THE LIFE OF QUEEN ELIZABETH 32. Compurgator. A person who swore to his belief in the innocence of one on trial. 69. A fit of the mother. A pun on the old meaning of mother-hysteria. 135. 121. Ascham. See note on The Good Schoolmaster, above. 138. Et si ... pudor. And if that womanly bashfulness of mine. 136. 188. Latter Lammas. This rendering of Græcas Calendas is explained by the fact that neither a Greek calends nor a later Lammas (a church festival on August first) exists; the latter term was used ironically for "never." 211. Semper eadem. Always the same. 231. This anagrammatist. Edmund Campion, an English Jesuit, executed for treason in 1581. 271. Cordial. Invigorating. WALTON THE COMPLETE ANGLER 137. 1. Piscator. The Complete Angler is written in the form of dialogue; the chief characters are Piscator, the Fisherman, and Venator, the Hunter, who is the pupil. 9. Gesner. Conrad Gesner (1516-1565), a Swiss naturalist. 36. Mercator. Gerard Mercator (15121594), famous for his contributions to geographical science. The 138. 125. Albertus. Albertus Magnus (1206?1280), a scholastic philosopher. 160. History of Life and Death. Latin Historia Vita et Mortis, 1623. 139. 221. The Royal Society. The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge was incorporated 15 July, 1662. See Huxley's essay "On the Necessity of Improving Natural Knowledge," p. 720. 275. Make a catch. Sing a "round." 140. 337. Kit Marlow. Christopher Marlowe. Marlowe's song and Raleigh's answer were both printed in England's Helicon (1600). 359. A syllabub of new verjuice. A sort of custard made of cream and fruit juice. 145. 2. Cerberus. A three-headed dog, guardian of the gateway of Hades. 10. Cimmerian. Cimmeria was a land in which, according to Homer, the sun never shone. 12. Euphrosyne. Mirth. 29. Hebe. The goddess of youth. 146. 45. Then to come in spite of sorrow. The passage has been much disputed about. The interpretation which seems most satisfactory is that L'Allegro finds pleasure in hearing the song of the lark in the early morning, and then in coming to the window to look out through sweet briar and eglantine, to bid good morrow to the new day. 67. Tells his tale. Counts his sheep. 103. She 125. Hymen. The god of marriage. 147. 145. Orpheus. According to the Greek myths, Orpheus was the most wonderful of all human musicians. Pluto consented to let Eurydice return with her husband to the earth, but Orpheus, by looking back to be sure she was following, broke the terms of his agreement with Pluto, and Eurydice remained in Hades. Hence the phrase," half-regained." IL PENSEROSO 10. Morpheus. The god of sleep. 18. Prince Memnon's sister. Memnon was a handsome king of the Ethiopians, according to Homer. Milton here assumes 88. Thrice-great Hermes. Hermes Trismegistus, a learned Egyptian. 99. Thebes ... Pelops' line . . . Troy. All subjects of Greek tragic poetry. 101. The reference here may be to Shakespeare's tragedies. 102. Buskined. The buskin was the high-heeled boot worn by actors in classical tragedy; opposed to the sock of L'Allegro, 1. 132. 104. Musæus. A mythical Greek poet, sometimes called the son of Orpheus. 109. Him that left half-told. The reference is to Chaucer, who left his Squire's Tale unfinished. 120. Where more is meant than meets the ear. Where there is an allegorical meaning. Milton probably had Spenser's Faerie Queene in mind. 122. Civil-suited. Soberly dressed, like a citizen. 124. Attic boy. Cephalus, whom Aurora loved. 134. Sylvan. Sylvanus, one of the woodland deities. 148. His wings. Sleep's wings. 158. Massy proof. Able to support the weight resting on them. 159. Storied. With Biblical stories in stained glass. LYCIDAS Lycidas. A pastoral name, taken from classical poetry. A learned friend. Edward King, a fellow student with Milton at Christ's College, Cambridge. 1. Yet once more. Milton is taking up the writing of poetry after a lapse of a few years since the time Comus was written. 149. 15. Sisters of the sacred well. The Muses; the Pierian spring, on Mount Helicon. 23. Nursed upon the self-same hill. Attended the same university. Milton adopts the poetical convention of representing his characters as shepherds. 36. Damotas. The reference is possibly to Milton's college tutor. 54. Mona. The island of Anglesey. 55. Deva. The river Dee. 58. The Muse. Calliope. 62. His gory visage. Orpheus was slain by Thracian women, and his head cast into the river Hebrus. 149. 65. Shepherd's trade. The art of poetry. 68. Amaryllis . . . Neæra. Conventional pastoral names for women. 