And fowly faide; " By Mahoune, curfed thiefe, That direfull ftroke thou dearely fhalt aby." Then, hurling up his harmefull blade on hy, Smote him fo hugely on his haughtie creft, That from his faddle forced him to fly: Els mote it needes downe to his manly breft Have cleft his head in twaine, and life thence difpoffeft. XXXIV. Now was the Prince in daungerous diftreffe, Wanting his fword, when he on foot fhould fight: His fingle fpeare could doe him small re dreffe Against two foes of fo exceeding might, The leaft of which was match for any Knight. And now the other, whom he earst did daunt, Had reard himfelfe againe to cruel fight Three times more furious and more puisfaunt, Unmindfull of his wound, of his fate ignoraunt, XXXV. So both attonce him charge on either fyde With hideous strokes and importable powre, XXXV. 2. and importable powre,] Power nat to be borne, as Mr. Upton obferves; who adds, that importable is used by Chaucer. I must also remark, that the accent is here placed on the firft fyllable of importable. The pronunciation of insupportable, with the accent on the fecond fyllable, F. Q. i. vii. 11. is analogous to the example before us. TODD, That forced him his ground to traverse wyde, And wifely watch to ward that deadly ftowre: For on his fhield, as thicke as ftormie fhowre, Their ftrokes did raine; yet did he never quaile, Ne backward fhrinke; but as a ftedfaft towre, Whom foe with double battry doth affaile, Them on her bulwarke beares, and bids them nought availe. XXXVI. So ftoutly he withstood their strong affay; At proud Cymochles, whiles his fhield was wyde, That through his thigh the mortall steele did gryde: XXXV. 5. For on his shield,] This emendation, made by the first folio, is admitted into all fubfequent editions, except that of 1751, which reads, with Spenfer's own editions, "For in his fhield." TODD. XXXV. 7. but as a ftedfaft towre,] I have obferved, in another place, that Milton probably remembered Dante's "Sta, come torre ferma," Purgat. C. v. 14, when he faid that Satan" ftood like a tower," Par. L. B. i. 591. Spenfer's fimile, in the prefent paffage, might not have been forgotten; although indeed Milton has drawn a picture, unrivalled and proudly eminent. TODD, XXXVI. 5. did gryde:] Cut or pierce. See the note on gride, Shep. Cal. Feb. TODD. He, fwarving with the force, within his flesh Did breake the launce, and let the head abyde: Out of the wound the red blood flowed fresh, That underneath his feet foone made a purple plesh. XXXVII. Horribly then he gan to rage and rayle, Curfing his gods, and himselfe damning deepe: Als when his brother faw the red blood rayle Adowne fo faft, and all his armour steepe, For very XXXVII. 2. felneffe lowd he gan to weepe, Macbeth anticipates himfelfe damning deepe:] Thus "Curfes, not loud, but deep." TODD. XXXVII. 3. the red blood rayle,] So Spenfer's own editions read, to which the edition of 1751, and Mr. Upton, adhere. The reft read trayle; which I reject, not only as being an unauthorised, but also as a very mean, expreffion. To rail is often used by Spenfer for to flow. See the note on F. Q. i. vi. 43. The rhymes here are indeed the fame in found, but not in sense; a practice not infrequent in the Italian poets, and in the Faerie Queene. It is my duty respectfully to notice the improper introduction of this paffage into Dr. Johnson's Dictionary, as an illuftration of the verb trail; for certainly trail here is not Spenfer's word. TODD. XXXVII. 4. and all his armour steepe,] Observe again the attention of Milton to his master; for he fays that, from the wound of Satan, "A ftream of nectarous humour iffuing flow'd "Sanguine, fuch as celestial Spirits may bleed, XXXVII. 5. For very felneffe lowd he gan to weepe,] He gan to cry aloud for very fierceneffe. The rhyme, Mr. Upton obferves, muft excuse the catachreftical ufe of weepe: Arptions antiv, IL. 364. TODD. And faid; "Caytive, curfe on thy cruell hond, That twife hath spedd; yet shall it not thee keepe From the third brunt of this my fatall brond: Lo, where the dreadfull Death behynd thy backe doth ftond !" XXXVIII. With that he ftrooke, and th' other ftrooke withall, That nothing feemd mote beare so monftrous might: The one upon his covered fhield did fall, And glauncing downe would not his owner byte: But th' other did upon his troncheon fmyte; It made, and on his hacqueton did lyte, XXXVII. 9. Lo, where &c.] Spenfer was probably thinking of fome of the representations in The Dance of Death, which thus paint the tyrant behind the man. See alfo the poet's allufion to the fame defcription, Shep. Cal. Nov. TODD. XXXVIII. 7. hacqueton] A jacket without fleeves, according to the Gloffary in Urry's Chaucer; more properly, the stuffed jacket worn under the armour. The Black Prince's hacqueton, compofed of quilted cotton, is yet to be seen in Canterbury cathedral. The hacqueton was fometimes made of leather. TODD. XXXIX. Wyde was the wound, and a large lukewarme flood, Red as the rose, thence gushed grievously; Gave him great hart and hope of victory. broke ; Nought could he hurt, but ftill at warde did ly: Yet with his troncheon he fo rudely stroke Cymochles twife, that twife him forst his foot revoke. XL. Whom when the Palmer faw in fuch diftreffe, right hand bleffe, To ufe that fword fo well as he it ought!" XL. 1. Which when the Palmer faw &c.] Spenfer here plainly had Homer in view, where Minerva gives Achilles his fpear, as "Exropa, Il. x. 276. She gave him his fword fo lightly, that Hector knew not of it. So luturna gives Turnus his fword, who had broken his former fword on the Vulcanian arms of Æneas. UPTON. XL. 2. raught,] Reached, from reach; as taught from teach: which I mention, because Hughes has printed it, wrought. UPTON. XL. 4. fo well as he it ought!] That is, So well as the owner of it could have ufed it. This is the reading |