before you came: for looke heere what I found on a Palme tree; I was neuer fo berimd fince Pythagoras time that I was an Irish Rat, which I can hardly remember.

174. Pythagoras] Pythagoras's Rowe +

Pythagoras' Cap.

173

175

174. Palme tree] STEEVENS: A 'palm-tree' in the forest of Arden is as much out of place as the lioness in a subsequent scene. CALDECOTT: Bulleyn in his Booke of Compounds, 1562, p. 40 [speaks of] 'the kaies or woolly knottes, growing upon sallowes, commonly called palmes.' BRAND (Pop. Ant. i, 127, ed. Bohn): It is still customary with our boys, both in the south and north of England, to go out and gather slips with the willow-flowers or buds at this time [i. e. Palm Sunday]. These seem to have been selected as substitutes for the real palm, because they are generally the only things, at this season, which can be easily procured in which the power of vegetation can be discovered. It is even yet a common practice in the neighborhood of London. The young people go a-palming, and the sallow is sold in London streets for the whole week preceding Palm Sunday, the purchasers commonly not knowing the tree which produces it, but imagining it to be the real palm, and wondering that they never saw it growing! HALLIWELL (Archaic Dict. s. v. Palm): Properly exotic trees of the tribe Palmacea; but among our rustics it means the catkins of a delicate species of willow gathered by them on Palm Sunday. Palme, the yelowe that groweth on wyllowes, chatton.'-Palsgrave, 1530. WRIGHT: As the forest of Arden is taken from Lodge's Novel, it is likely that the trees in it came from the same source. This is certainly the case with the 'tuft of olives' in III, v, 78. Lodge's forest was such as could only exist in the novelist's fancy, for besides pines, beech trees, and cypresses, there were olives, figs, lemons, and citrons, pomegranates, and myrrh trees. The palm is mentioned, but not as a forest tree, and only in figures of speech; as, for example: Thou art old, Adam, and thy haires waxe white; the palme tree is alreadie full of bloomes.'-Lodge's Novel. COLLIER (ed. i): Shakespeare cared little about such 'proprieties'; but possibly he wrote plane-tree, which may have been misread by the transcriber or compositor [Collier did not repeat this suggestion in his subsequent editions. It seems quite clear from both Bulleyn and Palsgrave that the catkins of the willow were called palms, and presumably for the reason that they were used, as Brand states, on Palm Sunday. But I can find no proof that the willow was ever called a 'palm tree.' Here, in this city, on that day, in lieu of the Oriental branches, sprigs of box and the long leaves of the Phormium tenax are distributed in the churches, and are called 'palms,' but no one ever thinks of calling the plants themselves 'palm trees.' Shakespeare's forest was Lodge's forest, and, as Wright truly says, that forest could exist only in fancy.-ED.]

174, 175. berim d... Rat] GREY (i, 181): A banter upon Pythagoras's doctrine of the transmigration of souls. See Spenser's Faerie Queene, I, ix [‘As he were charmed with inchaunted rimes.'-line 437, ed. Grosart]. In Randolph's Jealous Lovers, v, ii, there is an image much like this: Azotus. And my poets Shall with a satire steep'd in gall and vinegar Rithme 'em to death, as they do rats in Ireland.' JOHNSON: The power of killing rats with rhymes Donne mentions in his Satires and Temple in his Treatises. [The passage in Donne's Satires to which reference is here made must be, I think, in Pope's version, pointed out by Wright, Satire II, line 22: 'One sings the fair; but songs no longer move; No rat is rhymed to death, nor maid to love.' I cannot find it in the original. The passage in Temple is probably that

176

Cel. Tro you, who hath done this?

Rof. Is it a man?

Cel. And a chaine that you once wore about his neck: change you colour?

Rof. I pre'thee who?

Cel. O Lord, Lord, it is a hard matter for friends to

176. Tro] Trow Theob. ii. 178. And] Ay, and Cap.

178. wore] wore, Ff, Rowe et seq. 179. you] your F2F..

