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Line 1010 - Commentary Note (CN) More Information

Notes for lines 0-1017 ed. Bernice W. Kliman
For explanation of sigla, such as jen, see the editions bib.
1010 I had not {coted} <quoted> him, I {fear’d} <feare> he did but trifle2.1.109
1009 1010 1364
1723- mtby2
mtby2
1010 coted] Thirlby (1723-): “fsql [low-level probability] noted Q[2] coted & D [Q3] v ad 389.15, 16 [1364].”
1733- mtby3
mtby3 ≈ mtby2
1010 coted] Thirlby (1733-): “noted. v. [1364].”
Ed. note: Thirlby has a note alluding to mtby2 (above): “M:fsql noted” He also says v. TLN 1364 (where Q has coted and F has coated) in mtby4 he crosses out warb’s noted (meaning that he highlights it as an emendation, not necessarily that he disagrees with it).
1744 han1
han1
1010 coted] Hanmer (ed. 1743, 6: Glossary): “Quote— to understand, to interpret, to rate, to estimate. ”
1747 warb
warb
1010 coted] Warburton (ed. 1747): “The old quarto reads coted. It appears Shakespear wrote noted. Quoted is nonsense.”
1765 john1
john1 = warb; john1 han without attribution
1010 coted] Johnson (ed. 1765): “To quote is, I believe, to reckon, to take an account of, to take the quotient or result of a computation.”
John1 lll ≈ han without attribution
1010 coted] Johnson (ed. 1765, 2:218 n. 5, LLL 5.2.786 (2745): “We should read Quote, esteem, reckon.”
1765- mDavies
mDavies
1010 coted] Davies (1765-): “To quote is to take an acct. of ye contents of a book on any passage or to make remarks on any subject—In doing this you may mistake or blunder.
1773 v1773
v1773 = john +
1010 coted] Steevens (ed. 1773): “To cote is to overtake, and agrees well with speed. So in [3H6 1.1.267 (300)], ‘Whose haughty spirit winged with desire Will cote my crown.’ So in [Ham. 2.2.317 (1364)]: ‘—certain players We coted them on the way.’ The sense then will be—I am sorry that with better judgment and haste I had come up with, overtaken, or reached his meaning. The phrase is quaint, and therefore sufficiently characteristic of Polonius. ”
1773- mstv1
mstv1 = v1773 + not (marked in magenta)
1010 coted] Steevens (ms. note in Steevens, ed. 1773): “To cote is to overtake, and agrees well with speed. So in [3H6 1.1.267 (300)], ‘Whose haughty spirit winged with desire Will cote my crown.’ So in [Ham. 2.2.317 (1364)]: ‘—certain players We coted them on the way.’ The sense then will be—I am sorry that with better judgment and haste I had ^not come up with, overtaken, or reached his meaning. The phrase is quaint, and therefore sufficiently characteristic of Polonius.”
The caret marks a ms. insertion. I think he’s reaching in this v1773 note. In fact, he gives up his idea in later editions. So I don’t know if he would have used the ms. correction of the typo.
1776 Gent. Mag.
W. & D. [Denne]: warb; john
1010 coted] Denne (Gent. Mag. 46 [Nov. 1776]: 512): “The incongruity of metaphors in these well known words [he had just quoted ‘Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,’ 1714] has exercised the pens of many a critical admirer of Shakespeare; but there is another passage in the same play, which has not been so frequently noticed, though, according to the present reading, the images in it seem to be rather improperly blended. The lines to which I refer are in Act 2. Scene 2 [since Capell numbered 2.1], where Polonius, having discovered his want of sagacity in advising Ophelia, to discountenance Hamlet’s addresses, because he thought the Prince only trifled with his daughter, delivers himself as follows: ‘That hath made him mad. I’m sorry, that with better speed and judgment I had not quoted him.’
