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Perceiving, &c.] What a lovely picture has the poet here drawn of Eve! As it did not become her to bear a part in the conversation, she modestly sits at a distance, but yet within view. She stays as long as the Angel and her husband are discoursing of things, which it might concern her and her duty to know: but when they enter upon abstruser points, then she decently retires.

59. With Goddess-like demeanour forth she went,

Not unattended,] In the turn of expression in these two lines Milton seems to allude to Homer's description of Helen. Iliad. iii. 142.

66. To ask or search &c.] The Angel's returning a doubtful answer to Adam's inquiries, was not only proper for the moral reason which the poet assigns, but because it would have been highly absurd to have given the sanction of an Arch-Angel to any particular system of philosophy. The chief points in the Ptolemaic and Copernican hypotheses are described with great conciseness and perspicuity, and at the same time dressed in very pleasing and poetical images.

Addison.

80. And calculate the stars,] The sense is, And form a judgment of the stars by computing their motions, distance, situation, &c. as to calculate a nativity signifies to form a judgment of the events attending it, by computing what planets, in what motions, presided over that nativity.

83. With centric and eccentric] Gentric or concentric are such spheres whose center is the same with, and eccentric such whose centers are different from that of the earth. Cycle is a circle: Epicycle is a circle upon another circle. Expedients of the Ptolemaics to solve the apparent difficulties in their system.

102.—and bis line stretch'd out so far ;] As in Job xxxviii. 5. 128. In six thou seest, &c.] In the moon and the "five" other wandering fires," as they are called v. 177. Their motions are evident; and what if the earth should be a seventh planet, and move three different motions though to thee insensible? The three different motions," which the Copernicans attribute to the earth are the diurnal round her own axis, the annual round the sun, and the motion of libration" as it is called, whereby the earth so proceeds in her

orbit, as that her axis is constantly parallel to the axis of the world. “Which else to several spheres thou must ascribe," &c. You must either ascribe these motions to several spheres crossing and thwarting one another with crooked and indirect turnings and windings; or you must attribute them to the earth, and " save the sun his labour” and the primum mobile too, "that swift nocturnal and diurnal rhomb." It was observed in the note on vii. 619, that when Milton uses a Greek word, he frequently subjoins the English of it, as he does here," the wheel of day and night." So he calls the primum mobile: and this primum mobile, in the ancient astronomy, was an imaginary sphere above those of the planets and fixed stars; and therefore said by our author to be suppos'd and "invisible above all stars.' This was conceived to be the first mover, and to carry all the lower spheres round along with it; by its rapidity communicating to them a motion whereby they revolved in twenty-four hours. "Which needs not thy belief, if earth," &c. But there is no need to believe this, if the earth, by revolving round on her own axis from west to east in twenty-four hours (travelling east) enjoys day in that half of her globe which is turned towards the sun, and is covered with night in the other half which is turned away from the sun.

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159. But whether thus these things or whether not, &c.] The Angel is now recapitulating the whole. He had argued upon the supposition of the truth of the Ptolemaic system to ver. 122. Then he proposes the Copernican system, and argues upon that supposition. Now he sums up the whole,

But whether thus these things, or whether not," whether the one system or the other be true, whether Heaven move or Earth, solicit not thyself about these matters, fear God and do thy duty.

162.- bis flaming road] Elegantly applying to the road what belongs to the sun. So i. 786, he says the moon wheels her pale course.' Richardson.

164.

-that spinning sleeps

On her soft axle,] Metaphors taken from a top, of which Virgil makes a whole simile, Æn. vii. 378. It is an objec tion to the Copernican system, that if the earth moved round on her axle in twenty-four-hours, we should be sensible of the

rapidity and violence of the motion; and therefore to obviate this objection it is not only said that "she advances her silent course with inoffensive pace that spinning sleeps on her soft axle," but it is farther added to explain it still more," while she paces even, and bears thee soft with the smooth air along" for the air, the atmosphere, moves as well as the earth.

194. Is the prime wisdom; what is more is fume, &c.] An excellent piece of satire this, and a fine reproof of those men who have all sense but common sense, and whose folly is truly represented in the story of the philosopher, who, while he was gazing at the stars, fell into the ditch. Our author in these Cines, as Mr. Thyer imagines, might probably have in his eye the character of Socrates, who first attempted to divert his countrymen from their aery and chimerical notions about the origin of things, and turn their attention to that prime wisdom, the consideration of moral duties, and their conduct in social life.

