Notes for lines 2951-end ed. Hardin A. Aasand
| 3731 The King shall drinke to Hamlets better breath, | 5.2.271 |
|---|
3732 And in the cup an {Onixe} <vnion> shall he throwe,
1733-47? mTBY3
see xref at 3748-50, 3756, 3809
1744 han1
han1
3732-2 And . . . throwe] Hanmer (ed. 1744) cites Pliny’s Natural History: “Union hath been a name in all times giuen to one of the richest sorts of Pearls.”
1745 han2
han2=HAN1
3732-2 And . . . throwe]
1755 John
John
3732 Onixe] Johnson (1755, onyx): “n.s. [Greek: onukx] ‘The onyx is a semipellucid gem, of which there are several species, but the blueish white kind, with brown and white zones, is the true onyx legitima of the ancients. It is a very elegant and beautiful gem, and the regular arrangement and disposition of its colours make amends for their want of show.’ Hill’s Mat. Med..
‘Nor are her rare endowments to be sold, For glittering sand by Ophir shown, The blue-ey’d saphir, or rich onyx stone.’ Sandys ‘The onyx is an accidental variety of the agat kind: it is of a dark horny colour, in which is a plate of a bluish white, and sometimes of red: when on one or both sides the white, there happens to lie also a place of a reddish or fresh colour, the hewellers call the stone a sardonyx.’ Woodward on Foss.”
John
3732 Onixe] Johnson (1755, union, 3): “3. A pearl. Not in use. [cites Hamlet].”
1757 theo4
theo4 = theo2
3732-2 And . . . throwe] Theobald (ed. 1733): “This [onyx] is a various Reading in several of the old Copies; but Union seems to me to be the true word, for several reasons. The Onyx is a species of lucid Stone, of which the Ancients made both Columns and Pavements for Ornament, and in which they likewise cut Seals , &c. but, if I am not mistaken, neither the Onyx , nor Sardonyx, are Jewels which ever found Place in an Imperial Crown. On the other hand, an Union is the finest sort of of Pearl, and has its Place in all Crowns and Coronets . Multùm enim interest utrum Unio statuatur in Cœno, an verò situs & insertus in Coronâ resplendeat: says Theodorest upon St. Matthew. Besides, let us consider what the King says on Hamlet’s giving Laertes the first Hit. ‘Stay, give me Drink: Hamlet, this Pearl is thine: Here’s to thy Health.’ [3748] The Terms upon which the King was to throw a Jewel into the Cup, were, if Hamlet gave Laertes the first Hit: which Hamlet does. Therefore, if an Union be a Pearl, and an Onyx a Gemm or Stone, quite differing in its Nature from Pearls; the King saying, that Hamlet has earn’d the Pearl, I think, amounts to a Demonstration that it was an Union- Pearl, which he meant to throw into the Cup.”
1765 john1
john1=theo4
3732-2 And . . . throwe] Theobald (apud Johnson, ed. 1765):“This [onyx] is a various Reading in several of the old Copies; but Union seems to me to be the true word, for several reasons. The Onyx is a species of lucid Stone, of which the Antients made both Columns and Pavements for Ornament, and in which they likewise cut Seals , &c. but, if I am not mistaken, neither the Onyx , nor Sardonyx, are Jewels which ever found Place in an Imperial Crown. On the other hand, an Union is the finest sort of of Pearl, and has its Place in all Crowns and Coronets . Multùm enim interest utrum Unio statuatur in Cœno, an verò situs & insertus in Coronâ resplendeat: says Theodorest upon St. Matthew. Besides, let us consider what the King says on Hamlet’s giving Laertes the first Hit. ‘Stay, give me Drink: Hamlet, this Pearl is thine: Here’s to thy Health.’ [3748][ The Terms upon which the King was to throw a Jewel into the Cup, were, if Hamlet gave Laertes the first Hit: which Hamlet does. Therefore, if an Union be a Pearl, and an Onyx a Gemm or Stone, quite differing in its Nature from Pearls; the King saying, that Hamlet has earn’d the Pearl, I think, amounts to a Demonstration that it was an Union- Pearl, which he meant to throw into the Cup.”
