Note 173 — LECTURE VIII
Reading edition
See i. i. 142 ff. Kent speaks, not of the injustice of Lear's action, but of its 'folly,' its 'hideous rashness.' When the King exclaims 'Kent, on thy life, no more,' he answers:
My life I never held but as a pawn To wage against thy enemies; nor fear to lose it, Thy safety being the motive.
(The first Folio omits 'a,' and in the next line reads 'nere' for 'nor.' Perhaps the first line should read 'My life I ne'er held but as pawn to wage.')