ARCITA'S DYING ADDRESS. 13 ARCITA, DYING IN CONSEQUENCE OF THE WOUND RECEIVED "NOUGHT may the woeful spirit in mine heart Sin that my life ne may no longer dure." Alas, mine herté's queen !-alas, my wife, Mine herté's lady-ender of my life! What is this world? What axenR men to have? Now with his love-now in his colde grave- Farewell, my sweet! farewell, mine Emelie ! That is to sayn,-truth, honour, and knighthède, Wisdom, humblesse,15 estate,16 and high kindrède," 4 Spirit. 2 Only. 5 Since. 7 Separation of our society. brings such objects before us, as when we look at wild beasts in a menagerie; their claws are pared; their eyes glitter harmless lightning; but we gaze at them with a pleasing awe, clothed in beauty, and formidable in the sense of abstract power." 1 Completely, accurately. French, à point. A lover's attachment. Last; we now write endure. 8 Ask. ? There is perhaps an intended beauty in the transition from the general reflection implied in the plural "axen men;" to the specialty of Arcita's own case implied in the singular "his." 10 The imperative has often this form, especially in the plural. 11 Denoting friendly connection or relationship; alleged etymologies, Lat. cognatus, of same birth; consanguineus, of same blood;-"Our chiefest courtier, cousin, and our son."-Hamlet, Act i. Sc. 2. 12 Certainly; from Ang. Sax. wittan, to know. 13 Guide. So may Jupiter certainly guide my soul to speak, etc. This is a common use of so in oaths and vows: Comp. Horace, Odes i 3. "Sic te diva," etc. 14 A lover: one of the terms of the worship chivalry paid to woman; applied to any knight who chose a lady, as the lady of his worship, without any idea of the character lover. Thus James IV. of Scotland made himself knight of the Queen of France; and, as bound by the laws of chivalry to obey his lady's request, he marched for her sake "three miles" and more on English ground, and lost his life by his devotion. For the use of the term "servant" in this sense, see "The two Gentlemen of Verona," Act ii. Sc. I and Sc. 4. 15 Modesty. The termination esse in English now takes n before it. 16 Rank. 17 Kindred; almost the only instance in which we retain this shape of the termination is Godhead; but Chaucer and Spencer write knighthed, lustyhed, etc. Freedom, and all that 'longeth to that art— As in this world right now ne know I none 6 And with that word his speeché fail began ; PRAISE OF WOMEN. FOR, this ye know well, tho' I wouldin lie, And if it hap a man be in disease, 13 She doth12 her business and her full pain13 With all her might him to comfort and please, 1 It must be remembered that some of the theology of the "Knight's Tale" is of the age of Theseus and Hippolyta. 2 Truly; this sense is retained in "right well; right trusty," etc. 3 Will do; done, i.e., doen, infinitive governed by wol; wol, past tense wold (would). 4 Infinitive governed by shall 5 Overtaken: German, nehmen, to take; part. genommen, taken. • Gone; the prefix a (on, to, or in) is obsolete except in poetry : "Does Lord Eneas go afield to-day."-Shakesp. Troilus and Cressida. and in the adverbs away, against, etc.; ago is applied only to time;-" as some have long agone."-Bunyan. A was very often prefixed to the present participle awanting, adying, a-fishing. 7 The heart, the liver, and the kidneys (reins) have been made the seat of passion and feeling, hence chicken-hearted, "lily-livered"—(Shakesp.), “that searchest the heart and triest the reins."-Psalms. 8 Sick. 9 This whole picture is as truly pathetic as any to be found in the whole range of poetry. The fervour of his love represented as maintaining the principle of life in the vital seat, while death is creeping over the members of his body, is peculiarly affecting; and the supremacy of this feeling when all is dissolving, when "dusked his eyen two, and failed his breath," is pictured in the most intense style of pathos. 10 Saw. 11 Demeanour; if the punctuation be altered, coming may be viewed as one of the predicates of the succeeding verb is. 12 Exerts. 13 Endeavour. THE FLOWER AND THE LEAF. If fro his disease him she might restrain: Lo, here what gentleness these women have, INTRODUCTION TO "THE FLOWER AND THE LEAF." WHEN that Phoebus his chair" of gold so high With newé green, and maketh smallé flowers 15 1 Our rudeness being an obstacle to our knowing it. For the etymology and applications of for, see Tooke and the dictionaries. 