Mal. I think nobly of the soul, and no way approve his opinion.
Clo. Fare thee well. Remain thou still in darkness: thou shalt hold the opinion of Pythagoras ere I will allow of thy wits, and fear to kill a woodcock lest thou dispossess the soul of thy grandam.”
Although this primitive superstition is almost effete among civilized nations, yet it still retains an important place in the religious beliefs of savage and uncivilized communities.
FOOTNOTES:
[75] We may compare the words “unquestionable spirit” in “As You Like It” (iii. 2), which means “a spirit averse to conversation.”
[76] Douce’s “Illustrations of Shakespeare,” pp. 450, 451.
[77] Vast, i. e., space of night. So in “Hamlet” (i. 2):
“In the dead waste and middle of the night.”
[79] See Hardwick’s “Traditions, Superstitions, and Folk-lore,” 1872, pp. 153-176.