is blasted and withered, that it is "planet-struck ;" and that is now applied to the planets themselves. And what a sublime idea doth it give us of the devastations of Sin and Death! 429.-paragon'd.] Of poragonner (French) to be equal, to be like. An exact idea or likeness of a thing, able to contest with the original. Hume. 431. As when the Tartar &c.] As when the Tartar retreats from his Muscovite enemy, "over the snowy plains by Astracan," a considerable part of the Czar's dominion, formerly a Tartarian kingdom, with a capital city of the same name, near the mouth of the river Volga, at its fall into the Caspian sea; "or Bactrian Sophi," or the Persian Emperor, named Bactrian of Bactria, one of the greatest and richest provinces of Persia, lying near the Caspian sea, "from the horns of Turkish Crescent," from his Turkish enemies who bear the horned moon, the crescent in their ensigns, "leaves all waste beyond the realm of Aladule," the greater Armenia, called by the Turks (under whom the greatest part of it is) Aladule, of its last king Aladules, slain by Selymus the first, "in his retreat to Tauris," a great city in the kingdom of Persia, now called Ecbatana, sometime in the hands of the Turks, but in 1603 retaken by Abbas king of Persia, "or Casbeen," one of the greatest cities of Persia, in the province of Ayrach, formerly Parthia, towards the Caspian sea, where the Persian monarchs made their residence after the loss of Tauris, from which it is distant 65 German miles to the south-east. Hume. 455. Their mighty chief return'd:] We are in the next place to consider the infernal agents under the view which Milton has given us of them in this book. It is observed by those who would set forth the greatness of Virgil's plan, that he conducts his reader thro' all the parts of the earth which were discovered in his time. Asia, Afric, and Europe are the several scenes of his fable. The plan of Milton's poem is of an infi nitely greater extent, and fills the mind with many more asto nishing circumstances. Satan having surrounded the earth seven times, departs at length from Paradise. We then see him steering his course among the constellations, and after having traversed the whole creation, pursuing his voyage thro' the Chaos, and entering into his own infernal dominions. His first appearance in the assembly of fallen Angels, is worked up with circumstances which give a delightful surprise to the reader; but there is no incident in the whole poem which does this more than the transformation of the whole audience, that follows the account their leader gives them of his expedition, The gradual change of Satan himself is described after Ovid's manner, and may vie with any of those celebrated transformations which are looked upon as the most beautiful parts in that poet's works. Milton never fails of improving his own hints, and bestowing the last finishing touches to every incident which is admitted into his poem. The unexpected hiss which rises in this episode, the dimensions and bulk of Satan so much superior to those of the infernal Spirits who lay under the same transformations, with the annual change which they are sup posed to suffer, are instances of this kind. The beauty of the diction is very remarkable in this whole episode, as I have observed before the great judgment with which it was contrived Addison. 460. Thrones, Dominations, Princedoms, Virtues, Powers,] It is common with Homer to make use of the same verse several times, and especially at the beginning of his speeches; but I know not whether there is not more of simplicity in the practice than beauty. Our author, however, hath done the same with this line; but it is curious to observe how artfully he has managed it, and by repeating it every time gives new beauty to it. 480. Protesting Fate supreme;] Calling upon Fate as a witBess against my proceedings. But this seems not perfectly to agree with the account in book the second. It was indeed with labour and difficulty that Satan journeyed thro' Chaos, but we do not read of Chaos and the other Powers " fiercely opposings him," or protesting Fate with clamorous uproar," On the contrary Chaos bids him -go and speed; Havoc and spoil, and ruin are my gain. But Satan is here extolling his own performances, and perhaps the author did not intend, that the father of lies should keep strictly to truth. 496.-that which to me belongs,] Our author understand the sentence (as the most learned and orthodox divines do) as referring partly to Satan, the author of malice, and partly to the Serpent, the instrument of it, VOL. III. 513.-till supplanted down be fell] We may observe here singular beauty and elegance in Milton's language, and that is his using words in their strict and literal sense, which are commonly applied to a metaphorical meaning, whereby he gives peculiar force to his expressions, and the literal meaning appears more new and striking than the metaphor itself. We have an instance of this in the word "supplanted," which is derived from the Latin supplanto, to trip up one's heels or overthrow, "a planta pedis subtus emota:" and there are abundance of other examples in several parts of this work, but let it suffice to have taken notice of it here once for all. 514. A monstrous serpent on his belly prone,] Our author, in describing Satan's transformation into a serpent, had no doubt in mind the transformation of Cadmus in the fourth book of the Metamorphosis, to which he had alluded before in book ix, 905. And as several particulars are alike in both, it may be agreeable to the reader to compare both together. Ovid. Met, iv. 575, &c. Dixit, et ut serpens in longam tenditur alvum ; In pectusque cadit pronus; commissaque in unum Ille quidem vult plura loqui sed lingua repente Sufficient; quotiesque aliquos paret edere questus, But there is something much more astonishing in Milton than in Ovid; for there only Cadmus and his wife are changed into serpents, but here myriads of Angels are transformed all toe gether. 