Act V Sc. 1
“Have broken with the King; who hath so far
Given ear to our complaint, that of his great grace
And princely care—foreseeing those fell mischiefs,
Our reasons laid before him—he hath commanded.”
“The good I stand on is my truth and honesty.”
For ‘good’ Johnson and Collier’s folio read ground, which may be right.
Sc. 2
“‘Mong boys and grooms and lackeys.”
“In our own natures frail and capable
Of our flesh.”
For ‘capable’ Malone read ‘incapable.’ Perhaps the right word would be culpable, and it and ‘frail’ should be transposed, as ‘frailty’ follows.
“A man that more detests, more stirs against.”
For ‘stirs’ I read strives, as Shakespeare nowhere uses ‘stirs’ in conjunction with ‘against.’
“And in my presence,
They are too thin and base to hide offences.”
For ‘base’ Malone read bare, which may be right.
Sc. 3
“Be’t he or she, cuckold or cuckold-maker.”
“He stands there like a mortar-piece to blow us up.”
Sc. 4
“And your good brethren I am much beholding.”