A A 3 6 6 3 7 PR 3070 R51q • RITSON QUIP MODEST I O THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES THE QUIP MODEST; A FEWWORDS BY WAY OF SUPPLEMENT T O REMARKS, CRITICAL AND ILLUSTRATIVE, N r H E Text and Notes of the Last: Edition F SHAKSPEAREi OCCASIONED BV A REPUBI^CATION OF THAT EDITION, REVISED AND AUGMENTED BY THE EDITOR OF DODSLEYS OLD PLAYS. we'll sift this MATTER FURTHER. all's well that enos well. LONDON: PRINTED FOR, J, JOHNSON in ST. PAULS CHURCH YARD* M DCC LXXXYIII. A ' /5 P RE FACE. ^ TN the beginning of 1783 1 publifhed a book or pamphlet, •* intitled, " Remarks, critical and illuftrative, on the Text and Notes ofthelaft Edition of Shakrpeare,"which, I under- ftand, has been reprefented as the mofl: incorrect publication u- that ever appeared ; and, indeed, from the lift of errata in the book itfelf, and the additional one given at the end of this Preface, the charge does not feem to be without founda- tion. There is, hov/ever, one work which, I believe, may vye with mine in point of inaccuracy, and that is the revif- ed edition of Johnfon and Steevenses Shakfpeare, which has J3 iince made its immaculate appearance, without the notifi- ^ cation of a fmgle error *. I am, neverthelefs, far from ^ meaning * A complete table of errata would be too arduous a tafk, perhaps, for an individual; the bookfellers may therefor think themlelves obli- ged to any perfon that will contribute to it. I accordingly offer my mite, in the following brief but decent fpecimen of the accuracy of this famous edition. V. I. p. 21. boltfprit for bovjfprit. 48. Al^-njorights for zit-knights. I 70. Trinculo for Stephana. 72. ne'uer (to fpoil the metre) for ne'er. 34.7 & pajfim. Manhood for Manivood. In another place Sir Hugh Spelman. Vol. II. p. 39. dlJJa?it for infant, Ignotny for Ignominy. 68. conftruiiion for contra^kxt J I. fame for fame, o -2 ^fi.'^sn: meaning to reproach the learned gentleman who appears to have had the care of that edition, with the negligence of his printers ; nor do I think myfelf at all more culpable on ac- count of the blunders of mine. Every perfon who has the entire revifion of his own prefs-work will be foon con- vinced, that nothing is To truly incorrigible as a virgin proof JlKct in its primitive Ji ate of unamendment. There is, how- ever, fome little diiTerence in printers j elfe mercy on the poor author ! Another charge which has been brought againft me, is no lefs than downright yi?/cw_y. It feems that fome of my happieft emendations had already appeared in the margin of the very edition I had prefumed to criticife ; and the candour of the Critical Reviewers led them to conclude that 1 muft have ftole them ready made. Thofe venerable perfonages, who have the difmtereftednefs to devote fix days Vol. III. p. S95. Yowjhall not have mocked me before, for yott fiould not, &c. 378. Hear for Here, 466. Platony the fon of Lagus. 496. a cuchfold^s liorn. Vol. IV. p. 94. \)VonM{t-maker ic,v \>Tom\{t- breaker. 118. liitergatories for Interrogatories, J 64. ?7ian {ex name . 211. Fie a--way iorflj nuuay. ^64. danger for dagger. 331 . curfe him for tiiirfe him. 3^7. Vcrft/^ans hijlltutlon for Verftfgans Rejlilution, 4^0. TZ^fl/ ra reft for 77;^ rareft. Vol. V. p, 113. Huiv for nc~v. 161. BamJ})'fi for Bamfh^d. Vol. VI. p. 23. A line omitted ; EKe would I have a fling at Winchefiefi Vol. VIL p. 371. Ifrf'o for If /fl'o. VIII. p. 190. /o draw, for (/a draw. IX. p. 26. like for lye. 8c. J} ore iovfore. 109. The lees and dregs of a flat piece. Turned omitted. X. p. 331. Hejivood for Hajivard, Sic. &c. &c. Sic, in infeven* to theferviceofthe public, in pafllngfentenceuport books which they never read, and on the charader of writ- ers whom they do not know, could not for their fouls com- prehend that two perfons might happen to hit upon the lame idea, or that one, having poflefled himfelf of the idea of an- other, might, from a defective memory, or any other caufe, come in time to imagine it his own. All that I can fay upon this head, though 1 (hall not expe£l credit for my aflertion from the good-natured gentlemen I have juft mentioned, is, that at the time of the publication of the book, I was not aware of being anticipated in more than a fmgle inflance, and even that one I thought my own. Incorreft, however, and felonious as thefe fame Re- marks might be, I found that the revifed Edition I have mentioned had got near 200 of them in its margin, all of which were received without oppofition ; not to fpeak of the alterations or