Dr. Warburton peremptorily pronounced quoted to be nonsense, and said it appeared, though he showed not how, that Shakespeare wrote noted. And Dr. Johnson, not approving of this alteration, was willing to believe, that quote here signifies to reckon, to take an account of, to take the quotient or result of a computation. However, as this very learned editor, notwithstanding ‘his longer acquaintance with the lexicography of our language than any other writer,’ has not cited an instance of this use of the word quote. I may venture to conclude he had never met with one in any author.—I am, I must own, inclined to suspect that for quoted we ought to read quoited. The omission of the i in the diphthong oi might easily happen through the negligence or inattention of the press; and some reasons may be given why this emendation ought not to be deemed a whimsical surmise. —In the old quarto the word is coted; and I have a notion, that coit or quoit, in our ancient English writers, was oftener spelt indiscriminately, with a c, or a q, than quote. Dr. Johnson, in his Dictionary, also specifies that the verb to quoit to be both of the active and the neuter kind; and it will be readily admitted that the words with speed and judgment are compleately adapting to the diversion of coyting, so styled in the stat. of 33 of Hen. VIII. It may be further remarked, that in the same speech the same metaphor is pursued by Polonius, when he acknowledges, ‘Beshrew my jealousy; It seems it is as proper to our age To cast beyond ourselves in our opinions As is it common for the younger sort To lack discretion.’ —.
Quoited is undoubtedly a quaint expression, and therefore Shakespeare might with the greater propriety let it fall from the tongue of a conceited and pedantic old courtier.—This conjecture is, however, thrown out by one who professes himself to be little skilled in the game of criticism; but if it falls short of the mark, it may be a direction to some expert player, and enable him with better speed and judgment to quoit the true meaning of the poem.
I am, Sir, your, &c.
W. & D.
1778 v1778
v1778 = john + [retracting note from v1773]
1010 coted] Steevens (ed. 1778): “Since I proposed a former explanation, I met with a passage in the Isle of Gulls, a comedy, by John Day, 1633, which proves Dr. Johnson’s sense of this word [i.e., quoted] to be not far from the true one: ‘—’twill be a scene of mirth For me to quote his passions, and his smiles.’
“To quote on this occasion undoubtedly means to observe. Again, in Drayton’s Mooncalf: ‘This honest man the prophecy that noted, And things therein most curiously had quoted; Found all these signs, &c.’ Again, in The Woman Hater, by B[eaumont] and Fletcher, the Intelligencer says—‘I’ll quote him to a tittle.’ i.e., I will observe him. Again, in Certaine Satyres, 1598: ‘But must our moderne crittick’s envious eye, Seeme thus to quote some grosse deformity?’ Steevens.
v1778
Note that v1778 does NOT include the paraphrase and // to 3H6 or the xref to 1364 that is in v1773.
1010 coted] Steevens (ed. 1778, 1:152 n. 3) for TGV 2.4.18 (672): “ ‘—how quote you my folly?’ To quote is to observe. So in Hamlet: ‘I am sorry that with better heed and judgment I had not quoted him.’ Steevens.”
1780 mals1
mals1
1010 coted] Malone (1780, 1:520-1 n. 2) defines quote in Luc. 812 “Will quote my loathsome trespass in my looks”: <p. 520>“Will mark or observe. So in Hamlet: [quotes 1009-10]. </p. 520><p. 521> Again, in [TGV]: ‘And how quote you my folly? —I quote it in your jerkin.’ Malone.” </p.521>
Ed. note: TGV puns on quote/cote.
1784 Davies
Davies ≈ mDavies
1010 coted] Davies (1784, 3:36): “To quote is to write notes and observations from sermons or books, or to make remarks in a table-book or memorandum. In doing this, a mistake or blunder may easily be made.”
1785 v1785
v1785 = v1778 minus the last analogue to Certaine Satyres, 1598.
1010 coted]
1785 Mason
Mason
1010 coted] Mason (1785, p. 379): “I am surprised that any reader who has arrived at the tenth volume of these plays, should form any doubt concerning the meaning of the verb to quote, which so frequently occurs in them and is invariably used in the sense of to observe.
1787 ann
ann = warb VN and then Steevens, one sentence
1010 coted] Steevens: “To quote on this occasion undoubtedly means to observe.”
