Living or lifeless to be found was none; Of all things tranfitory' and vain, when fin Both all things vain, and all who in vain things All who have their reward on earth, the fruits requifite in the greater kinds of poetry, that Ariftotle obferves the ancient tragic writers made ufe of the names of fuch great men as had actually lived in the world, tho' the tragedy proceeded upon adventures they were never engaged in, on purpose to make the fubject more credible. In a word, befides the hidden meaning of an epic allegory, the plain literal fenfe ought to appear probable. The ftory fhould be fuch as an ordinary reader may acquiefce in, whatever natural, moral or political truth may be difcovered in it by men of greater penetration. Addifon. 443 lifeless] Milton writes it livelefs; but I conceive the word to be compounded of lefs and the fubftantive life, and not of the verb live; lifeless without life, as fearlefs without fear, liftles without lift or defire, peerless, ruthless, fhapelefs, &c. 445 450 Of 444. None yet, &c.] Dr. Bentley is for rejecting this verfe and fifty four more which follow as an infertion of the editor; but I think there can be no doubt of their genuinnefs, whatever there may be of their goodness. Mr. Richardfon thinks the Paradife of Fools is finely imagin'd, but it must be own'd that it is formed more upon the taste of the Italian poets than of the Ancients. 457-and in vain,] To wanfood would be a weak expreflion, der in vain as commonly under but it has the force of the Greek atas, the Latin fruftrà, temerè, fortuitò, nullo confilio, at random. Richardfon. 459. Not in the neighb'ring moon, as fome have dream'd;] Ariofto particularly, who in his Örlando Furiofo, Cant. 34. St. 70, &c. gives a much larger defcription of things loft upon earth and treasur'd up Of painful fuperftition and blind zeal, Nought seeking but the praise of men, here find All th' unaccomplish'd works of Nature's hand, 455 Abortive, monftrous, or unkindly mix'd, Diffolv'd on earth, fleet hither, and in vain, Till final diffolution, wander here, Not in the neighb'ring moon, as fome have dream'd; Thofe And all we lofe with folly and mifpending, May there be found unto this place afcending. And fo he proceeds in enumerating other particulars, the vanity of titles, falfe flatteries, fond loves. great men's promifes, court- fervices, death-bed alms, &c. and men's wits kept in jars like oil. likewife made fine use of this noOur late great English poet has tion in his Rape of the Lock, Cant. 5. as indeed it feems to be fitter for a mock-heroic poem than for the true epic. Thofe argent fields more likely habitants, Tranflated Saints, or middle Spirits hold 460 With many a vain exploit, though then renown'd:" The builders next of Babel on the plain 466 Of The courtier's promifes, and fick man's pray'rs, The fmiles of harlots, and the tears of heirs, Cages for gnats, and chains to yoke a flea, Dry'd butterflies, and tomes of cafuiftry. 460. Thofe argent fields &c.] There is no queftion I believe now among philofophers, that the moon is in-. habited; but it is greatly to be queftion'd whether this notion of our author be true, that the inhabitants there are tranflated Saints or Spirits of a middle nature between Angels and Men; for as the moon is certainly lefs confiderable in itfelf than our earth, it is not likely that its inhabitants fhould be fo much more confiderable. 463. Hither of ill-join'd fons and daughters born &c. ] He means the Jons of God ill-join'd with the daughters of men, alluding to that text of Scripture, Gen. VI. 4. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the fons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them; the fame became mighty men, which were of old, men of renown: where by the fons of God fome Fathers and Commentators have underflood Angels, as if the Angels had been enamour'd and married to women; but the true meaning is that the pofterity of Seth and other patriarchs, who were worfhippers of the true God, and therefore call'd the fons of God, intermarried with the idolatrous poflerity of wicked Cain. 467. Of Sennaer,] Or Shinar, for they are both the fame name of this province of Babylonia. But Milton follows the Vulgate as he frequently Of Sennaar, and still with vain design New Babels, had they wherewithal, would build : A God, leap'd fondly into Etna flames, frequently does in the names of places. 471. Empedocles;] The fcholar of Pythagoras, a philofopher and poet, born at Agrigentum in Sicily: he wrote of the nature of things in Greek, as Lucretius did in Latin verfe. He stealing one night from his followers threw himself into the flaming Etna, that being no where to be found, he might be efteemed to be a God, and to be taken up into Heaven; but his iron pattens, being thrown out by the fury of the burning mountain, difcover'd his defeated ambition, and ridiculed his folly. Hor. de Art. Poet. 464. -Deus immortalis haberi 473. Cleombrotus;] The name is rightly placed the last word in the fentence, as Empedocles was before. He was called Ambraciota of Ambracia, a city of Epirus in Greece. Having read over Plato's book of the Soul's immortality and happiVOL. I. 47° And from hence other authors feem to have taken his story, as Cicero Tufc. Difp. I. 34. Callimachi quie dem Embryo's and idiots, eremites and friers 474 White, black, and gray, with all their trumpery. dem epigramma in Ambraciotam Cleombrotum eft: quem ait, cum ei nihil accidiffet adverfi, e muro fe in mare abjeciffe lecto Platonis libro: and Ovid Ibis. ver. 493. Vel de præcipiti venias in Tar- Ut qui Socraticum de nece le- 473-and many more too long,] Poorly and deficiently exprefs'd for, and more too long to name. Bentley. It feems as if a line were by miftake of the printer left out here; for (as Dr. Bentley fays) it is deficiently exprefs'd. Befides Milton had been mentioning those who came fingle; and therefore he could not fall upon the mention of embryo's, idiots, hermits, and friers, without fome other verfe interpos'd, which fhould finish the account of those who came fingle; and contain a verb for the nominative cafes embryo's, idiots, &c. which at prefent is wanting. Pearce. A very ingenious perfon queftions, whether Milton by this appearance of inaccuracy and negligence did not defign to exprefs his contempt of their trumpery as he calls it, by Dying hustling it all together in this diforder and confufion. We have the fame artful negligence in Paradise Regain'd, II. 182. Have we not feen, or by relation heard, In courts and regal chambers how thou lurk't, In wood or grove by moffy fountain fide, In valley or green meadow to way-lay Some beauty rare, Califto, Cly mene, Daphne, or Semele, Antiopa, 475. White, black, and gray,] So named according to their habits, white friers or Carmelites, black friers or Dominicans, gray friers or Francifcans, of their founders St. Francis, St. Dominic, and mount Carmel where that order pretend they were first instituted. Our author here, as elfewhere, fhows his diflike and abhorrence of the church of Rome, by placing the religious orders with all their trumpery, cowls, hoods, reliques, beads, &c. in the Paradife of Fools, and not only placing |