"Come, thou monarch of the vine,
Plumpy Bacchus, with pink eyne."
[144] This incident is founded upon a passage in Plutarch's "Life of Caius Marius," only in that author the man with the wine discloses where Anthony is concealed to the drawer, of whom he gets the wine, and not to the soldiers.
[145] The meaning of to assoil is to absolve (see note 4 to "The Adventurers of Five Hours"), from the Latin absolvere; but here it signifies to resolve or remove doubts. Thus in a passage quoted by Mr Todd—
"For the assoiling of this difficulty, I lay down these three propositions."—Mede, Rev. of God's House.
The word is frequently to be met with in Spenser in the sense of to discharge, or set free.
[146] In doly season is in melancholy or wintry season: an adjective formed from dole, and with the same meaning as doleful.
[147] The death of Anthony is thus related in North's Plutarch, "Life of Marius"—
"But he (Marius) sent Annius one of his captaines thither … and when they were come to the house which the drawer had brought them to, Annius taried beneath at the doore, and the souldiers went up the staiers into the chamber, and finding Anthonie there, they began to encourage one another to kill him, not one of them having the heart to lay hands upon him. For Anthonies tongue was as sweet as a Syrene, and had such an excellent grace in speaking, that when he began to speake unto the souldiers and to pray them to save his life, there was not one of them so hard-hearted as once to touch him, no not onely to looke him in the face, but looking downewards fell a weeping. Annius perceiving they taried long and came not downe, went himself up into the chamber and found Anthonie talking to his souldiers, and them weeping, his sweete eloquent tongue had so melted their hearts: but he, rating them, ran furiously upon him and strake off his head with his owne hands."
[148] Shakespeare's commentators might have added this passage to the long list of others they have brought forward (see note on "Othello," act i. sc. 3), to show that intention and attention, and intentive and attentive, were once, synonymous.
[149] This expression is also introduced by Lodge into his "Rosalynde," 1590, though probably this play was written first—