!>';-. r,.'j;i u'lfffiu/ru/^. PARADISE REGAIN'D. A P O E M, I N FOUR BOOKS. To which is added SAMSON AGONISTES: AND Poems upon Several Occasions; The AUTHOR JOHN MILTON. The THIRD EDITION, With Notes of various Authors, By THOMAS NEWTON, D. D. Volume the First. LONDON: Printed for C. Hitch and L. Hawes, J.- and R. Tonfon, J. Ward, S, Crowder and Co. T. Longman, A. and C, Corbet^ B. Law and Co. and R, Ware. MDCCLX. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library http://www.archive.org/details/paradiseregaindpOOmi PREFACE. IT hath been recommended to me by Tome great perfons, as well as by levcral friends, to complete the edition of Milton's poetical works : for tho' the Paradife Lofl be the flower oi epic poeiy, and the nobleft effort of genius ; yet here are other ooems which are no lefs exxellent in their kind, and if they have not that fublimity and majerty, are at leafl equally beautiful and pleufing to the imagination. And the fame method that was taken in the publication of the Paradife Loft, is purfued in this edition of the Pa- radife Regain'd and other poems, firft to exhibit the true and genuin text according to Milton's own edi- tions, and then to illuftrate it with notes critical and explanatory of various authors. Of the Paradife Re- gain'd and Samfon Agoniftes there was only one edi- tion in Milton's life-time, in the year 1671 ; and this we have made our ftandard, correding only what the author himfelf would have corrected. Dr. Eentley pronounces it to be 'vvithout faults, but there is a large table of Errata at the end, which inftead of being emended have rather been augmented in the following editions, and were never corrected in any edition that I have feen before the prefent. Of the other poems there were two editions in Milton's life- time, the firft in 1645 before he was blind, and the other wich fome additions in 1673. Of the Mafic there was likewife an edition publiin'd by Mr. Henry Lawes in 1637 : and of the Mafk and feveral other poems there are extant copies in Milton's own hand writing, preferved in the library of Trinity College in Cambridge : and all thefe copies and editions have A 2 been PREFACE. been carefully collated and compared together, the differences and variations are noted, and even the poet's corredions and alterations in his Manufcript are fpecified for the fatisfadtion of the curious critical reader. The Manuicript indeed hath been of lingu- lar fervice in rectifying feveral pafTages, and efpecially in the Sonnets, fome of which were not printed till many years after Milton's death, and were then printed imperfedl and deficient both in fenfe and me- ter, but are now by the help of the Manufcript re- flored to their jufl: harmony and original perfe6tion. From the Manuicript too we have given the plan of Paradife Loft, as Milton firfl defigned it, in the form of a tragedy, and likewife the fubjeds which he had fketched out for other tragedies, whether with an in- tention ever ta finifli them or not v»-e cannot be cer- tain. They were printed before in the Hiftorical and Critical Life of Milton prefixed to his profe works by the learned and ingenious Mr. Birch, who is conti- nually adding fomething new to the ftock of learn- ing : but it was judged proper to reprint them from the Manufcript in this edition, as they bear a nearer relation to the author's poetical works. The notes, as upon the Paradife Lofl:, fo likewife upon the Paradife Regain'd and other poems, are of various authors and of various kinds : but thefe, ex- cepting only a fev/, were never printed before, and have therefore novelty to recommend them, as well as fome names of the firfl rank and greateft eminence in the republic of letters. The truth of my affertion will be fully jullify'd by mentioning only the names of Mr. Warburton and Mr. Jortin, who while tliey are PREFACE. / are employ 'd in writing the moft learned and elabo- rate defenfes of religion, yet find leifure to cultivate the politer arts, and to promote and improve both in themfelves and others a claffical tafte of the fineft authors : and whatever may be the fuccefs, I can never repent of having engaged in this undertaking, which hath given me fo many convincing proofs of their friendship and kindnefs, and at the fame time hath happily conjoined (what perhaps might never elfe have been joined together) my ftudies and my aame with theirs. I am equally obliged too to Mr. Thyer for the continuation of his friendly affiftance; and the reader will find the fame good fenfe, and learn- ing, and ingenuity in thefe, as in his former remarks upon the Paradife Loft. And now he hath gone thro' Milton's poetical works, I hope he will do the fame juftice to another of our greateft Englifh poets, and gratify the public with a complete edition of Spen- fer's works, or at leaft with his equally learned equally elegant obfervations upon them. I would not be un- derftood by this to difparage in the leaft Mr. Upton's intended edition, or Mr. Sympfon's, who is my friend, and hath kindly affifted me in this edition, as well as in that of the Paradife Loft. Mr. Upton is certainly a man of great learning, and fo likewife is Mr. Symp- fon, and particularly v/ell read in our old Englifli au- thors, as appears from his fliare in the late excellent edition of Beaumont's and Fletcher's works; but I know no man, who hath a jufter and more delicate tafte of the beauties of an author than Mr. Thyer, or is a greater mafter of the Italian language and Ita- lian poetry, which in Spenfer's time was the ftudy and PREFACE. and delight of all the men of letters, and Spenfer hini- felf hath borrowed more from that fource than from alnioft any other, and fometimes hath tranflatedtwo or three ftanza's together. Mr. Richardfon likewife hath continued his good offices, and communicated his comment upon Lycidas and his marginal notes and obfervations upon the other poems, together with a very fine head of Milton done by his father after a drawing of Cooper: and both the RichardfoHS father and fon deferve the thanks of all lovers of the fifter arts, for their inftrudiive eflays on painting, as well as for feveral ingenious remarks on Milton. I had the honor of all thefe for my alTociates and affiftants be- fore, but I have been farther ftrengthen'd by feme new recruits, which were the more unexpeded, as they were fent me from gentlemen, with whom I never had the pleafure of a perfonal acquaintance. The reverend Mr. Meadow^ourt, Canon of Worceilcr, in 1732 piiblidied a Critical DiiTertation with notes upon the Paradife Regain'd, a fecond edition of which was printed in J 748; and he likewife tranfmitted to me a fiieet of his manufcript remarks, wherein he hath happily explained a moft difficult paffage in Ly- cidas better than any man had done before him. The reverend Mr. Calton of Marton in Lincolnfliire hath contributed much more to my affiftance : he favor'd me with a long correfpondence; and I am at a lofs which to commend moft, his candor as a friend, or his penetration and learning as a critic and divine. Befides all thefe helps I have pickt out fome grain from among the chaff of Mr. Peck's remarks, and have gleaned up every thing which I thought might any PREFACE. any ways be ufeful towards illuftratlng our author ; and in the conclufion have added an index of the lefs common words occafionally explained in the notes. The Latin poems I cannot fay are equal to feveral of his Englifli compofitions : but yet they are not without their merit; they are not a Cento like mod of the modern Latin poetry; there is fpirit, invention, and other marks and tokens of a rifing genius; for it fhould be confidered, that the greater part of them were written while the author was under twenty. They are printed corredly according to his own edi- tions in 1645 and 1673; and as they can be read only by the learned, there is the lefs occalion for any notes and obfervations upon them. Some few are added, which were thought no more than neceffary. • But it is time to have done with thefe things, and to apply to other works, more important and more ufeful, if the execution prove anfwerable to the intention. December 31, 1751. CLE jka ere nvhile &c.] Milton begins his Paradife Regain'd in the fams manner as the Paradife Loft; firft propofes his fubjeft, and then invokes the affiftance of the Holy Spirit. The beginning 1 'ivho ere njjbile &c is plainly an allufion to the Ilk ego qui quondam &c attri- buted to Virgil : but it doth not therefore follow, that Milton had no better tafte than to conceive thefe lines to be geiiuin. Their being fo well knmvn to all the: learned was reafon fumcient for his imitation of them, as it was for Spenfer's before him : Lo, I the raanj whofe Mufe whileom did mafic. As lime her taught, in lowly fhepherd's weeds. Am now caforc'd a far unHtte? tafk. For trumpets Hern to changg mine oaten reeds lie. 2. 2?v one man s difohedlence'\ Th6 Oppofition oi one muTis difobedience in this verfe to one man^s obedience rn ver. 4. is fomewhat in the iHle and manner of St. Paul. Rom. V^ 19. For as by one man's dilobedi- ence many 'xuere made nnners ; Jo bv the obedience of one Jhall many be niade righteous. J. Reco'-ver'd Paradife] It may B 3 i^m PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book I. By one man's firm obedience fully try'd Through all temptation, and the tempter foil'd 5 In all his wiles, defeated and repuls'd. And Eden rais'd in the wafte wildernefs. Thou Spi'rit who ledft this glorious eremite Into the defert, his vid:orious field, Againft the fpiritual foe, and brought'ft him thence By feem a little odd at firft, that Mil- ton Ihould impute the recovery of Paraclife to this fhort fcent of our Saviour's life upcn eaith, and not rather extend it to his agony, cruci- fixion i^'c; but the reafon no doubt was, that ParaaUe regained by our Saviour's refilling the temptations of Satan might be a better contraft to Paradife Uji by our firit parents tco eafily yieldirfg to the fame feducing Spirit. Eefides he might very probably, and indeed very rcafonably, be apprehenfive, that a fubjeft fo exteniive as well as fub- lime might be too great a burden for his declining conlHtution, and a X.Jx too long lor the Ibort term of years he could then hope tor. Even in his Paradife Lolt he expreiles his fears, lell he had begun too late, and left an age too late, or cold cli- mate, or years Jhculd have damp d bis intended n.ving; and furely he had much greater cauTe to dread the fame now, and be very cautious of lanching out too far. •J.hyer. It is hard to fay wliether Milton's wrong nations in divinjty led him to this defeflive plan; or his fond- nefs for the plan influenced thofe notions. That is whether he in- deed foppofed the redemption of mankind (as he here reprefents it) was procured by Chrill's triumph over the Devil in the wildernefs ; or whether he thought that the fcene of the defert oppofed to that of Paradife, and the adlion of a. temptation withftood to a tempta- tion fallen under, made Paradife Regain d a more regular fequel to Paradife Lcfi. Or if neither this nor that, whether it was his being tired out with the labor of com- pofing Paradife Loft made him averfe to another work of length (and then he would never be at a lois for fanciful reafons to dcter- min him in the choice of his plan) is very uncertain. Ail that we can be fure of is, that the plan is a very unhappy one, and defedive even in that narrow view of a fe- quel, for it affords the poet no op- portunity of driving the Devil back again to Heil from his r,ew con- quells in the air. In the mean time nothing Book I. PARADISE REGAIN'D. By proof th* undoubted Son of God, infpire, 1 1 As thou art wont, my prompted fong elfe mute, And bear through highth or depth of nature's bounds With profp'rous wing full fumm'd, to tell of deeds Above heroic, though in fecret done, 1 5 And unrecorded left through many an age. Worthy t'have not remain'd fo long unfung. Now nothing was eafier than to have in- vented a good one, which fhould end with the refurredion, and com- ^ife thefe four books, fomewhat contraded, in an epifode, for which only the fubjed of them is fit. IVarburton, 7. And Eden rais'd in the ivafle iLildtrne/s.l There is, I think, a particular beauty in this line, when one confiders the fine allu- fion in it to the curfe brought upon the Paradifiacal earth by the fall of Adam, Cur/ed is the ground for thy Jake — Thorns aljo and thijlles Jhall it bring forth. Thyer. 8. Thou Spi'rit 'who ledfi this glo' nous eremite^ The invocation is properly addrefs'd to the Holy Spirit, not only as the infpirer of e\xty good work, but as the leader of our Saviour upon this occafion into the wildernefs. For it is faid Mat. IV. 1 . Then --was Jefus led up of the Spirit into the nvildernefs, to be tempted of the Devil. And from the Greek original £g);AAo; the defert, and (^fif/.nv)i an inhabitant of the defert, is rightly formed the word eremite, which was ufed before by Milton in his Paradife Loft IJL 474- Embrio's and idiots, eremites and friers : and by Fairfax in his tranflation of TaiTo, Cant. ii. St. 4. Next morn the bilhops twain, the eremite : and in Italian as well as in Latin there is eremita, which the French, and we after them, contrad into hermit e, hermit. 1 3 . of naiurv' s hounds''^ To which he confines himfelf in this poem, not as in Paradife Loft, where he foars above and without the bounds of nature. VII. 21 . Richardfon. 14. With profp'rous nvivg full fimm^d,] We had the like ex- preflion in Paradife Loft VII. 421. They fumm'd their pens — — and it was noted there that it is a term in falconry. A hawk is faid to hefullfut/im'd, when all his fea- B 3 thers PARADISE REGAIND. Book I. Now had the great Proclamer, with a voice More awful than the found of trumpet, cry'd Repentance, and Heav'n's kingdom nigh at hand 20 To all baptiz'd : to his great baptifm flock'd With awe the regions round, and with them came From Nazareth the fon of Jofeph deem'd To the flood Jordan, came as then obfcure, Unmark'd, unknown; but him the Baptift foon 25 Pefcry'd, divinely warn'd, and witnefs bore As lliers are grown, when he wants rothing of x\\t fum of his feathers, cui nihil de fumma pennarum deeft, ss Skinner fays. There was there- fore no occafion for reading as feme body propofed, With profp'rous wing fuIl//«wV. 14. » tD tell of deeds Aho've heroic ^ Alluding perhaps in the turn of exprefiion to the firft verfe of Lucan, Bella per Emathios phfifuam ci- a-'ilin campos, Jufque datum fceleri canimus. Thjer. J 9. md Repentatice, and Hea'v'n s kingdom nigh at hand To all baptizd:'\ John preached repentance and the approach of Chrift's kingdom. Ask — to whom ? and the anfwer is- — to all haptt-z d. Doth not this feem to imply, that the great prophet bsptized before he preached ? and that none could be admitted to hear him withoiu this previous immerfion ? Whereas in the nature of things as well as the Gofpel hiftory, his preaching muft be, and was preparatory to his baptijm. One might read nigh at hand. Baptizing all =— — But this may be thought too diflant from the common leftion ; and g. lefs change will effeft the cure, Read therefore And all baptiz'd : The prophet preached repentance and the approach of Chrift's kipg- dom, and baptized ail, that is mul- titudes of people, who were dif- pofed by his \ rf aching to prepare their heaits for that great event. Calton, There is fomething plaufible and ingenious in this en:cndation : but I .conceive the conflrudion to bp nof Book I. PARADISE REGAIN'D. As to his worthier, and would have refign'd To him his heav'nly office, nor was long His witnefs unconfirm'd : on him baptiz'd Heav'n open'd, and in likenefs of a dove The Spi 'rit defcended, while the Father's foice From Heav'n pronounc'd him his beloved Son. That heard the Adverfary, who roving ftill About the world, at that aflembly fam'd Would not be laft, and with the voice divine 3° N 35 eh rot that he ayd to all baptiz'd re- pentance Sec. but Hea'u'n's kingdom nigh at hand to all baptiz'd. Hea- ven's kingdom was nigh at hand to all fuch as were baptized with John's baptifm; they were thereby difpofed and prepared for the re- ception of the Gofpel. 24. To the flood 'Jordan, came as then objcure^ In Mr. Fenton's and moll other editions it is pointed thus. To the flood Jordan came, as then obfcure, but we have followed the pundlua- tion of Milton's own edition; for there is very little force in the re- petition, andivith them came, to the flood Jordan came ; but to fay that he came ^juith them to the flood Jor- dan, and came as then obfcure, is very good fenie, and worthy of the repetition. 25. but him the Baptifl focn Defcrydy divinflj ivai?i'd,] John the Baptifl: had nqtice given him before, that he might certainly know the Mefliah by the Holy Gholl defcending and abiding upon him . y^nd I kne-iv him not, but he that fent me to baptize n.vith nvater^ the fame faid unto me. Upon ^jjhom thou Jhalt fee the Spirit dejctnding and remaining on hirn, the fame is he nxihich baptizeth i.itith the Holy Ghofl. John I. 33. But it appears from St. Matthew, that the Baptitl knew him and acknowledged him, before he was baptized and before the Holy Gholi defcended upon him. Mat. III. 14. I ha-ce need to be bap- tized of thee, and coniefl thou to me? To account for which we mull ad- mit with Milton, that another di- vine revelation was made to him at this very time, fignifying that this was the perfon, of whom he had had fuch notice before. 26. — ^ di'vinely vsarnd] To comprehend the propriety of this word diijinelj the reader muil have B 4 his 8 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book I. Nigh thunder-flruck, th' exalted man, to whom Such high atteft was giv'n, a while furvey'd With wonder, then with envy fraught and rage Flies to his place, nor reils, but in mid air To council fummons all his mighty peers, 40 Within thick clouds and dark ten-fold involv'd, A gloomy confiftory ; and them amidft With looks aghaft and fad he thus befpake. O ancient Powers of air and this wide world, For much more willingly I mention air, 45 This our old conqueft, than remember Hell, Our hated habitation j well ye know How hifi eye upon the Latin Ji'vinitus, from Hea'veri, fince the word eii- 'viT.ily in our language fcarce ever comes up to this meaning. Milton ufes it in much the fame fenfe in Paradife Loft. VIIL 500. She heard me thus, and though diuinely brought. Thyer. 41. Within thick clouds &c] Mil- ton in making Satan's refidence to be in mid air., 'within thick clouds and dark, fecms to have St. Auftin ill his eye, who fpeaking of the re- gion of clouds, ftorms, thunder &c fays — — ad iila caliginofa, id eil, ad hunc aerem, tanquam ad car- cerem, damnatus ell diabolus &c. Enarr. in Pf. 148. S. 9. Tom. 5. p. 1677. ^^^'^' Bened. Th^er, 4Z. A gloomy conjijiory\\ This in imitation of Virgil JE.n. IIL ^l^^ Cernimus aftantes nequicquam lumine torvo ^tneos fratres, ccelo capita alta ferentes. Concilium horrendum: By the word confiftory I fuppofe Milton intends to glance at the meeting of the Pope and Cardinals fo nam'd, or perhaps at the epif.- copal tribunal, to all which fort of courts Or aficmblies he was an avow'd enemy. The phrafe con- cil::i-n horrendum Vida makes ufe of upon a like occafion of afTemb- ling the infernal povvcrs. Cbrift. Lib. I. Protinus Book I. PARADISE REGAIN'D. How many ages, as the years of men, This imiverfe we have pofTefs'd, and rul'd In manner at our will th' affairs of earth, 50 Since Adam and his facil confort Eve Loft Paradife deceiv'd by me, though (ince With dread attending when that fatal wound Shall be inflidted by the feed pf Eve Upon my head: long the decrees of Heav'n ^^ Delay, for longeft time to him is ihort ; And now too foon for us the cirding hours This dreaded time have compafs'd, wherein we Mufl bide the ftroke of that long threaten'd wound, At Protinus acciri diros ad regia fratres Limina, concilium horrendum. And Taflb alfo in the very fame manner. Cant. 4. St. 2. Che fia comanda il popol fuo raccolto [Concilia horrendo) entro la regia foglia. Thyer. 44. O ancient PouJ'rs of air and this 'wide ivorld,] So the Devil is call'd in Scripture, the prince of the ponxier of the air, Eph. 11. 2. and evil Spirits the rulers of ihedarknefsofthisnvorid, Eph. VI. 12. Satan here Aim mons a coun- cil, and opens it as he did in the Paradife Loft: but hsfe b net ihar copioufnefs and variety which is in the other ; here are not different fpeeches and fentiments adapted to the different characters ; it is a council without a debate; Satan is the only fpeaker. And the author, as if confcious of this defed, has artfully endevored to obviate the ob- jedion by faying, that their danger — — — admits no long debate. But muft with fomething fuddett be oppos'd, and afterwards — — no time was t'.en For long indulgence to their fears or grief. The true reafon is, he found it impofCble to exceed or ecjual the fpeechc:: lo PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book I. At leail: if fo we can, and by the head 60 Broken be not intended all our power To be infring'd, our freedom and our being, In this fair empire won of earth and air ; For this ill news I bring, the woman's feed Deftin'd to this, is late of woman born : 6^ His birth to our juft fear gave no fmall caufe, But his growth now to youth's full flow'r, difplaying All virtue, grace, and wifdom to achieve Things highefl, greateu, multiplies my fear. Before him a great prophet, to proclame 70 His coming, is fent harbinger, who all Invites, and in the confecrated ftream Pretends to wafli off fin, and fit them fo Purified to receive him pure, or rather To do him honour as their king ; all come, y^ And fpeeches in his former council, and St. Matthew, //je Spirit cf God de- iherefbre has allign'd the bell rea- fcending like a do-ve, II F. i6. and to Ion he could for not making any St. Mark, the Spirit like a do-ve de- in t!"iis. ^ fcending upon kim, I. lo. But as 74. Furifed to i-eccii:e him pure ^ Luke fays, that the Hcly Ghoji de- Alluding to tlieScriptureexpreflion fcenaed in a hcdily Jhape. 111. 22. I John 111. 3. And enjrry v.an that the poet fuppof'es with Tcrtuliian, hath this ho^e in him, purifeth him- Aultin, and others of the fathers, jitf even as he is pure. that it was a real dove, as the 83. A pe'-fetl dove dt/cend,^ He painters always reprefent it. had exprcfTed it before \er. 30. in 91. Ifho this is -ive mujl learn.'] likcnefs of a dove, agreeably to Our author favors the opinion of thofe Book I. PARADISE REGAIN'D. ii And he himfelf among them was baptiz'd. Not thence to be more pure, but to receive The tcilimony' of Heav'n, that who he is Thenceforth the nations may not doubt 5 I faw The prophet do him reverence, on him rifing ^o Out of the water, Heav'n above the clouds Unfold her cryftal doors, thence on his head A perfect dove defcend, whate'er it meant, And out of Heav'n the fovran voice I heard, This is my Son belov'd, in him am pleas'd. 85 His mother then is mortal, but his fire He who obtains the monarchy of Heaven, And what will he not do to' advance his Son ? His firfl be-got we know, and fore have felt. When his fierce thunder drove us to the deep; 90 Who this is we muft learn, for man he feems In tliofe writers, Ignatius and others clamed him to be the Soo of God» among the Ancients, and Beza and but they might not know him to oth'»!s among the Moderns, who be fo at this time, before this believed that the Devil, tho' he temptation, or before he had en- might know Jefus to be fome ex- ter'd upon his public miniftry, and traordi.iary perfon, yet knew him manifelled himfelf by his miracles, not to be the Mefiiah, the Son of And our author, who makes the God : and the words of the Devil Devil to hear the voice from Hea- If thou be the Sen of God feem to ven This is z«v belovtd Son, llill fxprefs his uncertainty concerning makes him doubt in what knfe that matter. The Devils indeed Jefus was fo called. See IV. 514. ^terwards knew him and pro- 5 Thence- 12 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book I. In all his lineaments, though in his face The glimpfes of his father's glory fhine. Ye fee our danger on the utmofl edge Of hazard, which admits no long debate, 95 But muft with fomething fudden be oppos'd, Not force, but well couch'd fraud, well woven fnarcs. Ere in the head of nations he appear Their king, their leader, and fupremc on earth. I, when no other durft, fole undertook 100 The difmal expedition to find out And ruin Adam, and th' exploit ptrform'd SuccefsfuUy ; a calmer voyage now Will waft me ; and the way found profprous once Induces beft to hope of like fuccefs. 105 He Thenceforth I thought thee worth We'll ftrive to bear it for your my nearer view, worthy fake, And narrower fcrutiny, that I To th'' extreme edge of hazard. might learn i ii.. To him their great diaator,] In what degree or meaning thou j^jiij^^ ^ppUgs ^^^^ ^^^^t very pro- art call d V. , 1 perly to Satan in his prefent fitua- The Son of God, which bears no ^^^^^ ^g jj,g authority he is now fingle fenfe ; £5"^ . yg^^gj ^j^h is quite didatorial, 94. Te fee our danger an the ut- and the expedition on which he is mcjl edge go'"g of ^he utmoft confequence Of hazard,'] An exprelTion bor- to the fall'n Angels, Thyer, rowed from Shakefpear. All's well, , go to the coajl of Jordan he that ends well. Aft 111. Sc. 5. direas — Sir, it is His eafy fl^fs, girded nvith fohy A charge :oo heavy for my iviles,] For as Lightfoot ob- Ibergth; but vet ferves Vol. II. p. 299. the wilder- nefs, ! Book I. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 13 He ended, and his words impreflion left Of much amazement to th' infernal crew, Diftraded and furpris'd with deep difmay At thefe fad tidings ; but no time was then For long indulgence to their fears or grief: no Unanimous they all commit the care And management of this main enterprize To him their great dictator, whofe attempt At firft againft mankind fo well had thriv'd ^ In Adam's overthrow, and led their march 1 15 I From Hell's deep-vaulted den to dwell in light, Regents and potentates, and kings, yea Gods Of many a pleafant realm and province wide. So to the coaft of Jordan he dire(2:s His nefs, where our Saviour underwent And ruin Adam ■ his forty days temptation, was on a calmer voyage now the fame bank of Jordan where Will waft me ijc the baptifm of John was St. Luke ^ .^^^^ ^.^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^j,^jj witneffingit, that Jefus being now ^^ ^^^ j^^^it of forcerers and ne baptized vTn> cromancers, who are reprelentea returned from Jordan, namely irom • r . • j j u » .u^ . r "L 111'' in fome prmts as eirded about the the lame tratt, whereby became -jj, -.u ..u /i • r /■ i „ , . , Tj- r 1 r > middle with the Ikins of fnakes thither, nis eajv /lept, for here j r ■ ■ rv . . n . ^ , -^^ ^ ', ,._ . and krpents: a cindture totally op- was not that danker and difncuJty r. . \\, ^ j j u .u ■,■ r n T ■ ■ poht to that recommended by the as in his hrlt expedition to rum \- ^^:-^y^-c^\^ \t\ , l ■ ■ . J , . f.j . r- A pole! e h ph. VI. 14. having your mankind, it is laid in reference ,: ■ / l , Zl * .l \.^a , 1 i_ I r I \ r loir,i oirt about nvtth truth ; and to what he had fpoken berore, \ c • rr vr '^ ' worn by our baviour 11a. XI. 5. I, when no other durll, fole un- J?jd righteoufnefs Jhall be the girdle dercook of his loins, and faithfulneji the The diimal expedition to find out girdle of his reins. 1 20 -—girJtd H PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book I. His eafy fteps, girded with fnaky wiles, 120 Where he might likelieft find this new-declar'd. This man of men, attefted Son of Godj Temptation and all guile on him to try ; So to fubvert whom he fufpecfled rais'd To end his reign on earth fo long enjoy 'd : 125 But contrary unweeting he fulfiil'd The purpos'd counfel prc-ordain'd and lix'd Of the moil High, who in full frequence bright Of Angels, thus to Gabriel fmiling fpake. Gabriel, this day by proof thou {halt behold, 130 Thou and all Angels converfant on earth With man or mens affairs, how I begin To 1 20 — giriieci ivith fnaiy ivi/es,'} The imagery very fine, and the cir- cumilance extremely proper. Sa- tan is here figured ens;ag;ing on a great expedition, fuccindft, and his habit girt about him with a girdle of fiiakes ; which puts us in mind of the iiiliiument of the fall. JVarhurton. 122. This man of tnen, attejied Son of Godjl The phrafe is low and idiotic ; and I wifh the poet had rather written This man, of Hea'vn attelled Son of God. In the holy Scriptures God c/Goda and tleanjen of tlewvem are truly grand expreffions : but then there is an idea of greatnefs in the \m^d^s thcmfelves to fupport the dignity of the phrafe ; which is wanting in Milton's inan of men. Calton. 129. — Thus to Gabriel fmiling fpake.'] This fpeech is proper- ly addrefs'd to Ga^nV/ particularly among the Angels, as he feems to have been the Angel particularly employed in the embaflies and tranfadions relating to the Gofpel. Gabriel was fent to inform Danid of the famous prophecy of the fe- venty weeks ; Gabriel notified the conception of John the Baptift to his Book I. PARADISE REGAIN'D. To verify that folenm mellage late, On which I fent thee to the Virgin pure In Galilee, that flie fliould bear a fon 135 G eat in renown, and call'd the Son of God j Then toldft her doubting how thefe things could be To her a virgin, that on her fhould come The Holy Ghoft, and the pow'r of the Highefl O'er-lhadow her : this man born and now up-grown. To fhow him worthy of his birth divine 141 And high predidion, henceforth I expofe To Satan ; let him tempt and now aiTay His utmoft lubtlety, becaufe he boafls And vaunts of his great cunning to the throng 145 his father Zacharias, and of our blefTed Saviour to his virgin mo- ther. And the Jewifti Rabbi's fay, that'TWichael was the miniftcr cf feverity, but Gabriel or mercy: and accordingly our poet makes Gabriel the guardian Angel of Pa- radife, and employs Michael to expel our frft parents out of Para- dife: and for the fame reafon this fpeech is direfted to Gabriel in particular. And God's being re- prefented as/mlifi^ may be juftified not only by the Heathen poets, as Virg. JEn. I. 254. Olli fuhridens hominrim fator at^ue deorum ; Of but by the authority of Scripture itielf. See Paradife Loll, V. 718. 131. l^kou and all Angeh cotiiier- /ant on earth With man or mens affairs^ This feems to be taken from the verfes attributed to Orpheus. 144.. — becaufe he hoajis and 'vaunts &c.]'Tlu£ allude''- to what Satan had juft before faid to his companions, ver. 1 00. I, when no other duril, fole un- dertook ^-i\ 1h^(r. i6 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book L Of his apoftafy ; he might have learnt Lefs overweening, fince he fail'd in Job, Whofe conftant perfeverance overcame Whate er his cruel malice could invent. He now fhall know I can produce a man 150 Of female feed, far abler to refifl All his folicitations, and at length All his vaft force, and drive him back to Hell, Winning by conqueft what the firft man loft By fallacy furpris'd. But firft I mean 155 To exercife him in the wildernefs. There 163. T^at all the Jngels and ethe- real Po'wfrs, &c] Not a word Is faid here of the Son of God, but what a Socinian would allow. His divine nature is artfully concealed under a partial and ambiguous re- prefentation ; and the Angels are firft to learn the myftery of the in- carnation from that important con- flift, which is the fubjeft of this poem. They are feemingly invited xo behold the triumphs of the man Chrift Jefus over the enemy of man- kind; and thefe furprife them with the glorious difcovery of the God — infhrin'd Ir flcndy tabernaclej and human form. That Chrift was perfeSl 7nan is a partial truth, and fcrves to keep the higher psrictitiou of his divine i\A- ture, for the prefent, out of fight, without denying or excluding it. It is likewife very truly faid of this perfeB man, that he is by »j^r//caird the Son of God. Juftin Martyr ob- lerves in his fecond Apology [p. 67. Ed. Col.] that Chrift, confidered only as man, deferved for his fu- perior wifdom to be called the Son of God. 'Y»©« li 0sa 5 I'/icrw; ?i«- 7o^ei>(^, Et /tat Aotvtfi; ^svof ui^fU' '?!©', ha, ao(piuti a|i(^ vt^ 068 At- yia^ui. In either capacity of God or Man he had a clame of merit to the title. The Father, fpeaking to his eternal Word in Paradifc Loft, III. 308. on his generous un- dertakings for mankind, faith — — and haft been found By merit more than birthright Son of God. Again-, Book I. PARADISE REGAIN'D. V There he lliali firft lay down the rudiments Of his great warfare, ere I lend him forth To conquer Sin and Death, the two grand foes, By humiliation and flrong fufferance : His weaknefs (liall o'ercome Satanic ftrength, And all the world, and mafs of Iinful fleda j That all the Angels and ethereal Powers, They now, and men hereafter mr.v difcern. From what confummate virtue I have chofe This perfe6l man, by merit call'd my Son, To earn falvation for the fons of men. i6o 165 So Again, the words confummate 'vir- tue are ambiguous, and may be re- ferred to the di-uine nature of Chrift as well as the human. Their pre- fent connexion applies them direft- ]y to the human nature; but they had a lecret reference, I conceive, in the poet's meaning to the ma- jefly of that heavenly pare of him, which denominates Chrill: in the holy Scriptures the wifdom of God and the power (or ^jirtue) of God, ©ay oyiawiv, Dei ^jirtutem, Lat. Vulg. I Cor. I. 24. Hunc tamen folum primogenitum divini nomi- nis appellaticnc dijnatus eft, patria fcilicet "jirtute, ac m^jefl:ate pollen- tern.. Efie autem fjrami Dei filiam, qui fit poteflate maxima prseditus, ncn tantiun voces prouhetarum, fed etiam Sibvllarum vacicinia de- Vol. I. monftrant. Laftantius. Div. Inft. Lib. IV. 6. Cum igitur a prophetis idem manus Dei, & 'virtus, & fer- mo dicatur. ibid, 29. Paradife Loft. VL713. — Into thee fuch 'virtue and grace Immenfe I have transfus'd. Chrift {how'd his heavenly \v'(- dora upon every trial : but his dii>ine 'virtue broke out, to the amazement of the tempter, in the laft. Note that the przepofitioa from. From what confum.mate virtue- is ufed here as v«to and prs, to fignify_/'^cir or becau/s of. Calton. C 168. St i8 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book I. So fpake th' eternal Father, and all Heaven Admiring flood a fpace, then into hymns Burft forth, and in celeftial meafures mov'd, 1 70 Circling the throne and Tinging, while the hand Sung with the voice, and this the argument. Vidory' and triumph to the Son of God Now entring his great duel, not of arms, But 168. So /pake tF eternal fathery and all Hea'ven Admiring fiood a fpace^ We can- not but take notice of the great art of the poet in fetting forth the dignity and importance of his fub- je6l. He reprefents all beings as interefted one way or other in the event. A council of Devils is fum- mon'd; an affembly of Angels is held upon the occafion. Satan is the fpeaker in the one, the Al- mighty in the other. Satan ex- prefFes his diffidence, but ftill re- iblves to make trial of this Son of God ; the Father declares his pur- pofe of proving and illuftrating his Son. The infernal crew are dif- traded and furpriz'd with deep dif- may ; all Heaven ftands a while in admiration. The fiends are filent thro' fear and grief; the Angels burft forth into finging with joy and the afiured hopes of fuccefs. And their attention is thus engag- ed, the better to engage the atten- tion of the reader. Sung ivith the 'voice,'] We have pretty near the fame phrafe in Ti. bulks. III. IV. 41. Sed pollquam fuerant digiti cum 'voce locuti, Edidit hasc dulci triftia verba modo. And the word hand is ufed by Mil- ton once again in this poem, and alfo in the Arcades, to diftinguilh inftrumental harmony from vocal. IV. 254. There thou fhalt hear and Icarn the fecret power Of harmony in tones and num- bers hit Bj> 'voice or hand. Arcades, yy. If my inferior hand or 'voice could hit Inimitable founds. i7i. I have fometimes indulged a fufpi- 'vjhile the hand cion, that the poet didated, — while Book I. PARADISE REGAIN'D. But to vanquirh by w'fdom helliih wiles. The Father knows the Son j therefore fecure Ventures his filial virtue, though untry'd, Againft whate'er may tempt, whate'er feduce, Allure, or terrify, or undermine. Be fruflrate all ye ftratagems of Hell, And devilifh machinations come to nought. 19 ^75 180 So » while the ^arp Sung with the voice ; ■ but the few authoritiec. alledged put the prefent reading out of queltion. Calton. 174. Nonx! entring his great duel,^ There is, I think, a meannefs in the cuftomary fenfe of tiiis term that makes it unworthy of thefe fpeakers and this occafion ; and yet it is obfervable, that Mihon in his Paradife Loft makes Michael ufe the very fame word where he is fpeaking to Adam of the fame thing. XII. 386. To whom thus Michael. Dream not of their fight. As of a duel. Sec. The Italian duello, if I am not miftaken, bears a ftronger fenfe, and this, I fuppofe, Milton had in view. Tiyer. If it be not a contradiftion, it is inaccurate at leaft in Milton, to jnake an Angel fay in one place. Dream not of their f.ght as cf a duel; and afterwards to make the Angels exprefs it by the metaphor of a duel, No-ju entring his great duel. 175. But to .ov TSTi TO blunders of the firil edition, and ttya^ov uv^^uTTnov nvcc^y a.7,>.a, Ssio^', increafed the number with new TO i5i7\o»lu> af^Eiv. I could add ones of their own. This pafl'age other pafiages of Xenophon, which affords an inflance. In all the Virgil has manifeftly copied. editions we read. "Yorfrn. 1 n 1 1 , -,^ 4I n II 1 ^ r Lj ^ —the Ituboom only to de^rcxx 220. — thcJtubbornonlytoJubaHe.\ ' ' J^ "J ' We cannot fufficiently condemn the and this being good fenfe, the miftake Book!. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 26 Thou fhould'ft be great, and fit on David's throne. And of thy kingdom there fhould be no end= 241 At thy nativity a glorious quire Of Angels in the fields of Bethlehem fung To fliepherds watching ::'t tb^-ir folds by night. And told them the Meffiah nov/ was born 245 Where they might fee him, and to thee they came, Diredled to the manger where thou lay'fb, For in the inn was left no better room : A ftar, not feen before, in Heav'n appearing Guided the wife men thither from the eaft, 250 To honor thee with incenfe, myrrh, and gold, By whofe bright courfe led on they found the place. Affirming it thy flar new grav'n in Heaven, By which they knew the king of Ifrael born. Jufl Simeon and prophetic Anna, warn'd 255 By miftake is not fo eafily detetfled : Virgil. JEn. J. 502. but in the firil edition the reader , is defired in the table of Errata ^^^^^"^ 'f '""^ pertentant gau- for dejiroy to read M^ue ; and if ^'^ P^*^"'' >""' we conlider it, this is the more 241. there (hould be no end.'] proper word, more fuitable to the We have rellored the reading of humane and heavenly charafter of Milton's own edition, Jhould not the fpeaker; and belldes itanfwers pall, as before to t\ie fubduc and quell \n \tx. zi^. _,, The fan of man came not to dejlroy ^^'^'^ ^'"^^ ^^ S'"^^^ mens lives Sec. Luke IX, 56. 255. Juji Simeon and prophetic ZZ-j. — my mother foon perceiving Anna,'] It rnay not be impro- inly rejoic'd,] per to remark how ftriftly our au- thor 2^ PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book I. By vifion, found thee in the temple', and fpake Before the altar and the veiled prieft, Like things of thee to all that prefent ftood. This having heard, ftrait I again revolv'd The law and prophets, fearching v^^hat v^as v^rit 260 Concerning the Meffiah, to our fcribes Known partly, and foon found of whom they fpake I am ; this chiefly, that my way mull lie Through many a hard affay ev'n to the death. Ere 1 the promis'd kingdom can attain, 265 Or work redemption for mankind, whofc fins Full weight mull be transferr'd upon my head. Yet \ thor adheres to the Scripture hif- tory, not only in the particulars which he relates, but alfo in the very epithets which he affixes to the peifons; as here "Juji Simeon, becaufe it is faid Luke II. 25. and the fame man ivas jujl : and pro- phetic Anna, becaufe it is faid Luke 11. 36. and there ivas one Anna a prophete/s. The like accuracy may be obferved in all the reft. 262. and Joon found of!,- [dVAy /y.os- Or,z, ut videtur,] To»»tTa zar' izEi^o Biorr.i a.nriy.xhvl't. Non eii Dei Verbi ignorantia, fed Forms fer- vi, qua: tanta per illud tempus fciebat, quanta Deitas inhabitaas revelabat. Rep.'-eh. Anath. quarti CyrilH, Tom 4 P. 713. If ^ome things might be fuppos'd unknown to Chrift, without prejudice to the union, being not reveal'd to him by the united Word, it will follow that, till fome certain time, even the union itfelf might be unknown to him. This time feems to liave^ been, in Milton's fche.ne, after the foliloquy ; but before the forty days of fairing were ended, and the Demon eiuer'd upon the {c.?ne of aftion : and then was a fit occa- fton to sive him a feeling of his own Itrength, when he v/as juit upon the point of being attack'd by fuch an adverfary. Gallon, 294. So /pake our Morning Star\ So our Saviour is called in the P.i;- velation XXII. 16. the bright an'i mornhg s^ PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book I. The way he came not having mark'd, return Was difficult, by human fteps untrod j And he ftill on was led, but with fuch thoughts Accompanied of things paft and to come 300 Lodg'd in his breaft, as well might recommend Such folitude before choiceft fociety. Full forty days he pafs'd, whether on hill Sometimes, anon in fhady vale^ each night Under the covert of fome ancient oak, 305 Or cedar, to defend him from the dew. Or harbour'd in one cave, is not reveal'd -, Nor tafted human food, nor hunger felt Till thofe days ended, hunger'd then at laft Among morningflar: and it Is properly ap- plied to him here at his firll rifing. 302. Such fclitude before cboiceji focieiy.'] This verfe is of the fame meafure as one in the Paradife Loft, IX. 249. and is to be fcann'd in the fame manner. Forfoli|tudefome|times is { beft fojciety. Such foliltude bejfore choi^ceft fo|ciety. Or we muft allow that an Alexan- drine verfe (as it is called) may be admitted into blank verfe as well as into rime. 307. 07ie cave] Read — fome cave. y or tin. 310. they at his Jight grevj mild,'\ All this is very common in defcription, but here very judi- cioufly employ'd as a mark of the returning Paradifiacal ftate. Warburton. 312. and noxious nvorml This beautiful defcription is formed upon that fhort hint in St. Mark's Gofpel I. 13. rtW icas iv/th the n.i:ild beajis. A circumllance not mention'd by the other Evangelifts, but excellentlv improv'd by Milton to fhow how the ancient prophecies began to be fulfiU'd, Ifa. XI. 6 — 9. LXV. 25. Ezek. XXXIV. 25; and how Eden was raised in the ivcajle Book I. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 31 Among wild beads : they at his light grew mild, 3 1 o Nor fleeping him nor waking harm'd, his walk The fiery ferpent fled, and noxious worm, The lion and fierce tiger glar'd aloof. But now an aged man in rural weeds, 314 Following, as feem'd, the queft of fome flray ewe. Or wither'd flicks to gather, which might ferve Againft a winter's day when winds blow keen, To warn him wet return'd from field at eve, He faw approach, who firfl: with curious eye Perus'd him, then with words thus utter'd fpake. 320 Sir, what ill chance hath brought thee to this place So far from path or road of men, who pafs In luajle ^ildernefs. But the word nvorm, tho' joined with the epithet noxious, may give too low an idea to fome readers : but as we ob- ferved upon the Paradife Loll, IX. 1068, where Satan is caWeA fal/e Hvorm, it is a general name for the reptil kind, and a ferpent is called the mortal ixjorm by Shakefpear. 2 Henry VI. Aft III. and fo like- wife by Cowley in his Davideis. Book I. With that fhe takes One of her worft, her bell be- loved fnakes. Softly dear luorm, foft and unfeen ({aid fhe). 314. But nozv an aged man &cj As the Scripture is entirely filent about what perfonage the Tempter affum'd, the poet was at liberty to indulge his own fancy; and no- thing, I think, could be better conceived for his prei'ent purpofe, or more likely to prevent fufpicion of fraud. The poet might perhaps take the hint from a defign of Da- vid Vinkboon's, where the Devil is reprefented addreffing himfelf to our Saviour under the appearance of an old man. It is to be met with among Vifcher's cuts to the Bible, and is ingrav'd by Lander- felt. Thjer. D'-y hi 32 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book I. In troop or caravan ? for jQngle none Durft ever, who return'd, and dropt not here His carcafs, pin'd with hunger and with drouth. 325 I afk the rather, and the more admire, For that to me thou feem'il: the man, whom late Our new baptizing Prophet at the ford Of Jordan honor'd fo, and call'd thee Son Of God ; I fav/ and heard, for we fometimes 330 Who dwell this v/ild, conflrain'd by want, come forth To town or village nigh (nigheft is far) Where ought we hear, and curious are to hear, What happens new ; fame alfo finds us out. " To whom the Son of God. Who brought me hither, Will bring me hence j no other guide I feek. 336 By 323. /« troop or cara'vanr'\ A ca- ravan, as Tavernier fays, is a great convoy of merchants, which meet at certain times and places, to put themfelves into a condition of de- fenfe from thieves, who ride in troops in feveral defert places upon the road A caravan is like an army, confifting ordinarily of five or fix hundred camels, and near as many horfes, and fometimes more. This makes it the fafeft way of traveling in Turky and Perfia vvith the caravan, thouph it goes in- deed flower, than in lefs com- panyj, or with a guide alone, as feme will do. Sec Tiavels into Perfia in Harris '\'^ol. II. B. 2. ch. 2. 