II. v. 103. That art not what thou'rt sure of!'; Hanmer, 'That say'st but what thou'rt sure of'; Johnson conj. ‘That art—not what? Thou'rt sure on't,' etc.; perhaps the words of the text mean that art not the evil thing of which thou art so certain '; other interpretations have been advanced.

II. v. 116. Though he be painted one way like a Gorgon,' alluding to the old 'perspective' pictures showing one picture from one point of view, another from another standpoint.

II. vii. 52. the tears of it are wet'; Topsell's History of Serpents (1608) refers to the 'common proverbe crocodili lachrima.' (The popular sixteenth century notions of the form of the crocodile is seen in the annexed engraving, which is copied from an old woodcut.)

II. vii. 76. ‘there'; Pope, 'then'; Steevens conj. 'theirs.'

II. vii. 97. 'increase the reels'; Steevens ' and grease the wheels'; Douce increase the revels.'

II. vii. 115. 'bear'; Theobald's emendation; Folios, 'beat.'

III. v. 14. Then, world, thou hast'; Hanmer's emendation; Folios, 'Then would thou hadst'; Warburton MS., Then would thou hast'; 'chaps, no, Theobald's reading of Folios, 'chaps no.'

III. vi. 53. 'left unloved'; Collier MS, 'held unloved'; Singer conj., adopted by Hudson, 'felt unloved'; Seymour conj. 'left unvalued,”

III. vii. 5. If not denounced against us'; Hanmer reads, 'Is't not denounc'd 'gainst us?'; Jackson conj. Is't not? Denounce against us!'; etc.

III. vii. 69. ' his whole action grows Not in the power on't,' i.e. "his whole conduct in the war is not founded upon that which is his greatest strength, namely, his land force, but on the caprice of a woman," etc. (Malone).

III. xii. 13. lessens'; Folio, Lessons' Mr A. E. Thiselton, in support of the Folio reading, which he interprets 'schools' or 'disciplines,' calls attention to the initial capital letter indicating an emphasis which the feeble lessens would hardly carry.'

1

III. xii. 28-29. ' And in our name, what she requires; add more, From thine invention, offers'; Grant White conj. What she requires ; and in our name add more Offers from thine invention'; Walker, ' and more From thine invention offer.'

III. xiii. 162. ' Cesarion smite'; Hanmer's emendation; Folios, ' Cæsarian

smile.'

IV. iv. 3. ' mine'; Folios, 'thine.'

IV. iv. 5-8. The text follows Malone's arrangement and reading (vide Cambridge Edition, Note VI.).

IV. v. 17. Dispatch. Enobarbus!'; Steevens (1773) reading; Folio 1, Dispatch Enobarbus'; Folio 2, Dispatch Eros'; Folios 3, 4, 'Dispatch, Eros'; Pope, 'dispatch my Eros'; Johnson conj. ' Dispatch! To Enobarbus!'; Capell, Dispatch. - Enobarbus!'; Rann, ' Eros! Dispatch'; Ritson conj., adopted by Steevens 1793, 'Eros, despatch'; Anon. conj. Domitius Enorbarbus!'.

IV. vi. 13. 'persuade'; Rowe's correction of Folios, disswade.' IV. viii. 23. 'favouring'; Theobald's emendation of Folios, 'savouring.' IV. xii. 25. 'soul'; Capell, soil'; Singer (ed. 2) from Collier MS., 'spell'; S. Walker conj. 'snake': 'grave'; Pope reads 'gay'; Collier (ed. 2) from Collier MS., 'great'; Singer (ed. 2), 'grand.'

IV. xiv. 87. Lo thee'; Grant White conj., ' Lo there.'

IV. xv. 10. 'Burn the great sphere'; Hanmer, Turn from the sphere'; Warburton, Turn from th' great sphere.'

IV. xv. 11. 'shore'; Staunton conj., adopted by Hudson, ' star.' IV. xv. 21. ' I dare not'; Malone conj. ' I dare not descend'; Ritson conj., adopted by Wordsworth, ' I dare not come down'; Anon. conj., from Plutarch, I dare not ope the gates'; etc.

IV. xv. 44. the false housewife Fortune break her wheel. (Cp. illustration.) IV. xv. 73. No more, but e'en a woman'; Capell's version; Folios read No more but in a Woman'; Rowe, ‘No more but a meer woman'; Johnson conj., adopted by Steevens, 1773, 1778, No more-but e'en a woman.'

V. i. 15. crack: the round world'; Steevens conj. 'crack than this: the ruin'd world'; Singer conj. 'crack: the round world convulsive'; Nicholson conj. ' crack: the round world in rending'; Daniel conj. crack in the round world';

etc.

V. i. 24. Splitted the heart'; Collier MS., Split that self noble heart'; Elze conj. Splitted that very heart.'

V. i. 59-60. ' live To be ungentle'; Rowe (ed. 2) and Southern MS.; Folios read 'leaue to be ungentle'; Capell, Leave to be gentle'; Tyrwhitt conj. learn To be ungentle'; Gould conj. bear to be ungentle.'

