2 SERV. And he's as like to do't, as any man I can imagine. 3 SERV. Do't? he will do't: For, look you, sir, he has as many friends as enemies: which friends, sir, (as it were,) durst not (look you, sir,) show themselves (as we term it,) his friends, whilst he's in directitude 3. of a person by the ears, as a dog seizes one of these animals. So, Heywood, in a comedy called Love's Mistress, 1636: "Venus will sowle me by the ears for this." Perhaps Shakspeare's allusion is to Hercules dragging out Cerberus. STEEVENS. Whatever the etymology of sowle may be, it appears to have been a familiar word in the last century. Lord Strafford's correspondent, Mr. Garrard, uses it as Shakspeare does. Straff. Lett. vol. ii. p. 149: "A lieutenant soled him well by the ears, and drew him by the hair about the room." Lord Strafford himself uses it in another sense, vol. ii. p. 138: "It is ever a hopeful throw, where the caster soles his bowl well." In this passage to sole seems to signify what, I believe, is usually called to ground a bowl. TYRWHITT. Cole, in his Latin Dictionary, 1679, renders it, aurem summa vi vellere. MALONE. To sowle is still in use for pulling, dragging, and lugging, in the West of England. S. W. 2 his passage POLLED.] That is, bared, cleared. JOHNSON. To poll a person anciently meant to cut off his hair. So, in Damætas' Madrigall in Praise of his Daphnis, by J. Wooton, published in England's Helicon, quarto, 1600: "Like Nisus golden hair that Scilla pol'd." It likewise signified to cut off the head. So, in the ancient metrical history of the battle of Floddon Field: 66 "But now we will withstand his grace, "Or thousand heads shall there be polled." STEEVENS. So, in Christ's Tears over Jerusalem, by Thomas Nashe, 1594: the winning love of neighbours round about, if haply their houses should be environed, or any in them prove untruly, being pilled and poul'd too unconscionably."-Poul'd is the spelling of the old copy of Coriolanus also. MALONE. 3 whil'st he's in DIRECTITUDE.] I suspect the author wrote: -whilst he's in discreditude; a made word instead of discredit. He intended, I suppose, to put an uncommon word into the mouth of this servant, which had some resemblance to sense: but could hardly have meant that he should talk absolute nonsense. MALONE. 1 SERV. Directitude! what's that? 3 SERV. But when they shall see, sir, his crest up again, and the man in blood, they will out of their burrows, like conies after rain, and revel all with him. You 1 SERV. But when goes this forward? 3 SERV. To-morrow; to-day; presently. shall have the drum struck up this afternoon: 'tis, as it were, a parcel of their feast, and to be executed ere they wipe their lips. 2 SERV. Why, then we shall have a stirring world again. This peace is nothing, but to rust iron, increase tailors, and breed ballad-makers 5. 1 SERV. Let me have war, say I; it exceeds peace, as far as day does night; it's spritely, waking, audible, and full of vent. Peace is a very apoplexy, lethargy; mulled', deaf, sleepy, insensible; a getter of more bastard children, than wars a destroyer of men R. 4 in blood,] See p. 14, n. 1. MALONE. 5 This peace is nothing, but to rust, &c.] I believe a word or two have been lost. Shakspeare probably wrote: "This peace is good for nothing but," &c. Sir Thomas Hanmer reads-is worth nothing, &c. STEEVENS. 6 - full of VENT.] Full of rumour, full of materials for discourse. JOHNSON. 7- mulled,] i. e. softened and dispirited, as wine is when burnt and sweetened. Lat. Mollitus. HANMER. 8 than WARS a destroyer of men.] i. e. than wars are a destroyer of men. Our author almost every where uses wars in the plural. See the next speech. Mr. Pope, not attending to this, reads-than war's, &c. which all the subsequent editors have adopted. Walking, the reading of the old copy in this speech, was rightly corrected by him. MALONE. I should have persisted in adherence to the reading of Mr. Pope, had not a similar irregularity in speech occurred in All's Well That Ends Well, Act II. Sc. I. where the second Lord says—“O, 'tis brave wars! as we have here-" wars may be said to be a ravisher." Perhaps, however, in all these instances, the old blundering transcribers or printers, may have given us wars instead of war. STEEVENS. 