Post by John W KennedyPost by Jim F.Post by John W KennedyPost by Jim F.Fox, Ape, Humble-Bee, and Goose,
how they can be connected logically is an enigma.
ARMADO.
No _Page_, it is an epilogue or discourse to make plain,
Some obscure precedence that hath tofore been fain.
Now will I begin your moral, and do you follow with my _lenvoy_.
The Fox, the Ape, and the Humble-Bee,
Were still at odds, *being but three.*
Until the Goose came out of door,
Staying the odds by adding four.
First, "being but three" suggests that they're three human beings.
No it doesn’t. That reading would be absurdly forced in present-day
English, and it is completely impossible the better part of a century
before the phrase "human being" appears for the first time in English
literature.
Obtain and read (preferably more than once) C. S. Lewis’s “Studies In
Words”, and subscribe to the OED on-line and learn how to use it.
--
John W. Kennedy
Algernon Burbage, Lord Roderick, Father Martin, Bishop Baldwin,
King Pellinore, Captain Bailey, Merlin -- A Kingdom for a Stage!
"Wicked Human being the worst of all that were about Abasbuerus was for a time the nearest unto him ..."—1608, A plaine and familiar exposition, John Dod (1549?-1645)
John Dod wrote a half-dozen or more books with titles beginning "[A]
Plaine and Familiar Exposition of/on...." Your quotation is from “A
plaine and familiar exposition of the thirteenth and fourteenth chapters
of the Prouerbs of Salomon”, specifically from the first chapter,
“CHAPTER XIII” and “Verse. 35.The fauour of a king is toward a wise
seruant: but his wrath shall be toward him that causeth shame.”
“VVicked Haman being the worst of all that were about Ahashuerus was for
a time the nearest vnto him, and good Mordecai which was most faithfull,
was most hardlie proceeded against, as being proscribed, and destinated
to death with all the nation that he came of, for his sake, and yet
Haman could not still stand in that high estimation nor Mordecaie lye
long vnder that heauy disgrace, but down must Haman, with the kings
indignation into a shamefull destruction, and vp must Mordecay with the
kings especiall fauor, to a supereminent place of authority.”
In other words, your “Wicked Human being” is a fantasy born of your own
misreading, your ignorance of the Bible, and your inability to see that
your imaginary quotation wasn’t even grammatical. (In present-day
English, we would put a comma between “Haman” and “being”, but it is not
absolutely necessary for interpreting the sentence.)
Post by Jim F.Post by John W KennedyOED, being (1.c) "Life, physical existence."
LUCENTIO.
Pisa renowned for grave Citizens
gave me my being, and my father first—The Taming of the Shrew, 1623
And now you cannot distinguish among “Life, physical existence”,
“Something that exists or is conceived as existing”, and the present
participle of the copula. All of these (and a good many other senses)
are covered by the word “being” in English, but they are not the same.
Post by Jim F.* * *
The Fox, the Ape, and the Humble-Bee,
Were still at odds, being but three.
Until *the Goose came out of door,*
Staying the odds by adding four.
"I Costard running out, that was safely within,
Fell over the threshold, and broke my shin."
"Costard running out" relates to "the Goose came out of door."
Goose has the usage of a fool.
Costard is a fool in the play, implying that
Goose reflects Costard, or Costard fits a goose's nature.
Similarly, the three animals may map to three persons in this play.
There are three lords in this play: Longaville, Dumaine, and Berowne.
Shakespeare let them fit the nature of Fox, Ape, and Humble-Bee,
to build up the first-level connection: animal to character in a play.
--
John W. Kennedy
Algernon Burbage, Lord Roderick, Father Martin, Bishop Baldwin,
King Pellinore, Captain Bailey, Merlin -- A Kingdom for a Stage!
* * *
What's the difference in meaning? What's wrong in grammar?
1. Wicked Human, being the worst of all that were about Abasbuerus was ...
2. Wicked Human being, the worst of all that were about Abasbuerus was ...
"Wicked Haman being the worst of all
that were about _Abasbuerus_ was for a time the nearest unto him,
and good _Mordecai_ which was most faithful, was most hardly
proceeded against, as being proscribed, and destinated to death
with all the nation that he came of, for his sake, and yet _Haman_
could not still stand in that high estimation nor _Mordecaie_ lie
long under that heavy disgrace, but down must _Haman_, with the
king's indignation into a shameful destruction, and up must
_Mordecay_ with the king's especial favor, to a supereminent place
of authority."
* * *
Humble-bee is a large wild bee with a loud humming sound.
Humble-Bee refers to Berowne, supported by Rosaline's lines.
ROSALINE.
_Berowne_ they call him, but a merrier man,
Within the limit of becoming mirth,
I never spent an hour's talk withal.
His eye begets occasion for his wit,
For every object that the one does catch,
The other turns to a mirth-moving jest.
Which his *fair tongue* (conceits expositor)
Delivers in such *apt and gracious words,*
That aged ears play truant at his tales,
And younger hearings are quite ravished.
So *sweet and voluble* is his discourse.