  they  are  only  quotations — they  have  the  air  of  it,  each  of  them;  and  what  at 
present  is  only  conjecture,  may  very  possibly  be  turned  into  truth  by  the  happy 
diligence  of  some  future  researcher.' 

34.  Cowards  father  Cowards,  etc.]  In  tracing  Ovid's  influence  on  Shake- 
speare, WALKER  (Crit.,  i,  153)  quotes  this  line  as  one  'that  has  the  look  of  an 
imitation,'  not  from  Ovid,  but  from  Horace,  IV,  Ode  iv,  29:  'Fortes  creantur  fortes. 
Et  bonis  est  in  juvencis,  est  in  equis  patrum  Virtus,'  etc.  [It  may  well  be  that  the 
author  of  these  doggrell  rhymes,  and  of  many  another  in  this  play,  imitated  whom 
he  pleased,  like  Habakkuk,  'it  etait  capable  de  tout.'  In  the  present  instance, 
however,  he  had  the  effrontery  to  prefix  inverted  commas,  to  indicate  that  they  were 
maxims  or  noteworthy  lines.  It  may,  perhaps,  be  worthy  of  remark  that  these 
inverted  commas,  although  extremely  rare,  are  not  unknown  in  the  Folio.  An 
instance  occurs  in  Tro.  &•  Cress,  on  what  would  be  page  81  (if  the  pages  were  num- 
bered) ,  column  a,  third  line  from  the  bottom :  '  Therefore  this  maxime  out  of  loue  I 
teach, "  Atchieuement,  is  command;  vngain'd,  befeech."  It  is  evidently  thus  printed, 
because  Cressida  has  just  termed  it  a  'maxim.'  In  a  note  on  this  line  WHITE 
(ed.  i.)  points  out  another  instance  in  Meas.for  Meas.,  where  Isabella  says:  'Then 
Isabell  Hue  chaste,  and  brother  die;  "More  then  our  Brother,  is  our  Chastitie." 
II,  iv,  1 86,  p.  70,  col.  b,  third  line  before  the  end  of  the  Act.  In  a  note  on  Polonius's 
precepts  in  Hamlet,  I,  iii,  59,  etc.,  KNIGHT  observes  that  'it  is  remarkable  that  in 
the  Qto,  1603,  the  "precepts"  are  printed  in  inverted  commas,  as  if  they  were  taken 
from  some  known  source,'  etc. — DYCE  (Remarks,  p.  207)  replied:  'Not  at  all 
"remarkable."  In  the  Qtos  of  [Hamlet]  (excepting  that  of  1603)  a  speech  of  the 
Queen,  IV,  v,  is  "printed  with  inverted  commas."'  Hereupon  the  passage  is 
reprinted  by  Dyce,  each  line  beginning  with  a  comma.  Dyce,  with  his  invincible 
Scotch  accuracy,  adds  parenthetically  '(the  4to  of  1637  gives  it  with  double  com- 
mas).' 'In  various  other  early  plays,'  Dyce  proceeds,  'THE  GNEOMIC  PORTIONS 
are  so  distinguished.'  He  quotes  seven  examples,  to  which  White,  in  his  note  on 
Tro.  &°  Cress.,  adds  others,  all  interesting,  but  too  long  to  be  repeated  here  on  what 
is  not  really  germane  to  the  present  text. — ED.] 

36,  37.  who  this  should  bee  .  .  .  lou'd  before  mee]  DEIGHTON:  That  is, 
But  that  this  boy  of  whom  we  know  nothing  should  be  loved  more  than  me  is 
surely  miraculous. — DOWDEN:  'Miracle'  may  be  a  noun — doeth,  accomplishes  a 
very  miracle;  or  a  verb — shows  itself  miraculous. 


ACT  iv,  sc.  ii.j  CYMBELINE  287 

'Tis  the  ninth  houre  o'th'Morne.  38 

And.     Brother,  farewell. 

Imo.    I  wifh  ye  fport.  40 

Arui.    You  health. So  pleafe  you  Sir. 

lino.    Thefe  are  kinde  Creatures. 
Gods,  what  lyes  I  haue  heard  : 
Our  Courtiers  fay  all's  fauage,  but  at  Court ; 
Experience,  oh  thou  difproou'ft  Report.  45 

Th'emperious  Seas  breeds  Monfters  ;  for  the  Difh, 
Poo  re  Tributary  Riuers,  as  fvveet  Fifh  :  47 

38.  o'ttf]  F4.    oth  F2.    oth'  F3.    o'the  45-47-  In  margin,  Pope,  Han. 

Cap.  et  seq.  45.  oh  than]  oh  how  thou  Rowe,  Theob. 

41.  You  health.]  You,  health—  Thcob.         Warb. 

i.    You  health — Theob.  ii,  Warb.  Johns.  Report.}     report—      Theob.     ii, 

Your  health —  Han.     You,  health.  Sta.         Warb.    report!  Var.  '73  et  seq. 

42.  [Aside.  Johns,  and  Cap.  46.  TV/']    Ff,    Rowe,   Theob.    Warb. 

42.  43.  One  line,  Rowe  et  seq.  Johns.    Coll.    Dyce  ii,   iii,   Ingl.      The 

43.  /  haue]  I've  Pope,+,  Dyce  ii,  iii,         Cap.  et  cet. 

Ingl.  cmf>erious]    imperious    Rowe    et 

heard:]  heard!  Rowe  et  seq.  seq. 

44.  all's]  alls  F2.  breeds]  Fx. 

38.  'Tis  the  ninth  houre  o'th'Morne]  CAPELL:  As  Belarius  utters  these 
words  he  turns  to  a  part  of  the  cave  and  takes  down  some  of  their  hunting  in- 
struments, reaching  one  to  Arvigarius,  which  is  the  occasion  of  the  words,  'So 
please  you,  Sir,'  the  reaching  being  linked  with  a  call.  [Dr  Johnson,  borrowing 
from  Prospero's  speech  to  Caliban,  said  that  if  'Capell  had  come  to  him,  he  would 
have  endowed  his  purposes  with  words.' — ED.] 

41.  So  please  you  Sir]  TYRWHITT:  I  cannot  relish  this  courtly  phrase  from 
the  mouth  of  Arviragus.  It  should  rather,  I  think,  begin  Imogen's  speech.  [See 
preceding  note.] — WALKER  (Crit.,  iii,  326):  Point, '  So  please  you,  sir—  Arviragus 
is  speaking  to  Belarius.  [See  Capell's  preceding  note,  wherein  he  anticipates 
Walker.] 

46.  emperious]  MALONE:   Used  for  imperial. 

46.  Seas  breeds  Monsters ;  for  the  Dish]  VAUGHAN  (having  found  the 
following  in  North's  Plutarch,  'He  .  .  .  answered  them  proudly  that  a  platter 
was  too  little  to  hold  a  dolphin,'  Lucullus,  p.  521)  concluded  that  we  should  print, 
'The  imperious  seas  breed  monsters  for  the  dish;  Poor  tributary,'  etc.  'That  is, 
of  course,  "The  sea  breeds  creatures  which  would  be  monsters  in  a  dish;  while  the 
poor  rivers,  which  pay  their  tribute  to  it,  breed  fish  as  sweet  as  the  creatures  of 
the  sea  are  monstrous."  [Vaughan's  quotation  from  Plutarch  gives  the  im- 
pression, I  fear,  that  Lucullus  was  discussing  the  possibility  of  serving  up  dol- 
phins as  a  tempting  viand;  in  reality,  he  used  the  simile  in  order  to  show  the 
inhabitants  of  Seleucia  that  their  city  was  too  small  for  a  School  of  Oratory,  without 
any  reference  to  the  edible  quality  of  a  dolphin.  I  am  afraid  Vaughan  failed  to 
note  this,  and  by  his  change  of  punctuation  gives  us  to  understand  that  monsters 
were  cooked  and  eaten  as  a  toothsome  entremets.  Any  time  or  thought,  however, 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF  ,[ACT  iv,  sc.  ii. 

I  am  ficke  ftill,  heart-ficke;  Pifanio,  48 

He  now  tafte  of  thy  Drugge. 

Gui.     I  could  not  ftirre  him  :  50 

He  faid  he  was  gentle,  but  vnfortunate ; 
Difhoneftly  afflicted,  but  yet  honeft. 

Ami.     Thus  did  he  aufwer  me  :  yet  faid  heereafter, 
I  might  know  more. 

Bel.     To'th'Field,  to'th'Field  :  55 

Wee'l  leaue  you  for  this  time,  go  in, and  reft, 

Ami.     Wee'l  not  be  long  away. 

Bel.     Pray  be  not  ficke, 
For  you  muft  be  our  Hufwife. 

Imo.     Well,  or  ill,  60 

I  am  bound  to  you.  Exit. 

48.  Jlill,]    Ff,    Rowe,+,    Sta.    Cam.  53.  Thus]  So  Cap. 

still;  Cap.  et  cet.  faid    thereafter,]    said,    hereafter 

heart-ficke;]  heart-sick —  Rowe,+.  Rowe  et  seq. 

heart-sick.  Coll.  Glo.  Cam.  55-  To'th'...to'th']    To   th\..to  tV  Ff, 

49.  lie]  I  will  Var.  '73.  Rowe,+.    To  the  Cap.  et  seq. 
[Drinking  out  of  the  Viol.  Rowe,  56.  time,]  time;  Pope  et  seq. 

+.     Swallows  some.  Dyce,  Wh.  Sta.  59.  Hufwife]     Ff,     Cap.       honswife 

Glo.  Cam.    Drinking.  Coll.  ii.    Taking         Rowe  i.    housewife  Rowe  ii.  et  cet. 
it.  Coll.  iii.  61.  bound]  still  bound  Cap. 

Exit.]  After  line  62,  Cap. 


expended  on  these  trashy  lines,  so  utterly  inappropriate  as  coming  from  Imogen's 
sad,  sad  heart,  and  never  written  by  Shakespeare,  is  utterly  wasted. — ED.] 

49.  He  now  taste  of  thy  Drugge]  The  COWDEN-CLARKES:  At  one  time 
we  believed  that  these  words  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  reconsideration  of  the  stage  situation, — the  momentary  with- 
drawal of  Belarius  and  the  young  men,  which  gives  her  the  opportunity  of  speak- 
ing in  soliloquy  and  of  remembering  Pisanio's  gift, — we  think  it  probable  that  the 
author  intended  this  to  be  the  juncture  at  which  she  swallows  some. 

49.  Drugge]  DYCE:    The  'drug,'  it  appears,  was  a  solid. — BUCKNILL  (p.  223): 
Cornelius  has  given  to  the  queen  a  narcotic,  something  that  will  stupify  and  dull 
the  sense  for  a  while,  but  will  not  prove  poisonous.     The  plot  of  the  play  hinges 
upon  the  operation  on  Imogen  of  this  narcotic,  the  supposed  powers  of  which  appear 
to  have  been  exactly  the  same  as  that  given  by  Friar  Lawrence  to  Juliet  for  the 
purpose  of  simulating  death.     Modern  medicine  is  acquainted  with  no  drug  having 
the  property  to  produce  for  a  while  the  show  of  death,  and  yet  leave  the  powers  of 
life  so  unharmed  that  the  subject  of  them  shall  be  'more  fresh,  reviving.' 

50.  I  could  not  stirre  him]  JOHNSON:   Not  move  him  to  tell  his  story. 

51.  gentle,  but  vnfortunate]  JOHNSON:    'Gentle'  is  well-born,  of  birth  above 
the  vulgar. — STEEVENS:   Rather  of  rank  above  the  vulgar. 


ACT  iv,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE  289 

Bel.     And  flial't  be  euer.  62 

This  youth,  how  ere  diftreft,  appeares  he  hath  had 
Good  Anceftors. 

Ami.    How  Angell-like  he  fmgs  ?  65 

Gui.    But  his  neate  Cookerie  ? 

And.    He  cut  our  Rootes  in  Charra6lers,  67 

62.  And. ..euer]    Continued    to    Imo.         conj.   distressed,  appears,  he  Cap.  et  cet. 
(reading  shall)  Heath,  Mason,  Huds.  63.  he  hath]  to  have  Pope,+. 
Warb.  MS.  (N.  &  Q.,  VIII,  iii,  263).  65,    66.   fmgs? ...Cookerie?}     sings!... 

JhaVt]  Jhalt   Ff.      so   shall   Han.         cookery!  Theob.  et  seq. 
shall  Warb.  Huds.  66,  67.  Two  lines,  ending:    Rootes... 

63.  dijlrefl,  appeares  fie]    Ff,   Rowe,         Charraders.  Glo.  Cam. 

Coll.  Dyce,  Sta.  Ktly,  Glo.  Cam.     dis-  One  line,  Cap.  et  seq.  (except 

tress'd  appears  /#,  J.  W.  S.  (Shakesperi-  Glo.  Cam.). 

ana,  Feb.,  1884).    distressed,  it  appears  67-69.  He  ...  Dieter]    Continued    to 

he  or   distressed,  't  appears   he    Craig.  Gui.  Cap.  Var.  '78  et  seq. 

62.  And  shal't  be  euer]  CAPELL:    This  reply  of  Belarius  has  been  objected 
to,  but  with  no  sort  of  reason;  the  only  force  of  it  is — that  he  would  always  be  doing 
what  might  bind  her  to  him. 

63.  how   ere    distrest,    appeares    he    hath]   KNIGHT    (reading   'howe'er  dis- 
tress'd  he  appears,  hath'):    [The  comma,  inserted  by  Capell  after  'appears,']   is 
to  us  unintelligible;  we  have,  therefore,  ventured  on  the  transposition  in  our  text, 
assuming  that  the  printer,  having  left  out  the  'he'  in  his  first  proof,  inserted  it  as  a 
correction  in  the  wrong  place — one  of  the  commonest  of  typographical  errors. 

63.  appeares]  ABBOTT  (§  295)  surmises  that  'perhaps  "appear"  was  sometimes 
used  as  an  active  verb.'  (See  III,  iv,  165,  where  Abbott  thinks  that  it  may  be  used 
reflexively.)  But  afterwards  (§  411)  he  inclines  to  think  that  the  better  way  is  to 
consider  the  phrase  as  a  confusion  of  two  constructions:  'He  hath  had,  (it)  appears, 
good  ancestors,'  and  'He  appears  to  have  had.' 

66.  Cookerie]  MRS  LENNOX  (i,  163):  [When  Imogen  assumes  a  man's  garb] 
Shakespeare  drops  Boccaccio,  after  having  servilely  copied  from  him  all  the  inci- 
dents which  compose  this  part  of  the  plot;  but  by  changing  the  scene  and  charac- 
ters he  has  made  these  incidents  absurd,  unnatural,  and  improbable.  The  rest  of 
the  Play  is  equally  inconsistent,  and  if  Shakespeare  invented  here  for  himself, 
his  imagination  in  this  one  instance  is  full  as  bad  as  his  judgment.  His  Princess, 
forgetting  that  she  had  put  on  boy's  cloaths,  to  be  a  spy  on  the  actions  of  her 
husband,  commences  as  Cook  to  two  young  foresters  and  their  father,  who  live  in  a 
Cave;  and  we  are  told  how  nicely  she  sauced  their  broths.  Certainly  this  Princess 
had  a  most  ceconomical  education. — DOUCE  (ii,  105) :  [Mrs  Lennox]  ought  at  least 
to  have  remembered,  what  every  well-informed  woman  of  the  present  age  is  ac- 
quainted with,  the  education  of  the  princesses  in  Homer's  Odyssey.  It  is  idle  to 
attempt  to  judge  of  ancient  simplicity  by  a  mere  knowledge  of  modern  manners.— 
MRS  JAMESON  (ii,  83):  We  must  not  forget  that  'her  neat  cookery,'  which  is  so 
prettily  eulogised  by  Guiderius,  formed  part  of  the  education  of  a  princess  in  those 
remote  times. — FLETCHER  (p.  46):  These  words  of  Guiderius  are  remarkable  in 
two  respects.  They  show  the  graceful  propriety  with  which  the  Poet  could  ascribe 
to  his  ideal  princess  a  familiarity  with  the  most  ordinary  branches  of  domestic 
economy;  and  exhibit  at  the  same  time  the  inimitable  art  wherewith  he  could  lend 
ideal  dignity  to  one  of  the  homeliest  qualifications. 

19 


290 


THE   TRACED  IE   OF  ACT  iv,  sc.  ii. 


And  fawc'ft  our  Brothes,  as  luno  had  bin  ficke,  68 

And  he  her  Dieter. 

And.    Nobly  he  yoakes  70 

A  mailing,  with  a  figh  ;  as  if  the  fighe 
Was  that  it  was,  for  not  being  fuch  a  Smile  : 
The  Smile,  mocking  the  Sigh,  that  it  would  flye 
From  fo  diuine  a  Temple,  to  commix 
With  windes,  that  Saylors  raile  at.  75 

Gui.     I  do  note, 

That  greefe  and  patience  rooted  in  them  both, 
Mingle  their  fpurres  together.  78 

68.  fawc'Jl]  fawc't  Ff.    sauc'd  Rowe.  71,    75-  <w   if. ..raile  at.}   In  margin, 

Brothes]   F2.     broth  Rowe  ii,+.  Pope,  Han. 

Broths  F3F4  et  cet.  73-  Smile,]  Smile  F.}F4  et  seq. 

bin]  been  F3F4.  76.  /]  Yes,  I  Han. 

71.  figh;]   F2,   Theob.  Warb.   Johns.  77.  them]  him  Pope  et  seq. 

Coll.  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam.    sigh.  Pope,  78.  fpurres]  pow'rs  Pope  i. 
Han.    figh:  F3F4,  Rowe  et  cet. 

67-70.  Arui.  He  cut  .  .  .  Arui.  Nobly  he,  etc.]  We  are  at  times 
inclined  to  exclaim  at  the  stupidity  of  the  printers;  and  yet  there  is  here  a  manifest 
error,  such  as  giving  two  consecutive  speeches  to  the  same  speaker,  which  escaped 
the  notice  of  ROWE,  POPE,  THEOBALD,  HANMER,  WARBURTON,  JOHNSON,  and,  in 
recent  times,  INGLEBY  (ed.  i.).  CAPELL  was  the  first  to  correct  it  by  giving  to 
Guiderius  the  whole  of  the  first  speech  attributed  to  Arviragus  from  'He  cut  our 
Rootes  in  Characters,  line  67,  to  'And  he  her  Dieter,'  line  69. — ED. 

67.  Charracters]  STEEVENS:  So,  in  Fletcher's  Elder  Brother/ — a  bookish  boy, 
That  never  knew  a  blade  above  a  penknife,  And  how  to  cut  his  meat  in  characters.' 
-IV,  i,  1 6. 

77.  greefe   and  patience  rooted  in  them   both]  HUNTER   (ii,  296)   censures 
Knight  for  not  mentioning  that  him  for  '  them '  is  merely  Pope's  '  conjectural  emen- 
dation,' and  also  for  taking  no  notice  of  the  reading  of  the  Folios.     'Yet  one  would 
have  thought,'  he  goes  on  to  say,  'that  the  unsuitableness  of  "both,"  as  annexed  to 
"him"  or  the  awkwardness  of  it,  if  referred  to  "Grief  and  Patience,"  would  have 
shown  that  the  original  copies  deserved  to  have  their  reading  at  least  exhibited. 
That  the  original  is  the  true  reading  will  easily  be  made  to  appear.'     Hereupon 
Hunter  quotes  lines  65-78  for  the  sake  of  the  emphasis  given  therein  to  'smiling' 
and  'a  sigh,'  and  'Grief  and  Patience,'  and  then  asks,  'Who  can  doubt  that  "them" 
has  for  its  antecedent  the  smile  and  the  sigh?     In  both  might  be  discovered  at 
once  both  grief  and  patience.     It  is  the  highest  style  of  art;  but  the  beauty  is  lost 
if  we  substitute  him.'    THISELTON  agrees  with  Hunter,  who  is,  I  also  think,  entirely 
right. — ED. 

78.  spurres]  WHITNEY  (Cent.  Diet.):    A  large  lateral  root  of  a  tree. — RUSKIN 
(vol.  iv,  p.  397) :  There  is  only  one  thing  belonging  to  hills  that  Shakespeare  seemed 
to  feel  as  noble — the  pine  tree — and  that  was  because  he  had  seen  it  in  Warwickshire, 
clumps  of  pine  occasionally  rising  in  little  sandstone  mounds,  as  at  the  place  of  ex- 
cution  of  Piers  Gaveston,  above  the  lowland  woods.  .  .  .  Note  his  observance  of 


ACT  iv,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE  291 

Ami.    Grow  patient, 
And  let  the  ftinking-Elder  (Greefe)  vntwine  80 

79-81.  In  margin,  Pope.  80.  Jlinking-Elder}Jlinking  Elder  F3F4 

79.  patient,}     Ff.       patience,    Rowe.         et  seq.    sticking  ivy  Bailey. 
patience;  Cap.    patience!  Theob.  et  cet.  vntwine]  not  twine  Ingl.  conj. 

the  peculiar  horizontal  roots  of  the  pine,  spurred  as  it  is  by  them  like  the  claw  of  a 
bird,  and  partly  propped,  as  the  aiguilles  by  those  rock  promontories  at  their 
bases  which  I  have  always  called  their  spurs,  this  observance  of  the  pine's  strength 
and  animal-like  grasp  being  the  chief  reason  for  his  choosing  it,  above  all  other 
trees,  for  Ariel's  prison.  [See  IV,  ii,  227.] 

79-81.  Grow  .  .  .  Vine]  INGLEBY  reads,  'Grow  patience — And  let  the 
stinking  elder,  grief,  untwine  His  perishing  root — with  the  increasing  vine'; 
and  thus  interprets:  'The  construction  seems  to  be,  "Grow  patience,  with  the 
increasing  vine  [that  is,  'let  patience  grow  with  the  growth  of  the  vine'];  and  let  the 
stinking  elder  (grief)  untwine  [from  it]  his  perishing  root."  In  this  play  one  must 
be  prepared  for  an  elliptical  construction.  Here  the  vine  is  Fidele  or,  perhaps, 
Fidele's  heart.' 

80.  stinking-Elder]   ELLACOMBE  (p.  64):   There  is,  perhaps,  no  tree  around 
which  so  much  of  contradictory  folk-lore  has  gathered  as  the  Elder  tree.     With 
many  it  was  simply  'the  stinking  elder,'  of  which  nothing  but  evil  could  be  spoken. 
Biron,  in  Love's  Labor  Lost,  V,  ii,  when  he  said  'Judas  was  hanged  on  an  Elder' 
only  spoke  the  common  mediaeval  notion;  and  so  firm  was  this  belief  that  Sir  John 
Mandeville  was  shown  the  identical  tree  at  Jerusalem,  'and  faste  by  is  zit,  the 
Tree  of  Eldre  that  Judas  henge  himself  upon,  for  despeyr  that  he  hadde,  when  he 
solde  and  betrayed  oure   Lord,'  [p.  69,  ed.  Ashton].     This  was  enough  to  give  the 
tree  a  bad  fame,  which  other  things  helped  to  confirm — the  evil  smell  of  its  leaves, 
the  heavy  narcotic  smell  of  its  flowers,  its  hard  and  heartless  wood,  and  the  ugly 
drooping  black  fungus  that  is  almost  exclusively  found  on  it  (though  it  occurs  also 
on  the  Elm),  which  was  vulgarly  called  the  Ear  of  Judas  (Hirneola  auricula  Judas). 
This  was  the  bad  character;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  there  were  many  who  could 
tell  of  its  many  virtues,  so  that  in  1644  appeared  a  book  entirely  devoted  to  its 
praises.     This  was  'The  Anatomic  of   the  Elder,  translated  from  the  Latin  of  Dr 
Martin  Blockwich  by  C.  de  Iryngio'  (i.  e.,  Christ  Irvine),  a  book  that,  in  its  Latin 
and  English  form,  went  through  several  editions.     And  this  favourable  estimate  of 
the  tree  is  still  very  common  in  several  parts  of  the  Continent.  .  .  .  Nor  must  we 
pass  by  the  high  value  that  was  placed  on  the  wood  both  by  the  Jews  and  the 
Greeks.     It  was  the  wood  chiefly  used  for  musical  instruments,  so  that  the  name 
Sambuke  was  applied  to  several  very  different  instruments,  from  the  fact  that 
they  were  all  made  of  Elder  wood.     The  'Sackbut,'  'dulcimer,'  and  'pipe'  of  Daniel 
iii.  are  all  connected  together  in  this  manner. 

80.  Elder  (Greefe)  vntwine]  JOHNSON:  Shakespeare  had  only  seen  English 
lines  which  grow  against  walls,  and  therefore  may  be  sometimes  entangled  with 
the  elder.  Perhaps  we  should  read — untwine — from  the  vine. — STEEVENS:  Sir 
John  Hawkins  proposes  to  read — entwine.  He  says,  'Let  the  stinking  elder 
[Grief]  eniivine  his  root  with  the  vine  [Patience]  and  in  the  end  Patience  must 
outgrow  Grief.' — MALONE:  That  is,  may  patience  increase,  and  may  the  stinking 
elder,  grief,  no  longer  twine  his  decaying  [or  destructive,  if  perishing  is  used  actively] 
root  with  the  vine,  patience  thus  increasing! — MONCK  MASON  (p.  333)  would  read, 


292  THE   TRACED  IE   OF  [ACT  iv,  sc.  ii. 

His  perifhing  roote,  with  the  encreafmg  Vine.  8r 

Bel.    It  is  great  morning.     Come  away  :  Who's  there? 

Enter  Clotcn. 
Clo.     I  cannot  finde  thofe  Runnagates,  that  Villaine 

Hath  mock'd  me.     I  am  faint.  85 

81.  with  the]  from  thy  Han.     from        Cam.    Come;  away.  Johns,  et  cet. 
with  the  Ktly.   from  with  thy  Ktly  conj.  83.  [Scene    in.    Pope,    Han.    Warb. 

encreafwg]  increasing  Han.  Cap.  Johns, 
et  seq.  Cloten.]  F4.     Clotten.  F2F3. 

82.  morning.]  morning:  Cap.  84.  Runnagafes,]  runagates:  Pope  et 
Come   away:]    Ff,    Rowe,    Pope.  seq. 

Come,    away:    Theob.    Warb.      Come,  Villaine]  villain-slave  or  villain, 

away.  Cap.     Come;  away!  Coll.  Sing.         sure,  Sta.  conj. 
Come,   away!   Dyce,    Sta.    Ktly,   Glo. 

'entwine  His  perishing  root,  with  thy  increasing  Vine.'  'And  the  meaning  is/  he 
says,  'Grow  patience!  entwine  your  roots  with  those  of  grief,  that  whilst  he  lasts 
you  may  not  be  separated  from  him,  but  let  his  root  be  perishing,  and  your's  in- 
creasing.' The  propriety  of  my  amendment  of  thy  instead  of  '  the '  will  be  evident 
if  it  be  remembered  that  this  speech  is  addressed  to  patience  as  a  person,  and  that 
the  vine  is  not  a  general  emblem  of  patience. — KNIGHT:  The  root  of  the  elder 
is  short-lived  and  perishes,  while  that  of  the  vine  continues  to  flourish  and  increase: 
let  the  stinking  elder,  grief,  untwine  his  root  which  is  perishing  with  (in  company 
with)  the  vine  which  is  increasing. — WHITE:  'His  perishing  root'  means  'his 
root  which  causes  to  perish;  'perish'  being  used  actively. — HUDSON:  We  have  here 
an  expression  of  exactly  the  same  sort  as  one  now,  against  propriety,  growing  into 
use;  namely,  'differing  with  another'  instead  of  'differing  from  another.'  In  our 
time  the  proper  language  would  be,  'Let  the  elder  twine  his  root  with  the  vine'; 
or,  'Let  the  elder  untwine  his  root  from  the  vine.'  To  perish  was  sometimes  used 
as  a  transitive  verb.  So  here,  perishing  means  destructive.  'The  stinking  elder' 
is  the  same  as  the  poison  elder;  and  I  used  to  hear  it  called,  and  to  call  it,  by  either 
name  indifferently. — VAUGHAN  (p.  478):  The  construction  of  this  sentence  is 
mistaken  by  all.  The  two  lines  convey  either  this,  'Let  the  elder  untwine  its 
perishing  root  concurrently  with  the  increase  of  the  vine'  ('with  the  increasing 
vine'),  or,  rather,  'Let  the  elder  untwine  its  root,  which  will  perish  as  the  vine 
increases'  ('with  the  increasing  vine')  'and  by  its  increase.' — DOWDEN:  In  truth, 
no  difficulty  exists  here:  the  meaning  is  with  the  increase  of  the  vine,  or  as  the 
vine  increases,  let  the  elder  untwine  his  perishing  root.  The  word  'with'  is  not  to 
be  connected  with  'untwine.'  [Is  it  not  sad  to  see  so  much  ingenuity,  not  to 
mention  the  ready  invention  of  botanical  facts,  expended  on  lines  which  respect 
for  Shakespeare  forbids  us,  or  forbids  me,  at  least,  to  believe  that  he  ever  wrote? 
The  lines  from  70  to  81,  with  the  absurdity  of  giving  two  separate  consecutive 
speeches  to  the  same  character,  are,  to  me,  forced,  stilted,  and  out  of  character. 
What  knew  Arviragus  of  winds  that  sailors  rail  at?  And  let  him  believe  who  lists 
that  Shakespeare,  with  his  love  for  daffodils,  and  violets,  and  primroses,  and  all  the 
sweet  flowers  of  the  field,  would  ever  use  a  simile  drawn  from  'st  — king  elder'! 
Never  did  Belarius  speak  more  to  the  purpose  than  when  he  put  a  stop  to  this 
dialogue. — ED.] 

82.  It  is  great  morning]  STEEVENS:   A  Gallicism,  Grand  jour. 


ACT    IV,  SC.  ii.] 


CYMBELINE 


Bel.     Thofe  Runnagates  ? 
Meanes  he  not  vs  ?  I  partly  know  him,  'ds* 
Cloten,  the  Sonne  o'th'Queene.     I  feare  fome  Ambufh 
I  faw  him  not  thefe  many  yeares,  and  yet 
I  know  'tis  he  :  We  are  held  as  Out-Lawes  :  Hence. 

GuL    He  is  but  one  :  you,  and  my  Brother  fearch 
What  Companies  are  neere  :  pray  you  away, 
Let  me  alone  with  him. 

Clot.    Soft,  what  are  you 

That  flye  me  thus?  Some  villaine-Mountainers? 
I  haue  heard  of  fuch.     What  Slaue  art  thou/ 

Gui.    A  thing 

More  flauifh  did  I  ne're,  then  anfwering 
A  Slaue  without  a  knocke. 


293 
86 


90 


95 


99 


86-93.  [Aside.  Cap. 

86.  Thofe  Runnagates?]   Ff.      Tliose 
runagates!  Rowe  et  seq.     As  a  quota- 
tion, Sta.  Glo.  Dyce  ii,  iii,  Cam. 

87.  him,]  him;  Rowe  ii.  et  seq. 

88.  o'th']  oth'  F2F3.    o'the  Cap.  et  seq. 
Queene.]    Queen;    Rowe,    Pope, 

Theob.  Han.  Warb. 

Ambujh:]  Ff.     ambush—    Rowe, 
+  •    ambush.  Johns,  et  cet. 

90.  We  are]  ice' re  Theob.  ii,  Warb. 
Johns. 

Out-Lawes:]    Ff    (Out-laws:    F4). 
out-laws.  Johns.  Ktly. 

92.  away]  away;  Theob.  et  seq. 

93.  [Exeunt  Bel.  and  Arvir.  Rowe. 


94.  Soft,]    Ff,    Rowe,    Pope.      Soft: 
Cap.    Soft!  Theob.  et  cet. 

95.  Some]  Sonne  F2. 
villaine-Mountainers?]   F2.      Vil- 
lain Mountainers?  F3F4.    mllain-Moun- 
tainers—    Rowe,  Pope.     villain-Moun- 
taineers—    Theob.    i,    Han.      villain- 
Mountaineer.  Theob.  ii,  Warb.  Johns. 
villain  mountaineers?  Cap.  et  seq. 

96.  /  haue]  I've  Pope,+,  Dyce  ii,  iii. 

97.  98.  thing  More]  thing.     More  F2. 
thing,  More  F3F4. 

98.  ne're,]  ne'er  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam. 

99.  A    Slaue]    As    quotation,    Mai. 
Ran.    Steev.    Varr.     Knt,    Sta.    Dyce 
iii. 


92.  What  Companies]  WALKER,  in  his  valuable  Article  on  the  frequent  inter- 
polation and  omission  of  5  in  the  Folio,  quotes  (Crit.,  i,  225)  this  line  and  asks, 
'Why  the  plural?  A  little  below  we  have  "No  company's  abroad."  And  again, 
" — what  company  Discover  you  abroad?"  DYCE  quotes  Walker,  without  com- 
ment. I  think  the  present  example  hardly  within  the  scope  of  Walker's  Article; 
the  verb  shows  that,  whatever  be  the  reason,  the  plural  is  intentional,  and  ought 
we  then  to  change  it?  SCHMIDT  (Lex.}  gives  it  as  equivalent  to  'people.' — ED. 

95.  villaine-Mountainers]  WALKER  (Vers.,  224):  An  erratum,  I  suspect, 
occasioned  perhaps  by  the  frequency  of  the  form  -er  in  this  class  of  words;  see 
'Yeeld  Rufticke  Mountaineer,'  line  136,  below. — DYCE  (ed.  ii.):  I  should  have 
retained  'mountainers,'  but  that  in  the  five  other  passages  where  the  word  occurs 
the  Folio  spells  it  with  the  double  e. 

98,  99.  then  answering  A  Slaue  without  a  knocke]  M.  MASON:  Than 
answering  that  abusive  word  'Slave.'  'Slave'  should  be  printed  in  Italics  [as  a 
quotation]. — MALONE:  See  Rom.  &  Jul.:  'Now,  Tybalt,  take  the  "villain"  back 
again.' — III,  i,  130. — WYATT:  'A  slave'  is  usually  taken  to  mean  'the  epithet, 


294  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  iv,  sc.  ii. 

Clot.     Thou  art  a  Robber,  100 

A  Law-breaker,  a  Villaine  :  yeeld  thee  Theefe. 

Gui.     To  who?  to  thee  ?  What  art  thou  ?  Haue  not  I 
An  arme  as  bigge  as  thine  ?  A  heart,  as  bigge  : 
Thy  words  I  grant  are  bigger  :  for  I  weare  not 
My  Dagger  in  my  mouth.     Say  what  thou  art :  105 

Why  I  mould  yeeld  to  thee? 

Clot.     Thou  Villaine  bafe, 
Know'ft  me  not  by  my  Cloathes? 

Gui.     No,  nor  thy  Taylor,  Rafcall  :  109 

101.  Villaine:]  villain.  Coll.  Ktly.  Coll.  i,  ii,  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam. 
thee    Theefe.]    F2.      thee,    Thief.  106.  I  Jhould]  should  I  Ingl.  i. 

F3F4  et  seq.  thee?}  thee.     Han.  Coll.  iii,  Ingl. 

102.  who?}     whom?      Ff,     Rowe,+,         ii,  Cam. 

Ran.  Coll.  108.  me  not  by  my}  not  my  Douce, 

103.  bigge:}  big?  F4  et  seq.  Vaun. 

105.  Say]  Ff,    Rowe,    Pope,    Han.  109.  No,]  No  Rowe  ii,  Pope.     Om. 

Dyce,    Glo.  Cam.      Say,    Theob.    et  Steev.  conj. 

cet.  Rajcall:}   Om.    Pope.     Rafcall, 

art:}  art,    F4,    Rowe,+,    Knt,  Ff  et  seq. 

slave,'  on  the  false  analogy  [of  the  line  just  quoted  by  Malone  from  Rom,  &°  Jul.]. 
It  is  evident  that  the  use  of  the  indefinite  article  here  makes  all  the  difference,  and 
that  Guiderius  is  hurling  Cloten's  abusive  epithet  back,  just  as  he  does  in  line  121. 

102.  To  who  ?]  See  I,  vii,  182. 

103.  A  heart,  as  bigge]  Thus  'heart'  is  used  when  Orlando  says  to  Adam, 
'"Why  how  now,  Adam,  no  greater  heart  in  thee?' 

108.  Know'st  me  not  by  my  Cloathes  ?]  INGLEBY:   It  is  doubtful  whether 
Cloten,  unmindful  of  his  disguise,  expects  Guiderius  to  recognise  him  as  the  Queen's 
son;  or  whether  he  supposes  a  stranger  would  take  him  for  Posthumus  because  he 
wore  Posthumus's  clothes.     Perhaps  Shakespeare  committed  here  the  oversight  he 
did  in  Wint .  Tale  [where,  possibly,  Florizel's  '  swain's  wearing '  is  spoken  of  as  a  court 
suit,  IV,  iv,  837,  of  the  present  ed.].     Such  oversights  are  easily  committed. — 
WYATT:   Does  Cloten  in  his  anger  forget  for  the  moment  that  he  is  dressed  in  the 
garments  of  Posthumus?  or  does  he  expect  to  be  recognised  as  Posthumus?     Cloten's 
next  speech  hardly  settles  the  point,  because  Guiderius's  reply  may  well  have  made 
him  look  downward  at  his  clothes  and  remind  him  that  he  was  in  borrowed  gar- 
ments; but  it  precludes  the  third  supposition,  that  of  an  oversight  on  the  part  of 
the  dramatist. — ROLFE:   Cloten  simply  means  that  he  ought  to  be  recognised  as  a 
gentleman,  or  a  person  from  the  court,  as  Posthumus  had  been  before  he  was  ban- 
ished.— DOWDEN:   Is  this  the  idea  in  Cloten's  mind,    'Do  you  not  know  me,  by 
reason,  or  in  consequence,  of  my  wearing  these  clothes? ' — the  clothes  being,  in  fact, 
those  of  Posthumus?     Every  Briton  should  know  the  great  Cloten,  but  the  un- 
princely  garments  may  conceal  his  majesty. 

109.  Rascall]  ELZE    (p.   322):     There   is   another    reason    [besides    metrical] 
in  favour  of  the  omission  [of  'Rascal'],  and  this  is  the  marked  contrast  between  the 
two  characters  of  Cloten  and  Guiderius.     Cloten,  from  the  very  moment  of  his 
entrance,  heaps  the  most  abusive  language  on  his  adversary,  whereas  Guiderius 


ACT    IV,   SC.  ii.] 


CYMBELINE 


Who  is  thy  Grandfather  ?  He  made  thofe  cloathes, 
Which  (as  it  feemes)  make  thee. 

Clo.     Thou  precious  Varlet, 
My  Taylor  made  them  not. 

GuL     Hence  then,  and  thanke 

The  man  that  gaue  them  thee.     Thou  art  fome  Foole, 
I  am  loath  to  beate  thee. 

Clot.     Thou  iniurious  Theefe, 
Heare  but  my  name,  and  tremble. 

Gui.     What's  thy  name  ? 

Clo.     Cloten,  thou  Villaine. 

Gui.     Cloten,  thou  double  Villaine  be  thy  name, 
I  cannot  tremble  at  it,  were  it  Toad,  or  Adder,  Spider, 
'Twould  moue  me  fooner. 


295 
no 


1 20 


123 


no.  Grandfather?]  grandfather,  Rowe. 
Grandfather:  Ff  et  cet.  godfather 
Kinnear. 

112.  Varlet,]  Varlet!  Ro\ve,+. 

115.  Foole,]   Ff,   Rowe,   Pope,  Han. 
fool;  Theob.  et  cet. 

116.  /  am]  I'm  Pope,-f ,   Var.   '85, 
Dyce  ii,  iii. 

121.  thou  double]  then  double  Pope. 
then,  double  Theob. +  . 


121.  Villaine]  villain,  Theob.  et  seq. 

122.  at  it,]  at  it;  Rowe  et  seq. 

u'ere  it]  were't    Steev.  Var.  '03, 
'13,  Knt,  Sta.  Sing.  Ktly. 

122,  123.  Lines  end:  Toad,. ..fooner. 
(reading  Adder,  or  spider,  it  would) 
Han. 

122.  or  Adder,  Spider,]  adder,  spider, 
Pope,-f,  Varr.  Ran.     Om.  Cap. 

123.  me]  Om.  F3F4,  Rowe  i. 


studiously  refrains  from  retaliating;  only  twice  he  retorts:  in  line  97  et  seq.  ('A 
thing  more  slavish,'  etc.,  which  is  language  moderate  enough)  and  in  line  121  ('thou 
double  villain').  I  am,  therefore,  inclined  to  agree  with  Pope,  not  only  because 
'rascal'  spoils  the  metre,  but  because  it  contradicts  the  well-defined  character  of 
Guiderius.  It  is,  no  doubt,  an  actor's  addition. 

113.  My  Taylor]  EccLES:  'My'  here  is  emphatic;  they  were  made  by  the 
tailor  of  Posthumus. 

117.  Thou  iniurious  Theefe]  That  is,  contumelious,  insulting.  See  'iniurious 
Romans,'  III,  i,  53. 

121.  Cloten,    thou    double    Villaine]    DOWDEN:     Does    Guiderius     jestingly 
take  'Cloten,  thou  villain'  as  the  name,  and  improve  on  it  by  his  'Cloten,  thou 
double  villain'?  or  is  'thou  double  villain'  only  a  retort  for  'thou  villain'? 

122.  Toad]  TOPSELL  (Hist,  of  Serpents,  p.  193):   All  manner  of  Toades,  both  of 
the  earth  and  of  the  water,  are  venomous,  although  it  be  held  that  the  toades  of  the 
earth  are  more  poysonfull  then  the  toades  of  the  water,  except  those  Toades  of  the 
water  which  doe  receiue  infection  or  poyson  from  the  water,  for  some  waters  are 
venomous.     But  the  Toades  of  the  Land,  which  doe  descend  into  the  Marshes,  and 
so  Hue  in  both  elements,  are  most  venomous,  and  the  hotter  the  country  is,  the  more 
full  they  are  of  poyson.     The  Women-witches  of  auncient  time  which  killed  by  poy- 
soning,  did  much  vse  Toades  in  their  confections.  .  .  .  The  byting  of  a  Toade, 
although  it  be  sildome,  yet  it  is  venomous,  and  causeth  the  body  to  swell  and 
breake,  eyther  by  Impostumation,  or  otherwise.  .  .  .  The  spettle  also  of  Toades  is 


296  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  iv,  sc.  ii. 

Clot.     To  thy  further  feare,  124 

124.  To]  Then  to  Han.  124.  further]  farther  Coll. 

venomous,  for  if  it  fall  vpon  a  man,  it  causeth  all  his  hayre  to  fall  off  from  his 
head. 

122.  Adder]  TOPSELL  (Hist,  of  Serpents,  p.  50):  It  falleth  out  in  the  particular 
Discourse  of  Serpents,  that  I  expresse  the  most  knowne  Serpent  to  vs  in  England 
in  the  first  place,  according  to  Alphabetical  order,  that  is,  the  Adder.  For  although 
I  am  not  ignorant,  that  there  be  which  write  it  Nad-ere,  of  Natrix,  which  signifieth 
a  Water-snake,  yet  I  cannot  consent  vnto  them  so  readily,  as  to  depart  from  the  more 
vulgar  receaued  word  of  a  whole  Nation,  because  of  some  likelyhood  in  the  deriua- 
tion  from  the  Latine.  .  .  .  They  are  a  craf tie  &  Subtill  beast,  biting  ^uddently  them 
that  passe  by  them.  .  .  .  When  she  hath  bitten,  with  her  forked  or  twisted  tongue 
shee  infuseth  her  poyson.  ...  5.  lerom  saith,  that  when  the  Adder  is  thirstie  and 
goeth  to  drinke,  she  first  of  all  at  the  waterside  casteth  up  her  venome,  least  that  by 
drinking  it  descend  into  her  bowels  and  so  destroy  herself,  but  after  she  hath  drunke, 
she  licketh  it  up  againe;  even  as  a  souldiour  re-armed  after  he  was  disarmed. 

122.  Adder,  Spider]  DOWDEN:  Could  Shakespeare  have  written  atter-spid-er, 
poisonous  spider,  remembering  the  word  'atter-cop,'  spider? 

122.  Spider]  BATMAN  vppon  Bartholome  (Lib.  xviii,  chap,  ii,  p.  345,  verso): 
The  venimous  spinner  is  called  Aranea,  and  is  a  worme  that  hath  that  name  of  feed- 
ing &  nourishing  of  the  aire,  as  Isidore  sayth,  and  spinneth  long  thrids  in  short  time, 
and  is  alway  busie  about  weauing,  and  ceaseth  neuer  of   trauaile.  .  .  .  The  biting 
of  the  spinner  that  is  called  Spalangio,  is  venemous  and  slaieth,  except  there  be 
remedie  and  succour  the  sooner:    but  the  vertue  of  Plantaine  slayeth  the  venyme 
thereof,  if  it  be  laid  thereto  in  due  manner  ...  a  rnaner  spinner  is  called  Spalana 
.  .  .  and  bis  smiting  is  more  bitter  and  more  sore,  than  the  biting  of  the  serpent 
Viper  a.  .  .  .  Also  another  spinner  is  rough  with  a  great  head;  .  .  .  and  by  his 
biting  the  knees  shake  and  fayleth,  and  also  of  his  biting  commeth  blyndnes  and 
spewing.     [Thus  far  Bartholome.     Batman  hereupon  adds,  on  his  own  authority,  a 
gentle  gird  as  Irishmen:]   (Besides  this  large  discourse  of  spiders,  it  hath  been 
reported,  that  in  Ireland  be  many  spiders,  and  some  verye  great,  and  that  being 
eaten  of  the  Irishmen,  have  not  performed  any  shewe  of  venime:    it  may  be  that 
the  greater  poyson  subdueth  the  lesse.) — TOPSELL  (Hist,  of  Serpents,  p.  246): 
All  Spyders  are  venomous,  but  yet  some  more,  some  lesse.  .  .  .  The  most  dangerous 
&  harmful  Spyders  are  called  Phalangia,  if  they  byte  any  one,  (for  they  never  strike) 
their  poyson  is  by  experience  found  to  be  so  perrillous,  as  that  there  wil  a  notable 
great   swelling   immediately   follow   thereupon.  .  .  .  There   is   another   kind   of 
Phalangium  Spyder  ...  of  a  passing  deepe  redde  colour,  and  counted  far  worser 
then  the  blew-Spyder,  although  the  azure  or  blew-spyder  onely  by  touching  doth 
infect  with  poyson,  and  will  breake  any  Christall  glasse,  if  it  runne  ouer  it  though 
neuer  so  speedily,  or  doe  but  touch  it  in  glauncing  wise.     [Topsell  devotes  more 
than  fifteen  folio  pages  to  The  Spyder.     Let  not  the  reader,  however,  suppose  that 
all  of  them  are  filled  with  these  terrifying  details;  on  six  or  seven  are  set  forth  the 
virtues  of  'The  Tame  or  House-Spider' — 'a  very  gallant  and  excellent  wise  crea- 
ture.'    I  have  merely  selected  a  few  sentences  from  the  accounts  of  the  worst 
species,  that  some  idea  may  be  gained  of  the  horrible  reputation  which  finds  an 
echo  in  the  following  passages,  which  I  gather  from  Bartlett's  Concordance — to 
which  and  to  Schmidt's  Lexicon  so  many  editors  are  indebted  for  their  parallel 


ACT  iv,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE  297 

Nay,  to  thy  meere  Confufion,  thou  (halt  know  125 

I  am  Sonne  to'th'Queene. 

GUI.     I  am  forry  for't  :  not  feeming 
So  worthy  as  thy  Birth. 

Clot.     Art  not  afeard  ? 

GUI.    Thofe  that  I  reuerence,  thofe  I  feare  :  the  Wife:        130 
At  Fooles  I  laugh  :  not  feare  them. 

Clot.     Dye  the  death  : 

When  I  haue  flaine  thee  with  my  proper  hand, 
He  follow  thofe  that  euen  now  fled  hence  : 

And  on  the  Gates  of  Luds- Towne  fet  your  heads  :  135 

Yeeld  Rufticke  Mountaineer.  Fight  and  Exeunt. 

Enter  Bclarius  and  Aruiragus.  1 37 

126,  127.  I  am]  I'm  Pope,  +  ,  Steev.  Sta.  Glo.  Cam. 
Varr.  Knt,  Coll.  Sta.  Sing.  Dyce  ii,  iii,  131.  laugh:]  laugh,  F3F4  et  seq. 

Ktly.  132.  deatlr]  death!  Theob.  +  ,  Sta. 

129.  afeard]  afraid  Rowe,  +  .  134.  hence:]  hence,  Rowe  et  seq. 

130,  131.  Mnemonic  Pope,  Warb.  136.  Rufticke]  Om.  Han. 

130.  feare:]   F2.     fear,   F3F4,    Rowe,  Scene    iv.    Pope,    Han.    Warb. 

Han.  Johns.  Var.  '21,  Coll.  i,  ii,  Dyce,         Johns. 

examples.  Leontes,  in  Whit.  Tale,  exclaims,  'There  may  be  in  the  cup  A  spider 
steep'd,  and  one  may  drink;  depart,  And  yet  partake  no  venom,  .  .  .  but  if  one 
present  Th'  abhorred  ingredient  to  his  eye,  make  known  How  he  hath  drunk,  he 
cracks  his  gorge,  his  sides  With  violent  hefts.  I  have  drunk  and  seen  the  spider.'- 
II,  i,  40  (54  of  this  ed.).  Anne,  in  Richard  the  Third,  prays  'More  direful  hap  betide 
that  hated  wretch  .  .  .  Than  I  can  wish  to  adders,  spiders,  toads,  Or  any  creeping 
venom'd  thing  that  lives!' — I,  ii,  19.  (Note  the  same  triplet  as  in  Cymbeline.) 
King  Richard  thus  apostrophises  his  native  land:  'Feed  not  thy  soverign's  foe, 
my  gentle  earth,  Nor  with  they  sweets  confort  his  ravenous  sense;  But  let  thy 
spiders,  that  suck  up  they  venom,  And  heavy-gaited  toads  lie  in  their  way.  .  .  . 
And  when  they  from  thy  bosom  pluck  a  flower,  Guard  it,  I  pray  thee,  with  a  lurking 
adder  Whose  double  tongue  may  with  a  mortal  touch  Throw  death  upon  thy 
soverign's  enemies.' — Rich.  II:  III,  ii,  12.  (Again  the  triplet.). — ED.] 
125.  meere]  In  its  derivative  Latin  sense:  pure,  unmixed,  unqualified. 

132.  Dye  the  death]  JOHNSON:    This  seems  to  be  a  solemn  phrase  for  death 
inflicted  by  law. — Note  on  Meas.for  Meas.,  II,  iv,  165,  and  quoted  in  N.  E.  D. — 
W.  A.  WRIGHT:    Generally  but  not  uniformly  applied  to  death  inflicted  by  law; 
for  instance,  it  is  apparently  an  intensive  phrase  in  Sackville's  Induction,  line  35: 
'It  taught  me  well  all  earthly  things  be  borne  To  dye  the  death.'     Shakespeare, 
however,  uses  the  expression  always  of  a  judicial  sentence.     Cf.  Ant.  6°  Cleop.,  IV, 
xiv,  26:   'She  hath  betray'd  me  and  shall  die  the  death.'     Even  when  Cloten  says 
to  Guiderius  'Die  the  death,'  he  looks  upon  himself  as  the  executioner  of  a  judicial 
sentence  in  killing  an  outlaw.     See  Matthew,  xv,  4. — Note  on  Midsummer  N.  Dream, 
I,  i,  74  (of  this  present  edition). 

133.  proper  hand]  ABBOTT  (§  16):  That  is,  'with  my  own  hand,'  as  in  French. 
135.  the  Gates  of  Luds-Towne]  See  III,  i,  39. 


liilltn  Fis's  Far*  srmH, 


298  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  iv,  sc.  ii. 

Bel.     No  Companies  abroad  ?  138 

Ami.     None  in  the  world  :  you  did  miftake  him  fure. 

Bel.     I  cannot  tell  :  Long  is  it  fince  I  faw  him,  140 

But  Time  hath  nothing  blurrM  thofe  lines  of  Fauour 
Which  then  he  wore :  the  fnatches  in  his  voice, 
And  burft  of  fpeaking  were  as  his  :  I  am  abfolute 
'Twas  very  Cloten. 

And.     In  this  place  we  left  them  ;  145 

I  wifh  my  Brother  make  good  time  with  him, 
You  fay  he  is  fo  fell. 

Bel.     Being  fcarfe  made  vp,  148 

138.  Companie's]  F2.    companies  Glo.  139.  him   fure]    him,    sure    Theob. 

Cam.    Company's  F3F4  et  cet.  Warb.  et  seq. 

abroad?]  Ff,  Glo.  Cam.    abroad,  142.  wore]  wrote  Pope. 

Cap.    abroad.  Rowe  et  cet.  143.  7  am]  I'm  Pope,+,  Dyce  ii,  Hi. 

140-143.  I  cannot  tell  ...  I  am  absolute]  VAUGHAN  (480):  'I  cannot 
tell'  is  contradicted  by  'I  am  absolute.'  Belarius,  however,  is,  in  truth,  thinking 
aloud;  and  each  act  of  memory  and  reflection,  which  his  speech  indicates,  leads  him 
further  from  the  doubt  with  which  he  commenced  his  speech,  until  at  last  he 
flatly  contradicts  it.  But  the  passage  is  so  punctuated  as  both  to  conceal  this 
fact  and  to  show  that  the  speech  is  not  thoroughly  understood.  [To  render  it 
'thoroughly  understood'  Vaughan  proposes  punctuation  which  differs  from  that 
before  us  merely  by  substituting  a  comma  and  dash  for  the  colon  after  'cannot 
tell,'  and  by  putting  a  full  stop  at  the  end  of  the  line  after  'him,'  and  a  comma 
after  '  Fauour.'  I  can  find  no  editors  who  have  thought  it  worth  while  to  elucidate 
a  passage  which,  whatever  its  punctuation  or  even  with  no  punctuation  at  all,  can 
fail  to  be  understood.  I  suppose  all  deemed  that  a  note  thereon  would  be  mere 
food  for  babes.  What  means  Vaughan  had  for  knowing  that  'the  speech  is  not 
thoroughly  understood'  it  is  not  easy  to  imagine. — ED.] 

141.  lines  of  Fauour]  This  is  nearly  equivalent  to  Cloten's  own  expression 
in  the  preceding  scene  where  he  speaks  of  'the  Lines  of  my  body.'   'Favour'  may, 
possibly,  refer  more  especially  to  the  features. — ED. 

142.  the    snatches    in   his    voice]   DOWDEN:    Catches,   seizures,   meaning,  I 
think,  a  violent  check  in  speech,  which  is  followed  by  a  'burst  of  speaking.'     I  know 
of  no  other  example;  but  the  Scottish  and  Irish  word  'ganch,'  verb  and  substantive, 
means  as  verb  to  stammer,  and  as  substantive  a  snatch  at  anything,  which  illus- 
trates the  double  meaning.     [Fluellen,  in  describing  Bardolph  to  King  Henry,  says 
'his  lips  blows  at  his  nose.' — Hen.  V:   III,  vi,  113. — ED.] 

143.  burst  of  speaking]  JOHNSON:    This  is  one  of  our  Author's  strokes  of 
observation.    An  abrupt  and  tumultuous  utterance  very  frequently  accompanies 
a  confused  and  cloudy  understanding. 

146.  make  good  time  with  him]  ECCLES:  That  is,  make  good  use  or  advan- 
tage of  the  time. 

148.  Being  scarse  made  vp]  INGLEBY:  That  is,  imperfectly  developed; 
as  we  say — 'not  all  there.'  Cf  Rich.  Ill:  I,  i,  21,  'scarce  half  made  up.'  Cloten 
was  then  but  a  youth,  though  now  a  middle-aged  man. — VAUGHAN  (p.  480) :  Theo- 


ACT    IV,   SC.  ii.j 


CYMBELINE 


I  meane  to  man ;  he  had  not  apprehenfion 
Of  roaring  terrors  :  For  defe<5l  of  iudgement 
Is  oft  the  caufe  of  Feare. 

Enter  Gnidcrins. 
But  fee  thy  Brother. 


299 


150 


153 


149.  man;]  man,  Theob.  et  seq. 

150.  roaring]  daring  Han.     warring 
Bailey. 

150,  151.  defett... caufe]  th' effect... 
cause  Theob.  Varr.  Ran.  Steev.  Var. 
'03,  '13,  Coll.  i,  Wh.  Glo.  defect.. .cure 
Han.  Mai.  Var.  '21,  Coll.  ii,  Dyce,  Sing. 
Hal.  defect... sauce  Sta.  defect... cease 
Hcrr,  Sprengel,  Dowden,  Dtn,  Vaun. 
defect... salve  Cartwright.  act  of. ..cause 
Crosby,  Huds.  defect. ..loss  Nicholson 


ap.  Cam.    reflex  of. ..cause  Bulloch  ap. 
Cam. 

150.  defett  of]  defective  Coll.  conj. 

151.  153.  As  one  line,  Rowe  et  seq. 
151-153.  Feare. ...Brother.]  fearless- 
ness.   But  see!     Thy  brother.  Elze. 

152.  Enter...]  After  line  153,  Rowe. 
Enter.. .with    Cloten's    Head.    Tbeob. 
Re-enter...  Cap. 

153.  fee  thy]  see,  thy  Theob.  Warb.  et 
seq. 


bald  does  not  correctly  explain  this  passage  [see  next  note]  when  he  says  'Being 
scarce  then  at  man's  estate,'  etc.  Shakespeare  was  describing  rather  a  constitutional 
than  a  temporary  peculiarity  of  Cloten,  and  intended  to  say,  that  being  hardly 
endowed  with  the  full  measure  of  human  qualities,  he  lacked  the  power  of  appre- 
ciating the  most  terrible  dangers.  The  '  making  up '  of  Shakespeare  is  the  pre-natal 
completeness  rather  than  the  post-natal  maturity.  So  in  Rich.  III.,  'Sent  before 
my  time  Into  this  breathing  world,  scarce  half  made  up.' — I,  i,  21.  It  is  consonant 
with  this  that  Belarius  says  of  him  hereafter  that  there  might  be  a  report  in  London 
of  their  wild  life:  'Which  he  hearing,  As  it  is  like  him,  might  break  out  and  swear 
He'd  fetch  us  in.'  Belarius  would  not  have  argued  this  from  what  he  had  been  to 
what  he  now  was,  if  what  he  had  been  was  the  effect  entirely  or  mainly  of  youth, 
and  therefore  transient. — THISELTON  (p.  38) :  The  passage  from  Rich.  Ill,  quoted 
by  Vaughan,  might  be  regarded  as  negativing  his  interpretation,  for  the  addition 
here  of  'I  meane  to  man'  may  be  designed  to  exclude  it.  It  seems  better,  then,  to 
take  Belarius  as  referring  to  the  time  when  Cloten  was  scarcely  full  grown.  Cf. 
'I  saw  him  not  these  many  yeares,'  line  89;  and  'Many  yeeres  (Though  Cloten  then 
but  young),  you  see,  not  wore  him  From  my  remembrance.' — IV,  iv,  31.  Unless 
Belarius  remembered  Cloten  as  nearly  full  grown,  he  would  scarcely  have  recognised 
him  after  'twenty  years'  (III,  iii,  76).  (It  maybe  mentioned,  by  the  way,  that  as- 
suming Cloten  to  have  been,  say,  17  years  of  age  when  Belarius  last  saw  him  before, 
he  will  now  be  3  7 ;  and  since  he  himself  says  that  he  is  '  no  lesse  young '  than  Posthu- 
mus  (IV,  i,  12),  Posthumus  must  be  at  least  that  age,  while  it  is  natural  to  conclude 
that  Imogen  is  considerably  younger.)  [For  the  conclusion  of  Thiselton's  remarks, 
see  the  next  note.] — DOWDEN:  I  think  the  meaning  is  '  Being  congenitally  half  a  fool.' 
149-151.  he  had  not  .  .  .  cause  of  Feare]  THEOBALD:  If  I  understand  this 
passage,  it  is  mock-reasoning  as  it  stands,  and  the  text  must  have  been  slightly  cor- 
rupted. Belarius  is  giving  a  description  of  what  Cloten  formerly  was,  and  in  answer 
to  what  Arviragus  says  of ' his  being  so  fell.'  '  Ay,'  says  Belarius, '  he  was  so  fell,  and 
being  scarce  then  at  man's  estate,  he  had  no  apprehension  of  roaring  terrors,'  i.  e., 
of  anything  that  could  check  him  with  fears.  But  then,  how  does  the  inference 
come  in,  built  upon  this?  For  defect  of  judgement  is  oft  the  cause  of  fear.  I  think 
the  Poet  means  to  have  said  the  mere  contrary.  Cloten  was  defective  in  judge- 


300  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  iv,  sc.  ii. 

[149-151.  he  had  not  .  .  .  cause  of  Feare] 

merit,  and  therefore  did  not  fear.  Apprehensions  of  fear  grow  from  a  judgement  in 
weighing  dangers.  And  a  very  easy  change,  from  the  traces  of  the  letters,  gives  us 
this  sense,  and  reconciles  the  reasoning  of  the  whole  passage:  'For  th' effect  of  judge- 
ment,' etc. — JOHNSON:  Sir  T.  Hanmer  reads  with  equal  justness  of  sentiment:  'the 
defect  of  judgement  Is  oft  the  cure  of  fear.'  But,  I  think,  the  play  of  'effect'  and 
'cause'  more  resembling  the  manner  of  our  Author. — CAPELL  (p.  115):  ''For  defect 
of  judgement'  etc.  This  is  a  true  maxim;  and  the  editor  has,  upon  this  very  occasion, 
proved  the  truth  of  it  in  himself;  for,  while  he  feared  to  be  too  free  with  his  Author, 
he  has  run  into  an  absurdity.  The  pointing  of  both  Folios  led  him  to  think  the  speech 
incompleat;  and  then  he  knew  there  were  many  ways  of  ending  it  so  as  to  make  the 
reasoning  consistent;  but  he  now  sees  that  this  cannot  be  admitted:  the  sentence 
is  compleat,  though  the  speech  were  not;  and  we  ought  not  to  suppose  that  such  a 
writer  as  Shakespeare  could  break  off  with  what  has  the  face  of  an  inference,  and  yet 
is  contrary  to  the  premises  it  is  drawn  from.  It  follows,  then,  that  the  speech  is 
compleat;  the  Folio  pointing  wrong,  and  some  word  in  the  sentence.  The  best 
amendment  that  offers  is  [Hanmer's]. — TOLLET:  If  'fear,  as  in  other  passages  of 
Shakespeare,  be  understood  in  an  active  signification  for  what  may  cause  fear,  it 
means  that  Cloten's  defect  of  judgement  caused  him  to  commit  actions  to  the  terror 
of  others,  without  due  consideration  of  his  own  danger  therein.  Thus  in  2  Hen.  IV : '  all 
these  bold  fears,  Thou  see'st  with  peril  I  have  answered.'  [IV,  v,  197.] — MALONE:  It 
is  undoubtedly  true  that  defect  of  judgement,  or  not  rightly  estimating  the  degree  of 
danger,  and  the  means  of  resistance,  is  often  the  cause  of  fear,  as  he  who  maturely 
weighs  all  circumstances  will  know  precisely  his  danger;  while  the  inconsiderate 
is  rash  and  fool-hardy,  but  neither  of  these  assertions,  however  true,  can  account  for 
Cloten's  having  no  apprehension  of  roaring  terrors;  and  therefore  the  passage  must 
be  corrupt.  [As  to  Theobald's  correction]  I  do  not  think  it  probable  that  Shake- 
speare would  say  the  effect  was  the  cause;  nor  do  I  think  the  effect  and  the  defect 
likely  to  have  been  confounded.  I  have,  therefore,  adopted  Hanmer's  emendation. 
—KNIGHT  reads,  'Being  scarce  made  up,  I  mean  to  man,  he  had  not  apprehension 
Of  roaring  terrors,  for  defect  of  judgement,  As  oft  the  cause  of  fear';  and  notes, 
'we  adopt  the  very  ingenious  suggestion  of  the  author  of  a  pamphlet  printed  at 
Edinburgh,  1814,  entitled,  "Explanations  and  Emendations  of  some  passages  in  the 
Text  of  Shakespeare,"  etc.  In  this  reading  of  As  for  "Is,"  Belarius  says  that 
Cloten,  before  he  arrived  at  man's  estate,  had  not  apprehension  of  terrors  on 
account  of  defect  of  judgement,  which  defect  is  often  the  cause  of  fear.' — DELIUS: 
Possibly  Knight's  emendation  should  be  adopted  as  far  at  least  as  that  'as  oft  the 
cause  of  fear'  should  refer  only  to  'judgement.' — STYLITES  (N.  &°  Q.,  I,  xi,  278,  April, 
1855) :  It  appears  to  me  that  'judgement'  (not  the  want  of  it)  is  represented  as  'oft 
the  cause  of  fear,'  and  that  the  sentence  ought  to  be  read  as  meaning  that  '  Cloten 
had  not  apprehension  of  terror,  on  account  of  his  want  of  a  quality,  judgement; 
which,  however  good  in  other  respects,  is  often  a  cause  of  fear.'  In  this  view  'as' 
[Knights'  reading]  signifies  'as  being,'  and  is  the  adverb  which  puts  'judgement'  and 
'cause'  in  opposition. — H.  C.  K.  (Ibid.,  p.  359,  May,  1855)  opines  that  Belarius  had 
not  finished  what  he  was  saying  when  the  entrance  of  Guiderius  caused  him  to 
stop  abruptly;  he  therefore  suggests  a  dash  after  'fear,'  and  thinks  that  'Shake- 
speare gives  his  hearers  credit  for  being  able  to  fill  up  what  remains  unuttered  by 
Belarius.'  He  himself  suggests,  'but  it  is  a  fear  of  imaginary  more  than  of  real 
dangers.' — WHITE  (ed.  i.) :  Hanmer  read  cure,  regardless  of  the  incongruity  between 


ACT  iv,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE  301 

[149-151.   he  had  not  .  .  .  cause  of  Feare] 

a  negative  condition  and  an  active  remedial  agent. — DYCE  (ed.  ii.)  characterises  this 
note  of  White  as  'over-subtle.' — STAUNTON:  The  old  text  has  'the  cause  of  fear,' 
the  direct  opposite  of  which  is  meant.  The  difficulty  appears  to  be  attributable 
to  a  very  common  metathesis;  the  letters  s  and  c  being  displaced.  Sauce,  which 
we  take  to  have  been  the  Poet's  word,  is  used  here  in  the  sense  of  a  corrective  or 
antidote,  as  in  Tro.  6°  Cress.:  'His  folly  sauced  with  discretion.' — I,  ii.  In  the  same 
way  Shakespeare  occasionally  employs  the  word  'physic.'  'The  labour  we  delight 
in  physics  pain.' — Macb.,  Ill,  iii. — HALLIWELL:  Hanmer's  emendation  is  the 
best  which  has  been  suggested. — The  CAMBRIDGE  EDITORS:  Since  none  of  the  pro- 
posed emendations  are  satisfactory,  we  leave  this  passage  as  it  stands  in  the  Folio. 
Possibly,  as  some  editors  have  suggested,  the  Author  may,  through  inadvertence, 
have  said  the  reverse  of  what  he  meant.  Or  a  whole  line,  ending  with  the  word 
'judgement,'  may  have  dropped  out,  and  the  original  sentence  may  have  been 
to  the  following  purport:  'for  defect  of  judgement  supplies  the  place  of  courage, 
while  true  judgement  is  oft  the  cause  of  fear.' — INGLEBY  (Am.  Bibliopolist,  Oct., 
1876)  says,  in  substance,  that  all  commentators  have  taken  'defect  of  judgement' 
as  meaning  the  total  absence  of  judgement,  whereas  it  means  the  defective  use  of  judge- 
ment. They  were  misled  also  by  interpreting  'scarce  made  up  to  man'  as  if  it 
referred  to  Cloten's  youth,  whereas  Cloten  was  a  middle-aged  man.  The  phrase, 
'made  up  to  man,'  really  signified:  in  the  full  possession  of  man's  judgement. 
Cloten,  being  'scarce  made  up,'  took  no  heed  of  terrors  and  thus  braved  danger; 
for  it  is  the  defective  use  of  judgement  which  is  oft  the  cause  of  fear. — ROLFE 
quotes  Ingleby  with  approval. — HERR  (p.  140):  'The  cause  of  fear'  is  undoubt- 
edly erroneous;  the  direct  opposite  is  clearly  meant  to  be  expressed.  It  is  an 
allusion  to  Cloten,  whose  weak  or  defective  judgement  blinded  him  to  true  danger; 
whereas  had  he  possessed  a  sound  judgement,  it  would  have  better  taught  him  to 
realise  his  peril,  and  thus,  possibly,  have  restrained  him  from  venturing  alone 
among  'outlaws  and  villain  mountaineers.'  The  textual  error  lies  in  the  word 
'cause,'  which  should  give  way  to  cease.  That  is,  'for  defect  of  judgement  often 
produces  the  lack  of  fear':  just  as  sometimes  with  children  and  fools,  who, 
being  deficient  in  judgement,  do  not  know  when  and  where  to  look  for,  or  ward  off, 
danger,  and  thus  rush  frequently  into  it.  [Herr  gives  many  examples  of  cease.]— 
SPENCE  (N.  6*  Q.,  VI,  i,  91,  Jan.,  1880)  regards  'being  scarce  made  up'  as  referring 
to  Cloten.  Guiderius,  with  the  rashness  of  youth,  would  rush  into  danger;  and 
Cloten  was  specially  to  be  dreaded,  because  he  was  little  other  than  a  maniac,  with 
a  maniac's  supernatural  bodily  strength. — HUDSON:  The  meaning  clearly  is  that 
Cloten,  before  he  grew  to  manhood,  was  too  thick-skulled  to  be  sensible  of  the 
loudest,  that  is,  the  most  evident  or  most  threatening  dangers.  But  a  foolhardy 
boldness,  springing  from  sheer  dulness  or  paralysis  of  judgement,  is  no  uncommon 
thing. — THISELTON:  The  force  of  this  passage  may,  then,  be  'you  may  expect  him 
to  be  "fell,"  for  at  an  age  when  lack  of  judgement,  springing  from  inexperience, 
usually  gives  rise,  in  the  presence  of  "roaring  terrors,"  to  fear  which  further  ex- 
perience shows  to  be  unjustified,  he  was  absolutely  unaffected  by  them.'  .  .  .  The 
conjecture  cease  for  'cause'  is  peculiarly  unfortunate,  for  surely  Belarius  is  not 
referring  to  the  cessation  of  what  has  once  been  in  existence,  but  rather  an  absence 
of  fear  from  the  first. — DOWDEN:  We  may  interpret,  'You  have  just  grounds  to 
be  anxious  about  Guiderius,  for  a  half  rational  creature,  like  Cloten,  is  often  to  be 
dreaded.'  Compare  Cor.,  IV,  vii,  39-47,  where  it  is  suggested  that  'defect  of  judge- 


302 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF 


[ACT  iv,  sc.  ii. 


GUI.     This  Cloten  was  a  Foole,  an  empty  purfe, 
There  was  no  money  in't  :  Not  Hercules  155 

Could  haue  knocked  out  his  Braines,  for  he  had  none  : 
Yet  I  not  doing  this,  the  foole  had  borne 
My  head,  as  I  do  his. 

Bel.     What  haft  thou  done  ? 

Gui.     I  am  perfect  what  :  cut  off  one  Clotens  head,  160 

Sonne  to  the  Queene  (after  his  owne  report) 
Who  calPd  me  Traitor,  Mountaineer,  and  fwore 
With  his  owne  fmgle  hand  heel'd  take  vs  in, 
Difplace  our  heads,  where  (thanks  the  Gods)  they  grow 
And  fet  them  on  Luds-Towne.  165 


154.  Foole}  Ff,  Rowe,+,  Coll.  Dyce, 
Sta.  Glo.  Cam.  fool;  Johns,  et  cet. 

Purfe}  purse;  Eel.  Coll.  ii,  Glo. 
Cam. 

1 60.  7  am]  I'm  Pope,+,  Dyce  ii,  iii. 
perfect]   perfect,   Theob.    Warb. 

Johns.  Varr.  Ran.  Steev.  Varr.  Knt. 

161.  report)}  report,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han. 
report;  Theob.  Warb.  et  seq. 

162.  Traitor,    Mountaineer}    traitor, 
mountaineer;    Cap.    et    seq.      traitor- 
mountainer  Sta.  conj.  (Athenaeum,  14 


June,  1873).     traitor  mountaineer,  Ingl. 
conj. 

163.  fmgle}  Om.  F3F4,  Rowe. 

vs   in,]    us   in;   Theob.    Warb. 
Johns. 

164.  (thanks  the  Gods)}  F2.    thanks  to 
th'Gods     F3F4,     Rowe,     Pope,    Theob. 
Han.  Warb.  Cap.  Mai.    thanks  ye  Gods, 
Johns,    thank  the  gods  Var.  '73  et  cet. 

165.  Luds-Towne]    Luds'  gate    Cap. 
conj.       Lud's-town     gates    Sta.    conj. 
(Athenaeum,  14  June,  1873). 


ment'  in  Coriolanus  'made  him  fear'd.'  But  the  run  of  the  passage  makes  it 
probable  that  these  words  assign  a  reason  for  the  absence  of  fear  in  Cloten.  I 
still  think  that  the  proposal  cease,  which  I  made,  independently  of  others,  in  the 
Parchment  Shakespeare,  is  not  unhappy. — CRAIG  :  This  passage,  I  think,  must  be 
wrong.  The  conjecture  cease  seems  most  happy.  [Belarius  is  giving  the  reasons 
why  Cloten  is  so  'fell.'  He  is  a  fool,  and  that  fools  are  the  cause  of  fear  is  as  old 
as  Solomon:  'A  stone  is  heavy,  and  the  sand  weighty;  but  a  fool's  wrath  is  heavier 
than  them  both.' — Proverbs,  xxvii,  3. — ED.] 

156.  Braines,  for  he  had  none]  STEEVENS:  Compare,  'Hector  shall  have  a 
great  catch,  if  he  knock  out  either  of  your  brains,  a'  were  as  good  crack  a  fusty 
nut  with  no  kernel.' — Tro.  6s  Cress.,  II,  i,  in. 

1 60.  I  am  perfect  what]  JOHNSON:  I  am  well -informed,  what.  So,  in  this 
play,  'I  am  perfect,  that  the  Pannonians  ...  are  now  in  Armes.' — III,  i,  80. 
[This  can  hardly  be  called  one  of  Dr.  Johnson's  happiest  definitions.  The  word, 
however,  needs  none. — ED.] 

163.  heel'd  take  vs  in]  JOHNSON:  To  'take  in'  was  the  phrase  in  use  for 
to  apprehend  an  outlaw,  or  to  make  him  amenable  to  public  justice. — STEEVENS: 
To  'take  in'  means,  simply,  to  conquer,  to  subdue.  So  in  Ant.  &•  Cleop.,  'quickly 
cut  the  Ionian  sea,  And  take  in  Toryne.' — III,  vii,  24. — M ALONE:  Cloten  had  not 
threatened  to  render  these  outlaws  'amenable  to  justice,'  but  to  kill  them  with 
his  own  hand.  See  line  133,  above.  In  line  185  'fetch  us  in'  is  used  in  the  sense 
assigned  by  Dr  Johnson  to  the  present  phrase. 


ACT    IV,   SC.   ii.] 


CYMBELINE 


303 


Bel.     We  are  all  vndone. 

GUI.    Why,  worthy  Father,  what  haue  we  to  loofe, 
But  that  he  fwore  to  take,  our  Liues  ?  the  Law 
Protects  not  vs,  then  why  fhould  we  be  tender, 
To  let  an  arrogant  peece  of  flefh  threat  vs  ? 
Play  Judge,  and  Executioner,  all  himfelfe  ? 
For  we  do  feare  the  Law.     What  company 
Difcouer  you  abroad  ? 

Bel.     No  fmgle  foule 
Can  we  fet  eye  on  :  but  in  all  fafe  reafon 
He  muft  haue  fome  Attendants.     Though  his  Honor 
Was  nothing  but  mutation,  I,  and  that 


1 66 


170 


175 
177 


1 66.  We  are]  We're  Pope,+,  Dyce  ii, 
iii. 

167.  loofe,]  F2F3.      lose  Dyce  ii,  iii. 
lose,  F4  et  cet. 

1 68.  that]  wJtat  Pope,-f. 

take,  o-ur]-F2.    take  our  F5F4. 

169.  not  vs,]  not  us;  Pope  et  seq. 

170.  vs?]  ns  Johns,     us;  Mai.  Steev. 
Var.  Knt,  Coll.  Sing,     us,  Dyce,  Sta. 
Glo.  Cam. 

171.  172.  himfelfe? . .  .the  Law.]  Theob. 
Warb.     himfelfe?. ..no  Law.  Ff,  Rowe, 
Pope,    Han.    Cap.       himself. ..the    law 
Johns,      himself. ..the    law?    Knt,    Coll. 


Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam.  himself?... the 
law?  Var.  '78,  '85,  Ran.  himself;... 
the  law?  Mai.  Steev.  Varr.  Sing. 

172.  do  feare]  dof  here  Warb.  conj. 
(N.  &  Q.,  VIII,  iii,  263). 

175.  on:]   Ff,   Rowe,+,   Dyce,   Glo. 
Cam.     on,  Cap.  et  cet. 

176.  Honor]  F2.    Honour  F3F4,  Rowe, 
Pope,    Theob.     i,   Warb.    Varr.     Mai. 
humour  Theob.  ii.  et  cet. 

177.  mutation,]    Ff,    Rowe,+,    Knt, 
Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam.    mutation;  Cap. 
et  cet. 

/,]  ay,  Rowe. 


170.  an  arrogant  peece  of  flesh]   Feste  says,  'thou   wert  as  pretty  a  piece 
of  Eve's  flesh  as  any  in  Illyria.' — Twelfth  Night,  I,  v,  30. — DOWDEN  quotes  Dog- 
berry, who  says  that  he  himself  is  '  as  pretty  a  piece  of  flesh  as  any  in  Messina.'- 
Much  Ado,  IV,  ii,  85. 

172.  For]  Other  examples  of  'for'  used  as  here,  in  the  sense  of  because,  may  be 
found  in  ABBOTT,  §  151;  but  this  special  sense  is  not  needed  by  those  editors  who 
adopt  the  text  of  F2,  which  HUNTER  (ii,  297)  says  is  'clearly  the  true  reading.' 
A  majority  of  the  best  editors  do  not,  however,  agree  with  him. — DEIGHTON  thus 
interprets  the  text  before  us:  'We  do  not  enjoy  the  protection  of  the  law;  then 
why  should  we  be  of  such  tender  conscience  as  to  let  an  arrogant  lump  of  clay 
like  this  threaten  us,  act  the  part  of  judge  and  executioner  all  in  one,  simply  be- 
cause of  our  respect  for  law?'  i.  e.,  we  do  not  enjoy  the  benefits  of  the  law,  why 
should  we  submit  to  insults,  etc.,  which  those  who  do  enjoy  them  are  bound  to 
submit  to;  why  not  take  the  law  into  our  own  hands,  seeing  it  will  not  help  us  to 
redress? — [In  the  Text.  Notes  Capell's  text  is  correctly  set  down  as  following  Rowe. 
In  his  Errata,  however,  he  withdraws  it,  and  anticipates  the  Var.  '78. — ED.] 

176,  177.  his  Honor  Was  nothing  but  mutation]  THEOBALD:  WTiat  has  his 
'Honor'  to  do  here,  in  his  being  changeable  in  this  sort?  in  his  acting  as  a  madman 
or  not?  I  have  ventured  to  substitute  humour;  and  the  meaning  seems  plainly 
this:  'Tho'  he  was  always  fickle  to  the  last  degree,  and  governed  by  Humour,  not 
sound  sense;  yet  not  madness  itself  could  make  him  so  hardy  as  to  attempt  an 


304  THE   TRACE  DIE  OF  [ACT  iv,  sc.  ii. 

From  one  bad  thing  to  worfe  :  Not  Frenzie,  178 

Not  abfolute  madneffe  could  fo  farre  haue  rau'd 

To  bring  him  heere  alone  :  although  perhaps  180 

It  may  be  heard  at  Court,  that  such  as  wee 

Caue  heere,  hunt  heere,  are  Out-lawes,  and  in  time 

May  make  fome  ftronger  head,  the  which  he  hearing, 

(As  it  is  like  him)  might  breake  out,  and  fweare 

Heel'd  fetch  vs  in,  yet  is't  not  probable  185 

To  come  alone,  either  he  fo  vndertaking, 

Or  they  fo  fuffering  :  then  on  good  ground  we  feare, 

If  we  do  feare  this  Body  hath  a  taile 

More  perillous  then  the  head.  189 

178,  179.  From. ..Not]  One  line,  Cap.  183.  head,}  head:  Pope  et  seq. 

etseq.  185.  Heel'd]    F2.      He'ld    F3,    Glo. 

178.  worfe:]  worse,  Knt,  Sta.  Cam.  Cam.     He'd  F4  et  cet. 

Not  Frenzie,]  yet  not  his  frenzy,  in,]  Ff,  Coll.    in;  Rowe  et  cet. 

Pope,  Theob.  Han.  Warb.  186.  To]  He'ld  Daniel. 

179.  Not]  Nor  Han.  ii.  either  he  Jo]  either  Jo  F3F4,  Rowe. 
madneffe]     madness,     Pope,-f,  nor  he  so  Pope,+. 

Coll.  187-190.  Three  lines,  ending:  ground 

180.  alone:]  alone  F2.     alone,   F3F4,         ...hath. ..Ordinance  Vaun. 
Rowe.  187.  Or]  Nor  Pope,+. 

182.  hunt]  haunt  F3F4,  Rowe,  Pope,  we]  I  Theob.  ii,  Warb. 

Theob.  Han.  Warb.  188.  feare]  fear,  Theob.  Warb. 

enterprise  of  this  nature  alone,  and  unseconded.'  The  like  mistake  of  'honor' 
for  humour  had  taken  place  in  a  passage  of  The  Merry  Wives,  I,  iii,  92,  which  I  cor- 
rected from  the  sanction  of  the  old  Qto. — WARBTJRTON:  The  text  is  right,  and 
means  that  the  only  notion  he  had  of  honour  was  the  fashion,  which  was  per- 
petually changing. — MASON  (p.  334):  The  sense  absolutely  requires  Theobald's 
amendment.  Belarius  is  speaking  of  Cloten's  disposition,  not  of  his  principles; 
and  this  agrees  with  what  Imogen  calls  him,  at  the  end  of  this  scene,  '  that  irregu- 
lous  devil,  Cloten.' — MALONE:  What  decisively  entitles  Theobald's  amendment  to 
a  place  in  the  text  is  [the  example  from  The  Merry  Wines,  cited  above.]  Again,  in 
the  Qto  of  Rom.  6°  Jul.,  1597,  we  find,  'Pursued  my  honor  not  pursueing  his.' 
And  again,  immediately  afterwards:  'Black  and  portentous  must  this  honor  prove.' 
-THISELTON:  A  nobleman, — who  would  be  referred  to  as  'his  Honor,' — might, 
of  course,  be  expected  under  the  circumstances  to  be  not  unaccompanied  by  at- 
tendants.— PORTER- CLARKE  also  hold  that  by  'his  Honor'  Cloten  is  meant,— 
'a  title  all  the  more  scornful  that  it  is  untrue  in  itself  and  denotes  nothing  but  the 
respect  his  rank  gives  him.'  They  may  be  right. — ED. 

185.  Heel'd  fetch  vs  in]  See  line  162,  'heel'd  take  vs  in.' 

186.  either]  'Perhaps,  in  some  measure,'  says  WALKER  (Vers.,  103),  'all  words 
in  -liter  are  frequently  used  as  monosyllables,  or  so  nearly  such  that  in  a  metrical 
point  of  view  they  may  be  regarded  as  monosyllables.     Some,  as  whether,  were 
undoubtedly  contracted,  whe'r.    This  usage  is  more  frequent  in  some  words  than 
in  others,  e.  g.,  in  whether  than  in  hither,  whither,  etc.     Either  occurs  not  unfre- 
quently  even  in  the  unaccented  places.' 


ACT  iv,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE  305 

And.     Let  Ord'nance  190 

Come  as  the  Gods  fore-fay  it  :  howfoere, 
My  Brother  hath  done  well. 

Bel.     I  had  no  minde 

To  hunt  this  day  :  The  Boy  Fideles  fickneffe 
Did  make  my  way  long  forth.  195 

Gui.     With  his  owne  Sword, 

Which  he  did  waue  againft  my  throat,  I  haue  tane 
His  head  from  him  :  He  throw't  into  the  Creeke 
Behinde  our  Rocke,  and  let  it  to  the  Sea, 

And  tell  the  Fifties,  hee's  the  Queenes  Sonne,  Cloten,  200 

That's  all  I  reake.  Exit. 

Bel.    I  feare  'twill  be  reueng'd  :  202 

190.  Ordinance]   Ff,   Sta.     ordinance  199.  Rocke,]  Ff,  Rowe,  Johns.  Cam. 
Pope  et  cet.                                                       rock;  Pope  et  cet. 

191.  Come]  Come,  F3F4,  Rowe,+.  200.  And  tell]  To  tell  Anon.  ap.  Cam. 
fore-fay    it:]    F2.      fore-fay    it,  Cloten,]  Cloten.  Pope,+.     Clo- 

F,F4.   foresay  it,  Rowe,  Pope,   foresay        ten:  Cap.  et  seq. 

it;  Theob.  et  cet.  201.  reake]    F2F3.      reak    F4,    Rowe. 

197.  /  haue]  I've  Pope,+,  Dyce  ii,         reck  Pope  et  seq. 

iii.  202.  reueng'd:]  reveng'd.  Johns. 

190.  Ord'nance]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.) :  That  which  is  ordained  or  decreed  by  the 
Deity  or  Fate.     [Present  passage  here  quoted.] 

191.  fore-say]   MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.)  defines  this  word  by  'to  say  beforehand,' 
'foretell,'  'predict.' — DOWDEN  suggests,  and  I  agree  with  him,  that  it  here  means 
'to  determine,'  'will,'  rather  than  'predict.' 

193-194.  I  had  no  minde  To  hunt  this  day]  EcCLES:  Belarius  seems  to 
regret  his  having  been  induced  to  depart  from  home,  as  if  the  misfortune  he  laments 
had  been  the  consequence  of  his  absence  from  thence,  when  it  is  evident,  from  their 
first  appearance  in  this  scene,  together  with  Imogen,  when  they  were  only  prepar- 
ing to  set  out,  they  have  never  departed  from  the  cave,  except  during  the  short 
period  while  he  and  Arviragus  go  out  to  search  for  the  companions  of  Cloten;  and 
the  latter  goes  off  fighting  with  Guiderius  and  Cloten  is  killed.  This  appears 
to  have  been  a  very  unaccountable  oversight  in  the  writer.  [Where  is  the  'over- 
sight'? It  is  a  dramatic  necessity  that  they  should  be  as  near  as  may  be  to  the 
cave. — ED.] 

195.  Did  make  my  way  long  forth]  JOHNSON:  Fidele's  sickness  made  my 
•walk  forth  from  the  cave  tedious. 

198.  throw't  into  the  Creeke]    DOWDEN'S    comment    on    'Creeke,'    that    it 
'probably  means  a  "stream,"  see  line  238,'  sounds  strange  enough  to  us  Americans, 
to  whom  'creek,'  as  the  designation  of  a  small  stream,  is  familiar  enough.     What 
are  'rivers'  in  England,  such  as  the  Thames,  would  be  probably  here  called  'creeks.' 
'Gunpowder  Creek,'  which  every  traveller  in  the  cars  from  the  North  to  Washing- 
ton crosses,  is  five  thousand  one  hundred  feet  wide, — that  is,  almost  exactly  a 
mile. — ED. 


20 


306  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  iv,  sc.  ii. 

Would  (Polidore)  thou  had'ft  not  done't  :  though  valour       203 
Becomes  thee  well  enough. 

Ami.   Would  I  had  done't :  205 

So  the  Reuenge  alone  purfu'de  me  :  Polidore 
I  loue  thee  brotherly,  but  enuy  much 
Thou  haft  robb'd  me  of  this  deed  :  I  would  Reuenges 
That  poffible  ftrength  might  meet,  wold  feek  vs  through 
And  put  vs  to  our  anfwer.  210 

Bel.     Well,  'tis  done  : 

Wee'l  hunt  no  more  to  day,  nor  feeke  for  danger  I 
Where  there's  no  profit.     I  pry  thee  to  our  Rocke, 
You  and  Fidele  play  the  Cookes  :  He  ftay 

Till  hafty  Polidore  returne,  and  bring  him  215 

To  dinner  prefently. 

Arm.     Poore  ficke  Fidele.  217 


203.  Would]  Woul  F4.  -  et  cet. 

203,   206,    215.   Polidore]    Paladour  208.  Thou  haft]  Thou'st  Pope,-}-. 

Theob. +,  Cap.  Reuenges]  revenges,  Cap.  et  seq. 

203.  done't:]  Ff,  Rowe.    done't,  Coll.  209.  wold]  F2.    would  F3F4. 

done't!  Pope  et  cet.  through]  F2F3,  Knt,  Glo.  Cam. 

205.  done't:]  done't,  F4,  Rowe  et  seq.  thro',    Rowe    ii,+,       through,    F4    et 

206.  me:]  Ff,  Rowe.    me.  Coll.    me!  cet. 

Pope  et  cet.  213.  /  prythee]  Pr'ylhee  Pope,  Theob. 

207.  brollierly,]    Ff,    Rowe,+,    Coll.  Han.  Warb.    Hie,  prythee    Ingl.  conj. 
Glo.  Cam.    brotherly;  Cap.  et  cet.  Rocke,]  rock;  Cap.  et  seq. 

much]   Ff,    Rowe,    Pope,    Knt,  217.  Poore]  Pore  F2. 

Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam.     much,  Theob.  Fidele.]  Fidele!  Rowe  et  seq. 


208,  209.  Reuenges  That  possible  strength  might  meet]  JOHNSON:  Such 
pursuit  of  vengeance  as  fell  within  any  possibility  of  opposition. — VAUGHAN 
(p.  484):  I  should  expound,  'I  would  that  such  a  punishing  force  would  seek  us 
out  as  the  full  amount  of  strength  which  it  is  possible  for  any  three  men  to  possess 
could  cope  with.'  It  is  the  strength,  and  not  the  'meeting'  or  'opposition,'  which 
is  'possible.'  But  the  passage  would  be  more  suggestive  of  its  own  meaning  if 
read,  as  not  improbably  it  was  written,  thus:  'That  possible  strength  might  meet, 
would  seek  us  three,  And  put  us,'  etc.  Polydore  wishes  first  to  have  done  the  deed 
himself  that  he  might  answer  for  it  alone;  then  he  wishes  that  as  Polydore  [Qu. 
Guiderius?]  has  done  it,  so  many  as  the  possible  strength  of  three  could  meet, 
might  call  the  three  to  answer  for  it.  'To  seek  us  through'  for  'to  find  us'  is  not, 
so  far  as  I  am  aware,  an  expression  proper  to  this  age  or  to  Shakespeare:  'Seek  us 
out'  would  be  the  right  phrase.  'Seek  out'  occurs  twenty  times  in  the  sense  here 
necessary  to  apply;  to  'seek  through'  in  the  same  sense  occurs,  I  believe,  nowhere. 
'Three'  in  Shakespeare's  MS.  might  be  misread  or  misprinted  'thro.'  'Three* 
is  needed  to  give  meaning  to  'possible  strength.'  Two  such  wishes  are  as  noble 
as  the  character  which  gives  speech  to  them. 


ACT  iv,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE  307 

He  willingly  to  him,  to  gaine  his  colour,  218 

I  I'd  let  a  parifh  of  fuch  Clotens  blood, 

And  praife  my  felfe  for  charity.  Exit.  220 

Bel.     Oh  thou  Goddeffe, 

Thou  diuine  Nature ;  thou  thy  felfe  thou  blazon'ft 
In  thefe  two  Princely  Boyes  :  they  are  as  gentle 
As  Zephires  blowing  below  the  Violet,  224 

218.  to  him]  him;  Rowe  et  seq.  '85.      Nature;    thy    Ff.      Nature!    thy 
his]  him  Daniel.  Rowe.    Nature!  how  thy  Pope  et  cet. 

219.  I  I'd]   F2.     rid   F3,   Glo.    Cam.  223.  Boyes:]     boys?     Pope.       boys! 
I'll  Var.  '85.    I'd  F4  et  cet.                            Theob.  et  seq. 

parijh]  marish  Warb.  Han.  223-233.  Mnemonic  Pope,  Warb. 

220.  charity.}  charity,  Ff.  224.  Zephires]  zephyrs  Rowe.  Zephyr 
222.  Nature;  thou  thy]  Var.  '73,  '78,         Blair  ap.  Cam. 

218.  to  gaine  his  colour]   STEEVENS:   That  is,  to  restore  him  to  the  bloom  of 
health,  to  recall  the  colour  of  it  into  his  cheeks. 

219.  Il'd    let    a   parish    of   such    Clotens    blood]   WARBURTON:    This  non- 
sense should  be  corrected  thus,  'I'd  let  a  marish'  etc.,  i.  e.,  a  marsh  or  lake.     So 
Smith,  in  his  account  of  Virginia,  'Yea,  Venice,  at   this   time  the  admiration  of 
the  earth,  was  at  first  but  a  marish,  inhabited  by  poor  fishermen.' — JOHNSON:  The 
learned  commentator  has  dealt  the  reproach  of  nonsense  very  liberally  through 
this  play.      Why  this  is  nonsense  I  cannot  discover.     I  would,  says  the  young 
Prince,  to  recover  Fidele  kill  as  many  Cloten's  as  would  fill  a  'parish.' — EDWARDS 
(p.  62):  The  sense  of  the  passage  is  that  I  would  bleed  any  number  of  such  fellows 
as  Cloten;  not  that  I  would  let  out  a  parish  of  blood;  so  that  Mr  Warburton  may 
keep  his  marish  to  be  inhabited,  as  he  says  Venice  was,  by  poor  fishermen,  with- 
out letting  it  blood,  which  might  make  it  agueish.     But  if  the  reader  approves  his 
'correction'  it  will  lead  us  to  another  passage  in  V,  v,  359,  where  in  'hath  More  of 
thee  merited,  than  a  Band  of   Clotens  Had  euer  scarre  for'  we  may  read  instead, 
'than  a  pond  of  Clotens  Had  ever  shore  for.' 

222.  diuine]  Accented  on  the  first  syllable;  it  precedes  the  noun.  See  also 
II,  i,  56. 

222.  Nature;  thou  thy  selfe  thou  blazon'st]  POPE'S  change  of  'thou 
thyself  to 'how  thyself  was,  through  an  unusual  forgetfulness,  claimed  by  MALONE, 
and  also  suggested  as  a  new  reading  by  MASON. — VAUGHAN  (p.  486)  asserts  that  it 
is  wrong.  The  line  in  the  Folio  should  be  retained,  but  thus  punctuated:  'Thou, 
divine  Nature  thou,  thyself  thou  blazon'st.'  [The  repetition  of  'thou'  three  times, 
with  'thyself  thrown  in  between,  in  one  line,  sounds  nautical, — like  boxing  the 
compass. — ED.] 

224.  blowing]  In  WALKER'S  Versification  (p.  119)  there  is  an  article  which 
should  be,  I  think,  carefully  avoided  by  all  who  believe  that  there  is  really  such  a 
thing  as  a  well  of  English  pure  and  undefiled.  In  it  he  promulgates  the  idea  that 
words  wherein  a  short  vowel  is  preceded  by  a  long  one  may  be  frequently  con- 
tracted, and  participles  almost  always.  In  the  present  instance  he  would  have 
us  pronounce  'blowing'  as  a  monosyllable.  How  it  can  be  done,  without  recourse 
to  the  speech  of  The  Bowery  or  Whitechapel,  it  is  not  easy  to  see.  But  ha'ng  laid 
down  this  jew'l  of  a  rule  he  is  able  to  regard  some  po'ms  written  by  po'ts  as  un- 
dy'ng  po'try. — ED. 


308  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  iv,  sc.  ii. 

Not  wagging  his  fvveet  head  ;  and  yet,  as  rough  225 

(Their  Royall  blood  enchaf'd)  as  the  rud'ft  winde, 

That  by  the  top  doth  take  the  Mountaine  Pine, 

And  make  him  ftoope  to  th'Vale.    'Tis  wonder 

That  an  inuifible  inftincl:  fhould  frame  them 

To  Royalty  vnlearn'd,  Honor  vntaught,  230 

Ciuility  not  feene  from  other  :  valour 

That  wildely  growes  in  them,  but  yeelds  a  crop 

As  if  it  had  beene  fow'd  :  yet  ftill  it's  ftrange 

What  Clotens  being  heere  to  vs  portends, 

Or  what  his  death  will  bring  vs.  235 

Enter  Giddereus. 
Gui.     Where's  my  Brother? 

j 

I  naue  fent  Clotens  Clot-pole  downe  the  ftreame,  238 

226.  rud'Jl]  rude  Pope,  Han.     rudest        Varr.  Dyce,  Sing. 

Ktly,  Glo.  Cam.  231.  other:]  other,  Johns.  Coll.  Ktly, 

228.  th'Vale]  th'Vaile  F2F3.    tk'Vatt  Glo.  Cam. 

F4,  Rowe.    the  vale  Cap.  et  cet.  valour]    F2,    Johns.    Coll.    Gio, 

'Tis]  It  is  Nicholson  ap.  Cam.  Cam.     valour,  F3F4  et  cet. 

Vaun.  233.  fow'd:]   sow'd.   Pope,+,    Dyce, 

wonder]  wonderful  Pope,  +  ,  Cap.  Glo.  Cam.    soiu'd!  Cap.  et  cet. 

Varr.  Ran.  Steev.  Varr.  Ktly.  234,  238.  Clotens]  Cloten's  Rowe. 

230.  vnlearn 'd,... vntaught,]  unlearn'd;  235.  vs.]  us?  Pope. 

...untaught;  Cap.  Varr.  Mai.  Ran.  Steev.  238.  Clot-pole]  clot  poll  Steev.  et  seq. 

227.  by   the   top    doth    take   the    Mountaine    Pine,    etc.]    Compare    Anto- 
nio's remonstrance:    'You  may  as  well  forbid  the  mountain  pines  To  wag  their 
high  tops  and  to  make  no  noise.     When  they  are  fretten  with  the  gusts  of  heaven.' 
— Mer.  of  Ven.,  IV,  i,  75. — See  Ruskin's  note  on  the  pine  tree,  IV,  ii,  78. 

228.  'Tis    wonder]  WALKER    (Crit.,    in,    327):     Of    course, — wonderful.     [Of 
course,  Walker  was  unaware  that  Pope  had  anticipated  him  long  before.     LETTSOM, 
in  a  foot-note,  remarks,  'Most  subsequent  editors,  against  the  authority  of  the 
Folio,  give  "the  vale"  for   "th'vale,"  thus  ruining  the  verse,  which,  in  the  old 
copies,  is  metrical  as  far  as  it  goes,  but  obtaining  ten  syllables  of  prose.'     It  was 
Capell,  the  unpitying  foe  of  the  abbreviated  th\  who  wrote  'the'  in  full.     The 
original  line  is  metrical,  if  we  properly  make  allowance  for  a  mora  vacua  after 
'Vale.'— ED.] 

229.  inuisible  instinct]  WARBURTON:    One  not  well  acquainted  with  Shake- 
speare's manner,  in  the  licentiousness  of  his  language  and  the  profoundness  of  his 
sense,  would  be  apt  to  think  he  wrote  invincible,  i.  e.,  that  bore  down  all  before  it. — 
HEATH  (p.  484) :   That  is,  an  instinct  the  cause  of  which  was  unknown,  and  which, 
therefore,  could  not  be  discovered,  or  even  suspected,  till  it  manifested  itself 
on  a  sudden  by  its  effects.     The  metre  would  be  much  improved  by  the  slight 
transposition,  'an  instinct  invisible.' — M ALONE:   Probably  Heath  did  not  perceive 
that  in  Shakespeare's  time  the  accent  was  laid  on  the  second  syllable  of  the  word 
'instinct.'     So,  'As  if  by  some  instinct  the  wretch  did  know.' — Sonn.,  1,  7. 

238.  Clotens   Clot-pole]  The  grim  jingle  here  is  plain.     MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.) 


CT  iv,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE  309 

In  Embaffie  to  his  Mother;  his  Bodie's  hoftage 

For  his  returne.  Solemn  Mufick.       240 

Bd.     My  ingenuous  InlTrument, 
(Hearke  Polidorcy\\.  founds  :but  what  occafion 
Hath  Cadwal  now  to  giue  it  motion  ?  Hearke.  243 

239.  Bodie's]   Bodies   F3F4.      Body's  et  seq. 
Rowe.  242.  Polidore]      Paladour!      Theob. 

hojlage]  hoajlage  F2.  Warb.  Johns. 

241.  ingenuous]  ingenious  Rowe.  founds:]     Ff,     Rowe,+,     Coll. 

Injlrument,]    instrument!    Pope  sounds!  Cap.  et  cet. 

finds  in  1606,  in  Tro.  &  Cress.,  'I'll  see  you  hanged,  like  clotpoles,  ere  I  come 
anymore  to  your  tents.' — II,  i,  128.  Its  earliest  use,  'a  thick  wooden  head,'  is 
in  the  present  passage.  The  word  seems,  therefore,  to  be  a  bantling  of  Shake- 
speare.— ED. 

241.  ingenuous  Instrument]  HUNTER  (ii,  297):  Without  having  had  the 
opportunity  of  investigating  the  history  of  the  invention  of  the  /Eolian  Harp,  I 
believe  that  this  is  the  instrument  of  which  Belarius  speaks,  and  which  produced 
the  'solemn  music.'  'Hark,  Polydore,  it  sounds!'  The  instrument  itself  witl  out 
the  intervention  of  a  player.  '  But  what  occasion  Hath  Cadwal  now  to  give  it 
motion?  Hark!'  to  open  the  box  and  expose  the  wires  to  the  breeze,  not  to  play 
upon  it;  for  we  are  next  informed,  as  if  it  were  the  Poet's  intention  to  show  us  that 
the  instrument  produced  the  music  without  the  aid  of  any  performer,  that  Cad- 
wal was  gone.  'Is  he  at  home?'  'He  went  hence  even  now.'  And  Imogen,  the 
only  other  person  who  could  have  been  playing  on  it,  was  dead,  and  is  almost 
immediately  afterwards  brought  in  by  Cadwal.  It  is  to  prepare  us  for  this  affect- 
ing incident  that  the  music  is  introduced.  There  is  further  preparation  in  the 
reference  to  the  death  of  Euryphile.  I  know  not  that  this  has  ever  before  been 
suggested,  or  that  the  passage  has  ever  before  been  rightly  explained. — WALKER 
(Crit.,  i,  100)  quotes  examples  of  the  use  of  enginous  by  Webster,  Dekker,  and 
Middleton,  and  adds:  'in  Shakespeare,  as  in  these  examples,  the  meaning  is, 
ingenio  factum,  artificial,  constructed  by  art;  write,  therefore — poslulante  etiam  metro 
(for  the  elision  of  y  in  my  is  not  in  Shakespeare's  way) — enginous  or  inginous.  .  .  . 
Ingine  or  engine,  as  is  well  known  by  those  conversant  in  our  old  writers,  was  used 
by  them  to  denote  a  contrivance,  whether  in  the  form  of  an  artifice  or  strategem, 
or  of  a  weapon,  instrument,  or  piece  of  machinery.  From  the  former  sense,  we  have 
the  name  Malengin  in  Spenser,  F.  Q.,  B.  v,  C.  ix,  St.  v;  and  so  understand  Bacon, 
Essay  on  Superstition,  " — the  schoolmen  were  like  astronomers,  which  did  feign 
eccentrics  and  epicycles,  and  such  engines  of  orbs,  to  save  the  phenomena,  though 
they  knew  there  were  no  such  things"-—  devices.  I  find  it  used  in  the  latter  sense 
as  late  as  the  Pilgrim's  Progress,  P.  i.,  Christian's  visit  to  the  House  Beautiful, — 
"they  also  shewed  him  some  of  the  engines  with  which  some  of  his  (their  Lord's) 
servants  had  done  wonderful  things.  They  showed  him  Moses's  rod;  the  hammer 
and  the  nail  with  which  Jae!  slew  Sisera,"  etc.  For  engine,  as  is  well  known,  they 
sometimes  used  gin.  .  .  .  Engine  is  also  used  in  the  strict  sense  of  ingenium.'- 
DYCE  (ed.  ii.):  Though  ingenious  was  often  used  for  'ingenuous'  (and  in  rare 
cases  the  latter  for  the  former) ,  Shakespeare  would  not  have  written  '  ingenuous ' 
here. 


THE   TRACE  DIE  OF  [ACT  iv,  sc.  ii. 

Gui.     Is  he  at  home  ? 

Bel.     He  went  hence  euen  now.  245 

Gui.     What  does  he  meane  ? 
Since  death  of  my  deer'ft  Mother 
It  did  not  fpeake  before.     All  folemne  things 
Should  anfwer  folemne  Accidents.     The  matter? 
Triu mphes  for  nothing,  and  lamenting  Toyes,  250 

Is  lollity  for  Apes,  and  greefe  for  Boyes. 
Is  Cadwall  mad  ? 

Enter  Aruigarus,  with  Imogen  dead,  bearing 

her  in  his  Armcs.  254 

246,  247.  One  line,  Pope  et  seq.  252-255.  mad?. ..Ed.     Looke]    mad? 

247.  death]  the  death  Ktly  conj.  Bel.     Cad-wall — Look  Walker.     Mad? 
deer'Jl]  dear  Pope,  Han.     dear-         Cadwal!  Bel.     Look  Elze. 

est  Varr.  Mai.  Ran.  Ktly.     dear' ft  Ff  253.  Enter...]  After    line     257,    Re- 

et  cet.  -enter...  Dyce,  Glo. 

250-252.  In  margin,  Pope,  Han.  Scene    v.    Pope,    Han.    Warb. 

250.  lamenting    laments    in    Anon.  Johns, 
ap.  Cam.  dead]  as  dead  Cap.  et  seq. 

250,  251.  Triumphes  for  nothing  .  .  .  greefe  for  Boyes]  CAPELL  (p. 
116):  It  may  be  right  to  give  the  reader  some  notice  of  a  liberty  that  is  taken 
by  [Pope  and  Hanmer]  of  rejecting  [this]  couplet,  and  two  others  before  it,  [lines 
32-37  and  45-47];  licenses  of  this  sort  ought  never  to  be  taken  at  any  time  with- 
out reasons  that  carry  instant  conviction,  which  cannot  be  urged  for  any  of  the 
above-mentioned  couplets;  whose  meanness  (the  cause,  in  all  likelihood,  of  their 
being  rejected)  may  have  a  source  they  were  not  aware  of,  namely,  that  they 
are  only  quotations;  they  have  the  air  of  it,  each  of  them;  and  what  at  present  is 
only  conjecture,  may  very  possibly  be  turned  into  truth  by  the  happy  diligence 
of  some  future  researcher.  [It  is  certainly  a  step  in  the  right  direction  to  acknowl- 
edge that  these  couplets  may  be  'only  quotations'  and  none  of  Shakespeare's. 
They  are  all  not  only  wretched  stuff  in  themselves,  but  the  hand  which  inserted 
the  present  lines  in  this  solemn  passage  is  little  short  of  sacrilegious.  No  matter 
what  'apes'  may  mean,  whether  boys  or  simians,  the  very  word  is  grating  discord. 
I  do  not  forget  how  lachimo  uses  it  in  Imogen's  chamber, — it  is  not  there  in  the 
plural,  but  is  almost  a  verb. — ED.] 

250.  lamenting  Toyes]  DOWDEN:    That  is,  lamentation  for  trifles. 

251.  Apes]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  4.)  quotes  this  passage  under  the  defini- 
tion 'A  fool.' — DOWDEN:    Often    used    specially  of    sportive  youngsters.     So  in 
The  Pilgrimage  to  Parnassus  (ed.  Murray,  p.  21),  a  schoolmaster  is  described  as 
' interpretinge  pueriles  confabulationes  to  a  companie  of  seaven-yeare-olde  apes.' 

252.  Is  Cadwall  mad?]  THISELTON  (p.  39):   Guiderius  thinks  that  Arviragus 
has  set  the  '  ingenuous  instrument '  going  either  to  celebrate  his  (G.'s)  victory  over 
Cloten  or  by  way  of  threnody  for  Cloten's  death. 

253.  with   Imogen   dead]   Capell  was  afflicted  with  a  chronic  propensity  to 
insert  stage  directions.      Possibly  in  his  secret  soul  he  believed  that  in  him  the 
world  had  lost  a  consummate  actor.     However  this  may  be,  he  certainly  had  no 


ACT  iv,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE  ^U 

Bel.     Looke,  heere  he  comes,  255 

And  brings  the  dire  occafion  in  his  Armes, 
Of  what  we  blame  him  for. 

Ami.     The  Bird  is  dead 

That  we  haue  made  fo  much  on.     I  had  rather 
Haue  skipt  from  fixteene  years  of  Age,  to  fixty  :  260 

To  haue  turn'd  my  leaping  time  into  a  Crutch, 
Then  haue  feene  this.  262 

255.  comes,}  comes!  Pope,+.  261.  To  haue\  And  Pope,-f.  Var.  '78, 

257-  for.]    Ff,    Rowe,+,    Cap.    Coll.  '85.    Pha-ve  Dyce  ii,  iii. 
Ktly,  Glo.  Cam.     comes!  Var.  '78  et  leaping  time]  leaping-time  Dyce, 

cet.  Glo.    Cam.       leaping-pole    Ktly   conj. 

258-262.  Mnemonic  Pope.  leaping  pine  Coll.  iii.  conj. 

259.  on.]  on!  Pope,+.  time  into]  timber  to  Vaun. 

faith  in  the  intelligence  of  the  public.  If,  in  any  one  of  the  plays,  a  speaker  should 
say,  'Here,  take  this  purse,'  Capell  was  instantly  at  hand  with  a  kind  of  double 
dagger  of  his  own  device,  which  he  added  to  the  speech  to  indicate  to  his  readers 
that  something  was  here  offered.  Thus,  in  the  present  instance,  it  were  pity  of  his 
life  that  the  public  should  be  for  one  minute  deceived  as  to  Imogen's  true  condi- 
tion; wherefore,  when  the  original  text  says  with  'Imogen  dead,'  CapelFs  busy  and 
tender  heart  softened  the  blow  to  his  readers  by  saying  'as  dead.'  And  from  that 
day  to  this  he  has  been  followed  by  a  long  array  of  equally  tender-hearted  editors, 
with,  as  far  as  I  know,  J.  W.  Craig  as  the  only  stony  hearted  exception. — ED. 

258.  The  Bird  is  dead,  etc.]  VERPLANCK  quotes  the  following  from  MRS 
RADCLIFFE:  'No  master  ever  knew  how  to  touch  the  accordant  springs  of  sym- 
pathy by  small  circumstances  like  our  own  Shakespeare.  In  Cymbeline  how  finely 
such  circumstances  are  made  use  of  to  awaken,  at  once,  solemn  expectations  and 
tenderness,  and,  by  recalling  the  softened  remembrance  of  a  sorrow  long  past,  to 
prepare  the  mind  to  melt  at  one  that  is  approaching;  mingling  at  the  same  time, 
by  means  of  a  mysterious  occurrence,  a  slight  tremor  of  awe  with  our  pity.  Thus, 
when  Belarius  and  Arviragus  return  to  the  cave  where  they  had  left  the  worn-out 
Imogen  to  repose,  while  they  were  yet  standing  before  it,  and  Arviragus — speaking 
of  her  with  tenderest  pity  as  "poor  sick  Fidele"  —goes  out  to  inquire  for  her,  solemn 
music  is  heard  from  the  cave,  sounded  by  that  harp  of  which  Guiderius  says, 
"Since  the  death  of  my  dearest  Mother,  it  did  not  speak  before."  "All  solemn 
things  should  answer  solemn  accidents."  Immediately  Arviragus  enters  with 
Fidele  senseless  in  his  arms:  "While  summer  lasts,  and  /  live  here,  Fidele,  I'll 
sweeten  thy  sad  grave."  Tears  alone  can  speak  the  touching  simplicity  of  the 
whole  scene.' 

260.  from    sixteene   yeares   of  Age,    to   sixty]  HERTZBERG:     If   Arviragus 
here  puts  his  own  age  at  sixteen,  it  will  well  accord  with  what  he  says  of  both  their 
voices,  that  they  'have  got  the  mannish  cracke'  (line  307);  but  not  at  all  with  the 
accounts  of  Belarius  (III,  iii,  76,  and  III,  iii,  no)  and  the  Nobleman  (I,  i,  69); 
according  to  these  Guiderius  must  be  twenty-three  years  old  and  Arviragus  twenty- 
two. 

261.  leaping  time]  That  is,  the  time  of  leaping,  which  is  as  symbolic  of  sixteen 
years  and  youth  as  a  crtitch  is  of  sixty  years  and  old  age. — ED. 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF 


[ACT  iv,  sc.  ii. 


Gui.    Oh  fweeteft,  fayreft  Lilly  : 
My  Brother  weares  thee  not  the  one  halfe  fo  well, 
As  when  thou  grew' ft  thy  felfe. 

Bel.    Oh  Melancholly, 

Who  euer  yet  could  found  thy  bottome?  Finde 
The  Ooze,  to  fhew  what  Coaft  thy  fluggifh  care 


263 
265 


268 


263.  Lilly:]  lilly!  Rowe  et  seq. 

264.  the  one]  one  Rowe  ii,+- 

266.  Melancholly,]  Melancholy!  Pope 
et  seq. 

267.  found    thy]    sound    the    Eccles 
conj. 

found     thy     bottome?       Finde] 
round  thy  bottom  find  Vaun. 

268.  The  Ooze]  Thy  ooze  Huds. 
Ooze,  to]  Ooze?  or  Cap.     ooze,  or 

Ran. 


268.  what]  that  Ff. 

268,  269.  Coo/2  thy...care  Mighi'fl] 
shore  thy. ..crare  Could  or  shore  his... 
crave  Might  Vaun. 

268.  thy  Jluggijh  care]  thou,  sluggish 
care,  Cap.  thou,  sluggish  crare,  Mai. 
conj. 

care]  carrack  Theob.  Warb. 
Johns,  carack  Han.  crare  Sympson, 
Var.  '73  et  seq. 


264.  the  one]  WALKER  (Crit.,  ii,  91):  'One,'  in  Shakespeare's  time,  was  com- 
monly pronounced  un  (a  pronunciation  not  yet  obsolete  among  the  common  folk), 
and  sometimes,  apparently,  on.  [In  the  present  line]  euphony,  or  correct  pro- 
nunciation, requires  the  pronunciation  un.  Write,  of  course,  '  th'one.'  [We  still 
have  the  pronunciation  of  one  in  the  words  where  it  survives  in  combination,  as  in 
alone,  atone — but  happily  this  is  not  exactly  Walker's  un. — ED.] 

267,  268.  Finde   The   Ooze]   STAUNTON   (Athen&um,   14  June,   1873):    This 
should  possibly  be  'fine  the  ooze.'    To  sound  the  bottom  and  clear  the  ooze,  or 
floating  scum,  may  be  needful  operations  in  seeking  harborage  on  a  strange  coast, 
but  what  can  be  meant  by  '  find  the  ooze'?    The  passage,  however,  is  altogether 
ambiguous;  even  after  these  changes  [that  have  been  proposed]  it  sadly  wants 
explication. 

268.  thy  sluggish  care]  WARBURTON:    All  those  who  know  anything  of  good 
writing  will  agree  that  our  Author  must  have  wrote  'thy  sluggish  Carrack.'     [In 
Beaumont  and  Fletcher's  The  Captain,  I,  i,  Frank  (a  woman)  says  of  a  suitor,  'Let 
him  venture  In  some  decay'd  Crare  of  his  own.'     Whereon  SYMPSON  has  this  note: 
'Crare  here  signifies  just  what  Carack  does,  being  the  name  of  a  trading  vessel 
then,  tho'  I  believe  at  this  time  'tis  entirely  disused.'      In  the  Addenda  to  the  volume 
Sympson  refers  to  Warburton's  emendation  'Carrack'  in  the  present  passage,  and 
says  that  it  'certainly  continues  and  compleats  the  metaphor,  but  we  may  come 
much  nearer  the  traces  of  the  letters  by  reading  "thy  sluggish  Crare."'      It  has 
been  supposed  that  whatever  credit  attaches  to  the  suggestion  of  crare  is,  in  reality, 
due  to  Capell,  who  gives  the  word  in  his  Glossary  as  of  this  present  passage.     But 
Capell's  Glossary  was  published  on  the  3rd  of  March,  1779,  and  Sympson's  edition 
of  Beaumont  &  Fletcher  in  1750.     Moreover,  Capell  admired  HEATH,  and  not 
infrequently  quotes  him;  and  Heath  refers  with  approval  to  Sympson's  emenda- 
tion, crare. — MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  crayer.     Adopted  from  Old  French,  in  medi- 
aeval Latin  craiera):  A  small  trading  vessel.     [Present  passage  quoted.] — CAPELL'S 
text  reads  thus:    *O  Melancholy!      Who  ever  yet  could  sound  thy  bottom?  find 
The  ooze?  or  shew  what  coast  thou,  sluggish  care,  Might'st  easil'est  harbour  in?' 
And  his  own  note  thereon,  thus:   'The  editor,  who  has  no  other  object  in  view  but 


ACT  iv,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE  3x3 

Might'ft  eafileft  harbour  in.     Thou  blelTed  thing1,  269 

269.  Might' ft    eafdeft]  Might    eaftVft  269.  in.]  in!  Rowe  ii.     in?  Rowe  i. 

F2F3.    Might  eas'lieft'Pope,+.    Might' st        et  cet. 
easil'est  Cap.    Might  eafelie/l  F4  et  cet.  thing,]  thing!  Pope  et  seq. 

that  of  doing  his  author  all  possible  justice,  will  never  be  tender  of  owning  that  he 
has  erred  in  his  judgement  so  soon  as  he  has  made  the  discovery.  When  the  cor- 
rection was  made  in  this  period,  [that  is,  when  the  changes  from  the  original  text 
were  made  in  his  published  text. — ED.],  it  appeared  the  fittest  and  easiest  that  the 
place  would  admit  of:  "Might'st,"  a  reading  of  the  First  and  best  Folio,  pointed 
plain  to  a  vocative;  after  which  the  leading  word  "care"  seem'd  no  longer  ex- 
ceptionable, changes  being  made  in  "thou"  and  "to"  which  may  be  often  seen  put 
by  mistake  for  the  very  words  which  they  are  now  chang'd  to.  Such  was  the 
reasoning  that  gave  birth  to  the  present  correction;  but  its  foundation  is  wrong. 
" Might'st"  is  more  probably  a  compositor's  blunder,  who  fetch'd  it  from  the  line 
underneath,  and  made  another  in  "care,"  where  his  copy  had  "crare";  an  un- 
common word  of  which  he  knew  not  the  meaning;  admitting  it,  all  other  emenda- 
tion is  needless  and  even  hurtful;  for  the  metaphor  is  much  more  entire  by  reading 
—"or  shew  what  coast  thy  sluggish  crare  Might  easil'est  harbour  in?'"  This 
reading  was  adopted  by  RANN,  except  for  'easil'est'  he  has  'easiliest.'  The  CAM- 
BRIDGE EDITORS  tell  us  that  'in  CapelFs  copy  of  his  own  edition  he  has  altered 
these  lines  in  MS.;  only,  however,  in  changing  'or  shew'  to  'to  shew.' — Dr  DODD 
(quoted  by  Eccles):  I  can  by  no  means  think  that  carrack  is  our  Author's  word; 
a  much  more  natural  word  (was  there  need  of  alteration)  perhaps  many  readers 
would  have  thought  bark;  yet  that  nor  any  other  seems  necessary  to  the  sense  and 
beauty  of  the  passage:  'Oh,  melancholy  (thou  deep  sea),  who  ever  yet  could  sound 
thy  bottom?  who  ever  yet  could  find  the  ooze,  to  shew  what  coast  they  sluggish 
"care"  (or  charge)  might  easiliest  harbour  in?'  Melancholy  is  represented  to  us 
under  the  allegory  of  a  deep  sea,  and  the  grief  or  affliction  that  occasions  the  falling 
into  melancholy  is  beautifully  supposed;  its  sluggish  care,  its  burden  or  charge  sailing 
over  that  sea,  and  seeking  some  harbour  to  land,  i.  e.,  to  get  free  from  the  waters 
of  melancholy  which  the  Poet,  by  a  beautiful  interrogation,  acquaints  us,  cannot 
be  done;  when  once  sorrow  embarks,  and  grief  launches  her  heavy-laden  vessel  in  the 
ocean  of  melancholy,  no  bottom  is  to  be  found,  no  harbour  to  be  made,  no  deliver- 
ance to  be  obtained  from  this  fathomless  and  boundless  sea.  This  appears  to  me 
the  true  and,  I  think,  exquisitely  fine  sense  of  the  passage. — HERR  (p.  141) :  We 
apprehend  that  cave  should  be  substituted  for  'care,'  and  that  the  words  in  the 
line  need  readjustment,  thus:  'find  The  coast,  to  show  what  cave  thy  sluggish 
ooze  Might'st  easiliest  harbour  in.' — THISELTON  (p.  39) :  Belarius's  thought  is,  how 
powerless  the  most  friendly  well  wisher  is  to  put  one  who  is  suffering  from  Melan- 
choly in  the  way  of  getting  rid  of  the  clogging  load  of  care.  '  To  sound  the  bottom ' 
seems  to  be  a  stock  phrase.  .  .  .  The  conjecture  crare  for  '  care '  is  a  very  irritating 
one,  and  owes  its  acceptance,  I  believe,  to  the  fact  that  crare  is  an  obsolete  word, 
and,  therefore,  lends  some  apparent  excuse  for  the — as  I  think — gratuitous  boggling 
over  the  interpretation  of  a  passage  which  is,  in  reality,  as  clear  as  the  noonday.— 
DOWDEN:  I  have  removed  the  note  of  interrogation  from  'bottom'  to  the  end  of 
the  sentence,  have  accepted  'Might'  of  F2  for  'Might'st'  of  F4,  and  the  emendation 
crare.  The  meaning  is:  Who  can  cast  the  lead  so  deep  as  to  touch  the  dull  bottom 
of  the  sea  of  melancholy,  and  so  find  the  way  to  a  harbour  of  the  craft  that  sails 


314  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  iv,  sc.  ii. 

loue  knowes  what  man  thou  might'ft  haue  made  :  but  I,         270 
Thou  dyed'ft  a  moft  rare  Boy,  of  Melancholly. 
How  found  you  him  ? 

Brui.     Starke,  as  you  fee  : 
Thus  fmiling,  as  fome  Fly  had  tickled  flumber,  274 

270.  but  /,]  but  ah!  Rowe  ii,  Pope,  271.  Melancholly.]  melancholy!  Pope, 
Theob.  Han.  Warb.  Cap.  Var.  '73,  Sta.         Theob.  Warb.  Johns.  Cap.  Varr.  Mai. 
Huds.     but,  aye!  Nicholson  ap.  Cam.         Steev.  Varr.  Knt,  Dyce. 

but  ay!  Ingl.  272.  How]  Tell  me,  how  Han. 

271.  dyed'jl]    Ff.      dy'st    Var.     '73.  274.  jlumber,}     slumber;    Theob.     i. 
dy'dst  or  diedst  Rowe,  Steev.  et  cet.              slumber!  Theob.  ii,  Warb. 

mojl]  more  F3F4,  Rowe  i. 

upon  this  sea  and  is  its  proper  voyager?     Melancholy  is  not  compared  to  a  sea 
'and'  a  crare;  the  crare  is  called  'thy  crare,'  as  we  might  say  'O  sky,  thy  stars.' 

270.  what  man]  For  the  omission  of  a  after  'what,'  in  the  sense  of  'what 
kind  of, '  see  ABBOTT,  §  86. 

270.  but  I]  TYRWHTTT:  That  is,  'Jove  knows,  what  man  thou  might'st  have 
made,  but  I  know,  thou  died'st,'  etc. — MALONE:  I  believe  'but  ah!'  to  be  the  true 
reading.  A y  is  throughout  the  First  Folio,  and  in  all  books  of  that  time,  printed 
instead  of  ah!  Hence  probably  '/,'  which  was  used  for  the  affirmative  particle  ay, 
crept  into  the  text  here. — The  CAMBRIDGE  EDITORS  record  '  aye! '  as  a  conjecture  of 
Nicholson  (presumably  Dr.  Brinsley  Nicholson). — INGLEBY  thus  records  the  same 
conjecture:  'Ay!  [i.  e.,  Ah!]  Nicholson  conj.'  [I  do  not  know  that  this  con- 
jecture is  anywhere  to  be  found  in  print.  Many  of  Dr  Nicholson's  admirable 
emendations  are  to  be  found  only  in  his  correspondence. — ED.] — VAUGHAN  (p.  490) : 
'I'  was  the  usual  way  of  printing  'ay'  in  the  seventeenth  century.  ...  It  means 
surely.  Belarius  says  naturally,  'What  a  man  thou  wouldst  have  made  is  known 
to  God  alone;  but  that  thou  died'st  a  most  rare  boy  is  a  matter  of  certainty.'  [I 
think  Nicholson  and  Vaughan  are  right. — ED.] 

274,  etc.  Thus  smiling,  etc.]  SPEDDING  (Trans.  New  Sh.  Soc.,  1874,  p.  29): 
Though  I  think  Shakespeare  could  at  any  time  of  his  life  have  written  a  play  with 
or  without  songs  in  it,  either  in  prose  or  in  verse,  and  in  either  blank  or  rhyme,— 
and  might  have  been  induced  to  do  it  for  the  good  of  the  theatre, — I  do  not  believe 
that  he  could  have  been  induced,  after  he  was  40,  to  write  either  rhyme  or  blank, 
resembling  in  metrical  structure  or  rhythmical  effect,  that  which  he  used  to  write 
before  he  was  25,  or  even  30.  The  regular  cadence  and  monotonous  sweetness 
had  grown  tiresome  to  his  ear;  his  imagination  and  intellect  had  become  impatient 
of  the  luxuriance  of  beautiful  words  and  superfluous  imagery.  It  had  become  a 
necessity  for  him  to  go  to  the  heart  of  the  matter  by  a  directer  path,  and  to  pro- 
duce his  effects  of  beauty  and  sweetness  in  another  way, — a  way  of  his  own.  Com- 
pare the  description  of  a  similar  object  in  three  different  plays,  belonging  to  dates 
considerably  distant  from  each  other;  the  face  of  a  beautiful  woman  just  dead; 
there  being  nothing  in  the  character  of  the  several  speakers  to  explain  the  difference : 
i.  Rom.  &  JuL,  second  ed.  (1599);  not  in  the  first  ed.,  therefore  presumably  written 
between  1597  and  1599:  'Death  lies  on  her  like  an  untimely  frost  Upon  the  fairest 
flower  of  all  the  field.'  2.  Ant.  &=  Cleop.  (1608,  according  to  Mr  Fleay):  'but  she 
looks  like  sleep,  As  she  would  catch  another  Anthony  In  her  strong  toil  of  grace.' 
3.  Cymbeline  (date  disputed,  but  I  say  one  of  the  latest):  'Thus  smiling,  as  some 


ACT  iv,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE  3^ 

Not  as  deaths  dart  being  laugh'd  at  :  his  right  Cheeke  275 

Repofing  on  a  Cufhion. 

