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 affection: the idea of folly being almost entirely lost. Chaucer has _fonne_, a fool: comp. _Il Pens._ 6, "fancies _fond_"; _Lyc._ 56, "I _fondly_ dream"; _Sams. Agon._ 1682, "So _fond_ are mortal men."
68. ~Soon as~, etc., _i.e._ as soon as the magical draught produces its effect. In line 66 _as_ is temporal. ~potion~. Radically, potion = a drink, but it is generally used in the sense of a medicated or poisonous draught. _Poison_ is the same word through the French.
69. ~Express resemblance of the gods~. Comp. Shakespeare: "What a piece of work is man! ... in action how like an angel, in apprehension, how like a god!" See also _Par. Lost_, iii. 44, "human face divine."
71. ~ounce~. This is the _Felis uncia_, allied to the panther and the cheetah. Some connect it with the Persian _yúz_, panther.
72. ~All other parts~, etc. In the _Odyssey_ (see note on l. 52) the bodies of those transformed by Circe were entirely changed; here only the head. As one editor observes, this suited the convenience of the performers who were to appear on the stage in masks (see _Stage direction_, l. 92-3). Grammatically, line 72 is an example of the absolute construction, common in Latin. The noun ('parts') is neither the subject nor the object of a verb, but is used along with some attributive adjunct--generally a participle ('remaining')--to serve the purpose of an adverb or adverbial clause. The noun (or pronoun) is usually said to be the nominative absolute; but, in the case of pronouns, Milton uses the nominative and the objective indifferently. In Old English the dative was used.