Page:As You Like It (1919) Yale.djvu/122

110  I it. Many modern editions give this half line to Duke Senior. The present text follows the First Folio in assigning it to Amiens, who thus agrees with the Duke's summary of their happy life.

 desert. Any uninhabited or sparsely inhabited wild country was called a 'desert' by the Elizabethans. The lack of vegetable and animal life was not implied in its meaning.

 tears. There are many references to the tears shed by a wounded or dying stag in Elizabethan literature.

 velvet. Other interpretations of velvet are: 'sleek and prosperous' (Aldis Wright); velvet is the technical term for the outer covering of the horns of a stag in the early stages of their growth. Here Velvet' seems to be equivalent to 'delicate' (Neil).

 flux of company. I.e., 'the continuous stream of people, or friendships.'

 No yours. I.e., 'your graces serve you to no better purpose.'

 diverted blood. I.e., 'natural affection turned into a false channel.'

 ravens. Cf. Job 38. 41. 'Who provideth for the raven his food?'

 Nor not. The double negative, with the force of a single negative, occurs in several places throughout this play.

 a week. Probably a proverbial method of expression, with a slightly ironical implication, viz., 'eighty years of age is at least a week too late to begin a career of adventure.'

 cross money. The ancient penny had a cross stamped upon it, hence Touchstone's quibble, which includes likewise a reference to Matthew 10. 38.