Gui.     Where  ? 

Arui.     O'th'floore : 

His  armes  thus  leagu'd,  I  thought  he  flept,  and  put 
My  clowted  Brogues  from  off  my  feete,  whofe  rudeneffe  280 

Anfwer'd  my  fteps  too  lowd. 

Gui.     Why,  he  but  fleepes  :  282 

275.  Cheeke]  Cheeke  F2.  Pope  et  cet. 

278.  O'th']  O'the  Cap.  et  seq.  279.  Jlept,]   slept;  Theob.   Warb.    et 

279.  leagu'd,]    Ff,    Rowe.      leagued.         seq. 

Johns,     leaded,   Glo.    Cam.     leagued;  280.  whofe]  wtfofe  F2. 

fly  had  tickled  slumber,  Not  as  death's  dart  being  laughed  at.'  The  difference  in 
the  treatment  in  these  three  cases  represents  the  progress  of  a  great  change  in  man- 
ner and  taste;  a  change  which  could  not  be  put  on  or  off,  like  the  fashion,  but  was  a 
part  of  the  man.  Yet  none  of  Mr  Fleay's  tests  seem  to  touch  it.  The  'double- 
ending'  test  would  place  the  passage  in  Ant.  &  Chop,  before  that  in  Rom.  6*  Jul.; 
and  that  of  Cymbeline  at  the  same  time  with  it.  And  the  other  tests  say  nothing. 
Look  again  at  the  structure  of  the  verse  a  few  lines  further  on:  'Thou  shall  not 
lack,'  etc.,  down  to  '  Outsweetened  not  thy  breath.'  Here  by  'the  double-ending' 
test  [lines  289  and  290]  would  count  as  indications  of  early  composition.  Whereas 
I  doubt  whether  you  will  find  a  single  case  in  any  of  Shakespeare's  undoubtedly 
early  plays  of  a  line  of  the  same  structure.  Where  you  find  a  line  of  ten  syllables  end 
with  a  word  of  one  syllable, — that  word  not  admitting  either  of  emphasis  or  pause, 
but  belonging  by  construction  to  the  next  line  and  forming  part  of  its  first  word- 
group, — you  have  a  metrical  effect  of  which  Shakespeare  grew  fonder  as  he  grew 
older;  frequently  in  his  latest  period,  up  to  the  end  of  his  middle  period,  so  far  as 
I  can  remember,  unknown. 

275.  Not  as  deaths  dart  being  laugh'd  at]  CAPELL  (p.  116):  'Being 
laugh 'd  at'  means  'for  I  saw  it  laugh'd  at,'  and  is  a  reason  why  he  could  not  think 
it  was  the  'dart'  that  had  struck  him. — ECCLES:  I  would  amend  by  reading  'been 
laugh'd  at,'  that  is,  'As  if  some  fly  had  only  tickled  slumber,  not  as  if  death's  dart 
had  been  laughed  at.' — VAUGHAN  (p.  490)  proposes  the  same  emendation,  with  the 
explanation  that  'had'  is  to  be  carried  on  from  'tickled'  to  'being  laugh'd  at.' 

279.  His    armes    thus    leagu'd]   SCHMIDT  (Lex.)  defines  'leagu'd'  as  'joined, 
folded  together.' — I  suppose  across  the  breast.     This  example  and  this  use  of  the 
verb  seems  to  have  escaped  both  WHITNEY  (Century  Diet.)  and  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.). 

280.  clowted   Brogues]  A  'brogue,'  according  to  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.),  is  'a 
rude  kind  of  shoe,  generally  made  of  untanned  hide,  worn  by  the  inhabitants  of  the 
wilder  parts  of  Ireland  and  the  Scotch  Highlands.'     And  a  'clowted  brogue,'  by 
the  same  authority,  is  a  '  shoe  having  the  sole  protected  with  iron  plates  or  studded 
with  large-headed  nails  (it  may  also  mean  a  patched  shoe).'     In  both  definitions 
the  present  example  is  quoted. 

282.  Why,  he  but  sleepes]  STEEVENS:  I  cannot  forbear  to  introduce  a 
passage  somewhat  like  this,  from  Webster's  White  Devil,  or  Vitteria  Corombona, 
1612,  on  account  of  its  singular  beauty:  'Brachiano.  O  thou  soft  natural  death, 
that  art  joint-twin  To  sweetest  slumber!  no  rough-bearded  comet  Stares  on  thy 


316  THE  TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  iv,  sc.  ii. 

If  he  be  gone,  hee'l  make  his  Graue,  a  Bed  :  283 

With  Female  Fayries  will  his  Tombe  be  haunted, 
And  Wormes  will  not  come  to  thee.  285 

Arui.     With  fayrefl  Flowers 

285.  to  thee}  near  thee  Pope,  Theob.  Warb.  near  him  Han.  there  Cap.  to  him 
Ran.  to  them  Sing,  thither  Anon.  ap.  Cam. 

mild  departure;  the  dull  owl  Beats    not  against  thy  casement;  the  hoarse  wolf 
Scents  not  thy  carrion:    pity  winds  thy  corse,  Whilst  horror  waits  on  princes.'- 
[p.  129,  ed.  Dyce.     Brachiano,  be  it  remembered,  was  dying  of  poison  and  is  con- 
trasting his  own  frightful  agony  with  the  peacefulness  of  a  natural  death. — ED.] 

283.  hee'l  make  his  Graue,  a  Bed]  VAUGHAN  (p.  491):  That  is,  'If  he  be 
really  dead,  yet  his  personal  purity  will  keep  his  body  from  corruption,  and  so  con- 
vert his  grave  into  a  mere  couch.'  Shakespeare  here  adopts  (perhaps  not  im- 
properly) into  the  heathen  creed  of  the  Britons  the  medieval  and  Catholic  theory 
that  perfect  virginal  integrity  of  mind  and  body  during  life  saves  the  corpse  from 
its  natural  decay  after  death.  [It  is  so  arrogant  to  say  what  Shakespeare  did  or  did 
not  think,  that  it  is  impossible  to  deny  Vaughan's  interpretation.  Yet  the  humble 
inquirer  might  perhaps  modestly  ask  whether  or  not  it  is  in  accordance  with  the 
'Catholic  theory'  that  Fidele's  bed  should  be  haunted  by  'female  fairies'?— ED. 

285.  will  not   come   to   thee]  This  change  of  persons    after  'he,'  'he,'  'he'l,' 
'his,'  has  induced  the  belief  that  'thee'  is  a  corruption,  and  the  Text.  Notes  display 
the  result. — MALONE,  however,  justifies  it  for  the  same  reason  that  we  accept  the 
change  of  person  in  'Euriphile,  Thou  was't  their  nurse,  they  took  thee  for  their 
mother  And  every  day  do  honour  to  her  grave.' — III,  iii,  112.     There  is  a  similar 
change  in  'Remain  thou  heere,  while  sense  can  keep  it  on.' — I,  ii,  58.     Also  in, 
'You  married  ones  .  .  .  than  themselves,'1  V,  i,  6. — VAUGHAN  (p.  491)  asserts  that 
"'To  thee"  admits  of  no  justification.'     Is  it  then  beyond  the  reach  of  imagination 
that  Guiderius  addresses  the  first  lines,  almost  appealingly,  to  his  father  and 
brother,  and  then,  casting  his  eyes  down  on  the  lovely  lifeless  form,  breaks  into  an 
apostrophe  to  it?     I  had  written  this  note  before  I  discovered  that  the  COWDEN- 
CLARKES  had  given  the  same  interpretation  more  exquisitely:  'Guiderius  replies  to 
his  brother's  remark  that  Fidele's  looking  but  as  if  asleep,  and  continues  speaking 
of  the  gentle  lad  in  the  third  person,  until,  looking  upon  the  beautiful  form  that  lies 
apparently  dead  before  him,  a  sense  of  its  loveliness  and  his  own  impassioned  regret 
at  having  to  consign  it  to  the  grave,  comes  full  upon  him,  and  he  ends  with  ad- 
dressing it,  rather  than  speaking  of  it.' — DOWDEN,  also,  has  a  note  to  the  same  effect: 
'Guiderius,'  he  says,  'growing  more  impassioned  as  he  speaks,  passes  into  an  ad- 
dress to  Fidele.'     It  is  purely  an  antagonism  to  the  dogmatic,  Warburtonian  asser- 
tion of  Vaughan  that  induces  me  to  retain  my  own  note.     Dowden  adds  the  con- 
jecture :    '  Possibly,  the  speech  of  Arviragus  should  take  up  that  of  Guiderius,  and 
begin  with  "And  worms,"'  etc. — SINGER  upholds  his  reading  with  the  remark  that 
'where  fairies  resort,  it  was  held  that  no  noxious  creature  would  be  found.     It 
appears  that  the',  as  it  was  usual  to  write  and  print  them,  has  been  mistaken  for 
"thee."'— ED. 

286.  fayrest]  WALKER  (Vcrs.,  p.   170):    I  think  we  should  write  fair'st.     [It 
is  not  easy  to  detect  what  is  acquired  by  this  abbreviation  other  than  the  forma- 
tion of  an  ill-sounding  word,  which,  if  heard  from  the  stage,  would  be  mistaken  for 
an  Elizabethan  pronunciation  of  first.      Possibly  Walker  held  that  fair  should  be 


ACT  iv,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE  317 

Whil'ft  Sommer  lafts;  and  I  Hue  heere,  Fidele ,  287 

He  fweeten  thy  fad  graue  :  thou  (halt  not  lacke 

The  Flower  that's  like  thy  face.    Pale-Primrofe,  nor 

The  azur'd  Hare-bell,  like  thy  Veines  :  no,  nor  290 

The  leafe  of  Eglantine,  whom  not  to  (lander, 

287.  V/hil'Jl]  Ff.     'Whilst  Theob.  ii.  290.  azur'd]  azure  Huds. 
(misprint),  Warb.  291.  The  leafe  of]  The  leafy  Coll.  ii, 

288.  graue:]  grave.  Pope,-)-.  iii.  (MS.). 

289.  face.]  face,  Rowe  et  seq.  whom]     which    Pope,  +  .      who 
Pale-Primrofe,]  Ff.     pale  prim-         Eccles  conj.,  Ktly,  Huds. 

rose,  Pope,  Han.  Sta.  Glo.  Cam.  Ingl.  Jlander,]     F3F4.      Jlander.     F2. 

pale  primrose;  Rowe  et  cet.  slander't  Han.  Eccles. 

always  pronounced  as  a  disyllabic,  fair;  fairest  would  consequently  become  a  tri- 
syllable, and  unbefitting  the  line.  It  is  not  easy  to  resist  the  suspicion  that  at 
times  Walker  was  wanton  in  his  zeal  for  absolute  prosody,  for  which  he  was  willing 
to  pay  at  the  price  of  a  slovenly  pronunciation. — ED. 

287.  Whil'st]  As  a  proof  of  Warburton's  confidence  in  the  excellence  of  the 
text  in  Theobald's  ed.  ii,  note  how  slavishly  he  follows  it,  even  to  retaining  its 
misprints.  See  Text.  Notes.  Again  in  'door  pickaxes'  in  line  479. — ED. 

287.  Whil'st  Sommer  lasts]  STEEVENS:  So  in  Pericles:  'Marina.  No,  I  will 
rob  Tellus  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.' — IV,  i,  17. 

289.  face.]  THISELTON:  The  full  stop  after  'face'  should  probably  be  a  colon, 
[for  the  reason]  that  the  semi-colon  and  colon  are  used  where  what  follows  is  of  the 
nature  of  an  explanation,  or  of  an  extension,  of  what  precedes.  The  mistake  was  no 
doubt  helped  by  the  initial  capital  in  'Pale-Primrose.' — PORTER-CLARKE:  The 
sense  being  understood,  the  full  stop  in  the  Folio  may  convey  a  suggestion  as  to  the 
way  the  line  may  be  effectively  spoken;  that  is,  with  a  drop  of  the  voice  after  'face,' 
and  a  slight  pause,  bringing  out  more  prominently  'Pale-Primrose,'  etc. 

289.  Primrose]  See  I,  vi,  98. 

290.  Hare-bell]  ELLACOMBE:    This  is  undoubtedly  the  Wild  Hyacinth  (Scilla 
nutans),  though  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  name  is  applied  differently  in  various 
parts  of  the  island;  thus  'the  Harebell  of  Scotch  writers  is  the  Campanula,  and  the 
Bluebell,  so  celebrated  hi  Scotch  song,  is  the  wild  Hyacinth  or  Scilla;  while  in 
England  the  same  names  are  used  conversely,  the  Campanula  being  the  Bluebell, 
and  the  Wild  Hyacinth  the  Harebell' — (Poets'  Pleasaunce) — but  this  will  apply 
only  in  poetry;  in  ordinary  language,  at  least  in  the  south  of  England,  the  Wild 
Hyacinth  is  the  Bluebell,  and  is  the  plant  referred  to  by  Shakespeare  as  the  Hare- 
bell.— MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.} :   Perhaps  from  growing  in  places  frequented  by  hares. 

291.  Eglantine]  ELLACOMBE:    There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Eglantine  in 
Shakespeare's  time  was  the  Sweet  Brier, — his  notice  of   the  sweet  leaf  makes  it 
certain.     In  the  earlier  poets  the  name  seems  to  have  been  given  to  any  wild  Rose, 
and  Milton  certainly  did  not  consider  the  Eglantine  and  the  Sweet  Brier  to  be  iden- 
tical.    He  says:   'Through  the  sweet-briar  or  the  vine,  Or  the  twisted  eglantine. '- 
L'Allegro,  47,  48.     But  Milton's  knowledge  of  flowers  was  very  limited.  ...  It 
was  the  emblem  of  pleasure  mixed  with  pain — 'Sweet  is  the  Eglantine,  but  pricketh 


3I3  THE   TRACE  DIE  OF  [ACT  iv,  sc.  ii. 

Out-fweetned  not  thy  breath  :  the  Raddocke  would  292 

With  Charitable  bill  (  Oh  bill  fore  fhaming 

Thofe  rich-left-heyres,  that  let  their  Fathers  lye 

Without  a  Monument)  bring  thee  all  this,  295 

292.  Out-fweetned]  Out  fweetned  F4.  293.  fore  Jkaming]  sire-shaming 

Out-sweetn'd  Rowe  et  seq.  (subs.)  Theob.  ii.  et  seq.  foreshaming  or  for- 

breath:}  breath.  Pope,-)-.  shaming  Walker. 

Raddocke]  F2.  Raddock  F2Fj,  294.  rich-left-heyres]  F2F3  (heires  F3). 

Rowe,  Pope,  Theob.  Warb.  Cap.  rich-left-heirs  F4.  rich-left  heirs  Rowe. 

ruddock  Han.  et  cet.  295.  this,]  this;  Theob.  Warb.  et  seq. 


sore.'  —  Spenser,  Sonnet,  xxvi;  and  so  its  names  pronounced  it  to  be;  it  was  either  the 
Sweet  Brier,  or  it  was  Eglantine,  the  thorny  plant  (French,  aiglentier). 

291.  292.  whom    not   to    slander,  Out-sweetned    not   thy  breath]  ABBOTT 
(§  246)  :    The  relative  is  here  attracted  to  a  subsequent  implied  object.     That  is, 
'the  leaf  which,  not  to  slander  it,  would  not  out-sweeten,'  etc.     [See  this  same 
section  for  other  examples  of  the  omission  of  the  relative  and  attraction  of  the 
antecedent.] 

292.  Raddocke]   WILLUGHBY   (p.    219):    The   Robin-red-breast  or  Ruddock, 
Rubecula  she  Erithacus,  Aldrov.,  is  so  well  known  in  almost  all  countries  that  it 
needs  no  long  description.  ...  In  Winter-time  to  seek  food  it  enters  into  houses 
with  much  confidence,  being  a  very  bold  bird,  sociable  and  familiar,  with  man. 
In  the  Summer-time  (as  Turner  saith)  when  there  is  plenty  of  food  in  the  Woods, 
and  it  is  not  pinched  with  cold,  it  withdraws  itself  with  its  Brood  into  the  most 
desert  places.  —  STEEVENS:    The  office  of  covering  the  dead  is  ascribed  to  the 
ruddock  by  Drayton,  in  his  poem  called  The  Owl:  '  Covering  with  moss  the  deads 
unclosed  eye,  The  little  red-breast  teacheth  charitie.'     See  also  Luptons'  Thousand 
Notable  Things,  b.  i.  p.  10  (1576?).  —  HALLIWELL  gives  this  extract  from  Lupton: 
'A  Robbyn  read  breast  fynding  the  dead  body  of  a  man  or  woman,  wyll  cover  the 
face  of  the  same  with  mosse,  and,  as  some  holdes  opinion,  he  wyld  cover  also  the 
whole  body.'  —  FARMER:    Compare  Webster,    Vittoria  Corombona:    'Call  for  the 
robin-red-breast  and  the  wren,  Since    o'er  shady  boughs  they  hover,  And  with 
leaves  and  flowers  do  cover  The  friendless  bodies  of  unburied  men.     Call  unto  his 
funeral  dole  The  ant,  the  field-mouse,  and  the  mole,  To  rear  him  hillocks  that 
shall  keep  him  warm,  And  (when  gay  tombs  are  robb'd)  Sustain  no  harm;  But  keep 
the  wolf  far  hence;  that's  foe  to  men,  For  with  his  nails  they'll  dig  them  up  again.'  — 
[p.  146,  ed.  Dyce].  —  PERCY:  Is  this  an  allusion  to  the  'Babes  in  the  Wood,'  or  was 
the  notion  of  the  red-breast  covering  dead  bodies  general  before  the  writing  of 
that  ballad? 

293.  With    Charitable    bill]   THISELTON:    It  is  interesting  to  find   Geffray 
Mynshull  reflecting  this  passage  before  the  First  Folio  was  printed:    'Robin-red- 
breasts that  bring  strawes  in  their  charitable  bils  to  cover  the  dead.'  —  Essayes  and 
Characters  of  a  Prison  and  Prisoners,  Tait's  Reprint,  p.  46. 

293-295.  (Oh  bill  sore  shaming  ...  a  Monument)]  Whoever  believes  that 
Shakespeare  wrote  these  utterly  irrelevant  lines,  possibly  containing  a  local  allu- 
sion, and,  at  this  solemn  moment,  put  them  in  the  mouth  of  a  youth  who  had  never 
seen  anything  of  the  world  and  had  never  wing'd  from  view  o'th'nest,  —  whoever 
believes  this,  will  believe  anything.  —  ED. 


ACT  iv,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE  319 

Yea,  and  furr'd  Moffe  befides.     When  Flowres  are  none          296 
To  winter-ground  thy  Coarfe 

296.  befides.     When]    besides,    u'hen  winter-guard  Coll.  ii,  iii.  (MS.),  Huds. 
Theob.  et  seq.  To    weather-fend    Bailey.      To    -winter- 
none}  ncne  F2.  grace  Kinnear.     To  round  thy  withered 

297.  To    •winter-ground]     To    winter  Sprengel.     To  twine  around  Ingl.  conj. 
ground  F4.     To  winter-gown  Theob.  i,  To  wind  around  Ingl.  and  Elze  conj. 
Han.  Warb.  Cap.     Those  winter-gown  297.  Coarfe—  —]    Ff,    Rowe,    Pope. 
Theob.  ii.    To  winter  ground  Johns.    To  coarse.—    Theob.   Han.   Warb.   Johns. 
winter-green  Douce,  Verplanck  conj.  To  corse.  Cap.  et  cet. 

296.  furr'd    Mosse    besides.     When  Flowres   are   none]   HUNTER  (ii,  299), 
referring  to  the  full  stop  after  'besides/  remarks:    'Now  can  anything  be  more 
certain  than  that  this  [punctuation]  gives  us  the  most  clear  and  beautiful  meaning? 
Arviragus  says  what  he  will  do  in  the  summer  season,  when  flowers  are  abundant; 
and  having  finished  what  on  this  head  he  meant  to  say,  he  is  proceeding  to  describe 
what  should  be  done  to  the  grave  in  winter,  when  he  is  interrupted  by  Guiderius, 
and  breaks  off  his  discourse  abruptly.'     [I  think  Hunter's  interpretation  is  em- 
phatically just.      It  includes  naturally  the  unusually  long  dash  after  'Coarse,' 
indicating  an  interruption.     THEOBALD  and  CAPELL  are  responsible  for  leading 
astray  all  subsequent  followers. — ED.] 

297.  To  winter-ground]  WARBURTON:    The  epithet  'furr'd'  to  'moss'  directs 
us  plainly  to  another  reading:   'To  winter-gown  thy  coarse,'  i.  e.,  the  summer 
habit  shall  be  a  light  gown  of  flowers,  thy  winter  habit  a  good  warm  '  furr'd  gown ' 
of  'moss.' — WALKER  (Crit.,  i,   141)  accepts   (or  is  it  dons?)  Warburton's  gown. 
'Or,'  he  says,  'indeed  gowne  may  have  been  written  in  the  MS.  gownd,  as  the  final  e 
is  often  printed  d  in  the  Folio.' — STEEVENS:  I  have  no  doubt  that  [Warburton's] 
rejected  word  was  Shakespeare's,  since  the  protection  of  the  dead,  and  not  their 
ornament,  was  what  he  meant  to  express.     To  'winter-ground'  a  plant  is  to  pro- 
tect it  from  the  inclemency  of  the  winter  season  by  straw,  etc.,  laid  over  it.      This 
precaution  is  commonly  taken  in  respect  of  tender  trees  or  flowers,  such  as  Aviragus, 
who  loved  Fidele,  represents  her  to  be. — COLLIER  (ed.  ii.):  'To  winter -guard'  is 
a  welcome  emendation  of  the  MS.  .  .  .  The  fact  turns  out  to  be  that  'ground' 
was  merely  a  misprint  for  guard,  two  words  readily  mistaken  when  written  at  all 
carelessly.     Nothing  can  be  more  appropriate  than  the  compound  winter-guard, 
and  it  must  be  accepted  by  all  who,  having  taste  and  judgement,  are  not  bigoted 
to  bygone  blunders. — ABBOTT  (§  435):    'To  winter-ground'  is,  perhaps, ' to  inter 
during  winter.''    So  'to  winter-rig'  is  said  (Halliwell)  to  mean  'to  fallow  land  during 
winter.' — HUDSON:   '  Winter-ground '  does  not  tell  its  own  meaning;  and  as  it  is  not 
met  with  elsewhere,  we  have  no  means  of  explaining  it.    Two  other  good  corrections 
have  been  proposed  by  Warburton  and  Verplanck;  [Douce  anticipated  Verplanck]. 
I  find  it  not  easy  to  choose  between  the  three. — W.  W.  LLOYD  (N.  &*  Q.,  VII,  i,  285, 
1886):    Collier's  MS.  gives  the  right  word,  but  Collier  gives  a  wrong  explanation. 
'Protection'  was  not  the  purpose  of  the  flowers,  but  graceful  decoration.     Guard 
here  is  used  in  the  sense  of  enriched  trimmings  or  borders,  as  so  frequently  in  Shake- 
speare:  'Give  him  a  livery  more  guarded  than  his  fellows,'  Mer.  of  Yen.;  'To  guard 
a  title  that  was  rich  before,  To  gild  refined  gold,  to  paint  the  lily.' — King  John. 
The  epithet  'furr'd,'  given  to  moss,  and  so  expressive  of  its  thick  close  growth,  is 
allusive  to  the  fur  trimmings  of  winter  clothes. — BR.  NICHOLSON  (Ingleby,  Rev.  ed.): 


320  THE   7^RAGEDIE  OF  [ACT  iv,  sc.  ii. 

Gni.    Prythee  haue  done,  298 

And  do  not  play  in  Wench-like  words  with  that 
Which  is  fo  ferious.     Let  vs  bury  him,  300 

And  not  protract  with  admiration,  what 
Is  now  due  debt.     To'th'graue. 

Ami.    Say,  where  fhall's  lay  him  ?  303 

298.  Prythee]     F2.       Prethee     F3F4.  302.  To'th']  F2.     To  th'  F3F4,  Rowe, 
Pr'ythee  Pope.                                                   +.     To  the  Cap.  et  seq. 

done]  done;  Theob.  Warb.  et  seq.  303.  where}  where1  s  F3. 

That  is,  to  winter-floor,  to  floor  it  in  winter  when  there  were  no  flowers. — DEIGHTON: 
Steevens  gives,  no  authority  for  his  statement,  and  no  other  instance  of  the  word 
has  been  discovered.  Probably  it  is  one  of  Shakespeare's  coinages. — THISELTON 
(p.  40):  It  is  probably  better  to  accept  Steevens's  explanation, — even  if  a  mere 
guess,— than  to  alter  the  text.  Douce's  excellent  conjecture  is  worthy  of  mention, 
as  it  is  not  unsupported  by  the  ductus  literarum.  [Is  not  Thiselton's  conclusion 
the  wisest?  Even  if  Steevens's  explanation  be  mere  guesswork  (as  is  most  likely) , 
is  it  not  better  to  accept  it  than  desert  the  Folio,  which  would  be  simply  exchang- 
ing one  guess  for  another?  Of  all  the  emendations,  however,  I  prefer  Collier's 
guard,  with  Lloyd's  interpretation  of  it. — ED.] 

299.  Wench-like  words]  BATHURST  (p.  136) :    Shakespeare  criticises  the  kind 
of  words  and  turn  of  thought,  or,  at  least,  the  application  of  it,  which  he  himself  so 
often  adopts.— RUSKIN  (vol.  iv,  p.  388) :    So  far  as  nature  had  influence  over  the 
early  training  of  [Shakespeare],  it  was  essential  to  his  perfectness  that  the  nature 
should  be  quiet.     No  mountain  passions  were  to  be  allowed  him.     Inflict  upon 
him  but  one  pang  of  the  monastic  conscience;  cast  upon  him  but  one  cloud  of  the 
mountain  gloom,  and  his  serenity  had  been  gone  for  ever — his  equity — his  infinity. 
You  would  have  made  another  Dante  of  him.  .  .  .  Shakespeare  could  be  allowed 
no  mountains,  nay,  not  even  any  supreme  natural  beauty.     He  had  to  be  left  with 
his  kingcups  and  clover — pansies — the  passing  clouds — the   Avon's  flow — and  the 
undulating  hills  and  woods  of  Warwick;  nay,  he  was  not  to  love  even  these  in  any 
exceeding  measure,  lest  it  might  make  him  in  the  least  overrate  their  power  upon 
the  strong,  full-fledged  minds  of  men.     He  makes  the  quarrelling  fairies  con- 
cerned about  them;  poor  lost  Ophelia  find  some  comfort  in  them;  fearful,  fair,  wise- 
hearted  Perdita  trust  the  speaking  of  her  good  will  and  good  hostess-ship  to  them; 
and  one  of  the  brothers  of  Imogen  confide  his  sorrow  to  them — rebuked  instantly 
by  his  brother  for  'wench-like  words';  but  any  thought  of  them  in  his  mighty  men 
I  do  not  find;  it  is  not  usually  in  the  nature  of  such  men;  and  if  he  had  loved  the 
flowers  the  least  better  himself,  he  would  assuredly  have  been  offended  at  this,  and 
given  a  botanical  turn  of  mind  to  Caesar  or  Othello. 

301,  302.  And  not  protract  .  .  .  due  debt]  CAPELL  (p.  n6):That  is,  pro- 
tract payment  of  a  debt  that  is  now  due. 

301.  admiration]     SCHMIDT     (Lex.):     Wonder    mingled    with    veneration.— 
DOWDEN:    Perhaps  used  in  modern  sense,  with  something  also  of  the  sense  of 
wonder. 

303.  where  snail's  lay  him]  ABBOTT  (§  215):  'Shall,'  originally  meaning 
necessity  or  obligation,  and  therefore  not  denoting  an  action  on  the  part  of  the 
subject,  was  used  in  the  south  of  England  as  an  impersonal  verb.  (Compare  Latin 


ACT   IV,  SC.  ii.] 


CYMBELINE 


321 


GUI.    By  good  Euriphile ^  our  Mother. 

Ami.    Bee't  fo  :  305 

And  let  vs  (Polidore)  though  now  our  voyces 
Haue  got  the  mannifh  cracke,  fing  him  to'th'ground 
As  once  to  our  Mother  :  vfe  like  note,  and  words, 
Saue  that  Euriphile,  muft  be  Fidele. 

Gui.     Cadwallj  3 10 

I  cannot  fing  :  He  weepe,  and  word  it  with  thee ; 
For  Notes  of  forrow,   out  of  tune,  are  worfe 
Then  Priefts,  and  Phanes  that  lye. 

Ami.    Wee'l  fpeake  it  then. 

Bel.    Great  greefes  I  fee  med'cine  the  leffe  :  For  Cloten       315 


307.  to'th']  to  the  Cap.  et  seq. 

308.  to  our]  our  Pope  et  seq. 

311.  thee;]  thee,  Ff,  Rowe. 

312,  313.  Mnemonic  Warb. 


313.  Phanes]  Vanes  Ff,  Rowe.   fanes 
Pope  et  seq. 

315.  med'cine]  medicine  Cap.  et  seq. 
lejfe:]lefs,  F2F3.  lefs.  F4,Rowe,+. 


and  Greek.)  So  Chaucer,  'us  oughte,'  and  we  also  find  'as  us  wol,'  i.  e.,  'as  it  is 
pleasing  to  us.'  See  also, '  Shall 's  have  a  play  of  this? ' — V,  v,  265. — WHITE  (ed.  ii.) : 
It  is  recklessly  used  instead  of  shall  we,  for  rhythm's  sake. — WYATT:  I  think  it  more 
likely  to  be  an  irregular  extension  of  the  familiar  usage  after  transitive  verbs,  as  in 
'Let's'  for  'Let  us.' 

304.  By  good  Euriphile,  our  Mother]  Is  this  a  passing  hint  that  we  must 
take  as  a  revelation  of  the  outlandish  manners  of  the  two  youths  that  they  speak 
of  their  mother  by  her  first  name,  and  patronisingly  call  her  'good? — ED. 

308.  As  once  to  our  Mother]  DOVVDEN:  This  may  be  right,  'as  once  we  sang 
to  our  mother.' 

300..  Euriphile,  must  be  Fidele]  HUDSON:  Yet  neither  name  occurs  in  the 
dirge.  A  discrepancy  for  which  it  is  not  easy  to  account. 

312,  313.  For  Notes  of  sorrow  .  .  .  Phanes  that  lye]  BOWDEN  (p.  369): 
A  few  lines  before  Guiderius  refused  to  sing  because  his  voice  was  choked  [qu. 
cracked?];  he  would  only  say  the  dirge,  it  would  be  profanation  to  sing  it  out  of 
tune.  It  is  impossible  to  suppose  that  Shakespeare  really  held  that  the  singing 
of  a  Miserere  a  trifle  too  sharp  was  worse  than  a  hypocritical  priesthood  and  a  false 
religion.  Read  ironically  the  text  means,  'You  talk  of  lying  priests  and  their  lying 
temples;  I  hold  your  vile  psalm  singing  to  be  ten  times  worse.'  [Be  it  remembered 
that  Bowden's  book,  mainly  the  composition  of  the  lamented  Simpson,  is  devoted 
to  proving  that  Shakespeare  was  not  in  sympathy  with  the  Protestant  movement 
of  the  day.  In  the  present  instance  I  am  thoroughly  in  accord  with  Bowden  as 
far  as  concerns  the  impossibility  of  Shakespeare's  ever  having  expressed  in  any 
circumstances  so  false  and  puerile  a  sentiment  as  that  a  broken  heart  must  lament 
with  strict  attention  to  solmisation  or  else  be  hypocritical ;  but  I  go  further,  and 
believe  it  utterly  impossible  that  Shakespeare  could  ever  have  put  such  a  senti- 
ment into  the  mouth  of  an  innocent  stripling,  who  was  yet  in  his  salad  days  and 
had  never  left  his  mountain  side.  It  is  the  irreconcilable  falseness  to  character 
which,  of  itself  alone,  is  sufficient  to  condemn  these  lines  as  spurious. — ED.] 

315.  Great  greefes  I  see  med'cine  the  lesse]  M ALONE:  Thus  also,  'a  touch 
21 


322 


THE   TRACE  DIE  OF 


[ACT  iv,  sc.  ii. 


Is  quite  forgot.     He  was  a  Queenes  Sonne,  Boyes,  316 

And  though  he  came  our  Enemy,  remember 

He  was  paid  for  that :  though  meane,  and  mighty  rotting 

Together  haue  one  duft,  yet  Reuerence 

(That  Angell  of  the  world)  doth  make  diftinction  320 

Of  place  'tweene  high,  and  low.     Our  Foe  was  Princely, 

And  though  you  tooke  his  life,   as  being  our  Foe, 

Yet  bury  him,  as  a  Prince. 

Gui.    Pray  you  fetch  him  hither, 

TJierfites  body  is  as  good  as  Aiax,  325 

When  neyther  are  aliue. 

And.    If  you'l  go  fetch  him,  327 


316.  Boyes,]  boys;  Cap.  et  seq. 

317.  came]  'came  Ingl. 

318.  He  was]  Was  Pope,  Theob.    He 
has  Han.  Warb.   Cap.     He's  Walker, 
Huds. 

though]  thou  F3F4.     The  Rowe, 
Pope,  Theob.  Han.  Warb.     tho'  Johns. 

319.  dujl,]    Ff,    Rowe,    Johns.    Coll. 
Glo.  Cam.    dust;  Pope  et  cet. 

320.  That]  The  Rowe  ii,  Pope,  Han. 


321.  'tweene]  'twixt  Ff,  Rowe,  +  ,  Cap. 
Varr.  Ran. 

Princely,]    Ff,    Rowe,+,    Coll. 
princely;  Cap.  et  cet. 

322.  you]  thee  Ff,  Rowe,  Om.  Pope,+. 

325.  Therfites...Aiax]  Ff ,  Rowe, Pope. 
Thersites'...  Ajax'    Han.     Dyce,   Ktly, 
Glo.  Coll.  iii,  Cam.      Thersites'...  Ajax 
Theob.  et  cet. 

326.  are]  are  are  F2.     is  Coll.  MS. 


more  rare  subdues  all  pangs,  all  fears.' — I,  ii,  82.     Again  in  Lear,  'But  where  the 
greater  malady  is  fix'd  The  lesser  is  scarce  felt.' — III,  iv,  8. 

316.  He  was  a  Queenes  Sonne]  CHARLES  WORDSWORTH  (p.  83):  When 
Jezebel, — whose  character  has  been  compared  not  inaptly  to  that  of  Lady  Macbeth, 
— had  been  thrown  out  of  the  window,  and  so  killed,  by  the  command  of  Jehu,  he 
first  trod  her  under  foot,  but  afterwards, '  when  he  came  in,  and  had  eat  and  drunk,' 
he  said:  '  Go  see  now  this  cursed  woman,  and  bury  her:  for  site  is  a  king's  daughter.' — • 
2  Kings,  ix,  34.  This  command  not  improbably  suggested  to  Shakespeare  this 
speech,  which  he  has  put  into  the  mouth  of  Belarius. 

318.  He  was  paid  for  that]   SCHMIDT  (Lex.,  s.  v.  4.  Trans,  c.):   To  requite,  to 
reward  or  punish. — JOHNSON:    Hanmer  reads  has,  rather  plausibly  than  rightly. 

319,  320.  Reuerence    (That  Angell  of  the    world),  etc.]  JOHNSON:   'Rever- 
ence,' or  due  regard  to  subordination,  is  the  power  that  keeps  peace  and  order 
in  the  world. — DEIGHTON:   Yet  the  spirit  of  respect  for  one's  betters,  that  divinely 
sent  messenger  from  God  to  men,  makes  distinction  between  those  of  high  and 
low  birth. — DOWDEN:    Is  this  merely  the  praise  of  reverence  as  divinely  sent? 
Or  does  Shakespeare  think  of  the  angels  severing  hereafter  those  who  are  to  go 
above  from  those  who  must  go  below,  and  does  he  mean  that  in  the  present  world 
reverence  acts  as  a  dividing  angel?     Ulysses,  in  Tro.  &*  Cress.,  in  a  remarkable 
passage  (I,  iii,  83)  justifies  distinctions  of  rank,  and  dwells  on  their  importance  in 
society. 

324.  Pray  you]  WALKER  (Crit.,  i,  77)  would  read  'Pray.'  See  IV,  ii,  19, 
above. 

326.  neyther  are]  For  'neither'  as  a  plural  pronoun,  see  ABBOTT,  §  K?. 


ACT  iv,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE 

Wee'l  fay  our  Song  the  whil'ft  :  Brother  begin.  328 

Gui.    Nay  Cadwall,  we  muft  lay  his  head  to  th'Eaft, 
My  Father  hath  a  reafon  for't.  330 

And.    'Tis  true. 

Gui.    Come  on  then,  and  remoue  him. 
And.    So,  begin. 

SONG. 

Guid.     Fcare  no  more  the  heate  o'tl?  Sun,  335 

Nor  the  furious  Winters  rages, 

328.  whir  ft:]   Ff.     whilst:    Rowe.+.         Begin.  Coll.  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam.  (subs.). 
whilst.  Johns,  et  seq.  So, — Begin  Cap.  et  cet. 

[Exit  Bel.  Han.  335~35o.  Mnemonic  Pope. 

329.  th'Eaft,}     Ff,     Rowe.       th'east;  335.  o'th']  of  the  Cap.   o'theVar. '73 
Pope,+.    the  east;  Cap.  et  seq.                       et  seq. 

333.  So,    begin.}    Ff,    Rowe.      So.—  336.  rages,]  rages;  Pope  et  seq. 

329.  lay  his  head  to  th'East]  WYATT:  The  Christian  custom  of  burial  is  to 
lay  the  head  to  the  west,  and  the  feet  to  the  east;  'so  at  the  second  coming  of  the 
Son  of  Man  the  dead  might  rise  and  face  him  in  the  general  resurrection'  (Lee's 
Glossary  of  Liturgical  and  Ecclesiastical  Terms,  p.  62).  In  reversing  this  position, 
Shakespeare  may  have  no  other  intention  than  to  suit  the  pre-Christian  period  of 
his  play.  But  it  is  at  least  possible  that  he  was  aware  of  the  Classical  (and  Celtic) 
myth  which  located  the  'Earthly  Paradise'  in  the  Fortunate  Islands  (Avalon), 
across  the  western  ocean,  and  which  gave  rise  to  the  custom  of  burying  the  dead 
with  their  faces  set  thitherwards.  (See  Tylor's  Primitive  Culture,  ii,  48,  442,  and 
Baring  Gould's  Curious  Myths  of  the  Middle  Ages.) — F.  C.  CONYBEARE  (Enc.  Brit., 
nth  ed.,  s.  v.  Funeral  Rites,  p.  331) :  The  legend  is  that  Christ  was  buried  with  his 
head  to  the  West;  and  the  Church  follows  the  custom,  more  ancient  than  itself, 
of  laying  the  dead  looking  to  the  East,  because  that  is  the  attitude  of  prayer,  and 
because  at  the  last  trump  they  will  hurry  eastward.  So  in  Eusebius  (His.  Eccl., 
420,  19)  a  martyr  explains  to  his  pagan  judge  that  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  the 
fatherland  of  the  pious,  lay  exactly  in  the  East,  at  the  rising  place  of  the  sun. 

334.  Song]   WHITE  (Sh.  Scholar,  466):    Can  any  one  familiar  with  the  cast  of 
Shakespeare's  thought,  the  turn  of  his  expression,  and  the  rhythm  of  his  verse, 
believe  that  this  Song  is  his?     It  could  not  be  at  once  tamer,  more  pretentious,  or 
more  unsuited  to  the  characters  than  it  is.     What  did  Guiderius  or  Arviragus,  bred 
from  infancy  in  the  forest,  know  about  'chimney  sweepers'?     How  foreign  to  their 
characters  to  philosophize  on  '  the  sceptre,  learning,  physick ' !     Will  anybody  believe 
that  Shakespeare,  after  he  was  out  of  Stratford  Grammar  School,  or  before,  wrote 
such  a  couplet,  as  'All  lovers  young,  all  lovers  must  Consign  to  thee  and  come  to 
dust'?     Has  he  throughout  his  works  given  us  reason  to  suspect  him,  on  any  evi- 
dence short  of  his  own  hand  and  seal,  of  making  these  two  lads,  burying  their 
adopted  stripling  brother  by  the  mouth  of  their  cave  in  the  primeval  forest,  close 
their  dirge  with  such  a  wish  as,  'Quiet  consummation  have,  And  renowned  be  thy 
grave'?  .  .  .  The  lines  are  the  production  of  some  clumsy  prentice  of  the  muse. 
[These  remarks  White  repeated  in  his  edition.] — HALLIWELL:   This  truly  beautiful 
dirge  may  safely  be  left  to  its  own  influences,  yet  it  may  be  worthy  of  note  how  ex- 
quisitely the  fears  dissipated  by  the  hand  of  Death  are  made  to  harmonize  with  the 


324  THE  TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  iv,  sc.  it. 

Thou  thy  worldly  task  haft  dou,  337 

Home  art  gon  yand  tane  tJiy  wages. 
Golden  Lads  ^and  Girles  all  mnjl ', 

As  Chimney-Sweepers  come  to  dufl .  340 

Arui.     Fcare  no  more  the  frownc  tfttf  Great, 

338.  tane]  take  F(F4,  Rowe.  340.  Chimney-Sweepers]      Chimney 
wages.]  wages;  Cap.  et  seq.               Sweepers     Rowe      ii,    Theob.     Warb. 

339.  Golden]  Both  golden  Johns.  Var.         Johns. 

'73, '78.    Both.   Golden  Var. '85.  Ran.  341.  o'th'J    F2F4,   Rowe, 4-.     oth  F3. 

Girles  all]  lasses  Coll.  MS.  o'the  Cap.  et  seq. 

character  of  the  wild  district  in  which  the  speakers  were  then  living.  [In  Shake- 
spcariana,  vol.  v,  p.  196,  will  be  found  a  translation  of  this  Song,  into  Latin,  by 
GOLDWIN  SMITH.  In  1759  WILLIAM  HAWKINS,  Late  Fellow  of  Pembroke  College, 
and  Professor  of  Poetry  in  the  University  of  Oxford,  'new-constructed  this  Tragedy,' 
as  we  learn  from  his  Preface,  by  'enlarging  and  improving  some  of  the  original  parts.' 
(The  Italics  are  Hawkins's.)  Under  this  improvement  we  have  the  following  version 
of  this  song:  'Fear  no  more  the  heat  o'th'sun,  Nor  the  furious  winter's  blast,' 
Thou  thy  worldly  task  hast  done,  And  the  dream  of  life  is  past.  Golden  lads  and 
girls  all  must  Follow  thee,  and  come  to  dust.  Fear  no  more  the  frown  o'th'great, 
Death  doth  mock  the  tyrant  foe;  Happiest  is  the  early  fate,  Misery  with  time  doth 
grow.  Monarchs,  sages,  peasants  must  Follow  thee,  and  come  to  dust.'  Of  these  two 
stanzas,  the  first  only  was  adopted  in  their  versions  by  Garrick  and  Kemble. — ED.] 

339.  Golden  Lads,  etc.]  In  some  thoughtless  moment,  I  fear  it  cannot  be  other- 
wise designated,  Dr  JOHNSON  prefixed  to  this  line  the  word  'Both,'  reading, 
'Both  golden  lads,'  etc.  The  Cam.  Edd.  noted  it  as  'a  misprint,'  and,  of  course, 
they  are  right.  Any  other  intimation  thereof  I  can,  however,  nowhere  find  in  any 
list  of  Errata,  Corrigenda,  or  Addenda  in  subsequent  volumes.  And  it  is  a  'mis- 
print '  that  is  continued  in  the  two  following  Variorums.  Furthermore,  Dr  Johnson 
reiterated  it  in  line  345,  reading,  'Both  the  sceptre,'  etc.  Here  the  Var.  '73  and  '78 
deserted  him  and  followed  the  Folio;  but  the  Var.  '85  reads,  'Both,  The  sceptre,' 
etc.,  Dr  Johnson  printed,  I  am  quite  sure,  from  Theobald's  Second  Edition;  it  is 
unfortunate  that,  in  this  instance,  he  could  not  be  trusted  to  go  alone. — ED. 

339,  340.  Golden  Lads  .  .  .  come  to  dust]  STAUNTON:  There  is  something 
so  strikingly  inferior  both  in  the  thoughts  and  expression  of  the  concluding  couplet 
to  each  stanza  of  this  Song,  that  we  may  fairly  set  them  down  as  additions  from 
the  same  hand  which  furnished  the  contemptible  masque  or  vision  that  deforms  the 
last  Act. — ROLFE  :  I  am  inclined  to  agree  with  Staunton.  The  poor  pun  in  chimney 
sweepers  and  dust  could  hardly  have  been  tolerated  by  Shakespeare  in  his  later 
years;  and  the  couplet  has  no  natural  cohesion  with  the  preceding  lines.  The  same 
is  true  of  those  which  end  the  second  and  third  stanzas.  The  final  couplet  is  not  so 
much  out  of  place,  but  '  renowned '  is  a  word  out  of  place.  [Staunton  judiciously 
draws  a  distinction  between  the  stanzas  and  the  couplets,  which  White  does  not, 
although  the  lines  which  White  specifically  condemns  are  only  in  the  couplets. 
These  it  is  which  are  by  a  hand  other  than  Shakespeare's,  and  are  probably  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  same  trail  which  began  with  the  offensive  references  to  'rich  left 
heirs '  and  '  lying  priests.'  The  stanzas  themselves  are  Shakespeare's  very  own,  and 
in  their  melody  and  sad  sweetness  worthy  of  every  exclamation  of  admiration 
which  can  be  lavished  on  them. — ED.] 


ACT  iv,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE  325 

Tliou  art  p aft  the  Tirants  ftroakc,  342 

Care  no  more  to  cloatli  and  catc , 
To  tJice  tlic  Rccde  is  as  the  Oakc  : 

T/ic  Scepter )  Learning )PhyJicke  mujl)  345 

All folloiv  tJds  and  come  to  drift. 
Guid.    Feare  no  more  the  Lightning  flajh. 
Arui.    Nor  tl?  all-dreaded  Thunder/lone. 
Gui.    Feare  not  Slander ,  Ccnfure  rajh. 

Arui.    Thou  haft  finisKd  loy  and  mone.  350 

Both.   All  Louers young", all  Louers  muft , 

Conftgne  to  tJiee  and  come  to  diift . 
Guid.    No  Exorcifor  harme  thee, 
Arui.    Nor  no  witch-craft  c harme  thee.  354 

342.  ftroake,]  stroke;  Pope  et  seq.  Han.  Warb.  Cap. 

343.  eate,]  eat;  Pope  et  seq.  349.  Slander,  Cenfure]  slander's  cen- 

345.  The]    Both   the  Johns.     Both.         sure  Johns,  conj. 

The  Var.  '85.  Ran.  Cenfure]  censure,  Rowe  i. 

346.  this]      Ff.     thee,     Han.     Ran.  rafh.]  rash;  Cap.  et  seq. 
Herzberg.     this,  Rowe  et  cet.  350.  mone.j  moan:  Cap.  et  seq. 

347.  Lightning     flalh.]     Ff,     Rowe.  352.  thee]  F2.     thee,  F3F4,  Rowe  et 
lightning-flash.    Pope,-f-.        lightning-  seq.     this  Johns,  conj. 

-flash,  Cap.  et  cet.  (subs.)  353.  Exorcifor]  Exorcifer  Ff  et  seq. 

348.  all-dreaded]  all  dreaded  Rowe  ii,  353,  354.  harme... charme]    charm... 
Pope,  Han.                                                        harm  Warb.  (MS.,  N.  &  Q.,  VIII,  iii, 

Th undergone.]   Thunder- flone.  263). 

F3F4,  Rowe,+.    thunder-stone;  Cap.  et  353,  354,  355,  356.  thee.]  thee!  Pope 

seq.  et  seq. 

349.  not]  no  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Theob,  354.  Nor]  And  Pope,  Han. 

345.  The  Scepter,  Learning,  etc.]  JOHNSON:  The  Poet's  sentiment  seems  to 
have  been  this:  All  human  excellence  is  equally  subject  to  the  stroke  of  death; 
neither  the  power  of  kings,  nor  the  science  of  scholars,  nor  the  art  of  those  whose 
immediate  study  is  the  prolongation  of  life,  can  protect  them  from  the  final  destiny 
of  man. 

348.  Thunderstone]  So  Othello  asks:  'Are  there  no  stones  in  heaven  But 
what  serve  for  thunder?' — V,  ii,  234. — DOWDEN:  In  Conrad  Gesner's  De  Rerum 
Fossilium  .  .  .  fignris,  Zurich,  1565,  pp.  62-64,  thunderstones  are  depicted,  which 
are  obviously  prehistoric  stone-axes  and  stone-hammers. 

352.  Consigne  to  thee]   STEEVENS:   That  is,  'to  seal  the  same  contract  with 
thee,'  i.  e.,  add  their  names  to  thine  upon  the  register  of  death. — MURRAY  (N.  E.  D., 
s.  v.  5.  b.)  quotes  the  foregoing  definition  by  Steevens,  and   also  one  from  John- 
son:   'submit  to  the  same  terms  with  another,'  but  where  Johnson  gives  it  I  do 
not  know;  it  is  not  in  his  edition,  and  if  in  any  Variorum  it  has  escaped  me;  in  his 
Dictionary  the  definition  of  'consign'  is  'to  yield;  to  submit;  to  resign,'  with  the 
present  passage  as  its  sole  illustration.     It  is  also  Murray's  sole  illustration.     Under 
5.  a.  the  definition  of  'consign'  is  given  by  Murray:    'to  set  one's  seal,  subscribe, 
agree  to  anything'  and  2  Hen.  IV:  V,  ii,  143;  and  Hen.  V:  V,  ii,  326,  are  quoted. 

353.  Exorcisor]    Cotgrave:     'E.wrcisme:  m.    An    exorcisme,  or    exorcising,  a 


326 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF 


[ACT  iv,  sc.  ii. 


Quid.     GJioJl  vnlaid forbeare  thee.  355 

Arui.   Nothing  ill  come  neere  thee. 
Both.    Quiet  confirmation  haue. 

S*mS  ^/  / 

And  renowned  be  thy  graue . 

Enter  Belarius  with  the  body  of  Cloten. 

Gui.    We  haue  done  our  obfequies  :  360 

Come  lay  him  downe. 

Bel.  Heere's  a  few  Flowres,  but  'bout  midnight  more  : 
The  hearbes  that  haue  on  them  cold  dew  o'th'night 
Are  ftrewings  fit'ft  for  Graues  :  vpon  their  Faces.  364 


357.  haue,]  have;  Cap.  et  seq. 

358.  And      renowned]     Unremoved 
Han. 

graue.]  grave!  Pope. 
SCENE  vi.  Johns. 
360,  361.  One  line,  Pope  et  seq. 

360.  We  haue}  We've  Pope,  +  ,  Dyce 
ii,  Hi. 

361.  [They  place  him  beside  Imogen. 
Coll.  MS. 

362.  a  few]  few  F3F4. 

'bout]   Coll.   Dyce,   GIo.    Cam. 


about  Ff  et  cet. 

362.  midnight]  midnight,  Cap.  et  seq. 
(subs.) 

363.  o'th']  oth  F3F4.     o'the  Cap.  et 
seq. 

364.  Graues:]  graves.—  -  Pope  et  seq. 
their  Faces.]  Ff,  Coll.  Dyce,  Sta. 

Glo.  Cam.  their  faces —  Rowe,+. 
the  face —  Han.  their  ashes  Sprengel.  the 
surface  W.  W.  Lloyd  (N.  &  Q.,  VI,  xii, 
263).  sein  Gesicht,  i.  e.,  his  face  Hertz- 
berg,  their  faces: —  Cap.  et  cet. 


conjuring,  an  adjuring.'  Again,  'Grimoire.  A  booke  of  coniuring,  or  exorcising, 
much  in  vse  among  Popish  Priests.  Mots  de  la  Grimoire.  Conjurations,  exor- 
cismes,  coniuring,  or  exorcising  tearmes.' — MONCK  MASON  (p.  335):  Shakespeare 
invariably  uses  the  word  'exorcisor'  to  express  a  person  who  can  raise  spirits,  not 
one  who  lays  them.  So  Ligarius  in  Jul.  Cas.  says,  'Thou  like  an  exorcist,  hast 
conjured  up  my  mortified  spirit.' — II,  i,  323.  And  in  2  Hen.  VI,  where  Boling- 
broke  is  about  to  raise  a  spirit,  he  asks  Eleanor:  'Will  your  ladyship  behold  and 
hear  our  exorcisms?' — I,  iv,  5. 

357.  consumation]  HUDSON:  Probably  the  best  comment  on  this  is  fur- 
nished by  the  closing  prayer  in  the  Church  Burial  Service:  'That  we,  with  all 
those  who  are  departed  in  the  true  faith  of  Thy  Holy  Name,  may  have  our  perfect 
consummation  and  bliss,  both  in  body  and  soul,  in  thy  eternal  and  everlasting 
glory.' 

360.  We  haue  done  our  obsequies]  JOHNSON:  For  the  obsequies  of  Fidele 
a  song  was  written  by  my  unhappy  friend,  Mr  William  Collins  of  Chichester,  a  man 
of  uncommon  learning  and  abilities.  I  shall  give  it  a  place  at  the  end  in  honour 
of  his  memory.  [See  Appendix.] 

3.^+.  vpon  their  Faces]  CAPELL  (p.  116):  But  here  was  but  one  face  to  do  it 
on,  for  that  of  Cloten  was  gone;  a  small  impropriety  (designed  or  undesigned,  is 
uncertain). — HEATH  (p.  485):  We  must  understand  Euriphile  as  well  as  Fidele  to 
have  been  buried  in  a  cave,  not  under  the  earth,  otherwise  the  raddock  could  not 
have  brought  them  flowers  and  moss,  nor  could  Imogen  or  the  carcase  of  Cloten 
have  been  seen  by  passengers.  The  flowers  were,  therefore,  strewed  on  Euriphile 
as  well  as  Imogen,  and  both  of  them  are  addressed  in  the  line  'which  we  upon  you 
strew.' — STAUNTON  (Athenceum,  14  June,  1873):  I  attribute  the  fault  in  these 


ACT  iv,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE  327 

[364.   vpon  their  Faces] 

lines  to  the  compositors  rather  than  to  Shakespeare,  and  believe  those  inveterate 
offenders  have  here  spoiled  a  very  beautiful  apostrophe  to  the  supposed  dead 
Fidele  and  the  deceased  Cloten:  'Upon  the  earth's  face  You  were  as  flowers;  now 
wither'd;  even  so  These,'  etc.  [Hereupon  follow  justifications  of  'earth's  face' 
from  Rich.  Ill:  V,  iii;  3  Hen.  VI:  II,  iii,  and  from  Dr  Donne's  Funeral  Elegy  on  Mrs 
Boitlstred,  where  the  poet,  addressing  Death,  says:  '  Th' earth's  face  is  but  thy  table; 
there  are  sett  Plants,  cattell,  men,  dishes  for  Death  to  eat.'  Hudson  adopted 
this  emendation,  reading,  however,  'Earth's  face,'  not  'the  earth's  face.'] — BR. 
NICHOLSON  (N.  6*  Q.,  VI,  xii,  425,  1885)  doubts  that  'Cloten's  body  has  laid  in  the 
grave  side  by  side  with  Imogen.'  I  think  Dr  Nicholson  must  have  forgotten 
Imogen's  awakening  and  her  exclamation,  'no  Bedfellow!'  Again,  when  he  goes 
on  to  say  that  he  is  'sure'  that  'Come  lay  him  down'  refers  to  Imogen,  he  seems 
to  have  overlooked  the  reply  of  Arviragus,  '  Bee't  so,'  when  Guiderius  says  that 
Imogen  is  to  be  laid  'by  good  Eriphile.'  'I  had  once  thought,'  continues  Nicholson, 
'of  the  change,  "  Upon  her  [the  earth's]  face,"  but  now  I  see  that  the  text  is  far  better 
and  only  requires  the  substitution  of  a  comma  for  a  full  stop  after  "faces."  "Upon 
their  faces"  is  "Upon  the  faces  of  these  flowers  that  I  have  gathered."  The 
speaker  would  say:  "You,  Fidele,  once  moved  upon  the  faces  of  these  herbelets, 
but  now  you  are  withered;  even  so  these  new  fresh  herbelets  which  we  strew  upon 
you  shall  within  a  few  hours  wither,  so  soon  do  beauty  and  fragrance  and  youth 
pass  away";  the  frequent  Biblical  simile  (Ps.  ciii,  15, 16)  occurring  to  him  (as  it  does 
immediately  afterwards  to  Imogen)  and  in  some  degree  being  his  solace.' — INGLEBY 
(reading  'Upon  their  faces  You  were  as  flowers,'  etc.):  This  means,  'Upon  the 
faces  of  the  herbs  you  were  as  flowers  now  withered.  Just  so,  these  herblets, 
which  we  strew  upon  you,  shall  serve  for  flowers.'  Throughout  the  passage 
'you'  and  'your'  consistently  refer  to  the  corses,  and  'their'  and  'these'  to  the 
herbs.  The  commentators  impute  to  Shakespeare  an  oversight  of  their  own  crea- 
tion. 'Shall'  is  an  extraordinary  ellipsis:  and  possibly  a  line  is  lost.  [Dr  Ingleby's 
interpretation  would  carry  more  weight  if  he  could  have  given  us  only  a  single 
reference  where  an  author  had  spoken  of  the  face  of  an  herb.  The  'extraordinary 
ellipsis'  after  'shall'  is  due  to  the  removal  of  the  full  stop  after  'Faces.'  In  the 
Revised  Edition  by  Dr  Ingleby's  son,  Holcombe,  the  full  stop  is  restored  and  the 
ellipsis  is  easily  filled.  His  good  paraphrase  is  as  follows:  'You  (addressing  the 
bodies)  were  once  as  flowers,  but  now  are  withered;  even  so  shall  these  herblets 
wither,  which  we  strew  on  you.' — ED.] — DEIGHTON:  By  'upon  their  faces'  nothing 
more  is  probably  meant  than  on  the  front  of  their  bodies,  they  being  naturally  laid 
on  their  backs,  or,  as  we  say,  'face  upward.' — THISELTON  (p.  40):  'Upon  their 
faces'  explains  why  such  'strewings  are  fit'st  for  Graues,'  namely,  because  the 
'cold  dew  o'th'night'  on  the  herbes  resembles  tears  on  the  faces  of  the  mourners.— 
VAUGHAN  (reading  '  You,  were  as  flowers,  now  wither ') :  That  is,  '  You,  who  were 
once  as  flowers,  now  wither.  Even  so  shall  wither  these  herblets.'  [It  seems  to  me 
that  the  punctuation  of  the  Folio  should  be  retained  and  '  Upon  their  Faces '  is  to 
be  regarded  as  a  direction  by  Belarius  to  the  two  youths,  as  to  the  strewing  of  the 
flowers.  Deighton's  interpretation  is,  to  me,  the  true  one,  and  that  'faces'  means 
merely  the  front  of  the  body.  It  is  common  enough  to  say  that  a  child  is  '  sleeping 
on  his  face.'  Belarius  says,  'Here's  a  few  flowers,  but  'bout  midnight  more'; 
although  the  obsequies  were  over,  the  bodies  were  not,  therefore,  interred;  he 
afterwards  says  that  the  'ground  has  them,'  in  the  sense,  I  suppose,  that  they 


328  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  iv,  sc.  ii. 

You  were  as  Flowres,  now  withered  :  euen  fo  365 

Thefe  Herbelets  mall,  which  we  vpon  you  ftrew. 

Come  on,  away,  apart  vpon  our  knees  : 

The  ground  that  gaue  them  firft,  ha's  them  againe  : 

Their  pleafures  here  are  paft,fo  are  their  paine.       Exeunt. 

Imogen  awafces.  370 

Yes  Sir,  to  Milford-Hauen,  which  is  the  way  ? 
I  thanke  you  :  by  yond  bum?  pray  how  farre  thetherf 
'Ods  pittikins  :  can  it  be  fixe  mile  yet  ? 
I  haue  gone  all  night :  'Faith,  He  lye  downe,  and  fleepe. 
But  foft ;  no  Bedfellow  /    Oh  Gods,  and  Goddeffes  /  375 

Thefe  Flowres  are  like  the  pleafures  of  the  World  ; 
This  bloody  man  the  care  on't.    I  hope  I  dreame  :  377 

366.  Herbelets]  Ff,  Rowe,+.     herb'-        Ran.  Steev.  Varr.  Knt. 

lets  or  herblets  Cap.  et  cet.  372.  bujh?]  bush —  Pope,  Han. 

Jlrew]  Ff,  Rowe,  Coll.  Sta.  Glo.  thcthcr?}  Fz. 

straw  Pope  et  cet.  373.  pittikins:]  pittikins —  Rowe,  +  . 

367.  away,]     away.     Johns.      away;  pittikins!  Cap.  et  seq. 

Cap.  et  seq.  mile]  miles  Var.  '78,  '85,  Mai. 

knees:]   Ff.     knees—     Rowe,+.  Ran.  Steev.  Varr.  Knt,  Coll.  i,  ii. 

knees.  Cap.  et  cet.  374-  /  haue]  I've  Pope,+,  Dyce  ii,  iii. 

Line  of  asterisks  here  follows,  night:]  night —  Rowe,+. 

Ktly.  375.  >//;]  Ff,  Cap.     soft!  Rowe  et 

369.  pleafures  here  are]  pleasure  here  cet. 

is  Pope,+,  Varr.  Ran.  Bedfellow?]  Ff.  bedfellow!  Rowe, 

are  their  paine]  Ff  (pain  F3F4),  Pope,    Ktly,    Glo.    Cam.        bedfellow. 

Rowe.     is  their  pain  Pope  et  seq.  Theob.  Coll.    bedfellow —  Warb.  bedfel- 

SCENE  vi.  Pope,  Han.  low,  Johns,     bedfellow:  Han.  et  cet. 

371-386.  Mnemonic  Pope,  Han.  [Seeing  the  Body.  Rowe. 

371.  Hauen]  Haven;  Cap.  et  seq.  376.  Thefe]  The  Rowe  ii,  Pope,  Han. 

372.  you:]    you —    Rowe,+.       you,  377.  care]  cares  Han. 

Cap.  et  seq.  /    hope]   Sure   Pope.      I   hope, 

yond]   yond'    Cap.    Coll.    Ktly.         Tbeob.  Warb.  Johns.  Cap.  Varr.  Mai. 

yon'  Var.  '73.    yon  Var.  '78,  '85,  Mai.         Ran.  Steev.  Varr.  Ktly.     Hope  Vaun. 

repose  on  the  Earth,  where  they  will  gradually  moulder.  Heath,  who  is  too  thought- 
ful a  critic  to  have  his  opinions  disregarded,  seems  to  suppose,  from  line  304,  that 
Euriphile's  body  was  still  exposed  and  that  Imogen  was  placed  by  her  side;  this  is 
hard  to  reconcile  with  Imogen's  awakening  by  the  side  of  Cloten's  trunk.  This 
scene  presents  many  a  difficulty  to  the  Stage  Manager. — ED.] 

366.  strew]  DYCE  (Remarks,  p.  259):  Read,  with  other  modern  editors, 'strow'; 
for  a  rhyme  was  certainly  intended  here  as  at  the  conclusion  of  the  speech.  That 
transcribers  were  in  the  habit  of  writing  '  strew '  and  '  strow '  indifferently  is  beyond 
a  doubt. 

373.  'Ods   pittikins]   MURRAY    (N.  E.  D.}:    OD.     A  minced  form  of  God, 
which  came  into  vogue  about  1600,  when,  to  avoid  the  overt  profanation  of  sacred 
names,  many  minced  and  disguised  equivalents  became  prevalent.      2.  The  pos- 
sessive 'ods  occurs  like  God's,  Gad's  in  many  asseverative  or  exclamatory  formulae. 
Pittikins,  diminutive  of  'pity,'  like  bodikins. 


ACT  iv,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE 


329 


For  fo  I  thought  I  was  a  Caue-keeper,  378 

And  Cooke  to  honeft  Creatures.     But  'tis  not  fo  : 

'Twas  but  a  bolt  of  nothing,  fhot  at  nothing,  380 

Which  the  Braine  makes  of  Fumes.     Our  very  eyes, 

Are  fometimes  like  our  Judgements,  blinde.     Good  faith 

I  tremble  ftill  with  feare :  but  if  there  be 

Yet  left  in  Heauen,  as  fmall  a  drop  of  pittie 

As  a  Wrens  eye  ;  fear'd  Gods,  a  part  of  it.  385 

The  Dreame's  hecre  ftill  :  euen  when  I  wake  it  is 

378.  fo]    sure    Pope,    Theob.    Han.  385.  eye;]  eye,  Pope  et  seq. 

Warb.   Cap.     so,  Var.    '78,    '85,   Mai.  ^  fear'd]   oh  Pope,   Theob.   Han. 

Ran.    Steev.    Varr.    Knt.      lo!    Sing.  WarbT 

Coll.  ii,  iii.  (MS.)  Gods,]  gods!  Rowe  ii,+. 

379.  But]  Om.  Pope,  Han.  a  part]  F4.    apart  F2F3. 
381.  Fumes.]  Ff,  Rowe,  Johns.  Coll.                      of  it.]  of  it!  Rowe  ii.  et  seq. 

fumes:  Pope  et  cet. 

378.  For  so]  COLLIER'S  MS.  changes  'so'  to  lo.  'Rightly  perhaps,'  says  DYCE 
(ed.  ii.). — VAUGHAN  (p.  493):  'So,'  however,  has  a  good  meaning,  which  sure  and 
lo  spoil.  Imogen  justifies  her  expectation  that  what  she  sees  is  a  dream  by  ob- 
serving that  'so',  i.  e.,  'in  the  same  way,'  she  had  taken  herself  for  a  cave-keeper, 
and  that  turned  out  a  delusion.  Surely  we  should  punctuate  better  thus  [line 
378,  as  in  the  text]:  'And  cook  to  honest  creatures,  but  'tis  not  so.'  [It  seems  to  me 
that  Vaughan  is  emphatically  right  in  condemning  Collier's  lo.  'So'  refers  to  her 
hope  that  she  had  been  dreaming, — then  various  pictures  float  dimly  before  her: 
that  she  was  in  a  cave,  that  she  cooked  for  honest  creatures,  but  it  was  all  shadowy, 
and  she  concludes  'it  is  not  so,'  it  cannot  have  happened,  it  was  merely  like  an 
aimless  arrow  which  the  brain  sometimes  crystallises  in  a  flash  out  of  mists, — it 
was  all  a  dream.  Thus,  step  by  step,  we  mount  to  the  agony  of  her  heart-rending 
cry,  'the  dream's  here  still!' — ED.] 

378,  379.  a  Caue-keeper,  And  Cooke  to  honest  Creatures]  CRAIG: 
There  should  probably  be  no  stop  after  'cave-keeper.'  Imogen  means  'up  to 
this  I  fancied  that  the  people  I  attended  on,  whose  cave  I  cared  for  and  for  whom 
I  cooked,  were  honorable.'  [Apparently,  this  interpretation  that  the  cave-keeper 
was  not  honest  is  derived  from  the  words  that  follow:  'But  'tis  not  so.'  But  does 
not  this  refer  to  '  dreaming, '  and  not  to  the  honesty  of  the  cave-dwellers?  She  had 
just  hoped  that  it  was  'so,'  that  is,  a  dream.  She  now  says  'it  was  not  so.' — ED.] 

383.  I    tremble    still   with    feare]    ECCLES:    She  seems,  at  pronouncing  these 
words,  to  have  risen  from  the  ground,  and  stood  somewhat  apart  from  the  body. 

384,  385.  as  small  a  drop  of  pittie  As   a  Wren's    eye]  It  is   'sacred  pity' 
that  'engenders'  drops  in  eyes  (.4s  You  Like  It,  II,  vii,  123),  and  Imogen  pleads 
but  for  a  drop  in  the  smallest  of  eyes. — ED. 

386.  The  Dreame's  heere  still :  euen  when  I  wake  it  is]  STAUNTON 
(AthentBum,  14  June,  1873):  Another  of  the  countless  instances  where  Shake- 
speare's meaning  has  been  enfeebled  or  destroyed  by  an  erroneous  punctuation 
point:  'The  dream's  here  still,  even  when  I  wake!  It  is,' etc.  [I  cannot  see  any 
improvement.  On  the  contrary,  it  seems  to  me  to  enfeeble  the  force  of  'here.' — 
ED.] 


330 


THE   TRACE  DIE  OF 


Without  me,  as  within  me  :  not  imagin'd,  felt. 
A  headleffe  man  ?   The  Garments  of  Posthumus  ? 
I  know  the  fhape  of  s  Legge  :  this  is  his  Hand  : 
His  Foote  Mercuriall  :  his  martiall  Thigh 

The  brawnes  of  Hercules  :  but  his  louiall  face 

Murther  in  heauen  f  How?  'tis  gone.    Pifanio, 
All  curfes  madded  Hecuba  gaue  the  Greekes, 
And  mine  to  boot,  be  darted  on  thee  :  thou 
Confpir'd  with  that  Irregulous  diuell  Cloten, 


[ACT  iv,  sc.  ii. 
387 

390 


395 


387.  within  me:.. .felt.]  within;  felt,  not 
imagined,  Cap.  conj. 

me]  Om.  Vaun. 

imagin'd]  imag'd  Dyce  ii,  conj. 

388.  man?]  man!  Rowe  et  seq. 
Posthumus?]   Posthumus!  Cap. 

et  seq. 

389.  ofs]  Ff,  Rowe,+,  Coll.  Dyce, 
Sta.  Glo.  Cam.    of  his  Cap.  et  cet. 

Legge:]  leg,  Rowe,+. 
Hand:]  hand,  Rowe,+- 

390.  Mercuriall:]    Mercurial,    Rowe, 

+  .' 

Thigh]  F2F3.    thigh,  F4,  Rowe,+. 
thigh:  Cap.  et  seq. 

391.  brawnes]  arms  Pope,  Han. 

but  his]  but' s  Walker  (Crit.,  iii, 


327)- 

391.  face—  -]face? —  Coll.  iii. 

392.  Murther]     Ff,     Rowe,     Pope, 
Theob.   Han.   Warb.   Cap.   Knt,  Wh. 
Murder  Johns,  et  cet. 

heauen?]  heav'n!  Rowe,  Pope, 
Han.  heaven!  Coll.  Sta.  Ktly. 

How?]  How!—  Rowe,+,  Dyce, 
Glo.  Cam. 

gone.]  gone—  Rowe,  Pope  i. 
gone!  Pope  ii,+. 

Pifanio,]  Pisanio! —  Rowe,+. 

394.  thee:}  thee!  Rowe  et  seq. 

395.  Confpir'd... diuell]     'Twas    thou 
conspiring  with  that  devil,  Pope,+. 

Irregulous]  irreligious  Johns, 
conj. 


390,  etc.  His  Foote  Mercuriall,  etc.]  H.  COLERIDGE  (ii,  192):    Shakespeare 
seldom,  very  seldom,  repeats  himself;  but  certainly  this  mythological  dissection  is 
very  like  Hamlet's  description  of  his  father.     In  Hamlet,  however,  not  only  is  the 
roTrof  better  made  out,  but  the  application   is   much  more  natural  and  forcible. 
Here,  considering  that  the  mercurial  foot,  herculean  brawns,  etc.,  belong  in  reality 
to  Cloten,  Shakespeare's  intention  probably  was  to  show  how  much  the  eyes  are 
fools  of  the  mind,  and  how  completely  passion  makes  the  beauty  or  deformity  it 
loves  or  loathes. 

391.  brawnes]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.  i.):    Fleshy  parts,  muscle;  especially  the 
rounded  muscle  of  the  arm  or  leg. 

391.  louiall]  STEEVENS:  This  signifies  here  such  a  face  as  belongs  to  Jove. 
It  is  frequently  used  in  the  same  sense  by  other  old  dramatic  writers.  Thus,  in 
Heywood's  Rape  of  Lucrece:  'Brutus.  Thou  Joviall  hand  held  up  thy  Scepter 
high,  And  let  not,'  etc.,  1630,  [sig.  k,  verso]. 

395.  Irregulous]  CAPELL  (p.  117):  A  word  that  cost  the  Poet  some  thought, 
is  of  the  same  derivation  as  irregular,  and,  in  truth,  of  the  same  sense;  but  usage 
having  weakened  the  latter,  this  was  coined  for  the  place;  and  the  sense  we  should 
put  in  it  is:  under  no  Rule  or  Governance. — MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.)  thus  analyses  its 
formation:  Ir  +  Lat.  regula  rule  +  -ous;  and  gives  the  present  as  the  only  instance 
known.  As  a  verb  and  participle,  ir regulate  and  irregulated  are  not  without  ex- 
amples. 


ACT    IV,   SC.   ii.j 


CYMBELINE 


Hath  heere  cut  off  my  Lord.    To  write,  and  read, 

Be  henceforth  treacherous.     Damn'd  Pifanio, 

Hath  with  his  forged  Letters  (damn'd  Pifanio) 

From  this  moft  braueft  veffell  of  the  world 

Strooke  the  maine  top !  Oh  Pofthumus^  alas, 

Where  is  thy  head?  where's  that?  Aye  me  !  where's  that  ? 

Pifanio  might  haue  kill'd  thee  at  the  heart, 

And  left  this  head  on.     How  fhould  this  be,  Pifanio  ? 


331 
396 


400 


403 


396.  Hath]  Have  Rowe.     Hast  Pope 
et  seq. 

397.  Pifanio,]  Pisanio  Rowe  et  seq. 

398.  forged]  forg'd  F3F4,  Rowe  i. 

400.  Slrooke]  F2.     Strook  F3.     Cap. 
Struck  F4. 

maine  top]  main-top  Theob. 
Warb.  et  seq. 

Oh  Pofthumus,  alas,]  Post  hu- 
mus!— 0,  alas,  Cap.  (errata),  Ran. 

401.  A  ye    me!      where' s]    F2.      Aye 
me  |  where's   F3.    Aye   me,   I,    where's 


F4.  Ay,  me,  ay,  where's  Rowe  i.  Ay 
me,  where's  Rowe  ii,  Theob.  i,  Pope. 
ah  me,  where's  Theob.  ii,  Han.  Warb. 
Johns.  Mai.  Steev.  Varr.  Knt,  Coll. 
Ktly.  (subs.) 

403.  this  head]  his  head  F3F4,  Rowe, 
Pope,  Theob.  thy  head  Han.  Warb. 
Cap.  Ran.  Dyce  ii,  iii,  Coll.  iii.  the 
head  Ktly. 

be,  Pifanio?]  Ff,  Theob.  Warb. 
be,  Pisanio!  Rowe,  Pope,  be?  Pisa- 
nio!—  Han.  be?  Pisanio?  Cap.  et  cet. 


396.  Hath]  This,  immediately  preceded  by  'Cloten,'  is  a  singular  by  attraction, 
like  'The  voice  of  all  the  gods  Make  heaven  drowsy  with  the  harmony.' — Love's 
Lab.  Lost,  IV,  iii,  364  (of  this  ed.).  A  plural  by  attraction  has  already  occurred 
in  the  present  play — I,  v,  22.  Such  sentences  present  to  us  a  melancholy  alter- 
native; we  must  sacrifice  either  our  ears  or  our  grammar.  Shakespeare  preferred 
grammar  as  the  victim.  I  cannot  believe  that  it  would  be  a  symptom  of  de- 
generacy if  we  followed  his  example  and  here  retained  'hath.' — ED. 

400.  maine  top]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  ZX):  This  is  the  Top  of  the  mainmast,  a 
platform  just  above  the  head  of  the  lower  mainmast.  Often  used  loosely  for  the 
mam-topgallant-masthead.  [Alas,  poor  Imogen,  in  her  distress,  has  used  the  term 
'loosely'!  Why,  did  not  Zachary  Jackson,  or  Andrew  Becket,  or  Lord  Chedworth 
assert  that  Imogen  must  have  used  the  full  nautical  term? — ED.] 

400.  Oh   Posthumus,  alas]  CAPELL  (p.  117)  changed  the  order  of  these  words 
not  only  to  'heighten  the  pathos,'  but  also  to  avoid  giving  an  accent  to  'Posthumus' 
that  does  not  occur  elsewhere  in  the  play.     But,  just  as  inter  arma  silent  leges,  so  in 
exclamations,  at  moments  of  extreme  passion  all  ordinary  rules  of  scansion  should  be 
silent,  and,  I  think,  that  here  the  usual  pronunciation  of  Posthumus  should  be 
retained. — ED. 

401.  Aye  me  !  where's]  Note  in  the  Text.  Notes  the  genesis  of  an  error.     In  F3 
the  exclamation  mark  after  'me'  is  a  badly  battered  type,  and  resembles  an  up- 
right bar,  which  the  compositor  of  F4  mistook  for  the  first  personal  pronoun,  and 
accordingly  set  it  up  as  'I,'  added  a  comma,  and  thus  it  was  all  ready  to  be  con- 
verted by  Rowe  into  'ay.' — ED. 

403.  And  left  this  head  on]  VAUGHAN  (p.  495):  I  would  read,  'And  left  this 
on.'  'This'  is  'thy  head,'  just  made  mention  of,  and  therefore  'this.'  But  the 
introduction  of  'head'  converts  a  proper  expression  into  an  absurdity,  for  'this 
head'  must  mean  the  head  here  present. 


332  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  iv,  sc.  ii. 

'Tis  he,  and  Cloten  :  Malice,  and  Lucre  in  them 

Haue  laid  this  Woe  heere.     Oh  'tis  pregnant,  pregnant !       405 

The  Drugge  he  gaue  me,  which  hee  faid  was  precious 

And  Cordiall  to  me,  haue  I  not  found  it 

Murd'rous  to'th'Senfes  ?  That  confirmes  it  home  : 

This  is  Pifanirfs  deede,  and  Cloten  :  Oh  !  409 

404.  he,  and]  he  and  F3F4,  Rowe,+,         Wh.  i. 

Dyce,  Sta.  Ktly,  Glo.  Gam.  Coll.  iii.  408.  to'/A']  to  tV  F3F4,  Rowe,+.     to 

Cloten:]  Cloten.  Ff,  Rowe,+.  the  Cap.  et  seq. 

408.  Murd'rous]  Murdr'ous  F4.    Mur-  409.  Cloten:]    F2F4,    Rowe,    Coll.    i. 

th'rous  Theob.   ii,   Warb.     Murderous  Clotten:  F3.     Cloten.  Vaun.      Cloten 's 

Coll.  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam.    mnrtherous  Pope  et  cet. 

405.  pregnant]  NARES    (Gloss.):    That   is,   ready   or   apt   to  produce.       The 
metaphorical  senses  of  this  word,  by  which  it  was  applied  to  the  productiveness  of 
mind,  genius,  argument,  etc.,  are  now  in  general  obsolete,     i.  Stored  with  informa- 
tion:   'Our  cities,  institutions,  and  the  terms  For  common  justice,  you  are  as 
pregnant  in,  As  art  or  practice  hath  enriched  any  That  we  remember.' — Meas.  for 
Meas.,  I,  i,  12.     Hence  the  contrary,  Mw-pregnant.      2.  Ingenious,  full  of  art  or  in- 
telligence:   'Disguise,  I  see,  thou  art  a  wickedness  Wherein  the  pregnant  enemy 
[i.  e.,  the  devil]  does  much.' — Twel.  Night,  II,  ii,  29;  'How  pregnant  sometimes  his 
replies  are!' — Ham.,  II,  ii,  212.      3.  Apprehensive,  ready  to  understand,  rich  in 
perceptive  powers :  '  My  master  hath  no  voice,  lady,  but  to  your  own  most  pregnant 
and  vouchsafed  ear.' — Twel.  Night,  III,  i,  100.     It  is  marked,  however,  in  this 
sense  as  somewhat  affected,  for  the  foolish  Sir  Andrew  immediately  takes  it  up,  as  a 
superfine  word,  fit  to  be  remembered:  'Odours,  pregnant,  and  vouchsafed!    I'll  get 
them  all  three  ready.'     4.  Applied  to  an  argument;  full  of  force  or  conviction,  or 
full  of  proof  in  itself:   'Now,  sir,  this  granted,  as  it  is  a  most  pregnant  and  unforc'd 
position.' — Othello,  II,  i,  239.     [Also  the  present  line.]     The  word  was,  however, 
used  with  great  laxity,  and  sometimes  abus'd,  as  fashionable  terms  are;  but  gener- 
ally may  be  referred  to  the  ruling  sense  as  being  full,  or  productive  of  something. 
Thus  in  Ham.,  'And  crook   he  pregnant  hinges  of  the  knee,  Where  thrift  may  follow 
fawning.' — III,  ii,  66.     Where  I  should  not  so  much  interpret  it  quick,  ready,  as 
Johnson  and  others  do;  but  artful,  designing,  full  of  deceit. — SCHMIDT  (Lex.,  s.  v.  3.) : 
'Probable  in  the  highest  degree,  clear,  evident.'     As  illustrations  of  these  meanings 
the  following  quotations  are  given:   "tis  very  pregnant,'  Meas.  for  Meas.,  II,  i,  23; 
the  present  passage;  'most  true,  if  ever  truth  were  pregnant  by  circumstance,' 
Wint.  Tale,  V,  ii,  34;  'it  is  a  most  pregnant  and  unforced  position,'  Othello,  II,  i,  239; 
'were't  not  that  we  stand  up  against  them  all,  'twere  pregnant  they  should  square 
between  themselves,'  Ant.  &  Cleop.,  II,  i,  45.     [In  all  of  them  there  seems  to  me  to 
be  a  trace  of  meaning  on  which  Nares  lays  stress  and  Schmidt  overlooks,  namely, 
an  intimation  of  fulness,  of  aggregation,  of  complexity.       Imogen's  exclamation, 
'Oh  'tis  pregnant,  pregnant!'  indicates,  I  think,  that  light  is  just  dawning  on  her. 
The  mere  mention  of  Pisanio  and  Cloten,  of  whom  she  has  just  spoken,  gives  the 
clew,  and  she  suddenly  realizes  that  these  two  names  enfold  the  whole  mystery,— 
that  they  are  big  with  the  plot  against  her  life.     Shakespeare's  use  of  'pregnant' 
always  presents  a  problem,  with  a  distinctive,  subtle  meaning — it  is  itself  'preg- 
nant.'—ED.] 


ACT  iv,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE  333 

Giue  colour  to  my  pale  cheeke  with  thy  blood,  410 

That  we  the  horrider  may  feeme  to  thofe 

Which  chance  to  finde  vs.     Oh,  my  Lord  !  my  Lord  !  412 

412.  chance]  chace  Ff,  Ro\ve  i.  412.  [Falls  on  the  body.  Glo.   Falling 

and  embracing  the  body.  Coll.  iii. 

412.  Oh,  my  Lord!  my  Lord!]  ANON.  (qu.  Campbell?)  Blackwood,  Feb., 
1833,  p.  152) :  We  remember  that  we  used  to  think  of  old  that  Imogen's  passion  on 
finding  what  she  believed  was  the  dead  body  of  Posthumus  was  not  enough  intense. 
Boy-critics  then  were  we  on  Shakespeare — now  we  are  an  old  man.  What  is  the 
truth?  Imogen  has  awoke  from  a  poisoned  swoon — and  has  been  bestrewed  with 
flowers  like  one  of  the  dead.  As  the  swoon  has  gone,  on  conies  sleep.  'Faith  I'll 
lie  down  and  sleep! '  Something  human-like  is  beside  her  on  the  ground;  and  on  the 
uncertain  vision  she  says  to  herself,  'but  soft!  no  bedfellow!'  Then,  seeing  that 
it  is  indeed  a  body,  she  utters  that  beautiful  exclamation:  'O  gods  and  goddesses! 
Those  flowers  are  like  the  pleasures  of  the  world;  This  bloody  man  the  care  on't. 
7  hope  I  dream!'  For  a  while  longer  she  knows  not  whether  she  be  or  be  not  in  the 
power  of  a  dream;  all  she  knows  is,  that  her  whole  being  is  possessed  by  fear  and 
trembling.  She  says:  'But  if  there  be  Yet  left  in  heaven  as  small  a  drop  of  pity 
As  a  wren's  eye,  feard  gods,  a  part  of  it!'  Her  fancy — her  imagination — as  she 
lies  there  half  entranced — are  bewildered  by  and  bewilder  her  passion — and  all  the 
language  then  given  utterance  to  in  her  strange  agony  is  pitched  wild  and  high,  a 
wonderful  wailing  of  poetry. 

'The  dream's  here  still!  It  is  even  when  I  wake,  Without  me  as  within  me;  not 
imagined,  felt.  A  headless  man!'  At  that  moment  her  emotion  must  be — horror. 
In  it  all  her  senses  are  bound  up;  but  it  relaxes  its  hold,  and  she  now  has  the  whole 
miserable  use  of  her  eyes.  'The  garment  of  Posthumus!'  The  human  heart  can 
suffer  but  a  measure — in  hers,  it  has  been  an  overflowing  one — of  any  one  passion. 
Her  actions,  her  words,  are  now  calmer — they  shew  almost  composure — she  in- 
spects the  body  of  her  husband  with  a  fearful  accuracy  of  love.  '  I  know  the  shape 
of  his  leg;  this  is  his  hand;  his  foot  Mercurial;  his  Martial  thigh;  The  brawns  of 
Hercules;  but  his  Jovial  face — Murder  in  heaven!  How?  'Tis  gone!'  Had  she 
seen  him  lying  unmutilated  in  the  majestic  beauty  of  death,  she  would  have  poured 
out  her  heart,  in  tenderest  grief,  and  there  would  have  been  more  of  what  is  com- 
monly called  pathos  in  her  lamentations,  but  the  bloody  neck — the  sight,  the 
touch  of  that  extorts  but  one  wild  cry.  'Murder  in  heaven!'  'How?  'tis  gone!' 
Who  but  a  Siddons  could  have  uttered  these  words  in  shrieks  and  moans!  With 
suitable  accompaniment  of  stony  eyeballs,  clay-white  face,  and  the  convulsive 
wringing  of  agonized  hands !  Out  of  the  ecstacy  of  horror,  and  grief,  and  pity,  and 
love,  and  distraction,  and  despair  arise — indignation  and  wrath  towards  his  mur- 
derers. Pisanio!  be  all  curses  darted  on  thee!  and  that  'irregulous  devil  Cloten!' 
All  is  at  once  brought  to  light.  The  circumstantial  evidence  of  their  guilt  is 
'strong  as  proof  of  Holy  Writ,'  or  rather  she  sees  the  murderers  revealed,  as  in  a 
lurid  flash  of  lightning.  Forgery!  poisoning!  assassination!  'Damned  Pisanio!' 
'  Pisanio ! '  '  Pisanio ! '  '  Damned  Pisanio ! '  '  This  is  Pisanio's  deed ! '  '  'Tis  he  and 
Cloten!'  'Pisanio's  deed  and  Cloten's!'  'O, 'tis  pregnant,  pregnant!'  Thus  she 
clenches  the  proof  of  their  guilt  by  the  iteration  of  their  accursed  names,  the  very 
sound  of  every  syllable  composing  them  being  to  her  ears  full  of  cruelty  and  wick- 


•534  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  iv,  sc.  ii. 

Enter  Lucius ,  Captaines ,  and  a  SootJifayer.  413 

Cap.     To  them,  the  Legions  garrifon'd  in  Gallia 

Scene  vii.  Pope, -f-.    Scene  continued.  Cap. 
Theob.  414.  To   them]   Ff,   Rowe,+,    Cap. 

413.  Enter...]    Enter,   as  in   March,  Varr.  Mai.  Steev.  Knt,  Sta.     To  them 
Lucius,  a  Captain  and  other  Officers...  (a  stage  direction)  Anon.  ap.  Cam. 

edness.  'Where  is  thy  head?  where' s  that?  Ah  me!  where' s  that?  Pisanio  might 
have  killed  thee  at  the  heart,  and  left  this  head  onf 

But,  had  his  heart  been  stabbed,  and  his  breast  all  blood-bedabbled,  would  her 
woe  have  been  less  wild?  Then  had  she  thought,  'he  might  have  spared  the 
heart!'  Distracted  though  she  be,  and  utterly  prostrate,  what  a  majestic  image 
crosses  her  brain,  as  she  gazes  on  the  majestic  corpse!  'From  this  most  bravest 
vessel  of  the  world  Struck  the  main-top! '  'O! — Give  colour  to  my  pale  cheek  with 
thy  blood,  That  we  the  horrider  may  seem  to  those  Which  chance  to  find  us:  O, 
my  lord!  my  lord!' 

Does  she  smear  her  face  with  his  blood?  A  desperate  fancy!  In  her  horror  she 
madly  desires  to  look  horrid;  and  all  this  world  being  terribly  changed  to  her,  she 
must  be  terribly  changed  too,  and  strike  with  affright  '  those  which  chance  to  find 
her.'  She  has  forgot  the  cave  and  its  dwellers,  that,  as  she  was  recovering  from  her 
swoon,  kept  glimmering  before  her  eyes.  She  thinks  no  more  that  she  'was  a  cave- 
keeper,  and  cooked  to  honest  creatures' — to  her  Guiderius  and  Arviragus  have 
ceased  to  be — their  beautiful  images  are  razed  out  from  her  brain.  She  cares  not 
on  what  part  of  the  wide  wild  world  she  may  be  laying  now;  and  her  last  words,  ere 
once  more  they  stop  the  beating  of  her  heart,  are,  '0,  my  lord!  my  lord!' 

414.  To  them]  The  ingenious  and  plausible  suggestion  that  these  words  formed 
part  of  the  stage  direction  is  recorded  as  an  Anonymous  Conjecture  in  the  CAM. 
ED.  of  1866.     Not  knowing  that  he  had  been  anticipated,  it  was  re-conjectured  by 
R.  M.  SPENCE  in  N.  6*  Q.,  in  January,  1880.      It  was  sur-re-conjectured  by  the 
same,  in  the  same,  in  March,  1897,  and,  after  expressing  regret  that  it  had  never 
been  adopted,  after  the  many  years  since  he  proposed  it,  Spence  doubted  that  any 
one  would  have  '  the  fortitude  to  defend  the  present  text.'     His  doubt  was  removed 
by  'B.  C. '  in  Notes  &°  Queries  for  i  May,  1897,  who  upheld  the  retention  of  'To 
them'  in  the  text,  for  the  following  reasons:    'In  III,  vii,  we  have  a  conference 
between  Senators  and  Tribunes  as  to  the  legions  to  be  appointed  for  service  in 
Britain.     Three  bodies  of  troops  then  mentioned:     (i)  The  force  remaining  in 
Gallia.     (2)  Another  force,  the  subject  of    supposed  preceding  conference.     (3)  A 
further  supplementary  levy  to  be  made  under  a  commission  to  the  Tribunes. 
Taking  the  speech  in  question  to  be  a  continuation  of  a  conversation  commenced 
before  the  actual  presence  of  the  actors  on  the  stage,  a  reference  may  be  made  to  a 
junction  of  the  first  two  bodies  and  their  being  in  readiness  at  Milford  Haven,  the 
third  body  being  the  "confiners  and  gentlemen  of  Italy  under  conduct  of  bold 
lachimo"  shortly  expected.'     On  the  2gih  of  January,  1898,  through  the  same 
channel,  Spence  replied  to  'B.  C.'  that  it  was  quite  true  that  there  were  three  bodies 
of  troops,  but  of  these  only  two  were  available  for  use  in  Britain.     Lucius,  who  com- 
manded the  legions  in  Gallia,  had  preceded  them  to  Britain  and  was  now  informed 
of  their  arrival  there.     The  Roman  levy  has  not  yet  arrived,  and  there  were  no 
other  troops  to  which  'the  words  "to  them"  can  refer.' — DOWDEN  interprets  these 
words  as  'in  addition  to  them.' 


ACT  iv,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE 

After  your  will,  haue  croft  the  Sea,  attending  415 

You  heere  at  Milford-Hauen,  with  your  Shippes  : 
They  are  heere  in  readineffe. 

Luc.     But  what  from  Rome  ? 

Cap,    The  Senate  hath  ftirr'd  vp  the  Confiners, 
And  Gentlemen  of  Italy,  moft  willing  Spirits,  420 

That  promife  Noble  Seruice  :  and  they  come 
Vnder  the  Conduct  of  bold  lac/iimo, 
Syenncfs  Brother. 

Luc.    When  expect  you  them  ? 

Cap.    With  the  next  benefit  o'th'winde.  425 

Luc.    This  forwardneffe 

Makes  our  hopes  faire.     Command  our  prefent  numbers 
Be  mutter' d  :  bid  the  Captaines  looke  too't.     Now  Sir, 
What  haue  you  dream'd  of  late  of  this  warres  purpofe.  429 

415.  Sea,]  sea;  Cap.  et  seq.  425.  o'th']  F2,  Rowe,+-     oth'  F3F4. 

416.  with  your]  with  you   F2.     with        of  the  Cap.    d'the  Var.  '73  et  cet. 

you  or  with  their  Elze.  428.  mufter'd:]  muftercd,  Ff,  Rowe  ii. 

417.  are  heere]  are  Ff,  Rowe,+,  Cap.         muster' d,  Rowe  i,  Pope,  Han. 
Varr.  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam.  Coll.  iii.  [To  the  Soothsayer.  Kan. 

420.  Italy,]    Ff,    Ro\ve,  +  ,    Coll.    iii.  429.  What  haue]  What,  have  F3F4. 

Italy;  Cap.  et  cet.  purpofe.]     purpose?     Rowe    et 

mojl]  Om.  Cap.  seq. 


417.  They  are  heere]  DYCE:  The  transcriber  or  compositor  repeated  'heere' 
by  mistake  [from  the  line  immediately  above  it]. 

419.  Confiners]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  2.):  That  is,  one  living  within  the 
confines,  an  inhabitant.  [Other  than  the  present  passage,  the  only  quotation  is — 
1595,  Daniel,  Civil  Warres,  i,  Ixviii:  '  Happie  confiners  you  of  other  landes.'] — DYCE, 
following  Capell,  Steevens,  and  Malone,  places  an  accent  on  the  first  syllable, 
'  c6nfiners.'  '  Daniel  accents  confi-ners,'  says  Murray.  [I  am  not  quite  sure  that  the 
quotation  from  Daniel  bears  out  the  definition  of  'an  inhabitant.'  Daniel  repre- 
sents the  populace,  who  accompany  'Bullingbrooke'  to  the  sea-shore  to  begin  his 
six  years  of  exile,  as  lamenting  that  the  ocean  hems  them  'within  the  waterie 
prison  of  its  waves,'  and  none  escape  'the  eyes  of  wrath.'  'Happie  confiners,'  they 
say,  'you  of  other  landes,  That  shift  your  soyle,  and  oft  scape  tyrants  hands.' 
Does  not  'confiners'  here  point  to  'borderers,'  which  is  Murray's  first  definition, 
rather  than  to  mere  'inhabitants'?  To  escape  a  tyrant  cannot  those  who  live 
on  the  confines,  on  the  borders,  pass  from  one  country  to  another  more  swiftly  and 
readily  than  those  who  are  'stopt  by  the  fearefull  ocean'  or  are  inhabitants  of  in- 
land cities? — ED.] 

423.  Syenna's  Brother]  STEEVENS:  That  is  (as  I  suppose  Shakespeare  to  have 
meant),  brother  to  the  Prince  of  Sienna;  but,  unluckily,  Sienna  was  a  republic.  See 
W.  Thomas's  Hist,  of  Italye,  1561,  p.  7,  b. — DOWDEN:  But  not  in  drama.  In 
Beaumont  &  Fletcher's  Woman  Pleased  we  find  a  Duke  of  Sienna. 


336 


THE   TRACE  DIE   OF 


[ACT  iv,  sc.  ii. 


Sooth.     Laft  night,  the  very  Gods  fhew'd  me  a  vifion         430 
(I  faft,and  pray'd  for  their  Intelligence)  thus  : 
I  faw  loues  Bird,  the  Roman  Eagle  wing'd 
From  the  fpungy  South,  to  this  part  of  the  Weft, 
There  vanifh'd  in  the  Sun-beames,  which  portends 
(Vnleffe  my  fmnes  abufe  my  Diuination )  435 

Succeffe  to  th' Roman  hoaft. 

Luc.    Dreame  often  fo, 

And  neuer  fal  fe.  Soft  hoa,  what  truncke  is  heere  ? 
Without  his  top  ?  The  ruine  fpeakes,  that  fometime 
It  was  a  worthy  building.  How?  a  Page  ?  440 

Or  dead,  or  lleeping  on  him  ?  But  dead  rather : 
For  Nature  doth  abhorre  to  make  his  bed  442 


430.  Lajl...Gods]  Last  very  night  the 
Gods  Han. 

very]  warey  Warb.  Conj. 

431.  7  faft,  and  pray'd]  I  feaft,  and 
pray'd  Ff,  Rowe  i.     I  fasting  pray'd 
Han.  I  fasted,  pray'd  Eccles.  conj.,  Ktly 
conj.    In  fast  I  pray'd  or  I  fast  and  pray 
Anon.  ap.  Cam. 

thus:]  Om.  Pope,+- 

432.  Bird,  the]  bird.   T/te  Craig  conj. 
wing'd]  wing  Han.  Cap. 

433.  From  the]  From  tti  Han. 

434.  vanijh'd]  vanish  Haw. 
Sun-beames,]  sun-beams;  Pope  et 

seq. 


438.  falfe.]    false!     Theob.     Warb. 
Johns. 

hoa,]  ho,  F4.  ho;  Cap.  ho! 
Var.  '73  et  seq. 

heere?]  Ff  (subs.),  Rowe.  here 
Pope,+,  Knt,  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Coll.  iii, 
Cam.  here,  Cap.  et  cet. 

440.  How?  a  Page?}  How!  a  Page! 
Rowe  et  seq. 

440.  441.  Page?  Or  dead,  or  flee  ping 
on]  page,  Or  dead  or  sleeping,  on  Vaun. 

441.  dead  rather]    Ff,    Rowe,    Pope, 
Han.    Coll.    Glo.    Cam.      dead,    rather 
Theob.  et  cet. 

442.  bed]  couch  Pope,+. 


430.  the  very  Gods]  JOHNSON:  It  was  no  common  dream,  but  sent  from  the 
very  gods,  or  the  gods  themselves. — WALKER  (Crit.,  ii,  328):  That  is,  not  even  the 
gods,  but  the  gods  beyond  a  doubt;  or  perhaps  the  gods  in  person,  as  in  Virgil,  JE.n.,  iii,  172. 

430.  a  vision]  HERFORD:   This  episode  was  probably  suggested  by  Holinshed's 
description  of  Aulus  Plautius's  invasion  under  Claudius,  when  'the  mariners  and 
men  of  war'  were  encouraged  by  seeing  '  a  fierie  leme  [light]  to  shoot  out  of  the  east 
towards  the  west,  which  way  their  course  lay.' — Stone's  Holinshcd,  p.  15. 

431.  I  fast]  ABBOTT  (§  342)  gives  a  long  list  of  verbs  ending  in  /  which  do  not 
add  -ed  in  the  participle. 

431.  Intelligence]  SCHMIDT  (Lex.}:   That  is,  mental  intercourse. 

431,  432.  thus  :  I  saw  loues  Bird]  VAUGHAN  (p.  497):  'Jove's  bird' is  the 
nominative  case  and  should  commence  the  sentence.  We  should  read:  'Thus  I 
saw;  Jove's  bird  the  Roman  eagle,'  etc. 

433,  434.  South,  .  .  .  West,  There  vanish'd  in  the  Sun-beames]  MADDEN 
(p.  215,  foot-note):  The  soothsayer  notes  that  the  Eagle  'vanish'd  in  the  sun- 
beams.' This  annoyance  must  have  occurred  constantly  on  a  bright  morning  with 
a  strong  north-northwesterly  wind. 

442.  bed]  See  Text.  Notes  for  what  appears  to  be  eighteenth  century  squeamish- 
ness. — ED. 


ACT    IV,   SC.  ii.] 


CYMBELINE 


With  the  defunct,  or  fleepe  vpon  the  dead. 
Let's  fee  the  Boyes  face. 

Cap.    Hee's  aliue  my  Lord. 

Luc.    Hee'l  then  inftrucl:  vs  of  this  body  :  Young  one, 
Informe  vs  of  thy  Fortunes,  for  it  feemes 
They  craue  to  be  demanded  :  who  is  this 
Thou  mak'ft  thy  bloody  Pillow  ?  Or  who  was  he 
That  (otherwife  then  noble  Nature  did) 
Hath  altered  that  good  Picture?  What's  thy  intereft 
In  this  fad  wrackef  How  came't?  Who  is't  ? 
What  art  thou? 

lino.     I  am  nothing  ;  or  if  not, 
Nothing  to  be  were  better  :  This  was  my  Mafter, 
A  very  valiant  Britaine,  and  a  good, 


337 
443 

445 


450 


455 


443.  or]  to  Cap. 

dead.}  dead,  Rowe  i. 

445.  Hee's]  He  is  Varr.  Mai.  Ran. 
Steev.  Varr.  Knt,  Coll. 

446.  this]  his  Ff,  Rowe. 
body:]  body.  F3F4  et  seq. 

447.  thy]  the  F4,  Rowe,  Pope. 
440.     Or  who]  who  Pope,+. 

450.  did)]  did  it,  Han.  Cap.  Eccles. 
limn'd  Anon.  ap.  Cam. 

452.  wracke]  Ff  (subs.),  Rowe.  wreck 
Pope. 


452.  came't?]  came  to't?  Ingl. 

came't?  Who  is't?]  F4,  Rowe. 
cam't?  Who  is't?  F2F3.  came  it,  and 
who  is  it?  Pope,+.  came  it?  and  who 
is  it?  Cap.  came  it?  Who  is  it?  Var.  '73 
et  seq. 

455.  to  be]  to  be,  Pope,+. 
better:]  better.  Cap.  et  seq. 

456.  Britaine]     Ff     (subs.),     Rowe, 
Pope,  Theob.  i,  Cap.    Briton  Theob.  ii. 
et  cet. 


450,  451.  (otherwise  then  noble  Nature  did)  Hath  alter'd]  THEOBALD 
(ed.  i.):  By  the  construction,  this  means,  'who  hath  alter'd  this  good  picture,  other- 
wise than  Nature  alter'd  it?'  But  this  is  not  the  meaning.  The  Poet  designed  to 
say,  'who  hath  alter'd  this  good  picture  from  what  Nature  at  first  made  it?'  [Theo- 
bald, therefore,  modestly  suggested  bid  for  'did.'  That  is,  'the  laws  of  Nature 
being  against  murder.' — WARBURTON  heaped  ridicule  on  this  note,  for  which 
EDWARDS  (p.  181)  called  him  roundly  to  account.  'Shakespeare  certainly  meant,' 
adds  Edwards,  'as  Mr  Theobald  explains  him.  And  if  Mr  W.  won't  allow  us  Mr 
Theobald's  conjecture  of  bid  for  "did,"  we  must  suppose  "did"  not  to  be  the  sign 
of  the  past  tense,  but  to  be  itself  a  verb,  "did"  or  made;  perhaps  used  in  the  tech- 
nical sense — did  the  picture,  i.  e.,  painted  it.'  In  this  technical  sense  of  'did,' 
i.  e.,  drew,  or  painted,  HEATH  acquiesced,  and  CAPELL  pronounced  it  'certainly 
right,'  adding  that  'this  sense  will  be  obvious  if  we  allow  of  the  inserted  word  it 
[see  Text.  Notes];  which  might  very  easily  be  dropped  at  the  press,  or  omitted  by 
the  Poet  himself.'  There  has  been  no  dissenting  view  from  this  interpretation  of 
the  passage. — STEEVENS  quotes  Olivia's  words  in  Twel.  Night,  where,  'speaking  of 
her  own  beauty  as  of  a  picture,  Olivia  asks  Viola  if  it  "  is  not  well  done?  " ' — DOWDEN 
queries:  'But  is  not  the  meaning,  Noble  Nature  only  took  away  the  life — Who 
mutilated  the  body?' — ED.] 


22 


338 


THE   TRACE  DIE  OF 


[ACT  iv,  sc.  ii. 


That  heere  by  Mountaineers  lyes  flaine  :  Alas, 
There  is  no  more  fuch  Matters  :  I  may  wander 
From  Eaft  to  Occident,  cry  out  for  Seruice, 
Try  many,  all  good  :  ferue  truly  :  neuer 
Finde  fuch  another  Mafter. 

Luc.    'Lacke,  good  youth  : 

Thou  mou'ft  no  leffe  with  thy  complaining,  then 
Thy  Maifter  in  bleeding  :  fay  his  name,  good  Friend. 

Imo.    Richard  du  Champ :  If  I  do  lye,  and  do 
No  harme  by  it,  though  the  Gods  heare,  I  hope 
They'l  pardon  it.     Say  you  Sir  ? 

Luc.    Thy  name  ? 

Imo.    Fidele  Sir. 

Luc.    Thou  doo'ft  approue  thy  felfe  the  very  fame  : 
Thy  Name  well  fits  thy  Faith ;  thy  Faith,  thy  Name  : 


457 


460 


465 


470 


457.  Mountaineer s\  Mountainers  Ff, 
Rowe. 

Alas,]   Ff    (Alafs,   F3).     Alas  I 
Rowe. 

458.  There  is]  Dyce,  Sta.  Ktly,  Glo. 
Cam.    There  are  Ff  et  cet. 

more  fuch]  more  of  such  Coll.  ii. 
conj. 

460.  many]  many,  and  Johns.  Cap. 
Dyce  ii,  iii.  many  men  Anon.  ap.  Cam. 
many  more  Kinnear. 

good:  ferue   truly:]    Ff.      good, 
serve  them  truly,  Pope,  Theob.   Han. 
Warb.    good,  serve  them  true  and  Hertz- 
berg,  conj.    good,  serve  all  truly,  Vaun. 
good,  serve  truly,  Rowe  et  cet. 
neuer]  never  more  Ktly. 
462.  youth:]  youth!  Cap.  et  seq. 


464.  Thy]  The  F4. 
Maifler]  Master  Ff. 

in]  Om.  Pope,  Han.  Cap.    in  his 
Sta.  conj.  (Athenaeum,  14  June,  1873). 

465.  Champ]  F2.    Camp  F3F4,  Rowe, 
Pope,  Han. 

[Aside.  Rowe  et  seq. 

and  do]  F2.    and  doe  F3F4. 

467-469.  As  one  line,  omitting  Sir. 
Steev.  Var. '03, '13.  As  one  line,  Var. 
'21  et  seq.  (except  Cam.). 

467.  pardon  it]  pardon't  Han. 

469.  Sir.]  Om.  Han. 

471.  Faith;  ...  Name:]  F2.  Faith, ... 
Name:  F3F4.  faith, ...name.  Rowe,  Pope, 
Han.  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam.  faith;... 
name.  Theob.  et  cet. 


458.  There  is]   For  other  examples  of  the  'inflection  in  -s  preceding  a  plural 
subject,'  see  ABBOTT,  §  335. 

459.  cry   out   for    Seruice]  WALKER  (Crit.,  iii,  327):    Does  this  mean  make 
public  proclamation  of  my  wish  to  enter  into  service?  as  outcry  for  auction. 

460.  Try  many,    all   good:    seme  truly:    neuer]  STEEVENS:    We  may  be 
certain  that  this  line  was  originally  complete.     I  would,  therefore,  for  the  sake  of 
metre,  read:    ' — and  all  good,'  etc.     [This  'and'  already  stood  in  the  texts  of 
Johnson  and  Capell!     Steevens  must  have  known  it. — ED.] — WYATT:  The  commas 
punctuate  Imogen's  sobs.     [After  this  palmarian  note  by  Wyatt,  anyone  who 
could  meddle  with  the  scansion  of  this  line  or  attempt,  after  counting  off  the  syl- 
lables on  his  fingers,  to  amend  it,  would  have  held  the  pail  while  Malone  white- 
washed Shakespeare's  bust. — ED.] 

471.  Thy  Name  well  fits  thy  Faith]  Thus,  in  Henry  V,  where  Pistol,  as  he 


ACT  iv,  sc.  ii.]  CYMBELINE  339 

Wilt  take  thy  chance  with  me  ?    I  will  not  fay  472 

Thou  (halt  be  fo  well  mafter'd,  but  be  fure 

No  leffe  belou'd.     The  Romane  Emperors  Letters 

Sent  by  a  Confull  to  me,  mould  not  fooner  475 

Then  thine  owne  worth  preferre  thee  :  Go  with  me. 

Imo.     He  follow  Sir.     But  firfl,and't  pleafe  the  Gods, 
He  hide  my  Mafter  from  the  Flies,  as  deepe 
As  thefe  poore  Pickaxes  can  digge  :  and  when 
With  wild  wood-leaues  &  weeds,  I   ha'  ftrew'd  his  graue       480 
And  on  it  faid  a  Century  of  prayers 
(Such  as  I  can)  twice  o're,  He  weepe, and  fighe, 
And  leauing  fo  his  feruice, follow  you, 
So  pleafe  you  entertaine  mee. 

Luc.     I  good  youth,  485 

And  rather  Father  thee,  then  Mafter  thee  :  My  Friends, 

472.  chance]  change  F4,  Rowe.  482.  fighe,}   Ff,    Rowe,    Pope,   Han. 

473.  mafler'd,]    Ff,    +  ,    Coll.    Glo.     Cam.    sigh;  Theob.  et  cet. 
Cam.    mastered;  Cap.  et  cet.  485.  I]  Ay,  Rowe. 

475.  not]  no  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Theob.  youth]  youth;  Cap.  et  seq. 
Han.  Warb.  Cap.                                             486.  Father     thee,]     father     Walker 

476.  preferre  thee:]  prefer  thee.  Johns.  Crit.,  iii,  327). 

477.  and' t]  an't  Ff  et  seq.  thee:]  thee.  Rowe  et  seq. 

479.  poore]  door  Theob.  ii.  (misprint),  My  Friends,]  Closing  the  line, 
Warb.                                                          Ff,  Rowe,  Mai.  Coll.  Sta.  Sing.  Ktly. 

480.  wild      it'ood-leaues]      -wild-wood    Separate  line,  Pope  et  cet. 

leaves  Cam.  conj.  486,   487.  My  Friends... duties]   One 

/  hd1}  Ff,+,  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam.     line,  Elze. 
I've  Sing.    /  have  Cap.  et  cet. 

goes  out,  says,  'My  name  is   Pistol  call'd,'  King   Henry,  after  he  is  gone,  says, 
'It  sorts  well  with  your  fierceness.' — IV,  i,  62. 

476.  preferre   thee]   That  is,  recommend,  advance.     See  II,  iii,  49,  and  line 
490,  below. 

479.  Pickaxes]  JOHNSON:   Meaning  her  fingers. 

480.  wild  wood-leaues  &  weeds]  The  CAMBRIDGE  EDITORS  have  conjectured 
that  the  true  reading  here  is  'wild-wood  flowers.'     Every  conjecture  from  this 
source  is  worthy  of  all  respect.     At  first  blush  this  one  seems  unquestionable. 
To  test  it,  Imogen's  probable  purpose  in  selecting  'wood-leaves'  must  be  analysed. 
That  these  leaves  are  coupled  with  '  weeds '  gives  us  a  clue.     Flowers  are  tokens  of 
grief  and  sorrow.   Yet  these  are  not  the  emotions  that  predominate  here, — but  rather 
one  overwhelming  horror,  where  flowers  would  be  inappropriate.   Leaves,  not  petals, 
must  be  strewed  on  the  bloody  abhorrent  corpse — and  they  must  be  stiff,  harsh  leaves 
from  forest  trees  to  match  the  weeds,  the  nettles,  and  darnels,  whereon  are  no  gay 
blooms.     Can  'wild-wood  leaves'  suit  this  mood?     It  is  conceivable  that  leaves 
from  the  '  wild-wood'  might  be  those  of  gay  wild-flowers,  pale  primroses  or  violets, 
or  azured  harebells.  Hence,  I  venture  modestly  to  think  that  the  Folio  is  right. — ED. 

484.  entertaine  mee]  MALONE:   That  is,  hire  me;  receive  me  into  your  service. 


340  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  iv,  sc.  ii. 

The  Boy  hath  taught  vs  manly  duties  :  Let  vs  487 

Finde  out  the  prettieft  Daz  fed- Plot  we  can, 

And  make  him  with  our  Pikes  and  Partizans 

A  Graue  :  Come,  Arme  him  :  Boy  hee's  preferred  490 

By  thee,  to  vs,  and  he  fhall  be  interr'd 

As  Souldiers  can.     Be  cheerefull ;  wipe  thine  eyes, 

Some  Falles  are  meanes  the  happier  to  arife.  Exeunt      493 

487,  488.  Let  vs  Finde  out  the... can}  490.  Boy}  Boy,  F4  et  seq. 
One  line,  reading:   Let's  find  the. ..can.  hee's}  he  is  Ff  et  seq. 
Elze.                                                                    491.  to  vs,]  to  us;  Cap. 

488.  Dazied-Plot]  Ff,-}-.    daizy'd  plot  492.  cheerefull;]   cheerful   F2.     cheer- 
Cap.    Varr.    Mai.    Ran.      dazicd    plot  full,    F3.      chearful    F4,+.      chearful; 
Steev.  Varr.    daisied  plot  Knt  et  cet.  Cap.  Var.  '78,  '85,  Ran. 

490.  Graue:]  grave.  Johns.  Ktly.  eyes,]  eyes.  Pope,  Theob.  i,  Han. 

him:]  him.  Johns,  et  seq.  eyes;  Theob.  ii.  et  seq. 

490.  Come,  Arme  him]  HANMER:   That  is,  take  him  up  in  your  arms. 

493.  Exeunt]  ANON.  (Blackwood,  Feb.,  1833,  p.  153):  The  scene  is  perfect. 
The  flow  and  ebb  of  passion  is  felt  by  us  to  be  obeying,  like  the  sea,  the  mysterious 
law  of  nature.  The  huge  waves  of  woe  have  subsided  almost  into  a  calm.  The 
strength  of  love  is  now  the  support  of  Imogen's  life — and  the  sense  of  duty.  She 
has  no  wish  either  to  die  or  to  live;  but  her  despair  is  no  longer  distraction;  and 
having  grieved  till  she  could  grieve  no  more,  and  reached  the  utmost  limits  of  sorrow, 
there  she  is  willing  submissively  to  endure  her  lot.  'Leaving  so  his  service!'  not 
till  with  her  own  fingers  she  had  helped  to  dig  her  master's  grave!  That  done, 
and  he  buried,  'I  follow  you,  so  please  you  entertain  me.'  The  warrior  bids  her 
'be  cheerful  and  wipe  her  eyes';  and  we  can  believe  that  Imogen  obeys  one-half 
of  the  injunction — that  she  does  'wipe  her  eyes';  but  as  to  being  'cheerful,'  never 
more  may  a  smile  visit  for  a  moment  that  beautiful  countenance — though  Lucius, 
looking  on  it,  may  believe  that  his  page  is  happy.  To  him  she  is  but  Fidele;  to  us — 
Imogen. 

It  is  wonderful  how  our  pity  is  never  impaired  by  our  knowledge,  all  the  while, 
that  the  corpse  is  not  that  of  Posthumus  but  Cloten's.  Perhaps  we  forget  that  it  is 
so;  surely  there  is  no  interruption  given  to  our  sympathy;  we  partake  in  the  same 
delusion,  which  is  only  dispelled  at  last,  to  our  great  relief,  by  the  last  words  of 
Lucius,  'Some  falls  are  means  the  happier  to  arise.'  It  was  just  the  same  with 
our  feelings  for  Imogen  herself  in  the  forest-cave.  The  young  princes  believed  her 
dead — and  we,  though  we  knew  she  was  but  in  a  swoon,  believed  so  too — almost 
sufficiently  for  any  amount  of  sorrow.  The  thought  that  Fidele  was  not  dead  but 
sleeping,  was  so  dim,  that  it  marred  not  the  emotions  with  which  we  beheld  her 
funeral  rites,  and  heard  the  dirge  chanted,  to  the  scattering  over  her  fair  body  of 
leaves  and  flowers.  Poor  Cloten!  He  must  have  been  a  fine  animal,  to  be  mis- 
taken, a  headless  trunk,  for  Posthumus. 


ACT    IV,   SC.   iii.] 


CYMBELINE 


341 


Scena   Tertia. 


Enter  Cymbeline ,  Lords ,  and  Pifanio.  2 

Cym.     Againe  :  and  bring  me  word  how  'tis  with  her, 
A  Feauour  with  the  abfence  of  her  Sonne ; 

A  madneffe,  of  which  her  life's  in  danger  :  Heauens,  5 

How  deeply  you  at  once  do  touch  me.     Imogen, 
The  great  part  of  my  comfort,  gone  :  My  Queene  7 


1.  Scene  n.  Rowe.     Transposed  to 
the  end  of  Act  III,  there  numbered  Sc. 
vni.  Pope,  Han. 

The  Palace.  Rowe. 

2.  Pifanio]  Pisanio,  Lords  and  other 
Attendants.  Cap. 

3.  hring]  F,. 
me]  we  F3F4. 

her,]  Ff.    her;  Rowe,  Pope,  Theob. 
Han.  //er/Warb.  Johns,  her.  Cap.  et  cet. 


3.  [To  an  attendant;  who  goes  out. 
Cap. 

5.  A]  Om.  Pope,+,  Cap.  Walker. 
danger:]  danger.  Coll.  Ktly,  Glo. 

Cam.    danger,  Dyce. 

Heauens,]  Heav'ns!  Rowe,  +  . 

6.  me.]    Ff,    Rowe,    Pope,    Theob. 
Warb.  Johns,    me!  Han.  et  cet. 

7.  great]  greafst  Cap.  conj. 
gone:]  gone!  Rowe,+. 


i.  Scena  Tertia]  ECCLES:  We  cannot  pretend  to  fix  with  any  degree  of  exactness 
the  period  of  time  to  which  this  Scene  belongs;  Cymbeline  here  receives  intelligence 
of  the  troops  from  Gallia  and  the  '  supply  of  Roman  gentlemen,'  who  in  the  preced- 
ing Scene  were  only  expected  '  With  the  next  benefit  of  the  wind/  in  the  very  neigh- 
borhood of  the  harbour  where  they  were  about  to  land.  Time,  therefore,  must  be 
allowed  for  the  arrival  of  the  latter,  and  also  conveyance  of  the  news  to  the  king. 
The  interval  necessary  for  these  purposes  need  not  be  supposed  to  exceed  the 
limits  of  a  few  days. — DANIEL  (New  Sh.  Soc.  Trans.,  1877-79,  P-  247) :  [At  the  close 
of  the  ninth  day]  Lucius  finds  Imogen  lying  on  the  body  of  Cloten,  and  engages 
her  in  his  service  and  orders  the  burial  of  the  body.  An  interval — a  few  days 
perhaps.  DAY  10.  Act  IV,  Scene  iii.  In  Cymbeline's  Palace.  The  news  is 
that  the  Legions  from  Gallia  are  landed  ' — with  a  supply  Of  Roman  gentlemen, 
by  the  Senate  sent.'  Cymbeline's  forces  are  in  readiness,  and  he  prepares  to  meet 
the  time,  but  he  is  distracted  with  domestic  afflictions:  his  Queen  is  on  a  desperate 
bed;  her  son  gone,  Imogen  gone,  no  one  knows  whither.  Pisanio  does,  but  he  also 
is  in  perplexity  at  not  hearing  from  them.  He  thinks  it  strange  too  that  he  has 
not  heard  from  his  master  since  he  wrote  him  Imogen  was  slain.  Decidedly,  Rome 
must  be  behind  the  scenes  somewhere. 

4.  A  Feauour]  BUCKNILL  (p.  225):  The  wicked  queen,  who  bore  down  all 
with  her  brain,  is  struck  with  disease  of  the  brain,  when  her  schemes  fail.  She 
lies  'upon  a  desperate  bed.'  Towards  the  end  of  the  play  we  learn  the  fatal  result 
'with  horror,  madly  dying,'  though,  like  the  death  of  Constance  and  of  Lady 
Macbeth,  it  is  hidden  from  view.  Shakespeare  sometimes  places  before  his  audi- 
ence scenes  of  death,  whose  terror  can  hardly  be  exceeded,  as  that  of  King  John 
and  Cardinal  Beaufort;  but  the  innate  delicacy,  which  is  not  inconsistent  with 
much  verbal  grossness,  prevents  him  from  so  exhibiting  a  woman. 

6.  touch  me]  That  is,  as  frequently  in  Shakespeare,  wound.     Thus  in  V,  iii,  14. 


342 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF 


[ACT  iv,  sc.  iii. 


Vpon  a  defperate  bed,  and  in  a  time  8 

When  fearefull  Warres  point  at  me  :  Her  Sonne  gone, 

So  needfull  for  this  prefent  ?  It  ftrikes  me,paft  IO 

The  hope  of  comfort.    But  for  thee,  Fellow, 

Who  needs  muft  know  of  her  departure,  and 

Doft  feeme  fo  ignorant,  wee'l  enforce  it  from  thee 

By  a  fharpe  Torture. 

Pif.     Sir,  my  life  is  yours,  15 

I  humbly  fet  it  at  your  will  :  But  for  my  Miftris, 
I  nothing  know  where  fhe  remaines  :  why  gone, 
Nor  when  fhe  purpofes  returne.     Befeech  your  Highnes, 
Hold  me  your  loyall  Seruant. 

Lord.     Good  my  Liege,  20 

The  day  that  fhe  was  miffing,  he  was  heere ; 
I  dare  be  bound  hee's  true,  and  fhall  performe 
All  parts  of  his  fubieclion  loyally.     For  Cloten , 
There  wants  no  diligence  in  feeking  him, 
And  will  no  doubt  be  found.  25 

Cym.     The  time  is  troublefome  : 
Wee'l  flip  you  for  a  feafon,  but  our  iealoufie  27 


8.  bed,]  Ff,+,  Knt,  Coll.  Dyce,  Glo. 
Cam.     bed;  Cap.  et  cet. 

9.  me:]  me!  Rowe,+. 

10.  this]  his  Ff. 

prefent?]  Ff.     present!  Rowe,+. 
present.  Johns,    present;  Cap.  et  seq. 
me,]  me,  me,  Ff. 

11.  hope]  holpe  or  help  Theob.  conj. 
(withdrawn?) 

thee,]  thee,  thee,  Cap.  Walker 
(Crit.,  ii,  146). 

13.  enforce]  inforce  F3F4,  Rowe. 
force  Pope,  Theob.  Han.  Warb. 

16-19.  Lines  end:  for... remaines:... 
returns... Seruant.  Elze,  Vaun. 


16.  humbly]  Om.  Pope,  Theob.  Han. 
Warb. 

1 8.  your  Highnes,]  you,  Han. 

20.  Lord.]  i.  L.  Cap.  et  seq.  (subs.) 

21.  he  was]  fhe  was  F3F4  et  seq. 

23.  For  Cloten]  Separate  line,  Cap. 
Steev.  Var.  '03,  '13,  Knt,  Sing. 

25.  And  will]   He    will    Han.     And 
he'll  Cap.    And  he  will  Ktly.    A'  will 
Anon.  ap.  Cam. 

26.  time  is]  time's    Steev.  Var.  '03, 

'13. 

27.  feafon,]  season;  Cap.  et  seq. 
[To  Pisanio.  Johns. 

our]  with  Ff,  Rowe. 


23.  subiection]  SCHMIDT  (Lex.):    Service  as  a  subject. 

24.  There  wants  no  diligence]   ABBOTT  (§  297):    'Wants'  is  probably  here 
not  impersonal,  but  intransitive — 'is  wanting.' 

25.  And  will  no  doubt]  For  other   examples  of  the  'omission  of  the  nomina- 
tive,' see  ABBOTT,  §  400. 

27.  slip  you  for  a  season]  SCHMIDT  (Lex.):  That  is,  make  or  let  loose.  Used 
of  greyhounds  allowed  to  start  for  game. 

27,  28.  our  iealousie  Do's  yet  depend]  JOHNSON:  My  suspicion  is  yet  un- 
determined; if  I  do  not  condemn  you,  I  likewise  have  not  acquitted  you.  We  now 


ACT  iv,  sc.  iii.]  CYMBELINE  343 

Do's  yet  depend.  28 

Lord.     So  pleafe  your  Maiefty, 

The  Romaine  Legions,  all  from  Gallia  drawne,  30 

Are  landed  on  your  Coaft,  with  a  fupply 
Of  Romaine  Gentlemen,  by  the  Senate  fent. 

Cym.     Now  for  the  Counfaile  of  my  Son  and  Queen, 
I  am  amaz'd  with  matter. 

Lord.     Good  my  Liege,  35 

Your  preparation  can  affront  no  leffe  (ready  : 

Then  what  you  heare  of.     Come  more,  for  more  you're 
The  want  is,  but  to  put  thofe  Powres  in  motion, 
That  long  to  moue. 

Cym.     I  thanke  you  :  let's  withdraw  40 

And  meete  the  Time,  as  it  feekes  vs.     We  feare  not 
What  can  from  Italy  annoy  vs,  but 
We  greeue  at  chances  heere.  Away.  Exeunt        43 

29.  Lord.]    2.   L.   Cap.   First  Lord.  37.  Then. ..heare   of.]   Separate   line, 
Mai.  et  seq.                                                      F4,  Rowe. 

30.  32.  Romaine]  Romane  F2.    Roman  of.}  of;  Cap.  et  seq. 

F3F4.  38.  thofe]   thefe  Ff,   Rowe,+,   Van. 

31.  Coafl,}  coast;  Cap.  et  seq.  Ran. 

a    fupply]    fupply     Ff.       large  40.  you:}  you.  Coll.  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam. 

supply    Rowe,     Pope,    Theob.     Han.  41.  vs.]  tis:  Coll. 