3 39. — tciigh roots andfiubs\ This mull: certainly be a miihike of the printer, and inftead ofjlubs it ought to be read Jhrubs. It is no uncom- mon thing to read of hermits and afcerlcs living in deferts upon roots and fhrubs, but 1 never heard of J}ubs beiu'j; ufcd for food, nor indeed is it reconcileable to common fenfe. Some ha-e thought that the axp- cec, which the Scripture fsys were the meat of the Baptiil, were the tops of plants or fhrubs. Thyer. I find the word. J^ubs ufed in Spcn- fer. Faery Queen B- i. Cant. 9. St. 34. And Eookl. PARADISE REGAINED. 33 By miracie lie may, rep^y'd the fvvaln, What other way 1 fee not, for wc here Live on tough roots and flubs, to thirfl inur'd More than the Camel, and to drink go far, 340 Men to much mifei-y and hrtrdfliip born 5 But if thou be the Son of God, command That oiit of thcfe hard frones he made thee bread. So flialt thou fave tliyfelf and us relieve With food, whereof we wretched feldom talle. 345 He ended, and the Son of God reply 'd. Think'ft thou fuch force in bread ? is it not written (For I difcern thee other than thou feem'fl) Man lives not by bread only, but each word Proceeding from the moutli of God, who fed 350 Our And all about old flocks and/zz/^j feives in his phyfical obfervations of trees but this only proves tl'e ufe of the word, and not of the th:ng as feed, ^hicli feems impoCible, and there- fore I embrace the former inge- nious conjcdture. on Arabia Petra^a p. 389 we can- not rufHv:ienily ad mire the great care and wifdom &f God in providing the camel for the traffic and com- merce of thefe and fuch like defo- late cor:nrries. For if this fervice- chle creature was rot able to Tub- 340. hlore than the caj?:cl,''\ Tt is fitt fevcial days without water, or commonly faid that cameis will go if it required a quantity of nou- without water three or four days. riCTment in proportion to its bulk, Sitim & quatriduo tolerant. Plin. the travelling in thefe pans would ^at. Hilt. Lib. 8. Sed. 'ib. But be either cumberfome and expen- Tavernier fays, that they will ordj- five, or altogether impracticable, jlarily live without drink eioht or 350 rrcceeding from thi mouth of nine days. See Harris ibid. And God, I'jbofcd therefore, as Dr. Shaw juftly ob- Our fathers here ixnth Mama ?'\ Vol. I. D The 34 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book I. Our fathers here with Manna ? in the mount Mofes was forty days, nor eat nor drank ; And forty days Elijah without food Wander'd this barren wafte ; the fame I now : Why dofb thou then fugged to me diftruft, 355 Knowing who I am, as I know who thou art ? Whom thus anfwer'd th'Arch-Fiend now undif- 'Tis true, I am that Spirit unfortunate, Lg'-^i^ ^• W^ho leagu'd with millions more in rafli revolt Kept not my happy ftation, but was driven 360 With The feventh and perhaps feme o- ther editions have pointed it thus, Proceeding from the mouth of God ? who fed Our fathers here with Manna ; In the firft and fecond editions there is a femicolon in both places, which is ftill worfe. A comma would be fufficient after Go.-i, and the mark of interrogrticn ftiould clcfe the period after Manna. Cahon. 356. Knoiviiig ^-vho I at;i,'\ This -is not to be underllood of LhriU's di^jine nature. The Tempter knew him to be the perfcn declared t'^e Sen of God by a voice frcm Keaven, ver. 385. and tiia.t was :;!! that he knew of him. Can on. 358. 'Tif /rue, I a??: that Spirit unfortu7itite, &:CjSr;tan's franU- ner> in confefling who he was, when he found himfelf difcovered, is remarkable. Hitherto he has been called an aged man, and the Jixain ; and we have no intimation from the poet, that Satan was con- cealed under this appearance, which adds to our pleafure by an agree- able furprife upon the difcovery. In the firit book of the ^neid, ^i)neas bein? driven by a ftorm up- on an unknown coait, and going in compsny with Achates to take a furvey of the country, is met in a thick wood by a lady, in the habit of a huntrefs. She inquires of them if they had feen two fifters of hers in a like drefs, employed in the chace. i^ineas addre/Tes her as Diana, or one of her nymphs, and begs ihe would tell him the name end Itate of the country the tcn^pell had thrown hiin upon. She declines his compliment, informs him llie \vas no Goddefs, but only a Tyrian Book I. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 25 With them from blifs to the bottomlefs deep, Yet to that hideous place not fo confin'd By rigor unconniving, but that of: Leaving my dolorous prifon I enjoy Lari^e liberty to round this globe of earth, 365 Or range in ch'air, nor far from the Heav'n of Heav'ns Hath he excluded my refort fometimes. I came among the ibns of God, when he Gave up into my hands Uzzean Job To prove him, and ill ij (Irate his high worth 5 370 And Tyrian maid, give^^ an acc^tinr of the place, and a full relation of Di- do's hiftory and fetrlement tiere. In return, ^neas acquaints her with his itory, and particularly the lols of great part of hib fleet in tlie late liorin. Upon which fhc ailures him, from an omen which appear- ed to them, that his fl-iips were fafe, bids him e.xpecl a kind reception from the queen ; and then tutting to go away, yErieas dilcovers iier to be his mother, tlie Goddefs of love. If Virfril had n(*t informed us of her bt;;ng Venus, till this time, and in this manner, it would have had an agreeable effw^ft in fur- prifing the reader, as much ss llie did -^neas : but his ccmdodt has been quite the reverfe, for in the beginning of the iloiy, he lets the reader into the fccret, and takes care every now auci tbea to remind him. Cui mator media fefe tulitobvia fylva, feV. See y/fi Ejjh^ upon Milfoil's imitatkns of the Ancient!, p. 60. 360. Kepi not m\' kappy Jia'ion^ A manner of fpeaking borrowed from the Scripture. Jude 6. And tf:e Angels I'jhich kept not their firji efime. 365 . — to rnurdthisghhe of earth,'] Milton ufes the ir.r.ic phral'e in his F;iradi>^- Lolt X. 084. Ipeaking of the jiin : tjad riu?-Jed uWl ih' horizon— • Thyero 368. / caKc an.ong the fovs of God, kc\ Job I. 6. 'No'v: there ^.':os a day •x:h 2 372. r« 36 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book I. And when to all his Angels he propos'd To draw the proud king Ahab into fraud That he might fall in Ramoth, they demurring, I undertook that office, and the tongues Of all his flattering prophets glibh'd with lies 375 To his deftrudion, as I had in charge. For what he bids I do : though I have loft Much luftre of my native brightnefs, loft To be beloved of God, I have not loft To love, at leaft contemplate and admire 380 What I fee excellent in good, or fair. Or virtuous, I (liould fo have loft all fenfe. What 372. To dran.v the proud hhig Ahab intofraud~\ That is, into mif- chief, asfraus fometimes means in Latin. "Jort'in. The reader may fee an inftance of fraud and fraiis ufed in this fenfe in the Paradife Loft, LX. 643, and the note there. And this ftory of Ahab is relaterl i Kings XXI!. ig &C. / fai fatiding by him, on his right hand and en hi\ left. And the l.ordjaid, Who fjall perfyade Ahcd?, that he muv go up a>:dfali ot RaiKoth-gikud ? And one [aid on this 7>:anner, and another ov thai ViCnyter. And there cane forth a '"^f'irit. and ftocd before the Lord, c;:.dfaid, i ■zvill ^erfade him. And the Lord faid unto him, Where-Tvith? And he faid, I nvill go forth, and I nx-ill be a h'ingfpirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he faid. Thou Jhalt pcrfuade him, and prevail alfo : go forth, and do Jo. And this fym- bolical vifion of Micaiah, in which heavenly things are fpoken of after the manner of men in condefcen- fion to the weaknefs of their capa- cities, oijr author was too good a critic to underftand litterally, the* as a poet he teprefents it fo. 3Sv ■ To hear altent Thy n.\:ifdom,'\ Milton feems to have borrowed this word and this eniphau'cal manner of applying it fiom Spcnfer, Faery Queen B. 6. Cant. 9. St. z6. Whilft Book I. PARADISE REGAIN'D, 37 What can be then lefs In me than defire To fee thee and approach thee, whom I know Declav'd the Son of God, to hear attent 385 Thy wifdom, and behold thy Godhke deeds ? Men generally think me much a foe To all mankind : why fliould I ? they to me Never did wrong or violence j by them I loft not what I loft, rather by them 390 I gain'd what I have g'^in'd, and v/ith them dwell Copartner in thcfe regions of the world, If not difpofer ; lend them oft my aid. Oft my advice by prcfagcs and figns, And Whilft thus he talk'd, the knight with greedy ear Hung itil! upon his melting mouth p.ttent. Thyer, 394. Oft my advice ly prcfages andjigns. And anjz'.ers, orncler, portents and dreams,'\ I. Portents are but odly thrown in here betwixt oracles and dreams ; befides that the mean- ing of the word had been fully ex- prefs'd before hy pr,/nges and/:gf!s. Thefe comprehend all the imagin'd notes of futurity in auguries in/a- crifices, in lightnings, and in all the varieties of pjortents, cjients, prodi- gies. That portent at Aulis, which Hiowed the Greeks the fucccT? and du'ation of the war they were go- inw upon, is called by Homer lj.iya, ar.ixx a great fign, Iliad. II. 308. What were the Lacedaemo- nians profited before, (laith Cicero De Div. II. 25.) or our own coun- trymen lately by the ojlents and their interpreters ? which, if we mull: believe them to bey%«/ fent b)' the Goda, why were they fo ob- fcure ? Quid igitur aut ojienta, aut corum interpretes, vel Lacedxmo- nlos olim, vel nuper noftros adju- verunt ? qua; iijigna Deorum pu- tanda funt, cur tam obfcura fue- runt ? This paflage of Cicero will lead us to the fenfe of the next word, which very naturally idi" lows pr ef ages zn^jtgns, and is con- D 3 nefted 3^ PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book I. And anfwers, oracles, portents and dreams, Whereby they may dired: their future life. Envy they fay excites me thus to gain Companions of my mifery and woe. At fird it may be s but long fince with woe 395 nested with them. In Cicero we have /fg/:s and their interpreters, and here Jig/is and their hiterpreta- tions ; for this I take to be the meaning of an/'zL-ers. The ha>uf- j'lcian rejpcjija ainongfl: the Romans are obvious authorities. 2. There sre three fpecies of divination, dif- tingiiifhed from the former byyf^>;/, in Cicero's nrft book on that fub- jeift, viz. dreams, 'vaticinations or prophecies, and oracles. Carent au- tem arte ii, qui non ratione, aut conjeflura, obfervatis ac notatis jigms,{t^ concitationequadani ani- mi, aut foluro libeioqiie motu fu- tijra praefentiunc ; quod h fomnian- fibus fspe contingit, & nonnun- quam ^aiicinantibus per furoiem &c. Cujus generis oracala etiarn habendafunt. De Div. I. 18. Thefe th.'-ee frequently occur together ; as again in this firU book. 51. Item \<^\Vea,vis,any more than Cicero would have inferted 'vates between oracu/cf s.\\dj omnia. Cicero has faid oraculc^^ n;afic:nuliones, fcn?ria ; 2nd Niiiton in like manner would -have faid by prfjogcs a^.d Jfgtis, and avj-ivers, oracles, prophecies, noK prophets, c;n4 dfcan-.s. But 1 fuppofe the poet was not v» i'ling to ci^cnbt prop he ry to the Ds,v)i j he might think, and very juitly Book I. PARADISE REG AIN'D. 39 Nearer acquainted, now I feel by proof, 400 That fellowfhip in pain divides not fmart, Nor lightens onght each man's p::^cijUar load. Small confolation then, were man adjoin'd : This wounds me moit (what can it lefs ? ) that man, / Man juilly think, that it lay not within his rphere and capacity : and by />or/c///jhe plainly underiiandbronie- thing more than trfjages and Jtgns, as/>5;Vf.v/« are rank'd with movfira and frcdigia in the beit Latin au- thors. The gentleman Teems ap- prehenhve that his lall quotation from Cicero may be turned againfl him : and indeed that pallage ai;d this refiedt fo much light on each other, as would incline one to be- lieve that Milton had it in mind as he was compofing. Multa cernunt haruipices : multa augmes provi- dent: thefeare ihe prejagfs at/tijigns anii anjkvers : multa oraculis decla- rantur, multa vaticinationibus, mul-. ta fomniis, multa portentis : here poricnts 2.Te annumerated with ora- cles and dreams : quibus cognitis, multx fepe res homimim JetJentia atque iitilitate parta (or as Lambin reLGJ, ex ar.hnijcmcntia atque utili- /(^/t7Yir/^)mulraetiam periculade- pulfa funt : the fenie of which is very weil expreiTed by the follow- ing line in Milton, Whereby they may direct their future life. 400. — novo I feel by pro-: f. That ftllciv/:j!p in pain S-vides not Jmart,'\ Our author here had in his eye this line of the poet, Solamen miferis focios habui/Ie doloris. Thyer. 402. Acr lightens ought each man s pecul.ar Uad.^ 1 think it will net be caviling to fay, that each " man's peculiar load Ihould not-be put in the mouth of Satan, who was no man, who had confefled to Chrill that he was the unfortunate Arch-Fiend, and who fpeaks of hinifelf. If Milton had been a- ware of it, he would have corred- ed it thus, Nor lightens ought e:ich (?«/j pe- culiar load, or in fome other manner. Befides the word tnan is repeated here too often. Nor lightens ought each man's peculiar load. Small confolation then, were man adjoin'd : This wounds me moft (what can it lefs r ) that ?nan, Man fall'n (hall be reftor'd, I ne- ver more. Jortin. 404. This nvottnds me moji &cj D 4 Very 40 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book L Man fall'n fliall be reflor'd, I never more. 405 To whom onr Saviour fternly tlrus reply'd. Defervedly thou griev'il, compcs'd of lies From the beginning, and in lies wilt end ; Who boaft'll releafe from Hell, and leave to come Into the Heav'n of Heav'ns : thou corn'ft indited, 410 As a poor miferable captive thrrJl Comes to the place where he before had fat Among the prime in fplendor, now decos'd, Ejeded, em.ptied, gaz'd, 'ur.citya, ihunn'd, A fpedlaclc of ruin or of Icorn 415 To all the hofl of Heav'n : the hapny place Imparts to thee no happincis, no y>y^ Rather inflames thy torment, rcprefcnting Loft blifs to thee no more communicable, So Very artful. A5 he could r,or ac- one ine-at part of his defign, that quit hiaifelf of envy and jriifchicf he riiight be able, if polhble, to he endevors to foften his crimes counterplot and prevent ic. With by affigning this caufe of them. no Ic'c judgment is our Saviour ic- IVarburton. preicnted in the following anKer This wounds me mod (what can it taking no other notice of it than by lefs ? ) that niari, replying Dcfci'vediy thcu grie-Jf: S^c Man fall'n (hall be rellor'd, I ne- 'f/.jer. ver more. 4:6. — t/jc hupp^ place .Xrc ] J'he The poet very judicioGily makes famt^ noble fcntimcijt ue '^xA aKo the Tempter conclude with th-fc in Paradiie loil. JX. 467. lines concerning the refloration of But the hot HcII that always in fall'n man, in order to lead our Sa- him burns, viour to fay fomething about the Though in mid Hfcav'n, &c. iJWnner of it, to know which was Thyer. 417. /;/;- Book I. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 41 So never more in Hell than when in Heav'n. 420 But thou art ferviceable to Heav'n's King, Wilt thou impute t' obedience what thy fear Extorts, or pleafure to do ill excites ? What but thy malice mov'd thee to mifdeem Of righteous Job, then cruelly to' afHidt him 425 With all inflictions ? but his patience won. The other fervice was thy chofen taik, To be a liar in four hundred mouths ; For lying is thy fuftenance, thy food. Yet thou pretendTr to truth j all oracles 430 By thee are giv'n, and what confefs'd more true Among the nations ? that hath been thy craft, Bv mixins; fomewhat true to vent more lies. But what have been thy anfwers, what but dark. Ambiguous 417. Imparts to thee] In all the 426. With all infli^ions ? but his editions it is printed Imports to thee, patience -««.] So Mr. Fenton but in the Errata of the firfl: edition points this paiTage in his edition, we are defired to read Imparts to and fo it fhould be pointed. And thee. It is no wonder that the er- the verb ^von 1 think is not ofcea rors of the firft edition are conti- ufed as a verb neuter, but I find ni:ed in the fubleq^uenc ones, when it fo in Spenfer's Faery Queen, thofe errors do notmuch difturb che B. i . Cant. 6. St. 39. fenle : but even where they make , j , , n n 1 • 1. j. cownngni. nonlenie or the panage, ° they are ilill continued; and we had *^^" '^'^'"^ a moll remarkable inftance a little 43^. But ivhat ha've Been thy an- bef'ire in ver. 400. Ne-cer acquaint- Jxvers, it:hat hut dark,'] The « ior Nearer etquainted. oracles were often fo obfcure and dubious, 42 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book I. Ambiguous and with double fenfe deluding, 435 Which they who a&'d have feldom underftood, And not well underftood as good not known ? Who ever by confijlting at thy flirine Return'd the wiier, or the more inflrud: To fly or follow what concern'd him moft, 440 And run not fooner to his fatal fnare ? For dnbiou?, thit there was need of oiher oracles to explain them. Sed jam ad te venio, Saridle Apollo qui umbilicum cer- tum terrarum obfides, Unde fuperftiticfa primum Tajva evafu vox fera, tuis enim craculis Chryfippus to- torn volumen implevit, paitim fal- frs, ut ego opinor, partim cafu ve- ris, ut fit in omni oratione fepiffi- jne ; partim Jiexiloquis, isf obfcuris, at inteypres egeiJi interpret e, ts Jo' s i^/a ad fortes referenda Jit ; fariiin mnbiguis, Cff qure ad dialcdictiin de- fererJafnt, Cicero De Div. I J. 56. C ait on. Milton in thefe lines about the Heathen oracles Teems to have had in view what Eufebius fays more copictlly upon this fubj^d in the £fth book of his Pra^paraiio Evan- gelica. That learned father rea- fcns in the very fame way about them, and gives many inftances fiom hiilory of their deluHve and double meanings. It may not per- laps be inipertinent to mcution one by wny of illuflrat/on. Crce- fu5 fending to coni'uit the Dflphic orac'e about the fuccefs of his in- tended expedidon againil the Per- fian received this anfwer, Croefus Halym penetrans magnam pervertet opjm vim, which by the ambiguity of one word might either fig:;;fy the con- quell of the Perfian cn:pire, or the ruin of his own : but he, as it was natural eno'jgh for an ambitious prince to do, conftruing it accord- ing to his own Haltering hopes, was overcome and loll his kingdom. Tfyer. 447. But from him or his Angels /i;Y/7^/tv//jUtituretiam eisDeus (Damo:,ibus, ad veritatis manife- llarioncm per ipfos fiendiim, dum divina mylleria tis per Angelos re- ve'antur. The words are quoted from Aquinas (zdazdaeQueft. i 72. Art. 6 ) but the opinion is as old at Icall as St. AuUm, whole authority he Book I. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 43 For God hath juftly giv'n the nations up To thy delufions j juftly, fince they fell Idolatrous : but when his purpofe is Among them to declare his providence 445 To thee not known, whence haft thou then thy truth, But from him or his Angels prefident In every province ? who themfelves difdaining T'approach lie and Peter Lombard alled^e for jc. Call on. This notion Milton \try probably had from TertuHianand St. Auftin. Tertuiiian fpeakingof the Gods of the Heathens and their oracles fays — Difpofitiones etinm Dei & tunc prophetis concionantibus excepe- runt, & nunc ledionibus refonanti- bus carpunt, ita & hinc fumentes jquafdam temporum fortes semulan- tur divinitatem, dum furantur divi- nationem. In oraculis autem, quo ingenio ambiguitates temperent in eventus, fciunt Crceii, fciuntPyrrhi. Apol. C. 22. St. Auilin more a p- pofitely to our prefent purpofe, an- fvvering the Heathen boiAs of their oracles fa> s tamcn nee ilia ip- fa, qua; ab eis vix raro & clanculo proferunturj movere nos debent, fi cuiquam Dsmonum extortum ell id prodere cuitoiibusfuis, quod di- diceral ex eloquiis prophetaram, vel oraculis Angelorum. Aug. De Div. Dsc-monum. Stcl. 12. Tom. 6. Ed. Bened. And again Cumenim vuit Deus etiam per infi.aios infer- ^ofqac Ipiiituo aliquem vera cog- nofcere, temporalia dumtaxat atque ad iitam mortalitatem pertinentia, facile elt, et non incongruum, ut cmnipotens et jullus ad eorum poe- nam, quibus ilia pr^dicuntur, ut m^lum quod eis impendet ante quain veuiat prajnofcendo patian- tur, occulto apparatu minillerio- rum fuorum etiam fpiritibus talibus aiiqaid divinationis impertiat, ut quod audiunt ab Angelis, prtcnun- tient ho.Tiinibus. De Div. Quell, ad Simpl. L. 2. S. 3.Tom.6. The following paffage from the fame place of St. Auftin may ferve to iliullraie what Milton fays above at ver. 432. that hath been thy craft. By mixing fomewhat true to vent mere lies. Mifcent tamen ifti 'Dxmones) fa!- lacias, & verum quod nofle potue- rint, non docendi magis quam de- cipiendi f ne praenunciant. T^hyer. 447, — or his An^eh prefi'ient In e-jcry province ?'\ Milton has here follow'd the Septuagint read- ing 44 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book L T' approach thy temples, give thee in command What to the fmailefl: tittle thou ihait fay 450 To thy adorers j thou with trembling fear, Or like a fawning paralite obey'ft ; Then to thyfelf afcrib'fl the truth foretold. But this thy glory Ihall be foon rctrench'd j No ing in Deuteronomy. *C)te $ sus- Warbnrton. 4^3. Tien to thyfelf af crib' Jl the truth foretoU.'] The Demons (Laclantius fays) could certainly forefee, and truly foretel many future events, from the knowledge they had of the djfpofitions of Providence before their fall. And then they aflumed all the honor to themfelves, pretending to be the authors, and doers of what they predifted. Nam cum difpofitiones Dei pra^fentiant, quippe qui mi- nifEri ejus fuerunr, interponunt fe in, his rebus ; ut quascur.quc a Deo vel fada funt, vel fiunr, ipii poti!- firaura facere, aut feciifc videantur. Div. Inll. II. 16. Calion. 456. ■ henceforth oracles are ceasd.'\ I would not cenfure Milton for mentioning the filcnce of oracles, at our Saviour's appear- ing in the world, both here and in his elegant hymn on Chriil's nati- vity, becaufe it adorns the poems, thd' it be a vulgar error. "Jortln. As MJl;on had heforf adopted the ancient oj Inion of c-acles being the operations of tliC fall'n Angels, fo here alfo again hs follows the fiune authority in making them ceaie at the coming of our Sa- viour. See this maaer fully dif- cufo'd in Fontenelle's hiftory of oracle-, and father Baltus's anfwer to him. 7bycr. 458. at Deiphos'] In the fa- mous controverfy about ancient and modern learning Mr. Wotton re- proves Sir William Temple, for putting Delphos for Delphi, every where in his Eilays. Mr. Boyle juftifies it, and fa\s that it is ufed by all the finefl writers of our tongue, and bcft judges of it, par- ticularly Waller, Dryden, Creech, &c. If tliefe authorities may ju- ftify Sir \A'i'!i3m Temple, they may alio jullify Milton ; but cer- tainly the true way of writing is not Dc/phos in the accufative cafe, but De.phi in the nominative. And though one would not condemn thofe excellent writers, who have unawares fallen into the common error, yet to defend Delphos upon liiis only pretence, that it has been the cuilom of our Englifii writers to Book L PARADISE REGAINED. 45 455 No more (lialt thou by oracling abufe The Gentiles ; henceforth oracles are ceas'd, And thou no more with pomp and facrifice Shalt be inquir'd at Ddphos or elievv'here, At leafl: in vain^ for they fliall find thee mute. \ God hath now fent his living oracle 460 Into to call it fo ; is, as Dr. Bentley re- plies, like the Popifh Prieft, who for 30 years together had read Mumpfinius in his brevir.ry inllead of Sumpjimus ; and when a learned man told him of his blunder, Til not change, fays he, my old Mumpji- mus for your new Su?npjviius. 460. God hath novoftnt his liviag oracle Into the ■ivorUl'\ This heavenly oracle deiivers himfclf here, in terms clear enough to alarm the Tempter : but it was not time yet to put an end to the temptation by giving him full conviction. Tan- tum vero ei innotuit (Chriftus) quantum voluit : tantum autem vo- luit, quantum oporcuit. [^^'g- ^^ Civ. Dei IX. 21. I have put ei for eis to fuit it to my prefent pur- pofej The Son of God was fent, a man amongft men to teach them nii-va 'voce, conveying his inllruc- tions to the underilanding by the ear. In this view he was a li-ving oracle, and diliinguilh'd from the other oracle, the Holy Spirit, who communicates himfelf by filent im- preHions upon the mind within. But Chrift had a nobler meaning. Jn the Greek Fathers he is llii'd avrc^a'17, C^aaec pi^Xvi, Xoy©^ ^■w>'» eifenual life, the living counfel, and the living word of God. And St. John fays that in him 'was life, aiid toe life -'vas the light of tne?!, I. 4. This meaning was not unob- ferved by the Tempter. He eafil)r perceived that the eternal Word might be the living oracle intend- ed : and his words a little below ver. 475. feem to be a feign'd ac- knowledgment of vvhat he would not yet believe, tho' he feared it might be true. But thou art plac'd above me,thou art Lord; From thee I can and mult fubmils indure Check or reproof, and glad t* ''Jcape fo quit. Thou art the firil: begotten of God, and Lord os all things ; and thou canil remand me to that dreadful deep, whiiLer thy t.;under drove me out of ileaven. Cahon. 460. hii li'ving oracle'] We have 46 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book I. Into the world to teach his final will, And fends his Spi'rit of truth henceforth to dwell In pious hearts, an inward oracle To all truth requifite for men to know. So fpake our Saviour j but the fubtle Fiend, 465 Though inly flung with anger and difdain, DifTembled, and this anfvver fmooth return'd. Sharply thou haft infifted on rebuke, And urg'd me hard with doings, which not will But mifery hath wrefted from me : where 470 Eafily canft thou find one miferable, And not enforc'd oft-times to part from truth ; If it may ftand him more in ftead to lie. Say and unfay, feign, flatter, or abjure ? But thou art plac'd above me, thou art Lord j 475 From thee I can and muft fubmifs indure Check or reproof, and glad to 'fcape fo quit. Hard are the ways of truth, and rough to walk, Smooth have here correfted an error, which 474. Say and un/ay, feign, fatter, has prevailed in mod of the edi- or abjure ? ] Might not M\\- tionSj/oTOwj- oracle inftead of .'/w'«^ ton poflibly intend here, and oracle ; and another a little after- particularly by the word abjure, ward, lofcxm, be- • ^ r l • ■ • ur ji , . ^ r ' jj) moiVL of the otners it is ablurdly vond it. . , ' 13/ ■ r? . printed 27. rlasn pjhnnien, no greater *■ men thtm call,'] Imitated from Alas, from that high hope to the beginning of Spenfer's Shep- what lelapfe, herd's Calendar. Book II. PARADISE REGAIN'D. Jf The kingdom fhall to Ifrael be reftor'd t Thus we rejoic'd, but foon our jcy is turn'd Into perplexity and new amaze : For whither is he gone, what accident Hath rapt him from us ? will he now retire 40 After appearance, and again prolong Our expedlation ? God of Ifrael, Send thy Meffiah forth, the time is come ; Behold the kings of th' earth how they opprefs Thy chofen, to what highth their pow'r unjuft /h.§ They have exalted, and behind them caft All fear of thee s arife and vindicate Thy glory, free thy people from their yoke. But let us wait 5 thus far he hath perform'd. Sent his Anointed, and to us reveal'd him, 50 By his great Prophet, pointed at and fliown In public, and with him we have convers'd ; Let Va: mifero mihi, quanta de fpe de- the Jews. Lord, ivilt iho-u at this cidi ! Terence Heaut. II. III. 9. time rejiore again the kingdom to 34. full of grace and truth ;] Ifrael ? A(5ts I. 6. Quoted from John I. \\. The Word 42. God of Ifrael, &c.] This fud- nvas madeficjh, and dzvelt among us, den turn, and breaking forth into — full of grace and truth. prayer to God is beautiful as it is 36. The kingdom fhall to Ifrael be furprifing : and the prayer itfelf is refor''d:^ They are properly coreeived very moch in the fpiri: ihade to talk in the language, and of the Pfalms, and almofl in the According to the expectations cf words of fome of ?hem> E 4 56. Mock 56 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book IL Let us be glad of this, and all our fears Lay on his providence ; he will not fail, Nor will withdraw him now, nor will recall, ^^ Mock us with his bleft fight, then fnatch him hence j Soon we fhall fee our hope, our joy return. Thus they out of their plaints new hope refume To find whom at the firft they found unfought : But to his mother Mary, when flie faw 60 Others return'd from baptifm, not her fon, Nor left at Jordan, tidings of him none. Within her breaft though calm,h er breaft though pure. Motherly cares and fears got head, and rais'd Some troubled thoughts, which fhe in fighs thus clad. O 56. Mock us with his blejl fight, But [to come] to his mother then fnatch him hence ;J Virgil Mary to [come next to fpeak ^n. I. 407. of] his mother. Sanftius obferves, ^ .- that all languages delight in bre- , ,. . T .L *^ vity. Milton certainly is fond of Ludis imaeinibus. ;,.•„.. u ui • j i o It in ours. His itile is exceedingly ^n. VJ. 870. elleiptical, and fometimes crampt _ . , . , ^ - by an unnatural concifeneC. This Oilendent terns hunctantum fa- ^^,^^^ ^^ ,,,^ ^^.^ j^^^^ . ^^^ ^ ta neque ultra ^^,^^lj ^^^j^^^ Relieve, that the poet ElTefinent. Jovtm. dilated 60. But to his mcther Maryl The t> ^ r^ i v.- .u n/r c . ^^ J- But O / his mother Mary, — meaning or the coinmon reading ■' (if it have any, and be not a blun- See the happy efFetfi: of a very fmall der of the prefs] muft be ad alteration ! The tranfition to the matrem quod attinet asfior or great mother is freed from an auk- £is to his mother IVlary ~— for her ward elleipfis ; and the poet brings part. Or the meaning mi^ht be her_^upon the fccne, with a c itn- DH.lIionatc Book II. PARADISE REGAIN'D. $7 O what avails me now that honour liigh 66 To have conceiv'd of God, or that falute Hail highly favor'd, among women blert ! While I to forrows am no lefs advanc'd. And fears as eminent, above the lot 70 Of other women, by the birth I bore, In fuch a feafon born when fcarce a flied Could be obtain'd to fhelter him or me From the bleak air ; a ftable was our warmth, A manger his ; yet foon enforc'd to fly 75 Thence Into Egypt, till the murd'rous king Were dead, who fought his life, and milling fill'd With infant blood the flreets of Betiilehem ; From paflionate feeling of her grief. If A fentiment much of rht fame kind this reading was but poiTefTed of with that in the Paradife Loft, the editions, nothing could be ob- where upon the fall of our iiv!^ jefted to it. Calton. parents it is faid X. 23. I am no friend to alterations of the ,• /■ 3 r j-i r text, unlefs they are abfolutely ne- ^ ~^'."' ^''^"',v , v"' ^^'^ ceffary. The conlbuaion is t^^^ ' '^"' ^'' But to his mother ivithin her .^^. '/' . . , , , . L .^/} 4i 1 J r With pity, violated not their breajt ■ motherly cares ana fears uri get head, and rais'd Jome troubled thoughts: and if the words were and may alfo ferve to confirm what brought thus near together, there has been obferv'd in the note upon would not perhaps be thought that that place. How much more dig- difficulty and perplexity in the nity and amiablenefs iii this cha- fyntax. r,id;er than in that of a Stoical in- bl-Withlnherbreaft, though calm, difference aiul freedom from all her breajl though pure, perturb, uioii as tircy tt'ua it r Motherly cam anufsarsgot headtl Thyer. 58 PARADISE REGAIN'D, Book IL From Egvpt home return'd, in Nazareth Hath been our dwelling many years ; his life 80 Private, unadive, calm, contemplative, Little fufpicious to any king 3 but now Full grown to man, acknowledg'd, as I hear, By John the Baptiil:, and in public ihown, Son own'd from Heaven by his father's voice ; S^ I Icok'd for fo:ne great change ; to honor r no. But trouble, as old Simeon plain foretold, That to the fall and rifmg he fliould be Of manv in Ifrael, and to a fi^n Spoken againft, that through my very foul go A fword (liall pierce ; this is my favor'd lot, My exaltation to afflidtions high -, Afiiided I may be, it feems, and bleft y 1 n^. in Nazcreth I z'jill not argue thst, nor ^li^HI re-* Hath been our dnuellirg many years ; ] pine. She mentions this as part of their But nvhere delays he no^zv ^ fome dilirelE, becaufe the country of Ga- great intent iilce, whereof Nazareth was a city, Conceals him ; J Kovv charmingly was the mod defpifed part of Pa- does Miiton here verify the cha- 'efiine, defpifed by the Jews them- rajfler he had before given of the feives ; and therefore Nathaniel blefied Virgin in the lines above ? alketh Philip John 1. 46. Can ^^ichin her breafi though calm, there cny gcod thing c,^:t out of^a- ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^^^ p^^^^ ^^'"' '' "'' Motherly cares and fears got 93. /ff.i^cd 1 may be^ it feem!, auj ileji ^ We fee at one view the piety of the Book II. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 59 I will not argue that, nor will repine. But where delays he now ? fome great intent 9 j Conceals him : when twelve years he Tcarce had feen, I loft him, but fo found, as well I law He could not lofe himfelf 5 but went about His Father's bulinefs ; what he meant I mus'd, Since underftand j much more his abfence now 100 Thus long to fome great purpofe he obfcures. But I to wait with patience am inur'd ; My heart hath been a ftore-houfe long of things And fay'ings laid up, portending ftrange events. Thus Mary pond'ring oft, and oft to mind 105 Recalling what remarkably had pafs'd Since firft her falutation heard, with thoughts Meekly compos 'd awaited the fulfilling : The the faint, and the tendernefs of the mother ; and ! think _ ,;hir.g can bt conce^v'u more beautifal and movinor than that fudden ftarr of ford vopatence in the -'iird line, Bui iKjhsf^ d:lays ke no--w ? breaking in fc abjubtly upon the coinpos'd refignation exprc-is'd in the two preceding ones. The fame beauty is ccntiiiued in her iuddenly check- ing herfelf, and rcfuming h^: cdlm and refign'd chara-iiler asrain in thefe words fome gnat itUrnt conceals kim. Thyer. 103, My heart hath been ajlore- houfe long of things ^n^ Jaxings laid up, Thui 'Mary pondering eft. ] AHud- ing to w.h3t is faid of her, Luke ]I. 19. But Man p-ept all the/e ihifiis, and pofider'd them i^rhr hsr.rt: and again, ver. ji. but his rP'ther ke.t all thefe nv.ir;gs in her heart ' \o conuftenc js che pait that fhe atli here with her character in Scripture. 1 10-. — -Milh 6o PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book IL The vvhile her Ton tracing the defert wild, Sole but with holieU: meditations fed, i lo Into himfelf defcended, and at once All his great work to come before him fet ; How to begin, how to accomplish bed: His end of being on earth, and miffion high ; For Satan with ily preface to return 1 15 Had left him vacant, and with fpeed was gone Up to the middle region of thick air. Where all his potentates in council fat ; There without fign of boaft, or fign of joy. Solicitous 110. nvith holiej! meditations 122. from tP element fed,'] An expreflion very figni- Each of his reign allotted, rightlier ficant, and the fame wiih that in. caWd Paradife Loft. III. 37. Po-i'/rs of fire, air, nvater, and earth beneath,'] It was a notion i:\itnfeedonthoughtskc. a^^^ng the Ancients, efpecially Ihyer. among the Platonilb, that there \\\. Into himfelf defended.'] In were Demons in each element, fefedefcendere.PerfmsSat.lv. 23. feme vifible, others invifible, in the aether, and fire, and air, and 115.— ^jjithfly preface to return] ^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^ p.^^^ ^^ ^j^^ ^^^.j^ Mr. bympfon propofes to read, ^^^3 ^^^^^^ ^f f^^^j . ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ — with fly purpcfe to return : «''^^'" ^a.^«£j, i; xa» x.aX^o.*, cl-j bat preface is better, alluding to twk roi^sii,'*, ol ^6i» &e«~o»> <>' ^^ what batan had faid 1. 483, aojaTa, ev re aifii^i, 'k^* -an/g*^ permit me ^^f" ~'' "*' vaacn, ax; i/.n^ev hot- To hear thee when I come, ^V. ff, ^^"^ .^"X,"' f'f"*'?-""' '"*;' ,^^ ». Alcinous in his lummary or the /..Satan's concluding fpeech at their Platonic do»^Uine fays cap. 5. IVli- Hril'mceting was a preface to their chael Pfellus. in his dialogue con- «}ieu:,g a^ain. cerning the operation of Demons, from Book II. PARADISE REGAINED. 6i Solicitous and blank he thus began 120 Princes, Heav'n's ancient Sons, ethereal Thrones, Demonian Spirits now from th* element Each of his reign allotted, rightlier calFd Povv'rs of fire, air, water, and earth beneath, So may we hold our place, and thefe mild feats 125 Without new trouble ; fuch an enemy Is rifen to invade us, who no lefs Threatens than our expullion down to Hell ; I, as I undertook, and with the vote Confenting in full frequence was impower'd, 130 Have from whenceMilton borrow'd fome of his notions of ipirits, (as we obferved in a note upon the Pa- radife Loll I. 423.) fpeaks to the fame purpofe, that there are many kinds of Demons, and of all forts of forms and bodies, fo that the air above us and around us is full, the earth and the fea are full, and the in moll and deepefl recefTes : 'ao7\7\ct, oocifAoiUv yn'C} y-cit •jzravTo- ^CtTTX T«? tOt«5 y.CCt TO, aUfJidTX' i^ ii;at 'dhfifri ^juv rov ccipx, tov ^a:' '!i7'.-')ffi OB ya.:ot,v y.xi Sa- ^■jam: [(3'j9>ac] T057a,-, p. 41. and he divides them into fix kinds, the fiery, the aery, the earthy, the watry, the fubterraneous, and the lucifugOUS : TO ^KH-BJI'^-JJ, TO Ul- flO*, TO p^SjJJOK, TO iopatOK T£ xai ivcckicv, TO vwo^^onii, to jjh- o-5(p«£; zai dvc-anrSriTov. p. 4^, Edit. Lutet. Parif. 161 5. But the Demons not only refided in the elements, and partook of their na- ture, but alfo prefided and ruled over them, as Jupiter in the air, Vulcan in the fire, Neprune in the water, Cybele in the earth, and Pluto under the earth. 130. "in full freiueKce] Mil- ton, in his Hiflcry of England, has faid. The aff^mbly was full and frequent : and in Paradife Loft I. 797. the council of Devils was fre- quent and full. Here the adjeiftive is converted into a fubdanrive, and in L 128 : and Shakefpear ufes it in the fame manner. Timon Aft c. Sc. 3. Tell 62 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book II. Have found him, view'd him, tafled him, but find Far other labor to be undergone Than when I dealt with Adam firft of men. Though Adam by his wife's allurement fell. However to this man inferior far, 135 If he be man by mother's ilde at leafl, With more than human gifts from Heav'n adorn'd, Ferfedions abfolute, graces divine. And amplitude of mind to greateft deeds. Therefore I am return'd, left confidence 140 Of my fuccefs with Eve in Paradife Deceive Teil A til ens in the frequence of degree. From lii^h to low throughout. I'i;^. If he be man hy jncther' s fde at kaf,^ TheTernpter had no jJoubt of Lhnil's being a fnan hy the m')iher''sfid^ : but the vvar\t of a comma in its due pL^ce after nio.n, Kath puzzled both the fenfe and ihe confiruflion. He is mull be '^nderilood at the end of the verfe, \o ftrpport the fyntax. if he be man, by mother's fide at leaft [he is]. Calton. We ha\e fiill preferved the point- ing cf Milton's own edition ; for fo0ie perhaps may choofe to join thevvhofe together, and undcrftand ii thus, Satan had heard Jiim de- clar'd from Heaven, and knew him to be the Son of God ; and now after the trial that he had made of him, he queflions whether he be man euen by the mother's fide. If he be man by mother's fide at leaft. And it is the purport of Satan in this fpeech not to fay any thing to the evil Spirits t-hat may lefien, but every thing that may raife their idea of his antagonift. 139. And amplrii/Je of mind to great cjl .i-\rHi ae, TK frai jji.v)^ccvri cctto- s-Y)vcti uvT-fji; ; ccTru^u ya-f as avx- h AiQ®' h rjpax.XEta oga tov atori- ^ov. But if the fair one once look upon you, what is it that can get you from her ? She will draw you after her at pleafure, bound hand and foot, juft as the loadftone draws iron. We may obferve that Milton, by retraining the compa- rifon to the power of beauty over the wifeft men and the moft ftoical tempers, hath given it a propriety, which is lofl in a more general application. See a little poem of Claudian's on the Magnet. It is the 5th of his Eidyllia. Calton, As the magnetic. It fhould be the magnet, or the magnetic Ji one : but Milton often converts iheadjeftive, and ufes it as the fubftantive. Mr. Thyer wifhes fome authority could be found to juftify the omitting of thifi line, which in his opinion \% F very 66 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book II. Women, when nothing elfe, begiiil'd the heart Of wifeft Solomon, and made him build, 170 And made him bow to the Gods of his wives. To whom quick anfwer Satan thus return'd. Belial, in much uneven fcale thcu weigh'fl All others by thyfelf ; becaufe of old Thou thyfelf doat'dft on womankind, admiring i j^ Their fliape, their color, and attradive grace, None are, thou think'ft, but taken with fuch toys. Before the flood thou with thy lufty crew, Falfe very low and mean ; and appears too the more fo, as it immediately follows fome of the fiiieft and moft mafterly verfes in the whole poem. The fimile is in itfelf trite and common, and the conceit implied in the word hardeji boyifli to the laft degree. This fhows that all Milton's learning and genius could not entirely preferve him from be- ing infedted with that fanciful fort of wit, which too much prevailed in the age in which he iiril formed his taile. 117. J^one are, thou think'' Jl^ but taken nuith fuch toys. '\ The line would be clearer, if it run thus, None are, thou think'ft, taken but with fuch toys. Sympfon. 178. Before t he Jlood See] It is to be lamented that our author has (o often adopted the vulgar notion of the Angels having commerce with women, founded upon that mifta- ken text of Scripture, Gen. VI. 2. The fans ofGcdJa^w the daughters of men, that they ^were fair ; and they took thsm ivi'ves of all nvhich they chofe. See Paradife Loft III. 463. and V. 447. But tlio' he feems to favour that opinion, as we may fuppofe, to enibellifli his poetry, yet he ftiows elfevvhere that he un- derftood the text rightly, of the fons of Seth, who were the wor- fliippers of the true God, inter- marrying with the daughters of wicked Cain. Paradife Loft XI. 621. To thefe that fober race of men, vvhofe lives Religious titled them the fons of God, Shall yield up all their virtue, all their fame Ignobly, Book II. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 67 Falfe titled fons of God, roaming the earth Caft wanton eyes on the daughters of men, 180 And coupled with them, and begot a race. Have we not feen, or by relation heard. In courts and regal chambers how thou lurk'ft. In wood or grove by mofly fountain fide. In valley or green meadow, to way-lay 185 Some beauty rare, Califto, Clym.ene, Daphne, or Semele, Antiopa, Or Amymone, Syrinx, many more Ignobly, to the trains and to the fmiles Of thefe fair atheills. I 80. Cajl njs anion e'fes on the daugh- ter s of men, "] In Pfellus's Dia- logue De Oper. D^^m. thefe fenfu- alities feeni to be confin'd to the three loweft orders of evil De- mons : [p. 39. Ed. Gaulm. Lut. Par. 1 61 5.] and Afmodai in the Greek of Tobit is called only a Demon or an evil Demon ; tho' the Talmudifts, Grotius fay?, [not. ad Tobiam] fethim at the head of all the Demons. In our poet's time it was ferioufly believed by very learned men of our own, ad- dicted to the Platonic philofophy, that the Devil had carnal com- merce with witches. See More's Antidote againil atheifiii. B. 3. chap. 12. C alt on. Too 182. ■ or by relation heard,'] Here Milton forgot himfelf. It is a Devil who fpeaks ; yet the words can only fuit the poet. Warburton. 188, many more Too long,"] A concife way of fpeaking for many inore too long to mention. The author had ufed it before. Paradife Loft III. 473. And indeed more would have been too long, and it would have been better, if he had not enumerated fo many of the loves of the Gods. Califto, Setvele, Antiopa were mif- treffes to "Jupiter ; Climene, and Daphne to Apollo ; Jmymone to liep- tune, and Syrinx to Pan. Thele things are known to every fchool- boy, but add no dignity to a di- vine poem : and in my opinion are not the moft pleafing fubjects in painting any moie than in poetry, tho' wrought by the hand of a Ti- F 2 tian 68 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book IL Too long, then ky'ft thy fcapes on names ador'd, Apollo, Neptune, Jupiter, or Pan, 190 Satir, or Faun, or Sylvan ? But thefe haunts Delight not all > among the fons of men, How many have with a fmile made fmall account Of beauty and her lures, eafily fcorn'd tian or a Julio Romano. But our author niakes ample amendb in what follows. 190 Apollo, Nrptune, &c] Both here and eliewhere Milton conliders the Gods of the Heathens a^ De- mons, or Devils. Yla,f\is ol $ioi Ttt-'v i^:uv ^uijxo'AU. rial. XCV. 5. And the notion of the Demons having commerce with women in the fhape of tfie Heathen Gods is very ancient, and is exprefl) af- ferted byJuftinMartyr, from whom probably our author borrow'd it. np-naiTon ya^ r cc^'foeg' ettej to 'Wu^cciov ooctf/.oii; ^Cf.T^rA t7ri(pu- vna,-- 'BJoiriCra.piivoi, y.cn yvvxiy.x^ sixoix^va-cti, X. T. A. For verily I mult tell you, that heretofore theJe impure Spirit; under various apparitions went into the daughters of iren, and defiled boys, and drefs'd up fuch fcenes of horror, that fuch a? enter'd not into the reafon of things, but judg'd by appearance only, ftood aghaft st the fpeders, and being fhrunk up with fear and amazement, and ne- ver imac'ining 'em to be Devils call'd 'em Gods, and invok'd 'em by fuch titles, as every Devil was All pleas'd to nick-name himfelf by. And again. But far be it from men of fenfe to harbour fuch opi- nions of the Gods, namely that their Jove the fupreme, and Fatherl of all the Gods, fliould be a par- ricide, and the fon of a parricide,! and be captivated by the vilefl lulls, and defcend upon Ganimede, and a crew of notorious adulteref- fes, and beget children after his own likenefs. But as 1 have faid, thefe were the aftions of wicked Spirits. aXX , u; 'm3oi(pr,f/.sv, oi ^»i- y.ovi; locvTU i77ox^e/.y. Apol. I. p» 10 & 33. Edit. I'hirlbii. 