Notes for lines 2951-end ed. Hardin A. Aasand
| 3572 <To quit him with this arme? And is’t not to be damn’d> | 5.2.68 |
|---|
3573 <To let this Canker of our nature come>
3574 <In further euill.>
1580 Barrett
Barrett
3573 Canker] Barrett (1580, canker, #56): “a worme that creepeth upon herbes, and commonly eateth coleworts. Eruca, cæ, f. gen. pen. prod. Col. [kampa] . . . “
1668 Skinner
Skinner
3573 Canker] Skinner (1668, canker): “canker]] It. Canchero, Fr. G. Chance, vulgò quodvis Ulcus exedens seu ‘eqi_menon, præsertim si phlegmone obsessum sit, propriè autem & primitivè, ut ipse sonus docet, Cance. Videtur etiam vulgò interdum Gangrænam significare, & tum, ni fallor, Gangræna ortum ducit.”
mtby2 1723-33? ms. notes in pope1
mtby2
3572 this arme]Thirlby (ms. notes in Pope, ed. 1723 [1723-33?]): “R[owe] his arm f. errore lrvp[?] aliter fsqlhis own [his arm probably an error in the received reading otherwise his own] but w[ha]t can be the authority of R[owe]. This verse is not in Q[2] nor D[Q3].”
mtby2
3573-74 come In] Thirlby (ms. notes in Pope, ed. 1723 [1723-33?]): “ fsql. com[m]it pro come in. [perhaps commit for come in]. But then w[ha]t will become of the meter. n.b. PS They come in no misfortune like other folks.”
1760 John2
John2
3573 Canker] Johnson (2nd ed. 1760) : “s [cancer, Lat.].”
1765 john1
john1
3572 To quit] Johnson (ed. 1765) : “To requite him; to pay him his due.”
1765- mDavies
mDavies:
3572-4] And . . . euill] Davies (ms. notes in Johnson, ed. 1765): “——It is surely a damnable crime to suffer this vile Man to go on then from crime to crime—
He then discusses the passage, beginning by harking back to Hamlet’s comment in the prayer scene, “This would be scan’d—” (actually, “That would be scann’d” TLN 2352) BWK:
“The Advocates for unlimited obedience will on no account whatever permit resistance to Authority—Oh yes in cases of lawful succession, where that is interrupted by Treason & Usurpation, the Traiter & Usurper may be taken off by a superior force—or by cunning & stratagem
“But a monster of wickedness such as Caligula or a Nero must not be destroyed either by open force or private conspiracy because they are lawful Princes—Though ye mischiefs arising from ye suffering a Nero to reign are infinitely greater than any calamities occasioned by breaking the order of succession. “
(This is mJOHNc.7 anon. annotator)This Another of the annotator’s thoughts that straddles aTory position rather uncomfortably (or so it seems to me) comments on Hamlet’s self-justification to Horatio about quitting Claudius: The annotator paraphrases TLN 3572-4:
—And is it not to be damned
To let this canker of our nature come
In farther evil?— (opp. 8. 295)
1773 v1773
v1773 = john1
3572 To quit]
1778 v1778
v1778 = v1773
3572 To quit]
1784 Davies
Davies : mDavies (modified)
3572-4]
And . . . euill]
Davies (1784, 3:138-9) : <p. 138> “
Is’t not to be damn’d, To let this canker of our nature come To farther evil?]] That is: ‘Would it not be an unpardonable crime, to suffer this villain, the destroyer of the human species, to proceed in his wickedness, and go on, unpunished, from crime to crime?’ </p. 138>
<p. 139> “The advocates for passive and unlimited obedience will on no account permit resistance to authority.—’What?’ you will say, ‘on no acccount whatever?’—”O yes! in the case of lawful succession, where that is interrupted by violence or treachery, as in the case of Hamlet: there, indeed, the usurper may be destroyed, by superior power or wily stratagem.’—So then, it seems, from this mode of arguing, that the interest of one man and his family is of more importance to society than that of millions!” </p. 139>