Warb.  42.  vs,]    Ff,    Rowe,+,    Coll.    Cam. 

32.  Gentlemen]  Gentleman  Rowe  i.  us;  Cap.  et  cet. 

33.  Queene,]  F2.    Queen.  F3F4,  Rowe.  43.  Away.]   Come,  let's  away.   Han. 
queen:  Pope,  Han.     queen!  Theob.  et  Away,  my  lords.  Elze. 

cet.  Exeunt]  Exeunt  all  except  Pisa- 

35.  Lord.]  i.  L.  Cap.  et  seq.  (subs.)         nio.  Dyce. 

say  the  cause  is  depending. — COLLIER  (ed.  ii.):   The  MS.  puts  it  'but  with  jealousy 
you  yet  depend,'  which  in  no  point  of  view  seems  an  improvement. 
27.  iealousie]  SCHMIDT  (Lex.,  s.  v.  2.):   Suspicion  in  any  way. 

34.  I  am  amaz'd  with  matter]  STEEVENS:  That  is,  confounded  by  a  variety 
of  business. 

36.  Your   preparation   can    affront]  JOHNSON:    Your  forces  are  able  to  face 
such  an  army  as  we  hear  the  enemy  will  bring  against  us. 

41.  meete  the  Time,  as  it  seekes  vs]  CAPELL  (p.  117):  The  intention  of  the 
speaker  is — meet  it  with  spirit,  with  the  same  spirit  with  which  it  meets  us;  the 
sentiment  is  weakly  express'd  on  purpose  to  show  his  inward  dejection. 

43.  We  greeue  at  chances  heere.  Away]  WALKER  (Vers.,  273):  Single 
lines  of  four  or  five  or  six  or  seven  syllables,  interspersed  amidst  the  ordinary  blank 
verse  of  ten,  are  not  to  be  considered  as  irregularities;  they  belong  to  Shakespeare's 
system  of  metre.  On  the  other  hand,  lines  of  eight  or  nine  syllables,  as  they 
are  at  variance  with  the  general  rhythm  of  his  poetry  (at  least,  if  my  ears  do  not 
deceive  me,  this  is  the  case),  so  they  scarcely  ever  occur  in  his  plays, — it  were 
hardly  too  much  to  say,  not  at  all.  I  would  arrange  [by  making  'Away'  a  separate 


344 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF 


[ACT  iv,  sc.  iv. 


Pi/a.     I  heard  no  Letter  from  my  Mafter,fmce 
I  wrote  him  Imogen  was  flaine.     'Tis  ftrange  :  45 

Nor  heare  I  from  my  Miftris,  who  did  promife 
To  yeeld  me  often  tydings.     Neither  know  I 
What  is  betide  to  Cloten,  but  remaine 
Perplext  in  all.    The  Heauens  ftill  must  worke  : 
Wherein  I  am  falfe,  I  am  honeft  :  not  true,  to  be  true.  50 

Thefe  prefent  warres  fhall  finde  I  loue  my  Country, 
Euen  to  the  note  o'th'King,  or  He  fall  in  them  : 
All  other  doubts,  by  time  let  them  be  cleer'd, 
Fortune  brings  in  fome  Boats,  that  are  not  fteer'd.      Exit.         54 


Scena  Quarta. 


Enter  Belarius ,  Guiderius  9&  Aridragns. 
Gui.   The  noyfe  is  round  about  vs. 
Bel.     Let  vs  from  it. 


44.  7  heard]  I've  had   Han.  Dyce  ii, 
iii,  Ingl.    /  have  had  Cap.  Ktly.    /  had 
Mason,  Coll.  ii,  Warb.  MS. 

Letter]  later  Musgrave. 

45.  Jlaine.]  Ff,+,  Coll.    slain;  Cap. 
et  cet. 

47.  tydings.]  tidings;  Cap.  et  seq. 

48.  betide]     betid     Han.     Johns,    et 
seq. 

Cloten,]  Cloten;  Theob.  et  seq. 
50.  7  am... I  am]  I'm. ..I'm  Pope,+, 
Dyce  ii,  iii. 


50.  not. ..be  true.]  not  true,  true.  Han. 
Cap. 

52.  o'th']  Ff,+.     of  the  Cap.     o'tke 
Var.  '73  et  cet. 

53.  cleer'd,]  dear'd:  Pope  et  seq. 

i.  Scene   in.  Rowe.       Scene    vin. 
Pope,  Han.     Scene  ix.  Warb. 

The  Street.  Rowe  i.  The  Forest. 
Rowe  ii.  Scene  changes  to  the  Forest. 
Theob.  Before  the  Cave.  Cap. 
Wales:  before  the  cave  of  Belarius. 
Dyce. 


line].  [Can  repugnance  to  the  recognition,  in  rhythm,  of  empty  spaces  (morcB 
vacua)  further  go!  Or  can  there  be  a  more  flagrant  instance  of  the  removal  of 
metre  from  the  ear  to  the  eye!  Or  is  it  that  Walker,  in  his  zeal,  forgets  that  we  are 
not  dealing  with  epic  or  lyric  poetry,  but  with  dramatic,  where  the  nice  divisions 
of  lines  are  dominated  and  determined  by  the  emotions. — ED.] 

44.  I  heard  no  Letter  from  my  Master]  MALONE:  Perhaps  'letter'  here 
means,  not  an  epistle,  but  the  elemental  part  of  a  syllable.  This  might  have  been  a 
phrase  in  Shakespeare's  time.  We  yet  say,  I  have  not  heard  a  syllable  from  him. 

52.  to  the  note  o'th'King]  JOHNSON:  I  will  so  distinguish  myself  the  king 
shall  remark  my  valour. 

i.  Scena  Quarta]  ECCLES  here  begins  the  Fifth  Act,  and  thus  upholds  the 
change:  If  this  scene  be  supposed  to  belong  to  that  period  when  Lucius  and  his 
train  first  arrive  in  the  neighborhood  of  Milford,  it  ought  to  precede  that  which 
was  last  noticed.  [The  excellent  Eccles  so  overflows  with  words  that  it  is  not  easy 


ACT  iv,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE  345 

Ami.     What  pleafure  Sir, we  finde  in  life,  to  locke  it  5 

From  Ac~tion,  and  Aduenture. 

Gui.     Nay,  what  hope 

Haue  we  in  hiding  vs?  This  way  the  Romanics 
Muft,  or  for  Britaines  flay  vs  or  receiue  vs 

For  barbarous  and  vnnaturall  Reuolts  10 

During  their  vfe,  and  flay  vs  after. 

Bel.     Sonnes, 

Wee'l  higher  to  the  Mountaines,  there  fecure  v.. 
To  the  Kings  party  there's  no  going  :  newneffe 
Of  Clotcns  death  (we  being  not  knowne,  not  mufler'd  15 

Among  the  Bands)  may  driue  vs  to  a  render 

5,  6.  Sir,  we  finde... Aduenture.]  Sir,  Cap.  et  cet. 

finde  we. ..Adventure?  Ff  et  seq.   do  we  10.  Reuolts}  revolters  Pope,  Han. 

find... adventure  Anon.  ap.  Cam.  n.  their]  our  Eccles. 

8.  Romaines]  Romans  F,F4.  13.  Mountaines,]  mountains;  Cap.  et 

9.  Britaines]      Ff.     (subs.).     Britons  seq. 

Theob.  ii.  et  seq.  v..]  Fr.     us.  Ff  et  seq. 

Jlay  vs]  F2,  Cam.   Jlay  us,  F3F4,+,  15.  not  mujler'd]  nor  muster' d  Rowe  ii, 

Coll.  Dyce,  Sing.  Ktly,  Glo.    slay  us;        +  ,  Cap.  Varr.  Ran. 

fully  to  apprehend  him.  By  '  that  which  was  last  noticed'  does  he  mean  the  pre- 
ceding scene?  Unless  he  means  that,  I  know  not  what  he  means. — ED.]  But 
I  rather  incline  to  think  it  should  be  ascribed  to  a  period  just  before  that  of  the 
scene  with  which  the  Fifth  Act  has  hitherto  commenced;  upon  this  supposition  I 
have  caused  it  to  begin  the  Fifth  Act.  This  has  been  done  in  Cymbeline  as  pre- 
pared by  Mr  Garrick  for  the  stage.  Between  the  former  scene,  in  which  Cym- 
beline receives  an  account  of  the  invasion  of  his  country  by  the  Roman  army, 
and  the  commencement  of  Act  the  Fifth  it  seems  requisite  that  such  an  interval  of 
time  should  be  conceived  to  pass  as  may  be  supposed  consistent  with  the  prepara- 
tions necessary  to  be  made  for  an  engagement  such  as  that  which  is  about  to  ensue, 
and  for  Cymbeline  himself  to  advance  to  meet  and  give  his  enemies  battle. — 
DANIEL  (Sh.  Soc.  Trans.,  1874-75,  p.  248):  DAY  n.  Act  IV,  Scene  iv,  Wales. 
The  noise  of  the  war  is  round  about  them,  and  Guiderius  and  Arviragus  determine 
to  fight  for  their  country;  Belarius  at  last  consents  to  accompany  them.  Its 
position  as  a  separate  day  seems  to  me  to  satisfy  all  the  requirements  of 
the  plot. 

10.  Reuolts]  STEEVENS:  That  is,  revolters.     So  in  King  John:  'Lead  me  to  the 
revolts  in  England  here.' — V,  iv,  7.     [See  ABBOTT  (§  433)  for  other  examples  of 
'Participial  Nouns.'] 

11.  During  their  vse]  RANN:   So  long  as  they  shall  retain  us  in  their  service. — 
HUDSON:  This  may  mean  'as  long  as  they  have  any  use  for  us';  or,  perhaps,  during 
their  present  armed  occupancy. 

1 6.  a  render]  JOHNSON:  An  account  of  our  place  of  abode.  This  dialogue  is 
a  just  representation  of  the  superfluous  caution  of  an  old  man. — STEEVENS:  Thus, 
in  Timon:  'And  send  for  thus,  to  make  their  sorrow'd  render.' — V,  i,  152. 


346  THE  TRACE  DIE  OF  [ACT  iv,  sc.  iv. 

Where  we  haue  liu'd;  and  fo  extort  from's  that  17 

Which  we  haue  done,  whofe  anfwer  would  be  death 
Drawne  on  with  Torture. 

Gui.     This  is  (Sir)a  doubt  20 

In  fuch  a  time,  nothing  becomming  you, 
Not  fatisfying  vs. 

And.     It  is  not  likely, 

That  when  they  heare  their  Roman  horfes  neigh , 
Behold  their  quartered  Fires  ;  haue  both  their  eyes  25 

Aud  eares  fo  cloyd  importantly  as  now, 
That  they  will  wafte  their  time  vpon  our  note, 
To  know  from  whence  we  are. 

Bel.     Oh, I  am  knowne 

Of  many  in  the  Army  :  Many  yeeres  30 

(Though  Clotcn  then  but  young)  you  fee,  not  wore  him 

17,  18.  front's. ..we  haue]  from  us...  19.  with]  his  Ff. 

we've  Pope,+,  Steev.  Varr.  Sirig.  Ktly.  24.  their]  the  Rowe  et  seq. 

from  us. ..we  have  Cap.  Varr.  Mai.  Ran.  25.  Fires;]    Ff.     files    Ran.     fires, 

Knt.  Rowe  et  cet. 

that. ..death]  One  line,  Pope,-}-,  26.  fo  cloyd]  so  'ploy'd  Warb. 

Steev.  Varr.  Sing.  Ktly.  27.  note,]  note  Pope,-K 

18.  whose  answer]  JOHNSON:   The  retaliation  of  the  death  of  Cloten  would  be 
death,  etc.     [See  V,  iii,  87.] 

24.  their]   MALONE  deems  this  '  their,'  instead  of  tlte,  as  due  to  the  ear  of  the 
transcriber.    [Is  it  not  possible  that  '  their '  is  correct?    No  objection  to  it  is  found 
in  the  very  next  line,  where,  I  think,  it  bears  exactly  the  same  reference. — ED.] 

25.  their    quarter'd    Fires]    JOHNSON:     Their     fires     regularly     disposed. — 
STEEVENS:   This  means  no  more,  I  believe,  than  fires  in  the  respective  quarters  of 
the  Roman  army. — RANN  ingeniously  reads  files,  and  explains  it  as  '  their  well  dis- 
posed lines.' 

26.  so   cloyd   importantly]    WARBURTON:     What   it   is   to   be   'importantly 
cloy'd'  I  have  not  the  least  conception  of.     Shakespeare,  without  doubt,  wrote 
'so  'ploy'd  importantly,'  i.  e.,  imployed  or  taken  up  with  things  of  such  importance. 
— EDWARDS  (p.  242) :  This  is  Mr  Warburton's  word  ('ploy'd  for  imploy'd;  he  should 
have  said  employed)  instead  of  cloyed.     But  Shakespeare  never  thought  of  circum- 
cising his  words  at  this  rate,  as  our  critic  does    to  fit  them  for  any  place  which 
he  wants  them  to  fill.     By  the  same  rule  we  may  say  'PTY  and  'PIRE  are  English 
words,  signifying  empty  and  empire. — HEATH  (p.  487):    Mr  Warburton's  emenda- 
tion seems  to  be  right,  but  why  [does  he  not]  write  it  at  full  length,  employed,  or  at 
least  with  a  note  of  elision,  so  'mploy'd? — ECCLES:  I  think  it  is  not  improbable  that 
employed  was  the  word.     With  the  omission  of  '  so '  the  measure  will  be  perfect. 
[Thus  in  Eccles's  text.] — MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.) :  That  is  clogged,  cumbered,  burdened. 
[Present  passage  quoted.] 

27.  waste  their  time  vpon  our  note]  That  is,  waste  their  time  in  taking  note 
of  us. 


ACT  iv,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE 


347 


From  my  remembrance.     And  befides,  the  King  32 

Hath  not  deferu'd  my  Seruice,  nor  your  Loues, 

Who  finde  in  my  Exile,  the  want  of  Breeding  ; 

The  certainty  of  this  heard  life,  aye  hopeleffe  35 

To  haue  the  courtefie  your  Cradle  promised, 

But  to  be  ftill  hot  Summers  Tanlings,  and 

The  fhrinking  Slaues  of  Winter. 

Gui.     Then  be  fo, 

Better  to  ceafe  to  be.     Pray  Sir,  to'th'Army .-  40 

I,  and  my  Brother  are  not  knowne  ;  your  felfe 
So  out  of  thought,  and  thereto  fo  ore-growne,  42 

33.  Loues}  F2,  Rowe,  Pope,  Theob.  36.  promis'd,]promis'd;Theob.'Waib. 
Warb.  Johns.  Coll.    loves  F3F4.    loves;        Johns. 

Han.  et  cet.  39.  Then]  Than  Rowe. 

34.  Breeding;]     Ff,     Rowe,     Pope,  40.  Better]  Betrer  F2.     Beteer  F2  ap. 
Theob.  Warb.  Johns,    breeding,  Han.  et         Cam. 

cet.  to  be.]  to  be;  Rowe. 

35.  heard]  hard  F3F4  et  seq.  /e'/A'J   to'th  F2.     to  th'   F3F4,+, 
life,]  life;  Cap.  et  seq.                            Dyce  ii,  iii.    to  the  Cap.  et  cet. 

35.  The  certainty  of  this  heard  life]  M ALONE:  That  is,  the  certain  con- 
sequence of  this  hard  life. — VAUGHAN  (p.  506):  Malone,  I  believe,  errs.  [The 
phrase]  means  the  certain  continuance  of  this  life,  and  with  it  all  those  incidents 
which  he  proceeds  to  describe.  [This  interpretation  is,  I  think,  so  far  eminently 
just.  When,  however,  Vaughan  goes  on  to  suggest  that  in  the  lines  following, 
'aye  hopeless  To  have  the  courtesy  your  cradle  promis'd,'  should  be  parenthetical, 
does  he  not  only  deprive  '  But  to  be  still '  of  its  adversitive  force,  but  of  any  force 
at  all?  Thus:  'Who  find  in  my  exile  the  want  of  breeding,  the  certainty  of  this 
hard  life,  But  to  be  still  hot  summer's  tanlings,'  etc.  To  avoid  this  awkwardness, 
Vaughan  is  obliged  to  give  a  special  meaning  to  'but,'  and  explains  that  'Shake- 
speare generally  places  "but"  in  this  sense  of  "nothing  more  than"  out  of  the  exact 
position  which  we  should  now  give  it':  which,  in  the  present  case,  as  Vaughan 
would  have  it,  seems  to  be  no  position  at  all;  it  would  have  to  be  discarded,  I  fear, 
as  meaningless. — ED.] 

37,38.  Summers  Tanlings,  and  The  shrinking  Slaues  of  Winter]  DOWDEN: 
I  retain  the  capitals  in  '  Summer '  and  '  Winter,'  for  perhaps  personification  may  ex- 
plain the  diminutive  'tanlings.'  Summer,  a  mother  with  her  infants  tanned  by 
the  sun;  Winter,  a  king,  whose  slaves  wince  under  his  lash. 

42.  thereto  so  ore-growne]  ECCLES:  Perhaps  this  alludes  to  the  squalid, 
savage,  and  neglected  appearance  of  the  old  man  in  this  retirement. — STEEVENS: 
Thus,  Spenser:  'oregrown  with  old  decay,  And  hid  in  darkness  that  none  could 
behold  The  hue  thereof.' — DYCE  (Remarks,  p.  259):  Neither  Mr  Collier  nor  Mr 
Knight  explains  'o'ergrown.'  The  only  note  on  the  word  in  the  Variorum  Shake- 
speare is  [that  by  Steevens,  which  has  just  been  given. — ED.].  Now,  when  Steevens 
cited  these  lines  from  Spenser  (and  he  might  have  cited  with  equal  propriety  any 
other  passage  of  any  poet  where  the  word  'o'ergrown'  happens  to  be  found),  did 
he  understand  in  what  sense  Shakespeare  here  employs  'o'ergrown'?  I  think  not. 


348  THE   TRACE  DIE  OF  [ACT  iv,  sc.  iv. 

Cannot  be  queftion'd.  43 

And.     By  this  Sunne  that  fhines 

He  thither :  What  thing  is't,  that  I  neuer  45 

Did  fee  man  dye,  fcarfe  euer  look'd  on  blood, 
But  that  of  Coward  Hares,  hot  Goats,  and  Venifon  ? 
Neuer  beflrid  a  Horfe  faue  one,  that  had 
A  Rider  like  my  felfe,  who  ne're  wore  Rowell, 
Nor  Iron  on  his  heeled  I  am  afham'd  50 

To  look  vpon  the  holy  Sunne,  to  haue 
The  benefit  of  his  bleft  Beames,  remaining 
So  long  a  poore  vnknowne. 

Gui.     By  heauens  He  go, 

If  you  will  bleffe  me  Sir,  and  giue  me  leaue,  5  5 

He  take  the  better  care  :  but  if  you  will  not, 
The  hazard  therefore  due  fall  on  me,  by 
The  hands  of  Romaines. 

And.     So  fay  I,  Amen.  59 

43.  quejlion'd]  queftiond  F2.  Cam. 

45.  thither]  hither  F4.  48.  bejlrid]  bestride  Rowe  ii. 
is't]  Coll.  Ktly.    w*/Ffetcet.  49.  felfe,}  se//Pope,+. 

46.  dye]    Ff,+.      die!    Dyce,    Glo.  50.  heelet]  heel!  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam. 
Cam.    dye?  Cap.  et  cet.  52.  blejl]  best  Theob.  Warb.  Johns. 

47.  Venifon?]    venison!    Dyce,    Glo.  56.  but]  but  but  F2. 

Its  meaning  is  sufficiently  explained  by  what  Posthumus  afterwards  says  of  Bela- 
rius:  'who  deserv'd  So  long  a  breeding  as  his  white  beard  came  to.' — V,  iii,  21,  22. 
[Hereupon,  in  consequence  of  the  censure  of  Collier  implied  by  his  failure  to  supply 
a  note  on  'o'ergrown,'  there  followed  an  outbreak  of  that  unseemly  quarrel  between 
the  two  great  editors,  Dyce  and  Collier,  which  even  at  the  time  could  make  the 
judicious  only  grieve,  and  now,  after  the  lapse  of  years,  is  best  forgotten.  The 
sole  aid  to  the  reader  of  Shakespeare  which  is  to  be  derived  from  it  is  the  fresh 
proof  it  afforded,  if  any  were  needed,  that  Steevens  is  not  to  be  trusted  unless  to  his 
quotations  he  adds  the  volume  and  page.  In  the  present  instance  he  garbled  the 
quotation  from  Spenser.  Had  he  given  the  exact  line,  its  inappropriateness  would 
have  been  patent.  Spenser  is  describing  the  'cave  of  Mammon,'  and  what  was 
applicable  to  a  cave  can  be  hardly  applicable  to  Belarius.  The  complete  line  is 
'overgrowne  with  dust  and  old  decay.' — ED.] 

45,  46.  What  thing  is't  .  .  .  dye]  DYCE:  The  modern  editors  (misled 
.by  the  Folio,  which  sometimes,  as  here,  puts  the  interrogation  point  for  the  excla- 
mation point)  very  improperly  make  this  passage  interrogative.  By  'what  thing 
is  it,'  etc.,  Arviragus  means  'what  a  thing  is  it,'  etc.;  the  a  in  such  exclamations 
being  frequently  omitted  by  our  early  writers.  [See  ABBOTT,  §  86.] 

47.  hot  Goats]  BATMAN  vppon  Bartholome  (Lib.,  xviii,  Cap.  24^.353,  verso.): 
Archelaus  meaneth  that  the  Goats  breath  at  the  ears,  and  not  at  the  nose,  and 
be  seld  [seldom]  without  feauer  [heat]. — TOPSELL  (p.  231):  There  is  no  beast 
that  is  more  prone  and  given  to  lust  then  is  a  Goate. 


ACT  v,  sc.  i.]  CYMBELINE  349 

Bel.     No  reafon  I  (fince  of  your  Hues  you  fet[  60 

So  flight  a  valewation)  fhould  referue 
My  crack'd  one  to  more  care.    Haue  with  you  Boyes: 
If  in  your  Country  warres  you  chance  to  dye, 
That  is  my  Bed  too  (Lads)and  there  He  lye. 
Lead,lead;  the  time  feems  long,  their  blood  thinks  fcorn         65 
Till  it  flye  out,and  mew  them  Princes  borne.  Exeunt. 


Actus  Quintus.     Scena  Prima. 

Enter  PoftJnnmis  alone.  2 

Pojl.    Yea  bloody  cloth,  He  keep  thee  :  for  I  am  wifht 

60.  of  your]  on  your  Cap.  Steev.  Varr.  Britain.     The  Roman  Camp.  Dyce. 

62.  you]  you,  F4.  2.  Enter...]  Enter  Posthumus  with  a 

65.  lead;]  lead.  Johns,  et  seq.  bloody  Handkerchief.  Rowe. 

long]  long:  Pope  et  seq.  3.  7  am  -wifht]  Ff,  Rowe,  Dyce  i.   for 

[Aside.]     the     time,     etc.     Han.  /  -wisht  Pope  et  cet.   (subs.)      7  e'en 

[Aside.]  their  blood,  etc.  Vaun.  wished  Sing.    /  have  unshed  Coll.  conj., 

SCENE  n.  Eccles.  Ktly.     I've  unshed  Del.  conj.     I  am- 

A    Field    between    the    British    and  bush'd    Vaun.      I'd    uish'd    Nicholson 

Roman  Camps.  Rowe.  ap.  Cam. 

60.  since  of  your  Hues  you  set,  etc.]  For  examples  where '"of "  passes  easily 
from  "as  regards"  to  "concerning,"  "about/"  see  ABBOTT,  §  174. 

1.  Both  ECCLES  and  DANIEL  confine  the  whole  of  this  Fifth  Act  to  one  day, 
the  Twelfth.     The  latter  says  that  the  Mast  line  of  the  play  justifies  the  placing 
of  the  whole  of  the  last  Act,  including  the  battle,  Posthumus's  imprisonment,  and 
the  final  scene,  in  one  day  only.' 

2.  Enter  Posthumus]   BOAS  (p.  516):    It  is  no  longer  necessary  that,  to  be 
near  her  husband,  Imogen  should  be  carried  to  Rome.     Cymbeline's  refusal  of 
tribute  has  produced  an  invasion  of  Britain  by  the  imperial  troops,  with  lachimo 
as  leader  and  Posthumus  enrolled  as  a  volunteer.      The  latter  (whose  complete 
disappearance  from  the  scene  during  Acts  III.  and  IV.  is  a  serious  defect  in  plot- 
construction)  has  repented  of  his  outburst  of  murderous  fury  against  his  wife,  and 
is  now  anxious  to  atone  for  it  as  best  he  may. 

3.  Yea   bloody   cloth,  etc.]   JOHNSON:    The   bloody  token  of  Imogen's  death 
which  Pisanio  in  the  foregoing  Act  determined  to  send.     This  is  a  soliloquy  of 
nature,  uttered  when  the  effervescence  of   a  mind  agitated  and  perturbed  spon- 
taneously and  inadvertently  discharges  itself  in  words.     The  speech  throughout 
all  its  tenor,  if  the  last  conceit  be  excepted,  seems  to  issue  warm  from  the  heart. 
He  first  condemns  his  own  violence;  then  tries  to  disburden  himself  by  imputing 
part  of  the  crime  to  Pisanio;  he  next  soothes  his  mind  to  a  momentary  and  artificial 
tranquillity  by  trying  to  think  he  has  been  only  an  instrument  of  the  gods  for  the 
happiness  of  Imogen.      He  is  now  grown  reasonable  enough  to  determine  that 
having  done  so  much  evil  he  will  do  no  more;  that  he  will  not  fight  against  the 


350  THE   TRACE  DIE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  i. 

Thou  fhould'ft  be  colour' d  thus.     You  married  ones, 

If  each  of  you  fhould  take  this  courfe,  how  many  5 

Muft  murther  Wiues  much  better  then  themfelues 

For  wrying  but  a  little  ?  Oh  Pifanio, 

Euery  good  Seruant  do's  not  all  Commands : 

No  Bond,  but  to  do  iuft  ones.     Gods,  if  you 

Should  haue  'tane  vengeance  on  my  faults,  I  neuer  IO 

Had  liu'd  to  put  on  this  :  fo  had  you  faued 

5.  Jhould]  would  F3F4,-f-,  Varr.  Mai.  8.  Seruant]  Servants  F4. 

Steev.  Varr.  Commands:]    commands—     Rowe, 

6.  murther]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Theob.         Pope  i. 

Han.  Cap.  Knt,  Wh.     murder  Warb.  9.  Gods,]  Ff,  Cap.     Gods!  Rowe  et 

et  cet.  cet. 

7.  little?]  little!  Knt,  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  10.  Should    haue    'tane]    Had    taken 
Cam.  Ktly  conj. 

Oh]  0  Cap.  et  seq.  'tane]  tane  F2.    ta'ne  F3F4.    ta'en 

Pifanio,]    Ff,+,    Cap.      Pisanio!        Rowe. 
Pope  et  cet. 

country  which  he  has  already  injured;  but  as  life  is  no  longer  supportable,  he  will 
die  in  a  just  cause,  and  die  with  the  obscurity  of  a  man  who  does  not  think  himself 
worthy  to  be  remembered. — ECCLES  here  expresses  much  and  prolonged  wonder 
over  the  difficulty  of  accounting  for  this  '  bloody  cloth ' ;  since  it  must  have  reached 
the  hands  of  Posthumus  after  his  arrival  in  Britain.  Eccles  thinks  that  Posthumus 
must  have  privately  dispatched 'a  messenger  with  authority  to  receive  it  from 
Pisanio.  And  if  this  be  so,  Shakespeare  should  unquestionably  have  communi- 
cated some  intelligence  of  it  to  the  audience. 

3.  I  am  wisht]  ABBOTT  (§  294):  A  participle  formed  from  an  adjective  means 
'made  of  (the  adjective),'  and  derived  from  a  noun  means  'endowed  with  (the 
noun).'  [Thus,  'your  loop'd  and  window'd  raggedness.' — Lear,  III,  iv,  31,  i.  e., 
your  raggedness  endowed  with  many  loops  and  windows.  Again,  'A  guiled 
shore.' — Mer.  of  Ven.,  Ill,  ii,  97.  Thus  the  present  'I  am  wisht'  is  equivalent  to 
'I  have  had  many  a  wish.' — THISELTON,  who  at  first  explained  the  phrase  as  the 
case  of  a  suppressed  relative,  'I  am  that  wisht,'  later  (Notula  Criticce,  p.  27) 
withdrew  this  explanation  on  finding  in  Dekker's  Wonder/til  Yeare,  1603,  the  fol- 
lowing: 'I  know  not  how  they  sped  [the  "Mountibank  doctors"  during  the  Plague], 
but  some  they  sped  I  am  sure,  for  I  haue  heard  them  band  for  the  Heauens,  because 
they  sent  those  thither,  that  were  wisht  to  tarry  longer  vpon  earth,'  [p.  117,  ed. 
Grosart],  'where,'  observes  Thiselton,  "'were  wisht"  clearly  means  "were  pos- 
sessed with  the  desire."  -DowoEN  conjectures:  '"I  am  Who  wish'd,"  and  closes 
the  line  with  "am."'  [See  V,  iv,  107,  'The  more  delay'd,  delighted.'— ED.] 

5,  6.  If  each  of  you  .  .  .  themselues]  See  I,  ii,  58;  III,  iii,  112;  IV,  ii,  285. 

7.  For  wrying  but  a  little]  STEEVENS:  For  this  uncommon  verb,  see  Stany- 
hurst,  Trans,  of  Virgil:  'Right  so  to  thee  same  boord  thee  maysters  al  wrye  the 
vessels.' — III,  [p.  88,  ed.  Arber].  Again,  in  Sidney's  Arcadia:  'to.what  a  passe  are 
our  mindes  brought,  that  from  the  right  line  of  vertue,  are  wryed  to  these  crooked 
shifts.' — p.  67,  ed.  1598. 

ii.  to  put  on  this]  JOHNSON:  That  is,  to  instigate,  to  incite. 


ACT  v,  sc.  i.]  CYMBELINE  35I 

The  noble  Imogen,  to  repent,  and  ftrooke  12 

Me  ( wretch )  more  worth  your  Vengeance.     But  alacke, 

You  (hatch  fome  hence  for  little  faults ;  that's  loue 

To  haue  them  fall  no  more  :  you  fome  permit  1 5 

To  fecond  illes  with  illes,  each  elder  worfe, 

12.  Imogen,]  Imogen  Rowe  et  seq.  14.  little]  Om.  Theob.  ii. 

repent,]  Ff,+,  Coll.  Glo.  Cam.  16.  elder  worfe,]  Johns.  Knt,  Dyce, 

repent;  Cap.  et  cet.  Sta.  Glo.  Cam.  Elder  worfe,  Ff.  worse 

jlrooke]  jlrook  F3F4,  Rowe,  Cap.  than  other  Rowe,  Pope,  Theob.  Han. 

struck  Pope.  Warb.  younger  worse,  Cap.  conj.  ill 

13.  Me  (wretch}]  Me  wretch,  Var.  '03,  the   worse,   Jackson,   White   approves. 
'13,  '21,  Dyce  i.    Me,  wretch  Glo.  Cam.  later  worse,  Coll.  iii  (MS.),    alder-worse, 
Dyce  ii,  iii.  Sing,    alder  worst  Bulloch.    other  worse 

14.  fome  hence]  from  hence  Ff ,  Rowe,  Herr.    elder  worse;  Cap.  et  cet. 
Warb.  Line  here  indicated  as  lost.  Ktly. 

14,  15.  that's  loue  To  haue  them  fall  no  more]    WORDSWORTH    (p.    116): 
Compare  Isaiah,  Ivii,  i :    '  Merciful  men  are  taken  away,  none  considering  that  the 
righteous  is  taken  away  from  the  evil  to  come.' 

15,  16.  you  some   permit    To   second   illes   with  illes,  each   elder  worse] 
JOHNSON:    The  last  deed  is  certainly  not  the  oldest,  but  Shakespeare  calls  the 
deed  of  an  elder  man  an  elder  deed. — TOLLET:   That  is,  where  corruptions  are,  they 
grow  with  years,  and  the  oldest  sinner  is  the  greatest.      You,  Gods,  permit  some  to 
proceed  in  iniquity,  and  the  older  such  are,  the  more  their  crime. — M ALONE: 
I  believe  our  Author  must  answer  for  this  inaccuracy,  and  that  he  inadvertently 
considered  the  later  evil  deed  as  the  elder;  having  probably  some  general  notion 
in  his  mind  of  a  quantity  of  evil,  commencing  with  our  first  parents,  and  gradually 
accumulating  in  process  of  time  by  a  repetition  of  crimes. — DYCE:    I  agree  with 
Malone  that  Shakespeare  here  regarded  the  later  deed  as  the  elder. — RANN:   Each 
deed  of  an  old  sinner  being  worse  than  the  preceding;  till  at  length,  pierced  with  a 
review   of   their   accumulated   enormities,   they  became   exemplary  penitents.— 
KXIGHT:   What  Dr  Johnson  says  is,  perhaps,  prosaically  true;  but  as  the  man  who 
goes  on  in  the  commission  of  ill  is  older  when  he  committed  the  last  ill  than  when 
he  committed  the  first,  we  do  not  believe  that  Shakespeare,  as  Malone  says,  'in- 
advertently considered  the  later  evil  deed  as  the  elder.'     The  confusion,  if  there  be 
any,  in  the  text,  may  be  reconciled  by  Bacon's  notion  that  what  we  call  the  old 
world  is  really  the  young  world;  and  so  a  man's  first  sin  is  his  youngest  sin. — 
COLLIER  (ed.  ii.):   The  MS.  changes  'elder'  to  later.     We  can  well  understand  how 
later  ills  should  be  worse  than  those  which  went  before  them. — SINGER:   I  have  no 
doubt  this  is  merely  a  misprint  for  'each  alder-worse.'     Shakespeare  has  used  the 
old  superlative  prefix  in  a  comparative  sense,  as  if  he  had  written  'each  worse  and 
worse.'    The  superlative  '  al der-lii est '  is  found  in  2  Hen.  VI:  I,  i,  28. — THISELTON 
(p.  42):    'Worse'  is  clearly  a  verb  governing  'each  elder,'   for  otherwise  we  are 
left  without  a  distinct  antecedent  for  '  it.'     Milton  makes  '  worse '  a  verb  in  Paradise 
Lost,  vi,  440  ('to  better  us  and  worse  our  foes'),  where  it  means  to  'place  at  a 
disadvantage.'     For  the  subject  of  'worse'  we  must  either  have  recourse  to  the 
suppressed  relative,  making  'each  elder  worse'  equivalent  to  'that  place  each 
elder  ill  at  disadvantage,'  or  we  may, — not  so  well  I  think, — refer  to  'you.'     The 
passage  should  present  no  further  difficulty  if  we  bear  in  mind  that  'illes'  is  a 


352 


THE   TRACED  IE   OF 


And  make  them  dread  it,  to  the  dooers  thrift. 


[ACT  v,  sc.  i. 
17 


17.  them]  men  Coll.  ii.  (MS.)- 

them    dread    it]    trade    in    them 

Herr. 

dread     it, ...thrift.}     Ff.       (thrift 

F2F3;  thrift,  F4),  Pope  ii,  Var    '78,  '85, 

Mai.  Ran.  Knt,  Coll.  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo. 

Cam.     dread  it,.. .thrift;  Rowe,  Pope  i. 

dreaded,.. .thrift.  Theob.  Han.  Cap.  Wh. 

Ktly.     dread  it. ..thrift.   Johns.    Steev. 

Varr.     dreaded  to. ..shrift.  Warb.  conj. 

(Nichols,  111.,  ii,  269),  Sing,    dread  it,... 


trist.  Br.  Nicholson  (N.  &  Q.,  Ill,  v, 
234,  1864).  bread  o't... thrift  Bulloch. 
reap  it, ...thrift.  Sprengel.  done  but  to 
the  doer's  thrift.  Orson  (MS.),  dreadful, 
...shrift.  Spence  (N.  &  Q.,  VI,  i,  92, 
1880).  dread  the  evil-doer's  thrift  Lloyd 
(N.  &  Q.,  VI,  xii,  342,  1885).  dream  it, 
...thrift.  Vaun. 

17.  dooers]  doers  Ff,  Han.  doer's 
Pope,  Steev.  Varr.  Coll.  doers'  Theob. 
et  cet. 


general  term  covering  'ills  suffered'  as  well  as  'ills  done,'  and  that  'thrift'  may 
mean  'abstinence'  as  well  as  'welfare.' — DOWDEN:  'Elder,'  meaning  'later,'  the 
idea  of  a  course  of  evils  developing  to  maturity  being  transferred  to  the  evils 
themselves,  which  proceed  from  a  more  developed  stage  of  sin.  Compare  'elder 
days,'  meaning  days  of  more  advanced  age,  in  Rich.  II:  II,  iii,  43:  'my  service  .  .  . 
raw  and  young,  which  elder  days  shall  ripen.' 

17.  And  make  them  dread  it,  to  the  dooers  thrift]  THEOBALD:  The 
Divinity  Schools  have  not  furnished  juster  observations  on  the  conduct  of  Prov- 
idence than  Posthumus  gives  us  here  in  his  private  reflections.  You  Gods,  says 
he,  act  in  a  different  manner  with  your  different  creatures:  'You  snatch  some 
hence  for  little  faults;  that's  Love;  To  have  them  fall  no  more.'  This  seems  a 
fine  short  comment  on  what  St.  Paul  says  to  the  Hebrews:  'The  Lord  chasteneth 
whom  he  loveth.'  The  philosopher  Seneca  is  more  ample  upon  the  same  subject: 
'Hoc  Deus,  quos  probat,  quos  amat,  indurat,  recognoscit,  exercet.'  Others, 
says  our  Poet,  you  permit  to  live  on,  to  multiply  and  increase  in  crimes,  'And  make 
them  dread  it,  to  the  doer's  thrift.'  Here's  a  relative  without  an  antecedent  sub- 
stantive; and  a  Genitive  Case  Singular,  when  all  the  other  members  of  the  sentence 
run  in  the  plural.  Both  which  are  a  breach  of  Grammar.  We  must  certainly  read, 
'And  make  them  dreaded  to  the  doers'  thrift,'  i.  e.,  others  you  permit  to  aggravate  one 
crime  with  more;  which  enormities  not  only  make  them  revered  and  dreaded,  but 
turn  in  other  kinds  to  their  advantage.  Dignity,  respect,  and  profit  accrue  to 
them  from  crimes  committed  with  impunity. — CHURTON  COLLINS  (Essays,  etc.,  p. 
281) :  This  note  [of  Theobald]  is  a  model  of  what  such  notes  should  be.  [In  Nichol's 
Illustrations  (ii,  269)  Theobald  writes  to  Warburton,  'Dreaded  I  had  a  great  while 
ago  corrected.'  Warburton's  text  reads:  'And  make  them  dread,  to  the  doers' 
thrift — . '  The  CAM.  EDO.  suggest  that  either  Warburton  had  forgotten  Theobald's 
emendation  or  that  'it'  was  probably  omitted  by  mistake.  'In  the  Globe  Edition,' 
they  add,  'we  have  put  an  obelus  to  this  most  difficult  and  probably  corrupt 
passage.'] — JOHNSON:  There  seems  to  be  no  very  satisfactory  sense  yet  offered. 
I  read,  but  with  hesitation:  'make  them  deeded  to  the,'  etc.  The  word  deeded  I 
know  not,  indeed,  where  to  find,  but  Shakespeare  has,  in  another  sense,  undeeded  in 
Macbeth:  'my  sword  I  sheath  again  undeeded.'  I  will  try  again,  and  read  thus: 
'make  them  trade  it  to  the,'  etc.  Trade  and  thrift  correspond.  Our  Author  plays 
with  trade,  as  it  signifies  a  lucrative  vocation,  or  a  frequent  practice.  So  Isabella 
says, 'Thy  sin's  not  accidental,  but  a  trade.' — STEEVENS:  However  ungrammatical, 
I  believe  the  old  reading  is  the  true  one.  To  make  them  dread  it  is  to  make  them 
Persevere  in  the  commission  of  dreadful  actions.  Dr  Johnson  has  observed  on  a 


ACT  v,  sc.  i.]  CYMBELINE  353 

[17.   And  make  them  dread  it,  to  the  dooers  thrift] 

passage  in  Hamlet  that  Pope  and  Rowe  have  not  refused  this  mode  of  speaking: 
'To  sinner  it  or  saint  it,' — and  'to  coy  it.' — M ALONE:    Mr  Steevens's  interpreta- 
tion appears  to  me  inadmissible. — CAPELL  (117):    In  'make  them,'  'them'  refers 
to  these  'ills';  'make'  is  as  much  an  infinitive  as  'second,'  and  'make  them  dreaded' 
is  to  make  the  ills  enormous   and  dreadful,  to  the  great  profit  of  those  who  do 
them. — MONCK  MASON  (p.  336) :    There  is  a  meaning  to  be  extracted  from  these 
words  as  they  now  stand,  and  in  my  opinion  not  a  bad  one:    'Some  you  snatch 
from  hence  for  little  faults;  others  you  suffer  to  heap  ills  on  ills,  and  afterwards 
make  them  dread  their  having  done  so,  to  the  eternal  welfare  of  the  doers.'     The 
whole  speech  is  in  a  religious  strain.     'Thrift'  signifies  a  state  of  prosperity.     It 
is  not,the  commission  of  the  crimes  that  is  supposed  to  be  for  the  doer's  thrift,  but 
his  dreading  them  afterwards,  and,  of  course,  repenting,  which  ensures  his  salva- 
tion.    The  same  sentiment  occurs  in  The  False  One,  where  the  Soldier,  speaking  of 
the  condition  of  Septimius,  who  murdered  Pompey,  says,  'he  was  happy  he  was 
a  rascal,  to  come  to  this,'  [IV,  iii.]. — KNIGHT:  Posthumus  is  comparing  his  own 
state  with  what  he  supposes  is  that  of  Imogen.     She  is  snatched  'hence,  for  little 
faults';  he  remains  'to  second  ills  with  ills.'     But  how  is  it  that  such  as  he  'dread 
it'?    The  commentators  believe  that  there  is  a  misprint.     The  author  of  the 
pamphlet  we  have  already  quoted,  'Explanations  and  Emendations,'  etc.,  thinks 
that  'it'  refers  to  'vengeance,'  four  lines  above.     We  cannot  feel  confident  of  this. 
We  cannot  help  believing  that  some  word  ought  to  stand  in  the  place  of  'dread  it.' 
We  are  inclined  to  conjecture  that  'dread  it'  has  been  misprinted  for  do  each: 
'make  them  do  each  to  the  doer's  thrift.' — WHITE  (ed.  i.):   That  is,  'make  the  evil 
deeds  of  these  men  awaken  a  dread  of  the  doers,  which  enables  them  to  go  on  with 
impunity  in  their   selfish  wickedness.' — COLLIER  (ed.  ii.):    The  MS.  has  men  for 
'them,'  and  the  meaning  seems  to  be  that  men  dreaded  the  commission  of  great 
crimes,  to  the  thrift  of  the  offender,  who  is  able  to  take  advantage  of  their  fears.— 
STAUNTON:  The  commentators  have  contended  that  the  last  deed  is  not  the  oldest; 
but,  whether  rightly  or  wrongly,  it  is  certain  Shakespeare  so  considered  it,  thus,  in 
Pericles:  '  And  what  first  but  fear  what  might  be  done,  Grows  elder  now,'  etc. — I,  ii, 
14.     The  real  pinch  in  the  passage  is  [line  17],  which  has  been  tortured  into  [five 
substitutions]  and  still  remains  as  inscrutable  as    ever. — HUDSON:    Some  bold 
knaves  are  permitted  to  go  on  from  bad  to  worse,  the  crimes  causing  the  doer  of 
them  to  be  feared,  and  so  working  for  his  security  and  profit.     In  other  words, 
boldness  in  wrong  sometimes  brings  impunity  by  scaring  earthly  justice  from  her 
propriety. — ROLFE:  The  passage  may  be  corrupt,  but  the  emendations  seem  to  me 
less  intelligible  than  the  original  text. — DEIGHTON:    Others  you  permit  to  heap 
crime  on  crime,  each  succeeding  one  being  more  heinous  than  its  predecessor,  and 
cause  them  to  dread  this  accumulation,  with  the  result  that  they,  the  doers,  being 
driven  by  this  dread  to  repent,  profit  thereby,  i.  e.,  by  repenting.     It  has  been 
objected  that  'elder'  ought  logically  to  mean  the  preceding,  not  the  succeeding, 
crime;  but  it  seems  probable  that  Shakespeare  here  uses  'elder'  in  the  same  way 
that  Bacon,  Adv.  of  Learning,  I,  v,  i,  says  ancient  ought  to  be  used  in  regard  to  time: 
'And  to  speak  truly,  Antiquilas  saculi,  juventus  mundi.    These  times   are  the 
ancient  times  when  the  world  is  ancient,  and  not  those  which  we  account  ancient 
ordine  retrogrado,  by  a  computation  backward  from  ourselves.'     So,  too,  Webster 
of  Clitheroe,  in  his  Academiarum  Examen  (quoted  by  Dyce,  Preface  to  John  Web- 
ster's Dram.  Works,  p.  xxix.),  says,  'In  regard  of  Natural  Philosophy,  ...  we 

23 


354  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  L 

But  Imogen  is  your  owne,  do  your  beft  willes,  18 

And  make  me  bleft  to  obey.     I  am  brought  hither 

Among  th'Italian  Gentry,  and  to  fight  20 

18.  Imogen  is]  Imogen's  Pope,+.  18.  bejl]  bless'd  Johns,  conj. 

owne,]   Ff,   Rowe.     own.  Johns.  19.  obey.]  obey!  Pope  et  seq. 

own;  Pope  et  cet. 

preposterously  reckon  former  ages,  and  the  men  that  lived  in  them,  the  Ancients; 
which  in  regard  of  production  and  generation  of  the  Individuals  of  their  own 
species  are  so;  but  in  respect  of  knowledge  and  experience  this  Age  is  to  be  accounted 
the  most  ancient.' — DOWDEN:  The  Folio  text  seems  to  me  correct.  In  generalising 
about  evil-doers  Posthumus  is  thinking  of  his  own  case.  He  has  thoughts  of  his 
past, — the  wager  which  was  a  trap  for  Imogen,  and  the  murder;  he  now  comes  to 
his  present  state, — one  in  which  this  course  of  evil  terrifies  him  with  the  thought 
of  its  further  progress,  a  dread  which  will  cause  him  to  bring  to  an  end  the  growing 
sum  of  evil, — by  the  honourable  death  which  he  anticipates, — and  to  his  infinite 
advantage.  'Thrift,'  in  the  sense  of  gain,  profit,  is  common  in  Shakespeare.  [In 
dealing  with  all  puzzling  or  obscure  lines  such  as  these,  should  we  not  bear  in  mind 
how  much  of  the  obscurity  may  be  due  to  our  having  the  printed  text  before  our 
eyes,  over  which  we  can  pore  and  analyse,  and  mark  any  defect  in  grammar  or 
coherence?  Ought  we  not  accept  the  lines  as  when  spoken  and  when  our  ears  are 
our  only  interpreters?  Surely  it  was  thus  that  Shakespeare  intended  them  to  be 
received.  What,  then,  would  be  the  fleeting  impression  we  should  receive  from 
the  present  passage?  Would  it  not  be  that  the  gods  permit  some  people  to  go 
from  bad  to  worse,  heaping  crime  on  crime,  until  at  last  they  make  them  fairly 
loathe  this  evil  course,  which  is  a  good  thing  for  the  culprit?  It  is  when  we  pause 
over  every  word  that  we  are  puzzled  by  'each  elder  worse,'  and  ask  what  'it' 
refers  to,  etc.  And  then  the  fanaticism  of  emending  siezes  us,  and  we  propose 
changes,  utterly  oblivious  of  the  fact  that  by  all  others  our  emendation  will  be  at 
once  discarded  or  mentioned  only  to  be  jeered  at. — ED.] 

18.  But  Imogen  is  your  owne]  W.  W.  LLOYD  (N.  6°  Q.,  VI,  xii,  342,  1885): 
If  this  phrase  is  not  nonsense,  it  at  least  will  bear  no  interpretation  which  blends 
happily  with  Posthumus's  reflection.  We  cannot  be  wrong  in  erasing  'Imogen' 
and  printing  'But  judgment  is  your  own.'  An  alternative  suggestion  is  to  read, 
'But  vengeance  is  your  own,'  with  support  of  the  observation  that  the  idea  of  ven- 
geance is  so  present  to  the  mind  of  Posthumus,  that  the  word  has  already  occurred 
twice  in  the  speech;  and  then  the  familiarity  with  the  text  (Rom.,  xii,  19),  'Ven- 
geance is  mine,  I  will  repay,  saith  the  Lord,'  might  easily  influence  the  Poet.  But, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  ductus  literarum  is  decidedly  in  favour  of  judgement. — 
INGLEBY:  If  the  four  lines  ('You  snatch  .  .  .  doers  thrift,'  14-17)  of  explanation 
be  omitted,  and  also  'But'  in  line  18,  these  words  ['Imogen  is  your  own']  are  in 
place,  and  answer  to  'so  had  you  saved,'  etc.;  and  there  would  not  be  the  least 
ground  for  suspecting  the  purity  of  the  text.  With  the  insertion  of  those  four 
lines  an  element  of  doubt  arises,  which  gives  a  locus  standi,  for  Mr  Lloyd's  first 
['judgment']  and  very  clever  emendation.  [It  is  'clever,'  as  Ingleby  says,  but  is  it 
needed?  Does  it  not  mar  a  little  the  gradual  inclining  toward  not  merely  forgive- 
ness, but  even  to  an  exaltation  of  Imogen,  who  is  now  in  Heaven,  among  the  very 
own  of  the  Gods?  Is  there  not  a  pathetic  tenderness  and  a  cadence  in  the  words 
which  judgment  and,  still  more,  vengeance  rasp? — ED.] 


ACT  v,  sc.  i.]  CYMBELINE 

Againft  my  Ladies  Kingdome  :  'Tis  enough  21 

That  (Britaine)  I  haue  kill'd  thy  Miftris  :  Peace, 

He  giue  no  wound  to  thee  :  therefore  good  Heauens, 

Heare  patiently  my  purpofe.     He  difrobe  me 

Of  thefe  Italian  weedes,  and  fuite  my  felfe  25 

As  do's  a  Britaine  Fez  ant :  fo  He  fight 

Againft  the  part  I  come  with  :  fo  He  dye 

For  thee  (O  Imogen}  euen  for  whom  my  life 

Is  euery  breath,  a  death  :  and  thus,  vnknowne, 

Pittied,  nor  hated,  to  the  face  of  perill  -  30 

My  felfe  He  dedicate.     Let  me  make  men  know 

21.  Ladies]  lady's  Rowe  et  seq.  Pope,  Theob.  i,  Cap.    Briton  Theob.  ii. 

22.  Mijiris:  Peace,]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,        et  cet. 

Han.    Cap.'    mistress.     Peace!   Johns.  26.  Pezant:]   Peasant:   F4.     peasant? 

Knt.    mistress:  peace!  Theob.  et  cet.  Rowe.    peasant;  Pope  et  seq. 

23.  thee:]  thee.  Pope  et  cet.  28.  euen]   Om.   Pope,   Theob.   Han. 

24.  purpofe.]  Ff,+,  Coll.  Ktly.    pur-  Warb. 

pose:—    Dyce,  Sta.     purpose:  Cap.  et  29.  thus,]  thus  Ff,+. 

cet.  vnknowne]  not  knon'n  Han. 

26.  Britaine]  F2.  Britain  F3F4,  Rowe,  30.  nor]  or  Han.     not  Johns. 

22.  thy  Mistris  :  Peace]  STAUNTON  (Athenaum,  14  June,  1873):  So,  flatly, 
reads  every  modern  text.  Can  I  be  mistaken  in  believing  Shakespeare  wrote, 
'thy  mistress-piece!'  The  received  lection  sounds  absolutely  senseless,  while,  con- 
sidering the  exalted  rank  and  august  endowments  of  Imogen,  the  expression,  of 
which  it  appears  to  be  a  sophistication,  is  peculiarly  appropriate.  Compare — a 
notable  instance  of  its  use — the  following  passage  from  Lord  Herbert's  Hist,  of 
Henry  VIII.  (ed.  1649):  'Among  whom,  because  Mistresse  Elizabeth  Blunt, 
daughter  to  Sir  John  Blunt,  Knight,  was  thought,  for  her  rare  Ornaments  of  Nature 
and  education,  to  be  the  beauty  and  Mistress-peece  of  her  time,'  etc. — MURRAY 
(N.  E.  D.),  who  says  it  is  formed  in  'master-piece,'  adds  a  second  quotation:  Fuller 
(Worthies,  Herefordshire,  II,  41,  1662),  'Rosamund,  being  the  mistress-piece  of 
beauty  of  that  age.' — THISELTON:  Staunton  may  be  right,  the  colon  representing 
a  hyphen  which  was  often  in  a  form  resembling  the  sign  of  equality;  compare 
'Abraham: Cupid'  in  Rom.  &  JuL,  II,  i,  13,  Q2;  also  a  similar  use  of  the  colon  in 
Scotch  legal  documents;  and  also  perhaps  the  sign  of  ratio.  Either  reading  gives 
good  sense,  but  'my  Ladies  Kingdom,'  line  21,  seems  to  turn  the  balance  in  favour 
of  the  usual  text.  [Rarely,  indeed,  is  there  suggested,  I  think,  a  more  plausible 
emendation  than  this  of  Staunton.  And  our  regret  cannot  but  be  correspondingly 
great  that  the  need  of  it  is  not  greater.  See  also, '  The  peece  of  tender  Ayre,  thy  ver- 
tuous  Daughter,'  V,  v,  529.  See  again,  'Thy  mother  was  a  piece  of  virtue,'  Temp., 
I,  ii,  56.— ED.] 

25.  weedes]   That  is,  clothes,  as  in  Shakespeare  passim.     They  are  referred  to 
again  in  'habits,'  line  32. 

31-35.  Let  me  .  .  .  more  within]  The  vulgar,  discordant  note  struck  in  these 
lines,  with  their  braggart  tone,  from  a  heart-broken  man  whose  only  prayer  was  a 
death  unknown,  never  came  from  the  hand  that  wrote  what  precedes  it. — ED. 


356 


THE   TRACED  IE   OF 


More  valour  in  me,  then  my  habits  (how. 
Gods,  put  the  ftrength  Q>\}ri  Leonati  in  me  : 
To  fhame  the  guize  o'th'world,  I  will  begin, 
The  fafhion  leffe  without,  and  more  within. 


[ACT  v,  sc.  ii. 
32 

Exit.         35 


Scena  Secunda. 


Enter  Lucius ,  lachimo,  and  t/te  Romane  Army  at  one  doore  :  2 

and  the  Britaine  Army  at  another :  Leonatus  Poftliumus 
following  like  a  poor  e  Soiddicr.    They  march  otter ,  and  goe 
out.    Then  enter  againe  in  Skirmijli  lachimo  and  PoJIJiu-  5 

mus  :  he  vanquiflictli  and  difarmetli  lacliimo,  aud  then 
leaues  him. 

lac.     The  heauineffe  and  guilt  within  my  bofome, 
Takes  off  my  manhood  :  I  haue  belyed  a  Lady, 
The  Princeffe  of  this  Country  ;  and  the  ayre  on't  IO 

Reuengingly  enfeebles  me,  or  could  this  Carle, 


32.  habits    Jh.ow.]     Ff     (JJww,     F4). 
habit's  show;  Rowe,  Pope,    habit's  shew; 
Theob.    Warb.    Johns,     habit    shews; 
Han. 

33,  34.  o'th']  o'the  Cap.  et  seq. 

33.  me:]  me!  Theob.  et  seq. 

34,  35.  begin,  The  fafhion]  Ff,  Rowe. 
begin,   The  fashion,  Pope,     begin   The 
fashion.    Johns.      begin    The   fashion, 
Theob.  et  cet. 

1.  Scene  continued.  Rowe,+.    Scene 
in.  Eccles. 

2.  Enter...]    Enter,    from    opposite 
side,  Lucius,  lachimo,  and  the  Roman 
Army:  then  the   British  army;  Post- 


humus  following  it,  like  a  poor  Soldier: 
They  march  over  and  go  out.  Alarums 
as  of  a  Battle  begun.  Enter,  in  skir- 
mish, several  little  Parties;  with  them, 
lachimo  and  Posthumus:  [The  rest  as 
in  text.]  Cap.  et  seq.  (subs.).  Trumpets 
and  Drums.  Enter... leave  him.  Ala- 
rums on  both  sides.  Coll.  (monovol.). 

8.  heauineffe]  heaviest  Theob.  ii.  (mis- 
print) . 

and]  of  Warb.  Coll.  conj.  (Warb. 
MS.,  N.  &  Q.,  VIII,  iii,  263,  1893), 
Coll.  conj. 

9.  /  haue]  I've  Pope,+,  Dyce  ii,  iii. 

ii.  me,]  me:  Rowe  et  seq. 


2.  Enter,  etc.]  KNIGHT  holds  that  the  minuteness  of  the  stage  directions  in  the 
first  four  Scenes  of  this  Act  savours  of  youth,  and  is  possibly  due  to  the  fact  that  we 
here  have  the  remnants  of  an  early  sketch  which  Shakespeare  at  a  later  period 
elaborated.  [In  Garrick's  Version  the  stage  direction  and  opening  lines  are  as 
follows:  'A  FIELD  OF  BATTLE.  A  grand  Fight  between  the  Romans  and  Britons: 
the  Romans  are  drove  of.  Enter  Posthumus  and  lachimo  fighting.  lachimo  drops 
his  Sword.  Posthumus.  Or  yield  thee,  Roman,  or  thou  dy'st.  lachimo.  Peasant, 
behold  my  breast.  Post.  No,  take  thy  life  and  mend  it.  [Exit  Post.]  lachimo. 
The  heaviness  and  sin,'  etc.,  etc.,  as  in  the  original. — ED.] 

6,  7.  aud  then  leaues  him]  RUGGLES  (p.  38) :  This  mercy  has  a  rich  reward. 
Had  Posthumus  put  lachimo  to  death,  he  would  have  slain  the  only  witness  that 
could  fully  confirm  Imogen's  truth. 

n.  Carle]  MURRAY  (N.E.D.} — [For  the  elaborate  genesis  of  this  word  recourse 


ACT   V,   SC.  ii.] 


CYMBELINE 


357 


A  very  drudge  of  Natures,  haue  fubdu'de  me  12 

In  my  profeffion  f  Knighthoods,  and  Honors  borne 

As  I  weare  mine)are  titles  but  of  fcorne. 

If  that  thy  Gentry  ( Britaine )  go  before  1 5 

This  Lowt,  as  he  exceeds  our  Lords,  the  oddes 

Is,  that  we  fcarfe  are  men,  and  you  are  Goddes.          Exit. 

The  Battaile  continues ,  the  Britaines  fly ,  Cymbeline  is 

taken :  Then  enter  to  his  refcue,  Bellanus ,  Guidciius , 

and  Aruiragus.  20 

^r/.Stand,  ftand,we  haue  th'aduantage   of  the  ground, 

The  Lane  is  guarded  :  Nothing  rowts  vs,  but 

The  villany  of  our  feares. 

Gui.  And.     Stand,  ftand,  land  fight. 

Enter  Pojihunms ,  and  feconds  the  Britaines.     Tliey  Refcue         25 

Cymbeline ,  and  Exeunt. 
Then  enter  Lucius ,  lachimo ,  and  Imogen. 
Luc.     Away  boy  from  the  Troopes,  and  faue  thy  felfe: 
For  friends  kil  friends, and  the  diforder's  fuch 
As  warre  were  hood-wink'd.  30 

lac.    'Tis  their  frefh  fupplies. 


12.  Natures]    Ff.      nature    Pope,+. 
nature's  Rowe  et  cet. 

fubdu'de]  fubdu'd  F3F4. 

13.  and]  Om.  Pope,  Han. 

borne]  born  F4,  Rowe,+,  Cap. 

14.  titles]     tiles      Theob.     ii.    (mis- 
print?) 

Jcorne.]     scorn;     Rowe,      Pope, 
Theob.  Han.  Warb. 

1 8.  Battaile]     Battel     F3F4,     Rowe, 
Pope,  Han. 

15.  25.  Britaines]  Ff  (subs.).    Britons 
Theob.  ii. 


21.  ftand,]    stand;    Pope,+-      stand. 
Johns,    stand!  Cap.  et  seq. 

th'aduantage]  Pope,  +  ,  Dyce  ii, 
iii.  the  advantage  Ff  et  cet. 

ground,]  ground;  Pope,  Theob. 
Warb.  et  seq. 

22.  The  Lane]  That  lane  Rowe  ii,+. 
guarded]  garded  F4. 

24.  Stand,  ftand,]  Stand,  stand  Rowe, 
Pope,  Han.    Stand;  stand  Johns. 
fight.]  fight!  Cap.  et  seq. 

29.  disorder's]  disorders  Han.  ii.  (mis- 
print?) 


must  be  had  to  the  inestimable  Dictionary  itself]:  The  form  karl  appears  as  the 
proper  name  Carl,  Latin  Carolus,  French  and  English  Charles,  i.  A  man  of  the 
common  people,  b.  A  bondman,  a  villain.  2.  Hence,  A  fellow  of  low  birth  or  rude 
manners;  a  base  fellow;  a  churl. — STEEVENS:  The  thought  seems  to  have  been 
imitated  in  Philaster:  'The  gods  take  part  against  me;  could  this  boor  Have  held 
me  thus  else.' — [IV,  iii.]. 

12.  A  very  drudge  of  Natures]  WALKER  (Grit.,  ii,  309):  In  Rich.  Ill:  I,  iii, 
we  have  'The  slave  of  nature,'  which  means  neither  more  nor  less  than  a  born 
villain.  [By  quoting  the  present  phrase  immediately  after  his  remark  on  Rich.  III. 
the  inference  is  that  Walker  would  interpret  it  as  a  natural  born  drudge.] 


358  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  iii. 

Luc.    It  is  a  day  turn'd  ftrangely  :  or  betimes  32 

Let's  re-inforce,  or  fly.  Exeunt 


Scena  Tertia. 

Enter  Pofthunius,   and  a  Britaine  Lord.  2 

Lor.    Cam'ft  thou  from  where  they  made  the  ftand  ? 

Pofl.    I  did, 
Though  you  it  feemes  come  from  the  Fliers  ?  5 

Lo,  I  did. 

Pojl.   No  blame  be  to  you  Sir,  for  all  was  loft, 
But  that  the  Heauens  fought  :  the  King  himfelfe  8 

32.  Jlrangely:]  strangely.  Pope,-f.  2.  Britaine]  BritiJJt  Pope  et  seq. 

33.  re-inforce]  re.inforce  F2.  5.  come]  came  F3F4,+,  Dyce  ii,  iii. 
i.  Scene  continued.  Rowe.  Scene  n.  Fliers?]  Fliers.  F3F4  et  seq. 

Pope,  Han.  Warb.  Johns.  6.  did]  bid  F2. 

Scene  iv.  Eccl.  7.  be  to  you]  to  you  F3F4,  Rowe. 

SCENE,  another  Part  of  the  Field  of  Sir,]  Sir;  Cap.  et  seq. 

Battel.  Theob.  8.  fought:]  fought.  Coll.  Ktly. 

33.  Let's  re-inforce]  CRAIGIE  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  4.):  To  obtain  reinforcements. 
[The  present  passage  is  the  only  one,  except  a  quotation  dated  1811,  where  this 
verb  is  used  intransitively.] — DOWDEN:  Mr  Hart  thinks  that  this  means  not 
obtain  reinforcements,  but  '  renew  the  attack,'  and  he  cites  the  Play  of  Stuckley 
(Simpson's  School  of  Shakepseare,  p.  207),  where  he  believes  the  word  bears  this 
meaning.  [The  passage  referred  to  is  as  follows:  'Retire  thee  into  Clamgaboy 
Where  Alexander  and  MacGilliam  Buske  May  join  their  Scots.  .  .  .  And  reinforce 
the  English  with  fresh  power,'  where  the  word  certainly  seems  to  mean,  as  a  foot- 
note says,  'i.  e.,  renew  the  attack  upon,  engage  again';  and  it  is  possible  that  it  so 
means  here,  whether  or  not  it  is  intransitive. — CRAIGIE  (op.  cit.)  quotes  a  passage 
from  Coriolanus  as  an  illustration  of  the  use  of  'Reinforcement,'  as  meaning  'A 
renewal  of  force,  a  fresh  assault' — 'He  "aydelesse  came  off,  And  with  a  sudden 
re-inforcement  strucke  Corioles  like  a  Planet." — II,  ii,  117.'  Here  again,  as  in 
Stuckley,  it  is  transitive.  It  must,  however,  be  borne  in  mind  that  these  two  ex- 
amples are  exceptions  to  the  large  number  of  instances  involving  the  idea  of  added 
forces. — ED.] 

6.  I  did]  CRAIG:  These  two  'I  dids'  are  awkward.  It  is  very  likely,  I  think, 
that  Shakespeare  here  wrote  Aye.  It  must  be  remembered  that  Aye  is  always 
printed  'I'  in  the  Folios. 

8.  the  Heauens  fought]  STEEVENS:  So  in  Judges,  v,  20:  'They  fought  from 
heaven;  the  stars  in  their  courses  fought  against  Sisera.' 

8.  the  King  himselfe,  etc.]  CAPELL  (p.  118):  The  description  that  begins 
at  these  words,  and  is  concluded  in  the  speech  that  comes  after,  is  worded  with 
such  conciseness  in  some  parts,  clogged  with  so  much  parenthetical  matter  in 
others,  and  its  images  follow  so  thick  one  upon  the  heels  of  another,  that  a  more 
than  ordinary  attention  is  necessary  to  gain  due  understanding  of  it.  This  sen- 


ACT  v,  sc.  iii.]  CYMBELINE 


[8.  the  King  himselfe] 

tence  and  the  three  it  is  followed  by  are  put  absolutely;  after  which  the  construc- 
tion is  regular  as  far  down  as  the  words  'athwart  the  lane'  [line  23],  where  we  must 
supply  throwing  himselfe;  for  'soldiour'  is  not  connected  with  anything,  but  the 
sense  is  broke  off  at  it.  This  turning  of  the  tide  of  battle  by  Belarius  and  his  two 
sons  is  derived  from  an  incident  narrated  by  Holinshed  (Hist,  of  Scotland,  p.  155), 
which  is  quoted  in  part  by  MALONE  and  MUSGRAVE.  It  stands  thus  in  Holinshed: 
'The  Danes  being  backed  with  the  mounteine,  were  constreined  to  leaue  the  same, 
and  with  all  speed  to  come  forward  vpon  their  enimies,  that  by  Joining  they  might 
auoid  the  danger  of  the  Scotishmens  arrowes  and  darts:  by  this  means  therefore 
they  came  to  handstrokes,  in  maner  before  the  signe  was  giuen  on  either  part  to 
the  battell.  The  fight  was  cruell  on  both  sides:  and  nothing  hindered  the  Scots 
so  much,  as  going  about  to  cut  off  the  heads  of  the  Danes,  euer  as  they  might  over- 
come them.  Which  maner  being  noted  of  the  Danes,  and  perceiuing  that  there  was 
no  hope  of  life  but  in  victorie,  they  rushed  foorth  with  such  violence  vpon  their 
aduersaries,  that  first  the  right,  and  then  after  the  left  wing  of  the  Scots,  was 
constreined  to  retire  and  flee  backe,  the  middle-ward  stoutly  yet  keeping  their 
ground:  but  the  same  stood  in  such  danger,  being  now  left  naked  on  the  sides,  that 
the  victorie  must  needes  haue  remained  with  the  Danes,  had  not  a  renewel  of  the 
battell  come  in  time,  by  the  appointment  (as  is  to  be  thought)  of  almightie  God. 

'For  as  it  chanced,  there  was  in  the  next  field  at  the  same  time  an  husbandman, 
with  two  of  his  sons  busie  about  his  worke,  named  Haie,  a  man  strong  and  stiffe  in 
making  and  shape  of  bodie,  but  indued  with  a  valiant  courage.  This  Haie  behold- 
ing the  king  with  the  most  part  of  the  nobles,  fighting  with  great  valiancie  in  the 
middle  ward,  now  destitute  of  the  wings,  and  in  great  danger  to  be  oppressed  by  the 
great  violence  of  his  enimies,  caught  a  plow-beame  in  his  hand,  and  with  the 
same  exhorting  his  sonnes  to  doo  the  like,  hasted  towards  the  battell,  there  to  die 
rather  amongest  other  in  defense  of  his  countrie,  than  to  remaine  aliue  after  the 
discomfiture  in  miserable  thraldome  and  bondage  of  the  cruell  and  most  vnmercif  ull 
enimies,  There  was  neere  to  the  place  of  the  battell,  a  long  lane  fensed  on  the 
sides  with  ditches  and  walles  made  of  turfe,  through  the  which  the  Scots  which 
fled  were  beaten  downe  by  the  enimies  on  heapes. 

'Here  Haie  with  his  sonnes,  supposing  they  might  best  staie  the  flight,  placed 
themselues  ouerthwart  the  lane,  beat  them  backe  whome  they  met  fleeing,  and 
spared  neither  friend  nor  fo;  but  downe  they  went  with  all  such  as  came  within 
their  reach,  wherewith  diuerse  hardie  personages  cried  vnto  their  fellowes  to 
returne  backe  vnto  the  battell,  for  there  was  a  new  power  of  Scotishmen  come  to 
their  succours,  by  whose  aid  the  victorie  might  be  easilie  obteined  of  their  most 
cruell  aduersaries  the  Danes:  therefore  might  they  choose  whether  they  would 
be  slaine  of  their  owne  fellowes  comming  to  their  aid,  or  to  returne  againe  to  fight 
with  the  enimies.  The  Danes  being  here  staled  in  the  lane  by  the  great  valiancie 
of  the  father  and  the  sonnes,  thought  verely  there  had  beene  some  great  succors 
of  Scots  come  to  the  aid  of  their  King,  and  there  vpon  ceassing  from  further  pursute, 
fled  backe  in  great  disorder  vnto  the  other  of  their  fellowes  fighting  with  the  middle 
ward  of  the  Scots.  .  .  .  But  Haie,  who  in  such  wise  (as  is  before  mentioned)  staied 
them  that  fled,  causing  them  to  returne  againe  to  the  field,  deserued  immortall 
fame  and  commendation:  for  by  his  meanes  chieflie  was  the  victorie  atchiued.' 

MUSGRAVE:  It  appears  from  Peck's  New  Memoirs,  etc.,  Article  88,  that  Milton  in- 
tended to  have  written  a  play  on  this  subject.  [After  enumerating  Milton's  poems, 


360 


THE   TRACED  IE   OF 


[ACT  v,  sc.  iii. 


Of  his  wings  deftitute,  the  Army  broken, 

And  but  the  backes  of  Britaines  feene  ;  all  flying  IO 

Through  a  ftrait  Lane,  the  Enemy  full-hearted, 

Lolling  the  Tongue  with  flaught'ring  :  hauing  worke 

More  plentifull,  then  Tooles  to  doo't  :  ftrooke  downe 

Some  mortally,   fome  (lightly  touch'd,  fome  falling 

Meerely  through  feare,that  the    ftrait  paffe  was  damm'd          15 

With  deadmen,  hurt  behinde,  and  Cowards  liuing 

To  dye  with  lengthened  fhame. 

Lo.    Where  was  this  Lane  ? 

Po/l.Clote  by  the  battell,  ditch'd,  &  walPd  with  turph, 
Which  gaue  aduantage  to  an  ancient  Soldiour  20 

(An  honeft  one  I  warrant)  who  deferu'd 
So  long  a  breeding,  as  his  white  beard  came  to,  22 


9-17.  Mnemonic  Pope,  Warb. 

10.  Britaines]     Ff     (subs.),     Rowe, 
Pope,    Cap.      Britain    Theob.    Warb. 
Johns.    Britons  Han.  et  cet. 

feene;]  seen,  Cap.  et  seq. 

11.  jlrail]  straight  F2F3,  Rowe,  Pope, 
Theob.  Han.  Warb. 

Lane]  lane;  Theob.  i,  Cap.  et  seq. 

12.  jlaught' ring:]      slaughtering,      or 
slaughtering,  Rowe  et  seq. 

13.  doo't:]  do't,  Rowe  et  seq. 
Jlrooke]  flroke   F2.     flrook    F3F4, 

Rowe  i,  Cap.    struck  Rowe  ii. 

14.  jlightly  touch'd]   slightly,  touch d 
Vaun.  Dowden. 

15.  fearc]fear;  Cap.  et  seq. 


15.  ftrait]      straight      Rowe,      Pope, 
Theob.  Han.  Warb. 

damm'd]  damn'd  Pope,  Warb. 

1 6.  deadmen]   dead-men   F3F4.     dead 
men  Rowe  et  seq. 

behinde]  behind;  Pope. 

19.  battell]  battle;  Johns. 

turph]    turfc,    F3.      turf,    F4,+. 
turf;  Cap.  et  seq. 

20.  Soldiour]  Souldier  F3F4.    soldier, 
Rowe,+,    Coll.   Glo.  Cam.     soldier, — 
Cap.  et  cet.  (subs.) 

21.  (An  ...  warrant)]     An  ...  warrant; 
Cap.  et  seq. 

21,  22.  (An... came  to,]  In  parentheses, 
Pope. 


Peck  (p.  88)  thus  begins  his  Chap.  XII:  'Besides  all  these  our  author  intended  like- 
wise (as  may  be  remembered)  upwards  of  ninety  dramatic  pieces.  I  shall  here  give 
the  Catalogue  of  them  from  his  MS.  Common-place-book,  now  in  Trinity  College 
Library.'  No.  Ixxxviii.  reads:  'Haie,  the  plowman,  who,  with  his  two  sons  that 
were  at  plow,  running  to  the  battell  that  was  between  the  Scots  &  Danes  in  the  next 
field,  staid  the  flight  of  his  countrymen,  renew'd  the  battell,  &  caus'd  the  victorie, 
&c.  Scotch  Story,  p.  155.'  It  is,  I  think,  noteworthy  that  No.  xc.  on  this  list  is: 
'Macbeth.  Beginning  at  the  arrival  of  Malcolm  at  Mackduffe.  The  matter  of 
Duncan  may  be  expres't  by  the  appearing  of  his  ghost.' — ED.] 

12.  Lolling  the  Tongue]  This  forcible-feeble  expression  has  not,  to  me,  a 
Shakespearian  stamp.  Nor  the  use  of  'Tooles'  in  the  next  line.  The  first  line  in 
all  this  description  that,  to  me,  gives  the  true  ring  is  'To  die  with  length'ned 
shame.' — ED. 

16.  deadmen]  See  WALKER  (Crit.,  ii,  136),  or  II,  iii,  77. 

21,  22.  deseru'd  So  long  a  breeding,  as  his  white  beard  came  to] 
WHITE:  His  service  to  his  country  made  him  worthy  of  the  great  age  indicated 


ACT  v,  sc.  in.]  CYMBELINE  361 

In  doing  this  for's  Country.     Athwart  the  Lane,  23 

He,  with  two  ftriplings  ( Lads  more  like  to  run 

The  Country  bafe,  then  to  commit  fuch  {laughter,  25 

With  faces  fit  for  Maskes,  or  rather  fayrer 

Then  thofe  for  preferuation  cas'd,  or  fhame) 

Made  good  the  paffage,  cryed  to  thofe  that  fled. 

Our  Britaines  hearts  dye  flying,  not  our  men,  29 

23.  for's]    Ff,+,    Coll.    Dyce,    Sta.  shame  Make  Han.  (reading:  For  shame 

Glo.  Cam.  for's  his  Var.  '73  (misprint?).  ...passage,  as  a  quotation). 
for  his  Cap.  et  cet.  28.  paffage,]  passage;  Johns,  et  seq. 

Country.}     Ff,  +  ,     Ktly,     Cam.  fled.]  fled,  Ff  et  seq. 

country,  Knt.    country;  Han.  et  cet.  29-33.  Mnemonic  Pope.     As  quota- 

Athwart]  'Thwart  Pope,+.  tion  Theob.  et  seq. 
25.  Daughter,]       slaughter;       Theob.  29.  hearts]  harts  Pope  ii.  et  seq. 

Warb.  et  seq.  men,]  men;  Pope  et  seq. 

27,     28.  cas'd,.. .Made]    cas'd)     'For 

by  his  beard. — SCHMIDT  (Lex.,  s.  v.  Breeding) :  That  is,  who  deserved  to  live  so  long 
as  to  breed  his  long  white  beard. — INGLEBY:  That  is,  who  shewed  by  his  valour 
that  he  had  profited  by  such  long  experience  (in  arms)  as  his  long  white  beard 
cited. — DEIGHTON:  Who,  in  so  serving  his  country,  well  deserved  of  it  the  support 
it  had  given  him  during  the  life  which  his  white  beard  showed  him  to  have  lived.— 
DOWDEN:  Who  deserved  the  nurture  of  his  country  for  as  many  years  as  his 
white  beard  indicated.  [May  it  not  mean:  Who,  for  this  patriotic  action,  de- 
served as  long  a  nurture  in  the  future  as  his  white  beard  indicated  that  he  had  been 
nurtured  in  the  past?  which  differs  but  slightly  from  Dowden's  paraphrase. — ED.] 

25.  Country  base]  MURRAY  (,V.  E.  D.,  s.  i\  Base.  sbz):  A  popular  game  among 
boys;  it  is  played  by  two  sides,  who  occupy  contiguous  'bases'  or  'homes';  any 
player  running  out  from  his  'base'  is  chased  by  one  of  the  opposite  side,  and,  if 
caught,  made  a  prisoner.     [Present  line  quoted.] 

26.  With  faces  fit  for  Maskes,  etc.]   DEIGHTON:    With  faces  so  delicate  of 
complexion  as  to  deserve  masks  to  protect  them  from  the  sun,  or  rather,  I  should 
say,  fairer  than  those  by  which    masks  are  worn  either  for  that  purpose  or  to 
prevent  impertinent  curiosity;  masks  were  commonly  worn  by  ladies  out  of  doors 
to  preserve  their  complexions,  or  for  purposes  of  concealment  at  theatres,  etc. 

29.  Our  Britaines  hearts  dye  flying]  THEOBALD:  Thus  all  the  editions, 
and  thus  Mr  Pope  in  his  [First]  edition,  most  implicitly  obsequious  to  nonsense.  I 
corrected  the  passage  in  my  Shakespeare  Restor'd,  as  I  have  now  reform'd  it  in  the 
Text,  and  Mr  Pope  has  follow'd  my  correction  in  his  [Second]  edition  of  our  Author. 
[Theobald  reads  harts  in  his  Text.] — INGLEBY  (retaining  'hearts'  of  the  Folios): 
Compare  line  51,  where  the  allusion  is  to  the  Romans'  hearts.  The  meaning  is 
that  the  Britons  were  losing  heart  (courage) ;  and  flying,  lest  they  should  lose  their 
lives;  and  they  were  thus  putting  their  souls  in  jeopardy.  [Is  losing  heart  a  com- 
mendable paraphrase  of  'hearts  die'? — ED.] — CHURTON  COLLINS  (p.  303):  Nothing 
could  be  happier  than  [Theobald's]  emendation  of  harts  in  this  line.  [Wherewith, 
I  think,  there  will  be  general  agreement. — ED.] 

29.  not  our  men]  THIRLBY  (Letters  to  Theobald,  in  Nichols's  Illustrations, 
vol.  ii,  p.  229) :  What  if  we  should  read  '  her  men '  instead  of '  our  men,'  which  is  just 


362 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF 


[ACT  v,  sc.  iii. 


To  darkneffe  fleete  foules  that  flye  backwards ;  iland,  30 

Or  we  are  Romanes,  and  will  giue  you  that 

Like  beafts,  which  you  fhun  beaftly,  and  may  faue 

But  to  looke  backe  in  frowne  :  Stand, (land.    Thefe  three, 

Three  thoufand  confident,  in  a6le  as  many  : 

For  three  performers  are  the  File,  when  all  35 

The  reft  do  nothing.     With  this  word  fland,  ftand, 

Accomodated  by  the  Place  ;  more  Charming 

With  their  owne  Nobleneffe,  which  could  haue  turn'd 

A  Diftaffe,  to  a  Lance,  guilded  pale  lookes ;  39 


30.  fleete  foules}  F2.  fleet  foules  F3. 
fleet  fouls  F4,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han.  Glo. 
Cam.  fleet  souls,  Theob.  Warb.  Johns. 
fleet,  souls  Cap.  Var.  '73  et  cet. 

backwards;]  F2F3,  Rowe  ii,  Han. 
backward;  F4,  Rowe  i.  backwards.  Glo. 
Cam.  backwards!  Pope  et  cet. 

fland,]  stand;  Theob.  et  seq. 

32.  beaftly,]  Ff,+,  Coll.  Dyce,  Glo. 
Cam.    beastly;  Cap.  et  cet. 

faue]  Ff,+,  Cam.  'scape  Huds. 
save,  Cap.  et  cet. 

33.  frowne]  front  Rowe,  Pope. 
fland.}  stand —  Pope,  Han. 


34.  many:]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Theob. 
Warb.    Johns,     many —   Glo.      many, 
Han.  et  cet. 

35.  36.  For. ..nothing.}  In  parentheses 
Pope  et  seq.  (subs.) 

36.  nothing.]    Ff,    Rowe.      nothing;) 
Pope,  Theob.  Han.  Warb.      nothing,) 
Mai.    Steev.    Varr.    Knt.      nothing, — • 
Dyce,  Sta.  Cam.    nothing —  Ktly,  Glo. 
nothing)  Johns,  et  cet. 

37.  Place;]  place,  Pope  et  seq. 
39.  DiJla/e,]diJla/F,F4. 

lookes;]  Ff,  Rowe,+.    looks,  Cap. 
et  cet.    looks.  Vaun. 


now  come  into  my  head?  I  think  I  should  rather  have  wrote  her,  and  rather  incline 
to  think  Shakespeare  did;  but  as  it  is  very  uncertain,  and  of  no  consequence,  I  would 
not  have  it  mentioned.  [Although  it  is  wholly  needless,  we  can,  I  think,  still 
admire  its  plausibility. — ED.] 

30.  To   darknesse    fleete    soules    that  flye  backwards]  VAUGHAN  (p.  515)' 
This  is  not  an  imprecation;  but,  I  apprehend,  an  aphorism,  like  the  line  preceding, 
and  should  be  punctuated  accordingly. 

31.  Or  we  are  Romanes]  That  is,  or  else  we  shall  turn  Romans. 

33.  may  saue  But  to  looke  backe  in  frowne :  Stand,  stand]  That  is, 
you  may  save  yourself  from  this  death  that  you  shun  by  only  making  a  stand  and 
looking  back  defiance. 

35.  the  File]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  sb*,  II,  7.  Mil.):  The  number  of  men 
constituting  the  depth  from  front  to  rear  of  a  formation  in  line,  etc. — SCHMIDT 
(Lex.  3) :  The  number,  multitude. 

37.  Charming]  STAUNTON:  That  is,  controlling  others  of  the  Britain  side,  as  if 
by  enchantment. 

38-44.  Noblenesse,  which  could  .  .  .  o'th 'Hunters]  DEIGHTON:  Noble- 
ness, which  would  have  converted  a  timid  woman  into  a  daring  man,  gave  fresh 
colour  to  those  now  blanched  with  fear;  and  some  from  shame,  some  from  returning 
courage,  became  what  they  were  before  the  panic  seized  them;  so  that  some  who, 
merely  from  following  the  lead  of  others,  had  given  way  to  cowardice, — a  sin  doubly 
accursed  in  those  that  set  the  example, — began,  like  the  old  man  and  the  two  strip- 


ACT  v,  sc.  iii.]  CYMBELINE  363 

Part  fhame,  part  fpirit  renewed,  that  fome  turn'd  coward         40 

But  by  example  (Oh  a  fmne  in  Warre, 

Damn'd  in  the  firft  beginners)  gan  to  looke 

The  way  that  they  did,  and  to  grin  like  Lyons 

Vpon  the  Pikes  o'th'Hunters.     Then  beganne 

A  flop  i'th'Chafer  ;  a  Retyre  :  Anon  45 

A  Rowt,  confufion  thicke  :  forthwith  they  flye 

Chickens,  the  way  which  they  ftopt  Eagles  :  Slaues 

The  fbrides  the  Victors  made  :  and  now  our  Cowards  48 

40.  Part    fliame,    part}     Ff,    Rowe,  cet. 

Johns.  Knt,  Coll.  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam.  45,  53.  i'th'}  i'the  Cap.  et  seq. 

Part  shame;  part  Pope.     Part,  shame,  45.  Chafer;]  chaser,  Rowe  et  seq. 

part,  Theob.  et  cet.  46.  confufion   thicke}    confusion-thick 

fpirit     reneiv'd}     spirit — renew'd  Han.  Warb.  Cap.  Walker,  Dyce  ii,  iii. 

Theob.  Han.  Warb.  Cap.  thicke:}  thick.  Rowe,+. 

renew'd,}  renew'd;  Johns,  et  seq.  47.  ftopt}  Ff.    stoopt  or  stoop'd  Rowe 

fome]  some,  Theob.  Warb.  et  seq.  et  seq. 

42.  beginners)]     beginners!)     Theob.  Slaites]  Ff.    slaves,  Pope  et  seq. 

Warb.  et  seq.  (subs.)  48.  the  Victors]  they  victors  Theob.  et 

gan}  F2,  Dyce,  Glo.    'gan  F3F4  et  seq. 

lings,  to  face  the  foe  with  looks  as  fierce  and  grim  as  those  of  lions  at  bay  against  the 
spears  of  the  hunters. 

45.  A  stop  i'th'Chaser]  MADDEN  (p.  298):  The  essential  characteristic  of 
the  career,  wherein  it  differed  from  the  ordinary  gallop,  was  its  abrupt  ending, 
technically  known  as  'the  stop,'  by  which  the  horse  was  suddenly  and  firmly  thrown 
upon  his  haunches.  Wherever  Shakespeare  uses  the  word  this  stop  is  present  to 
his  mind. 

47.  the  way  which  they  stopt  Eagles]  It  is  an  assertion  somewhat  teme- 
rarious to  predicate  of  the  meaning  of  any  word  that  Shakespeare  always  had  that 
meaning-  in  mind  when  he  uses  the  word.  Wherefore,  if  Madden's  assertion  in  the 
foregoing  note  be  correct,  some  doubt  must  be  cast  on  Rowe's  emendation,  stoopt 
for  'stopt,'  in  the  present  line.  Does  not  Rowe's  stoopt  weaken  the  simile?  Of 
course,  we  all  know  that  it  is  a  technical  word  in  Falconry,  and  equivalent  to 
swoop,  which  gives  it,  as  here  used,  much  force.  Is  there  not,  however,  more  ac- 
tion in  describing  the  pas  de  charge  de  mctoire  of  the  Romans  as  so  headlong  in  the 
onward  rush  of  its  career  that  nothing  less  than  the  mighty  and  sail-broad  vans  of  an 
eagle  could  have  stopt  midway?  The  Romans  could  fly  like  timorous  chickens,  but 
only  as  Eagles  could  they  stop.  I  am  emboldened  thus  to  run  counter  to  every 
editor  since  Rowe,  by  Thisel ton's  remark  that  'there  may  be  room  for  doubt' 
that  Rowe's  change  'is  unassailable.' — ED. 

47,  48.  Slaues  The  strides  the  Victors  made]  DEICHTON:  As  slaves  they 
retrace  the  steps  which  but  now  they  had  so  proudly  made  as  victors.  [Theobald's 
cha/ige  of  'the  Victors'  into  'they  victors'  is  certainly  good  and  aids  the  quicker  com- 
prehension of  the  passage,  but  is  it  absolutely  necessary?  The  whole  description 
is  so  elliptical,  jerky,  ill-constructed,  and  devoid  of  dramatic  fire  that  I  am  loath  to 
believe  that  it  was  written  by  the  same  hand  that  described  the  Battle  of  Bosworth 
Field  or  the  Battle  of  Agincourt. — ED.] 


364  THE    TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  iii. 

Like  Fragments  in  hard  Voyages  became 

The  life  o'th'need  :  hailing  found  the  backe  doore  open^         50 

Of  the  vnguarded  hearts  :  heauens,how  they  wound, 

Some  flaine  before  fome  dying  ;  fome  their  Friends 

Ore-borne  i'th'former  waue,  ten  chac'd  by  one, 

Are  now  each  one  the  flaughter-man  of  twenty : 

Thofe  that  would  dye,  or  ere  refill,  are  growne  55 

50.  backe  doore]  back-door  Cap.  et  seq.  52.  before]  before,  Ff,  Rowe,+,  Cam. 

51.  hearts:]    Ff,    Knt,    Sta.      harts        before;  Cap.  et  cet. 

Sing,    hearts,  Rowe  et  cet.  dying;]  dying,  Cam. 

wotind,}  wound  Johns,     wound!  fome  their]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han. 

Cap.  et  seq.  Johns.    Knt,    Dyce,    Sta.    Glo.    Cam. 

52.  Some  Jlaine]    Some,    slain    Cap.  some,  tlieir  Theob.  et  cet. 

Varr.  Mai.  Steev.  Varr.  53.  wane,}  wave;  Theob.  et  seq. 

55.  or  ere]  or-ere  Pope,  Theob.  i. 

49,  50.  Like  Fragments  .  .  .  became  The  life  o'th'need]  DEIGHTON: 
Like  the  fragments  of  food  in  a  prolonged  voyage  (which  at  another  time  would 
have  been  despised),  became  the  very  life  and  soul  of  the  emergency.  [Several 
editors  have  here  referred  to  a  passage,  which  is  hardly  parallel,  in  .4s  You  Like  It, 
where  Jacques  described  Touchstone's  brain  as  dry  as  '  the  remainder  biscuit  After 
a  voyage.' — ED.] 

49.  became]  CAPELL  (p.  118),  regarding  this  as  a  participle,  'and  govern'd  of 
"fragments,"'  changed  it  into  become,  and  pronounced  it  'a  most  certain  correction'; 
this  conviction  is  not  shared,  I  believe,  by  any  subsequent  editor. 

50.  hauing]  WALKER  (Vers.,  242)  regards  'hairing'  in  this  present  sentence  as  a 
monosyllable,  to  be  pronounced  ha'ing.     So  also  does  ABBOTT,  §  466.     And  they 
may  be  right.     It  is,  however,  somewhat  strange  that  compositors,  as  far  as  I 
know,  have  never  thus  printed  it,  and  yet  these  same  compositors  will  at  times 
scrupulously  print  'ha's'  for  haves. — ED. 

51.  52.  how   they  wound,    Some  slaine    before    some  dying,    etc.]  W.   W. 
LLOYD  commented  (N.  &°  Q.,  VII,  ii,  23,  1886)  on  the  exclamation  mark  intro- 
duced after  'wound'  by  Capell,  and  since  adopted  by  all  editors,  and  asks,  'Is  it 
possible  that  editors  understood  "some"  to  indicate  the  pursuers? '    Thereupon  he 
proposes  to  put  no  punctuation  at  all  after  'wound,'  but  to  make  'some'  the  accu- 
sative after  it. — BR.  NICHOLSON  replied  (op.  cit.,  p.  163)  that  Lloyd's  criticism  was 
correct,  but  needless;  that  the  comma  after  'some'  (in  the  Var.  '21)  shows  that  the 
exclamation  mark  has  not  separated  the  verb  from  its  subject,  and  that  'some' 
refers  to  'the  Cowards'  in  line  47.     But  Lloyd  was  not  satisfied  (op.  cit.,  p.  305), 
and  was  still  of  opinion  that  any  punctuation  after  'wound'  would  make  the 
'some'  refer  to  the  'pursuers,'  [meaning,  I  think,  that  it  would  make  the  pursuers 
those  who  were  'slain  before.' — ED.]. — DOWDEN:  We  may  understand  the  word 
'some'  in  each  of  the  three  instances  to  refer  to  those  wounded,  not  to  those 
who   wound;  but   the   third   'some'    may   possibly   be   nominative   to  'wound' 
understood.      It  seems,  however,  quite  possible  that  each  'some'  may  refer  to 
those  who  wound — some  who  feigned  death,  some  really  dying,  some  trampled 
down  in  the  former  rush, — friends  of  those  dying, — ten  who  had  been  chased  by 
one,  etc. 


ACT  v,  sc.  iii.]  CYMBELINE  365 

The  mortall  bugs  o'th'Field.  56 

Lord.     This  was  ftrange  chance  : 
A  narrow  Lane,  an  old  man,  and  two  Boyes. 

Pofl.     Nay,  do  not  wonder  at  it  :  you  are  made 
Rather  to  wonder  at  the  things  you  heare,  60 

Then  to  worke  any.     Will  you  Rime  vpon't, 
And  vent  it  for  a  Mock'rie  ?  Heere  is  one  : 
"  Two  Boyes,  an  Oldman  (twice  a  Boy)a  Lane , 
"Preferu'd  the  Britaines,  was  the  Romanes  bane. 

Lord.    Nay,  be  not  angry  Sir.  65 

Pofl.     Lacke,to  what  end? 

Who  dares  not  ftand  his  Foe,  He  be  his  Friend  : 
For  if  hee'l  do,  as  he  is  made  to  doo, 
I  knowhee'l  quickly  flye  my  friendfhip  too. 
You  haue  put  me  into  Rime.  70 

Lord.     Farewell,  you're  angry.  Exit. 

Pofi.    Still  going  ?  This  is  a  Lord  :  Oh  Noble  mifery  72 

56.  bugs]   hugs  Warb.  (corrected   in  64.  Britaines]  Britons  Theob. 

MS.  ap.  Cam.).  66.  Lacke,]  Ff  (subs.),  Rowe.    Lack! 

57.  -was]  was  a  F3F4,  Rowe.  Theob.  Warb.     'Lack,  Han.  Cap.  Dyce, 

58.  Lane, ...Boyes.]    Ff,   Rowe,   Coll.  Sta.  Glo.  Cam.     'Lack!  Johns,  et  cet. 
(boys!)  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam.     lane!...  70.  Rime]  rhymes.  Pope,+. 

boys!  Pope  et  cet.  71.  you're]  Ff,  Rowe,  Cap.  Dyce,  Glo. 

59.  Nay,  do  not]  Nay,  do  but  Theob.         Cam.     you  are  Pope  et  cet. 

Pope  ii.    Ay,  do  but  Sta.  conj.    Nay,  do  72.  Still    going?}    Ff.      (going:    F4). 

you  Ingl.  Om.  Pope,  Theob.  Han.  Warb.    Sepa- 

you]  tho'  you  Han.    But  you  Cap.  rate  line,  Walker,  Dyce  ii,  iii. 

conj.     [Aside]  you  Anon.  ap.  Cam.  This   is   a   Lord:]    This   a  lord! 

61-70.  In  margin,  Pope,  Han.  Ritson.     This'  lord  Elze. 

61,70.  Rime]  Ft,  Cap.     rhyme  Rowe.  Lord:]    Ff,    Rowe,    Pope,    Han. 

62.  Mock'rie]    Ff,    Rowe.      mockery  lord—-  Theob.  Warb.    lord.  Coll.    lord! 
Pope.  Johns,  et  cet. 

63.  Oldman]  F2.     Old-man  F3.     Old  mifery]  Ff.    misery, —  Dyce,  Sta. 
man  F4  et  seq.  Glo.  Cam.    misery!  Cap.  et  cet. 

56.  bugs]  JOHNSON:  Terrors. — MALONE:  See  3  Hen.  VI:  'Warwick  was  a  Bugge 
that  fear'd  us  all.' — V,  ii,  2. 

59.  Nay,  do  not  wonder  at  it]  JOHNSON:  Posthumus  first  bids  him  not 
wonder,  then  tells  him  in  another  mode  of  reproach  that  wonder  was  all  that  he 
was  made  for. — VAUGHAN  (p.  517):  Perhaps  there  are  not  two  modes  of  reproach, 
but  a  command  and  a  reproachful  expostulation  of  its  necessity.  If  'you  are 
made,'  etc.,  were  right,  I  would  read:  '  They  do  not  wonder,'  etc.  But  I  very  much 
prefer  to  amend  the  end  of  the  line  than  the  beginning,  thus:  'You  are  mad'  etc. 

72.  Still  going]  WALKER  (Crit.,  iii,  327):  That  is,  you  run  away  from  me 
as  you  did  from  the  enemy.  [Walker  would  put  these  words  in  a  separate  line, 
I  can  hardly  see  wherefore.  Possibly,  in  order  to  make  of  the  remaining  words 
a  regular  iambic  pentameter.  His  own  remark  after  making  the  division  is  simply: 


366 


THE   TRACED  IE   OF 


[ACT  v,  sc.  iii. 


To  be  i'th'Fieldj  and  aske  whatnewes  of  me  :  73 

To  day,  how  many  would  haue  giuen  their  Honours 

To  haue  fau'd  their  Carkaffes?    Tooke  heele  to  doo't,  75 

And  yet  dyed  too.    I, in  mine  owne  woe  charm'd 

Could  not  finde  death,  where  I  did  heare  him  groane, 

Nor  feele  him  where  he  ftrooke.    Being  an  vgly  Monfter, 

'Tis  ftrange  he  hides  him  in  frefh  Cups,  foft  Beds, 

Sweet  words  ;  or  hath  moe  minifters  then  we  80 

That  draw  his  kniues  I'th'War.     Well  I  will  finde  him  : 

For  being  now  a  Fauourer  to  the  Britaine,  82 


73.  i'th']  i'the  Cap.  et  seq. 

aske  what  newes]  Ff  (news  F4), 
Rowe,  Pope,  Knt,  Coll.  iii.  ask  what 
news,  Theob.  Han.  Warb.  Johns,  ask 
'what  news?'  Glo.  Cam.  ask,  what 
news,  Cap.  et  cet. 

me:]  Ff,  Rowe.  me?  Pope.  me. 
Coll.  me!  Theob.  et  cet. 

74.  To  day]  To-day  Pope. 

75.  To  haue]  To've  Pope,+- 
Carkaffes?]  carcasses!  Dyce,  Glo. 

Cam. 

76-81.  Mnemonic  Warb. 

76.  too.]  Ff.     to.  Rowe.     too!  Han. 
Dyce,  Glo.  Cam.    too?  Theob.  et  cet. 

charmed]  charm'd,  Ff. 

77.  groane,]   Ff,   Rowe,   Pope,  Han. 
Coll.  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam.    groan;  Theob. 


et  cet. 

78.  ftrooke.]  Ff  (subs.),  Rowe.  struck. 
Pope,+.    strook;  or  struck;  Cap.  et  cet. 
Being    an]    This    Pope,    Theob. 
Han.  Warb.     Being  Vaun. 

80.  or  hath]  and  hath  Han. 

moe]  F2,  Cam.    more  F3F4  et  cet. 

81.  i'th']  in  Pope,  Han.    i'the  Cap.  et 
seq. 

War.]  war-  Theob.  Warb. 
Johns. 

him:]  him  Pope  i,  Han.  him. 
Pope  ii. 

82.  Britaine]  F2.    Britain  F3F4,  Rowe, 
Pope,  Theob.  i,  Cap.    Briton  Theob.  ii, 
Warb.  Ran.  Knt,  Coll.  i,  iii,  Dyce,  Sta. 
Sing.  Glo.  Cam.     Roman  Han.  Johns. 
Varr.  Mai.  Steev.  Varr.  Coll.  ii. 


'Rhyme,  Posthumus  had  been  rhyming  before.'  If  a  rhyme  be  intended,  which  I 
doubt,  it  is  already  there  in  the  Folio  text  and  is  not  created  by  Walker's  division. — 
ED.] 

72.  Oh  Noble  misery]  O  miserable  nobility. 

76.  in  mine  owne  woe  charm'd]  WARBURTON:  Alluding  to  the  common 
superstition  of  Charms  being  powerful  enough  to  keep  men  unhurt  in  battle. 

80.  Sweet  words]  VAUGHAN:  This  phrase  is  probably  a  corruption;  'sweet 
words'  do  not  match  in  their  noxious  efficacy  with  'soft  beds'  and  'fresh  cups.'  I 
would  read  'Sweet  viands.'  [This  change  is  'needless,'  Dowden  says;  but  when 
Vaughan  further  tells  us  to  pronounce  'viands'  as  a  monosyllable,  and  does  not 
charitably  inform  us  whether  it  is  to  be  pronounced  vi'nds  or  v'ands,  we  see  how 
subtle  is  his  suggestion;  for  is  there  anything  which  could  make  Death  hide  himself 
with  more  alacrity  than  to  hear  English  thus  pronounced? — ED.] — THISELTON: 
'Sweet  words'  are  certainly  one  of  the  deadliest  instruments  of  tragedy. 

80.  moe]  The  comparative  of  many. — ECCLES:  The  wonder  is,  not  only  that, 
being  of  such  a  description,  he  should  lie  concealed  in  such  unlikely  places,  but 
that  he  should  be  so  lodged,  and,  at  the  same  time,  have  more  ministers  than  we, 
etc. 

82.  being  now  a  Fauourer  to  the  Britaine]  THEOBALD  believes  that  Post- 
humus  is  referring  to  himself  as  the  'favourer,'  and  explains:  'for  tho'  he's 


ACT  v,  sc.  iii.]  CYMBELINE 

No  more  a  Britaine,  I  haue  refum'd  againe  83 

The  part  I  came  in.     Fight  I  will  no  more, 

But  yeeld  me  to  the  veriefl  Hinde,  that  fhall  85 

Once  touch  my  moulder.     Great  the  flaughter  is 

83.  /  haue]  I've  Pope,+,  Dyce  ii,  iii.  84.  in.]  in:  Cap.  Mai.  Ran.  Steev. 

84.  part]   port   Theob.    conj.    (with-        Varr.  Glo.  Cam. 
drawn.  Nichols,  ii,  615). 

now  a  favourer  to  the  Britons  in  heart,  he'll  not  confess  himself  of  that  country, 
but  yield  himself  to  the  meanest  of  the  victor-party,  and  so  fall  a  sacrifice  to  their 
resentment.' — HANMER  agreed  with  him  so  far  as  actually  to  change  'Briton'  into 
Roman,  wherein  he  has  a  respectable  following  down  even  to  Collier. — CAPELL, 
however,  has  the  clearer  vision  and  says  that  'death'  is  the  favourer,  and  that 
Posthumus  'despairing  to  find  him  among  the  Britons,  has  resumed  the  part 
he  came  in,  the  Roman,  and  will  meet  him  there.' — DYCE  (ed.  ii.)  quotes  this  note 
of  Capell  withapproval. — ARROWSMITH  (N.  6°  Q.,  I,  vii,  567, 1853)  (whom  it  is  always 
delightful  to  cope  in  his  sullen  fits;  his  lurid  language  then  shines  brilliantly  in  the 
drab-coloured  world  of  Shakespearian  comment)  thus  propounds  a  query  in  con- 
nection with  the  failure  of  the  critics  to  perceive  that  'death'  is  the  favourer. 
'My  query  is  this,  What  amount  of  obtuseness  will  disqualify  a  criticaster  who 
itches  to  be  tinkering  and  cobbling  the  noblest  passages  of  thought  that  ever 
issued  from  mortal  brain,  while  at  the  same  time  he  stumbles  and  bungles  on 
sentences  of  that  simplicity  and  grammatical  clearness  as  not  to  tax  the  powers 
of  a  third-form  schoolboy  to  explain?  If  editors,  commentators,  critics,  and  all  the 
countless  throng  who  are  ambitious  to  daub  with  their  un-tempered  mortar,  or 
scribble  their  names  upon  the  most  majestic  edifice  of  genius  that  the  world  ever 
saw,  lack  the  little  discernment  necessary  to  interpret  aright  the  above  extract 
from  Cymbeline,  for  the  last  hundred  years  racked  and  tortured  in  vain,  let  them  at 
length  learn  henceforth  to  distrust  their  judgement  altogether.' — STAUNTON  thus 
paraphrases:  I  will  find  death;  and  as  he  is  now  a  sparer  of  the  Briton,  I  will  play 
that  part  no  longer,  but  seek  him  as  a  Roman. — INGLEBY  adopts  in  his  text  an 
emendation  suggested  to  him  by  A.  E.  Brae:  'Fortune  being  now  a  favourer  to  the 
Briton,'  etc.  'It  would  be  a  mere  platitude,'  he  says,  'for  Posthumus  to  say  of 
himself,  "For  being  now  (=  just  now)  a  favourer  to  the  Briton,"  etc.,  as  if  that 
were  a  reason  for  his  changing  sides.  A  reason  is  required;  and  as  Death  could  not 
(pace  Capell  and  Arrowsmith) ,  with  any  propriety  of  speech,  be  said  to  favour  the 
side  he  was  sparing,  one  is  driven  to  look  for  some  other  agent  that  could;  and 
clearly  it  is  "  Fortune  " ;  and  then  we  find  half  the  wanted  word  already  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  line.'  [Ingleby's  assertion  that '  Death  could  not,  with  any  propriety  of 
speech,  be  said  to  favour  the  side  he  was  sparing'  I  am  not  constituted  by  nature  to 
understand.  If  a  mother  implores  Death  to  spare  her  child  and  her  prayer  is 
granted,  may  she  not  consider  it  a  favour?  Where  is  the  impropriety  of  speech? 
Death  did  not  favour  the  fleeing  Romans;  he  allowed  the  Britons  to  slaughter 
them;  he  did  favour  the  Britons  in  not  allowing  the  Romans  to  slaughter  them.— 
ED.] — THISELTON:  I  adopt  without  hesitation  the  interpretation  that  [Death  is  the 
'favourer'],  and  submit  that  any  other  is  singularly  vapid. 

86.  touch  my  shoulder]  As  a  sign  of  arrest. 

86-88.  Great   the    slaughter   is   ...    Britaines   must   take]    CRAIG:  Few 
will  believe  that  Shakespeare  in  his  last  period  wrote  these  lines  as  they  stand.     I 


368  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  ACT  v,  sc.  iii. 

Heere  made  by'th'Romane  ;  great  the  Anfwer  be  87 

Britaines  muft  take.     For  me,  my  Ranfome's  death, 

On  eyther  fide  I  come  to  fpend  my  breath ; 

Which  neyther  heere  He  keepe,  nor  beare  agen,  90 

But  end  it  by  fome  meanes  for  Imogen. 

Enter  two  Captaines,  and  Soldiers. 

1  Great  lupiter  be  prais'd,  Lucius  is  taken, 

'Tis  thought  the  old  man,  and  his  fonnes,  were  Angels. 

2  There  was  a  fourth  man,  in  a  filly  habit,  95 
That  gaue  th' Affront  with  them. 

1  So  'tis  reported  : 

But  none  of  em  can  be  found.     Stand,  who's  there  ? 

Poft.    A  Roman, 

Who  had  not  now  beene  drooping  heere, if  Seconds  100 

Had  anfwer'd  him. 

2  Lay  hands  on  him  :  a  Dogge, 

A  legge  of  Rome  fhall  not  returne  to  tell  103 

87.  by'th']  by  the  Cap.  et  seq.  95,  102.  2]  2  Cap.  Rowe. 

88.  take.]    take:     Cap.    Varr.    Mai.  98.  'em]    F3F4,    Rowe,    Pope,    Han. 
Steev.  Varr.  Coll.  Glo.  Cam.                         Dyce,    Sing.    Sta.    Glo.    Cam.      them 

death,]  death;  Theob.  Warb.  et  Theob.  et  cet. 

seq.  Stand,]   Om.   Cap.   Steev.   conj. 

90.  nor]  not  F4.  Stand!  Var.  '73  et  seq. 

agen]  Ff,  Rowe,  Dyce  ii,  iii,  Sta.  who's]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Theob. 

again  Pope.  Warb.  Johns.  Dyce  i,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam. 

92.  Enter  two...]  Enter  two  British...  who  is  Han.  et  cet. 

Theob.  99.  Roman,]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han. 

93,  97.  /]  i  Cap.  Rowe.  Coll.  Glo.    Roman—   Theob.  ii,  Warb. 
93.  prais'd,]  prais'd!  Cap.  et  seq.              Johns.    Roman; —  Theob.  i.  et  cet. 

taken,]  Ff,  Rowe  i.    taken.  Rowe  100.  heere,]  here;  Pope,    here  Cam. 

ii,  Pope,  Han.  Johns.  Coll.  Glo.    taken!  102.  Dogge,]  dog!  Theob.  et  seq. 

Theob.  Warb.    taken:  Cap.  et  cet. 

think  they  ought  to  be  printed:  'Great  the  slaughter's  here  Made  by  the  Romans; 
great  the  answer  we  Britons  must  take.'  It  is,  I  think,  probable  that  'be'  is  a  mis- 
print for  we,  but  even  if  'be'  is  retained,  I  think  Shakespeare  arranged  as  I  have 
indicated. 

87.  Answer]  JOHNSON:    'Answer,'  as  once  in  this  play  before,  is  retaliation, 
[IV,  iv,  18]. 

95.  silly]  STEEVENS:    That  is,  simple  or  rustick. 

96.  th' Affront]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.,  3.):    Hostile  encounter,  attack,  assault. 
103.  A  legge]  DANIEL  (p.  89):    In  Timon  (III,  vi,  79)  we  find  'the  common 

legge  of  people,'  and  in  this  instance  Rowe, — followed,  I  believe,  by  all  editors,— 
changes  the  word  '  legge '  to  lag.    It  seems  to  me  that  in  both  cases  the  meaning  of 
the  word  'legge'  is  identical,  and  that  any  change  in  the  one  case  must  also  be 
adopted  in  the  other.     [This  plausible  conjecture  is  adopted  by  Hudson  in  his 
text.] 


ACT    V,   SC.  iv.] 


CYMBELINE 


What  Crows  haue  peckt  them  here  :  he  brags  his  feruice 
As  if  he  were  of  note  :  bring  him  to'th'King. 
Enter  Cymbeline,  Bclarius,Gniderius,  Aruiragtis,  Pifanio,  and 
Roniane  Captiues.     The  Captaines  prefent  Poflhumus  to 
Cymbeline ,  who  deliuers  him  oner  to  a  Gaoler. 


369 


105 


1 08 


Scena  Q^tarta. 


Enter  Pojlhumus,  and  Gaoler.  2 

Gao.    You  fhall  not  now  be  ftolne, 
You  haue  lockes  vpon  you  : 
So  graze,  as  you  finde  Pafture.  5 

2. Gao.    I,  or  a  ftomacke. 

Poft.     Moft  welcome  bondage  ;  for  thou  art  a  way  7 


104.  here:]  here.  Coll.  Glo.  Cam. 

105.  io'th']  to  the  Cap.  et  seq. 
106-108.  Om.  Han. 

108.  Gaoler.]    Gaoler.    After   which, 
all  go  out.  Theob.  Gaoler.  The  scene 
closes.      Sta.     Gaoler:      then     exeunt 
omnes.  Glo. 

1.  Scene  n.  Rowe.     Scene  m.  Pope, 
Han.     Johns.     Scene     v.     Eccles.     A 
Prison.  Pope. 

2.  and   Gaoler.]   and   two   Gaolers. 
Rowe. 


3.  Gao.]  i.  Gaol.  Rowe. 

3.  4.  One  line,  Rowe  et  seq. 

4.  You  haue]  Yoti've  Pope,+,  Dyce 
ii,  iii. 

5.  So  graze,]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han. 
So,  graze    Coll.  Dyce,  Sta.     So  graze 
Glo.  Cam.    So,  graze,  Theob.  et  cet. 

6.  /,]  Ay,  Rowe. 

or  a]  or  Pope,+,  Dyce  conj. 
[Exeunt  Gaolers.  Rowe. 

7.  bondage;]  bondage!  Pope  et  seq. 


106-108.  Enter  .  .  .  Gaoler]  RITSON:  This  is  the  only  instance  in  these 
plays  of  the  business  of  the  scene  being  entirely  performed  in  dumb  show.  The 
direction  must  have  proceeded  from  the  players,  as  it  is  perfectly  unnecessary,  and 
our  Author  has  elsewhere  [in  Hamlet]  expressed  his  contempt  of  such  mummery.— 
COLLIER  (ed.  ii.):  It  was  not  unusual  in  our  early  stage  to  begin  a  scene  with  a 
dumb  show,  as  Scene  ii.  of  this  Act;  but  it  was  by  no  means  common  so  to  terminate 
a  Scene.  Ritson  was  evidently  mistaken  when  he  said  that  'the  business  of  this 
scene  was  entirely  performed  in  dumb  show,'  unless  he  considered  this  dumb  show 
a  scene  by  itself.  Dumb  shows  were  commonly  resorted  to  for  the  purpose  of 
briefly  dismissing  a  portion  of  the  story  that  would  have  occupied  an  inconvenient 
amount  of  time  if  represented  in  dialogue. — WHITE:  I  doubt  whether  the  latter 
part  of  this  Scene, — from  the  end  of  Posthumus's  description  of  the  battle,— 
is  by  Shakespeare. 

3.  stolne]  JOHNSON:    The  wit  of  the  Gaoler  alludes  to  the  custom  of  putting  a 
lock  on  a  horse's  leg  when  he  is  turned  to  pasture. 

5.  So  graze]  The  Text.  Notes  show  that  a  majority  of  editors  follow  Theobald 
in  putting  a  comma  after  'So.'     Walker  (Crit.,  i,  89)  thinks,  wrongly,  and  I  agree 
with  him. 
24 


370  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  iv. 

(I  thinke)  to  liberty:  yet  am  I  better  8 

Then  one  that's  ficke  o'th'Gowt,  fince  he  had  rather 

Groane  fo  in  perpetuity,  then  be  cur'd  IO 

By'th'fure  Phyfitian,  Death  ;  who  is  the  key 

T'vnbarre  thefe  Lockes.My  Confcience,  thou  art  fetter'd 

More  then  my  fhanks,&  wriftsryou  good  Gods  giue  me 

The  penitent  Inftrument  to  picke  that  Bolt, 

Then  free  for  euer.     Is't  enough  I  am  forry  ?  15 

9.  Gowt,]  gout,  F3F4.     gout;  Cap.  et        Dyce,  Glo.  Cam.    me... instrument,  Cap. 
seq.  et  cet. 

11.  By'th'}    By  tV  F3F4,+.  By  the  14-  Bolt,]  bolt;  Theob.  Han.  Warb. 
Cap.  et  seq.                                                      Johns. 

Death;]  death,  Knt,  Coll.  Sta.  Glo.  15.  Then.. .euer.]    Ff,    Rowe,    Pope, 

Cam.  Theob.    i.      Then,.. .ever.   Theob.   ii,+. 

12.  T'vnbarre]    Ff    (subs.),  +  ,   Coll.         Then,...ever !  Cap.  et  seq. 

Dyce  ii,  iii.    To  unbar  Cap.  et  cet.  enough]   Ff,   Rowe,   Pope,   Knt, 

Confcience,]     Ff,     Rowe,     Coll.         Dyce,  Glo.  Cam.  Ktly.    enough,  Theob. 
Dyce   ii,    iii,    Glo.    Cam.    Ktly.      con-        et  cet. 
science!  Pope  et  cet.  /  am]  Tm  Pope,+,  Dyce  ii,  iii. 

13.  14.  me...lnjlrument]  Ff,+,  Coll. 

9.  sicke  o'th'Gowt]  BUCKNILL  (p.  225):  The  gout  is  not  a  good  form  of  dis- 
ease for  this  illustration,  since  there  are  few  of  those  who  suffer  from  it  who  'groan 
in  perpetuity.'  [Did  not  Bucknill  write  hastily?  It  is  the  severity  of  the  pain 
which  is  referred  to,  not  the  persistence  of  the  disease. — ED.] 

12-14.  T'vnbarre  ...  to  picke]  DEIGHTON:  Shakespeare  here  speaks  of 
'unbarring'  a  lock,  and  'picking'  a  bolt. 

12-15.  My  Conscience  .  .  .  for  euer]  WORDSWORTH  (p.  160):  This  dim- 
cult  passage  must  look,  I  imagine,  for  its  true  interpretation  to  the  views  which 
our  Poet  has  elsewhere  expressed  upon  the  subject  of  this  great  duty  [of  Repentance]. 
Posthumus  wishes  for  death,  as  the  only  way  to  everlasting  freedom,  provided  he 
might  die  with  a  quiet  conscience.  [See  lines  15-17,  'Must  I  repent.']  As  in- 
volved in  the  notion  of  repentance,  must  I  take  my  punishment  as  Juliet  did  hers 
'with  joy' — ['  Juliet.  I  do  repent  me,  as  it  is  an  evil,  And  take  the  shame  with  joy. '- 
Meas.  for  Meas.,  II,  iii,  34];  and,  moreover,  must  I  make  satisfaction?  .  .  .  The 
speech  concludes  with  a  recurrence  to  the  view  of  a  man  being  able  to  make  satis- 
faction for  himself,  in  a  sense  (as  I  believe)  purposely  unchristian,  Posthumus  being 
a  heathen:  'And  so,  great  Powers,  If  you  will  take  this  audit,  take  this  life,  And 
cancel  these  cold  bonds.'  This  is  the  very  notion,  on  the  part  of  the  heathen, 
which  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament  so  frequently  protest  against.  See  Job, 
ix,  32;  Micah,  vi,  7. 

14.  penitent  Instrument]  ROLFE:    The  penitential  means  of  freeing  my  con- 
science of  its  guilt. 

15.  Is't  enough  I  am  sorry  ?]   The  punctuation  of  the  Folio  is  not  improved, 
I  think,  by  Theobald's  comma  after  'enough.'     It  is  misleading,  inasmuch  as  it 
suggests  the  meaning:   'Is  it  enough  for  me  to  say  I  am  sorry.'     It  misled  Lettsom, 
who,  in  a  foot-note  on  page  238  of  Walker's  Crit.,  iii,  asks,  'Does  not  the  sense 
require  "Is't  not  enough"?'     Without  the  comma  the  sense  is  'can  it  be  that  I  am 


ACT  v,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE 

So  Children  temporall  Fathers  do  appeafe  ;  16 

Gods  are  more  full  of  mercy.     Muft  I  repent, 

I  cannot  do  it  better  then  in  Gyues, 

Defir'd,  more  then  conftrain'd,  to  fatisfie 

If  of  my  Freedome  'tis  the  maine  part,  take  20 

1 6.  temporall]  tcmp'ral  Pope,+.  Ingl. 

17.  repent,]     Ff,     Rowe,     Dowden.  20.  //  of]  I  d'off  Warb.  Theob.  Cap. 
repent?  Pope  et  seq.                                         I  dojj  Han.  Johns.  Var.  '73. 

19.  conftrain'd,]    constrained.  Upton,  If. ..part,]  In  parentheses,  Upton. 

Ingl.     constraint;  Rowe  et  seq.  Freedome]     freedom;    Theob. +. 

Jatisfie]   satisfy,   Theob.    et   seq.  freedom,  Cap. 

satisfy   you    Kinnear.      satisfy?    Brae,  part,]  part;  Theob. +,  Cap. 

sorry  enough?'  Posthumus  continues  with  the  comforting  thought  that  human 
fathers  are  thus  appeased  and  the  Gods  are  even  more  merciful.  THISELTON, 
alone  of  critics,  has  noticed  this  excellence  of  the  Folio  punctuation.  Again,  in  the 
next  sentence,  Pope's  interrogation  after  'repent'  is  injudicious.  There  is  no 
question  needed.  DOWDEN  paraphrases  the  sentence  correctly,  I  think,  'If  I 
must  repent,  I  cannot  do  it  better  than  with  the  penance  of  voluntary  gyves.' — ED. 

19.  to  satisfie]  For  other  examples  of  this  '  indefinite '  use  of  the  infinitive,  see 
ABBOTT,  §  357. 

19,  20.  to  satisfie  If  of  my  Freedome,  etc.]  It  would  be  hardly  worth  the 
time  and  paper  to  give  Warburton's  explanation  of  his  uncouth  emendation  I  d'o/, 
were  it  not  that  Theobald,  Hanmer,  Johnson,  and  Capell  adopted  it.  Warburton's 
note  is  as  follows:  What  we  can  discover  from  the  nonsense  of  these  lines  is  that  the 
speaker,  in  a  fit  of  penitency,  compares  his  circumstances  with  a  debtor's,  who  is 
willing  to  surrender  up  all  to  appease  his  creditor.  This  being  the  sense  in  general, 
I  may  venture  to  say,  the  true  reading  must  have  been  this,  '  to  satisfie,  I  d'off  my 
freedom,'  etc.  The  verb  d'of  is  here  employ'd  with  peculiar  elegance,  i.e.,  To 
give  all  the  satisfaction  I  am  able  to  your  offended  Godheads,  I  voluntarily  divest 
"  myself  of  my  freedom;  'tis  the  only  thing  I  have  to  atone  with. — HEATH  (p.  488): 
Mr  Warburton  seems  to  have  been  so  wrapped  up  hi  the  admiration  of  his  own 
correction  that  he  did  not  give  himself  the  leisure  to  observe  the  glaring  incon- 
sistency of  it.  Posthumus  is  made  to  say  in  the  same  breath  that  his  freedom  is 
his  all,  and  yet  not  his  all,  but  only  the  main  part  of  his  all.  The  common  reading, 
as  much  nonsense  as  Mr  Warburton  is  pleased  to  call  it,  gives  us  at  least  this  con- 
sistent sense:  If  I  had  continued  in  possession  of  my  freedom,  the  main  use  and 
duty  of  it  must  have  been  to  make  satisfaction  for  my  crime;  my  constant  and  con- 
tinued endeavors  for  this  purpose  would  have  been  all  the  satisfaction  in  my  power 
to  make.  By  surrendering  my  freedom  I  have,  together  with  it,  surrendered  this 
my  all;  and  have  reason  to  hope  you  will  not  require  of  me  a  stricter  compensation.— 
CAPELL  (p.  119):  Loss  of  freedom,  imprisonment,  is  the  subject  of  this  period  and 
of  the  one  before  it;  in  the  first,  it  is  considered  as  a  state  meet  to  repent  in;  in  the 
latter,  a  satisfaction  for  crimes;  and  being  so  'main  a  part'  of  man's  essence, — 
his  'all/  indeed,  for  love  of  life  was  to  follow,— the  speaker  hopes  'twill  be  accepted 
by  heaven,  and  'no  stricter  render'  required  of  him. — STEEVENS:  Posthumus 
questions  whether  contrition  be  sufficient  atonement  for  guilt.  Then  to  satisfy 
the  offended  gods,  he  desires  them  to  take  no  more  than  his  present  all,  that  is,  his 
life,  if  it  is  the  main  part,  the  chief  point,  or  principal  condition  of  his  freedom,  *.  e., 


3/2  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  iv. 

No  ftri<5ler  render  of  me,  then  my  All.  21 


of  his  freedom  from  future  punishment. — RANN:  To  satisfy  the  offended  gods  per- 
haps more  than  this  contrition  may  be  requisite;  if  so,  then  I  desire  them  to  accept 
my  present  all,  my  life,  which  I  am  ready  to  surrender  as  a  condition  of  my  pardon, 
or  freedom  from  future  punishment,  and  hope  they  will  not  exact  a  stricter  com- 
pensation.— MALONE:  'Since  for  my  crimes  I  have  been  deprived  of  my  freedom, 
and  since  life  itself  is  more  valuable  than  freedom,  let  the  gods  take  my  life,  and  by 
this  let  heaven  be  appeased,  how  small  soever  the  atonement  may  be.'  I  suspect, 
however,  that  a  line  has  been  lost  after  the  word  'satisfy.'  If  the  text  be  right, 
'to  satisfy'  means  by  way  of  satisfaction. — SINGER:  'If  giving  satisfaction  is  the 
chief  requirement  to  entitle  me  to  the  freedom  I  solicit, — the  release  from  bondage 
of  conscience  as  well  as  limbs, — then  take  my  all,  but  account  that  as  an  entire  ac- 
quittance.' It  is  possible  that  we  should  read,  'It  for  my  freedom  'tis  the  main 
point,  take,'  etc. — KNIGHT  and  DYCE  are  silent. — WHITE:  'If  to  satisfy,  i.  e.,  if  ex- 
piation is  the  main  part,  the  most  important  requisite,  to  my  freedom  of  con- 
science, take  no  stricter  render  of  me  than  my  all,  i.  e.,  my  life.'  I  believe  the  pas- 
sage stands  as  it  was  originally  written. — STAUNTON:  This  passage  is,  we  fear, 
hopelessly  incurable. — COLLIER  (ed.  ii.):  'If  my  freedom  be  the  main  part  of  what 
I  possess,  take  no  stricter  render  of  me,  in  order  to  satisfy  you,  than  my  all,'  i.  e., 
my  life,  since  his  freedom,  the  main  part,  was  gone.  The  passage  is  obscure  and 
probably  corrupt. — The  COWDEN-CLARKES:  'To  satisfy  your  just  wrath,  if  my 
life  be  the  main  part  of  my  freedom,  take  no  less  surrender  from  me  than  my  life, 
which  is  my  all.' — INGLEBY:  In  this  speech  Posthumus  is  made  to  employ  the 
language  of  the  early  divines,  in  distinguishing  the  three  parts  (primary,  secondary, 
and  'main')  of  Repentance,  as  the  condition  of  Remission  of  Sins.  i.  Attrition, 
or  sorrow  for  sin:  'Is't  not,  enough  I  am  sorry?'  2.  Penance;  which  was  held 
to  convert  attrition  into  contrition,  or  godly  sorrow:  'Must  I  repent?'  3.  Satis- 
faction: 'Must  I  satisfy?'  And  he  contends  that  as  he  has  fulfilled  the  former 
requirements,  he  is  willing  to  fulfil  the  last, — to  pay  his  debt  for  having  taken 
Imogen's  life, — by  giving  his  own.  [In  The  Still  Lion,  p.  102,  Ingleby  acknowledges 
his  indebtedness  for  this  exposition  to  'Mr  Hugh  Carleton,  of  Auckland,  N.  Z.,  and 
to  the  late  Rev.  W.  W.  Barry,  Prebendary  of  St.  Paul's.'] — DOWDEN:  'With  a  view 
to  satisfaction  for  my  wrong,  if  satisfaction  is  the  chief  matter  in  attaining  freedom 
from  the  fetters  of  conscience,  take  no  more  restricted  offering  from  me  than  my  all.' 
— VAUGHAN:  'If  my  all  amounts  to  nearly  all  which  in  strict  justice  sets  me  free* 
(is  'the  main  part  of  my  freedom'), '  then  take  in  satisfaction  no  more  than  that  my 
all,  although  not  all  the  full  enfranchisement.'  [White's  paraphrase  is  most  terse, 
and  I  think  'twill  serve. — ED.] 