1 96. Remember that Pelican cort' qiiercr, &;c j Alexander the great, who was born at Pella iai Macedonia : and his continence^ and clemency to Darius's queen, and daughters, and the other Per- fian laaies whom he took captive after the battle at Jfius, are com- mended by the hiltorians. Turn quidem ita fe geffit, ut omnes ante eum rcges et continentia et de- mentia vincerentur. Virgines enim regias excelientis forms tam fanfle habuit, quam fi eodem quo ipfe parenie genitae forent : conjugem ejufdem, Book II. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 69 All her alTaults, on worthier thinrrs intent r Remember that Pellean conqueror, A youth, how all the beauties of the eaft He flightly view'd, and llightly overpafs'd 3 How he Urnam'd of Africa difmifs'd In his prime youth the fair Iberian maid. ^95 200 For ejufdem, quam nulla jetatis fuas pulchritudine corporis vicit, adeo ipfe non violavit, ut fummam ad- hibuerlt curam, ne quis captive corpori illuderet &c. Quint. Curt. Lib. 3. cap. 9. And this is the more extraordinary, as he was then a young conqueror of about 23 years of age, a )ouih, as Milton exprefTes it. It would have been happy, if he had behaved with the fame moderation in other inllances afterwards. 199. Ho'W he fimarn d of Af'ica &c.] The continence oi Scipio Jfri- canui at the age of 24, and his generofity in relloring a handfome Spani(h lady to her hufband and friends, are celebrated by Polybius Lib. 10. and after him by Livy Lib. 26. cap. 50. and Valerius Maximus Lib. 4. cap. 3. and va- rious other authors. And yet, not- withilanding thefe tellimonies, a noble author hath lately called in queftion the truth of the fadl, and the charaaer of Scipio. " Noiv *' the reputation of the firft Scipio *' was not fo clear and uncontro- *' verted in pniate as in pubiic " life ; nor was he allowed by all " to be a man of fuch fevere vir- " tue as he alFcfted, and as thac •' age required. Nsevius was " thought to mean him in fome " verfes Gellius has preferved* '• And Valerius Antias made no " fcruple to afTerr, that far from " retloring the fair Spaniard to " her family, he debauched and " kept her. See the Idea cf a fa- " triot king p 204. We hope this is faid only for the fake of a parti- cular application to a particular character, and (houid be forry to have the world deprived of fo fhining an example of virtue, up- on no better authority. For as an excellent writer has obferved upon the occafion, " the words of Nas- " vius are thefe, Etiam qui res magnas manu fsepe ceflit gloriofe, Cujus facta viva nunc vigent,qui apud gentes foius Pra;Uat; ei:m fuus pater cum pal- lio uno ab arnica abduxit. " Thefe obfcure verfes were in " Gellius's opinion, the foie four = <• dation of Antias's calumny a- " gainft the univerfal concuirence F 3 *' of 70 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book II. For Solomon, he liv'd at eafe, and full Of honor, wealth, high fare, aim'd not beyond Higher defign than to enjoy his ftate ; Thence to the bait of women lay expos'd : But he whom we attempt is wifer far 205 Than Solomon, of more exalted mind, Made and fet wholly on tli' accomplifiiment Of greateft things ; what woman will you find. Though ** of hiftorJans. His ego verfibus ** credo addudlum Valerium An- ** tiatem adverfum Cceteros omnes *' fcriptores de Scipionis moribus "fenfifie. Lib. 6. cap, 8. And " what he thought of this hifto- *« rian's modefly and truth, we *f may colledl from what he tells ** us of him in another place, " where having quoted tv\o tribu- •* nicial decrees, which he fays he ** tranfcribed from records, (ex *' annalium monumentis) he adds, *' that Valeiius Antias made no *.' fcruple to give the lie to them ?* in public. Valerius autem An- *« tias, contra hanc dtcretorum " memoriam contraque auftori- «' tates veterum annalium &c Lib. " 7. cap. 19. And Liiy in his *' 36th book, quoting this Antias " for the particulars of a viclory, *' fubjoins, concerning the num- " ber of the flain, fcriptori pa- *' rum fidei fit, quia in eo augcn *' do non alius inteinperar.f'or eft. i* And he that will amplify on " one occafion, will diminifh on " another ; for ic is the fame in- '• temperate paffion rhat carries " him indifferently to either." See a Letter to the Editor of the Idea of a patriot king Sec. p. 25, 26. 210. On 'whom his lei Jure ^Jcill 'vouchfafe an eye Of J'o7id defer t r"] This eje cffoid defere is \ery beautifully expiefled by ^fchylus, whom our author perhaps had in view. Suppl. ver. 101 1. Ihyer. 214. —as the zone of Venus once Wrought that eft SI on Jo-ue, fa fables tell--, ] Alluding to the famous ftory in Homer, of Juno's borrowing the girdle of Venus, and thereby deceiving Jupiter. Iliad. XiV, 214. H. Book II. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 7« Though of this age the wonder and the fame, On whom his leifure will vouchfafe an eye Of fond defire ? or fliould (he confident. As fitting queen ador'd on heauty's throne, Defcend with all her winning charms begirt T' enamour, as the zone of Venus once Wrought that efFed on Jove, fo fables tell -, How would one look from his majeftic brow 2IO 215 H, Mat CtTTO r'/OfO'^H' £^EtlI7a70 la. TETfxlo' •Trip (p^avsonTuv. She faid. With awe divine the queen of love Obey'd the filler and the wife of Jove : And from her fragrant breall the zone unbrac d. With various &ill and high em- broid'ry grac'd. ]n this was every art, and every charm, To win thewifefl, and the cold- ell warm : Fond love, the gentle vow, the gay defire. The kind deceit, the ftill-reviv- ing fire. Seated Perfuafive fpeech, and more per- fuafive fighs. Silence that fpoke, and elo- quence of eyes. Pope. But the words fo fahks tell look as if the poet had forgot himlelF, and fpoke in his own perf^n rather than m the charafter of Satan. 216. — p'^'f^ ^" majtjiic hrouj Seated as on the top of'-uirtue' s hill,'\ Here is the conilruftion that we often meet with in Milton : from his majeftic brow, that is from the majeftic brow of him feated as on the top of virtue's hill : and the ex- preflion of wriue^s hill was pro- bably in allufion to the rocky emi- nence on which the virtues are plac'd in the table of Cebes, or the arduous afcent up the hill to which virtue is reprefented point- ing in the beft defigns of the juJg- 7nent of Hercules, particularly that by Annibal Caracci in the palace Farnefe at Rome, as well as that F 4 by 72 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book II. Seated as on the top of virtue's hill, Difcount'nance her defpis'd, and put to rout All her array j her female pride dejed:, Or turn to reverent awe ? for beauty flands 220 In th' admiration only of weak minds Led captive; ceafe to' admire, and all her plumes Fall flat and flirink into a trivial toy. At every fudden flighting quite abafli'd : Therefore with manlier objects we mufl try 225 His conftancy, with fuch as have more fliow Of worth, of honor, glory', and popular praife ; Rocks whereon greatefl: men have oftefl: wreck'd ; Or that which only feems to fatisfy Lawful defires of nature, not beyond ; 230 And now I know he hungers where no food Is to be found, in the wide wildernefs ; The refl: commit to me, I iball let pafs No' by Paolo Matthsi, painted by the Kat r^vx^^ to irfuro))' sirr.^ d'n? direftion of Lord Shaftsbury ; but axpoi- tytticti, the firfl thought of feating vir- 'Pj^i^hj or,-7rnrcc viXBt, yjxKiitr, -sif tue on a hill was borrowed from maa. old Hefiod. Oper. & Dier. I. 288. 228. ha've oftejl "joreck'd ; ] We read according to Milton's own 1— fjLctxf^ h nui ofQi®- oifA^ its' edition ojtefi, which is better than tLv-xr^v, often in the others. 232. — "wide Book II. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 73 No' advantage, and his ftrength as oft afTay. 234 He ceas'd, and heard their grant in loud acclame j Then forthwith to him takes a chofen band Of Spirits likeft to himfelf in guile To be at hand, and at his beck appear. If caufe were to unfold fome ad:ive fcene Of various perfons each to know his part ; 240 Then to the defert takes with thefe his flight j Where flill from fhade to (liade the Son of God After forty days failing had remain'd, Now hungring firft, and to himfelf thus faid. 244 Where will this end ? four times ten days I've pafs'd Wand'ring this woody maze, and human food Nor tafted, nor had appetite ; that fail To virtue I impute not, or count part Of what I fuffer here ; if nature need not, Or God fupport nature without repail 250 Thouo;h 232. ■ wide 'vciUerne/s ; ] In tempted him by propofing to him moft of the editions it is falfely his making ftones into bread, and printed ai;;/«' tu/Vd'c'/v/^j. Milton's own account in the firft book is confident with this : is there 244, Nonv hungring firjl,"] There not therefore a feeming impro- feems, I think, to be a little inac- priety in faying that he tioi.v fifjl curacy in this place. It is plain by hungred, efpecially confidering the the Scripture account, that our Sa- time that mull have neceifarily yiour i'awgTfi/ before the Devil iiril elapfed during Satan's convening and 74 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book II. ■55 Though needing, what praife is it to indure ? But now I feel I hunger, which declares Nature hath need of what (lie afks j yet God Can fatisfy that need feme other way. Though hunger ftiil remain : fo it remain Without this body's wafting, I content me. And from the fting of famin fear no harm. Nor mind it, fed with better thoughts that feed Me hungring more to do my father's will. It was the hour of night, when thus the Son 260 Commun'd in filent walk, then laid him down Under the hofpitable covert nigh Of and confulting with his compa- nions ? T^jer. 2^9. Me hungring more to do my Father''! '■v:ill.'\ In allufion to our Saviour's words John IV. 34. My meat is to do the -xv.ll of him that fent me, and to finijh his ivork. 261. Comp:itn*d in Jilent nualk, then laid him do-Mil^ Agreeable to what we find in the Pfalms. IV. 4. Commune ivith your ozun heart upon your bed, and be Ji ill. 264. And dream' d, as appetite is nvont to dream, Of meats and drinks, "Y^o thispur- pofe Lucretius with great Ib'ength and elegance. IV. 1018. Flumen item fitiens, aut fontem propter am^enum Adfidet, et totum prope faucibus occupat amnem. 266. Him thought, &c.} We fay now, and more juftly, he thought; but him thought is of the fame con- ftru6lion as me thought, and is ufed by our old writers, as by Fairfax Cant. 13. St. 4c. Him thought he heard the foftly whilUing wind. He hy the brook of Cherith fioocl &C. Alluding to the account of Elijah. I Kings XVII. 5, 6. He^-ucent and d-iielt by the brook Cherith, that is before fordan : And the ravens brought him bread and fePo in the morning, and bread and fie Jh in the tvening. As what follows, //i' y^--w the Book II. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 75 Of trees thick interwoven ; there he ilept, And dream'd, as appetite is wont to dream, 264 Of meats and drinks, nature's refrelhment fweet ; Him thought, he by the brook of Cherith flood. And faw the ravens with their horny beaks Food to Ehjah bringing ev'n and morn, fbrouMif Though ravenous, taught t' abftain from what they He faw the prophet alfo how he fled 270 Into the defert, and how there he flept Under a juniper j then how awak'd. He found his flipper on the coals prepar'd. And by the Angel was bid rife and eat, the prophet alfo &c, is in allufion to I Kings XIX. 4. &c. But he him- felf -went a days journey into the :e herald lark] h i ht This is a beautiful thought which ^ J/^jj \^^ q^j^^, j^ j.^j^j^ ^^ modern wit hath added to the nock »u„ r:^v,, f. . . ,^j r . -r the lipht. or antiquity. We may lee it rinng _ ^ n i-, tho' out of a low hint of Theocri- FaeryQueenB. i. Cant.i i. St. 5 i. tus, like the bird from his thatch' d — when Una her did mark pallat. Idyll. X. 50. Climb to her chaiet, all with . ^, „ flowers fpread, Apx^crSa, i «y.^^la,, tyupi^i,^ From Heaven high to chace the ''■°?''^*^^''- chearlefs daik, Chaucer leads the way to the Eng- With merry note her loud falutes lifh poets, in four of the finell the mounting lark. Calton. To Book II. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 77 If cottage were in view, fheep-cote or herd ; But cottage, herd, or flieep-cote none he faw, Only' in a bottom faw a pleafant grove, With chaunt of tuneful birds refounding loud ; 290 Thither he bent his way, determin'd there To reft at noon, and enter'd foon the (liade Hi^h rooft, and walks beneath, and alleys brown, That open'd in the midft a woody fcene j Nature's own work it feem'd (nature taught art) 295 And to a fuperftitious eye the haunt [round. Of Wood-Gods and Wood-Nymphs ; he view'd it When fuddenly a man before him ftcod. Not To tliefe inftances we may proper- — • for beaft and bird, ly add from Shakefpear, Rom. & They to their grajjy couch. Jul. Ad 3. Sc. 7. Thyer. It was the lark, the i^eralJ of the morn. And the lark not only furnifhes our author with a molt beautiful de- fcription, but alfo with a moll exaft fimilitude. As lightly from his gralTy couch up rofe Our Saviour. 282. ^s lightly from his graJJy couch ] I he fame exprefijon beufesin the Paraciife Loih IV. 600. 29^. ■ — and alleys brcv::-!^ This ' idea our author derived from Italy and the Italian poets. He had ex- prelTed it before, Paradife Loft IX. ig88. where higheft woods impe- netrable To liar or fun-light, fpread their umbrage broad And hroz':n as evening. And the reader may {ee the word explain'd in IVIr. Thyer's note upon Paradife Loft IV. 246. Imbro-jjiid the noontide boi/irs, 299. Not 73 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book II. Not ruftic as before, but feemlicr clad, As one in city', or court, or palace bred, 300 And with fair fpeech thefe words to him addrefs'd. With granted leave officious I return. But much more wonder that the Son of God In this wild folitude fo long fliould bide Of all things dellitute, and well I know, 305 Not without hunger. Others of fome note, As ilory tells, have trod this wildernefs ; zgg. Not rujiic as before, hut Jeemlier clad,'\ The Tempter 3S very properly made to change his appearance and habit with the temptaiijn. In the former book, when he came to tempt our Sa- viour to turn the Hones into bread to fatisfy their hunger, he appear- ed as a poor old man in rural tveeds ; but now when he comes to ofFer a magnificent entertain- ment, he is Jeemlier clad, and ap- pears as a wealthy citizen, or a courtier : and here iiith fair fpeech re addrefTes his words, there it was only ii.'ith n.vDrds thus utter d fpake. Thefe lefTer particulars have a grace and propriety in them, which is well worthy of the reader's ob- fervation. 302. With granted lea'vc] It is true that Satan at parting, in the conclufion of the former book, had zlked leave to come again, but all the anfwer that our Saviour re- turned was The Thy coming hither, though I know t-y fcope, I bid not or forbid ; do as thou find'fl PermifTion from above. But as the Tempter mull needs have been a molt impudent being, it was perfedtly in charafter to re- prefent him as taking per/ni/^on for granted lea-ue. 308. Thefv.giiive hcnd-njucmanScc] Hagar, who lied from the face of her miitrefs, Gen. XVI. 6. and is theiefore called zfugiti'-ve; and her name by interpretation (fajs Ainf- worth) is ■ifugiti've oxfrar.ger : but her Ion was nc t a fugitive, but an out -c aft ; fo exaft \\a? our author in tne u^e of his epithets. But then what fliall v/e fay to the words fol- lowing, Ota-caft Kebaioth ? For as Mr. Meadowcourt and others have obferved, Nebaioth was the eldelt fon of Jlhmael, (Gen. XXV. 13.) and grandfon of Abraham and Hagar. Book II. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 79 310 The fugitive bond-woman with her fon Out-caft Nebaioth, yet found here relief By a providing angel ; all the race Of Ifrael here had famifli'd, had not God Rain'd from Fleav'n Manna ; and that Prophet bold Native of Thebez wand'ring here was fed Twice by a voice inviting him to eat : Of thee thefe forty days none hath regard, Forty and more deferted here indeed. 3''5 Hagar. He feems here to be put by miftake for ifhmeel. At leaft it is not ufual to call the father by the name of the fon. 313. Nati-ve of Tkebe:^^ In the firft edition it was fallely printed Thebes, but Thebes ( fays Mr. Mea- dowcourt) was the birth-place of no prophet except blind Tirefias. However this reading hath pre- vailed throughout the editions, though in the table of Errata at the end of the firft edition we are defired to correal and read Thebez, the fame as Th^fie, or Thijhe, or Tijhbe, the birth-place of the pro- phet Elijah. There is a Thebez. mentioned, Judges IX, 50. where Abimelech was flain : and it looks as if our author took that and this to be the fame place. He had be- fore called Elijah the great Thtf- bite ver. 1 6. and he might here more confiHentiy have faid Nati-x)e of Thijhe : but he feems to write fometimes, as if he had a mind To to make work for commentators, 313. — -vand ring here ivas ftd"^ It appears that Milton conceived the vv'ildernefs, where Hagar wan- der'd with her fon, and wher« the Ifraelites were iei. with Manna, and where Elijah retreated from, the rage of Jezebel, to be the fame with the wildernefs, where our Saviour was tempted. And yet it is certain that they were very- different places, for the wildernefs, where Hagar wander'd, was the ^zviUcrne/s of Bcer-jheha Gen. XXL 14. and where the Ifraelites were fed with Manna was the vjildcrne/i of Shi Exod. XVI. I . and where Eli- jah retreated was in the n)jild:rmj's,a day' s joumey fro'fT, Beer-fi^eba l Kings XIX. 4. and where our Saviour was tempted, was the 'vjildemefs near Jordan : but our author confiders all that tra6l of country as one and the fame wilJernefs, though diftin- guiih'd by different names from the different places adjoining. 319, Hov^ 8o PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book II. To whom thus Jefus.What conclud'ft thou hence ? They all had need, I as thou feeft have none. How haft thou hunger then ? Satan reply 'd. Tell me if food were now before thee fet, 320 Would'ft thou not eat ? Thereafter as I like The giver, anfwer'd Jefus. Why (liould that Caufe thy rcfufal ? faid the fubtle Fiend. Haft thou not right to all created things ? Owe not all creatures by juft right to thee 325 Duty and fervice, not to ftay till bid, But tender all their pow'r ? nor mention I 3 T 9. Honv haft thou hunger then /"] Thefe words feem to be wrong, they being neirher an anfwer to the words preceding, They all had need, I as thou leeft have none ; nor correfponding to the words of Satan himfclf juft after. Tell me if food were now before thee fet i^c. What if we read therefore, DoJI theu not hunger then ? Sjfnf/on. There feems to be no occafion for any alteration. Satan could not doubt, whether our Saviour was hungry, for he knew very well that he was fo, ver. 231. Meats And now I know he hungers where no food Is to be found, in the wide wil- dernefs : and ver. 305. Of all things deftitute, and well I know, Not without hunger. But our Saviour had faid They all had need, I as thou feelt have none ; and to this Satan replies diredlly and properly, Ho^io haft thou hunger then without having need ? 325. Oive not all creatures hy juft right to thee Dufv and /er'vue, &c. ] The Tempter is got into the fame cant- ing, diiTembling ftraiii as before Bookli. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 8i Meats by the Law unclean, or offer'd firft To idols, thofe youtig Daniel could refufe ; Nor profFer'd by art enemy, though who 330 Would fcruple that, with want opprefs'd ? Behold Nature aOiam'd, or better to exprefs. Troubled that thou fhould'ft hunger, hath purvey 'd From all the elements her choicefl flore To treat thee as befeems, and as her Lord 335 With honor, only deign to fit and eat. He fpake no dream, for as his words had end. Our Saviour lifting up his eyes beheld I, 475. Chriik is Lof^ 0/ nature VCT. 335 of this book, and all crea- tures owe him duty and fervice, and that ly right. This could not be true, but on the fuppofuion of his being the Eternal Word ; and to what purpofe could the tempta- tion be continued, if the Devil had been really convinced that he was fo ? Calton. This part of the Tempter's fpeech alludes to that heavenly declara- tion which he had heard at Jof- d?.n, This is my belo-veiiSor, &c. One may obferve too, that it is much the fame fort of flattering addrefs w'th that which he had before made ufe of to feduee Eve. Paradhfe Loft. JX. 539. Thee all things living gaze on, all things thine By gift &c. Jbjer. Vol.. I. In 3 29 — th'^/e youn^ Daniel could re- fuje;] Dan. I. 8 But Daniel purpcj'ed in his heart that he njjculd not def.le him/elf -xvith the portion of the kittg s meat, nor 'vnth the ^uine nx-hich he drank : and the reafon af- fign'd by commentators is, becaufe in thofe and moft other countries they uftd to offer feme part of whac they eat and drank to their Gods ; and therefore Daniel refufed to par- take of the provifions from the king's table, as of meats offered to idols, and confequently unclean. The poet had before mention'dZ)a- ntel at his pulfe ver. 27 8 : and Mo- fes in the mount, and Elijah rn the" wildernefs are brought in feveral times, as hiltory afFords no in- ftances of abllinence fo like oar Saviour's. 337 He /take nc dream,"] This (^ was 82 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book II. In ample fpace under the broadeft fhade A table richly fpread, in regal mode, With difhes pil'd, and meats of noblell: fort And favor, beads of chafe, or fowl of game, 340 In was iKJ dream as before ver. 264. bat a reality. And the ban- quet here furnifh'd by Satan is like that prepared by Armida for her lovers. TaiTo Cant. 10. St. 64. Appreftar &u. Pherbetta, ou' e piu den fa L'ombra, e vicino al fuon de I'acque chiare Fece difculti vafi altera menfa, E ricca di vivande elette, e care. Era qui cio, ch'ogni ftagion dif- penfa ; Cio che dona !a terra, o manda il maie : Cio che I'arte condifce, e cento belle Servivano al convito accorte an- celle. Under the curtain of the green- wood {hade, Befude the brook, upon the vel- vet grafs. In inaiTy vefTel of pure filver made, A banquet rich and coftly fur- nifh'd was ; All bealts, ail birds beguil'd by fowler's trade, Ali nfli were there in floods or isa3 thar pafs. All dainties made by art, and at the table An hundred virgins ferv'd, for hulbands able. Fairfax. 340. J table richly fpread. Sec.'] This temptation is not recorded in Scripture, but is however invented with great confiltency, and very aptly fitted to the prefent condition of our Saviour. This way of em- bellilhing his fubjecl is a privilege which every poet has a juft right to, provided he obferves harmony and decorum in his hero's charac- ter ; and one may further add, that Milton had in this particular place ftill a flronger claim to an indul- ger.ce of this kind, fince it was a pretty general opinion among the Fathers, that our Saviour under- went many more temptations than thofe which are mentioned by the Evang^iilb ; nay Origen goes fo far as to lay, that he was every day, whilft he continued in the wilder- nefs, attacked by a frelh one. The beauties of this defcription are too obviou: to efcape any reader of talk. It is copious, and yet ex- prefs'd with a very elegant concife- neis. Every proper circumftance is mentioned, and yet it is not at all clogg'd or incumber'd, as is of- ten the caie, with too tedious a de- taii Book II. PARADISE REGAIN'D. H In paftry bui't, or frofii the fpit, or boil'd, Gris-amber-fteam'd j all fiili from fea or (hore, Frefhet, or purling brook, of fhell or fin, 345 And exqulfitefl: name, for which was drain'd Pontus tail of particulars. Ft was a fcene entirely frefh to our author's ima- gination, and noticing lilce it had before occurr'd in his Paradife Loll, for which reafon he has been the more diftufe, and labor'd it with greater care, with the fame good judgment that makes him in other places avoid expatiating on fcenes which he had before defcrib'd. See the note on his fhort defcription of night at the end of the firll book. Jn a word, it is in my opinion work'd up with great art and beau- ty, and plainly fhows the crudity of chat notion which fo much pre- vails among fuperficial readers, that Milton's genius was upon the de- cay when he wrote his Paradife Regain'd. Thyer. 344. Gris-aniher-f.eam^ d \^ Am- bergris or grey amber is eiieemed the beft, and ufed in perfumes and cordials. A curious lady commu- nicated the following remarks upon this palTage to Mr. Peck, which we will here tranfcribe. *' Grey am- ♦' ber is the amber our author heie " fpeaks of, and melts like butter. " It was formerly a main ingre- '* dient in every conceit for a ban- *' quet ; viz. to fume the meat " with, and that whether boiled, ** roalled, or baked ; laid often on *' the top of a baked pudding ; " which laft I have eat of at an " old courtier's table. And I re- " meniber, in an old chronicle " there is much complaint of the *' nobilities being made fick at " Cardinal Wolfey's banquets, with " rich fcnted cates and dilhes moll • ' coftly drefled with ambergris. I " alfo recollefl I once faw a little *' book writ by a gentlewoman of " Queen Elizabeth's court, where '* ambergris is mention'd as the " haut-gout of that age. I fancy " Milton tranfpofed the word for " the lake of his verfe ; to make " it read more poetically." So far this curious Lady. And Beaumont and Fletcher in the Cullom of the Country. Act Ilj. Scene 2. Be fure The wines be iufty, high, and full of fpiiit, And amber^d all. 346. Jnd exquijttejl name,] He alludes here to that fpecies of Ro- man luxury, which gave exqulfite names to lilh of exquilite tafte, fuch as that they called cerebrum Jo'vis, They extended this even to a very capacious difli as that they called clypeum Miver-t'a. The modern Italians fall into the fame wanton- nefs of luxurious impiety, as when they call their exquifite wines by G 2 jbc 84 Px\RADISE REGAIN'D. Book II. Pontus, and Lucrine bay, and Afric coaft. Alas how iimple, to thefe cates compar'd. Was that crude apple that diverted Eve ! And at a ftately fide-board by the wine That fragrant fmell diffus'd, in order flood Tall tripling youths rich clad, of fairer hue 35^ Than the names of laoymfe Cbnfii and lac Firginh. Warbuiton. 3<^7. Pontus and Lucrine hay, and Afric coafi,'] The fiih are brought to furniili this banquet from all the different parts of the world then known ; from Pontus or the Eiixine fea in Afia, from the Lucrine bay in Europe in Italy, and from the coajl of Africa. And all thefe places are celebrated for different kinds of fifh by the au- thors of antiquity. It would be al- moft endlefs to quote the pafTages. Of the Lucrine lake in particular many derive the name a Ivcrr^ from the abundance of iiOi there taken. 349. that diverted Enje ! ] It is uicd, as he ufes many words according to their proper fignifica- tion in Latin. Divert 0, to turn afide. We Oiould rather fay per- 'verted. 3^0. And at a fatcly fde-hcayd ^-c] As the frene of this entertain- ment lay in r'he cafl. Milton has with grcatjtidq^m'^nt thrown in this and the foilowjnp- particulars to give it nn air of eaflern orandeur, in which part of iht worlU ic is well known a great part of the pomp and fpicndor of their feafts confilts in their having a great nnmber of beautiful ilaves of both fexes to attend and divert theguefts with mufic and finging. Thyer. 352. — — of fairer hue Than Ganymed or H\las ;J Thefe were two niort beautiful youths, and belov'd the one by Jupiter, and the other by Hercules. Ga- n\ med was cup-bearer to Jupiter, and Hylas drew water for Her- cules, and therefore they are both properly mentioned upon this oc- cafion. 355. and Naiades^ Milton is not to be blamed for writing as others did in his time. But fince the Clitics havedetermin d to write Naides in three fyllables or Nuiades in four, it is time for the Englilh poets to call thefe nvmphs Naids, and not Naiads. Jortin. 356. from AmaUhea''s horn,'\ The fame as the cornu copia; ; the horn of plentv. Am;ilthea was, as fome lay, a NaiJ, the nurfe of Ju- piter, who nourifh'd him with the milk of a goat, whoie horn was af- tei wards made the horn of plenty ; others Book II. PARADISE REGAIN'D. Than Ganvmed or Hvlas ; diftant more Under the trees now tripp'd,-now folemn flood Nymphs of Diana's train, and Naiades 355 With fruits and flow'rs from Amalthea's horn, And ladies of th' Hefperides, that feem'd Fairer than feign'd of old, or fiibled lince Of others fay, that Amahhea was the name of the goat. 357. Jnd . adies of th' HeJperiJes, ] If we compare this with what the Devil fays a little lower, ver. 374. All thefe are Spirits of air and woods and fprings, we fhall find that they do not tally each to the other, for the Hefpe- rides were neither ladies of woods nor fprin^^s. Sympjon. What are the Hefperides famous for but the gardens and orchards which they had bearing golden fruit in the wcftern iles of Africa ? They may therefore not improper- ly be rank'd, they and their ladies with the Spirits of woods and fprings. 357. And ladies oftij Hefperides, that Jeeni d icc.^ This is the pointing of the firlt, and all the editions ; but I take it to be wrong. The Demon' feem'd (or were like) nymphs of Diana's train &c, but they were rea!ly fairer than thofe nymphs, &c, v\ere feign'd to be. This I take to be the poet's thought, and therefore the comma fhould be put nherfem'd. Calton. This is very good fenfe, but it nay be quellion'd whether that feem d may be referred fo far back as to nymphs of Diana s train; and :f thefe Spirits were fonie n;tnphs of Diana s troin, and fome Na:ades, others might as well be faid to be ladies of th' Hefperides ; and then that feem'dwW^ be join'd in conftruftion, as it is plac'd, with what follows. Fairer than feign'd of old, or fabled fince Of faery damfels ^c. But here feems to be fome defe£l in the fyntax. as if the poet had meant to fay Fairer than feign'd of Old, or what has hztnfabledfnce of faery datnjels met in foref luide by knights, &c, of whom he had read in his romances, where it is not fo eafy to trace him, but the name of Sir Pelleas occurs in the Faery Queen B. 6. Cant. 1 2. St. 39. 3s8. or fahled ftniie &'C.] Some readers may perhaps in this pali'age think our author a little too fond of Ihowing his great reading, a fault which he is indeed fome- times guilty of : but thofe who are convertant in romance-writers, and G 3 know g^ PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book II. Of faery damfels met in foreft wide By knights of Logres, or of Lyones, 360 Lancelot, or Pelleas, or Pellenore : And all the while harmonious airs were heard Of chiming firings, or charming pipes, and winds Of gentleft gale Arabian odors fann'd From their foft wings, and Flora's earlieft fmells. 365 Such was the fplendor, and the Tempter now His invitation earneftly renew'd. What doubts the Son of God to fit and eat r Thefe are not fruits forbidden ; no interdicft Defends the touching of thefe viands pure ; 370 Their know how lavlfh they are in the praifes of their beauties, will I doubt not difcover great propriety in this allufion. Thyer. 363. Of chiming Jlrlngi , cr chartU- ing pipes,'] iJo Spenfer hath ufed l\i&\cxh charms. Faery Queen, B. 4. Cant, 9, St. 13. Like as the fowler on his guile- ful pipe Charms to the birds full many a plcafant lay. Calton. 363. ——~ and uuinds Of gentle/} gale Arabian odors fanned From their foft avings, and Flora's ear heft fmells.'] Milton, I fancy, introduc'd this gircumllance in allu- fion to the cadern cuflom of ufing perfumes at their entertainmenis, for the realoii alledged in the note on ver. 350. He has expreis'd the very fame idea in the Paradife Loll in the following lines IV. 156. < — now gentle gales Fanning their odoriferous wings difpenfe Native perfumes, and whifper whence they flole Tliofe balmy fpoils : and by this little fpecimen one may fee, as I cbferv'd before, that our poet's imagination did not flag in the latter part of his life, and that there is no difference in the Para- dife Loll and Paradife Regain'd, but Book II. PARADISE REGAINED. 2j Their tafte no knowledge works at leaft of evil. But life preferves, deftroys life's enemy, " Hunger, with fweet reftorative delig^it. All thefe are Spi'rics of air, and woods, and iprings. Thy gentle minifters, who come to pay 375 Thee homage, and acknowledge thee their Lord : What doubt'ft thou Son of God ? fit down and eat. To whom thus Jefus temp'rately reply 'd. Said'ft thou not that to all things I had right ? And who withholds my pow'r that right to ufe ? 3 80 Shall I receive by gift what of my own, When and where likes me beft, I can command ? but fuchas was occafioned by the different fubjeils. Thyer. 368. What doubts the Son of God to fit and eat ?\ What feems to be uied here much like the Latin quid, which fignifies both what and why, as we obierved in Paradife Loft. IL 329. What fit we then [projefting peace and war ? 370. Defends the touching] For- bids, prohibits, hinders, as the word is ufed in Paradife Loft XL 86. XIL 207. where the reader may fee other inftances. ^yg.SaidJi thou not &c] IfChrift was really the eternal living Word «fGody the Tempter knew the cer- tainty of the confequence, that he muft o/" right be Lord of all things : iind Chrilt by admitting the laft to be a truth, (as he doth here) confe- quentially aflerts the principle; for one cannot hold without the other, Saidft thou not that to all things I had right ? The right of the Son of God being founded on his ponver, his poiuer muft needs be fully adequate to his right. He therefore adds. And who withholds my pow'r that right to ufe ? In the two next lines Chrift's^^r'5 natural propriety is diftinguiih'd from a right by gift, G 4 Shall 88 PARADISE REGAINED. Book II, I can at will, doubt not, as foon as thou, Command a table in this wildernefs, And call fwift flights of Angels miniftrant 385 Array 'd in glory on my cup to' attend : Why iliouldft thou then obtrude this diligence, In vain, where no acceptance it can find ? And with my hunger what haft thou to do ? Thy pompous delicacies I contemn, 390 And count thy fpecious gifts no gifts but guiles. To whom thus anfwerd Satan malecontent. That I have alfo pow'r to give thou feeft ; If < Shall I receive by gift what of my OTxm, "When and where likes me beft, I can command f Calton. 385. fi'g^^ts of angels'] An expreliion likewife in Skakefpear. Hamlet, Aft 5. Sc. 6. AnA fights of angels fing thee to thy reft. 391. . tbv gifts no gifts] Ex- prefs'd from the' Greek proverb. Sophocles. Ajax 675. 40 1 . — — the far fet fpoil. ] Tet is much fofter than ftch^d, and it is ufed by Chaucer, Squire*s Tale 296. This ftrangir knight hfet to him full fone ; and by Spenfer, Faery Queen B. 3. Cant. 1. St. 8. Whom ftrange adventure did from Britain y>/ .' and Muiopotmos, Not Bilbo fteel, nor brafs from CorinthyV^ ; and by Johnfon, frol. to Silent Woman, Though there be none far fet : and in profe as well as in verfe by Sir Philip Sidney, Arcad. p. 360. Therewith he told her s. far fej tale : Defence of Poetry p. 551. and much lefs with far fet maxims of philofophy : as if our old writers had Book II. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 89 If of that pow'r I bring thee voluntary What I might have beftow'd on whom I pleas'd, 395 And rather opportunely in this place Chofe to impart to thy apparent need, Why (houldft thou not accept it ? but I fee What I can do or offer is fufped: ; Of thefe things others quickly will difpofe, 400 Whofe pains have earn'd the far fet fpoil. With that Both table and provifion vaniili'd quite With found of harpies wings, and talons heard ; Only th' importune Tempter ftill remain'd. And had a better ear, and ftudied the beauties of found more than the moderns. 40 1 . t-nth that &c] The breaking off (hort of the verfe ad- mirably expreiles the fudden and abrupt manner, wherein Both table and provifion vaniih'd quite With found of harpies wings, and talons heard ; in 'which the author has imitated Virgil ^n. III. 225. At fubitas horrifico lapfu de mon- tibus adfunt Harpyiae, et magnis quatiunt clangoribus alas, Piripiuntque dapes. When from the mountain-tops, with hideous cry, And clattVing wings, the hungry harpies fly ; They fnatch the meat. Dryden. And we have a like fcene in Skake- fpear, in the Tempefl Aft III. vi\icre/e'veral Jirange Jhapes bring in a banquet, and afterwards enters Ariel like a harpy, claps his -ivings upon the table, and luith a quaint de- 'vice the banquet 'vani/hes. 404. Only th'' importune Tempter Ji ill remained,'] The word im- portune is often pronounced with this accent by our old writers, as Spenfer Faery Queen B. i. Cant. 12. St. 16. And often blame the too impor- tune face ; and 90 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book II, And with thefe words his temptation purfu'd. By hunger, that each other creature tames. Thou art not to be harm'd, therefore not mov'd ; Thy temperance invincible befides, For no allurement yields to appetite, And all thy heart is fct on high dellgns, 410 High acftions 3 but wherewith to be achiev'd ? Great adts require great means of enterprife ; Thou art unknown, unfriended, low of birth, andB. 2. Cant. 8. St. 38. The which dividing with impor- iune fway ; and Cant. 11. St, 7. With greedy malice and impor- tune toil : whereas now, I think, we com- monly pronounce it with the ac- cent upon the laft fyllable in the adjeflive, and always in the verb, importune. 419. What fcllo^vuers, luhat re- tinue canji thou gain. Or at thy heels the dizzy multitude, &c] This is a flrange paffage ! I read Or at thy heels ivhat dizzy mul- titude, but it does not pleafe me. Svmpfon. There are two words unhappily loft in the feccnd line by the negli- gence of the poet's amanuenfis or printer, which may be reftor'd, I think, with certainty enough. Be- hold them, Reader, in the place they feem to me to have a right to ; confider and judge. Or at thy heels hc^jo keep the dizzy multitude. One may almoft venture to deter- min on the fide of thefe claimants, from what our blefled Saviour faith, in the beginning of his reply to this fpeech of the Tempter. Yet wealth without thefe three is impotent To gain dominion, or to keep it gain'd. Milton's verfes are not always to be meafur'd by counting fyllables on the fingers ends. There are ex- amples enow in him. and other poets, in blank verfe efpecially, of thefe Hypcrcatakdic verfes, as one may Book II. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 91 A carpenter thy father known, thyfelf Bred up in poverty and ftraits at home, 415 Loft in a defert here and hunger-bit : Which way or from what hope doft thou afpire To greatnefs ? whence authority deriv'fl ? What followers, what retinue canft thou gain ? Or at thy heels the dizzy multitude, 420 Longer than thou canft feed them on thy coft ? Money brings honor, friends, conqueft, and realms : What may call ihem ; where the two laft fyllables are redundant. One or two from Milton will be fufficient. Extolling patience as the trujelt fortitude Samf. Ag. ver. 655. But this is from the Chorus. Take another from a fpeech of Dalila's, ver. 870. Private refpefls muft yield j with grave \ authority. But an inlknce of it from Paradife Loft will be moft to the purpofe, IX. 249. For fol 1 itude | fometimes \ is beft 1 society. Calton, This reading makes very good fenTe, and clears the fyntax : but moft readers, I imagin, rather than admit fuch a Hypercalaleiiic verfe, will underftand the dizzy multitude Zi the accufaiive cafe after the verb gain, making favorable al- lowances for a little inaccuracy of expreflion. 422. Money brings honor, fri ends y conqueji, and tealms : ] Mam- mon in the Faery Queen attempts the virtue of Sir Guyon with the fame pretences. B, 2. Cant. 7, St. II. Vain-glorious Elf, faid he, doft thou not weet. That money can thy wants at will fupply ? Shields, ileeds, and arms, and all things for thee meet It can purvey in twinkling of an eye ; And crowns and kingdoms to thee multiply. Do I not kings create, and throw the crown Sometimes to him that low in dull doth lie i And gz PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book I L What rais'd Antipater the Edomlte, And his fon Herod plac'd on Juda's throne, 424 {Thy throne) bat gold that got him puiflant friends ? Therefore, if at great things thou would'ft arrive. Get riches firft, get wealth, and treafure heap. Not difficult if thou hearken to me j Riches are mine, fortune is in my hand ; They whom I favor thrive in wealth amain, 430 While virtue, valor, wifdom fit in want. To whom thus Jefus patiently reply 'd. Yet wealth without thefe three is impotent And him that reign'd into his room thruft down, And whom I lull do heap with glory and renown ? Calton. 423. What raii'd Antipater the Edon.ite, &:c.] This appears to be the fadl from hiftory. When Jofephus I'ntroducesAntipaterupon the Itage, he fpeaks of him as a- bounding with great riches. «l)iXge ttjoman. Judges Xr. 1, 2. And the exalta- tion of David from a fheephook to a fcepter is very well known. He chcfe David alfo hisjer-oant and took him from th: jhe^pfotds. From folloiving the eivs great --with youngs he brought him to feed facob his people, a-'d Jh'ael hii inheritance, Plal. LXXV'Ill. 70, -I. 446. ^iti' 94 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book II. Worthy' of memorial) canft thou not remember 445 Quintius, Fabricius, Curius, Regulus ? For I efteem thofe names of men fo poor Who could do mighty things, and could contemn Riches though offer'd from the hand of kings. And what in me feems wanting, but that I 450 May alfo in this poverty as foon Accomplifli 446. ^intius, Fabricius, Curius, Regulus ?'\ ^intius (not Sluin- ius, as it is in moft of the editions befides the lirft) Cincinnatus was twice invited from foilowing the plough to be conful and diftator of Rome ; and after he had fubdued the enemy, when the fenate would have enriched him witli public lands and private contributions, he rejefted all thefe offers, and re- tired again to his cottage and old courfe of life. Fabricius could not be bribed by all the large offers of king PyrrhuE to aid him in ne- gociating a peace with the Ro- mans'; and yet he lived and died fo poor, that he was buried at the public expenfe, and liis daughters fortunes were paid out of the trea- fury, Curius Dentatos would not accept of the lands which the fe- nate had afiign'd him for the re- ward of hi., vidories : and when the embaffadors of the Samnites offer'd him a large funi of money as he was fitting at the fire and roalling turnips with his own hands, he nobly refuled to take it, fay- ing that it was his ambition not to be rich, but to command thofe who were fo. And Regulus, after performing many great exploits, was taken prifoner by the Cartha- ginians, and fent with the embaf- fadors to Rome to treat oi peace, upon cath to return to Carthage, if no peace or exchange of prifoners fhould be agreed upon : but Regu- lus was himfelf the firil to diffuade a peace, and chofe to leave his country, family, friends, every thing, and return a glorious cap- tive to certain tortures and death, rather than iuffer the fenate to con- clude a difhonorable treaty. Our Saviour cites thefe inftances of noble Romans in order of time, as he did thofe of his own nation : And as Mr C;ikon obferves, the RoTiiaiis in the molt degenerate tiints were fond of thefe (and fome other like) examples of ancient virtue ; and their writers of all forts delight to introduce them : but the greatcft honor that poetry ever did them, is here, by thepraife of the Son of God. 447. For I ejlsm &;c] The at!- thor Book II. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 95 AccompliHi what they did, perhaps and more ? Extol not riches then, the toil of fools, The wife man's cumbrance if not fnare, more apt To flacken virtue, and abate her edge, 455 Than prompt her to do ought may merit praife. What if with like averlion 1 rejedl Riches and realms ; yet not for that a crown, Golden thor had here plainly Claudian in mind. De IV. Conf Honor. 412. Difcitur hinc quantum paupertas fobria poffit : Pauper erat Curius cum reges vinceret armis : Pauper Fabricius, Pyrrhi cum fperneret aurum : Sordida Serranus flexit Didtator aratra : &c. And again In Rufinum I. 200. Semper inops, quicunque cupit. contentus hoUelto Fabricius parvo fpernebat mune- ra regum, Sudabatque gravi Conful Serra- nus aratro, Et cafa pugnaces Curios angulla tegebat. Haec mihi paupertas opulentior. And it is probable that he remcm- ber'd here fome of his beloved re- publicans, — thoft iiamts of men fo poor Who could do mighty things— and it is poffible chat he might alio think of himfelf, who — — could contemn Riches though cffer'd from the hand of kings, if that ftory be true of his having been oftcr'd to be Latin fecretary to Charles the 2d, and of his re- fufing it. 453. Extol tiot riches then, &c.j Milton concliides this book and our Saviour's reply to Satan with a fe- ries of thoughts as noble and juft, or, to fay all in one word, as worthy of the fpeaker as can pof- fibly be imagined : and I think one may venture to affirm, that as the Paradife Regain'd is a poem en- tirely moral and religious, the ex- cellency of which does not confill fo much in bold figures and ftrong images as in deep and virtuous fen- timents e;ipref5'd with a becoming gravity, and a certiin dccer.t ma- jelty, this is as true an inftance of the fublime as the b?ttle!> of the Angels in the Paradifi Lolh Thyer. 458 — yet net for that a cro'WK,'^ I reje6; them, yet not for that rea- fon becaufe a crown &c : and in fetUDg 96 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book 11. Golden in fhow, is but a wreath of thorns, Brings dangers, troubles, cares, and fleeplefs nights To him who wears the regal diadem, 461 When on his fhoulders each man's burden lies ; For therein ftands the office of a king, His honor, virtue, merit, and chief praife, That for the public all this weight he bears. 