corredions which I had a rieht to prefume myfelf the occafion of. There are a few in- deed which have not paffed mufter, but, on the con- trary, are treated with fuch an air of peevifhnefs, that I efleem myfelf a very unnatural father of fo hopeful an ofF- fpring, in not having come forward in their vindication fooner. It will be thought, perhaps, by fome, altogether unreafonable, that, after the editor of the revifed edition has adopted fo confiderable a majority of my remarks, I fiiould bs difpofed to find fault with him for his cavalier treatment of a few. I can only fay, that it was not to me of the fmalleft confequence whether he condefcended to honour my publication with his notice or not 5 but I think it my duty to defend every part of it from injury and mif- reprefentation. I know of no difference between the inte- grity or charadler of a writer and that of any other indi- vidual j nor ought an unjuft charge againft the former to remain unrefuted, any more than one againft the latter. * I conclude, that on Sunday the worthy critics *' reft from their labourj," and go to Meeting, They are very good Chriftians. This [ vi ] This defence, T allow, is rather of the lateft in making its appearance, and my liberal and candid friends above men- tioned will fcarcely neglecl the opportunity of paying my prudence a compliment, in having attended fo well to Ho- races rule. The fail: is, that my notes were taken in turning- over the revifed edition immediately after its pub» jication, but have till very lately been laid afidej and, in fhort, almoft forgotten ; and perhaps I only anticipate a pleafant obfervation of my fmall friends, fo oft alluded to, in adding, that it would have proved no great lofs if they had been altogether fo. I mufl not pretend to be ignorant that I have been ac- cufed of treating the moft eminent Editors, Commenta- tors, and Critics, with too little ceremony ; and, indeed, I fear I've wrong'd the honorable men Whofe goofe-quills have ftabb'd Shakfpeare. ** If it be fo," it is unqueftionably " a grievous fault.'* But I can with great truth and julHce urge in my defence, I have no perfonal caufe to fpurn at them. Bur for the general. And that How fc\r I have proceeded in this matter. Or how far further fball, is warranted By the example of preceding critics. Yea, the v^-hole critic tribe. Before I conclude, I beg leave to afTure the refpectable gentleman who had the care of the revifed edition, that fo far from meaning to treat him with the flighted degree of levity or freedom, i do not confider him as refponfible for any one of the notes vv'hich are the principal objects of the prefent pamphlet : I conclude them to have been furnifh- ed by fome obliging friend, who has defired to be efFediual- [ vii ] ly concealed under the faniSlion of the Editors fignature *. If I could polHbly think this were not the cafe, I am under too many obligations to that gentleman, in the courfe of my different literary purfuits, not to have kifled the rod in 11- lence. However, I doubt not there are many things in the following pages which I might have been allowed to fay, ■without running any poflible rifk of giving offence to him ; alive as an editor is on fuch occafions faid to feel himfelf. At the end of the Remarh, &c. I inferted an advertife- ment of " an edition of the plays of Shakfpeare," as theii " preparing for the prefs ;" and fome enquiries have been made v/hen it would appear. In truth, the attention requi-i fite to the publication of fo voluminous a work, and the little likelihood there is of its being produdive to the an* dertaker of any thing but trouble and expence, together with other caufes of lefs confequence, have hitherto de« terred me from putting it to the prefs. But I have neither laid afide all thoughts of bringing it forward, nor can I pledge myfelf to produce it in any given time. I have little reafon to fuppofe that the Public interefts itfelf at all in the matter, and therefor think myfelf at full liberty Jo fuit my own inclination and convenience. G.I. ift February 178S. * Imprcfled as I have been with this idea, I ought ia common juflice to acknowleffe.that I fufpefl no one in particular to whom I am ihus indebted. Above all I vvifti to declare, that the candour, liberality, and politenefs which diftinguifli Mr. SxEEVENS, utterly exclude him from every imputation of this nature. A 4 ERRA'tJ in the Remarks,'&c. Difcovered after Publication. P. 12. after 1. 5. add^, azS. P. 20. 1. %.for p. 6. r. p. 64.. P. 25. after 1. 