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2 Gent.

And why so?

1 Gent. He that hath miss'd the princess is a thing
Too bad for bad report; and he that hath her,
(I mean, that married her,-alack, good man!-
And therefore banish'd) is a creature such
As, to seek through the regions of the earth
For one his like, there would be something failing
In him that should compare. I do not think,
So fair an outward, and such stuff within,

Endows a man but he.

2 Gent.

You speak him far2.

1 Gent. I do extend him, sir, within himself; Crush him together, rather than unfold

His measure duly.

2 Gent.

What's his name, and birth?

1 Gent. I cannot delve him to the root. His father

Was call'd Sicilius, who did join his honour

Against the Romans with Cassibelan,

But had his titles by Tenantius, whom
He serv'd with glory and admir'd success;
So gain'd the sur-addition, Leonatus:
And had, besides this gentleman in question,
Two other sons, who, in the wars o' the time,

Died with their swords in hand; for which their father
(Then old and fond of issue) took such sorrow,
That he quit being; and his gentle lady,
Big of this gentleman, our theme, deceas'd
As he was born. The king he takes the babe

To his protection; calls him Posthumus Leonatus ;
Breeds him, and makes him of his bed-chamber,
Puts to him all the learnings that his time
Could make him the receiver of; which he took,
As we do air, fast as 'twas minister'd; and
In his spring became a harvest; liv'd in court,
(Which rare it is to do) most prais'd, most lov'd;
A sample to the youngest, to the more mature,

2 You speak him FAR.] We might suspect that "far" is a misprint for fair; but as the sense of "far" is not only clear, but stronger than that afforded by fair, we of course adhere to the old reading. The 1 Gent. does more than speak Posthumus fair; he speaks him "far," or carries his praise to an extreme. The next speech confirms this explanation, if confirmation be needed.

3 (Then old and fond of issue)] "Fond of's issue," i. e. fond of his issue, is the altered reading in the corr. fo. 1632; but the change is needless.

A glass that feated them; and to the graver,
A child that guided dotards: to his mistress',
For whom he now is banish'd, her own price
Proclaims how she esteem'd him and his virtue:
By her election may be truly read

What kind of man he is.

2 Gent.

Even out of your report.

I honour him,

But, pray you, tell me,

Is she sole child to the king?

His only child.

1 Gent.
He had two sons, (if this be worth your hearing,
Mark it) the eldest of them at three years old,

I' the swathing clothes the other, from their nursery
Were stolen; and to this hour no guess in knowledge
Which way they went.

2 Gent.

How long is this ago?

1 Gent. Some twenty years.

2 Gent. That a king's children should be so convey'd, So slackly guarded, and the search so slow,

That could not trace them!

1 Gent.

Howsoe'er 'tis strange,

Or that the negligence may well be laugh'd at,

Yet is it true, sir.

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1 Gent. We must forbear. Here comes the gentleman', The queen, and princess.

[Exeunt.

A glass that FEATED them ;] "Feat," according to Minsheu, is fine, neat, brave. Shakespeare makes a verb out of the adjective, but according to a quotation by Mr. Singer from Palsgrave, he was by no means the first to do so, for we there read, "I am well feted or shapen of my lymmes; Je suis bien aligné.” The only example of the use of feat as a verb in Richardson's Dict., is this place in "Cymbeline:" the same is the case in Todd's Johnson, and we are therefore the more obliged to Mr. Singer.

5

To his mistress,] This is amended to "for his mistress" in the corr. fo. 1632, but "to his mistress" has the same meaning as for, viz. "as to his mistress." "To" and for were often, of old, used almost indifferently.

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6 THAT a king's children should be so convey'd.] The old corrector of the fo. 1632, perhaps to render the sense more clear, and in conformity with the recitation of the passage to which his ear may have been accustomed, gives the line thus :Strange! a king's children should be so convey'd," &c. The emendation receives some countenance from the next speech, which begins, "Howsoe'er 'tis strange," &c., as if the 1 Gent. had repeated the word just spoken by the person with whom he was conversing.

7 Here comes the GENTLEMAN,] In Malone's Shakespeare by Boswell, the word "gentleman," equally necessary to the sense and metre, is omitted.

SCENE II.

The Same.

Enter the Queen, POSTHUMUS, and IMOGEN.

Queen. No, be assur'd, you shall not find me, daughter, After the slander of most step-mothers,

Evil-ey'd unto you: you are my prisoner, but

Your jailer shall deliver you the keys

That lock up your restraint. For
For you, Posthumus,
So soon as I can win th' offended king,

I will be known your advocate: marry, yet
The fire of rage is in him; and 'twere good,
You lean'd unto his sentence, with what patience
Your wisdom may inform you.

