Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

=

=

to avoid me, yet in despight of her, and whether she will or not, I am resolved to be merry. 11:)--"shall, Antipholus, Even in the spring of love, thy love-springs rot? ||| Shall love, in building, grow so ruinous?" MALONE. = 12) Being compact of credit,] Means, being made altogether of credulity. 13:) vain,] Is light of tongue, not, veracious. JOHNSON. 14:)-sweet mermaid,] Mermaid is only another name for syren. 15:) Not mad, but mated:] I suspect there is a play upon words intended here. Mated sig nifies not only confounded, but matched with a wife: and Autipholus, who had been challenged as a husband by Adriana, which he cannot account for, uses the word mated in both these senses. M. MASON. 16:) My sole earth's heaven, and my heaven's claim.] When he calls the girl his only heaven on the earth, he utters the common cant of lovers. When he calls her his heaven's claim, I cannot understand him. Perhaps he means that which he asks of heaven. JOHNSON. Mr. Malone thinks he means "all that I claim from heaven hereafter."17:) — sir-reverence:] a corruption of save-reverence, salva-reverentia. = 18:) Swart,] i. e. black, or rather of a dark brown. 19:) "her heir."—MALONE. = 20:) -assured to her ;]-i. e. affianced to her. = 21:) "If every one know us,”—MALONE.=22:) at the Porcupine:] It is remarkable, that throughout the old editions of Shakspeare's plays, the word Porpentine is used instead of Porcupine. I have since observed the same spelling in the plays of other ancient authors. STEEVENS. =

ACT IV. 1:)- want gilders-] A gilder is a coin valued from one shilling and six-pence, to two shillings. = 2:) 18 growing to me] i. e. accruing to me. 3:) "And then, sir, she bears away MALONE. = 4:) thou peevish sheep,] Peevish is silly. 5:) "You sent me for a rope's end as soon. " MALONE. 6:) "list me"- MALONE. = 7:) - meteors tilting in his face?] Alluding to those meteors in the sky, which have the appearance of lines of armies meeting in the shock. 8:) Mr. Malone, in this play, constantly reads spight, a word not to be found in our dictionaries. = 9:) -sere, That is, dry, withered. JOHNSON.=10:) Stigmatical in making,] That is, marked or stigmatized by nature with deformity, as a token of his vicious disposition. = 11:) Far from her nest the lapwing, &c.] This expression seems to be proverbial I have met with it in many of the old comic writers. STEEVENS. — 12:) — an everlasting garment—] The sergeants, in those days, were clad in buff, as Dromio tells us the man was who arrested Antipholus. Buff is also a cant expression for a man's skin, a covering which lasts him as long as his life. Dromio therefore calls buff an everlasting garment: and in pursuance of this quibble on the word buff, he calls the sergeant, in the next scene, the "Picture of old Adam;" that is, of Adam before his fall, whilst he remained unclad. “What, have you got the picture of old Adam new apparelled!”' = 13:) — and narrow lands;] Lands in the present instance may mean, what we now call landing-places at the water-side. = 14:) A hound that runs counter, and yet draws dry foot well;] To run counter is to run backward, by mistaking the course of the animal pursued; to draw dry-foot is, I believe, to pursue by the track or prick of the foot; to run counter and draw dry-foot well are, therefore, inconsistent. The jest consists in the ambiguity of the word counter, which means the wrong way in the chace, and a prison in London. The officer that arrested him was a sergeant of the counter. For the congruity of this jest with the scene of action, let our author answer. JOHNSON. A hound that draws dry-foot, means what is usually called a blood-hound, trained to follow men by the scent. 15:)-poor souls to hell.] Hell was the cant term for an obscure dungeon in any of our prisons. There was likewise a place of this name under the Exchequer Chamber, where the king's debtors were confined till they had "paid the uttermost farthing." STEEVENS. An account of the local situation of HELL may be found in the Journals of the House of Commons, Vol. X. p. 83. as the Commons passed through it to King William and Queen Mary's Coronation, and gave directions concerning it. In Queen Elizabeth's time the office of Clerk of the Treasury was situated there, as I find in Sir James Dyer's Reports, fol. 245. A, where mention is made of "one Christopher Hole Secondary del Treasurie, et un auncient attorney and practiser in le office del Clerke del Treasurie al HELL." This I take to be the Treasury of the Court of Common Pleas, of which Sir James Dyer was Chief Justice, and which is now kept immediately under the Court of Exchequer. The office of the Tully-Court of the Chamberlain of the Exchequer is still there, and tallies for many centuries back are piled up and preserved in this office. Two or three adjacent apartments have within a few years been converted to hold the Vouchers of the public Accounts, which had become so numerous as to overstock the place in which they were kept at Lincoln's Inn. These, therefore, belong to the Auditors of public Accounts. Other rooms are turned into coal-cellars.There is a pump still standing of excellent water, called HELL Pump: And the place is to this day well known by the name of Hell, VAILLANT.=16:) “But is in," &c.-MALONE.=17:) was he arrested on a band?] A boud, i. e. an obligatory writing to pay a sum of money, was an ciently spelt band. A band is likewise a neckcloth. On this circumstance the humour of the passage turns. 18:) "bankrout,

MALONE. 19:) - conceit ;] i. e. fanciful conception. =20:) What, have you got the picture of Old Adam new

