"Else let my brother die.—
If not a fedary but only he,
Owe and succeed thy weakness."
"A very obscure passage," says Mr. Dyce, "in which Rowe printed 'by weakness,' and Malone proposes 'this weakness.' (On 'fedary' see Richardson's Dictionary, sub Federal.)" And this is all this noted critic has to say! For my part I do not regard this passage as by any means past cure, and I think that Warburton came very near the true sense. The main point is to ascertain the exact meaning of fedary. "Federy and federary," says Richardson, "in Shakespeare are the same word differently written (having no connexion whatever with Feud or Feudatory), and signify a colleague, associate, or confederate;" and he refers to Minshew, s. v. Feodarie. Now Minshew's words are "Feodarie alias Feudaris alias Feudatrie, Feudelarius, is an office authorized by the Master of the Court of Wards and Liveries by letters patent, and under the seal of that office," etc. Cotgrave has "A feodarie, feudal, feodal, feudataire;" in both of which places I think the "connexion with Feud and feudatory" is very apparent; and the last convinces me that a fedary or feodary was a vassal, a liegeman; and that, I have no doubt, is its sense in this place? and in Cymb. iii. 2, where it again occurs, as I shall there show. I do not think Richardson was at all justified in making, as he seems to do, fedary a different word from feodary. There was also feodar a vassal, "For seventeen kings were Carthage feodars." (Marston. Sophon. Prol.) It must strike every one of taste with surprise that Shakespeare should have written such a leonine verse as
"If not a fedary, but only he."
And further, whether 'fedary' be vassal or confederate, the person should be mentioned to whom he stood in that relation. In the former sense—the only true one—that person must be either Heaven or the Duke, which was omitted by the printer. I am in favour of the former, both for metre-sake and because we have elsewhere, "The rest of your fees, O Gods! the senators of Athens" (Tim. iii. 5); and "God's vassals drop and die" (Hen. V. iii. 2). I read thus:—
"We are all frail.—Isab. Else let my brother die.—
If not a fedary of Heaven, but only he,
Owe and succeed this weakness.... Ang. Nay, women are frail too."
Isabella replies at once, fully assenting to Angelo's observation. After a brief pause, she is proceeding to reason on the subject, when he interrupts her. We may observe that 'owe' and 'succeed' are legal terms, which here form a hysteron-proteron, like some other common phrases. Perhaps, indeed, we might transpose them; for Isabella is speaking quite calmly and composedly. The change of 'thy' to this is perfectly legitimate; and to may have been omitted or effaced after 'succeed.'