STAN Z. XV. Vain others overthrows, whofe felf doth overthrow. What if we should read? Vain others overthrows who's felf doth overthrow. In vain be overthrows others, who his (or him) felf doth overthrow. But perhaps it is as Spenfer wrote it. STAN Z. XXXI. And on the other fide a pleafant grove It is not easy to know what Spenfer had in his mind here. At the Olympick games the victors were crown'd oleaftro, ferâ olivâ, fays Statius; at the Nemæan games, apio. I know of no victory which Hercules gained in Nemea, except his killing the lion there. Hercules was crowned oleaftro at the Olympick games. His favourite tree however was the poplar; and probably this is the tree of which Spenfer fpeaks. Natalis Comes I. 9. Scriptum eft a Paufania in prioribus Eliacis, in Jovis Olympii fano, ubi magiftratus ftratus nigro ariete faciebant, neque ulla portio victime dabatur vati, fed collum tantum lignatori more majorum; mandatum fuiffe negotium lignatori ut ad facrorum ufum ligna certo pretio daret, vel publice civitatibus, vel privatim cuilibet, quæ non erant ex alia arbore, quam ex alba populo; qui bonor habitus eft arbori, quod eam Hercules e Thefprotide primus in Græciam portavit, quam ad fluvium. Acheruntem Thefprotidis reperit, cujus etiam lignis victimarum femora cremavit. STANZ. XXXVI. -Up, up, thou womanish weak knight, That here in ladie's lap entombed art, Unmindful of thy praise and prowest might. Virgil. En. IV. 265. Tu nunc Carthaginis alte Fundamenta locas, pulchramque uxorius urbem CANTO VI. 15. Speaking of fruits and flowers: Whilft nothing envious Nature them forth throws Out of her fruitful lap. Lucretius, Lucretius, V. 34. · quando omnibus omnia large Tellus ipfa parit, Naturaque dædala rerum. STAN Z. XVI. The Lilly, lady of the flowring field, The Flower-de-luce, her lovely paramour, Bid thee to them thy fruitless labours yield, And foon leave off this toilfom weary ftour: Lo! lo! how brave fhe decks her bounteous bower With filken curtains and gold coverlets, Therein to fhrowd her fumptuous Belamour, Yet neither fpins nor cards, ne cares nor frets, But to her mother Nature all her care she lets. A manifeft allufion to thofe facred words: Confider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin. The poet ought not to have placed them where he has. Shakespear, King Henry VIII. Like the Lily, That once was mistress of the field, and flourifh'd, I'll hang my head, and perish. STANZ. XXXII. Wo worth the man, That firft did teach the curfed fteel to bite In his own flesh, and make way to the living fpright. 8 Tibullus, Tibullus, I. xI. I. Quis fuit, borrendos primus qui protulit enfes? CANTO VII. 16. But later ages pride (like corn-fed fteed) Alluding perhaps to Deuteronomy xxxii. 15. But STAN Z. XV. But would they think with how small allowance Untroubled nature doth her felf fuffice, &c. Lucan, IV. 377. Difcite quam parvo liceat producere vitam, Et quantum Natura petat. STAN Z. XVII. Then 'gan a curfed hand the quiet womb Ovid, Met. I. 138. Itum eft in vifcera terræ: Quafque recondiderat, Stygiifque admoverat umbris, Effodiuntur opes, irritamenta malorum. STANZ. STAN Z. XXI, &c. At length they came into a larger space, That stretch'd it felf into an ample plain, Through which a beaten broad highway did trace, That streight did lead to Pluto's griefly reign. By that way's fide, there fat infernal Pain, And faft befide him fat tumultuous Strife, The one in hand an iron whip did strain, The other brandifhed a bloody knife; And both did gnash their teeth, and both did threaten life. On th' other fide, in one confort there fate And trembling Fear ftill to and fro did fly, And found no place where fafe he shroud him. might; Lamenting Sorrow did in darkness lie, And Shame his ugly face did hide from living eye. And over them fad Horror, with grim hue, |