[1625]. From Boethius, lib. ii. Pr. 4: 'Sed hoc est, quod recolentem uehementius coquit. Nam in omni aduersitate fortunae infelicissimum genus est infortunii, fuisse felicem.' Cf. Dante, Inf. v. 121; Tennyson, Locksley Hall—'That a sorrow's crown of sorrow is remembering happier things.'
[1634]. Cf. Rom. de la Rose, 8301-4; from Ovid, Art. Amat. ii. 13.
[1642]. Ne I, read N'I. rakle, behave rashly; it is plainly a verb, formed from the adj. rakel. Morris inserts ben after rakel, to the ruin of the scansion. Cf. Norweg. rakla, to ramble, totter, be unsteady (Aasen); Swed. dial. rakkla, to rove (Rietz); Icel. reka, to drive.
[1649]. I shal, I owe; A. S. ic sceal.
[1687]. comprende, comprehend; F. comprendre. This is clearly the right form. In the Sq. Ta. F 223, though the MSS. have comprehende, it is obvious that comprende is the real reading.
[1703]. Pirous, i. e. Pyroeis, one of the four horses that drew the chariot of the sun. The other three were Eöus, Æthon, and Phlegon; see Ovid, Met. ii. 153.
[1705]. 'Have taken some short cut, to spite me.'
[1732]. 'To the extent of a single knot.' It would not be necessary to explain this, if it were not for Bell's explanation of knot as 'gnat.'
[1734]. y-masked, enmeshed; cf. A. S. masc, a mesh.
[1744-68]. Paraphrased from Boethius, lib. ii. Met. 8; but note that the lines italicised are transposed, and represent ll. 1744-1750: