Chapter XXX: Act I

SC. 1. "Pisa, renowned for grave citizens,
Gave me my being, and my father first,
A merchant of great traffic through the world,
Vincentio[s] come of the Bentivoglii.
Vincentio's son, brought up in Florence,
It shall become to serve all hopes conceiv'd," etc.

In the first four lines I have, with previous editors, given the correct punctuation, and have omitted the superfluous _s_ after Vincentio in the fourth. In the following line the metre shows that something is wrong, and it may be that 'Vincentio's' should be _Lucentio his_, for nothing is more common than this confusion of proper names. (See on King John, ii. 1.) Hanmer I find also made this correction. At the same time it is equally probable that something has been omitted, and that we should read '_only_ son,' or 'son _and heir_,' as in v. 1. It is one of those cases in which choice is difficult. I have given the first in my Edition of the plays; but I now greatly prefer the third.

* * * * *

"Or so devote to Aristotle's checks."

Undoubtedly _Ethics_, the correction of Blackstone and Collier's folio.

* * * * *

"Balk logic with acquaintance that you have."

For 'Balk' the editors read _talk_, but it is right.

"Her list in strifeful terms with him to _balk_."
F. Q. iii. 2. 12.

* * * * *

"Gramercies, Tranio, well dost thou advise,
If Biondello thou wert come on shore."

Here and elsewhere in this play, and nowhere else, the printer seems to have added an _s_ to 'Gramercie.' I follow Collier's folio in reading _now were_ for 'thou wert.'

* * * * *

"_Good_ gentlemen, importune me no further."

So I have printed it, but _Pray_ or _Now_ might be better.

* * * * *

"_Now_, gentlemen, that I may soon make good
What I have said ... Bianca, get you in."

* * * * *

"Gentlemen,
Content ye; I am resolved. Go in, Bianca."

* * * * *

"Their love is not so great, Hortensio."

The 3rd folio properly read _Our_ for 'Their.'

* * * * *

"Master, you look'd so longly on the maid."

As 'longly' occurs nowhere else, it is probably only a printer's error for _longingly_, which I have given. This omission of a syllable is by no means unusual. (See on M. for M. iv. 2; All's Well, i. 3.)

* * * * *

"Because she will not be annoy'd with suitors."

With Singer I read _he_ for 'she.'

* * * * *

"I will charm him first to keep his tongue."

We should perhaps read _charge_ for 'charm'; for it is the tongue that is charmed. We have, however,

"And by a pair of women of her own,
Whom she had charm'd."
A King and no King, v. 4.

* * * * *

SC. 2. "Verona for a while I take my leave _of_."

* * * * *

"I'll try how you can sol, _la_, fa, and sing it.--
Help, masters, help!"

'Masters' is the correction of Theobald for _mistress_ of the folio. _Master_ and _mistress_ are confounded also in v. 1, and in Mer. of Ven. iv. 1, 2 Hen. IV. ii. 4, 2 Hen. VI. i. 3, Tim. ii. 2. _Mistress_ was frequently written _misteris_, which may have been partly the cause of the confusion.

* * * * *

"That gives not half so great a blow to hear."

For 'to hear,' which makes very poor sense, Warburton most happily read _to th' ear_. He was equally happy in Tim. i. 2.

* * * * *

"For his own good and yours."

For 'yours' Thirlby most properly read _ours_.

* * * * *

"_Bion._ He that has the two fair daughters?"

For _Bion._ I read _Gre._, in which I had been anticipated by Capell, Tyrwhitt, and Heath; so that it is certain. In my Edition will be found the correct punctuation of the whole passage.

* * * * *

"And were his daughter fairer than she is."

There is either an aposiopesis or a line lost after this; I think the latter.

* * * * *

"What! this gentleman will out-talk us all."

There is apparently something wrong here. As 'what!' is almost invariably followed by an interrogative, I would read 'will this gentleman'; we might also insert an adj. before 'gentleman,' or read _all of us_ for 'us all.' The speech, however, as it is a single line, may be as the poet wrote it; I have therefore let it stand in my Edition.

* * * * *

"No, sir, but hear I do that he hath two."

To avoid the jingle we might read 'I do hear.'

* * * * *

"If it be so, sir, that you are the man."

I have no doubt that for 'that' we should read _then_. (See Introd. p. 68.)

* * * * *

"And if you break the ice, and do this seek."

For 'seek' I read _deed_; Rowe read _feat_.