465 Yet he who reigns within himfelf, and rules Paffions, defires, and fears, is more a king ; "Which every wife and virtuous man attains : And who attains not, ill afpires to rule Cities of men, or headftrong multitudes, 470 Subjedt himfelf to anarchy within. Or lawlefs paffions in him which he ferves. But to guide nations in the wav of truth By fetting forth the duty and office of Quifnam igitur liber ? Sapiens ; a king, let the friends of thehoufe fibi qui imperiofus, &c. of Stuart confider, whether he in- tended any compliment to the king 473. But lo guide nations &c.] Irj then reigning. this fpeech concerning riches and 466. y'et he ivho reigns nvithin realms, our poet has cuU'd all the hi/nfelf, &cc] Such fcntiments choiceft, finell flowers out of the are inculcated not only by the phi- heathen poets and philofophers lofophers, but alio by the poets, as who have written upon thefe fub- Hor. Od. il. JJ. 9, jefts ; it is not fo much their words, T . -J 1 J as their fubllance fublimated and Latius regnes avidum domando . ^ 1 u » l u„ /„„,. „\.^,.^ „ . . ° improv d: but here he loars above bpintum ^-c. them, and nothing could have given and Sat. II, VIJ. Z^. , him fo complete an idea of a divine teacher. Book II. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 97 By faving dodrin, and from error lead To know, and knowing worfliip God aright, 475 Is yet more kingly ; this attracfts the foul. Governs the inner man, the nobler part ; That other o'er the body only reigns. And oft by force, which to a generous mind So reigning can be no fincere delight. 480 Befides to give a kingdom hath been thought Greater and nobler done, and to lay down Far more magnanimous, than to affume. Riches are needlefs then, both for themfelves. And for thy reafon why they fhould be fought, 485 To gain a fcepter, ofteft better mifs'd. teacher, as the life and charafter of faih'dire quam accipere ice. Dio- our blefTed Saviour. cletian, Charles V, and others who /^Zi.BeJtdes to give a kifigdom Sec] have refign'd the crown, were no So Hephasftion to thofe who tranf- doubt in our author's thoughts upon ferred the kingdom of Sidon from this occafion. F'or as Seneca fays, themfelves to another. Quint. Curt. Thyeil. 111. 529. IV. I. Vos quidem madi virtute, inquit, eftote, qui primi intellexi- Habere regnum, cafus eft : vir- ftis, quanto majus effet, regnum tus, dare. The end of the Second Book. VoL.L H 1 THE Third Book O F PARADISE REGAIN'D. H 2 lol PARADISE REGAIN'D. BOOK III. O fpake the Son of God, and Satan flood A while as mute confounded what to fay. What to reply, confuted and convinc'd Of his weak arguing, and fallacious drift j At length collecting all his ferpent wiles, | With foothing words renew'd, him thus accofls. I fee thou know'll what is of ufe to know. What heft to fay canfl fay, to do canft do -, Thy adions to thy words accord, thy words To thy large heart give utterance due, thy heart lo Contains lO, — — t/jy heart Contains of good, ^wije, ji'jl, the perfect Jkape.'] Milton, no doubt, by the vjovd. Jhape intended toexprefs the meaningof the Greek term iha., but in my opinion it does not at all come up to it, and feems rather harfh and inelegant. There are words in all languages, which cannot well be tranllated without lofing much of their beau- ty, and even fome of their mean- ing ; of this fort I take the word idea to be. TuUy renders n by the word fpecies with as little fuccefs in my opinion as Milton has done here by his Englilh/Svz^^. Thyer. Of good, nxfe,juji, the perfeSl fhape. 1 fhould rather think it exprefs'd from the pcrfeEla for?na hontflatis, and the forma ipfa hcnejii of Ci* cero. De Fin. II. 15. Habes undi- que expletam et perfeSlam, Tor- quare,yorz'.'<7w honefiatis. Sec. De Off. I. 9. Forry.am quidem ipfam, Marce fili, et tanquam faciem ho^ nefli vidcs ; quae fi oculis cernere- tur &c. And the more, becaufe H 3 he 102 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book III. Contains of good, wife, juil:, the perfedt fhape. Should kings and nations from thy mouth confult, Thy counfel would be as the oracle Urim and Thummim, thofe oraculous gems On Aaron's bread ; or tongue of feers old 15 Infallible : or wert thou fought to deeds That might require th' array of war, thy fkill Of condud would be fuch, that all the world Could not fuflain thy prowefs, or fubfift he renders fcrma bv Jhape in the Paradife Lok. l\^ 848. Virtue in her Jhape how lovely. 1 3 . — as the oracle TJrim and Thummim, thofe oracu- lous gems On Aaron s breaji ; &:c.] Aaron's breall-plate was a piece of cloth doubled, of a fpan iquare, in which were fet in fockets of gold twelve precious ftoncs bearing the names of the twelve tribes of Ifrael ingraven on them, which being fixed to the ephod, or upper veft- ment of the high-prielFs robes, was worn by him on his breall on all folemn occafions. In this breaft- plate the lJn?n and Thufnfuim, fay the Scriptures, were put. And the learned Prideaux, after givingfome account of the various opinions COnerning Urim and Thwnmitn, fays it will be fafeft to hold, that the words Urim and f hummim meant only the divine virtue and power, In given to the breaft-plate in its con- fecraiion, of obtaining an oracu- lous anfwer from God, whenever counfel was aiked of him by the high-prieft with it on, in fuch man- ner as his word did diredl ; and that the names of U7im and Thum- viim were given hereto only to de- note the clearnefs and perfeftion, which thefe oracular anfwers al- ways carried with them. For Urim fignifieth light, and Thummim per- fedion. But IVlilton by adding • thofe oraculous gems On Aaron's breafl feems to have been of the com- mon received opinion among the Jews, that the anfwer was given by the precious ftones, that it was by the fliining and protuberating of the letters in the names of the twelve tribes graven on the twelve Hones in the breait-plate of the high-prieft, and that in them he did read the anfwer. But as Dr. Book III. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 103 In battel, tliough agaiiTflthy few in arms. 20 Thefe God-like virtues wherefore doft thou hide, Afiedi[ig- private life, or more obfcure Jn fivage wildernefs ? wherefore deprive All earth her wonder at thy a(5ts, thyfelf The fame and glory, glory the reward 25 That Ible excites to high attempts, the flame Of mofc ereiled fpi'rits, moft temper'd pure Ethereal, who ail pleafures elfe defpife, Dr. Prideaux fays, it appears plain from Scripture, that when tl'^e high-prieft appear'd before the veil to afk counfel of God, the nnfwer was given him by an audible voice from the mercv-feat, which was within behind the veil. — or tongue of feers old • Infallible : The poet by mentioning this after Urh/i avdl hummim ieems to allude to anotlier opinion of the lews, that the Holy Spirit fpake to the children of Ifjrael during the ta- bernacle by Urim and Thiimmim, and under ihe firft temple by the prophets. Ste Piideaux Connedc. Parti. Book III. 1 7 . thy [kill Of conduSi n.voidd be fuch[\ The meaning is, thy flcil! in conducing an army would be fuch, that &-c : fo that there is no occahon tor reading, as Mr. Meadowcourt has propos'd, thy Jkill And condnSl, All which would be an alteration for the worfe, the commendation in this place not being o'ihhjlill in t;eneral, but of his Jkill of conduit in particular. 25 giory the re^ward'] Our Saviour having withllood the al- lurement of riches, Satan attacks him in the next place with the charms of glorv. I have fome- timcs thought, that Milton might poflibly take the hint of thus con- neding thefe two temptations fi cm Speni'er, who in his fecond book of the Faery Queen reprcfcnting the virtue of temperance uncier the charatflcr of Guyon, and leading him through various trials of his conllancy, brings him to the houfe of riches or Mammon'^ dehve as he terms it, and immediately after it to the palace of glory, which he defcribes in his allegorical manner under the figure of a beautiful wo- man called Philotime. Thyer. 27. Cy mcf ciuled fpirits,] The li. 4 author 104- PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book III. All treafures and all ?ain efteem as drofs. And dignities and pow'rs all out the higheft ? 30 Thy years are ripe, and over-ripe j the fon Of Macedonian Philip had ere thefe Won Alia, and the throne of Cyrus held At his difpofe ; young Scipio had brought down The Carthaginian pride ; young Pompey quell'd 35 The Pontic king, and in triumph had rode. Yet author here remember'd Cicero. Pro Archia. Trahiraur omnes laudis ftudio, et optimus quifque maxime gloria ducitur. De Off. I. 8. In maxinii? animis iplendi- diffimifque ingeniis pierumque ex- iiftunt honoris, imperii, potentiae, gloris cupidiiates. 3 1 . Thy years are ripe, and over- ripe ;] Our Saviour's tempta- tion was foon after his baptiirn, and he was baptized when he was about thirty years of age. Luke III. 1%, And the Jon of Macedonian Philip, Alexander the great, had ere thefe, before thefe years, nvon ^fa and the throne cf Cyrus, the Perfian empire founded by Cyrus, held at his difpofe ; for Alexander was but 20 when he began to reign, and in a few years overturned the Perfian empire, and died in the 33d year of his age. Young Sci- pio had brought dov:n the Cartha- ginian pride ; for Scipio Africanus was no more than 24 years old, when he was fent pioconful into Spain, and was on'y between 28 and 29, when he was chofen con- ful before the ufual time, and transferr'd the war into Africa. Tcung Pompey quell'd the Pontic king^ and in triumph had rode. In this in- llance our author is not fo exadl as in the reft, for when Pompey was fent to command the war in Afia againft Mithridates king of Pontus, he was above 40, but had figna- lizcd himfelf by many extraordi- nary adions in his younger years, and had obtained the honor of two triumphs before that time. Pom- pey and Cicero were born in the fame year ; and the Manilian law, which gave the command in Afia to Pompev, was propofed when Cicero was in the 41ft year of his age. But no vvonder that Milton was mifiaken in point of time, when feveral of the Ancients were, and Plutarch himfelf, who fpeak- ing of Pompey's three memorable triumphs over the three parts of the world, his firft over Africa, his fecond Book III. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 105 Yet years, and to ripe years judgment mature. Quench not the thirft of glory, but augment. Great Julius, whom now all the world admires. The more he grew in years, the more inflam'd 40 With glory, wept that he had liv'd fo long Inglorious : but thou yet art not too late. To whom our Saviour calmly thus reply'd. Thou neither doft perfuade me to feek wealth For fecond over Europe, and this laft over Afia, fays that as for his age, thofe who afFeft to make the pa- rallel exa6l in all things betwixt him and Alexander the great, would not allow him to be quite 34, whereas in truth at this time he was near 40. ri^ijua ^£ tots »)v (wj (ji,iv o» y.ct~oc lictiTct, Tu A- Xt^xya^'U 'masU'oii.'Kh'iVTK; wjtcv y.oci i» "EuixpocTyii;, eti oe exEi»« TH m toi; KAeiuS y.ii^uy.m, by. ac, £^19 Sw- K^ocrrj^, e orifA,©^ A^riVMtuv ex tS- Tuv -/iG^otra* > "«* £' T6;* Ka6 Etx xa,-ra,(ppoiriTiov, cc^» y.ea luv v;6^&- io-^imv. Epidetus, Enchir. XLV. fays : Sv5/^ei« it^aKo'^loil©-'' ah- Book III. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 107 For what is glory but the blaze of fame, The peoples prailbj if always praife unmix'd ? And />tj,M,(p£Tai, Kd£>» tfy.a.hiij Hon 'crt- §1 locvTH T^iyei, y.a,'j tk; wj-rov ccvr^ 'oot.f' lavTu' xa.v •^iyn, hk cnroXoyuTstt. Signa proficientis funt : neminem vicuperat, nemi- nem laudat, de nemine queritur, neminem incufar, nihil de feipfo dicit, et fi quis ipfum laudet, ridet laudantem ipfe fecum ; et ii vituperet, non fe purgat. Idem apud Stobsum : Ovain; (p:Xox,fv- />ioi©- (piMy.a,}.'^. Nemo pecu- nis amans, et voluptatis, et glo- riae fimul homines amat; fed folus honefti amans. So Plato De Re- pub. I. fays, that a fondnefs of glory is as mean a vice as a fond- nefs of money. Many fuch like pafTages might be added, particu- larly fiom Marcus Aurelius, and other Stoical writers. The Stoics, tho' they refufed to give fame and glory a place amongll good things, yet I think did not flight the efteem of good men : they diftinguifh be- tween gloria and claritas. Gloria multorum judiciis conftat, claritas bonorum. — [Sed claritas] poteft unius boni viri iudicio effe conten- ta. Seneca, Epift. CII. I cannot forbear inferting here a paflage from Seneca, which J believe will pleafe the reader as much as it does me : it relates to that fond hope which we writers, good, bad, and indiiferent, are apt to enter* tain, that our name and labors (hall be immortal, and it tells us as elegantly as truly what we have to expedl. Profunda fupra nos al- titudo temporis veniet, pauca in- genia caput exferent, et in idem quandoque filentium abitura obli« vioni refulcnt, ac fe diu vindica- bunt. Epill. XXI. We expeft that Time ihouid take the charge of our writings, and deliver them fafe to the lateil pofterity : but he is as furly and whimfical as Charon : Stabant orantes primi tranfmit- tere curfum, Tendebautque manus ripse ulte- rioris amore. Navita fed trillis nunc hos, nunc accipit illos. All alios longe fummotos ^rcet arena. If we have the mortification to fee our works die before us, we may comfort ourfelves with the confi- deration, which Seneca fuggefts to us, that a time will come when the molt excellent and admired com- pofitions fhall peridi. Nor is the confolation much fmaller, which offers itfelf to us, when we look back andconfider ho v many gcod. authors there raufl needs have been, of whom no memorial is left, and how many of whom nothing but the bare name furvives, and how many books are extant indeed, but never read. Aufsr io8 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book III. 49 [praife ? And what the people but a herd confus'd, A mifcellaneous rabble, who extol Things vulgar, and well weigh'd, fcarce worth the They praife, and they admire they know not what, And know not whom, but as one leads the other -, And what delight to be by fuch extoll'd. To live upon their tongues and be their talk, ^^ Of whom to be difprais'd were no fmall praife ? His lot who dares be Angularly good. Th' intelligent among them and the wife Auferabhinc laciimas, Barathro, Sc compefce querelas ; Lumina iis oculis etiam bonus Ancus reliquit, Qui melior multis, quam tu, fuit, improbe, rebus. To thefe motives of contentment under fuch ciicumflances, I need not add what every neglefted au- thor fays to himfelf, that the age he lives in has no tafte. Jorlin. 56. Ofnvhom to be difprais'd ivere no fmall praife t ] So it is in Milton's own edition, difprais'd ; in moft of the others it is defpii'dj Of whom to be defpis'd were no fmall praife : but we have reftor'd the firft read- ing for very obvious reafons. 57. His lot n.K:ho dares be fivgularly good.] A glorious example of thhfingular goodnefs is exhibited in Are the charafter and behaviour of the Seraph Abdiel in the Paradife Loft. And perhaps the poet might think it likevvife his own cafe, and at this time was not without a pleafing refle6lion upon himfelf, who dar''d to be as Angular in his opinions and in his condudl, as any man whatever. ^g. and glory fcarce a fevj is rais''d.] Seneca would prove in his lozdEpiflle, that the judg- ment of one good man is fufficient to conlHtute this glory or clarity, as he calls it : for glory according to him is the judgment of the many, clarity of the good. If one good man, fays he, thinks well of mc, it is the fame as if all good men thought well of me, becaufe if they all knew me, they would all think as he doth ; fo that the judg- ment of all is really included in that of one* Quia il de me bene vir Book III. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 109 Are few, and glory fcarce of few is rais'd. This is true glory and renown, when God 60 Looking on th' earth, with approbation marks Thejuft man, and divu/ges him through Heaven To all his Angels, who with true applaufe Recount his pralfes : thus he did to Job, 64 When to extend his fame through Heav'n and Earth, As thou to thy reproach may'il well remember. He afk'd thee, Hall thou feen my fervant Job ? Famous he was in Heav'n, on Earth lefs known ; Where vir bonus fentit, eodem loco fum, quo, fi omnes boni idem fentirent; omnes enim, fi me cognoverint, idem fentient. Par illis idemque judicium eft. Calton. 60. This is true glory andrenonvn, ivhen God &c] Here is a glory that is folid and fubllantial, ex- prefTa (as Tully fays) non adum- brata ; and that will indure, when all the records and memorials of human pride are perifned. There is a pretty pafTage near the end of the laft book of Hieronymus Ofo- rius's treatife De Gloria, where the author is confidering that honor, which confifts in the approbation and applaufe of God and Angels, as a reward of virtue in the life to come. Nam fi laudatoris ampli- tudo ad dignitatis anipiiucationem pertinet, quid elTe poteft Chriiii majeilate magnificentius ? Si ve- lum judicium in certa glorise ra- tione requirimus, Deus folus inti- mos hominum fcnfus perfpeftos ha- bet. Si laudantis conftantiam at- tendimus, divina mens nuUam in omni sternitate poteft habere mu- tationem. Si lucem et celebrita- tem confideres, tunc clarorum ho- minum laudes coram omnibus an- gelis et hominibus illuftrabuntur. Si ad diutarnitatcm aninium adver- tas, [in my edition it is animad-jsr- tas] nullum tinem funt ullis un- quam fsculis habitura. Quid igi- tur ilia gloria civinius, quam men^ tes cafta; in ilia coelelti regione con- fequentur ? Ell enim dignitate lau- datoris immenfa, fpedlaiorum cele- britate clariflima, diuturnitate tsm- poris infinita. Calton. 6j. He ajk'd thee, HaJ} thou feen my Jer'vant Job ?] Job I. 8. And the L:rd faid unto Satan, Haft thou co'iijidered my fervant Job, that thire is nom like him in the eai th^ no PARADISE REGAINED. Book III. Where glory is falfe glory, attributed To things not glorious, men not worthy' of fame. They err who count it glorious to fubdue 71 By conquefl: far and wide, to over-run Large countries, and in field great battels win, Great cities by allault : what do thefe worthies, But rob and fpoil, burn, flaughter, and inflave a ferfeSl and an upright mmi, one thai /caret h God, and ejche-voeth e^'tl. See too II. 3. dc). Where glory is falfc glory, at- tributed To things tiot glorious, men net nvorthy DffameC\ True glory (Tully fays) is the praife of good men, the echo of virtue : but that ape of glorv, the random injudi- cious apfjlaiife of the multitude, is of;en beltoued upon the woiil of aflions. Efl enim gloria folida quffdam res et expicfia, non ad- umbrata: caeilconfentiens laus bo- norum, incorrupta vox bene judi- cantium de cxccllente virtute : ca virtuti lefonat tanquam irrago: — ilia autem, qus fe ejus imitatricem cffe volt, temeraria atqne inconfi- derata et plcrumque peccatorum vitiorumque Jaudatrix, fama popu- laris, finiulatione honellatis for- mam ejus pukhritudinemque cor- runipit. Qua Cfficitate homines, cum qvi.Tdam ctiam pra>clara cupe- rent, eaque neicirent nee ubi nee qualia effent, funditus alii everte- 7S Peaceable runt fuas civitates, alii ipfi occide- runt. Tufc. Difp. III. 2. When Tully wrote his Tufculan Difputa- tions, Julius Csefar had overturned the conftitution of his country, and was then in the highth of his power ; and Pompey had loft his life in the fame purfuit of glory. Of him the alii ipfi occiderunt — may very well be underftood. C alt on, 7 1 . Tkey err n^jho count it glorious &c] From hence to ver. 88. we have ajuft and complete charafter of the great conquerors of the world, who inflead of being, as they have too often been, the idols of mankind, ought rather to be the principal objefts of their ut- moft averfation The charafler is general, but yet not without parti- cular allufjons ; as when it is faid muft be titled Godf, Great Benefadors of mankind. Deliverers, it is in allufionto the titles oiTheusy Euergctes, and Scter, which have of- ten been afcrib'd by their fyco- phants Book III. PARADISE REGAIN'D. I II Peaceable nations, neighb'ring, or remote, Made captive, yet defcrving freedom more Than thofe their conquerors, vvlio leave behind Nothing but ruin wherelbe'er they rove, And all the florlfliing works of peace dellroy, 80 Then fwell v/ith pride, and muft be titled Gods, Great Benefad;ors of mankind, Deliverers, Worfnipt Plants nnd flatterers to the word of tyrants : and wlien it is faid One is the fon of jove, of Mars the other, Alexander is particularly intended by the one, and Romulus by the other, who tho' better than Alex- ander, yet it mull; be faid founded his empire in the blood of his bro- ther, and for his overgrown ty- ranny was at laft deftroy'd by his own fenate. And -certainly the method that Milton has here ta- ken is the befl: method that can be taken of drawing general cha- rafters, by felefting the particulars here and there, and then adjulling and incorporating them together ; as Apelles from the different beau- ties of feveral nymphs of Greece drew his portrait of Venus, the Goddefs of beauty. 74. — What do thefe 'worthies But rob and/p::!, biir7i,Jlaughter, and injla've Peaceable naticns, n;ighb''r'ing, or nmote, &c] Milton faith not a word dircftly of the exploits cf thofe heroes, who in purfiiit of falfe glory had done what Csfar did. He was unwilling perhaps to give his readers occafion to refleft, that there was a Csfar in his own time and country, whom he had prais'd, admir'd, and ferv'd. C alt on. 8 I . Then f-juell nvith pride, and rduji be titled Gcds, &-c] The fecond Antiochus kin^^ of Syria was called Antiochus 0^'^ or the God: and the learned author De Epoch. Syro-Macedonum p. 151. fpeaks of a coin of Rpiphanes in- fcrib'd ©Etf E7r;(p«v«-:. The Athe- nians gave Demetrius Poiiorcctes, and his father Antigonus the titles of Y.vifysta.i Benefactors, and Xw- T>!§-=? Deli-uerers. The laft was a divine title ; [See Suidas in voce ZwTr^] and they finiili'd the com- pliir.ent by calling their He'ad-ma- gifirate, inllead of A'clon, If^svj 2w;r^i^5, Prieji of the Deliverers. Plut. in vita Deraetrii. Calion. 56, Poor 112 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book III. Worfliipt with temple, prieft and facrifice ; One is the fon of Jove, of Mars the other ; Till conqu'ror Death difcover them fcarce men, 85 Rolling in brutifh vices, and deform'd, Violent or fliameful death their due reward. But if there be in glory ought of good, It may by means far different be attain'd Without ambition, war, or violence ; 90 By deeds of peace, by wifdom eminent. By patience, temperance : I mention ftill Him whom thy wrongs with faintly patience borne Made famous in a land and times obfcure -, Who names not now with honor patient Job ? 95 Poor 96. Pcor Socrates (nvha next more a place there with Alexander, and memorable >" ) &c.] Milton here Csfar, and the moft celebrated he- does not fcruple with Erafmus to roes of antiquity. See the Tatler place Socrates in the foremoll rank N'' 8i by Mr. Addifon. And the of Saints; an opinion more ami- no lefs ingenious author of the able at leaft, and agreeable to that Temple of Fame has made him i'pirit of love which breathes in the principal figure among the bet- the Gofpel, than the fevere or- ler fort of heroes. thodoxy of thofe rigid textuaries, -uTirrr-- l ^^t- i„ ■' •,,• ? 11 c^ Much-fufFrmg heroes next their who are unwilhng to allow falva- , , =• tion to the moral virtues of the m, °"°^l.*",^^^' .^ j i r Heathen. T:hyer. T^°^^, °^^ ^^^^ ""^^^ ^"'^ ^^^' •^ guilty fame, ^0 ,. Fair Virtue's filent train : fu- r 1 ■ r ^ > J a preme of thele hquai 1)2 fame to proudet co7ique- -t n- \ ^^•\ c rors.l And therefore the very ^^'^ ^^^^ ^'"" ^^^ g°^^^^^ 2°' ingenious author of the vifion of ^^^ ^^' the Table of Fame has given him And if Mr. Addifon had completed his Book III. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 113 Poor Socates (who next more memorable ?) By what he taught and fufFer'd for fo doing, For truth's fake fufifering death unjuft, lives now Equal in fame to proudeil conquerors* Yet if for fame and glory ought be done, loO Ought fuffer'd j if young African for fame His wafted country freed from Punic rage, The deed becomes unprais'd, the man at leaft^ And lofes, though but verbal, his reward. Shall I feek glory then, as vain men feek, 105 Oft not deferv'd ? I feek not mine, but his Who fent me', and thereby witnefs whence I am* To whom the Tempter murm'ring thus reply'd. Think his defign of writing a tragedy of the ravages which Hannibal had Socrates, his fuccefsin all probabi- committed in Italy during the fe- lity would have been greater, as cond Punic war. the fubjed. would have been better than that of Cato. 1 06. - — I/eei not mine, but his Who fent me\ and thereby ivitnefs 101. if young African for ^whence I am.'] I honor my Fa- fame thcr, I Jeek not mine o^^vn glory, fays His ivafiedconntrs freed fro::i Pu- our Saviour in St. John's Gofpel nic rage^ This fhows plainly VIII. 49, 50 : and this he urgelh that he had fpoken before of the as a proof of his divine miffion, elder Scipio Alricanus ; for he Vll. 18. He that fpeaketh of him- only can be faid with propriety felf, feeketh his c^Mn glory : hut he to have freed his -ivajled country that feeketh his glo7y that fent him, from Punic rage, by transferring the the fame is true, and no unrighteouf war into Spain and Africa after mf is in him. V o L. L I 109, Ihinh 114 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book III. I 10 Think not fo flight of glory ; therein leaft Refembling thy great Father : he feeks glory, And for his glory all things made, all things Orders and governs ; nor content in Heaven By all his Angels giorify'd, requires Glory from men, from all men good or bad, Wife or unwiie, no difference, no exemption ; i ij Above all iacrifice, or hallov^'d gift Glory' he requires, and glory he receives Promifcuous from all nations, Jew, or Greek, Or barbarous, nor exception hath declar'd i From 109. Think not fc jlight cf glory ; &c] There is nothing throughout the whole poem more expreflive of the true charafter of the Tempter than this reply. There is in it all the real falfhood of the father of lies, and the glozing fubtlety of an infidious deceiver. The argument is fa'fe and unfound, and yet it is veil'd over with a certain plaufible air of truth. The poet has alfo by introducing this furnifli'd him- felf uich an opportunity of ex- plaining that great queflion in di- vinity, \\\i\ God created the world, and \\ hat is meant by that glory which he expeds from his crea- tures. This may be no improper place to obferve to the reader the author's great art in weaving in- to the body of fo Ihort a work fo many grand points of the Chrillian theology and morality. Thyer. I 18. Promifcuous from all nations^ The poet puts here into the mouth of the Devil the abfurd notions of the apologilts for Paganifm. See Themiltius Orat. XII. de Relig. Valent. Imp. 7«t;Ta jo^a.^e ymcj^a.^. &c. p. 160. Warburton. 121. 'To -uhom our Saviour fer- aiently reply'd.l As this poem confifts chiefly of a dialogue be- tween the Tempter and our Sa- viour, the poet muil have labor'd under fom.e difnculty in compofing a fufiicient variety of introductory lines to the feveral fpeeches, anc' it required great art and judgment to vary and adapt them fo propcily as he Lath done to tiie fulijt-Ci in hand. We took notice of a beauty of Book III. PARADISE REGAIN'D. ^15 From us his foes pronounc'd glory' he exads. 120 To whom cur Saviour fervently reply'd. And reafon ; fmce his word all things produc'd, Though chiefly not for glory as prime end, But to fliow forth his goodnefs, and impart His good comraunicahle to every foul 125 Freely ; of whom what could he lefs expect Than glory' and benedidion, that is thanks, The ilightefl:, eafieft, readiefl: recompenfe From them who could return him nothing elfe, And not returning that would likelieH: render 130 Contempt of this kind in a note upon IF. 432 : and here we have another inrtance not unworthy of our ob- fervation. When the Tempter had propofed to our Saviour the baits and allurements of glory, he was nothing; mov'd, but repiv'(! with great calmnefs ana compofure of mind. ver. 43, To whom our Saviour calmly thus reply'd : but now the Tempter reHeAs upon the ginry of God, our Saviour ;s warm'd upon the occafion, and anfwers with fonie eagernefs and fervor. To whom our Savioury>rz't';.7/y reply'd. And this is perfectly juft, and a- greeable to the true chara6ler of our Saviour, who was all meek- nefs and forbearance in every thing that 1 elated to himfelf, but where God's honour was concern'd, was warm and zealous ; as when he drove the buyers and fellers out of the temple, infomuch that the diiciples apply'd to him the fa}ing of the Pfiilmiil, The zeal of t/nm boyfe hath eaten me up. John JI. 1 7. 128, T he JJighteJ} , eafieP., read'; eft recompenle\ The iame fenti- ment in the Paradife Loft. IV\ 46. What could be lef. than to afford liim praife. The eaiisil recompenfe, and pay him thinks, How due ! I ^O- /nd net returning that\ We 1 2 have Ii6 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book III. Contempt inftead, difhonor, obloquy ? Hard recompenfe, unfuitable return For fo much good. To much beneficence. But why fliould man feek glory, who' of his own Hath nothing, and to whom nothing belongs 135 But condemnation, ignominy', and fhame ? Who for fo many benefits receiv'd Turn'd recreant to God, ingrate and falfe. And fo of all true good himfelf defpoil'd. Yet, facrilegious, to himfelf would take 140 That which to God alone of right belongs ; Yet fo much bounty is in God, fuch grace. That who advance his glory, not their own. Them he himfelf to glory will advance. So fpake the Son of God 3 and here again 145 Satan have replac'd the reading of the Worth or not worth /^«> feeking, firil edition : moll of the later edi- , , • . i. ./ • , . but not knowing to whom their tions iiave it u r r • • .j •. n u u could refer, 1 imagin d it Inould be And not returning ivhat \xt \. . .u ; r i • ° Worth or not worth thy leekmg, which fpoils the fenfe of the paf- , ^ r n j- • i_-u- t- r T I. J ci A •.• but the fiift edition exhibits this lage. I had correaed it in my own ,. book before I had feen the firft edi- & tion, and Mr. Thyer had done the Worth or not worth the feeking, 7 ,, . , .1 .L r L as Mr. Sympfon propofed to read I c I . IVorth or not -ivorth the leek- , ■ ^ r r ing,] In all the editions which ^^ conjedure. I have feen except the iirft, it is \^2i. Reduced a prcjince under Po- printed ma}tyoke,'\ Judsa was reduced to J Book III. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 117 Satan had not to anfwer, but flood ftruck With guilt of his own iin, for he himfelf Infatiable of glory had loft all, Yet of another plea bethought him foon. Of glory, as thou wilt, faid he, fo deem, 150 Worth or not worth the feeking, let it pafs : But to a kingdom thou art born, ordain'd To fit upon thy father David's throne ; By mother's fide thy father -j though thy right Be now in pow'rful hands, that will not part 155 Eafily from pofTefTion won with arms : Judaea now and all the promis'd land, Reduc'd a province under Roman yoke. Obeys Tiberius ; nor is always rul'd With temp'rate fway ; oft have they violated 160 The to the form of a Roman province, vernment was not always the moft in the reign of Auguflus, by Qui- temperate. At this time Pontius rinius or Cyrenius then governor Pilate was procurator of Judsea ; of Syria; and Coponius a Roman and if hillory be true, he was a of the equeftrian order was ap- moft corrupt, and flagitious gover- pointed to govern it under the title nor. See pardcularly PhiJo de Le- of Procurator of Judaea ; our Sa- gatione ad Caium. viour being then (as Dean Pri- i6o. oft ha-ue they njiolated deaux fays) in the 1 2th year of his The temple, &c] As Pompey did age, but according to the vulgar particularly with feverai of his offi- aera, which begins four years later cers, whoenter'd not only into the than the true time, it was A. D. 8. holy place, but alio penetrated in- Nor is al-ways rul'd ivith temp'rate to the holy of holici, where none f^ay : and indeed the Roman go- were permitted by the law to en- I 3 ter. ii8 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book III. The temple, oft the law with foul affronts, Abominations rather, as did once Antiochus : and think'il: thou to regain Thy right by fitting ftill or thus retiring ? So did not Maccabeus : he indeed 165 Retir'd unto the defert, but with arms ; And o'er a mighty king fo oft prevail'd, That by flrong hand his family obtain'd, rnfnrn'd Though priefls, the crown, and David's throne With Modin and her fuburbs once content. 170 If kingdom move thee not, let move thee zeal And duty j zeal and duty are not flow ; But on occafion's forelock watchful wait. They themfelves rather are occafion beft, Zeal of thy father's houfe, duty to free 175 Thy country from her heathen fervitude -, So ter, except the high-prieft alone he would infer that Jefus was to once in a year, on the great day blame for not vindicating his coun- of expiation. And this piofana- try againll the one, as yW^zj il/^zc- tion of the temple might well re- cabeus had done againft the other, mind the author of a former one He fled indeed into the wildernefs by Antiochus Epiphanes. See z from the perlecutions of Antio- Macab. V. chus, but there he took up arms 165. Sa did net Maccabeus :"] The againil him, and obtained fo many Tempter had conipar'd the profa- victories over his forces, that he nation of the temple by the Ro- recovered the city and fanduary mans to that by Aniiochus Epi- out of their hands, and his family phanes, king of Syria ; and now was in his brother Jonathan ad- vanced Book III. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 119 So flialt thou beft fulfi], beft verify The prophets old, who fung thy endlefs reign -, The happier reign the fooner it begins j 179 Reign then j what canfl thou better do the while ? To whom our Saviour anfwer thus return'd. All things are beft fulfill'd in their due time, And time there is for all things, Truth hath faid : If of my reign prophetic Writ hath told, That it fhall never end, fo when begin 185 The Father in his purpofe hath decreed, He in whofe hand all times and feafons roll. What if he hath decreed that I fhall firft Be try'd in humble ftate, and things adverfe. By tribulations, injuries, infults, 190 Contempts, and fcorns, and fnares, and violence, Suffering, abftaining, quietly expeding, Without vanced to the high priefthood, and at Modin, which is famous for no- in his brother Simon to the priu- thing fo much as being the country cipality, and fo they continued for of the Maccabees. See i. Maccab. feveral defcents fovran pontiffs and Jofephns, Prideaux &c. fovran princes of the Jewi/h nation 183 Jfid time there is for all till the time of Herod the great : things, Truth hath laid : ] Ec- tho' their father Mattathias (the clef. III. i.To e-uery thing there is a fon of John, the fon of Simon, feajhn, and a time to e'very purpofe the fon of Afmonasus, from whom under the Hea-uen. the family had the name of Afmo- 187, He in nxjhofe hand all times nsans) was no more than a prieft and Jeafons roll.] Alluding to of the courfe of Joarib, and dwelt A6ts I. 7. It is not for you ta kno-uj I 4 i'^( 120 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book III. Without diftruft or doubt, that he may know What I can fuffer, how obey ? who befl Can fuffer, beft can doj beft reign, who firft 195 Well hath obey'd 3 juft trial ere I merit My exaltation without change or end. But what concerns it thee when I begin My everlafting kingdom, why art thou Solicitous, what moves thy inquifition ? 200 Know'ft thou not that my rifing is thy fall. And my promotion will be thy deftrudion ? To whom the Tempter inly rack'd reply 'd. Let that come when it comes ; all hope is loft Of my reception into grace ; what worfe ? 205 For where no hope is left, is left no fear : If there be worfe, the expedlation more Of worfe torments me than the feeling can, I would i^e times or the fr.afons, nuhkh the De Legg. VI. as Urfinus and Da-^ father hath -^ut in bis cvon ponxer, vies have noted. J n • 1 r n 2o6. For ^vhere no hope is left, is IQC. heft rei?n, ivho jir/t ,^ ^ , -i\n\ ■ 11-111 .1 L ^j \ti ' ui left no fear : &c.| Milton m lPellhathobt'Yd\\\\&xt\>xoQzh\v .. ' ^ \ a r n • r . . L > 1 r>- T> this and the nve roljowin? verles the author remember d Cicero. De , . , ,, , i r i- • .l . T -L TTT rs • \, • ^ plainly alludes to theie lines in that Leeib. III. 3. Qui bene imperat, r r v\ ro . • l l ^ .^ ,• 7~ rr K 1 nne fohloquy of Satan s in the be- paruent auquando necefle elt ; et . . i •', i u i r r» ^ ■ 1 ,1 ^ . -J . • V gin^ins or the Ath book ot Para- qui moJeite paret, videtu."", qu! all- 5-r i /i o ^ , . 'i- rr^ ; u dife Loft. ver. loS. quando imperet, dignus ehe. i he fame fentiment occurs in Ariftotle, So farewel hope, and with hope PoUt, III. ^-yiL 14. and in Plato, farewel fear, Farewel Book III. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 121 I would be at the worft ; worft is my port, My harbour, and my ultimate repofe, 210 The end I would attain, my final good. My error was my error, and my crime My crime j whatever for itfelf condemn'd, And will alike be punifli'd, whether thou Reign or reign not j though to that gentle brow 215 Willingly I could fly, and hope thy reign, From that placid afped; and meek regard. Rather than aggravate my evil flate, Would ftand between me and thy Father's ire (Whofe ire I dread more than the fire of Hell) 220 A fhelter and a kind of fhading cool Interpofition, as a fummer's cloud. If I then to the worfl: that can be hafle. Why move thy feet fo flow to what is befl, Happieft Farewel remorfe : all good to crime my crime ; "jchateuer it be, it me is loft ; is for if/elf condemn' d, and nuill alike Evil be thou my good. — — be punijod kc : and I do not fee Thyer. how the pafTage is emended, or the fenfe improv'd by placing the fe- 212. . and my crime" micolon after my crime vjhate-very My crime ; luhate-uer for itjdf as Mr. Sympfon prefcribes ; or by condemn d,^ This is the point- blotting out the femicolon after ing in Milton's own edition, and crime, and putting a comma at I conceive the expreffion to be el- ^whatever, as Mr. Meadowcourt leiptical, and this to be the mean- diredls. ., ing, My error was my error, and my 234. And 122 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book III. Happieft both to thyfelf and all the world, 225 That thou who Vv'orthieft art fliouWil: be their king ? Perhaps thou linger'H in deep thoughts detain'd Of th' enterpriie fo hazardous and high ; No wonder, for though in thee be united What of perfection can in man be found, 230 Or human nature can receive, coniider Thy life hath yet been private, moft part fpent At home, fcarce view'd the Galilean towns. And once a year Jerufalem, few days 234 Short fojourn; and what thence could'ft thou obferve ? The world thou haft not feen, much lefs her glory, Emp-res, and monarchs, and their radiant courts, Beft fchool of beft experience, quickeft infight In all things that to greateft aftions lead. The i'i^\. And once a year "Jervfalem, fer the emendation, which Mr. &c] At the feaft of the paflbver, Theobald, Mr. Meadowcourt, and Luke II. 41. Mr. Thyer have, unknown to each 238. quickeft infight other, propofed. In all things that to orcateli ac- . , „ . ^ , . tions lead.\ In all the editions, *■ •' <^ and indeed in Milton's own, it is and it was eafy for Milton's ama- printed nuenfis (his wife moft probably) or ■ , f, ■ r ' his printer to miftake the one for alUlTcrSv '^ '^^ ^'^^'•■- '^^'°^' "'^ '^^ ^'^ ^"'^ ^"S ^ ' moft probable emendations, which but we cannot but think it an error confift in fuch fmall alterations, of the writer or printer, and pre- When other words are fubftituted, we Book III. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 123 The wifeft, unexperienc'd, will be ever 240 Timorous and loath, with novice modefty, (As he who I'eeking affes found a kingdom) Irrefolute, unhardy, unadventrous : But I will bring thee where thou foon (halt quit Thofe rudiments, and fee before thine eyes 245 The monarchies of th' earth, their pomp and ftate, Sufficient introdudion to inform Thee, of thyfelf fo apt, in regal arts. And regal myfteries, that thou may'ft know How bed their oppofition to withftand. 250 With that (fuch pow'r was giv'n him then) he took The Son of God up to a mountain high. It was a mountain at whofe verdant feet A fpacious plain out-ftretch'd in circuit Vv'ide Lay we ought to have fome better au- thority than conjecture. 242. As he ^^hofeek'pigajfc! found a kingdoTn] Saul, who feeking his father's loft afTes, came to Sa- muel, and by him was annointed king. The Itory is related in I Sam. IX. 253. // -ivas a mountain &C] All that the Scripture faith, is that the Devil took our Saviour up into a high ?nou>i tain, Luke IV. 5. an ex- ceeding high mountain, Mat. IV. 8. and commentators generally fup- pofe it to be one of the mountains in the neighbourhood cf Jeru'a- lem, Jerufalem being furrounded by mountains, or fome mountain near the wildernefs, near the place where our Saviour was tempted. The Ancients fpeak little concern- ing it, but the Moderns conceive it to be the mountain Qjarantania, as it is now cali'd. Tha: inge- nious traveler, Mr. Maundrel in his Journey from Aleppo to Jeru- falem, 124 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book III. Lay pleafant ; from his fide two rivers flow'd, 255 Th' one winding, th' other flrait, and left between Fair champain with lefs rivers intervein'd. Then meeting join'd their tribute to the fea : Fertil of corn the glebe, of oil and wine ; 259 With herds the paftures throng'd, with flocks the hillsj Huge cities and high towr'd, that well might feern The feats of mightiefl: monarchs, and fo large The falem, mentioning the plain of Je- richo, fays that (Mar. 29.) " we *' defcended into it, after about *' five hoars march irom Jerufa- " lem. As foon as we €nter'd the *' plain, we turned up on the left *' hand, and going about one hour *' that way, came to the foot of *' the Quarantania ; which they *' fay is the mountain into which " the Devil took our blefled Sa- " viour, when he tempted him *' with that vifionary fcene of all *' the kingdoms and glories of the <' world. It is, as St. Matthew *' fliles it, an exceeding high *' mountain, and in its afcent not <' only difficult, but dangerous." But this is all conjedure, for the Scripture has not fpecified any par- ticular place, and the Scripture having not afcertained the place, the poet was at liberty to choofe any mountain, that befl fuited his fancy, for the fcene of this vifion. And accordingly he fuppofes the Devil (fuch po^.iJ'r ivas giuen him then) to carry our Saviour many a league up to a high mountain^ of which he forbears to mention the name out of reverence to the Scrip- ture, which hath likewife men- tion'd no name ; but by his de- fcription of it he muft mean mount Taurus, as Mr.Thyer and Mr. Gal- lon have concurred with me in ob- ferving ; for he defcribes it exaftly in the fame manner as Strabo has defcribed that part of mount Tau- rus, which divides the greater Ar- menia from Mefopotamia, and contains the fources of the two rivers Euphrates and Tigris. Stra- bo Lib. XI. p. 521. Edit. Amftel. To J' Bti l/OTlWTOtTf'li (/3ojJEJOTaTO|i) (/.ccXt^cc Eftf Tctv^'^ b^iC^uv Tyiv Enrevdev ^ a^^oTfgot ^laaiv oZ Tijf Meo-oTTOTafXiav tJ>cws,?itf(iAevoi "BTOTafto*, x«i <7uva'7rToi/T£? aXXij- Eira tK^i^ovrei ti<; Tnv y.a.^01. n«p- ccx,c, Sa^arlai/, re Ev^^urr,(;, xcti b Tty^K' And the courfe of the rivers is defcribed in the fame manner by Strabo, the Euphrates tuiittdingf, Book III. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 125 The profped was, that here and there was room For barren defert fountalnlefs and dry. 264 To this high mountain top the Tempter brought Our Saviour, and new train of words began. Well have we fpeeded, and o'er hill and dale, Foreft and field and flood, temples and towers. Cut fhorter many a league j here thou behold'fl AfTyria and her empire's ancient bounds, 270 Araxes nuinding, and the Tigris fira]t and fwift as an arrow. Er» it tj.iit,m ^Upa.!/, CKCi^AUl ~U ^SlOfW, v., T. ?■.. Dionyfius, and other ancient Geo- graphers give us much the fame defcription : of the Euphrates, he fays ver. j^j. Edit. Wells, App'.ES'iciig AvTriv r,i\toK>, X. r. A. and for the fame reafon as Lloyd has remarked in his Didionary, it is called 'vagus Euphrates by Sta- tius, and flrxw.fus by Marcianus Capella. Of the Tigris Djonyfms fays To» Je /iiet' eh; avyac, 'csQ'rx\/.uit Ti7|t? Ei/ppEtT*i; ^EgETaj, x. t. X. And indeed we need only look in- to the map to be fati fied, that the courfe of ihefe rivers anfwers to the defcription li^re given, and that afterwards they unite their ilreams, and fall together into the Perfian gulf. And as to the ferti- lity of the country, M.lton copies after Dionyfius, but contradts his defcription. Oy f*Ev Toi xEivji; yE vofA-a; utoc- ff-xro Qazv'f yipcxicdiy, Mr,^ol? ay^ctiXoKTtv iipio'zana.i' not aotro y.x^Ttuy. Toiij E9r» y.n>r,i ccfoai^ 'miXa, ev [/.ti rioiriv, EC de ►oM.y; ivayQtci; K. T. X. ►o/Ay; 26 1 . Huge cities andhigh io-ivr'dfl So alfo in the L' Allegro, Touored cities pleafe us then. Turrit a urbes is very common a- mongfl; the Latin poets. Thyer. 269. — here thou behold' Ji JJJyria and hc«T0j(/-7rt.?vov TO Tuv Ilap- Gyaiwv j3«a-iA£(ov, Strabo Lib. XJ. p. 514. as was likewiie Thebes in Egypt for the fame re^fon. Tkeie Sufa, the Shuflian of the holy Scrip- tures, the royal leat of the kings of Perfia, who refided heie in the winter and at Ecbatana in the fum- raer, by Choafpes, fituated on the river Choafpes, or Eulaeus, or Ulai as it is called in Daniel, or rather on the confluence of thefe two rivers, which meeting at Sufa form one greater river, fometimes called by one name, fometimes by the other, amber fireani, fee the fame exprefiion and the conclufion of the note on Paradiis Loft IIL 3159. the drink of none but king:, of which we will I2S PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book III. And Hecatompylos her hundred gates ; There Sufa by Choafpes, amber ftream, The will fay nothing, as it is fo fully dif- cufs'd in a note by Mr. Jortin. 