21.  No  stricter]  The  COWDEN-CLARKES:  To  these  words  the  sense  of  'no 
more  severe/  'no  more  rigorous  or  rigid'  has  been  assigned;  but  we  believe  that 
here  they  include  the  contrary  effect  of  'no  more  restricted,'  'no  more  limited,' 
'no  less.' — CROSBY  (Am.  Bibliopolist,  Dec.,  1876,  p.  122)  gives  the  same  sense  to 
'stricter,'  and  remarks:  Posthumus  wants  no  'abatement.'  He  asks  the  Gods  to 
take  nothing  less  than  his  whole, — no  more  restricted  ('stricter')  a  forfeiture  than  all 
he  has, — his  life.  The  received  rendering  of  'stricter'  gives,  as  I  think,  a  foolish 
or  rather  a  semi-satirical  tone  in  his  speech;  as  if  he  had  said,  'I  beg  that  you  will 
not  take  from  me  more  than  I  have  got,  viz.,  my  life.'  'Stricter'  is  exactly  thus 
used  by  Hooker,  Shakespeare's  contemporary,  in  his  Ecclesiastical  Polity:  'As 


ACT   V,   SC.   iv.] 


CYMBELINE 


I  know  you  are  more  clement  then  vilde  men, 

Who  of  their  broken  Debtors  take  a  third, 

A  fixt,  a  tenth,  letting  them  thriue  againe 

On  their  abatement  ;  that's  not  my  defire. 

For  Imogens  deere  life,  take  mine,  and  though 

'Tis  not  fo  deere,  yet  'tis  a  life  ;  you  coyn'd  it, 

'Tweene  man,  and  man,  they  waigh  not  euery  ftampe  : 

Though  light,  take  Peeces  for  the  figures  fake, 

(You  rather)  mine  being  yours  :  and  fo  great  Powres, 

If  you  will  take  this  Audit,  take  this  life, 

And  cancell  thefe  cold  Bonds.     Oh  Imogen, 


373 

22 
25 


30 

32 


22.  vilde]  mid  F2F3.     vile  F4. 

26.  mine,}   mine;  Theob.    Warb.    et 
seq. 

27.  it,]    Ff.      it.    Warb.    Johns,      it; 
Rowe  et  cet. 

28.  ftampe:]  stamp  Theob.  ii,  Warb. 
stamp.  Han.  Johns. 

29.  Though]  Thou  F2,  Var.  '85. 
figures]  figure's  F3F4. 
Jake,]  sake;  Theob.  et  seq. 

30.  (You  rather}  mine]  Ff.   you  rather, 


mine  Rowe,  Pope,  Theob.  Warb.  Sta. 
you  rather,  mine,  Johns,  you  rather 
mine,  Han.  et  cet. 

30.  Jo]  so,  Rowe  ii.  et  seq. 

31.  take  this  Audit,  take  this]  make 
this  audit,  take  my  Daniel,  Huds. 

32.  thefe]  thoje  Ff,+. 

cold]    old    Rowe,    Pope,    Theob. 
Han.  Warb.    close  Vaun. 

Imogen,]  Imogen!  Rowe  et  seq. 


they  took  the  compass  of  their  commission  stricter  or  larger,  so  their  dealings  were 
more  or  less  moderate.' 

25.  abatement]  That  is,  in  their  diminished  amount. 

28.  stampe]  That  is,  a  minted  or  stamped  coin.  Thus  in  Macbeth  Malcolm 
describes  the  touching  for  the  king's  evil:  'Hanging  a  golden  stamp  about  their 
necks.' — IV,  iii,  153. 

30.  (You   rather)    mine  being    yours]   I  am  not  sure  that  this  parenthesis 
should  be  discarded,  or  at  least  its  place  supplied  by  commas,  as  by  Rowe.     Does 
it  not  give  emphasis  to  the  idea  that  the  gods,  far  sooner  than  ordinary  men,  should 
be  willing  to  take  a  light  piece,  since  they  coined  it? — ED. 

31.  take  this  Audit]  WALKER  (Crit.,  i,  293)  regards  this  'take'  as  suspicious; 
but  DYCE  (ed.  ii.)  observes  that  Walker  does  not  notice  the  remarkable  accumula- 
tion of  takes  in  this  speech — see  lines  20,  23,  26,  and  29.    [See  Text.  Notes,  Daniel's 
emendation.] — THISELTON:   That  is,  'pass  this  Account,'  but  in  thus  paraphrasing 
we  transfer  to  the  verb  a  portion  of  the  idea  contained  in  the  substantive.     It  may 
be  observed  that  Posthumus  has  no  thought  of  self-destruction.     When  he  would 
court  death  in  the  battle,  it  was  to  be  with  'the  strength  o'th'Leonati'  (V,  i,  33). 
His  object  not  so  being  attained,  it  is  time   that  after   the  battle  is  over  he  is 
ready  to  yield  to  the  veriest  Hind  (V,  iii,  85),  but  this  is  a  very  different  thing 
from  laying  violent  hands  on  himself.     The  present  speech  is  an  agonising  plea  not 
merely  for  death,  but  for  a  death  that  will  be  accepted  by  Heaven  as  a  wiping  off 
of  all  scores,  so  that  his  conscience  may  be  free  for  ever. 

32.  cancell   these   cold    Bonds]  THISELTON:    It  seems  to  me  necessary  to 
take  the  epithet  'cold'  as  implying  that  the  Bonds  are  without  force  or  have  lost 
their  force.     So  far  as  the  allusion  is  to  documentary  Bonds,  it  might,  in  this  view, 


374  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  iv. 

He  fpeake  to  thee  in  filence.  33 

Solemne  Mujickc.  Enter  (  as  in  an  Apparation )  Sicillius  Leo- 

33.  [He  sleeps.  Rowe.  34.  Apparation]  Fx. 

have  reference  either  to  Bonds  with  conditions  impossible  of  performance,  or  to 
Bonds  the  conditions  of  which  have  been  satisfied,  but  which  have  not  yet  been 
formally  released;  hence  we  might  take  'cold'  to  be  equivalent  to  dead.  We  may, 
perhaps,  to  some  extent  compare  the  legal  term  nudum  pactum,  nothing  remaining 
to  support  the  enforcement  of  the  Bonds.  'Cold'  is  not  infrequently  used  in  some 
such  sense  as  'lacking  force';  thus,  Galateo  (p.  68,  Reid  Reprint):  'If  they  doe 
laughe,  they  laughe  not  at  the  jest,  but  at  the  jester  himself,  that  brings  it  forth  so 
colde.' — Dr  JOHNSON:  This  equivocal  use  of  'bonds'  is  another  instance  of  our 
Author's  infelicity  hi  pathetic  speeches. — STEEVENS:  An  allusion  to  the  same  legal 
instrument  has  more  than  once  debased  the  imagery  of  Shakespeare.  So  in  Macbeth: 
'Cancel  and  tear  in  pieces  that  great  bond  That  keeps  me  pale.' — III,  ii,  49. — WHITE 
(Shakespeare  Scholar,  p.  469) :  I  have  heard  that  there  are  bigoted  admirers  of  Dr 
Johnson;  though  never  having  met  one,  I  am  loath  to  believe  in  the  existence  of  such 
a  phenomenon;  but  from  the  resentment  which  such  may  feel  at  the  manner  in 
which  I  have  spoken  of  their  ponderous  idol,  I  shelter  myself  behind  the  bulwark  of 
wrath  which  such  a  note  as  [the  foregoing]  will  excite  in  the  bosom  of  every  man  who 
has  Anglo-Saxon  blood  in  his  veins  and  can  read  and  understand  the  English 
language.  Shakespeare's  'infelicity  in  pathetic  speeches'  is  good,  excellent  good. 
32,  33.  Oh  Imogen,  He  speake  to  thee  in  silence]  GILDEMEISTER:  The 
Gods  are  addressed  by  Posthumus  aloud;  when  he  lifts  his  thoughts  to  Imogen  the 
deeper  devotion  of  his  inmost  soul  can  be  expressed  only  by  silence.  A  lovelier 
method  of  heralding  the  hush,  which  the  following  monologue  demands,  cannot 
be  imagined. 

34.  Solemne  Musicke,  etc.]  POPE:    Here  follows  a  Vision,  a  Masque,  and  a 
Prophecy,  which  interrupt  the  Fable  without  the  least  necessity,  and  immeasurably 
lengthen  this  act.     I  think  it  plainly  foisted  in  afterwards  for  mere  show,  and  ap- 
parently not  of  Shakespeare.     [Pope,  therefore,  places  the  rest  of  the  scene  in  the 
margin,  wherein  he  is  followed  by  HANMER.] — CAPELL  (p.  118)  thinks  that  'an  editor 
may  well  wish  them  out  of  the  text,  but  has  no  right  to  go  any  farther.' — STEEVENS 
(1778):   Every  reader  must  be  [of  Pope's]  opinion.     The  subsequent  narratives  of 
Posthumus,  which  render  this  masque,  etc.,  unnecessary  (or  perhaps  the  scenical 
directions  supplied  by  the  Poet  himself)  seem  to  have  excited  some  manager  of  a 
theatre  to  disgrace  the  play  by  the  present  metrical  interpolation.     Shakespeare, 
who  has  conducted  his  Fifth  Act  with  such  matchless  skill,  could  never  have  devised 
the  vision  to  be  twice  described  by  Posthumus,  had  this  contemptible  nonsense  been 
previously  delivered  on  the  stage.     [Staunton  quotes  this  sentence  with  approval.] 
The  following  passage  from  Dr  Farmer's  Essay,  [p.  85,  foot-note],  will  show  that  it 
was  no  unusual  thing  for  players  to  indulge  themselves  in  making  additions  equally 
unjustifiable.      'We  have  a  sufficient  instance  of  the  liberties  taken  by  the  actors 
in  a  pamphlet  by  Nash,  called  Lenten  Stuff,  1599,  where  he  assures  us  that  in  a  play 
of  his,  called  The  Isle  of  Dogs,  foure  acts,  without  his  consent,  or  the  least  guess  of 
his  drift  or  scope,  were  supplied  by  the  players,'  [p.  200,  foot-note,  ed.  Grosart. 
Nash  is  there  speaking  in  a  strain  so  wild,  extravagant,  and  humorous  that  I  think  it 
doubtful,  at  the  least,  that  he  ever  meant  it  to  be  taken  seriously.     Few  things  I 


ACT  v,  sc.  iv.J  CYMBELINE  375 

[34.   Solmene   Musicke,  etc.] 

imagine  could  have  given  him  more  heart-easing  mirth  than  to  know  that  long  years 
afterward  he  should  befool  so  grave  a  Doctor  of  Letters  as  Farmer  into  the  belief 
that  a  play  could  be  called  his  of  which  he  had  written  only  the  Induction  and  First 
Act,  and  all  the  remaining  four  Acts,  containing  the  whole  plot  or  '  drift,'  were 
supplied  by  the  players. — ED.] — RITSON:  One  would  think  that  Shakespeare's 
style  being  too  refined  for  his  audiences,  the  managers  had  employed  some  play- 
wright of  the  old  school  to  regale  them  with  a  touch  of  '  King  Cambyses's  vein.' 
The  margin  would  be  too  honourable  a  place  for  so  impertinent  an  interpolation.— 
H.  COLERIDGE  (ii,  193) :  It  would  certainly  be  rash  to  mark  these  verses  with  an 
obelus,  but  they  are  as  little  like  Shakespeare  as  anything  that  goes  under  his  name. 
It  is  not  improbable  that  they  may  have  been  remodelled  from  some  old  ballad;  for 
Shakespeare  was  little  scrupulous  of  using  anything  that  would  serve. — WHITE 
(Shakespeare  Scholar,  p.  469):  This  rhyming  dialogue  in  the  Apparition  scene  is 
evidently  the  production  of  some  one  about  the  theatre  who  had  been  in  the  habit 
of  writing  such  doggerel  for  the  comedies  in  fashion  just  before  Shakespeare  took 
possession  of  the  stage;  and  Shakespeare  probably  consented  to  its  introduction 
for  peace's  sake,  to  please  the  author  or  a  brother  manager, — knowing,  too,  that  there 
were  those  in  his  audience  to  whom  it  would  be  acceptable.  It  is  ineffably  flat,  and 
altogether  superfluous;  but  it  must  not  be  removed  from  the  place  in  which  it  ap- 
pears in  the  authentic  copy. — BATHURST  (p.  135):  It  is  curious  that  the  vision 
(which  he  could  not  have  been  the  author  of)  is  in  the  same  fourth  style,  [i.  e.,  the 
style  of  Ant.  &  Cleop.  and  Wint.  Tale. — ED.].  It  is  a  little  like  Pericles.  'Pallas 
[sic!]  crystalline '  is  like  '  Goddess  Argentine.'  We  cannot  leave  it  out.  The  speech 
of  Posthumus  about  it  is  genuine. — W.  W.  LLOYD  (Singer's  ed.,  p.  509):  The 
vision  and  the  oracular  tablet  are  so  utterly  unnecessary  to  the  dis-knotting  of  the 
main  intrigue  of  the  play,  that  they  must  have  been  recommended  by  some  special 
purpose  and  propriety,  if  we  are  only  wise  enough  to  see  it.  It  will  be  found  that 
they  only  contribute  to  the  arrangement  of  the  terms  of  peace  at  last,  and  thus 
Jupiter  with  his  thunderbolts  from  the  machine  is  rendered  available  for  what  the 
Poet  thought  a  worthy  service, — the  same  for  which  Holinshed  was  fain  to  fall  back 
on  the  anniversary  of  the  Nativity  and  the  fated  peace, — an  apology  for  a  submission 
that  made  Britain  tributary.  [This  allusion  to  Holinshed  refers  to  the  heading  of 
the  i8th  Chapter  of  Book  iii,  which  reads:  'Of  Kymbeline  within  the  time  of 
whose  government  Christ  Jesus  our  Saviour  was  born,  all  nations  content  to  obey 
the  Roman  Emperors,  and  consequently  Britain.' — ED.] — STAUNTON:  By  whom, 
or  under  what  circumstances  this  pitiful  mummery  was  foisted  into  the  play,  will 
probably  never  be  known.  That  Shakespeare  had  no  hand  in  it  is  certain.  [Here 
follows  Steevens's  remark.] — KENNY  (p.  212):  We  feel  utterly  perplexed  in  attempt- 
ing to  reconcile  the  employment  of  this  extravagant  stage  trick  with  our  knowledge 
of  the  wonderful  imagination  and  the  fine  sense  of  the  Poet.  Some  critics  have 
taken  it  for  granted  that  the  scene  was  not  written  by  himself,  but  that  it  was 
foisted  into  the  work  by  the  players.  There  does  not,  however,  seem  to  be  the 
slightest  ground  for  attributing  it  to  such  a  source,  and,  indeed,  the  episode  appears 
to  form  an  essential  link  in  the  conclusion  of  the  drama.  Our  surprise  at  its  intro- 
duction would  be  considerably  diminished  if  we  could  find  that  it  was  only  an 
imitation  by  Shakespeare  of  a  passage  in  some  work  which  he  was  generally  copying 
in  his  play — for  such  a  circumstance  would  be  in  complete  accordance  with  a  prac- 
tice which  he  very  frequently  adopted;  and  we  think  it  not  at  all  improbable  that  it 


376  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  iv. 

[34.   Solemne  Musicke,  etc.] 

was  in  this  way  that  a  large  portion  of  Cymbeline  was  written.  The  only  other  mode 
in  which  we  can  attempt  to  account  for  the  selection  of  so  grotesque  a  show  is  by  sup- 
posing that  the  dramatist  was  here  yielding,  in  one  of  his  careless  rhyming  moods,  to 
what  he  knew  to  be  the  taste  of  his  audiences.  But,  on  either  of  these  suppositions, 
we  should  still  find  a  singular  want  of  harmony  between  the  weakness  and  extrava- 
gance of  this  episode  and  the  clearness  and  strength  which  more  or  less  characterise 
the  rest  of  his  composition.  We  are  specially  struck  by  this  contrast  by  reading 
immediately  afterwards,  in  the  same  scene,  the  singular  comic  dialogue  between 
Posthumus  and  his  gaolers — a  dialogue  so  strangely  natural,  so  wild  and  reckless,  so 
replete  with  the  careless,  impersonal  power  of  the  Poet.  In  it,  as  in  many  other 
portions  of  his  dramas,  he  seems  to  allow  the  characters  to  speak  absolutely  for 
themselves;  he  has  no  interest  in  them;  he  knows  nothing  of  them;  he  does  not  even 
appear  disposed  to  indulge,  through  the  medium  which  they  afford,  in  any  bitter 
and  concealed  irony;  he  is  wholly  passive  and  indifferent,  and  Nature  follows, 
through  the  unforced  play  of  his  fancy,  her  own  capricious,  unaccountable  will. — 
HUDSON  (p.  14):  The  play  has  one  very  serious  and  decided  blemish.  I  refer  to 
that  piece  of  dull  impertinence  in  the  Fifth  Act,  including  the  vision  of  Posthumus 
while  asleep  in  the  prison,  the  absurd  'label'  found  on  his  bosom  when  he  awakes, 
and  the  soothsayer's  still  more  absurd  interpretation  of  the  label  at  the  close.  For 
nothing  can  well  be  plainer  than  that  the  whole  thing  is  strictly  irrelevant:  it  does 
not  throw  the  least  particle  of  light  on  the  character  or  motive  of  any  person;  has, 
indeed,  no  business  whatever  with  the  action  of  the  drama,  except  to  hinder  and 
embarrass  it.  This  matter  apart,  the  denouement  is  perfect,  and  the  preparation  for 
it  made  with  consummate  judgment  and  skill.  And  it  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  if 
the  apparition,  the  dialogue  that  follows  with  the  Jailer,  the  tablet,  and  all  that 
relates  to  it,  be  omitted,  there  will  appear  no  rent,  no  loose  stitch,  nor  anything 
wanting  to  the  completeness  of  the  work.  It  is  difficult  to  believe  that  Shake- 
speare wrote  the  passages  in  question  at  any  time;  impossible,  that  he  did  so  at  or 
near  the  time  when  the  rest  of  the  play  was  written.  For  I  think  every  discerning 
student  will  perceive  at  once  that  the  style  of  this  matter  is  totally  different  from 
that  of  all  the  other  parts.  How,  then,  came  it  there?  Some  consider  it  a  relic  of 
an  older  drama,  perhaps  one  written  by  Shakespeare  in  his  youth.  But  the  more 
common  opinion  is  that  it  was  foisted  in  by  the  players,  the  Poet  himself  having 
nothing  to  do  with  it.  There  is  no  doubt  that  such  things  were  sometimes  done. 
Still  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  it  was  supplied  by  some  other  hand  at  the  time,  and 
that  the  Poet  himself  worked  it  in  with  his  own  noble  matter,  perhaps  to  gratify 
a  friend;  for  he  was  a  kind-hearted,  obliging  fellow,  and  probably  did  noi;  see  the 
difference  between  his  own  workmanship  and  other  men's  as  we  do.  At  all  events, 
I  am  sure  it  must  have  got  into  the  play  from  motives  that  could  have  had  no  place 
with  him  as  an  artist.  And  how  well  the  matter  was  adapted  to  catch  the  vulgar 
wonder  and  applause  of  that  day  may  be  judged  well  enough  from  the  thrift  that 
waits  upon  divers  absurdities  of  the  stage  in  our  time.  Doubtless,  in  his  day,  as 
in  ours,  there  were  many  who,  for  the  sake  of  this  blemishing  stuff,  would  tolerate 
the  glories  of  the  play. — FLEAY  (Life,  etc.,  p.  247):  The  verse  of  the  vision  is 
palpably  by  an  inferior  hand,  and  was  probably  inserted  for  some  Court  perform- 
ance after  Shakespeare  left  the  stage.  Of  course,  the  stage  directions  for  the  dumb 
show  are  genuine.  This  would  not  have  been  worth  mentioning  but  for  the  silly 
arguments  of  some  who  defend  the  Shakespearian  authorship  of  these  lines,  and 


ACT  v,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE 


[34.   Solemne  Musicke,  etc.] 

maintain  that  the  play  would  be  maimed  without  them.  —  INGLEBY:  The  dream 
interlude  is  too  poor  a  composition  to  be  imputed  to  Shakespeare  at  any  period  of 
his  career,  or  on  any  dramatic  ground;  and  this  play  was  certainly  drafted  after 
Macbeth.  It  is  at  least  open  to  argument  whether  Posthumus's  speech  on  awaken- 
ing bears  signs  of  Shakespeare's  hand.  Certainly  from  line  129  to  line  143  it  is  a 
very  poor  production.  The  remaining  half-dozen  lines  are  not  unlike  Shakespeare. 
—  DEIGHTON:  Modern  editors  are  almost  unanimous  in  looking  upon  this  vision  as 
foisted  hi  by  some  later  playwright;  and  argument  seems  scarcely  necessary  in 
support  of  their  opinion.  —  BOAS  (p.  516)  :  This  vision,  introducing  a  deus  ex  machina 
of  the  most  frigid  type,  and  bequeathing  the  material  legacy  of  an  oracular  scroll,  is  a 
strange  excrescence,  unworthy  to  precede  the  marvellously  dexterous  final  scene  in 
which  all  the  tangled  knots  are  untied.  —  DOWDEN  (p.  xxxvii.)  :  Spectacular  effects 
of  a  striking  kind,  dance  and  song,  occur  in  the  last  plays  of  Shakespeare;  in  The 
Tempest  there  is  a  masque;  in  The  Winter's  Tale,  a  statue  is  discovered  to  be  a 
woman;  in  King  Henry  VIII.  there  is  a  heavenly  vision  and  there  is  a  coronation 
procession.  I  think  it  likely  that  Shakespeare  fell  in  with  the  taste  of  the  moment, 
and  chose  to  indulge  the  spectators  with  the  show  of  spirits  described  in  the  stage 
direction.  If  I  were  to  make  a  conjecture,  for  which  little  evidence  that  is  con- 
vincing can  be  produced,  I  should  say  that  the  dumb  show  was  followed,  as  the  play 
left  Shakespeare's  hands,  by  the  descent  of  Jupiter  in  thunder  and  lightning;  that 
the  speech  of  Jupiter  (except  the  four  opening  lines)  and  the  entirely  Shakespearian 
speeches  of  Sicilius  which  follow  are  parts  of  his  original  play.  But,  I  imagine,  as 
first  put  upon  the  stage,  the  spirits  'went  hence  as  soon  as  they  were  born'  (line 
132),  and  the  spectators  found  that  the  spectacle  was  over  and  gone  too  soon.  Was 
the  appearance  of  the  voiceless  ghosts  encored  by  an  open-mouthed  crowd? 
At  all  events,  as  I  may  idly  guess,  it  was  felt  that  the  scenic  effect  must  be  pro- 
longed. The  actors  knew  that  any  words  would  pass  with  an  audience  agape  for 
spectacle,  and  one  of  them  scribbled  the  doggerel  41-94  before  the  next  performance. 
In  the  theatrical  copy  of  the  play  from  which  the  Cymbeline  of  the  Folio  was  printed 
these  lines  naturally  were  found,  and  before  1623  they  had  become  an  accepted 
portion  of  the  whole.  I  find  it  hard  to  understand  how  any  reader  who  possesses 
a  feeling  for  Shakespeare's  thought,  imagination,  diction,  or  versification  can 
ascribe  to  him  these  verses,  which  are  made  of  wood  that  has  no  resonance.  The 
first  four  lines  of  Jupiter's  speech  may  have  been  conceded  by  Shakespeare  to 
unite  what  follows  with  the  addition;  but  I  conjecture  that  the  speech  as  originally 
written  began  with  '  Poor  shadows  of  Elysium  hence.'  What  follows  from  Jupiter's 
lips  is  not  in  the  Poet's  highest  manner,  but  it  seems  to  me  Shakespearian.  The 
'din'  of  line  116  may  have  been  that  of  the  warrior's  shields.  In  the  music  of  the 
lines  of  Sicilius,  'the  holy  eagle  Stoop'd  as  to  foot  us:  his  ascension  is  More  sweet 
than  our  blest  fields;  his  royal  bird  Prunes  the  immortal  wing  and  cloys  his  beak, 
As  when  his  god  is  pleased.'  I  seem  to  hear  the  authentic  voice  of  the  master. 
Idle  conjectures,  such  as  these,  if  they  are  not  insisted  on,  may  be  indulged  as 
harmless.  —  HERFORD  (p.  122):  Posthumus's  vision,  the  oracle,  and  a  soothsayer's 
exposition  of  it  are,  as  literature,  mean,  frigid,  and  prosaic.  As  dramatic  business, 
they  affect  only  the  outermost  fringe  of  the  plot,  the  political  relations  of  Britain 
and  Rome.  It  is  possible  to  defend  the  bald  style  of  the  ghosts  as  imitated  from  the 
archaisms  of  the  time  when  Posthumus's  parents  lived;  but  the  grotesque  descent  of 
Jupiter  is  as  un-Shakespearean  in  conception  as  it  is  incompetent  in  execution. 


THE   TRACE  DIE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  iv. 


[34.   Solemne  Musicke,  etc.]  . 

Richard  III.  had  dreamed  to  better  purpose  before  Bosworth.  Perhaps,  with  Mr 
Fleay,  we  may  find  the  solution  in  attributing  to  Shakespeare  only  the  dumb  show, 
which  some  foolhardy  person  rushed  in  to  versify.  The  oracle  which  Posthumus 
finds  on  his  breast  is  employed  with  a  singular  disregard  of  dramatic  effect.  It 
serves  no  purpose  but  to  provide  the  British  king  with  a  not  very  logical  reason 
for  offering,  'though  the  victor,'  to  submit  to  Caesar,  and  thus  completing  by  a 
volteface  amazing  even  in  this  impulsive  and  capricious  Celtic  king,  this  feebler  Lear 
—the  universal  reconciliation.  This  gratuitious  close  has  the  air  of  having  been 
inwoven  in  the  fabric  of  Shakespeare's  work,  —  perhaps  with  concealed  political 
intention. 

Thus  far  those  who  denounce  the  Vision.     We  now  hear  those  who  approve  of  it. 

SCHLEGEL  (ii,  250):  Posthumus  finds  on  waking  a  tablet  on  his  left  breast,  with 
a  prophecy  on  which  the  denouement  of  the  piece  depends.  Is  it  to  be  imagined  that 
Shakespeare  would  require  of  his  spectators  the  belief  in  a  wonder  without  a  visible 
cause?  Is  Posthumus  to  dream  this  tablet  with  the  prophecy?  But  these  gentle- 
men do  not  descend  to  this  objection.  The  verses  which  the  apparitions  deliver 
do  not  appear  to  them  to  be  good  enough  to  be  Shakespeare's.  I  imagine  I  can 
discover  why  the  Poet  has  not  given  them  more  of  the  splendour  of  diction.'  They 
are  the  aged  parents  and  brothers  of  Posthumus,  who,  from  concern  for  his  fate, 
return  from  the  world  below;  they  ought  consequently  to  speak  the  language  of  a 
more  simple  olden  time,  and  their  voices  ought  also  to  appear  as  a  feeble  sound  of 
wailing,  when  contrasted  with  the  thundering  oracular  language  of  Jupiter.  For 
this  reason  Shakespeare  chose  a  syllabic  measure  which  was  very  common  before 
his  time,  but  which  was  then  getting  out  of  fashion,  though  it  still  continued  to  be 
frequently  used,  especially  in  translations  of  classical  poets.  In  some  such  manner 
might  the  shades  express  themselves  in  the  then  existing  translations  of  Homer  and 
Virgil.  The  speech  of  Jupiter  is,  on  the  other  hand,  majestic,  and  in  form  and  style 
bears  a  complete  resemblance  to  the  sonnets  of  Shakespeare.  Nothing  but  the 
incapacity  of  appreciating  the  views  of  the  Poet,  and  the  perspective  observed  by 
him,  could  lead  them  to  stumble  at  this  passage.  —  KNIGHT  (Introd.,  p.  182):  The 
'Apparition'  either  not  belongs  to  Shakespeare  at  all,  or  belongs  to  the  period  \vhen 
he  had  not  clearly  seen  his  way  to  shake  off  the  trammels  of  the  old  stage.  But 
would  an  audience  familiar  with  that  scene  have  parted  with  it?  We  believe  not. 
—FLETCHER  (p.  66)  :  There  may,  indeed,  be  valid  theatrical  reasons  for  suppressing 
the  vision  of  Posthumus  during  the  slumber  which  is  supposed  to  terminate  his 
soliloquy;  but  the  suppression  deprives  us  of  the  solemnly  pathetic  effect  of  that 
simple  chorus,  which  is  plainly  introduced  in  order,  by  recalling  the  whole  tenour  of 
the  story,  to  remind  the  auditor  that  the  hero  is  much  more  unfortunate  than 
criminal,  and  to  relieve  our  feelings  by  announcing  an  approaching  deliverance 
from  adversity,  —  at  the  same  time  that  curiosity  is  kept  alive  by  the  mysterious 
terms  in  which  the  prediction  is  made.  The  attendant  music  adds  to  the  soothing 
solemnity  of  the  scene.  How  beautiful,  too,  is  the  plaintive  simplicity  of  the 
ballad  verses  reciting  his  fortune,  chanted  by  the  apparitions  of  his  deceased  rela- 
tives, not  one  of  whom  has  he  seen  in  life.  ...  In  fact,  both  the  sufferings  and  the 
deserts  of  the  hero  have  now  reached  their  climax;  nor  could  they  be  more  affect- 
ingly  recalled  to  us  than  by  thus  evoking  the  spirits  of  his  kindred,  whose  deaths 
had  left  him,  at  his  very  birth,  a  brotherless  orphan.  How  fine  a  change,  again, 
from  the  brief  measure  of  this  artless  complaint,  to  the  solemn  flow  of  the  lines 


ACT  v,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE 


379 


natiis.  Father  to  Pofthumus ,  an  old  ma?t,  attyredlike  a  war-         3  5 
riour ^leading  in  his  hand  an  ancient  Matron  (his  wife,  & 
Mother  to  Posthumus)  with  Muficke  before  them.     T/ien. 
after  other  Muficke ,  follow *es  the  two  young  Leonati  (Bro- 
thers to  Posthumus)  with  wounds  as  they  died  in  the  warrs. 
They  circle  Pofthumus  round  as  he  lies  flee  ping.  40 

• 

Sicil.    No  more  thou  Thunder-Mafter 

fhew  thy  fpight,  on  Mortall  Flies  : 
With  Mars  fall  out   with  Iiino  chide,  that  thy  Adulteries 

Rates,  and  Reuenges. 
Hath  my  poore  Boy  done  ought  but  well,i  45 

whofe  face  I  neuer  faw  : 
I  dy'de  whil'ft  in  the  Wombe  he  ftaide, 

attending  Natures  Law. 
Whofe  Father  then  (as  men  report, 

thou  Orphanes  Father  art)  50 

Thou  fhould'ft  haue  bin,  and  fheelded  him, 

38.  followes]   follows  F3F4,   Rowe  i.  43.  that  thy  Adulteries]  Separate  line, 

follow  Rowe  ii.  Theob. 

41.  Sicil.]  Fath.  Cap.  throughout.  45.  ought]  aught  Theob.  ii. 

41,  42.  No...Jhew\  One  line  Theob.  et  46.  faw:]  faw?  F4. 

seq.  50.  Orphanes]  Orphans  F3F4.  orphans1 

43.  out]  02<t,  Ff.  Theob.    orphan's  Var.  '78. 

51.  bin]  been  F4. 

supposed  to  be  spoken  by  the  descended  Jupiter.  .  .  .  And  then,  with  what  ex- 
quisite versatility  does  this  miraculous  artist  change  his  hand  once  more,  to  give  us 
that  gloriously  classical  description  of  the  deity's  appearance,  breathing  all  the 
sweet  sublimity  of  a  Milton,  or  even  of  a  Sophocles! — WARD  (i,  435):  This  episode 
in  rhymed  verse  was,  doubtless,  like  the  Mask  introduced  into  The  Tempest,  in 
accordance  with  the  taste  of  the  period;  there  is  no  reason,  on  account  of  its  style, 
which  reminds  one  of  the  prefatory  lines  to  the  Cantos  of  the  Faerie  Queene,  to 
impugn  Shakespeare's  authorship  to  it.  ['Exactly,'  saysWyatt,  ' but  did  Shake- 
speare ever  seriously  compose  such  doggerel  as  this?—  'The  maske  of  Cupid,  and 
th'  enchant-ed  Chamber  are  displayd;  Whence  Britomart  redeems  fair  A-moret 
through  charms  decayd."-—  Faerie  Queene,  iii,  12.  Almost  in  the  same  breath 
Prof.  Ward  seems  to  imply  that  this  masque  resembles  that  in  The  Tempest.  No 
other  touchstone  is  needed.  Let  any  one  read  Act  IV.  of  The  Tempest  and  then 
decide  if  the  masque  in  this  play  can  be  by  the  same  hand.'] — THISELTON:  Post- 
humus's  dream  is  that  of  an  overwrought  brain,  and  constitutes  an  admirable  relief 
to  the  tension.  [This  masque  has  one  or  two  admirable  touches  (Capell  pointed 
them  out),  but  the  rest  of  it  is  not  worth  the  effusion  of  any  more  Christian  ink.  I 
agree  with  Fleay;  the  Dumb  Show  is  genuine. — ED.] 

42.  Mortall  Flies]  'As  flies  to  wanton  boys,  are  we  to  the  gods.     They  kill  us 
for  their  sport.' — Lear,  IV,  i,  38. 


38o 


THE   TRACE  DIE  OF 


[ACT  v,  sc.  iv. 


from  this  earth-vexing  fmart.  52 

Moth.    Lucina  lent  not  me  her  ayde, 

but  tooke  me  in  my  Throwes, 
That  from  me  was  Pofthumus  ript,  5  5 

came  crying  'mong'ft  his  Foes. 
A  thing  of  pitty. 

SiciL    Great  Nature  like  his  Anceftrie, 

moulded  the  fluffe  fo  faire : 
That  he  d  feru'd  the  praife  oWWorld,  60 

as  great  Sicilius  heyre. 

1  .Bro.    When  once  he  was  mature  for  man, 

in  Britaine  where  was  hee 
That  could  ftand  vp  his  paralell  ? 

Or  fruitfull  obiecl  bee  ?  65 

In  eye  of  Imogen,  that  beft  could  deeme 

his  dignitie. 
Mo.    With  Marriage  wherefore  was  he  mockt 

to  be  exil'd,  and  throwne 
From  Leonati  Seate,  and  caft  from  her,  70 

his  deereft  one  : 
Sweete  Imogen  ? 

Sic.  Why  did  you  fuffer  lachimo,  flight  thing  of  Italy, 
To  taint  his  Nobler  hart  &  braine,  with  needleffe  i  eloufy, 
And  to  become  the  geeke  and  fcorne  o'th'others  vilany?  75 

2  Bro.    For  this,  from  fliller  Seats  we  came, 


52.  this]  his  Rowe,  +. 

earth-vexing]  heart-vexing  Vaun. 

54.  Throwes]  throes  F4. 

55.  me  was]   me   my   Pope,+.     my 
womb  Johns,  conj.    my  waist  Vaun. 

60.  he  d  feru'd]  he  diferv'd  F2.  he 
deferv'd  F3F4. 

64-67.  paralell?  ...  bee?  ...  dignitie.] 
parallel, ...be, ...dignity?  Rowe  et  seq. 

65.  fruitfull]  rival  Rowe,  Pope,  Han. 
Theob.  Warb.  frontfull  Vaun. 


66,  67.  could. ..dignitie]  One  line,  Rowe 
et  seq. 

68.  wherefore]  therefore  F3F4,  Rowe, 
Pope,  Han.  Theob.  Warb. 

70.  Leonati]  Leonatus'  Pope,+.   Leo- 
nati' Cap.  Varr.  Dyce,  Coll. 

73-75.  Six  lines,  F4. 

75.  to  become]  him  become  Eccles. 

geeke]  F.     geek  F3F4.     Rowe,+. 
geek  Cap. 

o'th']  oth'  F2. 


65.  fruitfull  obiect]   CAPELL  (p.  119):    An  object   fruitful  of  love,  producing 
love's  fruits. 

66.  deeme]  SCHMIDT  (Lex.}:    Judge,  estimate. 

70.  Leonati  Seate]   For  other  examples  where  proper  names  are  used  as  ad- 
jectives, such  as  'Verona  walls,'  'Philippi  fields,'  'Tiber  banks,'  see  ABBOTT,  §  22. 

75.  geeke]  CAPELL  (Gloss.}:   A  Cull,  Bubble,  one  easy  to  be  impos'd  on. 

76.  For  this  ...  we  came]  This  line  and  lines  86,  87  ('no  longer  exercise 


ACT  v,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE  38 1 

our  Parents, and  vs  twaine,  77 

That  ftriking  in  our  Countries  caufe, 
fell  brauely,and  were  flaine, 

Our  Fealty,  &  Tenantius  right,  with  Honor  to  maintaine.          80 
I  Bro.    Like  hardiment  PoJiJiumus  hath 

to  Cymbeline  perform'd  : 

Then  Iupiter,y  King  of  Gods,  why  haft  y  thus  adiourn'd 
The  Graces  for  his  Merits  due,  being  all  to  dolors  turn'd? 

Sicil.    Thy  Chriftall  window  ope  ;  looke,  85 

looke  out,  no  longer  exercife 

Vpon  a  valiant  Race, thy  harfh,and  potent  injuries  : 
Moth.    Since(Iupiter)  our  Son  is  good, 

take  off  his  miferies. 
Sicil.    Peepe  through  thy  Marble  Manfion,  helpe,  90 

or  we  poore  Ghofts  will  cry 

To'th'fhining  Synod  of  the  reft,againft  thy  Deity. 
Brothers.    Helpe  (lupiter)  or  we  appeale, 

and  from  thyiuftice  flye. 

lupiter  defccnds  in  Thunder  and  Lightning ,  fitting  vppon  an        95 
Eagle  :  hee  throwcs  a  Thunder-bolt.     The  Ghoftcs  fall  on 
their  knees, 
lupiter.    No  more  you  petty  Spirits  of  Region  low  98 

77.  vs    twaine]     we     twain  Eccles  85.  ope;  looke,]  ope;  looke  out;  Ff. 

conj.  86.  looke  out]  Om.  Ff. 

80.  Our. ..right]  One  line,  F4.  87.  Vpon...har/h,]  One  line,  F4. 

83.  Then.. .Gods]  One  line,  F4.  92.  To' tk'... reft,]  One  line,  F4. 

84.  The...duc\  One  line,  F4.  93.  Brothers]     Bre.    Ff.     2     Breth. 
his]  her  Ff.                                             Rowe,+-     Both  Bro.  Dyce. 


Vpon  a  valiant  Race,  thy  harsh  and  potent  iniuries')  WALKER  (Crit.,  iii,  328) 
says  'read  like  echoes  of  Latin  poetry.'  In  quoting  line  76  Walker  reads  'we  come.' 
Whereto  Lettsom  adds  the  foot-note:  'So  Walker's  manuscript.  I  have  not 
altered  it  to  came,  the  reading  of  all  the  editions,  because  I  have  no  doubt  that 
"come"  was  Shakespeare's  word.  The  aorist  is  not  English,  but  there  are  so  many 
aorists  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  that  the  blunder  is  excusable.' — DYCE 
(ed.  ii.)  reads  come  in  his  text,  and  in  a  note  pronounces  'came'  manifestly  wrong. 

82.  to  Cymbeline  perform'd]  COLLIER  (ed.  ii.):  We  think  it  likely  that  the 
whole  of  this  part  of  Cymbeline  was  a  quotation  from  some  well-known  and  popular 
work  on  the  same  story.  '  Perform'd '  may  there  have  been  the  rhyme  to  '  adjourn'd ' 
and  'turn'd';  but  even  if  Shakespeare  had  himself  been  imitating  that  ballad-style 
of  composition,  he  would  hardly  have  been  so  lax  in  his  writing. 

98-118.  THEOBALD:  I  own,  to  me,  what  Jupiter  says  to  the  Phantoms  seems  to 
carry  the  stamp  of  our  Author,  if  the  other  parts  of  the  masque  appear  inferior. 


382  THE   TRACE  DIE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  iv. 

Offend  our  hearing  :  hum.     How  dare  you  Ghofles 

Accufe  the  Thunderer,  whofe  Bolt  (you  know)  100 

Sky-planted,  batters  all  rebelling  Coafts. 

Poore  fhadowes  of  Elizium,  hence,  and  reft 

Vpon  your  neuer-withering  bankes  of  Flowres. 

Be  not  with  mortall  accidents  oppreft, 

No  care  of  yours  it  is,  you  know  'tis  ours.  105 

Whom  beft  I  loue,  I  croffe  ;  to  make  my  guift 

The  more  delay'd,  delighted.     Be  content, 

Your  low-laide  Sonne,  our  Godhead  will  vplift : 

His  Comforts  thriue,  his  Trials  well  are  fpent  : 

Our  louiall  Starre  reign' d  at  his  Birth,  and  in  1 10 

Our  Temple  was  he  married  :  Rife,  and  fade, 

He  fhall  be  Lord  of  Lady  Imogen , 

And  happier  much  by  his  Affliction  made. 

This  Tablet  lay  vpon  his  Breft,  wherein 

Our  pleafure,  his  full  Fortune,  doth  confine,  115 

And  fo  away :  no  farther  with  your  dinne 

Expreffe  Impatience,  leaft  you  ftirre  vp  mine  :  117 

101.  Coafts.}  coasts?  Theob.     hosts?  114.  [Jupit.  drops  a  Tablet.  Rowe,-f. 

Col.  conj. 

I  heartily  wish  this  were  the  only  place  where  we  have  reason  to  complain  of  irregu- 
larities, either  in  style  or  the  matter. 

107.  The  more  delay'd,  delighted]  M.  MASON  (p.  336):  That  is,  the  more 
delightful  for  being  delayed.  We  should  point  it  thus:  'The  more,  delay'd,  de- 
lighted.' [VAUGHAN  gives  the  same  explanation,  of  course,  independently,  and 
suggests  the  same  punctuation.  He  probably  followed  the  Var.  '21,  where  this 
note  is  not  given;  it  escaped  the  CAM.  EDD.  also.] — STEEVENS:  Though  it  be  hardly 
worth  while  to  waste  conjecture  on  the  wretched  stuff  before  us,  perhaps  the 
author  of  it,  instead  of  'delighted,'  wrote  dilated,  i.  e.,  expanded,  rendered  more 
copious.  ['Delighted'  has  been  here  explained  as  the  passive  participle  used  for 
the  active,  and  M  ALONE  refers  to  its  use  in  Othello,  where  the  Duke  says  to  Braban- 
tio:  'If  virtue  no  delighted  beauty  lack,  Your  son-in-law  is  far  more  fair  than 
black,'  I,  iii,  320  (of  this  edition),  where  it  is,  indeed,  used  exactly  as  here,  and 
meaning,  as  WALKER  (Crit.,  ii,  n)  suggests,  'endowed  with  delights,  deliciis  exor- 
nata.'  This  simple  explanation  also  dissipates  the  obscurity  which  has  long 
perplexed  critics  in  Claudio's  speech  in  Meas.  for  Meas.:  '  the  delighted  spirit  To 
bathe  in  fiery  floods,'  etc.,  I,  iii,  121;  although  Ingleby  says,  erroneously,  as  I 
think,  that ' delighted '  'cannot  have  here  the  same  meaning.'  This  rule  of  Walker 
will  solve  many  a  difficulty,  and  absolve  Shakespeare  from  an  indiscrimi- 
nate use  of  passive  and  active  participles,  as  Steevens  has  accused  him  of 
doing.  See  'I  am  wisht,'  V,  i,  3,  where  there  is  a  good  rule  of  Abbott,  founded 
on  Walker's. — ED.] 


ACT  v,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE  383 

Mount  Eagle,  to  my  Palace  Chriftalline.  Afccnds       118 

Sicil.     He  came  in  Thunder,  his  Celeftiall  breath 
Was  fulphurous  to  imell  :  the  holy  Eagle  120 

Stoop'd,  as  to  foote  vs  :  his  Afcenfion  is 
More  fvveet  then  our  bleft  Fields  :  his  Royall  Bird 
Prunes  the  immortal!  wing,  and  cloyes  his  Beake, 
As  when  his  God  is  pleas'd. 

All.    Thankes  lupiter.  125 

Sic.    The  Marble  Pauement  clozes,  he  is  entered 
His  radiant  Roofe  :  Away,  and  to  be  bleft 
Let  vs  with  care  performe  his  great  beheft .  •  Vanijli 

Poft.    Sleepe,  thou  haft  bin  a  Grandfire,  and  begot  129 

nS.  Palace]    Pallas     Bathurst     (so  128.  Vanifh]  Ghosts  vanish.  Cap. 

quoted,  p.  135).  129.  [Waking.  Theob. 
123.  cloyes]  claws  Tyrwhitt.  bin]  been  F4. 

126.  closes,]  F3.    clozes.  F2.    clofes,Y4. 

118.  my  Palace  Christalline]  STEEVENS:  Milton  has  transplanted  this  idea 
into  his  verses  In  Obitum  Prcesulis  Eliensis:  'Donee  nitentes  ad  fores  Ventum  es't 
Olympi,  et  regiam  crystallinam,'  [line  62]. 

121.  Stoop'd,  as  to  foote  vs]  MADDEN  (p.  203):  Again  the  falcon  stooped 
from  her  pride  of  place,  swift  and  resistless  as  a  thunderbolt.  This  time  her  aim 
was  unerring.  In  the  language  of  falconry  she  'stoop'd  as  to  foot'  her  quarry; 
and  when  Master  Petre  and  the  falconer  rode  up,  she  had  'soused'  (see  King  John, 
V,  ii,  150)  the  partridge,  and  holding  it  firmly  in  her  foot,  she  had  begun  to  devour 
it. 

123.  Prunes]  HARTING  (p.  131):  'Prune'  signifies  to  clean  and  adjust  the 
feathers,  and  is  synonymous  with  plume.  A  word  more  generally  used  perhaps 
than  either  is  preen. — MADDEN  (p.  137):  To  'prune'  is  'one  of  the  kyndeli  termes 
that  belong  to  hawkis,'  according  to  the  Boke  of  St.  Albans.  When  a  hawk  prunes 
or  picks  her  feathers, '  she  is  lyking  and  lusty,  and  whanne  she  hathe  doone  she  will 
rowse  hire  myghtyly.' 

123.  cloyes  his  Beake]  FARMER:  A  cley  is  the  same  as  a  claw  in  old  language. 
— STEEVENS:  So  in  Gower,  De  Confessione  Amantis,  'And  as  a  cat  wold  ete  fishes 
Withoute  weting  of  his  clees,'  [p.  39,  ed.  Pauli].  And  in  the  Boke  of  Saint  Albans, 
1486,  it  is  said:  'The  clees  with  i  the  fote  ye  shall  call  of  right  her  Pownces.'  [Again, 
'  Now  ye  shall  vnderstande  the  naamys  off  the  membries  of  hawkys :  to  begynne  at 
her  fete  and  goo  vpwarde  as  knyghttis  been  harnesside  and  armeed,  and  so  we  shall 
ename  her.  Fyrst  the  grete  Clees  behynde,  that  strength  the  bake  of  the  hande, 
ye  shall  call  horn  Talons.' — ED.] — HARTING  (p.  31):  'Cloyes'  is,  doubtless,  a  mis- 
print for  cleys,  that  is,  claws.  Those  who  have  kept  hawks  must  often  have  ob- 
served the  habit  which  they  have  of  raising  one  foot,  and  whetting  the  beak  against 
it.  This  is  the  action  to  which  Shakespeare  refers. — MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.)  gives 
Clee,  that  is,  claw,  with  all  its  appropriate  definitions;  and  also  'cloys,'  from  the 
present  passage,  giving  as  its  definition:  '  Steevens  conjectures,  "  To  claw,  to  scratch 
with  the  claw";  Johnson:  "  Perhaps,  to  strike  the  beak  together."  —Diet.  [Whence 
comes  Steevens's  conjecture  I  do  not  know. — ED.] 


THE   TR  AGED  IE  OF 


[ACT  v,  sc.  iv. 


A  Father  to  me  :  and  thou  hnft  created  1 30 

A  Mother,  and  two  Brothers.     But  (oh  fcorne) 

Gone,  they  went  hence  fo  foone  as  they  were  borne : 

And  fo  I  am  awake.     Poore  Wretches,  that  depend 

On  Greatneffe,  Fauour ;  Dreame  as  I  haue  done, 

Wake,  and  fmde  nothing.     But  (alas)  I  fwerue  :  135 

Many  Dreame  not  to  finde,  neither  deferue, 

And  yet  are  fteep'd  in  Fauours  ;  fo  am  I 

That  haue  this  Golden  chance,  and  know  not  why : 

What  Fayeries  haunt  this  ground  ?  A  BookPOh  rare  one, 

Be  not,  as  is  our  fangled  world,  a  Garment  140 

Nobler  then  that  it  couers.     Let  thy  effects 

So  follow,  to  be  moft  vnlike  our  Courtiers, 

As  good,  as  promife. 

Reades.  144 


131.  Brothers.]  Ff,+,  Coll.    brothers; 
Cap.  et  cet. 

fcorne}]  scorn!  Rowe  et  seq. 

132.  Gone,]    Ff.      Gone—     Rowe,+. 
Gone;  Ktly.   Gone?  Coll.  iii.    lunel  Cap. 
et  cet. 

borne:]    Ff,+.      born,    Coll.    i. 
born.  Cap.  et  cet. 

133.  7    am   awake]    I'm  'wake   Elze 
conj. 

awake.]  awake —  Pope,+. 

134.  Greatneffe,]  F2.    Greatnefs,  F3F4. 
greatness  Rowe,  Pope,  greatness'  Theob. 
et  seq. 

Fauour;]  Ff.  favour,  Knt,  Dyce, 
Glo.  Cam.  favour,  Rowe  et  cet. 


134.  done,]  done;  Theob.  et  seq. 

135.  [Seeing  the  Tablet.  Cap. 

136.  deferue,]  deserve;  Theob.  Warb. 

138.  why:]  why  Pope.     why.  Johns. 
Var.  '73  et  seq. 

139.  Fayeries]  Fairies  F3F4. 
Book?]  book!  Rowe,+,  Ktly. 
one,]  one!  Rowe  et  seq. 

140.  as   is]   as   in   Pope   ii,   Theob. 
Warb.  Johns. 

fangled]       new-fangled       Ktly. 
(Omitting  is  conj.) 

141.  couers.]  covers;  Cap.  et  seq. 

142.  Courtiers^     courtiers;     Theob. 
Warb.  Johns. 

143.  good]  good  Pope  et  seq. 


139.  A  Book]   WHITE:   It  was   not  a  volume,  but  a  single  leaf.     Of  old,  any 
writing  was  called  a  book,  [Vidilicet,  'a  horn-book,'  which,  as  we  all  know,  was  but 
a  single  leaf.] 

140.  fangled]  SKEAT  (N.  &•  Q.,  V,  iii,  133,  1875):   As  for  'fangled'  in  this  line, 
which  has  small  claim  to  be  considered  as  Shakespeare's,  the  sense  of  it  is  vague  and 
not  very  material;  the  sense  full  of  whims,  f till  of  oddities,  or  simply  odd,  will  do  well 
enough. — BRADLEY  (N.  E.  D.):   That  is,  characterised  by  crotchets  or  fopperies. 

141.  142.  thy    effects  .  .  .  vnlike    our    Courtiers]    ECCLES   reads    courtiers' 
to  indicate  the  genitive  case,  as  he  says.     He  adds,  with  a  truly  enviable  sense  of 
humour,  that    '  the  effects  of  courtiers'  may  appear  a  strange  and  even  laughable 
expression,  but  the  idea  is, '  the  effects  which  flow  or  follow  from  their  promises.' 

144.  Reades]  COLERIDGE  (p.  304):  It  is  not  easy  to  conjecture  why  Shake- 
speare should  have  introduced  this  ludicrous  scroll,  which  answers  no  one  purpose, 
either  propulsive  or  explicatory,  unless  as  a  joke  on  etymology. — PORTER  and 
CLARK:  Pope,  the  first  depreciator  of  this  scene,  rejected  it  as  spurious.  His 


ACT  v,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE 

WHe n  as  a  Lyons  whelpe,Jhall  to  himfelfe  vnknown,  with-       1 4  5 
out fe eking finde,  and  bee  embraced by  apecce  offender 
Ay  re :  And  when  from  ajlately  Cedar  JJiall  be  lopt  branches, 
which  being  dead  many  ye  ares,  Jhall  after  reuine,  bee  ioyntedto 
the  oldStocke,  and freJJily  grow,  then  Jhall  Pofthumus  end  his 
viiferies,  Britaine  be  fortunate,  andflourijh  in  Peace  and  Plen-       150 
tie. 

'Tis  ftill  a  Dreame  :  or  elfe  fuch  ftuffe  as  Madmen 
Tongue,  and  braine  not  :  either  both,  or  nothing,  152 

145.    W^Hen  as]  Whenas  Dyce,  Sta.  151.  Dreame:]  dream,  Coll. 

Coll.  iii.  Madmen]  mad-men  F3F4,  Rowe, 

a]  the  Rowe,+.  Pope  i,  Han. 

whelpe,   fhall]    whelp   fhall   F4.  152.  Tongue]  Do  tongue  Steev.  conj. 

whelp  shall,  Rowe  et  seq.  either    both,]    'Tis    either    both, 

vnknown]  known  Var.  '03,  '13  Rowe.     do  either  both,   Pope,   Theob. 

(misprint?)  Han.    Warb.      either,    or   both,      Cap. 

147.  Ayre:]  air,  Cam.  either  of  both  Hertzberg  conj.,  Vaun. 

149.  grow,]  Ff,+,  Coll.  Cam.     grow;  nothing,]  Ff.     nothing—-  Warb. 

Cap.  et  cet.  nothing;  Rowe  et  cet. 

various  followers  forget  that  this  Tablet,  like  the  perfect  fulfilling  of  the  Oracle  in 
The  Winter's  Tale,  the  apparition  of  Hecate  in  Macbeth,  and  the  bidding  of  Diana  in 
the  Vision  in  Pericles,  is  an  element  in  the  solution  of  the  Plot.  Shakespeare's 
plots,  moreover,  especially  in  his  later  years,  are  plots  having  relation  to  the  de- 
velopment of  the  characters  as  well  as  to  that  of  events.  An  inner  as  well  as  an 
outer  progress  and  order  are  requisite. 

147,  148.  stately  Cedar  .  .  .  being  dead  many  yeares]  In  this  dead  Cedar 
with  its  lopp'd  branches,  which  shall  freshly  grow,  BELL  (iii,  123)  detects  a  refer- 
ence to  a  widely  disseminated  German  legend,  so  distinct  in  its  details  that  it  is 
'most  convincing  of  Shakespeare's  visit  to  Germany.  This  legend  is  that  when  a 
pear-tree,  long  dead,  shall  revive  and  put  forth  new  leaves,  then  Barbarossa  will 
awaken  from  his  long  slumber  in  the  Unterberg,  and  fight  such  a  battle  as  shall 
ensure  a  lasting  peace.'  ['And  there  is  salmons  in  both.' — ED.] 

151.  'Tis    still  a    Dreame,    etc.]   JOHNSON:    The  meaning,  which  is  too  thin 
to  be  easily  caught,  I  take  to  be  this:    This  is  a  dream  or  madness,  or  both, — or 
nothing, — but  whether  it  be  a  speech  without  consciousness  (as  in  a  dream),  or  a 
speech  unintelligible  (as  in  madness,  be  it  as  it  is),  is  like  my  course  of  life.      We 
might  perhaps  read:    ' Whether  both,  or  nothing— .'—WALKER  (Crit.,  iii,  329): 
Something  is  lost.     Perhaps  Shakespeare  wrote:    'either  both,  or  nothing;  or  A 
senseless  speaking,'  etc.    (Brain  not,  as,  e.  g.,  a  few  lines  above, '  Many  dream  n6t  to 
find,'  etc.     Pronounce  'either,'  e'r,  id  sape.)      [If  'either'  is  to  be  thus  pronounced, 
why  not,  in  modern  editions,  give  the  reader  warning  and  so  print  it?     And  if  it  is 
to  be  printed  e'r,  why  not  save  ink  and  type,  and  print  it  simply  r?    To  be  sure, 
these  single  letters  might  be  mistaken  for  drawling,  but  rhythm  would  be  ap- 
peased, and  is  not  rhythm  the  end  and  aim  of  poetry  and  a  distinct  enunciation  ab- 
horrent?   Dr  O.  W.  Holmes  was,  indeed,  ill  advised  in  beseeching  us,  'when  we  stick 
on  conversation's  burrs,  Don't  strew  your  pathway  with  those  dreadful  urrs!' — ED.] 

152.  Tongue,  and  braine  not]   CAPELL  (p.  119):   The  coinage  in  this  line  were 

25 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  iv. 

Or  fenfeleffe  fpeaking,  or  a  fpeaking  fuch  153 

As  fenfe  cannot  vntye.     Be  what  it  is, 

The  Action  of  my  life  is  like  it,  which  He  keepe  1  5  5 

If  but  for  fimpathy. 

Enter  Gaoler. 

Gao.    Come  Sir,  are  you  ready  for  death  ? 

Poft.    Ouer-roafted  rather  :  ready  long  ago. 

Gao.     Hanging  is  the  word,  Sir,  if  you   bee   readie  for        160 
that,  you  are  well  Cook'd. 

154.  vnfye....is,]  unty,...is;  Johns.  Johns,  et  seq. 

Be]    But    F3F4,    Rowe,    Pope,  157.  Enter...]  Re-enter  Jailers.  Cap. 

Theob.  Han.  Warb.  Re-enter  First  Gaoler.  Dyce. 
T56-  He.  ..fimpathy]    One    line,  160.  Sir,]  sir;  Pope  et  seq. 


sufficient  to  prove  the  scene  to  be  Shakespeare's  had  it  no  other  marks  of  him;  for 
two  such  hardy  words,  and  withal  proper,  never  came  from  any  mint  but  his  own. 
And  the  rest  of  the  speech  is  as  much  in  his  manner  as  they  are;  its  first  sentence 
wanted  only  the  particle  or  [see  Text.  Notes]  to  make  any  good  sense  of  it;  for 
"tis'  or  'it  is'  is  carried  forward,  of  course,  and  prefixed  to  that  sentence,  and  like- 
wise to  the  other  that  follows  it. 

154.  Be  what  it  is]  For  examples  of  the  ellipsis  of  'it,'  see  ABBOTT,  §  404. 

156.  If  but  for  simpathy]  SCHMIDT  (Lex.):    That  is,  as  I  am  in  the  same 
situation.     ['Sympathy,'   as  equivalent  to  equality,  is  not  infrequent  in  Shake- 
speare; thus  lago,  'there  should  be  ...  simpathy  in  years,  Manners,  and  Beau- 
ties.' —  Oth.,  II,  i,  262  of  this  ed.] 

157.  Enter  Gaoler]   WHITER  (p.  167),  in  discussing  a  line  in  Love's  Lab.  Lost, 
'A  high  hope  for  a  low  heaven'  (which  he  interprets  as  referring  to  the  'heaven'  of 
the  stage),  remarks  in  a  foot-note:  'Let  not  the  reader  imagine  that  my  conjecture 
respecting  this  latent  allusion  is  either  remote  or  improbable,  as  our  Poet  often 
falls  into  trains  of  reflexion  which  are  equally  unconnected  with  the  opinions  and 
speculations  of  his  age.     Mr  Volatire  himself  has  nothing  comparable  to  the 
humorous  discussion  of  the  philosophic  gaoler'  [in  the  present  passage].  —  KNIGHT 
quotes  this  last  sentence  and  writes:    'But  it  is  something  more  than  humorous. 
It  is  as  profound,  under  a  gay  aspect,  as  some  of  the  highest  speculations  of  Ham- 
let.' —  FLETCHER  (p.  68):   We  by  no  means  agree  with  those  who  think  that  the 
comic  scene  with  the  gaoler  was  introduced  by  Shakespeare  more  for  the  sake  of 
making  some  'quantity  of  barren  spectators  laugh,'  than  for  any  real  regard  to  dra- 
matic art  and  propriety.     It  would  be  strange  indeed  to  find  him  so  trifling  in  the 
midst  of  so  much  earnestness!    No  —  Shakespeare  knew  well  he  was  but  pre- 
senting to  us  the  last  inevitable  phases  of  the  mind  in  him  who  is  at  once  con- 
demned to  death  and  desiring  it,  —  that  '  lightning  before  death  '  of  which  he  else- 
where tells  us,  —  that  careless  interval  when  the  man  has  cheerfully  parted  with  this 
world  and  is  ready  to  'encounter  darkness  as  a  bride.'     The  single  line  of  Post- 
humus  to  the  gaoler,  'I  am  merrier  to  die  than  thou  art  to  live,'  conveys  at  once 
the  spirit  and  the  vindication  of  the  whole  scene. 

161.  you  are  well  Cook'd]  There  is  apparently  some  culinary  allusion  here, 
in  connection  with  the  hanging  of  bacon  or  venison,  either  before  cooking  or  in- 
stead of  cooking.—  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.,  B.  I.,  i.  Transitive  senses,  b.)  :  To  suspend  or 


ACT  v,  sc.  iv.j  CYMBELINE 

Poft.    So  if  I  proue  a  good  repaft  to  the  Spectators ,  the       162 
difh  payes  the  (hot. 

Gao.    A  heauy  reckoning  for  you  Sir  :  But  the  comfort 
is  you  fhall  be  called  to  no  more  payments,  fear  no  more       165 
Tauerne  Bils,  which  are  often  the  fadneffe  of  parting,    as 
the  procuring   of  mirth  :  you  come  in  faint  for  want  of 
meate,  depart  reeling  with  too  much  drinke  :  forrie  that 
you  haue  payed  too  much,   and  forry  that  you  are  payed 
too  much  :  Purfe  and  Braine,  both  empty  :  the  Brain  the        170 
heauier,    for  being  too  light ;  the  Purfe  too  light,    being 
drawne  of  heauineffe.     Oh,  of  this  contradiction  you  fhall 
now  be  quit  :  Oh  the  charity  of  a  penny  Cord,  it  fummes 
vp  thoufands  in  a  trice  :  you  haue  no  true  Debitor,    and 
Creditor  but  it  :  of  what's  paft,  is,  and  to  come,  the  dif-        175 
charge  :  your  necke(Sis)is  Pen, Booke,and  Counters;  fo 
the  Acquittance  followes.  177 

162.  if  I]  if  it  Pope  ii,  Theob.  Warb.  01  of  Cap.  et  cet. 

164.  Sir:]  sir.  Dyce,  Sta.  Ktly,  Glo.  173.  charity]  celerity  Craig,  conj. 

165.  is  you]  is,  you  F3F4  et  seq.  Cord,]  cord!  Cap.  et  seq. 

1 66.  often]  as  often  Coll.  ii.  conj.  174.  Debitor]  Debtor  F3F4,+,  Coll.  ii. 
as]  at  Vaun.  174,  175.  Debitor,  and  Creditor]  debit- 

167.  come]  came  F4,  Rowe,  Pope.  or -and-cr editor  Del.  Craig. 
172.  Oh,  of]   Ff,+.     of  Glo.    Cam.  176.  Sis]  Sir  Ff. 

tie  up  (bacon,  beef,  etc.)  in  the  air  to  mature,  to  dry  for  preservation;  1599  H. 
Buttes  Dyets  drie  Dinner,  I,  vj,  b,  'Fallow  Deere  .  .  .  fat,  very  well  chased,  hang'd 
until  it  be  tender.' — ED. 

162,  163.  the  dish  payes  the  shot]   That  is,  the  viands  (namely,  himself)  pay 
the  reckoning. 

169.  haue  payed  .  .  .  are  payed]  STEEVENS:  That  is,  sorry  that  you  have 
paid  too  much  out  of  your  pocket,  and  sorry  that  you  are  paid,  or  subdued,  too 
much  by  the  liquor.  So  Falstaff:  'with  a  thought,  seven  of  the  eleven  I  paid.'- 
i  Hen.  IV:  II,  iv,  213. — MALONE:  See  'he  was  paid  for  that,'  IV,  ii,  318,  above.— 
STAUNTON:  'Paid'  is  here  equivalent  to  the  slang  phrase  to  settle,  now  in  use, 
as  'I've  settled  him,'  and  the  like.  With  this  import,  which  is  that  of  punished, 
'paid'  is  often  met  with  in  old  authors.  [JOHNSON  so  failed  to  understand  the 
opposition  between  the  two  'paids'  that  he  proposed:  'And  merry  that  you  are 
paid  so  much.'  He  took  the  second  'paid'  to  be  'paid,  for  appaid,  filled,  satiated. 
His  note  was  omitted  by  MALONE  in  1790  and  in  all  subsequent  editions,  and 
charitably. — ED.] 

172.  drawne]  STEEVENS:    In  common  language,  a  fowl  is  said  to  be  'drawn' 
when  its  intestines  are  taken  out. 

173.  penny  Cord]  Thus,  Pistol,  hi  Henry  V.,  'let  not  Bardolph's  vital  thread 
be  cut  With  edge  of  penny  cord,'  etc. — III,  vi,  49. 

J74>  J75-  Debitor,  and  Creditor]  JOHNSON:   For  an  accounting  book. 

176.  Counters]  WAY  (Foot-note  in  Prompt.  Parv.,  s.  v.  Awgrym):  Towards  the 


388  THE   TR  AGED  IE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  iv. 

Pojl.    I  am  merrier  to  dye,  then  thou  art  to  Hue.  178 

Gao.     Indeed  Sir,  he  that  fleepes,  feeles  not  the  Tooth- 
Ache  :  but  a  man  that  were  to  fleepe  your  fleepe,   and  a        180 
Hangman  to  helpe  him  to  bed,    I  think  he  would  change 
places  with  his  Officer  :  for,  look  you  Sir,  you  know  not 
which  way  you  mall  go. 

Pofl.    Yes  indeed  do  I,  fellow. 

Gao.    Your  death  has  eyes  in's  head  then  :  I  haue  not       185 
feene  him  fo  pictur'd  :  you  mull   either  bee  directed  by 
fome  that  take  vpon  them  to  know,  or  to  take  vpon  your 
felfe  that  which  I  am  fure  you  do  not  know  :  lor  iump  the       1 88 

185.  in's]  in  his  Ktly.  188.  lor   iump]  or  lump   Ff,   Rowe, 

187.  or  to  take]  Ff,+,  Cam.     or  do        Pope,  Theob.  Han.  Warb.    for,  jump 
take    Glo.    (withdrawn),      or    so    take        Knt  i,  Sing.  Sta.  Ktly,  Ingl. 

Vaun.    or  take  Heath,  Cap.  et  cet. 

commencement  of  the  xvi.th  century  the  use  of  the  Arabic  numerals  had  in  some 
degree  superseded  the  ancient  mode  of  calculating  by  the  abacus;  and  counters, 
which  at  the  period  when  the  Promptorium  was  compiled,  were  generally  used.  .  .  . 
They  were  not,  indeed,  wholly  disused  at  a  time  long  subsequent. 

1 80.  a  man  that  were  to  sleepe  your  sleepe]  ABBOTT  (§  367):  That  is, 
If  there  were  a  man  who  was  destined  to  sleep  your  sleep. 

180,  181.  and  a  Hangman  to  helpe  him  to  bed]  ABBOTT  (§95):  That  is,  and 
that  too  a  hangman  being  ready  to  help  him  to  bed.  In  the  phrase  'I  think  he 
would'  the  'he'  is  redundant. 

185.  Your  death]  VAUGHAN  (p.  529):  This  does  not  mean  'death  in  your  case' 
or  ' your  method  and  kind  of  death.'  The  possessive  ' your  death '  here  is  the  simple 
equivalent  of  death  in  the  abstract  and  general.  So '  your  philosophy,'  '  your  water ' 
is  written  by  Shakespeare  for  philosophy  in  general  and  water  in  general.  [This 
interpretation  may  be  right.  DOWDEN  accepts  it.  It  does  not,  however,  appear 
to  me  exactly  just.  I  think  'your'  is  not  ethical,  but  emphatic.  Is  it  not  parallel 
to  'your  sleep'  in  line  180,  where  it  surely  does  not  mean  sleep  'in  general'?  The 
gaoler  says  here  in  effect,  I  think,  'if  you  know  the  way  you're  going,  your  death 
is  not  the  same  as  my  death;  your  death  has  eyes  in's  head,'  etc. — ED. 

1 88.  or]  DYCE:  Before  this  'or'  the  Folio  has  a  blur  (occasioned  by  the  sticking 
up  of  what  is  technically  termed  a  space) ,  which  Mr  Knight  considers  to  be  an  /, 
and  prints  'for,  jump,'  etc.     [The  mistake  which  Knight  makes  is  not  in  taking 
the  blurred  space  for  a  letter,  but  in  following  Vernor  &  Hood's  Reprint  instead  of 
going  to  an  original  copy  of  the  Folio.     This  Reprint  has  for;  and  it  is  hazardous 
in  these  latter  days  to  deny  that  a  copy  of  the  Folio  exists  wherein  for  is  to  be 
found,  so  much  do  these  copies  vary.      A  faint  presumption  that  such  a  First  Folio 
does  exist  may  be  possibly  found  in  the  fact  that  Upcott  collated  Vernor  and  Hood's 
Reprint  with  a  Folio,  and  although  he  noted  fifteen  errors  in  the  reprint  of  this  play  of 
Cymbeline,  the  'for'  is  not  among  them.     The  presumption  is,  therefore,  allowable 
that  Upcott's  Folio  reads  distinctly  for.     Upcott's  original  MS.,  wherein  he  has 
noted  '386  errors/  is  now  in  my  possession,  duly  signed  by  him  after  recording  that 
he  had  'Finished  the  collation,  Jany  28th,  1809,  at  3  minutes  past  12  o'clock.' 


ACT  v,  sc.  iv.]  CYMBELINE  3  go 

after-enquiry  on  your  owne  perill  :    and  how  you    fhall 
fpeed  in  your  iournies  end,  I  thinke  you'l  neuer  returne       190 
to  tell  one. 

Pojl.  I  tell  thee,  Fellow,  there  are  none  want  eyes,  to 
direct  them  the  way  I  am  going,  but  fuch  as  winke,  and 
will  not  vfe  them. 

Gao.    What  an  infinite  mocke  is  this,  that  a  man  mold        195 
haue  the  beft  vfe  of  eyes,  to  fee  the  way  of  blindneffe  :    I 
am  fure  hanging's  the  way  of  winking.  197 

189.  perill:]  peril,  Knt.  Rowe. 

IQO.  iournies  end]  journeys-end  Pope,  196.  fee]  seek  Rowe  ii,  Pope,  Han. 

+  •  197-  hanging's]  fuch  hanging's  F3F4, 

neuer  returne]  return  never   F4,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han. 

This  MS.  was  formerly  owned  by  Dawson  Turner,  who  has  prefixed  the  following 
note,  which  as  a  scrap  of  Shakespearian  bibliographical  gossip  may  be  possibly 
worth  the  space;  I  do  not  know  that  it  has  ever  appeared  in  print:  'The  contents 
of  the  following  pages  are  the  result  of  145  days  close  attention  by  a  very  industrious 
man.  The  knowledge  of  such  a  task  having  been  undertaken  and  completed 
caused  some  alarm  among  the  booksellers,  who  had  expended  a  considerable  sum 
of  money  upon  the  reprint  of  Shakespeare,  of  which  this  MS.  discloses  the  numerous 
errors.  Fearful,  therefore,  lest  this  should  be  published,  they  made  many  overtures 
for  the  purchase  of  it,  and  at  length  Mr  Upcott  was  induced  to  part  with  it  to 
I.  &  A.  Arch,  from  whom  he  expected  a  handsome  remuneration.  He  received 
a  single  copy  of  the  reprint!  (signed)  Dawson  Turner,  1820.'  In  reference  to  this 
'presentation  copy'  Upcott  himself  has  appended  the  following:  'This  copy  was 
corrected  by  me  from  the  following  Catalogue  of  Typographical  Errors  and  was 
sold  to  the  late  James  Perry,  the  proprietor  of  the  Morning  Chronicle,  for  six  guineas. 
At  the  sale  of  his  Library  in  March,  1822  (see  Catalogue  No.  1339),  it  produced 
[j£ 1 2,  i,  6 — Lowndes  has  added  in  pencil]  (signed)  William  Upcott — Yarmouth, 
July  22,  1832.'  The  'Hood'  in  the  firm  of  'Vernor  and  Hood'  was  the  father  of 
Thomas  Hood,  the  poet. 

KNIGHT  corrected  the  error  in  his  Second  Edition;  which  was  unnoticed  by  several 
who  had  blindly  followed  his  First. — See  Text.  Notes. — ED.] 

188,  189.  iump  the  after-enquiry]  JOHNSON:  That  is,  venture  at  it  without 
thought.  So  Macbeth,  'We'd  jump  the  life  to  come.' — I,  vii,  7. — STEEVENS:  To 
'jump'  is  to  hazard.  Again  in  Coriolanus,  'To  jump  a  body  with  a  dangerous 
physick,'  III,  i,  154.  [The  word  'jump'  is  here  disputed.  An  obelus  is  prefixed 
to  the  line  in  the  Globe  Ed.] 

192.  I  tell  thee,  Fellow,  etc.]  BOWDEN  (p.  371):  This  conversation  recalls  a 
controversial  saying  of  Sir  Thomas  More:  'Howbeit,  if  so  be  that  their  way  be 
not  wrong,  but  they  have  found  out  so  easy  a  way  to  heaven  as  to  take  no  thought 
but  make  merry,  nor  take  no  penance  at  all,  but  sit  them  down  and  drink  well  for 
the  Saviour's  sake,  sit  cock-a-hoop,  and  fill  in  all  the  cups  at  once,  and  then  Christ's 
passion  pay  for  all  the  shot,  I  am  not  he  that  will  envy  their  good  hap,  but  surely 
counsel  dare  I  give  to  no  man  to  adventure  that  way  with  them.' — Works,  Dialogue 
of  Comfort. 


30,0  THE  TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  iv. 

Enter  a  Meffenger.  198 

Mef.    Knocke  off  his  Manacles,  bring  your  Prifoner  to 
the  King.  200 

Pojl.    Thou  bring'ft  good  newes,  I  am  call'd  to  bee 
made  free. 

Gao.    He  be  hang'd  then. 

Pojl.    Thou  fhalt  be  then  freer  then  a  Gaoler;no  bolts 
for  the  dead.  205 

Gao.  Vnleffe  a  man  would  marry  a  Gallowes,  &  be- 
get yong  Gibbets,  I  neuer  faw  one  fo  prone  :  yet  on  my 
Confcience,  there  are  verier  Knaues  defire  to  Hue,  for  all 
he  be  a  Roman  ;  and  there  be  fome  of  them  too  that  dye 
againft  their  willes;  fo  fhould  I,  if  I  were  one.  I  would  2IO 
we  were  all  of  one  minde,and  one  minde  good  :  O  there 
were  defolation  of  Gaolers  and  Galowfes  :  I  fpeake  a- 
gainfb  my  prefent  profit,  but  my  wifh  hath  a  preferment 
in't.  Exeunt.  214 

199.  Manacles,]     manacles.     Johns.  Posthumus,  Messenger,  and  2.  Jailer. 

manacles;  Var.  '78  et  seq.  Cap.     Exeunt    all    but    First    Gaoler. 

201.  newes,]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han.  Cam.  Edd. 

Cap.   Dyce,   Glo.    Cam.     news.    Coll.  207.  prone:]  prone.  Rowe  et  seq. 

news;  Theob.  et  cet.  212.  Galowfes:]  gallowses!  Cap.  et  seq. 

205.  [Exeunt.     Ff.       Exeunt    Post-  213.  profit,]  profit;  Cap.  et  seq. 

humus  and  Messenger.  Theob.    Exeunt  214.  Exeunt.]  Exit.  Ff. 

207.  prone]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.  7.) :   Ready  in  mind  (for  some  action  expressed 
or  implied);  eager.     [Present  passage  quoted.] 

208.  209.  for  all  he  be  a  Roman]   ABBOTT  (§  154):    'For'  in  this  sense  [/.  e., 
in  spite  of]  is  sometimes  used  as  a  conjunction,  as  here.     That  is,  Despite  that  he  be 
a  Roman. 

209.  some   of  them    too]  'Them'  is  emphatic,  as  referring  to  the  Romans, 
among  whom,  indifferent  as  they  were  to  suicide,  instances  were  found  of  a  repug- 
nance to  death. 

212.  Galowses]  That  this  is  a  vulgar  pronunciation,  as  has  been  suggested,  ad- 
mits of  doubt. — BRADLEY  (N.  E.  D.):    From  the  i6th  century  gallows  has  been 
(except  the  archaic  a  'pair  of  gallows')  used  as  a  singular,  with  a  new  plural, 
gallowses;  the  latter,  though  perhaps   not  strictly  obsolete,  is  now  seldom  used; 
1562,  Turner,  Herbal,  II,  46:    'Mandrag.  .  .  .  grows  not  under  gallosses.' 

213.  a  preferment]   In  spite  of  his  pious  and  altruistic  wish  that  all  men  might 
be  of  one  good  mind,  the  gaoler  cannot  quite  close  his  eyes  to  the  main  chance,  and 
so  hastens  to  add  that  his  wish  includes  some  promotion  for  himself. — ED. 


ACT  v,  sc.  v.]  CYMBELINE  391 


Scena  Quinta. 

Enter  Cymbeline ,  Belarins ,  Guiderius ,  And-  2 

ragus ,  Pifanio ,  and  Lords . 
Cyni.  Stand  by  my  fide  you,  whom  the  Gods  haue  made  4 

i.  Scene  in.  Rowe.    Scene  iv.  Pope,  4.  fide  you,]  Ff.     side,  you,  Rowe, 

Han.  Warb.  Johns.     Scene  vi.  Eccles.         Theob.  Warb.  Johns.  Cap.  Varr.  Mai. 
Cymbeline's  Tent.  Rowe.  Steev.  Varr.    side,  you  Pope  et  cet. 

i.  Scena  Quinta]   STEEVENS  (Var.,  1778):    Let  those  who  talk  so  confidently 
about  the  skill  of  Shakespeare's  contemporary,  Jonson,  point  out  the  conclusion 
of  any  one  of  his  plays  which  is  wrought  out  with  more  artifice,  and  yet  with  a 
less  degree  of  dramatic  violence  than  this.     In  the  scene  before  us,  all  the  surviving 
characters  are  assembled;  and  at  the  expence  of  whatever  incongruity  the  former 
events  may  have  been  produced,  perhaps  little  can  be  discovered  on  this  occasion 
to  offend  the  most  scrupulous  advocate  for  regularity;  and,  I  think,  as  little  is 
found  wanting  to  satisfy  the  spectator  by  a  catastrophe  which  is  intricate  without 
confusion,  and  not  more  rich  in  ornament  than  in  nature— KNIGHT  (p.  252): 
The  conclusion  of  Cymbeline  has  been  lauded  because  it  is  consistent  with  poetical 
justice      Those  who  adopt  this  species  of  reasoning  look  very  imperfectly  upon 
the  course  of  real  events  in  the  moral  world.     It  is  permitted,  for  inscrutable  pur- 
poses that  the  innocent  should  sometimes  fall  before  the  wicked,  and  the  noble  be 
subjected  to  the  base.     In  the  same  way,  it  is  sometimes  in  the  course  of  events 
that  the  pure  and  the  gentle  should  triumph  over  deceit  and  outrage.     The  perish- 
ing of  Desdemona  is  as  true  as  the  safety  of  Imogen;  and  the  poetical  truth  in- 
volves as  high  a  moral  in  the  one  case  as  in  the  other --WENDELL  (p.  285): 
where  else  in  Shakespeare,  certainly,  is  there  anything  like  so  elaborate  an  untying 
of  knots  which  seem  purposely  made  intricate  to  prepare  for  this  final  situation. 
Situation,  however,  is  an  inadequate  word.     Into  four  hundred  and  eighty-five 
lines  Shakespeare  has  crowded  some  two  dozen  situations  any  one  of  which  would 
probably  have  been  strong  enough  to  carry  a  whole  Act.  . 
marked  individuality  of  effect  which  we  observe  in  both  Cymbeline  and  The  Tem- 
pest proves  on  scrutiny  chiefly  due  to  the  fact  that  the  dramatic  structure  of  each 
involves  a  new  and  bold  technical  experiment.     In  each  this  experiment  consists 
chiefly  of  a  deliberately  skilful  handling  of  the  denouement.     In  Cymbehne,  after 
four  and  a  half  Acts  of  confusion,  comes  the  last  Scene,  coolly  disentangling  the 
confusion  by  four  and  twenty  cumulative  stage  situations;  in  The  Tempest,  with  due 
adherence  to  the  unities  of  time,  of  place,  and  of  action,  the  denouement  is  ex- 
panded into  five  whole  Acts.     In  The  Winter's  Tale  we  'find  an  analogous  mdi 
viduality  of  effect  due  to  a  similar  cause.      Structurally,  The  Winters  Tale  is  per- 
haps the  most  boldly  experimental  of  all.     The  play  is  frankly  double 
three  Acts  make  a  complete  independent  tragedy.  ...  The  last  two  Acts  make  a 
complete  independent  comedy,  which,  taking  up  the  story  at  its  most  tragic  pc 
leads  it  to  a  final  denouement  of  reconciliation  and  romantic  serenity.-THORND 
(D   i«)-   Such  a  denouement  is  evidently  not  the  natural  outcome  of  a  tragedy  < 
a  comedy;  it  is  the  elaborate  climax  in  preparation  for  which  the  preceding  situa- 
tions have  been  made  involved  and  perplexing As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 


392  THE  TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  v. 

Preferuers  of  my  Throne  :  woe  is  my  heart,  5 

That  the  poore  Souldier  that  fo  richly  fought, 

Whofe  ragges,  fham'd  gilded  Armes,  whofe  naked  breft 

Stept*  before  Targes  of  proofe,  cannot  be  found  : 

He  fhall  be  happy  that  can  finde  him,  if 

Our  Grace  can  make  him  fo.  10 

Bel.    I  neuer  faw 

Such  Noble  fury  in  fo  poore  a  Thing  ; 
Such  precious  deeds,  in  one  that  promift  nought 
But  beggery,  and  poore  lookes.  14 

5.  Throne:]  throne.  Pope  et  seq.  Var.  '78,  '85,  Mai.  Ran.  Steev.  Varr. 

7.  ragges,]    rags,    F3.      rags    F4    et        Coll.  Ktly. 

seq.  9.  if]  Om.  Ktly. 

Amies,]  arms;  Theob.  Warb.  Cap.  13.  nought]  naught  Dyce. 

8.  Targes]  Targets  F4,  Rowe.    shields  14.  beggery]  begg'ry  Pope,+. 

Pope,  Theob.  Han.  Warb.    targe  Cap.  lookes]  luck  Theob.  Han.  Warb. 

denouement  of  Cymbeline  is  so  ingeniously  intricate  that  it  is  ineffective  on  the 
stage,  and  thereby  defeats  the  purpose  for  which  the  ingenuity  was  apparently 
expended.  One  feels  inclined,  indeed,  to  assert  with  some  positiveness  that  the 
artistic  skill  required  in  manufacturing  so  elaborate  a  scene  was  not  exerted  with- 
out definite  purpose.  .  .  .  Again,  one  feels  inclined  to  conjecture  that  this  artistic 
effort  may  have  been  exerted  for  the  purpose  of  rivalling  similarly  heightened  de- 
nouements in  Beaumont  and  Fletcher.  Without  insisting  too  much  on  delibera- 
tive rivalry,  we  may  surely  say  that,  just  as  in  the  Beaumont-Fletcher  romances, 
the  elaborate  denouement  is  the  most  marked  characteristic  of  the  construction  of 
Cymbeline.  .  .  .  Entirely  unprecedented  in  the  preceding  plays  of  Shakespeare, 
such  heightened  construction  of  the  denouement  is  practically  unprecedented  in 
all  earlier  Elizabethan  plays:  it  has  its  only  parallel  in  Beaumont  and  Fletcher. 

5.  woe  is  my  heart]  See  ABBOTT  (§  230)  for  '  ungrammatical  remnants  of 
ancient  usage.' 

8.  Targes]  WALKER  (Vers.,  253):  Palpably  targe'.  Targe  in  the  singular  would 
not  be  Elizabethan  English.  (Had  Keats  noticed  this?  Endymion,  book  iii: 
'Old  rusted  anchors,  helmets,  breast-plates  large  Of  gone  sea- warriors;  brazen 
beaks  and  targe;  Rudders,  that  for  a  hundred  years  had  lost  the  sway  of  human 
hands.') — COLLIER  (ed.  ii.):  Possibly  'targes'  is  right;  if  so,  it  must  be  read  in 
the  time  of  a  monosyllable. — VAUGHAN  (p.  530) :  The  point  of  the  panegyric  lies  in 
this,  that  Posthumus  with  his  naked  breast  was  in  advance  of  the  whole  rank  of 
soldiers  with  shields;  the  loss  of  the  plural  'targes'  is  not  inconsiderable. 

14.  But  beggery,  and  poore  lookes]  WARBURTON:  But  how  can  it  be  said 
that  one  whose  'poor  looks'  promise  'beggery,'  promised  'poor  looks'  too?  It 
was  not  the  poor  look  which  was  promised;  that  was  visible.  We  must  read  'poor 
luck.'  This  sets  the  matter  right,  and  makes  Belarius  speak  sense  and  to  the 
purpose.  For  there  was  the  extraordinary  thing;  he  promised  nothing  but  poor 
luck,  and  yet  performed  all  these  wonders. — HEATH  (p.  489) :  The  sense  is,  one  that 
promised  nothing  beyond  what  appeared,  to  wit,  beggary  and  a  poor  exterior. — 
JOHNSON:  To  promise  'nothing  but  poor  looks'  may  be  to  give  no  promise  of 


ACT  v,  sc.  v.]  CYMBELINE 

Cym.    No  tydings  of  him  ?  I  ^ 

Pifa.     He  hath  bin  fearch'd  among  the  dead,  &  liuing  ; 
But  no  trace  of  him. 

Cym.   To  my  greefe,  I  am 
The  heyre  of  his  Reward,  which  I  will  adde 

To  you  (the  Liuer,  Heart,  and  Braine  of  Britaine)  20 

By  whom  ( I  grant)  fhe  Hues.     'Tis  now  the  time 
To  aske  of  whence  you  are.     Report  it. 

Bel.    Sir, 

In  Cambria  are  we  borne,  and  Gentlemen : 

Further  to  boaft,  were  neyther  true,  nor  modefl,  25 

Vnleffe  I  adde,  we  are  honeft. 

Cym.    Bow  your  knees  : 
Arife  my  Knights  o'th'Battell,  I  create  you 
Companions  to  our  perfon,  and  will  fit  you 
With  Dignities  becomming  your  eftates.  30 

16.  bin]  been  F4.  24.  Gentlemen:]  gentlemen.  Coll. 

liuing;]  living,  Ff  et  seq.  26.  we  are]  we're  Pope,+,  Dyce  ii, 

19.  [To    Bell.    Guid.    and    Arvirag.        iii. 

Rowe.  27.  knees:]  knees,   F4,   Rowe,   Pope, 

Reward,]  reward;  Theob.  Warb.  Han.     knees.  Johns.  Coll.  Dyce,  Sta. 

et  seq.  Ktly,  Glo.  Cam. 

21.  Hues.]  Ff,+,  Coll.  Dyce,  Ktly,  [They  kneel.  Johns. 
Glo.  Cam.    lives:  Cap.  et  cet.  28.  o'th']  o'the  Cap.  et  seq. 

22.  are.]  Ff,+,  Ktly,  Glo.    are:  Cap.  Battell,}  F2.    Battle,  F3F4.    battel; 
et  cet.  Theob.  i,  Han.    battle;  Theob.  ii.  et  seq. 

courageous  behaviour. — STEEVENS:  So  in  Rich.  II:  'To  look  so  poorly  and  to 
speak  so  fair.' — III,  iii,  128. — VAUGHAN  (p.  531):  I  strongly  suspect  'poor'  to  be 
wrong,  as  we  have  already  in  a  preceding  line  'such  noble  fury  in  so  poor  a  thing,' 
where  'poor'  applies  to  'his  appearance  which  promised,'  as  'noble  fury'  applies 
to  the  action  which  he  performed,  and,  therefore,  would  be  ill  employed  again  to 
describe  the  looks  which  that  poor  appearance  promised,  for  the  thing  promised 
would  surely  be  different  from  the  thing  promising.  Probably  we  should  read 
'pale  looks.'  This  conjecture  is  confirmed  by  the  picture  of  persons  misbehaving 
themselves  in  actual  battle.  [See  'gilded  pale  looks,'  V,  iii,  39,  above.] 

20.  Liuer,    Heart,    and  Braine]    In   Twelfth  Night  Orsino  calls    the  'Liver, 
Braine,  and  Heart,  These  sovereign  thrones,'  I,  i,  128;  not  only  because  they  are 
the  seat  of  the  passions,  of  judgement,  and  of  sentiment,  but  they  are  also  what 
was  then  considered  the  most  vital  organs. 

28.  Knights  o'th'Battell]  STEEVENS:  Thus  in  Stowe's  Chronicle,  p.  164, 
edit.  1615:  'Philip  of  France  made  Arthur  Plantagenet,  duke  of  Brytaine,  Knight  of 
the  fields,'  [p.  244,  ed.  1600]. 

30.  With  Dignities  becomming  your  estates]  ECCLES:  If,  as  seems  prob- 
able, '  estates '  was  designed  to  express  the  rank  which  he  had  just  raised  them  to, 
what  are  the  'dignities'  yet  to  be  conferred?  'Estates  becoming  your  dignities' 


394  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  v. 

Enter  Cornelius  and  Ladies.  3 1 

There's  bufmeffe  in  thefe  faces  :  why  fo  fadly 
Greet  you  our  Victory  ?  you  looke  like  Romames, 
And  not  oWCourt  of  Britaine. 

Corn.    Hayle  great  King,  35 

To  fowre  your  happineffe,  I  muft  report 
The  Queene  is  dead. 

Cym.   Who  worfe  then  a  Phyfitian 
Would  this  report  become  ?  But  I  confider, 

By  Med'cine  life  may  be  prolonged,  yet  death  40 

Will  feize  the  Doctor  too.     How  ended  fhe  ? 

Cor.    With  horror,  madly  dying,  like  her  life, 
Which  (being  cruell  to  the  world)  concluded 
Moft  cruell  to  her  felfe.     What  fhe  confeft, 

I  will  report,  fo  pleafe  you.     Thefe  her  Women  45 

Can  trip  me,  if  I  erre,  who  with  wet  cheekes 
Were  prefent  when  fhe  fmifh'd.  47 

33.  you  our]  your  our  F2.  40.  By]  My  F4,  Rowe. 

like]  like  the  F3F4,  Rowe.  Med'cine]   medicine  Var.   '78  et 

34.  o'th']  o'the  Cap.  et  seq.  seq.  (subs.) 

35.  King,]   King;   Rowe  ii.  King!  42.  her  life}  her  felf,  F4,  Rowe,+. 
Pope  et  seq.  43.  Which]  Who  Pope,+. 

38.  Who]  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam.     Whom  45.  you.]  you;  Theob.  Warb.  et  seq. 
Ff  et  cet.  46.  erre,]    Ff,    Coll.      err;   Rowe   et 

39.  become?]  become;  Ff,  Rowe.  cet. 

may  be  thought,  perhaps,  a  more  natural  appointment.  By  dignities  should, 
possibly,  in  this  place  be  understood  some  farther  titles  and  privileges  to  be  added 
to  these  honours,  i.  e.,  the  knighthood  already  bestowed,  as  being  suitable  there- 
unto. 

38,  etc.  Who  worse  then  a  Physitian,  etc.]  VAUGHAN:  That  is,  'You 
would,  in  my  judgement,  be  the  most  unfit  person,  being  a  physician,  to  report 
death,  did  I  not  consider  ("but  I  consider")  that,  although  it  is  in  the  physician's 
power  often  to  prolong  life,  yet  he  cannot  always  avert  death,  even  from  himself.' 
[Accordingly,  Vaughan  would  replace  with  a  comma  the  interrogation  mark  after 
'become,'  and  transfer  the  interrogation  mark  to  the  end  of  the  sentence,  after 
'too.'] 

42.  With  horror,  madly  dying,  like  her  life]  CAPELL  (p.  120):  A  direct 
answer  to  Cymbeline's  question,  'She  ended  with  horror';  but  the  meaning  of  the 
words  that  come  after,  is — 'her  death  was  mad  like  her  life.'  [Those  who  indulge 
the  fancy  that  there  lies  a  similarity  between  this  Play  and  Macbeth,  find  in  the 
present  passage  and  in  Lady  Macbeth's  death  a  confirmation  thereof.] 

47.  she  finish'd]  INGLEBY  thinks  that  this  is  equivalent  to  died,  as  on  the 
strength  of  the  use  of  '  finish '  in  line  490  of  this  scene.  And  he  may  be  right,  but 
it  may  also  mean  when  she  had  finished  her  'confession.'  After  a  confession  of 
abominable  wickedness  it  is  hardly  likely  that  her  women  would  wet  their  cheeks 


ACT  v,  sc.  v.]  CYMBELINE  395 

Cym.     Prythee  fay.  48 

Cor.    Firft,  fhe  confeft  (he  neuer  lou'd  you  :  onely 
Affected  Greatneffe  got  by  you  :  not  you  :  50 

Married  your  Royalty,  was  wife  to  your  place  : 
Abhorr'd  your  perfon. 

Cym.    She  alone  knew  this  : 
And  but  fhe  fpoke  it  dying,  I  would  not 
Beleeue  her  lips  in  opening  it.     Proceed.  55 

Corn.    Your  daughter,  whom  fhe  bore  in  hand  to  loue 
With  fuch  integrity,  fhe  did  confeffe 
Was  as  a  Scorpion  to  her  fight, whofe  life 
(But  that  her  flight  preuented  it)  fhe  had 
Tane  off  by  poyfon.  60 

Cym.    O  moft  delicate  Fiend ! 
Who  is't  can  reade  a  Woman  ?    Is  there  more  / 

Corn.    More  Sir,  and  worfe.     She  did  confeffe  fhe  had 
For  you  a  mortall  Minerall,  which  being  tooke, 
Should  by  the  minute  feede  on  life,  and  lingering,  65 

49.  you:]    you,    Pope,    Han.    Johns.  58.  as  a]  a  F3F4,  Rowe,  Pope. 

Glo.  Cam.  58.  fight,]  sight;  Theob.  Warb.  Cap. 

50.  by  you:]  by  you,  Rowe  et  seq.  et  seq. 

51.  was]  Om.  Pope,  Han.  60.  Tane]  Ta'en  Rowe. 

place:]  place,  Rowe,  Pope,  Johns.  64.  Minerall,]       minerall;       Theob. 

Coll.  Cam.    place  Han.  Warb.  Cap.  et  seq. 

54.  And]  And,  Theob.  et  seq.  65.  lingering]     lingring     Ff,     Rowe, 

it  dying,]  in  dying,  Cam.  ii.  (mis-  Pope,  Theob.   Han.   Warb.     lingering 

print?)  Coll.  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam. 
56.  hand]  hand,  Rowe  i. 

for  her  death. — ECCLES  considers  it  as  not  consistent  with  'either  probability  or 
decorum'  that  Cornelius  should  thus  publicly  divulge  a  death-bed  confession. — ED. 

53.  She  alone  knew  this]  This  was  a  truth  so  secret  that  only  approaching 
death  could  have  made  her  reveal  it.  Hence  Cymbeline's  conviction  that  Corne- 
lius is  telling  the  truth. — ED. 

56.  bore  in  hand]  MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  3.  e.):  To  profess,  pretend;  to  lead 
(one)  to  believe.  [The  present  line  quoted.] 

59.  preuented]  Used  passim  in  its  Latin  derivative  sense. 

61.  delicate]  DOWDEN:   I  take  this  to  mean  ingenious  here. 

64.  mortall  Minerall]   MOVES  (p.   53):    This  description  is  quite    consistent 
with  chronic  poisoning  by  arsenic. 

65.  and  ling'ring]  Both  INGLEBY  and  VAUGHAN  accept  'ling'ring'  as  transi- 
tive, with  an  objective  you,  either  understood,  or  expressed  after  'waste.' — SCHMIDT 
and  MURRAY  furnish  abundant  examples  from  Shakespeare  and  elsewhere  of 
'linger'  as  a  transitive  verb;  but  is  there  any  need  of  thus  treating  it  in  the  present 
passage?     As  soon  as  the  deadly  mineral  is  taken,  it  begins  to  feed  every  minute 
on  life,  and  then  by  lingering  it  wastes  the  victim  by  inches.     It  might  feed  on 


396 


THE   TRACE  DIE  OF 


[ACT  v,  sc.  v. 


By  inches  wafte  you.     In  which  time,  fhe  purpos'd  66 

By  watching,  weeping,  tendance,  kiffmg,to 

Orecome  you  with  her  fhew;  and  in  time 

(When  fhe  had  fitted  you  with  her  craft,  to  worke 

Her  Sonne  into  th'adoption  of  the  Crowne  :  70 

But  fayling  of  her  end  by  his  ftrange  abfence, 

Grew  fhameleffe  defperate,  open'd  (in  defpight 

Of  Heauen,and  Men)  her  purpofes  :  repented 

The  euils  fhe  hatch'd,  were  not  effected  :  fo 

Difpayring,  dyed.  75 

Cym.    Heard  you  all  this,  her  Women  ? 

La.    We  did,  fo  pleafe  your  Highneffe. 

Cym.    Mine  eyes 

Were  not  in  fault,  for  fhe  was  beautifull : 

Mine  eares  that  heare  her  flattery,  nor  my  heart,  80 

That  thought  her  like  her  feeming.     It  had  beene  vicious 


66.  you.}  you;  Cap.  et  seq. 
68,    69.  Orecome. ..(When]  One    line, 
Mai. 

68.  Jhew;]   shew,   Johns.    Glo.    Cam. 
fair  show  Anon.  ap.  Cam. 

and  in  time]  Mai.  Coll.  i,  Dyce  i, 
Glo.  Cam.  and  in  due  time  Walker, 
Ktly.  and  so  in  time  Jervis,  Huds. 
so,  and  in  time  Nicholson,  and  thus  in 
time  Hertzberg  conj.  yes,  and  in  time 
Ff  et  cet. 

69.  fitted]  fit  Walker,  Huds. 

70.  Crowne:]  Ff,+,  Knt,  Coll.  Dyce, 
Glo.  Cam.    crown.  Cap.  et  cet. 

72.  jhamelejje    defperate,]    shameless, 
desperate;  Pope,+.     shameless,  desper- 


ate Johns,      shameless-desperate;    Cap. 
et  seq. 

74.  euils]  ills  Pope,+,  Var.  '78,  '85, 
Ran. 

hatch'd,]  hatch'd  Pope  et  seq. 

76.  you]  ye  Walker  (so  quoted  Vers., 
20). 

77.  La.]  Lad.  F2F3.    Lady.  F4. 

78.  Mine  eyes]  Yet  mine  eyes  Han. 

79.  beautifull:}  beautiful,  Cam. 

80.  heare]  heard  F3F4,  et  seq. 
flattery,}  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Theob. 

i,  Cam.    flattery;  Theob.  ii.  et  cet. 

heart,]   heart.   F2.     heart    Steev. 
Cam. 

81.  feeming.]  seeming;  Cap.  et  seq. 


life  every  minute  and  yet  kill  in  a  day;  but  instead  of  killing  speedily,  it  lingers 
and  kills  by  inches. — ED. 

68,  81.  shew  .  .  .  seeming]  INGLEBY:  It  is  perhaps  worth  noting,  that  if 
'shew'  here  and  'seeming'  in  line  81  change  places,  the  sense  and  metre  of  both 
lines  are  perfect. 

68.  and  in  time]  WALKER  (Crit.,  iii,  329):  Perhaps,  'and  in  due  time.'  At 
any  rate,  yes  is  wrong. — DYCE  (ed.  ii.) :  The  insertion  of  yes  from  the  Second  Folio, 
I  confess,  I  hardly  like. — VAUGHAN  (p.  533):  All  change  is  unnecessary.  'Now,' 
'how'  and  'show,'  and  similar  words  are  in  Shakespeare  di-syllabically  pro- 
nounced by  giving  to  'w'  the  distinct  enunciation  of  a  syllable — thus,  'nowu,' 
'howu,'  'showu' — which  they  always  possess  more  or  less. — [I  prefer  the  Yankee 
'haow,'  'naow'  myself — with  a  sharp  nasal  twang. — ED.] 

76-81.  Heard  you  all  this  .  .  .  like  her  seeming]  STAUNTON  (Athenaum, 
14  June,  1873):  The  collocation  and  the  metre  in  this  pathetically  tender  lamen- 


ACT    V,   SC.   V.] 


CYMBELINE 


To  haue  miftrufted  her  :  yet  (Oh  my  Daughter) 

That  it  was  folly  in  me,  thou  mayft  fay, 

And  proue  it  in  thy  feeling.     Heauen  mend  all. 

Enter  Lucius ,  lachimo ,  and  other  Roman  prifoners, 

Leonatus  behindhand  Imogen. 
Thou  comm'ft  not  Cams  now  for  Tribute,  that 
The  Britaines  haue  rac'd  out,  though  with  the  loffe 
Of  many  a  bold  one  :  whofe  Kinfmen  have  made  fuite 
That  their  good  foules  may  be  appeas'd,  with  {laughter 
Of  you  their  Captiues,  which  our  felfe  haue  granted, 
So  thinke  of  your  eftate. 

Luc.    Confider  Sir,  the  chance  of  Warre,  the  day 
Was  yours  by  accident  :  had  it  gone  with  vs, 
We  mould  not  when  the  blood  was  cool,  haue  threatend 
Our  Prifoners  with  the  Sword.     But  fmce  the  Gods 
Will  haue  it  thus,  that  nothing  but  our  liues 
May  be  call'd  ranfome,  let  it  come  :  Sufficeth, 
A  Roman,  with  a  Romans  heart  can  naffer  : 
Auguftus  liues  to  thinke  on't  :  and  fo  much 
For  my  peculiar  care.     This  one  thing  onely 
I  will  entreate,  my  Boy  (a  Britaine  borne) 


397 
82 


8  5 


90 


95 


IOO 


102 


82.  her:]  her.  Pope,+. 

Daughter)]  daughter!  Rowe  et  seq. 

85.  Scene    v.    Pope,    Han.    Warb. 
Johns. 

lachimo,]    lachimo,    the    Sooth- 
sayer, Cap. 

86.  Leonatus].  Posthumus  Han. 

87.  Tribute,}  tribute;  Pope  et  seq. 

88.  Britaines]  Britons  Theob.  ii. 
rac'd]     raz'd     Theob.     et     seq. 

(subs.). 

89.  one:]  one,  Johns. 

89,     90.  fuite. ..Jlaughter]     One   line, 
Vaun. 

91.  our  felfe]  our  self  Johns,  et  seq. 
granted,]        granted.        Pope,+. 


granted:  Cap.  et  seq. 

92.  So  thinke}  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Glo. 
Cam.  Dyce  ii,  iii.    So,  think  Theob.  et 
cet. 

93.  Warre,  the]  War  the  F3F4.    war; 
the  Rowe  et  seq. 

95.  not]  not,  Pope  et  seq. 

cool]  cold  Theob.  ii,  Warb.  Johns. 
Varr.  Mai.  Ran. 

97.  thus,}  thus;  Mai. 

98.  come:]  come.  Pope,+. 

loo.  on't:}  on't.  Pope,  Han.  Johns. 
on't—  Theob.  Warb. 

102.  entreate,}  intreat;  Pope  et  seq. 
[Shewing  Imo.  Cap. 
Britaine]  Briton  Theob.  ii. 


tation  seems  to  demand,  'Mine  eyes  that  look'd  on  her,'  or  'Mine  eyes  that  saw  her 
face.'  Mine  eyes  that  saw.  Mine  ears  that  heard.  My  heart  that  thought.  Is  this 
too  visionary?  At  any  rate,  the  limp  in  the  first  line  must  be  cured.  [I  suppose 
that  this  'first  line'  is  line  76. — ED.] 

92.  So  thinke]  See  Text.  Notes.     THEOBALD  was,  I  think,  ill-advised  in  placing 
a  comma  after  'So.' 


«««»!<»  nss  part  Brwi,       r 

*  Hreer       ' 


39  8  THE   TRACE  DIE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  v. 

Let  him  be  ranfom'd  :  Neuer  Mafter  had  103 

A  Page  fo  kinde,  fo  duteous,  diligent, 

So  tender  ouer  his  occafions,  true,  105 

So  feate,  fo  Nurfe-like  :  let  his  vertue  ioyne 

With  my  requeft,  which  He  make  bold, your  Highneffe 

Cannot  deny  :  he  hath  done  no  Britaine  harme, 

Though  he  haue  feru'd  a  Roman.     Saue  him  (Sir) 

And  fpare  no  blood  befide.  I IO 

Cym.    I  haue  furely  feene  him  : 
His  fauour  is  familiar  to  me  :  Boy, 
Thou  haft  look'd  thy  felfe  into  my  grace, 
And  art  mine  owne.     I  know  not  why,  wherefore, 
To  fay,  Hue  boy :  ne're  thanke  thy  Mafter,  Hue  ;  115 

104.  duteous,    diligent,}    duteous-dill-        Johns.  Mai.  Steev.  Var.  '03,  '13,  Knt, 
gent  Walker,  Dyce  ii,  iii.  Dyce  ii,  iii,  Sta.  Singl.  Ingl. 

106.  Nurfe-like:]    nurse-like.    Johns.  113-115.  Three  lines,  ending:     And 
Coll.                                                                   art. ..To  Jay, ...line;   (reading  why,   nor 

107.  which]  which,  Theob.  et  seq.  wherefore.     I  say)   Var.   '73.    (reading 
bold,}  bold  Pope,  Han.  why,  wherefore  I  say}  Var.  '78,  '85,  Ran. 

109.  haiie]  hath  Rowe,+.  114.  why}  why,  nor  Rowe,-f-,  Cap. 

Roman.]  Roman:  Cap.  et  seq.  Mai.  Steev.  Varr.  Knt,  Delius,  Coll. 

no.  blood]  bloud  F3F4.  Dyce,  Sing.  Sta.  Ktly,  Cam.  Ingl. 

in.  I  haue}  I've,  Rowe,+,  Dyce  ii,  114,  115.  why, ...To  fay]  why,  nor 

iii.  wherefore,  but  I  say,  Cap.  Eccles. 

in,  112.  feene  ...we:]  Separate  line,  115.  Hue  boy]  As  quotation,  Theob. 

Ingl.  Han.  Johns.  Glo.  Cam.  Dyce  ii,  iii, 

112.  me:]  me.  Pope,+,  Glo.  Cam.  Coll.  iii. 

112,  113.  Boy. ..grace]  One  line,  Han.  Majler,]  master;  Cap.  et  seq. 

103.  Neuer  Master]   ABBOTT  (§  84):    By  the  omission  of  'a'  before  'master,' 
'never'  is  emphasized  and  has  its  proper  meaning,  'at  no  time.' 

105.  So  tender  ouer  his  occasions]    ECCLES:    Respecting  those  matters  to 
which  it  was  the  duty  of  his  office  to  pay  a  particular  care  and  attention.     Possibly, 
it  may  signify,  'over  and  above,  or  beyond  what  the  duty  of  his  place  required  of 
him.' — SCHMIDT  (Lex.,  s.  v.  tender,  2.  b.):  That  is,  so  nicely  sensible  of  his  wants. 
['So  tender  o're'  occurs  twice  within  six  lines  in  Wint.  Tale,  II,  iii,  160-5  °f  this 
edition,  where  I  have  erroneously  asserted  that  the  phrase  is  nowhere  else  used  by 
Shakespeare,  having  unaccountably  overlooked  the  present  passage.     I  can  plead 
no  excuse,  but  solely  beg  forgiveness. — ED.] 

105.  occasions,  true]  STAUNTON  (Athenceum,  14  June,  1873)  would  omit  the 
comma,  and  explain  as  'his  true  occasions.' 

106.  So  feate]  JOHNSON:  That  is,  so  dexterous  in  waiting. — BRADLEY  (N.  E.  D., 
2.):   Of  speech:    apt,  apropos;  smart,  adroit.     Of  movements:    Dexterous,  grace- 
ful.    [Present  line  quoted.] 

112.  His  fauour]  JOHNSON:  I  am  acquainted  with  his  countenance. 
114,  115.  I  know  not  why,  wherefore,  To  say]  MALONE:  I  know  not  what 
should  induce  me  to  say  live,  boy. — DELIUS:  Perhaps  'to  say'  refers  not  to  what 


ACT  v,  sc.  v.]  CYMBELINE 

And  aske  of  Cymbcline  what  Boone  thou  wilt,  116 

Fitting  my  bounty,  and  thy  ftate,  He  giue  it  : 

Yea,  though  thou  do  demand  a  Prifoner 

The  Nobleft  tane. 

lino.    I  humbly  thanke  your  Higneffe.i  1 20 

Luc.    I  do  not  bid  thee  begge  my  life,  good  Lad, 

And  yet  I  know  thou  wilt. 
lino.    No,  no,  alacke, 

There's  other  worke  in  hand  :  I  fee  a  thing  1 24 

1 1 8.  Yea,]  yes  catchword  in  F2F3.  121.  Lad,]    Ff,    Rowe,    Pope,    Han. 
Prifoner]   Cap.    Sta.     prij'oner,         Coll.  i,  ii.  Cam.    lad;  Theob.  et  cet. 

Ff  et  cet.  123.  No,  no,]  No,  no;  Cap.  et  seq. 

119.  tane]  to1  en  Rowe.  124.  [Eying  Jac.  Cap. 

follows,  but  to  what  precedes,  thus:  'thou  art  mine  own,  I  know  not  wherefore  I 
should  thus  say  it.'  Then  with  'live,  boy'  a  new  sentence  begins. — DEIGHTON: 
Compare  Comedy  of  Errors:  'Ant.  S.  Shall  I  tell  you  why?  Drom.  S.  Ay,  sir, 
and  wherefore;  for  they  say  every  why  hath  a  wherefore.' — II,  243,  5.  We  still  use 
'I  know  not  what  to  say,'  but  not  'I  know  not  why  to  say,'  equivalent  to  'I  know  not 
why  I  should  say.' — VAUGHAN  (p.  534):  I  would  read  as  does  the  Folio,  but  with 
a  different  punctuation  and  meaning,  thus:  'And  art  mine  own,  I  know  not  why: 
wherefore  To  say  "live"  boy  ne'er  thank  thy  master;  live!'  With  this  meaning: 
'Thou  hast  by  mere  looking  looked  thyself  into  my  favour,  and  art  now  mine  own 
in  some  mysterious  way,  for  which  reason'  (wherefore)  'thou  needest  not  give  to 
me,  who  am  now  thy  master,  any  personal  thanks  for  saying  as  I  do,  "Live!"'  .  .  . 
We  have  still  the  same  form  of  construction  in  the  common  phrase  'I  will  thank 
you  to  do  this  or  that,'  etc.,  which  means,  'I  will  thank  you  for  doing  this  if  you 
do  it.' — DOWDEN'S  text  reads:  'And  art  mine  own;  I  know  not  why;  nor  wherefore, 
To  say,  live,  boy:  ne'er  thank  thy  master;  live,'  and  thus  explains  it:  'I  under- 
stand "I  know  not  why"  to  refer  to  the  preceding  words,  and  "I  know  not"  to  be 
understood  before  "wherefore."  I  take  Lucius  to  be  "thy  master."'  [This  line 
the  Globe  ed.  obelised,  judiciously,  I  think.  As  it  stands  in  the  Folio  it  is  certainly 
so  obscure  that  it  needs  some  emendation  or,  at  least,  change  in  punctuation. — 
PERRING  (p.  452)  accepts  as  correct  the  full  stop  after  'mine  own,'  and  the  omission 
of  a  connecting  particle  between  'why'  and  'wherefore'  as  'worthy  of  admiration.' 
'It  just  gives,'  he  remarks,  'that  broken  character  to  the  king's  utterances  which 
was  natural  to  him  under  the  circumstances;  he  stuttered  and  stammered  while 
trying  to  recollect  where  and  on  what  occasion  he  had  seen  the  lad.'  Those  edi- 
tors who  accept  Rowe's  nor  are  generally  silent,  and  leave  the  explanation  of  the 
Folio  to  those  who  follow  it.  Vaughan's  punctuation,  in  substituting  a  comma 
after  'mine  own'  instead  of  a  full  stop,  seems  to  me  good,  but  I  cannot  follow  him 
in  regarding  '  thy  master '  as  referring,  not  to  Lucius,  but  to  Cymbeline  himself. — 
ED.] 

118.  Yea,  though  thou  do  demand,  etc.]  CAPELL  (p.  120):  Here  is  a  deli- 
cacy that  deserves  to  be  noted;  the  speaker  wants  some  fit  occasion  to  withdraw 
the  promise  he  has  made  to  his  subjects,  and  spare  Lucius,  whose  life,  therefore,  he 
indirectly  puts  the  boy  upon  asking. 


4OO 


THE   TRACED  IE   OF 


[ACT  v,  sc.  v. 


Bitter  to  me,  as  death  :  your  life,  good  Mafter,  125 

Muft  fhuffle  for  it  felfe. 

Luc.    The  Boy  difdaines  me, 

He  leaues  me,  fcornes  me  :  briefely  dye  their  ioyes, 
That  place  them  on  the  truth  of  Gyrles,  and  Boyes.J 
Why  ftands  he  fo  perplext?  130 

Cym.    What  would' ft  thou  Boy  ? 
I  loue  thee  more,  and  more  :  thinke  more  and  more 
What's  beft  to  aske.     Know'ft  him  thou  look'ft  onPfpeak 
Wilt  haue  him  Hue?  Is  he  thy  Kin?  thy  Friend  ? 

Imo.     He  is  a  Romane,  no  more  kin  to  me,  135 

Then  I  to  your  Highneffe,  who  being  born  your  vaffaile 
Am  fomething  neerer. 

Cym.    Wherefore  ey'ft  him  fo  ? 

Imo.    lie  tell  you  (Sir)in  priuate,if  you  pleafe 
To  giue  me  hearing.  14° 

Cym.     I,  with  all  my  heart, 
And  lend  my  beft  attention.     What's  thy  name? 

Imo.    Fidel e  Sir. 

Cym.    Thou'rt  my  good  youth  :  my  Page 
He  be  thy  Mafter'.  walke  with  me  :  fpeake  freely.  145 

Bel.    Is  not  this  Boy  reuiu'd  from  death  ? 


125.  me,]  me  F3F4,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han. 
Var.  '78  et  seq. 

126.  it   selfe]    Ff.    (subs.)+.      itself 
Johns. 

130.  Why. ..perplext?]  Given  to  Cym. 

Ingl. 

perplext]  perplex  F2. 

131.  would' 'ft]  F3F4.     wouldfl  F2. 

132.  133.  more  What's}  more,  What's 

Rowe,+- 

134.  Kin?]  kin,  Cap. 

135.  Romane,]  Roman;  Theob.  et  seq. 

136.  Highneffe,]  Highness:  Theob.  et 
seq. 

who... naff  ail  e\  who...vajfal  F3. 
who...VaJfal  F4.  who, ...vassal,  Theob. 
Warb.  et  seq. 

138.  ey'ft]  ey'ft  thou  F3F4,  Rowe. 


141.  /,]  Ay,  Rowe. 

144.  Thou'rt]  Thou  art  Theob.  Warb. 
Johns. 

youth:  my  Page]  youth,  my  Page, 
Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han.  youth,  my  page; 
Theob.  Warb.  et  seq. 

145.  me:]  me,  Rowe,+- 

[Cymbel.  and  Imo.  walk  aside. 
Theob. 

146-150.  Is  not...aliue.]   Four  lines, 
reading  and  ending :  7s  not... Sand  \  An- 
other doth  not  more  resemble  than  \  He 
the  sweet  rosie  lad  who  died  and  was  \ 
Fidele.     Ev'n  the  same  dead  thing  alive. 
Han.     Reading:     One    sand    Another 
not  resembles  more,  than  he  \  That  sweet 
and   rosy   lad,    who   dy'd,    and  was  \ 
Fidele: — What  think  you?. ..alive.  Cap. 


138.  Wherefore  ey'st  him  so]  LADY  MARTIN  (p.  216):  How  intently 
Imogen  has  been  absorbed  in  watching  lachimo  is  further  shown  by  the  circum- 
stance that,  though  near  her  late  companions  of  the  cave,  she  has  not  observed 
them. 


ACT  v,  sc.  v.]  CYMBELINE  4OI 

Ami.    One  Sand  another  147 

Not  more  refembles  that  fweet  Rofie  Lad  : 
Who  dyed,  and  was  Fidele :  what  thinke  you  ?  149 

148.  refembles]     Ff+,     Dyce,     Sta.  148    Lad:]  youth   (so  quoted)   Han. 

Glo.  Cam.      resembles.  Johns,      resem-  lad  Han.  Knt,  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam. 

bles  ...  Ktly.      resembles:    Var.    '78    et  Coll.  iii.     lad,  Rowe  et  cet. 

cet.  149.  Fidele:]    Fidele.  Pope,+,    Coll. 

148.    that    fweet]     than    he    W sweet  Dyce,  Sta.  Ktly,  Glo.  Cam.    Fidele — • 

Theob.   Han.   Warb.     that's  the  sweet  Var.     '78,     '85,     Ran.     Ingl.     Fidele! 

Bailey  (ii,  138).    than  he  that  Hertzberg  Dowden. 

conj.  what. ..you?]  Om.  Han. 

147,  148.  One  Sand  another  .  .  .  Rosie  Lad]  THEOBALD:  One  grain  of 
sand  certainly  might  resemble  another;  but  it  never  could  resemble  a  human  form. 
I  believe  I  have  restored  the  Poet's  meaning;  the  verse  is  none  of  the  smoothest; 
but  '  resembles '  must  be  pronounced  as  a  dissyllable. — HEATH  (p.  489) :  This  is 
utterly  impracticable  by  a  human  tongue.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  the  third 
foot  is  an  anapaest. — JOHNSON:  There  was  no  great  difficulty  in  the  line,  which 
when  properly  pointed  needs  no  alteration.  [Johnson's  proper  pointing  is  a  full  stop 
after  'resembles'  and  a  comma  after  'lad.'] — WALKER  (Crit.,  iii,  329):  Qu.,  one 
sand  another 

'Not  more  resembles  [ 
Than  he  resembles]  that  sweet  rosy  lad, 
Who   died,'    etc.     [This   is   given   as   it   stands.     Walker 

makes  no  comment. — ED.] — DYCE  (ed.  ii.):  Imperfectly  as  this  [i.  e.,  the  Folio 
text]  is  expressed,  I  am  inclined  ...  to  think  that  we  have  here  what  Shakespeare 
wrote.  [To  the  same  effect,  WHITE.] — VAUGHAN  (p.  536):  I  would,  therefore, 
confidently  restore  sense  to  these  words,  and  harmony  to  the  lines,  by  simply 
assigning  the  speeches  of  Belarius  and  Arviragus  to  Arviragus  alone,  without  any 
other  change  of  the  text  than  the  omission  of  the  pleonastic  words  'from  death' 
[and  enclosing  in  parentheses  'one  sand  another  not  more  resembles']. — THISELTON 
(p.  48):  It  should  be  observed  that  Belarius's  preceding  speech  ('Is  not  this  Boy 
revived  from  death? ')  is  evidently  unfinished,  and  is  really  finished  by  Arviragus 
(who  has  impulsively  interrupted  it)  with  the  words  'Who  died  and  was  Fidele,' 
which  thus  do  double  duty;  and  hence  the  colon  after  'Lad'  may  be  accounted  for. 
'One  Sand  another  Not  more'  is,  I  think,  for  the  purposes  of  construction,  to  be 
taken  as  an  adverbial  phrase  qualifying  'vesembles,'  and  the  subject  of  'resembles' 
is  'this  boy,'  carried  down  from  Belarius's  preceding  speech.  If  we  amplify  on 
these  lines  we  get,  in  modern  style,  'This  boy — one  sand  another  not  more- 
resembles  that  sweet  rosy  lad  who  is  dead  and  was  Fidele,'  which  is  the  best  gram- 
mar in  the  world;  and  such  interpretation  involves  no  violent  ellipsis. — DOWDEN: 
My  reading  varies  from  Johnson  only  in  putting  semicolon  and  exclamation  note 
where  he  puts  full  stops.  [I  prefer  after  'resembles'  Dr.  Johnson's  full  stop, 
modified  into  an  exclamation  mark.  Belarius  has  called  the  startling  vision  before 
him  a  'boy.'  Arviragus  exclaims  in  dazed  assent,  'one  sand  another  not  more 
resembles,'  and  still  in  assent  specifies  the  'boy'  as  'that  sweet  rosy  Lad,'  etc. 
There  is  no  need  of  his  saying  with  sedate  accuracy,  'Yes,  it  is,  that  sweet  rosy 
lad,'  etc.  Is  a  man  to  pick  his  words  when  he  sees  the  dead  walking  before  him?— 
ED.] 

26 


402  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  v. 

Gut.     The  fame  dead  thing  aliue.  150 

Bel. Peace,  peace,  fee  further  :  he  eyes  vs  not,  forbeare 
Creatures  may  be  alike  :  were't  he,  I  am  fure 
He  would  haue  fpoke  to  vs. 

Gin.    But  we  fee  him  dead. 

Bel.    Be  filent  :  let's  fee  further.  155 

Pi/a.    It  is  my  Miftris  : 
Since  fhe  is  liuing,  let  the  time  run  on, 
To  good,  or  bad. 

Cym.    Come,  ftand  thou  by  our  fide, 

Make  thy  demand  alowd.     Sir,  ftep  you  forth,  160 

Giue  anfwer  to  this  Boy,  and  do  it  freely, 
Or  by  our  Greatneffe,  and  the  grace  of  it 
(Which  is  our  Honor)  bitter  torture  fhall  163 

151.  peace,]  peace!  Var.  '73  et  seq.  mistress.  Johns. 

further:]  more;  Pope,+.    farther  157.  on,}  on  Cap.   Dyce,   Sta.   Glo. 

Coll.  Cam.  Coll.  iii. 

not,]  not;  Theob.  Warb.  et  seq.  158.  [Cym.  and  Imog.  come  forward. 

forbeare]  forbeare,    Ff,  +  ,    Cap.  Theob. 
forbear.  Coll.    forbear;  Var.  '73  et  cet.  159.  fide,]    fide.    Ff,    Rowe,    Pope, 

152.  7  am]  Pm  Pope,+,  Dyce  ii,  iii.  Theob.  Han.  Warb.    side;  Cap.  et  seq. 

153.  to  vs]  t'us  Pope,-[-.  1 60.  alowd.]  alowd —  Warb. 

154.  fee]  saw  Rowe  ii.  et  seq.  Sir,]  Sir,  [To  lachimo.  Rowe. 
156-158.  [Aside.  Rowe.                                   161.  freely,]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han. 
156.  It  is]  'Tis  Pope,+,  Dyce  ii,  iii.  Coll.    freely;  Theob.  et  cet. 

Miftris:]     mistress —     Pope,+.  162.  our]  your  F3F4. 

154.  But  we  see  him  dead]  DOWDEN:  Editors  follow  Rowe  in  reading  saiv, 
and  perhaps  rightly.  But  the  Folio  may  be  right.  A  moment  before  Guiderius 
identified  the  dead  Fidele  as  the  living  page.  Belarius  says,  'If  it  were  Fidele  he 
would  have  spoken  to  us,'  and  Guiderius  replies,  'But  we  see  him,  a  silent  ghost.' 
Rowe's  emendation  seems  to  forget  the  fluctuations  of  wonder,  of  faith  and  un- 
faith,  and  fails  to  account  for  the  word  'But.'  [After  the  'boy'  had  been  heard, 
or  seen,  talking  with  the  King,  Belarius  and  his  sons  could  not  doubt  that  whoever 
he  was,  he  was  alive.  Belarius  says  'Creatures  may  be  alike.'  It  was  not  with 
them,  therefore,  a  question,  in  regard  to  Fidele,  of  life  or  of  death,  but  of  identity. 
In  answer  to  Arviragus's  question,  'What  think  you?'  Guiderius  had  answered, 
'the  same  dead  thing  alive.'  He  could  not,  I  think,  immediately  thereafter  say 
that  he  was  the  same  alive  thing  dead;  he  means,  rather,  if  it  is  the  same  thing  we  see 
him  dead.  Dowden's  admonition  to  us  to  be  mindful  of  the  situation,  with  its 
bewildering  'fluctuations  of  wonder,  of  faith  and  unfaith,'  is  well-timed.  But 
here  in  Guiderius's  speech  the  fluctuations  circle,  I  think,  about  identity,  not  life. 
In  any  case,  whether  we  read  '  see '  or  saw, '  But '  seems  to  me  to  retain  its  adversa- 
tive force;  although  CRAIG  ingeniously  suggests  that,  retaining  'see,'  'But'  may 
mean  '  unless  we  see.' — ED.] 

162,  163.  by  our  Greatnesse,  and  the  grace  of  it  (Which  is  our  Honor)] 
In  Hen.  VIII.  Norfolk  says,  'As  I  belong  to  worship  and  affect  In  honour  honesty,' 


ACT  v,  sc.  v.]  CYMBELINE  403 

Winnow  the  truth  from  falfhood.     One  fpeake  to  him. 

Imo.     My  boone  is,  that  this  Gentleman  may  render  165 

Of  whom  he  had  this  Ring. 

Po/l.    What's  that  to  him  ? 

Cym.    That  Diamond  vpon  your  Finger,  fay 
How  came  it  yours  ? 

lack.    Thou'lt  torture  me  to  leaue  vnfpoken,  that  170 

Which  to  be  fpoke,  wou'd  torture  thee. 

Gym.    How?  me?  172 

164.  falffiood.]  falshood —  Warb.  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam.    say,  Theob.  et 
One    fpeake]    F2,    Johns.     On;        cet. 

speak  Theob.  Warb.  Coll.  ii,  iii.     On,  170.  vnfpoken,    that]    unspoken   that, 

fpeak  F3F4  et  cet.  Theob.   Warb.   Johns,     unspoken  that 

165.  is,]  is  Cam.  Cap.  et  seq. 

render]  tender  Ff,  Rowe.  171.  Which. ..fpoke,]     F2.       Which... 

166.  [Pointing  to  it.  Coll.  iii.  fpoke  F3F4,+.     Which,.. .spoke,  Cap.  et 

167.  [Aside.  Cap.  seq. 

him?]  him:  Ff.  wou'd]  Ff. 

168.  fay]    Ff,    Rowe,    Pope,    Han.  172.  How?]  How!  Cap.  Var.  '78  et 

seq. 

