Notes for lines 2023-2950 ed. Frank N. Clary
| 2315 Though inclination be as sharp as will, | 3.3.39 |
|---|
1733 theo1
theo1 ≈ [warb]
2315 Though . . . will] Theobald (ed. 1733): “This Line has lain under the suspicion of many nice Observers; and an ingenious Gentleman [warb] started, at a heat, this very probable Emendation: Tho’ Inclination be as sharp as ‘twill. The Variation from the Traces of the Letter is very minute, a t, with an Apostrophe before it, only being added; which might very easily have slipt out, under the Printer’s Hands: so that the Change will not be disputed, supposing there be a Necessity for it: which, however, is submitted to Judgment. ‘Tis certain, the Line, as it stands in all the Editions, has so strongly the Air of a flat Tautology, that it may deserve a short Comment; and to have the Difference betwixt Inclination and Will ascertain’d. The word Inclination, in its Use with us (as my Friend Mr. Warburton defines it to me) is taken in these three Acceptations. First, In its exact philosophical Sense, it signifies, the drawing or inclining of Will to determine itself one certain Way: According to this Signification, the Line is Nonsense; and is the same as to affirm, that the Part is as big as the Whole. In the next place, Inclination signifies the Will; and then it is the most absurd Tautology. But, lastly, it signifies a Disposition to do a Thing, already determin’d of, with Complacency and Pleasure. And if this is, as it seems to be, the Sense of the Word here; then the Sentiment will be very clear and proper. For Will, signifying barely the Determination of Mind to do a Thing, the Sense will be this: “Tho’ the Pleasure I take in this Act, be as strong as the Determination of my Mind to perform it; yet my stronger Guilt defeats my strong Intent, &c.’”
1733- mtby3
mtby3
2315 will] Thirlby (1733-): “fsql [low-level probability] want np[does not please].”
Transcribed by BWK, who adds: “On the next page, where theo’s note continues, mtby3 comments, “is Tho—as ’twill English?”
1747-53 mtby4
mtby4 ≈ mtby3 + magenta underlined
2315 will] Thirlby (1747-53): “fsql [low-level probability] want np Mr T. mentions another conj. of a friend of his ’twill but I think it not English. [illeg.] np.”
1747 warb
warb
2315 Warburton (ed. 1747): “This is rank nonsense. We should read, ‘Tho’ inclination be as sharp as TH’ILL’; i.e. tho’ my inclination makes me as restless and uneasy as my crime does. The line immediately following shews this to be the true reading. ‘My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent:’”
1752 Grey
Grey: contra warb; xref.
2315 Grey (1752, p. 29): “You [W.Warburton] read it, Though Inclination be as sharp as th’ill. This Alteration, Sir, with the same Reason you give for it, was given by a Friend to Sir Thomas, (who rejected it) long before your visit at Mildenhall. the Gentleman is since of Opinion, That Will is the true Reading, which is sometimes with Shakespear of the same Signification with Libido. See [3.4.88 (2463)]. And Reason panders Will. Will in both instances, is but a softer word for Lust.”
1765 Heath
Heath: contra warb
2315 will] Heath (1765, p.541): “I conceive this [th’ill] nonsense is little less rank than that which Mr. Warburton imputes to the common reading, ‘Though inclination be as sharp as will:’ For I apprehend that the Ill and the Guild mean just the same thing, and that there is very little more difference between the Intent and the Inclination. If therefore the inclination be just as strong as the ill or guilt in the first line, how could the guilt in the second line be so much stronger than the intent or inclination as absolutely to defeat it? I think it not improbable that our poet wrote, ‘Though inclination be as sharp as’t will’; that is, However sharp my inclination may be supposed to be.”
1765 john1
john1 = warb + magenta underlined
2315 Warburton (ed. 1747): “This is rank nonsense. We should read, ‘Tho’ inclination be as sharp as TH’ILL’; i.e. tho’ my inclination makes me as restless and uneasy as my crime does. The line immediately following shews this to be the true reading. ‘My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent:’ I have followed the easier emendation of Theobald, received by Hanmer.”
han1 is the first to adopt conjectural reading in question. Though Theobald first recommended it in theon (1726), he does not adopt it in his edition.