1784 ays1
ays1 = v1778 w/o attribution
3572 To quit]
1785 v1785
v1785 = v1778
3572 To quit]
1787 ann
ann = v1785
3572 To quit]
1790 mal
mal = v1785
3572 To quit]
1791- rann
rann
3572 To quit] Rann (ed. 1791-) : “To requite, be quits with him.”
3573-4 come In further euill] Rann (ed. 1791-) : “proceed from crime to crime with impunity”
1793 v1793
v1793 = mal
3572 To quit]
1803 v1803
v1803 = v1793
3572 To quit]
1805 Seymour
Seymour
3573 this Canker of our nature come]
Seymour (1805, 2:202) : <p. 202> “Hotspur calls K. Henry the Fourth, ‘This canker, Bolingbroke.’ [
1H4 1.3.176 (500)].” </p. 202>
1819 cald1
cald1
3572 To quit] Caldecott (ed. 1819) : “Requite. See MM 5.1.419 (2798). Duke”
cald1
3573-4 come In further euill] Caldecott (ed. 1819) “Grow to a greater head, and work further injury.”
1821 v1821
v1821 = v1813
3572 To quit]
v1821
3572 To quit] Boswell (ed. 1821, 21:Glossary): “requite.”
1832 cald2
cald2 = cald1
3572 To quit]
cald2 = cald1 + magenta underlined
3573-4 come In further euill]
Caldecott (ed. 1832) :
“It was the phraseology of the day and the author. See ‘tying rare qualities in a stranger’ or unknown person. [Oth. 1.1.138-9 (149) Rod].”
1833 valpy
valpy ≈ standard
3572 To quit] Valpy (ed. 1833): “Requite.”
Valpy (ed. 1833): “i.e. make account of, value.”
1843 col1
col1 ≈ v1821 without attribution
3572 To quit]
1854 del2
del2 : standard
3572 To quit] Delius (ed. 1854) : “to quit, eigentlich quitt machen,=vergelten.”[to make even in particular, to repay, requite.]
1857 dyce1
dyce1 : col2; mcol1
3572 To quit] Dyce (ed. 1857) : “Mr. Collier’s Ms. Corrector reads ‘To quit him with his own?’ see Mr. Collier’s one-volume Shakespeare .”
1857 elze1
elze1= john1
3572 To quit]
1858 col3
col3 : standard
3572 To quit] Collier (ed. 1858) : “i.e. To quite or requite him. From this line until the entrance of Osrick is only in the folio impressions.”
3572 To quit] Collier (2nd ed. 1858: 6: Glossary): “to requite, to repay.”
1864 ktly
ktly : standard
3573 Canker] Keightley (ed. 1864 [1866]: Glossary): “the canker-rose, dog-rose, or hip.”
1864-68 c&mc
c&mc ≈ standard
3572 To quit] Clarke (ed. 1864, Glossary)
1866 dyce2
dyce2 ≈ dyce1
3572 To quit]
1872 del4
del4 = del2
3572 To quit]
1872 cln1
cln1
3574 In] Clark & Wright (ed. 1872): “into. So [R3 1.2.261 (456)]: ‘But first I’ll turn yon fellow in his grave.’”
1873 rug2
rug2
3573-74 come In further euill] Moberly (ed. 1873): “Commit farther crimes.”
1877 col4
col4 : col3 ; mcol1
3572 To quit] Collier (ed. 1877) : “i.e. To quite or requite him: ‘his own’ is from the Corr. fol. 1632, instead of his arm.”
1877 v1877
v1877 : john1
3572 To quit]
v1877 : Abbott
3574 In]
Furness (ed. 1877): “For other instances of
in equivalent to
into, see [2.2.122 (1154)]; [5.1.266 (3444)]; [
Mac 1.3.126 (235)]; and
Abbott, §159.”
1881 hud3
hud3
3572 quit] Hudson (ed. 1881): “Here, as in many other places, to quit is to requite.”
hud3 ≈ hud2
3573 canker] Hudson (ed. 1881): “‘Is it not a damnable sin to let this cancer of humanity proceed further in mischief and villainy?’ Canker, in one of its senses, means an eating, malignant sore, like a cancer. See vol. vii. page 87, note 42.”