I,  i,  39.  This  same  sentiment,  WALKER  (Crit.,  i,  23)  remarks,  is  expressed  in  these 
lines  in  Cymbeline. 

164.  speake  to  him]  The  COWDEN-CLARKES  :  Thoroughly  characteristic  of 
Imogen  is  her  conduct  throughout  this  scene;  very  subtly  indicated  are  her  awak- 
ened suspicion  and  steadfast  watching  of  lachimo  by  Lucius's  words,  '  Why  stands 
he  so  perplex'd?'  and  by  Cymbeline's  'Know'st  thou  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  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. 

170,  171.  Thou'lt  torture  me  to  leaue  vnspoken,  that  Which,  etc.]  DYCE 
(ed.  ii.) :  In  case  this  should  seem  obscure  to  some  readers,  I  may  notice  that  the 
meaning  is, — 'instead  of  torturing  me  to  speak,  thou  wouldst  (if  thou  wert  wise, 
or  aware)  torture  me  to  prevent  my  speaking  that,'  etc. — ABBOTT  (§  356):  That  is, 
'You  wish  to  torture  me  for  leaving  unspoken  that  which,  by  being  spoken,  would 
torture  you.' — HUDSON  reads  "Twould  torture  me,'  etc.,  and  remarks  'the  use  of 
"would"  in  the  next  line  declares  strongly  for  the  same  word  here.  And  Dyce's 
explanation  of  the  old  reading  is,  I  think,  enough  to  condemn  it.  lachimo's  next 
speech  shows  his  meaning  here  to  be,  that  it  torments  him  not  to  speak  the  truth 
in  question.'  [Does  not  Hudson  overlook  Cymbeline's  threat  of  'bitter  torture,' 
to  which,  I  think,  lachimo  here  refers,  not  to  torture  in  general? — ED.] — VAUGHAN 
(p.  538):  Dyce's  interpretation  does  great  violence  to  language  by  making  'wil't' 
equivalent  to  'would'st  if  thou  wert  wise.'  [Here  follows  the  same  paraphrase  as 
given  by  Abbott,  which  is  more  simple  and  exact  than  that  of  Dyce,  who  is  not,  in 
general,  at  his  happiest  when  venturing  on  a  paraphrase.] 


404 


THE   TRACE  DIE  OF 


[ACT  v,  sc.  v. 


lack.    I  am  glad  to  be  conftrain'd  to  vtter  that  173 

Which  torments  me  to  conceale.     By  Villany 
I  got  this  Ring  :  'twas  Leonatus  lewell,  175 

Whom  thou  did' ft  banifh  :  and  which  more  may  greeue 
As  it  doth  me  :  a  Nobler  Sir,  ne're  liu'd  (thee, 

'Twixt  sky  and  ground.   Wilt  thou  heare  more  my  Lord  ? 

Cym.    All  that  belongs  to  this. 

lack.    That  Paragon,  thy  daughter,  1 80 

For  whom  my  heart  drops  blood,  and  my  falfe  fpirits 
Quaile  to  remember.     Giue  me  leaue,  I  faint.  182 


173.  I  am]  Pm  Pope,+,  Dyce  ii,  iii. 

173,  174.  that  Which  torments]  what 
Torments  Pope,+.  that  which  Torments 
Cap.  that  Torments  Ritson,  Steev. 
conj.,  Huds.  that  Which  it  torments 
Vaun. 

175.  Leonatus]  Leonatus'  Pope. 

176.  Whom. ..and]  One  line,  F4. 

176,  177.  and  which. ..doth  me:] 
and,    which. ..doth    me,    F3F4    et 
(subs.) 

177.  Sir,]  Sir  or  sir  Ff  et  seq. 


F2. 

seq. 


178.  Wilt  thou]  Will  you  Pope,+. 
thou  heare]    Om.    Steev.    conj. 

(ending  line:   All  that). 

my  Lord?]  Om.  Han. 

179.  that  belongs  to  this]  to*t  belongs 
Vaun. 

1 79, 180.  belongs... daughter,]  One  line, 
Han. 

182.  remember.]  remember —  Pope  et 
seq. 

faint.]  faint —  Rowe,+. 
[Swoonds.  Rowe. 


173.  to  vtter  that]  BOSWELL:  If  we  may  lay  an  emphasis  on  'that/  it  will  be 
a  hypermetrical  line  of  eleven  syllables.  There  is  scarcely  a  page  in  Fletcher's 
plays  where  this  sort  of  versification  is  not  to  be  found.  [Dyce  quotes,  in 
all  his  editions,  this  last  sentence  of  Boswell,  and  adds,  with  a  crushing 
exclamation  mark:  'Fletcher's  versification  being  essentially  different  from  our 
Author's!'— ED.] 

173,  174.  that  Which]  DYCE  (ed.  ii.):  Here  the  'Which'  (though  we  have 
'that  which'  in  lachimo's  preceding  speech)  would  seem  to  be  an  addition  of  the 
transcriber  or  printer. — STAUNTON:  We  adopt  the  arrangement  of  the  Folio,  but 
agree  with  Mr  Dyce  in  considering  the  word  an  impertinent  addition  of  the  tran- 
scriber or  printer. 

182.  Quaile  to  remember]  VAUGHAN  (p.  540):  That  is,  'my  false  spirits  quail 
in  their  function  of  memory.'  'Remember'  is  an  intransitive  verb  here.  [It  seems 
impossible  to  refrain  from  asking  what  is  gained  by  regarding  'remember'  as  in- 
transitive when  there  is  a  preceding  'For  whom,'  wherefrom  an  objective  whom 
for  'remember'  is  so  naturally  deduced?  Tantum  potuit  caccethes  emendandi  sua- 
dere  malorum. — ED.] 

182.  I  faint]  SHERMAN  (p.  99):  As  lachimo  begins  his  story  by  summarily  con- 
fessing that  the  ring  was  Posthumus's,  and  got  by  villainy,  Imogen's  colour  changes, 
much  as  doubtless  it  did  when  he  gave  her  letters,  some  months  since,  from  her 
husband.  He  notes  the  changed  expression,  and,  as  it  seems,  recognises  instantly 
who  it  is,  and  with  whom  he  has  to  do.  This  near  presence,  so  suddenly  divined, 
of  the  woman  for  whom  he  has  conceived  the  deepest  reverence,  unmans  him,  and  he 
cries  out  to  the  King  for  patience. 


ACT   V,  SC.   V.] 


CYMBELINE 


405 


£)'/;/.     My  Daughter?  what  of  hir? Renew  thy  ftrength        183 
I  had  rather  thou  fhould'ft  Hue,  while  Nature  will, 


Then  dye  ere  I  heare  more  :  ftriue  man,  and  fpeake. 

lack.     Vpon  a  time,  vnhappy  was  the  clocke 
That  ftrooke  the  houre  :  it  was  in  Rome,  accurft 
The  Manfion  where  :  'twas  at  a  Feaft,  oh  would 
Our  Viands  had  bin  poyfon'd(or  at  leaft 
Thofe  which  I  heau'd  to  head:)  the  good  Pofthumus, 
(What  mould  I  fayf  he  was  too  good  to  be 


185 


190 


183.  Daughter?]  Daught?  F2.  daughter 
F3.     daughter,  F4,+.     daughter!  Cap. 
et  cet. 

hir]  Fx. 

Jlrength]  F3.  Jlrength  F2.  ftrength, 
F4,  Rowe,  Pope,  strength;  Theob.  et 
seq. 

184.  I  had]  Pad  Pope.     I'd  Theob. 
ii,+. 

Jhould'Jl]  JhouVft  F3F4. 

185.  more:]  more.  Johns.  Coll.  Ktly. 

185.  ftriue]  Strive!  Coll.  iii. 

186.  187.  vnhappy... houre:]  In  paren- 
theses, Pope  et  seq.  (subs.) 

187.  ftrooke]  Ff  (subs.),    struck  Rowe. 
houre:]  Ff,  Johns,    hour,  Rowe, 


Pope,    hour!  Cap.  et  cet. 

187.  1 88.  occur  ft... where:]  In  paren- 
theses Pope  et  seq.  (subs.) 

1 88.  -where:]  where,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han. 
where!  Cap.  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam.  Coll. 
iii. 

188-190.  oh. ..head:}]  In  parentheses 
Pope  et  seq.  (subs.) 

189.  bin]  been  F4. 

poyfon'd]  poison'd!  Rowe,  Pope, 
Theob.  Han.  Warb.  Cap.  Varr.  Mai. 

190.  head:]  head!  Cap.  et  seq.  (subs.) 
Pofthumus,]  Posthumus —  Rowe. 

191.  good  to]  Ff,+,  Var.  '21,  Coll. 
Dyce,    Glo.    Cam.     good,  to    Cap.   et 
cet. 


186.  Vpon  a  time,  etc.]  ECCLES:  lachimo's  talent  for  fiction  is  almost  as 
conspicuous  on  this  as  on  former  occasions;  it  should  not  pass  unnoticed  that  a 
considerable  part  of  what  he  is  about  here  to  relate  is  false;  a  prior  event,  of  which 
an  account  is  given  by  the  Frenchman  at  the  meeting  in  the  house  of  Philario  at 
Rome,  appears  to  be  confounded  with  what  at  that  juncture  happened. — The 
COWDEN-CLARKES  :  Shakespeare  may  have  made  these  variations  in  details  either 
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  un truthfulness  and  unscrupulousness,  which  lead  him  to  falsify 
in  minor  matters  as  in  those  of  greater  moment. — INGLEBY:  lachimo's  narrative 
rather  follows  the  story  of  Boccaccio  than  the  circumstances  represented  in  Act  I, 
Scene  v. — THISELTON  (p.  49):  The  inconsistencies  between  lachimo's  narration 
and  the  facts  as  they  have  been  represented  in  the  Play  are,  I  believe,  designed, 
and  suggest  that  lachimo  is  playing  upon  Cymbeline  with  a  view  to  being  let  off 
lightly.  The  parenthesis,  'not  dispraising  whom  we  prais'd,  therein  he  was  as  calm 
as  vertue'  (lines  207  and  208),  seems  most  artfully  intended  to  enhance  the  praise 
of  Imogen,  while  the  alleged  effect  of  Posthumus's  description  of  her  upon  the 
Italian  Feasters  suggests  that  lachimo  was  not  without  some  excuse  (lines  210-212, 
215,  216).  The  very  idea  of  a  'Feast'  (line  188)  is  probably  imported  [see  preceding 
note  by  Eccles. — ED.]  to  excuse  the  wager,  as  being  rather  due  to  rich  fare  than  of 
rational  deliberation.  It  should  be  also  observed  that  while  lachimo  is  plentiful 
in  fictitious  detail,  he  astutely  suppresses  the  means  whereby  the  'Tokens'  (line 
238),  necessary  to  convince  Posthumus  of  his  wife's  dishonour,  were  forthcoming. 


406  THE  TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  v. 

Where  ill  men  were,  and  was  the  beft  of  all  192 

Among'ft  the  rar'ft  of  good  ones )  fitting  fadly, 

Hearing  vs  praife  our  Loues  of  Italy 

For  Beauty,  that  made  barren  the  fwell'd  boaft  195 

Of  him  that  beft  could  fpeake  :  for  Feature,  laming 

The  Shrine  of  Venus •,  or  ftraight-pight  Minerua,  197 

192.  were]   Ff,   Rowe,   Pope,   Han.         Bailey  (i,  263). 

Coll.    were;  Theob.  et  cet.    where  Cam.  196.  laming]    'faming    Warb.    conj. 

ii.  (misprint).  (Nichols's  Illust.,  ii,  268.     Withdrawn.) 

193.  Among'Jl]  Ff.    Among  Cap.  197.  Shrine  of]  shrinking  Bailey  (i, 
rar'ft]  F3F4.     rarjl  F2.  118).     spine  of  or  inclining  Hertzberg. 

195.  Beauty,]    Ff,+,    Coll.      beauty        swim  of  Elze.     stride  of  Leo   (Jhrb., 
Cap.  et  cet.  xxii,  228). 

196.  fpeake:]  speak,  Glo.  Minerua,]      Minerva;       Pope, 
Feature]  stature  Theob.    figure        Han. 

196.  Feature]  WARBURTON:    'Feature'  for  proportion  of  parts.     'Venus'  and 
'Minerva,'  that  is,  the  ancient  statues,  which  exceeded  the  work  of  'brief  nature,' 
that  is,  of  hasty,  unelaborate  nature.     He  gives  the  same  character  of  the  beauty 
of  the  antique  in  Ant.  &°  Cleop.:    'O'er  picturing  that  Venus  where  we  see  The 
fancy  outwork  nature.' — II,  ii,  205.     ['Outwork'  here  does  not  refer  to  'feature' 
or  beauty  itself,  but  to  the  excellence  of  the  execution.] 

197.  Shrine]  SCHMIDT  (Lex.):   The  image  of  a  saint.     Thus  'offer  pure  incense 
to  so  pure  a  shrine'  (i.  e.,  Lucree)  R.  of  L.,  194;  'from  the  four  corners  of  the  earth 
they  come,  to  kiss  this  shrine,  this  mortal-breathing  saint'  (i.  e.,  Portia),  Mer.  of 
Venice,  II,  vii,  40;  'if  I  profane  with  my  un worthiest  hand  this  holy  shrine'  (Juliet's 
hand),  Rom.  6*  Jul.,  I,  v,  96. — STAUNTON:    For  grace  and  dignity  of  form,  sur- 
passing those  antique  statues  of  Venus  and  Minerva,  whose  attitudes  are  unat- 
tainable by  nature. — The  COWDEN-CLARKES:  This  is  a  poetic  license  of  ellipsis  for 
'the  statue  of  the  goddess  contained  in  the  shrine  of  Venus.' — INGLEBY:    The 
'Shrine  of  Venus'  is  equivalent  to  the  embodiment  or  personal  presence  of  Venus. — 
DEIGHTON:  This  seems  to  mean  the  image  or  statue  of  Venus,  that  which  enshrined 
her  beauty;  'shrine'  is  from  the  Latin  scrinium,  a  chest,  case,  but  is  especially  used 
of  that  in  which  sacred  things  are  deposited. — DOWDEN:    'Shrine'  is  not,  I  think, 
used  for  the  statue,  but,  the  glory  of  the  shrine  being  the  statue,  the  superior 
'feature'  of  Imogen  'lames'  the  whole  shrine.     [Schmidt's  definition  is  not  one  of 
his  happiest;  that  of  ONIONS  is  possibly  better,  'image  (as  of  a  saint),'  and  both  are 
probably  as  exact  and  as  concise  as  it  is  possible  to  make  them  in  order  to  fit  the 
various  uses  of  the  word  by  Shakespeare.     And  yet  from  the  examples  given  by 
Schmidt, — the  only  ones,  I  think,  where  Shakespeare  uses   'shrine'  in  a  sym- 
bolical sense, — I  think  we  can  eliminate  an  underlying  idea  that  the  word  stands 
for  that  which  encloses  or  enfolds  the  very  soul  of  absolute  perfection:  be  it  beauty 
of  feature,  perfection  of  purity:  the  highest  heaven  of  love,  or,  as  in  the  straight- 
pight  Minerva,  the  inflexibility  of  lofty  character;  all  of  these  shrines  are  enduring 
in  position  ('  postures ')  and  surviving  beyond  the  art  of  feeble  transitory  humanity 
to  fabricate. — ED.] 

197.  straight-pight]    SCHMIDT   (Lex.)   and  WHITNEY  (Cent.  Diet.):    Straight- 
fixed,  erect. — CAPELL  (p.  121):  This  epithet  has  a  classical  air  with  it,  being  char- 


ACT    V,   SC.   V.] 


CYMBELINE 


Poftures,  beyond  breefe  Nature.     For  Condition, 
A  (hop  of  all  the  qualities,  that  man 
Loues  woman  for,  befides  that  hooke  of  Wiuing, 
Faireneffe,  which  ftrikes  the  eye. 

Cym.    I  ftand  on  fire.     Come  to  the  matter. 

lack.    All  too  foone  I  fhall, 

Vnleffe  thou   would'ft  greeue  quickly.     This  Po/lliumus, 
Moft  like  a  Noble  Lord,  in  loue,  and  one 
That  had  a  Royall  Louer,  tooke  his  hint, 
And  (not  difpraifmg  whom  we  prais'd,  therein 
He  was  as  calme  as  vertue)  he  began 
His  Miftris  picture,  which,  by  his  tongue,  being  made, 
And  then  a  minde  put  in't,  either  our  bragges 


407 
198 


200 


205 


2IO 


198.  Poftures,}  Postures  Cap.  et  seq. 
breefe]  bare  Bailey  (i.  265) 
Nature.]  Ff .  nature,  Glo.  nature; 
Rowe  et  cet. 

200.  for,]  Ff,  Rowe,  Glo.    for;  Pope 
et  cet. 

befides  that]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope, 
Theob.  Warb.  Johns.  Coll.  ii,  Glo.  Cam. 
besides,  that  Han.  et  cet. 

201.  eye.]  Ff.    eye —  Rowe,+,  Dyce, 
Glo.  Ktly,  Cam.  Coll.  iii.     eye: —  Cap. 
et  cet. 

202.  I. ..fire.]  Closing  line   201,  Pope 
et  seq. 

fire.]    Ff,+,    Coll.    Ktly.    fire: 
Cap.  et  cet. 

205,  206.  M oft... Loner,}  In  parenthe- 


ses, Pope,+,  Cap.  Varr. 

205.  Lord,  in  loue,}  Ff,  Rowe,  Var. 
'21.     lord  in  love  Glo.  Cam.     lord  in 
love,  Pope  et  cet. 

206.  his]  this  Knt. 

hint,}    Ff,    Rowe,    Glo.    Cam. 
hint;  Pope  et  cet. 

207.  208.  (not... vertue}}  No  parenthe- 
ses, Rowe  et  seq. 

207,  208.  therein... vertue)}  In  paren- 
theses, Pope  et  seq.  (subs.) 

209.  Miftris]  mistress'  Pope. 
pidure,]  picture;  Pope  et  seq. 
tongue,     being     made,]     tongue 

made,  Pope,  Han.     tongue  being  made, 
Theob.  et  seq. 

210.  in't,]  int,  F2.    in't;  Pope. 


acteristic  of  the  goddess  'tis  given  to. — WALKER  (Crit.,  i,  66):  Was  'straight- 
pight'  meant  as  a  translation  of  succinctus? 

198.  Postures,  beyond  breefe  Nature]  WARBURTON'S  explanation,  adopted 
by  many  editors,  is  given  above. — Rev.  JOHN  HUNTER:  Postures  of  beings  that  are 
immortal. — INGLEBY:  Postures  permanently  rendered  in  marble,  which  are  only 
transient  in  nature.  [Has  due  weight  been  given  to  the  word  'Postures'?  Is  it 
not  in  opposition  to  the  'Shrines'  of  Venus  and  of  Minerva?] 

198.  Condition]  SCHMIDT  (Lex.):  Temper,  character,  habit:  'the  condition  of 
a  saint,  and  the  complexion  of  a  devil.' — Mer.  of  Ven.,  I,  ii,  143. 

205.  Lord,  in  loue,  and]  Let  credit  be  given  to  POPE  for  detecting  the  error  of  a 
comma  after  'Lord,'  and  the  improvement  in  sense  which  follows  its  erasure.     See 
Text.  Notes.— ED. 

206.  Louer]  SCHMIDT   (Lex.)   will   furnish  many  instances    where    'lover'    is 
feminine. 

210.  then  a  minde  put  in't]  VAUGHAN  (p.  540):  'Mind'  I  take  to  mean  not 
mere  life,  but  'all  mental  qualities,'  such,  for  instance,  as  that  more  than  Dianaic 


408 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF 


[ACT  v,  sc.  v. 


Were  crak'd  of  Kitchen-Trulles,  or  his  defcription  211 

Prou'd  vs  vnfpeaking  fottes. 

Cym.   Nay,nay,to'th'purpofe, 

lack.    Your  daughters  Chaftity,  (there  it  beginnes) 
He  fpake  of  her,  as  Dian  had  hot  dreames ,  215 

And  (he  alone,  were  cold  :  Whereat,  I  wretch 
Made  fcruple  of  his  praife,  and  wager'd  with  him 
Peeces  of  Gold,  'gainft  this,  which  then  he  wore 
Vpon  his  honoured  finger)  to  attaine 

In  fuite  the  place  oPs  bed,  and  winne  this  Ring  220 

By  hers,  and  mine  Adultery  :  he  (true Knight) 


211.  crak'd  of]  F2.  crack 'd  in  Rowe. 
crack'd-of  Theob.  Han.  Warb.  Johns. 
crack'd  of  F3F4  et  cet. 

Kitchen-Trulles]  Ff,+  ,  Dyce, 
Glo.  Cam.  kitchen  trulls  Cap.  et  cet. 

213.  to'th']  to  the  Cap.  et  seq. 

214.  Chaftity, ]¥L    chastity; Rowe, +. 
chastity —  Johns,  et  seq. 

(there  it  beginnes)]  Ff,  Johns, 
(subs.),  there  it  begins  Rowe,+.  there 
it  begins.  Cap.  et  cet. 

215.  her,  as]  her  as  Var.  '03,  '13,  '21, 
Coll.  Sing.  Ktly. 

216.  alone,]  alone  Ff  et  seq. 
Whereat,   I  wretch]   Ff,    Rowe, 

Pope,  Han.  Cap.     Whereat,  I,  wretch, 


Coll.  Whereat  I,  wretch,  Dyce,  Glo. 
Cam.  Whereat,  /,  wretch!  Theob.  et 
cet. 

217.  praife,]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han. 
Sta.     praise;  Theob.  et  cet. 
wager'd]  wag'd  Ff,  +  . 

219.  finger)]  F2.    finger;  F3F4,  Rowe. 
finger,  Pope  et  seq. 

220;  226.  of's]  F3F4,+,  Dyce,  Sta. 
Sing.  Glo.  Cam.  ofs  F2.  of  his  Cap.  et 
cet. 

220.  Ring]  ring,  Rowe,  Pope,  Theob. 
Han. 

221.  hers]  her  Han. 

Adultery:]     Ff,     Rowe,     Cap. 
Varr.  Mai.  Cam.    adultery.  Pope  et  cet. 


chastity  which  Posthumus  actually  ascribes  to  her.  Besides,  the  putting  in  the 
mind  would  not  contribute  to  make  the  Italians  'unspeaking  sots,'  unless  such 
mind  were  put  in  by  the  speaking  Posthumus. 

211.  crak'd]  SCHMIDT  (Lex.,  s.  v.  crack):  To  talk  in  a  blustering  manner. — 
MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  crack,  6.):  To  talk  big,  boast.  [Thus  also,  WRIGHT, 
E.  Dialect.  Diet.] 

211.  Trulles]  Drabs,  sluts,  slatterns. 

215.  as]  See  'As  you  did  meane,'  line  505,  below;  and  for  other  examples  of  'as* 
equivalent  to  as  if,  see  Abbott,  §  107. 

217.  Made  scruple]  ONIONS  (Gloss.,  s.  v.  scruple):  That  is,  hesitate  to  believe 
or  admit,  to  doubt. 

219.  honour'd  finger]   His  finger  was  honoured  by  bearing  on  it  a  token  of 
such  love  and  devotion. 

220.  In  suite]  That  is,  by  suing  for  it. 

221.  By  hers,  and  mine]  ABBOTT  (§  238):    Mine,  hers,  theirs  are  used  as  pro- 
nominal adjectives  before  their  nouns.     In  the  following,  mine  is  only  separated  by 
an  adjective  from  its  noun:   'And  his  and  mine  lov'd  darling.' — Temp.,  Ill,  iii,  93. 
More  remarkable  are  'what  to  come  is  yours  and  my  discharge.' — Ibid.,  II,  i,  253. 
'By  hers  and  mine  adultery,'  [the  present  line],  and  'Even  in  theirs  and  in  the 
commons'  ears.' — Coriol.,  V,  vi,  4.     It  is  felt  that  the  ear  cannot  wait  till  the  end 


ACT  v,  sc.  v.]  CYMBELINE 


409 


No  leffer  of  her  Honour  confident  222 

Then  I  did  truly  finde  her,  flakes  this  Ring, 

And  would  fo,  had  it  beene  a  Carbuncle 

Of  Phoebus  Wheele  ;  and  might  fo  fafely,  had  it  225 

Bin  all  the  worth  of's  Carre.     Away  to  Britaine 

Pofte  I  in  this  defigne  :  Well  may  you  (Sir) 

Remember  me  at  Court,  where  I  was  taught 

Of  your  chafte  Daughter,  the  wide  difference  229 

223.  Ring,]   Ff,   Rowe,   Pope,  Han.  226.  Bin]  Been  F4. 

Sta.     ring;  Theob.  et  cet.  227.  defigne:]  design.  Johns. 

224-226.  And... Carre.]  In  parenthe-  228.  Court]  court;  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam. 

ses,  Pope,  Han.  229.  Daughter,]  Ff,  Rowe,  Johns.  Sta. 

225.  Phoebus]  Phcebus'  Pope.  daughter  Pope  et  cet. 

of  the  sentence  while  so  slight  a  word  as  her  or  their  remains  with  nothing  to  depend 
on.  The  same  explanation  applies  to  mine,  which,  though  unemphatic  imme- 
diately before  its  noun,  is  emphatic  when  separated  from  its  noun. 

222,  223.  No  lesser  .  .  .  Then  I  did  truly  finde  her]  ECCLES:  That  is, 
perhaps,  'than  I  did  find  her  confident  of  it  also.'  The  sense  of  the  word,  however, 
may  be  somewhat  altered  when  applied  to  her;  in  the  latter  case  it  seems  to  have 
the  significance  of  resolute  in  maintaining. — SCHMIDT  (Lex.,  p.  1421,  b.):  Some- 
times one  noun  is  implied  by  another,  as  in  the  present  sentence,  where  the  words 
mean  'than  I  found  her  truly  honest  or  honourable.' 

224.  Carbuncle]  '  Carbunculus  is  a  precious  stone,  and  shineth  as  Fire,  whose 
shining  is  not  overcome  by  night.     It  shineth  in  dark  places,  and  it  seemeth  as  it 
were  a  flame.     And  the  kindes  thereof  be  twelue,  and  the  worthiest  be  those  that 
shine  and  send  out  beames,  as  it  were  fire,  as  Isidore  sayth.     There  it  is  sayde  that 
Carbunculus  is  called  Antrax  in  Greeke,  and  is  gendered  in  Libia  among  the  Troy- 
lodites.     Among  these  twelue  manner  kindes  of  Carbuncles,  those  Antracites  be 
the  best  that  haue  the  colour  of  fire,  and  be  compassed  in  a  white  veine,  which  haue 
this  propertie:   If  it  be  throwen  in  fire,  it  is  quenched  as  it  were  among  dead  coales, 
and  burneth  if  water  be  throwen  thereon.     Another  kind  of  a  Carbuncle  is  called 
Scandasirus:    and  hath  that  name  of  a  place  in  the  which  it  is  found.     In  this 
maner  of  kind  as  it  were  within  bright  fires,  bee  scene  as  it  were  certaine  droppes  of 
gold.     And  this  precious  stone  is  of  greate  price  without  comparison  in  respect  of 
other.  .  .  .  And  if  this  be  heated  in  the  Sunne  with  froting  of  fingers,  it  draweth 
to  it  selfe  strawe  and  leaues  of  bookes.  .  .  .  And  if  it  be  sometime  graued  and 
printed  with  waxe,  it  taketh  with  him  a  parte  of  the  waxe,  as  it  were  with  biting  of  a 
beast.'     [Batman  adds:    'The  Carbuncle  orient  is  of  the  colour  of  red  lead,  and  in 
the  night  sparkling  like  a  coale.'] — Batman  vppon  Bart  hoi  ome  (Lib.,  xvi,  chap.  26). 
— Pliny,  in  Chap.  vii.  of  his  Thirty-seventh  Book,  treats  of  Carbuncles  or  Rubies, 
and  draws  little  or  no  distinction  between  them.     Antony  commends  one  of  his 
soldiers  to  Cleopatra  who  says  she  will  give  him  an  armour  all  of  gold.     'He  has 
deserved  it,'  exclaims  Antony,  'were  it  Carbunkled  Like  holy  Phoebus  carre.'- 
IV,  viii,  36  of  this  edition.      WALKER  (Crit..  i,  155)  quotes  this  latter  passage  and 
the  present  from  Cymbeline  among  about  twenty  others  as  illustrations  of  Ovid's 
'Influence  on  Shakespeare.'     The  description  of  the  chariot  of  Phoebus  is  from 
the  story  of  Phaeton  in  Metam.,  ii,  107. — ED. 


4io  THE  TRACE  DIE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  v. 

'Twixt  Amorous, and  Villanous.     Being  thus  quench' d  230 

Of  hope,  not  longing  ;  mine  Italian  braine, 

Gan  in  your  duller  Britaine  operare 

Moft  vildely  :  for  my  vantage  excellent. 

And  to  be  breefe,  my  pra6life  fo  preuayl'd 

That  I  return'd  with  fimular  proofe  enough,  235 

To  make  the  Noble  Leonatus  mad, 

By  wounding  his  beleefe  in  her  Renowne, 

With  Tokens  thus,  and  thus  :  auerring  notes 

Of  Chamber-hanging,  Pictures,  this  her  Bracelet 

(Oh  cunning  how  I  got)  nay  fome  markes  240 

Of  fecret  on  her  perfon,  that  he  could  not 

But  thinke  her  bond  of  Chaftity  quite  crack'd,  242 

231.  longing;]    longing,    Theob.     et  235.  proofe  enough,]  Ff,  Rowe.  proof, 
seq.                                                                  enough  Coll.    proof  enough  Pope  et  cet. 

232.  Gan]  'Gan  F3F4.  237.  Renowne,]  renown  Cap.  et  seq. 
operare]  FI.    operate  Ff.                          239.  Chamber  -  hanging]         Chamber 

233.  vildely]  vildly  F2F3.    vilely  F4.  hanging  Ff,  Warb. 

vantage]  'vantage  Var.  '73.  van-  Bracelet]  bracelet;  Theob.  Warb. 

tage,  Cap.  et  cet.  bracelet,  Han.  Johns,  et  seq. 

excellent.]  excellent,  Rowe  ii,  240.  cunning]  cunning!  Theob.  Warb. 

Pope,  excellent;  Theob.  et  seq.  Johns,  cunning,  Cap.  et  seq. 

234.  And]  And,  Theob.  et  seq.  got)]  got  it)  Ff,+.    got  it!  Han. 
preuayl'd]  Ff,  Rowe,  Cap.  Sta.  Cap.  et  seq. 

Dyce  ii,  iii.    prevail' d,  Pope  et  cet.  241.  per/on,]  person;  Theob.  Warb. 

235.  fimular]  similar  Cap.  Johns. 

229,  230.  the  wide  difference  'Twixt  Amorous,  and  Villanous]  The 
COWDEN-CLARKES:  It  well  becomes  the  greatest  Poet-moralist  that  ever  wrote 
thus  to  vindicate  a  truth  too  little  understood  and  believed.  Love, — true  love, 
pure  love,  love  itself, — is  as  widely  different  from  vileness  as  heaven  from  earth. 
Love,  in  its  unselfishness,  ungrossness,  unmeanness,  is  as  opposite  to  base  and  evil 
properties  as  light  and  dark.  Love,  in  its  divine  essence,  is  as  contrary  to  coarse- 
ness as  spirituality  to  materialism. 

232.  your  duller  Britaine]  That  is,  Posthumus. 

235.  simular]  DYCE  (Gloss.),  SCHMIDT  (Lex.),  ONIONS  (Gloss.),  CRAIGIE  (N.  E. 
D.)  all  give  'counterfeited'  as  a  paraphrase  of  this  word.  But  is  this  wholly  ac- 
curate? What  was  there  untrue  or  counterfeit  in  lachimo's  'averred  notes'? 
His  descriptions  of  the  pictures,  the  chamber-hangings,  etc.,  were  not  counter- 
feited, they  were  true  and  genuine.  So  also  was  the  bracelet — even  so  the  mole 
cinque-spotted.  None  of  lachimo's  proofs  was  'counterfeit.'  Posthumus  drew 
wrong  inferences  from  true  premises.  Would  not  specious  or  plausible  be  a  para- 
phrase better  than  'counterfeited'? — ED. 

238.  auerring  notes]  JOHNSON:  Such  marks  of  the  chamber  and  pictures  as 
averred  or  confirmed  my  report. — DOWDEN  regards  '  averring '  as  an  active  present 
participle  equivalent  to  avouching;  wherein  I  think  he  is  right. — ED. 


ACT  v,  sc.  v.]  CYMBELINE  4II 

I  hairing  'tane  the  forfeyt.     Whereupon,  243 

Me  thinkes  I  fee  him  now. 

243.  'tane]  tone  Ff.    ta'en  Rowe.  forfeit;     whereupon — ...now—      Johns. 

243,  244.  forfeyt.  Whereupon,.. .now.]  Varr.  Mai.  Steev.  Varr.  forfeit:  where- 
F2.  forfeit,  whereupon,.. .now.  F3F4.  upon — ...now!  Ktly.  forfeit.  Where- 
forfeit;  whereupon,.. .now—  Rowe,+.  upon, — ...now—  Cap.  et  cet. 

243.  I  hauing  'tane  the  forfeyt]  LADY  MARTIN  (p.  217):   Imagine  Imogen's 
state  of  mind  during  the  recital!     Oh,  the  shame,  the  agony  with  which  she  hears 
that  her  'dear  lord'  has  indeed  had  cause  to  think  her  false!     All  is  now  clear  as 
day.     The  mystery  is  solved;  but  too  late,  too  late!     She  remembers  the  supposed 
treasure  in  the  chest,  although  lachimo  does  not  speak  of  it.     Then  the  lost  brace- 
let!    How  dull  she  has  been  not  to  think  before  of  the  way  it  might  have  been 
stolen  from  her!     Worst  misery  of  all,  Posthumus  has  died  in  the  belief  of  her  guilt. 
No  wonder  he  wished  for  her  death!     What  bitter  hopeless  shame  possesses  her, 
even  as  though  all  were  true  that  he  had  been  told!     Only  in  the  great  revealing  of 
all  mysteries  hereafter  will  Posthumus  learn  the  truth.     But  till  then  she  has  to 
bear  the  burden  of  knowing  with  what  bitter  thoughts  of  her  he  passed  out  of  life. 

Ah,  dear  friend,  as  I  write,  the  agony  of  these  thoughts  seems  again  to  fill  my  mind, 
as  it  ever  used  to  do  when  acting  this  scene  upon  the  stage.  I  wonder  if  I  ever 
looked  what  I  felt!  It  is  in  such  passages  as  these  that  Shakespeare  surpasses  all 
dramatic  writers.  He  has  faith  in  his  interpreters,  and  does  not  encumber  them 
with  words.  None  could  express  what  then  was  passing  in  Imogen's  soul.  At 
such  moments  Emerson  has  truly  said,  we  only  'live  from  a  great  depth  of  being.' 

I  cannot  conceive  what  Imogen  would  have  done  eventually  had  Posthumus  been 
indeed  dead.  But  I  can  conceive  the  strange  bewildered  rapture  with  which  she 
sees  him  spring  forward  to  interrupt  lachimo's  further  speech.  He  is  not  dead! 
He  has  heard  her  vindication!  and  she,  too,  lives  to  hear  his  remorse,  his  self- 
reproaches,  his  bitter  taunts  upon  his  own  credulity.  [I  for  one  shall  be  ever 
infinitely  grateful  to  Lady  Martin  for  ushering  me  reverently  into  the  very  heart 
and  soul  of  the  women  whom  she  so  graciously  reveals.  Gifted,  thrilling  actors 
and  actresses  have  there  been,  but  none  has  had  the  power  so  supremely  as  Lady 
Martin  of  analysing  and  interpreting  the  innermost  springs  of  emotion  in  the  souls 
of  the  heroines  whom  she  has  represented  on  the  stage.  I  cannot  afford  to  lose 
one  golden  word  of  hers. — ED.] 

244.  Me  thinkes  I  see  him  now]  MURDOCH  (p.  147,  gives  an  account  of  the 
acting  of  Posthumus  by  the  younger  Kean,  '  at  the  Arch  Street  Theatre  in  Phila- 
delphia about  1832,'  wherein  occurs  the  following):    At  these  words  Kean  sud- 
denly darted  from  his  concealment,  and,  dashing  down  the  stage,  struck  his  attitude, 
and  exclaimed  with  a  wild  outburst  of  passion,  sharp,  harsh,  and  rattling  in  tone, 
'Ay,  so  thou  dost,  Italian  fiend!'     As  the  instantaneous  flash  and  bolt  startle  the 
beholder,  so  the  actor  seemed  to  electrify  his  auditors;  they  broke  out  into  the  most 
determined  and  prolonged  applause.     There  came,  in  tones  of  mingled  rage  and 
remorse,  the  choking  utterance  of  self-reproach:    'Aye  me,  .  .  .  To  come.'     Here 
a  sudden  transition  brought  out  the  next  lines  in  bold,  ringing  notes  of  adjuration: 
'Oh  give  me  cord,  or  knife,  or  poison,  Some  upright  justicer!'     Now  the  voice  was 
changed  to  impetuous  command,  fierce  and  imperious  denunciation,  high,  strong, 
and  full-toned:   'Thou  king,  send  out  ...  A  sacriligious  thief  to  do  't.'     This  was 
followed  by  a  mingling  of  the  tearful  tones  of  pity  and  pathetic  admiration  on  the 


412 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF 


[ACT  v,  sc.  v. 


Pofl.     I  fo  thou  do'ft, 

Italian  Fiend.     Aye  me,  moft  credulous  Foole, 
Egregious  murtherer,  Theefe,  any  thing 
That's  due  to  all  the  Villaines  part,  in  being 
To  come.     Oh  giue  me  Cord,  or  knife,  or  poyfon, 
Some  ypright  lufticer.     Thou  King,  fend  out 
For  Torturors  ingenious  :  it  is  I 
That  all  th'abhorred  things  o'th'earth  amend 
By  being  worfe  then  they.     I  am  Poflhumus , 
That  kill'd  thy  Daughter  :  Villain-like,  I  lye, 
That  caus'd  a  leffer  villaine  then  my  felfe, 
A  facrilegious  Theefe  to  doo't.     The  Temple 


245 


250 


255 


245.  Poft.]   Post.   [Coming  forward. 
Rowe.     Rushing  forward.  Sta. 

7]  /,  Ff.     Ay,  Rowe. 

246.  Fiend.]   fiend: —    Cap.      fiend! 
Rowe  et  cet. 

A  ye]  Ff.   Ay  Rowe,  Pope,  Dyce, 
Sta.  Glo.  Cam.   ah  Theob.  ii.  et  cet. 

247.  murtherer]  murderer  Johns.  Var. 
'73  et  seq. 

248.  249.  being  To}  being,  To  Rowe 
et  seq. 

249.  come.}  come —  Rowe,-}-.    come! 
Cap.  et  seq. 

or  knife}  knife  F3F4,  Rowe. 

250.  Iuflicer.]justicer!  Pope  et  seq. 


250.  Thou  King,]  Thou,  king,  Theob. 
Warb.  et  seq. 

251.  Torturors]  Tortures  F2F3.     Tor- 
turers F4. 

252.  th']  Ff,+,  Dyce  ii,  iii.    the  Cap. 
et  cet. 

o'/A']  F4,+,  Dyce  ii,  iii.     oth' 
F2F3.    o'the  Cap.  et  cet. 

amend]  Ff,  Rowe  i,  Dyce,  Glo. 
Cam.     amend,  Rowe  ii.  et  cet. 
254.  lye,]  lie;  Theob.  et  seq. 
256.  facrilegious]  facrilegious.  F2. 
Theefe]  thief,  Theob.  et  seq. 
doo't,]  Ff,+,  Cam.  Ktly.    do't; 
Cap.  et  cet. 


words  'The  temple  of  virtue  was  she;  yea,  and  she  herself.'  Choking  sobs  now 
give  way  to  vehement  utterance  and  piercing  tones  that  seemed  to  penetrate  the 
brain  with  the  wild  notes  of  insanity:  'Spit,  and  throw  stones,  ...  Be  called 
Posthumus  Leonatus.'  Here  the  climax  of  passion  and  fury  culminated,  while  the 
words  'And  Be  villany  less  than  'twas'  formed  a  forcible  cadence.  Then,  as  if  all 
the  elements  of  indignant  reproach  and  self-condemnation  had  spent  themselves, 
the  actor  poured  forth  a  flood  of  tenderness  that  seemed  to  upheave  the  very 
depths  of  his  soul,  exclaiming  in  an  ecstasy  of  love  and  grief:  'O  Imogen!  My 
queen,  my  life,  my  wife!  O  Imogen,  Imogen,  Imogen!' 

246.  Aye  me,  etc.]  STAUNTON  (Athenceum,  14  June,  1873):  Absurdly  wrong. 
Read,  unquestionably:  'Give  me, — most  credulous  fool,  Egregious  murderer,  thief 
— anything  That's  due  to  all  the  villains  past,  in  being  or  To  come!' — that  is, 
'Give  me  any  punishment  that's  due,'  etc.  The  old  spelling  'Aye  me'  in  part, 
perhaps,  led  to  the  error.  [Does  not  Staunton  overlook  the  force  of  'anything'? 
Posthumus  cannot  find  epithets  vile  enough  wherewith  to  stigmatise  his  own 
conduct,  and  therefore  says,  in  effect,  '  call  me  anything  that  would  befit  the  very 
worst  of  villains.' — ED.] 

250.  lusticer]  REED:  The  most  ancient  law  books  have  justicers  of  the  peace 
as  frequently  as  justices  of  the  peace. 


ACT   V,  SC.  V.] 


CYMBELINE 


Of  Vertue  was  fhe  ;  yea,  and  me  her  felfe. 
Spit,  and  throw  ftones,  caft  myre  vpon  me,  fet 
The  dogges  o'th'ftreet  to  bay  me  :  euery  villaine 
Be  call'd  Pofthumus  Lconatus,  and 
Be  villany  leffe  then  'twas.     Oh  Imogen  \ 
My  Queene,  my  life,  my  wife  :  oh  Imogen , 
Imogen,  Imogen. 

Imo.    Peace  my  Lord,  heare,  heare. 

Pojl.    Shall's  haue  a  play  of  this  ? 
Thou  fcornfull  Page,  there  lye  thy  part. 

Pif.    Oh  Gentlemen,  helpe, 

Mine  and  your  Miftris  :  Oh  my  Lord  Pojlhumns, 
You  ne're  kill'd  Imogen  till  now  :  helpe,  helpe, 
Mine  honoured  Lady. 

Cym.    Does  the  world  go  round  ? 


413 

257 

260 


265 


270 


257-  Jelfe]  self —  Pope,  Theob.  Han. 
Warb.  self,  Var.  '21,  self  Coll.  i.  (mis- 
print). 

258.  Spit]  Spet  F2F3. 
me,]  me;  Coll. 

259.  o'th']  otti.     o'the  Cap.  et  seq. 
bay]    bait    F3F4,    Rowe,    Pope, 

Han. 

260.  Leonatus,]    Ff,+,    Coll.    Ktly, 
Cam.    Leonatus;  Cap.  et  cet. 

261.  'twas.]   Ff,    Rowe,   Pope,  Han. 
Cap.     'twas!  Theob.  et  cet. 

261;  262.  Oh;  oh]  0  Cap.  et  seq. 

262.  wife:]  wife!  Rowe  ii.  et  seq. 

263.  Imogen.]  Imogen!  Rowe  ii.  et 
seq. 

264.  Peace]  Peace,  F3F4. 

Lord,]  Ff,+.  lord!  Coll.  lord; 
Cap.  et  cet. 

heare.]  Ff,  Cap.  hear!  Knt, 
Ktly.  hear —  Rowe  et  cet. 

265.  Shall's]  Shalls  F2. 


265.  266.  Shall's. ..Page]    One    line, 
Han.  Cap.  et  seq. 

266.  [Striking  her,  she  falls.  Rowe. 
He   throws   her   from   him:   she   falls. 
Ingl. 

267;  268.  Oh]  O,  Cap.  et  seq. 

267.  Gentlemen,]  Gentlemen  Ff. 
helpe,]    Oh,    help,    Han.      help, 

help!  Cap.  Huds.     help  Var.  '78,  '85, 
Mai.  Knt,  Sta.    help,  help  Steev.  Varr. 
Ktly.     help!  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam. 
[Catching  her.  Cap. 

268.  Mijlris:]    Mistress—     Rowe,+, 
Cap.  Var.  '78,  '85.    Mistress.  Coll. 

Pofthumus,]  Posthumus!  Rowe 
et  seq. 

269.  now:]  Ff,  Sta.     now.  Coll.  Dyce, 
Ktly,  Glo.  Cam.    now —  Rowe  et  cet. 

helpe,   helpe,]    Ff,    Rowe    ii,+- 
help,  help!  Rowe  i.  et  cet. 

270.  Lady.]  Lady —  Rowe,+.    lady! 
Cap.  et  seq. 


257.  and  she  her  selfej  JOHNSON:  That  is,  She  was  not  only  the  temple  of  virtue, 
but  virtue  herself. 

260,  261.  and  Be  villany  lesse  then  'twas]  VAUGHAN:  That  is,  'let  the 
term  "villainy"  hereafter  signify  some  degree  of  criminality  much  less  than  it  used 
to  mean.' — DOWDEN:  Let  any  other  villany  seem  little  in  comparison  with  my 
offence.  [Unquestionably. — ED.] 

264.  heare,  heare]  COLLIER  (ed.  ii.):  It  may  perhaps  be  doubted  whether 
Imogen  does  not  mean  here,  here!  intending  to  avow  herself  to  Posthumus. 

268.  Mine  and  your  Mistris]  See,  for  the  use  of  'mine,'  line  221,  or  ABBOTT, 
§  238.  In  the  present  case  it  is  possible  that  'mine'  is  used  for  the  sake  of  euphony. 


414  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  v. 

Poftli.   How  comes  thefe  ftaggers  on  mee  ?  272 

Pi/a.    Wake  my  Miftris. 

Cym.    If  this  be  fo,  the  Gods  do  meane  to  ftrike  me 
To  death,  with  mortall  ioy.  275 

Pifa.    How  fares  my  Miftris  ? 

Imo.    Oh  get  thee  from  my  fight, 
Thou  gau'ft  me  poyfon  :  dangerous  Fellow  hence, 
Breath  not  where  Princes  are. 

Cym.    The  tune  of  Imogen.  280 

/tyiz.Lady,  the  Gods  throw  ftones  of  fulpher  on  me,  if 
That  box  I  gaue  you,  was  not  thought  by  mee  282 

272.  comes]  come  Rowe  et  seq.  279.  Breath]  Ff,  Rowe,  Cap.    Breathe 

273.  Wake]  Wake,  Rowe  ii.  et  seq.  Pope  et  cet. 

Miftris.]  F3F4,  Rowe,  Pope,  Cap.  280.  Imogen.]  Imogen!  Pope  et  seq. 

Miflais  ¥2.    Mistress!  Theob.  et  cet.  281.  Lady...onme,]  One  line,  Pope,+, 

276.  Miftris?]  Pope  et  seq.     Miftris.         Cap. 

Ff,  Rowe.  the  Gods... me,  if]  One  line  Mai. 

277.  Oh]  O  Pope  ii.  et  seq.  et  seq. 

fight,]   sight;  Theob.   Warb.    et  281.  fulpher]  fulphure  F2F3.   fulphur 

seq.    sight,  Pisanio.  Elze.  F4. 

278.  hence}  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,    hence;  281,282.  if  That  box]  If  what  Pope+, 
Cap.  hence!  Theob.  et  cet.  //  thai  Cap. 

272.  comes]  See  ABBOTT  (§  335)  for  other  instances  of  the  'inflection  in  -s 
preceding  a  plural  subject.'  'When  the  subject  is  as  yet  future  and,  as  it  were, 
unsettled,  the  third  person  singular  might  be  regarded  as  the  normal  inflection.' 

272.  staggers]  JOHNSON:    This  wild  and  delirious  perturbation. 

280.  The  tune  of  Imogen]  ECCLES:   Intended,  probably,  to  express  the  nat- 
ural sweetness  of  her  voice,  which  served  to  confirm  her  discovery.     [From  the  in- 
terpretation suggested  by  Eccles  there  is  not  among  editors,  as  far  as  I  know,  a 
dissenting  voice,  and,  in  confirmation,  references  are  made  to  Arviragus's  'How 
angell-like  he  sings,'  IV,  ii,  65,  and  to  quotations   furnished  by  Schmidt's  Lex., 
such  as,  'with  thy  tongue's  tune  delighted,'  Sonn.,  141;  'the  tune  of  your  voices,' 
Coriol.,  II,  iii,  92,  etc.     Yet  in  the  present  instance  it  is  not  the  tune  of  'a  voice' 
or  of  'a  tongue,'  but  of  a  woman.     Is  not  'tune'  here  the  character,  temper,  dis- 
position?   When   Macduff  hears   that  his  wife   and  babes   have  been  savagely 
slaughtered  by  Macbeth,  he  exclaims,  'But  gentle  heavens,  Cut  short  all  inter- 
mission; 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!'     Thereupon  Mal- 
colm replies,  'This  tune  goes  manly.'     There  can  be  no  reference  here  to  the  sound 
of  a  voice.     It  is  the  mood,  the  temper,  the  disposition.     Thus  also  it  seems  to  me 
that  'tune'  is  used  in  the  present  passage,  which  I  do  not,  and  cannot,  and  will  not 
believe  Shakespeare  ever  wrote. — ED.] 

281.  stones  of  sulpher]    SCHMIDT    (Lex.}:    Thunderbolts.      In   Othello,    'Are 
there  no   stones  in  heaven  But   what  serve  for   thunder?'  V,   ii,    234;   and   in 
Coriol.,  'And  yet  to  charge  thy  sulphur  with  a  bolt  That  should  but  rive  an  oak/ 

V*  •• 
,  m,  152. 


ACT   V,  SC.   V.] 


CYMBELINE 


A  precious  thing,  I  had  it  from  the  Queene. 

Cym.    New  matter  ftill. 

Imo.     It  poyfon'd  me. 

Corn.    Oh  Gods! 

I  left  out  one  thing  which  the  Queene  confeft, 
Which  muft  approue  thee  honeft.     If  Pafanio 
Haue  (faid  fhe)  giuen  his  Miftris  that  Confe6lion 
Which  I  gaue  him  for  Cordiall,  fhe  is  feru'd, 
As  I  would  ferue  a  Rat. 

Cyin.    What's  this,  Cornelius'} 

Corn.    The  Queene  (Sir) very  oft  importun'd  me 
To  temper  poyfons  for  her,  ftill  pretending 
The  fatisfaction  of  her  knowledge,  onely 
Infilling  Creatures  vilde,as  Cats  and  Dogges 
Of  no  efteeme.     I  dreading,  that  her  purpofe 
Was  of  more  danger,  did  compound  for  her 
A  certaine  ftuffe,  which  being  tane,  would  ceafe 
The  prefent  powre  of  life,  but  in  fhort  time, 
All  Offices  of  Nature,  mould  ag;aine 

»  o 

Do  their  due  Functions.     Haue  you  tane  of  it? 
Imo.    Moft  like  I  did,  for  I  was  dead. 


415 
283 

285 


290 


295 


300 


303 


283.  thing,]     thing!     Han.       thing: 
Theob.  Warb.  et  seq. 

284.  Jlill]  still?  Pope  et  seq. 
288.  honejl]  Jwnest:  Cap.  et  seq. 
288-291.  If. ..Haue    (  )    giuen. ..Rat.] 

As  quotation,  Dyce,   Sta.   Glo.  Cam. 
Ktly. 

288.  Pafanio]  Fx. 

294.  her,]  Ff,  Glo.  Cam.    her;  Rowe 
et  cet. 

295.  knowledge,]     knowledge     Dyce, 
Glo.  Cam. 

296.  vilde]  vild  F3.    vile  F4. 


296.  Dogges]  dogs,  Cap.  Varr.  Mai. 
Dyce,  Glo.  Cam. 

297.  ejleeme.]    ejleem,    Ff.      esteem; 
Rowe  et  cet. 

7  dreading,]  I,  dreading  Theob. 
Warb.  et  seq. 

299;  302.  tane]  ta'en  Rowe. 

299.  ceafe]   feize    Ff,    Rowe,    Pope, 
Theob.  Han.  Warb. 

300.  life,]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han.  Glo. 
Cam.     life;  Theob.  et  cet. 

301.  Nature,]  Nature  F4  et  seq. 


294.  To  temper]  COLLIER  (ed.  ii.):  This  does  not  here  mean  merely  to  pre- 
pare or  compound  poisons,  but  to  render  them  of  the  peculiar  strength  the  queen 
might  require. 

303.  for  I  was  dead]  'That  is,  insensible,  fainting,  in  a  state  of  suspended 
animation,'  remarks  LETTSOM  apud  WALKER  (Crit.,  ii,  329),  who  says:  Compare 
'Enter  Arviragus,  with  Imogen  dead,'  etc.,  IV,  ii,  253.  One  might,  perhaps, 
compare  Spencer's  'Our  pleasant  Willy,  ah!  is  dead  if  late.'  So  understood  Sidney, 
Arcadia,  Book  iii,  p.  297,  [ed.  1598,  p.  315  verso,  ed.  1590]:  'His  Impresa  was  a 
catoblepta  which  so  long  lies  dead,  as  the  Moone  (whereto  it  hath  so  naturall  a 
sympathie)  wants  her  light.'  Spenser,  F.  Q.,  Book  iv,  C.  vii,  St.  ix.:  'For  she 


4i  6  THE   TRACE  DIE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  v. 

Bel.     My  Boyes,  there  was  our  error. 

Gut.    This  is  fure  Fidele.  305 

fme.Why  did  you  throw  your  wedded  Lady  fro  you  ? 
Thinke  that  you  are  vpon  a  Rocke,  and  now  307 

304.  My  Boyes]  As  closing  line  303,  sure,  Steev.  Varr.  Knt,  Sing.  Ktly. 
Han.  Cap.  Var.  '78  et  seq.  306.  fro]  from  Rowe  et  seq. 

305.  is  fure]  is,  sure,  Theob.  Warb.  307.  Rocke,]  rock;  Cap.  et  seq. 
Johns.  Coll.  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam.     is 

(deare  ladie)  all  the  while  was  dead,  Whilest  he  in  armes  her  bore;  but,  when  she 
felt  Herself  down  soust,  she  waked  out  of  dread  Straight  into  griefe,'  etc. — VAUGHAN 
(p.  541)  imagines  that  this,  'if  correctly  printed,'  is  here  'equivalent  to  "I  was 
put  to  death.'" 

306.  Why  did  you  ...  fro  you  ?]  SPRENGEL  (p.  9) :  This  question  seems  to 
me  to  be  more  appropriate  to  Cymbeline  than  to  Imogen. 

307.  Thinke  that  you   are  vpon    a   Rocke,  etc.]    WARBURTON:    Tis  plain 
that  the  true  reading  is  'upon  a  mock,'  i.  e.,  a  farce,  a  stage  play.     Besides,  the 
common  reading  is  nonsense. — JOHNSON:   In  this  speech  or  in  the  answer  there 
is  little  meaning.    I  suppose  she  would  say:  Consider  such  another  act  as  equally 
fatal  to  me  with  precipitation  from  a  rock,  and  now  let  me  see  if  you  will  re- 
peat it. — CAPELL  (p.  121):   To  be  hunting  for  either  allusion  or  metaphor,  or 
looking  farther  than  the  mere  natural  sense  of  the  words  of  this  speech,  is  to  want 
perception  of  tenderness;  and  of  the  wild  effusions  of  it,  which  a  heart  like  that  of 
the  speaker's  pours  out  upon  such  occasions  as  this  is. — MR  SMITH  (apud  GREY, 
ii,  228):  The  reading  'rock'  is  not  true,  as  may  easily  be  perceived  by  Posthumus's 
answer:  'Hung  there  like  fruit,'  etc.     From  whence  it  is  plain  that  Imogen  had 
compared  him  to  some  tree  upon  a  rock,  and  that  the  tree  had  slipt  out  of  the  text. 
I  think  it  should  be  restored  thus:  'Think  that  you  are  a  cedar  on  a  rock,  and  now,' 
etc.,  i.  e.,  think  that  you  are  in  a  durable,  permanent  state  of  happiness,  of  which  a 
cedar  on  a  rock  is  a  beautiful  and  strong  metaphorical  similitude.     Further,  the 
cedar  beareth  fruit  at  all  times  of  the  year;  new  fruit  and  old,  the  leaf  never  falleth. 
[As  a  distinctive  family  name,  'Mr  Smith'  can  be  hardly  deemed  a  success.     But 
he  looms  large  when  we  learn,  as  we  do  from  Dr  Grey's  Preface,  that  he  was  'the 
most  friendly  and  communicative  man  living,'  and  furthermore  that  he  was  'the 
reverend  Mr  Smith  of  Harleston  in  Norfolk.'    He  contributed  valuable  notes  to 
Grey's  volumes. — ED.] — HEATH  (p.  490):  Consider  that  you  have  just  escaped 
being  wrecked  in  the  full  persuasion  of  my  infidelity  and  death,  and  are  at  last  got 
safe  on  a  rock;  now  throw  me  from  you  again  if  your  heart  will  give  you  leave. — 
ECCLES:   She  intends  by  the  suggestion  of  imaginary  peril  to  inspire  him  with  an 
apprehension  of  his  actual  danger,  and  that  remorse  which  he  is  likely  to  incur  by  a 
repetition  of  such  violence. — PYE  (p.  281) :  Imogen  comes  up  to  Posthumus  as  soon 
as  she  knows  the  error  is  cleared  up,  and,  hanging  fondly  on  him,  says,  not  as  up- 
braiding him,  but  with  kindness  and  good  humour,  '  How  could  you  treat  your  wife 
thus?'  in  that  kind  of  endearing  tone  which  most  of  my  readers,  who  are  husbands 
and  fathers,  will  understand,  who  will  add  poor  to  wife.     She  then  adds,  now  you 
know  who  I  am,  suppose  we  were  on  the  edge  of  a  precipice,  and  throw  me  from  you; 
meaning,  in  the  same  endearing  irony,  to  say,  I  am  sure  it  is  as  impossible  for  you 
to  be  intentionally  unkind  to  me  as  it  is  for  you  to  kill  me.      [Let  me  hasten  to 
swear  to  the  reader  of  the  foregoing  note  that,  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge  and 


ACT  v,  sc.  v.]  CYMBELINE 


417 


[307.   Thinke  that  you  are  vpon  a  Rocke,  etc.] 

belief,  Pye  did  not  intend  it  as  burlesque.  Nay,  Singer  prints  it  seriously  as  his 
own,  word  for  word,  without  quotation  marks  or  any  reference  to  the  real  author. 
And  be  it  remembered  that  for  twenty-three  years  Pye  was  Poet  Laureate  of 
England!— ED.]— WHITE  (ed.  i.):  A  passage  of  impenetrable  obscurity.  There 
is  probably  a  corruption  of  'you  are  upon  a  rock.'  'Rock'  may  be  a  misprint  of 
neck;  and  perhaps  the  original  words  were  something  like  'Think  she's  upon  your 
neck.'  No  explanation  has  been  given  that  is  worth  repeating. — DYCE  (ed.  ii, 
quoting  White's  note):  I  believe  the  simple  meaning  of  this  affecting  passage 
is:  'Now  prove  your  love;  if  you  throw  me  from  your  arms  now,  my  fall  will  be 
as  fatal  to  me  as  if  you  had  precipitated  me  from  a  rock.' — HUDSON:  There  may, 
indeed,  be  some  doubt  as  to  what  Imogen  means  by  'rock,'  whether  the  edge  of  a 
precipice  or  something  else.  But  she  has  a  rare  vein  of  humour  in  her  composi- 
tion which  crops  out  now  and  then;  though,  apparently,  without  her  being  at  all 
conscious  of  it;  as  when  she  calls  her  hands  '  these  poor  pickaxes.'  Here  her  humour 
seems  to  take  on  a  form  of  loving  and  trustful  irony;  for,  after  what  has  just  passed 
in  her  hearing,  she  knows  right  well  that  her  husband  would  die  a  hundred  times 
rather  than  lift  his  finger  to  hurt  her.  So  I  think  Heath's  explanation  is  very 
satisfactory. — INGLEBY:  'Rock'  is  here  usually  interpreted  as  a  synonym  for  cliff 
or  precipice.  But  it  is  surely  enough  to  take  it  to  mean  rocky  eminence,  as  a  man 
who  in  shipwreck  has  found  such  a  refuge.  That  Shakespeare  meant  this  is  proved 
by  his  recurrence  to  the  nautical  metaphor  in  line  468,  below:  'Posthumus  anchors 
on  Imogen.'  It  is  there  he  has  found  anchorage  for  his  tempest-tossed  ship; 
and  with  this  in  mind  she  very  touchingly  adds,  'Now  throw  me  from  you,'  i.  e.,  cast 
yourself  once  more  adrift. — THISELTON:  That  is,  'upon  the  firmest  of  firm  ground.' 
The  idea  of  'a  rock '  is  the  exact  opposite  of  that  suggested  by  'staggers,'  line  272. — 
DOWDEN  (p.  197) :  I  would  doubtfully  make  a  suggestion,  though  I  do  not  construct 
an  emendation.  Posthumus  has  struck  Imogen  to  the  ground;  she  has  risen, 
clasped  him  in  an  embrace,  and  challenges  him  to  throw  her  again.  The  action 
might  playfully  be  imagined  as  that  of  wrestlers;  in  connection  with  'throw,' 
a  wrestling  word  which  means  grip  (and  also  meant  embrace) ,  might  be  the  right 
substitute  for  'rock.'  The  word  'lock,'  used  by  Milton  in  his  Letter  on  Education, 
'the  locks  and  grips  of  wrestlers,'  might  in  some  measure  suit  the  situation,  but 
I  go  no  further  than  to  mention  this  as  a  point  possibly  worth  bearing  in  mind. 
[A  plausible  suggestion,  indeed, — thus  modestly,  almost  timidly,  put  forth  by  an 
editor  whose  learning  and  experience  would  almost  justify  a  Warburtonian  dog- 
matism; it  cannot  but  enlist  prepossession  in  its  favour,  coupled  with  a  wish  that 
further  investigation  may  add  to  its  probability  or  even  certainty.  Happily,  this 
proves  to  be  the  case;  in  an  'Additional  Note'  (p.  212)  Dowden  continues]:  When 
the  foregoing  note  was  written  I  had  before  me  no  example  of  such  a  phrase  as 
'upon  a  lock'  in  the  wrestling  sense  of  the  word  'lock.'  Mr  Hart  gave  me  Eliza- 
bethan examples  of  the  word, — not  the  phrase, — from  Dekker's  Honest  Whore 
(Pearson's  Dekker,  ii,  149),  and  from  Sir  John  Harington's  Epigrams,  16.  He  added 
from  A  Mistaken  Husband  (1675),  IV,  i:  'If  you  are  upon  that  lock.'  Through 
the  kindness  of  Mr  Bradley  and  Dr  Murray  I  have  seen  the  article  of  the  N.  E.  D. 
which  deals  with  'lock.'  It  gives  an  excellent  example  of  the  word  of  the  date  1616: 
J.  Lane,  Squiere's  Tale  (Chaucer  Soc.),  129,  note:  'Both  closelie  graplinge  with  a 
mutual  locke.'  And  under  this  wrestling  sense  of  the  word  the  Dictionary  cites: 
1650,  Cromwell  hi  Carlyle's  Letters  and  Speeches  (1871),  iii,  40:  'Being  indeed 

27 


4i  8  THE  TRACE  DIE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  v. 

Throw  me  againe.  308 

Pojl.     Hang  there  like  fruite,  my  foule, 
Till  the  Tree  dye.  3 1  o 

308.  [Throwing  her  arms  about  his  310.  Till]  'Till  Rowe,+,  Cap.  Varr. 
neck.  Han.  dye.]  die!  Pope  et  seq. 

upon  this  lock';  1672,  Marvel,  Reh.  Transp.,  i,  159:  'the  lock  .  .  .  that  I  have 
the  Nonconformists  upon';  1699,  R-  'L'Estrange,  Erasm.  Colloq.  (1711),  225: 
'He  was  now  upon  the  same  lock  with  Balbinus';  1723,  Woodrow,  Con.  (1843): 
' — rather  than  put  the  Colonel  upon  the  lock'  It  seems  certain  that  if  Imogen 
had  said,  'Think  that  you  are  upon  a  lock,  and  now  Throw  me  again,'  the  words 
would  have  been  in  accordance  with  the  usage  of  the  language,  and  they  would 
have  been  at  once  understood  as  meaning,  'Think  that  you  are  engaged  in  a 
wrestling  embrace,  and  give  me  another  fall.' — HEREFORD:  That  is,  as  a  ship- 
wrecked sailor.  Cf.  the  close  of  Goethe's  Tasso:  'So  klammert  sich  der  Schiffer 
endlich  noch  Am  Felsen  fest.' — ROLFE:  If  we  suppose  that  Imogen  here  throws 
her  arms  about  her  husband's  neck,  all  is  clear  enough.  Having  done  this,  she 
says,  'Now  imagine  yourself  on  some  high  rock,  and  throw  me  from  you  again — 
if  you  have  the  heart  to  do  it.'  This  action  is  necessary  also  to  explain  the  reply 
to  Posthumus,  'Hang  there,'  etc.  Ingleby  .  .  .  thinks  his  interpretation  is  con- 
firmed by  the  nautical  metaphor  on  'anchors,'  but  it  is  too  far  off  to  have  any  bear- 
ing on  the  figure  here.  Besides,  it  is  in  the  mouth  of  another  speaker.  [If  Imogen's 
words  were  to  all  of  us,  as  to  Grant  White,  of  'impenetrable  obscurity,'  I  think  we 
should  gladly  accept  at  once  Dowden's  lock  as  an  emendatio  certissima;  but  to  some 
of  us  the  obscurity  is  so  penetrable  that  whatever  of  vagueness  there  be,  we  find 
therein  a  heightened  poetic  charm.  We  recall  that  Posthumus  has  wavered  in 
his  sworn  faith  beyond  the  limits  of  forgiveness;  and  that  even  to  his  resolve  to  die 
he  has  not  been  steadfast.  Natures  like  this,  unless  they  are  to  be  for  ever  feathers 
to  every  wind  that  blows,  must  consent  to  find  peace  and  rest  at  last  only  on  founda- 
tions as  firm  set  as  earth's  base.  Such  granitic  foundation  Imogen's  unshaken 
devotion  offered. — ED.] 

309,  310.  Hang    there    like    fruite,    my    soule,  Till    the    Tree    dye]  From 
The  Memoir  of  Lord  Tennyson  by  his  son  (ii,  425,  Oct.,  1892) :   '  On  Monday  morning 
at  8  o'clock  he  sent  me  for  his  Shakespeare.     I  took  him  Steevens's  edition,  Lear, 
Cymbeline,  and  Troilus  and  Cressida,  three  plays  which  he  loved  dearly.     He  read 
two  or  three  lines,  and  told  Dr  Dabbs  that  he  should  never  get  well  again.  .  .  . 
At  his  request  I  read  some  Shakespeare  to  him.  .  .  .  On  Tuesday  ...  at  noon  he 
called  out,  "Where  is  my  Shakespeare?     I  must  have  my  Shakespeare."    Then  he 
said,  "I  want  the  blinds  up,  I  want  to  see  the  sky  and  the  light."  ...  On  Wednes- 
day ...  at  2  o'clock  he  again  asked  for  his  Shakespeare,  and  lay  with  his  hand 
resting  on  it  open,  and  tried  to  read  it.  ...  Suddenly  he  gathered  himself  together 
and  spoke  one  word  about  himself  to  the  doctor — "Death?"    Dr  Dabbs  bowed  his 
head,  and  he  said,  "That's  well."  ...  At  a  quarter  to  four  he  tried  to  read,  but 
could  not.     He  exclaimed,  "I  have  opened  it."     Whether  this  referred  to  the 
Shakespeare  opened  by  him  at  "Hang  there  like  fruit,  my  soul,  Till  the  tree  die," 
which  he  always  called  among  the  tenderest  lines  in  Shakespeare;  or  whether  one 
of  his  last  poems,  of  which  he  was  fond,  was  running  through  his  head  I  cannot  tell: 
"Fear  not  thou  the  hidden  purpose  of  that  Power  which  alone  is  great,  Nor  the 
myriad  world,  His  shadow,  nor  the  silent  Opener  of  the  Gate."    He  then  spoke  his 


ACT    V,   SC.   V.] 


CYMBELINE 


419 


Cym.    How  now,  my  Flefh?  my  Childe  ?  3  \  \ 

What,  mak'ft  thou  me  a  dullard  in  this  A61  ? 
Wilt  thou  not  fpeake  to  me  ? 

Imo.    Your  bleffmg,  Sir. 

Bel.     Though  you  did  loue  this  youth,  I  blame  ye  not,       315 
You  had  a  motiue  for't. 

Cym.    My  teares  that  fall 
Proue  holy-water  on  thee  ;  Imogen, 
Thy  Mothers  dead. 

Imo.    I  am  forry  for't,  my  Lord.  320 

Gym.    Oh,  me  was  naught  ;  and  long  of  her  it  was 
That  we  meet  heere  fo  ftrangely  :  but  her  Sonne 
Is  gone,  we  know  not  how,  nor  where. 

Pifa.     My  Lord, 
Now  feare  is  from  me,  He  fpeake  troth.     Lord  Cloten  325 


311.  now,]  now!  Coll.  Sing.  Ktly. 
Flejh?]  flesh,  Cap.  et  seq. 

312.  What,]  What!  Coll.  Sing.  Ktly. 

314.  [Kneeling.  Rowe. 

315.  [To  Guid.  Arvir.  Pope. 
Though]  Tho'  Rowe  ii,+. 

ye]  you  F4,  Rowe,-f-,  Var.  '78, 
'85,  Mai. 

not,]  not;  Cap.  et  seq. 

317.  teares... fall]  Ff,  Coll.  Dyce,  Sta. 
Glo.  Cam.    tears, ...fall,  Theob.  et  cet. 

318.  holy-water]  holy  water  Cap.   et 


seq. 

318.  thee;]  thee!  Theob.  et  seq. 

319.  Mothers]  Mother's  F3F4. 

320.  7  am]  I'm  Pope,+,  Var.   '85, 
Dyce  ii,  iii. 

321.  Oh,]  0!  Coll.    0,  Cap.  et  cet. 
naught]  nought  F4. 

long]    long  Johns.  Varr.  Steev. 
Varr.  Coll.  Sta.  Sing.  Ktly. 
325.  me,  He]  me.    I'll  Rowe  ii. 
troth]  truth  F4,+. 
Cloten]  Clotten  F2F3. 


last  words,  a  farewell  blessing,  to  my  mother  and  myself.  For  the  next  hours  the 
full  moon  flooded  the  room  and  the  great  landscape  outside  with  light;  and  we 
watched  in  solemn  stillness.' 

312.  mak'st  thou  me  a  dullard  in  this  Act?]  STAUNTON:  Do  you  give  me, 
in  this  scene,  the  part  only  of  a  looker-on?  Shakespeare  was  thinking  of  the  stage. 

315.  Though  you  did  loue  this  youth,  I  blame  ye  not]  ECCLES:  What 
cause  for  blame  could  possibly  arise  from  their  affection  for  the  supposed  youth 
it  is  not  easy  to  discover.  The  turn  of  thought  would  be  more  natural  by  the  sub- 
stitution of  That  for  'Though.'  [Possibly,  Cymbeline  recalled  his  own  opposition 
to  Posthumus,  whom,  in  express  words,  he  has  not  yet  pardoned;  and  we  have  here 
an  intimation  that  the  pardon  will  be  eventually  freely  given,  since  it  is  given  to 
those  who,  although  brothers,  were  comparative  strangers. — ED.] 

317.  My  teares]  The  tears  are  not  shed  in  memory  of  the  queen,  albeit  the 
punctuation  of  the  Folio  might  give  that  impression. — ED. 

321.  and  long  of  her]  Possibly,  in  a  very  correct  modern  text  it  would  be 
proper  to  print,  as  many  editors  have  printed  (see  Text.  Notes),  'and  'long  of  her/ 
i.  e.,  l  along  of  her.'  The  N.  E.  D.  gives  the  present  line  under  'Along.'  'Long' 
occurs,  however,  so  frequently  in  Shakespeare  and  elsewhere  that,  I  think,  the 
apostrophe  is  needless. — ED. 


420  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  v. 

Vpon  my  Ladies  miffing,  came  to  me  326 

With  his  Sword  drawne,  foam'd  at  the  mouth,  and  fwore 

If  I  difcouer'd  not  which  way  fhe  was  gone, 

It  was  my  inftant  death.     By  accident, 

I  had  a  feigned  Letter  of  my  Mafters  330 

Then  in  my  pocket,  which  directed  him 

To  feeke  her  on  the  Mountaines  neere  to  Milford, 

Where  in  a  frenzie,  in  my  Mafters  Garments 

(Which  he  inforc'd  from  me)  away  he  poftes 

With  vnchafbe  purpofe,  and  with  oath  to  violate  335 

My  Ladies  honor,  what  became  of  him, 

I  further  know  not. 

Gui.    Let  me  end  the  Story  :  I  flew  him  there. 

Cym.    Marry,  the  Gods  forefend. 

I  would  not  thy  good  deeds,  fhould  from  my  lips  340 

Plucke  a  hard  fentence  :  Prythee  valiant  youth 

326.  Ladies]  lady's  Rowe.  336.  honor,]     Ff.       honour.     Johns. 

327.  drawne,]  drawn;  Cap.  et  seq.  Ktly.    honour;  Rowe  et  cet. 
fwore]   Ff,   Rowe,   Pope,   Han.  337.  further]  farther  Coll. 

Knt,  Sta.    swore,  Theob.  et  cet.  338.  Let... Story:]  One  line,  Pope  et 

328.  was  gone]  went  Pope,+-  seq. 

329.  death.]  Ff,+,  Coll.  Dyce,  Glo.  Story:]  story.  Coll.  i. 
Ktly,  Cam.  [Advancing.  Cap. 

330.  Mafters]  master's  Rowe.  339.  forefend.]  forefend!   Theob.    et 

331.  pocket,]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han.  seq. 

Cap.  Coll.  Sta.    pocket;  Theob.  et  cet.  340.  deeds,  fliould]  deeds  Jhould  F4  et 

331,  332.  him. ..her]  her. ..him  Rowe,        seq. 

+.     him. ..him  Var.  '73.  341.  Prythee]    Prethee    F2.      prithee 

332.  Milford}  Milford;  Pope  et  seq.         F3F4. 

328.  she  was  gone]  WALKER  (Crit.,  ii,  203),  in  scanning  this  line,  finds  that 
'  she  was '  occurs  in  a  place  where  '  it  is  clear  that  [it]  must  have  been  pronounced  as 
one  syllable,  in  whatever  manner  the  contraction  was  effected.'  Let  the  Text. 
Notes  show  how  bravely  Pope  and  his  followers,  rather  than  barbarously  slur  the 
English  language,  overleaped  the  difficulty. — ED. 

330.  feigned  Letter]  CRAIG:  Either  a  misleading  letter,  or  else  the  word  is 
used  to  blind  the  eyes  of  Cymbeline  to  the  savage  conduct  of  Posthumus,  or  it  may 
be  that  Pisanio  wrote  another  forged  (what  might  be  called  forged)  letter. 

335.  With  vnchaste  purpose]  ECCLES:  We  have  heard  the  expression  of 
of  such  purpose  by  Cloten,  only  in  soliloquy. — WALKER  (Crit.,  iii,  332)  asks,  'did 
Pisanio  learn  it  from  a  subsequent  conversation  with  the  prince  in  his  apartments? ' 
That  there  was  such  a  conversation  Walker  probably  inferred  from  III,  v,  181, 
where  Cloten  tells  Pisanio  to  bring  Posthumus's  apparel  to  his  chamber,  and  that 
he  must  be  'a  voluntary  mute  to  his  design.' 

337.  I  further  know  not]  WYATT:  It  is  not  altogether  satisfactory  to  me  that 
Pisanio  here  drops  out  of  the  play  without  any  recognition  from  Posthumus  and 
Imogen  of  his  sterling  fidelity. 


ACT  v,  sc.  v.]  CYMBELINE 


421 


Deny't  againe.  342 

Gui.    I  haue  fpoke  it,  and  I  did  it. 

Cym.    He  was  a  Prince. 

Gui.    A  moft  inciuill  one.     The  wrongs  he  did  mee  345 

Were  nothing  Prince-like  ;  for  he  did  prouoke  me 
With  Language  that  would  make  me  fpurne  the  Sea, 
If  it  could  fo  roare  to  me.     I  cut  ofFs  head, 
And  am  right  glad  he  is  not  (landing  heere 
To  tell  this  tale  of  mine.  350 

Cym.    I  am  forrow  for  thee  : 

By  thine  owne  tongue  thou  art  condemned,  and  muft 
Endure  our  Law  :  Thou'rt  dead.  353 

343.  I  haue]  I've  Pope,+,  Dyce  ii,  348.  head,]   head;  Theob.   Warb.   et 

iii.  seq. 

did  it]  did't  Walker  (Vers.,  79),  350.  this  tale  of  mine]  the  tale  of  me 

Ktly.  Han. 

345.  inciuill]  uncivil  Cap.  Mai.  Steev.  351.  I  am]  I'm  Pope,+,  Dyce  ii,  iii. 

Varr.  Coll.  Ktly.  forrow]    Ktly.     Jory   F2.    forry 

one.]  Ff,+,  Coll.    one:  Cap.  et  F3F4  et  cet. 

cet.  353.  Law:]  law.  Coll.  Ktly. 

348.  I  fit  could]  could  it  Pope,  Theob.  Thou'rt]    thou    art    Varr.    Mai. 

Han.  Warb.  Ran.  Steev.  Varr.  Knt,  Coll.  Sing. 

me.]  me;  Cap.  et  seq.  dead.]  dead!  Sta. 
o/'s]  o/s  F2.    off  his  Ktly. 

342.  Deny't  againe]  VAUGHAN  (p.  542):  'Again'  here  does  not  mean  'over 
again,'  because  Guiderius  had  already  affirmed  once,  and  had  never  once  denied, 
but  means  'in  contradiction  to  what  you  have  affirmed.'  [Vaughan  may  be  right, 
but  I  cannot  perceive  that  his  whole  paraphrase  is  not  contained  in  the  one  word 
'deny'  and  with  no  reference  to  'again.'  'Again'  has  many  a  meaning  besides 
repetition.  In  the  Mer.  of  Venice  Portia  says  that  the  Scottish  lord  borrowed  a 
box  of  the  ear  of  an  Englishman  and  swore  'he  would  pay  him  again  when  he  was 
able'  (I,  ii,  87).  This  does  not  mean  he  would  pay  him  'over  again.'  This  example 
is  taken  from  the  N .  E.  D.  (s.  v.  A.  2.)  under  'reaction,  or  reciprocal  reaction,' 
where  a  second  example  is  also  given,  from  Ven.  &°  Ad.:  'Who  did  not  whet  his 
teeth  at  him  again?  line  1113.  Thus  here,  I  would  paraphrase:  'Speak  once 
more  and  deny  what  you  have  said.' — ED.] 

351.  I  am  sorrow  for  thee]  DYCE:  No  one,  I  presume,  will  attempt  to  defend 
['sorrow']  who  recollects  that  the  expression  'I  am  sorry'  occurs  more  than  fifty 
times  in  our  Author's  other  plays. — DELIUS  :  Perhaps  '  am '  should  be  omitted,  and 
'sorrow'  taken  as  a  verb. — VAUGHAN  (p.  452):  Shakespeare,  when  he  desires  to 
represent  a  person  affected  by  any  condition  in  a  high  degree,  styles  him  by  the 
name  of  the  abstract  condition  itself.  Thus  we  have  had  'vanities,'  'miseries,' 
and  'sins,'  all  instead  of  'vain,'  'miserable,'  etc.  So  here  'I  am  sorrow  for  thee' 
is  Shakespeare's  genuine  language,  probably,  for  'I  am  truly  and  greatly  grieved 
for  thee,'  a  more  than  adequate  description  of  his  natural  state.  [Thus  Philip 
calls  Constance,  '0  fair  affliction.'  I  think  Vaughan  is  right.  In  the  second  line 
of  this  very  scene  the  King  has  said,  'woe  is  my  heart.' — ED.] 


422  THE   TRACE  DIE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  v. 

Imo.    That  headleffe  man  I  thought  had  bin  my  Lord 

Cym.    Binde  the  Offender,  355 

And  take  him  from  our  prefence. 
Bel.    Stay,  Sir  King, 

This  man  is  better  then  the  man  he  flew, 

As  well  defcended  as  thy  felfe,  and  hath 

More  of  thee  merited,  then  a  Band  of  Clotens  360 

Had  euer  fcarre  for.     Let  his  Armes  alone, 

They  were  not  borne  for  bondage.  362 

354.  That  headleffe  man]  Closing  line  359.  thy  felfe,}  thyself;  Theob.  Warb. 
353,  Pope  et  seq.                                            et  seq. 

bin]  been  F4.  360.  merited,}    merited    Dyce,     Glo. 

355.  [To  his  Guard.  Cap.  Cam. 

357.  King.]  Ff,  Rowe  i,  Coll.    King,  361.  fcarre]  fear  F3F4.     soar  Bailey 
Rowe  ii,+.    King:  Cap.  et  cet.                       (ii,  138). 

[Advancing  with  Arv.  Cap.  alone,}  alone;  Theob.  Warb.  et 

358.  This  man]   This  Coll.  i.   (mis-         seq. 

print).     This  youth  Ktly  conj.  [To  the  Guard.  Theob. 

362.  borne]  born  F3F4. 

360.  Band]  For  EDWARDS'S  humourous  conjecture,  pond,  see  IV,  ii,  219. 

361.  Had  euer  scarre  for]   CAPELL   (p.  120):   That  is,  for  meriting  or  in  at- 
tempting to  merit. — WHITE:    But  Cloten  had  received  no  wounds  in  the  King's 
cause;  he  was  killed  before  hostilities  commenced.     We  have  here,  it  would  seem, 
the  same  word  which  has  made  so  much  trouble  in  All's  Well,  IV,  ii, '  men  make  ropes 
in  such  a  scarre.'     See  Supplementary  Notes,  [where  we  find  this  quotation  from 
Lingua,  I,  vi,  Sig.  B.:   'Peasants  I'le  curb  your  head-strong  impudence,  And  make 
you  tremble  when  the  Lyon  roares,  Yea  [ye]  earth-bred  wormes,  O  for  a  looking 
glasse:   Poets  will  write  whole  volumes  of  this  scarre.'     Hereupon  White  remarks, 
'Now,  here  we  have  the  same  word  [as  in  All's  Well]  with  exactly  the  same  spelling; 
and  in  both  passages  the  word  refers  to  a  startling  event  or  emergency.'] — DYCE 
(ed.  ii.) :  I  can  see  no  reason  to  question  the  correctness  of  this  passage. — COLLIER 
(ed.  ii.):   'Scarre'  can  hardly  be  right;   possibly  sense   would  be  a  fitter  word. — 
SINGER:   It  is  impossible  to  make  sense  of  'scarre.'     There  can  be  no  doubt  that 
the  Poet's  word  was  score,  and  that  the  meaning  is  '  than  a  band  of  Cloten's  had 
ever  credit  for,  or  than  could  be  scored  to  their  account.' — The  COWDEN-CLARKES: 
'  Scar '  appears  to  us  as  a  very  characteristic  word  for  a  veteran  soldier  to  use,  who 
can  conceive  no  better  claim  of  merit  than  having  plenteous  '  scars '  to  show. — 
HUDSON:    'Scar,'  in  any  sense  known  to  us,  can  have  no  possible  fitness  here. 
Doubtless  'scarre'  is  a  misprint  for  scorse,  an  old  word  used  repeatedly,  both  as 
noun  and  verb,  by  Spenser,  Drayton,  Jonson,  and  others,  in  the  general  sense  of 
bargain,  exchange,  offset,  equivalent,  payment.     So  that  the  meaning  here  is,  'this 
man  is  worth  more  to  thee  than  a  whole  regiment  of  such  men  as  Cloten  ever  had 
an  equivalent  for.' — INGLEBY:  That  is,  ever  showed  evidence  of  'desert  in  service,' 
earning  a  like  recognition.  .  .  .  The  argument  is  simply,  that  how  great  soever  is  the 
desert  of  Cloten,  or  of  any  number  of  such  fellows,  it  is  less  than  that  of  Guiderius. 
[To  me  again,  as  heretofore,  the  difficulty  lies,  not  in  Shakespeare's  words,  but 
in  that  any  obscurity  should  have  been  found  in  them. — ED.] 


ACT  v,  sc.  v.]  CYMBELINE 


423 


Cym.    Why  old  Soldier  :  363 

Wilt  thou  vndoo  the  worth  thou  art  vnpayd  for 
By  tailing  of  our  wrath  ?  How  of  defcent  365 

As  good  as  we  ? 

And.    In  that  he  fpake  too  farre. 

Cym.   And  thou  (halt  dye  fort.  368 

363.  Soldier:]  Souldier:  F2F3.     Soul-        Warb.  Cap. 

dier,  F4.     soldier  Pope,     soldier,  Rowe  365.  tajling... wrath]      tainting... worth 

et  cet.  Craig  conj.  ap.  Dowden. 

364.  for]  for,  Pope  et  seq.  368.  Cym.]  Cym.  [To  Gui.  or  To  Bel. 

365.  tajling]  tempting  Han.     hasting  Nicholson  ap.  Cam. 

365.  By  tasting  of  our  wrath]  WARBURTON:  But  how  did  Belarius  'undo 
or  forfeit  his  merit  by  "tasting"  or  feeling  the  King's  wrath?  We  should  read 
hasting,  i.  e.,  by  hastening,  provoking;  and  as  such  a  provocation  is  undutiful,  the 
demerit,  consequently,  undoes  or  makes  void  his  former  worth,  and  all  pretensions 
to  reward.' — HEATH  (p.  490):  Here  again  Mr  Warburton's  perverse  subtility  will 
not  let  him  understand  one  of  the  most  common  figures  in  poetry.  'But  how/ 
quoth  he,  'did  Belarius  undo  or  forfeit  his  merit  by  tasting  or  feeling  the  King's 
wrath?'  Why,  only  by  doing  that  which  he  knew  must  draw  the  King's  wrath 
upon  him,  and  in  consequence  of  which  he  must  taste  it.  'Tis  the  well-known  me- 
tonymy of  the  effect  for  the  cause.  [To  the  same  effect,  Dr  JOHNSON.] — CAPELL 
(p.  120):  Notwithstanding  what  [Heath]  has  urged  in  behalf  of  it,  the  old  reading, 
'tasting,'  cannot  be  justify'd;  the  'worth '  or  desert  of  Belarius  could  not  be  undone 
by  'tasting'  the  King's  'wrath,'  but  by  doing  what  would  cause  him  to  taste  it,  by 
provoking  or  'hasting';  a  word  of  the  last  editors,  that  is  very  happily  put  in  its 
room.  [That  is,  in  Capell's  text.  This  reference  to  Warburton  as  the  'last  editor* 
is  one  of  the  very  few  proofs  that  Capell's  edition,  undated  on  the  title-pages  of  the 
volumes,  was,  at  last,  prepared  before  Johnson's,  and  after  Heath's  Revisal;  the 
title  pages  of  both  Johnson  and  of  Heath  bear  the  same  date. — ED.] — STAUNTON: 
Johnson's  may  be  the  true  sense  of  the  expression;  but  we  have  always  conceived 
'tasting'  here  to  mean  trying,  testing,  etc.,  as  in  Twelfth  Night ',  III,  i:  'Taste  your 
legs,  sir.'  And  again,  in  Act  III,  iv:  'put  quarrels  purposely  on  others,  to  taste 
their  valour.' — The  COWDEN-CLARKES  :  We  agree  with  Mr  Staunton  in  thinking 
that  here  '  tasting'  may  be  used  in  the  sense  of  testing,  trying. — INGLEBY:  'Tasting' 
is  equivalent  to  'incurring  (or  sharing)  some  measure  of.'  The  word  is  used  in  the 
same  sense  in  line  479  of  this  scene.  The  Clarkes  think  that  in  the  present  line 
the  sense  suggested  by  Staunton  may  lurk — viz.,  testing — but  that  it  is  a  strained 
interpretation.  [That  the  Clarkes  consider  Staunton's  interpretation  strained, 
Ingleby  may  have  learned  by  correspondence  with  them.  I  can  find  nothing  to 
that  effect  in  their  edition. — ED.] — VAUGHAN:  The  sense  is:  'Why  wilt  thou  de- 
stroy the  claims  of  thy  present  deserving  by  making  an  officious  trial  of  what  our 
anger  can  do?'  [In  reading  paraphrases  of  Shakespeare's  language,  it  is  always 
such  a  comfort  to  have  the  original  to  go  to!  In  the  foregoing  discussion  it  is 
difficult  to  take  any  interest.  As  to  the  meaning  of  'taste,'  it  is  likely  that  even 
Falstaff,  who  lost  his  voice  with  halloing  and  singing  of  anthems,  would  have 
recalled  the  Psalm,  'O  taste  and  see  that  the  Lord  is  good';  and  for  the  rest  of  us, 
who  can  forget  that  solemn  chapter  in  St.  Luke  where  Christ  says  that  'there  be 
some  standing  here  which  shall  not  taste  of  death'? — ED.] 


424 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF 


[ACT  v,  sc.  v. 


Bel.    We  will  dye  all  three, 
But  I  will  proue  that  two  one's  are  as  good 
As  I  haue  giuen  out  him.     My  Sonnes,  I  muft 
For  mine  owne  part,  vnfold  a  dangerous  fpeech, 
Though  haply  well  for  you. 

And.    Your  danger's  ours. 

Guid.    And  our  good  his. 

Bel.    Haue  at  it  then,  by  leaue 
Thou  hadd'ft  (great  King)a  SubiecT:,  who 
Was  call'd  Belarius. 

Cym.    What  of  him?  He  is  a  banifh'd  Traitor. 


370 


375 


379 


369.  three,]  three:  Cap.  et  seq. 

370.  proue]  Ff ,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han.  Coll. 
Dyce,  Glo.  Cam.    prove,  Theob.  et  cet. 

one's]  of  us  Varr.  Mai.  Ran. 
Steev.  Varr.  Knt,  Ktly.  on's  Ff  et  cet. 
o'us  Vaun. 

371.  I  haue]  I've  Pope,+- 
him.}  of  hint.  Rowe,+. 

371,  372.  mujl...part],   Ff,   Rowe   i. 
must. ..part  Han.   Coll.   Cam.     must,... 
part  Johns,   must,. ..part,  Rowe  ii.  et  cet. 

372.  mine  owne]  my  own  Theob.  ii. 
Warb.  Johns.  Varr.  Mai.  Ran. 

373;  374-  Though.. .danger's]  One  line, 
reading  danger  is,  Steev.  Var.  '03,  '13. 

374.  danger's]  dangers  F2. 

375.  And]  Ay,  and  Cap. 

good  his.]  good,  his.  Theob. 
Warb.  Johns,  good  yours  Han.  good  is 
his  Cap.  good  is  your  good.  Elze.  good 
is  yours.  Vaun. 


376,  377-  then,   by  leaue   Thou}   Ff, 
Rowe.     then,  by  leave:  Thou  Pope,+, 
Dowden.     then — by   leave;    Thou  Var. 
'73.    then,  by  leave.   Thou  Coll.  Sta.  Glo. 
Cam.     then!    By  leave, — Thou   Dyce. 
then. — By  leave: —  Thou  Cap.  et  cet. 

by  leaue. ..who]  One  line, 
Cap.  Varr.  Mai.  Steev.  Varr.  Knt, 
Dyce,  Elze,  Vaun. 

377)    378.     Thou... call'd]    One  line, 
Pope,+,  Var.  '21,  Coll. 

377.  hadd'Jl]  hadst  erewhile  Anon.  ap. 
Cam. 

378,  379-  Belarius... Traitor]  One  line 
(omitting  He  is)  Pope,  + .    (retaining  He 
is)  Var.  '73.    Belarius.  Cym.    Belarius! 
What  of  him?... Traitor  Dowden  conj. 

379.  What. ..He  is]  Separate  line,  Cap. 
Varr.  Mai.  Ran.  Steev.  Varr.  Knt,  Coll. 
Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam. 

He  is]  he's  Sta. 


369,370.  We  will  dye  all  three,  But  I  will  proue]  The  COWDEN-CLARKES: 
We  follow  the  Folio  in  putting  merely  a  comma  after  'three.'  Belarius  is  not 
asserting  the  simple  fact  that  he  and  his  sons  are  willing  to  die;  he  is  saying  that  he 
and  they  will  be  willing  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.  [The  comma  after  'all  three,' 
which  the  Cowden-Clarkes  thus  carefully  note  that  they  have  retained,  is  recorded 
in  the  Text.  Notes  of  the  Cambridge  Edition  as  omitted  by  them.  I  should  not 
have  referred  to  the  oversight  had  it  not  apparently  misled  DOWDEN,  who  opines 
that  'possibly  the  Clarkes  are  right  in  removing  the  comma.' — ED.] — ELZE  (p.  333) : 
Cymbeline's  speech  ('And  thou,'  etc.)  is  shown  by  the  context  to  be  addressed  to 
Belarius,  and  not  to  Arviragus,  who  has  committed  no  offence  whatever.  The  two 
persons  condemned  to  death  by  the  King  are  Guiderius  and  Belarius,  whilst  Arvi- 
ragus is  allowed  to  live;  consequently,  he  is  the  only  person  to  whom  the  words 
'we  will  die  all  three'  can  be  assigned.  [If  the  interpretation  by  the  Clarkes  be 
correct  (and  it  seems  undeniable),  the  latter  portion  of  Elze's  note  is  rendered 
needless. — ED.] 


ACT  v,  sc.  v.]  CYMBELINE  42  c 

Bel.    He  it  is,  that  hath  2 80 

Affum'd  this  age  :  indeed  a  banifh'd  man, 
I  know  not  how, a  Traitor. 

Gym.    Take  him  hence, 
The  whole  world  fhall  not  faue  him. 

Bel.     Not  too  hot ;  385 

Firft  pay  me  for  the  Nurfing  of  thy  Sonnes, 
And  let  it  be  confifcate  all,  fo  foone 
As  I  haue  receyu'd  it. 

Cym.    Nurfing  of  my  Sonnes  ?  389 

381.  age:}  age,  Cam.  383.  hence,}     Ff.       hence.     Coll.     i. 
man]  man;  Theob.  et  seq.                  hence!  Coll.  ii,  iii.    hence;  Cap.  et  cet. 

382.  not}  Om.  F3F4.  385.  hot;}  hot.  Johns. 

how,  a}  Ff.    how  a  Rowe,  Pope,  386.  Sonnes}  sons;  Theob.  et  seq. 

Han.  Johns.  Knt,  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam.  388.  /  haue}  I've  Pope,  +  ,  Cap.  Sta. 

Coll.  iii.  Dyce  ii,  iii. 

a  Traitor}  As  quotation,  Sta.  389.  Sonnes?}  sons!  Dyce,  Sta.  Ktly, 

Glo.  Cam. 

381.  Assum'd  this  age:  indeed  a  banish'd  man]  STEEVENS:  I  believe 
['assumed']  is  the  same  as  reached  or  attained  his  age. — TYRWHITT:  As  there  is  no 
reason  to  imagine  that  Belarius  had  assumed  the  appearance  of  being  older  than  he 
really  was,  I  suspect  that  instead  of  'age'  we  should  read  gage;  so  that  he  may  be 
understood  to  refer  to  the  engagement  which  he  had  entered  into  a  few  lines  before: 
*  We  will  die  all  three :  And  I  will  prove  that  two  of  us  are  as  good  As  I  have  given 
out  him.' — HENLEY:  'Assum'd  this  age'  has  a  reference  to  the  different  appearance 
which  Belarius  now  makes,  in  comparison  with  that  when  Cymbeline  last  saw  him. 
— VAUGHAN  (p.  545):  The  editors  and  critics,  down  to  Dyce  inclusively,  all  show  by 
their  punctuation  and  remarks  that  they  mistake  the  drift  of  this  speech.  It  must 
be  taken  in  conjunction  with  'indeed  a  banished  man,'  and  printed  with  this  punctu- 
ation: 'He  it  is,  that  hath  Assumed  this  age  indeed  a  banished  man;  I  know  not 
how  a  traitor.'  Meaning:  'He  it  is  that  has  indeed  passed  his  days  from  youth 
into  old  age  such  as  you  see  in  banishment — but  no  traitor.'  [Dogmatism  begets 
dogmatism.  It  is  not  difficult  to  assert  that  Vaughan  utterly  misses  the  point  of 
this  speech.  Cymbeline's  exclamation  consists  of  a  question  ('What  of  Belarius?') 
and  an  assertion  ('He  is  a  banish'd  Traitor').  Belarius  answers  the  one,  and  denies 
the  other,  by  replying  calmly,  'He  it  is  that  has  reached  this  venerable  age,'  and 
then  with  more  warmth  repels  the  assertion,  'in  very  truth  a  banish'd  man,  but  what 
right  have  you  to  call  him  traitor?'  Vaughan  sadly  mistakes  the  point,  which  is 
clear  to  every  'editor  and  critic,  down  to  Dyce  inclusively,'  by  making  'indeed' 
qualify  'old  age' — a  point  not  in  dispute,  and  omitting  it  as  a  concession  to  'banish- 
ment' in  order  to  make  the  denial  of  treachery  more  emphatic.  Vaughan's  con- 
clusions appear  to  be  frequently  hasty,  and,  once  formed,  he  is  colour-blind  to  every 
other  view.  His  notes  are  interesting  and  to  be  accepted  with  due  consideration 
of  his  personal  equation,  which,  indeed,  is  true  of  all  notes. — ED.] 

387.  all,  so  soone]  DOWDEN  judiciously  omits  the  comma,  'believing  that  "all 
so  soon"  is  a  single  phrase.' 


426  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  v. 

Bel.    I  am  too  blunt,  and  fawcy  :  heere's  my  knee  :  390 

Ere  I  arife,  I  will  preferre  my  Sonnes, 
Then  fpare  not  the  old  Father.     Mighty  Sir, 
Thefe  two  young  Gentlemen  that  call  me  Father, 
And  thinke  they  are  my  Sonnes,are  none  of  mine, 
They  are  the  yffue  of  your  Loynes,  my  Liege,  395 

And  blood  of  your  begetting. 

Cym.    How?  my  Iffue. 

Bel.    So  fure  as  you,  your  Fathers  :  I  (old  Morgan) 
Am  that  Belarius,  whom  you  fometime  banifh'd  : 
Your  pleafure  was  my  neere  offence,  my  punimment  400 

It  felfe,  and  all  my  Treafon  that  I  fuffer'd, 
Was  all  the  harme  I  did.     Thefe  gentle  Princes 
( For  fuch,  and  fo  they  are )  thefe  twenty  yeares  403 


391.  Ere]  E'er  Rowe  i.  Glo.  Cam.     issue?  Rowe  et  cet. 
arife,]    arise    Knt,    Sta.    Ktly,  398.  you,   your   Fathers:]   you,   your 

Cam.  father's.    Johns.       you    your    father's. 

Sonnes,]  sons;  Cap.  et  seq.  Cap.  et  seq. 

392.  Then]  Ff,+,  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam.  400.  neere]  near  F3F4,-f-,  Cap.  Varr. 
Then,  Cap.  et  cet.  Mai.    mere  Tyrwhitt,  Ran.  et  seq. 

393.  Father^  father  Pope,  Han.  Glo.  401.  and]  made  Vaun. 

Cam.  Treafon  that]  treason:  that  Pope 

394.  mine,]  mine;  Theob.  Warb.  et  et  seq. 

seq.  fu/er'd,]     suffered    Knt,     Coll. 

397.  How?]  How!  Cap.  et  seq.  Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam.  Ktly. 
IJfue.]  Ff.    issue!  Dyce,  Ktly, 


391.  I  will  preferre  my  Sonnes]  That  is,  advance,  promote,  as  in  Imogen's 
speech  to  Cloten,  II,  iii,  148. 

400.  Your  pleasure  was  my  neere  offence,  etc.]  JOHNSON:  I  think  the 
passage  may  better  be  read  thus:  'was  my  dear  offence,  my  punishment  Itself  was 
all  my  treason;  The  offence  that  cost  me  so  dear  was  only  your  Caprice.  My 
sufferings  have  been  all  my  crime.' — TYRWHITT  (p.  13):  'Neere'  of  the  Folio 
plainly  points  out  to  us  the  true  reading — meere,  as  the  word  was  then  spelt. 
['Mere'  means,  of  course,  in  its  derivative  sense,  pure,  only,  and  is  a  happy  emenda- 
tion; but  'neere'  is  not  without  a  meaning  if  transposed,  'neere  my  offence.' 
And  thus  THISELTON  (p.  50)  accepts  it  and  paraphrases:  'Your  pleasure  was  almost 
my  offence,  my  punishment  was  that  offence  itself.'  Transposition  is  so  far  from 
unusual  in  Shakespeare  that  it  ought  not  to  prove  an  insuperable  objection. — 
SCHMIDT  (Lex.,  s.  v.  Meere,  i.)  holds  that  in  the  present  line  mere  should  be  trans- 
posed and  the  passage  read:  'Your  mere  pleasure  was  my  offence.' — ED.] 

403.  (For  such,  and  so  they  are)]  VAUGHAN:  Were  'such'  and  'so'  mere  equiv- 
alents, we  could  plausibly  amend  the  pleonasm  thus:  'For  such  in  sooth  they  are.' 
The  phrase  may  well  mean,  'for  they  are  princes  both  in  princely  qualities  and  in 
actual  fact.' 


ACT    V,  SC.   V.] 


CYMBELINE 


Haue  I  trained  vp  ;  thofe  Arts  they  haue,  as  I 
Could  put  into  them.     My  breeding  was  (Sir) 
As  your  Highneffe  knowes  :  Their  Nurfe  Euriphile 
(Whom  for  the  Theft  I  wedded)  fbole  thefe  Children 
Vpon  my  Banifhment :  I  moou'd  her  too't, 
Hauing  receyuM  the  punifhment  before 
For  that  which  I  did  then.     Beaten  for  Loyaltie, 
Excited  me  to  Treafon.     Their  deere  loffe, 
The  more  of  you  'twas  felt,  the  more  it  fhapM 
Vnto  my  end  of  ftealing  them.     But  gracious  Sir, 
Heere  are  your  Sonnes  againe,  and  I  muft  loofe 
Two  of  the  fweet'ft  Companions  in  the  World. 
The  benediction  of  thefe  couering  Heauens 
Fall  on  their  heads  liks  dew,  for  they  are  worthie 
To  in-lay  Heauen  with  Starres. 


427 


405 


410 


415 


418 


404.  thofe  Arts]  such  arts  Pope,+. 

405.  Could. ..was]  One   line   (reading 
them;  and  my)  Cap. 

405,  406.  Could. ..As]  One  line,  Johns, 
et  seq. 

405.  put  into  them]  put  'em  to  Vaun. 
My... (Sir}]  Sir,  my  breeding  "was, 

Pope,  Theob.  Han.  Warb. 

406.  knowes:]    knowes,    F2.      knows, 
F3F4.    knows.  Pope  et  seq. 

407.  Children]  children.  Johns. 

408.  Banijhment:    /]    banishment    / 
Johns. 

too't,]  F2F3.  to't,  F4,  Rowe, 
Pope,  Han.  Glo.  Ktly,  Cam.  to't; 
Theob.  et  cet. 

409.  before]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Theob. 


Han.  Warb.  Cam.    before,  Johns,  et  cet. 

410.  Beaten]  Beatings  Han.     beating 
Ktly. 

Loyaltie,]  Loyalty,   Ff.     loyalty 
Cap.  et  seq. 

411.  Treafon.]     Ff,+,     Coll.     Ktly. 
treason:  Cap.  et  cet. 

413.  gracious]  Om.  Pope,+. 

414.  againe,]  againe:  Ff  et  seq. 
loofe]  iofe  F4. 

415.  World.]  Ff,+,  Coll.  Glo.  Cam. 
world:  Cap.  et  cet. 

417.  liks]  Fi. 

dew,]    Ff,    Rowe,    Coll.    ii,    iii. 
dew!  Pope  et  cet. 

418.  in-lay]  inlay  Cap.  et  seq. 
Heauen]  Heavens  F4,  Rowe. 


404.  as]  For  instances  of  'as'  'approaching  the  meaning  of  a  relative  pro- 
noun,' see  ABBOTT,  §  280. 

407,  408.  stole  these  Children  Vpon  my  Banishment]  It  is  strange  that  the 
period  which  JOHNSON  put  after  '  Children '  has  not  been  followed. — VAUGHAN,  ap- 
parently not  aware  of  it,  recommends  a  colon,  and  remarks:  'Clearly,  Belarius 
instigated  her  as  soon  as  he  received  his  sentence  of  banishment,  and  because  otit; 
and  Euriphile  did  not  steal  before  Belarius  instigated  her  to  do  so.  The  motive  of 
Euriphile's  theft  was  not  the  banishment  of  Belarius,  but  his  bribe  and  instigation, 
while  the  motive  of  Belarius's  instigation  was  his  banishment.' 

410.  Beaten  for  Loyaltie]  ABBOTT  (§  413):  That  is,  'my  having  been  beaten/ 
where  'the  nominative  is  implied  from  the  participial  phrase.' 

415.  sweet'st]    For    other    examples    of    similar    contraction,    see    ABBOTT, 

§  473- 


428  THE  TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  v. 

Cym.    Thou  weep'ft,  and  fpeak'ft  : 

The  Seruice  that  you  three  haue  done,  is  more  420 

Vnlike,  then  this  thou  tell'ft.     I  loft  my  Children, 
If  thefe  be  they,  I  know  not  how  to  wifh 
A  payre  of  worthier  Sonnes. 

Bel.     Be  pleas' d  awhile  ; 

This  Gentleman,  whom  I  call  Polidore,  425 

Moft  worthy  Prince,  as  yours,  is  true  Guiderius : 
This  Gentleman,  my  Cadwall ^Aruiragus. 
Your  yonger  Princely  Son,  he  Sir,  was  lapt 
In  a  moft  curious  Mantle,  wrought  by  th'hand 
Of  his  Queene  Mother,  which  for  more  probation  430 

I  can  with  eafe  produce. 

Cym.    Guiderius  had 

Vpon  his  necke  a  Mole,  a  fanguine  Starre, 
It  was  a  marke  of  wonder. 

Bel.    This  is  he,  435 

Who  hath  vpon  him  ftill  that  naturall  ftampe  : 
It  was  wife  Natures  end,  in  the  donation 
To  be  his  euidence  now.  438 

419.  fpeak'Jl:]  speak'st.  Johns,  et  seq.  429.  th'hand]  the  hand  Cap.  et  seq. 

421.  tell'Jl.]  Ff,+,   Coll.   Glo.   Cam.  430.  Queene     Mother]     queen-mother 

telVst:  Cap.  et  cet.  Pope,+. 

Children,}  Ff.    children —  Rowe,  433.  Starre,}  star;  Theob.  Warb.  et 

+.    children;  Cap.  et  seq.  seq. 

424.  awhile;}  a  while:  Ff.    a  while —  435.  is  he,}  Ff,  Coll.    is  he;  Rowe  et 

Rowe,+.    a  while.  Cap.  et  seq.  cet. 

426.  as  yours,  is}  as  your's  is  Coll.  437.  end,... donation}  Ff.    end,...dona- 

428.  Son}    Ff.      son.     Ktly.      son,  tion,    Rowe,+.      end... donation,    Han. 

Rowe  et  cet.  Cap.  et  seq. 
lapt}  lapp'd  Mai. 


419-421.  Thou  weep'st  .  .  .  this  thou  tell'st]  JOHNSON:  'Thy  tears  give 
testimony  to  the  sincerity  of  thy  relation;  and  I  have  the  less  reason  to  be  incredu- 
lous, because  the  actions  you  have  done  within  my  knowledge  are  more  incredible 
than  the  story  you  relate.'  The  King  reasons  very  justly. 

433.  a  Mole,  a  sanguine  Starre]  The  COWDEN-CLARKES:  Most  poetically, 
as  well  as  with  a  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  cowslip,'  and  Guiderius's  'mole,  a 
sanguine  star,'  are  twinned  in  beauty  with  a  poet's  imagination  and  a  naturalist's 
truth. 


ACT   V,   SC.   V.] 


CYM DELINK 


Cym.    Oh,  what  am  I 

A  Mother  to  the  byrth  of  three  ?  Nere  Mother 
Reioyc'd  deliuerance  more  :  Bleft,pray  you  be, 
That  after  this  ftrange  ftarting  from  your  Orbes, 
You  may  reigne  in  them  now  :  Oh  Imogen , 
Thou  haft  loft  by  this  a  Kingdome. 

luw.    No,  my  Lord  : 

I  haue  got  two  Worlds  by't.     Oh  my  gentle  Brothers, 
Haue  we  thus  met  ?  Oh  neuer  fay  heereafter 
But  I  am  trueft  fpeaker.     You  call'd  me  Brother 
When  I  was  but  your  Sifter  :  I  you  Brothers, 
When  we  were  fo  indeed. 

Cym.    Did  you  ere  meete  ? 

And.    I  my  good  Lord. 

Gui.    And  at  firft  meeting  lou'd, 


429 


440 


445 


450 


453 


439.  Oh,]  0,  Cap.    0!  Coll. 

what  am  I]  what  am  I?  Han. 
Walker,  Cam.  what,  am  I  Dyce,  Glo. 
Coll.  iii. 

440.  three?]     three!    Theob.     Warb. 
Johns.  Walker. 

Nere]  Ne're  F4.    Ne'er  Rowe. 

441.  Reioyc'd]     Rejoiced     at     Ktly 
conj. 

Blejl,  pray  you  be}  Ff ,  Glo.  Cam. 
Bless'd,  pray  you  be,  Coll.  i,  ii,  Dyce, 
Sta.  blest,  may  you  be,  Rowe  et  cet. 
(subs.) 

443.  now:}   Ff,   Rowe,   Pope.     now. 
Johns.  Coll.  i,  ii.    now!  Theob.  et  cet. 


444.  Thou  hajl]  Thou'ast  or  Thou'st 
Pope,-f. 

446.  I  haue]  I've  Pope,+,  Dyce  ii,  iii. 
Brothers]  brother  Var.  '03,  '13, 

'21  (misprint). 

447.  heereafter}  Ff ,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han. 
Dyce,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam.    hereafter,  Theob. 
et  cet. 

449.  Brothers}    Brother,    Ff,    Rowe, 
Pope,     brothers;  Theob.  Warb.  Johns. 

450.  we]  Ff,  Rowe  i.    ye  Rowe  ii,+, 
Dyce  ii,  iii,  Glo.  Cam.    you  Cap.  et  cet. 

451.  ere}  e'er  Rowe. 

452.  /]  Ay,  Rowe. 

453.  lou'd,]  lov'd;  Theob.  et  seq. 


440,  441.  Nere  Mother  Reioyc'd  deliuerance  more]  SCHMIDT  (Lex.,  s.  v.  2. 
trans.  6.)  here  defines  'rejoice'  as  'to  be  joyful  at,'  but  gives  only  one  other  example 
of  a  similar  use:  'which  I  in  sufferance  will  heartily  rejoice.' — Hen.  V:  II,  ii,  159.— 
ONIONS  gives  the  same  definition  with  the  same  two  examples. — ROLFE  excellently 
obviates  any  forced  meaning  of '  rejoice '  by  considering  '  deliuerance '  as  the  subject 
and  'Mother'  the  object  of  the  verb. 

442.  starting  from  your  Orbes]  This  is  generally  explained  as  a  reference 
to  the  Ptolomaic  system,  wherein  the  Sun  and  seven  planets  moved  in  concentric 
spheres,  to  which  Shakespeare  several  times  refers,  and  this  may  be  the  explanation. 
I  incline  to  think,  however,  that  'orb'  here  means  rank,  station,  coupled  as  it  is  with 
the  assertion  that  the  young  princes  are  to  return  and  again  reign  therein.  For 
reference  to  the  Ptolomaic  system,  see  Ant.  &  Cleop.,  Ill,  xiii,  175;  Mer.  of  Venice, 
V,  i,  74;  Mid.  N.  Dream,  II,  i,  7,  all  of  this  edition,  with  notes  thereon. — ED. 

450.  When  we  were  so  indeed]  JOHNSON:  If  the  Folio  be  right,  we  must  give 
this  speech  to  Arviragus. — WHITE:  Possibly  Rowe  erred  in  making  the  change 
[from  'we'  to  ye]. 


430  THE  TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  v. 

Continew'd  fo,  vntill  we  thought  he  dyed. 

Corn.    By  the  Queenes  Dramme  fhe  fwallow'd.  455 

Cym.    O  rare  inftincl  \ 

When  fhall  I  heare  all  through?  This  fierce  abridgment, 
Hath  to  it  Circumftantiall  branches,  which 
Diflin<5tion  fhould  be  rich  in.     Where?  how  liu'd  you  ? 
And  when  came  you  to  ferue  our  Romane  Captiue  ?  460 

How  parted  with  your  Brother  ?    How  firft  met  them  ? 
Why  fled  you  from  the  Court  ?  And  whether  thefe  ?  462 

454.  he]  she  Han.  460.  when]  whence  Johns.  (1771)  ap. 

457-  fierce]  first  Ktly.    forc'd  Coll.  Cam. 

conj.    brief  Bailey  (i,  120).  461.  Brother]    brothers    Rowe   ii.    et 

458.  to  it]  left  Han.  ii.  seq. 

459.  Where?... you?]         Where, ...you,  462.  And  whether  thefe?]  and  whether? 
Knt.  These,  Theob.  et  seq. 

456.  O  rare  instinct]    WALKER    (Crit.,  iii,   330):    Cannot  'O' — scepius  inter- 
polatum — be  dispensed  with  here?      At  any  rate,  we  must  pronounce  instinct. 
Thus  IV,  ii,  229:    "Tis  wonder  That  an  invisible  instinct  should  frame  them  To 
Royalty  Vnlearn'd.'     2  Hen.  IV:  I,  i,  85:    'He  that  but  fears  the  thing  he  would 
not  know  Hath  by  instinct,  knowledge  from  others'  eyes.'     Middleton  and  Rowley, 
Changeling,  ed.  Dyce,  vol.  iv,  p.  289,  [V,  ii.],  'O,  but  instinct  is  of  a  subtler  strain!' 
And  so  Milton,  Par.  Lost.,  x,  263:  'By  this  new  felt  attraction  and  instinct.'     [It 
is  strange  that  neither  Walker  nor  his  editor,  Lettsom,  noticed  that,  on  the  very 
passage  quoted  from  this  play,  Malone's  note  states  that  'the  accent  was  laid  on 
the  second  syllable  of  the  word  instinct.' — ED.] 

457~459-  This  fierce  abridgment  .  .  .  rich  in]  GERVINUS  (ii,  258,  4te 
Aufl.) :  Whatsoever  might  be  regarded  as  somewhat  capricious  or  arbitrary  in  the 
weaving  of  the  outer  circumstances  of  the  plot  is  far  counter-balanced  by  the 
inimitable  denouement  in  the  last  scene.  This  found  favour  in  even  Dr.  Johnson's 
eyes.  It  is  so  rich  in  its  abridgement  that  verily  the  Poet  seems  to  be  praising 
himself  for  it  in  these  lines. 

457.  fierce]  JOHNSON:   'Fierce'  is  vehement,  rapid. 

459.  Distinction  should  be  rich  in]  STEEVENS:  That  is,  which  ought  to 
be  rendered  distinct  by  a  liberal  amplitude  of  narrative. 

462.  And  whether  these  ?]  Here  we  have  an  example  of  THEOBALD'S  clear 
vision  in  emendation,  for  which  not  one  syllable  of  commendation  did  he  receive 
from  his  successors  who  profited  by  it.  His  note  is  as  follows :  '  The  King  is  asking 
his  Daughter  how  she  lived  since  her  elopment  from  the  Court;  when  she  entered 
herself  in  Lucius's  service;  how  she  met  her  brothers,  or  parted  from  them;  why  she 
fled  from  the  Court  and  to  what  place;  and  having  enumerated  so  many  particu- 
lars, he  stops  short,  and  cries,  "All  these  circumstances,  and  the  motives  of  Belarius, 
Guiderius,  and  Arviragus  to  the  battle,  together  with  a  number  more  of  occur- 
rences by  the  bye,  I  want  to  be  resolved  in."  If  Steevens  had  printed  this  note  in 
full  in  the  Variorum  of  1778,  MONCK  MASON  would  have  been  spared  the  trouble 
of  informing  us  (p.  377)  who  the  'three  were  whose  "motives"  led  them  "to  the 
battle." '—ED. 


ACT   V,  SC.  V.] 


CYMBELINE 


And  your  three  motiues  to  the  Battaile  ?  with 

I  know  not  how  much  more  mould  be  demanded, 

And  all  the  other  by-dependances 

From  chance  to  chance  ?  But  nor  the  Time,  nor  Place 

Will  ferue  our  long  Interrogatories.     See, 

PoftJiumus  Anchors  vpon  Imogen  • 

And  fhe  (like  harmleffe  Lightning)  throwes  her  eye 

On  him  :  her  Brothers,  Me  :  her  Mafter  hitting 

Each  obiecl:  with  a  loy  :  the  Counter-change 

Is  feuerally  in  all.      Let's  quit  this  ground, 

And  fmoake  the  Temple  with  our  Sacrifices. 

Thou  art  my  Brother,  fo  wee'l  hold  thee  euer. 

Into.    You  are  my  Father  too.  and  did  releeue  me  : 
To  fee  this  gracious  feafon. 

Cym.    All  ore-ioy'd 
Sane  thefe  in  bonds,  let  them  be  ioyfull  too, 


431 
463 

465 


470 


475 


478 


463.  Battaile?}     F2.       Battle;     F3F4, 
Rowe.       battle?  Pope,    battel,  or  battle, 
Theob.  et  seq. 

464.  morejhould}  more,  should  Theob. 
et  seq 

demanded,]    demanded;    Theob. 
et  seq. 

465.  by-dependances]  F2F3,  Rowe  i,+, 
Cam.    by  dependances  F4,  Rowe  ii.    by- 
-dependencies    Coll.    Dyce,    Sta.    Glo. 
by-dependancies  Cap.  et  cet. 

466.  chance?]  chance:  Theob.  et  seq. 
But  nor]  But  not  F3F4,+. 

467.  our]  Om.  Pope,+,  Cap. 
Interrogatories]  Ff,+,  Var.  '78, 

Ran.  Ktly.  inter -rogaiories  Cap.  in- 
ter gator  ies  Var.  '85,  Mai.  Steev.  Varr. 
Knt.  inter' gatories  Coll.  Dyce,  Sta. 
Glo. 


470.  On  him:  her  Brothers,  Me:]  on 
him,  her  brothers,  me,  Rowe  et  seq. 

Mafter]  master,  Rowe,  Knt, 
Coll.  'Dyce  ii,  iii,  Sta.  Glo.  Cam. 
master;  Pope  et  cet. 

471.  loy:]  joy.  Pope,-f. 

472.  Let's  quit}  Lets  quite  F2. 

474.  [To  Belarius.  Rowe. 
Brother,}  brother;  Theob.  et  seq. 

475.  Father     too,}       Pope,+,     Glo. 
Mother  too,  Ff,  Rowe.    father  too;  Cap. 
et  cet. 

me:}  me,  Rowe  ii.  et  seq. 

476.  feafon.]  feafon!  F4,  Rowe,  Pope, 
Theob.  Warb.  Johns. 

477.  ioy'd]  Ff,  Rowe,  Ktly.    joy'd, 
Pope  et  cet. 

478.  bonds,]  Ff,  Rowe.    bonds!  Ktly. 
bonds;  Pope  et  cet. 


465.  by-dependances]  DOWDEN:  Our  word  'side-issues'  conies  near  the 
meaning. 

467.  Interrogatories]  TYRWHITT  remarks  that  certain  editors  [see  Text. 
Notes]  have  unnecessarily  omitted  '  our '  in  this  line,  inasmuch  as  '  interrogatory '  is 
used  by  Shakespeare  as  a  word  of  five  syllables;  see  Mer.  of  Ven.,  'And  charge  us 
there  upon  intergatories,'  V,  i,  325;  again,  two  lines  after:  'Let  it  be  so,  the  first 
intergatory,'  etc.,  where  the  First  and  Second  Quartos  spell  it '  intergotories.'  Again, 
in  All's  Well,  'let  me  answer  to  the  particular  of  the  intergatories,'  IV,  iii,  207. 
This  spelling  has  been  adopted  by  those  editors  who  retain  'our.'  See  Text.  Notes. 

471,  472.  the  Counter-change  Is  seuerally  in  all]  DEIGHTON:  That  is, 
each  reciprocates  the  other's  joy. 


432  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  v. 

For  they  fhall  tafte  our  Comfort. 

lino.   My  good  Matter,  I  will  yet  do  you  feruice.  480 

Luc.    Happy  be  you. 

Cym.   The  forlorne  Souldier,  that  no  Nobly  fought 
He  would  haue  well  becom'd  this  place,  and  grac'd 
The  thankings  of  a  King. 

Pojl.    I  am  Sir  485 

The  Souldier  that  did  company  thefe  three 
In  poore  befeeming  :  'twas  a  fitment  for 
The  purpofe  I  then  followed.     That  I  was  he, 
Speake  lachimo,  I  had  you  downe ,  and  might 
Haue  made  you  finifh.  490 

lack.    I  am  downe  againe  : 
But  now  my  heauie  Confcience  finkes  my  knee,  492 

480.  My  good  Mafler]   Closing  line  /  am,  sir,  he  Vaun.     I  am,  sir  King 
479,  Pope  et  seq.  Anon.  ap.  Cam.  Huds. 

481.  you.]  you!  Pope  et  seq.  488.  followed.]  Ff,+,  Coll.  Dyce,  Glo. 

482.  no]  Jo  Ff.  Cam.   followed:  Cap.  et  cet. 

483.  becom'd]   become  Warb.   Johns.  489.  lachimo,]     Jackimo;      Cap.    et 
Coll.  seq. 

485.  /  am  Sir]  F2.     'Tis  I  am,  sir,  490.  you  finish]  your  finish  Ff,  Rowe, 

Pope,  Theob.  Han.  Warb.    /  am,  great        Theob.  Warb. 
Sir,   Ktly.     /   am,   Sir,   F3F4   et   cet.  492.  [Kneels.  Theob. 

482.  forlorne  Souldier]  DOWDEN:  I  think  this  means  lost,  not  to  be  found;  but 
it  is  also  used  (as  in  'forlorn  hope')  of  soldiers  who  dared  utmost  peril.     [The  stage 
direction  at  the  opening  of  the  Second  Scene  of  the  present  Act  reads :   '  Enter  .  .  . 
Leonatus  Posthumus  following  like  a  poore  Souldier.'     Does  not  'poor'  here  refer 
to  the  garb,  indicating  that  Posthumus  was  meanly  dressed?     Is  it  not  to  this  mean 
attire  that  the  King  refers  when  he  used  'forlorn'?      That  Posthumus  so  under- 
stood the  reference  is,  I  think,  clear  by  his  direct  response  to  it  in  his  answer: 
'I  am,'  he  says,  'the  soldier  ...  in  poor  beseeming.'     Hence,  as  it  seems  to  me,  in 
'poor  beseeming,'  or  in  poor  appearance,  we  may  probably  find  the  meaning  of 
'forlorn.' — ED.] 

483.  becom'd]  For  other  examples  of  'irregular  participial   formations/  see 
ABBOTT,  §  344. 

485.  I  am  Sir]  The  Text.  Notes  reveal  the  struggles  of  editors  to  supply  a  gap 
in  the  metre,  which  the  pause  between  two  speeches  renders  needless. — ED. 

487.  a  fitment]  According  to  Bartlett's  Concordance  this  word  is  used — I'll 
not  say  by  Shakespeare — in  only  one  other  place  in  the  Third  Folio.  It  occurs  in 
Pericles,  IV,  iii,  6,  in  the  sense  of  what  is  befitting,  which  is,  possibly,  the  exact 
sense  of  the  present  passage,  where  Posthumus's  forlorn  or  poor  beseeming  befitted 
his  purpose. — ED. 

490.  finish]  That  is,  die.  See  'Were  present  when  she  finish'd,'  line  47  of  this 
scene. 

492.  sinkes  my  knee]    Lest  we  should  fail   to  comprehend   the  meaning  of 


ACT  v,  sc.  v.]  CYMBELINE 

As  then  your  force  did.     Take  that  life,  befeech  you  493 

Which  I  fo  often  owe  :  but  your  Ring  firft, 

And  heere  the  Bracelet  of  the  trueft  Princeffe  495 

That  euer  fvvore  her  Faith. 

Poft.    Kneele  not  to  me  : 

The  powre  that  I  haue  on  you,  is  to  fpare  you  : 
The  malice  towards  you,  to  forgiue  you.  Liue 
And  deale  with  others  better.  500 

Cym.  Nobly  doom'd  : 

Wee'l  learne  our  Freeneffe  of  a  Sonne-in-Law  : 
Pardon's  the  word  to  all. 

And.    You  holpe  vs  Sir, 

As  you  did  meane  indeed  to  be  our  Brother,  505 

loy'd  are  we,  that  you  are. 

Poft.    Your  Seruant  Princes. Good  my  Lord  of  Rome 
Call  forth  your  Sooth-fayer  :  As  I  flept,  me  thought 
Great  lupiter  vpon  his  Eagle  back'd  509 

493.  befeech]    'beseech    Theob.    ii,  +  ,  501.  doom'd:]  doom'd.  Coll.    doom'd! 
Varr.  Mai.  Steev.  Varr.  Knt,  Ktly.  Dyce,  Glo.  Cam. 

494.  firjl,]    first;    Theob.   Warb.    et  504.  holpe]     F2.       help'd     Pope,+. 
seq.  holp  F3F4  et  cet. 

495.  the  Bracelet]  your  bracelet  F3F4,  [To  Pos.  Cap. 

Rowe,  Pope,  Han.  505.  Brother,]  brother;  Theob.  et  seq. 

499.  forgiue  you.]  Ff,   Coll.  forgive            507-543.  Good. ..Well]     In     margin, 
you:  Cap.  et  cet.  Pope,  Han. 

