Intents but merely thoughts.

Mari.

Merely, my lord.

Duke. Your suit's unprofitable; stand up, I say.—
I have bethought me of another fault. -
Provost, how came it Claudio was beheaded
At an unusual hour?

Prov.

It was commanded so.

Duke. Had you a special warrant for the deed? Prov. No, my good lord; it was by private message. Duke. For which I do discharge you of your office : Give up your keys.

Prov.

Pardon me, noble lord:

I thought it was a fault, but knew it not;
Yet did repent me, after more advice: 47
For testimony whereof, one in the prison,
That should by private order else have died,
I have reserved alive.

Duke.

Prov.

What's he?

His name is Barnardine.

Duke. I would thou hadst done so by Claudio.

Go fetch him hither; let me look upon him. [Exit Provost.
Escal. I'm sorry, one so learnèd and so wise

As you, Lord Angelo, have still appear'd,
Should slip so grossly, both in th' heat of blood,
And lack of temper'd judgment afterward.

Ang. I'm sorry that such sorrow I procure :
And so deep sticks it in my penitent heart,
That I crave death more willingly than mercy;
'Tis my deserving, and I do entreat it.

47" After more advice" is on further consideration. The Poet uses advice repeatedly in this way. See vol. iii. page 208, note I.

Re-enter Provost, with BARNARDINE, CLAUDIO muffled, and

JULIET.

Duke. Which is that Barnardine?

Prov.

This, my lord.

Duke. There was a friar told me of this man.

Sirrah, thouʼrt said to have a stubborn soul,

That apprehends no further than this world,

And squarest thy life according. Thou'rt condemn'd:
But, for those earthly faults, I quit them all; 48

And pray thee take this mercy to provide

For better times to come.

I leave him to your hand.

- Friar, advise him ;

What muffled fellow's that?

Prov. This is another prisoner that I saved,

Who should have died when Claudio lost his head;

As like almost to Claudio as himself. [Unmuffles CLAUDIO.
Duke. [To ISAB.] If he be like your brother, for his sake
Then is he pardon'd; and, for your lovely sake,

Give me your hand, and say you will be mine,
He is my brother too: but fitter time for that.
By this Lord Angelo perceives he's safe;
Methinks I see a quickening in his eye.

Well, Angelo, your evil quits 49 you well:

Look that you love your wife; her worth work yours! 50

I find an apt remission 51 in myself;

And yet here's one in place I cannot pardon.

[To LUCIO.] You, sirrah, that knew me for a fool, a coward, One all of luxury, an ass, a madman ;

48 Quit, here, is acquit, that is, release or discharge; a frequent usage. See vol. iv. page 124, note 29; also vol. v. page 53, note 2.

49 Here, again, quits is requites or revenges. See page 239, note 44.

50 Meaning, apparently, "May her virtue call forth, kindle, or develop an answering virtue in you!"

51" Apt remission" probably means aptness or inclination to remit offences; that is, to pardon them.

Wherein have I deservèd so of you,

That you extol me thus ?

If

Lucio. Faith, my lord, I spoke it but according to the trick.52

you will hang me for it, you may; but I had rather it would please you I might be whipp'd.

Duke. Whipp'd first, sir, and hang'd after.—
Proclaim it, Provost, round about the city,
If any woman's wrong'd by this lewd fellow, -
As I have heard him swear himself there's one
Whom he begot with child, — let her appear,
And he shall marry her: the nuptial finish'd,
Let him be whipp'd and hang'd.

Lucio. I beseech your Highness, do not marry me to a whore! Your Highness said even now, I made you a duke: good my lord, do not recompense me in making me a cuckold.

Duke. Upon mine honour, thou shalt marry her.

Thy slanders I forgive; and therewithal

Remit thy other forfeits. Take him to prison ;

And see our pleasure herein executed.

Lucio. Marrying a punk, my lord, is pressing to death, whipping, and hanging.

Duke. Slandering a prince deserves it.

[Exeunt Officers with LUCIO.

She, Claudio, that you wrong'd, look you restore.
Joy to you, Mariana ! — Love her, Angelo :

I have confess'd her, and I know her virtue. -
Thanks, good friend Escalus, for thy much goodness:
There's more behind that is more gratulate.53
Thanks, Provost, for thy care and secrecy :
We shall employ thee in a worthier place. -

52" After my custom, in the way of jest or course of sport."
53 More to be rejoiced at, or more worthy of gratulation.

Forgive him, Angelo, that brought you home
The head of Ragozine for Claudio's :

Th' offence pardons itself. - Dear Isabel,
I have a motion much imports your good;
Whereto if you'll a willing ear incline,

What's mine is yours, and what is yours is mine. -
So, bring us to our palace; where we'll show
What's yet behind, that's meet you all should know.

[Exeunt.

CRITICAL NOTES.

Page 132.

ACT I., SCENE 1.

Then no more remains

But t' add sufficiency, as your worth is able,

And let them work. - The original reads "then no more remains But that, to your sufficiency," &c. All the modern editors, I believe, except Mr. White, agree that there is some textual corruption here; and several have supposed two half-lines to have dropped out in the transcribing or the printing. Various attempts have been made, to supply the missing words; but no two are of the same mind as to what they should be; and, as Dyce remarks, "it would require no great effort of conjecture to produce half-a-dozen 'fire-new' restorations of the passage quite as satisfactory as any yet proposed." Mr. White not only thinks the text perfectly sound, but that, if we put a comma after that, and a dash on each side of "as your worth is able," and take that as a demonstrative pronoun, and as referring to what precedes, the meaning becomes abundantly clear; yet I have to confess that his explanation made the passage darker to me than it was before. Reasons of logic, of grammar, and of prosody, have concurred in pressing upon me the reading given in the text. The construction, I think, naturally requires a verb after But; and the context seems also to require that sufficiency be taken in the sense of authority, that is, legal sufficiency; otherwise it is plainly tautological with worth and able. It would be quite in the Poet's manner to omit to altogether, instead of eliding it, "But add," &c. So I suspect that t' add or add was mistaken for that, and then the rest of the line sophisticated into some sort of verbal conformity, without much attention to the sense of the whole. It is hardly needful to observe how much the verse is redressed by thus getting two syllables out of it. Able used as an epithet or predicate of worth seems hardly English. I more than suspect it should be ample; but, as a possible sense may be got from it, I do not venture to disturb it. See foot-note 3.