And beath'd in fire-] See the Gloffary. It means heated, and thence hardened. See note on B. i. C. 7. St. 37: VIII.

-all to rent and feratcht.] See note on B. i. C. 6. St. 48. where this phrafe is explained: and B. v. C. 8. St. 43. Here I mention it again to correct a paffage in Milton's Mafque. --and lets grow her wings, That in the various bustle of refort Were all to ruffled and fometimes impair'd. So it fhould be printed, and not all too.

VII.

Inftead of HER flaies. i. e. ftaies or stops her. Ibid.

More faift than Myrrb' or Daphne in her race, Or any of the Thracian nymphes in falvage chace.] Amoret fled from this monfter fwifter than Myrrha fled from her deluded aud avenging father: fwifter than Daphne fled from Apollo: or fwifter than any of the Amazonian nymphs, whom he calls the Thracian nymphes, because they inhabited near Thermodon a river in

Thrace.

XXIII.

But if the heavens-] unless the gods who dwell in the heavens. But if, unless.

Ibid.

Thereto the villaine ufed craft IN FIGHT--And if it chaunft (as needs it must IN FIGHT)] This is against the rules of good rhiming; viz. that words fignifying the fame thing should be forced out of all tune to jingle together: and though fometimes by neceffity he does fo; yet here we may fairly imagine that the words below caught the printer's eye; because fo very obvious a reading occurs, and a better

one too, as

Thereto the villaine ufed craft AND SLIGHT;
For ever when the fquire his javelin fbooke,
He held the lady-

And what proves the truth of this alteration, over and above what has been faid, is that immediately the poet adds, St. 27.

Which fubtil SLEIGHT did him encumber much.

XXIX.

XXIX.

With bow in hand and arrowes ready bent.] ready bent agrees with bow by a figure, called fynchyfis, which he frequently uses.

XXX.

As when Latonaes daughter, cruell kynde,
In vengement of her mothers great difgrace,
With fell defpight her cruell arrowes tynde
Gainft woefull Niobes unhappy race,
That all the gods did mone her miferable cafe.

This fimile is true only in this refpect, namely, that Belphoebe resembled her name-fake in the certainty of her destined arrows and vengeance: neither Niobe, nor her race, refembled this monfter neither gods nor men bemoaned his miferable cafe. Diana, he calls, cruell kynde; kind with cruelty: fhe was cruell to Niobe and her race; kynd, as loving with natural affection her mother Latona, and revenging her caufe on Niobe, who vainly set herself above

Latona.

XXXII.

And oft admired his monstrous shape, and oft His mighty limbs---] So the quarto, and folios 1609, 1611, 1617, 1679. But Hughes has it eft, as the rhimes require. See the note on B. i. C. 12. St. 9.

XXXIII.

Thenceforth fhe past into this dreadful den.] Here is an error of the prefs, for his.

Ibid.

And bad them, if fo be they were not BOUND, To come and fhew themselves-] Bound and imprifoned by fome magical power. The evil fpirit fled into the utmost parts of Egypt, and the Angel BOUND bim. Tobit, viii. 3. And he caft him into the bottomless pit, and fhut him up, and fet a feal upon him. Rev. xx. 3.

Back to th' infernal pit I drag thee chaind

Uncomb'd, uncurl'd, and carelefly unfhed.] i. c. fhed, or scattered round his fhoulders and face. un is here not negative, but augmentative. So loofe, unloofe: that, unthaw: The Latins fay fractus, infractus thoroughly broken: potens, impotens. This may be offered to vindicate the received reading. If 'tis thought that uncombed, uncurled, being negatively used, the adjective immediately following fhould likewife be negative, viz. unfhed: then with a flight variation, and fuch as might easily mislead a printer, as un precedes in two words, we might read,

Uncomb'd, uncurld, and carelefly YSHED. The hiftorical allufion is to Sir W. Raleigh's great affliction and trouble of mind, which he Thewed when banished from court. The poet has the fame allufion in Colin Clout's come home again.

XLI.

That like a pined ghoft.] See the Gloff. in Piné.

XLV.

To weld his naked fword---] It may be a queftion whether 'tis his own fword, or Prince Arthurs? In St. 39. 'tis faid that all his own warlike weapons he broke and threw away.

-which deepe therein infected lay. Take notice of the mixture of tenfes, Till me dhe delay----And till time have wypt away--See note on B. i. C. 3. St. 41.

VII.

In which his ladies colours were---] When the ladies fancied any particular colours, their lovers diftinguished themfelves by them at the tilts and tournaments: Allufions are frequently

made to this custom in Romance writers.

X.

---her purple breaft.] Purple means beautiful in general; or refplendent,

Colla Cytheriacae fplendent agitata columbae.

XI.