1790 mal
mal = mals1 +
1010 coted] Malone (ed. 1790): “I had not marked or observed him. So, in [Luc. 812] : ‘Yea, the illiterate—Will quote my loathed trespass in my looks.’ In this passage, in the original edition of 1594, the word is written cote, as it is in the quarto copy of this play. It is merely the old or corrupt spelling of the word. See [2:378 n.6]. In Minsheu’s Dict. 1617, we find, “To quote, mark, or note, à quotus. Numeris enim scribentes sententias suas notunt et distinguunt.’ See also Cotgrave’s Dict, 1611: ‘Quoter. To quote or marke in the margent; to note by the way.’”
note put into check original editions doc. re Cotgrave
mal LLL Ham.: john1
1010 coted] Malone (ed. 1790, 2: 378 n. 6) re LLL “Her amber hairs for foul have amber quoted” : “Quoted here, I think, signifies, marked, written down. So, in [AWW 5.3.205 (2931)]: “He’s quoted for a most perfidious slave.’ The word in the old copies is coted; but that (as Dr. Johnson has observed, in the last scene of this play,) is only the old spelling of quoted, owing to the transcriber’s trusting to his ear, and following the pronunciation. To cote is elsewhere used by our author, with the sifnification of overtake, but that will by no means suit here.Malone.”
mal: Luc. analogue; Minsheu; Cotgrave
1010 coted] Malone (ed. 1790): “I had not marked or observed him. So, in [Luc. 812] : ‘Yea, the illiterate—Will quote my loathed trespass in my looks.’ In this passage, in the original edition of 1594, the word is written cote, as it is in the quarto copy of this play. It is merely the old or corrupt spelling of the word. See [2:378 n.6]. In Minsheu’s Dict. 1617, we find, “To quote, mark, or note, à quotus. Numeris enim scribentes sententias suas notunt et distinguunt.’ See also Cotgrave’s Dict, 1611: ‘Quoter. To quote or marke in the margent; to note by the way.’ ”
1791- Wesley ms. in v1785
Wesley re john1
1010 coted] Wesley (1790-, p. 45): “This seems probable.”
1791- rann
rann: standard
1010 coted] “noted, observed. The word is frequently used in this sense by our author.”
1793 v1793
v1793 = john1; mal; ≈ Steevens v1785; Mason; Day, B&F
1010 coted] Steevens (ed. 1793): “I find a passage in The Ile of Gulls, a comedy by John Day, 1606, which proves Dr. Johnson’s sense of the word to be not far from the true one [&c. quotes Day, then Drayton, then “Beaumont and Fletcher”] To quote, as Mr. M. Mason observes, is invariably used by Shakspeare in this sense. Steevens.
No Warb; diff. in magenta: he eliminates the ref to an earlier error and paraphrases Mason. Order is JOHN, Steevens ending with Mason, MAL.
1803 v1803
v1803 = v1793
1010 coted]
1807 Mason
Mason 1807 = Mason 1785
1010 coted] Mason (1807, pp. 436-7)
1807 Douce
Douce contra Steevens; mal; Mason;
1010 coted] Douce (1807, 1:230) on LLL 4.3.85 (1421): “Mr. Steevens’s explanation of coted, and of the whole line, is inadmissible. Foulness or cloudiness is no criterion of the beauty of amber. Mr. Malone has partly explained coted, by marked, but has apparently missed the sense of it here when he adds written down. Mr. Mason has given the true construction of the line, but he mistakes the meaning of coted, which, after all, merely signifies to mark or note. The word is from the French coter, which, in like manner as Mr. Malone has well observed of the English term, is the old orthography of quoter. The grammatical construction is, ‘her amber hairs have marked or shown that [real] amber is foul in comparison of themselves.’ ”
1813 v1813
v1813 = v1803
1010 coted]
1819 cald1
cald1: mal
1010 coted] Caldecott (ed. 1819): “Noted. [then Malone on Luc., Minsheu] It is the modern use of the word [quote] in the weekly reports or return of the price of grain.”
1822 Nares
Nares ≈ standard, Cotg. source word without attribution + in magenta underlined
1010 cote] Nares (1822): “To pass by, to pass the side of another. Costoyer, old French, in which the e was soon dropped and is now not written. The same as to Coast. [quotes 1010 and other plays].” Crants (3421) [Eric nb: Nares also pts out the connection to Rosencrantz],
Also, quote: Nares (1822): “To Quote. Often used for to note, mark, or distinguish; very differently from the modern usage. [quotes Rom., 1.4.31 (484),Jn 4.2. 222 (1947), Ham. 1010, and others)].”