289. The drink of none but kings %\ If we examin it as an hiftorical problem, whether the kings of Per- fia alone drank of Choajpes, we (hall find great reafon to determin in the negative, i. We have for that opinion the iilence of many authors, by whom we might have expefted to have found it confirm- ed, had they known of any fuch cullom. Herodotus, Strabo, Ti- bullus, Aufonius, Maximus, Ty- rius, Arillides, Plutarch, Pliny the elder, Athensus, Dionyfius Perie- getes, Euitathius, have mentioned Choafpes (or Eulasus) as the drink of the kings of Perfia or Parthia, or have called it ^aaiXiy.ov l^u^, regia lympha, but have not faid that they alone drank of it. I fay Cho- afpes or Eulaus, bccaufe fome make them the fame, and others counted them difi"erent rivers. The filence of Herodotus ought to be of great weight, becaufe he is fo particular in his account of the Perfian af- fairs ; and next to his, the filence of Pliny, who had read fo many authors, is confiderable. 2. Though it can hardly be expefted that a negative (liould be proved any other way than from the filence of writers, yet fo it happens that ^lian, if his authority be admit- ted, aifords us a full proof that Chcnfpej might be drunk by the fubje£ls of the kings of Perfia. Tart aXKcc i(pohot e»7r6io tu Espfil AaSft ro ey. th XoacrTTS. Ettei ^ i» pV^^TO TW rfaTOTTE^W, El Tl? C^lt Coup £)c ra Xoacwy, u» ou ^xai- r.M aiariTi^ ^X'^"' Ettiei' av Ttf- To Si^^ri(;, y.cn ivigyitriv T0» oovTct tio^KTtv, oTi av uTTuXsro T*J oiij/?), El ^*) £K£Ki» iv^i^r). In the carriages •vjhich follo^^ed Xerxes , there njuere abrmdance cf ihirgs luhicb fer'ved only for pomp and ojientat'ton ; thtte nxias aljo the nuater of Cho- afpes. The army being opprefjed t^*); e" riEp- act\:^ (p-ncTiv £i>ai x«t p^ptcryi' xa- >k»/*Evo»' iSuf' mxi ot T8T0 M' Book III. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 129 The drink of none but kings ; of later fame Built by Emathian, or by Parthian hands, 290 The xut Tov 'S^^icvjrar'jv ccvts rut iiTutouii' run 6c a^iAfc'v eav Ti? tS'Yi, SaiaT©- ri ^r.fux.. y^gathoc.'es Jays that there is in Perjia a -iva- ter called golden, that it iij'eventy Jirenrns, that none drinks of it ex- cept the king and his eld.'J} Jon ; and that if any other perfon docs, death is the pitr.ijhment. See He- rodotus, Edit. Gronow p. 591. where this paffage is to he found. 4. It appears not that the golden nvater, and Ch:>afpes were the lame. Eultathius, tranfcrfDing from Aga- thocles, fays : to was^a UiptraK; ^fiiffHD xa^ajLtEvov tow^, oTrep xv y.iiaoi^ iQosy.r,Kciilx, tfJTEp «^£i;, (pacrn, iTTinv cTj y.-n ^xm^^nc, y.xi Ti'v 'TTOcioiitv CCV7H Trpi:r(av- Taj©-* TW/ ctWuy u ti? oth), ^arar©* ir, ^r,f/.ia. Z^jtjjteov Sb Et xxi TO XsacTrEiov v^c!:p, hiri^ eT7in T^ccrivofjLii^ Yli^auv ^x- CO.tVC, rOiXVTXV ETTlTi/XtOH xr.^x «^£i7.xsTo. The Perfians had a 'uja- ier cal ed golden ilfc. !^are, luhe- ther the avater e/'Choaipes, 'ujhich toe Perjian king drank in his expe- ditions, ^Mos forbidden to all others und:r the fa:ne penally. Eullathius in Homer. Iliad. T. p. 1301. Ed. Eafil. 5. It may be granted, and it is not at all improbable, that none befides the king miuht drink of that water of Choafbes, which was boiled and barrel'd ud for Vol. I. his ufe ir/his military expeditions, 6. Solinus indeed, who is a frivo- lous writer, fays Cboafpes ita dul- cis efl, ut Perfici reges quamdij intra rip:ts Pcrfidis fluir, folis fibi ex eo pccula vendicarint. 7. iVIil- ton, confidered as a poet, with whofe purpoie the fabulous fuited beft, is by no means to be blamed for what he has advanced ; and even the autliority of Solinus is fuCicient to julliify h'm. Milton, when he calls Choafpcs an'cerjiream, feems to have had in view the gol- den -Mater of Agathocles and of his tranfcribers. Jortin. 289. of later fame &c] Ci- ties of later date, buiit by Ema- thian, that is Macedonian, thefuc- ceffors of Alexander in Ana, cr by Parthiari ha-rJ.s, the great Seleu- cia, built near the river Tigris by Seleucus Niqator, one of Alexan- der's captains, and called great to diliinguiih it from others of the fame name ; N'ftbis, another city upon the Tigris, called ahb An- tiochia, Antiochia, quan: Kifbin va- cant. Plin. Nat. Hiil. Lib. 6. Sec^. 16. Artaxata, the chief city of Armenia, feated upon the river A raxes, juxtu Ai-axem Artaxata. Plin. Lib. 6. Seft 10. Teredon, a city near the Perfian bay, below the confluence of Euphrates and Tigris, Teredon infra confiuentem Eubhratis et Tigris. Plin. Lib. 6. Sed. 32. Ciejiphon near Seleucia, K, the ijo PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book lit The great Seleucia, Nifibis, and there Artaxata, Teredon, Ctefiphon, Turning with eafy eye thou may 'ft behold. All thefe the Parthian, now fome ages paft. By great Arfaces led, who founded firft 295 That empire, under his dominion holds. From the luxurious kings of Antioch won. And juft in time thou com'fi: to have a view Of his great pow'r j for now the Parthian king In the winter refidence of die Par- thian Kings. Strabo. Lib. i6. p. 743. Jli thefe cities, which be- fore belonged to the Seleucids or Syro -Macedonian princes, fome- tiraes called kings cf Jltitioch, from their ufual place of refidence, are now under the dominion of the Parthians,whofe empire was found- ed by Arfaces, who revolted from Antiochus Theus according to Pri- deaux 250 years before Chrift. This view of the Parthian empire is much more agreeably and poeti- cally defcribed than Adam's pro- fped; of the kingdoms of the ■world from the mount of vifion in the Paradife Lofi, XI. 3 85 411; but ftill the anachronifm in this is worfe than in the other': in the former Adam is fuppofed to take a view of cities many years before they were built, and in the latter pur Saviour beholds citie?. as Nineveh, Babylon &c. in their florifhing condition many years after they were laid in ruins ; but it was the defign of the former vi- fion to exhibit what was future, it was not the defign of the latter to exhibit what was paft. 298. Andjufi in time thou com'fi to ha^ve a i(u/L*r,? ifi xai to (ai- ytS©- ToanTon ys '?ff^r/6©- ^^X^' fj-nr,, xa» T7IV xasTacxeurn x. t. A. and therefore the poet might well fuppofe the Scythians at this time to have made an incurfion into Sogdiana, which was the province next adjoining to them, and the Parthian king to have aflembled a great army at Ctefiphon in order to oppole them. K 509- li: 132 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book III. In rhombs and wedges, and half-moons, and wings. He look'd, and faw what numbers numberlefs The city gates out-pour'd, light armed troops 3 1 1 In coats of mail and military pride j In mail their horfes clad, yet fleet and ftrong, Prauncing their riders bore, the flow'r and choice Of many provinces from bound to bound ; 315 From Arachofia, from Candaor eaft, 309. In rhofnhs and nveiiges, Rhojfibs is a word for-ned from the Greek ^o^S©- or Latin rho-mhus, a figure of four fiues, which being converted into one of three makes a Strabo Lib. 16. p. 745. Sujiana was on the fouth, extend- ing to the Perfian gulf, -^ ^£ %iy- ^a. T»)5 SaT^arT/Js xaS»i;<£», Strabo Lib. ic. p. 728. where was alfo Baljara s ha-vcn, the fame as Tere- iion beforemention'd. And thus he furveys their provinces from bound to bound. And the reader cannot but remark with pleafure how very exadl he is in his account of cities and countries, and how well he muil have remember'd, and how faithfully he has copied the ancient geographers and hillorians. 3 2 3 . — and flying behind them /hot Sharp Jleet of arrotvy Jhonji/rs^ In the iirft edition it was printed /ho^-w'r by miftake, and is correded Jho-Lurs among the Errata, but this notwithlianding the faulty reading Of is follow'd in all the editions fince. Sharp feet Sec is a metaphor, as Mr. Richardfon has noted, not un- like that in Virgil JEn. XI. 610. — fundunt fimul undique tela Crebra ni-vis ritu. And the cuflom of the Parthians of (hooting their arrows behind them and overcoming by flight is fo celebrated by hillorians and poets, and is fo well known to every one of the leaft reading, that it is ahnoft needlefs to bring any authorities to prove it. v'nretpivyov ya^ ctixoc iSaXAoHEj oi n«g6ot — — au^scr^xi, y.oci TJj? (pvyyi; oc(pcn^i\v TO onc-^^av. Appian de Bel. Parth. Virg. Georg. IIL 31. Fidentemque fuga Parthum ver- fifque fagittis. Hor.Od.LXIX.il. Et verfxs animofum equis Parthum dicere. K3 326. Th 134 PARADISE REGAINED. Book IlL Of their purfuers, and overcame by flight ; 325 The field all iron caft a gleaming brown : Nor wanted clouds of foot, nor on each horn CuiralTiers all in fteel for ftanding fight. Chariots or elephants indors'd widi towers Of archers, nor of lab'ring pioneers 330 A multitude with fpades and axes arm'd To 326. The field all iron cajl a gleaming bronxin .*] One cannot pafs over this line without taking notice of the particular beauty and exprei^ivenefs of it. The fenfe contained in it would have ferved a common romance-writer to have fpun out into a paragraph of half a page length. Thyer. I believe the reader will agree with ine that it greatly exceeds Fairfax. Cant. 1. St. 64. Imbatteled in walls oUron hrcuon. and even Virgil, &xi. XI. 60 1 . turn XzXe. firreus hafiiG Jlorret ager. 327. "Nor nvanied clouds of foot ^ So we have in Homer Iliad. IV. 274. lEip©- irt^uv, and in Virgil ^n. VI r. 793. nimbus peditum: but as Mr. Thyer obfervcs with me, this verfe is not very coriiftent with ^hat goes before, ver. 307. All horfemen, in which iight they moft excel ; nor with what follows to the fame purpofe ver. 344. Such and fo numerous was theif chi'valry. 328. Cuirajfiers all in fieeV\ By cuiraffiers are to be underftood horfemen armed with cuirafles, which covered the body quite round from the neck to the wafte. If what Chambers fays in his Dic- tionary be true, viz. that thefe fort of troops were not introduc'd till the year 1 300, Milton has been guilty of a great anachronifm. Thyer, But it appears that the Parthians had fuch troops, and particularly from the quotation which we lately made from Juftin ; Munimentum ipfis equifque loricse plumata; funt, quf numb'ring Ifrael ; for the beft commentators fuppofe the nature of Dnvid's of- fenie to confilt in pride and va- nity, in making flefh his arm, and confiding in the number of his people. And for this three things were propofed to him by the pro- phet, three years famin, or three months to be deftroyed before his enemies, or three days peflilence, of which he chofe the latter. So the Lord fent pejlilence upon Ifraely and there fell of Ifrael feventy thou- fand men, ver. 14. 414. As for thofe captive tribe t^ &c.] The captivity of the ten tribes was a punifhment owing to their own idolatry and wicked- nefs. The^ fell off from Cod to •xvorjlAp calves, the golden calves which Jeroboam had fet up in Be- thel Book III. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 141 Of Egypt, Baal next and Aflitaroth, And all th' idolatries of Heathen round, Befides their other worfe than heath'nifli crimes ; Nor in the land of their captivity 420 Humbled themfelves, or penitent befought The God of their forefathers j but fo dy'd Impenitent, and left a^ race behind Like to themfelves, diftinguifhable fcarcc From Gentiles, but by circumcifion vain, 425 And God vi'*ith idols in their worfhip join'd. Should I of thefe the liberty regard. Who freed as to their ancient patrimony, Unhumbled, thel and in D.'-n, and which the poet calU the deities of Egypt, for it is probable i'as feme learned men have conje(;^i.jred) that Jero- boam having converfed with the Egyptians fet up chefe two calves in imitation of the two which the Egyptians worfl'upped, the one called Apis at Memphis the me- tropolis of the upper Egypt, and the other called IVInevis at Hiera- pohs the m^'tropolii of the lower Egypt. Baal next and Afotaroth. Ahab built an altar and a temple for Baalt 1 Kings XVI. 32. and at the fame time probably was in- troduced the worihip of JJhta- rcth, the Goddejs cf the Zidoniam^ 1 Kings XI 5. For Jezebel, Ahab's wife, who prompted him to all evil, was the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, I Kings XVI. 31. And by the prophets cf the p'o^jes i Kingi XVIII. 19. Mr^ Selden undeV- ftands the prophets oi Ajhtaroth or AJicme: and the groves under e^very green tree 2 Kings XVII. ic. Ihould be tranflated AJhtaroth un- der every sreen tree. See Selden de Diis Syris Syntag. II. cap. 2. But for the wickednefs and idola- t.'-y of the Ifraelices. and their re- jeftion thereupon, and llill conti- nuing impenitent in their captivity, fee 2 Kings XV^II, and the pro- phets in fever;.! places. 430 Head- 142 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book III. Unhumbled, unrepentant, unreform'd. Headlong would follow' ; and to their Gods perhaps Of Bethel and of Dan ? no, let them ferve 43 i Their enemies, who ferve idols with God. Yet he at length, time to himfelf beft known, Remembring Abraham, by fome wondrous call May bring them back repentant and fmcere, 435 And at their paffing cleave th' Aflyrian flood, While • j^'i,0. Headlong ivoulcifoUonv', and to their Gods perhaps Of Bethel and of Dan F ] There is fome difficulty and obfcurity in this paffage ; and feveral conjec- tures and emendations have been ofFer'd to clear it, but none, I think, entirely to fatisfadion. Mr. Symp- fon would read Headlong nvould fall of and isc, or Headlong wjould fall, ho^v and i. e. boiving the A. Sax. participle. But Mr. Cal- ton feems to come nearer the poet's meaning. Whom or what would they follow, fays he ? There wants zn accufative cafe ; and what mull be underflood to complete the lenfe, can never be accounted for by an elleipfis, that any rules or life of language will juftify. He therefore iufpeds, that by fome ill accident or other a whole line may have been loft ; and propofes one, which lie fays may ferve for a commentary at leaft, to explain the %nfe, though it can't be allowed llr an emendation. Their fathers in their old iniquities Headlong would follow ; <&c. Or is not the conftrudion thus. Headlong njjould foUonx) as to their ancient patrimony, and to their Gods perhaps Sec i 43 I . — no, let thetnfer've Their enemies, ivhofer-je idols ■■with God. ] This is agreeable to God's conftant dealing with the Jewifh nation as recorded in the old Teilament. Thyer. 436. j^nd at their paffing cleave tV Jfyrian flood, &c] There are feveral prophecies of the refto- rationof Ifrael : but in faying that the Lord would cleave th'Jffyrian flood, that is the river Euphrates, at their return from AlTyria, as he cleft the Red Sea and the river Jordan at their coming from Egypt, the poet feems particularly to al- lude to Rev. XVI. 12. And the fixth Angel pound out his 'vial upon the great rio/ccpe feems to be the more proper word here, as here our Sa- viour is prefented with a view of minuter objeds. 58. OutJtJe and injide both,'\ So Menippus, in Lucian's Icaro-Me- nippus, could fee clearly and di- ftinftly from the moon cities and men upon the earth, and what they were doing, both nxithout dcors, and nx'tthm where they thought themfelves moft fccret. y.aTay.fij'*? y*'^ e? TfiTi yr.v, lu^ut aaOtti^ ice,'; is-o^et?, ta: « :9^«7rs-, T« yifio- f^ivcc, y.cn a to, i'j iTraiagw fj.oiov, olK^.o, y.a.\ o'noaoc oiy.oi sTr^or.ht, cicwEiok >.cc;^a.;nv. Luciani Op. Vol. 2. p. 197. Ed. Grasv. Calto?7. 59. — the hand of fatnd artificers] The handj-xvork, as in Virg. ^n. I. 455. Artificumque manus inter le ope- rumque laborem Miratur. 66. turjns of horfe] Troops ofhorfe. A word coined from the Latin turtna. Virg. iEn V. 560. E qui turn turma. 68. — — on the Appian roady Or on th' Emilian,] The Appian road from Rome led towards the fouth of Italy, and the Emilian to- wards the north ; and the nations on the Appian road are included in ver. 69 — 76 thofe on the Emilian in ver. 77 — 79. 69. — feme from far theji fouth f ' Sjene, and ^where the Jhadonu both W!: ay falls. Ma ce Nilotic tie,'] Syene fartbejl fouth. How can that be ? when Meroe mention'd in the next line (to fay nothing of other places) was farther following in Pliny. Nee hoc I fuit fatis : turba gemmarum pota- j mus, et fmaragdis teximus calices : ac temulentis caufa tenere Indiani juvat : et aurum jam accelTio eih Or perhaps the words unhopd^vitb gems Sec refer only to gold firft men- lion'd, which is no unufual con- ftru£lion. T/.-'ej quaff in gold itn' ho/s^d -v.ith gems aiidjiuds of pearl. I 30. Let his tormentor co?i/cieuce find him out ; ] Milton had in view what Tacitus and Sjetoaius have related. Tacitus Ann. VJ. 6. Infigne vifum elt earum Ca:faris litterarum initium ; nam his verbis exorfus eft : ^id fc iham -vobis P C. an! quomodo JcnbatJi. aut quid omnitio nonfcribam hoc tempore ? Dii me 158 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book IV. For him I was not fent, nor yet to free That people vidtor once, now vile and bafe, Dcfervedly made vafTal, who once juft, Frugal, and mild, and temp'rate, conquer'd well, But govern ill the nations under yoke, 135 Peeling their provinces, exhauftcd all By lud and rapin j firfl: ambitious grown Of triumph, that iniulting vanity j Then cruel, by their fports to blood inur'd Of fighting beads, and men to beafts expos'd, Luxurious by their wealth, and greedier flill. 140 And me De a que pejus perJani quamperire quotidie Jentio, Ji fcio, Adeo facj- nora atque flagitia fua ipfi quoque in fupplicium verterant. Sueto- tonius Tiber. 67. Poflremo femet ipfe pertrefus lalis epiftola; princi- pio tantum ncn fumniam malorum iuoruin profeflus elt : ^idfcrikam S:c, where perhaps it ihould be, mli epiftolae principio. "Jortin. 140. Of fghting beafis, and 7nen to heajis expos' d,'\ T\\t fighting heajh are a poor indance of the Roman cruelty in their fports, in compa- rifon of the gladiators, who might have been introduced fo naturally, and eafily here, only by putting the word gladiators in place of the ether two, that one may very well be farpris'd at the poet's omitting them. See Seneca's 7th epiille. Cation^ 1 45 . Or could of tniKurd flaves make outnvard free ? ] This noble fentiment Milton explains more fully, and exprefles more dif- fufively inhis Paradife Loft. XII.90. — Therefore fince he permits Within himfelf unworthy pow'rs to reign Over free reafon, God'in judg- ment juft Subieftshim from without to vio- lent lords ; k3c. to ver. \o\. So alfo again in his 12th Sonnet, j Licence they mean when they cry Liberty ; For nvho lo-z'es that muji frfi be njoije and good. No one had ever more refin'd no- tions of true liberty than Milton, and I have oftCH thought that there never i Book IV. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 159 And from the daily fcene effeminate. What wife and valiant man would feek to free Thefe thus degenerate, by themfelves inflav'd, Or could of inward flaves make outward free ? Know therefore when my feafon comes to fit On David's throne, it fliall be like a tree Spreading and overOiadowing all the earth, Or as a ftone that fliall to pieces dafh All monarchies befides throughout the world, And of my kingdom there fhall be no end : Means there fhall be to this, but what the means, 145 150 Is never was a greater proof of the weaknefs of human nature, than that he with a head fo clear, and a heart I really believe perfeftly honeft and difinterefted, fhould con- cur in fupporting fuch a tyrant and profefs'd trampler upon the liber- ties of his country as Cromwell was. Thyer. 1 46, Kno'w therefore --when my fea- fon comes to fit &c] A particu- lar manner cfexpreffion, but fre- quent in Milton ; as if he had laid. Know therefore when the feafon comes for me to fit on David's throne, it Jhall be like a tree ijc. For his Jeajon to be like a tree fays Mr. Sympfon is ftrange language, and therefore reads / ihall be like a tree : ba^ // reter^ to 1 1. rone. The i throne of David Ihall then be like a tree Scc ; alluding to the parable of the muftard-feed grown into a tree, fo that the birds lodge in the bra7iches thereof. Matt. Xill. 32. and to (what that parable alfo re- fpecls) Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the great tree 'whole highth reached unto hca--jen, and th: fight thereof to the end of all the earth, Dan. IV\ i i. Tertullian alfo compares the king- dom of Chrill to that of Nebu- chadnezzar. SeeGrotiusin Matt. Or as a ftone &c ; alluding to the ftono in another of Nebuchadnez- zar's dreams, which brake the image in pieces, and {o this king- dom y/^a// break in pieces, and con- fume all theje kingdoms, and it fi?aU fi and for ever. Dan. K. 44. And of my kingdim there fi:)all be no end : the very words of Luke 1. 33. with only the neceffary ciiange of the i6o PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book IV. Is not for thee to know, nor me to tell. To whom the Tempter impudent reply'd. I fee all offers made by me how flight 155 Thou valueft, becaufe offer'd, and rejed'fl : Nothing will pleafe the difficult and nice, Or nothing more than ftill to contradidt : On th' other fide know alfo thou, that I On what I offer fet as high efteem, 160 Nor what I part with mean to give for nought j All thele which in a moment thou behold'il:, The kingdoms of the world to thee I give -, For giv'n to me, I give to whom I pleafe. No trifle j yet with this referve, not elfe, 165 On this condition, if thou wilt fall down, And worfliip me as thy fuperior lord, Eafliy done, and hold them all of me ; For what can lefs fo great a gift deferve ? Whom the perfon ; and of his kingdom there fentence is better as a general cb- jhall be no e7id. fervation. x:^-]. 'Nothing '^viU pleafe the difi- 1 66. On this condition^ if thou. cult and nice,'] Mr. Jortin and nj^ilt fall donvn. Sec] In my Mr. Sympibn fay that perhaps we opinion (and Mr. Thyer concurs fhould read with me in the fame obfervation) , ,._ , . . there is not any thing in the dif- thee difficult and nice : ^^^^^j^j^ ^^^ ^onj^^ of the whole but I think the idus falls better poem fo juftly liable to cenfure as jn the common reading, and the the aukward and prepofterous in- troduction Book IV. PARADISE REGAIN'D. t6i Whom thus our Saviour anfvver'd with difdain. 1 never lik'd thy talk, thy offers lefs, 171 Now both abhor, fince thou haft dar'd to utter Th' abominable terms, impious condition 5 But I indure the time, till which expir'd, Thou hail: permifnon on me. It is written 17^ The firil of all commandments, Thou (halt worfhip The Lord thy God, and only him (halt ferve ; And dar'ft thou to the Son of God propound To worfhip thee accurs'd, now more accurs'd For this attempt bolder than that on Eve, iSo And more blafphemous ? which expedt to rue. The kingdoms of the world to thee were given, Permitted rather, and by thee ufurp'd j Other donation none thou canfl: produce : If giv'n, by whom but by the king of kings, iS^ God over all fupreme ? if giv'n to thee, By troduftion of this incident in this our Saviour wou'Id accept the place. The Tempter Ihould have kingdoms of the world upon ik' a- propofed the condition at the bomtnable terms of falling down fame time that he oirerd the and worihipping him, juft after he gifts ; as he doth likewife in Scrip- had rejeded theiti unclogg'd with ture : but after his gifts had been any terms at all r Well might the 1 abfolutely refas'd, to what pur- author fay that Sataii impudent re- I pofe was it to propofe the imphus p'^fd : but I think thac doth not \iondition ? Could ke imagin iha? entirely folve the obje<^ion. I Vol. I. M 191, r« i62 PARADISE REGAINED. Bock IV. By thee how fairly is the givex^ now- Repaid ? But gratitude in thee is loft Long fince. Wert thou fo void of fear or fliame, As offer them to me the Son of God, 1 90 To me my own, on fuch abhorred pacft, That I fall down and worfliip thee as God ? Get thee behind me ; plain thou now appear'ft That evil one, Satan for ever damn'd. To whom the Fiend with fear abafh'd reply 'd. Be not fo fore offended, Son of God, 196 Though fons of God both Angels are and Men, If I to try whether in higher fort Than thefe thou bear'ft that title, have propos'd What both from Men and Angels I receive, 200 Tetrarchs of fire, air, flood, and on the earth Nations befides from all the quarter'd winds, God of this world invok'd and world beneath ; Who i 191. 7*0 »/(? wy o-cK,] The right, him whofe (on he is; and being which the Demon pretends to, like him, it neccflarily follott's. that over the kingdoms of the world, he is lord and king. S. Athanaf. is hy gift ; but Chrill clames them Or. 3. centra Arianos. Op. Vol. I. zs his 0^1. nhy nature, and by virtue p. 387. Edit. Col. Caltcn. of his Sonjhtp. 'Y:@^ •J'a^ uv ts 19I. abhorred pact ^^ Hq ©ja, o/Aoi©H at;TS a» em" oixa^ ufes the word /«<:?, as it is the tech-' h uv, 'Tsct.vluq Er» Jiat yv^i^ y.ut nical term for the contraifis of for- ^aaiMvi;. For being the Son of cerers with the Devil. H'arburlon. God, he muil of courfe be like 203. God Book IV. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 163 Who then thoa art, whofe coming is foretold To me fo fatal, me it mof*: concerns. 205 The trial hath indamag'd thee no way, Rather more honor left and more efleem 3 Me nought advantacr'd, mifilno; what I aim'd. Therefore let pafs, as they are tranfitory, The kingdoms of this world j I fliall no more 210 Advife thee; gain them as thou canft, or not. And thou thyfclf feem'ft otherwife inclin'd - Than to a worldly crow^n, addidled more To contemplation and profound difpute, As by that early adion may be judg'd, 215 When flipping from thy mother's eye thou went'ft Alone into the temple, there waft found Amongfl the gravefl Rabbles difputant On points and queflions fitting Mofes chair, 219 Teaching not taught ; the childhood fliows the man, As 203. Go:i cf th'a ivcrld ini'ok'/] Milton purfues the fame notion, which he had adopted in his Para- dife Loft, of the Gods of the Gen- tiles being the fall'n Angels, and he is fupported in it bv the autho- rity of the primitA'e fathers, who are very unanimous in accuilr.g the Heathens of worfhippir.a; Devils for Deities. T/jje rV 217. there ivq^/oum/] In Milton's own edition and in moft of the following ones it was print- ed by miftake v.-as found ; but the fyntax plainly requires iijaji^ as there is tho-u. n.^e-nfjl in the verfe preceding. 219. f^f'-"g Mofes chair,'] M fes chair was the chair, in which the dodors fitting expounded the M 2 law 164 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book IV. As morning (hows the day. Be famous then By wifdom j as thy empire muft extend, So let extend thy mind o'er all the world In knowledge, all things in it comprehend : All knowledge is not couch'd in Mofes law, 225 The Pentateuch, or what the Prophets wrote ; The Gentiles allb know, and write, and teach To admiration, led by nature's light; And with the Gentiles much thou muft converfe. Ruling law either publicly to the people, or privately to their difciples. The Scribes and Pharjtes Jit in Moju chair, ctti iy,:, Muaiu; xaSso^*?. Mat. XXUI. 2. 221. — — Be famous then By ijcifdomi] VVe are now come to the lait teirptation, properly lb called ; and it is v.Oi th the reader's while to obTerve how well Saran has purfued the fcheme which he had propofed in council. If. 225. Therefore with manlier objects we muft try Kis conllancy, with fuch as have more (how Of worth, of honor, glory, and popular praife. The gradation alfo in the fereral allurements propos'd is very fine ; and I believe one may juftly fay, that there never was a more ex- alted fylleni of morality compris'd in fo fhort a compafs. Never were thf ^rgiimenis for vice Jrefs'd up in more delufive colors, nor were they ever anfwer'd with more fo- lidity of thought or acuteuefs of reafonin'j. Thycr. 230. RiiHfrg them by perfuafion as thou mtu/i^Ji ; ] Alluding to thofe charming liiles I. 221. Yet held it more humane, more heav'nly firil By willing words to conquer willing hearts. And make perfuafion do the work or fear. But Satan did not hear this : it was part of our Saviour's felf-converfe and private meditation. 236. — this fpeeutar mount ] Th i mount of Jpeiulotion, as m Para- di!c Lo£ Xli. 588, where fee the note. 237. Ifeflnvani, much 71 eater by Jouihwej}, j This cor»efponds exadly to our Saviour's (uppos'd fiiuatioB upon mount Tau-us. Tlie following Book IV. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 165 Ruling them by perfuafion as thou mean'ft; 230 Without their learning how wilt thou with them, Or they with thee hold converfation meet ? How wilt thou reafon with them, how refute Their idolifms, traditions, paradoxes ? Error by his own arms is bell: evinc'd. 235 Look once more e'er we leave this fpecular mount Weftwardj much nearer by fouthweil:, behold Where on the -^gean fhore a city llands following defcription of Athens and its learning is extremely grand and beautiful. Milton's Mufe, as was before obferved, is too much cramped down by the argumenta- tive calt of his fubjeft, hut emerges upon every favorabJe occafion, and like the fun from under a cloud burfts out into the fame bright vein of poetry, which fhines out more frequently, tho' not more ftrongly, in the Paradife Loft. Thjer. 238. Where on the ^gean Jhore a city ftands\ So Milton caufed this verfe to be printed, whereby it appears that he would have the word A^Jgra>! pronounced with the accent upon the hrlt fyilable as in Paradife Loft. I. 746. and as Fair- fax ohen ufes it, as was there re- marked. Built nobly, and Homer in his time calls it a 'well built city, sl'xIf/xEsov wIoA-jG^ov. Iliad. II. 546 pure the air, and light the /oil, Attica being a mountainous coun- try, the foil was light and barren, Built and the air fliarp and pure, and therefore faid to be produdive of lliarp wits. T--^^ ivn^ocaiav ru» mjj.uTaTHc uno^oti oian- Plato in Timrto p. 24. V"ol. 3. Edit. Serr. Athenis tenue ccelum, ex quo acu- tioresetiani putantur Attici. Cicero de Fato. 4. Jthensthe eye rf Greece, and fo Demofthenes foniewhere calls it oipSaA/^©' 'EX'Kci'^©-, but I cannot at prefent recolledl the place ; and in Juftin it is called one of the two eyes of Greece, Sparta bsing the other, Lib. 5. cap. 8 ; arid Catullus calls Sirmio the eye ofilandsXXXlL i. Peninfularum Sirmio, infularum- que Ocelle : but the metaphor is more properly applied to .^duns than any other place, as it was the great feat of learning. M 3 239.— 2i»rf i66 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book iV. Built nobly, pure the air, and light the foil, Athens the eye of Greece, mother of arts And eloquence, native to famous wits Or hofpitable, in her fweet recefs, City' or fuburban, ftudious walks and fhades ; 240 239. ' pure the air, and light the /oil,] This is from L'io Chryfoftom. See Spanheim on Cal- limachus. p. 444. De Attica cs- torcquin dicit Dio Chr) foft. Orat. 7. p. 87* ">«' yx^ Tr)" p^wja;- a- ^ccixv, Hcii Tcv oLi^a, v.H(po)/, eJJ'e enim regionem tenui folo, ac levem acrem, prout una voce "kiitioyian; eadem Attica, poft Thucydidcni r.etnpe pag. 2. a Galeno dicitur, T.fu- T^cTTT. cap. 7. Aeris autem ^^ettIci- T^jraeidem tribuit Ariflides, Germ. Sacr. 6. p. 642. Athens was built between two fmall rivers Cephifus and liifTus ; and hence it is call'd, in the Medea of Euripidcf, Uj^wj -TroTxixuv ';^o^^^ See tiie chorus at the end of the 3d Ad. The ef- feft of thefe waters upon the air is very poetically reprefcnted in the fame beautiful chorus. Ta> K^Trgiy y.?i»;V^aa-n/ uipv- cci.u.v.a.v x.'^^k: y.ciiac7rKV(7Xt Pulchrifluique ad Cephifj flaenfa Vei^erem fcrunt [ ex Cephifo ] exhauri- entem, regionem perfiaflc, See Mediocres ventorum Dulce fpirantes auras. Calto 244, See there the oU've grove of Academe, Plato's retirement, &C.] ETravcX- Gwy ^e Etc A^viva.<;, ^uTi^i^iv ev A- xaor.f/.ix. 10 a^ tfi yviji.ta.atov, w^o- ccriioy a.'Kcruoic, aaro th®^ hp<^©* ovojiccabiv Ax-CiCTi^/.H, xaGc6 x«i Et/- Ev svay.ict; ^^oiAOiavv Ai'.ao"»;|x« SeS. "■ y.ai ira.orian buf- kin, Olynip. ill. 9 Aw^tsk xof>t« Dorian hymn, Pyth. Vlil, 29. 258. ^nd his 'who gave them breath, &c] Our author agrees ^vith thoie writers, who fpeak of JHomer as the father of all kinds of poetry. Such wife men as Dio- nyiius the HalicarnaiTean, and Plu- tarch, have attempted to fiiow, that poetry in all its forms, trage- dy, comedy, ode, and epitaph, are iricliided in his works. See the ingenious author of the Inquiry into the life and 'writings of Homer inlargingupf^n this fubjefl. Sedl.i 2. Blind Ale lijigencs thence Homer call'd\ our author here follows Herodotus in his account of the life of Ho- mer, that he was born near the river Meles from whence he had the name of Melefigenes, TtGerat ov(iu,ec 101 vra-id lAe^icriytKec, ccBjO ra TroTotfAS mv i7Ta»ivfji.iav ?.aCa<7«, and becaufe he was Hind, thence he was called Homer 5 jix*) Ipm^ fiiT'-Osf 61 xat rBiOfAix OfjLv.p®^ ivt- avf.'.Co^'/ie' o; yoLp Kvi^moi t»? tv- (p7\sr oi^vi^iic, ?v£ys3-»». Whofe potm Ph:ebus challcngd for his O'wn, &\' ludir.g :o a G:t^^- epigram in the fiiil book of the Anthologia, Kcidov fj.iv lyuv, s^acpcccffi $1 Si.©- 0^»f^, which Mr. Fenton has inlarged and applied to Mr. Pope's Englilh Iliad. 262. In 170 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book IV, Blind Melefigenes thence Homer call'd, Whofe poem Phoebus challeng'd for his own. 260 Thence what the lofty grave tragedians taught In Chorus or Iambic, teachers beft Of moral prudence with delight receiv'd In brief fen tentious precepts, while they treat Of fate, of chance, and change in human life ; 265 High adlions, and high pafTions befb defcribing : Thenc e 262. In Chorus or Jambic,'\ Thefe may be iaid to be the two confti- luent parts of the ancient tragedy, which was wriuen either in lain- bic verfe, or in verfes of various meafures, whereof the Chorus uiu- ally confifted. And the charaftcr here given of the ancient Greek tragedy is very juft and noble ; and the Englifh reader cannot form a better idea of it in its higheft beau- ty and perfedlion than by reading our author's Sampfon Agoniftes. 267. ThcKce to the famous oratory repair, &c. ] How happily does Milton's verfification in this and the following lines concerning the Socratic phiJofophy exprefs what he is defcribing ! in the firft we feel as it were the nervous ra- pid eloquence of Demoithtnes, arvd the Irtrer have all the sentle- ncfs and foftnefs of the humble *nod eft character of Socrates. Thyer. 268. Thofe ancient,'] For Milton -,v3s of the fame opinion as Cicero, who preferred Pericles, Hyperides, ^fchines, Demolthenes, and the orators or their times to Demetrius Phalereus and thofe of the fubfe- quent ages. See Cicero de claris Oratoribus. And in the judgment of Quintilian Demetrius Phalereus was the firf} who vv'eaken'd elo- quence, and the lail almoll of the Athenians who can be called an orator : is primus ir.cHnaffe elo- quentiam dicitur — uhimus eft fere ex Atticis qui dici poffit orator. Delnftit. Orat. X. i. 270. — and fulmi n d o--ver Greece,] Alluding (as i\ir. Jortin has likewife obferved) to what Ariftophancs has faid of Pericles in his Acharnenfes. Aft 2. Scene 5. Since I have mention'd this paf- fage, I will add, that Cicero has al- luded to it in his Orator 9, fpeak- ing of Pericles. Qui fi tenui ge- nere Book IV. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 171 Thence to the famous orators repair, Thofe ancient, whofe relirtlefs eloquence Wielded at will that fierce democratie, Shook th' arfenal and fulmin'd over Greece, 270 To Macedon and Artaxerxes throne : To fage philofophy next lend thine ear. From Heav'n defcended to the low-rooft houfe Of Socrates j fee there his tenement. Whom nere uteretur, nunquam ab Arifto- phane poeca fulgere, tonare, per- mifcere Grsciam didus efTet. Dio- dorus Siculus has quoted it like- wife Lib. 12. and afcribed it to Eu- polis the poet, the fame who is mention'd by Horace. Eupolis, atque Cratinus, Ariflo- phanefque poetse. -EroirjT*!? — ^ HE^uAeji? ofAf^TB-i©^ Kr"i;CTT, iZpoi-roi, cviixvxx rriv 'EM»Ja. Cicero had at firll fallen into the fame miftake as Diodorus, which is often the cafe of writers who quote by memory ; and there- fore defires Atticus to correct the copies, and for Eupolis to put in Arifiophanes. Cic. ad Att. XII. 6. mini erit gratum, fi non modo in libris tuis, fed etiam in aliorum per libraries tuos Ariflophanem repo- fueris pro Rupoli. The minake v/as coirecled according to his de- fire ; at leaft it is fo in all the re- maining copies and editions. 27 1 . To Macedon and Artaxerxes throne : ] As Pericles and others fulmind o-ver Greece to Artaxerxes throne againll the Perfian king, fo Demollhenes was the orator parti- cularly, \\\\ofulmind o^ucr Greece to Macedon agamll king Philip in his orations therefore denominated Philippics. 273. From Hea-Jn defceTided to the lonx:-rooft houfe Of Socrates;'] Mr. Calton thinks the author alludes to Juv. Sat. XI. 27, e ccelo defcendit yni/9» as this famous Delphic precept was the foundation of Socrates's philo- fophy, and fo much ufed by him, that it hath pafled with fome for his own. Or as Mr. Warburton and Mr. Thyer conceive, the au- thor here probably alludes to what Cicero fays of Socrates, Socrates antem primus philofophiam devo- cavit e ccelo, et in urbibus coUoca- vir. 172 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book IV. Whom well infpir'd the oracle pronounc'd 275 Wifeft of men ; from whofe mouth iflued forth Mellifluous ilreams that water'd all the fchools Of Academics old and new, with thofe Sirnam'd Peripatetics, and the fe(5l Epicurean, and the Stoic (evere ; 280 Thefe here revolve, or, as thou lik'fl:, at home, Till time mature thee to a kingdom's weight ; Thefe rules will render thee a king complete Within thyfelf, much more with empire join'd. To vit, et in domus etiam introduxiL Tufc. Difp. V. 4. But he has given a very different fenfe to the words cither by defign or miHake, as Mr. Warburton obferves. It is properly call'd the lotv-roo// huuje ; for 1 believe, faid Socrates, that if I could meet with a good pur- chafer, I might eafily get for my goods and houfe and all live pounds. av fjt-oi av» Tri oixta xai t« ovra Xenophon Oeconomit. five minas or Attic pounds were better than ii.xteen pounds of our money, a mina according to Barnard being three pounds eight (hillings and nine pence. 275, Whom -well infpir^d the oracle pronounced Wifefi of men i j The verfe deli- vered down to us upon this occa- fion is this. Of all men Socrates is the wifefl. See Diogenes Laertius in vita So- cratis. IVJr Calton adds, that the Tempter defigns iiere a compli- ment to himfcif ; for he would be underitood to be the infpirer. 2j6. • f rom tvhofe mnuth iffued forth &c]Thus Quintiliancalls Socrates fnns philofophorum, I. 10. and as the ancients looked upon Homer as the father of poetry, fo they elleemcd Socrates the father of moral philofophy. The diffe- rent fedls of philofophers were but fo many different families, which all acknowledged him for their common parent. See Cicero Aca- demic. Book IV. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 173 To whom our Saviour fagely thus reply 'd, 285 Think not but that I know thefe things, or think I know them not ; not therefore am 1 iLort Of knowing what I ought : he who receives Light from above, from the fountain' of light. No other dodtrin needs, though granted true j 290 But thefe are Ailfe, or little elfe but dreams, Conjedtures, fancies, built on nothing firm. The firft and wifeft of them all profefs'd To know this only, that he nothing knew; demic. I. 4. Tufc. Difp. V. 4. and particularly De Orat. HI, 16, 17. 'The quotation would be too long to be inierted. See likewife Mr. Warburton's account of the Socra- tic fchool. B. 3. SeH. 3. of the Di- vine Legation. 283. The/e rules nvi/l render thee &c] Afk ^ » i ^ j • c ^ j •^ ^ r^y z But knowledge is as food, and IVarburtO)!, j i r needs no kls 321. Jn empty cloud,"] A me- Her temp'rance over appetite, taphor taken from the fable of &c. Thyer. \\\Gn,\\\iCytm\iX2.c A an empty cloud ^ /i j 1 1 i • r , ,- T i2C. And vj bat he ontiirst ivbat tor a Juno. » i, ;/- / , ' l^ t--,, 322, Wife men ha--ve fatdj] Al- poet make? the eld fophirter the lading to Ecclef. XII. 12. Of Devil always bufv in his trade. making many bo'As there is no end, 'Tis pity he fnould make Jefus (a* and much fi ltd ^ is a ^.•.rarinefs of the he does here) ufs the fame arms. ficjh. ' V/arburton, 322. n.vho reads V o !.. I. N 355 — cur 178 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book IV. With hymns, our pfalms with artful terms infcrib'd. Our Hebrew fongs and harps in Babylon, 336 That pleas'd fo well our victors ear, declare That rather Greece from us thefe arts deriv'd -, III imitated, while they loudefl fing The vices of their Deities, and their own 340 In fable, hymn, or fong, fo perfonating Their Gods ridiculous, and themfelves paft fhame. Remove their fweliing epithets thick laid As varnifli on a harlot's cheek, the reft, Thin fown with ought of profit or delight, 345 Will 335" " ""*" Pf^^"'^ nvith artful that --wajled uSy required of us mirth, terms infcrib^d,'\ He means the faying. Sing us one of the fongs of infcriptions often prefixed to the Sion. beginning of feveral pfalms, fuch o m i r> ^ ^ L u- r r • M %'\^' I hat rather Lrreece from us as To the chief mufician upon Ne- •'•' ? r j ■ ■, j t ^i.- vi 1 rr ^1 1 • r r • theje arts deri'u d\ I his was hiloth, To the chief mufician on , ^ ,i . 'J, •.T . , cu • -.u cu- the iyltem in vogue at that time. Neeinoth upon bheminith. Ship;- t n litl j j r j • ^ r-n, -1 i\/T- u* f T> It was eltabhlhed and fupported paion of David, Michtam of Da- ., „ ,. . , ^^ , ^.j o * J » .1, • with valt erudition by Bochart, vid, &c, to denote the various j • i ' , , . J r r 1 -A . and earned to an extravagant and kinds or pfalms or inltruments. -i- i i i i ^rr n A Tj L /■ J / X even ridiculous length by Huetius 'I'lo.Ui'.r Hebrc-iv Jongs a?id harps j /-^ » rPr r •'^ . n / ! and Gale. Uarburton. in Babylon, That pleas (ifo •x'.cll our viSiors ear,'] 343. fnuelling epithets] Greek This is faid upon the authority of compounds. Warburton» Pfal. CXXXV^II. I &c. By the ri- The hymns of the Greek poets to 'vers of Babylon, there n.ve fat do-tvn, their Deities confifl: of very little jea ijue nvept, -zvhen nve remembred more than repeated invocations of Sion. We hanged our harps upon the them by divForent .lames and epi- luillonxs in the midjl thereof. For thets. Our Saviour very probably there they that earned us ainay cap^ alluded to thefe, where he cautions tive, required of us a fong j and they his difciples againft vain repetitions and Book IV. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 179 Will far be found unworthy to compare With Sion's fongs, to all true taftes excelling, Where God is prais'd aright, and God-like men. The Holieft of Holies, and his Saints j Such are from God infpir'd, not fuch from thee, 350 Unlefs where moral virtue is exprefb'd By light of nature not in all quite lofl. Their orators thou then extoli'ft, as thofe The top of eloquence, ftatills indeed, And lovers of their country, as may feem; 355 But herein to our prophets far beneath. As and much fpeaking {^a.r%7.oyioc) in their prayers. Matt. VI. 7. Tiyer. 346. Will far be found unn. -' 302. !/ J read ou^ht tn tic a- I once did hold it, as o^x Jiaiifs ''-'en, &c] A fatire on Cardan, do, iz'c. who with the boldnefs and impiety of an atheift and a madman, both 362. makes happy and keeps fo] of which he was, call the nativity Hor. Epifl. 1. VI. 2. of Jefus Chrilt, and found by the — facere et fervare beatum. great ar\d illulbious concourfe of Richard/on. iiars at his birth, that he mull needs Book IV. PARADISE REGAIN'D. i8i For thee is fitteft place ; I found thee there, And thither will return thee ; yet remember "What I foretel thee, foon thou fhalt have caufe 375 To wifh thou never hadft rejeded thus Nicely or cautioufly my offer'd aid. Which would have fet thee in fliort time with eafe On David's throne, or throne of all the world, Now at full age, fulnefs of time, thy feafon, 380 When prophecies of thee are heft fulfill'd. Now contrary, if I read ought in Heaven, Or Heav'n write ought of fate, by what the ftars Voluminous, or fingle characters. In their conjunction met, give me to fpell, 385 Sorrows, and labors, oppofition, hate Attends thee, fcorns, reproaches, injuries. Violence and flripes, and laflly cruel death ^ needs have the fortune which be- nifed by the Devil, vvithout fhovv- fel him, and become the author ing at the fame time the abfur- of a religion, which ihould fpread dity of it. He has thertrore very itfelf far and near for many ages, judicioufly made h'm blunder in The great Milton with a juft indig- the exprellion, of portendiKg a king- nation of this impiety hath fati- dom 'which ivas jf i<.tvi)(Tius' a^ifi^cx, 01, TO, ret icdTX rev Bspnov rpoTrmov' a- £f. rgoTTJ fjytg* Book IV. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 183 400 Privation mere of light and abfent day. Our Saviour meek and with untroubled mind After his aery jaunt, though hurried fore, Hungry and cold betook him to his reft, Wherever, under fome concourfe of fliades, Whofe branching arms thick intertwin'd might fhield 405 From dews and damps of night his flielter'd head, But fhelter'd flept in vain, for at his head The Tempter watch'd, and foon with ugly dreams Difturb'd his fleep -, and either tropic now 409 'Gan De Placit. Philof. II. lo. Aiyv-n- Tiot ciotrcci TO. ju,E)i lua,, t» xoo-- iaH ts^uGUXW ni/oci, roc oe /zs^®^ Tov, ugiT^^ci. Id. de Ifid. p. 363. If by either tropic be meant the right fide and the left, by both ends of Hewun may be underftood, he- fore and behind. I know it may be objefled, that the tropics cannot be the one the right fide, and the other the left, to thofe who are placed without the tropics : but I do not think that objection to be very material. I have another ex- pofition to offer, which is thus : It thundered all along the Heav'n, from the north pole to the tropic of Cancer, from thence to the tro- pic of Capricorn, from thence to the fouth pole. From pole to' pole. The ends of Hea'v'n are the poles. This is a poetical tempelt, like that in Virgil &xv. I. Intonuere poll ■ Id eft extremse partes cceli — — a quibus totum coelum contonuifle fignificat. Servius. fortin. Mr. Sympfon propofes to read and point the paifage thus ; and either tropic now 'Gan thunder ; at both ends of Heav'n the clouds iffc : Mr. Meadowcourt points it thus ; and either tropic now 'Gan thunder, and both ends of Heav'n : the clouds ^c : But after all I am ftill for pre- N 4 ferving iS4 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book IV. 