1

With wheels yet hovering o'er the ocean brim, 140
Shot parallel to the earth his dewy ray,
Discovering in wide landfkip all the east
Of Paradife and Eden's happy plains,
Lowly they bow'd adoring, and began
Their orifons, each morning duly paid

In various ftile; for neither various stile

Nor holy rapture wanted they to praise
Their Maker, in fit strains pronounc'd or fung
Unmeditated, fuch prompt eloquence

145

Flow'd from their lips, in profe or numerous verfe,
More tuneable than needed lute or harp

151

To

145.-each morning duly paid
In various file;] As it is very
well known that our author was no
friend to fet forms of prayer, it is
no wonder that he afcribes extem-
porary effufions to our firft parents;
but even while he attributes flrains
unmeditated to them he himself imi-
tates the Pfalmist.

153. These are thy glerious works,
&c.] The morning hymn is written
in imitation of one of thofe Pfalms,
where in the overflowings of gra-
titude and praise the Pfalmift calls
not only upon the Angels, but
upon the most confpicuous parts of
the inanimate creation, to join with
him in extolling their common
Maker Invocations of this nature
fill the mind with glorious ideas of

God's works, and awaken that divine enthufiafin, which is fo natural to devotion. But if this calling upon the dead parts of nature is at all times a proper kind of worfhip, it was in a particular manner faitable to our first parents, who had the creation freth upon their minds, and had not feen the various difpenfations of Providence, nor confequently could be acquainted with thofe many topics of praife, which might afford matter to the devotions of their pofterity. Ineed not remark the beautiful spirit of poetry, which runs thro' this whole hymn, nor the holiness of that refolution with which it concludes.

Aadifon.

The

To add more fweetnefs; and they thus began.

These are thy glorious works, Parent of good, Almighty, thine this univerfal frame,

Thus wondrous fair; thyfelf how wondrous then! Unfpeakable, who fitft above these Heavens

To us invisible, or dimly feen

In these thy loweft works; yet these declare
Thy goodness beyond thought, and pow'r divine.
Speak ye who beft can tell, ye fons of light
Angels; for ye behold him, and with fongs
And choral fymphonies, day without night,
Circle his throne rejoicing; ye in Heaven,

The author has raised our expectation by commending the various file, and holy rapture, and prompt eloquence of our first parents; and indeed the hymn is truly divine, and will fully anfwer all that we expected. It is an imitation, or rather a fort of paraphrafe of the 148th Pfalm, and (of what is a paraphrafe upon that) the Canticle placed after Te Deum in the Liturgy, O all works of the Lord, bels ye the Lord, &c. which is the fong of the three children in the Аросгурһа.

ye

155.-thyself how wondrous then!] Wild XIII. 3. 4, 5. With whoje beauty, if they being delighted, took them to Gods; let them know how much better the Lord of them is: for

156

160

On Earth join all ye Creatures to extol

Him first, him last, him midst, and without end. 165 Faireft of ftars, laft in the train of night,

If better thou belong not to the dawn,

Sure pledge of day, that crown'st the smiling morn
With thy bright circlet, praise him in thy sphere,
While day arises, that sweet hour of prime.
Thou Sun, of this great world both eye

the throne of God, and ferve him day and night in his temple. But fill it was day without night, that is without fuch night as ours, for the darkness there is no more than grateful twilight. Night comes not there in darker veil. See ver. 645. of this book.

and foul,

170

Acknow

Lucifer, et cæli ftatione noviffimus exit.

The stars were fled, for Lucifer had chas'd

The ftars away, and fled himself

at laft. Addifon.

I don't know whether it is worth

165. Him firft, bim laft, him midft,] remarking that our author feems to Theccrit. Idyl. XVII 3.

have committed a mistake. The pla-
net Venus, when the rifes before the
fun, is called Phofporus, Lucifer,
fets after the fun is call'd Hefperus,
and the Morning Star; when the
Vefper, and the Evening Star, but
he cannot rife before him, and set
after him at the fame time: and
thor makes her do fo; for defcrib-
yet it may be objected that our au-
ing the last evening, he particularly
mentions Helperus that led the farry
Loft, IV. 605 and the very next
morning the is addrefs'd as laft in
the train of night. If this objection
fhould be admitted, all we can fay
to it is, that a poet is not obliged
to fpeak with the ftrictness and ac-
curacy of a philofopher.
172. Ac-

Acknowledge him thy greater, found his praise
In thy eternal courfe, both when thou climb'ft,
And when high noon haft gain'd, and when thou fall'st.
Moon, that now meet'ft the orient fun, now fly'st,
With the fix'd stars, fix'd in their orb that flies, 176
And ye
five other wand'ring fires that move
In mystic dance not without fong, refound
His praife, who out of darkness call'd up light.

172. Acknowledge him thy greater,] It is not an improbable reading which Dr. Bentley propofes Arknowledge him Creator, or as Mr. Thyer Acknowledge thy Creator: but I fuppofe the author made ufe of greater anfwering to great.

Thou Sun, of this great world both eye and foul, Acknowledge him thy greater.

So Ovid calls the fun the eye of the world, Mundi oculus, Met. IV. 228. And Pliny the foul, Nat. Hift. Lib. 1. c. 6. Hunc mundi effe totius animum. And the expreffion thy greater may be fitly parallel'd with thy fiercest IV. 927. and his greater in Paradife Regain'd I. 279.

173. In thy eternal courfe,] In thy continual courfe. Thus Virgil calls the fun, moon and ftars eternal fires, Æn. II. 154. Vos, aterni ignes; and the facred fire that was conftantly kept burning eternal fire, Æn. II. 297. ·

Air,

Eternumque adytis effert penetralibus ignem:

and ufes the adverb æternum in the fame manner for continually. Georg. II. 400.

-glebaque verfis Eternum frangenda bidentibus.

175. Moon, that now meet'ft the

orient fun, now fly'ft, &c.] The conftru&tionis, Thou Moon, that now meet'ft and now fly'ft the orient fun, together with the fix'd ftars, and ye five other wand'ring fires &c. He had before called upon the fun who governs the day, and now he invokes the moon, and the fix'd ftars, and the planets who govern the night, to praise their Maker.

The moon fometimes meets and fometimes flies the fun, approaches to and recedes from him in her monthly courfe. With the fix'd ftars, fix'd in their orb that flies; they are fix'd in their orb, but their orb flies, that is moves round with the utmoft rapidity; for Adam

is

Air, and ye Elements, the eldest birth
Of Nature's womb, that in quaternion run
Perpetual circle, multiform; and mix

180

ceaseless change

And nourish all things; let your
Vary to our great Maker still new praise.
Ye Mifts and Exhalations that now rife
From hill or steaming lake, dusky or gray,
Till the fun paint your fleecy skirts with gold,
In honor to the world's great Author rife,
Whether to deck with clouds th' uncolor'd sky,

is made to speak according to ap. pearances, and he mentions in another place, VIII. 19 and 21. their rolling spaces incomprehenfible, and their jawift return diurnal. And ye five other wandring fires. Dr. Bentley reads four, Venus and the Sun and Moon being mention'd before, and only four more remaining, Mercury and Mars and Jupiter and Sa

And we muft either fuppote Milton did not confider the morning far as the planet Venus; or he must be fuppofed to include the earth, to make up the other five, befides thofe he had menti n'd; and he calls it ellewhere VIII. 129. The planet earth; tho' this be not agreeable to the fyftem, according to which he is fpeaking at prefent. Wand'ring fires in oppofition to fix'd ftars. That move in myftic dance not without fong, alluding to the doctrin of the An