142 f. Compare the tone of Pallas' speech with what has been said in the
introduction, p. liv f., concerning Tennyson's love of moderation and
restraint, and his belief in the efficacy of law.
Compare also the general temper of the _Ode on the Death of the Duke of
Wellington_, and especially ll. 201-205.
144--148. Yet these qualities are not bestowed with power as the end in
view. Power will come without seeking when these great principles of
conduct are observed. The main thing is to live and act by the law of
the higher Life,--and it is the part of wisdom to follow right for its
own sake, whatever the consequences may be.
151. SEQUEL OF GUERDON. To follow up my words with rewards (such as Herè
proffers) would not make me fairer.
153-164. Pallas reads the weakness of Paris's character, but disdains to
offer him a more worldly reward. An access of moral courage will be her
sole gift to him, so that he shall front danger and disaster until his
powers of endurance grow strong with action, and his full-grown will
having passed through all experiences, and having become a pure law unto
itself, shall be commensurate with perfect freedom, i.e., shall not know
that it is circumscribed by law.
This is the philosophy that we find in Wordsworth's _Ode to Duty_.
Stern Lawgiver! Yet thou dost wear
The Godhead's most benignant grace;
Nor know we anything so fair
As is the smile upon thy face:
Flowers laugh before thee on their beds,
And fragrance in thy footing treads;
Thou dost preserve the stars from wrong,
And the most ancient heavens, through thee,
are fresh and strong.
165-167. Note how dramatic this interruption is.
170. IDALIAN APHRODITE. Idalium was a town in Cyprus; an island where
the goddess was especially worshipped. She was frequently called Cypria
or the Cyprian.
171. FRESH AS THE FOAM. Aphrodite was born from the waves of the sea,
near the Island of Cyprus.
NEW-BATHED IN PAPHIAN WELLS. Paphos was a town in Cyprus. Aphrodite was
said to have landed at Paphos after her birth from the sea-foam. She is
sometimes called the Paphian or Paphia on this account.
184. SHE SPOKE AND LAUGH'D. Homer calls her "the laughter-loving
Aphrodite."
195-l97. A WILD--WEED. The influence of beauty upon the beasts is a
common theme with poets. Cf. Una and the lion in Spenser's _Faery Queen_.
204. THEY CUT AWAY MY TALLEST PINES. Evidently to make ships for Paris's
expedition to Greece.
235-240. THERE ARE--DIE. Lamartine in _Le Lac_ (written before 1820)
has a very similar passage.
250. CASSANDRA. The daughter of King Priam, and therefore the sister of
Paris. She had the gift of prophecy.