1771 han3
han3 = han2
3732-2 And . . . throwe]
1773 jen
jen = theo4
3732-2 And . . . throwe]
1773 v1773
v1773 = john1
3732-2 And . . . throwe]
1778 v1778
v1778=v1773+
3732-2 And . . . throwe] Steevens (ed. 1778) : “So, in Soliman and Perseda: ‘Ay, were it Cleopatra’s union.’
“The union is thus mentioned in P. Holland’s translation of Pliny’s Nat. Hist. ‘And hereupon it is that our dainties and delicates here at Rome, &c. call them unions , as a man would say singular and by themselves alone.’ STEEVENS”
1774 capn
capn
3732 Onixe] Capell (1774:1:1:Glossary) : “Union]] a Pearl. Ital. Unione.”
1784 ays1
ays1 ≈ v1778 (only “An union is the finest . . . crowns and coronets.”) w/o attribution
3732-2 And . . . throwe]
1785 v1785
v1785=v1778+
3732-2 And . . . throwe] STEEVENS (ed. 1785): “To swallow a pearl in a draught seems to have been equally common to royal and mercantile prodigality. So, in the second part of If you know not Me, you know No Body , 1606, Sir Thomas Greshman says:’Here 16,000 pound at one clap goes.’Instead of sugar, Greshman drinks this pearle ‘Unto his queen and mistress.’STEEVENS”
1787 ann[Annotations by Sam. Johnson & Geo. Steevens, . . ]
ann = v1785
3732-2 And . . . throwe]
1790 mal
mal=v1785+ new opening note
3732-2 And . . . throwe] Malone (ed. 1790) : “Thus the folio rightly [union]. In the first quarto by the carelessness of the printer, for union , we have unice , which in the subsequent quarto copies was made onyx . An union is a very precious pearl. See Bullokar’s English Expositor , 1616, and Florio’s Italian Dictionary, 1598, in v. MALONE”
“in v.”; Is Malone using a Latin abbreviation: in vide? or something else? perhaps “under v” for the entry in Florio.
1791- rann
rann
3732 Onixe] Rann (ed. 1791-) notes:“a pearl so exquisite, as that two such are seldom found together.”
1793 v1793
v1793=mal+
3732-2 And . . . throwe] Steevens (ed. 1793) : “It may be observed, however, that pearls were supposed to possess an exhilarating quality. Thus, Rondelet , Lib. I. de Testac. c.xv: ‘Uniones quæ à conchis &c. valde cordiales sunt.’ STEEVENS”
1803 v1803
v1803=v1793
3732-2 And . . . throwe]
1813 v1813 ∑ has MAL also.
v1813=v1793 notes.
3732-2 And . . . throwe]
1819 cald1
CALD1=mal ; v1778 ; v1785 l ; v1793 (-THEO4 note;-MAL phrase “by the carelessness of the printer”).
3732-2 And . . . throwe] Caldecott (ed. 1819): “Thus the folio rightly [union]. In the first quarto by the carelessness of the printer, for union , we have unice , which in the subsequent quarto copies was made onyx . An union is a very precious pearl. See Bullokar’s English Expositor , 1616, and Florio’s Italian Dictionary, 1598, in v.” MALONE
“So, in Soliman and Perseda:‘Ay, were it Cleopatra’s union.’
“The union is thus mentioned in P. Holland’s translation of Pliny’s Nat. Hist. ‘And hereupon it is that our dainties and delicates here at Rome, &c. call them unions , as a man would say singular and by themselves alone.’ Holland’s Plin. Nat. Hist.