2 Health; the cognates are hail, hale, whole. 3 Compassion; from rue (Ang.-Sax. Hreowan, to lament); the same analogy exists in true, truth. Rue, the herb, said to be from Puew (ruein), to deliver; "quia, ut Dioscorides docet, valetudinem conservat."-(Vossius.) 4 The Sun-god. The names of the Greek deities are said to be of uncertain etymology. Phœbus is traced both to paw (phao), I shine; and poßew (phobeo), I terrify. The name Apollo is said to be from arouμ (apollumi), I destroy. This is a frequent image in the elder poetry; so Ben Johnson, in the Hymn to Cynthia : "" 'Seated in thy silver chair, State in wonted manner keep."-(Cynthia's Revels.) The second sign of the zodiac 7 Many. (German viel.) 8 There seems a confusion of nominatives here between Phœbus, showers, and plain. Be was formerly used indicatively; we employ it now only in the subjunctive or conditional sense. 10 Supply the relative which. 11 A person; from Ang. -Sax. witan, to know; hence wight is a being that knows and feels. It is an appellation of warriors in Scottish poetry,-"Wallace wight." It is often used as an epithet of contempt or ridicule. And so I, gladé of the season sweet Wherefore I marvell'd greatly of myself In which were oakés great, straight as a line, Which, as me thought, was a right pleasant sight; And at the last a path of little brede9 For it forgrowén10 was with grass and weed, Thought I, "this path some whider go'th, pardé!" 12 1 Situated by fortune. 2 Was not. 8 Had not. The dawn is called the "day-spring." Job xxxviii. 12; Luke i. 78. 5 The indefinite article is often in plural expressions used in a collective sense:"a thousand things," 66 a few names," ་་ ་་ ཀ a many thousand warlike French."Shakesp; and the collective word seems to have a tendency to assume the singular shape; as, ten fish, thirty horse, eight foot. At a convenient distance; well is often used as an adverb of extent or degree; good is taken in the same sense; bien is used similarly in French. 7 During; at any time selected from all the year. Cognates; Gothic, af; Lat. ab; Greek, απο, αφ'. 8 This is beautiful and natural. 9 Breadth. 10 For (prefix, German, ver); for, as a prefix, is sometimes privative, sometimes intensive; it is often used in the latter sense in Scotch, "forfeuchten."-Burns. "And the heavy ploughman snores All with weary task fordone."-Shakesp. Midsummer's Night's Dream. 12 Fr. par-dieu. 11 Beneath; the Scotch form is aneath. THE HOUSE OF FAME. And so I followed till it me brought To a right pleasant herbir1 well ywrought, Which that benchéd was, and with turvés3 new Within, in fere so well and cunningly, So well ydone; for he that took the cure11 1 Arbour. THE HOUSE OF FAME. And eke this house hath of entreès Plural of turf. 2 This double relative is still used in the vulgar dialect. This is marked with the minuteness of Shakespeare's eye. $ Went round; surrounded: yede, part. yode, to go. 17 Applied to the great maple tree, though there is little resemblance between it and the oriental sycamore. Eglantine. "Skinner and Junius both say rosa sylvestris (wild rose). Warton asserts the eglantine and the sweet-briar to be the same plant; and that by 'twisted eglantine,' Milton therefore meant the 'honey-suckle.'"-Richardson. Together; in company: fere signifies also a companion, an associate, a lover. "Here's my hand, my trusty fere."-Burns. "Fresh feres will dry the bright blue eyes."-Byron. Chaucer uses the word in both these senses. The alleged etymology in Ang.-Sax. is faran, to go. It might seem to have some connection with friend. 9 All along. 10 Have seen. This expression is retained in the vulgar dialect. 11 Care (Lat. cura). 12 (From Ang. -Sax. treowa, faithful); hence true, truth. 13 Exerted his endeavour. 14 Surpass all those. Tho' is also an adverb meaning then. 15 The sequel of this description is very beautiful. The whole poem is full of delightful imagery and pictures. It seems to have suggested Edwin's vision in Beattie's "Minstrel." 15 Are: plur. of be. Act ii. Sc. 3. 17 See infinitive. "With every thing that pretty bin."-Shakesp. Cymbeline, 18 Holes; apertures; retained in this sense in Scotch. Bole is also the trunk of a tree; Armenian bole; a species of earth. 19 A specific time, as noontide; eventide (German zeit): applied to the periods of |