180

which is quoted by M. M. (N. & Qu. Ist Ser. vol. vi, p. 460) from the Essay on Poetry: 'and the proverb of "rhyming rats to death" came, I suppose, from the same root' [i. e. the Runic]. In the same volume of N. & Qu. p. 591, G. H. Kingsley supplied another allusion from Scot's Discouerie of Witchcraft: The Irishmen

terme one sort of their witches eybiters.... yea and they will not sticke to affirme, that they can rime either man or beast to death.'-Book III, chap. xv, p. 64, ed. 1584.-ED.] STEEVENS: So in an address To the Reader' at the conclusion of Jonson's Poetaster: Rhime them to death, as they do Irish rats In drumming tunes.' MALONE: So in Sir Philip Sidney's Defence of Poesie: I will not wish vnto you the Asses eares of Midas.... nor to be rimed to death, as is said to be done in Ireläd.'-[p. 518, ad fin. ed. 1598]. HALLIWELL gives several references of a later date, and adds that 'the power of the Irish satirist to rhyme men to death is frequently referred to, and is the subject of various ancient legends. According to Mr Currie, "the most ancient story of rhyming rats to death in Ireland is found in an historicoromantic tale, entitled, The Adventures of the Great Company." Hereupon, Halliwell quotes the 'adventures,' whereof space and relevancy will scarcely permit the reprint here. 'An anonymous critic adds,' says Halliwell in conclusion, that in France, at the present day, similar reliance on the power of rhyme is placed by the peasantry. Most provinces contain some man whose sole occupation is to lure insects and reptiles by song to certain spots where they meet with destruction. The superstition belongs to the same order as that of the serpent-charmers of the East.'

174. Pythagoras] WALKER (Crit. i, 152) cites this allusion to Pythagoras, among many others, to show the influence of Ovid on Shakespeare. The doctrines of that philosopher are set forth at large in Met. xv.

175. that] ABBOTT, § 284: Since that represents different cases of the relative, it may mean 'in that,' 'for that,' 'because' ('quod'), or 'at which time' ('quum '). 175. which] For other instances where 'which' is used for 'which thing,' often parenthetically, see Abbott, § 271.

178. And a chaine] WRIGHT: This irregular and elliptical construction, in which 'and' does yeoman's service for many words, may be illustrated by the following from Cor. I, i, 82: 'Suffer us to famish, and their storehouses crammed with grain.' And in Cym. V, iv, 179: 'But a man that were to sleep your sleep, and a hangman to help him to bed, I think he would change places with his officer.'

181, 182. friends... meete] STEEVENS: Alluding to the proverb: 'Friends may meet, but mountains never greet.' See Ray's Collection. MALONE: So in Mother Bombie, by Lily, 1594: 'Then wee foure met, which argued wee were no mountaines.' -[V, iii].

1

Rof. Nay, I pre'thee now, with most petitionary vehemence, tell me who it is.

Cel. O wonderfull, wonderfull, and most wonderfull wonderfull, and yet againe wonderful, and after that out of all hooping.

Rof. Good my complection, doft thou think though

186. pre'thee] pray thee Cap. Steev. Var. '21, Cald. Knt, Sta.

187. tell] till F2.

190. hooping] hoping F, Rowe.

whooping Theob. et seq.

190

191. Good my] Odd's, my Theob. Han. Od's my Cap.

complection] companion Gould.

182. with] For other instances of the use of 'with' in the sense of by means of, see Abbott, § 193.

183. encounter] GREY (i, 181): A plain allusion to the following incident mentioned by Pliny, Hist. Nat, ii, 83 [or as it stands in Holland's translation, cited by Tollet, but no credit given to Grey]: 'There hapned once.... a great strange wonder of the earth; for two hils encountered together, charging as it were, and with violence assaulting one another, yea, and retyring againe with a most mighty noise.' WRIGHT: There is of course no necessity for supposing that Shakespeare had such a passage in his mind.