1826 sing1
sing1: mals1 without attribution
1010 coted] Singer (ed. 1826): “To quote is to note, to mark. Thus in The Rape of Lucrece:— ‘Yea, the illiterate Will quote my loathed trespass in my looks.’ This word in the quarto is written coted, which was the old orthography of quoted. ”
1832 cald2
cald2 = Cald1 +
1010 coted] Caldecott (ed. 1832): i.e. noted. ‘quotes the leaves. [Tit. 4.1.50 (1595)] Mar. ”
[then Malone on Luc. Minsheu, and 1820 on grain]
1839 knt1
knt1 : standard
1010 coted] Knight (ed. [1839]): “observed, noted.”
1843 col1
col1 standard
1010 coted] Collier (ed. 1843): Quoted : i.e. noted or observed him. See [4:74; 6:106; 393].”
His glossary, 1:ccci, with the same definitions, has the 4 ref. here and adds 1:115; 8:438.
1844 verp
verp = col1 without attribution
1010 coted] Verplanck (ed. 1844): “‘Quoted him.’—Noted or observed him.”
start here
1854 del2
del2
1010 coted] Delius (ed. 1854): “to quote eigentlich = eine Notiz machen, heisst dann bei Sh. ‘sich notiren, im Einzelnen beobachten,’ oder auch ‘die einzelnen Beobachtungen zusammenziehen.” [to quote, which actually means to make a memorandum, to Sh. means ‘to make note to observe in private,’ or also ‘to put together the individual observations.]
I am not sure this is right. DEL2 seems to be saying that Polonius wishes he had observed Hamlet more carefully, or that he had put two and two together better.
1856 hud1
hud1 standard
1010 coted] Hudson (ed. 1856): “To quote in to note, to mark, or observe.”
1856 sing2
sing2 = sing1
1010 coted]
1857 dyce1
dyce1
1010 coted] Dyce (ed. 1857, Glossary, for F1 quote): “To note, to mark,—formerly pronounced, and often written, cote . . . .”
1861 wh1
wh1: standard
1010 coted] White (ed. 1861): “‘I had not quoted him’ means, I had not observed him.”
1865 hal
hal = Steevens, Malone
1010 coted]
1867 dyce2
dyce2
1010 coted] Dyce (ed. 1867, Glossary): “To note, to mark,—formerly pronounced, and often written, cote. See [Rom. 1.4.31 (484)].”
1868 c&mc
c&mcdyceG without attribution + //
1010 coted] Clarke & Clarke (ed. 1868): “‘Noted,’ ‘observed,’ ‘remarked.’ See [Tro. 4.5.233 (2802), n. 69].”
1872 cln1
cln1:standard gloss, + //s Tro. , Rom. xref in magenta underlined
1010 coted] Clark & Wright (ed. 1872): “ . . . It means ‘observed,’ as in [Tro. 4.5.233 (2802)]: ‘I have with exact view perused thee, Hector, And quoted joint by joint.’ And in [Rom. 1.4.31 (484)]: ‘What curious eye doth quote deformities?’ The word is indifferently spelt ‘cote,’ ‘coat’ (or ‘coate’}, and ‘quote’ in the old editions. The side (Fr. cóté) or margin of a book was the place for observations or quotations. See [3622+1].
1872 hud2
hud2 = hud1
1010 coted]
1877 v1877
v1877: Mason, mal, dyce2 (quote)
1010 coted]
1881 hud3
hud3 = hud2
1010 coted]
1883 wh2
wh2: standard on quoted
1010 coted]
1885 mull
mull: stau, rug2 +
1010 Mull (ed. 1885): “The first clause is surely directed to Ophelia as a rebuke; and the subsequent serious reflection of Polonius, that ‘it is common . . . lack discretion’ [1014], contributes greatly to confirm my suggested alteration. It is inconceivable that Polonius should have fallen into a strain of self-rebuke, so extravagant an estimate of his own judgment and capacity did he entertain—egregiously conceited, and unsurpassed, as he thought, in penetration and foresight (see [1183-5], et passim).
