324. ~tapestry halls~. Halls hung with tapestry, tapestry being "a kind of
carpet work, with wrought figures, especially used for decorating
walls." The word is said to be from the Persian.
325. ~first was named~. The meaning is: '_Courtesy_ which is derived from
_court_, and which is still nominally most common in high life, is
nevertheless most readily found amongst those of humble station.' This
sentiment is becoming in the mouth of Lady Alice when addressed to a
humble shepherd. 'Courtesy' (or, as Milton elsewhere writes,
_courtship_) has, like _civility_, lost much of its deeper significance.
Comp. Spenser, _F. Q._ vi. 1. 1:
"Of Court it seems men Courtesy do call,
For that it there most useth to abound."
327. ~less warranted~, _i.e._ when I have less _guarantee_ of safety.
_Guarantee_ and _warrant_, like _guard_ and _ward_, _guile_ and _wile_,
are radically the same.
329. ~Eye me~, _i.e._ look on me. To _eye_ a person now usually implies
watching narrowly or suspiciously. ~square~, accommodate, adjust. The adj.
'proportioned' is here used proleptically, denoting the result of the
action indicated by the verb 'square.' Comp. _M. for M._ v. 1: "Thou 'rt
said to have a stubborn soul, ... And _squar'st_ thy life accordingly."
~Exeunt~, _i.e._ they go out, they leave the stage.
331. ~Unmuffle~, uncover yourselves. To _muffle_ is to cover up, _e.g._
'to _muffle_ the throat,' 'a _muffled_ sound,' etc. _Muffle_ (subst.) is
a diminutive of _muff_.
332. ~wont'st~, _i.e._ art wont. _Wont'st_ is here apparently the 2nd
person singular, present tense, of a verb _to wont_ = to be accustomed;
hence also the participle _wonted_ (_Il Pens._ 37, "keep thy _wonted_
state"). But the M.E. verb was _wonen_, to dwell or be accustomed, and
its participle _woned_ or _wont_. The fact that _wont_ was a participle
being forgotten, it was treated as a distinct verb, and a new participle
formed, viz., _wonted_ (= won-ed-ed); from this again comes the noun
_wontedness_. Milton, however, uses _wont_ as a present only twice in
his poetry: as in modern English he uses it as a noun (= custom) or as a
participial adj. with the verb _to be_ (_Il Pens._ 123, "As she was
wont"). ~benison~, blessing: radically the same as 'benediction' (Lat.
_benedictio_).
333. ~Stoop thy pale visage~, etc. Comp. l. 1023 and _Il Pens._ 72,
"_Stooping_ through a fleecy cloud." 'Visage,' a word now mostly used
with a touch of contempt, in Milton simply denotes 'face': see _Il
Pens._ 13, "saintly _visage_"; _Lyc._ 62, "His gory _visage_ down the
stream was sent." ~amber~: comp. _L'Alleg._ 61, "Robed in flames and
_amber_ light," and Tennyson:
"What time the _amber_ morn
Forth gushes from beneath a low-hung cloud."
334. ~disinherit~, drive out, dispossess. Comp. _Two Gent._ iii. 2. 87,
"This or else nothing, will _inherit_ (_i.e._ obtain possession of)
her."
336. ~Influence ... dammed up~. The verb here shows that influence is
employed in its strict sense, = a flowing in (Lat. _in_ and _fluo_): it
was thus used in astrology to denote "an _influent_ course of the
planets, their virtue being infused into, or their course working on,
inferior creatures"; comp. _L'Alleg._ 112, "whose bright eyes Rain
_influence_"; _Par. Lost_, iv. 669, "with kindly heat Of various
_influence_." Astrology has left many traces upon the English language,
_e.g._ influence, disastrous, ill-starred, ascendant, etc. See also l.
360.