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Venice-If Cupid have not spent all his quiver in, ii. 81: Long before this comedy was produced, various writers had characterised Venice as the place where Cupid "reigns and revels:" and compare Greene; "Hearing that of all the citties in Europe, Venice hath most semblance of Venus vanities. . . . Because therefore this great city of Venice is holden Loues Paradice," &c. Neuer too late, Part Second, sig. q 2 and q 2 verso, ed. 1611: The publication of Coryat's Crudities, 1611, made the Venetian courtesans well known in England.

venom, where no venom else, &c. iv. 127: According to the legend, St. Patrick banished all venomous reptiles from Ireland.

venomous wights, "venifici, those who practise nocturnal sorcery" (STEEVENS), vi. 64.

vent-Full of, vi. 212: see note 193, vi. 267.

ventages, small holes or apertures, vii. 162.

venue or veney, (a fencing term) a thrust, "a coming on, an onset; a turn or bout; a hit. The commentators on Shakespeare have produced a great variety of instances; and differ in their explanations only because they mistake application for meaning" (Richardson's Dict.): venue (used metaphorically), ii. 208; veneys, i. 352 (Compare Jonson's Every Man in his Humour; "Mat. But one venue, sir. Bob. Venue! fie; most gross denomination as ever I heard: 0, the stoccata, while you live, sir; note that." Works, vol. i. p. 39, ed. Gifford).

verbal, "verbose, full of talk" (JOHNSON), "plain-spoken" (KNIGHT): By being so verbal, vii. 663.

Veronesa-A, vii. 395: see note 27, vii. 476.

versing, expressing in verse, ii. 276.

vestal throned by the west-A fair, ii. 278: I have already noticed this charming compliment to Queen Elizabeth in the Memoir of Shakespeare, i. p. 78.

via, away! an interjection of exultation or encouragement ("Via, an aduerbe of encouraging much vsed by commanders, as also by riders to their horses, Goe on, forward, on, away, goe to, on quickly." Florio's Ital. and Engl. Dict.), i. 369; ii. 210, 214, 359; iv. 477; v. 256.

Vice... Who, with dagger of lath, &c.-Like to the old, iii. 383; that

reverend vice, that gray iniquity, iv. 243; now is this Vice's dagger become a squire, iv. 362; like the formal Vice, Iniquity, v. 394; a vice of kings. . . . A king of shreds and patches, vii. 169: These passages allude to an important character in the old Moral-plays, the Vice, so named doubtless from the vicious qualities attributed to him: "As the Devil," says Mr. Collier, "now and then appeared

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VICIOUS.

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without the Vice, so the Vice sometimes appeared without the Devil. Malone tells us that the principal employment of the Vice was to belabour the Devil;' but although he was frequently so engaged, he had also higher duties. He figured now and then in the religious plays of a later date, and, as has been shewn, in The Life and Repentance of Mary Magdalen, 1567, he performed the part of her lover, before her conversion, under the name of Infidelity in King Darius, 1565, he also acted a prominent part, by his own impulses to mischief, under the name of Iniquity, without any prompting from the representative of the principle of evil. Such was the general style of the Vice, and as Iniquity he is spoken of by Shakespeare (Richard III. Act iii. Sc. 1) and Ben Jonson (Staple of News, second Intermean). The Vice and Iniquity seem, however, sometimes to have been distinct persons; and he was not unfrequently called by the name of particular vices thus, in Lusty Juventus, the Vice performs the part of Hypocrisy; in Common Conditions, he is called Conditions; in Like will to Like, he is named Nichol New-fangle; in The Trial of Treasure, his part is that of Inclination; in All for Money, he is called Sin; in Tom Tyler and his Wife, Desire; and in Appius and Virginia, Haphazard. Though Mr. Douce is unquestionably correct when he states that the Vice was 'generally dressed in a fool's habit' [hence the expression in Hamlet, 'A king of shreds and patches'], he did not by any means constantly wear the particoloured habiliments of a fool; he was sometimes required to act a gallant, and now and then to assume the disguise of virtues it suited his purpose to personate . . . . The Vice, like the fool, was sometimes furnished with a dagger of lath, and it was not unusual that it should be gilt. . . . Tattle [in Jonson's Staple of News] observes, but there [here] is never a fiend to carry him [the Vice] away;' and in the first Intermean of the same play, Mirth leads us to suppose that it was a very common termination of the adventures of the Vice for him to be carried off to hell on the back of the devil: he would carry away the Vice on his back, quick to hell, in every play where he came.' In The Longer thou livest the more Fool thou art, and in Like will to Like, the Vice is disposed of nearly in this summary manner: in the first, Confusion carries him to the devil, and in the last, Lucifer bears him off to the infernal regions on his shoulders. In King Darius, the Vice runs to hell of his own accord, to escape from Constancy, Equity, and Charity. According to Bishop Harsnet (in a passage cited by Malone, Shakespeare by Boswell, iii. 27), the Vice was in the habit of riding and beating the devil, at other times than when he was thus carried against his will to punishment." Hist. of English Dram. Poetry, &c. vol. ii. pp. 265-270.

