图书图片
PDF
ePub

shafts were furnished with feathers. They were carried in quivers, which, with the bow, was slung behind the shoulders. Some of these were square, others round, with covers to protect the arrows from dust and rain. Several which appear on fictile vases seem to have been lined with skins. The spear was generally of ash, with a leaf-shaped head of metal, and furnished with a pointed ferule at the butt, with which it was stuck in the ground-a method used, according to Homer, when the troops rested on their arms, or slept upon their shields. The hunting-spear (in Xenophon and Pollux) had two salient parts, sometimes three crescents, to prevent the advance of the wounded animal. On the coins of Etolia is an undoubted hunting-spear.

The female dress consisted of the long sleeveless tunic (stola or calasiris), or a tunic with shoulder-flaps almost to the elbow, and fastened by one or more buttons down the arm (axillaris). Both descriptions hung in folds to the feet, which were protected by a very simple sandal (solea or crepida). Over the tunic was worn the peplum, a square cloth or veil fastened to the shoulders and hanging over the bosom as low as the zone (tænia or strophium), which confined the tunic just beneath the bust. Athenian women of high rank wore hair-pins (one ornamented with a cicada, or grasshopper, is engraved in Hope's 'Costume of the Ancients,' plate 138), ribands or fillets, wreaths of flowers, &c. The hair of both sexes was worn in long, formal ringlets, either of a flat and zigzagged or of a round and corkscrew shape.

The lower orders of Greeks were clad in a short tunic of coarse materials, over which slaves wore a sort of leathern jacket, called diphthera: slaves were also distinguished from freemen by their hair being closely shorn.

The Amazons are generally represented on the Etruscan vases in short embroidered tunics with sleeves to the wrist, (the peculiar distinction of Asiatic or barbaric nations,) pantaloons, ornamented with stars and flowers to correspond with the tunic, the chlamys, or short military cloak, and the Phrygian cap or bonnet. Hippolyta is seen so attired on horseback contending with Theseus.

Vide Hope's 'Costumes.'

[graphic][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed]
[graphic][merged small][merged small]

SCENE I.-Athens. 4 Room in the Palace of Theseus.

Eater THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, PHILOSTRATE, and Attendants.

The. Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour
Draws on apace; four happy days bring in
Another moon: but, oh, methinks, how slow
This old moon wanes! she lingers my desires,
Like to a step-dame, or a dowager,
Long withering out a young man's revenue.
Hip. Four days will quickly steep themselves
in nights;

Four nights will quickly dream away the time;
And then the moon, like to a silver bow
New bent in heaven, shall behold the night
Of our solemnities.

a New bent. The two quartos of 1600, and the folio of 1623, read now bent." New was supplied by Rowe. We believe COMEDIES.-VOL I. Z

[blocks in formation]

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. Sc. 111.

"whose ceremony Shall seem expedient on the now-born brief." 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.

a See Two Gentlemen of Verona, Illustrations of Act V.

337

[blocks in formation]

Ege. Full of vexation come I, with complaint Against my child, my daughter Hermia. Stand forth, Demetrius: My noble lord, This man hath my consent to marry her.— Stand forth, Lysander :--and, my gracious duke, This man hath bewitch'd the bosom of my child: Thou, thou, Lysander, thou hast given her rhymes, And interchang'd love-tokens with my child: Thou hast by moon-light at her window sung, With feigning voice, verses of feigning love; And stol'n the impression of her fantasy With bracelets of thy hair, rings, gawds, conceits, Knacks, trifles, nosegays, sweet-meats; messen

gers

Of strong prevailment in unharden'd youth: With cunning hast thou filch'd my daughter's heart;

Turn'd her obedience, which is due to me,
To stubborn harshness :-And, my gracious duke,
Be it so she will not here before your grace
Consent to marry with Demetrius,

I beg the ancient privilege of Athens ;
As she is mine, I may dispose of her:
Which shall be either to this gentleman,
Or to her death; according to our law,
Immediately provided in that case.

The. What say you, Hermia? Be advis'd, fair maid:

To you your father should be as a god;
One that compos'd your beauties; yea, and one
To whom you are but as a form in wax,
By him imprinted, and within his power
To leave the figure, or disfigure it.
Demetrius is a worthy gentleman.

Her. So is Lysander.

The.

In himself he is:

But, in this kind, wanting your father's voice,
The other must be held the worthier.

Her. I would my father look'd but with my eyes.

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 dur, which was indiacriminately applied to any military chief. Chaucer has duke Theseus,- Gower, duke Spartacus,-Stonyhurst, 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 conse quence destroyed.

The. Rather your eyes must with his judgment look.

Her. I do entreat your grace to pardon me. I know not by what power I am made bold, Nor how it may concern my modesty,

In such a presence here, to plead my thoughts:
But I beseech your grace that I may know
The worst that may befal me in this case,
If I refuse to wed Demetrius.

The. Either to die the death, or to abjure
For ever the society of men.

Therefore, fair Hermia, question your desires,
Know of your youth, examine well your blood,
Whether, if you yield not to your father's choice,
You can endure the livery of a nun;
For aye to be in shady cloister mew'd,
To live a barren sister all your life,
Chanting faint hymns to the cold fruitless

moon.

Thrice blessed they that master so their blood,
To undergo such maiden pilgrimage:
But earthly happier is the rose distill'd,
Than that, which, withering on the virgin thorn,
Grows, lives, and dies, in single blessedness.