1885 macd
macd
3572 To . . . arme] MacDonald (ed. 1885): “I would here refer my student to the soliloquy—with its sea of troubles, and the taking of arms against it. [ 1710ff n.4]”
macd
3572-4 And . . . euill] MacDonald (ed. 1885): “‘is it not a thing to be damned—to let &c.?’ or, ‘would it not be to be damned, (to be in a state of damnation, or, to bring damnation on oneself) to let this human cancer, the king, go on to further evil?’”
1885 mull
mull
3572 quit] Mull (ed. 1885): “to despatch him.”
1890 irv2
irv2
3572-85 Symons (in Irving & Marshall, ed. 1890): “[These] are omitted inQq., a curious omission, as, according to Ff., it makes Hamlet’s speech break off in the middle of a sentence.”
irv2 : standard
3574 In] Symons (in Irving & Marshall, ed. 1890): “into.”
1899 ard1
ard1 ≈ cln1 w/o attribution
3574 In]
1906 nlsn
nlsn: standard
3572 quit] Neilson (ed. 1906, Glossary)
1925 Kellner
Kellner
3572-4 And . . .
euill]
Kellner (1925, p. 42): <p. 42>“I am inclined to read,
to(o), to(o) damn’d.”
1931 crg1
crg1 ≈ standard
3572 quit]
3573 Canker] Craig (ed. 1951): “ulcer, or possibly the worm which destroys buds and leaves.”
1934 Wilson
Wilson
3572-85 Wilson (1934, 1:97): Wilson suggests that this is one of the many examples of the compositor deliberately omitting Q2 lines: “a passage which breaks off in the middle of a sentence, and can have been omitted by the compositor alone, accidentally or in order to abridge his labours. . . . It is, moreover, probable, I think, that the Q2 compositor was alone responsible for all five omissions [the five omissions in 2.2.244-76; 2.2.352-79; 4.5.161-3; 5.1.39-42; 5.2.68-80].”
1934 cam3
cam3
3572 quit] Wilson (ed. 1934, Glossary): “lit. repay, give as good as one gets; ‘quit in answer’ [see n. 3729] = exchange simultaneous hits with an opponent in fencing”
cam3 : standard
3573 Canker] Wilson (ed. 1934, Glossary)
3573-74 Wilson (ed. 1934): “i.e. To let this cancerous ulcer of humanity continue its foul existence.. For ‘in’=into, cf. 5.1.272 [3474].”
1939 kit2
kit2: standard
3572 quit]
3572 quit] Kittredge (ed. 1936, Glossary):
kit2 standard
3573 Canker]
3573 Canker] Kittredge (ed. 1936, Glossary):
kit2
3574 In] Kittredge (ed. 1936): “into.”
1951 alex
alex ≈ standard
3572 quit] Alexander (ed. 1951, Glossary)
alex ≈ standard
3573 Canker] Alexander (ed. 1951, Glossary)
1951 crg2
crg2= crg1
3572 quit] Craig (ed. 1954, Glossary)
1954 sis
sis ≈ standard
3573 Canker] Sisson (ed. 1954, Glossary):
3572 quit] Sisson (ed. 1954, Glossary):
1957 pel1
pel1 : standard
3573 Canker]
1970 pel2
pel2=pel1
3573 Canker]
1974 evns1
evns1
3573 come] Evans (ed. 1974): “grow into.”
evns1 ≈ standard
3573 Canker]
1980 pen2
pen2 ≈ standard
3572 quit]
pen2 ≈ standard
3573 Canker]
pen2
3572 be damn’d] Spencer (ed. 1980): “act sinfully.”
pen2
3573 nature] Spencer (ed. 1980):“(human nature).”
pen2
3573-4 come In] Spencer (ed. 1980): “grow into.”
1982 ard2
ard2
3572-85 Jenkins (ed. 1982): “The absence of these lines from Q2 is difficult to explain except as an accidental omission.”
3573 Canker]
Jenkins (ed. 1982): “a spreading sore—and thus a corruption inherent in our ‘nature’,
rather than ((as Schmidt)) a grub preying on it.”
