Cym.

vive, be jointed to the old stock, and freshly 440 grow; then shall Posthumus end his miseries, Britain be fortunate and flourish in peace and plenty."

Thou, Leonatus, art the lion's whelp;

The fit and apt construction of thy name,

Being leo-natus, doth import so much.

445

[To Cymbeline.] The piece of tender air, thy vir

tuous daughter,

Which we call mollis aer; and mollis aer

We term it mulier; which mulier I divine
Is this most constant wife, who, even now,
Answering the letter of the oracle,

Unknown to you, unsought, were clipp'd about
With this most tender air.

450

This hath some seeming. Sooth. The lofty cedar, royal Cymbeline,

Cym.

Personates thee; and thy lopp'd branches point
Thy two sons forth; who, by Belarius stolen, 455
For many years thought dead, are now reviv'd,
To the majestic cedar join'd, whose issue
Promises Britain peace and plenty.

Well;
My peace we will begin. And, Caius Lucius,
Although the victor, we submit to Cæsar,
And to the Roman empire, promising
To pay our wonted tribute, from the which
We were dissuaded by our wicked queen;

460

Whom heavens, in justice, both on her and hers,
Have laid most heavy hand.

Sooth. The fingers of the powers above do tune

Cym.

465

470

The harmony of this peace. The vision
Which I made known to Lucius, ere the stroke
Of this yet scarce-cold battle, at this instant
Is full accomplish'd; for the Roman eagle,
From south to west on wing soaring aloft,
Lessen'd herself, and in the beams o' the sun
So vanish'd; which foreshow'd our princely eagle,
The imperial Cæsar, should again unite
His favour with the radiant Cymbeline,
Which shines here in the west.

475

Laud we the gods;

And let our crooked smokes climb to their nostrils
From our bless'd altars. Publish we this peace
To all our subjects. Set we forward. Let
A Roman and a British ensign wave

480

Friendly together. So through Lud's town march;
And in the temple of great Jupiter

Our peace we'll ratify; seal it with feasts.

Set on there! Never was a war did cease, 484
Ere bloody hands were wash'd, with such a peace.
Exeunt.

Notes

The division into acts and scenes is from the first Folio. The list of Dramatis Persona was first compiled by Rowe.

I. i. 1. our bloods. Our dispositions are not more controlled by the influences of the heavens than the aspect of our courtiers is by that of the king.

I. i. 24. You speak him far.

say of him.

You go far in what you

I. i. 25. I do extend him, etc. I praise him within the bounds of his merits.

66

I. i. 29. The Ff read did join his honour, which some interpret, give his noble aid or alliance." Sicilius in Holinshed was a king of Britain who began to reign in 430 B.C.

I. i. 30. Cassibelan. Lud's younger brother; Tenantius (according to Holinshed, Theomantius or Lenantius) was Lud's son. On the death of his brother, Cassibelan usurped the throne.

I. i. 60. no guess in knowledge. No certain conjec

ture.

I. i. 74. Posthumus.

Accented on the second syllable. I. i. 116. cere up. Wrap in the waxed cloth used for corpses.

I. i. 129. Bless the good people who are left when my unworthy presence is removed.

I. iii. 4. As offer'd mercy.

carried.

I. iv. 2. a crescent note.

As a pardon that has mis

A growing reputation.

I. iv. 6. tabled. Set down in writing. I. iv. 16. words him, etc. Makes which is remote from the fact.

66

a report of him

I. iv. 23. without less quality. We should expect without more quality." It is, perhaps, one of Shakespeare's many double negatives.

I. iv. 47. go even. Agree.

I. iv. 63. upon warrant of bloody affirmation. Pledging himself to seal the truth of it with his blood.

I. iv. 152. I am the master. I am responsible for what I say.

I. iv. 171. make your voyage. Make your attempt. I. v. 26. O, content thee. Do not trouble yourself. I. v. 54. To shift his being. Change his place of living.

I. vi. 11.

Change. Change color, blush.

I. vi. 45. Should make desire, etc. Desire would turn to disgust, not from satiety, but before it was gratified. I. vi. 54. strange and peevish. A stranger here and foolish.

I. vi. 79. In himself, 'tis much . . . talents. "In his own peculiar gifts heaven's bounty is much; in youwho are his heaven's bounty to him is beyond all gifts." Dowden.

I. vi. 98. spur and stop. Half reveal and half conceal. I. vi. 108. lie peeping. Some editors prefer the Folio reading, inserting a hyphen, by-peeping, peeping sidelong.

I. vi. 109. illustrous. Lustreless. This word has not been found elsewhere in this sense. See Textual Variants. I. vi. 113. Not I, etc. I do not tell you this because I take pleasure in this bit of news.

I. vi. 116. mutest. That would otherwise be most

silent.

I. vi. 125. such boil'd stuff. Alluding to the sweating treatment for certain diseases.

I. vi. 166. witch. Used in the masculine sense.

II. i. 25. capon.

the fool's coxcomb.

66

Perhaps a play on cap on," that is,

II. i. 60. for his heart. For his life.

II. ii. 12. Our Tarquin. Sextus Tarquinius, son of the last king of Rome; cf. Lucrece. The speaker is an Italian, hence "our."

II. ii. 13. Did softly press the rushes. In the time of Shakespeare, the floors were strewn with rushes.

the anachronism.

II. ii. 22. windows.

A metaphor for eyelids.

Note

II. ii. 26. the arras; figures. Mason's emendation, arras-figures, is accepted by some editors.

II. ii. 27. the story. I.e., of Cleopatra, represented in the arras.

II. ii. 49. the raven's eye. The raven was supposed to wake at early dawn.

II. ii. 50. this.

II. ii. 51. time.

to be called at four.

This is, a common contraction.

Iachimo has heard Imogen arranging

II. iii. 58. senseless.

her.

II. iii. 59.

II. iii. 96.

impression.

Must affect not to understand

So like you. If it please you.

'twere as deep. It would make as deep an

II. iii. 106. Fools are not mad folks. "If I am mad, I am what you can never be." Steevens.

as you

tell me,