And all things to an equal to reftare. πρὸς τὸ ἴσον. XXXII. Or else two falfes, of each equal share. B. v. C. 2. St. 48. The wicked fhaft guyded through th' ayrie wide: vaftum per inane. B. v. C. 8. St. 34. 1 Corinth. i. 25. To go the foolishness, rò avis the weakness. 2 Corinth. viii. 8. To yoor, the fincerity. Philip. iv. 5. rò èmizès, moderation. So Milton, ii. 406. The palpable obfcure. ver. 409, the vaft abrupt. ver. 438. the void profound. iii.. 12. the void and formlefs infinite. vi. 203. the vast of heaven. vĩ. 78. this terrene. viii. 154. this habitable. viii. 453. my earthly by his heavenly overpowerd. With many more too numerous to be here cited. XXV. Of late moft hard atchievment by you done.] i. e. on And th' end of both likewife of both their ends. B. iv. C. 4. St. I. We generally fay, depends on. B. ii. C. 2. St. 39 i. e. She courteously befought. So B. iv. C. 8. B. ii. C. 5. St. 16. But vaine for ye fhall dearly do him rew, So God ye fpeed-1 But in vain; for ye fhall caufe him dearly to rew for it: So God fpeed you. Spenfer does not always (or his printer and tranfcriber perhaps may be in the blame) take care to write ye in the nominative cafe, and you in the oblique cafes. But he often does fo: ande. Be fo courteous as to tell me the cause. here the word above might have caught the -Sir Guyon deare befought printers eye-I mention this once for all and leave it to the reader to make the correction when he thinks proper. Obferve in this epifode a remarakable inftance of felf-government and proper correction upon fecond thoughts: Sir Guyon has been worked up by Archimago, and by feeing a lady in diftrefs, to fight St. George, whom he knew at the court of the Fairy queen. These were his first thoughts, and fudden refolution: but apon feeing St. George himself, and his facred badge, his fudden refentment is ftopped; and he recollects that furely he ought to expoftulate before he committed fuch an outrage. This is a very fine inftance of felf-government, viz. by proper recollection to remove fudden refentment. XXVIII. That decks and arms your fhield-] decus et tutamen. Virg. V. 262.-In their tilts and tourneyments in queen Elizabeth's reign, their impreffes and devices were often in honour of their virgin queen. One of her courtiers (his name I cannot find; the history I have from Cambden's Remains, p. 355.) made on his fhield a half of the Zodiacke, with Virgo rifing, adding, JAM REDIT ET VIRGO. If the Earl of Effex is hinted at in the historical allegory, how properly is his fhield thus decked and armed, for what courtier after Leicester was ever in fo great favour? The prince of grace. B. iii. C. 1. St. 5. And therefore them of patience gently pray'd. Then they Malbecco pray'd of courtesy. of pardon. B. iii. C. 9. St. 25. and you entirely pray B. iii. C. 9. St. 51. So in B. iv. C. r. St. 40. of friendship let me now Briftled with upright beams innumerable XXXIII. Well mote ye THEE-] i. e. thrive, profper. So Fayre mote he thee, the prowest and most gent. In the Scotish bishops tranflation of Virgil pag. That home ye may report these happy news. 'XXXVI. Yet can they not warne death from wretched wight.] i. e. ward off or keep off. 'Tis thus ufed in Chaucer: from the Anglo-S. þynnan, prohibere, hence we must read in B. i. C. 2. St. 18. forewarned, i. e.before hand guarded or warded off. XXXVII. Thy little hands embrewed in bleeding breft O Deth, that endir art of forrowes all, fely here in Chaucer means happy, Anglo-S. XXXVIII. -forth her bleeding life does raine.] As the ftricken hind does raine forth, i. e. does pour forth, like drops of rain, her bleeding life. He calls the blood pouring from her, her bleeding life. So Virg. ix. 349. Purpuream vomit ille animam. XLII. ber too, that variety is a great relief both to the eye and ear, and that it conftitutes no fmall part of beauty. XLIII. To call backe life to her forfaken fhop.] The expreffion (which is owing to the rhime) may feem mean; but the thought is elegant: the body is the tabernacle, the shop, the house, in which the foul dwells. XLV. XLVI. Therewith her dim eie-lids fhe up gan reare-] 'Tis very likely that Spenfer had before him that fine paffage in Virgil, wherein he defcribes Dido, having ftabbed herself, just struggling with life. Illa graves oculos conata attollere rurfus Quaefivit caelo lucem, ingemmitq; reperta.. Gli aprì tre volte, e i dolci rai del cielo Thrife he her reard, and thrife she funk again. Jupiter, aut quicumque oculis haec afpicit aequis. ix. 209. HEAVEN is fcriptural too: pav i1⁄2 årdgúπwv ; è CAELO [i. e. Deo, qui caelum habitat] an ex hominibus? Matt. xxi. 25. -Saevo tanta inclementia CAELO efst. LI. -Shonne His fout courage to floupe-] Corage is used in our old poets for heart. The order of these Caelo, i. e. diis caelum habitantibus. words is changed in the folios, and other edit. -His courage flout-but we follow the two oldest copies. Spenfer often accents his words differently, to make some difference in his meafure: and fo does Milton very frequent. The reader must observe this, without ever and anon being