...at morning, we now realize, as much as to banish "the extravagant and erring spirit" of the night: Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes Wherein...singeth all night long; And then, they say, no spirit dare stir abroad, The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike, No fairy takes, nor witch have...

...arrives, he soon starts discussing the birth of Christ, which occurred during the reign of Augustus: Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes Wherein...celebrated, The bird of dawning singeth all night long. (Ii 162-4) This, Steve Sohmer has argued, is because the name of Marcellus recalls Marcellus the Centurion,6...