[4.] My brother. Probably the poet alludes to his elder brother, Henry, who lived in Ireland. To him he is said to have sent the first part of his poem, from Switzerland. [5.] Let school-taught pride, etc. _i.e._ let the philosopher pretend, if he will, that material things are of small importance. [6.] Swains, a name used by poets for young men living in the country, especially lovers. [7.] The line, the equinoctial line, the equator. [8.] Idra's cliffs. Idria is a town among the mountains in Camiola, Austria. Near it are mines of quicksilver. [9.] Arno's shelvy side. _Shelvy_, or _shelving_, means _sloping gradually_. Florence is on the Arno. [10.] Either seems, etc. _Either_ properly signifies _one of two_; it has occasionally been used for _one of several_, as Goldsmith uses it here. [11.] And honor sinks, etc., a sentiment common in the poet's day, but entertained by few persons in these times. Formerly, in many European countries, trade, even on a large scale, was considered belittling. A gentleman's son might enter the Church, the army, or the navy, but he must not become a merchant. [12.] My proper cares, my own, my personal cares. [13.] Gelid, cold. [14.] To winnow, to fan. [15.] Sensual bliss is all the nation knows. This has never been true of the Italians. At the end of the fifteenth century Italy was the center of European civilization; at the close of the sixteenth she was exhausted and helpless; in 1748, by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, she was divided among various European powers; after a long struggle the greater part of the country was united under Victor Emmanuel, who was proclaimed king in 1861. Italy has now, besides elementary and higher schools, twenty-one universities. [16.] For wealth was theirs. Venice, Genoa, and Florence were cities of great wealth during the latter part of the Middle Ages. [17.] The palace learnt to rise. Beside palaces, there are in Italy many noted buildings which the poet must have seen. Among these are St. Peter's in Rome, the cathedral in Milan, and St. Mark's in Venice. [18.] Again the long-fallen column, etc. When architecture began to flourish anew in Italy, early in the Middle Ages, many of the columns used were taken from the ruins of buildings erected during the days of the Roman Empire. [19.] The canvas glowed. Giotto, born about 1266, was one of the first of the Italian painters who gained distinction. Later came Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian, and many others. Michelangelo (1475-1564) was sculptor, architect, and writer, as well as painter. Benvenuto Cellini, born in 1500, was noted as goldsmith, sculptor, and writer. [20.] More unsteady than the southern gale, etc. The discovery of America and the opening of a route to India by the way of the Cape of Good Hope, seriously affected the commerce of the Italian seaports. [21.] Plethoric ill, ill caused by excess.