Ant. You do mistake your bufinefs; my brother never Did urge me in his act: I did enquire it; context, which fhews, Antony did neither encourage them to it, nor fecond them in it. We cannot doubt then, but the poet wrote: and their conteftation Was them'd for you. i. e. The pretence of war was on your account, they took up arms in your name, and you were made the theme and fubject of their infur rection. WARBURTON. I am neither fatisfied with the reading nor the emendation; them'd is, I think, a word unauthorifed, and very harsh. Perhaps we may read: - their conteftation Had theme from you, you were the word of war. The difpute derived its fubje&t from you. It may be corrected by mere tranfpofition: their conteftation You were theme for, you were the word JOHNSON. Was theme for you, I believe means only, was propofed as an example for you to follow on a yet more extenfive plan; as bemes are given for a writer to dilate upon. Shakspeare, however, may prove the best commentator on himfelf. Thus, in Coriolanus, Act I, fc. i: throw forth greater themes "For infurrection's arguing," Sicinius calls Coriolanus," the theme of our affembly." STEEV. Mr. Steevens's interpretation is certainly a juft one, as the words now ftand; but the fenfe of the words thus interpreted, being directly repugnant to the remaining words, which are evidently put in appofition with what has preceded, fhews that there must be fome corruption. If their conteftation was a theme for Antony to dilate upon, an example for bim to follow, what congruity is there between thefe words and the conclufion of the paffage-"you were the word of war: i. e. your name was employed by them to draw troops to their ftandard? On the other hand, their conteflation derived its theme or fubject from you; you were their word of war," affords a clear and confiftent fenfe. Dr. Warburton's emendation, however, does not go far enough. To obtain the fenfe defired, we should read Was them'd from you,— So, in Hamlet: So like the king, "That was and is the queftion of these wars." In almost every one of Shakipeare's plays, fubftantives are used as verbs. That he must have written from, appears by Antony's answer. "You do mistake your bufinefs; my brother never "Did urge me in his act. i. e. never made me the theme for "infurrection's arguing." MALONE; 7 my brother never Did urge me in bis at:] i. e. never did make use of my name as pretence for the war. WARBURTON. And And have my learning from fome true reports, And make the wars alike against my ftomach, Caf. You praise yourself By laying defects of judgment to me; but Ant. Not fo, not fo: I know you could not lack, I am certain on't, 8 true reports,] Reports for reporters. Mr. Tollet obferves that Holinfhed, p. 1181, ufes records for vouchers. STEEVENS. 9 Having alike your caufe?] That is, I having alike your caufe. The meaning is the fame as if, inftead of "against my ftomach," our Did he not (fays authour had written-against the ftomach of me. Antony,) make wars against the inclination of me alfo, of me, who was engaged in the fame caufe with yourfelf? Dr. Johnson fuppofed that baving meant, be having, and hence has fuggefted an unneceflary emendation. MALONE. The meaning feems to be, having the fame caufe as you to be offended quith me. But why, because he was offended with Antony, should he make war upon Cæfar? May it not be read thus: Did be not rather Difcredit my authority with yours, And make the wars alike against my stomach, The old reading is immediately explained by Antony's being the partner with Octavius in the cause against which his brother fought. STEEVENS. ▾ As matter whole you have not to make it with,] The original copy reads: As matter whole you have to make it with. Without doubt erroneously; I therefore only obferve it, that the reader may more readily admit the liberties which the editors of this authour's Works have neceffarily taken. JoHNSON. I have not the fmalleft doubt that the correction, which was made by Mr. Rowe, is right. The ftructure of the fentence, "As matter," &c. proves decifively that not was omitted. Of all the errors that happen at the prefs, omiffion is the most frequent. MALONE. The old reading may be right. It feems to allude to Antony's acknowledged neglect in aiding Cæfar; but yet Antony does not allow Bimfelf to be faulty upon the prefent caufe alledged against him. 5 STEEVENS. Very 464 Very neceffity of this thought, that I, Your partner in the caufe 'gainft which he fought, Eno. 