apparelled?] The allusion is to Adam, in his state of innocence, going naked; and immediately after the fall, being clothed in a frock of skins. Thus he was new apparelled: and, in like manner, the sergeants of the counter were formerly clad in butt, or calf's skin, as the author humorously a little lower calls it. These jests on Adam's dress are common among our old writers. Mr. Malone reads thus, "What have you got rid of the picture of old Adam new apparell'd?" 21:) he that sets up his rest to do more exploits with his mace, than a morris-pike.] The rest of a pike was a common term, and signified, I believe, the manher in which it was fixed to receive the rush of the enemy, A morris pike was a pike used in a morris or a military dance, and with which great exploits were done, that is, great feats of dexterity were shown. JOHNSON. There is, Í believe, no authority for Dr. Johnson's assertion, that the morris-pike was used in the Morris-dance. Swords were sometimes used upon that occasion. It certainly means the Moorish-pike, which was very common in the_loth century. See Grose's History of the English Army. Vol. 1. p. 15. | DOUCE. The phrase - he that sets up his rest, in this instauce, siguifies only, I believe, "ne that trusts is confident in his expectation. Thus, Bacon: "Sea-fights have been final to the war, but this is, when princes set up their REST upon the battle." Again Clarendon: “they therefore resolved to set up their REST upon that stake, and to go through with it, or perish." This figure of speech is certainly derived from the military exercise, as that was the only kind of rest which was ever set up. HENLEY. — 22:) We'll mend our dinner here.] i. e. by purchasing something additional in the adjoining market. MALONE. 23:)—if you do expect spoon-meat, or bespeak a long-spoon.] i. e. “il you do expect spoon-meat, either stay away, or bespeal a long spoon.' Mr. Malone reads, "Master, if you do expect spoon-meat or bespeak a long spoon."= 24:) "parings" MALONE.=25:)—will pay them all.] i. e. serve to hit, strike, correct them all. STEEVENS. = 26:)—by my long ears.] He means, that his master had lengthened his ears by frequently pulling them. STEEVENS. = : 27:) — companion—] A word of contempt, anciently used as we now use -- - fellow. STEEVENS,28:) Din'd at home!"— MALONE.=29:) Perdy,] A corruption of the common French oath-Pardieu. Châu- ! cer's personages are frequent in their use of it.=30) Certes,] i. c. certainly. — 31:) — kitchen-vestal -] Her charge being like that of the vestal virgius, to keep the fire burning. JOHNSON.32:)—unhappy strumpet!] Unhappy is bere ¦ used in one of the senses of unlucky; i. e. mischievous. | STEEVENS. = 33:) - our stuff-] i. e, our baggage. In the orders that were issued for the Royal Progresses in the last century, the king's baggage was always thus denominated. MALONE.

[ocr errors]

ACT V.1:) — get within him,] i. e. close with him, grapple with him.=2:)—take a house ] i. e. go into a house. So, we say - a dog takes the water. 8:) And much dilferent," &c.- MALONE.= 4:) the copy-] i. e. the theme, We still talk of setting copies for boys. STEEVENS. = 5:) (Kinsman to grim and comfortless despair ;)] Kinsman means near relation Many words are used by Shakspeare with much greater latitude. = 6:) "their heels," MALONE.=7:) - a formal man again :] i, e. to bring him back to his senses, and the forms of sober behaviour.8:) - sorry execution,] So, in Macbeth: "Of sorriest fancies your companious mat ing." Sorry had anciently a stronger meaning than at present, and seems to have meant sorrowful: here perhaps is means dismal. 9:) At your important letters,] For impertunate.= 10:) to take order-] i. e. to take measures. = 11:) Beaten the maids a-row,] i. e. successively, one after another. = 12:) "My master preaches patience to him, and the while" -MALONE.= 13: His man with scissars nicks him like a fool:] The force of this allusion I am unable to explain with certainty. Perhaps it was once the custom to cut the hair of idiots close to their heads. There is a proverbial simile-"Like crop the conjurer;" which might have been ironically applied to these unfortunate beings. STEEVENS. There is a penalty of ten shillings in one of King Alfred's ecclesiastical laws, if one opprobriously share a common manlike a fool. TOLLET. Fools, undoubtedly, were shaved and nicked in a particular manner, in our author's time, as is ascertained by the following passage in The Choice of Change, containing the Triplicitie of Divinitie, Philosophie, and Poetrie, by S. R. Gent, 4to. 1598: "Three things used by monks, which provoke other men to laugh at their follies: 1. They are shaven and notched on the head like fooles." MALONE. 14:) To bestride one in battle is an act of friendship, or assistance, frequently mentioned in these plays. 15:)—with harlots-] Harlot was a term ef reproach applied to cheats among men, as well as to wartous among women.= 16:)-I am advised -] i, e. 1 am not going to speak precipitately or rashly, but oa reflection and consideration. = 17:) "disturbed” — MALONE, who considers the effect as making only two syllables.=18:) -- deform`d—] For deforming. 19:) - strange defeatures—] Defeatures are certainly neither more nor less than features; as de merits are neither more nor less than merits. Time, says Ageon, hath placed new and strange features in my face; i. e. given it quite a different appearance: no wonder therefore thou dost not know me. RITSON.=20:)—my feeble key of untun'd cares?] i. e. the weak and discordant tone of my voice, that is changed by grief. Douce. = 21:)

[ocr errors]

this

[ocr errors]

grained face-] i. e. furrowed, like the grain of wood.
22:) Why, here begins his morning story right;] "The
morning story" is what Egeon tells the duke in the first
scene of this play. = 23:) Mr. Malone reads "until this
present hour, "My heavy burthen not delivered." 24:)
After so long grief, such nativity!] She has just said, that
to her, her sons were not born till now. STEEVENS. =

=

XV. MACBETH.

=

[ocr errors]

[ocr errors]

way,

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

[ocr errors]

There is a contest in his mind whether he should indulge his desire of publishing to the world the commendations due to your heroism, or whether he should remain in silent admiration of what no words could celebrate in proportion to its desert. 27:) As thick as tale,] Meaning, that the news came as thick as a tale can travel with the post. = 28:) "Only to herald," &c. MALONE.= 29:) Mr. Malone reads, "Whether he was combin'd | "With those of Nor&c. 30:)-trusted home,] i. e. entirely, thoroughly relied on, or perhaps we should read thrusted home.—31:) Might yet enkindle you —] Enkindle, for to stimulate you to seek. = 32:) Two truths are told, &c.] How the former of these truths has been fulfilled, we are yet to learn. Macbeth could not become thane of Glamis, till after his father's decease, of which there is no mention throughout the play. If the hag only announced what Macbeth already un derstood to have happened, her words could scarcely claim rank as a prediction. 33:) This supernatural soliciting-] Soliciting for information. WARBURTON. Soliciting is rather, in my opinion, incitement, than information. JoHNSON. = 34:) — seated] i. e. fixed, firmly placed.85:) - single state of man,] Dr. Johnson says, that the single state of man seems to be used by Shakspeare for an individual, in opposition to a commonwealth, or conjunct body. But Mr. Steevens thinks that the single state of Macbeth may signify his weak and debile state of mind. = 36:)-function

