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Line 3110 - Commentary Note (CN)

Commentary notes (CN):

1. SMALL CAPS Indicate editions. Notes for each commentator are divided into three parts:

In the 1st two lines of a record, when the name of the source text (the siglum) is printed in SMALL CAPS, the comment comes from an EDITION; when it is in normal font, it is derived from a book, article, ms. record or other source. We occasionally use small caps for ms. sources and for works related to editions. See bibliographies for complete information (in process).

2. How comments are related to predecessors' comments. In the second line of a record, a label "without attribution" indicates that a prior writer made the same or a similar point; such similarities do not usually indicate plagiarism because many writers do not, as a practice, indicate the sources of their glosses. We provide the designation ("standard") to indicate a gloss in common use. We use ≈ for "equivalent to" and = for "exactly alike."

3. Original comment. When the second line is blank after the writer's siglum, we are signaling that we have not seen that writer's gloss prior to that date. We welcome correction on this point.

4. Words from the play under discussion (lemmata). In the third line or lines of a record, the lemmata after the TLN (Through Line Number] are from Q2. When the difference between Q2 and the authors' lemma(ta) is significant, we include the writer's lemma(ta). When the gloss is for a whole line or lines, only the line number(s) appear. Through Line Numbers are numbers straight through a play and include stage directions. Most modern editions still use the system of starting line numbers afresh for every scene and do not assign line numbers to stage directions.

5. Bibliographic information. In the third line of the record, where we record the gloss, we provide concise bibliographic information, expanded in the bibliographies, several of which are in process.

6. References to other lines or other works. For a writer's reference to a passage elsewhere in Ham. we provide, in brackets, Through Line Numbers (TLN) from the Norton F1 (used by permission); we call these xref, i.e., cross references. We call references to Shakespearean plays other than Ham. “parallels” (//) and indicate Riverside act, scene and line number as well as TLN. We call references to non-Shakespearean works “analogues.”

7. Further information: See the Introduction for explanations of other abbreviations. Click here for more information about browsing the entries and here for more information about the special symbols used in Hamletworks. Click the question mark icon above to remove this help message.

Notes for lines 2951-end ed. Hardin A. Aasand

For explanation of sigla, such as jen, see the editions bib.

3110 But that I knowe, loue is begunne by time, 3110	4.7.111

1773 v1773

v1773

3110-12 But . . . it] Johnson (apud Steevens, ed. 1773): “This is obscure. The meaning may be, loue is not innate in us, and co-essential to our nature, but begins at a certain time from some external cause, and being always subject to the operations of time, suffers change and diminution.” This note is not found in Johnson’s 1765 ed.

1778 v1778

v1778=v1773

3110-12 But . . . it]

1784 ays1

ays1 = v1773 with attribution

3110-12 But . . . it]

1785 v1785

v1785=v1778

3110-12 But . . . it]

1785 Mason

Mason : contra Johnson

3110-12 But . . . it] Mason (1785, p. 452-3) : <p. 452> “This cannot be right, nor can any meaning be extracted from it, that will agree with the tenor of the rest of this speech. Johnson gives the single word begun a very extensive signification indeed, but such as it will not bear.

“The king reasons thus:— ‘I do not suspect that you did not love your father; but I know that time abates the force of affection.’ I therefore suspect that we ought to read:</p. 452> <p. 453>’—loue is begone by time ;’ I don’t suppose that begone is here used as an interjection, but that Shakspeare placed the syllable be before gone, as we say, bepaint, bespatter, bethink, &c. Or possibly we should read by-gone, a Scotch word, but used by Shakespeare in [WT a.s.? (0000)], where Hermione says, ‘Tell him, you hear all in Bohemia’s well, This satisfaction the by-gone day proclaim’d.’ And Paulina says afterwards, ‘For all Thy by-gone fooleries were but spices of it.’ </p. 453>

1787 ann

ann = v1785

3110-12 But . . . it]

1790 mal

mal=v1785

3110-12 But . . . it]

-1790 mWesley

mWesley : v1785

3110-12 Wesley (typescript of ms. notes in ed. 1785): “I cannot think this the meaning [Johnson’s note above]; I believe Johnson’s thought false; surely if there by any passion ‘’innate in us, and co-essential to our nature’ it is Love. I also believe Shakespeare’s thought false; love may be strengthened by time, but its first operation can be no other than instantaneous.”

