IV.xv.39 (239,4) Quicken with kissing] That is, Revive by my kiss.
IV.xv.44 (239,6) That the false huswife Fortune break her wheel] This despicable line has occurred before.
IV.xv.65 (240,8) The soldier’s pole] He at whom the soldiers pointed, as at a pageant held high for observation.
IV.xv.72 (240,9)
Char. Peace, peace, Iras.
Cleo. No more — but e’en a woman]
[W: peace, Isis] Of this note it may be truly said, that it at least deserves to be right, nor can he, that shall question the justness of the emendation, refuse his esteem to the ingenuity and learning with which it is proposed.
Hanmer had proposed another emendation, not injudiciously. He reads thus,
Iras. Royal Aegypt! empress!
Cleo. Peace, peace, Iras.
No more but a mere woman, &c.
That is, no more an empress, but a mere woman.
It is somewhat unfortunate that the words, mere woman, which so much strengthen the opposition to either empress or Isis, are not in the original edition, which stands thus,
No more but in a woman.
Mere woman was probably the arbitrary reading of Rowe. I suppose, however, that we muy justly change the ancient copy thus,
No more, but e’en a woman.
which will enough accommodate either of the editors.
I am inclined to think that she speaks abruptly, not answering her woman, but discoursing with her own thoughts,
No more — but e’en a woman.
I have no more of my wonted greatness, but am even a woman, on the level with other women; were I what I once was.
— It were for me
To throw my scepter, &c.
If this simple explanation be admitted, how much labour has been thrown away. Peace, peace, Iras, is said by Charmian, when she sees the queen recovering, and thinks speech troublesome.
V.i.15 (244,4) The round world/Should have shook lions into civil streets] I think here is a line lost, after which it is in vain to go in quest. The sense seems to have been this: The round world should have shook, and this great alteration of the system of things should send lions into streets, and citizens into dens. There is sense still, but it is harsh and violent.
V.i.27 (244,5) but it is tidings/To wash the eyes of kings!] That is, May the Gods rebuke me, if this be not tidings to make kings weep.
But, again, for if not.
V.i.46 (245,7) that our stars,/Unreconciliable, should divide/Our equalness to this] That is, should have made us, in our equality of fortune, disagree to a pitch like this, that one of us must die.
V.i.52 (246,8) A poor Aegyptian yet; the queen my mistress] If this punctuation be right, the man means to say, that he is yet an Aegyptian, that is, yet a servant of the queen of Aegypt, though soon to become, a subject of Rome.
V.i.65 (246,9) her life in Rome/Would be eternal in our triumph] Hanmer reads judiciously enough, but without necessity,
Would be eternalling our triumph.
The sense is, If she dies here, she will be forgotten, but if I send her in triumph at Rome, her memory and my glory will be eternal.
V.ii.3 (247,1) fortune’s knave] The servant of fortune.
V.ii.4 (247,2)
it is great
To do that thing, that ends all other deeds;
Which shackles accidents, and bolts up change;
Which sleeps, and never palates more the dung,
The beggar’s nurse, and Caesar’s]
[Warburton added a whole line and emended “dung” to “dugg”] I cannot perceive the loss of a line, or the need of an emendation. The commentator seems to have entangled his own ideas; his supposition that suicide is called the beggar’s nurse and Caesar’s, and his concession that the position is intelligible, show, I think, a mind not intent upon the business before it. The difficulty of the passage, if any difficulty there be, arises only from this, that the act of suicide, and the state which is the effect of suicide are confounded. Voluntary death, says she, is an act which bolts up change; it produces a state,
Which sleeps, and never palates more the dung,
The beggar’s nurse, and Caesar’s.
Which has no longer need of the gross and terrene sustenance, in the use of which Caesar and the beggar are on a level.
The speech is abrupt, but perturbation in such a state is surely natural.
V.ii.29 (249,4) I am his fortune’s vassal, and I send him/The greatness he has got] I allow him to be my conqueror; I own his superiority with complete submission.
V.ii.34 (249,5) You see how easily she may be surpriz’d] This line in the first edition is given not to Charuian, but to Proculeius; and to him it certainly belongs, though perhaps misplaced. I would put it at the end of his foregoing speech,
Where he for grace is kneel’d to.