1773 mstv1
mstv1
2315 will] Steevens (ms. notes in Steevens, ed. 1773): “i.e. tho’ my inclination makes me as restless and uneasy as my crime does.”
1774 capn
capn contra [han1]
2315 will] C
apell (1774, 1:1:138-9): <p.138> “The change of ‘
will’ into—
‘twill (propos’d by the third editor, and admitted by him of Oxford) does certainly give the sense of this line: and yet the change is not necessary; for ‘
will’ (taking it as a verb) conveys the </p.138><p.139> same sense, and with less offence to the ear, which was probably the Poet’s reason for choosing it: the ambiguity caus’d by it, was either not observ’d by him, or not regarded; reck’ning that a little attention, added to just so much candour as was sufficient to make his readers believe he could not intend contradictions, would make his true meaning clear.” </p.139>
1778 v1778
v1778 = v1773 + magenta underlined
2315 will] Steevens (apud ed. 1778): “Will is command, direction. Thus, Ecclus. xliii. 16. ‘—and at his will the south wind bloweth.’ The king says, his mind is in too great confusion to pray, even though his inclination were as strong as the command which requires that duty. Steevens.”
Glosses with attributions to Steevens and to Johnson are from v1773; however, because v1778 does not adopt emendation introduced by theo and accepted by han/john1 (‘twill for as will), Steevens provides a supplement.
1780 malsi
malsi: Marlowe analogue
2315 will] Malone (1780, p. 357): “To will is used by Marlowe in the sense of to command, in Dido Queen of Carthage, a tragedy, 1594: ‘And will my guards with Mauritanian darts To waite upon him as their sovereign lord.’ Malone.”
1784 ays1
ays1=v1778 (only def.)
2315 will] Ayscouth (ed. 1784): “Will is command, direction.”
1787 Mason
Mason: contra theo1, contra v1778
2315 will] Mason (1785, p. 389): “I see no reason for adopting Theobald’s amendment or Steevens’s explanation of this passage; which seem both to have arisen from misconception, from a supposition that will and inclination are synonymous terms, where boh are referred to the mind of the speaker; but that is not the fact, for those words differ widely from each other in their import. From the hopes of advantage, or the fear of punishment, a man may be willing to do an act to which, from inclination, he is very averse: And a man, on the other hand, may be inclined to do a thing, from which, from a consideration of consequences, he is willing to abstain. What the King means to say is, ‘That though he was not only willing to pray, but strongly inclined to it, yet his intention was defeated by his guilt.’”
1785 v1785
v1785 = v1778 + malsi
1790 mWesley
mWesley: john; contra v1785
2315 as will] Wesley (ms. notes in v1785): “(J. reads ‘as ‘twill’; S. retains ‘as will’) I believe this to be wrong and Johnson’s reading to be right.”
1790 mal
mal = v1778 minus supplement (“Will is command . . . .”)
1791- rann
rann ≈ theo1 (for conj. emend. ’twill) without attribution
2315 as will] Rann (ed. 1791-): “as my obligation to that duty, as the command to discharge it—as ‘twill—as may be imagined.”
1793 v1793
v1793 = v1785 +
2315 will] Mason (apud ed. 1793): “What the King means to say, is, ‘That though he was not only willing to pray, but strongly inclined to it, yet his intention was defeated by his guilt. Mason.”
1803 v1803
v1803 = v1793 +
2315 will] Mason (apud Reed, ed. 1803): “The distinction I have stated between inclination and will, is supported by the following passage in the Laws of Candy, where Philander says to Erato: ‘I have a will, I’m sure, howe’er my heart May play the coward.’ Mason.”
1805 Chedworth
Chedworth: theo2; contra v1778; Mason, Mrs. Johnson
2315 inclination . . . will] Chedworth (1805, p. 354): “As I do not understand the distinction between inclination and will in this place, I incline to read as ‘twill, with Theobald, who has not printed this emendation in his edition of 1740. I cannot think that Mr. Steevens’s explanation of will is the true one. Mr. M. Mason’s explanation reminds me of Mrs. Johnson’s interpretation of the first couplet uttered by Drawcansir; ‘That is, Mr. Bayes, as much as to say, that though he would rather die than not drink, yet he would fain drink for all that too.’”