Scogula, Hilda, Gondula, and Geiroscogula. Bartholinus adds, that their number is yet greater, according to other writers who speak of them. They were the cupbearers of Odin, and conductors of the dead. They were distinguished by the elegance of their forms; and it would be as just to compare youth and beauty with age and deformity, as the Valkyrie of the North with the Witches of Shakspeare. STEEVENS. = 19:) thane of Glamis!] The thaneship of Glamis was the ancient inheritance of Macbeth's family. The castle where they lived is still standing, and was lately the magnificent residence of the earl of Strathmore. =20:) -thane of Cawdor!] Dr. Johnson observes, in his Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland, that part of Calder ACT I. 1:) i. e. when the storm is over. 2:) "ere the Castle, from which Macbeth drew his second title, is still set of sun." MALONE. : 3:) — Graymalkin!] To understand remaining. 21:) Are ye fantastical,] By fantastical, he this passage, we should suppose one familiar calling with means creatures of fantasy or imagination: the question is, the voice of a cat, and another with the croaking of a toad, Are these real beings before us, or are we deceived by ilwhich in the north is called paddock.=4:) Fair is foul, and||lusions of fancy?] JOHNSON. =22:) Of noble having,] Having, foul is fair: I believe the meaning is, that to us, perverse is estate, possession, fortune. =23:) That he seems wrapt and malignant as we are, fair is foul, and foul is fair. withal;] Rapt is rapturously affected, extra se raptus. = JOHNSON. 5:) "Doubtful” MALONE. = 6:)—to that, &c.]|| 24:) By Sinel's death,] The father of Macbeth. 25:) i. e. in addition to that, or, to that end. 7:) Of Keraes eaten of the insane root,] The insane root is the root which and Gallowglasses is supplied;] kernes and Gallowglasses makes insane, and which the commentators have not disare light and heavy armed foot, "Hine conjectura vigorem covered. 26:) His wonders and his praises do contend, || etiam adjiciunt arma quædam Hibernica, Gallicis antiquis Which should be thine, or his: &c.] i. e. private admiration similia, jacula nimirum peditum levis armaturæ, quos Kernos of your deeds, and a desire to do them public justice by vocant, nec nou secures & lorica ferreæ peditum illorum commendation, contend in his mind for pre-eminence. Or, gravioris armaturæ, quos Galloglassios appellant." Warai Antiq. Hiber. cap. vi. = 8:) And fortune, on his damned quarrel- Quarrel was formerly used for cause, or for the occasion of a quarrel, and is to be found in that sense in Holinshed's account of the story of Macbeth, who, upon the creation of the Prince of Cumberland, thought, says the historian, that he had a just quarrel to endeavour after the crown. The sense therefore is, Fortune smiling on his execrable cause, &c. JOHNSON. 9:) As whence the sun'gins his reflexion-] The thought is expressed with some obscurity, but the plain meaning is this: As the same quarter, whence the blessing of day-light arises, sometimes sends us, by a dreadful reverse, the calamities of storms and tempests; so the glorious event of Macbeth's victory, which promised us the comforts of peace, was immediately succeeded by the alarming news of the Norweyan invasion. 10:) flout the sky,] The banners may be poetically described as waving in mockery or defiance of the sky. The sense of the passage, however, collectively taken, is this: Where the triumphant flutter of the Norweyan standards ventilates or cools the soldiers who had been heated through their efforts to secure such numerous trophies of victory. 11:) Till that Bellona's bridegroom, lapp'd_in_proof] Lapt in proof, is, defended by armour of proof. By Bellona's bridegroom we may understand Macbeth, but why, the critics have not told us. = 12:) -Saint Colmes' inch, Colmes' inch, now called Inchcomb, is a small island lying in the Firth of Edinburgh, with an abbey upon it, dedicated to St. Columb; called by Camden, Inch Colm, or The Isle of Columba. 13:) "his present death,” MALONE. 14:) Aroint thee, witch!] Aroint, or avaunt, be gone. POPE. = 15:) the rump-fed ronyon-] The chief cooks in noblemeu's families, colleges, religious houses, hospitals, &c. anciently claimed the emoluments or kitchen fees of kidneys, fat, trotters, rumps, &c., which they sold to the poor. The weird sister in this scene, as an insult on the poverty of the woman who had called her witch, reproaches her poor abject state, as not being able to procure better provision than offals. Ronyon means scabby or mangy-woman. Fr. rogneux.= 16:)—the shipman's card.] The card is the paper on which the winds are marked under the pilot's needle; or perhaps the sea-chart, so called in our author's age. = 17:) He shall live a man forbid:] i. e. as one under a curse, an interdiction. To bid is originally to pray. As to forbid therefore implies to prohibit, in opposition to the word bid in its prese ut sense, it signifies by the same kind of opposition to curse, when it is derived from the same word in its primitive meaning. 18:) The weird sisters, hand in hand,] These weird sisters, were the Fates of the northern nations; the three hand-maids of Odin. Hæ nominantur Valkyriæ, quas quodvis ad prælium Odinus mittit. Hæ viros morti destinant, et victoriam gubernant. Gunna, et Rota, et Parcarum minima Skullda: per aëra et maria equitant semper ad morituros eligendos; et cædes in potestate habent Bartholinus de Causis contemptæ à Danis adhuc Gentilibus mortis. It is for this reason that Shakspeare makes them three; and calls them, Posters of the sea and land; and intent only upon death and mischief. However, to give this part of his work the more diguity, he intermixes, with this Northern, the Greek and Roman superstitions; and puts Hecate at the head of their enchantments. And to make it still more familiar to the common audience, (which was always his point) he adds, for another ingredient, a sufficient quantity of our own country superstitious concerning witches; their beards, their cats, and their broomsticks. So that his witch-scenes are like the charm they prepare in one of them; where the ingredients are gathered from every thing shocking iu the natural world, as here, from every thing absurd in the moral. But as extravagant as all this is, the play has had the power to charm and bewitch every audience, from that time to this. WARBURTON. The Valkyrie, or Falkyriur, were not barely three in number. The learned critic might have found in, Bartholinus, not only Gunna, Rota, et Skullda, but also

[ocr errors]