[Aside to Gallus.] You see, how easily she may be surpriz’d.
Then while Cleopatra makes a formal answer, Gallus, upon the hint given, seizes her, and Proculeius, interrupting the civility of his answer,
— your plight is pity’d
Of him that caus’d it.
Cries out,
Guard her till, Caesar come.
V.ii.40 (250,6) who are in this/Reliev’d, but not betray’d] [W: Bereav’d, but] I do not think the emendation necessary, since the sense is not made better by it, and the abruptness in Cleopatra’s answer is more forcible in the old reading.
V.ii.42 (250,7) rids our dogs of languish] For languish, I think we may read, anguish.
V.ii.48 (251,8) Worth many babes and beggars] Why, death, wilt thou not rather seize a queen, than employ thy force upon babes and beggars. (see 1765, VII, 238, 9)
V.ii.50 (251,9) If idle talk will once be necessary] [This nonsense should be reformed thus,
If idle TIME whill once be necessary.
i.e. if repose be necessary to cherish life, I will not sleep. WARBURTON.] I do not see that the nonsense is made sense by the change. Sir T. Hanmer reads,
If idle talk will once be accessary;
Neither is this better. I know not what to offer better than an easy explanation. That is, I will not eat, and if it will be necessary now for once to waste a moment in idle talk of my purpose, I will not sleep neither. In common conversation we often use will be, with as little relation to futurity. As, Now I am going, it will be fit for me to dine first.
V.ii.98 (254,2)
yet to imagine
An Antony, were Nature’s piece ‘gainst Fancy,
Condemning shadows quite]
[W: Nature’s prize] In this passage I cannot discover any temptation to critical experiments. The word piece, is a term appropriated to works of art. Here Nature and Fancy produce each their piece, and the piece done by Nature had the preference. Antony was in reality past the size of dreaming; he was more by Nature than Fancy could present in sleep.
V.ii.121 (255,3) I cannot project mine own cause so well] [W: procter] Sir T. Hanmer reads,
I cannot parget my own cause —
meaning, I cannot whitewash, varnish, or gloss my cause. I believe the present reading to be right. To project a cause is to represent a cause; to project it well, is to plan or contrive a scheme of defense.
V.ii.139 (256,4) “tis exactly valued, /Not petty things admitted] [T: omitted] Notwithstanding the wrath of Mr. Theobald, I have restored the old reading. She is angry afterwards, that she is accused of having reserved more than petty things. Dr. Warburton and sir T. Hanmer follow Theobald.
V.ii.146 (257,5) seel my lips] Sew up my mouth.
V.ii.163 (258,7) Parcel the sum of my disgraces by] To parcel her disgraces, might be expressed in vulgar language, to bundle up her calamaties. (see 1765, VII, 244, 8)
V.ii.176 (259,8)
Cleo. Be’t known, that we, the greatest, are misthought
for things that others do; and, when we fall,
We answer others merits in our names;
Are therefore to be pitied]
> I do not think that either of the criticks [Warburton and Hanmer] have reached the sense of the author, which may be very commodiously explained thus;
We suffer at our highest state of elevation in the thoughts of mankind for that which others do, and when we fall, those that contented themselves only to think ill before, call us to answer in our own names for the merits of others. We are therefore to be pitied. Merits is in this place taken in an ill sense, for actions meriting censure.
If any alteration be necessary, I should only propose, Be ‘t known, that we at greatest, &c.
V.ii.185 (259,1) Make not your thoughts your prisons] I once wished to read,
make not your thoughts your poison: —
Do not destroy yourself by musing on your misfortune. Yet I would change nothing, as the old reading presents a very proper sense. Be not a prisoner in imagination, when in reality you are free.
V.ii.215 (261,2) scald rhimers] Sir T. Hanmer reads,
— stall ‘d rhimers.
Scald was a word of contempt, implying poverty, disease, and filth.
V.ii.216 (261,3) quick comedians] The gay inventive players.