'Gan thunder, and both ends of Heav'n, the clouds- From many a horrid rift abortive pour'd Fierce rain with lightning mix'd, water with fire In ruin reconcil'd ; nor flept the winds Within their ftony caves, but rudi'd abroad From the four hinges of the world, and fell 415 On the vex'd wildernefs, whofe tallcil: pines, fcrving Milton's own puritluation, unlefs there be very good reafon for departing from it, and 1 under- lland the paflage thus : r.7id either tropic tion.v gan thur.aer, it thunder- ed from the north and from the fouth, for this I conceive to be Milton's meaning, tho' the expref- fion is inaccurate, the fituation of our Saviour and Satan being not within the tropics : and both ends of Hea-u'n, that is, and frcm or at both ends of Heav'n, the pr^-epo- fition being omitted, as is frequent in MiUon, and feveral initjnces were given in the notes on the Pa- radife Loft. See particuiarly Dr. Pearce's note on I. 282. and iv ova hcth ends cf Hea'v'n, the clcuds &c. This Itorm is defcrib'd very much like one in TaiTo, which was raif- ed in the fame manner by evil Spirits. See Canto 7. St. 114, 1 15. for I would not lengthen this note, too long already, with the quotation. 4. 1 2 , . nxjater nx^ith fre In ruin reconcil'd :'\ That is, join- ing together to do hurt. Warburton. 1 hough This bold figure our poet has bor- row'd from ^Elchilus, where he is defcribing the llorm, which fcat- ter'd the Grecian fleet. Agamem- non, ver. 639. Svvii:[jLoaa.v yap, otTE? sp^Giro' to- Tiv^ xat Bx^.ao'crci, kat t« ■Ericrr' j • i_ t • i_i j j ^^» -vz. f L .J r Array d in habit black, and morninp; comei nvtih a forehead of . 1 • f J •./ ^ X /■ 7v / aniice tnm, rolcanciivithafoctofpold; con la ... , ' 1 1 r / , J- ,- ■> J, •• J' u„..„ -Like to an holy monk, the ler- fronte di roje, e co pie d cro ; here . , -'. ' • ; .-7 /7 A ■ • Vice to begin. •luith pilgrim Jteps in amice gray, as ° Milton deibribes her progrei? more 428. Who nvith her radiant Jinger leifurely, firit the gray morning, JiilPd the roar and afterwards the fun rifing : iviih Of thunder, chai'dthe clouds, &c] pilgrim Jleps, with the flow folemn This is a very pretty imitation of pace of a pilgrim on a journey of a paiTage in the firll yEneid of Vir- gil. Book IV. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 187 To gratulate the fweet return of morn ; Nor yet amidfl this joy and brighteft morn Was abfent, after all his mifchief done, 440 The prince of darknefs, glad would alfo feem Of this fair change, and to our Saviour came, Yet with no new device, they all were fpent, Rather by this his laft affront refolv'd, DefpVate of better courfe, to vent his rage, 445 And mad defpite to be fo oft repell'd. Him walking on a funny hill he found, Back'd on the north and weft by a thick wood ; Out of the wood he ftarts in wonted fhape. And in a carelefs mood thus to him faid. 450 Fair morning yet betides thee. Son of God, After gil, where Neptune is reprefented 430. And grijly fpeiires,'\ Very with his trident laying the ftorm injudicious to retail this popular which ^olus had raifed. ver. 142. fuperftition in this place. c,. . ,.„ , . ., War hurt on. Sic a.t, e^ djao CUIUS tumida ,.^. Andno-.vthefunhz-] There iore than is eafily accounted for. On the man, -Morth calling Son of God, that terms of the annunciation Chrift is worthy to be cslicrd 6\/r of God might be the Son of God in a fenfe in that high and proper fenfe, in very particular, and yet a mere which his fonfhip would infer his man as to his nature : but the doubt divinity. Calton. 538. .-cvi«/ 192 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book IV. Good reafon then, if I before-hand feek To underf{:and my adverfary, who And what he isj his wifdom, pow'r, intent ; By parlj or compofiticnj truce, or league To win him, or win from him what I can. 530 And opportunity I here have had To try thee, (ift thee, and confcfs have found thee Proof againfl; all temptation, as a rock Of adamant, and as a center, firm, To th' utmofl: of mere m.an both wife and good, ^2 5 Not more j for honors, riches, kingdoms, glory Have been before contemn'd, and may again : Therefore 538 — — f^haf more thou art than man. Worth r.atning Son cfGcdby t'oice from heaten, ] See Bilhop Pearicn on the Creed, p. io6. " We murt find yet a more pe- " cu'iar ground of our Saviour's " filiation, totally dillincl from any " which belongs unto the reft of *' the Sons of God, that he may ** be clearly and fully acknow- *' Icdged the onj b(golten Son. *• For alcho' to he born of a vir- *' gin be in itfelf miraculous, yet " is it not fo far above the pro- " di:£lion of all mankind, as to ♦' place him in that fingular emi- ** nence, which muft be attributed " to the only-begctien. • Vv'e read ** of Adam the Son cf God as well " as Seth the Son of Adam : Luke " III. 38. and furely the framing " Chrift out of a woman cannot " fo far tranfcend the making " Adam out of the earth, as to " caufe fo great a diftance, as we " muil believe, between the firft " and fecond Adam. Calto/i. 541. — afid •-ijithciit -I'.-.'/'g Ofhippogrif !cc ] Here Milton defign'd a refledtion upon the Ita- lian poets, and particularly upon Arioflo. An hiptogrif is an ima- ginary creature, part like an horfe and part like a gryphon. See Orlando Furiofo Cant. 4. St. 18. or 13th Stanza of Harringtch's tranflation. Onlv Book IV. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 195 Therefore to know what more thou art than man. Worth naming Son of God by voice from Heaven, Another method I rnufl now begin. 540 So fay'ing he caught him up, and without wing Of hippogrif bore through the air fublime Over the wildcrnefs and o'er the plain ; Till underneath them fair Jerufalem, The holy city lifted high her towers, 545 And higher yet the glorious tern, pie rear'd. Her pile, far off appearing like a mount Of alabafter, topt v/ith golden fpires : There on the highcfl pinnacle he fet The Only the bead he rode w.';-*; not hither and thither ; b'Jt Milton of art, vvor.ld infinuare that he em ploy "d But gotten of a gafFeth and a no fjch majliinery. mare, 549. Thereon the high'^Jl pinnacle And like a ^^rifFeth had the for- he Jit mer part. 7he Son cfGod,'] He has chofen As vvings and head, and claws to I'ollow the order obferved by that hideous are, St. Luke in plr,cing this te.tiptation And pafTing {Iren^^th and force, laft, becaufe if he had with St, Mat- and ventroub heart, thew introduc'd it in t'.ie middle. But all the rell may u ich a hone it would have broke that fine thred compare. of moral reafoning, which is ob- Such beafh as thefe the hills of fsrvcd in the courfe of the other Ryfee yield, temprationsr. Thyer. Though in thefe parts they have In the Gofptl a^ccount of the been fcen but fecld. temptation no difcovery is made of the incarnation ; and this grand Ariofto ficquently makes u^e of my'i^cry is as little known to the ihii creature to ccnve^ his heioes Teir.pter at the end, as at the b;;- Vol.1. O ginning. 194 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book IV. The Son of God, and added thus In fcorn. 550 There ftand, if thou wilt fland j to ftand upright Will afk thee fkill ^ I to thy Father's houfe Have brought thee', and highefb plac'd, highefl: is beft. Now Ihow thy progeny j if not to ftand, Caft thyfelf down j fafely, if Son of God : 5^^ For ginning. But now, according to Milton s fcheme, the poem was to be clos'd with a full difcovery of it : there are tl'ree circumftances therefore, in which the poet, to ferve his plan, hath varied from the accounts in the Gofpels. i.The critics have not been able to afcer- tain what the Tilipvyiov or pir.- nacle (as we tranflate it) was, on which Chrift was fet by the De- mon : but whatever it was, the Evangelilts make no difficulty of his ftanding there. This the poet (following the common ule of the •word pwfiacle in oor own language) fuppofeth to be fcmethinglike thofe on the battlements of our churches, a pointed fpire, on which Chrifi: could not ftand without a miracle. 2. Jn the poem, the Tempter bids Chrill give proof of his preten- lions by {landing on the pinnacle, or by calling himfelf down. In the Gofpels, the Jail only is or could be fuggelled. 3. In the Gof- pel account the prohibition T/jou /halt not tempt the Lord thy God is alleged only as a reafon w hy Chrift (whofc divinity is concealed there) muft not throw himfelf down from the top cf the temple, becaufe this would have been tempting Cod. But in the poem it is applied to the De- mon, and his attempt upon Chriil; ; who is thereby declared to be the Lord his God. Calton. 561. Tempt not the Lord thy God : he /aid a72d Jiood : J Here is what we may call after Ariftotle the uvctftu^tcru;, or the difcovery. Chrift declares himfelf to be the God and Lord of the Tempter ; and to prove it, ftands upon the pinnacle. This was evidently the poet's meaning, i. The miracle (hows it to be fo ; which is other- wife impertinently introduc'd, and againft the /ule, Nee Deus interfit, nifi dignus vindice nodus Inciderit. — — It proves nothing but what the Tempter knew, and allow'd be- fore. 2. There is aconnedion be- tween Chrift's y/y/;zo- undjlandingt which demonilrates that he Jlood, in proof of fomeching he had /aid. Now the prohibition, lempt not the Lord Book IV. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 19c For it is written, He will give command Concerning thee to his Angels, in their hands They (hall up lift thee, left at any time Thou chance to dalli thy foot againft a ftone. To whom thus Jefus ; Alfo it is written, 560 Tempt not the Lord thy God : he faid and ftood : But Lord thy God, as alleged in the Gcf- pels from the Old Teilanient, was in no want of fjch an atteltation : but a miracle was wanting to julli- fy the application of it to the Tempter's attack upon Chrifl ; it was for this end therefore that he ftood. Calton. I cannot entirely approve this learn- ed Gentleman's expofition, for I am for underftanding the words, Alfo it is ix'titten Tempt 7ict the Lord thy God, in the fame fenfe, in which they were fpoken in the Gofpels; becaufe I would not make the poem to differ from the Gofpel account, farther than necefiity compels, or more than the poet himfelf has madeit. The Tempter fet our Saviour on a pinnacle of the temple, and there required of him a proof of his divinity, either by ftanding, or by cafting himfelf down as he might fafely do, if he was the Son of God, according to the quotation from the Pfalmill. To this our Saviour anfwers, as he anfwers in the Gofpels, It is ivtitten again Thou Jhalt n'A tempt the Lord thy God, tacitly inferring that his calling himfelf down would be tempting of God. He /aid, hegave this realbn for not calling himfelf dov.n, andf.ood. \Y\i Jlanding ■^xo- perly makes the diicorery, and is the principal proof of his progeny that the Tempter requir'd : Ni-jj Jho^jj thy progeny. Hisyir.^<7n!g con- vinces Satan. His fia'.d.yzg is con- fidered as the difplay of his divi- nity, and the immediate caufe of Satan's /^7//; and the grand con- trail is tormed between the fand- ir.g of the one and the Jaii of the other. He faid, zvA Jiood : But Satan fmitten with a.Tiaze- mentyt-//. and afte»*wards ver. 571. Fell whence he ftood to fee his victor fall. and ver. 576 So ftruck with dread and anguilh ftll the Fiend. and ver. 5S1. So Satan /f//. O 2 563. As 196 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book IV. But Satan fmitten with amazement fell. As when earth's fon Antasus (to compare Small things with greateft) in IraiTa fbrove With Jove's Alcides, and oft foil'd ftill rofe, 565 Receiving from his mother earth new ilrength, Frell:! from his fall, and fiercer grapple join'd, Throttled at length in th' air, expir'd and fell j So after many a foil the Tempter proud, Renewing frelh aifaults, amidfl his pride 570 Fell whence he Ifood to fee his victor fall. And as that Theban monfter that propos'd Her ^S'^.Js ivhen earth's fon Antaus"] This fimilein the perfon of the poet amazingly £ne. Warburtcn. 04. in Iro.£a Jlrcve With yo-ve" s Alcides,~\ Iraffa is a place in Libya, mention'd by He- rodotus, IV. 158. £rt ^6 tu yue^u TSTw nvouci I^cccrci, and from him by Stephanus Byzant, who fays, I^uc-a., ToTj-©' Ai'ovr.c, ei? o» fts- ^oT©- where Berkelius notes, Hujus urbis quoque meminit Pin- darus Pyth. IX. fed duplicis (read duplici i) fcribitur: Oiot AiSt/£rff-«c a.\i.- cAei, Ex.eii'©' yx^ oiuXhaaan Tot; Ysoioic, ov xcti a.iii'Kiv Hpx- >i>.Yi^. Pindarus nomen urbis genere foem. protulit, quod Schol. alio lo- co numero multitudinis & genere neut. effert : Enot ya.^ (paam, on WTvo H§aK?v£ac y-ocrayoHcr^iti Aiicck^, i^ccjcrivi; Vt *'^o Ig«. From the very few allufions, fays he, to the Italian poets in this poem one may draw, I think, a pretty conclufive argument for the reality of thole pointed out in the notes upon Paradife Loft, and ftiow that they are not, as fome may imagin, mere accidental coinci- dences 202 PARADISE REGAIN'D. Book IV. To dread the Son of God : he all unarm'd Shall chace thee with the terror of his voice From thy demoniac holds, poileffion foul, Thee and thy legions ; yelling they fhall fly, And beg to hide them in a herd of fwine, 630 Left dences of great geniufes writing upon limilar fubjtdls. Admitting them to be fiich onlv, no tolerable reafon c m be aiiign'd why the fame fhould not occur in the iame man- ner m the Paradife Regain'd : whereas upon the other fuppofition of their being real, the difference of the two poems in this refpeft is eahly accoumed for. It is very ca;tain, that Milton form'd his firll defi:;n of wntin^j an epic poem very focn after his return from Italy, if not before, and highly probable that he then intended it after the Italian model, as he fays, fpeaking of this defign in his Rea- fon of C hiirch-G o'vei nment , that " he *' apply'd hinifelf to that refolu- *< tion which Ariofto follow'd a- *' gainft the pcrfuafions of Bembo, *• to fiX all the art and induftry he ** could nnite to the adorning of *' his native tongue" — and again that he was then meditating " what *' king or knight before the Con- *• queit might be chofen in whom *' to lay tiie pattern of a Chriftian *' hero, as TaiTo gave to a prince *' of Italy his choice, whether he " would command him to write of " Godfrey's expedition againfl the •* Infidels, or Belifarius againfl the *' Goths, or Charlemain againfl " the Lombards." This would na- turally lead him to a frequent pe- rufal of the choicell wits of that country; and altho' he dropt his firft fcheme, and was fome confi- derable time before he executed the prefent work, yet flill the im- preffions he had firft receiv'd would befrefh in his imagination, and he would of courfe be drawn to imi- tate their particular beauties, the' he avoided following them in his general plan. The cafe was far otherwife when the Paradife Re- gain'd was compos'd. As Mr. El- wood informs us, Milton did not fo much as think of it till he was ad- vanced in years, and it is not very likely, confidering the troubles and infirmities he had long labor'd un- der, that his fludies had been much empioy'd about that time among the fprightly ] talians, or indeed any writers of that turn. Confillent with this fuppofition we find it of a quite different flamp, and inflead of allufions to poets either ancient or modern, it is full of moral and philofophical reafonings, to which fort of thoughts an afHi(Sed old age muft have turned our author's mind. Book IV. PARADISE REGAIN'D. 203 Left he command them down into the deep Bound, and to torment fent before their time. Hail Son of the moft high, heir of both worlds, Queller of Satan, on thy glorious work Now enter, and begin to fave mankind. 63 5 Thus they the Son of God our Saviour meek Sung vidtor, and from heav'nly feaft refrefli'd Brought on his way with joy ; he unobferv'd Home to his mother's houfe private return'd. THE END. VoU.p. ito^ SAMSON AGONISTES, Dramatic Poem. The AUTHOR JOHN MILTON. Ariilot. Poet. Cap. 6. T^ayuSiX fAiyi.niTi<; ir^x^iuq o-^rai^aiaf, &C. Tragoedia eft imitatio adionis ferias, &c. per mlferl- cordiam et metum perficiens talium affedtuum luftrationera. [ 207 ] Of that fort of Dramatic Poem which Is called Tragedy. TRAGEDY, as it was anciently compos'd, hath been ever held the graveft, moraleil, and moft pro- fitable of all other poems : therefore faid by Ariftotle to be of power by raifing pity and tear, or terror, to purge the mind of thofe and fuch like palTions, that is, to tem- per and reduce them tojuft meafure with a kind ot" dsHghr, ftirr'd up by reading or feeing thofe pafilons well imitated. Nor is Nature wanting iii her own elFefts to make good his affertion : for fo in pliyfic things of meianchoiic hue and quality are us'd againlt melancholy, four againft four, fait to remove fait huniors. Hence philofophers and other graveft writers, as Cicero, Plutarch and others, frequently cite out of tragic poets, both to adorn and illuilraie their difcourfe. The Apoille Paul him.felf thought ic not un- worthy toiniert *a verfe of Euripides into the text oi Holy Scripture, i Cor, XV. 33. and Parceus commenting on the Revelation, divides the whole book as a tragedy, into adls dirtinguifh'd each by a chorus of heavenly harpings and fong between. Fleretofore men in hig efl dignity have labor'd not a little to be thought able to compofe a tragedy. Of that honor Dionyfius the elder was no lefs ambitious, than before of his attaining to the tyranny. Auguftus C^far alio had begun his Ajax, but unable to pleafe his own judgment with what he had begun, left it unfinifh'd. Seneca the philofopher is by fome thought the author of thofe tragedies (at leaft the befb of them) that go under that name. Gregory Nazianzen, a Father of the Church, thought it not unbefeeming the fan6lity of his * a 'verfe of Euripides\ The verfe en from the Thais olMenander, and here quoted is E-uil communications it is extant among the fragments of corrupt good manners : but I am in- Menander. p. 79. Le Clerc's Edit. clin'd to think that Milton is mif- ^r r a^ taken in caliing it a verfe oi'Euri- ^^'"f''^'*' ''^^ ^f"^^ '''""'^''" ''■''^^'^- fides ; for JeroiTie and Grotius (who Such flips of memory may be foun^ puoh'lh'd the fragments of Menan- fometiines in the beit writers. As we der; and the belt commentators, an- observed before, Diodorus Siculus cient and modern, fay th;u it is tak- cites Eupoiia imiead ofAnftophanes. perfon [ 208 ] perfon to write a tragedy, which is intitled Chrift fuffering. This is mention'd to vindicate tragedy from the fmall efteem, or rather infamy, which in the account of many it undergoes at this day with other common interksdes ; hap'ning through the poets error of intermixing comic ftuffi with tragic fadnefs and gravity ; or introducing trivial and: vulgar perfons, which by all judicious hath been counted abturd •, and brought in without difcretion, corruptly to gratify the people. And though ancient tragedy ufe no prologue, yet ufing fometimes, in cafe of felf-defcnfe,, or explanation, that which Martial calls an epiftle ; in be- half of this tragedy coming forth after the ancient manner,, much different from what among us pafTcs for beff, thus; much before- hand may be epiflled ; that chorus is here in-' troduc'd after theGreek manner, not ancient only but mo- dern, and ilill in ufe among the Italians. In the modclingj therefore of this poem, with good reafon, the Ancients! and kalians are rather follow'd, as of much more authority^ and fame. The meafure of verfe us'd in the chorus is of all forts, caird by the Greeks Monoftrophic, or rathen Apalelymenon,withoutregard had toStrophe, Antiftrophe,. or Epod, which were a kind of iianza's fram'd only fori the mufic, then us'd with the chorus that fung; noteflential to the poem, and therefore not material ; or being divided, into ftanza's or paufes, they may be call'd Alla'oflropha.l Divifjon into aCl and Icene referring chiefly to the flage (to which this work never was intended) is here omitted. It fufnces if the whole drama be found not produc'd be- yond the tilth a(5t. Of the ftile and uniformity, and that comm.only call'd the plot, whether intricate or explicit, which is nothing indeed but fuch oeconomy, or difpofition of the fable as may ftand beft with verfimilitude and deco- rum ; they only will beft judge who are not unacquainted with j^fchylus, Sophocles, andEuiipides, the three tragic poets unequal'd yet by any, and the beft rule to all who en- devor to write tragedy.Thecircumfcripticn of time, where- in the whole drama begins and ends, is according to ancient rule, and beft example, within the fpacc of 24 hours. THE, THE ARGUMEr^T, Samfoii made captive, blind, and now in the prifon at Gaza, there to labor as in a common work- houfe, on a feftival day, in the general celTation from labor, comes forth into the open air to a place nigh, fomewhat retir'd, there to lit a while and bemoan his condition. Where he happens at length to be vilited by certain friends arid equals of his tribe, which make the Chorus, who feek to com- fort him what they can ; then by his old father Manoah, who endevors the like, and withal tells him his purpofe to procure his liberty by ranfome } laftly, that this feaft was proclamed by the Phili- ftines as a day of thankfgiving for their deliverance from the hands of Samfon, which yet more trou- bles him. Manoah then departs to profecute his endevor with the Philiftian lords for Samfon's re- demption ; whQ in the mean while is vifited by other perfons; and laftly by a public officer to re- quire his coming to the fcaft before the lords and people, to play or (how his ftrength in their pre- lence ; he at firft refuies, difmiiiiiig the public of- ficer with abfolute denial to come ; at length per- fuaded inwardly that this was from God, he yields to go along with him, who came now the fecond time with great threatnings to fetch him : the Cho- rus yet remaining oil the place, Manoah returns full of joyful hope, to procure ere long his fon's de- liverance ; in the midft of which difcourfe an He- brew comes in hafte, confufedly at iirft, and after- ward more diftindly relating the cataftrophe, what Samfon had done to the Philiftines, and by acci- dent to himfelf ; wherewith the tragedy ends. Vol. L P THE 1^ H E PERSONS. Samson. M A N o A Hj the Father of Samfon^ Da LI LA, his Wife. Harapha of Gaih. Public Officer. Meffenger. Chorus of Danites. The Scene before the Prifon in Gaza. 211 SAMSON AGONISTES. Samson. Little onward lend thy guiding hand To thefe dark fteps, a little further on j For yonder bank hath choice of fun or fhade : There I am wont to fit, when any chance Relieves me from my taflc of fervile toil, Daily' in the common prifon elfe injoin'd me, Where I a prifoner chain'd, fcarce freely draw The air imprifon'd alfo, clofe and damp, Unwholefome draught : but here I feel amends, Sam/on AgoniftesJTht fubjefl but a very indiiFerent one for a drama- tic fable. However he ha3 made the bell of it. He feems to have chofen it for the fake of the fatire on bad wives. VJ'arburton. Sam/on Agcn-fiei] That is Sam- ibn an aftor, Samfon reprefented in a play. A^'WHri-:. ludio, hi- ftrio, ador fcCnicus. Sam/on ] Milton after the ex- ample of the Greek tragedians, whom he profefTes to imitate, opens his drama with introducing one of its principal perfonages explaining thellory upon which it is founded. 7hyer. I . J little oni'jard Und thy guiding hand The To thfe dark /ieps,'] So Tirefias in Euripides, Phsniffe ver. 841. (p>.'M 'sro^i &c. Richardjon^ 3. For yonder bank'] The fcene of this tragedy is much the fame as that of the O ^tTrag ettj y.o>.U)iu in Sophocles, where blind Oedipus is conduded in like manner, and reprefented fitting upon a little hill near Athens : but yet I think there is fcarcely a fingle thought the fame in the tuo pieces, and 1 am fure the Greek tragedy can have no pretence to be elteemed better, but only becaufe it is two thoufand years older. P 3. M, To 212 SAMSON AGONISTES. The breath of Heav'n frefh blowing, pure and Tweet, With day-fpring born j here leave me to refpire. 1 1 This day a folemn feafl: the people hold To Dagon their fea-idol, and forbid Laborious works i unwillingly this reft Their fuperftitlon yields me -, hence with leave 1 5 Retiring from the popular noife, I feek This unfrequented place to find fome eafe, Eafe to the body fome, none to the mind From reftlefs thoughts, that like a deadly fwarm Of hornets arm'd, no fooner found alone, 20 But rufli upon me thronging, and prefent Times paft, what once I was, and what am now, O wherefore was niy birth from Pleav'n foretold Twice by an Angel, who at laft in fight Of both my parents all in liames afcended 25 From xi^.'To Dagon tbnr/i'a-ido},'] For and the fecond time the Angel Milton both here and in the Piira-- afcended in the flame ot the altar. dife Lort follows the opinion of judges XIII. 3, 11, 20. thofe, who defcribe this idol as 2b. and from j'onie great aci,'\ part man, pari fith. I, 462. Mr. Sympfon fays that the true _. , . , „ reading is Dagon his name, fea mcniier, ° upward man as from fome great aft ; And downward fifh. i. . .1 . u u ji r a • but the poet would hardly \zy Ann 24. Tn.vice by an Jn^^h] Once a fiery column Jcc as from fome to his motiier, and again to lus fa- great ad &c; and therefore ue may ther Mancah and his mother both, /eiain an J, and as may be under- Itcod SAMSON AGONISTES. 213 From off the altar, where an offering burn'd, As in a fiery column charioting His god-like prefence, and from fome great ad: Or benefit reveal'd to Abraham's race ? Why was my breeding order'd and prefcrib'd 30 As of a perfon feparate to God, Defign'd for great exploits ; if I muff die Betray'd, captiv'd, and both my eyes put out, Made of my enemies the fcorn and gaze ; To grind in brazen fetters under tafk 35 With this Heav'n'gifted ff rength ? O glorious ftrength Put to the labor of a beaff, debas'd Lower than bondflave ! Promife was that I Should Ifrael from Philiftian yoke deliver ; Afk for this great deliverer now, and find him 40 Eyelefs in Gaza at the mill with flaves, Himfelf ftood tho' not cxprefs'd As in a fy liable capti'v^d : but our old au- ^ery column charioting isc, and as thors give it the fame pronuncia- from fome great acl l5c. tion as Milton, Spenfer. Faery 33. Bttrayd^capti'v'd,'] It fhould Queen. B. 2. Cant. 4. St. 16. be pronounced with the accent up- Thus when as Guyon Furor had on the lad fyllable, as afterwards capti'u'd : ^'^'■- ^94- andB. 3. Cant. i. St. 2. To dogs and fowls a prey, or But the ra/zzi^'^^Acrafia hefent: elfe captWd. and Fairfax Cant. 19. S. 95. I think we commonly pronounce Free was Erminia, but capti'vd it with the accent upon the ftrft her heart. P 3 53. But 215 SAMSON AGONISTES, Himfelf in bonds under Philiftian yoke : Yet ftay, let me not radily call in doubt Divine predicftion ; what if all foretold Had been fulfill'd but through n^ine own default. Whom have I to complain of but myfelf ? 46 Who this high gift of fbrength committed to me^ In v/hat part lodg'd, how eafily bejreft me, Under the feal of filence could not keep, But weakly to a woman mufl reveal it, 59 O'ercome with importunity and tears. O impotence of mind, in body ftrong ! But what is firength without a double fliare Of wifdom, vaft, unwieldy, burdenfome, Proudly fecure, yet liable to fall ^^ By weakefl fubdeties, not made to rule. But to fubferve where wifdom bears command ! God, when he gave me ftrength, to fhow withal How flight the gift was, hung it in my hair. Put peace, I mud not quarrel with the will 60 Of 5 3 . Buf ^jjhat h Jirength ivifhoui^ Nos animo ; quantoque ratem qui a double Jkare temperat &c. Jortin. Ofn.vifdomM'] Ovid. Met. Xni. jj^^^ Q^ jjj jy^ g 363. ■'. Tu vires fine mente geris — Vis confili expers mole ruit fua. =— tu tantura corpore prodes^j Richard/on. 69. — or,. SAMSON AGONISTES. 215 Of higheft difpenfatlon, which herein Haply had ends above my reach to know : Suffices that to me ftrength is my bane. And proves the fource of all my miferies ; So many, and fo huge, that each apart 65 Would afk a life to wail, but chief of all, O lofs of fight, of thee 1 moft complain ! Blind among enemies, O worfe than chains. Dungeon, or beggery, or decrepit age ! Light the prime work of God to me' is extin-(f/f/^ a'/^/jV,] This beauti- jufily or no i Ihall not fay. fill application of the word diffus'd Jortin. Milton has borrow'd from the Latins. So Ovid ex Ponto. IIJ. III. — — Jieering this nxiay ;] If III. 7. this be the right reading, the meta- Publica me requies curarum fom- phor is extremely hard and abrupt. nus habebat, Fufaque SAMSON AGONISTES, 219 As one paft hope, abandon'dj 120 And by himfelf given over ; In flaviQi habit, ill-fitted weeds O'er-worn and foil'd j Or do my eyes mifreprefent ? Can this be he. That heroic, that renovy^n'd, 125 Irrefiftible Sampfon ? whom unarm'd No flirength of man, or fiercefl: wild beafl could withftand ; Who tore the lion, as the lion tears the kid, Ran on imbattel'd armies clad in iron, And weaponlefs himlelf, 130 Made arms ridiculous, ufelefs the forgery Of brazen (hield and fpear, the hammer'd cuirafs, Chaly'bean temper'd fteel, and frock of mail Adamantean proof; But fafeft he who flood aloof, 135 When Fufaque erant toto languida Chalyhean with the third fyllable membra toro. Thyer. long according to Heinfius's read- ing of that verfe of Ovid. Fafl. IV. 153. C hah' bean temper'd Jieel, ] 405. That is, the beli temper'd llee! by ,, ^ . . /--i « 1 •• .\. ni I L 1, c -^s erat in pretio : Chalybeia the Lhalybes, who were famous (T ] h t ■ among the Ancients for their iron works. Virg, Georg. I. 58. but Milton makes it Hiort by the At Chalybes nudi ferrum [^'"t Pf^l'^'f-' ^'^Z^-^ "t^ '^^'"'^ he had before ufed ^gean for Jh e adje(^iye fhould be pronouac'4 -^^ /«».• and Thjejiean for Thyejiean. 136. When 220 SAMSON AGONISTES. When infupportably his foot advanc'd, In fcorn of their proud arms and warlike tools, Spurn'd them to death by troops. The bold Afcalonite Fled from his lion ramp, old warriors turn'd Their plated backs under his heel ; 140 Or grov'ling foil'd their crefled helmets in the dufl. Then with what trivial weapon came to hand, The jaw of a dead afs, his fword of bone, Athoufand fore-fkins fell, the flow'rof Paleftine, 144 In Ramath-lechi famous to this day. n ^^ ^ [bore Then by main force puU'd up, and on his fhoulders The gates of Azza, poft, and mafTy bar, Up to tl;e hill by Hebron, feat of giants old, No 136. When infupportahly his foot he cafl aivay ihejaiv-hone out of his ad-janc' d,'\ For this nervous hand, and called that place Ramatb- exprefTiOn Milton was probably in- lechi, that is, the lifting up of the deDied to the following lines of jaiu-bone, or cajling anvay of thg Spenfer. Faery Queen, B. i . Cant, jaxv-bone, as it is render'd in the ■7^ St. II. margin of our bibles. _, , t 1 • 1 . T. r >j 147- T^he pates of Azza, "X If the That when the knight he fpy'd, ^^^'^^^ ^^^ ^^^J^ ^^^ alliteration he gan ad-^ance ^^^ ^^ ^^^j^, ^^^1^ j^^^^ With huge force, and /«>//cr/- ^^^^^ able main. Thyer. ,38. 7he bold Afcalomte ] The ^^^ g^^« °^ ^^^'^^ inhabitant of Afcalon, one of the So he does within fix lines of the ilve principal cities of the Phili- end of this play, ttines, mention'd i. Sam. VI. 17. ■, r> r r> ,// i •/-.«.. ^„ ■ whence Gaza mourns. li].;. In Ramath-lechi famous to fhfs day :} Judges XV. 17. — I can't help remarking the great SAMSON AGONISTES. 221 No journey of a fabbath-day, and loaded fo ; Like whom the Gentiles feign to bear up Heaven. Which fliall I firft bewail 151 Thy bondage or loft fight, Prifon within prifon Infeparably dark ? Thou art become (O worft imprifonment !) 155 The dungeon of thyfelf i thy foul rnlain"^ (Which men enjoying fight oft without caufe com- Imprifon'd now indeed, In real darknefs of the bodv dwells, Shut up from outward light 160 T' incorporate with gloomy night 5 For difFerence there is betwixt Ben Johnfon's Chorus's, and our au- thor's. Old Ben's are of a poor fimilar regular contexture ; our au- thor's truly Grecian, and noble, diverlified with all the meafures our language and poetry are ca- paple of, and I am afraid not to be read in the manner Milton defign'd them. Sym^fon. I47. pojiy and majjy bar^ Mr. Meadowcourt propofes to read pojisy as being more contormable to Scripture, Judg. XVI. 3. And Samjon lay till midnight, and arcje at midmgbt, and took the doors of the £ate of the ctty, and the two pofts> and ^..vent an.i:cy i>:ith them, bar and all: and^-,;j is certainly better on this account, bat perhaps Milton might ^rtitx pcjl as fomewhat of a fofter found. ( ^8. Hebron, /eat of giants eld,] For Hebron was the city of Arba, the father of Anak, and the feat of the Anakims. Jofh. XV'. 13, 14. And the Anakims were giants, which come of the giants. Numb. XIII. 3> I^T. . cf: -■:'.:hcut caufe com' plain] So IVIilton himfelf cor- rected it, but all the editions con- tinue rhe c!d erratum complain" d. 162. A" 222 SAMSON AGONISTES. For inward light alas Puts forth no vifual beam. O mirror of our fickle ftate, Since man on earth unparallerd ! 165 The rarer thy example ftands, By how much from the top of wondrous glory, Strongeft of mortal men. To loweft pitch of abjed: fortune thou art falln. For him I reckon not in high eflate 1 70 Whom long defcent of birth Or the fphere of fortune raifes > But thee whofe ftrength, while virtue was her mate^ Might have fubdued the earth, Univerfally 162. For in-ivard light alas Puts forth 710 'vijiial bea?n.^ The expreflion is fine, and means the ray of light, which occaiions 'vifion. Mr. Pope borrow'd the expreffion in one of his juvenile poems, He from thick films fliall purge the njifiial ray. And on the fightlefs eye-ball pour the day. Either he millook his original, and fuppofed Milton meant by njifual ray the fght, or at lealt thought himfelf at liberty to ufe it in that highly figurative fenfe. See what is laid on the paifage in the laft edi- tion of Mr. Popes works. H'arhurton. 172. Or the fphere of fortune raifes ;] Fortune is painted on a globe, which by her influence is in a perpetual rotation on its axis. Warburton. 178. He f peaks, ^ We have fol- low'd Milton's own edition ; moft of the others have it Hefpake. 181. From EJhtaol and Zora'i fruitful 'vale] Thefe were two towns of the tribe of Dan. Jofn. XIX. 41. the latter the birth-place of Samfon Judg. XIII. 2. and they were near one another, j^ijtl the Spirit of the Lord began to tnove hit/i at tifnes in the camp of Dan be- i-Tveen Zorab and Ejhtaol, judg. Xill. 25. And they were both fituated in the i\illey, jodi. XV. 33. and SAMSON AGONISTES. 223 Univerfally crown'd with higheft praifes. 175 Samson. I hear the found of words, their fenfe the air DifTolves unjointed ere it reach my ear. Chorus. He fpeaks, let us draw nigh. Matchlefs in might. The glory late of Ifrael, now the grief; We come thy friends and neighbours not unknown From Efhtaol and Zora's fruitful vale 181 To vifit or bewail thee, or if better, Counfel or confolation we may bring, Salve to thy fores ; apt words have pow*r to fwage The tumors of a troubled mind, 1 85 And and therefore the poet with great 184.— — aptnxiordi haiie po-w'r exaftnefs fays EJhtaol and Zora^i /^/ivfl^f&c] Alluding to thefe fruitful njale. lines in iEfchylus. Prom. Vin^. 182.70 njifit or be-wail thee, ] The 377. poet diftated ^ „ a To vifit and bewail thee : St» The purpofe of their vifit was to ^''^''^ ""''"''" "^"' '*^e" ^'^• benKiailhim ; or if better, (that is if Or to this paflage in Menander. they found it more proper) to ad- ^ife or comfort him. Veniebat au- ^^'^'^ >*? '"' ^'"'""^ faf/^a^i- tem ad Eumenem utrumque genus /xoyov. ihyer. hominum, et qui propter odium Or perhaps to Horace, Epift. I. fru£lum oculis ex ejus caju capere vel- J, -ia^ lent, [See above ver. 112. to fare at my afflidion^ et qui propter vete- Sunt verba et voces, quibus hunc rem amicitiam colloqui confolarique lenire dolorem cuperent. Corn, Nepos in vica Eu- Poffis, et magnani morbi depo- inenis. Calton, nere partem. 224 SAMSON AG6nISTES, And are as balm to fcfler'd wounds. Samson* Your coming, Friends, revives me, for I learn Now of my own experience, not by talk, How counterfeit a coin they arc who friends Bear in their fuperfcription, (of the moft 190 I would be underftood) in profp'rous days They fwarm, but in adverfe withdraw their head. Not to be found though fought. Ye fee, O Friends, How many evils have inclos'd me round ; 194 Yet that which was the worft now leaft afflidls me, Blindnefs, for had I fight, confused with fhame. How could I once look up, or heave the head. Who like a foolifh pilot have fliipwrack'd My ig^.Tet that nxjhich^vas the HMorJi the part of the Chorus is written noi» leafi affiids me^l There is in the very fpirit of the Ancient?, no inconfillence in this with what and is formed exaftly according to he had faid before ver. 66. the precepts of Horace. De Arte but chief of all. Poet. 193. O lofs of fight, of thee I moft ^^^^j^ Chorus, officium^ ^°"^P'^'"- que vinle When he was by himfelf, he con- Defendat ; neu quid medics in- lider'd his blindnefs as the luorjl of tercinat aftus, evils ; but new, upon his friends Quod non propofito eonducat et coming in and feeing him in this haereat apte. wretched condition, it leajl affiids Ille bonis faveatque, ct concilie- ms, fays he, as being fome cover tur amicis ; to his fhame and confufion. Et regat iratos, ct amet pacare 210. Taxnot di-vine difpcfal; &c] tumCBtes : As this whole play, fo particularly SAMSON AGONISTES. 22^ My vefTel trufted to me from above, Glorioufly rigg'd ; and for a word, a tear, 200 Fool, have divulg'd the fecret gift of God To a deceitful woman ? tell me, Friends, Am I not fung and proverb'd for a fool In every ftreet ? do they not fay, how well Are come upon him his deferts ? yet why ? 205 Immeafurable ftrength they might behold In me, of wifdom nothing more than mean ; This with the other fliould, at leaft, have pair'd, Thefe two proportioned ill drove me tranfverfe* Chorus. Tax not divine difpofal J wifefl meil 210 Have err'd, and by bad women been deceiv'd ; Ille dapes laudet menfje brevis ; ille falubrem Juftitiam, legefque, et apertis otia portis : file tegat commifla, Deofq[ue precetur et oret, Ut redeat rriiferis, abeat fortuna fuperbis. The Chorus muft fupport an ac- tor's part ; Defend the virtuous, and advife with art ; Govern the choleric, the proud appcafe, And the fhort feafts of frugal tables praife ; V i., I. And The laws and jufiice of vvcll- govern'd ftates. And peace triumphant with hef open gates. Intrulted fecrets let them ne'er betray, But to the righteous Gods with ardor pray. That fortune with returning fmiles may blefs Afflifted worth, and impious pride deprefs. Yet let their fongs with apt co- herence join, Promote the plot, and aid the main delign* • Francis^ QL Sush 226 SAMSON AGONISTES. And iliall again, pretend they ne'er (o wife. Dejed: not then fo overmuch thyfelf, Who haft of forrow thy full load befides ; Yet truth to fay, I oft have heard men wonder 2 1 5 Why thou {houldft wed Phllillian women rather Than of thy own tribe fairer, or as fair. At leafl of thy own nation, and as noble. S A M SON. The firjfl: I faw at TImna, and {lie pleas'd Me, not my parents, that I fought to Wed 220 The daughter of an infidel : they knew not That what I motion'd was of God j I knew From intimate impulfe, and therefore urg'd The marriage on j that by occafion hence I might begin Ifrael's deliverance, 225 The work to which I was divinely call'd. She proving falfe, the next I took to wife (O that I never had ! fond wiih too late,) Was 5uch is the charader and office of JiiJ} I/azv at Timna &c. ver. 219. the Choras, as prefciib'd by this the next i took to ix-ifeSiCXtx. z2-j. great critic and poet, and it was 219. The frjl 1 faiu at Timna,^ never exemplified more fully than Judg. XIV. 1. And Samfon ixient in the Chorus of Milton. doivn to Twinaih^ andfaiv a n.voman 216. — PhiliJIiati'womenrather'] in Tzmnath of the daughter: of the So it is printed in Milton's own Philijiings. See. edition, and vootnan is a miftake of 222. That ivhat I motion d nj.'ds the other editions ; for more than ofG:d;'\ It was printed /r^a- one are mention'd afterwards. Jhs ttott'd which is fenfe indeed, but Milton SAMSON AGONISTES. 227 Was in the vale of Sorec, Dalila, That fpecious monfter, my accoinplifh'd fnare. 230 I thought it lawful from my former ad, And the fame end -, ftill watching to opprefs Ifrael's oppreflbrs : of what now I fuffer She was not the prime caufe, but I myfelf. Who vanquish 'd with a peal of words (O weaknefs f) Gave up my fort of filence to a woman. 236 Chorus. In feeking juft occafion to provoke The Philiftine, thy country's enemy, Thou never waft rcmifs, I bear thee witnefs t Yet Ifrael ftill ferves with all his fons. 240 Samson. That fault I take not on me, but transfer On Ifrael's governors, and heads of tribes. Who feeing thofe great ad:s, which God had done Singly by me againft their conquerors, AcknoW- Milton himfelf in the table of Er- There feems to be a quibble in the rata rubiiituted motion'd which is ufe of this epithet. I'Varburton. betrer : but the hrit error hath llill za^i.That fauit k.z'l Milton cer- prevailed in all the editions. tainly intended to reproach his 229. Was in the njale of Sorecy countrymen indireftly, and as plain- Da/iia,] Judg. XVI. 4. Jnd ly as he dared, with the P.eftora- h came to fafs apcr-ward, that he tion of Charles If, which he ac- lot-ed a nx'cman in the 'valley of So- counted the rcfloration ofilaverVj, rek, mohoje name ^was Dalilak, ucc. and with the execution of the Re- 230. ——' my ticcQmpl!jh''d/>.a7e,^ ^icides. He purines the fame Tub- 228 SAMSON AGONISTES. Acknovvledg'd not, or not at all confider'd 245 Deliverance ofFer'd : I on th' other fide Us'd no ambition to commend my deeds, fcioer • The deeds themfelves, though mute, fpoke loud the But they perfilled deaf, and would not feem 249 To count them things worth notice, till at length Their lords the Philillines with gather'd pow'rs Enter'd Judea feeking me, who then Safe to the rock of Etham was retir'd, Not flying, but forecafting in what place To fet upon them, what advantag'd befl : 255 Mean while the men of Judah, to prevent The harrafs of their land, befet me round; I willingly on feme conditions came Into their hands, and they as gladly yield me To the uncircumcis'd a welcome prey, 260 Bound with two cords ; but cords to m.e were threds Touch'd with the flame : on their whole hofl: I flew Unarm'd, jeft again 678 to 700. I wonder And he luent ^ctv>7, avd diveh in tie how the liceniers of thofe days let tap of the rock Etam. Then the Phi- it pafs. yortin. hjtines ivent up, and pitched in Jw Z47 . Us'd no ambition'] Going a- dah Szc. bout with ftudioufnefs and aftcfla- 268. But ^vhat more oft in natiotis tion to gain praife, as Mr. Richard- groq.vn corrupt, &c] Here Mr. fon iays, alluding to the origin of Thyer has anticipated me by ob- the word in l.atin. ferving that Milton is very uniform, 2f;3. Safe to the rock of Etham a.- well asjoil, in his notions of li- 'ttw/Y/ZrV, &c] Judg. XV\ 8, bercy, alivay-s attrib-uiing the lofs of SAMSON AGONISTES. 229 Unarm'd, and with a trivial weapon fell'd Their choiceft youth i they only liv'd who fled. Had Judah that day join'd, or one whole tribe, 265 They had by this pofTefs'd the tow'rs of Gath, And lorded over them whom now they ferve : But what more oft in nations grown corrupt, And by their vices brought to fervitude, Than to love bondage more than liberty, 270 Bondage with eafe than ftrenuous liberty ; And to defpife, or envy, or fufpe^t Whom God hath of his fpecial favor rais'd As their deliverer; if he ought begin. How frequent to defert him, and at lafl 275 To heap ingratitude on worthieft deeds ? Chorus. Thy words to my remembrance bring ^ How Succoth and the fort of Penuel Their great deliverer contemn'd, The of it to vice and corruption of oration to the Roman people a- morals : but in this pafTage he very gainft Sulla, preferved among the probably intended alfo a fecretfatir fragments of Salluft annuite upon the Englifh nation, which ac- legibus impofuis ; accipite otium cording to his republican politics cum fervicio ; but for myfelf had by reftoring the King chofen potior vifa eft periculofa liber- bondage n.>jith eafe rather than7?rf- tas, quieto f«rvitio. Tiuoui liberty. And let me add that 278. Hoixj Succoth and the fort of the fentiment is very like that of i'^««f/ &c] The men of Succoth iEmilius Lepidus the conful in his and of the tower of Penuel re- Q^ 3 fufed 230 SAMSON AGONISTES. The matchlefs Gideon in purfuit 280 Of Madian and her vanquifh'd kings : And how ingratcful Ephraim Had dealt with Jephtha,, who by argumentj Not worfe than by his fhield and fpear. Defended Ifrael from the Ammonite, 285 Had not his prowefs quelj'd their pride In that fore battel, when io many dy'd Without reprieve adjudg'd to death, For want of well pronouncing Shibboleth. Samson. Of fuch examples add rae to the roll, 29© Me eafily indeed mine may negle(fl:s But God's propos'd dehverance not fo. Chorus. Jufl are the ways of God, And juftifiable to men j Unlefs fufed to give loaves of bread to of thechiidrenofAmmon Judg.XI. Gideon and his three hundred nien a;- 2 7.For his vidory over the Ain= purfuing after Zebah and Zalmun- monitesthe Ephraimite? envied and na kings of Midian. See Judg. quarrel'd with him ; and threaten'd VlII. 4 — 9. to burn his houfe with fire : but 2^1. Jiidhotvingrateful Ephraim Jephthah and the men of Gilead &:c.] Jephtha fubdued the children fmote Ephraim, and took the paf- of Ammon ; and he is faid to have fages of Jordan before the Ephra- defc^i^cd Jfrael by argument not ivorfe imites, and there flew thofe of them /^«« ^^' /7A-^;?j on account of the mef- who could not rightly pronounce fage which he fent unto the king the word 5i';^^o/^/^, and there fell at -■" ■ ■' ' ' ■ ■ ■ tha: SAMSON AGONISTES. 