“To swallow a pearl in a draught seems to have been equally common to royal and mercantile prodigality. So, in the second part of If you know not Me, you know No Body , 1606, Sir Thomas Gresham says:’Here 16,000 pound at one clap goes.’Instead of sugar, Gresham drinks this pearle ‘Unto his queen and mistress.’STEEVENS”
“It may be observed, however, that pearls were supposed to possess an exhilarating quality. Thus, Rondelet , Lib. I. de Testac. c.xv: “ Uniones quæ à conchis &c. valde cordiales sunt.” STEEVENS
1821 v1821
v1821= v1793
3732-2 And . . . throwe]
v1821 : standard
3732 Onixe] Boswell (ed. 1821, 21:Glossary): “union]] a pearl.”
1822 Nares
Nares : v1821 (Soliman & Perseda // ; Pliny // )
3732 Onixe] Nares (1822; 1906): “Union].] A fine pearl; unio, Latin. [cites Ham.]
“So afterwards, ‘Is the union here?’ but in that place I suspect that the author intended a quibble. ‘Ay, were it Cleopatra’s union.’ Soliman & Pers. or. of Dr. ii. 232
“Pliny says, that the name unio was an invention of the fine gentlemen of Rome, to denote only such pearls as could not be matched; which Holland most accurately translates: ‘If they be [orient] white, great, round, smooth, and weightie. Qualities, I may tell you, not easily to be found all in one: insomuch as it is impossible to find out two perfitly sorted together in all these points. And hereupon it is that our dainties and delicates here at Rome have devised this name for them, and call them unions, as a man would say, singular, and by themselves alone. N.H. ix. 34. p. 255
“Solinus, and others, have given a mistaken reason, as if it was that that two were never found together. They were not, therefore, uniques, but singulars.
“Evelyn uses the term, speaking of Cleopatra’s large pearl, in his Journal, 21 Feb.”
1826 sing1
sing1: v1785, mal, v1793
3732-2 And . . . throwe] SINGER (ed. 1826) : “An union is a precious pearl, remarkable for its size. ‘And hereupon it is that our dainties and delicates here at Rome, &c. call them unions , as a man would say singular and by themselves alone.’ To swallow a pearl in a draught seems to have been common to royal and mercantile prodigality. Thus in the second part of If you know not Me, you know No Body , ‘Here sixteen thousand at one clap goes. Instead of sugar. Gresham drinks this pearle Unto the queen his mistress.’
“According to Rondeletus pearls were supposed to possess an exhilarating quality. ‘Uniones quæ à conchis &c. valde cordiales sunt.’ Under pretence of throwing a pearl into the cup, the King may be supposed to drop some poisonous drug into the wine. Hamlet subsequently asks him tauntingly, ‘Is the union here?’”
1832 cald2
cald2: cald1+
3732-2 And . . .
throwe]
Caldecott (ed. 1832) : “
‘Margaritæ etiam
Perlaæ vocantur; et, dum magnæ,
Uniones ; quod raros sibi æquales magnitudine habent.’ DeBoot.
Histor.
Lapid. p. 167-70.‘A pendant
Union ,‘
Rarer no Queen was seen to
wear .’ Heywood’s
Hierarchia of Angels . Fo. 1635. p. 419. ‘As longe as a pearle is in water, he is tender.’ Unio in aquis
mollis est.
Vulgar .
Hormann . Sig. V.1.”
1833 valpy
valpy ≈ standard
3732 Onixe] Valpy (ed. 1833): “A precious pearl.”
1843 col1
col1: standard
3732-2 And . . . throwe] Collier (ed. 1843): “So the folio [union], rightly, an union being the most valuable kind of pearl. The quarto, 1604, has unice, the undated quarto Onix, and so it continued to be printed in the quarto, 1637. [see textual variants in textual sigla]”
verp ≈ col1
3732-2 And . . .
throwe]
Verplanck (ed. 1844): “So the folio [union], rightly, an
union being the most valuable kind of pearl.
Some of the quartos read ‘onyx.’”