V.ii.226 (261,5) Their most absurd intents] [T: assured] I have preserved the old reading. The design certainly appeared absurd enough to Cleopatra, both as she thought it unreasonable in itself, and as she knew it would fail.
V.ii.243 (263,7) the pretty worm of Nilus] Worm is the Teutonick word for serpent; we have the blind-worm and slow-worm still in our language, and the Norwegians call an enormous monster, seen sometimes in the northern ocean, the sea-worm.
V.ii.264 (263,9) the worm will do him kind] The serpent will act according to his nature.
V.ii.305 (205,2) He’ll make demand of her, and spend that kiss,/ Which is my heaven to have] He will enquire of her concerning me, and kiss her for giving him intelligence.
V.ii.352 (267,5) something blown] The flesh is somewhat puffed or swoln.
(268) General Observation. This play keeps curiosity always busy, and the passions always interested. The continual hurry of the action, the variety of incidents, and the quick succession of one personage to another, call the mind forward without intermission from the first act to the last. But the power of delighting is derived principally from the frequent changes of the scene; for, except the feminine arts, some of which are too low, which distinguish Cleopatra, no character is very strongly discriminated. Upton, who did not easily miss what he desired to find, has discovered that the language of Antony is, with great skill and learning, made pompous and superb, according to his real practice. But I think his diction not distinguishable from that of others: the most tumid speech in the play is that which Caesar makes to Octavia.
The events, of which the principal are described according to history, are produced without any art of connexion or care of disposition.
TIMON OF ATHENS
I.i.3 (271,3)
Poet. Ay, that’s well known:
But what particular rarity! what strange,
Which manifold record not matches? See,
Magick of bounty!]
The learned commentator’s [Warburton’s] note must shift for itself. I cannot but think that this passage is at present in confusion. The poet asks a question, and stays not for an answer, nor has his question any apparent drift or consequence. I would range the passage thus:
Poet. Ay, that’s well known.
Bat what particular rarity? what so strange,
That manifold record not matches?
Pain. See!
Poet. Magick of — bounty, &c.
It may not be improperly observed here, that as there is only one copy of this play, no help can be had from collation, and more liberty must be allowed to conjecture.
I.i.10 (272,4) breath’d as it were/To an untirable and continuate goodness] Breathed is inured by constant practice; so trained as not to be wearied. To breathe a horse, is to exercise him for the course.
I.i.20 (273,8) Poet.
A thing slipt idly from me.
Our poesy is as a gum, which oozes
From whence ’tis nourished. The fire i’ the flint
Shews not, ‘till it be struck: our gentle flame
Provokes itself, and, like the current flies
Each bound it chafes. What have you there!]
This speech of the poet is very obscure. He seems to boast the copiousness and facility of his vein, by declaring that verses drop from a poet as gums from odoriferous trees, and that his flame kindles itself without the violence necessary to elicit sparkles from the flint. What follows next? that it, like a current, flies each bound it chafes. This may mean, that it expands itself notwithstanding all obstructions: but the images in the comparison are so ill-sorted, and the effect so obscurely expressed, that I cannot but think something omitted that connected the last sentence with the former. It is well knovn that the players often shorten speeches to quicken the representation; and it may be suspected, that they sometimes performed their amputations with more haste than judgment, (see 1765, VI, 169, 6)
I.i.27 (274,9) Poet. Upon the heels of my presentment, sir.] As soon as my book has been presented to lord Timon.
I.i.29 (274,1) This comes off weil and excellent] [By this we are to understand what the painters call the goings off of a picture, which requires the nicest execution. WARBURTON.] The note I understand less than the text. The meaning is, This figure rises weil from the canvas. C’est bien relevè.
I.i.37 (275,3) artificial strife] Strife is either the contest or act with nature.
Hic ille est Raphael, timuit, quo aospite vinci
Rerum magna parens, & moriente, mori.
Or it is the contrast of forms or opposition of colours.
I.i.43 (275,4) this confluence, this great flood of visitors] Mane salutantúm totis vomit aedibus undam.
I.1.46 (275,5) Halts not particularly] My design does not stop at any single characters.