231 Unlefs there be who think not God at all : 295 If any be, they walk obfcure j For of fuch dodrine never was there fchool, But the heart of the fool, And no man therein dodtor but himfelf. 299 Yet more there be who doubt his ways not jufl, As to his own edids found contradiding, Then give the reigns to wandring thought, Regardlefs of his glory's diminution ; Till by their own perplexities involv'd They ravel more, ftill lefs refolv'd, 305 But never find felf-fatisfying folution. As if they would confine th' Interminable, And tie him to his own prefcript, Who made our laws to bind us, not himfelf. And hath full right t'exempt 310 Whom fo it pleafes him by choice From that time two and forty thoufand thing rather too quaint and fanci- ofthem. Seejudg. XII. i — 6. ful in this conceit, and it appears 2q8. Bui the heart of the fool,'] the worfe, as this fpeech of the Alluding to Pfal. XIV. i. and the Chorus is of fo ferious a nature, fentiment is not very unlike that of and fill'd with fo many deep and a celebrated divine. " The fool folemn truths. Thyer. ** hath f aid tn his heart, There is no 303. Regardle/s of his glory's di- *♦ God : and who but a fool would minution ; ] This expreffion is *' have faid fo ? " ftrong as anciently underftood. Ci- 299. And no man therein doHor cero de Orat. II. 39. Majejiatem but himfelf.'] There is fonie> pop. Rom. minufre is the fame as cri- 0^4. mea 232 SAMSON AGONISTES, From national obftridion, without taint Of fin, or legal debt j For with his own laws he can beft difpenfe. He would not elfe who never wanted means, 315 Nor in refpecfl of th' enemy juft caufe To fet his people free, ; Have prompted this heroic Nazarite, Againft his vow of ftrideft purity, To feek in marriage that fallacious bride, 320 Unclean, unchafte. Dov/n reafon then, at leaft vain reafonings down. Though reafon here aver That moral verdidl quits her of unclean : Unchafte was fubfequent, her ftain not his, 325 But fee here comes thy reverend Sire With careful ftep, locks white as down, Qld Manoah 1 advife Forth^ pien laefe inajeftatis. Corn. Nepos was not unclean, yet the law of Agef, 4.. rsligionem minuere is vio- Mofes held her to be fo. I don't |are. JLichardJon. know why the poet thought fit to 319. -.— 'uoo)} ef fir i SI eft purity^ make his hero fcepticize on a point, ^ot a vow of celibacy, but of as irreconcile^ble to reafon, which ftridell purity from Mofaical and may be very well accounted for by Jegal uncleannefs. Warburton. the bed rules of human prudence 324. T^hat moral j -» a. i j u j a j •"^ . rJ ^ conjeaur d It Ihould be read. And r- k- ' a It ' at the time of writing this, in all Lonjpicere Jiorem liberum orient em u k-i-» »u ..u l .j J ■ probability the author remember d the happy father in Terence. An- Eurjp. Barnes, p. 443. Calton. dria 1. 1. 69. 354. And fuch a fon &c ] It is ^""^ '^ '"^^^ placebat, turn uno very hard that the editors of Mil- „ ""'^ j'.^"" °"]"'^, , ton have never taken the pains to ^°"^ '^'^"^' ^^ ^^"^^^ f°"""« corred the errors of the firft edi- ^ "'^^^' , , ... tion, which he had himfelf cor- ^' "^j."'" ^^^^'^^ talnngemo refted. This verfe at firft was print- pr^ditum. ed imperfeft, and it has been fol- , . , . . /• f low'd in all the editions, ^59-— '^^«^^'^ « -with folemn hand Such a fon as all men hail'd me As graces^ draiu a fcorpion^s tail happy- behind? '\ He has rais'd this beautiful 236 SAMSON AGONISTES, Ordain'd thy nurture holy, as of a plant Seledl, and facred, glorious for a while, The miracle of men ; then in an hour Infnar'd, affaulted, overcome, led bound, 365 Thy foes derifion, captive, poor and blind. Into a dungeon thruft, to work with flaves ? Alas methinks whom God hath chofcn once To worthieft deeds, if he through frailty err, He (hould not fo o'erwhelm, and as a thrall 37P Subjedt him to fo foul indignities. Be it but for honor's fake of former deeds, Samson. Appoint not heav nly difpofltion, Father; Nothing of all thefe evils hath befall'n me Butjuftly; I myfelf have brought them on, 575 Sole author I, fole caufe : if ought feem vile, As vile hath been my folly, who' have profan'd The myftery of God giv'n me under pledge Of vow, and have betray 'd it to a woman, ACanaanite, my faithlefs enemy. 380 This well I knew, nor was at all furpris'd, But beautiful imagery on the following him a fcorpion ? He was not always text, Luke XI. 12. If a fon Jhall fo happy. Warburton, afii of his father an e^g, 'will he offer 373. Jppoint] Th^t is, ajraign, furamon SAMSON AGONISTES. 237 But warn d by oft experience : did not (lie Of Timna firfl betray me, and reveal The fecret vvrefted from me in her highth Of nuptial love profefs'd, carrying it ftrait 385 To them who had corrupted her, my fpies, And rivals ? In this other was there found More faith, who alfo in her prime of love, Spoufal embraces, vitiated with gold. Though offer'd only, by the fent conceiv'd 390 Her fpurious firft-born, treafon againfl me ? Thrice fhe aiTay'd with flattering pray'rs and fighs. And amorous reproaches, to win from me My capital fecret, in what part my ftrength Lay ftor'd, in what part fumm'd, that fhe mJght know; Thrice I deluded her, and turn'd to fport 396 Her importunity, each time perceiving How openly, and with what impudence She purpos'd to betray me, and (which was worfe Than undilTembled hate) with what contempt 4c© She fought to make me traitor to myfelf .; Yet the fourth time, when mufl'ring all her wiles. With fummon to anfwer. Warhnrton. 401. She fought^ So it is in Mil- 391 . — tr euj on again ji mi?'\ By our ton's own edit:on ; in moft of \^ft laws called petty trearon.<^/(rc;«r^ca. others She thought. 411.— C 238 SAMSON AGONISTES. With blandifh'd parlies, feminine aflaultSi Tongue- batteries, fhe furceas'd not day nor night To ftorm me over-watch'd, and weary 'd out, 405 At times when men feek moft repofe and reft, I yielded, and unlocked her all my heart, i Who with a grain of manhood well refolv'd Might eafily have fhook off all her fnares : But foul effeminacy held me yok'd 410 Her bond-flave ; O indignity, O blot To honor and religion ! fervile mind Rewarded well with fervile punifhment ! The bafe degree to which I now am fall'n, Thefe rags, this grinding is not yet fo bafe 4 1 5 As was my former fervitude, ignoble. Unmanly, ignominious, infamous, True flavery, and that blindnefs worfe than this. That faw not how degenerately I ferv'd. M A N O A H. I cnnnot praife thy marriage choices. Son, 420 Rather 411 .— — O ivdign'iiy ! O hlot &c] proach upon the mentioning of his Nothing could give the reader a weaknefs. Beiides there is lome- better idea of a great and heroic thing vaftly grand and noble in hi3 fpirit in the circumftances of Sam- reflection upon his prefent condi- fon, than this fudden guft of in- tion on this occaiiofi, dignation and paiEonatc feli-xe- Thefe SAMSON AGONISTES. 239 Rather approv'd them not ; but thou didft plead Divine impulfion prompting how thou might'ft Find fome occafion to infeft our foes. I ftate not that 3 this I am fure, our foes Found foon occafion thereby to make thee 425 Their captive, and their triumph j thou the Iboner Temptation found'ft, or over-potent charms To violate the facred truft of filence Depofited within thee -, which to have kept Tacit, was in thy pow'r : true j and thou bear'fl 430 Enough, and more, the burden of that fault ; Bitterly haft thou pay'd, and ftill art paying That rigid fcore. A worfe thing yet remains. This day the Philiftines a popular feaft Here celebrate in Gaza -, and proclame 435 Great pomp, and facrifice, and praifes loud To Dagon, as their God, who hath deliver'd Thee, Samfon, bound and blind into their hands, Them out of thine, who flew'ft them many a (lain. So Thefe rags, this grinding is not thered them together, for to o^er a yet fo bafe &C. Thyer, great facrifice unto Dagon their God, and to rejoice ; for they /aid. Our 434. This day the Philifiines a p6- God hath delivered Sam/oH our eneiKj fular feafi &c ] Judg. XVI. 23. into our hand, &:c. This incident Then the lords cf the Philijiinis ga- the poet hath finely improv'd, and with 24© SAMSON AGONISTES. So Dagon lliall be magnify'd, and God, 440 Befides whom is no God, compar'd widi idols, Difglorify'd, blafphem'd, and had in fcorn By the idolatrous rout amidft their wine 5 Which to have come to pafs by means of thee, Samfon, of all thy fuiFcrings think the heavieft, 445 Of all reproach the moJft with fliame that ever Could have befall'n thee and thy father's houfe» Samson. Father, I do acknowledge and confefs That I this honor, I this pomp have brought To Dagon, and advanc'd his praifes high 450 Among the Heathen round ; to God have brought Difhonor, obloquy, and op'd the mouths Of idolifts, and atheifts 5 have brought fcandal To Ifrael, diffidence of God, and doubt In feeble hearts, propenfe enough before 455 To waver, or fall off, and join with idols ; Which is my chief afflidion, fliame and forrow. The anguifh of my foul, that fuffers not Mine with great judgment he hath put 472. and thefe nxiords this reproach of Samfon into the I as a prophecy recei've ; ] This mouth of the father, rather than method of one perfon's taking an any other of the dramatis perfong?. omen from the words of another W?5 SAMSON AGONISTES. 241 Mine eye to harbour fleep, or thoughts to reft. This only hope relieves me, that the ftrife 460 With me hath end ; all the conteft is now 'Tvvixt God and Dagon ; Dagon hath prefum'd. Me overthrown, to enter lifts with God, His deity comparing and preferring Before the God of Abraham. He, be fure, 465 Will not connive, or linger, thus provok'd. But will arife, and his great name aifert : Dagon muft ftoop, and (hall ere long receive Such a difcomfit, as fliall quite defpoil him Of all thefe boafted trophies won on me, 470 And with confufion blank his worfhippers. M A N o A H. With caufe this hope relieves thee, and thefe words I as a prophecy receive ; for God, Nothing more certain, will not long defer To vindicate the glory of his name 475 Againft all competition, nor will long Indure it doubtful whether God be Lord, Or was freq-jently praflic'd among the of Samfon is in other places ; but Ancients : and in thel'e words ihe Manoah, as it was natural, accepts downfall of Dagon's worfliippers is the good omen without thinking of artfully prefigniiied, as ths death the evil that is to follow. Vol. 1. R 5C0. That 242 SAMSON AGONISTES. Or Dagon. But for thee what fhall be done ? Thou muft not in the mean while here forgot Lie in this miferable loathfome plight 480 Negleded. I already have made way y. To fome Philiflian lords, with whom to treat About thy ranfome : well they may by this Have fatisfy'd their utmoft of revenge 484 By pains and llaveries, worfe than death infli(5led On thee, who now no more canft do them harm. Samson. Spare that propofal, Father, fpare the trouble Of that felicitation ; let me here. As I deferve, pay on my punifhment -, And expiate, if poffible, my crime, 490 Shameful garrulity. To have reveal'd Secrets of men, the fecrets of a friend. How hainous had the facl been, how deferving Contempt, and fcorn of all, to be excluded All 500. That Gentiles in their para- mique impotentiam, et fuperbilo- bles condemn &iC.'\ Alluding to quentiam. Euripides afligns the the ftory of Tantalus, who for re- fame punifhment, and for the fame vealing the fecrets of the Gods reafon. Oreftes 8. was condemn'd to pains in Hell. Cicero Tufc. Difp. IV. l6. hn S^-ok avS^ww®' uf poetas impendere apud inferos fax- Koi»9; T^ajre^'/]; «|tf/*' ^X"* um Tantalo faciunt ob icelera, ani- tcro>» Axo- SAMSON AGONISTES. 243 All frlendfliip, and avoided as a blab, 495 The mark of fool fet on his front ? But I God's counfel have not kept, his holy fecret Prefumptuoufly have publifh'd, impioufly. Weakly at Icaft, and (liamefully : a fin That Gentiles in their parables condemn 500 To their abyfs and horrid pains confin'd. M A N O A H. Be penitent and for thy fault contrite. But a(5l not in thy own afflidion. Son ; Repent the fin, but if the punifliment Thou canft "avoid, felf-prefervation bids ; 50^ Or th' execution leave to high difpofal, And let another hand, not thine, exa(5t Thy penal forfeit from thyfelf ; perhaps God will relent, and quit thee all his debt ; Who ever more approves and more accepts 5 1 o (Bed pleas'd with humble' and filial fubmifiion) Him Ay.o^xro)! ic-/} '/"huffjav, unr^iTviv " in his eye that fine paffage of voa-ov. " Virgil, ^n. Vf. 617. Mr. Warburton's remark is that — fedet, seternumqae fedeblt " the ancient myftagogues taught, InfelixThefeus, Phlegyafque mi» *' that the Gods punillied both the ferrimus omnes •' revealers and the violators of Admonet, et magna teftatur vo- " their myfteries. Milton had here ce per umbras i^c. R 2 531,— »e«# 244 SAMSON AGONISTES. Him who imploring mercy fues for life, Than who felf-rigorous choofes death as due ; Which argues over-jufl, and felf-difpleas'd For felf-offenfe, more than for God offended. 515 Rejed: not then what offer'd means j who knows But God hath fet before us, to return thee Home to thy country and his facred houfe, Where thou may'ft bring tiiy offerings, to avert His further ire, with pray'rs and vows renew'd ? 520 Samson. His pardon I implore 5 but as for life, To what end Ihould I feek it ? when in ftrength All mortals I excell'd, and great in hopes With youthful courage and magnanimous thoughts Of birth from Heaven foretold, and high exploits, Full of divine inffind:, after fome proof 526 Of ad:s indeed heroic, far beyond The fons of Anak, famous now and blaz'd, Fearlefs 531. notie daring my affront.'] edition; in mofi: of the others it None daring to contend with me, is abfurdly corrupted into hotloiif and meet me face to face, accord- pledge. ing to the etymology of the word. See the note on Paradife Loft, IX. 538. — — all my precious feece,"] 330. Read of my precious fleece. Thus 53 ij. hallo^vd pledge] This in Paradife Loft, L 596. the fun in is the genuin reading of the firll a mifl is Ihorn of his beams : and IX. SAMSON AGONISTES. 245 Fearlefs of danger, like a petty God I walk'd about, admir'd of all and dreaded 530 On hoflile ground, none daring my affront. Then fwoll'n with pride into the fn are I fell Of fair fallacious looks, venereal trains, Soften'd with pleafure and voluptuous life ; At length to lay my head and hallow'd pledge 535 Of all my ftrength in the lafcivious lap Of a deceitful concubine, who fhore me Like a tame weather, all my precious fleece, Then turn'd me out ridiculous, defpoil'd, Shav'n, and difarm'd among mine enemies. 540 Chorus. Defire of wine and all delicious drinks, Which many a famous warrior overturns, Thou couldft reprefs, nor did the dancing ruby Sparkling, out-pour'd, the flavor, or the fmell. Or tafte that chears the hearts of Gods and men, 545 Allure IX. 1059. Samfon from the harlot- ivhen it moveth itjelf aright. Mr. lap wak'd fhorn o/"his ftrength. Thy er has made the fame obfer- Meadovjcourt. vation. 5/^3. — nor did the dancing ruby 545- Ortajlethat chears the heart &c] The poet here probably al- o/"Go«'j ^aWzw^w,] Taken from ludes to Prov. XXIII. 31. Look not Judg. IX. 13. — ix-ine nxhich chear- tbou upon the nx'ine nuhen it is red, eth God and man, Milton fays Gods, luhenit giveth his color in the cu^j which is a jult paraphrafe, mean- R 3 ing 246 SAMSON AGONIST£S. Allure thee from the cool cryftallin flream. Samson. Wherever fountain or frefli current flow'd Againfi: the eaftern ray, tranflucent, pure With touch ethereal of Heav n's fiery rod, I drank, from the clear milky juce allaying 550 Thirft, and refrefli'd ; nor envy'd them the grape Whofe heads that turbulent liquor fills with fumes. Chorus. O madnefsj to think ufe of ftron^eft wines And flrongefl drinks our chief fupport of health. When God with thefe forbidd'n made choice to rear His mighty champion, ftrong above compare, 556 Whofe drink was only from the liquid brook. Samson. jng the Uero-Cocls of the Heathen. Gods aiid men is the reading of Jotham is here fpeaking to an ido- Milton's own edition, and more iatrous city, that ran a ivhoringaf- agreeable to the text of Scripture ter Baaiim, and made Baal-herith than in the common editions Gods their God : A God fprung from or men. among men, as may be partly col- ledled from his name, as well as 547, Wherenjer fountain or frejh from diverfe other circumftances current fio^ d of the flory. Hefiod in a fimilar Againji the cajlern ray, hz\T\i\% cxpreffion fays that //'/? 'z;f^^^^z?f^o/' circumftance was very probably the fates purfued the cruna of Gods fuggefted to our author by the and men. Thcog. v. 220. following lines of TafTo's poem del Mondo creato. Giornata 3. A»T m^^itiv Ts ^lu^i &C. St. 8, lyarhurion, o SAMSON AGONISTES. 247 Samson. But what avail'd this temp'rance, not complete Againft another objed: more enticing ? What boots it at one gate to make defenfe, 560 And at another to let in the foe, Effeminately vanquifli'd ? by which means, Now blind, difliearten'd, fham'd, diflionor'd, quell'd, To what can I be ufeful, wherein ferve My nation, and the work from Heav'n impos'd, But to fit idle on the houfhold hearth, 566 A burd'nous drone ^ to viHtants a gaze. Or pity'd objedt, thefe redundant locks Robuftious to no purpofe cluftring down. Vain monument of ilrength j till length of years And O liquidi criftalli, onde s' eftin- gua L'ardente fete a miferi mortali : Ma piu falubre e, fe tra viue pietre Rompendo 1' argentate, e fredde corna, Incontra il nuouo fol, che il puro argenco Co' raggi indora Thyer. 557. Whofe drink 8ic ] Samfon was a Nazarite, Judge XIII. 7. therefore to drink no wine, nor fliave his head. See Numb. VI. Amos II. 1 2. RichardJo7i. 566. But to fit idle on the houjhold hearth, &c] It is fuppos'd, with probability enough, that Mil- ton chofe Samfon for his fubjeiS, becaufe he was fellow-fufferer with him in the lofs of his eyes ; how- ever one may venture to fay, that the fimilitude of their circumllances in this refpedt has enrich'd the poem with feveral very pathetic defcriptions of the mifery of blind- nefs. Thyer, R 4 571. — craKfi 24^ SAMSON AGONISTES. And fedentary numnefs craze my limbs 571 To a contemptible old age obfcure ? Here rather let me drudge and earn my bread, Till vermin or the draff of fervile food Confume me, and oft-invocated death 575 Haflen the welcome end of all my pains. Man o a h. Wilt thou then ferve the Philiilines with that sift Which was exprefly giv'n thee to annoy them ? Better at home lie bed-rid, not only idle, Inglorious, unemploy'd, with age outworn. 580 But God who caus'd a fountain at thy prayer From the dry ground to fpring, thy thirft t' allay After the brunt of battel, can as ^afy Caufe ^71 . craze my limbs'] He ufes the word craze much in the fame manner as in the Paradife Loft XII. 2 JO. where fee the note ; and I would always recommend it to the reader, when an uncommon word cipecially occurs in two or more different flace*, to compare the places together for the better un- deritan'Ung of our author. I can- not always refer to the particular places in thefe notes, but the in- dexes may be of ufe for this pur- pofe. ^81. But God n.vho caui d a foun- tain lit thj prayer From the dry ground to fpring, ?zz\ Judg. XV. 18, 19. Andhe ixaif.re athirft, and called on the Lord, ajid /aid. Thou haji given this great de~ li'verance into the hand of thy Jer- 'vant, afid no^vjhall I die for thirjl^ and fall into the hand of the uncir- cumcifed? But God clave an hoi- lc-A> place that ux'as in the jaiv, and there came ^zvater thereout; andavhen he had drunk, his fpirit came againy and he revi-ved. We fee that Milton differs from our tranf- lation. Our tranflation fays that God claije an holloiv place that Kvas in the ja-iv : but Milton fays SAMSON AGONISTES> 249 Caufe light again within thy eyes to fprlng, Wherewith to ferve him better than thou hail: ; 585 And I periijade me fo j why elfc this ilrengLh Miracidous vet remaininrr in thole locks ? His mij:lit: continues in thee not for nouo;ht. Nor fliali his wondrous gifts be fruflrate thus. S A M S O N. All otherwife to me my thouglits portend, 590 That thefe dark orbs no more fiiall treat with light. Nor th' other light of life continue long. But yield to double darknefs nigh at hand : So much I feel m.y genial fpirits droop, My hopes all flat, nature within me feems 595 In all her ftyidions -weary of herfelf, My fays that God caused a fountain from the dry ground tojpring, and herein he follows the Chaldee paraphraft and the belt commentators, who underitand it that God made a cleft in Icme part of the ground or rock, in the place called Lehi, Lehi fignifying both a jaw and a place fo called. 588, His tnight continues &c] A fine preparative, which raifes our expectation of fnme great event to be produced by his ftrength. IVarburton. 504. 5c 7nuch I feel my genial /pi- nts droop, iScc] Here Milton in the perfon of Samfon defcribes ex- aiSliy his own cafe, what he felt, and what he thought in fome of his melancholy hours. He could not have wrote fo well but from his own feeling and experience, and the very flow of the verfes is melancholy, and excellently adapt- ed to the fubjcft. As Mr. Thyer expreflbs it, there is a remarkable folemnity and air of melancholy in i the very found of thefe verfes, and the reader will find it very difficult to pronounce them without that grave and ferious tone of voice which is proper for the occafion. 600 — and 250 SAMSON AGONISTES. My race of glory run, and race of iliame. And I ihall Ihortly be with them that reft. Man o AH. Believe not thefe fuggeftions which proceed From anguilli of the mind and humors black, 600 That mingle with thy fancy. I however K Muft not omit a father's timely care To profecute the means of thy deliverance By ranfome, or how elfe: mean while be calm, And heahng words from thefe thy friends admit. Samson. O that torment fliould not be confin'd 606 To the body's wounds and fores. With maladies innumerable In heart, head, breaft and reins ; But muft fecret paflage find 6ro To 600. and humors blacky Th' animal fpirits ^r. That mingle ^.vitb tb\ fancy .^Thxs q^ • • »u tv/t n . n ^ • f ■ u -^ ■ ^ vjo aoain in the Maik, very jult notion of the mind or ° fancy's being aiFeifled and as it - . ■ 'tis but the lees were tainted with the vitiated hu- And fettlings of a melancholy mors of the body Miltcn had be- blood. Thyer. fore adopted in his Paraiife Loft, where he introduces Satan in the 606. O that torment Jhouli not he fhape of a toad at the ear of Eve. fc«/$"«V&c.] Milton, no doubt, IV. 804. was apprehenfive that this long de- Or if. infpiring venom, he might fciiption of Samfon's grief and taint jnifery SAMSON AGONISTES. 251 To til' Inmoft mind. There exercife all his fierce accidents, And on her pureft fpirits prey, As on entrails, joints, and limbs. With anfwerable pains, but more intenfe, 615 Though void of corporal fenfe. My griefs not only pain me As a lingring difeafe, But finding no redrefs, ferment and rage, Nor lefs than wounds immedicable 620 Rankle, and feftcr, and gangrene, To black mortification. Thoughts my tormentors arm'd with deadly flings Mangle my apprehenfive tenderefl parts, Exafperate, exulcerate, and raife 625 Dire inflammation, which no cooling herb mifery might grow tedious to the reader, and therefore here with great judgment varies both his man- ner of exprefling it and the verfifi- cation. Thefe fuddcn ftarts of im- patience are very natural to perfons in fiich circumftances, and this rough and unequal meafure of the verfes is very well fuited to it. Thytr. 623. Thoughts my lor?nentors arm'd vjith deadly Jiings Or "Man^h &c] This defcriptive ima- gery is fine and well purfued. The idea is taken from the efFedls of poifonous falts in the ffomach and bowels, v.hich flimulate, tear, in- flame and exulcerate the tender fibres, and end in a mortification, which he calls death's henumming Dpiiwi, as in that ftage the pain is over. Warburton, 637. Or 252 SAMSON AGONISTES. Or medicinal liquor can afTwage, Nor breath of vernal air from fnowy Alp. Sleep hath forfook and giv'n me o'er To death's benumming opium as my only cure : 630 Thence faintings, fwoonings of defpair, And fenfe of Heav'n's defertion. I was his nu riling once, and choice delight. His deflin'd from the womb, Promis'd by hcav'nly mefl'age twice defcending. 635 Under his fpecial eye Abftemious I grew up, and thriv'd amain j He led me on to mightieft deeds Above the nerve of mortal arm Againfl th' uncircumcis'd, our enemies : 640 But now hath caft me off as never known, And 627. Or jfiediclnal liquor can a/- Their KeJidnal g\xra. JixageAWtxt nieiiidt!aris\>xo- , _ . - ^r t tt nouncM wuh the accent upon the . :, '—-/''"»/'' °'^'y ^^P-1 ^f lall fyllable but one, as in Latin : "^" ^f ^l' T-r"?' n tt F"^'*^ which is more mufical than as we ^' '"/'^^ ^^'^^'^^ ^^^ "• ^2°- commonly pionounce \x. meduinal ^'^^ ^"any a frozen, many a with the accent upon the laft fylla- ^'^''y -^^P- ble but two, or med''cincJ^s i\Ji!ton Jlp in the ftrid etymology of the has ufcd it in the Mafk. The fame word iigniiies a mountain white inufical pronunciation occurs in with fnow. We have indeed ap- Skakefpear. Othello Ad 5. Sc. lo. propriated the name to the high Drop tears as fall as the Arabian mountains which feparate Italy trees from France and Germany ; but any SAMSON AGONISTES. 253 And to thofe cruel enemies, Whom I by his appointment had provok'd. Left me all helplefs with th' irreparable lofs Of light, referv'd alive to be repeated The fubjedt of their cruelty or fcorn. Nor am I in the lift of them that hope ; Hopelefs are all my evils, all remedilefs ; This one prayer yet remains, might I be heard, No long petition, fpeedy death. The clofe of all my miferies, and the balm. Chorus. Many arc the fayings of the wife In ancient and in modern books inroll'd, Extolling patience as the trueft fortitude ; And to the bearing well of all calamities. 645 650 any high mountain may be fo cal- led, and fo Sidonius ApoUinaris calls mount Athos, fpeaking of Xerxes cutting throatrh ir. Carmen 11. 510. cui ruptus Athos, cui remige Medo Turgida fylrofam currebant ve- la per Alpem. And the old GlofTary interprets Alps by op l\r,y\a. high mountains, 633. / ac-«i hii nurjling once «S:c] 655 AU This part of Samfon's fceech is little more than a repetition of what he had faid before, ver. 23. O wherefore was my birth from Heav'n foretold Twice by an Angel i^c. But yet it cannot jufily be imputed as a fault to our author. Grief though eloquent is not tied to forms, and is befjdes apt in its own nature frequently to recur to and repeats its fcurce and object. Thyer. 656. All 254 SAMSON AGONISTES. All chances incident to man's frail life, Confolatories writ With iludy'd argument, and much perfuafion fought Lenient of grief and anxious thought : But with th' afflided in his pangs their found 660 Little prevails, or rather feems a tune Harfh, and of diflbnant mood from his complaint 5 Unlefs he feel within Some fource of confolation from above, Secret refrefhings, that repair his flrength, 665 And fainting fpirits uphold. God of our fathers, what is man ! That thou tow'ards him with hand fo various. Or might I fay contrarious, Temper'ft d'^S. All chances incitient to 7nap''s ccnfolafcries are -writ ijohh Jludyd frail life, .S.c] There is a full argujnent, and much perfuafian is flop at the end ot this line in all fought &c. the editions, but there fliould be 659. Lenient of griefs Exprefb'd only a comma, as the fenie evinces, from v\ hat we quoted before from the conftrudion being And conjola- Horace Epift. 1. 1. 34. loties --writ n.vith &c to the hear 1717 o ^ l -l 1 Mo ,,-,, ,• r ^r o J buHt Verba ct voccs Quibus huDC luell &c. Milton himlelr corrected ) ■ , 1 ^ . . , P „ ,. • 1 1 Itnne dotorem jt in the nrlt edition ; but when an r, n- , . . , ^ I'oilis. error is once made, it is lu.e to be perpetuated through all thee- 660. But ivith th'' affliiied kc] ditions. Here was another error perpetua- 658. — and much perfuaf en fought^ ted through all the editions, I fuppofe an error of the prefs for ^^ . . m-n j c^ f I, \\j k ^« But to th' afflided l^c, fraught. Warburton. i conceive the conftrudlion to be, Milton himfelf corret»?v 'cr^o TrfXain f^' J<7iA.yji/vi moft of the editions, O^Xuh^ T • J nyr rnt. 'i_ t tcars diflolv'd. Mr. Jortm and Mr. Thyer both concurr'd in the fame obfervation, Mr, Jortinconjeftur'd it fhould be fo 1 SAMSON AGONISTES. 261 May expiate (though the fact more evil drew In the perverfe event than I forefavv) My penance hath not flacken'd, though my pardon No way aflur'd. But conjugal affection Prevailing over fear, and timorous doubt, 740 Hath led me on, defirous to behold Once more thy face, and know of thy eftate, If ought in my ability may ferve To lighten what thou fuffer'fl:, and appeafe Thy mind with what amends is in my power, 745 Though late, yet in fome part to recompenfe My rafli but more unfortunate mifdeed. Samson. Out, out Hyasna ; thefe are thy wonted arts, And arts of every woman falfe like thee. To fo read, without feeing the firft forming fo fine a contrail to each edition. other. Thyer. 732. With doubtful feet kc] The fcene between Samfon and Dalila 748. Out, out Hy>j/i*»{ao-4. S»<©« yv T»s %r\ Lycidas he fays (unlefs it be a x«» «fT>j. falfe print) So 1 SAMSON AGONISTES, 273 To pray'rs, than winds and feas, yet winds to feas Are reconcil'd at length, and fea to (hore : Thy anger, unappeafable, flill rages. Eternal tempeft never to be calm'd. Why do I humble thus myfelf, and fuing 96^^ For peace, reap nothing but repulfe and hate ? Bid go with evil omen, and the brand Of infamy upon my name denounc'd ? To mix with thy concernments I defifl Henceforth, nor too much difapprove my own. 970 Fame if not double-fac'd is double-mouth'd. And with contrary blafl proclames moft deeds j On both his wings, one black, the other white. Bears greateft names in his wild aery flight. My name perhaps among the circumcised 97J In Dan, in Judah, and the bordering tribes^ To So may fome gentle Mufe Bears greateft names in his ^widt With lucky words favor my de- aery fiight. A J / ' /r * What Milton fays of Fame's bear- And as he palfes turn, . "^ t. • • And bid fair peace be to my fa= !-"S great names on his wings, ble ftiroud. £T?r^T^ P^'^^^ ^'■°"' ^°'^" '• Od. II. II. 7. Where Mu/e is the mafculine for Ilium aget penna metuente folvi poet is very bold. Perhaps it fhould Fama fuperftes. Jortia, be: Vol. I. T ^se.—mj 274 SAMSON AGONISTES. To all poflerity may ftand defam'd. With maledidion mention'd, and the blot Of falfhood moft unconjugal traduc'd. But in my country where I moft defire, 980 In Ecron, Gaza, Afdod, and in Gath, I lliall be nam'd among the famoufefl: Of women, fung at folemn feftivals. Living and dead recorded, who to fave Her country from a fierce deftroyer, chofe 985 Above the faith of wedlock-bands, my tomb With odors vifited and annual flowers ; Not lefs renown'd than in mount Ephraim Jael, who with inhofpitable guile Smote Sifera fleeping through the temples nail'd. Nor {hall I count it hainous to enjoy 991 The public marks of honor and reward Conferr'd upon me, for the piety Which q86. —' my tomh So it is faid afterwards of Samfon, U'ith oJars njifited and annual m • • ir n. n r /ir i a -\ u/u * • c -A • The virgins alio mail on feaftful Jto^ers',] What is laid m i = Scnpture of thedauchter of Jeph- -trr.. i • «. u vi, a *i. I. .1^.1 J V. c ir } V lilt his tomb ^v^th flowers, thah, that the daughters of Ijrael rvjent yearly to lament her, I'eems to 988. Not lefs renonjot^d than in imply that this folemn and perio- mount Ephraim dical vifitation ofthe tombsofemi- y.a,, Ephaim, Judg. IV. 5. Kn\i<^ t ckuvx rsgytTw, xay« T*0£. QQC. j4i this nxiho ever en • , 1. r .. j* ^^^ ^. Cui autem nsc non lunt cordi, repines, m *- T/^ ;• , J- 1 ^ J 11 Illequefua amet, et epomea. i league him to hts lot, and like my ^ ° n 1. o^wn.j Teucer to the Lhorus in Sophodes's Ajax ver. 1060. loo^.Tetbeautyf though injurious, T 2 hatk 276 SAMSON AGONISTES. Samson. Love-quarrels oft in pleaiing concord end, Not wedlock-treachery indang'ring life. Chorus. It is not virtue, wifdom, valor, wit, 10 10 Strength, comelinefs of fhape, or ampleft merit That woman's love can win or lone inherit ; But what it is, hard is to fay, Harder to hit, (Which way foever men refer it) 10 15 Much like thy riddle, Samfon, in one day Or fev'n, though one fliould mufing lit. If any of thefe or all, the Timnian bride Had not fo foon preferr'd Thy paranymph, worthlefs to thee compar'd, ic2o Succeflbr hath Jirange poiver, &c] This truth Milton has finely exemplified in Adam foro-iving Eve, and he had full experience of it in his own cafe, as the reader may fee in the note upon Paradife Loft, X. 940. for I would not repeat it here. 1008. Lo've-quarrels oft inpleaftng concord end,'\ Terence Andria III. III. 23. Amantiam irae, amoris integra- tio eft. 10 10. Lis not virtue, Sec] How- ever juft the obfervation may be, that Milton in his Paradife Loft feems to court the favor of the fe- male fex, it is very certain, that he did not carry the fame complai- fance into this performance. What the Chorus here fays outgoes the very bictereft fatir of Euripides who was called the Woman-hater. It may be faid indeed in excufe, that the occafion was very provoking, and that thefe reproaches are ra- ther to be look'd upon as a fud- den ftart of refentment, than cool dnd SAMSON AGONISTES. 277 Succeflbr in thy bed, Nor both (o loofely difally'd Their nuptials, nor this laft fo treacheroufly Had fliorn the fatal harveft of thy head. Is it for that fuch outward ornament 1025 Was lavifh'd on their fex, that inward gifts Were left for hafle unfinifh'd, judgment fcant. Capacity not rais'd to apprehend Or value what is befl: In choice, but ofteft to affed the wrong ? 1030 Or was too much of felf-love mix'd. Of conftancy no root iniix'd, That either they love nothing, or not long ? Whate'er it be, to wifefl: men and beft Seeming at firil all heav'nly under virgin veil, and fober reafoning. Thyer. Thefe refleftions are the more fe- vere, as they are not fpoken by Samfon, who might be fuppofed to utter them out of pique and refent- jnent, but are deliver'd by the Cho- rus as ferious and important truths. But by all accounts IVlilton himfelf had fufFer'd fome uneafinefs through the temper and behaviour of two of his wives ; and no wonder there- fore that upon fo templing an oc- cafion as this he indulges his fpleen a little, depreciates the qualifica- Soft, tions of the women, and aflerts the fuperiority of the men, and to give thefe fentiments the greater weight puts them into the mouth of the Chorus. 1020. Thy parany7nphy'\ Bride- man. But Samfon' s nvife^wasgi'ven to his companion, vjhom he had ufed as his friend. Judg. XIV. 20. Riihardfon. _ 1034.—- to luifefl men and befi\ Read to the ^wifefl man. See the following expreffions in his war/ — draws him awry. Meadiivcourt, T 3 We 278 SAMSON AGONISTES. Soft, modeft, meek, demurCj Once join'd, the contrary flie proves, a thorn Inteftin, far within defeniive arms A cleaving mifchief, in his way to virtue Adverfe and turbulent, or by her charms 1040 Draws him awry inflav'd With dotage, and his ienfe depray'd To folly and fhamefi::! deeds which ruin ends. What pilot fo expert but needs muft wreck Imbark'd with fuch a fleers-mate at the helm ? 1045 Favor'd of Heav'n who finds One virtuous rarely found, That in domeftic good combines : Happy that houfe his way to peace is fmooth ; But virtue which breaks through all oppofition, 1050 And all temptation can remove, Mofl We have fuch a change of the a cleaving mifchief allude to the number in the Paradife Loft JX. poifon'd fhirt fent to Hercules by 1183. his wife Deianira. Meadonjucourt. in ivomen overtrufting Lets her will rule ; reftraint _/?>£■ will not brook, And left to hofelf, &c : apd we juftified it there by a fimi- l^r inflance from Tei-ence. 1 o ^8. — far uurthrn cifenfroe arms A deci'ving m,,■ Emims. That Kiriathaim held, Ifthouatallartkno^n.]^t^% for Gen. XIV. c. Chedorlaomer, "^^t ^° [P'^^ '" '^^ ^P'"' ^''^^^' and the kings that 'were imth him, "^°V"r n ^"^o^^^ ' ^^' Jmote the Rephaims in Afhteroth radife Loft 1\ . 830. Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, Not to know me argues your- (in^ the Etfums itt Shaueh Kiriu- felves unknown, 1093. Gyveil 282 SAMSON AGONISTES. Gyves and the mill had tam'd thee. O that fortune Had brought me to the field, where thou art fam'd To' have wrought luch wonders with an afs's jaw ; I (hould have forc'u thee foon with other arms, 1096 Or left thy carcafs where the afs lay thrown : So had the glory' of prowefs been recover'd To Paleftine, won by a Philiftine 1099 From the unforeikinn'd race, of whom thou bear'ft The highefl name for valiant ads ; that honor Certain to' have won by mortal duel from thee, I lofe, prevented by thy eyes put out. Samson. Boaft not of what thou wouldfl have done, but do What then thou wouldfl:, thou feeft it in thy hand. Har aph a. To combat with a blind man I difdain, 1 106 And 10^^. Gyves] Chains, fetters. That lets it hop a little from her Cymbeline, Aft 5. Sc. 3. hand, -.„ n T , Like a poor prifoner in his twiil- Muft I repent ? j T J ■ 1 1 • ed gyves, I cannot do u better than mgy^ves. ^^^ ^^^ ^ ^^^^ ^j^^^j pj^^^j^j j^ Romeo and Juliet. Aft 2. Sc. 2. back again, Juliet to Romeo. So loving jealous of his liberty, 'Tis almoft morning. I would ^^''^'''^ ^^"^- 5- St. 42. have thee gone, Thefe hands were made to fhake And yet no farther than a wan- fharp fpears and fwords. ton's bird. Not SAMSON AGONISTES. 283 And thou haft need much wafhlng to be touch'd; Samson. Such ufage as your honorable lords Afford me' affaflinated and betray 'd, Who durft not with their whole united powers mo In fight withftand me fingle and unarm'd, Nor in the houfe with chamber ambuflies Clofe-banded durft attack me, no not fleeping, Till they had hir'd a woman with their gold Breaking her marriage faith to circumvent me. 1 1 1 5 Therefore without feign'd fliifts let be affign'd Some narrow place inclos'd, where fight may give thee. Or rather flight, no great advantage on me ; Then put on all thy gorgeous arms, thy helmet And brigandine of brafs, thy broad habergeon, 1 1 20 Vant- Not to be ty'd in gyves and XLI. 26. The /'word of him that twilled cords. layeih at him cannot hold, the /pear ^ the dart, nor the habergeon. Spen- 1120. And brigandine of bra/s, fer Faery Queen. B. 2. Cant. 6. ^rbijh the /pears, r^^^^^ -y^ ^^^y^^^^ ^j^^j^ y^^. and put on the bngand.nes. LI. 3 . , ^^^f difmaii'd, Agatn/l him that bendeth, let the ^^j \^y^^^ ^^^^ ^^^j^ ^^y^^^,^ archer bend his boiv, ana a?ain/t him 1 r „i i„ J 1-^ 1 1 ■ fin ■ 1 L • manly Ipalles. that li/tetb himfel/up in his bngan- ^ dine. Habergeon, a coat of mail Spalles that is (houlders. Fairfax for the neck and fhoulders, Job Cant. i. St. 72. Some 284 SAMSON AGONISTES. Vant-brafs and greves, and gauntlet, add thy fpear, A weaver's beam, and feven-times-folded iliield, I only with an oaken ftafFwill meet thee, And raife fuch outcries on thy clatter'd iron, 11 24 Which long fhall not withhold me from thy head, That in a little time while breath remains thee, Thou oft flialt wi{h thyfelf at Gath to boaft Again in fafety what thou wouldft have done To Samfon, but iliall never fee Gath more. H A R A P H A. Thou durfl: not thus difparage glorious arms, Which greateft heroes have in battel worn, 1 13 1 Their ornament and fafety, had not fpells And black inchantment, fome magician's art, Arm'd Some fliirts of mail, fome coats His fliield was pierc'd, hisvant- of plate put on, 6race cleft and fplit. — and fome a haberz^on. _ r i i ^ * Gre-ves, armour for the legs, i Sam. Vant-hrafs or Fantirace,zvant-hT!LS, XVII, 6. j4na he had grtves ofbrafs armour for the arms. Troilus and upon his legs. Gauntlet, an iron Creffida. Aft i. Sc. 6. Neflor glove. 2 Henry IV. Act i. Sc. 3. Ipeaks. old Northumberland fpeaks. I'll hide mv filver beard in a gold - . Hence therefore, thou nice beaver, crutch ; And in my 'vantbrace put this A fcaly gauntlet now with joints wither'd brawn. of fteel Fairfax. Cant. 20. St. 1 39. ^"^^ S'ove this hand. His left arm wounded had the 1 1 2 1 . — — add thy /pear. Sec] Jcnight of France, This is Milton's own reading : the other SAMSON AGONISTES. 285 Arm Q thee or charm'd thee ftrong, which thou from Heaven Felgn'dfl: at thy hirth was giv'n thee in thy hair, 1 J 3 5 Where ftrength can lead abide, though all thy hairs Were bridles rang'd like thofe that ridge the back Of chaf'd wild boars, or ruffled porcupines. Samson. I know no fpells, ufe no forbidden arts ; My truft is in the living God, who gave me 1 140 At my nativity this flrength diffused No lefs through all my finews, joints and bones, Than thine, while I preferv'd thefe locks unlLorn, The pledge of my unviolated vow. For proof hereof, if Dagon be thy God, 1 145 Go other editions have and thy /pear, in which this fcene is laid, fince which is not fo proper, for it can- we are informed in Scripture that not well be faid in conftrudtion, they were at that time much ■put en thy fpear. A nueaver' s beam, addided to magical fuperftition. as Goliath's was, i Sam. XVII. 7. But yet it is very probable, that And the Jiaff of hii fpear nx-as like a Milton adopted this notion from 'wea'vifs beam, and his brother's, the Italian Epics, who are very 2 Sam. XXI. 19. the fiaff of njuhofe full of inchanted arms, and fome- fpear luas like a nv amber's beam, times reprefent their heroes invul- Andfev'n-iimej folded Jhield,zsvja.s nerable by this art So Ariolto's Ajax's, clypei dominus feptemplicis Orlando is defcribed. Thyer. Ajax, Ovid. Met. XIII. 2. 11 38 or ruffled porcupines.^ I I 32. bad not fpells &c] Who can doubt that Milton here This is natural enough in the mouth had Shakefpear in mind ? Hamlet of Harapha, and no ways incon- Aft I. Sc. 8, fiftent with the manners of the age And 286 SAMSON AGONISTES. Go to his temple, invocate his aid With folemneft devotion, fpread before him How highly it concerns his glory now To fruPcrate and diflblve thefe magic fpells, Which I to be the power of Ifrael's God 1 1 ^o Avow, and challenge Dagon to the tell, Offering to combat thee his champion bold, With th' utmoft of his Godhead feconded : Then thou (halt fee, or rather to thy forrow 1 154 Soon feel, whofe God is ftrongeft, thine or mine. H A R A P H A. Prefume not on thy God, whate'er he be. Thee he regards not, owns not, hath cut off Quite from his people, and deliver'd up Into thy enemies hand, permitted them ^^ S9 To put out both thine eyes, and fetter'd fend thee Into the common prifon, there to grind Among the flaves and affes, thy comrades, As good for nothing elfe, no better fervice With thofe thy boift rous locks, no worthy match For And each particular hair to Hand 1 162. —— ihy comraJes,] With on end, the accent upon the lall fyllable as Like quills upon the fretful per- in i Henry IV". Aft 4, Sc. 2. cupine% *^ Ami SAMSON AGONISTES. 287 For valor to afTail, nor by the fword 1 165 Of noble warrior, To to flain his honor, But by the barber's razor beft fubdued. Samson. All thcfe indignities, for fuch they are From thine, thefe evils I deferve and more. Acknowledge them from God inflidted on me 1 170 Juftly, yet defpair not of his final pardon Whofe ear is ever open, and his eye Gracious to re-admit the fuppliant ; In confidence whereof I once again Defy thee to the trial of mortal fight, 1 175 By combat to decide whofe God is God, Thine or whom I with Ifrael's fons adore. H AR APH A. Fair honor that thou dofl thy God, in trufling He will accept thee to defend his caufe, A Murderer, a Revolter, and a Robber. 1 180 Samson. [thefe ? Tongue-doughty Giant, how dofl thou prove me Ha- And his commdesy that daft the that is valiant. See Skinner. %«- • world afide o-t/ro^^. ^Efchylus. Sepiem con- ] And bid it pafs. tra Thebas. 617. Richard/on. 1 181. Tongue-doughtyl Doughty 288 SAMSON AGONISTES. Ha R AP H A. Is not thy nation fubjedt to our lords ? Their magiftrates confefs'd it, when they took thee As a league-breaker, and deliver'd bound Into our hands : for hadft thou not committed 1 185 Notorious murder on thofe thirty men At Afcalon, who never did thee harm, Then like a robber ftripp'dft them of their robes ? The Philiflines, when thou hadft broke the league. Went up with armed powers thee only feeking, 1 190 To others did no violence nor fpoil. Samson. Among the daughters of the Philiftines I chofe a wife, which argued me no foe j And in your city held my nuptial feaft : But your ill-meaning politician lords, 1 195 Under pretence of bridal friends and guefts. Appointed to await me thirty fpies. Who threatning cruel death conftrain'd the bride To wring from me and tell to them my fecret. That folv'd the riddle which I had propos'd. 1200 When I perceiv'd all fet on enmity, As 1222. Who now defies thee thrice^ arms to give the challenge and to This was the cuftom and the law of found the txwnpet thrift. In al- lufion SAMSON AGONISTES. 289 As on my enemies, wherever chanc'd, I us'd hoftility, and took their fpoil To pay my underminers in tlieir coin. My nation was fubjeifled to your lords. 1 205 It was the force of conquefl ; force with force Is well ejedcd when the conquer'd can. But I a private perfon, whom my country As a league-breaker gave up bound, prefum'd Single rebellion, and did hoflile adts. 12 10 I was no private but a perfon rais'd With ftrength fufficient and command from Heaven To free my country j if their fervile minds Me their deliverer fent would not receive, But to their mafters gave me up for nought, 1 2 1 5 Th' unworthier they ; whence to this day they ferve. I was to do my part from Heav'n affign'd, And had performed it, if my known offenfe Had not difabled me, not all your force : i Thefe fliifts refuted, anfwer thy appellant 1220 Though by his blindnefs maim'd for high attempts, 1 Who now defies thee thrice to fmgle fight, Ar. I lufion to the fame praftice Edgar hy the third found of the trumpet, 1 appears to fight with the Baftard Lear. Ad 5. Sc. 7. I Vol. I. U 1231. O 290 SAMSON AGONISTES. As a petty enterprife of fmall enforce. H A R A P H A. With thee a man condemn'd, a flave inroll'd, Due by the law to capital punifliment ? 