190. hooping] STEEVENS: That is, out of all measure or reckoning. MALONE: This appears to have been a phrase of the same import as another formerly in use, 'out of all cry.' CALDECOTT: Literally beyond, or out of all call or stretch of the voice; metaphorically, and as we are to understand it, not to be expressed by any figure of admiration. DYCE: Akin to this are the phrases Out of all cry and Out of all ho. [Of the former of these kindred phrases examples are given by Steevens, Collier, Wright, and many by Halliwell, but of the phrase itself, 'hooping,' there does not appear to be another instance, nor is any needed: its meaning is clear enough.—ED.] WRIGHT: The form whoop [see Text. Notes] was in early use. Cotgrave gives: 'Hucher. To whoope, or hallow for; to call vnto.' And earlier still, in Palsgrave, 1530, we find, I whoope, I call. Je huppe..... Whooppe a lowde, .... huppe hault.'

191. complection] Theobald in his first edition confessed himself unable to 'reconcile this expression to common sense,' and hence his emendation, which Hanmer adopted. The emendation is ingenious, because afterwards Rosalind says, 'Odd's, my little life,' and again, 'Odd's, my will.' He withdrew it, however, in his second edition, presumably convinced in the interim by his 'most affectionate friend' Warburton, who wrote to him (Nichols, Illust. ii, 646): 'You say you cannot reconcile this to common sense. Can you reconcile odds my complexion to it? The truth is, "good my complexion" is a fine proverbial expression, and used by way of apology when one is saying anything for which one ought to blush, and signifies, hold good, my complexion, i. e. may I not be out of countenance! Very different this, in tone, from the sneer which Warburton printed in his own edition seven years later. MALONE: That is, my native character, my female inquisitive disposition, canst thou

I am caparifon'd like a man, I haue a doublet and hofe in my disposition? One inch of delay more, is a South-fea of discouerie. I pre'thee tell me, who is it quickely, and

192. hofe] a hofe Ff, Rowe, Pope, Han.

193, 194. South-fea of] Ff, Var. '21, Cald. Knt, Coll. Sing. Wh. Dyce, Sta. Cam. Glo. Clke, Cla. Ktly, Huds. Rlfe. South-sea off Theob. Han. Warb. Mal. south-sea-off Cap. Steev.

192

194

194. difcouerie] discourtesy Gould.

who is it] who is it, Rowe, Pope, Sta. Coll. iii. who is it; Theob. Warb. Johns. who is it? Han. Cap. Steev. Mal. Cald. Knt, Sing. who it is Anon (ap. Cam. Ed.).

endure this? RITSON: It is a little unmeaning exclamatory address to her beauty; in the nature of a small oath. HEATH (p. 148): The present occasion afforded nothing which might provoke the lady's blushes, unless it were the suddenness of the news that Orlando was so near her, and that had already produced its effect, either in blushes or in paleness, as the lady's emotion happened to determine her. This appears from the question asked her by Celia some short time before, 'Change you colour?' She had also long before made Celia her confidante, and owned her passion to her, so as to have got the better of her bashfulness in that respect too; and now nothing remained but those agitations which were excited in her by Celia's tantalising her curiosity. I must profess myself to concur in opinion with Mr Theobald and Sir Thomas Hanmer, in defiance of that supercilious haughtiness with which they are treated by Mr Warburton. I imagine that the poet may possibly have written, Good my coz perplexer, that is, I pr'ythee, my perplexing coz; and that the last word, perplexer, was written with the common abbreviation, thus, 'plexer', which might easily mislead the printer to take the whole, 'coz Pplexer,' for 'complexion.' CAPELL [who adopted Theobald's emendation, slightly changing the spelling, says that it is 'abundantly justified by the two similar expressions of the same speaker,' and that] it means, if such phrases as these can be said to have meaning, so God save my complexion. CALDECOTT: It is of the same character with what the Princess says in Love's Lab. L. IV, i, 19: Here, good my glass.' SINGER: It is probably only a little unmeaning exclamation similar to Goodness me! Good heart! or Good now! but her exclamation implies that this delay did not suit that female impatience which belonged to her sex and disposition. STAUNTON: Celia is triumphing in Rosalind's heightened colour, and the latter's petulant expression may be equivalent to 'plague on my complexion.' Or 'Good' may be a misprint for Hood. Thus Juliet, Hood my unmann'd blood bating in my cheeks.'—III, ii. [But Juliet's expression was a simile from hawking and used in anticipation of 'bating.'] MOBERLY: In the name of all my good looks. Rev. JOHN HUNTER: Rosalind means to compliment her complexion for having by its blushes shown her genuine nature as a woman. HUDSON: Merely a common inversion for my good complection,' like 'good my lord,' &c. The phrase here means, no doubt, 'my good wrapper-up of mystery'; as Celia has been tantalising Rosalind 'with half-told, half-withheld intelligence.' 'Complection' for complicator. For this explanation I am indebted to Mr A. E. Brae. WRIGHT: Rosalind appeals to her complexion not to betray her by changing colour. [Since in this case, in the interpretation of the original text, there is no aid to be gained from the wise, in Archæology, Etymology, or Syntax, we simple folk may make what meaning we please for ourselves, or else pick out one from the foregoing, or combine them all.—ED.] 193, 194. One... discouerie] 'A South-sea of Discovery: This is stark non

