Apologie of Poetrie, written 1590. and prefixed to the tranflation of Arifto, fays, that a tragedy of Richard the Third had been acted at Cambridge. His words are, "For tragedies, to omit other "famous tragedies, that which was played at St. John's in "Cambridge, of Richard the "Third, wou'd move, I think, Phalaris the tyrant, and ter"rifie all tyrannous minded men, &c." He most probably means Shakespeare's; and if fo, we may argue, that there is fome more antient edition of this play than what I have mentioned; at least this fhews us how early Shakespeare's play appeared: or if fome other Richard the me. NOTES to the SIXTH VOLUME. P. 18. For the plague of cuftom, we may read by a very easy change, the place of cuftom. The place which cuftom, and only custom, not nature, hath allotted J. SIMPSON, Efq; P. 18. Thou, nature, art my goddess ;] Dr. Warburton (for the fake of introducing an oftentatious note) fays, that Shakespeare has made his baftard an Atheist; when it is very plain that Edmund only speaks of na❤ ture in oppofition to cuftom, and not (as he supposes) to the exiftence of a God. Mr. STEEVENS. P. 41. Like an engine wrench'd my frane f nature.] Mr. Edwards conjectures that an engine is the rack. He is right. To engine is, in Chaucer, to strain upon the rack. P. 42. Of fifty to difquantity your train] Mr. Pope propofes a little in the room of fifty, and gives as his reafon for the change, that the number (as the editions flood) was no more fpecified by Goneril If Mr. Pope had examined the copies as accurately as he pretended to have done, he would have found in the first filio that Lear, after these words, To have a thankless child-go, go, my people; has an exit marked for him, and goes out while Albany and Gneril have a thort conference of two fpeeches, and then returns in a fill greater paffion, having been been informed (as it should feem) of the exprefs number without. What! fifty of my followers at a clap? This renders all change needlefs, and away, away, being reftored, prevents the repetition of go, go, my people; which, as the text now ftands, concludes both that and the foregoing fpeech. Goneril with great art avoids to mention the limited number, and leaves him to be informed of it by accident, which she knew would be the cafe as soon as he left her prefence. Mr. STEEVENS. P. 62. He wears cruel garters.] I believe a quibble was here intended. Crewel fignifies worsted, of which ftockings, garters, night caps, &c. are made, and is used in that fenfe in Beaumont and Fletcher's Scornful Lady, act ii. "For who that had but half "his wits about him, P. Have been my food for Seven long year-] Warburton, inftead of deare, propofes geare; but I have discovered that these two lines are taken from an old black letter'd romance of St. Beyuys of Hampton, 4to. printed for William Copland, in which occurs this paffage, ftated within ratts, &c. Mr. PERCY. P. 102. By the kind Gods.-] Dr. Warburton is of opinion that Shakespeare, by the kind Gods, means the dii hofpitales. I agree with him, that the Poet "never "makes his people fwear at ran- boys, are we to th' Gods ;} They kill us for their sport.-] It may not be unentertaining to the reader to have an opportunity of feeing how differently this idea has been expreffed by three great poets of different ages. Dii nos quafi pilas homines babent. Plaut. Captiv. Prol. L.. 22. Ludit in humanis divina potentia rebus. Ovid. Lib. 4. de Ponto Eleg. 3. My lord is dead'; Edmund and And more convenient is he for Than for your lady's; you may gather more. If you do find him, pray you give him this; And when your mistress bears thus much from you, I pray defire her call her wif dom to her.] This paffage, by a word's being left out and a word mifplaced, and a full stop put where there fhould be but a comma, comma, has led all our editors into a very great mistake; as will, I hope, appear, when we proceed a little further in the fame play. The emendation is as follows: "Therefore I do advise you, i. e. this anfwer by word of mouth. The editors, not fo regardful of confiftency as they ought to have been, ran away with the thought, that Regan delivered a letter to the fteward; whereas the only defired him to give, or deliver fo much by word of mouth. And by this means another blunder, as egregious as the former, and arifing out of it, prefents itself to view in the fame act, fc. ix. p. 121. "And give the letters, which 66 "Let's fee thefe pockets, the letters that he speaks " of, May be my friends." Reads the letter. Obferve, that here is but one letter produced and read, which is Goneril's. Had there been one of Regan's too, the audience no doubt fhould have heard it as well as Goneril's. But it is plain, from what is amended and explained above, that the fteward had no letter from Regan, bet only a meffage to be delivered by word of mouth to Edmund earl of Glofter. So that it is not to be doubted, but the last passage should be read thus. "And give the letter, which " of, "May be my friends.”