75. Blind Fury. Atropos, not one of the Furies, but the Fate who cuts the thread of life. 150. 77. Phœbus. The god of poetry. 79. Glistering foil. Glittering tinsel; gold leaf. 85. Arethuse. Arethusa, a Sicilian spring, symbolic of Greek pastoral poetry. 86. Mincius. A stream in Italy, near which Virgil was born. Vocal. Used for shepherds' pipes. 88. Oat. Oaten pipe; symbolic of pastoral verse. 89. The herald of the sea. Triton, son of Neptune, comes in Neptune's plea "; that is, to defend his father. 96. Hippotades. Eolus, god of the winds. 99. Panope. One of the Nereids, or seanymphs. 103. Camus. The genius of the river Cam, beside which stands Cambridge University. 104. Sedge. Coarse grass and reeds along 106. That sanguine flower. The hyacinth, 115. The fold. The church. 119. Blind mouths. For an excellent exposition of the phrase cf. Ruskin's Sesame and Lilies. 126. Wind and rank mist. False teachings of the unprincipled clergy. 128. The grim wolf. The Roman Catho- 130. Two-handed engine. Milton has in 151. 149. Amaranthus. The amaranth, symbolic of immortality. 151. Laureate. Crowned with laurel. 160. Bellerus. The Latin name for 161. The guarded mount. St. Michael's Mount in Cornwall, where the Archangel Michael was said to have appeared. 162. Namancos and Bayona. On the coast of Spain. 184. In thy large recompense. As a reward. 189. His Doric lay. His pastoral song. 154. 6. Heavenly Muse. Milton is inventing a Muse of Hebrew poetry, and appealing to her for aid in accordance with the classical epic formula. 15. The Aonian mount. Mount Helicon, here symbolizing Greek poetry. 155. 74. As from the center thrice to the utmost pole. The distance between Heaven and Hell was three times the radius of the world. The diagram opposite represents approximately Milton's conception of the universe. 156. 129. Seraphim. Plural form; the seraphim were supposed to be the highest in rank of all the angels. 167. If I fail not. Unless I am mistaken. 197-201. The fables, etc. According to Greek mythology the Titans warred on Saturn, and the giants rebelled against Jove. Briareos, according to one legend, was a giant; Typhon, son of Tartarus and Gaea, was a Titan. Leviathan, the sea monster of the Bible, was identified with the whale. 158. 288. The Tuscan artist. Galileo, whom Milton met while travelling in Italy. 289. Fesole. Fiesole, a hill near Florence. 290. Valdarno. The valley of the Arno. 303. Vallombrosa. Near Florence, in Tuscany, the ancient Etruria. 305. Orion. The constellation Orion, or the Huntsman, supposed to bring foul weather. 307. Busiris. Here meaning the Pharaoh of the exodus. Memphian. Memphis was the ancient capital of Egypt. 309. Goshen. The portion of Egypt in which the Jews resided before the exodus. 159. 341. Warping. Usually explained as Charlemain and all his peerage. Charle- 163. 674. The work of sulphur. It was form- 678. Mammon. God of riches. 728. Cressets. Hanging iron vessels, 737. Orders. The nine ranks of angels in 738. His name. Hephæstus, the Greek 165. 756. Pandemonium. "The hall of all 769. The Sun with Taurus rides. The BOOK II 2. Ormus. The island of Hormuz in the 167. 74. That forgetful lake. The lake of 168. 152. Let this be good. Granting that 169. 224. For happy. As regards happiness. 173. 531. The goal. The turning-post in a 539. Typhoean rage. Rage like that of 174. 592. Serbonian bog. An Egyptian lake, 639. Ternate and Tidore. Two of the the gryphons for the gold which the the ten concentric spheres which, accord- BOOK XII 604. He ended. The archangel Michael, AREOPAGITICA 181. "I wrote my Areopagitica," said Milton 46. The thing. The custom of requiring 182. 58. Lullius. Raymond Lully, a scientist extract. 67. That unapocryphal vision. See Acts, 85. Mr. Selden. John Selden (1584- 107. Omer. A measure, mentioned in 128. Seeds which were imposed on 164. Scotus; Aquinas. Duns Scotus, 183. 166. Guyon. The knight of temperance, 183. 187. Pluralities. The churchman who 219. Ferular. Rod. Fescu. Pointer. 247. Palladian. Pertaining to Pallas 184. 359. Pyrrhus. After the battle of Hera- 185. 412. Janus. The two-faced god of the 426. Beyond the discipline of Geneva. 459. The old Proteus. Proteus, the sea 464. Micaiah before Ahab. See 1 Kings, 186. 502. Many subdichotomies. Many minor 187. 613. She is now fallen from the stars. 620. These sophisms and elenchs of PEPYS THE DIARY 23. The Covenant. The Scottish Cove- 34. My Lord. Sir Edward Montagu, to In 143. Wide canons. Ornaments attached |