619. ~a certain shepherd lad~. This is supposed to refer to Charles Diodati, Milton's dearest friend, to whom he addressed his 1st and 6th elegies, and after whose death he wrote the touching poem _Epitaphium Damonis_, in which he alludes to his friend's medical and botanical skill: "There thou shalt cull me simples, and shalt teach Thy friend the name and healing powers of each." (_Cowper's translation._) 620. ~Of small regard to see to~: in colloquial English, 'not much to look at.' This is an old idiom: comp. Greek καλὸς ἰδεῖν: see English Bible, "goodly to look to," i. _Sam._ xvi. 12; _Ezek._ xxiii. 15; _Jer._ xlvii. 3. 621. ~virtuous~, of healing power: see note, l. 165. Comp. _Il Pens._ 113, "the virtuous ring and glass." 623. ~beg me sing~: see note, l. 304. 625. ~ecstasy~: see note, l. 261. The Greek _ekstasis_ = standing out of one's self. 626. ~scrip~, wallet. 627. ~simples~, medicinal herbs. 'Simple' (Lat. _simplicem_, 'one-fold,' 'not compound') was used of a single ingredient in a medicine; hence its popular use in the sense of 'herb' or 'drug.' 630. ~me~, _i.e._ for me: the ethic dative. 633. ~bore~. The nom. of this verb is, in sense, some such word as the plant or the root. 634. ~unknown and like esteemed~: known and esteemed to a like extent, _i.e._ in both cases not at all. _Like_ here corresponds to the prefix _un_ in _unknown_. On the description of the plant, see Introduction, reference to Ascham's _Scholemaster_. 635. ~clouted shoon~, patched shoes. The expression is found in Shakespeare, ii. _Hen. VI._ iv. 2. 195, "Spare none but such as go in _clouted shoon_"; _Cym._ iv. 2. 214, "put My _clouted brogues_ from off my feet, whose rudeness Answer'd my steps too loud": see examples in Mayhew and Skeat's _M. E. Dictionary_. There are instances, however, of _clout_ in the sense of a plate of iron fastened on the sole of a shoe. In either sense of the word 'clouted shoon' would be heavy and coarse. _Shoon_ is an old plural (O.E. _scon_); comp. _hosen_, _eyen_ (= eyes), _dohtren_ (= daughters), _foen_ (= foes), etc.