Is smother'd in surmise; and nothing is, || But what is not.] All powers of action are oppressed and crushed by one overwhelming image in the mind, and nothing is present to me but that which is really future. Of things now about me I have no perception, being intent wholly on that which has yet no existence. JOHNSON. = 37:) Time and the hour runs through the roughest day] i. e. time and occasion will carry the thing through, and bring it to some determined point and end, let its nature be what it will. Mrs. MONTAGUE. 38:) favour:] i. e. indulgence, pardon. 39:) - my dull brain was wrought-] My head was worked, agitated, put into commotion. = 40:) To find the mind's construction in the face:] Dr. Johnson seems to have onderstood the word construction in this place in the sense of frame or structure; but the school-term was, 1 believe, intended by Shakspeare. The meaning is― We cannot construe or discover the disposition of the mind by the lineaments of the face. MALONE. = = 41:) - full of growing.] is, exuberant, perfect, complete in thy growth. 42:) - hence to Inverness,] Dr. Johnson observes, in his Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland, that the walls of the castle of Macbeth, at Inverness, are yet standing. STEEVENS. 43:) The prince of Cumberland!] The crown of Scotland was originally not hereditary. When a successor was declared in the life-time of a king (as was often the case,) the title of Prince of Cumberland was immediately bestowed on him as the mark of his designation. Cumberland was at that time held by Scotland of the crown of England, as a fief. 44:)-missives from the king,] i. e. messengers. = 45:) -the golden round, | Which fate and metaphysical aid- The crown to which fate destines thee, and which preternatural agents endeavour to bestow upon thee. The golden round is the diadem. Metaphysical, which Dr. WarBurton has justly observed, means something supernatural, seems, in our author's time, to have had no other meaning. In the English Dictionary, by H. C. 1655, Metaphysics are thas explained; "Supernatural arts."46:) The raven himself is hoarse,] The following is, in my opinion, the seuse of this passage: Give him tending; the news he brings are worth the speed that made him lose his breath. [Exit Attendant.] "Tis certain now -- the raven himself is spent, is hoarse by croaking this very message, the fatal entrance of Duncan under my battlements. Lady Macbeth (for she was not yet unsexed) was likelier to be deterred from her design than encouraged in it by the supposed thought that the message and the prophecy (though equally secrets to the messenger and the raven) had deprived the one of speech, and added harshness to the other's note.

Unless we absurdly suppose the messenger acquainted with the hidden import of his message, speed alone had intercepted his breath, as repetition the raven's voice; though the lady considered both as organs of that destiny which hurried Duncan into her meshes. FUSELI. = 47:) mortal thoughts,] This expression signifies not the thoughts of mortals, but murderous, deadly, or destructive designs. 48:) remorse ;] Remorse, in ancient language, signifies pity. 49:) And pall thee-] i. e. wrap thyself in a pall. To pall, however, in the present instance, (as Mr. Douce observes,) may simply mean to wrap, to invest. 50:) That my keen knife-] The word knife, which at present has a familiar undignified meaning, was anciently used to express a sword or dagger.51:)- Great Glamis! worthy Cawdor!] Shakspeare has supported the character of Lady Macbeth by repeated efforts, and never omits any opportunity of adding a trait of ferocity, or a mark of the want of human feelings to this monster of his own creation. The softer passions are more obliterated in her than in her husband, in proportion as her ambition is greater. She meets him here on his arrival from an expedition of danger, with such a salutation as would have become one of his friends or vassals; a salutation apparently fitted rather to raise his thoughts to a level with her own purposes, than to testify her joy at his return, or manifest an attachment to his person: nor does any sentiment expressive of love or softness fall from her throughout the play. While Macbeth himself, amidst the horrors of his guilt, still retains a character less fiend-like than that of his queen, talks to her with a degree of tenderness, and pours his complaints and fears into her bosom, accompanied with terms of endearment. STEEVENS. =52:) Your face, my thane, is as a book, where men || May read, &c.] that is, thy looks are such as will awaken men's curiosity, excite their attention, and make room for suspicion. = 53:) To alter favour ever is to fear:] Favour is look, countenance. =54:) This castle hath a pleasant seat;] This short dialogue between Duncan and Banquo, whilst they are approaching the gates of Macbeth's castle, has always appeared to me a striking instance of what in painting is termed repose. Their conversation very naturally turns upon the beauty of its situation, and the pleasantness of the air; and Banquo observing the martlets' nests in every recess of the cornice, remarks, that where those birds most breed and haunt, the air is delicate. The subject of this quiet and easy conversation gives that repose so necessary to the mind after the tumultuous bustle of the preceding scenes, and perfectly contrasts the scene of horror that immediately succeeds. It seems as if Shakspeare asked himself, What is a prince likely to say to his attendants on such an occasion? Whereas the modern writers seem, on the contrary, to be always searching for new thoughts, such as would never occur to men in the situation which is represented. This also is frequently, the practice of Homer, who, from the midst of battles and horrors, relieves and refreshes the mind of the reader, by introducing some quiet rural image, or picture of familiar domestic life. Sir J. REYNOLDS. 55:)-coigne of vantage,] Convenient corner. Mr. Malone reads this passage thus: "no jutty, frieze, || “Buttress, nor coin of vantage, but this bird "Hath made his pendant bed, and procreant cradle: "Where they most breed and haunt, I have observ'd, || "The air is delicate." = 56:) The love that follows us, sometime is our trouble, || Which_still we thank as love. Herein I teach you, || How you shall bid God yield us for your pains, And thank us for your trouble.] This passage is undoubtedly obscure, and the following is the best explication of it I am able to offer:- Marks of respect, importunately shown, are sometimes troublesome, though we are still bound to be grateful for them, as indications of sincere attachment. If you pray for us on account of the trouble we create in your house, and thank us for the molestations we bring with us, it must be on such a principle. Herein I teach you that the inconvenience you suffer, is the result of our affection; and that you are therefore to pray for us, or thank us, only as far as prayers or thanks can be deserved for kindnesses that fatigue, and honours that oppress. You are, in short, to make your acknowledgments for intended respect and love, however irksome our present mode of expressing them may have proved. To bid is here used in the Saxon sense-to pray. STEEVENS. 57:) We rest your hermits.] Hermits, for beadsmen. =58) Your servants ever,&c.] The sense is: We, and all who belong to us, look upon our lives and fortunes not as our own properties, but as things we have received merely for your use, and for which we must be accountable, whenever you please to call us to our audit; when, like faithful stewards, we shall be ready to answer your summons, by returning you what is your own. = 59:) Enter a Sewer,] A sewer was an officer so called from his placing the dishes upon the table. Asseour, French; from asseoir, to place. = 60:) — If the assassination, &c.] Of this soliloquy the meaning is not very clear; I have never found the readers of Shakspeare agreeing about it. I understand it thus: "If that which I am about to do, when it is once done and executed, were done and ended without any following effects, it would then be best to do it quickly: if the murder could terminate in itself, and restrain the regular course of consequences, if its success would secure` its surcease, if, being once done successfully, without detection, it could fix a period to all vengeance and enquiry, so that this blow might be all that I have to do, and this anxiety all that I have to suffer; if this could be my con

[ocr errors]

=

=

[ocr errors]

