Wondrous in length and corpulence, involv'd Their snaky folds, and added wings. First crept The parsimonious emmet, provident Of future, in small room large heart inclos'd, Pattern of just equality perhaps Hereafter, joined in her popular tribes Of commonalty: swarming next appear'd 485 490 "amples to imprudent and ungoverned men, of a frugal "and self-governing democracy or commonwealth; safer and more thriving in the joint providence and counsel of "many industrious equals, than "under the single domination "of one imperious lord." See It is there said of the bee, and his Ready and easy way to estahere applied to the ant. 487. Pattern of just equality] We see that our author upon occasion discovers his principles of government. He enlarges upon the same thought in another part of his works. "Go to "the ant, thou sluggard, saith "Solomon; consider her ways "and be wise; which having no prince, ruler, or lord, provides "her meat in the summer, and "gathers her food in the harvest: "which evidently shews us, "that they who think the na"tion undone without a king, though they look grave or "haughty, have not so much "true spirit and understanding "in them as a pismire: neither "are these diligent creatures "hence concluded to live in "lawless anarchy, or that com"mended, but are set the ex blish a free commonwealth, p. 591. Edit. 1738. He adds perhaps hereafter, as he had no hopes of it at that time. He commends the ants or emmets for living in a republic, as the bees are said to do under a monarchy; and therefore Mr. Pope says, Essay on Man, iii. 186. The ants' republic, and the realm of bees. 490. The female bee, that feeds her husband drone Deliciously, and builds her waxen cells] Dr. Bentley would throw out part of these verses. The drone (says he) is not the bee's husband; and that bees are all females, seems an idle and idiotical notion, against the course and rule of nature. But (however that be) both those opinions had been strenuously Deliciously, and builds her waxen cells With honey stor'd: the rest are numberless, The serpent subtlest beast of all the field, Of huge extent sometimes, with brazen eyes 495 500 Now heav'n in all her glory shone, and roll'd Her motions, as the great first Mover's hand First wheel'd their course; earth in her rich attire Consummate lovely smil'd; air, water, earth, By fowl, fish, beast, was flown, was swum, was walk'd Frequent; and of the sixth day yet remain❜d; There wanted yet the master work, the end maintained by Mr. Charles Butler in the fourth chapter of his curious treatise upon bees, entitled The Feminine Monarchie, printed in 1634. and it seems to have been the prevailing doctrine in Milton's days. Pearce. There has been lately published in French a natural history of bees, Histoire naturelle des abeilles, &c. Paris 1744. wherein the curious author has collected all that Swammerdam and others have written upon the subject. He says that in a hive there is commonly one queen, and perhaps a thousand males called drones, and near twenty thousand working bees of no sex that can be distinguished. The queen or mother bee is longer than the rest, and will produce one year with an 505 other from thirty to forty thousand bees. The drones or husbands of this queen, except when they are paying their duty to her, live idly and luxuriously upon the finest honey, whereas the common bees live in great measure upon wax; and the queen herself will condescend to wait upon the drones, and bring them honey; and so, as Milton expresses it, feeds her husband drone deliciously. 497. And hairy mane terrific,] Virgil in like manner attributes a mane to serpents, Æn. ii. 206. -jubæque Sanguineæ exuperant undas. 505. There wanted yet the master work, &c.] The author here remembered and copied Ovid, Met. i. 76. Of all yet done; a creature who not prone 510 And worship God supreme, who made him chief 515 closely to Scripture in his account of the formation of man, as well as of the other creatures. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image; in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth, Gen. i. 26, 27, 28. I have set down the passage at length, that the reader may compare the divine historian and the poet In our similitude, and let them rule Over the fish and fowl of sea and air, And every creeping thing that creeps the ground. 520 525 Express, and thou becam'st a living soul. Male he created thee, but thy consort Female for race; then bless'd mankind, and said, 530 Subdue it, and throughout dominion hold Over fish of the sea, and fowl of th' air, And every living thing that moves on th' earth. Is yet distinct by name, thence, as thou know'st, together. There are scarce any alterations, but what were requisite for the verse, or were occasioned by the change of the person, as the angel is speaking to Adam. And what additions are made, are plainly of the same original, as the reader may see by comparing both together. And the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul, Gen. ii. 7. 535. Wherever thus created, &c.] The sacred text says that the Lord God planted a garden 535 eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed, Gen. ii. 8. And afterwards ver. 15. And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden, to dress it and to keep it. This seems to imply that man was created in some other place, and was afterwards brought into the garden of Eden; and therefore Milton says, Wherever thus created, for no place He brought thee into this delicious Delectable both to behold and taste; And freely all their pleasant fruit for food 540 Gave thee; all sorts are here that all th' earth yields Variety without end; but of the tree, Which tasted works knowledge of good and evil, Thou may'st not; in the day thou eat'st, thou diest ; Death is the penalty impos'd, beware, And govern well thy appetite, lest Sin Surprise thee, and her black attendant Death. Here finish'd he, and all that he had made. 545 550 555 548. Here finish'd he, and all Messiah returning into heaven, that he had made View'd,] The pause is very remarkable, and admirably expresses the Creator surveying and contemplating his work, -and behold all was entirely good; So ev'n and morn accomplish'd the sixth day: He finishes the account of the creation, in the same manner as Moses, Gen. i. 31. And God saw every thing that he had made, and behold it was very good: and the evening and the morning were the sixth day. 551. Yet not till the Creator &c.] The poet represents the VOL. II. and taking a survey of his great work. There is something inexpressibly sublime in this part of the poem, where the author describes that great period of time, filled with so many glorious circumstances; when the heavens and earth were finished; when the Messiah ascended up in triumph through the everlasting gates; when he looked down with pleasure upon his new creation; when every part of nature seemed to rejoice in its existence; when the morning-stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy. Addison. E |