網頁圖片
PDF
ePub 版

=

VIII. 4. Pricked stung; agreeing with him in the preceding line. IX. 4. Drift= = purpose or object aimed at.

6. Doth make = doth devise or machinate.

=

With the latter make is

etymologically related. X. 4. Proteus the “old man of the sea," who tended the seal-flocks of Poseidon or Neptune. He had the gift of prophecy, and of endless transformation. Proteus was very unwilling to prophesy, and tried to escape by adopting all manner of shapes and disguises; but if he found his endeavors useless, he at length resumed his proper form and spoke unerringly of the future.

6. Fell =
9. Might of magick spell.

fierce, cruel. A. S. fel, fierce, dire.

When Spenser wrote, the belief in magic was still strong, and the arts of Archimago were not regarded as impossible. XI. I. But now seemde best but now it seemed best to him.

6. Discolourd diversly = variously or diversely colored.

=

7. Folly handsome. Fr. joli, pretty. Addrest = prepared, dressed. Fr. adresser.

9. Saint George himselfe = the patron of chivalry and the tutelary saint of England. His origin is obscure, though he was no doubt a real personage. At the council of Oxford in 1222, his feast was ordered to be kept as a national festival.

= semblance.

XII. 1. Semblaunt simulare, to assume the appearance of.

2. The true Saint George

4. Will =

=

Fr. sembler, to seem; from Lat.

the Red Cross Knight. See introduction. wilfulness; that is, he was governed by the will alone, and

not, as when Una was with him, by truth.

=

8. Sans foy without faith, or faithless.

XIII. 2. A goodly lady = Duessa, representing Falsehood in general, and the Church of Rome in particular; for which reason she is described as "clad in scarlet red," referring to Rev. xvii. 4 -a passage applied to the Papacy by many Protestant commentators.

3. Purfled

=

embroidered on the edge. O. Fr. pourfiler, to trim a tinsel; from pour (Lat. pro) and filer, to twist threads; from fil, a thread. 4. Persian mitre = a lofty mitre or cap.

=

5. Owches ouches or ornaments; also sockets, in which precious stones are set. See Ex. xxviii. II.

9. Bosses brave

= fair ornaments. Boss:

= a protuberant ornament on

any work.

XIV. 5. Addresse = prepare. See stanza xi., line 7.
XV. 2. Dispiteous = pitiless, cruel.

3. Towards ride 8. Astonied

=

[blocks in formation]

astonished, astounded, stunned. Astonish and astound,

are corruptions of the older form astony, which is derived by Skeat from A. S. astunian, to stun or amaze completely, intimately confused with the O. Fr. estonner, to amaze.

9. Rebutte =

recoil. Fr. re, back, and bouter, to thrust.

XVI. 6. Hanging = doubtful, undecided.

=

9. Broken reliques Shattered spears.

XVII. 1. Buffe blow. O. Fr. bufe, a blow.

=

[merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small]

and seeks with cruel glances to pierce his side armed with iron.

For this use

of "their," compare Matt. xviii. 25: "If ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."

XVIII. 2. The bitter fitt

3. Wote

= the bitter throes of death.

= know. A. S. wat, present tense of witan, to know.

5. Assured sitt = keep a firm seat in your saddle.

8. It:

[ocr errors]

9. Blest

the Saracen's sword.

=

preserved.

XIX. I. Who: =

3. Making mark:

the Red Cross Knight.
taking aim.

=

7. Grudging ghost did strive his spirit, unwilling to depart, strove with

[blocks in formation]

the Red Cross Knight. — Scowre = ride rapidly. O. Fr. escurer, to scour; from Lat. ex, used here as intensive prefix, and curare, to

[blocks in formation]

XXII. 4. Before that angry heavens list to lowre

[ocr errors]

before it pleased the angry heavens to lower. List is here impersonal with the dative. A. S. lystan, to please.

8. Daughter of an Emperour. — Duessa, representing the Papacy, here traces her descent from the Roman empire. "The Popes at Rome looked on themselves (partially at least) as inheritors of the Imperial position.” XXIII. 2. Onely haire

5. Debonaire:

or appearance. 8. Fone

=

=

[blocks in formation]

courteous, gracious. O. Fr. de bon aire, of good mien

foes. Fone is an old plural. A. S. fan, plu. of fah, foe. XXIV. 5. Assaid affected. O. Fr. essaier, to judge of a thing.

