345

350

Might suddenly inflict; that past, return'd
By night, and list’ning where the hapless pair
Sat in their sad discourse, and various plaint,
Thence gather'd his own doom, which understood
Not instant, but of future time, with joy
And tidings fraught, to hell he now return’d,
And at the brink of Chaos, near the foot
Of this new wondrous pontifice, unhop'd
Met who to meet him came, his offspring dear.
Great joy was at their meeting, and at sight
Of that stupendous bridge his joy increas’d.
Long he admiring stood, till Sin, his fair
Inchanting daughter, thus the silence broke.

O Parent, these are thy magnific deeds,
Thy trophies, which thou view'st as not thine own ; 555
Thou art their author and prime architect :
For I no sooner in my

heart divin'd, My heart, which by a secret harmony Still moves with thine, join’d in connexion sweet, That thou on earth hadst prosper'd, which thy looks 360

344. —which understood which being understood not inNot instant, but of future time, stant, but of future time, he now with joy &c.]

returned with joy to hell. In Milton's own editions, and in 345.

with joy all the rest which I have seen And tidings fraught,] till Mr. Fenton's and Dr. Bent. That is, with joyful tidings. So ley's, it was falsely printed Virgil, Munera lætitiamque Dei, thus,

Æn. i. 636. for munera læla. -which understood

Squamis auroque, Æn. viii. 436. Not instant, but of future time. for aureis squamis. Richardson. With joy &c.

348. Of this new wondrous But the sense evidently shews pontifice,] The new bridge, the that the sentence should be con

effect of wondrous art pontifical, tinued: From their discourse ver. 312. Satan gathered his own doom,

Now also evidence, but straight I felt
Though distant from thee worlds between, yet felt
That I must after thee with this thy son,
Such fatal consequence unites us three :
Hell could no longer hold us in her bounds, 365
Nor this unvoyageable gulf obscure
Detain from following thy illustrious track.
Thou hast achiev'd our liberty, confin'd
Within hell gates till now, thou us impower'd
To fortify thus far, and overlay

370
With this portentous bridge the dark abyss.
Thine now is all this world ; thy virtue' hath won
What thy hands builded not, thy wisdom gain’d
With odds what war hath lost, and fully' aveng’d
Our foil in heav'n; here thou shalt monarch reign, 375
There didst not; there let him still victor sway,

,
As battle hath adjudg’d, from this new world
Retiring, by his own doom alienated,
And henceforth monarchy with thee divide
Of all things parted by th’empyreal bounds,
His quadrature, from thy orbicular world,
Or try thee now more dange'rous to his throne.

380

369. Thou hast achiev'd our book ii. 1048. that it was undeliberty, confiu'd

termined square or round, and so Within hell gates till now,-) it might be to Satan viewing it Our is the same as of us : and at that distance: but here he Milton means, the liberty of us follows the opinion of Gassendus confined will now in hell. See and others, who say that the more instances of this, iv. 129. empyréuni or heaven of heavens yiii. 423, and ix. 908. Pearce. is of a square figure, because the

981. His quadrature, from thy holy city in the Revelation is so orbicular, world,] This world is described, Rev. xxi. 16. And the or biculur or round; the empyreal city lieth four-square, and the heaven is a quadrature or square. length is as lurge as the breadth. Our author had said before,

985

Whom thus the prince of darkness answer'd glad. Fair daughter, and thou son and grandchild both, High proof ye now have giv'n to be the race Of Satan, (for I glory in the name, Antagonist of heav'n's almighty King,) Amply have merited of me, of all Th’infernal empire, that so near heav'n's door Triumphal with triumphal act have met,

390 Mine with this glorious work, and made one realm Hell and this world, one realm, one continent Of easy thoroughfare. Therefore while I Descend through darkness, on your road with ease, Το my associate pow’rs, them to acquaint

395 With these successes, and with them rejoice, You two this way, among these numerous orbs All yours, right down to Paradise descend; There dwell and reign in bliss, thence on the earth Dominion exercise and in the air, Chiefly on man, sole lord of all declar'd, Him first make sure your thrall, and lastly kill. My substitutes I send

ye,

and create Plenipotent on earth, of matchless might Issuing from me: on your joint vigour now

400

405

383. — the prince of dark- 391. --and made one realm ness) Satan may well be so Hell and this world, one realm, called, since his angels are styled one continent &c.] in Scripture, the rules of the This is the general reading; darkness of this world, Eph. vi. but Mr. Fenton and Dr. Bentley 12.

have both in the second line 386. —for I glory in the name, very absurdly printed our realm, Antagonist &c.]

though the Doctor places one in The name Satan signifies Anta- the margin, as if it were a congonist or Adversary, as we ob- jecture of his own. served before.