8. add Comedy of Errors. 1. 2 1. /or referred r. reftored. P. 26. 1. 6. ^^/^ this line. P. 28. 1. 9. dele It. P. 29. after 1. 23. r. Much ado about Nothisgj and dele thofe words in the next page. P. 33. 1. 17. for Mr. Steevenses r. Dr. Warburtons. P. 86. 1. 14. /or chidllefs r. childlefs. P. 94. 1. ult. (n.) for ftrange r. kind of. P. 98. 1. 14. /or abfurdity r. necefiity. P. ii3. 1. 9. for certainly fo r. certainly done fo. P. 124. 1. penult. /or conftittiiion r. constitution. P. J57. 1. 1 1. /or is cynical r. is as cynical. P. 195. I. 1,/or quielcent r. crefcent. P, 196. 1. 9. for Each of th&fe propofals is, r. The fecond and third of thefe propofals aie,~ P. 222. 1. 25. for play r. pay. P. 230. before 1. i. hifert, * P. 502. Ja. King Stephen was a worthy peer. i. e. fays Mr. Steevens, a worthy fellow. In (his fenfe peer^ fere, and pheere, he adds, are oft:n ufed by the writers of our earlieft romances. ERRATUM m this Pamphlet. P. 8, 1, 12, /or the fame volume, r. vol. iy. SUPPLEMENT to REMARKS.^c, TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA. Vol. I. p. 155 *. IN anfwer to what I have been pleafed to aflert in de- fence of Shakfpeare, againft the charge of taking a li- berty with his words, by ftretching them out to fuit th« purpofe of his metre, Mr. Tyrwhitt has obferved as fol- lows : " As to xhii fuppofed canon of the Englifh language, it wonld be eafy to fhew that it is quite fanciful and un- founded ; and what he calls the right method of printing the above words y is fuch as, I believe, was never adopted be- fore by any mortal in writing them, nor can be followed in the pronunciation of them, without the help of an en- tirely new fyftem of fpelling. But any further djfcuflion of the matter is unnecellary ; becaufe the hypothefis, though allowed in its utmoft extent, will not prove either of the points to which it is applied. It will neither prove that Shakfpeare has not taken a liberty in extending cer- tain words, nor, that he has not taken that liberty chiefly with certain words in which / or r is fubjoined to another confonant. The follou^ing are all inftances of nouns, fub- ftantive or adjedlive, which can receive no fupport from the fuppofed canon. That Shakfpeare has taken a liberty in extending thefe words, is evident, from the confideration * The paging in thjs pamphlet is generally from the tevifed cdi- tioM. B that r ^ ] that the fame words are more frequently ufed by his con- temporaries, and by himfelf, without the additional fyllable^ Why he has taken this liberty with words in which / or r is fubjoined, muft be obvious to every one who can pro- nounce the language. " Country^ trifyllable. « Ttvelfth Nighty ASt I. fc. 2. The like of him. Know'ft thou this country P * " Remembrance^ quadrifyllable. « Twelfth Night, Aa I. fc. i. " And lafting in her fad remembrance. ** Angry, trifyllable. « Timon of Athens, A<5t III. fc. 5. But who is man that is not angry? " Henry, trifyllable. " Rich. III. Aa II. fc. 3. So flood the ftate when Henry the Sixth. " Monfirom, trifyllable. ** Macbeth, A(fl IV. fc. 6. Who cannot want the thought how monjirotts. " Affembly, quadrifyllable. " Much ado about Nothing, A61 V. fc. laft. Good mor- 'fow to this fair afjembly. " Douglas, trifyllable. " I Henry IV. A^V. fc, 2. Lord Douglas, go you and tell him fo. " England, trifyllable. «' Rich. II. Aa IV. fc. ;. Then B«lingbr©ke return to England. • As a fingle Inftatice^ fufficient for my pyrpofe, every additional (OHC has been ftmittcd, « Humhltr^ r 3 } « Humbler^ trifyllable. *« I Hen. VI. Aa IV. fc. i. Methinks his lordfhip fhould be humbler. " Nobler^ trifyllable. « Coriolanus, Ad III. fc. 2. You do the nobler* Cor. I mufe my mother." The learned and refpedable writer of thefe obfervations is now unfortunately no more ; but his opinions will not on that account have the lefs influence with the readers of the re- vifed edition of Shakfpeare. I am therefor ftill at liberty to enforce the juftice and propriety of my own fentiments, which I truft I fhall be found to do with all poflible deli- cacy toward the memory and charaiSler of the ingenious gentleman from whom 1 have the misfortune to differ. I humbly conceive, that upon more mature confidera- tton Mr. Tyrwhitt would have admitted, that if the me- thod of printing the words in queftion were once proved to be right, it would be of little confequence whether the difcovery had ever been adopted before, or could be follow- ed in pronunciation, without the help of an entire new fyftem of