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Latin sequor, secutus). A suit of clothes is a set, one piece following or corresponding to another. Suite is the same word, whether used for a retinue, or for any other kind of succession (such as a suite of apartments).

385. That touches us? Ourself shall be last served. -This is the correction of Mr. Collier's MS. annotator. The common reading is, "What touches ourself shall be last served." To serve, or attend to, a person is a familiar form of expression; to speak of a thing as served, in the sense of attended to, would, it is apprehended, be unexampled. The "us ourself," however, would be unobjectionable. Whatever may be the motive or view which has led to the substitution of the plural for the singular personal pronoun in certain expressions, it is evident that the plurality of the pronoun could not conveniently be allowed to carry along with it a corresponding transformation of all the connected words. Although an English king might speak of himself as We, it would be felt that the absurdity was too great if he were to go on to say, "We the Kings of England." Hence such awkward combinations as "We ourself," or "Us ourself;" which, however, are only exemplifications of the same construction which we constantly employ in common life when in addressing an individual we say " You yourself." The same contradiction, indeed, is involved in the word Yourself standing alone. It may be observed, however, that the verb always follows the number of the pronoun which is its nominative, so that there is never any violation of the ordinary rule of grammatical concord. Upon the nature of the word Self see Latham, Eng. Lan. 416. See also the note on 54, Did lose his lustre.

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289. There is no such stage direction in the old editions as we now have at the end of this speech.

292. The stage direction attached to this speech is also modern.

295. Look, how he makes to Cæsar.-We should now say, he makes up to. And we also say to make for, with another meaning.-For the prosody of this

verse see note to 246.

296. Casca, be sudden, etc.—We should now rather say, Be quick. Prevention is hindrance by something happening before that which is hindered. Vid. 147.

296. Cassius on Cæsar never shall turn back.-The reading of all the old copies is "or Cæsar," and it is retained by most or all of the modern editors. It is interpreted by Ritson as meaning, "Either Cæsar or I shall never return alive." But to turn back cannot mean to return alive, or to return in any way. The most it could mean would be to make a movement towards returning; which is so far from being the same thing with the accomplished return which this translation would have it to imply that it may almost be said to be the very opposite. Besides, even if to turn back could mean here to leave or get away from the Capitol alive, although Cassius, by plunging his dagger into his own heart, would indeed have prevented himself from so escaping, how was that act to bring with it any similar risk to Cæsar? I will slay myself, Cassius is supposed to say, whereby either I shall lose my life or Cæsar will his. The emendation of " or Cæsar" into "on Cæsar" was proposed and is strongly supported by Malone, although he did not venture to introduce it into his text. We have probably the opposite misprint of on for or in the speech of Paulina in

the concluding scene of The Winter's Tale, where the

old copies give us

"Then, all stand still:

On those that think it is unlawful business

I am about, let them depart."

Although Mr. Knight adheres to the on and the point.

297. Cassius, be constant.-Vid. 263.

297. Populius Lena speaks not of our purposes.Although this verse has twelve syllables, it is not for that an Alexandrine. Its rhythm is the same as if the last word had been merely the dissyllable purpose, or even a monosyllable, such as act or deed. It is completed by the strong syllable pur- in the tenth place, and the two unaccented syllables that follow have no prosodical effect. Of course, there is also an oratorical emphasis on our, although standing in one of those places which do not require an accented syllable, but which it is a mistake to suppose incapable of admitting such.

297. Cæsar doth not change.—In his manner of looking, or the expression of his countenance.

298. The stage direction attached to this speech is modern.

300. He is addressed.-To dress is the same word with to direct. Immediately from the French dresser, it is ultimately from the Latin rectus and directus, through the Italian rizzare and dirizzare; and its literal meaning, therefore, is, to make right or straight. Formerly, accordingly, anything was said to be dressed or addressed when it was in complete order for the purpose to which it was to be applied. Thus, in the

Second Part of King Henry the Fourth, iv. 4, the King says, "Our navy is addressed, our power collected;" and in A Midsummer Night's Dream, v. 1, Philostrate, the Master of the Revels, makes his official announcement to Theseus thus ;-" So please your Grace, the prologue is addressed." So He is addressed in the present passage means merely He is ready. The primary sense of the word is still retained in such phrases as To dress the ranks; and it is not far departed from in such as To dress cloth or leather, To dress a wound, To dress meat. The notion of decoration or embellishment which we commonly associate with dressing does not enter fully even into the expression To dress the hair. In To redress, meaning to set to rights again that which has gone wrong, to make that which was crooked once more straight, we have the etymological or radical import of the word completely preserved. To redress is to re-rectify.

301. You are the first that rears your hand.-In strict grammar, perhaps it should be either “ rears his" or 66 rear your;" but the business of an editor of Shakespeare is not to make for us in all cases perfect grammar, but to give us what his author in all probability wrote. A writer's grammatical irregularities are as much part of his style, and therefore of his mind and of himself, as any other characteristic.

302. Casca. Are we all ready? 303. Cæs. What is now amiss, etc. There can, I think, be no doubt that Mr. Collier's MS. annotator has here again given us the true reading, and a valuable restoration. What Casca could possibly mean by exclaiming "What is now amiss, That Cæsar and his Senate must redress ?” is nearly inconceivable. The question is plainly suit

able to Cæsar only, to the person presiding; the proceedings could never have been so opened by any mere member of the senate. And the absurdity of supposing it to have been spoken by Casca becomes still stronger when we have to consider it as a natural sequence of the "Are we all ready?" which immediately precedes. Even if any one of the conspirators was likely to have made such a display, it was hardly Casca.

304. Most puissant Cæsar.-Puissant, and the substantive form puissance, are, I believe, always dissyllables in Milton; with Shakespeare they generally are so (as here), but not always. Thus in King John, iii. 1, the King says to the Bastard,

"Cousin, go draw our puissance together."

Walker, however, is mistaken in producing the line

"Either past, or not arrived to pith and puissance"

(from the Chorus before the Third Act of King Henry the Fifth) as necessarily to be read with the trisyllabic division of the word. It is not even probable that it ought to be so read,-barely possible. In Spenser too we have occasionally this pronunciation:—as in F. Q. v. 2, 7, “For that he is so puissant and strong;" and again in st. 17, "His puissance, ne bear himself upright."

305. These crouchings.—This is the correction (for the couchings of the old printed copies) of Mr. Collier's MS. annotator. Surely, it does not admit of a doubt.

305. And turn pre-ordinance, etc.-The reading of the old text here is "into the lane of children."

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