_Thy graces and good words my
creatures
bee.
John Donne
219.
See Franz, _Shakespeare-Grammatik_, ? 559.
l. 22. _Inlaid thee. _ The O. E. D. cites this line as the only example
of 'inlay' meaning 'to lay in, or as in, a place of concealment or
preservation. ' The sense is much that of 'to lay up', but the word has
perhaps some of its more usual meaning, 'to set or embed in another
substance. ' 'Your husband has given to you, his jewel, such a setting
as conceals instead of setting off your charms. I have refined and
heightened those charms. '
l. 25.
_Thy graces and good words my creatures bee. _ I was tempted
to adopt with Chambers the 'good works' of _1669_ and some MSS. , the
theological connexion of 'grace' and 'works' being just the kind of
conceit Donne loves to play with. But the 'words' of _1633-54_ has the
support of so good a MS. as _W_, and 'good words' is an Elizabethan
idiom for commendation, praise, flattery:
He that will give,
Good words to thee will flatter neath abhorring.
Shakespeare, _Coriolanus_, I. i. 170-1.
In your bad strokes you give good words.
Shakespeare, _Julius Caesar_, V. i. 30.
Moreover, Donne's word is 'graces', not 'grace'. 'Your graces and
commendations are my work', i. e. either the commendations you receive,
or, more probably, the refined and elegant flatteries with which you
can now cajole a lover, though once your whole stock of conversation
did not extend beyond 'broken proverbs and torne sentences'.
See Franz, _Shakespeare-Grammatik_, ? 559.
l. 22. _Inlaid thee. _ The O. E. D. cites this line as the only example
of 'inlay' meaning 'to lay in, or as in, a place of concealment or
preservation. ' The sense is much that of 'to lay up', but the word has
perhaps some of its more usual meaning, 'to set or embed in another
substance. ' 'Your husband has given to you, his jewel, such a setting
as conceals instead of setting off your charms. I have refined and
heightened those charms. '
l. 25.
_Thy graces and good words my creatures bee. _ I was tempted
to adopt with Chambers the 'good works' of _1669_ and some MSS. , the
theological connexion of 'grace' and 'works' being just the kind of
conceit Donne loves to play with. But the 'words' of _1633-54_ has the
support of so good a MS. as _W_, and 'good words' is an Elizabethan
idiom for commendation, praise, flattery:
He that will give,
Good words to thee will flatter neath abhorring.
Shakespeare, _Coriolanus_, I. i. 170-1.
In your bad strokes you give good words.
Shakespeare, _Julius Caesar_, V. i. 30.
Moreover, Donne's word is 'graces', not 'grace'. 'Your graces and
commendations are my work', i. e. either the commendations you receive,
or, more probably, the refined and elegant flatteries with which you
can now cajole a lover, though once your whole stock of conversation
did not extend beyond 'broken proverbs and torne sentences'.