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vicious in my guess, &c.—Though I perchance am, vii. 420 : “Vicious in my guess' does not mean that he is an ill guesser [Warburton's

VICTUALLERS-VIRGINAL.

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Iago, I

explanation], but that he is apt to put the worst construction on every thing he attempts to account for" (STEEVENS): apprehend, means only, though I perhaps am mistaken, led into an error by my natural disposition, which is apt to shape faults that have no existence'" (MALONE).

victuallers, iv. 350: "The brothels were formerly screened under pretext of being victualling-houses and taverns" (STEEVENS).

vie "

was to hazard, to put down, a certain sum upon a hand of cards [at various old games]; to revie was to cover it with a larger sum, by which the challenged became the challenger, and was to be revied in his turn, with a proportionate increase of stake. This vying and revying upon each other continued till one of the party lost courage and gave up the whole; or obtained, for a stipulated sum, a discovery of his antagonist's cards; when the best hand swept the table." Gifford's note on Jonson's Works, vol. i. p. 106: To vie (compete in) strange forms with fancy, vii. 589; so With the dove of Paphos might the crow Vie feathers white, viii. 45; kiss on kiss She vied so fast, iii. 137.

viewless, invisible, i. 480.

vigitant would seem to be intended as a blunder of Dogberry for "vigilant" (which is the word substituted in the second folio), ii. 111.

viliaco, v. 182: see note 171, v. 224.

villagery, "district of villages" (Johnson's Dict.), villages, ii. 275. villain, a bondsman, a slave: A trusty villain, ii. 9; I am no villain, iii. 6 (here "the word villain is used by the elder brother for a worthless, wicked, or bloody man; by Orlando, in its original signification, for a fellow of base extraction," JOHNSON); My villain ! vii. 311; The homely villain, viii. 325.

villany, mischief, roguery : I will consent to act any villany against him, i. 362.

vinewedst, most mouldy, vi. 27.

viol-de-gamboys, a base-viol or viol da gamba, iii. 331: “It appears, from numerous passages in our old plays, that a viol de gambo was an indispensable piece of furniture in every fashionable house, where it hung up in the best chamber, much as the guitar does in Spain, and the violin in Italy, to be played on at will, and to fill up the void of conversation. Whoever pretended to fashion affected an acquaintance with this instrument." Gifford's note on Jonson's Works, vol. ii. p. 125.

violenteth, becomes violent, acts with violence, rages, vi. 67. virginal, maidenly, pertaining to a virgin: tears virginal, v. 195;

the virginal palms of your daughters, vi. 223; without any more virginal fencing, viii. 57.

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VIRGINALLING-VOLQUESSEN.

virginalling, playing with her fingers as upon the virginals, iii.

424.

virginals-The, The more usual name for the musical instrument,
the virginal, viii. 161: "The virginals (probably so called because
chiefly played upon by young girls) resembled in shape the
'square' pianoforte of the present day, as the harpsichord did
the 'grand.' The sound of the pianoforte is produced by a ham-
mer striking the strings; but when the keys of the virginals or
harpsichord were pressed, the 'jacks' (slender pieces of wood,
armed at the upper ends with quills) were raised to the strings,
and acted as plectra, by impinging or twitching them." Chappell's
Popular Music of the Olden Time, &c. vol. i. p. 103, sec. ed.: and
see first jacks.

virgin'd it, played the virgin, vi. 226.

