[35] ——flies.] This word is used by Ben Jonson, a close and devoted imitator of the ancients, for a domestic parasite, a familiar, &c. and from him, probably, Decker adopted it in the present sense.—Gifford.
[36] Roman angels,] i. e. the Roman eagle, the well-known military ensign. Angel in the sense of bird is frequently met with among our old writers. Jonson beautifully calls the nightingale "The dear good angel of the spring." And if this should be thought, as it probably is, a Grecism; yet we have the same term in another passage, which will admit of no dispute:
"Not an angel of the air,
Bird melodious, or bird fair," &c.
Two Noble Kinsmen.
Gifford.
[37] Harp. This Macrinus,
The line is, &c] The allusion is to the rude fire-works of our ancestors. So, in the Fawne, by Marston:
"Page. There be squibs, sir, running upon lines, like some of our gawdy gallants," &c.—Gifford.
[38] Conster,] i. e. understand. This word (a corruption of construe), so frequently heard among the common people, has not found a place in any dictionary that I have met with.
[39] Pash,] i. e. to strike a thing with such force as to dash it to pieces. The word is now obsolete; which is to be regretted, as we have none that can adequately supply its place: it is used in its proper sense by Dryden, which is the latest instance I recollect:
"Thy cunning engines have with labour raised
My heavy anger, like a mighty weight,
To fall and pash thee."
Gifford.