St. 55. B. iii. C.4. St. 39. So again, C. 6. St. 26. To feek the fugitive.

But this verfe is thus left only in the old quart o but filled up in the other editions, To feeke the fugitive both farre and nere. There is but one more inftance in this large work, viz. B. iii. C. 9. St. 37. Cowley in his notes on the first book of his own epic poem, fays, that none of the English poets have followed Virgil in this liberty, which he thinks looks both natural and graceful.—I am furprised Cowley fhould have forgotten Spenfer: Phaer likewife in his tranflation of Virgil, has, in imitation of the poet he tranflates, feveral hemiftiques.

XXVII.

κι ἐς γόνυ μέχρι χιτῶνα

Ζώννυσθαι λεγνωτόν. Call. in Dian. ver. ii. I am apt to think our poet had likewise in view the Amazonian drefs of Pyrocles in his learned friend's Arcadia, pag. 42. Upon her body fhe wore a doublet of Skye-colour fatin, covered with plates of gold, and as it were nailed with precious ftones, that in it fhe might feem armed; the nether part of her garment was full of fluff, and cut after fuch a fashion, that though the length of it reached to the ankles, yet in her going one might fometimes difcerne the mall of her leg, which with the foot was dreffed in a fhort pair of crimson velvet bufkins, in Some places open (as the ancient manner was) to fhew the fairness of the fkin.

XXXIX

Her daintie paps, which like young fruit in May Now little gan to fwell.] Thy breaftes are like to clusters of grapes. Sol. Song. vii. 7. Thy breaftes Shall be as clusters of the VINE. I will hence take occafion to correct and explain Chaucer in the Merchant's tale, 1655, where he imitates fome paffages of Solomons Song.

Rife up my wife, my love, my lady fre,
The turtles voice is herd, my lady fwete,
Winter is gone with all his rainis wete:
Come forth now with thyn eyin columbine; (i. e.
doves eyes. Song Sol. 15. and v. 12.)

How fairer ben thy breftis then is wine (read, vine, viz. the clusters of the vine. vii. 8.)

But I don't think (though the reader is to think for himself) that Spenfer followed literally, though he might allegorically, this myftical fong; he as a poet, takes and leaves and alters as he thinks proper: fo that by young fruit in May, &c. he may intend not clusters of

grapes, but unripe apples and this expreffion Ariofto ufes defcribing Alcina's beauties, Canto vii. 14. Bianca neve è il bel collo, e'l petto latte; Il collo è tondo, il petto è colmo, e largo; Vengono, e van, come onda al primo margo: Due pome acerbe, e pur d' avorio fatte Due pome acerbe, two unripe apples; young fruit in May.

La virginella ignude
Scopria fue frefche rofe,
C'hor tien nel velo afcofe,

E le poma del feno acerbe, e crude.

L' Amint. di Taff. A&t 1. Sc. ult. Sydney's Arcad. p. 51. And the apples methought fell down from the trees to do homage to the apples of her breaft. See Ariftoenet. Epift. iii. L. 1. and Epift. vir. L. 2. gingatar oμpánia тà signy μña, περικρατῶν ἐμφάκια μῆλα, manu prehendens acerba poma pectoris. So the place fhould, I think, be rendered and red. Ariftoph. Ecclef. ver. 898. Tò rgupėgòv imì Tołg μnλors imardi, voluptas effirefcit in earum malis, i. e. papillis. Vide Lyfuftrat. ver. 155. The rude Swain in Theocr. Id. xxvii. 49. ufes the fame expreffion,

MAAA Tiα πgúτisa [lege #gάtira] ráðs xvoάorta διδάξω.

Mala tua primùm haec florefcentia cognofcam.

XXX.

Her yellow lockes-about her shoulders-] Our poet paints at large his royal dame, and she was not difpleased to hear praises even of her perfon, if fame fays true to adorn her he has fpoiled all his brother poets of their images. Namque humeris de more habilem fufpenderat arcum Venatrix, dederatq; comam diffundere ventis, Nuda genu, nodoque finus collecta fluentes.

Virg. i. 318.

:

haves used in its primitive fenfe, Germ. haben. Anglo-S. habban. gehabban, to poffefs, use or Occupy Somn. Who behaves, employes, ufes &c. his limbs with labour, and his mind with cares, i. e. with ftudy, and thought: as cura is ufed in Latin. This is what Xenophon calls, as διὰ καρτερίας ἐπιμέλειας. Compare this Stanza, and the following, with Taffo, Canto xvii. St. 61. XLI.

Before her gate high God did fweat ordaine,
And wakefull watches ever to abide :
But eafie is the way-] ETs di às pèr gadingyles,
Ετι μὲν ῥᾳδιεργίας, κα

ἐκ τῇ παραχρῆμα ἡδονὰι, ἔτε σώματι ευεξίαν ἱκανάι ἐἰσιν
ἐργάζεσθαι, ως φασιν οι γυμνασὰν, ἔτε ψυχῇ ἐπισήμην
ἀξιόλογον ἐδεμίαν ἐμποίεσιν· αἱ δὲ διὰ καρτερίας ἐπιμέ
λειαι τῶν καλῶν τε κἀγαθῶν ἔργων ἐξικνείσθαι ποιῶσιν, ὥς
φασιν οι ἀγαθὸν ἄνδρες. Λέγει δέ πε και Ησίοδος,
καὶ

Τὴν μὲν γὰρ κακότητα καὶ ἐλαδὸν ἰσιν ἐλέσθαι
Ρηϊδίως, λένη ὀλίγη] μὲν μάλα δια
Phidias, in [male apud Hes. niyn] uir ödös, pára do
ἐγγύθι ναίει

Τῆς δ' ἀρετῆς ἱδρῶταΘεὸν προπάροιθεν ἔθηκαν
Αθανατοι· μακρὸς δὲ καὶ ὄρθιος οἶμος ἐπ ̓ αυτὴν

Depart to woods untoucht, and leave fo proud difdayne ?] Untoucht, intacta. Catull. in Carm. Nuptial. Sic virgo dum intacta manet. L. i. Od. 7. intactae Palladis. and leave fo dain behind her: or, and leave us fo difdainfully.

