Page:Titus Andronicus (1926) Yale.djvu/111

Titus Andronicus wishes that her life may be longer than his, and her praise longer than fame.'

Solon's happiness. Alluding to the remarks of the philosopher Solon to Crœsus, king of Lydia, to the effect that true happiness is dependent on honor, and that no man can be finally adjudged happy until after his death. Cf. Herodotus, l. 32.

people's tribunes. The First Folio has 'noble tribunes.' It may be that it was originally written 'people's,' and changed to 'noble' when the play was acted, as the latter word is somewhat more sonorous.

bandy. A term from the game of tennis, meaning to strike the ball to and fro.

priest and holy water. Such references to Christian ritual are, of course, anachronistic, but in the true Shakespearean manner. Cf. the 'popish tricks and ceremonies' of V. i. 76 below.

Ajax. This seems to be an allusion to the Ajax of Sophocles, in which Ulysses pleads with Agamemnon for permission to bury the body of Ajax. So far as is known the Ajax had not been translated into English in Shakespeare's day.

you have play'd your prize. Won what you were competing for. 'A metaphor borrowed from the fencing schools, prizes being played for certain degrees in the schools where the art of defence was taught—degrees of Master, Provost, and Scholar.' (Dyce's Glossary.)

Stand up. These two words were regarded as stage directions by Pope and by several editors after him. In the quartos and folios, they form the first part of what in our text is line 486.

love-day. A day appointed by the Church for the settlement of disputes amicably out of court, by an umpire. Cf. Gower, Confessio Amantis, I. 39.