ALB. My lord, I am guiltless, as I am ignorant Of what hath mov'd you2.

LEAR. It may be so, my lord.—Hear, nature, hear;

Dear goddess, hear! Suspend thy purpose, if
Thou didst intend to make this creature fruitful!
Into her womb convey sterility!

Dry up in her the organs of increase;
And from her derogate body3 never spring
A babe to honour her! If she must teem,
Create her child of spleen; that it may live,
And be a thwart * disnatur'd 5 torment to her!
Let it stamp wrinkles in her brow of youth;
With cadent tears fret channels in her cheeks;

4

6

* Quartos, accent tears.

2 Of what hath mov'd you.] Omitted in the quartos.

STEEVENS. 3 from her DEROGATE body-] Derogate, for unnatural. WARBURTON.

Rather, I think, degraded, blasted. JOHNSON. Her shrunk and wasted body. See Bullokar's English Expositor, 1616" Derogate. To impaire, diminish, or take away."

MALONE.

Degraded (Dr. Johnson's first explanation) is surely the true one. So, in Cymbeline: "Is there no derogation in't?-You cannot derogate, my lord," i. e. degrade yourself. STEEVENS.

4 thwart -] Thwart, as a noun adjective, is not frequent in our language. It is, however, to be found in Promos and Cassandra, 1578: " Sith fortune thwart doth crosse my joys with care." HENDERSON.

5- disnatur'd-] Disnatur'd is wanting natural affection. So Daniel, in Hymen's Triumph, 1623 :

"I am not so disnatured a man."

STEEVENS.

6 - CADENT tears-] i. e. Falling tears. Dr. Warburton would read candent. STEEVENS.

The words" these hot tears," in Lear's next speech, may seem to authorize the amendment; but the present reading is right. It is a more severe imprecation to wish, that tears by constant flowing may fret channels in the cheeks, which implies a long life of wretchedness, than to wish that those channels should be

Turn all her mother's pains, and benefits,
To laughter and contempt'; that she may feel
How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is "
To have a thankless child!-Away, away!

[Exit. ALB. Now, gods, that we adore, whereof comes this?

GON. Never afflict yourself to know the cause; But let his disposition have that scope

That dotage gives it.

Re-enter Lear.

LEAR. What, fifty of my followers, at a clap! Within a fortnight?

ALB.

What's the matter, sir?

LEAR. I'll tell thee;-Life and death! I am

asham'd

That thou hast power to shake my manhood thus: [To GONERIL.

made by scalding tears, which does not mark the same continuation of misery.

The same thought occurs in Troilus and Cressida :

"Not Priamus and Hecuba on knees,

"Their eyes o'er-galled with recourse of tears," should prevent his going to the field. M. MASON. 7 Turn all her mother's PAINS, AND BENEFITS,

66

To laughter and contempt;] "Her mother's pains" here signifies, not bodily sufferings, or the throes of child-birth, (with which this disnatured babe" being unacquainted, it could not deride or despise them,) but maternal cares; the solicitude of a mother for the welfare of her child. So, in King Richard III. :

""Tis time to speak; my pains are quite forgot."

Benefits mean good offices: her kind and beneficent attention to the education of her offspring, &c. Mr. Roderick has, in my opinion, explained both these words wrong. He is equally mistaken in supposing that the sex of this child is ascertained by the word her; which clearly relates, not to Goneril's issue, but to herself. "Her mother's pains" means-the pains which she (Goneril) takes as a mother. MALONE.

8 How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is.] So, in Psalm cxl. 3. : "They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adder's poison is under their lips." The viper was the emblem of ingratitude.

MALONE.

That these hot tears, which break from me per

force,

Should make thee worth them.-Blasts and fogs upon thee!

The untented woundings of a father's curse
Pierce every sense about thee!-Old fond eyes,
Beweep this cause again, I'll pluck you out;
And cast you, with the waters that you lose1,
To temper clay.-Ha! is it come to this?
Let it be so:-Yet have I left a daughter,
Who, I am sure, is kind and comfortable;
When she shall hear this of thee, with her nails
She'll flay thy wolfish visage. Thou shalt find,
That I'll resume the shape which thou dost think
I have cast off for ever; thou shalt, I warrant thee3.
[Exeunt LEAR, KENT, and Attendants.