She

dition, even here in this world, in this contracted period of temporal existence, on this narrow bank in the ocean of eternity, I would jump the life to come, I would venture upon the deed without care of any future state. But this is one of those cases in which judgment is pronounced and vengeance inflicted upon us here in our present life. We teach others to do as we have done, and are punished by our own example." JOHNSON. 61:) Hath borne his facul ties so meck,] Faculties, for office, exercise of power, de 62) Enter Lady-] The arguments by which lady Macbeth persuades her husband to commit the murder, afford a proof of Shakspeare's knowledge of human nature. urges the excellence and dignity of courage, a glitterg idea which has dazzled mankind from age to age, and anim ated sometimes the housebreaker, and sometimes the couqueror; but this sophism Macbeth has for ever destroyed, by distinguishing true from false fortitude in a line and a half; of which it may almost be said, that they ought to bestow immortality on the author, though all his other productions had been lost: I dare do all that may become a man, Who dares do more, is none. This topic, which has been always employed with too much success, is used in this scene, with peculiar propriety, to a soldier by a woman. Courage is the distinguishing virtue of a soldier; and the reproach of cowardice cannot be borne by any man from woman, without great impatience. She then urges the oaths by which he had bound himself to murder Duncan; another art of sophistry by which men have sometimes deluded their consciences, and persuaded themselves what would be eriminal in others is virtuous in them; this argument Shakspeare, whose plan obliged him to make Macbeth yield, bas not confuted, though he might easily have shown that ap former obligation could not be vacated by a latter; that obligations laid on us by a higher power, could not be overruled by obligations which we lay upon ourselves. JOHNSON. 63:) Would'st thou have that || Which thou esteem's the ornament of life, || And live a coward in thine own esteem;] Do you wish to obtain the crown, and yet would you remain such a coward in your own eyes all your life, as to suffer your paltry fears, which whisper, "I dare not, to controul your noble ambition, which cries out, "I would ?" STEEVENS. 64:) Like the poor cat i'the adage?] The adage alluded to is, The cat loves fish, but dares not wet her feet: "Catus amat pisces, sed non vult tingere plantas." = 65:) But screw your courage to the sticking-place,] This is a metaphor from an engine formed by mechanical complication. The sticking-place is the stop which suspends its powers, till they are discharged on their proper object; as in driving piles, &c. = 66:) Will I with wine and wassel 80 convince, &c.] To convince is, in Shakspeare, to overpower, or subdue. What was anciently called was-haile, (as appears from Selden's notes on the ninth Song of Drayton's Polyolbion) was an annual custom observed in the country on the vigil of the new year; and had its beginning, as some say, from the words which Ronix, daughter of Hengist, used, when she drank to Vortigern, loverd king was heil; he answering her, by direction of an interpreter, drine-heile. Afterwards it appears that was-haile, and drine-heil, were the usual phrases of quafling among the English; but wasseí is sometimes used for general riot, intemperance, or festivity. On the present occasion I believe it meaus interperance. STEEVENS. 67:) - the warder of the brain-] A warder is a guard, a sentinel. = 68:) -the receipt of reason- i. e. the receptacle. 69:) A limbeck only:] The timbeck is the vessel through which distilled liquors pass inte! the recipient. So shall it be with memory; through which every thing shall pass, and nothing remain. =70:)——whe shall bear the guilt || Úf our great quell?] Quell is murder, 1 manquellers being, in the old language, the term for which murderers is now used.=71:) Till this instaut the mind of Macbeth has been in a state of uncertainty and fluctuation. He has hitherto proved neither resolutely good, nor ebstinately wicked. Though a bloody idea had arisen in his mind, after he had heard the prophecy in his favour, yet he contentedly leaves the completion of his hopes to chance. At the conclusion, however, of his interview with Duncan, he inclines to hasten the decree of fate, and quits the stage with an apparent resolution to murder his sovereign. But no sooner is the king under his roof, than, reflecting on the peculiarities of his own relative situation, he determines not to offend against the laws of hospitality, or the ties of subjection, kindred, and gratitude. His wife then assails his constancy afresh. He yields to her suggestions, and, with his integrity, his happiness is destroyed. I have enumerated these particulars, because the waverings of Macbeth have, by some critics, been regarded as unnatural and contradictory circumstances in his character; not remembering that nemo repente fuit turpissimus, or that (as Angelo observes "--when once our grace we have forgot,, "Nothing goes right; we would, and we would not passage which contains no unapt justification of the changes that happen in the conduct of Macbeth. STEEVENS. =

ACT II. =1:) Scene I.] The place is not marked in the old edition, nor is it easy to say where this encounter can be. It is not in the hall, as the editors have all supposed it, for Banquo sees the sky; it is not far from the bedchamber, as the conversation shows: it must be in the inner court of the castle, which Banquo might properly cross in his way to bed. JOHNSON.=2:) There's husbandry in hea

[ocr errors]

=

-

o'clock. 21:) For 'tis my limited service.] Limited, for appointed.=22:) “Goes the king hence to-day?" - MALONE. 23:) He does:- he did appoint so.] The words-he does are omitted by Pope, Theobald, Hanmer, and Warburton. But perhaps Shakspeare designed Macbeth to shelter himself under an immediate falsehood, till a sudden recollection of guilt restrained his confidence, and unguardedly disposed him to qualify his assertion; as he well knew the king's "journey was effectually prevented by his death. 24:)--Here lay Duncan, His silver skin lac'd with his golden blood;] It is not improbable that Shakspeare put these forc'd and unnatural metaphors into the mouth of Macbeth, as a mark of artifice and dissimulation, to show the difference between the studied language of hypocrisy, and the natural outcries of sudden passion. This whole speech, so considered, is a remarkable instance of judgment, as it consists entirely of antithesis and metaphor. Yet some of these metaphors are to be found in old plays. JOHNSON.25:) Unmannerly breech'd with gore:] According to Mr. Steevens, the expression may mean, that the daggers were covered with blood quite to their breeches, i. e. their hilts, or handles. The lower end of a cannon is called the breech of it; and it is known that both to breech and to unbreech a gun are common terms; but Dr. Farmer says that the sense is, in plain language, Daggers filthily-in a foul manner, — sheath'd with blood, and has given an example where sheaths are called breeches. 26:) "Here, where our fate, hid in an augre hole," MALONE. 27)-- "Nor are strong sorrow || "Upon the foot of motion." MALONE. 28:) And when we have our naked frailties hid, That suffer in exposure,] i. e. when we have clothed our half-drest bodies, which may take cold from being exposed to the air. It is possible that, in such a cloud of words, the meaning might escape the reader. STEEVENS.=29:) In the great hand of God I stand; and, thence, Against the undivulg'd pretence I fight || Of treasonous malice.] Pretence is intention, design, a sense in which the word is often used by Shakspeare. Banquo's meaning is, in our present state of doubt and uncertainty about this murder, I have nothing to do but to put myself under the direction of God; and relying on his support, I here declare myself an eternal enemy to this treason, and to all its further designs that have not yet come to light. STEEVENS.30:)--the near in blood, The nearer bloody.] Meaning, that he suspected Macbeth to be the murderer; for he was the nearest in blood to the two princes, being the cousin-german of Duncan. STEEVENS. 31:) This murderous shaft that's shot, || Hath not yet lighted;] The design to fix the murder upon some innocent person has not yet taken effect; or, the end for which the murder was cominitted is not yet attained. 32:) they pretend?] i. e. intend, or design. = 33:) — Colmes-kill ;] Or Colm-kill, is the famous Iona, one of the western isles, which Dr. Johnson visited, and describes in his Tour. It is now called Icolmkill. Kill, in the Erse language, signifies a burying place.

