Page:Blackwood's Magazine volume 074.djvu/469

1853.] that Dr Delius is wrong in preferring mimics.

Edgar, when he discovers that Goneril has a plot upon her husband's life, exclaims—

The corrector's substitution—

may be dismissed at once as utterly irreconcilable with the context, besides being villanous rhodomontade. The context lets us know very plainly what the meaning of the first line must be. "A plot," says Edgar, "on the life of her husband, the best of men! and a marriage with my brother, the greatest scoundrel unhanged! Oh, workings of woman's will, past all finding out—past all distinguishing!" "Oh, unfathomable depth;" "Oh, unintelligible tortuosity;" "Oh, undistinguishable limits;" that we believe to be the meaning of "Oh, undistinguished space of woman's will." The text requires no amendment; and we would merely suggest ways or depth as a gloss, and not as a substitute for "space."

— Act I. Scene 1.—The old corrector sometimes passes over lines which present intolerable difficulties. We wish, in particular, that he had favoured us with his sentiments on that line which has baffled all mankind, in which Iago describes Cassio as

Difficulty first, Cassio was not married! Difficulty second, Supposing him to be married, why should he be either almost or altogether damned in a fair wife? Difficulty third, Why, if damned at all, should he be only almost, and not completely, damned in her? These are points on which the old scholiast has not attempted to throw any light. Cassio, it is well known, had a mistress. Is it possible, then, that Shakespeare should use "wife" in the sense of mistress or woman? That supposition might remove the difficulty. As it is, all attempts to amend the line have hitherto been abortive. It still stands the opprobrium criticorum.

After trying his hand very unsuccessfully on one or two passages, the MS. corrector comes to the lines in which Desdemona is described by Roderigo as

Mr Collier says: "Here the commentators have notes upon 'extravagant,' but pass over 'wheeling' without explanation, although very unintelligible where it stands." He then remarks that "wheedling (the MS. correction for 'wheeling') is an important improvement of the text." Few people, we imagine, will agree with Mr Collier in thinking either that "wheeling" is unintelligible, or that wheedling is an improvement. "A wheeling stranger of here and everywhere" is as plain, and, at the same time, as poetical a periphrasis for a vagabond as can be well conceived. We may be certain that the text as it stands is the language of Shakespeare.

Proceeding onwards, we meet with nothing which can be recommended for the text, and little which attracts our attention, until we come to the expression, "A super-subtle Venetian," which is Iago's designation for Desdemona. The old corrector makes him call her "a super-supple Venetian"! But, if his own good taste could not keep the old gentleman right, surely the context might have done so. Iago says—"An erring barbarian (i.e. Othello) and a super-subtle Venetian" (i.e. Desdemona). There is here a fine opposition between barbarism and subtlety; but what opposition, what relation of any kind, is there between barbarism and suppleness?

''Act II. Scene 3''.—Othello, in a state of excitement, says—

for which the MS. correction is quelled. Mr Corner says, "There can hardly be a doubt that this is the proper restoration." Whereupon Mr Singer observes pathetically—and we quite agree with him—"I pity the man who could for a moment think of displacing the effective and now consecrated word collied. Its obvious