This evening I was rereading a stanza that we are all familiar. In FQ 6.3,
Calidore vows to take care of Priscilla, who is worried about her reputation.
So as they past together on their way,
He can deuize this counter-cast of slight,
To giue faire colour to that Ladies cause in sight. (6.3.16)
To my knowledge, all of the commentary on this passage is devoted to
justifying the "pious lie" that Calidore is getting ready to to tell
Priscilla's father. What, though, is a counter-cast? In the OED, there is
only one citation for this word, and of course this passage is it. So that
is not much help. My initial hunch, and the one that sent me to the OED in
the first place, was that this is a term from bowling; cf. the "assays of
bias" which Polonius says will allow Reynaldo to spy on Laertes more
effectively. Just to make sure I wasn't missing anything, I searched the
English Poetry database for countercast, counter cast, and counter-cast.
Bingo!
Weever, John: Epigrammes (1599)
The fifth weeke. Epig. 19 In Uulpem puritanum.
1 Whose lauish-tongu'd precisme will not spare,
2 The chiefest pillars of our cleargie men,
3 But to a cast of counters them compare,
4 Giuing no count with Counters nor with pen:
5 Nor can I count the waies he doth abuse them,
6 Though late he had beene in the Counter cast,
7 If that his cheefe cast had not bin to vse them,
8 And craue their frendship, for his words or epast:
9 And if cast counters yet he be not giuing,
10 His cast of counters casts away his liuing.
Trouble is, I have no idea what Weever is talking about. I know what a
Precisian is, I think I know what precism is, and I know what a vulpis is.
Dodge-ball I remember. Four-square I was good at. But counters? I gather
that it's a game in which you throw things. Beyond that, I'm baffled.
P.S. For bowling and casting, see also Thomas Freedman's collection of
epigrams (1614), part one of which, "The First Bowle," is entitled "Rubbe,
and A great Cast." Part two, or "The Second Bowle" is called "Runne, and a
great Cast."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
David Wilson-Okamura http://virgil.org [log in to unmask]
East Carolina University Virgil reception, discussion, documents, &c
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|