ven, Husbandry here means, thrift, frugality.—3:) — Merciful powers! &c.] It is apparent from what Banquo says afterwards, that he had been solicited in a dream to attempt something in consequence of the prophecy of the witches, that his waking senses were shocked at; and Shakspeare has here most exquisitely contrasted his character with that of Macbeth. Banquo is praying against being tempted to encourage thoughts of guilt even in his sleep; while Macbeth is hurrying into temptation, and revolving in his mind every scheme, however flagitious, that may assist him to complete his purpose. The one is unwilling to sleep, lest the same phantoms should assail his resolution again, while the other is depriving himself of rest through impatience to commit the murder. = 4:) Sent forth great largess to your offices:] Offices are the rooms appropriated to servants and culinary purposes. Duncan was pleased with his entertainment, and dispensed his bounty to those who had prepared it. All the modern editors have transferred this largess to the officers of Macbeth, who would more properly have been rewarded in the field, or at their return to court. STEEVENS. Mr. Malone reads, officers. = 5:) — shut up-] To shut up, is to conclude. 6:) Being unprepar'd, &c. This is obscurely expressed. The meaning seems to be: Being unprepared, our entertainment was necessarily defective, and we only had it in our power to show the king our willingness to serve him. Had we received sufficient notice of his coming, our zeal should have been more clearly manifested by our acts. 7:) If you shall cleave to my consent, when 'tis,] Consent for will. So that the sense of the line is, If you shall go into my measures when I have determined of them, or when the time comes that I want your assistance. WARBURTON. Mr. Malone thinks we should read content, and strengthens his opinion by various quotations. 8:) And on thy blade, and dudgeon, gouts of blood,] Though dudgeon sometimes signifies a dagger, it more properly means the haft, or handle of a dagger, and is used for that particular sort of handle which has some ornament carved on the top of it.=9:) Now o'er the one half world Nature seems dead,] That is, over our hemisphere all action and motion seem to have ceased. This image, which is, perhaps, the most striking that poetry can produce, has been adopted by Dryden, in his Conquest of Mexico: "All things are hush'd as Nature's self lay dead, “The mountains seem to nod their drowsy head; The little birds in dreams their songs repeat, || "And sleeping flow'rs beneath the night-dews sweat. "Even lust and envy sleep!" These lines, though so well known, I have transcribed, that the contrast between them and this passage of Shakspeare may be more accurately observed. Night is described by two great poets, but one describes a night of quiet, the other of perturbation. In the night of Dryden, all the disturbers of the world are laid asleep, in that of Shakspeare, nothing but sorcery, lust, and murder, is awake. He that reads Dryden, finds himself lulled with serenity, and disposed to solitude and contemplation. He that peruses Shakspeare, looks round alarmed, and starts to find himself alone. One is the night of a lover; the other, of a murderer. JOHNSON. 10:) And take the present horror from the time, Which now suits with it. i. e. lest the noise from the stones take away from this midnight season that present horror which suits so well with what is going to be acted in it. What was the horror he means? Silence, than which nothing can be more horrid to the perpetrator of an atrocious design. This shows a great knowledge of human nature. WARBURTON. 11:)--Whiles I threat, he lives; Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives.] Here is evidently a false concord; but it must not be corrected, for it is necessary to the rhyme. Nor is this the only place in which Shakspeare has sacrificed grammar to rhyme. 12:) - Had he not resembled || My father as he slept, 1 had done't.] This is very artful. For, as the poet has drawn the lady and her husband, it would be thought the act should have been done by her. It is likewise highly just; for though ambition had subdued in her all the sentiments of nature towards present objects, yet the likeness of one past, which she had been accustomed to regard with reverence, made her unnatural passions, for a moment, give way to the sentiments of instinct and humanity. WARBURTON. 13:) As they had seen me,] i. e. as if. 14:)- the ravell'd sleave of care-] Sleave signifies the ravell'd knotty part of the silk, which gives great trouble and embarrassment to the knitter or weaver. = 15:) Glamis hath murder'd sleep; and therefore Cawdor Shall sleep no more, Macbeth shall sleep no more!] This triple menace, accommodated to the different titles of Macbeth, is too quaint to be received as the natural ebullition of a guilty mind. Introduce the adjuncts of a modern nobleman in the same manner, and the fault of the passage will become yet more conspicuous; as for instance-Norfolk hath murder'd sleep; and therefore Surrey | Shall sleep no more, Howard shall sleep no more!-16:) The multitudinous seas incarnardine,] To incarnardine is to stain any thing of a flesh colour, or red. Carnardine is the old term for carnation. By multi-puritans of early times, and the precursors of protestantudinous, the poet is supposed to mean seas of every denomination: or, the seas which swarm with inhabitants; or, perhaps alludes to the multitude of waves. The commentators are not agreed on this point. 17:) "Making the green one red."-MALONE. 18:) "I would thou could'st!" MALONE. = = 19:) — he should have old turning the key.]|| i. e. frequent, more than enough. 20:) till the second cock:] Cockcrowing, i. e. as Mr. Malone thinks, till three

