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by Mr. Malone: "fire," unquestionably, is often a dissyllable; and when so, should be spelled accordingly; but, here, it must be a monosyllable, and leave the line defective, unless we accentuate in this strange way, fi-er'. We might read : "And with the brands then fire the traitors' houses."

SCENE III.

365. "You'll bear me a bang for that, I fear." A bang that I shall give you; I intend to beat you.

ACT IV. SCENE I.

368. "In some taste, is Lepidus but so."

He has some smack or relish even of the beast I have described.

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One that feeds

"On objects, arts, and imitations."

One whose mind is amused and occupied by trite and obvious things, and is unsusceptible of an inbred or noble ambition.

370. "Listen great things."

Listen, a verb active.

375.

SCENE III.

"You have condemn'd and noted Lucius Pella

"Wherein my letters were slighted off."

I believe we should read, whereon.

You yourself

"Are much condemn'd to have an itching palm."

Condemn'd for having, i. e. censured for having; it is a very harsh expression.

381. "O, Cassius, you are yoked with a lamb, "That carries anger, as the flint bears fire, "Who, much enforced, shews a hasty spark."

I once thought that the antecedent to "who" was "the flint," and that, of course, we ought to have, instead of the personal pronoun, the neuter, which; but I now believe" the lamb" is the devoted antecedent.

382. "Makes me forgetful."

We might remove the terminating syllable of forgetful, and so obtain metre:

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Some words are missing; perhaps these:

"Ha! Portia ? brother, said you?
She is dead."

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"That tidings," though it now seems uncouth, is proper: "tidings," like news, riches, manners, &c. is the singular number, as will be evident if we try to detach from it the seeming plural termination: "tiding" is no word at all, at least not in the sense here required. On this subject Dr. Lowth appears to be mistaken, in his excellent Essay of Grammar, Ed. 1787, page 34, where, quoting a passage from Atterbury, and another from Addison:

"A good character should not be rested in, as an end, but employed as a means of doing still further good." Atterbury.

"I have read an author of this taste that compares a ragged coin to a tattered colours."

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Addison. Upon which Dr. Lowth asks, ought it not to a mean?" &c. "Means" is not the plural of the noun, 66 mean," but, notwithstanding etymological alliance, a different word, "mean," is simply "medium" "means" is the instrument or agency for a particular purpose. In like manner, if we withdraw the s from colours, we leave the word incapable of expressing the sense; for "colours" (ensign) was never called colour. 386. "Portia, art thou gone?"

A syllable is wanting to the metre: perhaps, "Ah! Portia, art thou gone?

387.

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No more I pray you."

And bills of outlawry.”

This I take to be interpolated; it encumbers the verse, and is wholly superfluous to the sense.

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The words "it is," which encumber the verse, should be omitted.

389. "

Then, with your will, go on."

The disorder of the metre, here, might be corrected thus:

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"Or lose our ventures

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Then, with your good will "We will along, and meet them at Philippi.”

Nature must obey necessity, "Which we will niggard with a little rest."

i. e. Nature, which we will stint to a niggardly allowance of rest, must obey necessity. "Which" is not sufficiently connected with its antecedent. 391. "Look, Lucius, here's the book I sought for so."

This is among the many of those charming touches of nature that abound in Shakspeare, and which, I believe, we shall in vain seek for in the works of any other poet, where an incident is introduced wholly immaterial to the plot or conduct of the scene, yet perfectly congenial to the character of the agent, and illustrative of it: thus, the impetuous Hotspur forgets the map, though no inconvenience is proposed from the want of it; and here, the sedate and philosophic Brutus, discomposed a little by the stupendous cares upon his mind, forgets where he had left his book of recreation.

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Ay, good, my lord, an't please yoŭ.
It does, my boy."

"It is my duty."

Some words seem to have been lost; perhaps, like these:

"It is my duty to my still kind lord.”

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"I'll take it from thee."

There is something exquisitely delicate and affecting in this scene between Brutus and the boy.

394. "Didst thou dream, Lucius, that thou so cry'dst out?"

Are we to suppose that Brutus advances this in order to conceal or disguise his own terrors, or that some stage direction for the boy's crying has been omitted: I think the latter is the probable conclusion, as the alternative would be a disingenuousness incompatible with the noble character of Brutus.

396.

166

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'Fearful," as Mr. Malone observes, as often,

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