II. viii. 40 l. 4. so wisely as it ought] so well, as he it ought 1590. 1596 means, ‘As wisely as it ought to be used.’ For the construction cf. II. viii. 32 l. 4; VII. vii. 9 l. 8. But 1590 gives an excellent meaning, ‘As well as he who owned it’; and it is hard to see why Spenser changed it. This is one of the few corrections that I suspect of being editorial. Cf. II. x. 49 l. 8. A converse confusion of the two meanings of ‘ought’ is shown by the variants on VI. viii. 50 l. 4.
II. viii. 44 l. 8. no more] not thore 1590. ‘Thore’, if not a misprint (and it does not look like one), was probably meant for ‘there’, as ‘tho’ = then, rather than for ‘through’ (‘thorough’). In either case Spenser felt it licentious.
II. viii. 48 l. 8. Prince Arthur 1609: Sir Guyon 1590, 1596. See Introduction, p. xviii.
II. ix. 7 ll. 5 and 6. The time is shortened to agree with I. ix. 15. Cf. also II. ix. 38.
II. ix. 9 l. 1. weete] wote 1590 &c. Not an imperfect rhyme, but a misprint; for the form is wrong.
II. ix. 17 l. 4. perilous] perlous 1590. See note on I. i. 15 l. 6.
II. ix. 21 l. 1. them] him 1590. It is ‘them’ in England’s Parnassus. See note on II. vii. 40 l. 5.
II. ix. 35 l. 3. idly] idle 1609 should have been recorded in the footnote.
II. ix. 38 l. 2. mood] word 1590 &c. Collier credits Drayton with the emendation (see on 49 l. 4 below); but Morris seems to have first adopted it. There is a similar misprint of ‘word’ for ‘wood’ in 1590 at III. xii. 7 l. 8.
II. ix. 38 l. 9. twelue moneths] three years 1590. See note on II. ix. 7 above.