57. 'A son much like his father, but more like his mother.' This may
indicate that it is upon Comus's character as a sorcerer rather than as
a reveller that the story of the mask depends. Comp. _Masque of Hymen_:
"Much of the father's face,
More of the mother's grace."
58. ~Comus~: see note, l. 46. The Greek word +kômos+ denoted a revel or
merry-making; afterwards it came to mean the personification of riotous
mirth, the god of Revel. Hence also the word _comedy_. In classical
mythology the individuality of Comus is not well defined: this enabled
Milton more readily to endow him with entirely new characteristics.
59. ~frolic~: an instance of the original use of the word as an adjective;
comp. _L'Alleg._ 18, "frolic wind"; Tennyson's _Ulysses_, "a frolic
welcome." It is now chiefly used as a noun or a verb, and a new
adjective, _frolicsome_, has taken its place; from this, again, comes
the noun _frolicsomeness_. _Frolic_ is from the Dutch, and cognate with
German _fröhlich_, so that _lic_ in 'frolic' corresponds to _ly_ in such
words as cleanly, godly, etc. ~of~: this use of the preposition may be
compared with the Latin genitive in such phrases as _æger animi_ = sick
of soul; of = 'because of' or 'in respect of.'
60. ~Roving the Celtic and Iberian fields~, _i.e._ roving through Gaul and
Spain. 'Rove' here governs an accusative: comp. _Lyc._ 173, "walked the
waves"; _Par. Lost_, i. 521, "roamed the utmost Isles."
61. ~betakes him~. The pronoun has here a reflective force: in Elizabethan
English, and still more often in Early English, this use of the simple
pronouns is common (see Abbott, § 223). Compare l. 163. ~ominous~;
literally = full of omens or portents: comp. 'monstrous' = full of
monsters (_Lyc._ 158); also l. 79. 'Ominous' has now acquired the sense
of 'ill-omened'; compare the acquired sense of 'hapless,' 'unfortunate,'
etc.
65. ~orient~, bright. The Lat. _oriens_ = rising; hence (from being
applied to the sun) = eastern (l. 30); and hence generally 'bright' or
'shining': comp. _Par. Lost_, i. 546, "With _orient_ colours waving."
66. ~drouth of Phoebus~, _i.e._ thirst caused by the heat of the sun.
Phoebus is Apollo, the Sun-god. Compare l. 928, where 'drouth' = want of
rain; the more usual spelling is _drought_. ~which~: see note, l. 2.
'Which' is here object of 'taste,' and refers to 'liquor.'
67. ~fond~, foolish (its primary sense). _Fonned_ was the participle of an
old verb _fonnen_, to be foolish. The word is now used to express great
liking or affection: the idea of folly being almost entirely lost.
Chaucer has _fonne_, a fool: comp. _Il Pens._ 6, "fancies _fond_";
_Lyc._ 56, "I _fondly_ dream"; _Sams. Agon._ 1682, "So _fond_ are mortal
men."
68. ~Soon as~, etc., _i.e._ as soon as the magical draught produces its
effect. In line 66 _as_ is temporal. ~potion~. Radically, potion = a
drink, but it is generally used in the sense of a medicated or poisonous
draught. _Poison_ is the same word through the French.
69. ~Express resemblance of the gods~. Comp. Shakespeare: "What a piece of
work is man! ... in action how like an angel, in apprehension, how like a
god!" See also _Par. Lost_, iii. 44, "human face divine."
71. ~ounce~. This is the _Felis uncia_, allied to the panther and the
cheetah. Some connect it with the Persian _yúz_, panther.
72. ~All other parts~, etc. In the _Odyssey_ (see note on l. 52) the
bodies of those transformed by Circe were entirely changed; here only
the head. As one editor observes, this suited the convenience of the
performers who were to appear on the stage in masks (see _Stage
direction_, l. 92-3). Grammatically, line 72 is an example of the
absolute construction, common in Latin. The noun ('parts') is neither
the subject nor the object of a verb, but is used along with some
attributive adjunct--generally a participle ('remaining')--to serve the
purpose of an adverb or adverbial clause. The noun (or pronoun) is
usually said to be the nominative absolute; but, in the case of
pronouns, Milton uses the nominative and the objective indifferently. In
Old English the dative was used.