V. ii. 7. 'dug'; Warburton conj., adopted by Theobald, dugg '; Folios, 'dung'; Nicholson conj. 'tongue'; Cartwright conj. 'wrong'; Bailey conj.

6

V. ii. 50. ' necessary'; Hanmer, 'accessary'; Malone conj. ' necessary, I'll not so much as syllable a word'; Ritson conj. ' necessary, I will not speak; if sleep be necessary.'

V. ii. 87. an autumn 'twas'; Theobald and Thirlby conj.; Folios read an Anthony it was'; etc.

V. ii. 104. 'smites'; Capell's emendation; Folios 1, 2, 'suites'; Folios 3, 4, 'suits'; Pope 'shoots.' I am inclined to agree with Mr A. Ε. Thiselton that Pope's correction is unimpeachable.

V. ii. 174. 'my chance,' i.e. my changed fortune, lot; Hanmer reads 'mischance'; S. Walker conj. 'my change'; Ingleby conj., adopted by Hudson, ' my glance.'

V. ii. 178-179. We answer others' merits in our name, Are'; Malone's reading; Folios, 'We answer others merits, in our name Are'; etc

V. ii. 352 'caves'; so Folios 2, 3, 4; Folio 1, 'caues' Barry conj. canes'; Anon. conj. 'eaves'; Perring conj. 'course.

PERICLES, PRINCE OF TYRE

Preface.

The Early Editions. Pericles, Prince of Tyre, was first published, in quarto, in 1609, with the following title-page :

"THE LATE, | And much admired Play, | Called | Pericles, Prince | of Tyre. With the true Relation of the whole Historie, | aduentures, and fortunes of the said Prince: | As also, | The no lesse strange, and worthy accidents, | in the Birth and Life, of his Daughter | MARIANA. | As it hath been diuers and sundry times acted by | his Maiesties Seruants, at the Globe on | the Banckside. | By William Shakespeare. | Imprinted at London for Henry Gosson, and are | to be sold at the signe of the Sunne in | Paternoster row, &c. | 1609. |

*"

A second quarto appeared in the same year; a third in 1611; a fourth in 1619; a fifth in 1630; a sixth in 1635.

These quarto editions are sufficient evidence for the popularity of the play; its omission from the First and Second Folios is all the more significant: it was reprinted, however, from the Sixth Quarto, in the Folios of 1664 and 1685, which included "seven plays never before printed in Folio," viz. : Pericles, Prince of Tyre; The London Prodigal; The History of Thomas, Lord Cromwell; Sir John Oldcastle, Lord Cobham; The Puritan Widoru ; A Yorkshire Tragedy; The Tragedy of Locrine.

The Authenticity of the Play. In dealing with the authorship of Pericles two facts must be borne in mind:-(i.) the verdict of the Editors of the First Folio in rejecting it from their volume; (ii.) the early allusions and early traditions which associate the play with Shakespeare's name; thus, in 1646, S. Shepherd wrote:

enthusiastic spectators of "the much-admired play "; J. Tatham, however, uttered the views of the more critical faction, when in 1652 he quoted this censure :

"Shakespeare, the Plebeian driller, was

Foundered in's Pericles, and must not pass."

" Pericles" indeed seems to have become almost proverbial for a bad play successful in hitting the tastes of the masses.

"And if it prove so happy as to please,

We'll say 'tis fortunate like Pericles";

so wrote Robert Tailor, in the Prologue to "The Hog hath lost his Pearl." Ben Jonson in his Ode "Come leave the loathed stage" (1629-30), singled out for special scorn

"some mouldy tale

Like Pericles";

while Owen Feltham reminded him frankly that certain portions of his own "New Inn"

"throw a stain

Through all the unlikely plot, and do displease
As deep as Pericles."

It must be observed that there is no reference in these latter quotations to Shakespeare's alleged authorship. Subsequently, Dryden accepted the play, while Pope rejected it, and the early editors down to the time of Malone followed his example; since the time of Steevens it has been included in the Canon, its doubtful character, however, being generally recognised. "I must acquit," wrote Steevens in opposition to Malone's views, "even the irregular and lawless Shakespeare of having constructed the fabric of the drama, though he has certainly bestowed some decoration on its parts. Yet even this decoration, like embroidery on a blanket, only serves by contrast to expose the meanness of the original materials." Happily modern criticism corroborates the judgment of the First Editors, condemns a great part of Pericles as altogether un-Shakespearian, and relieves the poet of all the offensive and loathsome scenes of " the mouldy tale." Shakespeare's hand cannot be traced in the first two Acts, nor in the coarse portions of Act IV., viz. Scenes ii., v., and vi., his work is "the strange and worthy accidents in the Birth and Life of Marina," and is to be found in the last three acts of the play. Mr Fleay has extracted the precious metal from the alloy, and the result is a charming Shakespearian Romance *-" a kind of prologue" to the glorious group

* Published by the New Shakespeare Society, 1874.