I.ii.110 (293,8) Mine eyes cannot hold water, methinks: to forget their faults, I drink to you] In the original edition the words stand thus: mine eyes cannot hold out water, methinks. To forget their faults, I drink to you. Perhaps the true reading is this, Mine eyes cannot hold out; they water. Methinks, to forget their faults, I will drink to you. Or it may be explained without any change. Mine eyes cannot hold out water, that is, cannot keep water from breaking in upon them, (see 1765, VI, 186, 2)
I.ii.113 (294,9) Apem. Thou weep'st to make them drink] Hanmer reads,
—to make then drink thee,
and is again followed by Dr. Warburton, I think without sufficient reason. The covert sense of Apemantus is, what thou losest, they get.
I.ii.118 (294,1) like a babe] That is a weeping babe.
I.ii.138 (295,3)
They dance! They are mad women.
Like madness is the glory of this life,
As this pomp shews to a little oil and root]
[Warburton conjectured some lines lost after the second verse] When I read this passage, I was at first of the same opinion with this learned man; but, upon longer consideration, I grew less confident, because I think the present reading susceptible of explanation, with no more violence to language than is frequently found in our author. The glory of this life is very near to madness, as may be made appear from this pomp, exhibited in a place where a philosopher is feeding on oil and roots. When we see by example how few are the necessaries of life, we learn what madness there is in so much superfluity.