My hold of this new kingdom all depends,
Through Sin to Death expos'd by my exploit.
If your joint pow'r prevail, th' affairs of hell
No detriment need fear; go and be strong.

So saying he dismiss’d them; they with speed
Their course through thickest constellations held,
Spreading their bane; the blasted stars look'd wan,
And planets, planet-struck, real eclipse

410

7, 8.

408. - prerail,] So it is in Mildews and blights; the ineadows the first edition; in the second it are defac'd,

The fields, the flow'rs, and the whole is prevails.

year's laid waste : 409. No detriment need fear ;]

On mortals next, and peopled towns Here our author plainly alludes she falls, to the charge given by the And breathes a burning plague Roman senate to the supreme

among their walls. Addison. magistrate in times of danger-See An Essay upon Milton's imiprovidere nequid resp. detrimenti tations of the Ancients, p. 42. accipiat. Thyer.

412. —the blasted stars look'd 409. -go and be strong, wan, &c.] Much in the same Satan encourages Sin and Death

manner Marino describes his in much the same words as Jealousy sallying out into the Moses does Joshua. Deut. xxxi. world. Ad. cant. xii. st. 29. 412. Spreading their bane ;]

Tosto che fuor de la spelonca oscura Ovid's description of the jour

Uscì quel sozzo vomito d'inferno.

Sentiro i fiori intorno, e la verdura ney of Envy to Athens, and

Fiati di peste, et aliti d'Auerno. Milton's of Sin and Death's Poria col ciglio instupidir natural, to Paradise, have a great re

Inhorridite il bel pianeta eterno, semblance. But whatever Mil

Intorbidur le stelle, e gli elementi. ton imitates, he adds a greatness So Tasso speaking of Alecto. to it; as, in this place, he alters Gier. Lib. cant. ix. st. 1. Ovid's flowers, herbs, people, and cities to stars, planets, and

Si parte, e doue passa i campi lieti

Secca, e pallido il sol si fà repente, worlds. Ovid, Met. ij. 791.

Thyer. Quæcunque ingreditur, fiorentia pro

413. And planets, planet-struck,} Exuritque herbas, et summa cacu- We say of a thing when it is mina carpit ;

blasted and withered, that it is Amatuque suo populos, urbesque planet-struck; and that is now

domosque Polluit,

applied to the planets them

selves. And what a sublime where she steers Her baneful course, a mighty blast idea doth it give us of the deappears,

vastations of Sin and Death!

terit arva,

415

420

Then suffer'd. Th’ other way Satan went down
The causey to hell gate ; on either side
Disparted Chaos over built exclaim’d,
And with rebounding surge the bars assail'd,
That scorn'd his indignation : through the gate,
Wide open and unguarded, Satan pass'd,
And all about found desolate; for those
Appointed to sit there, had left their charge,
Flown to the upper world ; the rest were all
Far to th’inland retir’d, about the walls
Of Pandemonium, city and proud seat
Of Lucifer, so by allusion call'd
Of that bright star to Satan paragon'd.
There kept their watch the legions, while the Grand
In council sat, solicitous what chance
Might intercept their empe’ror sent; so he
Departing gave command, and they observ’d.
As when the Tartar from his Russian foe

425

430

bus æquor.

417. And with rebounding surge kingcom, with a capital city of the bars assnild,

the same name, near the mouth That scorn'd his indignation :] of the river Volga, at its fall Virg. Georg. ii. 161.

into the Caspian sea, or Bactrian -Lucrinoque addita claustra, Sophi, or the Persian Emperor, Atque indignatum magnis stridoris named Bactrian of Bactria, one

of the greatest and richest pro426. — paragon'd.] Of para- vinces of Persia, lying near the gonner (French) to be equal to, Caspian Sea; from the horns of to be like, of ragu juxta and Turkish crescent, from his Turkayou certamen. An exact idea ish enemies who bear the horned or likeness of a thing, able to moon, the crescent in their encontest with the original. Hume. signs; leaves all waste beyond the

431. As when the Tartar &c.] realm of Aladule, the greater As when the Tartar retreats from Armenia, called by the Turks his Muscovite enemy, over the (under whom the greatest part snowy plains by Astracan, a con- of it is) Aladule, of its last king siderable part of the Czar's do- Aladules, slain by Selymus the minion, formerly a Tartarian first, in his retreat to Tauris, a