portend no good to us: though the wisdom of
nature can reason it thus and thus, yet nature/115
finds itself scourged by the sequent effects.
Love cools, friendship falls off, brothers divide:
in cities, mutinies; in countries, discord; in
palaces, treason; and the bond cracked 'twixt
son and father. This villain of mine comes 120
under the prediction; there's son against
father: the king falls from bias of nature;
there's father against child. We have seen
the best of our time: machinations, hollowness,
treachery, and all ruinous disorders follow us 125
disquietly to our graves. Find out this villain,
Edmund; it shall lose thee nothing: do it
carefully. And the noble and true-hearted
Kent banished! his offence, honesty! 'Tis
strange.

118. discord] F, discords Q.

[Exit. 130

118, 119. in

115. it] F, omitted Q. palaces] F, palaces Q. 119. and the bond] F, the bond Q; 'twixt] F, betweene Q. 120-126. This . . . graves] F, omitted in Q.

129. honesty!] F,

honest Q. 129, 130. 'Tis strange] F, strange, strange! Q 1, strange strange! Q 2. 130. Exit] F, omitted Q.

visible in England, and this possibly was in Shakespeare's mind when writing the above; just as the earthquake which was felt in England in 1580 may have been in his mind when referring to the Mantua earthquake in Romeo and Juliet, I. iii. 23.

114, 115. though... thus] though natural philosophy, or man's reason, the wisdom of the natural man, can give various accounts of the cause of eclipses, though it professes to show that they proceed from natural causes.

115, 116. yet.... effects] yet still, it is strange that invariably after these prodigies, there should follow on disasters, wars, earthquakes, etc., which Scourge mankind,

117. falls off] revolts. So 1 Henry IV. 1. iii. 94:

"Revolted Mortimer! He never did fall off, my sovereign liege,

But by the chance of war." 119. bond] See 1. i. 93.

122. falls from bias of nature] runs against natural promptings, acts unnaturally; a metaphor from the language of bowling. See King John, II. i. 574-580.

124. best of our time] See 1. i. 294; 1. ii. 47.

124. hollowness] falseness, insincerity. See I. i. 154, and Hamlet, III. ii. 218: "A hollow friend."

H

Edm. This is the excellent foppery of the world,
that, when we are sick in fortune, often the
surfeit of our own behaviour, we make guilty
of our disasters the sun, the moon, and the
stars; as if we were villains on necessity, fools 135
by heavenly compulsion, knaves thieves and
treachers by spherical predominance, drunkards
liars and adulterers by an enforced obedience
of planetary influence; and all that we are
evil in, by a divine thrusting on: an admirable 140
evasion of whoremaster man, to lay his goatish
disposition to the charge of a star! My
father compounded with my mother under the
dragon's tail, and my nativity was under Ursa
major; so that it follows I am rough and 145
lecherous. Fut! I should have been that I

133. surfeit] Q, surfets F. 134, 135. the stars] Q, stars F. 135. on] F, by Q. 137. treachers] F, trecherers Q; spherical] F, spiritual Q. 142. to] Q, on F; a star !] F, stars Q.

131. foppery] foolishness, stupidity, folly. See fop, I. ii. 14; foppish, 1. iv. 166.

133. surfeit] natural evil result. So Coriolanus, IV. i. 46: "thou art too full Of the war's surfeits, to go rove," i.e. of wounds and their effects.

135. on] by. So Love's Labour's Lost, 1. i. 149: "She must lie here on mere necessity."

137. treachers] traitors; a word not used again by Shakespeare, but which is common in the writers of his time. See Drant's translation of Horace, 1566: "By art of usury, by guile and treachour's trade"; also Anthony Munday, The Downfall of Robert, Earl of Huntingdon (Dodsley's Old Plays, Hazlitt, viii. 192): "To hinder treachers God restoreth sight." It is several times found in Spenser's Faerie Queene, as in 11. i. 12: "Where

146. Fut] Q, omitted F, Tut Jennyns.

may that treachour then (he sayd) be found." (Spenser also uses the form treachetour); and see Beaumont and Fletcher, Rollo, III. i. 88.

