To tell this tale of mine. Cym. I am sorry for thee: Imo. I thought had been my lord. Cym. That headless man Bind the offender, Stay, sir king. And take him from our presence. 9 Bel. [To the Guard. Cym. Arv. In that he spake too far. We will die all three: But I will prove that two on's are as good Arv. Gui. And our good his. Bel. Your danger's our's. Have at it, then, by leave. Thou hadst, great king, a subject, who was call'd Assum'd this age: indeed, a banish'd man; 8 I am SORRY for thee:] The folio, 1623, has sorrow for "sorry," which last was substituted in the folio, 1632. 9 This MAN is better] The Rev. Mr. Dyce has pointed out the accidental omission of "man" in this line: the same lapse is also duly noted by Mr. Singer, and we are glad to remedy the defect, and to thank them both. 10 Had ever SCAR for.] We do not alter the old text here, though most likely faulty: "scar," printed scarre in the folio, 1623, can hardly be right; and if the annotations of the corrector of the folio, 1632, had here been preserved, we might expect that some fitter word (possibly sense) would have been found substituted in his margin. First pay me for the nursing of thy sons; As I have receiv'd it. Cym. Nursing of my sons? Bel. I am too blunt, and saucy; here's my knee: Then, spare not the old father. Mighty sir, Cym. How! my issue? Bel. So sure as you your father's. I, old Morgan, Was all the harm I did. These gentle princes For that which I did then: beaten for loyalty Excited me to treason. The more of you 'twas felt, the more it shap'd Fall on their heads like dew, for they are worthy Cym. Thou weep'st, and speak'st. The service that you three have done is more 1 — I will PREFER my sons;] Preferre, of the old copies, seems here again misprinted for preserve: see Vol. iii. pp. €86. 689. 2 my MERE offence,] The first folio having misprinted "mere" neere, it became near in the later folios, and some editors have substituted dear. Tyrwhitt recommended "mere." Unlike than this thou tell'st. I lost my children: A pair of worthier sons. Bel. Be pleas'd a while.— Your younger princely son; he, sir, was lapp'd Cym. Guiderius had Who hath upon him still that natural stamp. Cym. Oh! what am I A mother to the birth of three? Ne'er mother No, my lord; Imo. When you were so indeed *. Arv. Ay, my good lord. Did you e'er meet? And at first meeting lov'd; Continued so, until we thought he died. Cor. By the queen's dram she swallow'd. Oh rare instinct ! When shall I hear all through? This fierce abridgment 3 Bless'd, PRAY you, be,] i. e. Bless'd I pray that you may be. Modern editors change "pray" of all the old copies into may, and if it were necessary, we would follow their example. When you were so indeed.] The folio has we for "you;" a misprint, which, Malone says, was corrected by Rowe. This is a mistake: Rowe allowed the old text to remain. 5 This FIERCE abridgment] Shakespeare here, and in a few other places in his Hath to it circumstantial branches, which Distinction should be rich in.-Where? how liv'd you? I know not how much more, should be demanded, From chance to chance; but nor the time, nor place, And she, like harmless lightning, throws her eye Thou art my brother: so we'll hold thee ever. [TO BELARIUS. Imo. You are my father, too; and did relieve me, To see this gracious season. Cym. All o'erjoy'd, Save these in bonds: let them be joyful too, For they shall taste our comfort. Imo. I will yet do you service. Luc. My good master, Happy be you! Cym. The forlorn soldier, that so nobly fought, He would have well become this place', and grac'd The soldier that did company these three In poor beseeming: 'twas a fitment for works, uses the epithet "fierce" (possibly we might here substitute forc'd, i. e. compulsory,) with some peculiarity: in Vol. ii. p. 178, we have had “fierce endeavour," and in Vol. v. p. 260, "fierce wretchedness." 6 Will serve our long INTER'GATORIES.] Apparently so pronounced in the time of Shakespeare, and sometimes so printed, as in "All's Well that ends Well," Vol. ii. p. 604, where the sentence is only prose; and in "The Merchant of Venice," Vol. ii. p. 346, where the word occurs in verse twice. In the passage in our text it is printed interrogatories in the folios. 7 He would have well BECOME this place,] In the folio, 1623, "become" is printed becom'd, probably a mere error of the press; but it has been adopted by Malone, and by modern editors who have followed his text. Any body acquainted with old writing will see at once how "become" (as no doubt Shakespeare wrote it) might easily be misread becom'd by an ignorant printer. The purpose I then follow'd.-That I was he, I am down again; Iach. [Kneeling. As then your force did. Take that life, beseech you, Post. Kneel not to me: The power that I have on you is to spare you; Cym. We'll learn our freeness of a son-in-law: Pardon's the word to all. As Arv. Nobly doom'd. You holp us, sir", you did mean indeed to be our brother; Joy'd are we, that you are. Post. Your servant, princes.-Good my lord of Rome, Call forth your soothsayer. As I slept, methought, Great Jupiter, upon his eagle back'd", Appear'd to me, with other spritely shows Of mine own kindred: when I wak'd, I found Luc. Sooth. Here, my good lord. Philarmonus! [Coming forward. Read, and declare the meaning. Sooth. [Reads.] "When as a lion's whelp' shall, to him 8 You HOLP us, sir,] Shakespeare so constantly uses this old past tense of to help, that it can hardly need a note here: sometimes, in the early editions, it may have been mistaken for hope, the ear having been misled. 9 · upon his eagle BACK'D,] So all the folios; but modern editors strangely prefer "upon his eagle back :" if they thought fit to make this change in the text, they ought to have printed "upon his eagle's back." Perhaps, for "spritely" in the next line, we ought to read spritelike; and such is the meaning. 1 "When as a lion's whelp] "It is not easy to conjecture," says Coleridge (Lit. Rem. Vol. ii. p. 128), "why Shakespeare should have introduced this ludicrous scroll, which answers no one purpose, either propulsive or explicatory, unless as a joke on etymology." It is very possible that the scroll and the vision were parts of an older play, and such riddles were so popular, especially on our older stage, that Shakespeare may not have liked to omit it. |