Henry the fifth,5 too famous to live long!6 shall we curse the planets of mishap, "That plotted thus," &c. seem to countenance my explanation; and Falstaff says of Shallow's servants, that "they flock together in confent, like fo many wild geese." See also Tully de Natura Deorum, Lib. II. ch. xlvi: "Nolo in stellarum ratione multus vobis videri, maximéque earum quæ errare dicuntur. Quarum tantus eft concentus ex dissimilibus motibus," &c. Milton uses the word, and with the fame meaning, in his Penferoso: "Whose power hath a true confent - "With planet, or with element." STEEVENS. Steevens is right in his explanation of the word confented. So, in The Knight of the burning Pefile, the Merchant says to Merrythought:. - too late, I well perceive, "Thou art confenting to my daughter's lofs." and in The Chances, Antonio, speaking of the wench who robbed him, says: " And also the fiddler who was confenting with her." meaning the fiddler that was her accomplice. The word appears to be used in the same sense in the fifth scene of this Act, where Talbot says to his troops: "You all consented unto Salisbury's death, M. MASON. See Confent, in all the books of the age of Elizabeth, and long afterwards, is the usual spelling of the word concent. Vol. X. p. 96, n. 3; and K. Henry IV. P. II. Act V. fc. i. In other places I have adopted the modern and more proper spelling; but, in the present instance, I apprehend, the word was used in its ordinary sense. In the second Act, Talbot, reproaching the foldiery, uses the same expression, certainly without any idea of a malignant configuration : "You all confented unto Salisbury's death." MALONE. $ Henry the fifth,] Old copy, redundantly, -King Henry &c. STEEVENS. 6 too famous to live long!] So, in King Richard III : "So wise so young, they say, do ne'er live long." STEEVENS. GLO. England ne'er had a king, until his time. Virtue he had, deserving to command: His brandish'd sword did blind men with his beams; His arms spread wider than a dragon's wings;7 His sparkling eyes replete with wrathful fire, More dazzled and drove back his enemies, Than mid-day fun, fierce bent against their faces. What should I say? his deeds exceed all speech : He ne'er lift up his hand, but conquered. EXE. We mourn in black; Why mourn we not • Henry is dead, and never shall revive : WIN. He was a king bless'd of the King of kings. Unto the French the dreadful judgment day His arms spread wider than a dragon's wings;] So, in Troilus and Creffida: 8 "The dragon wing of night o'erspreads the earth." STEEVENS. -the fubtle-witted French &c.] There was a notion prevalent a long time, that life might be taken away by metrical charms. As fuperftition grew weaker, these charms were imagined only to have power on irrational animals. In our author's time it was supposed that the Irish could kill rats by a fong. JOHNSON. So, in Reginald Scot's Discoverie of Witchcraft, 1584: "The Irishmen addict themselves, &c. yea they will not sticke to affirme that they can rime either man or beaft to death." STEEVENS. So dreadful will not be, as was his fight. GLO. The church! where is it? Had not church men pray'd, His thread of life had not fo foon decay'd : WIN. Glofter, whate'er we like, thou art protector; And lookest to command the prince, and realm. GLO. Name not religion, for thou lov'st the flesh; And ne'er throughout the year to church thou go'lt, Except it be to pray against thy foes. BED. Cease, cease these jars, and rest your minds in peace! Let's to the altar: -Heralds, wait on us:- moist eyes-) Thus the second folio. The first, redundantly,-moisten'd. STEEVENS. I Our ifle be made a nourish of salt tears,] Mr. Pope-marish. All the old copies read, a nourish and confidering it is faid in the line immediately preceding, that babes shall fuck at their mothers' moist eyes, it seems very probable that our author wrote, a nourice, i. e. that the whole ifle should be one common nurse, or nourisher, of tears: and those be the nourishment of its miferable issue. THEOBALD. Was there ever fuch nonsense! But he did not know that marish is an old word for marsh or fen; and therefore very judicioufly thus corrected by Mr. Pope. WAREURTON. And none but women left to wail the dead.- Profper this realm, keep it from civil broils ! We should certainly read-marish. So, in The Spanish Tragedy: "Made mountains marsh, with spring-tides of my tears." RITSON. I have been informed, that what we call at present a stew, in which fish are preserved alive, was anciently called a nourish. Nourice, however, Fr. a nurse, was anciently spelt many different ways, among which nourish was one. So, in Syr Eglamour of Artois, bl. 1. no date : "Of that chylde she was blyth, "After noryshes she sent belive." A nourish therefore in this passage of our author may fignify a nurse, as it apparently does in the Tragedies of John Bochas, by Lydgate, B. I. c. xii : "Athenes whan it was in his floures " Was called nourish of philosophers wife." -Jubæ tellus generat, leonum Arida nutrix. STEEVENS. Spenser, in his Ruins of Time, uses nourice as an English word: 2 Chaucer, the nourice of antiquity." MALONE. Than Julius Cæfar, or bright-) I can't guess the occasion of the hemistich and imperfect sense in this place; 'tis not impoffible it might have been filled up with-Francis Drake, though that were a terrible anachronisin (as bad as Hector's quoting Ariftotle in Troilus and Creffida); yet perhaps at the time that brave Englishman was in his glory, to an Englishhearted audience, and pronounced by fome favourite actor, the thing might be popular, though not judicious; and, therefore, by some critick in favour of the author, afterwards struck out. But this is a mere flight conjecture. POPE. To confute the flight conjecture of Pope, a whole page of vehement oppofition is annexed to this passage by Theobald. Sir Thomas Hanmer has stopped at Cæfar-perhaps more judicioufly. It might, however, have been written or bright Berenice. JOHNSON. : Enter a Messenger. MESS. My honourable lords, health to you all! Sad tidings bring I to you out of France, Of lofs, of flaughter, and discomfiture: Guienne, Champaigne, Rheims, Orleans,3 Paris, Guyfors, Poictiers, are all quite loft. 1 BED. What say'st thou, man, before dead Henry's corse? Speak softly; or the loss of those great towns GLO. Is Paris loft? is Roüen yielded up? If Henry were recall'd to life again, ghoft. EXE. How were they loft? what treachery was us'd? MESS. No treachery; but want of men and mo ney. Among the foldiers this is muttered,- And, whilst a field should be despatch'd and fought, Pope's conjecture is confirmed by this peculiar circumstance, that two blazing stars (the Julium fidus) are part of the arms of the Drake family. It is well known that families and arms were much more attended to in Shakspeare's time, than they are at this day. M. MASON. This blank undoubtedly arose from the tranfcriber's or compofitor's not being able to make out the name. So, in a subsequent passage the word Nero was omitted for the fame reason. See the Differtation at the end of the third part of King Henry VI. MALONE. 3 Guienne, Champaigne, Rheims, Orleans,] This verse might be completed by the insertion of Roüen among the places loft, as Glofter in his next speech infers that it had been mentioned with the reft. STEEVENS. |