SCENE I.-Athens. A Room in the Palace of Theseus. THE. Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour Draws on apace; four happy days bring in Long withering out a young man's revenue. HIP. Four days will quickly steep themselves in nights; And then the moon, like to a silver bow New bent in heaven, shall behold the night THE. Go, Philostrate, Stir up the Athenian youth to merriments; With pomp, with triumph, and with revelling". [Exit PHILOSTRAte. Enter EGEUS, HERMIA, LYSANDder, and Demetrius. EGE. Happy be Theseus, our renowned duke! THE. Thanks, good Egeus: What's the news with thee? Stand forth, Lysander:-and, my gracious duke, New bent. The two quartos of 1600, and the folio of 1623, read “ now bent." New was supplied by Rowe. We believe that now was the original word, but used in the sense of new, both the words having an etymological affinity. In the same manner, we have, in All's Well that Ends Well,' Act II., Scene 3 This, in many editions, has been changed to "new-born brief;" certainly without necessity. In the present case the corrected reading must, we apprehend, be received; for now could not be restored without producing an ambiguity. Now, we believe, cannot refer to the state of the moon when Theseus is speaking. The new moon will be bent like the "silver bow;" the " old moon" is surely not of the form to which the new moon gives the name-crescent. See 'Two Gentlemen of Verona,' Illustrations of Act V. • Our renowned duke. In a note upon the first chapter of the first book of Chronicles, where we find a list of "the dukes of Edom," the editor of the Pictorial Bible' says, "Duke is rather an awkward title to assign to the chiefs of Edom. The original word is aluph, which would perhaps be best rendered by the general and indefinite title 'prince."" At the time of the translation of the Bible, duke was used in this general and indefinite sense. The word, as pointed out by Gibbon, was a corruption of the Latin dux, which was indiscriminately applied to any military chief. Chaucer has duke Theseus,-Gower, duke Spartacus,-Stanyhurst, duke Eneas. The "awkward title" was a word in general use; and therefore Steevens is not justified in calling it "a misapplication of a modern title." This man. So the old copies. In modern editions man is omitted; and the emphatic repetition of Egeus is in consequence destroyed. Thou, thou, Lysander, thou hast given her rhymes, To stubborn harshness :-And, my gracious duke, I beg the ancient privilege of Athens; THE. What say you, Hermia? Be advis'd, fair maid: One that compos'd your beauties; yea, and one THE. In himself he is: But, in this kind, wanting your father's voice, HER. I would my father look'd but with my eyes. THE. Rather your eyes must with his judgment look. I know not by what power I am made bold, THE. Either to die the death, or to abjure Therefore, fair Hermia, question your desires, To live a barren sister all your life, Chanting faint hymns to the cold fruitless moon. But earthly happiera is the rose distill'd, Or else, to wed Demetrius, as he would; For aye, austerity and single life. DEM. Relent, sweet Hermia:-And, Lysander, yield Lys. You have her father's love, Demetrius; Let me have Hermia's: do you marry him. Lys. I am, my lord, as well deriv'd as he, a As well possess'd; my love is more than his; Earthly happier-more happy in an earthly sense. The reading of all the old copies is earthlier happy, and this has been generally followed, although Pope and Johnson proposed earlier happy, and Steevens earthly happy. We have no doubt that Capell's reading, which we have adopted, is the true one; and that the old reading arose out of one of the commonest of typographical errors. The orthography of the folio is earthlier happie ;—if the comparative had not been used, it would have been earthlie happie; and it is easy to see, therefore, that the r has been transposed. Lordship-authority. The word dominion in our present translation of the Bible (Romans, ch. vi.) is lordship in Wickliffe's translation. • This is one of those elliptical expressions which frequently occur in our poet. The editor of the second folio, who was not scrupulous in adapting Shakspere's language to the changes of a quarter of a century, printed the lines "Unto his lordship, to whose unwish'd yoke," &c. The to must be understood after sovereignty. In the same manner, the particle on must be understood in a passage in ' 'Cymbeline:' "Whom heavens, in justice, (both on her and hers,) The same elliptical construction occurs in Othello's speech to the Senate:- I won his daughter." (with.) My fortunes every way as fairly rank'd, If not with vantage, as Demetrius'; And, which is more than all these boasts can be, I am belov'd of beauteous Hermia: Why should not I then prosecute my right? Upon this spotteda and inconstant man. THE. I must confess that I have heard so much, And with Demetrius thought to have spoke thereof; My mind did lose it. But, Demetrius, come; I have some private schooling for you both. I must employ you in some business Of something nearly that concerns yourselves. you. [Exeunt THES., HIP., EGE, DEM., and train. Lys. How now, my love? Why is your cheek so pale? HER. Belike for want of rain; which I could well b Beteem them from the tempest of mine eyes. Lys. Ah me! for aught that ever Ia could read2, Could ever hear by tale or history, ; The course of true love never did run smooth: Spotted-stained, impure; the opposite of spotless. The folio omits the "Eigh me!" of the quartos. Ever I, in the folio. I could ever, in the quartos. "O cross! too high to be enthrall'd to love." Theobald altered love to low; and the antithesis, which is kept up through the subsequent lines, ustifies the change:-high-low; old-young. |