8 That these hot tears, &c.] I will transcribe this passage from the first edition, that it may appear to those who are unacquainted with old books, what is the difficulty of revision, and what indulgence is due to those that endeavour to restore corrupted passages.-" That these hot tears, that breake from me perforce, should make the worst blasts and fogs upon the untender woundings of a father's curse, peruse every sense about the old fond eyes, beweep this cause again," &c. JOHNSON.

9 The UNTENTED woundings-] Untented wounds, means wounds in their worst state, not having a tent in them to digest them; and may possibly signify here such as will not admit of having a tent put into them for that purpose. Our author quibbles on this practice in surgery, in Troilus and Cressida :

"Patr. Who keeps the tent now?

"Ther. The surgeon's box or the patient's wound.” One of the quartos [Quarto B.] reads, unintender. STEEVENS. - that you LOSE,] The quartos read-that you make. STEEVENS.

2 Let it be so, &c.] The reading is here gleaned up, part from the first, and part from the second edition. JOHNSON. "Let it be so," is omitted in the quartos. STEEvens. "Ha! is it come to this?" is omitted in the folio. have left a daughter" is the reading of the quartos; the folio has, "I have another danghter." MALONE.

"Yet I

3 thou shalt, I warrant thee.] These words are omitted in the folio.

MALONE.

GON. Do you mark that, my lord? ALB. I cannot be so partial, Goneril, To the great love I bear you,

GON. Pray you, content.-What, Oswald, ho! You, sir, more knave than fool, after your master.

[To the Fool. FOOL. Nuncle Lear, nuncle Lear, tarry, and take the fool with thee.

GON.

A fox, when one has caught her,
And such a daughter,

Should sure to the slaughter,

If my cap would buy a halter;

So the fool follows after.

[Exit.

[This man hath had good counsel:-A hundred knights!

'Tis politick, and safe, to let him keep

At point, a hundred knights. Yes, that on every

dream,

Each buz, each fancy, each complaint, dislike,
He may enguard his dotage with their powers,
And hold our lives in mercy.-Oswald, I say!—
ALB. Well, you may fear too far.

GON.
Safer than trust too far
Let me still take away the harms I fear,
Not fear still to be taken. I know his heart:

Gon.] All within brackets is omitted in the quartos.
STEEVENS.

5 At point,] I believe, means completely armed, and consequently ready at appointment or command on the slightest notice. STEEVENS.

And hold our lives in mercy.] Thus the old copies. Mr. Pope, who could not endure that the language of Shakspeare's age should not correspond in every instance with that of modern times, reads at mercy; and the subsequent editors have adopted his innovation. In mercy, in misericordia, is the legal phrase. MALONE.

7 Safer than trust:] Here the old copies add-too far; as if these words were not implied in the answer of Goneril. The redundancy of the metre authorizes the omission. STEEVENS.

What he hath utter'd, I have writ my sister;
If she sustain him and his hundred knights,
When I have show'd the unfitness,]-How now,
Oswald ?

Enter Steward.

What, have you writ that letter to my sister?
STEW. Ay, madam.

GON. Take you some company, and away to horse :

Inform her full of my particular fear;

And thereto add such reasons of your own,
As may compact it more 9. Get you gone;
And hasten your return. [Exit Stew.] No, no, my
lord,

This milky gentleness, and course of yours,
Though I condemn it not, yet, under pardon,
You are much more attask'd' for want of wisdom,
Than prais'd for harmful mildness.

8

Oswald, ho!

9

How now, Oswald, &c.] The quartos read-what

"Osw' Here, madam.

"Gon. What, have you writ this letter," &c. STEEVENS. compact it more.] Unite one circumstance with another,

so as to make a consistent account. JOHNSON.

More is here used as a dissyllable. MALONE.

I must still withhold my assent from such new dissyllables. Some monosyllable has in this place been omitted. Perhaps the author wrote

"Go, get you gone." STEEVENS.

more ATTASK'D-] It is a common phrase now with parents and governesses : "I'll take you to task,” i. e. “ I will reprehend and correct you." To be at task, therefore, is to be liable to reprehension and correction. JOHNSON.

Both the quartos, instead of attask-read, alapt. A late editor of King Lear, [Mr. Jennens] says, that the first quarto readsattask'd; but unless there be a third quarto, which I have never seen or heard of, his assertion is erroneous. STEEVENS.

The quarto printed by N. Butter, 1608, of which the first signature is B, reads-attask'd for want of wisdom, &c. The other quarto, printed by the same printer in the same year, of which