[Ed.This is from Eric’s 98 BL visit]

1791- rann

rann

3110-12 But . . . it] Rann (ed. 1791-) : “commences at a certain period, and, as daily experience shews us, occasionally increases or diminishes; nor do any of our passions or qualities remain invariably in the same state of perfection.”

1793 v1793

v1793 = mal ; Mason (minus This . . . bear ; minus I don’t . . . interjection, but ; minus Or possibly . . . ‘spices of it.’)

3110-12 But . . . it] Mason (apud Malone, ed. 1793): “The king reasons thus:— ‘I do not suspect that you did not love your father; but I know that time abates the force of affection.’ I therefore suspect that we ought to read:’—loue is begone by time ;’ I suppose that Shakspeare places the syllable be before gone , as we say be-paint, be- spatter, be-think, &c. M. MASON.”

1803 v1803

v1803=v1793

3110-12 But . . . it]

1805 Seymour

Seymour

3110-12 loue is begunne by time] Seymour (1805, 2:197) : <p. 197> “I believe we should read ‘betime,’ and that the king’s meaning is, love begins at an early period of life, and takes unqualified possession of the mind; but, as our understandings ripen and expand, this affection suffers abatement.” </p. 197>

1813 v1813

v1813=v1803

3110-12 But . . . it]

1815 Becket

Becket=mal (Johnson’s note)+

3110-12 But . . . it] BECKET (1815, I:66): <p.66> “—Love is begun by time.’ We must read ‘betime’ and make a transposition as under. There is then no obscurity whatever. ‘Not that I think you did not love your father; Love is begun betime: but that I know, And that I see in passages of proof, Time qualifies the spark and fire of it. B[ecket]” </p.66>

1819 Jackson

Jackson

3110-12 But . . . it] Jackson (1819, p. 357) : <p. 357> “Mr. M. Mason gives the sense intended by the Author, but is not equally fortunate in the word he substitutes to obtain it.

“That the text, with the word begun, is nonsense, all must admit: I read: ‘But that I know, love is benumb’d by time.’

“In the sound of benumb’d and begun, there is so far a similarity, that a transcriber, not cautiously attentive, might make such a mistake. This word gives a pure sense; the passage corrected means,—However fervent love may be, it abates by degrees, and, in the course of time, becomes, as it were, torpid: but, as some spark of love still remains, that spark time again qualified, and the flame becomes as strong as ever.

“The idea is taken from the torpid state in which some animals remain; but which, in due season, revive, and again enjoy the same strength and perfection.” </p. 357>

1819 cald1

cald1≈standard + magenta underlined

3110-12 But . . . it] Caldecott (ed. 1819): “The operation of time, whose slow and gradual progress is necessary to ripen a genuine and legitimate passion, has, as experience shows in conclusive instances, a powerful influence in producing its decay, as well as in giving it birth.

“Of the dignity and constancy of this passion, our author, when not sustaining a character, speaks in clearer language, in more earnest terms, and in a higher strain of poetry, Sonn. CXVI [cites Sonnet 116 “Love’s not time’s fool”]

1821 v1821

v1821=v1813

3110-12 But . . . it]

1826 sing1

sing1≈v1821 (Mason’s note, perhaps)

3110-12 But . . . it] Singer (ed. 1826): “‘As love is begun by time , and has its gradual increase, so time qualifies and abates it.’”