“Further, the whole of the colloquy between Ophelia and Polonius in [554-601] lends powerful support to the change I suggest. Polonius there says to Ophelia, [quotes 557-63].
“Polonius it is, undoubtedly, who reproaches Ophelia, and not Polonius himself. In the perturbation he displays it would be his disposition to reflect upon her, which may be seen clearly, thus, [quotes 998, 1004, 1009-10]. ‘You should have looked into, scanned, marked him’ (as Staunton renders ‘quoted’): ‘I did fear he only trifled with your affections.’ The former is an obviously self-important assertion and reflection upon Ophelia; the latter a characteristic expression of his own sleepless and penetrating observation. Polonius but repeats here, concisely, the reproof he had previously administered to her in [quotes 587, 593a];
“It is impossible, I repeat, that Polonius could have so abased himself as to utter the self-reproach which is put into his mouth by all the copies. The man whose self-estimate is well touched off by the Rev. Charles Moberly in the following sentences, could never have assailed himself with want of ‘heed and judgment’: ‘There is much humour in the old man’s inveterate foible for omniscience. He absurdly imagines that he has discerned for himself all the steps of Hamlet’s love and madness, while of the former he had been unaware till warned by some friends, and the latter did not exist at all.’ [this quotation from mob goes more properly in 1162]
“Plainly, it was Ophelia who had not ‘quoted’ Hamlet as her father said she should have done, for in her disappointment and distress she says, ‘I, that suck’d the honey of his music vows’ [1811-12].”
1885 macd
macd
1010 coted] MacDonald (ed. 1885): “Quoted or coted: observed; Fr, coter, to mark the number. Compare [1364].”
1904 ver
ver:standard gloss +
1010 coted] Verity (ed. 1904) points out that either form, coted or quoted, will work, the former coming from the O. Fr. and the latter from Lat.
1929 trav
trav: standard
1010 coted] Travers (ed. 1929): Both variants “ = set him down, in my mind, as being this or that.”
1938 parc
parc
1010 coted] Parrott & Craig (ed. 1938): “observed.”
1939 kit2
kit2: standard
1010 coted] Kittredge (ed. 1939): "quoted: noted, observed."
1947 cln2
cln2: standard
1010 coted] Rylands (ed. 1947): "quoted: noted."
1957 pel1
pel1: standard
1010 coted] Farnham (ed. 1957): “observed.”
1970 pel2
pel2 = pel1
1010 coted] quoted Farnham (ed. 1970): “observed”
1980 pen2
pen2: standard
1010 coted] Spencer (ed. 1980): “made my observation.”
1982 ard2
ard2: standard gloss; ≈ ver without attribution
1010 coted] Jenkins (ed. 1982): “ quoted: observed. Cf. Rom. 1.4.31 (’What curious eye doth quote deformities?’); Tro. 4.5.233. Q2 coted is a variant form (Fr. coter).”
1985 cam4
cam4: standard
1010 coted] quoted Edwards (ed. 1985): "noted, observed. Q2’s ’coted’, a frequent Shakespearean spelling, indicates the contemporary pronunciation."
1987 oxf4
oxf4: OED; standard gloss and //
1010 coted] quoted Hibbard (ed. 1987): "observed (OED quote v. 5b). Compare Lucrece 810-12, ‘Yea, the illiterate . . . Will quote my loathsome trespass in my looks.’ "
1988 bev2
bev2: standard
1010 coted] Bevington (ed. 1988): “observed.”
2006 ard3q2
ard3q2: xref; F1
1010 coted] quoted Thompson & Taylor (ed. 2006): “Q2’s ’coted’ may mean ’outstripped’, i.e. outmanoeuvred, as at [1364], which is just about acceptable. But ’coted’ is a frequent Shakespearean spelling of ’quoted’, the F reading, which means ’observed’ or ’judged’ and makes better sense in the context.”

ard3q2: standard
1010 trifle] Thompson & Taylor (ed. 2006): “play (with your affection)”
1010