Kai

omnino xa]

Ρηϊδίη δ' ἔπειτα πέλει, χαλεπή ἐδσα.

περ

Argument. Delivers Phedon-this is wrongly printed instead of Phaon, See below St. 36. And fo the first quarto reads in both places. The fecond quarto and folios read Phedon.

I.

IN brave pour fuit of honourable deed,

There is I know not what great difference Between the vulgar and the noble feed] Spenfer opens his Canto, generally, with fome moral reflection, or fentiment, arising from the subject; as Berni and Ariofto di before him in their more romantick poems. This unskilful and bragging chevalier gives a proper occafion to our poet of paying a handfome compliment to the Mafter of the Horfe in the court of the Fairy Queen. We muft not, however, forget the expreffions, There is I know not what great difference, Spenfer must be translated to

IV.

understand him, Nefcio quod difcrimen magnum eft, Between the vulgar, Tov apuñ, and the noble feed, Tov iupun, fee Plato Repub. v. and the ftoical definition of EuQuia in Diogenes Laertius. As feats of arms and love to entertain: here the rhime comes in to hinder perfpicuity; as for infance to entertain feats of arms and love: to entertain, to admit and honourably receive: a metaphor from receiving a guest. from receiving a guest. But chiefly fkill to rideto manage the fteed and to ride well, was in high eftimation in Queen Elizabeth's reign : fo it was among the Perfians in the times of Cyrus, and among the Romans in the times particularly of Julius and Augustus Cæsars.

Some belated peafant fees, Or dreams be fees.

IV.

Milt. i. 783. Her OTHER LEG was lame that she no'te walke.] Litterally from Homer, Il. 6 217. Φολκὸς ἔην, χωλὸς δ ̓ ΕΤΕΡΟΝ ΠΟΔΑ. Hefychius, Ετερον πόδα· τὸν ἕνα πόδα, τὸν ἐυώνομον. alluding to this paflage of Homer: it means, fays Hefychius, one of his legs, or rather his left leg. The late learned Editor of Hefychius, did not fee the allufion. Now Tos is ufed fometimes for left, and what is left-handed is unlucky.

Δάιμων δ ̓ ἕτερος,

Ες κακὸν τρίψαις έδαμα και σατό νιν.

Daemon vero alter [i. e. laevus, malus] ad malum

qui impulerat, perdidit eam. Pindar, Ilve. y' ver. 62. So irigasig, is the left hand, in Plato de Repub. pag. 439. Edit. H. St. "Aλλn μèr ʼn åπwθᾶσα χεὶρ, ἑτέρα δὲ ἡ προσαγομένη. And her other leg means here, as in Homer, the left leg. The picture of this wicked hag, is the picture of Occafion, in Phaedrus; which has been likewife noticed by the author of the remarks on Spenfer.

Curfu ille volucri pendens in novacula
Calvus, comofa fronte, nudo corpore,
Quem fi occuparis, teneas; elapfum femel
Non ipfe poffit Jupiter reprehendere;
Occafionem rerum fignificat brevem.
Effectus impediret ne fegnis mora,
Finxere antiqui talem effigiem Temporis.

Compare likewife the Epigram in the Anthologia, pag. 346. 'Eis Tou Kaigón. which is thus to be pointed.

Η δὲ κόμη, τί κατ' ὄψιν; Ὑπαντιάσαντι λαβέσθαι
Νη Δία. Ταξόπιθεν πρὸς τί φαλακρὰ πέλει ;
Τὸν γὰρ ἅπαξ πληνοῖσι παραθρέξαντά με ποσσίν
Ουτις θ ̓ ἱμείρων δράξεται ἐξόπιθεν.

Coma autem, quid in fronte? ut obvius prehandat Sane. Partes capitis averfae quapropter calvae funt?

Quippe femel alatis praetermiffum me pedibus

Nemo jam quantumvis cupidus reprehendet.

The madman here, is Furor, the fon of Occa

fion: See below, St. 10. furor comes from pies, quia furentes omnia turbant, confundunt, mifcent.

Who all on fire freightwayWith beafly brutish rage gan him affay

Mens mala, dira, infana, &c.

Furor here broken loofe is according to the
defcription of this madman in Petronius.
Quos inter Furor abruptis ceu liber habenis
Sanguineum late tollit caput-

Furor is defcribed by Virgil as bound: compare Homer II. v. 385, where Mars the furious god of war is faid to have been imprisoned and bound in chains. Hence Virgil took his hint, as likewife from a picture of Apelles, mentioned by Pliny, Nat. Hift. Lib. 35. pag. 697. Edit. Hard.

The poets often mention Furor as a perfon and an infernal imp.

Tum torva Erinnys fonuit etcaecus FUROR,
Horrorque, & una quidquid aeternae creant,
Celantque tenebrae.
Oedip. ver. 590.

veniat invifum Scelus,
Suumque lambeus fanguinem Impietas ferox,

Hercul. Fur. ver. 96.