1854 del2
del2
3731 better breath] Delius (ed. 1854) : “better breath bezieht sich auf die Kraft, welcher Hamlet zur Fortsetzung des Gefechts bedarf, um nicht ausser Athem zu kommen.” [“better breath refers to the force which Hamlet needed for the continuation of the duel, not to perish out of breath.”]
del2
3732 Onixe] Delius (ed. 1854): “union]] So die Fol., und union, als Name einer kostbaren Perle, kommt mehrfach bei Sh.’s Zeitgenossen vor. Die erste Q. hat unice, woraus die spätern Qs. onyx machten, offenbare Druckfehler, wie Q.A. [Q1] zeigt,wo freilich diese Stelle fehlt, wo aber später Hamlet den König ersticht mit den Worten: Come, drink here, here lies thy union, here.” [“So the Fol[union], and union , as the name of an expensive pearl, occurs repeatedly in Shakespeare’s contemporaries. The first Q has unice, from which the later Qq make onyx , evidently a misprint, as Q.A. [Q1] shows, where freely this spot is absent, but where later Hamlet stabs the king with the word: Come, drink here, here lies thy union, here.”]
1854 [Quincy]
[Quincy]
3732 Onixe] [
Quincy] (1854, p. 35): <p. 35> “The corrector [of this F4 edition] follows the later quarto in making the king throw an ‘onyx’ instead of ‘an union’ in the cup from which he drinks.” </p. 35>
Ms. Corrections from a Copy of F4, attrib. to J.P. Quincy. from Nick’s 1998 Folger trip.
1856 hud1
hud1 : sing1 without attribution
3732-2 And . . . throwe] Hudson (ed. 1856) gives the Qq [see textual variant sigla] variants : “Union , is a name for large and precious pearls. Afterwards, on finding out what the King’s union was, Hamlet tauntingly asks, ‘ Is thy union here?’ According to Rondeletus, pearls were thought to have an exhilarating quality. To swallow them in a draught, was esteemed a high strain of magnificence. Thus, in If You know not Me You know Nobody: ‘Here sixteen thousand pound at one clap goes. Instead of sugar, Gresham drinks this pearle Unto the queen his mistress.’ H. “
1856 sing2
sing2: sing1
3732-2 And . . . throwe]
1857 elze1
elze1: theo1
3732 Onixe]
Elze (ed. 1857, 259): <p. 259>"In QA fehlt diese Stelle; doch liest sie in §. 237. Übereinstimmend mit den Fs: Come, drink here, here lies thy union, here. Im folg. §. Sagt der König zu Hamlet: Hamlet, this
pearl is thine.—Theobald hat richtig bemerkt, dass wol Perlen, aber keine Onyxe in den Kronen getragen zu werden pflegten. Es war bekanntlich keine seltene Vershwendung der Könige und Kaufherren, sich eine ((zerstossene)) Perle in den Trunk zu mischen; man schrieb den Perlen, nach Steevens Bemerkung, eine aufheiternde Kraft zu." ["In Q1, this passage is missing, ; though it reads in §237 [3809-10] corresponding with the Ff: "come, drink here, here lies thy union, here. In the following section, the king says to Hamlet: ’Hamlet, this
pearl is thine—’ Theobald has correctly remarked that still Pearls, but no Onyx, used to be worn in the crowns. As you know, it was no seldom extravagance for the kings and merchants to mix a ((crushed)) pearl in the drink; one attributes to pearls a brightening power, according to Steevens’s remarks."]
1858 col3
col3=col1
3732-2 And . . . throwe]
1859 stau
stau : standard
3732 Onixe] Staunton (ed. 1859): “By an union was meant a pearl of faultless beauty; an ‘orient pearl;’ (Ant. 1.5.41 [570]) i.e. a pearl clear, white, and spotless.”
1864 glo
glo : standard
3732 Onixe] Clark and Wright (ed. 1864, Glossary, union):”union]] sb. a pearl. Ham. V.2 [3732,3749, 3809].”
1864-68 c&mc
c&mc ≈ standard
3732 Onixe] Clarke (ed. 1864, Glossary, union)
3732 Onixe] Clarke & Clarke (ed. 1864-68, rpt. 1874-78): “union]] A pearl of unique beauty and value. To swallow a pearl in a draught was formerly done as a token of princely liberality and gallantry.”
1865 hal
hal : v1793 [theo1 ; mal ; v1793]
3732 Onixe] Halliwell (ed. 1865) gives the variant reading of an onyx and then comments: “This is a various reading in several of the old copies; but union seems to me to be the true word. If I am not mistaken, neither the onyx, nor sardonyx , are jewels which ever found place in an imperial crown. An union is the finest sort of pearl, and has its place in all crowns, and coronets. Besides, let us consider what the King says on Hamlet’s giving Laertes the first hit:—‘Stay, give me drink. Hamlet, this pearl is thine; Here’s to thy health.