-

ACT III.1:) "Sirrah, a word with you: Attend those men | Our pleasure?"- MALONE.2:)-royalty of nature-] Royalty, in the present instance, signifies nobleness, supreme excellence. 8:)-to-] i. e. in addition to.=4:) For Banquo's issue have I fil'd—] i. e. defiled. 5:)—the common enemy of man,] It is always au entertainment to an inquisitive reader, to trace a sentiment to its original source; and therefore, though the term enemy of man, applied to the devil, is in itself natural and obvious, yet some may be pleased with being informed, that Shakspeare probably borrowed it from the first lines of The Destruction of Troy; a book which he is known to have read. This expression, however, he might have had in many other places. The word fiend signifies enemy. = 6:)· --come, fate, into the list, And champion me to the utterance!] This passage will be best explained by translating it into the language from whence the only word of difficulty in it is borrowed. Que la destinée se rende en lice, et qu'elle me donne un défi à l'outrance. A challenge or a combat à l'outrance, to extremity, was a fixed term in the law of arms, used when the combatants engaged with an odium internecinum, an intention to destroy each other, in opposition to trials of skill at festivals, or on other occasions, where the contest was only for reputation or a prize. The sense therefore is: Let fate, that has foredoomed the exaltation of the sons of Banquo, enter the lists against me with the utmost animosity, in defence of its own decrees, which I will en deavour to invalidate, whatever be the danger. JOHNSON. 7:) "Now go to the door, - MALONE. = 8:) pass'd in probation with you, How you were borne in hand; &c.] Pass'd in probation is, perhaps, only a bulky phrase, employed to signify-proved. To bear in hand is, to delude by encouraging hope and holding out fair prospects, without any intention of performance. 9:) — Are you so gospell'd,] Are you of that degree of precise virtue? Gospeller was a name of contempt given by the Papists to the Lollards, the tism. JOHNSON. 10:) Shoughs,] Shoughs are probably what we now call shocks, demiwolves, lyciscæ; dogs bred between wolves and dogs. 11:) - the valued file-] In this speech the word file occurs twice. The valued file is the file or list where the value and peculiar qualities of every thing is set down, in contradistinction to what he immediately mentions, the bill that writes them all alike. File, in the second instance, is used in the same sense as in this,

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

in

and with a reference to it: Now if you belong to any class
that deserves a place in the valued file of man, and are
not of the lowest rank, the common herd of mankind, that
are not worth distinguishing from each other. = =12:)
such bloody distance,] By bloody distance is here meant,
such a distance as mortal enemies would stand at from each
other, when their quarrel must be determined by the sword.
This sense seems evident from the continuation of the me-
taphor, where every minute of his being is represented as
thrusting at the nearest part where life resides. = 13:) For
certain friends-] For, in the present instance, significs
because of. 14:) Acquaint you with the perfect spy o'the
time, The moment on't;] i. e. in ancient language, "ac-
quaint yourselves" with the exact time most favourable to
your purposes; for such a moment must be spied out by
you, be selected by your own attention and scrupulous ob
servation. You is ungrammatically employed, instead of
yourselves. = 15:) always thought, || That I require a
clearness;] i. e, you must manage matters so, that through-
out the whole transaction I may stand clear of suspicion.
=16:) sorriest fancies —] i. e. worthless, iguoble, vile.=
17:) "without all remedy," MALONE. 18:)-scotch'd-]
i. e. cut slightly. 19:) "But let the frame of things dis-
joint, "Both the worlds suffer," MALONE.=20:) In rest-
less ecstacy.] Ecstacy, for madness, or agony. = 21:) Pre-
sent him eminence,] i. e. do him the highest honours.=22:)
"unsafe the while, that we Must lave," &c. MA-
LONE. 23:) - nature's copy's not eterne.] The copy, the
lease by which they hold their lives from nature, has its
time of termination limited. JOHNSON. 24:) The shard-
borne beetle,] The shard-borne beetle is the beetle borne
along the air by its shards or scaly wings. = 25:) — Come,
seeling night, Seeling, i. e. blinding. It is a term in fal-
coury. =
26:) to their preys," &c. - MALONE. 27:)-
lated] i. e. belated, benighted. 28:) -the note of ex-
pectation,] i. e. they who are set down in the list of guests,
and expected to supper.=29:) Fleance, &c. escape.] Fleance,
after the assassination of his father, fled into Wales, where,
by the daughter of the prince of that country, he had a son
named Walter, who afterwards became Lord High Steward
of Scotland, and from thence assumed the name of Walter
Steward. From him, in a direct line, King James 1. was
descended; in compliment to whom our author has chosen
to describe Banquo, who was equally concerned with Mac-
beth in the murder of Duncan, as innocent of that crime.

[ocr errors]

=

herbs, or other objects when strongly solicited by enchantment. 49:)-slights,] Arts; subtle practices. =50:) “upes his aid"- MALONE. 51:) Free from our feasts and banquets bloody knives;] The construction is-Free our feasts and banquets from bloody knives. =52:)—and receive free honours, Free may be either honours freely bestowed, not purchased by crimes; or honours without slavery, without dread of a tyrant. JOHNSON. = = 53:) -the king,] I. e. Marbeth.=54:) "I'll send my prayers with him.' MALONE=

