[_Vio_. O, that I serv'd that lady;
And might not be deliver'd to the world,
'Till I had made mine own occasion mellow
What my estate is!]
I wish I might not be _made public_ to the world, with regard to the
_state_ of my birth and fortune, till I have gained a _ripe opportunity_
for my design.
Viola seems to have formed a very deep design with very little
premeditation: she is thrown by shipwreck on an unknown coast,
hears that the prince is a batchelor, and resolves to supplant the
lady whom he courts.
I.ii.55 (149,2) [I'll serve this Duke] Viola is an excellent schemer,
never at a loss; if she cannot serve the lady, she will serve the
Duke.
I.iii.77 (152,5) [It's dry, sir] What is the jest of _dry hand_, I know
not any better than Sir Andrew. It may possibly mean, a hand with
no money in it; or, according to the rules of physiognomy, she may
intend to insinuate, that it is not a lover's hand, a moist hand
being vulgarly accounted a sign of an amorous constitution.
I.iii.148 (154,9) [Taurus? that's sides and heart] Alluding to the
medical astrology still preserved in almanacks, which refers the
affections or particular parts of the body, to the predominance of
particular constellations.
I.iv.34 (155,1) [And all is semblative--a woman's part] That is, thy
proper part in a play would be a woman's. Women were then personated
by boys.
I.v.9 (156,2) [lenten answer] A _lean_, or as we now call it, a _dry_
answer.
I.v.39 (157,4) [Better be a witty fool, than a foolish wit] Hall, in
his _Chronicle_, speaking of the death of Sir Thomas More, says, that
he knows not whether to call him _a foolish wise man, or a wise
foolish man_.
I.v.105 (159,5) [Now Mercury indue thee with leasing, for thou
speak'st well of fools!] [W: pleasing] I think the present reading
more humourous. _May Mercury teach thee to lie, since thou liest
in favour of fools_.
I.v.213 (164,1) [to make one in so skipping a dialogue] Wild, frolick,
mad.
I.v.218 (164,2) [Some mollification for your giant] Ladies, in romance,
are guarded by giants, who repel all improper or troublesome
advances. Viola seeing the waiting-maid so eager to oppose
her message, intreats Olivia to pacify her giant.