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Faft by the oracle of God; I thence
Invoke thy aid to my adventrous fong,
That with no middle flight intends to foar
Above th' Aonian mount, while it purfues
Things unattempted yet in profe or rhime.

Aonas in montes ut duxerit una fo

rorum,

And again Georg. III. 11.
Aonio rediens deducam vertice Mu-

fas;

though afterwards, I know not by what fatality, that country was famous for the dulnefs of its inhabitants.

16. Things unattempted yet in profe

15

And

It is evident enough that by rhime in this place is meant verse in general; but I fuppofe Milton thought it would found too low and familiar to the ear to fay in profe or verfe, and therefore chofe rather to fay in profe or rhime. When he fays in profe or verfe, he adds an epithet to take off from the commonnefs of the expreffion, as in V. 150.

-fuch prompt eloquence Flow'd from their lips, in profe or numerous verse.

or rbime.] Milton appears to have meant a different thing by rbime here, from rime in his preface, where it is fix times men- It is faid that Milton took the first tion'd, and always fpell'd without hint of this poem from an Italian an b; whereas in all the editions, tragedy called II Paradifo perfo; and till Dr. Bentley's appear'd, rhime it is pretended that he has borin this place of the poem was row'd largely from Mafenius, a Spell'd with an_b. Milton pro- German Jefuit, and other modern bably meant a difference in the authors; but it is all a pretence, thing, by making fo conftant a dif- he made ufe of all authors, fuch ference in the Ipelling; and in- was his learning; but fuch is his tended that we fhould here under- genius, he is no copyer, his poem ftand by rhime, not the jingling is plainly an original, if ever there found of like endings, but verfe in was one. His fubject indeed of general; the word being deriv'd the fall of Man together with the from rythmus, puuos. Ariofto had faid

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principal epifodes may be faid to be as old as Scripture, but his man- · ner of handling them is entirely

new, with new illuftrations and new beauties of his own; and he may as juftly boaft of the novelty of his poem, as any of the ancient poets K

bestow

And chiefly Thou, O Spirit, that doft prefer
Before all temples th' upright heart and pure,

Inftruct me, for Thou know'ft; Thou from the first
Waft prefent, and with mighty wings outfpread 20
Dove-like fatst brooding on the vast abyss,
And mad'st it pregnant: what in me is dark

bestow that recommendation upon their works; as Lucretius I. 925.

Avia Pieridum peragro loca, nul

lius ante Trita folo : &c.

and Virgil Georg. III. 3.

Illumin,

This address therefore is no more formality. Yet fome may think that he incurs a worse charge of enthufiafm, or even profaneness, in vouching infpiration for his performance: but the Scriptures represent inspiration as of a much larger extent than is commonly ap

Cætera quæ vacuas tenuiffent car- prehended, teaching that

mina mentes

Omnia jam vulgata.
Primus ego in patriam &c.
292.-Juvat ire jugis, quà nul-
la priorum
Caftaliam molli divertitur orbita
clivo.

17. And chiefly Thou, O Spirit, &c.] Invoking the Mufe is commonly a matter of mere form, wherein the poets neither mean, nor defire to be thought to mean any thing feriously. But the Holy Ghost here invok'd is too folemn a name to be used infignificantly: and befides our author, in the beginning of his next work Paradife Regain'd, fcruples not to fay to the fame divine perfon

Infpire,

As thou art wont, my prompted fong, elfe mute.

every good gift, in naturals as well as in moral, defcendeth from the great Father of lights, Jam. I. 17. And an extraordinary skill even in mechanical arts is there afcribed to the illumination of the Holy Ghost. It is faid of Bezaleël who was to make the furniture of the taber

nacle, that the Lord bad filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, and to devife curious works, &c. Exod. XXXV. 31. Heylin.

It may be obferved too in juftification of our author, that other facred poems are not without the like fer's Hymns of Heavenly Love invocations, and particularly Spenand Heavenly Beauty, as well as fome modern Latin poems. But I conceive that Milton intended fomething more, for I have been

informed

Illumin, what is low raife and fupport;

That to the highth of this great argument
I may affert eternal Providence,

And justify the ways of God to Men.

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Say first, for Heav'n hides nothing from thy view, Nor the deep tract of Hell, fay firft what cause

Mov'd

bird, because the defcent of the Holy Ghoft is compared to a dove in Scripture, Luke III. 22. As Milton ftudied the Scriptures in the original languages, his images and expreffions are oftner copied from them, than from our tranflation.

