III.ii.90 (324,3) I would have put my wealth into donation, And the best
half should ha' return'd to him] Hanmer reads,
_I would have put my wealth into_ partition,
_And the best half should have_ attorn'd _to him_.
Dr. Warbarton receives _attorn'd_. The only difficulty is in the word
_return'd_, which, since he had received nothing from him, cannot be
used but in a very low and licentious meaning, (see 1765, VI, 212, 6)
III.iii.5 (325,4) They have all been touch'd] That is, _tried_, alluding
to the _touchstone_.
III.iii.11 (325,5) His friends, like physicians,/Thrive, give him over?]
The original reading is,
--his friends, (_like physicians_)
Thrive, give him over?
which Theobald has misrepresented. Hanmer reads, _try'd_, plausibly
enough. Instead of _three_ proposed by Mr. Pope, I should read _thrice_.
But perhaps the old reading is the true.
III.iii.24 (326,6) I had such a courage] Such an ardour, such an eager
desire.
III.iii.28 (326,8) The devil knew not what he did] I cannot but think
that, the negative _not_ has intruded into this passage, and the reader
will think so too, when he reads Dr. Warburton's explanation of the next
words.
III.iii.28 (326,9) The devil knew not what he did, when he made men
politick; he cross'd himself by't: and I cannot think, but in the end
the villainies of man will set him clear] [_Set him clear_ does not mean
acquit him before heaven; for then _the devil_ must be supposed _to know
what_ he did: but it signifies puzzle him, outdo him at his own weapons.
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