'Would, we had all fuch wives, that the men might go to wars with the women! Ant. So much uncurbable, her garboils, Cæfar, Made out of her impatience, (which not wanted Caf. I wrote to you, When rioting in Alexandria; you Did pocket up my letters, and with taunts Ant. Sir, He fell upon me, ere admitted; then Three kings I had newly feafted, and did want Out of our queftion wipe him. 2- with graceful eyes] Thus the old copy reads, and I believe, rightly. We ftill fay, I could not look handsomely on fuch or such a proceeding. The modern editors read-grateful. STEEVENS. 3-fronted-] i. e. oppofed. JOHNSON. 4 I would you bad ber fpirit in fucb another :] Antony means to fay, I wish you had the fpirit of Fulvia, embodied in fuch another woman as her; I wish you were married to fuch another fpirited woman; and then would find, that though you can govern the third part of the world, you the management of fuch a woman is not an eafy matter. By the words, you bad her spirit, &c. Shakspeare, I apprehend, meant, you were united to, or poffeffed of, a woman with her fpirit. Having formerly misapprehended this paffage, and fuppofed that Antony withed Auguftus to be actuated by a fpirit fimilar to Fulvia's, I propofed to read-e'en fuch another, in being frequently printed for e'es in these plays. But there is no need of change. MALONE. I told bim of myself;—] i. e. told him the condition I was in, when he had his laft audience. WARBURTON, Caf. Have tongue to charge me with. Lep. Soft, Cæfar. Ant. No, Lepidus, let him fpeak; The honour's facred which he talks on now, The article of my oath, Caf. To lend me arms, and aid, when I requir'd them; The which you both deny'd. Ant. Neglected, rather; And then, when poifon'd hours had bound me up Lep. 'Tis noble spoken. 8 Mec. If it might please you, to enforce no further The griefs between ye: to forget them quite, Were to remember that the present need Speaks to atone you. Lep. Worthily fpoken, Mecanas. 6 The bonour's facred which he talks on now, Suppofing that I lack'd it :] Lepidus interrupts Cæfar, on the fuppofition that what he is about to fay will be too harth to be endured by Antony; to which Antony replies, No, Lepidus, let him speak; the fecurity of honour on which he now speaks, on which this conference is beld now, is facred, even supposing that I lacked bonour before. JOHNSON. Antony, in my opinion, means to fay,The theme of honour which he now fpeaks of, namely, the religion of an oath, for which he fuppofes me not to have a due regard, is facred; it is a tender point, and touches my character nearly. Let him therefore urge his charge, that 1 may vindicate myself. MALONE. 7 - nor my power Work without it :] Nor my greatnefs work without mine honesty. The griefs-i. e. grievances. See Vol. V. p. 237, n, 9. MALONE. Hh Eno.. Eno. Or, if you borrow one another's love for the inftant, you may, when you hear no more words of Pompey, return it again: you shall have time to wrangle in, when you have nothing else to do. Ant. Thou art a foldier only; fpeak no more. Eno. That truth fhould be filent, I had almoft forgot. Ant. You wrong this prefence, therefore fpeak no more. Eno. Go to then; your confiderate ftone 9. Caf. I do not much dislike the matter, but 9-your confiderate ftone.] This line is paffed by all the editors, as if they understood it, and believed it univerfally intelligible, I cannot find in it any very obvious, and hardly any poffible meaning. I would therefore read: Go to then, you confiderate ones. You who diflike my franknefs and temerity of fpeech, and are fo con fiderate and difcreet, go to, do your own bufinefs. JOHNSON. I believe, Go to then, your confiderate ftone, means only this: If I muft be cbidden, benceforward I will be mute as a marble ftatue, which feems to think, though it can say nothing. As filent as a ftone, however, might have been once a common phrafe. So, in the Interlude of Jacob and Efau, 1568: "Bring thou in thine, Mido, and fee thou be a stone. "Mido] Aftone! how should that be, &c. "Rebecca.] I meant thou shouldft nothing fay." Again, in the old metrical romance of Syr Guy of Warwick, bl. 1. no date: "Guy let it paffe as ftill as fione, "And to the fteward word (pake none. Again, in Titus Andronicus, A&III. fc. i: "Aftone is filent, and offendeth not." Again, Chaucer: "To riden by the way, dombe as the ftone." Mr. Tollet explains the paffage in queftion, thus: "I will hence. forth feem fenfelefs as a ftone, however I may observe and confider your words and actions." STEEVENS. The metre of this line is deficient. It will be perfect, and the fenfe rather clearer, if we read (without altering a letter); "your confideratest one." I doubt indeed whether this adjective is ever ufed in the fuperlative degree; but in the mouth of Enobarbus it might be pardoned. BLACKSTONE. Your, like bour, &c. is used as a diffyllable; the metre therefore is not defective. MALONE. The |
