ACT III.
Scene 1. Page 99.
Cym. Our ancestor was that Mulmutius, which
Ordain'd our laws ...
... Mulmutius,
Who was the first of Britain, &c.
The judicious and necessary omission of the words "made our laws," after the second Mulmutius, originally belongs to Sir Thomas Hanmer, who would have deserved more thanks from his readers for his regulations of Shakspeare's metre, if they had not been too frequently made without a proper regard to the accuracy of the text.
Scene 1. Page 100.
Cym. Thy Cæsar knighted me.
Although our old writers frequently make mention of Roman knights, that is, military chieftains, it is very much to be apprehended that the present expression must be regarded as a downright anachronism, as well as another similar passage, in p. [213], where Cymbeline addresses Belarius and his sons: "Bow your knees; arise my knights of the battle, &c." The word knight was formerly used with great latitude. Dr. Bullein calls Dioscorides "that olde famous Egyptian knyghte."
Scene 2. Page 105.
Imo. (Some griefs are med'cinable;) that is one of them,
For it doth physick love;——
The whole of this should be included in the parenthesis, as in Mr. Malone's edition. No reason has been assigned by Mr. Steevens for the variation, which may be an error of the press.