[Too much to know, is, to know nought but fame;
And every godfather can give a name]
[W: "shame" or "feign"] That there are _two ways of setting_ a passage
_right_ gives reason to suspect that there may be a third way
better than either. The first of these emendations _makes a fine
sense_, but will not unite with the next line; the other makes a
sense less fine, and yet will not rhyme to the correspondent word.
I cannot see why the passage may not stand without disturbance.
_The consequence_, says Biron, _of too much knowledge_, is not any
real solution of doubts, but mere empty _reputation_. That is, _too
much knowledge gives only fame, a name which every godfather can
give likewise_. (1773)
I.i.95 (345,7) [Proceeded well to stop all good proceeding] To _proceed_
is an academical term, meaning, _to take a degree_, as _he_ proceeded
_bachelor in physick_. The sense is, _he has taken his degrees
on the art of hindering the degrees of others_.
I.i.153 (348,1) [Not by might master'd, but by especial grace] Biron,
amidst his extravagancies, speaks with great justness against the
folly of vows. They are made without sufficient regard to the
variations of life, and are therefore broken by some unforeseen
necessity. They proceed commonly from a presumptuous confidence,
and a false estimate of human power.
I.i.159 (349,2) [Suggestions] Temptations.
I.i.162 (349,3) [quick recreation] Lively sport, spritely diversion.