Her wicked daies with wretched knife did

end,

In death avowing th' innocence of her sonne.
Which hearing, his rafh fyre began to rend
His heare, and hafty tong that did offend:
Tho, gathering up the reliques of his smart,

XXXIX. 2. Her wicked daies with wretched knife did end.] As knife is derived from ips and used by our old poets in that fense, it means, dagger or ponyard. Spenfer, perhaps thought it too infamous a way of going out of the world to say that Phedra hang'd herself; he therefore follows Seneca in saying she stabb'd herself.-Mean while Thefeus too late repented of his imprecations,

"Tho gathering up the relicks of his smart

"By Dians means, who was Hippolyt's friend

Some editions have," who gathering"-But tho is used for then in a thousand places, and fo by the old English writers, whom Spenfer follows. He fays, that Diana was the friend of Hippolytus; and Diana, in Eurip. Hippol. ver. 1333, calls him, ἄνδρα πάντων φίλτατον.

Let me add another inftance of Spenfer's departing from strictly adhering to the old mythology: Thefeus (he fays) by the means of Diana, gathered up the diffevered limbs of his fon, and brought them to Æfculapius, who joyned the mangled carcafe together and healed Hippolytus. The reader may compare (if he has any mind to fee how the ftory differs) the Hippolytus of Euripides, Ov. Faft. vi. 745, Met. xv. 497, Virg. En. vii. 769. UPTON.

XXXIX. 4.

his rafh fyre began to rend

His heare, and hafty tong that did offend:] Thefeus did not rend his tongue on this occafion. Dr. Jortin is willing to excufe our author for this mistake, by fuppofing an elleipfis, viz. He began to rend his hair, and [to blame or curfe] his tongue. Spenfer is indeed full of elleipfes, yet he has feldom been guilty of one fo hard as this. I fhould therefore think, that this paffage ought not to be referred to our author's elleipfes, but to that fault which he fo often commits, the mifrepresentation of ancient ftory. Befides, the words, that did offend, joined with hafty tongue, feem to be given by the poet as an exprefs reafon why he rent it. T. WARTON.

By Dianes meanes who was Hippolyts frend, Them brought to Aefculape, that by his art Did heale them all againe, and ioyned every part.

XL.

Such wondrous fcience in mans witt to rain
When love avizd, that could the dead revive,
And fates expired could renew again,
Of endleffe life he might him not deprive;
But unto hell did thruft him downe alive,
With flashing thunderbolt ywounded fore:
Where, long remaining, he did alwaies ftrive
Himfelfe with falves to health for to restore,
And flake the heavenly fire that raged evermore.

XLI.

There auncient Night arriving, did alight
From her nigh-weary wayne, and in her armes
To Aefculapius brought the wounded Knight:
Whom having foftly difaraid of armes,
Tho gan to him discover all his harmes,
Beseeching him with prayer, and with praise,
If either falves, or oyles, or herbes, or charmes,
A fordonne wight from dore of death mote
raise,

He would at her request prolong her Nephews daies.

XLII.

"Ah Dame," quoth he, "thou tempteft me

in vaine

To dare the thing, which daily yet I rew;
And the old caufe of my continued paine
With like attempt to like end to renew.
Is not enough, that, thruft from heaven dew,
Here endleffe penaunce for one fault I
But that redoubled crime with vengeaunce

new

pay;

Thou biddeft me to eeke? can Night defray The wrath of thundring love, that rules both Night and Day ?"

XLIII.

66

Not fo," quoth fhe; " but, fith that heavens King

From hope of heaven hath thee excluded quight,

Why feareft thou, that canft not hope for thing;

And fearest not that more thee hurten might, Now in the powre of everlafting Night?

XLII. 7. But that &c.] The fenfe is: "But that thou biddeft me to aggravate my crime by repeating it, and thereby encrease my punishment by fome new vengeance from heaven.” CHURCH.

XLII. 8. Thou biddeft me to eeke?] Encreafe. So, in F. Q. iv. ii. 53. "Their lives were eckt." See alfo Gloff. Douglas's. Virgil, V. eik. Angl. eke. Anglo-Sax. eac. To add unto. TODD.

XLIII. 3. Why fearest thou, that cunft not hope for thing ;] That is, why shouldft thou fear, who haft nothing to hope for ? Milton has borrowed this fentiment, and has judiciously put it into the mouth of Satan, Par. Loft, B. iv. 108.

"Then farewell, hope; and with hope farewell, fear !"

CHURCH.

Goe to then, O thou far renowmed fonne
Of great Apollo, fhew thy famous might

In medicine, that els hath to thee wonne

Great pains, and greater praise, both never to be donne."

XLIV.

Her words prevaild: And then the learned leach

His cunning hand gan to his wounds to lay, And all things els, the which his art did teach:

Which having feene, from thence arofe away The Mother of dredd darkneffe, and let stay Aveugles fonne there in the leaches cure ; And, backe retourning, took her wonted

way

XLIII. 6.

thou far renowmed Sonne] In the first edition it is renouned; but corrected, in the list of Errata, renowmed, which is accordingly fo printed in the fecond edition. This word, from the French renommé, is cuftomary in our old writers. Thus, in the Prol. to the Knyght of the Toure, impr. by Caxton: "By which they may the better and hastlyer come to worship and good renomme," i. e. renown. Again, in A Remedy for Sedition, 1536. Sign. C. ij. "Youth, courage, nobilitie, the renoume of his father, &c." Again, in Mathewe Groue's Epigrams and Sonets, 1587. Sign. D. iij. "The most famous, renowmed, and thrice happie realme of England." Fairfax alfo has "renowmed land," C. i. 38. TODD.

XLIII. 8. that els] Els is the reading of the first edition, which is followed by Mr. Upton and Mr. Church. All other editions read elfe. Mr. Church propofes to read "that als," i. e. that hath procured to thee both great pains &c. unless els, he adds, here fignifies already, as Mr. Ray explains it in his North country words. This explanation is confirmed in Gloff. Douglas's Virgil, V. ellis, elfe, already. TODD.

To ronne her timely race, whilft Phoebus

pure

In westerne waves his weary wagon did recure.

XLV.

The falfe Dueffa, leaving noyous Night, Returnd to ftately pallace of Dame Pryde: Where when she came, fhe found the Faery Knight

Departed thence; albee (his woundës wyde Not throughly heald) unready were to ryde. Good cause he had to haften thence away; For on a day his wary Dwarfe had spyde Where, in a dungeon deepe, huge nombers lay Of caytive wretched thralls, that wayled night

and day;

XLVI.

(A ruefull fight as could be feene with eie ;) Of whom he learned had in fecret wife

The hidden cause of their captivitie ;

did recure.] Recover from their

XLIV. 9. fatigue. In general, fimply, recovered. See the note on recoure, F. Q. iv. ix. 25. UPTON.

XLV. 4.

albee (his woundës wyde

Not throughly heald) unready were to ryde.] This paffage, I believe, has been hitherto misunderstood, if I can conjecture from the pointing in all the editions. As I have pointed it; his woundes wide not throughly heald is put abfolute; and the pronoun he omitted according to Speufer's usual manner. And the conftruction is," Albeit (his wide wounds being not thoroughly heald) he were unready to ride." UPTON. XLV. 9. Of caytive wretched thralls,] Caytive, bafe. So, in his Shep. Cal. O&t. v. 95.

"And caufe a caitive courage to aspire." See alfo F. Q. ii. i. 17. CHURCH.