Amazement shall drive courage from the state; (Who wants no more but as the tops of trees, Which fence the roots they grow by, and defend them,) Makes both my body pine, and soul to languish, And punish that before, that he would punish. "Like one well studied in a sad ostent, "To please his grandam." Again, in King Richard II. : "With ostentation of despised arms." MALONE. Again, and more appositely, in Chapman's translation of Homer's Batrachomuomachia : "Both heralds bearing the ostents of war." Again, in Decker's Entertainment of James I. 1604: "And why you bear, alone, th' ostent of warre." 9 Which care of them, &c.] Old copy "Which care of them, not pity of myself, 66 STEEVENS. (Who once no more but as the tops of trees, I would read-Who am no more, &c. FARMER. Pericles means to compare the head of a kingdom to the upper branches of a tree. As it is the office of the latter to screen the roots they grow by, so it is the duty of the former to protect his subjects, who are no less the supporters of his dignity. So, in King Henry VI. Part III. : "Thus yields the cedar, &c. "Whose top branch over-peer'd Jove's spreading tree, "And kept low shrubs from winter's powerful wind." STEEVENS. "Once more" must have been a corruption. I formerly thought the poet might have written-"Who owe no more," but am now persuaded that he wrote, however ungrammatically,-Who wants no more, i. e. which self wants no more; has no other wish or desire, but to protect its subjects. The transcriber's ear, I suppose, deceived him in this as in various other instances. should be remembered that self was formerly used as a substantive, and it is so used at this day by persons of an inferior rank, who frequently say-his self. Hence, I suppose, the author wrote wants rather than want. MALOne. It 1 1 LORD. Joy and all comfort in your sacred breast. 2 LORD. And keep your mind, till you return to us, Peaceful and comfortable! HEL. Peace, peace, my lords, and give experience tongue. They do abuse the king, that flatter him: Whereas reproof, obedient, and in order, Fits kings, as they are men, for they may err. PER. All leave us else; but let your cares o'er look What shipping, and what lading's in our haven, And then return to us. [Exeunt Lords.] Helicanus, thou Hast moved us: what seest thou in our looks? PER. If there be such a dart in prince's frowns, To which that BREATH, &c.] i. e. the breath of flattery. The old copy reads-that spark; the word (as Mr. Steevens has observed,) being accidentally repeated by the compositor. He would read-that wind. MALONE. This passage seems to be corrupt, as it stands, and the sense requires that we should read: "To which that blast gives heat and stronger glowing." Steevens agrees with me in the necessity of some amendment, but proposes to read wind, which I think not so proper a word as blast. M. MASON. 2 When signior Sooth-] A near kinsman of this gentleman is mentioned in The Winter's Tale: "— and his pond fish'd by his next neighbour, by sir Smile, his neighbour." MALONE. How durst thy tongue move anger to our face? HEL. How dare the plants look up to heaven, from whence To take thy life. Thou know'st I have power HEL. [Kneeling.] I have ground the axe myself; Do you but strike the blow. PER. Rise, pr'ythee rise; Sit down, sit down; thou art no flatterer: I thank thee for it; and high heaven forbid, hid! Fit counsellor, and servant for a prince, Who by thy wisdom mak'st a prince thy servant, What would'st thou have me do? HEL. With patience bear Such griefs as you do lay upon yourself. PER. Thou speak'st like a physician, Helicanus; Who minister'st a potion unto me, That thou would'st tremble to receive thyself. 3 How dare the PLANTS look up to heaven, from whence They have their nourishment?] Thus the quarto 1609, Mr. Rowe, &c. read: 66 How dare the planets look up unto heaven "From whence they have their nourishment?" It would puzzle a philosopher to ascertain the quality of planetary nourishment, or to discover how planets, which are already in heaven, can be said to look up to it. STEEVENS. 4 That kings should LET their ears hear their faults hid!] Heaven forbid, that kings should stop their ears, and so prevent them from hearing their secret faults!-To let formerly signified to hinder. So, in Hamlet: "By heaven I'll make a ghost of him that lets me." Again, in Tancred and Gismund, 1592: "Nor base suspect of aught to let his suit." MALONE. I am not clear, but that let is here used in its ordinary sense: "Forbid it, heaven, (says Pericles,) that kings should suffer their ears to hear their failings palliated!" HOLT WHITE. Where, as thou know'st, against the face of death, 'Tis time to fear, when tyrants seem to kiss. • From whence an issue I might propagate, Are arms to princes, and bring joys to subjects.] From whence I might propagate an issue that are arms, &c. MALONE. I once imagined that a line was wanting to complete the sense of this passage, and that the deficiency might be supplied as follows: a glorious beauty, "From whence an issue I might propagate; Influenced, however, by the subsequent remark of Mr. M. Mason, I have recovered the sense for which he contends, by omitting one word in the corrupted line, and transposing others. STEEVENS. Mr. Steevens reads: 66 Bring arms to princes, and to subjects joys." BoswELL. The meaning of this passage is clearly this: "From whence I might propagate such issue, as bring additional strength to princes, and joy to their subjects." The expression is certainly faulty; but it seems to be the fault of the author, not the printer. I believe it was written as it stands. M. MASON. 66 7 Seem'd not to strike, but SMOOTH:] To smooth formerly signified to flatter. See note on -smooth every passion," in King Lear, vol. x. p. 93, n. 7. MALONE. To smooth in this place means to stroke. In the same sense we should understand the word in Milton's Comus, v. 251: "smoothing the raven down "Of darkness, till it smil'd." They say in some counties smooth-instead of stroke, the cat. HOLT WHITE. Who seem'd my good protector; and being here, Must feel war's blow, who spares not innocence 1: HEL. Alas, sir! PER. Drew sleep out of mine eyes, blood from my cheeks, Musings into my mind, a thousand doubts 8 -than THEIR years:] Old copy-the years. Their suspicions outgrow their years; a circumstance sufficiently natural to veteran tyrants. The correction is mine. STEEVENS. 9 And should he DOUBT IT, (as no doubt he doth,)] The quarto 1609 reads: "And should he doo't, as no doubt he doth-." from which the reading of the text has been formed. The repetition is much in our author's manner, and the following words, to lop that doubt, render this emendation almost certain. MALONE. Here is an apparent corruption. I should not hesitate to read -doubt on't-or,-doubt it. To doubt is to remain in suspense or uncertainty. Should he be in doubt that I shall keep this secret, (as there is no doubt but he is,) why, to "lop that doubt," i. e. to get rid of that painful uncertainty, he will strive to make me appear the aggressor, by attacking me first as the author of some supposed injury to himself. STEEVENS. who SPARES not innocence:] Thus the eldest quarto. All the other copies read corruptly: who fears not innocence." MAlone. |