1805 Seymour
Seymour = Chedworth + magenta underlined
2315 Chedworth (apud Seymour 1805, p. 181): “I suspect that some words have been lost here. As the text stands it is impossible to obtain a meaning. ‘Though inclination be as sharp as will.’ As I do not understand the distinction between inclination and will, in this place, I incline to read, with Theobald, ‘as’t will.’ I cannot think that Mr. Steevens’s explanation of ‘will’ is the true one; Mr. M. Mason’s explanation reminds me of Mr. Johnson’s interpretation of the first couplet uttered by Drawcansir, ‘that is, Mr. Bayes, as much as to say, that though he would rather die than not drink, yet he would fain drink for all that, too.’Lord Chedworth.”
1819 cald1
cald1
2315 Caldecott (ed. 1819): “‘Though desire, though my wishes, be as earnest as my willingness:’ bias, inclination to any thing, being stronger than mere will or consent to it. Something of the nature of contrast or opposition, by how licentious an use soever the word ‘inclination’ must have been meant.”
1821 v1821
v1821 = v1813 +
2315 will] Boswell (ed. v1821): “The distinction is philosophically correct. I may will to do a thing because my understanding points it out to me as right, although I am not inclined to it. See Locke on the Human Understanding, b. 2, ch. 21, sec. 30. Boswell.”
1826 sing1
sing1 ≈ Mason without attribution
2315 Singer (ed. 1826): “i.e. ‘though I was not only willing, but strongly inclined to pray, my guilt prevented me.”
1832 cald2
cald2
2315 inclination]
Caldecott (ed. 1832): “i.e. resolve, not used in the sense of willingness, but much in that of another of its derivatives, wilful; and as when the mind, no longer in a state of balance or suspense, is determined. The use of the word intent in the next line, without the aid of its adjunct, strong, does not reach the sense of resolve or full determination above assigned to will, and thereby creates at first sight embarrassment and confusion in the construction of the sentence.”
1854 del2
del2
2315 Delius (ed. 1854): “d. h. wenn auch die Neigung zu beten so stark wäre, wie der Wille oder Vorsatz, so kann ich doch nicht beten. Bis jetzt steht dem Könige nur will zur Seite, aber selbst wenn inclination noch dazu käme, würde es doch nicht helfen..” [i. e., even if the inclination to pray were as strong as the will or resolution, I still cannot pray. Up to now only the will is involved, but even if inclination were added to it, it would not help.]
1856 hud1 (1851-6)
hud1 ≈ sing1 without attribution
2315-6 Though . . . strong entent] Hudson (ed. 1851-6): “That is, ‘though I were not only willing, but strongly inclined to pray, my guilt would prevent me.’”
1857 fieb
fieb: warb
2315 Fiebig (ed. 1857): “I.e. though I am as strongly inclined as I am willing to do so – Warburton would read, ‘Though inclination be as sharp as th’ ill, ‘ i.e. my wickedness or misery.”
1867 ktlyn
ktlyn
2315 as will] Keightley (1867, p. 293): “‘Though inclination be as sharp as it will.’”
1869 tsch
tsch: Bothwell, Grundriss
2315 inclination . . . will] Tschischwitz (ed. 1869): “Trieb, Neigung, ist entgegengesetzt dem will, bewusster Entschluss. Bothwell sagt (Dyce VII. 230) sehr richtig: The distinction is philosophically correct. S. Erdm. Grundriss. der Psych. 1862, §. 132. Locke on Human Understanding. B. II. ch. XXI. sec. 30.” [drive, leaning, is contrasted with will, a conscious decision. Bothwell says (Dyce VII. 230) quite correctly: The distinction is philosophically correct. See Erdm. Grundriss. der Psych. 1862, §132. Locke on Human Understanding: B/ II. ch. XXI, sec. 30.]
1870 rug1
rug1
2315 as sharp as will] Moberly (ed. 1870): “Though I have not only a general desire to pray, but the strongest present inclination to do so.”
1872 hud2
hud2 ≈ hud1 + magenta underlined
2315-6 Though . . . strong entent] Hudson (ed. 1872): “That is, ‘though I were not only willing, but strongly inclined to pray, my guilt would prevent me.’ I suspect we ought to read, with Hamner, ‘as sharp as ‘twill.’”