fpeiiing : which in fadl is the very objedtl mean to contend for ; or rather for a fyjlem of fpelUng^ as I am perfectly confident we have none at prefent, or at leaft I have never been able to find it. I fliall have reafon to think myfelf peculiarly unfortunate if, after my hypothe- fis is allowed in its utmoft extent, it will not prove what it was principally formed to do, viz. that Shakfpeare has not taken a liberty in extending certain words to fuit the purpofe of his metre. But furely, if I prove that he has only written the words in queftion as they ought to be written, I prove the whole of my pofition, which of courfe fhould ceafe to be termed or confidered an hypothefis. I may fafely admit, that the words in quefLion *' are more frequently ufed by his contemporaries, and by himfelf, without the additional fyllable ;" but this will only fhew, that his contemporaries and himfelf have more frequently B 2 taken C 4 ] taken the liberty of fiiortening thofe words than In writing them at length. Such a word as alarm'' d, for inftance^is generally, perhaps conftantly, ufed by poets as a diflyl- lable ; and yet, if we found it with its full power, alarmedy we fhould fcarcely fay that the writer had taken a liberty in lengthening it a fyllable. Thus too the word diamond is generally fpoken as if two fyllables ; but it is certainly three, and is fo properly given by Shakfpeare : Sir, I muft have that diamond from you. The words obfervation and affeSiion areufually pronounced, the one as confiliing of three, the other of four fyllables ; but each, notwithftanding, is really a fyllable longer : With obfervation, the which he vents. Yet have I fierce affe£ilons and think. But examples of this nature would be endlefs. Of the words quoted by Mr. Tyrwhitt, as inflances of the liberty taken by Shakfpeare, thofe which I admit to be properly a fyllable fhorter, certainly obtained the fame pro- nunciation in the age ®f that author as he has annexed to them. Thus country, monjirous, remembrance, ajjcmbly, were not only pronounced in Shakfpeares time, the two former as three, the other zs four fyllables, but are fo Jiill ; and the reafon, to borrow Mr. Tyrwhitts own words, " muft be obvious to every one who can pronounce the language." ^^ Henry was not only ufually pronounced (as indeed it is ftill) but frequently written as a trifyllable, even in profe. Thus in Dr. Buttons Difcourfe on the Antiquities of Ox- ford, at the end of Hearnes Textus Koffenfis, " King Henery the eights coUedge *.'* That Mr. Tyrwhitt fhould have treated the words angry, hu?nbler, nobler, ufed as trifyllables, among thofe which could " receive no fupport from the fuppofed ca- non," muft have been owing to the obfcure or imperfedl manner in which I attempted to explain it, as thefe are the • See, upon this fubjecl, Wallifu Grammatica, p. 57. very C 5 ] very Inftances which the canon, if a canon it muft be, is purpofcl y made to fupport, or rather by which it is to be Tup- ported. This canon, in ihort, is nothing but a very fhort and fimple rule of Englifh grammar, which has been repeated over and over : Every word, compounded upon the prin- ciples of the Englifh language, always preferves the radical word unchanged. Thus hurnhler and nobler^ for inftance, are compofed of the adje6tives humble and noble^ and er, the fign of the comparative degree ; angry^ of the noun anger^ and y^ the Saxon 15. In the ufe of all thefe as tri- fyllables Shakfpeare is moft correct ; and that he is no lefs fo in England^ which ufed to be pronounced as three fyllables, and is fo itill indeed with thofe who do not ac-» quire the pronunciation of their mother-tongue froni the book, and fpeech certainly preceded writing, will be evi- dent from the etymology, which (hould be more attended to. Let us examine the word. — How is it to be divided ? Eng-land, or En-gland? It will be evident that there is a defeft fomcwhere : but write it as it fhould be written, En-gle-land^ and you have the meaning and etymology of the word and the origin of the nation at firfl fight, from the Saxon Gnjialanba, the land or country of the Anghs ; as in Scotland^ Ireland, Finland^ Lapland^ the country of the Scot^ the Ipe, the Fln^ the Lap : and yet, in defpite of all fenfe and reafon, about half the words in the language are in the fame awkward predicament. I flatter mylelf I have completely juftified this divine author from the charge of racking his words, as the tyrant did his captives. I hope too I have made it appear, that there is fomething deiective and improper in the common methods of fpelling, or rather mis-fpelling. A learned and ingenious gentleman, who has undertaken a New Dic- tionary of the language upon an excellent plan, will have it very much in his power to introduce a fyflematical re- form, which, once eltablifhed, would remain unvaried and invariable as long as the language endured. This John- fon might have had the honour of j but it is evident that he was very little acquainted with the principles and for- mation ^ARKS, . 