539. ~unweeting~; unwitting, unknowing. This spelling is found in
Spenser's _Faerie Queene_, both in the compounds and in the simple verb
_weet_, a corruption of _wit_ (A.S. _witan_, to know). Compare _Par.
Reg._ i. 126, "_unweeting_, he fulfilled The purposed counsel." _Sams.
Agon._ 1680; Chaucer, _Doctor's Tale_, "Virginius came _to weet_ the
judge's will."
540. ~by then~, _i.e._ by the time when. The demonstrative adverb thus
implies a relative adverb: comp. the Greek, where the demonstrative is
generally omitted, though in Homer occasionally the demonstrative alone
is used. Another rendering is to make line 540 parenthetical.
542. ~knot-grass~. A grass with knotted or jointed stem: some, however,
suppose marjoram to be intended here. ~dew-besprent~, _i.e._ besprinkled
with dew: comp. _Lyc._ 29. _Be_ is an intensive prefix; _sprent_ is
connected with M.E. _sprengen_, to scatter, of which _sprinkle_ is the
frequentative form.