I.1.47 (276,7)
no levell’d malice
Infects one comma in the course I hold;
But flies an eagle-flight, bold, and forth on,
Leaving no tract behind]
To level is to aim, to point the shot at a mark. Shakespeare’s meaning is, my poem is not a satire written with any particular view, or levelled at any single person; I fly like an eagle into the general expanse of life, and leave not, by any private mischief, the trace of my passage.
I.i.51 (276,8) I’ll unbolt] I’ll open, I’ll explain.
I.i.53 (276,9) glib and slippery creatures] Hanmer, and Warburton after him, read, natures. Slippery is smooth, unresisting.
I.i.58 (276,1) glass-fac’d flatterer] That shows in his own look, as by reflection, the looks of his patron.
I.i.65 (277,3) rank’d with all deserts] Cover’d with ranks of all kinds of men.
I.i.67 (277,4) To propagate their states] To advance or improve their various conditions of life.
I.i.72 (277,5) conceiv’d to scope] Properly imagined, appositely, to the purpose.
I.i.82 (278,8) through him/Drink the free air] That is, catch his breath in affected fondness.
I.i.90 (278,9) A thousand moral paintings I can shew] Shakespeare seems to intend in this dialogue to express some competition between the two great arts of imitation. Whatever the poet declares himself to have shewn, the painter thinks he could have shewn better. (1773)
I.i.107 (279,1) ’Tis not enough to help the feeble up,/But to support him after] This thought is better expressed by Dr. Madden in his elegy on archbishop Boulter.
— He thought it mean
Only to help the poor to beg again.
I.i.129 (280,2) Therefore he will be, Timon] I rather think an emendation necessary, and read,
Therefore well be him, Timon.
His honesty rewards him in itself.
That is, If he in honest, bene fit illi, I wish him the proper happiness of an honest man, but his honesty gives him no claim to my daughter.
The first transc
riber probably wrote will be him, which the next, not understanding, changed to, he will be. (1773)
I.i.149 (281,3)
never may
That state, or fortune, fall into my keeping,
Which is not ow’d to you!]
The meaning is, let me never henceforth consider any thing that I possess, but as owed or due to you; held for your service, and at your disposal.
I.i.159 (281,4) pencil’d figures are/Even such as they give out] Pictures have no hypocrisy; they are what they profess to be.
I.i.165 (282,5) unclew me quite] To unclew, is to unwind a ball of thread. To unclew a man, is to draw out the whole mass of his fortunes.
I.i.171 (282,5) Are prized by their masters] Are rated according to the, esteem in which their possessor is held.
I.i.178 (282,8)
Tim. Good-morrow to thee, gentle Apemantua!
Apam. ‘Till I be gentle, stay for thy good-morrow.
When thou art Timon’s dog, and these knaves honest, — ]
[Warburton conjectured a line lost and added one of his own making] I think my punctuation may clear the passage without any greater effort.
I.i.180 (283,9) Then thou art Timon’s dog] When thou hast gotten a better character, and instead of being Timon, as thou art, shalt be changed to Timon’s dog, and become more worth; of kindness and salutation. (1773)
I.i.241 (284,9) That I had no angry wit to be a lord] [W: so hungry a wit] The meaning may be, I should hate myself for patiently enduring to be a lord. This is ill enough expressed. Perhaps some happy change may set it right. I have tried, and can do nothing, yet I cannot heartily concur with Dr. Warburton.
I.i.259 (286,2) The strain of man’s bred out/Into baboon and monkey] Man is exhausted and degenerated; his strain or lineage is worn down into monkey.
I.ii.12 (288,5)
If our betters play at that game, we must not dare
To imitate them. Faults that are rich, are fair]
[Warburton gave the second line to Apemantus] I cannot see that these lines are more proper in any other mouth than Timon’s, to whose character of generosity and condescension they are very suitable. To suppose that by our betters are meant the Gods, is very harsh, because to imitate the Gods has been hitherto reckoned the highest pitch of human virtue. The whole is a trite and obvious thought, uttered by Timon with a kind of affected modesty. If I would make any alteration, it should be only to reform the numbers thus:
Complete Works of Samuel Johnson Page 557