2 SERV. "Tis so: and as wars, in some sort, may be said to be a ravisher; so it cannot be denied, but peace is a great maker of cuckolds. 1 SERV. Ay, and it makes men hate one another. 3 SERV. Reason; because they then less need one another. The wars, for my money. I hope to see Romans as cheap as Volcians. They are rising, they are rising. ALL. In, in, in, in. SCENE VI. Rome. A Publick Place. Enter SICINIUS and BRUTUS. [Exeunt. SIC. We hear not of him, neither need we fear him; His remedies are tame i' the present peace Mr. Malone had collected twenty-four instances from various contemporaries of Shakspeare, in support of the text, but as the phraseology which Mr. Steevens questioned is not altogether disused even at this day, I have forborne to insert them. BOSWELL. 9 His remedies are tame 1' the present peace-] The old reading is: "His remedies are tame, the present peace," I do not understand either line, but fancy it should be read thus: neither need we fear him; 66 "His remedies are ta'en, the present peace, "And quietness o' the people -." The meaning, somewhat harshly expressed, according to our author's custom, is this: We need not fear him, the proper remedies against him are taken, by restoring peace and quietness. JOHNSON. I rather suppose the meaning of Sicinius to be this: "His remedies are tame," i. e. ineffectual in times of peace like these. When the people were in commotion, his friends might have strove to remedy his disgrace by tampering with them; but now, neither wanting to And quietness o' the people, which before Enter MENENIUS. BRU. We stood to't in good time. Is this Menenius ? SIC. 'Tis he, 'tis he: O, he is grown most kind Of late.-Hail, sir! MEN. Hail to you both 1! SIC. Your Coriolanus, is not much miss'd 2, But with his friends; the common-wealth doth stand; And so would do, were he more angry at it. MEN. All's well; and might have been much better, if He could have temporiz'd. employ his bravery, nor remembering his former actions, they are unfit subjects for the factious to work upon. Mr. M. Mason would read, lame; but the epithets tame and wild were, I believe, designedly opposed to each other. STEEVENS. In, [' the present peace] which was omitted in the old copy, was inserted by Mr. Theobald. MALONE. I Hail to you BOTH!] From this reply of Menenius, it should seem that both the tribunes had saluted him; a circumstance also to be inferred from the present deficiency in the metre, which would be restored by reading (according to the proposal of a modern editor): 2 Your Coriolanus, SIR, is not much miss'd,] I have admitted the word-sir, for the sake of measure. STEEVENS. SIC. Where is he, hear you? MEN. Nay, I hear nothing; his mother and his wife Hear nothing from him. Enter Three or Four Citizens. CIT. The gods preserve you both! SIC. Good-e'en, our neighbours. BRU. Good-e'en to you all, good-e'en to you all. 1 CIT. Ourselves, our wives, and children, on our Had lov'd you as we did. CIT. Now the gods keep you! BOTH TRI. Farewell, farewell. [Exeunt Citizens. SIC. This is a happier and more comely time, Than when these fellows ran about the streets, Crying, Confusion. BRU. Caius Marcius was A worthy officer i' the war; but insolent, O'ercome with pride, ambitious past all thinking, Self-loving, SIC. Without assistance 3. And affecting one sole throne, 3- affecting one sole throne, Without assistance.] That is, without assessors; without other suffrage. JOHNSON. any "Without assistance." For the sake of measure I should wish to read : "Without assistance in't." This hemistich, joined to the following one, would then form a regular verse. It is also not improbable that Shakspeare, instead of assistance, wrote assistants. Thus in the old copies of our author, we have ingredience for ingredients, occurrence for occurrents, &c. VOL. XIV. N STEEVENS. |