1832 cald2

cald2=cald1

3110-12 But . . . it]

1854 del2

del2

3110-12 But . . . it] Delius (ed. 1854): “Der Satz muss im Zusammenhange mit dem Folgenden aufgefasst werden: Wie die Liebe nicht von selbst da ist, sondern mit der Zeit, zu einem gegebenen Zeitpunkte anfängt, so schwächt auch wiederum die Zeit das von ihr selbst angefachte Feuer der Liebe.” [“This sentence must be read with the one following it: as love exists not from itself, on the contrary it starts with time. It begins at a given point in time; so time weakens again that fire of love that originated from it.”]

1856 hud1 (1851-6)

hud1 = sing1 without attribution

3110-12 But . . . it]

1856b sing2

Sing2=Sing1

3110-12 But . . . it]

1857 elze1

elze1 : Mason conj. ("begone by time")

3110-12 But . . . it]

1864-68 c&mc

c&mc

3110-12 But . . . it] Clarke & Clarke (ed. 1864-68, rpt. 1874-78): “‘I see by experience of constant occurrences, that time, which originates love, also abates its ardour.’”

1866c Bailey

Bailey

3111-12+2 begunne . . . it] Bailey (1866, II: 13-15): <p. 13>“A scene in which Polonius’s son Laertes figures, presents an expression justly pronounced obscure by Dr. Johnson.

“The King says to him: [cites 3119-3112+2] </p. 13> <p. 14>If any sense can be made out of the expression, ‘love is begun by time,’ it is not one that fits the occasion. The dominant idea in the speech is that love is abated by time, and this the author wished apparently to express in the second line [3110].

“The only emendation which I have seen proposed is begone by time, * which is certainly not English.

“The reading that I have to suggest is, love is begnawn by time; and in support of it, I may adduce a passage from [R3 1.3.? (0000)]: ‘The worm of conscience still begnaw thy soul.’ The word exactly expresses the sense required, while the change requisite for perverting it into the reading of the received text is slight. Begnawne is the old spelling of one of these participles, and begunne of the other. No one can object to the term as not being sufficiently dignified for the occasion, inasmuch as the King immediately proceeds to speak of the snuff in the flame of love. We should now probably employ in its place the verb corrode, which has the same signification: ‘Love is corroded by time.’ This mode of ex- </p. 14> <p. 15>pressing moral waste or disintegration (if I may be pardoned the figure) is a familar one in the writings of our author. Thus, in an extract given a few pages back, he speaks of custom eating all sense of evil habits; and in [LLL a.s.? (0000)], fame is anticipated, ‘spite of cormorant devouring time.’ ‘My bed shall be abused,’ says Ford, in the [MW a.s.? (0000)], ‘my coffers ransacked, my reputation gnawn at’ [2.2.? (0000)].

“The reader will probably be reminded of Ovid’s well-known verses: ‘Tempus edax rerrum, tuque invidiosa vestuastas, Omnia destruitis, vitiataque dentibus ævi Paullatim lentâ consumitis omnia morte’ Met. lib. xv. 234.

“But my strongest support is to be found in [Tro. 4.4.? (0000)], where Troilus says of his mistress, in whose failthfulness, aftr being transferred to the Grecian camp, he had not unbounded trust: ‘She was belov’d—she lov’d; she is—and doth; But still, sweet love is food for fortune’s tooth.’”

<n>*Boswell’s ‘Malone,’ vol. vii. p. 453”</n>

1867 Ktly

Ktly

3110 But . . . time] Keightley (1867, p. 295) : <p. 295> “I cannot make any good sense of this, and I suspect that ‘time’ may be owing to the same word lower down [3112]. The love spoken of seems to be that of children for parents, and possibly the word was childhood, birth.” </p. 295>

1873 rug1

rug1

3110 begunne by time] Moberly (ed. 1870): “As love begins at some given point of time, so I see by passages of experience that time also abates it.”