In th' end fhe her unto that place did guide.---] Doves (which Horace calls fabulofae palumbes, L. iii. Od. 4.) are friends to poets; Sir W. Raleigh, Timos, was a poet; hence the Dove, in St. 3, and 4, accompanies him. The Dove too is the emblem of love and friendfhip 'tis the bird of Venus, which conducted Æneas to the golden bough, just as here Belphoebe is conducted to the gentle fquire. I believe Spenfer had his eye on Virg. An. vi. 191, &c.

XVI.

When fo he heard her fay, effoones he brake His fodaine filence, which he long bad pent---] This is the reading of the old quarto edition, of the folios of 1609, 1611, 1617, 1679, of Hughes, and of all the editions which I have ever feen. I have the more minutely examined this reading, becaufe Mr. Birch, who printed Mr. Kent's edition of Spenfer after his death, fays 'tis tedious filence in the folio, 1609. To account for this; I believe fome one in Mr. Kent's edition had written tedious, inftead of

Juddaine: but Mr. Jorton offers a better reading than tedious, which is fullen: as our poet ufes it in his vth Eclogue.

At laft her fullen filence she broke. In B. i. C. 12. St. 29. he fays,

At laft his folemne filence thus he brake.

But neither fullen, tedious, nor folemne is Spenfer's reading; but fodaine as fpelt in the old quarto, or fuddaine as fpelt in the folio.

Eftfoones he brake

His fodaine filence—

For 'tis common with Spenfer, to place his adjective in fuch manner between two fubftantives, that it fhall feem to agree with the

But I queftion if the printer did not mistake in this paffage before us an 1 for a t,

But noyfome breath, and poyfnous fpirit fent
From inward parts with cancred malice tind,

i. e. fet on fire, inflamed. So above, C. 7. St. 30.

With fell defpight her cruell arrowes tynd. See the gloffary. The expreffion by this eafy change is more philofophical, fee note on B. i. C. 3. St. 34. 'tis more fcriptural likewife. The tongue is fet on fire of hell, James iii. 6.

The fay the world is much war then it wont.
So G. Douglas in his tranflation of Virgil
viii. 324.

Aurea quae perhibent illo fub rege fuerunt
Secula---

Deterior donec paulatim ac decolor aetas--

Of gold the world was in that kingis time, [viz. Saturn's.]

Quhil pece and pece the eild fyne WAR AND WAR Begouth to wax

i. e. while by little and little the age afterwards began to grow worfe and worse. See Junius in World.

Me feems the WORLD is runne quite out of Square
From the first point of his appointed four fe
And being once amiffe growes daily WORSE AND

WORSE.

Introduction to B. v. St. 1.

Sydney's Arcad. pag. 33. According to the nature of the old growing world, WORSE AND WORSE. Efdras xiv. 10. The world bath loft his youth, and the times begin to wax old.

XXXII.

Then beauty which was made to reprefent
The great Creatour's owne refemblance bright-]
The reflected image from the original beauty;
the bright effluence of his bright effence: very
Platonically expreffed.

Then fair grew foule and foule grew fair---So the witches in Macbeth, Fair is foule and foule is fair.

Then did her gloricus flower--- viz. Beauties: fee B. iii. C. 5. St. 52. in both thefe places he compliments his Fairy Queen. See note on Introduct. Book vi. St. 3.

XXXVI.

Like as a curre doth felly bite and teare
The Stone, which paffed firaunger at him threw.]
Perhaps from Taffo ix. 88.

Quafi maftin, che'l faffo, ond' a lui porto
Fu duro colpo, infellonito afferra.
Compare Ariofto xxxviii. 78.
XXXVII.

With eafie fieps fo foft as foot could stride.] i. e. could ftep or go; catachreftically: a particular mode of expreffion ufed for a general one. XXXVIII.

ad caelum ibat, Hom. II. p. 425. gavor is worúxañuov, ---The brazen fkie.] xúλuzov šgavòv îxsv aereum caelum adufque folidum, Il. é. 504. ἐρανὸν ἐς πολύχαλκον,

XXXIX.

For from his fearfull eyes two fiery beames--To all that on HIM lookt without good heed.] None of the books read THEM, viz. his fearful eyes. Ισως δὲ και οι Ερωτες τοξόται διὰ τᾶτο καλῦνται, ὅτι καὶ πόρρωθεν οι καλοι τιτρώσκεσι. Socrates, apud Χen. άπομ. L. i. C. 3. Έρως ἐπάιδευσε τὴν ποθεμένην ἐπιτοξέυειν ταις τῶν ὀμμάτων βολᾶις. Ariftaenetus, L. i. Epift. i. So vitious Pleasure is defcribed in Sil. Ital. xv. 27.

----lafcivaque crebras Ancipiti motu jaciebant lumina flammas. And Eve in Milton, ix. 1056.