“Therefore, if an Union be a Pearl, and an Onyx a Gemm or Stone, quite differing in its Nature from Pearls; the King saying, that Hamlet has earn’d the Pearl, I think, amounts to a Demonstration that it was an Union- Pearl, which he meant to throw into the Cup.-- Theobald . [this is the closing paragraph of THEO1’s note]
‘And in the cup an union shall he throw.’ Thus the folio rightly. In the first quarto by the carelessness of the printer, for union , we have unice , which in the subsequent quarto copies was made onyx . An union is a very precious pearl. See Bullokar’s English Expositor , 1616, and Florio’s Italian Dictionary, 1598, in v.’-- Malone [this is MAL’s 1790 note]
So, in Soliman and Perseda: ---“Ay, were it Cleopatra’s union .” The union is thus mentioned in P. Holland’s translation of Pliny’s Nat. Hist. “And hereupon it is that our dainties and delicates here at Rome, &c. call them unions , as a man would say singular and by themselves alone.” To swallow a pearl in a draught seems to have been equally common to royal and mercantile prodigality. So, in the second part of If you know not Me, you know No Body , 1606, Sir Thomas Greshman says:
‘Here 16,000 pound at one clap goes. Instead of sugar, Greshman drinks this pearle Unto his queen and mistress.’
“It may be observed, however, that pearls were supposed to possess an exhila- rating quality. Thus, Rondelet , Lib. I. de Testac. c.xv:‘Uniones quæ à conchis &c. valde cordiales sunt. ––– STEEVENS [HALIWELL extracts STEEVENS 1778, 1785, and 1793 notes here]”
1869 Romdahl
Romdahl ≈ standard
3732 Onixe] Romdahl (1869, p. 43):
1869 tsch
tsch
3732 Onixe] Tschischwitz (ed. 1869): ‘Das Auflösen einer kostbaren Perle im Wein ist wohl nur Nachahmung des bekannten Vorgangs am Hofe der Cleopatra.” [“The dropping of a costly pearl in wine is still only an imitation of the well-known proceeding in the court of Cleopatra.”]
1872 del4
del4 = del2
3732-2 And . . . throwe]
1872 cln1
cln1 : standard
3732-2 And . . . throwe] Clark & Wright (ed. 1872): “union]] So the folios. The quarto of 1604 has ‘vnice,’ which the later editions corrupted into ‘onyx,’ variously spelt. Florio (Italian Dict.) gives ‘Vnione . . . a great, faire, and orient pearle.’ Mr King (Nat. Hist. of Precious Stones, &c., p. 267) says: ‘As no two pearls were ever found exactly alike, this circumstance gave origin to the name “unio” (unique). But in Low Latin “Margarita (um),” and “perla” became a generic name, “unio” being restricted to the fine spherical specimens.’ Compare Holland’s Pliny, ix. 35: ‘And hereupon it is, that our dainties and delicates here at Rome, have devised this name for them, and call them Vniones; as a man would say, Singular, and by themselves alone.’ In the same chapter Pliny tells the story of Cleopatra dissolving a pearl in vinegar and drinking it off, to win a bet of Antony.”
1872 hud2
hud2 ≈ hud1 (minus If You Know Not Me //)
rug2 ≈ standard
3732 Onixe] Moberly (ed. 1873): “A large solitary pearl not set with other jewels. (Plin. ix. 35.).”
1877 col4
col4 : col3
3732 Onixe] Collier (ed. 1877): “Union]] So the folio, rightly, an union being the most valuable kind of pearl.”
1877 v1877
v1877 ≈ theo4 (only “the finest sort . . . The King afterwards refers to it, [3748].”) ; ≈ mal (FLORIO & BULLOKAR analogues; it seems that FURNESS may have checked these entries for he cites Florio: “Vnione . . . Also a faire, great, orient pearle, called an vnion.”) ; v1821 (only STEEVENS’ Pliny and Rondelet analogues ) ; ≈ cln1
3732-2 And . . .
throwe]
Clark & Wright (
apud Furness, ed. 1877) : “
union]] So the folios. The quarto of 1604 has ‘vnice,’ which the later editions corrupted into ‘onyx,’ variously spelt. Florio (Italian Dict.) gives ‘Vnione . . . a great, faire, and orient pearle.’