204.now bear me relate

My story,] Adam,, to detain the Angel, enters upon his own history, and relates to him the circumstances in which he found himself upon his creation; as also his conversation with his Maker, and his first meeting with Eve. There is no part of the poem more apt to raise the attention of the reader, than this discourse of our great ancestor; as nothing can be more surprising and delightful to us, than to hear the sentiments that arose in the first man while he was yet new and fresh from the hands of his Creator. The poet has interwoven every thing which is delivered upon this subject in holy Writ with so many beautiful imaginations of his own, that nothing can be conceived more just and natural than this episode.

211. And sweeter thy discourse is to my bear, &c] The poet had here probably in mind that passage in Virgil, Ecl. v. 45.

O heav'nly poet! such thy verse appears,
So sweet, so charming to my ravish'd ears,
As to the weary swain, with cares opprest,
Beneath the sylvan shade, refreshing rest;
As to the feverish traveller, when first

He finds a crystal stream to quench his thirst. Dryden.

But the fine turn in the three last lines of Milton is entirely his own, and gives an exquisite beauty to this passage above Virgil's. See An Essay upon Milton's Imitations of the Ancients, p. 37.

212. -fruits of palm tree] The palm-tree bears a fruit called a date, full of sweet juice, a great restorative to dry and exhausted bodies by augmenting the radical moisture. 218. Nor are thy lips ungraceful,] Alluding to Psal. xiv. 3. Full of grace are thy lips."

229. For I that day was absent,] The sixth day of creation. Of all the rest, of which he has given an account, he might have been an eye-witness, and speak from his own knowledge what he has said of this day's work, of Adam's original, to be sure, he must have had by hearsay or inspiration. Milton had very good reason to make the Angel absent now, not only to vary his speaker, but because Alam could best, or only, tell some particulars not to be omitted.

233. To see that none thence issued forth, &.] As Man was to be the principal work of God in this lower world, and (according to Milton's hypothesis) a creature to supply the loss of the fallen Angels, so particular care is taken at his crea tion. The Angels on that day keep watch and guard at the gates of Hell, that none may issue forth to interrupt the sacred work. At the same time that this was a very good reason for the Angel's absence, it is likewise doing honour to the Man with whom he was conversing.

240.Fast we found, fast shut &c.] There is no question but our poet drew the image in what follows from that in Virgil's sixth book, where Æneas and the Sibyl stand before the adamantine gates, which are there described as shut upon the place of torments, and listen to the groans, the clank of chains, and the noise of iron whips that were heard in those regions of pain and sorrow. Addison.

The reader will not be displeased to see the passage, Æn, vi. 557.

From hence are heard the groans of ghosts, the pains
Of sounding lashes and of dragging chains;
The Trojan stood astonish'd at their cries,

Dryden.

253.-As new wak'd from soundest sleep &c.] Adam then proceeds to give an account of his condition and sentiments

immediately after his creation. How agreeably does he represent the posture in which he found himself, the beautiful landskip that surrounded him, and the gladness of heart which grew up in him on that occasion? Adam is afterwards described as surprised at his own existence, and taking a survey of himself, and of all the works of nature. He likewise is represented as discovering by the light of reason, that he and every thing about him must have been the effect of some being infinitely good and powerful, and that this being bad a right to his worship and adoration. His first address to the sun and to those parts of the creation which made the most distinguished figure, is very natural and amusing to the imagination. His next sentiment, when upon his first going to sleep he fancies himself losing his existence, and falling away into nothing, can never be sufficiently admired. His dream in which he still preserves the consciousness of his existence, together with his removal into the garden which was prepared for his reception, are also circumstances finely imagined, and grounded upon what is delivered in sacred story. These and the like wonderful incidents in this part of the work have in them all the beauties of novelty, at the same time that they have all the graces of nature. They are such as none but a great genius could have thought of, though, upon the perusal of them, they seem to rise of themselves from the subject of which he treats. In a word, though they are natural, they are not obvious, which is the true character of all fine writing. Addison.

269.- —as lively vigour led;] We have printed it after the first edition, though the second represents it thus,

and sometime ran

With supple joints, and lively vigour led.

This reading is followed likewise in some other editions, but we conceive it to be plainly an error of the press,

272.

-and readily could name

Wbate'er I saw. There is a contradiction between this and ver. 352, &c. In the first passage Adam says that he could name whatever he saw, before he got into Paradise. In the second he says, that God gave him that ability when the beast came to him in Paradise. For this last passage alludes to the rabinical opinion, that he gave names according to their pa❤

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