1877 v1877
v1877 ≈ theo1, warb, v1821) + magenta underlined
2315 as will]
Furness (ed. 1877): “
Theobald: An ingenious gentleman started, at a heat, this very probable emendation: ‘as ‘twill.’
Will signifying barely the
determination of mind to do a thing, the sense will be this: ‘Though the pleasure I take in this act be as strong as the determination of mind to perform it, yet my stronger guilt defeats my strong intent,’ &c. [
Hanmer, Johnson, Heath, Keightley, adopted this conj. Ed.]
Warburton: ‘As will’ is rank nonsense. Read, ‘as
th’ill,’
i.e. though my inclination makes me as restless and uneasy as my crime does. The line following proves it.
Boswell: The distinction between ‘inclination’ and ‘will’ is philosophically correct. I may
will to do a thing because my understanding points it out to me as right, although I am not
inclined to it. See Locke,
On the Human Understanding, b. 2, ch.
21, sec. 30.”
1878 rlf1
rlf1: han, warb, v1821
2315 will] Rolfe (ed. 1878): “Hanmer substituted ’t will’ and Warb. ‘th’ ill’; but inclination and will are not identical. As Boswell says, “I may will to do a thing because my understanding points it out to me as right, though I am not inclined to it.””
1881 hud3
hud3 ≈ hud1 + magenta underlined
2315-6 Though . . . strong entent] Hudson (ed. 1881): “‘Though I were not only willing but strongly inclined to pray, my guilt would prevent me.’ The distinction here implied is philosophically just. The inclination is the craving or the impulse to assuage his pangs of remorse; the will is the determination of the reason or judgment in a question of duty and right.”
1891 dtn
dtn
2315 Deighton (ed. 1891): “though my inclination and my will to do so equally spur me on.”
dtn
2315 inclination] Deighton (ed. 1891): “the natural disposition to do a thing.”
dtn
2315 will] Deighton (ed. 1891): “the determination prompted by the understanding.”
1899 ard1
ard1: theo, warb
2315 as will] Dowden (ed. 1899): “An ingenious gentleman suggested ‘’twill’ to Theobald, which some editors have adopted. Warburton read ‘th’ill.’ The King means that his effort to pray was no reluctant resolve; his desire accompanied his act of will.”
1903 rlf3
rlf3 ≈ rlf1 minus han, warb attributions for inclination . . . will
1931 crg1
crg1
2315 inclination . . . will] Craig (ed. 1931): “i.e., his desire is as strong as his determination.”
1934 cam3
cam3
2315 Wilson (ed. 1934): “i.e. he is not forcing himself to pray; he wishes fervently to do so.”
1939 kit2
kit2
2315 Kittredge (ed. 1939): “though I not only wish to pray, but feel a strong impulse toward prayer.”
1974 evns1
evns1 ≈ crg1
2315 Evans (ed. 1974): “though my desire is as strong as my resolve to do so.”
1980 pen2
pen2
2315 Spencer (ed. 1980): “(he sincerely desires to pray; he is not merely forcing himself to do so by an act of will).”
1982 ard2
ard2: v1821 (Locke)
2315 Jenkins (ed. 1982): “The syntax allows this to be taken with what precedes or what follows. Objections to it as tautology are not valid. By determination or force of will a man may overcome a natural inclination. Here the two combine. Boswell pertinently cites Locke, Human Understanding, ii.xxi.30 (‘the will is perfectly distinguished from desire’).”
1988 bev2
bev2
2315 Bevington (ed. 1988): “though my desire is as strong as my determination.”
1993 dent
dent
2315 as sharp as will] Andrews (ed. 1993): “As powerful as all that the human will can summon. Sharp echoes keen (3.2.248 (2116), and Will calls attention to the lust that prompted Claudius’ crimes; see the note to [1.2.60 (240+2)]. Meanwhile Inclination provides yet another clue that the King ’Will’ will be difficult to put down; see Per. 4.3.104-6, 153-56, where Boult talks about how Marina’s ‘Beauty stirs up the lewdly inclin’d’.”
2006 ard3q2
ard3q2
2315 Thompson & Taylor (ed. 2006): “usually paraphrased ’although my desire to pray is as strong as my determination to do so’, which seems tautologous: could it rather mean ’although my desire to pray is as strong as my will to sin?”
2315
