te 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 +komos+ 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 _froehlich_, 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 _aeger 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, Sec. 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 affect