1872 del4

del4 = del2

3110 But . . . it]

1872 hud2

Hud2=hud1

3110 But . . . it]

1873 rug2

rug2=rug1

3110 begunne by time] Moberly (ed. 1873): “As love begins at some given point of time, so I see by passages of experience that time also abates it.”

1877 v1877

v1877 : ≈ john1 (; minus This is obscure) ; ≈ MASON (minus This cannot be right . . . as it will not bear; minus a Scotch word . . . but spices of it’) ; ≈ BAILEY

3110 begunne by time] Bailey (apud Furness, ed. 1877): “The dominant idea of the speech is that love is abated by time. Read ‘love is begnawn by time,’ an expression which exactly conveys the sense required, while the change requisite for perverting it into the received text is slight. Compare [R3 1.3.222 (0000); [Tro 4.5.293 (0000)].

We’ll need to check volume 2 of this edition.

v1877 : Seymour (minus and takes unqualified possession of the mind) ; Keightley

3110 by time]

1881 hud3

Hud3 = hud2

3110 begunne by time]

1885 macd

macd

3110 begunne by time] MacDonald (ed. 1885): “‘through habit.’”

1885 mull

mull : contra macd

3110 begunne by time] Mull (ed. 1885, pp. liv-v): <p. liv> “All the editions print the mutilation thus, ‘But that I know love is begun by time;’ This is absurd, which the lines following conclusively show: ‘And that I see, in passages of proof, Time qualifies the spark and fire of it. There lives in the very flame of love A kind of wick, or snuff, that will abate it, And nothing is at a like goodness ever,’

“My emendation restores the sense and harmonizes the whole passage. ‘Time qualifies’ love; something is generated ‘that will abate it;’ nothing retains its goodness always: so ‘love is beguiled by time.’ I quote illustrations: </p. liv> <p.lv> ‘Alas! why, fearing of Time’s tyranny, Might I not then say, ‘Now I love you best,’ When I was certain o’er incertainty, Crowning the present, doubting of the rest?’ Sonnet CXV. ‘She bade love last, and yet she fell a turning.’ The Passionate Pilgrim.

“Dr. MacDonald says, ‘begun by time’ means ‘through habit.’ I am unable to concur in this suggestion.” </p. lv>

1934a cam3

cam3: xref to n. 2488.

3110-12+10 Wilson (ed. 1934): “The Player King’s speech (3.2.185-214) expands this notion; So. 116 contradicts it.”

cam3 : standard

3110 begunne by time] Wilson (ed. 1934): “created by circumstance. Cf. note 3.4.107.”

1939 kit2

kit2

3110 that] Kittredge (ed. 1939): “because”

1947 cln2

cln2

3110 begunne by time] Rylands (ed. 1947): “created by circumstances.”

1980 pen2

pen2 ≈ standard

3110 begunne by time]

1982 ard2

ard2 : cam3 ; v1877 (Mason & Bailey conj.) +

3110 begunne by time] Jenkins (ed. 1982): “Difficulty, and attempts at emendation ((e.g. begone, begnawn)), have come from the assumption that Shakespeare alludes to the fading of love with the passage of time. But although this is the burden of what follows, it is here introduced by the complementary truth that time, which causes love to die, first brings it into being. Cf. Euphues and his England, ‘Love which by time and fancy is bred in an idle head, is by time and fancy banished from the heart’ ((Lyly, ii. 74)).”

1984 chal

chal : cam3a

3110 begunne by time]

1985 cam4

cam4

3110 begunne by time] Edwards (ed. 1985): “by suitable time, by the proper occasion. Love is a creature of time and belongs to time, in that a suitable moment brings it to birth, and the succession of moments, less auspicious, will dull it.”

1987 oxf4

oxf4 : Onions

3110 time] Hibbard (ed. 1987): “circumstance ((Onion)).”

1988 bev2

bev2 ≈ standard

3110 begunne by time]