137. spherical predominance]through some special star being predominant, ruling, at the hour of our birth. See All's Well, I. i. 211.

140. divine thrusting on] a supernatural impelling, or incitement. 141. goatish] lascivious. See Othello, III. iii. 180.

146. Fut] It is very strange that Dyce should have had any doubt that Fut of the Quarto was intended for the oath 'Foot or 'Sfoot; as a matter of fact, the phrase Fut, simply, is very common indeed, and there is no doubt at all but that it is right here, and that Jennyns' change to Tut is quite unnecessary. See Marston's first part of Antonio and Mellida, 11, i.

am had the maidenliest star in the firmament

twinkled on my bastardizing.

Enter EDGAR.

and pat he comes, like the catastrophe of the

old comedy: my cue is villanous melancholy, 150

with a sigh like Tom o' Bedlam.

eclipses do portend these divisions.

Edg. How now, brother Edmund! What serious

contemplation are you in?

Edm. I am thinking, brother, of a prediction I read this other day, what should follow these eclipses.

147. in] F, of Q. 148. bastardizing] F, bastardy Q; Edgar] Enter Edgar Q, first Edgar omitted F. 149. and pat] Steevens, 1778; Edgar; and out QI (Enter Edgar in margin), Enter Edgar and out Q 2; Enter Edgar. Pat: 150. my cue] F, mine Q. 151. sigh] Q2, F; sith Q1; Tom o'] F, them of Q. 152, 153. Fa... mi] F, (Me); omitted Q.

Edg. Do you busy yourself with that?

Edm. I promise you the effects he writes of suc- 160

ceed unhappily; as of unnaturalness_between
the child and the parent; death, dearth, dis-
solutions of ancient amities; divisions in state;
menaces and maledictions against king and
nobles; needless diffidences, banishment of 165
friends, dissipation of cohorts, nuptial breaches,
and I know not what.

Edg. How long have you been a sectary astro-
nomical?

Edm. Come, come; when saw you my father last? 170

Edm. Bethink yourself wherein you may have offended him; and at my entreaty forbear his presence until some little time hath qualified

the innocent,...

the heat of his displeasure, which at this 180 instant so rageth in him that with the mischief of your person it would scarcely allay. Edg. Some villain hath done me wrong. as x Edm. That's my fear, brother. I pray you have a

continent forbearance till the speed of his rage 185
goes slower, and as I say, retire with me to
my lodging, from whence I will fitly bring you
to hear my lord speak. Pray you, go; there's
my key. If you do stir abroad, go armed.
Edg. Armed, brother!

Edm. Brother, I advise you to the best, go armed;
I am
no honest man if there be any good
meaning towards you; I have told you what

I have seen and heard; but faintly, nothing

190

like the image and horror of it; pray you, 195

away.

Edg. Shall I hear from you anon ?

Edm. I do serve you in this business.

A credulous father, and a brother noble,

[Exit Edgar.

Whose nature is so far from doing harms

182. scarcely] F, scarce Q.

200

184-191. fear... Edm. Brother] F,

jeare brother Q (omitting the rest). 188. you] Rowe, ye F. 189. go
armed] Q, omitted F. 193. towards] Q, toward F.
QI (after line 196 Q 2), Exit (after line 197 F).

184, 185. have a .. forbearance] curb, restrain, your feelings, and keep away. For forbear in the sense of withdraw, see Antony and Cleopatra, v. ii. 175: "Forbear, Seleucus.' Forbearance is used in a similar sense in Measure for Measure, IV. i. 22: "I shall crave your forbearance a little," .e. I request you to withdraw for a little while.

198. Exit Edgar]

187. fitly] opportunely. So Timon
of Athens, III. iv. III:

"Timon. My steward!
Flavius. My lord.
Timon. So fitly?"
193. meaning] intention, purpose.
194. faintly] mildly.

195. image and horror] horrible
reality. The horror which an exact
description would fill you with; an
hendiadys.