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In contemplation of created things.
By steps we may ascend to God. But fay,
What meant that caution join'd, If

ye

Obedient? can we want obedience then
To him, or poffibly his love defert,

be found

Who form'd us from the duft, and plac'd us here
Full to the utmost measure of what blifs.
Human defires can feek or apprehend?

515

520

To whom the Angel. Son of Heav'n and Earth, Attend: That thou art happy, owe to God; That thou continueft fuch, owe to thyself, That is, to thy obedience; therein stand. This was that caution giv'n thee; be advis'd.

504. Your fill what happiness] Your fill of what happiness, or to your fill what happiness.

509. -and the Scale of nature fet From center to circumference,] The fcale or ladder of nature afcends by fteps from a point, a center, to the whole circumference of what mankind can fee or comprehend. The metaphor is bold and vaftly expreffive. Matter, one firft matter is this center; nature infinitely diverfify'd is the fcale which reaches to the utmost of our conceptions, all round. We are thus led to God; whofe circumference who can tell? Uncircumfcrib'd be fills infinitude, VII. 170. Richardfon.

514. By steps we may afcend to God.]

God

There is a real visible ladder (befides that vifionary one of Jacob) whofe foot, tho' placed on the earth among the loweit of the creation, yet leads us by steps in contemplation of created things up to God the invifible creator of all things. Hume.

Milton here very clearly alludes to the Platonic philofophy of rifing gradually from the confideration of particular created beauty to that which is univerfal and uncreated.

Tbyer.

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God made thee perfect, not immutable;
And good he made thee, but to perfevere
He left it in thy pow'r; ordain'd thy will
By nature free, not over-rul'd by fate
Inextricable, or ftrict neceffity:

Our voluntary service he requires,

Not our neceffitated; fuch with him

525

539

Finds no acceptance, nor can find; for how

Can hearts, not free, be try'd whether they ferve
Willing or no, who will but what they must
By destiny, and can no other choose?

Myself and all th' angelic host, that stand

In fight of God enthron'd, our happy state
Hold, as you yours, while our obedience holds ;
On other furety none; freely we serve,

Because we freely love, as in our will

535

To

in the preceptive, as it is agreeable to Horace's rule, fo likewife to his practice, as particularly in that ftring of precepts, Epift. I. II. 55 Sperne voluptates, &c.

than when

546. Cherubic fongs &c.] Adam had mention'd thee nightly fongs of the Angels with pleasure in IV. 680 &c. But ftill he prefers the converfation of the Angel, and thinks difcourfe more fweet,

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nor knew I not To be both will and deed created free;] Nor was it unknown to me that my will and actions are free. I knew I was free. Two negatives make an affirmative.

Richardfon. 551. -whofe command Single is yet jo just,] That is the command not to eat of the for

To love or not; in this we ftand or fall:
And fome are fall'n, to disobedience fall'n,
And fo from Heav'n to deepest Hell; O fall
From what high state of bliss into what woe!

To whom our great progenitor. Thy words
Attentive, and with more delighted ear,
Divine inftructor, I have heard, than when
Cherubic fongs by night from neighb'ring hills
Aereal mufic fend: nor knew I not

To be both will and deed created free;

540

545

Yet that we never shall forget to love
Our Maker, and obey him whose command

559

Single is yet fo juft, my conftant thoughts

Affur'd me', and still affure: though what thou tell'st Hath past in Heav'n, fome doubt within me move, But more defire to hear, if thou consent,

555 The

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-He who requires

-Then let us not think hard One eafy prohibition, who enjoy

Free leave fo large to all things elfe.

From us no other service than to And this command tho' single, and

keep

This one, this eafy charge.

And again, ver. 432.

therefore on that account to be obey'd, is yet fo jufl, that it lays a farther obligation upon our obedience.

557. Worthy

The full relation, which muft needs be ftrange,
Worthy of facred filence to be heard ;

And we have yet large day, for scarce the fun
Hath finish'd half his journey', and scarce begins
His other half in the great zone of Heav'n.

Thus Adam made request; and Raphaël

After short pause affenting, thus began.

560

565

High matter thou injoin'st me', O prime of men, Sad tafk and hard; for how shall I relate To human fense th' invifible exploits Of warring Spirits? how without remorse The ruin of fo many glorious once

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And perfect while they ftood? how last unfold
The fecrets of another world, perhaps

Not lawful to reveal? yet for thy good

570

This is difpens'd; and what furmounts the reach
Of human fense, I shall delineate fo,

By likening fpiritual to corporal forms,

As may exprefs them beft; though what if Earth Be but the shadow' of Heav'n, and things therein 575 Each to' other like, more than on earth is thought? As yet this world was not, and Chaos wild Reign'd where these Heav'ns now roll, where Earth

now refts

things in Heaven and things in Earth than is generally imagin'd, which is fuggefted very artfully, as it is indeed the beft apology that could be made for thofe bold figures, which Milton has employ'd, and especially in his defcription of the battels of the Angels. To the fame purpofe fays Mr. Mede, Difcourfe X. If the vifible things "of God may be learned, as St. "Paul fays, from the creation of "the world, why may not the invifible and intelligible world be "learned from the fabric of the vifible? the one (it may be) be"ing the pattern of the other"

577. As yet this world was not, &c. Had I follow'd Monfieur Boffu's method, I should have dased the action of Paradife Loft

Upon

from the beginning of Raphael's fpeech in this book, as he fuppofes the action of the Eneid to begin in the fecond book of that poem. I could allege many reafons for my drawing the action of the Eneid rather from its immediate beginning in the first book, than from its remote beginning in the fecond; and fhow why I have confider'd the facking of Troy as an episode, according to the common acceptation of that word. But as this would be a dry unentertaining piece of criticism, I fhall not infarge upon it. Which ever of the notions be true, the unity of Milton's action is preferved according to either of them; whether we confider the fall of Man in its immediate beginning, as proceeding

from

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