Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Beaumont and Fletcher

Chapter 80

Chapter 8057 wordsPublic domain

“Will take his oath o’ the Greek _Xenophon_, If need be, in his pocket.”

Another reading is “Testament.”

Probably, the meaning is—that intending to give false evidence, he carried a Greek _Xenophon_ to pass it off for a Greek Testament, and so avoid perjury—as the Irish do, by contriving to kiss their thumb-nails instead of the book.