284. ~twain~: thus frequently used as a predicate. It is also used after its substantive as in _Lyc._ 110, "of metals _twain_," and as a substantive.
285. ~forestalling~, anticipating. 'Forestall,' originally a marketing term, is to buy up goods before they have been displayed at a _stall_ in the market in order to sell them again at a higher price: hence 'to anticipate.' ~prevented~. 'Prevent,' now used in the sense of 'hinder,' seems in this line to have something of its older meaning, viz., to anticipate (in which case 'forestalling' would be proleptic). Comp. l. 362; _Par. Lost_, vi. 129, "half-way he met His daring foe, at this _prevention_ more Incensed."
286. ~to hit~. This is the gerundial infinitive after an adjective: comp. "good to eat," "deadly to hear," etc.
287. ~Imports their loss~, etc.: 'Apart from the present emergency, is the loss of them important?'
289. ~manly prime~, etc.: 'Were they in the prime of manhood, or were they merely youths?' With Milton the 'prime of manhood' is where 'youth' ends: comp. _Par. Lost_, xi. 245, "_prime_ in manhood where youth ended"; iii. 636, "a stripling Cherub he appears, Not of the prime, yet such as in his face Youth smiled celestial." Spenser has 'prime' = Spring.
290. ~Hebe~, the goddess of youth. "The down of manhood" had not appeared on the lips of the brothers.
291. ~what time~: common in poetry for 'when' (Lat. _quo tempore_). Compare Horace, _Od._ iii. 6: "what time the sun shifted the shadows of the mountains, and took the yokes from the wearied oxen." ~laboured~: wearied with labour.
292. ~loose traces~. Because no longer taut from the draught of the plough.
293. ~swinked~, overcome with toil, fatigued (A.S. _swincan_, to toil). Skeat points out that this was once an extremely common word; the sense of toil is due to that of constant movement from the _swinging_ of the labourer's arms. In Chaucer 'swinker' = ploughman.
294. ~mantling~, spreading. To mantle is strictly to cloak or cover: comp. _Temp._ v. 1. 67, "fumes that _mantle_ Their clearer reason."
298. ~faery~. This spelling is nearer to that of the M.E. _faerie_ than the current form.
299. ~the element~; the air. Since the time of the Greek philosopher Empedocles, fire, earth, air, and water have been popularly called the four elements; when used alone, however, 'the element' commonly means 'the air.' Comp. _Hen. V._ iv. 1. 107, "The _element_ shows him as it doth to me"; _Par. Lost_, ii. 490, "the louring _element_ Scowls o'er the darkened landscape snow or shower," etc.