—"Philomela," 1592. Again, we find it in the tragical comedy of "Appius and Virginia," 1575—"Let my counsel at no time lie with you geason," sig. D. [vol. iv. p. 138].
[118] Open them.
[119] Old copy, what.
[120] The meaning of "would amate me so," is, would daunt or confound me so. See note to "Tancred and Gismunda" [suprâ, p. 79], where instances are given.
[121] Mr Steevens, in a note on the "Comedy of Errors," act ii. sc. 1, has collected a number of quotations to show the meaning of the word stale, and to them the reader is referred. In this place it signifies a false allurement, bait, or deception on the part of fortune.
[122] The barbarous jargon put into the mouth of this Frenchman is given in the orthography of the old copy, since it was vain to attempt correction.
[123] "Now when they were agreed upon it, they could not find a man in the city that durst take upon him to kill him; but a man of armes of the Gaules, or one of the Cimbres (for we find both the one and the other in writing) that went thither with his sword drawn in his hand. Now that place of the chamber where Marius lay was very dark, and, as it is reported, the man of armes thought he saw two burning flames come out of Marius's eyes, and heard a voice out of that dark corner, saying unto him: O fellow, thou, darest thou come to kill Caius Marius? The barbarous Gaule, hearing these words, ran out of the chamber presently." —North's Plutarch, "Life of Caius Marius."
[124] "For when he was but very young, and dwelling in the country, he gathered up in the lap of his gowne the ayrie of an eagle, in the which were seven young eagles; whereat his father and mother much wondering, asked the soothsayers what that meant? They answered that their sonne should one day be one of the greatest men in the world, and that out of doubt he should obtain seven times in his life the chiefest office of dignity in his country."—North's Plutarch, "Life of Caius Marius."
[125] The old quarto divides the play very irregularly; for according to it there are two Acts iii. and two Acts iv. One of the Acts iii. was made to commence here.
[126] Necessarily or unavoidably.