Mr King (
Nat. Hist. of Precious Stones, &c., p. 267) says: ‘As no two pearls were ever found exactly alike, this circumstance gave origin to the name “unio” (unique). But in Low Latin “Margarita (um),” and “perla” became a generic name, “unio” being restricted to the fine spherical specimens.’ Compare Holland’s Pliny, ix. 35: ‘And hereupon it is, that our dainties and delicates here at Rome, have devised this name for them, and call them Vniones; as a man would say, Singular, and by themselves alone.’ In the same chapter Pliny tells the story of Cleopatra dissolving a pearl in vinegar and drinking it off, to win a bet of Antony.”
1877 neil
neil ≈ standard (Theo ; Pliny ; Gresham ; Heywood)
3732 union]
1879 Furnivall
Furnivall
3732 union]
Furnivall (
New Shakespeare Society’s Transactions 1877-9, p.106): <p. 106> “See
Batman upon Bartholme, ed. 1583, leaf 263, back:— ‘
Of Margarita ,
chap. 62
Margita, is chiefe of alll white precious stones, as Isid(orus) sayth and hath that name
Margarita, for it is founde in shells and in shell fish of the sea, It breedeth in flesh of shel fish, and is sometime found in the braine of the fish, It freedeth in flesh of shel fish, and of heuen, the which deaw, shell fish receiue in certaine time of the yeare. Of whic Margarites, some be called
‘Vniones,’ and haue a couenable name, for onely one is found, & neuer two or more together. And white Margarites are better than yelow ; & those that be conceiued of the morrow deawe, be made dimme with the aire of the euen tide.
Huc vsque Isidorus, li. 16. And they haue vertue confortative, either of all the whole kinde, as some men saye, or els because they are besprong with certayn specialtie, they comfort the lyms....’—F” </p. 106>
This is from Eric’s 1999 BL trip.
1881 hud3
hud3 : hud2; hal?
3732 Onixe] Hudson (ed. 1881) : “Union was a name for the largest and finest pearls, such as were worn in crowns and coronets. So in Florio’s Italian Dictionary , 1598: ‘Also a faire, great, orient pearle, called an union .’ A rich gem thus put into a cup of wine was meant as present to the drinker of the wine. Of course the union in this case was a preparation of poison.”
1882 elze2
elze2 : standard
3732 Onixe] Elze (ed. 1882): Compare Sam. Neil ad loc. Heywood, If you know not me, you know nobody, Part II (Dramatic Works, London, 1874, I, 301):—’Heere fifteene hundred pound at one clap goes. Instead of sugar Gresham drinks this pearle Vnto his Queene and mistresse.’”
1883 wh2
wh2 : standard
3732 Onixe] White (ed. 1883) :”union]] a pearl of great price.”
1884 Gould
Gould
3731 better breath] GOULD (1884, p. 41) : <p. 41> “Read ‘health.’ Hamlet is mad. There is nothing the matter with his breath, and the fencing has not yet commenced.” </p. 41>
1885 macd
macd ≈ standard
3732 Onixe]union]]
1885 mull
mull ≈ standard
3732 Onixe] union]]
1889 Barnett
Barnett : standard
3732 Onixe]
Barnett (1889, p. 64): <p. 64> “
vnion]] a
pearl. Lat.
unio, a
pearl.” </p. 64>
1890 irv2
irv 2: standard
3732 Onixe] Symons (in Irving & Marshall, ed. 1890): “union]] pearl.”
Irv2 ≈ v1877 (FLORIO // ; STEEVENS’ Pliny //)
3732 Onixe] Symons (in Irving & Marshall, ed. 1890): “Q2 [uncorrected] prints Vnice , in the later Qq. onyx , variously spelt. Florio has ‘ Vnione . . . a great, faire, and orient pearl.’ The word comes from ‘unio,’ unique as no two pearls are exactly alike. Steevens quotes Holland’s translation of Pliny, ix. 35: ‘And here upon it is, that our dainties and delicates here at Rome, have devised this name for them, and call them Vniones ; as a man would say, Singular, and by themselves alone.’ The King’s announcement about the pearl was no doubt done to give him an opportunity of dropping poison into the cup. See[3809] below: ‘Is thy union here?’”
