No More Learning

l. 33. _That wilt consort none, &c. _ It is unnecessary to alter
'consort none' to 'consort with none', as some MSS. do. The
construction is quite regular. 'Wilt thou consort me, bear me
company? ' Heywood. The 'consorted with these few books' of l. 3
is classed by the O. E. D. under a slightly different sense of the
word--not 'attended on by' these books, but 'associated in a common
lot with' them.

l. 39.
_The nakednesse and barenesse, &c. _ The reading 'barrennesse'
of all the editions and some MSS. is due probably to similarity of
pronunciation (rather than of spelling) and a superficial suggestion
of appropriateness to the context. A second glance shows that
'bareness' is the correct reading. The MSS. give frequent evidence of
having been written to dictation.

l. 46. The 'yet', which the later editions and Chambers drop, is quite
in Donne's style. It is heavily stressed and 'he was' is slurred, 'h'
was. '

PAGE =147=, l. 58. _The Infanta of London, Heire to an India. _ It is
not necessary to suppose a reference to any person in particular.
The allusion is in the first place to the wealth of the city, and the
greed of patricians and courtiers to profit by that wealth. 'No one
can tell who, amid the host of greedy and expectant suitors, will
carry off whoever is at present the wealthiest minor (and probably the
king's ward) in London, i.