26. And juftify the ways of God

to Men.] A verfe, which Mr. Pope has thought fit to borrow with fome little variation, in the beginning of his Essay on Man, But vindicate the ways of God to Man.

informed by thofe, who had opportunities of converfing with his widow, that she was wont to say that he did really look upon himself as infpir'd, and I think his works are not without a spirit of enthusiasm. In the beginning of his ad book of The Reafon of Church government, fpeaking of his defign of writing a poem in the English language, he fays, "It was not to be obtained "by the invocation of Dame Me"mory and her Siren daughters, "but by devout prayer to that "eternal Spirit who can enrich "with all utterance and know"ledge, and fends out his Sera- It is not eafy to conceive any good "phim, with the hallow'd fire of reafon for Mr. Pope's preferring "his altar, to touch and purify the the word vindicate, but Milton "lips of whom he pleafes, p. 61. makes ufe of the word juftify, as it Edit. 1738. is the Scripture word, That thou mightest be juftified in thy fayings, Rom. III. 4. And the ways of God to Men are juftified in the many argumentative difcourfes throughout the poem, and particularly in the conferences between God the Father and the Son.

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19. Inftru&t me, for Thou know'ft:] Theocrit. Idyl. XXII. 116.

Ειπε θεα, συ γαρ απαί

21. Dove-like fatft brooding] Alluding to Gen. I. 2. the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters; for the word that we translate moved fignifies properly brooded, as a bird doth upon her eggs; and he fays like a dove rather than any other

27. Say firft, for Heav'n bides nothing from thy view, Nor the deep tract of Hell,-] The poets attribute a kind of omniK 2 science

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Mov'd our grand parents, in that happy state,
Favor'd of Heav'n fo highly, to fall off t
From their Creator, and tranfgrefs his will t
For one reftraint, lords of the world befides?
Who first feduc'd them to that foul revolt?
Th' infernal Serpent; he it was, whose guile,
Stirr'd up with envy and revenge, deceiv'd
The mother of mankind, what time his pride

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Υμείς γαρ θεα εςέ, πάρεσε τε 158 TE Carla.

And Virgil Æn. VII. 645.

Et meminiftis enim, Divæ, et me

morare poteftis.

Milton's Muse, being the Holy Spirit, muft of course be omniscient. And the mention of Heaven and Hell is very proper in this place, as the fcene of fo great a part of the poem is laid fometimes in Hell, and fometimes in Heaven.>

32. For one refraint,] For one thing that was reftrain'd, every thing elfe being freely indulged to them, and only the tree of knowledge forbidden.

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Th' infernal Serpent; An imitation of Homer, Iliad. I. 8. where the question is afk'd, and the anfwer return'd much in the fame manner.

Τις τ' αρ σφωε θεων έριδι ξωεη
κε μαχέσαι;
Λητες καὶ ΔιΘ- ύιθ.

38. by whofe aid afpiring
To fet himself in glory above his

peers,] Here Dr. Bentley objects, that Satan's crime was not, his aiming above his peers: he was in place high above them before, as the Doctor proves from V. 812. But tho' this be true, yet Milton may be right here; for the force of the words feems, not that Satan

afpir'd to fet himself above bis peers, but that he afpir'd to fet himself in glory, &c that is in divine glory, in fuch glory as God and his Son' were fet in. Here was his crime: and this is what God charges him

33. Who firft feduc'd them to that with in V. 725. foul revolt?

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Had caft him out from Heav'n, with all his hoft
Of rebel Angels, by whofe aid afpiring
To fet himself in glory' above his peers,
He trusted to have equal'd the most High,
If he oppos'd; and with ambitious aim
Against the throne and monarchy of God
Rais'd impious war in Heav'n and battel proud
With vain attempt. Him the almighty Power

40

Hurl'd

who intends to' erect his often cuts off the vowel at the end

throne

-Equal to ours,

of a word, when the next word begins with a vowel; though he does not like the Greeks wholly

And in VI. 88. Milton fays that the drop the vowel, but ftill retains it rebel Angels hop'd To win the mount of God, and

on his throne

To fet the envier of his ftate, the
proud
Afpirer.

See alfo to the fame purpose VII.
140. &c. From thefe paffages it
appears that there is no occafion
for Dr. Bentley's alteration, which
is this,

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in writing like the Latins. Another liberty, that he takes likewise for the greater improvement and variety of his verfification, is pronouncing the fame word fometimes as two fyllables, and fometimes as only one fyllable or two fhort ones. We have frequent inftances in fpirit, ruin, riot, reafon, higheft, and feveral other words. But then thefe excellencies in Milton's verfe are attended with this inconvenience, that his numbers feem embarass'd to fuch readers, as know not, or know not readily, where fuch elifion or abbreviation of vowels is to take place; and therefore for their fakes we fhall take care throughout this edition to mark fuch vowels as are to be cut off, and fuch as are to be contracted and abbreviated, thus'.

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