528. Ophiusa] A small island in the Mediterranean, so called by the Greeks, and by the Latins Colubraria; the inhabitants quitted it for fear of being devoured by serpents. 529. New Dragon grown,] In the same place, where Lu. can gives an account of the various serpents of Lybia, he describes the Dragon as the greatest and most terrible of them all; And our Author, who copies him in the rest, very rightly at tributes this form to Satan, and especially since he is called in Scripture "the great Dragon," Rev. xii. 9. He may well be said to be larger than the fabulous Python, that was engendered of the slime after the Deucalion Deluge," in the Pythian vale” 1 wear Pythia, a city of Greece. See the description of this monster, Ovid's Metamorphosis, i. 438. 560 That curl'd Megara:] She was one of the Furies, whose hair was serpents, as Medusa's; crinite draconibus ora. Ov. Met. iv. 771. 562. Near that bituminous lake where Sodom flam'd;] The lake Asphaltites near which Sodom and Gomorrah were situ. ated. Josephus affirms, the shapes and fashions of them and three other cities, called "the cities of the plain," were to be seen in his days, and trees loaden with fair fruit (stiled the apples of Sodom) rising out of the ashes, which at the first touch dissolved into ashes and smoke. b. iv. of the Wars of the Jews, c. 8. 568. -drug'd] It is a metaphor taken from the general nauseousness of drugs, when they are taken by way of medicine. Pearce. Physic'd, tormented with the hateful taste usually found in drugs. Richardson. 575. some say,] I know not, or cannot recollect from what author or what tradition Milton hath borrowed this notion. Mr. Warburton believes that he took the hint from the old romances, of which he was a great reader; where it is very common to meet with these annual, or monthly, or weekly penances of men changed into animals; but the words "some say" seem to imply that he has some express authority for it, and what approaches nearest to it is the speech of the Faery Manto in Ariosto, Cant. 43. St. 98. Each sev'nth day we constrained are to take Upon ourselves the person of a snake, &c. Harrington. 580. Ophion] According to the Greek etymology signifies a serpent, and therefore Milton conceives that by Ophion the of Serpent might be intended, "the Serpent whom they called Ophion:" and Eurynome, signifying wide-ruling, he says, but says doubtfully, that she might be the "wide-encroaching Eve perhaps." For I understand the wide-encroaching not as an epithet to Eurynome, explaining her name, but as an ep.thet to Eve, Milton having placed the comma after Eurynome, and not after the wide-encroaching. And besides some epithet should be added to Eve to shew the similitude between her and Eurynome, and why he takes the one for the other; and there fore in allusion to the name of Eurynome he stiles Eve the wide-encroaching, as extending her rule and dominion farther than she should over her husband, and affecting Godhead. 590. On his pale borse:] Tho' the author in the whole course of his poem, and particularly in the book we are now examining, has infinite allusions to places of Scripture, I have only taken notice in my remarks of such as are of a poetical nature, and which are woven with great beauty into the body of his fable. Of this kind is that passage in the present book, where describing Sin and Death, as marching through the works of Nature, he adds, -behind her Death Close following pace for pace, not mounted yet Which alludes to that passage in Scripture, so wonderfully poetical, and terrifying to the imagination, Rev. vi. 8. “And I looked, and behold a pale horse; and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him: and power was given unto them, over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with Death, and with the beast of the earth." Addison. 641. He ended, and the heav'nly audience loud Sung Halleluiah,] Dr. Bentley reads " and to him the audience loud" &c. Without this (says he) it is not said to whom they sung; and the words "Next, to the Son," ver. 645, show that they sung before to him, to the Father. But this objection is founded upon the Doctor's not observing the force of the word Halleluiah, where Jab signifies to God, the Father; and therefore there was no need of to bim. See vii. 634. 642. as the sound of seas, Through multitude that sung:] This passage is formed upon that glorious image in holy Writ, which compares the voice of an innumerable host of Angels, uttering Halleluiahs to the voice of mighty thunderings or of many waters. Addison. 643. Just are thy ways, Righteous are thy decrees] The same song which they are represented singing in Rev. xv. 3; xvi. 7. As in the foregoing passage he alluded to Rev. xix. 6. " And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, saying, Halleluiah.” |