What, after his head was cleft afunder, did he tumble down alive? the word dying would be more proper here as Virgil uses it, Procubuit moriens et humum femel ore momordit. For Virgil he had in view; fo likewife in the epithet grudging ghost, Vitaque cum gemitu fugit indignata fub umbras. Virgil above fays bumum, Spenfer, bis Mother EARTH, meaning his and the common Mother of us all: as in B. II. C. I. ft. 1o. "As on the Earth, great Mother of us all. Earth therefore fhould be written as a proper name, and the verse in question I would thus correct, "And cleft his head. He tumbling down BILIVE i. e. He forthwith tumbling down, &c. Douglas in his tranflation of Virgil renders "And down to Pluto's houfe are come bilive. "Unto old Timon he me brought bilive. B. I. C. 5. ft. 32. B. I. C. 9. ft. 4. The tranfcriber, the first time he met with this hard word, tho' he altered it, yet he preferved as many of the letters as he well could. Concerning this old word I find the following in the gloffary to Douglas. "Belife, belive, bilive. "S. fhortly, very foon; nefcio an à Belg. et Teat. blick, niƐtus oculi. q. d. uno "nittu oculi; eodem fenfu dicimus in the twinckling of an eye. Sk. or according "to Ray, contracted from by the eve." But let us fee what the learned editor of Junius has obferved on this word, whom I would hearken to beyond them all, not because meerly I have the pleasure of his acquaintance, but because I know his fuperior science in this kind of lore. "BELIEVE, BELIFE, BELIVE, blive, "confeftim, protinus, ftatim extemplo, à Norm. Saxonico; de quo nihil certi habeo quod dicam." But what if we bring it from blithe? for what we do blithly, with alacrity and chearfulness, we do forthwith and without delay: hence it fignifies fimply, immediately, forthwith. Je J. Notes to Dad Thepherd. 1782. There are many inftances in old books of old words thus corrupted, as BILIVE into ALIVE. One inftance of like nature I will mention from the moral Gower, who was a much better man than a poet. He is relating, according to his method, the well known ftory of Tereus; and Philomela is introduced thus complaining, "And if I be within walle "Of ftones closed, than I fhalle 3 "Unto "Unto the ftones clepe and crie, "That thei fhall here it all aboute. Gower wrote ORD and ende, as the A. S. op 7 ende, principium et finis. Somner, ord, a beginning. sona onzeaz spid-mod cyning ord & ende þær pe him yped pæs. i. e. cito percepit animofus [vel magnanimus] rex initium ac finem ejus rei quæ ipfi oftenfæ erat. "De Nabuchodonoforo dictum, poft fomnium ejus à Daniele explicatum, P. S. p. 180." A Latinist would certainly affirm that the Saxons borrowed on from their latin word, OR Diri, OR Dium, primOR Dium. But fee Junius in ORD. So Chaucer in the Monkes tale. 746. "That of this ftore writin orde and ende, And in Troilus and Crefeide. L. II. ✯. 1495. . "And al this thing he tolde him orde and ende. IF you will grant me to make fuch alterations as thefe, I am certain you will allow that a stroke of a pen might be blunderingly deemed a letter by the transcriber or printer: as in the following, "Whome overtaking, they gan loudly bray, How much preferable is the following reading and pointing? "Whome overtaking, they gan loudly bay Shakespeare in Julius Caefar, "I 'had rather be a dog, and bay the moon BOOK I. CANTO IV. ft. 23. "Full of difeafes was his carcas blew, "And a dry dropfie through his flesh did flow. B. I. C. 3. ft. 23. This is in his picture of Gluttony: a dry dropfy is a kind of tympany: but if dry how can he fay, through his flesh did FLOW. The objection being made, the emendation may feem eafy, as "And a dry dropfie through his flesh did SHEW. But I am pretty certain that the errour lies in the word DRY, and knowing what an imitator of the poets Spenfer is, I would thus read, "And a dire dropfie through his flesh did flow. By this reading I preferve both that iteration of letters, of which he is apparently fo fond, and likewise his imitation of Horace, Crefcit indulgens fibi DIRUS HYDROPS, te Corpore languor. BOOK I. CANTO XI. ft. 27. 23. Faynt, wearie, fore, emboyled, grieved, brent, "With heat, toyle, wounds, armes, fmart, and inward fire; "That never man fuch mischiefs did torment. I would read embroyled, the adjectives answer to their substantives; as, 3 4 5. 6 "With heat, toyle, wounds, armes, fmart, and inward fire i. e. Faint with heat, weary with toyl, fore with wounds, embroiled with arms, &c. THERE is no occafion of any farther tranfgreffing upon your time and patience: I am certain that I have already trangreffed the limits, which at first I affigned myfelf: a fheet or two of paper, by way of fpecimen, was intended, which is almoft swelled into a little book; and this I never can think of transcribing, tho' if I fend it you, as 'tis at present haftily written and blotted, you can never read it. There remains then a very obvious way, and that is my fuffering this letter to be sent to the printing prefs; for librarians and tranfcribers, as named of old, are now commenced printers, and write in a much more legible character. To my honeft printer then I commit the trouble of recopying, and no other trouble at prefent remains to me, but left by too much prefuming on your good nature and patience, I fhould poffibly forfeit the good opinion which hitherto you might have entertained of, HELIODORUS, explained. 6 37, 38. 23, 24 Love's Labour loft, explained. 27 24 20, 21 7 17 28 a falfe reading in Hefiod mifleads Virgil. HYGINUS, explained. corrected. Hurtle. Hemiftichs, used first in English poetry by Spenfer: TENISON (Archbishop) mistaken in his criticifm HESIOD, Corrected twice. HOMER II. . 498. explained and corrected. 6 II. . 259. 261. explained and corrected. 26, 27 imposed on by a falfe reading in Hefiod, 18 and his mistake accounted for. 18 31 18 19 To waile, to bewaile. on Chaucer. 18 VIRGIL, explained: explained and vindicated. 21 28, 29 29 22 Mar. 13 19 |