Act IV Sc. 1
“And buy me another of Bajazet’s mule, if you prattle me into these perils.”
Warburton read mute for ‘mule,’ and I think he was right. We have “Turkish mute” (Hen. V. i. 2).
“Inform them on that.—So I will, sir.—
Till then I’ll keep him dark and safely locked up.”
In the first line Rowe read ’em for ‘on.’
Sc. 2
“As you are now, for you are cold and stern.”
Collier’s folio reads as stone for ‘and stern,’ which is very plausible.
“Who, moving others, are themselves as stone
Unmoved, cold, and to temptation slow.”
—Son. xciv.
“To swear by him whom I profess to love,
That I will work against him.”
I read to for ‘by,’ in which I had been anticipated by Johnson, who was followed by Malone. ‘Swear’ naturally suggested ‘by’ to the printer’s mind. (See on Macb. i. 5, R. and J. i. 1.)
“For what’s more monstrous, more a prodigy,
Than to hear me protest truth of affection
Unto a person that I would dishonour?”
Jonson, New Inn, iii. 2.
The same sentiment is expressed in “Yes, as I love the woman that wrong’d him” (Meas. for Meas. ii. 3). In this speech of Diana’s, Mr. Staunton would give ‘Then pray you... love you ill’ to Bertram; but without any great advantage.
“I see that men make ropes in such a scarre,
That we’ll forsake ourselves.”
This is evident nonsense. Rowe read hopes and affairs for ‘ropes’ and ‘scarre’; and to this emendation, or Mitford’s of case for ‘scarre,’ I see no very serious objection. We have “make envy” (Hen. VIII. v. 2), “make doubt” (Ib.), “make comfort” (Cymb. i. 2), “making practice” (Meas. for Meas. iii. 2). Why then object to “make hopes?” even though it is to be found nowhere else in Shakespeare. ‘Scarre,’ however, is probably right; in Lingua (i. 6) we have, “Poets will write whole volumes of this scar.” It must be remembered that scare was written scarre, and so as a substantive ‘scarre’ may be fright, alarm, flutter, perturbation. Finally, it is even possible that ‘ropes’ may be right, a line being lost; something of this sort: “Of oaths and vows to scale our fort, in hope.”
“Have the like oaths. He had sworn to marry me.”
Here, as elsewhere, we have has and had confounded.
Sc. 3
“Merely our traitors, and, as in the common course of all treasons, we still see them reveal themselves, till they attain to their abhorred ends.”
I think it would be better to read, as I have done, is for ‘in’ (see on King John, iv. 2), and conceal for ‘reveal,’ unless for the latter we should prefer reading veil. Perhaps also we might retain ‘reveal,’ and read when for ’till.’
“Is it not meant damnable in us to be trumpeters of our unlawful intents?”
Malone’s first thought was most for ‘meant.’ Mr. Dyce proposes mean and; I think he is right, and have followed him. (See on Rom. and Jul. i. 3.)
“If I were to live this present hour.”
The context seems to require die, not ‘live’; so here, as elsewhere, we may happen to have a substitution of the contrary term. (See Introd. p. 66.)
“Or whether he thinks it were not possible.”
This would seem to be one of the places where ‘or’ is for and.
Sc. 4
“Dear almost as his life; for which gratitude.”
Both sense and metre require this addition.
“Our wagon is prepared, and time revives us.”
As ‘revives’ seems to make no sense, we might read reproves, or rather invites. “The time invites you. Go.” (Ham. i. 3.)
Sc. 5
“But sure he is the prince of the world.”
For ’sure’ we should, I think, read since.