12. C 6 3 matlon of the words he undertook to explain. Every die* tionary, to be perfedt, ihould difplay a fyftem of orthogra- phy, by dividing the words upon etymological principles. At firft fight, one would think there was very little diffi- culty in this } and yet I know not that any grammarian or lexicographer has attempted it. Something of this kind has been efFeded in Italy, France, and Spain, by the diffe- rent academies there. And however violent the propofed reform may appear, it is certain, that if two or three of the firft printers in London were to adopt it, it would ceafe to be remarkable in half a year : but till this is done, it does not feem worth the while of an individual to render his f elf fmgular, when he cannot fee the leaft probability of being able to convince the public of the propriety of his condudl ; and there feems no neceffity for making fuch a matter as thh a point of confcience. P. 194. Hojl. By my haU'idom I was faft afleep. That I Ihould fall into an error myfelf, is perfectly na- tural J but that I fhould have led the infallible editors of Shakfpeare into one, is ftrange indeed. I had haftily fup- pofed hallidom to be a corruption of holy dame^ i. e. the Blefled Virgin, as file is generally called. But it is not, being immediately from the Saxon hahjbom, which, as I take it, means, my fentence at the general refurredlion, or, as I hope to be faved *. MERRY WIVES OF VV^INDSOR. Vol. I. p. 252. Shn. Tv/o Edward Jhovel-boardst that coft me two fhillings and two-pence apiece. * I fee too they have adopted my explanation of'vala»c'd (Re- m.iik«, p. 19S.) which, either through ignorance or inattention, Ihad made to fignify overhung ^jjlth a canopy or tffier like a Led; whereas it means furheloived ^^ he argues, " when the king retired, the duke of Exeter undoubtedly accompanied him :" And fuppofe he did, what then ? Is he never to come upon the flage again ? As to his affertion, that " Z)//X(f means no more here than commander -f" nothing bad enough can be faid of it. Will he have the goodnefs to produce one fingJe inftance from " the language of our author," in wi}ich the title has any fuch meaning ? *' Duke Thefeia^* every one who has looked into the Midfumrner Nights Dream, not excepting himfelf, very well knows, is " Thefeus Duke of Athens ." And though Skclton or any other ancient writer may have calhd E 2 Hannibal [ 28 ] Hannibal a Duke^ will he venture to fay that any writer ever gave fuch an appellation to an EngUjh officer ? Thefe are queftions indeed, which, though X afk, I do not expe£l Mr. Malone to anfwer : but I fhall be free enough to add, thnt while fuch critics as he is have the liberty to write fuch notes as this in the margin of Shale fpeare, it will be in vain to expedl either honour or juftice done to the au- thor. SECOND PART OF HENRY THE SIXTH. Vol. VI. p. 371. K. Henry. I thank thee : If 'ell thefe words content mc much. In anfwer to the Remark on this pafTage (a Remark vrhich I have fmce learned is not peculiar to myfelf) the Lditor fays it has been obferved by two or three commentators, that it is no way extraordinary the king fhould forget his wifes name, as it appears in no lefs than three places fhe forgets it herfelf, calling herfelf Eleanor. It has been alfo faid, he adds, that if any contraction of the real name is ufed, it fhould be Meg. And though he allows all this ta be very true, yet as an alteration 77mjl be made, Theobalds, he fays, is jujl as good and as probable as any other. He has, therefor, retained it, and wifhes it could have been done with propriety without a note. This to be fure is peren.ptory enough, but I do not fee how the impropriety of the meafure is lefFened by the in- fertion of a note. No unprejudiced perfon can hefitatc for a moment in admitting this conclufion, that as Shak- fpeare has already inadvertently ufed Eleanor for Margaret no lefs than three times, fo he here ufes Nell for Meg. With v/hat reafon therefor can it be faid, that /^//is juft as