500.  better.]    better!    Theob.  Warb.             509.  Eagle  backed]  eagle  back  Var.  '03, 
Johns.  '13,  '21. 


these  dark  and  enigmatic  words  THEOBALD  thoughtfully  and  benignantly  added  a 
stage  direction,  'kneels,'  and  has  been  followed,  I  think,  by  every  succeeding  editor. 
CAPELL  is  even  more  considerate.  When  lachimo  says  'but  your  Ring  first,' 
Capell  inserts  a  double  dagger  to  make  us  understand  that  the  ring  is  here  presented; 
and  when  lachimo  continues,  'and  here  the  Bracelet,'  the  editor,  unwearied  in 
kindness,  inserts  another  set  of  daggers.  A  mother's  devotion  during  our  infant 
hours  in  running  to  catch  us  when  we  fell  and  kissing  the  place  to  make  it  well,  is  as 
nothing  to  this  fostering  care  of  Shakespearian  editors  over  our  tottering  dramatic 
steps. — ED. 

505.  As  you  did  meane]   That  is,  as  if.     See  line  215,  above,  or  ABBOTT, 
§  107. 

509.  vpon  his  Eagle  back'd]  In  reference  to  what  is  possibly  a  misprint, 
'eagle  back,'  in  the  last  three  Variorums,  Collier  remarks  that  if  it  were  intentional 
it  should  have  been  printed  'eagle's  back.' — WALKER  (Of/.,  iii,  33):  Would  eagle- 
back  be  according  to  the  laws  of  Elizabethan  grammar?  Horse-back  was  horse' - 
back,  King  John,  II,  i,  289:  'Saint  George  .  .  .  Sits  on  his  horse'  back  at  mine 
hostess'  door.'  I  Hen.  IV:  II,  iv,  268:  'this  horse'-back-breaker.' 
28 


434  THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  v. 

Appeared  to  me,  with  other  fprightly  fhevves  510 

Of  mine  owne  kindred.     When  I  wak'd,  I  found 

This  Labell  on  my  bofome  ;  whofe  containing 

Is  fo  from  fenfe  in  hardneffe,  that  I  can 

Make  no  Collection  of  it.     Let  him  fhew 

His  skill  in  the  conduction.  515 

Lite.    Philharmonus. 

Sooth.     Heere,  my  good  Lord. 

Luc.    Read,  and  declare  the  meaning. 

Reades. 

WHen  as  a  Lyons  whelpe,JJiall  to  himfelfe  vnknown,  with-       5  20 
out fe  eking  finde ,  and  bee  embraced  by  apeece  offender 
Ay  re :  And  when  from  ajlately  Cedar  Jliall  be  lopt  branches, 
which  being  dead  many  ye  ares,  Jhall  after  reuiiie,  bee  ioyntedto 
the  old  Stock e ,  and freflily  grow,  the nfliall  Poftliumus  end  his 
miferies,  Britain  e  be  fortunate,  andflourijli  in  Peace  and  Plen-       525 
tie. 

Thou  Leonatus  art  the  Lyons  Whelpe, 
The  fit  and  apt  Conftruction  of  thy  name 
Being  Leonatus,  doth  import  fo  much: 
The  peece  of  tender  Ayre,  thy  vertuous  Daughter,  529 

510.  fprightly]  Ff.    spritely  Steev.  et  Wh.  i,  Sta. 
seq.     spritelike  Coll.  ii.  conj.  528.  Leonatus]  Ff.     Leo-natus  Cap. 

519.  Reades.]  Soo.  [reads]  Cap.  et  seq. 

520.  f^Hen  as]  Ff.     Whenas  Dyce,  529.  [To  Cymb.  Theob. 

510.  sprightly  shewes]  STEEVENS:  Are  groups  of  sprites  ghostly  appear- 
ances? 

512,  513.  whose  containing  Is  so  from  sense  in  hardnesse]  Whose  con- 
tents are  so  incomprehensible.  '  From  sense '  means  remote  from  sense.  See  '  her 
value  .  .  .  words  him  ...  a  great  deal  from  the  matter.' — I,  v,  18,  19. 

514.  Collection]  ONIONS:    Inference,  deduction. 

519.  Reades]  For  COLERIDGE'S  opinion  of  this  scroll,  see  V,  iv,  144. — COLLIER 
(ed.  i.):  It  is  very  possible  that  the  scroll  and  the  vision  were  parts  of  an  older 
play,  [ed.  ii.] — and  such  riddles  were  so  popular,  especially  on  our  old  stage,  that 
Shakespeare  may  not  have  liked  to  omit  it. — WHITE  (ed.  i.) :  This  scroll  and  the 
four  following  speeches  are,  in  my  judgement,  plainly  not  from  Shakespeare's  pen, 
which,  however,  I  trace  again  in  the  last  lines  of  the  play. — STAUNTON:  This 
precious  scroll,  and  its  equally  ridiculous  exposition,  form  an  appropriate  sequel 
to  the  vision,  and  were  doubtless  the  work  of  the  same  accomplished  hand.  Mr 
Collier's  suggestion  is  extremely  probable. 

529.  The  peece  of  tender  Ayre]   I   think  we  have  here  another  instance  of 
'piece'   applied   to  woman.     See  Staunton's  admirable  conjecture,   V,   i,    22.— 
MURRAY  (N.  E.  D.,  s.  v.  piece,  subst.  II,  9.  b.)  quotes  an  illustration  of  its  applica- 


ACT  v,  sc.  v.]  CYMBELINE 


435 


Which  we  call  Mollis  Aer,  and  Mollis  Aer  530 

We  terme  it  Mutter ;  which  Mutter  I  diuine 

Is  this  moft  conftant  Wife,  who  euen  now 

Anfwering  the  Letter  of  the  Oracle, 

Vnknowne  to  you  vnfought,  were  clipt  about 

With  this  moft  tender  Aire.  535 

Cym.    This  hath  fome  feeming. 

Sooth.    The  lofty  Cedar,  Royall  Cyvibeline 
Perfonates  thee  :  And  thy  lopt  Branches,  point 
Thy  two  Sonnes  forth  :  who  by  Belarius  ftolne  5  39 

532.  this]  Ff.    thy  Cap.  Dyce  ii,  Wh.  532.  [To  Pos.  Cap. 

i,  Vaun.    his  Hertzberg  conj.  534.  to  you]  Ff.    you,  Rowe  et  seq. 

532.  Wife,]   Ff,   Rowe,   Pope,   Han.  -were]  wert  Vaun.  Thiselton. 

wife;  Theob.  et  seq. 

tion  'to  a  woman  or  a  girl':    'all  princely  graces,  That  mould  up  such  a  mighty 
piece  as  this  is'  [Queen  Elizabeth]. — Hen.  VIII:  V,  v,  26. — ED. 

531.  We  terme  it  Mulier]  According  to  HERTZBERG  the  derivation  of 
mulier  from  molities  is  due  to  Varro,  Cicero's  friend,  as  is  found  in  Tertullian  (de 
Vel.  Virg.,  204).  It  is  found  later  in  Lactantius,  according  to  Dr  W.  ALDIS  WRIGHT 
(N.  &*  Q.,  VII,  ii,  85,  1886),  in  the  following  passage:  'Item  mulier,  ut  Varro  inter- 
pretatur,  a  mollitie  est  dicta,  immutata  et  detracta  littera,  velut  mollier.' — De 
opificio  Dei,  c.  xii.  About  three  hundred  years  later  (Circa  A.  D.  620)  the  same 
derivation,  in  nearly  the  same  words,  and  attributed  to  Varro,  occurs  in  the  Origines 
of  Isidore,  as  was  pointed  out  by  S.  SINGLETON  (N.  &°  Q.,  II,  ii,  163,  1857).  The 
derivation  of  mulier  from  the  comparative  mollior,  of  mollis,  is  now  accepted  as  the 
true  one.  The  first  appearance  of  Mollis  Aer  in  English  air  finishes  the  quest. 
F.  C.  BIRKBECK  TERRY  (N.  &  Q.,  VII,  iv,  105,  1887)  pointed  out,  in  Caxton's 
Game  of  the  Chesse,  the  first  book  printed  in  England,  about  1474-75,  the  following 
passage:  'For  the  Women  ben  lykenede  unto  softe  waxe  or  softe  ayer,  and  there- 
fore she  is  callyd  Mulier  whiche  is  as  moche  to  say  in  latyn  as  mollis  aer  and  in 
englissh  softe  ayer.' — Thefifthe  chapitre  of  the  thyrd  book.  (Facsimile  of  V.  Figgins, 
1853.)  In  the  meantime,  Dr  WRIGHT  points  out  that  hi  A  World  of  Wonders,  .  .  . 
written  in  Latine  by  Henrie  Stephen,  .  .  .  London,  1607,  the  following  is  to  be 
found:  ' If  any  shall  reply  and  say,  that  .  .  .  the  ancient  Latinists  neuer  me'tioned 
these  etymologies,  ...  I  answer  that  they  had  as  good  dexteritie  in  giving  Ety- 
mologies of  ancient  latin  words:  witnesse  the  notation  of  Mulier,  quasi  mollisaer.' 
Another  example,  proving  its  geographical  distribution,  is  given  by  E.  SCHMIDT 
(Hist.  Monatsbl  alter,  Posen,  Feb.,  1902,  p.  28).  'It  appears,'  he  observes,  'that 
half  a  century  before  Cymbeline  was  written,  this  somewhat  rare  derivation  occurs 
in  a  communication  from  the  Starost  Andreas  von  Koszezielecz  to  the  city  of 
Dantzig,  in  1555.  From  this  writing  we  learn  that  the  daughter  of  a  Burgher, 
one  Stanislaus  Papuga,  had  been  put  in  prison  for  some  offence  not  specifically 
mentioned.  The  Starost  petitions  the  City  authorities  to  set  the  damsel  free  out 
of  regard,  on  the  one  hand,  for  the  father's  anguish,  and,  on  the  other,  that  a  woman 
is  fashioned  as  delicately  as  the  air:  "videant  Dominationes  Vestre  huius  sexus 
labilem  naturam,  ut  merito  natura  mulier  dicitur  quasi  molis  [sic]  aer.'" — ED. 


THE   TRACED  IE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  v. 

For  many  yeares  thought  dead,  are  nowreuiu'd  540 

To  the  Maiefticke  Cedar  ioyn'd;  whofe  Iffue 
Promifes  Britaine,  Peace  and  Plenty. 

Cym.    Well, 

My  Peace  we  will  begin  :  And  Cams  Lucius, 
Although  the  Vi6tor,  we  fubmit  to  Ctz/ar,  545 

And  to  the  Romane  Empire  ;  promifmg 
To  pay  our  wonted  Tribute,  from  the  which 
We  were  diffwaded  by  our  wicked  Queene, 
Whom  heauens  in  luftice  both  on  her,  and  hers, 
Haue  laid  moft  heauy  hand.  55° 

Sooth.    The  ringers  of  the  Powres  aboue,  do  tune 
The  harmony  of  this  Peace  :  the  Vifion 
Which  I  made  knowne  to  Lucius  ere  the  ftroke  553 

543.  Well,]  Ff,  Om.  Pope,+.    Well;  549,    550.  Whom.. .Haue]    On   whom 
Glo.  Cam.                                                          heav'n's  justice. ..Hath    Pope,+,    Cap. 

544.  My]  By  Han.  Cap.  Ran.  Varr.  Ran. 

begin:]    begin,    Theob.     Warb.  549.  both.. .hers,]    (both.. .hers)    Pope, 

begin.  Coll.  Wh.  Glo.  Cam.  Theob.  Han.  Warb.  Cap.  Varr.  Mai. 

546.  Empire;]  empire,  Johns.  Ran.  Steev.  Varr.  Knt,  Sing. 

547.  Tribute,]  tribute;  Var.  '73.  550.  hand.]  hand  on.  Ktly. 

548.  Queene,]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Han.  552.  Peace:]  peace.  Cap.  Var.  '73  et 
Queen;  Theob.  Warb.  et  seq.  seq. 

544.  My  Peace  we  will  begin]   JOHNSON:    I   think   it  better  to  read:    'By 
peace/  etc. — MASON  (p.  337):   I  have  no  doubt  but  Johnson  is  right.    The  sooth- 
sayer says  that  the  label  promised  to  Britain  'peace  and  plenty,'  to  which  Cym- 
beline  replies:  'We  will  begin  with  peace,  to  fulfil  the  prophecy.' — COLLIER  (ed.  ii.) : 
There  seems  to  be  no  other  material  objection  to  Johnson's  amendment  that  the 
change  is  not  required.     Cymbeline  may  mean  by  '  My  peace '  the  peace  which  was 
to  begin  during  his  reign;  he  therefore  adds  that,  for  the  sake  of  peace,  he  will 
submit  to  Caesar,  and  pay  'the  wonted  tribute.' 

545.  we  submit  to  Caesar,  etc.]  BOAS   (p.  577):   So  quixotic  a  surrender  of 
the  fruits  of  a  hard-fought  campaign  is  a  fitting  close  to  a  work  whose  fantastic 
remoteness  from  ordinary  experience  gives  it  much  of  its  peculiar  charm, — a  charm 
which  is  ill-served  by  the  criticism  that  seeks  in  this  dramatic  romance  the  same 
profound  significance  as  in  the  Tragedies  or  Historical  Plays. 

549.  550.  Whom  heauens  ...  on  her,  and  hers,  Haue  laid  most  heauy  hand] 
It  is,  as  we  all  know,  common  in  Shakespeare  to  omit,  in  relative  sentences, 
the  preposition  belonging  to  a  verb.     The  old  Shepherd  in  The  Wint.  Tale  says: 
'To  die  upon  the  bed  my  father  died,'  IV,  iv,  508.     Beatrice,  in  Much  Ado, 
says:   'let  me  go  with  that  I  came,'  V,   ii,  45. — MALONE,  in  the  Var.  1821, 
gives  many  instances,  and  see  ABBOTT,  §  394.     In  the  present  line  we  have  both 
'on  her'  and  'hers,'  where  the  'on'  seems  sufficiently  to  suggest  the  government 
of  'whom.' — ED. 


ACT   V,  SC.  V.] 


CYMBELINE 


437 


Of  yet  this  fcarfe-cold-Battaile,  at  this  inftant 

Is  full  accomplifh'd.     For  the  Romaine  Eagle  555 

From  South  to  Weft,  on  wing  foaring  aloft 

Leffen'd  her  felfe,  and  in  the  Beames  o'th'Sun 

So  vanifh'd  ;  which  fore-fhew'd  our  Princely  Eagle 

Th'Imperiall  Ccefar ,  fhould  againe  vnite 

His  Fauour,  with  the  Radiant  Cyinbeline^  560 

Which  fhines  heere  in  the  Weft. 

Gym.  Laud  we  the  Gods, 

And  let  our  crooked  Smoakes  climbe  to  their  Noftrils 
From  our  bleft  Altars.     Publifh  we  this  Peace 
To  all  our  Subie6ls.     Set  we  forward  :  Let  565 

A  Roman,  and  a  Brittifh  Enfigne  waue 
Friendly  together  :  fo  through  Luds-Towne  march, 
And  in  the  Temple  of  great  lupiter 
Our  Peace  wee'l  ratifie  :  Scale  it  with  Feafts. 

Set  on  there  :  Neuer  was  a  Warre  did  ceafe  570 

( Ere  bloodie  hands  were  wafh'd )  with  fuch  a  Peace. 

Exeunt. 


FINIS. 


573 


554.  yet  this]  F2,  Wh.  i.    this  yet  F3F4 
et  seq. 

fcarfe-cold-Battaile]  Ff  (subs.). 
scarce  cold  battle  Johns,  scarce-cold 
Battel  (or  battle)  Rowe  et  seq. 

555.  accomplijh'd.]  accomplished:  Cap. 
et  seq. 

Romaine]  Roman  F3F4. 

557.  o'th']  oth'  ¥2.    o'the  Cap.  et  seq. 

559.  Tti]  Ff,+,  Coll.  Dyce,  ii,  iii. 
The  Cap.  et  cet. 

562.  Gods,]  Gods!  Theob.+.  gods; 
Rowe  et  cet. 


Lud's-Town 


564.  Altars.]  Ff,  Rowe,  Pope,  Coll. 
Dyce,  Glo.  Cam.  altars!  Theob.  et 
cet. 

567.  Luds-Towne]  F. 
F3.    Lud's  Town  F4. 

march,]     F3F4, 
martch,      F2.       march, 
march:  Theob.  et  cet. 

569.  ratifie:]  ratifie.  F3F4,+. 

570.  on]  on,  Theob.  Warb.  Johns. 
570.  there:]   there!  Coll.   Dyce,   Sta. 

Glo.  Cam.    there.  Ktly. 

572.  Exeunt.]  Exeunt  omnes.  Rowe. 


Johns. 
Pope, 


Coll. 
Han. 


554.  yet  this]  WHITE  (ed.  i.):  The  reading  of  the  First  Folio  is  in  accordance 
with  the  usage  of  Shakespeare's  time.  [In  his  ed.  ii.  White  abandoned  'the  usage 
of  Shakespeare's  time,'  and  reads  'this  yet.'  Presumably  by  advice  of  his  washer- 
woman, to  whom,  in  difficult  passages,  as  he  states  in  his  Preface,  p.  xii,  he  resorted.] 

567.  Luds-Towne]  See  III,  i,  39. 

572.  Exeunt]  LADY  MARTIN  (p.  220):  You  know  how  I  said  that  I  never  could 
leave  my  characters  when  the  scene  closed  in  upon  them,  but  always  dreamed  them 
over  in  my  mind  until  their  end.  So  it  was  with  Imogen.  Her  sufferings  are  over. 
The  'father  cruel,'  made  so  by  the  'step-dame  false/  has  returned  to  his  old  love  and 


438  THE  TRACE  DIE  OF  [ACT  v,  sc.  v. 

[572.   Exeunt] 

pride  in  her, — the  love  made  doubly  tender  by  remembrance  of  all  that  he  has  caused 
her  to  suffer.     The  husband — ah,  what  can  measure  his  penitence,  his  self-abase- 
ment!    That  he  had  dared  to  doubt  her  purity,  her  honour, — he  who  had  known 
her  inmost  thoughts  from  childhood!     But  Imogen — can  she  think  of  him  as  before? 
Yes!    She  is  truly  named  the  'divine  Imogen';  at  least,  she  has  so  much  of  the 
divine  'quality  of  mercy'  in  her  that  she  can  blot  from  her  memory  all  his  doubts, 
all  his  want  of  faith,  as  if  they  had  never  been.     Her  love  is  infinite — 'beyond  be- 
yond.'   Hers  is  not  a  nature  to  do  things  by  halves.     She  has  forgotten  as  well  as 
forgiven.    But  can  Posthumus  forgive  himself?     No!    I  believe,  never.    The 
more  angel  she  proves  herself  in  her  loving  self-forgetfulness,  the  blacker  his  tem- 
porary delusion  will  look  in  his  own  eyes.     Imogen  may  surmise  at  times  the 
thorns  which  prick  his  conscience  so  sharply.     Then  she  will  quietly  double  the 
tender  ways  in  which  she  delights  to  show  her  love  and  pride  in  him.     But  no 
spoken  words  will  tell  of  this  heart-secret  between  them.     In  her  brothers  Imogen 
has  none  but  sweet  and  happy  memories.     These  '  two  worlds '  are  an  immense  and 
unlooked-for  gain  to  her  life;  they  fill  it  with  new  thoughts,  new  sympathies.     She 
has  their  future  to  look  forward  to,  their  present  to  help.     One  can  see  how  their 
unsophisticated  natures  will  go  forth  to  her;  how  the  tender  memory  of  the  'rare 
boy'  Fidele  will  give  an  added  charm  to  the  grace  and  attractiveness  of  the  sweet 
sister-tie;  how,  in  their  quiet  hours  with  her,  they  will  repeat  the  incidents  of  the 
cave-life.     Imogen  will  never  tell  them  the  whole  of  her  sorrow  there.     She  fears 
they  would  not  forgive  Posthumus.     We  can  suppose,  too,  how,  in  this  so  new 
life  to  them,  the  young  princes  would  be  for  ever  seeking  this  sweet  councillor 
to  guide  them  in  the  usages  and  customs  of  the  Court  life,  all  so  strange  to  them. 
Men  will  ask  from  women  what  they  would  be  shy  of  asking  from  one  another. 
Think  of  the  pleasant  banterings  there  would  be  at  times  between  them!    How 
amused  Imogen  would  be  at  their  mistakes  in  the  Court  etiquette!    How  often, 
laughingly,  she  would  have  to  put  them  right;  and  how  all  these  things  would 
draw  them  nearer  to  each  other!    Then,  too,  the  old  soldier  Belarius, — the  tried 
retainer  and  friend,  Pisanio!    What  a  group  of  loving  -hearts  about  the  happy 
princess!     Caius  Lucius  also,  in  Rome,  carrying  in  his  memory  tender  thoughts  of 
his  once  'kind  duteous'  page  Fidele,  together  with  the  admiring  respect  he  feels  for 
the  noble  Imogen,  Princess  of  Britain.     And  lachimo!     The  time  is  to  come  when 
his  repentance  will  flow  from  a  still  deeper  source.     While  at  the  Court  of  Britain 
he  could  not  fail  to  hear  all  the  misery  he  had  wrought  upon  the  noble  lovers.     With 
his  own  ears  he  heard  the  despair  of  Posthumus  on  learning  the  truth — his  agony, 
his  self-accusations — at  the  thought  that  he  had  taken  away  the  life  of  the  maligned 
princess.     But  even  bitterer  pangs  of  remorse  than  he  then  felt  will  assail  lachimo 
and  never  leave  him, — for  we  find  he  is  capable  of  feeling  them, — when  he  learns 
that,  before  very  long,  the  young  noble  life  is  quenched  through  the  suffering  and 
bitter  trials  which  his  treachery  had  brought  upon  it.     For  quenched,  I  believe, 
it  is.    Happiness  hides  for  a  tune  injuries  which  are  past  healing.    The  blow  which 
was  inflicted  by  the  first  sentence  in  that  cruel  letter  went  to  the  heart  with  a  too 
fatal  force.     Then  followed,  on  this  crushing  blow,  the  wandering,  hopeless  days 
and  nights,  without  shelter,  without  food,  even  up  to  the  point  of  famine.     Was 
this  delicately  nurtured  creature  one  to  go  through  her  terrible  ordeal  unscathed? 
We  see  that  when  food  and  shelter  came,  they  came  too  late.     The  heart-sickness 
was  upon  her:   'I  am  sick  still — heart-sick.'     Upon  this  follows  the  fearful  sight  of, 


ACT  v,  sc.  v.J  CYMBELINE  430 

[572.   Exeunt] 

as  she  supposes,  her  husband's  headless  body.  Well  may  she  say  that  she  is  'noth- 
ing; or  if  not,  nothing  to  be  were  better.'  When  happiness,  even  such  as  she  had 
never  known  before,  comes  to  her,  it  comes,  like  the  food  and  shelter, — too  late. 
Tremblingly,  gradually,  and  oh,  how  reluctantly!  the  hearts  to  whom  that  life 
is  so  precious  will  see  the  sweet  smile  which  greets  them  grow  fainter,  will  hear  the 
loved  voice  grow  feebler!  The  wise  physician  Cornelius  will  tax  his  utmost  skill, 
but  he  will  find  the  hurt  too  deep  for  mortal  leech-craft  to  heal.  The  'piece  of 
tender  air'  very  gently,  but  very  surely,  will  fade  out  like  an  exhalation  of  the 
dawn.  Her  loved  ones  will  watch  it  with  straining  eyes  until  it  'Melts  from  The 
smallness  of  a  gnat  to  air;  and  then  Will  turn  their  eyes  and  weep.'  And  when,  as 
the  years  go  by,  their  grief  grows  calm,  that  lovely  soul  will  be  to  them  'Like  a  star 
Beaconing  from  the  abodes  where  the  Immortals  are';  inspiring  to  worthy  lives, 
and  sustaining  them  with  the  hope  that  where  she  is,  they  may,  in  God's  good  time, 
become  fit  to  be.  Something  of  this  the  'divine  Imogen'  is  to  us  also.  Is  it  not  so? 
This  was  my  vision  of  Imogen  when  I  acted  her;  this  is  my  vision  of  her  still. 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX 


DATE  OF   COMPOSITION 

THE  earliest  attempt  to  determine  the  dates  of  Shakespeare's  Plays  was  made 
by  MALONE  in  the  Variorum  of  1778,  vol.  i,  p.  320.  In  a  list  of  the  Plays  there 
given  chronologically,  beginning  with  Titus  Andronicus,  in  1589,  and  ending 
with  Twelfth  Night,  in  1614,  Cymbeline  is  placed  the  thirty-first,  and  dated  1604. 
'Cymbeline,'  says  Malone,  'was  not  entered  on  the  Stationers'  books,  nor  reprinted, 
'until  1623.  It  stands  the  last  in  the  earliest  Folio  edition;  but  nothing  can  be 
'  collected  from  thence,  for  the  Folio  editors  manifestly  paid  no  attention  to  chrono- 
'  logical  arrangement.  Not  containing  any  intrinsic  evidence  by  which  its  date 
'might  be  ascertained,  it  is  attributed  to  this  year  [1604]  chiefly  because  there  is 
'no  proof  that  any  other  play  was  written  by  Shakespeare  in  1604.  And  as  in  the 
'course  of  somewhat  more  than  twenty  years  he  produced,  according  to  some, 
'forty-three,  in  the  opinion  of  others,  thirty-five,  dramas,  we  may  presume  he  was 
'not  idle  during  any  one  year  of  that  time.  This  play  was  perhaps  alluded  to 
'in  an  old  comedy  called  The  Return  from  Parnassus:  "Frame  as  well  we  might 
'".  .  .  Stories  of  love.  ...  Or  make  some  sire  acknowledge  his  lost  sonne,* 
"'Found  when  the  weary  act  was  almost  done."  [Prologue,  lines  71,  72,  ed. 
'Macray.]  If  the  author  of  this  piece  had  Cymbeline  in  contemplation,  it  must 
'have  been  more  ancient  than  it  is  here  supposed;  for  from  several  passages  in 
'  The  Return  from  Parnassus  that  comedy  appears  to  have  been  written  before 
'the  death  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  which  happened  on  the  24th  of  March,  1603.! 
'Mr  Steevens  has  observed  that  there  is  a  passage  in  Beaumont  and  Fletcher's 
'Philaster  which  bears  a  strong  resemblance  to  a  speech  of  lachimo  in  Cymbeline. 
'[See  V,  ii,  9-13.]  In  Philaster,  Philaster  says,  "I  am  hurt;  The  gods  take  part 
'"against  me;  could  this  boor  Have  held  me  thus  else?"  [IV,  iii,  ad  fin.,  ed.  Dyce.] 
'Philaster  is  supposed  to  have  appeared  on  the  stage  about  1609;  being  men- 
'tioned  by  John  Davies  of  Hereford  in  his  Epigrams,  which  have  no  date,  but 
'were  printed,  according  to  Oldys,  in  or  about  that  year.'  For  this  assertion  by 
Oldys,  Malone  gives,  in  a  foot-note,  as  his  authority:  'Additions  to  Langbaine's 
'Account  of  the  Dramatic  Poets.  MS.'  DYCE  gives  Oldys's  MS.  note  in  full: 
Philaster}  'Written  ab*  the  year  1610.  See  Davis,  his  Scourge  of  Folly,  an  epi- 
'gram  on  it.' 

In  the  next  Variorum,  1785,  Malone  repeats  the  date  of  Cymbeline  as  1604,  but 
places  the  play  as  the  twenty-sixth  in  chronological  order,  and  repeats  the  same 
comment  just  given. 

In  Malone's  Own  Edition,  1790,  the  date  is  changed  to  1605;  and  its  number  is 
advanced  to  twenty-seventh,  and  it  is  placed  between  Lear  and  Macbeth.  In  his 

*  'In  the  last  Act  of  Cymbeline  two  sons  are  found.  But  the  author  might 
have  written  "son"  on  account  of  the  rhythm.' 

f  The  Return  from  Parnassus  is  now  known  to  have  been  performed  in  1597. 
See  p.  viii,  ed.  Macray. 

443 


444 


APPENDIX 


comments  on  the  play  itself  Malone  expresses  his  belief  that  Shakespeare  having 
found  the  name  'Leonatus'  in  the  Arcadia  while  writing  King  Lear,  the  name 
'adhered  to  his  memory,  and  he  has  made  it  the  name  of  one  of  the  characters  in 
'  Cymbeline.  The  story  of  Lear  lies  near  to  that  of  Cymbeline  in  Holinshed's  Chron- 
licle;  and  some  account  of  Duncan  and  Macbeth  is  given  incidentally  in  a  sub- 
'  sequent  page,  not  very  distant  from  that  part  of  the  volume  which  is  allotted 
'to  the  history  of  those  British  Kings.  In  Holinshed's  Scottish  Chronicle  we  find 
'a  story  of  one  Hay,  a  husbandman,  who,  with  his  two  sons,  placed  himself  athwart 
'a  lane,  and  by  this  means  stayed  his  flying  countrymen;  which  turned  the  battle 
'against  the  Danes.  This  circumstance  [which  Shakespeare  used  in  the  Fifth  Act 
'of  Cymbeline],  connected  with  [the  name  Leonatus  from  the  Arcadia],  renders  it 
'probable  that  the  three  plays  of  Lear,  Cymbeline,  and  Macbeth  were  written 
'in  the  same  period  of  time,  and  in  the  order  in  which  I  have  placed  them.  .  .  . 
'In  Cymbeline  mention  is  made  of  Caesar's  immeasurable  ambition  and  Cleopatra's 
'sailing  on  the  Cydnus;  from  which,  and  other  circumstances,  I  think  it  probable 
'that  about  this  time  Shakespeare  perused  the  lives  of  Caesar,  Brutus,  and  Mark 
'Antony.' 

In  the  Variorum  editions  of  1803  and  1813  Malone  continued  to  give  Cymbeline 
the  same  date,  1605,  and  the  same  numerical  position,  the  twenty-seventh,  between 
Lear  and  Macbeth,  together  with  the  same  comments. 

DRAKE  (ii,  466)  in  all  respects  follows  Malone,  without  discussion. 

In  the  Variorum  of  1821,  however,  Malone  changed  its  date  to  1609,  and  changed 
its  position  in  the  list  from  the  twenty-seventh  to  the  thirtieth,  and  placed  it  be- 
tween Anthony  and  Cleopatra,  1608,  and  Coriolanus,  1610.  The  only  change  in  his 
comments  is  that  of  substituting  1609  for  '1605';  all  the  rest  remains  the  same, 
even  to  the  oversight  of  repeating  that  he  had  placed  it  between  Lear  and  Macbeth. 
He  added,  however,  a  solitary  paragraph:  'The  versification  of  this  play  bears, 
'I  think,  a  much  greater  resemblance  to  that  of  The  Winter's  Tale  and  The  Tem- 
' pest  than  to  any  of  our  Author's  earlier  plays.' 

Thus  far  we  have  traced  the  date  only  as  it  was  computed  by  Malone,  who 
was,  in  fact,  the  only  editor  who  had  paid  any  attention  to  the  question.  In  1799, 
however,  there  came  a  critic  to  the  front,  GEORGE  CHALMERS,  who,  from  external 
and  internal  evidence,  greatly  altered  Malone's  LIST.  In  the  order  of  composition; 
Chalmers  (Supplemental  Apology,  etc.,  p.  419)  placed  Cymbeline  the  twenty- 
seventh,  and  between  Lear  and  Macbeth  (herein  following  Malone's  earlier  arrange- 
ment), but  attributed  its  composition  to  the  year  1606.  To  this  date  he  was  led 
by  what  he  deemed  to  be  a  piece  of  internal  evidence,  as  follows:  'In  Act  II,  Sc.  i, 
'[line  13],  Cloten  complains  of  a  jackanapes,  "who  took  him  up  for  swearing." 
'This  is  a  slight  stroke  at  the  statute,  for  "restraining  the  abuses  of  the  players," 
'by  imposing  penalties  on  such  dramatists  as  profanely  used  the  name  of  God 
'in  any  play  or  interlude.  Shakespeare  aimed  many  a  stroke  at  the  correcting 
'hand  of  the  players'  abuses,  although  he  was,  at  the  same  time,  deriving  benefits 
'from  it;  but  he  cuts  delicately  with  a  razor,  and  never,  like  Ben  Jonson,  with  a 
'  cleaver.  By  putting  his  complaint  into  the  mouth  of  such  a  prince  as  Cloten  our 
'Poet  shows  his  usual  skill  in  the  knowledge  of  mankind,  and  gives  an  additional 
'specimen  of  his  discrimination  of  character.  This  reforming  statute  commenced 
'its  operations  on  the  players  from  the  end  of  the  session,  on  the  27th  of  May, 
'  1606.'  And,  consequently,  Cymbeline  was  written  while  the  yoke  still  sat  uneasy 


DATE   OF  COMPOSITION— COLERIDGE— COLLIER    445 

'on  their  necks,  in  1606.'  Another  piece  of  internal  evidence  Chalmers  found  in 
Belarius's  use  of  that  puzzling  word  'Babe/  III,  iii,  27  (see  the  notes  thereon), 
which  he  transformed  into  the  Scotch  coin,  now  generally  spelled  bawbee.  'This 
'  was  a  sly  stroke  at  the  Scots  coin,  which  King  James  had  regulated  by  proc- 
'lamation.' 

At  three  periods  of  his  life  COLERIDGE  'attempted'  (his  own  word)  a  Classifica- 
tion of  Shakespeare's  Plays.  A  comparison  of  these  different  classifications  would 
prove  highly  interesting,  but  hardly  germane  here,  where  we  are  solely  concerned 
with  the  date  of  Cymbeline.  Such  a  comparison  would  be  a  study  of  Coleridge's 
mind  rather  than  of  Shakespeare's.  It  is,  perhaps,  worth  while,  however,  to  note 
how  Coleridge  shifted  the  position  of  Cymbeline,  as  regards  priority  of  composi- 
tion. In  his  list,  attempted  in  1802  (p.  246),  this  play  is  the  very  last,  with  The 
Winter's  Tale,  The  Tempest,  and  Othello  as  its  immediate  predecessors.  In  the 
last  of  1811-12  (p.  59)  it  appears  among  the  'Mature  Plays,'  thus:  Mer.  of  Yen., 
Tro.  6°  Cress.,  Cymbeline,  Macbeth,  Lear,  Hamlet,  Othello,  Tempest,  and  The  Winter's 
Tale.  In  the  classification  attempted  in  1819  (p.  249)  Coleridge  says,  'I  think 
'Shakespeare's  earliest  dramatic  attempt, — perhaps  even  prior  in  conception  to  the 
1  Venus  and  Adonis,  and  planned  before  he  left  Stratford, — was  Love's  Labour's 
'Lost.  Shortly  afterwards  I  suppose  Pericles  and  certain  scenes  in  Jeronymo  to  have 
'been  produced;  and  in  the  same  epoch  I  place  The  Winter's  Tale  and  Cymbeline, 
'differing  from  Pericles  by  the  entire  rifacimento  of  it,  when  Shakespeare's  celebrity 
'as  a  poet,  and  his  interest,  no  less  than  his  influence  as  a  manager,  enabled  him  to 
'bring  forward  the  laid-by  labours  of  his  youth.  The  example  of  Titus  Andr  onions, 
'which,  as  well  as  Jeronymo,  was  most  popular  in  Shakespeare's  first  epoch,  had 
'led  the  young  dramatist  to  the  lawless  mixture  of  dates  and  manners.' 

In  1836  COLLIER  published  (New  Particulars,  etc.)  extracts  from  a  MS.  (A slim. 
MS.,  208,  art.  x,  leaf  200,  Bodleian  Lib.}  bearing  the  following  title:  'The  Book  of 
'Plaies  and  Notes  thereof,  per  Formans,  for  common  Pollicie.'  'These  notes,'  says 
Collier,  'were  by  Dr  Simon  Forman,  the  celebrated  physician  and  astrologer,  who 
'lived  in  Lambeth,  in  the  same  parish  in  which  Elias  Ashmole  afterwards  resided. 
'Forman  was  implicated  in  the  murder  of  Sir  Thomas  Overbury,  but  he  died  in 
'1611,  before  the  trial,  the  register  of  his  burial  in  Lambeth  churchyard  being 
'dated  on  the  i2th  of  September  in  that  year.  The  last  date  in  his  "Book  of 
'"Plays"  is  the  isth  of  May,  1611,  so  that  he  was  a  frequenter  of  the  theatres 
'  until  a  short  period  before  his  sudden  decease  in  a  boat  on  the  Thames.  He  was 
'notorious  long  before  his  connection  with  Lady  Essex,  and  excited  a  vast  deal  of 
'jealousy  on  the  part  of  the  regular  medical  practitioners  of  London  by  giving 
'unlicensed  advice  to  the  sick,  as  well  as  by  casting  nativities;  but  he  was  at  length 
'able  to  procure  a  degree  from  Cambridge.  .  .  .  The  words  "for  common  policy" 
'in  the  title  of  Forman's  "Notes"  mean  that  he  made  these  remarks  upon  plays 
'he  saw  represented,  because  they  afforded  him  a  useful  lesson  of  prudence  or 
'"policy"  for  the  "common"  affairs  of  life.  I  do  not  understand  how  it  happens 
'that  the  dates  of  his  "Notes"  are  so  irregular,  but  he  begins  with  the  aoth  of  April, 
'  1611,  and  goes  on  to  the  i5th  of  May,  in  the  same  year,  and  ends  with  the  2oth  of 
'April,  1610.'  The  heading  to  Forman's  account  of  'The  Winter's  Talle'  states 
that  it  was  'at  the  glob  1611  the  15  of  Maye.'  Forman  does  not  state  at  what  date 
nor  where  he  saw  Cymbeline,  but,  as  Collier  says,  'it  must  have  been  about  the 
'same  time,'  and  had  it  not  been  at  the  same  theatre  Forman  would  probably  have 


446  APPENDIX 

mentioned  it.  The  'note'  from  the  diary,  which  is  here  given,  is  copied  from 
the  facsimile  by  Halliwell,  facing  p.  416  of  his  Introduction  to  the  present  play. 
His  modernised  version  of  this  facsimile,  Collier's  also,  and  that  of  the  New  Shake- 
speare Soc.  (Trans.,  1875-76,  p.  417)  supply  a  punctuation  which  is  lacking  in 
Forman's  MS.: 

'Of  Cimbalin  king  of  England 

'Remember  also  the  storri  of  Cymbalin  king  of  England  in  Lucius  tyme,  howe 
'Lucius  cam  from  octauus  cesar  for  Tribut  and  being  denied,  after  sent  Lucius 
'with  a  greate  Arme  of  Souldiars  who  landed  at  milford  hauen,  and  Affter  wer 
'  vanquished  by  Cimbalin  and  Lucius  taken  prisoner  and  all  by  means  of  3  outlawes 
'of  the  w'h  2  of  them  were  the  sonns  of  Cimbalin  stolen  from  him  when  they  were 
'but  2  yers  old.  by  an  old  man  whom  Cymbalin  banished,  and  he  kept  them  as 
'  his  own  sonns  20  yers  wt  him  in  Acave.  And  howe  of  [sic]  of  them  slewe  Clotan  that 
'was  the  quens  sonn  goinge  to  milford  hauen  to  sek  the  loue  of  Innogen  kinge 
'daughter  whom  he  had  banished  also  for  louinge  his  daughter,  and  howe  the 
'Italian  that  cam  from  her  loue  convoied  him  selfe  into  ACheste  and  said  yt  was  a 
'chest  of  plate  sent  from  her  loue  &  others  to  be  p'sented  to  the  kinge.  And  in 
'  the  depest  of  the  night  she  being  aslepe.  he  opened  the  cheste,  &  cam  forth  of  yt 
'And  vewed  her  in  her  bed  and  the  markes  of  her  body.  &  toke  awai  her  braslet 
'&  after  Accused  her  of  adultery  to  her  loue  &c  And  in  thend  howe  he  came  wt 
'the  Remains  into  England  &  was  taken  prisoner  and  after  Reueled  to  Innogen. 
'who  had  turned  her  self  into  man  apparrell  &  fled  to  mete  her  loue  at  milford 
'hauen,  &  chanchsed  to  fall  on  the  Caue  in  the  wode  wher  her  2  brothers  were  & 
'howe  by  eating  a  sleping  Dram  they  thought  she  had  bin  deed  &  laid  her  in  the 
'wode,  &  the  body  of  cloten  by  her  in  her  loues  apparrell  that  he  left  behind  him, 
'&  howe  she  was  found  by  lucous,  &c.' 

For  full  particulars  of  the  life  of  Dr  Simon  Forman,  with  its  violent  vicissitudes 
from  surfeiting  to  starvation,  and  'abysmal  inversions  of  the  centre  of  gravity,' 
to  borrow  a  vigorous  phrase  of  Carlyle,  see  article  in  D.  N.  B.,  by  Sir  Sidney  Lee. 

Although  Forman's  'Notes'  do  not  yield  an  exact  date,  yet  what  they  do  give 
is  so  far  fixed  that  it  proves  an  excellent  anchor  to  control  and  steady  the  wavering 
fluctuations  which  helplessly  drift  about  the  dates  of  a  majority  of  Shakespeare's 
plays,  and  they  cannot  be  but  a  soothing  comfort  to  those  betossed  souls  who  deem 
the  Date  of  Composition  of  prime  importance.  Five  years  either  way  is  a  margin 
adequately  satisfactory  to  those  readers  whose  interest  centres  solely  in  the  plays 
themselves,  and  not  in  their  external  accidents.  Forman's  year,  1610  or  1611,  is 
a  barrier  this  side  of  which  there  cannot  be  a  date  for  the  composition  of  Cym- 
bellne,  but  all  the  years  from  the  day  when  young  Shakespeare  first  came  up  to 
London  down  to  this  barrier  are  as  free  as  air  to  the  chronologers.  When  Coleridge 
hinted  that  Cymbeline  might  belong  to  Shakespeare's  very  earliest  year  he  cast  a 
seed  which  in  the  fullness  of  time  was  destined  to  germinate.  It  fell  in  KNIGHT'S 
path,  and  straightway,  in  fancy,  it  burgeoned  on  the  spot.  As  a  preliminary  clear- 
ing of  the  ground  Knight  sprinkles  Malone  with  withering  scorn.  The  evidence 
adduced  by  that  worthy  workman  is  regarded  by  Knight  as  'conceived  in  the  very 
'lowest  spirit  of  the  comprehension  of  Shakespeare.'  Hereupon  follows,  by  way  of 
proof,  a  sentence  (given  above)  from  Malone,  and  Knight  adds  his  comments: 
"Shakespeare  having  occasion  to  turn  to  that  book  [the  Arcadia]  while  he  was 
"writing  King  Lear,  the  name  of  Leonatus  adhered  to  his  memory,  and  he  has 
'"made  it  the  name  of  one  of  the  characters  in  Cymbeline."  Having  occasion  to 
'turn  to  that  book! — a  mode  of  expression  which  might  equally  apply  to  a  tailor 


DATE   OF  COMPOSITION— HUNTER— LLOYD 


447 


'having  occasion  for  a  piece  of  buckram.  Sydney's  Arcadia  was  essentially  the 
'book  of  Shakespeare's  age — more  popular,  perhaps,  than  The  Fairy  Queen,  as 
'profoundly  admired  by  the  highest  order  of  spirits,  as  often  quoted,  as  often  pres- 
'ent  to  their  thoughts.  And  yet  the  very  highest  spirit  of  that  age,  thoroughly 
'imbued  as  he  must  have  been  with  all  the  poetical  literature  of  his  own  day  and 
'his  own  country  (we  pass  by  the  question  of  his  further  knowledge),  is  repre- 
'  sen  ted  only  to  know  the  great  work  of  his  great  contemporary  as  a  little  boy  in  a 
'grammar-school  knows  what  is  called  a  crib-book.'  Knight  gives  no  more  heart- 
easing  outburst  before  he  turns  to  Chalmers  and  Forman.  Malone  having  placidly 
remarked  that  he  thought  'it  probable  that  about  this  time  Shakespeare  perused 
'the  lives  of  Caesar,  Brutus,  and  Mark  Antony.'  "Perused  the  lives !"  shrieks 
'Knight,  but  we  really  have  not  patience  to  waste  another  word  upon  this  inso- 
'  lence,  so  degrading  (for  it  is  nothing  else)  to  the  country  and  the  age  which  pro- 
'duced  it.'  As  to  Chalmers  and  his  statute  of  1606  against  profanity  on  the  stage, 
Knight  offers  no  objection  to  '  this  ingenious  suggestion '  except  that  it  is  not  con- 
clusive as  to  the  date  of  Cymbeline,  because  'we  know  from  the  Quartos  that 
'passing  allusions  were  constantly  inserted  after  the  first  production  of  Shake- 
'speare's  plays.'  As  to  Forman's  'Note' — Collier  having  remarked  that  it  gives 
the  '  impression  of  the  plot  upon  the  mind  of  the  spectator,  at  about  the  time  when 
'the  play  was  first  produced' — Knight  withholds  his  assent  to  this  inference.  'For- 
'man's  note-book,'  he  demurs,  'is  evidence  that  the  play  existed  in  1610  or  1611; 
'but  it  is  not  evidence  that  it  was  first  produced  in  1610  or  1611.  Mr  Collier,  in 
'his  Annals  of  the  Stage,  gives  us  the  following  entry  from  the  books  of  Sir  Henry 
'Herbert,  Master  of  the  Revels:  "On  Wednesday  night,  the  first  of  January,  1633, 
'"Cymbeline  was  acted  at  Court  by  the  King's  players.  Well  liked  by  the  King." 
'Here  is  proof  that  for  more  than  twenty  years  after  Forman  saw  it  Cymbeline 
'was  still  acted  and  still  popular.  By  parity  of  reasoning  it  might  have  been 
'acted,  and  might  have  been  popular,  before  Forman  saw  it.'  Knight's  conclu- 
sion in  general  is  that  'it  will  probably  some  day  be  established  to  demonstration 
'that  The  Winter's  Tale  and  Tke  Tempest  belong  to  the  Shakspere  of  six-and- 
'  thirty  rather  than  to  the  Shakspere  of  six-and-forty.  To  whatever  age  they  shall 
'be  ultimately  assigned  we  have  no  doubt  that  on  every  account, — from  the  nature 
'of  the  fable,  as  well  as  the  cast  of  thought,  and  the  construction  of  the  language,— 
'Cymbeline  will  go  with  them.  But,  however  this  may  be,  we  heartily  join  in  the 
'belief,  so  distinctly  expressed  by  two  such  master-minds  as  Coleridge  and  Tieck, 
'that  the  sketch  of  Cymbeline  belongs  to  the  youthful  Shakspere.' 

JOSEPH  HUNTER  (ii,  292):  The  kind  of  history  to  which  [this  play]  belongs 
renders  it  probable  that  it  was  written  about  the  same  time  with  King  Lear,  the 
date  of  which  is  about  1606.  ...  I  would  not,  however,  be  at  all  confident  that 
this  beautiful  play,  which  classes  rather  with  those  produced  in  the  freshness  of 
the  Poet's  age  and  genius,  does  not  belong  to  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  about  the  time 
when  he  produced  As  You  Like  It. 

W.  W.  LLOYD  (p.  499,  Singer's  ed.):  Proceeding  upon  judgement  of  internal 
evidence,  there  seems  reason  for  conjecturing  that  Cymbeline  has  some  obligations 
to  an  earlier  year.  Despite  the  unembarrassed  mastery  that  pervades  the  greater 
part  of  it,  some  traces  of  quaintness  obtrude  themselves  that  are  of  a  lower  tone 
than  Shakespeare's  absolute  inspirations,  and  we  are  disposed  to  ask  whether,  for 
instance,  in  the  vision  of  Posthumus  and  the  interpretation  of  the  Tablet,  it  is  a 


448  APPENDIX 

reminder  from  another  hand  or  from  his  own  at  an  earlier  period,  that  he  did  not 
trouble  himself  to  obliterate  at  its  last  revision. 

ULRICI  (ii,  172,  Bonn's  ed.)  is  inclined  to  think  that  in  Cymbeline  we  have  a 
youthful  attempt,  which  possibly  'made  but  a  temporary  appearance  on  the  stage, 
'and  was  remodelled  long  afterwards.  .  .  .  That  the  whole  piece  belongs  to 
'the  last  years  of  Shakespeare's  poetical  activity  admits  of  no  doubt.  ...  I  am 
'inclined  to  believe  that  Cymbeline  was  first  performed  somewhere  towards  the 
'beginning  of  1611.' 

THOMAS  EDWARDS,  whose  satisfactory  trouncing  of  Warburton's  dogmatism 
('grotesque  audacities,'  Leslie  Stephens  calls  it)  has  been  so  often  recorded  in  the 
preceding  pages,  added  to  his  Canons  of  Criticism:  'The  following  REMARKS 
'[which]  are  copied  from  Mr  Roderick's  papers  and  inserted  here  as  containing 
'acute  yet  sober  criticisms  on  Shakespeare's  words,  and  judicious  yet  easy  explana- 
'tions  of  his  sense,'  etc.  Accordingly,  at  the  close  of  his  remarks  on  Henry  VIII. 
(p.  263),  Roderick  continues  as  follows:  'It  is  very  observable  that  the  measure 
'throughout  this  whole  play  has  something  in  it  peculiar  which  will  very  soon 
'appear  to  any  one  who  reads  aloud;  though  at  first  he  will  not  discover  wherein 
'  it  consists.  ...  I  think  it  can  scarcely  escape  the  notice  of  any  pronouncer.  .  .  . 
'i.  There  are  in  this  play  many  more  verses  than  in  any  other  which  end  with 
'a  redundant  syllable.  .  .  .  This  fact  (whatever  Shakespeare's  design  was  in  it)  is 
'undoubtedly  true;  and  may  be  demonstrated  to  reason  and  proved  to  sense; 
'the  first,  by  comparing  any  number  of  lines  in  this  play  with  an  equal  number 
'in  any  other  play;  by  which  it  will  appear  that  this  play  has  very  near  two  redun- 
'  dant  verses  to  one  in  any  other  play.  And  to  prove  it  to  sense,  let  any  one  read 
'aloud  an  hundred  lines  in  any  other  play,  and  an  hundred  in  this,  and,  if  he  per- 
'ceives  not  the  tone  and  cadence  of  his  own  voice  to  be  involuntarily  altered  in  the 
'  latter  case  from  what  it  was  in  the  former,  I  would  never  advise  him  to  give  much 
'credit  to  the  information  of  his  ears.  Only  take  Cranmer's  last  prophetic  speech 
'about  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  you  will  find  that  in  the  49  lines  it  consists  of,  32  are 
'  redundant  and  only  1 7  regular.  ...  2.  Nor  is  this  the  only  peculiarity  of  measure 
'in  this  play.  The  Casura,  or  pauses  of  the  verse,  are  full  as  remarkable.  The 
'common  pauses  in  English  verses  are  upon  the  5th  or  the  6th  syllable  (the  6th 
'  I  think  most  frequently) .  In  this  play  a  great  number  of  verses  have  the  pause  on 
'  the  7th  syllable.  ["  Hepthemimeral  caesura  "  the  old  grammarians  call  it.  Bathurst 
uses  it. — ED.]  ...  3.  Lastly,  it  is  very  observable  in  the  measure  of  this  play 
'  [Hen.  VIII.]  that  the  emphasis  arising  from  the  sense  of  the  verse,  very  often  clashes 
'with  the  cadence  that  would  naturally  result  from  the  metre,  i.  e.,  syllables  that 
'have  an  emphasis  in  the  sentence  upon  [sic]  the  account  of  the  sense  or  meaning 
'of  it,  are  put  in  the  uneven  places  of  the  verse;  and  are  in  the  scansion  made  the 
'first  syllable  of  the  foot,  and  consequently  short;  for  the  English  foot  is  iambic. 
'.  .  .  What  Shakespear  intended  by  all  this,  I  fairly  own  myself  ignorant;  but  that 
'all  these  peculiarities  were  done  by  him  advertently,  and  not  by  chance,  is,  I 
'think,  as  plain  to  all  sense  as  that  Virgil  intended  to  write  metre  and  not  prose 
'in  his  sEneid.' 

These  'remarks'  fell  on  unheeding  ears  in  their  own  day,  and  as  far  as  deriving 
from  them  a  clew  to  the  chronological  order  or  dates  of  Shakespeare's  plays  was 
concerned,  they  remained  absolutely  unknown  for  over  a  hundred  years,  until,  in 
1871,  the  idea  of  employing  this  redundant  syllable  as  a  'verse-text'  occurred 


DATE   OF  COMPOSITION— HERTZBERG  449 

independently  to  Dr  W.  HERTZBERG  of  Bremen,  who  applied  it  to  this  very  play  of 
Cymbeline,  in  the  Introduction  to  his  translation  of  it  for  the  Ausgabe  der  DetttscJten 
Shakes peare-Gesellschaft.  His  conclusion  is  as  follows:  'Finally,  we  come  to  the 
'freer  metrical  movement.  At  the  outset  the  ratio  of  feminine  endings  stands 
'forth  as  the  sure  indication  of  chronological  proof.  The  further  I  have  pursued 
'my  investigations  in  this  direction,  the  firmer  has  this  criterion  approved  itself. 
'I  have  ceased  to  restrict  my  calculations  to  a  single  act,  but  in  the  following 
'seventeen  plays  I  have  thoroughly  and  carefully  extended  my  calculations  through- 
'out  the  whole  play.  The  following  result  shows  the  percentage  of  the  relation  of 
'eleven  syllabled  lines  to  the  sum  total  of  Iambus  in  dialogues  (six  feet  iambics 
'and  shorter  lines  included): 

'Love's  Lab.  Lost,         4%;  Titus  And.,  5%;  King  John,  6%; 

1  Rich.  II,               n.39%;  Com.  of  Err.,  12%;  Two  Gent.,  15%; 

'Mer.ofVen.,            15%;  Tarn.  Shr.,  16%;  Rich.  Ill,  18%; 

'As  You  Like  It,        18%;  Tro.  &  Cress.,  20^%;  All's  Well,  21%; 

'Othello,                       26%;  Wint.  Tale,  31.09%;  Cymb.,  32%. 

'Tempest,                    32%;  Hen.  VIII,  44%; 

'It  is  evident  from  this  summary  that  those  plays  whereof  the  Date  of  Com- 
'  position  can  be  positively  determined  by  other  sources,  here  fall  into  the  rank 
'which  chronologically  belongs  to  them.  .  .  .  Accordingly,  we  are  enabled  to 
'decide  that  the  date  of  the  composition  of  Cymbeline  is  1611.' — (p.  292,  seq.) 

Hertzberg  notes  also  that  other  metrical  forms,  such  as  apparent  Alexandrines, 
weak  endings,  etc.,  more  or  less  bear  out  the  same  result  as  the  ratio  of  feminine 
endings.  As  to  rhymes,  he  says  wisely,  the  test  must  be  used  with  caution,  regard 
must  be  had  to  the  subject  and  its  appropriate  emotions. 

In  1874  The  New  Shakespeare  Society  was  founded,  with  the  avowed  purpose  of 
discovering  the  dates  and  chronological  order  of  the  plays.  The  publicity  thence 
accruing  brought  to  light  the  labours  of  FLEAY,  who  had  been  for  years  silently  at 
work  applying  verse-tests  to  all  the  chief  dramatists  of  the  Elizabethan  age.  Then 
numberless  zealous  brains  and  countless  busy  fingers  began  counting  rhymes, 
caesuras,  female  endings,  strong  endings,  weak  endings,  anapaests,  and  iambics, 
until  at  last  the  list  is  held  to  be  complete,  and  Shakespeare's  ghost  would  be  dis- 
credited if  he  denied  a  single  date.  But  be  the  wise  and  just  words  of  FURNIVALL 
never  forgotten,  when  he  said :  '  In  no  sense  can  metrical  tests  be  called  "  scientific. " 
'They  get  their  value  from  the  coincidence  of  their  results  with  those  of  aesthetic 
'criticism  and  external  data.  They  are  merely  empirical;  and  though  they  yield 
'the  right  result  in  twenty-five  applications,  there  is  no  reason  why  they  should  do 
'so  on  the  twenty-sixth.  ...  To  suppose  that  any  one  empirical  test,  like  that 
'of  Rhyme,  can  settle  the  stage  of  development  of  a  myriad-sided  mind  like  Shake- 
'speare's  is,  to  me,  a  notion  never  to  be  entertained.  If,  after  close  study,  the 
'results  of  any  one  such  test  are  found  to  coincide  all  through  with  the  results  of 
'aesthetic  criticism  and  external  evidence,  I  shall  hold  it  a  happy  accident,  not  a 
'scientific  necessity.' — New  Shakespeare  Soc.  Trans.,  1874,  p.  32. 

After  a  thorough  and  painstaking  enumeration  of  the  'light  and  weak  endings' 
in  all  the  plays,  Professor  INGRAM  was  enabled  to  make  a  list,  wherein  Ant.  6°  Cleop. 
stands  the  twenty-sixth,  with  a  percentage  of  both  light  and  weak  endings  of  3.53; 
29 


450 


APPENDIX 


Coriolanus,  4.05;  Pericles  (Shakespeare's  part),  4.17;  Tempest,  4.59;  Cymbeline,  4.83 
(the  thirtieth  in  the  list);  and  Winter's  Tale,  5.48.  Prof.  Ingram  says  that  it  seems 
fairly  deducible  from  the  list  (of  which  I  have  given  above  only  the  last  fourth  of 
the  number)  that  Cymbeline  'undeniably  belongs  to  the  "weak-ending  Period." 
The  'weak-endings,'  be  it  observed,  are  'and,  as,  at',  but  (  =  sed  and  =  except),  by, 
for  (prep.a,nd  conj.),from,  if,  in,  of,  on,  nor,  or,  than,  that  (rel.  and  conj.),  to,  with 
[17  or  20  in  all]. — New  Shakespeare  Soc.  Trans.,  1874,  pp.  448,  451. 

FLEAY  (Life  and  Work  of  Shakespeare,  p.  246,  1886):  Cymbeline  was  probably 
produced  after  the  Roman  plays  and  before  Winter's  Tale,  and  the  lachimo  part 
was  doubtless  then  written.  There  is,  however,  strong  internal  evidence  that  the 
part  derived  from  Holinshed,  viz.,  the  story  of  Cymbeline  and  his  sons,  the  tribute, 
&c.,  in  the  last  three  acts,  was  written  at  an  earlier  date,  in  1606  I  think,  just 
after  Lear  and  Macbeth,  for  which  the  same  chronicler  has  been  used.  All  this 
older  work  will  be  found  in  the  scenes  in  which  Lucius  and  Belarius  enter.  A 
marked  instance  in  the  change  of  treatment  will  be  found  in  the  character  of 
Cloten.  In  the  later  version  he  is  a  mere  fool  (see  I,  iii;  II,  i.);  but  in  the  earlier 
parts  he  is  by  no  means  deficient  in  manliness,  and  the  lack  of  his  'counsel'  is 
regretted  by  the  King  in  IV,  iii.  Especially  should  III,  v.  be  examined  from  this 
point  of  view,  in  which  the  prose  part  is  a  subsequent  insertion,  having  some 
slight  discrepancies  with  the  older  parts  of  the  scene.  Philaster,  which  contains 
some  passages  suggested  by  the  play,  was  written  in  1611. — IBID.  (Chronicle  of 
the  English  Drama,  ii,  193,  1891):  The  historical  part  dates  earlier,  probably, 
c.  1606.  As  we  have  it,  the  play  has  been  touched  up  by  a  second  hand.  Perhaps 
it  was  not  acted  in  1609,  that  being  a  plague  year,  and  was  not  finished  for  the 
stage  till  after  Shakespeare's  retirement.  [Fleay  at  first  placed  the  date,  accord- 
ing to  the  rhyme-test,  in  1604,  but  he  afterwards  found  that  this  extremely  early 
date  was  due  to  a  numerical  error  and  he  retracted  it. — See  New  Shakespeare 
Society  Trans.,  1876.] 

C.  M.  INGLEBY:  The  conclusion  I  have  arrived  at  [concerning  the  Date  of  Com- 
position] is  that  II,  ii;  III,  i,  and  V,  ii.-v.  were  written  as  early  as  1606-7,  and 
the  play  completed  in  1609-10;  so  that  I  agree,  on  the  whole,  with  Mr  Fleay's 
first  view,  with  an  extension  of  the  interval  he  supposed  to  have  elapsed  between 
the  two  compositions. 

Dr  RICHARD  GARNETT  (Shakespeare  Jahrbuch,  p.  209,  1901)  contributes,  to  this 
discussion  of  the  date,  what  I  cannot  but  regard  as  one  of  the  most  plausible  of  the 
manifold  theories,  founded  as  it  is  on  grounds  which  occurred  to  me  independently, 
and  greatly  influenced  me  throughout  my  study  of  the  play.  I  much  regret  that 
space  forbids  the  insertion  of  the  whole  of  Garnett's  essay,  instead  of  the  following 
digest:  'The  Rev.  John  Ward,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
'records  the  tradition  that  Shakespeare,  when  living  at  New  Place,  regularly  sup- 
1  plied  the  London  stage  with  two  plays  a  year.  That  this  tradition  existed  is 
'unquestionable.  Its  authenticity  is  another  matter, — this  can  be  tested  only 
'by  its  harmony  with  what  we  know  of  Shakespeare's  dramatic  productiveness 
'in  his  later  years,  and  its  freedom  from  chronological  impossibilities.'  Hereupon 
Garnett  calls  attention  to  a  'remarkable  phenomenon'  which  has  never  yet  received 
sufficient  attention,  and  quite  justifiably,  inasmuch  as  it  demands  an  admission 
to  Shakespeare's  innermost  councils;  this  reason  Garnett  does  not  bring  forward, 


DATE  OF  COMPOSITION— GARNETT  45  j 

yet  I  think  it  may  be  urged  in  extenuation  of  the  neglect.  This  'phenomenon,' 
then,  is  'the  extent  to  which  Shakespeare  endeavours  to  diminish  the  labour  of 
'dramatic  composition.  In  every  play  known  with  certainty  to  have  belonged  to 
'his  later  period,  The  Winter's  Tale  only  excepted,  recourse  is  had  to  some  device 
'  tending  to  save  trouble  to  the  author.  In  Tro.  &°  Cress.,  as  now  generally  admitted, 
'he  revives  a  former  play.  The  Tempest  is  much  the  shortest  of  his  dramas.'  [Is 
this  quite  correct?  Are  not  Macbeth  and  Com.  of  Err.  shorter  than  The  Tempest?— 
ED.]  'Parts  of  Cymbeline  seem  to  be  from  another  hand.  In.4«/.  &°  Chop,  and 
'Coriol.  he  follows  Plutarch,  anH,  although  with  exquisite  judgement,  transcribes 
'  freely  from  his  author.  In  Pericles  and  Timon  he  either  adapts  an  old  play,  com- 
'pletes  the  work  of  a  contemporary,  or  hands  his  own  drafts  over  to  be  pieced  out 
'  by  another.  In  Hen.  VIII.  and  Tlie  Two  Noble  Kinsmen  (if  he  had  any  hand  in 
'the  latter)  he  collaborates  with  Fletcher.  Except  for  the  use  of  Plutarch  in  Jul. 
'Cas.,  and  of  Holinshed  in  the  English  Historical  Plays,  there  is  no  trace  in  the 
'earlier  works  of  the  proceedure  which  we  find  so  nearly  universal  in  the  later.' 

The  causes  for  the  evasion  of  labour  Garnett  plausibly  attributes  to  Shakespeare's 
financial  ease,  and  to  his  consciousness  that  his  fame  was  already  secure.  In  like 
manner,  Pope,  when  finding  that  no  version  of  the  Odyssey  could  enhance  the  fame 
he  had  won  by  the  Iliad,  turned  a  portion  of  the  work  over  to  Fenton  and  Broome. 
'  The  labour-saving  tendency  of  Shakespeare's  later  period  must  be  recognised  as 
'undeniable;  and  an  obligation  to  produce  two  plays  a  year,  with  or  without  the  good 
'will  of  Minerva,  affords  as  plausible  a  way  of  accounting  for  it  as  can  be  con- 
'ceived.'  As  for  the  date  when  Shakespeare  retired  to  Stratford  and  began  this 
labour-saving,  we  may  suppose  that  it  began  with  the  first  year  wherein  he  affords 
distinct  evidence  of  indebtedness  to  a  colleague  or  to  a  predecessor.  'This  may  be 
'very  fairly  taken  as  1607.  Timon  of  Athens  is  such  an  instance,  and  there  can 
'be  hardly  any  doubt  that  it  either  immediately  followed  or  immediately  suc- 
'ceeded  Ant.  &  Cleop.,  which,  from  the  Stationers'  Registers,  we  have  every  rea- 
son 'to  believe  was  produced  in  the  winter  of  1607-08.'  The  termination  of  Shake- 
speare's literary  activity  is  generally  placed  in  1611.  If  then  his  contract  to  furnish 
two  plays  a  year  began  to  run  in  1607,  there  must  be  eight  plays  allotted  to  these 
four  years.  But  Garnett  believes  that  his  literary  activity  extended  beyond  1611, 
even  to  a  portion  of  the  year  1613,  wherein  The  Tempest  was  produced,  so  that  two 
more  plays  are  required,  making  ten  in  all.  For  Garnett's  arguments  in  favour  of 
this  late  date,  1613,  see  p.  302  in  The  Tempest  in  The  New  Variorum  edition.  I 
must  refer  the  student  to  the  Jahrbuch  for  the  reason  why  Macbeth  and  Othello  are 
selected  as  these  two  additional  plays;  we  are  now  concerned  only  as  to  the  date 
of  Cymbeline.  The  eight  plays  which  may  be  assigned  with  'almost  absolute 
'certainty,'  says  Garnett,  to  the  period  1607-11  are:  Pericles,  Ant.  6°  Cleop., 
Wint.  Tale,  Coriol.,  Two  Noble  Kinsmen  (if  partly  Shakespeare's).  It  remains  to 
place  the  two  additional  plays,  and  apportion  the  twins  to  each  year.  This  Garnett 
does  in  the  final  summary  of  his  article  as  follows:  'We  conclude,  therefore,  that 
'the  tradition  recorded  by  Ward  is  intrinsically  probable,  that  it  explains  some 
'remarkable  phenomena  connected  with  Shakespeare's  later  plays,  and  that  it 
'might  very  well  be  accepted,  if  we  could  see  our  way  to  bring  the  dates  of  Othello 
'and  Macbeth  a  few  years  lower.  Quite  independently  of  Ward's  tradition,  there 
'is,  we  think,  sufficient  reason  for  reconsidering  the  accepted  chronology  of  these 
'dramas,  although  it  may  never  be  possible  to  arrive  at  an  entirely  satisfactory 
'solution  of  the  question.  Assuming  provisionally  that  Ward  is  to  be  relied  upon, 
'and  that  Shakespeare  did  for  some  time  contribute  to  the  stage  at  the  rate  of  two 


452 


APPENDIX 


'plays  a  year,  we  append  a  table  showing  the  most  probable  order  of  their  produc- 
tion: 

'1607,  Pericles,  Ant.  6*  Cleop. 

'1608,  Timon,  Othello. 

'1609,  Tro.  6"  Cress,  (revival),  Macbeth. 

'1610,  Cymbeline,  Winter's  Tale. 

'1611,  Coriolanus,  Two  Noble  Kinsmen  (?). 

'Here  Shakespeare's  regular  activity  as  a  writer  for  the  stage  terminates.  In 
'1613  he  produces  The  Tempest  and  Henry  VIII,  but  both  are  occasional  pieces. 
'The  Tempest  is  entirely  from  his  pen,  but  his  share  in  Henry  VIII  is  not  con- 
'siderable.' 

In  the  earliest  note  on  the  Date  of  this  play,  quoted  at  length  above  by  Malone, 
it  is  there  stated  that  a  parallelism  had  been  detected  by  Steevens  between  a  pas- 
sage in  Cymbeline  and  one  in  Beaumont  and  Fletcher's  Philaster.  These  parallels 
abound  in  the  commentaries  on  all  of  Shakespeare's  plays,  and  serve,  apparently, 
little  purpose  but  to  display  the  extent  of  the  commentator's  reading  and  the 
retentiveness  of  his  memory. 

In  the  present  instance,  however,  this  parallel  in  Philaster  turns  out  to  be  of 
more  importance  than  usual;  and  thereby  hangs  a  tale.  Ever  since  Malone's 
remark  that  the  versification  of  Cymbeline  bears  a  resemblance  to  that  of  The 
Winter's  Tale  and  of  The  Tempest  much  greater  than  to  any  of  Shakespeare's 
other  plays,  the  conviction  has  gradually  grown  that  these  three  plays, 
not  in  their  versification  alone,  but  in  their  general  dramatic  treatment, 
stand  in  a  class  by  themselves,  and  that  they  are  among  the  last,  if  not  the 
very  last,  which  Shakespeare  wrote.  This  conviction  has  been  assured  by  the 
substantial  agreement  of  external  evidence  and  internal  evidence,  such  as  metrical 
tests,  etc. 

The  exact  date  of  Philaster  is  uncertain,  but  it  was  known  vaguely  to  be  con- 
temporaneous with  these  last  plays;  the  precise  date  becomes  of  importance,  how- 
ever, if  we  are  to  know  whether  or  not  Shakespeare  followed  (and  shall  we  say — 
imitated?)  Beaumont  and  Fletcher. 

In  a  note  already  quoted  Malone  (Var.,  1821,  ii,  453)  observes  that  Philaster 
appeared  before  1611;  inasmuch  as  it  is  mentioned  in  an  epigram  by  John  Davies 
of  Hereford.  'Dryden,'  adds  Malone,  'mentions  a  tradition  (which  he  might  have 
'received  from  Sir  William  D'Avenant)  that  Philaster  was  the  first  play  by  which 
'Beaumont  and  Fletcher  acquired  reputation.  ...  It  may,  therefore,  be  pre- 
'sumed  that  it  [Philaster]  was  represented  in  1608  or  1609.'  DYCE  (Introd.  to 
Philaster,  p.  199)  quotes  Malone's  note,  and  adds:  'Perhaps  so;  but  in  conjec- 
'  tures  of  this  kind  little  confidence  can  be  placed.'  He  gives,  however,  no  closer 
date  than  Malone's.  If,  then,  Davies  of  Hereford  refers  to  Philaster,  the  date 
of  his  book,  The  Scourge  of  Folly,  becomes  needful.  Here  we  meet  with  a  rebuff. 
The  book  bears  no  date  on  the  title  page;  and  our  nearest  authority  is  The  Sta- 
tioners' Registers.  It  is  there  entered  as  follows:  '  Richard  REDMER,  entred  for 
'his  copy  vnder  th  ande  of  master  John  wilson  A  booke  called  The  Scourge  of 
'ffolly  by  J.  D.'  (Arber's  Trans.,  iii,  446).  A.  B.  GROSART,  who  reprinted  all  of 
Davies's  Works,  does  not  refer  to  that  entry,  which  was  first  pointed  out,  I  think, 
by  FLEAY,  and  was  unaware  of  its  existence;  he  believed  that  the  first  undated 
edition  was  issued  in  1611.  Davies's  'miserable  epigram,'  as  Dyce  befittingly 
terms  it,  is  as  follows: 


DATE  OF  COMPOSITION— GARNETT  45 3 

'To  the  well  deseruing  Mr  John  Fletcher,  Epig.  206, 
'  Loue  lies  ableeding,  if  we  should  not  prone 
'Her  vttmost  art  to  shew  why  it  doth  loue: 
'Thou  being  the  subiect  (now)  it  raignes  vpon; 
'Raign'st  in  arte,  iudgement  and  inuention: 
'For  this  I  loue  thee;  and  can  do  no  lesse 
'For  thine  as  faire  as  Faithfull  Sheepheardesse.' 

Merely  on  the  authority  of  this  epigram,  with  its  reference  to  Philaster  or  Love 
lies  a  Bleeding,  it  will  hardly  do  to  accept  the  Stationers'  Registers  date  of  1610  as 
proof  that  the  play  was  written  in  that  very  year,  or  even  very  close  to  that  year. 
This  same  epigram  mentions  another  of  Beaumont  and  Fletcher's  plays,  The 
Faithful  Shepherdess,  concerning  which  Fleay  (Eng.  Dram.,  p.  178)  has  'no  doubt 
'that  it  was  published  in  1609.'  And  I  think,  from  Fleay's  subsequent  remarks, 
that  he  might  without  violence  have  pushed  the  date  into  1608.  It  is  all,  however, 
conjecture,  as  it  is  also  with  regard  to  Cymbeline.  All  that  is  absolutely  assured 
from  external  evidence,  in  the  case  of  both  plays,  is  that  they  were  in  existence  in 
1610;  the  question  of  precedence,  being  thus  impossible  of  proof,  offers  an  oppor- 
tunity for  ingenious  speculation  so  alluring  that  one  well-equipped  scholar,  Dr 
ASHLEY  H.  THORNDIKE,  has  availed  himself  of  it,  and,  in  a  recent  interesting  and 
highly  valuable  pamphlet,  On  the  Influence  of  Beaumont  and  Fletcher  on  Shake- 
speare, has  endeavoured  to  show  that  to  this  influence  may  be  ascribed  nearly  all 
that  differentiates  these  last  plays  of  Shakespeare  from  their  predecessors. 

Dr  Thorndike's  contention,  broadly  stated,  is  that  Shakespeare,  always  and 
dutifully  anxious  to  catch  popular  favour,  had  been  impressed  by  the  instant  and 
extraordinary  applause  wherewith  Philaster  had  been  greeted  by  his  own  audience 
at  'The  Globe,  and  had  thereupon  written  Cymbeline,'  in  which,  'with  varied  and 
'intense  situations,  and  with  tragic  and  idyllic  contrasts,  culminating  in  an  elabor- 
'ate  denouement,  he  followed  so  closely  the  style  of  play  which  Beaumont  and 
'Fletcher  had  made  popular  that,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  he  adopted  their 
'methods  of  characterisation,  and  even  made  some  use  of  their  conventionalized 
'types'  (p.  145). 

In  vindication  of  his  contention,  Dr  Thorndike  very  naturally  seeks  to  prove 
that  Philaster  was  written  before  Cymbeline.  But  his  path  is  not  clear  in  the  ob- 
scurity which  envelops  both  plays.  His  most  positive  assertion  there  anent  is,  I 
think,  as  follows:  '[Philaster]  was  certainly  acted  by  the  King's  men  while  Shake- 
'speare  was  still  writing  for  the  company.  So,  probably,  were  others  of  Beaumont 
'and  Fletcher's  plays;  their  fame  was  certainly  high  before  he  retired  from  the 
'theatre.  Our  investigation  makes  it  probable  that  Philaster  and  other  of  their 
'  romances  preceded  any  one  of  his.  The  bare  facts  make  it  clear  that,  so  far  as  the 
'chronology  is  concerned,  there  was  opportunity  for  direct  influence  between 
'Beaumont  and  Fletcher  and  Shakespeare'  (p.  95).  Unquestionably,  but  would 
not  this  influence  rain  from  the  heaven  above  upon  the  earth  beneath?  From  the 
greater  upon  the  less?  With  a  scholar's  wise  caution,  Dr  Thorndike  speaks  of  the 
result  of  his  investigation  as  'probable.'  His  zeal  is  well  tempered.  And  yet  I  fear 
his  wish  is  father  to  the  thought,— perhaps  not  a  real,  genuine,  acknowledged 
father,  but  a  step-father  possibly. 

A  large  proportion  of  Dr  Thorndike's  pamphlet  is  devoted  to  the  plays  of  Beau- 
mont and  Fletcher,  and  his  chapter  on  Shakespeare  and  comparisons  of  Cymbeline 
and  Philaster  are  chiefly  concerned  with  the  drama  and  the  dramatic  treatment; 


454 


APPENDIX 


they  are,  therefore,  not  germane  to  our  present  subject,  albeit  of  unusual  interest. 
It  is  here  sufficient  to  note  that  he  regards  the  date  of  Cymbeline  as  '  probably  within 
'the  year  of  1610'  (p.  30).  On  page  92  he  questions  whether  Philaster  were  not 
written  in  1608. 

In  1885  there  appeared  an  Essay  by  Dr  B.  LEONHARDT,  in  Anglia  (Bd  viii,  3  Hft, 
p.  242),  on  The  Relationship  between  Philaster  and  Hamlet  and  Cymbeline.  I  have  not 
referred  to  it  in  its  chronological  order;  its  discussion  of  dates  is  more  or  less  inci- 
dental. He  does  not  enter  deeply  into  the  question  of  the  dates  of  any  of  the 
three  plays.  The  date  of  Philaster  he  places  in  1607-1608,  and  holds  that  Cym- 
beline was  written  at  the  same  time,  which  he  conceives  is  amply  justified  by 
Forman's  Diary  in  1610-1611.  It  is  perhaps  noteworthy  that  in  the  comparison 
between  these  two  plays,  made  both  by  Leonhardt  and  later  by  Thorndike,  parallel- 
isms are  drawn  (without  exception,  I  think)  from  the  Imogen-story.  All  the  Holin- 
shed  portion  is  as  completely  ignored  as  if  it  were  non-existent.  Naturally,  a  major- 
ity of  the  parallelisms  are  weak  and  shadowy,  and  derive  what  value  they  have  from 
their  cumulative  force.  Moreover,  in  noting  these  parallels,  very  seldom  is  at- 
tention called  to  the  infinitely  superior  poetic  beauty  of  Shakespeare's  thought, 
thus  precluding  the  idea,  as  I  think,  that  it  was  derived  from  Beaumont  and  Fletcher, 
which,  however,  Leonhardt  does  not  suggest. 

RECAPITULATION  : 

„    \  EDMOND  M ALONE.  1604 

1785) 

1790  MALONE 1605 

1 799  GEO.  CHALMERS 1606 

1821  MALONE 1609 

1843  J-  P-  COLLIER not  earlier  than  1609 

1845  RCV-  JOSEPH  HUNTER about  1606 

1847  ULRICI first  performed  at  beginning  of  1611 

1855  N.  DELIUS shortly  before  1610  or  1611 

1857  A.  DYCE probably  1609 

1857  C.  BATHURST any  time  after  1603 

1859?  H.  STAUNTON,  Rev.  JOHN  HUNTER,  G.  G.  GERVTNUS 1609 

1862  R.  G.  WHITE 1609  or  1610 

1877  F.  J.  FURNIVALL l6lO? 

1878  H.  P.  STOKES 1610 

1881  H.  N.  HUDSON 1610  and  1611 

1885  B.  LEONHARDT before  1608 

1886  C.  M.  INGLEBY:   II,  ii;  III,  i;  V,  ii,  in 1606 

the  rest  in 1609  and  1610 

1891  F.  G.  FLEAY 1609 

1901  R.  GARNETT 1610 

1901  A.  H.  THORNDIKE within  1610 

1903  E.  DOWDEN,  W.  J.  ROLFE,  K.  DEiGHTON,  C.  PORTER  and  H.  CLARK, 

W.  J.  CRAIG 1609  and  1610 

n.  d.  A.  J.  WYATT between  1607  and  1611 


SOURCE  OF  THE  PLOT  455 

SOURCE  OF  THE  PLOT 

In  Gerard  Langbaine's  An  Account  of  the  English  Dramatick  Poets,  etc.,  1691,  p. 
456,  there  is  the  following  account  of  Cymbeline:  'This  Play,  tho'  the  Title  bears 
'the  Name  of  a  King  of  Brute's  Lineage:  yet  I  think  ows  [sic]  little  to  the  Chron- 
'icles  of  those  times,  as  far  as  I  can  collect,  from  Graf  ton.  Stow,  Milton,  etc. 
'But  the  subject  is  rather  built  upon  a  Novel  in  Boccace,  viz.  Day  2.  Nov.  Q. 
'This  play  was  reviv'd  by  Durfey  about  seven  Years  since,  under  the  Title  of  The 
'Injured  Princefs,  or  The  Fatal  Wager.' 

Of  this  information  Pope  availed  himself,  and  below  the  list  of  Dramatis  Persona, 
in  his  edition  of  1723,  he  writes:  'Story  partly  taken  from  Boccace's  Decameron, 
'day  2.  nov.  9,  little  besides  the  names  being  historical.' 

The  story  by  Boccaccio  is  the  Ninth  on  Day  the  second.  It  is  here  given,  admir- 
ably translated  by  JOHN  PAYNE,  esqr,  and  privately  printed  for  the  Villon  Society, 
1886 : '  Filomena  the  queen,  who  was  tall  and  goodly  of  person,  and  smiling  and  agree- 
able of  aspect  beyond  any  other  of  her  sex,  collecting  herself,  said,  "  Needs  must  the 
covenant  with  Dionco  be  observed,  wherefore,  there  remaining  none  other  to  tell 
than  he  and  I,  I  will  tell  my  story  first,  and  he,  for  that  he  asked  it  as  a  favour,  shall 
be  the  last  to  speak."  So  saying,  she  began  thus,  "There  is  a  proverb  oftentimes 
cited  among  the  common  folk  to  the  effect  that  the  deceiver  abideth  at  the  feet 
of  the  deceived;  the  which  meseemeth  may  by  no  reasoning  be  shown  to  be  true, 
an  it  approve  not  itself  by  actual  occurrences.  Wherefore,  whilst  ensuing  the  ap- 
pointed theme,  it  hath  occurred  to  me,  dearest  ladies,  to  show  you  at  the  same  time, 
that  this  is  true,  even  as  it  is  said;  nor  should  it  mislike  you  to  hear  it,  so  you  may 
know  how  to  keep  yourself  from  deceivers:  There  were  once  at  Paris  in  an  inn 
certain  very  considerable  Italian  merchants,  who  were  come  thither,  according  to 
their  usance,  some  on  one  occasion  and  some  on  another,  and  having  one  evening 
among  others  supped  all  together  merrily,  they  fell  to  devising  of  divers  matters 
and  passing  from  one  discourse  to  another,  they  came  at  last  to  speak  of  their 
wives,  whom  they  had  left  at  home,  and  one  said  jestingly,  'I  know  not  how  mine 
doth;  but  this  I  know  well,  that,  whenas  there  cometh  to  my  hand  here  any  lass 
that  pleaseth  me,  I  leave  on  one  side  the  love  I  bear  my  wife  and  take  of  the  other 
such  pleasure  as  I  may.'  'And  I,'  quoth  another,  'do  likewise,  for  that  if  I  believe 
that  my  wife  pusheth  her  fortunes  [in  my  absence,]  she  doth  it;  wherefore  tit  for 
tat  be  it;  an  ass  still  getteth  as  good  as  he  giveth.'  A  third,  following  on,  came 
well  nigh  to  the  same  conclusion,  and  in  brief  all  seemed  agreed  upon  this  point, 
that  the  wives  they  left  behind  had  no  mind  to  lose  time  in  their  husbands'  absence. 
One  only,  who  hight  Bernabo  Lomellini  of  Genoa,  maintained  the  contrary,  avouch- 
ing that  he,  by  special  grace  of  God,  had  a  lady  to  wife  who  was  belike  the  most 
accomplished  woman  of  all  Italy  in  all  those  qualities  which  a  lady,  nay,  even  (in 
great  part)  in  those  which  a  knight  or  an  esquire,  should  have;  for  that  she  was 
fair  of  favour  and  yet  in  her  first  youth  and  adroit  and  robust  of  her  person;  nor 
was  there  aught  that  pertaineth  unto  a  woman,  such  as  works  of  broidery  in  silk 
and  the  like,  but  she  did  it  better  than  any  other  of  her  sex.  Moreover,  said  he, 
there  was  no  sewer,  or  in  other  words,  no  serving-man  alive  who  served  better  or 
more  deftly  at  a  noblemen's  table  than  did  she,  for  that  she  was  very  well  bred  and 
exceeding  wise  and  discreet.  He  after  went  to  extol  her  a  knowing  better  how  to 
ride  a  horse  and  fly  a  hawk,  to  read  and  write  and  cast  a  reckoning  than  if  she 
were  a  merchant;  and  thence,  after  many  other  commendations,  coming  to  that 
whereof  it  had  been  discoursed  among  them,  he  avouched  with  an  oath  that  there 


456 


APPENDIX 


could  be  found  no  honester  nor  chaster  woman  than  she;  wherefore,  he  firmly  be- 
lieved that,  should  he  abide  half  a  score  years,  or  even  always,  from  home,  she 
would  never  incline  to  the  least  levity  with  another  man.  Among  the  merchants 
who  discoursed  thus  was  a  young  man  called  Ambrogiuolo  of  Piacenza,  who  fell 
to  making  the  greatest  mock  in  the  world  of  this  last  commendation  bestowed  by 
Bernabo  upon  his  wife  and  asked  him  scoffingly  if  the  emperor  had  granted  him 
that  privilege  over  and  above  all  other  men.  Bernabo,  some  little  nettled,  replied 
that  not  the  emperor,  but  God,  who  could  somewhat  more  than  the  emperor,  had 
vouchsafed  him  the  favour  in  question.  Whereupon  quoth  Ambrogiuolo, '  Bernabo, 
I  doubt  not  a  whit  but  that  thou  thinkest  to  say  sooth;  but  meseemeth  thou  hast 
paid  little  regard  to  the  nature  of  things;  for  that,  hadst  thou  taken  heed  thereunto, 
I  deem  thee  not  so  dull  of  wit  but  thou  wouldst  have  noted  therein  certain  matters 
which  had  made  thee  speak  more  circumspectly  on  this  subject.  And  that  thou 
mayst  not  think  that  we,  who  have  spoken  much  at  large  of  our  wives,  believe 
that  we  have  wives  other  or  otherwise  made  than  thine,  but  mayst  see  that  we  spoke 
thus,  moved  by  natural  perception,  I  will  e'en  reason  with  thee  a  little  on  this 
matter.  I  have  always  understood  man  to  be  the  noblest  animal  created  of  God 
among  mortals,  and  after  him,  woman;  but  man,  as  is  commonly  believed  and  as  is 
seen  by  works,  is  the  more  perfect  and  having  more  perfection,  must  without  fail 
have  more  of  firmness  and  constancy,  for  that  women  universally  are  more  change- 
able; the  reason  whereof  might  be  shown  by  many  natural  arguments,  which  for  the 
present  I  purpose  to  leave  be.  If  then  man  be  of  more  stability  and  yet  cannot 
keep  himself,  let  alone  from  complying  with  a  woman  who  soliciteth  him,  but  even 
from  desiring  one  who  pleaseth  him,  nay  more,  from  doing  what  he  can,  so  he  may 
avail  to  be  with  her, — and  if  this  betide  him  not  once  a  month,  but  a  thousand 
times  a  day, — what  canst  thou  expect  a  woman,  naturally  unstable,  to  avail  against 
the  prayers,  the  blandishments,  the  gifts  and  a  thousand  other  means  which  an 
adroit  man,  who  loveth  her,  will  use?  Thinkest  thou  she  can  hold  out?  Certes, 
how  much  soever  thou  mayst  affirm  it,  I  believe  not  that  thou  believest  it;  and  thou 
thyself  sayst  thy  wife  is  a  woman  and  that  she  is  of  flesh  and  blood,  as  are  other 
women.  If  this  be  so,  those  same  desires  must  be  hers  and  the  same  powers  that 
are  in  other  women  to  resist  these  natural  appetites;  wherefore  however  honest 
she  may  be,  it  is  possible  she  may  do  that  which  other  women  do;  and  nothing  that 
is  possible  should  be  so  peremptorily  denied  nor  the  contrary  thereof  affirmed  with 
such  rigour  as  thou  dost.'  To  which  Bernabo  made  answer,  saying,  'I  am  a  mer- 
chant, and  not  a  philosopher,  and  as  a  merchant  I  will  answer;  and  I  say  that  I 
acknowledge  that  what  thou  sayst  may  happen  to  foolish  women  in  whom  there  is 
no  shame;  but  those  who  are  discreet  are  so  careful  of  their  honour  that  for  the 
guarding  thereof  they  become  stronger  than  men,  who  reck  not  of  this;  and  of  those 
thus  fashioned  is  my  wife.'  'Indeed,'  rejoined  Ambrogiuolo,  'if,  for  every  time  they 
occupy  themselves  with  toys  of  this  kind,  there  sprouted  from  their  foreheads  a  horn 
to  bear  witness  of  that  which  they  have  done,  there  be  few,  I  believe,  who  would 
incline  thereto;  but,  far  from  the  horn  sprouting,  there  appeareth  neither  trace  nor 
token  thereof  in  those  who  are  discreet,  and  shame  and  soil  of  honour  consist  not 
but  in  things  discovered;  wherefore,  whenas  they  may  secretly,  they  do  it,  or,  if 
they  forbear,  it  is  for  stupidity.  And  have  thou  this  for  certain  that  she  alone  is 
chaste,  who  hath  either  never  been  solicited  of  any  or  who,  having  herself  solicited, 
hath  not  been  hearkened.  And  though  I  know  by  natural  and  true  reasons  that  it 
is  e'en  as  I  say,  yet  should  I  not  speak  thereof  with  so  dull  an  assurance,  had  I  not 
many  a  time  with  many  women  made  essay  thereof.  And  this  I  tell  thee,  that,  were 


SOURCE  OF  THE  PLOT 

I  near  this  most  sanctified  wife  of  thine,  I  warrant  me  I  would  in  brief  space  of  time 
bring  her  to  that  which  I  have  already  gotten  of  other  women.'  'Whereupon,' 
quoth  Bernabo,  'disputing  with  words  might  be  prolonged  without  end;  thou 
wouldst  say  and  I  should  say,  and  in  the  end  it  would  all  amount  to  nothing. 
But,  since  thou  wilt  have  it  that  all  women  are  so  compliant  and  that  thine  address 
is  such,  I  am  content,  so  I  may  certify  thee  of  my  wife's  honesty,  to  have  my  head 
cut  off,  as  thou  canst  anywise  avail  to  bring  her  to  do  thy  pleasure  in  aught  of  the 
kind;  and  if  thou  fail  thereof,  I  will  have  thee  lose  no  otherwhat  than  a  thousand 
gold  florins.'  'Bernabo,'  replied  Ambrogiuolo,  who  was  now  grown  heated  over 
the  dispute,  'I  know  not  what  I  should  do  with  thy  blood,  if  I  won  the  wager;  but, 
as  thou  have  a  mind  to  see  proof  of  that  which  I  have  advanced,  do  thou  stake  five 
thousand  gold  florins  of  thy  monies,  which  should  be  less  dear  to  thee  than  thy 
head,  against  a  thousand  of  mine,  and  whereas  thou  settest  no  limit  [of  time,]  I 
will  e'en  bind  myself  to  go  to  Genoa  and  within  three  months  from  the  day  of  my 
departure  hence  to  have  done  my  will  of  thy  wife  and  to  bring  back  with  me,  in 
proof  thereof,  sundry  of  her  most  precious  things  and  such  and  so  many  tokens 
that  thou  shalt  confess  it  to  be  truth,  so  verily  thou  wilt  pledge  me  thy  faith  not 
to  come  to  Genoa  within  that  term  nor  write  her  aught  of  the  matter.'  Bernabo 
said  that  it  liked  him  well  and  albeit  the  other  merchants  endeavoured  to  hinder 
the  affair,  foreseeing,  that  sore  mischief  might  come  thereof,  the  two  merchants' 
minds  were  so  inflamed  that,  in  despite  of  the  rest,  they  bound  themselves  one  to 
other  by  express  writings  under  their  hands.  This  done,  Bernabo  abode  behind, 
whilst  Ambrogiuolo,  as  quickliest  he  might,  betook  himself  to  Genoa.  There  he 
abode  some  days  and  informing  himself  with  the  utmost  precaution  of  the  name 
of  the  street  where  the  lady  dwelt  and  of  her  manner  of  life,  understood  of  her  that 
and  more  than  that  which  he  had  heard  of  her  from  Bernabo,  wherefore,  him- 
seemed  he  was  on  a  fool's  errand.  However,  he  presently  clapped  up  an  acquain- 
tance with  a  poor  woman,  who  was  much  about  the  house  and  whose  great  well- 
wisher  the  lady  was,  and  availing  not  to  induce  her  to  aught  else,  he  debauched  her 
with  money  and  prevailed  with  her  to  bring  him,  in  a  chest  wroughten  after  a 
fashion  of  his  own,  not  only  into  the  house,  but  into  the  gentlewoman's  very  bed 
chamber,  where,  according  to  the  ordinance  given  her  of  him,  the  good  woman 
commended  it  to  her  care  for  some  days,  as  if  she  had  a  mind  to  go  somewhither. 
The  chest,  then,  being  left  in  the  chamber  and  the  night  come,  Ambrogiuolo,  what 
time  he  judged  the  lady  to  be  asleep,  opened  the  chest  with  certain  engines  of  his 
and  came  softly  out  into  the  chamber,  where  there  was  a  light  burning,  with 
whose  aid  he  proceeded  to  observe  the  ordinance  of  the  place,  the  paintings  and 
every  other  notable  thing  that  was  therein  and  fixed  them  in  his  memory.  Then, 
drawing  near  the  bed  and  perceiving  that  the  lady  and  a  little  girl,  who  was  with 
her,  were  fast  asleep,  he  softly  uncovered  the  former  and  found  that  she  was  as 
fair  naked  as  clad,  but  saw  no  sign  about  her  that  he  might  carry  away,  save 
one,  to  wit,  a  mole  which  she  had  under  the  left  pap  and  about  which  were  sundry 
little  hairs  as  red  as  gold.  This  noted,  he  covered  her  softly  up  again,  albeit,  seeing 
her  so  fair,  he  was  tempted  to  adventure  his  life  and  lay  himself  by  her  side;  how- 
ever, for  that  he  had  heard  her  to  be  so  obdurate  and  uncomplying  in  matters  of 
this  kind,  he  hazarded  not  himself,  but  abiding  at  his  lesiure  in  the  chamber  the 
most  part  of  the  night,  took  from  one  of  her  coffers  a  purse  and  a  night-rail,  together 
with  sundry  rings  and  girdles,  and  laying  them  all  in  his  chest,  returned  thither 
himself  and  shut  himself  up  therein  as  before;  and  on  this  wise  he  did  two  nights, 
without  the  lady  being  ware  of  aught.  On  the  third  day  the  good  woman  came 


458 


APPENDIX 


back  for  the  chest,  according  to  the  given  ordinance,  and  carried  it  off  whence  she 
had  taken  it,  whereupon  Ambrogiuolo  came  out  and  having  rewarded  her  accord- 
ing to  promise,  returned,  as  quickliest  he  might,  with  the  things  aforesaid,  to  Paris, 
where  he  arrived  before  the  term  appointed.  There  he  summoned  the  merchants 
who  had  been  present  at  the  dispute  and  the  laying  of  the  wager  and  declared,  in 
Bernabo's  presence,  that  he  had  won  the  wager  laid  between  them,  for  that  he  had 
accomplished  that  whereof  he  had  vaunted  himself;  and  to  prove  this  to  be  true, 
he  first  described  the  fashion  of  the  chamber  and  the  paintings  thereof  and  after 
showed  the  things  he  had  brought  with  him  thence,  avouching  that  he  had  them 
of  herself.  Bernabo  confessed  the  chamber  to  be  as  he  had  said  and  owned,  more- 
over, that  he  recognized  the  things  in  question  as  being  in  truth  his  wife's;  but  said 
that  he  might  have  learned  from  one  of  the  servants  of  the  house  the  fashion  of  the 
chamber  and  have  gotten  the  things  in  like  manner;  wherefore,  an  he  had  nought 
else  to  say,  himseemed  not  that  this  should  suffice  to  prove  him  to  have  won. 
Whereupon,  quoth  Ambrogiuolo,  'in  sooth  this  should  suffice;  but  since  thou  wilt 
have  me  say  more,  I  will  say  it.  I  tell  thee  that  Madam  Ginevra  thy  wife  hath 
under  her  left  pap  a  pretty  big  mole,  about  which  are  maybe  half  a  dozen  little 
hairs  as  red  as  gold.'  When  Bernabo  heard  this,  it  was  as  if  he  had  gotten  a  knife- 
thrust  in  the  heart,  such  anguish  did  he  feel,  and  though  he  had  said  not  a  word,  his 
countenance,  being  all  changed,  gave  very  manifest  token  that  what  Ambrogiuolo 
said  was  true.  Then,  after  a  while,  'Gentlemen,'  quoth  he,  'that  which  Am- 
brogiuolo saith  is  true;  wherefore,  he  having  won,  let  him  come  whenassoever  it 
pleaseth  him  and  he  shall  be  paid.'  Accordingly,  on  the  ensuing  day  Ambrogiuolo 
was  paid  in  full,  and  Bernabo,  departing  Paris,  betook  himself  to  Genoa  with  fell 
intent  against  the  lady.  When  he  drew  near  the  city,  he  would  not  enter  therein, 
but  lighted  down  a  good  score  miles  away  at  a  country  house  of  his  and  despatched 
one  of  his  servants,  in  whom  he  much  trusted,  to  Genoa  with  two  horses  and  letters 
under  his  hand,  advising  his  wife  that  he  had  returned  and  bidding  her  come  to  him; 
and  he  privily  charged  the  man,  whenas  he  should  be  with  the  lady  in  such  place  as 
should  seem  best  to  him,  to  put  her  to  death  without  pity  and  return  to  him.  The 
servant  accordingly  repaired  to  Genoa  and  delivering  the  letters  and  doing  his 
errand,  was  received  with  great  rejoicing  by  the  lady,  who  on  the  morrow  took 
horse  with  him  and  set  out  for  their  country  house.  As  they  fared  on  together, 
discoursing  of  one  thing  and  another,  they  came  to  a  very  deep  and  lonely  valley, 
beset  with  high  rocks  and  trees,  which  seeming  to  the  servant  a  place  wherein  he 
might,  with  assurance  for  himself,  do  his  lord's  commandment,  he  pulled  out  his 
knife  and  taking  the  lady  by  the  arm,  said,  'Madam,  commend  your  soul  to  God, 
for  needs  must  you  die,  without  faring  further.'  The  lady,  seeing  the  knife,  and 
hearing  these  words,  was  all  dismayed  and  said,  'Mercy,  for  God's  sake!  Ere  thou 
slay  me,  tell  me  wherein  I  have  offended  thee,  that  thou  wouldst  put  me  to  death.' 
'Madam,'  answered  the  man,  'me  you  have  nowise  offended;  but  wherein  you  have 
offended  your  husband  I  know  not,  save  that  he  hath  commanded  me  to  slay  you 
by  the  way,  without  having  any  pity  upon  you,  threatening  me,  an  I  did  it  not, 
to  have  me  hanged  by  the  neck.  You  know  well  how  much  I  am  beholden  to  him 
and  how  I  may  not  gainsay  him  in  aught  that  he  may  impose  upon  me;  God  know- 
eth  it  irketh  me  for  you,  but  I  can  no  otherwise.'  Whereupon  quoth  the  lady, 
weeping,  'Alack,  for  God's  sake,  consent  not  to  become  the  murderer  of  one  who 
hath  never  wronged  thee,  to  serve  another!  God  who  knoweth  all  knoweth  that  I 
never  did  aught  for  which  I  should  receive  such  a  recompense  from  my  husband. 
But  let  that  be;  thou  mayst,  an  thou  wilt,  at  once  content  God  and  thy  master  and 


SOURCE  OF  THE  PLOT 

give  me  but  thy  doublet  and  a  hood  and  with  the  former  return  to  my  lord  and  thine 
and  tell  him  that  thou  hast  slain  me;  and  I  swear  to  thee,  by  that  life  which  thou 
wilt  have  bestowed  on  me,  that  I  will  remove  hence  and  get  me  gone  into  a  country 
whence  never  shall  any  news  of  me  win  either  to  him  or  to  thee  or  into  these  parts.' 
The  servant,  who  was  loath  to  slay  her,  was  lightly  moved  to  compassion;  where- 
fore he  took  her  clothes,  and  gave  her  a  sorry  doublet  of  his  and  a  hood,  leaving  her 
sundry  monies  she  had  with  her.  Then  praying  her  depart  the  country,  he  left  her 
in  the  valley  and  afoot  and  betook  himself  to  his  master,  to  whom  he  avouched  that 
not  only  was  his  commandment  accomplished,  but  that  he  had  left  the  lady's 
dead  body  among  a  pack  of  wolves,  and  Bernabo  presently  returned  to  Genoa, 
where,  the  thing  becoming  known,  he  was  much  blamed.  As  for  the  lady,  she  abode 
alone  and  disconsolate  till  nightfall,  when  she  disguised  herself  as  most  she  might 
and  repaired  to  a  village  hard  by,  where,  having  gotten  from  an  old  woman  that 
which  she  needed,  she  fitted  the  doublet  to  her  shape  and  shortening  it,  made  a  pair 
of  linen  breeches  of  her  shift;  then,  having  cut  her  hair  and  altogether  transformed 
herself  in  the  guise  of  a  sailor,  she  betook  herself  to  the  seashore,  where,  as  chance 
would  have  it,  she  found  a  Catalan  gentleman,  by  name,  Senor  Encararch,  who  had 
landed  at  Alba  from  a  ship  he  had  in  the  offing,  to  refresh  himself  at  a  spring  there. 
With  him  she  entered  into  parley  and  engaging  with  him  as  a  servant,  embarked  on 
board  the  ship,  under  the  name  of  Sicurano  da  Finale.  There,  being  furnished  by 
the  gentleman  with  better  clothes,  she  proceeded  to  serve  him  so  well  and  so  aptly 
that  she  became  in  the  utmost  favour  with  him.  No  great  while  after  it  befell 
that  the  Catalan  made  a  voyage  to  Alexandria  with  a  lading  of  his  and  carrying 
thither  certain  peregrine  falcons  for  the  Soldan,  presented  them  to  him.  The 
Soldan,  having  once  and  again  entertained  him  at  meat  and  noting  with  approof 
the  fashions  of  Sicurano,  who  still  went  serving  him,  begged  him  [From  this  point 
until  the  final  discovery  of  her  true  sex,  the  heroine  is  spoken  of  in  the  masculine 
gender,  as  became  her  assumed  name  and  habit]  of  his  master,  who  yielded  him  to 
him,  although  it  irked  him  to  do  it,  and  Sicurano,  in  a  little  while,  by  his  good 
behaviour,  gained  the  love  and  favour  of  the  Soldan,  even  as  he  had  gained  that 
of  the  Catalan.  Wherefore,  in  process  of  time,  it  befell  that, — the  time  coming  for 
a  great  assemblage,  in  the  guise  of  a  fair,  of  merchants,  both  Christian  and  Saracen, 
which  was  wont  at  a  certain  season  of  the  year  to  be  held  in  Acre,  a  town  under  the 
seignory  of  the  Soldan,  and  to  which,  in  order  that  the  mercahnts  and  their  mer- 
chandise might  rest  secure,  the  latter  was  still  used  to  despatch,  beside  other  his 
officers,  some  one  of  his  chief  men,  with  troops,  to  look  to  the  guard, — he  bethought 
himself  to  send  Sicurano,  who  was  by  this  well  versed  in  the  language  of  the  country, 
on  this  service;  and  so  he  did.  Sicurano  accordingly  came  to  Acre  as  governor  and 
captain  of  the  guard  of  the  merchants  and  their  merchandise  and  there  well  and 
diligently  doing  that  which  pertained  to  his  office  and  going  round  looking  about 
him,  saw  many  merchants  there,  Sicilians  and  Pisans  and  Genoese  and  Venetians 
and  other  Italians,  with  whom  he  was  fain  to  make  acquaintance,  in  remembrance 
of  his  country.  It  befell,  one  time  amongst  others,  that  having  lighted  down  at 
the  shop  of  certain  Venetian  merchants,  he  espied,  among  other  trinkets,  a  purse 
and  a  girdle,  which  he  straightway  knew  for  having  been  his  and  marvelled  thereat; 
but,  without  making  any  sign,  he  carelessly  asked  to  whom  they  pertained  and  if 
they  were  for  sale.  Now  Ambrogiuolo  of  Piacenza  was  come  thither  with  much 
merchandise  on  board  a  Venetian  ship  and  hearing  the  captain  of  the  guard  ask 
whose  the  trinkets  were,  came  forward  and  said,  laughing,  '  Sir,  the  things  are  mine 
and  I  do  not  sell  them;  but  if  they  please  you,  I  will  gladly  give  them  to  you.' 


460 


APPENDIX 


Sicurano,  seeing  him  laugh,  misdoubted  he  had  recognized  him  by  some  gesture  of 
his;  but  yet,  keeping  a  steady  countenance,  he  said,  'Belike  thou  laughest  to  see  me, 
a  soldier,  go  questioning  of  these  women's  toys?'  'Sir,'  answered  Ambrogiuolo,  'I 
laugh  not  at  that;  nay,  but  at  the  way  I  came  by  them.'  'Marry,  then,'  said 
Sicurano,  'an  it  be  not  unspeakable,  tell  me  how  thou  gottest  them,  so  God  give 
thee  good  luck.'  Quoth  Ambrogiuolo,  'Sir,  a  gentlewoman  of  Genoa,  hight  Madam 
Ginevra,  wife  of  Bernabo  Lomellini,  gave  me  these  things,  with  certain  others,  one 
night  that  I  lay  with  her,  and  prayed  me  keep  them  for  the  love  of  her.  Now  I 
laugh  for  that  I  mind  me  of  the  simplicity  of  Bernabo,  who  was  fool  enough  to  lay 
five  thousand  florins  to  one  that  I  would  not  bring  his  wife  to  do  my  pleasure;  the 
which  I  did  and  won  the  wager;  whereupon  he,  who  should  rather  have  punished 
himself  for  his  stupidity  than  her  for  doing  that  which  all  women  do,  returned  from 
Paris  to  Genoa  and  there,  by  what  I  have  since  heard,  caused  her  to  be  put  to  death.' 
Sicurano,  hearing  this,  understood  forthwith  what  was  the  cause  of  Bernabo's  anger 
against  his  wife  [Here  Boccaccio  uses  the  feminine  pronoun,  immediately  after- 
ward resuming  the  masculine  form  in  speaking  of  Sicurano]  and  manifestly  per- 
ceiving this  fellow  to  have  been  the  occasion  of  her  ills,  determined  not  to  let  him  go 
unpunished  therefor.  Accordingly  he  feigned  to  be  greatly  diverted  with  the 
story  and  artfully  clapped  up  a  strait  acquaintance  with  him,  insomuch  that,  the 
fair  being  ended,  Ambrogiuolo,  at  his  instance,  accompanied  him  with  all  his  good, 
to  Alexandria.  Here  Sicurano  let  build  him  a  warehouse  and  lodged  in  his  hands 
store  of  his  own  monies;  and  Ambrogiuolo,  foreseeing  great  advantage  to  himself, 
willingly  took  up  his  abode  there.  Meanwhile,  Sicurano,  careful  to  make  Bernabo 
clear  of  his  (i.  e.  her)  innocence,  rested  not  till,  by  means  of  certain  great  Genoese 
merchants  who  were  then  in  Alexandria,  he  had,  on  some  plausible  occasion  of  his 
(i.  e.  her)  own  devising,  caused  him  come  thither,  where,  finding  him  in  poor  enough 
case,  he  had  him  privily  entertained  by  a  friend  of  his  (i.  e.  hers)  against  it  should 
seem  to  him  (i.  e.  her)  time  to  do  that  which  he  purposed.  Now  he  had  already 
made  Ambrogiuolo  recount  his  story  before  the  Soldan  for  the  latter's  diversion; 
but,  seeing  Bernabo  there  and  thinking  there  was  no  need  to  use  further  delay  in  the 
matter,  he  took  occasion  to  procure  the  Soldan  to  have  Ambrogiuolo  and  Bernabo 
brought  before  him  and  in  the  latter's  presence,  to  exhort  from  the  former,  by  dint 
of  severity,  an  it  might  not  easily  be  done  [by  other  means,]  the  truth  of  that  whereof 
he  vaunted  himself  concerning  Bernabo's  wife.  Accordingly,  they  both  being  come, 
the  Soldan,  in  the  presence  of  many,  with  a  stern  countenance  commanded  Ambro- 
giuolo to  tell  the  truth  how  he  had  won  of  Bernabo  the  five  thousand  gold  florins; 
and  Sicurano  himself,  in  whom  he  most  trusted,  with  a  yet  angrier  aspect,  threat- 
ened him  with  most  grievous  torments,  an  he  told  it  not;  whereupon  Ambrogiuolo, 
affrighted  on  one  side  and  another  and  in  a  measure  constrained,  in  the  presence 
of  Bernabo  and  many  others,  plainly  related  everything,  even  as  it  passed,  expect- 
ing no  worse  punishment  therefor  than  the  restitution  of  the  five  thousand  gold 
florins  and  of  the  stolen  trinkets.  He  having  spoken,  Sicurano,  as  he  were  the 
Soldan's  minister  in  the  matter,  turned  to  Bernabo  and  said  to  him,  'And  thou, 
what  didst  thou  to  thy  lady  for  this  lie?'  Whereto  Bernabo  replied,  'Overcome  with 
wrath  for  the  loss  of  my  money  and  with  resentment  for  the  shame  which  meseemed 
I  had  gotten  from  my  wife,  I  caused  a  servant  of  mine  put  her  to  death,  and  ac- 
cording to  that  which  he  reported  to  me,  she  was  straightway  devoured  by  a  mul- 
titude of  wolves.'  These  things  said  in  the  presence  of  the  Soldan  and  all  heard 
and  apprehended  of  him,  albeit  he  knew  not  yet  to  what  end  Sicurano,  who  had 
sought  and  ordered  this,  would  fain  come,  the  latter  said  to  him,  'My  lord,  you 


SOURCE   OF  THE  PLOT 

may  very  clearly  see  how  much  reason  yonder  poor  lady  had  to  vaunt  herself 
of  her  gallant  and  her  husband,  for  that  the  former  at  once  bereaved  her  of  honour, 
marring  her  fair  fame  with  lies,  and  despoiled  her  husband,  whilst  the  latter,  more 
credulous  of  others'  falsehoods  than  of  the  truth  which  he  might  by  long  experience 
have  known,  caused  her  be  slain  and  eaten  of  wolves;  and  moreover,  such  is  the 
goodwill  and  the  love  borne  her  by  the  one  and  the  other  that,  having  long  abidden 
with  her,  neither  of  them  knoweth  her.  But,  that  you  may  the  better  apprehend 
that  which  each  of  these  hath  deserved,  I  will — so  but  you  vouchsafe  me,  of  special 
favour,  to  punish  the  deceiver  and  pardon  the  dupe, — e'en  cause  her  come  hither 
into  your  and  their  presence.'  The  Soldan,  disposed  in  the  matter  altogether  to 
comply  with  Sicurano's  wishes,  answered  that  he  would  well  and  bade  him  produce 
the  lady;  whereat  Bernabo  marvelled  exceedingly,  for  that  he  firmly  believed  her 
to  be  dead,  whilst  Ambrogiuolo,  now  divining  danger,  began  to  be  in  fear  of  worse 
than  paying  of  monies  and  knew  not  whether  more  to  hope  or  to  fear  from  the  com- 
ing of  the  lady,  but  awaited  her  appearance  with  the  utmost  amazement.  The 
Soldan,  then,  having  accorded  Sicurano  his  wish,  the  latter  threw  himself,  weeping, 
on  his  knees  before  him  and  putting  off,  as  it  were  at  one  and  the  same  time,  his 
manly  voice  and  masculine  demeanour,  said,  'My  lord,  I  am  the  wretched  mis- 
fortunate  Ginevra,  who  have  these  six  years  gone  wandering  in  man's  disguise 
about  the  world,  having  been  foully  and  wickedly  aspersed  by  this  traitor  Ambro- 
giuolo and  given  by  yonder  cruel  and  unjust  man  to  one  of  his  servants  to  be  slain 
and  eaten  of  wolves.'  Then,  tearing  open  the  fore  part  of  her  clothes  and  showing 
her  breast,  she  discovered  herself  to  the  Soldan  and  all  else  who  were  present  and 
after,  turning  to  Ambrogiuolo,  indignantly  demanded  of  him  when  he  had  ever 
lain  with  her,  according  as  he  had  aforetime  boasted;  but  he,  now  knowing  her  and 
fallen  well  nigh  dumb  for  shame,  said  nothing.  The  Soldan,  who  had  always  held 
her  for  a  man,  seeing  and  hearing  this,  fell  into  such  a  wonderment  that  he  more 
than  once  misdoubted  that  which  he  saw  and  heard  to  be  rather  a  dream  than  true. 
However,  after  his  amazement  had  abated,  apprehending  the  truth  of  the  matter,  he 
lauded  to  the  utmost  the  life  and  fashions  of  Ginevra,  till  then  called  Sicurano,  and 
extolled  her  constancy  and  virtue;  and  letting  bring  her  very  sumptuous  woman's 
apparel  and  women  to  attend  her,  he  pardoned  Bernabo,  in  accordance  with  her 
request,  the  death  he  had  merited,  whilst  the  latter,  recognizing  her,  cast  himself 
at  her  feet,  weeping  and  craving  forgiveness,  which  she,  ill  worthy  as  he  was  thereof, 
graciously  accorded  him  and  raising  him  to  his  feet,  embraced  him  tenderly,  as  her 
husband.  Then  the  Soldan  commanded  that  Ambrogiuolo  should  incontinent  be 
bound  to  a  stake  and  smeared  with  honey  and  exposed  to  the  sun  in  some  high 
place  of  the  city,  nor  should  ever  be  loosed  thence  till  such  time  as  he  should  fall  of 
himself;  and  so  it  was  done.  After  this  he  commanded  that  all  that  had  belonged  to 
him  should  be  given  to  the  lady,  the  which  was  not  so  little  but  that  it  outvalued 
ten  thousand  doubloons.  Moreover,  he  let  make  a  very  goodly  banquet,  wherein  he 
entertained  Bernabo  with  honour,  as  Madam  Ginevra's  husband,  and  herself  as  a 
very  valiant  lady  and  gave  her,  in  jewels  and  vessels  of  gold  and  silver  and  monies, 
that  which  amounted  to  better  [sic  (meglio)]  than  other  ten  thousand  doubloons. 
Then,  the  banquet  over,  he  caused  equip  them  a  ship  and  gave  them  leave  to  return 
at  their  pleasure  to  Genoa,  whither  accordingly  they  returned  with  great  joyance 
and  exceeding  rich;  and  there  they  were  received  with  the  utmost  honour,  espe- 
cially Madam  Ginevra,  who  was  of  all  believed  to  be  dead  and  who,  while  she  lived, 
was  still  reputed  of  great  worth  and  virtue.  As  for  Ambrogiuolo,  being  that  same 
day  bounden  to  the  stake  and  anointed  with  honey,  he  was,  to  his  exceeding  tor- 


462  APPENDIX 

ment,  not  only  slain,  but  devoured,  of  the  flies  and  wasps  and  gadflies,  wherewith 
that  country  aboundeth,  even  to  the  bones,  which  latter  waxed  white  and  hanging 
by  the  sinews,  being  left  unremoved,  long  bore  witness  of  his  villainy  to  all  who 
saw  them.  And  on  this  wise  did  the  deceiver  abide  at  the  feet  of  the  deceived." 

The  meagre  statement  by  Langbaine  and  Pope,  as  to  the  source  of  the  Fable 
sufficed  inquiring  minds  for  forty  years  until  Capell,  the  earliest  editor  to  attempt 
any  real  investigation  of  the  subject,  issued  the  first  volume  of  his  edition,  probably 
in  1763.  On  page  52  of  that  volume  the  fact  mentioned  by  Pope  is  repeated,  as  the 
general  supposition  of  the  source  of  the  fable  of  Cymbeline,  'But  the  embracers 
'of  this  opinion,'  observes  Capell,  'seem  not  to  have  been  aware  that  many  of 
'that  author's  novels  (translated,  or  imitated)  are  to  be  found  in  English  books, 
'prior  to,  or  contemporary  with,  Shakespeare:  and  of  this  novel  in  particular,  there 
'is  an  imitation  extant  in  a  story  book  of  that  time,  entitled — Westward  for  Smelts; 
'it  is  the  second  tale  in  the  book;  the  scene,  and  the  actors  of  it,  are  different  from 
'Boccace,  as  Shakespeare's  are  from  both;  but  the  main  of  the  story  is  the  same 
'in  all.  We  may  venture  to  pronounce  it  a  book  of  those  times,  and  that  early 
'enough  to  have  been  us'd  by  Shakespeare,  as  I  am  persuaded  it  was;  though  the 
'Copy  that  I  have  of  it  is  no  older  than  1620;  it  is  a  quarto  pamphlet  of  only  five 
'sheets  and  a  half,  printed  in  a  black  letter;  [reasons  for  my  opinion  are  perhaps 
'not  necessary]  as  it  may  one  day  better  be  made  appear  a  true  one,  by  the  dis- 
'covery  of  some  more  ancient  edition.'  STEEVENS  (Far.,  1773)  asserts  that  this 
volume  was  published  in  1603,  and  that  he  had  seen  a  copy  of  that  date.  In  the 
next  Variorum  (1778)  he  states  correctly  that  it  is  entered  in  the  Stationers'  Regis- 
ters in  Jan.  [15],  1619  [i.  e.,  1620],  'where  it  is  said  to  have  been  written  by  kinde 
'Kitt  of  Kingston.'  MALONE  (Far.,  1821,  ii,  453)  repeats  Steevens's  statement 
that  an  edition  of  this  tract  was  published  in  1603.  'No  copy  of  this  date 
'exists,'  says  COLLIER  (Sh's.  Library,  ii,  xv.),  'and  the  entry  in  the  Stationers' 
'Registers  seems  to  establish  that  it  then  was  a  new  publication.  The  only 
'known  copy  of  the  edition  of  1620  is  among  CapelPs  books  in  the  library  of 
'Trinity  College,  Cambri'dge;  and  we  feel  confident  that  there  was  no  earlier  impres- 
'sion,  and  that  Malone  had  been  misinformed  when  he  spoke  of  the  existence 
'of  a  copy  dated  1603.  Had  such  an  impression  been  issued,  Shakespeare  might 
'have  possibly  availed  himself  of  it,  if,  as  Malone  thought,  Cymbeline  was  produced 
'in  1609.  [Collier  reprints  it]  not  because  our  great  dramatist  every  saw  it,  since 
'it  did  not  come  out  until  four  years  after  his  death,  but  on  account  of  its  connection 
'with  Cymbeline,  with  the  two  French  Romances,  with  the  French  Miracle-Play, 
'and  with  the  novel  of  Boccaccio.  All  the  incidents  are  vulgarised  in  the  English 
'version  of  them,  and  it  is  pretty  clear  that  the  compiler  could  not  have  been 
'aware  that  they  had  been  previously  employed  on  the  stage.' 

When  Halliwell  translated  Simrock  for  the  Shakespeare  Society  he  referred  to 
the  assertion  by  Collier  that  the  only  known  copy  of  Westward  for  Smelts  is  in  the 
Capell  Collection,  and  said  he  had  himself  'recently  purchased  a  fine  copy  of  the 
'work  which  certainly  has  no  indication  of  having  been  a  republication.  ...  I  am 
'inclined  to  believe  Steevens's  assertion,  because  he  refers  to  the  entry  in  the 
'Stationers'  Registers  as  containing  information  not  found  in  the  edition  he  used.' 

The  story  is  here  reprinted  as  given  by  Malone: 

'  Westward  for  Smelts,  or  the  Waterman's  Fare  of  mad  Merry  Western  Wenches, 
whose  Tongues  albeit,  like  Bell-clappers,  they  never  leave  ringing,  yet  their  Tales 


SOURCE  OF  THE  PLOT 


463 


are  sweet,  and  will  much  content  you:  Written  by  kinde  Kitt  of  Kingstone, — was 
published  at  London  in  1603;  and  again,  in  1620.  To  the  second  tale  in  that 
volume  Shakespeare  seems  to  have  been  indebted  for  two  or  three  of  the  circum- 
stances of  Cymbeline.  It  is  told  by  the  Fishwife  of  Stand  on  the  Green,  and  is  as 
follows: 

"In  the  troublesome  raigne  of  king  Henry  the  Sixt,  there  dwelt  in  Waltam 
(not  farre  from  London)  a  gentleman,  which  had  to  wife  a  creature  most  beautifull, 
so  that  in  her  time  there  were  few  found  that  matched  her,  none  at  all  that  ex- 
celled her;  so  excellent  were  the  gifts  that  nature  had  bestowed  on  her.  In  body 
was  she  not  onely  so  rare  and  unparaleled,  but  also  in  her  gifts  of  minde,  so  that 
in  this  creature  it  seemed  that  Grace  and  Nature  strove  who  should  excell  each 
other  in  their  gifts  toward  her.  The  gentleman,  her  husband,  thought  himself  so 
happy  in  his  choise,  that  he  believed  in  choosing  her,  he  had  tooke  hold  of  that 
blessing  which  Heaven  proffereth  every  man  once  in  his  life.  Long  did  not  this 
opinion  hold  for  currant;  for  in  his  height  of  love  he  began  so  to  hate  her,  that  he 
sought  her  death;  the  cause  I  will  tell  you. 

"Having  businesse  one  day  to  London,  he  tooke  his  leave  very  kindly  of  his  wife, 
and,  accompanied  with  one  man,  he  rode  to  London:  being  toward  night,  he  tooke 
up  his  inne,  and  to  be  briefe,  he  went  to  supper  amongst  other  gentlemen.  Amongst 
other  talke  at  table,  one  tooke  occasion  to  speake  of  women,  and  what  excellent 
creatures  they  were,  so  long  as  they  continued  loyal  to  man.  To  whom  answered 
one,  saying,  This  is  truth,  sir;  so  is  the  divell  good  so  long  as  he  doth  no  harme, 
which  is  meaner:  his  goodness  and  women's  loyaltie  will  come  both  in  one  yeere; 
but  it  is  so  farre  off,  that  none  in  this  age  shall  live  to  see  it. 

"This  gentleman  loving  his  wife  dearely,  and  knowing  her  to  be  free  from  this 
uncivill  general  taxation  of  women,  in  her  behalf,  said,  Sir,  you  are  too  bitter 
against  the  sexe  of  women,  and  doe  ill,  for  some  one's  sake  that  hath  proved  false 
to  you,  to  taxe  the  generalitie  of  women-kinde  with  lightnesse;  and  but  I  would 
not  be  counted  uncivill  amongst  these  gentlemen,  I  would  give  you  the  reply  that 
approved  untruth  deserveth:  you  know  my  meaning,  sir;  construe  my  words  as 
you  please.  Excuse  me,  gentlemen,  if  I  be  uncivil;  I  answere  in  the  behalfe  of  one 
who  is  as  free  from  disloyaltie  as  is  the  sunne  from  darknes,  or  the  fire  from  cold. 
Pray,  sir,  said  the  other,  since  wee  are  opposite  in  opinions,  let  us  rather  talke  like 
lawyers,  that  wee  may  be  quickly  friends  againe,  than  like  souldiers,  which  end 
their  words  with  blowes.  Perhaps  this  woman  that  you  answere  for,  is  chaste,  but 
yet  against  her  will;  for  many  women  are  honest,  'cause  they  have  not  the  meanes 
and  opportunitie  to  be  dishonest;  so  is  a  thief  true  in  prison,  because  he  hath  noth- 
ing to  steale.  Had  I  but  opportunitie  and  knew  this  same  saint  you  so  adore,  I 
would  pawne  my  life  and  whole  estate,  in  a  short  while  to  bring  you  some  manifest 
token  of  her  disloyaltie.  Sir,  you  are  yong  in  the  knowledge  of  women's  slights; 
your  want  of  experience  makes  you  too  credulous:  therefore  be  not  abused.  This 
speech  of  his  made  the  gentleman  more  out  of  patience  than  before,  so  that  with 
much  adoe  he  held  himself e  from  offering  violence;  but  his  anger  being  a  little 
over,  he  said, — Sir,  I  doe  verily  believe  that  this  vaine  speech  of  yours  proceedeth 
rather  from  a  loose  and  ill-manner'd  minde,  than  of  any  experience  you  have  had 
of  women's  looseness:  and  since  you  think  yourself  e  so  cunning  in  that  divelish  art 
of  corrupting  women's  chastitie,  I  will  lay  down  heere  a  hundred  pounds,  against 
which  you  shall  lay  fifty  pounds,  and  before  these  gentlemen  I  promise  you,  if  that 
within  a  month's  space  you  bring  me  any  token  of  this  gentlewoman's  disloyaltie, 
(for  whose  sake  I  have  spoken  in  the  behalfe  of  all  women,)  I  doe  freely  give  you 


464  APPENDIX 

leave  to  injoy  the  same;  conditionally,  you  not  performing  it,  I  may  enjoy  your 
money.  If  that  it  be  a  match,  speake,  and  I  will  acquaint  you  where  she  dwelleth: 
and  besides  I  vow,  as  I  am  a  gentleman,  not  to  give  her  notice  of  any  such  intent 
that  is  toward  her.  Sir,  quoth  the  man,  your  proffer  is  faire,  and  I  accept  the  same. 
So  the  money  was  delivered  in  the  oast  of  the  house  his  hands,  and  the  sitters  by 
were  witnesses;  so  drinking  together  like  friends,  they  went  every  man  to  his 
chamber.  The  next  day  this  man,  having  knowledge  of  the  place,  rid  thither, 
leaving  the  gentleman  at  the  inne,  who  being  assured  of  his  wife's  chastitie,  made 
no  other  account  but  to  winne  the  wager;  but  it  fell  out  otherwise:  for  the  other 
vowed  either  by  force,  policie,  or  free  will,  to  get  some  Jewell  or  other  toy  from 
her,  which  was  enough  to  persuade  the  gentleman  that  he  was  a  cuckold,  and  win 
the  wager  he  had  laid.  This  villaine  (for  he  deserved  no  better  stile)  lay  at 
Wai  tarn  a  whole  day  before  he  came  at  the  sight  of  her;  at  last  he  espied  her  in 
the  fields,  to  whom  he  went,  and  kissed  her  (a  thing  no  modest  woman  can  deny) ; 
after  his  salutation,  he  said,  Gentlewoman,  I  pray,  pardon  me,  if  I  have  beene 
too  bold:  I  was  intreated  by  your  husband,  which  is  at  London,  (I  riding  this 
way)  to  come  and  see  you;  by  me  he  hath  sent  his  commends  to  you,  with  a  kind 
intreat  that  you  would  not  be  discontented  for  his  long  absence,  it  being  serious 
business  that  keepes  him  from  your  sight.  The  gentlewoman  very  modestlie 
bade  him  welcome,  thanking  him  for  his  kindnes;  withall  telling  him  that  her 
husband  might  command  her  patience  so  long  as  he  pleased.  Then  intreated  shee 
him  to  walke  homeward,  where  she  gave  him  such  entertainment  as  was  fit  for  a 
gentleman,  and  her  husband's  friend. 