Post.

I will from hence to-day.

Queen.

Please your highness,

You know the peril.

I'll fetch a turn about the garden, pitying

The pangs of barr'd affections, though the king
Hath charg'd you should not speak together.

[Exit Queen.

Imo. Oh dissembling courtesy! How fine this tyrant

Can tickle where she wounds!-My dearest husband,
I something fear my father's wrath; but nothing
(Always reserv'd my holy duty) what

His rage can do on me. You must be gone;
And I shall here abide the hourly shot

Of angry eyes; not comforted to live,
But that there is this jewel in the world,
That I may see again.

Post.

My queen! my mistress!

Oh, lady! weep no more, lest I give cause

To be suspected of more tenderness

8 Scene II.] Marked as a new scene in the old, as well as in modern impressions; but there is evidently no change of place, which on the English stage was usually necessary in order to constitute such a division of the dialogue.

Oh dissembling courtesy !] The Rev. Mr. Dyce occupies nearly a page of his "Remarks" (p. 251) in showing that the interjection "Oh" ought to be placed in a line by itself. All we need say is, that in verse, often so intentionally irregular as that of Shakespeare, we do not see the necessity for it.

Than doth become a man.

I will remain

The loyal'st husband that did e'er plight troth:
My residence in Rome at one Philario's;

Who to my father was a friend, to me

Known but by letter. Thither write, my queen,
And with mine eyes I'll drink the words you send,
Though ink be made of gall.

Queen.

Re-enter QUEEN.

Be brief, I pray you:

If the king come, I shall incur I know not

How much of his displeasure. [Aside.] Yet I'll move him
To walk this way. I never do him wrong,
But he does buy my injuries to be friends,
Pays dear for my offences.

Post.

[Exit.

Should we be taking leave

As long a term as yet we have to live,
The loathness to depart would grow. Adieu!
Imo. Nay, stay a little:

Were you but riding forth to air yourself,
Such parting were too petty. Look here, love:
This diamond was my mother's; take it, heart;
But keep it till you woo another wife,

When Imogen is dead.

Post.

How! how! another?

You gentle gods, give me but this I have,

And seal up my embracements from a next1

With bonds of death!-Remain, remain thou here,

[Putting on the ring.

While sense can keep it on. And sweetest, fairest,

As I my poor self did exchange for you,

To your so infinite loss, so in our trifles
I still win of
you: for my sake, wear this:
It is a manacle of love; I'll place it
Upon this fairest prisoner.

Imo.

When shall we see again?

[Putting a bracelet on her arm. Oh, the gods!

1 And SEAL up my embracements from a next] The old copies have sear for "seal," which judicious emendation is made by Mr. Singer, and to him we are indebted for it. We adopt it, although sear is continued unaltered in the corr. fo. 1632; and we are glad to acknowledge the obligation.

Post.

Enter CYMBELINE and Lords.

Alack! the king.

Cym. Thou basest thing, avoid! hence, from my sight! If after this command thou fraught the court

With thy unworthiness, thou diest. Away!

Thou'rt poison to my blood.

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I beseech you, sir,

Harm not yourself with your vexation:

I am senseless of your wrath; a touch more rare
Subdues all pangs, all fears.
Cym.
Past grace? obedience?
Imo. Past hope, and in despair; that way, past grace.
Cym. That mightst have had the sole son of my queen.
Imo. Oh bless'd, that I might not! I chose an eagle,
And did avoid a puttock3.

Cym. Thou took'st a beggar; wouldst have made my throne A seat for baseness'.

Imo.

A lustre to it.

No! I rather added

Cym.

Oh thou vile one'!

2 That shouldst repair my youth, thou heapest

A year's age on me.] The first line is clearly defective, and Sir T. Hanmer would eke it out by the word many after "heapest," to which there seems little objection, excepting that there is nothing to prove that it proceeded from Shakespeare's pen. We prefer to leave the imperfection untouched (as indeed it is in the corr. fo. 1632), merely remarking upon it. Surely the sense of "repair" requires no illustration; but the commentators have by no means thought so.

3 And did avoid a PUTTOCK.] A "puttock" is a hawk of a degenerate and worthless breed.

4 A seat for baseness.] In the preceding line the corr. fo. 1632 alters "wouldst" to would; but thou seems understood, and not who.

5 Oh thou VILE one!] No doubt this is the correct reading; but as, in the old copies, "vile" is here misspelt vilde, we almost wonder that the Rev. Mr. Dyce has not contended that Cymbeline's exclamation (considering the conduct and disposition of his daughter) ought to have been, "Oh thou wild one." The fact is, as we have before remarked, that the old misprinting of "vile" vild, which

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