2na S. V. 119., ArRiL 10. '58.] NOTES AND QUERIES. 



289 



LONDON, SATURDAY, APRIL 10. 1858. 



SHAKSPEABIANA. 



Are the pages of our immortal poet still to con- 

 tinue disfigured by the retention of glaring errors, 

 turning his resplendent sense into nonsense, be- 

 cause a few idolaters of the Folio would induce us 

 to believe in the corruptions inflicted on him by 

 the carelessness of his first editors and printers ? 

 One of his cotemporaries has prophetically antici- 

 pated their censure : — 



" Yet not asham'd these Verbalists- still are, 

 From youth, till age or study dimme their eyes, 

 To engage the Grammar rules in civill warre 

 For some small sentence which they patronize ; 

 As if the end liv'd not in reformation 

 Of Verbes' or Nounes' true sense or declination, 

 So these Word- Sticklers have no power to cure 

 The errors, and corrupted lines endure." 



I will disburden my conscience of some of my 

 own sins of omission or commission against the 

 integrity of the text, which I now deeply regret. 

 But for brevity's sake shall at present confine my- 

 self to one play. 



In Julim CcEsar, Act II. Sc. 1., we have the fol- 

 lowing passage : — 

 " . . , . 0! Conspiracie, 

 Sbam'st thou to shew thy dang'rous Brow by Night, 

 When euills are most free ? O then by day 

 Where wilt thou find a Cauerne darke enough 

 To maske thy monstrous Visage ? Seek none, Conspi- 

 racie, 

 Hide it in Smiles, and Affabilitie : 

 For if thou path thy natiue semblance on. 

 Not Erebus it selfe were dimme enough 

 To hide thee from preuention." 



Steevens, with his accustomed industry and in- 

 genuity, hunted out two passages in Drayton, 

 where to path is used as a verb. Thus in the 

 Polyolbion, Song ii. — 



" Where from the neigbouring hills her passage Wey 

 doth path." 



And in the Epistle from Duke Humphrey to 

 Elinor Cobham — 



" Pathing young Henry's unadvised ways." 



I confess that I was never reconciled to this de- 

 fence of path., but I failed, with others, to perceive 

 that these passages were inapplicable, and that 

 " pathing of ivays " (i. e. smoothing them) was one 

 thing, and pathing semblance (i. e. appearance) 

 another; or, to speak plainly, sheer nonsense. 

 Still I was not satisfied with the proposed substi- 

 tution of put or putte, which had been proposed 

 long before it was advocated by Coleridge, and at 

 length saw that the whole construction of the pas- 

 sage required the verb to be in the conditional 

 future, and that we must read — 



" For if ihoxjipufst thy natiue semblance on," 

 and that this fairly accounted for the misprint, as 



it would satisfy the ductus literarum required by 

 Mr. Dyce, and common sense. I have since found, 

 in a very neat and accurate MS. transcript of the 

 play made in the reign of Charles II., the difficulty 

 got over by writing the line thus : — " For should 

 thou put thy native semblance on." 



Again in that celebrated speech of Caesar, in 

 Act III. Sc. 1., so well known by Ben Jonson's 

 sneer, we have — 



" ... I must prevent thee, Cimber. 

 These couchings, and these lowly courtesies, 

 Might_/?re the blood of ordinary men, 

 And tume pre-Ordinance, a.r\A first Decree 

 Into the lane of Children. Be not fond 

 To think that Caesar bears such Rebell blood 

 That will be thaw'd from the true quality 

 With that which melteth Fooles, J mean sweet words. 

 Low crooked-curtsies, and base Spaniell fawning." 



One word only in this passage has hitherto been 

 changed, Johnson's substitution of law for lane, 

 and in the MS. I have referred to it is evidently a 

 law. The form of the w has caused it to be mis- 

 taken for ne. Taking the whole context into 

 consideration, it is most probable that the poet 

 wrote — 



" ... I must prevent thee, Cimber, 



These couchings, and these lowly courtesies. 



Might stir the blood of ordinary men ; 



And turn pre-ordinance a.nAfixt decree 



Into the law of Children." 



Now, as Warburton long since remarked, couch- 

 ings and lowly courtesies are not means used to 

 Jire the blood; and Cajsar afterwards says that 

 these and sweet words are " that which melteth 

 fools, stirs or moves them to compassion." Again, 

 pre-ordinance &x\^ first decree vfonMi be convertible 

 terms, and therefore tautologous ; and every one 

 will see that first and fixt are easily mistaken for 

 each other. But what is the law of children ? I 

 once thought we should read plaie. 



In Act V. Sc. 1. we have a passage recently 

 cited by Mr. Arbowsmith as one of the proofs 

 that Shakspeare disregarded the concord of noun 

 and verb. I must give the context, in order to 

 show the improbability of the passage having been 

 written by the poet, as it stands in the folio : — 



" Bru. Good words are better than bad strokes, Octa- 

 vius. 



Ant. In yoixr bad strokes, Brutus, you give good 

 words : 

 Witness the hole you made in C*sar's heart, 

 Crying ' Long live ! hail Csesar ! ' 



'Cass Antony, 



The posture of your blows are yet unknown ; 

 But for your words, they rob the Hybla bees 

 And leave them honyless. 



Ant. .... Not stingless too. 



Bru. 0, j'es, and soundless too ; 

 For you have stol'n their buzzing, Antony, 

 And, very wisely, threat before you sting." 



Supposing any rational meaning could be at- 

 tached to " i\\Q posture of your bIowp,"what possi- 

 ble relation could it have to the current of the 