"In  the  time  of  his  abiding  at  her  house,  he  oft  would  have  singled  her  in  private 
talke,  but  she  perceiving  the  same,  (knowing  it  to  be  a  thing  not  fitting  a  modest 
woman,)  would  never  come  to  his  sight  but  at  meales,  and  then  were  there  so  many 
at  boord,  that  it  was  no  time  for  to  talke  at  love-matters:  therefore  he  saw  he 
must  accomplish  his  desire  some  other  way;  which  he  did  in  this  manner.  He 
having  laine  two  nights  at  her  house,  and  perceiving  her  to  be  free  from  lustful 
desires,  the  third  night  he  fained  himself  to  bee  something  ill,  and  so  went  to  bed 
timelier  than  he  was  wont.  When  he  was  alone  in  his  chamber,  he  began  to  thinke 
with  himselfe  that  it  was  now  time  to  do  that  which  he  determined:  for  if  he  tarried 
any  longer,  they  might  have  cause  to  think  that  he  came  for  some  ill  intent,  and 
waited  opportunity  to  execute  the  same.  With  this  resolution  he  went  to  her 
chambre,  which  was  but  a  paire  of  staires  from  his,  and  finding  the  doore  open,  he 
went  in,  placing  himselfe  under  the  bed.  Long  had  he  not  lyne  there,  but  in  came 
the  gentlewoman  with  her  maiden;  who,  having  been  at  prayers  with  her  house- 
hold, was  going  to  bed.  She  preparing  herself  to  bedward,  laid  her  head-tyre 
and  those  jewels  she  wore,  on  a  little  table  thereby:  at  length  he  perceived  her  to 
put  off  a  little  crucifix  of  gold,  which  daily  she  wore  next  to  her  heart;  this  Jewell 
he  thought  fittest  for  his  turne,  and  therefore  observed  where  she  did  lay  the  same. 

"At  length  the  gentlewoman,  being  untyred  her  selfe,  went  to  bed;  her  maid 
then  bolting  of  the  doore,  took  the  candle,  and  went  to  bed  in  a  withdrawing 
roome,  onely  separated  with  arras.  This  villaine  lay  still  under  the  bed,  listening 
if  hee  could  heare  that  the  gentlewoman  slept:  at  length  he  might  hear  her  draw 
her  breath  long;  then  thought  he  all  sure,  and  like  a  cunning  villaine  rose  without 
noise,  going  straight  to  the  table,  where  finding  of  the  crucifix,  he  lightly  went  to 
the-  doore,  which  he  cunningly  unbolted;  all  this  performed  with  so  little  noise, 
that  neither  the  mistress  nor  the  maid  heard  him.  Having  gotten  into  his  chamber, 
he  wished  for  day  that  he  might  carry  this  Jewell  to  her  husband,  as  signe  of  his 


SOURCE  OF  THE  PLOT  465 

wife's  disloyalite;  but  seeing  his  wishes  but  in  vaine,  he  laide  him  downe  to  sleeper 
happy  had  she  beene,  had  his  bed  proved  his  grave. 

"In  the  morning  so  soon  as  the  folkes  were  stirring,  he  rose  and  went  to  the 
horse-keeper,  praying  him  to  helpe  him  to  his  horse,  telling  him  that  he  had  tooke 
his  leave  of  his  mistris  the  last  night.  Mounting  his  horse,  away  he  rode  to  London, 
leaving  the  gentlewoman  in  bed;  who,  when  she  rose,  attiring  herself  hastily, 
('cause  one  tarried  to  speak  with  her,)  missed  not  her  crucifix.  So  passed  she  the 
time  away,  as  she  was  wont  other  dayes  to  doe,  no  whit  troubled  in  minde,  though 
much  sorrow  was  toward  her;  onely  she  seemed  a  little  discontented  that  her  ghest 
went  away  so  unmannerly,  she  using  him  so  kindely.  So  leaving  her,  I  will  speake 
of  him,  who  the  next  morning  was  betimes  at  London;  and  coming  to  the  inne,  he 
asked  for  the  gentleman  who  was  then  in  bed,  but  he  quickly  came  downe  to  him; 
who  seeing  him  returned  so  suddenly,  hee  thought  hee  came  to  have  leave  to  release 
himselfe  of  his  wager;  but  this  chanced  otherwise,  for  having  saluted  him,  he  said 
in  this  manner:  Sir,  did  not  I  tell  you  that  you  were  too  young  in  experience  of 
woman's  subtilties,  and  that  no  woman  was  longer  good  than  till  she  had  cause,  or 
time  to  do  ill?  This  you  believed  not;  and  thought  it  a  thing  so  unlikely,  that  you 
have  given  me  a  hundred  pounds  for  the  knowledge  of  it.  In  brief,  know,  your  wife 
is  a  woman,  and  therefore  a  wanton,  a  changeling:  to  confirm  that  I  speake,  see 
heere  (shewing  him  the  crucifix;)  know  you  this?  If  this  be  not  sufficient  proof e,  I 
will  fetch  you  more. 

"At  the  sight  of  this,  his  bloud  left  his  face,  running  to  comfort  his  faint  heart, 
which  was  ready  to  breake  at  the  sight  of  this  crucifix,  which  he  knew  she  alwayes 
wore  next  her  heart;  and  therefore  he  must  (as  he  thought)  goe  something  neere, 
which  stole  so  private  a  Jewell.  But  remembering  himselfe,  he  cheeres  his  spirits, 
seeing  that  was  sufficient  proofe,  and  he  had  won  the  wager,  which  he  commanded 
should  be  given  to  him.  Thus  was  the  poore  gentleman  abused,  who  went  into  his 
chamber  and  being  weary  of  this  world,  (seeing  where  he  had  put  his  only  trust  he 
was  deceived,)  he  was  minded  to  fall  upon  his  sword,  and  so  end  all  his  miseries  at 
once:  but  his  better  genius  persuaded  him  contrary,  and  not  so,  by  laying  violent 
hand  on  himselfe,  to  leap  into  the  divel's  mouth.  Thus  being  in  many  mindes, 
but  resolving  no  one  thing,  at  last  he  concluded  to  punish  her  with  death,  which 
had  deceived  his  trust,  and  himselfe  utterly  to  forsake  his  house  and  lands,  and 
follow  the  fortunes  of  king  Henry.  To  this  intent,  he  called  his  man,  to  whom  he 
said, — George,  thou  knowest  I  have  ever  held  thee  deare,  making  more  account  of 
thee  than  thy  other  fellowes;  and  thou  hast  often  told  me  that  thou  didest  owe  thy 
life  to  me,  which  at  any  time  thou  wouldest  be  ready  to  render  up  to  doe  me  good. 
True,  sir,  answered  his  man,  I  said  no  more  then,  than  I  will  now  at  any  time, 
whensoever  you  please,  performe.  I  believe  thee,  George,  replyed  he;  but  there 
is  no  such  need:  I  onely  would  have  thee  do  a  thing  for  me,  in  which  is  no  great 
danger;  yet  the  profit  which  thou  shalt  have  thereby  shall  amount  to  my  wealth. 
For  the  love  that  thou  bearest  to  me,  and  for  thy  own  good,  wilt  thou  do  this? 
Sir,  answered  George,  more  for  your  love  than  any  reward,  I  will  doe  it.  (and  yet 
money  makes  men  valiant,)  pray  tell  mee  what  it  is?  George,  said  his  master, 
this  it  is;  thou  must  goe  home,  praying  thy  mistress  to  meet  me  halfe  the  way  to 
London;  but  having  her  by  the  way,  in  some  private  place  kill  her;  I  mean  as  I 
speake,  kill  her,  I  say:  this  is  my  command,  which  thou  hast  promised  to  performe; 
which  if  thou  performest  not,  I  vow  to  kill  thee  the  next  time  thou  comest  in  my 
sight.  Now  for  thy  reward,  it  shall  be  this. — Take  my  ring,  and  when  thou  hast 
done  my  command,  by  virtue  of  it,  doe  thou  assume  my  place  till  my  returne,  at 

3° 


466 


APPENDIX 


which  time  thou  shalt  know  what  my  reward  is;  till  then  govern  my  whole  estate, 
and  for  thy  mistress'  absence  and  my  own,  make  what  excuse  thou  please;  so  be 
gone.  Well,  sir,  said  George,  since  it  is  your  will,  though  unwilling  I  am  to  do  it, 
yet  I  will  perform  it.  So  he  went  his  way  toward  Waltam;  and  his  master  presently 
rid  to  the  court,  where  hee  abode  with  king  Henry,  who  a  little  before  was  inlarged 
by  the  earl  of  Warwicke,  and  placed  in  the  throne  again. 

"  George  being  come  to  Waltam,  did  his  duty  to  his  mistris,  who  wondered  to  see 
him,  and  not  her  husband,  for  whom  she  demanded  of  George;  he  answered  her, 
that  he  was  at  Enfield,  and  did  request  her  to  meet  him  there.  To  which  shee 
willingly  agreed,  and  presently  rode  with  him  toward  Enfield.  At  length,  they 
being  come  into  a  by-way,  George  began  to  speake  to  her  in  this  manner:  Mistris, 
I  pray  you  tell  me,  what  that  wife  deserves,  who  through  some  lewd  behaviour  of 
hers  hath  made  her  husband  to  neglect  his  estates,  and  meanes  of  life,  seeking 
by  all  meanes  to  dye,  that  he  might  be  free  from  the  shame  which  her  wickednesse 
hath  purchased  him?  Why  George,  quoth  shee,  hast  thou  met  with  some  such 
creature?  Be  it  whomsoever,  might  I  be  her  judge,  I  thinke  her  worthy  of  death. 
How  thinkest  thou?  Faith  mistris,  said  he,  I  think  so  to,  and  am  so  fully  per- 
suaded that  the  offence  deserves  that  punishment,  that  I  purpose  to  be  executioner 
to  such  a  one  myself e:  Mistris,  you  are  this  woman;  you  have  so  offended  my 
master,  (you  know  best,  how,  yourselfe,)  that  he  hath  left  his  house,  vowing  never 
to  see  the  same  till  you  be  dead,  and  I  am  the  man  appointed  by  him  to  kill  you. 
Therefore  those  words  which  you  mean  to  utter,  speake  them  presently,  for  I 
cannot  stay.  Poor  gentlewoman,  at  the  report  of  these  unkinde  words  (ill  deserved 
at  her  hands)  she  looked  as  one  dead,  and  uttering  aboundance  of  tears,  she  at 
last  spake  these  words:  And  can  it  be  that  my  kindness  and  loving  obedience 
hath  merited  no  other  reward  at  his  hands  than  death?  It  cannot  be.  I  know 
thou  only  tryest  me,  how  patiently  I  would  endure  such  an  unjust  command.  I'le 
tell  thee  heere,  thus  with  body  prostrate  on  the  earth,  and  hands  lift  up  to  heaven, 
I  would  pray  for  his  preservation;  those  should  be  my  worst  words:  for  death's 
fearful  visage  shewes  pleasant  to  the  soul  that  is  innocent.  Why  then  prepare 
youselfe,  said  George,  for  by  heaven  I  doe  not  jest.  With  that  she  prayed  him  stay, 
saying, — And  is  it  so?  Then  what  should  I  desire  to  live,  having  lost  his  favour 
(and  without  offence)  whom  I  so  dearly  loved,  and  in  whose  sight  my  happiness  did 
consist?  Come,  let  me  die.  Yet  Geroge,  let  me  have  so  much  favour  at  thy  hands, 
as  to  commend  me  in  these  few  words  to  him:  Tell  him,  my  death  I  willingly 
embrace,  for  I  have  owed  him  my  life  (yet  no  otherwise  but  by  a  wife's  obedience) 
ever  since  I  called  him  husband;  but  that  I  am  guilty  of  the  least  fault  toward  him, 
I  utterly  deny;  and  doe  at  this  hour  of  my  death,  desire  that  Heaven  would  pour 
down  vengeance  upon  me,  if  ever  I  offended  him  in  thought.  Intreat  him  that  he 
would  not  speake  aught  that  were  ill  on  mee,  when  I  am  dead,  for  in  good  troth  I 
have  deserved  none.  Pray  Heaven  blesse  him;  I  am  prepared  now,  strike  pr'ythee 
home,  and  kill  me  and  my  griefes  at  once. 

"  George,  seeing  this,  could  not  with-hold  himselfe  from  shedding  teares,  and  with 
pitie  he  let  fall  his  sword,  saying, — Mistris,  that  I  have  used  you  so  roughly,  pray  par- 
don me,  for  I  was  commanded  so  by  my  master,  who  hath  vowed,  if  I  let  you  live,  to 
kill  me.  But  I  being  perswaded  that  you  are  innocent,  I  will  rather  undergoe  the 
danger  of  his  wrath  than  to  staine  my  hands  with  the  bloud  of  your  cleere  and  spot- 
lesse  brest:  yet  let  me  intreat  you  so  much,  that  you  would  not  come  in  his  sight,  lest 
in  his  rage  he  turne  your  butcher,  but  live  in  some  disguise,  till  time  have  opened 
the  cause  of  his  mistrust,  and  shewed  you  guiltless;  which  I  hope,  will  not  be  long. 


SOURCE  OF  THE  PLOT  467 

"To  this  she  willingly  granted,  being  loth  to  die  causelesse,  and  thanked  him  for 
his  kindnesse;  so  parted  they  both,  having  teares  in  their  eyes.  George  went 
home,  where  he  shewed  his  master's  ring,  for  the  government  of  the  house  till  his 
master  and  mistris  returne,  which  he  said  lived  a  while  at  London,  'cause  the  time 
was  so  troublesome,  and  that  was  a  place  where  they  were  more  secure  than  in  the 
country.  This  his  fellowes  believed,  and  were  obedient  to  his  will;  amongst  whom 
he  used  himselfe  so  kindely  that  he  had  all  their  loves.  This  poore  gentlewoman 
(mistris  of  the  house)  in  short  time  got  man's  apparell  for  her  disguise;  so  wandered 
she  up  and  down  the  countrey,  for  she  could  get  no  service,  because  the  time  was 
so  dangerous  that  no  man  knew  whom  he  might  trust;  onely  she  maintained  her- 
selfe  with  the  price  of  those  jewels  which  she  had,  all  which  she  sold.  At  the  last, 
being  quite  out  of  money,  and  having  nothing  left  (which  she  could  well  spare)  to 
make  money  of,  she  resolved  rather  to  starve  than  so  much  debase  herselfe  to  be- 
come a  beggar.  With  this  resolution  she  went  to  a  solitary  place  beside  Yorke, 
where  she  lived  the  space  of  two  dayes  on  hearbes,  and  such  things  as  she  could 
there  finde. 

"In  this  time,  it  chanced  that  king  Edward,  being  come  out  of  France,  and 
lying  thereabout  with  the  small  forces  hee  had,  came  that  way  with  some  two  or 
three  noblemen,  with  an  intent  to  discover  if  any  ambushes  were  laid  to  take 
them  at  an  advantage.  He  seeing  there  this  gentlewoman,  whom  he  supposed  to 
be  a  boy,  asked  her  what  she  was,  and  what  she  made  there  in  that  private  place? 
To  whom  she  very  wisely  and  modestly  withall,  answered,  that  she  was  a  poore  boy, 
whose  bringing  up  had  bin  better  than  her  outward  parts  then  shewed,  but  at  that 
time  she  was  both  friendlesse  and  comfortlesse,  and  by  reason  of  the  late  warre. 
He  beeing  moved  to  see  one  so  well  featyred  as  she  was,  to  want,  entertained  her 
for  one  of  his  pages;  to  whom  she  shewed  herself  so  dutifull  and  loving,  that  in 
short  time  she  had  his  love  above  all  her  fellows.  Still  followed  she  the  fortunes  of 
K.  Edward,  hoping  at  last  (as  not  long  after  it  did  fall  out)  to  be  reconciled  to  her 
husband. 

"After  the  battell  at  Barnet,  where  K.  Edward  got  the  best,  she  going  up  and 
downe  amongst  the  slaine  men,  to  know  whether  her  husband,  which  was  on  K. 
Henrie's  side,  was  dead  or  escaped,  happened  to  see  the  other  who  had  been  her 
ghest,  lying  there  for  dead.  She  remembering  him,  and  thinking  him  to  be  the  one 
whom  her  husband  loved,  went  to  him,  and  finding  him  not  dead,  she  caused  one  to 
helpe  her  with  him  to  a  house  there-by;  where  opening  his  brest  to  dresse  his 
wounds,  she  espied  her  crucifix,  at  sight  of  which  her  heart  was  joyfull,  hoping  by 
this  to  find  him  that  was  originall  of  her  disgrace:  for  she  remembering  herselfe, 
found  that  she  had  lost  that  crucifix  ever  since  that  morning  he  departed  from  her 
house  so  suddenly.  But  saying  nothing  of  it  at  that  time,  she  caused  him  to  be 
carefully  looked  into,  and  brought  up  to  London  after  her,  whither  she  went  with 
the  king,  carrying  the  crucifix  with  her. 

"On  a  time,  when  he  was  a  little  recovered,  she  went  to  him,  giving  him  the 
crucifix,  which  she  had  taken  from  about  his  necke;  to  whom  he  said,  'Good  gentle 
youth,  keep  the  same;  for  now  in  my  misery  of  sickness,  when  the  sight  of  that 
picture  should  be  most  comfortable,  it  is  to  me  most  uncomfortable;  and  breedeth 
such  horror  in  my  conscience,  when  I  think  how  wrongfully  I  got  the  same,  that 
long  as  I  see  it  I  shall  never  be  at  rest.'  Now  knew  she  that  he  was  the  man  that 
caused  the  separation  'twixt  her  husband  and  her  selfe;  yet  said  she  nothing,  using 
him  as  respectively  as  she  had  before;  onely  she  caused  the  man  in  whose  house  he 
lay,  to  remember  the  words  he  had  spoken  concerning  the  crucifix.  Not  long  after, 


468 


APPENDIX 


she  being  alone,  attending  on  the  king,  beseeched  his  grace  to  do  her  justice  on  a 
villain  that  had  bin  the  cause  of  all  the  misery  she  had  suffered.  He  loving  her 
above  all  his  other  pages,  most  dearly,  said,  'Edmond  (for  so  had  she  named  her- 
self,) thou  shalt  have  what  right  thou  wilt  on  thy  enemy;  cause  him  to  be  sent  for, 
and  I  will  be  thy  judge  my  selfe.'  She  being  glad  of  this,  with  the  king's  authority 
sent  for  her  husband,  whom  she  heard  was  one  of  the  prisoners  that  was  taken  at 
the  battel  of  Barnet;  she  appointing  the  other,  now  recovered,  to  be  at  the  court 
at  the  same  time.  They  being  both  come,  but  not  one  seeing  of  the  other,  the  king 
sent  for  the  wounded  man  into  the  presence,  before  whom  the  page  asked  how  he 
came  by  the  crucifix.  He  fearing  that  his  villainy  would  come  forth,  denyed  the 
words  he  had  said  before  his  oast,  affirming  he  bought  it.  With  that  she  called 
in  the  oast  of  the  house  where  he  lay,  bidding  him  boldly  speake  what  he  had 
heard  this  man  say  concerning  the  crucifix.  The  oast  then  told  the  king,  that  in 
the  presence  of  this  page  he  heard  him  intreat  that  the  crucifix  might  be  taken  from 
his  sight,  for  it  did  wound  his  conscience,  to  thinke  how  wrongfully  he  had  gotten 
the  same.  These  words  did  the  page  averre;  yet  he  utterly  denyed  the  same, 
affirming  that  he  bought  it,  and  if  that  he  did  speake  such  words  in  his  sicknesse, 
they  proceeded  from  the  lightnesse  of  his  braine,  and  were  untruthes. 

"She  seeing  this  villain's  impudency,  sent  for  her  husband  in,  to  whom  she 
shewed  the  crucifix,  saying,  Sir,  do  you  know  this?  Yes,  answered  hee,  but  would 
God  I  ne'er  had  known  the  owner  of  it!  It  was  my  wife's,  a  woman  virtuous  till 
the  divell  (speaking  to  the  other)  did  corrupt  her  purity,— who  brought  me  this 
crucifix  as  a  token  of  her  inconstancie. 

"With  that  the  king  said,  Sirra,  now  are  you  found  to  be  a  knave.  Did  you  not, 
even  now,  affirme  you  bought  it?  To  whom  he  answered  with  fearfull  countenance, 
And  it  like  your  grace,  I  said  so  to  preserve  this  gentleman's  honour,  and  his  wife's, 
which  by  my  telling  of  the  truth  would  have  been  much  indamaged;  for  indeed  she, 
being  a  secret  friend  of  mine,  gave  me  this  as  a  testimony  of  her  love. 

"The  gentlewoman,  not  being  able  longer  to  cover  her  selfe  in  that  disguise,  said, 
'And  it  like  your  majesty,  give  mee  leave  to  speake,  and  you  shall  see  me  make 
this  villain  confesse  how  he  hath  abused  that  good  gentleman !'  The  king  having 
given  her  leave,  she  said,  'First,  sir,  you  confessed  before  yon  oast  and  my  selfe, 
that  you  had  wrongfully  got  this  Jewell;  then  before  his  majestie  you  affirmed  you 
bought  it;  so  denying  your  former  words;  Now  you  have  denyed  that  which  you  so 
boldly  affirmed  before,  and  said  it  was  this  gentleman's  wife's  gift.  With  his 
majestie's  leave,  I  say,  thou  art  a  villaine,  and  this  is  likewise  false.'  With  that  she 
discovered  herself  to  be  a  woman,  saying — 'Hadst  thou  villain,  ever  any  strumpet's 
favour  at  my  hands?  Did  I,  for  any  sinfull  pleasure  I  received  from  thee,  bestow 
this  on  thee?  Speake,  and  if  thou  have  any  goodness  left  in  thee,  speak  the  truth.' 

"With  that,  he  being  daunted  at  her  sudden  sight,  fell  on  his  knees  before  the 
king,  beseeching  his  grace  to  be  mercifull  unto  him  for  he  had  wronged  that  gentle- 
woman. Therewith  told  he  the  king  of  the  match  betweene  the  gentleman  and 
him  selfe,  and  how  he  stole  the  crucifix  from  her,  and  by  that  meanes  persuaded  her 
husband  that  she  was  a  whore.  The  king  wondered  how  he  durst,  knowing  God  to 
be  just,  commit  so  great  a  villainy;  how  much  more  admired  he  to  see  his  page  turn 
a  gentlewpman.  But  ceasing  to  admire,  he  said — 'Sir,  (speaking  to  her  husband,) 
you  did  the  part  of  an  unwise  man  to  lay  so  foolish  a  wager,  for  which  offence  the 
remembrance  of  your  folly  is  punishment  enough;  but  seeing  it  concerns  me  not, 
your  wife  shall  be  your  judge.'  With  that  Mrs  Dorrill,  thanking  his  majestie, 
went  to  her  husband,  saying,  'Sir,  all  my  anger  to  you  I  lay  down  with  this  kisse.' 


SOURCE   OF  THE  PLOT— DOUCE— SIMROCK          469 

He  wondering  all  this  while  to  see  this  strange  and  un-looked-for  change,  wept  for 
joy,  desiring  her  to  tell  him  how  she  was  preserved;  wherein  she  satisfied  him  at  full. 
The  king  was  likewise  glad  that  he  had  preserved  this  gentlewoman  from  wilfull 
famine,  and  gave  judgement  on  the  other  in  this  manner:  That  he  should  restore 
the  money  treble  which  he  had  wrongfully  got  from  him;  and  so  was  to  have  a 
yeere's  imprisonment.  So  this  gentleman  and  his  wife  went,  with  the  king's 
leave,  lovingly  home,  where  they  were  kindly  welcomed  by  George,  to  whom 
for  recompence  he  gave  the  money  which  he  received:  so  lived  they  ever  after 
in  great  content.'" 

The  following  extracts  are  given  more  or  less  chronologically: 
FRANCIS  DOUCE  (ii,  199),  in  his  comments  on  Rom.  6*  JuL,  remarks  that  some 
of  the  incidents  in  that  play  and  also  in  Cymbeline  are  to  be  found  in  The  love 
adventures  of  Abrocomas  and  Anthia,  by  Xenophon  of  Ephesus.  Thus:  Anthia 
having  become  the  slave  of  Manto  and  her  husband,  he  is  captivated  with  her 
beauty;  when  this  comes  to  the  knowledge  of  the  jealous  Manto,  she  orders  a  trusty 
servant  to  take  Anthia  into  a  wood  and  put  her  to  death.  This  man,  like  the 
servant  in  Boccaccio,  and  Pisanio  in  Shakespeare,  commiserates  the  situation  of 
Anthia,  spares  her  life,  and  provides  the  means  for  her  future  safety.  Another 
incident  common  to  Anthia  and  Imogen  is  the  draught  of  poison  which  Anthia 
swallows  to  evade  a  marriage,  but  which  proves  to  be  merely  a  sleeping  potion. 
I  doubt  that  Douce  ever  placed  any  credence  in  his  own  suggestion  of  a  connection 
between  Xenophon  of  Ephesus  and  Shakespeare  of  Stratford.  It  gave  him, 
however,  a  chance  to  say  that  'one  might  suspect  that  some  novel,  imitated  from 
'the  Ephisiacs,  was  existing  in  the  time  of  Shakespeare,  though  now  unknown.' 

KARL  SIMROCK  (Die  Quellen  des  Shakespeare,  2te  Auflage,  p.  276.  The  First 
Ed.,  1831,  was  translated  by  J.  O.  Halliwell  for  the  Shakespeare  Society):  The 
story  of  Boccaccio  has  probably  arisen  from  a  Latin  original,  to  which  also  the 
German  Folkbuch  may  be  due,  which  appeared  at  first  without  date  or  place  under 
the  title:  'Ein  liepliche  history  und  Warheit  von  vier  Kaufmendern.  4';  then  later  at 
Nuremburg,  under  the  title:  l  Ain  lipliche  historic  von  vier  Kaufletiten.'  In  Sweden 
and  Denmark  this  book  is  still  popular;  in  Germany  it  has  gone  out  of  use,  but  has 
lately  been  replaced  by  an  entirely  modern  work,  which  has  arisen  out  of  Boccaccio's 
novel.  It  bears  the  title:  'The  fair  Caroline,  as  a  Colonel  of  Hussars,  or  the  Mag- 
'nanimous  Wife  of  a  merchant,'  1826.  Upon  the  earlier  work,  compare  Grimm, 
Altdeutsche  Wdlder,  i,  68,  ...  [p.  280].  A.  W.  v.  Schlegel  gives  as  the  plot  of 
All's  Well  that  woman's  fidelity  and  resignation  conquer  the  misuse  of  man's  suprem- 
acy. Thus  generally  expressed,  the  same  thought  is  the  foundation  of  the  present 
play,  and  of  several  others  of  Shakespeare;  among  them  we  count  Lear;  The  Wint. 
Tale;  Two  Gentlemen;  Much  Ado;  Pericles,  and  Othello;  albeit,  in  this  last,  the 
triumph  of  pure  womanhood  takes  a  tragic  turn.  In  Meas.  for  Meas.  Shakespeare 
hardly  found  this  idea  at  hand;  but,  by  certain  alterations,  he  contrived  to  draw  his 
material  into  the  same  circle,  nay,  even  to  bring  it  forward  a  second  time  in  Isabella 
and  Mariana.  In  The  London  Prodigal,  erroneously  attributed  to  Shakespeare, 
it  is  the  wonderful  fidelity  and  devotion  of  the  woman  which  reforms  the  villain. 
We  should  never  have  done,  if  we  were  to  enumerate  all  the  legends  and  stories  of  the 
subject;  we  restrict  ourselves,  therefore,  to  the  most  important.  Schlegel  has 
brought  forward  as  an  example  the  account  of  Griselda,  which,  as  The  Markgrave 
Walther,  is  become  popular  in  Germany;  with  equal  propriety  we  may  include  the 


4/0  APPENDIX 

legend  of  Lucreece,  in  Livy;  of  Bertha  of  the  Broad  Foot,  the  wife  of  Pepin  (see 
Valentin  Schmidt,  on  Italian  Heroic  Poems,  pp.  1-42;  Grimm,  Altdeutsche  W alder, 
iii,  43;  and  my  Bertha  the  Spinster,  1853);  of  Hildegard,  the  spouse  of  Charlemagne 
(Schreiber's  Legends  of  the  Rhine,  p.  63).  [Although  Simrock's  treatise  is  'The 
Sources  of  Shakespeare  in  Novel,  Story,  and  Legend, '  his  zeal  leads  him,  at  times, 
very  far  a-field.  I  have,  therefore,  here  omitted  many  references  to  tales,  historic 
and  legendary,  which  cannot  by  any  possibility  have  served  as  a  source  of  any  of 
Shakespeare's  plots.  Simrock  well  describes  the  frame  on  which  all  these  stories 
are  built.]  In  this  great  family  of  stories,  a  narrower  circle  is  formed  of  those  which, 
like  the  present,  begin  with  a  husband,  honest-minded  at  first  and  firmly  grounded 
in  a  belief  of  his  wife's  fidelity,  who  wagers  with  a  calumniator  of  the  whole  sex 
that  the  latter  cannot  succeed  in  vanquishing  the  lady's  virtue.  This  introduction 
has  decided  advantages;  for,  besides  at  once  establishing  the  theme  in  question,  it 
also  greatly  serves  to  develop  the  main  idea,  when  the  husband,  at  first  so  confident 
that  he  wagers  his  whole  fortune  upon  his  wife's  virtue,  is  yet  not  proved  sufficiently 
firm  in  his  faith  and  trust  in  it,  inasmuch  as  he  suffers  himself  to  be  deceived  by 
proofs  and  tokens  surreptitiously  obtained,  and  to  be  hurried  with  cruelties  which 
bring  about  the  triumph  of  woman's  fidelity  and  long-suffering.  The  apparent 
victory  which  that  degrading  opinion  of  the  female  sex  temporarily  gains  serves 
at  last  only  to  show  the  purity  and  height  of  woman  all  the  more  brilliantly,  wherein 
the  best  of  husbands  has  shown  too  little  confidence.  This  may  be  the  reason  why 
this  introduction  is  become  so  great  a  favourite. 

The  discovery  that  there  existed  a  French  Poem  of  the  thirteenth  century 
whereof  the  subject  has  scenes  in  common  with  Cymbeline  is  probably  due  to 
FRANCISQUE  MICHEL,  who  in  1834  published  in  Paris,  from  a  MS.,  a  Poem,  prob- 
ably composed  after  1225,  called  Roman  de  La  Violette  ou  de  Gerard  de  Nevers,  par 
Gibert  de  Montreuil.  'The  subject  of  this  romance,'  says  Michel  in  his  preliminary 
'Notice,'  'is,  in  no  respect,  historic.  Never  did  a  Count  of  Nevers  live,  of  the  name 
'of  Gerard  or  of  any  other  name,  to  whom  we  can  attribute  such  adventures  as  are 
'recounted  by  Gibert.  .  .  .  There  remains,  however,  a  question  to  be  answered 
'  of  a  more  serious  nature.  Is  Gibert  the  original  inventor  of  the  drama  which  he 
'unfolds  in  his  romance?  In  this  respect  we  can  offer  only  facts  wherefrom  the 
'reader  can  form  what  conclusion  he  pleases.'  Hereupon  Michel  gives  excellent 
abridgements  of  two  or  three  romances  closely  resembling  La  Violette,  that  is  to  say, 
they  have  three  chronic  symptoms  in  common, — a  braggart  husband,  an  over- 
confident villain,  and  an  unassailable  wife, — given  these  three  and  the  literatures 
of  all  lands  from  Lapland  to  Japan  are  snowed  under  with  the  versions.  In  a 
certain  MS.  in  the  '  Bibliotheque  Royale'  there  is  a  prose  romance,  dou  roi  Flore 
et  de  la  bielle  Jehane,  which  has  really  the  same  theme  as  La  Violette,  and  appears 
to  be  somewhat  later  in  date  than  the  early  years  of  the  XIII. th  Century.  It 
is  one  of  the  best  of  the  old  French  romances  and  interludes,  but  of  a  length, — • 
eleven  octavo,  double-column  pages, — too  great  to  be  translated  here.  The 
zealous  reader  will  find  it  in  William  Morris's  Old  French  Romances,  1896,  pp.  61- 
115.  The  heroes  of  the  story  are  Robert  and  Raoul.  Robert  was  the  esquire  of  a 
Knight  in  Flanders,  who  gave  him  his  daughter  with  four  hundred  livrees  of  land 
[a  measure  of  land  which  brings  in  a  livre  of  rent].  No  sooner  was  the  marriage 
ceremony  over  than  Robert  had  to  fulfill  a  pilgrimage  to  the  shrine  of  Saint  lago 
of  Compostella.  One  of  his  friends  rallied  him  on  this  project  and  laid  a  wager  that 
he  would  usurp  his  matrimonial  rights  during  his  absence.  The  prize  of  him  who 
won  was  to  be  the  seignory  of  him  who  lost.  Robert  went  his  ways.  Raoul  paid 


SOURCE  OF  THE  PLOT—SIMROCK 

most  assiduous  court  to  Jehanne,  but  all  in  vain;  one  day,  however,  the  maid  servant 
of  the  lady  admitted  him  to  her  room  when  she  was  taking  a  bath;  he  thereupon 
seized  her,  unclad  as  she  was,  and  carried  her  in  his  arms  to  a  bed,  but  she  struggled 
so  valiantly  that  he  was  forced  to  let  go  his  hold,  and  she  thereupon  so  grievously 
wounded  him  by  a  blow  in  the  face  with  a  club  that  he  was  glad  to  escape,  but  not, 
however,  before  he  had  seen  a  black  mole  on  the  inside  of  her  thigh  and  a  wart 
on  her  groin.  The  proof  of  his  knowledge  of  these  secret  signs  gained  him  his 
wager.  After  innumerable  adventures,  which  have  no  similarity  to  those  of  Gerard 
and  Euriaut  in  La  Violette,  the  cheat  is  discovered,  a  duel  follows  between  Robert 
and  Raoul,  who  is  wounded  to  the  death  and  confesses  his  guilt.  Robert  eventu- 
ally dies,  and  Jehanne,  his  widow,  marries  Florus  the  king  of  Alsace,  and  bears  him 
a  son,  Florens,  who  becomes  the  emperor  of  Constantinople,  and  a  daughter, 
Florie,  who  marries  the  son  of  the  King  of  Hungary.  Was  virtue  ever  better 
rewarded? 

There  is  another  Roman  du  Compte  de  Poitiers,  whereof  the  First  Part  is  a  parallel 
to  La  Violette,  as  follows:  Pepin  was  holding  his  court  at  Paris,  and  there  sat 
with  him  at  table  dukes,  chevaliers,  and  counts,  and  among  them  the  gayest  of  all 
was  Gerard  the  Count  of  Poitiers,  who  vaunted  that  his  wife  was  the  fairest  and 
most  faithful  of  women.  Piqued  by  these  boasts,  the  Duke  of  Normandy  offered 
to  wager  his  duchy  against  Poitou  that  he  would  gain  the  good  will  of  the  lady. 
The  wager  was  accepted.  The  Duke  goes  to  Poitiers,  presents  himself  to  the 
Countess,  begs  hospitality,  which  she  gives  him.  During  the  dinner  he  indulges 
in  a  familiarity  which  sufficiently  intimates  his  designs.  After  dinner  he  makes  an 
open  declaration  of  love,  which  the  lady  repels,  and  retires,  leaving  the  Duke 
abashed  and  irritated.  The  Countess  rehearses  to  her  nurse  the  Duke's  insolent 
proposals.  The  nurse  goes  to  find  the  Duke,  and,  false  to  her  mistress,  offers  so  to 
aid  him  that  he  will  be  able  to  win  his  bet.  The  Duke  promises  a  large  recom- 
pense. Thereupon  the  false  woman  steals  her  mistress's  finger  ring;  and  also  some 
of  her  mistress's  hair  while  she  was  combing  it;  and  then  cuts  out  a  little  piece  of 
the  fine  velvet  of  her  robe.  The  perfidious  woman  carried  these  three  things  to  the 
Duke  to  be  used  against  the  Countess.  Accordingly  he  presented  himself  before 
Pepin,  and  thus  addressed  the  Count: 

'Fraus  quens,  c'est  pechies  de  mescroire, 
Ensagnes  ai  qui  font  acroire; 
Ves  chi  .x.  de  ses  cevex  sors, 
Quiplus  reluisent  que  fins  ors; 
Ves  chi  1'anel  que  li  donastes 
A  icel  jor  que  1'espousastes; 
Et  ceste  ensagne  de  condal 
Fu  pris  au  bon  samit  roial 
Que  vostre  ferme  avoit  vestu: 
J'ai  gaagnie  et  vous  perdu.' 

'False  Count,  it  would  be  a  sin  to  disbelieve  me,  I  have  proofs  which  compel 
belief;  Lo,  here  are  ten  of  her  yellow  hairs,  which  glow  brighter  than  fine  gold;  Lo, 
here  is  the  ring  you  gave  her  on  the  very  day  you  married  her;  and  this  proof  is  a 
piece  of  taffeta  (?)  which  was  taken  from  the  royal  velvet  wherein  your  wife  was 
clad;  I  have  won  and  you  have  lost.'— (My  having  in  Thirteenth  Century  French 
is  a  younger  brother's  revenue,  but,  I  think,  the  foregoing  translation  is  adequately 


472 


APPENDIX 


exact.) — Pepin  ordered  the  Countess  to  be  brought  to  Paris;  when  she  arrived 
she  denied  that  she  had  in  any  way  yielded.  Nevertheless  Pepin  decided  against 
her.  The  rest  of  the  story  has  no  relation  to  our  present  purpose,  and  need  not  be 
detailed.  It  is  sufficient  to  know  that  after  separation  and  innumerable  adven- 
tures by  both,  virtue  is  triumphant,  the  villain  vanquished  in  a  duel,  and  restitu- 
tion of  estate  followed.  As  for  priority  in  the  composition  of  these  versions, — it 
is  almost  impossible  of  proof,  before  the  age  of  printing,  and  of  no  importance  after 
it,  in  connection  with  Shakespeare.  It  is  necessary  to  rehearse  the  substance  of 
these  versions,  however,  because  some  German  students  of  Shakespeare  have 
apparently  considered  them  of  prime  importance.  There  still  remain  two  which 
deserve  attention,  La,  Violette  and  A  Miracle  of  Notre  Dame.  It  is  in  the  preface 
of  the  former  that  its  editor,  Mons.  Michel,  makes  the  earliest  reference,  that  I  can 
find,  to  the  similarity  of  its  plot  to  that  of  lachimo's  treachery.  The  two  stories 
touch  each  other  on  only  one  point,  but  this  is  noteworthy.  The  proof  of  guilt 
produced  by  the  villain  does  not  rest  on  rings  or  crucifixes,  nor  even  on  disfiguring 
moles,  but  on  a  mole  or  birthmark  resembling  a  flower.  The  story  of  La  Violette, 
as  much  of  it  as  relates  to  our  present  purpose,  is  as  follows  (let  me  premise 
that,  as  far  as  I  know,  there  is  no  translation  of  this  story,  even  into  modern  French, 
and  the  Lexicon  of  La  Curne  de  Sainte-Palaye  does  not  include  this  MS.  in  his 
list  of  books.  If  my  translation  is  wrong,  I  shall  merely  quote  Dr  Johnson  and 
ejaculate  'Ignorance,  pure  ignorance!'): 

Once  on  a  time  there  was  a  King  of  France  who  was  fair  in  person,  valiant  in  arms, 
wise  in  councils,  and  of  great  renown.  One  day  in  April  at  Easter  he  held  a  fair 
and  gentle  court,  and  invited  Dukes  and  Counts,  and  Countesses  and  Chatilaines 
and  duchesses,  and  all  of  immense  wealth,  and  they  all  gathered  at  Pont-de- 
1'Arche.  After  feasting,  the  King  invited  them  all  to  dance  a  round,  and  many 
of  the  ladies  sang  lovely  songs;  when  all  had  sung  of  love  and  happiness,  the 
King  called  up  a  knight  whose  beauty  stirred  the  ladies'  hearts:  'For  as  I  have 
learned,  his  face  was  more  blushing  than  the  rose  in  May.  One  thing,  however, 
pleases  me  much:  that  he  would  never  listen  to  flattery;  for  he  really  could  not 
bear  to  hear  mention  made  of  his  beauty  nor  of  his  prowess.  And  I  can  therefore 
say  to  you  most  emphatically  that  his  were  the  best  songs  that  were  ever  made  in 
his  day.  Much  land  he  had  and  a  fair  lady  love;  but  she  was  not  of  the  court. 
Gerars  was  his  name  to  all  his  vassals — a  name  of  great  renown.  And  for  that  he 
sang  so  well,  the  Chatilaine  of  Dijon  begged  him  of  all  loves  to  sing  her  a  couplet 
of  a  song.'  'Willingly,  Dame,'  he  replied,  'I  am  not  disposed  to  deny  you  the 
pleasure.'  Then  he  sang  in  clear  tones  a  sweet  song  of  love;  and  afterwards  a 
canfonnete  cL  Karole,  which  is  a  song  that  they  sang  as  they  danced,  and  it  said: 
'Love  sick  am  I  from  morn  till  night,  Yet  this  alone  makes  life  more  bright.'  'In 
very  truth,'  he  said,  'it  makes  life  brighter.  For  I  dare  maintain  that  I  have  a  Lady 
love,  fairer  than  any  dame  or  damoiselle  in  the  world,  the  most  discreet  and  cour- 
teous of  all  between  Metz  and  Pentoise;  and  I  would  dare  to  prove  that  a  woman 
better  than  my  love  is  no  where  to  be  found.  And  because  I  am  talking  of  her  I 
will  sing  this  song:  'Dont  n'ai-jou  droit  ki  m'envoise,  Quant  la  plus  biele  amie  ai? 
Am  I  not  right  to  be  merry,  since  the  fairest  of  dears  is  my  own? '  But  the  cava- 
liers were  not  pleased,  and  there  were  more  than  eight  of  them  who  were  so  vexed 
that  their  hearts  almost  cried  out.  But  Lisiart,  who  was  perfidious  and  malicious, 
was  the  worst  of  all.  A  greater  felon  than  he  had  not  lived  since  Gandon  [the  be- 
trayer of  Roland].  He  was  long  and  hard  and  dry  and  lean;  and  he  was  fiery  and 
hardy;  and  the  Count  and  Seigneur  of  Forez;  and  he  said  to  the  other  knights: 


SOURCE   OF  THE  PLOT—SIMROCK 

'You  have  heard  how  this  braggart  [vassal\  makes  merry.  A  great  noise  he  has 
made  to-day,  and  has  much  praised  his  mistress;  but  I  dare  to  deny  that  she  loves 
him  as  he  says;  and  if  the  king  will  take  note  I  will  wager  all  my  lands  against  his, 
if  within  eight  days,  for  so  long  must  be  my  sojourn  there,  his  mistress  does  not 
give  me  recompense.' 

The  King  warned  Lisiars,  'Que  cil  ki  velt  hounir  autrui  Que  li  mans  revertist  sour 
lui, — That  the  evils  return  on  him  who  wishes  to  disgrace  another,'  and,  having 
taken  note  of  the  wager,  he  suffered  Lisiars  to  depart.  The  story  then  turns  to 
the  damoiselle,  Oriaus  (the  Euryanthe  of  Spohr's  Opera),  the  Ladylove  of  Gerars, 
and  a  really  charming  picture  is  given  of  her,  sitting  at  the  window  of  a  high  tower 
listening  to  'les  cans  dous,  et  plaisans,  et  biaus  des  oysiaus';  her  thoughts  fly  to  her 
lover,  she  sighs  and  love  prompts  her  to  sing  a  song  wherein  Love  brings  joy — at 
the  season  when  the  woods  and  meades  and  flowers  are  expanding,  and  sights  and 
sounds  awaken  emotions  deeper  than  the  heart  can  think  or  lips  utter.  When  the 
song  was  finished  she  leaned  her  cheek  upon  her  hand.  Lisiars  had  heard  the  song 
as  he  approached  the  castle;  when  he  arrived,  he  sent  his  head-servant  to  ask  for 
hospitality,  which  was  accorded  by  the  Chatilain.  Oriaus  heard  the  news,  and  in 
due  time  descended  from  the  tower  and  entered  the  hall,  attended  by  her  'mais- 
tresse,'  who  was  very  false  and  treacherous.  (In  a  foot-note  Mons.  Michel  says 
that  by  this  term,  maistresse  or  even  maistre,  those  elderly  women  are  designated 
who  act  as  duennas  in  superintending  the  young  ladies.)  Oriaus  welcomed  the 
Count  courteously;  but  when  they  were  seated  the  Count  became  very  thoughtful, 
and  at  last  he  addressed  Oriaus,  telling  her  what  reports  he  had  heard  of  her  wonder- 
ful beauty  and  virtue,  and  how  his  heart  would  give  him  no  rest  until  he  had  come 
hither;  that  her  image  was  ever  before  him  whithersoever  he  went;  he  prayed  her, 
therefore,  to  have  mercy  and  compassion  on  him.  'Ha,  Sire,'  she  cried,  'mercy  for 
pity's  sake!'  If  I  tolerate  what  you  have  just  said,  and  do  not  respond  with  rude- 
ness, be  assured  that  it  is  through  my  courtesy;  you  may  as  well  try  to  scratch  the 
moon  which  is  in  the  heavens  above  as  to  attain  to  what  you  have  asked  of  me.  I 
will  never  so  outrage  my  love  as  to  yield  to  what  you  ask  of  me,  which  you  can 
obtain  much  more  conveniently  at  your  inn.'  Thus  they  argue  through  fifty  lines 
of  the  poem,  until  Lisiart,  seeing  the  hopelessness  of  his  appeal,  becomes  very  down- 
hearted at  the  prospect  of  losing  all  his  estates.  As  he  sits  alone  after  dinner, 
plunged  in  gloomy  reflection,  the  old  maisteresse,  who  is  as  bad  as  bad  can  be,  a 
descendant  of  robbers,  Gondree  by  name,  and  a  sorceress  to  boot,  who  had  murdered 
two  of  her  illgotten  children,  noting  the  melancholy  of  the  Count,  she  approached 
him,  and  to  her  he  unburdened  his  heart,  promising  to  her  robes  and  horses  and 
possessions  if  she  would  only  help  him  to  retain  his  estates.  Then  the  old  bug 
[pugnaise]  promised  to  supply  him  with  such  proofs  that  he  would  be  believed  on 
his  return  to  Court,  and  that  he  had  nothing  to  fear.  Two  servants  with  candles 
then  escorted  Lisiart  to  his  chamber.  And  Gondree  conducted  the  lady  to  her 
chamber,  and  when  she  had  made  the  bed  ready,  she  asked  her  lady  if  she  would 
lie  naked  or  in  her  chemise  in  the  bed;  for  throughout  her  life  the  fair  one  had 
evaded  showing  her  naked  flesh.  Then  the  old  one  came  to  the  bedside  and  said: 
'My  lady,  I  have  marvelled  at  one  thing;  these  seven  years  that  I  have  waited  on 
you,  never  have  I  seen  you  unclothed,  and  I  have  often  wondered  whether  or  not 
your  chemise  concealed  anything.'  ' Maistre '  [see  note  above  by  Mons.  Michel],  she 
replied, '  for  the  last  seven  years  and  a  half,  as  a  guarantee  for  my  ami,  I  have  done 
this  thing;  I  have  a  birthmark  on  my  body  which  I  reveal  to  no  man  whatsoever, 
except  to  my  friend,  who  has  often  said  to  me  if  other  people  know  it,  then  they 


474  APPENDIX 

have  half  my  good  fortune.  So  I  made  a  contract  with  him.'  Then  the  Old  One 
took  counsel  with  herself,  and  the  next  morning  prepared  a  bath  for  her  lady,  and 
when  the  lady  was  in  the  bath  she  looked  through  a  hole  in  the  door,  and  behold 
on  her  right  breast  there  was  a  purple  violet  on  the  snowwhite  bosom.  No  sooner 
had  she  seen  it  than  she  ran  to  Lisiart  and  bade  him  dress  himself  quickly  and  come 
see  that  which  would  gain  his  wager.  He  came  immediately,  and,  on  looking  through 
the  hole  in  the  door,  saw  on  the  lady's  right  breast  a  violet  as  though  dyed  in  purple 
there.  'By  Saint  Thomas!'  said  he  to  the  Old  One,  'thou  hast  saved  me!'  So  he 
set  about  returning  to  his  Court  at  once.  For  our  present  purpose  it  is  hardly 
worth  while  to  follow  him  thither  or  to  continue  the  story.  It  suffices  to  say  that  at 
a  magnificent  court  held  by  the  King  at  which  Euriaus  (as  she  is  now  called)  is 
present,  out-rivaling  in  beauty  every  goddess  of  heathendom,  and  enthroned  by 
the  King's  side,  Lisiart  produces  his  proof  and  Gerars  loses  his  land  and  estates. 
He  bids  Euriaus  to  accompany  him,  and  in  a  forest,  where  he  intends  to  kill  her,  she 
saves  his  life  by  warning  him  of  a  monstrous  serpent  which  is  about  to  devour  him. 
For  this  act  of  mercy  he  spares  her  life,  but  deserts  her.  After  innumerable  ad- 
ventures both  are  reunited.  Lisiart  is  vanquished  in  a  duel,  confesses  his  treachery, 
and  Gerar's  lands  are  restored  to  him.  As  I  have  said,  what  is  noteworthy  is  that 
the  birthmark  is  a  flower. 

We  now  come  to  Un  Miracle  de  Nostre-Dame,  reprinted  and  translated  into 
modern  French  by  M.  FRANCISQUE  MICHEL.  (It  is  to  be  found  in  Theatre  Franfais 
au  Moyen-Age,  par  M.  M.  MONMERQUE  et  MICHEL,  Paris,  1839,  p.  417.)  It  is 
this  ancient  drama  which,  through  J.  P.  COLLIER,  gave  the  earliest  intimation  in 
England  that  there  existed  in  French  a  plot  so  similar  to  that  of  Cymbeline  that  it 
may  possibly  share  with  Boccaccio  the  honour  of  having  furnished  suggestions  to 
Shakespeare. 

COLLIER  (Farther  Particulars,  etc.,  1839,  p.  25)  gives  an  excellent  abstract  of  the 
story,  which  is  here  repeated,  and  afterwards  I  will  add  the  passages  from  the 
original  which  seem  parallel  to  Cymbeline: 

'Lotaire,  the  Emperor,  makes  war  on  Alfons,  King  of  Spain:  the  latter  flies  to 
his  brother,  the  King  of  Granada,  for  assistance.  During  his  absence,  Lotaire  and 
his  nephew,  Ostes,  lay  siege  to  Burgos,  and  there  capture  Denise,  the  daughter  of 
Alfons.  Lotaire  procures  Ostes  to  be  married  to  Denise,  and  makes  them  King  and 
Queen  of  Spain.  Lotaire  and  Ostes  for  a  time  quit  Spain  for  Rome,  leaving  Denise 
behind  in  Burgos.  At  Rome,  Ostes  meets  Count  Berengier,  and  the  latter  wagers 
his  possessions  with  the  former,  who  gages  his  kingdom  of  Spain,  on  the  chastity 
of  Denise  during  her  husband's  absence.  Berengier  proceeds  to  Burgos  to  make 
the  attempt,  and  concerts  with  Eglantine,  the  female  attendant  of  Denise,  in  order 
to  accomplish  his  purpose.  She  gives  her  mistress  a  sleeping  draught  and  then 
steals  what  Denise  most  valued  (un  os  d'un  doigts  du  pied  de  son  mari,  which  he  had 
given  her  just  before  his  departure  for  Rome) ,  and  informs  Berengier  of  some  secret 
mark  she  carried  on  her  person.  Berengier  returns  to  Rome,  shows  the  os  in 
triumph,  and  discloses  the  secret  mark  he  pretends  to  have  seen.  Ostes  determines 
to  kill  Denise,  but  she  is  pre-informed  of  his  intention,  and  by  advice  of  the  Virgin 
flies  from  Burgos  to  her  father  and  uncle,  at  Granada,  in  male  attire.  She  is  taken 
into  the  service  of  the  latter,  and,  unknown  to  be  a  woman,  is  made  his  standard- 
bearer.  Ostes,  unable  to  find  her  and  to  wreak  his  vengeance  upon  her,  turns 
renegade,  blasphemes  his  Creator,  and  serves  the  Saracens.  In  the  meanwhile,  the 
King  of  Granada  and  Alfons  collect  their  forces  and  are  about  to  march  against 


SOURCE  OF  THE  PLOT— COLLIER  475 

Lotaire,  when  Denise  (who  now  calls  herself  Denis)  entreats  that  she  may  proceed 
to  Rome,  to  have  an  interview  with  Lotaire,  promising  to  do  her  best  to  render 
(  bloodshed  unnecessary.  She  goes  to  Rome,  and,  proclaiming  Berengier  a  traitor 
to  Denise,  challenges  him  to  single  combat.  Ostes  by  this  time  has  repented  his 
denial  of  Christianity,  and  warned  from  heaven,  proceeds  to  Rome  to  do  penance 
for  his  sin.  He  arrives  when  the  combat  between  Denise  and  Berengier  is  about 
to  take  place.  Ostes,  too,  challenges  the  traitor,  and  is  adjudged  to  enter  the  lists 
against  him  in  preference  to  Denise.  Berengier  is  overcome,  confesses  his  crime, 
Denise  discloses  her  sex,  and  the  war  is  at  an  end.  Alfons  is  not  restored  to  his 
kingdom,  which  continues  in  the  hands  of  Ostes  and  Denise,  but  Lotaire  gives  him 
the  kingdom  of  Mirabel  and  the  Comte  of  Vaux-Plaissiez,  while  the  King  of  Gra- 
nada bestows  upon  him  land  which  will  yield  him  3000  livres  per  annum.'  The 
above  is  a  bare  outline  of  the  chief  incidents,  and  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the 
performance  was  popular  from  the  romantic  nature  of  the  story,  the  rapid  changes 
of  the  place  of  action,  and  the  number  and  variety  of  the  characters,  including  the 
Creator,  the  Virgin,  the  Archangels  Gabriel  and  Michael,  and  St.  John.  That  it 
originally  came  into  England  in  a  dramatic  shape  nobody  will  pretend  to  assert; 
but,  recollecting  the  intimate  connection  between  the  religious  bodies  of  this 
country  and  of  the  continent  (often  the  principal  performers  in  such  representa- 
tions), it  is  not  unlikely,  and  it  may  have  been  the  subject  of  an  old  Miracle-play 
long  before  the  time  of  Shakespeare.  On  the  other  hand,  some  novel  may  have  been 
formed  upon  the  same  foundation  as  Boccaccio's  story,  both  of  which  perhaps 
had  the  same  origin  as  the  French  Miracle-play,  and  to  this  our  great  Poet  may 
have  been  indebted. 

After  the  fall  of  Granada  the  Emperor  wishes  his  nephew,  Ostes  (or  Otho), 
immediately  to  marry  Denise,  the  daughter  of  the  defeated  King  Alfonso,  and 
then  accompany  him  to  Rome.  Otho  answers  the  King, '  Sire,  just  wait  for  me  a 
minute,'  and  then  to  his  wife,  '  Come  hither,  lady,  I  pray.  Here,  if  you  hold  my 
love  dear,  take  this  bone;  guard  it  well.  It  is  the  bone  of  one  of  the  fingers  of  my 
foot  [c'est  de  Vun  des  doigts  de  mon  pied].  And  take  care  that  in  no  possible  circum- 
stances it  is  either  seen  or  recognised  by  any  man;  it  must  be  the  secret  sign  of  our 
mutual  love. — Now  we  can  depart,  sire,  I  am  ready.'  After  they  are  all  gone, 
Denise,  who  is  now  Queen  of  Spain,  says  to  her  maid:  'Eglantine,  I  have  always 
confided  my  secrets  to  you,  even  before  I  became  queen,  you  know.  Eglantine. 
Dear  lady,  you  say  true;  and,  thank  God!  I  have  never  been  so  foolish  as  to  dis- 
close a  single  one,  no  matter  what  it  was,  to  a  single  man  or  woman.  Why  do 
you  thus  speak,  madame?  Tell  me.  Denise.  My  friend,  I  trust  you;  and, 
therefore,  I  am  about  to  tell  you  another.  What  is  this  in  my  hand?  Give  me  your 
opinion.  Eglantine.  I  think  it  is  a  bone;  but  cannot  tell  whether  it  is  man's  or 
beast's.  Denise.  I'll  tell  you  in  secret  that  it  is  a  bone  of  one  of  the  fingers  of  my 
husband's  foot,  which,  out  of  love,  he  has  charged  me  to  guard  carefully;  this  is  the 
reason,  in  very  truth,  why  for  the  love  of  him  I  wish  to  carry  it  with  my  jewels. 
Let  us  place  it  there.' 

The  scene  here  shifts  to  Rome.  Berengier  (the  lachimo  of  Cymbeline)  welcomes 
the  emperor  to  his  native  land.  'Emperor.  Berengier,  I  believe  you  gave  me  no 
help  in  my  war;  as  it  seems  to  me  you  were  afraid  of  blows.  Beren.  No,  by  my 
faith!  very  dear  sire;  but  illness  kept  me  long  in  bed.  Ostes.  Very  dear  uncle,  with 
your  permission  I  will  now  take  my  leave  of  you  and  depart  for  Spain  to  see  my 
wife.  Beren.  King  Ostes,  I  swear  to  you  upon  my  soul  that  whoever  thinks  he 
has  a  wife  all  to  himself,  he  shares  her  with  two  or  three;  and  he  who  in  such  a  case 


4/6 


APPENDIX 


has  faith  in  a  woman  is  full  of  ignorance.  I  tell  you  true,  I  make  the  boast  that 
I  do  not  know  the  woman  living  from  whom,  if  I  can  speak  with  her  two  times, 
I  do  not  hope  to  obtain  at  the  third  time  all  that  I  can  desire.  Osles.  I'faith! 
Berengier,  it  is  accursed  to  speak  such  abominable  things  of  women,  And,  certes, 
I  don't  believe  you;  I  know  that  there  are  many  good  wives,  both  lovely  in  person 
and  gracious  in  soul.  Beren.  Certes,  it  is  very  easy  for  you  to  say  so.  I'll  tell  you 
what  I'll  do:  I'll  go  and  have  an  interview  with  your  wife,  and  I  wager  that  from 
the  first  tete-a-tete  I  can  have  with  her,  I'll  have  her  consent.  Come  on,  wager  or 
shut  up.  Bet  with  me!  Ostes.  Yes,  by  the  soul  of  my  father!  and,  my  royal 
father-in-law,  I  consent  to  forfeit  the  crown  of  Spain,  if  she  is  so  abandoned  as 
to  let  you  touch  her;  with  this  condition  that,  if  you  do  not  accomplish  your  pur- 
pose you  will  give  me  your  land  and  property;  this  is  my  wager.  Beren.  For  my 
part,  I'd  consent  at  once,  if  I  knew  how  I  could  prove  it,  which  I  don't.  Ostes. 
You  can  easily  attain  a  proof,  I'll  tell  you  how:  if  you  are  clever  enough  to  describe 
to  me  a  mark  she  bears  and  to  tell  me  where  it  is  (note  this  well!),  and  also  to 
bring  me  that  which  she  guards  for  my  sake,  I  swear  I  will  instantly  let  you  freely 
have  all  Spain.  Beren.  Ostes,  I  willingly  assent,  and  I  swear  to  you  that  if  I  mis- 
carry, you  may  be  very  sure  that  I'll  not  keep  back  the  value  of  a  clove  of  garlic; 
I'll  hand  over  every  bit  of  it;  and  this  on  the  condition  that  you  will  sojourn  here 
until  I  return.  Ostes.  All  right;  now  dispatch.  I'll  abide  here.'  There  is  no 
intimation  of  a  change  of  scene,  the  next  person  that  speaks,  however,  is  'Denise. 
Eglantine,  we  must  start  for  church;  I  wish  to  attend  divine  service  and  pray  for 
my  husband.  Eglantine.  I  am  ready,  madame,  to  obey  your  will  in  all  places. 
Beren.  I  must  think  over  my  plan,  how  best  to  attain  success.  I  see  the  queen 
yonder,  coming  hither,  how  lucky!  I'll  speak  to  her. — Dear  lady,  God  grant  you 
long  life,  and  salvation  to  your  soul!  Denise.  What  brought  you  here,  Berengier? 
be  welcome.  If  you'll  tell  me  I'll  listen.  Beren.  Madame,  I'll  tell  you.  I  came 
hither  on  purpose.  I  came  from  Rome,  where  I  left  your  seigneur,  who  cares  for 
you  no  more  than  for  the  stem  of  a  cherry;  he  has  a  liaison  with  a  girl  that  he  loves 
so  that  he  can't  be  separated  from  her.  This  made  me  leave  Rome  to  come  and 
tell  you;  for  it  gives  me  great  distress  and  rage;  and  since  he  is  behaving  so  badly 
I  am  fallen  so  deeply  in  love  with  you  that  neither  by  day  nor  by  night  can  I  endure 
it;  this  passion,  madame,  makes  me  suffer  cruel  woes.  Denise.  What,  Berengier! 
On  your  soul!  are  you  so  valliant  that  you  come  from  Rome  to  this  place  to  utter 
such  language  to  me!  Certes,  neither  you  nor  your  race  can  speak  a  word  of  what 
is  good,  unless  for  baseness  and  treachery;  therefore  it  is  that  I  do  not  believe  a 
word  you  say.  Away!  away!  leave  my  presence,  instantly!  Beren.  Lady,  for  the 
love  of  God!  do  not  scorn  me,  if  I  utter  my  plaints  to  you;  it  all  comes  from  the 
love  with  which  you  have  inspired  me;  my  colour  comes  and  goes  and  my  heart 
is  so  distracted  with  love  that  I  have  utterly  abandoned  eating  and  drinking. 
Denise.  Leave  here  at  once,  flattering  liar!  Beren.  Dame,  I'll  leave  without  an- 
other word,  since  what  I  say  to  you  here  in  secret  displeases  you.  Denise.  It 
pleases  me  to  return  home;  I'll  walk  no  further  to-day.  Return  at  once  with  me, 
Eglantine.' 

Berengier  sees  that  he  has  made  a  false  start,  and  in  desperation  determines  to 
bribe  Eglantine,  and  is  successful.  She  promises  to  obtain  the  jewel  which  Denise 
so  prizes,  and  to  discover  what  the  birthmark  is  and  where  it  is.  To  this  end, 
Eglantine  in  a  soliloquy  decides  to  give  Denise  wine  enough  to  make  her  sleep  so 
soundly  that  she  'can  examine  her  body  all  over  and  find  out  the  birthmark.' 
Herein  she  succeeds,  steals  the  toe-bone,  meets  Berengier  by  stealth,  gives  him  the 


SOURCE  OF  THE  PLOT—SCHENKL—HALLIWELL    477 

bone,  and  whispers  in  his  ear  the  place  where  the  birthmark  lies.  Berengier  at 
once  hastens  to  Rome  and  obtains  an  instant  audience  of  the  Emperor  and  of 
Ostes,  and  boasts  that  he  is  King  of  Spain  if  the  latter  keep  his  word.  'Speak!'  he 
exclaims,  'do  you  recognise  this  bone?  In  very  truth,  I  dare  to  tell  you  (sire,  be 
not  irritated !)  that  I  have  seen  the  woman  from  head  to  foot.  I  can  speak  to  you 
of  her  birthmark;  I'll  tell  it  in  your  ear,  if  you  wish.  Ostes.  Eh,  Diex!  how  afflicted 
I  am !  I  see  clearly  that  I  have  lost  my  country.  Rage  splits  my  heart  in  twain.— 
False  and  disloyal  woman!  Why  hast  thou  done  me  such  shame!  I  so  trusted  in 
thine  honour  that  I  held  thee  for  the  best  of  women;  but  never  shall  I  find  repose 
until  I  have  put  thee  to  a  shameful  death.' 

Ostes  leaves  Rome  for  Spain,  where  he  intends  to  put  Denise  to  death.  Some 
of  her  faithful  Spanish  subjects  hear  of  his  design  and  travel  day  and  night  to  fore- 
warn her.  Her  distress  is  naturally  profound,  and  she  turns  to  her  only  source  of 
comfort;  so  earnestly  and  fervently  does  she  pray  for  divine  succour  that  God 
hears  her  and  says  to  Mary, '  Mother,  I  see  down  there  the  Queen  of  Spain  in  despair, 
for  it  is  not  without  cause  that  she  is  in  a  bad  way;  therefore  she  never  ceases  to 
pray  to  you.  Get  ready  and  go  to  her  promptly.  Nostre-Dame.  Son,  I  will  obey 
your  command:  it  is  right.  Let  us  go,  without  stop,  angels,  to  where  I  am  so 
prayed  to.  Accompany  me  both  of  you,  singing  with  gladness.' 

Nostre-Dame  comforts  Denise  and  tells  her  to  don  secretly  the  costume  of  a  squire 
and  go  to  her  uncle  in  Grenada.  It  is  on  this  journey  to  Grenada  that  Denise  utters 
the  last  words  wherein  any  semblance  to  Imogen  has  been  found.  Imogen  in 
man's  clothes  says,  'I  see  a  man's  life  is  a  tedious  one';  Denise  in  a  squire's  livery 
sighs  forth:  'E  Diex!  j'ay  touz  les  membres  roupz  De  ceste  erre  que  j'ay  empris, — 
Eh,  Dieu!  every  limb  is  broken  by  this  journey  I  have  undertaken.'  And  here  we 
leave  her.  Of  course,  being  in  Heavenly  hands,  her  future  is  secure.  In  the 
inevitable  and  chronic  duel  which  has  to  take  place  between  Ostes  and  Berengier, 
the  latter  at  the  sword's  point  confesses  all  his  lies. 

In  Germania  (Wien,  ix.  Jahrgang,  p.  458,  1864)  KARL  SCHENKL,  supposing  that 
Holinshed  and  Boccaccio  were  the  only  sources  of  the  Plot  of  Cymbeline,  offers  a 
third  in  the  fairy-tale  Sneewitchen,  wherein  there  is  a  bad  Queen  who  hates  her 
stepdaughter  and  tries  to  remove  her  by  poison.  To  be  sure,  this  unfortunate  state  of 
affairs  is  not  strikingly  distinctive,  and  Schenkl  admits  it,  but  what  is  'irrefragable' 
is  the  similarity  of  the  scenes  where  Imogen  lives  in  the  cave  with  that  noble  pair 
of  brothers  and  that  portion  of  the  fairy-story  where  Sneewitchen  finds  refuge  and 
protection  in  the  house  of  the  dwarfs.  Both  Sneewitchen  and  Imogen  are  dead- 
tired  when  they  enter  the  cave  and  are  refreshed  by  the  food  they  find  there;  and 
just  as  the  dwarfs  regard  the  fair  child  as  a  being  of  a  higher  realm,  so  Belarius 
thinks  Imogen  to  be,  were  it  not  that  she  was  eating  food  like  a  mortal.  As  Snee- 
witchen keeps  house  for  the  dwarfs,  so  also  Imogen  cooks  and  even  cuts  roots  in 
characters.  When  Sneewitchen,  by  the  cunning  of  her  step-mother,  falls  into  a 
deathlike  trance,  the  dwarfs  cry  for  three  days  and  then  carry  her  in  a  crystal 
coffin  to  a  mountain  where  the  King's  son  finds  her  and  restores  her  to  life.  Imogen 
is  bewept  and  bewailed  by  the  two  mountain  youths,  and,  strewed  with  flowers,  is 
not  buried,  but  laid  on  the  surface  of  the  ground.  Assuredly,  in  Shakespeare's  play, 
this  episode  is  the  most  charming  Idyl  poet  ever  wrote.  It  would  be  interesting 
to  know  whether  or  not  this  fairy-story  still  survives  in  England,  and  in  what  guise. 

HALLIWELL  (Introduction,  p.  14)  refers  to  The  Lady  of  Boeme,  a  translation  from 
Bandello,  [the  Nineteenth  Story]  in  Painter's  Palace  of  Pleasure,  [The  Twenty- 


APPENDIX 

eighth  Novel],  1567.  Beyond  a  wager  on  a  wife's  chastity,  The  Lady  of  Boeme  has 
nothing  whatsoever  in  common  with  the  Cymbeline  story.  Two  knights  undertake 
to  win  the  love  of  the  wife,  who  manages  to  imprison  each  in  turn  in  her  castle  and 
makes  the  quality  and  daintiness  of  their  food  depend  on  their  industry  and  pro- 
ficiency in  spinning  flax. 

R.  GENEE  (vol.  x,  p.  334,  Hildburghausen)  states  that  the  same  plot  had  been 
dramatically  treated  before  Shakespeare's  day,  in  1596,  by  a  German  author  under 
the  title:  'The  beautiful  Story  of  a  God-fearing  Merchant  of  Padua,'  whereof  the 
composer  was  Zachariah  Lubhold  von  Solbergk,  who  in  the  Dedication  describes 
himself  as  'School  master  and  Townclerk  of  Silberberg.'  The  'pious'  merchant 
is  named  Veridicus;  his  opponent  Falsarius,  and  the  conductor  of  the  intrigue  is  an 
allegorical  character  named  'Marriage  fiend'  (Eheteufel).  In  construction  and 
exposition  this  drama,  written  throughout  in  rhymed  couplets,  is  extremely  naive. 
In  its  main  features  it  agrees  with  Boccaccio;  where  he  diverges,  there  is  not  a  soli- 
tary passage  which  recalls  either  Shakespeare  or  the  English  version. 

B.  LEONHARDT  (Anglia,  vi.  Band,' i  Heft,  p.  i,  1883)  analyses  Boccaccio's  Novel, 
Westward  for  Smelts,  Le  Roman  de  la  Violette,  Le  Roman  du  comte  de  Poitiers,  and 
Sneewitchen  (of  the  last  he  says  there  are  doubts  that  this  story,  which  is  believed 
to  have  originated  in  Hesse,  was  known  in  England  in  Shakespeare's  day),  and  the 
conclusion  to  which  he  comes  is  that  Shakespeare  took  the  plot  of  Cymbeline  solely 
from  the  Ninth  Novel  of  the  Second  Day  of  Boccaccio  and  from  Holinshed's 
Chronicles;  that  the  welding  of  the  two  was  his  own  creation,  and  that  he  neither 
knew  nor  used  the  other  stories  just  mentioned. 

S.  LEVY  (Anglia,  Band  vii,  Heft  i,  p.  120,  1884)  urged  the  claims  of  the  Eighth 
Story  of  the  Second  Day  of  Boccaccio  to  the  honourable  position  of  being  the  source 
whence  Shakespeare  derived  his  plot.  This  may  have  been  a  jest  on  Levy's  part, 
and  a  poor  one.  The  only  ground  common  to  this  Eighth  Story  and  to  Cymbeline 
is  that  the  incidents  relate  to  human  beings. 

R.  W.  BOODLE  (N.  &*  Qu.,  VII,  iv,  405,  1887)  finds  the  similarity  between  Cym- 
beline and  The  Rare  Triumphs  of  Love  and  Fortune  (Hazlitt's  Dodsley,  vi.)  'so  strik- 
ing' that  he  was  'astonished  to  find  that  it  had  escaped  the  notice  of  Collier' 
(its  original  editor).  Inasmuch  as  the  best  way  to  repeal  a  bad  law  is  to  enforce  it, 
so,  I  suppose,  the  best  way  to  disprove  an  erroneous  theory  is  to  print  it.  Accord- 
ingly, from  the  following  sketch  we  may  discern  the  parallelism  which  is  so  close  as 
to  remove,  so  Boodle  thinks,  'all  doubt  as  to  the  fact  that  Shakespeare  must 
have  read  the  old  anonymous  play,' — and,  may  I  add,  we  cannot  but  marvel  at 
the  depth  of  the  impression  which  it  made  in  Shakespeare's  mind,  having  been 
stored  in  his  memory  from  1589  (the  date  of  the  only  copy  now  in  existence)  until  it 
leaped  to  light  to  help  him,  poor  fellow,  when  he  was  floundering  in  the  plot  of 
Cymbeline:  'A  noble  lord,  Bomelio  (Shakespeare's  Belarius),  after  serving  his 
king,  Phizanies  (Shakespeare's  Cymbeline),  in  war,  is  banished  from  the  court 
owing  to  some  slander.  In  this  strait  he  takes  up  his  abode  in  a  cave  not  far  off, 
and  is  known  as  the  "old  hermit."  Here  he,  like  Prospero,  studies  magic,  and 
some  time  before  the  commencement  of  the  play  he  had  given  his  son  Hermione 
(Shakespeare's  Posthumus)  to  the  king  "for  a  jewel  of  some  price."  Since  this 
transaction  Hermione,  like  Posthumus,  has  lived  in  court,  enjoying  "the  king's 


SOURCE  OF  THE  PLOT--YARDLEY—OHLE  479 

gracious  countenance,"  and  what  more  natural  than  that  he  should  attract  the 
affections  of  the  king's  daughter,  Fidelia  (Shakespeare's  Imogen)?  The  play 
begins  with  Fidelia's  brother,  Armenio  (Shakespeare's  Cloten),  discovering  the 
loves  of  Hermione  and  Fidelia,  whereupon  a  quarrel  takes  place,  ending  in  a  pass- 
age of  arms  between  Hermione  and  Armenio  (as  in  Shakespeare) ,  in  which  Armenio 
is  wounded.  Hermione  is  promptly  banished  from  the  court,  but  before  leaving 
secures,  as  he  thinks,  a  faithful  go-between  for  himself  and  Fidelia  in  the  person 
of  Penulo,  a  courtier  and  parasite.  Hermione  hies  off  to  the  old  hermit's  cave, 
where  he  is  recognised  by  Bomelio  as  his  son.  Hermione  accordingly  sends  through 
Penulo  to  ask  Fidelia  to  join  her  lover  in  the  hermit's  cave;  but,  unlike  Posthumus's 
Pisanio,  Penulo  proves  false,  and  dispatches  Armenio  after  his  sister.  She  is  ac- 
cordingly dragged  back  to  court,  but  Armenio  is  struck  dumb  by  Bomelio's  sorcery. 
The  sequel  of  the  play  is  not  much  to  our  purpose.  Bomelio,  in  the  disguise  of  an 
"uplandish"  physician,  visits  the  court,  and  offers  to  cure  Armenio  of  his  dumbness, 
managing  meanwhile  to  abduct  Fidelia  for  his  son.  The  denoument  takes  place  in 
the  cave,  whither  the  king  and  courtiers  resort.  As  in  "Cymbeline,"  we  have  a 
theophany  (Mercury,  Venus,  and  Fortune)  taking  part  with  the  mortals  in  the 
action  of  the  play.  It  ends  with  the  restoration  of  Bomelio  to  court  and  of  Armenio 
to  speech,  while  Fidelia  gets  her  Hermione.' 

E.  YARDLEY  (N.  &  Qu.,  VII,  viii,  26,  1889)  notes,  that  some  likeness  appears  to 
exist  between  the  Belarius  portion  of  Cymbeline  and  a  play  of  Calderon,  'abridged 
by  Voltaire  and  called  by  him  Tout  est  Verite  et  tout  Mensonge,  wherein  Astolpho, 
who  had  been  ambassador  to  the  Emperor  Maurice,  lives  in  disguise  as  a  moun- 
taineer in  Sicily,  bringing  up  savagely  and  in  ignorance  of  their  origin,  Heraclius, 
son  of  the  murdered  Emperor  Maurice,  and  Leonidas,  son  of  the  usurping  Emperor 
Phocas.  The  origin  of  these  youths  is  afterwards  revealed  to  the  Emperor  Phocas.' 

It  is  evident  that  Boccaccio  is  a  source  of  the  Plot,  as  far  as  Imogen  is  concerned, 
and  it  is  equally  evident  that  he  is  not  the  only  source.  What  other  sources  there 
may  be  is  still  a  debatable  question.  Dr  R.  OHLE  has  searchingly  investigated 
the  French  versions  of  this  story — those  versions,  namely,  from  which  Boccaccio 
drew  his  materials.  He  assumes  that  there  was  a  primeval,  original  story;  in  this 
story  there  is  no  reference  to  a  mole  or  birthmark.  From  this  original  there  fol- 
lowed three  versions:  First,  an  imaginary  old  English  version;  Second,  The  Count 
of  Poitiers  (in  neither  of  these  two  versions  is  there  any  birthmark),  and  Thirdly, 
an  imaginary  epic  text  of  the  Miracle  of  Notre  Dame,  concerning  Otho,  King  of 
Spain,  wherein  the  birthmark  is  introduced.  The  First  (no  birthmark)  had  two 
descendants:  the  story  in  Westward  for  Smelts  (no  birthmark)  and  an  imaginary 
Renaissance  Drama.  From  the  Second  (no  birthmark)  descended  La  Violelte 
(with  birthmark,  but  perhaps  borrowed  from  the  imaginary  Third).  From  the 
imaginary  Third  (with  birthmark)  there  descended  an  Anonymous  Novel,  King 
Florus  and  Jehane,  and  the  extant  Miracle  of  Notre  Dame  (to  which  Ohle  had  given 
a  putative  epic  ancestor).  All  these  three  give  a  birthmark.  From  the  Anonymous 
Novel  Boccaccio  derived  his  materials.  And  finally  Cymbeline  combines  Boccac- 
cio and  the  imaginary  Renaissance  Drama,  the  twin  brother  of  Westward  for  Smelts. 

In  order  to  show  the  connection  between  The  Miracle  and  Cymbeline,  Ohle  indi- 
cates the  following  passages,  with  the  understanding  that  these  passages  are  to  be 
found  only  in  the  former  play:  'Dame,  venez  ici,  [I  give  the  modern  French.— ED.] 
je  vous  en  prie.  Gardez-moi  cet  os-ci,  tenez,  si  mon  amide  vous  est  quelque  peu 


480 


APPENDIX 


chere;  car  c'est  de  1'un  des  doigts  de  mon  pied.'  With  this  passage  Ohle  regards  as 
'identical!' — Heaven  save  the  mark! — the  beautiful  and  touching  words  of  Post- 
humus  when  he  places  (I,  ii,  62)  a  'manacle  of  Love  upon  the  fairest  prisoner.' 
'In  both  pieces,'  continues  Ohle,  'the  seducer  endeavours  to  awaken  the  jealousy 
of  the  victim.'  Wolff  was  the  first,  as  far  as  I  know,  to  call  attention  to  this  corre- 
spondence, which  is,  in  sooth,  noteworthy  inasmuch  as  Boccaccio,  whom  Shake- 
speare follows  in  other  details  of  the  wager,  gives  us  no  interview  between  the 
beguiler  and  the  woman.  lachimo's  fluent  speech  means  no  more  than  these  direct 
words  of  Berengier  in  The  Miracle:  '  Je  viens  de  Rome,  ou  j'ai  laisse  votre  seigneur, 
qui  ne  fait  pas  plus  de  cas  de  vous  que  de  la  queue  d'une  cerise;  il  a  forme  une 
liaison  avec  une  fille  qu'il  aime  tant  qu'il  ne  peut  s'en  separer.'  The  German 
critic  was  evidently  unaware  that  more  than  fifty  years  before  he  wrote,  COLLIER 
(Farther  Particulars,  p.  28)  had  called  attention  to  the  similarity  between  the 
French  Miracle-Play  and  Cymbeline  in  this  identical  passage,  and,  what  is  more, 
had  called  attention  to  a  striking  passage  which  Ohle  failed  to  notice.  (See  COLLIER, 
above.)  Denise,  or  La  Fille,  in  The  Miracle  repels  Berengier  as  Imogen  repels 
lachimo:  'Comment,  Berengier?  Par  votre  ame!  etes-vous  un  vaillant  homme 
au  point  de  venir  de  Rome  jusqu'  ici  pour  me  tenir  un  pareil  langage?'  Both 
heroines  don  man's  apparel,  and  both  complain  of  the  unaccustomed  disguise. 
Imogen  says,  'I  see  a  man's  life  is  a  tedious  one,'  etc.,  Ill,  vi,  3,  etc.  Denise, 
'Eh  Dieu!  j'ai  tous  les  membres  rompus  de  ci  voyage  que  j'ai  entrepris.'  Finally, 
Ohle  regards  the  vision,  which  appears  to  Posthumus  in  the  Fifth  Act,  as  the  chief 
point  of  resemblance  with  The  Miracle,  wherein  God,  at  the  entreaty  of  the  Holy 
Virgin,  personally  appears  to  Otho  (Posthumus)  and  rebukes  him  for  seeking  re- 
venge on  his  wife  (Imogen):  Otho  says,  'Dieu,  en  outre,  tu  as  commes  une 
grande  faute,  en  haissant  a  tort  ta  femme  et  en  la  poursuivant  jusqu  'a  las  mort.' 

A.  BRANDL  (Shakspere,  p.  204) :  The  source  of  the  plot  of  this  play  is  unusually 
obscure.  The  love  story  is  derived  from  Boccaccio,  not  directly,  however,  but 
through  a  recast  French  Version,  now  lost.  .  .  .  Possibly  Shakespeare  rewrote  an 
older  drama.  So  closely,  however,  does  the  rearing  of  the  two  young  princes  in 
the  wilderness  approach  to  a  chapter  in  Lily's  Euphnes  [Qu.  'How  the  lyfe  of  a 
young  man  should  be  ledde'? — ED.],  that  an  intermediate  step  is  not  probable; 
this  portion  may  be  regarded  as  most  assuredly  Shakespeare's  own  contribution, 
and  the  conclusions  to  which  it  leads  seem  all  the  more  likely  to  be  his  own  personal 
convictions. 

H.  REICH  (Jahrbuck,  vol.  xli,  p.  177,  1905)  has  given  the  latest  suggestion  of  a 
source  of  a  portion  of  the  plot.  It  is  to  be  found  in  the  Ninth  Episode  of  The 
Golden  Ass.  If  any  parallel  can  be  discerned  between  a  handsome  wicked  step- 
mother, who  endeavours  to  poison  her  step-son  because  he  had  rejected  her  un- 
bridled love,  and  any  character  in  Cymbeline,  then  Reich's  suggestion  is  well 
taken.  His  case  is  not  much  improved  that  the  step-mother's  own  son  drinks  the 
poison  by  mistake,  dies,  is  buried,  but  is  afterwards  discovered  alive  in  the  tomb, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  the  physician  gave  the  step-mother  not  a  deadly  poison,  but 
a  sleeping  draught. 

On  p.  293  of  The  Merchant  of  Venice,  in  this  edition,  there  is  an  account  of  a 
ballad,  called  The  Northern  Lord,  wherein  a  wager  is  laid  on  a  wife's  fidelity,  and  a 
ring,  obtained  by  bribing  a  servant,  is  produced  in  proof.  The  deceived  husband 


DURFEY'S  VERSION  48 1 

in  rage  and  despair  drowns  the  wife, — that  is,  he  only  thinks  he  has  drowned  her; 
he  certainly  threw  her  into  the  moat,  but  that  she  should  actually  drown  would 
be  against  the  canon.  Of  course,  at  last  she  vindicates  her  honour  and  is  avenged 
on  the  traducing  villain.  The  ballad  is  of  unknown  date  and  may  be  long  posterior 
to  Shakespeare's  play. 

Finally,  some  idea  of  the  geographical  or  ethnographical  distribution  of  this 
lachimo  story  may  be  gained  by  turning  to  that  monumental  work,  Child's  English 
and  Scottish  Ballads,  where  (vol.  v,  p.  23,  foot-note  to  The  Two  Knights)  references 
may  be  found  to  popular  tales  and  ballads  about  similar  wagers  in  German,  Rou- 
manian, Gipsy,  Venetian,  Sicilian,  Florentine,  and  Danish  Folklore.  Such  a 
wager  is  also  to  be  found  in  the  ballad  of  'Redesdale  and  Wise  William,'  vol.  iv, 
p.  383.  Again,  Child  refers  to  a  Comedia  by  Jakobus  Ayrer  (p.  452  verso):  Von 
zweyen  Furstlichen  Rat  hen  die  alle  beede  vmb  eines  gewetts  willen  vmb  ein  Weib  Bulten 
|  vnnd  aber  an  derselben  stait  mil  zweyen  vnterschiedlichen  Mdgden  betrogen 
•warden  \  Mil  13.  Personen  \  mid  hat  6.  Actus.  1618. 


DURFEY'S  VERSION 

THE  INJURED  PRINCESS,  |  or  the  |  FATAL  WAGER:  |  As  it  was  Acted  at  the  | 
THEATER-ROYAL,  |  By  His  Majesties  Servants.  |  By  Tho.  Durfey  Gent.  |  London: 
Printed  for  R.  BENTLEY  and  M.  M AGNES  in  Russel-street  in  Covent-Garden,  near 
the  Piazza.  1682. 

[On  the  verso:]    DRAMMATIS.    Scene.    Luds-Town,  alias  London. 

Cymbeline,  King  of  Britain. 

Ursaces,  [Posthumus],  A  noble  Gentleman  married  to  the  Princess  Eugenia. 

Pisanio,  Confident  and  Friend  to  Ursaces. 

Cloten,  A  Fool,  son  to  the  Queen  by  a  former  Husband. 

Shatillon,  [lachimo],  An  opinionated  Frenchman. 

Beaupre  1  His  Friends. 

Don  Michael,  ) 

Bellarius,  An  old  Courtier  banish'd  by  Cymbeline. 

Palladour,  \  Two  young  Princes,  sons  to  Cymbeline,  bred  up  by  Bellarius  in  a 

Arviragus,  )      Cave  as  his  own. 

Lucius,  General  to  Augustus  Ctzsar. 

Women. 

The  Queen. 

Eugenia,  [Imogen],  The  Princess. 

Clarina,  Her  Confident. 

Sophroma,  j  Women?  one  to  the  Queen,  the  other  to  the  Princess. 

Aurelia,      )  .... 

The  Play  opens  with  a  conversation  between  Ursaces,  Eugenia  and  'isanio, 
Clarina  and  Lilia  (whose  name  is  not  in  the  foregoing  list);  Pisanio  appears  to  be  in 
a  towering  rage;  he  observes  that  'Hell  has  now  done  its  worst;  the  meagre  Furies 
have  opened  all  their  Viols  of  black  malice,  and  shed  the  utmost  drop'  because  the 
king  has  banished  his  'dearest  friend'  Ursaces. 

Eugenia  gives  Ursaces  a  ring,  and  Ursaces  gives  Eugenia  a  bracelet.  Cymbeline 
enters,  orders  Ursaces  from  his  sight  and  his  Court,  and  the  conversation  which 
follows  between  the  father  and  daughter  substantially  follows  the  original.  Pisanio, 
who  it  seems,  is  the  father  of  Clarina,  describes  Ursace's  departure.  A  scene 


482  APPENDIX 

between  Cloten  and  lachimo  reveals  the  vulgarity  of  the  former  and  the  dissolute 
character  of  the  latter.  At  one  time  Cloten  boasts  that  any  one  who  frowns  on  him 
his  mother  'shall  get  him  poisoned,'  whereby  his  mother's  reputation  is  clearly 
revealed,  and  is  further  confirmed  by  her  own  words  shortly  after,  when  she  resolves 
to  poison  Pisanio  and  anyone  who  opposes  her.  For  Cloten,  she  says — 

'I'll  cut  through  all  opposers, 

King,  Husband,  Daughter,  Friend,  I'll  stop  at  none, 
But  on  their  bloody  ruins  build  my  Throne.'  [Exit.] 

The  wager  between  Ursaces  and  Shatillon  does  not  very  greatly  desert  the 
original,  where  it  does  do  so,  it  descends  to  a  low  level;  Ursaces  says  that  Shatillon's 
failure  would,  for  his  offensive  attempt,  deserve  to  be  punished  by  having  his 
'nose  slit  across,  your  slanderous  tongue  pulled  out  by  the  roots,  torn,  mangled, 
cut  to  atoms,  and  blown  like  common  filth  into  the  air.' 

The  Second  Act  thus  opens:  'Enter  behind  Cymbeline,  Queen,  a  Purse,  Pisanio, 
Doctor  and  Guards,  a  Viol,  Mrs.  Holten,  Sue.' 

The  hostility  of  the  Queen  (whether  '  Mrs  Holten '  or  '  Sue'  we  are  not  advised) 
to  Pisanio  is  revealed  by  inciting  Cymbeline  against  him,  on  account  of  his  love  for 
Ursaces.  At  the  close  of  the  scene  she  appears  to  relent  and  gives  Pisanio  the  viol 
of  poison  as  a  most  precious  medicine.  The  next  scene  is  Shatillon's  attempt  to 
entrap  Eugenia,  who  at  first  seems  to  believe  his  degrading  charges  against  Ursaces, 
whereby,  grown  bolder,  Shatillon  at  last  says: 

Shatillon.    Let  me  seal  my  passion 
Upon  thy  snowy  hands  transported,  then  rove  higher 
And  ransack  this  white  magazine  of  beauty 
Here  I  shall  find — 

Eugenia.    That  which  thou  merit'est — death!  [Offers  a  daggar  at  him. 

Shat.  then  says  that  this  temptation  was  the  command  of  Ursaces  to  try  Eugenia's 
fidelity,  which  satisfies  the  latter. 

The  scene  of  Shatillon's  triumph  over  the  credulity  of  Ursaces  follows  the  original 
with  tolerable  fidelity.  When  Ursaces  enters  in  the  next  scene  he  has  the  letter 
already  written  to  Pisanio  commanding  Eugenia's  death.  To  insure  timely  de- 
livery, he  says  to  a  servant,  'Fly,  Sirrah,  with  this  to  the  Packet-Boat.' 

No  explanation  given  of  the  journey  to  Milford,  other  than  Eugenia's  deter- 
mination to  leave  her  father's  palace  and  travel,  in  man's  clothes,  in  search  of 
(Jrsaces.  Pisanio,  an  old  noble  of  the  Court  and  devoted  to  Ursaces,  accompanies 
her.  He  had  seen  Shatillon  'strutting  from  Eugenia's  apartment  And  as  he 
went,  the  perfum'd  Puhillio  left  a  scent  behind  him,  Enough  to  choke  a  civet-cat; 
I  always  thought  her  innocent,  Pray  Heaven  she  prove  so.'  His  suspicions  of 
Eugenia's  guilt  are  confirmed  by  a  letter  from  Ursaces,  and  he  decides  to  kill  her 
on  this  journey.  He  is,  however,  so  far  moved  by  her  tears,  and  by  her  eagerness 
to  die  since  Ursaces  suspects  her,  that  he  puts  up  his  sword  and,  after  giving  her 
out  of  charity,  the  Queen's  drug  for  sickness,  leaves  her  to  her  fate. 

The  Fourth  Act  opens  with  a  most  brutal  scene.  Clarina,  Eugenia's  dear  friend, 
is  suspected  of  knowing  the  latter's  hiding  place.  The  Queen  vows  her  death, 
but  relents  and  gives  her  to  the  drunken  lord,  lachimo,  to  'use  her  as  she  deserves.' 
He  thereupon  drags  her  off,  while  she  screams  for  help.  Just  as  the  scene  closes 
word  is  brought  to  Cymbeline  that  the  Romans,  led  by  Caius  Lucius,  are  landed 
at  Milford  Haven. 

Cymbeline  orders  instant  preparation  for  war  and  will  head  his  army  in  person. 
In  the  next  Scene  Eugenia  approaches  the  Cave  with, 


DURFEY'S  VERSION 

'  Good  Heaven ! 

No  succour  yet:  I 'me  tired  with  wandering, 
And  faint  with  hunger.     Ah  some  kind  Silvian  God, 
That  rul'st  these  Groves,  rise  from  thy  mossie  Couch, 
And  with  thy  hoord  of  Summer  wholesom  Fruits, 
Preserve  an  innocent  Lady  from  sharp  Famine! 
I  saw  an  Apple-tree  in  yonder  Thicket, 
On  which  eager  to  feed,  as  I  drew  near  it, 
A  large  grown  Serpent  from  the  hollow  Root, 
Oppos'd  my  raging  hunger,  and  instead  of  pitying 
My  pale  and  pining  Looks,  with  flaming  Eyes, 
And  dreadful  Hisses,  like  the  Hesperian  Dragon, 
Frighted  me  from  the  place;  the  very  Trees,  I  think, 
Take  part  with  cruel  man.     Ha!  what  gloomy  Place  is  this? 
Here  is  a  path  to't;  sure  'tis  some  savage  hold. 
Hoa,  who's  there? 

If  anything  that's  civil,  speak  and  help 
A  wretched  creature;  but  if  savage, 
Be  speedy  in  my  death.     No  answer;  then  I'le  enter. 
Now  Mercy,  Heaven.  [Exit. 

Enter  Bellarius  and  Paladour. 

Bellar.     I've  haunch'd  the  Stag,  and  hung  his  Quarters  up 
The  backside  of  the  Cave,  and  when  your  Brother  comes, 

We'le  make  our  feast.  [Horn  within. 

Palla.     Hark,  I  think  I  hear  his  Horn;  let's  go  and 
Meet  him,  he  has  ventur'd  hard  today,  it  may 
Be  the  wild  Boar  has  hurt  him  too. 

Bellar.     Heaven  forbid,  my  Boy.  [Exeunt. 

Enter  Eugenia  with  Meat,  eating  and  lifting  up  her  hands. 

Eugen.     Bless'd  be  this  poor  Retreat;  for  ever  bless'd 
The  Steward  of  this  Feast,  that  brings  me  comfort, 
And  saves  me  from  a  miserable  Fate.     Oh  Heaven! 
How  sweet  is  this  coarse  Fare,  this  little  morsel, 
Which  in  prosperity  my  lavish  hand 
Wou'd  have  profusely  thrown  away  to  Dogs? 
How  dearly  does  it  relish  now?     How  covetous  am  I 
Of  each  least  Bit?     Pardon  great  Providence: 
We  are  ignorant  of  ourselves,  till  Miseries 
Purge  our  corrupted  Natures,  and  Want,  rare  Artists, 
Moulds  us  to  sense  of  our  Mortality.  [Eats  and  drinks. 

Enter  Bellarius,  Paladour,  and  Arviragus,  with  a  Boar's  Head. 

Bellarius  and  the  youths  describe  their  experiences  as  hunters;  at  last  Bellarius 
exclaims,  'How  now,  what's  here?  .  .  .  But  that  he  eats  our  victuals,  I  shou'd 
think  He  were  a  Fairy.'  And  so  on  for  the  rest  of  the  scene,  pretty  much  in  Shake- 
speare's words.  It  concludes— 

Eugenia.     I'm  bound  to  you  for  ever; 
And  now  too  well  I  can  disprove  report 
The  country  is  not  savage,  but  the  Court.  [Exeunt,  they  embracing  her. 


APPENDIX 

Scene  III.  opens  with  a  soliloquy  by  Pisanio,  who  repents  his  cruelty  to  Eugenia 
and  decides  to  go  forth  in  search  of  her  and  give  her  aid. 

After  his  departure  Cloten  enters,  with  lachimo  dragging  in  Clarina  (Pisanio's 
daughter)  in  a  man's  clothes.  The  brutal  coarseness  of  the  two  men  had  better  not 
be  imagined — assuredly  not  described.  'Rather  be  burned  to  ashes,'  screams 
Clarina,  'help!  help!  Oh  Heaven  send  down  Thy  thunder,  dash  me  to  the  Earth, 
Rather  than  suffer  this.  Help!  Help!' 

Enter  Pisanio. 

Pisan.     What  pitious  Cry  was  that?  sure  'twas  a  Woman's  voice 
By  the  shrill  sound.     Good  Gods,  what's  this  I  see? 
My  daughter  here? 

Clarin.     Mercy — unlook'd  for:'  Tis  he,  Oh  my  dear  Father 
In  a  bless'd  Minute  are  you  come  to  save  me!  [Runs  and  embraces  him. 

Pisan.     Ha!  Lord  Cloten  too? 
Then  all's  discover'd,  and  I'me  lost. 

Cloten.     See  lachimo,  yonder's  that  old  Traitor  too  luckily 
Fain  into  our  snare:  Go,  go,  take  his  Daughter 
From  him,  and  ravish  her  before  his  face. 

lachimo.     With  all  my  heart;  I'll  not  lose  for  a  million. 

Pisan.     He  comes  upon  his  death  that  touches  her:   Base  men, 
Have  you  no  humane  Nature? 

Cloten.     Does  he  expostulate?     Kill,  kill  the  Stave. 

Pisan.     I  first  shall  see  thy  death. 

Cloten.    No,  thou  shalt  never  see  agen;  for  when  I  have  conquered  thee, 
With  my  Sword's  point,  I'le  dig  out  both  thy  eyes, 
Then  drag  thee  to  my  Mother  to  be  tortur'd. 

lachimo.     I'le  do  his  business  presently.  [Fight,  Pisan.  wounded. 

Pisan.     Fly,  Daughter,  fly,  whilst  my  remains  of  Life 
I  render  for  thy  safety. 

Clarin.     Oh  save  my  Father!     Heaven  save  him,  save  him.  [Exit. 

[Figltt  still,  Pisanio  kills  lachimo,  then  falls  down  with  him,  and  Cloten  disarms  him. 

Pisan.     Thou  hast  it  now,  I  think. 

lachimo.     A  Plague  on  him,  he  has  kill'd  me.     Oh—  [Dyes. 

Cloten.     Curs'd  Misfortune!     He's  dead;  but  I'me  resolved  to 
Be  thy  true  Prophet  however,  thou  shalt  not 
See  my  death,  unless  with  other  eyes.  [Puts  out  his  eyes. 

Pisan.    Hell-born  Fury!    Oh— 

Cloten.     So,  now  smell  thy  way  out  of  the  Wood,  whilst 
I  follow  thy  daughter,  find  her,  and  cut  her  piece-meal; 
I'le  sacrifice  her  to  the  Ghost  of  lachimo.  [Exit. 

Pisan.     All  dismal,  dark  as  Night,  or  lowest  shades, 
The  regions  of  the  Dead,  or  endless  Horror; 
The  Sun  with  all  his  light,  now  gives  me  none, 
But  spreads  his  beamy  Influence  in  vain, 
And  lends  no  glimpse  to  light  my  Land  of  darkness. 

Sure  near  this  place  there  lyes  a  sword,  [Crawls  about  to  find  his  sword. 

I'le  try  if  I  can  find  it.     Pitiless  Fate, 
Wilt  thou  not  guide  my  hand?     My  Wound's  not  mortal, 
And  I  shall  yet  live  Ages;  True  sign  of  Grief, 


DURFEY'S  VERSION 

When  we  do  wish  to  die  before  our  time. 

I'le  crawl  into  some  Bush  and  hide  myself, 

Till  Fate's  at  leisure;  there 

To  the  dumb  Grove  recount  my  Miseries, 

Weep  Tears  of  bloud  from  Wounds  instead  of  Eyes.  [Crawls  out. 

SCENE  rv.  As  in  Shakespeare,  Eugenia  pleads  illness  and  begs  hosts  to  go 
hunting  as  usual.  They  comply.  She  tastes  Pisanio's  cordial.  Cloten,  in  his 
search  for  Clarina,  meets  Arviragus,  whom  he  insults,  and  by  whom  he  is  slain,  as 
in  the  original.  Arviragus  leaves  Bellarius  and  Polydour  to  throw  Cloten's  head  in 
the  stream;  and  when  he  returns  Polydour  is  gone  to  look  after  Fidele.  As  they 
approach  the  Cave  (there  is  no  mention  of  solemn  music)  they  meet  Polydour  'with 
Eugenia  as  dead': 

Pallad.     See  Brother,  see;  the  pretty  Bird  is  dead, 
That  we  so  well  did  love. 

Bellar.     Dead?  and  by  Melancholy?  this  is  strange. 

Aroir.     Oh  piercing  Sight!     Thou  sweetest,  fairest  Lilly, 
My  Brother  wears  thee  now  not  half  so  well, 
As  when  thou  grew'st  thy  self. 

Bellar.     How  did'st  thou  find  him? 

Pallad.    Just  as  you  see,  smiling  as  in  slumber. 
His  right  Cheek  reposing  on  a  Cushion  on  the  Floor; 
His  arms  thus  cross'd,  I  thought  he  slept,  and  put 
My  hunting  shoes  from  off  my  feet,  whose  rudeness 
Answer'd  my  Steps  too  loud. 

Bellar.     Well,  'tis  in  vain  to  mourn,  what's  past  recovery; 
Come  Sons,  let's  lay  him  in  our  Tomb. 

Arvir.     Rest  there  sweet  Body  of  a  sweeter  Soul,     [They  lay  him  in  the  Grave. 
Whil'st  we  lament  thy  Fate. 

Enter  Caius  Lucius,  Captains  and  Souldiers,  with  Drum  and  Colours. 

There  is  no  indication  here  of  a  change  of  scene,  nor  any  indication  that  Bel., 
Arvir.,  and  Palad.  have  left  the  stage.  The  scenes  throughout  are  so  negligently  or 
erroneously  indicated  that  I  have  paid  but  little  attention  to  them  or  their  divisions. 
The  conversation  which  follows  between  Lucius  and  his  Captains  is  about  the  same 
as  in  Shakespeare,  until  Lucius  says, '  What's  here?  A  Boy  Asleep,  I  think,  or  dead; 
let's  see  his  Face.' 

Cap.     He  is  alive,  my  Lord. 

Lucius.     What  art  thou,  Youth? 

Eugen.     I  am  nothing;  or  if  something 
'Twere  better  I  were  nothing. 

Lucius.     This  Country  sure 
Is  savage  grown:   This  morning  in  yon  Wood 
I  found  an  old  Man,  his  Eyes  just  put  out,  wounded, 
And  freshly  bleeding;  And  not  far  off  from  him, 
A  tender  Virgin,  running  with  Hair  disheveled, 
And  crying  to  Heaven  for  succour;  whom  strait  I  seiz'd, 
And  carried  to  my  Tent,  where  now  they  are. 

Capt.     I  saw  'urn,  and  heard  since  they  are  of  quality. 

Lucius.     Look  up,  youth,  I'le  entertain  thee, 
Thou  shalt  go  with  me. 


486  APPENDIX 

Eugen.    I  beseech  you,  sir,  excuse  me. 

Lucius.     By  no  means;  I  like  thee  well,  thou  shalt  be  my  Page. 

Eugen.     He's  going  with  an  Army  'gainst  my  Father; 
I'th'Battel  sure  I  cannot  miss  a  death, 
Amongst  so  many  Swords.     Well,  Sir,  if  I  must  go. 

Lucius.    Leave  soft  Grief, 

And  bend  thy  mind  to  th'War;  if  thou  dost  nobly, 
Caesar  shall  honour  thee.     March.      [Exeunt,  Scene  closes  upon  Cloten's  dead  Body. 

This  is  the  first  and  only  time  that  Cloten's  dead  body  has  been  mentioned. 
The  two  youths  who  now  enter  with  Bellarius  are  keen  to  join  the  Army  and  rush 
into  the  battle,  but  Bellarius  holds  back  in  fear  lest  he  be  recognized  and  tortured, 
but  his  sons  persuade  him  that  twenty  years  have  so  changed  him  that  recognition 
is  impossible.  He  yields,  and  the  Fourth  Act  closes  with  the  modest  boast  of 
Arviragus  that, 

'When  I'me  full  of  Wounds,  begrim'd  with  Dust, 
Spotted  with  Blood,  and  hemm'd  about  with  Enemies, 
I  shall  break  through  like  the  young  God  of  War; 
With  Blood  of  Foes  the  neighb'ring  Valleys  fill, 
Like  Lightning  scatter,  and  like  Thunder  kill.' 

The  Fifth  Act  opens  with  this  soliloquy  by  Ursaces: 

'  From  hollow  Rocks  and  solitary  Caves, 
Where  the  evil  Genius  hunts  the  Miserable, 
To  mask  in  Shades,  and  shun  the  cheerful  Light, 
Wretched  Ursaces  back  to  Britain  comes, 
Bearing  this  bloody  witness  of  his  Cruelty: 
Heart-killing  Sight!    The  Blood  that  stains  this  Linnen, 
Once  swell'd  the  Veins  of  the  mildest,  fairest,  chastest; 
O  but  not  chast !    In  that  my  praise  exceeded; 
That  Title  fatally  she  lost,  and  now 
Has  paid  too  dearly  for't; — yet  Divine  Heaven, 
Should  every  one  that  forfeits  Honour,  be 
Depriv'd  of  Life;  thy  World  wou'd  be  unpeopl'd. 
The  full  fed  City-Dame  wou'd  sin  in  fear; 
The  Divine's  Daughter  slight  the  amorous  Cringe 
Of  her  tall  Lover;  the  close  salacious  Puritan 
Forget  th'Appointment  with  her  canting  Brother. 
Should  rigorous  Death  punish  the  veneal  Error, 
The  fashion  of  the  World  would  be  abolish'd. 
How  great  then  is  my  Crime?    I  am  brought  hither 
Disguis'd  among  the  Cavalry,  to  fight 
Against  my  Ladies  Kingdom. — But  'tis  enough,  dear 
Britain,  I  have  kill'd  thy  Mistress. 
Peace,  I'le  give  no  Wound  to  thee, 
But  mourn  my  fault,  and  fall  in  thy  defence; 
So  some  vile  Wretch  that  in  his  Life  has  been 
Unhappy,  and  has  done  some  deadly  Sin, 
In  Conscience  struck,  by  some  good  Act  does  try 
To  merit  Heav'n — make  his  peace  and  die.' 


DURFEY'S  VERSION 


487 


Although  the  deeds  of  Ursaces  were  in  the  distant  Past,  his  thoughts  were  on  the 
Present.  We  have  seen  how  he  sent  his  letter  by  a  'packet-boat,'  and  in  the 
Cavalier  times  of  Charles  II.  he  cannot  refrain  from  a  stoccata  at  the  Puritans. 

The  British  and  Roman  Armies  now  enter  by  opposite  doors  and  trumpets  sound 
a  parley.  Cymbeline  asks  for  the  terms  of  peace  and  Lucius  demands  the  payment 
of  the  tribute.  This  Cymbeline  refuses,  and  without  more  ado,  they  fall  to  fighting. 
As  in  the  original,  the  Britons  are  defeated;  Ursaces  rescues  Cymbeline,  and  the 
onslaught  of  Bellarius  and  his  two  boys  turns  the  tide  of  battle,  and  victory  is 
gained.  Shatillon  attempts  to  escape  by  assuming  the  clothes  of  a  British  soldier; 
he  meets  Ursaces  and  the  recognition  is  mutual.  Hereupon  there  follows  a  highly 
vigorous  dialogue  wherein  'Death,'  'Damnation,'  'Devil,'  'Fiend,'  and  'Hell' 
are  sprinkled  with  a  liberal  hand.  Shatillon  proclaims  Eugenia's  innocence,  which 
Ursaces  disbelieves,  and  pronounces  a  lie  uttered  by  Shatillon  to  save  his  life. 
They  fight,  and,  of  course,  Shatillon  falls  mortally  wounded.  'Thou  hast  perform'd 
thy  word,'  says  the  dying  man, 

My  warm  Blood 

Flows  from  my  Heart,  and  my  departing  Soul 
Swims  on  the  surface  of  the  purple  Gore: 

0  too  small  recompense  for  Eugenia's  wrongs, 
That  bless'd,  that  innocent  Princess! 

Ursa.    O  Heaven! 

Shalt.  Nay,  thou'lt  wonder  more  anon;  Know  then  rash  credulous  Fool,  I  did 
betray  the  Princess. 

Ursa.     Betray?     How  betray?     How  innocent? 
And  how  was  she  betray'd? 

Shalt.    I'le  tell  the  Cause  I  hate  thee,  therefore,  observe  me; 

1  did  bely  her  Virtue  and  by  Cunning  obtain'd 
The  knowledge  of  her  Apartment  and  Person. 

Ursa.    By  Cunning  say'st  thou? — Break  not  yet  my  Brain; 
Do  not  distract  me  till  I  have  heard  all: 
Say  how  by  Cunning. 

Shalt.     Cunning  that  now  I  hope  may  chance  to  dam  thee. 
I  got  myself  convey'd  into  her  Chamber,  and  at  dead 
Of  night,  she  innocently  sleeping,  took  view  o'th' 
Hangings,  Furniture,  and  Pictures,  and  all  of  which 
When  return'd  to  Gaul  I  told  you. 

Ursa.     Horrid  and  damn'd  Impostor!     But  say  further, 
Speak  on  thy  Soul,  how  did'st  thou  get  that  Bracelet? 

Shalt.    There  as  she  slept  I  cut  it  from  her  Arm, 
And  viewing  nearer,  saw  the  Mole  I  spoke  of. 

Ursa.     And  this  is  true,  as  thou  hast  [hope]  of  rest? 

Shall.    Whate'er  I  hope,  rest  or  unrest,  'tis  true.     But  Oh 
My  soul  is  wand'ring  to  its  unknown  home, 
My  Blood's  all  Ice!  (Dies- 

Ursa.     Then  am  I  damn'd  more  than  the  worst  of  Fiends; 
Heav'n  keep  not  now  thy  Thunderbolt  in  vain 
To  shoot  at  Trees,  or  cleave  the  marble  Rocks, 
But  dart  it  here;  here  in  this  wretched  Head 
Throw  thy  swift  Bolt,  and  dash  me  to  the  Center; 
Let  Hell  devour  me  quick,  the  Fiends  dissect  me, 


APPENDIX 

Burn,  cut  me  to  atomes. — O  revenge,  revenge 

The  innocent  Eugenia!    Here  he  stands 

That  caus'd  her  to  be  murder'd;  dam  him,  dam  him; 

Bathe  him  in  molten  Glass; — let  a  Cabal  of  Furies 

Meet  and  consult  t'invent  new  Tortures  for  him, 

And  be  his  Pangs  eternal.     He  comes,  ye  Fiends, 

Swift  as  old  Lucifer,  when  first  he  fell, 

And  with  this  stroak  transports  himself  to  Hell. 

[Offers  to  fall  on  his  Sword.     The  Britt.  hold. 

'  Capt.    That  must  not  be  while  we  stand  tamely  by. 
Souldiers,  he  has  confess'd  he  kill'd 
The  Princess;  let's  bear  him  to  the  King. 
Death  is  too  kind  a  punishment,  he  merits  the  worst 
Of  Tortures:   O  horrid  Murderer,  away  with  him! 

Ursa.     Let  me  kneel  before  thee, 
And  thank  thee  for  that  Judgement;  Thou  art  wise, 
And  'tis  most  true  that  only  Death  is  much  too  kind.' 

This  offer  of  Ursaces  to  kneel  to  the  Captain  in  gratitude  for  his  judgement  on 
him  as  a  murderer  is,  to  me,  amid  the  whole  fustian  farrago  if  this  Version,  the 
one  solitary  gleam  of  a  dramatic  insight  into  the  depths  of  human  nature.  And 
the  introduction  of  the  Captain  is  a  happy  solution  withal  of  the  problem  of  bring- 
ing Ursaces  and  Cymbeline  face  to  face. 

In  the  last  scene,  Lucius  appears  as  prisoner  before  Cymbeline,  and  begs  the  life 
of  his  Page,  pretty  much  as  in  the  original,  and  with  the  same  result.  Ursaces  is 
brought  in.  Cymbeline  expresses  lively  gratitude  to  him  for  having  saved  his  life, 
but  Ursaces  waives  it  aside  because  he  is  the  murderer  of  Eugenia.  'Then,'  ex- 
claims Cymbeline,  'art  thou  damn'd  indeed.' 

(Ursa.    Then  am  I  damn'd  indeed?     O  true  Assertion! 
And  see  I  thus  submit  me  to  be  tortur'd, 
Thus  fall  at  thy  Slave's  feet,  and  beg  for  justice. 
Be  dark,  thou  Sun, 

And  be  ye  lesser  Lights  extinguish'd  all; 
Be  Nature  sick,  let  shades  surround  the  World, 
And  Order  cease,  till  my  Eugenia,  the  fair,  the  best  Eugenia, 
Be  in  my  horrid  torturing  Death  reveng'd. 

Eugen.     Shine  brighter  Sun, 
And  all  ye  happy  Stars  glimmer  for  joy, 
At  this  unlook'd  for  Change.     Oh  my  dear  Husband! 
Here  is  thy  Wife,  here  is  Eugenia, 
Once  more  receive  me  as  the  gift  of  Heaven. 

Ursa.    Of  my  Soul's  Joy!     Can'st  thou  e're  pardon  me? 
Canst  thou  forget? 

Eugen.    Heaven  knows,  with  all  my  heart; 
But  let  me  beg  you  doubt  my  Faith  no  more. 

Ursa.     If  I  do,  may  Heav'n  forsake  me  ever, 
And  thou,  my  better  Genius,  cease  to  guide  me. 

Cymb.    Has  Love  so  blinded  thee  thou  hast  forgot  me? 
Dost  thou  not  know  thy  Father? 

Eugen.     0  my  Lord! 


HARK,   HARK  THE  LARK  489 


So  thrive  my  Soul,  as  in  my  best  of  Duty 
My  heart  is  vow'd  to  you;  Pray  pardon  me. 
Cymb.    Let  this  declare  I  do.' 

The  blinded  Pisanio  is  led  in  by  Clarina: 

'  Pisan.    Where,  where's  my  Lord  Ursaces?   lead  me  to  him. 

Ursa.     Ha!  His  Eyes  lost,  and  for  my  sake  I  fear: 
Speak,  good  old  Friend,  whose  cruel  deed  was  this? 

Pisan.     'Twas  Cloten's;  but  if  you  love  me,  do  not  pity  me; 
For  this  was  I  ordain'd,  and  well  can  bear  it. 
Where  is  the  Princess?  let  me  kiss  her  Hand.' 

[Here  Durfey  repeats  Imogen's  response,  which  he  mistakenly  thought  was 
Shakespeare's.] 

'Eugen.     Come  not  near  me,  Murderer: 
Thou  left'st  me  in  the  Desart,  and  gavest  me  Poison.' 

Pisanio  explains  the  poison,  says  he  killed  lachimo,  and  that  Cloten  then  blinded 
him,  but  what  thereafter  befell  Cloten  he  knew  not.  Arviragus  steps  forward  and 
announces  that  he  is  responsible  for  Cloten's  death,  and  so  the  Version  ends  fol- 
lowing its  original  pretty  closely.  The  last  words  of  the  last  speech  are  spoken  by 
Ursaces: 

'Thus  as  some  wounded  Hero, 
That  where  most  danger  was,  press'd  forward  still, 
At  last  his  Life  owes  to  Physician's  skill; 
So  Love,  the  blest  Physician  of  the  Mind, 
Heals  all  my  Griefs,  immortal  Joys  I  find, 
And  Heav'n  on  Earth,  whilst  my  Eugenia's  kind.' 


TRANSLATIONS  OF 

HARK,  HARK  THE   LARK! 

BENJAMIN  LAROUCHE 

Chant 

L'alouette,  aux  portes  des  cieux, 
Eleve  sa  voix  matinale; 
Et,  sur  la  rive  orientale, 
Le  soleil  monte  radieux. 

Sur  la  terre,  en  perles  liquides, 
L'Aurore  a  repandu  ses  pleurs; 
Phebus  au  calice  des  fleurs 
Abreuve  ses  coursiers  rapides. 

La  marguerite  au  bouton  d'or 
Ouvre  ses  yeux  a  la  lumiere; 
Tout  ce  reveille  sur  la  terre; 
Reveillez-vous,  mon  cher  tresor. 


490  APPENDIX 

LE  TOURNEUR 

Air 

Ecoute,  ecoute,  1'Alouette  chante  a  la  porte  des  Cieux. 

Phebus  s'eveille,  &  monte  dans  les  Airs: 
Du  calice  des  fleurs  s'eleve  une  rosee  qui  rafraichit  les  pieds  de  ses  coursiers. 

Les  Marguerites  a  peine  ecloses 

Commencent  a  entr'ouvris  leurs  yeux  d'or. 

Eveille-toi,  ma  douce  Maitresse, 

Avec  toutes  ces  fleurs  mignones; 

Leve-toi,  leve-toi. 

FRANCOIS- VICTOR  HUGO 

Chanson 

Ecoute!  ecoute!  1'alouette  a  la  porte  du  ciel, 

Et  Phebus  se  leve  deja 
Pour  baigner  ses  coursiers  aux  sources 

Que  recele  le  calice  des  fleurs; 
Et  les  soucis  clignotants  commencent 

A  ouvrir  leurs  yeux  d'or. 
Avec  tout  ce  qui  est  charmant, 

Ma  douce  dame,  leve-toi, 

Leve-toi,  leve-toi. 

CARLO  RUSCONI 
Sinfonia  e  Canzone 

Ascolta!  ascolta!  1'allodola  canta  alle  porte  del  cielo,  e  Febo  incomincia  a  levarsi; 
i  suoi  cavalli  s'abbeverano  alle  sorgenti,  da  cui  si  attigne  la  rugiada  dei  fiori;  e  le 
pratelline  appena  dischiuse  lasciano  travedere  i  loro  occhi  d'oro.  Oh  svegliati, 
svegliati,  mia  dolce  arnica!  svegliati  insieme  con  quest'odorosa  famiglia! 

GIUOLO  CARCANO 
Canto 

Alle  porte  del  ciel  canta  1'allodola, 

Febo  si  leva  e  splende; 
E  co'destrieri  suoi  de'  fior'  nel  calice 

Per  rinfrescarsi  scende. 
Miro  occhieggiar  la  margherita,  e  schiudere 

Le  sue  pupille  d'or: 
Tutto  che  ride  di  bellezza  svegliasi: 

E  tu  non  sorgi  ancor, 
O  mio  soave  amor? 

A  Song 
Sung  by  Guiderius  and  Arviragus  over  Fidele,  supposed  to  be  dead. 

By  MR  WILLIAM  COLLINS 

To  fair  Fidele's  grassy  tomb, 

Soft  maids  and  village  hinds  shall  bring 

Each  opening  sweet,  of  earliest  bloom, 
And  rifle  all  the  breathing  spring. 


CRITICISMS— GER  VINUS 

No  wailing  ghost  shall  dare  appear 
To  vex  with  shrieks  this  quiet  grove; 

But  shepherd  lads  assemble  here, 
And  melting  virgins  own  their  love. 

No  withered  witch  shall  here  be  seen, 
No  goblins  lead  their  nightly  crew: 

The  female  fays  shall  haunt  the  green, 
And  dress  thy  grave  with  pearly  dew. 

The  red-breast  oft  at  evening  hours 
Shall  kindly  lend  his  little  aid, 

With  hoary  moss,  and  gather'd  flowers, 
To  deck  the  ground  where  thou  art  laid. 

When  howling  winds  and  beating  rain, 
In  tempests  shake  the  sylvan  cell; 

Or  midst  the  chace  on  every  plain, 
The  tender  thought  on  thee  shall  dwell. 

Each  lonely  scene  shall  thee  restore; 

For  thee  the  tear  be  duly  shed; 
Belov'd  till  life  could  charm  no  more; 

And  mourn'd  till  pity's  self  be  dead. 


CRITICISMS 

POSTHUMUS 

GERVINTJS  (Trans,  by  Bunnett,  ii,  p.  275):  Not  until  the  Italian  actually  taints 
the  snow-white  swan  of  Posthumus,  and  taunts  him  as  though  he  must  have  cause 
to  fear  if  he  gave  way,  not  until  then  does  he  wager  upon  his  wife,  whose  fidelity  he 
could  trust  for  even  more  than  this;  she  is  to  do  her  part  to  retrieve  the  honour  of 
her  sex,  and  then  (this  is  the  intention  with  which  he  accepts  the  wager)  he  will 
add  to  her  repulse  the  deserved  castigation,  and  punish  lachimo  with  the  sword 
for  his  ill-opinion  and  his  presumption.  In  this  moral  anger  Posthumus  is  no  less 
the  same  rare  being  as  in  the  rest  of  his  conduct.  His  irritation  on  such  noble 
grounds  shews  his  previous  calmness  and  discretion  for  the  first  time  in  its  right 
light,  and  this  his  ever-tested  moderation  reminds  us  to  consider  again  and  again 
the  reason  which  drives  him  exceptionally  to  exasperation  in  a  transaction  so 
indelicate.  Let  us  remember  that  the  equally  calm  and  even  calmer  Imogen,  who 
is  as  rarely  or  more  rarely  excited,  is  driven  by  one  and  the  same  occasion  to  the 
same  indignation;  when  the  abject  Cloten  sets  himself  above  her  Posthumus,  and 
attempts  to  disparage  him,  as  lachimo  had  attempted  to  defame  Imogen.  Let  us 
remember  that  this  abnegation  of  'a  lady's  manners,'  her  burst  of  indignation,  her 
flight,  shows  no  less  self-forgetfulness  in  the  woman  than  the  wager  does  in  the 
man.  For  that  self-forgetfulness  lies  in  both  cases  in  both  steps,  we  will  not  deny; 
the  Poet  himself,  beautiful  and  excusable  as  are  the  inducements  in  both  instances, 
would  neither  deny  nor  conceal  this,  since  he  has  so  severely  punished  the  rashness 
on  both  sides. 

IACHIMO 

GERVINUS  (Trans,  by  Bunnett,  ii,  p.  276):  Base  as  he  is,  we  must,  however,  be- 
ware of  making  him  still  baser.    Want  of  faith  in  human  goodness  is  not  innate  in 


492 


APPENDIX 


him,  but  acquired  from  his  never  having  met  with  virtuous  men.  A  mere  glance 
of  Imogen  shews  him  what  he  has  never  seen;  he  feels  at  once  that  here  weapons 
of  no  common  kind  would  be  required.  Repulsed  by  her,  and  ashamed,  he  feels 
neither  hatred  nor  ill-will  against  her,  but  admiration  alone.  If  it  were  not  for 
the  stings  of  a  base  ambition  to  maintain  the  glory  of  being  irresistible,  if  half  his 
fortune  and  his  life  had  not  been  at  stake,  he  might  indeed  have  forborne  the 
deception  which  he  now  plays  upon  Posthumus.  He  utters  the  horrible  slander 
against  Imogen,  yet  not  for  the  pleasure  of  slandering  her;  he  speaks  ambiguously, 
he  neither  lies  unnecessarily,  nor  degrades  her  unnecessarily.  When  he  has  at- 
tained his  object — his  own  safety — the  experience  he  has  gained  affects  him,  the 
virtue  he  has  seen  and  tested  awakens  his  conscience,  the  shame  of  his  guilt  op- 
presses him  and  makes  him  a  coward  in  the  fight  with  Britain;  the  speedy  confes- 
sion of  his  sin  shews  him  crushed  with  remorse  worthy  of  pardon. 

IMOGEN 

MRS  JAMESON  (ii,  p.  50):  We  come  now  to  Imogen.  Others  of  Shakespeare's 
characters  are,  as  dramatic  and  poetical  conceptions,  more  striking,  more  brilliant, 
more  powerful;  but  of  all  his  women,  considered  as  individuals  rather  than  as 
heroines,  Imogen  is  the  most  perfect.  Portia  and  Juliet  are  pictures  to  the  fancy 
with  more  force  of  contrast,  more  depth  of  light  and  shade;  Viola  and  Miranda, 
with  more  aerial  delicacy  of  outline,  but  there  is  no  female  portrait  that  can  be 
compared  to  Imogen  as  a  woman — none  in  which  so  great  a  variety  of  tints  are 
mingled  together  into  such  perfect  harmony.  In  her  we  have  all  the  fervour  of 
youthful  tenderness,  all  the  romance  of  youthful  fancy,  all  the  enchantment  of 
ideal  grace, — the  bloom  of  beauty,  the  brightness  of  intellect,  and  the  dignity  of 
rank,  taking  a  peculiar  hue  from  the  conjugal  character  which  is  shed  over  all,  like 
a  consecration  and  a  holy  charm.  In  Othello  and  the  Winter's  Tale  the  interest 
excited  for  Desdemona  and  Hermione  is  divided  with  others;  but  in  Cymbeline 
Imogen  is  the  angel  of  light,  whose  lovely  presence  pervades  and  animates  the 
whole  piece.  The  character  altogether  may  be  pronounced  finer,  more  complex 
in  its  elements,  and  more  fully  developed  in  all  its  parts  than  those  of  Hermione 
and  Desdemona;  but  the  position  in  which  she  is  placed  is  not,  I  think,  so  fine — at 
least,  not  so  effective,  as  a  tragic  situation.  .  .  . 

(p.  58):  When  Ferdinand  tells  Miranda  that  she  was  'created  of  every  creature's 
best,'  he  speaks  like  a  lover,  or  refers  only  to  her  personal  charms:  the  same  expres- 
sion might  be  applied  critically  to  the  character  of  Imogen;  for,  as  the  portrait  of 
Miranda  is  produced  by  resolving  the  female  character  into  its  original  elements, 
so  that  of  Imogen  unites  the  greatest  number  of  those  qualities  which  we  imagine 
to  constitute  excellence  in  woman. 

Imogen,  like  Juliet,  conveys  to  our  mind  the  impression  of  extreme  simplicity  in 
the  midst  of  the  most  wonderful  complexity.  To  conceive  her  aright  we  must 
take  some  peculiar  tint  from  many  characters,  and  so  mingle  them  that,  like  the 
combination  of  hues  in  a  sun-beam,  the  effect  shall  be  as  one  to  the  eye.  We  must 
imagine  something  of  the  romantic  enthusiasm  of  Juliet,  of  the  truth  and  con- 
stancy of  Helen,  of  the  dignified  purity  of  Isabel,  of  the  tender  sweetness  of 
Viola,  of  the  self-possession  and  intellect  of  Portia — combined  together  so  equally 
and  so  harmoniously  that  we  can  scarcely  say  that  one  quality  predominates 
over  the  other.  But  Imogen  is  less  imaginative  than  Juliet,  less  spirited  and 
intellectual  than  Portia,  less  serious  than  Helen  and  Isabel;  her  dignity  is  not  so 
imposing  as  that  of  Hermione,  it  stands  more  on  the  defensive;  her  submission, 


CRITICISMS— MRS  JAMESON  493 

though  unbounded,  is  not  so  passive  as  that  of  Desdemona;  and  thus,  while  she 
resembles  each  of  these  characters  individually,  she  stands  wholly  distinct  from  all. 

It  is  true  that  the  conjugal  tenderness  of  Imogen  is  at  once  the  chief  subject  of 
the  drama,  and  the  pervading  charm  of  her  character;  but  it  is  not  true,  I  think, 
that  she  is  merely  interesting  from  her  tenderness  and  constancy  to  her  husband.' 
We  are  so  completely  let  into  the  essence  of  Imogen's  nature  that  we  feel  as  if 
we  had  known  and  loved  her  before  she  was  married  to  Posthumus,  and  that  her 
conjugal  virtues  are  a  charm  superadded,  like  the  colour  laid  upon  a  beautiful 
groundwork.  Neither  does  it  appear  to  me  that  Posthumus  is  unworthy  of 
Imogen,  or  only  interesting  on  Imogen's  account.  His  character,  like  those  of 
all  the  other  persons  of  the  drama,  is  kept  subordinate  to  hers;  but  this  could 
not  be  otherwise,  for  she  is  the  proper  subject— the  heroine  of  the  poem.  Every 
thing  is  done  to  ennoble  Posthumus,  and  justify  her  love  for  him;  and  though 
we  certainly  approve  more  for  her  sake  than  for  his  own,  we  are  early  prepared 
to  view  him  with  Imogen's  eyes;  and  not  only  excuse,  but  sympathize  in  her 
admiration  of  him. 

