Act II Sc. 1
“When Achilles’ brach bids me.”
‘Brach’ is Rowe’s correction; the originals have brooch, which—as being an ornament hung round the neck—may be right. See Win. Tale, i. 2.
Sc. 2
“Wrinkles Apollo’s, and makes stale the Morning’s.”
So the folio reads, followed by Singer and Dyce; the 4tos read pale for ‘stale’—a reading I incline to prefer.
“As you must needs; for you all cried—Go, Go.”
“The issue of your proper wisdoms rate.”
Perhaps some word, such as thus or low, has been lost after ‘rate,’ or we should read ‘underrate.’
“I have a roisting challenge sent amongst.”
As I have not met with the verb ‘roist’ anywhere else, I suspect that the poet may have written roistering, and the transcriber or printer have omitted a syllable, as in Meas. for Meas. iv. 2.
“Virgins and boys, mid-age and wrinkled eld.”
‘Eld’ is an excellent correction of Ritson’s; the 4tos read elders; the folio old.
Sc. 3
“Which short-arm’d Ignorance itself.”
Mr. Dyce reads ‘short-aim’d.
“Their massy irons out, and cutting the web.”
The metre requires this natural addition.
“He sent back our messengers, and we lay by
Our appertainments, visiting of him.”
The 4tos read ‘He sate’; Theobald, who is generally followed, reads ‘He shent; but this verb is never active in Shakespeare. Collier reads ‘We sent.’
“His pettish lunes, his ebbs and flows, as if.”
Here ‘lunes’ is Hanmer’s emendation of lines. See Mer. Wives, iv. 2.
“As amply titled as Achilles is
By going to Achilles.”
We might perhaps add in his tent. See preceding speech.
“I would he were a Trojan—What a vice.”
“And give him half, and for thy vigour let.”
“Fresh kings are come to Troy; to-morrow morn.”