1225 To fight with thee no man of arms will deign. Samson. Cam'fl: thou for this, vain boafler, to furvey me, To defcant on my ftrength, and give thy verdid: ? Come nearer, part not hence fo flight inform'd 3 But take good heed my hand furvey not thee. 1230 H A R A P H A. O Baal-zebub ! can my ears unus'd Hear thefe dishonors, and not render death ? Samson. No man withholds thee, nothing from thy hand Fear I incurable j bring up thy van, My heels are fetter'd, but my fill is free. 1235 ; H AR A P H A. This infolence other kind of anfwer fits. Samson. 1 23 1. O Baal-zehub !'\ He is in the notes on the Paradife Loft, properly made to invoke Baal- and the learned reader may fee zebub, as afterwards to fwear by more in Selden. Ajlaroth^ that is the deities of the Philiftines and neighb'ring nations, 1248. ^ hough fame di'vulge him of whom we have faid fomething &c. j So it plainly Ihould bi- as MiUon SAMSON AGONISTES. 291 Samson. Go baffled coward, left I run upon thee. Though in thefe chains, bulk without fpirit vail, And with one buffet lay thy ftrucfture low. Or fwing thee in the air, then dafh thee down 1 240 To th' hazard of thy brains and fliatter'd fides. H A R A P H A. By Aftaroth ere long thou ihalt lament Thefe braveries in irons loaden on thee. Chorus. His giantfhip is gone fomewhat creft-faln, Stalking with lefs unconfcionable ftrides, 1245 And lower looks, but in a fultry chafe. Samson. I dread him not, nor all his giant-brood, Though fame divulge him father of five foni'. All of gigantic fize, Goliah chief Chorus. I^e will directly to the lords, I fear, 1250 And Milton himfelf correfted it, and are mention'd 2 Sam. XXf. i 5— 22, not di-'vulg^d as it is in all the edi- Thefe four ivere horn to the giant or tions. Father offi'vefns &c. The to Harapha in Gath, and fell by the ftory of Goliath of Gath is very hand of Dax'id, and by the hand of well known ; and the other four his fer-u ants. \3 2 1309' — remark 292 SAMSON AGONISTES, And with malicious counfel ftir them up Some way or other yet further to afflidt thee. Samson. He muft allege fome caufe, and offer'd fight Will not dare mention, left a queftion rife Whether he durft accept th' offer or not, ^^5S And that he durft not plain enough appear'd. Much more afBidion than already felt They cannot well impofe, nor I fuftain 5 If they intend advantage of my labors, ^^59 The work of many hands, which earns my keeping With no fmall profit daily to my owners. But come what will, my deadlieft foe will prove My fpeedieft friend, by death to rid me hence, The worft that he can give, to me the beft. Yet fo it may fall out, becaufe their end 1265 Is hate, not help to me, it may with mine Draw their own ruin who attempt the deed. Chorus. Oh how comely it is, and how reviving To the fpirits of juft men long opprefs'd ! When God into the hands of their deliverer 1270 Puts invincible might To SAMSON AGONISTES. 293 To quell the mighty of the earth, th' opprefTor, The brute and boifl'rous force of violent men Hardy and induftrious to fupport Tyrannic pow'r, but raging to purfue "^"^7^ The righteous, and all fuch as honor truth j He all their ammunition And feats of war defeats With plain heroic magnitude of mind And celeftial vigor arm'd, X280 Their armories and magazines contemns, Renders them ufelefs, while With winged expedition < Swift as the lightning glance he executes His errand on the wicked, who furpris'd 1285 Lofe their defenfe diftradled and amaz'd. But patience is more oft the exercife Of faints, the trial of their fortitude, j Making them each his own deliverer, I And vidor over all 1290 i That tyranny or fortune can inflid:. I Either of thefe is in thy lot, Samfon, with might indued Above the fons of men ; but %ht bereav'd U 3 May 294 SAMSON AGONISTES. May chance to number thee with thofe 1295 Whom patience finally mafi: crown. This idol's day hath been to thee no day of reft. Laboring thy mind More than the working day thy hands. And yet perhaps more trouble is behind, 1300 For I defcry this way Some other tending, in his hand A fcepter or quaint ftait he bears. Comes on amain, fpeed in his look. By his habit I difcern him now ^3^5 A public officer, and now at hand. Kis meflage will be iliort and voluble. Officer. Hebrews, the pris'ner Samfon here I feek. Chorus. His manacles remark him, there he fits. Of f I c e r. Samfon, to thee our lords thus bid me fay j This 1309. remark him, ] Di- are defired to read rate. No won- jftinguilh him, point him out. dcr the firft reading is followed in Richard/on. all the editions, when it is fenfe ; 131 3. furpajpng human rafe,] for it would have been followed in Jn the firft edition it was printed all probability, though it had made race, but in the table of Errata we nonlcnfe. 1325.— ;w«»3-» SAMSON AGONISTES. 29^ This day to Dagon is a folemn feaft, 131 1 With facrifices, triumph, pomp, and games ; Thy ftrength they know furpalTing human rate, And now feme pubhc proof thereof require To honor this great feaft, and great aliembly ; 13 15 Rife therefore with all fpeed and come along, Where I will fee thee hearten'd and frefli clad To' appear as fits before th' illuftrious lords. S A -M S ON. Thou know'fl I am an Hebrew, therefore tell them, Our law forbids at their religious rites 1320 My prefence 3 for that caufe I cannot come. Officer. This anfwer, be aiTur'd, will not content them. Samson. Have they not fword-players, and every fort Of gymnic artifts, wreftlers, riders, runners, Juglersand dancers, antics, mummers, mimics, 1325 But they muft pick me out with fhackles tir'd. And 1325. mummers, mimics,'] It mirs? The table of Errata to the was printed mummers, mimirs ; firft edition hath fet us right, in- mumrne) s are mafkers according to ftrufting us to read mimics, but Junius, Skinner, and the other not one of the editions have fol- etymologirts ; but what are mi- lowed it. U 4 ^347' Pif^f^ps 296 SAMSON AGONISTES. And over-iabor'd at their public mill, To make them fport with blind adivity ? Do they not feek occafion of new quarrels On my refufal to diftrefs me more, ^33^ Or make a game of my calamities ? Return the way thou cam'ft, I will not come* Officer. Regard thyfelf, this will offend them highly. Samson. Myfelf ? my confcience and internal peace. Can they think me fo broken, fo debas'd 133 5 With corporal fervitude, that my mind ever Will condefcend to fuch abfurd commands ? Although their drudge, to be their fool or jefter. And in my midft of forrow and heart-grief 1339 To (how them feats, and play before their God, The worft of all indignities, yet on me Join'd with extreme contempt ? I will not come. Officer. My mefTagc was impos'd on me with fpeed. Brooks 1347. Perhaps thou (halt ha've — it may with mine ccufe to forronjj inJc(.l?\ Here Draw their own ruin who at- the catallropbe is anticipated, as tempt the dged. t)5fore ver, 1 ?66. And SAMSON AGONISTES, 297 Brooks no delay : is this thy refolution ? 13 44 Samson. So take it with what fpeed thy mefTage needs. Officer. I am forry what this ftoutnefs will produce. Samson. Perhaps thou flialt have caufc to forrow' indeed. Chorus. Confide r, Samfon j matters now are ftrain'd Up to the highth, whether to hold or break ; He's gone, and who knows how he may report 1350 Thy words by adding fuel to the flame ? Exped: another mefTage more imperious, More lordly thund'ring than thou well wilt bear. Samson. Shall I abufe this confecrated gift Of ftrength, again returning with my hair 1355 After my great tranfgreflion, fo requite Favor renew'd, and add a greater fin By profl:ituting holy things to idols j A And fuch anticipations are ufual as cannot be perfe had conceived from from ohakefpear. Henry VIH Aft «he favorable anfwer he had met 3. Sc. 6. This SAMSON AGONISTES. 313 M A N o A n. Self-violence? what caufe Brought him fo foon at variance with hinafelf 1585 Among his foes ? Messenger. Inevitable caufe At once both to deflroy and be deftroy'd; The edifice, where all were met to fee him. Upon their heads and on his own he pull'd. M A N o A H. O laftly over-ftrong againft thyfelf ! 1 590 A dreadful way thou took'ft to thy revenge. More than enough we know 5 but while things yet Are in confufion, give us if thou canft, Eye-witnefs of what firft or laft was done, Relation This is the flate of man ; to day Upon which Mr. Warburton re- he puts forth marks, that as Tpring frofts are The tender leaves of hopes, to not injurious to the roots of fruit- morrow bloffoms, trees, he fhould imagin the poet And bears his blufhing honors wrote Jhooty that is, the tender thick upon him ; Jkoot on which are the young The third day comes a froft, a leaves and blojfoms. The compa- killing froft; rifon, as well as expreffion oi njpsy And when he thinks, good eafy is jurtertoo in this reading. Shake- man, full furely fpear has the fame thought in His greatnefs is a ripening, nips Love's Labor Loft. his root ; Byron is like an envious fheap- And then he falls, as I do. — ing froil That 314 SAMSON AGONISTES. Relation more particular and diftind:. 4595 Messenger. Occaflons drew me early to this city, And as the gates 1 enter'd with lun-rife, The morning trumpets feftival proclam'd Through each high flreet: little I had dlfpatch'd. When all abroad was rumoi'd that this day i6oo Samfon fhould be brought forth, to fhow the people Proof of his mighty flrength in feats and games ; I fonow'd at his captive ftate, but minded Not to be abfent at that fpecflacle. That bites the firft-born infants of the fpring. See Warburton's Shakefpear. Vol . 5 . 1596. OccaJionsJreiu me early &c] As I obferved before, that Mihon had with great art excited the readei's attention to this grand event, fo here he is no lefs careful to gratify it by the relation. It is circumllantia], as the importance of it requir'd, but not fo as to be tedious or too long to delay our expectation. It would be found difficult, I believe, to retrench one article without making it defedive, or to add one which fhould not ap- pear redundant. The pifcure of Samfon in particular ivith head in- elirHd and eyes Jtx'd, as if he was addreffing himfelf to that God who The had given him fuch a meafure of flrength, and was fumming up all his force and refolution, has a very fine effeft upon the imagination. Milton is no lefs happy in the fub- limity of his drfcription of this grand exploit, than judicious in the choice of the circumftances pre- ceding it. The poetry rifes as the fubjeft becomes more interefting, and one may without rant or ex- travagance fay, that the poet feems to exert no lefs force of genius in defcribing than Samfon does flrength of body in executing. Thyer. 1 604 ahfent at that /pelade'] The language would be more cor- reft, if it was abjent from that fpedade. 1 605 . The building lua} a/pacious theatre Half SAMSON AGONISTES. 315 The building was a fpaclous theatre 1605 Half-round on two main pillars vaulted high, With feats where all the lords and each degree Of fort, might fit in order to behold; The other fide was open, where the throng On banks and fcaffolds under fky might fland; 16 1 o I among thefe aloof obfcurely flood. The feaft and noon grew high, and facrihce Had fill'd their hearts with mirth, highchear, and wine, When to their fports they turn'd. Immediately Was Samfon as a public fervant brought, i 6 1 5 In Half-round on tiuo main pillars 'vaulted high. Sec] Milton has finely accounted for this dreadful cataftrophe, and has with great judgment obviated the common objedion. It is commonly aflced, how fo great a building, contain- ing fo many thoufands of people, could reft upon two pillars fo near placed together : and to this it is anfwered, that inftances are not wanting of far more large and ca- pacious buildings than this, that have been fupported only by one pillar. Particularly, Pliny in the I 5th chapter of the 36th book of his natural hiftory, mentions two theatres built by one C. Curio, who lived in Julius Caefar's time; each of which was fupported only by one pillar, or pin, or hinge. tho' very many thoufands of people did fit in it together. See Poole's Annotations. Mr. Thyer further adds, that Dr. Shaw in his travels obferving upon the eaftern method of building fays, that the place where they exhibit their diverfions at this day is an advanc'd cloyfter, made in the faihion of a large penthoufe, fupported only by one or two contiguous pillars in the front, or elie at the center, and that upon a fuppofition therefore that in the houfe of Dagon, there was a cloyfter'd ftrufture of this kind, the pulling down the front or center pillars only which fup- ported it, would be attended with the like cataftrophe that happen'd to the Philiftines. See Shaw's tra- vels, p. 283. 1619— f«/^i- 3i6 SAMSON AGONISTES. In their ftate livery clad; before him pipes And timbrels, on each fide went armed guards, Both hciTe and foot, before him and behind Archers, and (lingers, cataphra^ls and fpears. At fight of him the people with a fliout 1620 Rifted the air, clamoring their God with praife. Who' had made their dreadful enemy their thrall. He patient but undaunted where they led him. Came to the place, and what was fet before him, Which without help of eye might be alTay'd, 1625 To heave, pull, draw, or break, he ftill perform'd All with incredible, ftupendious force, None daring to appear antagonift. At length for intermifiion fake they led him Between the pillars; he his guide requeued 1630 (For fo from fuch as nearer flood we heard) As over-tir'd to let him lean a while With both his arms on thofe two mafly pillars. That to the arched roof gave main fupport. He unfufpicious led him; which when Samfon 1635 Felt 1619. '—— cataphra£ls\ Men or In feveral editions it is printed con- horfes completely arm'd, from xa- fufiony but Mr. Thyer, Mr. Symp- ra^ftt,a- horrible convuJ/ton'] fhould he convuljion, andfo it is in Milton'^ SAMSON AGONISTES. 317 Felt in his arms, with head a while inclin'd, And eyes'faft fix'd he flood, as one who pray'd, Or fome great matter in his mind revolv'd : At laft with head ered: thus cry'd aloud, Hitherto, Lords, what your commands impos'd 1640 I have perform'd, as reafon was, obeying. Not without wonder or delight beheld : Now of my own accord fuch other trial I mean to {how you of my ftrength, yet greater ; As with amaze fliall flrike all who behold. 1645 This utter'd, ftraining all his nerves he bow'd. As with the force of winds and waters pent, When mountains tremble, thofe two mafly pillars With horrible con vulfion to and fro, 1649 He tugg'd, he fhook, till down they came and drew The whole roof after them, with burft of thunder Upon the heads of all who fat beneath, Lords, ladies, captains, counfellorSj or priefts. Their choice nobility and flovv'r, not only Of this but each Philiftian city round ^^55 Met Milton's own edition. And in the the firfl: edition: and there are feve- next line it ihould not be He fugged, ral pafTages which we have corred- betook, as it is abfurdly in fome edi- ed by the help of the firfl edition, tions, but He tugg'd^ bejhook, as in without taking notice of them. 1667. — in 3i8 SAMSON AGONISTES. Met from all parts to folemnize this feafl. Samfon with thefe immix'd, inevitably PuU'd down the fame deftrudion on himfelf ^ The vulgar only fcap'd who flood without. Chorus. O dearly-bought revenge, yet glorious ! 1660 Living or dying thou haft fulfill'd The work for which thou waft foretold To Ifrael, and now ly'ft victorious Among thy ilain felf-kill'd Not willingly, but tangled in the fold 1665 Of dire neceffity, whofe law in death conjoin'd Thee with thy flaughter'd foes in number more Than all thy life had flain before. Semichorus. While their hearts were jocond and fublime, Drunk with idolatry, drunk with wine, 1670 And fat regorg'd of bulls and goats, Chaunting their idol, and preferring Before our living Dread who dwells In 1667. "— — in numher more than they ivhich he Jle-xv in his life. Than all thy life had fain hefore.'\ 1 674. In Silo] Where the taber- Judges XVI. 30. So the dead 'which nacle and ark were at that time. ke fen/j at his death, ivere more iSSz.SofofidaremortalmenyScc] Agreeable SAMSON AGONISTES. 319 In Silo his bright fanduary : Among them he a fpi'rit of phrenzy fent, 1675 Who hurt their minds, And urg'd them on with mad defire To call in hade for their deftroyer -, They only fet on fport and play Unweetingly importun'd 1680 Their own deflrudion to come fpeedy upon them. So fond are mortal men Fall'n into wrath divine, As their own ruin on themfelves t' invite, Infenfate left, or to fenfe reprobate, ^685 And with blindnefs internal ftruck. S E M I c H o R u s. But he though blind of fight, Defpis'd and thought extinguifh'd quite, With inward eyes illuminated, His fiery virtue rous'd 1690 From under afhes into fudden flame. And as an evening dragon came, AfTailant Agreeable to the common maxim, came &c.] Mr. Calton fays that Mil- Quos Deu3 vult perdere dementat ton certainly dilated prius. T^yer. And not as an evening dragon 1 6^2. Jnd tu an tvtning dragon came. Samfon 320 SAMSON AGONISTES, AfTailant on the perched roofls. And nefts in order rang'd Of tame villatlc fowl; but as an eagle His cloudlefs thunder bolted on their heads. So virtue giv'n for loft, Deprefs'd, and overthrown, as feem'd, Like that felf-begotten bird In the Arabian woods imboft. That no fecond knows nor third. And lay ere while a holocauft, 1695 1700 From Samfon did not fet upon them like an evening dragon; hut darted ruin on their heads like the thun- der-beaiing eagle. Mr. Sympfon to the fame purpofe propofes to read And not as evening dragon came but as an eagle &c. Mr, Thyer underllands it other- wife, and explains it without any alteration of the text, to which ra- ther I incline. One might pro- duce (fays he) authorities enow from the naturalifts to fhow that lerpents devour fowls. That of Aldrovandus is fufficient, and ferves fully to juftify this fimile. Speak- ing of the food of ferpents he fays, Etenim aves, et potiflimum avium pullos in nidis adhuc de- gentes libenter furantur. Aldrov. deSerp. & Drac. Lib. i, c. 3. It is common enough among the an- cient poets to meet with feveral fimiles brought in to illuftrate one aftion, when one cannot be found that will hold in »every circum- flance. Milton does the fame here, introducing this of the dragon merely in allufion to the order in which the Philiftians were placed in the amphitheatre, and the fub- fequent one of the eagle to exprefs the rapidity of that vengeance which Samfon took of his ene- mies. 1695. 'villatic /oivl;^ Vil- laiicas allies, VWn.lAh. 23. Seft. 17. Richard/on. 1695. hut as an eagle &cj In the Ajax c^ bophocles it is faid thaf his enemies, if they faw him appear, would be terrify'd like birds at the appeavance of the vul- tur or eagle, ver 167. AM* SAMSON AGONISTES. 321 From out her afhy womb now teem'd. Revives, refloridies, then vigorous moft When mod una6tive deem'd, ^y'^S And though her body die, her fame furvlves A fecular bird ages of lives. Ma NO A H. Come, come, no time for lamentation now, Nor much more caufe -, Samfon hath auit himfelf Like Samfon, and heroically hath finifh'd 17 10 A life heroic, on his enemies Fully Aaa' ot£ yct^ ^n &C. The Greek verfes, I think, are faulty, and as I remember, are correded not amifs by Dawes in his Mifcell. Critic. J or tin, 1700. — — imboji-l Conceal'd, covcr'd. Spenfer Faery Queen. B. I. Cant. 3. St. 24. A knight her met in mighty arms imboji, Ricbardfon. 1702. — — a hohcauJf\ An en- tire burnt-ofFering. Elfe generally OnJy part of the beaft was burnt. Richardfon. 1706. -— her fame fuwi'ves A Jetular bird ages of lives. ^ The conftruftion and meaning of the who'e period I conceive to be this. Virtue giv'n for loft, like the phce- nix confum'd aad now teem'd from V o L. I. out her afhy womb, revives, re- florifhes, and though her body die which was the cafe of Samfon, yet her fame furvives a phoenix many ages : for the comma 2Jiitx furuifes in all the editions ihould be omit- ted, as Mr. Calton has obfened as well as myfelf. The phcenix, fays he, liv'd a thoufand years ac- cording to fome [See Bochart's Hierozoicon.Parsfecunda.p. 817.] and hence it is called here a fecu- lar bird. Ergo quoniam fex die^ bus cunfta Dei opera perfedta funt j per fecuiafex, id eft annorumyfx millia, manere hoc ftatu mundum neceffe eft. Ladlantius Div Inft. Lib. 7. c. 14. The fame- of vir- tue (the Semichorus faith) fur- 'vi'ves, outlives this fecular bird many ages. The comma, which is in all the editions ai'ier fwvi'vfs, breaks the conilruftion. 322 SAMSON AGONISTES. Fully reveng'd, hath left them years of mourning, And lamentation to the fons of Caphtor Through all Philiilian bounds ; to Ifrael Honor hath left, and freedom, but let them 171 5 Find courage to lay hold on this occalion ; To' himfelf and father's houfe eternal fame ; And which is bsft and happieft yet, all this With God not parted from him, as was fear'd. But favoring and affifling to the end. 1720 Nothing is here for tears, nothing to wail Or knock the bread, no weaknefs, no contempt, Difpraife, or blame, nothing but well and fair. And what may quiet us in a death fo noble. Let us go find the body where it lies ^7^5 Sok'd in his enemies blood, and from the ftream With lavers pure and cleaniing herbs wafh off The clotted gore. I with what fpeed the while (Gaza is not in plight to fay us nay) Will 1713. to the fon5ofCaphtor\ of them fettled in Paleftine, and Caphtor \t (hould be, and not Chap- there went by the name of Philif- /cr as in feveral editions : and the tim. Meado^wcourt. fons of Caphtor ZXQ Philillines, ori- I730- Will fend for all my kin- ginally of the Hand Caphtor or dred, all my friends, &c] This Crete. The people were called is founded upon what the Scrip- Caphtorim, Cherethim, Ceretim, ture faith, Judg. XVI. 31 . which and afterwards Cretians. A colony the poet has finely improv'd. Then his SAMSON AGONISTES. 323 Will fend for all my kindred, all my friends, 1730 To fetch him hence, and folemnly attend With filent obfequy and funeral train Home to his father's houfe : there will I build him A monument, and plant it round with (hade Of laurel ever green, and branching palm, 1735 With all his trophies hung, and ad:s inroU'd In copious legend, or fweet lyric fong. Thither fliall all the valiant youth refort. And from his memory inflame their breafls To matchlefs valor, and adventures high : ^740 The virgins alio Ihall on feaflful days Vifit his tomb v^ith flow'rs, only bewailing His lot unfortunate in nuptial choice. From whence captivity and lofs of eyes. Chorus. All is heft, though we oft doubt, 1745 What th' unfearchable difpofe Of his brethren, and all the houfe of refemblance betwixt this fpeech of his father, came down and took him, Milton's Chorus, and that of the and brought him up, and buried Chorus in ^fchylus's Supplices, him befween Zorah and EJhiaol in beginning at ver. 90. the burying-place of Manoah his fa- ther. Ai®' Ifji.if'^ ay. «t;9*)f«T©' 8- 1745. All is hejl, though ice oft Tvx^n doubt, &c] There is a great &c to ver. 109, Thyer. y 2 1755. Hii 324 SAMSON AGONISTES. Of higheft wifdom brings about. And ever bed found in the clofe. Oft he feems to hide his face. But unexpededly returns, ^7 50 And to his faithful champion hath in place Bore witnefs glorioufly; whence Gaza mourns And all that band them to refifl His uncontrollable intent j His fervants he with new acquift ^7S5 Of true experience from this great event ' With peace and confolation hath difmill. And calm of mind all paffion fpent. 1 755. His /er'vanff he iviih nenv acqufji] It is his fer-cant in moll of the editions, but the firll edition has it rightly his fcr^vants, meaning the Chorus and other perfons prefent. Acquijl, the fame as acqaifition, a word that may be found in Skinner, but I do not remember to have met with it elfe- where. 1757. With peace and confolation hath difmijl. And calm of mind all pajjton fpent . ] This moral leffon in the conclufion is very fine, and excellently fuited to the beginning. For Milton had chofen for the motto to this piece a paiiage out of Ariftotle, which may fliow what was his defign in writing this tragedy, and the fcnfe of which he hath exprefled in the preface, that " tragedy is of power " by raifing pity and fear, or ter- " ror, to purge the mind of thole " and fuch like pafTions, &c." and he exemplifies it here in Manoah and the Chorus, after their va- rious agitations of paflion, acqui- efcing in the divine difpenfations, and thereby inculcating a moft in- Uruftive leiTon to the reader. As this work was not intended for the ftage, it is not divided into afts, but if any critic (hould be difpofed fo to divide it, he may eafily do it by beginning the fecond aft at the entrance of Manoah, the third at the entrance of Dalila, the fourth at the entrance of Hara- pha, and the fifth at the entrance of the public Officer : but the flage SAMSON AGONISTES. 325 is never empty or without perfon?, according to the model of the belt written tragedies among the An- cients. I have faid in the life of Milton, that " Bifhop Atterbury ♦' had an intention of getting " Mr. Pope to divide the Samfon *' Agonilles into adts and fcene.s *' and of having it acted by the *' King's Scholar at Weftminfter." And fee what he i'ays to that pur- pofeinoneof his letters to Mr. Pope. *' I hope you won't utterly forget " what pafs'd in the coach about " Samfon Agoniftes. I ihan't prefs ** you as to time, but feme time " or other, I wifh you would re- " view, and polifh that piece. If " upon a new perufal of it (which '• I defire you to make) you think " as 1 do, that it is written in the " very fpirit of the Ancients ; it " deferves your care, and is capa- " ble of being imrroved, with " little trouble, into a perfedl mo- " del and llandard of tragic poetry " always allowing for its be- " ing a itory taken out of the " Bible, v.-hich is an objcdion that " at this time of day, I know is " not to be £rot over." THE END, From [ 327 ] From M I L T o n's Manufcript. The Perfons. Michael Heavenly Love Chorus of Angels Lucifer Adam 7 • i »l c P > w)ih the Serpent Confcience Death Labor Sicknefs Difcontent ^Mutes Ignorance with others. Faith Hope Charity The Perfons. Mofes Divine JuHice, Mercy, Wifdem, Heavenly Love Hefperus the Evening Star Cliorus of Angek Lucifer Adam Eve Confcience Labor Sicknefs Difcontent Ignorance Fear Death Faith Hope Charity Mutci Other Tragedies, Adam in banish m e n t. The Flood. A B R a M in E G Y P T. Paradise Lost. The Perfon'^. Mofes T-eo>.c7;^£i, recounting howheaffum'd his true body ; that it corrupts not, becaufe of his [abode] with God in the mount; declares the like of Enoch and Eliah ; befides the parity of the place, that certain pure winds, dews, and clouds preferve it from corruption ; whence exhorts to the fight of God ; tells they cannot fee Adam in the ftate of innocence by jeafon of their iin. Juflice 1 debating u hat {houM Mercy > becon;e of Man, if Wifdom J he fall. Chorus of Angels fing a hymn of the creation. Aa II, Heavenly Love. Evening Star. Ch9rus ling the marriage fong, and defcribe Paradife. Y 4 Aa [ 328 ] A£l III. Lucifer contriving Adam's ruin. Chorus tears for Adam, and re- lates Lucifer's rebellion and fail. A a IV. > fallen. Mutes, Adam Eve Confcicnce cites them to God's examination. Chorus bevvails, and tells the good Adarn hath loll, Ac^. V. Adam and Eve driven out of Paradife : Prefented by an Angel with Labor, Grief, Hatred Envy, War, Famin, Pe flilence, Sicknef?, Dii content, Ignorance, Fear, Death encer'd into the world, to whom he gives their names-: likewife Winter, Heat, Tempeft, ;5" / comfort him and in- J^°P^ f ftrufthim. Charity J Chorus briefly concludes. The Deluge. Sodom. Dmah. Vide Eufeb. Pr^parat. Evang. L. 9. L. 22. The Perfons. Dinah. Hamor. _- , 7 Rebecca's Sichem. Debora * i nurie Counfelorsz. Nuncius. Chorus, Jacob. Simeon. Levi. Thamar Cuophorufa , where Ju- d^h is found to have been the au- r or of that crime, which he con- :ier r.'d in Thamar. Thamar ex- caiea in what ihe aitempted. The Golden Calf, or the Maf- facre in Horeb. The Quails, Num. 1 1. The Murmurers, Num. 14. Corah, Dathan, &c. Num. 16, Moabitides, Num. 25. Achan, Jofue 7 and 8. Jofuah in Gibeon, Jof, 10. Gideon Idoloclaftes, Jud. 6, 7. Gideon purfuing, Jud. 8. Abimelech the Ufurper, Jud. 9, Samfon purfophorus, or H) bri- bes, or Samfon marrying or in Ra.» math Lechi, Jud. 15. Dagonalia Jud. 16. Comazontes, or the Benjami- nites, or the Rioters, Jud. 19,20, 21. Theriilria, a pafloral out of Ruth. Eliadae, Hophni and Phinehas, Sam. I, 2, 3, 4, beginning with the firft overthrow of Ifrael by the Philillins, interlac'd with Samuel's vifion concerning Eli's family. Jonathan reicued, Sam, i, 14. Doeg flandering, Sam. i. 22. The Sheepihearers in Carmel, a pailoral, i Sam 25. Saul in Gilboa, i Sam. 28. 31. David revolted, i Sam. from the 27 c. to the 31. David adulter JUS, 2 Sam. c. 11, 12. Tamar, 2 Sam. i 3. Achitophel, 2 Sam. 15, 16, 17, 18. Adoniah, 1 Reg. 2. Solomon Gynaecocratumenus, or Idolomargus, aut Thyfiazufs. Reg, !. I I . Rehoboam, i Reg. 12. where is difpiited of a politic religion. Abias Therfasus. 1 Reg. 14. The queen after much difpute, as the laa [ 329 1 Jaft refuge fent to the prophet Ahias of Shilo ; receives the mef- fage. The Epitafis in that fhe hearing the child (hall die as {he comes home, refufes to return, th inking thereby to elude the oracle. The former part is fpent in bring- ing the fick prince forth as it were defirous to fhift his chamber and couch as dying men ufe, his father telling him what facrifice he had fent for his health to Bethel and Dan ; his fearleffnefs of death, and putting his father in mind to fet [fend] to Ahiah. The Chorus of the elders of Ifrael, bemoaning his virtues bereft them, and at ano- ther time wondring why Jeroboam being bad himfelf fhould fo grieve for his fon that waa good, isfc. Imbres, or the Showers, i Reg. i8, ig. Naboth ffv%o(puiibiJi.tt<^, 1 Reg. 21. Ahab, I Reg. 22. beginning at the fynod of falfe prophets; end- ing with relation of Ahab's death ; his body brought; Zedechiah flain by Ahab's friends for his feducing. (See Lavater, 2 Chron. 18.) Elias in the mount, 2 Reg. i. '0;£i€aTr)c, or better, Elias Po- lemiftes. Elifaeus Hudrochoos, 2 Reg. 3. Hudrophantes, Aquator. Elifaus Adorodocetas. Elifaeus Menutes, five in Dothai- mif, 2 Reg. 6. Samaria Liberata, 2 Reg. 7. Achabasi Cunoboro^meni, 2 Reg. 9. The fcene Jefrael : beginning from the watchman's difcovery of Jehu till he go out : in the mean while, meffage of things pafling brought to Jefebel, &c. Laftly the 70 heads of Ahab's fons brought in, and melTage brought of Aha- ziah's brethren flain on the way, c. 10. Jehu Belicola, 2 Reg. 10. Athaliah, 2 Reg. 1 1. AmaziahDoryalotus,2Reg. 14. 2 Chron. 25. Hezechias croXiofuB^Eco;, 2 Reg, 18, 19. Hefechia befieg'd. The wicked hypocrify of Shebna, fpo* ken of in the 11, or thereabout or Ifaiah, and the commendation of Eliakim will afford a(pop/xa; Xo- yov, together with a fadion, that fought help from Egypt. Joiiah Aia^omenos, 2 Reg. 23. Zedechiah norifl^uv, 2 Reg. but the ftory is larger in Jeremiah. Solymwy Halofis ; which may begin from a raeflage brought to the city, of the judgment upon Zedechiah and his children in Rib- la, and fo feconded with the burn- ing and deftruftion of city and temple by Nebuzaradan j lamented by Jeremiah. Afa or .^thiopes, 2 Chron. 14. with the depofing his Mother, and burning her idol. The three Children, Dan. 3. Britifh. Trag. 1. The cloifler king Conftans fet up by Vortiger. 2. Vortiger poifon'd by Roena. 3. Vortiger immur'd. The three following were added afterwards in the margin. Venutius hufband to Cartifman- dua. Vortiger marrying Roena. See Speed, reprov'd by Vordin arch- bilhop of London, Speed. The [ 330 ] The mafTcre of tlie Briton^ by Hengift in their cups at Salibury plain. Malmfbury. 4. Sigher of the Eaft-Saxons re- voked from the faith, and reclaim'd by Jarumang. 5. Ethelbert of the Eaift- Angles Hain by OfFa the Mercian. See Holinfh. L. 6. c. 5. Speed in the Life of Offa and Ethelbert. 6. Sebert flain by Penda after he had left his kingdom. See Ho- linfhed, 1 16. p. 7. Wulfer flaying his two fons, for being Chriflians. 8. Olbert of Northumberland flain for ravifhing the wife of Bern- bocard, and the Danes brought in. See Stow. Holinfh. L. 6. c. i 2. and Ci'pecially Speed, L. 8. c. 2. 9. Edmund hil king of the Eafl- Angles martyr'd by Hinguar the Dane. See Speed, L. 8. c. z. 10. Sigebert, tyrantof theWefl- Saxons flain by a Swineherd. 1 1 . Edmund brother of Aihel- ftan flain by a thief at his ov\ n table. Malmeflj. 12. Edwin, fon to Edward the younger, for luft depriv'd of his kingdom, or rather by faftion of Monks, whom he hated; together with the impoftor Dunfian. 13. Edward fon of Edgar mur- der'd by his flep- mother. To which may be inferred the tragedy flirr'd up betwixt the Monks and Priefls about marriage. 14. Etheldred, fon of Edgar, a flothful king, the ruin of his land by the Danes. 15. Ceaulin, king of Weft-Sax- ons, for tyranny depos'd, and ba- nifti'd, and dying. 16. The flaughter of the Monks ©f Bangor by Edelfride ftirr'd up, as is faid, by Ethelbert, and he by Auftin the Monk, becaufe the Bri- tons would not receive the rites of the Roman Church. See Bede, Geffrey Monmouth, and Holinflied, p. 104. which muft begin with the Convocation of Britifli Clergy by Auilin to determin fuperfluous points, which by them was re- fufed. 17. Edwin by vifion promis'd the kingdom of Northumberland on promife of his converfion, and therein eftablifli'd by Rodoald king of Eail- Angles. 18. Ofwin king of Deira flain by Ofwie his friend king of Ber- nitia, through inftigation of flat- terers. See Holinflied, p. 115. ig. Sigibert of the Eaft- Angles keeping company with a perfon ex- communicated, flain by the fame man in his houfe, according as the bifliop Cedda had foretold. 20. Egfride king of the Nor- thumbers flain in battle againft the Pi(fts, having before wafted Ireland, and made war for no reafon on men that ever lov'd the Englifli ; forewarn'd alfo by Cuthbert not to fight with the Pidls. 21. Kinewulf, king of Weft' faxons, flain by Kineard in the houfe of one of his concubines. 22. Gunthildis, the Danifli lady, with her hufband Palingus, and her fon, flain by appointment of the traitor Edrick in king Ethelred's days. Holinflied, 7. L, c. 5. toge- ther with the maflkcre of the Danes at Oxford. Speed. 23. Brightrick of Weft-faxons poifon'd by his wife Ethelburge Ofta's daughter,who dies miferably alfo in beggery after adultery in a nunnery. Speed in Bithrick. 24. Alfred [ 33' ] 24. Alfred in difgulfe of a mi- niniel difcovers the Danes negli- gence, fees on with a mighty flaughter ; about the fame time the Devonlhire men ;out Hubba and flay him. A Heroical poem may be found- ed fomewhere in Alfred's reign, efpecially at his iffuing out of Ede- lingfey on the Danes, whofe ac- tions are well like thofe of Ulyf- fes. 25. Altheftan expofing his bro- ther Edwin to the fea, and repent- ing. 26. Edgar flaying Ethelwold for falfe play in wooing, wherein may be fet out his pride, luil:, which he thought to clofe by favoring Monks and building Monaiteries : alfo the difpofition of woman in Elfrida to- ward her hufljand. 27. Swane befieging London, and Ethelred repuls'd by the Lon- doners. 28 Harold flain in battel by William the Norman. The firil fcene may begin with the ghoft of Alfred, thefecond fon of Ethelred, flain in cruel manner by Godwin Harold's father, his mother and brother difluading him. 29. Edmond Ironfide defeating the Danes at Brentford, with his combat with Canute. 30. Edmund Ironfide murder'd by Edrick the traitor, and reveng'd by Canute. 31. Gunilda, daughter to king Canute and Emma. Wife to Henry the third Emperor, accus'dofin- chaltity, is defended by her Englifh page in combat againft a giant-like adverfary ; who by him at two blows is flain, i^c. Speed in the Life of Canute. 32. Hardiknute dying in his cups, an example to riot. 33.EdwardContenbr'!) divorcing and imprifoning his noble wife E- ditha, Godwin's daughter; where- in is fhowed his over affection to ftrangers the caufe of Godwin's in- furreftion, wherein Godwin's for- bearance of battel prais'd, and the Englifh moderation on both fides magnified. His flacknefs to redrefs the corrupt clergy, and fuperfti- tious pretence of cliaftity. A B R A M from Morea, or Isaac redeem'd. The Occonomy may be thus. The fifth or fixth day after Abra- ham's departure, Eleazer Abrani's fteward, firft alone, and then with the Chorus, difcourfe of Abra- ham's ftrange voyage, their miflrefs forrow and perplexity accompanied with frightful dreams ; and tell the manner of his rifing by night, tak- ing his fervants and his fon with him. Next may come forth Sarah herfelf ; after the Chorus, or If- mael, or Agar ; next feme fhep- herd or company of merchants pafling through the mount in the time that Abram was in the mid- work, relate to Saraii what they faw. Hence lamentation, fears, wonders : the matter in the mean while divulg'd. Aner or Efchcol, or Mamre Abram's confederates come to the houfe of Abram to be more certain, or to bring news; in the mean while difcourfing as the world would of fuch an ac- tion divers ways, bewailing the fate of fo noble a man fain from his re- putation, either through divine ju- Ilice, or fuperliition, or coveting to [ 332 ] to c'o fome notable a£l through zeaU At length a fervant fcnt from Abram relates the truth ; and laft he himfelf comes with a ai eat train of Melchizedeck, whofe fliep- herds being fecret eve-witnefies of all palTages had related to their mafter, and he conduced his friend Abraham home with joy. Ba E S. The Scene, the Court. Beginning from the morning of Herod's birth-day. Herod by forae Counfellor per- fuaded * on his birth-day to re- leafe John Baptift, purpofes it, caufes him to be fent for to the court from prifon. The Queen hears of it, takes occafion to pafs where he is, on purpofe, that under pretence of reconciling to him, or feeking to draw a kind retrac- tion from him of his cenfure on the marriage ; to which end fiie fends a courtier before to found whether he might be perfuaded to mitigate his fentence, which not finding, (he herfelf craftily afTays, and on his conftancy founds an accufation to Herod of a contu- jnacious afFio it on fuch a day be- fore many peers, prepares the king to fome paffion, and at laft by her daup^hter'sdancinofefFefts it. There may prologize the Spirit of Philip, Herod's brother. It may alfo be thought, that Herod had well be- dew'd himieif with wine, which snade him grant the eafier to his wives daughter. Some of his dif- ciples alfo, as to congratulate his liberty, may be brought in, with whom after certain command of his death many companioning words of his difciples, bewailing his youth cut off in his glorious courfe, he telling them his work is done, and wifhing them to follow Chrift his mafter. S O D O M. The title, Cupid's funeral pile. Sodom burning. The Scene before Lot's gate. The Chorus confifts of Lot's fliepherds coron to the city about fome affairs await in the evening their matter's return from his evening walk toward the city- gates. He brings with him two young men or youths of noble form. After likely difcourfes pre- pares for their entertainment. By then fupper is ended, the gallantry of the town pafs by in proceffion with mufic and fong to the temple of Venus Urania or Peor, and un- derftanding of two noble ftrang- ers arriv'd, they fend two of their choiceft youth with the prieft to invite them to their city folemni- ties, it being an honor that their city had decreed to all fair per- fonages, as being facred to their Goddefs. The Angels being a&t by the prieft whence they are, iay they are of Salem ; the prieft in- veighs againft the ftrift reign of Melchizedec. Lot, that knows their * Or e]/e the Queen may plot under pretence of begging for his liberty, to ieek to draw him iato & inare by his freedom of fpeech. drift. [ 333 ] drift, anfwers tliwartly at laft, of which notice given to the whole aflembly, they haften thither, tax him of prefumption, Angularity, breach of city- cuftoms ; in fine, after violence, the Chorus of fhep- herds prepare refiftance in their mafter's defenfe, calling the reft of the ferviture ; but being forc'd to give back, the Angels open the door, refcue Lot, difcover them- felves, w/arn him to gather his friends and fons in law out of the city. He goes and returns, as having met with fome incredulous. Some other friend or fon in law out of the way, when Lot came to his houfe, overtakes him to know his bufmefs. Here is dif- puted of incredulity of divine judg- ments, and fuch like matter: at laft is defcribed the parting from the city; the Chorus depart with their mafter ; the Angels do the deed with all dreadful execution ; the King and Nobles of the city may come forth, and ferve to fet out the terror; a Chorus of Angels concluding, and the Angels relat- ing the event of Lot's journey and of his wife. The firft Chorus be- ginning, may relate the courfe of the city each evening every one with miftrefs or Ganymed, gitterning along the ftreets, or fo- Jacing on the banks of Jordan, or down the ftream. At the prieft's inviting the Angels to the folemni- ty, the Angels pitying their beauty may difpute of love, and how it differs from luft, feeking to win them. In the laft fcenc, to the King and Nobles, when the fierce thunders begin aloft, the Angel appears all girt with flames, which he faith are the flames of true love, and tells the King, who falls down with terror, his juft fuffer- ing, as alfo Athane's, i. e. Gencr, Lot's fon in law, for defpifing the continual admonitions of Lot: then calling to the thunders, lightnings, and fires, he bids them hear the call and command of God to come and deftroy a godlefs na- tion: he brings them down with fome Ihort warning to other na- tions to take heed. Chrift born. Herod malTacring, or Riche! weeping, Matt. II. Chrirt bound. Chrift crucifi'd. Chrift rifen. Lazarus. Joan. XL Adam u n p a r a d i s'd . The Angel Gabriel either de- fcending or entring, fhowing lince this globe was created, his fre- quency as much on Earth, as in Heaven : defcribes Paradife. Nex^ the Chorus ftiewing the reafbn of his coming to keep his watch in Paradife after Lucifer's rebellion, by command from God, and witha! expreffing his defire to fee and know more concerning this excel- lent new creature, Man. The Angel Gabriel, as by his name fig- nifying a prince of power, tracing Paradife with a more free office, pafles by the ftation of the Cho- rus, and defired by them relates what he knew of Man, as the cre- ation of Eve, with their love and marriage. After this Lucifer ap- pears after his overthrow, bemoans himfelf, [ 334 ] himfelf, feeks revenge on Man. The Chorus prepare refiftance at his firft approach. At Jail, after difcourfe of enmity on either fide, he departs ; whereat the Chorus lings of the battel, and vidlory in Heaven againll him and his ac- complices; as before, after the firll Adl, was fung a hjinn of the creation. Here again may appear Lucifer relating and infuiting in what he had done to the deftruc- tion of Man. Man next, and Eve having by this time been feduc'd by the ferpent appears confufedly cover'd with leaves. Confcience in a fhape accufes him, Jullice cites him to the place, whither Jehovah call'd for him. In the mean while the Chorus entertains the ftage, and is informed by fome Angel the manner of his fall. Here the Chorus bewails Adam's fall. Adam then and Eve return, accufe one another, but efpecially Adam lays the blame to his wife, is ftubborn in his ofFenle. Juftice appears; reafons with him, con- vinces him. The Chorus admo- nilheth Adam, and bids him be- ware Lucifer's example of impe- nitence. The Angel is fent to ba- rilli them out of Paradife ; but be- fore cauics to pafs before his eyes in ihapes a Malic of all the evils of this life and world. He is humbled, relents, defpairs ; at lall appears Mercy, comforts him, promifes the Mefliah ; then calls in Faith, Hope, and Charity ; in- itruds him ; he repents, gives God the glory, fubmits to bis pe- nalty. The Chorus briefly con- cludes. Compare this with the iormer draught. Scotch Stories, or rather Briiiili of the North parts. A T H I R c flain by Natholo- chus, whofe daughter he had ra- vifht, and this Natholochus ulurp- ing tnereon the kingdom, feeks to flay the kindred of Athirco, who fcape him and confpire againft him. He fends to a v. itch to know the event. The witch tells the meffenger, that he is the man fhall flay Natholochus : he detefts it, but in his journey home changes his mind, and performs it Scotch Chron. Englifli, p. 68, 69. D u F F E and D o n w a l d, a ftrange ftory of witchcraft, and mur- der diicov^er'd and reven^d. Scotch Story, I 49, i^c. Ha IE, the Plowman, who with his two fons that were at plough running to the battel that was be- tween the Scots and Danes in the next field, itaid the flight of his countrymen, renew'd the battel, and caus'd the victory, is'c. Scotch Story, p. 155. K E X N E T H, who having pri- vily poifon'd Malcolm Dufie, that his own fon might fucceed, is flain by Fenella. Scotch Hill. p. 157, 158, ijc. Macbeth, beginning at the arrival of Malcolm at MackdufFe. The matter of Duncan may be exprefs'd by the appearing of his gholL MOABITIDES OrPHINEAS. The Epitafis whereof may lie in the contention, firft between the father of Zimri and Eleazer, whe- ther he [ought] to have flain his foii [ 335 ] fon without law: Next, the em- bafTadors of the Moabites expoftu- lating about Cofbi a llranger and a noble woman flain by Phineas. It may be argued about reformation and punifliment illegal, and, as it were by tumult: after all arguments driv'n home, then the word of the Lord may be brought acquitting and approving Phineas. Christus Patiens. The fcene in the garden be- ginning from the coming thi- ther till Judas betrays, and the officers lead him away. The rell by melTage and Chorus. His agony may receive noble expref- fions. The end of the Firfl Volume.