(p.  76):  It  has  been  remarked  that  'her  readiness  to  pardon  lachimo's  false 
imputation,  and  his  designs  against  herself,  is  a  good  lesson  to  prudes,  and  may 
show  that  where  there  is  a  real  attachment  to  virtue,  there  is  no  need  of  an  out- 
rageous antipathy  to  vice.'  [See  note  by  HAZLITT,  I,  vii,  247.] 

This  is  true;  but  can  we  fail  to  perceive  that  the  instant  and  ready  forgiveness 
of  Imogen  is  accounted  for,  and  rendered  more  graceful  and  characteristic  by  the 
very  means  which  lachimo  employs  to  win  it?  He  pours  forth  the  most  enthu- 
siastic praises  of  her  husband,  professes  that  he  merely  made  this  trial  of  her  out 
of  his  exceeding  love  for  Posthumus,  and  she  is  pacified  at  once;  but,  with  exceeding 
delicacy  of  feeling,  she  is  represented  as  maintaining  her  dignified  reserve  and  her 
brevity  of  speech  to  the  end  of  the  scene. 

We  must  also  observe  how  beautifully  the  character  of  Imogen  is  distinguished 
from  those  of  Desdemona  and  Hermione.  When  she  is  made  acquainted  with  her 
husband's  cruel  suspicions,  we  see  in  her  deportment  neither  the  meek  submission 
of  the  former,  nor  the  calm  resolute  dignity  of  the  latter.  The  first  effect  produced 
on  her  by  her  husband's  letter  is  conveyed  to  the  fancy  by  the  exclamation  of 
Pisanio,  who  is  gazing  on  her  as  she  reads:  'What  shall  I  need  to  draw  my  sword, 
the  paper  Hath  cut  her  throat  already.' 

And  in  her  first  exclamations  we  trace,  besides  astonishment,  and  anguish,  and 
the  acute  sense  of  the  injustice  inflicted  on  her,  a  flash  of  the  indignant  spirit, 
which  we  do  not  find  in  Desdemona  or  Hermione.  .  .  . 

(p.  82) :  One  thing  more  must  be  particularly  remarked,  because  it  serves  to  indi- 
vidualise the  character  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  poem.  We  are  constantly 
sensible  that  Imogen,  besides  being  a  tender  and  devoted  woman,  is  a  princess  and  a 
beauty,  at  the  same  time  that  she  is  ever  superior  to  her  position  and  her  external 
charms.  There  is,  for  instance,  a  certain  airy  majesty  of  deportment — a  spirit  of 
accustomed  command  breaking  out  every  now  and  then — the  dignity,  without  the 
assumption  of  rank  and  royal  birth,  which  is  apparent  in  the  scene  with  Cloten  and 
elsewhere:  and  we  have  not  only  a  general  impression  that  Imogen,  like  other  hero- 
ines, is  beautiful,  but  the  peculiar  style  and  character  of  her  beauty  is  placed  before 
us;  we  have  an  image  of  the  most  luxuriant  loveliness,  combined  with  exceeding 
delicacy  and  even  fragility  of  person;  of  the  most  refined  elegance,  and  the  most 
exquisite  modesty,  set  forth  in  one  or  two  passages  of  description;  as  when  lachimo 
is  contemplating  her  asleep:  [II,  ii,  20  et  seq.]. 


494  APPENDIX 

The  preservation  of  her  feminine  character  under  her  masculine  attire;  her 
delicacy,  her  modesty,  and  her  timidity  are  managed  with  the  same  perfect  con- 
sistency and  unconscious  grace  as  in  Viola.  And  we  must  not  forget  that  her  'neat 
cookery,'  which  is  so  prettily  eulogised  by  Guiderius,  formed  part  of  the  education 
of  a  princess  in  those  remote  times. 

GEORGE  FLETCHER  (p.  77):  The  ensuing  explanation  on  the  part  of  lachimo, 
and  her  consequent  reconciliation,  demand  our  particular  attention;  the  more, 
because,  among  other  important  misconceptions  as  to  the  qualities  and  the  con- 
duct of  this  personage,  Hazlitt,  in  his  examination  of  this  play,  has  the  following 
remark  upon  this  passage:  [Fletcher  here  quotes  Hazlitt's  note  as  given  above, 
and  also  Mrs  Jameson's  comment  thereupon;  he  thus  continues:] 

But  this  version  of  the  matter  is  nothing  less  than  degrading  both  to  the  intellect 
and  the  delicacy  of  the  heroine  as  portrayed  by  Shakespeare.  It  is  talking  as  if 
when,  according  to  Hazlitt,  she  'pardons'  lachimo,  or,  as  Mrs  Jameson  expresses  it, 
is  'pacified,'  she  still  believed  that  her  Italian  visitor  had  really  intended  to  leave 
her  husband  slandered  in  her  opinion,  and  her  own  purity  stained.  Had  she  con- 
continued  so  to  believe,  it  would  have  been  contamination  to  her  to  exchange 
another  sentence  with  one  whom  she  held  to  be  so  foul  a  villain.  But  he,  'singular 
in  his  art,'  has  with  subtle  dexterity  converted,  in  her  estimation,  his  very  defama- 
tion of  her  husband  and  his  insult  to  herself  into  a  precious  testimony  of  his  ex- 
treme solicitude  for  her  dear  lord's  welfare — that  most  irresistible  of  all  claims  upon 
her  kindly  regard.  He  had  spoken  thus  only  'to  know  if  her  affiance  were  deeply 
rooted,'  and  to  enable  himself  to  carry  back  to  her  husband  the  more  gratifying 
report  of  her  incorruptible  constancy.  His  eloquent  eulogy  of  Leonatus — -'He 
sits  'mongst  men  like  a  descended  god/  etc. — has  a  double  charm  for  her  by 
contrast  with  the  foulness  of  his  previous  imputations.  She  betrays  no  weak- 
ness of  judgment  in  accepting  this  explanation  from  a  man  introduced  to  her, 
under  her  husband's  own  hand,  as  'one  of  the  noblest  note,'  to  whose  kind- 
nesses he  was  most  infinitely  obliged.  Overlooking,  though  not  quite  forget- 
ting, the  liberty  taken  with  herself,  the  revulsion  of  feeling  in  her  generous 
breast  makes  her  welcome  the  insinuating  stranger  with  hardly  less  cordiality 
than  before,  though  with  the  added  reserve  of  a  dignity  and  a  delicacy  too  deli- 
cately wounded.  .  .  . 

(p.  101):  And  here,  in  justice  to  the  performer,  we  must  point  out  a  certain 
misconception  as  to  the  predominant  spirit  of  this  scene,  which  her  judgment  has  led 
her  to  avoid.  Mrs  Jameson,  for  example,  tells  us,  in  relation  to  it,  that,  after 
Imogen's  'affecting  lamentation  over  the  falsehood  and  injustice  of  her  husband,' 
she  then  resigns  herself  to  his  will  with  'the  most  entire  submission.'  The  critic 
here  falls  into  the  error  of  making  Imogen  desire  Pisanio  to  '  do  his  master's  bidding' 
simply  from  a  motive  of  obedience  to  the  will  of  a  man  whom  she  is  all  the  while  so 
emphatically  assuring  us  that  she  feels  called  upon  to  regard  with  indignant  pity. 
This,  however,  is  but  one  instance  of  the  mistakes  occasioned  by  the  low  estimate  of 
Imogen's  character,  in  her  conjugal  relation,  which  has  been  so  unaccountably 
prevalent  among  the  critics;  abasing  her  from  her  proper  station  as  a  noble,  gen- 
erous, and  intellectual  woman,  whose  understanding  has  sanctioned  the  election  of 
her  heart  to  that  of  a  creature  blindly  impassioned  and  affectionate,  ready  to 
submit  quite  passively  to  any  enormity  of  indignity  and  injustice  inflicted  upon 
her  by  the  man  to  whom  she  has  devoted  herself.  The  present  actress  of  the 
character  makes  herself  no  party  to  this  degradation.  .  .  . 


CRITICISMS— LAD  Y  MARTIN— LENOX  495 

(p.  103): 

'I  do  not  bid  thee  beg  my  life,  good  lad; 
And  yet,  I  know,  thou  wilt.' 

And,  at  this  moment,  the  auditor  feels  as  if  he  knew  so  too;  for  all  that  he  has 
learned,  both  of  the  character  and  the  circumstances  of  Imogen,  leads  him  in- 
evitably to  this  conclusion.  Her  husband  being,  she  supposes,  dead,— her  servant 
treacherous,— her  father,  though  present  to  her  eyes,  yet  lost  to  her  heart— the 
only  ray  of  sympathy  that  beams  upon  her  soul  amid  the  settled  gloom  of  its  deep 
though  calm  despair  is  that  which  she  finds  in  the  paternal  kindness  of  the  noble 
Roman.  Can  Imogen,  then,  do  otherwise  than  petition  for  his  life?  Yes;  for, 
'Alack,  There's  other  work  in  hand.'  Upon  the  finger  of  the  captive  lachimo  she 
had  recognized  the  consecrated  jewel,  even  that  'diamond  that  was  her  mother's,' 
which  when  she  had  last  beheld  it  her  beloved  Leonatus  was  putting  on  his  finger, 
saying,  'Remain,  remain  thou  here,  While  sense  can  keep  it  on!'  Again,  therefore, 
her  doubts  are  cruelly  awakened  as  to  her  deceased  lord's  fidelity— 'I  see  a  thing 
Bitter  to  me  as  death!'  And  the  craving  of  her  heart  for  the  final  solution  of  this 
horrible  enigma  makes  her  eagerly  forego  the  last  human  tie  that  slenderly  binds 
her  to  existence— '  Your  life,  good  master,  Must  shuffle  for  itself.'  This  explicit 
rejection  of  the  opportunity  to  save  her  'good  master's'  life  should  be  retained  in 
acting,  to  give,  as  we  have  hinted  before,  its  full  effect  to  the  intensity  of  interest 
with  which  she  looks  upon  the  ring. 

From  the  beginning,  however,  of  lachimo's  confession  the  countenance  and 
gesture  of  the  present  performer  express  to  us,  in  their  delicate  variation,  what 
Shakespeare's  text  can  but  dimly  suggest,  even  to  the  most  thoughtful  and  imagina- 
tive reader.  In  them  we  trace,  in  vivid  succession,  the  intensely  fixed  attention 
of  the  heroine  to  the  commencement  of  lachimo's  narrative, — the  trembling  anxiety 
as  it  proceeds, — the  tenderly  mournful  delight  on  receiving  the  full  conviction  of 
her  husband's  fidelity, — and  then  the  grateful,  tearful,  overpowering  joy  on  seeing 
him  so  suddenly  alive  and  hearing  his  repentant  exclamations, — and  that  most 
difficult,  perhaps,  as  it  is  the  most  pathetic  stroke  of  all,  the  coming  forward,  for- 
getful of  her  male  disguise,  to  discover  herself  to  him,  and  relieve  him  from  that 
intolerable  anguish  which  her  generous  heart  can  no  longer  endure  to  contemplate. 

HELENA  FAUCIT,  LADY  MARTIN  (p.  168):  What  Shakespeare  intends  us  to  see  in 
Imogen  is  made  plain  by  the  impression  she  is  described  as  producing  on  all  who 
come  into  contact  with  her, — strangers  as  well  as  those  who  have  seen  her  grow 
up  at  her  father's  Court.  She  is  of  royal  nature  as  well  as  of  royal  blood, — too  noble 
to  know  that  she  is  noble.  A  grand  and  patient  faithfulness  is  at  the  root  of  her 
character.  Yet  she  can  be  angry,  vehement,  passionate  upon  occasion.  With  a 
being  of  so  fine  and  sensitive  an  organization,  how  could  it  be  otherwise?  Her 
soul's  strength  and  nobleness,  speaking  through  her  form  and  movements,  impress 
all  alike  with  an  irresistible  charm.  Her  fine  taste,  her  delicate  ways,  her  accom- 
plishments, her  sweet  singing  are  brought  before  us  by  countless  subtle  touches. 
To  her  belongs  especially  the  quality  of  grace,— that  quality  which,  in  Goethe's 
words,  'macht  unwiderstehlich,'  and  which,  as  Racine  says,  is  even  'superior  to 
beauty  or,  rather,  is  beauty  sweetly  animated.' 

MRS  LENOX  (p.  166):  It  would  seem  to  be  an  endless  Talk  to  take  Notice  of  all 
the  Absurdities  in  the  Plot,  and  unnatural  Manners  in  the  Characters  of  this  Play. 


496 


APPENDIX 


Such  as  the  ridiculous  Story  of  the  King's  two  Sons  being  stolen  in  their  Infancy 
from  the  Court,  and  bred  up  in  the  Mountains  of  Wales  till  they  were  twenty  Years 

of  Age. 

Then  at  their  first  essay  in  arms,  these  striplings  stop  the  King's  Army,  which  is 
flying  from  the  victorious  Romans,  oblige  them  to  face  their  Enemies,  and  gain  a 
compleat  Victory. 

With  Inconsistencies  like  these  it  everywhere  abounds;  the  whole  Conduct  of 
the  play  is  absurd  and  ridiculous  to  the  last  Degree,  and  with  all  the  Liberties 
Shakespear  has  taken  with  Time,  Place,  and  Action,  the  Story,  as  he  has  managed 
it,  is  more  improbable  than  a  Fairy  Tale. 

RICHARDSON  (p.  191):  Crowded  theatres  have  applauded  IMOGEN.  There  is 
a  pleasing  softness  and  delicacy  in  this  agreeable  character  that  renders  it  pecu- 
liarly interesting.  Love  is  the  ruling  passion;  but  it  is  love  ratified  by  wedlock, 
gentle,  cpnstant,  and  refined.  .  .  . 

(p.  204) :  lachimo,  with  an  intention  of  betraying  her,  sensible,  at  the  same  time, 
that  infidelity  and  neglect  are  the  only  crimes  unpardonable  in  the  sight  of  a  lover, 
and  well  aware  of  the  address  necessary  to  infuse  suspicion  into  an  ingenuous 
mind,  disguises  his  inhuman  intention  with  the  affectation  of  a  violent  and  sudden 
emotion.  He  seems  rapt  in  admiration  of  Imogen,  and  expresses  sentiments  of 
deep  astonishment. 

We  never  feel  any  passion  or  violent  emotion  without  a  cause,  either  real  or 
imagined.  We  are  never  conscious  of  anger  but  when  we  apprehend  ourselves  in- 
jured; and  never  feel  esteem  without  the  conviction  of  excellence  in  the  object. 
Sensible,  as  it  were  by  intuition,  of  this  invariable  law  in  the  conduct  of  our  pas- 
sions, we  never  see  others  very  violently  agitated  without  a  conviction  of  their 
having  sufficient  cause,  or  that  they  are  themselves  convinced  of  it.  If  we  see  a 
man  deeply  afflicted,  we  are  persuaded  that  he  has  suffered  some  dreadful  calamity, 
or  that  he  believes  it  to  be  so.  Upon  this  principle,  which  operates  instinctively 
and  almost  without  being  observed,  is  founded  that  capital  rule  in  oratorical  com- 
position, 'That  he  who  would  affect  and  convince  his  audience,  ought  to  have  hia 
own  mind  convinced  and  affected.' 

Accordingly,  the  crafty  Italian,  availing  himself  of  this  propensity,  counterfeits 
admiration  and  astonishment.  And,  Imogen,  deceived  by  the  specious  artifice,  is 
inclined  to  believe  him.  Moved  with  fearful  curiosity,  she  inquires  about  Leonatus; 
receives  an  answer  well  calculated  to  alarm  her;  and,  of  consequence,  betrays  un- 
easiness. 

By  representing  the  sentiments  of  Leonatus  as  unfavourable  to  marriage  and 
the  fair  sex,  he  endeavors  to  stimulate  her  inquietude. 

This  expression  of  hope  is  an  evident  symptom  of  her  anxiety.  If  we  are  certain 
of  any  future  good,  we  are  confident  and  expect.  We  only  hope  when  the  event  is 
doubtful. 

lachimo  practises  every  art;  and  by  expressing  pity  for  her  condition  he  makes 
farther  progress  in  her  good  opinion.  Pity  supposes  calamity;  and  the  imagination 
of  Imogen,  thus  irritated  and  alarmed,  conceives  no  other  cause  of  compassion  than 
the  infidelity  of  Leonatus.  The  mysterious  conduct  of  lachimo  heightens  her  un- 
easiness; for  the  nature  and  extent  of  her  misfortune  not  being  precisely  ascer- 
tained, her  apprehensions  render  it  excessive.  The  reluctance  he  discovers,  and 
the  seeming  unwillingness  to  accuse  her  husband,  are  evidences  of  his  being  at- 
tached to  him,  and  give  his  surmises  credit.  Imogen,  thus  agitated  and  affected, 


ATTICISMS—RICHARDSON 

^^^  condition  to  dfliberate  coolly;  and,  as  her  anxiety  grows  vehement,  she 
becomes  credulous  and  v/n  \\-ary.  Her  sense  of  propriety,  however,  and  the  delicacy 
of  her  affections  preserve  their  influence,  and  she  conceals  her  impatience  by 
indirect  inquiries. 

lachimo's  abrupt  anc1  impassioned  demeanour,  his  undoubted  friendship  for 
Leonatus,  the  apparent  interest  he  takes  in  the  concerns  of  Imogen,  and  his  reluc- 
tance to  unfold  the  nature  of  her  misfortune,  adding  impatience  to  her  anxiety, 
and  so  augmenting  the|violence  of  her  emotions,  destroy  every  doubt  of  his  sin- 
cerity, and  dispose  her  implicitly  to  believe  him.  He,  accordingly,  proceeds  with 
boldness,  and,  under  tF  appearance  of  sorrow  and  indignation,  hazards  a  more 
direct  impeachment.  1  °  llavc  bewailed  her  unhappy  fate,  and  to  have  accused 
Leonatus  in  terms  of  b?tlerness  and  reproach  would  have  suited  the  injuries  she 
had  received,  and  the  violenre  °f  disappointed  passion.  But  Shakespeare,  superior 
to  all  mankind  in  the  irrVL'nl-i<m  °f  characters,  hath  fashioned  the  temper  of  Imogen 
with  lineaments  no  less  Peculiar  than  lovely.  Sentiments  amiably  refined,  and  a 
sense  of  propriety  unc<)rnmonly  exquisite,  suppress  the  utterance  of  her  sorrow 
and  restrain  her  resent/116111-  Knowing  that  suspicion  is  allied  to  weakness,  and 
unwilling  to  asperse  the  ^anic  °f  her  husband,  she  replies  with  a  spirit  of  meekness 
and  resignation' 

'My  Lord,  I  fear, 
Has  forgot  Britain.' 


Formerly  she  expresse('  hope  when  the  emotion  she  felt  was  fear.  Here  she  ex- 
presses fear,  though  fulf-v  satisfied  of  her  misfortune. 

There  is  a  certain  slate  °^  mind  full  of  sorrow  when  the  approach  of  evil  is 
manifest  and  unavoidab'e-  Our  reason  is  then  darkened,  and  the  soul,  sinking 
under  the  apprehensior1  °^  misery,  suffers  direful  eclipse  and  trembles,  as  at  the 
dissolution  of  nature.  "Enable  to  endure  the  painful  impression,  we  almost  wish  for 
annihilation;  and,  inc?lPable  of  averting  the  threatened  danger,  we  endeavor, 
though  absurdly  to  be  ignorant  of  its  approach.  'Let  me  hear  no  more,'  cries  the 
Princess  convinced  of  ner  misfortune  and  overwhelmed  with  anguish. 

lachimo  confident  o^  success,  and,  persuaded  that  the  wrongs  of  Imogen  would 
naturally  excite  resent licnt-  suggests  the  idea  of  revenge.  Skilful  to  infuse  suspi- 
cion he  knew  not  the  purity  of  refined  affection.  Imogen,  shocked  and  astonished 
at  his  infamous  offer  ^  immediately  prejudiced  against  his  evidence.  Her  mind 
recovers  vigour  by  the  renovated  hope  of  her  husband's  constancy  and  by  indigna- 
tion against  the  insidious  informer.  And  she  vents  her  displeasure  with  sudden 

and  unexpected  vehenience- 

This  immediate  trailsition  ^rom  a  dejected  and  desponding  tone  of  mind  to  a 
vigorous  and  animated  exerti°n,  effectuated  by  the  infusion  of  hope  and  just  in- 
dignation, is  very  natiiral  and  striking. 

The  inquietude  of  fmogen,  softened  by  affection  and  governed  by  a  sense  of 
propriety,  exhibits  a  r)attern  °f  the  most  amiable  and  exemplary  meekness.  The 
emotions  she  discover?  belonS  to  solicitude  rather  than  to  jealousy.  The  features 
of  solicitude  are  sorrov'ful  and  tender.  Jealousy  is  fierce,  wrathful,  and  vindictive. 
Solicitude  is  the  object  of  compassion  mixed  with  affection;  jealousy  excites  com- 
passion, combined  wit"  terror. 

(p  2i<)-  To  be  re?cued  ^rom  undeserved  affliction  Imogen  flies  for  relief  to 
the  review  of  her  fornier  conduct;  and,  surprised  at  the  accusation  and  indignant 
of  the  charge,  she  triiimPhs  in  conscious  virtue. 
32 

>- 


Fisfc  Far* 


.- 

:' 


f"     . 


APPENDIX 

Yet  resentment  is  so  natural  in  cases  of  heinous  injury  that  it  arises  even  in 
minds  of  the  mildest  temper.  It  arises,  however,  without  any  excessive  or  un- 
seemly agitation.  Its  duration  is  exceedingly  transient.  It  is  governed  in  its 
utterance  by  the  memory  of  former  friendship.  And  if  the  blame  can  be  trans- 
ferred to  any  insidious  or  sly  seducer,  who  may  have  prompted  the  evil  we  com- 
plain of,  we  wreak  upon  them  the  violence  of  our  displeasure. 

The  resentment  of  Imogen  is  of  short  continuance.  It  is  a  sudden  solitary  flash, 
extinguished  instantly  in  her  sorrow. 

It  is  not  the  malice  of  a  crafty  step-dame  that  moves  the  heart  of  Imogen  to 
complain;  nor  the  wrath  of  her  incensed  and  deluded  parent,  nor  that  she,  bred  up 
in  softness  and  little  accustomed  to  suffer  hardships  and  sorrow,  should  wander 
amid  solitary  rocks  and  deserts,  exposed  to  perils,  famine,  and  death.  It  is  that  she 
is  forsaken,  betrayed,  and  persecuted  by  him  on  whose  constancy  she  relied  for 
protection,  and  to  whose  tenderness  she  entrusted  her  repose.  Of  other  evils  she 
is  not  insensible;  but  this  is  the  'supreme  crown  of  her  grief.'  Cruelty  and  in- 
gratitude are  abhorred  by  the  spectator  and  resented  by  the  sufferer.  But,  when 
the  temper  of  the  person  injured  is  peculiarly  gentle,  and  the  author  of  the  injury 
the  object  of  confirmed  affection,  the  mind,  after  the  first  emotion,  is  more  apt  to 
languish  in  despondency  than  continue  inflamed  with  resentment.  The  sense  of 
misfortune,  rather  than  the  sense  of  injury,  rules  the  disposition  of  Imogen,  and, 
instead  of  venting  invectives,  she  laments  the  misery  of  her  condition. 

If  a  crime  is  committed  by  a  person  with  whom  we  are  unconnected  or  who  has 
no  pretensions  to  pre-eminent  virtue,  we  feel  indignation  against  the  individual, 
but  form  no  conclusions  against  the  species.  The  case  is  different  if  we  are  con- 
nected with  him  by  any  tender  affection,  and  regard  him  as  of  superior  merit. 
Love  and  friendship,  according  to  the  immutable  conduct  of  every  passion,  lead 
us  to  magnify,  in  our  imaginations,  the  distinguished  qualities  of  those  we  love. 
The  rest  of  mankind  are  ranked  in  a  lower  order,  and  are  valued  no  otherwise  than 
as  they  resemble  this  illustrious  model.  But  perceiving  depravity  where  we  ex- 
pected perfection,  mortified  and  disappointed  that  appearances  of  rectitude, 
believed  by  us  most  sincere  and  unchangeable,  were  merely  specious  and  exterior, 
we  become  suspicious  of  every  pretension  to  merit,  and  regard  the  rest  of  man- 
kind, of  whose  integrity  we  have  had  less  positive  evidence,  with  cautious  and  un- 
kind reserve. 

Imogen,  conscious  of  her  innocence,  convinced  of  Leonatus's  perfidy,  and  over- 
whelmed with  sorrow,  becomes  careless  of  life,  and  offers  herself  a  willing  sacrifice 
to  her  husband's  cruelty. 

HARTLEY  COLERIDGE  (ii,  p.  190):  May  it  not  plausibly  be  conjectured  that 
Shakespeare,  by  making  causeless  jealousy  the  foundation  of  so  many  plays,  in- 
tended an  oblique  compliment  to  queen  Elizabeth — a  delicate  vindication  of  Anna 
Bullen? 

Lovely  as  the  poetry  of  Cymbeline  is,  and  most  lovely  as  Imogen  is,  this  play  is, 
to  me,  one  of  the  least  agreeable  in  the  collection.  Nowhere,  not  even  in  Leontes, 
is  the  odiousness  of  jealousy  displayed  in  such  glaring  colours  as  in  Posthumus, 
who,  in  plain  terms,  acts  a  villain's  part.  A  man  who  could  lay  wagers  upon  his 
wife's  virtue,  and  wilfully  expose  her  to  the  insults  of  such  a  ribald  scoundrel  as 
lachimo,  is  not  only  unworthy  of  Imogen,  but  richly  deserving  of  the  worst  possible 
consequences  of  his  folly.  Shakespeare  wisely  conceives  jealousy  to  be  a  passion 
pre-existent  to  the  occasions  it  is  sure  to  find  or  seek.  lachimo  is  a  scamp,  utterly 


CRITICISMS— HAZLITT 

unredeemed  by  the  master  mind  and  soldierly  carriage  of  lago  and  Edmund.  The 
beautiful  poetry  he  is  made  to  utter  in  Imogen's  chamber  could  scarce  have  ema- 
nated from  such  a  reptile  spirit.  Cloten  is  a  mere  ass,  without  humor  or  even  fun. 
Shakespeare  has  not  another  such.  It  is,  however,  a  just  and  natural  judgment 
upon  the  subtle  witch,  his  mother,  to  have  borne  such  a  moon-calf.  These  amazing 
clever,  wicked  women  generally  produce  Clotens — witness  Semiramis,  Agrippina, 
and  Catherine  the  Second. 

HAZLITT  (p.  i):  Cymbeline  is  one  of  the  most  delightful  of  Shakespeare's  histor- 
ical plays.  It  may  be  considered  as  a  dramatic  romance,  in  which  the  most  strik- 
ing parts  of  the  story  are  thrown  into  the  form  of  a  dialogue,  and  the  intermediate 
circumstances  are  explained  by  the  different  speakers,  as  occasion  renders  it  neces- 
sary. The  action  is  less  concentrated  in  consequence;  but  the  interest  becomes 
more  aerial  and  refined  from  the  principle  of  perspective  introduced  into  the  sub- 
ject by  the  imaginary  changes  of  scene  as  well  as  by  the  length  of  time  it  occupies. 
The  reading  of  this  play  is  like  going  a  journey  with  some  uncertain  object  at  the 
end  of  it,  and  in  which  the  suspense  is  kept  up  and  heightened  by  the  long  inter- 
vals between  each  action.  Though  the  events  are  scattered  over  such  an  extent 
of  surface,  and  relate  to  such  a  variety  of  characters,  yet  the  links  which  bind  the 
different  interests  of  the  story  together  are  never  entirely  broken.  The  most  strag- 
gling and  seemingly  casual  incidents  are  contrived  in  such  a  manner  as  to  lead  at 
last  to  the  most  complete  development  of  the  catastrophe.  The  ease  and  con- 
scious unconcern  with  which  this  is  effected  only  makes  the  skill  more  wonderful. 
The  business  of  the  plot  evidently  thickens  in  the  last  act:  the  story  moves  for- 
ward with  increasing  rapidity  at  every  step;  its  various  ramifications  are  drawn  from 
the  most  distant  points  to  the  same  centre;  the  principal  characters  are  brought 
together  and  placed  in  very  critical  situations;  and  the  fate  of  almost  every  person 
in  the  drama  is  made  to  depend  on  the  solution  of  a  single  circumstance — the  answer 
of  lachimo  to  the  question  of  Imogen  respecting  the  obtaining  of  the  ring  from 
Posthumus.  Dr  Johnson  is  of  the  opinion  that  Shakespeare  was  generally  inatten- 
tive to  the  winding  up  of  his  plots.  We  think  the  contrary  is  true;  and  we  might 
cite  in  proof  of  this  remark  not  only  the  present  play,  but  the  conclusion  of  Lear,  of 
Romeo  and  Juliet,  of  Macbeth,  of  Othello,  even  of  Hamlet,  and  of  other  plays  of 
less  moment,  in  which  the  last  act  is  crowded  with  decisive  events  brought  about 
by  natural  and  striking  means. 

The  pathos  in  Cymbeline  is  not  violent  or  tragical,  but  of  the  most  pleasing  and 
amiable  kind.  A  certain  tender  gloom  o'erspreads  the  whole.  Posthumus  is  the 
ostensible  hero  of  the  piece,  but  its  greatest  charm  is  the  character  of  Imogen.  Post- 
humus is  only  interesting  from  the  interest  she  takes  in  him,  and  she  is  only  inter- 
esting herself  from  her  tenderness  and  constancy  to  her  husband.  It  is  the  peculiar 
characteristic  of  Shakespeare's  heroines  that  they  seem  to  exist  only  in  their  attach- 
ment to  others.  They  are  pure  abstractions  of  the  affections.  We  think  as  little 
of  their  persons  as  they  do  themselves,  because  we  are  let  into  the  secrets  of  their 
hearts,  which  are  more  important.  We  are  too  interested  in  their  affairs  to  stop 
to  look  at  their  faces,  except  by  stealth  and  at  intervals.  No  one  ever  hit  the  true 
perfection  of  the  female  character,  the  sense  of  weakness  leaning  on  the  strength 
of  its  affections  for  support,  so  well  as  Shakespeare— no  one  else  ever  so  well  painted 
natural  tenderness  free  from  affectation  and  disguise— no  one  else  ever  so  well 
showed  how  delicacy  and  timidity,  when  driven  to  extremity,  grow  romantic  and 
extravagant;  for  the  romance  of  his  heroines  (in  which  they  abound)  is  only  an 


5oo 


APPENDIX 


excess  of  the  habitual  prejudices  of  their  sex,  scrupulous  of  being  false  to  their 
vows,  truant  to  their  affections,  and  taught  by  the  force  of  feeling  when  to  forego 
the  forms  of  propriety  for  the  essence  of  it.  His  women  were  in  this  respect  ex- 
quisite logicians;  for  there  is  nothing  so  logical  as  passion.  They  knew  their  own 
minds  exactly;  and  they  followed  up  a  favorite  idea,  which  they  had  sworn  to  with 
their  tongues,  and  which  was  engraven  on  their  hearts,  into  its  untoward  conse- 
quences. They  were  the  prettiest  little  set  of  martyrs  and  confessors  on  record. 
Gibber,  in  speaking  of  the  early  English  stage,  accounts  for  the  want  of  prominence 
and  theatrical  display  in  Shakespeare's  female  characters  from  the  circumstance 
that  women  in  those  days  were  not  allowed  to  play  the  parts  of  women,  which 
made  it  necessary  to  keep  them  a  good  deal  in  the  background.  Does  not  this 
state  of  manners  itself,  which  prevented  their  exhibiting  themselves  in  public  and 
confined  them  to  the  relations  and  charities  of  domestic  life,  afford  a  truer  ex- 
planation of  the  matter?  His  women  are  certainly  very  unlike  stage  heroines;  the 
reverse  of  tragedy-queens. 

(p.  9):  The  other  characters  in  this  play  are  represented  with  great  truth 
and  accuracy,  and,  as  it  happens  in  most  of  the  Author's  works,  there  is  not 
only  the  utmost  keeping  in  each  separate  character,  but  in  the  casting  of  the 
different  parts  and  their  relation  to  one  another  there  is  an  affinity  and  harmony 
like  what  we  may  observe  in  the  gradations  of  color  in  a  picture.  The  striking 
and  powerful  contrasts  in  which  Shakespeare  abounds  could  not  escape  observation; 
but  the  use  he  makes  of  the  principal  of  analogy  to  reconcile  the  greatest  diversity 
of  character  and  to  maintain  a  continuity  throughout  has  not  been  sufficiently 
attended  to.  In  Cymbeline,  for  instance,  the  principal  interest  arises  out  of  the  un- 
alterable fidelity  of  Imogen  to  her  husband  under  the  most  trying  circumstances. 
Now  the  other  parts  of  the  picture  are  filled  up  with  subordinate  examples  of  the 
same  feeling,  vigorously  modified  by  different  situations  and  applied  to  the  pur- 
poses of  virtue  or  vice.  The  plot  is  aided  by  the  amorous  importunities  of  Cloten, 
by  the  tragical  determination  of  lachimo  to  conceal  the  defeat  of  his  project  by  a 
daring  imposture;  the  faithful  attachment  of  Pisanio  to  his  mistress  is  an  affecting 
accompaniment  to  the  whole;  the  obstinate  adherence  to  his  purpose  in  Belarius, 
who  keeps  the  fate  of  the  young  princes  so  long  a  secret  in  resentment  for  the  un- 
grateful return  to  his  former  services,  the  incorrigible  wickedness  of  the  Queen,  and 
even  the  blind,  uxorious  confidence  of  Cymbeline,  are  all  so  many  lines  of  the  same 
story,  tending  to  the  same  point.  The  effect  of  this  coincidence  is  rather  felt  than 
observed;  and  as  the  impression  exists  unconsciously  in  the  mind  of  the  reader,  so 
it  probably  arose  in  the  same  manner  in  the  mind  of  the  Author,  not  from  design, 
but  from  the  force  of  natural  association,  a  particular  train  of  feeling  suggesting 
different  inflections  of  the  same  predominant  principle,  melting  into  and  strength- 
ening one  another  like  chords  in  music. 

The  characters  of  Belarius,  Guiderius,  and  Arviragus  and  the  romantic  scenes  in 
which  they  appear  are  a  fine  relief  to  the  intrigues  and  artificial  refinements  of  the 
court  from  which  they  are  banished.  Nothing  can  surpass  the  wildness  and  sim- 
plicity of  the  descriptions  of  the  mountain  life  they  lead.  They  follow  the  business 
of  huntsmen,  not  of  shepherds;  and  this  is  in  keeping  with  the  spirit  of  adventure  and 
uncertainty  in  the  rest  of  the  story,  and  with  the  scenes  in  which  they  are  afterwards 
called  on  to  act.  How  admirably  the  youthful  fire  and  impatience  to  emerge  from 
their  obscurity  in  the  young  princes  is  opposed  to  the  cooler  calculations  and  pru- 
dent resignation  of  their  more  experienced  counsellor!  How  well  the  disadvantages 
of  knowledge  and  of  ignorance,  of  solitude  and  society  are  placed  against  each  other. 


CRITICISMS— SCHLEGEL  5  o  l 

SCHLEGEL  (p.  183):  Cymbeline  is  also  one  of  Shakespeare's  most  wonderful  com- 
positions. He  has  here  connected  a  novel  of  Boccaccio  with  traditionary  tales  of 
the  ancient  Britons  reaching  back  to  the  times  of  the  first  Roman  Emperors,  and 
he  has  contrived,  by  the  most  gentle  transitions,  to  blend  together  into  one  har- 
monious whole  the  social  manners  of  the  latest  times  with  heroic  deeds,  and  even 
with  appearances  of  the  gods.  In  the  character  of  Imogen  not  a  feature  of  female 
excellence  is  forgotten:  her  chaste  tenderness,  her  softness,  and  her  virgin  pride,  her 
boundless  resignation,  and  her  magnanimity  towards  her  mistaken  husband  by 
whom  she  is  unjustly  persecuted,  her  adventures  in  disguise,  her  apparent  death, 
and  her  recovery  form  altogether  a  picture  equally  tender  and  affecting.  The  two 
Princes,  Guiderius  and  Arviragus,  both  educated  in  the  wilds,  form  a  noble  con- 
trast to  Miranda  and  Perdita.  Shakespeare  is  fond  of  showing  the  superiority  of 
the  innate  over  the  acquired.  Over  the  art  which  enriches  nature  he  somewhere 
says  there  is  always  a  higher  art  created  by  nature  herself.  As  Miranda's  uncon- 
sciousness and  unstudied  sweetness  is  more  pleasing  than  those  charms  which 
endeavour  to  captivate  us  by  the  brilliant  decoration  of  the  most  refined  cultivation, 
so  in  these  two  young  men  to  whom  the  chase  has  given  vigor  and  hardihood,  but 
who  are  unacquainted  with  their  high  destination,  and  have  been  always  kept  far 
from  human  society,  we  are  equally  enchanted  by  a  naive  heroism  which  leads  them 
to  anticipate  and  to  dream  of  deeds  of  valour,  till  an  occasion  is  offered  which  they 
are  irresistibly  impelled  to  embrace.  When  Imogen  comes  in  disguise  to  their  cave; 
when  Guiderius  and  Arviragus  form  an  impassioned  friendship  with  all  the  inno- 
cence of  childhood  for  the  tender  boy,  in  whom  they  neither  suspect  a  female  nor 
their  own  sister;  when  on  returning  from  the  chase  they  find  her  dead,  'sing  her  to 
the  ground,'  and  cover  the  grave  with  flowers — these  scenes  might  give  a  new  life 
for  poetry  to  the  most  deadened  imagination.  If  a  tragical  event  is  only  apparent, 
whether  the  spectators  are  already  aware  of  this  or  ought  merely  to  suspect  it, 
Shakespeare  always  knows  how  to  mitigate  the  impression  without  weakening  it: 
he  makes  the  mourning  musical,  that  it  may  gain  in  solemnity  what  it  loses  in 
seriousness.  With  respect  to  the  other  parts,  the  wise  and  vigorous  Bellarius,  who 
after  living  long  as  a  hermit  again  becomes  a  hero,  is  a  venerable  figure;  the  dex- 
terous dissimulation  and  quick  presence  of  mind  of  the  Italian,  lachimo,  is  quite 
suitable  to  the  bold  treachery  which  he  plays;  Cymbeline,  the  father  of  Imogen, 
and  even  her  husband,  Posthumus,  during  the  first  half  of  the  piece  are  somewhat 
sacrificed,  but  this  could  not  be  otherwise;  the  false  and  wicked  Queen  is  merely  an 
instrument  of  the  plot;  she  and  her  stupid  son,  Cloten  (the  only  comic  part  in  the 
piece),  whose  rude  arrogance  is  portrayed  with  much  humor,  are  got  rid  of  by 
merited  punishment  before  the  conclusion.  For  the  heroic  part  of  the  fable,  the 
war  between  the  Romans  and  Britons,  which  brings  on  the  conclusion,  the  Poet 
in  the  extent  of  his  plan  had  so  little  room  to  spare  that  he  merely  endeavors  to 
represent  it  as  a  mute  procession.  But  to  the  last  scene,  where  all  the  numerous 
threads  of  the  knot  are  untied,  he  has  again  given  its  full  development,  that  he 
might  collect  the  impressions  of  the  whole  into  one  focus.  This  example  and  many 
others  are  a  sufficient  refutation  of  Johnson's  assertion  that  Shakespeare  usually 
hurries  over  the  conclusion  of  his  pieces.  He  rather  introduces  a  great  deal  which, 
for  the  understanding  of  the  denouement,  might  in  a  strict  sense  be  spared,  from 
a  desire  to  satisfy  the  feeling.  Our  modern  spectators  are  much  more  impatient 
than  those  of  his  day  to  see  the  curtain  drop  when  there  is  nothing  more  to  be 

determined. 

(p.  250):    The  commentators  of  Shakespeare,  in  their  attempts  to  deprive  him 


502 


APPENDIX 


of  parts  of  his  works  or  even  of  whole  pieces,  have  for  the  most  part  displayed  very 
little  of  the  true  critical  spirit.  Pope,  as  is  well  known,  was  strongly  disposed  to  de- 
clare whole  scenes  for  interpolations  of  the  players;  but  his  opinions  were  not  much  lis- 
tened to.  However,  Steevens  still  accedes  to  the  opinion  of  Pope  respecting  the  appa- 
rition of  the  ghosts  and  of  Jupiter  in  Cymbeline  while  Posthumus  is  sleeping  in  the 
dungeon.  But  Posthumus  finds  on  waking  a  tablet  on  his  breast,  with  a  prophecy  on 
which  the  denouement  of  the  piece  depends.  Is  it  to  be  imagined  that  Shakespeare 
would  require  of  his  spectators  the  belief  in  a  wonder  without  a  visible  cause?  Is  Post- 
humus to  dream  this  tablet  with  the  prophecy?  But  these  gentlemen  do  not  descend 
to  this  objection.  The  verses  which  the  apparitions  deliver  do  not  appear  to  them 
good  enough  to  be  Shakespeare's.  I  imagine  I  can  discover  why  the  Poet  has  not 
given  them  more  of  the  splendour  of  diction.  They  are  the  aged  parents  and  brothers 
of  Posthumus,  who,  from  concern  of  his  fate,  return  from  the  world  below;  they 
ought  consequently  to  speak  the  language  of  a  more  simple  olden  time,  and  their 
voices  ought  also  to  appear  as  a  feeble  sound  of  wailing,  when  contrasted  with  the 
thundering  oracular  language  of  Jupiter.  For  this  reason  Shakespeare  chose  a 
syllabic  measure  which  was  very  common  before  his  time,  but  which  was  then 
getting  out  of  fashion,  though  it  still  continued  to  be  frequently  used,  especially  in 
translations  of  classical  poets.  In  some  such  manner  might  the  shades  express 
themselves  in  the  then  existing  translations  of  Homer  and  Virgil.  The  speech  of 
Jupiter  is,  on  the  other  hand,  majestic,  and  in  form  and  style  bears  a  complete 
resemblance  to  the  Sonnets  of  Shakespeare. 

Nothing  but  the  incapacity  of  appreciating  the  views  of  the  Poet,  and  the  per- 
spective observed  by  him,  could  lead  them  to  stumble  at  this  passage. 

W.  W.  LLOYD  (Singer's  ed.,  vol.  x,  p.  499) :  Sooth  to  say,  I  have  never  been  dis- 
posed to  number  Cymbeline  among  the  chiefest  works  of  its  Author,  even  while 
asserting  its  origin  for  his  ripend  art;  to  do  so  would  be  to  wrong  the  perfections  of 
works  of  larger  scope,  of  deeper  interest,  of  nobler  capabilities  of  concentration  and 
development.  In  this  respect  I  would  compare  it  with  Timon  of  A  tliens,  which  remains 
like  a  statue  half  sculptured  from  the  block,  and  left  so  on  account  of  a  natural 
flaw  that  would  make  further  labour  thrown  away.  The  elaboration  of  Cymbeline 
is  much  more  extensive  and  much  nearer  to  completeness,  but  still  I  believe  it  in- 
complete, and  from  the  same  feeling  and  conscience  not  to  mask  an  essential  weak- 
ness by  gauds  of  ornament  or  false  declamation.  Cymbeline,  from  whom  the  play 
takes  its  name,  is  the  personage  in  whom  all  the  lines  of  interest  from  both  the 
plots  cross  and  converge;  but  he  is  far  too  weak  and  vacillating  to  assert  the 
dignity  of  the  other  drama  to  which  he  lends  his  name,  as  of  the  same  stamp  as  the 
other  dramas  with  personal  titles, — as  the  regal  plays  generally,  or  as  Hamlet,  as 
Lear,  Othello,  or  Macbeth.  Management,  sequence,  and  development  dominate 
over  characterisation,  and  the  highest  creative  power  which  we  know  to  be  in 
Shakespeare  is  never  throughout  the  play  in  highest  manifestation.  .  .  . 

In  Cymbeline,  also,  we  may  note  what  has  presented  itself  in  the  plays  of 
admitted  inferiority:  a  recurrence  of  hints  of  motive  and  character  that  are  fully 
worked  out  in  more  perfect  pieces.  This  is  sometimes  an  anticipation,  but  some- 
times a  memory;  and  possibly  the  appearance  that  lachimo  is  a  first  idea  of  lago, 
and  Posthumus  the  crude  conception  of  the  passion  of  Othello,  as  Cymbeline  of  the 
weakness  and  tyranny  of  Lear,  may  be  but  fallacious.  Indeed,  the  thought  has 
sometimes  occurred  to  me  that  Shakespeare  indulged  himself  designedly  in  this 
drama  in  playing  with  the  same  motives  in  less  severe  combination,  and  in  falling 


CRITICISMS— BAYNES— WEISS  503 

back  for  relief,  after  the  tension  of  his  great  tragic  actions,  upon  the  milder  har- 
monies that  might  be  evoked  as  truly  from  the  self-same  themes. 

BAYNES  (p.  132):  In  the  three  dramas  belonging  to  Shakespeare's  last  period  or, 
rather,  which  may  be  said  to  close  his  dramatic  career,  the  same  feeling  of  severe 
but  consolatory  calm  is  still  more  apparent.  If  the  deeper  discords  of  life  are  not 
finally  resolved,  the  virtues  which  soothe  their  perplexities  and  give  us  courage 
and  endurance  to  wait,  as  well  as  confidence  to  trust  the  final  issues, — the  virtues  of 
forgiveness  and  generosity,  of  forbearance  and  self-control, — are  largely  illustrated. 
This  is  a  characteristic  feature  in  each  of  these  closing  dramas,  in  the  Winter's  Tale, 
Cymbeline,  and  the  Tempest. 

WEISS  (p.  237):  Why,  if  Shakespeare  endowed  [Imogen]  with  this  penetration 
does  she  not  at  a  glance  unmask  lachimo  when  he  comes  pretending  that  Post- 
humus  has  been  false  to  her  in  exile,  and  proffering  himself  that  she  may  take  revenge 
in  kind?  Because  she  has  such  a  heart  of  trust  in  her  husband  that  both  her  ears 
cannot  hastily  abuse  it.  The  conflict  between  lachimo's  counterfeit  news  and  her 
loyal  memory  occupies  the  whole  field  of  her  being,  and  keeps  out  the  base  design. 
She  listens  to  lachimo  with  ears  attuned  by  the  high  praises  which  her  husband 
sends  by  letter  to  introduce  a  friend  'of  the  noblest  note.'  lachimo  is  the  creature 
of  her  husband's  admiration,  sent  to  be  admired,  suspicion  disarmed  in  advance, 
not  a  sentry  left  on  duty  before  her  frankness.  \  His  hints  of  a  dishonorable  purpose 
cannot  be  taken  by  a  mind  that  is  unable  to  conceive  dishonor.  So  her  absolute 
spotlessness  drives  him  to  the  plainest  speech;  for  such  an  artless  and  unconscious 
woman  never  tasked  his  lips  before.  \  When  the  revelation  comes,  like  a  hideous 
scrawl  of  flame  across  her  clear  firmament  in  the  very  high  noon  of  her  confiding, 
the  heaven  of  purity  rains  down  at  once,  and  there  he  is,  swimming  for  life  in  the 
flood  of  her  disdain.  Then  he  saw  womanhood  in  one  'awe-inspiring  gaze'  that 
might  have  prompted  Shelly  to  exclaim,  'Her  beams  anatomize  me,  nerve  by 
nerve,  And  lay  me  bare,  and  make  me  blush  to  see  My  hidden  thoughts.' 

What  an  angelic  impossibility  of  hearing  is  Imogen's!  She  has  nothing  that  ever 
dreamed  to  itself  of  the  covert  meaning  of  his  words.  Without  a  second's  interval 
of  parley,  not  even  time  enough  for  natural  astonishment,  one  peremptory  instant 

annihilates  his  hope. 

It  is  not  every  woman,  even  of  the  irreproachable  kind,  who  wields  so  prompt  a 
lightning  of  her  chastity.  And  here  Shakespeare  has  marked  the  difference  between 
unconsciousness  and  prudery.  I  think  that  Isabella  would  have  understood  lachimo 
much  earlier,  for  the  matter  of  her  virtue  was  constantly  in  her  thoughts,  as  a  thing 
to  be  guarded  against  an  undermining  world.  Her  indignation  is  voluble;  and  she 
undertakes  to  reason  in  a  priggish  fashion  with  Angelo.  But  Imogen  simply  calls 
her  servant  that  lachimo  may  be  taken  in  an  instant  out  of  the  room.  Many  a 
woman  whose  life  has  been  without  a  stain  is  still  less  intolerant  than  Isabella,  and 
more  complaisant  than  Imogen.  Race  and  climate  are  largely  implicated  in  these 

natural  differences. 

When  Madame  de  Sevigne  heard  of  her  husband's  infidelities  it  was  through  the 
interested  malice  of  her  cousin,  Bussy-Rabutin,  who  was  in  love  with  her.    He  pro- 
posed that  she  should  so  be  revenged:   'I  will  go  halves  in  your  revenge;  for,  after 
all,  your  interests  are  as  dear  to  me  as  my  own.'     She  quietly  replied: 
so  exasperated  as  you  think.' 

lachimo  said,   'Revenge  it.    I  dedicate  myself  to  your  sweet  pleasure,  And  wil 

continue  fast  to  your  affection.' 


504 


APPENDIX 


Imogen's  white  heat  of  honor  shrivels  up  the  wit  of  the  French  lady.  Her  mind 
can  make  but  one  motion,  to  cry  out,  'What  ho,  Pisanio!'  'Away! — I  do  condemn 
mine  ears,  that  have  So  long  attended  thee.' 

'  Thou  .  .  .  solicit'st  a  lady  that  disdains  Thee  and  the  devil  alike.' 

lachimo  now  pretends  that  he  was  only  making  trial  of  her  by  a  false  report  and 
by  a  counterfeited  overture, — and  for  the  sake  of  the  love  he  bore  her  husband. 
This  is  quite  enough :  her  frankness  returns  as  suddenly  as  it  was  dismissed.  For, 
as  lachimo  well  said,  'The  gods  made  you,  Unlike  all  others,  chaffless.' 

And  that  is  a  statement  of  the  limit  placed  by  Nature  to  her  womanly  shrewd- 
ness of  observation. 

DRAKE  (p.  466)  [quotes  Dr  Johnson's  remarks  on  this  play,  and  thus  com- 
ments]: Of  the  enormous  injustice  of  this  sentence  nearly  every  page  of  Cymbe- 
line  will,  to  a  reader  of  any  taste  and  discrimination,  bring  the  most  decisive 
evidence.  That  it  possesses  many  of  the  too  common  inattentions  of  Shake- 
speare, that  it  exhibits  a  frequent  violation  of  costume,  and  a  singular  confusion  of 
nomenclature  cannot  be  denied;  but  these  are  trifles  light  as  air  when  contrasted 
with  its  merits,  which  are  of  the  very  essence  of  dramatic  worth,  rich  and  full  in 
all  that  breathes  of  vigour,  animation,  and  intellect,  in  all  that  elevates  the  fancy 
and  improves  the  heart,  in  all  that  fills  the  eye  with  tears  or  agitates  the  soul 
with  hope  and  fear. 

In  possession  of  excellences,  vital  as  these  must  be  deemed,  cold  and  fastidious  is 
the  criticism  that,  on  account  of  irregularities  in  mere  technical  detail,  would  shut 
its  eyes  upon  their  splendour.  Nor  are  there  wanting  critics  of  equal  learning  with 
and  superior  taste  to  Johnson  who  have  considered  what  he  has  branded  with 
the  unqualified  charge  of  'confusion  of  manners,'  as  forming,  in  a  certain  point 
of  view,  one  of  the  most  pleasing  recommendations  of  the  piece.  Thus  Schlegel, 
after  characterising  Cymbeline  as  one  of  Shakespeare's  most  wonderful  composi- 
tions, adds,  'He  has  here  connected  a  novel  of  Boccaccio  with  traditionary  tales 
of  the  ancient  Britons  reaching  back  to  the  times  of  the  first  Roman  Emperors, 
and  he  has  contrived,  by  the  most  gentle  transitions,  to  blend  together  into  one 
harmonious  whole  the  social  manners  of  the  latest  times  with  the  heroic  deeds,  and 
even  with  appearances  of  the  gods.'  It  may  also  be  remarked  that,  if  the  unities  of 
time  and  place  be  as  little  observed  in  this  play  as  in  many  others  of  the  same  poet, 
unity  of  character  and  feeling,  the  test  of  genius,  and  without  which  the  utmost 
effort  or  art  will  ever  be  unavailing,  is  uniformly  and  happily  supported. 

Imogen,  the  most  lovely  and  perfect  of  Shakespeare's  female  characters,  the 
pattern  of  connubial  love  and  chastity,  by  the  delicacy  and  propriety  of  her  senti- 
ments, by  her  sensibility,  tenderness,  and  resignation,  by  her  patient  endurance  of 
persecution  from  the  quarter  where  she  had  confidently  looked  for  endearment  and 
protection,  irresistibly  seizes  upon  our  affections;  and  when  compelled  to  fly  from 
the  paternal  roof,  from  'A  father  cruel,  and  a  step-dame  false,  A  foolish  suitor  to  a 
wedded  lady,  That  hath  her  husband  banished,'  she  is  driven  to  assume,  under  the 
name  of  Fidele,  the  disguise  of  a  page,  we  follow  her  footsteps  with  the  liveliest 
interest  and  admiration.  .  .  . 

(p.  468) :  Of  this  latter  character  [Cloten]  the  constitution  has  been  thought  so  ex- 
traordinary, and  involving  elements  of  a  kind  so  incompatible,  as  to  form  an  excep- 
tion to  the  customary  integrity  and  consistency  of  our  Author's  draughts  from  nature. 
But  the  following  passage  from  the  pen  of  an  elegant  female  writer  will  prove  that 
this  curious  assemblage  of  frequently  opposite  qualities  has  existed,  and  no  doubt 


CRITICISMS—  B  O  WDEN 

did  exist  in  the  days  of  Shakespeare:  'It  is  curious  that  Shakespeare  should,  in  so 
singular  a  character  as  Cloten,  have  given  the  exact  prototype  of  a  being  whom  I 
once  knew.  The  unmeaning  frown  of  the  countenance;  the  shuffling  gait;  the  burst 
of  voice;  the  bustling  insignificance;  the  fever  and  ague  fits  of  valour;  the  forward 
tetchiness;  the  unprincipled  malice;  and,  what  is  more  curious,  those  occasional 
gleams  of  good  sense,  amidst  the  floating  clouds  of  folly  which  generally  darkened 
and  confused  the  man's  brain;  and  which,  in  the  character  of  Cloten,  we  are  apt  to 

impute  to  a  violation  of  unity  in  character;  but  in  the  sometime  Captain  C n 

I  saw  that  the  portrait  was  not  out  of  nature.' 

Poetical  justice  has  been  strictly  observed  in  this  drama:  the  vicious  characters 
meet  the  punishment  due  to  their  crimes,  while  virtue,  in  all  its  various  degrees,  is 
proportionably "rewarded.  The  scene  of  retribution,  which  is  the  closing  one  of  the 
play,  is  a  masterpiece  of  skill;  the  development  of  the  plot,  for  its  fullness,  com- 
pleteness, and  ingenuity,  surpassing  any  effort  of  the  king  among  our  Author's 
contemporaries,  and  atoning  for  any  partial  incongruity  which  the  structure  or 
conduct  of  the  story  may  have  previously  displayed. 

H.  S.  BOWDEN  (p.  366) :  In  its  lessons  Cymbeline  has  several  points  of  comparison 
with  Measure  for  Measure.  Thus,  Belarius's  whole  theory  of  political  justice,  ex- 
pressed in  the  words  'beaten  for  loyalty  excited  me  to  treason'  (V,  v.),  is  merely  a 
subtle  variation  of  the  'Like  doth  quit  like'  of  the  former  play,  and  the  theory  of 
truth,  falsehood,  and  fidelity  is  absolutely  the  same,  as  the  quotations  given  suffi- 
ciently testify.  But  the  object  of  the  play  goes  beyond  that  of  Measure  for  Measure. 
The  latter  play  only  ventured  to  urge  the  suppression  of  the  penal  laws  by  royal 
prerogative;  Cymbeline  recommends  a  reconciliation  with  Rome  on  certain  con- 
cessions affecting  the  tribute  and  the  franchise  or  liberties  of  the  people,  which 
Simpson  takes  to  refer  to  the  vexed  question  of  Peter's  pence,  the  provisos,  and  the 
temporal  suzerainty. 

To  the  obvious  objection  that  the  grievances  enumerated  would  apply  only  to 
the  early  Roman  sway  over  Britain,  and  not  at  all  to  the  Roman  question  such 
as  it  existed  in  the  days  of  James  I,  it  is  answered,  first,  that  according  to  Shake- 
speare's doctrine  plays  ought  to  take  the  stamp  of  the  age,  and  exhibit  the  pressure 
of  the  time.  Next,  that  the  current  Roman  question  in  those  days  was  of  such 
paramount  importance  that  common  audiences  could  admit  no  other  idea,  and  that 
all  references  to  Rome  were  considered  to  allude  more  or  less  plainly  to  the  circum- 
stances of  the  day.  This  is  clear  by  the  prologue  spoken  by  Envy  in  Ben  Jonson's 
Poetaster:  'The  scene  is?  ha!  Rome?  Rome?  Rome?  ...  O  my  vext  soul  How 
might  I  force  this  to  the  present  state?  Are  there  here  no  spies  who— could  wrest 
Pervert,  and  poison  all  they  hear  and  see  with  senseless  glosses  and  allusions? ' 

Catholics  as  well  as  Protestants  saw  in  Imperial  Rome  an  image  of  the  Papacy, 
and  the  two  failures  of  Caesar  were  a  commonplace  of  the  day.  After  the  failure 
of  the  Armada,  Father  Parsons  reminded  the  Catholics  that  Julius  and  Henry  VII. 
had  both  been  unlucky  in  their  first  attempts,  though  they  afterwards  became 
lords  of  the  country.  'The  children  of  Israel  (too)  were  twice  beaten  with  great 
loss  in  the  war  they  had  undertaken  by  God's  express  command  against  the  Ben- 
jamites:  it  was  not  till  the  third  attempt  that  they  were  successful.'  And  the 
attitude  of  James  at  that  time  was  such  as  to  encourage  the  belief  that  recon- 
ciliation with  Rome  was  by  no  means  impossible.  Thus  he  told  a  prince  of  the 
House  of  Lorraine  who  visited  him,  not  without  the  knowledge  of  Paul  V,  that 
after  all  there  was  but  little  difference  between  the  two  confessions.  He  thought 


506  APPENDIX 

his  own  the  better,  and  adopted  it  from  conviction,  not  from  policy;  still  he  liked 
to  hear  other  opinions,  and,  as  the  calling  of  a  council  was  impossible,  he  would 
gladly  see  a  convention  of  doctors  to  consult  on  the  means  of  reconciliation.  If 
the  Pope  would  advance  one  step,  he  would  advance  four  to  meet  him.  He  also 
acknowledged  the  authority  of  the  holy  Fathers;  Augustine  was  to  him  of  more 
weight  than  Luther;  Bernard,  than  Calvin;  nay,  he  saw  in  the  Roman  Church,  even 
in  that  of  the  day,  the  true  Church,  the  mother  of  all  others;  only  she  needed  puri- 
fication. He  admitted  in  confidence  that  the  Pope  was  the  head  of  the  Church, 
the  supreme  Bishop. 

Whether  or  no  there  be  a  political  allegory  in  Cymbeline,  the  religious  allusions 
are  again  on  the  Catholic  side.  Imogen  is  the  ideal  of  fidelity,  and  of  religous 
fidelity — to  be  deceived  neither  'by  the  foreign  impostor  who  comes  to  her  in  her 
husband's  name,  nor  by  the  ennobled  clown  who  offers  himself  under  the  Queen's 
protection.  'Stick  to  your  journal  course/  she  says  to  her  brothers;  'the  breach 
of  custom  is  the  breach  of  all'  (iv,  2).  And  she  adheres  to  the  old  customs;  the  new 
gods  of  the  Cloten  dynasty  had  forbidden  prayers  for  the  dead,  and  the  beads  were 
baubles,  and  the  rosary,  with  its  'century  of  prayers/  but  a  vain  repetition  in  their 
eyes.  Yet  she  begs  Lucius  to  spare  her  till  she  had  bedecked  her  husband's  sup- 
posed grave,  'And  on  it  said  a  century  of  prayers  Such  as  I  can,  twice  o'er'  (iv,  2). 

SNIDER  (ii,  p.  83):  The  entire  action,  accordingly,  will  be  divided  into  three 
parts  or  movements.  The  first  movement  portrays  the  world  of  conflict  and 
disruption,  which  had  its  center  at  the  court  of  Cymbeline.  Family  and  State 
are  in  a  condition  of  strife  and  wrong;  the  union  of  Posthumus  and  Imogen,  repre- 
senting the  Family,  has  to  endure  a  double  collision — from  within  and  from  with- 
out; Britain,  representing  the  State,  is  involved  in  a  war  with  a  foreign  power. 
This  movement,  therefore,  exhibits  struggle  and  contradiciton  on  all  sides;  be- 
cause of  such  condition  of  things  there  will  necessarily  result  a  flight  from  the 
world  of  institutions  to  a  primitive  life.  Hence  we  pass  to  the  second  movement, 
which  is  the  Idyllic  Realm — the  land  of  peace  and  harmony,  inhabited  by  hunters, 
and  far  removed  from  the  conflicts  of  the  time.  But  this  narrow  existence  will 
disintegrate  from  within,  and  will  be  swallowed  up  in  the  conflict  from  without. 
The  third  movement,  therefore,  is  the  Restoration,  involving  the  repentance  of 
those  who  are  guilty,  the  return  of  those  who  have  been  wrongfully  banished — 
in  general,  the  harmony  of  all  collisions  of  Family  and  State. 

The  presupposition  of  the  action  is  the  love  and  marriage  of  Posthumus  and 
Imogen.  It  is  in  the  highest  degree  a  rational  union;  the  characters  of  husband 
and  wife  seem  just  fitted  for  one  another.  Moral  worth,  strong  emotion,  intellec- 
tual gifts,  are  all  present.  Posthumus  had  been  instructed  in  every  kind  of  knowl- 
edge; he  is  also  endowed  with  the  fairest  exterior  and  noblest  manners.  But  that 
which  he  lacks  is  a  long  line  of  noble  ancestry,  though  his  father  and  brothers 
had  rendered  the  most  important  services  to  their  country — in  fact,  his  entire  family 
had  perished,  directly  or  indirectly,  in  its  defense,  and  he  had  been  left  an  orphan. 
This  untitled  origin,  then,  is  the  sole  ground  of  objection  to  him;  the  play  em- 
phasizes the  conflict  between  birth  and  intelligence.  Imogen,  the  daughter  of 
the  king,  has  chosen  him  in  preference  to  the  degraded  and  half-witted  nobleman, 
Cloten,  against  the  will  of  her  father  and  against  the  plans  of  her  step-mother. 
Her  choice,  however,  meets  with  the  secret,  but  unanimous,  approval  of  the  cour- 
tiers. Now,  to  break  this  union  so  true  and  so  deep,  the  most  powerful  instru- 
mentalities are  brought  forward  in  the  course  of  the  play.  But  particularly  the 


CRITICISMS— SNIDER 

wife,  Imogen,  is  subjected  to  the  sorest  trials,  and  passes  through  them  in  triumph- 
nothing  can  undermine  her  devotion.  Here  we  see  the  inherent  necessity  for  the 
restoration  and  final  union  of  the  pair,  since  the  Family  reposing  on  so  deep  and 
rational  a  basis  cannot  be  destroyed  without  violence  both  to  thought  and  to  our 
most  sacred  emotions. 

Against  the  marriage  of  Posthumus  and  Imogen  there  is  a  double  assault, 
giving  what  may  be  named  the  external  and  internal  collision,  in  which  there  is  an 
attempt  to  destroy  the  union  of  the  married  pair  by  force— by  violent  separa- 
tion. .  .  . 

(p.  85):  The  Queen,  however,  is  the  lever  of  the  whole  action,  and  her  great 
object  is  to  place  her  son  upon  the  throne.  She  is  the  perfection  of  cunning  and 
ambition.  .  .  .  The  Queen  is,  therefore,  the  villain  of  the  play,  and  assails  the 
subsisting  ethical  relations. 

Cloten,  her  son,  is  the  type  of  the  brutalized  nobleman,  indulging  in  every 
species  of  degrading  amusement.  He  is  the  designed  contrast  to  Posthumus  in  all 
respects;  a  rational  union  with  him  is  impossible — at  least  to  a  woman  of  the  char- 
acter of  Imogen.  .  .  .  These  are  the  three  persons  who  assail  the  marriage;  in  the 
very  beginning  of  the  play  Posthumus  has  to  flee,  being  banished  by  the  King; 
Imogen,  the  wife,  is  left  alone  to  withstand  the  anger  of  her  father,  the  machina- 
tions of  her  step-mother,  and  the  rude  courtship  of  Cloten.  .  .  . 

(p.  86):  With  the  departure  of  Posthumus  the  separation  is  accomplished; 
external  force  has  thus  disrupted  the  members  of  the  Family.  Still,  they  are  one 
in  emotion  though  far  apart  in  space.  Now  comes  the  internal  collision — the  bond 
of  emotion  which  unites  husband  and  wife  is  to  be  assailed.  This  assault,  if  suc- 
cessful, must  destroy  the  foundation  of  marriage,  which  is  based  upon  the  fidelity 
of  each  party.  Let  either  man  or  wife  be  brought  to  believe  that  the  other  is  untrue, 
the  emotional  unity  upon  which  the  Family  reposes  is  destroyed.  .  .  . 

(p.  87):  The  assault  upon  Imogen  has,  therefore,  failed;  her  confidence  in  her 
husband  is  unimpaired;  the  wily  Italian  has  not  succeeded  in  destroying  the  union 
in  her  bosom. 

Next  comes  the  assault  upon  Posthumus.  lachimo  returns  to  Rome;  the  trick 
of  concealment  in  the  chest  has  furnished  him  with  certain  kinds  of  evidence,  which 
he  employs  to  the  best  advantage.  No  doubt  the  chain  of  suspicious  circumstances 
was  very  strong;  it  convinces  the  impartial  Philario,  but  it  ought  not  to  have  con- 
vinced a  husband  who  was  very  partial  towards  his  wife,  and  who  firmly  rested  on 
the  belief  in  her  fidelity.  .  .  .  Thus  lachimo  succeeds  with  the  husband,  though 
he  failed  with  the  wife;  as  regards  Posthumus,  the  confidence  upon  which  the 
Family  reposes  is  destroyed.  .  .  . 

(p.  88):  But  Pisanio  has  not  lost  confidence  in  the  integrity  of  his  master;  and 
he,  the  skillful  mediator,  proposes  still  to  save  the  Family,  though  its  members 
despair.  He  tells  her  that  she  must  disguise  herself  and  take  service  with  the 
Roman  Lucius  till  she  finds  out  the  truth  concerning  her  husband.  Imogen  ac- 
cedes; for  it  is  her  deepest  principle  to  maintain  the  union — to  be  true  to  the 
Family  through  all  adversity. 

Thus  we  behold  the  bond  of  union  between  Posthumus  and  Imogen  in  almost 
complete  disruption — suspended,  as  it  were,  by  a  single  thread.  First,  external 
violence  separated  husband  and  wife — Posthumus  has  to  leave  the  Court,  and 
Imogen  remains  behind.  Then  comes  the  internal  attack,  which  aims  at  under- 
mining their  emotional  unity.  With  Imogen  it  fails,  but  succeeds  with  Post- 
humus; and,  finally,  the  wife  becomes  aware  of  the  alienation  of  the  husband. 


5o8 


APPENDIX 


Such  are  what  were  before  called  the  external  and  internal  collisions  of  the  Family. 
Only  Imogen  remains  faithful  to  the  union,  though  assailed  from  without  and 
from  within.  The  beauty  of  her  character  lies  in  this  devotion  to  the  highest  prin- 
ciple of  her  sex.  Against  parent,  against  the  most  powerful  enemies,  and,  finally, 
against  the  very  husband  who  rejects  her,  does  she  assert  her  unconquerable 
fidelity  to  the  Family,  and  in  the  end  saves  it  from  destruction. 

The  second  thread  of  this  movement  is  the  conflict  between  the  two  States, 
though  it  is  much  less  prominent  than  the  first  thread.  Britain  had  ceased  to  pay 
tribute  to  Rome;  and  an  ambassador  is  sent  to  demand  it;  the  refusal  of  Britain 
causes  war  to  be  declared.  It  is  national  independence  against  foreign  subjugation. 
The  King  announces  the  right  of  revolt,  and  asserts  the  duty  of  maintaining  the 
ancient  laws  of  the  land.  But  the  chief  instigator  and  active  supporter  of  the 
rebellion  is  the  Queen;  without  her  strong  will  the  weak  King  could  not  have  been 
brought  to  undertake  such  an  enterprise.  It  must  be  said  that  her  conduct  in  this 
case  is  not  only  defensible,  but  noble;  she  appears  as  the  champion  of  nationality 
against  the  greatest  power  in  the  world.  Even  Cloten  is  arrayed  on  the  same 
side — not  from  any  merit  in  him,  perhaps,  but  through  the  influence  of  his  mother. 
Her  motive  was  doubtless  selfish;  she  wanted  to  possess  absolute  authority  for 
herself  and  for  her  son  as  successor  to  the  crown.  Still,  it  is  in  itself  a  noble  ambi- 
tion to  desire  to  rule  over  a  free  country. 

Here  occurs  the  great  jar  to  our  ethical  feeling  which  has  always  been  felt  in 
this  play,  notwithstanding  its  power  and  beauty.  The  wicked  Queen,  who,  on  the 
one  hand,  assails  the  Family  in  its  loftiest  and  purest  manifestations,  on  the  other 
hand  vindicates  the  State,  the  highest  ethical  institution  of  man.  What,  there- 
fore, is  to  be  her  fate?  She  ought  not  to  live — she  ought  not  to  die;  she  is  a  con- 
tradiction which  runs  through  the  entire  play  and  blasts  its  effect.  Nor  can  she  be 
called  a  tragic  character,  which  goes  down  in  the  conflict  of  institutions,  for  her 
support  of  the  State  in  no  way  necessitates  her  hostility  to  the  Family.  To  the  class 
of  villains  she  rather  belongs — those  whose  nature  it  is  to  defy  all  ethical  principles. 
We  feel  the  discord,  the  double  pathos  of  her  character,  from  this  time  forward. 
The  Poet  undoubtedly  seeks  to  condemn  her  as  the  enemy  of  the  true  marital  rela- 
tion; but,  then,  on  the  other  side,  she  stands  the  main  supporter  of  national  inde- 
pendence. When  it  is  added  that  the  drama  ends  with  undoing  the  whole  work  of 
the  Queen — that  not  only  the  sundered  pair  are  restored  to  one  another,  but 
also  Britain  returns  to  the  Roman  allegiance,  and  thus  nationality  is  destroyed — • 
we  see  how  deep  is  the  violence  done  to  the  feelings  of  an  audience — especially 
of  a  British  audience.  This  play  has  never  been  popular,  compared  with  most  of 
Shakespeare's  pieces,  and  never  can  be,  for  the  reasons  just  given.  There  is  no 
other  work  belonging  to  the  Poet  which  shows  so  great  a  discord  in  his  Ethical 
World. 

Such  is  the  portraiture  of  the  first  movement — the  realm  of  conflict — from 
which  we  pass  to  the  second  movement,  or  the  Idyllic  Land.  The  Poet  has 
here  introduced  a  new  variety  of  inhabitants,  namely,  the  hunters,  correspond- 
ing to  the  shepherds  of  Winter's  Tale  and  As  You  Like  It.  But  the  transition  is 
not  so  decided;  this  world  is  not  marked  off  so  plainly  here  as  in  other  plays.  .  .  . 

(p.  91):  (a)  The  Hunter  World  is  the  contrast  to  the  Court,  and  it  logically 
springs  from  the  latter,  which  has  become  intolerable  as  the  abode  of  man.  .  .  . 

(p.  92):  (6)  Imogen,  fleeing  from  the  Court,  comes  to  its  opposite — this  idyllic 
land — and  is  most  kindly  received  by  its  inhabitants.  .  .  . 

(p.  93) :  The  second  thread  is  also  introduced  into  this  Hunter  Land,  namely, 


CRITICISMS— SNIDER 

the  collision  between  the  Roman  and  British  states.  It  necessarily  swallows  up 
the  idyllic  realm,  which  has  always  a  tendency  to  return  to  society. 

(p.  94):  Next  comes  the  third  movement— the  Restoration— which  will  bring 
all  the  separated  and  colliding  elements  of  Britain  into  harmony.  The  external 
means  for  accomplishing  this  purpose  has  already  been  stated  to  be  the  war  with 
Rome.  Connected  with  it,  in  one  way  or  another,  are  all  the  characters  for  whom 
reconciliation  is  prepared.  .  .  . 

(p.  95) :  The  battle,  being  only  an  external  instrumentality,  is  of  minor  im- 
portance; hence  the  Poet  does  not  dwell  upon  it,  but  has  it  pass  before  our  eyes 
rapidly  in  the  form  of  pantomime.  The  point,  however,  which  is  of  the  highest 
significance  is  the  internal  ground  for  the  return  and  salvation  of  the  different  char- 
acters. They  who  have  done  wrong  can  be  saved  only  through  Repentance;  they 
must  as  far  as  possible  make  their  deed  undone.  There  are  at  least  three  persons 
who  manifest  contrition  for  their  conduct— Posthumus,  lachimo,  and  the  King. 
But  the  worst  character  of  the  play,  the  Queen,  will  not,  or  cannot,  repent;  at 
least  her  repentance  is  of  that  kind  which  does  not  purchase  reconciliation,  for 
she  'Repented  The  evils  she  hatched  were  not  effected.'  Her  violation  of  the 
ethical  world  has  taken  such  deep  possession  of  her  nature  that  it  could  not  be 
cast  off — renunciation  of  ambition  and  crime  means  death. 

The  chief  of  the  repentants  is  Posthumus.  He  supposes  that  his  order  to  kill 
Imogen  has  been  fulfilled  by  Pisanio;  he  is  full  of  the  deepest  tribulation  for  his 
hasty  action.  Though  he  is  not  yet  aware  of  the  innocence  of  Imogen,  he  neverthe- 
less repents  of  his  command;  for  thus  she  has  not  had  the  opportunity  to  repent. 
He  courts  death;  he  would  gladly  offer  up  his  own  life  as  an  atonement  for  his  deed. 
Repentance  can  go  no  further.  When  the  individual  is  ready  to  sacrifice  his  ex- 
istence, what  more  can  he  give?  Posthumus  seeks  death  from  both  Romans  and 
Britons;  but  his  wish  is  not  fulfilled — he  still  lives.  It  is  evident  that  he  has  made 
his  deed  undone  as  far  as  lies  in  his  power;  the  sorrow  within  and  the  action  with- 
out indicate  the  deepest  repentance.  .  .  . 

(p.  96):  Here  the  Poet  might  stop,  for  he  has  amply  motived  the  reunion  of 
Posthumus  and  Imogen,  which  will  hereafter  take  place.  But  he  has  chosen  to  go 
further,  and  to  give  a  detailed  representation  of  the  above-mentioned  reconciliation 
in  another  form — to  present  a  literal  image  of  the  repentant  soul  harmonizing  itself 
with  the  rational  principle  of  the  Universe.  Posthumus  falls  asleep  and  dreams;  his 
dream  is  of  forgiveness.  .  .  . 

(p.  97) :  This  passage,  including  the  dream  of  Posthumus  and  his  conversation 
with  the  jailers,  has  often  been  condemned  for  its  manifold  defects,  and  some- 
times declared  not  to  be  the  work  of  the  Poet.  That  its  literary  merit  falls  below 
the  average  literary  merit  of  Shakespearian  composition  is  hardly  to  be  denied; 
that  it  is  not  strictly  necessary  to  the  development  of  the  action  is  also  true,  since 
the  repentance  already  manifested  by  Posthumus  logically  involves  restoration. 
The  example  of  the  Poet  may  also  be  cited,  for,  though  he  has  often  employed 
Repentance  in  other  dramas,  he  has  nowhere  introduced  such  an  intercession  of 
divinity  to  secure  its  results.  Still,  even  if  it  is  not  absolutely  requisite  for  the 
action,  the  plea  may  be  made  in  its  favor  that  it  gives  an  imaginative  completeness 
to  the  mediation.  Deity  is  introduced  in  person,  manifesting  grace  for  repentance. 
It  is  thus  the  most  profound  Christian  doctrine  in  a  heathen  dress,  and  this  dress  is 
taken,  instead  of  the  real  Christian  dress,  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding  the  charge  of 
blasphemy.  To  bring  God  upon  the  stage,  pardoning  the  repentant  sinner,  would 
be  a  pretty  hazardous  undertaking.  Such  a  liberty  may  be  taken  with  an  old, 


5io 


APPENDIX 


worn-out  Greek  divinity,  though  even  this  procedure  is  not  strictly  that  of  the 
drama,  which  should  exhibit  man  as  determined  from  within,  and  not  from  with- 
out. But  the  introduction  of  the  tablet,  with  its  prophetic  inscription  and  its  in- 
terpretation, is  not  only  useless,  but  also  ridiculous.  The  authorship  of  the  entire 
passage,  however,  cannot  well  be  taken  away  from  Shakespeare,  in  the  absence 
of  positive  testimony,  though  one  may  wish  it  were  not  his.  It  is  also  jointed  too 
closely  into  the  rest  of  the  Act  to  pass  for  an  external  interpolation. 

The  second  of  these  repentants  is  lachimo,  who  has  been  guilty  of  defaming  a 
pure  woman,  and  destroying  the  internal  bond  of  union  of  the  Family.  He  also 
has  come  with  the  Roman  army;  his  first  declaration  is  sorrow  for  his  wrong.  The 
main  ground  of  his  change  seems  to  lie  in  the  fact  that  he  has  lost  his  former  valor; 
the  guilty  soul  paralyzes  the  strong  arm;  he  is  vanquished  by  one  who  seems  to  him 
to  be  a  mere  peasant.  Before  the  King  and  the  entire  company  he  confesses  his 
deed,  and,  finally,  asks  for  death  at  the  hands  of  Posthumus,  whom  he  so  deeply 
wronged.  Thus  his  repentance  has  carried  him  to  the  point  of  a  necessary  recon- 
ciliation; he  has  offered  for  it  the  highest  possible  price,  namely,  his  own  life.  At 
this  price  it  cannot  be  withheld — for  how  could  his  punishment  obtain  more? 
The  character  of  lachimo,  as  well  as  that  of  Posthumus,  is  not  tragic;  their  com- 
plete repentance,  going  so  far  as  to  make  a  voluntary  sacrifice  of  their  own  ex- 
istence for  their  wrongs,  forestalls  the  tragic  end,  since  the  latter,  at  most,  could 
exhibit  their  lives  taken  for  their  guilt.  Repentance  is  the  mind's  sacrifice;  it  is 
the  individual  sitting  in  judgment  upon  his  own  act,  and  condemning  himself, 
even  to  death.  .  .  . 

(p.  98) :  The  King  also  repents  of  his  conduct  toward  Imogen,  and  is  reconciled 
with  Belarius.  Thus  his  two  great  acts  of  wrong  are  undone;  the  two  deeds  which 
disrupted  his  family — one  of  them  causing  the  loss  of  his  sons,  the  other  the  loss  of 
his  daughter — are  recalled.  The  result  is,  sons  and  daughter  are  restored  to  him, 
and  his  family  is  once  more  united.  But  not  only  the  Family  but  also  the  State 
is  restored  from  its  internal  disruption. 

(p.  99) :  The  critics  have  not  been  very  satisfactory  in  their  views  of  this  play. 
To  determine  its  true  nature  has  evidently  given  them  great  difficulty,  and,  as  a 
consequence,  they  have  employed  to  designate  it  certain  high-sounding  phrases, 
which,  however,  add  very  little  to  our  knowledge.  It  has  been  called  a  dramatic 
novel,  mainly  on  account  of  the  supposed  loose  connection  of  the  unwieldy  number 
of  its  incidents  and  characters;  it  has  also  been  called  a  dramatic  Epos,  chiefly 
because  of  the  introduction  of  Jupiter  in  the  last  Act.  The  idyllic  element,  too,  has 
been  declared  to  be  foreign  to  the  action  and  unusual  in  the  drama.  In  general, 
this  play  is  considered  peculiar  in  its  kind  among  the  works  of  Shakespeare.  But 
the  Poet  has  elsewhere  frequently  employed  epical  elements,  and  to  say  that 
Cymbeline  is  the  most  loosely  connected  and  the  most  varied  of  all  his  plays  is  a 
hazardous  statement.  If  the  preceding  analysis  has  been  successful,  it  has  shown 
that  the  drama  before  us  has  the  same  unity,  the  same  fundamental  thought, 
and  the  same  essential  structure  as  the  other  mediated  dramas  of  the  ideal  class. 
Let  the  reader  make  the  comparison,  and  he  will  find  fundamentally  the  same 
general  movement  in  all  of  them,  and  will  have  revealed  to  himself  one  of  the 
deepest  principles  of  Shakespearian  art. 

A.  C.  SWINBURNE  (p.  227):  The  passion  of  Posthumus  is  noble,  and  potent 
the  poison  of  lachimo;  Cymbeline  has  enough  for  Shakespeare's  present  purpose 
of  'the  king-becoming  graces';  but  we  think  first  and  last  of  her  who  was  'truest 


CRITICISMS— R  OSE  c  l  x 

speaker'  and  those  who  'called  her  brother,  when  she  was  but  their  sister;  she  them 
brothers,  when  they  were  so  indeed.'  The  very  crown  and  flower  of  all  her  father's 
daughters, — I  do  not  speak  here  of  her  human  father,  but  her  divine, — woman 
above  all  Shakespeare's  women  is  Imogen.  As  in  Cleopatra  we  found  the  in- 
carnate sex,  the  woman  everlasting,  so  in  Imogen  we  find  half-glorified  already  the 
immortal  godhead  of  womanhood.  I  would  fain  have  some  honey  in  my  words  at 
parting — with  Shakespeare  never,  but  for  ever  with  these  notes  on  Shakespeare; 
and  I  am,  therefore,  something  more  than  fain  to  close  my  book  upon  the  name  of 
the  woman  best  beloved  in  all  the  world  of  song  and  all  the  tide  of  time;  upon  the 
name  of  Shakespeare's  Imogen. 

EDWARD  ROSE  (Sh.  Soc.  Transactions,  1880-86,  p.  i):  I  shall,  indeed,  endeavour 
to  sketch  the  effect  upon  many  different  personages  of  sudden  emotion;  but  I  shall 
look  upon  their  characters  not  as  many  and  diverse,  but  as  essentially  only  two— 
as  modifications  (or,  more  rarely,  pure  examples)  of  two  great  opposing  types: 
the  men  who  are  habitually  self-conscious,  given  to  analyse  their  own  minds  and 
deeds,  and  the  men  who  are  not. 

In  real  life  we  know  too  little  of  people  to  be  able  unhesitatingly  to  classify  any 
but  the  most  striking  examples  of  a  type;  we  have,  it  is  true,  the  manners  and  faces 
of  men  from  which  to  estimate  their  natures,  and  we  have  a  few — generally  the 
most  casual  and  unimportant — of  their  actions;  but  this  is  all.  In  Shakespeare  we 
have,  if  not  their  whole  lives,  yet  (in  the  case  of  his  greatest  characters)  almost  all 
that  is  essential,  stripped  of  much  that,  while  merely  accidental,  is  very  puzzling; 
and  we  have  the  clearest  statement  of  the  one  great  act  of  each  man's  life,  with  all 
its  causes  and  consequences  fully  set  out.  From  a  collection  of  such  examples  as 
these,  made  by  an  observation  so  vast  and  a  judgment  so  true,  we  ought  to  be  able 
to  deduce  general  rules  such  as  could  hardly  be  obtained  from  the  particulars  of 
real  life,  multitudinous  and  confused. 

Yet,  to  make  clear  what  I  mean,  I  should  like  to  mention  one  or  two  characters 
in  real  life  which  impress  every  one,  I  believe,  as  almost  pure  types  of  the  two  classes 
I  have  named.  In  the  class  of  simple  direct  minds,  acting  from  obvious  motives 
and  with  a  minimum  of  self-consciousness,  must  surely  come  those  of  John  Bright, 
of  Darwin,  of  the  late  Duke  of  Wellington,  and  of  a  vast  mass  of  undistinguished 
people,  some  dull,  some  hard,  some  exquisitely  innocent,  some  marvellously  selfish. 
These  people  vary  as  much  as  angel  from  devil,  yet  there  is  about  them  all  a  certain 
childlikeness,  good  or  bad,  a  certain  self-confidence,  useful  or  dangerous.  Even 
Darwin,  while  he  admits  most  freely  that  he  may  be  mistaken,  had  the  self-con- 
fidence of  utter  purity;  he  knows  that  he  is  merely  telling  you  what  he  had  seen, 
honestly,  fully,  and  without  arriere-pensee  or  reserve.  So  the  Duke  of  Wellington 
did  simply  what  seemed  to  him  his  duty,  never  thinking  what  it  might  seem  to 
other  men;  and  so  many  a  man  quite  unconsciously  obeys  his  own  pleasure,  his  own 
ambition,  or  the  will  of  some  superior  nature  who  without  an  effort  masters  him. 

Of  the  opposite  kind  are  many  modern  poets— Tennyson,  Browning,  very  notice- 
ably the  late  Arthur  Clough— men  who  constantly  look  into  their  own  minds,  ex- 
amine their  own  motives,  deliberate,  doubt,  and  change.  A  student  of  human 
nature,  in  the  literary  sense— a  subjective  poet— is,  in  the  nature  of  things,  bound  to 
be  of  this  class.  Goethe  and  Byron,  though  both  men  of  much  practical  sense, 
belonged  essentially  to  it— they  made  it  the  business  of  their  lives  to  think,  and  to 
express  their  thoughts:  they  were  not  among  the  great  doers  of  this  world.  Their 
fine  general  powers  might  have  obtained  for  them  a  good  place  among  practical 


512 


APPENDIX 


men,  but  nothing  like  the  rank  to  which  some  parts  of  their  faculties  would  seem  to 
have  entitled  them.  That  there  have  also  been  men  of  infinite  littleness  in  this  class 
hardly  needs  to  be  said:  a  tiny  intellect  eagerly  scrutinising  itself  cannot  well  be 
of  any  calculable  value. 

Shakespeare,  as  a  purely  dramatic  poet,  had  of  necessity  a  nature  prone  to  self- 
analysis,  though  his  genius  was  large  enough  to  analyse  also  nearly  every  other 
mind,  while  it  yet  noted  all  natural  objects,  and  constantly  kept  all  things  in  due 
proportion.  But  he  made  his  one  great  representative  character,  Hamlet,  per- 
petually self-conscious,  hardly  doing  a  single  thing  mechanically;  and  I  think  that 
the  valuable  criticism  that  'Hamlet  was  the  only  one  of  Shakespeare's  plays' 
points  to  a  true  fact — that  Hamlet  was  intended  by  Shakespeare  as  a  portrayal  of 
himself,  though  of  himself  under  strange  and  unfavorable  circumstances.  .  .  . 

(p.  16):  In  his  very  latest  plays,  the  Winter's  Tale  and  Cymbeline,  he  has  com- 
panion studies  of  two  contrasting  characters,  under  circumstances  to  a  considerable 
extent  the  same.  Both  Hermione  and  Imogen  are  accused  by  their  husbands  of 
infidelity,  though  it  is  true  that  the  former  is  impeached  in  the  presence  of  many 
people,  while  the  latter  is  quite  alone,  except  for  the  faithful  servant  who  bears 
the  news.  But  Hermione's  is  evidently  a  simple  and  grand  nature  of  unusual 
strength,  which,  though  fully  realizing  its  position,  has  force  enough  to  bear  with 
the  amplest  dignity  a  terrible  trial.  For  this  great  soul  no  personal  attack  is  too 
heavy  to  be  endured;  it  is  only  at  the  death  of  her  son — following  upon  a  joy  so 
great  that  she  could  utter  but  one  word — that,  like  Hero,  and  not  unlike  Othello, 
she  falls  into  a  deadly  swoon. 

It  is  not  thus  that  Imogen's  curious,  imaginative  character  is  affected  by  such 
an  accusation.  She  thinks;  thinks  fast  and  hard,  and  talks  as  fast — she  makes  what 
is  an  almost  continuous  speech  of  sixty  lines.  She  does  not  even  casually  mention 
Cloten  without  an  elaborate  definition  of  his  character — 'that  harsh,  noble,  simple 
nothing.'  These  are  her  first  words  after  that  silence  so  often  to  be  noticed  in 
parallel  cases  in  Shakespeare. 

Two  facts  I  have  not  yet  noticed  which  are  of  considerable  importance.  The 
immediate  necessity  for  obvious  action — even  the  opportunity  of  action — often 
greatly  modifies  the  result  of  sudden  emotion,  acts  as  a  vent  for  it;  and  the  sharing 
of  emotion  with  others  has  also  a  great  effect,  not  quite  easy  to  define.  A  good  ex- 
ample of  both  these  facts  is  the  behaviour,  so  strangely  alike,  of  Brutus  and  Cassius 
(two  most  unlike  men)  immediately  after  the  murder  of  Csesar. 

An  early  play  and  a  late  one — King  John  and  King  Lear — give  curious  studies  of 
the  effect  of  sudden  emotion  on  exceptional  characters.  One  is  apt  to  take  Con- 
stance as  a  passionate,  single-minded  woman;  and  much  of  the  expression  of  her 
grief  might  be  held  to  be  merely  conventional — such  lines  as:  'O  amiable  lovely 
death !  Thou  odoriferous  stench !  sound  rottenness ! '  of  course  remind  one  at  once 
of  Juliet's  rhetoric.  But  if  we  continue  the  scene,  and  examine  particularly  the 
famous  lines  'Grief  fills  the  room  up  of  my  absent  child,  Lies  in  his  bed,  walks  up 
and  down  with  me,'  we  shall  find  that  Constance's  intellect  is  keenly  analysing 
herself:  that,  intense  as  her  sorrow  is,  she  thinks  about  it  quite  as  much  as  she  feels 
it;  and  that  there  is  little  danger  of  its  breaking  the  o'er-fraught  heart,  as  does  the 
speechless  grief  of  more  massive  characters. 

Lear  would  need  an  essay  to  himself,  so  I  will  leave  him  alone,  with  this  criticism 
only — that  the  mad  old  king,  with  his  intellect,  his  will,  and  his  animal  nature, 
all  strong  and  all  violently  wayward,  are  curiously  paralleled  in  a  famous  modern 
man  of  letters;  and  that  those  who  would  understand  the  deeds  and  the  emotions 


CRITICISMS—  WENDELL—  THORNDIKE  5 1 3 

of  King  Lear  cannot  find  a  better  clue  to  them  than  the  Life  of  Walter  Savage 
Landor. 

WENDELL  (p.  361):  Not  the  least  normal  thing  about  the  play,  too,  is  the  mate- 
rial of  which  its  bewildering  plot  is  composed.  Very  slight  examination  will  show 
that  Cymbeline  is  a  tissue  of  motives,  situations,  and  characters  which  in  the  earlier 
work  of  Shakespeare  proved  theatrically  effective.  There  is  enough  confusion  of 
identity  for  a  dozen  of  the  early  comedies;  and  the  disguised  characters  are  headed, 
as  of  old,  by  the  familiar  heroine  in  hose  and  doublet.  Posthumus,  lachimo,  and 
Cloten  revive  the  second  comic  motive — later  a  tragic  one — of  self-deception. 
At  least  in  the  matter  of  jealousy  and  villainy,  too,  Posthumus  and  lachimo  recall 
Othello  and  lago.  In  the  potion  and  the  death-like  sleep  of  Imogen  we  have  again 
the  death-like  sleep  of  Juliet.  In  the  villainous  Queen  we  have  another  woman, 
faintly  recalling  both  Lady  Macbeth  and  the  daughters  of  King  Lear.  In  the 
balancing  of  this  figure  by  the  pure  one  of  Imogen,  we  have  a  suggestion  of  Cor- 
delia's dramatic  value.  And  so  on.  If,  in  some  fantastic  moment,  we  could 
imagine  that  Shakespeare,  like  Wagner,  had  written  music-dramas,  giving  to  each 
character,  each  situation,  each  mood,  its  own  musical  motive,  we  should  find  in 
Cymbeline  hardly  any  new  strain.  .  .  . 

Looking  back  at  the  plays  we  have  considered,  only  one  appears  to  have  been  so 
completely  recapitulatory  as  Cymbeline;  this  is  Twelfth  Night.  In  almost  every 
other  respect,  however,  the  effects  of  these  two  plays  differ.  Among  their  many 
differences  none  perhaps  is  more  marked  than  their  comparative  relations  to  the 
older  works  which  they  recapitulate.  In  Twelfth  Night  the  old  material  is  almost 
always  presented  more  effectively  than  before;  in  Cymbeline  it  is  almost  always  less 
satisfactorily  handled.  To  a  reader,  and  still  more  to  an  enthusiastic  student, 
Cymbeline  has  the  fascinating  trait  of  at  once  demanding  and  rewarding  study. 
On  the  stage,  however,  compared  with  the  best  of  Shakespeare's  earlier  plays,  it  is 
tiresome.  For  this  there  are  two  reasons:  it  contains  too  much, — its  complexity 
of  both  substance  and  style  overcrowds  it  throughout;  and  with  all  its  power  it 
lacks  not  only  the  simplicity  of  greatness,  but  also  the  ease  of  spontaneous  imagina- 
tion. It  has  amazing  cunningness  of  plot;  its  characters  are  individually  con- 
structed; its  atmosphere  is  varied  and  sometimes — particularly  in  the  mountain 
scenes — plausible;  its  style  abounds  in  final  phrases.  Throughout,  however,  it  is 
laborious.  Just  as  in  Twelfth  Night,  for  all  its  recapitulation,  one  feels  constant 
spontaneity,  so  in  every  line  of  Cymbeline  one  is  somehow  aware  of  Titanic  effort. 

In  brief,  then,  Cymbeline  seems  the  work  of  a  consciously  older  man  than  the 
Shakespeare  whom  we  have  known.  As  such,  it  takes  a  different  place  in  our  study. 
In  thus  placing  it,  to  be  sure,  we  must  guard  against  certainty.  At  best  our  results 
must  be  conjectural;  and  we  have  no  external  evidence  to  confirm  us. 

Always  remembering  that  we  may  not  assert  our  notions  true,  however  we 
are  free  to  state  and  to  believe  them. 

THORNDIKE  (p.  135):  Such  a  denouement  [as  in  Cymbeline]  is  evidently  not  the 
natural  outcome  of  a  tragedy  or  a  comedy;  it  is  the  elaborate  climax,  in  prepara- 
tion for  which  the  preceding  situations  have  been  made  involved  and  perplexing. 
It  is  the  denouement  of  the  drama  of  situations  so  arranged  as  constantly  to  excite 
and  vary  the  attention  of  the  spectators  up  to  the  moment  of  the  final  unravelling. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  denouement  of  Cymbeline  is  so  ingeniously  intricate  that  it  is 
ineffective  on  the  stage  and  thereby  defeats  the  purpose  for  which  the  ingenuity 

33 


5 14  APPENDIX 

was  apparently  expended.  One  feels  inclined,  indeed,  to  assert  with  some  positive- 
ness  that  the  artistic  skill  required  in  managing  so  elaborate  a  scene  was  not  ex- 
erted without  definite  purpose.  The  new  technical  achievement  bespeaks  de- 
liberation. Again  one  feels  inclined  to  conjecture  that  this  artistic  effort  may  have 
been  exerted  for  the  purpose  of  rivalling  similarly  heightened  denouements  in 
Beaumont  and  Fletcher. 

Without  insisting  too  much  on  deliberate  rivalry,  we  may  surely  say  that,  just 
as  in  the  Beaumont-Fletcher  romances,  the  elaborate  denouement  is  the  most 
marked  characteristic  of  the  construction  of  Cymbeline.  .  .  .  Entirely  unprece- 
dented in  the  preceding  plays  of  Shakespeare,  such  heightened  construction  of 
the  denouement  is  practically  unprecedented  in  all  earlier  Elizabethan  plays;  it 
has  its  only  parallel  in  Beaumont  and  Fletcher. 

Finally,  these  plays  all  end  happily.  Essentially  tragic  as  are  the  incidents  of 
Cymbeline,  the  first  three  acts  of  the  Winter's  Tale,  and  the  Italian  story  at  the 
basis  of  the  Tempest,  no  one  of  these  stories  is  carried  out  to  its  tragic  conclusion. 
In  Cymbeline  the  happy  ending  is  secured  by  a  violation  of  the  most  liberal  notions 
of  poetic  justice;  in  the  Winter's  Tale  the  happy  ending  is  deliberately  substituted 
for  the  tragic  one  of  Greene's  novel;  and  in  the  Tempest  the  happy  ending  is  ex- 
panded into  an  entire  play.  In  consequence  there  have  been  many  speculations 
in  regard  to  Shakespeare's  forgiving  charity,  his  reconciliatory  temper,  and  his  at- 
tainments of  a  serene,  calmly  philosophical  maturity.  These  speculations  are 
interesting  so  far  as  they  express  to  us  the  emotional  components  of  the  artistic 
moods  in  which  these  plays  were  composed.  The  feelings  which  arise  in  any  artist 
during  creative  work  must,  however,  be  distinguished  from  the  practical  objective 
circumstances  which  for  most  artists,  as  for  Shakespeare,  play  an  important  part  in 
determining  the  subject  and  form  of  production.  Shakespeare's  moods  may 
have  had  little  resemblance  to  the  emotional  experiences  of  Beaumont  and 
Fletcher,  but  so  far  as  stage  representation  goes,  his  romances  were  tragi-come- 
dies,  just  as  Philaster  and  A  King  and  no  King  were  tragi-comedies.  .  .  . 

Shakespeare  may  possibly  have  written  these  plays  to  inculcate  forgiveness  or 
serenity  of  disposition;  he  certainly  did  write  them  to  be  acted  on  the  stage  of  the 
Globe  Theater.  The  happy  culmination  of  tragic  circumstances  seems  likely,  then, 
to  have  had  its  origin  in  a  desire  to  gratify  the  public.  At  this  time,  too,  it  was 
a  new  structural  experiment  for  Shakespeare  and  an  innovation  on  the  practice  of 
his  contemporaries,  unless  it  was  an  adoption  of  a  fashion  already  successfully 
set  by  Philaster.  .  .  . 

'Of  all  his  women,'  says  Mrs  Jameson,  'considered  as  individuals  rather  than  as 
heroines,  Imogen  is  the  most  perfect.'  'Imogen,  the  most  lovely  and  perfect  of 
Shakespeare's  female  characters,'  is  the  comment  of  Nathan  Drake.  'Of  all  his 
heroines,'  says  Charles  Cowden  Clarke,  'no  one  conveys  so  fully  the  ideal  of  womanly 
perfection  as  Imogen.'  'In  the  character  of  Imogen,'  says  Schlegel,  'no  one 
feature  of  female  excellence  is  omitted.' 

These  quotations  indicate  well  enough  the  impression  Imogen  gives — she  is 
perfect.  Like  most  perfect  people,  she  is  not  real,  she  is  idealized,  and  that  is 
possibly  what  these  critics  mean  by  their  perfects.  In  comparison  with  the  women 
in  the  early  sentimental  comedies — Rosalind,  Beatrice,  Portia,  and  Viola — she 
lacks  the  details  of  characterization,  the  mannerisms  which  remind  us  of  real 
persons,  and  suggest  the  possibility  of  portraiture.  In  comparison  with  these 
heroines,  an  analysis  of  Imogen's  character  fails  to  supply  really  individual  traits; 
one  is  thrown  back  on  a  general  statement  of  her  perfectibility.  She  is  extremely 


CRITICISMS—  COURTHOPE  5I- 

idealized,  or,  in  other  words,  the  exigencies  of  the  romantic  drama  required  a  hero- 
ine who  should  be  very,  very  good;  and  Shakespeare,  by  the  delicacy  and  purity 
of  his  fancy,  by  the  exquisite  fitness  of  his  verse,  succeeded  in  doing  just  what 
Beaumont  and  Fletcher  were  for  ever  trying  to  do  with  their  Bellarios  and  Aspatias. 

That  the  methods  of  characterization  are  the  same  may  be  seen  when  one 
examines  Cymbeline  and  notes  just  what  Imogen  says  and  does.  She  is  good  and 
chaste  and  spirited;  she  resists  an  attempt  at  seduction;  she  wears  boy's  clothes; 
she  leaves  the  court  in  search  of  her  lover;  she  remains  true  to  him  after  he  has 
deserted  her  and  sought  to  kill  her;  she  dies  and  is  brought  back  to  life  again;  she 
passes  through  all  sorts  of  impossible  situations  to  final  reconciliation  and  happi- 
ness. In  all  this  there  is  little  trace  of  an  individual  character;  all  this  can  be  dupli- 
cated in  the  stories  of  Bellario  and  Arethusa. 

Take,  again,  what  she  says.  Take,  for  example,  her  speeches  in  the  dialogue  with 
lachimo;  read  the  lines  by  themselves— '  What  makes  your  admiration? '  « What  is 
the  matter,  trow? '  '  What,  dear  sir,  thus  raps  you,  are  you  well? '  '  Continues  well 
my  lord?  His  health  beseech  you?  '—and  so  on.  Manifestly,  there  is  no  individual- 
ity there.  What  she  says  is  suited  admirably  to  the  situation,  but  Bellario,  Are- 
thusa, or  any  one  of  half  a  dozen  of  the  romantic  heroine  type  might  say  it  just  as 
well.  Take,  again,  the  rest  of  her  dialogue  with  lachimo,  or  with  Pisanio  on  the  way 
to  Milford  Haven;  or  take  her  soliloquy  on  cruel  fate;  or  the  one  bemoaning  her 
weakness  and  fatigue;  or  her  speeches  in  the  final  act;  consider  how  these  speeches 
spoken  by  a  boy  actor  would  have  appealed  to  an  Elizabethan  audience.  They  are 
part  and  parcel  of  the  ordinary  situations  of  the  romantic  drama. 

Moreover,  even  the  intense  sentimentalization  does  not  produce  consistency. 
The  girl  who  makes  some  very  spirited  replies  to  her  father  when  he  interrupts  her 
parting  with  her  lover,  the  girl  who  declaims  so  oratorically  to  Pisanio  when  he 
delivers  her  lover's  letter,  the  girl  who  stains  her  face  in  the  blood  of  her  supposed 
lover,  and  the  girl  who  recovers  immediately  to  follow  Lucio  as  a  page,  are  hardly 
recognizable  as  the  same  individual* 

Still  further,  it  must  be  noticed  that  the  character  is  presented  largely  by  means 
of  comments  and  descriptions  on  the  part  of  others.  The  tributes  of  lachimo, 
Posthumus,  Pisanio,  Guiderius,  Averagus  do'  more  to  create  our  ideas  of  Imogen's 
beauty  of  character  than  anything  she  does  or  says.  .  .  . 

W.  J.  COURTHOPE  (History  of  English  Poetry,  IV,  p.  134):  Though  Measure  for 
Measure  touches  almost  unprecedented  depths  of  tragic  emotion,  and  though 
both  Cymbeline  and  The  Winter's  Tale  contain  episodes  of  the  most  beautiful  and 
pathetic  romance,  these  plays,  as  a  group,  leave  the  imagination  with  a  sense  of 
something  wanting,  and  cannot,  therefore,  be  counted  among  Shakespeare's  hap- 
piest works.  At  the  same  time,  they  are  of  great  historical  interest,  as  throwing 
light  on  the  gradual  transition  of  his  invention  from  comedy  to  tragedy. 


Easi 

t — Tjr" 


INDEX 


Abode  =  to  abide  .................     85 

Absorption  .....  56,  86,  87,  117,  124,  270 

Abus'd  =  deceived  ................     57 

Ace  .........................  125,  126 

Adder  ...........................   296 

Additions,  see  Interpolations. 

Affront  =attack  ..................  368 

=face  .....................  343 

Againe  ..........................  421 

Alexandrine  ..................  190,  449 

Amaz'd  =  confounded  .............  343 

A  mornings  ..................  126,  196 

Anacoluthon  ....................     17 

Andirons,  etymology  ..............   157 

Answer  =  retaliation  ...........  346,  368 

Aorist  ...........................  381 

Apes  ............................   310 

Approbation  =  proof  ..............     57 

Arabian-bird  =  Phoenix  ............     77 

Arme  =  take  tip  in  the  arms  .......   340 

Arras  ...........................    117 

Arviragus,  source  of  name  ........       3 

As  =  as  if  ....................  408,  433 

"  =  inasmuch  as  .................     98 

"  used  like  relative  ...............  427 

As,sum'd  =  attained  ...............  425 

At  first  =from  the  first  ............     56 

"    point  ........................   264 

Attend  =  await  ...................     36 

=  wait  on  ..................   275 

Attending  ......................  iQQf  • 

Aubades  ........................   127 

Averring  =  avouching  ..............  410 


Babe  ......................  i99^v  445 

Basiliske  ........................   160 

Bastard,  etymology  ..............  i65f. 

~B&te  =  mitigate  ...................   189 

Baynes  on  the  Play  ...............   503 

121-124 


Becom'd 432 

Beene,  bin 4.3 

Being  =  abode(?) 68 

Bellarius 3 

Best 264,  266 

advice  =  consideration 30 

'  Bin '  f or  is 129 

'Blame'  as  adjective. ...' 252 

Bloods,  interpretation 8-1 1 

Boccaccio's  Decameron  as  Source  of 

Plot 4Ssff. 

Bold  =  confident 147 

Boodle  on  Source  of  Plot 478 

Book 384 

Bore  in  hand  =  professed 395 

Botany,    Shakespeare's    knowledge 

of 63,  1 20,  128 

Bowden  on  the  Play 505 

Boyl'dstuffe 98 

Braine 393 

Brandl  on  Source  of  Plot 480 

Bravery  ^defiance 172 

Brawnes  =  fleshy  parts 330 

Britaine  (country),  history. .  .  i69f.,  171, 
172,  i73f.,  179!.,  359 

The 48,86 

Brogue  =  o  rude  shoe 315 

Brouz 268 

Bugs  =  terrors 365 

Burial  customs 323 

By-dependances  =  side-issues 43 1 

By-peeping 94>  95 

'  C '  confounded  with  t 191 

Cadwal,  source  of  name 3 

Caesura 44$ 

Caius  Lucius 4 

Calvinistic  allusions 28,  35 

Capell  on  Source  of  Plot 462 

Capitoll,  at  Rome 94 


5i8 


INDEX 


Capon 109,  1 10 

Carbuncle 409 

Ca.r\e  =  churl 356!. 

Cassibulan 15 

Casuall  =  accidental 56 

Cave  of  Belarius,  location i9?f- 

Chalmers  on  Date  of  Play 444f- 

Checke igpf . 

Cherubim,  spelling 157 

Chiasm,  see  Respective  construction. 
Child's  English  and  Scottish  Ballads .  481 

Chimney-peece 156 

Citizen  =  city-bred 284 

Close  =  secret,  secretly 99 

Cloten,  character 33f.,  255 

historical  note 1,2 

Clot-pole 225f. 

Clowted 315 

Cloyd  =  burdened 346 

Cloyes  =  claws 383 

Cognisance  =  token 162 

Coleridge,  classification  of  plays .  .  .   445  ! 

on  Imogen 498 

Collection  =  inference 434 

Collier  on  Date  of  Play 445f . 

on  Source  of  Plot 462,  474! 

Commit  offence no 

Companies  =  people 293 

Companion,  a  word  of  contempt.  . .    no 

Comparative  =  proportionable 143 

Comparatives,  double 102 

Compare  =  stand  comparison 13 

Composition,  Date  of 258,  4435. 

'Concern'  used  intransitively 105 

Conclusions  =  experiments 64 

Condition  =  character 407 

Conduct  =  escort,  guard 247 

Confections  =  compounded  drugs. ...     64 

Confiners 355 

Conscience  =  consciousness 119 

Consider  =  requite 1 2gf . 

Consigne  =  yield 325 

Constant  =  gifted  with  constancy.  ...     51 

Contraction 1 1 

Conuey'd  =  ,s/ea/ 18 

Convince  =  overcome 56 

Cook'd 386 

Cornelius 4 

Counsaile  =  secret  confidences 186 

Counter  =  abacus 


Country  base,  a  game 361 

Courthope  on  the  Play 515 

Covenant 61 

Cowslippes 71 

Crack  =  boast 408 

Credit  =  confidence 102 

Creepes  acquaintance 47 

Crop 80 

Cunobelinus,  original  of  Cymbeline .  i 

Curious 105 

Cymbeline,  historical  account i69f. 

origin  of  name i 

pronunciation 8 

weakness  of  character ..  22, 
23,  27,  28,  30 

Dalmatians 179 

Dangerous  bonds  =  bonds  of  indebt- 
edness     186 

Date  of  Composition 258,  443fL 

Deeme  =  estimate 380 

Deepe 
Defended  God 

Delicate  =  ingenious 395 

Dependancie 141 

Derogate i  lof . 

Detest 168 

Diana's  Priest 99 

Rangers 134 

Divine,  accent in,  307 

Douce  on  Source  of  Plot 469 

Dragons  of  the  night 121 

Drake  on  the  Play 504 

Dullard 419 

Durfey's  Version 48iff. 

Dyce  on  Date  of  Play 452 

-ed  final  omitted 336 

Eglantine 317 

'  Either '  as  monosyllable 304 

Elder  (tree) 291 

Ellipses 25,  48,  92,  386 

Emperie 97 

Emperious  =  imperial 287 

Encounter  =  meet  and  punish 96 

Entertaine  =  hire 339 

Euriphile 210 

"Even=just,  precisely 264 

Evill  contracted  to  a  monosyllable. ...    19 

Exhibition  =  pension,  salary 97 


INDEX 


519 


Exerciser  ........................  325^ 

Experiments,  medical  .............  64!. 

Extend  .........................  14,  45 

Eye-strings  ......................     39 

Fa,ct  =  evil  deed  ...................    183 

'  False  '  as  verb  ...................  i34f  • 

Fangled  .........................  384 

Farre  =far  .......................     13 

'  Fast  '  for  fasted  ..................   336 

See  also  Participle. 
Faucit  (Helena),  Lady  Martin,  on 

Imogen.  .437,495 

Favour  ...................  83,  298,  398 

Favours  .........................   218 

Fayries  .........................   113 

Fear'd  hopes  .....................   148 

Fea.te  =  dexterous  .................  398 

Feated,  meaning  .................   i6f. 

Feature  =  proportion  of  parts  ......  406 

Feminine  endings  .................  449 

Fetch  in  =  apprehend  ..........  302,  304 

Fierce  =  vehement  .................  430 

Fiering=^rmg  ...................     93 

Figure  =  part  enacted  ..............   209 

Finish  =die  ...................  394,432 

Fit  =  prepared  ....................   243 

Fitment  .........................   432 

Fleay  on  Date  of  Play  ............  450 

Fletcher  on  Imogen  ...............  494 

Flowers,  see  Botany. 

Fcedarie  =  a  confederate  ............   184 

Yor=because  .................  278,  303 

"   =  in  spite  of  .................   390 

Forbear  =  wit  hdr  aw  ...............    138 

Fore-say  =  to  will  .................   305 

Fore-stall  =deprive  ................    253 

Forlorne  ........................   432 

Forman,  note  on  Cymbeline  .......  446 

Fortunes  ........................   279 

Foundations  =  institutions  ..........   263 

Foyle  ...........................  1411- 

Franklin  =  freeholder  ..............    192 

'  Furnace,'  as  verb  .................     87 

Fye,  interpretation  ................     76 


Gall 


3°7 
2if. 


Gallicism  ........................   292 

Galowses  ...................  39° 


Garnett  on  Date  of  Play 4Soff . 

Geeke 380 

Genee  on  Source  of  Plot 478 

Gentle  =  well-born 288 

Gervinus  on  Jachimo 491 

on  Posthumus 491 

Ghesse  m  =  guess  in  ascertaining. .  .     18 

Giants 197 

Giglet 174 

'Gins,'  aphetic  form  of  begin 127 

Goat,  not  Goats 348 

Halfe-workers 165 

Halliwell  on  Source  of  Plot. . .  .462,  47  7f. 

Hand-fast,  meaning 70 

Happy  =  accomplished 243 

Hare-bell 317 

'  Hark ,  Hark  the  Lark , '  translations  of  489 

Haviour,  etymology 213 

Hazlitt  on  the  Play 499 

Heart 293 

Hee 13 

Heires  =  hairs 144 

Helpes  =  cures 263 

Hepthemimeral  caesura 448 

Her  =  herself 183 

Hertzberg  on  Date  of  Play 449 

Hilding 142 

'  Him '  confounded  with  'em  or  them  202 
Holinshed.  .169,  171,  172,  179,  359,  444 

Holy  duty 20,21 

"     =pious 244 

Horsemanship,  Shakespeare's  knowl- 
edge of 2 10 

Horse-racing i9if. 

How,  how  =  //o,  ho 23 

Hunter  on  Date  of  Play 447 

I  =  ay,  aye 3J4,  35$ 

Ignorant  =  unacquainted 174 

Illustrious 95,  96 

Imogen,  source  of  name 5,  6 

Imperseverant  =  most  constant 282 

Importance  =  subject,   occasion,   im- 
portunity, instigation 48,  49 

'In'iorinto 270 

"     for  on 269 

Infinitive,  complete  present . .  268 

' '         used  indefinitely  ..68,101,371 

Ingenuous 3°9 


520 


INDEX 


Ingleby  on  Dale  of  Play 450 

Ingram  on  Date  of  Play 44Qf  • 

Injurious  =  insulting 176,  295 

Inserted  passages,  see  Interpolations. 

Instinct,  accent 308,  430 

Intelligence  =  mental  intercourse.  ...  336 
Interpolated  s,  see  s,  final. 

Interpolations 34,  36,  40,  72,  84,  168, 

210,  285!.,  310,  321,  323^,  374ff. 

'Into'  for  unto 103 

Irregulous 330 

Is,  absorption  of 124,  275 

It,  ellipsis  of 386 

"  f or  its 24of . 

"  indefinite   after   nouns    used   as 
verbs 208 

Jachimo,  origin  of  name 4 

Jacke,  in  bowling 108 

Jameson,  Mrs,  on  Imogen 492 

Jarmen 166 

Jay  of  Italy 218 

Jealousie  =  suspicion 342 

Jet  =  strut 197 

Journall  =  daily 284 

Joviall,  belonging  to  Jove 330 

Joyne  his  Honor 14,  15 

Jump  =  hazard 389 

Jupiter,  in  oath 161 

Justicer  =  a  justice 412 

Kenne  =  range  of  sight 263 

Kiss  the  Jacke 108 

Kitt,  of  Kingston 462f. 

Knight  on  Date  of  Play 446f . 

Knowing  =  experience 48 

Knowne  togither 48 

Lady,  as  title  of  respect 21 

Langbaine  on  Source  of  Plot 455 

Languish  in  transitive  sense.  .30,  87,  88 
Larouche,  Hark,  Hark  the  Lark .  . .  .4895. 

Lay  the  leaven 225 

L,ea.gu'd=  folded  together 315 

Leanes,  meaning 69 

Learn.  =  teach 64 

Leaven 225 

Leidger  =  a  mbassador 71 

Lenox,  Mrs,  on  Imogen 495 

Leonatus,  origin  of  name 2 


Leonhardt  on  Date  of  Play 454 

on  Source  of  Plot 478 

Levy  on  Source  of  Plot 478 

'Like'  used  impersonally 133 

Limb-meale 163 

'  Linger '  as  transitive 395 

Liver 393 

Lloyd  on  Date  of  Play 447f. 

"      on  the  Play 502 

L.ong  =  along 419 

'Lover'  as  feminine 407 

Luds-Towne  =  London . . .  .i74f.,  297,  437 

Macbeth,  parallels  to  Cymbeline ii2f., 

114, 124 

Malone  on  Dale  of  Play 443^- 

on  Source  of  Plot 462 

Manacle 25 

'  Marry '  as  monosyllable 20 

Mary-buds 128 

Masks 241,  361 

Match  =  compact 267 

Matter  =  business 343 

M.e  =  myself 91 

Meane  =  average 189 

Meanes 147 

Medicinable  in  active  sense 185 

Meere  =  pure,  unmixed 297 

Mend  upon 151 

Mervaile  =  wonder 171 

Metre 37f.,  in,  129,  190,  432 

"      caesura 448 

defective 26,  331 

laws  of,  disregarded i$f.,  145 

mechanical,  versus  music  of 

rhythm 18,  64,  229,  344 

redundant  syllables 448 

Michel  on  Source  of  Plot 47of . 

Minde  darke 238 

'Moe'  comparative  of  many 366 

Morgan 2,3 

Mulier,  etymology 435 

Mulmutius 177 

'My'  confounded  with  thy 261 

Natural  =  actual,  legitimate 210 

Needle  as  monosyllable 32 

Negatives,  double  and  triple 46f . 

'Neither'  as  plural  pronoun 322 

Nerves  =  sinews 209 


INDEX 


521 


New  Shakespeare  Society  and  Date 

of  Plays  .......................  449 

Nice-longing  .....................  i67f. 

None  so  .........................  56 

Note  =  notice,  taking  note  ......  344,  346 

Nothing-guift  ....................  273 

Nouns  used  as  verbs  .........  208,  230 

Noysome  and  infectious  ..........  65 

Number'd  =  abounding  in  numbers.  .  82 


Oath 


161 
.....................  328 

Of  =  as  regards,  concerning  ........  349 

Of's  .............................     ii 

Ohle  on  Source  of  Plot  ............  479 

One  =  above  all  ...................   102 

"    pronunciation  of  .............  312 

Oppositions  =  combats  .............   280 

Orbes  ...........................  429 

Orderly  =  regular  .................   131 

Ord'nance  ......  .  ................  305 

Ore-growne  ......................  347f  • 

Orthography  .....................     48 

Out-craftied  .....................   213 

Out-peere  ........................   274 

Out-sell  .........................   159 

Out-venomed  ....................   215 

Packing  =  plotting  ................   255 

Paid  =  punished  ................  322,  387 

Painted  =  described  ...............   212 

Painting  ........................  2i8ff. 

Pang'd  ..........................   230 

Pannonians  ......................   179 

Pantler  .........................  i42f. 

Parallels  with  Macbeth.  .  .ii2f.,  114,  124 
Parke  ...........................   173 

Participle,  final  -ed  omitted  .......   336 

formed  from  noun  ......  350 

irregular  ...............  432 

Passable  =  affording  free  passage  ...     34 
Passage  =  occurrence  ...............   229 

Peevish  =  silly,  pettish  ..............  8sf. 

Penetrate,  intransitive  ............    126 

Perfect  ......................  i79>  3°2 

Phoenix  .........................      77 

Piece  =  woman  .................  4341- 

Pine  .......................  agof.,  308 

Pittikins  =  d  iminutive  of  pity  ......  328 

Plants,  see  Botany. 


" 


'Please =50  or  an'  it  please 20 

Plot,  Source  of 4552- 

Plural  by  attraction 45, 154 

See  also  s,  final. 

preceded  by  there  is 338 

subject    preceded    by    verb 

in  -s 414 

Polidore 3 

Pope  on  Source  of  Plot 455 

Posthumus,  accent 2,  15,  331 

Postures 407 

Preterre  — promote 426 

=recommend 131,  339 

Pregnant 332 

Preposition  omitted  in  relative  sen- 
tence   436 

Prevent  in  Latin  derivative  sense. .  395 

Primrose,  etymology 7if. 

Probable  =  provable 160 

Prone  =  eager 390 

Pronoun,  irregularities 13 

redundant 15 

Proper  =  honest,  respectable 225f. 

"     =  own 297 

"     names  as  adjectives 380 

Protection,  pronunciation 15 

Prune  =  to  plume 383 

Ptolemaic  system 429 

Put  on  =  instigate 350 

Puts  to = imparts,  offers,  etc 16 

Puttocke,  a  bird  of  prey 29 

Qualified  =  possessed  of  good  qualities    5 1 

Quarrellous 241 

Quarter'd  fires 346 

Quench,  intransitive 68 

Quotations 3IQ 

See  also  Interpolations. 

Raddocke,  see  Ruddock. 

Raps 85 

Raven's  eye 121-124 

Ready,  double  meaning i35f- 

Recoyle  =  prove  degenerate 98 

Redundant  syllables 448 

Referr'd  in  Latin  sense 12 

Reflect  upon,  meaning 78 

Reich  on  Source  of  Plot 480 

'Re-inforce'  used  intransitively 358 

Relative  omitted 3*8 


522 


INDEX 


Remembrancer 70 

'  Render '  as  noun 345 

Repetition  un-S hakes pearian 34 

Report,  double  meaning 136 

=  reputation 205 

"        themselves 156 

Respective  construction i  yof . 

Restie  =  indolent 267 

Return  from  Parnassus,  date 443 

Revolt  =  apostacy 96 

Revolts  =  revolters 345 

Richardson  on  Imogen 496 

Rid  =  cover,  clear 191 

Robin-red-breast 318 

Romish 101 

Rose  on  the  Play 511 

'  Rouse '  as  term  of  venery 209f . 

Ruddock 318 

Rushes 114 

s,  final 55,  58,  74,  131 

"  for  st ioof.,  210 

"  inflection   preceding   plural    sub- 
ject   414 

Sadness  =  seriousness 86 

Scansion,  see  Metre. 

Scarre 422 

Schenkl  on  Source  of  Plot 477 

Schlegel  on  the  Play 501 

Scottish  Chronicle 444 

Scriptures 228 

Scruple =doubt 408 

Scare  =  to  cere 24 

Season  =  age 243 

"      —  give  relish  to 76 

Selfe-explication 213 

Sense  =  body 119 

Senselesse,  double  meaning 133 

'  Shall '  as  impersonal  verb 320 

Shall's  =  shall  we 11,320 

Sharded-beetle 198 

'She,'  'Shees,'  as  noun 40,  83 

Shift  a  shirt 34 

'  Short '  as  transitive  verb 106 

Shrine 406 

Silly  =  simple,  rustic 368 

Simp&thy  =  equality 386 

Simrock  on  Source  of  Plot 469$ . 

Sim\i\a.i  =  specious 410 

Single  oppositions  —  single  combats .  .    280 


Singular  after  plural  relative 128 

by  attraction 97,  331 

Slavver 94 

Slip  =  make  loose 342 

Snider  on  the  Play 506 

Snuffe,  candle 91 

So\icity  =  courtship 131,  132 

Sorrow 421 

Source  of  Plot 455^. 

South-Fog 143,  144 

Soveraignty  =  r0;ya/  dignity 247 

Spectacles 82 

Spider 296f. 

Sprighted 144 

Sprightly  shewes 434 

Spurres 290 

Stage  directions 91,  233,  356 

"     setting 196 

"     traverse-curtain 125 

Stage-time 125 

Stampe  =  a  stamped  coin 373 

Stampt 1 66 

States  =  persons  of  high  rank 215 

Statist  =  statesman 149 

Steevens  on  Source  of  Plot 462 

Sterve,  meaning 61,  62 

Stones  of  su\pher=  Thunderbolts .  .  .   414 

Straight-pight  =  erect 406 

Straine  =  i mpulse 229 

"      =  lineage 285 

Strange  =  a  foreigner 85 

=  a  stranger 105 

Stricter  =  more  restricted 372 

Subjection  =  service 342 

Subjunctive  for  future 57 

Sulpher,  stones  of 414 

Superlatives,  double 102 

Sur-addition 15,  182 

Sure  = faithfully 99 

Sweete  =  lover 71 

Sweet'st 427 

Swinburne  on  the  Play 510 

Synons 225 

"I"  confounded  with  c 191 

Take  in  =  conquer 182 

=  subdue 302 

Take  up  — rebuke 108 

Tanlings 347 

i  Targes 392 


INDEX 


523 


Taste  ...........................  423 

Tautology  ......................  22,  74 

Tenantius  .......................     z  5 

Tender  over  .....................  398 

Tent  =  a  probe  ....................    233 

'The,'  absorption  of  .........  56,  68,  87 

The'  =  them  ......................   316 

'There  is'  preceding  plural  subject.   338 
Thicke,  referring  to  quantity  .....  87,  189 

Thorndike  on  Date  of  Play  ........  453! 

on  the  Play  ............   513 

Though  =  because  .................     53 

Thunderstone  ..................       325 

'To'  ............................     57 

"    absorption  of  .............  117,  270 

Toad  ........  ...................   295 

Tomboyes  .......................     97 

Touch  =  wound  ...................   341 

Transposition  ....................  426 

Triall  =  /e5/  ......................    263 

Trow  =  7  wonder  ..................     83 

Troylodites  ......................  409 

True-man  .......................    135 

Trulles  =  slatterns  .................  408 

Twinn'd  ........................  80  ff. 


Tyre  =  to  dote,  gloat  ...............  230 

Ulrici  on  Date  of  Play  ............  448 

Undergoes  =  bears  without  yielding.  .  182 

Ungrammatical  remnants  .........  392 

Un-Shakespearian  passages,  see  In- 

terpolations. 

Use  =  service  .....................  345 

Usuries  =  usages  ..................  204 

Utterance  .......................  179 

Vantage  =  favorable  opportunity.  ...  40 

Venery,  Shakespeare's  knowledge  of  210 


Ventures  =  Chance  lemans 98 

Verba11 1391- 

Verbs  formed  from  nouns 208,  230 

Violets 7I 

Voyage  upon  her 61 


Wake  =  watch 230!!. 

Walke  a- while  =  withdraw 32 

'  Wanton '  as  noun 284 

'  Warres'  as  singular 276 

Weather  =  storm 206 

Weazell 24! 

Weedes  =  clothes 355 

Weiss  on  the  Play 503 

Wendell  on  the  Play 513 

Westward  for  Smelts  as  Source  of 

Plot 462ff. 

'What'  for  what  a 314,  348 

Whiles 87 

Who  =  whom 102,  208,  294 

Wing-led i5of. 

Winter-ground 319^ 

'Wisht,'  participle  formed  from 

noun 350 

Wit 35 

Witch=male  sorcerer 102 

Woodman  =  hunter 267 

Words  him 45 

Wormes  of  Nyle  =  asps  of  the  Nile . .  215 

'Wrings'  in  sense  of  suffer 273 

Wrying 350 


Xenophon  of  Ephesus  as  Source  of 
Plot 469 


Yardley  on  Source  of  Plot 479 

Yeares  age 26-28