How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #4
O, why did ye not melt, and leave my sense
Unhaunted quite of all but—nothingness? (28-29)
Choosing laziness means choosing nothingness, says the speaker. Is it even really a choice, then, or just a way to avoid making any choice at all? He prefers nothing to anything. It's a less risky way to live, that's for sure, but it also won't make him very happy (or, very sad, to be fair).
Quote #5
O, for an age so shelter'd from annoy,
That I may never know how change the moons,
Or hear the voice of busy common-sense! (47-49)
He wishes he could just live without having to work or obey his own common sense, which would probably tell him that he has to make money somehow. Nah, says the poet. He doesn't want to stay up late writing poetry. It's better just to be left alone, shutting out the voice of the outside world.
Quote #6
And once more came they by:—alas! wherefore? (50)
The figures visit a final time, and now the speaker is resolved not to interrupt his inertia. He doesn't understand why they even bother showing up anymore. He's got a lot of daydreaming to do, and isn't going to let anything interfere with his relaxation.