1984 chal
chal : standard
3572 quit]
chal :OED
3573 Canker] Wilkes (ed. 1984): "’an eating, spreading sore or ulcer’."
1985 cam4
cam4 ≈ standard
3572 quit]
cam4 ≈ standard
3573 Canker]
cam4
3572 And . . . damn’d] Edwards (ed. 1985): “See Introduction, pp. 56-8. Hamlet sees a prospect of damnation not, as before, in obeying a possibly fraudulent ghost ((2.2.556)) nor in opting out by suicide ((3.1.78)), but in failing to rid the world of the evil represented by Claudius.”
cam4
3572 And . . .
damn’d]
Edwards (ed. 1985, Introduction, 56,8): <p. 56>“The sense of heaven guiding him reinforces rather than diminishes his sense of personal responsibility for completing his mission. The discovery of the king’s treachery in the commission to have him murdered in England has fortified Hamlet’s determination. Yet it is with demand for assurance that he puts the matter to Horatio. [cites 3567-74] </p. 56> <p. 58>It is difficult to see how we can take this speech except as the onclusion of a long and deep perplexity. But if it a conclusion, that question mark [3574]—conveying so much more than indignation—makes it an appeal by this loneliest of heroes for support and agreement, which he pointedly does not get from the cautious Horatio, who simply says, ‘[cites 3575-6] Horatio won’t accept the responsibility of answering, and only gives him the exasperating response that he hasn’t much time.
“Once again Hamlet has raised the question of conscience and damnation. Conscience is no longer an obstacle to action, but encourages it. As for damnation Hamlet had felt the threat of it if he contemplated suicide, felt the threat of it if he were to kill at the behest of a devil-ghost; now he feels the thrat of it if he fail to remove from the world a cancer which is spreading. This new image for Claudius, a ‘canker of our nature’, is important. All the vituperation which Hamlet has previously thrown at Claudius seems mere rhetoric by this. Hamlet now sees himself undertaking a surgical operation to remove a cancer from human society. Whether the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune continue or not is immaterial. To neglect, ignore or encourage the evil is to imperil one’s soul.
“When in reply to Hamlet’s unanswerable question Horatio tells him that if he is going to act he had better move quickly, because as soon as Claudius learns the fate of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Hamlet won’t have another hour to live, Hamlet exclaims ‘The interim’s mine.’ But of course it isn’t, because the plot against his life has already been primed and is about to go off. ” </p. 58>
3573-4 come . . . In] Edwards (ed. 1985): “enter into.”
1987 oxf4
oxf4
3572-85 Hibbard (ed. 1987): “These lines, not found in Q2, are probably an addition made during the preparatio of the text that lies behind F. See Textual Introduction pp. 110-12.”
3572-85 Hibbard (ed. 1987, Introduction, pp. 110-1): <p. 110>“. . . [Jenkins] eventually concludes that ‘’the incomplete sense </p. 110> <p. 111>and sentence ((whereby ‘“is’t not perfect conscience?”[3571] lacks its necessary complement)’ is decisively in its favour. . . . It is undeniable that ‘is’t not perfect conscience’ lacks its necessary complement, but Hamlet has said enough to leave one in no doubt as to what that complement would have been had his speech not been interrupted by the entry of Osric. The question mark following ‘conscience’ was probably supplied by Compositor X [one of two compositors, X and Y, conjectured by John Russell Brown in 1955].” </p. 111>
oxf4 : OED (v. 10)
3572 quit]
oxf4 : OED (sb. 1)
3573 Canker]
1988 bev2
bev2: standard
3573 Canker]
bev2 : pen2
3573-4 come In]
1993 dent
dent ≈ standard
3573 Canker]
1992 fol2
fol2≈ standard
3573 In] Mowat & Werstine (ed. 1992): “into.”
2008 OED
OED ≈ standard
3573 Canker]OED I. A destructive or corrosive agent, and related uses.
1. a. A chronic, non-healing sore or ulcer, esp. one that extends into surrounding tissue; (in early use) spec. a cancer, or the disease cancer. Perh. also: gangrene. Cf. CANCER n. 3a. Now arch. or hist. and rare . [etc.]
3572 3573 3574