[blocks in formation]

XXVI. 2. Fidessa. - Duessa assumes this name, which implies truth, in order to deceive the Red Cross Knight.

[blocks in formation]

Chear 6. Eien == eyes.

A. S. eage, plu. eagen.

See Canto I., stanza ii., line 8.

Written also eyne and eyen; both are old plural forms. Shamefast = shamefaced; an absurd modern spelling, as face has nothing to do with it. A. S. scamfaest; from scamu, shame, and faest, fast, firm.

9. Dainty maketh derth coyness creates desire. Derth is literally dearness; from A. S. deore, dear, with the suffix th, as in heal-th, leng-th. XXVIII. 8. Ne wont there sound = nor was wont there to sound. XXIX. 1. Can spiegan or began to see.

3. Phœbus

6. Mote

9. Tide

= the sun. See stanza ii., line 7.

might. A. S. ic mot, I am able.

time, season. A. S. tid, time.

XXX. 1. Faire seemely pleasaunce = pleasing and proper courtesy.

2. Goodly purposes

=

agreeable conversation.

purpos, mod. Fr. propos, talk, discourse.

heave.

Purposes, from O. Fr.

XXXI. 8. Astond = astonished. See stanza xv., line 8. — His heare his hair did rise. Hove XXXII. 1. Whenas when.

did hove =

[merged small][ocr errors][merged small]

=

5. Limbo the borders of hell.

[blocks in formation]

8. Speaches rare = thin-sounding discourse. Lat. rarus, thin, rare. XXXIII. 3. Fradubio = doubtful. Spenser indicates the fate of those who waver between truth and falsehood.

[blocks in formation]
[blocks in formation]

die or chance of war.

I cast = I resolved or planned.

which of the two. A. S. hwather, which of two. Cf.

fragile, frail.

XXXVIII. 5. A foggy mist. - The effect of slander in blasting a fair reputation is here depicted. The Jesuits slandered Queen Elizabeth for the purpose of injuring her influence with the English people.

[blocks in formation]

A. S. wiht, creature, person.

XXXIX. I. Wight
Formerly both masculine and feminine; here it refers to Frælissa.

=

person, creature.

form of a tree.

9. Treën mould en, as in leathern, wooden.

Treën is an adj. with the suffix n or

XL. 2. Unweeting = unknowing, unwitting. A. S. witan, to know. 3. Wist: = knew. A. S. wiste, past tense of witan, to know.

4. Everie prime = every spring. It was commonly believed that witches had to do penance once a year in some unsightly form.

7. Origane = an herb used in baths for cutaneous diseases.

[blocks in formation]

XLIV. 1. Hight called. A. S. hatan, to be called.

=

"A most sin

gular word, presenting the sole instance in English of a passive verb." Skeat. 4. Dreriment = sorrow, dreariness. A. S. dreorig, sad.

XLV.

2. Unweeting: 6. She up gan lift:

=

=

unknowing. See stanza xl., line 2. she began to uplift.

FRANCIS BACON.

In this era of great writers, the name of Francis Bacon, after those of Shakespeare and Spenser, stands easily first. He was great as a lawyer, as a statesman, as a philosopher, as an author great in everything, alas! but character. Though his position in philosophy is still a matter of dispute, there can be little doubt that he deserves to rank with Plato and Aristotle, who for two thousand years ruled the philosophic world.

It is claimed by some critics that Bacon's method of philosophizing is wanting in either novelty or value, and that no investigator follows his rules. There is much truth in this claim, and yet Bacon's influence in modern science is pre-eminent. That which has counted for most in his philosophical writings is his spirit. In proud recognition of modern ability and modern advantages, he threw off the tyranny of the ancients. "It would indeed be dishonorable," he says, "to mankind if the regions of the material globe, the earth, the sea, the stars, should be so prodigiously developed and illustrated in our age, and yet the boundaries of the intellectual globe should be confined to the narrow discoveries of the ancients."

He looked upon knowledge, not as an end in itself, to be enjoyed as a luxury, but as a means of usefulness in the service of men. The mission of philosophy is to ameliorate man's condition to increase his power, to multiply his enjoyments, and to alleviate his sufferings. He discarded the speculative philosophy which seeks to build up a system from the inner resources of the mind. However admirable in logical acuteness and consistency, such systems are apt to be without truth or utility. "The wit and mind of man," says Bacon, "if it work upon matter, which is the contemplation of the creatures of

« 上一頁繼續 »