Her. So will I grow, so live, so die, my lord,
Ere I will yield my virgin patent up
Unto his lordship, whose unwished yoke
My soul consents not to give sovereignty.
The. Take time to pause; and, by the next

new moon,

(The sealing-day betwixt my love and me,
For everlasting bond of fellowship,)
Upon that day either prepare to die,
For disobedience to your father's will;
Or else, to wed Demetrius, as he would;
Or on Diana's altar to protest,
For aye, austerity and single life.

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.

b Lordship-authority. The word dominion in our present translation of the Bible (Romans, ch. vi.) is lordship in Wickliffe's translation.

e This is one of those elliptical expressions which fre quently 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,) Have laid most heavy hand." (on.)

The same elliptical construction occurs in Othello's speech to the Senate:

"What conjurations and what mighty magic
I won his daughter." (with.)

Dem. Relent, sweet Hermia:-And, Lysander, yield

Thy crazed title to my certain right.

Lys. You have her father's love, Demetrius; Let me have Hermia's: Do you marry him.

Ege. Scornful Lysander! true he hath my love;
And what is mine my love shall render him ;
And she is mine; and all my right of her
I do estate unto Demetrius.

Lys. I am, my lord, as well deriv'd as he,
As well possess'd; my love is more than his;
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?
Demetrius, I'll avouch it to his head,
Made love to Nedar's daughter, Helena,

And won her soul; and she, sweet lady, dotes,
Devoutly dotes, dotes in idolatry,

Upon this spotted and inconstant man.

The. I must confess that I have heard so much, And with Demetrius thought to have spoke thereof;

But, being over-full of self-affairs,

My mind did lose it. But, Demetrius, come;
And come, Egeus; you shall go with me,
I have some private schooling for you both.
For you, fair Hermia, look you arm yourself
To fit your fancies to your father's will;

Or else the law of Athens yields you up
(Which by no means we may extenuate,)
To death, or to a vow of single life.
Come, my Hippolyta: What cheer, my love?
Demetrius, and Egeus, go along:
I must employ you in some business
Against our nuptial; and confer with you
Of something nearly that concerns yourselves.
Ege. With duty and desire, we follow you.
[Exeunt THES. HIP. EGE. DEM. and train.
Lys. How now, my love? why is your cheek
so pale ?

How chance the roses there do fade so fast?
Her. Belike for want of rain; which I could
well

Beteem them from the tempest of mine eyes. Lys. Ah me! for aught that ever I could read,2 Could ever hear by tale or history,

The course of true love never did run smooth: But, either it was different in blood;

Her. O cross! too high to be enthrall'd to low!

Spotted-stained, impure; the opposite of spotless.
Beteem-pour forth.

* The quartos and the folio, read

"O cross! too high to be enthrall'd to love."

Theobald altered love to low; and the antithesis, which is

[blocks in formation]

b

Her. O hell! to choose love by another's eye! Lys. Or, if there were a sympathy in choice, War, death, or sickness did lay siege to it; Making it momentary as a sound, Swift as a shadow, short as any dream, Brief as the lightning in the collied° night, That, in a spleen, unfolds both heaven and earth, And ere a man hath power to say, -Behold! The jaws of darkness do devour it up: So quick bright things come to confusion.

Her. If then true lovers have been ever cross'd,
It stands as an edict in destiny:
Then let us teach our trial patience,
Because it is a customary cross;

As due to love as thoughts, and dreams, and sighs,
Wishes, and tears, poor fancy's followers.
Lys. A good persuasion; therefore, hear me,
Hermia.

I have a widow aunt, a dowager

Of great revenue, and she hath no child;

From Athens is her house remov'd seven leagues;

And she respects me as her only son.
There, gentle Hermia, may I marry

thee;

kept up through the subsequent lines, justifies the change:high-low; old-young.

Friends-so the quartos. In the folio we find

"Or else it stood upon the choice of merit."

The alteration in the folio was certainly not an accidental one; but we hesitate to adopt the reading, the meaning of which is more recondite than that of friends. The "choice of merit" is opposed to the " sympathy in choice; "-the merit of the suitor recommends itself to "another's eye," but not to the person beloved.

b Momentary. So the folio of 1623; the quartos read momentany, which Johnson says is the old and proper word. Momentany has certainly a more antique sound than momentary; but they were each indifferently used by the writers of Shakspere's time. We prefer the reading of the folio, because momentary occurs in four other passages in our poet's dramas; and this is a solitary example of the use of momen tany, and that only in the quartos. The reading of the folio is invariably momentary.

c Collied-black, smutted. This is a word still in use in the Staffordshire collieries. Shakspere found it there, and transplanted it into the region of poetry.

d In a spleen-in a sudden fit of passion or caprice.

e Fancy's followers-the followers of Love. Fancy is h re used in the same sense as in the exquisite song in the Merchant of Venice:

"Tell me where is fancy bred." The word is repeated with the same meaning three times in this play in Act 11. Sc. 1.

"In maiden meditation, fancy-free; "—

in Act 111. Sc. 11.

"All fancy-sick she is, and pale of cheer; "—

and in Act IV. Sc. I.,

"Fair Helena in fancy following me."

f Remov'd-the reading of the folio. In the quartos we find remote. The reading of the folio is supported by several parallel passages; as in Hamlet,

"It wafts you to a more remored ground;" and in As You Like It-"Your accent is somewhat finer than you could purchase in so removed a dwelling."

« 上一页继续 »