fpeake apace: I would thou couldft ftammer, that thou might'ft powre this conceal'd man out of thy mouth, as Wine comes out of a narrow-mouth'd bottle:either too much at once, or none at all. I pre'thee take the Corke out of thy mouth, that I may drinke thy tydings.

195

199

sense; We must read off Discovery, i. e. from Discovery. "If you delay me one inch of time longer, I shall think this secret as far from discovery as the South-sea is." [The foregoing note appeared in Theobald's edition of 1733, and again in his edition of 1740; in neither case is it credited to 'Mr Warburton,' a custom which is elsewhere, when necessary, duly observed. I can find no allusion to it throughout the voluminous correspondence between Theobald and Warburton. There is a presumption therefore that it is Theobald's. On the other hand, it appears in Warburton's edition in 1747 as his own, and is not credited to Theobald, a credit which he never fails to give where there is a chance to sneer. It is attributed to Warburton by Steevens in the Variorums, but then Steevens was not averse to overlooking, where he could, poor Tib and his Toxophilus.' The peremptory phrase, 'stark nonsense,' sounds very like Warburton, but the moderation of the emendation does not. On the whole, the credit may be fairly divided between him and Theobald, and no great harm, nor good, done to either.-ED.] CAPELL [When Theobald altered ‘of' to off] he should have gone a step farther and join'd it to 'South-sea'; for the Eng. lish language admits of such compounds, but not of interpreting off by from. JOHN SON: I read thus: One inch of delay more is a South Sea. Discover, I pr'ythee; tell me who is it quickly! When the transcriber had once made 'discovery' from discover I, he easily put an article after 'South Sea.' But it may be read with still less change, and with equal probability: Every inch of delay more is a South fea discov ery; Every delay, however short, is to me tedious and irksome as the longest voyage, as a voyage of discovery on the South fea. How much voyages to the South Sea, on which the English had then first ventured, engaged the conversation of that time, may be easily imagined. FARMER: 'Of' for off is frequent in the elder writers. A 'South Sea of discovery' is a discovery a South Sea off-as far as the South Sea. HENLEY: A South Sea of discovery' is not a discovery as far off, but as comprehensive, as the South Sea; which, being the largest in the world, affords the widest scope for exercising curiosity. KNIGHT: My curiosity can endure no longer. If you perplex me any further I have a space for conjecture as wide as the South Sea. COL. LIER: The meaning is, that a single 'inch' of delay is more to Rosalind than a whole continent in the South Sea. STAUNTON: This is painfully obscure, and the efforts of the commentators have by no means lessened its ambiguity. Does Rosalind mean that though 'caparisoned like a man,' she has so much of a woman's curiosity in her disposition that 'one inch of delay more' would cause her to betray her sex? CowDEN-CLARKE: That is, one inch of delay more is as tedious to wait for as a discovery made in the South Seas. INGLEBY (Sh. Hermeneutics, p. 80): The more Celia delays her revelation as to who the man is, the more she will have to reveal about him. Why? Because Rosalind fills up the delay (increases it, in fact) with fresh interrogatories, whereby Celia becomes lost in a South Sea of questions. WRIGHT: If you delay the least to satisfy my curiosity I shall ask you in the interval so many more questions that to answer them will be like embarking on a voyage of discovery over a wide and unknown ocean.