44 623. Calisto. Properly Callisto, one
of Diana’s nymphs. Jupiter loved her and
changed her to a bear to escape the notice of Juno;
but the latter discovered the ruse, and caused Diana
to kill the bear. Thereupon Jupiter transferred
her to heaven as the constellation of Arctos, in which
is the pole-star.
44 631. Peneian Daphne. Daughter of the
river-god Peneus. Loved by Apollo and pursued
by him, she prayed for assistance, and was changed
into a laurel tree. Thenceforth the laurel became
Apollo’s favorite tree.
44 634. Calydonian beast. A huge boar sent
by Diana to devastate the territory of Aeneus, king
of Calydon in Atolia, because he had not paid her
due honor. Theseus, Jason, Peleus, Telamon, Nestor,
all the famous heroes gathered to destroy the beast,
and with them the swift-footed maiden Atalanta.
Her arrow gave the first wound. The story is
exquisitely told by Swinburne in Atalanta in Calydon.
44 635. Aenides. Meleager, son of Aeneus,
who actually killed the boar. He loved Atalanta
and gave to her the head and hide of the animal as
a trophy. Jealously attacked by his uncles, he
slew them. At his birth, the fates had prophesied
his death when a certain brand upon the hearth should
have burned. Thereupon his mother plucked it
from the fire, quenched it, and put it away. Angered
by the death of her brothers, she throws this brand
upon the fire. It is consumed, and Meleager dies.
45 639. The Volscian queen. Camilla, an
Amazon, allied with Turnus in his strife with Aeneas
in Italy. She was treacherously killed by Aruns,
while pursuing a fleeing enemy. As Aruns was
stealthily withdrawing, he was slain by an arrow, fired
by one of Diana’s nymphs.
45 654. Lucina. The name given to Diana
as one of the goddesses who presides at childbirth.
45 661, 662. Inserted by Dryden, a satirical
reference to the wretched Whig poets then in favor,
and to his own removal from royal patronage.
47 28. juppon. A light coat worn over armor,
reaching to mid-thigh and finished in points at the
bottom.
47 31. Pruce. Prussia.
47 35. jambeux. Armor for the legs, from the
French jambe, leg.
47 39. Lycurgus. King of Thrace; he persecuted
Bacchus, and was made mad by that god. In his
madness he slew his son under the impression that
he was cutting down vines. The country now produced
no fruit, and the inhabitants carried the impious king
to Mount Pangaeus, where he was torn to pieces by
horses.
48 63. Emetrius. A creation of Chaucer’s
whom Dryden follows. Notice the poet’s
unusual representation of an Indian prince with fair
complexion and yellow hair.
48 88. Upon his fist he bore. It was customary
in the time of Chaucer to hunt with tame falcons,
which were carried perched upon the wrist when not
after quarry.