=

ACT IV. 1 1:) Harper cries:] Harper may be a mis spelling, or misprint for harpy. The word cries likewise seems to countenance this supposition. Crying is one of the technical terms appropriated to the noise made by birds of prey. 2:)-maw, and gulf,] The gulf is the swallow. the throat.3:) — ravin'd salt sea-shark ;] Ravin'd is glutted with prey.4:) Sliver'd in the moon's eclipse;] Sliver is a common word in the North, where it means to cut a piece or a slice. = 5:) Nose of Turk, and Tartar's lips:] These ingredients, in all probability, owed their introduction to the detestation in which the Turks were held, oa acconst of the holy wars. So solicitous, indeed, were our neighbours, the French, (from whom most of our prejudices, as well as customs, are derived,) to keep this idea awake, that even in their military-sport of the quintain, their soldiers were accustomed to point their lances at the figure of a Saracen. STEEVENS. 6:) Add thereto a tiger's chaudron, Chaudron, i, e. entrails. = 7:) —yesty waves-] that is, foam ing, or frothy waves. = 8:) Though bladed corn be lodg`d— Corn, prostrated by the wind, in modern language, is said to be lay'd; but lodg'd had anciently the same meaning. 9:) Though castles topple] Topple is used for tumble. = 10:) Of nature's germins-] Germins are seeds which have begun to germinate or sprout. Germen, Lat. Germe, Fr. =11:) deftly-] i. e. with adroitness, dexterously. Deft is a North country word.=12:) An Apparition of an armed Head rises.] The armed head represents symbolically Macbeth's head cut off and brought to Malcolm by Macduff. The bloody child is Macduff untimely ripped from his mother's womb. The child with a crown on his head, and a bough in his hand, is the royal Malcolm, who ordered his soldiers to hew them down a bough, and bear it before them to Dunsinane. 13:) Thou hast harp'd-] To harp, is to touch on a passion as a harper touches a string. — 14:) 30:) Was't not the way?] i. e. the best means we could "speak not to't." MALONE. 15:) Who can impress the take to evade discovery; or, perhaps, to effect our purpose. forest; i. e. who can command the forest to serve him like 31:) Our hostess keeps her state, &c.] i. e. continues in a soldier impressed. 16:) what noise-] Noise, in our her chair of state at the head of the table.=32:)—trenched ancient poets, is often literally synonymous for music. = gashes-] Trencher, to cut. Fr. 38:)—the feast is sold, 17:) "And thy air," MALONE. 18:) to the crack of &c.] The meaning is, That which is not given cheerfully, doom] i. e. the dissolution of nature. Crack has now a cannot be called a gift, it is something that must be paid mean signification. It was anciently employed in a more for.=34:) "Here, my good lord.” — MALONE.=35:) — upon exalted sense. =19:) That two-fold balls and treble scepter a thought- i. e. as speedily as thought can be exerted.= carry:] This was intended as a compliment to King James 86:) -0, these flaws, and starts, || (Impostors to true fear) the First, who first united the two islands and the three would well become, &c.] Flaws are sudden gusts. Impostors kingdoms under one head; whose house too was said to be to true fear, mean impostors when compared with true fear. descended from Banquo.=20:) Mr. Malone omits 4y. =21;) Such is the force of the preposition to in this place.37:) the blood-bolter'd Banquo-1 To bolter, in Warwickshire, Ere human statute purg'd the gentle weal;] The gentle signifies to daub, dirty, or begrime. = 22:) — cheer we up weal, is, the peaceable community, the state made quiet his sprights,] i. e. spirits.23:) That trace his line.] ic and safe by human statutes: or rather that state of inno- follow, succeed in it. Mr. Malone reads “trace him in his cence which did not require the aid of human laws to ren- line.' 24:) - natural touch:] Natural sensibility. He is der it quiet and secure. =38:) — to all, and him, we thirst,] not touched with natural affection. JOHNSON.=25:) The fils, We thirst, perhaps, means we desire to drink. = 39:) And o'the season.] What is most fitting to be done in every coaall to all. i. e. all good wishes to all; such as he had named juncture. 26:) -- when we are traitors, | And do not above, love, health, and joy. = 40:) If trembling 1 inhibit -] know ourselves;] When we are considered by the state as i. e. forbid. 41: Can such things be, || And overcome us traitors, while at the same time we are unconscious of guilt; like a summer's cloud, || Without our special wonder?] The when we appear to others so different from what we really meaning is, can such wonders as these pass over us with- are, that we seem not to know ourselves. = 27:) — when we out wonder, as a casual summer cloud passes over us? = hold rumour-] i. e. believe rumour. = 28:)— in your state 42:) You make me strange || Even to the disposition of honour I am perfect.] i. e. I am perfectly acquainted that I owe,] Mr. Steevens explains these words thus:- You with your rank of honour, = 29:) Bestride our down-fall's prove to me that I am a stranger even to my own disposi-birthdom:] The allusion is to a man from whom something tion, when I perceive that the very object which steals the valuable is about to be taken by violence, and who, that be colour from my cheek, permits it to remain in yours. In may defend it without incumbrance, lays it on the ground.¦ other words You prove to me how false an opinion I have and stands over it with his weapon in his hand. Our birthhitherto maintained of my own courage, when yours, on the dom, or birthright, says he, lies on the ground; let us, like trial, is found to exceed it. =43) Augurs, and understood men who are to fight for what is dearest to them, not abanrelations, &c.] Perhaps we should read, auguries, i. e. prog- don it, but stand over it and defend it. This is a streng nostications by means of omens and prodigies. These, to- picture of obstinate resolution. = 30:) — to friend,) i, e. to gether with the connection of effects with causes, being un befriend. 31:) — and wisdom-] That is, and 'tis wisdem. derstood, (says he,) have been instrumental in divulging the = 32:) A good and virtuous nature may recoil, | In an immost secret murders. Magot pie is the original name of perial charge.] A good mind may recede from goodness in the bird; magot being the familiar appellation given to pies, the execution of a royal commission. JOHNSON. — 33:) **But of which the modern mag is the abbreviation. 44:) How I shall crave your pardon;"— MALONE. = 34:) Though all say'st thou, &c.] i. e. What do you think of this circum- things foul, &c.] This is not very clear. The meaning, perstance, that Macduff denies to come at our great bidding? haps, is this: My suspicions cannot injure you, if you be What do you infer from thence? What is your opinion of virtuous, by supposing that a traitor may put on your visthe matter? The circumstance on which this question is tuous appearance. I do not say that your virtuous appear i founded, took its rise from the old history. Macbeth sent ance proves you a traitor; for virtue must wear its proper to Macduff to assist in building the castle of Dunsinane. form, though that form be counterfeited by villaing." JosxMacduff sent workmen, &c. but did not choose to trust his SON.35) Why in that rawness-] Without previous pro person in the tyrant's power. From that time he resolved vision, without due preparation, without maturity of counsel on his death. STEEVENS. 45:)- be scann'd.] To scan is = 36:) Thy title is affeer'd!] Affeer'd, a law term for conto examine nicely. 46:) You lack the season of all na- firm'd. = 37:) grows with more pernicious root Than 1 tures, sleep. i, e. you stand in need of the time or season summer-seeding lust:] The allusion is to plants; and the of sleep, which all natures require. 47:) "Unto a dismal sense is,"Avarice is a perennial weed: it has a deeper and a fatal end." MALONE. == 48:) vaporous drop pro- and more pernicious root than lust, which is a mere annual, found;] This vaporous drop seems to have been meant for and lasts but for a summer, when it sheds its sced and de-. the same as the virus lunare of the ancients, being a foam cays." BLACKSTONE. But Mr. Malone reads, “summer-seemwhich the moon was supposed to have shed on particular || ing." 38:)-foysons, plenty 39:) All these are por

[ocr errors]

=

=

4

[ocr errors]
« AnteriorContinuar »