Page 235 - King Lear: The Cambridge Dover Wilson Shakespeare

160 NOTES 1.3.
20. Old fools...again Prov. Cf. Tilley, M 570,
'Old men are twice children'.
20-1. must...abused Obscure; poss. corrupt (N.B.
<Q only). Which is the antecedent of'they', 'fools' or
'flatteries'? And what does 'as' mean, 'as well as' or
'instead of ? In short should we paraphrase the passage
—'must be treated with rebukes instead of flatteries,
when flatteries are seen to feed their folly' (D.N.S. after
Tyrwhitt), or 'old fools must be given rebukes as well as
flatteries when they begin to suffer from delusions'?
We prefer the former.
22. Well (F) Q (+Camb.) 'Very well'—wh., in
more mod. Eng., is what F means.
23-7. And let...dinner. Prose in Q and F, but F
om. 'I would...speak', and 'very'. Cap. div. as verse.
The F om. of 'very' is prob. accidental, e.g. (J.C.M.
conj.) by an eye-slip from 'my' to 'ry\
26. speak i.e. speak out.
27. S.D. F 'Exeunt.', Q 'Exit.'.

1.4
S.D. Loc. (Mai.) Entry (<£>, F)+Rowe 'dis-
guised'.
1. as well sc. as I have disguised my appearance.
well (Q) F 'will'.
2. diffuse (Theob.+O.E.D. 6) F Q (+Camb.)
'defuse'. See G.
6. So...come (F) Q om.
7. full of labours=very serviceable. S.D. (G.I.D.)
<F 'Homes within. Enter Lear and Attendants.' Rowe
added the 'Knights'. Lear so dressed wd at once en-
gage King James's interest with his passion for the chase.
9. S.D. (<Cap. 'To an Attendant, who goes out'.)
1
12. What...proj"ess f'=What is your occupation?
Kent replies in another sense. 16. converse see G.