1891 oxf1
oxf1 : standard
3732 Onixe] Craig (ed. 1891: Glossary) : “union]] a fine pearl.”
1899 ARD1
ard1 = v1877 (MAL Florio // ; steevens’s 1778 Pliny //)
3732 Onixe] Dowden
1905 rltr
rltr : standard
3732 Onixe]
1906 nlsn
nlsn : standard
3732 Onixe] Neilson (ed. 1906) :
1931 crg1
crg1 ≈ standard
3732 Onixe] union]]
1934 Wilson
Wilson
3732 Onixe]
Wilson (1934, 1:127): <p. 127> “The variant ‘Vnice’/’Onixe’ in the inner forme of sheet N is illuminating in a different fashion. Shakespeare’s word, as we learn from F1 and Q1 was ‘Union’, i.e. a large single pearl. This he probably wrote ‘Vni∂‘, a form which would explain the misprint ‘Vnice’, since a careless curl over the ‘o’ might give it the appearance of an ‘e’, while if, as we have seen frequently happened, Shakespeare did not count his minim-strokes and wrote four instead of three minims for ‘ni’, the combination might be misread ‘as ‘nic’. Anyhow, the corrector, finding ‘Vnice’ in sheet N, would naturally alter it to ‘Onixe’. Now the same jewel, as it happens, is mentioned again at 5.2.337 (3809), that is in the last half-sheet O which consists of 3 1/2 pages of type only. And the point to notice is that here also it appears as “Onixe’ in all six copies. This implies either of two things, (I) that this ‘Onixe’ was likewise a correction, though no specimen containing ‘Vnice’ has come down to us, or more probably (ii) that the last half-sheet was not set up or at least not printed until after the invention of the corrector in inner N, which is what one would expect if a single compositor was at work upon the book.” </p.127>
3732 Onixe] Wilson (1934, 1:131) sees the Q2 Onixe as a miscorrection for Vnice (or Vni∂.
1934 cam3
cam3 : standard
3732 Onixe] Wilson (ed. 1934, Glossary, union):
1934 rid1
rid1 : standard
3732 Onixe] Ridley (ed. 1934, Glossary, union):
1939 kit2
kit2 ≈ standard
3732 Onixe]union
3732 Onixe] Kittredge (ed. 1939, Glossary, union):
1936 cam3b
cam3b
3732 Onixe] Wilson(2nd ed. 1936, Additional Notes): “Adams (pp. 325-26) notes that Sir Thomas Gresham at the opening of the Royal Exchange in 1571 drank to the honour of Queen Elizabeth a cup of wine in which had been dissolved a pearl costing £1500.”
parc ≈ standard
3732 Onixe] union]]
1942 n&h
n&h ≈ standard
3732 Onixe] union]]
yal2 : standard
3732 Onixe] union]]
1947 cln2
cln1
3732 Rylands (ed. 1947, Notes): “The idea, it would seem, was to make the drink more precious—therefore the pledge more flattering. Cleopatra is said by Pliny to have dissolved a pearl in vinegar. Claudius is thus able to conceal his insertion of the poison.”