minded of it: he must remem St. i. 650. THE curfed land-] Spenfer wrote I believe, That curfed land. This ftory is finely introduced : 'Twas against this very inchantrefs, that our knight's adventure was intended. K kk 2 LII. LII. And then with words and weedes of wondrous might.] Potentibus herbis. Virg. vii, 19. Ibid. For he was flesh: all flefb doth frayltie breed.] Flesh is used here in the fcripture-fenfe. See Rom. viii. κατὰ σάρκα Φρόνημα Ogómμa vagxos-Mat. xxvi. 41. The flesh is weak. Rom. vi. 19. I speak after the manner of men, because of the infirmity of your flesh. The fame kind of expreffion he has below, St. 57. Feeble nature clothed with fleshly tyre. In B. i. C. 9. St. 43. fleshly wight, oaquinòs ärdewwos, carnalis homo, in quo corrupta dominatur natura. See B. i. C. 10. St. 1. Now one of these rules (for there are some others of equal, if not greater, importance perhaps) is from confidering the extremes in the actions of men, which are generally condemned, to place virtue in the mean: räga ägern ïçıs προαιρετική, ἐν μεσότητι ἔσα τῇ πρὸς ἡμᾶς, ὡρισμένη λόγῳ, καὶ ὡς ἂν ὁ φρόνιμος ορίσετε, μεσότης δὲ δύο κακιῶν, τῆς μὲν καθ ̓ ὑπες βολὴν, τῆς δὲ κατ' ἔλλειψιν. Εβ igitur virtus habitus ad confilium agendi capiendum aptus et expeditus, in ea mediocritate pofitus, quae ad nos comparetur, quaeque ratione eft definita, et ut prudens definiret. mediocritas autem feu medium eft duorum quod parum eft nafcitur. Ariftot. H9x. 6. xıọ 5'. vitiorum, unius quod ex nimio, alterius quod ex eo Virtus eft medium vitiorum et utrimque reductum, Horat. Ep. i. xviii. 9. Hence our poet, LIX. But both alike, when death hath both jupprefl, Religious reverence doth buriall TEENE.]. 'Tis not fo eafy to fix the meaning of every particular expreffion, as to give the general meaning of the fentence; which is, that Religion buries the good and bad alike. What then is the meaning of TEENE? Teene is ufed fubftantively for trouble, moleftation, ftirring, provoking. See Teon in Somner: and as a verb in Chaucer, in the Teftament of Love, pag. 505. Urry's edition: O good God, quoth I, why tempt ye me and tene with fuch manner fpeche? And p. 481, Thy coming both gladdith and teneth. Anglo-S. Teonan, to incenfe, or ftirr up. It will be hard with this meaning ascertained, to conftrue the words, But when death bath fuppreft both, both The dead knights fword out of his fheath he drew With which he cutt a lack of all their heare— This seems an allufion to the custom of cutting off a lock of hair of dying perfons, which was looked on as a kind of offering to the infernal deities. Juno orders Iris to perform this office to Dido. Virg. vi. 694. And in the Alceftis of Euripides, ver. 74. Death fays he is come to perform this office to Alceftis. There was likewise another ceremony, which was for the friends and relations of the deceased to cut off their own hair, and to fcatter it upon the dead corfe. Nec traxit caefas per tua membra comas. Confol. ad Liv. ver. 98. LXI. Till guiltie blood her guerdon doe obtayne] i. e. Till blood-guiltinefs has her reward. Sir Guyon afterwards deftroyed the enchantments of Acrafia, the cause of all this woe. On rufhd bold Hector, gloomy as the night, Such is the fate of man; thus enter wee Our poet seems to have in view the dia- Thou must be patient; we came crying hither: rental crimes: See above, C. i. St. 40. and the following Stanza. VII. The hartleffe hynd.] Achilles in his wrath, tells VIII. At last when fayling breath began to faint, Ibid. Transformd her to a flone from Redfaft virgins Δός μοι ΠΑΡΘΕΝΙΗΝ ΑΙΩΝΙΟΝ, ἄππα, φυλάσσειν. The request of Daphne, Da mihi perpetuâ, genitor charissime, dixit, The request of this nymph to Diana, X. That as a facred fymbole-] See likewise the following Stanza, But his fad fathers armes with blood defilde." The Irifh under Oneal cry," "Landerg-abo, that is the BLOODY-HAND, Tum porro puer, ut facris projectus ab undis Navita, nudus bumi jacet · Lucret. v. 223. Hominem tantum nudum natali die abjicit ad vagitus ftatim & ploratum, nullumque animalium aliud pronius ad lacrimas, & has protinus vitae principio. Plinius, Lib. vii. Non vides qualem vitam nobis rerum natura promiferit, quae primum nafcentium" which is Oneals badge." Spenfer in his omen fletum effe voluit? hoc principio edimur; huic omnis fequentium annorum ordo confentit. Seneca, de Confolat ad Polyb. C. xxiii. I cannot help ftill further adding, upon obferving this general reflection from a particular circumstance, that Shakespeare, after the fame beautiful manner, Bakes Wolfey, from reflecting on his own fall, turn at once his reflections on the state of man; and this he does in Spenfer's very words, This is the fate of man; to day he puts forth III. So love does loath daifdaineful nicitee.] See Note on Elis guiltie hands from bloody gore to cleene. view of Ireland. That the rebellion of the Oneals is imaged in this Episode, who drank fo deep of the charm and venom of Acrafia, I make no doubt myself. Compare Cambden's account of the rebellion of the Irish Oneals. XI. He left his loftie fteed with golden fell |