365 Though huge, and in a rock of diamond arm'd, The athieft crew, but with redoubled blow Of Ramiel fcorch'd and blafted overthrew. I might relate of thousands, and their names 370 Angels, contented with their fame in Heaven, 375 For ftrength from truth divided and from juft, And ignominy, yet to glory' aspires Vain glorious, and through infamy feeks fame: 380 385 And now their mightiest quell'd, the battel swery'd. With many an inroad gor'd; deformed rout Swerv'd from the faxon Swerven, to wander out of its place; here by analogy to bend, to ply; for in that cafe an army in battel properly fwerves. Richardfon. The word is ufed in the fame fenfe by Spenfer, Faery Queen, B. 5. Cant. 10. St. 35. Who from his faddle fwerved nought aside. 391.what food, recoil'd, &c.} The conftruction has occafion'd fome difficulty here, but it may be thus explicated. What food is the nominative cafe in the fentence, and Enter'd, and foul disorder; all the ground And fiery foaming fteeds; what food, recoil'd and the verbs are recoil'd and fled. It would indeed be a contradiction to fay that what food their ground, fled; but that is not the meaning of it, what food is put in oppofition to what lay overturn'd in the preceding line. Part of the Satanic hoft lay overturn'd; and that part which was not overturn'd, but kept on their feet, and food, either give way and recoil' o'er-weariea, or with pale fear furpris'd fled ignominious., 396.till that hour &c] It feems a very extraordinary circumftance attending a battel, that not only none of the warriors on either fide were capable of death by wound, but on one fide none were 390 365 400 Such capable of wound or even of pain. This was a very great advantage on the fide of the good Angels; but we muft fuppofe that the rebel Angels did not know their own weakness till this hour. 399. In cubic phalanx firm] In ftrictness of fpeech, to have been cubic, it must have been as high, as it is broad, as Dr. Bentley juitly obferves. But why muft a poet's mind, fublim'd as Milton's was on this occafion, be expected to attend to every circumitance of an epithet made ufe of? He meant four Square only, having that property of a cube to be equal in length on all fides. And fo he expreffes himfelf in his tract call'd The reafon Such high advantages their innocence Gave them above their foes, not to have finn'd By wound, though from their place by violence mov'd. 405 Now night her course began, and over Heaven Inducing darkness, grateful truce impos'd, And filence on the odious din of war: Victor and vanquifh'd: on the foughten field of Church Government &c. p. 215. Edit. Toland. As thoje (maller squares in battle unite in one great cube, the main phalanx, an emblem of truth and ftedfaftnefs. To be fure Milton's cubic, tho' not strictly proper, is better than the epithet martial (which the Doctor would give us in the room of it) becaufe a phalanx in battel could not be otherwife than martial; and fo closely united an idea could not have any beauty or force here. Pearce. 495.-though from their place by violence mov'd.] This circumftance is judiciously added to prepare the reader for what happens in the next fight. 410 Inducing darkness, grateful truce impos'd,] The fame with Taffo on a like occafion, G. L. Cant. 11. St. 18. Sin che fe nuova tregua à la fatica 407. Inducing darkness,] He feems here to have copied Horace, Sat. I. V. 9. -Jam nox inducere terris Umbras, et cœlo diffundere figna parabat. 413. Cherubic waving fires:} Their watches were Cherubic wav Incamping, plac'd in guard their watches round, Far in the dark diflodg'd; and void of rest, 415 His potentates to council call'd by night; Too mean pretence, but what we more affect, 420 (And |