Cln2 ≈ standard
3732 Onixe] union]]
1951 alex
alex ≈ standard
3732 Onixe] ALEXANDER (ed. 1951, Glossary) union = pearl)
1951 crg2
crg2 = crg1
3732 Onixe] union]]
1954 sis
sis ≈ standard
3732 Onixe] union]] SISSON (ed. 1954, Glossary, union)
1957 pel1
pel1 : standard
3732 Onixe] union]]
1970 pel2
pel2=pel1
3732 Onixe] union]]
1974 evns1
evns1 ≈ standard
3732 Onixe] union]]
1976 Coursen
Coursen
3732 Onixe] Glossing union, Coursen (Christian Ritual, 1976, pp. 154-7) notes the echo of Communion.
1980 pen2
pen2 ≈ standard
3732 Onixe] union]]
pen2
3732 cup] Spencer (ed. 1980): “((the chalice of IV.7.159)).”
1982 ard2
ard2
3731 better breath] Jenkins (ed. 1982): “enhanced vigour.”
ard2 ≈ standard
3732 Onixe] Jenkins (ed. 1982):”union]] “a pearl ((cf. l. 284 [“this pearl is thine”[3749])). Apparently so called from the uniqueness of each one. The term is normally reserved for pearls of finest quality--such as might be in a royal crown (l. 271 [“In Denmark’s crown have worn”3734]) LN [See Longer Notes].”
ard2
3732 Onixe]
Jenkins (ed. 1982, Longer Notes, 568): <p. 568>“The most famous instance of the prodigality of
drinking a pearl is that told of Cleopatra (Holland’s Pliny, ix. 35). Another which Shakespeare presumably knew is that of Sir Thomas Greshman, who was fabled to have crushed a pearl in wine to drink the Queen’s health when she visited the new Exchange in 1571. (Cf. Heywood,
2 If You Know Not Me , xc. x.) For others see Horace,
Satires , II.iii.239-41); Fuller,
Worthies , 1811 edn, ii. 347.”</p. 568>
chal : standard
3732 Onixe] union]]
1985 cam4
cam4
3731 better breath] “i.e. he will drink to the increase of Hamlet’s energy or power.”
3732 union]:“a pearl of special quality and high value. F’s reading. Q2 printed first ‘Vnice’, which could be a misreading of ‘Vniõ’; the press-corrector, using his wits rather than the MS., changed this to ‘Onixe’. When F again has ‘Vnion’, at 305 [3809], Q2 again prints ‘Onixe’.”
1986 oxf2 [old spel]
oxf2
3732 Onixe] union]]
1986 oxf3
oxf3 ≈ standard
3732 union]:
1987 oxf4
oxf4 ≈ standard
3731 better breath]
oxf4 : OED ; ard2 +
3732 union] Hibbard (ed. 1987):“‘A pearl of large size, good quality, and great value, especially one which is supposed to occur singly’ (OED sb . 2) The business of drinking a pearl dissolved in wine goes back as far as Pliny, who tells how Cleopatra made a bet with Antony that she could spend a hundred million sesterces on a single meal. She won it by putting a priceless pearl in her wine and then drinking it off (Natural History ix. 120-1). Ben Jonson refers to the story in Volpone 3.7.191-3, where Volpone says to Celia: ‘See, here a rope of pearl; and each more orient | Than that the brave Egyptian queen caroused: |Dissolve and drink ‘em.’ Jenkins notes that according to a popular tradition, preserved in Thomas Heywood’s 2 If You Know Not Me , scene X,Sir Thomas Greshman was supposed to have drunk a pearl to the health of Queen Elizabeth when she visited the Royal Exchange in 1571.”
bev2: standard (ard2)
3731 better breath]
bev2: standard (ard2)
3732 union]:
1992 fol2
fol2≈ standard
3732 union]:
1993 dent
dent ≈ standard
3732 union]:
1998 OED
OED
3732 union] OED n 2 A pearl of large size, good quality, and great value, esp. one which is supposed to occur singly.
Freq. in 17th c., esp. in allusion to or echoes of the story related of Cleopatra: see Pliny loc. cit.59. The following early instance is prob. of AF. origin: c1305 Land Cokayne 89 [th]er is saphir and vniune, Carbuncle and astiune.
1592 Soliman and Pers. II. i, Then they play, and when she hath lost her gold, Erastus pointed to her chaine, and then she said: I, were it Cleopatraes vnion. 1599; hakluyt Voy. II. 5 Precious unions and costly spyces.
