Chambers,
obviously
quite wrongly, retains the
comma, and closes the sentence in the next line.
comma, and closes the sentence in the next line.
John Donne
But even of stones Donne says: 'We are not
sure that stones have not life; stones may have life; neither (to
speak humanely) is it unreasonably thought by them, that thought the
whole world to be inanimated by one soule, and to be one intire living
creature; and in that respect does S. Augustine prefer a fly before
the Sun, because a fly hath life, and the Sun hath not. ' _Sermons_ 80.
7. 69-70.
l. 35. _If I an ordinary nothing were. _ 'A shadow is nothing, yet, if
the rising or falling sun shines out and there be no shadow, I will
pronounce there is no body in that place neither. Ceremonies are
nothing; but where there are no ceremonies, order, and obedience, and
at last (and quickly) religion itself will vanish. ' _Sermons_ (quoted
in _Selections from Donne_, 1840).
l. 41. _Enjoy your summer all_; This is Grosart's punctuation. The old
editions have a comma.
Chambers, obviously quite wrongly, retains the
comma, and closes the sentence in the next line. The clause 'Since she
enjoys her long night's festival' explains 43 'Let me prepare towards
her', &c. , _not_ 41 'Enjoy your summer all'.
PAGE =47=. THE APPARITION.
ll. 1-13. The Grolier Club editor places a full stop, Chambers a
colon, after 'shrinke', for the comma of the old editions. Chambers's
division is better than the first, which interrupts the steady run of
the thought to the climax,
A verier ghost than I.
The original punctuation preserves the rapid, crowded march of the
clauses.
l. 10. This line throws light on the character of the _1669_ text.
The correct reading of _1633_ was spoiled in _1635_ by accidentally
dropping 'will', and this error continued through _1639-54_. The 1669
editor, detecting the metrical fault, made the line decasyllabic by
interpolating 'a' and 'even'.
PAGE =48=.
sure that stones have not life; stones may have life; neither (to
speak humanely) is it unreasonably thought by them, that thought the
whole world to be inanimated by one soule, and to be one intire living
creature; and in that respect does S. Augustine prefer a fly before
the Sun, because a fly hath life, and the Sun hath not. ' _Sermons_ 80.
7. 69-70.
l. 35. _If I an ordinary nothing were. _ 'A shadow is nothing, yet, if
the rising or falling sun shines out and there be no shadow, I will
pronounce there is no body in that place neither. Ceremonies are
nothing; but where there are no ceremonies, order, and obedience, and
at last (and quickly) religion itself will vanish. ' _Sermons_ (quoted
in _Selections from Donne_, 1840).
l. 41. _Enjoy your summer all_; This is Grosart's punctuation. The old
editions have a comma.
Chambers, obviously quite wrongly, retains the
comma, and closes the sentence in the next line. The clause 'Since she
enjoys her long night's festival' explains 43 'Let me prepare towards
her', &c. , _not_ 41 'Enjoy your summer all'.
PAGE =47=. THE APPARITION.
ll. 1-13. The Grolier Club editor places a full stop, Chambers a
colon, after 'shrinke', for the comma of the old editions. Chambers's
division is better than the first, which interrupts the steady run of
the thought to the climax,
A verier ghost than I.
The original punctuation preserves the rapid, crowded march of the
clauses.
l. 10. This line throws light on the character of the _1669_ text.
The correct reading of _1633_ was spoiled in _1635_ by accidentally
dropping 'will', and this error continued through _1639-54_. The 1669
editor, detecting the metrical fault, made the line decasyllabic by
interpolating 'a' and 'even'.
PAGE =48=.
