12. The doubtful damsel dare not yet commit Do kiss her feet, and fawn upon her countenance fain. 13. Their hearts she guesseth by their humble guise, And yields her to extremity of time ; So from the ground she fearless doth arise, And with green branches strewing all the ground, Do worship her as queen with olive garland crowned. 14. And all the way their merry pipes they sound, That all the woods with double echo ring, 15. Far off he wonders what them makes so glad, 16. The wood-born people fall before her flat, Sometimes Diana he her takes to be; But misseth bow and shafts and buskins to her knee.... 18. The woody nymphs, fair Hamadryades, Her to behold do thither run apace, But all the Satyrs scorn their woody kind, And henceforth nothing fair, but her, on earth they find. 19. Glad of such luck, the luckless lucky maid During which time her gentle wit she plies, But when their bootless zeal she did restrain From her own worship, they her ass would worship fain. in-con-tinentem), or within bounds; 13. Guise, French form of wise,' man hence without check or stop-at once. 9. Uncouth, unknown, unusual. From cuth (known, familiar), from cunnan (to know). The sense of awkward' is naturally derived from this. 10. Silly lamb. Cf. Greene, notes, page 85. Spenser, like Greene, spells seely.- -As when &c. The comparison might have been expressed more directly and clearly. 'As (when a greedy wolf. . . does take . . . and spies a lion and then does forsake the innocent prey), it, quit from death, yet quakes,' &c. Or, 'As when a wolf, having taken (or who has taken)... spies a lion,' &c. In the construction of the text, 'and' is needed before a lion spies,' &c. -With change of fear. The cause of fear is changed: first, the wolf; next, the lion. II. Ne ne: neither ... nor. Salvage, belonging to the wood; much the same as wood' (noun used as adj. in 9), 'wood-born' (16), and 'woody' (18). Hence 'savage' is wild, uncivilised, barbarous. Lat. silvaticus (from silva) becomes O. Fr. and Eng. salvage; mod. Fr. sauvage, Eng. savage. -Horror, Lat. horror, lit. standing on end (of hair, &c.), bristliness, shagginess. -Semblance, appearance.- -Fear &c. (in order) to put away (her) fear, (the salvage nation) teach their knees, (which are) bent backward, humbly to obey her.' 12. Her single person. She is now alone, separated from the Redcross Knight's protection.—Truth, trueness, honest intentions.Late learned, lately taught.- -Hasty trust. Quite recently she had too hastily believed an impostor to be the Redcross Knight.- -Ruth, pity, tender regret: abstract noun from verb 'rue.'- -Fain, pleased, joyful: modified from ancient fægen, by softening of g. ner. Without suspect of crime, without suspicion of accusation (Lat. crimen); not imagining that, in going with 'the salvage nation,' she is doing anything that she can be found fault with for.-Prime (Lat. primus, first), the early morning: or springtime. 14. Cypress stadle. Silvanus was represented carrying the trunk of a cypress in his hand; not, however, as a support. 'Stadle,' the old stathol (from standan, to stand), a firm foundation or support, staff. 15. Bacchus, god of wine. His 'merry (or pleasant) fruit' is, of course, the grape. Did invent, had found, or discovered. A past tense between two present tenses.- -Cybělē (dissyllable in text), 'the Great Mother,' 'the Mother of the gods,' was a famous Asiatic goddess. She came to be identified with the Greek Rhea, a goddess of the earth and mother of Zeus, &c. Her worship was wildly enthusiastic. Mirror. Una is so called from her clear, bright beauty, or in token of her spotless purity; or else as being a perfect pattern or example (like a reflected image).- -Dryopē (dissyllable in text), daughter of King Dryops, was carried off by the Hamadryades, and became a nymph. Phŏlõe, another wood and mountain nymph. 16. Sylvanus self is in accordance with ancient usage. The possessive form 'Sylvanus' self' is later. Cf. below, 'Venus self.'-In doubt to deem, in doubt whether to deem.Diana, an ancient Italian divinity, goddess of light, came to be identified with the Greek Artemis. As a huntress, she is represented with bow and quiver of arrows, and buskins to the knee. 18. Hamadryădes (from Gr. hama, together with, and drus, an oak, or any wild lofty tree), nymphs of trees, lived and died with the trees they were born with. Spenser lets them loose for a moment. -Naiades (from Gr. nao, flow), nymphs of flowing fresh water-rivers, lakes, brooks, springs, &c.-Disgrace, from comparison with Una. 19. Luckless lucky. Luckless in being separated from the Redcross Knight; lucky in being delivered from Sansloy, and in meeting with the goodnatured forest people. Traces of Euphuistic influence may be noticed in the expression. Note fantastic tricks like 'Pholoe foul' (15), 'bethinks not what to think' (16), glad of such luck, the luckless lucky maid' (19). SPENSER'S BRIDE. (From The Epithalamion.) Lo! where she comes along with portly pace, 150 Clad all in white, that seems a virgin best. So well it her beseems, that ye would ween And being crownèd with a garland green, Her long loose yellow locks, like golden wire, Do like a golden mantle her attire, Seem like some maiden queen. Her modest eyes, abashed to behold Sprinkled with pearl, and pearling flowers atween, 155 160 Ne dare lift up her countenance too bold, But blush to hear her praises sung so loud, So far from being proud. Nathless do ye still loud her praises sing, That all the woods may answer, and your echo ring. 165 Tell me, ye merchants' daughters, did ye see Adorned with beauty's grace, and virtue's store; 170 Her forehead ivory white, Her cheeks like apples which the sun hath rudded, Her breast like to a bowl of cream uncrudded. . . . 175 Why stand ye still, ye virgins, in amaze, Upon her so to gaze, Whiles ye forget your former lay to sing, To which the woods did answer, and your echo ring? But if ye saw that which no eyes can see, 185 The inward beauty of her lively spright, 195 And giveth laws alone, The which the base affections do obey, And yield their services unto her will; Then would ye wonder, and her praises sing, NOTES. 148. Portly pace. 'Portly' indicates good carriage or bearing. 149. Phoebe, the moon, the female Phoebus (sun-god). Lit. the bright and pure one. 151. Seems, beseems, becomes. 152. Ween, think. 200 (=by-that) less, or nevertheless. Spenser has the similar form 'nathe more. 173. Rudded, redded, made red. 158. Seem &c. Again, the comparison 190. Medusa's mazeful head. Medusa, |