Virginius, &c.—Was it well done of rash, vi. 350: But, as Steevens
observes, "Virginia died unviolated."

virgin-knot, virgin zone, i. 218; viii. 52: Allusions to the zones
worn by young women among the ancients: concerning the loosing
of the zone see Schrader's Animad. on Musaus, p. 340 sqq. ed. 1742.
virtue, essence: The very virtue of compassion in thee, i. 178.
virtue, valour: Trust to thy single virtue, vii. 339.

virtuous, salutiferous, beneficial: this virtuous property, ii. 301; the
virtuous sweets, iv. 382.

visit Caliban my slave-We'll, We will look after Caliban, &c. i. 186.
visiting and visitating, inspecting, surveying: the visiting moon, vii.
583; the visitating sun, viii. 125.

visitor-The, One who visits the sick or the distressed in order to
console them: The visitor will not give him o'er so, i. 193 ("In some
of the Protestant churches there is a kind of officers termed con-
solators for the sick," JOHNSON).

vizaments (in Sir Hugh's dialect-advisements), considerations,
i. 346.

voice, to nominate, to vote: To voice him consul, vi. 178.

voice, to rumour, to report, to proclaim: th' Athenian minion, whom
the world Voic'd so regardfully ? vi. 552.

void, to quit: void the field, iv. 488.

void, to emit void your rheum, ii. 356; spit and void his rheum, iv.

459.

'voided, avoided, vi. 208.

voiding-lobby, a lobby that receives those who are voided (see .
second void) from the apartments of the house, v. 166.

Volquessen, iv. 27: "This is the ancient name for the country

VOLUNTARY-WAGE.

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now called the Vexin; in Latin, Pagus Velocassinus. That part of it called the Norman Vexin was in dispute between Philip and John" (STEEVENS): "This and the subsequent line (except the words, 'do I give') are taken from the old play [The Troublesome Raigne of Iohn, &c., see vol. iv. 3]" (MALONE).

voluntary, a volunteer: Ajax was here the voluntary, vi. 29; fiery voluntaries, iv. 14.

votarist, a votary, vi. 551; vii. 450; votarists, i. 454. vouchers-Double: see double vouchers, &c.

had

Vox-You must allow, iii. 393: "The Clown, we may presume, begun to read the letter in a very loud tone, and probably with extravagant gesticulation. Being reprimanded by his mistress, he justifies himself by saying, 'If you would have it read in character, as such a mad epistle ought to be read, you must permit me to assume a frantic tone'" (MALONE).

voyage, a course, an attempt, an enterprise: If he should intend this voyage toward my wife, &c. i. 364; if you make your voyage upon her, &c. vii. 647.

vulgar, common: 'tis a vulgar proof, iii. 363; the vulgar air, iv. 23; any the most vulgar thing to sense, vii. 111; Most sure and vulgar (of common report), vii. 327, &c.

vulgarly, publicly, openly, i. 511.

vulgars, the common people, iii. 437.

vulture of sedition Feeds, &c.-The, v. 58: "Alluding to the tale of Prometheus" (JOHNSON).

W.

waft, to beckon: who wafts us yonder? ii. 18; Whom Fortune with her ivory hand wafts to her, vi. 509.

waft, to turn, to direct: Wafting his eyes to the contrary, iii. 431. waft, wafted: Than now the English bottoms have waft o'er, iv. 14. waftage, a passage by water, ii. 33; vi. 48.

wafture, the act of waving, a motion, vi. 637.

wag, to go, to pack off: let them wag, i. 353; shall we wag? i. 365; let him wag, i. 374; Let us wag, then, i. 375; Bid sorrow wag, ii. 129. wag, to stir, to move: the empress never wags But, &c. vi. 345. wage, to pay wages to, to remunerate: He wag'd me with his countenance ("the countenance he gave me was a kind of wages,” Nares's Gloss.), vi. 234.

wage, to stake in wager: as a pawn To wage against thine enemies, vii. 253; I will wage against your gold, gold to it, vii. 646.

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