"I see that men make ropes in such a scarre,

That we'll forsake ourselves."

This is evident nonsense. Rowe read hopes and affairs for 'ropes' and 'scarre'; and to this emendation, or Mitford's of case for 'scarre,' I see no very serious objection. We have "make envy" (Hen. VIII. v. 2), "make doubt" (Ib.), "make comfort" (Cymb. i. 2), "making practice" (Meas. for Meas. iii. 2). Why then object to "make hopes?" even though it is to be found nowhere else in Shakespeare. 'Scarre,' however, is probably right; in Lingua (i. 6) we have, "Poets will write whole volumes of this scar." It must be remembered that scare was written scarre, and so as a substantive 'scarre' may be fright, alarm, flutter, perturbation. Finally, it is even possible that 'ropes' may be right, a line being lost; something of this sort: "Of oaths and vows to scale our fort, in hope."


"Have the like oaths. He had sworn to marry me."

Here, as elsewhere, we have has and had confounded.


Sc. 3.

"Merely our traitors, and, as in the common course of all treasons, we still see them reveal themselves, till they attain to their abhorred ends."

I think it would be better to read, as I have done, is for 'in' (see on King John, iv. 2), and conceal for 'reveal,' unless for the latter we should prefer reading veil. Perhaps also we might retain 'reveal,' and read when for 'till.'