— Thus the whole is connected, clear, and confiftent. Dr. GRAY. P. 125. Edg. Had' ft thou been ought but gofs'mer feathers, air, Thou'dft biver'd like an egg, &c.] Goffomore, the white and cobweb-like exhalations that fly about in hot funny weather. Skinner fays, in a book called the French Gardiner, it fignifies the down of the fow-thiftle, which is driven to and fro by the wind. "As fure fome wonder on the "caufe of thunder, "On ebb and flood, on gof "Somer and mist, "And on all things, till that "the cause is wift." Dr. GRAY. P. 128. -nor the fall'd borfe Goes to't with a mare riotous appetite.] Soy'd horse in all the other editions I believe, and it is a term now ufed for a horse that has been fed long with hay and corn in the stable, and in spring The like expreffion, Twelfth Night, act iii. fc. iv. vol. iii. P. 168. Sir Tody. " Challenge me the Duke's youth, to fight with him; "hurt him in eleven places; my niece fhall take note of it. has has fresh grafs carried to him thither, upon which he feeds gree. dily. Dr. GRAY. P. 136. -Restoration hang Thy medicine on my lips-] Dr. Warburton fays that Cordelia in vokes the goddess of health, Hygicia, under the name of Reftoration; but I believe the reader will join with me in thinking, that if Shakespeare meant any goddefs in this place, it was one of his own making; for we may fuppofe the Pantheons of that age (from whence most probably he furnished himself with his knowledge in mythology) were not fo particular as to take notice of the fecondary deities; and the Poet, had he been acquainted with her name, would certainly have called her by it. Refloration means no more than recovery perfonified. Mr. STEEVENS. P. 140. Do you not love my fifter? Edm. In honour'd love.] After this line, the quarto of 1608 continues the dialogue thus; and I fee no reason why it should be omitted. Reg. But have you never found my brother's way To the fore-fended place? Balt. That thought abufes you. Reg. I am doubtful that you have been conjun&t And befom'd with her, as far as we call hers. Baft. No, by mine honour, ma dam. The firit and last of these fpeeches are inferted in Sir T. Hanmer's, and I believe in Theobald's and Dr. Warburton's editions; but the two intermediate ones are omitted in all; by which means the baftard is made to deny that flatly at first, which the poet only meant to make him evade, or return flight answers to, till he is urged fo far as to be obliged to fhelter himself under an immediate falfhood. Mr. STEEVENS. P. 145. The goujeres shall conSume them flesh and fell.] Both flesh and fkin. So Skelton's works, p. 257. Nakyd afyde "Neither fleb nor fell." Chaucer ufeth fell and bones, for fkin and bones. 66 "And faid that he and all his "kinne at once, "Were worthy to be brent "with fell and bone.” Troilus and Creffeide, 1.91. Dr. GRAY. P. 170. In the note, for or art, read of art. P. 175. In the note, for well be him, read well be he. P. 320. the enemies coftle.] The Revifal affirms, and, I think, proves, that cafk is right. P. 347: Get me a ladder] Mr. Theobald has very officiously tranfplanted this half line into the mouth of Lucius, and defires to know why the Moor, who wanted to have his child faved, should ask for a ladder. Aaron very properly anfwers, get me a ladder, that is, hang me, but fpare my child. Could any circumstance fhew a greater defire of faving his child than the offer of himself in its room? Aaron knows he muft die, and being quite careless about it, would only haften that which he fees is unavoidable at laft, to make make it the means of faving his own offspring. Mr. STEEVENS. P. 340. Marc. My lord, I am a mile beyond the moon.] My lord, I ayme a mile beyond the moon. Folios 1623, and 1632. P. 405. Dr. GRAY. -thou found and firm-fit earth.] A corrupt reading will sometimes direct us to find out the true one. The firft folio has it. -thou lowre and firm-Jet earth. This brings us very near the right word, which was evidently meant to be, -thou fure and firm-fet earth. Mr. STEEVENS. Certainly right. P. 408. Macbeth. Sleep that knits up the ravell'd fleeve of care.] To confirm the ingenious conjecture that fleeve means fleaved, filk ravelled, it is obfervable, that a poet of ShakeSpeare's age, Drayton, has alJuded to it likewife, in his queft of Cynthia. "At length I on a fountain light, "Whose brim with pinks was platted, "The banks with daffadillies not yet attained. The death of the king only could neither insure the crown to Macbeth, nor aċcomplish any other purpose, while his fons were yet living, who had therefore just reason to ap prehend they should be removed by the fame means. The defign to fix the murder on fome innocent perfon had taken effect, for it was already adjudged to have been done by the grooms, who appeared intoxicated, even after it was discovered, and during that ftate, were fuppofed, at firft, to have been guilty of it; though the flight of Malcolm, and his brother, afforded Macbeth afterwards a fairer pretext for laying it to their charge. P. 440. indiget. Mr. STEEVENS. For indicet, read P. 468.-bell is murky.] Lady Macbeth is acting over, in a dream, the bufinefs of the murder, and encouraging her hufband, as when awake. She, therefore, would never have faid any thing of the terrors of hell to one whofe confcience fhe faw was too much alarmed already for her purpose. She certainly imagines herself here talking to Macbeth, who (the fuppofes) has juft faid, hell is murky, (i.e. hell is a difmal place to go to, in confequence of fuch a deed) and repeats his words in contempt of his cowardice. Hell is murky!-Fie, fie, my lord, &c. This explanation, I think, gives a spirit to the paffage, which, for want of being underftood, has always appeared languid on the ftage. Mr. STEEVENS. P. 472. |