Us timely' of what might else have been our loss, Unknown, which human knowledge could not reach: 75 Of what we are. But since thou hast vouchsaf'd 80 Things above earthly thought, which yet concern'd Deign to descend now lower, and relate 79. the end Of what we are.] The will of God is the end to which all we are; thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created, Rev. iv. 11. 88. and this which yields or fills All space, the ambient air wide interfus'd] Yields space to all bodies, and again fills up the deserted space so as to be subservient to motion. Richardson. Ambient interfus'd denotes the air not only surrounding the 85 90 earth, but flowing into and spun out between all bodies; and is a fuller and finer notation of its liquid and spiritual texture, leaving no vacuum in nature, than that of Ovid, Nec circumfuso pendebat in aëre tellus. Met. i. 12. Hume. 92. -so late to build] It is a question that has been often asked, Why God did not create the world sooner? but the same question might be asked, if the world had been created at any time, for still there were infinite In Chaos, and the work begun, how soon And the great light of day yet wants to run It ages before that time. And that can never be a just exception against this time, which holds equally against all time. must be resolved into the good will and pleasure of Almighty God; but there is a farther reason according to Milton's hypothesis, which is that God, after the expelling of Satan and his angels out of heaven, declared his pleasure to supply their place by creating another world, and other creatures to dwell therein. 94. Absolv'd,] Finished, completed, perfected, from Absolutus, (Latin.) Richardson. 98. And the great light of day yet wants to run &c.] Our author has improved upon Homer, Odyss. xi. 372. where Alcinous by the same sort of arguments endeavours to persuade Ulysses to continue his narration; only there it was night, and here the scene is by day. Νυξ δ' ήδι μαλα μακρη, αθέσφατος· εδε πω ώρη Εύδειν εν μεγαρῳ· συ δε μοι λέγε θεσε κιλα έργα. Και κεν ες τω διαν ανασχοιμήν And lo! a length of night behind remains, The evening stars still mount th' ethereal plains, 95 Mr. Thyer is of opinion, that there is not a greater instance of our author's exquisite skill in the art of poetry, than this and the following lines. There is nothing more, really to be expressed, than Adam's telling Raphael his desire to hear the continuance of his relation, and yet the poet by a series of strong and noble figures has worked it up into half a score of as fine lines as any in the whole poem. Lord Shaftesbury has observed, that Milton's beauties generally depend upon solid thought, strong reasoning, noble passion, and a continued thread of moral doctrine; but in this place he has shewn what an exalted fancy and mere force of poetry can do. Held by thy voice, thy potent voice, he hears, Or if the star of evening and the moon Haste to thy audience, night with her will bring suspense in heaven he hears, for after it is said he is held suspense in heaven by thy voice, to say he hears thy voice is poor and low indeed. He must hear it before he can be held by it. We have therefore followed the punctuation of Dr. Pearce; and the sense seems plain, as he has pointed these verses, Held by thy potent voice, he hears suspense in heaven, that is, he stops and hearkens, he stays and is attentive. The poets often feign the rivers to stop their course, and other inanimate parts of nature to hear the songs of Orpheus and the like, Virg. Ecl. viii. 4. Et mutata suos requierunt filumina 100 105 110 bring the moon down from heaven, Carmina vel cœlo possunt deducere lunam: ver. 69. and well therefore may Milton suppose the sun to delay, suspended in heaven, to hear the angel tell his generation, and especially since we read that the sun did stand still at the voice of Joshua. 103. unapparent deep :] Where nothing was to be seen according to Gen. i. 2. Darkness was upon the face of the deep. Hume. 110. And thus the Godlike angel answer'd mild.] The angel's encouraging our first parents in a modest pursuit after knowledge, with the causes which he assigns for the creation of the world, are very just and beautiful. Addison. Yet what thou canst attain, which best may serve 115 To glorify the Maker, and infer Thee also happier, shall not be withheld Thy hearing, such commission from above Of knowledge within bounds; beyond abstain Know then, that after Lucifer from heaven (So call him, brighter once amidst the host Of angels, than that star the stars among) Prudens futuri temporis exitum 120 125 130 Thyer. 122.th' invisible King,] As God is styled in Scripture the invisible King, 1 Tim. i. 17. so this is the properest epithet that could have been employed here, when he is speaking of things not revealed, suppressed in night, to none communicable in earth or heaven, neither to men nor angels, as it is said of the day of judgment, Matt. xxiv. 36. Of that day and hour knoweth no man, no not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. Fell with his flaming legions through the deep Their multitude, and to his Son thus spake. At least our envious foe hath fail'd, who thought This inaccessible high strength, the seat He trusted to have seiz'd, and into fraud 135 140 Drew many, whom their place knows here no more; Their station, heav'n yet populous retains Though wide, and this high temple to frequent 135. Into his place,] As the traitor Judas is said likewise to go to his own place, Acts i. 25. 143.and into fraud Drew many,] Fraud in common acceptation means no more than deceit, but often signifies misfortune. Milton, who so constantly makes Latin or Greek of English, does it here, and extends the idea to the misery, the punishment consequent upon the deceit, as well as the deceit itself. So that Satan is said here, not only to have drawn many into fraud, not only that he 145 150 allur'd them, and with lies Drew after him the third part of heav'n's host, as v. 709. but that he ruin'd as well as cheated them, i. 609. Millions of spirits for his fault Of heav'n, and from eternal splen- Richardson. 144. -whom their place knows here no more;] A Scripture expression, Job vii. 10. neither shall his place know him any more. Psal. ciii. 16. and the place thereof shall know it no more. |